CHAPTER 5: PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS?

Remnant, System Unknown

Kingdom of Vale

Commercial District

May 5th, 56 AGW

If there was ever one thing that would almost always make Tony Stark irritable, it would be when he was at his least creative. As an engineer, he made it his mission to always be inventive or failing that, innovative. Granted, not every idea that he had concocted was a terrific idea, but even with ideas that were out there, an even greater idea could blossom. The key was to always create something new regardless of whether it was good or bad. As long as that was the case, then everyday could be considered a success in its own way.

Today, however, the young inventor found himself at a loss for new ideas. Recently, he had been going through whatever his mind knew about weapons from Earth. Every idea that was even remotely applicable to Remnant he would draft and try to see how much of this planet's technologies and resources he could use to retrofit these already-existing designs. Generally speaking, it was an easy-going process. Reconciling the differences was easy and more often than not, problems were few and far in-between.

It also helped that the people that he had begun bringing in were very competent at working with his ideas and see what could be used in Stark Industries. As a weapons developer, they always had to be constantly on the cutting edge. The dangers of becoming the top dog in the world were many, one of the most dangerous being complacency. To avoid such a fate, the new hirees brought in were heavily screened. Not just their technical knowledge was scrutinized. Their attitudes and mindsets were also watched carefully.

Tony knew that in order to build the best version of his company, he would need like-minded people who shared his desire to never give up in the pursuit of greater advancements. These men and women would all be expected and encouraged to pitch in their own ideas good or bad just like he had done. Actually, quite a few had begun to do so. There was no expectation for any of them to create something world-changing, but a number of decent proposals had come up. He had given a few some thought and deemed one or two worthy to become mainline products with a few tweaks and additions.

Right now, the priority was to make profit with the Council of Vale. They were his main source of business right now and as things stood, making sure his orders to them were fulfilled in a timely fashion was what he was focusing on the most. Part of the business strategy was to always give what the people wanted and then some. Even better yet, giving the people something that they never knew they wanted was even better. One day, he would reach that stage, but for now, fulfilling a want was just as good of a start.

Now that he had a bit of time on his hands, he realized how little he had taken a break. This wasn't exactly how he imagined his life. Starting an entirely new business was easy in theory, but getting to the end result was time consuming. It would be a while before the man was as rich as his father, but he would do it. He just had to do it no matter what, otherwise what was even doing this for?

Tony decided that a change of pace would be a good idea. It was time to go out and just do whatever came naturally. Whether that be getting food, exploring the sites, or maybe trying his luck at a bar with some chicks. His work had left him not really thinking about getting some fine tail. Now that he was thinking about it, letting off some steam might actually do him some good. So he put on some casual clothes, grabbed his scroll and sunglasses, then took to the streets.

The art of picking up girls and sleeping with them was actually not nearly a complicated as many guys made it out to be. In truth, women wanted a good time just as much as any guy did, but the way most guys presented themselves made them far less desirable than they could be. One of the most painful things to watch men do around women is supplicate in order to appear more compatible to a desired partner. That just screamed insincerity not to mention a lack of confidence. Guys with confidence in what they said and what they thought were often the winners; also, being able to withstand and retaliate disapproval was key. Pleasing everyone was impossible to begin with.

As the young inventor made his way through the streets, he noticed the sun was about to set. The late afternoon light bathed the streets in a painting-like setting. If he were an artist, this could be considered a pretty nice scene to put together on a canvas. That wasn't to say he couldn't paint or draw. Hell, he did that quite often when it came to inventing, but there was a wide gap between drawing schematics and drawing a scene like this one. Why was he even thinking about this to begin with?

Tony became so engrossed in his thoughts that it wasn't until too late that he saw the person coming at him. It was fleeting glimpse and he couldn't get enough details before he felt a collision. He felt himself falling backwards and it was only thanks to his quick mind that he regained control and balanced himself out.

"Anyone get the license plate on that one?" The genius said to no one in particular.

"You were not hit by a car!" A feminine voice responded. "We collided!"

"Yeah, I get that!" His mouth was quick to quip back. "It's called a figure of speech!"

His eyes fell towards the ground where the person had fallen. A girl was on the ground, a teenager from the looks of her. The first thing that stuck out to him was her hair. It was incredibly orange, so much so that it was kind of blinding. Besides her hair comparing to a carrot color-wise, her eyes were a bright green. She was wearing a pink bow that seemed to accentuate her features even more. Her features made her kind of cute, but it wasn't anything he hadn't seen in other women, yet there was something about her that made her not quite what she appeared on the outside.

