"It's Ms. Peggy, isn't it?" Colleen mumbled. Half her face was squished into a pillow as she laid curled up on the couch. Natasha Romanoff had been pacing back and forth in front of her for the last five minutes. The red-head paused to stare out the expanse of floor-to-ceiling windows. Her hands were clasped behind her back tightly and her form was stiff. Colleen stared at her backlit figure, waiting for a reply.

"Yes," she answered quietly.

"Are you worried about him?" Colleen inquired but she already knew the answer. Both of them had confined themselves to this room while the others duked it out in the office. Steve had been gone for three days and Colleen hadn't heard from him since. She wasn't able to catch anyone between their constant meetings and Natasha had remained tight-lipped about his situation until now. From one page of bad news to another, the teen felt like she was on a roller coaster ride with no way off. She didn't quite understand just how serious this whole situation was with the Accords, but she knew that this would soon cause a rift in their family, if it hasn't already. Most, if not all, the Avengers were headstrong, opinionated, and stubborn. And unfortunately, everyone believed they had the world's best interest at heart.

"No. He can take care of himself," was Natasha's prompt reply.

"What about emotionally?" Colleen prodded. Peggy Carter was Steve Rogers kryptonite, his first and only love. She couldn't imagine how Steve must be feeling. "I don't think I've ever seen him cry before," she whispered. Natasha turned her head to look at the her from her peripheral. Colleen's eyes stared straight ahead, her gaze unfocused. A light breeze picked up in the room. The flowers placed on the coffee table became restless and the tassels on the couch cushions swayed.

"If you're that worried about him, I'll go check on him," Natasha offered. She picked up her keys off the table and watched as the petals stilled from their dance. She didn't wait for a reply before slipping out the room. Colleen watched as she made her swift exit.

"I know you're worried, too." Her chocolate hues stared at the closed door for a while before she propped herself up. She sighed before picking up her phone off the floor. It had slipped off the couch a while ago when she twisted and turned to make herself comfortable. "Want to get so-," she was reading her text alert when she heard the door slam open.

"God, they're stubborn." Colleen's head snapped to her right to see Tony storm in with a hand gripping his forehead. "Oh, didn't see you there," he headed over to the counter lining the walls next to the door and poured himself a mug of coffee. He downed it in one go before turning to lean against the counter.

"Come to a decision?" Colleen rested her arms on the back of her couch.

"One that fancy pants won't like," Tony crossed his arms. "We're going to send Natasha to represent us. We're going to sign," he mumbled the last bit to himself, as if trying to reassure his own mind that this was the right way to go.

"Whatever decision you make, I will always stick by you, Tony. I've said it before and I don't mind saying it again," her voice softened. "Come what may. We will deal with it when it does," she continued carefully. She knew that anything the Avengers touched always had consequences. It just came with the outfit.

"Thanks, kid," Tony nodded in appreciation. He glanced at his watch before looking back at the brunette. "I've got some calls to make with, honestly, unimportant people, but I know someone's going to bug me about it until I do," he kicked off the slate-colored counters.

"I'll be here," Colleen nodded, laying back down onto the couch.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y. tells me otherwise," Tony raised a brow as he made for the door.

"What?" Colleen shot up, a look of confusion evident on her face. She glanced as her phone lit up with a new message hovering above her previously unopened text. "Are you monitoring my stuff again?" She squeaked, embarrassed, as she tried to remember the last few conversations she's had.

"If it's a date, I don't want to know. Condoms!" He waves his hand before shutting the door behind him.

"Tony," she groaned, dropping her head. Her face flushed as she peered at the messages. They were both from Peter, first asking if they wanted to grab some lunch, then asking if she was alright. She quickly responded with an agreement and headed out to meet him.

"I haven't seen you in forever," Colleen complained. She draped her jacket on the back of her chair and slumped into the weathered booth across from Peter. They were in a small rustic sandwich shop with exposed brick columns and peeling wallpaper. The floors were covered in chipped tiles and probably hadn't been given a proper clean in months. Despite all the imperfections, Alton's Sandwiches was one of the best around and usually attracted an enormous crowd. Peter was somehow able to finesse a table before Colleen arrived, much to the chagrin of those around him. He avoided the heated glares and focused on the girl in front of him, which was, arguably, more difficult. The doe-eyed brunette flickered from him to the menu. "What's good here anyways?"

"You've never been?" Peter's tense shoulders relaxed at the possibility of avoiding the explanation of his whereabouts. His newly acquired hobby of slinging around NYC was taking up a large portion of his free time. The rush of adrenaline and the thought of helping locals was addicting, albeit dangerous.

"I don't get out much, unless I'm with you guys," Colleen browsed the menu. The layout was a bit messy and overly colorful, so much so, that it detracted from the clarity.

"I forget you have strict parents."

