Tony's POV. Set after Endgame and after the blip. Tony and Natasha lived. Trigger warning for Rape/Noncon. This is my first time uploading here on Ao3 and first time writing female Peter Parker. Hopefully I did her justice.
Something was wrong with Penny Parker.
It started a week ago. Penny showed up Monday afternoon for her internship late. Penny was never late. She was pale with dark circles under her eyes. If I didn't know any better I would have said she was sick. She was wearing a baggy Stark Industries sweatshirt despite the unseasonably nice weather, and had obviously thrown her hair up into a loose bun instead of brushing it. All in all she was a bit of a mess.
But she greeted me with her normal "Hey Mr. Stark," followed by "Sorry I'm late." and quickly sat at her station.
"No worries kiddo, how was your weekend?"
A short "Fine." was the only answer I got while she busied herself with her bag, pulling out her note book.
"Just fine?" I implored.
"Yup." was her equally short reply.
Normally there was no stopping her once she got started on the tales of her weekend, but not today apparently.
"Did you go out patrolling at all?" I asked, trying to get more out of her.
"Nope." was again all I got.
"Why not? Something wrong with your suit?"
"No it's fine. I just, uh, didn't feel like it I guess."
"You didn't feel like it?" I asked skeptical. "The kid I once caught trying to go patrolling with 3 cracked ribs and a concussion 'didn't feel like it'?"
She seemed to bristle a bit.
"Yes." she all but snapped back. This took me a back. In all the time I'd known Penny she had never snapped at me like that. Argued? sure. Complained? definitely. But never had she snapped at me like this.
"Okay, kid. Sorry, I didn't mean to pry." I said, deciding to back off. I had obviously hit some sort of nerve. She deflated immediately.
"I'm sorry Mr. Stark. I didn't mean to be short with you." She said looking me in the eye for the first time since she walked in, genuine remorse on her face.
"It's okay, I know you didn't mean it. I'm not mad." I assured her, letting her off the hook easily. "Didn't feel like it. Got it. Let's get started okay?"
"Okay", she nodded, turning to her work.
"Alright, where'd we leave off last time?"
And we had gotten to work. She seemed distracted, messing up a few simple equations I had taught her how to do myself, but otherwise it was back to a normal day in the lab. That is until about 2 hours later. I stood up from my seat beside her and reached over her for a screwdriver on the other side of her.
She gasped loudly wheeling away from me and disappeared. It took me a solid 5 seconds to realize she hadn't actually disappeared, but was actually stuck to the roof a few feet above me breathing heavily. She was staring at me with an expression I'd never seen directed toward me from her. Fear?
I stood frozen, staring at her above me trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. There were fine tremors running through her arms.
"Pen?" I finally asked softly.
My voice seemed to break whatever spell had come over her. She blinked a couple of times before dropping down to the floor next to me again, a bit further away now.
"Sorry," she said awkwardly.
"Uh huh," was my eloquent answer. Awkward silence ensued for a moment.
"Wanna explain what that was?" I finally prompted when it was clear she wasn't going to offer an explanation on her own.
Panic showed in her eyes that she was obviously trying to hide. "Sorry. It was nothing."
"Errt" I said making a buzzer sound. "That" I continued, pointing at the ceiling "wasn't nothing."
The fear was back for half a second before she ducked her face down.
"I don't know Mr. Stark, my senses are just out of whack today."
Concern that she really may be sick had me taking a step forward raising my hand to feel her forehead for a fever. She quickly mirrored my step back, adding a second.
My concern kicked up another notch. "You feeling okay?" I asked, halting my approach.
"Of course!" she answered, her voice to high. Clearing her throat she continued, her words coming quickly. "Just didn't sleep to good last night I think. I had a lot of homework and I stayed up to late texting with Ned and the neighbors got a new dog that barks all night. I also think May changed the laundry detergent because my bed sheets smell like a freaking car wash so I had to get up and change them to my back up sheets that are super scratchy. And if all that wasn't enough someone's car alarm-"
"Okay okay" I said cutting off her rant, knowing if I didn't it would continue indefinitely.
"You look beat kid, why don't we quit early today." I said, deciding to give her a break. A look of disappointment came over her face.
Before I could change my mind and offer to continue she was already packing up her things and cleaning up her work station.
To soften the blow I had unintentionally inflicted I continued.
"Why don't you come back on Wednesday. Pep is taking Morgan up to visit her mom for some quality 'girl time' that I am expressly not invited to. "You can keep an old man company? We can work down here some more."
"Ya Mr. Stark, that sounds great." She answered, her voice void of her normal enthusiasm. She quickly slung her backpack over her shoulder, starting to head out.
"And get some sleep." I added as she walked to the door.