"Salutations!" The girl called out to him.

"Um, hi." Tony felt unsure of how to respond to such enthusiasm in a predicament like this. "Are you okay?"

"I'm wonderful, thank you for asking." She remained on the ground as she spoke as if this was normal for her. "And you?"

"Fine, no damage here." Tony replied with a raised eyebrow. "So… do you… want to get up or what?"

She took a moment to think about it. "Yes!"

He took note how she moved herself and realized she was about to do a kick up. By itself, that wasn't a problem, but the fact that she was wearing a summer dress and doing that move made him turn his head away and close his eyes just to be safe. A womanizer he might be, but he knew better than to say or do anything that implicated him in a bad light. The last thing he needed was people getting the wrong idea about him.

"My name is Penny!" The girl who named herself extended a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Penny." Tony tested the name while taking her hand and shaking it. "I'm Tony Stark!"

"I see!" Penny looked him up and down. "I'm getting to meet a famous person. This is truly a spectacular day!"

In all of his life, the young man could never recall ever meeting anyone with this level of energy. Such characters were often restricted to fiction, but to see one in action was quite a different experience. With all the jaded and disillusioned and frustrated people he had to deal with in the world, this was uncharted territory for him. He wasn't quite sure if his normal approaches to conversation would work in this instance, but still he had to do something, so he did what came to him naturally.

"If you think I'm famous now, give it ten years!" Tony boasted lightly. "I'll be the ruler of Remnant before you know it!"

"But the four kingdoms did away with monarchies after the Great War." Penny tilted her head in confusion. "Surely they wouldn't accept a ruler now after so long."

This straightforward way of interpreting his words was comical, enough so that the young Stark who rarely laughed chuckled. When was the last time that he had gotten in touch with his humorous side like this? It felt like he was breaking new barriers today.

"I didn't mean it literally." Tony waved her off with a light laugh. "I was speaking metaphorically."

"Oh, I see!" Penny nodded her head. "Well, then I wish you well in taking over the world metaphorically speaking!"

This girl is weird, but in a good way.

"We're going to get along just fine, friend." He declared.

Iron Man - - - RWBY

Penny often didn't get out due in no small part to her father who always worried about what she did and where she went and who she was with. It did restrict what she was capable of doing things on her own. Regardless, she always found new and interesting ways to get out and find cool new things. Everything was so exciting and interesting and new that she couldn't help but gush over small things that others might consider pedestrian and commonplace.

That applied especially to meeting new people. She didn't have any friends at all and she didn't have anyone that she could talk to about stuff, not even her father. He kept telling her that it was for her own good that things were the way they were, but that didn't stop her from wanting more right now. That was why she had to get real creative when it came to fooling her father. They were busy and it wasn't too hard for her to find ways to leave the house and explore. She wondered for how long this would keep up.

But those matters were far from her mind. In this moment, she was talking to Tony Stark, the newest celebrity in Vale. As a weapons designer and engineer, he had to be really talented when it came to all the technical things. Although she couldn't consider herself gifted or knowledgeable about any of that stuff, it seemed interesting all the same. He must know a whole lot about dust and science and all of that.

But what did he just say?

"What did you call me?" Penny leaned in closer, her face only mere inches from his own.

"Uh, friend, I think." Tony took one step back.

"You want to be my friend?" Penny felt breathless for a second. "Am I really your friend?"

When she looked into his brown eyes, he appeared hesitant at first, like he was unsure of what to do. That made her feel a twinge of pain. Was it too much that she asked to be his friend when they had just met. How did one go from an acquaintance to a friend? If she had more friends, then maybe she wouldn't have to worry about this so much.

"Yeah, sure, go for it, kid." The man grinned, albeit awkwardly.

The teenage girl felt her soul lifting up and she cheered to the sky and felt so much more happier. Perhaps luck was favoring her this day or maybe the Gods had heard her wish for friends and responded in kind. Whatever the case may be, she finally had a friend. Someone called her friend.

"Sensational!" Penny finally managed to condense her thoughts into words. "Now we can paint our nails, try on clothes, and talk about cute boys."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up little lady!" Tony gently put her hands down. "That's the kind of stuff you do with your girl friends."

"Actually, I like boys!" Penny corrected him. "I feel no attraction to other girls!"

"I meant friends who happen to be girls." Mister Stark explained with slight exasperation. "Understand?"

"I most certainly do!" The ginger nodded her head, then frowned slightly. "But what do we talk about then?"

