Disclaimer: I do not own nor do I make profit off of Avengers fanfic. All rights belong to the MCU and The Walt Disney Company.
Fireflyrainbow- Oh my goodness wow! Thank you for such a kind review, especially at a time where I thought about retiring this story, their just didn't seem to be enough attraction so I thought it was time to let it go, but you review back in October reminded me that I really like writing this. So I pulled up my sleeves and started typing the finale of this particular story in the series. It took me longer than I wanted honestly, it was hard getting back into the groove of things, but I'm happy with how it turned out. I'm sorry it took so long, but I hope this was well worth the wait, and that you like it. Thank you so much for leaving such a kind and gentle review on a once dying story, I appreciate it more than you know! Your review made me smile for days.
Why Finale
"What?" Mr. Starks furrows his brows,
"I'm sorry was I not clear enough? I will give you a hundred dollars." He holds up a bill, "To tell her you're Spider-Man." I blink, once, twice,
"I heard you, I'm just trying to come to terms with the fact that those are your first words to me." I smack my lips together, looking over to my arm...still wrapped, still encased in plaster and metal, still the same. Has anyone checked on it since I've been out, it could be fully healed and no one knows, it has to be.
"Listen," Mr Stark stresses grabbing a chair and pulling it closer to sit down, "I have been playing aunt May like a fiddle all day and so has Helen. She wants to know what you do for me, how well you know everyone else. Even Helen is having a hard time answering some of her questions so I'll reiterate my statement. I will give you this hundred dollar bill, if you tell aunt May you're Spider-Man." I look down to the bill and back up to his face,
"Did you find that in the pocket of your pants?" Mr. Stark looks down to the bill,
"No" He spits and then tilts his head, "actually it was balled up in a jacket I left here." He waves it in the air, "And it can be all yours for the price of telling aunt May your secret identity." Wow the amount of stuff running through my veins is making me tired and unbothered,
"One, that secret is worth more than a hundred bucks and two, you tell her. I don't care." I let my head loll to the other side away from Mr. Stark and close my eyes. If I really try I can probably fall back to sleep right away.
"You don't care?"
"No sir."
"Oh," he pauses "Good, I'll just tell her." I take a deep breath,
"You do that." I breathe out, I feel close to sleep when the bed shakes capturing my attention. I turn back
"What do they have you on Penny Parker, because the Penny Parker I know would never just be like "Oh you tell her-"
"That is a terrible impression of me." I cut him off realizing he's got one knee on the bed so he can lean over me. I frown, he smells like cigarettes,
"It was spot on and you know it."
"You smell bad." He takes his knee off the bed, standing up straighter before pointing a finger at me,
"You don't smell like roses either," For the third time I loll my head to the side and close my eyes,
"No I don't, I imagine I smell like antiseptic and cast plaster." I mumble willing myself back to sleep before Mr. Stark can speak, however the next words out of his mouth capture my attention,
"Penny," It's not the act of saying my name that makes me turn my head and open my eyes again, its the tone, he's sad. Mr. Stark is never sad, he hides it with jokes and sass, but by his voice and his face, it's clear. He's sad. "Why did you come to the tower?" I know what he's thinking. Why did you get hurt. I don't have a solid answer,
"I wanted to talk, you wouldn't talk to me." I take a breath wincing. Why is there still pain, their shouldn't be any pain. "I'm beginning to see the pattern." Act normal, dismiss me, don't talk to me for days, force him to talk to me, promise never to do it again, repeat. I hate this cycle,
"Penny, I'm not good at this mentor thing," This is it, he's going to dismiss me, tell me it's not working out, we should part, take the suit and send me home with aunt May. They must have me on something because I'm not freaking out and honestly right now, I could careless, but instead Mr. Stark grabs a chair and sits down,
"Mr. Stark-"
"I'm trying Penny, I really am, but my whole life has always been me. I've always done what I want, buy whatever I want, when I want it, never take anyones feelings into consideration and...it's not about me anymore." He shrugs, "Okay, lets be honest it is, but I understand you need me to be a bit more present, you know why?" I shake my head, "Because when I'm not you make stupid decisions like chase down Loki-"
"How is Loki?"