"I will", she answered with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
Then she was gone. I sat back down in my chair, trying to figure out what had just happened. Had I scared her? We had been working shoulder to shoulder in the labs for years now and never had she reacted like that, save for the time DUM-E knocked over a can of soda onto a prototype laptop which immediately started sparking before bursting into flames.
Maybe she did just need a good night's sleep. "Friday, have a non-scented detergent, noise canceling headphones, and a new set of sheets sent to Penny's."
"On it boss."
Not sure what else to do I moved along with my day, hoping that would help.
I texted her the following morning.
'Good morning sunshine. Did you get some decent shut eye?'
'Yup. Thanks for the new sheets and stuff. It really helped.' Was her reply, with a good morning gif that had a tiny puppy popping its head up out of a coffee cup.
'Good. Now get to school!" I sent back. Feeling better about the whole situation.
It was Wednesday afternoon when the second red flag went up. Pepper and Morgan had just left for Pepper's parents house when my phone rang. It was Penny's school saying she was in an altercation with another student. Since May was working and didn't have her phone on her they called me, her 2nd emergency contact.
When I got to the school I found Penny sitting in a chair in the hallway next to what I assumed was the Principles office. She was hugging her backpack to her chest, head hung low.
"Penny?" I called to her as I got closer. Her head whipped up and I skipped a step. She had obviously been lying about getting sleep. She looked worse than she had on Monday. The circles under her eyes had darkened and her eyes were red. Her cheeks were stained with dried tears.
"Mr. Stark." she gasped, seeming surprised to see me. "What are you doing here?"
I crouched in front of her meeting her eyes.
"School called. Said there was a fight? Are you okay?" I asked. I obviously knew she could handle herself in a fight, but she was clearly upset.
She nodded her head. "I'm fine." Her eyes told a different story, starting to get glassy again. "I'm sorry they called you down here for this. I didn't mean for this to happen."
"I know kid, don't worry about it. Can you tell me what happened?"
Panic flared in her eyes. Before she could answer me the door next to us swung open.
"Ah, Mr. Stark. You're here. Come in please. Have a seat. Penny, please join us." I stood from my crouch in front of Penny and followed him into the office.
Inside the small room I recognized Flash Thompson and who I assumed was his father sitting in chairs. Flashes eyes grew wide when he spotted me and his father shot daggers with his eyes at Penny. As we shuffled in I directed Penny to the vacant chair furthest away from them. She quickly curled up into the chair, similar to how I found her in the hallway. Flash was holding a icepack to the back of his head.
"So," the principle said, settling into his chair behind the desk. "Thank you for coming down Mr. Stark."
"Of course" I answered, "What's all this about?"
"It was reported today that in-between classes Penny and Flash here got into an altercation. I'm told she was seen grabbing and slamming Flash up against the lockers."
My eye brows shot up. Glancing over at Penny I saw her curl into herself a bit more. If the situation wasn't alarming enough now I was being told Penny had been the aggressor. I had always admired the way Penny could rein in her emotions, and seem to just let things roll off her back. I'd asked her about it one day after I'd seen Flash bump into her on the way to my car when I was picking her up for a lab day. She had said that it was her responsibility to be better. She could never risk seriously hurting someone that didn't truly deserve it. So what could push her to the point for her to get physical with another student?
I glanced over at Flash narrowing my eyes, trying to figure out what he'd done to elicit such a response.
"Now" the principle continued, calling my attention back to him. "Our school has a zero tolerance for fighting. Normally this kind of behavior could potentially be grounds for expulsion, however, given this is Ms. Parker's first offence of any kind at this school I'm opting for a 2 week suspension."
Flashes father scoffed on the other side of the room. "Suspension? She attacked my son unprovoked! She can't just get away with that! I'm not-"
"Unprovoked?" I cut him off, papa bear instincts taking over. I knew how Flash treated Penny. I still wasn't sure what had happened today, but I could be damn sure it wasn't unprovoked. "Your son has been harassing Penny for years. Tell me", I said, turning back to the principal, "What's your policy on bullying? Because from what I can tell this all probably could have been avoided had you and your staff been responsible enough to deal with the situation, before it escalated to this."
"Mr. Stark, I assure you, that-".
"That what?" I interrupted again. "That you did nothing while this boy came up with crude names to call Penny, making fun of her, spreading lies." My normal devil may care attitude was nowhere to be found. Penny was a literal superhero. She put her life on the line for strangers practically every day. I would not let her be painted as the bad guy here. From the corner of my eye I could see Penny starting to shake. Fuck.
Attempting to calm down a bit I took a deep breath, something I'd quickly learned to do when Morgan came along.
"If this is the type of school that punishes kids for standing up for themselves, while the bullies get away scot-free, then maybe this isn't the school for Penny at all. Nor the generous donations made here every year by Stark Industries." I finished in a calmer voice.
