'Can I just say-,' May Parker put her cup of coffee down on the coffee table. 'I am a really big fan of yours. I think you're amazing.'
'Well, I'm flattered-'
'Oh, I'm sorry, Mr Stark. I meant Miss Storm...'
Susan attempted to stifle her laugh, but the cup of tea that was at her lips made it difficult. Wiping her chin with the sleeve of her jumper, Sue lowered the cup down, its contents sprayed down the side. Her grin was wide as Tony did his best to seem unbothered by May Parker's confession. He slipped one button through its hole on his blazer and cleared his throat, looking away from May who looked embarrassed and amused at the same time.
'No, that's okay. I think its about time Houdini had a fan,' Tony turned to Sue and gave her an envious look.
'I have fans,' she fought back before smiling at May Parker. 'I appreciate your support.'
'Can I ask where you get your hair done? I loved the way you had it when there was the invasion here in New York. I tried to replicate it, but...' May held the ends of her brown hair and ran her finger over the split ends.
'Well, I used to go to a place in Malibu. But since then, I've struggled to find somewhere that deals with radiation-effected hair,' Susan explained with a small shrug. May nodded along before letting out a loud gasp.
'Oh my gosh, how are you going to have it for the wedding?!' the woman uncrossed her legs and stared at the Storm wide-eyed. 'What sort of dress are you going to be wearing? Expensive, probably. Have you decided on a new date, yet?'
'I-It's all just being prepared, at the moment,' Sue looked down at her hands awkwardly. 'We haven't had the time to set a new date. All our previous options were pushed back from... unforeseen circumstances. But we'll be-'
Sue was cut off by the sound of the front door opening and closing from down the hall. Footsteps thudded against the wooden floor, before a young boy appeared in the entrance of the hallway. His brown hair was pushed back off his face and white earphones sat in his ears. At first, he glanced up once to see his aunty who sat on his right.
'Hey, May,' he greeted, turning to throw his backpack into the kitchen corner.
'Hey, how was school, today?'
'Okay. This crazy car parked outside...' the boy's words trailed off as he finally looked up and to his left, where Tony Stark and Susan Storm sat with plates of walnut, date loaf in their laps. Peter Parker's thumb that was jabbed over his shoulder as he mentioned Tony's sportscar sat frozen in place with his eyes as wide as dinnerplates.
'Mr Parker,' Tony greeted, putting his plate of walnut loaf on the coffee table.
Peter took out his earphones and shoved them into his pocket. He spluttered nervously at the sight of the two superheroes in his living room. His eyes flickered back and forth between Tony and Sue, overwhelmed by their presence.
'Um, wha-what are you doing...? Hey, I'm-I'm-I'm Peter...'
'Tony.'
'Susan.'
'I know who you guys are...' Peter flashed a large grin before returning to his stuttering state. 'What are... what are you-what are you guys doing here?'
'It's about time we met. You've been getting my emails, right?' Tony stood up to be in front of Peter Parker.
'Yeah, Yeah. Regarding the...'
'You didn't tell me about the grant,' May spoke up and Peter glanced at his aunty.
'The September Foundation,' Tony finished.
'Right...'
'This walnut, date loaf is exceptional, May,' Sue chimed from the sofa, scooping some into her mouth with her fork. The woman grinned, ecstatic that The Invisible Woman enjoyed her baking.
After some more back and forth, Tony and Peter left the living room to head to Peter's bedroom. Sue and May were left to chat, their walnut loaves finished, and their mugs emptied. Tony informed Sue that May Parker was likely to be unaware of her nephew's enhanced abilities, so she ensured to avoid spilling anything about recruiting him for their fight.
'Peter's parents passed away when he was very young,' May explained how Peter came to be in her care. 'He's an amazing kid. His father was a very intelligent man. It's probably where Peter got his talents from.'
'Tony's very interested in him for this... grant,' Sue forgot the lie they were telling for a moment. 'Quite the prodigy.'
'How are you and Mr Stark?' May asked, her smile friendly and inquisitive of the woman's celebrity life. 'There's also your brother, right? John?'
'Johnny,' she corrected, but hesitated in speaking about him. In the mean time of their conversation, Sue had forgotten why they were here. The situation they were in was difficult enough to have the need to recruit a high school student. And Sue was sat with the student's aunty, who was unaware of her nephew's abilities and what he was really being recruited for.
'And after the wedding? If you don't mind me mentioning, but I don't see a woman like yourself being... able to continue her profession for much longer,' May was careful with her words and Sue jokingly raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
'Are you suggesting that I'm getting old, Miss Parker?'
'O-Of course not! I would never say such a thing to another woman! I just mean that-'
'I understand, May. And you're right. I am getting older and... I can't be The Invisible Woman forever,' Sue bit her lip at the thought. 'I do have a dream to settle down somewhere with Tony. Have a family. A normal life away from the world's chaos. But it will never happen. Not when we are what we are.'
