Awakening

Guest reviewer V:
FF does not allow out of sight links to be posted in reviews, PMs, or stories, so I could not see your email and reply. So I'm putting your reply here.

(and if any of my other readers have been wondering, here's the answer)

Yes, this is the revised (but not Beta'd) version of Awakening, as I decided to rewrite it after starting book three because I wasn't happy with it. I will not be redoing HOA when I'm done with Awakening, as the things I am changing will not affect the third book.

If they would I wouldn't have continued HOA while redoing Awakening, which I am.

Also, in regards to your review on Salvonion Heirs (as I don't know when I'll be updating that and it's easier to reply now) originally I was going to do that with Tommy instead of Lucy, but my readers voted against it, and I personally came up with a plot arc that works better, so no that's not going to be in my story.

Thanks for your enthusiasm though!

Anyway, Enjoy Everyone!

Penny's POV

I blinked one, and then again before chuckling.

Of course Dad fainted….

Still chuckling, I glanced over at Bruce and Thor. Bruce seemed to be taking this rather well, considering his lack of insanity experience (well, it was less than Dad's and mine) at least he hadn't fainted.

"Oh, I'm never going to let him live that down." I muttered to myself with a smirk, though Bruce and Thor both heard me of course.

"Why am I not surprised, the fact that get to him was the part about you being Bonded…which I'm assuming Tony was right in guessing that it mean's your married?" Bruce asked looked at me curiously.

I breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't treating me any different. Oh thank Merlin; I had lost enough friends over the years.

"Eh, Mortem and I had a bet going. We both agreed that he would freak out about that the most…" I paused, just as Mortem 'poked' me through the Bond and I sighed.

"Who was the winner of your wager E're?" Thor asked and I gave my godson a fond grin.

"Me of course," I rolled my eyes as Mortem appeared behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close to his chest. "I bet that Tony would faint, while Aequivalere bet that he would try to kill/maim/castrate me."

Both of the men in the room paled just slightly, as I rolled my eyes.

"Both were really likely," I told them with a shrug, beyond relieved that the memories seemed to have calmed for the moment.

But then again, I had been totally lost in them during my explanation so that had probably helped.

"You need to pay up by the way." Mortem reminded me, and I rolled my eyes at my Bonded as I mentally gave him the information he won.

"Thanks love!" He crackled evilly as he pecked me on the cheek. Rolling my eyes again he vanished back into my shadow, set on tormenting his twin.

"And it's either Penny or E're!" I called out to him, and I could hear his chuckle through our Bond.

Thor chuckled loudly at our familiar antics, and Bruce simply stared at were Mortem had been just a moment before. He was talking to Hulk, from what I could tell by his aura flickering.

"What information was bartered, E're?" Thor asked as Dad started to twitch. I chuckled, and shook my head.

It was still hilarious that he fainted at the fact that I was married…which was a Mortal term anyway, and not regarding anything else.

But it was Dad, so I wasn't all that surprised.

"Oh, see there's this secret that his twin has, I've known for about three lifetimes now but Mortem's been in the dark for quite a bit longer. Anyway, that's what he won in our bet…now I just have to make sure Vitam doesn't kill me for spilling the beans on her relationship." I tried to look worried about Vitam's wrath, but ended up snickering.

Though I did feel a bit bad for whatever Immortal was courting Vitam, Mortem took overprotectiveness to a whole other level sometimes. It was annoying as hell when it was geared towards you, but watching it…hilarious.

"Is anything ever normal for you, Pen?" Bruce finally asked, and I gave the doctor a strange look.

Tilting my head to the side I replied, "Normal? What's that? Isn't it a setting on a washing machine?"

My lips twitched and I couldn't hold back the small smirk towards the end, causing Bruce to just roll his eyes.

"I'm starting to wonder if normal even exists." Dad muttered under his breath as he came to. I snickered again, though not quietly enough it seemed for Dad heard me and glared.

"Not a word to Pepper, SHIELD, Rhodey…not a word to anyone; are we clear?" Dad demanded, giving the three of us his best death glare. I chuckled as both Thor and Bruce nodded slowly. They weren't scared of his glare, but of what pranks my dad might pull if they didn't listen.

"Well, Mortem saw you out cold, but he'd know anyway even if he hadn't shown up." I told him with a shrug and Dad looked pained for a moment before swallowing.

