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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
iii. FLASHLIGHT

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   RILEY USUALLY FORGOT SHE was considered "famous". She wasn't necessarily a regular celebrity, either. She wasn't an actor like Leonardo DiCaprio or a musician like the boys of One Direction. MJ liked to describe her as a Kardashian with superpowers sometimes.

   Not only was Riley Stark a celebrity, but she was known across the entire galaxy as a hero. She had saved an entire universe, after all, and Riley was more than aware of it. All the nightmares, the trauma, and constant celebration of her and her colleagues reminded her more than enough.

   See, the thing she oftentimes forgot was the fact that people knew her by her real name now.

   She had grown used to people talking about Valor over the years, so it made sense that she was taken aback just a bit whenever the general public would talk about "Riley Stark" and her growing legacy. And the craziest part was that everyone hardly blinked an eye at the fact that she was a Stark! Everyone just cared about Riley, including her peers at camp.

   Since no one at Camp Mirkhaven had their personal devices on them, they were all left to gossiping about Riley behind her back rather than online. Now that Riley was thinking about it, she suspected that Tony had something to do with that little coincidence. The entire camp shared the inciting secret of the valiant Valor's whereabouts.

   Everyone wanted to get to know Valor and her life on a more personal level. Everyone knew who Captain America and Hulk were, but who was Valor? That was a popular question on everyone's minds, even several months after the war. This, naturally, resulted in Riley being faced with dozens upon dozens of questions every single day.

   She was trained to answer PR questions a specific way, so whenever she was confronted by her peers at camp, she was prepared to answer the usual questions she anticipated, such as "What's it like being an Avenger?" and "How did you keep your identity a secret for so long?" However, the questions her fellow campers ended up asking her were certainly more... unique than anything she could've predicted.

   "Who would win in a fight: Thor or Mary Poppins?"

   "Can the Black Panther speak to all cats or just panthers?"

   "If Quicksilver ran fast enough, could he travel through time like that one episode of the Suite Life of Zack and Cody?"

   "Can you please tell Hulk to stop dabbing?"

   Sometimes she would be begged to use her powers of ultraviolet ray manipulation on others. When Riley emphasized that if she did, she would definitely harm them (which wasn't something she wanted to do), almost every single person responded with something along the lines of: "Riley, most of us already died. We can take it."

   If she was being honest, nothing could have ever prepared her for a life like this. She was merely thankful that she had her friends to guide her along on her journey.

   Maneuvering throughout the dining hall early in the morning, Riley squeezed her way past the masses of teenagers before sitting down at one of the many tables. She slid across the bench, the surface cold from being untouched. Her tray sat before her on the table. A sleepy Michelle Jones was opposite Riley at the table. She hardly spared Riley a glance as she stared blankly at the carton of orange juice before her, purple bags pulling down on her brown eyes.

   A small smile played at Riley's lips. "Didn't get much sleep last night?"

   MJ slothfully dragged her blank gaze upward to lock eyes with the superhero. MJ wasn't surprised to see that Riley was glowing with radiance as always. The two contrasted one another in more ways than one, yet they complimented each other at the same time.

   In simple terms, Riley was the sun and MJ was the moon, but whenever they crossed paths, an array of rich colors painted the skies.

   MJ forced a grin, mocking Riley's to some extent. "You're hilarious," she mumbled.

   Riley took her plastic knife and spread a thin layer of cream cheese onto her toasted bagel. She giggled. "I told you not to stay up reading last night," she mentioned rather factually and knowingly.

   "And I told you that just 'cause you've saved the world doesn't mean I'm gonna listen to you."

   Riley hardly blinked. She was used to quippy responses—especially from the people in her life. This was what led her to taunt, "Not even if I told you I can see your booger from across the dining hall?"

   "Joke's on you," MJ mumbled despite reaching out and wiping her nose on her sleeve, "it's a fashion statement."

   "You're hilarious," Riley teased. "I bet you get it from a total comedic genius. Someone like your best friend."

