Awakening
I'm really sorry how long it's taken me to get this chapter written...at first it was just stress from school that was keeping me busy but then family shit happened...and yeah. :/ You all know how real life is.
Anyway, the continuation of the Anniversary arc. Hope you all like it :)
(Get ready for a Superchapter! XD ) PS: sorry for any weird formating, I'm updating from my phone :/
Third POV
Sunday, 10/14/12
Evanna's Deathday Anniversary
It was about six thirty by the time all of the Avengers and Co scrambled out of the SHIELD issued jet and climbed into the cars that Fury had ordered to take them from the air strip to the Malibu Manor.
The kids were all tired, except for the twins, who were glad that they had gotten to stay up all night. But it was odd, for even though they were tired they had just as much energy as ever. The humans blamed the Asgardian blood. Adayna blamed Loki's genes, and Loki played innocent while blaming sugar.
Jarvis had informed them that Tony, Pepper, and Penny were all either asleep or unaware of the fact that all of their friends were currently speeding towards their house. Fury wasn't accompanying them, though he had sent along his well wishes. Phil, however, was with them. He wasn't about to be left behind, no matter what the Council might say. Fury was actually covering for him, which gained the director some points in the eyes of the scientists and Asgardians. (As they still weren't as fond of the man as Penny, nor as tolerating as Steve or Tony.)
The ride to the mansion was a quiet one, only a few whispered conversations echoing through the multiple cars SHIELD has sent: two suburbans, and two prius' if you'd believe it. Don't worry, I won't bore you with the seating arrangements.
In the Stark Malibu home, Pepper and Penny were the only ones up and about at the moment, Tony having spent most of the night awake was 'sleeping' on the couch. Pepper was preparing coffee, unaware that Jarvis had ordered breakfast for everyone or that every coffee machine in the house was currently running. Penny wasn't upstairs, she had gone down to her room to change and hadn't come back up...currently lost in her many memories while staring at one of the only photographs of her mother that she had.
Watching over them all, Jarvis was glad that Tony and Penny were no longer so alone as the Avengers and Co pass through the main gates (that Jarvis had opened for them).
Just as the cars parked outside of the house and everyone piled out of the cars silently, clones of Loki carrying the smaller, sleepy children, Penny snapped out of her daze, and narrowed her eyes at the ceiling.
"Jarvis…" She said slowly as she quickly sorted all of the Souls piling at their doorstep. "We told you not to tell anyone where we were this weekend!"
"I didn't." Jarvis replied simply as Penny turned on her heel and marched through the lab and up the stairs.
At Penny's raised eyebrow Jarvis continued, in a slightly amused tone, "Dr. Banner hacked your SHIELD files and discovered why you left."
"And you let him?" Penny asked, pausing on the stairs. "You know, since he could totally hack SHIELD without some kind of help" Despite her tone, Jarvis could see the corners of Pen's lips starting to twitch into a smile, and was pleased with himself. It seemed that the AI had saved himself from a tongue lashing from the teenage Immortal.
"Neither you nor your father told me to keep the others from finding out, you simply told me not to tell them." Jarvis pointed out, causing Penny to roll her eyes in exasperation. "Besides, I did not help Dr. Banner hack SHIELD...but I may have left files containing code from your previous hackings open on his desktop."
"Of course, you loophole loving AI…" She muttered under her breath before sprinting up the rest of the steps and to the front door.
"It's not like Fury attempted to stop them either, after he found out." Jarvis pointed out slyly from Penny's ear com.
Three things happened at once: Tony sat up on the couch 'waking up' as Penny ran through the room, Steve went to knock on the door after the male Avengers had a slight shoving contest to decide who would, and Jarvis slid open the front door to reveal Penny standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her arms.
"Oh," Steve and everyone else faltered slightly as they saw the cold stare Penny was giving all of them.
"Hi Penny," Darcy said weakly, her lack of usually hyperness very telling.
"You know, usually when people leave without telling you it's because they want to be alone." Tony stated plainly, with a touch of a drawl as he came to stand behind Penny, his arms crossed over the dirty Metallica Tshirt and glowing Arc. His hair was ruffled, eyes bloodshot, skin gaunt, and dark bags were under his eyes, but no one dared comment on his appearance.
That would be suicide hand delivered by either Penny, Pepper, Romanoff, or even, very possibly, Rhodey and Jarvis as well.
There was a moment of tense silence as everyone stared at one another, and the multiple Loki clones all shared a look with each other, Thor, and Adayna.
"Stark, are you going to make us stand here all day or are you going to let us in?" Phil asked finally, giving the two geniuses his 'don't argue with me' look.
Rolling his eyes Tony stepped back, and Penny moved backward with him, letting their many guests into the house.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Tony muttered before wandering off towards the kitchen, where he could smell coffee brewing.
Penny eyed them all as they filed into the house. Everyone besides Phil, Rhodey, and Romanoff were looking around the house in awe, having never seen anything quite like it before. Jane and Darcy both looked around in shock after they almost squeezed the life out of Penny.
"Make yourselves at home I guess." She stated as Jarvis slid the door shut behind Rhodey, who gave Penny a sheepish shrug as the scientists finally let her go. "Just don't break anything." She gave the twins, Thor, Clint, and Darcy all a pointed look as they tried not to look sheepish.
"This place is so cool!" The twins exclaimed in hushed whispers, their eyes wide.
Penny faded into the background, before teleporting back down to her room. Everyone's emotions and thoughts were a bit overwhelming, if not smothering, and she was already emotionally overloaded at the moment.
