"HI, AGAIN," SPIDER-MAN'S VOICE WAS LIGHT, ALMOST LIKE A CHILD'S. He sounded excited..but cautiously optimistic. Spider-Man was wearing his entire costume and the whites of his mask kept opening and closing- as if he was thinking.

Sofia did not like it. She didn't like not knowing what he was thinking behind that mask. Usually, she could read someone's facial expression like a book, but not if there were hiding behind spandex. 

But she'd thought to level the playing field by wearing her own super suit. She wanted to be hard to get and not an easy trusting little girl. Sofia wanted Spider-Man to earn her trust and in the meantime, he'd grow to trust her, too.

"Hello," she wore Valentina's signature smile and acted sweet like candy. 

Tony Stark stood in between the two of them. He shrugged his shoulders, "I thought it'd be good for our two Avengers in training to get to know each other. I know you might not want to reveal your identities just yet, but that'll pass with time." 

Sofia rocked back and forth on her heels, waiting for Tony to leave them alone. 

After a few seconds, Tony got the silent memo. He awkwardly excused himself from the room. It was painfully obvious that he was new to the whole 'I have to work with teenagers' idea. 

"So how are you liking the Avengers' Compound so far?" Spider-Man asked, his voice higher in pitch. He was nervous. 

I hate it, I hate everything about living here, everyone thinks they're so entitled, she wanted to say. But instead, Sofia said, "Oh it's great. It can be...weird.. to live in the same place with the heroes I grew up watching on TV," she added a light and playful tone at the end showing she was not intimidating.

"Yeah, I can understand that. I got offered to live here last year but I think I'd miss out on my-" he used air quotes, "-high school years."

Sofia memorized every piece of information as if she were studying for an exam. So he was in high school and got offered a position as an Avenger last year. That alone should be enough to reveal his identity; not a lot of people get offered to become an Avenger and deny it. 

"I technically graduated high school two years ago," she admitted, making him curious. He was drawing closer, exactly what she wanted. "I'm sixteen though." 

Giving him her real age shouldn't hurt. If anything, it'll get him to open up more. 

"Woah, I'm sixteen, too!" She was surprised he had simply said that so easily. He clearly does not take care of his personal life as well as he should. Sofia smiled, he had just given her another vital piece to her figuring out who he is. Spider-Man continued, "You must be really smart then. Like super smart."

"My parents always said I was an achiever, achieving anything I could ever dream of," Sofia didn't even flinch when she brought up her dead parents. She felt nothing. However, it was completely true, she did accomplish everything she put her mind to, just like she's going to take down the Avengers.

"Said? As in past tense?" his voice was now careful as if he were treading dangerous waters. 

"Yes," Sofia forced some emotion onto her voice, "They died when I was young."

Yay, some emotional trauma dumping, she mentally scoffed. It was gross honestly. 

"Mine too," he added quietly, trying to make Sofia feel better about herself. 

She was now glad to be wearing a mask because she just cringed. Sofia had not given him an invitation to sulk in his own sadness. She had to bite her tongue to stop her from responding with a harsh comment. "I'm sorry." 

She wanted to vomit.

"It's alright," Spider-Man replied, "I've-" The superhero paused abruptly, turning his head to the left. The whites of his mask squinted. "Something's up in the city right now." 

Sofia was now impressed and knew another key detail about the superhero. He had excellent hearing. She now knew to be cautious with everything she says around him. Then she realized that if he could hear all the way to the city, then he could definitely hear her heartbeat and breathing patterns. This would make lying a bit harder for her. 

"Want to go?" Sofia asked with a mischievous smile. It would allow her to learn more about the spider kid. 

Spider-Man stuttered, "What about Mr. Stark? He said he needed me for something h-here." 

With a roll of her eyes, Sofia continued, "C'mon, I'm sure he doesn't need you right now. Besides, we'll be back before he even notices we left," she made sure to use her best convincing tone. Having Spider-Man under her influence would be a great thing to have. 

He turned his head to the door and back to Apex. He balanced his options: save someone who's in danger with Apex...or risk Mr. Stark getting mad at him. Obviously, he knew the correct answer. "Okay, let's do this."

-♕-

He would not stop talking. 

