This fulfills the Whumptober prompt AND a prompt from the lovely camelot1995: "I was wondering if maybe you would write a one-shot or something with Penny and Ned at a party and someone slips something into Penny's drink. And Tony has to come save her before it gets physical or she gets kidnaped or something. I really love Penny and Tony's father/daughter relationship and I'd love to see more."
Yes I will and here it is!! I hope you like it!
Drugged
The party had been Ned's idea. Well...it had been Flash's idea, but Ned had been sure that this was their opportunity to finally redeem themselves in the eyes of the popular crowd after she'd skipped out on Homecoming and Liz's party and...well, decided to be total losers in high school. Surprisingly, being members of Academic Decathlon, playing with Legos, talking about video games, and having a semi-complicated secret handshake had not yet made them popular. Not that Penny minded too much. It wasn't the eighties. Sure, they were nerds, but they went to an exclusive high school full of other smart people and no one had ever tried to stuff them into a locker or beat them up or anything. But it was still kind of disheartening to have people laugh at them in the halls. So she had agreed to go to the party. Reluctantly.
She'd been at the lab when she'd told Mr. Stark that she wouldn't be able to make it the next week. He had looked up at her in surprise, the nanotech prototype dropping onto the table. "What?" He had asked, jaw dropping. "Don't tell me you have something more important going on than working in the lab? With me...Tony Stark?" He had placed a hand over his chest, and she'd rolled her eyes, making him laugh. "So what's going on? Hot date?" He'd waggled his eyebrows and her cheeks had heated up.
"No." She had snapped. "Ned wants to go to some party...he asked me to go with him."
"As his date?" Mr. Stark had asked suggestively.
"No!" Mr. Stark had laughed then, reaching out to ruffle her hair. She'd doged, waving him off and going back to working on her webshooter in sullen, embarrassed silence.
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry." He'd sat down on the stool beside her. "Hey." She'd glanced over, still blushing. "I'm just teasing, Pen. Who's party is it?"
"Um...Flash told us about it. I think it's a friend of his or something." He'd gotten serious then.
"You mean...the Flash that is a total jackass that you won't let me go after in the Iron Man armor?"
"The very one." She'd agreed. "He hasn't been so bad lately. Besides, it isn't his party. The whole decathlon team is going."
"Hm. Where is it?" He had wondered, and she'd given him a suspicious glance. "What? You're my intern. I like to know where my interns are when they're blowing me off."
"I'm not blowing you off! And how many interns do you have?"
"Not important. Where's the party?"
"Um...Brooklyn, I think. Ned's mom is going to drop us off."
"Who's going to pick you up."
"We're going to take the subway together since it might be late...I'm sleeping at his place."
"And does May know?"
"Nope. And she isn't going to be at all suspicious when I don't come home that night...or the next day." He had given her a look. "Of course she knows. What's wrong, Mr. Stark?"
"Nothing, kiddo. Just...if you need anything, call me, okay? I'll be there if you need me." She had nodded, but then he'd grabbed her shoulder, turning her a little to look straight at him. "Pen, I mean it. Anything. You guys drink too much or someone's bugging you...call me. I'll come get you...we won't even have to tell May if you don't want. Okay?" Meeting his serious gaze, she'd nodded.
"Okay. I promise."
The day of the party, when she'd been on her way to the house with Mrs. Leeds and Ned, she received a text from her mentor. "Hey kid. Have fun at the party. Text me if you need me."
"I will. Thank you." She texted back, then tucked her phone into her purse. She was wearing a dress for once, one that May had helped her pick out. Ned was wearing his fancy hat, and the two of them climbed out of the car and headed straight into the house where the bass from the music was already booming.
People filled the room, some dancing and some making out in corners. Everyone seemed to have a red plastic cup in their hands, and Penny made a mental note not to have any. Sure, May hadn't explicitly told her not to drink, and she wasn't even sure if she could get drunk, but she still didn't think it was a great idea. She wasn't super interested in alcohol, nor did she think Mr. Stark would approve. So she vowed to stick to soda.
MJ spotted them right off, waving from the other side of the room, and they joined her, Penny taking a cup of sprite that MJ handed her. They talked for a little while, ignoring Flash who bounced up, then disappeared with some older guys. Penny recognized a few people from school, but there were also a lot of older people too...like, college age. Penny and Ned were juniors now, even though Mr. Stark had told her that she could probably go straight to college...or just work for him, but Penny knew that May would never approve.
