She hunches low, elbows planted firmly against the side of the ceiling as she listens. The variety of voices rising from below all but make her ears ring, but Penny does her best to discern what she needs to focus on. Karen taps into the phone conversation well enough Penny can make out most of it.
As it ends Penny starts crawling across the ceiling to get a little closer.
The blaring music, pulsating lights and stink of sweat isn't making Penny's life any easier. It is just a strong reminder she would have a splitting headache out of costume. She hates these kinds of clubs. Penny has no idea how anyone can come to these places.
"Karen, could you do me a favor and muffle things a little?"
"Certainly, Penny." The AI offers smoothly. Within seconds Penny's surroundings grow much quieter. The twenty-one-year-old exhales slowly, some of the tension easing as she starts crawling forward across the ceiling. Not a single person looks up. Penny is glad her spider suit is hardly the flashiest thing in the room. The ceiling isn't that high up, and all it would take was one drunk person looking up.
"Do we still have a bead on the guy?"
"So far, yes. He and his group have moved to one of the back rooms. They've circled the dance floor a few times but haven't taken any action." Penny was mostly trying to get to their back rooms undetected.
"Maybe I can kick him through a wall or something." She grouses idly to the Al as she continues crawling across the ceiling, doing her best to not obscure the light fixtures.
"It would be advisable to web them to a wall and let authorities deal with them. I can call 911 once they are apprehended."
"Karen, unless I outright call Mr. Stark, none of them are going to care." Even with her irritation, Penny knows that is about the best plan she has. She could call Mr. Stark, but he was in New York, and she was all the way in Massachusetts. By the time he got here, things would already be over with. Not to mention she could picture him scolding her about using her time to play hero when she is supposed to be focused on school. After Morgan was born, his fussing had only grown worse.
"I would still heavily advise reaching out to authorities. I have sent all the data gathered thus far about the Nefaria Family to the local police tip line earlier today."
"I'm pretty sure they know everything about those jerks anyway. The mob has the police in their pocket, Karen." Penny grouses back as she continues to crawl. Penny and Karen had argued just as much about what they wanted to do about all of this. So far, Penny had settled on punching the problem a little.
Penny and Karen had spent more than enough time fishing for information and staking locations out to collect as much as they could about the Nefaria family. The whole crime syndicate branched out from New York to Maine at this point. Massachusetts was just another dot on their map. Another place they were kidnapping women.
Penny was still trying to figure out how the Nefaria were selecting people to kidnap. As far as she
could see, there was no real connective tissue beyond the fact all the women taken were fairly young. Even then, some women in their forties were starting to be taken as well. It was all boggling.
Penny slows her crawling to a stop over a large group of people dancing. Penny flicks through Karen's UI to get a better bead on the man she was trailing after in particular. The man wasn't that high in the hierarchy of the Nefaria, but he was usually the one sighted near the last places the women were seen. She could take a wild guess he was the bait for most of the women in some capacity. He was baby faced enough to seem harmless.
"You've received a text from MJ, she is headed back to her dorm now. The location of her phone matches her text."
Penny exhales a little, some relief pooling in her gut. Her attention shifts from her tracking to the text pop up in her lenses. "Good, that's- great." Maybe she was being Mr. Stark level of paranoid, but she worries about MJ.
The brunette had been half afraid her girlfriend would try to intervene or help. Given the gang she's been tracking has been doing human trafficking that is the last thing she wants. Keeping MJ out of the loop wasn't fair, but Penny knew MJ was just as bullheaded as Penny herself is about doing the right thing.
"Send her a text that I'll see her in the morning."
"Done." The data on screen shifts back to tracking. "Penny, it appears a young woman has joined their group." The low quality grainy security footage of the club is pulled back up and Penny can see one of the mob members leading what looks like a drunk college student out of the main part of the club.
"Shit." She breathes out, all the relief gone as she grows more serious. "Well, it's showtime." Her plan is still dicey at this point.
Penny drops from the ceiling, quick changing out of her suit as she lands. If anyone sees her, it's lost in the haze of music, dancing and yelling. Penny quickly moves through the crowd, able to pick out one of the mob members to trail after.
--
"Thank you again, son. I appreciate your hospitality." Norman says smoothly as he pats Harry's back. The twenty-two year old grunts.
"Yeah, whatever, dad. You pay for the place." He waves off the thanks carelessly. His gaze flicks briefly to Penny. She smiles thinly back at him.
"Thank you." She says more subdued in kind. "Hopefully we'll see each other again soon."
Harry hesitates, just looking at her face. "Yeah... Maybe. That'd- be good." He looks away from Penny as his father draws back from him to pick up their luggage by the door.
