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“Have you seen what’s going on outside?” Matt Murdock asked Tony Stark as he entered Avenger’s Tower with his arm through his best friend, Foggy Nelson’s.
“Have you?” Tony smirked.
“A blind joke, Tony? That’s low,” Matt smirked back.
“Matt, buddy, you make blind jokes all the time,” Foggy laughed.
“What has you two here today?” Tony asked.
“Karen told us to do our research for our new case here where there’s good wifi rather than fighting with ours,” Matt laughed.
“And what’s going on outside?” Tony asked, glancing behind the pair.
“You have a hoard of teenagers with laptops on your lawn,” Foggy said, “probably stealing your wifi.”
“Oh,” Tony said, “good to know.”
Matt and Foggy gave him a wave as they left for the main Avenger’s floor. Tony poked his head outside and saw two dozen teens on the front lawn and leaning against his building on their laptops. A few froze when they noticed him. He gave them a nod and ducked back into the building. “Jarvis?” Tony asked.
“Sir?” Jarvis responded.
“How often are they out there?” Tony asked.
“Just about everyday, sir.”
“Even when it rains?” Tony asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“How many floors are free in the tower?” Tony asked, already planning.
“Two at the top, are you wanting to shift some of the Avengers around so the free floors are at the bottom?” Jarvis asked.
“Yep, we’ll just shift everyone up two floors, including the lounge,” Tony said, getting in the elevator to go to his workshop to get started on his plans.
It took a few weeks but Tony managed to shift everyone’s floors and the Avenger’s lounge up two floors and set up the bottom floor for the kids, with plans to expand to the second floor once he knew what exactly they needed.
The floor directly above the lobby had tables, chairs, and beanbag chairs; along with as many outlets as Tony could safely put in. He also put in a new elevator that only went to the two floors so they could have their own elevator. After making sure he put a suggestion box out, Tony decided he was ready to let the kids know about it.
Tony walked outside where the kids had gathered and loudly cleared his throat, “It’s come to my attention that you all are enjoying our free wifi here. While I love that for all of you, I want you to be able to use real tables and be inside when it’s cold or wet so I set up an area just for you all. If you’ll follow me, I can show you.” Tony turned and led the way into the building, waiting for everyone to join him before continuing, “This elevator is just for you guys and if any of you are artists, feel free to contact me and I’ll definitely pay you to decorate your elevator doors and the walls of your areas. So far, only part of the first floor is done.”
The group followed Tony into the elevator and up to the first floor of theirs. “I have a suggestion box and promise to look at any and every suggestion. You have this entire floor and the entire next floor to work with,” he gestured to the box. “Also, if you want to use that to contact me to do the art, that works, as I will be reading the suggestions. This area is for you. It’ll always be open for you, all day and night, no questions asked.”
That’s how it started, a small room with tables, chairs, and some beanbag chairs. The teens were slow to suggest things but when they noticed that Tony took what few things they suggested to heart, they suggested more. First things added were snacks and a kitchenette for cooking snacks; Tony made sure there were healthy options along with the junk food. The next thing was tutors that were hired to help the kids with various subjects. The second floor was quickly converted to have showers and a small napping area in half of it. While the other half was offices for therapists and doctors that would see the kids, free of charge.
Within a year, there were a few dozen regular kids ranging from elementary to college and the graduation rate had shot up from the year before. The elevator doors were painted colorfully, as were all the walls on both floors, all painted by the kids. Tony had hired plenty of tutors, including some of the older kids, for just about any topic; therapists, of multiple genders so everyone would feel safe to go; and doctors, of multiple genders for the same reason as the therapists.
There was one thing that Tony had wanted as a kid but never got, a loving home environment. He also knew that a lot of the kids who came to the Safe Space also needed that. He knew they needed someone safe to talk to and somewhere that felt like it belonged to them. That’s the biggest thing he was concerned about when creating the Safe Space. Tony managed to rope in some of the Avengers, and the couple heroes that weren’t Avengers, like Daredevil. Well, Matt Murdock and his crew came to help with any legal issues the kids had, a few of them needed to be emancipated.
A year to the day from when Tony first led the kids into the Tower, they all gathered in the main room on their first floor and had Jarvis bring Tony, Happy, Matt and his crew, Steve, Bucky, Sam, Bruce, Clint, Rhodey, Natasha, and Thor to them to talk to. “What’s going on here?” Tony asked as he exited the elevator.
“We wanted to thank you,” one of the older kids said, stepping in front of the group.