The principle paled, seeming to realize the hornets nest he just kicked, realizing it was Tony Fucking Stark he was talking to.
"I-I apologize Mr. Stark. I didn't mean to give you any misgivings about the school. I do assure you we take bullying very seriously and if there has been any oversites on our end I truly apologize. I will be looking into these allegations personally and will take the appropriate action." he finished.
"Thank you." I said, somewhat appeased.
"Given the circumstances, I can reduce the suspension to 3 days. This kind of behavior can't go completely unpunished." He said in almost a questioning tone, knowing I had more power over the situation than he did.
Accepting his apology and I nodded conceding to this decision. Penny appeared to need a break anyways.
"Is that all then? Can I take Penny home?" I asked, ready to get her away from these people.
"Yes Mr. Stark. Thank you for coming down." He said sounding relieved. He stood reaching out to shake my hand. Standing and giving it a firm shake I tuned to Penny who had yet to lift her head. "Come on kid." She started to stand.
Flashes father stood as well. "This is unacceptable! This little brat gets off because she can't take a couple of jokes!?"
I saw red. Who did this man think he was? Thinking he could talk about one of my kids this way? Directly in front of me no less.
"Hey! You don't speak about her that way!" I said, taking a step toward him. "Maybe if you spent more time worrying about your own kid and his behavior we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place."
With that I turned to Penny. "Come on Pen." I was careful to keep my body between her and the fuming ass hat of a man. She started past me, but stopped next to Flash.
"I'm sorry Flash, I didn't mean to hurt you." She said, her tone genuine, then continuing out of the room. The boy didn't say anything back. I'm not sure if him or his father looked more dumbfounded.
I quickly followed her out of the room.
We didn't say anything on the way to the car. She was ridged when I opened her door for her to get in the car, but slipped in, still hugging her backpack to her chest.
I got into the driver's seat and started the car. I glanced at Penny, but she was staring out of her window. Deciding to give her some time to calm down before talking to her about it I let the silence be, save for the quiet music I had playing. I suppose I needed a moment to calm down as well. Because what. The hell?
As I said in that office, Flash had been bugging her for years. I had offered to step in many times, but Penny had always just brushed it off. None of it ever truly seemed to bother her before, so I chose to respect her space and let her handle it on her own. So what had changed? Had Flash gone to far? Had Penny finally hit her limit of crap she could take from him? Or was it something more going on all together. I glanced over at Penny, and the obvious signs of stress and insomnia, worried it was the ladder.
We got back to the tower, parking in the private parking garage. Penny made no move to get out. "Come on kid, promise I'm not going to bite."
Finally glancing over at me she gave a small one sided smile. "I know."
Well at least there was that.
"You ready to tell me your side of the story now?" I questioned. Her eyes dropped again, right along with the half smile.
"I don't know." She childishly answered.
"You don't know?" I questioned back gently. "Well that makes two of us. Come on kid. Just walk me through what happened. You were in between classes?" I started for her.
Still not meeting my eyes she began. "Me and Ned were at my locker. I was getting books out. Flash came up behind be. He uh, said something stupid and I don't know, I guess I just snapped. One second he was behind me and the next he was up against the lockers. I didn't mean to, I swear. It just… happened." She finished.
"Okay, I know. I know you didn't mean to hurt him." I assured her. "What did he say to you?"
If it was possible Penny became even more tense beside me "It-it was nothing. Just stupid."
"Well I could have guessed coming from that kid. It is Flash we are talking about." I tried to joke with her, my attempt failing completely. I noticed her breathing start to quicken.
"Pen?" I asked.
She didn't answer, breathing escalating more.
"Penny?" I asked again, an edge of panic to my voice. What the hell could Flash have said to cause this kind of reaction? Reaching out I tried to put my hand on her shoulder, but the moment my fingers touched her she started scrambling out of the car. I quickly followed suit. By the time I'd rounded the car I was barely able to catch site of her rounding the corner out of the garage moving like a bat out of hell.
"Penny!" I shouted, running after her. I rounded the corner as fast as I could, but there was no sign of her. She was gone.
"Penny!" I called one more time knowing it was pointless and earning some curious looks from bystanders.
"Friday." I said quickly tapping my glasses.
"Yes boss."
"Locate Penny Parker. Hack the street cams if you have to. Just get me a location."
"On it boss."
I started back toward the garage, pulling out my phone and calling Penny, a pointless venture I realized as I got back to the car, hearing her phone ringing inside her backpack.
Fuck.
It had been exactly 5 hours and 32 minutes since Penny ran from the tower. I'd spent the last 5 hours flying over half of Brooklyn, desperate to spot her. Friday was using facial recognition software to scan every camera in the city connected to the cities central server and still nothing.
