The next morning, Penny woke up early; her conversation with the redhead had been playing on her mind for almost a week now. Should she tell her parents about her powers? What would they say? What would they do? Would they punish Loki for them? Would they be angry with her? What would Peter say? A million questions were running through her mind, she knew it was irrational to fear the consequences of telling them. They weren't her aunt and uncle; they were completely different. They actually loved her, something she was now convinced her aunt and uncle never did. She pushed herself up from her bed and threw off her covers, forcing herself to stand up. She pulled off the NASA t-shirt she'd stolen from her brother, she'd stolen about three or four from the brunet along with two of his sweatshirts and a sweater. He didn't seem to mind it, but she'd made practice of returning the items after a while. She'd noticed the twin's doing the same thing, whenever Wanda was in a certain state of mind, she'd steal one of her brother's jackets or hoodies. And on occasion the redhead would wear one of her brother's t-shirts to school. Pietro tended to steal her oversized hoodies just to annoy her, then he'd return them when he was certain she was no longer annoyed with them being missing just so he could steal another one. She walked over to her dresser and grabbed a pair of black and white striped shorts and swapped them out with the one's she was wearing to sleep in and tossed her dirty pajamas into the dirty clothes basket. She pulled out a black decalled tank top over her head and started tugging the hair tie out of her braid. She started unraveling her braid with her fingers, letting her tighter curls fall loosely over her shoulders. Her long brown locks now fell down past her hips, swaying a little bit as she moved. She walked over to her dresser and looked at herself in the mirror that was set atop of its cherry colored wood. She sprayed her curls down with water and started combing through them, letting it start to fall around her arms. She stared at herself, her shirt was rising up, showing the slightly reddened skin from her splenectomy and the short line that went down her abdomen. She moved her head slightly, watching some of the dark-colored locks fall over the incision, hiding it from her line of sight. She felt like her hair swallowed her at times, it was comforting, but she knew it was often how people could pick her out from a crowd. Her small frame, paired with a mass of brown curls, made it easy for people to find her when she wasn't hiding from them. She pulled a section of it back and pulled it up into a small ponytail, trying her best to pull it out of her face. She readjusted her top and picked up the small studs from her dresser and put them back in her ears. She looked over at her clock and saw it read nine o'clock, no doubt the majority of the compound was awake. She slipped her flats on and opened her door, making sure she tugged on a black sweater that she'd stolen from her brother. She flipped the light off and pulled the door shut behind her and started making her way to Wanda's room, rolling up the sleeves of her brother's sweater so her hands would be visible. Wanda's door opened before she could even knock on it, the redhead smiled down at her.
"Hi peanut, something on your mind?" she asked as she leaned against her bedroom door.
Penny gave her a slightly confused expression, "H-how'd you-" she stopped talking, her lips slightly pulling down in a small frown.
The redhead smirked as she walked over to her vanity and started putting on her series of earrings in each ear, "Your thoughts are very loud this morning." she replied.
"Oh..."
The redhead turned around to look at her, "Do you need my help with anything?"
"I think I want to tell them." she announced lightly, letting the words flow out of her like she was telling some big secret to her best friend.
Wanda smiled at her, "I'm glad to hear that peanut. Do you want me to go with you?" she asked, gently reaching over and pushed a strand of hair out of the girl's eyes.
The brunette nodded, feeling her bangs brush against her forehead, "Please?"
She nodded, "Of course, peanut."
"But just mom and dad....I don't want to tell Pete..." she replied, when she saw the redhead's slightly disappointed expression she corrected herself slightly, "at least not just yet." she added softly.
"We do this at your own pace." the redhead agreed, adjusting a choker around her neck, her green eyes flicking towards her; she offered her a small smile, "You worry too much." she announced softly.
"I-I don't.." she stuttered.
The redhead laughed, "You definitely do peanut." she replied, "Both you and Pete have the tendency to overthink things. As much as you fuss at each other for over analyzing situations, you should listen to your own advice." she replied, sighing lightly to herself.
She nodded, "I know..."
"But if you're serious about it, I'll go with you. Ignore those thoughts about your parents, they're not your aunt and uncle."
She nodded her head again, "I know that...I just worry y'know." she replied, shrugging lightly, the sleeve of her brother's sweater falling over her hand. She sighed and started rolling its sleeve back up. "But I know that..." she sighed, "that I just need to do it."
The redhead leaned over and patted her arm, "Well I'm here for you peanut." she replied.
She flashed the redhead a small smile, "Thank you....promise you'll be there?"
