Been a while, huh? Sorry for forgetting about the fic. I'll try to keep more consistent updates. Anyway, this chapter is another Peni focused one. More focused on introspection/interaction than moving the plot along, hope that's alright. Her next one will be more plot focused.

Judging by the reviews people are all for future Peni teaming up with past Noir. Guess people really wanna see those Booker/Elizabeth interactions and combat scenarios.

February 27, 1945

Peni spent the next few days at the Black Cat. Unlike before Auntie Felicia made sure she was never alone. Whenever she had to make an appearance at the Black Cat and couldn't keep an eye on her she'd send Lippy to keep watch. She didn't like him. Even if he never did anything to her he was really creepy. Auntie Felicia telling her how nice he was didn't help when he had that cross shaped scar over his mouth or how he always glared at everyone and everything.

Spider didn't like him either.

'Annoying.'

'He's just doing what Auntie Felicia told him.' Peni plopped her head on top of her arms and idly rubbed her right pointer finger on Spider's thorax. So far she was kept out of sight. Back when she was at the shelter Auntie Mary Jane at least let her come down and help out. Here she was stuck in the guest room because they wanted to make sure no one knew that she was staying here.

It was getting...easier to not think about what happened. Spider helped. She still had bad dreams some nights but Auntie Felicia's and Spider's reassurances made it easier to go through it. It wasn't her fault. That man was going to take her - or worse - and all she did was defend herself. He didn't give her a choice.

Her eyes drifted from Spider to Lippy sitting in the corner. He never said anything apart from a nod whenever he showed up to take Auntie Felicia's place. He always just sat in the corner with his eyes glued to a book with some Russian title she couldn't read. She gave up on talking to him. Whenever she tried he'd just grunt or give one word answers that made it obvious he wasn't going to play along.

Peni puffed up her cheeks and ignored Spider grumbling into her mind. As scared as she was about what happened she didn't like just sitting here not doing anything. What if more people went to the shelter looking for her? She didn't want Auntie Mary Jane and Leah in danger because of her.

More than ever she wished her dad was here. He'd know what to do. He always knew what to do. Even when he had to take care of her on his own after mom died he never tripped or wondered. He just did it.

'Wrong.'

'I'm not wrong!' she shouted back. Spider and her dad didn't get along. Apparently it had to do with how Spider ended up bonding with her. He bit her when she was a baby so as far as she knew he was always there. Dad said that she never got the choice and he always hated Spider for it. Spider hated him for not being able to protect the rest of his group from that Edward Brock guy.

They mostly ignored each other before dad left and if he ever had to talk about her partner he always had her talk to him instead. She hated it. Maybe her dad was right to not like Spider but she couldn't lose him now. It'd be like losing one of her limbs.

Footsteps came from outside. Lippy snapped his book shut just as Auntie Felicia came in carrying two plates of food, "I'll take it from here, Lippy," she said. The scarred man nodded and left without a word. Auntie Felicia still wore the mask even when they were alone. She told Peni that she wore it so much that she couldn't just take it off even though she knew she wasn't scared of her.

"You must be starving." Auntie Felicia set the food down and her stomach gurgled at the smell of the fresh lasagna. Spider clicked his mandibles and wandered off to go find some flies or mosquitos to eat. Good thing they didn't share taste buds.

"Mm-hm." Peni did her best to smile and grabbed the plate eagerly.

They ate quietly for a few minutes before Auntie Felicia asked, "Did you finish that book?"

"Huh? O-Oh, yes." She nodded. Because she was stuck in her room Auntie Felicia decided some books would be enough to keep her from getting too restless. It didn't work but Peni was happy she tried, "Did you...um, did you hear from dad?" she asked back softly.

Her shoulders drooped and Peni already knew it'd be the same from dad, "I'm sorry, dear. I tried but still nothing. Fury and Rogers are stubborn bas-" she stopped herself and Peni frowned. Every time she tried to tell them it was okay to curse around her they just told her it was their decision. She hated it. Even if she made mistakes she didn't want to be treated like a kid.

'Agreed.'

"How are Auntie Mary Jane and Leah?" Peni asked. It wasn't just that she couldn't leave but no one could visit either. No one really knew that the owner of the Black Cat had anything to do with the shelter. Better that way, Auntie Felicia said. Peni thought it was kind of sad.

"No change. The guys I sent over there say that no one's been sniffing around." The yet hung over the air like an ugly bug. Peni frowned and looked down at her plate. Auntie Felicia reached across the table and held her head, "Cheer up, Peni. Some of my leads are hitting paydirt and you'll be safe soon. Once we find out who did this we're going to make sure he can't do this to anyone again." Kill him, she meant. Just like cursing they tried not to make it obvious when they talked around her.