May was at her apartment, in case Penny came home on her own. Happy had gotten her from work, letting her know what happened. She had noticed Penny's off behavior at home as well. Every time she tried to get her to talk Penny would either shut down, or insist she was fine.
Penny was obviously not fine.
Dark rain clouds had rolled in about a half hour ago, making this bad situation even worse. Heavy rain now covered most of the city. I was making my 2nd pass by the Brooklyn bridge when I finally spotted her, almost missing her completely. She was at the top of one of the support beams on a small platform curled into a ball, hugging her knees tightly to her chest. She must have heard my repulsors as I approached because her head snapped up toward me. I landed in front of her, my metal clad feet clanging against the metal platform.
"Penny!" I called over the noise of the wind and rain, approaching her quickly and crouching in front of her.
"Are you okay?" I asked giving her a quick once-over. She was soaked through, her wet sweater was doing nothing to keep the cold out. That coupled with the biting wind this high up was just asking for hypothermia, which she appeared to be well on her way to based on the color of her lips.
She didn't answer me, just dropped her eyes from mine and pursed her lips.
"Come on kid I'm taking you back to the tower. We gotta get you warmed up." Her shivering intensified as if she had just remembered the cold. Nodding she started to uncurl herself from her tight ball. Not trusting her to stand on her own this high up in her current state I scooped her up one arm around her back, the other under her legs. Penny gasped slightly but didn't protest.
"Friday, heat the exterior of the suit." I ordered. "Alright kid, here we go. Well be back at the tower in 2 minutes okay?"
She didn't answer me, not that I expected her to. She did however react to the heat from the suit, curling into the warmth and tucking her face in the cruck of my neck. I hugged her closer to me.
I gently took off into the sky, and hurried back to the tower. By the time we got there Penny's teeth were audibly chattering. I rushed inside recalling my suit from between us and into the nanotech holder on my chest. Penny's face was now pressed skin to skin on my neck and I bit back a yelp at how cold she was. I hurried to her room and strait to her bathroom.
"Friday, activate Itsy Bitsy Popsicle protocol." I had installed this protocol shortly after finding out about Penny's inability to thermoregulate, thankful for it now. The heat cranked up in the bathroom and the shower came on to a luke warm temperature. The temperature would gradually get warmer as her body temperature rose. I stepped into the walk in shower with her still in my arms and into the spray of water.
"Mr. Stark your getting all wet." she protested weakly through chattering teeth.
"Its fine Pen. Don't worry about it. Let's just get you warmed up a bit then I'll leave you to it okay?"
She hesitated, then nodded against my neck. After a few minutes of standing in the shower my arms began to tire so I lowered her feet to the floor, still supporting most of her weight against my chest. Her shivering was beginning to lessen.
I was relieved to have her safe in my arms. I'm sure at this point she was warm enough to leave alone to warm up on her own, but I wanted to hold her for a bit longer. Knowing she was safe only eased some of my fears. She was going through something. Something she obviously felt she couldn't come to me with. I had tried so hard to make sure she always felt she could come to me with her problems, and I believed I had that trust. She had confided in me more than once after hard patrols, had trusted me with her fears and insecurities. So what had happened to change that?
Looking down at Penny, her head was resting sideways against my chest. I could see her eyes had half closed. She was exhausted. Still shaking mildly, but drastically improved.
"Alright kid. Think you can handle this on your own? I'll go get you some dry clothes." She nodded, making no move to step away from me. I dropped my head down, my cheek resting on the top of her head.
"You know I love you right?" I asked, needing her to hear it. She turned, her face burying into my chest.
"I know." She answered, her voice rough. "I love you too."
I gave a quick kiss to the top of her head before stepping back. I made sure she was stable before exiting the shower. I made my way to my room down the hall and changed out of my wet clothes before heading back to her room and finding some warm clothes for her and setting them on the counter just inside the door.
Stepping back out of her room and heading down the hallway I pulled out my phone dialing May. She picked up on the first ring.
"Did you find her?" was her immediate question.
"Yes, I found her. She's here at the tower. She's okay, just cold. She is in the shower now warming up." I assured her. I heard a sigh of relief.
"She's okay? Did she say anything? What happened?"
"Not yet. She's exhausted, quiet." May fell silent for a moment and I thought I heard a small sniffle. When her voice came back through the line it wavered. "I don't know what to do. Ben… he was always so good with her, getting her to talk to him. I know she loves me, but I feel like she thinks she needs to protect me from her own problems. She has never talked to me the same way as him."
"It's going to be okay May. I'm going make it okay. Whatever it takes." I promised her. "I think she should stay here for the night if that's okay? I'll try and talk to her in the morning." I offered, hoping she would agree. I selfishly wanted Penny safe here in the tower.
