Spyder and The Avengers

Chapter 27 - The Real Deal

I almost fainted, but managed to stay upright.

Tony was playing with the same iPod-like device I saw his holo with. Barton was wiping his bow with a rag. Agent Romanoff was inspecting one of her guns carefully. Thor was toying with the strap on his hammer. Captain America and Nick Fury were standing across from me, huddling over a screen and conversing about something to do with "battle plans" and "machines." Bruce Banner had bifocals on and was reading a really thick book. I looked closer, but not before noticing that Spider-Man was nowhere in sight.

"Enjoying your 'Theorems of Gamma-Ultraviolet Radiation'?"

Mr. Bruce snapped his book shut with such force his glasses fell onto the table.

"I, um... Why, yes... I g-guess I am," he stuttered, trying to retrieve his glasses, stay calm and composed, and talk like he knew what he was doing.

Oh. Crap.

Well, that was kind of rude. He was an Avenger, for cripes' sake; of course he knew what he was doing! I sighed inwardly. I was already off to a bad start, bullying Dr. Banner and whatnot.

Tony put down his electronic and gave a quiet laugh. "Not so bad yourself, kid. You sound like me. Way to go!"

He got up and gave me an air high-five. I air-fived him back, glad that someone knew how to loosen everyone else up.

Speaking of which, everyone else quickly put down whatever they were doing and lined up in front of me like they had been practicing for it. Maybe they had... Who knows?

One by one, they all came up and introduced themselves formally:

First was Captain America, who looked -mind you- exactly like his holo, and held out his hand. "Nice to finally meet you, soldier," he said with a quick wink. I reached my hand out and we shook. He had a great grip, I thought. Cap moved to the side, a tiny smile on his face.

Next, there was Thor, in all of his Asgardian-god glory. "I, too, am pleased to finally meet Man of Spider's sister." He said, grinning. I hesitated. Sister? I had some research to do. Thor winked at me before taking his place next to Captain America.

After Thor was Black Widow. She eyed me carefully before saying, "Stay sharp. Name's Agent Romanoff." I shuffled nervously as she continued to study at me. Finally, she broke her stare and moved aside.

Following her was Bruce. He stuck his hands in his pockets and glanced awkwardly at me. "Um, pleased to meet you. I'm sure you'll be a great member of our team. And, uh, bye."

He stepped aside quickly for the next in line, Hawkeye. The Man-Katniss walked confidently up to me, patted me on the shoulder, and whispered, "Sorry about earlier. I've gotta admit, though, you've got heart." before joining the others.

The second-to-last was Mr. Stark, who, like Agent Barton, swaggered up. He put his hand out, and I shook it, only to find, when pulling away, a strip of paper in my hand. Quickly, I unfolded it. "Welcome to the Avengers," it read. He made an expression somewhere between a smile and a smirk and said, "See you in our lab, kid. Get ready."

The last in "line" was Director Fury. He walked up slowly, eyeing me even more intensely than Romanoff had. And he only had one eye, while she had two! Heh. "Name's Agent Fury, and I'm leader of this ragtag group of misfits," he started, hands behind his back. "We are here to propose a deal to you, and if you choose not to accept there will be consequences. Are we clear?"

I gulped, my palms beginning to sweat. "Y-yes, Mr. Fury... Sir."

And where was Spider-Guy? He was a member of the Avengers, too, right? Or was it more of a part-time deal?

The group of superheroes left. Well, all except for Mr. Katniss. He walked over and, with a nod from Fury, gestured for me to follow him.

"Come with me, please," Hawkeye said patiently.

I followed him, still wondering about Spidey.

He led me out of the meeting room and down a hallway to an elevator. The agent pushed the "UP" button. Almost immediately, the shiny silver doors slid open and he ushered me inside. Holding open the door, he grabbed a key from his pocket and inserted it into a tiny hole I hadn't noticed before.

Man-Katniss twisted the key and then put it back into his pocket. An invisible seam under the now-open keyhole appeared and a button popped out. He pushed it, and it lit up.

"You'll be fine from here," he said, stepping out of the elevator. "I'm gonna go. Oh, and Fury says to stay in your room until he calls you. Told me to tell you."

With that, the elevator doors closed and I began to rise.

I frowned... Stay in my room until he calls me? Who knows when that would be? So, I'd be trapped in one room until further notice... Like a prison.

Well, that's just great.

The elevator stopped quietly and the doors slid open. Afraid of what I would see, I stepped out with my eyes closed.

When I opened them, I gasped. I certainly had not been expecting this...

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<·<Pepper_B_Parker*Alias:_Spyder*Position:_S.H.I.E.L.D._agent>·>

Pretty sure I've got some sort of cringe-seizure by now.

This is just so embarrassing.