Day 2 at Midtown High wasn't as bad as Day 1. Everything went more smoothly, and I was slowly getting reacquainted with my classmates. I'd told Principal/Agent Coulson of my decision to join the team before school started, and he'd told me to go to a certain room for "detention" after school was over. It wasn't long before it was time to go meet my new team.

I opened the door to the classroom and, much to my surprise, I recognized everyone in there. "Taylor? What are you doing here?" Peter Parker asked. Danny, Sam, Ava, and Luke sat in the other seats.

All I could do was laugh. Out of all the students of Midtown High, my old, dorky friend and the majority of our lunch table turned out to be the superheroes protecting New York City.

"Is she okay?" I heard Sam ask.

Unable to stop my laughter, I went over to a table and took a seat. I shook my head and managed to say, "I'm here to join the team."

They all seemed surprised. "What?" Peter asked.

"You heard," Coulson reaffirmed as he entered the room. He pressed a button and we fell through the floor. We changed before we arrived on the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier.

My hysterics had abated and were replaced with only the occasional chuckle. Seeing everyone in costume, it became apparent that Peter was Spider-Man, Ava was White Tiger, Luke was Power Man, Danny was Iron Fist, and Sam was Nova.

The eye-patched man I knew to be Nick Fury showed up and needlessly introduced himself. "By now you've all met the newest addition to your team. This is Godstrike. She's worked on a team before and might be able to teach you guys a thing or two about working together." He stopped and all eyes turned to me.

"Hey, guys," I said awkwardly. "Yeah, umm, I used to be part of the X-Men, so I learned to 'hero' as part of a team. I don't wanna beat you over the head with, like, team-building exercises or anything, because that's not how it works."

"Thank God," Nova said under his breath. White Tiger elbowed him in the ribs.

"The most important part of being a team - at least in my opinion - is being a team without the masks, too," I continued. "The more I know you, the easier it will be to predict your fighting style and when I'll be able to help you." I laughed. "For instance, in the heat of battle, I'm really bad with noun recall. I just cannot think of the right word, and it gets worse the more time-sensitive the comment is. The more you get to know me, the easier it'll be for you to infer my meaning and work with me. You know?"

I mostly received stares, but I got a pat on the shoulder from Peter. "So, basically-"

"I'm the new kid. Be my friend," I said with a laugh.

"Great advice. Now it's time for training."

"Why don't we hang out?" I suggested. It wasn't late, and we were all getting ready to go our separate ways after practice. "I mean, just sort of get to know each other. Peter Parker, you owe me an origin story."

"Where would we go? If we're gonna talk origin story, we can't be anywhere too public," Luke said.

"We can go to my house," I suggested. "I've got a basement to myself, and my family knows who I am."

"Really?" Ava asked.

"It's different when it's something in your genes," I explained. "Come on, it'll be fun. We'll team bond."

They agreed, and we headed to my house. Ben was watching TV. "Hey! I wanted to watch that too!" I said, seeing that it was a show I was really interested in.

"I won't delete it," he replied without looking away.

I sighed and said, "Guys, this is my brother, Ben. He's inconsiderate of television watching order."

He kicked up his chin as a nod of acknowledgment but still watched the show.

"Taylor?" my mom called from the kitchen. "That you?"

"Yeah, mom. I brought some friends over. We're gonna hang out downstairs." I followed her voice. "Is that new?" I asked, motioning to her head scarf.

"It is," she said. "Oh my goodness is that little Peter Parker?" She pushed past me to get a better look at him.

"Hi, Mrs. Rhodes," he said with a smile.

She pulled him in for a hug. "Stop getting old, you guys. You were just babies a few days ago."

"Mom, these are my new friends, Sam, Luke, Ava, and Danny," I said, motioning to each one of them in turn. "Now, we're going to go downstairs and chitchat. Goodbye." I motioned my new team toward the door to the basement.

They let out some overlapping words of thanks and greetings and went downstairs. I had enough seating with the old mini couch, desk, and my bed for all of us to be circled around comfortably. "So, Peter Parker, I think I'd like to start with your origin story! I wasn't around for it, was I?"

"No, it was after you left. Not long after, but after. It was a fieldtrip to Oscorp. Radioactive spider bite. You know the drill." He shrugged nonchalantly. "What about you? What's this all about?"

"Well, I'm a carrier of the X gene. That's what Xavier Institute is all about; they help mutants learn to control and use their powers. Mine, like those of most mutants, developed around puberty. Boy, that was a fun time. Shocked a lot of things. Couldn't walk on a rug with socks on without getting my hair to stand up like a porcupine. Then, Professor X came and suggested I go to the Institute."

"Wait, so you know all the X-Men," Sam said excitedly.

"Well, not all of them," I corrected. "But, yeah, I could name drop a couple big ones." I grinned.

There was a knock at the door, and my mom opened it and peaked her head in. "Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I made some cookies. Should I bring them down?"

I groaned. "Mom! I appreciate the knock - that was proper form - but what if I wanted to eat those all by myself? Now I don't have that option. They know about them now. I have to share."

"You'd be a bad friend if you kept them for yourself," she said as she brought the tray down.

"Thank you, Mrs. Rhodes. I'm sure they'll be delicious," Sam said, which surprised me. He was usually a sassy little thing.

"Well, thank you, Sam," she said, smiling proudly. She walked back upstairs with a little more pep in her step than usual.

We ate cookies quietly for a little while until Luke said, "So, what else is there? Are we doing origin stories all around?"

I shrugged. "We don't have to. We could just actually get to know each other. Like, the more practical, friend-to-friend topics."