Awakening

Well, it's been a while but I've been super busy…even though its summer! It's rather sad when I think about it. Between work, family stuff, car shopping, and the weeklong birthday beach trip I just took, you should be thankful you have a chapter at all!

;P Just teasing ya ;D

Enjoy the chapter!

Penny's POV

"I told you!" Dad exclaimed as Pepper, the other Avengers, and Phil all stared us down. (Thank God Uncle Rhodey wasn't here today…) "We didn't tell anyone!"

"Oh no, I've gotten that part." Pepper stated plainly, her left eyebrow twitching just slightly. "What I want to know is why after all of this time keeping Penny a secret, you decide to out her to the world! Without consulting or telling any of us first!"

"Oh, so I should've asked you if I could tell the world about my daughter?!" Dad snapped, crossing his arms over chest defensively.

I sighed, rubbing my temples. Ok, so I had figured that Pepper wouldn't take being left out of the loop well but I didn't think it would escalate so far…

"You should've at least given me a heads up instead of making me find out after everyone else!" The older red head snapped and I groaned quietly as I closed my eyes. I had a feeling that I would end up having to step in.

"No one knew!" Dad exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air as he started pacing again. "I specifically had Jarvis keep the news from getting out!"

"And why exactly did you think it was necessary?" Phil asked in a level tone though we (Dad and I...and perhaps Natasha) could tell that he was rather irritated with the whole situation.

"Because we were concerned that someone might try to talk us out of it, or delay the interviews. Add on the fact that we didn't want any possible way for the info to be leaked ahead of time…" I pointed out, stepping in and putting my foot down.

"I understand you're mad Pepper, and we probably should've at least let you know before we held the conference downstairs; but we've both apologized and beating a dead horse gets you nowhere." I stated calmly as I crossed my arms over my chest and gave the two adults a pointed look. "What's done is done and nothing can change that."

There was a moment of tense silence as I saw Pepper considering what I said, then Pepper sighed and I almost laughed in relief. I had been so close to teleporting straight to Mortem and leaving Dad to clean up the mess.

Now, end of the world disasters I can handle with well-practiced ease. But highly emotional mother figures with short tempers whose instincts are to protect me? Not really my area of expertise. More often than not…I flee the scene as fast as I can. Or redirect their attention somewhere else.

Hey, it's not my fault I've had a distinctive lack of experience with mother figures in my many lifetimes.

Apocalyptic disasters on the other hand…I've seen far too many of those. They're practically as normal as eating breakfast now.

Which is sad if you pause and think about it.

"Alright," Pepper finally sighed and everyone in the room visibly relaxed, even Coulson. (I had a feeling the agent had just been waiting for Pepper to break.) "Alright, you both are forgiven if you promise never to do anything like that again without telling me first."

I chuckled as Dad agreed to her terms and they kissed and made up. I briefly wondered if my arguments with Mortem ever looked like that to an outsider, before banishing the thoughts. I wasn't really sure I wanted to know.

"So, then…we a go?" I asked after clearing my throat. Pep and Dad moved away from each other, Dad wearing a wide grin on his face while Pepper's was turning a strawberry red color.

"A go?" Barton echoed in confusion as Rogers and Phil narrowed their eyes.

"A go for what, exactly?" Phil asked the question dancing within everyone's minds as Dad and I gave them all an excited smile. He was probably worried about getting 'in trouble' with Fury again.

"Oh, nothing you really need to worry about." I tried to reassure him but it didn't look like he believed me. It might've been the rather scary grin on my face…actually, that probably was deterring him.

"Just a Stark Day Out." Dad finished and we both cackled before fleeing the kitchen to get ready.

Dad and I were about to be released on the world to have fun without the need for disguises or weariness.

This was gonna be fun.

Oh, I had been so right!

We had left the Tower less than an hour later, everyone unaware of our disappearance besides Jarvis. Dad and I hadn't wanted another major scene with everyone, though we were planning on kidnapping Pepper eventually.

I was taking up the role of transporter today, since neither of us felt like spending most of the day driving. Teleporting was just so much faster.

