Penny Parker was bored. There was a simple reason for it. As she had yet to sign the Sokovia Accords, Penny was unable to get out and help people as Spider-Woman. If she did, then she would get arrested. As a high-ranking police officer knew her identity and where she lived, Penny knew she could risk getting out.
However, that did not stop her from being bored. It was even worse than when she was in detention every afternoon of the week. Then she at least could work on her homework. But, with Homecoming at the end of the week, few teachers gave their students homework before the weekend, meaning Penny completed them all in detention.
What she hated more was that she couldn't even call Ned or Gwen or Miles. She had a chance to call Ned after the Stacys had left a few hours earlier to reassure him she was fine and talk about what happened the previous day, but that was about it. Her aunt needed her phone and couldn't let her niece have it the whole day, especially since by that point it was in serious need of charging. Not for the first time that Saturday, Penny cursed the fact she sold all the computers she refurbished during the summer. She had thought to keep one for herself but hadn't seen the need at the time, being able to do everything she wanted on her phone. Now, she had neither.
Penny let out a groan. "I can't just stay laying in my bed the whole afternoon." she told herself. "It's too frustrating." Thus, she decided to stand up and look through her belongings to see what she could do.
She first looked at her box of electronics. She scoured through the box for something to refurbish when she found an old silver DVD player from the mid 2000s. She smiled when she saw it. She took it out of the box, remembering when she first found it.
Penny had been days from turning twelve when she and Ned found it lying next to a trashcan while exploring the neighbourhood. To the two pairs of (then) untrained eyes, the DVD player looked like it was in perfect working condition. Not understanding how someone could throw a working DVD player away, the two childhood friends grabbed it and brought it to the Parker apartment.
To Penny and Ned's horror, they quickly found out that the DVD player had a good reason to be in the trash. While it turned on and read a disk, the image it outputted was more blurry than a distant cloud while the sound was a garbled mess. At the time, May and Ben simply shrugged, telling the two friends to put it back in the trash, though not before adding that if Penny had good grades at school, she might get one for Christmas later that year.
Any other children of Penny and Ned's age would have accepted the deal and begin studying more to make sure they would get the necessary grades to get their DVD player. However, the two childhood friends saw it differently. They were convinced they could fix it and have it working again. While May and Ben did not believe the two children would be successful, they did like any other good parents and encouraged them, even giving them access to a few tools Ben inherited from Penny's father Richard.
The old silver DVD player was taken apart piece by piece as they attempted to fix it. Ned even found schematics online for the specific model of DVD player they were looking to fix, which helped them narrow down the source of the problem. It took them two weeks but, eventually they found it. Unfortunately, the problem came from a very expensive chip which was completely fried. Not having the money to buy a replacement part, Penny and Ned were forced to shelve the project and the DVD player was laid forgotten in a box.
While Penny and Ned had been unsuccessful in their restoration project, their endeavor was enough to kick start a new passion for both: that of electronics and technology. Penny continued from where they left off and found other electronics that cost little to no money to fix while Ned took to programming. Before long, both were dreaming of attending MIT together and starting their own business where they would build their own DVD players and computers and cellphones, with Ned in charge of the software and Penny in charge of the hardware.
They dreamt of being the next Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
Penny let out a sigh and put the DVD player on her desk. Of course, that dream had taken a hit when she became Spider-Woman. No, that wasn't true. That dream took a hit when Tony Stark entered their lives – not that the man could be blamed about it. The true fault lied with Penny's arrogance.
With the famous Tony Stark coming to ask for her help, Penny not only began dreaming of becoming an Avenger full time like Captain America or Hawkeye but, if it was impossible, to work for the man himself at Stark Industries. She hadn't really noticed at the time but she could tell in hindsight that Ned wasn't as fond of the idea as she had been. While he had been delighted she got an 'internship' at Stark Industries, he wasn't as happy as her once she began talking about becoming a full time Avenger or wishing her internship was upgraded to a full time paid job.
Penny let out a groan as she rubbed her face, just now realizing the extent of her actions. Ned never said anything and always pretended working for the Avengers or Stark Industries was a dream come true even when she was throwing their shared dream on the ground and stomping on it like it was nothing. Ned was such a good friend that he never complained, never let her know what he really thought about it but she knew him better than anybody and could tell her actions hurt him.
