stark, peter parker

xvii. she didn't look 105 years old to me

a/n: if you hadn't noticed, i rewrote lots of portions of the previous chapters to add hazel rogers as an oc. she was adopted by steve rogers, who rescued her from hydra. she, like bucky barnes, is a winter soldier, and has been with bucky and sam wilson for the events of "falcon and the winter soldier". that's basically all you need to know to continue on with the book, but i highly recommend taking a look at the early chapters if you're at all confused.

the first thing dakota did when she got on her motorcycle was call hazel rogers. "please answer.." she mumbled, hearing the dial tone sounding through her motorcycle helmet.

"hey!" hazel said cheerfully as she answered the phone. "what's up?"

dakota was speeding through the streets of new york. "hey, i wish i was calling just to catch up, but shit's... shit!" she swerved to avoid hitting a mail box.

"uh.. okay?" hazel said on the other end of the line.

"so i may or may not have had a run in with hydra." it was the simplest way she could put it.

"what?"

dakota arrived at the avengers compound, getting off her bike. "this woman shows up to stark tower, right. she says she's my mother. she then insults my father, which went over real well."

"right." hazel said.

"so i kick her out." dakota is saying as she transfers the call to her cell phone, which she holds up to her ear. "then i'm talking with peter, who, super long story, has a dude from another universe in doctor strange's basement."

hazel hesitates. "right."

dakota is climbing the stairs to her father's old room, not bothering to wait for the elevator. "other universe guy tells me that this woman, in his universe, worked for hydra." she says. "and i'm willing to bet that she works for them in this universe, too." she gets into his room, beginning to look through his files. "i'm at the compound."

she hears the sound of something rustling in the background and then the sound of an engine revving. "i'm downtown." hazel says. "i'll be there in fifteen."

kodie lets out a sigh of relief. "thank you." she says. "i wish i was calling on better circumstances."

hazel chuckled. "when do you ever call under good circumstances?"

"touche."

⎊‎⎊‎⎊

dakota and hazel were both sitting in the conference room of the avengers compound, sitting criss-cross-applesauce as they listen to j.e.e.p. relay the known information about the other universe's ophelia sarkissian.

"ophelia sarkissian, otherwise known as viper, was recruited into the terrorist organization called hydra, where he overcame all other potential agents, earning herself the title of the viper and a position in hydra's inner circle." the ai said. "taking the name madame hydra, she took control of their n operations and frequently clashed with the super-soldier c."

dakota and hazel turned to look at each other. "dad never mentioned her, but that doesn't mean that that much isn't true of this universe as well."

"maybe my contacts need to be adjusted," dakota said, "but she didn't look 105 years old to me."

hazel shook her head. "maybe she has super soldier serum, too?"

"or she got frozen in ice while fighting red skull?" dakota suggested.

"madame hydra did enter into a brief alliance with the murderous red skull." j.e.e.p. confirmed. "however, this alliance was short lived as the two criminals soon double-crossed each other."

"what powers does she have?" hazel asked, wondering if the woman truly had been given the super soldier serum.

"madame hydra has rendered herself immune to most toxins via controlled exposure." the ai replied. "she is a brilliant and cunning criminal strategist who has been rigorously trained in various martial arts. she is also extremely knowledgeable in the properties and uses of toxins, poisons, and snake venoms, frequently creating her own poisons that she spreads through her hollow fangs or poisoned lipstick."

dakota nodded. "so if she tries to kiss us, we run. got it."

"the viper carries a set of throwing darts tipped with either a lethal or paralytic venom based on the chemistry of snake venom." the ai finished.

"sounds like she's super into snakes." hazel said.

dakota spun in her chair. "okay, so she's super into snakes and she has a connection to captain america. do you have anything on madam hydra and iron man?"

"when other universe t was head of s.h.i.e.l.d.," the ai began, making dakota and hazel both sit up in surprise, "he wanted the viper dethroned, but s.h.i.e.l.d. couldn't attack a sovereign state, so tony had to go there himself. after seeing viper in her palace, where both tried to outsmart each other, viper ordered her henchmen to kill iron man, but they failed. tony stark then turned the public against madame hydra."

kodie smiled. "good job, dad."

hazel put a hand to her head. "okay, so is there anything on other universe us and madame hydra?"

the ai hesitated before replying. "on earth-616, madame hydra kills hazel rogers and dakota stark."

"well, that's comforting." dakota said, slumping back into her seat.

⎊‎⎊‎⎊

some more research from j.e.e.p. suggested that, in another universe, madame hydra could have realistically been dakota's mother, depending on which timeline they looked at. however, in other universes, she seemed to be more likely to be related to hazel.

"in another universe, we could actually be sisters." dakota said, eating her mcdonalds fries as she listened to the ai continue talking.

hazel shook her head. "bucky knew my mother. in this universe, i'm not related to her at all." she turned to look at kodie. "but you might be."

"damnit, she was freaky." dakota said. "and she probably wants to kill both of us, daughters or not." she looked to the wall, where a picture of her father was proudly framed. "what would you do, dad?"

"he'd fight." hazel said simply.

dakota turned to look at her. "fight her?" she gestured to the pictures that the ai had pulled up of madame hydra. "she's killed us in five other universes, hazel."

"but not in this one."

"yet!" dakota ran a hand through her hair. "we don't know if she's actually madame hydra. maybe she's just.. someone who happens to have the same name and appearance as her."

hazel furrowed her brows. "are you listening to yourself?"

"i know, i know." she sighed. "i just..." she shook her head. "if something happens to me, i don't think pepper could take it. and morgan, and... and peter."

"she might be planning to kill us, anyway." hazel pointed out. "maybe if we do something now, we'll get the advantage of surprise."

dakota thought about it before nodding. "you're gonna need a suit."

"why do i need a suit?"

"because in earth-345 and earth-8045 she killed you with toxic fumes."

hazel tilted her head. "okay, fair enough."