"I just wish I could do something..." she mumbled, "It's my fault that this is all happening." Because she wanted to help Hiro. Because of that stupid law made by stupid people that said anyone who had different shaped eyes were spies or something. Hiro and his family never hurt anyone. They were good people and now because of where they came from they were treated like they did something wrong. It wasn't fair.

"You're just a kid. You're allowed to make a few mistakes." Peni bit her lower lip to keep from screaming back that she wasn't just a kid, "Either way it already happened and now we'll protect you. That's what family does."

Family...it was the first time she called them that. Her family wasn't normal. Most people had a mom and dad. She had her dad, Auntie Mary Jane, Auntie Felicia, Leah and Spider. No mom, not like the one Leah used to have. Auntie Mary Jane and Auntie Felicia were close but her dad wasn't married to either of them. She always wondered why not. They knew each other for as long as she was alive and both of them were already too old to be married. Auntie Mary Jane liked to joke about how she and Auntie Felicia were both old maids.

"You're quiet. A penny for your thoughts." Peni giggled under her breath at the bad pun. Every since she saw her face Auntie Felicia was a lot more open.

"Why didn't you ever marry dad?" she asked before she could stop herself. Auntie Felicia's eyes widened and Peni blushed, "I-I mean, you always seemed really close and I just thought..." she trailed off. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why didn't she keep her big trap shut?!

Auntie Felicia blinked and then she laughed softly, "No, it's alright. I guess it's only natural you'd be curious." She drummed her gloved fingers on the table, "When we met it wasn't exactly an ideal time for romance. Your mom was gone taken just a few months ago and I wanted to look for an old...friend of mine. Then we worked together to stop the Goblin. It was all business."

"Then why did you stay?"

"I guess I felt grateful to him. Him and Mary Jane both. The Goblin was a...horrible man and it was only thanks to them both that I managed to get out of his slimy hands. And...maybe I felt sorry for him too."

"For dad? Why?"

"I know it might be hard to believe, dear, but your dad wasn't always so good at being a father. He was running half baked and if Mary Jane didn't find him on her own you two'd still be stuck in his office that's barely better than the streets."

Peni didn't say anything. She wanted to disagree. She also knew that Auntie Felicia wouldn't say that without a reason.

"As you can imagine it wasn't exactly the right time for a relationship. We were all scarred and not in the right mind for any kind of commitment like that. By the time we were in any kind of place to be thinking about wedding vows any kind of spark passed. We still cared about each other, but any thoughts I had about getting a ring and having kids were long gone."

"I...I think you'd be a good mother."

"Sweet of you to think so, but I'm gonna have to disagree. If it helps I...always considered you to be the closest I'd ever get to having a daughter of my own." Peni's eyes widened. Auntie Felicia coughed and quickly took the plates, "I'm gonna get these cleaned up. Go get ready for bed, alright?"

"Okay. Night, Auntie Felicia."

Peni changed into her nightclothes and did the usual routine before tucking into bed with Spider crawling in to lay at her cheek. Sleeping was the only time she was allowed to be alone but even then that wasn't saying much. Auntie Felicia had someone posted outside as soon as the lights were out (she knew cause she caught the guy just looking at the door when she tried to peek out a couple of days ago) and the windows were all locked with the curtains drawn. She felt like Rapunzel locked in her tower.

'Trapped.'

'She's just worried. We...We nearly died back then.'

'Hunter. Hunted. We prevailed.'

'It's not that easy. I was...so scared.' She moved till her head was facing the ceiling. Spider crawled from her cheek till he rested at her forehead. Most people would've been scared to have an arachnid sit on their face. Peni just closed her eyes and rubbed Spider's thorax again, 'I still want to help Hiro but what can we do? He was just one person and he nearly killed us.'

'Unprepared. Unaware. Prepare.'

'Even if we prepare it won't be that easy!' She breathed out in frustration. As much as she loved Spider he could be really stubborn sometimes, 'Spider...have you ever thought about leaving?'

'No. Bonded. Impossible.'

'But if we weren't would you?'

'No. Packmate. Bond. ...Partner.'

She smiled and didn't say anything. If she said the wrong thing he'd go off and sulk in some corner somewhere, 'I miss dad,' she thought, making sure to block Spider out so she wouldn't ruin his mood. She wondered what he was doing now. He didn't tell her what the scary men wanted him to do. The only thing she knew was that he was sent to Germany to fight those men. The Nazis.

