Wither Wings (An Avengers Crossover)

Phase 8: The Shadow

"Let's watch Pretty Woman."

Darcy took the TV remote from Max's hands and began flipping channels. She said she was on a break from being Jane's lab assistant, but it seemed to Max that Darcy was always on a break. They had a bowl of potato chips between them, but it was nearly gone.

"I've never seen it," Max shrugged. "What's it about?"

Darcy gasped. "You've never seen it? It's a masterpiece of the late 80s with, like, Julia Roberts and Richard Gere and she's a prostitute with a heart of gold and he's this super rich guy that hires her to be his girlfriend; there's a makeover scene and a fighting scene and generally, it's hailed as the best film of our time."

"What time is that again?" Max asked, grabbing a handful of chips.

"The time where a girl's sugar daddy might just end up marrying her," Darcy replied.

"Hard pass," Max said sarcastically.

"Well, it's not my fault you've barely seen anything," Darcy said. "What do you want to watch?"

Max scanned the guide on the TV and something caught her eye. She let the remote hover over the movie title: The Avengers. "What's this one?"

"Oh, a movie about those superhero guys. You know, Thor, Tony, and that crew of SHIELD lackeys?" Darcy seemed to grow bored. "It did really well in the box office, but it's completely watered down. Thor said the guy they got to play him doesn't have the right shoulders or something."

"We're watching this," Max said with determination.

"Okay..." Darcy drew the word out until it was several syllables long. "Prepare for three hours of back story."

As Darcy soon fell asleep on the couch, Max watched the movie with rapt attention. She might hate superheroes, but she needed to find out everything she could about the people she'd been stuck with, even if it wasn't pretty.

Especially if it wasn't pretty.

---

"You need some new clothes," Pepper said as she set her mug of coffee down on the kitchen table with the faintest of clicks.

"No I don't," Max replied, her mouth stuffed with an entire piece of toast.

"Sorry, but I'd like my yoga pants back sometime in the near future," Pepper glanced down at what Max was wearing. "And I don't think just wearing the same ACDC t-shirt of Tony's is wise. What about when you need to wash it?"

Max shrugged. "I turn it inside out."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "We're going to Nordstrom today to pick out some nice clothes for you so you don't look like you're constantly on your way to zumba class."

"Why can't an agent just go grab some stuff? I'm not picky." Max put butter and jam on the next piece of toast with a heavy hand. "And what's zumba?"

Pepper pursed her lips together. She was either done putting up with Max's unwillingness to go and socialize or holding back a smile. "I'm lending you something presentable and we're going to go shopping."

Max opened her mouth to object again, but she closed it nearly as quickly. Pepper had that effect on her occasionally; Max was so used to being in charge that someone not taking no for an answer and simply plowing forward wasn't exactly new, just startling. Pepper is the one in charge now, Max merely a beta.

And that is how Max found herself in a pair of expensive jeans tailored impeccably for someone who was for sure not the same measurements as her and a button down shirt that smelled of jasmine.