Irresponsible

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"Hey, little lady."

Ana gawked at Tony has he hovered outside her apartment window. He was in his new Iron Man suit, and he popped open the faceplate. The look on his face was grim and she had a feeling it wasn't directed to her. She had just finished her morning run and carried a bottle of water in her hands. She was about to enter the shower when he knocked on the window.

She put down her drink and leaned out of the window, squinting at him. "What is it, Tony?" She asked cautiously, afraid of what his answer might be.

"Our mutual friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man has a problem and I'm going to need you to be a shadow helper." He stated, opening his hand for her to take.

"Where?" Ana slipped her hand in his, climbing out on the window sill. If Peter was in trouble, even after what happened in Washington, he would think that he had it in the bag, when in fact he didn't. And that was a dangerous thing.

"Ever been on a ferry?"

"This is some next level shit he's gotten himself into."

Tony hand his hands underneath Ana's arms, carrying her as he boosted towards the ferry that was blasted in two, straight down the middle. The Vulture's weapon had gone off when Peter tried to web it down and stabilise it. She could make out failed webs, telling her Peter's plan had failed. One part of the ship was sinking, and she pointed at it.

"There. I'll raise that half to the surface." Ana yelled over the screaming.

"Got it. And I'll fix Spidey's mess."

Tony released Ana, and she dove into the water. The civilians in either end couldn't catch a glimpse of the figure that had dropped into the river, she was too fast, but they all cheered when Iron Man came to their aid. Ana made sure to take a large breath before being submerged, and moved quickly to the lowest level, positioning herself under the ferry. Ana pushed with all her might, focusing to keep the ship afloat while Peter and Tony scrambled to keep the halves from splitting completely. She kicked her legs, muscles straining as she traveled higher. Her lungs were beginning to burn, her oxygen levels running out. She knew if she went to the surface to inhale more air, the whole thing would collapse. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. She positioned herself under the split ship and pushed harder, forgetting about the possible outcome.

Tony watched as one end of the ship lifted higher in the water significantly. He quickly positioned it so it lined up with the other side perfectly. He was shocked at the amount of strength Ana had in her, even underwater. FRIDAY seemed to stumble on her words as she informed him of the ship returning to optimum rise. Even the A.I. was at a loss for words.

"Wow. She's doing it." Tony whispered. He raced through the middle of the ferry, melding each half with his lasers, before circling back up to the top to tie the post together with wires.

Alarms sounded and Tony looked at the footage FRIDAY was showing him. It was Ana. In the water, her hands slid from the bottom of the ship. Her grip on it had crushed the strong base like it was a bag of crisps. Her oxygen was critically low, and she was sinking.

"We're losing her!" FRIDAY cried.

"Over my dead body." Tony mumbled, swooping down and diving into the river. He zoomed closer to Ana's unconscious body, wrapping one arm around her middle. FRIDAY was reading her vital signs and flashed red alerts on Tony's screen. He blasted out of the water, heading toward the docks.

"She needs CPR, stat!"

Tony laid her on the ground, pulling back his helmet. He placed his ear to her wet clothed chest, hearing a very slow beat coming from her heart. He slammed his hands into her chest, aiming to push the water out of her lungs.

"Come on!"

Ana gasped, eyes opening wide. She spit out the water, heaving for air. Her chest felt like the Hulk had punched her, and as she placed a hand over it, she swallowed, letting out shallow breaths. She placed her head on the ground and looked up at Tony. He looked relieved. He placed his armoured hand on her forehead, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Thought you were gone for a second."

Ana chuckled halfheartedly, weakly slapping his shoulder. Tony was forced back slightly from her strength. "If I didn't have you or the others, I'm pretty sure I'd be six feet under."

Tony placed his hand under her neck and lifted her up slowly. She wiped the water from her face and glanced at the ship, sighing. "Everyone's safe. That's all that matters."

"Up you get." Tony said as he lifted her hands, helping her to her feet. She wrung out the water on her shirt and hair, shivering when the wind hit her.

