Too Young to Be Heroes
In the meeting room, after Owen's arrival, everyone explained what had been missed over the last few months; how they had been working and the situation they were in now. They also took the opportunity to introduce one of the newest members of the team: Spider Man.
Under Owen's gaze, the boy seemed to tremble for a moment, clearly nervous. He was standing in front of a man known for almost destroying a city with his fists. On top of that, the military air that usually radiated from Owen's presence made anyone feel slightly pressured just by being near him.
"You know hiring kids is illegal, right?" Owen said, turning toward Tony while lightly pointing at Spider Man. The boy was wearing his full suit, but even so it was obvious he was far too young.
"Ah… uh… no, sir. I'm fifteen," Spider Man replied, almost stuttering.
"That's exactly why," Owen said, looking at him like he was an idiot. "You're still a minor. Shouldn't you be in school right now?"
"Ah… um… well. There were no classes today," the boy answered, his voice growing quieter with every word.
"It can't be helped. Ever since mutants and people with strange powers started appearing, these brats have been running around the streets trying to become superheroes," Tony said, shaking his head. "So I caught this one and the other one before they got themselves hurt. And it looks like I should've tried to catch those idiots too," he added, glancing at the screen where the group of young heroes that had caused all the chaos could be seen.
"Another one?" Owen asked, turning away for a moment.
Then he heard hurried footsteps approaching at full speed. Thanks to his enhanced hearing, he noticed them before anyone else did. The next one to catch them seemed to be the kid in the spider suit.
Seconds later, the door burst open with a loud noise. Owen looked toward whoever had entered, but he had to lower his gaze. Standing in front of him was a small girl, no more than ten years old. She was wearing a primary school uniform, her hair tied into two pigtails, and she clearly looked foreign.
The moment she stepped inside, she froze completely, staring at Owen with her eyes so wide they looked like they were about to pop out. Owen, meanwhile, shifted his gaze straight to Tony, his expression completely cold.
"Wait, wait. There's a very, very simple explanation for her," Tony said quickly, defending himself.
The others, seeing the girl arrive, could only offer tired smiles.
Before anyone could react, the girl was already standing right in front of Owen.
"This is surreal. I mean, you're real. Like, really real. You saved New York. And also… and also you destroyed… no, almost destroyed an entire country that was floating. That was incredible. Although you probably could've done it without the countries stepping in, so they took all the credit for you. I have posters of you. This is… no, this is too much, I need to breathe."
The girl spoke so fast she barely seemed to breathe at all. After taking a moment to inhale properly and catch her breath, she looked straight up at Owen's face again and suddenly screamed in excitement.
The sound made Owen flinch as he immediately covered his ears. The scream echoed through his head like a sonic attack.
The others, even without super hearing, covered their ears on reflex as well.
Wanda, on the other hand, smiled in amusement as she watched Owen face a tiny fangirl for the first time.
"Okay, kid, kid. Stop," Tony said, unable to take it anymore as he carefully held her back. "If you keep screaming, I'll call your mom to come pick you up."
The girl shut her mouth instantly.
"Okay, okay, I promise I won't scream. But this is the coolest thing that's ever happened to me in my entire life," she said, pointing at Owen, while once again seeming to struggle to breathe from excitement.
Tony, who was terrible with kids, could only look toward Wanda for help. She smiled and moved closer to the girl.
"Come on, Kam. It's better if you have some juice and calm down a little," she said, gently guiding her away while the girl kept turning around again and again to look at Owen like a ten-year-old fangirl.
Owen watched her walk away with Wanda, then slowly turned toward Tony, waiting for answers.
"Hey, I didn't go looking for her, okay? She showed up on her own. For an entire week she kept coming after school trying to talk to the leader of V.I.T.A.E. I only gave her a chance because I thought it was funny," Tony added, quickly pulling up the girl's information on a tablet.
The moment Owen read the name, his expression turned serious.
Kamala Khan.
10 years old.
Born in New Jersey.
Pakistani family.
Powers: energy construction, projection, and extension.
Mutant gene.
Below that, a video began to play, showing Kamala trying to use her powers. In it, she could be seen creating platforms of energy in the air and clumsily climbing onto them. Then she formed energy fists that wrapped around her hands and punched a wall, leaving a visible mark. In another clip, she created a shield that protected her from a rubber ball, which bounced harmlessly off the glowing surface.
But Owen already seemed to know who she was. The girl who, according to the records, was supposed to be a huge fan of Carol Danvers. That was why she had copied her hero name. Ms. Marvel. Just a miniature version, considering she was only ten years old.
"Well, it's not like we send her on any missions. We just let her hang around here so she doesn't get herself into trouble. She seems to have a special talent for finding them," Tony said, pointing toward Spider Man.
The boy looked around, realized they were talking about him, and pointed at himself.
"Who, me?"
"Well, it does seem to be true," Owen commented, as if he were hearing something coming from outside. A distant but constant noise. Almost at the same time, a faint alarm sounded inside the room and a soldier came running in.
"Sir, the Department of Damage Control is here," he reported seriously.
Immediately, everyone's expressions turned annoyed and openly displeased, making it clear that none of them liked those people.
"What the hell are those idiots doing here now?" Nicolas said with irritation. The others seemed to share the same question.
That made Owen frown right away. He had heard of that group before. But it still shouldn't have been officially formed yet. At least not until after the Sokovia Accords.
Kamala, who was sitting in a corner with a juice box in her hands, watching Owen while Wanda sat beside her, suddenly jumped to her feet when she heard that.
Tony let out a long sigh.
"Kid, what did you do this time?" he asked in a tired tone.
"Ah, no, I… the kitty," Kamala replied, her voice trembling, clearly on the verge of crying. She didn't explain anything else.
Tony glanced at Owen and, for a moment, smiled.
"Well, since your retirement is officially over, it looks like it's time to give you back your job. It was nice and warm, waiting just for you. Good luck with those idiots," he said, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder.
Owen looked at the girl, who seemed seconds away from breaking down, then at Tony, with a very real urge to strangle him for dumping the problem on him the moment he came back. He was also irritated by a group that shouldn't even exist yet, now knocking on V.I.T.A.E.'s door.
But when he saw how genuinely distressed Kamala looked, he could only let out a sigh.
"Aaah… looks like I'm back," he murmured.
With that, he took the lead and headed toward the door, ready to step outside and figure out what had changed while he was gone.