Our first stop was the nearest Six Flags. I had never been on a roller coaster in this lifetime. Actually, the last roller coaster I had been on had been almost seven lifetimes ago. This was rather sad since Dad and I could both be considered speed junkies.

Six Flags was amazing! Dad of course bought us VIP tickets (which I wasn't even sure typically existed) that allowed us to bypass almost every line we came across. The park staff of course went crazy when they realized just who was spending the morning at their park, and that wasn't even mentioning the civilians who were also at the park.

We stayed at Six Flags for about two and a half hours before the press started swarming. We ignored all of the cameras and reporters looking for us until they were practically right on top of us; then I teleported away.

Dad and I had the whole day planned out, so without even saying I knew exactly where to take us next.

We reappeared in Paris, and after getting some rather shocked looks at appearing in the middle of a busy street in a storm of sparks, spent another two hours shopping.

Now, I wasn't a big fan of shopping, but even I wouldn't turn down a Paris shopping trip. Thankfully, Dad and I both could speak nearly flawless French so there was barely any language barrier. (Not to mention almost everyone at the stores we went to could speak English anyway.)

By teleporting and walking around the city we managed to keep the press off of our trails for a while, but when we started feeling a bit too claustrophobic trying to avoid them all, Dad mentioned that it was time for lunch and we vanished again.

We had originally planned on going to Venice, but after Jarvis had informed us that the Stark Industries Board was harassing Pepper so much regarding my existence that the woman was close to a level 9 break down, (which meant either murdering everyone or collapsing into hysterical sobs, neither which were good) we decided to make a pit stop. So, reappearing in the US (in the middle of a very tension filled Emergency Board Meeting) we literally kidnapped Pepper. Or rather, I kidnapped her considering I was doing all of the transportation.

Pepper had been angry for all of ten seconds, before she realized that one: we were in Venice; and two: I had transfigured her suit into a very comfortable yet stylish sundress. I had also switched her heels for comfortable flats, though she hadn't realized that until later.

Not that she ever complained about her heels, Dad had always made sure Pepper had the most comfortable shoes possible. It also helped that I had taken to charming her shoes for comfort recently. Not that Pepper knew that of course.

The three of us had a fabulous lunch and boat ride in Venice; it was completely breathtaking and extremely fun filled. Of course, we decided to flee from the media once again. But neither Dad nor I gave Pepper a warning. I just grabbed onto my father and almost-step-mother and teleported us back across the Atlantic.

The lip splitting grins Dad and I were wearing when we appeared worried Pepper just a bit, but then she realized just were on earth we were and glared/pouted at us before grinning herself. She had admitted to Tony once before (Dad wouldn't tell me when though I could imagine…) that she had never been to a Disney park before.

Add on the fact that Dad and I wanted to make this day memorable, and it should've be any surprise that we spent the next six and a half hours exploring the wonders that was Disney World. Armed with VIP tickets that may or may not have existed beforehand, we did everything that popped into our minds. The special tickets, accompanied by my teleportation-which, obviously, I had no qualms with using in public-we were able to see a vast majority of the park in the time we were there.

It was extremely nice to just lean back and relax, though I have to admit, having Fury's face show up on an info screen had been hilarious! He had wanted to congratulate Dad and myself on finally coming out (he made it sound like we were both secretly gay or something…and while I had a feeling my father was Bi and I myself had been with males, females, and everything else in-between it was still irritating). Nick had apparently been trying to contact us normally all day, but since Jarvis was blocking all communication, he had decided to step it up a notch.

Dad had of course thrown a little 'temper tantrum', mostly for show, while Pepper scolded Nick for hacking a Disney park. I just laughed extremely hard and asked if Nick had a deep dark desire to spend a day at a Disney park too. He had just glared at me before muttering under his breath and disconnecting from the screen.

The only other interruption we had at the park was from Charles, who had reached me telepathically to give his congratulations as well. I had informed my old friend that my current identity was unknown to the majority of the world which was why I never gave anyone my last name when I was around the manor. The fact that I was a Stark was something that amused Charles greatly, though now he wanted to sit down with Tony and brain storm about some of the tech they had in the school.

