"First day. Done," Johnny said, sounding exhausted.
"One down, about a hundred and seventy-nine to go," Gwen teased, leaning up to kiss his cheek.
"A hundred and seventy-nine?!" Johnny exclaimed, making Peggy and Kurt laugh and causing Scott to smirk and no doubt roll his eyes under his shades. Johnny moaned dejectedly. "I'm gonna die. Gwen, write a nice eulogy for me. Pegs, make sure my sister doesn't spit on my corpse."
"Can't guarantee that, but I promise to try."
Johnny puts a hand on Peggy's shoulder. "That's all I ask." Peggy laughs, stopping short when she sees Wade talking heatedly with Uncle Phil. Everyone looks over, curious. "What do you think is happening?"
Everyone shrugs except Scott, whose shoulders have stiffened in realization. Peggy gave him a look so calculating it even made Cyclops squirm. "I think I know why Coulson's talking to Wade. I think he's supposed to be Deadpool."
There was silence in the group, Kurt once again breaking it. "Who is Deadpool?"
Scott grimaced. "He was a mercenary for hire, until recently that is. No one knows why, but he dropped off the grid. I honestly didn't think Fury could find him. That was my first mistake."
"Ya think?" Peggy says sarcastically. "You guys have training later?" They all nod except Gwen, the only non-superpowered human in the group. "Then you'll find out later. Until then, don't treat him differently. You all know what it's like to be treated like a freak. So don't do the same thing to him. Or there will be consequences." She then smiled like she didn't imply bodily harm. "I gotta go. It's shawarma night at home, and since Johnny stole my lab partner, I'm leaving early. If I can, I'll come tonight to training. If not, Skype later?" Everyone agrees, and Peggy says her goodbyes. Her eyes meet Wade's for an infinite moment before she had to look away, the butterflies back tenfold.
~*Remember*~
"Pop? I'm home!" Peggy shouted when she got out of the elevator. She'd asked JARVIS not to announce her presence so she could surprise Pop (since Dad was probably asleep). Since there wasn't an answer, Peggy decided to go to the living room, smiling like a lunatic when she saw Pop fast asleep on the couch, arms holding Dad in place on top of him. Her parent's love was always her goal in life: not perfect, but a combination of love, friendship and respect. Besides, she wasn't ready to take the risks that came with trusting someone like that. Maybe someday, Peggy thought wistfully, tiptoeing by her parents silently so they could sleep. She figured she could get some English and Econ homework done, take a little nap, have dinner with the team, finish off whatever homework she had before going to "hang out with Gwen" (training). When she got to her room, she plopped on her bed before grabbing her Stark Pad to get started on her work. Before she knew it, Pop was coming to get her for dinner. Peggy could hear Uncle Clint shout in excitement at the amount of shawarma that was bought. She smiled at her uncle's child-like excitement, picturing Uncle Phil looking both exasperated and fond of his husband. Peggy and Pop walked down the hallway, content. Pop wrapped his arm around his daughter, pulling them both to a stop in order to hug her. Peggy hugged him back, confused. "Pop?"
Pop didn't say anything, just squeezing her quickly before letting go. "I'm so glad you're here," he said
Peggy gave her father a lopsided grin. "Believe me, I don't think anyone's more excited about me being alive than me."
Pop smacked her arm lightly. "Smartass," he said, no heat behind it.
Peggy shrugged. "Not my fault that you knocked up a certifiable smartass," she said sarcastically, breaking into a run. Pop chased her into the large living room, everyone already gathered there. The Avengers moved out of the way as Captain America ran after his daughter, their laughter exuberant. Peggy saw Dad and Uncle Bruce roll their eyes at their antics, but she knew they were laughing at them. After her stomach rumbled, Peggy knew she had to call uncle without actually calling uncle, so she ran over to Aunt Nat, and Uncles Bucky and Sam. She ran behind them before climbing onto Uncle Bucky, wrapping her legs around his waist and arms around his shoulders. Pop stopped running, pouting when he saw what she did. Peggy grinned. "I win," she exclaimed triumphantly, remembering to move her head back so she wasn't shouting in Uncle Bucky's ear.
She felt Uncle Bucky snort, shifting to accommodate the new weight. "Over a hundred years old and you still act like that kid who thought using a trash can lid as a shield was an awesome idea," he grumbled.
"At least I'm using a good shield," Peggy said smugly. She's pretty sure Uncle Bucky rolled his eyes as he carried her to the dinner table, plopping her down gracefully next to Dad before sitting down next to her. Pop sat at the head of the table, still pouting slightly. Dad rolled his eyes, leaning over to kiss Pop. Peggy gagged at the affection, but was pleased that the action seemed to calm Pop down. After everyone was seated, they dug in, shawarma being passed around and treated like a precious commodity. And to the Avengers and Avengling, it really was. When everyone had enough shawarma, the conversations flowed smoothly, over two decades of camaraderie keeping them together after all this time. Peggy laughed at Uncle Sam's story of a particularly wily veteran at the VA back in DC, the man reminding her of a drunk Johnny. Time flew to the point where Peggy had to scarf down her chocolate chip cookie if she was going to make it to training on time. She threw her costume into a backpack, slinging that over her shoulder as she hurried back to the living room. "Who's on patrol tonight?" she asked, needing to know do she could avoid certain areas of the city when she snuck out for patrol later.
