Apologies for the wait!

Chapter Nine

After two days, Penny felt as if she was going to go crazy. She wanted to know if she got the part. Needed to know. The waiting wasn't good for her mental health. She had made many mistakes at work and even had to leave early, saying she was sick, so she couldn't make more and risk getting fired.

If she didn't get the part, she still needed a job.

Sheldon and the guys helped a little. Penny knew they could help more if she talked to them about the movie and the role, but she was dead set on making it a surprise. So, she suffered in silence.

Maybe if she didn't get the part, she could ask to be an extra. At least then she still tell the guys she would be playing in a Marvel movie. Maybe she could even have a speaking role like the woman who had played the waitress in the first Avengers.

No! She had to stop thinking like that. The part would be hers. She just had to wait twenty-four hours to hear them say so.

Maybe...

The next day, Penny was glued to her phone and made sure the volume was turned all the way up. She even took it into the bathroom with her as she showered. There was no way she was going to miss the most important call of her life.

When the phone finally rang, Penny had just gotten up from the couch to get a drink. She practically vaulted over the island counter and threw herself on the couch to get the phone.

The screen told her exactly who was calling and she answered with a breathless, "Hello."

This was it.

Sheldon had just sat down in his spot with a hot cup of tea, ready to binge watch some of his favorite shows. It had been an intense, but satisfying day at work and he was ready to start his weekend.

That is, until Penny start screaming.

Sheldon feared the worse when he used the spare key to Penny's apartment. However, when he burst through the door, he didn't find Penny lying in a pool of blood. Instead, she was sitting on her blue coach, hand raised to her ear like she was on the phone. But her phone was on the ground.

"Penny," he said approaching her as if he was approaching a frightened animal. From her expression, he still couldn't tell if that had been a distressed scream or a happy one.

"Sheldon?" She blinked up at him as if seeing him for the first time.

"Yes, it's me. Is something wrong?"

"No." She stood up and slowly walked toward Sheldon. It took everything in him to not bolt right back out the door. This was an unpredictable Penny and he wasn't sure what he was going to get.

Then, in a blink of an eye, Penny flung her arms around him. Sheldon almost screamed but realized quickly that she was embracing him and not hurting him.

"OhmygodSheldonI'mCarolDanvers!" Was what Sheldon was sure he heard Penny exclaim into his ear a half dozen times but he wasn't sure.

"Penny," he said once the blonde detached herself from his person. "Are you saying that your Captain Marvel?" He asked, trying to understand.

"Yes!" Penny practically screamed (again). "I am!"

Sheldon was confused. "Are you telling me that you've become a superhero?"

Penny rolled her eyes good naturedly and smiled. "You remember that part I auditioned for? The one I refused to tell you anything about?"

"...Yes..." Then, it all clicked. "You auditioned for Captain Marvel and got the part!" This time, Sheldon threw his arms around Penny.

"Yes! I'm going to be in a Marvel movie!"

"I am very happy for you, Penny," Sheldon said sincerely. "I know this has been a dream for you and now, it's coming true."

"Thank you sweetie." Penny hugged him again. "I've worked so hard for this and I think all of those rejections and feeling like I was a sucky actress has finally paid off."

"I believe it has, as well." He clasped his hands behind his back and smirked. "Now, when will you be telling everyone else? I am quite eager to see their reactions."

Of course Penny was also eager to tell the others about her new job but she didn't want to just blurt it out during dinner or something. There was no fun in that. Part of her (okay, who was she kidding? All of her) wanted to run down to the Cheesecake Factory and announced that she was quitting, that she was moving on to much better things. However, the NDA she'd signed prevented her to do that until everything was made official.

"I think I want to have them guess in someway," Penny said after a moment. "Make them work for it."

Sheldon smiled. "I agree."

However, things didn't go exactly how Penny planned.

She had wanted to tell everyone over Chinese food and vintage video games, which would have been a fitting way to end her incredible week.

It was Thursday, everyone except Howard were sitting around Leonard and Sheldon's apartment. Howard was running late because of an errand he had to run for his mother. But when he did come over, he practically burst through the door. Everyone startled and looked at him. Sheldon, of course, glared as the door bashed against the wall.

"Guys...and Penny," he said in a way of greeting.

"What's going on?" Leonard asked.

Howard's eyes were practically glued to his phone. "Looks like they found their actress for Captain Marvel!" He showed them the screen of his phone but they were too far away to see any details.

