Exploration
Penny didn't go straight home after her non-date with Harry. Instead, she went outside the city to find an abandoned warehouse. She needed to learn the extent of her powers.
After a long and laborious search, Penny found the perfect spot. It was dark outside, perfect to conceal her antics. The warehouse had a wide array of objects, with largely varying weights and textures. She would be able to test her strength, but also her adhesiveness.
Penny could lift hundreds of pounds. She could stick to a variety of surfaces. She was left in a constant state of shock as she tested her limits, struggling to meet any.
As she lifted a shipping container, she heard voices in the distance. Penny scrambled to drop it, and ran down an alleyway.
"Shit," she muttered as she was met with a wall. Penny tried to climb it with her adhesiveness, but it wasn't working. She knew she would have to inspect the failure later, but in the moment she was occupied with making her escape. She climbed onto a dumpster, then onto the drainpipe, but she still wasn't high enough to get over the wall. Hearing footsteps near the alley, Penny knew she would have to jump to avoid being caught.
"Is someone there?" she heard a shout. Penny fearfully leaped towards the wall, bracing for impact. Her hands hit the wall first, but instead of falling, she stuck to the wall. Grateful her adhesive was back, Penny scaled the wall. As she pulled herself over the top, she regretted wearing the skirt as she scraped her thighs on the concrete.
Penny began walking home, hopeful nobody noticed how late she stayed out. It was dark in the city, and she was growing afraid of being out alone. She walked at a fast pace, keeping her head down. She noticed every voice, every gush of wind in an amplified way. Her senses were on fire, her mind was racing.
"Hey little girl, whatcha doin out here so late?" a gruff voice sounded. Penny's head snapped back, but there was nobody close behind her. Her pace quickened, her breath shallowed. She just wanted to go home.
A siren blared in the distance, but to Penny it screeched in her ears. Overstimulated, Penny reached for her phone, looking to call Natasha for help, but could not locate it. She frantically patted herself down, concluding she had misplaced it. Penny prayed she had left it at Harry's and not the warehouse. Accepting defeat, she continued on her way, rushing to get home.
--
"Penelope, is that you?" a voice sounded, lights turning on in the once dark room.
Penny, still on edge, gasped at the voice before gaining her composure.
"Do you know how late it is? Penelope, I was worried about you." Pepper exclaimed, her hands cupped together.
"I'm sorry, Pepper. I went on a walk after and I must've forgotten my phone,"
"Are you okay, Penelope?" Pepper asked, her tone laced with concern.
Penny sharply inhaled before responding, "I'm fine, Pepper. I'll be more responsible next time."
"I know you're responsible. I just- never mind. Goodnight, Penelope."
--
"Tony, we need to talk about Penelope," Pepper announced, walking over to his desk as he fiddled with some parts.
"What did she do?" he sighed.
"She just got back home, Tony. She went out on a date and-"
Tony interrupted, "A date? How old is she? Thirteen? What is she doing dating?"
"She's almost fifteen, Tony. That's not what I was concerned about. She went on her date and came back after going on a 'walk' with a tear in her brand new skirt."
Tony's breath caught. He pursed his lips before responding, "What do you think happened, Pep?"
"I don't know, Tony. I really don't know. I think we need to set some rules, a curfew, perhaps."
"Do what you think needs to be done. I trust you, Pep."
--
When Penny awoke the next morning, she had an odd feeling sitting within her. Something felt wrong, but she couldn't locate the source of her discomfort. She pulled on an outfit and observed how she looked, taking notice to the nape of her neck. Where the swollen red bump once sat was now a scar in the shape of a spider. A shallow gasp escaped Penny. Her hand shot to the scar. What did this mean? She needed help, but who could she turn to?
She grabbed her notebook, adding this new symptom to her entries.
symptoms: nausea, exhaustion ~24 hrs, spider scar
powers?
enhanced eyesight
enhanced hearing
enhanced strength
natural adhesive **note: get posters
cause?
She looked at her list. The adhesive, the strength, the scar. All of these were pointing to one thing in her mind: the missing spider. Her heart rate increase. Her mind raced, searching for an explanation. She went over to her desk, threw open her laptop, and frantically searched spider bite symptoms.
