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CHAPTER FIFTEEN
isolation
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SHE DIDN'T ENJOY it, but Kendra knew that Happy was right. That's why she would avoid Peter and Ned at school, avoiding their concerned stares, and hiding in the dark corners of the library during lunch. Kendra decided to stay in the two clubs Mr. Harrington threw her into, not wanting to be completely suspicious. But she only participated when called upon too.

Kendra longed to be with the friends she made, to at least pretend she actually belonged in the damn universe. But it was hard, especially when she would remember her old life in her Florida. The quiet morning bus rides to the small conversations she would have with her old bus driver. She really struggled to make friends her age at school, normally sticking to her social media. But with Peter and Ned, it all seemed so easy. She finally could relax around someone. And now she has to push it all away. All because of Thanos. All because of her thoughts getting in the way of her feelings.

After the decathlon meeting, Kendra senses Peter would approach her but she quickly said her goodbye to Mj and booked it. She turned around the corner, breaking into a run when she was out of the teams line of eyesight as she sprinted for her locker, quickly snatching her jacket and her lunchbox and ran out of the school.

She no longer would be picked up at the school by Happy, she was always going to the Sanctum to learn more and train more with Stephen and Wong. Besides the Avengers, they were the only people that she could really befriend. Kendra was starting to feel that she was going back to only befriending adults. It saddened her.

Kendra finally stopped running, slowly getting out of breath as the jacket made her feel stuffy. She stopped and sat a bench, the passerby's never bothered, probably didn't even recognize her. She leaned forward, her elbows propped on her knees as she held her face in her hands, holding back the tears as the familiar lump in her throat swelled. If Kendra dared spoke, she knew she would break down.

She eventually got up, not wanting to be late to another training session, knowing that it would inconvenience Stephens schedule. Kendra turned a few corners, frowning at the sense that she was being followed and turned around. No one was paying her any attention. She looked up at windows and rooftops, wondering if she was now adding paranoia to a list of mental problems. Kendra frowned, quickly turning back to where she was going and quickened her pace, jogging up the steps to the sanctum and went inside.

"You're late!" Stephen spoke as she set her bag and lunchbox down next to the door.

"I'm sorry, just stressed," Kendra sighed as she took off her jacket, rubbing her face to possibly hide any sign of emotion like she has been doing for weeks now.

"I know," Stephen spoke and Kendra rolled her eyes as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail, "first assignment is to make a portal to your room and get your sword and shield for me."

Kendra gave up on questioning how Stephen knew so much about her, finally coming to the conclusion that everything will be revealed in the Infinity War. She did what was asked of her with ease. She didn't even set off an alarm that she knows for certain Tony has put in her room.

She held them up for Stephen as she closed the portal, unsure of what he was going to show her.

"So I know that with all this mystic art training and your training with Natasha, you have no idea what to do with that sword and shield, so now I'm going to help you include it in your mystic arts training, there are a few tricks and spells that I've read up on that would be perfect for you," Stephen spoke and she nodded as he threw them into the mirror realm, allowing them to be able to do what they want without destroying New York.

Or the sanctum at least.

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KENDRA GAVE A light chuckle when the towel that Stephen tossed her landed right on her face. She dropped the sword and shield and caught it, wiping her face as she sighed, watching as Stephen made the mirror realm disappear and the sanctum go back to normal.

"I'll put these back into your room, you need to hurry to the cafe," Stephen spoke as Kendra sheepishly handed Wong the small, now dirty, towel. She looked to Steven and raised an eyebrow.

"You hate my company that much?" She asked with a chuckle and he only shook his head, patting her shoulder.

"Hurry before Tony tracks you down," he jokes and Kendra threw her jacket on, following it up with her backpack after shoving her lunchbox into it.

"And Kendra!"

She turned to face him when she let her hair down, her hand on the door as she waited for him to say his piece.

"When it happens, don't run," Strange spoke and she frowned as he walked away. Kendra left the sanctum, unsure what he meant. Her anxiety rose in her chest as she walked her normal path to the cafe, smirking as she pulled out the AirPods case, a light chuckle under her breath as she put them in her ears and connected her phone to them. She played her usual sad playlist as she turned another corner.

Happy stood there, a coffee cup in his hand as she approached. She was soon void of emotions for the time being. Not really able to express how she felt to Happy before he would remind her that the universe depended on her. She didn't really get the chance to talk Tony again after the day she got the rest of her abilities.

He seemed to always be busy in his office. She was only able to catch wind of some sort of trip and that's only what FRIDAY would tell her the one time she asked. So now, with her pushing her friends away, her father being busy, and her uncle-but-not-really being predictable, Kendra felt pretty isolated. And she didn't feel good about any of it at all.

"Hey, kid," Happy spoke up, startling Kendra from her thoughts and she looked over to him, curiosity filling her, "I noticed you've been kinda down, what's up?"

"Oh, uh," Kendra tried thinking up an excuse but nothing seemed believable. She sighed and looked up at the roof of the car, frowning as she eventually looked to Happy who stopped at a red light, looking to face her.

"Be honest, Kendra, whats wrong?" He asked, she could see the concern all over his face. She felt anger with herself as she teared up once more in front of Happy. She hated crying in front of people and considering that she was about to break down in front of Happy Hogan didn't make her feel any better.

She watched as he pressed the gas as the light when green, and she watched with a press of the button, the car was driving itself to the base. Something she saw in Captain America: the Winter Soldier.

"Is this about Peter? Did he hurt you?" Happy asked and Kendra widened her eyes, furiously shaking her head.

"No!" She bursted, making him frown in disbelief, "no, I hurt my own feelings."

"What?" He asked and she looked down at the coffee in her hands, she hasn't taken a single sip and she could feel it heat up her frozen fingers.

"I uh, followed your advice, got rid of male distractions, I actually haven't spoke to Peter or Ned in weeks, and they were kind of the only friends I had that were my age, it used to be like that in my Florida, I've always had trouble making friends with people my age so," Kendra took a breath, she wasn't out winded, she was trying to make sure her voice didn't crack, "I feel like that although it isn't my old routine, I'm still going back into an isolated one."

"I didn't realize- I," Happy was at a loss for words when he soon realized how deep his words went to her, "listen, never follow my advice again, okay?"

Kendra looked up to him confused, wondering what he meant,

"I wasn't following your advice, I was doing what you suggested, train, prepare, get ready for war-"

"Kendra, you're a teenage girl, not a weapon!" Happy interrupted, making her smile softly. He patted her shoulder and she looked back down at the coffee, finally taking her first drink and ignoring the burn as it went down her throat.

"This world depends on me," Kendra pointed out, "when the time comes, and it will, I can't be anything less than what it needs."

"But-"

"Happy," Kendra spoke up, interrupting him once more, "you don't understand, it's not just this planet, it's every planet, not all of them want to invade earth, and there are so many beautiful aliens out there that have family's just like the ones here, it's not just this planet that needs me, it's all of them, the universe is infinite, and that's a lot of life."

Happy soon realized that he wasn't going to change her mind. If she didn't crash at his feet so long ago, he could have sworn that Tony was her actual father. And Happy wasn't so positive that it was a good thing anymore.