Drama. Characters: Anthony Stark and Carol Danvers NPCs: Howard Stark Timeline: Wednesday, February 8, 2012 - afternoon [backdated] Location: Howard's office Description: Carol and Anthony meet with his father to discuss what her father has been doing to her. Rating: PG-13 OOC: So. I, like a retard, posted this to Carol's journal... Re-posting!
Carol did not want to do this. No, Carol did not want to do this at all. She'd rather her cut off her own hand then have to confess that she was a victim of child abuse. The words "Carol Danvers" and "victim" certainly did not belong in the same sentence and she found that she was embarrassed to admit as such. She was tough and to admit things like her dad not loving her, or wanting his acceptance, for whatever reason, despite all of her accomplishments already, was really kind of pitiful.
Anthony wasn't going to let it drop (and rightly so) and even Victor had told her she needed to tell the headmaster about what had happened with her hand. That was two geniuses telling her what to do. She was kind of sort of starting to think she ought to listen even if it would be incredibly uncomfortable to do so. But after thinking about it for a while and all of the requisite feet-dragging she had done, she inevitably agreed and contacted Anthony. He would be with her and she wasn't sure if that wasn't a good thing or a bad thing...
She'd rather tell Captain Rogers, she felt closest to him, but she couldn't quite bring herself to tell him. He'd be so disappointed in her and Carol just couldn't bear that.
She was waiting for Anthony in the hall outside of Howard's office and took a sip from the drinking fountain to steady her nerves. Did she really have to do this?
---
For his part, Anthony was actually already inside arguing with his father.
"You need to see her when she gets here, dad. And you need to be nice about it."
"Anthony, I see Miss Danvers on a regular basis. I have a video conference with the Hyderabad office that I'm already five minutes late for—"
"It's important, dad! You have to see her now!"
"Don't raise your voice. I already delayed the meeting talking to you. I've had enough—"
"It's her hand, dad. It wasn't an accident."
Howard Stark paused then, sizing up his son. Then he pushed a button on his desk. "Reschedule Hyderabad." An acknowledgement from his assistant, then he folded his hands on his desk. "Bring her in," he told Anthony.
"You have to be nice. Remember to be nice. Please."
"If the situation calls for niceness, I will be nice," Howard answered. Then seeing the pleading look on his son's face, relented a little. "I will be nice until there is a cause to be otherwise."
"Thanks," Anthony said with half a smile, knowing that's the best deal he would get. Then he went out to get Carol.
---
"Hey," Anthony said, popping his head out the door and spotting Carol. "He's ready to see you. You ok?" That was a dumb thing to say. "Ok-ish?" he amended.
---
2012-02-10 02:02 pm (local) (link) Select She was kind of surprised that Anthony was already there inside Howard's office and inwardly winced when he popped his head out. She couldn't help but wonder if he had "prepped" his dad for the meeting and vaguely wondered which scenario was worse: Howard already knowing or Howard not knowing.
Carol took a breath and looked at Anthony. Was she ready? No. Was she okay? No. Still, she nodded. It was now or never, right? Carol was brave... Carol was courageous... Or that's what she kept telling herself anyways. "Yeah," she said joylessly. She was really trying to keep her feelings suppressed in an attempt to compartmentalize, but it was tricky. Whenever she looked down at her hand she was filled with a mixture of a emotion that mostly made her want to punch her good hand through a wall.
She took in a final breath, held it a beat. She tried to puff up her chest a bit, but she was scared. But despite all that she gave Anthony another nod. "Okay...Lets do this."
---
Anthony nodded. "Ok. He's waiting."
Anthony led them in, giving a polite nod to his father's assistant, who nodded back before going back to work. Inside was his father's office as usual, two chairs facing an imposing desk behind which sat the man himself. Howard Stark.
"Please," Howard said, gesturing to the chairs. "I understand you have something to tell me, Miss Danvers."
Anthony shot his father an exasperated look, clearly nonplussed by his father's version of being 'nice.'
