4. The Envelope

It took a full hour for Mr. Osborn's stylist to finish adjusting the most beautiful dress Penny had ever seen. It was a deep, navy blue, and Harry kept wolf whistling at her until even the stylist was laughing. She just shook her head at him, rolling her eyes and pulling her hair up out of the way. Some parts had to be brought in, others let out, but for the most part, the dress fit better than most of the clothes Penny already owned. She had to admit, maybe the stylist was magic.

The whole time she stood on the little platform, moving this way and that when ordered, Harry lounged on a sofa nearby, eating Cheetos from a bag and tossing her the occasional chip that she tried to catch in her mouth while moving as little as possible. She caught almost all of them, and only one of them hit the stylist, whose name was Laura and who didn't appreciate the game they were playing. Still, she didn't scold them too much, just sent Harry the occasional dirty look when Penny moved too much. And Penny was pretty sure that Laura didn't stab her with a pin after getting nailed in the cheek with a Cheeto on purpose, but she wouldn't swear to it.

She wanted to talk to Harry more about the suit. They were making actual, real progress, and even though that had been the plan, she still found herself shocked every time she opened her Oscorp tablet and, after bringing up the file hidden in a folder labeled 'Memes for Harry' she couldn't believe how far they'd gotten. The webshooters were almost completely done. Harry was doing most of the actual sewing at home. And Ned was finishing up most of the basic code with help from Penny. She was even making some more web fluid to keep on hand so she'd always have backups. At this rate, she thought they might be done by the end of the month. And no one had even noticed them taking extra supplies! According to Harry, his dad hadn't mentioned noticing anything out of the ordinary either, and apparently, if he didn't like something, he never kept quiet about it.

However, they couldn't talk about the suit while she was there because of the stylist working on her dress and taking notes on her measurements, so Penny just caught the chips Harry threw her and tried to do everything she was told. Then, after the stylist left to get to work, Harry told her all about the gala while the two of them snacked.

"There will be rich people."

"I gathered."

"They will all be in fancy clothes and uncomfortable shoes."

"Sounds about right."

"If we're lucky, there will be science people there, and those science people might just be bored enough to speak to us about science."

"That sounds good."

"There will also be food. A lot of it. But all of it will be tiny, and people will look at you funny if you take a whole tray of it."

"Rude. They should mind their own business."

He grinned. "They should. But they will not. Trust me. You eat one whole tray of lobster rolls when you're 12 and no one ever shuts up about it."

"I think I read about that on Twitter."

"Also, there will be alcohol."

"Let me guess. No alcohol for minors."

He shook his head, looking scandalized. "Absolutely not. All of the alcohol for minors. It's the only way to get through these things if the science people will not talk science with you."

"Got it. Get drunk if possible," she pretended to write on an invisible notepad.

"My father will be making a speech. It will be long. It will be boring. And it will be about whatever charity they're raising money for. Please pretend to be interested. If possible, look inspired. Because this is when people will be taking our pictures and trying to get a story about us to sell to the press. Or to post on Twitter. Either way. Dad will be in a much better mood if we look happy and inspired by him."

"I did take a theater class last semester."

"Did you get any leading parts?"

"I played a palm tree in a play one of my classmates wrote about a girl who found a magic rock in the ocean."

"Sounds like a Moana rip off."

She nodded, taking another handful of Cheetos. "It totally was."

"At least try to look like an inspired palm tree."

"Copy that."

He ordered Chinese for lunch, and together they ate their weight in sweet and sour chicken, and just for a moment, as the two of them ate and watched Moana, Penny thought that she might just like him…like…really like him. He was her best friend. He was funny and smart, and they could talk science for days. And she guessed he was attractive. It would be easy, she thought, if they could just be together. It would make a great story.

But, of course, just because something would make a great story didn't mean it was a good idea, or even possible. Because sure, she could imagine hanging out with Harry for the rest of her life. But that wasn't all she wanted, and she knew that wasn't all he wanted either. And when she thought of Liz, with her beautiful smile and her big brown eyes, her heart beat faster in a way it didn't when she was around Harry. And maybe he had a boy that he felt the same way about. She'd never asked. It felt too dangerous to bring up, even when they were alone in his bedroom. Because what if his father heard? What if he knew somehow.

Penny took the subway back home after they finished their movie, letting Harry know that she'd see him on Monday for the internship. Laura had promised to bring the dress to Oscorp so she could try it on one last time before the gala that coming Saturday, so she didn't have to worry about going back to his house until then.

