7. An Invitation to Dance

By the end of the week, Spider-Girl's official (but unverified) Twitter had almost a million followers. Her Instagram had twice that. Ned asked her to take photos while she was swinging around the city, and she'd even gotten a selfie of herself jumping off of the mostly abandoned Avengers tower. Did posting that photo feel a little like she was baiting Mr. Stark? Kind of. But there had been no word from him, and the tower was mostly empty anyway. The sale had apparently gone through, and movers were working on getting everything out for the new owner, whoever that was.

Penny didn't think about it. She was determined not to spend any more of her energy on Tony Stark, or on finding out who had wanted her to know that he was her father. Whoever had done it, and for whatever reason, she had her own stuff to worry about. Like her internship, which seemed to get more intense every day. She certainly wasn't about to complain. And now that they'd finished her suit, Harry and Penny could focus on their actual work while they were there.

She had jumped back into patrols like she'd never stopped, going after school when she didn't have her internship and telling May that she was hanging out with Harry. She hated lying to her aunt again…hating having to hide bruises and make up stories about hanging out with her fake boyfriend. But what she was doing was important.

Okay, so a lot of what she did after school was giving directions to tourists and helping old ladies with their groceries. And no, that didn't get her any closer to finding the Vulture. But the public seemed to like her, and she was helping people.

Ned finished programming her communication device, and she dropped by his apartment that weekend so that they could get everything hooked up. He made sure to lock his bedroom door, grilling her about her patrols and her internship in a near whisper while they worked, despite the fact that his parents weren't home. She told him all about her attempts to help the general public, and he hung on her every word. It was better than giving mission reports to Happy's voicemail every day, even if Mr. Stark had apparently listened to them.

"Okay, I think we've got it," Ned told her once she'd finished telling him a story about finding an old lady's pet parrot, and the puncture wound from his beak that she was struggling to hide from May while it healed. "Try this on and see if your display links to my computer."

She did, pulling the suit on over her clothes. "I'm just saying, I don't see why people want pet parrots."

"I don't know…they're kind of cool. And they can talk. Dogs can't talk."

"Dogs also can't fly out the window if you accidentally leave their cage open," she argued, pulling her mask on. The view from her goggles looked the same, but when she turned to Ned's computer, she could see that he'd hooked up some kind of camera.

"It captures audio and video. The button is here…" He tapped a place beside her ear and she watched the screen go dark. "Now that this is hooked up, if you turn on your cameras, I can watch a live feed of your patrols. Harry too. And if you get in trouble, we'll know."

Penny didn't ask what he planned on doing if she got into trouble. She just vowed to turn her camera off if that happened.

For the next week, she went out on patrols every day. On days she didn't have her internship, she told May she was hanging out with Ned or Harry, and her aunt was busy enough at work not to ask any questions. On internship days, she went out after May went to bed, scouring the city for the Vulture or any sign of alien weapons. Ned was working on hacking into as many traffic cams as he could for the same reason, and Harry was keeping an eye on social media. Whoever the Vulture was selling his alien weapons to was keeping it quiet, though.

Since she'd promised her aunt that the two of them would have dinner together on Tuesday night, Penny went home right after school, then slipped out of her bedroom window an hour after May went to bed. She even stuffed extra pillows under her blankets on the top bunk. May almost never woke up at night, but she figured she couldn't be too careful. She did the same thing she did every time she patrolled at night, checking the spot Aaron Davis had told her about, then swinging around the area, trying to spot any kind of illegal activities.

As it turned out, Queens was full of illegal activities after dark.

Penny hadn't done much of what she'd considered 'real' superhero activities after coming back from Germany with Mr. Stark. Sure she'd stopped a Grand Theft Bicycle, and she'd given people directions. And then there'd been that incident with the criminals in Avengers masks with the alien weapons. But that night, she found herself stopping a guy in a hoodie from stealing an actual car, and she kept an eye on a couple of people walking home, making sure no one got mugged.

She missed Karen, who had kept an eye out for her surroundings and who had been someone to talk to on long patrols. She even kind of missed having way too many web combinations and wondered if Harry would have any ideas on how to start programming some into her webshooters.

Penny started feeling the pangs of hunger a few hours after climbing out of her window and, guessing it was after midnight, she made her way up to the roof of an apartment complex with a view of the river and pulled her phone out to check the time.

Past one in the morning.

She pulled a granola bar out of her other pocket, glad she'd thought to pack a snack, and began to eat, pausing when she heard the too-familiar sound of repulsors.