Howard's eyes flicked briefly to his son, letting Anthony know the look was noted and not appreciated.
Cowed, Anthony settled back in his chair.
The whole exchange took less than a second, and Howard returned his gaze to Carol. "Anthony will leave, if you prefer."
---
Well, this was certainly strange.
Carol had dealt with Howard hundreds since her arrival at the school, eing that she was rather irreverent towards the rules and being called down to Howard's office a number of times. So much so, in fact, that they had developed a relationship of sorts. They were blunt about their disdain for one another, but deep down they knew that the other person cared.
And it felt weird to have Anthony, there, witness to that when this was his dad. She didn't need Anthony to protect her and and especially not from Howard. Herself, on the other hand, that was a different matter...
She gave her head a shake, when Howard offered Anthony to leave. "Its fine," she said dimly. And then looking at Howard directly in the eye, she said and as a matter of fact, "My dad broke my hand," knowing that he liked to get down to brass tacks.It wasn't Howard that she was afraid of, but the entire process and the big unknown of what would happen once she actually confessed, which made her want to drag her feet and want to hide.
After she made her confession, she stood up from her chair, prepared to walk out the door.
---
"Running away does not become you."
It was a calm tone, no edge, and yet somehow inarguable. An objective assessment, nothing more.
"Dad," objected Anthony, but his father cut him off.
"It's alright, Anthony," Howard replied, his eyes still on Carol. "She's stronger than she thinks she is."
What Anthony was forgetting was that the father had known Carol much longer than the son. Not on the same level as a fellow student, of course, but enough to have a guess how best to get her through this. Unlike what Anthony was trying to do, she wouldn't want to be coddled. Victims were coddled, or weak little girls. She wouldn't want to see herself like that, even if there was some truth to the comparison. Especially if there was some truth to the comparison.
"You have a story to tell me, Miss Danvers. And no matter how much you might wish it otherwise, it is more than five words long." He gestured at her chair again.
---
Carol stopped in her tracks and straightened up. She stood there for a moment with her back towards Howard. Eventually, though, she turned around and took her seat and again, flopping down into it with a huff. She was grumpy and pissed off, but not exactly sure at who. Anthony? No... Howard, maybe, but that was just general Howard is a dick irritability she was experiencing. No, Carol was really mad at herself. And her dad.
"My dad broke my hand, what is there to know?" Was her retort. Then she heaved a sigh and launched into it. "We don't get along and we argue all the time. It was over Christmas and I don't remember what started the fight but we were having a brawl..."
Carol knit her brows together, now recalling the events of that evening in question and how it made her feel. He had said that he was never going to be proud of her and that mad Carol want to cry. She also wanted to bash him one for that and, in fact, did shove him. Not hard, but she had realized her mistake too late.
"Then he took my hand and shut the car door on it."
---
Anthony looked perfectly arranged, his face having just the right degree of sincere concern, leaning forward just a little in a posture that showed attentiveness without encroaching. It looked effortless, yet photogenic. A pure PR pose.
In other words, Anthony was extremely upset. And as he often did when in over his head, he fell back on his training. Howard noticed, but made no comment. Anthony was controlling himself. That was the important thing.
"I see," Howard answered, focused on Carol. "Is this the first time he's intentionally harmed you?"
---
"No, I dunno," she mumbled. "He pushes me around a lot, but mostly I've been able to take care of myself. This is the first time it's resulted in a visit to the hospital. He punched me though, once..." Carol swallowed, this was hard. She felt like a huge tattletale.
"But its just me," she said, in an attempt to defend his actions. "I'm a little shit, everyone knows it. I'm a bad kid...
"Its not like he hits my mom or anything, or my brothers..."
---
Anthony's jaw dropped just a little when Carol said she was a bad kid, but he immediately recovered. Howard, however, was more direct.
"If you really thought that, you wouldn't be here," he said dismissively. Howard steepled his hands, then nodded. "I believe we have enough to get started. You may go. Please see Captain Rogers tomorrow to serve your detention for swearing."