"Care to explain what you all are doing here?" Pepper asked as she strolled out of the kitchen, a cup of coffee in her hands and stern look on her face.
"Lady Pepper is even frightening in her nightclothes." Thor muttered to Loki (who had conjured a few more couches for everyone, set his boys down, and then merged with the clones) in old norse. Loki nodded simply in agreement, before replying,
"Did you expect anything different, Brother? Adayna and the Lady Sif are quite frightening in their nightclothes, and I suspect that the Lady Romanoff is the same. That's not even mentioning E're."
"Well, you see Ma'am…" Rogers stepped forward before faltering slightly, his old habits returning in his nervousness.
"That is enough, boys." Adayna interrupted the two Princes' conversation, causing them to both nod meekly. She could be quite scary.
"I've told you Steve, it's Pepper." The Co-CEO sighed before pinning Rhodey, who had been trying to sneak past her, with a glare. "Rhodey, why don't you explain."
"Yeah, Platypus." Tony drawled as he wandered back out of the kitchen hallway. "Explain why my house is suddenly fuller than it has been in months, or then it should be."
Cringing, Rhodey turned towards his two friends and sighed. "Bruce hacked SHIELD, figured out why you and Pen came back to Cali for the weekend, and well…"
He paused, looking slightly nervous and Bruce bravely stepped forward, ya know, since it was his fault everyone was there.
Of course, no one but Hulk knew that Bruce was silently praying that Tony wasn't gonna kill him.
"Bruce wimp." Hulk told him before mentally pushing him, causing him to actually say something.
"We...ok, originally I, but we all thought that while yes, you and Pen have a right to spend this time alone…" Bruce took a deep breath and tried to collect his thoughts. Hulk chuckling at him wasn't exactly helping either. "You shouldn't have to."
"And you don't have to." Jane pointed out softly as she gave Tony a small smile.
Tony opened his mouth to say something but Clint cut him off.
"Yeah, come on Tony. We've been living in the same god-damned Tower for a month now! We're a team, and well…" He trailed off suddenly unsure and Adayna found it really funny how no one seemed to be able to get out what they were trying to say.
"We're more than just a team now." Rogers continued as he gestured around at everyone present. "We're basically a family."
"No," Romanoff disagreed, causing everyone except the Twins (who had run off to raid the kitchen with Sleipnir on their heels) to look at her in surprise. "We are a Family, Stark; and whether you like it or not, family sticks together no matter what."
There was a small moment of silence, and it seemed like Tony was trying to get his brain to respond, so their speech continued.
"We would be honored, Anthony, if you would allow us to remain in your home and join you in your time of grieving." Thor said simply, and not loudly surprisingly enough. But that just showed how seriously Thor took this, as he was only quiet when it was important.
"I really don't see the point of kicking them all out now." Penny stated as she strolled back up the stairs, much more composed than she had been before. "I mean, they've probably been up all night if they all managed to get here so early, and I doubt Fury would make last minutes arrangements twice in twenty-four hours."
Tony had to admit that his daughter was probably right, and Pepper gave her approval as she wrapped her arm around Tony's.
"How'd you know it was Fury who got us here?" Clint asked, causing his girlfriend and partner to smack the back of his head.
"It's rather obvious." Pepper stated as Tony and Pen drawled at the same time, "Who else would it be?"
Everyone was either shrugging or nodding at that, and Phil took the opportunity to move towards the front of the count and pulled a dark blue bag from within his suit jacket.
"Fury's condolences, he was...unable...to accompany us so he sent this along in his absence." Phil stated as he passed Tony the bag, who looked at it curiously.
"The Council?" Penny asked from where she was leaning against the wall next to her father.
Phil's half shrug was all of the answer they would ever need.
"Ok, wow." Tony said in slight disbelief as he pulled out a bottle of scotch from the bag.
"What is it?" Darcy and Clint asked at the same time, though Clint couldn't help but lean forward eagerly, wanting to know why Tony was making that face. Everyone else leaned forward as well, as Pepper leaned forward and pulled out a wine bottle.
"A bottle ofDalmore 62 Single Hiland Malt Scotch* and Chteau Latour Pauillac 1990*." Tony stated in shock, though no one but Phil, Selvig, and Pepper seemed impressed, or even like they understood. Phil because he knows everything, Selvig cause...he was just old and knew a lot, and Pepper because, how could she spend so many years with Tony and not know about expensive alcohol?
"Ok, it's official. Fury is on my cool list." Tony stated as he shook his head in disbelief. Penny was starting to worry that she was going to have to fix her father's brain.
"So...they're good?" Steve said slowly causing Tony to look at him in disbelief.
"Steve, the stotch alone costs about $58,000 and is one of the most expensive in the world. What do you think?" Tony stated plainly, causing everyone in the room to either stare at the bottle in shock or whistle in appreciation. "I can't understand how on earth Fury even has this…"
"There's a note." Pepper snapped out of her shock first. "Maybe that'll explain?"
Tony shrugged, and Penny grabbed the note out of Pepper's hands, causing the older redhead to roll her eyes in exasperation.
"I was going to read that." Pepper told the teenager who just shrugged.
"Though, I am." She replied before unfolding the paper and clearing her throat dramatically, before continuing in a rather bad Fury impression.
"Stark and Daughter, Oh, good job Fury. Glad to know that we're actually people to you." Penny commented sarcastically, a glint of mischief in her eyes before continuing as Pepper tried to snag the letter from her.
