Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Penny Park knew many things. She knew that the sky was blue and the grass was green. She knew the minute details of chemical engineering that most people, especially 15 year olds like her, couldn’t grasp. She knew that just because her foster family was unkind that most people in the world were good. And she knew that she absolutely should not be able to scale a building with just her fingertips.

But that’s what she was doing. After being sick for 3 days after her school field trip to Lord Technologies she had awoken different. Somehow stronger, faster, with amazing reflexes and senses, and with the ability to scale walls like the spider that bit her. There were also the downsides to these amazing powers like how her stomach ached from not receiving enough nutrients and how sounds and smells could become too overbearing at times and the cold. She was always so cold these days. Overall, it felt like an even trade. Now here she was, on the roof of a building in the heart of downtown National City trying out her new web slingers she had developed from the substance she, somewhat disgustingly, could now make from her wrists.

Her outfit consisted of red sweatpants and a red and blue hoodie she had found while dumpster diving and drawn on a crude rendition of a spider on. She had a blue buff on and pulled up past her nose. Her goggles were somewhat silly looking as they were welding goggles she had discreetly borrowed from her school’s shop class. Stopping muggings and rescuing cats from trees was pretty harmless stuff but she took a page out of Supergirl’s book and vowed to keep her identity secret.

After soaring through the jungle of skyscrapers that made up the vast majority of National City she decided her web slingers were up to par and she finished her night’s patrol by escorting an extremely intoxicated woman home. All in a day's work for… The Spider. She really did hate the name the media had given her. She knew it was because no one knew her gender and the fact that the media was notorious for giving vigilante’s silly names but still, The Spider seemed a bit on the nose.

She snuck back into the tiny room at her foster home being careful not to make a sound. She was lucky the Matthews didn’t check on her all that often and that they allowed her her own room even if it’s not much. Really more of a storage closet that had been emptied. A twin mattress laid on the floor against the wall, a small shelf rested next to it that held engineering books she’d rescued from the free bin outside the used book store down the street. A little dresser was against the opposing wall that held her hand-me-down and thrifted clothes she’d accrued over the years in the system. It wasn’t much but it was all hers. A space were she could work on her projects and tinker with odd bits of electronics she had found dumpster diving. It was the closest thing to a safe space she had.

---------

The next day at Valor STEM Academy was brutal. Penny had been running a little late due to one of her foster siblings locking themselves in the bathroom and refusing to open up for anyone. Mrs. Matthews had been distracted by the situation so breakfast for the day was a free for all which led to Penny only grabbing a banana and a granola bar before heading out for the subway. Flash Thompson, Valor’s very own schoolyard bully, seemed to focus only on her that day. He had taken to shoving her around and saying insensitive things to her the first day he saw her in her holey jeans and threadbare over sized green sweater she often wore for warmth. Her clothing obviously marked her as a scholarship student and apparently that was enough of a reason to be hated here.

By the end of the school day Penny was exhausted, starving, and humiliated after Flash had shoved her face into her lunch tray causing her food to all but ruin her clothes. One good thing did happen though. The L-Corp Internship. Lena Luthor had announced a few months prior that she was opening up an internship geared towards high school students as a way to support and grow the minds of the future. Penny had worked vigorously on her application for the program but only held out a little hope of being accepted. This was L-Corp, for crying out loud! Lena Luthor was only the best and biggest name in the science world and an internship she hosted would only accept the brightest minds. Penny knew she was smart but there was no way she was that smart.

So when Mr. Anders, her Academic Decathlon advisor, pulled her aside at the end of the day to tell her she had been accepted into the program Penny was downright stunned.

“Ar-are you sure, Mr. Anders? There wasn’t a mistake, was there?” She fought to keep her voice from sounding too desperate. She wanted this but didn’t want to get her hopes up.

“I’m quite sure, Penny. You were the only student accepted from Valor and I know you will make us proud at L-Corp.” His gruff voice seemed surprisingly genuine. Penny was still in shock from the news as he continued, “Unfortunately, you will no longer be able to continue on participating in your club activities as the internship will be every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 3 to 5 in the evening. It will be hard work but I believe it will be worth it.”

With that Mr. Anders patted Penny on the shoulder and left. She had been accepted! L-Corp wanted her for the internship. It was almost too good to be true. Penny squared her shoulders and let a small sliver of pride warm her at the accomplishment and Mr. Anders praise. She was going to work hard to make sure she stayed in the program and to not let Mr. Anders down.

---------

She met Lena Luthor on a Wednesday. The internship had been running for a month by then and Penny threw everything she had into it. There were 4 other students who had been accepted, all older than her by a couple years. They were nice enough, not going out of their way to mess with her but they weren’t exactly friendly. Somedays, the internship felt like a competition. Everyone trying to outdo their fellow interns as if their supervisors would suddenly decide they didn’t want 5 students in the program anymore. But it was kind of fun, working in the labs with actual, professional scientists and working on projects that Lena Luthor herself might approve of.

On this particular day, the interns were allowed free time to work on their own projects since their supervisors were in a research and development meeting that L-Corp held every month. Penny was pleased with the opportunity to work on a wound closing compound she had thought of after meeting the business end of a mugger’s knife the week before. Her wound had been shallow as her spidey sense, as she likes to call it, warned her about the incoming attack and she was able to dodge the blade, mostly. But the slice on her side had bled an alarming amount and she had been forced to web it shut so she could swing back home to take care of it. She decided then that it would be nice to have a compound more specifically made for closing wounds since her web fluid had chemicals that stung quite a bit.

Her work was coming together nicely and she had gotten to the point of making a few test batches though none were quite what she was looking for. She must have been too focused on her work because not even her spidey sense warned that the supervisors were back and they had company till someone was standing behind her, looking over her shoulder. Penny startled at the sudden awareness of the presence behind her.

“Wh-what, um hello.” Penny spun around in her chair and met a cool, calculating pair of green eyes a few shades lighter than her own. “Ms. Luthor! Hi, um. Hey, what are you doing here, ma’am? I-I mean, hello.”

Ms. Luthor’s eyes narrowed slightly before warmly slightly. She was regal in her tailored business suit and put off an air of effortless authority. She glanced back down at the workstation in front of Penny before addressing her.

“Hello, I was stopping by to see what personal projects you interns had decided to work on. You seemed quite enthralled in your work. Would you like to explain what you’re working on?” Ms. Luthor spoke low enough that no one else in the room could hear her words and so Penny tried her best to match her.

“Yes, ma’am! I’m just trying to put together a little compound to close wounds such as lacerations and abrasions to keep bleeding stemmed until the wounded person can receive better care.” Penny rushed out in a heap of words without breathing once. She was suddenly nervous about what Ms. Luthor might think of her project. What if she thought it was ridiculous? What if she thought Penny was trying too hard or not smart enough to actually do it? What if…

Ms. Luthor interrupted Penny’s internal doubts by leaning forward to glance, once again, at her work station. “Hmm.. That could be quite promising. What have you got so far?”

And so Penny spent the next hour going into detail what she had put together so far. Talking over the components and measurements and even showing Ms. Luthor the samples she had already created. Meanwhile, Ms. Luthor focused in on all the details with growing interest. Just as Penny was finishing an explanation on why certain chemicals worked well but weren’t ideals as they could cause discomfort and irritate the wound further Ms. Luthor straight and raised her hand to silence her.

“This is very good work, Ms… I apologize. Where are my manners? I forgot to ask your name.”
Penny had forgotten her nerves at talking to one of the most powerful women in National City, maybe even the world, when talking about science but they came back with a vengeance and she choked out a strained, “It’s Penny Parker, ma’am.”

“Penny Parker. It’s lovely to meet you. Minds like yours are the reason I started this internship. Keep up the good work. Now if you’ll excuse me. I think it’s time for you to head home for the day.”

Penny looked down at the clock on her desk and saw that it was well after 8. A glance around the room showed that all the other interns had left already and that the supervisors were packing up their things and heading for the door. She rushed home in order to make the 9 p.m. curfew the Matthews insisted on and only made it barely. Her foster brother, Brendan, ran into her before she could escape to her room.

“Wow, freak. Didn’t expect you to be late. What were you doing?” His grin was more of a snarl as he towered above her. His wide, tall frame gave him an edge both on the football field and while shoving around anyone smaller than him. Since Penny was 5'3 he saw her as easy prey.

