The Avengers Weakness

Chapter Twelve

Tony Stark looked at the small girl in front of him; her big brown eyes sparkling as she talked to Wanda and Kate. Both the older girls were laughing at whatever she was doing or saying. Everyone seemed to like the younger Parker sibling, which was no surprise to him considering that everyone liked the teenage boy as well; there was nothing to dislike about the Parkers. Penny was a cute kid: she had big brown, doe eyes like Peter's, a small nose, dimples, and a mess of curly brown hair; she looked exactly like what Tony imagined a female version of Peter would look like. She was a little clingy with her brother, but that was expected considering how her aunt and uncle had treated her in the past and the fact that the two siblings had spent the past eight years apart. When he had first looked into her medical records, he'd been shocked; it threw him for a loop to see how it showed a long list of several Emergency Room and special clinic visits. The list of symptoms and issues had started with cuts and bruises and ended with severe concussions, broken bones and dislocated joints as well as a gall bladder removal and an apendectomy when she was nine. He'd seen some of the bruises the first day she'd arrived at the compound; the lighter ones on her arms and legs that varied in their color and the purplish-blue one that was around her throat. The memory of it looking like finger marks had been burned into his brain; he thought of how Nat had told him about the one's she'd seen on the girl's back. He found it disgusting that someone could do such a thing to someone, let alone a kid, his kid. He paused for a second and smiled a little, he liked the sound of that. Referring to the two siblings as his kids; it felt like a part of something that had been missing in his life for a while was starting to fall into place. He thought about Peter, and how he'd never seen the teen as happy as he'd been in the past couple weeks. The look on his face when he'd been told about her coming to the compound had been nothing to the one on his face when she'd actually gotten there. Even when he was carrying his sleeping sister home the night before during their walk back from the skating rink was different, it was a look on his face that he wished he could keep on the boy's face permanently. Everyone seemed to enjoy having another kid around, especially Natasha, who'd always loved kids. Tony had never seen her so gentle with someone, not even Yelena who was her sister. That wasn't saying that the redhead wasn't gentle with the other teenagers or with Morgan, it was just that this was a little different. The girl seemed to bring out something in everyone she met, it was a type of light or protectiveness for her, something that Peter had managed to do as well, but his little sister seemed to be able to make that effect stronger in those around her. He hadn't seen Pietro so angry at someone in such a long time, like he was when he found out what Penny's family had done to her. He'd never seen Kate get along with someone as quickly as she had with Penny and the same thing with Wanda who usually had a little bit of a harder time getting comfortable with people.

Tony smiled as he watched the thirteen year old interact with everyone, "Peter! Come one! Everyone is hungry" she yelled up the stairs, bouncing slightly on her toes..=

Her smile grew as she saw her brother come downstairs in the blue shirt she picked out for him.

"I'm coming princess. I needed socks," he laughed as he ran down the stairs to his waiting little sister. "Okay, I'm ready." he announced as he ruffled his sister's curly hair.

"Come on then!" Tony yelled at everyone, he didn't fail to notice the slight flinch from the younger girl at the raising of his tone, they definitely needed to work on that...maybe Sam could help.

Tony waited by the door, shooing the teenagers and the redheaded assassin out the door with his hands before having JARVIS lock the building down. Outside, he had the limo waiting for them; everyone slowly piled into the large vehicle.