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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟒
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐄𝐒
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After a night of icing her injuries while watching the Incredibles with her best friend, Alex found herself sitting between Atlas and Peter and across from Michelle in the library the following afternoon, waiting for Mr. Harrigton to arrive. The speedster tapped her feet on the ground while trying her best to remain patient, something she always lacked. All she wanted to do was get through Decathlon practice and go home. Even though her wounds were mostly healed, the Easton girl's whole body was sore and it hurt to move just an inch. She was able to ignore it for the most part and get through the next day at school, but she just couldn't wait to get home and lie on the couch for a few hours.
It wasn't much longer after that when Mr. Harrington entered the library and walked over to the table they were sitting at. A large smile decorated his face as he sat down at the head of the table and placed their trophy down in front of him.
"Congratulations, Decathlon National Champions!" the brunette man exclaimed, causing everyone sitting around the table to clap and cheer before he readjusted the trophy so everyone could see it, "I'm gonna have to put this back in the trophy case soon, but just for motivation right now at this practice. I'm a little ahead of the game, but we will need a new team captain next year. So, I am appointing Michelle."
The girl in question instantly looked over at Mr. Harrington with shock in her eyes as her teammates began clapping once again. It wasn't long after that when a small smile made its way onto her face as the cheering around her began to die down. "Uh, thank you. My-my friends call me MJ."
"I thought you didn't have any friends," Ned said, ignoring the irritated look that Atlas was sending his way.
"I didn't," MJ responded with an awkward smile, earning the same gesture in return from everyone that surrounded her.
Before their conversation could continue, Peter's phone began to vibrate. Alex glanced over at the brunette boy as he read over the text on his screen. A confused look soon formed on his face while his eyes scanned over the message once again. Just as the speedster was about to ask what was wrong, the Parker boy turned his phone so that she could read the text.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
Go to the bathroom.
Bring Alex with you.
"We, uh, we gotta go," Peter announced after he and Alex exchanged an uncertain look then they began to grab their things.
"Hey, where are you going? What are you two hiding?" MJ questioned, causing the heroes to look up at her with wide eyes before they glanced over at Ned and Atlas. When their eyes landed back on the curly-haired girl, the three of them had a staring contest before MJ let out a small laugh. "I'm just kidding. I don't care. Bye."
Alex and Peter just watched her for a moment longer as she turned her attention back to the rest of their team. After the two of them exchanged another wide-eyed look, they grabbed their bags and walked out of the library. The two of them walked through the empty halls toward their destination. After turning down another hall, Peter began heading to the door that led into the boys' bathroom while Alex stopped a few yards away. As soon as the Parker boy realized he was no longer being followed, he turned around to face the speedster before sending her a confused look.
"I'm not going in there," Alex stated, only for Peter to continue to blankly stare at her before the former pointed toward the sign, "that's the boys' bathroom, Peter. Last I checked, I'm not a boy."
"Come on, we gotta meet whoever sent the message," the Parker boy retaliated while the speedster stayed in her place without moving an inch, "no one's gonna know you were even in there."
The Easton girl just stared at him for a moment longer before letting out a defeated sigh. A smirk made its way onto Peter's face as she approached him before the two of them entered the boys' bathroom. As soon as they made it inside, a man dressed in a black suit turned around to face them with a small smile on his face. Alex looked at the man with confusion in her eyes, not knowing exactly who the man in front of her was, while Peter watched him in shock. Silence surrounded them for a moment longer before the Parker boy found the courage to break it.
"Hey, Happy," he greeted, making a small wave of realization wash over Alex at the name, "what-what are you doing here?"
"I really owe both of you one," the man responded before letting out a chuckle, "I don't know what I would do without this job. I mean, before I met Tony-"
Happy's words were cut off by the sound of one of the toilets flushing. The speedster instantly squeezed her eyes shut in annoyance while the two males awkwardly stood around. When Alex reopened her eyes, she found a boy staring at the three of them in confusion as he washed his hands. An uneasy silence surrounded them as they watched and waited for the boy to finish up. After grabbing a towel to dry off his hands, the boy walked around Alex and Peter toward the exit while looking at the trio with confusion in his eyes. As soon as he was gone, the two teens turned their attention back to Happy.
"So, uh, how long have you been here?" Peter uncomfortably asked, causing the man in front of them to let out a long sigh.
"Long enough to be awkward. Boss wants to see you," the brunette man told them, causing all emotion to leave Alex's body as she thought back to the last conversation she had with Tony Stark.
While the Easton girl reminisced in the memory, a shocked look appeared on Peter's face as he pointed toward the bathroom stalls and whispered, "is he here too?"
"In the toilet? No, he's upstate," Happy told them before he noticed the blank expression on the Easton girl's face, "don't worry, Speedy. You're not in trouble this time."
"Wait, upstate? Like, upstate-upstate?" Peter questioned while the brunette man walked past him and Alex and toward the door.
"Yeah, let's go."
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Alex and Peter stood side by side in the lobby of the new Avengers facility as they stared out the window and watched a jet take off. An indescribable feeling washed over the speedster, who was still having a hard time accepting where she actually was. As soon as the plane was out of sight, the two teens turned back around to face the large Avengers logo plastered on the wall behind them. If Alex called Charlie and Pietro right now and told them where she was, she doubted they would believe her.