“Leave me alone, Brendan. My internship just ran a little late today.” Penny kept her voice steady and confidant. She was stronger than him now. She could hold her own if she had to. She was The Spider. He shouldn't make her feel helpless anymore.

“Oooh, yeah. I forgot that you’re too good for us now that you’ve been picked up by that bitch, Lena Luthor.” Brendan’s voice was laced with resentment. He narrowed his eyes down at her. When Brendan first found out about the internship he teased her about how nerdy it was. Once he realized how big a deal it was to be working with L-corp his teasings gained a crueler edge. He wasn't once to be upstaged.

“Shut up! You don’t know anything about Ms. Luthor!” Penny squeaked out, her face flushing with anger that someone would talk about Ms. Luthor that way. Penny knew Brendan was a sexist asshole and nothing she did was going to stop that but he didn't need to be so vulgar.

“I know she’s got a real nice ass. Bet she could use a man like me. Show her what women are really good for.” It nearly sounded like he was quoting someone else, puffing up his chest like some ape. Penny would have cringed if she wasn't so shocked by how blatant Brendan was being.

“That-that’s disgusting! Ms. Luthor would never spend time with a jerk like you!”

“What, you got a crush on her or something? I didn’t realize you were like that, freak. Oh shit, I bet that’s how you got the internship. Not smart enough so you had to get down on you knees and--”

Penny snapped. It was too much. Not that accusations of being gay because she was and she wasn’t ashamed of that but being accused of not being smart enough to get the internship and Brendan dragging Ms. Luthor’s name through the mud hurt. This was a woman she had looked up to for years, ever since she had moved L-Corp to National City and had rebranded her business. Ms. Luthor was a role model, someone to be looked up to and respected. Penny’s blood boiled in a way it never had and she reached out and shoved Brendan into the wall. Not all that hard, definitely not with her enhanced strength, but hard enough that it probably hurt. Hard enough for Brendan’s eyes to go hard in a way that promised retribution. Hard enough for Mr. Matthews to see as he entered the kitchen at just the wrong time.

“Penelope Parker! What do you think you’re doing?” All fight drained out of Penny at the sound of his furious voice. The Matthews had a soft spot for Brendan, their star quarterback that made them look good in the community. Penny always thought they treated him well in the hopes that if he played pro football that he’d send some money their way. Whatever it was that fueled their intentions was enough that she knew she had really messed up. She looked up at Mr. Matthews silently.

“Come. With. Me.” He spoke through clenched teeth. Brendan made a sound like a snort as he led her to his study. She had only been here once before, when she had been caught skipping school to go to the L-Corp expo last year. She had left the room with a back bruised by a belt swung with a heavy hand. She knew it was going to be bad this time. And it was.

That night, Penny slept on her stomach. She ached in places Mr. Matthews had hit with his belt. She ached somewhere deep in her body were she stuffed all those darker feelings that she had a hard time processing. She ached. Squeezing her eyes shut to will back tears, Penny daydreamed about being at the L-Corp lab working with a stoic but oddly warm Lena Luthor.

Chapter Text

The Spider was generally well liked by the public. Some thought she was a bit weird. Some were put off by the whole spider thing, the web shooters not helping that, but most appreciated her for the small things. Penny wanted to give to her community so that not only included stopping crime but also helping that elderly woman carry her groceries home or rescuing a particularly feisty kitten from a tree. She was friendly and more personable than National City’s other heroes. Penny suspects that this is why Supergirl, Reign, and the mysterious organization backing them had left her alone. Until now, that is.

She had been going about her regular patrol routine: swing through town, listen for trouble, keep an eye out for that one NCPD detective that’s always trying to talk to her, get a sandwich from Delmar’s, fight crime, be gay. She was interrupted somewhat rudely while chowing down on her go-to sandwich while dangling her legs off the roof of one of Nation City’s many high rises.

“Hey, little spider. Time for your afternoon snack?” The voice was rich, somewhat raspy, and dripping with snark. It belonged to none other that Reign. She floated directly in front of Penny, her black cape gently billowing in the breeze. This was Penny’s first time talking to the reformed villain who now fights along the same Supergirl that she beat into National City’s asphalt only a year ago. If talking to Ms. Luthor made Penny nervous then talking to Reign made her downright terrified… but she wasn’t Penny right now. She was The Spider and that afforded her more confidence, wearing a mask and being respected helped with that a lot.

“Oh yeah, Delmar’s is the absolutely best sandwich shop in town.” She emphasized this by taking another bite of her food, her buff pulled down just low enough to not get food on it. She then wagged the remaining sandwich in front of the superhero. “Wanna bite?”

“Uh, no thanks. I just saw you out and about and thought I’d say hey. I am just returning from… taking care of some things.”

“Things? What things? Anything I should know about?” Penny perked up at the info. While she was content to stick with smaller crimes she would still like to be in the know if anything big was going to go down. Working with Supergirl, and maybe even Reign, would be so so so cool too.

“Woah, down, Spider. It’s all taken care of. Anyway, isn’t it your nap time right about now? Can’t have the whittle Spider getting grumpy.” Reign snarked, the corner of her mouth twitching into a small smirk.

“Pfft, yeah right. I’m not the one flying around with a baby blanket on my back.”

“It’s a cape! Not a baby blanket… only Superman’s cape is a baby blanket.”

“Wait, Superman’s cape is his baby blanket?!” Penny could not choke back the laughter that spilled from her lips. She had to clutch at her sides from laughing so hard and she could feel tears welling up in her goggles. The strongest man on earth who fought some of the darkest villains the world has seen did so with his baby blanket. It was one of the funniest things Penny had ever heard.

“Okay, okay. It is kind of funny. Glad to see you tickled pink but try not to roll off the building. I’d hate to have to rescue you from your own clumsiness.” Reign gruffed out but did side-eye The Spider like she really thought she was going to fall.

“Nah, no falling for me. I may be part spider but I’ve got reflexes like a cat. Plus, web shooters.” Penny held her wrists up to show off her gear. Reign’s eyebrows raised ever so slightly.

“That’s pretty fancy gear you’ve got there. Couldn’t spring for a better suit? It would probably-- Wait… part spider?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Wait, really?! I just thought that was your branding, a way to market yourself! A bit of an odd choice but it seems to be working for you.” Reign seemed incredulous but thankfully not too freaked out.

“Oh, um, well it’s a bit of a long story and I’m not sure if I should really tell people the details but… Actually… maybe you or Supergirl should know…” Realization struck Penny hard. She could tell them that Lord Tech was up to some shady stuff. It was a bit above her pay grade and, if she were being honest, the idea of going back there scared her. This might be the solution she didn’t know she needed.

“Well, fire away. I’m not getting any younger.” Penny could tell Reign was a lot more interested then she was trying to appear. The kryptonian had stilled in the air, leaning slightly closer in.

Penny tried to organize her thoughts, making a quick pro and cons list for telling Reign. Pro: An actual superhero would be notified of some questionable scientific practices. Con: Penny knows what Lord was up to is illegal but they might not have any evidence left. This happened months ago. Pro: The Spider could be giving valuable intel to the Supers and thus forming some sort of alliance with them. Con: They would know more about how The Spider got her powers and might be able to narrow down who Penny is. Tricky, tricky. When in doubt Penny asks herself “What would Lena Luthor do?” and this time Ms. Luthor would probably try to take down the bad guys especially since they are direct rivals of L-Corp. Penny made up her mind.

“So, Lord Technologies. Have you heard of them?” Penny isn’t sure but she thinks she sees Reign roll her eyes.

“Yeah, I’m familiar.”

“Right, so they have some pretty shady experiments going down in the lower levels of their lab. Definitely work taking a look at it if you have the opportunity.” Reign was definitely intrigued now, her hands fisting at her sides, head tilting slightly to the left.

“And this has to do with you… how?”

“Hmm, let’s say I conveniently found myself somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be and a freaky spider bit me.” Penny was trying to go for aloof, mysterious like the cool vigilante she hopefully was. She certainly wasn’t going to straight out say she was there for a field trip. Reign already seems to know she is young but Penny really doubts she would let her continue her vigilante work if she knew just how young.

“That does seem like a good tip but I’m not too sure what I can do with it. I’ll run it by Supergirl and see what she thinks.