"No, I didn't just spend over half a thousand dollars on you." Penny glared at the archer as Clint snickered, though he was glad when Romanoff didn't hit him. "I send my condolences and I apologize for not being there in person, but I am sure you appreciate the fact that I am still in control of SHIELD…"
"Too true Nicky, too true." Tony nodded sagely, and Pepper hit his arm lightly, though she was too happy at how...not depressed and sobbing, he was right now to actually care.
"Tis his situation really that bad?" Thor asked in surprise, and everyone but Phil and Adayna nodded slowly.
"Yeah, and it gets worse with each passing day." Romanoff stated, imagining what it would be like to personally dispose of each Council member herself. They really were that irritating.
"You know, I really don't want to think about what SHIELD would be like if Fury wasn't there to counteract the Council." Selvig observed, and everyone shuttered at the thought. It really wasn't pleasant.
"If you would all shut up," Penny stated with a glare, causing everyone to quiet. "The wine is simply something I was given by a politician who was trying to gain my favor a few years back, and as since I'm very unlikely to ever even open it, I thought I'd pass it along…"
"So very thoughtful, Fury." Tony drawled and Penny zapped him lightly as everyone else snickered, Rhodey shaking his head at his friends' antics.
"...since I believe you'd actually make use of it. The scotch however has a story to it, and I'd appreciate it if you'd actually let me get through it before you burn this letter and smash the bottle against the wall." Penny blinked, but reading the next line she understood immediately. Ok, Fury actually knew her father pretty well.
"This can't be good." Tony muttered as Bruce and Rogers shared a look, while Loki and Thor sharing one of their own as well.
"The scotch was given to me by Howard only six months before he died…" Penny was cut off as Tony cursed loudly, glaring at the bottle.
"Why in the nine bloody levels of hell would I ever drink this!" He yelled, and Rhodey was quick to snatch the bottle before it became nothing more than a stain against the wall. He was the more sensible one after all.
"Dad, let me finish." Penny stated, her own eyebrow twitching at the mention of Howard, though she knew that Fury wouldn't mention him (now that he knew the real story) without good cause.
Tony huffed, but didn't say anything else, though his thoughts were projecting rather loud, vocal, and creative opinions.
"...and he told me to only open it on a special occasion." Penny continued. "I think he meant for me to open it when Rogers was found, but to be honest I forgot I had it. Having found it after one of the various pranks you and your daughter have subjected me to in the last few months...yes, I know it was the two of you...I was still at a loss as to what to do with it, Rogers already haven't been found and defrosted."
Everyone in the room tried not to notice the flitch Steve gave at the mention of the ice, and Adayna patted his arm comfortingly, her motherly instincts coming into play.
"After discovering why the two of you were taking a leave of absence for the weekend...by the way, never repeat this to anyone, but judging by the characteristics your daugher has that I'm certain aren't from you, I'm sure Evanna was a wonderful woman... I thought that you might enjoy the bottle. Don't argue with me, think of it as a way to spite your father if you must; as I'm sure you will. Toast to the memory of Penny's mother; but also to the family you have created and the things you have done, Stark. Those are reasons for celebration, though I'm sure not exactly the type Howard had in mind when he gave me the bottle."
Tony snorted and Penny had to stifle a chuckled, knowing that Fury was right. Steve looked slightly uncomfortable, but didn't mention anything. He had learned not to defend Howard over the past month, and since he found out what his old friend had done to his son and granddaughter, he didn't really want to defend him.
"Oh, and Stark? Please try not to blow anything up or cause some kind of national incident. In fact, if you cause me any headaches...yes, international incidences are headaches, I will personally see to it that every member of your team and company, not to mention SHIELD employee and press agency in the world will receive a copy of every single one of the baby pictures of you I have in my possession." Penny tried very hard to keep a straight face as she read this, though it became hard when Clint and Darcy burst out laughing and Tony started muttering about 'evil one eyed pirates' under his breath.
"And don't doubt that they existed. The only reason that bastard Stane was named your godfather instead of me is because I didn't want to place another target on your head so early on in life."
"Fury was supposed to be my godfather?!" Tony gasped in surprise and all of the agents including Phil shared a surprised look at that. They really didn't think that they were supposed to know this.
"I do not believe Fury expected this to be read aloud." Thor observed to his brother who snorted.
"Ya think?" Loki drawled before his lips twitched upwards into an amused smirk. This would be wonderful blackmail if it was ever needed against the director.
"Well, he would've done a better job than Stane." Penny pointed out, knowing for a fact that her old friend would've been a great godfather to young Tony. Penny wasn't going to tell anyone, but Nick had always had a soft spot for kids, especially Tony as a kid. (And now she was trying not to think about the fact that she had technically been alive in this world when Tony had been a kid, or the fact that she had once gotten along with Howard rather well. She hated thinking about that.)
"But if that ever gets out Anthony, Penella, I will know whose bodies to dump into the Mariana Trench when my wrath is through tearing you into little pieces where not even your AI or even Mortem would be able to retrieve or revive you. Ok, for the record that's seriously not true. Mortem'd be able to save us easily, without even moving in fact, and I'm sure Jar would come up with something amazing to get us. Right Jar?"
"Whatever you say, Miss Penny." Jarvis stated simply, everyone chuckling since they were all used to Jar's sense of humor by then.
"Asking for you to handle the day like responsible people, and with no headaches for me, Nick Fury." Penny paused as she folded back up the paper, everyone in the room wondering what to say.
Finally, Clint couldn't take it anymore and broke the silence.
