Run
Tony Stark did not want to be in Norman Osborn's lab. Quite honestly, he didn't want to be within a thousand feet of the man. In fact, it was his private hope that Norman would pack up and move his operation to Russia or the Arctic or somewhere else he had no plans of visiting any time soon. Alas, the man insisted on remaining in New York, and Pepper had told him about the invitation two weeks ago. It was entirely personal. It wasn't like Tony had a problem with competition. Wasn't like it bothered him that there were other brilliant people in New York, or even in the US. Hell, the world. He was all for collaboration. But Osborn lacked morales. Twice, he'd been mixed up in allegations about animal abuse, and premature, unapproved human trials. Plus he was a douchebag. So Tony kept his distance whenever he could.
Unfortunately, he had been personally invited to visit Oscorp, along with a handful of other top industry names, all as a publicity stunt that doubled as a chance for Osborn to show off, but Pepper had insisted he attend, reminding him that the Avengers could use the good press after the whole Accords mess that had nearly resulted in the Avengers breaking up like they were a boy band or something. Thankfully, they'd managed to work things out, but Tony knew it had been at the expense of some of their trust, and some of the trust the public had in them. So, while they worked on renegotiating the Accords, Tony agreed to join Osborn for his little publicity stunt. Besides, he thought, maybe he'd meet some interesting people he could poach for Stark Industries.
So Tony dressed in his best suit and prepared himself to smile through the boredom. It was just for a few hours. Just a few hours of making nice with Norman for the cameras and posing for pictures and touring labs that weren't nearly as good as his. And maybe eating some decent food. So, leaving Happy to spend time on his own in the city, Tony stepped into the lobby ten minutes late, only to be immediately greeted by a young girl dressed in a long-sleeved blouse and skirt along with high heels that clacked on the marble floors as she walked. She smiled and clasped her hands in front of her, coming to a stop a few feet away, and his eyes flashed down to her name tag. 'Parker'.
"Mr. Stark?" she asked, voice pitched low as if they were in a library.
He resisted the urge to make a joke...to tell her that she knew who he was. This kid looked about twelve, and he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. So he just smiled and gave a quick nod. "I am. Tony Stark." He held out a hand, and she took it in her own, shaking his hand with a surprisingly firm grip.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Stark. I'm Dr. Osborn's assistant." She hesitated then, and for the first time, her smile dropped a little and she seemed to pale a little. "I'm so sorry...Dr. Stark. I should have…"
Tony cut in before she could freak out. "Mr. Stark is fine. Honestly, Tony would be preferable. And when did Osborn start hiring middle schoolers? Doesn't that break some kind of child labor laws?"
Thankfully, his attempt to distract her worked and she gave him an amused glare before catching herself, eyes cutting back to the elevator, and then the professional smile was back. "I'm a sophomore in high school. One of Dr. Osborn's research and development interns. But tonight, he asked me to be one of the interns to welcome and wait on his guests."
"And that gig pays…"
"The same as my regular internship," she quipped with a wry smile.
"So...zero dollars is my guess. Osborn always was a tightwad. You should have applied to Stark Industries."
"Stark Industries does not accept high school interns at this time," she informed him as if reading from a website, and when he lifted an eyebrow, she flushed a little and shrugged one shoulder. "I tried to apply there first."
Tony chuckled, lowering his voice to match hers. "Don't worry. I won't tell."
Parker gave him a grateful smile, then turned, gesturing for him to follow, her heels making the soft 'click, click, click' on the floor as they headed for the elevator. When she spoke again, her voice was back to professional, almost as though she'd memorized a speech. "Dr. Osborn will be serving refreshments in the boardroom before you all take a tour of the labs, and then there will be a press event in the lobby at 3."
"Sounds bearable." The girl's lip twitched as she stepped into the elevator, holding out a hand to make sure he got in, then hit the button for the second floor. "So. Sophomore in high school. Which high school?"
"Midtown School of Science and Technology."
He whistled. "That school's no joke. And I should know. I've donated plenty of money to that school...and I think my father donated the gym?"
"He did," Penny agreed with a nod. "But you donated the nice laptops so we like you more."