   "Well, yeah," MJ replied truthfully.

   This caused Riley to perk up. Was MJ... complimenting her instead of making a witty remark?

   MJ opened up her carton of juice while continuing, "She graduated from Clown College at the top of her class."

   Riley rolled her eyes and took a bite out of her bagel. She laughed as MJ snickered to herself, clearly proud of her joke. "Well, I'm glad you're a little more awake now," she declared. "You're welcome!"

   MJ just shook her head, chuckling lightly to herself. Meanwhile, Peter Parker slid into the spot next to Riley. "Who's awake?" he asked, his morning voice husky. He let out a yawn as he added, "'Cause it's definitely not me."

   Ned sat down beside MJ, grumbling, "Same." His raven hair was unbrushed, leaving it tousled and free from the morning breeze.

   Riley eyed her friends with a mixture of awe and astonishment in her gaze. Her friends looked unbelievably exhausted. "Geez, you guys look like trainwrecks," she commented. "Does no one here like to sleep or something?"

   Then again, Riley couldn't have said anything against it. She hardly slept these days, the war still feeling like it was yesterday rather than around three months ago.

   "I wish a train would hit me right about now," Peter mumbled, his words slurred due to his tired state. Riley nudged Peter, who just shrugged and popped a blueberry into his mouth. He picked up another and held it toward her. "Berry?"

   Riley silently opened her mouth, allowing Peter to shoot it in like the fruit was a basketball. The duo wore matching grins when he made it in. The sweetness of the blueberry exploded on Riley's tastebuds. "Nice shot," she complimented.

   "It's pretty much my only talent," Peter joked, gaining a giggle from Riley that made his stomach do flips. Although he was exhausted, something about being around her seemed to make Peter perk up. Riley was the wake-up call of Peter's dreams.

   Meanwhile, Ned gulped down his milk and said, "At least we'll get our sleeping schedules back on track for the school year."

   Peter groaned as he mentioned, "Ugh, don't remind me of that. I still can't believe they're making us repeat the whole year."

   "Right?" agreed MJ. "We're gonna be in the same grade as the kids I used to babysit. That should be outlawed."

   Riley silently listened along to the conversation, not able to contribute much to the topic of school. After all, while her friends continued their educations, Riley would be working again. The thought made her frown. She didn't want to say goodbye to her friends—her first real friends that she didn't make through S.H.I.E.L.D.

   "Excuse me," a familiar voice declared with a snobby tone, forcibly squeezing his body between Riley and Peter. The partners-in-justice were seized apart, causing them both to shoot a little glare at their perpetrator, Flash Thompson.

   "Seriously, Flash?" whined Peter as he pulled his tray toward him.

   Completely ignoring Peter's words, Flash merely nodded toward Peter and greeted, "Sup, fuckhead." His demeanor was bright and arrogant as his eyes fell on Ned. "Nice milk-stache, Leeds. Having trouble growing real facial hair?"

   Riley cleared her throat. "Pete's right, Flash. Isn't it kinda early for this?"

   Flash paused, almost as if he were actually thinking about her words. Then, he did a half-hearted shrug. "It's never too early for some Flash," he admitted with a smug look.

   MJ narrowed her eyes at him. "Did you just refer to yourself in the third person?"

   "Maybe," he dismissed before glancing back at the newest leader of the Avengers. "So, Valor, I have a proposition for you."

   Riley arched an eyebrow. "Why do I get the feeling that it's not worth my time?"

   "I think we should become a duo," Flash continued, completely ignoring the Latina.

   "Huh!?" cried out Peter from the other side of Flash.

   "Shut it, Porker," Flash demanded, keeping his attention on the Avenger. Peter's nose scrunched up at the new nickname. "Anyways, I think we'd be a great pair, Riley. I've already thought of our duo name."

   "Flash, what are you talking—?"

   "Flashlight!" interrupted Flash. "Get it? 'Cause I'm Flash and you're light. Thought of it myself, you know. Some might call me a genius."