Her phone buzzed as she was walking into her apartment building, and she pulled it out, smiling down at May's message. She'd had Harry take her picture in the blue dress once Laura had been done making little adjustments with pins that came close to stabbing her every time she moved, and she figured her aunt must be taking her break, because she'd just texted back.

"You look so beautiful, baby! I can't wait to see pictures of you and Harry at the gala! You're both so grown up."

Penny laughed down at her phone, shaking her head. She wanted to tell her aunt that it wasn't prom or anything…it was a rich person charity thing. But these were the moments that she missed her mom the most…missed playing dress up with her clothes and putting pretend makeup on. May was there, though. She'd been there from the moment Penny had lost her parents, ready to take her clothes shopping and to talk to her about periods and boys and then, later, girls. She'd been there for brunch and girl talk and fashion shows made up of thrift store finds and eating ice cream in their pajamas while they watched Gilmore Girls in their pajamas.

And Penny didn't want her aunt to think she didn't love those moments. Because she did. So for her aunt, she would somehow convince someone to take a picture of her and Harry dressed up like they were going to prom. Even if it made her look silly in front of the rich people.

Pulling out her key, Penny unlocked their mail box, pulling out a couple of little white envelopes along with a manilla one. Pausing in the foyer, she slid the other pieces of mail to the back and focused on the biggest one. There was no return address…and her address wasn't on it either. Just her name. Penelope Parker.

She carried the mail up to her room, unable to help glancing down at the envelope in her hand every so often. Ever since she'd been bitten by that spider…ever since she'd woken up after being so sick her aunt and uncle had nearly taken her to the hospital, she'd had this sixth sense. She didn't fully understand it. It was like a tingle….a feeling all throughout her body that made the hair on her arms and on the back of her neck stand up on end. It made goosebumps break out over her whole body. It warned her when Flash threw a wad of paper at her, or when a car was about to run a red light when she was crossing the street. It had told her the Vulture was coming on that Ferry, right before his wings had popped out. It told her that something was coming…usually something bad.

Dropping the stack of junk mail and bills on their kitchen table, she carried the Manila envelope into her bedroom, glad that May would be at work for another few hours. Whatever this was, she had the feeling that she'd want to be alone to read it. Whoever had sent it hadn't mailed it…there wasn't a stamp anywhere on it. It was just her name. Penelope Parker. Written in neat script with what she'd guess was a black Sharpie. They'd carried it into the building and put it in their mail box. It must have just barely fit in the slot.

Crawling up onto the top bunk of her bed, she sat in the corner, the height making her feel safe. The top wasn't even sealed…it was just held together by the little metal clip. Inside, she found a couple of important looking papers. And at the bottom, a flash drive. On the front of the papers was a yellow sticky note where, in the same handwriting, someone had written, "I thought you deserved to know."

Stomach sinking, she pulled the sticky note off, then skimmed the paper on top. It was…some kind of legal document. It took her reading it a few times, stumbling over the legalese, to understand what it was saying. And even then, it was like she could only understand a little at a time.

Anthony Stark.

Mary Fitzpatrick.

One hundred thousand dollars.

No contact with the child.

No further contact with the mother.

That's when the world came to a complete stop, even as her mind tried to insist that this was impossible.

Penny's mom had never told her who her birth father was. She'd insisted she didn't know. Later, after her death, May and Ben had told her that her mom had met a guy at a party, but that she hadn't ever told them who it was. And it hadn't mattered because she'd had a dad! Richard Parker had been her dad! And then she'd had May and Ben. Then just May.

But this…this wasn't true. It couldn't be. Her mother hadn't slept with Tony Stark! She hadn't had a child with Tony Stark!

A child he'd paid a hundred thousand dollars never to see again.

The next page was a medical document…a paternity test.

Anthony Edward Stark is the father. The results are positive.

No. There was no way! The world swam around her and her stomach felt like it was turning inside out and she wanted to throw up but she had to keep reading, gripping the paper with shaking hands.

The third page…more legalese. Giving up all parental rights. No contact. No visitation. Nothing.

Feeling as though she was in a daze, she climbed down to get her computer, then jumped back into the top bunk of her bed. She wanted to get higher…if she could climb higher, then she'd be safe from all this. Somehow.

As soon as she opened the laptop, she plugged the flash drive in, finding only one file on there.

An audio file.

Not sure what else she could do, she hit play.

