Copper Feather

6

Evie sat on her bed. Tony is my new Steve. No. Tony is my new father. No. Is Tony my new... father figure? Maybe. Tony is my new person to talk to when Peter isn't an option. Undoubtedly.

She laid down. She muttered to herself, then decided to go on a fly. She walked to her closet and asked it for wing-friendly shirts. She selected a light teal, and coppery-jeans presented themselves. She put on her favorite boots. "Jarvis, alert Tony I'm leaving the premises. I'll be in Central Park, and I'll be flying. Security gear will be activated." The AI agreed to the commands, and Evie walked to the balcony and off the edge, reappearing a few seconds later. Her wingspan just continued growing. It was now about 5 feet, but she suspected it would end up about 8ft. She pulled her wings around herself and plummeted. She pulled out of the dive, exhilaration flooding her senses. She perched on top of a larger tree and watched a ladybug chew a sizeable hole into a leaf.
Her mind wandered, but the crisply chilly afternoon air kept her grounded, kept her from the dangerous meandering of her mind. She cleared her head, looking up when a red blur flashed on the outside of her vision. Suddenly, her wings were out, ready to attack, and she was coiled like a spring. She watched the blur circle once more, before slipping down into the foliage. She pressed the feather, turning on comms. "Tony, code red, unidentified threat." The comms system crackled into life, then the voices of the Avengers were non-stop in her ears. She followed the procedure for an evacuation mission, climbing down onto the ground. "I'm forwarding my coordinates." Tony 'Ahmed' again when he received them. "Securely on the ground. Walking towards the tower." Peter swung into her vision. "Eye on target." She leaped onto Peters back just as a knife grazed her back. She pulled a feather from her belt and dropped it. The man in red looked up at her in confusion, then the bomb exploded. Peter swung them away, into the city.

***

Peter let Evie off his back gently, silently telling Karen to do full-body systems check on the both of them. They came back good, as the knife wound she's obtained had already begun to heal. "Who was that?!" shouted Tony as he walked into the room. "I don't know, Tony, calm down," said Evie patiently. "No! A member of my team just got hurt because I wasn't there." Bruce walked into the room, examined the situation, then walked back out. He returned just as Evie and Tony hugged, and Peter was nowhere to be seen. "See? I told you two it wasn't going to work! You need to fall into some routine, or it'll tear the team apart."

Bruce handed them the mugs of hot chocolate he'd just made as he led them to the balcony. They sipped it slowly, watching the steam rise up around their faces. Evie looked up to Tony, the lights of the city surrounding her. They reflected back up into her eyes, making them gleam. It took Tony aback. Evie had so much going on. The panic attacks, the steve-father-tony issue, and just being a teenager. But despite all that, she still stayed strong. It was so admirable.

Tony stepped closer to Evie, sliding one arm around her small figure. Evie's eyes were getting heavy, it was obvious she was tired. She laid her head on Tony's shoulder, closing her eyes. She was almost asleep when she whispered, nearly inaudibly, "Thanks, dad."

Tony's heart jumped into his throat, but Evie either didn't notice what she'd said, or she'd intended to. She fell asleep, and Tony carried Evie back inside to her room. Peter was watching from the couch, and he climbed into bed with Evie once she was comfortable. Peter fell asleep quickly.

Thor went into Evie's room the next morning to wake her up and nearly had a heart attack. Evie and Peter were cuddled quite comfortably. "Wake up!" Evie rolled away from Peter, getting up. She went to the bathroom, and Thor heard the shower start. Peter, however, needed more coaxing. "I'll save you some chocolate-chip pancakes!" Peter was up for a start, running to his room to shower.