Time Loop (Alternate Prompt)
Penny wasn’t thinking with her head when she went to find the time stone. She wasn’t thinking at all. The stone was calling her. Promising her. Beckoning with green hope that smelled like cinnamon and old books.
Strange didn’t know she had left the room. Didn’t know Penny was roaming the halls of the sanctum. He didn’t need to know. The stone was greater than him, greater than time. She would be back before she was gone because she decided that’s how it would be.
Penny would be back and she would bring Tony Stark with her.
The door was already open and the emerald light in the center of the eye winked at her. Penny felt herself float toward it until her fingers hovered right over the stone, just inches away, her skin glowing in its light. Her senses were screaming somewhere deep within her, but the stone muffled them. Calming her anxiety with its sweet whispers.
Tell me what you want.
You know already.
I can give him to you.
I believe you.
Penny’s fingers closed around the time stone and the world went white.
—————-
Penny wakes and she’s back in the car. The car. The one she was driving when the accident happened. It was the first time Penny had ever driven with Mr. Stark. Her hands are on the steering wheel just the same. The light blue dress exactly how she remembers it. They were going to a fancy dinner party. Penny is sitting outside of the Avengers tower and then-
“Hey, kid.” Mr. Stark opens the passenger door, slipping into the car. He looks great in his fancy suit but Penny’s mind just flashes with the memory of blood. Seeing him here, seeing him alive, has Penny’s heart racing. She stares at him wide eyed as he puts his seat belt on. “Man, my own personal chauffeur! Gotta say, kid, I could really get used to this.”
“Har har, Mr. Lifelong billionaire.”
That’s what Penny had said the first time. But now she just sits and watches him. Breathes in his fancy cologne and wonders if she can stay like this forever.
Her lack of response has Tony looking over to her. His smile drops.
“Penny, what’s wrong?” Mr. Stark frowns, looking her up and down.
Don’t waste this.
“Nothing! I’m good,” Penny shakes her head, wiping a piece of hair out of her eye and plastering on a smile the best she can. She had to get it together. She had to fix time. “Uh, sorry. Just have a bit of a headache.” She says sheepishly, putting the car in drive. Penny can feel Mr. Stark as he analyzes her while she pulls out from under the pavilion.
“You sure, Pen? You look kind of pale.” Mr. Stark worries. Penny can’t stop herself from grabbing his hand for a brief second but her eyes stay glued to the road. It feels so instantly right. It feels safe.
“Promise,” Penny squeezes gently, then let’s go to put both hands on the wheel. “I’m excited about going with you tonight, Mr. Stark.”
“Me too, Pen,” his voice trails off. Penny knows he’s still worried, but she can explain later. She can explain once she fixes this.
Penny sees the street where it happened, and something hard settles in her chest.
Not this time.
She turns her blinker on and takes the car down a different street. Mr. Stark looks down at the maps on her phone then back to her.
“Why’d you turn?” He asks, confused.
“Just keeping you on your toes, Mr. Stark,” Penny looks over and this time, a genuine smile is easy to commit to. “No questioning the fancy chauffeur!”
“I’m not sure if this is fancy anymore, it feels a bit like we’re in the twilight zone,” The joke makes Mr. Stark relax and he rolls his eyes fondly. Penny laughs, feeling light. “God, teenagers are weird.”
“Yeah, but what’s the fun of being normal?”
“You got me there.”
Penny turns onto the next street, rerouting back to the address of the dinner party. Then, her spider senses scream, and Penny can only gasp when a white van comes flying out of the corner of her eye.
“Penny!” Mr. Stark yelps, throwing out an arm to cover her.
The vehicle slams right into the passenger side.
Penny blinks and there is smoke everywhere. She blinks and hears sirens and only one heartbeat. She blinks and smells blood.
Penny turns her head, ignoring the pain in her neck.
“Mr. Stark?” Penny wheezes, reaching over to run her fingers over the side of his face. He isn’t moving. There is blood coming out of his mouth. His eyes are open. “No, no- Mr. Stark? Can you hear me?”
But Tony doesn’t respond. Doesn’t breathe. And a numbness settles back over Penny’s mind.
You can still have him.
Then fix this.
—————-
“Hey, kid.” Mr. Stark opens the passenger door, slipping into the car. Penny smiles.
“Hey, Mr. Stark,” Penny greets, putting the car in drive while he buckles the seat belt. Penny pulls out onto the street and goes ahead and turns the opposite way of the parking lot. Mr. Stark snorts.
“Uh, Pen, you have your maps right in front of you kiddo.” Mr. Stark teases, Penny gives him a wicked grin.
“We’re ditching!”
