Chapter Text
“Primo, secondo, terso, quarto. Premier, deuxième, troisième, quartième, non, quatrième, cinquième. Primero, segundo, tercero, cuarto, quinto. Pérvyy, vtoróy, tréty, chetvoyórtyy, pyatyy. First, second, third, forth, fifth.”
She was at it again. Going through the basic positions of ballet, one hand on the couch as if it was a bar. As far as Pepper could tell her technique was as perfect as could be expected from a seven year old. She faltered more on her numbers then in the movements themselves. Going from Italian to French to Spanish to Russian to English to back to Italian to start the cycle from the beginning.
That I’m of itself isn’t the oddest thing she knew. She knows her daughter is extremely intelligent and capable of things she couldn’t imagine. Her father’s daughter. She is proud of her apparent knack for languages and the focus she has given ballet. pepper was more than happy to look for classes to enroll her in.
The problem is that no one can figure out where Morgan picked it up in the first place. They taught her some sign language as a baby. Pepper had read about how it helped communicate with babies before they learned to speak and Tony had learned some from Clint Barton and they just never stopped using it. Tony had his own talent for languages from growing up with nannies; many of which spoke a language outside of English. But he really only spoke Italian and English at home. Spanish is common enough the obvious assumption would be that she picked it up at school. But the French, the Russian? No one does ballet in her class nor does any one have an older sibling they could have been copying. Pepper asked when she had decided to enroll her looking for recommendations for studios. Besides she is half certain the behavior predates her schooling.
Morgan was homeschooled at first. The plan was to enroll her properly later when they knew better what she needed. If an advanced program school would suit or if other tutors and extra curriculars would do the heavy lifting of keeping her challenged and entertained. Everything was so post apocalyptic at the time they figured the difference in her socialization would’ve been negligible. They’d agreed they didn’t want her skipping grades like Tony had. Tony had been oddly worried about bullies. She knows him and Rhodey hadn’t been subjected to it, troublemakers, trustfund babies troublemakers that they were. Yet there’d been something important there. Personal. Pepper remembered understanding at the time she was sure of it. But no more then that.
And then after the return of the blipped, and May Parker’s death, and Tony’s coma she decided to just go ahead and enroll Morgan then and worry about the rest later. But as impossible as it was Pepper was sure the oddities had begun before she’d finished the paperwork. When the drawings started.
An Iron-Man suit except where Tony’s was red and gold, and her gold and blue, and Rhodey all patriotic this was red and blue. Like Spider-Man; who featured in many himself. A boy with brown hair and eyes and a boy with brown hair and blue eyes. And a girl with the same necklace Morgan wears. Pepper asked if it was supposed to be her older once. Morgan started hiding them after that, eyes tearing up.
“Morgan sweety come eat! I made penne allá vodka like you asked. A treat for doing so well on your test!”
Morgan spun around rapidly a bright smile on her face.
“Did you use her recipe?” Her?
“Whose honey?”
Morgan frowned at her as if Pepper should automatically know. One of those things then. But still she bounded into the kitchen.
“Mama’s.” Which what? Whose now? That answer did not help.
“Excuse me? I mean I made it.”
“Noooo!” Morgan giggled. “You’re Mommy! Mama! As in Mama Maria! Daddy’s mommy. Ma said she has a book full of them.” Ma. Her again. One of Morgan’s infamous imaginary friends.
“This is really good mommy.” Morgan complimented, mouth full of pasta. God she had such a sweet daughter.
“Thank you baby. Swallow your food first and then speak.”
“Sorry.”
Pepper wanted to believe it was nothing. To listen to the child psychologist’s advice, to accept it as a quirk of Morgan’s youth and put it out of her mind.
It made sense of course it did. As much as they wanted different for her p, her daughter knew trauma. It was perfectly normal for a child’s imagination to try to make sense of it all. Her whole existence half of life was simply gone, including her Aunt May. Only for them to randomly return one day in exchange for her father in a seemingly eternal slumber. Not yet dead but no one knew if he’d ever wake. Only for said Aunt to die not even a year and a half later. Death was difficult enough to understand for someone so young never mind like this.
