A WEEK. A whole week went by of Sofia committing acts of service. A whole week of her waiting for an Avenger- someone to show up at her door and recruit her. It got to the point where she thought her plan had failed and the Avengers saw right through her. Maybe she didn't smile correctly in the security footage or did something wrong but it was stressing her out.

She had risked everything for this plan, she even stole money and bought a new apartment that had no trace of her past! She did everything to ensure this would work and yet, it hasn't so far.

Sofia has also heard no news from Felicia. She's seen dozens of police reports of the Black Cat and even got asked to help stop her, but nothing from Felicia herself. 

It bothered her that she had the audacity to ignore her, but at least she wasn't telling the police about Sofia's true plan.

In the past week, she's avoided Spider-Man, stopped a few bank robberies, saved people from drowning in the Hudson, ate donuts with police officers (to gain their trust of course), and even stopped a suicide attempt. She was tempted to let the man jump off the building though.

But nothing. No news from the Avengers at all. The only thing she can do now is to continue with her fake actions of kindness.

Sofia went to a gun shooting range to clear her head. She always finds it best to calm down and think about something while shooting the head off a teddy bear. 

But unfortunately this time, there were no teddy bears, only targets painted on the walls.

Pulling her hair into a ponytail, she took the soundproof ear muffs and stood in front of the gun rental desk.

The man working behind the desk wore a bright red t-shirt and his long hair lay on his shoulders. Sofia glanced at the name card pinned on his shirt. Brian, his name was.

But then again, she should already know. She comes here every single week and it's always the same guy working behind the desk. She just didn't give a flying fuck about his name.

The desk was dark, only lit up by one flickering light above her. This shooting range was very old and Sofia was most likely one of the few people to come. But they'd always give her discounts for being customer of the month. 

Pulling out her mainly used fake ID and handing it to Brian, he pretended to inspect it.

"Are you serious? I'm here every single Wednesday," Sofia rolled her eyes, pissed off already. She desperately needs to shoot something.

Giving the ID back to Sofia, Brian responded, "I know, I just love asking for people's IDs." Sofia looked absolutely disgusted as Brian stares at the ID in awe. Not because she's on the ID, but because he loves holding the damn card. He thinks it gives him a sense of power.

"I know you live in your mom's basement and looking at people's IDs is the only form of social interaction you have every year, but it's got to stop. It's creepy, and it's a wonder why you've got no friends." Sofia added heavy sarcasm to the last part. 

Brian slightly flinched backward. He was deeply offended by Sofia's comment but knew she had a point and the right to say it. Maybe he didn't notice it, but he loves being handed things, especially IDs. Brian would imagine himself working at a bar and asking for IDs, only to deny people a drink because they're too young. 

Without another word, Brian handed Sofia her usual gun; a pistol, with loaded ammo. Sofia was glad she finally managed to shut Brian up after multiple years of attempts. She would always remember this moment, although this might be the last time Brian lets her enter the range.

Now holding the weapon in her hands, she put on the earmuffs and took the gun off safety mode. Hearing that click is probably the most satisfying sound she's ever heard.

Sofia remembers coming here for as long as she could remember. She remembers teaching herself how to shoot. She remembers accidentally shooting someone because she forgot to put on safety mode. But best of all, Sofia remembers the feeling of peace she had when pulling the trigger for the first time. 

Kind of ironic isn't it. Her father dies from a bullet and she loves the sound of one.

Because at that moment, you can't hear anything. Hearing a gunshot without soundproof earmuffs makes your ears go deaf for a few seconds. It's amazing. You can't hear the thoughts inside your head or the busy world around you. It's just you and the bullet.

Sofia's finger tightens around the trigger as she takes her aim. Years ago, she would count down from three to help maintain her focus, but now she just shoots however she wants.

She imagines James Barnes tied to the target, laughing at her- calling her weak. She imagines the smirk on his face falling as she grips the weapon harder, preparing to fire. Sofia imagines him begging for mercy as she pulls the trigger and the bullet flies into his head.

She imagines him dead, by her hand.