"You don't even know the half of it," she let out a breath of a laugh. Peter reached over and tapped on a poorly taken picture of a standard sub. The flash was way too bright, increasing the contrast of the photo and making the sandwich look quite unappetizing. "This one? I'll have to trust you." The two ordered quickly and waited for their food to arrive. In the meantime, they made small talk about how their respective summers were going. Peter mentioned that he was perfecting a pet project of his and Colleen mentioned that her family was dealing with some work issues. When she inquired, he mentioned that he was thinking about using it to show his talents off for internships. When he inquired, she divulged that their parents are concerned about a change in management. Both left it at that. When the sandwiches arrived, Colleen was pleasantly surprised by how flavorful it was. Despite being a usually slow eater, she cleared the plate in record time. She sipped some water to chase it all down. As she set the Styrofoam cup down, she noticed a small bruise on the underside of Peter's arm.

"What happened there?" She motioned towards the injury.

"Oh, this? I," he paused, avoiding her gaze. "I hit it when I was moving something for Aunt May," he cleared his throat before giving her a fleeting smile. "You know, clumsy old me and all," he awkwardly laughed. "Always bumping into inanimate things!" Colleen raised a brow before shaking her head. It was clear that something else caused the damage and it worried her that Peter was trying to hide the reason behind it.

"You should be more careful," she reached over to brush over the patch of darkened skin. Peter held his breath when he felt the light brush of her fingers against his skin. His eyes bounced between her hand and her face. She slowly retracted her arm with no mention at the abrupt contact. He could feel his face flushing and he honestly didn't know if he should address what just happened. It was just friends being friends, right? She was just worried about him and wanted to make sure he wasn't hurt. A sudden dread entered his body and left it chilled when he realized that he just lied to her. This was happening more and more to those around him and the realization that it was now a common place in his life had him shaken.

"Oh my god, look at that!" A woman gasped in horror while her eyes were transfixed on something to their left. Both of their heads snapped to attention and followed the direction of her gaze. On the small television set sitting on the counter, a newscaster sat with a solemn face while a video played to the corner of the screen. It was enlarged to show a shaky camera filming a familiar building before an explosion engulfed the shot. Plumes of charcoal black smoke immediately rose to fill the area, engulfing even the camera crew. The screen was pitch black for a second before the news caster reappeared. Colleen's blood ran cold.

"I-," she stood up and nearly knocked the plates right off the table with how fast she grabbed her bag. "I need to go!" She began to push through the crowd of people, all of them swarming against her to reach the TV. People were pulling out their phones to check their social media and others were holding each other close at the sudden devastation of the bombing. The implications of this attack were huge.

"Colleen?!" Peter shouted as her head started disappearing into the sea of people. He saw her look of absolute panic.

"I'm sorry! I-I'll text you." He saw her turn to look at him before she was gone. He sat there, unsure of what just happened.

Finally making it outside, Colleen fumbled to get her phone out as quickly as possible. Her phone was flooded with security alerts and updates in real-time from F.R.I.D.A.Y. She skipped all those to immediately dial Natasha. "Come on. Pick up, please, please," she begged as she tried to hail down a taxi. No one paid her much mind and she decided to leg it instead. "Please," she gasped as she broke out into a full sprint. Her heart pounded in her chest as she dodged pedestrians left and right. She nearly broke out in tears when it reached her voicemail. "Someone, please," she began dialing the others but none of them picked up. Tony's line was busy, and it was immediately put on hold. All the way home, Colleen was stuck in a constant state of fear. One of the closest people in her life was in that building. The one she saw go up in flames and fall back down as ash and debris. When she finally reached the Avengers Facility, she tried to make contact again but to no avail. Agents rushed around her as people tried to figure out what happened and who did it. Colleen ended up locking herself in her room. She sat at her desk, her phone in front of her, and waited with bated breath. After an hour, Natasha's name popped up on her cell. She nearly dropped the phone with how fast she tried to answer it.

"Thank God," she cried, her voice shaking. "I thought you died!"

"I'm fine. Calm down," the redhead replied quietly. It was difficult to hear her over the insanity that must've been happening in Vienna. "Where are you?" She seemed too calm, way too calm. Colleen got up from her chair and headed over to her window. The new installment was more advanced and now sported a pressure-sensing system that retracted the glass when the readings inside the room were too high.

"I'm in my room at the facility."

"Good. Stay there. A lot's going to happen in the next 48 hours. Don't put yourself in the crossfire." Natasha ordered. Colleen's brows furrowed at her sudden change of tone.

"What does that mean? Natasha? What's happened? What's happening?" Colleen gripped her phone tightly.

"Let me take care of it. Do not leave the facility. That is an order," Natasha responded quickly before the line went dead. Colleen's eyes stared straight ahead, out into the expanse of forest around her side of the building. She felt it. It blossomed in her heart and traveled throughout her nervous system, reaching every last crevice. It touched each individual cell and traveled through every fiber of her body. A war was coming.

A/N: Soooooo, I'm back? Please don't murder me. I bring cookies.