I wrote this in two hours after working two jobs so...there are probably mistakes. Sorry! I hope you enjoy anyway!

Self defense

"It was self defense." That's what Penny told herself as she sat next to the body on the ground, staring down at her own bloody hands, her mouth forming the words she whispered once, twice, three times. The alley was dark…almost pitch black to a normal human and it was still hard to see for her. Hands resting lifelessly on her jeans, she looked at the body again and shuddered.

He'd had a knife. He'd held it to her side as he'd struggled to unbutton her jeans and she'd sworn that never again would she freeze in the face of something like this but she had…she'd been frozen until she'd hit the concrete wall behind her and then she'd snapped back into action, punching him once and then twice and then three times and now he lay motionless on the ground and she didn't know what to do.

She'd already checked his pulse, but she'd known even as she'd pressed her fingers to his wrist, shuddering at the thought of touching him but needed to do it anyway. He was dead. She'd killed a man. She'd murdered him. She could have stopped at one hit. She was strong. So insanely strong. Stronger than any human. She could have shoved him away and she could have gotten away and she could have run. She could have gone home and May never even would have needed to know. And sure, Penny would have freaked out. She would have curled up in bed and sobbed and she would have taken a long, scalding shower.

But she would have been okay.

She hadn't meant to. It was like her mind had gone blank and she hadn't even been seeing him in front of her and…and she'd just hit him. Three times. More than she should have. Harder than she should have.

Penny held her phone in her bloody hand, staring down at it for a long time. She didn't know what to do…didn't know who she should call or what the next move was. Who would be able to help her? Who would even be willing to help her?

The list was surprisingly short.

Ned wouldn't be able to help. Neither would MJ. They would hold her and they would tell her it wasn't her fault and they would cover for her but they couldn't help her. May…no, she couldn't even imagine telling May what had happened. Because May knew. May knew what had happened to her and May would understand and Penny couldn't bear the thought of that understanding on her Aunt's face.

So no…she only really had one option she was willing to take.

Penny had never called Mr. Stark before. Never. Had never dreamed of it, even if she'd had his personal number, she wouldn't have done it. But he'd given her his number after she'd turned down his offer and it had been three months since that day but she didn't have anyone else to call. She didn't bother trying to call Happy anymore. He'd hung up on Ned when she'd needed help and she could still remember how it had felt to be crushed under that concrete building, knowing that help wasn't coming. So no. She wouldn't call Happy. She couldn't call May…her aunt knew about Spider-Girl but she wasn't even being Spider-Girl right now! She'd been on her way home from the library and…and she never gave any thought to walking home alone at night anymore because she was Spider-Girl and she was enhanced and…

She held the phone in her hand for a long time, staring at his name. Happy had given it to her…a matte black card with Mr. Stark's name and a phone number in gold. Only for emergencies. Was this an emergency? She didn't know. She wasn't afraid to dial it. She just felt cold and sick. Did Mr. Stark even want anything to do with her anymore? He'd asked her to join the Avengers but hadn't that been a test? She didn't know anymore. If it had, why hadn't he reached out since? He'd given her suit back…was that enough?

Could she just get up and leave? What if there were cameras? Feeling suddenly weak, she dropped her head back against the wall, thumb still hovering over his contact information. She felt like she should be afraid or angry or something, but all she felt was tired. Why was she so tired?

Mr. Stark was her only real option, other than walking away and hoping that she was never caught. So she held the phone and stabbed his name and closed her eyes, holding the phone to her ear with a hand that trembled. She'd never called him and it was late and he might not even answer. Happy never had. She knew she wouldn't even be surprised if he didn't answer. At the moment, she realized, she barely cared.

But he answered.

"Hello?" He sounded confused, as though he wasn't sure who would be calling him but he had to know…didn't he? Did he have her number? Did he know that Happy had given it to her?

"Mr. Stark?" Her voice sounded strange but she didn't know why…couldn't figure it out or even open her eyes.

"Hey, kid. What's going on?" he wondered, sounding confused. It made sense…she'd never called him. Had never even considered it.

"I…" She tried to open her eyes and it was oddly hard. "I'm sorry."

"What do you mean?" There had been music in the background and suddenly there wasn't. "What's wrong?"

"I need help," she told him, trying not to whisper it…trying to talk loudly enough so he could hear.

"Okay," he answered immediately, and she felt her chest ache with relief, mouth twitching into a smile. "What do you need help with? Where are you?"

"It was self defense."

Silence. Then, "Okay. You're not in the suit?"

"No."

"Alright. I'm tracking your phone. You're behind the library?"

She nodded, then remembered he couldn't see. This wasn't a video call and it was too dark. "Yes."

"Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, forgetting again. "It was self defense."

"Yeah, I got that." He didn't sound upset like the words suggested he might…instead, he sounded gentle, like he was trying to keep her calm. "I'm sure it was. Can you tell me what exactly was self defense?"