The redhead nodded and pushed a headband into her hair, "I promise, now let's get down for breakfast before our brothers and my dad and uncle eat all the food before we can get a single bite." she announced.
She laughed and nodded her head , "I think you're right, Pete's probably already on his third plate."
Wanda nodded, "That mean's P's on his second about to start his third."
The redhead reached over and grabbed the younger teen's hand and teleported the pair of them downstairs. Bucky almost fell out of his chair when the pair appeared right behind him, Pietro laughed loudly at the pair, making Loki smirk at the soldier's reaction.
"Jesus Christ îngeraș" he muttered as he ran a hand through his shaggy hair, quickly pushing it out of his face.
Wanda giggled, "Sorry Uncle Buck." she replied, giving the man a small hug from behind.
He laughed lightly and patted her arm, "It's alright, webs about scared your father to death a few moments ago."
Peter flushed from the other end of the table, "I didn't mean too!" he squeaked.
"What'd you do Petey?" Penny asked.
"N-nothing." he stuttered.
Steve chuckled, "He was sleeping while standing on the ceiling, I came back from my run and about had a heart attack."
Pepper glared over at the teenager, "What have I told you about being on my ceiling?" she asked.
"Not to," the teen replied, his mouth filled with a bite of food.
"Then why'd you do it?"
"Didn't mean too....I couldn't sleep so I started pacing the ceiling....of the erm of the entire building and I must've fallen asleep." he replied.
Tony laughed loudly, "Only you'd fall asleep standing upside down on the ceiling underoos." he teased.
The brunet blushed, "Daddd," he groaned.
Yelena took another picture to add to her blackmail album on her phone, "Thanks for the picture Spider Monkey." she announced, smirking proudly to herself.
Peter scrubbed his face with his hands, "I thought you said you'd stop calling me that Lena."
The blonde shrugged, "I never promised anything."
Loki let out an amused laugh, "It never grows boring here." he announced, slightly leaning back in his chair so he could take in the actions of the people around him a little easier.
Steve nodded in agreement, "It never does. Now that the girls are here, let's begin."
Wanda cleared her throat, "Um Dad?"
"Yes jellybean?" he responded.
"Kate's not here." she replied, motioning over to the empty seat next to Yelena.
"I'll go get her." Penny announced, jumping up from her seat and running up the stairs.
Penny gently knocked on the light-gray door of Kate's bedroom; she gently pushed the door open. The sight of Kate sleeping in her bed grabbed Penny's attention. Penny stepped over the small piles of clothes and balled up fuzzy blankets that were balled up on the floor. She picked up a pillow on the floor and placed it gently on the bed, so it wouldn't get dirty and so Kate wouldn't trip over it. She reached over and started shaking the brunette again, remembering the first time she'd come into the older brunette's room. It seemed like it was so long ago that she'd stumbled into the girl's room to bring her down for breakfast; she no longer had trouble navigating the compound like she used to.
She continued shaking the girl, "Katie, breakfast is downstairs." she announced.
The blue-eyed girl buried her face into her pillow, "Ten more minutes Lene." she mumbled quietly.
Penny laughed lightly, "I-I'm not Lena Katie, it's me Penny." she replied, reaching over to shake the older girl again.
The brunette lifted her head slightly and shook her head in an attempt to get rid of the hair that had fallen into her face, "Little P?" she slurred.
"Yeah it's me...I'm pretty sure Mister Loki made breakfast. It looks really good." she replied.
The brunette pushed herself up from her bed and rubbed her cheeks with her palms, "What'd he make?"
"Something from Asgard, but Pete's already had four plates and Pietro's had three. Steve and Bucky have eaten a good bit too, apparently it's really good; so you better get down there before it's to late."
The brunette threw off the blankets that were tangled around her legs and stood up. She shook her legs out, letting her pajama pants fall back down her legs so they weren't bunched up at her knees anymore. She pulled a shirt down over her sports bra and pulled the hair clip out of her hair, letting her deep brown locks fall to her elbows. She grabbed the younger girl's hand and pulled her back downstairs, Penny laughed remembering how the first time she'd woken up the brunette had ended the same way: with Kate dragging her down behind her to breakfast. The pair arrived downstairs, sleep still evident on the blue-eyed girl's face. She slipped into the seat next to her girlfriend after greeting everyone a sleepy good morning. Penny walked over to the empty seat in between her siblings and sat down, excited to finally eat the breakfast the Loki had made for them.