“What do you mean ditching?” Mr. Stark asks, bewildered but intrigued. Penny pokes him.
“You hate fancy stupid parties so I thought we would skip! You know, to give you some excitement back in your old man life. Like skipping class for people over 50.” Penny sneers, rolling into the nearest greasy looking pizza place.
“Excuse me?” Her mentor says with offense but he’s still smiling, clearly enjoying the rebellion.
“Yeah Mr. Stark, you gotta go rogue sometimes!”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Mr. Stark opens the car door, still smirking. The sound of car doors shutting has Penny almost light headed. They had made it. Once inside, Mr. Stark and Penny get their seats and start looking over the menu.
“I’m a bad influence on you because I gotta say Pen, this came outta left field for you.” Mr. Stark chuckles, scanning the ingredients for the supreme pizza. Penny smiles behind her menu.
“Yeah? I guess so, but listen, if you’ve taught me anything it’s that-“
Her spider senses jolt.
Fuck, no. No, not again-
Penny slams her menu down, and once in her line of sight, Mr. Stark's face is red and he’s clutching at his chest.
“No, no please,” Penny jumps to her feet, rushing around the table. She grabs Tony by his shoulders as he slips to the ground, gasping for air. “Call 911! Call 911!” Penny screams.
“P-pen-“ Mr. Stark starts, his head is in her lap, eyes looking up at her frantically. Tears race into Penny’s eyes.
“I’m here, I’m here Mr. Stark it’s okay, it’s okay you’re fine! I’ll fix it, I'm going to fix it!” Penny cries, holding his face. Mr. Stark tries to smile softly at her despite himself.
“I-it’s okay-“ Tony wheezes, grabbing her hand desperately in his. Penny sobs, bringing her forehead down to rest on his.
“Please hold on, please!” Penny begs, heart aching. “Don’t leave me again! I need you! I just want you!”
“P-pen-“ the struggling stops. So does his breathing. Once again, Penny only hears one beating heart.
She holds the body against her and cries into his still chest.
Try again.
Yes, take me to him!
—————-
Penny doesn’t pick Mr. Stark up. She drives away before he can get in the car.
He calls her.
Penny doesn’t answer.
Maybe if she stays away..
Penny goes back to the apartment, but when she gets there, the news is on in the living room.
“Tony Stark dead after a bomb attack on the Avengers tower. Investigations are underway on who-“
Penny doesn’t listen to the rest. She just turns the TV off and goes to sit on her bed, closing her eyes.
You can’t give up.
I would never.
—————-
“Hey, kid.”
Penny doesn’t say anything, tears stream down her face. Her mascara running in black streaks. She turns the car off.
“Pen? Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Mr. Stark reaches over the console, grabbing her chin softly and turning her head towards him. Penny sinks into the touch, he sad eyes meeting his worried ones.
“I just want you, Mr. Stark. Why is this so hard? Why can’t I change it?” She whispers. Tony frowns.
“What? I don’t understand kiddo.”
Her senses scream, and Penny doesn’t flinch.
“I’m sorry, Tony.”
A bullet comes through the window, Penny doesn’t look where it hit she just catches his head in her hands before it can slam against the console.
Penny kisses the top of his head and weeps.
Wrong answer. Try again.
I don’t know how much longer I can do this.
Keep fighting. For him.
I- okay. Whatever it takes.
—————-
Taking him to the apartment doesn’t work.
Going back into the tower doesn’t work.
Getting him into his armor doesn’t work.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Penny is running out of options.
But not time. You cannot run out of time.
I might want to.
—————-
The weapon goes off while they stand in the street. Penny had asked him to just go on a walk with her instead of the party. He had wrapped his arm around her and agreed instantly.
She’s not sure what tech it was, but it leaves a softball sized hole where the arch reactor used to be.
Penny can’t stop herself from trying to stop the bleeding. Her senses are fried. Her mind is fuzzy and she can’t think.
She can’t-
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
The words were angry. Past that. Each word was infused with rage, dripping off the sorcerer's silver tongue. Penny knew who it was, and she knew what he brought with him. She growled lowly, throwing her body over Mr. Starks protectively.
You promised!
You can still have him, keep trying.
“Do you realize what the fuck you are playing with?! You could have blown our universe into oblivion or an endless, irreversible time loop or ripped the multiverse in half-“
You’re so close.
“You’re lying!” Penny’s voice didn’t sound like hers. Penny doesn’t feel like any part of her feels like her.
“You don’t think I know what I’m talking about?” Strange’s voice is dangerously low. He steps into her line of view for the first time, and when Penny’s eyes snap upward, they aren’t to look at the man, but to look at the amulet on his chest.
