Always. ~ P.Parker

• five •

"Missed me?" I heard him ask through the earpiece, making me scoff.

"If it helps you sleep at night."

I sent a blast of fire towards one of the monsters, but it phased out of reality, making the fire hit a nearby building.

Shit.

"Nice one."

"I don't have time for your sarcasm." I scoffed, floating up and sending another one at the monster once it phased in front of me, burning it to ash.

"Okay, that one was actually nice." He praised, and I watched him web two together, making them hiss at him.

Creepy.

"Where are the other Avengers?!" I exclaimed, and felt one of the move through my body, making me lose my focus and fall into the street.

My chest felt tight.

"Shadow! Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine." I breathed out, regaining my thoughts when my head stopped spinning.

"Where the hell are the others?!"

"I don't know! On their way, maybe!" He responded, and I coughed up some dust, standing up and brushing the rubble off my pants.

"Think we can handle this by ourselves?!" I asked, noticing there were only five or so left.

"Probably!"

Alright, cool.

I shot a flame at one, and laughed when it phased out of the way, but the fire hit one of his friends right behind him.

"Hey, I have an idea! I have no idea if it's gonna work though!"

"What is it?!" I responded, dodging an attack and shooting a flame back at the monster, who phased out and hissed at me.

Gross.

"I'm thinking I could try and web them together, so they phase into one big creature and you can kill it with fire!"

That might actually work.

"Give it a shot!" I yelled, and I watched my best friend spring into action, webbing them up as quickly as he could.

Eventually, they phased into a singular being, and I took that as my cue.

"Light it up!"

"Don't need to tell me twice, Spiderboy." I joked, floating up and shooting a long blast into its eyes, making it scream in pain and phase out of reality, ash settling on the ground where it once stood.

"I think that did it!" I exclaimed, dropping to the concrete, and my friend ran up to me, pulling me in for a hug.

"You alright?" He asked, making me nod.

"Yeah, are you?" I questioned him, and he just laughed.

"Of course."

"Good." I smiled, and the people around us applauded, falling back into their regular routine while the ambulances showed up.

My phone started ringing, and I noticed it was Fury.

"What's up?" I asked, and he sounded a little bit stressed.

"What the hell was that?"

"As if we're supposed to know." I responded, making him sigh.

"Just get over here and debrief. Bring the Spider."

"Sir, yes sir!" I responded, and my best friend extended his hand, making me sigh.

"Promise you won't kill me?"

"I would never put you in harms way, Shadow." He said, and I knew he was telling the truth.

"Alright, let's get going." I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck, and he tightening his around my waist before springing into action.

•••

"So, coincidentally," I started, walking into the meeting room where everyone was.

"Shadow monsters." Spiderman interrupted me, making me laugh.

"Yeah, that."

"We know nothing about them." I said, taking a seat next to Tony, while Peter took the empty spot next to Bruce.

"They could have been here for the Time or Mind Stones." Fury said, and I crossed my arms over my chest.

"They're on Earth?" I asked, making him nod.

"I did some digging."

"And what did you find?" Steve asked, and Fury gestured to Vision, who had come back from a mission in Britain with Wanda.

"Vision has the Mind Stone, and the Time Stone is with Stephen Strange."

"Who's Stephen?" Bruce asked, and Fury shrugged.

"Another man that's useful to us. He protects the Time Stone, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"So you think those beings were here for Strange or Vision." I said, leaning back in my chair, and Fury nodded.

"Could be."

"We'll keep a close eye on both of them, then." Steve put the words in our mouths, and everyone nodded in agreement.

I guess that's sorted, then.

We all left the room, but a hand on my forearm stopped me.

At first I thought it was Spiderman, but he disappeared out the door faster than anyone else in the room.

The only people left were Tony and I.

"We need to talk."

"Alright," I started, taking my hand out his grasp and crossing my arms over my chest.

"What's up?"

"Not much, Phoenix." He responded nonchalantly, and I choked on my saliva.

"Who's Phoenix?" I asked, but Tony wasn't having a bar of it.

"It wasn't hard to figure out." He said, pulling my mask off, and I rolled my eyes.

"Especially when you're a genius, like me."

"What gave it away?" I asked, and Tony chuckled.

"So I start paying for my coworkers apartment, and at the exact same time, a girl around the same age starts going to school here?" He questioned me, making me shrug.

"Coincidence."

"And then you come to Stark Tower, and I recognise your voice, good job playing it off, by the way." Tony praised me, making me laugh.

"Thanks."

"But then Cap and I had a discussion. He had an unsettling feeling about you, and I decided to look into it."

"What did you find?" I asked, and Tony chuckled.

"Phoenix Haynes, ducking behind a building, and Shadow coming out ten seconds later."

"Well, can't hide it forever, I suppose." I smiled, looking at Tony.

"Keep it between us though, yeah?" I asked, and he nodded, pulling me in for a hug.

"Your secret's safe with me, Nix."