A few hours later, Penny found her parents alone on their floor. Wanda straightened her yellow plaid skirt as the brunette next to her fidgeted nervously next to her. The Starks looked over at their middle daughter; they noticed her nervous behavior.
"Are you okay sweetpea?" Pepper asked.
Penny nodded, "Um y-yes?" she replied softly.
"You sure there, kiddo?" Tony asked, eying her suspiciously.
"Um I-I wanted to talk to you about s-something..." she replied quietly.
Pepper sat down on the couch next to her husband, "What is it sweetheart?" she asked.
Penny's hand raised up to the sleeve of her brother's sweater and started slowly rolling and unrolling it, "I uh...I."
Wanda patted her arm, "It's okay peanut."
"Are you okay sweetpea?" Pepper asked, she could see how nervous the fourteen year old was at the moment.
Penny nodded, "Y-yes. Ummm when..when I was missing...s-something happened." she replied, playing with the sleeves of the sweater she was wearing.
"Sit down sweetie, you look like you're going to faint." Pepper called, motioning for her to sit down in the seat next to her.
Wanda helped guide her over to the couch and sat down with her, she patted her hand gently. The two of them sat down next to the brunette's adoptive parents. Pepper flashed her a reassuring smile and reached over and gently gripped onto hand; her blue eyes were looking into the brunet's.
"What happened sweetpea?" she asked softly.
"I-I don't know how to explain it...." she whispered.
Tony sat forward at the younger girl's words, a pit of fear forming in his stomach, "What happened kiddo?" he asked.
"Um...maybe it's easier if I show you?"
"Show us what?" he asked.
Wanda gave her a small nod of encouragement and she took a deep breath. She squeezed her eyes shut and slowly opened them and looked down at her hands, watching them slowly fade away. She looked up at her parents and noticed her mother quickly pull her hand back, shock etched on her face. She felt a part of her starting to draw in on herself. She looked over at Tony and noticed his blank expression, to her that was worse than the look on Pepper's face. She sucked in a deep breath and felt Wanda's hand squeeze hers a little tighter; she looked over at the redhead and nodded her head slightly before turning her attention back to her parents.
"M-mom?" she whispered; she blinked back tears, regret immediately setting in this was a bad idea...
Pepper blinked back tears.
"M-mom?" she called again, she knew that even though they couldn't see her they knew she was there and at the moment she wished more than anything that she could disappear forever.
"Oh baby," a soft, emotion-worn response came.
Penny squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the emotions on their faces as she let herself become visible again. She felt gentle hands gripping onto her hand again, she slowly opened her eyes and saw her mother looking at her.
"What did they do to you?" Pepper whispered as she ran a delicate finger down the younger girl's cheek.
"Not them...Mister Toomes." she corrected, she knew Loki had nothing to do with giving her her newfound powers, it was all the other man's idea.
Tony let out a low growl, "That son of a-"
"Tony." Pepper called firmly, "Now is not the time." she warned.
The billionaire quickly closed his mouth, and rubbed his face, anger flaring in his eyes, "You're right." he agreed.
"Please don't hate me." Penny blurted, before quickly covering her mouth with her hands.
Pepper turned her attention back to her again, "Oh sweetpea, we could never hate you." she replied quietly, her voice was almost a whisper as she cupped the young teenager's face with her hand.
Penny blinked back the tears that were starting to roll down her cheeks, she tucked her face into the warmth of the strawberry-blonde's palm, "R-really?"
Pepper pulled her in for a hug, "Of course baby. Nothing can ever change that."
She started crying, fat tears rolling down her cheeks, "I-I thought you'd hate me." she sobbed.
"Kiddo," Tony called while hugging the two girl's from behind, "Nothing in this world could make me hate you and I promise Pepper feels the same way. There is nothing on this planet that will change that." he replied.
The fourteen year old tightened the grip around her mother and grabbed onto Tony's sleeve, "I-I'm sorry." she replied.
Pepper shook her head and slightly tightened her grip around the younger girl, "No, no, no sweetpea." she called quietly, "Don't apologize. I'm sorry the reaction wasn't a good one, I was shocked. You're okay, I promise you that you are perfect in every way possible." she swore.
Penny looked up at her, "You think so?"
"One billion percent hun." Tony replied, "One billion percent."
"Do you have any other powers sweetie?" Pepper asked.
Penny nodded, "Like Wanda's and Mister Lokis's." she replied.
"Mind showing us kiddo? I'd love to see more." she asked, flashing the younger girl a slight smile to ease her nerves.
Penny pulled back a little bit from Pepper's embrace, "Really?" she asked.