"God... I really need to apologize to him, don't I?" she asked herself aloud. Suddenly, the thought of spending the evening refurbishing a piece of electronic made her uncomfortable as it would serve as a constant reminder of what she had done to Ned. She gave the old silver DVD player one last guilty look before putting it back in the box and closing it.
She sat back in her chair and closed her eyes, sighing. If electronics were out of the question for now, then what else could she do? She really wanted to go help people as Spider-Woman but couldn't because of the Accords. Though, now that she thought about it, she wouldn't have been able to either as her costume was in the laundry. If only she had a second costume...
Penny's eyes opened. She suddenly knew what she could do.
After looking through her own costume ideas she drew during detention, Penny eventually settled on the red and black design she had nicknamed the 'Scarlet Spider'. The design itself was very basic – a red body suit with black shoulders, mask and spider emblems. It was simple enough that it would ensure she could complete it alone without the help of May and Ned all before the end of the weekend.
With the design decided, she made an inventory of the materials left from the making of the previous suit. There was more than enough black spandex to work with, but not enough red. And, she also noted she lacked the materials needed to make the eyes of the mask.
Thus, Penny grabbed her wallet, some of the money she had made selling refurbished electronics and went out to buy the necessary materials. She returned an hour later with everything she needed and went to work.
Penny worked the entire evening through the night on her second Spider-Woman costume. By the time she went to bed, the gloves, boots and mask (without the eyes) were completed while the body suit was near completion, only needing to have its black shoulders and spider emblems sewd together.
The next morning, Penny woke up early to continue working on her suit. The body suit was completed by lunch time, while the eyes of the mask were completed at the end of the afternoon. Unlike on her previous costume, the eyes were red when opened to fit with the colour scheme (though they remained black when closed). She quickly put on her full costume before leaving her room, excited to show her aunt her completed work.
"Hey, May!" she said loudly, walking down the apartment toward the kitchen/living room where her aunt most likely was. "I just completed my new costume! What do you think?" she asked just before noticing her aunt speaking to Captain Stacy. The lenses of her mask blinked.
"I like it!" May answered with a proud smile. "Very good work!"
"Yes, your new suit look very good, Miss Parker." Captain Stacy said, sharing his own opinion.
"Call me Penny." the girl said before removing her mask. "And what are you doing here, Captain Stacy?"
"Mr. Stark organized for you to sign the Accords today." he answered.
"Already?" she said, surprised. "Where?"
"At the Avengers compound."
Penny didn't know whether to be excited at the prospect of visiting the famous compound or angry at Mr. Stark's subtle manipulation. 'Is he trying to entice me to work with him again even though I refused yesterday afternoon?' she thought. Because despite everything, Penny Parker was still a huge fan of the Avengers and a visit to where the Avengers lived and trained seemed like the perfect opportunity to make her see what she had to gain from working with Mr. Stark. Maybe the compound had been chosen for the simple reason that it was convenient for all parties. But, if enticing her was indeed what Mr. Stark was trying, then it was unfortunate she saw right through him.
"When do we leave?"
"The compound is about an hour and a half drive from here so the sooner the better." he said.
"I'll just go put proper clothes, then." she said. She made to go back to her room when her aunt spoke. She sounded amused.
"Why would you go change, Penny? You're signing as Spider-Woman, remember? Unless you prefer to reveal your identity..."
"Oh, right." she flushed, suddenly feeling dumb. Of course she wasn't going to go as Penny Parker. Instead, she made her way to the entrance where she grabbed her coat to hide the upper part of the costume to ensure none of their neighbours would recognize her as Spider-Woman while she walked to the car.
"Well, if you're ready, we'll go." Captain Stacy said. "Goodbye, Mrs. Parker."
"See you later, May!" Penny waved.
"Later, Penny." May returned before saying her own goodbye to the captain.
The ride to the Avengers Compound was long but peaceful. Penny found she felt comfortable in the presence of Gwen's dad as he gave the allure of a man who wanted to protect those around him. The two engaged in a conversation during the drive.
"So, how did you and my daughter meet?" the police captain casually asked an hour in the drive.
"Gwen didn't tell you?" Penny asked, surprised. Captain Stacy shook his head.
"She told us she met someone she believed would become her friend but not how it happened."
"Oh. Well, it happened in detention." she said.
"Monday, wasn't it?"
