Sheldon grimaced as he sat up in bed. He glanced at the alarm clock and noted it was only 12:43 am. He had been unable to achieve REM sleep tonight. Penny's words kept floating through his mind. Her Avengers analysis kept bothering him. He had known the debate was silly, but it had distracted him from his ennui.

Lately he had found little to interest him in his daily life. He wasn't sure why, but he found no stimulation in talking with his friends, tv, or even his comic books. But Penny had started something changing inside him tonight. It surprised him how quickly she had answered. That implied she had already given this matter some thought. That begged the question, had she been analyzing the movie and related it to the group, or analyzing the group and related it to the movie? He was also disturbed by her assertion she was similar to the Hulk.

He had discovered long ago that neither he nor Leonard were the core of the group. When Priya had tried to remove Penny from the group the first time, things had fallen apart. Howard and Raj argued constantly. Leonard was often gone. He had spent much of his time alone. It was Penny who brought Bernadette into the group. It was Penny who made Amy part of it. Sure, he had known Amy longer, but it wasn't until Penny and Amy became friends that Amy became part of the group.

How could Penny be similar to a mindless creature of destruction when the group depended on her so deeply? No. She was Fury. She brought them together and made them a team.

Sheldon stood and pulled on his robe. He was never going to get to sleep until he talked to Penny and corrected her. He headed through the apartment and into the hallway. He paused when he got close to her door. She was watching the movie again. He could hear Iron Man and Captain America talking above the sound of plasma rifles. He felt as if he was suddenly on the precipice of something life-changing. His courage failed him and he turned toward his apartment. He hesitated outside his own door for several heartbeats.

"I lied."

He spun quickly to see Penny standing in her doorway, her hands clasped behind her. It was vaguely reminiscent of how he stood when lecturing someone. "What about?" he asked quietly.

"Amy is Loki," Penny said sadly. "Desperate for love, attention and validation. She's not going to be satisfied as part of the group. She's going to want to be the center of our world, and she'll destroy every last one of us until she gets it."

He heard Captain America tell the Hulk to get angry. Penny's mouth moved silently as she mimed the words of Dr. Banner. "That's my secret, Captain. I'm always angry."

Penny walked over and pulled Sheldon into a hug. "Promise me you won't stop being you," she whispered against his chest. "Promise me you'll always be a beautiful mind. Most of all, promise me it's not too late."

He wrapped his arms tentatively around her shoulders, fear cramping his stomach. He refused to promise her anything. (Lie.) He had no idea what she was talking about. (Lie.) She was probably just drunk and over-emotional. (Lie. Lie. Lie!)

He froze when he felt her tears soak through his flannel top. It was surprising enough to shock him out of his normal blindness to the world around him. Slowly he pulled back from Penny. He stared at her moss colored eyes for a moment before bending and lightly pressing his lips to hers. "I promise," he whispered into her mouth.

When dawn broke Sheldon stepped into the shower and drew back on the psychological armor he used to protect himself from a world he didn't understand. Only now, there was a wariness about him. A glimmer in his eyes that said he had lost something valuable.

Just north of Vegas a blonde stepped off a bus and shouldered the backpack that contained every dime she owned, two shirts, a pair of jeans, the first Penny Blossom she ever made and a dvd. An older woman stepped off the bus behind her and smiled kindly as the blonde helped her gather her bags.

"Thank you, dear," the older woman said. "You know, I never did catch your name."

The blonde smiled sadly. "You're welcome, Mrs. Collins. My name is Banner. Belinda Banner."

Mrs. Collins watched as the young woman turned and headed down the sidewalk, backpack over one shoulder. There was something incredibly sad about the blonde. She said a quick prayer for Belinda's safety before being distracted by her grandchildren clamoring for her attention. When she paused to look back down the sidewalk, it was empty.

As I've said before, my mind is a warped little place. Sometimes it surprises even me with how it comes up with things. You'd think that as a dedicated Shenny, I'd always go for a happy ending. Unfortunately, my mind doesn't always listen to my heart. Sometimes my mind gets angry and pounds my heart into the floor of a penthouse again and again until it's whimpering and broken.