Ava was dropped off at the now-not-so-secret underground lair with a swift farewell from Skye, who had also tossed out the window her speedster shoes for Ava to catch, reminding her that she had a week to make her decision. Only a week? That seemed too short of a time to make a huge life changing decision. Ava was to either stay stagnant or actually have better control of herself while also finding answers. She knew that the answers were bait, that they really just wanted to keep easy tabs on her. But Ava just wanted some resolution. She wanted purpose. Maybe this was the only path she could take. Peter seemed to have obviously made the same choice.
"Peter." She whispered. Ava walked into the empty station and entered headquarters. She instinctively reached for her pocket where her phone would normally be, but remembered that she ditched it during the chase. Cursing herself, she fired up the computer and ran the locator that's on Peter's Spider-Man suit.
The tracker on the screen blinked to life, honing in on a location not too far from headquarters.
"What?" Ava stared at the screen in shock. That's where Coulson sent Peter for training?
Ava walked out of the station, down the two mile-long walk towards the exit door that her and Peter took as added precaution. When Ava reached the door, she stared at the dim, glowing red light above her head. It flickered every forty-seven seconds, the tunnel becoming pitch black for three frightening seconds. Taking deep breaths, Ava undid the door's extensive locks using her abilities and putting in the passcode. Opening the door a crack, she bent her knees and got in position. Right when she exhaled, she ran.
It was hard to miss the building that Peter was in. Ava slowed down a few blocks away behind a garbage dump and then breezily walked out onto the street. Craning her head all the way back, the building loomed before in all its hideous glory. The building had been updated with a gigantic "A" plastered on the front, a remnant that had been left after the Incident when the building had been just "Stark." Ava walked forward towards the entrance doors. She had no plan nor any idea how they would let her through.
"Hello, what's your name?" The woman at the desk smiled, scrutinizing Ava with her eyes. Ava hadn't bothered to change out of the dirty clothes she had been in for the past few days.
"Avery Douglass. My friend Peter Parker is here. I need to reach him." Ava went the honest route, knowing that any lie she would try to conjure up wouldn't stick. The woman's posture changed at the mention of Peter, meaning that she knew he was here.
"One second." She smiled, although it faltered slightly as she scrunched her eyebrows. She was trying to figure out how to handle Ava. The lady typed into the computer and the phone rang. "Hello?" She answered, glancing back at me before looking back to the computer screen.
"Yes. Is that really safe? I understand. Alright." The lady said in a clipped tone, seemingly not pleased. Was she was actually talking to the man? The Tony Stark? She hung up the phone and addressed Ava. "Mr. Stark and Mr. Parker are expecting you on level 95."
"Okay." Ava responded awkwardly, surprised that she had even been allowed in.
"The elevators are down that way." The lady supplied, pointing down past the receptionist desk.
"Thanks."
Ava walked down towards the elevators, still in shock that she wasn't just kicked out of Avengers Tower. Upon walking inside the elevator and hitting floor 95, a voice materialized from the speakers.
"Hello and welcome to Avengers Tower. You, Avery Douglass, have clearance to the Technology and Defense division of this building." The british AI said. It was JARVIS. The robotics team at Ava's school had tried countless times to try to create an AI as sophisticated as Iron Man's, but only came up with one that was capable of reading out commands they would input for the robots.
"Cool." She said, leaning against the wall as the elevator shot up. It did go faster than normal elevators and it was surprisingly starting to make Ava a little nauseous.
Once the elevator stopped at level 95, JARVIS spoke through the intercoms again. "Mr. Stark and Mr. Parker are waiting for you in the last door to the right."
Ava stepped out and walked down the hallway. There were three rooms in each side. The first two were glass and there were machines inside assembling something. The rest of the doors were made of steel and required passcodes. Ava reached the door where Peter was in and tentatively reached for the handle. The screen on the door already read that access was allowed to enter inside.