"Yes, nearly a week ago." she confirmed. "Gwen and I were the only students in detention that day. At some point, the professor left for a few minutes so Gwen used the opportunity to introduce herself."
Captain Stacy looked surprised at that, causing the teenage girl to send him a questioning look. "Gwen was always a bit of a loner – the introvert type. While she's not shy and never had issues talking with strangers, she never really sought to talk to others either. I think all of her friends from her previous school came to her first. That's why I'm surprised. I didn't think Gwen was the one to come to you."
"Oh." she said in understanding. "Well, maybe she wanted not to be lonely anymore."
"Maybe. Still, it doesn't really matter in the end. I'm just happy Gwen made a friend in her new school." he said.
Penny smiled, happy Gwen's dad did not have an issue with her and Gwen's friendship.
"There's something have been wondering ever since Friday, though." he asked and, suddenly, Penny felt on edge, having a feeling the question wouldn't be one she wanted to answer. And, true to her thoughts, he asked "How did Gwen come to learn you're Spider-Woman? I assume you're keeping your second identity as secret as possible so how come my daughter knew it less than a week after meeting you?"
Penny did not answer right away. How could she when the answer was that Gwen only knew because she had the same powers as her? As much as she loathed to keep secrets from the man who been nothing but kind to her, she didn't know how or when Gwen wanted to reveal her powers to her parents. And, Penny did not want to betray Gwen's confidence.
So, she took a moment to answer, eventually settling on not giving an answer at all, but an explanation why she couldn't. "You're right that I keep that secret tight-lipped. I've been Spider-Woman for eight months and my best friend Ned and my aunt May only learned recently of that fact. There's a reason why I told Gwen even if we'd only met a few days prior but the reason is due to a secret that is not my place to tell but Gwen's. And, I don't want to betray her confidence. So, I'm sorry Captain Stacy but all I can say is that if you want the answer, you have to ask Gwen."
Captain Stacy took a moment to think about her answer. "I see..." he simply said. Penny could tell he wasn't pleased with her answer. She was thankful he didn't press for more.
The rest of the ride to the compound was quiet as Captain Stacy was deep in thoughts. Penny left him alone, staying quiet as she looked at the New York countryside through the car window.
Captain Stacy drove inside the grounds of the compound half an hour later. He stopped at the front grate right next to a metal box standing on a pole. He pressed a button on the box and waited. After a few seconds, a voice came out of the box's round metal grid.
"Who is coming in?" said a grumpy voice. Penny almost groaned, recognizing it as Happy Hogan's.
"Captain Gwen Stacy and Spider-Woman here to sign the Sokovia Accords." Captain Stacy answered. There was a moment of silence before the grates in front of the car opened.
"Drive in. Follow the road until you arrive at the parking lot." Happy said. Captain Stacy gave a subconscious nod and drove forward.
The two visitors looked around as the police captain slowly drove down the gravel road. The compound was impressive and very beautiful to look at, Penny had to admit. It was almost looked like a piece of art, which was unsurprising as Tony Stark had it designed. However, Penny could not help but feel like something was wrong, something Captain Stacy noticed.
"Are you okay, Penny?" he asked.
"Yeah." she answered, her eyes fixed on the giant Avengers 'A' logo on the side of the building. After a few seconds of silence, she said "You know, two weeks ago, I was dreaming of becoming an Avenger, to work alongside Tony Stark, War Machine, Vision – hell, even the rogue Avengers. Just the thought of visiting the compound would have excited me beyond measure. But now... I just feel like I don't belong here. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see the compound with my own eyes, but it's like it's wrong for me to be here, somehow."
Gwen's dad remained silent for a few moments. "I can't say I understand how you feel. You said you had that dream – so I presume you don't anymore?" he asked. Penny shook her head. "Well, maybe it's a sign. If you feel like you don't belong here, then it mean that, subconsciously, you don't want to become an Avenger any longer. And, there's nothing wrong with that. What matter the most is for you to feel comfortable in the life you lead – both as Penny Parker and Spider-Woman."
Penny gave him a small smile. "Thank you." she said. She could not help but compare Gwen's father to Ben. While they did not look that similar physically, their personalities were very much alike. Both calm and collected and kind and full of wisdom. For a moment, she felt jealous of her Gwen. Not because Captain Stacy was better than Ben, but because he was there. Gwen's dad was alive and here to guide his daughter. Penny's uncle was not, having been murdered in front of her very eyes.
