I had a little trouble falling asleep that night. Since Uncle Clint knew I was leaving for a week for space camp, I was convinced that he would try to prank me back before I left. It was a serious oversight in my original planning.
Somehow, I managed to get enough rest that I wasn't exhausted the next day. I woke up, ate some breakfast, then said my goodbyes to everybody before heading out the door to meet my team in the lobby of Stark Tower. Uncle Clint smirked at me the whole time, which only made me more jumpy. Probably he was using my nerves as his payback, but what if he wasn't? What if he dropped out of the ceiling vents before I left with water balloons or something?
A big black car was waiting outside the building with all of my teammates already inside. As soon as the door closed behind me and I buckled in next to Jackson, I sighed in relief. I made it safely away without payback.
"What's wrong with you?" asked Jackson after taking one look at my face. "You look like you got run through with an electric current."
"Thanks Jackson. I pranked my Uncle Clint last night and I thought for sure he was gonna try to pay me back before I left. I made it though, he didn't get me."
"You do realize his payback was probably making you completely paranoid, right?" asked Jackson.
"Yeah, I do. Whatever, it's fine. I'm out of the tower now, so it's over."
"Wait a second," said Dale, leaning forward from the back row of seats. "Did you just say you pranked your Uncle Clint? As in Hawkeye?"
"Yeah, he's actually easier to prank than you'd think. I mean, for a super spy he really misses a lot of the things I throw at him."
"That's still insanely cool," decided Dale, leaning back in his seat.
"I don't think I'll ever really be used to the idea that the Avengers are your family, Alexa," mused Alana.
I laughed. "Honestly, me neither."
We spent the rest of the car ride laughing and chatting, and even Jackson was pretty pleasant. For this week-long prize, we were going to tour a few of the different NASA facilities around the country. Our first stop was in Washington DC at NASA headquarters, which was about a four hour drive. We arrived around lunch time, and needless to say all of us were itching to get out of the car and stretch our legs.
"Finally! Let's get some lunch," said Jackson, getting out and walking towards the main building. I stayed by the car to help Alana and Dale get out, which forced Jackson to wait for us too. The people trying to lead a bunch of high school sophomores and seniors through a government facility didn't want us to split up. Go figure.
Alana, Dale, and I strolled towards the building, taking in everything we saw. I was mostly doing it just to annoy Jackson, but it was still nice to take my time looking around this new building. I mean, it's NASA headquarters! I didn't want to miss anything.
We followed a couple people with official NASA badges to a cafeteria, then sat down at a table to wait for whatever came next.
Thankfully, there were sandwiches, chips, and drinks waiting for us.
"This is so cool!" exclaimed Alana, whipping her head from side to side to keep looking at everything as she ate.
"No kidding. This could be where one of us ends up someday!" Dale agreed.
"What do you think, Stark? You ever been here before?" asked Jackson. He was trying to hide it, but I could tell he was blown away by being here too. He kept sneaking glances at everyone who passed us.
"Actually no. My dad's been here a few times, but I never came with him. If one of you three ends up working here I fully expect to be invited to visit at least once a year."
Alana and Dale smiled, taking a second to look at me instead of the room. "Deal."
Jackson looked at me two, but he didn't break his gaze and he paused before he spoke.
"So you don't think you're gonna be the one to end up at NASA?" he finally asked. Alana and Dale weren't paying any attention, too caught up in watching everything around us again.
I was surprised by his question, but I tried not to show it. "Uh, yeah. I actually think I can say with one hundred percent certainty that I'm not gonna be the NASA kid out of the four of us."
"Why not? After everything you've seen and learned with the Avengers, I'd think you would know more than some of the people here about space, space travel, and aliens," he said.
"I mean, probably, but come on Jackson. I'm a Stark. And at least right now, I'm the only Stark kid. I'm gonna end up at Stark Industries."
"Is that what you want?"
I leaned back in my chair and rubbed the back of my neck, trying to figure out exactly how to respond to that. I wasn't expecting an interrogation about my future from Jackson, of all people.
"Shoot, I don't know. I mean, I've never really thought about that. I've just kind of accepted it." I paused, but Jackson didn't say anything either. I sighed heavily, then kept talking. "Okay, if I think about it for a minute—with no warning in the middle of NASA, just for the record—I think... I think it is what I want. Just not for a while. I like my dad's legacy, and I want to be a part of it. Just not right now. Honestly, that's why I chose Hog- uh, boarding school. It's just a little bit of a break from the whole Stark thing, where I can be my own person and not worry about the future or my dad's legacy. I can kinda just do what I want."
