Bill sits down at the computer he was directed to. It’s his first day working as a security guard for the Avengers tower, and he’s assigned to watch the security camera feed. There are dozens of monitors around the room, with other guards scattered between them. Most are scanning the screens every couple of minutes, more focused on a game of cards or a bowl of cereal. Bill had expected that, and brought some activities of his own, but he plans to watch the screens fairly closely for a couple of days, until he gets the feel of things. He doesn’t want to get fired from the job on his first day.
Things seem to be going normally, people walking down halls, and sitting in lobbies and meetings. It’s 11:00 and Bill is getting hungry, so he pulls out a sandwich, taking a bite as his eyes move between screens. In one, other employees are eating in the cafeteria. Another feed shows a man getting something from a vending machine. The next shows an empty hall. And the next—Bill jumps. He glances around quickly to make sure no one noticed, then turns back to the screen.
There stood Tony Stark himself, riding an elevator to who-knows-where. Bill gapes for a second, then the camera changes and he scans the next scene, grinning and taking another bite of his sandwich.
His sandwich is finished and he’s idly toying with the zipper of his bag, considering pulling out a game of solitaire. The screen changes to show what looks like a fancy gym. Or rec room. Or something. But over to the left—yep, that’s definitely The Natasha Romanoff. And wrestling with her, he’s pretty sure, is Sam Wilson. Bill shakes his head in giddy disbelief. Here he was, just looking for a part-time job to get him through college, and instead he gets to see live shots of the Avengers themselves.
Just as Black Widow launches into a fancy flippy thing the feed changes, and Bill sighs. Of course, the downside would be that they’re only live shots, and he doesn’t really have control over what moments he catches. Still, he can’t wait to get home and tell his roommate.
Bill keeps his eyes fastened on the screens, not wanting to miss another epic moment. He can’t believe how nonchalant every other security guard in the room is—are they so used to the Avengers that they barely notice them?? Or do they not realize what’s in front of their eyes? Granted, there are a lot of floors in the tower, and that makes for a lot of cameras, but still. This room is assigned to the upper floor cameras, and that increases the chances of one catching a moment of the Avengers’ personal lives.
Another hour passes and even Bill is getting a little bored—and therefore, sloppy. Nothing has happened in a good while, and he’s beginning to see how the guards could maybe get used to this.
Suddenly a piercing sound cuts through the room, as red lights start to flash. Bill flinches violently, and it takes a moment to realize that a security alarm is going off.
He looks frantically around the room. “What do we do? Where’s the problem?”
He’s shocked to see almost every guard looking just as unruffled as they have all day. Only a couple look around at him, and one waves Bill over.
“You’re new here, aren’t you? It’s just Spider-Man,” he explains, pointing to one of his screens. “This happens pretty often, it’s not really a security breach. You’ll get used to it.”
Bill gapes at the screen. The entire background is windowed, but one panel is edged with jagged shards of glass. On the floor with the rest of the broken window, is Spider-Man, struggling to his feet.
“Does he need help?” What do we do?” Bill asks in alarm.
“Just wait a minute,” the guy nods back toward the screen.
A moment later Tony Stark rushes into the frame, putting an arm around Spider-Man’s shoulders and helping him limp out of view. A trail of blood follows them across the floor.
“Is he gonna be okay?” Bill is trying and kinda failing to match everyone else’s calm reactions.
“Yeah, he should be fine. Apparently he gets hurt a lot swinging around the city, he likes to come here for medical care. Probably better at treating enhanced people and all that. By the way I’m Jared, who’re you?”
“Bill.” He shakes the offered hand.
“Good to meet you, Bill. You’ll sure have some unique moments working here,” Jared grins, and with a wave, Bill heads back to his station.
By dinnertime he’s caught a janitor spilling water down an entire hallway, some kid climbing into a wall vent, a couple shield agents wrestling in a hall and then laughing about it for five minutes straight (the feed had flipped back to them multiple times before they were finished), and played two rounds of uno with the lady next to him.
“Hey, Bill!” Jared was waving him over. “You heard we can eat at the cafeteria before leaving? I’ll show you the ropes, that place is like a heavenly jungle of delicious.”
A heavenly jungle of delicious? Not bad for a college job, Bill smirks to himself, heaving his backpack over his shoulder and following Jared through the door.
Not bad at all.
Oh, his roommates are going to be so jealous.