"This is amazing, Mr. Stark!" Ava caught the last of Peter's conversation as she slowly and quietly opened the door.
There he was. Standing next to Tony Stark overlooking a blueprint displayed on a interactive hologram. Ava didn't know what was real anymore. This was all too surreal. Her life started moving at a faster rate that her brain was too slow to process ever since she had stumbled into the mist.
"Hello, you must be Peter's girlfriend." Tony Stark greeted Ava, turning away to look at her.
"Uh, not my–" Peter started.
"My coworker Maria Hill mentioned me to you. I decided to be charitable and start working on a present for you too." Tony Stark continued, Ava noting that the ego on this guy was in fact genuine and not a front for media frenzy.
"Thank you?" Ava said, not sure how to respond. "Peter." Ava looked to him expectantly.
"What?" He responded, raising his eyebrows and widening his eyes.
"We have a lot to catch up on." She told him, giving him a pointed stare. He knew what she meant immediately.
"Do that later," Stark cut in, "come over here, Ms. Douglass."
"Ava is fine." She said, walking forward towards the counter.
Stark interacted with hologram, moving through files and found another blueprint. Ava skimmed over the schematics, learning that it was meant for her and more specifically, relating to her abilities.
"A suit?" Ava laughed humorlessly. "I appreciate the gesture, Mr. Stark, but I'm not a superhero nor do I intend on becoming one."
"Not right now, gotcha." Tony said, ignoring Ava's words. "And I'll make it look less flashy for you, you don't seem like the flashy type. Oh! And I also have this in the works for you. Parker told me about the shoes he designed for you, and they're great, they're amazing–really good stuff you did there, kid–but Oscorp doesn't have the same resources like I do. I can make it withstand heat and breakage for a longer amount of time. Just give me like three days to make it."
"I." Ava got out, too shocked to form words or any coherent sentence, much less her thoughts. Was this really happening? Ava had come here to drag out Peter from the building and knock him into the next century for agreeing to SHIELD's offer, but here was Santa Claus gifting the two.
"You're welcome." Stark smiled, closing out the blueprint and leaning against the counter with his arms crossed.
"She's overwhelmed." Peter stated, as if this needed explanation.
"Of course I am!" Ava exclaimed. "This is all too much. Peter, is this your tutor now?"
"More like mentor." Stark supplied. "I could take you under my wing too, plenty of me to go around."
"Thanks, but I think they have other things planned for me." Ava responded, to which Peter widened his eyes and crossed his hands across his neck behind Stark's back. Ava couldn't reveal SHIELD to Tony Stark.
"Who's 'they'?" He queried.
"My parents." Ava said lamely, knowing Stark wouldn't buy it, but he surprisingly didn't inspect further.
"Right. Anyways, you kind of barged in here during a lesson, but I thought to myself, 'let's not kick her out of the building, Tony. Let's show her the beauty that is Avengers Tower.'" Stark grinned, walking towards the door and Ava and Peter following in suit.
"Are you trying to recruit us?" Ava asked.
"No, still too young to deal with big league problems. But I like to show off." Stark said as they walked down the hallway and back to the elevators.
Ava rolled her eyes, but remained silent. While talking with Tony Stark felt like she was in a daze, it also felt slightly annoying. But she could see why people felt charmed by him; he exuded a confidence that made him seem more powerful and more attractive than most.
Stark pushed button 103 and they shot up.
"You look like you haven't showered in days." Stark stated.
"It's been a rough couple days." Ava blushed fiercely. Peter, on the other hand, looked clean and well-kept. Must be nice.
"Do you not have a shower? You can shower here, but I'm afraid it would be a long journey for you to shower here everyday. Then again, that's actually not a real problem for you with your nifty little trick." Stark joked, grinning.
"Ha." Ava retorted, turning away from Stark and facing the elevator doors.
"Arrived." JARVIS announced as the elevator made a gentle stop and the doors opened to reveal what looked like a penthouse.
