Work Text
March 2nd, 2011
(Tony)It was a night of unexpected events.Tony Stark did not expect to end up in his lab at an ungodly hour of the morning, working on a new suit for underwater welding.He definitely did not expect to find himself falling asleep at his workbench.But the most unexpected of all events on this day was the alert he received from JARVIS that ultimately woke him from his short-albeit, peaceful-sleep."Sir, there seems to be some suspicious activity on the ground floor."His A.I.'s British drawl jarred Tony awake mid-sentence. "Hm, what's happening?" Tony asked, grogginess making him sound sluggish, which he was."There was an authorized entry, sir," JARVIS responded, almost amused. Tony made him to be as expressive as possible, but he didn't like how human he sounded in that moment. Or maybe sleepiness was making him hear things that weren't there. Did he say authorized entry?"Why is that suspicious? Maybe some intern forgot his briefcase or something," Tony responded, while also checking the time on his watch. 3:32 AM. After seeing that, he was a little more doubtful of his reasoning. Why would an intern come this early?"Well, sir, it seemed suspicious after I examined a scan from the live security feed," JARVIS said, while also feeding Tony a file through his desk.His workbench desk, which was entirely touch screen, glowed to life, and a video file popped up over his leftover blueprints from before his nap.The video, time-stamped only a minute prior, showed a figure cloaked in black entering through the front door of the building, as if it were open.Then another figure entered. Then another. Then three more. No identifiable features. He couldn't even see their faces.And they went straight for the elevator.Tony was suddenly wide awake, not a trace of fatigue. It was replaced with panic; something was definitely going on."Where are they headed now?" Tony demanded, getting up and stepping onto the armor platform he installed next to his workbench. As the mechanical arms whirred to life and placed the familiar metal alloy onto his body, JARVIS continued, "The elevator is headed for the 28th floor."
Experimental Technology Development.
Dammit
.
At this point, Tony was suited up, the armor responding accordingly to his movements. He wasted no time, propelling himself towards the door to the stairwell and shooting straight up through the space in between the spiral of railings.The analytic data in front of him pointed out precisely when he reached the 28th floor, and he busted down the door to Tech Development.The floor was mostly rows of rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows as walls, with experimental technology in almost every one. The stairs opened up to a corridor that had those rooms on either side of him, showing everything from high-storage hard drives the size of pennies to something that looked like a laser gun. The fear in the pit of Tony's stomach grew; he didn't want anyone taking advantage of his tech.Not again."JARVIS, where are they?" Tony asked his A.I., keeping his voice steady. Inside, he was freaking out a little. And the tiniest bit angry."Approaching Room 113," JARVIS said, immediately showing Tony building schematics and the quickest way to the room. Luckily, he wasn't far.As he maneuvered through the hallways with speed and precision, he just couldn't shake his fear that someone was going to find something they could use against him. Or worse, against others.Ever since shutting down Weapons Development and becoming Iron Man not even five months prior, Tony had a constant fear of someone like Obadiah Stane coming along and finding a way to use his tech in horrid ways. And in that whole five months, no one had tried. Until that moment, anyway.Finally, he reached Room 113, which not only sported the window walls on the inside, but also had windows that overlooked New York's bustling nightscape. He quieted his repulsors and walked in.He immediately noticed three things: a giant hole was cut into one of the windows, a rope dangled out of it, and only one person remained in the room.They were already escaping."Lights, JARVIS," Tony said, no longer caring about being heard anymore. As the lights in the room cut on, the ball of fear in the pit of his stomach doubled in size.The perp was holding a harnessed arc reactor energy core in a glass case.And the perp was female, a curtain of long blonde curls covering the head of the slim figure. She faced the window, ready to escape.She turned around in surprise, though, and the ball tripled in size.The perp was his secretary."Krissy?" Tony's shock was hardly masked, even with his helmet on.Krissy Longfellow, Tony's secretary of about seven months, was one of very few people Tony could trust- alongside Rhodey, Happy, and Pepper. Not only was she beautiful, but she had a can-do attitude that never ceased to amaze him whenever she did something seemingly impossible. It was one of many qualities that made Tony fall that much harder.That same determination, however, was showing itself in a whole new light.Krissy, who held the glass container in her left hand, quickly recovered from her own surprise. She stood tall and proud, the black turtleneck she wore making her neck seem longer and more extreme."Hello, Tony," she said smoothly, ditching the usual "Mr. Stark". He didn't care about that, though. He just wanted to know what the hell was going on.He took a reluctant step forward, careful not to bring his suit too close to the reactor she was holding. The case may have been the size of a beer bottle, but it held the explosive power of C-4."Krissy, what are you doing?""I'm just out on the town, grabbing a few drinks," she responded, her sentence lined with sarcasm, before she then snarled, "What does it look like I'm doing?"Tony was taken aback; literally, as he took a hasty step back."I'm sorry, Krissy, it's just. . . I don't understand.""A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. I'm sure you understand what I mean, Tony. Or should I say, Iron Man," she gestured towards him with the case, making Tony raise the hands of his suit in alarm."I understand that, but Krissy-""Stop calling me Krissy!"Without warning, she reached for her scalp and ripped her hair off.Instead of seeing a bloody mess like he expected, it revealed a long, curly drape of raven black hair, making her look a little less innocent than she let on with the blonde wig: her gray eyes a little more menacing, her face that much more angular. Overall, she looked much more powerful. And dangerous.Tony didn't respond. He couldn't. He was frozen in shock.
What is happening?
"Disappointed?" she cocked her head to the side, "I know you have a thing for blondes."He still couldn't move, couldn't speak, recovering from her blow with what he told her a while back to get her attention. The reaction it got from him was way different in this case.Since he was standing there like a big metal statue, she decided to say, "Goodbye, Tony.""Wait."She turned to face him again, her gaze cold and hard."Give me the core. I'm sure your goons have plenty of others. I can keep you from being implicated if I tried."Despite this betrayal, he still cared about her. If anything about her was real. He was sure her name wasn't. But what about everything else they shared? He couldn't see her in jail. It broke his heart thinking about it."Please," he said, and cursed himself for letting his anxiety show through in his voice.She smirked, and he knew she picked up on it."Fine. Here."She threw it straight at Tony.His repulsor seemed to move before he even thought about it.The device whirred, and he fired at the case in a flash of movement, shattering the glass.And Krissy's façade.Before the explosion, Tony could see her eyes widen with fear. She knew she messed up.After the blast, Tony was alone, on the ground ten feet back, staring at a shattered window.There was no doubt in his mind that she fell to her death, if she wasn't disintergrated entirely.But it was a night of unexpected events.Tony didn't expect her to survive that fall.And he definitely didn't expect her to come back.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
January 14th, 2017
(Tony)
The compound was crowded. It seemed as though a new person was showing up and getting a room every week.First it was the Sokovian twins, who Tony offered sanctuary to after the whole Ultron mess (which he still had nightmares about). Not to mention the sudden and welcomed addition of a certain android to the Avengers roster. He thought six others was enough, though.Then Steve brought home his war buddy after the little skirmish they had, bringing the count up to seven.A little while after that, Peter took up permanent residence at the compound (he was dedicated to becoming a "better hero"). That made his situation a regular old Kate Plus Eight type of deal. Even Tony seemed to join in with the others in nicknaming the compound "Tony Stark's Bed and Breakfast," no matter how frustrated he was with the living conditions. Still, he considered himself lucky that both Thor and Banner were MIA, or it'd have been much, much worse.So it was nine people in total, with an occasional visit from Barton or Rhodey, depending on who grated his nerves less during a mission. Without those two, it was still a lot.So, Nick Fury's sudden call on a Saturday morning didn't exactly please him.Tony was sound asleep in his room when he heard a sharp rap on his door.He bolted awake, looking at the door with disdain. The window across from his bed showed him that it was still dark outside, on the brink of sunrise. The one day he actually sleeps, he's woken up. Before he could even tell who it was to go away, the door opened to reveal Rhodey, an old Air Force tee clinging to his body."Tones, you got a phone call.""Who is it?" Tony groaned. Who could possibly be calling him at this time other than to bug him with something trivial or otherwise stressful?"Uh. . . it's Fury," he said, surprised he even said that.Naturally, Tony thought.Tony soon shared that surprise, though. Nick Fury? Wasn't SHIELD no longer his problem?He climbed out of bed quickly, the caller having piqued his interest. Shuffling to his office, he saw the clock above his desk, which read 6:15. Well, Fury was nothing if not punctual.He grabbed the phone, which was laying on his desk, and spoke quickly, "Fury, long time. I'm all for a sappy reunion, but a much later time is more preferable. I need my beauty sleep.""Mr. Stark, no amount of beauty sleep will be able to fix whatever's going on with your face," Nick Fury's recognizable voice sounded on the other end, dropping the "r" at the end of "your" like they were old buddies. Were they? Tony wasn't sure. If friendship was one friend bossing around the other friend in life-threatening situations, then they were definitely good pals."Seriously, Fury, what is it? It's still dark outside here.""I am aware," Fury responded matter-of-factly, like the smartass he was."Wait, are you in New York right now?" Tony asked incredulously."D.C. actually. SHIELD headquarters," he responded, "The higher-ups have some. . . news regarding the Avengers roster. They're sending me to conduct business with you. So you'll have a familiar face.""And we both know I love your face, Fury. And your pretty eye," Tony shot back, letting his own sarcastic side show for a moment," What news?""I've sent the files you'll need to your computer already, Stark. Brief your team. I'll be there in precisely two hours."Tony, who booted up his holographic computer before Fury even finished his sentence, saw three separate SHIELD files labeled "CLASSIFIED" pop up in front of him in big blue images."What's going on, Fury?" Tony demanded, a little miffed that he wasn't getting a straight answer to any of his questions.He seemed to ignore Tony's question, as he responded, "Oh, and look presentable, Tony. I'll be bringing the recruits with me.""Recruits?"A slight burst of static on the other end indicated to Tony that Fury gave an exasperated sigh. A second later he said, "Yes, Tony, recruits. You have three new guests at Stark's Bed and Breakfast. Make sure everyone on your team knows who they're bunking with. Two hours, Stark."Before Tony could say anything else, Fury hung up, leaving him shocked and a little pissed off. He put the phone back on the receiver as calmly and gently as possible.Who told Fury about the Bed and Breakfast thing?And, more importantly, who were these three new "recruits" that SHIELD was thrusting upon him?And why did it make Tony sick to his stomach just thinking about it?Tony tapped on the first file, which opened to reveal names, descriptions, statistics, and a photo. Oh, no.Opening the other two revealed information along the same lines, but one unifying factor made Tony even angrier and queasier by the second: they were all kids.* * *Tony managed to get everyone out of bed just as the sun rose over the horizon. They all sat in the room that overlooked the concrete airfield just outside the building, a vast expanse of green fields just beyond that. No matter how calming the view made him in the past, there was no way he could relax now. He expected the briefing to go by smoothly, and the holographic computer system he installed in the coffee table not too long ago should make it easier. There was a unanimous mood that hung in the air, though: no one liked being woken up early on a Saturday. Except Vision, maybe."What is this about?" asked Rhodey, who stood behind a white armchair that is too uncomfortable to sit in (why does he have it again? He'd have to have Pepper redecorate). He knew Rhodey was itching to know why Fury called so early, and why he heard Tony yelling behind the door to his office. "Nick Fury's coming for a visit," Tony said, rubbing at his eyelids before bringing up the digital files on the coffee table. They took the form of almost-tangible holographic images."And. . .he's bringing company."He opened the first file, which displayed a grainy, holographic image of a teenager, a girl with chocolate skin and an afro of incredible proportion, dyed to a loud ombre of black and hot pink. She looked pissed; it was obviously a mugshot. What made it peculiar was the bird she was flipping to the camera: her hand—and her finger— glowed with bright, neon-pink flames."Meet Danielle Gordon, age seventeen," Tony said, the very statement draining a little bit of life out of him. He didn't want them to meet her really. He reviewed the file beforehand, and noticed a bunch of juvenile misdemeanors and felonies on her record, including numerous counts of destruction of property."Fiery one, isn't she?" Pietro quipped, a smirk playing itself across his lips."Literally," Natasha mumbled.Tony successfully suppressed a chuckle, and continued, "Says she became an 'enhanced individual' two years ago. She was a pyromaniac and budding arsonist who bought some illegal experimental 'fireworks' off the black market. They contained an unstable Chitauri power source. Supposed to make it prettier, I guess.""What happened?" Bucky asked, who usually stayed silent but showed interest in this girl for whatever reason."The fireworks were actually explosives—shocker—and she was caught in an explosion that mutated her cells. Allowed her to absorb and expel massive amounts of radiation and energy, mostly in the form of fire," Tony explained as he scrolled through the description in the file."How massive?" Rhodey asked as he shifted his feet a little."After the explosion," Tony read, while also pulling up a video file from his tablet that came with the file, "she woke up three days later and leveled a hospital."He played the video, which clearly originated from a street camera in New York. It showed a hospital building in the corner, intact one second and, in the wake of a huge pink explosion, crumbling the second after.Tony punctuated the horrific scene with, "There were no other survivors."Tony saw Wanda cover her hand in shock. The scene brought many things to mind for her, that much was clear to Tony. He just wished she didn't have to deal with those kinds of things at such a young age."Where are this girl's parents?" Natasha inquired. She was leaning forward in interest in her seat next to Bucky and Sam, an obvious sign of her drawing conclusions based on her observations. She did it often enough.Tony scrolled down the file, looking for the information. He hadn't bothered to check in the first place, which made him feel kind of bad. Once he found the information, he quickly wished he hadn't."Uh. . .deceased. Both of her parents died in the Battle of New York."Natasha pursed her lips, and before she hung her head, Tony saw her eyebrows scrunch up into a perfect scowl of remorse. Tony also saw Steve, who was silently observing the whole time, shift uncomfortably in the white armchair Rhodey stood behind. Tony knew it wasn't the chair that made him uncomfortable."Who are the other two?" Wanda spoke up, trying her hardest to clear the negative air in the room, for her sake as well as everyone else's.Tony cleared his throat. He switched over to another file, opening it to show a young teenage boy, skin the color of butterscotch, who had a head of wavy dark hair framing his huge smile. It was a school picture, which created a much better positive first impression than the previous one."This is Joey Williams, young track star from New Jersey. He had the fastest times on the Eastern seaboard, breaking records left and right. The only issue was that his asthma made him unable to race without almost suffocating. Then, in a track meet in New York state, he was approached by Aldrich Killian and his crackpot scientists at AIM. He volunteered for research to be conducted on him, unaware of the true consequences."He pulled up another image, showing the same boy, his head shaved and his smile gone. It resembled a mugshot, but with the grungy gray backdrop and the ratty gray tee he wore, it couldn't have been legal."He was subjected to experiments meant to cure his asthma and augment his speed. They tried various treatments, but the most effective was an injection originally meant to cure deafness.""Where's the logic in that?" Sam asked, his face pinched in confusion.Tony shrugged, "I don't know, maybe they got bored. Besides, the side effects gave them results. Not only did his breathing improve substantially, but somehow his body gained the ability to create bursts of sonic force that he later on honed to propel him at incredible speeds."He pulled up a video, which showed Joey on a desolate airstrip. He dashed forward, a path of destruction in the wake of the rippling air behind him."His abilities and their origins caused Joey to do some investigative work, and he discovered Killian's Extremis project. So Joey tried to leave. And that didn't work out too well. He was freed after AIM was. . .shut down," Tony said, trying his best not to accept responsibility for it. He was already connected to these two kids more than he liked."SHIELD reunited him with his family, but he volunteered to become a trainee.""How fast is he?" Pietro asked, a newfound bass in his voice not heard before.Tony scrolled down a bit and read off, "Says here he's broken the sound barrier on a consistent basis, each time under five seconds."Pietro gave a haughty "Hmph," and crossed his arms. His chin was held high, but his confidence seemed to mask something else. Shame? Fear? Jealousy?Keeping his smile to himself, Tony continued, "Says he's been asking to join the Avengers since he's been with SHIELD, and he only recently gained the clearance.""He doesn't seem too bad. I might like him," Rhodey said with a smile."If he's anything like Pietro, that'll change," Natasha said.A lighthearted chuckle echoed through the room, even Pietro joining in.Peter, who was sitting on the arm of the largest couch, finally chimed in, which Tony was waiting for, "What about the third one?"Tony glared at the third file in front of him, wary of opening this one. The first two earned him mixed reactions from the group, but this one might prove problematic, even more so than the delinquent.Still, he opened the file, and revealed another boy, probably the youngest one yet; his skin resembled the color of caramel, but his eyes seemed to shine a brilliant green. His dark, curly hair shone black, and made small ripples across the top of his head. The picture was taken much like the name badges at SHIELD: stark-white background, with a clear view of all defining facial features."This is Casper Hall, age fifteen.""So young," Vision finally spoke."That's the least of our worries," Tony mumbled before continuing, "His backstory is a little. . . different. When he was eight, he showed exceptional promise in state testing scores in his hometown in California. Perfect scores in every subject. The government further tested him by request of his father, Dr. Franklin Hall. He was a physicist with the private facility ARGUS, Advanced Research of Genetics and Undiscovered Sciences.""Never heard of them," Natasha said with blatant indifference."Funny. They are a SHIELD-run organization. The wrong side of SHIELD, unfortunately," Tony decided to say."The Hydra part?" Steve's attention was now caught, as he leaned forward in sudden interest. It made sense, too, given how familiar he was with that part of SHIELD. Him and Natasha both.Tony nodded and said, "Dr. Franklin himself began to run tests on his son at ARGUS for five years, helping him gain better understanding of his abilities. All while under Hydra's supervision.""What abilities?" Natasha asked, showing blatant distaste."The tests that the government initially conducted demonstrated latent telepathic abilities.""How? What caused them?" Wanda asked him, a clear comparison to her own abilities."No one knows, though SHIELD suspects the dad," Tony responded grimly, hoping the cloud of negativity wouldn't make a reappearance with this kid's story."Anyway, the dad helped him develop his abilities, and discovered he had limited control over gravity, letting him manipulate gravitational forces and even create force fields. It wasn't until he developed the ability to tear holes in space that Hydra wanted him for themselves.""He can tear holes in space?" Peter asked excitedly.Tony nodded, glad he could count on Peter to keep the mood from going downhill."What did Hydra do? Once they got him," Steve also asked in a very controlled voice. He knew Hydra better than anyone else in the room, and knew that whatever they did to the kid couldn't have been pretty."He began training with them, a special Hydra project called Project: Rift. They put him through. . . unorthodox training measures, to see how far they could take his abilities," he stopped to read more and continued, "Solitary confinement, forced exhibition of his gift. . . shock therapy."Steve's head hung much like Natasha's did earlier, and he knew everyone was feeling the same thing Steve was: genuine pity."On a kid?" Rhodey exclaimed.Tony's response was, "No matter how crazy their methods were, the results were still impressive no matter how you look at it. He improved his telepathy, expanded his control over gravity, and strengthened his force fields. He even developed an accelerated healing rate. It only sucks that he was trapped."The silence that followed was deafening, and Tony glanced at Steve to see that he really looked unhappy. Tony just didn't know if it was over Casper, or the whole situation they were placed in.He cleared his throat and continued, "He was raised by Hydra for two years, and kept in isolation during that time, aside from his father. Until Casper requested to see his mother, which the good doctor denied. Casper later on did some mental digging and found out his mother went AWOL, and all evidence pointed to Dr. Hall as the culprit. So Casper threw the tantrum of the century and opened a singularity that brought the whole facility down."And Tony felt it: the negative air in the room making a reappearance, filling the silence that followed his words.Finally, Steve spoke, "What happened to him?"Tony was glad to be able to give some good news, "SHIELD went to the scene after the collapse drew media attention, and he was among the survivors they found. His own force fields kept him alive. They took him in and began his rehabilitation.""Rehabilitation?" Bucky repeated, "Was he. . . brainwashed? Like. . . like I am?""Not brainwashed," Tony said, "Just scarred.""Why is he coming here, then? Why isn't he being given mental help, or aid in finding his family?" Steve stood up, clearly upset. Tony didn't understand why, but he still sought a way to ease his anger."His dad up and disappeared before the incident, and his family is nowhere to be found. But SHIELD believes his knowledge of Hydra and his unique skill set will be useful to us. Guess they want to avoid a second coming of your Hydra dilemma not too long ago.""Wait, wait, wait," Rhodey interrupted, toeing the line between anger and shock, "so SHIELD is sending us a juvenile delinquent who likes setting things on fire, an overeager trainee who probably hasn't seen combat, and an ex-Hydra refugee who's still dealing with mental handicaps from years of torture?""Yes," Tony said simply."To be fair," Vision added to the conversation, "they don't really have anywhere else to go and still be able to harness their abilities. We of all people would be fit to handle the task of shaping them into heroes."Rhodey ignored Vision's reasoning and looked at Tony with an almost accusatory glare, saying, "Also, why are they all black?""Hey," Sam interjected, "In case you haven't noticed, this team needs a little more black representation anyway. There's too much cream and not enough coffee.""Aside from their race," Natasha said with a small smile on her lips, "can we really trust them? I mean, sure there's a kid who wants to join, but there's a girl who's probably joining as part of a deal, knowing SHIELD. And the other boy is joining to work out issues with Hydra, our least favorite organization. Maybe it's my espionage talking, but do you really want these kids in the compound?""I don't think we really have a choice in the matter," Tony mumbled; a headache started to form at this point, the dissent of his teammates creating more stress than he needed."Still," Tony continued, "I agree with Vision. They have nowhere else to go. For the girl, it's us or prison. For the track star, he'll probably never be able to run a race again. And for the boy. . ."Tony stopped, unsure of what to say. Despite him being Hydra, Tony had some sympathy for the boy. And he didn't know how to tell the others how much he could relate to him. He understood how lost this boy was, especially being without his parents."I'm in," Steve spoke up, "Even though we don't have a choice, like you said.""Oh, I'm in!" Peter said excitedly, "I won't have to be the youngest here anymore!""I'm wary, but this'll be. . . interesting," Natasha said.Rhodey heaved a heavy sign and said, "So I guess we're a juvenile detention facility now, huh?""No, we're a bed and breakfast," Tony said, letting a tight-mouthed grin show on his face before turning around to look through the window/wall behind him. A noise had caught his attention. He saw the air around the airfield behind to kick up a little, and the dull drone of engines became louder as a SHIELD quinjet made its way over the field and landed in front of the compound."They're here," Natasha sang, which was out of character for her."Do we suit up?" Peter asked excitedly. Tony just shook his head."This isn't a fight. It's just one, big frickin' party."* * *The moment of truth had arrived. Tony and his team stood ready, waiting. He felt as though they were prepared for anything, but life was full of surprises. Still, he stood poised, watching as the doors opened.Nick Fury was the first out, followed by the teens, who wore standard black SHIELD gear and carried large black duffel bags. Already, he saw Danielle could be a problem, as her black outfit was supplemented by a very bright, very pink leather jacket. It seemed as though joining the Avengers did little against her rebellious nature.Joey, who walked behind her, took one look at Tony and the team, immediately began to freak. His eyes widened along with his smile, and despite having super speed, he began to also trip on his own feet in excitement.And Casper walked stiffly and uniformly, like any SHIELD agent would. The duffel bag seemed to be as big as him—he was short, probably 5'5"—but the size didn't seem to bother him. He trailed right behind Joey, his reserved facial expression nothing at all like the boy in front of him.Fury finally reached Tony, exchanging a handshake with him before speaking, "Mr. Stark, I'd like to introduce you to the newest members of the Avengers. Danielle, codename Sparklebomb.""Howdy," she deadpanned from behind him, then proceeded to chew her wad of gum obnoxiously."Sparklebomb?" Tony questioned."Am I not pretty enough?" she shot back, giving Tony a fake, sarcastic smile.Yep. Danielle would definitely be a problem."Dani, quit it," Fury snapped, "And spit out the gum."She gave Fury a death glare, but rolled her eyes and spat the gum out to her right. The glob of gum ignited with reddish-pink flames, and the collision with the concrete of the airfield created a small pink spark before fizzling out, leaving a short black scorch mark.Tony didn't even know what to make of it, but luckily Fury saved him a response by continuing, "Joey, codename Concussion."Joey's huge smile popped up again, and he began, "Wow, this is such an honor, Mr. Stark, you have no idea how appreciative I am of this opportunity-""Yes, yes, thank you, Joey, we're glad to have you," Tony said, cutting him off. His energy alone was migraine-inducing."You know my name! How did you know my name?"Tony pointed to Fury, puzzlement making his eyebrows come together."Oh. Oh right, I. . . wow, okay. . . sorry," Joey said, becoming quieter with each word. He saluted Tony before putting his head down.Not knowing exactly what happened, Tony stayed silent and listened as Fury continued once more, "Casper, codename Rift."Casper stood at attention and said, "Sir."Tony half expected him to say more, but Casper stayed silent, the level of restraint looking almost celibate next to the other two. He didn't look comfortable at all."Well, I'll leave you to it. SHIELD has instructed me to advise you not to place them in combat for a minimum of six months," Fury then leaned in and said a little softer, "but I of all people know you're not very good at taking orders.""You know me so well," Tony responded with a quick smile before saying, "I'll take it into consideration, but if the situation calls for it, plans may change.""Do what you gotta do," Fury said, taking backwards steps to the quinjet.Tony couldn't help but recall those same words being said a long time ago. Who told him that? Wasn't it. . ."I'm going on vacation. Take care of these kids, Stark," Fury brought him out of his own head. With that, he climbed back into the quinjet.Tony would've preferred "good luck"; he was going to need it."Welcome to the Avengers compound," Tony said, feeling a little awkward, like a babysitter talking to the kids right after the parents leave. Aside from the distant hum of the departing quinjet, it was silent."Where are our beds?" Danielle asked, breaking the silence, "I woke up too early for this crap."Tony didn't know how to react to this; no one had ever been that rude to him so early, adult and child alike. Aside from villains, maybe."Who pissed in your cereal?" Sam asked, saving Tony the trouble of actually responding to that."Fury," she said bluntly, "And I hate cereal.""Well, lucky for you, we don't have either here," Tony said, growing weary of this girl's attitude."No cereal?" she looked at him with mock disgust, "You're telling me that Tony's Bed and Breakfast isn't. . . 'grrreat'?"A chorus of laughter erupted from Sam, Pietro, Peter, and Joey, echoing across the airfield. Tony even heard slight chuckles from Natasha, Wanda, and even Steve, who Tony didn't even believe knew what Frosted Flakes were.This was chaos.He turned to face his team, and the laughs stopped."Come on, Tony, it was pretty funny," Rhodey said, smiling.His best friend was actually entertaining this?"Oh, it was funny? No, what's funny is that's coming from the guy who didn't even want them here.""Like you said, we don't have a choice," Rhodey shot back."He's right," Danielle cut in, "we don't."Tony's head swiveled around to face the girl, whose light brown eyes seemed to shimmer with heat, along with a dull red glow that sat behind her irises. Aside from the glow, he saw something else in her eyes. Something he could use against her."You don't want to be here? Fine. Leave."Her smug expression fell away in an instant."What?" she said."Go," Tony reiterated, "You don't want to be here, we won't keep you. It'd only bring us down.""Why? Am I not good enough for you?" Danielle raised her voice."I never said that. You did."Danielle scoffed and said, "I'm good enough! Don't act like you know me!""You think you're good enough to be an Avenger? Prove it," Tony stepped right into the girl's space. She was actually pretty tall, but that didn't stop him from towering over her.She snarled, "Suit up, Playboy," right after she dropped her heavy duffel bag.He was not expecting a fight, or for her to want to fight him so fast. Then again, who didn't want to punch Tony Stark?"You really think you can take me on?" he said low, so only she would hear."Anytime, anywhere," she hissed back. Tony suddenly felt a little hot, and glanced down to see the girl's hands alight, the vibrant pink flames jumping up a little, like they were personally trying to grab him and melt his face off.Tony heard a voice behind him, "Come on, Tony, I don't think this is necessary." It was Steve, his altruistic, Boy Scout timbre sounding a little too condescending for Tony's liking.He barely turned his head, saying, "It's not. But you of all people should know what respect is. We have to teach it now.""And fighting is not the way to do it, Tony," Steve said back.Looking back at Steve, Tony saw that glint in his eyes, that unmistakeable stone-cold determination that only showed up when Steve knew he was right. And Tony learned to listen to Steve when he knows he's right.He could see how eager Steve was to (literally) diffuse Danielle, so Tony stepped aside.Steve walked into Tony's place, dwarfing Danielle."Look, kid, no one here is questioning your talent. But Tony's right. You're gonna have to prove your worth as a member of this team. All of you."He looked at the other two, and his gaze only seemed to affect Joey, who visibly gulped."We need to know if you're gonna be an asset, or a problem," he continued, looking right back at Danielle, "But not today."He stooped down to grab Danielle's duffel bag, and held it out to her.Danielle, who was still fuming and hands still aglow, stared Steve down for what seemed like forever. Even the whites of her eyes had a faint red shimmer. Tony could only imagine how hot Steve was, standing so close to her.Finally, she extinguished her magenta flames and took a deep breath, eyes never leaving Steve's. She grabbed her bag, less aggressively than Tony expected."Today," Steve continued, "I'm gonna show you your rooms so you guys can rest up and be ready for tomorrow.""What's tomorrow?" Joey asked. Even Tony was curious."Your training program," Steve said immediately, "Like I said. You gotta prove your worth."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
January 14th, 2017
(Dani)Dani found it really hard to keep a straight face the whole time Captain America gave them a tour of the compound.For one, it was Captain freakin' America giving the tour.And the compound was insanely, ridiculously awesome.But she couldn't freak out like Joey was doing. She had a reputation to uphold.As they were walking through various areas of the facility, the Captain was saying things like, "recently remodeled," "brand new systems," and "way too expensive"; Dani only caught those parts because she was too busy looking at everything and trying not to lose her shit.They had all passed through an automatic door into a massive hangar, with all kinds of rides. She saw a quinjet, close enough to touch, off to her right by the open entrance. She was almost tempted to ask the Captain if they could check it out, but something told her not to. Plus, she was exhausted. She needed a bed ASAP."Woah!" Joey exclaimed, making Dani whip her head the other way.Joey—and now Dani—stood there, gawking at a massive suit of armor that stood on the other side of the hangar. Its red-and-gold metal plating shimmered in the sunlight coming from the hangar entrance, making it look brand-new.The Hulkbuster armor.
