it's a few months later when the stark industries scandal finally starts catching up to the eldest of the stark daughters. dakota was with peter, ned, and mj, who had all just received their mit application results. when each of them was rejected, dakota slapped her envelope on the bar of the diner that mj was working at. "this is bullshit." she said.

with her father's pull at mit, and each of their glistening transcripts, she'd assumed that they would all get in with no problem. however, it seemed thar no friend of spider-man was allowed at mit.

"kodie, i'm so sorry." peter said, putting a hand on her back as he looked down at their matching rejection letters. "i know you.. i know going to mit was a big deal to you."

she shrugged, looking at the other two letters that ned and mj had torn in half. she wouldn't change a thing, either. she picked her envelope up and ripped it. "mit just rejected three of the best people i know, as well as a co-owner of one of the greatest companies in the country." she said. "clearly they're not as big of a deal as i thought."

⎊‎⎊‎⎊

when dakota got back home, she was immediately alarmed by all of the phone calls she'd missed. she gathered that she was needed at stark tower, and that there was some sort of emergency. upon her arrival, she was swarmed with people. "okay, one at a time, what's going on?"

"there's talk of fbi investigation. apparently the mysterio mix-up is bad enough that stark industries could be closed down for good." someone said.

"okay, let's not give in to rumors and hearsay, yeah?" kodie reminded everyone around her, though the words 'closed down for good' did nothing but send a chill down her spine. stark industries had been there her whole life, it was her father's legacy. what would happen without it?

"miss stark... when miss potts isn't here, you're our boss." another person said. "what do you think we should do?"

she was on the edge of eighteen, and dakota didn't feel anywhere near qualified enough to make a decision about what to have for lunch, let alone a decision for an entire company. "i.. uh.. i don't know. but... i'll consult miss potts, okay? and.. we'll find out what to do. it'll all work out." she said as she attempted to get away from the crowd of people.

as she was headed towards the door, her secretary ran over to her. "miss stark? there's someone in your office here to see you."

dakota looked back over her shoulder. "is it that absolute ass from the fbi? because if so, you can tell him i'm not interested."

the secretary, whose name was billie, shook her head. "no, it's a woman. she got here about fifteen minutes ago and said she wanted to talk to you."

she sighed, running a hand through her hair as she began to walk towards the direction of the stairs. "okay, thanks, billie."

when dakota walked into the main office (that was frequently pepper's, but, on occasions when she was out, belonged to kodie) she saw the woman. she was standing with her back to the door, and her dark hair cascaded down her back in waves. everything about her screamed cool, and the stark girl had never before felt so intimidated by someone.

"i'm sorry to keep you waiting, i wasn't aware that i was scheduled to any meetings today." kodie spoke, gaining the woman's attention. her face was even more intimidating– her dark green gaze was intense, yet void of true emotion.

"oh, i should be the one apologizing, miss stark." the woman replied, her voice honey laced with malice. "i didn't schedule this meeting, i just didn't know how to contact you other than through work purposes." she explained.

dakota raised a brow as she moved to the desk. "work purposes?" she repeated, a dry chuckle to her tone. "if you're looking for an avenger, you're a couple years too late."

the woman smiled at this. "i don't need an avenger. just some clarity."

"yeah?" kodie sat down behind the desk, eyeing the various paperweights and miscellaneous objects. "and what clarity might that be, miss...?"

"sarkissian. ophelia sarkissian." she replied with a smile on her face.

dakota had to fight back her laugh. "that's not a real name." she accused.

"you're a lot like your father, you know." ophelia then said, her intense gaze on the girl in front of her.

the stark girl sat up straighter at the mention of tony. "how did you know my father?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"that's what i need clarity on." ophelia replied with a smile.

"i hate to be the one to break it to you, but he passed away. i'm afraid you're not gonna find any information you're looking for here."

ophelia shook her head. "oh, no. he wouldn't have been interested anyway. my condolences, by the way."

"thanks." her tone wasn't gracious.

"i was here to look for my daughter." the woman finally explained.

dakota looked up. "i'm sorry?"

"almost eighteen years ago now, i had my daughter. tony wasn't ever interested in a dna test, but..."

"wait a fucki- wait a second." dakota corrected herself. "are you suggesting that you... you're my mom?" she didn't believe it for a second. it wasn't possible. her mother had left her with tony, and hadn't bothered to care about her ever since.

ophelia's eyes began to water. "i knew that if i saw you i'd be able to be certain. and i.. i'm seeing you. and i know it. i know it in my heart. you're my baby."

kodie merely sat there, confusion etched onto her features. "listen, lady, i want to believe you. but you expect to come here and just say something like that? if you are my mother, then why now? why did you decide to wait until now to try to find me? you said it yourself, it's been eighteen years. and i haven't exactly been hiding, either, i'm still the daughter of a billionaire. mother or not, as far as i'm concerned you're a stranger."

the woman shook her head. "you don't understand. i tried to find you, truly. but your father wouldn't ever let me in to visit. he was so selfish when it came to you, and–"

dakota shook her head. "i'm not going to sit here and listen to you talk about my father in a negative light." she said, her jaw clenched in anger. "he may not have been perfect, but he was actually here. you left me in a car seat on his doorstep in malibu."

ophelia frowned. "i had hoped you would be more forgiving towards your mother."

"i have a mother." dakota said, standing. "her name is pepper potts, and you're standing in her office. now, i suggest you leave before i contact someone to remove you."

the woman turned, walking out of the room. as soon as the door was closed, dakota sat back down, head in her hands. she'd wondered for years what she'd do if she finally met her birth mother. she had wondered if they would look similar, if they'd have similar tastes in foods. she had wondered what college her mom had gone to, what her favorite songs and movies were, what her occupation was.

and yet, when she was face to face with the woman, she turned her away without so much as a question.

the logical explanation was that she couldn't sit and listen to anyone badmouth her father. tony stark was the greatest man she'd ever met, flaws and all. she wouldn't listen to anyone who dared to speak poorly of him, much less someone who had chosen to remove themselves from her life.

but there was a part of her that was frightened by the idea of this woman being in her life. she couldn't trust her to stay-- not when she'd already left once before. a part of her didn't want to believe it at all. 

kodie swiveled in the office chair, holding a pen in one hand. she lightly drummed it on the desk in front of her, thinking. "j.e.e.p.?"

"yes, miss stark?" the voice of her ai replied.

"show me everything you have on ophelia sar.. sarkissian? is that what she said?"

"ophelia sarkissian." the ai confirmed, pulling up a digital photo that projected into the room. "she works here in new york at a small publication business, but she doesn't seem to have a lot of other records."

dakota absentmindedly bit at the end of her pen. "that's weird. that's weird, right?"

"no familial records and no direct ties to mr. stark, either." the ai continued.

"okay, definitely weird." kodie said. "how long has she been in new york?"

the ai seemed to hesitate, scouring file after file for answers. "i... can't tell, miss stark."

dakota leaned back in her chair, moving one of her feet up onto it. she drummed her pen onto her kneecap, spinning slowly in the swivel chair. "this is weird. we can agree this is weird, right?" she moved her free hand to run through her hair. "do we know where she lives?"

"i don't have an official address, but it seems that she lives in the same apartment complex as a mr peter parker."

her head shot up at that. "so you mean to tell me that this woman randomly appears only weeks after peter is revealed to be spider-man and comes to stark tower claiming to be my mother?" she shook her head. "i've got a weird feeling about this, j.e.e.p.."

"i also feel weird, miss stark."