Captain Stacy stopped the car close to the entrance. Seeing someone's silhouette standing right behind the glass doors half hidden by the glare of the setting sun, Penny quickly grabbed the black mast of her Scarlet Spider suit and shoved it on her head, hiding her face.
"You ready?" Captain Stacy asked. Penny took a deep breath and nodded. Together, they exited the car.
Penny did not know why but she could tell as they walked toward the doors that she was very nervous. She did not know why as they only care here to sign a few documents, but her heart was beating fast. Maybe it was because she was likely to see Mr. Stark again and that, despite having accepted his apology and forgiven him, still felt uncomfortable in his presence (the two hugs she gave him in the heat of the moment did not help the situation as they were still virtual strangers to one another). Maybe it was because she was very likely to see Happy Hogan who she shared no good interaction with. Maybe it was the thought of interacting with government officials and signing life-changing contracts or maybe it was simply because she didn't belong but no matter the cause, Penny was very nervous.
"Relax." Captain Stacy told her as they reached the doors, sensing her anxiety. "Everything will be just fine."
Just then, the doors were opened by the person behind the glass doors, allowing them inside. As they approached, the glare of the sun reflecting on the glass panels dimmed down enough to allow her to see who was behind the doors. She groaned. It was Happy Hogan.
"Hi, kid." he said somewhat awkwardly as he led them inside. "How are you?"
Penny looked at him, the lenses of her mask narrowing. "Why are you asking?" she asked coolly.
Happy hesitated for a moment. "I... look, I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I'm not good with kids and I wasn't happy when Tony gave me the job of watching over you. It doesn't mean I should have taken it out on you and, for that, I'm sorry."
Penny sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose through the mask. Happy's apology was genuine, she could tell, but it wasn't like with Mr. Stark where she forgave him almost immediately. There was a simply difference with Happy that made her hesitate. She easily forgave Mr. Stark because while he had a horrible way of showing it, Penny could tell he had genuinely cared about her well-being and wanted the best for her future. Happy never cared about her, treating her like she was nothing more than an annoying pest.
Not only that, but the guilt of his actions looked like it was eating Mr. Stark from the inside and Penny was simply too kind to prolong his suffering by not forgiving him immediately. Happy obviously wasn't as bothered as his actions. He sounded guilty when he spoke but Penny had no doubt he would be able to live and quickly forget about her no matter what her answer was.
"Look, Happy." she eventually said. "I'm going to accept your apology," she started, making him give a rare smile in relief. Her next words brought it crashing down, though. "However, I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for myself because I don't like holding grudges when I know it's unlikely I'll ever see the other person again.
"You hurt me, Happy. Two months ago, I was over the moon to be working with both Mr. Stark and you. Back then, I thought I could talk to you, trust you to share what I said to Mr. Stark. I thought you would be here if I needed to talk to you and that you would listen to me – whether it was about something important like the hijacking of the cargo plane or something silly like what food the local lady gave me as a gift for showing her the way to the local shop. But, you didn't listen. You never listened. You were dismissive and rude, if not outright ghosting me.
"After Germany, I tried every day to call you to give you my reports but you never answered the phone. It took you a week to contact me and you only did so to tell me to stop trying to call you, to instead give you everything I learned by text messages. The second time you called me was to tell me not to text as much and only tell you the important stuff. You never acknowledged you received my messages, not even a simple 'Okay!' or 'Got it!' or even a thumbs up emoji so I could know you read what I told you. Both times you called, you were rude to me. You were all but shouting at me like I'd done some irreparable mistake.
"Do you know how it feels like to be excited to work with someone on something important only for the other person to yell at you because you enjoy working with them on the job? You might not but I do – thanks to you.
"Then, there's the fact you wouldn't even share basic information with me. I thought the relationship between me and you and Mr. Stark would be like a partnership. I help you by assisting you in missions and you help me by teaching me how to be a better superhero. I helped Mr. Stark in Germany even though I didn't want to be here and willingly gave any tidbit of information I got to know. And what did I get in exchange? My main contact with the Avengers, with my supposed mentor, didn't even have the basic decency of telling me things like the fact the Avengers were moving out of the city 'So don't show up at Avengers Tower and expect to get help, Penny!' or that Mr. Stark wasn't in the country anymore 'So you better not get in trouble, Penny, because Mr. Stark won't be there to save your arse!'" she almost yelled at the now flinching man. "No, you only contacted me to tell me to stop annoying you!