"I'll call you when we arrive in New York, son. Remember to keep your grades up." With that he turns away to open the door and walk out. Penny moves to follow him, but feels something pressed into her hand.
She blinks a little, glancing back at Harry. He presses his index finger against his lips. Her hand tightens around the paper he's handed to her.
Penny nods jerkily before continuing to walk out of the apartment into the hallway. Norman hasn't noticed the delay, grumbling as he struggles with luggage.
She nearly offers to help, but opts to just watch him struggle. Aunt May would let her get away with being a little rude. Just this once.
She makes sure to hide the paper Harry gave her in her coat pocket before they arrive at the private jet at the airport. She doesn't want Norman to see it.
Penny needs to ensure Norman goes through with her idea. She has her web woven, and she has to just pull to keep Norman from questioning too deeply.
--
A good word in his ear is all it takes for the man to set up a party a few days after they arrive in New York. Norman for a man of brilliance and science apparently is easy enough to pluck at when he's unaware.
Her fingertips catch against his sleeve as she brushes her lips against his earlobe, "Don't you want to show off, just a little?"
His breath catches just slightly as she settles her weight against his hip. The fold out bed on the jet creaks under their weight. He folds her against him, and she giggles obligingly.
He agrees happily to showing off between kisses, peeling her out of an expensive dress. Goosebumps crawl across her newly bare skin at the sudden chill of the recycled air around them. He shifts, his weight balancing over the top of her as his mouth finds purchases against her bare neck.
Penny digs her fingers into his hair a little too tightly at times. His breath shakes and he likes the hurt.
Would he like it if she broke his nose? Would she like it if she made him hurt so much worse?
It doesn't take much coaxing for him to invite all the important people. Why wouldn't he want to show off to Tony Stark or any other rich socialite who bother to attend public events?
--
When she is sure Norman is asleep, Penny rises from the pull out bed to stand up. She stretches, taking her time to clean up. The thought of Harry's note comes back to her as she works her fingers through her curls.
Penny worries her bottom lip between her teeth before she leaves the plane's bathroom to shuffle through her thrown aside clothes. She finds her jacket, pulling the slip of paper out. She unfolds it.
She blinks again as she realizes Harry had given her his email and phone number.
'Call me if you need any help!
- Harry'
The gesture is far kinder than she expected of Harry Osborn. Penny finds herself just staring at it for a very long time before she tucks it back into her jacket. She turns away to find one of the silk slips to put on for now. Being naked any longer feels wrong.
What could Harry even do for her? --
Arriving in New York is almost bittersweet. The sight of the city's skyline makes her eyes sting with tears.
Home, she's home. Almost.
She wipes at her eyes with the butt of her palm, biting at her bottom lip harshly. The weight of Norman's hand against her bare back is enough to startle her from her thoughts.
"I know, it's beautiful." He says breezily, "It will be all your soon, Mary." He starts to point out landmarks, babbling about the history behind each one.
Penny bites the inside of her cheek to keep herself from screaming. She just smiles blandly at him as she looks at the skyline and picks out where Avengers Tower used to stand.
--
Norman doesn't realize Penny knows his passwords. She catches them in the reflection of his glass desk, of his grand office windows as she sits on in an armchair nearby reading. She only needs to see pieces of the passwords before she memorizes it.
She makes a point to keep them in the back of her mind as she drifts through the man's New York penthouse. She makes herself at home as she has to be. Norman seems delighted, but focused on arranging the party and Oscorp business.
He goes to bed early, kissing her shoulder on his way to bed. She smiles fondly at him, wondering how the ice under it doesn't show through. He practically reeks of expensive alcohol even in passing.
She follows him to bed. She makes sure he sleeps soundly. Penny hates herself every step of the way, but it keeps Norman quiet. He murmurs a different woman's name against her skin as he falls asleep. "Emily."
Two hours later when Penny is sure he's asleep, she rises from the bed. She shrugs on a silky robe as she walks out of the bedroom. Penny strides through the penthouse, her gaze sliding across the giant glass windows overlooking the city as she walks towards his office. She twists the knob and lets herself into the room with ease. He always forgets to lock it when he's a few drinks in.
She moves to sit down in his overly plush leather computer chair, leaning forward to take the computer out of sleep mode. The prompt for the password comes up within seconds. Penny hums quietly to herself as she types it in.
HarryEmilyLyman1239900
He has the same password for every computer, his phone passlock is what Penny learns is Harry's birthday. Penny wonders if he realizes he's worse than Happy with passwords.