"Not the point. Or you come to my tower uninvited and get yourself impaled on a metal pipe and require me to have Shield help." I swallow,
"That's not fair, how was I suppose to know something would happen and the elevator would plummet only to be stopped by a spare pipe going in one end then me then the other?" Mr. Stark purses his lips and shrugs,
"Not really good to me, are you Penny Parker." I can't help the smile on my face,
"Not really." He nods, looking down before slowly meeting my eyes again,
"How ya feeling kid?" I look towards my leg and then my arm before meeting his gaze once more,
"Shouldn't I be healed by now?" I focus on trying to move my fingers, but they lie limp.
"I'm not the best one to ask," Mr. Stark confesses, leaning back and crossing his arms, "Something about an overworked healing factor and yada yada yada, honestly it was hard to listen so I blocked it out, but." Again he grabs the hundred dollar bill and holds it up, "For a hundred dollars Helen can explain it to both you and aunt May." I sigh
"You're not going to shut up until she knows are you?"
"I'm not going to shut up either way so..." He snaps the bill back and forth a couple times to emphasize his point, it's not working.
"If I tell her, what happens if she takes away Spider-Man from me?" Mr. Stark lowers the bill and nods, thinking for a second,
"We'll have to make her understand won't we." I look over to him and shrug, "But she wouldn't take you away, would she?" Their are only two women Tony Stark is afraid of, one is his own wife, Pepper Potts. Probably the only women to marry Mr. Stark and still insist on keeping her maiden name and two, aunt May. I share the same fear of those two women and one raised me,
"Definitely," Mr. Stark tilts his head to the side, his lips pushes into a pout,
"Mmm not the answer I wanted to hear, go night night." I sigh,
"You force me up and into a conversation and now that I'm feeling completely awake You're telling me to go to sleep." Mr. Stark leans forward placing a hand over my eyes,
"Shhhhhhhh, shut up, go sleep." I sigh and reach up with my good hand and force his hand off,
"I am." I mumble, and for the fourth time I turn my head to the side and close me eyes, "but don't watch me sleep thats weird,"
"Can't hear you Underroos, playing on my super cool tablet I just invented, maybe if you tell aunt May your secret identity I'll make you one to go with your hundred bucks." From the sound of pings and clicks he's not lying, and a Stark Tablet would be cool, but because aunt May taught me to never settle, I let one more sentence leave my lips before letting sleep take me,
"Keep upping it, and you might have a deal."
…
"Have you though about what you're going to tell your aunt." Dr. Cho asks, moving the X-Ray machine back over the wall before coming over to remove the heavy radiation apron, I shake my head. According to Dr. Cho who took X-Rays early this morning when Aunt May snuck out to grab more clothes back home, my healing is starting to kick in again.
"You're going to have to tell her at some point." She sighs, reaching down to gently lift a large bandage resting at my color bone. The exit wound where the pipe was, With gentle fingers she removes the tape and peels the sterile bandage away, revealing an almost completely healed gash, the stitches there, no longer necessary. Carefully Dr. Cho reaches into her smock and pulls out a sharp pair of medical scissors and reaches forward to snip and pull them away.
"If I tell her, she'll hate me." Dr. Cho, starts pulling away freshly cut thread and placing it in a basin next to the bed,
"I don't think that's true." I swallow,
"You don't know aunt May," I whisper. Dr. Cho chuckles,
"Well I've spent the last week with her and let me tell you something, there is not a single cell in my body that believes that women could ever hate you for anything you do. Everything is Penny this and Penny that, she absolutely adores you." I grunt when she pulls away a stitch from a tender section, she gives me an apologetic look and keeps going,
"Until she finds out I'm a vigilantly that dresses in a blue and red nano suit worth more than our apartment, just to go out and be your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." Dr. Cho pulls the last of the stitches away and leans back, before re bandaging the area.