But this time, it was Anthony who protested. He was expecting this. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to handle it, Anthony. That's why you came here, to have me handle it," Howard reminded him.
"It's Carol's family. She should get to know what you're going to do."
"What do you think, I'm going to turn into Superman and fly to Boston to beat up Carol's father?" Howard shook his head. "I'm going to turn it over to Legal."
"And PR," Anthony amended.
"This doesn't need PR. Carol isn't in the public eye."
"But she could be. He's a child abuser. Legal's going to want to flay him alive."
"And this is a problem how?"
"That means going to trial. That means Carol taking the stand. You saw how much trouble she had telling just us, and you barely asked anything. What happens when she gets cross-examined with her parents right in the room?"
"And the alternative is?"
"Let him plea bargain. Ask PR to work with Legal. Back room deals."
"You want him to get off?"
"Of course not, but making things easier for Carol and her family might be worth letting him off with a lighter punishment. Solve the rest with restraining orders and social services. Either way, the abuse stops, and that's the important thing."
"I don't like it. It's too lenient. Sends the wrong message."
"Which is a problem, if sending a message is the goal. Is it? Is this about punishment, or is this about moving on?"
As one, father and son turned to look at Carol.
"To summarize," Howard recapped, "a trial will be harder on you, but will solve things more conclusively. A plea bargain will be quieter and easier on you, but also on your father. What's it going to be, Miss Danvers?"
---
Carol fell quiet as Anthony and Howard began to discuss her future, as if she had no part in shaping it at all. She was actually numb to what they were saying and and only kept a vague ear open. What did she want? That was the question - did she want her father to get into trouble? Or did she just want the beatings to stop. Carol considered this and felt that it was most certainly the latter. With the caveat that he wouldn't start beating her brothers or mother in her place.
When Howard finally addressed her again, Carol's eyes snapped to attention. "Emancipation. That's what I want," she blurted out, surprising herself.
---
Wow. Anthony was pretty surprised Carol wanted to do things big and messy. And that she wanted to cut out the rest of her family like that, her mom and her brothers. But it was her life, her decision.
"She'll be 17 in May," he supplied to his father, figuring he'd want to know.
Howard nodded, considering. A year and a few months early. It wasn't the worst. Carol was already fairly independent. She clearly needed stable adults in her life, but she wasn't getting them at home. They weren't really doing anything other than holding her back. This was a boarding school. Her basic needs would be cared for. She'd need money, though. He'd tell the lawyers to sue for damages. This would get quite ugly, but that's what he paid them for. Besides, they'd enjoy going after a true villain.
"I don't agree that you are ready to be on your own," Howard answered, "but I do agree the foster system would not benefit you, and emancipation is a reasonable legal alternative." He paused then, forming the plan in his mind.
Howard leaned forward. "This is the arrangement. I will get you out of this. It will not be pleasant, but it will be final. We'll file for emancipation and have your father dealt with."
"There are implications to being a legal adult that you may not have thought through. I will expect more from you. The behavior that traditionally brings you to my office? It will stop immediately. Also, we need to get you ready for adult responsibilities. You will meet with—"
"—a staff member of her choosing," Anthony interrupted, guessing where this was heading.
Howard, who was going to require Carol to meet with him directly, looked at Anthony. "A staff member of your choosing who is not Captain Rogers," he relented partially. He knew she'd pick Captain Rogers, but she already met with him a lot between the Avengers and ROTC. Besides, Howard wasn't convinced Steve actually knew anything about the real world. Though that left two robots, an often absent wizard, a scientist with anger issues, a megalomaniacal merman, a vampire, and Dr. Carter. As role models went, the school's selection was quite poor. How on earth was the school still standing?
"They will be your mentor, keep tabs on how you're doing and introduce you to taxes, saving for retirement, and other joys of adulthood." He gave a wry smile. "Meet regularly. Every two weeks or so."