Penny makes a point to dig through Norman's computer, finding all the information he has on the sex trafficking ring she was taken by. She emails it to her own old email, to Mr. Stark and any other avengers she can think of. After Thanos attempt to destroy the universe, old arguments had
mostly been laid to rest. The other Avengers were talking about coming back, but it was a long process.
Mr. Stark and Colonel Rhodes found one branch of the ring, but she has a feeling there is more to it than that one group. Norman has more than enough information, and proof he paid for her on his computer. His communications weren't as hidden as he thought they were.
She hesitates as she stares at the screen, thinking about Harry's email address. She almost emails him, before realizing he would likely ruin her plans. Harry would probably call his father demanding answers.
Penny doesn't want to know what Norman would do if she actually angered him.
Penny clears her browsing history, blocks Mr. Stark, Colonel Rhodes, and her own email from emailing Norman back, returns everything to how it was before. Penny locks the computer back down and drifts back into the bedroom where Norman is sleeping.
She slides back under the cover and waits, unable to really sleep. She listens to Norman's resting heart rate, knowing he's asleep from how deeply he's breathing.
She falls asleep when the sun finally rises. Norman only wakes her up with a kiss to her brow before he leaves for the day.
--
"There is one thing I've been meaning to show you." Norman says brightly over breakfast. Penny peers up at him over her toast and jam as Norman continues. A smile warms his features by several degrees as he continues.
"Now that we're in New York, I can finally show you Oscorp's headquarters." He cuts into the sausage on his plate easily. "I had thought of showing you our European branches, but nothing compares to the original."
Penny has to bite back the urge to comment; she's seen enough of Oscorp given her run in with a particular spider, but she swallows the comment down. She chews at her toast, trying to think of something appropriate to even say.
"Would that be okay, truly-?" A day out of the penthouse would be a relief, a good change until the night of the party. Her life upon arrival to New York had been spent inside.
Norman's guard was down, but not enough Penny could actually leave the building on her own. Norman had talked vaguely about a chaperone of some kind. Penny made agreeable noises but hadn't pushed the topic. She didn't intend to stay much longer to begin with.
"Of course! You have a head for science. It's a shame you haven't been able to use it." He answers immediately. "I saved you from a third world situation, and now you can spread your wings."
Penny's grip tightens on the toast as she hums her agreement. "I would like to see what American science is like..." She knew perfectly well how Oscorp functioned. She had written more than her fair share of papers on the genetic projects happening under its roof. She was a New Yorker born and raised.
"You'll get to see firsthand, my dear. Oscorp is one of the leading companies in scientific break throughs. Certainly, far afield compared to Stark Industries." Disdain leaks into his tone at mention of Stark Industries. Penny forces herself to place her toast back on the plate to avoid throwing it at him. She didn't always like what the company did, but the topic felt personal now.
"Stark... like the missiles?" Even now that was what most people still knew about Mr. Stark, about his company. That much still frustrated Penny to a large degree. The girls she had spoken with had vague ideas of who Tony Stark was or what lron man represented. Stark Industries was flawed, but she knew the people there. She considered some of the people there her family.
"They were once purely weapons manufacturers, but Stark thought himself a scientist after a stint with death. He'll be nothing but a war monger playing at peace till the end of his days." Norman offers with a scoff and shake of his head. The urge to throw her meal at Norman rises exponentially. "Now, well, now the best and brightest are swayed to their green initiative without realizing there is too much bad blood in the water to truly clear it."
Penny picks up her toast from her plate to take another bite, trying to just get through breakfast. Each bite is another reason to keep her mouth shut. Her loathing of Norman Osborn can't deepen, but he can always make it feel more pronounced.
"When do you want to go?" She asks, trying to shift the topic enough Norman stops complaining about Mr. Stark. The man helped her and May tremendously. He's all but another uncle to her.
"How does this afternoon sound? I can bring the limo back around after my lunch meeting." "Perfect." She says with a thin kind of smile.
"I'll lay something out for you before I leave for work." Norman promises before popping the slice of sausage into his mouth. He starts cutting another piece as he chews. Eventually speaking after he's swallowed his current bite. "If my people are to meet you, I want to be sure you look your best."
"Whatever you want, Normie." She answers back with another thin smile. Visiting Oscorp wouldn't be terrible, especially not when she's going to disappear soon.
--
Penny keeps her arm looped with Norman's own the entire walk through the building. Oscorp isn't quite everything she remembers it being at fourteen. Then again, her memories of that field trip were spotty at this point for good reason.
Her heels clack against the polished floors, the sound feels infinitely louder now that the air condition has finished cycling through the cold air.
