Rising Power ~ p. parker

Unmasked

"What the hell happened back there?" Tony boomed.

Taylor leaned back in her seat and pressed the ice harder against her shoulder. She sighed, "just wasn't expecting that, I guess."

On any normal day, she would have gladly pushed Spider-Man in front of that bus she just avoided throwing him under. She felt nothing but contempt towards that man. What has he ever done that worked out in her favor?

The voice in her head seemed against calling him out. It wasn't always this way, but Taylor had grown to trust the voice in her head. It always knew things before she did. Its wise intuition was now welcomed.

Tony paced around the med bay while his trainees sat in front of him. His heart began to fill with guilt when he glanced over at Taylor tilting her head back in pain as the medical assistant sanitized the cut in her leg. He didn't understand how Peter came back unscathed, yet Taylor was barely conscious.

"You two had a simple mission. In and out. See what was going on then get the hell out. What weren't you expecting?" Agent Romanoff crossed her arms as she glared at the teenagers. She could do harder missions in kindergarten.

"It's not my fault I didn't know one of them was a bomb!" Taylor defended. Her voice still sounded deeper, as she still kept the metal face plate on. "All of the big dudes dogpiled on top of me before I could grab something."

Natasha, still not having it, furrowed her brows. "You have powers."

"It's more complicated than that," Taylor mumbled.

Tony turned his attention to Peter, who sat on a bench across from Taylor with his elbows on his knees and head in his hands. "Where were you?"

"There was a fire across the bay. I thought those people were in more danger." He regretted not listening to Mr. Stark, but at least he knew everyone was safe. "Also I thought she could handle it. As much as I hate to admit it, she's kinda awesome."

Taylor was offended. "Kinda?"

"Kid, that's no excuse. You can't just abandon your team like that. New York has people who handle the fires. They're called firefighters," Tony explained.

Taylor bobbed her head in agreement. She was too busy fighting off exhaustion to comment. She made a mental note to start practicing with her powers more. They have been leaving her more drained every time she uses them.

Peter opened his mouth to argue, but he knew his mentor was right. The intense guilt he was feeling made heat rise to his cheeks. It was suddenly very hot under his mask.

Natasha leaned against the wall by Taylor and continued her lecture. "Now the Extremis guys know someone is on their tails. Unfortunately for us, we didn't have a backup plan if the element of surprise didn't work."

As Agent Romanoff kept talking, he felt his cheeks grow redder. His mask became hotter and tighter until it was unbearable. Peter ripped it off his face to try to cool down. "Mr. Stark, I'm sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing."

"I understand that. But, kid, you gotta start thinking a little more." Tony folded his arms and held a hand to his face in thought as he tried to come up with a way out of this.

Taylor turned her attention to the two men and away from her ice to watch them figure things out. She froze and her mouth fell open when she recognized those familiar brown curls bounce around an even more familiar face.

Peter.

A tidal wave of emotions came crashing down on her in a second. Confusion. Disbelief. Anger. Guilt. She lived her life filled with so many lies she lost count. Before her stood the one person she believed to be different.