young avengers → infinity war & endgame [p. parker]

THE WAR: ONE

"The door is more than it appears. It separates who you are from who you can be. You do not have to walk through it... You can run."

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THE WAR BEGINS

NEW YORK CITY
     "So junior prom?" Manny found it assuming to see his niece flipping through a magazine to try to find the perfect dress, never thinking Valeria would be doing this. Much less seem excited about it. "I never thought you'd say yes."

"Tony practically pushed me to do so. He offered to find and pay for the dress, but knowing him he'd go above and beyond so I just told him I'd find something at a thrift shop. His heart almost dropped and we settled on a dress from this catalog." Midtown High's junior prom was this weekend and Valeria had been invited. She initially declined, knowing that Harry had other contenders in line that he would actually be able to take as a date. But with a little help from Tony and Rhodes, Valeria accepted. Her best friend swore that she accepted when she found out they'd actually be going with a group: Michelle, Ned, Betty, and Peter. She would neither confirm or deny that allegation.

It had been a little over a year since Valeria left Midtown High for the Avengers compound. She was more than caught up in her studies, being able to graduate high school this summer. Tony was already looking into early starts in MIT or Columbia for her. To say she was able to control her powers now was an understatement, Valeria was mastering and discovering more and more about what she was capable of. Tony built her protective gear with his new nanotech that she could summon with the AI he also connected into her glasses, urging her that she never knew when she'd need it. Val was initially against it, wanting a simple outfit while she was out on missions, not some knock off Iron Man inspired gear. Rhodes cleared up her questions vaguely, telling Valeria that Tony didn't want her freezing up in the sky like he had once. She didn't always have to use it, only when she deemed it necessary.

While Tony always inserted improvements into her emergency iron suit, Valeria was also working on her own invention. She didn't tell Tony or Rhodey about it, but she's sure they'd notice her presence in the lab as she spent long nights there. Valeria was probably letting her nerd side take over too much, but she also wanted to make it come true. She needed something that could help balance all of her powers, using a staff in the meantime. But Valeria knew it'd eventually run its course and she needed something else. If her favorite films taught her anything, it was that.

Her constant pop culture references always got her a comparison towards Peter Parker from Tony.

When she wasn't in the lab, home school, training, or on a small mission that the government let them do, Valeria was on skype with Harry, Manny, and Peter. The first two were expected, Peter became something natural. At first, it happened due to her guilty conscience, knowing she'd left when their unique superhero bond was hitting off. Peter didn't deserve that. She still wonders how they continued talking, maybe it was because she loved hearing about his adventures being the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Queens was in good hands.

"Well, pick a whichever one you like. Your boyfriend that isn't your boyfriend is gonna love it either way, mija." Closing the catalog, Valeria shot her uncle a look as he finished off the food order he was working on. "Tio, its been three years. Harry is just my bestfriend."

"I'm talking about the one that's supposed to meet you here in 10 minutes, Valeria. And that's not Harry." Before Valeria was able to say anything, as she already knew where he was going with this, she felt that feeling in her chest. She hadn't felt it in so long, it was screaming to her that something was happening not so far from there. Ignoring her uncle's growing confused and concerned look, she pressed the button on top of her glasses.

"Bonnie, can you please try calling Tony?" Her glasses' lenses then showed the call failing, immediately asking her AI, whom she named after her late mother, to show her what was happening as she could feel the screams and fear that was arising in people. Valeria felt her heart drop as the image of Tony with Bruce and two other men facing off against two out of this world creature was being shown in her glasses.

Looking over at her uncle, who seemed bewildered at his niece's actions, Valeria took a deep breath as she grabbed something from her bag before walking towards Manny. Without saying a word, she embraced her uncle. He didn't say anything, only hugging her back. "Te quiero mucho Tio, I'll be back. I promise." This was the first time he was actually saying goodbye to her before she went off on a mission, all the other times she had already been at the Avengers compound. "Tell Harry that I may be a little late to junior prom."

Giving her a weak smile as they let go of the hug, Manny laid his hand on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "What about Peter?"

Realizing that it was already 10 minutes past the time he was supposed to be there to eat some quesadillas, Valeria shook her head. Everything inside her was telling her exactly where he was. "Don't worry, something unexpected popped up."