Rise || Marvel

《31》Brain Smoothie

《 Tia's POV 》

"Damn..." I muttered, peering out of the smashed window to scan the surrounding streets, "I can't see that dude anywhere."

"At least we know he won't be bothering this place anymore," Peter said helpfully. He'd taken his mask off, probably because it had been kind of weird to hear each other from both the earpieces and from right next to each other, "He said that whatever he was looking for isn't here."

"True... Wonder what he was actually looking for, though..." I sighed, turning back to face the brown-haired male. Peter shrugged.

"No idea," He admitted grudgingly, "Uh, Mr. Stark said that he's sent Happy to pick us up, by the way, and that he'd talk with the managers of this and sort everything out."

"Mmkay."

Peter stooped to pick up my discarded staff as I swept the broken shards of glass into a rubbish bin- couldn't leave sharp pieces of glass for theelderly to accidentally step on.
Afternoon sunlight streamed through the window, casting intricate patterns over the walls through the jagged borders of the smashed area. Brushing off my hands, I wandered over to Peter. He handed me the staff.

"Thanks," I let myself smile as I accepted it, twirling the pole around before it. It automatically shrunk back down to about the length of my hand.

Peter stretched, "Happy will be here soon..."

I nodded, "We should probably let that lady know what happened... What are we on... The third floor?"

"Eh, probably," Peter surveyed the corridor, "I wouldn't have any idea. It was kind of hard to tell what floor I was on when I was crawling around the ventilation shafts."

I cast one last uneasy glance back at the window. A chilly breeze was sweeping gently through the gap. Involuntarily, I shuddered.

"You coming?" Peter asked hesitantly, pausing on the second top step of the stairs.

"Yeah," I mentally shook myself and jogged to catch up with Peter, "What was it like in the vents?"

He ran his hand through his hair, grimacing, "Horrible. I had hardly any room to move..."

"Wow, you must have been glad to get out of there..." I jumped down the last three steps before moving onto the next staircase.

"I was. I don't really like enclosed spaces where I can hardly move," Peter exhaled. He hopped down the final staircase, taking the stairs two at a time. By this point, we were back in the administration area. It was just like it had been when I had come through earlier, except that the woman wasn't waiting cheerily behind the desk.

"Spiders first!" I joked, mock bowing to Peter.

"Fire midgets first!" He shot back, grinning.

"Touché. Might want to put your mask back on, too."

Peter looked down at his hands, evidently having completely forgotten he was carrying the fabric. He quickly slipped it on as I carefully shoved open the creaky door.
We trotted down the front steps to find a small group of elderly men and women huddled together next to the neighbouring building. The lady who had been giving me the 'grand tour' was in deep conversation with none other than Tony Stark, while Happy in a fedora leaned against the side of a silver car several feet away. (Why a fedora, I had no idea).

"...So repair costs will be covered, and you can be assured that the intruder won't be back," Tony was explaining. The lady smiled gratefully, then appeared to notice Peter and I approaching and gave us a small wave.

"Ah, you two," Tony frowned the moment he saw us, "Head back home. I'll be in touch soon to discuss important matters with you both."

Oof. He sounds annoyed.

The cluster of senior citizens eyed us curiously as we passed. I peered back at them in interest from under my hood, hoping to possibly spot Odin, but Happy ushered me into the back seat of the car before I could get a good look at every face.

"Alright, same rules as always," Happy recited in a bored voice, "No webs and no fire in the car."

"Aye sir," I replied. Haha, I just said, 'Aye sir,' to 'Happy'. Get it?  What am I doing with my life, honestly.
I clipped my seat belt into place and leaned against the backrest, "Are we going back to Stark Tower or to Peter's place?"

"I'll drop you off at your apartment, Peter," Happy glanced back at Peter and I, apparently making sure we both had our seat belts on before easing his foot onto the accelerator, "And Tia, you already live at Stark Tower. Tony will probably be in contact with both of you soon, as soon as he gets a good idea of what's going on. Are you two hurt? I've got a First Aid kit under the front passenger seat..."

"Oh, we're fine! Thanks anyway!" Peter chuckled sheepishly. I pressed my face against the window, staring at the passing terrain as Happy angled the car onto the main road. Side note, I have no idea why characters in movies always lean their heads against the car or bus window. It feels ridiculous! It's like your brain's being turned into a smoothie! Like, you're tired so you lean your skull against the window, but NOPE, suddenly your brain is being blended into a meat smoothie.

"What're you thinking about?" Peter's voice jerked me out of my ludicrous thoughts.

"Huh?"

"You've got that look where you're thinking of something," Peter explained. I have a specific 'look' when I do that? Since when?!

"You're doing it again," He informed me. WHAT.

"I was thinking about how leaning your head against the car window isn't as great as it looks in movies," I puffed my cheeks out like a Jigglypuff, "It honestly feels like my brain's being turned into a smoothie instead."

"What the heck goes on in that head of yours..." Happy demanded, sounding genuinely curious to what my response would be.

"Smoothie making, apparently!" Peter snorted.

"It's strawberry and blood flavour," I added airily.