"I killed him. I don't know what to do."

"Okay. I'm on my way. Hang on, okay?"

She nodded, dropping her hands to her lap and closing her eyes, not hanging up but not answering him anymore even though she could hear his soft, tinny voice.

Penny didn't know how long it was before he was there, crouching in front of her, his eyes steady on hers. She blinked a few times, surprised to find him so close.

"Penny?"

He asked like it wasn't his first time saying it and she nodded, as though he'd been asking her name.

"I killed him," she told him softly. "It was self defense."

"Okay." He put a hesitant hand on her shoulder and she flinched, not sure why she did it but flinching nonetheless. "Are you okay?"

She nodded even though she didn't know if that was true. There had to be a reason she was so tired…a reason she was so weak. It wasn't even that late, was it? "What time is it?" she asked, and he blinked at her a few times, then gleaned at his wrist.

"Uh…almost midnight."

So she'd been sitting there for longer than she'd thought.

"Pen, hey…look at me."

She did.

"What happened?" he asked slowly, and she looked past him at the dead man, then closed her eyes, dropping her head against the wall again and shaking her head.

"He…he…he tried…" her voice died and she couldn't go on. She couldn't say it. Not to him. Not to anyone.

He was quiet for a minute, and then he touched shoulder, his hand so light she barely felt it. "Okay. Alright, Pen. Let's…let's get out of this alley and…we'll go back to the Compound, okay? I'll take care of this and we can give May some kind of excuse…I'll think of something. Just…we need to get out of here."

She nodded. He was probably right. So she pocketed her phone, taking the hand he held out and letting him pull her to her feet, only her legs refused to hold her, buckling instead. He caught her, hands on her elbows to support her. "Woah! Pen? Penny?"

"I…I don't know…" she told him, as though he'd asked her a question.

"Just…take a second. Sit down. You're okay," he urged, trying to ease her back down, but she shook her head, not wanting to look at that man for one more second.

"No…no, I don't want to. I just…I want to go, please…"

Immediately, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, nodding. "Okay. You got it. Let's go."

Penny managed to walk with him, stumbling a little, and it wasn't until they were out in front of the library that she realized that her side ached with each step. She had to stop…they weren't even at the car but she pressed a hand to her side and gasped, and he stopped right beside her.

"Kid? What…" he trailed off, seeing it before she did. Now that they were out in front of the library under the street lights, she could see the red stain on her blue jacket and the red on her hand.

"Oh. Yeah…that makes sense," she muttered, eyes trying to close, but he caught her again.

"No…hey, you have to stay with me, okay? Come on." With a grunt, he lifted her in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder, his arm under her knees. "Hang on, kid. Stay awake. Okay? Stay awake."

"Okay," she agreed, nodding against his shoulder.

He eased her into the front seat of the car, leaning over her to buckle her seatbelt, then started to lift her shirt. She flinched again and his hands went still before he pressed on, continuing to move her jacket out of the way and lift her top. "I've got to see how bad it is. Just…bear with me a second, Pen."

She tried to keep her eyes open, nodding and glancing down at the puncture wound in her side. It was hard to tell how bad it was…there was too much blood. Mr. Stark disappeared for a second before reappearing with something he pressed to her side, covering the wound and grabbing one of her hands, pressing it to what looked to be a folded white t-shirt. "Hold this okay? Can you hold it?"

She nodded.

"Okay. You…do that." He shut the door and hurried over to the other side where he jumped in, buckling his own seat belt as he pulled onto the street. "The Compound is about 40 minutes away…an hour if we hit traffic. Friday, send everything to whatever doctors are at the Compound. Have them get ready. Good thing you've got a room, huh?" he asked, voice forcibly light.

"What?" she asked, pressing hard on her side to keep the blood inside her where it belonged. "What room?"

"A bedroom. At the Compound. Because you're staying there tonight, kiddo."

"I don't know what you mean," she admitted, head bobbing a little as she tried to stay awake. He hit the gas and they shot down the street, swearing and swerving around something.

"Your bedroom at the Compound, Penny. The one I told you was next to Vision."

"I thought that…was…was a test…"

"Nope. Not a test. You're welcome to join up any time. But I get the whole staying close to the ground thing. Maybe wait until you finish high school."

He was talking too fast and she had no idea what he was talking about, but she knew she had to keep pressing down on her side. "Mr. Stark?"

"Yeah?" he bit out, glancing over.

"I'm…really…really cold."

"Friday, heat. Crank it up. Keep talking, Penny. Come on, kid. What should we tell May, huh?"

"She knows," Penny murmured. "She knows what he did…she…she had him arrested…"

"What?"

"She had him arrested before she…" Penny blinked hard, trying to force her eyes open. "...told Ben. Ben would have…killed…he…my babysitter…he…"

Beside her, Mr. Stark was silent, and she couldn't make herself look at him…she had a feeling she hadn't meant to tell him any of that but she couldn't remember.

