A/N: I somehow managed to write this entire chapter in a day, so here it is- the final chapter! Thank you all for reading and coming with me this far; I hope you'll all join me in a few weeks for the sequel. At the moment I think the title will be 'The Stars Never Rise' to continue with the Edgar Allan Poe references, but it's possible it might change. The best thing to do is to keep an eye on my page; the sequel will be made clear in the summary, and probably the next thing I post. Thanks again! :)

Chapter Ten

August, 2012

It was something Tony tried not to do too often, but he was on his way upstate to call in a favour someone owed to his Dad. He wasn't looking forward to it. He had met the Professor once or twice during his childhood and always found the man slightly unnerving; he had made a lasting impression despite how little they knew each other. For a while he had believed the creepy feeling he got was because of the wheelchair and been slightly ashamed of his childhood fears; later, after his Dad died, he had found the hidden files and realised what, exactly, was so strange about the Professor and why the knee jerk animal reaction had been a sense of something uncomfortable. He also finally understood why his Dad had ever invested in something like a school. He'd always said to Tony it was to keep an eye out for the best new future recruits for Stark Industries. That was one thing when you thought Xavier was just running some kind of academy for the gifted and talented. It was quite another when you realised it was a school for mutants.

It also explained why Howard had never allowed Tony to attend there, even though Tony had been a certified genius since the age of nine. As he drove up the impressively long driveway, he hoped they would be a little more accommodating now.

Xavier greeted him in the study, and Tony wondered if he had already read his mind. The Professor went through the usual platitudes about enjoying working with his father and how surprised they were to have Howard Stark's son coming to see them and how he had to understand that it wasn't the best time of year to take a tour as class wasn't in session, but they were grateful for his visit all the same. Tony agreed and kept his thoughts as much to himself as he could, given that he was in the office of a telepath. He tried not to think too hard about that.

Honestly, he had avoided thinking about the school as much as he could for years. 'Different', for him, had for the longest time meant partying with black guys or gay guys or trans guys. Before he became Iron Man, he tried not to think of 'different' in terms of potential, of what people could do. Now there were super soldiers and gamma rage monsters and pagan deities and honest-to-goodness alien invasions and there was a part of him, just a tiny part, that was starting to feel outpaced, that was starting to wonder if genius and invention and high tech armour weren't going to be enough. And then, there was the feeling that for all those things, what had almost killed him was a bomb, fired by normal people, people like him, a bomb built on technology designed in part by his father. Neither of these feelings were good feelings. But he had to push them aside now, for Penny's sake as well as his own sanity. He tried to keep his thoughts neutral.

It was a late afternoon in the late summer, the heat intense and concentrated on the lawns and the playing fields and running tracks and tennis courts and basketball courts. The grounds were full of students, playing carefully-ordinary games (they must have been told an outsider was coming) or sitting lazily in the shade. The Professor caught his gaze.

"Most of the students stay here in the holidays." He said, mildly.

"How come?"

"The specific reasons vary, but in the end, for many of them it is simply that they aren't welcome at home."

They continued down the hall, slightly shadowy because the windows were too small for it, with honest-to-goodness oak panelling. Tony saw classrooms and labs and dormitories, all the things a wealthy investor would inspect to see on a tour of a private school. Every corner seemed to have a memory of his own boarding school days, some fond, some not so fond- but this wasn't the same. It felt like being in another country, another time; it was like the schools of Enid Blyton, where boarding school seemed like an adventure rather than a gilded cage for kids. He persuaded the tension out of his throat and shoulders. It wasn't like when he was young. Penelope could be happy here, she needed to be here. This was what was best for her.

They were back at the Professor's study.

"I think that's everything." He smiled. "What did you think?"

"It was great." Tony said. "But I wouldn't mind seeing the rest."

"The rest?"

"Yeah. Your 'specialist' facilities."

"Mr Stark, you've seen all our facilities." He tried. "I'm not sure what else you expected, but by all means suggest it and-"

"I know what this place is, Professor. I've read my dad's papers."

"And what papers would these be?"

"Well," Tony replied. "If half of what they said about you was true, you know exactly what papers."

For a moment, nothing moved. The Professor looked at him steadily, without embarrassment. Tony held his gaze, feeling the creeping sensation at the back of his neck. The moment broke, and the Professor smiled slightly, gesturing to a seat. Tony took it.