Don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out.
"Thought it'd be bigger," Dani decided to say.Joey turned around to look at her, "Any bigger and it wouldn't fit in here!"She responded with, "Well, it doesn't look big enough for Stark's ego to fit inside."Cap let out a chuckle that surprised Dani a little. He said, "Yeah, no one will deny Tony has a big head. But it's full of ideas."He turns towards the Hulkbuster armor and says, "Without this idea, a lot of people would be dead."Danielle absorbs this for a moment. There was ultimately a lot of truth to what he said, no matter how uppity she thought Tony Stark was. But she's always had a problem with rich people. Especially rich white guys. Tony just fit the bill all too well. And Dani recalled a time in her life where Tony Stark would have been a role model for her, someone to look up to. But whenever she'd talk about someone like that, her dad would tell her, "Don't ever try to be like those guys, Dani. They don't care about us. You end up like that, you lose your humanity. Be your own role model."And she listened to him. She didn't look up to Tony Stark. He was rich, powerful, and she thought he didn't care about anyone but himself. Why would he have created Ultron, a genocidal robot maniac, if he actually cared about the consequences? Dani didn't trust him for a second.Maybe if it weren't for him and his selfishness, her two true role models would still be alive.She felt the tears coming, quick and demanding, but she fought them just as fast, keeping her composure. First day and you're already crying, she told herself, Woman up, dude.Cap cleared his throat and ended the silence she filled with her thoughts. "Let's keep moving."He led them to the other end of the hangar, where a thick-looking metal door stood. A few punches from Cap in the keypad next to it, and it was open."File in."Dani walked in first, not wanting to be the one who had Captain America breathing down their neck. She left that to Casper, the last one to enter. She turned to see Cap was right behind him, just like Joey was right behind her; the space was tight, as Dani only took a few steps before she made it to the other side of the room. The walls were all covered in a neat arrangement of pristine metal compartments, like lockers. To Dani, it looked more like a morgue."Okay, we're going to store your gear in here, so you can access it instantly from anywhere," Cap said, turning to Casper after he finished. Casper immediately opened his giant duffel and pulled out his neatly-folded costume. Dani couldn't make out most of it, but it looked very SHIELD-y, with dull greys and blacks making themselves known, but she also saw glimpses of a very pleasant blue-green in a couple of different shades.He handed the suit to the Captain, who kept it folded and tapped on the nearest compartment, revealing the door to be a touchscreen. Cap swiped left and typed in Casper's four-letter codename before pressing a bold green "OPEN" button. He placed the suit in the small metal chamber, and it shut automatically, lightning-fast, like it was eager to finally have something inside of it and it didn't want the suit to escape.Cap turned to Joey, who was staring in amazement. It took him a few seconds, but he finally exclaimed, "Oh!" before yanking open his bag and sloppily handing the Captain his costume. Dani saw that it was a combination of black and a very vibrant shade of crimson, with a series of silver circles that seemed to originate from the center of the chest, which had his emblem: an inverted "C" inside of another slightly larger "C". It created a very interesting incomplete circle that only reminded her of ripples in a pool that was disturbed by the slightest motion. It was pretty cool.The Captain repeated his actions for Joey, while the teen asked, "So when you say 'anywhere', do you really mean anywhere in the compound? Even the bathroom? It'll just show up?""I mean anywhere," Cap emphasized, while adding "Concussion" to the compartment, "If you aren't in the compound and you need your gear, it'll just fly to you."Joey's eyes widened with wonder, and he turned to Dani with a huge grin on his face. "Cool.""Fascinating," Dani mumbled, not liking how excited Joey was, and how eager he was for her to share the same excitement. She didn't see what was so exciting about a giant waste of money.She looked at the Captain, who was staring at her expectantly. She quickly understood."Oh, I don't have a costume," Dani said."No costume? Why?" he asked her, almost as if it were a crime to not dress up."Because unlike these two," she said, gesturing to the boys, "I'm not sponsored by SHIELD like some super-powered NASCAR driver."Dani knew she shouldn't have said that out loud. Something like "I can't afford one" or "I'm not an actual superhero" would have been more appropriate. But it just sounded so funny in her head, she couldn't have passed up the opportunity to say it. She expected Cap to get angry and reprimand her (again), but he actually laughed; a deep bass of a chuckle that was rich with amusement."Okay, fair enough. I'll see if Tony can whip something up soon.""Well, whatever he makes, make sure it matches my jacket," Dani said, yanking at her collar to make her seem cooler than she really was. Which was a resting temperature of 101°F, evidently."Why does it have to match your jacket?" he asked.She should've been honest. She should've said, "It's all I have left from my parents" or "It's pretty much the only thing I truly own".But she couldn't. Or the tears would've started.Instead, she said, "Makes me feel pretty. And no one likes an ugly superhero."* * *The end of the tour manifested itself into the best part of the day: the bed.After touring the main living quarters briefly, the Captain finally showed them their rooms.Dani wasted no time in flopping down onto her bed and relishing in the soft, comfortable beauty of the fluffy tan comforter. She barely even looked at the rest of the room; she only noticed that the bed took up half of the floor, and she had to cross what seemed like a Sahara of hardwood and rug before reaching her goal. Her face was buried in the pillows, and she couldn't help but take a deep breath and finally relax. Her entire body had been so tense ever since she was woken up to fly to this joint. And now that she was here, she could breathe. Something she didn't expect to be able to do, especially due to Tony Stark, who no doubt paid for it all. She thought the room would be more like the barren, metal "living quarters" at the heart of the Triskelion. She expected an imitation of prison.This is much better than prison, she thought to herself.At this point, she was starting to feel grateful, but she had to stop it.Tony Stark didn't care about her, and he definitely didn't owe her anything. Or vice versa.But if it weren't for him, she thought again, where would you be now?She couldn't help but recall that conversation she and Nick Fury had just a day earlier, right after SHIELD detained her.They had put her in an interrogation room. They had her in bulky metal handcuffs that somehow kept her from using her powers.She felt like she was in there forever, until the heavy metal door in front of her slid open with a sudden clang. There stood a tall, dark-skinned man with an eyepatch and a long black leather overcoat. She remembered thinking that her long-time fantasy of being kidnapped by pirates like Keira Knightley was finally coming true. In fact, she said the thought out loud on accident in that moment.The man with the eyepatch was not amused."Miss Gordon, a pirate ship would be a cruise compared to what's in store for you."This guy, who said his name was Nick Fury, had everything on her. Arrest records, interrogations, even a detention slip from her freshman year of high school. On top of that, he knew about the accident, which she told no one about."We've been watching you for a long time, Ms. Gordon. Ever since that freak accident, up until yesterday."He pulled out his phone and opened it, showing her a news article that was published not even ten minutes after the incident. They work that fast?"Says here you saved ten people yesterday," Fury added, "not including the firefighter."Dani's back tensed in the midst of the memory, making her wince. "Unfortunately for you, SHIELD knows about your involvement with the Maggia. And all the things you did with the Black Skulls."Dani wanted to respond in a sarcastic manner, but something got caught in her throat and kept her from speaking. She was going to prison."SHIELD, however, offering you a deal," Fury said, a little softer."And what would that be?" Dani asked a little harshly, leaning back in her metal chair. She was putting up a front of confidence, but she was terrified."We recently discovered that your foster mother reported you missing about two weeks ago. It's obvious the foster system doesn't suit you.""I don't like to be used. Simple as that. She only cared about the money." She had begun to think about Ms. Lopez, who did nothing but sit around and make Dani do anything and everything her husband should have been doing, and had nothing but negativity to give. It was clear why her husband left her: she was unbearable."What would you say if I told you that there are other ways to be used?" Nick Fury said, finally sitting down in the chair across from her."What, like community service? I've heard it all before, but no amount of propaganda is gonna make me pick up garbage on the side of the road.""Different than that, Miss Gordon," Fury said as he placed a thin tablet on the table, "Much different."The tablet lit up with a tap of his finger, showing a holographic image of her mugshot from that morning. She smirked at how fierce she looked, flipping off the camera with (literal) fiery passion. Underneath it was a list that she couldn't make out because of how extensive it was."Here's your record," Fury said simply.No wonder she couldn't see it.He pointed to a red button at the bottom of the tablet."This will wipe it clean."Dani wanted so much to reach wordlessly and press the button, but she was handcuffed."What do I have to do?" she said, getting to the point."We're adding new candidates to the Avengers. We want one of them to be you."Dani's scoff was louder than she wanted it to be, but she couldn't help it. "Avengers?" she repeated, "Do I look like Avenger material to you?""You look like clay to be molded," Fury said, "A sarcastic, loudmouthed, pain-in-the-ass handful of destructive Play-Doh, but clay nonetheless.""I'm far from a superhero," Dani mumbled, staring him down."As I said, you're clay to be molded."For a moment, they just stared each other down, and Dani only wished he could hear her thoughts. An Avenger? He must be crazy to want a pyromanical orphan on his team. And not to mention her general aversion to that particular group and their actions. There was no way.But her record. . . it could be gone. Just like that."Look, you want a better life?" Fury broke the silence, "You want to be free? Then you need to do something that matters. Something other than just throwing your life away to avoid the pain.""What in the hell do you know about pain?" she snapped."I do not have an eye, Miss Gordon. I know all about pain.""So, what, I join the Avengers and you'll clear my record? No strings attached?" Dani asked, leaning forward a little."It's that or the alternative," he said calmly."What's the alternative?""Prison."So she was in the compound, obviously not down with the alternative.This is much, much better than prison, Dani thought again before she drifted off.* * *Dani awoke to the sound of a very hard, very fast knock. It sounded like an angry mutant woodpecker was at her door.Dani sat up and looked at the door, which was shaking from the force of the knock. She watched as it shuddered, before a small fracture appeared on it with a sudden crack! that echoed in her spacious room.The knocking stopped, but at this point she was already up, hand ignited.A short pause occurred before she heard a guilty, "Sorry," come from the other side. It was Joey.She put out her hand and opened the door, seeing Joey with a nervous grin and apologetic eyes."I guess I got a little carried away? I'm sorry, Danielle."Dani wasn't even worried about the crack. She was upset that she was woken up."What is it?" she demands, crankiness making her sound mean."Oh, Mr. Stark got us pizza," Joey said, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the kitchen down the hall.Yet another luxury from Tony Stark she'd have a hard time refusing."Okay," she said, preparing to step past Joey, but he shifted in front of her almost questioningly."Don't you want to, like, change first?"Dani did a quick sweep of her own outfit-her SHIELD garb they gave her that day, along with her jacket-before looking at Joey. He was simply wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and jeans.Danielle just gave him a look and pushed past him towards the kitchen. Why did he care about what she wore?She strolled down the almost generic-looking hallway to find a small group of people crowded around the small eating table by the kitchen counter, talking and (for the most part) laughing. Everyone seemed really comfortable, and Dani even saw that the dark-haired kid she saw earlier was wearing red pajama bottoms and a ratty tourist T-shirt.She saw why Joey cared so much about what she wore. She looked uptight and intimidating in her SHIELD-issued cargo pants and boots. Not to mention the loud jacket she made such a statement with earlier.But why did she care?Oh yeah. She didn't.She liked to be intimidating; it was part of her charm. And if she was gonna work for SHIELD in the name of criminal rehabilitation, she'll have to wear that shit with pride, to show her "dedication" to the cause. And by that, of course, she meant her "difficult acceptance and slight disrespect of" the cause.The girl, who Dani recognized and Wanda Maximoff, turned her way for a moment, then doubled back. Others soon followed suit, until everyone was looking at her. Majority of them were the teenagers, aside from the two black dudes from earlier. She recognized the guy who called himself Falcon (though she couldn't remember his name), but the other one was a stranger to her."Hey, Dani," the Falcon dude said to her, "Want some pizza?""Don't mind if I do," Dani said quickly, rushing to the counter, where a bunch of pizza boxes sat. She reached for a box, but a voice stopped her."I wouldn't touch those if I were you."She turned her head towards Wanda, who was the person that spoke.It didn't sound like a threat, but she still went on the defensive when she said, "Why?""Those are his," she said with a smile, nodding towards the guy shoving pizza in his face. His platinum blond hair covered his face, making him look almost animal as he scarfed down piece after piece of pizza. He looked up at Dani, then gave her a dopey grin, made dopier by the amount of food in his cheeks.Dani couldn't help but chuckled a bit, saying, "Why are they his?" She looked back at the pizzas for a moment, and noticed that the pizza box she reached for was part of a stack of three that was separate from the other pile of boxes."My brother's powers burn calories rather quickly," Wanda replied, "He eats enough for three other people.""Yeah, we call him the Cow," said the brunette boy who sat across from Wanda at the table."Wait, why the Cow? Wouldn't the Pig be more appropriate?" Joey asked, glancing guardedly at the blond guy, who was stuffing yet another piece into his mouth."Cows have four stomachs," a voice said, almost making Dani jump. She turned to see Casper, who was sitting on a barstool at the counter, made undetectable by the pile of pizza boxes in front of him. He had a book in his hands, and sported an expressionless look on his face."Is that right?" Dani grinned and turned towards the Cow."Then the Cow is very appropriate," she said, staring directly into his eyes.She expected some sort of opposition, but he smiled at her again and swallowed his food before saying, "Cows are magnificent creatures. I take no offense." His Russian accent made his words sharp and dynamic causing him to seem genuinely excited just to say that particular sentence."However," he said while he wiped his mouth, "my real name is Pietro Maximoff.""He prefers the Cow, though," the brown-haired boy said to her, making sure Pietro heard it. A lighthearted laugh made it way around the table once Pietro caught the boy sitting to his left in a headlock. The boy managed to slip from his grasp, but even Dani was laughing a little at the struggle it took for him to do so."Why don't you come sit?" Pietro asked her, gesturing to the empty seat to his left.Dani was surprised at the kindness the group was showing her, even after the stunt she pulled earlier with Stark, challenging him like it was nothing.She was even more surprised at herself, though. She didn't feel the usual urge to reject the kindness.She walked around the table and sat right next to the blond, his sister to her right.Joey sat out on the edge to her right, talking to the brunette about whether or not cows really had four stomachs. On the other end, the two black dudes were watching her, amused smiles on their faces. Casper sat at his barstool, reading and not caring about anything that was happening. Already, she knew he was a weirdo.She looked back at Falcon and the other guy, who were both still smiling, like they found a puppy that did nothing but walk in circles."What?" she asked, getting defensive again."Nothing, you just completely ignored why you came in here," Falcon told her.She thought for a second."Pizza," she mumbled, preparing to get up."I got it," Pietro said before her butt left her seat. In a flash of soft blue light, Pietro made her a plate at the counter and brought it back to Dani before she could even blink. She inhaled a huge breath, taking in the gust of air he left from moving so fast."Woah," she exhaled."You're welcome," Pietro said, giving Dani a smile that made her hotter than normal within her cheeks. She looked down at the pizza, smiling to herself."I wouldn't eat that, either," Joey said right as she reached for it."Why do you people want to keep me from eating?" Dani looked at Joey with apprehension, her hunger and frustration putting her on edge.Joey laughed lightheartedly and said, "I'm not trying to keep you from eating. Just saying, Debbie Downer over there might have poisoned your food." He pointed to Casper, who didn't even look up. He probably didn't know if Joey was talking about him.She was proven wrong when Casper said, "I'd poison yours before I'd poison hers.""Okay, more like Crazy Karen," Joey mumbled."No, that doesn't work," the brunette boy said, "Maybe Brooding Brody.""That's stupid. How about Murderous Martha?""Oh, like that's better. What about something more chill, like Silent Selena?""What do you know about Selena, eh, gringo?" Joey said his accent switching in the blink of an eye. He then let out a stream of words in Spanish that Dani didn't understand, leaving her shocked.Now she had to eat her pizza; this was entertaining."I thought you were black," Falcon said to Joey, ending the argument and Dani's amusement."I am, but my mother's Latina," Joey said almost begrudgingly, like he got it all the time."Explains the skin tone," the other black dude mumbled, talking about his light complexion."And his love for Selena," Falcon said back, and they began snickering like children. It was almost as entertaining as the argument.Joey gave them a death glare that rivaled even Dani's, making them stop. The silence that followed was so awkward, Dani was compelled to escape as fast as Pietro.Falcon cleared his throat and said, "Well, Rhodes, I think that's our cue to leave.""Yeah," Rhodes said, standing up and walking off with his plate.Falcon stuck around to look at Wanda and say, "Keep an eye on them, please. Go to bed at a decent hour.""No problem, Sam," she assured him, "Goodnight.""Goodnight," he said to everyone, looking at Dani curiously again before walking off to his room.It was dead silent until Joey said, "Selena is a legend.""Who is this 'Selena'?" Pietro asked, his Russian accent butchering her name, "I have never heard of her.""Selena!" Joey repeated, "You know! Biddy biddy bum bum. . ." He began shaking his shoulders to the familiar tune. Pietro still had a blank look on his face, making Joey groan in frustration."You know, for someone who claims to have super speed, you're pretty slow," he told Pietro, crossing his arms."Oh, but I am very fast. Faster than you," Pietro responded very matter-of-factly. Almost as if it were law."Oh really?" Joey scoffed, and Dani had a feeling his angry Spanish was about to come back."You can't know that for sure-" the brunette boy said, trying to keep the mood from turning hostile.Joey cut him off, though, "I'll race you." He looked pissed.Pietro gave him a cocky smirk, which only served to infuriate Joey even more, as he clenched his fists to the point his knuckles were bone white.Man, these Avengers were good at pissing people off.* * *"Where's the finish line?" Joey asked, the fire that was in his voice no longer there. He sounded shaky. Nervous.All of the teens had ended up outside, on the airfield they had met on not even 24 hours before. This time, though, the moon was out, casting a silver light on the confrontation that was much different than the one Dani was in that day. This one was way more friendly.Right?"The airfield is also the end of a road," Wanda said, "Down the road, about five miles, there's a fork that leads to the highway. Race there and back. Easy.""And make it fast. It's cold out here," the brunette said. Dani learned on the way out that his name was Peter (the security systems named them off as they exited the building), though she didn't know what his "super" name was. And nothing about his appearance gave anything away about it, either. He was actually kinda scrawny for a superhero. It made sense he was cold.Then Dani looked at his breath. She could actually see it. The realization hit her: it was January. And almost midnight. It was definitely freezing. Dani wouldn't be able to tell, though, because her "gifts" kept her warm.But what about everyone else?"Here," she said as she raised her fist and let it catch fire, the pink flames flickering a foot in the air."Beautiful," Wanda whispered, her eyes locked on the blaze with quiet wonder."And useful. Thanks," Peter said, stepping closer to her fist without hesitation. Wanda followed, and Dani was even more surprised to feel Casper's body shift closer from where he was standing behind her, out of the way. She turned to look at him, smiling a little. He looked up at her, his green eyes looking fierce in the light of her flames."You ready?" she asked him.He looked at her with a blank stare, then stepped forward, next to Joey and Pietro. The pair was warming up.Casper had volunteered to keep track of the race, since one of his abilities was an insane spatial awareness; even if the rest of them couldn't see who the winner really was, he'd be able to.Dani still had a hard time figuring out why he volunteered. Up until Joey's challenge, Casper was entirely uninterested in their conversation. Then, as soon as Pietro accepted, she noticed his eyes were no longer focused on his book, but on Joey and Pietro. For whatever reason, this race caught his attention. Dani just wanted to know what that reason was.The racers took their stance on opposite sides of the road, behind the line in the ground that separated asphalt from the concrete of the airfield."Is there anyone coming up the road?" Joey asked Casper from where he was.Casper closed his eyes for a moment, then said, "No. It's clear," before opening them again."Good. Don't want to hurt anyone," Joey said, "Oh, that reminds me. . . you guys might wanna step back."Dani and the rest of the teens took a collective step back."No. More," Joey huffed.They all stepped back more, and off to the side. Casper stayed where he was, though."Move, dude," Joey urged."I'll be fine.""You haven't seen-" Joey started, but Casper cut him off."I'm a mind reader, Joey, so I already know what you're going to say. I also know how your abilities work. I'll be fine."Joey looked a little puzzled, but he shrugged and said, "Okay. Suit yourself."Pietro and Joey took their places, both crouching into running stances."Ready. . ." Casper said, loud enough for everyone to hear.Pietro's muscles tensed, but Joey began to shake a little. A low hum resonated from his general area."Set. . ." Casper's outstretched hand suddenly came to life in front of him, a barrier of energy glowing a bright-blue green shielding most of his body."Go!" he yelled.An ear-splitting BOOM! sounded, and Dani had to wonder if Casper had a pistol, or if the force field he was creating had exploded or something. But she saw that where Joey and Pietro were standing only an instant before, a path of destruction began to settle. The concrete and asphalt that Joey was standing near now had a massive crater, as if the Hulk had stomped his foot in the pavement.And in that instant that Joey and Pietro sped away, Dani saw that Joey left a trail of rippling air behind him, rings of almost-translucent air traveling outwards. The view she had gotten of his costume earlier made more sense: the ripples on his suit weren't meant to resemble water, but the air he disturbed. Even with his barrier, Casper was knocked back a few yards by the force of Joey's takeoff. His force field fizzled out almost immediately after he hit the ground."Woah, that was insane!" Peter said, going to help Casper up."Pietro can't do that," Wanda said, staring at the crater."No, it was definitely Joey," Dani said, gesturing to the crater and showing that the majority of it was on his side and not Pietro's."How?" Wanda gazed at the spot as if it were screaming at her."His power's work differently compared to Pietro's," Casper said as Peter helped him up, "Pietro's speed is self-sustained. Joey's powers allow him to manipulate sound, and he accelerates by creating blasts of low-frequency sound behind him to propel himself forward. It's impressive, really.""Sound can do that?" Dani had to ask. It didn't make sense."At high frequencies, sound shatters glass. But lower frequencies are more destructive.""How do you know all of this?" Peter asked him.For the first time since meeting him, Dani saw a hint of a smile show up on Casper's lips."I'm a mind reader."His sentence chilled Dani, despite her internal temperature. If it were that easy for him to get information from the mind of Joey—or worse, from the mind of one of the Avengers, like Stark—then he must know something about Dani.Maybe everything.She was pulled out of her thoughts by Casper's sudden change in demeanor. His head perked up with almost feline alertness. His head turned towards the road, which seemed to be swallowed by the darkness of the horizon."They're almost back.""Already?" Dani looked towards the road, squinting, "It's barely been a minute.""Pietro's fast," Wanda smirked, not unlike her brother."So is Joey," Casper said, pointing in the direction of the road.Dani saw figures in the distance, fast approaching. One of them seemed to shine with a faint blue light. Pietro.And the other was ripping through the air like a jet, a low rumble following him. Joey."Who's ahead?" Peter asked, struggling to see like the rest of them. Dani couldn't see well enough to answer, but Casper beat her to it: "It's Pietro."The boys were coming into view more clearly, and she could make out Pietro's face. He looked overjoyed; a huge grin took up most of his face, and he seemed to be laughing, like he knew he was winning. Dani figured it was more than that, though. She thought running just brought him happiness.Joey, on the other hand, looked focused. Then looked just plain mad the closer he got. He was giving it his all, and it wasn't enough.She was so busy looking at them that she barely heard Peter yell, "We should move!"Dani moved quickly, the other three doing the same. They stood several feet away from the crater, safe from being run down by Pietro, who gracefully stopped at the starting line."I win!" he said excitedly before Joey came and knocked him down on his face.And everyone else.His ripples made their way across the group, knocking everyone back in the grass just yards behind them. Daniel saw Joey trip and fall asleep he struggled to slow down, and he slid farther down the airstrip.There was a moment of silence as everyone recovered. Dani sat up to look around and see if everyone was okay. She saw Pietro, who looked like someone punched him repeatedly, sit up slowly into a sitting position. She expected him to be angry, but almost like a madman, he started laughing, the bloody nose he had only making it scarier.And funnier.Dani was now laughing too, and everyone joined in like it was the natural thing to do after being knocked on your ass. Even Casper, who seemed cooler than Dani thought earlier. Everyone was better than she expected.And that moment, as they lay sprawled across the airfield laughing their asses off, was when Dani knew that being a member of the Avengers would be cooler than she expected, too.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