Tony nodded, "Lay it on me kiddo." he announced, motioning with his fingers to get the girl to speak up.
She nodded, "Okay."
Pepper pulled away and grabbed onto Tony's hand with both of her hands. Penny ignored the pull to read their minds; she'd fallen into the habit of reading people's minds. She knew it was wrong, she knew Wanda did her best not too; but to her it was helpful. It made her feel less nervous around people, for once she could tell what they were thinking. Something she always wanted to be able to do and now she could do it; it was an ability that while she hated the noise, it was something that she couldn't dream of being without. She held out her hand and stared at her parents, letting the pale orange light of her powers dance around her hands. She manipulated her fingers, letting the orange magic do what it pleased around her hands as it snaked up around her wrists. She heard a small noise of awe from Pepper and grinned a little, the fears that had been playing on her mind starting to fade away. She stopped letting the magic dance around her fingers and started concentrating it in between her palms, letting it grow a little brighter. She concentrated her attention to the orb that was growing between her palms, letting the orb grow brighter as she let her abilities take over. The yellow-orange of her powers dissipated, leaving her eyes still glowing an amber hue, she held out the small pansy to her mom. The strawberry-blonde took it from the smaller teen and smiled at her.
"It's beautiful sweetpea." she replied, putting it in her hair, right above her ear.
She grinned slightly, "Thank you."
Pepper offered her a small smile, "I'm so sorry you felt you had to hide this sweetpea."
She nodded slowly, "I thought you wouldn't want me anymore."
Tony shook his head, "Hun we'll always want you," he replied.
"But-"
The billionaire quickly cut her off, pulling her into a hug, "Nope, no buts kiddo. What would make you think that? Your brother has abilities too, he's had abilities since the day I met him and we want him."
She sighed a little, her shoulders dropping, "But what if you only wanted one kid with powers o-or you only keep Pete b-because you've known him longer than me?"
He pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head, "Nope, not gonna happen." he replied, shaking his head quickly, "Never gonna happen." he announced, "We have three kids for a reason kiddo, you help complete this family and nothing's gonna change that."
"Promise?" she asked.
The two adults laughed, "One hundred percent." Tony replied, squeezing her a little tighter.
"Always sweetie." Pepper promised, she hugged the younger girl like her husband was, "Wanda, why don't you give us some space?" she asked, looking towards the green-eyed teenager.
The redhead nodded, "Is that okay with you peanut?"
Penny nodded and stood up, walking over to the older teenager as she hugged her.
The redhead patted her arm gently, "You're doing great," she whispered.
Penny smiled slightly at her words and watched the redhead leave the floor.
"Kiddo, I'm so sorry that you were scared to talk to us about this. They're wonderful hun, very you." Tony announced, flashing the fourteen year old a large grin.
She flashed him a small smile.
"Come here kiddo." he called, patting the space in between him and Pepper, "Sit here, let's talk."
She went to stand up, but an orange light surrounded her and she reappeared in between them. She grinned and blinked slowly, "It actually worked this time." she mumbled, she sounded surprised in herself.
The Starks laughed, "Kiddo that was bada-"
Pepper cleared her throat at her husband and cut her him a look.
The man cleared his throat, "Right....sorry. But that was pretty cool," he announced, with a grin, "so you can teleport, you have chaos magic and invisibility, what was that thing you did with the flower?" he asked.
"Mister Loki calls it conjuration...I can read minds too." she replied softly.
He nodded, "Well it's pretty cool hun, I'm real proud of you."
"You are?" she asked.
The pair nodded, "Yes we are, sweetie." Pepper assured, "I know that you were scared to tell us and I'm sorry you felt that way. But know we love you and that we will never stop;" she replied, she placed her hands on the teenagers face, offering her a sweet smile, "the only thing that will change about that is that our love for you will grow stronger." the strawberry-blonde woman replied, pressing a gentle kiss against her middle child's cheek.
She sniffled, "Thank you..."
"No problem kiddo? Anyone else know?"
She nodded, "Wanda and Mister Loki, they've been showing me how to use them....but I haven't told Mister Loki about the invisibility." she replied quietly.
"Why not kiddo?"
She shrugged, "Kind of want to keep it to myself...so If I want to...I can just hide." she replied.
Tony let out a small laugh, "Sounds like you kiddo, makes a lot of sense." he replied, he knew their middle child had a habit of hiding when she felt overwhelmed, "We can keep it our secret unless they start getting hard to control."
"Thank you," she replied.
