Chapter Text
A brunette with reddish tips at the end of her long hair, which reached almost to her hips, wore a beautiful bow that held half of her wavy, silky hair. She was carrying a bunch of papers over her torso, holding them as if her life depended on it, moving almost at lightning speed.
She crossed paths with some Avengers, who greeted her, while others looked at her with amusement. She would be late to the lab! Maybe Mr. Stark hated her now! She shook her head before speeding down to the lower floor, where the heavy rock music was already audible from the stairs leading to the basement.
The dim lights quickly followed. “Mr. Stark!” she shouted, out of breath. The dark-haired man was facing away, and he smiled when he saw her from his desk, crossing his arms and watching her.
“You’re late, kid. Were you with Ted?” He looked at her with a hint of amusement. The brunette glanced at him before placing all her papers on the desk in front of him.
“It’s Ned, Mr. Stark, and no, I have to write a 50-page essay on the British monarchy for Monday. I got delayed at the library,” she said while sitting on the bench, setting the papers aside to focus on the hologram the man was already working on.
“Well, Princess Penny, check out this suit,” the millionaire said, spinning the suit in the hologram with his ring finger. It turned slowly. Penny nodded while opening her laptop, already placed on the desk.
The intermittent sound of keys echoed in the lab as Penny smiled slightly, quickly writing down every detail Mr. Stark dictated to her. The bluish light from the screens illuminated her focused face, reflecting graphs and codes that changed in real time. Around her, the lab was a constant bustle. On the metal tables, precision tools, cables, and small devices were scattered among prototypes of advanced technology.
Penny and Mr. Stark moved fluidly, almost in sync, disassembling parts of the holographic suit with precise movements. Each piece they removed revealed hidden circuits and complex structures that they carefully analyzed before deciding the next step. They went from one end of the lab to the other, collecting instruments, calibrating sensors, and adjusting details on the hologram projected before them. Occasionally, a spark would jump from a connector when they disconnected a component, briefly illuminating their determined faces.
The atmosphere was charged with concentration, the hum of machinery and the soft beeps of devices creating a technological symphony as the suit was slowly disassembled, revealing the secrets they both sought.
Hours passed until FRIDAY pulled them out of their bubble, announcing it was time for refreshments before Aunt May would pick up Penny to take her camping outside New York, a trip Penny had mentioned had been planned almost two months in advance by her, just by her, and she was very proud of that.
“Go ahead, I’ll close up the lab, I’ll catch up in a few minutes,” said the dark-haired man, while the younger woman nodded and headed toward the stairs that led to the main floor, where the kitchen was filled with food. It seemed that around seven, the Avengers weren’t in that area, so she was safe from any teasing that they would have surely done because of her recent relationship with her “boss’s” protégé. She smiled, remembering the teasing, as she calmly opened the fridge to look for a drink. A blue one on the fridge door, which she assumed was some kind of energy drink Steve or Bucky had when training, and since she was enhanced too, she figured nothing bad would happen if she drank it.
After closing the fridge, she decided to walk around, watching how the sun was setting between the lush greenery of the complex. She smiled, that was the beautiful view she would have while camping with her aunt. When she reached the living room, she sat down looking for the remote to watch something on TV while Mr. Stark would come soon, but a box caught her attention.
She frowned. Before grabbing the pale pink box surrounded by glitter, she turned her head side to side to make sure no one was watching the theft she was about to commit. Once she realized no one was around, she grabbed the little box, placed it on her thighs, and removed the lid to set it aside on the sofa.
Inside were pictures of Mr. Stark with a woman who looked somewhat familiar to her. She had red hair, and they were at a party that appeared to have a banner above reading "WELCOME 2000'S" in shiny golden letters. Penny frowned when she turned the photo over; it read: “Mary and I at the New Year's party.” Penny found it amusing that the woman’s name was the same as her deceased mother’s. What a coincidence. Strange, but she let it go and moved on to the next photo. The next three photos were of the couple looking happy—one by the large pool at the Malibu mansion, another on a beach, and one on an ice rink. “What will Pepper think about this Mary!” she laughed, shaking her head.
But her smile turned into a grimace when she saw a photo of this Mary, who appeared surprised in the picture, but she had a belly—she was pregnant! When she turned the photo over, it said: “Mary in her seventh month - July 2001.” If she had a drink, she would have choked! Those rumors were true! A few years ago, Mr. Stark was involved in a scandal involving rumors that he had a daughter with someone other than Pepper, but that he had completely distanced himself from raising the baby. Penny bit her lip. A bit disappointed, because it was horrible to find out that her mentor had done something like that, she sighed and moved on to the next photo. This time it was an ultrasound photo, and when she turned the small X-ray over, it read: “Can’t wait to meet you! Welcome Helena María Stark.” What an awful name, Penny thought. She was glad she hadn’t been named that.