January 15th, 2017
(
Steve
)
Steve didn't really have a training program.The suggestion—which soon became a guarantee—was just a way to diffuse the situation between Tony and the new girl, Danielle. When he said it, he only had a vague idea of what he was going to do.But after seeing the kids and their potential, he spent all night figuring it out.They were entirely unaware that he had seen the little race that had taken place from his window. Unaware he had seen what all three of them were capable of. And after that, his thoughts began to settle into the familiar patterns of his training camp days.He had to admit that they weren't soldiers. Not by a longshot.Joey was enthusiastic, but his mind definitely had one track, and it was a weakness he'd have to correct before he could even think about real combat.Danielle was a problem for obvious reasons. But seeing her stand up to Tony in the first ten minutes of meeting him, along with Steve's knowledge of her parents, proved one thing: she was a fighter for sure. And with an explosive power like hers, it would mean bad news for anyone who crossed her. But Steve wanted to do more than just point out an enemy and have her lay him out. He wanted to make her well-rounded, someone who fought with an equal amount of wits and willpower.And then there was Casper, who Steve still had mixed feelings about. He was a nice kid who had been nothing but respectful since his arrival. But he was still from Hydra, and that made him dangerous. And Steve had no idea how much "rehabilitation" he was put through before joining the team. Casper left him uneasy. Still, just like the others, he had potential. He reminded Steve of Wanda, in both powers and demeanor. And like Wanda, Casper lost pretty much everything, and had ties to Hydra. He, like Wanda once did, also could have skewed views of right and wrong. Wanda already figured it out with Pietro awhile ago, but how long it would take Casper was a mystery. Steve just prayed he could make it happen faster.Despite all of the negatives he had to take into account, there were still positives that Steve could work with. All three of them were powerful, and at least two of them had a semblance of training. Steve was eager to see how much they could do.Which led him to his "training program".He actually didn't have all of it figured out until the next morning, when he went to wake the kids up.He went to Casper's room first, only to see through his open door that he was already awake and sitting in the middle of his floor. A small metal top was spinning in front of him on the hardwood, showing no signs of slowing or stopping. Steve watched for a minute, mesmerized.Finally, snapping out of his trance, he said, "Good morning."Casper, who had been staring at the top the whole time, looked up at Steve. The top immediately began to slow down and lose its momentum."Good morning," he said back, standing up quickly and accidentally kicking the top over with a brush of his boot."What were you doing there?""Keeping the top spinning. I do it to focus."Steve then understood. He was manipulating gravity to keep it moving."Oh," was all he could say."I'm ready for your training program, Captain Rogers," Casper said, now standing at attention. Still, he sounded nervous, like if he said or did the wrong thing, he'd have to do push-ups."No need for that, Casper, we're not ranked here," Steve told him.Steve saw that Casper relaxed a little, but he still seemed ready to take orders, which Steve didn't want. Yet."And you can call me Steve.""Okay. . . Steve," he dragged out, testing out the sound on his tongue.It was an improvement.Steve turned and stepped out to across the hall, which had Joey's door. It was closed, so he knocked softly.Silence.Steve decided to open the door, and he stepped into chaos.The room was strewn about with candy wrappers, clothes, and sketches: he saw a few landscapes, a house in the suburbs, and even the Hulkbuster armor. The chaos was only worsened by the music blaring from the portable speaker sitting on his bedside dresser. Steve didn't recognize the artist, but his barely-understandable voice spoke rhythmically and fast, backed by a heavy beat.And Joey sat there on his bed, eating chips and messing around on his laptop.Steve had a hard time figuring out how it was dead silent on the other side of the door, and how Joey managed to make the room look so lived-in after only 24 hours. The former was more pressing, though; the music at that volume should have been heard down the hall. And Tony made sure to turn off the soundproof feature in the walls before they moved in. Did he get it back on?"How did you soundproof the walls?" Steve said, just a step below yelling.Joey looked up from his laptop, eyes widened in surprise. He picked up his phone hastily and pressed the "pause" button on the music."What did you say?" Joey asked."I asked how you soundproofed the walls. We turned that off," Steve said a little more quietly."Oh," Joey said, sounding guilty, "I, uh, kept the sound waves from leaving the room. Keeps the sound inside and creates a killer base." He laughed a little, but his face only showed worry. Worry that he was in trouble. But Steve didn't see trouble. He saw an opportunity."Nice," Steve said, "Well, if you're done, we're starting our training program.""Oh, okay," he got up excitedly, "Do I need my suit?"Steve smiled to himself and said, "No, not today."* * *After waking up all of the teenagers (and seeing what Joey did to Danielle's door), Steve had about thirty seconds to completely change his training program for Joey. But in those thirty seconds, Steve made it perfect.He brought the group to a large room that was on the first level of the compound. It was all white, with a clean linoleum floor and a wide open space. It had a definitive design of a large-scale garage."This is our first stop.""Not much of a training room," Joey said, scrutinizing the empty space."It's not a training room," Steve told him, "It was meant for Tony's cars. But now, it's for you.""What am I gonna do in here?""You're going to paint."The teens began to laugh, aside from Joey. Pietro smacked him on the back, but Joey was not amused."What do you mean, 'paint'?" Joey asked Steve right after he finished glaring the rest of the teens into silence."You sketch, right?" Steve asked him, bringing the boy a little bit away from the group."Yeah, but what does that have to do with training?""Well, everyone else does something simple to better themselves. Wanda plays guitar. I read. And Peter learns about advanced chemistry with Tony in his lab. And Casper spins a top to focus. Lucky for you, your talent can help you with your powers.""How?" Joey asked, pulling away from Steve, who had an arm around him paternally.Steve walked across the space to a door. Inside was a closet that had a bunch of art supplies left over from when Pepper tried to get a mural painted on the side of the compound. Tony shut it down before it started, but not before she had gotten all of the supplies. It made for an intense argument over the phone that Steve walked into on accident, as Tony was being demolished by Pepper. He bargained with her and let her redecorate after Tony remodeled the compound, but Pepper kept the art supplies in here (probably to mock Tony, as she managed to make him keep his cars in storage instead of in this room). Now, they would be put to use.He grabbed a couple cans of paint and some brushes before walking back to Joey.He set the stuff down and said, "I want you to paint this wall with a mural. The whole wall.""Okay. . ." Joey sounded a little confused. The applications to training were still lost on him, which Steve understood. It was lost on the others, too, who began to giggle again."But," Steve continued, "I want it done in five minutes."It was silent after that."In. . . five minutes?" Joey asked, wide-eyed."Or less.""No way," Peter said behind him."I. . .can't, I mean–I can't do that, not without destroying the room. I. . ." Joey stuttered, eyebrows coming together in anxiety."Exactly. That is the goal: to not. Destroy. The room," Steve said concisely, punctuating each word.Joey just looked at the bare wall in front of him, like it was thirty feet tall instead of just fifteen."Look, I've already decided to ask Tony to watch over and help you figure out the science behind it, but you have the ability to manipulate sound. And even though you can do so much more than run, we have to help you find a way to accelerate without using so much force. And don't worry, you're free to practice with sketches first. But they have to be done just as fast."Joey kept staring at the wall for a moment, and Steve hoped that he was beginning to absorb both the task and his words at the same time. It would be a great start to Steve's goal.Joey suddenly had a look of determination. He turned towards Steve and said with a slight smile, "I'll do it.""Great. Start now. We'll be next door," Steve said, leading the group towards the door."Oh, and one more thing," Steve stopped and said from the doorway. He looked up, almost forgetting that last part of Joey's training that was arguably the most important aspect."FRIDAY, play Frank Sinatra's greatest hits on a loop, full volume.""Chicago" by Frank Sinatra began echoing through the vast space of the garage, making Joey cover his ears quickly."Make sure you don't disturb anyone else with the music!" Steve yelled over Sinatra's voice, smiling. He closed the door, the music still audible on the other side. Steve stood there with the others behind him and waited.Sure enough, almost a minute after he closed the door, the music stopped. That's how it sounded, anyway. Steve knew he had started."Great. Now to the training room."* * *The training room was more of a glorified gym, with equipment lining the walls of the spacious room, a black mat in the center, and a dome-shaped skylight overhead, illuminating the room with natural light. Tony kept it simple for Steve's sake, though, as he was the least familiar with the high-tech gadgets Tony managed to put everywhere else. Even after being off the ice for so long, he still had trouble.He led his group up to the mat, and said, "Dani, you'll be in here the most. You're the only one without formal training, so we're gonna give it to you. I'm recruiting Pietro to help you with combat, and Wanda will help with improving the use of your powers.""Cool. Better the Maximoff twins than painting a freakin' picture," she joked."During training, though, you will treat them with respect. The same respect you'd give me," Steve said, but began to regret it. Danielle wasn't the type to truly respect anyone.He was surprised when she said, "Hmm. Okay. I guess you're probably the one Avenger I actually respect. Plus, you look really good for a 90-year-old, which helps both me and you."Steve couldn't help but smile. The girl had spunk."Please, Danielle, take this seriously. This could mean the difference between life and death one day.""Okay, okay, I will," she said, more serious than before, "But even though I'm from the Bronx, I still don't know how to fight.""I know, and we're gonna change that," he said back to her, "So, to start, you're going spar with Pietro. Without your powers.""Spar? As in, fight?" Dani took a hasty step back, and took a quick look at Pietro. "Didn't you just hear me say that I don't know how to fight?"Steve would have figured she'd be eager to fight, but doing it without her powers must have scared her more than he thought."We're going to teach you," Steve said, "It's easier than it looks in the beginning." He had to make Dani less reluctant to train. He had to get through that stubbornness long enough to show her how beneficial learning combat would be. He had to engage her, to prove she could.He looked at Casper."In fact, I'll show you. Casper?""Yes, Cap-- Steve?" Casper corrected himself, Steve's name still sounding fresh on his lips."Would you spar with me, to show Dani how it is? I assume you've done so before."Casper showed no reaction to Steve's underhanded mention of Hydra, nor did he show any outward signs of fear as he said, "Yes, sir."He followed Steve onto the mat, which only slightly gave to the pressure of his feet. If someone were to be slammed onto it, it'd hurt less than the concrete floor, but it'd still hurt.Casper stood opposite of Steve, proud and unwavering."Anything you want me to do before we start?" Casper asked."No. You?" Steve responded."Yes," Casper said after a pause, "Use your shield.""Are you crazy?" Peter cut in, making Steve smile a bit. Peter was the one person Steve expected opposition from.Steve kept eye contact with Casper, but said to Peter, "No, it's okay. I'll use it. But we'd have to move this outside."* * *They ended up in the training pavilion outside. Tony had it built for the team members that used more space in combat, like Peter or Sam. It was a large circle of stone built into the concrete, with tall pillars of the same substance spread out around the circumference. If it weren't used for training, it was a great place to relax and enjoy the day.Now was not a time to relax.Steve stood in the circle, shield in hand. He felt kind of weird, considering he didn't usually use it without his costume. Instead, he was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt and workout pants. Casper wore his SHIELD-issued black shirt, cargo pants, and boots, as well as a smile. His smile, though pleasant, made it weirder for Steve.The weirdest part, though, was the fact that they had an audience. Sam, Bucky, Natasha and even Tony had made their way outside to join the other teens as spectators."You sure about the shield?" Steve asked Casper from where he stood, only a few feet between them."Yes. I'm not myself if I'm not challenged.""You're really gonna fight the kid?" Sam asked Steve from the sidelines, a suppressed chuckle evident in his voice. Bucky and Natasha were also visibly snickering, though he couldn't hear from where he was standing."It's a demonstration," Steve explained, unaffected by their mockery, "For Dani.""Okay, then. Be careful not to hurt him too badly," Tony called."He'll be fine.""I was talking to the Friendly Ghost," Tony responded, making the other three laugh even more. He turned to face Casper, who was shaking his hands in anticipation."You ready?" he asked Casper.He nodded from across the way, and they began circling each other.Steve was thinking about the best approach. He wanted to stay on the defensive since he had a shield. But who's to say Casper didn't have the same idea?Steve hoisted his shield a little higher onto his arm, turning his stride into a defensive stance out of habit. Too late to think about it, now."Open up a can of whup-ass!" Steve heard Sam call out.Steve stopped to turn towards the group, unintentionally rolling his eyes. "Who are you even talking to?" he heard Tony say.Sam didn't even get a chance to answer, though, because Casper took that time to lunge.Steve barely even had time to notice that Casper closed the distance between them in an insanely short amount of time. He saw a green light appear briefly before the space in front of was ripped open to reveal Casper, rushing out towards Steve.His strikes were quick and precise, three hits to his abdomen that had him doubled over before he could even think. Once he realized what was happening, an upwards bicycle kick to his jaw had him sprawled on his back.He quickly sat up, to see that Casper had landed his backflip and was charging at Steve, his raised fist surrounded in a blue-green halo. Steve instinctively raised his shield before Casper's hand came down to strike him. His fist struck the vibranium instead, allowing for Steve to shove him off of him long enough to get up.The kid was good. Better than Steve thought.Now Casper was an arm away, and Steve was alert. He swung with his shield on his arm, but Casper fell backward in a quick squat, which fluidly transformed into a two-footed kick, the ground propelling him forward. Steve raised his shield, but the kick still had enough power to knock him back a few feet.Casper was standing now, coming towards Steve again.Steve decided to take a different approach. One where he didn't go as easy as he had originally intended. Steve tried to incapacitate him with misleading advances: an overhead kick followed by a sweep of his leg.Casper effortlessly ducked the first and hopped into a jump spin kick towards Steve's face.As expected.His foot only caught the shield, and Steve turned into his own roundhouse kick, but was stopped by a wall of green energy. Casper put up a force field.This dance seemed to go on for ages, of equal strength and ability, neither one of them landing an actual hit. And both of them definitely holding back.Then, all of a sudden, as Steve put up his shield to block an outstretched palm glowing with cyan light, Casper instead grabbed the shield from the top and used the strength of Steve's arm as leverage. He nimbly flipped onto Steve's shoulders. Casper used his legs to put Steve in a hold that can only be described as something Natasha would do.Casper's hand only grazed his neck, but Steve's left side was suddenly heavier than normal, and he couldn't stand. As Steve crumbled, Casper rolled off his shoulders. He brought his leg up impossibly high in a sweeping motion, with intent to bring it down on Steve's face.Steve rolled away just as Casper's foot hit the pavement. A crack appeared where his head was.Steve looked towards him, and struggled to swing his leg up to kick Casper back. The kid rolled backward, and Steve was both glad and disappointed that he didn't have his usual power behind the kick.Steve stood up, his center of gravity restored. He noticed that he dropped his shield off to his left. Casper was only a few yards away, barely getting up, and Steve took the opportunity to go for his shield.Steve grabbed his shield and. . .he couldn't lift it.He yanked it again, highly confused. It was like trying to lift Mjolnir. He looked towards Casper quickly to see if he was coming towards him, and doubled back to see that Casper's hands were glowing, outstretched towards Steve much like Wanda does when she's moving something.Steve connected the dots. Steve locked eyes with Casper and yanked even harder, and Casper struggled to keep the shield down. Steve figured that Casper thought keeping the shield down would discourage him from using it.If that were the case, he was wrong.Steve decided to yank even harder, but stopped earlier than he made it seem. As Steve watched Casper tried his hardest to keep it down, Steve wasn't even attempting to lift it. He flexed and feigned strain to appear as though he was. And it worked: Casper tried adamantly to keep Steve from lifting it, and it was taking a toll on him. The blue-green glow that surrounded his hands began to flicker, and Steve finally lifted his shield.Though it was still heavy, he could lift it. He hefted it towards Casper with a loud grunt, and the shield hit him in the torso and clattered to the ground.Steve attempted to strike in that small moment Casper took to recover, but he was able to sit up fast enough and block his incoming punch with ease.Steve didn't think as he headbutted Casper, stunning him and causing him to stagger back a little.Steve grabbed his shield and bounced it on the ground, making it come up and knock Casper's head back, stunning him even more. Steve caught the shield in mid-air and attempted to bring in down on him.Steve understood why Casper was able to anticipate all of Steve's moves, and Steve finally figured out a way around it.Casper was in his head the entire time, figuring out what Steve was going to do before he could even move to do it. Acting on instinct rather than thought was something he had to do to get past it. So he acted on his gut long enough to daze him with the blows he just gave him.As Steve anticipated, though, Casper still had enough sense to put up a force field before he could come down with the shield.Steve staggered back a little as Casper's shield deflected his with ease. Steve then threw his shield towards him, which, of course, made him move out of the way.So the shield could hit its real target.It bounced off of a pillar and came back to hit Casper in the back, causing him to stumble forward.Steve took the opportunity to somersault over him, grab his shield, and stand back up in time for Casper to also get up.As soon as he stood, Steve twisted his body around to build momentum for a kick to Casper's chest. Casper flew back a few yards, a disheartening oof! escaping his lips as he hit the ground.Steve wasted no time, approaching the kid quickly, shield raised once he was in arm's reach. He brought the shield down in a heavy strike, knowing Casper would block it.Casper put up a barrier that guarded most of his body, which was crouched down low, but it flickered with a weak light. And as Steve repeated the blows, pieces seemed to break off like pieces of glass.Steve brought down the shield, again and again, hoping to keep him from recovering and getting into his head. His force field continued to deteriorate, to the point it appeared to shatter in a shower of blue-green sparks. Casper fell to the ground in a fetal position. He waited for Casper to yield.That was when Steve heard it.A bloodcurdling, heart-wrenching scream.Steve dropped his shield.He looked at Casper, curled into himself, and caught a glimpse of his face from under his arms.His nose was bleeding, which Steve didn't notice before. His green eyes were wet with tears, and wide in terror. He was shaking, and he looked as though he was struggling to breathe. He was absolutely terrified, almost as if Steve were a monster."Steve, step back!" Tony yelled as he and his other teammates approached to check on Casper."What's happening? What did you do?" Natasha asked."Besides kick his ass?" Sam quipped."I. . . I didn't. . ." Steve managed to say, but he was at a loss for words. What did he do?"Steve didn't do anything," Tony said, "It was Hydra. They'd subject him to fights a lot like this, and torture him every time he lost. It was in his file."Steve cursed himself for not paying attention to that detail. He skimmed the file, too fast to notice. If he had known, he wouldn't have asked Casper to spar. Deep down, Steve knew part of the reason he asked was to see what he could really do. Now, Casper was laying there, having a panic attack, waiting for a punishment he wouldn't get. It only made Steve wonder how many times Casper had to lose in order for him to react like this. Dozens? Hundreds?"What do we do?" Natasha asked Tony, who was knelt next to Casper and trying to calm him down."We have to get him to his room. Get him comfortable so he won't hurt himself. Or someone else.""I'll take him," Steve said without hesitation.Tony looked up at him, and the reluctance was clear on his face. Steve only hoped that his guilt was just as visible on his own face. He felt responsible, and he wanted this chance to try and make it right.Tony nodded.Steve lifted Casper into his arms, feeling his jerking movements with every step.When they had crossed the threshold to the interior of the compound, immersed in an eerie silence, Steve heard a sound even more disturbing than the scream.Casper was crying.It almost made Steve do the same.But no matter how terrible he felt, Steve couldn't afford to let weakness show. It was the last thing Casper needed. Compassion, definitely, but not weakness.As soon as Steve put the kid on his bed, though, he was somewhat calm. His eyes were shut tight, but he wasn't crying anymore. He curled back into a fetal position."Are you okay?" Steve whispered.Casper didn't answer, only kept his eyes shut and trembled a little.Steve wiped the kid's bloody nose with his sleeve before he stood up straight and said, "I'm sorry."And he wasn't just apologizing for hurting him. He was sorry that someone so strong was broken down into this state because of Hydra, the organization he gave his life to stop. And he was sorry he didn't take them down sooner.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
January 17th, 2017
(Casper)
Casper awoke to the sound of someone's thoughts close by.He sat up and looked around, only to see someone sitting on the floor at the foot of his bed.
Really hope he wakes up soon, starting to get hungry, don't want to leave him alone, though. . .