"Well, if we're going to talk about something, it comes down to these subjects." Tony began listing. "Technology, business, and… you know what, never mind that third topic. Just tech and business."

"What is the third subject?"

"It's nothing I should be talking about to a kid." He shook his head.

"I am not a child." She gave him a pout. "I am seventeen years old."

"Still a kid to me." He rebuffed her. "So no, that third topic is off the table until you turn into a legal adult."

Penny considered pursuing the mysterious subject further, but when she met his eyes, it was apparently clear that he had no intention of revealing it. His brown eyes met her green eyes with a look of calm that showed no signs of weakness. Eventually, she had no choice but to back down for now. Privately, she was determined to find out what exactly he wished to hide with her. She couldn't wait for her birthday. That was months away.

"I see that you're still trying to work out my secret." The CEO picked up on what she was thinking. "Don't you know that everyone has their secrets?"

"Everyone?" The young girl tilted her head. "Is that true?"

"Believe it, ginger snap." He made a motion across his chest. "Everyone keeps a secret or two close to their heart. Even friends and family do it. You've got to have a few things you wouldn't want to talk to others about."

Now that she brought it up, there were a couple embarrassing things that she didn't wish to speak of. It wasn't that they were necessarily extremely damaging, but all the same, she didn't want to talk about it. Her being without friends was one of those secrets. She just wanted to be a normal girl and have a good life, but her family circumstances prevented that. Her mother died in childbirth and her father had become overprotective as a result. Actually, her entire family life was something she preferred not to talk about if she could help it, not when the students in her class had lives that seemed much more happier.

"I understand." Penny lowered her head. "I will not ask again."

"Hey, hey, hey, don't beat yourself up over it." Tony replied back with more energy than her. "Come on, ginger snap. Head up, eyes forward. Boys love a girl that smiles a lot."

"My father doesn't like it when I talk to boys." Penny perked herself back up. "Whenever I want to spend time with one, he chases them away."

"Yikes." Tony cringed at this news. "Then I'd better be careful not to step on a landmine."

"Don't worry, Mister Stark." Penny saluted him proudly. "I will vouch for you as my first and best friend."

She wanted to make sure that he had no doubts about being friends with her. It was because her father was so worried about her that she couldn't really have the things that everyone else had. That being said, one look at her new companion and it was clear that while he was off put by what she had told him, he wasn't quite backing away from her like the other teenagers at school did. That had to be a good sign.

Of course she had a great deal to learn about friendship. She didn't even have friends that were of the same sex as herself. The reason for that was similar to why she couldn't interact with boys. It felt like everywhere she went she just couldn't get her foot in the door no matter what she tried. Maybe it wasn't just because of her only parent. Likely it had to do with how she presented herself. Being abnormal extended to virtually all aspects of herself. She couldn't help all of it, but there it was.

"So, anyway, it looks like you're not doing anything right now." Tony looked left and right. "And it's about lunch time right now."

"I know a place where we can eat good food for a good price." Penny's thoughts turned to food. "I can show you where it is."

"What kind of food are we talking about here?"

"Noodles."

"Like Chineese noodles?"

"What's a Chinese?"

"It's a term where I'm originally from. Don't worry about it. Anyways, it's noodles. That's cool. I haven't had any in a good while."

Penny had decided that Tony Stark was indeed a very strange man. Obviously, he was much different than the average man. He was the CEO of an ever-growing company. His way of speaking in public was quite unorthodox in comparison to that of his contemporaries. He wasn't one to speak such plain and simplistic words. If she was to assign a single word that embodied him, she would say 'complicated.'

But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Someone with many different sides had a plethora of different ways to interact with the world. The orange-haired girl liked getting to know the world around her. That included the people in it and the more interesting people she could find, the more excitement she would find out of life.

And she was getting ahead of herself once again. One thing at a time. She first needed to make sure that she did her best as a friend.

"The noodle stand is this way." Penny pointed in the general direction. "I promise you that it'll be worth your time."

"Whatever you say, ginger snap." Tony nodded.

"Is that my nickname?" She regarded him with a curious face.

He looked off to the side. "It's my nickname for you."

That made her happy.

RWBY - - - Iron Man

For the rest of the day, the young Stark followed Penny around and they did nothing in particular. They just went from place to place doing whatever garnered their fancy or to be more precise, what garnered Penny's fancy. Tony just went along with her, watching everything she did with a careful eye.