“Su-supergirl, yeah, totally makes sense. She’ll definitely know what to do.” Penny was playing this so cool and not fangirling at all. If she saw Reign’s tiny smirk, no she didn’t.

“Alright, little spider, I gotta head out. Real nice chatting with you.”

“Oh, yeah! We should do it again sometime!”

“Hmm, well if you ever find yourself in over your head, just give a shout for me or Supergirl.” Reign gave her a nod, her smirk plastered on her face, and took off faster then Penny’s eyes could track. Penny just sighed.

“She’s so cool.”

***

It was just another school day, really. Not an internship day thankfully since Penny earned herself her first ever detention by falling asleep in English. She thought is was a little unfair but arguing with Mrs. Newman seemed like a bad idea so she just rolled with it. Penny was exhausted. She had stayed up late last night, trying to get a finished product of her L-Corp project to show Ms. Luthor on Wednesday, tomorrow.

She had been out patrolling only a couple times in the past week but balancing that with school and her internship on top of always being hungry was getting to be difficult. Penny didn’t want anyone thinking she was slipping though, she knew they would pull her from L-Corp first if that was the case.

As she slipped into the classroom that was being used for detention she noticed there were only two other students present. Two boys who Penny thinks might be seniors, tucked away in the back of the class already dozing. The teacher sat at the desk reading and barely glanced up to see Penny when she walked in.

“You have one hour, no phones, no talking.” He droned in monotone. That was it, all of the instruction she was going to get and all she needed. Penny picked a desk by the window, setting her backpack on the desk to act as a pillow. Before she could put her head down another student strolled in, no rush despite being two minutes late.

“How nice as you to grace us with your presence Ms. Arias.” Was the teacher's dull response as he marked her present and went back to his book. The newcomer, Ms. Arias apparently walked right up to the desk next to Penny and sat down despite there being quite a few other options. Penny couldn’t help but peek over at her.

The girl seemed to be a year older than Penny, maybe 17. Her silky brunette hair was tossed up into a messy bun. She wore a faded denim jacket over a plain tshirt with a few buttons and patches that Penny glanced over, not trying to make it obvious she was staring. The girl’s pants wore tight black jeans that had a couple of tears in them. Unlike most ripped jeans, these seemed to be naturally occurring. Her ensemble was complete by a pair of well loved combat boots that weren’t fully laced. Penny wonders, almost subconsciously if this is why the girl has holes in her jeans, from tripping on her laces.

They all sit there in silence for about five minutes till the teacher gets up and leaves. Penny is confused and glances over at the other girl. She was already looking at her.

“He takes a ‘bathroom break’ every detention. He’ll be back about ten minutes before it’s over smelling like cigarettes.”

“R-right. Sounds like you know what you’re doing.” Penny is not flustered by this girl, just anxious about her first detention. Obviously. The girl’s mouth turns up slightly in a smirk as she stretches out her hand for a handshake with more confidence than Penny thinks any teenager should have.

“Ruby Arias, detention expert, at your service.” Penny doesn’t know what to do for a moment but when a pretty girl is smiling at you and asking for a handshake, you comply.

“Penny Parker, detention rookie though I’m really hoping this is a one time thing.”

“Ah, a virgin. Well, I’m happy to be here for your first time.” Ruby’s smirk has grown. Her eyes were dancing mirth.

Penny squeaked. Still holding Ruby’s hand, she felt her face grow warm with what she knows is a dark blush.

“I-I, well, yes. That is, um… right.” Penny just kept shaking Ruby’s hand like she was stuck, glitching. The other girl took pity on her and let go.

“So what brings you to the seedy underbelly of Valor Academy?”

“Oh, I, uh, just fell asleep in English.”

“Wow, a true delinquent.” Ruby’s tone was dry. She just shrugged and glanced down at her backpack pillow she hadn’t got the chance to use yet. Part of her was desperate for a nap since she was set to go patrolling after school but another part of her didn’t want to give up this conversation. Penny didn’t really have friends. There were a few people in her classes she was friendly with but none seemed to pique her interest as much as Ruby has in only a few minutes.

“Yep, that’s me. Next thing you know, I’ll be smoking pot behind the dumpsters. So, what did you do to end up here?”

“I was smoking pot behind the dumpsters.”

Penny’s eyes grew wide, terrified she had somehow just insulted the other girl. Before she could backtrack and try to salvage this conversation she noticed Ruby’s grin.

“You’re teasing me! Not fair.”

“Sorry, Penny. You’re just cute when you're flustered. Really couldn’t help myself. To answer your question, I got into an… argument with Flash Thompson about respecting people’s personal space.”

Penny’s opinion of Ruby doubled. Sure, getting into fights at school isn’t a good thing but anyone who stands up to Flash is good in her book. She has spent too long avoiding him in the halls, hoping he’d stop calling her Penis Parker and shoving her around. Even though she knows she is stronger than him now she’s too nervous to stand up against him, worried people might notice she’s a little too strong for a girl her size.

Penny must have been quiet for too long because Ruby fidgets a little and looks down, seeming unsure of herself for the first time since Penny met her.

“I didn’t hurt him, not really. I–”

“Hey, no, Ruby. I’m not judging you. Promise. I’m just a little bit impressed. Flash is a jerk. I think it’s good that you stood up to him.” Penny finishes off shyly, glancing up at Ruby through her lashes. Ruby’s cheeks flush but she puffs out her chest and her smirk is back.

“Thanks, Penny.”

The teacher makes his way back into the classroom and the rest of detention is spent in silence. When it’s over the girls exchange phone numbers and Penny feels like, maybe, today wasn’t so bad after all.

Chapter Text

Patrol was fairly calm today. Penny helped a lost kid find his parents and escorted a few drunk college students back to their apartment but otherwise, it was a quiet night so far. Quiet enough for Penny to get sucked into her thoughts on a certain detention expert who had just shot her a text.

Ruby: Hey Rookie, how’s your night? I’m so bored

Penny: It’s good! Just fighting the never ending pile of homework

Ruby: Don’t even get me started. Advanced Calc is enough to put me asleep. I might be good at math but sometimes I wonder if I even like it

Penny: You’re in the math program at Valor? That’s surprising

Penny: I mean, not surprising that you’re smart cuz that totally makes sense. Very smart, you are!

Ruby: Cute. No, I get it. I don’t give off mathematician vibes. I like to keep people guessing

Penny snorts at that. She hadn’t known Ruby long, only a few hours now, but she definitely seems like a person that “keeps people guessing”. She is certain the girl is full of surprises. They text for a little bit longer, nothing too deep but it was nice. Ruby is full of snark and doesn’t hold back from cutting comments about the teachers at Valor but she isn’t cruel.

She is interrupted from her phone by a shot ringing out through the night. It puts Penny on high alert as she makes her way to the alley the noise came from. She peeks over the ledge of the building she swung to to get an idea on what’s going down. There’s a man waving a gun around as he continues on an angry tirade at the person he has backed into a corner. It’s a woman, no, a girl that must be about 17 and she looks scared.

“-- you had just done what I asked properly you wouldn’t be in this mess. You were supposed to wire the funds to my account, not some stupid charity.” The man growls out.

“It was stolen money from the children’s hospital fundraiser. I just returned it.” The girl’s voice held a defiant edge despite her frantically looking for an exit. There wasn’t one.

“Take it back and put it in my account!”

“You want me to steal from a children’s hospital? Trying to win the douchebag of the year award?” Another shot rang out, it clipped the girl’s arm but the man didn’t seem to be shooting to kill.

Penny knew it was time for her to step in though she was hesitant. The occasional muggers she had faced never had guns, at least not pulled and ready to fire. She wasn’t sure how well she could dodge bullets.

Turns out, pretty well. She had scaled down the wall of the building silently till she was only 10 feet up and then used her webs to yank the gun from the man’s hands. The girl took the chance to book it out of there, ducking around the man. Unfortunately, he took that time to pull another gun and started firing at Penny. Her spider sense had her bobbing and weaving until she could knock the man unconscious.

Pain blossomed in Penny’s right leg where she had been grazed by one of the bullets but otherwise she was fine. She let out a deep sigh, pulled out her phone, and hit the only number she had saved to speed dial, Detective Sawyer.