Spider-Man would not shut the hell up! He kept rambling on and on as the two of them made their way to the crime scene. Sofia felt like burning his mouth off. She was willing to do anything for him to shut up.

Sofia closed her eyes for a split second, trying to remain calm. She kept reminding herself that this would all be worth it in the end...if Spider-Man doesn't talk her to death before then. 

Once the sirens got louder, the girl noticed that they seemed to be moving and not in a steady position. Mid-air, she turned to Spider-Man, "I think it's a car chase. The police are racing north so we should follow. Maybe even take a shortcut."

"Good idea!" he paused, focusing his senses to determine what shortcut would work. He can hear the police and the car the police are chasing. It's got a...clunky sound to it. It's probably a truck or SUV, he thought. "Let's go northeast. We'll cut directly onto the street the criminal is on."

Finally, some action!  Sofia followed Spider-Man as he made a sharp turn on the next street.  After a few quick seconds, she could perfectly see the runaway car. It was a black Range Rover SUV. Nice car, sucks that it will most likely be destroyed. 

She gained momentum and launched her stop on top of the car. The driver most likely heard her so she planned to move quickly. Using the light rays, she created a hole in the roof allowing her to drop down into the car. 

The person in the passenger seat saw her immediately and drew his gun. She was about to deflect his attack when suddenly a web pulled the gun away from his hand. One second later, Spider-Man landed on the side door. "Hey buddy, nice gun!"

Sofia then realized the criminal left the window open. Idiot. 

Spider-Man reached through the window and slammed the guy's head against the headboard, knocking him out. "Oops," he taunted. Now there was only one person left to take care of. 

The driver took their brief moment of distraction and swerved the wheel. Sofia was tossed around in the car but quickly recovered. She's used to being knocked off her feet. But what she hadn't seen was the driver's gun pulled at her head. 

He looked at Spider-Man, "Move, and she gets it!"

Apex rolled her eyes. "You're so stupid," she told the driver. His eyes were still staring at Spider-Man, making sure he doesn't do anything. 

Sofia focused on the gun's handle and sent a ray beam at the guy's hand. The man dropped the weapon instantly, crying out in pain. His other hand left the wheel, making the truck lose control once more. 

This time, Sofia predicted his loss of control. Before anything happened, she jumped back out the way she came in. She landed softly on the floor and dusted off her hands. 

The truck rammed into a pole, stopping the car chase. Sofia hopes they ended up dying for making her do all this extra effort. What a waste of time. 

She turned around and saw the police stopping right behind where she was. A few of them ran up to the car making sure it was all clear, and others checked the perimeter.

Spider-Man caught up to her, "That could have gone worse. At least no bystanders were injured and buildings are still intact. I call that a win."

A news truck pulled up just a few feet away from the heroes. One woman busted out of the back seat, holding a microphone, and charged up to Apex and Spider-Man. She began asking dozens of questions. 

Prepared to answer them all, Sofia thrived in attention. But before her mouth could open, a strong hand took hers and pulled them away from the scene. Sofia looked up to see Spider-Man swinging the two of them towards the closest skyscraper, "What are you doing? I was going to answer their questions!" More importantly, she wanted good press. She didn't want someone (ahem James. Jonah. Jameson) to misinterpret the story and make Apex and Spider-Man the villains. 

"No press," he replied vaguely. "We go in and out because if we get caught up in everything else, there's no coming back. The press might seem harmless but they're evil and twist up your words. They're unnecessarily invasive. It's the exact reason why I haven't revealed my identity yet."

Sofia was taken aback by his serious tone. Then, she thought it was ridiculous. You can't let the press control you, you have to control the press, she wanted to say. 

The girl also took his entire little speech to note. He's sixteen and is probably a Junior in high school. His high-pitched voice and awkward personality probably meant he was not one of the cool kids. But then, his complete avoidance of any attention only confirms her previous thoughts. Spider-Man was not good with attention. He was probably not good with friends, either. But, he seems smart enough to create web designs and go out into the streets fighting criminals every day. 

So he's sixteen and a nerd. Wonderful, Sofia sarcastically thought. Why couldn't he be another rich kid I could take money from?

"Okay, Mr. Serious," she replied playfully. "I promise I won't run into the press' arms," Sofia added with heavy exaggeration. She had to keep remembering that she was also supposed to act like a teenager which meant being...funny? 