"Tonight's Sam and Natasha's turn. Why do you need to know?" Uncle Clint asked, looking suspicious.
Peggy shrugged. "Gwen wanted to know in case she saw something weird outside her apartment window again. And to wish the poor saps good luck in not running into the Lizard."
Dad groaned, putting his head in his hands before looking back at Peggy. "If it hadn't been for that spider-kid, that would've been much worse than it actually was."
Peggy smiled. "At least he didn't throw sarcasm at you like he did the Lizard. Gwen told me it was pretty epic. Speaking of Gwen, I should probably head over. I'll have JARVIS inform you guys when I'm headin' back. Love you." There was a chorus of love yous, and Peggy was off. She exited the building, going a few blocks down to the alleyway next to City Heights. "JARVIS?" Peggy asks, setting her backpack on the ground.
Peggy gave a breathless laugh at JARVIS' usual efficiency. "Thanks, J," she tells the AI before pulling out her binder. She quickly took off her shirt and bra, quickly wrapping her breasts before chucking off her pants, leaving Peggy in her binder and panties. Aunt Natasha's so lucky that she doesn't have to do this crap in an alleyway, Peggy thought as she grabbed her spandex outfit, taking the time to put it on properly. Soon she's slipping on her mask, leaving Peggy Parker and Margaret Maria Stark-Rogers behind and getting into her Spider-Man persona. She launched her webbing onto City Heights, sticking to the glass approximately seven stories off the ground before launching some more webbing at the adjacent building, swinging around New York before reaching the Empire State Building, Nightcrawler already waiting for her. Kurt smiled brightly at her, his amber eyes glowing in the light of dusk. She nods at him, letting Kurt put his hands on her shoulders, teleporting them to the Tricarrier, home of SHIELD 2.0. Spider-Man saluted Kurt in thanks, the two of them walking side-by-side to the main conference room, everyone else already there and waiting. Nightcrawler sat next to Cyclops, Human Torch sitting across from them. Spider-Man took the empty seat to his left, placing herself near Nick Fury at the head of the table. Even though Fury was no longer the official head of SHIELD anymore, he still overlooked all the different parts of the organization, specifically the New Heroes program. Since they would eventually become the next generation of Avengers, they wanted to start training them now so they could be as effective as the current team.
Though it was a good idea on one hand, Spider-Man saw what it did to her friends on a daily basis. Kurt was very self-conscious of his real appearance, finding the blue fur to be very unattractive, despite what everyone (especially Scott) tells him. Scott was always so focused on becoming the perfect leader, he never realized that he didn't have to be Steven Stark-Rogers, but Scott Summers. Johnny had always acted like Dad used to before Iron Man, but Spider-Man knew that Johnny was lonely before he and Gwen officially became a couple. And Peggy? Well, she knew all her problems and really didn't feel like thinking about them.
She's pulled from her brain when an unmasked Deadpool walks into the room. Spider-Man notices that his costume is similar to her own. He wore black and red spandex, his belt holding various pouches and having two katanas strapped across his back. He sat down at the other end of the table, propping his feet up and having a devil-may-care attitude. But Spider-Man saw through the facade to the teenage boy underneath it all, who wanted to at least have one friend.
"Everyone," Fury piped up, "this is Deadpool. He'll be part of you team, so treat him like any other member." Fury stayed quiet, and Scott was the first one to greet Wade, then Kurt and Johnny. Spider-Man said nothing, nodding in Wade's direction. If she wanted to keep the people closest to her safe, she needed to stay silent. It was different in the heat of battle when the others couldn't hear her, but for now she needed to not say a word. I won't have them end up like Captain Stacey, Spider-Man thought as Fury continued, telling them about how Winter Soldier and Hawkeye were coming to tonight's training to observe and give suggestions. Spider-Man didn't even flinch at hearing her Uncles' codenames. She knew she could adapt the situation to her fighting style, not even worried about being recognized. If her own Pop couldn't recognize her, she highly doubted her Uncles could either.
The next thing she knows, Spider-Man is following her teammates to the training room. She stretches before following the others into the fray, the LMDs morphing into the Wrecking Crew. Cyclops immediately attacked their "leader", the others following. Spider-Man noticed that Deadpool was merging efficiently with the team, his katanas saving Nightcrawler when his back was turned. After those LMDs were destroyed, the next set was brought out, this time morphing into some villains that the team had dealt with in the past: Crossbones, MODOK, Lizard, and Rhino along with various HYDRA and AIM agents. Spider-Man immediately sprang into action, webbing as many of the soldiers as possible so the others could go after various LMDs. Once that was completed, it was rather simple to take down the other villains, though Spider-Man made sure to avoid the Lizard. Fortunately Deadpool took care of that quickly enough, for which she was grateful. No matter how much time passed, her guilt would never ebb about Cptn. Stacey, no matter how many times Gwen said it wasn't her fault, she could never shake the nightmares that seemed to plague her. Spider-Man was pulled from her reverie by the sound of Uncle Phil going over what they did correctly and what they needed to improve upon in the future, Hawkeye and the Winter Soldier interrupting once in a while to contribute to the conversation. When all was said and done, they were dismissed to change and shower. Spider-Man nodded to Cyclops before walking away from the others, avoiding Hawkeye's suspicious gaze. When she made it outside, Spider-Man took a deep breath of air. Even though it was thinner, the serum made sure the teen could breathe just fine. Spider-Man took a moment before jumping from the Tricarrier, freefalling to the earth below.