Tony snorted. "Good. I have to make sure I beat him in likability with local high schoolers."
Before the girl could respond, the door opened, and she straightened a little, back stiff, hands clasped in front of her. "Here we are," she told him, leading him into a large room with the double doors thrown open, filled with mostly familiar faces.
"It's about damn time, Parker," Osborn grumbled, shooting the girl a sharp look before holding out a hand to Tony. "Sorry about the delay, Tony."
"Not her fault at all. I was late, and then I started interrogating her about school," Tony told him, shaking Osborn's hand and shooting him a look. The girl was, what, fourteen? Was this how Osborn talked to the kids that worked for him? One glance at the girl who was staring at the floor told him that most likely, yes, that was how Osborn talked to his interns. "Good to see you again, Norman," he lied through his teeth, ready to move the spotlight away from Parker.
"You too. I'm glad you could make it. Parker, we're low on coffee. Get us some more."
"Yes, sir," she murmured with a nod, hurrying in the opposite direction.
"I didn't know slave labor was still a thing we were doing here in the US."
One of the other scientists, a woman whose name he didn't remember but whose face he'd absolutely seen before, snorted behind him, grabbing a cookie and turning to Dr. Octavius, a scientist he did know. Otto Octavius. Something about robotics. He'd seen the work. It was interesting, but nothing groundbreaking yet.
Norman Osborn rolled his eyes. "I'd hardly call it slave labor. The interns work for me, finish this program, and in exchange, they get to go to any college they want."
"Ah. Forgive me. Indentured servitude then."
"Unpaid internships are nothing new, Tony."
"Neither are paid internships," Tony reasoned with a shrug, glancing over at the door when the girl returned with an urn in her arms, carrying it awkwardly but with no apparent problem. "So, now that we have coffee, are we ready to get started?"
"We are." Norman gave a sharp nod. "Interns, head on down to the lab to get things ready. Except you, Parker. Stick around in case we need anything."
"Yes, sir." The girl gave a quick nod and moved to stand by the wall close to the door, like DumE ready to be summoned. Tony took his seat, glancing at the girl and shooting her a quick smile that she returned. Maybe he should think about opening up his internship program to high schoolers. Only the best high schoolers of course...but this girl seemed intelligent. He'd have to look at her work...maybe he could get her to defect. That would have the added bonus of pissing Norman off, one of his favorite past times.
Speaking of Norman, the man began a discussion on technology and the future and their companies and Tony would have slipped out if he'd been able to. Unfortunately, Norman kept trying to pull him into the conversation, thus making it impossible to sneak away. Throughout the meeting, Parker stood at the ready, perched on her heels, hands clasped. Even when Osborn started talking about his internship program, she didn't look up. He sure had his interns well trained, Tony thought with a sigh. But she'd wanted to apply to SI...so getting her to defect wouldn't be a problem. She seemed to like him more anyway. Maybe after this meeting, he could slip her his card. Tell her to send him some of her work. He was about to pull his phone out under the table to run the idea by Pepper when the girl in question stiffened, head snapping up as she turned to look first at the window, then at the doors leading out to the hallway. Taking a hesitant step toward the side door, she tilted her head as if listening for something.
"Kid?" Tony asked, his voice a murmur, and Osborn's head snapped up, looking irritated as he cut himself off mid-sentence.
"Parker, what…"
The girl turned to the group at the table and took a step forward, mouth open brow wrinkled.
But before she could speak, the explosion sent a wave of heat through the room and knocked Tony out of his chair, his head cracking against something and then the whole world faded to black. It felt like he was only out for seconds, because when he opened his eyes, the world was fuzzy and filled with smoke, and Tony's head throbbed as he tried to sit up, failing at first. There were footsteps all around him, pounding feet probably making their escape, and he watched as Norman pulled himself off of the floor, stumbling toward the side door without a glance backward.
Tony brought a hand to his bleeding head, groaning and cursing himself not bringing his watch gauntlet as the sound of gunshots filled the air. It's a friendly meeting, Pepper had said. No need to bring any Iron Man tech. Swearing under his breath, he pulled himself upright.
Right...run. He needed to run.