"Wow, who knew Fury actually had a heart?" He snickered before jumping about a foot in the air and clutching the back of his head. "Ow! Natasha what was that for!"
"You know very well what it was for." Natasha replied coolly. "So behave."
Clint nodded meekly and everyone else relaxed.
"That was rather...eye opening." Bruce commented and everyone nodded again.
"Surely you didn't think the man was a robot or something?" Adayna said as she moved over to the couch were Fenrir and Jormungand were starting to wake up.
"Well, actually, there was this one rumor going around a few years back which caused some of the rookies to actually check to see if Fury was completely human…" Clin trailed off as he caught sight of the narrowed eyed glare Phil was giving him.
"And who started that rumor, remind me again?" Natasha said, giving Clint a pointed look.
"I spent two months trying to clean up that mess!" Phil exclaimed and everyone blinked in shock as the man actually sound angry! They all shared a look, wondering if they would have to flee.
"But it was totally worth it, right? Right?" Clint was starting to get more and more desperate as Phil advanced on him, a dark look in his eyes.
"Let me live!" Clint yelled before diving into the nearest air vent and vanishing.
The air was tense as Phil continued to glare at said vent, that was, until Penny and Tony burst out laughing hysterically, leaning on each other for support.
"That….was priceless….Phil…." Tony managed to gasp out before father and daughter collapsed onto the floor, struggling to breath through their laughter.
Everyone turned their attention from Tony and Penny to Phil as he chuckled, straightening up and smirking slightly.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Phil stated smoothly before striding out of the room and into the kitchen to get coffee.
Loki chuckled under his breath, he really did enjoy Phil subtle, or not so subtle, little pranks sometime.
"So…." Dary said slowly as Jane and Thor started up a conversation in hushed tones.
"Sir, Breakfast has arrived." Jarvis informed everyone, and instantly, Tony was striding towards the door, composed and completely serious.
"Last one to the kitchen doesn't get a chair!" Penny cried before sprinting down the hallway, everyone else on her heels.
Rhodey and Pepper chuckled as they shared a look. These people really were good for Tony and Pen.
After breakfast, where everyone ate twice as much as usual and somehow all of Loki's boys ended up covered in maple syrup and chocolate sauce (they refused to admit that they had a sauce war to wake up the younger two). Everyone somehow found themselves out on the beach, wearing conjured suits, shorts, and Tshirts provided by Loki and Penny. They had all agreed after the insanity that was breakfast that even Tony's mansion was too small of a space for all of them to relax peacefully.
Once everyone had settled out on the beach shore, the kids playing in the water along with Clint and Darcy while most everyone else was lounging around on beach towels (also conjured) by Tony and Penny, who had once again fallen silent. Everyone noticed as they continued on in their small and quiet conversations, but no one spoke up. They didn't want to push Penny and Tony on this day, most of them believed that it was enough that they were there, and that they had made them laugh and smile.
Only Pepper and Rhodey knew that the real reason that Pen and Tony were being so quiet was actually because they were on the beach, in the sand, and it didn't exactly bring back the most pleasant memories, on top of everything else.
Phil and Romanoff, knowing more about their backstories than everyone else present, had a feeling that there was more to it, and Phil had already mentally guessed what was going on. But he wasn't going to say anything unless he deemed it necessary. He was going to take this quiet time to enjoy his book and keep an eye on all of his rather mischievous charges. (Everyone besides Pen was surprised when Phil actually changed out of his suit for a pair of khaki shorts, flipflops, and a light blue button down.)
When Clint started dunking the kids beneath the waves, Natasha, who was wearing a black, fancy and slightly revealing one piece, dragged him back to the shore by his hair. So all of the adults were present when Tony finally spoke after the long stretch of silence.
"Evanna loved the beach." He spoke softly, as if mostly to himself. But everyone heard him and almost everyone (besides the frolicing children) froze. The men stopped talking, Jane and Darcy stopped gossiping, Pepper looked up from her paperwork, Rhodey and the Asgardian brothers stopped throwing the volleyball at each other, Selvig looked up from where he was 'napping' and Phil paused in turning a page.
"Why don't you tell us about her, Tony?" Romanoff asked softly as everyone shifted more towards the billionaire.
"Aye, I would love to learn about the Lady Penny's mother." Thor stated softly as they rejoined the others in the sandy blob of people.
Pepper placed her hand on Tony's bicep, and he looked over at his girlfriend with a small smile on his face before he nodded.
"Alright," Tony said and Penny snapped out of her own silent funk to nod slowly and gave Tony a small smile.
"Well, I met Evanna decades ago, when we were both only eight years old…"
It was well past noon by the time Penny and Tony had run out of stories (that they could think of) about Evanna. Rhodey had been the one to run back up the house when lunch had arrived, and everyone had a giant picnic of deli sandwiches in the sand. Thankfully to the more normal members of the Avengers and Co, both Loki and Pen knew a spell to prevent sunburn, so no one turned into a sore lobster.
(Though somehow the twins did manage to turn Jor into an actual lobster. Adayna had been less than pleased, even though Jor had been perfectly fine with it, but still.)
Penny and Tony were now much more relaxed, and surprisingly light hearted after talking about Evanna for the past several hours. Clint, Rhodey, Bruce, Thor, Rogers, and Loki were all dueling each other in water volleyball (not their brightest of ideas, but still, boys will be boys), while Natasha, Jane, Darcy, Pepper, and Adayna were sunbathing. Tony was watching the men, he was supposed to be the referee, from his beach chair while Penny wandered in figure eights in the sand playing whatever tune came to mind on her violin; she was even taking requests. Phil was still reading, though he had moved closer to the water and now had his feet in the water. Selvig had moved as well, given up on dry land and was currently swimming behind the waves. Once the grown ups had invaded the water, Jor, Fenrir, Sleipnir, and the twins had claimed a large portion of the sand as their own, and were currently using their powers (what little magic they knew, and instinctual magic) to compete in making sand forts.
