❛ I knew what I was getting into when I signed up ❜

The morning had been normal compared to others. It was a simple routing of giving a red apple to Pappy, and helping Delmar in the deli. There was nothing spectacular about her day, and nothing that alerted her of an abnormal following, which she had become very well at predicting. It had been several days since Andy saw Peter Parker waltz into the deli with a dinner order, and now a full three weeks since his uncle died. Mr. Delmar said he was doing better, smiling even, when he talked. He said that Peter was beginning to understand that his uncle wanted him to have a bright future and a shining present. Andy didn't show emotion, but she was content for him, she watched the people of Queens after taking the advice of Pappy, and she had seen Peter grow and become a better version of himself. Even Spider-Man made a reappearance in the city streets in the evening. His perky personality and corky sense of humor made the civilians trust him with their lives. It was the little things, such as saving a bike from theft or helping an older man or woman cross the streets in time before the sign switched and the cars could move. Andy had never been a girl that favored vigilantes or superheroes, not since she was forced to become one herself. She was a vigilante behind a screen, and that was her life. She didn't wish it upon anyone else. Ever since New York, she had been molded into an Avenger, one that appeared when needed. Her only 'friends' -- if you could call them that -- were the Earth's Mightiest Heroes, a branch of fearless warriors that protected the globe from uncontrollable threats. But that life was behind her, she made sure it was. She didn't find it disappointing that Spider-Man was a neighborhood vigilante now, she just hoped he knew what he was getting into before he signed the contracts of people's lives.

After looking back through several news outlets on her television and scrolling through her recent messages for new job opportunities on her cell phone, Andy strolled into her living room, a toothbrush lodged between her teeth. It was nearly seven at night with the sky starting to dim, creating an overshadow of an orange and red sunset. Andy lightly tossed her phone onto the tan couch in the center of the room before lifting her hand up to scrub her straight line of teeth very harshly.

Hearing a soft beeping noise from her digital wristwatch, Andy skipped out of the room, heading straight for the bathroom. She spit out the paste and rinsed her mouth multiple times before smiling wide, showing off her pearly whites in the spotless mirror. Her smile quickly disappeared after a second and stretched her arms above her head, loosening her tight shoulders.

Suddenly, startling Andy from where she was stepping into her bedroom, a knock was heard on her front door. She raised an eyebrow and very cautiously opened her bottom desk drawer with a key hidden inside a spare computer battery and pulled the black pistol from inside, loading it quickly. She slammed the drawer shut and hid the gun to her right side, both her hands firm on the weapon. Once she reached her door, she twisted the knob and pulled it open, yanking her weapon up in a rush. "Hey, calm down," a familiar voice said, his hand going over to the weapon and placing his hand over the front. Andy sighed and dropped the weapon, clicking the safety lock on before lowering her hand to her side. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, a hand on the door and blocking the entrance to her home.

"Would you believe me if I said I was coming to check up on you?" the man asked, cocking his head to the side with a playful frown on his face. Andy glared at him before shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders. "No, because it's Nat's turn to visit and she's coming Friday," the girl replied, still holding her ground and refusing to move, even for the Avenger she trusted in front of her. "I came to tell you in person that Nat can't make it..." he trailed off, folding his arms across his chest and looking down at the teenager that he towered over. "Also, we need your help."

That was what Andy was waiting for, the one thing she feared he would say. He needed her help. The last time she had been with the Avengers all at once was at Clint's 'retirement' party, which was really just a lame excuse for him to have everyone over at the house he didn't keep secret anymore. Andy enjoyed herself. She met Laura and the kids, and she met Wanda and Vision, the two of four newest members of the team that Andy was still considered part of. Rhodes and Sam she had met a while back on behalf of Steve and Tony. But that didn't mean she wanted to be a part of that team anymore in any context. "I have been living off the grid of existence for three years. And now you want that to change? You want my help now? Out of all times, now. You didn't need my help in Washington D.C., and you didn't need my help months ago in Sokovia. Why change now, Steve?"

"I know, I do. And you know me as well as anyone, Mel. You know I wouldn't ask unless it was important. I would never endanger you unless I had no other choice," he continued, placing a comforting hand on Andy's forearm. She hadn't heard that nickname in a long while. Steve was the only one who ever called her Mel. Her parents called her Lis, and that was before they died. Before she ever had the chance to become someone in their presence. Maybe Steve's nickname is what made her cave.