It was Peter.Casper concentrated, blocking out Peter's thoughts from his own mind. That's the one thing he despised about his powers. A while ago, he'd have to concentrate to get inside someone's head. Then, after adding the Mind Stone to the long list of Hydra's experiments on him, he had to concentrate to keep everyone's thoughts outside.Peter must have heard him sit up, because his head suddenly lifted, his face in Casper's view. He looked. . . worried?"You're awake!" Peter said, instantly smiling.Casper thought it best not to acknowledge nor question Peter's evident excitement. Instead, he asked, "How long was I asleep?""Uh, about a day. Cap must've got you good, huh?"The memory hit him like. . . well, when the Captain hit him: losing the Captain's thoughts, trying to defend himself after depleting his energy with that idiotic choice to keep the shield down, flashing back to his time with Hydra and the Facility. . .Casper shook the thoughts from his head. He of all people knew how dangerous thoughts could be."Why was I asleep so long?"Peter shrugged and said, "Maybe you were just tired?"Casper was prepared to dismiss his statement as mere speculation, but he then assessed himself on an internal level. He felt this weird sensation that was almost foreign to him. It shouldn't have been scary, but it was due to how new it was.He felt relaxed.It was a feeling that was clearly something he had not felt in a long time (if he ever did), made evident by how long it took for him to actually realize it."What's wrong?" Peter asked, and Casper looked inside his mind for a moment just to see how he saw him in that moment. Peter thought he looked bewildered, both terrified and amazed simultaneously. Casper chose not to worry him."Nothing. I've just. . .never been this. . .relaxed.""Why not?" Peter asked, his big brown eyes lit up with curiosity.Casper didn't respond, which was unlike him. He usually had an answer for everything. But he didn't have one this time."Is it because of Hydra?" Peter asked after Casper was silent for too long. Casper gazed at Peter, not angrily, but not pleasantly, either. That word, that name, never ceased to leave him torn up inside."What do you know about Hydra?" Casper began interrogating him.Peter shook his head and said, "Not much. I know Mr. Stark said it was a really bad organization that's almost destroyed the world at least twice, and Mr. Rogers says they do nothing but hurt people for the wrong reasons. And you used to be with them. Right?"Casper nodded, though reluctant to do so. There used to be a time when Casper had convinced himself to be proud, that he was valued and the key to something greater. But he knew better. He knew what he was doing was wrong. And he knew it was his father's doing, making him believe it wasn't. And once SHIELD found him, he realized how many lies were fed to him. Even so, in Casper's mind, not much separated the two organizations, which only created more chaos within himself."Did they really torture you?"Casper nodded once again. He still had to keep the memories from resurfacing, however."Did they. . .did they really kill your mom?"This was not a question that Casper expected to be asked. Nevertheless, he had an answer prepared, "I'm almost sure."Peter had a clear-cut understanding within his eyes. He said, "My parents are dead, too."Casper didn't need to be a mind reader to know Peter was trying to bond with him. He just didn't know why.Casper stayed silent, not knowing where else the conversation could go. He tried to recall how conversations were supposed to go, and tried to recall how the others continued a conversation. Surely if the android could do it, Casper could, too."That's. . .unfortunate," he decided to say. It still felt awkward in his mind, but that's what he was sticking to."Yeah," Peter nodded, which made Casper feel as though he accomplished something. He wasn't completely inept. He was quite satisfied, in fact.So satisfied that a small smile appeared on his lips, and he barely noticed.Peter did, though, and pointed it out, "Why are you smiling?"His smile soon fell away once he heard the twinge of hurt in Peter's head in the midst of Casper losing his focus."Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to smile. I don't find your parents being dead amusing, I was just. . .thinking. Not about dead parents, just. . . things. . .I'm sorry, let me rephrase-"Peter's laugh cut him off, leaving Casper confused, which he was not used to. "What?" he questioned, almost aggressively. He only wanted to apologize."Nothing, it's just the first time I've seen you stumble on your words. You're not used to, like, normal conversation, are you?"Casper said, "It's been a while.""Honestly, me too," Peter continued, "Any conversation with my best friend Ned can't be considered normal.""I wouldn't know what that's like," Casper said, without thinking. He was starting to get better at this."Why?""I didn't have friends during my. . .stay at Hydra," Casper said, "I was isolated if I wasn't being instructed.""That sucks," Peter said, voicing Casper's own thoughts, for the most part. Casper looked at Peter, no doubt looking like a confused animal to him. That was how he felt ever since being freed from his cell at the Facility. But he'd been trying not to show it, for his sake as well as others. He didn't like weakness, especially within himself, and he was positive the Avengers didn't like it within their own ranks. It was clear in the training program. Captain Rogers addressed both Dani and Joey's weaknesses very clearly in his training regimen for them. There couldn't be a weak link. And if there was one, Casper did not want to bear that title."You know what," Peter said, getting up and setting himself at the foot of the bed. Casper couldn't help but flinch, but he settled down, intensely aware of the other boy's body touching his blanketed foot."I'm gonna be your best friend," Peter said, "Everyone needs one."Casper was only able to offer a blank stare. This was far beyond any development in conversation he could prepare for."What? You don't want me to be your friend?" Peter asked, the hurt evident in his eyes."Is that how friendship works?"In an instant, Peter was back to his joyful demeanor as he said, "No, but you're a special case."Casper thought he was used to being called "special". Him being "special" was all people talked about, and it's what got him in his mess in the first place. But coming from Peter, in that way, felt different. He sounded genuine. Not like he wanted to find a way to use Casper's "special" for his own gain."So," Casper said, taking a chance, "how does friendship work, then?"* * *Peter and Casper decided to spend a day together, without any training. Or, rather, Peter did. Peter had talked to Captain Rogers, who told them that Casper could take a day off to recover from the whole ordeal. He also gave Casper a very formal apology, which he found unnecessary: it was a fight, and someone had to lose. Even so, the apology paired with the opportunity to have a free day only seemed to add on to his sense of relaxation. That unfamiliar feeling of contentment helped him to learn more about "bonding " with Peter.The way Peter explained it, friendship seemed easy. Especially when Peter began talking about his life and his friends, and his Aunt May, whom he missed dearly. Being an engaged listener was far from difficult.The difficult part was talking.For one, Casper didn't have friends or family or a home, which severely limited topics of conversation for him.For another, the topics he was left with were not things he desired to share. At all."So, you didn't have any friends in. . .California?" Peter struggled to say after he stopped talking."I had one. Kieran. While I was at ARGUS. But he, um. . ." Casper stopped, realizing just how much he didn't want to talk about that. "He what?" Peter tried to spur him to talk."Nothing."Once again, the conversation hit a dead end because of Casper. He wasn't as good at conversation as he thought."You had a bed, right?" Peter asked after a significant pause. Peter was good at it.Casper nodded."A room?" Peter asked reluctantly.Casper shook his head, which wasn't exactly a "no", but had become a signal to indicate to Peter that he did not want to talk about it.In this case, his "room" was a cell, closer in size to his new closet than his actual room at the compound. His room at ARGUS was significantly better, but Casper knew that wasn't what Peter was talking about."You've shaken your head a lot," Peter pointed out.Casper didn't have a response, so he looked out towards the sun, which was casting a golden glow over the compound as it began to lower behind the horizon.During their free day, they went all over the compound: checking in on Dani as she learned to fight (but struggled immensely); checking in on Joey, who had turned the open space into a mess of sketches and splatters of paint. He had obviously tried to paint the wall in the time allotted, and failed each time, causing him to have to paint the wall white again and again. Overall, the room looked a mess.After exploring some more, they ended up on the roof of the compound, where a giant Avengers symbol was prominently displayed. Peter managed to get up there with contraptions attached to his wrists. They shot out a tether of fine white rope, almost like a web from a spider (upon mentioning this, Casper learned that his alias was, indeed, Spider-Man). Casper simply made a portal, instantly putting him next to Peter."There's gotta be something you want to talk about," Peter said, breaking the silence, and the thoughts Casper filled it with.Casper stayed silent. Peter was probably right. There had to be something that wasn't painful he could tell him about, to contribute to the sense of friendship he so desperately wanted to build. But nothing came up but darkness and despair, chilling memories that consumed Casper with fear and hatred."What about your parents?" Peter asked, making a mad attempt at reaching for Casper's memories that preceded Hydra. Casper's head snapped towards the other boy.Casper shook his head."No, seriously, come on. What were they like?"Casper shook his head once more, moving his eyes to the landscape."What about their names?" Peter asked."No!" Casper snapped at Peter, making his joy dissipate like dust in the wind. Casper could tell that Peter only wanted to look for a happy memory to talk about; he was thinking about it. The only problem was that the memories of his parents and his life before Hydra weren't less painful to Casper, but more so.Peter's face made him feel bad. He felt compelled to offer a quieter, "I'm sorry, Peter."Casper looked down, ashamed. Ashamed he snapped, ashamed that Hydra made him this way, ashamed he let Hydra do so. Let his father do this to him. He wasn't devoid of emotion. It was quite the opposite, in fact. But when he was at the Facility, emotions only served to get him near killed. Hardening himself was the only way to defend himself. The only way to survive.But he wasn't with Hydra anymore. So bearing himself wouldn't hurt like it used to."Franklin and Jasmine," Casper broke the silence by answering his question.He felt Peter move beside him, and Casper turned to face him. He looked surprised, but curious. He was listening. Much like Casper listened before. Now it was his turn to talk."My father. . .he's a. . .he's a headshake. I won't talk about him. Yet. But I remember Mom very clearly. She used to brush my hair for me every morning before school, and she would make the best sandwiches. She would even sing me to sleep. While I was at ARGUS, we wrote to each other every day, and she'd even call me to talk about our letters like it was a fun game. And it was. I adored her. She was. . ."Casper stopped, looking for the perfect word to describe how special she was."She was my best friend."Peter nodded, but remained quiet, as if he thought Casper would go on.Should he?"Today," Casper continued, "would have been her birthday."Acknowledging this truth created a sensation within himself that was familiar and foreign, made so by the fact of how long it had been since he felt it.He felt tears behind his eyes.He used to cry every night in the first years of his capture. But he stopped crying long ago, when he resolved to avoid his emotions. But letting himself feel again seemed to bust a dam in his tear ducts, letting droplets of water fall down his face."Well, when's your birthday?" Peter asked.Casper turned towards Peter, wiping his face with the back of his sleeve. He reluctantly said, "It's in March. The 2nd.""Oh, it's soon! Maybe we could pla-""Peter, I understand what you're trying to do," Casper cut him off.Peter froze, his brown eyes making him appear doe-like."I know you're trying to distract me, change the subject so I won't cry. You're trying to make me feel better. I don't have to be a mind reader to see that. But while I appreciate the effort, this is the first time I've cried in a long time. It isn't bad. It's good. I'm letting it go. Pain is necessary for growth."Peter nodded, and his puzzled look soon became one of understanding.Casper, who felt as though he were "on a roll", continued, "Do you want to know how I got my powers?""I'm all ears," Peter said with a smile."The first time I read someone's mind, I was in the first grade. Of course, I didn't know I was reading a mind then. But the sensation was something I'll always remember. Before I heard voices or saw images, I felt vibrations. I felt people's emotions within my skull. Depending on how fast or deep the vibrations were, I could tell how someone was feeling.""Who was the first person you read?" Peter asked excitedly."My mom. It was when she was brushing my hair one morning. Her hand rested on my head, and I felt an overwhelmingly pleasant vibration. Like she was humming in my ear. I know now it was happiness."Peter smiled, and Casper then noticed that he, too, was smiling a little."How were you able to do that?" Peter asked."I don't know. To this day, I think my dad may have contributed to giving me my abilities.""Ability, you mean?" Peter corrected him, "I mean, you manipulate gravity, right?"Casper was impressed. He was right."You're right, you're right. But it's an overarching concept. And Hydra really helped to. . .broaden my horizons.""What did they do?" Peter asked."Their experiments were purely psychological. They tore me down so they could build me back up in their own image. I discovered the true strength of my powers because they trapped me in a concrete room and said they wouldn't feed me unless I found a way out. So I destroyed the wall."The memory came back in a flare of pain: scrawny thirteen-year-old Casper, trapped in a room with no doors or windows, starving for days, until he finally screamed a final cry of frustration and anger, shattering the concrete wall in front of him like glass."I began creating force fields to protect myself from being beaten up by Hydra soldiers on a daily basis," Casper continued, letting the memory of finally blocking the punches that Hydra soldiers threw to him, the observing scientists in lab coats looking satisfied."I developed accelerated healing," Casper kept going, feeling worked up, feeling pain, "because I got tired of looking at the bruises and scars every night. I willed them away."The lonesome memory of being in his cell crying and wishing with all of his heart that the bruises and the pain would go away barely had time to appear in Casper's mind before Peter flinched away terrified.Only then did Casper realize that he was feeding Peter his memories, unconsciously projecting his experiences through his telepathy.Casper pulled back, both mentally and physically.A long pause ensued, filled with awkwardness and incredulity.Finally, Peter said, "I'm sorry."Any other day, Casper would have interpreted this apology as empty. But being with Peter, seeing him through his eyes rather than his thoughts, helped him realize that it was genuine. Real. Much different than the ones he's heard before. And Casper knew that Peter was entirely genuine when he offered his friendship. Now, Casper could finally feel without apprehension, cry without judgment, speak without fear. In a way, he was freer than ever."Like I said," Casper mumbled, scooting closer to Peter, "Pain is necessary for growth."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
She walked swiftly through the spacious halls of the castle. Her high-heeled footsteps echoed off the marble, making it almost seem like she were being followed. Even if that were the case, she wasn't scared. No one would dare touch her.She made it to her destination, a large room with tall, slender windows lining the east wall. Golden sunlight spilled through, lighting the room and making the gold-lined marble floor sparkle softly. And at the end of the room, in a gold-and-ivory throne, sat the person she wanted to speak to.Her father."Ah, my daughter!" the man exclaimed, standing up and holding out his arms for an embrace."Father," she said, stepping up the few steps of the raised dais to embrace him. He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek."You have news for me, my soldier?" he asked her, his Italian accent thick and charming."Yes, Father. We've located the device. It's in a facility in Rome.""Good, good. Gather a team and retrieve it as soon as possible. But don't bother with my colleague and his lackeys. I doubt you'll face much opposition from Roman law enforcement."She gave a firm nod, like the soldier she was. Before she left, though, she asked, "And what of the Avengers, should they show up?""Oh, you handled yourself beautifully with their best man. I'm sure the others won't pose a threat to you, Giulietta."Giulietta. Her true name gave her pride. Not Whitney, not Krissy. Giulietta, her birthright."Of course, Father. I will not let you down."* * *
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
February 14th, 2017
(Dani)
Being an Avenger was hard. If Dani could even call herself that.Though Cap's training program was rigorous and annoying and oh so difficult, it only proved to her how inadequate she was compared to the others.Especially those damn Maximoff twins.Every day, those two wore her out, until she was a sweaty mess of sore muscles and heavy breaths.Pietro kicked her ass on a daily, to the point where she had no idea if she was getting better or worse. Pietro was good, and it only became worse when he'd knock her down only to say, "Good job, you're doing great," in his cheeky Sokovian accent. It didn't help that he wasn't using his super speed at all. She just sucked without her powers.Then Wanda comes along and proves Dani just plain sucks.Not only were Wanda's powers amazing, but she used them in such a special way, like her powers were an extension of herself. Like an extra limb. It was mesmerizing.Which is probably why she lost all the time.To be fair, Dani still won against her often enough. Her own powers were already such a big part of her, it wasn't hard to improve upon how she used them in a fight. The hard part was using them in a fight with Wanda. She was fierce, and she didn't go easy, just like her brother. It was humbling to train with her, which surprised even Dani. Not to mention a very intense bonding experience. Her two new Avenger friends were also her biggest bullies.But was Dani an Avenger?Dani spent weeks trying to find an answer for herself. And truth be told, she had a hard time figuring out if she wanted to be one. It seemed like fun, but it also seemed like these people dealt with world-ending crises on a weekly basis. Was she cut out for that? Was she willing to die just to be a part of something? The Captain was starting to rub off on her, with that kind of thinking. It was the way a soldier thought. She was not a soldier.But she could fight like one now.It was just a normal Tuesday evening when she finally floored Pietro for the first time; Tuesday instantly became her new favorite day.Pietro laughed heartily, which Dani both heard and felt, as her shoe was placed on his chest to punctuate her victory."What's so funny? You lost," she smirked, purposely ignoring the firmness of his chest under her foot."Because," Pietro said before twisting his legs around her impossibly fast to bring her down on the ground, where he pinned her. He straddled her hips and held her arms down on either side of her head."You're still vulnerable," he finished.You have no idea, she thought."You haven't shown me this move," she chuckled, not even attempting to escape."I've saved it, for a day like this, where you thought you won," he said, his platinum hair being pulled down by gravity, casting a shadow over his intense blue eyes."I mean, you're on top of me, so I still think I won."The blatant flirting was unlike Dani, but she was charged with confidence after winning for the first time in a whole month. Plus, the position Pietro had her in left her skin buzzing with an odd sensation, a mixture of excitement and—"Ahem," a voice made both of them turn towards the door of the training room.It was Wanda, arms folded and eyebrow raised in question.Before Dani could even think about pushing Pietro off, he was standing up, leaving her to get up awkward and slow."Hey, Wanda," Dani said, "I finally won.""That's what you were doing?" Wanda smirked, then stepped inside the training room from where she stood in the doorway."You don't train with Dani until later, Wanda. What is it?" Pietro asked, sounding a bit annoyed. Dani forgot how piercing his accent was when used in a negative way. It was almost scary. "I was coming to let you know that Clint is here, but if you don't—" Wanda began saying, but Pietro dashed past her in the middle of her sentence, leaving her hair ruffled slightly by the breeze."He's excited," Dani said, stepping closer to Wanda, "Who's Clint?""A valued member of the team. Come, you can meet him, too."* * *The team was crowded in the front of the main building, which was separate from the living quarters. It was much sleeker and business-like, the only color Dani could point out being metallic. People in various business uniforms walked in and out of doorways, up and down stairs. She had forgotten so many people worked at the facility.Majority of the team (excluding herself and the other two noobs) were crowded around a guy in a black wool jacket and faded blue jeans. His piercing blue eyes traveled through the group, offering a warm smile and greetings. He looked in her direction as she stepped through the front door. She saw Pietro motion her over, just as Clint said, "I've never seen you before.""I'm Dani," she introduced herself, "the almost-Avenger."Clint offered a look of understanding as he said, "Nice to meet you, Dani. I've heard a lot about you. Nice to know someone's being a pain in Tony's ass in my absence.""Wait, Tony said I'm a—" Dani was cut off by Pietro, who asked him, "What brings you here, Barton?""Because," Tony said as he walked in behind her, "we need him for an upcoming job." He was looking very sharp; a dark blue blazer and matching slacks, with shiny black shoes that clicked-clacked with each graceful step he took. Dani felt a little underdressed, considering she didn't even bother changing out of her training clothes. Why did he insist on showing everyone up?"Which I know very little about," Clint responded as he shook Tony's hand."We're actually about to do a briefing. Dani, grab the other newbies. It's time for your first crisis."* * *They ended up in a conference room on the second floor, a room that only appeared to be made of obsidian: shiny black walls, an angular black table, and a tasteful Avengers symbol on the surface of the tabletop as well as on the back wall. A backlight made it seem as though it glowed on its own.The table was big enough for all of them, but Dani hugged the back wall, along with Joey and Casper. Peter also hung back, but most likely to stand next to Cas. They were practically joined at the hip ever since that free day Cap gave them (much to her own dismay). Casper spent most of his time with Peter, if he wasn't training with Cap or attending his mandatory "therapy" sessions with Bucky (which the Captain added on as a way to avoid another Hydra-related breakdown). Dani saw Peter was nudging Cas playfully, but Cas was in a different mode. Usually, he'd nudge back and give one of his dimpled smiles, but he stood at attention. He also looked super on-edge, like someone was gonna come and shoot him at any moment. Was it a Hydra thing?Dani didn't have time to wonder, because Tony was starting to speak from where he stood at the far end of the table."I'm sure you're all wondering why you're here, and why I called Barton over today."Everyone paid attention as Tony tapped the table twice, activating the holographic projector from his side of the table. The Avengers symbol glowed briefly before a flood of images and videos began popping up with the telltale blue-ish tints. They depicted what looked like years of violence. Some of them looked as though they belonged in a remastered film noir: guys in pinstriped suits and trilby hats, using what looked like really old automatic rifles. Others looked more modern, with guys in reinforced Kevlar clothing raiding buildings or blowing up trucks. It was madness."As you probably know," Tony continued, appearing to be the center of the chaotic images, "I've been trying to track down technology from Stark Industries that was either stolen or sold by my old CEO, Obadiah Stane. I recently discovered a piece of tech that he sold to the Grimaldi Institute, a private Italian research facility in Rome."He pulled his hand up from the table, revealing a holographic blueprint that pushed all of the other images out of the way. The large image showed a cube-like object that has another angled cube inside of it, and a blue light sitting in the center. It was very rough-looking, much clunkier than Tony's current tech."This handy little device is known as the Visio-Projector. It's a very advanced version of the holographic technology I'm using now. It allows the user to be cloaked in a holographic-slash-adaptive image field, rendering them a different face, body, even height. A whole new identity in a little box.""That's amazing," Peter mumbled."And dangerous," Natasha added, "That opens up so many doors for criminals. Fraud, robberies, murder without consequence. It's like a spy's Holy Grail.""I originally created it for small stuff. Like online shopping, to see if a product fit before buying it. Or actors who died before a movie could be finished. Or even big things like Witness Protection. It wasn't something I intended to be used for espionage. Which is why I shut development down," Tony explained, "Or, I thought I did."He swiped the blueprint out of the way to make way for the other images, which he still had not explained."Stane managed to recover the blueprints and sold them to Grimaldi. They just finished beta testing their prototype. It works, and now the Maggia wants it.""The who?" Peter asked."The Maggia crime families," Dani spoke up, glad she could actually offer information.Tony gave her a questioning glare, and everyone else looked at her the same way. She was starting to regret speaking. Still, she continued."I'm. . .familiar with them. They're based in Italy, but they have operations set up all over the world. They have a family in the Bronx. They're probably the most successful organized crime syndicate on the planet. They corrupt communities, terrorize families, and basically become a problem for anyone that doesn't give them their money. They control certain casinos, drug trafficking, even select businesses. They're bad news.""She's right. They're notorious for hiring mad scientists and enhanced individuals to expand their criminal dealings," Clint said, a grave expression on his face. "Which is why them getting this Visio-Projector is not ideal," Tony responded, calm and stern, like the businessman he was."How do you know they want it?" Bucky asked."I've made it a priority to begin tracking down my lost tech in this period of relative calm. And I made sure to check any and all networks for said tech. An underground communications hub that's used by the Maggia has been sending encoded messages that are outlining a plan.""Is that where I come in?" Clint chimed in once again.Tony nodded and said, "They're planning to retrieve the tech while it's in transit. I've outlined my own plan that involves two teams: one strike team to go in and take it first before their enhanced individuals do, and a contingency team on the outside in the event that the Maggia make it outside of the facility with the package."A schematic of a building popped up with a swift movement from Tony, showing a multi-leveled facility with a wide pavilion at the front entrance gate. Dani could only imagine the fight that was bound to happen there.Cas must have read her mind, because he said, "How much. . .conflict do you anticipate?""Our main priority is to retrieve the tech before they do. And their messages suggested at least three enhanced individuals. So there's bound to be some fists flying. But that's why I'm deploying you on the strike team, to get it out of there as fast as possible. If you don't have another episode." Tony offered him a small smile that would have made Dani melt his face with a fireball. But it didn't seem to affect Casper the same way. He looked nervous, more so than before."I'm sure he'll be okay," Bucky spoke up after seeing his face, "We've been making great progress together.""Well, I still want you to have his back on the strike team," Tony said."Bucky's my partner," Cap said, and Dani couldn't help but imagine him as a toddler talking about his toy that someone else tried to take."Actually, I'm gonna have you sit this one out, Cap. We're technically stealing, and I don't think the world needs to see Captain America committing another crime just yet."Dani remembered that the incident in Germany between Cap and Tony was only last summer, and she saw his point."How much muscle do you have on the strike team, then?" Steve asked, looking very displeased but otherwise calm."Me, Barnes, Casper, and Wanda. Barton, you'll be heading the contingency team with Peter, Dani, and Joey. I need your marksmanship in case they try to get away. I'll also need Joey to make sure civilians don't hear the ruckus and go into a panic.""You're putting all the newbies on this one?" Sam asked."We're not dealing with anything too dangerous. I feel like this would be a great first mission, to get their hands dirty a little," Tony explained. Dani wanted to agree so badly, but something that Fury said before nagged at her. "What happened to waiting six months? It's only been one," Dani said. She didn't want to ruin her deal by going against anything Fury said."This job's out of SHIELD's jurisdiction. It's mine," Tony said, smirking, "Besides, I'm not good at listening to SHIELD."Dani actually liked Tony a little more in that moment."Great, when do we leave?" she asked, eager to knock some heads in.Tony tapped the table twice again, which shut down the hologram, before speaking, "Their plan for extraction is centered around the transit date, which is tomorrow. We leave first thing in the morning.""Why aren't we leaving today?" Joey asked, a little shocked, "Isn't that cutting it kinda close?""The Quinjet will have no problem getting there in time. Plus, it's Valentine's Day, so I have to spend time with my fiance," Tony said.Dani froze.
It's Valentine's Day?