"You going to tell your brother?" the billionaire asked.
She shook her head, "I want to surprise him."
The billionaire laughed, "Well he definitely won't expect this one."
She grinned at her parents, but it faltered slightly, "Are you sure you don't hate me?" she whispered.
Tony let out a deep laugh, "Kiddo listen to me very clearly, okay? Nothing in this world can or will ever make either of us hate you. We adopted you, didn't we?"
Penny nodded, "Yeah..." she replied softly.
He nodded, "Then there ya have it." he announced, leaning back into the couch.
"If we didn't love you and your brother sweetpea, we would have never adopted either of you." Pepper followed.
"Exactly, now hun we're going to make you a suit." Tony announced, an excited twinkle dancing in his eyes.
She laughed when Pepper quickly glared at her husband, scoffing indignantly, "Absolutely not." she replied, pointing an outstretched finger to the man, "There is no way I'm letting our fourteen year old daughter parade around in a suit fighting crime."
"You let Pete do it. Pep." Tony countered, seemingly forgetting that his wife had been horrified when she found out how old the Queen's vigilante was and the lecture he'd gotten for hiring him.
She sat up, adjusting her gaze to look him in the eyes, "Peter wasn't my son at that point and May had no idea what he was doing for his 'internship' until last year. Besides, you and I both know that he'd been doing it for a year before you found him and I felt much better with you watching out for him and his suit was a thousand times better. Not to mention we had several discussions about Peter and you letting him continue patrolling around Queens."
Tony laughed uncomfortably and rubbed the back of his neck, he looked like he was about to shoot back a reply when the woman cut him off.
"Don't even think about telling me you'll be doing the same thing for her. Nick doesn't want another junior avenger just yet either and I don't feel comfortable with the idea either. We both know we couldn't stop Peter from doing it if we tried and I did try remember?"
Tony laughed uncomfortably again, remembering his wife trying to convince Peter to hang up the suit and keep his powers a secret until he turned eighteen. The then fourteen year old grew very upset with the idea and stormed off, he went awol for almost two weeks before Tony found him again and when he did Peter looked like he'd been through hell and back. He didn't want to see that ever again for either of his children, maybe she was right.
He sighed in defeat and nodded his head.
She clicked her tongues, "Exactly," she replied.
He thought about trying to push the matter a little more, "Well-"
She shook her head, "No ifs, ands, or buts Anthony." she replied, "Penny is not getting a suit."
He had an idea, "What about when she's fifteen, she'll be older, closer to Pete's age." he asked, "I could make it the safest thing possible for her like I do with all the others. And I'd never let her out by herself, ever. And-"
The strawberry-blonde pursed her lips and sighed in defeat, "Fine...if and only if she wants to and Nick agrees." she replied, quickly cutting him off.
He grinned at his wife and daughter, "You hear that kiddo, you're getting a suit!" he announced.
Penny laughed at his excitement, she was secretly excited at the prospect of getting a suit herself.
He pushed himself up from the couch, "What color you want hun? I was thinking red and gold, like your old man, but it's your suit....and Peter has red too."
"Tony..." Pepper warned.
The man waved his wife off, "Relax Miss Potts, only planning," he replied, "Whatcha say kiddo, wanna help your old man design it?"
She looked at him, her brown eyes twinkling, "Can I?" she asked.
"Damn right you can!" he replied, quickly averting his gaze from Pepper who was staring at him disapprovingly for his choice of words.
Penny looked towards her adoptive mother, she wanted to make sure it was okay with her too, "Can I mom?" she asked.
The strawberry-blonde sighed again and nodded her head, "Why not, but I'm serious about her not being a part of the team till she's fifteen!" she called after the pair as they started heading towards the stairs. She sighed, "Geniuses," she muttered as she stood up, her eyes widened and she remembered how her husband usually had a few mishaps in the lab, "Don't blow up my daughter Anthony Stark!" she yelled.
"Boss says 'Gotcha Pep!'" JARVIS replied.
"JARVIS make sure Penny stays in one piece and set a timer for three hours before you force Tony to leave the lab.I don't think I can handle three lab-obsessed geniuses." she announced.
"Duly noted Pepperoni, I've set a time for the time you requested," the AI responded.
She laughed lightly at the nickname, "Did he tell you to call me that?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am." the robotic English voice replied.
"Only Tony," she replied lightly; she was amused by her husband's teasing antics.
***Time Skip to Monday***
"Peanut we leave in five minutes!" Wanda called into Penny's open doorway as she walked down the hall.