After a few minutes of chatting with MJ and Ned, Ned wandered off to talk to some girl that had caught his eye...they were in Spanish together, apparently, and Penny wished him luck. Then MJ started talking to a senior girl from the decathlon team, so Penny was kind of left on her own. Taking a seat on the sofa, Penny pulled out her phone and pulled up a message from Mr. Stark. "Hey kiddo. How's the party?" She wondered if he was worried. He'd been acting weird ever since she'd told him about the party.
"It's fine. Kind of boring." She texted back.
"Texting your boyfriend?" Glancing up from her phone, she smiled a little at the guy leaning over the back of the sofa beside her.
"Oh, no." She laughed a little. "Just...my boss."
"Your boss?" He lifted his eyebrows, apparently impressed. "Where do you work?"
"It's an internship." She clarified, not sure if she could talk about it. "Through my school...Midtown."
"Damn...you got to that genius school, huh?" He moved around the side of the sofa, taking a seat and leaning back to look at her.
"I, uh...I guess." She shrugged, blushing a little. He leaned forward, elbow on his knee. "It's a good school...where do you go?"
He waved her off. "Nowhere fancy. Just a regular school. So where's your internship?"
"Stark Industries." There was no use lying...people at her school already knew.
"Holy shit…" He whistled. "I didn't know Stark even had interns."
"I'm not really...his intern. I just...work in the regular labs and clean stuff...file papers…". She trailed off, hoping she she hadn't said too much.
"You ever met him?" The boy wondered.
"No...not really. I did see him once...from across a room." She lied. He chuckled.
"That's pretty cool. I'm Mason, by the way." He held out a hand, clasping hers when she took it. Instead of shaking her hand, he just squeezed it.
"Penny." She introduced herself.
"It's really nice to meet you, Penny." He squeezed her hand one more time before letting go, his thumb rubbing over the top of her hand. "You live around here?"
"Not really...I'm from Queens. You?"
"Brooklyn, born and raised." He told her. Then he started asking her questions about her own life and she gave him some pretty basic answers, knowing that no matter how nice he seemed, it was dangerous to tell some strange too much. When he took a break to go get her some punch, MJ came over, sitting beside her.
"Hey...who's that?"
"Mason." Penny told her friend, blushing. Michelle lifted her eyebrows.
"Yeah? You okay?"
"Definitely. He's really nice and smart and…" She trailed off, aware that she sounded dumb...but her heart was light and heavy at the same time and he was so handsome...never before had a nice, handsome boy shown an interest in her like this.
"Alright. I think we'll probably stay another hour or so, then we'd better head back." MJ told her. "I'm gonna head out back and get some air. Call if you need me." Penny assured her she would, then grinned up at Mason when he returned, taking the drink he handed her. Sniffing it carefully, she glanced up at him.
"Don't worry, Penny." Mason assured her with a chuckle, sitting back down beside her. "It's coke...I didn't really figure you for a drinker. That okay?"
"Yeah...thank you." She downed the drink, surprised at how thirsty she was, then accepted when he grabbed her a second a few minutes later. As they talked, he watched her closely, always smiling, his deep brown eyes calm and sweet, and she...was kind of tired. Yawning a little, she excused herself.
"You need some more caffeine." He suggested, then brought her another drink that she downed, hoping the caffeine in the soda would keep her awake for the subway ride home.
But she wasn't any more awake. In fact...she was really tired. And dizzy. Was she sick? She started to fall sideways, but he caught her, gentle hands on her shoulders. "Hey...you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah...yeah, I'm...yeah." She murmured, feeling alarm in some part of her brain. Spidey senses...something was wrong. She needed to go...needed help. He got a hand around her waist.
"Come on...let's get you somewhere quiet so you can lay down."
"No." She shook her head. She didn't want to do that. Didn't want to go with him somewhere quiet. But he was leading her down the hallway, and she stuck her hand down into her purse, gripping her phone. "Bathroom...I need to use the bathroom." She insisted, and he hesitated, eyes darting around the room. "Bathroom." She said it again, louder, so after a second, he led her to a door.
"I'll wait out here. You sure you're okay?" She nodded, feeling like such an idiot. There was something in her drink...and she must have had a lot. Shutting the bathroom door behind her, she dialed Mr. Stark. He answered on the first ring.
"Hey Pen. How's the…"
"Help. Help…" She slurred, speaking softly so Mason wouldn't hear. She was crying...she couldn't believe she'd been so stupid.
"I'm on my way. Are you drunk?" He asked, and she had to hand it to him, there was no judgement in his voice.