She scrolled through pictures of spider bites, the implications of her nausea, her exhaustion. She made one more search: spider abilities.
Her eyes desperately scanned the screen. She read every article she could find. Spiders have sticky skin, can lift amounts greatly exceeding their body weight, and have enhanced sensory organs. All of these seemed too familiar to Penny. She knew she needed to ask Harry about the spiders they were experimenting with.
Overtaken by hunger, Penny made her way to the kitchen where Pepper and Tony sat in silence. Penny grabbed her milk and cereal, as well as a spoon and bowl. As Penny poured her breakfast, Pepper and Tony stared at her.
"Okay, who died? You are acting odd."
Pepper began, "Well, Penelope, your father and I talked. We think it's best if we set some rules for you," she paused for any additional comments from Tony before speaking again, "the first is a curfew. We want you back before nine. On top of that, we want you to get permission from one of us before you go out and we want to know who you will be hanging out with. We will give you a personal driver so you will not be walking around late at night."
Penny was confused. She didn't understand why they suddenly created rules for her, "Pepper, I thought you trusted me. It was a one-time thing. A curfew- fine, but a driver? Constant management? Why are you two trying to parent me? I haven't had parents in eight years, I certainly don't need them now."
"Penelope-" Tony cut in.
"I go by Penny, Tony. Listen, I'm going out, I have to go get my phone."
"This conversation isn't over, we'll talk when you get back." Tony stated.
Penny left the building without another word. She was frustrated at his sudden involvement. If he truly cared he would've done something years before. She hastily walked to Oscorp, hoping Harry was there. Sure, she needed her phone, but she also needed someone to talk to about her new revelation.
"Is Harry here?" Penny frantically asked the employee at the front desk.
"I'm sorry, I can't disclose that information. Do you have any identification?"
"I don't. Listen, I just left my phone in his-"
"Penny? What are you doing here?" Harry asked, his tone carrying a tone of worry.
Penny let out a relieved sigh, "Harry, I'm so grateful you're here! I think I may have left my phone on your floor, could I check if it's there?"
"Of course, I'll help you look. Are you okay?"
"Can we talk in private? Maybe even out of this building?"
"Yeah, let's grab your phone and I'll take you to a spot I know."
--
"Harry, this may sound crazy, but I need you to promise you will keep what I'm about to say a secret."
"Of course. I know we've only known each other for a few days, but you're the closest I have to a friend, I would not jeopardize that."
In any other situation, Penny would've been happy to trust him, but how could she trust anyone with something so big? She sighed, "I think... I may have an idea of what happened to the spider, but first, I need to know what kind of mutations the missing one had."
"You're scaring me, Penny."
"Please, Harry, just tell me the mutations. Tell me anything different about that spider."
"I think they used radiation to enhance everything about that spider. Y'know, sight, strength, hearing, smell, agility. The radiation actually changed the spider to be red and blue, it looked pretty cool."
"Shit. Harry, I think the spider bit me," Penny pulled back her hair to reveal the scar on the nape of her neck, "on the field trip, I felt a pinch, and I felt dizzy, nauseous, and tired. I went home and fell asleep for an entire day. When I woke up, my eyesight was perfect, I didn't need my glasses or contacts. I could hear things far away and I- I was sticky, my hands stuck to the wall. I'm stronger too, I went to a warehouse, I can lift shipping containers. I'm so scared, Harry."
Harry sat in silence as Penny explained her new side effects. People with mutant abilities were obviously real, like the Hulk, but for someone you know to become a mutant was unbelievable. He tried to offer her advice, but what was there to be done, "Penny, have you talked to Tony about this? I know you aren't close, but he is familiar with this kind-"
"I can't tell him, Harry. I can't. I'm scared. I need to figure this out on my own, or, at least, without him. Will you help me?"
"I want to, but I don't know what I can do. My labs are monitored by my father. Everything I do, really, is monitored. How can I help you?"
"Can you just be here for me?"
"I'll try, Pen. I promise I won't tell anyone about this."