"Oh, and by the way Dad," Another smirk blossomed on my face and his eyes widened just a tad. "I'm never going to let you live that down."

Dad glared at me halfheartedly before grumbling under his breath, "…can't blame me…"

"So, let me get this straight…you're one of these Immortals…and control the universe?" Bruce asked, showing that he was still trying to work through everything that he had just been told.

"Well, not really." I shrugged, trying to think of another way to explain it than I already had. "I mean, yeah, I'm an Immortal…mostly, but we don't really control Existence. We just look after whatever Realm we have, and make sure that everything in our Realms is how they are meant to be."

I bit my lip as Thor nodded and Bruce blinked a few more times.

"You have to understand," I started slowly, searching for the right words. "Most of the time…like 99.99% of the time, Mortals aren't allowed to know about us. Very few humans in all history of Existence have been told about Immortals if they aren't Adiutores…our assistants… in fact one of the only reasons I can get away with telling you all and why Insania and Mortem haven't gotten in trouble for hanging around so much is the fact that I'm Balance…as long as my Realm isn't upset by it, then it's ok."

"But Thor already knew," Dad stated simply. "Can I assume you've spent some time on Asgard…in the past?"

I nodded slowly, "Yes…Asgard was one of my longer lifetimes if I was to be honest. He and his brother," I jabbed my head at Thor who gave me a smile, "are the ones who gave me the nickname E're in the first place, and even after all of this time, it's stuck."

Dad nodded, and I had a feeling that he had already guessed as much. I mean, I would be disappointed if he hadn't. He was a Stark after all.

"That gives you a lot of maneuverability on rules and power over other Immortals, doesn't it?" Bruce asked suddenly, "If your Balance and all?"

I opened my mouth to reply before closing it with a snap.

Huh, I actually hadn't thought about that at all.

If that was true…no wonder Fati had wanted me under her thumb this whole time.

"Mortem," I asked slowly, knowing that my Bonded had been listening in. "Is that true."

I could feel Mortem's proud smile as he replied, "Yes, and it's taken you long enough to figure that out! Thank the man for me, would you?"

I blinked a few times in shock, what the hell did that exactly mean though? How much didn't I know about my Realm!?

"Though now I owe Infinitas chocolate pie…"

"You made a bet with Infinitas, seriously!?" I drawled, wanting to smack my Bonded upside of the head. "You're an idiot."

"But I'm your idiot!" Mortem exclaimed cheerfully, and I blinked back my shock.

Why the hell was he so cheerful!?

Mortem suddenly crackled through our Bond, and I decided that I really didn't want to know.

"Pen?"

I shook my head and gave Dad a smile.

"Sorry, Mortem was being…strangely cheerful." I explained with a slight shutter. "Oh, and he says thanks Bruce, apparently he and our Sister Infinitas have been waiting for me to realize that or something…though why he made a bet with the Immortal of Time I'll never know…"

Bruce didn't look like he knew how to respond to that, but he slowly nodded anyway. "Um, he's welcome?"

"Wait, what exactly does this Bond with Mortem entail?" Dad suddenly asked, "I'm assuming it's a bit more than a normal… marriage," I was quiet proud of how level he kept his voice when he said the word, "am I right?"

I nodded, "Yeah…though Bonding is basically Immortal marriage it's a bit different. Sure, we make vows but our Souls basically become bound together for Eternity. As such a very strong Bond is form, hence the name. We can communicate telepathically, sense each other, and…our very minds and Souls are connected. Imagine having a shadow in the back of your mind, and that shadow is someone else's mind. You can feel their emotions; hear their thoughts, sense where they are…though it is possible to block it for short periods of time.

"An Immortal Bond is basically where the myths of Soul Mates come from." I explained with a shrug, hoping that Dad wouldn't flip out…

"Ah," He said, mostly to himself as he was still trying to process the facts that I was Bonded to Mortem.

Well, at least he was taking the Immortal thing well!

Bruce nodded slowly, and I could see that he was wrapping his head around everything that had been said.

"Aye, which is why it is wise to never harm an Immortal's Bonded. They're…rather protective of each other." Thor said with a shiver. He was probably remembering the one time when an Asgardian was idiotic enough to try and kill me.

Let's just say that it had been in the earlier years of our Bond and Mortem was beyond pissed.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that quite a few Asgardians were scarred for life from that.