She was suddenly hyper-aware of everything. She thought back to earlier, and what happened with Pietro. Was she crazy to think that he was flirting, too? That he probably didn't forget what day it was like an idiot and chose to make a pass at her?The better question was, did it explain why Wanda was so displeased? Did she not approve of Dani being with her brother? Did she not think Dani was good enough?Did Dani even think Dani was good enough?She was so lost in her own teenage angst that she didn't notice the meeting was over and everyone was getting up to leave.She snapped out of it. She was better than this.Clint began to approach her, so Dani straightened herself out."So, I'm gonna be your boss. Can you follow orders?""As long as they aren't stupid," Dani said as seriously as she could.Clint smirked."You'll do great, then, kid," he said before walking out of the conference room.As she watched him walk off, Dani noticed that Cas was already gone, but Peter was staying behind, locked in a hushed conversation with Wanda and Pietro. Almost immediately after she started walking towards them, Peter practically scurried away, leaving Dani confused and a little ticked."What's his deal?" Dani asked the twins.Wanda spoke first, "He's working on some Valentine's Day surprise for everyone.""Why?""He says 'to celebrate the new arrivals',"Pietro said, automatically adding in air quotes, "But we feel as though it is for Casper, since he has never experienced a real Valentine's Day as he should."Aside from finding it super sweet, Dani thought Peter planning a surprise like that was something Cas needed. Especially after seeing him so uptight during the briefing.Then Dani thought for a moment.How could Peter hide something from Casper, a mind reader?Was it not a surprise at all? Did Cas already know?And was that why he was so guarded?Thinking like this only made Dani wonder even more, why Cas would go stiff at just the thought of a Valentine's Day surprise. He was opening up now, becoming a part of the team. Peter made them all call him "Cas" to make him feel more normal, and it fit. A celebration planned by his best friend shouldn't be something to change his mind.Unless it wasn't the surprise.Maybe it was the person planning it.Could Cas. . .?Her thought process was interrupted by Wanda saying, "We're still a little new to the concept as well. Even before Hydra, Sokovia wasn't big on Valentine's Day. For us, anyway.""Well then," Dani said, "This surprise should be good for all of us."Dani didn't want to talk about her distaste for the holiday. It was her mother's favorite. It was probably why she so readily forgot.Wanda seemed to sense the bitterness behind Dani's sentence, as she said, "Not a big fan?""It's not my favorite," Dani said with a tight smile."Well, so far, it is a great day for you," Pietro said, "You've beaten me for the first time. Rather quickly." Dani swore she saw him wink at her before smiling warmly like he usually did.Dani smirked, mostly to mask the panic she felt."And hopefully, later on, you can finally fly," Wanda added.Dani's smile soon faded, and the panic really set in. Ever since joining, it's been all about unlocking her "true potential". And despite Tony's outward idiocy, he was smart enough to know how Dani's powers really worked. He even made her a costume that read her energy levels and helped her be smarter about what kind of energy she absorbed and released. Aside from her (awesome and utterly fabulous) suit, he offered even more information pertaining to her powers. He seemed to think it was entirely possible for her to use her powers to fly. Even though the conversation was brushed aside like it was nothing by Tony, this planted a dangerous seed of hope in her heart, that she could maybe fly if she tried hard enough. So, along with regular power training, Wanda had been adamant about helping Dani fly. It was really difficult, to the point where she could only go about fifteen feet in the air before she lost focus and fell. Hard.The memory of falling made her say, "I don't feel like getting any more bruises today, Wanda. Besides, shouldn't we ditch training to see Peter's 'surprise'?"At this point, the three were already leaving the conference room and heading towards the elevator. As soon as they stepped into the small space, Dani felt a whole lot of awkward. She felt both Pietro and Wanda on either side of her shoulders, and she had an urge to step forward to avoid contact with either of them. The brush of Pietro's arm made her skin hotter than normal, no matter how layered her workout clothes were. And while Pietro made her burn, she couldn't help but imagine Wanda's touch radiating a cold indifference. Both feelings left her with the desire to run.Luckily, the elevator traveled through only 4 floors, so she was able to escape just as quickly as she had been trapped.The elevator opened back into the entrance hall of the main building, where Peter and Joey were, all alone.They seemed to be locked in a hushed argument, but they quickly stopped once Dani and the twins approached."What are you planning?" Dani opened with, which gave Peter a panicked look. He hastily covered her mouth with both of his hands, which left Dani too stunned to retaliate like she usually did."We can't talk about that. Don't even think about it. Be very careful what you think about." Peter didn't let go even after he stopped talking, so Dani nodded, signaling that she got the message. He took his hands off slowly.'Anyway, that thing. . .is ready," Peter said, glancing at Joey and smiling wide.Joey rolled his eyes and said, "Let's hope the mind reader is dumb enough to fall for it."* * *Dani wasn't a mind reader, but she knew where they were going before they even got there. So there was no doubt Casper knew what was going on.Hence the look of pure contempt on his face as Peter led the teens through the compound towards Joey's art room.What surprised Dani was the fact that the rest of the team, including Clint, were waiting at the double doors.They were all holding separate, casual conversations until they heard the teens approach."Joey, why'd you call us here?" Tony asked, "We literally just had a meeting. You could have said whatever you wanted to say in there.""And steal your thunder? No way," Joey joked.Joey stepped around the team to stand by the doors, which he gestured to clear a space for, like they needed to breathe. The heroes backed away, watching Joey curiously."Besides," Joey continued, "I'm doing a favor for a friend." He looked at Peter, who nodded back.Joey glanced up and said, "FRIDAY, project this room's second security camera footage on the door, timestamp 10:27 A.M.""Okay, here you go," the A.I. said before a projection began to play on the doors, seemingly out of nowhere.The projection showed the inside of the room, the usual sketches and paint splatters on the ground from Joey's constant time in there. In the video, Joey stood in the middle of the floor, surrounded by open cans of paint in every color Dani could think of. She, along with everyone else, watched as Joey in the video crouched down into a running stance. A low hum sounded before the familiar ripples seemed to explode off of his skin. But Dani noticed that they looked restrained somehow, as though some outside force kept them from spreading out too far and demolishing everything.The sketches around him rustled into the air as he sped towards the wall, which was out of view of the camera. Dani was amazed to see that he moved back and forth at impossible speeds, without destroying anything like he usually did. As seconds passed, paint cans began to disappear in the wake of a vaguely-human blur, to the point where the only color left was white. As a minute passed, splatters of paint began to appear randomly on the floor near the concealed wall. Once another minute passed by, Joey suddenly appeared clearly in the middle of the room, celebrating his apparent accomplishment.Did he paint the mural? In three minutes? Without destroying anything?"End playback," Tony said, scaring Dani a little. She watched as he turned towards Joey, a look of quiet excitement on his face."You figured it out? You rode the sound waves like we talked about?" he asked firmly.Joey, unlike Tony, would not contain his excitement as he almost screamed, "Yes!""It's part of my surprise," Peter chimed in. Joey's faltering smile made his interjection seem very unwarranted.Everyone turned to Peter, though, as he made his way toward the door awkwardly.He opened it slowly, as a way to build suspense. Still, no one followed after him once he stepped in.Dani decided to take charge and barrel through the doors with surefooted steps.What she saw was sort of amazing.The room in front of her didn't look anything like the room she saw in the security footage, or any other time she'd been there before. The stark white walls were covered in tacky, metallic heart decorations that reflected the now-colored lights on the ceiling. The slender lights were expertly wrapped in plastic-like wraps alternatively colored red and pink, while others were left white. Streamers of the same colors swept across the room like brushstrokes from a paintbrush, along the walls and the ceiling. Balloons also covered the ceiling, their strings cascading down towards the ground like silvery-white waterfalls of ribbon. Instead of sketches and paint splatters, the floor was littered with hand-cut heart confetti. There were tables lined up in the middle of the room, which had cheap Valentine's Day tablecloths draped over them. One table had snacks and drinks, while another had golden, heart-shaped Valentine's Day cards labeled with the names of the Avengers, including Dani and Joey. Her mind immediately shied away from the idea of having a valentine, so her eyes flew to the other wall.And there was the mural.The most prominent detail was the colorful rendition of the Avengers symbol smack-dab in the middle of the wall. It was painted in a way that made it seemed as though paint cans were just thrown on the wall, and a beautiful image appeared regardless. And everything else on the wall was painted the same way: large images that resembled the members of the team in prismatic silhouettes. The colors seemed to shine with metallic luster and radiant color: the sapphire of Cap's suit, the gold of Tony's armor, and the ruby of Wanda's coat all glimmered in front of her with vibrant beauty. Joey even included Thor and the Hulk, though they hadn't been seen in ages. Dani was disappointed to see that she nor the other two trainees were included. Guess that answered her question of whether or not she was an Avenger.Still, the mural was breathtaking, and Dani had a hard time believing Joey did it in three minutes. It was too crazy. There was too much color, too much detail.She managed to tear her eyes away to see how everyone else was taking it, especially the Avengers that were actually featured on the painting. She saw that they, too, were dazzled by what they saw.She saw Natasha point to the silhouette that was meant to be her, a faceless and curvaceous woman with fiery red hair, coated in a black suit. She said, "Looks just like me.""You mean still and expressionless?" Dani heard Clint say.Dani shared Natasha's smirk, but the spy's chance to respond was taken by Vision, who asked, "What are these?"Dani saw that he was referring to the table full of valentines. The team sort of drifted away from the mural (not without giving Joey his kudos, of course, with pats on the back or playful noogies), and went towards the table.The valentines weren't singular, but actually stacks of valentines organized by name. Some stacks (like her own) had two or three valentines, while others (like Steve and Tony's) had multiple, creating an almost jealous feeling in Dani's heart. Still, she noticed there was no stack for Cas, which softened her hardened heart."So I've been setting this up for a few weeks now," Peter spoke up, "You guys know I've been asking what to put on the cards and who to give them to, but I'm sure no one but Cas knew about the whole setup until now.""Wait, how come you didn't ask me anything?" Dani interrupted. She was kind of disappointed she didn't get a chance to write a card for anyone. Like Pietro. Maybe."Or me," Joey said."Well, even though it's Valentine's Day, it's still also a party for the newcomers. As in you two. . ." Peter said, pausing to shoot a web from his web-shooters behind his back with unexpected accuracy.He pointed it towards the wall behind him, where the silver decorations were placed, and a web attached itself to a nice-sized silver heart before Peter yanked it towards his hands and caught it flawlessly."And Cas," he said before showing the back of the heart, which had Cas's name written in the same graceful handwriting as the rest of the valentines, followed by illegible words.It was then she realized why Cas's name wasn't on any of the valentines on the table.Peter made sure he was the only one to give one to Cas.Dani watched as Peter walked up to Cas and handed him the card, which definitely outmatched the others in size."Happy Valentine's Day, bud," Peter said with a smile.Cas looked a lot more nervous than he did earlier, to the point where his green irises were emerald rings lost in the whites of his eyes.Dani smiled. It was a charming move on Peter's part. They had become friends so quickly, to the point where Peter practically growled if anyone called him anything but "Cas". And Peter gave him a valentine like that. A Valentine's Day like that. Their friendship in general was something that made Cas open up, making Dani more at ease.She stopped, though, once Cas pushed past her to run out of the room.Without thinking, Dani ran after him.She burst through the doors and looked around, to see a glimpse of Cas's shoe round a corner down the hall.She sprinted after him, as he ran into the training room.She stopped running once she entered, and saw him in the center of the sparring mat, kneeling and clutching the valentine like it was his own heart in his hands. His eyes were still as wide as they were before, only this time tears spilled from them."Are you okay?" she asked as she approached slowly. When Cas didn't answer, she simply kneeled in front of him."What's wrong?""I-I don't. . .I. . .I c-c-can't," he managed to sputter out in-between sobs. It was the first time Dani heard him stutter.There was no way Dani could communicate like this. So she tried a different approach.You like him, don't you? she thought, looking him in the eyes.Cas nodded slowly.It made perfect sense to Dani; why he was so weird around Peter today, why he was so reluctant to speak to him in the first place, and why he was so eager to leave the room. Cas knew what Peter was planning, and Cas struggled to figure out what it meant. Anyone from the outside could have seen it in a number of ways. But Dani knew how crushes worked, and how they made people act, gay or not. The only question was, did Peter feel the same way? Cas shook his head. He looked calmer, but still had a certain edge to him."Do you know for sure?" she asked out loud.Cas paused for a moment, then shook his head again.Dani understood Cas's aversion to reading anyone's mind without permission, especially Peter, because he cared about how it made people feel. Finding out that way was clearly something Cas didn't want to do."Why haven't you asked?" she asked him."The last time I fell for my best friend," Cas mumbled, "he pushed me away. And then he died. I don't think I can handle something like that happening again, rejection or otherwise. Especially with Peter. I can't help but think I'll just. . .drive him away.""Of course you won't," Dani said, offering a gentle hand on top of his."It's happened before," he mumbled, turning away. A long pause ensued, and Dani didn't know how to make Cas feel any better. She was dealing with these emotions by herself, so she couldn't offer any advice she hadn't thought of herself.So she took a different approach once again."The way I see it," Dani continued the conversation, "Romantic or not, Peter still has feelings towards you. So I can only imagine how he feels right now, with you running off like that with his valentine."She watched his head shuffle. He said softly, "I'm just scared.""So am I, kid," she said, "So am I.""He won't hate me, right? I mean, I never told him I was. . .if he knew. . .""No, no. No matter how idiotic Peter can be, he knows right and wrong. He knows the truth. And he can't hate you. That's the truth."Cas nodded, staying silent. She noticed that he didn't shy away from her touch, that she kept her hand on his the whole time without a recoil. And she felt compelled to thank Peter. Peter's friendship really helped Cas in more ways than one. And she knew if Cas were to fall for anyone, Peter was the right guy to fall for. He wouldn't let Cas down. She saw Cas smile, knowing he heard her thoughts."Guess I should go back, huh?" he asked."Yes. And thank him," she emphasized, laughing a little."I know, I know. I'm socially inept, but I'm not rude," Cas said, making the both of them laugh harder.They both got up and made their way back to the art room, and after assuring everyone (but mostly Peter) that Cas was okay and was only "overwhelmed with happiness", they started to party.Peter did a good job as far as keeping the party going, though Dani saw it as very low-key. She'd seen crazier parties. Even so, everyone had a lot of fun, and Dani enjoyed seeing it. Especially with Cas, who seemed to be a little more comfortable with Peter again. Dani saw them holding a conversation off to the side at one point during the party, and she heard Cas's laugh ring out as Peter said something. She didn't know what it was, but she was happy to see him happy.Tony's fiance Pepper showed up after a little bit, and Dani watched as she freaked out a little before he calmed her with a few words. She obviously had no idea the party was happening, just like him. Her evident confidence and presence only made Dani wonder just how much of a hothead she was herself; if Tony could calm Pepper down, why couldn't he calm Dani down?At some point, Joey yelled something to FRIDAY, and "Cheek to Cheek" by Frank Sinatra began to play overhead."I'd have figured you'd hate Sinatra," Dani said to him.His dopey grin showed as he said, "He grew on me."So for the first hour of the party, Frank Sinatra's greatest hits became the score. After the first few songs, Dani started to get hooked herself, to his sultry voice and the rapid swing of the music. She began to move without even thinking about it, as she stood alone admiring the mural. "You Make Me Feel So Young" was playing, putting a gentle sway in Dani's hips. Out of nowhere, though, she felt hands join them.She had a partner now."Pietro," she said with a smile, "what are you doing?""Dancing. With you," he said with a soft hum. He held her gingerly, taking her hand in one of his and swaying along with her and the music.She reveled in the warmth that his touch gave her, and started to ease into his hands, his form.She noticed out of the corner of her eye that others began to dance, too. Wanda was swaying along with Joey, while Peter and Cas awkwardly began to hold a conversation while holding each other rather closely.Coos began to ring out from the adults, making fun of the "little ones", but pretty soon Natasha yanked Clint into a dancing position, and everyone stopped to laugh. Once Pepper grabbed Tony, it became a chorus of more romantic murmurings. It was nice. Relaxing.Once the adults began to leave, though, things got a little crazy.Of course there was no alcohol (much to Dani's dismay), but Peter knew how to throw a party. And superpowers only added fun to the mix. By one in the morning, Peter had danced on the ceiling, Joey and Pietro had a cup-stacking competition, and Dani had blown up at least a dozen balloons. They had all ended up on the floor at some point, looking at the mural in silence. Dani sat next to Pietro, painfully aware of his hand on top of hers as they both leaned back on their arms. She was glad the lights were dimmed, so no one could see it. Or Dani's excited breathing."It's gorgeous," Wanda broke the silence."I'm sure you've done much greater things," Joey responded."I've always seen my powers as. . .destructive," Wanda said, her head hanging a little, "but yours are truly spectacular.""And painful," Cas said, making everyone laugh.After it died down, Dani began to think about what Wanda had said. She related to Wanda in that way, in seeing her powers as a means of destruction rather than creation. "Wanda, your gift has helped more than hurt," Dani said, making her turn towards her."Can't say the same for myself," Dani said, averting her eyes from Wanda's soft gaze.Dani's free hand involuntarily sparked with a bright blue light, something that happened when she was extremely embarrassed or distressed."Do that again," Wanda said breathlessly, and Dani looked up. They were all looking at her."Do what?""That thing," Peter said, "with your hand. The firework."Oh. That.With a pointed finger, Dani sent up tiny explosions of multicolored light, small but forceful sparks that lit up the room better than any of the lights ever could.Pyrotechnics. Dani saw it as a glitch in her powers, tiny explosions that looked pretty but packed a punch. Since they accidentally happened from time to time, it hurt people quite a bit. But it gave her the idea for her name: Sparklebomb."Beautiful," Wanda said, the fireworks illuminating the light in her wonder-filled eyes."Yeah, the mural's got nothing on that," Joey said.Pietro squeezed her hand, making her look up at him. His smile was warm and comforting, and it made Dani feel pride bloom within her heart. All of a sudden, she hated Valentine's Day a little less. Along with herself.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
February 15th, 2017
(Tony)
Valentine's Day was all fun and games, but the next day was all business.Lucky for Tony, the new kids seemed to understand that.Once they were in the Quinjet and on their way to Italy, Tony noticed a number of things.For one, the usual attitude that Dani gave was nonexistent, which only made Tony's morning better. Her new suit, a black, skintight blend much like Peter's with striking pink designs on the sides made her look ten times more adult than she already did. She almost resembled an Avenger.Joey's usual smile and clumsy demeanor were both gone, replaced with a nervous energy that can only be compared to an athlete before a game. He stood and shook out his muscles, constantly tensing and unraveling through the duration of the trip.Even Peter, with his usual goading of Casper to join him in his antics, was silent, much like his partner-in-crime. They sat next to each other, completely still. It made Tony wonder if they were having a telepathic conversation.Tony guessed they all knew the deal: now was the time to focus.Tony sat at the helm of the jet, watching the clouds fly right under the aircraft much like a sailor would watch his boat slice through a current. The Quinjet was definitely able to make it to Italy on time, and Tony found himself proud of that in a weird way.What made it weird was what they were flying to.He had only a vague idea of what they were going to face in Rome: armed guards, super-powered muscle, and maybe even Italian authorities. He also had the codename of the one person who appeared to have organized the whole heist on the private communications hub: Masque. It was very mysterious, and Tony didn't know anything about him except for the fact that people obeyed him without question. He must have been pretty high on the Maggia chain of command. And Tony had no doubt that Masque would be there. Other than these things, he knew nothing.Except for the Visio-Projector.Tony remembered when he first created the tech in his dorm room at MIT. He had been up for 48 hours straight finishing it, and when he did, he felt like the smartest person on Earth. He didn't realize how stupid he was. Especially when he let Stane sell it.He was even more stupid to keep it.Everyone, including Stane, thought his prototype was gone, destroyed. But he kept it, hiding it in the Stark archives under something trivial like "Reports". He still had it, but he didn't want to. That was the whole point of the mission: to get the blueprints and beta prototype back and destroy it all at once. So no one could use it against him. Again.Tony's thoughts were interrupted by Clint, who came up behind him and stood there, seeming to admire the clouds like Tony himself was doing.Clint said, "Are you sure about this, Tony?""I'm completely sure.""Yeah, that might be the problem," Clint offered, "You put a bunch of newbies on your op, you benched Steve, and you barely know anything about what's gonna be waiting for us. You wouldn't do something like that unless you're 'completely sure' about something. The only question is, what?"Tony looked up at Clint with almost imperceptible confusion as he said, "I want my things back. Simple as that. Won't be hard to get 'em back.""Why is it so important?""I don't want my tech used in the wrong way. Not again," Tony said gravely. Despite Tony's quick answer, Clint's question raised a point that Tony had to address in some way. Why was he so adamant about getting the blueprints back? Why, if it were that important, did he put all of his new trainees on the job? Tony was confusing himself just thinking about it, and he became uneasy. Less sure than he was not even ten minutes before.But he knew for certain that he had to get his blueprints back. No one would use it in the wrong way. Not Obadiah Stane, or anyone like him. Not even. . .not—"We're coming up over Rome, boss," FRIDAY said, interrupting his thoughts once again.As if on cue, the Quinjet began to descend, making the clouds part around them to reveal the landscape below them: a bustling city appearing to be made of gold and maroon, with a wide river winding around the lush green hills surrounding the city. Rome was massive, and was sprawling with older buildings peppered in with newer ones like a pile of spices atop fresh greens. The architecture was a never-ending experience, as if every building was built by bricks from the building next to it, the look shifting gradually the further into the city they went. It was the perfect amalgam of the ancient and the modern, without the staggered awkwardness the mixture usually came with.The only downside of being around so much history was that there was nowhere to land."FRIDAY, find an obscure location to land," he said quickly before they got too close to the city."On it," the A.I. said. Tony braced himself as the Quinjet veered off to the right, towards one of the hills on the southern edge of the city. The map read "Aventine Hill" on the far edge of the screen in front of him.They landed at the base of the hill, surrounded by dense tree cover that provided both obscurity and shade; it was a pretty warm day in Rome, with only light cloud cover. Much different from New York.Tony led his team out of the craft, grabbing his heavy backpack from the side of his seat and throwing it onto his back. He watched as the Quinjet went into stealth mode and became almost invisible once they were all out of it."The weather in Rome is this nice during February? I'm moving to Italy," Dani decided to say, much to Tony's dismay.He ignored her comment and asked FRIDAY from his watch, "How far are we from the Grimaldi Institute?""Approximately 3.5 kilometers. A forty-five-minute walk."A collective groan went through the group, making Tony begin to regret bringing this particular set of people along with him. Barton may have had a point."Tony, not trying to sound like an ass," Barton started."Yes you are," Tony interjected."But I'm not walking that far," Clint finished, with an added eye roll."I think I have an idea," Tony said after a moment of thought. He looked at Casper with an almost hysterical look on his face."Can you make a portal?"Casper's eyes widened slightly, fear evident for the briefest of moments. "I've never made one go that far before," he said as he fidgeted with the fingerless gloves of his costume."I've seen you work wonders with portals," Tony said, attempting to boost the kid's confidence, "This is easy as pie.""I never really worked on distance. Hydra kept me at a distance limit out of fear I might escape," Casper explained with a shameful hang of his head.Tony began to understand, but still felt compelled to push him. He knew the kid could do it; Casper just didn't believe he could himself."Hey," he told Casper, making the kid lift his head.'If you can take down a building, you can work a portal two miles from here. You got this."Casper's eyes seemed to shimmer with hope, then became hard, determination setting his gaze. He nodded once to Tony, letting his hands fall relaxed at his sides.His fingers began to glow the familiar blue-green colors that Tony had seen times before. He spread his hands wide in front of him and asked, "What direction?""Northeast," FRIDAY answered for Tony.Reluctance reappeared on Casper's face, and his hands faltered a bit in their movement. But Casper's eyes met Peter's, who nodded and offered a reassuring smile.Casper smiled back right before he began to open the portal.The air around them seemed to hum as he tore a hole into space, the suspended green light slowly expanding into a tangible shape. Tony could begin to see a separate scene in front of him: a concrete roof, the sun shining brighter than where they stood in the shade. The sound of traffic could be heard faintly from the other side of the portal, muffled like a wall divided them. And not too far away, Tony could see the top of one of the watchtowers that flanked the front gate of the Grimaldi Institute. The portal stopped growing once it became large enough for a person to pass through, which Tony decided to do first.Using a portal wasn't as weird as he thought it would be. It didn't feel any different than stepping out of the shade and into the sun—which is exactly what he was doing in that moment. His team followed him to the rooftop, and Casper closed the portal once he stepped through last.Tony stepped to the edge of the building, seeing that the facility was only a few buildings away. Casper did it.Tony turned to see him squatting in exhaustion, his hands on his knees and his head facing the ground. It took a lot out of him."You good, Cas?" Peter said to him, patting him on the back gingerly.Casper said nothing, only put his thumb up in the air before going back to his original position."Gotta hand it to the kid," Clint said, "but the building is still a good distance away. We still have to worry about laying low.""This is a good position for you and your team," Tony said to Clint, "My group and I will portal over there once FRIDAY gives the word that they're beginning transit.""Okay. Where's your suit?"Tony smirked and tapped the backpack he had on as he said, "Trying something new."He hooked his thumbs under the straps and yanked his arms outward, activating the mechanism in his backpack. The suit began to attach to his body, the metal expanding as it clung to his back and his limbs. The armor closed around him until that familiar feeling of security enveloped his body and mind."Talk about carrying a heavy load," Clint quipped as he crossed his arms."Hey, I'm the jokester here, remember that," Tony shot back."Well, can we stop joking," Bucky stepped forward, "and focus on the mission?""Fabio has a point," Tony said, earning a disgruntled look from Barnes, "Joey, your job is to keep the sound from leaving the perimeter. The last thing we need is Roman police showing up because they hear gunshots. And there will be gunshots.""Got it," he said without a questioning glance; the glance came from Peter, who afterward shot a worried look in Casper's direction.Tony didn't feel compelled to ask what was wrong, since he pretty much already knew: the stakes were high at this point. He asked, "FRIDAY, status on the blueprints and the prototype?""Seems as though they're beginning the transit," she answered, showing the building schematics inside of his helmet, a glowing red dot moving through the building. The target."It's go time," he said, turning to Casper again, who still looked a little beat. Peter was rubbing his back encouragingly, but it only appeared to make Casper tenser."Up for another jump, Friendly Ghost?" Tony asked Casper, using the nickname he gave him not even two days after he arrived.Casper looked up at him, a wild look in his eyes. He smirked and answered, "Easy as pie."* * *The fight was easy. Too easy, in fact.It first began with the throng of Grimaldi guards that surrounded the silver metal suitcase that held the prototype and the blueprints. They were moving it to another facility in Sicily, the island off the coast of the Italian mainland. Tony saw this as his only chance to get the prototype without alerting the Grimaldi Institute to his actions. They weren't exactly a cooperative business; they were, in fact, on the shady side of international research companies.Which is why it came to no surprise to Tony that they began shooting as soon as Tony and his team showed up.Bullets were no problem for Tony, and the other three seemed to be holding their own pretty well: Casper held a force field guarding them for the first few seconds of gunfire, allowing for Wanda to use her powers to scatter the groups. His group split up, taking down guards as efficiently as they could. In certain moments that Tony was fighting, he caught glimpses of just how skilled they all were: Bucky took down three guards with a quick sweep of his metal arm; Wanda wreaked havoc with pulses of red energy in multiple directions; Casper caused his own brand of mayhem and disorientation with fluctuating gravity. Nothing was causing any trouble. It was almost as if they weren't even trying. Even when the Maggia showed up, in their pinstriped, military-grade tactical gear, Tony was surprised at how easily they fell. In no time, amidst the chaos of his team fighting guards, guards fighting Maggia goons, and the Maggia fighting both of them, Tony had the case."I've got the package," Tony said over the comm as he held off a Maggia goon armed with an electrical weapon of some sort."I can get it out of here before their muscle shows up," he heard Casper say over the comm, making Tony look in his direction.The kid had another force field up, holding back four guards with guns blazing. Casper made eye contact, nodding once and holding out his hand behind him. He put down his force field quick enough to send the guards flying with a shove of his hand in their direction. They stayed suspended in the air for what seemed like minutes before they collapsed collectively, like a magnet yanked them down towards the ground.He opened a portal in front of him, gesturing for Tony to throw it in. Tony tossed it.And someone else caught it.A figure came out of nowhere, snatching the case out of the air a second before it breached the portal and yanking it towards himself. The figure was hooded, with a golden, expressionless mask on his face.Masque.Casper turned to make the case heavier, but before Casper's hand could even begin to glow, the guy swung the case upward to connect with the kid's jaw. Casper collapsed, and the guy took off towards the gate. Tony yelled, "Wanda, give the kid some help!" as he rushed after Masque. He glided over him and landed directly in his path, repulsor poised in front of him."Nowhere to run, Masque," Tony said firmly. He had him.Masque said nothing; he only threw the case off to the side, amidst a cluster of knocked-out Maggia crooks.Masque yanked a heavy black rod out of his belt, pressing a button that activated a piercing blue light at the tip. Tony scanned it to see. . ."Arc reactor tech."Masque charged.Tony thought quick enough not to use his repulsors as Masque swung. Tony blocked it with both of his forearms, a sharp clang! sounding as it collided with the metal of his suit. Almost too quick to see, the guy swung the rod in the opposite direction, swiveling to try and hit Tony in the head.Tony ducked just in time and shot a quick, low-power repulsor blast to Masque's torso. He stumbled back, rolling backward just a little before stumbling back up and barreling towards Tony again.Masque brought the glowing rod over his head and threw it down upon Tony's helmet, temporarily jamming everything. He watched as the guy swiveled into a powerful roundhouse to Tony's chest. Though it only made Tony lurch back a bit, it surprised him enough for Masque to come in with another blast from the rod, this time to his own torso. Tony was blasted backward.The armor groaned as it slid across the cobblestone of the pavilion. Tony groaned as well, annoyed not only at Masque, but at himself for not fighting smarter. Masque was a little fast.Before Tony could retaliate Masque was suddenly blown to one side by an invisible force. The rod flew out of his hands and skittered across the ground, the man stumbling to the ground in the opposite direction. He got on his feet fast, reaching for the rod, but it flew away from him once more, zooming upwards into Wanda's hand with the familiar red glow encompassing it.Masque pulled out a pistol, but Barnes popped up out of the blue, kicking the gun out of his hand and then lifting him by the back of his shirt with a slight whir of his metal arm. He threw Masque towards Tony, and he finally saw that the entire strike team surrounded the masked figure.Though Tony couldn't see the man's face, he could imagine Masque looked terrified.The man was on his knees, making no attempt to get back up.Tony swiftly moved to him, yanking the mask off and revealing his face.He was a normal looking guy, with slight stubble on his chin and a scar above his eyebrow."So you're Masque," Tony said, "I've heard a lot about you.""I'm sure you have," the man said with a heavy Italian accent, "but I'm sorry to tell you that I am not Masque.""Really? Who is, then?"The man said nothing, but Tony watched the man's gaze travel to something behind him.Tony turned to see a Maggia crook with the case running off, mere feet away from the gate."Casper!" he yelled, and not a second later, a portal appeared in front of him. He stepped through, stopping the culprit from reaching the gate.Or rather, the culprit stopped him.The portal led him directly in front of the gate, blocking the guy's path. He was ready to charge. Eye contact stopped Tony dead in his tracks, though. The perp wasn't a guy like he thought.It was a woman.It was her."Krissy?"His old secretary stopped running, her sharp gray eyes making Tony's heart stop. She yanked off the helmet she wore, her raven hair cascading down her shoulders in a shower of poison-black locks."Tony," she said, "Tony, Tony, Tony. How many times do I have to tell you? That's not my name."Tony was having a hard time thinking, comprehending, speaking. He felt as though he was back in that storage room at Stark Tower, seeing Krissy fulfill his fears, make them a reality."But you. . .you died," he struggled to say. He didn't have the mental capacity to even think about joining her witty, nostalgic banter."You of all people should know that anything's possible," Krissy said with a smirk. She took bold steps toward him, and Tony made no attempt to move, or hold her, or take the case from her hand."I knew you'd come," she said matter-of-factly. Her head was tilted up in pride, "Tony Stark just has to have his toys.""If you see it as a toy, you definitely shouldn't have it," Tony said. He was starting to regain his composure, but the situation still captured too much of his attention for him to make a move against her. And something about her gave off a dangerous vibe, and he felt as though trying anything would result in an injured Stark."Oh, but I should, Tony. Nobody would use it better than me."Krissy got closer, tantalizing close, and he imagined her breath would tickle his nose if it weren't for his helmet."And you, Tony Stark, can't have it all."Tony tried to figure out how to respond, or maybe even formulate a plan, but he was interrupted by gunshots.Tony's eyes zeroed in on Barnes, who got his hands on a guard's rifle and was opening fire in Krissy's direction, stepping closer and leading the other two on his heels.Tony wanted to react, but he didn't have time.All he heard was a collection of tiny ping! noises, making him watch wide-eyed. The bullets made contact with Krissy, but bounced right off her skin with the occasional spark, falling to the ground in a pile of dented metal.Once Bucky saw this, he stopped shooting. Krissy turned angrily towards him.The others didn't stop moving, just tried to triple-team her as best as they could. Tony couldn't move on his own accord; he's never been this shocked.Krissy unexpectedly knocked Wanda out before turning to Casper and whacking him with the case once again (poor kid) and fighting with Bucky before she headbutted him into a crumpled mess.Krissy suddenly turned on him, punching him in the chest and knocking him back into—no, through—the ten-foot-high gate. The iron creaked as he knocked the gate off of its hinges. As Tony laid there recovering, both mentally and physically, Krissy ran and hopped right over him with the case in her hand.He slowly got up; the probable concussion he had ironically knocked some sense into him. FRIDAY told him, "You have joint damage in multiple places, boss.""The suit or my body?" he mumbled.FRIDAY didn't answer his question, but said, "We have a chopper incoming, sir."Sure enough, a helicopter appeared, landing on the closed-off street meant for the transit vehicle. Krissy strode towards it, not even looking back.Tony took a few steps closer and yelled, "I'm gonna need that case."She turned around, watching as he raised a repulsor towards her.There was his witty, nostalgic banter."Because that went so well for you last time," she said with a condescending shake of her head."Things are obviously different now," Tony said back, cold and uncaring. Even though he cared so much. Too much."As much as I'd love to see how this plays out," Krissy said, nodding towards the facility, "it looks like you've got your own mess to clean up before you can make a new one with me."Tony turned around, and saw his team on the ground, along with the mass of guards and Maggia goons, and the "mess" she was talking about.There was no "super-hired help" like Tony expected from the Maggia. Just a bunch of barely-capable guards and a dirty trick. And a chilling blast from the past. This made the Avengers—more specifically, Tony—look very, very bad. Once he made this realization, though, he turned to see the helicopter was already leaving. He watched Krissy hang out of the side, giving Tony a mock salute with two fingers."Tony," he heard Barton over the comm," what's with the chopper?"It took a while for Tony to speak, as he was still dealing with the knowledge that he got played big-time. Again."They're leaving with the package," he managed to say."Why didn't you stop her?" Wanda said. The three of them were back up now, coming back towards Tony."I was caught off-guard," was all he could say."Stark, what do we do about the chopper?" Barton asked over the comm, more forceful than before.Tony heard Dani cut in, "I'm going after it."Tony's head snapped back over to see the helicopter, and the direction of the building he knew the contingency team was perched upon."Dani, do not engage," he said with almost violent force, "They've tricked us into a bad public image. You try to go after them, it'll only look worse.""I can do this," she snapped back, "Have a little faith.""Dani, don't try to be the hero right now! Do not engage! I repeat, do not engage!"Dani, of course, didn't listen.He saw a streak of bright pink light begin to ascend alongside the helicopter, which was well above Dani by then. He watched as she pushed higher, her flames glowing brighter, before her altitude dropped instantly, careening into the roof of another building. A small pink explosion followed her demise.