She thought about running…swinging her way through the city until she lost him. But he knew where she lived, and she doubted she could outrun him, considering he could fly. Not to mention, if anyone caught her fleeing Iron Man on camera, the public might have some questions, and she had no idea how Mr. Stark would answer them. She didn't think he'd out her as Spider-Girl, but she really didn't want to chance it. Just in case. So she stayed where she was, feet dangling over the edge of the building, her mask pulled up as she munched on her granola bar and wondered what was Mr. Stark doing in the city past one in the morning when he'd moved to the Avengers compound.

She guessed she was about to find out.

The suit landed with a clank behind her, but she didn't bother turning around. She just took another bite, waiting for the footsteps to approach. Ned was probably asleep, but she thought Harry might still be awake. He hadn't wanted her patrolling so late…had warned her in a text that it was dangerous, but how else was she going to find the Vulture? No way they'd sell alien weapons out in broad daylight.

Not that she'd caught anyone selling alien weapons yet. But still.

Penny heard the suit open behind her, and she did finally glance over when Mr. Stark climbed out of it, dressed in sweatpants and a tanktop and looking exhausted, dark purple circles prominent under bloodshot eyes. She turned back to the skyline, finishing her granola bar. She was waiting for a question about her curfew…a demand that she go home. That she stop patrolling or he'd tell May.

Instead, he sat down a few feet away right at the edge of the rooftop like he knew she'd catch him if he fell.

Of course she would.

"I knew you had skills when I saw that webbing. The suit's impressive, kid."

"I had help," she told him simply, reminding herself that she didn't need his approval.

"Osborn?"

She nodded, not about to volunteer any information…especially not that all of the materials were, technically speaking, stolen. "How'd you know I was here? Are you following me?"

"You posted a picture on Instagram an hour ago."

So he was following her. And yeah, she'd posted a picture of the city skyline, but she hadn't thought Iron Man would see it, much less come find her.

"Why are you checking my Instagram?"

He was quiet beside her and when she glanced over, he was staring at the city, jaw tight, hands fisted in his lap. He opened his mouth, then closed it, looking defeated, and she hated it. She didn't want to hate it. She didn't want to care. But she couldn't make herself want to hurt him, never mind that he'd hurt her first.

"Are the FBI any closer to catching the Vulture?" she asked when he was silent.

To her surprise, he didn't tell her to drop it again. Instead, he shook his head. "He's laying low. You find any leads?"

"Not yet. I haven't seen any alien weapons either." She wondered if she ought to turn off the camera streaming to Ned and Harry's laptops, but figured they weren't talking about anything they didn't already know.

"Look…kid…" He started after a moment, then hesitated. She didn't turn…didn't help him out, mostly because she didn't know how. "I don't know who gave you that envelope. There aren't a lot of people that knew about…"

"Me?"

"About that meeting," he corrected. "Just me and the legal team involved. And…your mother."

"She never said anything to me. I don't think my aunt knows either." There was no way May knew and hadn't said anything, especially with everything that had happened with the Stark internship.

"Right. I never told anyone."

"What about the legal team?"

"None of them work for Stark Industries anymore. I'm working on getting meetings with as many of them as I can." He hesitated. "I…I was a mess back then, kid. I told you that my dad…he never gave me any kind of support and I….I knew I couldn't be a father. Hell, everyone knew it."

"My mom thought you could."

"She didn't know me. She didn't know I…look, it doesn't matter. I'm just trying to say…you were better off. Without me. As a father. I was an alcoholic. I worked nonstop. I…I didn't have any idea what to do with a kid." He sighed. "I'd already disappointed everyone else in my life."

Penny had already known about the drinking. The parties. The non-stop working. It had all been in the unauthorized biographies. But it wasn't just that he hadn't wanted to raise her…he hadn't wanted anything to do with her. "You can't disappoint a picture." When he was silent, she went on, hands clutching the concrete she sat on so tightly that it cracked. "Look, lots of people don't want kids. It's fine."

She could feel his eyes on her, but she didn't look. Didn't so much as glance his way. She didn't want this to hurt. She wanted to be as sure of herself as he always seemed to be…only tonight, he seemed as lost as she was, and she didn't know how to feel about that.

"I never even considered it. Not after my father. I couldn't put anyone else through that." He was quiet for a moment, the two of them staring out into the night. "Your mom…she got married to Richard Parker a few years later. Right?"

So he'd been looking into her. "Yeah."

"Was he…?"

"He was my dad."

