Just the Start

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Peter held up his phone as the message "You Arrived" appeared. Even though he knew where he was, he wanted to make sure he wasn't delusional for being there. He dropped the hand with his phone to his side and furrowed his brows.

In front of him, steel beams popped out of the ground. Fresh concrete paved new pathways than where he remembered them to be. Tarps covered the areas where wood stood to outline the new building's interior. Nothing was as it used to be.

A whistle broke Peter's concentration and he eagerly looked to his right to see Tony standing in front of the only building that was completed out of the other construction sites. It was much smaller than what the rest looked like it was going to be, but still larger than any place he had lived in.

It was a one-story building, and the wall facing him was floor-to-ceiling windows with black beams in between each panel. Dark wood siding connected the top and bottom part of the windows and wrapped itself around the rest of the rectangular building. The roof was at an angle with the higher part in the front.

"You're late," Tony said as Peter finally approached.

"It's seven fifty. I'm ten minutes early."

"Well everyone's been waiting on you."

Peter furrowed his brows once more. "Everyone?"

Without responding, Tony led Peter through the glass door. As they entered, a receptionist's desk with the same wood siding as the exterior greeted them. No one sat in the empty chair, but the words "Welcome Center" in large metallic letters hung behind the desk.

"When did you start rebuilding? This place has been in ashes for months. How have I not heard about this?" Peter asked in amazement but also hurt.

"I started rebuilding the minute Valen came home. What's a team without a base?"

Peter nodded, still wanting to know how he hadn't heard about the construction, especially with how fast things were moving along. It had been months since Nitro bombed the Avenger's Compound, and Tony never touched it. Now, it was becoming a whole new place.

His eyes continued roaming his new surroundings. A wall, even from behind the desk, extended down to his right with two opaque glass doors. One had a man silhouette and the other a woman, but Tony was not headed toward the bathrooms. Instead, he led them to the left. The wall didn't extend into a hallway as the other side did, but rather ended a couple of feet from the desk and extended backward toward the back end of the building.

Peter's view was of an open-concept sitting area. In the middle were two red half-circle couches facing each other. They were seated in front of a fireplace that was currently not in use, but would perhaps be enjoyed later in the year.

To his surprise, his whole team was in there. Wanda laid her head on Vision's shoulder as his arm rested along the couch's back. Nat, Bucky, and Sam were all discussing something that made each of them laugh. Thor, with crossed arms, looked out at the water at the other end of the building. Loki stood next to him. Steve and Clint sat content in silence. And Scott sat happily watching everyone.

When Sam spotted Tony and Peter, he threw up his hands. "Well if the prodigal son hasn't returned."

Tony, in a fatherly way, slapped Peter's back. "Now that we're all here-"

"Bruce hasn't arrived." Natasha cut in.

"He didn't say he was going to."

"He's part of the team. You called an emergency meeting. He wouldn't miss this."

"It's been a while since we've been a team." Tony corrected. "I'm not sure if he's finally taken to retirement."

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