"No…" She sniffed, wiping her eyes clumsily and sliding against the wall until she was sitting on the floor. "No...he said it was coke. I thought...I thought he liked me." She admitted, breaking into a sob.
"Okay. It's going to be okay, sweetheart. I'm coming. Where are your friends?" She closed her eyes, not sure how to reopen them.
"Something...in the drinks...I can't…"
"I'm coming. Penny, stay on the phone! Come on, honey, stay awake!"
"Penny?" A hand went around her shoulders and was lifting her up. Mason...not Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark was on the phone...where was her phone.
"My phone?" She asked.
"Don't worry about it." Mason soothed, carrying her into another room...it was dark. He put her on the bed and the door shut behind them. She was crying, but it was getting harder and harder to move.
"No...please don't. Please." She begged, feeling someone climb on top of her. Turning her head, she sobbed when his lips touched her neck. "Stop...stop…" She couldn't yell. Couldn't push him off. She was supposed to be strong!
"Oh, come on…" He murmured, hands moving over her body...and it was hard to breathe. She gasped, trying to move underneath him. "There you go...come on…" He unzipped the back of her dress, lifting her up. "It's okay." He murmured, lips next to her ear, and then he was reaching up under her skirt. "It's okay…"
"No...no...I don't want to…" She was supposed to be strong...supposed to be a superhero...she knew that if she fell asleep...she...was...just so...tired.
The weight was suddenly removed from on top of her, and there was a crash...and a scream. "I will fucking kill you! Do you understand me?" That voice...she knew that voice. But she couldn't open her eyes.
"Penny?" Something was wrapped around her, fingers against her throat. "Weak pulse...Tony, we've got to get her back to the tower! She's having trouble breathing."
"Is she conscious?"
"We need to get her to Bruce, now." The person closest to her...Colonel Rhodes, urged. She knew Colonel Rhodes...she didn't have to be afraid of him. And Tony was Mr. Stark. Sure she was safe, she didn't try to fight when someone scooped her up. She wondered who Bruce was, but couldn't make herself ask.
Someone scooped her up in their arms and they were hurrying through a loud room, lights too bright. She hid her face in the person's shoulder, trying to block it all out. A hand came up to her back and rubbed gently, then cupped the back of her head as she was eased into a car.
The person sat beside her, holding her up and wrapping an arm around her while she struggled to breathe. "Bruce? I need your help. I've got a girl, enhanced, was given large amounts of what I think was GHB. She's having trouble breathing, minimally conscious, non responsive….". There was a pause. "Kind of like Cap." Mr. Stark. Her brain was straightening itself out, and that was Mr. Stark.
She tried to say his name, but all that came out was a weak moan. "Hey, its okay. You're safe." He assured her, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. "I'm here, honey. It's okay." Sleepy and too weak to respond, she just rested on him, and then let him carry her into a room and someone else spoke…a booming, surprisingly deep voice.
"Stark? Who is this child?"
"Bruce!" Mr. Stark yelled, eventually setting her onto a bed and apparently ignoring the first voice.
"Alright, let me draw some blood...see what we're working with. I'm going to put her on oxygen…". She tried to open her eyes and succeeded, finding herself on a bed surrounded by people. Mr. Stark. Bruce Banner. And in the corner, she was pretty sure she was hallucinating Thor...closing her eyes again, she decided that sleep sounded like a better idea.
When she woke, it was to silence, which was strange because Queens wasn't usually a quiet place. It was loud and chaotic and full of crying babies and barking dogs and angry old people yelling. So silence...that was unnerving.
She sat up in bed, yawning and wondering what was going on. Hadn't she gone to a party...then, as if the word 'party' was a switch that had been thrown, she remembered. Not all of it. But flashes. A boy she'd been interested in talking to her. Feeling weird...calling Mr. Stark. And maybe something about Thor? Wait...Thor was in space or at his home or something, right? They hadn't met, anyway.
"Good afternoon, Penny."
"Hi FRIDAY." She threw a wave at the ceiling. She was in her bedroom at the tower...so Mr. Stark has picked her up? Throwing her legs over the side of the bed, she saw the jeans and t-shirt folded neatly on the nightstand beside her phone that was lit up, letting her know that she had lots of missed texts.
"I have alerted Tony that you are awake. If you would like to get dressed, he says that breakfast is ready for you in the kitchen."