"Okay!" the brunette called back.
"Morgs get your shoes on, we leave in five minutes." Wanda called, her voice trailing off as she went to Kate's room where the younger girl was hanging out.
Penny pushed herself up from her bed and walked over to her closet to get a pair of shoes. She grabbed the pair of converse she'd set out earlier and started tugging them on. After she laced them up, she grabbed the small backpack she carried that held her inhaler, epipens, and other items that she took everywhere with her and slung it over her shoulder. She flipped the light switch on and walked out of her room, letting Lucky follow her out before shutting the door behind them. The labrador followed her down to Kate's room, where the blue-eyed teen was helping Morgan look for a shoe that she'd discarded when she came into the older girl's room. Fanny yipped happily and ran over to her and Lucky, jumping up and down, trying her best to bite the older dog's ears. Penny laughed lightly and bent down to pet the puppy while she looked around for her little sister's tennis shoe. Her eye caught sight of the small, glittery pink shoe and she grabbed it. She held it up triumphantly, Morgan ran over to her and grabbed it from her, plopping herself down next to her on the floor.
"Thank you Bri." She announced; she'd heard Peter use the nickname once and she now called Penny Bri all the time.
She started pulling on her shoe, not bothering to untie its laces.
Penny smiled at her and knelt back down, "You're welcome Morgie." she replied, reaching over to untie the laces for the eight year old.
Finally Morgan got her shoe back on and she jumped up, running over to Kate. The blue-eyed teen picked her up, easily transferring her onto her back for a piggyback ride as they went downstairs. The three of them made it downstairs where Yelena and Wanda were waiting for them. Morgan looked over at the digital clock that was on the wall about the T.V. and frowned.
"Mommy and Aunt Tasha aren't here yet." she announced.
Wanda nodded, "That's because we're meeting them at the boutique Morgs." she replied, stuffing a few packets of gummy snacks into her purse for later.
The eight year old looked at her and tilted her head to the side, "How are we going to get there?" she asked.
Yelena grinned and pulled a set of car keys from her pocket, "I'm driving Ки́са," she replied.
Morgan broke out in an excited grin, "Really?!" she yelled, she enjoyed riding around with Yelena on the motorbike that she'd gotten for Christmas.
Kate winced a little at the girl yelling in her ear, "She sure is Morgie, but it's a car not a motorbike."
"Oh...What about my seat?" she asked.
Yelena shrugged, she didn't understand why the eight year old needed a booster seat in the first place.
Wanda sighed at the blonde, "It's already in the car, your mom made it very clear that you are to ride in your seat if we are driving. Now let's go, we're going to be late. JARVIS can you lock up after us?"
"Yes little red," he replied.
The redhead rolled her eyes, "I seriously need to have a talk with you two's dad about his nicknames," she replied, "But thank you JARVIS."
She ushered the younger four girls to the garage and made sure that JARVIS locked the compound doors before the five of them left. Kate set Morgan down and the younger girl climbed into her booster seat that was in the middle seat of the backseat of the truck that Yelena drove. The oldest brunette hopped in the front seat of her girlfriend's truck while Wanda took the spot that she'd sat Morgan in before the younger girl climbed into her seat. She turned to her side and started helping the younger girl in making sure she was properly buckled in. Yelena turned around and looked at the girls in the backseat, double checking that they all had their seatbelts on before she turned the key in the ignition and started backing up. Forty-five minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of the boutique that they were going to get their dresses from. Wanda unbuckled Morgan's seatbelt and helped her out of the car, she held onto the girl's hand to keep her from running off. They noticed Pepper and Natasha standing inside, the two women making conversation among themselves as they five younger girls walked in. Wanda let go of Morgan's hand and the eight year old ran over to her mother, jumping up excitedly to the woman.
"Mommy!" she greeted loudly.
The woman picked her up and hugged her, "Hi baby." she greeted, "Did you girls get here okay?" she asked.
Yelena shrugged, "Just a little traffic, but I handled it." she announced proudly.
A store clerk walked over to them, "Misses Stark, is the rest of your party here now?"
Pepper nodded, "Yes they are."
"Follow me," the woman announced, turning around and guiding them to a secluded area, "we have taken the liberty of giving you a private dressing room suite. Drinks and snacks have been provided courtesy of the boutique and all of you have free roam of the entire store."
"Thank you," Pepper replied, setting Morgan down.
"You're welcome, please call me if you need anything."
Pepper nodded, "We will."
