Andi's eyes fluttered open. She was met first, with a blinding light. But it wasn't actually that bright, she realised, as her eyes adjusted. It just felt like a while since she'd been exposed to light.

Letting her eyes scan the room, Andi figured she was in some kind of bedroom. Although, this didn't resemble the one she'd had back in the Avengers tower. This was bigger, and the furniture was different.

A bit of light streamed in through one of the large windows on her right. On her left, sitting in a chair that had been pulled up next to her bed, was Tony. He was leaning back in it completely, and to Andi, it looked like if he were any lower, he might have slid out of the chair. One of his hands was over his face, shielding his eyes, but she could picture them closed.

Andi sat up, perhaps a bit faster than she should have, and almost immediately regretted it because her head felt dizzy. Andi only then realised that she'd been hooked up to some kind of monitor, which now began to beep.

Tony jerked awake, almost jumping in his chair. In just a second, the hand of his Iron Man suit came flying toward him, covering his palm, ready to fire a blast at whatever threat was nearby.

Andi froze, looking at Tony with arched eyebrows till he gathered his bearings and realised that nothing was wrong.

"Force of habit," he explained with an apologetic expression, his posture relaxing. He lowered his hand, and took off the armour from around his palm before walking around to the monitor that was at her side. She had no idea what he was doing, bringing up some holograms, muttering to himself — or to the holograms — and he got the beeping to stop.

"How are you feeling?" Tony asked, back still to her.

Andi sat up again — slowly this time — and leaned back against the fluffy pillows, which were incredibly comfortable. "My head's spinning. Well, actually, that only happened when I tried to sit up really fast."

Tony nodded and turned back to her before sitting down on the chair beside her again. "That's expected," he explained, resting his elbows on his knees and leaning forward. "Splitting that metal core took quite a bit from you. You've been out for two days."

"Two days?"

Tony nodded again. "My suit had the energy required to help split the core. Thor had his hammer and lightning. You just had... well, you. Have you ever even done anything like that before?"

Well, Andi remembered doing other things with her powers, but those had been more related to the ground, and not metal. So, she shook her head.

"Well, even if I was strictly against it, it worked. You managed to split the entire thing and, well, here we are. Alive." Tony looked at her a curious gaze, as if he was trying to read her expression. "You did good, kid."

Andi managed a small smile at that, and she looked around again briefly before looking to Tony again. "About that... where exactly is here?"

"New Avengers base," Tony explained, smiling. "Yeah, it's been a work in progress for a while. The Avengers needed a new change of scenery. And if you want it, this is your home."

Andi had her answer ready, because of course she wanted that. No place in her life had felt more like home than being with Tony and the Avengers in the past week. "I would love that."

Tony's smile widened a little. "Don't go crying on me now though, because I'm not good with that."

Andi chuckled softly before speaking again. "So what now?"

"Well," Tony leaned back in his chair. "I've spoken to Cap. We both think that it'd be good if you got a little... training."

Andi's eyes grew wide, but Tony continued before she could say anything. "That does not mean that you're an Avenger," he told her, waving a finger like Andi imagined most parents scolding their children would do. "It just means that you can't do stuff like what we just did without proper practise or, some kind of self defence."

Andi understood that, so she nodded. Inside, she was elated. She was surrounded by good people who wanted to do the right thing. It was a huge change from what she was used to, but definitely more than welcome.

"And," Tony continued. "We agreed that with your training, you'd also get an education. You're still only fourteen, so you gotta go to school."

And while Andi suspected that was something not many kids her age wanted to hear, Andi was still excited. Even more, if that were possible. She'd never been to school, never been around people her age. "School buses come out all the way here?" Andi asked, glancing to the window. All she saw for miles was a large grassy field, which was bordered by a lot of trees.

"No," Tony admitted. "But I have a car here and the others will take turns driving you."

Andi furrowed her eyebrows at that. "The others?" She echoed. "Not you?"

Tony pursed his lips and looked down at his clasped hands for a moment. "Yeah, I'm... It's time for me to tap out."

"Tap out?"

"The Avengers gig. The more I do it, the more I want to try and save everyone, and the more I realise that that can't always be done," he explained with a small shrug, lifting his head to meet her gaze. "I'll still be here, every now and then. And if anything big comes up, then of course, I'll come to help. But until then, I'm going to focus on some other things."

Andi wasn't sure how to feel about that. He'd been the one to take her away from Strucker's facility, and now he was leaving. Not permanently, she knew that, but it was still hard to digest.

"And," Tony spoke again. "You know, if you ever need help with, like, homework, or anything, you can always just drop by after class," he smiled at her.

That sounded more like an arrangement she could get on board. "Deal."

"Well, I've got to get going," Tony said, rising to stand up. "Just wanted to make sure you were all good before heading into the city. But I'll see you later," he promised, tucking his hands into the pockets of his pants.

Andi nodded. "I'll see you later," she agreed, smiling a little as he gave her one last glance before walking toward the doors. They opened up, and on the other side stood Wanda, seeming hesitant to come in.

Tony glanced back at Andi, as if asking one more time whether she was okay, and only once she nodded did he disappear behind the doors, allowing Wanda to come inside.

The moment Andi saw her, all she could think of was Pietro. Wanda seemed to be doing okay, all things considered, and she came to claim Tony's former position in the chair beside her bed.

For a few moments, neither of them said anything. Then Andi spoke. "I felt it. When it happened," she explained softly, knowing Wanda would understand what she was talking about. Andi knew she would always be cursed to know when someone close to her, or someone in her life, had died, because of her powers. She just never expected it to hurt her because she had always been surrounded by hateful people. Wanda and Pietro were the first to show her any kind of compassion.

"Did you see him?" Wanda asked, a bit of hope in her eyes. Andi wished she could give her that hope. She wished she could saw she did see Pietro after his death, and that he said something profound and meaningful that would put them at ease. But none of that had happened. She doubted she would see him because death and spirits were complicated that way. Still, she knew she was going to keep trying anyway.

"I didn't," she admitted after a few moments, finding it hard to get the words out of her mouth. "I wish I did, but I didn't."

Wanda reached out to place her hand over Andi's, before giving it a gentle squeeze. "He died protecting Clint. He died a hero. It's okay."

Andi nodded. She hadn't known how he died. Just that Ultron had caused it, and that had filled her with anger. But to know that he had done something to sacrifice himself and save Clint, made Andi's anger disappear. Wanda was right. He died a hero.

And Andi knew she was never going to forget one of the first people to ever become her friend.