Even though, I couldn't help but chuckle at the memory that I had been lucky enough to sort the night before.

"I'm not sure I want to know." Bruce said, as he looked between me and Thor, though Dad looked interested. If there was one thing he did like about Mortem it was how protective he was of me.

I assumed that it got him points in Dad's book.

"It's for the best." I agreed as I pulled out of my wandering thoughts, still trying not to laugh. Secretly, I liked it when Mortem got all overprotective and freaked other out, though I had never been exactly sure as to why.

"Man, I'm glad I'm on his good side." Dad muttered under his breath, and I almost laughed, almost.

Mortem was also glad that he was on Dad's good side, but I wasn't about to tell him that.

"You wouldn't dare," Mortem hissed and had to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

"I'm glad you're on his good side as well Dad." I smiled at my father, as it was true. Mortem had a tendency to torment/chase away the people in my life he didn't like.

I was also trying not to get the two conversations mixed up.

"Do you have nothing better to do than to listen to my random thoughts? I don't spend excessive amounts of time in your mind!" I protested as Bruce shook his head slowly in disbelief, but Mortem just chuckled.

"Maybe I'm just better at multi-tasking." He teased me and my eyebrow twitched, which only Dad noticed, thankfully.

"Why you…" I started and I knew that I would have to explain to Dad later from the way he was raising his eyebrow.

"Ok, question." Bruce jumped in, and I would feel Mortem's smugness at the fact that I was interrupted.

Though I had to admit, I was glad the doctor was realizing.

Deciding to ignore my Bonded for a while, I smiled at Bruce and teased, "Another?"

Bruce took it in stride and just rolled his eyes. Thor seemed amused by the whole situation, and Dad seemed to be…contemplating things while watching with amusement and entertainment.

To the others he probably looked bored, or indifferent, but I knew my father too well by this point.

"Yeah, you've referred to other Immortals as Siblings and Sister…what's that about?" The physicist asked as he shifted in the chair.

I blinked, before smiling at the doctor. I had forgotten that I hadn't completely covered that…if Bruce hadn't brought it up, Dad probably would.

In fact, Dad probably had an ever growing list of questions to ask, both here and in private.

"Well, like I said," I started with a shrug, "Immortals are rather different from humans, Asgardians, and most Mortals. Every Immortal that exists was created by one of the two original Immortals, who we call Mother, since she basically created us. She crafted every Soul that exists, Mortal and Immortal; and since an Immortal's Soul is tied to our Realm, when we came into being so did our Realm, that part of Existence.

"There's actually a lot of debate around whether or not Mother created Insania's Soul but I personally think that they just don't like her enough and try to discredit her…" I trailed off, thinking about all of the ridicule and spite my favorite Sister has to go through.

"Anyway, I am the only Immortal who was actually, physically born into the world; everyone else just came into being with their soul and Realm. My soul was originally Mortal, but was transformed into an Immortal one, by the Hallows.

"To answer your question… we think of ourselves like a giant family for a few reasons, one because we were all pretty much created by Mother we just think of all of us as siblings, and since Immortals can't have children of their own…well, it helps to make up for not having family of our own."

I shrugged again, not sure if I explained it well or not. This wasn't exactly a normal subject topic, and explaining it was weird.

"But surely you've had families in the past, I mean with the number of lives you've had…" Bruce protested, before trailing off as he say the look on my face.

I gave Bruce a small smile, and tried to not notice Dad stiffen just slightly and the way his eyes narrowed at me.

He was extremely curious and on edge about my answer; Thor just looked at me sadly.

I swore this was the quietest I ever remembered my godson being, not that I remembered everything at the moment but still…

"You see," I explained, "in my First Life, my family had been killed when I was just a year old, and I never considered the Dursleys family. Eventually, I grew to consider my friends as family, especially after Sirius, my godfather, and the one person I thought as family, died.

"Then, after the war, I thought I would be able to settle down with Ginny, my then-girlfriend, and start a family of my own. But of course, that never happened."

Dad had a weird expression on his face, and I had a feeling he didn't like thinking about my love life, past or present, I sorta felt back for him. But then I didn't, because I remembered how funny it was that he was focusing on that rather than anything else Immortal related.

"The closest thing I ever had to a family was in my Second Life," I continued on, "As I actually had parents and a sister who loved me… but after I Awoke…well, let's just say it didn't really work out."

