Peter's P.O.V.

Inside I was yelling and jumping in excitement, but if anyone looked at my face they would see a mask of indifference. I tried to keep the kid inside of me under control, but then I would remember that I was on a mission with the almost all of the Avengers and I would get excited again. I decided that this was okay; being excited for a mission would motivate me in the field. But I wasn't a fifteen-year-old kid from Brooklyn anymore. I lived in the Avengers Facility like the rest of the team and had recently celebrated my twenty first birthday. I was more serious now, less fazed by the insane world I lived in. And yet sometimes the little nerd from Queens would take over and I would start grinning like a lunatic.

So of course when I walked into my hotel room, I could help but run to the bed and start bouncing on it. And I definitely had no control over somersaulting off it and cannonballing into the jacuzzi out on the balcony.

All too soon, someone was pounding on the door, as I ran to answer it, shaking the water out of my hair.

"Mr. Stark," I said as I opened the door, "This place is the bomb! I mean I have a fucking jacuzzi on my balcony and my own-" I stopped chattering suddenly when I saw that it was Wanda at the door, not Mr. Stark.

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you just going to stand there like an idiot dripping on the carpet or are you actually going to let me in?"

"Uh, yeah," I stuttered, opening the door wider for her. She looked around the suite, a look of disgust passing briefly over her features. I closed the door and rubbed the back of my neck nervously. "What can I help you with Wanda?" I asked. The two of us had never really spoken. I mean, I said hi when I saw her, but she just sort of jerked her chin at me or ignored me entirely. It's not like she disliked me, or at least I didn't think so. I was more like she was indifferent, though I never would forget how I walked in on her and Steve the day I moved in….

I set down the last of the boxes on the floor in my new room. It was nice, not too large, but with enough space for a king size bed (which I had already bounced on, nearly hitting my head on the ceiling when I backflipped off it), a desk, TV, Xbox, and minifridge. Plus the facility was light years ahead of Queens. The closet disappeared and reappeared with the push of a button, the bed slid into the wall so that a mini workout area could materialize from beneath the floor, and the walls could change colors. I was really excited about that last part. I even found a way to make the walls into pictures of my choice, so right now there was a picture of me holding Captain America's shield making up the wall against my bed. The other walls I alternated a pattern of black, red, and blue, not bothering to be subtle about my superhero identity. I was putting the finishing touches on my brand-new gaming system (courtesy of Mr. Stark), when I heard raised voices from down the hall. I didn't want to eavesdrop, so I turned up my headphones, but eventually the argument got so loud that I could hear them, though the volume was all the way up. I tentatively crept toward the source of the commotion, stopping in my tracks when I heard my name.

"Peter Parker? You've got to be kidding me, Steve! He's fifteen!"

I'm sixteen, I thought to myself, still edging closer to the voices. When I peeked around the doorway I stopped, so shocked I couldn't move. The woman who had just spoken was radiating red waves of intense energy, so intense I could feel it crackling in the air. The waves looked like red galaxies circling around her, shimmering and reflecting in her eyes, flecking the chips of dark steel with rubies. I had never seen an enhanced person before and was filled with a combination of awe and fear.

I looked to her companion, and instantly recognized the blond hair and intimidating stature. Captain America! I thought to myself giddily. He looked tired and (was I imagining it?) a bit scared of the Scarlet Witch before him.

Steve rubbed his temples. "I don't agree with Stark either on this one, Wanda. He hasn't even finished high school, and Tony thinks it's smart to put him on the Avengers?"

Wanda spoke in an accented voice, "He will be killed, squashed like a bug under the boots of the giants we face."

"I know, I know," Steve said tiredly. "But," he chuckled, "The kid's got grit."

Wanda's head snapped up. "That's great Steve," she said sarcastically. "Because having grit will totally save his life when he faces aliens or hell knows what; nothing is normal with this job."

Steve nodded solemnly, then his face broke into a smile, and he shook his head.

"What is it?" Wanda asked, her voice lowering.

He barked out a dry, humorless laugh. "He reminds me of myself, right before I decided to uproot my life and get pumped full of experimental drugs."

"How so?" Wanda asked.

"He stands up for the little guy; he doesn't like bullies. And even though I was way more serious at his age, there were moments when I would just let myself go wild. He's the wild side of me all the time, jumping headfirst into situations out of his control with nothing but that spandex suit and spider venom running through his veins. I always just ran into war without a plan, Wanda. And where did that get me?"

"Frozen in a block of ice for the better part of a century," she said.

"Exactly," Steve said, throwing his hands up in the air. "But at least I survived. I can't help but feel that because that kid's so pure and good that the world just won't be able to do anything but slaughter him, and we won't be able to do a damn thing to stop it."

I listened at the doorway, frozen. They didn't think I was ready. They just thought of me as a stupid, inexperienced kid from Queens. A tear slid from my right eye, and I clenched my jaw to prevent any more from escaping. No more weaknesses, I told myself. I'd prove them wrong. I was just as capable as the rest of them, why did something as stupid as age matter? I had worked hard to get on this team; I deserved their respect. Their admiration. From now I would work harder, become faster, stronger. I would be the best Avenger I could be, and then they would finally accept me as one of their own and not some stupid kid they needed to protect.

"Parker!" Wanda barked. "Where the hell is your brain?"

I shook myself. "Sorry, guess I just got lost in thought."

"That seems to happen a lot," Wanda muttered, walking past him to stand by the minibar.

"Anyway," she continued. "I just want to make sure you're prepared to meet Helena."

"You're sister?" I asked.

"Who else? I don't know her mental state she's in. It's been many years since I last saw her, and even then she would lash out when provoked."

"I would never try to make her angry," I protested.

Wanda rolled her eyes. "No offense kid but you can be unintentionally annoying. The only reason I'm allowing you to tag along on this is because you and Helena are about the same age."

"How old is she?" I asked.

"As of last month, she's twenty. So I expect you to show her the ropes and keep her head together. Everyone else on this team has been through too much crazy shit; you're the only one here who hasn't fought an alien invasion or psychotic robots."

"How do you know that she hasn't been through some crazy shit?"

She stared me in the eyes. "I don't Parker. But I can sure as hell hope that she isn't as fucked up as I am after all these years." She shook her head. "Just don't chase her off okay? I really want to see my sister again," she said as she walked toward the door.

I smiled at her. "I promise to not screw this up, Wanda. It would be cool to have someone my age around here. The rest of you guys are ancient," he teased.

Wanda glared at him over her shoulder. "Be ready to leave at 6:00," she said before slamming the door behind her.