Jackson nodded thoughtfully, staring holes through his sandwich even though he said he was starving when we got out of the car. I honestly didn't know much about Jackson or his family, but I was starting to think we might have a few things in common.
Before I could come up with something else to say, a woman with a NASA badge and a smile joined our table.
"Hello everybody, and welcome to NASA headquarters," she said, passing around temporary badges on lanyards for all of us.
I stared at Jackson until he noticed and looked at me, then I mouthed "You okay?" to him. He nodded and waved me off, quickly turning his attention back to the NASA lady. I wasn't sure I entirely believed him, but now was not the time to keep digging into that issue.
"So, we have a lot to cover in the next week, and I'm sure you're all excited to get started," the woman continued. "My name is Jane Anderson, and I'll be your guide while you're here with us in DC. You'll be here for the rest of today and part of tomorrow, and then we're going to fly you all down to see the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Sound good?"
We all nodded excitedly. It sounded cool and amazing.
"Great! Then if you're all finished with your lunches, follow me this way and we'll get the tour started."
We walked through countless hallways, getting to see everything going on in the building. This was the headquarters for managing everything that went on at NASA; every mission, project, or experiment went through here.
Other than a few classified closed doors, nothing was off limits to us. Even though space wasn't my favorite subject, the unlimited access to all this science (a lot of it not related to space) meant I was basically in heaven. And from the dreamy expressions on the faces of my teammates, I could tell they were floating on Cloud Nine too.
"Alright, now that you've all seen everything at least once, it's time for me to drop you off at dinner," said Jane after our long day. "After dinner we'll show you to the rooms you'll be staying in, and you have until tomorrow morning to decide what you want to see in a little more detail. Your flight to the Johnson Space Center leaves tomorrow after lunch."
"Thanks Jane!" we chorused. She gave us a little wave and salute, then left us to our dinner.
"That was so cool!" exclaimed Alana. All day she'd been freaking out, asking questions and damn near dying of excitement with every new room we entered.
"Best prize ever," agreed Dale.
"Way better than the Stark Industries tour last year," said Jackson, giving me a pointed look and a mischievous grin. I just rolled my eyes.
"You're just saying that because you've never been there. You don't know about the time travel machine in the basement." Alana and Dale laughed at that, and even Jackson cracked a smile.
We chatted through the rest of dinner, and about an hour and a half later someone else came to escort us to bed. Alana and I were in one room with Jackson and Dale next door.
"This is the best day of my entire life," Alana sighed, flopping down onto her bed.
"I think I know which one of us is ending up at NASA," I laughed, grabbing my pajamas and heading for the bathroom.
"Honestly, I wasn't sure before, but that's the goal now. This is my dream job."
"Easy. You'll get any job you want Alana. You're a frickin' genius."
"Thanks Alexa."
"I mean it! And by the way, I'm gonna hold you to your promise to invite me to visit. Head of NASA and CEO of Stark Industries. Team-up of a lifetime."
"Now we just need the boys to pull their weight and we can rule the world," she joked. She headed into the bathroom to change once I was done, and I decided now would be the perfect time to practice my sling portals.
The Mystic Arts weren't exactly a secret, but it felt like something I should keep to myself. Besides, if I wanted to be successful I needed to stay focused, and with my teammates having naturally scientific minds I knew Alana wouldn't be able to resist asking a million questions.
I closed my eyes and tried to focus on Strange. The room we practiced in, the hours I spent trying to get this right, the feeling I finally got when I succeeded. Anything to help me visualize the place I was trying to go.
Slowly, I started moving my off-hand in circles, keeping the image and the feeling I'd created in my mind. I sped up, and after a minute, I decided to chance a look around the room. To my delight, everything was lit up with a golden glow. I managed to open a portal to on my first try.
I fought the urge to scream and jump up and down, instead keeping my focus on the portal in front of me. This time I wanted to decide when to close it, instead of losing my focus and closing it accidentally.
Unfortunately for me, Alana threw open the door to the bathroom when she was done, surprising me enough to make me jump and look over. She broke my focus just enough that the portal collapsed on its own.
"Dammit," I muttered, glaring at the sling ring on my finger. One of these days I'd learn how to focus for more than a few seconds.
"Sorry Alexa! Did I scare you?" asked Alana, heading for her bed.
"No, just startled me a little. Don't worry about it."
"Oh, alright. Well, goodnight!"
"Night, Alana." I went to my bed and laid down, closing my eyes and pretending to sleep. I'd probably regret it in the morning, but as soon as Alana was asleep I decided to get up and keep practicing my sling portals in the bathroom until I got it just right.
This was going to be a long night.