"Your father told us he would keep no record of the true nature of our work here." The Professor sighed. "I suppose it was a little much to expect."

"They were personal papers, completely off the record. I decided to keep it that way."

"Then you have our gratitude. But now, Mr Stark, perhaps you can tell me what brings you here."

Tony nodded, his mouth suddenly dry. Something about this man, this place, made him lose all the confidence he'd acquired over the last thirty-something years. Maybe because this time, it was nothing to do with him, or with the company, this was something he needed for Penny. She didn't know it, but she was relying on him.

"You saw what happened in New York?" He asked, as if there was a person on the planet that hadn't. He was glad the Professor only nodded without interrupting, he could hurry on, past a topic that made him feel like the ground would fall away beneath him. "Loki used my tower as a base of operations. And while he was in there, this happened."

He slid his phone across the desk, displaying a still pulled from Jarvis' security feed of Loki struggling with the web on his face. The Professor frowned at it.

"What am I looking at, Mr Stark?"

"My daughter fired that out of her wrists." He took the phone back, flicked over to a video. He showed the Professor the moment Penny, climbing noiselessly across the ceiling, stole the staff. "She can climb walls, stick to any surface, lift hundreds of times her own body weight, fire webs from her wrists…"

"She's a mutant." The Professor looked almost surprised. Either he was just being polite, or for whatever reason, he had chosen not to pull Tony's intentions out of his mind. Perhaps he was surprised that whatever system or network they had in place to find potential students hadn't picked Penny up. Perhaps he was just reassessing Tony's childhood applications, it was impossible to tell. Either way, Tony had to move the conversation on.

"Muta-gen."

"Mr Stark?"

"This isn't natural." Tony said, tucking the phone back into his pocket. "I mean, not in the mutants-are-monsters way. I mean, this was done to her. She was bitten by some sort of genetically altered spider, and got its powers."

"I see." The Professor folded his hands, looking Tony straight in the eye as he spoke. "Mr Stark, I'm afraid I simply don't know anything about cases like these. As far as I know, it's unprecedented. If you were hoping for a way to reverse the process-"

"What? No, I want her to come to your school."

"Excuse me?"

"I want her to come here. I mean, don't get me wrong," He added hastily. "I don't want her being recruited into your not-so-secret super-secret army of mutant freedom fighters. No offense. But I do want her to be with other kids like her, to learn to control her powers-"

"Mr Stark, the other children are not like her. They were born different."

"And you think when those crazy protest groups bubble out of control or the government forces through a register they're going to stop long enough to ask for an origin story? Professor, she is like them. She is now."

The Professor sat in silence, thinking. Tony took the opportunity to plead his case.

"Look, you, this place, you can give her something I can't. You know how to train kids like Penny. She's a good kid and she wants to help, and I'm just terrified she's going to come chasing out after the Avengers and wind up getting killed. She's just a kid. I need her to be safe."

His voice creaked like an old door. He didn't know where it had come from, but he hoped it would help his case. The Professor, however, was too well-mannered to pass comment.

"It is safe here." He agreed. "But, Mr Stark, you have to understand. We are isolated here, for our own safety, yes, but it is lonely. The majority of our students would not be welcomed at home, do not have parents who entirely accept them, would not be able to live a normal life outside of these grounds. That isn't something you should deprive your daughter of lightly."

"She doesn't have any friends." Tony blurted, clumsy now. He'd run out of things he'd prepared, and now his brain had switched to a panicked frenzy. Somehow, this had become the most important conversation he'd ever had. "In her cell phone the only numbers are me, Captain America and her aunt. She never has anyone over, she only goes out when I make her, she won't tell me anything about school-"

The man's face had softened. He seemed old, and kindly, but there was a firm sadness in his eyes that told Tony he'd already decided. "I'm sure with your encouragement your daughter will thrive." He said. "But even if you think she's unhappy, I'm not sure sending her to a school for mutants would be the best thing."

"Why not? Because she's not technically a mutant?"

"Partly. We have no idea what the extent or the duration of these powers will be, or what would be the best method to prolong or dismiss them. She has the chance of an ordinary life, a loving father-"

"She needs your help." Tony insisted. "You're right, I love her. And I know she needs someone to train her and people around her that might understand how she feels. I'm not giving up until you agree. I'll give you whatever price you want to put on it, just-"

"Mr Stark." The Professor sighed heavily. "Are you suggesting that you'd pay for Penelope to attend here? Or that you'll pull our funding if we say no?"