There was a woman's voice, announcing the date and time. May 2nd, 1994. Just three months before she was born. Her mom would have been about 6 months pregnant. The woman introduced herself as Alice Corman, head legal council for Anthony Edward Stark. She stated the results of the paternity test that Penny had already read. She laid out options, letting Mr. Stark know that her mother had offered to figure out a custody arrangement. And then his voice cut her off.

"Just pay her." A pause. "The agreed upon amount."

"Mr. Stark…"

"Pay her. Installments or lump sum. Whatever she wants to keep this quiet."

He'd paid her. Tony Stark had paid his mother to keep 'this' quiet. To keep her quiet.

"Okay," his lawyer agreed, her words soft and obviously disapproving. There was a moment of silence on the file, the only noise the soft hiss of static. Then she spoke again.

"Mary also asked if you would like to be involved in your daughter's life at all. She's offered visitation, or to send pictures…"

He cut her off again, sounding angry this time, and with every word, the roaring in Penny's ears got louder.

"Look, I don't want to see pictures...hell I don't want to know anything about her. I don't even want to know her name. Tell Mary to take the money and leave me the hell alone."

She hit 'stop' on the media player, lips trembling as she pushed the laptop off of her leg, the words playing on repeat in her idols' voice…her father's voice.

"I don't even want to know her name. I don't even want to know her name."

Her mom had tried. But he hadn't even wanted pictures of her.

Did he know? Had he found out somehow after what had happened in Germany? Was that why he'd stopped wanting anything to do with her? Tears ran down her cheeks and she closed her eyes, leaning her head against the wall. He hadn't wanted her…not only that, he hadn't wanted anything to do with her. She'd just been a mistake. Some stupid one night stand with a woman he didn't care about. A mistake he'd paid one hundred thousand dollars to make go away.

Hands shaking, she pulled out her phone, scrolling through her recent calls and selecting Harry's name.

As usual, he answered on the first ring. "For the last time, no, you can not dress like a penguin for the gala."

"Harry…"

Immediately, he was serious. "What's wrong? What happened? Are you okay?"

"Can you come over?"

"Yeah, I'm on my way. What's wrong?"

"Just…I'll tell you when you get here."

As soon as she hung up, she went to another recent contact, then tapped Ned's name. He took a little longer to answer, but when he did, it only took her saying his name for him to realize something was wrong.

"Pen? What's going on?"

"Can you come over?"

"Uh…yeah…right now?"

"Yeah. Right now."

"Are you okay?"

"No…I…I have to show you something. You and Harry."

"Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Harry was the first one there, and by the time he arrived, she'd managed to wash her face and stop crying. She didn't even know why she was crying in the first place! It wasn't like she'd ever missed her biological father. Besides, she already knew that Mr. Stark didn't care about her…not after he'd taken her suit and cut off what little contact they'd had. Of course he didn't want her in his life. So…why did this change anything?

Because he'd saved her life when she'd been a little girl and from that moment on, she'd worshiped the ground he walked on. Because he'd stood up in front of the whole world and had said 'I am Iron Man.' Because he'd devoted his life to being a better person and making the world a better place and keeping people safe! Because she'd read every unauthorized biography on him and she collected Iron Man figurines and watched every Youtube clip she could find of him.

And then when she'd met him, for just a few weeks, Penny had thought that her idol thought she was special too. That she might have a chance to get to work with him and learn from him, and that he would see how smart she was and…that he'd make her a real Avenger and give her the chance to make her dreams come true.

But in the end, he'd snatched it all away when he'd taken her suit.

Harry sat down on the couch beside her, glancing at the Manila envelope and her laptop on the table, the audio file pulled up, the little progress bar back to the start. She didn't want to listen to it again, but she also didn't want to try and explain everything.

"I called Ned too," she whispered, and he nodded.

"Okay…are you hurt or something?"

She shook her head.

"Is May alright?"

"Yeah. She's fine."

"Did someone find out that you're Spider-Girl?"

"Just you and Ned. And Mr. Stark." She choked a little on his name, wiping a hand over her face.

"You're freaking me out again, Pen."

"I'm sorry."

He reached out, gripping her hand.

It was only another five minutes or so before Ned showed up, hurrying through the front door and taking in the sight of them for a moment before shutting the door behind him and practically running over to the couch where he sat on her other side.

"What happened? Are you okay? Is May okay?"

"Someone left me this envelope. It was in our mailbox," she told the both of them, not having the energy or courage to build up to it, and they both went quiet. At attention. She turned the envelope over, showing her name on the front. They were both smart. Practically geniuses. She didn't have to spell it out for them. "There was a flash drive and some papers. This is what was on the flash drive."

