Awakening

I own nothing. Don't tell me otherwise, or I'll sic a pissed off, and slightly unstable, Tony on you!

Tony's POV

What had happened...how could this have happened?

I didn't know.

Penny was supposed to be safe...she was a Stark…she was dating Death!

She wasn't supposed to die, not now, not after everything.

Fate was laughing at us; she had it out for us. I just knew it.

There was no way that Penny was supposed to go out like that. Mortem wouldn't….Mortem. Why hadn't Mortem shown up yet?

There was no way he would just let my daughter die like that, no matter what she said.

Mortem cared a lot for my daughter...possibly even loved her...that much I knew.

He had brought her back before, why wasn't he here now?

He had to fix this, I couldn't just leave my little girl...she couldn't be….no...no…

A loud crash exploded to my right jarring my thoughts back into some coherency. Ignoring the tears in my eyes I looked up to see a large, red box floating in front of me. It was kept in the air with two repulsors and the metal was the same material as my suit. I smiled weakly; it seemed Jarvis still came through.

"Sir...should I call Miss Potts?" The AI asked and I shook my head, Pepper didn't need to know. She'd freak out worse than I was...am...whatever.

"No." I croaked as the box drifted over and collapsed onto the bed besides me.

"Mortem…" I muttered, hoping to ….whoever….that he could hear me. "Please, get your ass up here…"

Ignoring everyone else in the room, who were all looking at me in sympathy or blankly, I opened in box in one hand. The metal container slid open with a hiss, and there, in the middle of the cube, sat one of Pen's back up Arcs, and a whole set of my tools.

….if only this had gotten here sooner…

I took a deep shuttering breath before pulled the Arc out. It would be useless without the baseplate and the bullet wound fixed...but if Mortem healed her she needed a new Arc.

"Mortem….Hel...some-fucking-one get the hell here…." I muttered. Mortem always came when Penny was in trouble, according to her….

Then why in the hell wasn't he here?

The bleeding had stopped, but that was obvious...Fury was trying to speak to me, as was Banner. But I ignored both of them as I connected the new Arc to Pen's chest and leaned back against the wall.

The light shone from her chest brightly, but I knew it wasn't enough to bring her back.

Here the hell where they!?

...Maybe they weren't coming...maybe Pen was supposed to die….

NO!

I clenched my jaw, no...Penny wasn't supposed to be dead….she was only a kid…

She was barely sixteen…she had her whole life ahead of her...

"Stark...Stark, she's gone."

I didn't know who was talking to me.

I didn't care, I wasn't moving. They weren't taking Penny.

I had left her once, and I wasn't going to again.

She would be ok...Mortem would fix this….

He had too.

"Sir...would you like me to try Miss Hel's cell?"

My eyes snapped open at Jarvis' words.

How could I have forgotten?

Penny had made both girls cellphones, special phones, a month ago…

"Yes." I croaked, my voice showing how I was teetering on the edge of the abyss.

I closed my eyes again, clutching Pen closer to me. She was coming back...she had to come back…

God I couldn't do this.

Not again.

I lost her once…

Please, please let her come back…

"Do you speak of Hel of Helheim?"

That was Thor; I would know that speech pattern anywhere.

I wasn't answering...just wishing...no, praying that Hel or Mortem would get here and tell me it was all going to be ok.

It had to be ok.

This couldn't be the end.

I had barely known her for a year…I couldn't lose her, we were finally a family.

I wasn't going to lose my daughter.

I couldn't, I wouldn't.

Mortem...show the bloody hell up.

"Tony...you need to let her go."

I didn't care who that was either.

I wasn't letting her go.

No.

She was all that I had left, she was mine and Evanna's baby...I owed it to my old love to keep her safe.

I might have failed but I wasn't the only one who loved her.

I didn't care if I was speaking, I didn't care what anyone thought of me now.

My daughter was going to be ok...she couldn't be dead….

Well...not permanently dead anyway

"Sir...I think Stark's lost it."

That voice.

I knew that voice.

But I didn't give a damn if Rogers thought I was insane. My life was insane.

My daughter was dating fucking Death.

She wasn't staying gone.

She was coming back.

She had to.

She was my baby...I couldn't lose her again…

Where the hell was Mortem?

