Irondad | Daddy's Little Spider(-Girl)

A Thanksgiving Surprise (Chapter 7)

{AN: This chapter has some angst!}

One week later...

Tony's POV:
Today was the day. The day I had been both waiting for, and dreading. The day I adopt Penelope, but also the day I rip her best and only friend away from her. Regretting making the persona of Edward Cumbersome already, I head down towards Penelope in my disguise, only to see she isn't there. However, there is a note.
"Dear Anthony Edward Stark,

Did you really think it was funny to play an innocent child along with a fake persona? I trusted Edwards, no, I trusted YOU, and you ruined it. The only reason I know is that you came out to talk with the social worker looking people last week, and pointed to me, saying stuff like "that's Penelope," "she's a sweet kid" "sad backstory". I'm not stupid, Stark. Either Mr. Cumbersome broke our promise, or YOU were Mr. Cumbersome all along. There's no other alternative.

If you wanted to ship me off to some foster home, you should've just done so. Not brought my trust up to the point where I told you my alter-ego. That's a secret someone who isn't as stupidly rich and famous take to the GRAVE. People like me can't reveal our identities live on CNN, ME ESPECIALLY. I can't reveal my identity, because then The Daily Bugle would make me have more rain clouds than normal. But speaking of rain clouds, this experience has made it a practical Noah's Ark 2.

I hope you're happy Anthony, I'm never coming back. Enclosed in the envelope is the picture of when you saved me at the Stark Expo. I honestly thought the news articles were right. Maybe Tony Stark DID have a heart? Well I know the answer now. You don't. Goodbye Stark, traitor.

-P."
In tears, I take the picture out and look at it. A smiling four year old Penelope from an android attack in Chongqing, China. I feel anger bursting through me. I wasn't angry at Penelope, no, far from it, she's the innocent victim. I was angry at myself. The only reason I went up as Cumbersome was so she didn't pee herself when I walked up to her. She made a bond, and I faked it. To her, all the jokes, and soothing, it must've felt like a script... I had to find her before she did something stupid. Donning the Iron-Man Mark-45 suit, as Rogers had wrecked the Mark-46 beyond repair back during the fight with him and Bucky, I fly up and use FRIDAY to scan the entire city and it's outskirts for Penelope.

FRIDAY ends up finding her beating up some bad guys in Times Square, with her last recorded audio from a nearby security camera being "C'mon, chop chop. The Macy's parade starts soon, and I bet you have dinners to get too, so drop the guns and just walk off." My heart sinks. I know for a fact if I don't interfere now, Penelope will get shot to death. Instantly, I blast down to Times Square, fearing the worst, but thankfully seeing Penelope still alive. Knocking out her potential assailants, I turn to Penelope.

"Oh, so you sent a suit over? You're that sick of me that you couldn't just come and apologise? You had to sent a remote controlled suit? If you even cared, you'd actually be here." Penelope spits out in a tone that just screams 'Why?!' and my heart sinks the lowest it ever has. Hesitantly, I open the mask to show Penelope that I actually was there. "Spider-Girl, please, I just wanna talk..." I try to reason with Penelope which is hard considering I can't say her real name here, as that would f the situation up further.

When Penelope notices the watching eyes, and the approaching press, she swings off abruptly, to god knows where. I blast into the sky and scan for Penelope's approximate location. It takes a few seconds, but then FRIDAY lands a hit. "Sir, it appears Penelope has porched herself on top of the One World Trade Center, aka the tallest building in the entire city." What could Penelope be doing on top of the OWTC? I fly over to her, thinking it's to get a perfect view of the Macy's parade, and not, well, suicide.

Luckily, Penelope was just sitting up there eating ham and ketchup sandwiches, waiting for the parade. She's actually smiling under the bit of the mask she's lifted to eat, until she notices me. "Oh great. You tailed me. What do you want Stark..." Time to make my move. "Um, Penelope, have you stopped to think of WHY I was talking to those adoption people?" I ask, making my voice as calm as possible. "Obviously you were gonna send me off to some foster home..." she says, sad. Then I played the Wild Card. "Trust me, Penelope, I would've done that myself." I say, trying not to give the obvious answer away. Thankfully she catches on. "You don't mean you..." she starts, cutting herself off, but I understand what she means. "Of course I did, I couldn't leave you out there...-" I'm cut off by Penelope hugging me. "Thank you! I'm sorry for being such a meanie...." She apologises, and I accept.

After sitting and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on top of the OWTC, we head to the tower, and I give Penelope her Level 10 keycard when she starts getting "trespasser" looks from the security. When we get up to the penthouse, Penelope quickly runs up and hugs Pepper, and that's when I saw something I dreaded worse than getting rid of the Edward Cumbersome persona.

What I saw were...