Penny closed her eyes after she hit play, letting the words hit her again. And hit her they did. Somehow, hearing him say it the second time was even worse. Harry gripped her hand hard when Mr. Stark's voice played on the laptop, louder than the lawyer. Almost angry. And the second time he spoke, Ned gripped her other hand, squeezing tight.

When it was over, she heard the laptop slam shut, and only then did she open her eyes. She was about to try and joke that unlike Harry, she couldn't afford to replace her laptop, only to realize it had been Ned that had done it.

"Does he know it's you?" Ned asked, voice soft and surprisingly angry.

"I don't know."

"Is he the one that gave you the envelope?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. I don't think so," she amended. "He never said anything about it and….and after what happened with the ferry, I haven't heard from him or Happy at all." Penny hesitated. "I thought…maybe he found out. Maybe that's why he didn't want anything to do with me after Germany."

"Then he's an asshole!" Harry snapped. "I mean…what the hell?"

"Are we sure this is real?" Ned put in, hesitant, and she opened the envelope, handing them the papers. They leaned over her, their shoulders pressed to hers, to look at them together, flipping through the paternity test and the legal document before Harry threw it back onto the table.

"I thought…" Ned trailed off, shaking his head. One second, her friend looked angry. The next, he was sad. And she got it. Iron Man had been his hero. He'd been hers too.

Her hero, the man who had saved her life at the Stark Expo, was her father.

Her father hadn't wanted her. Hadn't wanted to visit or even get pictures as she'd grown up.

"Okay…so…he said he didn't want to know your name," Ned told her, flinching when she did. "Sorry. I just mean…if he never knew your name…and…you changed your last name when your dad adopted you, right?"

"Yeah."

"So…maybe he doesn't know."

"So what if he doesn't! You heard him! He didn't want his own kid!" Harry snapped, then winced. "Sorry, Pen."

"I just….someone left this for me. You know? Someone wanted me to know this. But…why? Why would anyone want me to know that Mr. Stark is my…my father? My mom never said anything and…I think this means she couldn't tell anyone." She held up the first paper, trying to pretend this was happening to someone else…like it was just another problem on the board to be solved. "Like, he gave her all that money so she'd never say anything or put him on the birth certificate or anything." She wiped a hand over her face. It didn't make sense, but just having her two best friends there with her, ready to be angry at Tony Stark with her, made her feel better.

For a moment, they were all quiet, their hands wrapped around each of hers. Then, Harry nodded to himself, speaking with all the confidence of a rich man's only son. "Okay. First, we need to figure out who sent this to you. Maybe that'll tell us if Stark knows."

"Right," Ned put in, immediately on board. "Like, if someone he knows put it in your mailbox, he probably knows too."

"Exactly. But if it's someone he doesn't know, then we need to know why. Why would anyone want you to know this?"

"No idea," Penny admitted. "I don't think I have any enemies that would do something like this. And even if it's some big bad guy that knows who I am, why would they care if I know who my biological father is? Supervillains don't usually care if they hurt your feelings."

"I'll start looking up traffic cams." Ned suggested. "Maybe we can catch someone walking into your building. It had to have been sometime today. You checked your mail yesterday, right?"

"Yeah. Me or May did one…she got our phone bill yesterday."

"They still send you a paper one?" Ned asked, looking shocked. "Why doesn't she just do auto pay?"

"You'd have to ask her, Ned."

"Focus," Harry scolded. "Maybe we can make a list of who might have sent this…and who might know. That can help us narrow it down. I wish we could get DNA off the flash drive or the paper or something…I can look at the flash drive. See if there's any information on whose it could be. And we can look into medical records too…see if we can make sure these papers are real."

"This could take a while." Ned turned to her. "Got any snacks?"

Harry pulled out his phone. "I can order a pizza," he offered.

"We just had lunch like…an hour ago." Penny reminded him, surprised that even now, her friends could make her smile. "Remember the multiple containers of sweet and sour chicken?"

"Are you saying you aren't hungry?"

She gave him a sheepish smile when he lifted an eyebrow, making Ned laugh. "That's not what I'm saying."

"Ned? Pepperoni okay?"

He grinned, nodding from where he'd already taken over Penny's laptop and was trying to hack into the traffic cameras. "Sounds good. You better order two. Pen's always hungry."

She kicked him, unable to believe that she was able to laugh at a time like this. "Hey! It's the spider bite! It did something weird to my metabolism."

"Sure it did. I'll order three just in case."

Penny couldn't really argue with that.