“Why?” Tony asked, surprised.
“You gave us a home,” the same kid said. “A lot of us don’t have good home situations and you gave us a home where we were safe and cared for.”
“We all wrote you all something,” another kid said quietly, holding up an index card.
“Really?” Steve asked, eyes tearing up.
“Matt, they all have little index cards,” Foggy said, leaning into his best friend, tearing up as well.
The first kid spoke up again, “We also wrote thank yous for the tutors, therapists, and doctors who’ve helped us too but they’re receiving those privately. Can we read these to you here?”
“Of course,” Tony nodded.
“My name is Tobias, a year ago I was sitting outside stealing wifi to mostly play games on my laptop rather than do any homework,” the first kid started. “Since Mr. Stark gave us the Safe Space, with its tutors and other help, I went from failing almost every class to As and Bs with a chance to graduate on time. I want to thank Mr. Stark for giving me this opportunity, Dr. Banner for helping me with math and science even when I was ready to give up, and Colonel Rhodes for helping me join the military where I’ll be able to go to college and get a degree. The first in my family,” Tobias beamed. He took a step back and gestured the quiet kid back forward.
“Umm… My name is Jackie and I wanted to thank Ms. Romanoff for helping me with my dance which helped me with my confidence,” the kid said quietly, but she made eye contact with Natasha. “I also wanted to thank Mr. Stark and Mr. Jarvis for always being here for me even when my parents weren’t.”
“My name is Mario, I wanted to thank Mr. Stark for creating the Safe Space. My parents are abusive and you gave me a place I could go and feel safe. I was never judged for how often I’d be here or how often I’d use upstairs to sleep somewhere safe. I left my parents’ home and I never had to feel homeless thanks to the Safe Space. I also wanted to thank Mr. Murdock and Mr. Nelson and Ms. Page for helping me get emancipated so I never had to go back.”
All the kids had something to say and they took turns reading from their index cards.
“A year ago I was addicted to crack and was stealing to pay for it. A friend dragged me here and thanks to Mr. Barton and the doctors here, I was able to get clean. I’ve been clean for six months now and, while everyday is a struggle, I know I’m not alone in it.”
“Thank you Mr. Murdock and Mr. Nelson and Ms. Page for helping me get emancipated, and Mr. Stark and Mr. Happy for helping me get a job so I could find a place to live.”
“I want to thank Mr. Rogers, Mr. Barnes, and Mr. Wilson for helping me through my panic attacks and convincing me to see a therapist.”
“Thanks Mr. Thor for always having a smile for us, especially when we didn’t feel like smiling ourselves.”
“Thank you Mr. Barton for staying with me for days when I felt suicidal and went with me to see the therapist so I wouldn’t have to be alone.”
And it went on, everyone telling a story about how the Safe Space helped them, thanking at least one of the people gathered. Tony tried to remember as much as possible but knew that Jarvis would be recording it in case he forgot something. By the time the last kid stepped forward, tears were running down everyone’s face. Even Natasha.
“My name is Henry and I don’t have a sob story. I just didn’t have wifi at home,” Henry shrugged, “but this place has been like a second home to me and for everyone here. We’ve become like a big family and you all have become surrogate parents or piblings for us, even for those of us who didn’t need them. So thank you all for being there for us. You being there for us, and us being there for each other, has helped so many of us. You’ve created jobs and helped a lot of people graduate high school and actually get into college.”
Tobias stepped forward again, “We hope that, while this wasn’t nearly enough for everything you all have done for us, it helps you understand how much you all mean to all of us.”
Tony wiped his hands down his face, cleaning off some of the tears, “I’m supposed to be cool and you have me blubbering like a baby,” some of the kids laughed at that. “Okay, we’re having a pizza party right now. Tobias, you’re in charge of getting a list of what everyone wants. Make sure there’s something for everyone. If there’s not at least one vegetarian or gluten-free pizza on that list, you’re redoing it.” Tobias grinned and grabbed a notebook from his backpack.
“Are we all invited too?” Foggy asked, not bothering to wipe the tears from his face.
“Of course! I’ll go grab Pepper and we’ll have fun,” Tony smiled.
“You don’t have anything better to do?” One of the younger kids asked in a shy voice.
Tony knelt down to be closer to eye level with them, “Nothing would be better than this,” he booped their nose to make them giggle. Tony stood back up, ruffling the hair of the kid, “Jarvis, make sure my schedule is clear for the rest of the day.”
“Yes, sir.”