Before the volleyball game, Rogers had even shared a couple stories about Peggie with the group; which caused Tony and Phil to share a few stories they had with Steve's old love in them.
Now of course, everyone was just enjoying the california sun, ignoring the fact that it was october and quite chilly in New York.
"Take it easy children!" Tony called out in amusement as the game of water volleyball quickly turned into a game of water wrestling. Clint had tried to tackle Thor when his team won, but the large asgardian had just brushed him aside into Rhodey, sending them both down into the waves.
"Sometimes you have to wonder if they're actually older than your boys." Jane mused to Adayna as she shifted her sunglasses to gaze at said men.
Adayna just shrugged, "In Midgardian years everyone over there besides Loki and Thor are younger than the boys, but yes, I know what you're saying."
"Details, details." Darcy waved it off before turning to glance at Pepper. "Though I'm surprised Tony isn't joining in. He's usually the most immature out of all of them...whenever it doesn't involve Penny's safety or something similar."
Pepper shifted in the sand, but didn't immediately say anything. She knew why Tony and Penny weren't going near the water, but she wasn't gonna say anything. Jane also gave Darcy a small look of disbelief. She at least remembered Penny's freak out when she had been dumped in the pool back in New Mexico. She knew perfectly well that Pen was avoiding the water, and she had a theory that Tony was avoiding the waves for the exact same reason.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that." Natasha commented, "Clint has Tony beat for immaturity; I wouldn't have said so a few months ago, but…"
She paused and glanced over at Penny as she switched from a slow melody into a more upbeat and face paced one. None of the women recognized the tune, but they silently agreed that it was lively.
"Yeah, Penny changed a lot of things." Pepper commented warmly, proud of the way Tony had grown up in the past year.
"She definitely has," Jane mused, "for all of us."
There was silent agreement from everyone and they all fell into content silence, listening to Tony cheering 'Brucie' on (who had ended up wrestling Rogers without his skin turning green), the shouts from the boys, the kids all yelling and laughing at each other, and Pen's music echoing it all.
"Oh no." Pepper suddenly groaned as the males suddenly fell quiet, Tony getting drawn into a debate with Phil over who would win in a fight, Hulk or Rogers, and all of the others no longer wrestling in the waves.
"I suddenly have a really bad feeling about this." Pepper said slowly, wanting to hide her head in the sand to get away from the feeling growing in her gut.
"We're at the beach," Darcy stated carelessly as she waved her arm in the air. "What could go wrong?"
All of the older women groaned as Pepper bit her lip. That was what she was worried about.
"...really not sure if this is a good idea." Bruce protested, glancing at Rhodey who was slowly making his way back towards the beach, no longer within earshot. He claimed that he needed the toilet, and Bruce was cursing the man's bladder for its timing.
"Of course it is! Look, even the girls got in the water a little while ago! He's just being a whimp." Clint waved it off, but Bruce and Loki shared a look.
"Perhaps Anthony has a reason for not getting in the water?" Loki questioned, and Bruce almost jumped in joy at having someone on his side.
"Why would he not?" Thor asked, making Loki want to curse his brother's dimwittedness. There were tons of possibilities.
"Come one, once he gets wet he'll have so much more fun. He's acting like an old man, and that's saying something since even Selvig's in the water!" Clint exclaimed, and Bruce gnawed at his lip. Hulk was telling him that this really wasn't a good idea, and so was his gut.
He knew that he should listen if one of those two was telling him something; but if both were? Yeah, this was a really bad idea.
"I mean, seriously, what could go wrong?" Clint theorized and Loki rolled his eyes as Bruce rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"I don't see anything wrong with it." Steve said slowly, his brain running in a few circles trying to see the downside to Clint's idea.
"I can see quite a few!" Bruce exclaimed throwing his hands up in the air. "Or have you forgotten that he has an electro magnet in his freaking chest!"
"Tony told me it was waterproof when I asked a few weeks back." Clint waved him off, and Steve nodded, remembering the conversation the two had held with Stark regarding the Arc.
"Fine, whatever, do whatever the hell you want but don't blame me when it backfires on you!" Bruce exclaimed as his eyes flashed green, before storming off toward the shore.
"You shall make your own beds." Loki stated in agreement with Bruce before vanishing and reappearing next to his sons on the beach.
There was a moment of silence as Thor, Rogers, and Clint all just looked at each other before shrugging.
"Ok," Clint said and the other two leaned in. "Here's the plan..."
Penny's POV
(Finally, right?)
Ok, I guess I had been a bit wrong when I said before about Mom's deathday anniversary not really affecting me. It wasn't just her death that was hitting me now, it was practically everyone's was; and it wasn't just deaths that were haunting me today. It was the people I had left behind as well.
Stretching all across my lives, from Teddy's death to leaving behind Loki and Thor when they were but children. Hundreds of thousands of people had been echoing through my thoughts today. But there were some that definitely stung more than others.
Teddy's death, Hermione's death, Ron's death...almost everyone from that world, Sam's death, my parents' deaths, my abandonment of Dani, another whole world I left behind...so many faces, so many lives…
To be honest, it was almost as worse as if I hadn't organized my mind, but now...now I remembered them all.