'Anyone can have a family,' the Parker's voice softened at the talk of settling down. 'I can see that Mr Stark is a man of his legacy. But I can also see that he cares for you, and would want to make you happy, no matter what. The way he looks at you... it's like watching him fall in love for the first time.'
Sue felt her cheeks warm at May's words. She imagined Tony's face when he thought she wasn't looking. She sometimes caught him gazing at her with a light smile on his face and his dark eyes filled with adoration. It made her stomach turn to mush and fill her with the urge to giggle like she did when she was young. Tony also had this feeling when he caught her doing the same thing; he would catch her in his peripheral staring at his side profile. As vain as the Stark was, it also made him giddy to know that Susan admired him enough to stare when she thought he wouldn't notice.
'Don't let your fears be absolutes, Miss Storm,' May reached out and took Sue's hand into hers, noticing the sparkles from her engagement ring. 'Holy cow! That's some rock, you've got there!'
---
Steve was suited up and headed towards a grounded helicopter. The runway was clear from operational aircrafts and would let him make a quick getaway. Johnny was waiting for his signal before he would meet him in the sky, Sam not far behind. But their plan was disrupted, when Iron Man and War Machine disabled the helicopter that Steve was heading for, making the man look up. The two slowly descended down to the runway, leaving space between them and their once-close-friend.
'Wow, it's so weird how you run into people at the airport,' Tony's voice came from behind his Iron Man mask. 'Don't you think that's weird?'
'Definitely weird,' Rhodey's voice followed from inside the darker suit.
'Hear me out, Tony,' Steve tried for the last time to persuade the most stubborn man he knew. 'That doctor, the psychiatrist, he's behind all of this.'
T'Challa leapt over a truck, clad in his Black Panther suit and landed next to Tony. He greeted Steve with a nod, and the man greeted back with tight lips. The Wakandian was broad in his suit that was black, a collar of white spikes accompanying the markings around his forearms and wrists. His mask was marked with the same white details and his fingers were sharpened with claws.
Tony, Rhodey and T'Challa stood in a line, the three staring at Steve who was lonesome in sight but backed from a far. Steve knew that T'Challa was angry about his father's death, which appeared to be at the fault of Bucky, but it wasn't. There was too much to explain and there was no guarantee that he would be believed.
'Anyway, Ross gave me thirty-six hours to bring you in. That was twenty-four hours ago. Can you help a brother out?' Tony gave his friend the benefit of the doubt, but he was aware that Steve wouldn't go without a fight.
'You're after the wrong guy.'
'Your judgment is askew. Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday.'
'And there are five more super soldiers just like him. I can't let the doctor find them first, Tony. I can't.'
'Steve,' Natasha stepped into view and took the space beside Rhodey. 'Do you really wanna punch your way out of this one?'
'Alright, I've run out of patience. Underoos!'
At Tony's command, Steve's shield was pulled off his arm and yanked through the air. The man looked up in surprise and saw his shield fly into the hands of a red and blue suit. A web-like substance broke apart from the shield and flew off into the wind. The suit landed on top of a truck, crouched with its eyes narrowed when it looked up from its landing.
'Nice job, kid,' Tony voiced.
'Thanks,' Peter Parker's voice flowed out from under the improved red and blue suit. 'Well, I could've stuck the landing a little better. It's just the new suit... Well, it's nothing, Mr. Stark. It's-it's perfect. Thank you. Cap... Captain. Big fan. I'm Spider-Man!'
Tony resisted a sigh at Peter's excitement and Steve raised an eyebrow at the boy crouched on top of the truck. His suit was lined with a spiderweb design, with eyes angled upwards to create an intimidating expression. A symbol of a spider was placed in the middle of Peter's chest, coloured in black to match the web pattern across the entire suit.
When Steve didn't meet Johnny at the planned time, the torch headed to the runway where the showdown was about to begin. Seeing Steve facing the growing team below, he flew down with his flames diminishing to make his landing. Those who were unaware of Johnny's involvement looked up and watched the fire break into a run as his feet hit the floor. Johnny was suited up in his blue uniform and stopped to be beside Steve.
'Now, this looks like a show I want to get in on,' Johnny stated, glancing up at Peter perched up high. 'Who have you come dressed as?'
'Oh my god, The Human Torch!' Peter squealed. 'You're so cool, man! You're totally my idol!-'
'Alright, enough, kid!' Tony stopped him from his moment of fangirling. He had a feeling that bringing a teenager to the fight would be a bad idea.
From beside T'Challa, Sue materialised in her red suit and blonde hair tied back in a low bun. She stood with one foot back, prepared to break out into a sprint. Steve and Johnny shifted their gazes at her appearance, and Johnny couldn't hide his disappointment. He had hoped she wouldn't come to the fight, because he would struggle to battle against his own sister. But he would stand up for what he knew was right, and that was for Bucky and Steve.
'Sorry, guys,' Sue gave them a shrug of her shoulders that showed she didn't have much of a choice. 'But you're playing at a dangerous game, here. If we don't do this, someone else will.'