"Where's Pete?" She questioned, looking at the ship as offical authorities surrounded it, ready to evacuate the civilians.

"Sulking on a nearby rooftop." Tony pulled his helmet back on, his voice becoming muffled, "Can I have the floor?"

"It's all yours. I'll give him a talk when he's back home. I just... I can't really..." Ana twirled her fingers next to her head, fumbling for the right words.

"Think straight? Yeah, I know." Tony finished for her. "I'll send a car to take you home. You did great, Ana." He opened his palms and activated his repulsors, shooting up into the air.

Ana was surprised when a horn sounded at the street behind her. The car was quick, and she suspected he already made sure it was available. He was a futurist, he could determine how any type of conversation would go, and he knew Ana would say yes.

She's always up for being a heroine.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Peter had his head in his pillow, lying flat on his bed with his back to Ana. She had dried off and cleaned up when she got back and dropped by to speak with her best friend. His suit was taken from him, and some harsh but fair words were exchanged with his talk with Tony.

Ana hummed to herself, shutting the door behind her. She pushed up her shirt sleeves to her elbows and sat on the edge of his bed, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Well tough. Because I want to." She retorted, patting his arm. He reluctantly turned on his back and looked up at her, before sighing. "Look, pal, today was a bad day. You were irresponsible in going in alone. I mean... am I invisible to you?"

"No." Peter threw his hand over his eyes. "Of course not. I just... I wasn't sure you would want to after what I said."

Ana leaned her head forward slightly to catch his gaze, brushing back a piece of her hair back. "Pete, you say you want to save the world, but you're not the only one. To be apart of the Avengers, or any other team, you need to respect teamwork. Going in with no back up, and without any intel, it will blow up in your face."

"I know. I didn't mean to screw it up." He murmured.

"You intervened in a FBI investigation. One that Tony put together to look into the Vulture's crew." Ana explained further, pulling a nervous face. The very idea of Peter being publicly identified as Spider-Man gave her anxiety. He was just a teenager trying to find his place in the world. Ana would know since she was also having trouble finding her true self.

"Vulture?" Peter echoed.

"Have you seen his suit?" Ana scoffed. She even extended her arms and flapped them like a bird, making him smile.

"Oh, yeah." Peter replied after a few seconds.

"I think it's time you focus on being you. Peter Parker. A fifteen year old kid from Queens." Ana gave him a soft smile, hauling him to sit up. Peter chuckled to himself when she nudged his chin up. "Go to school. Rejoin band practice. Get a date to homecoming." She shook his shoulders, grinning.

"Have you seen me? No one is going to say yes." Peter argued.

"Are you kidding?" Ana raised an eyebrow. She framed his face with her hands and squished his cheeks, "You're a cutie! I don't know if I've ever told you this, but I didn't get to go to my homecoming."

"What? Why?" Peter asked, shocked.

"First off, I broke my foot and knee playing soccer. Second, no one would ask me and when I asked my crush, he shot me down and said homecoming was lame." Ana told him, brushing his hair away from his forehead.

"Who was it?" Peter wondered.

"Rick Jones." Ana couldn't help the nostalgic smile that made it's way into her face. High school for her was frantic, and she remembered how much her day was made when she spoke with him in the hallways. "The cutest guy I had ever laid eyes on in junior high."

"Ana, you're drifting." Peter snickered, bumping their shoulders together.

"Sorry." Ana blinked, shaking her head.

"I guess you're right." Peter nodded his head. He stood up and picked up the bag from the desk. He fished out a large textbook and showed it to her. "I think it'll be best if I focused on school. Wanna help me with my Spanish?"

"Sí."

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Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed and as usual please tell me what you thought. We're so close to the end of this book and I'm really excited to start on the third book! Be prepared for the last chapter you guys, because it's gonna be amazing. Who is familiar with Rick Jones? He is a favourite of mine from the comics and I really want to include him into this.

Q- What is one goal you wish to achieve before the year ends?