This wasn't anything new or surprising, it happened whenever I took the time to remember someone on a deathday. But still, even after so many countless years they hurt almost just as much as they did when it happened. The pain was branded into my Soul, and I wasn't sure if they would ever fully heal.
I could feel Mortem's reassuring presence trying to comfort me over the Bond, but there wasn't much he could do at the moment since he was currently quite a few dimensions away dealing with a galactic war that had popped up.
But it was alright, I had survived many a deathday on my own and I would survive this one as well. If there was one thing I had learned over the eons (and I had learned a lot), it was that I was a very stubborn and resilient person.
My thoughts were pulled to an abrupt, crashing halt as my Soul twisted. Not painfully, but definitely drawing my attention. My bow slipped, a wrong note screeching through the air as my eyes snapped open and my awareness returned to my immediate surroundings.
"Guys, seriously, put me down!" Dad's voice reached my ears and I spun around to see Rogers and Clint holding Tony in the air between them by his arms and legs, and carrying him towards the waves.
I narrowed my eyes and vanished my violin back to my room. What on earth did those fools think they were doing! An image of myself in a similar position not too long before flashed before my eyes but I pushed the memory away. Dad was the one in danger, not me!
"Come on Tony, it's just a bit of water, it won't bite!" Clint laughed as Pepper finally caught sight of what they were doing and screamed.
"PUT HIM DOWN RIGHT NOW BARTON!" She screamed, already on her feet. But I was so much faster.
"What the bloody hell is wrong with you!" I yelled, running towards them, but they were already over the water.
"I SAID PUT ME THE FUCK DOWN!" Dad screamed, his voice cracking at the end, and I could see Rogers' eyebrows knitting together as Dad started struggling.
"Stop being a whimp!" Clint exclaimed with a laugh and my Soul twitched and my vision blurred for just a moment. How dare he! Couldn't he see Dad was terrified!
"CLINT BARTON!" Natasha yelled running over just as Phil barked, "Agent Barton!"
"LET ME GO!" Dad screamed and his aura flared, and I winced as my feet hit the water I could tell that he had just fallen into a flashback. Damn it! I was only feet away from them now…
"Fine," Clint shrugged before dropping Dad into the water, Rogers letting him go at the same time.
"FUCK YOU!" I screamed just as I past them, my power flinging them back. Suddenly, just as I was about to grab hold of Dad and get him out of there...he had been under the water for too long already...something swept my feet out from underneath me, sending me crashing into the water below.
"DAM…" I started to yell before water entered my mouth just as I clamped it shut. Blue and grey flashed about my vision as I tried to gain some footing against the slushy silt and sand beneath my feet. Echoing memories were pushing towards my mind but I managed to push them back.
I had to get Dad out, I had to find the surface...Dad would be in a full blown flashback induced panic attack….
Throwing my senses out I managed to righten my feet and push up towards the surface, my head broke free of the water, but before I could do more than take in a half a gasp of air a wave crashed down on my head, sending me spinning back beneath the water.
Dark grey and blue flashed before my eyes as my mind spun and my ears rang. What the hell had just happened? I tried to focus but the ringing in my ear and pressure on my chest was throwing me off.
Something collided with my head and suddenly any mental control I had on my memories snapped and my mind was suddenly flooded with scenes from Afghanistan, and other horrible, dark times where water was used against me.
My chest tightened as the grip against my neck refused to let up.
No! Damn it, they weren't real! I wasn't back there, I was with Dad…
Where? Where was I?
Where was Dad?
My blood boiled and my lungs burned and my body screamed and screamed for some oxygen.
What the hell was going on? Why couldn't I remember what was going on?
Where was Dad? Where was Mortem?
Where was I?
My eyes felt like they were popping out of my head, and just as the grip on my neck pulled me up and out of the water, something hard and burning hot was shoved against my lips.
A blood curling scream erupted from my mouth with the first breath of air I got. It hurt, it burned….
Nothing was burning, but everything was dark, cold, what on earth was going on?! Why couldn't I think? Why was my chest burning? What was wrong!?
"Mortem!"
Back into the water, laughter echoing in my ears and I struggled and fought as someone punched my back, causing me to spasm and let out the small breath of air I had managed to hold onto….
"Aequivalere!"
Suddenly, I could see, suddenly I could feel, and suddenly...I could think!
Mortem's presence was strong through the Bond, and I could practically feel his arms around me as my eyes focused on the murky water in front of me. My chest was burning and my head was throbbing, but for a brief, half of a moment, I knew that I was alright…
"Your father! The others can't get him out of the water!" Mortem's voice broke me out of my daze and acting almost on instinct I threw out my senses, latched my Soul onto his, and pulled the two of us upward.
With a bright explosion of power, my soaked and throbbing body appeared on the warm, spinning sand right next to my father, who was gasping desperately for air, his eyes wide and unseeing.
I kept my grip on his Soul tight, sending soothing feelings across the makeshift connection the best I could as I tried to focus my thoughts and gaze.
"You hit your head love," Mortem's voice echoed through my shaken mind and I blinked as I realized that nothing was spinning except my vision. "Give it a few moments, it'll heal."
It was then that I sensed my Bonded's healing powers flowing through the Bond, and I realized that I must've gotten a concussion or something.
"TONY, PENNY!"
I blinked, realizing that someone had slid to a stop in the sand right next to us. Tony wasn't trashing anymore, that was good, but his breathing was still panicked, and I needed to get him off of the beach and somewhere familiar….
"Penny?! Tony?! God, Penny you're bleeding!"