"I'm saying maybe you should think about what you set out to do, Xavier." Tony said. "There's a kid who needs your help, we both know that. And I want you to think good and hard before you turn her away because of where her powers come from."

He stood to leave, having long since learnt that a well-timed exit could be key to winning an argument. That, and the office was starting to feel small and stuffy, oppressive. He needed some air.

"I will speak to my staff," Xavier said, "And be in touch."

"Thank you." Tony said, pausing long enough to shake the man by the hand before walking out. He paused again when Xavier called after him.

"Antony," he said, suddenly an old friend of his father's again. "Are you sure this is the right time to be sending her away? For you?"

Tony pretended not to hear and strode quickly away. It was only when he got back to the car and fumbled with the key in the ignition that he realised his hands were trembling.

Nether the less, three days later Penny's acceptance letter appeared in the mailbox.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Stevie's hair was not held in place by wizardry after all, but hair pins. Lots and lots of hairpins, that had to be systematically removed before he could properly let her hair down and run his fingers through it. It was no wonder she was running late.

"Tony," she said, lightly scolding, turning her head so that his kisses missed her lips and his hands slid out of her hair. "Tony, I have to go. Stop, I have to go, it's late."

He sighed theatrically and slumped back into the settee. She laughed, kissed his forehead and then stood, shaking out the sofa cushions searching for the grips, making herself 'presentable' again. He watched in silence. She was beautiful.

Neither of them had mentioned Howard since New York, or the baby, or any of the other secrets they had kept from each other. Tony could feel them bubbling away in the background and dreaded the day they would resurface, but for the time being Stevie seemed as keen not to upset him as he was to keep her on side. New York had changed things, made them realise how much they needed each other. Penny was delighted, and the movie nights had restarted. They'd watch a film, Penny would head off for her room, and Tony and Stevie would have some precious time alone before she'd run off home. Stevie was back living in a place in Brooklyn again now, but it was at least slightly better than the dump that had started all this. He watched her fixing her hair, frowning as she fumbled behind her head, and wondered what he would have done if he hadn't won her back. The near-death experience was almost worth it, to be doing this again.

"Stay." He said.

"Tony, Happy is supposed to finish at eleven and it's almost twelve. You can't keep telling him to wait to take me home and then-"

"So stay the night."

She crossed the room, away from him, checking her hair in the mirror. "You mean downstairs." She said in a warning tone. This was not the first time they'd had this conversation in the last few weeks.

"You know I don't."

"Then you know that my answer is no." She said, collecting her things. She went to kiss him again, but, feeling petulant, he turned away.

"You know I'm pretty sure withholding sex is a form of torture."

"And soliciting is a crime." She replied, not missing a beat, gripping his chin and lifting his head to place another kiss there. "It's as hard for me as it is for you." She murmured into his hairline.

"If that were true we'd be in my room, naked, emotionally scarring Penny through the wall."

She laughed, shaking her head. "Good night, Tony."

"Stay." He pleaded again, catching her around the waist as she headed for the door, pulling her back into his lap. "I'll make it worth your while." He promised, nuzzling into her neck. She bore with it for a second before shifting away, though she allowed him another kiss.

"Good night, Tony."

"Come on, Stevie, it's the twenty-first century. You don't have to pretend to wait for marriage anymore."

"I did wait for marriage, Tony." She said, exasperated. "And like I keep saying, right is right and wrong is wrong. That doesn't change because society does." She gave him one last quick peck and got up, going for the door. Knowing it was pointless, he let her.

"You know, God would forgive us, that's kind of his thing." Tony tried. "Or we could get him to look the other way. I must have something he wants."

"Blasphemy, now?" She turned to roll her eyes at him. "So not sexy."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. Haven't you heard the phrase, 'Blasphemers don't get any'?" She stepped into the lift.

"You just made that up." He said, crossing the room after her. Somehow, he couldn't bear her to leave. He couldn't let her go. He managed to hold back the elevator door just before it closed.

"Tony." She complained. "I have to go, it's not fair on Ha-"

"Marry me." He said.

