the strongest avenger

thirty seven

"You see the new kid yet?" Ned asks as the three of them sit down at their usual table for lunch.

"Yeah, he's in geometry with us." the girl replies.

"Nice, nice. I wonder who the new kid'll be next year. Seeing as we get one each year." Ned winks at Tal.

Tal chuckles as she digs into her salad. She cringes, as it's literally just lettuce. Tal had geometry, robotics, and computer science with Peter before lunch. Afterwards, she has astronomy and gym with Peter and Ned, and then english 3 and aerospace engineering.

"You guys excited for astronomy?" Tal asks with a smirk on her face.

"Not really." Ned says.

"I guess, are you?" Peter resists a smile.

"Yes I am. It's definitely my favorite subject, stars and planets and all that."

Tal singles in on Peter's thought that's poking at her head.

You're gonna have to pretend that you're not an alien for this class.

I've been doing that for the past four years.

True.

Tal pulls back from his mind and finishes her lunch.

"Quick question for you two."

Ned and Peter look at the girl expectantly.

"I've been seeing posters on the walls about a Homecoming committee. What's a Homecoming?"

Peter and Ned just blink at the girl.

"How the hell do you not know what a homecoming is?" Ned asks.

She shrugs and bites her lip, a little embarrassed.

"It's a dance—well there's a game, a football game. And then the homecoming dance." Peter explains.

"What do you mean a dance?"

"Like where you get a date and everyone dresses up."

"I'm so confused." She says.

Ned puts his face in his hands.

"Basically you go to the dance with someone, or alone or with friends, and then there's music and dancing and food. And everyone dresses up. The girls wear dresses, and the boys wear like fancy shirts. But I mean if you wanna wear a shirt and not a dress that's cool too." Ned explains.

"So...you come here and just...dance?"

"I guess, we've never been to a dance." Peter says.

"Oh. Well maybe this year you guys could go."

They shrug, leaving Tal thinking about dancing.

"Did you guys see the video about the new Avenger?" Ned asks causing Talia to choke on her water.

Peter leans over and pats her back, worry in his eyes. "What new Avenger?" Peter asks.

"One sec."

Talia composes herself and leans forward as Ned shows them a video located on a short news article. Her eyes widen as she sees herself in the video, when she was practicing on the outdoor pavilion at the Tower. Her and Peter watch the tree grow and watch flowers blossom. Luckily, the video only shows the back of her head.

"Where'd they get that?" She asks.

"Some drone I think. You feeling okay? You look pale."

"I'm good, yeah I'm good. Can I see that?" She holds her hand out.