With the adults, Sofia always adds hints of sarcasm and awkwardness, but now she has to add a lot of humor.  Adding excessive humor is going to be impossible when Sofia's sense of humor is not quite...pg 13. 

Spider-Man suddenly froze, "Mr. Stark is going to kill me for being late! He'll surely fire me or something! "

"Relax, Spider-boy. Mr. Stark needs you alive. That's sort of the whole point of having a Spider-Man," Sofia rolled her eyes. She then thought of a way to lighten up the mood. "Race you there?"

His shoulders relaxed drastically. Then, he looked the girl directly in the eye, "I'll beat you."

Sofia forced a fake laugh but made it sound real, "No you won't. I have to warn you, I'm super competitive."

Without saying another word, Sofia activated her flight boots and took off, leaving Spider-Man behind. She loves to play dirty, and someday Spider-Man will have to get used to it. She heard slight shouts of complaints in the background but ignored them all. 

Another thing about Spider-Man that she's noticed is that he requires adults to like him; to feel proud. He is afraid of disappointing someone which is something Sofia can use against him. Spider-Man is afraid to feel like a failure. 

-♕-

Sofia landed at the Compound's front doors. She wore a proud smirk at having beat Spider-Man in the race. A short few moments later, Spider-Man dropped down right in front of her. 

He took a second to catch his breath. It had been a long trip after all. "Hey, you got a head start!"

The girl shrugged her shoulders, "So? Learn to keep up." 

Spider-Man huffed under his breath but did not reply. He knew better than to start another long conversation. Apex was no one like he's ever met before. She's challenging and has an attitude. But, she has good intentions. He was intrigued by Apex and couldn't wait to get to know her more.

"Good luck with your meeting with Stark. If I see that he's grumpy afterward, I'll blame you," Sofia lightly punched his shoulder before leaving him standing alone outside.  Once inside, her smile dropped instantly. It was also scary how quickly she'd switch out of her fake persona. 

She brushed her fingers through her messed-up hair and sighed heavily. Spider-Man exhausted her, more than usual. He was simply so....upbeat. She hated it because then she'd have to act that way too. 

Sofia bit her lip in frustration as she walked into the kitchen. If she pressed any harder, there would be a hole in her lip. She only grabbed a bag of chips and left, walking into the fancy living room. Throwing herself onto the couch, Sofia drew out her phone. 

There had been no new texts from Felicia which probably meant she was busy. 

Sofia then clicked on the 'news' app. She wanted to see if the police had anything new on Sofia's alter superhuman. She was still deciding on a concrete name for herself, although Blaze did sound cool. She was probably going to end up sticking with that one unless something better comes up. 

"Any idea who she is?" 

Sofia almost jumped...almost. She recognized the voice of Bucky Barnes immediately and forced herself to calm down. He had been staring down at her phone for God knows how long. 

Play the part, Sofia. "No. It's like she came out of nowhere. I haven't seen her yet but she's only been out twice, right?" Play dumb. "Does she pose as a serious threat?" Sofia didn't really need to ask that question, but she knew the answer would inflate her ego. She wanted to hear the person she hated say she was a threat. 

"We don't know anything about her and she's willing to kill; I'd say that's a threat," Bucky sat on the couch....right next to Sofia. 

Damn right I'm willing to kill, and you're on my list. Sofia bit her tongue. "Have the Avengers put out an official statement?"

"Tony's planning to tomorrow. He plans on letting the threat know that this person is dangerous and to report any sightings. Things like that," Bucky replied, grabbing the remote to the TV.

Well, guess I have to show the press just how dangerous I can be. Sofia wanted to go out and play again. She even has another target to hit. 

She abruptly sat up from the couch, wanting to subtly get away from Bucky. She checked the time on her phone, "It's getting late and it's been a long day, I think I'm gonna go to sleep."

Lie, obviously. Sofia rarely ever sleeps. 

Bucky said nothing in reply. He only stared at her as she left the room. Even though she claims they've never met before, he can't help but feel like they have. There's something about the girl that's just so...familiar. 

a/n: 

lolll Sofia hates spider-man, but she's smart enough to figure his identity out