I recognized the voice as Pepper and managed to sit up just as Mortem's magic was able to clear up some of the pain.
"I'm alright," I managed to gasp out, feeling more than seeing Pepper's relief. Ignoring everyone else besides my still hyperventilating father, I grabbed onto Dad's arm, and caused my powers to build around me, causing us to vanish again.
Yeah, we were going to go...dry off...somewhere a bit more private.
Those dimwitted moronic trolls were the reason this happened anyway!
Third POV
As Penny snapped out of her thoughts a few minutes before
"Guy's, seriously, put me down!" Tony exclaimed for the second time as Clint and Rogers carried the billionaire through the air by his arms and legs.
"My god!" Jane exclaimed as she caught sight of Tony's predicament, drawing the other's attention.
"Come on Tony!" Clint exclaimed with a laugh as Thor trailed along after the two other males as they made their way towards the water. "It's just a bit of water, it won't bite!"
"PUT HIM DOWN RIGHT NOW BARTON!" Pepper yelled, having already lept to her feet and starting to run towards them. She was panicking, knowing what would happen if Clint and Rogers dropped Tony in the water. She couldn't let it happen!
Natasha and Adayna were also already on their feet, but Penny was so much faster. Before any of the other women even noticed that she had stopped playing, she was running towards them men who were already practically at the water's edge.
"What the bloody hell is wrong with you!" The teenage Immortal yelled as she flew across the sand.
Almost everyone was horrified, and time seemed to practically slow down as everyone rushed to react.
"I SAID PUT ME THE FUCK DOWN!" Tony screamed, his eyes wide and his voice cracking at the end. That put everyone on edge, and those who hadn't noticed the situation before could see it now.
"Stop being a whimp!" Was Clint's wonderful reply, causing many of the Avengers and Co to see red. Thor hesitated, falling back, suddenly thinking that this wasn't such a good idea.
"CLINT BARTON!" Natasha yelled only a pace behind Pepper as Phil lept to his feet and barked, "Agent Barton!"
Penny was almost to the water's edge, but somehow the trio had managed to get out to waist deep water, waves crashing and rolling around them.
Pepper felt her blood go cold.
"LET ME GO!" Tony yelled one last time as he was finally sucked into the depths and horrors contained in his own mind and memories.
Even Rogers looked apprehensive now, and just as he opened his mouth to say something, Penny only a few feet away, Clint shrugged and said, "Fine."
Tony dropped into the water like a thrashing sack of potatoes.
"FUCK YOU!" Penny yelled out at the same time Pepper yelled, "TONY!"
Rhodey, having heard the screams, was running back down towards the beach, Bruce and Loki dashing over as well.
Thor was pushing through the water, trying to make it to the Starks just as Pen passed the two men responsible...and something caused her to go down under the water as well.
What no one could see, was that it was that her foot had caught on Clint's, causing her fall.
"Dam…" They could hear Pen's startled exclamation become a gurgle as the water cut her off mid yell.
"PENNY!" Jane and Darcy exclaimed in fear as Pepper pretty much shrieked "TONY! PENNY!" to the heavens.
"Don't just stand there you fools!" Coulson barked orders as he, Pepper, and Romanoff all arrived at the waters edge and started pushing their way towards them, "Get him out of the water!"
Thor, just arriving on the scene, managed to get a secure grip on Tony (something Rogers had been unable to do and Clint had been in too much shock to even try to do) and pull his head above the surface.
Tony let out a half scream half gurgle as he struggled sightlessly, just as a rather large wave washed over them all, causing Penny to (unseeingly) be swept back down under the water, and causing her to hit her head on a rock. Tony was also pushed back under the water, Thor's grip on Tony's shirt slipping.
"GET THEM OUT OF THERE!" Pepper screamed from the waters edge as Loki appeared in a spike of magic, Adayna arriving at the waters edge and pushing past the redhead as Natasha and Phil started searching the water for Penny.
"I can't get a good grip on him!" Rogers yelled as a wave splashed against his face and Tony kicked him in the ribs, Clint finally snapping out of it only to get kneed in the stomach for good measure.
"Nor can I!" Thor exclaimed in panic as Loki started muttering a spell under his breath, and Bruce struggled to control his breathing on the shore. Hulk wouldn't help things at the moment.
"Try harder then!" Natasha snapped as she and Phil continued to look for Penny, realizing that she must've hit her head or something.
It seemed like forever to the people trying to help their friends, but in actuality it was less than thirty second between Penny falling into the water and a large burst of energy knocked everyone back, and the two Starks appearing on the sandy shore, both panting heavily.
Tony let out a loud gurgling scream as he choked up water and twitched in the sand, the flashback's grip on his mind not letting up.
"TONY, PENNY!" Pepper screamed in panic and relief as she sprinted faster than almost any trained agent and slid to a stop in the sand at their sides.
"Penny?! Tony?!" Pepper exclaimed slightly hysterically as she tried to roll Tony over to his back, only for him to twitch and let out a shout at her touch, causing her to back away slowly. Everyone else in the water was getting to their feet or making their way towards the shore as Bruce, Jane, and Darcy all raced over. Bruce hoping that the blood he smelled wasn't form anything serious.
"Are they alright?!" Rogers called out, but Pepper ignored him, spotting a rather large (but shrinking) gash on Penny's forehead.
"God, Penny!" Pepper exclaimed in worry and shock, "you're bleeding!"
Bruce knelt down right beside Pepper, eyeing the wound in worry, only to see it shrink down in size right before his eyes. Darcy and Jane paused right behind the doctor, worry practically radiating from them.
