Heartlines | Steve Rogers

XXVI

TWENTY SIX
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As Tony was in India and Meredith was left to her own devices, she was eventually interrupted from her work by Friday. "Miss, you should know that Mr. Parker is flying at a dangerous height."

Meredith eyed the tracking device to see his location. He was at an unusual altitude, wearing the suit. All the sudden, the altitude began depleting. She had no time to put the suit on and go after him, so she demanded Friday send one out. She placed on the headset and controlled the suit from the comfort of the compound. She watched him plummet into the water with his parachute wrapped around him. She hurried in after him and grabbed his limp body. As she was flying him back to a safe spot, he woke up for a moment. "Oh, hey, Ms. Stark." She sat him He began to explain what happened. "Then, he just swooped down and picked me up, and took me up like a thousand feet and just dropped me. How'd you find me? Did you put a tracker in my suit?"

"We put everything in your suit, Peter. Including this heater." She noticed his shivering. She pressed a couple of buttons and he moaned out pleasantly as she turned on the heater.

"Oh, that's better. Thanks." He nodded. She gave him a look as she sighed out. He was sitting on a small jungle gym and the suit she was controlling hovered above him.

"Peter, what were you thinking?" She asked. His eyes widened slightly at her. He gestured in the other direction.

"The guy with the wings is the source of the weapons! I gotta take him down!" He exclaimed, not sure why she wasn't understanding how pressing the situation was.

"There are people who handle that sort of thing." She assured him, not wanting him to be a part of a mission that's obviously too dangerous for him. It wasn't necessarily that she didn't think he was able to handle it, in fact, she knew he was more than capable of handling it. But, she couldn't live with herself if he or anyone else got hurt. She had too much blood on her hands, and he was just a kid.

"The Avengers?" He asked excitedly.

"Below their paygrade." She replied. He pursed his lips.

"Ms. Stark, you didn't have to come out here. I was fine, I had it." He shrugged coolly, trying to play it off. All he ever wanted was to impress her and Tony. It seemed all he ever did was disappoint them or get in their way, but he wanted to be just like them. He was going to get this guy, and they were going to see he was a real superhero, an Avenger.

"I didn't come out here." She opened the helmet of the suit, revealing there to be no one inside. He made an 'o' shape with his mouth. "You should be thankful for that tracker in your suit, otherwise you'd be toast right now. Just forget the vulture guy, please." She pleaded desperately with him. He sighed, giving her a look.

"Why?"

"Because I said so. Stay close to the ground and build up your game helping little people. Like uh, like that lady that bought you the churro." She nodded quickly. "Can't you just be a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man?"

"But I'm ready for more than that now!" He whined, and Meredith narrowed her eyes at him, as if he could see. It was times like this when she wished there was a way for the Iron Man and Woman suits to show expression, but then she would realize how creepy that would look.

"No, you're not. The very fact that you say that assures me you're not. And I'm not Tony, so you can't pull the fighting Captain America card. It's not like any of them were going to hurt you. If he wanted to lay you out, he would've, trust me. Now, listen to me, if you come across those weapons again, call Happy." She told him. He groaned, tired of being treated like a little kid. She was right about the Captain America fight, he totally would've pulled that card if she hadn't said something. There was no way she couldn't believe he was ready for more than just local candy store thieves and alleyway bullies.