But then he remembered. The girl...the intern. Parker! "Osborn...wait…" he started, coughing painfully and pulling himself to stand on shaky legs. But Osborn was already gone, along with everyone else. "Shit...kid? Uh...Parker?" His stomach dropped in the silence and Tony waved a hand in front of his face as if that would help clear the room of smoke and dust. "Parker? Kid? Are you…" Then he froze, his foot hitting something in the smoke-filled room beside the hole in the wall as he stumbled forward. "Kid?"
He dropped to his knees, feeling around in the darkness until his hands landed in something wet.
"Parker?"
The smoke cleared just a little, giving him a view of the girl's face, too-white and covered in blood. "Shit...damn it...kid? Hey," he called, shaking her shoulder carefully. What if she had spinal damage? What if he made it worse? He pressed his fingers against her throat, frowning at the thready, too-fast pulse beating there as a burst of gunshots sounded somewhere in the building. The building had been attacked. They'd known he was going to be there. Were they after him? Or Osborn? "Come on, kid. You've gotta wake up. We've got to get out of here!"
Then, miracle of miracles, the girl's eyes fluttered open, and she coughed, blood coloring her lips and dribbling down her chin.
"Hey...eyes on me, kid. Come on, talk to me."
"Mr. Stark?" she asked, more blood trailing down the side of her cheek, one arm twitching as she tried to pull it free of the rubble.
"Right here, Parker."
"What...what happened?"
"Bomb. Active shooters. Let's get you out of here." The girl blinked, then turned her head to look at him, wincing as she did.
"Shooter…"
He spoke slowly and clearly, leaning in close. "There are active shooters in the building right now. Come on. Let's get this off of you, then we're going to go out the side door." Never mind that she was coughing up blood and that her head was bleeding and that the chunks of concrete and the rubble crushing her may have done serious damage. He was getting her out. No matter what. So, trying to blink away the blurriness in his vision, Tony began to toss away the smaller pieces of rubble, digging her out piece by piece. "You're going to be fine. I'm getting you out."
"Mr. Stark…" She flinched when the gunshots got closer, a single woman's voice in the distance letting out a scream that chilled him to his core. But he had a fourteen-year-old girl that he had to get out of this building. He couldn't just leave her. "They're...gonna come...in here…"
"I know," he grunted, trying to lift the largest piece of rubble, rebar sticking out at odd angles. "That's why I have to get this off of you."
"No." The girl shook her head, reaching out and gripping his wrist in her surprisingly strong grip. "You…" she coughed, turning her head to the side, blood draining into the already-growing puddle on the floor. "Go. They might be here for you. You have to run."
"No way in hell, kid." He tried to shake her off and failed.
"Run," she urged again, looking desperately up at him. "You're Iron Man. You have to run!'
"Sure, kid. As soon as I get you out of here." This time, she let him tug his hand away, eyes darting to the hole in the wall where more gunshots exploded, loud enough to make Tony flinch. The girl pressed her hands against the concrete, closing her eyes and taking as deep of a breath as she seemed to be able to. "Just hold on, Parker."
"It's Penny. Penny Parker," she murmured, then, in a move that literally knocked him onto his ass, she shoved the concrete off of herself, throwing it to the side with what seemed like no effort.
"What the hell…" he muttered, but before he could actually ask, there were feet pounding in the hallway and they were too close and he had to move her! "Okay, come on, Penny!" he hissed, reaching down and slipping an arm under her shoulders, and another under her knees. The girl gasped, head thrown back when he straightened, a tear running down her bloody cheek. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm going to get…" he trailed off, freezing in place when three men wearing ski masks stepped into the room, guns aimed right at him and, by proxy, the girl.
"Put her down, Stark!" one of the men ordered, and Tony gripped her more tightly for just a second.
"She's only fourteen. A child. Whatever you want with me…"
"Put. Her. Down."
Tony sighed, then knelt down slowly, easing her onto the ground as carefully as he could. Penny coughed, blood spewing out of her mouth and dripping onto the floor, her whole body shuddering at the pain. "You're okay," he assured her softly, patting her shoulder and keeping an eye on the men. "Help is on the way." Then he stood again, hands up. "Whatever you want…"
"Hands on your head!" the leader barked, and Tony complied.