May hesitated for a moment. "Okay." She sounded defeated. "Thank you Tony".
"Of course May." I said, ending the call.
20 minutes later Friday informed me as per protocol that Penny's temperature was back in normal levels and that she was out of any danger.
"Is she still in the shower?" I asked.
"No boss, Penny is currently lying on her bed."
I made my way back to her room. Her door was still open as I left it. Penny was under the covers, her back to me facing the large window on the other side of the room. The light beside her bed was on, the room dark other than that. I knocked lightly on the door as I entered, not wanting to startle her again, but also not sure if she was awake. I rounded her bed. Her eyes were open, staring out the window to the city.
"Hey kid." I said, approaching her. Her eyes moved to me as I knelt next to the bed. "Feeling a bit better?"
She nodded.
"Good. I talked to May. She knows your staying here tonight." Her eyes dropped from me looking nervous.
"Is she mad at me?" she asked.
"No honey, no one is mad at you. She's just worried about you." I answered. She closed her eyes biting her bottom lip. "I am too" I added.
"I'm sorry" she whispered, breaking my heart. A tear leaked out and dropped to her pillow. Pulling my sleeve down over my hand I used it to dry the track it left. "Shh shh baby, don't be sorry." I moved my hand to the side of her head and started running my fingers gently through her damp hair trying to sooth her. This always worked on Morgan when she had bad dreams.
"Just try and get some rest. We can talk tomorrow okay?" she didn't answer, but another tear slipped down her cheek.
"Its gonna be okay Pen. I promise."
I continued to sooth her until her breathing evened out and she was asleep. I stood, my knees cracking in protest.
Not ready to leave her alone yet I moved over to the small couch across from the bed and sat down. I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I woke to a crick in my neck, my head at an odd angle against the back of the couch. I could tell it was late. Stretching my neck back and forth I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Glancing over to check on Penny I froze.
The bed was empty.
Just like that I was wide awake. "Penny?" I called hoping for an answer. I didn't receive one. Walking quickly to the bathroom and checking there, finding no sign of her. "Friday, where is she?!" I asked on the verge of panicking.
"Penny is currently in the lab." She answered.
I was almost light headed with relief knowing she hadn't disappeared again.
"What is she doing? How long has she been down there?" I asked on my way to the elevator, glancing at my watch. It was nearly 4:30 in the morning.
"Penny entered the lab 23 minutes ago. She is currently at her work station working with her web shooters."
At least she had gotten some sleep.
Penny glanced up when I walked in. She at least looked better. The dark circles under her eyes had lightened some. She turned back to her work as I walked over, sitting in a chair next to her. She didn't seem to be doing much with the web shooter, just regular maintenance. We sat in silence for a moment.
"Are you ready to talk about it?" I asked.
She tensed a bit beside me. "Talk about what?" she said back, pretending not to know.
"You know." I answered simply.
Penny set down her web shooters, still not looking at me.
"I can't", she said after a long pause.
"Can't what?" I asked calmly.
"Can't talk to you about this." She said, her voice wavering.
"You can talk to me about anything kid." I answered in the same calm voice.
"Then I don't want to talk to you about it." She said through her teeth a bit.
"I think maybe you might need to Pen." A small tear leaked out of her eye and she turned her back to me quickly wiping it away.
"No, I don't." She said stubbornly.
"There's some stuff you can't bury kid. Let me help. Please."
"You can't help this!" She burst out back at me, finally seeming to boil over before biting her tongue. "You can't help this Mr. Stark." She said again in a calmer voice.
"Pen." I said, reaching out to her shoulder to turn her around. She flinched when I made contact so I let my hand drop back down to my lap.
"Penny look at me."
After a long moment she finally turned, meeting my eyes for a moment before dropping them.
"Hey," I said ducking my head a bit to meet her eyes.
"Do you trust me?"
Tears started to fill her eyes, but she eventually gave a small nod.
"I love you Penny. Your my kid, just as much as Morgan is. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you. Nothing. Please don't shut me out." There was a long pause before she finally whispered "I'm scared."
"Of what?" I asked.
Her jaw tensed before she answered. " That you wont look at me the same way." she rushed out in one quick breath.
"Nothing could do that." I assured her.
"I'm scared of, of what you might do."
That took me aback. Was she scared I would be angry? Take away her suit again?
"I wont get mad at you, I promise." I wouldn't react like my dad. I would listen. I would correct and help if needed. But I wouldn't make her feel bad for trusting me by yelling at her.
"I'm not scared of that" she said, confusing me. "I'm scared of what you might- what you might do to-" there was a heavy pause while she stared at me looking me straight in the eye. She took a deep breath closing her eyes, more tears falling, and dropping her head. "Him." she finished.
Him?