"Hell, when Ned called you to tell you your plane was about to be hijacked and billions of dollars worth of stuff was going to be stolen right from under your nose, you yelled at him to leave him alone and hung up in his face! You never listened! You were horrible to me!" Now she was definitely shouting. It hadn't been her intention but all the frustration she'd felt for the last two months was all coming out and Happy was taking the brunt of it, whether he deserved it or not. She took a deep breath to calm herself and decided to end the conversation before things turned worse. "So yes, I'm accepting your apology but I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for myself because I don't like holding grudges. I don't want to wonder months or even years later whether I should have accepted your apology or not. I want to be free of mind and worries and I'm doing just that by forgiving you. And now that it's done, I can tell you I'm happy I'll never have to deal with you ever again." she finished. Had she not worn her mask, she would have flicked her hair, no matter how petty or childish it made her look like.
Happy looked away from her, wincing at her words while Captain Stacy looked at her with a raised eyebrow, likely surprised with all the frustration she vented out. When she saw that neither moved, she said "Can we go, now? I don't want to keep the officials waiting and, honestly, I don't want to stay here any longer than I need to."
Happy said "Right, let me just..." before trailing off, walking away.
Penny and Captain Stacy followed him as the silent man led them toward a conference room. Inside the room were three officials in business suits talking to Mr. Stark, who had sunglasses despite being indoors.
Mr. Stark was the first to notice her. His eyebrows raised in surprise as he took in the new costume. Then, he grinned "Here is the latest superhero to sign the Accords: Spider-Woman! Nice suit, by the way. Though it would have looked better with gold instead of black." he joked.
"Thank you, Mr. Stark." she returned before jokingly answering "And I much prefer black. Red and gold is the colour of has-beens." she said. Mr. Stark let out a squeak of indignation while Captain Stacy and the officials chuckled.
"Young people these days... so rude!" he returned the banter before clearing his throat. Then, he introduced the officials. "These gentleman and gentlewomen are three of the members that form the Accords Committee. Clara Hill from the United-Kingdom, Francesco Zanardi from Italy and Edith Schumacher from Germany."
"Nice to meet you." Penny said somewhat shyly.
"Nice to meet you too, Spider-Woman." Edith Schumacher said with a kind smile, speaking for the three of them. Her English was very good, her German accent barely noticeable.
Mr. Stark continued. "Mrs. Hill, Mr. Zanardi and Miss Schumacher all happened to be in New York when I told the Committee you wanted to sign the Accords yourself instead of staying in the shadow of a mentor." he said. He did not mention the fact she had been out of his "shadow" for the last week, likely for the same reason why Captain Stacy overlooked that fact the previous day: to protect her and ensure she would not get arrested for vigilantism.
"Indeed." confirmed Francesco Zanardi, his Italian accent more present. "We who chair in the Committee believe in personally meeting the heroes we work with, even if we don't always know who is under the mask."
"That's good." Penny said before introducing her own companion. "This is Captain George Stacy of the New York Police Department. He will be my handler."
The three members of the Committee nodded and shook hands with Gwen's dad before Clara Stacy told them to sit down at the table so they could begin the process of registering her.
Penny and Captain Stacy were both given a lot of paperwork. The first half-hour was spent filling forms to register themselves as superhero and handler respectively. Thankfully for Penny, the forms did not require her to give her personal information such as her name, age, date of birth, etc. However, it did require things such as blood type, nationality and others things that could become important should something happen.
In Miss Schumacher's words, the first set of forms would also give her a second legal identity that could be used in court without having to reveal who she was under the mask, whether to testify against someone or to prosecute her. In essence, Spider-Woman would become her own person in the eyes of the law.
The second set of forms were similar to what Captain Stacy had to fill when he first joined the police department - or so he said. It was a pile of forms and documents that would ensure she would legally be authorized to operate as Spider-Woman around the world. It also included a document she needed to sign to confirm she understood she could be held accountable for her mistakes should something happen.