Penny had gotten the woman’s number after her third time dropping a mugger off at the precinct. Apparently, it worked better for the police to apprehend the perps at the scene of the crime or whatever. Penny thinks that might have just been an excuse for the detective to give her her number in case she got into anything she couldn’t handle.

Detective Sawyer had been a little gruff the few times they had interacted but she seemed legitimately worried about The Spider running around without backup or support. That was all well and good except for the woman constantly hounding Penny for her identity so Penny tried to keep their interactions brief.

It didn’t take the detective long to arrive along with a few patrol officers. After getting Penny’s report of what went down the officers took the man away but Detective Sawyer remained. Her eyes roamed over Penny, narrowing at the wound on her leg.

“You good there, Spider?”

“What? This little scratch? It’s nothing!”

“You know, you could come with me back to the precinct and I could help patch that up? This is hardly a sterile environment and I’d hate for it to get infected.” Detective Sawyer’s voice was nonchalant but Penny could detect the undercurrent of worry.

It was nice that she cared, even if it was only a little bit but Penny couldn’t help but shrink back against the offer of help. Spending longer with the detective was a bad idea. It was her job to detect and Penny knew she wasn’t a smooth enough liar to fool the woman in front of her. Letting her help her was a one way ticket to losing her secret identity.

“Pshhh, nah. I’ll be fine. In fact, I can feel it healing already. The Spider would never be taken out by measly little germs!” Penny was thankful for the buff and goggles covering her face as she cringed at her own words. Real smooth, Parker, real smooth. “Well, I gotta get going. I think there’s a cat in a tree somewhere calling out for help. Yep. And you know, homework’s not going to do itself so…”

The detective’s eyes narrowed once more. Shit. Why did Penny not have a better filter? Homework, really? Way to expose your age.

“Working on your time tables still?” The woman was clearly hoping that Penny would correct her by saying what she was actually working on which would definitely point to her actual grade in school. Penny wasn’t going to fall for it.

“Ha! Funny but no. Philosophy essay. The professor is a tough grader and humanities really aren’t my strength.” There. That puts her at college age, so a legal adult. Detective Sawyer just shakes her head and seems to drop it but Penny can see she doesn’t fully believe her.

******

Penny really needed to stop ruining her patrol clothes. While she made ok money by fixing up the electronics she finds dumpster diving and then pawning them it was barely enough to keep her fed. Most of the time, not even that. She will just have to suck it up and buy new pants instead of an extra dinner tonight.

She had bumped into Ruby in the halls at school today and the girl chatted with her a bit before Penny needed to head to her internship. Ruby had noticed her slight limp from the not fully heal but totally clean gunshot wound on her leg.

“You good there, Penny?” She nodded toward her leg. Penny wasn’t expecting anyone to question her on it, no one really cares, so she hadn’t come up with a cover story.

“O-oh, yeah. Just, you know, got into a back alley shootout.” Penny, why? She had said it jokingly but still. She could have said anything else like she fought a bear or hurt it while skateboarding or literally anything else!

“Riiight.” Ruby’s eyes narrowed at her chest which Penny would have gay panicked about if she wasn’t so concerned that the older girl could actually hear just how fast her heart was racing. “Maybe I had you pegged wrong and you really are a little delinquent.”

“You haven’t pegged me! I mean– no! I didn’t mean that. I mean, I have layers, like an onion. But no, no shootouts. Just banged it up while skateboarding. Really, I’m quite clumsy.” She huffed out a breath that was part sigh and part mortified groan. If the ground had ever swallowed anyone up she would like to be put on that list right now.

“Well, I’m not going to address that.” Penny can make out Ruby adding “for now” under her breath which, what? What does that mean? “But I didn’t know you skated. We should hit the park together sometime. My mom just got me a new board and I’ve been dying to break it in.”

“Oh, yeah! I’d really like that. How about Thursday after school?” Penny was thankful for the change in conversation as well as the chance to spend more time with Ruby. She was starting to think that they could be friends.

“Sounds like a plan, short stuff.”

“Hey! I’ll have you know I’m average height for my age.” This only seemed to amuse the older girl.

“Sure thing, tiny. I’ll text ya later.” And with that and a quick pat to Penny's shoulder she strutted out of the building.

******

It had been decided that the interns would take their research and prototypes, if they had them, to Ms. Luthor’s personal lab to present one-on-one. Apparently Ms. Luthor had presented the idea after floating around the lab the day Penny showed her work she was working on. Ms. Luthor thought it would be a good way to show support for the internship program and Penny agreed. When she first heard about the program she never imagined getting to work directly with the CEO even if it was just a short presentation.

When Penny entered the room she noticed it was set up for a proper presentation with Ms. Luthor was sitting at a desk with her laptop in front of her and a notebook off to the side. In front of the desk a temporary projector screen had been set up, presumably for the interns to pull up their work. Penny greeted the CEO and was happy to receive a warm greeting in return. She connected her laptop to the projector and quickly pulled up the “wound web”, as she had taken to calling it, powerpoint.

“Alright, Ms. Parker. I know we’ve already gone over your project at some length. I’d like you to show me if you have made any changes and then maybe we can brainstorm some ideas to work out a few of the kinks you talked about last time. Sound good?” The woman’s voice was professional but not too sharp and she seemed eager to hear more about the project.

Penny’s stomach fluttered with nerves and excitement, eager to show off her work. They dove right in, going over the small changes Penny had made in the short amount of time since she last spoke to the CEO. By then, Penny’s leg had started to ache a little from standing and pacing back and forth as she pointed things out on the screen.

“Ms. Parker. Are you alright? You seem to be favoring your left leg.” The woman kept her professional demeanor but Penny saw concern flash in her eyes briefly.
“Oh, right. I just have a small injury. It-it’s nothing really. I can keep going!” She doesn’t know why but Penny didn’t want to look weak in front of Ms. Luthor. She didn’t deserve her concern since it was sort of her own fault for getting hurt.

“May I ask how you received this injury?” Ms. Luthor’s face was unreadable.

“Would you believe me if I said I fought a bear?” The woman’s face twitched with an almost smile before she schooled it. “Sorry, ma’am! That was a silly joke. I just- I hurt it skateboarding yesterday.” She ducked her head as she felt her cheeks heat up.

“Well then, it might be best if you pull up a seat. We can use the remote to change the slides.” She motioned to the spot next to her.

“O-ok.” Penny pulled over one of the chairs from a lab table careful to not put it too close to the CEO. For some reason the proximity made her even more nervous and she fiddled with the remote the woman had handed her. Said woman seemed to be deep in thought before she took a deep breath and smiled at Penny.

“You know, my niece loves to skateboard. I just about had a heart attack the first time I went with her to a skate park. It does seem a little dangerous. Is that where you got your inspiration for your project?”

“Oh, no. I had a cut on my side and it was bleeding a lot and I thought it’d be nice to have a quick way to stop the bleeding cuz I wasn’t at my house. What I used instead kind of hurt. That’s where the idea was born.” That should be fine to say, right? She hadn’t admitted to using her web fluid to close the wound and didn’t mention that it was a knife wound to begin with.

Ms. Luthor made a small noise like it was strangled in the back of her throat. She looked over at Penny again, her eyes flashing over her body really quick as if to check for bleeding.

“How, exactly, did you get an injury like that?” Dang. Think fast, Penny. Well, it worked last time so maybe it’ll be okay this time too.

“Back alley shootout? J-just kidding. I, uh, fell down. On something sharp.”

“You fell down?” Disbelief stained Ms. Luthor’s voice.

“Yep.”

“On something sharp?”

“Mhmm.”

The silence that followed was unbearable. Penny, with her enhanced hearing, could literally hear the second hand of the lab’s clock ticking.

“Ms. Parker, please do not lie to me. What happened?”

“I-I-I got mugged! The mugger had a knife but it only nicked me and I ran away. Promise. I was fine. I went home and cleaned it well and used those butterfly bandages to keep the wound closed!” Penny thought it was a good excuse. It was actually pretty close to the truth except for the fact that she wasn’t the one getting mugged but rather stepped in to stop the mugging.

“Why didn’t you go to the hospital? You could have needed stitches.” Which was fair because the cut had healed but it left a pretty gnarly scar that stitches probably would have minimized. Just another scar to add to Penny’s growing list.