Penny turned and walked over to the couch in the corner of the lab. I followed behind her sitting on the coffee table in front of her. Her hands were clasped in her lap, curling into herself, fine tremors running through them. Slowly I reached out and place my hand over hers.
"I don't want to hurt you Mr. Stark." She said, glancing up at me.
"Don't worry about me. I can take it." I could take anything for her.
She looked at my face for a long time. I could see an inner battle with herself. I looked back calmly, waiting. Finally she spoke.
"There was a house party last weekend. Ned really wanted to go, but he didn't want to go alone. I was tired and didn't really want to, but he convinced me. Flash had invited a bunch of guys from other schools, some college guys that I didn't know and they brought a bunch of alcohol. I haven't been-" she hesitated, trying to find the right words. "Ever since we got back I haven't been sleeping to good. It's been… a lot. Some guy gave me a cup of something, I didn't know what it was and I know you aren't supposed to take drinks from people at parties but I just didn't want to feel anymore. So I drank it. And then I drank some more. A lot more. It felt good, made all the hard stuff seem less important."
She reached up wiping away some of the tears still leaking down her face. I knew all too well the comforting effects of alcohol. But we could handle that. I could help her. I squeezed her hands, still in mine.
"It's okay Pen" she shook her head, face crumpling and a breath seemed to get caught in her throat.
"No, it's really not Mr. Stark. I got so drunk, I could hardly stand up. It was like I couldn't stop, I didn't want to stop. I lost track of Ned, and I ended up in one of the bedrooms. I'm not even sure how I got there. I wasn't… alone."
I felt the blood run out of my face, the pieces of the puzzle clicking into place with what had to be an audible click. Or maybe it was just the sound of my heart breaking. It felt like ice water in my veins. No. Nonono. Not this.
Penny continued, regret and agony written all over her face.
"I didn't want to Mr. Stark. I wanted to leave, I wanted him to stop, but I couldn't." her voice was catching as she spoke, "my body wasn't working and he was doing things I didn't want to do and I couldn't stop him-" she broke off in a sob burying her face in her hands.
I scooted off the table onto my knees in front of her and wrapped her in my arms, her head on my chest. I felt her clutch my shirt, truly sobbing now. I felt tears slowly drip down my face as well.
No. Please no.
How could this have happened? I never thought I had to worry about this with her. She was so strong and could obviously take care of herself against hardened criminals. She stood toe to toe with some of the worst this life had to offer. I didn't think she could even get drunk. I was sure she was like Cap with her metabolism. How could this have happened?
I bit my lip trying to hold it together. She was right to be afraid of what I might do to him. I was afraid of what I might do to him.
"Shh shh Pen. It's gonna be okay." I told her rocking us slowly from side to side. I held her for a long time while she cried. She slowly started to calm, her sobs slowing. She still had a death grip on my shirt, still shaking.
'Have you told anyone else?" I asked softly.
She shook her head. "No, but Ned knows. He found me… after. He tried to get me to go to the hospital or call someone, but I just… couldn't." she finished seeming at a loss for words.
"Okay, that's okay." Quick to reassure her, but worried if that was the truth. Was she okay? I'm sure she had time to recover physically from any injuries with her healing ability, but that wasn't all there was to worry about.
This sent my blood boiling at the thought. I was going make this boy wish he'd never been born.
I'd convinced Penny to see Helen. Luckily Helen had been in town staying at the Tower. She was in with her now. I was glad, not only that we were making sure she was physically okay, but also because I needed a moment. I'd been holding it together in front of her, but I knew I could only last so long.
I made my way away from the room I left Penny and Helen in and ducked into another room down the hall. I couldn't go far. I covered my mouth with both hands to hold in the sobs, the wails of rage that threatened to escape. I'd been face to face with murderers, terrorist, people that wanted to literally end the world and I'd never felt this much hatred toward a single person. I wanted to tear him apart.
Ever since Afghanistan I always tried to be the good guy, do the right thing to protect people from the actions of those that wanted to harm them. To try and correct the wrongs I'd committed.
I didn't want to be the good guy anymore.
I didn't care about right or wrong now. All I wanted was for this piece of human filth to suffer. To writhe in pain. How could you do that to someone? Especially someone as good and selfless as Penny.
Penny who just wanted to help people. I'd stood side by side with some of the best human kind and otherwise had to offer and Penny was the best of them all.
She. Didn't. Deserve. This.
The rage inside me was to much. Before I even made a conscious decision my fist was in the wall in front of me. Pain raced up my hand. As I pulled it back a saw my knuckles were bloody, covered in plaster and dust. I welcomed the pain. It helped to distract from the hurt inside.
I would make him pay if it was the last thing I did.
It took 2 days to find him. He was a 23 year old dip shit from a fraternity one town over. He had a long list of DUI's and sexual harassment claims but thanks to daddy's lawyers nothing ever stuck.
