Peter Parker... Stark?

Make This Right

And although the mission wasn't quite what Beck originally hoped it would be, he couldn't help but smile.

~~~

Finally, after what somehow felt like both the longest and shortest seven hours of her life, Morgan was curled up on the couch between Pepper and Nat as the credits to Atlantis rolled on the massive TV screen. Pepper was sound asleep, but although Nat was breathing deeply with her eyes closed, Morgan knew it was just a facade.

In fact, it looked like the only ones who were actually able to sleep were Pepper and Clint. Everyone else was too on edge to do anything more than pretend the movie had put them to sleep.

After a heated argument with Tony, Morgan had been allowed to stay in the room with them as they all in waited for the supposed ambush. It had taken a lot of convincing, combined with a bit of sass and pleading on Morgan's part, but now she was here, laying on the couch in the dark, her heart pounding with anticipation as her watch buzzed softly on her wrist to let her know it was now one in the morning. Part of her wanted to go to bed, especially as the hours continued to creep by uneventfully, but she was more nervous to be alone in her own bedroom than to be surrounded by most of the literal Avengers. Besides, no one would take the bait if it didn't look like a normal night at the Tower.

The TV screen went dark, but no one moved. Morgan listened closely, squinting her eyes open ever so slightly to peek around the room. It looked like Steve had joined the club of people who were legitimately sleeping, as he was snoring softly in the large armchair. The city lights outside looked the same as always.

In fact, if it weren't for the ominous atmosphere and the empty spots on the couches that were usually occupied by Tony, Bruce, and Peter, Morgan could almost have been convinced it was a normal night.

Suddenly, Morgan felt Natasha tense slightly. The assassin didn't move enough to look like she'd been woken, but it was easy for Morgan to tell that something was up. Keeping her eyelids as still as possible, she glanced around the room again when suddenly something briefly blocked the light coming into the room from the city outside.

After several tense seconds, Morgan sucked in a breath as a massive bird, bigger than anything she'd ever seen, soared past the Tower a second time. She carefully pinched Natasha's leg and felt a pinch in return, letting her know Natasha had seen it too.

After a long minute, Morgan's watch buzzed lightly again, this time to let her know her heart rate was abnormally high.

And in the same moment, the window exploded.

~~~

Nat discreetly moved her hand so it was resting over her belt, ready to pull a weapon out at a moment's notice. A glance in Morgan's direction told her the girl was also wide awake and aware of the large bird that had now circled the Tower twice. Every muscle in her body was tense with anticipation--this was it.

Nat hadn't wanted Morgan and Pepper there, but she also understood that the plan would fall apart the moment the supposed assailants suspected something was wrong. She'd helped convince Tony to let Morgan stay up, and then when they'd all sat down to watch a movie, Nat had planted herself right beside the young girl.

A shadow moved across the floor again, but Nat could tell that this time something was different. The massive bird thing, whatever it was, was coming from a new angle at a much faster speed. Nat tapped Rhodey's leg, and the moment the bird destroyed the windows they were already pushing off the ground, tipping the couch backwards and putting everyone on it safely out of range of spraying glass.

After ensuring that Pepper and Morgan were safely in the guest room like they'd planned, Nat jumped headfirst into the fray. The bird, it turned out, was actually a man wearing a massive wing apparatus that unfortunately seemed very intuitive to what the man wanted it to do. He had carried in another man wearing what looked very much like a Hydra uniform, and shortly after that two others in outrageous getup had come crawling in through what used to be the windows.