When she moved to the next photo, her heart stopped, and all the sounds around her—the last birds singing and the wind rustling the trees—stopped. Her lips, which had been sealed, parted. It was a photo of Mr. Stark smiling from ear to ear while holding a small baby, who seemed to be asleep. He was in a hospital gown, and they seemed to be at the hospital. She began to tremble slightly.
“Can’t leave you alone for a second, can I, Miss Parker?” The brunette jumped in place, startled when the man’s voice broke through her haze. She turned toward him, standing up to face him.
“I... uh...”
“I haven’t seen her since we left that hospital,” the dark-haired man said, looking at the photos Penny was holding. She looked back at the photos.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark, you would have been a great father,” she said, before putting the photos away and leaving the box where she found it, looking at him. “The woman had the same name as my m—” She was interrupted by Natasha, who announced that Aunt May was at the entrance to pick up Penny.
“Thanks, Romanoff,” he looked at the younger woman. “What were you going to say, Penny?” The brunette shook her head quickly.
“Forget it. Goodbye, Mr. Stark. See you on Monday!” she shouted, joining Natasha, who was waiting for her. Still, before doing so, she quickly turned to the man, running toward him. The impact caused both to lose their balance, embracing tightly. He kissed the top of her head, whispering, “Take care.”
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“Camp Law, here we go!” Penny shouted on the road, while May laughed, and they turned up the volume of what they were listening to. Still, the brunette glanced at her aunt before turning the volume down and looking at her.
“Aunt May, is my dad really my dad?” The older woman quickly looked at her before returning her gaze to the road.
“If you’re talking about Richard Parker, yes, he’s your dad. Why? Don’t tell me that kid Flash made fun of you because he’ll meet my fury if he messes with you again.” Penny smiled before quickly shaking her head.
“It’s just curiosity.” May glanced at her, not believing her, but said nothing else before Penny turned the volume back up on the radio, letting the music surround them.
The brunette smiled, looking at her phone, replying to some messages from MJ, her boyfriend, and Ned. She smiled as she read that Ned was in a crisis because he had lost a Lego piece from the old Avengers Tower. MJ asked what she was wearing for Betty’s dreadful and boring 16th birthday party, which would be in a fancy ballroom, and finally, Harley, her boyfriend, texted asking how she had been with the old Stark.
Time seemed to slow down in the instant her spider-sense screamed with nearly deafening intensity. A chill ran down her spine, forcing her to instinctively raise a hand before looking around for an imminent threat. Nothing seemed out of place, but then the distant sound of desperate car horns broke the calm.
She spun around quickly, her eyes widening. A massive gas truck was barreling down the road uncontrollably, swerving between vehicles as its chassis violently vibrated. The wheels screeched against the asphalt, and the air was thick with a metallic smell, a harbinger of disaster.
The reflex was immediate. She turned to the driver’s seat, her chest constricting with panic.
“Aunt May! Watch out!”
But it was too late. The impact was devastating. A deafening crash filled the air as the truck slammed into them with brutal force. The vehicle shook violently, throwing them forward as the glass shattered into a thousand pieces. Everything turned into a whirlwind of flashing lights, twisted metal, and the echo of the crash shaking the street.
The world spun. Then, silence.
She felt screams resonating around her, the metallic taste of blood flooding her mouth as if she were drowning in a sea of terror. She opened her eyes with effort, and before she realized it, she found herself face down, still trapped in her passenger seat. The seatbelt was pulling her tightly against the seat as if trying to hold her in a moment of horror.
She breathed violently, trying to calm down, and then turned to her aunt, who lay unconscious beside her. Desperation overtook her as she tried to unbuckle the seatbelt, but her fingers seemed to disobey the orders of her mind as if they were trapped in a state of paralysis. With a gut-wrenching scream, she cried out for help.
"PLEASE! HELP ME! MY AUNT ISN'T AWAKE! PLEASE!"
Suddenly, she saw a flash of dark pants and black boots, accompanied by blinding lights that dazzled her. The screams multiplied, and she felt strong arms holding her, providing a sense of security amid the chaos. In an instant, the seatbelt was cut with precision, and the arms holding her lifted her gently, placing her onto an improvised stretcher.
A paramedic quickly approached, attempting to put an oxygen mask on her, but in an act of instinct and fear, she grabbed the woman's wrist tightly, trying to maintain a last thread of connection with reality and the hope that her aunt would wake up. "Is my aunt okay?" The blonde woman looked at her before lifting her gaze to see the older woman being rushed with oxygen to one of the ambulances.
She nodded falsely to the brunette before placing the mask on her.
Penny did nothing but cry before falling unconscious again.