Shadowbreath: The New Avenger

Chapter 22

Edit (02/01)

Missouri was their first stop.

Over the past few months, Tony and Peter had developed a cloaking device for the Quinjet and the Avengers' eyes had lit up when he suggested installing it before they left for Clint Barton's farm. Sam had whistled and shook his head in disbelief. "Damn, kid, are you sure you aren't Stark's? We all know how he used to get around in the day, you seem smart enough to have inherited those genius genes."

Peter wasn't able to keep the blush from spreading across his cheeks, so he ducked his head below the main dashboard where the interface was kept. F.R.I.D.A.Y. was providing the schematics of the ship and little pointers so that they could be sure it was installed correctly. After about an hour, Peter pushed away and found Steve holding a towel for him to wipe his hands off on. "Thanks," he said with a little smile. Things were still awkward with the other Avengers since he wasn't sure what to say or how to act around them. The last time he had seen any of them was in Germany when they were fighting against one another.

But his talk with Steve had helped, along with the fact that Pepper was wiring the money at midnight on the dot to ensure Alex's father wouldn't hurt Tony anymore waiting for it. Peter wasn't quite so angry at Steve anymore, especially since the guy was so damn sincere. He'd never known anyone else who had such crystal blue puppy dog eyes working in their favor. "No problem, Peter. It's really swell of you to do this. It's going to help keep the government from interfering if they can't see or track the quinjet."

Peter shrugged, unsure how to take a compliment from Captain America. "It's no problem. I don't want you guys getting arrested before we have a chance to save Tony and Alex. It shouldn't matter in a few months anyway, though. The Accords will set things straight."

He only made it a few feet before he realized that Steve wasn't walking next to him. When he turned around, the super soldier had stiffened, and his brow was furrowed in obvious confusion.

"You okay?"

Steve seemed to come back to himself, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"That the Accords would set things straight..." Peter responded slowly, not sure what the Captain was having trouble with.

The older man crossed the distance between them in two strides, and Peter had to take a step back when the super soldier stepped into his personal space. "You're going to have to explain this one to me, Pete. The last I heard anything about the Accords was when Tony tried to get me to sign them a year ago."

Ah. Peter wasn't sure if he was really the right one to be explaining something like this. Pepper would really know what she was talking about. "Uh, I mean, Tony told me about it. He's been working with the government for like six months now on trying to fix things. The provisions within the new reforms would guarantee that all of the charges against any member of the Avengers are dropped. He also made sure that the team operates on its own terms. The Avengers will still technically be under the supervision of the United Nations, but as long as you guys have evidence to back up your own decisions, then it's all fair game."

Steve blinked a few times before a wide grin stretched across his face, lighting up his movements. Suddenly, Peter was engulfed in a Captain America-sized hug with his feet dangling off the ground. "Ooomf!"

"Pete, this is incredible. Tony's been working on this for the past six months?" His voice was dosed with awestruck wonder and he set Peter down but kept his large hands on his shoulders. "I can't believe it. All of this time, I thought he would have moved on from the idea of us coming home. But he has just been working to bring the Avengers together again."