Finally, the last document were the Accords themselves. Penny and Captain Stacy both read them together, taking time to answer questions and listen to the members of the Committee. It was also then that Penny learned more about the role of the handler. Basically, the handler was not only the middle-man between the Committee and the superhero but the person in charge of most of the paperwork. Thankfully, there wasn't that much paperwork, hence why Captain Stacy had told her he didn't mind taking the role.
Finally, more than hour after they first begun, Spider-Woman signed the Sokovia Accords, officially becoming a sanctioned superhero.
The signature of the Accords brought a sense of relief and calm she was not aware she was missing. She knew the cause too. Ever since she learned she could have been arrested for vigilantism, she feared it would come to happen before she had time to (somewhat) become immune from the law by signing the Accords. But now it was all done and dusted. She didn't have to worry about it any longer.
She was free! In a sense.
After a last shake of the hands with the members of the Committee, Penny and Captain Stacy took their leave from the compound. As they reached the doors, they were stopped by a cry from Mr. Stark. "Pe- I mean Spider-Woman! Wait up!"
"What is it, Mr. Stark?" she asked, turning around to see him run toward them, a small cardboard box in one hand.
"Yesterday you told me Toomes broke your phone and that you needed a new one. So, there you go! The latest Stark Mobile Phone model!" he said, giving the box to her. Penny opened it to see a white box inside. On front face of the box was the image of a phone with under it written 'StarkPhone MK11'. Being aware of the latest techs, she knew that the Mark Eleven model was one of the most expensive phones out there and the current flagship of Stark Industries.
"That's...!" she stuttered before looking at him in the eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Stark." she said.
"You're welcome, kid." he said. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before adding quietly "Penny, I put my phone number in your contact list on the phone. I know we're unlikely to ever see each other again but I want you to have the option to call me if you need help. So, if there's something you can't handle alone despite your amazing spider-powers, just call me, alright?"
Penny smiled, not that he could see it with the mask. She doubted she would ever need his help since she intended to continue working with the little guy - and she was sure Mr. Stark knew that as well. He himself said he doubted they would ever see each other again. But, she appreciate the gesture, even if she didn't fully trust him to answer the call if she ever did.
"Thank you, Mr. Stark." she said. Mr. Stark smiled and extended a hand toward her. Penny shook it.
"Goodbye, Spider-Woman." he said.
"Goodbye, Iron Man." she returned before walking out of the building with Captain Stacy.
As she looked through the car window at the cars passing on the other side of the highway, Penny could not help but smile. With May knowing she was Spider-Woman, the Accords getting signed and her becoming her own superhero once more instead of Mr. Stark's protegee, Penny felt like a weight lifted from her shoulders. She no longer had to worry about being arrested for what she did, or May finding out about her second identity and forcing her to stop, or worry about how to approach Mr. Stark or Happy. For the first time since she became Spider-Woman, Penny Parker felt free.
She was happy that everything led to this moment. She was happy May fully supported her superhero career and helped her when she needed and she was happy she had set things right with Mr. Stark and Happy. It allowed her to look back at her past as learning experiences instead of bitterness. She wouldn't have to feel regret or wonder what could have been.
For once, everything was right and Penny felt she could finally close the first chapter of Spider-Woman's story and begin the second one: training Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy in learning to use their powers!
A/N: The Homecoming arc of this story is now over! Not only that, but so are Tony and Happy's presences in this fic. Iron Man might appear in the future but in the same capacity as Daredevil or Captain America: simply another hero Penny end up working with.
Now, the references here. The Scarlet Spider suit Penny made is inspired by the one worn by Kaine Parker on Earth-616. It's also available in Marvel's Spider-Man on PS4 and PS5 as the Scarlet Spider II suit.
As for the members of the Committe, I'm sure the avid Formula One fans recognized the last names of the three characters: Clara Hill, Francesco Zanardi and Edith Schumacher named after Damon Hill, Alessandro Zanardi and Michael Schumacher who all drove during the 1999 F1 season. The idea to name them after F1 drivers came from the fanfiction called "Tony's Girl" by Crosshairs I read on AO3. In it, the author gave two members of the commitee the names "Montoya" and "De La Rosa", which happen to also be shared by two F1 drivers of the era, Juan Pablo Montoya and Pablo De La Rosa. Of course, it could be one hell of a coincidence but, honestly, I don't really care. It gave me the idea of naming my own OCs after F1 drivers, so I did it.
That's the power of writing baby!