I just read the Superhero Complex by griggles. If you haven't, you should. It's incredible. I loved it so much, it hooked me into writing this story. I couldn't even paused to do the dishes until I finished writing this one out. That's why the sink is still full. Honest.

Seriously though, after reading her story, I was struck by inspiration. Any mistakes are unintentional. I wrote this out in four hours and only went over it once before publishing.

All Penny planned on doing was popping in for a quick 'goodnight' before heading to her own apartment and taking a nice, long, hot bath. She was doing her best (most days) to maintain her friendship with the guys, but to be honest, it wasn't easy.

Leonard was dating Priya again after their beta test ended badly. Bernadette was busy with Howard, planning their wedding. Raj was back in therapy, and gone a lot. Penny still wasn't entirely comfortable with Sheldon's friend Amy, who seemed to have some creepy habits. As for Sheldon…well, she wasn't sure what was going on there. Sometimes he would look at her like he wanted to say something, but he never did.

Penny sighed as she hesitated outside the door. When had she gotten so tired? When had she stopped caring about her own happiness? She gave her head a shake. Did it matter when? The fact was, she had. And she had no idea what to do about it. So, she was just going to go in, smile, say good night, and go home.

Instead, she walked into a debate of Avenger sized proportions.

"No one in their right mind would believe you were Captain America!" Raj argued, beer in hand. "Seriously, dude! If anything, you're Ant-man!"

"Is that a joke about my height?" Howard demanded.

Leonard snickered. "Well, I'd be Iron Man, obviously."

Penny started the close the door, stepping back into the hallway quietly. Hopefully no one would notice her.

"Bestie!"

Damn, Penny muttered under her breath.

"Look," Bernadette said loudly. "Penny's here. Let's stop talking about this and greet our friend," she said with false brightness.

"Actually, I was just going to say I'm home, and head to bed," Penny interjected, still hoping for a quick getaway.

Sheldon hurried over and grabbed Penny's hand, much to everyone's surprise, and pulled her to the kitchen. "Penny, you are familiar with the Avengers movie. Please give us your opinion on which Avenger each of us most closely represents," he ordered firmly.

"Sheldon, Penny only watched it once, and she spent half the movie texting," Leonard protested. He still wasn't happy with Penny, despite his renewed relationship with Priya.

"Penny has watched the movie on at least five occasions," Sheldon corrected. "Once with the group and four times in her own apartment."

Penny blushed as everyone looked at her in surprise. She wanted to pinch Sheldon for ratting her out, but he still hadn't released her hand.

"How do you know that?" Amy asked a bit frostily.

Sheldon's hand twitched in hers, but his expression remained calm. "I have heard it playing through her door on four occasions. It is possible she has watched it more than that, but I could not attest to it."

Amy relaxed slightly, but her eyes kept darted back and forth between the two of them. Leonard looked at Penny with disbelief.

"But you hate those movies," he whined. "I tried to get you to watch Thor and Iron Man, and you hated them."

Penny shrugged. "Still do." She turned to Raj. "So, what's going on?"

"We cannot agree on which superhero from the Avengers we each have the most in common with. What do you think?"

"I think it's a stupid argument," Penny grumbled. Sheldon opened his mouth but Penny quickly held up a hand. "Fine. Leonard is Captain American, Howard is Hawkeye, Raj is Thor and Sheldon is Iron Man."

Immediately everyone began to protest. After a few seconds Penny stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly. "Look, you asked, I answered. Goodnight."

She turned to walk away, but Sheldon held on tight. "Explain your choices," he demanded. Penny thought about shaking him off, but once again he had that look in his eyes. It was like he was trying desperately to say something he was unable to say.

Her shoulders drooped and she sighed. "Howard is Hawkeye, because he has all those cool trick arrows. He's more… plain human than the others. Raj is Thor because he has an appreciation for religion and tradition, plus an affinity for the stars. He's sort of…noble. Leonard is Captain America because he thinks of himself as the boy scout. He thinks he's morally superior to everyone else. Sheldon as Iron Man should be obvious. Genius, playboy, philanthropist, capable of building a big metal suit and bragging about it."

Leonard laughed out loud. "Sheldon a playboy?"

Penny shrugged. "Look at all the grad students who moon over him every semester. He's not above taking advantage of their crushes to get free meals or slave labor."

"Philanthropist?" Howard asked curiously.

"He loaned me money without asking for interest," Penny said with a shrug. "How many times has he paid for everyone's meal, or loaned you guys money, or even just paid for some trip or movie without being asked to? Sheldon gives to several charities, and helps support his Meemaw."

"None of us can argue genius," Raj said with a pout.

"Well, we all know who Penny would be," Howard said with a cheesy leer.

"Black Widow," said almost everyone.

"Fury," Sheldon said firmly.

Leonard's eyes bugged out. "What? No! She's Natasha!" He looked around the room for support. "Right?"

"She's Fury," Sheldon argued. "She brought the group together in it's current form. She holds us accountable, also."

"Actually, no," Penny said softly, tugging her hand from Sheldon's. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked over Bernadette's head at the wall. "I'm the Hulk."

Amy snorted with a hint of derision. "The Hulk was a man of science."

Penny shook her head. "Bruce Banner was a man of science. The Hulk was a creature ruled by his emotions. He was anger personified." Penny's expression was pained as she seemed to withdraw emotionally. "He was only capable of destruction."

An uncomfortable silence descended on the group for several seconds. Suddenly Penny smiled blandly at the group. "Bernadette is Natasha. Super sexy and trained to use a gun. Amy is Pepper Potts, always there to help Iron Man."

Everyone looked deep in thought so Penny took the opportunity to make her escape. Once inside her own apartment she leaned back against the door and closed her eyes. Tonight she had come closer to complete and open honest than she ever had before. Slowly she straightened and headed to the bathroom. The most heartbreaking line of the movie echoing in her head.

"That's my secret, Captain. I'm always angry."