"Doctor, please remove the child from Mr. Stark's arms."

My eyes snapped opened and I narrowed them at the sight before me.

Bruce and Coulson were talking in the corner, Bruce was shaking but I didn't care way. Romanoff was leaning against the other wall, watching behind an emotionless mask. Rogers and Fury were standing in the middle of the room speaking with a SHIELD agent in a lab coat.

Thor stood off to the side, his head bowed and it seemed like he was muttering a prayer under his breath or something.

My mind narrowed in on the doctor.

Where the hell had he been?!

Fury, Rogers, and the middle aged doctor all turned to look at me. Maybe I wasn't just rambling mentally.

I didn't care.

Penny was the only thing that mattered, and they weren't taking her until Hel or Mortem showed the fuck up and told me what was going on!

"...Mr. Stark…"

My eyes narrowed and I pulled Penny closer to my chest as I watched the three agents step forward. Thor glanced up and Coulson gave me a worried look.

He was reaching for Penny.

That bloody doctor that should have been here was trying to take my little girl.

I narrowed my eyes at them, and flicked on a small cube on my belt.

One of the shields I had created off of Penny's sprang into existence. I wouldn't have to worry about it dying.

It was tied to my own Arc as a power source.

Rogers tried to touch it, but it electrocuted him.

He glared at me, and I smirked.

No one was taking my baby.

Fury was ranting...but I blocked him out as I closed my eyes once again.

Everything was going to be alright….

...it had to be…

I could feel myself slipping….clinging to the only hope lift, Mortem. I didn't care if I was desperate, or even sane. I could feel it all slipping away…

Mortem had to fix it….

None of the Starks would survive otherwise.

Hel's POV

I waved my hand at the Soul before me and the Reaper standing at the other end of the room took him away.

I sighed and rubbed my temples as another Soul entered my office. Why was my father doing this? He knew how much I hated paperwork, and since the Boss hated it even more than I did, I was the one who was always stuck doing it.

"Now, you're here to face judgment so I may decide whether or not you are to be reborn or if you need to spend some time downstairs…." I started my lecture that I had already given fifty times this morning. It was hell, no pun intended. Mortem's Realm was already overworked because of all the wars going on in so many dimensions; but to put these pointless, unintended deaths on top of us…

My inner monologue was interrupted as a shrill ring echoed through the air.

The Soul in front of me twitched and the two Reaper guards all exchanged glances.

"You are dismissed!" I ordered and the Soul was dragged away.

"Pen...now's really not a good time." I muttered as I pulled the cellphone that the youngest Immortal had created for me. My eyes widened as I realized that it wasn't Penny calling; it was her father's AI.

"Not good." I said to myself and flipped open the phone. Jarvis or whatever its name was, would only call in an emergency.

"What happened?!" I barked my temper short as worry started clawing at me.

Nothing could have happened to Penny, Mortem would've been able to tell…

"Sir is requesting your and Mr. Mortem's presence immediately. I'm afraid that it is an emergency." The AI intoned and I paled.

Boss was already pissed enough with all of the extra Souls to sort and Cleanse...but with this on top of it…

"Damn." I cursed as I leapt to my feet, fear and panic flooding my veins.

"I'll be right there." I told the AI before ending the call. This wasn't good…

"Reaper! Tell Lord Death that something is wrong with the Lady!" I screamed as I stormed out of my office into the lava infested land. Reapers were tripping over each other, trying to follow my order but also not wanting to be the one who informed Boss what was wrong.

I called the shadows to me and instantly I was on my way to Midgard.

"For the sake of all our sanity, please be alright."

I reappeared in a large human aircraft. I knew that this was the right place because I could not only sense my father and uncle, but the whole ship was covered in Penny's power.

But something was wrong, I noticed this as I tried to focus in on Penny's Soul, I couldn't sense it.

"Damn!" I cursed as I had the shadows take me to the one who would have the answers. Penny's Mortal sire.

I stepped out of the shadows to a medical room in chaos that would make Insania proud. The mortals belonging to the agency called SHIELD were all yelling at each other, I could sense the mortal in glasses fighting with his other half, and Tony…

I froze, as I caught sight of the Stark duo.

Tony was sitting on a cot, covered in blood. A shield much like Penny's was erected around them, and Thor was standing in front of them with his arms over his chest.