“The Matthews don’t believe in taking us to the doctor unless it’s something serious, like life threatening.”

“The Matthews?”

“My foster family.” Penny choked out. Her shoulders curled into herself. She didn’t want Ms. Luthor’s pity. She didn’t want anyone’s pity.

“Did they not at least help you apply first aid?” And there was something in the woman’s eyes that Penny couldn’t make out. It wasn’t pity as she had expected but it was something she could not make out.

“We-well, no? I know where the first aid kit is and the Matthews don’t like to be bothered by ‘trivial matters’ as they call it.” She really couldn’t understand why Ms. Luthor was asking her these questions.

“Your safety and well being is not a trivial matter, Penny. Even if your injury wasn’t serious, you went through something traumatic. Your guardians should have been there to support you through it.”

Oh. Penny didn’t know what to make of the dark emotions swirling in her at the woman’s words. Her guardians were supposed to care for her. But they didn’t and wasn’t that a kick to the gut.

“Can we get back to the project now, Ms. Luthor.” Penny’s voice sounded weak to her own ears. The woman just stared at Penny for a moment before clearing her throat and turning back to the powerpoint.

They dove back in. It was a little awkward at first but once they got going things seemed to return to normal. Ms. Luthor corrected her use of a few chemicals and picked apart the canister Penny had designed as a delivery method for the wound web. They spent a little time coming up with ideas to reconfigure it before it was time to wrap up for the day. Despite the earlier conversation, this meeting had been a dream. Penny got to work with Ms. Luthor, who seemed to be taking her project seriously.

For a time, the outside world disappeared. There was nothing but the two of them, science, and the driving desire to make something that would help people.

Chapter Text

Penny was nearly vibrating in excitement as she pulled her skateboard from her locker. It was the end of the school day and time to meet up with Ruby. Her leg had finally healed up to the point where it only hurt if she poked and prodded at it so she should be good to go. Ruby had texted her to meet her outside on the main entrance stairs so she headed that way.

“Hi, Ruby!” The other girl was looking down at her phone, skateboard in hand. She looked up at Penny’s greeting and smirked that ridiculously confident smirk of hers.

“Hey, pipsqueak.”

“Again with the short jokes?” Penny huffed good naturedly. Not even pokes about her height could pull her down from cloud 9 right now. Plus, she didn’t mind so much when it was Ruby doing the joking. The other girl made it seem more affectionate than mean.

“Yep. I’m trying out all the nicknames till one fits best. You ready to head to the park?” She inclined her head toward the direction they would be headed. Penny nodded and fell into step with the older girl.

“So, your leg seems to be doing better.” Ruby side eyed Penny’s legs, nodding at the lack of a limp.

“Yeah, it wasn’t seriously hurt or anything, just sore.”

“That’s good. Next time you get into a back alley shootout, give me a call. I’ll come save you.” Ruby grinned at her own joke.

“Ha. Ha. You’re so funny.” Penny’s voice was sarcastic but her stomach fluttered at the thought of Ruby coming to her rescue even if it was a joke. Also, she was super strong and everything. She didn’t need help but it was a nice thought.

They kept up the chit chat as they made their way to their destination. Ruby was easy to talk to and had Penny laughing more than she thinks she ever had. It was nice.
“So, what do your parents do?” That’s a normal question to ask someone you are pretty sure you’re friends with, right? This is new territory and Penny doesn’t want to mess it up.

“Mom works in finance. Dad is dust in the wind.” So much for not messing it up.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked…”

“No, no, it’s fine. I never knew him. Mom got pregnant with me in high school and he was never in the picture.” Ruby just shrugged like it was nothing.

“That must have been hard for her.”

“Yeah, that’s an understatement. Mom’s mom kicked her out when she found out about the whole thing. She raised me on her own as she put herself through school and later college. She’s the strongest person I know.” The older girl’s voice was soft but she smiled like she had told a joke. Penny didn’t really know what to say.

“She sounds wonderful. I’d love to meet her one day.”

“Meeting the parents already, huh? You sure move fast, half pint.”

“No, no. Wait, I didn’t– you’re messing with me.” Ruby’s laugh was loud and carefree. It kind of took Penny’s breath away at how beautiful it was. “Also, veto on half pint. It makes me sound like a tub of ice cream.”

“I bet you’d be delicious. If you were ice cream, what flavor would you be?”

This question had the girls delving into a heated debate of the best ice cream flavors. (Penny claims it’s cookies and cream but Ruby swears by Moose Tracks.) Once they got to the park they each did their separate thing, occasionally to stop and admire the other’s skill. When Penny executed a pretty advanced trick perfectly Ruby made her show her how to do it.

Penny hadn’t been skating long, she had only found the board in a dumpster a couple months ago, but she took to it easily with her spider skills. That said, Ruby must just have natural talent because she learned the move easily, perfecting it on her third try. By the end both girls were grinning, neither out of breath or sweaty, but they had been skating pretty hard for a while. Penny felt free, almost overflowing with joy.

As they said their goodbyes with promises to text each other when they got home Penny let that feeling overtake her. She reached out and hugged Ruby, quick but strong. It was the first hug she could remember giving since her parents died.

The other girl seemed startled at first, standing stock still but eventually wrapped her arms around the smaller girl before she pulled away. Penny blushed at her impulsive action but still smiled as she waved goodbye and headed home.

******

The week passed by quickly. And then another one, and another. Penny stayed busy between school, the internship, and patrol. When she wasn’t busy with any of those things she was with Ruby. They went to the skate park frequently but sometimes they would cut out early to stop at the ice cream place around the corner, bantering about how their ice cream tasted better than the other’s. Sometimes they’d head to the library and just do homework. Ruby was shockingly good at math and had even helped Penny out on a few problems when she got stuck. Penny had always been better at chemistry and all things mechanical.

On Penny’s favorite days, her and Ruby would go to the botanical gardens that were nearby and free for those under 18. Their first visit they took time to explore the different gardens. The conservatory ended up being their favorite. It was warm, the ferns, flowers, and smaller trees that occupied the space gave the glass building fresh air that always smelled of petrichor. They would just sit and talk for hours on one of the benches tucked away under the few trees.

This is where Penny told the older girl about her parents dying in a plane crash and how her foster family was distant until they weren’t. She told her about her foster father’s office and his belt. She told her of her dreams to become an engineer because she wanted to build things that would change the world.

And in turn Ruby told her about her resentment towards her mom’s mom (she would never call her grandmother) and how those feelings lingered long after she found peace in their smaller family unit. How sometimes she felt like anger was the only thing she could hold onto to make sense of the world. Told her about how she wanted to be just like her mom and her aunts, that they were smart, and strong, and kind and she felt so lucky to have them as role models.

Penny had been surprised by Ruby’s reaction when she had told her about her foster family. The older girl looked mad, no, enraged, but she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She looked like she was going to say something before she stopped and repeated the process. When she finally did look back at her, her eyes weren’t angry but sad. She took Penny’s hands in her own.

“Penny.” Ruby never used her first name, not since the day they met. “No one should be hurting you, you know that right? No matter what happened, your foster father has no right to hit you.”

“Oh.” She didn’t know how to respond. She knew that spanking was considered controversial but ultimately left up to the family’s decision. She also knew that what Mr. Matthews did was worse than a regular spanking, a deep part of her mind whispered that there shouldn’t be scar lines left from punishment. But she had pushed those thoughts away and filed them in her mind with the other things she didn’t know how to process. Her response was barely a whisper. “It’s not right?”

“No. It’s not right. You need to tell someone about it. A trusted adult of something. I don’t know. It’s not right, Penny.” The other girl’s voice was firm but her eyes watered like she might shed a tear at any moment.

“I-I can’t. He hasn’t done it in awhile. My bruises are all healed. No one would believe me.”

“Just, just think about it, ok? I know it’s hard, maybe the hardest thing you will ever have to do but you deserve better.” At this, Ruby gave her hands a gentle squeeze and then let go. She wiped at her eyes quickly and cleared her throat. “Anyways, you’re coming home with me tonight. Go ahead and text Mrs. Matthews that you’re doing a study session with a classmate. From what you’ve told me, they probably won’t care.”

And that’s how Penny found herself in one of the oddest turns of events in history. Sitting on the floor in a swanky penthouse apartment in shock as she watched THE Lena Luthor open the door to reveal… Detective Sawyer?