Helen had informed me that from what she could tell there would be no lasting physical effects. She also said that the amount of GHB needed to subdue Penny would have been enough to kill a grown man several times over. That if she hadn't been enhanced there was absolutely no chance she would have survived. I'd done more digging after learning that. There was a young girl, a bit older than Penny. She had nearly died after attending a party at his frat house. She was in a coma for nearly a week. She almost died. When she finally woke up she didn't remember anything. I had no doubt in my mind he was responsible. I'd dug more after that. I'd found more.
I took Penny back up stairs, hiding my bloody hand in my pocket until I could slip away to deal with it. I made her breakfast, but she hardly touched it. Happy brought May to the tower that afternoon. We told her together. Penny fell asleep crying on May's lap. May had been focused on Penny gently running her fingers through her hair, but now looked over at me. I saw the same heartbreak and rage simmering in her that I felt myself.
"You'll… deal with him?" she questioned, her tone leaving no misunderstanding in what she meant.
I gave a simple nod. Neither of us needing any further explanation.
The frat house was only a matter of minutes from the tower when flying in my suit. I circled it twice before Friday zeroed in on him. He was alone on the back porch smoking, only illuminated by the soft glow of the full moon above us. Perfect.
This was the last part of the plan. I'd set the rest of it in motion this morning. His father would be bankrupt by the end of the week. After that he would be getting a visit from the IRS about the money laundering and tax evasion he'd been committing for the past 20 years. The filthy lawyers that had been manipulating the system and allowing him to stay a free man would have the worst reputation in the country by morning. They wouldn't be able to give their services away when i was finished.
I circled the house one more time while Friday disabled all security cameras in the area and confirmed there were no other conscious people in the house. I flew down, landing with a metal thud against the cement in front of him. He jumped back in surprise.
"What the fuck, hey wait, your Iron-" that was as far as he got before I approached, grabbing him by the waist of his jeans and blasting back into the sky. The piece of human garbage was screaming for me to let him go. I obliged, letting him fall 50 or so feet before catching him by an ankle and continuing on. There was a clearing just out of town about 5 minutes down a dirt road off the highway. That is where I dropped him unceremoniously, letting him fall the last 10 feet to the ground. He landed with a thud and a groan. "Oooouuuch dude. What the fuck?" he asked, face still in the dirt before rolling over onto his back.
I landed a few feet from him before stalking toward him. He scrambled back noticing my advance. "Whoa whoa dude, you got the wrong guy! I didn't do anything!"
"Really?" I asked him. "You sure about that?"
"Ya man I didn- ahhhhh!" he cut off mid sentence as I brought my metal boot down on his shin stopping his retreat.
"So you didn't drug and rape a 16 year old girl last weekend?" I spit at him, all but sick at the words coming out of my own mouth.
He stilled beneath me going pale, then doubled his efforts to get away from me to no avail. I ground my boot harder into his leg.
"Aaaaaaahh" he wailed. "Stop it please!" he begged. I brought my second boot down on his other leg.
"Is that what she said to you? Was she even able to tell you to stop after all the god damn drugs you gave her? She could have died!" I screamed at him. I opened the suit shaking with rage and leaving it behind me holding him in place. I crouched over him fisting his shirt in my hands and pulling him up to look him in the eyes. "Do you get that!? Do you even care?!"
"I'm sorry man, I won't do it again, I promise." He said to me eyes full of fear. As if once wasn't enough. I reeled back my arm and punched him in the face, blood immediately gushing from his now broken nose.
"Your damn right you won't. You won't get the fucking chance. Is that all it took to get your dad to pull your ass out of the fire every time before this? 'I'm sorry, I won't do it again." I mocked him. "Well not this time. This time you pay for what you did."
"Help! Somebody help me!" he started to scream. I punched him again silencing him.
"Just know that the only reason your alive is because she is better than me. If it were up to me I'd burry you were you are right now. But she told me not to. She, even after what you did to her, doesn't want you to die. That is the kind of person you did this to. That is the kind of person you hurt. And just know that where you are going you'll wish she hadn't asked me to spare you."
"Hel-" he started to cry out again, but I landed another blow to his face, then another. I hit him over and over again, until my already battered hand couldn't take it anymore. His face was now covered in blood and he was letting out low moans.
"Feel better?" A familiar voice asked from behind me.
"No." I answered, breathing hard. Beating the crap out of the piss ant didn't change anything. Not really. Didn't take any of the pain and memories away from Penny.
Standing I turned to face Natasha. She stood in the clearing not far from me, a large black SUV parked on the dirt road that lead to the highway behind her.
"Thank you for this." I told her.
"No need to thank me. I would have been upset if you hadn't called". I nodded knowing she meant it.
