Irondad | Daddy's Little Spider(-Girl)

Homelessness is a cruddy after-school club (Chapter 1)

Penelope's POV:
Life was going to crap for me right now. Well, as much of a life a fourth grader could have anyway... I got pushed into a locker, got asked out by the biggest bully in elementary school, Eugene "Flash" Thompson (of course I said no), and worst of all? I'm a spider-powered freak who got her only living relatives killed because I drew attention to myself, and now I'm homeless.

Kids like me shouldn't be homeless. If anything we should be in foster care... but who am I kidding? Who would want me? Sure, at first glance I'm a cute and innocent 10-year-old girl, but if you dig an inch deeper, you'll see my powers and the fact it's my fault they died. My parents died not long after I was born, and I was an idiot and allowed bad guys to get in our home and kill my new ones.

I bet you're wondering where I'm sleeping right? There's a nice warm place near the back of Stark Industries where I can sleep. I just have to be careful that AI from the field trip doesn't see me. I think their name was "FRIDAY" or something? Why did Mr. Stark name it after a day of the week? That's just silly. His AI is cool though. It puts stuff like Alexa to shame!

But now there is a bit of a bigger problem. Food. Luckily, there's been rumours that Hawkeye used to climb in the vents, so they're huge. Yes he's in prison, and my teacher wouldn't want me emulating him, but if I could crawl through and web some food, I could still survive.

I hear some footsteps coming around, and instantly get worried when I hear whose voice is talking on the phone. Mr. Stark. Instantly, I dive into the vents, and crawl as far as to not let him see me.

Tony's POV:
I saw something worrying as I turn the corner. A homeless blanket. They must've ran away, scared of what I'd do to them. I wish they didn't. I would help them get a job and back on their feet. But something urged me to look closer when I see a tag on a scattered jumper that bares a number and not a size. Normally that's only for-

Looking at the tag, my worst fears are actualised. The tag read "9-10 yrs old". Not only is someone homeless sleeping by one of my buildings heaters, they're a child on top of that. I swear to god, if their parents abandoned them, I will kill them.

I looked around for more clues. Looking in the bag, I see that they go to Midtown Elementary School, had a field trip at Stark Industries, and that they were a girl after I found a piece of clothing I really wished I hadn't. Couldn't find anything on their name though. Hearing noises in the vents, I realise my time snooping is up, so I drop the kid's stuff and run off, hoping I wasn't seen.