Dammit.
"Dani!" he yelled over comm.Silence."Dani, are you alright?" he yelled again.There was more silence."The building is occupied," he heard a breathless Dani say, "We need an ambulance." She sounded extremely guilty.Tony couldn't even think about that, though. He couldn't think about the fact that the rest of his team rushed to the scene, or that sirens sounded in the distance. He couldn't think about the ash and debris from the explosion beginning to fall around him in orange and pink embers. He couldn't even think about the chopper, which soon became a dot in the distance.All he could think about was how stupid he was.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
February 15th, 2017
(Dani)
The whole thing was Barton's fault.Dani wasn't even focused on the mission at first. She was completely checked out. Bored, really.She sat on top of a big gray vent, the fan whirring beneath her. She was creating small bursts of light in her hand to entertain herself, each one a different color. She let them rise and fall in-between her fingers and let them fizzle and fade out whenever she felt like it.She stopped once Peter passed through her periphery again, his blue-and-red suit making him even more noticeable. She looked up at him. He had been pacing ever since the strike team left, staying silent (along with everyone else). He gave off enough nervous energy, though, to fill a stadium. It was starting to make Dani anxious."Dude, you're gonna wear a path into the roof," she told him. He yanked his mask off and stopped. His doe-brown eyes slowly honed into Dani's line of sight. She could tell his mind was all over the place."What's wrong, dude?" she asked him."Nothing," he tried to dismiss it with a shake of his head. He was terrible at lying.Dani scoffed and said," Liar." She tapped the empty space next to her and said, "Come on, sit down. Talk to Mama Dani."Peter paused for a moment, then reluctantly sat down next to her. He fiddled with his mask, yanking it through his hands like a dish towel. Dani nudged him, urging him to talk."I'm just. . .worried, I guess. About Cas. If he's safe.""Cas? You're worried about him? Dude, he can hold his own against Captain America. I think he'll be okay," Dani said playfully, in an attempt to lighten the mood.Peter gave a small smile before his worried look came back. He said, "But it's not just that.""What is it, then?" she asked more seriously than before.Peter stayed silent, thinking and staring off into the space in front of him."What's going on with you two?" she asked, pressing on. She knew something was wrong, especially after her conversation with Cas the night before. No matter how great things looked afterwards, there was still discord. And she figured the discord wasn't one-sided."He's. . ."Peter said, then sighed, "He's been distant. We were having a good time, hanging out a lot in-between training, and it went pretty well for a while. But the past week he's been. . .avoiding me? I don't know. He's become a really good friend in such a short time, and now he's pulling away. It's scary.""What's scary about it?""I'm afraid he might be going back. To ARGUS, his dad, Hydra. All of it. And all of the progress he's made—we've made—is just gonna. . ." Peter stopped and squeezed his mask tighter in his hands. It was obvious he cared. "If the only reason you're friends with him is to help him forget, then I don't think you can call it a friendship," Dani offered, taking away the usual, critical edge she had in her voice most of the time.Peter looked back at her, wide-eyed, as he quickly said, "Of course that's not the only reason! He needed a friend, and truth be told I needed a friend too, and it only helps that he's smart, thoughtful, caring, strong. . .""If you see him that way, maybe you should know deep down that he's gonna be fine," Dani stopped him before he could ramble any more. She nudged his shoulder before saying, "What's the real problem, Peter?"He glanced at her with that same doe-eyed look he couldn't seem to shake. He mumbled, "I don't know."Dani, though sharing Peter's worry, had an odd sense of relief in knowing that Peter was anxious. Since her conversation with Casper the day before, she only hoped that Peter cared enough to notice Cas's anguish and want to do something. Now she knew Peter both noticed and cared, but didn't know what to do, or even necessarily what was wrong.But now Dani faced her own dilemma: she could tell Peter what was really going on with Casper, or let him figure it out on his own. Any other time, Dani probably would have taken charge of the situation and blabbed about it all to him, but Dani was trying something. . .new. She decided to be a team player.Wow, Cap was really getting into her head.Even so, she was satisfied with her decision. She placed a comforting arm around Peter. He was slender, but his form was solid, despite how fragile he seemed. Dani always figured Peter to be that type of person: an unseen but unmoving rock, particularly in Cas's life. She felt almost humbled to be able to be a source of support for him.She said, "Talk to him. It might give some clarity for the both of you. And I'm sure he'll understand. He is a mind reader, after all." She offered a small smile, which he returned ten times bigger.Dani figured since she was exhibiting blatant Captain America behavior, she decided to really follow in his footsteps (almost literally) by doing what he did after offering words of wisdom: she got up and walked away, letting him think.She walked over to stand by Barton, who had a bird's-eye view of the facility from where he squatted near the edge of the roof. She didn't have a real reason for being there: his silence drew her to him in some weird way.He spoke, though, once she approached him, "You know, for a 'pain in the ass', your advice ain't half bad."Dani stared at him with her eyebrows scrunched. She didn't know what to make of his comment. Her first instinct was to be offended."It's a quality you and Tony share," Barton joked as he stood up.Now she was offended."Can you do me a favor," Dani held up a hand, "and never compare me to him? Like, ever again?""You really don't like him, huh?" he said, an amused chuckle traveling through his shoulders."Am I supposed to? He's a rich white man who has made too many mistakes to count and is still seen as some kind of harbinger of peace. Anyone even remotely interested in peace wouldn't be so self-righteous and arrogant about it. But the world gives him what he wants: attention.""Hmm. I wonder how you see yourself, then," Barton shot back."Why does that matter?" Dani asked."Because you two are so alike."A surge of anger ripped through Dani uncontrollably, and a bright red spark flew from her hand and hit the pavement on the roof, igniting a small flame before fizzling out. Barton watched her carefully, his fingers twitching towards the collapsed bow that hung from his belt."I am nothing like him," she spat, "and I don't want to be like him.""A hero?""Whoever calls him that needs to seriously reevaluate what that means. Heroes don't create genocidal robots. Heroes don't fight Captain America like some common villain.""Like you said, he's made mistakes," Barton pointed out, so matter-of-factly that it made Dani want to throw a fireball."Was joining the Avengers a mistake? Because he seemed eager to do that only after his precious tower was in danger. Heroes don't become heroes for self-preservation.""You did it," Barton added, figuratively kicking her in the gut and making her feel more inadequate than she already felt."I'm no hero," she said for what felt like the millionth time. To Fury, to Barton, to Cap. To herself.But Barton didn't tell her she was wrong. He didn't tell her she was right, either. He asked her something that jarred her, something that made her truly question her worth.He asked, "Then why are you here?"Dani was entirely prepared to say something smart like, "Because I want to be," but, truth be told, she didn't. She didn't have an answer other than that. What she did know was that she wasn't on the same level as the Avengers, or even Cas and Joey. She felt that way ever since Fury told her she could join. It was only reinforced by her time at the compound, and feeling like a dead weight. She had a hard time finding the courage to respond, much less try to call herself an Avenger."It's because you aren't as bad as you put yourself out there to be," Barton continued in the wake of her silence, "You know you're not. And after what I read in your file and what you did in that apartment building, we all know you're far from bad. You're here because someone saw the same thing and wanted to put it to use, the right way. And deep down, you want to see yourself do it, too. You want to realize your full potential. You want to be greater. You want to be a hero. And just like Tony, you're searching for that defining moment that tells you and everyone else that you truly are one.""Why would I search for that?" Dani said after getting her voice back."Because, just like Tony, you want to prove everyone wrong. Prove to everyone you aren't as terrible as they think.""Do you think I'm terrible?" she asked him, crossing her arms."I think you're lost. Which can only be expected," Barton said."Because Tony is?""Because I read your file," Barton said, "and I know how you. . .lost your way."It didn't take but a second to figure out he was talking about her parents. Dani actually had to think for a moment as to why, though. Then she remembered that Barton was there that day, in New York. It only made her wonder why she held so much contempt for Tony, but not for him.She was gonna say something, but their conversation was interrupted by the unbearably loud noise of a helicopter flying right over them, and landing in the closed-off street where the transit vehicle was supposed to be. As soon as it reached the street, the sound of the helicopter blades was suddenly drowned out, and Dani turned to see Joey was still holding out his hands towards the building to keep the sound from leaving the perimeter and attracting attention.She turned back towards the building, trying to figure out what was going on: why the helicopter entered the barrier, why the gates were knocked down, why Tony was standing there looking like a deer in headlights, and where the rest of the strike team was."Tony, what's with the chopper?" Barton said over the comm device in his ear. Dani watched as a woman climbed into the helicopter, and Tony just stood there, making no attempt to stop her. The chopper began to rise into the air, and Tony continued to play statue. It wasn't until the aircraft began to clear the building height-wise that Tony finally said, "They're leaving with the package."Barton wasted no time in busting out his bow, notching an arrow and aiming it at the helicopter all in the blink of an eye. He asked, "Stark, what do we do about the chopper?"Watching the chopper fly away, Dani had this overwhelming feeling of dashed hopes. Here she was, part of the contingency team meant to stop anyone from leaving with the prototype, and she was already failing. And Barton was most likely going to stop it alone without any help from anyone else, the way he had the bowstring poised to pull. And their conversation left her with a hope deep in her heart that she could have her "defining moment". A hope that, too, was dashed. It was hard to even admit in her own heart, but in some ways, he was right about her.Unless. . .what if this was her moment?The helicopter was gaining altitude, but it wasn't too high up. Dani could reach it, if she tried."I'm going after it," she said.She took a few steps back, preparing to take a running start."Dani, do not engage. They've tricked us into a bad public image. You try to go after them, it'll only look worse.""I can do this. Have a little faith," Dani huffed, feeling annoyed and a little vulnerable. Did no one believe in her?"Dani, don't try to be the hero right now!" Tony yelled, "Do not engage! I repeat, do not engage!"She wanted to listen, to do right, to let Cap's influence take control once again. She wanted to let the real heroes handle it. But her muscles twitched with anticipation. She didn't want to miss her chance. She could finish the mission. She could be a hero herself.She looked at Barton, who she expected to reinforce Tony's orders.But he surprised her. He mouthed, "Go."He believed in her.She ran towards the edge of the building without a second thought. She used her heat to propel herself, feeling the fire ignite around her skin and her suit. She approached the chopper with confidence, with pride, with determination—And she was falling.Her fire didn't falter. She did.Her balance was lost, and she tried to compensate with more fire, but that only made her meeting with the ground happen that much faster. And it only got worse when she tried to correct herself midair and fell farther to the right, and oh no, that was a building!She crashed through the roof, and her fire exploded around her in her moment of dazed pain. She slowly stood up, stumbling.She was checked out for only a second, before she opened her eyes to see her destruction.The room was demolished: support pillars crumpled, desks and chairs reduced to smoldering splinters, fire consuming the floor she was on. She saw people running towards the emergency exits, but others knelt next to the injured without discernable facial features.She looked off to her left and saw a woman cradling a bleeding- and severely-burned man in her arms, screaming in Italian and crying her eyes out. She looked directly at Dani, and saw her eyes widen. She screamed something else in Italian, over and over again: Diavolo. Devil.Amidst the noise and her own anguish, she was barely aware that Tony was calling her name over the comm line."The building is occupied. We need an ambulance," she said, never taking her eyes off the woman who thought she was Satan.* * *"Seventeen people, Dani," Tony said, "Seventeen people injured!""Great, one for every year of my life," Dani said with mock enthusiasm."Do you really think now is the time to joke?" Tony was yelling, his eyes glassy with frenzied fury.They were in the Quinjet now, on their way back to the compound in America. Dani expected a chewing-out, but she figured he'd wait until they made it back. But she was wrong; Tony couldn't wait. And he sure couldn't wait to do it in front of everyone else."Do you not understand how serious this is?" Tony continued."Of course I know how serious this is!" Dani raised her voice, "Because I've done way worse."Tony took a step closer and said, "That doesn't excuse it at all. You were completely reckless! And now there's gonna be a PR storm waiting for us when we get back. Or should I say, waiting for me.""You? How can it be all my fault and it still falls on you? You can't pick and choose who to blame, Tony," Dani said as she crossed her arms."No, I don't get to, everyone else does. I'm giving you blame where blame is due, but the media's going to rip me a new one because I'm responsible for you. Your actions affect more than just yourself."Of course she knew he was right. Dani of all people would know the ripple effect that decisions created. She wanted so badly to point that out, to unleash the anger she had pent up inside of her towards Tony, but she held back. Being at the compound, she learned one thing if not anything else: there was a time and place for everything."I get it," Dani said calmly, "I messed up. But you're right. The blame doesn't just fall on me.""She's right," Barton spoke up. Both Dani and Tony whipped their heads to Clint, who stood from where he sat next to Wanda."It was my fault. I spurred her. You gave a direct order, and I let her do the opposite."Dani didn't expect this. She had no reason to blame Barton at all."Clint, now's not the time to try and be virtuous. I'm busy chewing her out.""Well, you can stop it. You want to blame someone, blame me," Clint said, physically trying to inject himself between Dani and Tony. She didn't understand why he was even defending her. let alone putting himself in the path of Tony's wrath."Did you destroy two floors of a nursing home?" Tony asked Barton. The sentence itself made Dani wince; she kept hearing the word Diavolo over and over again in her head."Lay off, Tony! You can't bring four teenagers without field experience onto an op like this and expect everything to go smoothly. This is your fault just as much as hers. You're responsible, just like you said." Barton's voice was forceful and almost scary, but he spoke like the friend who had the responsibility of calling another friend out on their bullshit."I didn't screw up and endanger people's lives," Tony said with the uppity energy he usually gave off."Then what would you call freezing up back there?" Dani jumped back in. She was starting to get fed up with everything that was happening: the mission, Tony's ignorance, her own defiance and shame. She stepped up to Stark, her confidence fueled by her anger."You led this team, then chickened out when the time came to fight," Dani said, low and venomous, "Don't act like you're perfect, Stark. You screwed up, too. And it was just as bad as my mistake, if not worse."For a moment, Dani saw something in Tony's eyes. It seemed almost desperate, and mixed rage with utter fear. It was out of character for him for sure. Before Dani could think about it, though, it was gone. It was replaced with a cold, hard gaze before he said, "I am going to have a very long discussion with Fury about your current status as a trainee. Until then, you're grounded."He walked over to the helm before he turned around and said, "More grounded than you already are, Dumbo."Dani moved to throw a giant wad of explosive energy at Tony's face, but something stopped her arm.She looked down at her wrist and her glowing hand to see another arm was holding her back. Cas. He shook his head two times.Dani was (literally) heated, but Cas's touch seemed to soothe her a bit. It reminded her: there's a time and place for everything.* * *Dani cried once she made it to her room.She wasn't even worried about her fate as a trainee. If she left, she left. Just like every other foster home. She already had a hard time finding a reason to be there, anyway.She cried because she was tired, because she was alone, because she was angry. But she cried because she missed her parents.The topic popped up more than she liked that day, whether spoken or otherwise. Aside from her conversation with Barton, her parents were in her thoughts, even during her argument with Tony.Every word she said, she could almost feel a nagging voice in the back of her head. She knew it was her father, telling her that those words weren't the right ones to say. And when Cas grabbed her arm, Dani thought it was her mother holding her back.Her parents used to be the driving force behind how she carried herself. Without them, Dani didn't know up from down. And whenever those nagging thoughts popped into her head, she shoved them away as fast as possible, to avoid the pain. Doing that only left her feeling more conflicted, and made her question how she could be so lost when she knew exactly where she was.She was in her room, crying. And she wanted her Momma and Daddy."Danielle?"Her head snapped up to see Pietro at her door, worry lines showing up on his face."Pietro," she said, squeakier than she would have liked. She hastily wiped her tears away, putting her tough-girl mask back on."Are you okay?" he asked as he stepped inside her room and closed the door behind him. Uh-oh."I'm fine," Dani told him as he sat on her bed next to her. "Why do you ask?""Danielle, you were crying," Pietro said softly. He used his thumb to slowly wipe a tear away from her cheek. Damn, I didn't get them all, she thought. The feeling of Pietro's skin against hers gave her a nonsensical feeling of warmth that echoed through every part of her body. She didn't know whether to smile or keep crying."It's nothing," Dani said as she pulled away from Pietro's touch."Tears are never nothing, "Pietro said, "Each one is a problem we do not want to face alone.""Who taught you that?" Dani asked. She was taken aback by just how compelling and insightful Pietro was."My mother," he said low, trying for a smile. She could see the pain swimming in his eyes, though.Dani mumbled, "I'm sorry."Pietro shook his head and said, "No, no, Dani, you have nothing to be sorry for. You were not responsible for my situation, or my parents' demise." He retained the innocent aura he had, one that showed just how blissfully ignorant he was of certain things.Dani's chuckle was involuntary, and it was only strengthened by Pietro's confused-puppy expression."I know, Pietro, I know. It's just something to say when someone loses someone they love.""Did you say that when your own parents died?" Pietro asked.Dani shook her head, "No. A lot of people said it to me.""Did it do anything for you?""No. It made me mad more than anything," Dani said. She remembered all of the condolences and apologies, like it did something to get rid of the pain somehow. And it did nothing. And since people were apologizing so much, she started to blame the world."So do you think it means anything?" Pietro asked, and Dani began to see what he was doing. She shook her head again."When someone loses someone they love, 'I'm sorry' is meaningless," Pietro said, "It's better to share strength than to apologize."With that, he hugged her fiercely, barely giving Dani a chance to breathe. She froze for a moment before she hugged him back. That warmth—the warmth that was becoming a familiar feeling to her—spread through every nerve ending, making her feel better than she did two minutes ago. Less lost than she was before he walked in.Her moment of clarity was interrupted, as a blue-green light appeared near her door.Casper popped out of his portal and stopped dead in his tracks once he saw Dani and Pietro. Even though Dani was watching with wide eyes, Pietro didn't stop holding on to her for a solid half-minute."Oh, sorry, I. . ." Cas said quietly. His face was tinged with red."Whatever happened to knocking? Or using doors, for that matter?" she said just as Pietro decided to let go."I got excited, I. . .uh. . .Dani, you're all over the news."Cas grabbed the remote to her TV and switched it on. A newscast was already on, showing aerial coverage of the building she destroyed, with a tagline that read: "Avengers Mishap Leads to 15 Injuries and Two Deaths". Two people died. A picture of her—her unsavory mugshot, of all photos—was in the top right corner of the screen, and the low volume of the program didn't keep Dani from hearing her name being said by the male anchorman.Suddenly, Dani wasn't so at-peace."Wow," Dani said, "Nice to know I matter.""Being an Avenger is a hard job," Pietro said, "Dealing with things such as this is just a part of it."There was a long pause, made more evident by the anchorman's continuing reports over the silence.Cas finally said, " Then why don't we have a little fun?"Dani saw a mischievous look creep onto Casper's face. It was almost entirely out of character for him.And Dani had the urge to curl up into a ball and never be seen outside again, which was out of character for herself.But that wasn't something she wanted to do. She wanted to show people just how much of an Avenger she was: by not caring about the chaos she caused."What did you have in mind?"
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
February 15th, 2017
(Avengers)
Tony's "very long discussion" lasted about five minutes.
Two minutes in, and he was already livid.
"What do you mean you can't do anything about this?" he yelled at Fury through the secure phone line he opened mere moments before.
"I don't have a say in what SHIELD does anymore, Stark. It's only been jump-started again for what, a little less than half a year?"
Fury's comment made Tony recall last year's events, and how the fight in Berlin prompted the reinstatement of SHIELD as a legitimate government organization again. But it was proving to be much harder to deal with the second time around.
"Why did
you
bring them to me, if you don't have a say?"
"The new director is some bleeding-heart youth activist who figured it'd be easier for both parties if there was a familiar face involved. Someone easier to trust," Fury said calmly.
"Oh, so I'd trust you to bring me an irresponsible, nightmarish delinquent?" Tony asked sarcastically.
Fury sighed on the other end, which seemed to become routine at this point, like Fury knew certain things Tony didn't and was only proving to become a burden with his own ignorance. Fury said, "The kid's troublesome, Stark. I get it. But the security council and the new director hand-picked them out of a dozen more potential trainees. They're
needed
, Stark. And not only that, but they have a lot to gain out of this."
"Well, I don't remember signing up to be anyone's legal guardian. So who did?" Tony asked.
"I did," Fury said simply.
"Then why don't you take care of them?" Tony managed to sound even angrier without raising his voice.
"I have, Stark. I've been watching you. And I warned you about waiting six months. You waited for one."
"I meant by yourself," Tony got through his clenched teeth, "Not like some creepy voyeur with military-grade binoculars."
"I'm not a billionaire with a super soldier and an android living with me. There's no way I could have kept them under control," Fury said with the same biting sarcasm Tony himself had. He hated it when he did that.
"Oh, and I can?" Tony was irked, and was struggling to hear. He turned towards his television and saw that news coverage of the incident in Italy was playing, with photos of all three trainees off to the side of the damage and the tagline "STARK KEEPS KIDS UNDER WRAPS" scrolling repeatedly through the bottom of the screen. He grabbed his remote and shut his T.V. off aggressively, wishing it would help to get rid of the whole dilemma entirely and not just what was on screen.
"Yes, you can. You just need to take more time to understand these kids before you try to bring down a hammer they really don't need. And Dani is a special case. You need to do more research on it before you try to solve it."
"I know her parents died in New York," Tony said, "but that doesn't excuse any of her behavior."
"A little more research, Stark," Fury said gravely, "And for the record, I won't be paying any babysitting fees you might decide to cook up."
Fury hung up.
* * *
Tony didn't want to have a briefing so late into the night, so he set one up for the next morning, along with a press conference to lie through his teeth about Dani and the others to reporters of all shapes and sizes. He just wanted everyone to get some rest before the ensuing shitstorm. He himself needed to make repairs to his suit, though, and headed to his workshop in the main building.
It was set up much like the old one in Malibu, only this one was more spacious, and featured even more sophisticated technology than before. It had a nice view of the lakeside from the floor-to-ceiling windows instead of underground concrete walls. He appreciated the space, but it felt a little empty to him, despite the number of projects he had all around the messy workspace. The feeling was only supplemented with a cloud of anger and self-criticism that began to condense into the workshop after all that happened that day.
First, he decided to charge into an idiotic mission that only primarily served his own bruised ego. Then he decided to bring a bunch of green teenagers along (and he couldn't help but wonder if that was considered child labor). Then he freezes like an idiot in the most inopportune moment possible, creating an undesirable public image for himself and the team. Tony felt as though the universe was out to get him.
Even on the Quinjet, he felt uneasy about the whole situation, especially when Clint called him out on it. He should've turned the boat around, went back home, made some apology mimosas and called it a day. After all that happened, it was a much more favorable option in contrast to what he was going through now.
So it only begged the question as to why he kept going.
Tony really didn't have an answer until he thought about Krissy.
She was always in the back of Tony's head, especially during those last few months he spent tracking down the Visio-Projector. He believed it had something to do with her, some magnetic force that originated in his own unconscious mind in an effort to
reach
her. Not really her, maybe, but an attempt to reach an
understanding
. That night years ago ate him alive from the inside out for a while, and it stuck with him in so many ways. But the biggest thing was the confusion: why she betrayed him, why she acted like she cared for so long, why Tony cared so much.
And now, why she was alive.
Tony didn't want to think about that now.
"FRIDAY," he said as he walked across his workshop to grab his blowtorch, "run a search for Masque using the facial recognition algorithm."
"Accessing suit camera," she said, showing a high-speed scrub of what happened that day on a holographic projection above his desk before it froze on Krissy's face.
The algorithm kicked in, taking key facial features as code and inputting into a wide range of facial-pattern readers.
FRIDAY's search cast a wide net, as maps of Italy, Russia, Latveria and even Wakanda popped up and disappeared in a blink of an eye. Tony meanwhile grabbed his welding mask from one of his tables and slammed it down over his face, tapping the "play" button near his workbench to play whatever he was listening to last. "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder began to reverberate through the entire room.
Tony's hips swayed and jerked uncontrollably to the rhythmic snare and funky bass riff that began the song. He found his anger leaving him slowly, with every jerk of his hips or every short burst of the blowtorch he matched with the rhythm of the song.
Pretty soon, FRIDAY said, "I've discovered quite a few things about the subject, boss. Would you like me to dictate the basic information I've gathered?"
Tony's voice was muffled by the mask as he said, "Lay it on me."
FRIDAY began, "Her real name is Giulietta Nefaria, a higher-up in the Maggia crime syndicate. She's been involved in numerous operations since the age of fifteen, including the burglary of Stark Towers six years ago. Her aliases include Krissy Longfellow, Whitney Frost, and Madame Masque. The name 'Masque' was given to her after a Maggia scientist under the codename 'Midas' altered her integumentary system to be as dense as gold and rendering her bulletproof and nearly invincible. She since then has taken a liking to wearing a golden mask during the majority of her operations. Authorities have had difficulty detaining her due to these key factors."
As FRIDAY spoke, Tony saw images being holographically projected from his workbench. He was still welding, so he only caught a few out the corner of his eye: the Krissy he knew in her blonde wig, a scary woman in a golden mask, a man with peculiar wreath tattoos on his temples.
He kept on welding a shoulder piece of his armor as he asked, "What can you tell me about her role in the Maggia?"
FRIDAY began once again, “Her role is unclear, but she’s a member of the main Maggia family, the Nefaria family from southern Italy. They were once Italian nobility before the noble families began to dissipate. Her father, Luchino Nefaria, has been under investigation as being the leader of the entire Maggia crime syndicate, though no evidence has been substantiated for conviction.”
A few photos popped up during her explanation, but the last was the one that caught his eye. He lifted his welding mask and shut off the blowtorch to see a weathered man with salt-and-pepper hair in a business suit, standing in front of a large structure that resembled a castle. He assumed it was Luchino Nefaria.
