Wings || Peter Parker

2: The Introduction

I slept on the floor that night, with the blanket that was on my bed to lay on top of. My wings didn't fit on the bed, which was tucked in a corner.

The chair at the desk was also useless, my wings didn't fit over a chair. 

I slept hugging the bear I'd taken from the facility, shaking at every sound that carried through my window. There wasn't much sound coming from the tower itself, though my heightened senses picked up Tony Stark mumbling to himself from somewhere in the building.

I curled under my wings, as usual, sleeping with the warmth of the down feathers on the inside.

A robotic voice woke me up in the morning, a blue light orb floating on the wall. The lines around it warbled when the voice spoke. "Hello, Max. Welcome to the Avengers tower. I am F.R.I.D.A.Y. That is an acronym for Female Replacement Intelligent Digital Assistant Youth. Mr. Stark requests you in the avenger's conference room."

I stared at the wall. It was loud, and she spoke with a lot of long words. I didn't respond, though I had no idea where to go. I simply got dressed in one of my shirts from the facility and stepped into the hall. 

I remembered how to get to the elevator, so I walked down the hall, drawing my wings close so they wouldn't hit the doorframes as I walked by. It was the first time I'd walked somewhere on my own, without someone leading me about.

I entered the elevator to find a man in a tight red bodysuit, with a spider emblem on the chest, and blue pants. He had a mask on, so I couldn't see his face.

He stepped back into the corner. "You have wings?!" He exclaimed. "Oh my god, that's so cool!"

I nodded and searched for the correct button. The doors were still open, and I couldn't read the labels fast enough.

Finally pressing the floor labeled 'Avengers' the doors closed. 

"Where are you going?" The boy asked.

 I pointed to the button labeled conferences. I only spoke a few times at the facility. I kept track by writing on my desk there. 

"Oh cool!" The boy added. "That's where I'm going too. There's supposed to be a new avenger recruit today." He paused to gasp. "Wait, are you the new recruit?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Are your wings real?" He asked.

I nodded.

"How do you have wings?"

I shrugged again.

"How big are they?"

I held out my arms, motioning to the entire elevator.

"Really? Cool!" 

I nodded, shifting my wings to cover my shoulders.

"Can you fly?" He asked.

I shook my head.

"Oh. I'm Spider-man by the way." He held out his hand, and I shook it. "What's your name?"

I stared at him.

"Okay. Sorry, am I annoying you?" He rambled. "My friend MJ says I talk too much and it's annoying."

I shook my head just as the bell dinged, signaling we were on the correct floor.

"This is us," Spider-man said. 

I nodded and flowed him through the room. There was just a huge room, a big television on the wall, and couches scattered all over. At one end, there was a hallway which we went to.

Spider-man opened the door to the conference room, poking his head in. I followed, stepping inside the room after.

Everyone went silent. There was a table full of people. Two women with red hair, one short and one long. A spiky-haired guy with a long sleeve t-shirt, a guy with a bow slung over the back of his chair, a blonde-haired guy wearing what looked like the American flag, and a man with red and white goggles resting on his head. Spider-man also took a seat and joined the group. 

Tony Stark was standing at the front of the room. "Welcome, Max. Everyone, meet your newest avenger." He motioned to me, and I shuffled my feet.

"Max, this is the Avengers who were available to meet right now. This is Natasha, AKA Black Widow, Wanda Maximoff, Scarlet Witch, Bruce Banner, The Hulk, Clint Barton, Hawkeye, Captain America, Sam Wilson, AKA The Falcon, and Spider-man. Though I assume you've already met him."

I nodded.

"And, Spider-man was late to the meeting, again."

"Sorry. There was a guy stealing someone's bike down on 24th street-"

"It's fine kid. Anyways, this was just for everyone to meet the newest recruit. Max won't join the Avengers for a while, but she is staying in the building. Max, you'll probably see these guys around the tower too."

I nodded.

"Okay, that's all for today. Max, if you would go wait in the hall while we finish up here." I nodded yet again and stepped out.

I listened close to their conversation inside. 

"She's come from a very traumatic background, so please, don't scare her. She doesn't talk much, and she was brainwashed as a child. Everyone, please keep an eye on her if I'm not around, I don't want her to learn anything about what happened there."

A chorus of voices sounded, everyone speaking up and asking questions. 

"I need to leave." He spoke over everyone. "I'll answer everything later."

He exited the room, glancing at me. "How was last night?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Did you sleep okay?" He asked.

I shook my head.

"Well, you can expect that on your first night sleeping somewhere. Are there any accommodations you need for your wings? I can get anything."

I motioned to a large area, trying to tell him my wings didn't fit on my bed.

"What?"

I closed my eyes, pretending to sleep.

He pulled a pen and a scrap of paper out of his pocket. "We need to find a better way to communicate."

A larger bed was all I wrote.

"Oh!" He exclaimed. "Of course, your wings don't fit on that small thing. I'll get a bigger one put it later today. Is there anything else?"

I shook my head.

"Great. Now, I have a meeting in a couple of minutes, but later I'll give you a full tour of the building. For now, you can hang out in the commons area or your room. Do you know how to get back okay?"

I nodded. 

"Good. This is the commons area" He said, leading me into the big room full of couches. "The Avengers elevator is the gold-plated one, so if you go to a lower floor there will be a second silver one. That doesn't go to the top floors. You do need a key card to get into the Avengers elevator, I've got one printing now. Are you okay if I leave for a few hours?"

No. I nodded my head, putting on a fake smile.