Metamorphosis

July 25th
Kevin Hillman was seriously reconsidering his chances of fighting his way to the top of the tower. Sure he was younger than most of the Avengers, if only by a few years, but he had a bad back from his years in the military and they were the fucking Avengers.
Kevin shook his head in exasperation as the guy behind the front desk repeated himself for the fifth time in just as many days.
“Sir I’m sorry, but as I have said before, I cannot allow you to talk to Mr. Stark or any of the Avengers who may or may not live here and may or may not be here.”
Margo you bitch Kevin thought to himself, followed by a quick prayer for strength.
He leveled the man behind the desk with another look, “And I have told you that this is a matter of life and death?”
He grimaced “Yes sir. You have been very adamant about that.”
Kevin pressed his palms together, his forearms resting on the cool glass, before pressing his forehead and palms against the glass.
“Deep breaths Kev,” he muttered to himself “deep fucking breaths Kev.”
Time for Plan B
With nothing else to say Kevin straightened his back, nodded goodbye to the man behind the desk, and turned to stalk out of the first-floor lobby of Avengers Tower.
Back on the sidewalk, Kevin lowered his sunglasses against the burning sun peaking past the skyscrapers of New York, before heading left for Central Park.
He stopped under the Huddlestone Arch before pulling out a pale pink envelope from his backpack and unfolded the letter within.

Kevin,
Im sorry. In the years we’ve known each other there have been very few secrets between us. You’ll have to forgive me for not telling you sooner, I know who spider-man really is.
If you receive this letter I am in danger and I need your help. I am going undercover for a story for my editor, obviously, I couldn’t tell you before but the flash drive I enclosed will tell you everything you need to know.
Tomorrow is July 1st and will mark the beginning of my investigation. This letter should reach you by the 15th, if you don’t hear from me by then I might be dead I am in danger
I need you to trust me.
Go to Avengers Tower in New York. Wait until dark and follow the alley on the right side of the main doors, facing the tower. Follow the alley to the parking garage. The elevator is operated by an A.I. system named FRIDAY, she won’t let you into the elevator. Not at first.
Tell her this exactly.
“Override code 1962-15 Fly on the wall protocol” when she prompts you for a name give her mine.
The Avengers will stop you, I’m sorry. Give them this letter and tell them to tell Spider-man that I sent you.
I pray for both our sakes this works.

~ Margo Mathews

Kevin glanced down at the flash drive, black and sleek and so insignificant looking. But the files and photos that it had contained shook the former Sargent to his core.
Kevin roughly scrubbed his face with his hands before checking his watch, he had more than three hours before the sun would set, and it would take yet another before it would dark enough for him to slip into the alley. He tried Marog’s cellphone again.

“You’ve reached Margo Mathews, journalist, investigator. If you’re calling with a tip or to set up a meeting please call my office at 210-555-8032, if this an emergency you may call my editor at 210-555-8031 if I haven’t replied in 24 hours. Leave a message at the beep and I’ll get back to you when I can.”

He smashed the “end call” button and sighed. With nothing else to do for the next three fucking hours, geez Kevin wanted to strangle that desk worker, he slowly made his way through the entire park. Then at the far side of the park, farther away from the Avengers tower, Kevin continued through lower Manhattan down to the bridge of the same name.
Standing in the center of the bridge Kevin checked his watch again. It had barely passed an hour since he stood under the arch.
“Fuck it” he thought to himself. And hailed a cab back to the Avenger tower.
He circled the parking structure twice, there were no cars parked inside, despite it still being the middle of the workday, and there were no guards to be seen either.
“Don’t need guards when you have an all-seeing A.I.” he muttered.

The elevator was easy enough to find, sleek stainless steel against the rough cement that made up so much of the city.
He pressed the call button just beside the elevator with his knuckle, its outer ring glowed blue for a brief moment before flashing red.
“You do not have clearance for this area.” came a female robotic voice. Kevin jumped dispite Margo’s warning of the A.I.’s presence.
He pressed the button again. “You do not have clearance-” “Override code 1962 dash 15, fly on the wall protocol.” He paused for a moment, the A.I. silent as well.
“Please state the keyholder’s name.”
“Margo Mathews.”

There was another heavy silence between Kevin and the A.I., long enough for Kevin to count eight heartbeats.
Silently the elevator opened, “Fly on the wall protocol accepted. Please enter.”
With a fortifying breath, Kevin did, and as the elevator rose he felt a strange sense of calmness settle deep within his bones. He watched the digital counter tic up as it rose, 63….64….65….66, all the way to the 73rd floor.

Kevin was a bit starstruck, though unsurprised when the doors opened and he came face to face with the Black Widow and the Winter Soldier waiting for him. The seemed almost casual.
Of course they are, he thought bitterly, they’re fucking Avengers.
“Kevin Hillman, be a dear and follow me.” The Black Widow said, her voice deceptively kind and sweet, before turning to walk down the hall, clearly showing her lack of fear or apprehension towards him. The Winter Soldier, however, kept his post eyes firmly trained on Kevin as he made quick work to follow the Black Widow, and despite the Soldier’s silent footsteps behind him, Kevin could feel him follow behind him.

The Black Widow led him into a small interrogation room with a placating smile and gestured for him to sit behind the table.
The two former Russian assassins took post inside the room, while behind the one-way glass, unbeknown to Kevin, Iron Man and Captin America stood watch.
“Why are you here Kevin?” the Widow started, “You’ve spent the last week bothering Tony’s employees and now you suddenly know an override pass to get past our A.I.”
“My friend, Margo Mathews, is in danger. She sent me, she gave me the override.” As he spoke Kevin slowly reached for the note in his pocket before passing it across the table to the Widow. For a moment she doesn’t move more than her eyes as she glances between him and the envelope before she reaches out and unfolds the letter, the flash drive clattering to the tabletop.
After quickly reading through the letter she hands both to the soldier, muttering in Russian. The Soldier takes both, replies, and then slinks out the door.
Surprisingly, Kevin notices he feels less at ease now that it’s just him and the Widow.
“Tell me about your friend.” she tells him, “and start with how she knows Spider-man’s identity.”

“....leave a message at the beep and I’ll get back to you when I can.”
Peter let out a sigh as he peered at his phone screen. Sure he knew she was busy but she hadn’t called, called back, or replied to any of his messages in almost three weeks and he was starting to worry.
“Hey, Pete you’re coming over tonight after “work” right?” MJ said, startling him from his worries. He looked up to his two smiling friends, “Yea, what are we watching?” MJ rolled her eyes as Ned shouted his answer. “Star Wars! Duh.”
“Couldn’t think of anything better to -” Peter cut off when his phone beeped, he had assigned a different ringtone for everyone in his life, including the Avenger now that he had their numbers, and so FRIDAY who was able to send messages to his phone also had her own little ringtone. It was that one, FRIDAY’s alert which only ever went off in emergencies, that rang now.
Glancing back at the screen Peter felt his blood run cold as he read her message.

-OVERRIDE CODE 1962-15 ACTIVATED-

-FLY ON THE WALL PROTOCOL ACTIVATED-

-LOCATION: AVENGERS TOWER FLOOR 73-

“..ter! Peter! Peter what’s wrong!” MJ asked, picking up on her friend’s quickly changing mood.
Peter felt numb as he looked from the message to his friends and back again. His mind rushing at a mile a minute, flipping through dreadful scenarios like channels as he tried to think about why Margo would have gone to Avengers Tower rather than call him.
Peter swallowed the lump in his throat before he could speak.
“It’s… uh, it’s my sister. I think she’s in trouble.”