She had no doubt that she could catch herself.
~*Remember*~
When Peggy woke up the next morning, she stretched before smiling like a loon. She was excited about going to school... oh, who was she kidding? Peggy was excited to see Wade again. She hadn't had this serious of a crush since her English teacher Mr. Murdoch way back when. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time, and Peggy was thrilled. What? You could never say that she wasn't a masochist like dear old Dad.
Speaking of Dad, neither of her fathers were in the kitchen when she entered, deciding on the Iron Man dress Kurt gave her last year for Christmas as her fashion statement of the day. She shrugged it off, assuming Dad had managed to con Pop into sleeping in or some other horrible thoughts Peggy didn't need scarring her psyche. She shuddered before going over to the cabinets to get out her secret stash of Pop-Tarts. Just as she was about to eat one (after toasting them of course), Pop and Dad walked in wearing their uniforms. Peggy winced in sympathy. "Rough night?" she asked, setting her breakfast down as she began to make her parents coffee.
Pop nodded as they sat down heavily at the counter. "We got the call right after you fell asleep. Someone broke into an abandoned Hammer Tech. building and stole some equipment. Also sent some prototype bots at us."
Peggy snorted as she filled their cups to the brim. "What would anyone want with that garbage?"
"Because all the superior tech is more highly secured than the gold in Fort Knox," Dad said, taking his extra-large cup from his daughter gratefully.
"Point," Peggy conceded. "By the way, how do I look?" she asked, twirling around in a blur of red and gold.
Pop took one look at her before rolling his eyes. "You look like you inflated your dad's ego."
Peggy only blinked, used to such comments. "That's funny, since I inflated yours yesterday with my t-shirt."
"Kid's got a point. And I think you look beautiful," Dad said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. His daughter beamed at the genius before sitting down, happily nibbling on her breakfast. "Agent told us about you trying to be friends with Deadpool."
"His name is Wade," Peggy corrected automatically, "and he looks like he could use a friend."
"Just be careful with him," Pop commented, setting down his now-empty cup.
"You weren't with Dad," Peggy replied casually, finishing her first Pop-Tart swiftly before starting on the second, grabbing another package and getting back up to put it in the toaster. "Even when you were just friends, you were risking a lot. Aren't I allowed to make the same mistakes you made, and live with the consequences?"
"I just don't want to see you get hurt," Pop said, his voice filled with concern.
Peggy gave Pop a small smile, walking over to him and kissing him of the cheek. "We all get hurt in this world, Poppa. It's not something that can be prevented. I'm a big girl now. If you and Daddy can handle it, then I can too."
Poppa gave her a smile in return. "Ok, but you're not allowed to get frozen for seventy years or be kidnapped by a terrorist organization."
"Or piss off Aunt Tasha, I know, I know," Peggy said, rolling her eyes. "This is pretty obvious by now."
"Don't you have school or something?" Dad asked, finishing his third cup and going to get a fourth.
"Don't you have to sleep or something?" Peggy asked, already going to grab her bag.
Dad snorted. "Obviously, but after this cup."
Peggy smiled. "I should probably head out. Knowing MJ, she'll wanna gossip about Wade." She gave a fake full-body shudder before adjusting the bag on her shoulders. "I'm guessing Uncle Sam is cooking tonight."
"Actually, Fury wants us to evaluate the new team that's been put together. If they do, they'll start to take on other villains so we don't have to fight every big bad that decides to make New York its new playground. Since the kids need to immediately leave after school, you Gwen, Harry and MJ will need to go with them. You and Harry are with me to observe and calculate. Gwen and MJ are going to help Bruce control the simulation. They're nearly as cunning as black widows."
Peggy nodded while simultaneously freaking out on the inside. She needed to be part of that test! "Yeah sure! I'll let them know. And I'll keep quiet from the others. Fury wants to keep this a surprise, yes?"
Dad nodded. "Don't forget your pop tarts on the way out."
"Shit!" Peggy swore, doubling back to grab the brown sugar treat before going back to the elevator. "See you later! Love you!"
"Love you too!" her fathers shouted as the door closed.
Peggy let out a heavy sigh, dropping back against the far elevator wall. "JARVIS, how's the VISION program coming?"
"95% complete, ma'am. The only remaining component needed will arrive while you are in school. You will need to sneak back during your free period in order to finish before the simulation."
Peggy groaned. "Why me? she asked rhetorically. Fortunately JARVIS didn't answer.