Something about her made him cautious. It wasn't just that she was a minor and that he may or may not get into trouble depending on how he acted around her. The way she went about things, being so happy and cheerful and energetic. For the life of him, he couldn't understand it because he had never seen anyone even come close to what she was doing. Sure, he had seen plenty of films and television shows depicting such bombastic characters, but to see it in real life was something else entirely.

He had mixed feelings about it. On one hand, he couldn't deny that it was because of her happy go-lucky attitude that he found himself wanting to learn more about her. On the other hand, he wasn't sure if he could put up with this sort of thing for long. If she didn't display more emotions, then he would have to consider the possibility that something was definitely wrong with her. People just didn't act like she did, but he couldn't say for sure why she was this way. Just because someone was different didn't make them wrong.

As someone who had been brought up in the household of a billionaire, Tony knew that there was a very big difference between how he was raised and how everyone else was raised. He was taught to view the world differently than most people. Where a normal man would give up where there was a seemingly impossible challenge to tackle, he would face it head-on and not give up until he had won. Where a normal man might think in terms of the present, he was thinking decades ahead of now and even beyond his own life.

Knowing all of this, he held back some of his feelings he had regarding Penny. She was just a teenage girl who was a little more gung-ho than that of her peers. Until he was given undeniable proof that there was more going on that what seemed to be on the surface, he wouldn't be so quick to judge. He was better than the average person after all, so he should be able to manage that much at least.

Besides, who was he to crush such a powerful spirit? Let teenagers be teenagers. It wasn't all that long ago that he was one himself. He remembered the time he spent at MIT and it was one of the busiest times of his life, but he did enjoy his time there all the same. All of his energy was dedicated to creating new kinds of technology that would one day shape the world. He no longer had Earth, but he could still make a difference in this world world. It was in his blood as a Stark to shake things up wherever he went.

As they both did everything and nothing, he couldn't help but feel like there was something off about this whole thing. It was little more than a gut instinct, but it was a strong one.

"Question for you, not that you need to answer it. I'm just curious." Tony felt the question gnawing at him. "Are you, by chance… do you… have problems with your family?"

Not even a day had gone by and already he was asking what he believed to be a very personal question. Whether or not she would answer him was anyone's guess. If there was one thing he could say, how he handled these next few minutes would determine the nature of their relationship going forward. Strangely enough, he felt a tiny bit of anxiousness building up inside him, but he kept it hidden behind his trademark look of calm indifference. All he could do now was see how she responded.

Besides, didn't I just get done saying that people have secrets? Tony could beat himself over the head.

At first, she didn't say or do anything. She kept walking and he followed her, but her movement slowed and she eventually stopped. The streets were becoming more quiet so there was no risk of them causing a traffic jam of any kind on the sidewalk. Moments crawled by as if they were minutes. Silence reigned between them.

Penny hung her head, then spoke. "My father doesn't let me get out a lot. Ever since my mother died giving birth to me, he's always been worried about what I do and where I am and how I'm doing."

Tony's thoughts turned to his own father. Howard Stark felt like the exact opposite of Penny's father. His old man felt distant, out of reach for most of his life. Every time he did something big, he hoped that it might capture the man's attention. Nothing ever did and he couldn't even remember a single time that Howard ever said he loved him or even liked him for that matter.

"You know, you're not obligated to share all the details with me." Tony backed up the conversation. "I was just asking."

"No, it's alright." Penny turned around and looked at him with the first expression he had seen from her that wasn't positive. "I think talking about it might help me get perspective. I might be able to resolve the issue if I get a friend's opinion."

Playing counselor wasn't exactly what he had in mind. He wasn't even sure if he was going to be of any help. Nevertheless, decided that a serious conversation like this ought to be addressed with all the earnestness he could muster. He had said she was his friend and he wasn't about to go back on a promise.

"Alright, but how about we sit down somewhere?" Tony pointed up ahead. "We can get a drink and talk it over. No promises that I'll be able to solve your problems."

"I'm thankful enough that you care to listen." Penny nodded her head. "That's all I dare to ask for."

A short walk found both of them sitting on the roof of a cafe drinking coffee. Frankly speaking, neither were really focused on their drinks, just the words that would come next.

"Mister Stark-" She began.

He shook his head. "Just call me Tony. We're not here to conduct business."

"...Tony." She looked awkward saying his name. "... have you ever had a disagreement with your father?"

"Plenty." He nodded his head while staring off in the distance. "I didn't even know what was going on in that head of his half the time, but one thing I'm sure of was that I wasn't on his mind all that much. In that sense, I have the opposite problem you do."