"…what?"

"Marry me." He said again, realised he was doing it all wrong, dropped to his knees, keeping the door open with his shoulder until he felt it slide back into the casing, Jarvis quietly relieving him of it. "Stevie, will you marry me?"

She looked at him, surprised. Beyond surprised, shocked. Then she smiled. "Tony… what are you doing?"

"Um, well, proposing, I thought. I feel kind of dumb down here on my knees, Stevie, so if you could see your way to answering, then that would be awesome."

She put a hand beneath his elbow and pulled him upright, before wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing her cheek against his.

"Is this just because you want sex?" She asked.

"No." He answered, holding her close, and was surprised to find it was true. He just wanted, more than anything, to keep her close; to have her there, and solid, and with him, and not to disappear. He wanted to be with her in every sense of the word and he'd do whatever was needed to make that happen. "I just want you."

She kissed him, then, breathing the answer onto his lips, and, for the first time since the portal had opened, something in Tony's world made sense again. He curled his fingers into the material of the back of her shirt, pulling her as close as humanly possible, not wanting to let go- but after a minute, she made him.

"I still have to go." She said.

"Sure? Because you know, I hear being engaged totally counts."

She swatted him away, straightening her clothes. "Jarvis, take me down now please." She said. "Good night, Tony."

"Tease."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

The elevator doors slid shut and the lift went into motion. Tony stared at it for a moment, unblinking, then fell back into one of the chairs. These sudden developments in his personal life were rather startling.

"Congratulations, sir." Jarvis said, and with his words, everything suddenly clicked. Tony smiled.

"Fire up the lab, J."

"Sir." He said, disapprovingly. "It's almost midnight. I do not think now is-"

"We have to make her a ring." Tony said, heading downstairs. "One that isn't going to get ruined when she's out being Cap. Oh, and tell Penny for me."

"I can see I get all the best jobs." Jarvis said, dryly, as Tony headed into the lab. Even down there, he heard Penelope's surprised squeal of delight.

He could forget New York now, he knew, and he would. Things were going to be alright.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

September 2012

"I don't want to go."

"No-one ever wants to go to school, sweetie."

Penny slouched in the passenger seat, the picture of a typical incensed teenager. "You hated boarding school." She said. "You always say it was awful."

Tony couldn't deny it. "Well, this school is different."

"Why?"

"Because it's for-"

"Freaks?"

"People like you." Tony sighed and glanced over at her. "You saw the pictures, honey. I really think you'll like it there. And they'll be able to help with the…" He flicked his wrist symbolically. He still wasn't sure what to call it. "You have these incredible powers, Pen-pen, but you need to learn how to use them."

"You could train me!" She protested. Tony looked at her, waiting for her to remember who she was speaking to. She did, and deflated. "Okay, Stevie could train me."

"Sweetie, neither of us have any idea how to fight with super powers. I have tech, she just punches things till they stop moving, our styles are totally different-"

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"You only call me 'sweetie' and 'honey' when you know something's wrong." She said, nervously. "You hated boarding school, Dad."

"This place is different." He insisted. "And, let's be honest, Pen, it can't be any worse than where you are now. Could it?"

"No." She admitted, sagging more in the seat; finally admitting, maybe, that she was unhappy at her old school. "But it could be just as bad. And at least before I could come home after…"

"Pen-pen, I'm not abandoning you." He said, risking reaching over with one hand to ruffle her hair. "If you hate it, you can come home. You know that. But don't you think it's worth a try?"

"…okay."

"Good. You go in there and own those powers, Penny. Climb the walls, swing from the chandeliers, go wild, whatever."

She laughed. "I'd be thrown out."

"Stark Industries has been bank rolling that place since it opened. They wouldn't dare."

Penny laughed again and they went along in silence for a while. She still looked nervous, twisting her seatbelt in her hands, but he resisted the temptation to try and jolly her out of it any more. It was time to let her be.

Stevie had offered to come with them, of course. Penny might even have wanted that, but Tony had said no. He didn't like goodbyes, even ones like this, where it had been his choice and he knew it was for the best and wasn't forever. He'd said he didn't want Penny to get any more upset; if he was honest, he was more worried about himself. It was kind of strange, when he thought back to how much he'd first dreaded Penny coming to live with him, and now he didn't really want her to go.