The seven of them watched the black-haired young woman leave them alone before they started separating and going their own ways to find things they;d like to wear. Pepper stayed with Morgan for the majority of the time, helping her younger daughter look around for a dress to wear. The young girl was interested in everything shiny and glittery at the moment, not wanting a brightly colored dress like she'd worn to the last several parties her father had thrown. Her eyes twinkled when she found a light gold covered dress that shone prettily in the light.
She quickly pointed at it, "That one mommy." she announced.
Pepper nodded, "Are you sure you don't want something else?" she asked.
Morgan shook her head, "Yup." she replied.
The strawberry-blonde pulled the dress from the rack of clothes and guided Morgan back over to the dressing rooms. She hung up the few choices Morgan had picked out on a rack and instructed Morgan to either sit down with Nat or she could follow one of the older girls around. Morgan yawned and grabbed a bottle of juice from one of the small tables and sat down next to Natasha, who already had a few options placed on the rack as well. Pepper left the pair alone to go and find her own dresses to try on and Morgan curled up next to the redhead. Natasha smiled faintly at her and patted her head, pulling her phone out and pulling up a game for the younger girl to play in order to help keep her attention. Thirty minutes later, they all finished pulling out their selections. Penny was pushed into the first dressing room, since she was the recipient of the party in the first place. She walked out in a silky blue dress that fell a few inches below her thighs. She played with the ruffles of the dress as she stopped in front of the others. She found the dress to be pretty, and it was quite comfortable as well; it was why she'd chosen one of a different color in February for Pepper's birthday dinner. She thought the color was pretty, but she didn't exactly want to wear the same dress for her first birthday party in eight years.
"You look pretty little P. '' Kate announced, taking a picture of her; the brunette had a habit of taking a picture of everyone in every single piece they tried on.
Penny shot her a small smile, "Thank you Katie."
The brunette gave her a thumbs up and a large grin, "You're welcome."
Pepper leaned forward, "She's right, you look really nice sweetie. What do you think of the dress, sweetpea?" she asked, noticing the girl didn't seem completely in love with the dress she was trying on.
She shrugged lightly, "I like it...it is pretty. It flows when I move, Morgan says that a party dress needs to move a lot because I'm a princess." she replied with a small giggle leaving her lips, "But..." she paused, trying to think of the words.
"But what sweetie?" the strawberry-blonde woman asked.
"It's the same one as the one I wore to your party...It's the same style and cut...it's just blue instead of silver." she replied.
Pepper nodded, "I see, it is the same dress." she replied, looking over the girl's dress, "You can try on as many dresses as you want sweetpea, it is your party after all. You don't have to settle on the first dress you try on."
"Are you sure?" she asked, her voice sounded skeptical of what her adoptive mother was telling her.
Pepper laughed, "Of course sweetpea. Try on another one, I tried on what was it thirty dresses, Nat, when we went shopping for my wedding dress?" she asked, turning her head to look at the redheaded young woman.
The redhead nodded, "Thirty-four." she corrected.
Penny nodded slightly and walked into her dressing room again; she carefully pulled the dress off over her head and put it gently back onto the hanger before putting it back on the hook that was placed in the wall. She went through the process of trying on six other dresses before pulling on a red dress that was the second to last one she'd found. It was a little large on her, it was a deep red, similar to the color of Wanda's suit and was covered in glitter, it cascaded loosely around her frame, falling to the floor. The sleeves puffed out largely, almost the size of her head. She really liked the dress, other than the fact that it was most definitely a little too big for her. She stepped out of the dressing room and walked into the waiting area where everyone else was seated, almost tripping over the hem of the dress that dragged in front of her. Yelena quickly stepped forward and caught her from falling onto her face, she chuckled lightly.
"Maybe not this one, buba," the blonde girl replied, giving her a small grin.
Penny giggled softly, "It's a little big isn't it?" she replied, a small smile playing on her lips.
Natasha let out a small sigh, "It's entirely too long, however it is quite pretty on you sweetheart." she announced.
Penny shrugged, the puffed up sleeves falling off of her shoulders and down her arm, "I'll go change into the last one...it's my favorite."
"Well go on then, sweetpea," Pepper called as she turned around.