But none of that is what caught my attention.

It was the fact that a very bloody Penny was in her father's arms, but her Soul wasn't in the room.

My eyebrow twitched as all of the yelling caused my head to pound. This had to stop.

"SILENCE, EVERYONE!" I commanded, as the shadows rippled around my feet and my eyes flashed red.

Everyone froze and turned towards me in shock, besides Tony who just looked relieved to see me. I frowned at the man, his aura was off...it was broke and twisted and I noticed that he was mumbling under his breath but didn't seem to realize it.

Great, he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. I knew the signs; I had seen enough Souls have them when they entered our Realm.

"Hel?" My uncle asked and i nodded towards the man, but otherwise ignored everyone else as I strode towards the empty shell that was my friend.

"What happened?" I asked Tony as he let the shield fall. His eyes were bloodshot and dark bags hung under his eyes. He looked ten years older, and I could tell that his mind was becoming more fractured by the minute.

"Pen….shot...Arc...what took you so long?" Tony chuckled weakly as he tried to form a sentence. I frowned at the man. Pen would kill me if anything happened to him.

Still frowning, I sent a mental request to Insania, she was the only one that could get Tony back on his feet.

"I wasn't aware that something happened." I said truthfully and Tony's eyes widened.

"But… wasn't one of your guys supposed to come? You should've been able to tell!" Tony exclaimed and I narrowed my eyes at the body of my friend.

"I don't know what's going on…" I muttered. This wasn't right. We should have known when Pen's mortal form died. She was supposed to Awaken and become a full blown Immortal. Something wasn't right.

And it had a certain Immortals stench all over it.

I shook my head, and froze as I realized that Tony was now hyperventilating. Crap,

"Tony, Tony! Snap out of it! We'll figure it out, no one should have messed with her Soul...but the fact is that I don't have it, and I don't think Boss does either. Look, we'll get her back, but it'll take time."

The mortals behind me gasp, besides my father, and without turning around, I knocked all of them out.

They weren't supposed to know about us.

"We'll get her back." I looked up to see a very pissed off Mortem appeared in the middle of the room. Tony looked up as I moved and a relieved look appeared on his face as he saw the Immortal.

His eyebrow twitched as he saw the bloody form of his Bonded; I winced and prayed to Infinitas that Boss wasn't going to take it out on me.

"Lord Death." Thor stated with a bow of his head but he said no more. I had a feeling that my uncle had figured out what was going on, but he knew better than to speak of it around a human.

"Hel, someone has messed with our Realm." He hissed out, his eyes a cold black that caused me to shiver. "I want you to stay with the Mortals; keep Aequivalere's Sire safe until I find her Soul."

Mortem walked over to us, and laid a hand on his Bonded's forehead. It glowed silver for just a moment, and all of the blood vanished from both of the Starks. I knew that Boss had healed her, as she needed a functional body to return to.

His hand turned over and all four of us glared at the small bullet that now sat in the center of his palm.

"Find out who did this." Boss stated as he gave the bullet to Tony, who looked like he was on the verge of another breakdown.

I sighed; there was a reason why Mortals weren't supposed to know about us. It was usually more than they could take.

"She needs to be kept in a safe place until I can retrieve her Soul." Mortem said as he eyed Tony carefully.

"Tony...we're going to get her back," I said slowly, Mortem had to take her...and Tony wasn't going to react to that well. "But you're going to need to let go of her."

Tony's eyes widened and his gaze flickered between the two of us. For a moment his grip tightened, and I was afraid that he could no longer see reason, but then he closed his eyes and let Penny's body drop into Mortem's grip.

"It shall be ok." Mortem tried to reassure him, and I translated for my Boss. Tony nodded weakly as Mortem vanished into the shadows with Penny's body.

I sighed and looked around at the mess I now had to deal with.

Why did I always get left with cleanup duty?

A lot different than the first time, huh? Well, I personally like this chapter better, and don't worry; Tony will be back to his kickass amazing self in a chapter or two. Let's just say that Insania needed him distracted.

I'm sorry to those who don't like this, or have decided to stop reading. You all have your own opinions and I respect that.

Oh, for those wondering the song used last chapter is "If I Die Young" by A Band Perry. Hope you all enjoyed it,
Cp