Ava stepped out of the elevator, feeling awkward and out of place. Peter's hand brushed her own, his own small way of trying to comfort his friend.
"We can continue our lessons tomorrow when you get out of school." Stark told Peter as he walked past the pair, heading towards the kitchen where Ava just noticed that someone was occupying it.
Ava froze in her spot, immobilized. Now, this was a dream come true. Ava felt an overwhelming mix of emotions: joy, anxiety, and also pain. He wasn't too far from where mom was during the Incident. She knew he tried his best to save her, but he wasn't fast enough. For a short while, she was angry at the Star Spangled Man, but that was when she was just looking for someone feasible to blame, someone present since the thunder god had taken his manic brother back to where they came from in the stars. But now, she regards him as her hero. He represented everything Ava stood for, everything she appreciated and believed in.
"That's not fair, why weren't you starstruck by me?" Stark joked, faking a pout before slapping his hand on Captain Steve Roger's shoulder to which he didn't wince out of pain, but out of annoyance. "Ava Douglass, Peter Parker, meet Steve Rogers."
"Hello." He said sheepishly with a smile and a wave.
"Hi." Ava said, blushing beet red and trying hard to keep her cool.
"You're embarrassing me." Peter muttered while smiling and waving back at Steve Rogers. "Mr. Rogers, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Please, just Steve is fine." He smiled.
"You're in our PE training videos." Ava said, not knowing what else to say so instead blurting out that.
Stark laughed, holding his sides as he began to wheeze while Steve stood there awkwardly, obviously embarrassed for those films being taped.
"I play those every time Rogers tries to argue with me." Stark said with a serious face once he calmed down.
"These aren't new recruits, are they?" Steve asked worriedly, a slight edge in his tone.
"Of course not! Parker here is my protegé and Ava is his girlfriend.
"Not his girlfriend." Ava sighed, hands on her hips.
"Young love." Stark teased. "And hey, superfan, while you got any questions here for the Man with a Plan, ask away while you still can." This made both Steve and Ava blush slightly.
"Nope, nothing." Ava said, her words sounding disconnected and awkward.
"Well, I'll leave you guys alone anyways. I have something I want to show Peter. Meet us out on the walkway when you're done gawking." Stark said, taking Peter by the shoulders and guiding him outside. Ava could hear them both laughing as she made sounds of discontent at being left alone with the Captain America.
"I'm sorry about Tony." Steve apologized, bringing his cup of coffee up to his lips and taking a small sip. "He can be…Tony."
Ava chuckled weakly, trying to shake off the initial shock at now meeting Captain America. "I'm sorry, too. I mean, you're a normal human being–well, sort of–wait! That didn't come out right! I just." Ava fumbled with her words and Steve watched on with amusement. "Sorry. Let me start over. It's probably annoying for you dealing with the way I act, like some crazed fan, you're still a human being like the rest of us. Just physically better than everyone, but hey, still deserving of being treated with some normalcy."
"It's quite alright, miss." He chuckled, giving Ava a reassuring smile. Ava walked forward to the kitchen, her legs somehow moving without her control. Her legs took her to the island and she sat down on a high seat, resting her arms on the cool countertop. There was an itch Ava wanted to scratch, something she did want to discuss with Steve Rogers, but was too afraid to. Steve seemed to notice this, but he just stared expectantly at Ava.
Hurt began to cloud Ava's eyes, mush as she tried to conceal it. She looked over to the walkway where Peter and Stark were. Stark's suit appeared from within the walkway, the different arm-like mechanisms putting together the suit without the man inside as they walked alongside it, Stark explaining to Peter how it all worked as her friend watched on with rapt attention.
"Is there something that you want to ask me?" Steve asked tentatively, Ava hearing him set his coffee back down.
"Yes, but I'm afraid it's too forward and too personal to ask." Ava responded, casting her eyes downward, afraid to look in front of her where Steve stood on the other side of the counter.