You can have what you want.
“No! No no no, it’s not working! How many times do I have to watch him die?!” Penny screams, hand still pressing against the gaping wound on Mr. Stark's chest. The blood is starting to grow cold, coagulating over her shaking fingers.
Stephen’s eyes flash, seeming to take in for the first time just exactly who Penny is crouched over. His brow furrows, he glances at the stone on his sternum.
You have all the time in the world.
“I don't want it like this, I just want him.” Penny bares her teeth at Time. It only sings sweeter.
You have to trust me.
“I don’t! I shouldn’t-“
Stay with me.
“You’re a fucking liar!”
Don’t give up.
“Please-“
Stay with me.
Stay with him.
“N-not like this-“
You still want him, don’t you?
“More than anything-“
“ENOUGH!” Orange power clashes with green, sending sparks flying in the air. Penny flinches- she hadn’t noticed the doctor struggling; working his magic and fighting to contain the stone. The two energies clash like opposite ends of a magnet. Strange grits his teeth. “Leave her alone, she doesn’t not belong to you.”
Power swells and sizzles then, like nothing happened at all, the eye of agamotto snaps shut, sealing the beast away.
The haze that fogged Penny’s brain crumbles.
Her senses flood back and slam against her spine, causing her to gasp. She jerks back, a nasty squelch reverberates in her sensitive ears as she rips her hands off Tony’s lifeless body. The smell of metallic blood filling her nose and throat.
Car wreck, heart attack, explosion, stabbing, alien weapon, fire, shot-
Every memory. Every death. It all comes back with a bite that sends Penny scrambling backwards on her hands and feet.
“No no no nonononono-“ a roar-like scream pulls from somewhere deep and Penny frantically tries wiping all the clots of blood off her hands. Tears spring into her eyes, chest heaving. Her entire body trembles.
“God no! Please, stop stop stop stop-“
“Penny!” Stephen is in front of her, every trace of anger gone from his face and concern fills its place. His ocean eyes lock onto hers.
“Stephen- no, no I- I’m sorry, I’m so so so sorry I’m so sorry oh god-“ Penny feels like she’s drowning. She truly feels like she won’t recover, like her life is being drained by the second.
Large hands come up to grip both sides of her face, becoming a grounding point. Penny sobs.
“It’s alright. It’s alright.” Stephen says softly, bringing his face close to hers. “I should have heard the stones call, I’m sorry I didn’t.”
Penny falls against the man’s chest, holding him close. Too shaken to care if he didn’t like it. But Stephen wrapped his arms around her, so she figured it was okay.
“H-he died so m-many times and I couldn’t stop it! I couldn’t stop any of it!”
“You aren’t supposed to kid. Death isn’t reversible, not even with the time stone, that’s not how it works.” Strange says softly, gently getting both of them to their feet but he keeps her close. His hand holds the back of her head, preventing her from turning around to look at Mr. Stark's corpse. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have changed a thing.”
She hears the familiar sound of a portal sizzling and she smells the change when they enter the sanctum. Penny blinks and frowns, pulling away just a bit to look back at the man. He looks awfully sad.
“I- don’t we have to g-go back to our timeline?” Penny questions, hiccuping. Strange gives her a small smile.
“Yeah, but there was no need to do that there.” Stephen says, tugging her to his side as he begins to cast. “I have to open the stone, block it out Penny. Don’t listen to it. It won’t be long but- the stones take their toll with every minute they influence you. Resist it.”
Penny presses against Strange's tunic, as if she can hide there like a scared child.
“Has it hurt me?” Penny questions quietly, eyes drifting up to the sorcerer's face. Stephen glances down at her.
“I- not so much metaphysically, thankfully. But psychological damage…” Stephen presses his lips together in a thin line, features written with guilt. “I’ve been in a time loop before. I know what they can do. Especially when it’s watching the person you love die over and over.”
Penny nods, knowing that this was something that had affected her mind. She just didn’t know to what extent yet. New tears making their way down her cheek. She nestles back against him, closing her eyes.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-“ Penny’s voice shudders. “I heard it and it was like I was dreaming.”
“It’s not your fault, Penny.” Stephen repeats sadly. “It’s mine, I should have known. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay just- can we go home? I don’t want to be here.” Penny buries her face in the fabric of his shirt, muffling her words.
“Yeah, kid. Let’s go home.” Stephen agrees, and uses the stone to send both of them back to their reality where Penny would struggle to pick up the pieces of her mind.
And maybe in the end it wasn’t all bad. Penny at least got to touch him. To hold him. To talk to him. That had to count for something.