I tried to ignore the images that came to mind, and plowed on into my explanation, not looking at anyone, my gaze now firmly on the ceiling.

"Over the years, I always had friends who I ended up considering family, and perhaps some people in my life who I called family because of blood ties…but it was never a real thing. It became apparent after a few lifetimes, that the Immortal's inability to have a family of their own, and my original orphan status, seemed to carry over into every life, one way or another."

I didn't look at Bruce, Dad, or Thor. Family was always a sore topic for an Immortal; because while many didn't dwell on the fact that it was an impossibility for us, there were those of us, the ones who spent the most time interacting or watching humans, that still yarned to fill the whole that most of our species didn't even acknowledged existed.

I sensed Dad move, but it didn't really register what he was doing until I felt him sit next to me and his arms wrap me into a hug.

"You have me," Dad whispered into my ear as he held me tightly, and I wrapped my arms around him in return and squeezed him tightly.

"I know," I assured him as I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against his Arc, "and that's why I appreciate everyone in this world so very much."

Dad hugged me tighter, and if any of the others heard me they didn't say anything.

After a moment, Bruce hesitantly spoke up, "Does…does that mean you can't have kids?"

Dad practically jumped at the question before turning and glaring at the man, who shrunk back.

Thor chuckled softly, trying not to draw attention to himself (boy had he grown up), and I back our of Dad's arms enough to nod at Bruce.

"In all of my lifetimes, I've never had children of my own. Once, I Awoke in the body of a young woman who was eight months pregnant and had died due to a sudden heart attack; but the baby died within forty-eight hours of my Soul entering the body."

I really tried not to think about that life…yeah, it was a rather sore spot in my long past; one that I had not enjoyed reliving last night.

All three males in the room winced, and Dad hugged me tighter. It was silently agreed that the topic would be put to rest for now.

There was another long stretch of silence before Dad managed to ask a question of his own, probably just one on the long list I knew he had.

"Was Loki's puppetmaster an Immortal?" Dad asked softly, and I had to blink twice before I realized that I hadn't mentioned Fati yet.

Huh, that was surprising.

"Yeah," I confirmed with a slow nod, "Fati…she's the Immortal of Fate, as if that wasn't obvious by her name. She's…well, to be honest she's a spoilt brat who hated me from the moment I turned into an Immortal…plus, she always disliked me even before, I apparently screwed up her plans for me in my First Life or something.

"She's been manipulating and messing with me from the very beginning, and it was only incredibly recently that I began to see it. I'm sad to admit that I believed all of the crap she told me, and most of the crap in my Existence is because of her. I think originally she just hated me and enjoyed making my lives miserable, but something has seemed to change. Now…well, it seemed that she wishes to End me.

"Of course, she dragged Loki into this just to spite me, as she knows how protective of him I was…" I growled out as my eyebrow twitched. "She has a tendency to go after the people I get attached to, and she doesn't need a reason."

Thor looked rather angry, and Bruce just blinked a few times as his aura flickered as he conversed with Hulk.

I suddenly thought of something, and added, "Oh, and she was the reason that Romanoff found me, why Hulk came out to play, and possibly some of the recent OOC attitudes as well…"

"OOC?" Thor asked, speaking up for the first time in quite a while.

"Out of Character." I waved it off dismissively, as Bruce and Thor just stared at the terminology.

After a soft chuckle, Dad tucked my head under his chin and just gave me another hug.

"She sounds like a bitch." Tony said bluntly, and I could hear the anger hidden in his voice.

I couldn't help it, I laughed.

"But of course," I replied shaking my head, "Where do you think the saying "Fate's a bitch" comes from?"

Dad instantly cracked up, and although it wasn't full blown laughter, it was enough to send everyone into a variety of chuckles and snickers.

Fate's a bitch indeed.

Ok, I'm really sorry I haven't updated…school been completely chaotic, like…Insania on a bad day, chaotic. I won't bother to go into the details, but it was bad.

Anyway, this week is fall break (which I'm still shocked at the fact that such a thing exists…didn't have that on the East Coast) so I should be able to update more, and for those of you who're waiting on a chapter for HOA, sorry, both me and my Beta have been swamped with school.

Yeah, so…hopefully a new HOA chapter will be up by next weekend, though I can't make any promises.

At least this was a super long chapter just for you guys!
Thanks,
Cp