"Fine. Just don't hurt her."
One man stepped over the girl, grabbing one of his arms and jerking it behind his back and pulling cuffs out of his pocket, securing one wrist, then the other. "You're coming with us, Stark." Gripping his upper arm, the man shoved Tony forward, moving around the girl, thankfully, and Tony got one last look at Penny before he was dragged, bodily, out of the room.
"So...all of this for me?" Tony asked, voice forcibly light, trying not to think about the woman who had screamed a few minutes ago. Had they killed people to get to him?
"Shut up," one of them grunted, slamming him in the ribs with the butt of a gun. He gasped, bending over and swearing.
"Asshole," he grumbled, and he was sure the man was going to hit him again. Anything to stall honestly. Happy would have called for backup. The Avengers would be coming. But then there was a blur and a scream and the man that had hit him was on the ground, writhing and trying to get up. Before either of the others could make a noise, Tony saw a blur move from the floor to the ceiling, something shooting from the figure to both guns that were yanked from the men's hands and thrown down the hallway.
"What the hell?" one of them cried, stumbling forward as if trying to grab the gun back. But it was gone, lost to smoke and rubble in the dark hallway.
Once more, something was shot from the ceiling, one shot after the other, and two white blobs were suddenly covering the mouths of the men before the figure hopped down, landing lightly on bare feet and stepping into the light.
Parker. Penny Parker.
She ducked when one of the men ran for her and Tony took advantage of the distraction, slamming his head backward into the other man's face. Before he could finish the job, though, Penny grabbed the man's arm, flipped him over, and shot something, the same white goo, at him, until he was stuck fast. Then she rested her hands on her knees, torn, bloody blouse in tatters and skirt ripped along the side as she gasped for air, listing sideways before catching herself.
"Kid?" he asked, moving forward and yanking his hands uselessly against the handcuffs. She glanced up at him, then reached out, gripping the chain between the handcuffs and suddenly his hands were free. He didn't stop and think, catching her just as her legs crumbled. "Damn it…"
"I'm...I'm okay," she insisted, voice faint.
"Well, the amount of blood on the floor tells me otherwise," he grumbled, yanking off his suit jacket and wrapping it around her. She gave him a flash of a grateful smile and he scooped her up, trying to be careful, but she flinched, hissing through her teeth and clenching her jaw.
"No hospital. I'm…"
"A spider? Yeah, got that."
Penny snorted. "'M not a spider."
"Does Osborn know?"
"No, sir," she murmured, eyes fluttering shut, and he jostled her a little as he raced for the stairwell.
"Don't call me sir. Makes me feel old. It's just Tony, remember?"
"There was...in his lab...spiders…"
"We'll work out your superhero origin story later, kid. Just stay awake, okay?"
"No hospital...please...please don't tell."
"You just saved my life, kid. I'm not telling anyone your secret." He hurried down the dark stairwell, glad the meeting had been on the second floor and for the red emergency lights that gave just enough light that he didn't fall down the stairs with the girl in his arms. "Don't worry, I've got a private medbay. Doctors sworn to secrecy. You're going to be fine."
"Mr. Stark?"
"Yeah, kid?" he asked, pushing open an emergency exit with his shoulder, quickly spotting Happy who was standing beside the car, a phone pressed to his ear. "Happy!" he called, and the man's head shot up, eyes widening when he took in the sight of the girl in his arms.
"Tony, what the hell? I've got Steve on the phone...they're all on their way!"
"Mr. Stark?"
"I'm listening, kiddo. Talk to me. What's up?"
"Would you...would you consider…" She coughed, more blood staining his shirt and jacket. "...hiring a high school intern? I believe my internship with Dr. Osborn may not work out after all."
Tony barked out a laugh, breaking into a run as he approached the car, ducking down to ease her into the back seat. "For the high schooler that just saved my life? Anything you want, kid."
"Tony?" Happy demanded, climbing into the front seat, throwing Tony an incredulous glare. "Are you hurt?"
"Get us to the medbay, Hap. My new intern just got hurt saving my life."
"New intern?"
"Oh, and figure out who her parents are. We should probably tell them I just took their kid from an active crime scene."
Thanks for reading!