"Ask away." Steve said reassuringly.
"My mom was there. During the Incident." Ava whispered, looking back up at Steve whose eyes now reflected the same pain that was in Ava's own. "She got crushed by debris and you took a moment to get her out. You did and handed her to the paramedics that was a block away. They took her into a building where they set up aid and…there was nothing that could be done apparently. She needed surgery and it couldn't be done without going to a hospital. But the roads were all blocked and it was too dangerous to travel outside and even if they could, all the hospitals were on lockdown and at all full capacity already." The words flowed out of Ava. She didn't shed a tear, not capable of feeling much emotion. She wasn't numb. It was more like she was a robot. Just relaying information.
"Claire." Steve's voice cracked, looking pained. Ava looked up and stared into the Captain's deep blue eyes. "I remember her. I'm sorry that she didn't make it."
Steve Rogers remembered her mother. Claire. Claire Douglass. Both of them had a somber look, a shared misery. Ava knew all about Captain America. They teach lessons of him in every history class. She knows that he's had his fair share of losses. Hell, he lost a whole world and entered this new, foreign one.
"Is that what you were wanting to know? If I remembered her?" Steve guessed.
"Yes. No. I'm not sure.
"The paramedics that were with my mother came to our door personally a day after the Incident. I didn't even thank them for their service, for their effort, for thinking of her family and coming to our door to give us answers to questions we were agonizing over. But when they came, it turned our lives upside down. So I was mad. At them, at you. But now you're my hero, you truly are. I guess I just wanted you to know how touched I am by who you are and what you do." Ava said. She was amazed with herself with how much she was revealing. She was essentially opening up to a complete stranger. But then again, she wasn't really. He already knew personal things that she had never dared to speak to anyone else about, not even to Peter.
"I don't know what to say." Steve said sadly.
"I know, I'm sorry, that's probably a huge burden I just placed on you, as if you don't already carry a hefty load. And what are the odds you would've have met the family member of a victim from that day. It's probably not pleasant for you."
"No, it's not that. People have sent letters thanking all of us for that day, and also the opposite, but at the end of day I was doing what I was meant to be doing: protecting the people at all costs and as best as I can. It's just never easy when someone isn't saved in time."
"I've spent a long time coping with that same thought. But what happened, happened. And not one person nor one team can save the whole population of New York City. But you all saved countless lives. Hell, you guys saved the whole world."
"I'm still immensely sorry your mother wasn't a part of those saved."
"I am too. But it's okay. I've learned to live with it. Losing her, I mean."
"Did she confess her love to you yet?" Stark interjected, walking back inside with Parker. "Oh, it seems like you guys are having a real heart to heart. How sweet. Sorry."
Steve rolled his eyes at Stark, but looked back to Ava and gave her a small smile.
"It goes without saying, but you are welcome here." Steve told her, picking his coffee back up.
"Really?" Ava said, shocked.
"I trust you to be here and not leak any information to any yellow journalism outlets." Steve chuckled, walking away from the kitchen and heading towards the elevator.
"What'd you guys talk about?" Peter questioned as Stark ran up to Steve before he disappeared further into the gigantic tower.
"Oh, stuff." Ava shrugged, deciding to keep the conversation she had with Steve to herself. It gave a closure she didn't realize she needed until that moment. "I'm real glad I was being impulsive and came here with the intention to whoop your ass."
"Wait, what?"
AN: This is going a lot faster than I predicted, but I just felt like typing that scene. Originally, I was gonna have it be real slow until Ava officially met any Avengers, but hey, what the hell let's just jump right in. I'm also going to maintain in the story that none of the Avengers know that Coulson is still alive nor is SHIELD. Next chapter or three we'll see Ava's decision (which is pretty obvious) but also still at odds and trying to come to terms with her new reality as her broken friend group try to mend things at the same time.