Maya Stark

Chapter 117: An unwelcome visit from the past

The only thing keeping me from falling before I was supposed to was just some webs holding down my feet and one hand. I hated planes. We always end up back on the outside of a plane. Peter was slightly higher up on the plane. I did enjoy the way the wind pushed my hair back and whipped past my ears. The way it pushed back my free arm. It made me feel free. That's why I liked flying so much.

'Alright, comms check,' Happy's said. 'Can you hear me, kids?'

'Yeah, we can,' I said.

'It's just a little loud out here,' Peter said.

'I like the new suit,' Happy said. 'You do nice work, Maya.'

'Thank you,' I said.

'Whoa,' Happy said, noticing the Elemental, 'you two sure that's not real?'

'Yeah, it's just a hundred times bigger than I expected,' Peter said.

'Still the play?' Happy asked.

'Uh-huh,' Peter said. 'We need to get high enough, so Beck doesn't see me coming. Maya, you can always leave now.'

'No, I want to distract him while you're inside the thing,' I said.

'Copy,' Happy said. 'Stay stuck.'

The plane rises vertically once we get next to the Elemental. I swallow in a scream as we rise. I really hated this.

'Hey, Happy,' Peter says.

'Yeah, kid. What is it?'

'We need to have a serious conversation about you and my aunt!' Peter says letting go of the plane.

I laugh as I light up my hands and feet to get rid of the webs. I free fall for a second loving the feeling of the wind whipping past my ears. My hair flies into my face and its different then the last time I was free-falling. I jump out of planes way too much. I light up my hands, stopping in mid-air. I take a second to calm my heart rate and blow the hair out of my face. I then straighten and look down at the Elemental. Peter was about to enter the cloud.

I take a shaky breath and then fly down a little more. My eyes scan everywhere trying to find where Beck was safely standing. I fly past a building and glance in the window. I quickly stop and go backwards. I wave to Fury who had a grim expression. Like he finally realized what was happening. He nods at me, and I keep going. I fly for another second until I see him in the Tower Bridge upper walkway. I land on the ground and run up to get to him. Before I was fully prepared, I was standing across from Beck. He notices me immediately.

'Stark,' Beck said, resentment in his voice.

'You're going to get caught, Beck,' I said. 'Fury already saw me.'

Beck shakes his head. 'You had such promise, Maya. You have such promise to take on the world. Make people bow to you. With the amount of people that let you down, are you really surprised you had such an urge to become the villain?'

'No,' I said. 'Neither was anyone else. But the difference between you and me is that I had good influences. Even if they did let me down.'

'Like who? Like Captain America? Steve Rogers was nothing more than a selfish—'

'Steve believed in me,' I cut him off. 'Steve, Nat, dad. They believed I would do something amazing with my life. And I plan to. The right way.'

'Oh, come on, Maya,' Beck rolled his eyes. 'A month ago, I offered you anything you ever wanted, and I could see the darkness in your eyes. There's something in you that wants to be released.'