I also suspected that Charles also wanted to meet my father, if only so he could make sure Tony fit the role. He could be so overprotective sometimes. I really had to wonder what I had ever done to some of my Siblings. It was like I attracted over protective people.

Mortem agreeing with my thought hadn't helped, but hey, I couldn't expect anything else from my Bonded.

Finally, around seven o'clock, Pepper was starting to get hungry. While Dad and I didn't really need to eat three times a day (me especially, I barely needed to eat at all) we gave in to Pepper's demands-read: puppy eyes-and I teleported all of us out of the park.

Of course, that was just the beginning.

"Where are we?" Pepper asked as Tony and I dragged her through the shaded streets.

Dad and I shared a grin, neither of us answering Pepper's question. She had been asking the same question, more or less, for the past five minutes. But we both had decided to surprise Pepper with our dinner location. So we were remaining tight lipped on the matter.

"Come on, Pepper!" I told the physically older woman as I gave her my best puppy eyes. "It'll be fun! Where's your sense of adventure?"

Pepper gave me a narrowed eyed look that conveyed her annoyance quite clearly. "I have enough adventures dealing with the two of you daily, thank you very much. I don't need any more."

"Just relax, Pep!" Tony tried to calm his irate girlfriend. "Trust me, you'll like where we're going."

Pepper muttered something under her breath about trusting Tony but neither Dad nor myself paid her mutterings any mind. Most of it was just for show anyway, the more irritated she acted the more likely she was to get her way with Dad. She had learned that years ago; just like how Dad learned that an angry Pepper was a scary Pepper.

Looking over at Dad, who was wandering through the streets without a care I couldn't help but let my teasing grin turn into a content smile. I really did love my life here.

Seeing our destination up ahead, I pulled Pepper away from Dad and spun her around a few times.

"Penny! What are you doing?!" She exclaimed as she grabbed onto my shoulder, steadying herself as I stopped twirling her.

"Being dramatic!" I chirped happily as Tony stepped forward and waved towards the small diner that was now in front of us.

"Welcome, Ms. Potts." Tony said with a grin, "to the best burgers in the world!"

I rolled my eyes and added, "That we've found anyway."

Pepper blinked a few minutes, taking in the small but quaint building squeezed in-between a used bookstore and an apartment building in contemplation before she shrugged.

"Lead on then."

Dad and I shrugged, glad that the place had passed Pepper's initial inspection before I dragged her forward.

"Shall we?" Dad asked, looping his arm through Pepper's and allowing himself to be dragged along as well.

Shaking my head in fondness I turned my attention towards the door, just knowing that Pepper was rolling her eyes.

But seriously, what else did she expect?

Twenty minutes, two hyperventilating waitresses, and a lot of stares later we were seated in a large corner booth at the back of the small diner. Dad and I had lemonades in front of us while Pepper was sipping on an iced tea.

90's country music was playing overhead quietly, almost completely muffled by the chatter of the other patrons in the diner. I could tell that Pepper liked the place already, though she hadn't been very impressed with the two young hostesses/waitresses that had caused quite a bit of a scene.

But then again, I hadn't been too impressed with them either.

Funny enough, we ended up with the same waitress as last time Dad and I had been here, with the large bust and equally large mole on her cheek. This time I actually remembered that her name was Katheryn. Dad had ordered Teriyaki burger, while I ordered the grilled mushroom and Swiss burger. Pepper, being Pepper, had ordered a BLT with a small Caesar salad.

Typically, Dad was pretty health conscious. Being a billionaire with heart issues who almost died from heavy metal poisoning, I'd be surprised if he wasn't health conscious. But that didn't mean he didn't eat junk, he just knew how to balance it out. That is, whenever he bothered to eat at all.

The three of us chatted idly about nothing particularly important as we waited for our food, knowing that the others in the restaurant would be understandably nosy. I could've put up a privacy ward, but Dad had told me not to. Better to seem at least semi normal. It'd up our public relations levels; and it was just more polite.