"All the arrangements have been made?"
Instead of answering she walked over and stared down at the mess on the ground still moaning in pain.
"Are you sure you don't want to kill him?" she asked.
"No, I know I do. But I promised I wouldn't. So he gets to live." I said regretfully.
"For now." she said ominously. Natasha knew of a place, a prison of sorts in Russia. It didn't matter which side of the bars you were on there, they didn't take kindly to rapists.
"For now." I agreed, staring down at the man below me. It was done. I deflated, disappointed that it hadn't help. I'd been running on rage and coffee the last 2 days. Now I just wanted to go to sleep.
"Go home Tony. I got this." Natasha said as she lowered herself to the ground next to him, thick zip ties in hand.
I climbed into my suit, and took a few steps back before quietly taking off into the sky. I made a conscious decision not to look back, to leave the rage behind with that man where it belonged. That wasn't what Penny needed now.
I flew to the tower landing lightly on the landing pad and recalling my suit. I took a long shower, washing away the dirt and blood. Pepper was waiting for me despite the late hour when I crawled into bed. She knew what happened, where I'd been.
She wrapped me in her arms wordlessly and ordered Friday to turn out the lights. I stared at the ceiling for a long time letting Pepper's slow breaths against my neck calm my still uneven ones until I eventually fell into a deep dreamless sleep.
The sun was high in the sky when I woke. The events of the night instantly at the forefront if my mind. I wasn't sure where to go from here. Penny was back at her apartment last night. I didn't want her here, not knowing what state I would come back in. Happy was with them, so I knew that she was safe.
My growling stomach eventually pulled me from bed. I hadn't eaten much in the past couple days and it was catching up to me. I made my way out of my room and down the hall. I welcomed the sound of laughter coming from the living room as I approached.
I rounded the corner to find Penny there with Morgan sideways in her arms, belly down, pretending to fly her around the room. Morgan was laughing so hard her face was red. Glancing up at Penny I found she was laughing too. Something loosened in my chest a bit.
Morgan noticed me standing there first. "Daddy!" she cried in excitement, wiggling her way out of Penny's arms and running over to me with her arms out. I swung her up into my arms, resting her on my hip. She would be to big to do this soon so I took it every chance I got. "Good morning Mo." I punctuated with a kiss to her forehead.
"Morning!?" she exclaimed. "I've been up for hours! Mommy said I couldn't wake you up cuz your old and needed your sleep." I gasped in fake indignation.
"She said I was old?! I'm not old!"
"That's what I said, but then she said that mommy's always right and then I remembered that you saying mommy is always right too so I guess your old. " she ended with a shrug making me chuckle.
"Ya, I guess so then." I said with my own shrug.
"Ya, she also said that you would read me 2 bedtime stories tonight since you didn't read me one last night. Where were you?" she asked.
Forcing the smile to stay on my face now I glanced over at Penny before answering. She was very still, obviously waiting to see how I would answer Morgan. She knew where I was last night, but I could see the question in her eyes. Was it done?
"Where do you think I was? I was out getting bad guys." I answered in a playful tone, telling the truth as much as I could.
"Did you get them?" she asked.
This time I looked at Penny when I answered. "Yes." Was all I said in a much more serious tone. Penny sagged some, her eyes going glassy.
"Yay Daddy!" Morgan said clapping her hands. "Penny came over for lunch. Mommy is cooking it and you almost missed it cuz of how old you are!" she continued.
"Well I'm glad I didn't miss it then. Why don't you go see if Mommy needs any help?"
"Okay!" she said always happy to help in the kitchen. Or at least steal juice pops out the fridge and watch as we cooked. She ran from the room excitedly, leaving me and Penny alone.
As soon as she was gone Penny dropped her face into her hands taking a couple ragged breaths before looking back up at me. "He's gone?" She asked. I nodded, "He's gone." I confirmed.
"And you didn't kill him?" she asked.
"No." I shook my head, "I didn't kill him." I didn't give her any other details about what had happened. I told her I would take care of it. That is all she wanted and needed to know, her only request that I didn't kill someone because of her. I almost didn't want to listen, explain to her that killing him would be very much for me, but I knew that would haunt her as well. It would have been selfish of me to kill him. I wouldn't put any more on her.
A quiet sob came from her and she quickly crossed the room wrapping her arms around my neck in a hug. "Thank you. I love you." she said through tears.
Choking back tears myself I hugged her close. "I love you too Penny, so much. Its gonna be okay." I whispered to her, to both of us really. She nodded against my shoulder.
"I'm not broken. He doesn't get to break me. He took enough. I'm not giving him any more." She said with strong resolve in her voice.
My tears were falling in earnest now too.
"Damn straight." I said hugging her tighter.
Fin.