"Oh, there you are," a familiar voice called out to them, causing the trio to turn their attention toward the source of the sound to find Tony Stark walking toward them, "how was the ride up?"
"Good," Happy responded while his boss kept his eyes glued to the two teens standing in front of him.
"Give me a minute with them," Tony stated before looking over at the Hogan man with a small smirk on his face, only for Happy to continue to stare at him with shock in his eyes, "I gotta talk to them."
"I'll be close behind," the Hogan man stated.
"How about a loose follow? Alright? Boundaries are good," the billionaire told his bodyguard before slinging an arm around Peter's shoulders and forcing him to walk through the hall with Alex staying on the Parker boy's other side, "sorry I took the suit. I mean, you had it coming. Actually, it turns out it was the perfect tough-love moment that you needed, right? To urge you on, right? Don't you think?"
"I guess," Peter responded with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
"Let's just say it was," Tony declared before his attention fell on the girl walking alongside them, "and I'm sorry for threatening to call the authorities on you. I mean, I wouldn't have actually done that to a fifteen-year-old, but I'm sure Charlie already told you that. I just wanted to keep you out of the public eye and away from the people who actually want to lock you away. Looks like that didn't go according to plan...I'm glad it didn't."
Silence fell over the three of them as they continued to walk through the Avengers facility. It wasn't long after that when the silence became too much to bear for Peter so he decided to break it. "Mr. Stark, I really-"
"You screwed the pooch hard, big time. Both of you did," Tony interrupted the Parker boy before he looked over at the two teens as the smirk on his face slightly grew, "but then you did the right thing. Took the dog to the free clinic, you raised the hybrid puppies. Alright, not my best analogy." The Stark man paused for a moment as he let out a sigh then looked back over at the two young heroes, "I was wrong about both of you. I think, with a little more mentoring, you both could be a real asset to the team."
"To the-to the team?" Peter questioned as they stopped in front of a cylindrical case with an Avengers logo in the center.
"Yeah. Anyway, there are about fifty reporters behind that door. Real ones, not bloggers," the brunette man told them as he pointed toward a set of double doors before tapping twice on his watch to open the case in front of him, revealing a metallic Spider-Man suit and what looked like an attempt at copying Alex's suit, "when you're ready, why don't you try that on? And I'll introduce the world to the newest official members of the Avengers. Spider-Man and Zephyr."
Alex just stared at the mock-up of her suit, taking in every inch of it. An unknown feeling began to course through her veins at the idea of becoming an official hero and saving people like she did the other night. But then she remembered the situation that Charlie, Pietro, and even Wanda were in. They were being forced to hide because of the choices they made even though they would much rather be out saving the world as Avengers. After everything the three of them did for Alex, she couldn't find it within herself to do the one thing they longed for.
So while Peter continued to stare at his highly upgraded suit in awe, the speedster turned around to face Stark man with a slightly forced smile on her face. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm gonna have to pass for the time being. At least until the Avengers are whole again."
A shocked look instantly formed on Tony's face after hearing the Easton girl's words before he quirked an eyebrow at her. "You're gonna pass?"
"I'm gonna pass."
The Stark man continued to stare at Alex with a look on his face that made it seem like he had much more to say. However, he was unable to continue the conversation when Peter began to speak, drawing the billionaire's attention away from the speedster and to the Parker boy.
"Thank you, Mr. Stark, but I'm-I'm good, too."
"You're good? How are you good?" Tony questioned with the same look in his eyes that he was giving to Alex.
"Well, I-I mean, I-I'd rather just stay on the ground for a little while. Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man," Peter explained while Alex watched him with a small smile on her face, "somebody's gotta look out for the little guy, right?"
The Stark man just stared at him for a moment longer before pulling his sunglasses off of his face to get a better look at the teens in front of him. "Both of you are turning me down? Better think about this," Tony told them then he pointed over at the two suits in the case, "look at those. Look at me. Last chance, yes or no?"
"No," Alex and Peter answered in unison.
"Okay. It's kind of a Springsteen-y, working-class hero vibe that I dig," the billionaire told them as he placed his sunglasses into his suit jacket pocket, "ah, Happy will take you home. Yeah?"
"Yeah," Happy responded before using his thumb to gesture in the direction they just came from, "mind waiting in the car? I need a minute."
"Thank you, Mr. Stark," Peter said while holding a hand out in front of him before Tony took it into his and shook it.
"Yes, Mr. Parker, very well," the Stark man replied before the two teens began walking back toward the exit of the building.
They only made it about halfway to the stairs when the Parker boy stopped and turned around to face Tony once again. "That was a test, right? There's nobody back there."
"Yes, you passed," the brunette man responded in a tone that was enough to convince Peter but not quite enough to convince Alex, who sent the billionaire a small smirk, "alright, skedaddle there."
"Thank you, Mr. Stark."
"Yeah, thank you."
After sharing one last smile with Tony and Happy, Peter and Alex turned back around and walked toward the exit. As they walked out of the building and down the staircase that would lead them to the car, the smiles on the young heroes' faces grew, knowing that they were ready to face their next adventure as a team.
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