“Tell me about the dad,” Tony asked her, watching intently.
“Luchino Nefaria is an Italian businessman, founder and CEO of the Nefaria Corporation, which includes several capital businesses, casino chains, and other various companies. He currently is brokering a deal with Oscorp on genetics research and advanced technology.”
A picture of Nefaria and Norman Osborn shaking hands in front of the Oscorp building popped up, as well as various locations of Nefaria Corporation-owned businesses. A lot of them were in New York, and the block of businesses in the Bronx led Tony to the conclusion that Nefaria was behind the Maggia. But why wasn’t there any evidence against him?
“FRIDAY, work your magic. See what you can find.”
The pictures disappeared, and at this point, Stevie Wonder was no longer playing. “All Along the Watchtower” by Jimi Hendrix began to play, and Tony didn’t feel as compelled to dance as he did before. Only because he was so focused.
Tony only had to wait about thirty seconds before FRIDAY said, “I’ve discovered numerous links to Luchino Nefaria and the various crimes credited to the Maggia, including the hiring of Giulietta Nefaria and other enhanced individuals such as Mac Gargan and Erik Josten.”
Tony recognized both of them: Scorpion and Atlas. Tony remembered Peter telling him about Scorpion, and how he almost killed him with his armored battlesuit and extremely lethal, 8-foot-long tail. And Tony faintly remembered hearing about Erik Josten in a conversation with Natasha ages ago. He had an ability much like the ant dude Cap brought along during the fight in Berlin: he could alter his size to massive heights, and he remembered Nat saying how much of a problem it was.
And he knew for a fact both of them had ties to Osborn.
So a deal between Osborn and Nefaria couldn’t be good.
Almost as if on cue, the proximity alarm began to go off, alerting the entire building with a loud staccato of trills.
“Incoming UFO, boss.”
Tony barely had enough time to get his suit on before something big crashed through his window and knocked Tony sideways, sending him flying into a table and hitting the concrete wall with a thunderous
crack!
He knew it must have left a mark on the wall.
Tony’s view glitched for a moment, trying to repair itself after the blow, but Tony didn’t get a look at his attacker before he was hit once again, this time being knocked upwards and shooting towards the ceiling before being bounced right back down to the ground.
He lifted his head a little, grateful that the blow actually seemed to knock his systems into gear. He saw his attacker’s foot, which was an armored boot not too far off from his own armor’s designs. It was black, though, and was clearly made of a heavier metal.
His music was still going, and the guitar riff in the back seemed to mirror his train of thought: all over the place.
He looked up even more to see the boot was indeed part of a suit of armor, black and maliciously crafted. The helmet was a visor of opaque red, the pilot not visible to Tony.
The pilot’s voice was garbled and deep as he said, “Can’t believe they made me handle
you
of all people. My skills could be used elsewhere.”
Tony didn’t think as he activated his boosters, speeding over the ground and through the armor’s legs. A loud
clang!
sounded as his own suit collided with the other, and another similar sound echoed when his opponent hit the ground.
Tony was hovering now, watching the other one slowly recover and get up. He could hear the mechanisms in the suit, and they weren’t as smooth as Tony had hoped; they almost reminded him of his Mark I armor in their functionality.
The guy in the suit turned to face him, and Tony imagined there was some sort of sneer on the unknown man’s face.
Tony held up a repulsor at him and said, “Some skills.”
The man in the suit lunged.
* * *
Steve was still in the workout room.
He had been in there for the majority of the day, distracting himself while Bucky was off fighting some goons in Italy. It almost reminded him of the old days, when Steve was stuck in Brooklyn while Buck was defending the country. And the feeling was the same this time; Bucky was off doing something Steve wanted to be doing, too. Only thing about this time was that Steve felt obligated to protect him.
But the whole leadership thing with Tony involved compromise, and since the mission was all about Tony’s tech, he had the final decision on who he took with him. It was maddening, but it was a necessary deal to avoid another event like Germany.
So Steve hung out in the training room, either doing regular physical fitness or hitting a punching bag or just staying in there to avoid going to his own room. Everything of Bucky’s that was in there would only remind Steve of where he was and what he was possibly doing and it only served to make Steve more worried than he needed to be. He knew Bucky could handle himself.
Once Bucky returned with the others, and the news of what happened with Dani, he cleaned himself up only to go right back into the training room. The last thing he wanted was for the Avengers to be disbanded, which was another thing for Steve to worry about.
He was hitting his punching bag again, ignoring the burn in his arms and the beads of sweat that were gushing down his neck and back. He stopped for a moment and glanced up to see what time it could have been. The skylight above him showed a view of the night sky, not a star in sight but a fat gibbous moon in the distance. It was getting late, and Steve figured Bucky was waiting for him to go to bed together, so Bucky didn’t have his nightmares like he usually did without him.
Steve was just about to walk out when the proximity alarm sounded. Steve was alert, his senses sharp. He saw his shield was across the room, leaning against the weight bench.
He was going to rush toward it when the skylight shattered.
Steve vaulted out of the way as quickly as possible, avoiding the broken bits of glass and metal that showered the training mat.
A figure dropped down in the wake of the destruction, a man in a dark-grey suit with deadly-looking black spikes on his shoulders and arms. He wore a face mask that covered his eyes and hair, replacing it with a crown of tinier spikes.
Steve was up in no time, circling the guy with his guard up. He desperately wanted to reach his shield, but the guy was in the way.
“Captain America,” the guy said with a cocky lift of his lips, “A pleasure.”
“Can’t say the same,” Steve said, inching closer and closer to his shield. He didn’t look at it, though, so the other guy wouldn’t catch on. He was caught off-guard, but he needed to regain the upper hand.
“Look, let’s cut to the chase,” the guy said with an odd wave of his arm, “I’m here to fight you, but it’d be much easier if you just gave up now. I’d hate to hurt America’s hero.”
Steve saw a chance to strike in that moment of weakness, but he kept his cool and took steps towards his shield. He had a feeling he’d need it desperately for this fight.
“Giving up isn’t something I can do. And I can do a lot.”
His shield was just off to his right, and he leaped for it with a quick spring-loaded flex of his legs. He grabbed his shield just in time for him to block a blow from the guy in the spikes.
Steve felt a shockwave travel across the training room. It shook the building to its core; it killed the lights in the training room, knocked stuff back a foot and almost took Steve off of his own feet. He looked over his shield to see the man’s fist was the object that collided with his shield, and was shimmering a bright violet hue.
With only two seconds of hesitation, Steve spun into a kick to the guy’s abdomen, sending him flying towards the rack of weights by the other wall.
Twenty-, forty-, and fifty-pound weights began to clatter on top of the guy in rapid succession. Steve watched as one hit him right on top of his head. He expected the guy to be down for the count, but an insane look appeared on the guy’s face. Instead of looking dazed, he looked. . .energized. Excited, even.
He got up faster than Steve could blink and charged towards him with reckless abandon. He began to shimmer again, a glow that encompassed his whole body, and Steve had enough sense in his amazement to lift his shield before the collision knocked him sideways through the metal double-doors of the training room.
He only had a reminder of pain, but his body was too charged with adrenaline to notice. He was in the hallway now, surrounded by white linoleum walls and no light. He heard footsteps behind him, and knew Bucky was coming.
His fears were only confirmed when he heard a faint, “Steve?” from down the hall.
“Bucky, run! Warn Tony! We’re being attacked!”
“Steve! I’m coming!” he heard him yell.
Why won’t he listen to me?
Steve thought.
“They told me I’d have to be careful fighting you,” Steve heard his attacker say from inside the training room, “But I didn’t think it'd be this easy.”
Steve saw the man in spikes climb over the demolished doors and look at Steve with a cocky grin.
“Thanks for the juice, old man.”
His hand glowed purple again before he sent a wave of energy in Steve’s direction.
Steve held his shield up, but it did little to keep him from flying farther down the hall and sliding across the floor. He heard Bucky’s footsteps coming closer and in a hurry, but a new set of footsteps was being made in his direction: the guy who might possibly kill him.
More importantly, the guy who might kill Bucky.
* * *
Natasha had a feeling something was off. She just didn’t know what.
She was in her room when the proximity alarm went off. She looked out the window towards the main building and saw nothing out of the ordinary. She looked towards the other areas of the compound and saw nothing as well.
Usually she would have dismissed it; Tony was still working out the kinks of the system sensing something like a bird or another harmless creature just stumbling upon the structure. This time, though, Natasha felt something was definitely wrong.
She didn’t hesitate as she quickly put on a jacket over her tank and slipped on a pair of shoes before she grabbed a handgun and creeped out of her room.
It was already too quiet. She could tell that much. She decided to check on the kids first, to make sure they were okay and aware of what was happening.
She opened Dani’s door only to see that it was empty.
Natasha didn’t freak out, but she was starting to.
Checking both Joey and Casper’s rooms revealed that they, too, were empty.
Even Wanda and Pietro were gone.
Something was up.
Natasha began to rush towards Clint’s room to warn him of the new developments of the situation. He was no doubt putting clothes on and grabbing some gear to check things out just like she was.
But she heard voices. Unfamiliar voices.
She was alone in a hallway, with no doors on either side of her. But someone—maybe even more than one someone—was coming her way. She thought fast and opened the air vent that was next to her, climbing inside and closing it behind her.
Her view was now limited to only two feet from the ground, but she was hidden. She held her breath as the voices (and the bodies they belonged to) rounded the corner.
“–have to make sure no one follows us. Can you do that?”
The voice was male, and resonated throughout the hallway.
“Of course I can. I’m not an idiot,” a female voice responded. She heard their footsteps, as well as an odd and sporadic shuffling across the hardwood.
She saw their feet begin to pass by the grate of the vent. They both wore dark boots, and behind them they were dragging. . .a body. A struggling body.
Clint.
He was bound and gagged and trying his best to fight back, but they had a heavy grip on the back of his ragged shirt, which did very little to cover his body. It only showed the cuts and inevitable bruises he no doubt got from fighting back.
She gasped a little against her will. A dumb move on her part.
It was almost as if Clint heard her, because his eyes suddenly locked with hers through the grate.
He suddenly began to fight even harder, groaning through the cloth gag around his mouth and writhing wildly in their grip.
“Cut it out,” the male said before a sickly green glow began to shine from somewhere out of Natasha’s view.
Clint suddenly stopped moving, and began to convulse slightly before he passed out entirely. A dead weight.
The female seemed to stumble as she stopped and said, “Careful where you point that thing.”
“Just keep moving. We have to get him to Masque while the other Avengers are still distracted.”
“Where’s the woman? The spy?” the female asked.
“Why does that matter right now?” the male asked, almost annoyed.
“She could be dangerous,” she responded. Smart girl.
“I’m not concerned with her currently. I’m more concerned with getting this man on the convoy before Iron Man decides to eliminate us. Come, keep moving.”
Their heavy footsteps receded down the hallway, and Natasha could finally breathe.
She pushed the grate out, climbing out of the vent and scrambling for her earpiece in her pants pocket.
She put it in her ear and said, “Tony, if you can hear me right now, I’ve found two attackers. They’re attempting to kidnap Barton. I’m gonna follow them to find out the location of their convoy. Please try to follow me.”
She began to stalk the two people down the hallways of the living quarters. They weren’t talking anymore, but Natasha followed the sound of Clint’s body being dragged across the floor.
They made it to the kitchen area, and she stopped at the end of the hallway, trying her best to stay out of sight and still see who the attackers were.
She saw the man and the woman were both the same height, and wore variations of the same basic black gear. The male had more militaristic gear on than his female counterpart, whose outfit had very vibrant pink on the sides and on her skin-tight bottoms. She also had a golden contraption around her waist, like a bulky belt that did way more than it let on. The guy was bald, with hard-edged, writhing designs tattooed atop his head. The girl was a redhead, with pink streaks near the front of her bangs.
They turned towards the exit, and she saw the man was Asian, but his eyes were milky white. He looked almost sick, despite looking otherwise completely healthy. A sick man couldn’t take Clint down, either.
She almost didn’t notice his eyes were trained on her.
“There you are,” he said menacingly before holding out his hand towards her.
Nat only saw the sickly green glow originate from his palm before she keeled over in pain and began to throw up.
She looked up to see the girl standing over her, a cruel smile on her lips.
“Guess you’re not so dangerous after all.”
* * *
All Sam wanted was some chips.
He was in the main building, a hallway used by the scientists and frequented by himself from time to time. He only went there for the vending machine, which had a constant supply of his favorite Fritos. Tony outright refused to have them in the kitchen because of “the smell”, but Sam needed a daily fix. He needed it so badly, he ignored the proximity alarm.
And he was in the middle of eating when a crazy chick in a golden mask attacked him.
She came from the ceiling somehow, dropping on top of him and taking him down with a crippling blow to his neck.
He crumpled, dropping his chips and spilling them across the floor.
Now he was pissed.
He got up and faced her, a slender woman with an emotionless golden mask covering her face. He could see her grey eyes through the mask, though, and they seemed to taunt Sam.
He charged at her without thinking. She turned and used his weight against him, throwing him towards the window.
Sam flew out of the window of the main building and hit the ground of the training pavilion. His body screamed in pain, but he tried to stay alert. He saw the lady climb through the broken window gracefully, and saw a few things happen at once.
A bright orange glow originating from the roof of the main building exploded, and a streak of the same-colored light traveled through the air before crashing down a few yards to the left of him.
Dust scattered to reveal a defeated Vision, eyes rolled into the back of his artificial head. Standing over him was a woman wearing black combat gear with golden-orange armor plates covering her arms and legs. A mask of the same material covered her eyes, but did nothing to hide her threatening sneer.
Then, another crash happened to his right, and Sam saw Tony was wearing mangled armor, practically passed out. Another suit of armor that resembled Rhodey’s was standing over him, his face covered by an opaque red helmet piece.
Sam saw someone walking towards them in the distance, a man and woman dragging two bodies from the living quarters. They looked menacing enough, but Sam wanted to rip them apart when he saw the bodies were Clint and Natasha.
Clint was out cold, but Nat was somewhat conscious. Her eyes wandered, and her face was scrunched up in pain. Something was wrong.
“Found the female trying to follow us,” the man said as he threw her down next to Sam. His wicked tattoos stood out to Sam, as they reached all the way to his eyelids, like blades trying to cut through his skin and into his skull.
Sam was about to try and speak to Nat when he heard a voice behind him yell, “Look what I have!”
It was another attacker, his outfit covered in spikes, holding Steve and Bucky on each of his shoulders effortlessly. He threw them down behind Sam, and he saw just how messed up they were.
The attackers formed a loose circle around the defeated Avengers, and Sam suddenly feared for his life. He didn’t understand what was going on, but it was obviously not good. He felt the opposite of what his title suggested: he felt like they were falcons, eyes trained on their prey, ready to strike.
“I didn’t expect it to be this easy,” the lady in the mask said.
She turned toward the man with the tattoos and said, “Where are the other four?”
“When I saw the teenagers weren’t here, I sent them to track them down. Apparently, Gargan can smell them.”
The teenagers were gone.
Where could they have gone?
Sam watched as the lady in the Masque walked over to Barton, who was out cold. She lifted him by the collar of his demolished shirt, and examined him like a piece of meat she was considering purchasing.
“I think he’ll do just fine,” she said, “But we need to make sure the others get the girl. I don’t know what Father plans to do with her, but apparently it’s big.”
“Wait,” Sam heard a voice say.
Tony.
Her head swiveled towards Tony, who stood up slowly. The guy in the armor moved to attack him, but the girl in the mask gestured for him to hold off. This must have been the girl Tony had history with.
“Leave the kids alone. They’re just kids. Do whatever you want with me, but don’t hurt them.”
She stepped up to him. Her hand grabbed his chin and yanked it downward, making him kneel.
“You hurt them,” she snarled, “When you let them live with you.”
She gestured for the guy in the spikes to grab Clint, and Sam made a bold decision.
He got up quickly and threw a heavy punch to the girl in the mask.
It hurt like a bitch.
Her skin was like metal, and didn’t even make her flinch. It did, however, piss her off.
She threw an elbow to his face faster than he could see, and Sam was down.
“Take him, too. For personal use,” she said before walking off towards the landing strip.
A cloaked aircraft revealed itself, the engines starting.
Tony and Natasha tried to get up, but the guy with the tattoos held out a hand.
His hand, as well as his tattoos, began to glow a jade green that made Sam’s eyes burn. They suddenly keeled over and began to vomit profusely, effectively making them stop going after the guy in the spikes.
Tattoo-Guy then turned to Sam, and snatched him up before Sam could try to fight back. He saw the green glow invade the edges of his vision before he blacked out.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
February 15th, 2017
(Joey)
Joey felt like crap. He didn't even feel like sketching.
Even though Dani was the one who jacked the mission up, Joey himself still felt like a failure somehow.
He'd been wanting to be a part of the Avengers for so long, and he was finally given a mission. Then, the mission ends up being a giant ploy to make all of them look bad. It made Joey want to go back home to Jersey and forget about everything: the Avengers, his powers, even sketching. A pick-me-up was due.
As he was sitting there with a pad and a pencil just thinking about it all, Pietro burst into his room, a wild expression on his face.
“Joey, come. We’re leaving,” he whispered.
“What?” Joey asked, making Pietro speed towards him and try to cover his mouth.
“Ssh. The adults must not know. Follow me.”
With that, he silently sped away, leaving a slight ruffle in the air.
Joey followed him as best as he could and as fast as he could without destroying anything—something he was becoming especially good at.
They ended up in Dani’s room, where Joey saw Cas, Peter, and Wanda standing around her bed. Pietro was by the door along with Joey, watching as they all had looks of mischief on their faces. Even Cas, who looked the most mischievous of them all, had a nervous energy in his eyes that looked almost criminal.
“Why do you all look like you’re plotting something?” he said a little guarded.
“We’re all going to Manhattan,” Wanda said, “For a night out.”
“We all need it,” Pietro said with a smile, grabbing his sister’s hand and pulling her closer into an affectionate sideways hug.
“But we can’t leave,” Joey said, “The building literally
calls us out
when we leave.”
“It doesn’t,” Cas said, “when I use a portal.”
“But all the way to Manhattan? You barely managed a few miles before you almost passed out. Manhattan is miles away, dude.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ve never felt more powerful,” Cas said with a fierce gleam in his eye. He was showing himself to be more and more vibrant with every day he spent at the compound, and with Peter. It was a completely different Casper from when they first met at the SHIELD facility a month ago.
He looked around and saw that everyone was excited to go, and Joey himself actually found the idea pretty alluring. But Joey had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Leaving didn’t seem like a good idea.
He looked at Wanda. She was smiling the widest. Joey was having a hard time saying no, and it was mostly because the idea made Wanda so happy.
He had liked her for a while, but with training and painting and his lack of actual confidence when it came to girls, he never said anything. He planned to tell her on Valentine’s Day, but he lost his nerve after seeing her with Vision during the party. But dancing with her did nothing to get rid of his feelings, which made him feel some kind of way in that moment.
Maybe going to Manhattan was the perfect opportunity to tell her.
“I’m in,” Joey said with a wide grin.
* * *
No one turned a head when six teenagers appeared in the middle of Times Square from a giant glowing circle of light.
New York was pretty frickin’ cool.
He looked around his group to make sure everyone was there and alright. Wanda told them all to wear winter gear, because it’d get really cold. She was right, too: it was below 40 degrees. There was also a slight breeze that ruffled their coats and made the cold reach under the cuffs of his jeans. After seeing everyone was okay, though, he looked around.
The first thing Joey noticed was how bright everything was. There were lights, glowing billboards, giant screens, and lit-up monikers all over the place; Joey didn’t know where to look first.
He heard Cas practically scream, “Candy!”
Joey whipped his head to see Cas dragging Peter by the hand towards the giant Hershey’s candy store off behind them. He heard Pietro laugh and coax Dani towards the other side of the street towards an ice cream shop.
So it was Wanda and Joey. Alone. Together.
He looked at her shyly, trying to steal a glance and notice all the things about her: the way her auburn hair curled around her face; the way each steady breath she took let a cloud of visible air escape her lips, making them look that much redder; the way her nose was slightly red in the cold, making her crinkle it from time to time in the most adorable way. Her hands weren’t gloved, which only made Joey want to hold it and keep it warm.
Wait, isn’t she a mind reader, too?
“So,” he said nervously, “Come here often?”
Wanda chuckled and said, “Don’t be weird, Joey. Come on, let’s explore.”
* * *
Him and Wanda explored Times Square happily for the next hour or so. The first thing they did was just admire the billboards and the things on them. It was remarkable seeing how many
shows
there were on Broadway and how many
companies
bought ad space. It was enough to drive him insane.
They walked into a few clothing stores, checking out clothes they couldn’t buy because they had no money. Joey even contemplated stealing a jacket for Wanda, one she really liked. It was a dark burgundy jacket with fur lining, and it made her look comfortable and gorgeous all at once. He felt tempted to just take it and run out of the store so no one noticed, but at that moment he knew he needed to stop before he did something stupid.
He said, “Let’s go find the others.”
“You sure? It might be difficult.”
“You can read minds. Can’t you like, track them down through their brain waves or something?” Joey asked, wiggling his fingers when he said “brainwaves”.
She smiled warmly and said, “That’s not exactly how it works, but yes, yes I can.”
She grabbed his hand and led him out of the store.
It was a small action, seemingly insignificant in her mind. But Joey felt a tingle in his hand, one that traveled all the way to his toes.
She faltered in her footsteps for a moment before she veered off to the left and said, “Cas and Peter are by the steps. Dani and my brother are heading that way anyway.”
They hurried through the crowds of people, Joey doing his best to not step on anyone’s toes.
They found the steps, the big red stairs on 47th. Cas and Peter were the easiest to spot: Cas had on a big red beanie with a black puffball on top, and Peter was wearing his blue bomber jacket. Joey and Wanda approached them to see that Cas was just staring at the steps in amazement.
“What’s up with you?” Joey asked him.
“They’re. . .gorgeous. They’re absolutely gorgeous,” he said with a bewildered expression on his face: eyes wide and mouth open.
Joey paused for a second before he said, “They’re stairs.”
“He’s been like this for like, two minutes,” Peter said, “I wouldn’t be too worried.”
Joey looked at the bright red stairs, noticing how sparse the number of people was, and how a mosaic of glowing signs illuminated the space behind them. Joey found it kind of pointless to have stairs that didn’t go anywhere, but in a way it was its own art form. Stairs that led to nowhere seemed kind of relatable to Joey, actually.
“I’m gonna climb them,” Cas said before stepping up excitedly. He stopped at the second step and turned towards Peter, who hadn’t moved.
“You coming?” he asked Peter.
Peter looked at the steps warily before he said, “Uh, no. No, you go ahead. These things always made me nervous for some reason.”
Cas sighed and took the two steps back down, standing next to Peter.
“Then I won’t go.”
Joey saw him grab Peter’s hand, and it really got to him.
Cas and Peter were brave enough to do it in public, but Joey couldn’t even
think
about grabbing Wanda’s hand without getting flustered and weird. Was he really that much of a coward?
Peter smiled and said, “Well, we’re probably gonna have to sit down here anyway.”
“Why?” Joey asked.
“What time is it, Wanda?” Peter said, like he knew more than he was letting on.
Wanda checked her phone and said, “It’s 11:50.”
Peter smiled and said, “It’s happening soon.”
He definitely knew more than he was letting on.
“What’s happening?” Joey asked insistently.
A random voice answered, “The Midnight Moment.”
All of their heads turned to a guy around their age standing three steps up, looking at them with an amused grin. His hair was an ocean of dark brown, curling around his head like waves with no direction. His eyes were a piercing blue, and being under his gaze made Joey’s skin itch. He looked pleasant, but he also looked dangerous.
“What’s that?” Wanda questioned him.
He smirked and put his hands in his coat pockets as he said, “You’ll see.” Then he sat down, alone.
Joey turned back to the group and said, “What was he talking about?”
“It’s an art thing,” Peter said to him, “You’ll like it. Happens every night, but it’s different every month.”
Joey noticed that Wanda and Cas were looking at each other, both looking a little on-edge.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered to Wanda.
“Something about that guy is off,” she said, “I can’t read his mind.”
“Neither can I,” Cas said with a hard gaze. Even though his jaw was set, his eyes shone with the same amazement he had when he was looking at the stairs.
Pietro and Dani finally showed up, walking hand-in-hand towards them.
“Hey, guys,” Dani said with a smile. She had a giant ice cream cone in her hand, with three huge scoops of caramel ice cream piled on top. Pietro had one with the same number of scoops, but with cookie dough instead of caramel.
“How’d you get that?” Wanda asked Pietro.
“From the ice cream shop,” he smiled and pointed towards where they came from with his cone.
“No, I meant, how did you get those? You don’t have any money.”
“Oh,” he said, guilt-ridden.
“He just sped inside, made one for me and himself, and came right back out. It was actually pretty cool,” Dani described, only making Pietro look even more guilty with a purse of his lips.
“Pietro, we’re Avengers now. We can’t steal and expect it to be okay,” Wanda said, “Come on, we’re gonna take them back and pay.”
“You don’t have any money either,” Pietro seemed to whine as she took both of their cones.
“I have Tony’s credit card information. Come on, let’s go.”
Wanda and Pietro walked off, and it took all of Joey’s energy not to laugh at how much like a disappointed mother Wanda looked. He was also sort of upset that she had his credit card info, but they didn’t buy anything at any of those stores they went to together.
“I really wanted that ice cream, goddamnit,” Dani mumbled under her breath as she stared at the ground.
Joey laughed and said, “She’s kinda right. We have an image to keep up.”
Dani looked up at Joey, and her face suggested he said something wrong.
“What is
that
supposed to mean?”
Joey felt even worse. He completely forgot about the Italy incident in the midst of all the fun they were having. And no one seemed to recognize Dani, probably because of the thick grey beanie she managed to shove all of her hair in. He knew that’s what
she
meant, but that’s definitely not what
he
meant himself.
Joey was about to try and calm her down to avoid a fight, but Peter said, “It’s starting.”
Joey looked at Peter, who was now sitting on the steps with Cas, looking up at the billboards.
Joey turned his head to see the billboards all changing, one by one, to display the same image.
It was a blonde man with gorgeous, heavy makeup in front of a striking blue background, cradling a crescent moon close to Cap’s shield in size. A burning plant stood in front of him, the bright green of the tiny bush not faltering in the vibrant flame at all. The image looked odd for a moment, until Joey realized it was a video, and the man was moving.
Before he knew it, the man was mouthing the lyrics being displayed on the screen.
Blue moon
. . .
The familiar Sinatra song was being displayed without music, and people around were singing along to the lyrics on-screen. He even heard Peter and Cas behind him, joy in their voices. But Joey was stuck, both amazed and heartbroken.
It was so beautiful, and he only wished Wanda was there next to him, holding his hand, sharing the moment with him. Everyone’s voices seemed to echo the longing within himself. It was painfully perfect.