"Good." Mr. Stark nodded, and when she glanced over, he'd dropped his eyes to the street below, a small, sad smile on his face. "I'm glad."

"Uncle Ben too. After my parents died, May and Ben…they were like my parents." She didn't know why she was trying to reassure him…didn't know if this could make things any better. But he hadn't told her to go home yet, and he hadn't threatened to tell her aunt, so she guessed that was a good sign. "I was wrong," she told him softly, turning to look at him straight on for the first time. He met her eyes despite the goggles, and she was surprised at how human he looked.

But of course he looked human, she thought. He was human.

"I'm Spider-Girl. With or without the suit."

His lips twitched into a sad, half-smile, and he gave a short nod, then reached into his pocket. "Here. I wanted to give you this."

She watched him place a card on the ledge between them.

"That's my personal number. Call me if you need anything."

"Yeah. Sure." Penny rolled her eyes, snorting a little. Because that had worked out so well for her before. And she may not hate him, but she sure didn't think she could trust him.

He sighed again, but he didn't try to convince her. He just left the card as he stood, moving carefully away from the edge of the building. "Be careful, kid. I'll see you around."

She doubted it, but she nodded anyway, waiting until Mr. Stark had flown away to pull the bottom half of her mask back on, shoving the card into her pocket and leaping from the roof. She'd planned on patrolling for a little longer. Instead, she went straight home and got back in bed, the card still in the pocket of her suit. And that's where it stayed.

The next few days passed in a blur. She wasn't getting enough sleep, and she knew it. Her grades were still good and she did well in Academic Decathlon on Thursday, but she knew she couldn't keep this up…not for much longer. Not when all she could focus on was patrolling Queens and searching for a man in a terrifying bird suit selling alien weapons. Even May was starting to notice and that was the absolute last thing she wanted.

On Friday, Penny walked into Oscorp like always, feeling more than half asleep as she scanned her ID and stepped into the elevator. Leaning against the wall, she dozed until she reached the intern floor, wishing she could take a nap and wondering if she should maybe stop patrolling at night after May went to bed. She had a feeling that Harry and Ned would say yes. But she wasn't going to find the Vulture sitting at home.

The other interns nodded to her as she walked by them and she did her best to remember their names as she said hello, hurrying by Luka who smiled and wished her a good afternoon. Harry greeted her at the door to their lab like he always did, pulling her into a hug and pressing a kiss to her cheek before the two of them stepped inside and shut the door.

"So. My dad told me something interesting," he told her with a wry smile, dropping into his desk chair. She sat in her own chair, fighting the urge to drop her head into her hands and take a nap.

Usually she'd have thought of something clever to say. At the moment, all she could do was wait and try not to fall asleep. "Hm?"

He hesitated. "You okay?"

"Tired."

"Yeah...I saw you were out patrolling until 2am. I don't know about spiders, but you know us humans have to actually sleep, right?"

She waved a hand. "What did Norman tell you?"

"He's going to run for mayor."

That woke her up. "Wait…seriously?"

"Yeah. Apparently he's been talking to his lawyers and stuff for a while. He hired people to run his campaign and everything."

"But…since when has he cared about politics?"

He shrugged. "You know my dad. He loves being in charge of stuff. Anyway, he asked if we could go out in public together some more…make sure there aren't any rumors." For a second, his grimace made her chest hurt. But then he grinned. "I thought that dance might work."

"Dance?"

He gave her a look. "Homecoming. At Midtown High. The place where you go to school?"

She crossed her arm, leaning back in her chair. "How did you know about Homecoming?"

"Ned told me. He said you wanted to go with Liz Allen."

She rolled her eyes at his smirk. "Liz Allen doesn't know I'm alive. Besides, I doubt she even likes girls."

"Well maybe we can find out. I've been told I'm a great wingman."

"I feel like maybe I shouldn't be trying to get a girlfriend when I'm supposed to be your girlfriend."

"Fine. Either way, want to go with me? My dad wants to tip off the press so they get some pictures of us outside the school. And other people at the dance will probably post pictures. He wants to pick out your dress again if that's okay."

"Of course he does. Yeah, that's fine." She pulled her tablet out of her backpack and powered it up. "I'll let May know. At this rate, she's going to start asking when we're going to get fake married."

He put a hand over his heart. "I can't think of a better fake wife."

She laughed, throwing a pencil at him. "Come on. We've got a lot to do."

"Yeah…this internship wasn't nearly as hard before you showed up."

Thanks for reading!