"I think you're afraid to tell her, because you know she's going to be both shocked and mad, and you're biggest fear is letting her down or making her disappointed in you." I furrow my brows and frown,
"I didn't say you could mentally hurt me like this." Dr. Cho laughs,
"Do you want to know what I think." I nod, "I think when, not if, when you tell May, she'll be both shocked and upset, she may make a rash decision, she may take that suit away from you, but with time and reassurance, she'll come to terms with this extracurricular activity and if anything this will give you both a stronger bond." I rest my head back and let out a frustrated sigh, it could be because I know Dr. Cho is right, it could also be because I'm sick of sleeping on my back either way I'm frustrated. "You're silent because I am right." I peak over to her and catch her lips turn up in a condescending smile. Gods I hate that she's right,
"You always have to be right, don't you?" She nods and heads to the light box flipping the lights on as Dr. Banner opens the door handing her a large manilla envelope, he turns towards me,
"How are you feeling Penny?"
"I want a burger and to sleep on my side." I mumble trying to stretch my shoulders, only one works,
"One can be arranged, the other might take longer,"
"Actually it might only take a few days," Dr. Cho observes, pulling out the X-Rays from the envelope and sticking them on the light box. They developed faster than I thought, "You're bones are fuzzing the metal rods and cages are helping them stay on the right path, healing perfectly."
"Cages?" I knew about the metal rods implanted in puzzle piece bones, but cages? Dr. Cho studies the X-Rays closely,
"As your bones fuze into the correct pace, the cages will tighten with the bones growth, creating an extra layer of protection. It will be nearly impossible to break those bones again after they've healed, but I'm sure you will find a way to amaze us all and do it anyway." She explains never taking her eyes off the light box. Dr. Banner steps forward following her gaze.
"Amazing technology really," Dr, Banner turns to me, "You're the first to have them installed and tested out." I shrug,
"Glad to be of service, let me know when you need me again,"
"Nope absolutely not, you're being wrapped in bubble wrap and never let out of anyone's sight again...hey cool bone pictures," Mr. Stark walks in, stopping to stare at the same X-Rays, everyone else is staring at.
"The bones are almost healed." Dr. Cho informs Mr. Stark. He turns to me reaching into his pocket to pull out the same 100 dollar bill he waved into my face a few days ago.
"Time to tell May." He smiles, his tone condescending, I frown.
"I told you, you could tell May,"
"It can't come from me," Mr. Stark stuffs the bill back into his pocket, "You also didn't mean it." he points to the IV bag behind me, meaning the high dose painkillers they were giving me swayed my mind...dammit he's right. I roll my eyes,
"She doesn't really have to know does she?"
"Five days ago, your arm and leg were crushed, while a lead pipe shish kabab ya, like beef at a Korean BBQ, you should be dead, you should spend the next five years of your life in rehab, but no, your already halfway healed, I think we need to tell May,"
"I could go for Korean BBQ." Dr. Cho mumbles turning to Dr. Banner,
"Me too, lets do that first," I deter the conversation,
"No," Mr. Stark points a finger at me, "You get nothing but toast and rice until you tell May," I wrinkle my nose and rest me head back,
"I hate it here," I mumble,
"Good, this isn't a place you should want to be," Mr. Stark states, "You've not only got me sneaking around May's back, which by the way I took your shooters from your bag so she wouldn't find them. You're welcome by the way, I have them in the lab improving them, but you also got Helen and Bruce lying to her. I can't help you anymore."
"Next time you need help making a meme of Mr. Rogers I'm not going to help you," I counteract,
"Wait?" Dr. Banner steps forward, "Tony are you the one posting those on the website,"
"No," Mr. Stark turns around, "Didn't you hear her, Penny's the one making them," Mr. Stark turns back around rubbing his two pointer fingers in my direction in a shame, shame manner. I really hate it here.
"With adequate rest and nutrient, you're healing factor should have your body back to normal function by next week," Dr. Cho pulls the X-Rays off the light box and places them back into the envelope, "We'll continue to X-Ray the bones twice a day till I know their healed and the excess metal in Penny's body isn't having an adverse reaction and needs to be removed."
"Ohhh" Mr. Stark observes turning to Dr. Cho and then me, "Thats defiantly something you can't hide from May." I release a loud and heavy sigh and lay my head back,
"This isn't fair," I look up to Mr. Stark, "What if I'm not ready?"