"That sounds difficult." She took a sip from her cup. "I can't imagine my father ignoring me. Usually, whenever I go anywhere, he asks me for all the details. Then he scolds me and the cycle repeats."

"If you can't do a lot of stuff, then how'd you get out here?"

"I have discovered numerous ways to slip past my father's guard. He's often busy with work so he can't always keep a close eye on me."

"So you've got a devious side." Tony chuckled. "That's kind of cute, the idea of you being a rebel…"

"Well, I wouldn't have to do this if he would let me have more freedom." Penny puffed her cheeks out in annoyance. "It's not like I want to go behind his back. I respect my father immensely. I just wish that he would allow me to do more than go to school."

So she said, but her respect wasn't so much that she couldn't see what was going on. He could relate to what she was doing. That was something he could never quite do himself. Being unruly in small ways, yet never enough to truly anger the parent. As much as he wished he could've been a little bit more reliant upon himself, he knew that deep down, he craved his father's approval. If there was one thing that he and Penny had in common, it was respect for their fathers.

But unlike her, Tony's father was gone and he still had no idea what his father really thought about him. She had the chance to find out and it was better that she do so before she lost the chance forever.

"You know, now might be just as good a time as any to ask your old man what he wants from you." Tony chimed in with some advice. "What you want from him, clear the air, make your feelings known, all that jazz."

"I don't know." Penny looked at her hands. "It's been like this for as long as I can remember that it's hard to imagine change."

"Look, it's better than sitting on it forever. If you guys even talk about it, that's good. No one said change was easy. In fact, it's not. I can attest to that fact, but you'll never know unless you try, right? So what are you going to do about it?"

"I… I… want things to be different."

Iron Man - - - RWBY

After their heavy discussion, Penny and Tony began talking about various stories in their lives. She told him about herself and he told a bit about himself. It was hard to coax many details from him as he seemed dead-set on keeping as much away from her as possible, but she had managed to get a few things from him.

He had lived a life without much worry financially speaking. He loved his mother. He had friends somewhere far away. Simply put, there was a life he had left behind in order to start one here in Vale.

That was when night had fallen and the two of them parted ways, exchanging scroll numbers. It was another reminder that she had made her very first friend. This day was the happiest day she had felt in a good while, but that happiness might soon come to an end. She was already late enough as it was. She didn't imagine the tongue-lashing she would get would be a nice one.

Penny ran through the streets, taking great care not to bump into anyone. If she was to get home to an upset father, she would rather not looked injured or otherwise unkempt. No misunderstandings would be nice based on appearance alone.

By the time she caught sight of her home, she was panting from the exhaustion of having run for so long. She wasn't unfit per say, but she wasn't an athlete either. It was actually amazing that she had made good time. The lights were on and she knew what that meant. Walking up to the door, she took a moment to mentally prepare herself for what was to come. Carefully, she opened the door, stepped inside, and closed it.

Her father was waiting on the other side. His expression was neutral, but she was wary.

He looked her up and down. "Penny, where were you?"
"I was out in the shopping district." She told him the truth.

"Why are you late?" He asked next.

"I was caught up. I came across some people I know from school. We talked for a while and I lost track of time."

She didn't like lying much and she wasn't very good at it to begin with. No doubt her father was thinking the same thing. She would be surprised if he bought what she was selling.

He sighed. "Were you doing anything I wouldn't approve of?"

"Of course not." She shook her head.

Was now a good time to have that talk with him? Would he even listen?

"Penny, what have I told you about-"

"Father, I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

She blurted it out without thinking and his eyes locked onto hers.

This was probably not what many of you had in mind when you thought about Penny, but there is a reason for me doing this. For those of you that are confused, this is what I call the "real" Penny. She's not an android created for war. She's just a normal human girl with some slight father issues. The show always seemed to hint at overprotectiveness in a way.

In other news, the polls have yielded some fascinating results. At this point, I can safely say that at least one character has secured a lead that isn't likely to be overtaken. Number two is behind number one by a considerable margin, but is still ahead of three and four by a comfortable lead. Three and four has seen many contestants and ties.

If you haven't voted for the pole, this will be your last time to do so. By the time the next chapter is posted, the results will be decided. Also depending on which characters are elected to be the children of Iron Man will also affect the relationship that their mothers have with Tony Stark.

My apologies for the delay and thanks for reading. Feedback is greatly appreciated.

"I have learned that friendship isn't about who you've know the longest, it's about who came and never left your side."

Yolanda Hadid