Sheldon and Penny glanced at one another.

"Who is it?" Leonard leaned forward and Raj bounced in his seat.

"I don't know. The article just says that they found someone, an unknown actress and were excited to start filming. They will announce her name Friday." He glanced at his watch. "So, in less than five hours."

Penny absolutely knew they'd stay up just to see who it was.

She looked at Sheldon one more time before clearing her throat. "So, guys. Do you remember that audition I had a few weeks ago?"

The three boys were too busy looking at Howard's phone to pay attention to it. "It doesn't say who she is at all," Leonard mumbled and took out his phone. The irony was that Penny was sitting two feet away.

"I believe Penny has something important to say," Sheldon spoke, the authority in his voice caused the three of them to stop and look at him.

"You never think anything Penny says is important," Howard shot at Sheldon.

"Untrue," Sheldon looked unperturbed. "And I think the three of you will really want to hear what she has to say."

"Okay." Leonard put his phone back in his pocket.

Now, Penny was nervous. She didn't know why, though.

"So, I had an audition a few weeks ago. Remember?"

The three of them nodded.

"Well, it was for a character named Carol."

Three blank stares looked back at her. Biting back a smile. This was going to be more fun than she had hoped.

"Carol Danvers."

Silence.

"Carol Danvers?" Leonard tested the name on his tongue. Then, paused.

"You're the new Captain Marvel!" Raj exclaimed loudly and stood.

"What?" Howard and Leonard said at the same time, ignoring Raj's sober outburst.

"I'm Captain Marvel," Penny said with a smile.

"That's why you haven't talked much about the audition," Leonard spoke, putting the pieces together. "You wanted to surprise us when you got the part." The words nearly brought Penny to tears. They had thought she would get it.

"Yeah," she answered. "I knew it would be something the rest of you would want to see and I didn't want to say anything unless I knew for sure that I got it."

"And did you already know about this?" Howard's question was pointed at Sheldon. "You didn't seem surprised when she told us."

"I've known for a few days," Sheldon answered.

"And you were able to keep it a secret?" Leonard asked incredulously. "Impressive."

"Penny wished to surprise you all and I promised to keep her secret. I never break my promises."

Penny placed a hand on his knee and smiled up at him. "No, you don't, sweetie."

In all the excitement of her getting the part, Penny had almost forgotten her trip to the Avengers premiere, which was quickly approaching. Almost.

Now that she was guaranteed a paycheck (a pretty hefty one at that), she bought all of the dresses in her cart but choose to wear the red and blue one. It was more like the costume she would be wearing in the movie. However, she did plan on taking the green and gold one, as well. She still had to represent her man Loki, even if it wasn't on the red carpet.

At a meeting with Angela and other important people, like Jude Law and a few other actors and actresses that Penny knew, (She had done a very good job of not freaking out.) when Angela turned to her with a smile.

"So, Penny, have you bought any lottery tickets yet?"

"...No?" She glanced over at her costars, wondering if this was some kind of ritual new actors had to go through.

"Well, I just found out that you were the lucky person chosen to go to the Avengers premiere. Plus, you also were chosen for this part, which was pretty lucky for you, as well."

"Yeah, it was. Maybe I should get a lottery ticket. Things come in threes, right?" Everyone at the table chuckled, putting Penny at ease.

They talked for a few more minutes about the premiere, which some of the other actors would be attending, as well. Like Samuel L. Jackson, who hadn't been able to make it to the meeting but would be playing an integral role in Captain Marvel.

Penny couldn't mother fucking believe it!

The next day, Penny put in her two weeks at the Cheesecake Factory. Once those two weeks were up, she and Sheldon would be off to LA. Of course the manager had asked why she was quitting after being there so long and Penny couldn't tell him the real reason (though she couldn't wait until he found out. He had been one of the people that scoffed at her ever becoming an actress).

"I just need a change of pace," she said with a bright smile. "Something more challenging than taking orders and bringing out food."

Like having superpowers and kicking ass on the big screen.

Her manager pursed his lips in disappointment but didn't say anything else. Honestly, Penny wished she could quit then and there, but she did owe the place. It had kept her from getting evicted from her apartment and had provided her with free meals when money was running low.

So, without another word to her boss, Penny left the office and started her day of taking orders.

We're getting closer to the premiere!

Thanks for reading!