Golden Days - Mayday
I've got a feeling if I don't get a grip
I'll slip and fall completely under
I've got a reason and I hope it's legit
To sing loud and from the heart
This was a nightmare. Just when Amara thought she was finally going to be treated like an adult, as an avenger, she finds out that her so-called "mission" is a babysitting gig. Not only that, but she had to go to high school. Midtown School of Science and Technology to be exact.
After pacing around for a good few minutes Amara spoke, "I can't believe you want me to babysit!"
"What's wrong with babysitting? It's the most common job for teenagers these days."
"I'm not a common teenager, I'm a superhero!"
"I wouldn't call you a superhero if you can't even babysit someone for a little while," Tony said.
"A little while is six hours, not six months!"
"I think you're being a little over dramatic."
"I think you're being a little under dramatic."
"What's the big deal?! I've had to babysit you for years and I didn't even get paid," Tony said, matter of factly.
Amara stared blankly at the man standing in front of her, "I'm not getting paid!"
"Yeah because your dad's a billionaire, you're welcome."
"And for your information, you didn't babysit me, you adopted me!"
"Actually, for two years, I fostered you, which is a fancy word for babysitting! Try and argue with me, I dare you!"
Amara scoffed, "Unbelievable! Ok fine! I'll babysit but why do I need to go to school?"
"I told you, it's part of your cover!" Amara threw her hands up in frustration and sat down on the nearest seat, her head resting in her hands. "And also I narrowed down all of the Spider-Man's appearances and they all happen to be in or around Queens. And what better excuse for you to be in Queens every day than the fact you go to school there? Huh? Think about it, this is very elaborately planned and well thought out."
Amara threw a glare at him. "You couldn't have just said, Oh I don't know, that maybe I lived there?!"
"Ok fine! You got me! That's not the only reason. Look, you've been trained and homeschooled since you were 6 years old. I guess I just wanted to try and give you a somewhat normal lifestyle, even if it's just for a little while. And I knew you wouldn't agree unless it was a mission." Tony saw that Amara was about to speak in protest of the fact that her mission was a setup but before she could, he carried on quickly, "Not that your mission is fake. It's not, this was the mission I planned for you and the whole school thing came as an idea later...look kiddo, if you really don't want to do it, I won't force you."
"I really don't want to do it"
"No! That's the part where you say 'no Tony you're right this will be good for me, a learning experience, you're awesome and amazing and the best dad ever!'" Amara rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter anyway, you can't turn a mission down - it's your duty to complete it...as an avenger..." Tony raised his eyebrows at her.
"That was not nice! Besides I'm already basically an avenger!" Amara argued
"Uh-huh, Last time I checked, Avengers don't back out of missions" god he was really trying to push this mission.
Amara sighed deeply and grumbled as she turned to walk out of the lab.
"You start Monday!" Tony called after her.
Amara held her middle finger out towards Tony as she kept walking towards the door, but Tony merely laughed at her reaction.
—————
Amara made her way up to her bedroom, only to find Pietro lying in her reading corner with Pride and Prejudice in his hands.
"I will never understand how you read this shit without dying of boredom."
Amara snatched the book off of him and said, "because, unlike you, I'm an intellectual."
"Really? The same intellectual who got put on babysitting duty?" Pietro had the biggest grin on his face as he looked at the shocked expression on Amara's.
"How do you already know?!"
"Hey! I have super speed for a reason! If I don't use it to spy on my best friend, what do I use it for?"
Amara gave Pietro a frustrated look, "you were there the whole time!?"
"Stop whining! As if you wouldn't have done the same thing to me!"
"No! I wouldn't!" Amara exclaimed.
"Yes! But that's only because you can't! And you don't have the super cool powers that I do." Pietro looked very proud of his last statement.
Amara used her air powers to knock him back into the wall. He groaned in pain, rubbing his head and Amara looked down at him, "yeah you're right, my powers can only kick your ass three times over while I do my nails at the same time."
"Yeah, yeah." Pietro got up slowly and the second he was steady again, sped over to Amara's bed to lie down and in the process, managed to grab ahold of the PS4 controller next to the flat screen tv.
He looked over to Amara and held up a spare controller, "want to play?"
Amara sighed in annoyance, but walked over to Pietro and lay down next to him, taking the controller from his hand.
"Hey FRIDAY can you put my playlist on?"
"Sure thing Miss Stark"
As Golden Days by Mayday started blasting from Amara's bedroom sound system, Pietro selected Mario Kart from the shelf and placed the disk in the console. In an instant, he was lying next to Amara once again.
After about half an hour, Pietro spoke. "So what's the big deal about going to school?"
Amara glanced over at him, still mostly focused on the game. "I just feel like...it's kind of hard to explain. Like I've been waiting for this my whole life, trained and perfected my skills, only to get a child's mission." Her eyes were still fixated on the screen.
Pietro paused the game, and heard a small protest from Amara, as he turned around to face her and said, "why is it such a terrible thing that Stark wants you to do normal stuff that every other person your age does?"
"That's the thing, I'm not...I'm not supposed to be like everybody else. I can control everything around me, I've fought aliens, the avengers are my family, for fuck's sake! And I'm supposed to be an asset to the team. I'm not meant to distract myself with midterms and papers and grade point averages." Amara laughed dryly.
"Anyone who says you're not already an asset to the team is lying. Besides, you can be an asset and still be able to have a somewhat normal high school life."
Amara smiled at Pietro's words. She didn't realise exactly when he became so good at comforting people, but she imagined it had something to do with spending too much time with Steve.
Pietro resumed the game, without warning, causing Amara to crash into the side of the road. "Bitch, karma is about to hit you like a truck!"
They both laughed as they carried on playing and Pietro added, "Personally if I had the opportunity to go back to school and live a normal life, even for a month, before these powers, I would take it in a heartbeat. And I know a lot of other people who would too."
"Thanks, P"