Hours go by of simply her shooting at multiple targets. Sofia used to be a terrible shot, but now she rarely misses. She has put both sweat and blood into making herself the perfect candidate to become an Avenger.

While she was still in foster care, she would sneak out every night to some abandoned gym or training center, but once she met Felicia, it became a lot easier to get better at combat. Felicia's father had trained her since she was a little kid and even Kingpin showed her a few moves which she then passed on to Sofia.

She had not a single flaw.

Finally deciding to head home, Sofia chooses to take the long way and go through the subway system. Usually, she could just steal someone's car and Hotwire it, or simply take the bus, but today she felt like using the subway.

Obviously, she didn't own a Metro Card so when no one was looking, she hopped over the MTA gate. It's fine, New Yorkers did it all the time.

Sofia did a quick check of what track to get on and did a direct beeline toward it. 

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her eight-year-old headphones and began playing music. Her headphones were on the brink of falling apart and she could always just steal a new pair, but Sofia couldn't get herself to get rid of them. 

Though she kept telling herself they did not have sentimental value.

But then why couldn't she get rid of them?

As a song played blasting in her ears, she got onto the subway train when it came to a full stop.

Since all the seats were taken, Sofia had to stand within the crowd as the train moved. It wasn't her favorite thing ever, but it was pretty fun to do. Sofia would always play a game with herself and if she lost her balance as the train turned or sped up, she had lost.

It was a great activity for learning how to always stay on your feet, actually.

Standing across from her was a boy (probably her age) doing the exact same thing. He too was listening to music through old headphones and the backpack he was wearing probably indicated he was coming back from school.

Sofia stared at him inquisitively, trying to come up with a story for him.

Oh yeah, another thing she liked to do. Sofia loved taking one look at someone and creating a whole backstory for them. For example, the boy dresses like an average nerdy kid going to school. His old headphones, crappy shoes, iPhone four, and simply using the subway as his main transportation probably means he isn't wealthy. 

He probably gets bullied, Sofia mentally noted. Probably deserves it too. No one likes nerds.

Sofia watched as he finally lost his balance slightly and made a face of both frustration and disappointment. Nevertheless, he went back to the game and regained his posture. Sofia noticed that he seemed very determined to beat the game. What for?

She shook the thought out of her head as her stop finally arrived. Once she got off the subway and back onto the main streets, Sofia walked about five minutes before arriving at her apartment building.

Suddenly an idea came to mind. Maybe she hasn't been receiving any news from the Avengers because they don't know if they can trust her yet. Surely she has to meet one of them, per se Spider-Man, so that he can alert the others that she can be trusted. 

Maybe... Sofia has to introduce herself to Spider-Man (but not in a desperate way, more of like 'hey I'm the new person in town, nice to meet you' kind of way). 

That was so cringy to even think of. Sofia almost gagged. 

But she was planning on doing it anyway. 

Changing into her white super suit, she put on the contacts and flight boots, strapped the handgun to her hostler, and was finally ready to go. Sofia gave herself a few seconds to really get in her 'Valentina' persona. Any slight slip-up or indication of 'Sofia' could mess up this entire thing. 

Next, she took out her phone and put it on the police chatter station. According to that, there was nothing major going on, but Spider-Man is usually still patrolling the streets either way. 

Sofia made it to the roof of her apartment building and turned off the police radio. Instead, she went to Twitter and checked the official Spider-Man account. 

Yes, he made an account for himself.

Every day he posts the most random things. Like just now, he posted a picture of himself eating a donut on top of a building that looks exactly like the Empire State Building. He even captioned it, 'on top of the world 😎'

Sofia's never flown that high but she's very excited for the challenge. At least if she were to fall to her death it wouldn't hurt and she'd have a pretty view.

She was currently ten blocks away, but with her flight boots, she'd get there in no time. On the trip there, she officially made the switch from Sofia to Valentina. It was going to be difficult to act it out flawlessly, but Sofia thrived in difficult challenges. She hates when things get easy because then they're no fun.

She was finally in front of the Empire State Building and was just about to make the climb up. With a deep breath, she glanced down at her boots and spoke to them as if they'd respond, "I wouldn't mind dying, but I'd rather live."

