Morgan wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead. Summer break only just started, yet it already feels like a thousand degrees. She walked along the sidewalk, kids flooding out of school as the final bell rang out. Her last day of eighth grade had gone about how you would expect it to- sappy speeches from teachers, wrapping things up with old friends, all tied up with brownies and pizza. While other kids might have felt freed, though, Morgan was more weighed down than ever.

But she didn't want to think about her worries right then. She just wanted to spend one last afternoon as a normal kid. A few other kids were walking with her, and while she wouldn't necessarily call any of them her 'friends', they seemed to like hanging around her. Morgan had no idea what made her so charismatic. Natural Stark charm, one might say, though the kids that considered themselves her friends would never know.

The group continued walking towards the suburbs of New York, when, suddenly, a crash rang out from a nearby alleyway. Morgan ducked down instinctively, the rest of the kids following suit. "Sorry about that!" A young-sounding voice called out. A flash of blue and red flew through the air before landing nimbly in front of the group of startled kids. "Hey, everyone. Morgan. What's up?"

"Hey, Spidey," Morgan replied, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lip. She'd seen the wall-crawler plenty of times around the city, usually chasing down a baddie, though he usually stopped to greet her, if he had the chance.

Spider-Man gave a small wave to the gaggle of teens. "It's cool seeing you, but I got to go." He bounced on his toes a few times before shooting out a web and swinging away. "Stay in veggies, eat your school!"

Morgan chuckled before turning around to meet the shocked faces of her friends. "I still can't believe you actually know superheroes," one of them said.

"My mom knew Iron Man," Morgan replied, a twinge of pain poking at her heart. "How could you forget?"

~~~

Half an hour later, Morgan was on her own, walking down the familiar path in the woods to her cabin. The house was nestled comfortably in a forest on the outskirts of New York, overlooking a calm river. Home sweet home.

Morgan walked up to a fluffy figure sticking its head in a bush. "Hey, Gerald," Morgan said, sinking her hand in the soft fleece. The alpaca only hummed in response. "What, you didn't miss me?" She asked, laughing.

She crouched down and looked at the bush. "Gerald! You ate all the goji berries again?" She stood back up and brushed herself off. "Bad alpaca. Bad, bad alpaca."

After she was done scolding Gerald, Morgan walked into the cabin, the cool breeze from the air conditioning hitting her face. "Mom, I'm home," she called out. No reply. She's still at work. Just like always.

Morgan ran up the stairs to her bedroom, slinging her bookbag over her chair and collapsing onto her bed. The light from the setting sun illuminated her room, and she felt her eyelids getting heavier. Just a quick nap, she told herself, drifting off into sleep.

~~~

"Morgan! I'm home!"

Morgan was awoken by the call of her mother and the sound of the front door closing. She stood up and stretched, realizing she was still in her school clothes. Right. She kicked of her shoes and switched into something more comfy before running downstairs.

Pepper was bustling around in the kitchen, holding her phone between her shoulder and her ear and scrolling through her tablet at the same time. "Can I put you on hold? Yeah, one minute." She looked over at Morgan. "I got chinese, help yourself."

"Thanks," Morgan said, unable to hide the annoyance in her voice. It felt like, ever since Morgan went into middle school, her mom had brought home takeout every night. She missed being little, spending her days running around in the woods to be called inside, eating a home cooked dinner with her mom and dad...

Morgan grit her teeth and poured herself various meats and veggies, stabbing at the food with her fork. I like cheeseburgers better, she thought to herself. Her and her mother ate in silence, and when Morgan was done, she washed her plate and took a shower, pulling on a bright red pair of pajamas.

Morgan lied down in her bed, the cool moonlight washing over her room. Despite the soft chittering of the woodland creatures that was usually able to lull her to sleep, she couldn't find the strength to close her eyes. Her thoughts were running wild inside her head, preventing her from falling asleep.

You can't keep hiding, a nagging voice inside her head told her. Eventually, they'll find out. Morgan rolled over, hoping that staring into the wall would bring her some respite. It didn't. But if you tell them who you are, everyone will expect you to be like him. You'll never just be Morgan. It will always be Morgan Stark.

Morgan sighed. I need a juice pop.

~~~

A few minutes later, she was sitting on the staircase, grape fruit coloring staining her mouth purple. The cold popsicle helped ease her thoughts, at least for a bit. She closed her eyes, and a flood of memories rushed through her brain. Walking around in the park, resting on the porch on a hot summer's day... sitting on that very staircase with her dad.

She had been barely four at the time, sneaking out of bed and witnessing her father making a revolutionary breakthrough. But, at the time, she wasn't thinking about time travel, or Thanos, or the Avengers. All she was wondering was what the pretty lights Daddy was playing with were, and why he seemed so worried. She never thought that that would be the last time she would she him.

Morgan felt a tear running down her face, then two. She leaned her head against the wall, content to just sit there and cry, when she heard an odd creaking noise come from the step she was on. As first she thought nothing of it, but when she shifted her weight again, she heard the noise repeat itself, as if the floorboard was loose. Weird.

Morgan stepped down to the next tile and knelt down, studying the step. She grabbed at the board and tried to tug at it. after some fidgeting, the floorboard lifted up with a woosh, like air being sucked into a vacuum. Soft blue light shone out of a strange chamber underneath it, beckoning her in.

Well, that's new.