The New Avenger

No Stupid Heroics

Peter's POV:

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Mr. Stark mutters, voicing doubts for the first time. And I'm grateful for it. My plan is insane, and more than likely will get someone killed. If nobody said anything about the utter insanity of the plan then I'd know they were just going along with it, doing what I said out of pity, not out of true respect. Respect for the plan or respect for me. But Mr. Stark isn't just rolling with it. However, he had the decency to talk to me in private, without all the others listening in.

"No. I'm not sure this is a good idea. I'm not sure it isn't completely insane. I'm not sure it isn't going to get all of us killed." I sigh against my will. "It isn't that I want to lead the team to slaughter, it isn't that at all. But something has to be done. My aunt is gone, Percy is gone. That's two civilians who were put in harms way because of us, and, more specifically, me. Somebody is going to have to get them out. Somehow I don't the the normal FBI hostage retrieval would work out to well in this particular situation and even if it did they might have some pointed question afterwards. Which leaves us."

"Look kid, even if we don't manage to get your aunt out someone will, you understand?"  Mr.Stark's voice is firm, "There will be no stupid heroics, no throwing yourself in front of a bullet, If you have time to jump in front of the bullet there should be plenty of time for you push them person out of the way, understood?"

"Come on Mr. Stark, we're going on a rescue mission. Of course there'll be stupid heroics. I'm going to save my aunt and Percy, no matter what it takes. Understood?" I parrot him. It's childish but he needs to understand. Because we're going on a rescue mission. It'll be dangerous and hard and will contain stupid heroics if that's what it takes. At the end of the day it don't really matter if I walk away, I made this mess. I made Percy go in. I got my aunt involved by being involved myself. If it weren't for me none of this would be happening. So now it's my job to fix this, in whatever way I can.

Mr. Stark looks at me for a long time. Percy was right, I'm not just some weird kid who shows up every once and a while. Not to Mr. Stark.  In fact, he might have even been right in thinking that he saw me almost like a father would see his son. 

"Peter you know none of this is your fault, right? You didn't make Remix take your aunt. You didn't murder your friends. You only did the best you could. If we could do more than our best we'd be invincible, and no one can be invincible.We'll go in there, we'll get Remix, we'll save Percy if he needs to be saved, and we'll save your aunt." Mr. Stark sounds so sure of himself, so positive that this is exactly what will happen. I'm not so sure, but I want to be.

"What if our best isn't enough?" I finally ask.

"Our best has to be enough." Mr. Stark says simply. And that's all there is to it. Our best has to be enough because our best is all we have. "Now come on, we've got to head in." 

The car which had been driving slowed to a stop. This is, in my opinion, the most dangerous part of the entire operation. For a few short streets three members of the Avengers would be walking the streets of Queens. It doesn't sound overly dangerous, I know, but it is. Because I'm not going to delude myself that everyone in good ol' New York loves the Avengers. Because they were poor and lost and need someone to blame. The worst part is that often their anger isn't unfounded. Some of them had homes that had been destroyed during the battle against the Chitauri, homes that they couldn't afford insurance for. Homes that they no longer had, leaving them without any home at all. Some of them had family that had died or been killed during any number of the Avengers fights against An Evil. But a boy whose parents had checked out after his sister was killed, or a man whose wife had been killed before his eyes while he was powerless the save her, or a little boy whose parents had been murdered leaving him all alone in the world, or a girl whose best friend had died before she could even comprehend what was happening, they couldn't understand that, they didn't want to understand that. Heroes have a responsibility. But it's an impossible responsibility. No one can save everyone, no matter how hard they try.

Collateral damage. That's what the sister was, what the wife was, what the parents were, what the best friend was. But they were so much more than that. They had names and faces and lives that were snuffed out too soon because of An Evil. An Evil it too far away to understand, too much too comprehend, too hard to blame. And so the heroes get blamed and I've never been quite convinced that's wrong. Because we are the people who are supposed to swoop in and save them, even if there is An Evil.

Somehow, miraculously, we make it to the warehouse. We make it there with only stares and raised eyebrows and some people hopping up and down pointing at us. Which is to be expected, seeing as we're both decked out in full combat armor. 

We needed Queens to know we were coming only after we already came. We needed Remix to see us, but she couldn't see us to soon. Hopefully Iron Man and Spiderman sauntering down the street was enough to get her attention, enough to throw her off balance for long enough for Captain Rogers to get the upper hand. 

And if not? That the other reason we came. 

A/N

Help the new principle wants us to Dream Big, Get Involved, Be Nice, and Do That Homework. Was he mistakenly informed that he would be working at an elementary school? Also- does he not understand the rules of capitalization or is this the new school moto because if it is I will disown my school completely.