"That statement ended when your bones fuzzed back together," I scoff,
"You act like I can control that kinda stuff." Dr. Cho sighs and pushes Mr. Stark back, pointing to the door,
"Enough, out." Mr. Stark looks offended,
"Helen-"
"Penny needs rest, and she's clearly tired, go!" Mr. Stark pushes his lips,
"Alright," He concedes, I'm expecting a rude comment, something to hurt my feelings before he goes, but instead he just nods and turns to leave, Dr. Cho turns to Dr. Banner and points towards Mr. Starks retreating back,
"Me?" Dr. Banner questions, "What'd I do?" Dr. Cho doesn't answer and after a second he turns and follows, his large steps echoing out the door,
"Than-"
"Rest!" Dr. Cho turns towards me. I nod quickly as she turns on her heels and heads towards the door, "If your not asleep when I get back in ten minutes, I'll knock you out." I drop my head back to the pillow and search out sleep, she's not far away and I'm asleep before Dr. Cho gets back.
…
Dr. Cho was right, every morning before aunt May got up and every night when aunt May was taking a shower or getting something to eat, she would come and take X-Rays and everyday my shattered bones knit themselves back together until the fifth night, when Dr. Cho said I didn't need the casts anymore and could start trying to walk later. Every night she would ask the same question,
"Have you told May yet?"
And every night I had to give her the same answer,
"Not yet."
I tried a few times, on the first night I just barely touched the topic,
"Have you been watching the news?"
"I've flipped through it a few times while you were napping."
"Did J. Jonah have anything interesting to say about Spider-Man?"
"Nope, same old same old, but he hasn't been sighted in a while."
I lost my voice after that and just pretended to go back to sleep till May got up to change into her PJ's. On the second night I tried a little harder,
"Who's your favorite superhero, I'll go first, Spider-Man, you?"
"Anyone not stationed in New York,"
"Why?"
"Because they haven't had a chance to destroy the city or make me late for work."
I had been too stunned from her answer to continue after that, and that started a long restless night of me wondering if every superhero was in fact stationed in New York. On the third night I decided that would be the night and started by trying to break the ice lightly,
"Have you meet Mrs. Potts yet?"
"I have, and I have to say if god made people specifically for others he made that women for Tony Stark. That women has the patients of a saint and the venom of snake. I like her."
"Her and Mr. Stark are married, how do you think it is being close to someone who's also a superhero?" Mar scoffed,
"I could never do it."
"Like, not at all?"
"Nope, like I said she has the patients of a saint." I swallowed thickly and continued,
"Well maybe she knows that he's doing good, and people are alive because of him."
"Maybe, she married him knowing what kind of person he was, so she was probably ready for it."
"You could do it." I said quietly,
"Nope, I would never pick that kind of life for myself,"
"What about love?"
"Penny, sweetheart do you need more medication, you're starting to talk weird, is the pain too much?"
"No."
I rolled my head to the other side and went to sleep, and then last night I got closer than I ever have,
"May."
"What baby?"
"Would you love me no matter what?"
"Of course,"
"Even if I did something you didn't agree with."
"You already almost got yourself killed and I'm still here aren't I?"
"Yes, but like what if I did something you really didn't agree with?"
"Penny Parker, are you smoking?"
"No."
"Doing drugs?"
"No."
"Beating up old people?"
"Not old people."
"Have you killed anyone?"
"Of course not?"
"Are you running around with Stark fighting crime."
"Yes."
"Go to sleep Penny."
"But May-"
"Sweetheart I'll love you no what, and right now I need you to get better. Go to sleep and let your body heal, okay."
"May-"
"Shhhh shut up and close your eyes."
I gave up after that, but now with May running back home to drop off her dirty close and pick up new ones, Dr. Cho rolled in with her small saw and told me she was taking off the casts,
"We can't wait like another day?"
"Their unnecessary, and by leaving them on longer than need be it can compress and damage tendons and ligaments." I sigh,
"Have you tried telling her?" Dr. Cho changes her tone to a soft kinder one,
"Every night since you told me too."
"It didn't go well did it?" I shake my head, "I can talk to Tony, see if he can tell her cushion the blow for you." I swallow a lump in the back of my throat and shake my head,
"I haven't seen him in five days, I don't think he likes me that much right now." Helen reaches down to plug her tool in and shakes her head.