The brunette nodded again and started stepping off the small platform to walk back to where the dressing rooms were. She carefully bunched up the front of the dress and lifted it a little so she could walk without tripping and risking falling. She didn't bother unbuttoning the dress, since it was entirely too large for her small build, even if it was a size two. She put the dress back on its hanger and picked up the one that had caught her eye when she first walked into the store. She carefully unzipped the silky white material and let it fall off its hanger into her hands. She pulled it over her head and used her powers to zip it up. She spun around, watching the light catch the different colors of lilac, light aqua and pink, and mint green sequins and the lightly painted glitter on the dress. She smiled brightly to herself, she felt like a princess; the dress was exactly what she was wanting. She carefully walked out of the room and into the waiting area, hoping that everyone else loved the dress as much as she did. A series of noises of approval and surprise echoed throughout the room.
She grinned, maybe they did like it, "What do you guys think?" she asked softly.
Pepper stood up and walked over to her, "That you look absolutely gorgeous baby," she announced, gently grabbing the girl's hands.
"Really?" she asked, her cheeks reddening.
Pepper pressed a gentle kiss against her temple leaving a red lipstick print, "Absolutely." she replied.
"You look pretty Bri," Morgan chirped.
Penny smiled at her little sister, "Thank you Morgie."
The eight year old smiled and gave her a thumbs up.
"Beautiful peanut, that is absolutely the one."
"What do you think sweetpea?" Pepper asked.
"I love it, I absolutely love it." she replied, looking at herself in the mirror, a large grin imprinted on her face.
Pepper smiled fondly, "Then we'll get it." she announced.
"Thank you!" Penny replied, hugging her.
Pepper laughed and pressed another kiss on the girl's hairline, "No problem baby." she replied.
Penny spun around and ran back to the dressing room, she stripped the dress off and carefully hung it back up. She pulled back on her pink and white checkered romper and slipped on the pink converse she'd worn to the boutique. She opened the door to the dressing room and picked up the nine dresses, making sure she didn't leave the dress she'd chosen on the rack. The young woman from earlier came and took her dress to put to the side at the register. Morgan was the next one to try on dresses. A few moments after she disappeared into the dressing rooms, she came skipping out in the shiny, ruffled gold dress that she'd fallen in love with. She grinned brightly at everyone as she spun around, making the fabric of the dress splay out around her. She giggled happily at the compliments she received before skipping back into the dressing room where Pepper helped her change back into her clothes; the younger girl was thrilled that it fit her and didn't want to try on any other dresses. The strawberry-blonde guided the younger girl out of the dressing room, the dress in tow over her arm. The shop assistant quickly carried the golden dress to the register, and Pepper instructed Morgan to sit with the others while she tried on her own outfits. The eight year old climbed back into her seat and started playing games on Wanda's phone. The strawberry-blonde disappeared back into the dressing room; she tried on several dresses that were different shades of blue before settling on a form-fitted cerulean blue dress that fell to the floor. The sparkling material that had a low back and slit that went to her lower thigh, elongating her form; she looked stunning. Wanda tried on several darker themed dresses herself before settling on a deep charcoal gray one that fell at her knees. It fit tightly in the bodice before it flared out at her hips in a flowing swoop; she particularly enjoyed the half sleeves that connected to the straps with glittering stones. It looked and felt very Wanda, and they paired very well with her fiery red locks. The other three girls quickly tried on their own selections and settled with their choices fairly quicker than the first four members of their group. After paying for their formal wear, they set out for a late lunch at a local restaurant on the pier before heading back to the compound. When they arrived, they put their things away and started doing their own things. Pepper went to her office to work on a bit of paperwork that she needed to get down, and Natasha and Yelena went to the training rooms in order to pass the time until everyone else started returning. Wanda stayed in the living room, reading yet another Harry Potter book while she listened to music. Kate and the younger two girls challenge each other to games of Mario Kart, much like the boys had done Saturday and Sunday. The older two girls let Morgan win the majority of the games before she fell asleep, stretched across their laps. When Pietro, Steve, and Bucky got back from their mission, they found the three brunettes all passed out on the couch, with the game's music still playing in the background and Wanda completely immersed in her book and music. Pietro turned off the t.v. and plopped himself on the couch, making sure he laid his head down in his sister's lap while blowing at the pages of her book. Steve and Bucky shook their heads at the mischievous teenager as they went to their rooms for a shower. Wanda glared at her twin who winked at her and flashed her a cheeky grin. She pursed her lips and flicked his nose harshly, making him yelp in discomfort; she continued the action as a response to his disturbance of her peaceful reading. Finally he gave up his attempts to distract her, his nose a painful red when Peter came home from hanging out with MJ and Ned at the movies.
The brunette grinned at him, "Hey Rudolph," he greeted, getting a small laugh from Wanda.
The ash-blond rolled his eyes before continuing on with the pair's usual banter that lasted until dinner was ready.