She stepped away from the doorframe and motioned her arm behind her, allowing Steve to enter the room. Before shutting the door, Andy stepped into the hallway and surveyed the blank space for anyone. She was the only occupant above Delmar's Deli, and she was the only one, besides the Avengers and Delmar, with keys to the stairwell leading inside. She could never be too careful. "Enlighten me, Steve," she directed, watching him sit down on the couch, his elbows rested on his knees and his head positioned up so he could meet her eyes. She sat down in a chair after hiding the gun away in her kitchen and waited for Steve to speak.

"Someone at the Midtown School of Science and Technology is involved with the mass production and distribution of military-grade biotechnology weapons. We need you to find out why they're involved in this and who they're working with," he explained, clasping his hands together while anxiously waiting for a response from his closest thing he has to a sister. "Isn't that a job for the police?" she retorted, leaning back in the chair with her arms folded across her chest. He threw his hands up to his side as if he didn't have a response, "These weapons have the capability to destroy the entire planet if in the wrong hands, and according to the fact that they're being sold illegally, I would say the hands they're in are not the best."

"What's in it for me?" she demanded, not wanting to be involved in anything that had no relation to her. "We --the others and I-- will help you find out what happened to your parents," Steve answered, softly looking at Andy for her outcome. She immediately looked up, shock overtaking her whole body. She had been trying for three years to discover what happened to her parents. She never found out what happened when she hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D. and every obituary and police record says they died in a fire. That is not true. They left the house that night for a night-out of town, for a dinner. The next thing Andy knows is two policemen at her door telling her she needs to come with them because her parents died. She remembered the fear as they stood on the doorstep. She remembers how she screamed and cried when they told her they died. She remembered it all. And all she ever wanted to do was find out how they died because it wasn't in a fire. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has more information on them then they want you to know, and we're going to get it. We're going to find the truth."

"Who's the target?" she choked out, visions dancing in the back of her mind once her parents were mentioned. Steve stood up and moved over to the chair she sat on, planting himself on the armrest. "We don't know," he admitted.

She scoffed and rubbed her temple with her fingers. "You want me to go undercover as a high school student to find one person out of sixteen-hundred, and they might not even exist," she depicted, running a hand through her hair. Steve pursed his lips and nodded, dropping his head to stare at the laminate flooring. "Everyone is a suspect," he offered.

Andy pondered for a moment, standing from her seat and stepping over to the window that scanned over fifth avenue. She saw a red web-slinger pass behind a building and it reminded her of what she used to stand for. She used to be an icon for hackers, and an icon for the young minds. She was powerful, but powerless. And it was a rush that she could never get from stopping affairs between a household. With a sigh, she nodded and turned back to face the man out of time. "Fine, I'll do it."

Steve looked up fast enough to give him whiplash with a small smile plastered across his cheeks. "You don't have to do this, Mel. If you don't want to--"

"I said I would do it, Steve. The more you talk, the larger chance I will revoke my decision," she then snapped, offering him a small shrug in a 'cute' way. It was her charm. Steve rose to his feet and held out his arms for a hug. "Is it too late to ask for a hug?" he questioned. "It's never too late to ask for a hug," she responded, letting him comfort her as worries filled her mind. He kissed the top of her head before pulling away, then staring down into her caramel eyes. "I have to go talk with the others, we have to get your files ready and everything you need for this mission. I hope you're prepared to be in school as an active student, because you need to know as many people as you can to discover who isn't who they say they are. You have a room upstate where you can stay during the mission, just so we can make sure you're always safe. This is going to put a lot of targets on your back if people find out who you are, are you prepared for that?"

She nodded once, "Of course, I knew what I was getting into when I signed up. But you have to hold up your end of the deal, too. I need to know what happened to my parents, and I need the full truth."

"We won't let you down, Melisande," he assured her before holding out his hand. "One last time?"

Andy grinned and held out her hand, slapping him a high-five before moving into a complicated pattern of fist-bumping and clapping sequences. They both smiled after finishing before Steve walked to the door, Andy following behind to show him out. "I'll enroll in school tonight, everything will go to plan," she told him, pulling open the door. "I know it will, I believe in you. Oh, I'll tell Tony you said 'hi', he misses you a lot," Steve added in before walking into the hallway. Andy leaned against the door frame and folded her arms across her chest, "I miss him, too."

After exchanging goodbye's, Steve was gone, disappearing on a motorcycle into the night. Andy shut her door and locked the three deadbolts before plopping onto her couch and turning on her television. The first headline she saw was that of Spider-Man, so she watched intently, thinking about her days as a vigilante. What she didn't know was that Spider-Man was hanging by a web just around the corner, making small talk and conversation with Pappy Joe. He was following in his uncle's footsteps.