Maybe it wasn't goodbyes he didn't like, maybe it was change, or just the idea of being alone. But he had Stevie now, and Penny, he was sure, would flourish here. They could call or text or e-mail and she'd be home in the holidays, maybe even some weekends. He was less alone now then he'd ever been in his life. He'd be fine. They pulled up at the school.

"Dad?" She asked. "Are… are you going to be alright?"

"Hey, I lived for a long time before you came along." He joked, but knew he didn't fool her. She reached over and hugged him.

"Look after Stevie." She said. "And be careful."

"I'm supposed to be the one giving you instructions." He said. "Be good. Make friends. Don't stick anyone to the walls who doesn't deserve it."

What he really wanted to tell her was to believe in herself more. That she had taken good care of him, that in spite of all the crap she'd been through and all the self-doubt she carried, that she was a good person. That if he ever managed to grow up, he wanted to be like her. But there was no way he could say any of that, not without it sounding ridiculous. So he ruffled her hair instead.

"I'll come in with you." He said.

"No… I'm okay." She said, not sounding altogether convinced; but he understood. She wanted their parting to be like ripping off a band aid, the sooner and faster the better. This way, they could say goodbye in private.

"Okay. Call me later." He said.

"Okay." She got out of the car, taking her case from the back. He got out too, watching her. Had she gotten taller since she had got the powers, or was that just her age? Or maybe it was just his imagination.

They hugged again, he wished her luck, and got back into the car as she went into the school, hoping she didn't feel too lonely, wishing she had let him go in with her. He remembered what it felt like, being thrown into a new place and being expected to live there. He wished he didn't, then he wouldn't be so worried.

But when she called him that night, after an agonising couple of hours at his end, she was excited and talkative and happier than he'd ever heard her. Everyone was really nice. She'd won against a few others when they'd tested out their powers and everyone was jealous of her spider-sense (he didn't know what that was, but it seemed rude to ask). Someone had lent her a book they'd all read over the summer and were talking about, and someone else had made her hot chocolate and brought it to her room. She ended the call then, abruptly, because someone came in to tell her they were all watching a movie downstairs and insisted she came; and Tony didn't even care that the Tower felt strangely empty in the silence after her voice. He didn't care that the other students were probably going out of their way to make the new girl welcome and that it would calm down after a few days. She sounded happy. He'd been right to send her there. For once, amongst all the screw ups and the messes he'd made, he'd got something, this one little thing, exactly right.

"Sir," Jarvis said. "Captain Rogers has just arrived."

Well, two things right. All in all, it wasn't a bad record.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

March, 1969

Working in weapons development, you were bound to suffer a few explosions, especially of the personal kind. If he hadn't chosen that line of work, Howard knew, he would never have met Annie. Never met her, never loved her, never lost her.

It had been almost twenty-five years and he still missed her. Not as much, not as badly, but sometimes he suddenly felt it, as if grief was carried in on the wind and ran its fingers unexpectedly over his heart. If he had found her, he knew, it would have been different. If he had recovered her body, he would have told the world about the marriage, buried her under his name. Except he still hadn't found her. And now, he knew, it had to stop. He was marrying again, marrying Maria. She was half his age and far too good for him and a little severe, and their love was not the same passion as he'd had for Annie, but he did love her. And that meant that he had to give up now, even if it killed him. He had to let Annie down, if he was going to stand by Maria.

But it hurt. It still hurt that the grave in front of him was an impersonal monument to Captain America, to Stephanie Rogers, and not to Annie Stark. It was another failure. One amongst many. One that he had to bury now, and leave behind.

He'd thought about reciting the poem for her as a goodbye; the poem he'd memorised in order to propose and never used all of. But she wouldn't hear it, and someone else might. He didn't want to have to explain what it meant, why it was important. So he stood in silence, rocking on his heels in time to the words that still tracked across his brain, even after all these years.

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,

In her sepulchre there by the sea—

In her tomb by the sounding sea.

It was a little morbid, now that he thought about it. It was all morbid, and he was morbid, and he was done with it. There was no more lying beside Annie, physically or metaphorically. He had Maria now, and that was enough. It had to be enough. He would make it be enough. And so he turned his back to the grave and resigned Annie to her tomb, somewhere out in the sounding sea. If there was a life after this one, he hoped she was happy there.