Grabbing the clothes, she changed out of the pajamas that someone had dressed her in and washed her face. Frowning at herself in the mirror, she stared at the bruises peeking out from her t-shirt that covered her collarbone. No...not bruises...she felt her stomach turn and she gripped the sink, gasping and trying not to remember. Someone kissing her…sucking on her skin. Hard. On top of her.
Knees buckling, she slid to the floor, not taking any notice of FRIDAY's attempts to talk to her until there was a knock on the door. Head on her knees, she gasped for air, the memories coming in flashes...she didn't want them.
Someone sat beside her on the floor, a hand on her back. "Deep breaths." Mr. Stark urged, rubbing slow circles. "Come on. It's okay. Just breathe for now." She tried to tell him she was breathing when she realized that she'd been gasping for air...desperately sucking in oxygen until she was dizzy. "Hold your breath." He ordered, and she always did as he ordered. "Good. Let it out." She did. "Perfect. You're doing great, Pen."
The world stopped spinning and fading out at the edges and she looked up to find Mr. Stark on the cold floor beside her. "What did he do?" She asked before he could speak again. "What did he do to me?"
Mr. Stark was calm. Quiet. His lack of reaction comforted her. Pity would just make her feel worse, and worry would scare her. "He started to take your dress off, and he was giving you those bruises when I pulled him off." Mr. Stark gestured to her neck. "That's as far as it went." She nodded, shuddering and leaning her head against the sink.
"Aunt May?"
"Knows I picked you up. That's all."
"Ned and MJ?" She asked.
"I texted them last night to let them know I was taking you to get help."
"What happened?" He hesitated. "After you got there?"
Mr. Stark nodded, but stood before answering, holding out a hand that she took, and he led her to her bed where she sat curled up by her pillows while he sat in the middle. "You called. I got there about ten minutes later. I pulled him off of you...I also had him arrested." She just nodded, not sure how to process that. "You were having trouble breathing so I brought you back here and Bruce put you on oxygen and had you on fluids for about an hour until your body managed to burn through all that shit that asshole gave you."
"Bruce?"
"Bruce Banner." She blinked at him. "He showed up about a week ago…I was going to introduce you when you came to the lab next. Thor too."
"I didn't dream that?" He chuckled.
"Nope. Thor was very concerned. Apparently he takes about as kindly to men drugging and assaulting women as I do because I had to stop him from going after that asshole...I'm still not sure he won't."
Thor was very concerned. About her. Thor was on Earth and she was going to get to meet him. And Bruce Banner. And she'd nearly been raped at a party. These things swirled around her mind as she tried to figure out her emotions. Shame. Embarrassment. Those were the worst.
But before she could continue worrying about that, Mr. Stark put a hand on her knee. "It wasn't your fault." He told her softly. She shook her head.
"It was. I was so stupid...I just...I thought…". Her cheeks heated up and she wiped her eyes. "I should have known better." Her mentor scooted forward, reaching out and wrapping his arms around her. "I'm sorry."
"Nothing about this was your fault." He assured her, his chin resting on her head. "Nothing." He ran a hand through her hair, then pulled away a little. "Going forward, never accept a drink from anyone at a party. Not unless they are your friends, like Ned or MJ. Unless you see the drink being made, don't drink it." She nodded. "But you not knowing that does not mean this was your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. He is at fault and you'd better believe he's going to pay for this."
She dropped her eyes, nodding. "Thank you."
"Of course, kiddo." He squeezed her shoulder, careful of the bruises he must have known were under her shirt. "Are you okay?" She started to lie, to brush it off and shove it down...but the thought of doing that made her want to throw up. Instead, she shook her head. She was scared. And ashamed. Sick. He must have seen all of that in her eyes because he moved over to sit beside her, pulling her into his arms once more. For a while, they just sat. Silence. It was comfortable and safe and she relaxed a little beside him. "I think I know something that might make you feel better." She heard the smile in his voice and felt her own lips tugging upwards.
"Yeah?"
"Oh yeah. There's a certain Asgardian and a world famous scientist who also happens to turn into a giant green rage monster who would like to meet you." Perking up, she turned to look at him.
"Really! I can meet them?"
"Of course you can. Come on. I ordered breakfast, and after you eat, I want to introduce them to the newest member of the team."
It wouldn't fix everything. It wouldn't erase those awful memories, and she still had to figure out what to say to her friends...and to May. But for the moment, Penny was happy to be meeting two of her idols, so she followed Mr. Stark into the kitchen to eat the no doubt fancy breakfast he'd ordered, ready to try and forget.
Thank you for reading!!