******

Penny had texted and got an affirmative that it was okay for her to spend the night at a friend’s house. Mrs. Matthews actually was relieved. Apparently one of the other foster kids was having a meltdown and she was happy to have one less brat in the house; her words, not Penny’s. When she told Ruby that the girl’s jaw clenched and eyebrows furrowed. Apparently it’s not a nice thing to say to kids but what does Penny know?

They made their way to Ruby’s home and just before they entered Penny lightly slapped her on the shoulder. “You never told me you were rich! I felt under dressed just standing in the lobby.”

Ruby just laughed and shrugged in a way that said ‘it is what it is’. “Mooom, I’m home! Oh, and I brought a friend!”

The woman that rushed into the living room to greet them was gorgeous. It was like looking at an all grown up Ruby in business professional attire. She exuded that same easy confidence as she came over and shook Penny’s hand. Another woman with short reddish brown hair trailed behind, giving them a somewhat curt nod.

“H-hi Ms. Arias, ma’am. Lo-lovely home you have here. I’m sorry if I’m intruding. In fact, I can head hom–”

“Nope! Mom, this is Penny Parker. She’s going to sleep over tonight.”

“Well then, it’s nice to meet you, Penny. Please call me Sam. I’ve heard so much about you. My daughter has been going on and on about her new friend.” Sam said while throwing a smirk over to her daughter.

“Geez, kid. Did you even give her the option to say no? Kidnapping is a crime, you know.” The other woman stepped forward with a teasing grin.

“And this is Alex, mom’s girlfriend.” Ruby rolled her eyes.

“Nice to meet you Ms. Alex.” Penny was a little overwhelmed but mostly because apparently Ruby talked about her, a lot if her mother was to be believed. Everyone laughed.

“No, no. Please don’t ever call me Ms. Alex again. Just Alex, ok?”

“Ok, Alex. I can do that.” Penny wringed her hands nervously and tucked her chin. She looked over at Ruby through her eyelashes. Did she do ok? They had joked about “meeting the parents” but Penny felt like it was important to make a good impression. Ruby met her eyes, her cheeks flushing a little for some reason.

“Alright, well. I’m taking Penny to my room now.” She grabbed her hand and started dragging her away.

“Rubes, you don’t have to hide away. Don’t you want a snack? Dinner will be a little later. It’s game night, remember?” Sam called out after them.

“Yeah, I’ll be back out for snacks soon, k, bye!” Ruby closed the door behind them and let out a sigh. “Sorry ‘bout them. They can be a bit much. Mom’s been nagging me to bring you by for a while now.”

“Oh, is that because you talk on and on about little ol’ me?” Penny teased, fluttering her eyes at the older girl. She just chuckled.

“Oh, so you admit your little? It’s good to be self aware, short stack.” Ok, teasing backfired. You win some, you lose some. Penny decided to not reply and took in the room instead.

It was a good size, much bigger than Penny’s own room. Ruby’s queen sized bed had a maroon comforter haphazardly thrown over it like she had made it in a hurry. There were night stands on either side though only one had stuff on it; a small lamp, some candy wrappers, and a dark green leather bound journal. The opposite wall had large windows showing some of the city though the view was partially obscured by the building next door. There was a door that Penny assumed belonged to a closet and next to it was a desk with notebooks, trinkets, and stacks of books that Penny couldn’t quite make out. In the corner was a massive bean bag chair that looked like it could hold up the three people with fairy lights strung above it. The same wall that had the door to the hall held a few guitar stands and other music equipment.

Ruby had posters littering her walls, mostly for bands, a few Penny knew but some she didn’t. Some of the posters were for the US Women’s soccer team which Penny new Ruby followed religiously. A thick forest green shag rug took up most of the floor and made the space feel extra cozy. It wasn’t the tidiest room but everything had its place. It was nice and immediately put Penny at ease. The space was just so Ruby.

“Sorry, uh, for the mess. I hadn’t planned on inviting you over today.” Ruby rubbed the back of her neck.

“It’s ok! Your room is awesome, Rue! I knew you played guitar but that is some serious gear you got there.” Penny stepped further into the room. She hesitated on where to sit but eventually decided to set her backpack by the desk and threw herself onto the bean bag chair. “Oof, this is so cozy!”

“Oh, I know. Alex got it for me for my birthday a few months ago. It’s my favorite spot to read or pick at my guitar.” Ruby set her bag next to Penny’s. “Alright, you stay here and be the cozy cutie that you are. I’m gonna run and grab some snacks!”

******

Alex and Sam were in the kitchen tidying up a little for game night when Ruby entered. She headed straight for the fridge, pulling out a bag of pizza rolls from the freezer. Alex rolled her eyes but got out a plate and handed it to her.

“Heya, kiddo. How was your day?” Sam questioned as she was wiping down the large island that divided that kitchen space from the living room area.

“Good!” Ruby’s response was quick but then she thought about Penny and the Matthews and her heart squeezed. Her voice was softer, troubled. “It was… fine.” She looked down, fiddling with the bag of pizza rolls before ripping it open and dumping half of it on the plate.

Alex and Sam shared a look behind Ruby’s back as she popped the plate into the microwave.

“What’s up, kiddo?” Sam had stopped cleaning, giving Ruby her full attention.

“It’s nothing. Just…” Ruby turned to face the women, looking at each of them carefully before looking down at her hands as she played with the rings on her fingers. “If someone was treating someone else… poorly and you knew about it, how would you get them to tell someone?”

Alex and Sam shared an even more alarmed look. The question had caught them both by surprise. Alex recovered first, softening her voice. “What’s going on, Rubes? I think we need a little more info to answer that.”

The girl's eyes widened as she spared a quick glance up. “I can’t- I don’t want to, like, betray her trust or anything.”

“Are you talking about Penny? Did something happen at school?” Sam stepped around the island to get closer to her daughter. Ruby was a bright and easy going kid, always had been. She had the biggest heart but had the hardest time making friends. She kept people at a distance, especially since the events of the past few years. Between the move to National City and the whole kryptonian situation, Penny was Ruby’s first real friend, certainly the first that she had invited over. Sam couldn’t help but be curious about the tiny girl in Ruby’s room.

When Ruby didn’t answer Alex added, “We can’t help if we don’t know, sweetheart. Let us help?”

“It’s, well, I don't know if you can help. Penny’s foster family is… not good. It’s complicated.”

“Are they… hurting her? At home?” Sam’s words caught in her throat a little, not wanting them to be true.

“Sometimes, it sounds like it but I don’t know to what extent. Penny plays it off like it’s a normal punishment but I don’t think it’s just spankings or whatever.” Ruby’s hands clenched into fists repeatedly as she tried to find the words. “She’s also just so small? And hungry. She eats likes she’s starving.”

“But she hasn’t said anything that might be incriminating?” Alex crosses her arms over her chest as her mind races. This was a bit out of her jurisdiction but she would bring it up with Maggie. The detective would know best how to handle this situation if it was as bad as Ruby thought it was.

“I know that Mr. Matthews doesn’t punish her often but apparently last time it happened she had to sleep on her stomach beside her back hurt too much. She has mentioned bruises but she said that they are all healed up so there’s no proof. I just want her to be safe. That's why I brought her home tonight. I mean, I’ve been wanting to for awhile now but after she told me that I couldn’t imagine sending her back to her house.”

“You did that right thing, Ruby. Penny is welcome to come here whenever she needs it, even if it’s a school night, okay? We will figure this out.” Sam pulled Ruby into her arms, holding her daughter that was now nearly as tall as she was. “I’m so proud of you, sweet girl. You did the right thing bringing her home today and telling us about this.”

“Yeah, sweetheart, exactly what your mom said.” Alex’s hand rubbed soothingly up and down the girl’s back. “Do you think Penny would talk to an adult about this?”
“I dunno, maybe. She said she would think about it.” Ruby ducked her head, flushing at the praise from the two women.

“That’s good. For now we will give her some time and a safe place whenever she needs it.” At that, the microwave beeped, breaking up the group hug as Ruby turned and grabbed the hot plate. She shuffled back to her room feeling a little lighter having shared with her mom and Alex. Before making it into the hallway she turned back around. “Thanks mom. Thanks Alex. This means a lot.”