"And this is the most experimental of sectors." Norman drops his voice, eager to play showman to his foreign bride. "All of our most top secret of projects are coming to fruition here."
Penny's mind jumps to the radioactive spider and she has to bite the inside of her cheek. Would she die if she were bitten twice?
"What happens here?" She asks softly back, widening her eyes in an attempt to look appropriately amazed. Penny wasn't exactly well versed in lab work in the way someone working here would be, but she's aware of how things function.
"Come, come, let me show you." He fishes a keycard from his pocket with his free hand. He turns back to the door panel, swiping the card before he places his index finger against a fingerprint reader built into the device. The machine beeps, a light flicking to green as the door slides open for them.
The lab is almost eerily quiet. Penny isn't sure why that sets her on edge. Her grip tightens a little on Norman as he leads them inside. More lights overhead click on as they walk deeper into the lab.
"Is no one... working now?" She asks, unable to keep the apprehension out of her voice. Even with the inhibitor on, she feels like something is wrong. It isn't her Spider-Sense, as much as her gut.
"I timed it so they would be at lunch." Norman says, patting her arm gently. "Don't be scared, dear. We aren't anywhere we aren't supposed to be." He starts to pull her further away from the front entrance towards some glass observation cages. Her skin is crawling for a different reason, and Penny can't even voice why. She just nods a little jerkily.
Norman blows out an irritated sound as he comes to a stop. "Really? I leave them alone for a bit and they slack off." He releases his hold on Penny to fiddle with a panel on the side of the first cage.
Penny wets her lips with her tongue, her gaze drifting across the lab more openly. There are more observation cages. She can see a few animals in makeshift terrariums of their natural habitat. She takes a few steps away from Norman, trying to calm her heartbeat.
One tank catches her attention. The tank is fogged over, and strangely dark. Even with the lights in the lab there is an absence of lights. Penny finds herself drawn towards it, her feet leading her over more than her actual line of thought.
Penny doesn't see anything in any of the specific cage. The screen readouts show something is there. She frowns a little openly at the data. What ever animal is there isn't doing well. Norman and his scientists are doing something awful to this animal. She can tell that much from as much as she's read.
She presses her hand against the glass.
Something black oozes to the top, making her go very still. She almost can't see what it is due to how dark the tank is.
"It's okay." She murmurs, "You'll be okay."
Penny isn't sure why she says that. She isn't even sure why the wet black creature presses its head against where her hand is. Penny just takes a slow breath, watching the creature as it sees to nuzzle against the glass.
She brushes her thumb across the glass, realizing there is a crack.
"Mary!"
She startles back a little, turning back to Norman.
"Get away from there!" The anger in his voice immediately makes her stomach lurch uncomfortably. "Get back here, now!"
Penny steps away completely, "Sorry, I- was curious." She says weakly back.
"Be curious from a safe distance." He barks back at her, which makes her flinch openly as she hurries back towards him. Norman wraps a possessive arm around her. He holds her close enough he's hurting her.
"Come, let me show you the other projects here."
Penny is getting a strong idea she wasn't supposed to see that creature. Norman walks her through the rest of the tour. Her mind keeps jumping back to the forbidden, and she isn't sure what she had
seen.
He makes a point to keep her away from that tank. Penny just files it away for something to tell
Mr. Stark when she sees him again. Not if, when. She's made sure everything will fall into place. Norman leads her back out of the secured area, talking amicable about enrolling her in a college
nearby.
Penny finds it almost funny. She lost a year to this. Now Norman was trying to shove normalcy at her. Maybe he'd highly recommend she go to MIT?
--
She spends the last day playing doting wife. Becoming Norman's shadow, listening with an enraptured smile to his every word. He is pleased by all the attention, happy to bask in it.
He skips work on that Friday to stay with her. He wants to enjoy her. He claims they are newlyweds still, so he can do what he pleases. Penny isn't one to argue, now why would she?
He talks of party preparation, of business, of anything that comes to his mind. Penny listens. Isn't that what a good wife would do? She listens to every detail, trying to memorize talk about where the security team will be. Where blind spots on the camera's are. All things she needs if she's going to leave.
He arranges her outfit that day as well. Penny hates it on sight, but doesn't say a word. She chatters meaningless things, plays at being empty. She somehow lasts the entire day without outright killing him.
The two settle into bed together around 10pm. Penny settles on her side of the king sized bed, her gaze settling on the framed photo Norman added of them on the nightstand. A picture of them in Venice. Her attention is shifted from the photo as the older man moves to lay against her.
"Goodnight, Norman." She murmurs softly, pressing her lips against his forehead. Only one more day to the party.