“Jackson? Jackson, come take a look at this.” A nurse beckons over to a doctor.

“What is it? It looks, it looks like-“

“Yes. Pure Energy.”

“How? I thought pure energy was found only in-“

“Shh. Not here. They’re listening. Look.” The nurse points at the ceiling, where a fly buzzes around the light bulb.

—TIME SKIP—

I sit on the floor in the back of the truck, just as I have for the past few hours. I wonder where we’re going next. I look out the small window at the blurry fields we’re driving past. Earlier today I was taken from my “room” (more like a jail cell) and brought to this truck. Im thinking about the last time I saw my friends, when suddenly I see a blur of red outside, and a thump on the roof of the truck.

I stand up quickly, taking my hidden poisoned dart out of my shoe. Suddenly I hear the sound of metal against metal, and a piece of the roof falls into the truck. Cringing from the sound, I drop the dart and clamp my hands over my ears. I look around.

“Hi, are you Katie Wilson, also known as Viper?” Says a voice that sounds a few years younger than me.

I look up, seeing a figure in a red and blue suit with a mask on.

”Yes. Who are you?” I ask.

As he opens his mouth to answer, I jump as I hear shouting coming from the front of the truck.

”No time to explain. We have to leave before the drivers find out I’m here. I heard this belongs to you.” He says, and pulls out a black skateboard with no wheels.

I smile.

“I’ve missed that. How will you follow me?” I ask.

“Don’t worry. I have a way. Let’s go.” He says, and quite literally jumps out of the truck onto the roof.

I take the flying board and follow him. It turns out he can shoot webs from his wrists, and manages to keep up with me on my skateboard. We go really fast, and I feel the wind in my hair as we zoom over the almost-empty road in the middle of nowhere. I laugh with joy, I haven’t ridden this for more than 6 months.

“So who are you?” I ask.

”Well, you can call me Peter I guess. But to civilians I’m Spider-Man.” He explains.

I laugh.

”Spider-Man? Why haven’t I heard of you?” I ask.

“I only joined the avengers last month. You were in captivity for 7.” He says.

I lose my smile. 7 months. Of being in captivity. What else has changed since the battle 7 months ago?

“Oh.” Is all I manage to say.

We’re silent for a moment, the wind rushing past us as we get closer and closer to the city.

”So... are you going to tell me your story? I’ll make it easy for you. Why and how did you join the Avengers?” Peter asks.

”well, at first I was just an agent. After a few months, I started developing powers. I can convert energy like friction into a shockwave. Fury had me join then.” I tell him.

He nods.

“Ok. Cool. How did you end up at S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

“Oh. Um. Well, I was babysitting my best friends’ daughter, Cassie. I was driving her home, and N.B.D. bombed a nuclear plant nearby. They took me to S.H.I.E.L.D., because I should have died.” I say.

He studies me closely.

“You don’t look much older than I am. How old are you?” He asks.

“I turned 19 last week, actually, assuming it’s the middle of July. Anyways, why did they send you to retrieve me? Why not like, an adult?” I ask, a bit teasingly.

He looks uncomfortable.

”Well, Fury is probably organizing a team to retrieve you right now. We only learned your location yesterday. But I sensed that it wouldn’t work, so I went myself.” He says.

My heart pounds in my chest as we near the city. Soon enough I can see the headquarters. I land, picking up the board. Peter immediately runs off somewhere when we arrive, leaving me in the entryway. I start walking towards Fury’s office.

“Katie? Katie, is that you?” Says a voice.

I turn around, face to face with my personal trainer and best friend, Xanthe. I run over to her and we embrace.

”Xanthe, it’s so nice to see you!” I say.

Then someone behind me coughs. I turn around to see Fury.

“Hello, Wilson. I’m glad you’re back. Will you come with me?” He says, and starts slowly walking away.

I follow, waving goodbye to Xanthe.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you until tomorrow. Well, I guess now we won’t have to worry anymore. Don’t worry, I’ll have Stark give a talk to Parker today. Go to your apartment, get cleaned up, and head to the meeting room at 13:00. You have 2 hours. See you then. Oh yeah. It’d be better if you wore the suit.” He says, and enters his office.

I head to my apartment, excited to be home. As I finally arrive at the top floor, I have a moment where I can’t find my keys. But then I remember that I didn’t take them with me to the battle, so I didn’t have them in captivity. I try to think of ways to break in, and finally realize that the front door is open. I step inside.

“It’s good to be home.” I say to myself.