She began to fly up at very high speeds. Spider-Man could swing away at any second and she would have missed her chance.

After a few seconds, Sofia finally made it to the top. It didn't take her long to find Spider-Man, in the exact position he posted on Twitter. His back was facing her and he was browsing through his phone. His mask was pulled up to his nose, allowing him to drink a coffee from Dunkin' Donuts. 

Sofia practiced their introduction dozens of times with herself. She was going to be slightly sarcastic, awkward, but super fucking nice. The sarcasm meant she had personality and wasn't bland, being awkward meant she was a normal teenager, and being nice was a given. You can't be a superhero and not be nice.

"Hi!" Sofia started, smiling ear to ear. She landed softly on the flat surface, trying not to startle Spider-Man.

Still, he was startled. Spidey quickly became defensive and shot to his feet. Upon realizing who it was, he lowered his fists. "You're...you're the girl from the News Channels, right?" The whites of his mask grew large, showing his surprise. "I've seen you everywhere recently, but I thought you were avoiding me or something."

Sofia brought her hand up to the back of her neck and rubbed it awkwardly, "Yeah, sorry. It's just that I get super nervous around Avengers. But...I finally decided to introduce myself. Hi." She added a very awkward wave at the end, selling off the point that she was nervous.

"You get nervous...around me?" the hero asked, astonished. He gets nervous around Mr. Stark and the other Avengers all the time, but never did he think someone could get nervous around him.

"Yep," Sofia almost yelled at him for making her repeat herself, but she remained composed. Sofia took another step closer. 

"Well, I'm uh...I'm Spider-Man- but you already knew that." He shoved his mask down, momentarily forgetting that it was hanging on his nose. Sofia noticed that his voice sounded very young. He couldn't possibly be the age she had already thought he'd be. He was no older than seventeen, at most.

"This is so weird," Sofia said, a slight chuckle in her voice. 

"What is?" Spider-Man asked, curious.

"My friend and I have a bet on how old you are. I thought you'd be like twenty or something, she'd thought you'd be younger. Clearly, she was right," Sofia crossed her arms, trying not to laugh.

Spider-Man made a very audible gasp, "And what makes you think I'm not twenty? I could be twenty." He too crossed his arms, mimicking Sofia.

"Not with that prepubescent voice you're not." Sofia knew that teasing and making jokes was one of the best ways for someone to open up to you. She needed his trust and making him laugh was the best way to earn it. "I guess I owe her five dollars now."

"You bet five whole dollars?" Spider-Man gasped, "Do I at least look twenty?"

Pretending to be in deep thought, Sofia responded, "On videos you do, not in person though. You're like my height, maybe an inch taller." 

"Okay okay, I get it. Enough with the teasing!" He whined like a little boy, "I have an idea. Let's play twenty questions! That way, we can get to know each other."

This is good, Sofia thought. More questions for him to report back to Tony and the others.

"Alright, but no super personal questions." Sofia walked toward the edge, taking a seat while allowing her legs to hang off the edge. Spider-Man seemed very panicked when noticing how close she was to the edge. Sofia eyed him carefully, "Relax bug boy, I can fly. How else do you think I got up here?"

"Oh right- sorry. And yeah, I agree. No personal questions," Spidey took a seat beside her, then spoke up again after a second. "Wait sorry what? Bug boy? How does that- what? First of all, spiders are arachnids, not bugs. Second of all, I don't even know your name so it's not fair that you give me a nickname."

Obviously, Sofia knew that spiders were not bugs, she just wanted to toy with him. "Earn it," she shrugged her shoulders.

"Earn what?"

"My name."

"And how do I do that?" A clear amount of both sarcasm and curiosity was present in Spider-Man's voice. 

"I don't know," Sofia replied with a playful tone. "Let's start playing and maybe it'll come up."

"Alright then. What's your favorite color?" Spider-Man starts off the game by asking the most basic question ever. Sofia slightly rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on Spidey, can't you think of another question? This isn't the first day of school. Are you going to make me stand up in front of the classroom, too?" Sofia shook her head in disappointment, "I'll go first. How'd you get your powers?"