Yeah ok older siblings she never knew because they were blipped. Simple enough. And in a different life plausible. A brother in the city, a photographer. Ok. An obsession with Spider-Man. Well Tony used to tell her stories of him, even if Spider-Man had gone underground recently. Another brother in MIT. Cute, if heartbreaking. It’s the extra details that made it difficult. The ones that usually came with a mention of Ma.
How she talked about middle of nowhere Tennesse, Morgan’s exact words, though she had never been and long before she had any way of knowing either the saying or the state. How she knows things she shouldn’t and just name drops Ma like that explains everything. Once they found out that “Spidey calls her Leía like the princess” because that helped.
Morgan used to enjoy sneaking off when they went out. So used to the enclosed woods of the cabin. Gave them all a heart attack each and everytime. Until one day she simply stopped. It was only at bedtime what was once story time with Daddy that she said more.
“Stane betrayed Daddy. Cause he was jealous and he wanted more money. He knew Daddy, watched him grow up. He was friends with grandpa and Daddy trusted him. And he still did it. I didn’t get it before. Why you would get so scared. Why strangers were dangerous. But if he was a friend and still hurt Daddy what about someone who doesn’t care. I’m too little. I won’t get superpowers.”
Pepper was torn and horrified. That was such a child’s view of one of the scariest moments in her life and the beginning of so many more. And how could she explain that Stane didn’t care at all. The answer was of course she couldn’t. When Pepper had asked terrified where she had heard all that all she got was Ma.
“She said to remember it like Stane the Stain. Get it. She’s funny.” Yes hilarious. Not worrying at all. God this girl, Pepper missed Tony. The thought process and spotty explanation reminded her so much of him. “It’s ok i get it now. You guys just want me happy and safe and to never know that type of pain.”
And what could Pepper possibly say to that. She was right. Except the change had come randomly over the weekend. FRIDAY assured her time and time again no one had come by the house, they triple checked the cameras. Morgan had had no access to the internet only her DVD player. FRIDAY had made nor received no calls for Morgan. And yet.
Happy tried to get names out of her once. It didn’t help.
“Ma said I already know them. I only forgot. But at least I only forgot their names. I think. You guys forgot everything. I got nicknames. Like Mech used to call Daddy Mechanic but it’s better than potato whatever that means so I get to call him Mech. And Ma is the nickname of a nickname but I don’t remember what she said first. So it’s just Ma now. That way if I ever remember remember or figure it out we’ll know.”
Helpful.
“When Rhodey learned of it all suddenly ghosts were on the table. Because why not. After everything else that’s happened.
“Where do they live?”
“Lots of places. Mech used to live in Tennessee now he lives in MIT. He goes back sometimes. To visit his Momma’s and other sister’s graves.” Which ok, back to the understanding death theory. Though how her little genius figured out people died died from car crashes and the like during the blip is beyond her. “He visits New York sometimes too. To see the others.”
It was her answer to Ma that started the theory.
“Oh all over, all over. Sometimes she’s in a different realm I can’t go to. Sometimes she’s in a big house with a lot of people. Or with ‘our’ boy because as smart as he is he’s sad to be alone. She says he needs a Rhodey like when Daddy was that sad. Is it true when you’re really really really really sad sometimes you do things that’ll make you even sadder later.” And if that wasn’t quite the way to describe his alcoholism and erratic behavior. “Sometimes she’s alone in a big house upstate’s with Jarvis. She says there’s a big family portrait there and she’s really sorry I’m not in it. It’s ok though it’s not her fault I wasn’t born yet. Do you think the recipe book is in that house?”
And well after that Pepper was a bit more open to the idea of ghosts. But if Rhodey was right and that empty house was the house Tony grew up in. Why was Ma and Mama Maria different people in Morgan’s head? What was all that talk of forgetting? It seemed a logical explanation for believing in brothers so heavily when her mother and uncle didn’t? But why did that possibility weigh so heavy on her heart.
It was just supposed to be imaginary friends.