"No, he just doesn't want to draw to much attention to you, with May until you tell her," Now I feel even worst. "Penny" Dr. Cho capture my attention again, "I know you have a lot on of stress and it doesn't help that both mentally and physically your hurting, but you don't have to take the brunt of this alone. Everyone is here to help, and I don't think you've given May the benefit of the doubt," I look to Dr. Cho,
"I'm really afraid." She nods,
"I know, but have faith, both in your self and in her." I nod and finally swallow the lump in my throat and take a deeper breath. After a second Dr. Cho turns on the saw,
"Are you ready to get these off," On one hand these cast keep up my appearance of a normal healing ability but on the other hand their itchy as hell and so I nod vigorously,
"Yes please."
…
Shouting wakes me up, and not just the kind of shouting between two people trying to find a channel to watch on TV, no this is loud, angry, and hurtful. I roll over, now that the casts are gone, I'm able to finally sleep on my side, and it was the best sleep I've gotten since being in here, even with the good drugs. I hear my name and lower my feet to the ground to stand on shaky legs and take small steps to the door. Dr. Cho was going to wait till late afternoon to get my on my feet, but nows a good as time as any. I stop just outside the door finding a small Stark Enterprise bag. The yelling outside the door has gotten louder, but I bend down and unzip the bag real quick finding, my web shooters. Mr. Stark took them from my backpack so May wouldn't find them, he must have been dropping them off. I pick up my right web shooter and quickly a fix it to my wrist before slowly opening the door.
"For the forth time Stark, you can't tell me when and when I cannot visit my niece!" May shouts her back to the door,
"I'm just telling you, she's not in there so theirs no point in you even going in there, Helen took her to the med bay for some better X-Rays, so why not take advantage of it and go get yourself a hot meal, or nap in your own bed."
"I told you I'm refreshed and feed, if she's not in there I will simple go in there and wait." Mr. Stark sighs, and looks around when his eyes land on me.
"Tony I heard yelling, whats going on up here." Mr. Rogers strides forward, Miss Romanov on his heels, oh great just great.
"Nothing, go away." Mr. Stark quips, but Mr. Rogers just stops and looks at May,
"Penny's not in her room, so I'm just going to wait inside, thats all." May stresses,
"No, you can't go in there." Mr. Starks commands, and I realize whats going on. Mr, Stark dropped the bag off in the room, the same room I was napping without the large metal and plaster casts. On his way down the hall he must have run into May. If May didn't immediately start yelling at him for allowing me to intern knowing damn well I was a Spider-Man, then it's clear I didn't tell her yet and she doesn't know. To keep her from walking into the room, he stopped her and May didn't like that. They're arguing because of me,
"Tony, just let her go in there and wait." Mr. Rogers gestures to May,
"You not part of this conversation, leave." Mr. Stark turns his full anger directed now at Mr. Rogers, I take a deep breath as Miss. Romanov's eyes land on me.
"Let's go Steve." She states calmly,
"One second-"
"Now," she cuts him off, "May can we bring you to the kitchen, get you something to eat?" Miss. Romanov has always caught on to the mood and argument of every situation,
"No thank you, all I want to do is wait for my niece to get back." May sighs exhausted. Who knows how long they've been fighting like this.
"That's a great idea, you can wait in the kitchen." Mr. Stark points to the direction of the kitchen, but May throws her hands up,
"What is everyone's problem." I swallow thickly and step out the door,
"Me." May turns and I point the web shooter to the corner of the room, releasing a long stream of web, "I'm Spider-Man." The hall is dead silent, and I feel incredible small and I realize how unsteady I am on my feet, my right leg only barely healed.
"Penny." May whispers, horror on her face and I blink away newly formed tears. May's afraid. She's afraid of me and with that realization I let my legs give out hitting the floor hard, "Penny!" May rushes to my side, Mr. Starks and the others behind, "Your cast, you're...you're."
"Advanced healing May, I heal quickly." May quickly wipes the horrifying look off her face and turns to quickly get behind me and begins hauling me to my feet,
"Penny I-" Mr. Stark starts, but I cut him off,
"I know." I mumble,
"I need a minute alone with my niece," May, stresses, hauling my into the room, before slamming the door in Mr. Starks face. I kept my footing, but May drags me over the the bed before forcing my to sit and getting right in my face,
"Aunt Ma-"
"Talk, NOW!"