Spider-Man stares at her for a split second, and in that second, Sofia wonders if she might have crossed into her 'personal questions' line. But even then, she doesn't retract her question.

However, the sound of Spider-Man lightly laughing takes Sofia out of her anxious thoughts. "It's a ridiculous story, actually. I got bit by a radioactive spider." 

Sofia would have never expected that. She thought he was experimented on or took some sort of serum. "Seriously?" He nodded. "Damn. Mine's pretty stupid too. During the 2012 attack, I took some abandoned Chitauri technology and accidentally let it touch my eye." Sofia had made up the lie a few weeks ago but according to recent studies, it could have been possible. "I went blind for two days. I thought I was dying or something."

"Oh that's right, you have heat vision like superman! I saw it on tv, it looks so cool." Spider-Man seemed genuinely amazed by her power. He sighed, "Superpowers come to people in the weirdest ways. Sometimes even at the weirdest times."

You have no idea, Sofia mentally scoffed.

"My turn. Why do you do this?" Spider-Man asks, not clearing up what exactly 'this' is.

"Why do I do what?" 

"This- help people. Why now if you've had your powers for years?"

This is exactly what Sofia wanted. She knew that Spider-Man was trying to figure out her motivation. This was surely the final step before he could pass on this information to Iron Man.

Sofia turned her voice serious. She needed Spider-Man to believe every single thing she will say. "I guess I was just afraid. I saw the Avengers fighting freaking aliens and I wasn't sure if I was good enough- strong enough for that. I never told anyone about my powers and just quietly practiced using them on my own." She added a pause for dramatic effect, "But then I saw you. You came onto the street and you weren't fighting aliens. You help the town and it doesn't require hellfire to rain for you to do something good. You inspired me."

Sofia gave herself a mental high-five. It took her an entire day to come up with that speech and it came out flawlessly. 

"Wow," Spider-Man mumbled, dumbstruck. 

"Yeah," she began fidgeting with her fingers to show signs of nervousness. 

Someone hand me an Oscar, jeez. Sofia applauded herself.

Now, she couldn't linger too long because that would seem desperate. No hero has this much free time. She abruptly stood up and fixed her posture, seeming to gain confidence again (even though she never lost it). "I should probably go now. It was nice finally meeting you, Bug Boy." 

Sofia walked over to the side of the building she came up from and paused right before jumping off. "Apex."

"What?" Spider-Man had no clue what she had just said.

"My name, well my superhero name," Sofia cleared up just before falling off the edge of the building.

Spider-Man watched her go, speechless. He's only known her for about an hour but he was already so intrigued by her. He kept repeating her name over and over again in his head. Apex, Apex, Apex, Apex. What an awesome name. 

Well, at least he can tell Tony.

-♕-

ONE HOUR LATER

Sofia got out of her silly costume, took a shower, got into comfortable clothes, threw herself on the couch, and began eating some ice cream. Today was a win in her book, and it had been so easy. 

Spider-Man would tell the Avengers that she can be trusted and within a few days, someone would come knocking on her door. 

KNOCK KNOCK.

Sofia froze. There's no fucking way. 

The person knocked again.

Sofia shoved the ice cream out of her lap and she shuffled around the room trying to make herself presentable. He wasn't supposed to be coming this soon! She literally just had a conversation with Spider-Man, how was he already here?

She took in a deep breath and composed herself. Sofia was ready, she's been ready for years.

Sofia was resisting the itching urge for a smirk as she knew everything was going smoothly according to plan. She was a little taken by surprise, yes, but it was better now than later. 

One step closer to ending the Avengers.

Just as she was about to open the door, Sofia switched to Valentina. Now she was with the real deal and any slip-up could cost her everything. With Spider-Man, it was different. He's an immature child playing superhero, but this was the actual thing. 

She opened the door and was met with the face of Tony Stark.

Valentina wore a face of nervousness, Tony Stark was her childhood hero after all.

"Valentina Rose?"