Archangel

Twenty-Three

The picture above is how I imagine Micah (as rendered by A.I.) Gross.

*

"Grant's a dumb name anyways".

Peter tossed a piece of popcorn in the air and effortlessly caught it in his mouth. The boy had found Angel in the Medbay after he had finished the school day- staring into space on her bed, stroking her wings.

He'd promptly returned with snacks.

"Is it weird to finally know his name? I hate it when I'm fighting a bad guy and then find out his name is, like, Fred or something".

The girl wiped her face on the edge of her sleeve.

"Yeah", Angel replied hoarsely. "It is weird". She wasn't sure how to respond to Peter, honestly. At least now she could put a name to the monster- humanize him a bit more.

It didn't change the fact he was a creep. Even HYDRA hadn't wanted him. After a bit of digging, Natasha had found that Doctor Grant Michaelson had been blacklisted from HYDRA for disobedience and liability issues. Apparently his methods were too experimental and risky for even a neo-nazi organization.

The Doctor had discovered the abandoned bunker and old HYDRA equipment after returning back to Fort Kent to beg for his old job. Finding his former co-workers arrested and scattered, he took matters into his own hands and built the lab alongside Micah. Natasha still didn't know how the deranged assistant fit into the situation. He refused to talk, but Bucky reassured Angel not to worry

He'd confess eventually.

"C'mon", Peter said, hopping off her bed. "FRIDAY mentioned you might like the library and I need to do homework before I patrol tonight".

*

The library exceeded Angel's expectations- just like all of Tony's creations had so far. Ornate bookshelves, much taller than her, stretched across each wall and were filled with all shapes and sizes of books. Little reading nooks with pillows were carved into the corners where one could curl up and study. Peter immediately claimed one in the back.

"Mr. Stark said you can grab anything you want but just make sure to put it back", he called out before jamming in earbuds.

Angel nodded and hummed happily, letting her fingertips graze each book as she traipsed through the library. Some of the titles tugged at her memory as if begging her to remember their stories. She stopped on a blue book with a worn spine.

Little Women. This one she recognized.

Unfortunately Angel couldn't enjoy a reading nook like Peter- her wings refused to fold up neatly enough to cram herself into the enclave. Instead, she settled on a chaise lounge as comfortably as she could and tucked into her novel, stretching her wings out behind her.

The girl had only read to the second chapter before someone else entered the library. Frustrated grunts and a too-quick heartbeat introduced the newcomer as they stomped in and slumped on to a couch.

Pietro.

The boy sighed and ran his lithe fingers through his hair, a piece of crumpled paper in hand and laptop tucked in the opposite elbow. He opened the laptop and squinted at the screen before sighing again.

Angel was content to leave him alone until she heard a quiet sniffle. And then a sharp uptake in breath- as if he was trying to stifle a sob.

"Pietro?", Angel gently called, stepping out from behind a bookshelf.

His gaze snapped to meet hers.

"Ah- Angel", he greeted, hastily wiping his eyes. The redness in them did not escape her notice. "I did not hear you- but I am sure you heard me, of course-", he said awkwardly. "Did you find a book to read?".