She left before they could respond.

Chapter Text

Penny had nodded off curled up in the bean bag but the sweet, sweet smell of greasy food was enough to wake her. Her stomach growled as she eyed the plate of pizza rolls in Ruby’s hand.

“Easy, tiger. Don’t want to scare the food away.” Ruby shuffled over and tossed herself down next to Penny. It made the smaller girl bounce up before she cozied back in, still plenty of space between the two. Penny snatched a pizza roll and stuffed it in her mouth.

“Careful it’s ho—”

“Ow, ow, ow! It burns like lava!” Penny’s words were muffled by the food.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the smartest kid in the world! This girl is on fire!” Ruby had set the plate in her lap so she could do jazz hands to accompany her teasing.

“Meanie. My life was in danger and all you did was joke. I’m glad my near death experience is good for your comedy routine.” Penny snagged another roll but nibbled on it slower this time. She had learned her lesson.

“Me too, you dramatic little bean.” They polished off the plate quickly between the two of them and Ruby made another plate, bringing back a couple sodas with her this time.

They decided to be responsible and knock out their homework while they waited for Ruby’s mom’s friends to show up for game night. That’s how Alex found them when she came to tell them that the others were all here and ready to order dinner. Apparently ordering take out was game night tradition.

Penny hopped up from the bean bag with nervous energy, turning around to drag the older girl up and they made their way down the hall to the living area of the apartment. An excited blonde was chatting a mile a minute at Sam, talking about a new menu item at some place called Noonan’s. A smaller but fierce looking woman danced around them to grab a beer out of the fridge. She playful hip checked the blonde on her way back to the living room.

And there on the couch sat Lena Luthor looking almost casual in dark jeans and a green silk blouse. Penny squeaked, honest to goodness squeaked, grabbing Ruby’s arm and pulling her back into the hallway. The older girl was confused but went willingly.

“What’s up, min-pen?” Ok, points for the nickname. Penny does love dogs but her mind was otherwise occupied by the woman in the other room.

“Ruby! Lena Luthor is sitting on your couch!” She whisper-shouted at the girl as she dragged her a little further away from the others so as not to risk eavesdropping. Ruby’s face remained confused.

“Well, yeah. I’ve told you about my aunt Lena before, Pen.” Penny takes a calming breath.

“You didn’t mention she was Lena Luthor.” The older girl’s eyes widened for a second before narrowing. She gives Penny a cold expression, stiffening up.

“Is there a problem with her being a Luthor? I didn’t expect you to judge someone so hars–” Penny, as delicately as she could, slammed her hand over the other girl’s mouth to stop her from continuing on that line of thought. Because Penny had never, would never judge someone based on the actions of others, especially the woman she admired so much.

“No, Rue, absolutely not! It’s not that! She’s, well, she’s my boss! At my internship, remember I told you about the internship. It’s at L-Corp. I would never judge Ms. Luthor. She’s the most brilliant, diligent, generous person in the world ever! And she’s here! In the next room and apparently your aunt?! Like what? I can’t see her like this! What if I make her uncomfortable or, or, or she tells me to leav– EW!”

Ruby decided to end the younger girl’s frantic whispering by licking her hand so that she could get a word in. Once she realized Penny was not, in fact, being prejudiced against her aunt, she relaxed. She couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that neither of them had made the connection that Ruby’s aunt was the same amazing boss at Penny’s internship in some lab and that that lab happened to be L-Corp. What were the odds?

“Woah there, Turbo. Take a deep breath. Everything’s fine. Lena would never kick you out, she couldn’t actually because this is my house and you are my guest. I’m sure she’ll be happy to know that you’re my friend!” Penny wiped her hand (dramatically, if you asked Ruby) off on her pants leg and took a breath like the older girl instructed.

“You sure? It won’t be… awkward?”

“Well, I can’t promise that cuz you have this charmingly awkward way about you–”

“Hey!”

“-- but it’ll be fine. I can promise that.”

“You girls ok?” The voice came from behind Penny, making her jump and turn around quickly. It was Alex. She had a twinkle in her eye and a smirk that said she heard more of the girls’ conversation than Penny was happy with. “Seems you got lost on the way to the kitchen.”

“Yep! So lost, really–” Ruby elbowed her gently.

“Hush, mini Penny. We really need to work on that mouth of yours.” There’s a pause for the words to sink in before Penny blushes and looks up at Ruby causing the older girl to blush worse. “I- I mean, your words, your rambling.”

Alex’s smirk grew into a full on devilish grin. “I think, just maybe, you both might need to work on your words, little Arias. Come on, the others are waiting. Mags is running a little late but we have her order already.” With that the blushing girls stumbled after the woman.

Penny risked a quick look over to the couch and found Ms. Luthor looking over at her, shocked but quickly schooling her expression to a warm smile. Penny gave her an awkward live wave which made the woman’s smile grow as she waved back. The blonde from earlier stepped up to the girls.

“Hi there! You must be Penny, Ruby’s friend. Sam told us that you’d be joining us tonight! I’m Kara Danvers. It’s nice to meet you.” She held out her hand for a shake. Penny took it.

“Oh, yes, hi! I’m Penny Parker. It’s very nice to meet you, Ms. Danvers.” Penny kept shaking the woman’s hand and the woman responded in kind.

“Oh, please call me Kara, none of that Ms. Danvers nonsense. Say, do you like potstickers? Maybe you could help settle the debate on just how many we need to order for tonight.”

“Potstickers?! Of course I like potstickers! Is there anybody who doesn’t? Probably top three best foods of all time. Once, I ate 16 in one sitting. I don’t think you can order too many, to be honest. With all these people here we could easily eat maybe 80? 100?” Penny’s nervous energy and love of food had taken control and Kara matching her energy was not helping. The older woman nodded sagely, finally letting go of the absurdly long handshake.

“I agree. 100, at least. It’s good to have your support in these important matters.”

“It’s good to be part of an important cause. Thank you for trusting me with this.”

Alex was the one to break up this important moment, clapping her hand on Kara’s shoulder and giving each of them a bewildered grin.“That’s enough of… whatever that was. God, there’s two of you now. Kara, do not influence the younger generation with your potsticker shenanigans.”

Sam, the mystery woman, and even Lena were all laughing at the interaction they had just witnessed. Ruby gently pulled Penny away. “Come on, time to meet Lucy.”

The nameless woman was leaning against the island with a beer in her hand and a keen look in her eye. Honestly, Penny felt a little intimidated despite the woman being the closest to her in size. She reached out her hand first. “Penny Parker, ma’am.”

“Lucy Lane, at your service. I hear you’ve been keeping our Ruby out of trouble.” Ruby squawked at that but it helped break the tension Penny found herself carrying.

“Yes ma’am. It’s a full time job, really, but someone has to do it.” Penny’s rewarded with an elbow to her side and Ruby’s pouting face. She had never seen Ruby actually pout before. It was kind of adorable. “Sorry, Rue.”

“Well, keep up the good work kid.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Ruby dragged Penny into the living room to get away from the teasing and Penny went willingly, ready to say hi to Ms. Luthor.

“Penny, it’s lovely to see you, darling. You look well.” The CEO motioned for Penny to join her on the couch and who was she to say no? She sat down next to Ms. Luthor, flushing at the endearment used by the older woman. Ruby threw herself down on the other side of her.

“Hello, Ms. Luthor. I was not expecting to see you here tonight. I did not know you were the aunt Ruby has mentioned to me. I hope it’s ok that I’m here.” That last statement tasted more like a question on Penny’s tongue, hopeful and shy. Lena laid her hand on Penny’s arm and gave it a gentle squeeze before returning it to her own lap.

“It is more than ok. I’m glad that Ruby has someone like you in her life and just as much, I’m glad that you have her.” Penny chanced a glance over to the older girl where she was going over the restaurant menu on her phone. She thought of how much happiness she had brought into her life these last few weeks.

“Yeah, I’m glad too.”

“So tell me, how are your studies going? I hope balancing the internship and your education hasn’t been too difficult?”

“Of course not, ma’am! My classes are going well. I could probably sleep through them and still get all A’s. Not that I do that, sleep through them. I mean, not anymore.” How could she forget? That was the whole reason she had met Ruby but Ms. Luthor didn’t need to know that they met in detention. Certainly not.