"…still would've been nice if you picked me up before your Paris shopping trip." Pepper pointed out as she sipped on her tea, causing me to blink and refocus on the situation at hand.

Dad opened his mouth to respond just as I sensed a vaguely familiar soul approaching us. Turning my head, I noticed Mrs. Turner – the owner of the diner – making her way through the crowd.

"Hello Mrs. Turner," I greeted the small old woman, who while being short and rather round could be as hard as a nail and yet as kind as a butterfly at the same time.

"God child!" Mrs. Turner exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips and coming to a stop at our table. "You almost gave this old girl a heart attack when you appeared on the news this morning! Imagine, me kicking the bucket realizing that two of my best customers were actually famous!"

She shook her head, her pale grey, bobbed hair swishing back and forth with the motion, before pinning the two of us with a narrowed eyed look.

"A little warning next time, dearies. My ticker isn't like it used to be." She scolded us and I winced, not liking the thought of Mrs. Turner actually having a heart attack from shock.

"Sorry, Mrs. Turner." Dad and I said at the same time, though Pepper rolled her eyes.

"It was a shock for everyone Ma'am, these two didn't even think about telling me beforehand! I actually found out behind most of the world because I hadn't seen the morning's paper!" Pepper exclaimed, giving us a small glare.

I winced again, just slightly. Obviously Pepper was still annoyed with us about that. Which I understood, I just wished she would stop bringing it up. Though I knew that it wasn't likely. Pepper was getting back at us by bringing it up as much as possible; and there wasn't anything Dad or I could do that would stop it.

"Oh, you poor dear!" Mrs. Turner exclaimed, clasping her hands in front of her face and giving Pepper a kind smile. "I'm sure these two run you ragged! And while running such a large company too! You just settle in and relax. I'll make sure your dinner is right out."

She gave Pepper another smile, before turning and giving us another stern look.

"Now, you two behave! I don't want you causing this young lady any kind of trouble while you're in my restaurant, do you hear?" She suddenly reminded me Molly Weasely, and although I didn't recognize her soul, I wouldn't have bene greatly surprised if the two were one and the same.

"Us? Cause trouble? Mrs. Turner, surely you must be mistaken." Tony smiled winningly at the older woman, but she just narrowed her eyes at my father.

Chuckling as Dad's smile fell; I patted his arm in comfort. "Don't worry; we won't be pranking anyone tonight."

Mrs. Turner's restaurant had fallen victim to a few of our pranks before, and obviously she wasn't going to put up with our shenanigans tonight.

"We've already pranked the whole world this morning," Dad reasoned as a real grin spread across his face. "I'm sure that's enough for one day."

"Hmmm," Was her only reply before she turned and strolled away.

Dad and I shared a look before bursting out into laughter. We both loved Mrs. Turner; she was such an amazing character!

"What am I to do with you two?" Pepper muttered under her breath as she slowly shook her head.

"Why, love us of course." I replied flippantly as I put on an arrogant expression. "And possibly marry my dad."

Dad, who had been taking a sip of his lemonade, spewed it all across the table as he chocked. Pepper's face immediately turned bright red, and she refused to meet Tony's eyes as he wiped off his face and the table.

"Don't joke about that." Dad muttered under his breath, giving me a small glare out of the corner of his eyes.

I just shrugged and smiled.

"I know you already have a ring, I'm just waiting for you to buck up and ask her."

Dad almost jumped as he heard my voice echoing in his mind, but thankfully he had gotten used to my telepathy over the past month.

He glared at me again once he was sure Pepper wasn't going to see, but I just nudged his arm.

"It's not going to end up like your last proposal, Dad. Don't worry, it'll work out."

If there was one thing I was sure of, it was that Dad and Pepper would end up married. One way or another, even if that meant I dragged them both to the alter myself.

Of course, I didn't really think it would come to that.

Hopefully.

So, I updated! Sorry for the wait, I've been busy. I'm hoping I can get the next chapter up soon. Only four more chapters! Not really sure how I feel about that, but I think I'll be happy to have finally finished Awakening (again).

Let me know what you think, reviews give me reasons to find more writing time.

Thanks!
Cp