She eventually drifted off into another dream-filled sleep. She always remembered her dreams. Part of the gifts Spider gave her was seeing into the web, to use his words. She didn't know what they were really. Sometimes she dreamed of her dad dressed in different outfits swinging through the air. Most of them were red and blue and he was really chatty. Always making jokes no matter how many people tried to hurt him. Sometimes he still wore black and kept screaming about Madhouses.

Then there were the other dreams. A girl who looked a lot like her with her own Spider inside some kind of machine that looked like magic. Those were the most fun. Like reading one of her dad's The Phantom comic books.

She always woke up feeling inspired. After particularly vivid dreams she'd scramble for a pen and paper and write down blueprints for new gadgets or even just new, incomplete plans for stuff she'd complete on her own. The webshooters took a lot of dreams to get a rough plan on and she had to brainstorm with her dad to get the ones she had. Even now she was planning on how to make them smaller and easily hidden.

Tonight was no different. Peni shot up on her bed (thankfully Spider was safe on top of her hair) and searched for the closest thing she could write down on, "Come on, come on..." She found a few pieces of paper and wrote down excitedly. This one was different. The dream with the other girl showed her leaving the machine and fixing it. The technology inside was insane - impossible - but she had to draw it. Then she'd find a way to make her own.

She was halfway to drawing out the blueprint when she heard the door click behind her, 'Someone coming.' Spider hissed. Peni grabbed for her webshooters when the door opened. Peni aimed both arms when a new voice spoke.

"Hold on. I'm a friend." A red gloved hand was raised up high through the door. The face that came next really made her doubt that. A devil. A mask, obviously, but still a devil. Peni backed up and kept her webshooters aimed right at his face till Auntie Felicia stepped from behind him.

"Calm down, dear. It's okay."

"Wh-Who is he?" She looked between her and the crazy devil man.

"Like I said, I'm a friend. More specifically an old friend of your father Spider-Man." Peni's arms lowered. He knew dad? He had to be telling the truth. No one but Auntie Felicia and Auntie Mary Jane knew about that.

"How do you know dad?'

"Let's just say we worked together before he had to leave." Peni put her arms down. Spider kept chittering his fangs protectively, "Sorry for the horrid look, but it does its job of keeping people away."

"So...why are you here? Did dad call you?" she asked hopefully.

"Sadly not, but I think I may have something else that'll be good news: I rescued Hiro Hamada and his family."

Peni gasped and stood up, nearly knocking Spider off her head as she did, "Wh-Where is he? Can I go see him? We can go right now I just have to-"

"Hold it, little girl. You're not going anywhere," Auntie Felicia cut in, "What Daredevil was about to tell you was that your friend needs some patching up first but after that he can come visit you. Isn't that right?" She looked to Daredevil.

"Sure. That's what I meant?" He gave her a sideways smile.

"Patch up? Is...Is he hurt?" Because of her, she didn't ask.

"Yes, but nothing that won't heal." His voice was calm and soothing. It didn't help the heavy feeling in her gut, "Don't feel bad. I doubt your friend will be happy when he sees you frowning when you meet up again."

"R-Right..." She gulped and forced a smile. It was the first bit of good news she'd heard in days. Once she saw Hiro she'd apologize for everything that happened...after giving him a big hug. She really did miss him.

Daredevil introduction. The original plan was for him to sneak into the room and make a first impression but I decided it made more sense if he went through Felicia first rather than being a creeper This does take some oomph out of his introduction but it does allow for more open team-ups in the future.

Question:

1. I was wondering if you guys would wanna see another Peni story from me? A year ago I had an idea for a fic where comics Peni (the more cynical, damaged one) and movie Peni (bright, cheerful and more idealistic) were sisters. The plot would be that comics Peni was still the pilot of SP/dr and clearly flagging from the stress but she had to keep up her performance lest Oscorp decide her little sister made a better candidate. Movie Peni is meanwhile oblivious to this and wants to be a mech pilot to help her older sister.

No overarching plot so far but the focus is on the relationship between the two sisters. Both do care for one another but comic Peni's trauma and damaged psyche leads her to lash out at her sister's well-meaning actions of trying to also be a pilot despite one of her main motivations being to protect her from that life.

Review answers:

Dragon Rider 66 - It'll be a bit before we see how she ends up in the past.

Yohart Meltz - It wouldn't exactly feel very father-daughter if Noir's 19 and Peni's 14-17. Her being 10 still allows for some pseudo-parental interactions. Also, yeah, hopefully Noir doesn't fall to gravelly single dad disease.

Zeke Carmine - Noir doesn't usually attack children, you know...

Dr. Sugarcakes - Not sure. Clearly not Back to the Future though since Peni doesn't erase herself from existence by casually revealing her true identity.

Hardlight - ...Why did you have to suggest that plot idea? Not doing it but you just know someone out there wants it.