   "Others might call you annoying," Ned mumbled.

   Riley peered back at her friends, desperate to change the subject without hurting Flash's feelings. "Actually, uh, I'm kinda in between partnerships... sorta," Riley replied. "With Spider-Man." Peter had to fight with himself to not smile like an absolute dork.

   "Plus, if you say it too fast, it kinda sounds like you're saying fleshlight," MJ commented almost too nonchalantly, almost as if she could hear Riley's thoughts of desperation.

   Ned snorted so loud that he nearly shot milk out of his nostrils, whereas Peter and Riley broke out into hushed laughter. Flash's jaw dropped as he cried out, "Ew! That's disgusting!"

   MJ shrugged. "Your problem, not mine."

   Flash shook his head erratically, turning back to Riley. "Look, just think about it. We can both offer each other something," he insisted.

   "Flash, what could you possibly offer me? A headache?" Riley countered.

   Flash just shrugged. He seemed adamant on this so-called partnership. Peter was starting to think he just wanted to be friends with Riley now more than ever to promote his Instagram fanpage for Spider-Man. "I'll let you think about it," he announced before standing up and walking away from the group.

   As soon as Flash was gone, Peter scooted back over. There was a brief moment of silence amongst the group before they all erupted with uncontrollable giggles. Riley buried her face in Peter's shoulder, unable to get a hold of herself.

   "What... What just happened?" Ned asked, to which the others had no response other than laughter.

   "No idea," Peter confessed, amused and somewhat leaning into Riley without realizing it. "I can already tell he's gonna be more of a pain in the ass than usual." That was true. After all, the second day of camp hadn't even really begun yet.

   "LANGUAGE!" Warren practically screeched from the opposing side of the dining hall. Riley and Peter whipped their heads around to see him standing with his hands on his hips in a mall cop-like stance.

   A sigh fled from between Riley's lips. "Something tells me PTA Mom Karen, over there, is gonna be way worse than Flash," she conceded, "which is seriously saying something."

   "Nah," Peter dismissed. "He's just one guy. We, on the other hand, are a team, remember?"

   Riley nodded with another giggle. "You complete me, Parker," she joked with a big smile. "You're so right."

   "What would you do without me?"

   Riley pursed her lips. "Hm, probably still be a badass," Riley answered sincerely. She shrugged, stealing another blueberry off of his tray. Peter mockingly gasped. "What? It's true! You have all the comebacks, and I have the really solid right hook."

   "That's not what Captain Marvel said."

   "Hey, I told you that in confidence!"

   "Confidence in what? You knew I'd hold it against you, tough guy."

   "We can fight right now, you know!"

   MJ and Ned just peered back at each other as their two friends playfully bickered with one another. Was this seriously happening right now?

   "They're so gonna be dating at the end of camp," Ned declared, not minding his volume. It wasn't like either of the superheroes were paying attention.

   MJ shook her head. "No way. One of them's gonna confess, like, way sooner. I say by the end of the week," she theorized.

   Ned raised his eyebrows. "Is that a bet?"

   "You sound scared," MJ taunted.

   "I'm not scared of anything," Ned very obviously lied. He was definitely still a little scared of MJ. "Loser treats the winner to any dessert they want for a week." He offered his hand out to her.

   "Hm... fine," MJ settled. She extended her arm, taking his hand and briefly shaking it. "It's a bet."

   Riley, who had finally finished fake-fighting with Peter, turned back to the others. "What's a bet?" she queried.

   MJ shrugged her shoulders, a lazy smile on her lips. "Oh, nothing. Absolutely nothing."

   Riley narrowed her eyes at her before dismissing the thought altogether. She knew better than to question MJ and her antics by now. All that was on Riley's mind now was how she was going to seriously enjoy this little detour at Camp Mirkhaven more than she once believed.

   Still, she'd never tell Tony and Pepper that their little idea was worth it in the end.