"I"m alright." Penny rasped as she rolled over slightly, reaching towards Tony, who was still breathing heavily, through his twitching seemed to be slowing.
Bruce just got the chance to wonder what was calming Tony down, and open his mouth to rebuke Pen's statement before Penny latched onto Tony's arm, and they both vanished in a pulse of electric power.
"Damn it!" Pepper exclaimed just as Rhodey finally reached them, Loki appearing with Adayna in his arms in another flash of magic.
"It's alright Pepper," Phil stated as he appeared behind the distressed redhead and put a hand on her shoulder. "Penny'll take care of him."
"I'm worried about her too!" Pepper snapped, her red eyes brimming with tears.
"Lord Death wouldn't let anything happen to her." Thor tried to sooth her as Romanoff appeared, dragging Clint by the ear with Rogers following behind them in shame.
"Would someone like to explain what on earth just happened out here?!" Rhodey exclaimed, his mind putting together the pieces, though wanting a real explanation.
Phil opened his mouth to explain as Loki and Adayna stepped away to comfort and reassure their children, who had all been startled/worried by the shouting and screaming that had been going on.
"I'll tell you what happened!" Pepper hissed as Bruce helped her to her feet. "Barton thought it'd be a wonderful idea to dump a known aquaphobic into the ocean! And totally ignored everyone when we were telling him to stop! He didn't even get the hint when Tony was thrashing around and screaming at the top of his lungs for them to let him go!"
Barton didn't look up from the ground as Rhodey glared at the man, but before the airman was able to start in on the archer Rogers stepped forward.
"I'm also responsible for what happened." Steve said, his face still green and his hands slightly shaking as it finally sunk in what he had done to one of his friends. "I didn't listen to Bruce or Loki when they said it was a bad idea, nor did I stop to think about why Tony was reacting that way until it was already too late."
"I took part in it as well." Thor admitted, and he looked like someone had just butchered his puppy in front of him, and then drowned it's family. His long hair was tangled up and dripping wet, and he had a red mark slowly appearing on his face, obviously from when Tony was struggling.
Guilt was pretty much written into the lines on Rogers' young face, and considering how depressing Thor looked, Rhodey couldn't completely hold it against them. They had at least admitted their mistake and had tried to help, from what he could see and from the fact that Pepper wasn't glaring at them too badly.
So, Rhodey did nothing but glare at the men in anger, before turning on Client.
"I sure the hell hope you learned from this, because trust me, if this sets Tony back at all...I won't' be the only one you'll be answering to." Rhodey stated coldly before turning on his heel and marching back up towards the house.
There was a tense moment of silence before Bruce said softly to Pepper, "Come on, lets get you up to the house."
Pepper sighed in distaste but didn't argue, and let Bruce lead her away. After a moment though, she paused, stopping Bruce, and said over her shoulder, "Did you really have to do that today of all days? Don't Tony and Pen have enough to deal with today as it is?"
Another stab of guilt hitting the three men in the heart as Bruce pulled Pepper up the path behind Rhodey.
"Agent Barton." Phil's chilling voice cut through the silence like a hot knife. "I believe we need to have a talk about observing the situation and acting upon the facts given to you."
"That's not all we'll be talking about." Natasha's voice was even colder than Phil's if that was possible. "And when we're through you'll be lucky if you'll be sleeping in the Tower for the next month!"
"Rogers, Odinson, I believe it would be best if you joined this conversation as well." Phil practically ordered before he, Natasha, Clint, Thor, and Rogers all started walking towards the opposite end of the beach than the one they had been using.
That left Jane and Darcy standing awkwardly in the sand, a few yards away from where Loki and Adayna were trying to explain what had happened to the three younger children as the twins plotted revenge.
All of the sudden a very confused and concerned looking Selvig dragged himself out of the water and up the beach.
Looking around in confusion, he tapped the girls on their shoulders, causing them to jump in shock and to spin around.
"What happened?" The astrophysicist asked as he stuck a finger in his ear, trying to get the water out. "Where did everyone go?"
Jane and Darcy just stared at the man in shock.
"How did you not hear that?" Jane asked the older doctor, wondering (not for the first time) if the mind control hadn't left permanent damage behind.
"Oh, I heard the yelling, I just couldn't make out what it was about." Selvig stated simply, the worry not gone from his voice.
Jane just shook her head in disbelief as Darcy said bluntly, "You must be getting old to miss it."
Selvig opened his mouth to protest, but Jane just shook her head and grabbed onto his arm and lead him towards the path back up to the house.
"Just come on, we'll fill you in." Jane sighed, wondering when on earth her life had gotten this complicated and insane.
Look, it's the end of the chapter, it actually DOES exist!
Alright everyone, if this isn't the longest chapter in the story then you may shoot me now! *pause*
I was hoping to finish up the day this chapter but obviously that just didn't happen. Oh, and if anyone is thinking that Pen got taken down a bit too easily by that wave and Barton's foot then you'd be right, but everything'll be explained in time. So, yeah I could've split this chapter up many places but I didn't feel like it. I apologize again for taking so long, but the super chapter makes up for it, right?
*Oh, and everyone, I just want to say I know absolutely nothing about alcohol so I just googled the most expensive scotch and wine and selected those two. (They weren't at the top, cause come on it's Fury…)
Thoughts? Comments? Obvious spelling/grammar mistakes? Leave me a review please!
(Please, it's a super chapter, ya gotta review!)
Either way, you all rock!
Cp