"Don't tell. Please." She wasn't sure who he would tell, but regardless, she didn't want him to tell anyone.

"Okay," he murmured, and she felt his hand rest briefly on her shoulder. "Don't worry, kiddo. I won't tell anyone."

"I told myself…I wouldn't…freeze again," she told him through numb lips, tears she could barely feel falling down her cheeks. "But I did…I froze…I'm…freezing. So cold…"

"Friday, Plan B!"

The car came to a gentle stop and then…the rest happened in flashes. Mr. Stark unbuckling her seatbelt. Iron Man appearing and lifting her into his metal arms, saying something about sticking to him but she wasn't strong enough to keep her own head up, much less bring a hand up to stick to his suit, but they shot into the air anyway. The rush of air on her already cold skin and the warm metal of the suit, almost hot enough that it hurt but not quite. And then…

The man in the alley, his hands on her clothes.

The man in her bedroom…

She was screaming. Someone was standing over her and she screamed and shoved them away and there was a crash and a shout and then Mr. Stark was standing over her, a hand on her arm. Not restraining her. Comforting her.

"Kid? Hey, same side!" he called, squeezing her arm. "You're okay. It's okay. You're safe. You're at the Avengers Compound. You're safe. I've got you, okay?"

Slowly, she nodded, dropping her head back down to the pillow as someone else approached. A needle in her arm. A rush of warmth that had her closing her eyes again. A soothing darkness that held her under for a long time. There were no dreams or nightmares…just warmth.

When Penny opened her eyes again, she was staring at a ceiling she didn't recognize, laying in a bed she didn't recognize, in a bedroom she'd never seen before. The walls were a soothing dark blue and the wall was almost entirely glass that went from opaque to translucent the moment she tried to sit up, and she winced at the light that poured in.

"Good morning, Miss Parker. I have alerted boss that you are awake."

"Um…can you make the glass dark again?" she asked, covering her eyes, and the glass turned opaque once more.

"Of course, Miss Parker."

"Thanks," she murmured, not entirely sure where she was but having a better idea. She remembered bits and pieces of the night before, and a gentle press of a hand against her side let her know that the puncture wound was already nearly healed. The area was tender, but she was able to sit up and stretch, looking around for a clock and finding one on her bedside table next to her phone.

It was nearly ten in the morning.

She grabbed her phone, opening it to find a text from May. "Hey baby, Tony told me that your project ran late. Call me when you wake up?"

She blinked at the screen a few times, wiping a hand over her face, then dropping her phone back on the nightstand. No way she was calling her aunt before she got her story straight. Before she could swing her feet over the bed and try to find Mr. Stark to ask exactly what the story was, though, the man in question was knocking on the door.

"Come in?" she called, the words more of a question than an invitation, but he came in anyway, nodding hello, eyes going straight to her side like there might be more blood before meeting her eyes.

"Hey, kid. Feeling better?"

Penny nodded. "What did you tell May?"

"That I had you at the Compound working on a project that was so important that I forgot to give her a heads up, and that you fell asleep before I remembered to give her a call."

"I'm sorry," she murmured, dropping her eyes. It wasn't fair that he had to take the blame for something like this. "I can tell her…"

"You can if you want," he told her with a shrug. "She wasn't too mad." Hesitating, he took another step into the room, then another, before sitting in a chair beside her. "That guy was taken care of. No link to Penny Parker or Spider-Girl, so don't worry about that."

"I should have stopped."

He gave another careless shrug. "I'd say he got what was coming to him"

Penny shook her head, eyes hot. "I didn't mean to kill him."

"I know." He rested a hand on her shoulder. "But I don't blame you. Not one bit, kid. If it makes you feel any better, I'd have done the same if I'd have been there, and I'd have done it on purpose."

Oddly, inexplicably, he reminded her of her uncle Ben, and she had to shake her head a little to dispel the thought. But he'd said nearly the same thing.

"I'm glad you didn't tell me," he'd said to May in the kitchen while Penny had pressed her ear to the door of her bedroom. "If you hadn't, I might have killed him myself."

"Spider-Girl doesn't kill people," she whispered. "I didn't mean to…I…" The hand on her shoulder squeezed and she brought her own hand up, gripping his without understanding why she did it, tears finally spilling over. This was Tony Stark. He was famously allergic to any kind of real affection and he was known the world over for being snarky and standoffish but…

But he was there. And she needed someone to be there.

"I froze again. At first. I froze again even though I'm strong and I could have fought him off but…I…I killed him," she whispered, tears running down her face.

Slowly, like she was a hurt animal, he got up, then sat beside her on the bed, his arm wrapping around her shoulders. And any other time, Penny would have been freaking out. This was Tony Stark! The Tony Stark! And he was hugging her! But at the moment, al she could do was hide her face in his shoulder and sob while he held her.

She didn't have her Uncle Ben. But Mr. Stark would keep her safe too.