“Oh? Are they that dreadfully boring then?” Lena's interest seemed piqued. She remembered being quite bored in her own lesson at boarding school when she was Penny’s age. Much of the young girl reminded her of, well, herself.

“I wouldn’t say it's boring but it feels as though we spend a lot of time on review. The first portions of the modules are interesting enough but then it seems to drag on for longer than needed? I don’t know, maybe that’s just me.” Ruby wandered back to the kitchen to tell her mom what their orders were (Rue, just order me whatever you're having. I’m sure I’ll like it) while the two chatted.

“I remember feeling the same way before I was moved up a few grades. Perhaps you could talk to a school counselor about this? I would hate for you to not be receiving a proper education.”

Skipping grades? Was that even possible? What would that mean for her foster placement if she were to graduate years before turning 18? It might be something worth looking into. The idea excited Penny as did most things she felt might challenge her, at least intellectually. These were the thoughts that took over Penny’s brain as she settled next to Ruby on the ridiculously soft carpet to make room for the “old timers” as the other girl had teasingly put it. Lena had gotten up to get the door which marked their last arrival, some woman named “Mags”.

But when Lena opened the door the woman standing with the CEO was none other than Detective Maggie Sawyer. Literally, what are the odds? Her new best friend’s family just so happened to consist of both her boss and role model, Lena Luthor and the nosey detective that works with The Spider. Penny is starting to think National City is far smaller than it actually is.

“Hey everyone! Sorry I’m late. You know how work is.” Detective Sawyer chirped good naturedly as all the adults in the room hemmed and hawed their understanding. The detective seemed much more at ease than Penny has ever seen her. She hung up her coat and darted over to Lucy for a quick kiss that had Penny looking away. It kind of felt wrong to see this side of the woman after only dealing with her in a professional capacity. Sam, as the hostess, made the introduction.

“Maggie, this is Ruby’s friend, Penny Parker. Penny, this is Maggie Sawyer.”

Cue the panic. Penny had talked enough with the detective for her to possibly recognize her voice. Why didn’t she distort her voice?! That is the first thing she is going to work on when she gets back home. In the meantime she settles for choking out a quick hello that has Ms. Luthor and Ruby both giving her a concerned look. The CEO heads into the kitchen.

“Hey there, Penny Parker. I’ve heard a little about you. It’s great to meet the girl that Ruby won’t stop talking about.” Ruby groans and Penny can hear her mutter “kill me now” under her breath. Sam and Kara both chuckle.

“Ok, Mags, let’s not embarrass my daughter too much. We do want her to keep bringing Penny over.” Sam attempted a stern look which Maggie just shrugged at before settling next to Lucy on the loveseat. Lena came back over to the couch with a glass of water and before sitting back down she handed it to Penny.
Noting the concerned and slightly embarrassed look on the woman’s face Penny accepted the glass and took a gulp. Seemingly satisfied, Lena settled back on the couch next to Kara.

******

A container of lo mein and sesame chicken and nearly a dozen potstickers later Penny was feeling full and warm. She had snuggled up to Ruby after the food was cleared and the games began. Penny was amazing at the easy camaraderie and comfort that flowed through this group of women. There was plenty of teasing and banter but also steadfast support and clever wit in spades. She now could fully understand what Ruby meant when she had talked about how amazing her family was despite being unconventional. Penny never wanted to leave.

At some point in the night the games died down as the women chatted with each other, catching up on their weeks. Penny was shocked to realize that Ruby’s mom was actually CFO at L-Corp which she took to mean that that made the woman her boss too, in a way. It was unclear what Alex did, at first Penny thought she was a doctor, then a scientist, now it seems she is some sort of agent working with Lucy. Kara works at Catco as a reporter which is honestly pretty cool.

As the night progressed, Penny let herself drift off to sleep, leaning back on the couch for support. She woke to a gentle hand on her shoulder and a voice softly urging her to wake. She just nuzzled back into the soft pillow under her head which set off a few chuckles in the room.

“Darling, I’m glad you are comfortable but it seems it is time for you and Ruby to head to bed.” That was Lean Luthor’s voice and, oh. Penny lifted her head, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes, as she blearily realized she had been sleeping on Lena’s leg.

“M’ sorry for sleeping on you Ms. Luthor.” She was just so tired, she felt herself nodding off again. She heard the voices of the other women present.

“Gosh, she’s as cute as a kitten!”

“Wow, Little Luthor, didn’t know you made such a good pillow.”

“Lena is the best pillow!”

“Alright, Kara, I’ll grab my drooling daughter if you get the little one?”

Penny was delicately lifted up by strong arms which could have been scary but instead Penny just felt safe. She fell back into her dreams.

******

Kara and Sam returned quickly from tucking in the teenagers. Kara’s face tugged into a frown. Alex tapped her forehead. “Crinkle.”

“Yeah, sorry. Penny is just so light. I know she is small but…” Alex shared a look with her girlfriend. Knowing that the girl was unweight for her age and that it probably came from malnutrition was concerning. The women had talked briefly about packing an extra lunch for Ruby to take to school and share with her friend. Alex glanced over at Maggie who was watching the interaction with curious calculation as she cuddled with Lucy on the loveseat. Kara rejoined Lena on one end of the couch while Alex and Sam settled on the other end.

“I know, Kar. Truth is we don’t know much about Penny’s homelife but we know enough to be worried.”

“She lives with foster parents who seem, at least, to be neglectful.” Surprisingly, Lena input. The CEO seemed to be deep in thought, glancing at the hallway, towards where the two girls slept.

“Right, according to some of what we’ve heard from Ruby there is more than just neglect going on in that house.” Sam’s words were bitter.
“You think she’s being abused?” Lucy cut in.

“Maybe. Yes, actually, we do. At least physical abuse though not frequent. I won’t go into the details, we have very little.” Alex was frustrated by just how little they had. Granted, they had only had a short conversation with Ruby and their own observations to go off of. The girl that Ruby brought home was sweet, adorable even, but it broke her heart how surprised she had been to get her own full meal for dinner. It twisted up her insides to see how she had flinched away from sudden physical contact before leaning into it.

“I’m gonna need all the details you’ve got, Danvers.” Maggie broke her silence.

“It’s not enough yet for you to do anything. I’d planned on bringing this to you once Ruby spoke to us. Apparently, Penny won’t say anything because there’s no proof.”

“She was injured a few weeks ago, limping. I noticed it at L-Corp. Penny’s one of my high school interns, you know.” Lena was wringing her hands, not knowing what to do with them when all she wanted right now was to grab the girl in the next room and keep her somewhere safe. She glanced over at Sam. “She’s the one I told you about, the one we are going to offer to become my personal intern. Remember we just finalized the transfer paperwork the other day.”

“Huh, small world. Didn’t know my daughter was hanging out with a literal genius.”

“Oh, please, your daughter practically is a genius, at math at least.” Lucy had been thoroughly impressed when she had offered to help the teen with her homework but was quickly humbled by the equations that were simply beyond her.

“Damn right, she is.” Sam puffed up with pride.

“So what do we do? How can we help? Does Supergirl need to get involved?” Kara was determined to resolve this. She didn’t care if she needed to fly in herself to sort it out.

Alex shook her head. “It’s best to let the law handle this, Kar. We want this to go as smoothly as possible for Penny. And again, we mostly have speculation at this point. What about that other girl you’ve been trying to chase down, Mags? Seems like you have a full plate.”

“Skye.” The detective let out a long, weary sigh. “The kid’s living on the street, taking hacking jobs to make ends meet. She’s wicked smart but so stubborn.”

“You had, what, 3 run-ins with her this month?” Lucy had heard all about the street kid that kept giving Maggie the slip. It had the other woman frustrated and concerned though she rarely showed it to anyone besides the women in this room.

“Yeah, kid’s too clever for her own good. I do have a lead on a meeting she has with some members of the Rising Tide, you know, that hacktivist group. I’m hoping to bring her in then.”

Sam nodded from her place on the couch, leaning into Alex. “Well, if you need any help just let me know.”

“We want to help the girl, not terrify her, Reign.” Lucy snickered. Sam just rolled her eyes and the women moved onto lighter topics. Between the six of them they would help these girls.

That night moved on and eventually the women went there separate ways leaving Sam and Alex and the two sleeping teens.