But he was standing next to Dani, who was also transfixed by the video but didn’t seem too keen on standing next to him.
Joey turned to see even the curly-haired guy was singing all by his lonesome, but he kept glancing in Peter and Cas’s direction, like he wanted to say something to them.
Suddenly, both Cas and Peter stopped singing.
Their entire demeanor changed; they both sat up, aware and alert. They looked at each other for just a moment before standing up.
“What’s wrong?” he asked them.
“Something’s coming,” Cas said.
As if on cue, one of the billboards to the right of them exploded in a shower of sparks.
The crowd erupted into a chorus of screams and frantic running, a panicked hysteria taking hold of almost everyone around them.
Joey saw that the chaos originated from something that sat on the surface of the billboard.
The figure was humanoid, a dark green spec atop the darkness of the now-black screen. There was a long appendage attached to the figure, and the end of it was inside the screen of the billboard. The appendage pulled itself free, and Joey could see it was a tail. A long, sharp tail with a green ooze dripping from the pointed end.
“Oh no,” Peter said gravely, taking a protective stance in front of Cas.
“What is that?” Joey asked him, since he seemed to know who—or what—it was.
“It’s Scorpion. I fought him and had him locked up months ago. I don’t even know how he got out.”
“Well, he’s out,” Dani said, “So what do we do?”
Just then, the figure leaped from the billboard, impossibly far, to land in front of the steps, mere meters away from them.
“There you are, children,” he snarled.
Turning in that direction now, Joey only noticed then that three more people were approaching from the end of that street. All three of them had military-grade uniforms on, but each of them was distinguishable somehow.
The man farthest to the left had weird contraptions attached to his wrists, made noticeable by their white color. The cuffs were attached to a compact backpack that was also white, and looked both heavy and light all at once.
The one to the right was slightly taller than the rest, and had a big red “A” on his chest that reached all the way down to his shins. He stalked rather than walked, like he was carrying more weight than the others.
The one coming up behind Scorpion had a pair of blue goggles on, as if he were prepared to saw some wood, and his black gear featured the same shade of blue in odd, jagged patterns. He had a smirk on his face, and seemed to be looking directly at Joey.
“Where’s the spider?” Scorpion asked them, “I smell him.”
“Guys,” Peter whispered, “I don’t have my suit. I need to call it. They can’t know who I am.”
Joey nodded gravely and whispered, “What do we do?”
Cas said, “Pick one and distract them.”
“There’s only three of us,” Joey pointed out. He saw where Cas was going, but they were outnumbered. And most likely outgunned.
“Four,” a voice sounded from behind them.
They all turned to see the curly-headed guy was the only one left on the steps, watching the villains with the same careful observation as they were.
“What are you still doing here?” Joey asked him, wide-eyed. It was clear this guy was sketchy, but now it was outright abnormal. No sane person stays in the presence of a maniac in a scorpion exosuit. Joey figured he dipped just like everyone else.
The guy smirks and pulls out two things from his back pocket: a badge and a two-foot-long black rod.
The badge was SHIELD.
“I’ll take the big ‘A’,” he said before he whipped the rod, making it expand to a five-foot-long staff. He stepped in front of all of them, walking towards the group of attackers in sure-footed strides. The emptiness of the square made Joey imagine an old-fashioned Western movie, a standoff between the bandit and the sheriff.
Joey looked at the other four to see how they’d react. All of them had their eyes on the other guy, except for the goggled one. His eyes were still on Joey. He swore he saw the guy wink at him through the translucent eyewear.
A challenge.
“Guess Goggle Guy is mine,” Joey said, stepping up before Cas stopped him with an iron grip around his arm..
“Don’t use your speed,” Cas warned him, “Your clothes will most definitely burst into flame.”
Joey took a few seconds to process what he was saying, but it soon clicked. Joey remembered Tony telling him something about movement and friction, and he faintly remembered feeling hot after painting his mural paired with the faint smell of smoke. He made the connection quickly and took Cas’s comment to heart. Joey nodded to Cas solemnly.
He turned back to Goggle Guy and saw only a dark blur before he was knocked into the air, flying into a newspaper dispenser to the left of the steps.
He groaned and looked up to see Goggle Guy was standing on the steps, then a sudden twitch paired with a blur of movement put him directly in front of Joey.
Of
course
this guy had super speed.
Joey didn’t even have time to get up before Goggle Guy grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and lifted him out of the destroyed dispenser.
“I’ve heard about you,” the guy said with a rough growl of exertion.
He threw Joey towards the other end of the sidewalk, making him roll towards a fire hydrant on the end of the street.
Joey managed to sit up long enough to watch the chaos taking place in the almost-empty streets. He saw Dani lob a giant glowing ball of flaming energy at the guy with the white cuffs on his wrists, which were both shooting shards of ice at her. The collision rocked the street, leaving small paths of flame and an explosion of cold air around the intersection.
He saw the Scorpion guy lunge at Cas, who put up a force field and successfully knocked the Scorpion on his ass yards away. Peter was nowhere to be seen, but he was no doubt trying to get his suit from the compound. The curly-headed guy was locked in a close-combat match with the big “A” guy, and the other guy was starting to look pissed. He was a pro with his staff, throwing it around masterfully like he was born with one in his hands. The big “A” blocked every blow, but seemed to be worn down. The guy with the curly hair slid under his legs and kicked him in the back, knocking him off his feet and making Joey feel a little bit better about the situation.
Until Joey heard Goggle Guy move.
Joey only had a split-second to use his speed.
He began to make his arms vibrate, creating high frequencies and letting his body ride them. He brought his hands up to block Goggle Guy from punching him in the face. His jacket sleeves felt hotter than normal.
Goggle Guy recovered quickly and moved to kick Joey in the chest, knocking him back even farther.
Joey got up fast this time, starting to get tired of this cocky son of a bitch throwing him around.
He ignored everything around him: the sound of Dani’s explosive powers hitting the asphalt, the way his arms were feeling hot from using his speed, the frustrated grunts coming from the tall guy that the curly-headed SHIELD guy was fighting. He focused on Goggle Guy.
Joey watched as he smirked and charged again.
This time, Joey was ready.
Joey threw his hands forward and let loose a wave of low frequencies in Goggle Guy’s direction, emitting a deafening
boom!
and a concussive blast of sound. The familiar ripples of air appeared in front of him, traveling directly toward the enemy in front of him. The sound kicked back a little, creating cracks in the concrete under his feet.
Goggle Guy was thrown back, sliding away from Joey, then getting up even faster than Joey did and running towards him again. This time, though, he swerved to the side of the building and ran across the shop windows and doors, shattering them one by one before he slammed into Joey.
They rolled through the street, unintentionally knocking down the ice guy while he was putting up a frozen barrier, and stopped just as Scorpion flew over them, wailing. Joey saw that Cas had a stop sign in his hands, which he apparently ripped out of the concrete (a block of it was still attached to the bottom like a dumbbell). The maniac leaped over them to attack Cas again, looking pissed. Cas no doubt whacked Scorpion with that thing.
Joey’s attention went back to Goggle Guy, who found his way on top of Joey in the midst of his distraction. Joey recalled a basic training procedure that Cap and Tony went over with him, made specifically for someone who was restricting movement like Goggle Guy was doing.
He went in to punch Joey, but Joey put up his arms to block all three blows, before he used his weight to sweep him off of him and roll behind him. Joey got up and squared himself as Goggle Guy got up just as fast.
They stared at each other for a moment of time that felt like a millisecond and an hour all at once.
Goggle Guy swung at his face, and Joey easily ducked past and threw a left hook to his ribs. He blocked it with his forearm, and swung again, bringing Joey to sidestep and throw a kick towards the back of his thigh. Joey put a bit of his concussive sound behind it, trying to put a little umph behind the kick without using his speed.
Goggle Guy swiveled out of the way, meaning Joey missed. He ended up sending a wave of sound towards another store window, making it shatter. He was lucky to miss the curly-headed guy, who was only feet away from the shards of glass. The shattering window distracted him, making the big “A” gain an upper hand and knock him on his ass. Joey wanted to apologize, but he couldn’t pull himself away from his fight long enough.
He tried to grab Goggle Guy by the forearm and lock his movements, but Goggle Guy didn’t even falter as he stepped out of the way and grabbed Joey’s arm, trying to twist Joey into a headlock by rotating too fast to see. Joey reacted as soon as he felt the pressure around his throat. He didn’t want to lose this fight, and he knew he’d have to do something unorthodox to make it happen.
With a guttural cry of exertion, Joey hopped up and used his weight to throw him over his shoulders, and Goggle Guy hit the asphalt with a hard thud.
Goggle Guy was out.
Joey wanted to say something witty, but he couldn’t think of anything better than, “That’s what you get,” so he kept his mouth shut.
Joey heard the faintest of noises in the distance, a whirring of engines that was no doubt Peter’s suit on its way to their location.
He also heard an insane and throaty scream coming from his right.
He turned to see Scorpion sailing through the air towards him, and Joey didn’t have enough sense to react. Luckily, Cas opened a portal right in front of him, making Scorpion disappear before reappearing right in front of a billboard to Joey’s right. Sparks flew as he collided with the electronic billboard, and he fell into a smoking heap of exosuit at the foot of the building.
He looked back at Cas, who stood yards behind him.
“Thanks,” Joey told him.
In that moment, Peter swung out from behind a building in his bright red-and-blue costume, landing right next to Cas.
At the same time, Pietro rushed to meet Joey in the semicircle they were beginning to create. Wanda also showed up, which Joey was thankful for.
“What’d we miss?” Pietro asked, looking around in disbelief.
“A lot,” Cas said, “What took you so long?”
“Besides trying not to get Pietro arrested? The crowds running in the opposite direction made things a little hard,” Wanda quipped, making Joey smile despite the grave feeling that hung over them.
Joey looked to see that Dani threw a huge ball of red fire directly into the ice guy’s chest, making him sail through the air and into the side of a streetlight. He was out cold.
Dani was approaching them from where she stood, and Joey was about to shout encouraging words.
But a shadow loomed over her.
Over all of them.
Joey turned towards the steps to see the big “A” become. . .
big
.
He grew to over sixty feet tall, and towered over all of them with a menacing sneer on his face. The few people left in the square left, trailing screams behind them. Joey, along with the others, stood in disbelief.
“Not again!” Peter yelled, the lenses on his mask widening like his real eyes.
“What do you mean,
again
?” Dani asked with disbelief.
Peter never had a chance to respond, because the giant raised his foot and stomped on the side of the street, creating a shockwave that knocked all of them off of their feet. The building around them rumbled and shook, obviously not built for those kinds of things.
The curly-headed guy stared up from where he was on the ground, saying, “I don’t think my staff’ll do anything against him now.”
“Maybe this will,” Dani said as she stood up. She let bright pink flames leave her palms in a rapid-fire, throwing balls of fire at the giant’s face.
They didn’t seem to do anything but aggravate him, as he stumbled back a bit only to throw a slow-moving kick her way.
The kick meant for her was coming for all of them, and they all scrambled to get out of the way. Joey tucked and roll off to the sidewalk, scraping his knees and his palms.
Dani, who somehow ended up right next to him, said, “Well, I’m out of ideas.”
Peter wasted no time as he slung a web towards a side building and yelled, “Guys! I know how to take him down! Follow my lead!”
He started to web around the giant, wrapping his legs in webbing and trying to avoid being kicked. Wanda wasted no time, getting the message faster than anyone else. She lifted a car from the side of the street with her powers and flung it at the giant’s face like a dart.
The giant saw it coming and knocked it out of the way before yanking Peter’s webbing off of his legs. Peter yelled a panicky, “Oh sh-!” before Joey saw the giant smack him out of the air.
Cas screamed, “No!” as Peter crashed through the display window of a clothing store.
Everyone stood speechless, including Joey. He had no idea what to do. Well, he did, but he was too stunned to do anything. He knew he could incapacitate the giant by making his ears ring or knock him in his face with some concussive sound, but Joey was still reeling from Peter’s fall.
Cas took charge faster than anyone else, even Joey and Pietro. He ran up to face the giant and yelled, “Hey!”
The giant looked down at him angrily, saying nothing.
“The ‘A’ must stand for ‘Assface’ with that mug you let pass as a face!” Cas yelled.
Joey was surprised to hear
trash talk
leave his lips. It needed work, but it was still an insult.
He also knew that Cas had something up his sleeve, but he had no idea what.
The giant played right into it, raising his fist to throw a massive punch at Cas. A punch that would crush him.
His fist sailed through the air only to pass through a portal that Cas created at the very last second.
The other end of the portal opened up right behind the giant, and a crazy image of his fist disappearing and reappearing behind his head was enough to make Joey’s head explode. The giant’s fist connected with his own head, and a thunderous
boom!
sounded as he hit himself, and another
boom!
as he collided with the ground.
Cas took down the giant.
Joey and the rest of them all stood there, shocked.
Finally, Dani spoke up, “Why didn’t you just do that in the first place?”
Cas placed his hard gaze on Dani as he yelled, “Well, Peter seemed really sure about–”
Cas stopped and turned towards the shop window. He didn’t finish his sentence, only sprinted towards the store and hopped over the broken glass still in the display frame.
Joey followed, along with the others, and saw Cas helping Peter up. Joey heard Cas whisper under his breath, “Are you okay?”
Peter nodded, and Cas whispered, “Next time don’t do something so stupid, Peter.”
“It worked last time,” he said softly.
“I’m still confused,” Dani said, “There was a ‘last time’?”
“Story for another day,” Peter said.
“We have more pressing issues,” Joey saw the curly-haired kid say.
Everyone turned to look at him, and Pietro was the only one with enough nerve to ask, “Who are you?”
“Simon Duquesne, SHIELD operative,” he said, “And if I’m correct, the person who hired these superpowered mercenaries is far from done.”
“Who?” Joey decided to ask. He was finally able to learn things and not be in the dark.
“I don’t know, but he has to be seriously loaded to be able to hire this many at once.”
And Joey’s still in the dark.
“Why were they after Peter?” Cas asked, still supporting Peter on his shoulder. He remembered the Scorpion guy talking about being able to "smell" him, which only made Joey shudder a little at how weird it was.
“They weren’t,” Dani said.
“Who, then?” Pietro asked, a little bite in his words.
“That ice guy told me during our fight,” she said, “They were after me.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
February 16th, 2017
(Steve)
For a Super Soldier, Steve sucked.He let a cocky, superpowered idiot get to him.He didn’t protect Bucky like he tried to.Sam and Clint were gone.And he couldn’t do anything to stop Tony’s impending wrath when the teenagers came back.They were all still in the training pavilion when the halo of green light appeared in front of them. Tony turned towards it, and Steve could already tell from the constant orders he barked at FRIDAY and the otherwise silent brooding beforehand that the kids were in for one hell of a chewing-out.Cas was the first to step through the portal. He had Peter on his shoulder, helping him walk through without falling.Tony saw Peter and immediately loosened up his tense demeanor.“What happened? Are you alright?” he asked as the rest of them stepped through the portal.“I’m fine, I’ll be okay,” he kept assuring Tony as he walked up to Peter and tried to tend to him. Cas stepped away towards Dani. The other teens hung back, obviously terrified to face whatever was coming their way. Steve knew they were right to be scared.Steve noticed that there was another boy, who looked about sixteen or seventeen, with a mop of curly brown hair on his head and a clenched jaw. He didn’t know who this kid was, or what he was doing at the compound.“Who are you?” he decided to ask him.“Simon. Simon Duquesne. I work for SHIELD,” he turned towards Steve and said with a respectful nod of his head. He carried himself like a soldier.“How did you find them?” Tony asked him, turning his burning gaze on the new kid.“It was entirely coincidental,” Simon said, “I was simply enjoying a night out. But they were present when four superpowered mercenaries attacked Times Square.”“They wouldn’t have attacked if we weren’t present. They were there because of us,” Dani said, “Because of me.”“And why were you there, Dani? Why were you in Times Square and not here , like you were supposed to be?” Tony finally turned his attention to Dani, who Steve already knew would take the brunt of the lashing.“It’s not her fault,” Cas spoke up, “It was mine.”Steve’s look of utter disbelief came slow and involuntary. Both him and Tony looked Cas’s way, trying to comprehend what he just said.“What are you talking about?” Tony asked with a little bit of bite in his voice. He sidestepped Peter and stalked towards Cas. Steve had a hard time not seeing a lumbering and angry giant that had half-destroyed armor on his body.“I was the one who came up with the idea to go to Manhattan. I figured we all needed a break after everything that happened in Italy,” Cas spoke without falter. He surprised Steve with how mature he was being in the face of Tony’s evident anger, despite being the youngest of the group.“Why would you do that? Why bring everyone else into that?” Steve had to ask before Tony redirected his anger at Cas. Besides Steve’s own curiosity, he wanted to know so Tony could at least hear him out before he chewed him out.Cas paused for a moment. He glanced at Peter, who was standing behind Tony and cradling his own ribs. Peter looked back at him with a distressed expression on his face and in his eyes.Cas continued, “I guess I forgot what the real world was like. But I think I wasn’t the only one that needed to be reminded.”A silence took hold of the spacious training pavilion, one where everyone was hung up on the echoes of Cas’s words. Steve didn’t know what any of them were thinking, but he knew Cas did. And he knew Cas said what they all wanted to hear. Including Steve.Tony was clearly biting his tongue, maybe even in the literal sense; his jaw was clenched, but it tightened and loosened every few seconds like he wanted to say something, but held back. He did that when he knew he was wrong.“Okay, we can handle this later,” Steve spoke up, “What we need to do is focus on getting Sam and Clint back.”“Wait, what happened to Sam and Clint?” Wanda stepped forward, worry now set in her features.“The attack you guys had the pleasure of experiencing wasn’t limited to just Times Square,” Tony said, a little softer now, “They attacked the compound and kidnapped Barton and Wilson.”“Where did they take them?” Pietro spoke this time, the same worry as his twin etched into his skin but a cold, hard gaze set on Tony.“No idea. But we’re gonna find out.”* * *A security breach wasn’t a common occurrence at the compound. In fact, it almost never happened. So Steve wasn’t surprised to see personnel running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to figure out what happened.The team moved to the conference room, and along the way, there were scientists, agents, and technicians rushing to and fro with scanners and cameras to reconstruct the scene.Tony was talking to FRIDAY, who was explaining how Masque was able to disable most of the security defenses beforehand, which is why they even made it on the grounds. The proximity alarm was only tripped because of a backup system that Tony had enough sense to input in FRIDAY’s system as a way to surpass JARVIS and his capabilities.Natasha was doing everything she could to track down Barton. She had a world map pulled up, looking for any pings or signals that Barton could have sent in distress. Natasha knew what she was searching for, but Steve was lost. He wouldn’t know the first thing to look for, but it made sense that Natasha would. Whatever “history” they had made it easier for them to find each other somehow. The only problem was that Natasha’s efforts didn’t seem to yield any results. Wherever Barton was, he was stuck.Cas was supporting Peter again so Tony could gather and interpret the data everyone else was collecting. Peter looked better than he did before, and seemed to get stronger with each step. But much to Steve’s surprise, no words were exchanged between the two the entire walk to the main building. He expected Peter to say something about what Cas said; Steve knew he wanted to say something. Were all of them really that disconnected from the rest of the world? Did Steve play a part in that by how hard he worked them?All of this was happening way too fast, but time seemed to move slow for Steve. He walked with Bucky, whose head hung low in defeat. He wasn’t used to this kind of loss, of knowing there was absolutely nothing he could do. Steve only hoped he’d realize that wasn’t the case, and fast. They had to get Clint and Sam back.Or Steve couldn’t live with himself.They made it to the conference room, and everyone took a seat awkwardly; the empty seats usually filled by Barton and Wilson were left empty, making the seating staggered and uncomfortable. The kids decided to join this time around, unlike the meeting before Italy. There wasn’t as much energy and anticipation, though; dread seemed to spread through the room like a tangible toxin, and Steve himself felt like the carrier. He of all people felt like the whole thing was his fault.Tony stood at the helm of the table, looking wearier than before. Instead of his usual business suit, he wore the band t-shirt and jeans he got attacked in; dried blood stained the collar of his shirt, which undoubtedly came from the gash on his cheek that struggled to heal.“No need for an introduction,” he said, “We all know why we’re here.”Tony pulled up several holographic images. Most of them were mugshots, but all of them were menacing.“Aside from Masque, there were a total of five other enhanced individuals that managed to breach the compound.”The first photo he expanded was of a woman, whose beauty almost outclasses even Natasha’s. Steve couldn’t help but compare her to Natasha because of the shade of her hair; a deep crimson with pink streaks in her bangs, all cascading down her slender shoulders.“Melissa Joan Gold, alias Songbird. Capable of manipulating sound to the point where she’s been able to influence the actions of those around her.”Tony’s explanation raised a question in Steve’s head, “So basically we only heard the proximity alarm because she let us?” He thought of Joey, and his ability to keep people from hearing certain things. Did this woman have the same skills?“Or they weren’t counting on FRIDAY’s backup systems,” Natasha cut in, “Large teams like that lack contingencies for that sort of thing. Especially with how powerful they are as a collective.”“Either way, they made it in,” Bucky added, “So we need to make sure she can’t pull the wool over our eyes. We’ll need Joey.”Joey jerked up in his chair as soon as Buck said his name. Was he asleep?“We’ll get back to that,” Tony said blankly. He was still angry.Another picture came up: a weathered man with sad brown eyes and a slight mustache. This one was a mugshot, taken not even four months prior.“Abner Jenkins, alias Mach IV. He was an ex-fighter jet mechanic who managed to build an advanced armor capable of outclassing enemy technology. Instead of giving it to the government, he kept it for himself and became a mercenary.”Tony went on to the next photo without any more explanation. Steve guessed it had something to do with the fact that this Jenkins guy beat the crap out of him.He pulled up the picture of the Asian man with the head tattoos, which were even more striking in the naked lighting of the photo.“Chen Lu, alias Radioactive Man. Not very creative. Ex-con who volunteered for experiments after his release. Chinese scientists exposed him to high levels of radiation as a means to create an enhanced individual, and it worked. He is able to absorb and release high levels of radiation for a variety of effects, including targeted disorientation and nausea as well as radiation poisoning. He’s able to produce high levels of energy and produce barriers strong enough to stop speeding trains.”“What are the drawbacks?” Wanda asked.“He has to wear special equipment to keep those around him from becoming affected by radiation. He also has varying emotional states based on how much energy he absorbs and expels,” Tony explained, keeping his eyes on the picture.“What happens if he is overloaded?” Pietro asked, glancing at Dani.He switched over to another photo without answering the question. He thought of the same thing, clearly.He quickly said, “Robert Baldwin, alias Penance,” as the image of a normal-looking blonde guy came up. Steve recognized the way his lips curled into a smile that was as misleading as a snake in the grass. He was the one who attacked him in the training room.Tony continued, “He was a worker at the StatiCorp research facility in Utah when an attempt to open an interdimensional portal caused a massive explosion. He survived, and developed the ability to absorb kinetic energy and release it in concentrated blasts. Medical costs left him bankrupt, leading him to the life of a mercenary. The downside to his powers is that they are activated and augmented by any physical pain he feels.”It explained to Steve why the weights seemed to give him a contact high; it didn’t explain how they’d beat him.Tony kept going, pulling up a picture of a woman in a lab coat, a picture that was most likely taken at a medical facility of some sort. She didn’t smile; her gaze seemed enough to crack the lens of the camera. Her blonde hair was pulled into a bun, making the skin on her face seem rigid and taut with judgment.“This is Dr. Karla Sofen. She was a sought-after biologist and psychologist who ended up on Baron von Strucker’s team at Hydra. She not only helped to develop the procedure needed for Pietro and Wanda to gain their powers, but also ended up volunteering for enhancements as well. The Infinity Stone gave her numerous abilities including the ability to become intangible, as well as the release of energy signatures very similar to Wanda’s.”He switched the picture to that of a more disturbing image: the same doctor, no lab coat, and no inhibitions. She was wearing a tattered Hydra training outfit, with her hair let down and a wild look on her face. She looked free, but in a way that made it seem like her freedom was a chance to wreak havoc.“A side effect, however, was a complete alteration of her psychosis. She became more carefree, reckless, and violent. She manipulated her way out of Hydra, and became a mercenary that has never failed to get the job done. It’s rumored she was involved in the heightened level of violence in Latveria, and has destroyed over 30 refugee camps on behalf of the Latverian government. Alone.”“So she’s the power player,” Wanda nodded in understanding.“She did take down Vision,” Tony responded, glancing at Vision’s seat. He was recovering from the onslaught, his artificial tissue being repaired by a special chamber Tony inherited from Helen Cho. It was unnerving without him there. He usually had the most reasoning when it came to battle plans, and he was one of the most powerful players they had.“There were, of course, several enhanced individuals who attacked in Times Square in pursuit of Dani,” Tony said, pulling up images of other mercs he actually recognized: Scorpion, Atlas, and a few others he was blanking on.“Mac Gargan, alias Scorpion; Erik Josten, alias Atlas; Donald Gill, alias Blizzard; and James Sanders, alias Speed Demon.”“That’s his name!” Joey suddenly burst out with. Everyone turned to look at him, as his scrunched eyebrows quickly became a lot more apologetic.“Sorry. I just kept calling him Goggle Guy.”Tony looked at him for half a moment before he continued on as if nothing happened, “All four of them were apprehended at the scene, but interrogations yielded no information. They were after Dani for unknown reasons, but I did some digging, and found out that the leader, Madame Masque, has strong ties with the Maggia crime syndicate.”He pulled up an image of a weathered man with a charming smile and obsidian eyes.“And is linked directly to this man. Luchino Nefaria. Associates in the Maggia ring call him-”“The Count,” Dani cut him off.“You know this guy?” Peter spoke up, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the image.“I know of him. The Maggia practically worship him. He’s built an empire basically, bigger than any other Maggia family has been able to in the past half-century. He’s royalty. Hence the name, ‘The Count’.”“Count Nefaria. Hmm, has a nice ring to it,” Joey added, which Steve both appreciated and wished he hadn’t done.“Can we get back to the issue at hand?” Tony said a little forcefully, “This man wants you, Dani. And he took Barton and Wilson to get you. It’s leverage.”“What are we going to do?” Nat asked gravely. She said what they were all thinking. In Steve’s case, screaming in his head.“I did some research,” Tony said calmer than before, “and found out he has a base in New Jersey; a castle in the Palisades that was apparently moved brick by brick from Northern Italy. He’s turned it into a museum and residence. I’m gonna take a wild guess and say he’s keeping them there. If not, we sure as hell can go there and ask him.”Steve had a chilling thought that they might be fighting a losing battle.Unless they use the kids.Steve wanted to kick himself for even suggesting such a dangerous idea, even in his head. But he saw that they handled themselves pretty well in Times Square, and no one was seriously injured in the process. Steve figured with Cas, Joey, and Dani the team could have a shot at dealing with this threat.“Steve, what is it?” Bucky asked him. He could see how much Steve was thinking.“I. . . I just think. . . I think the new recruits would be helpful in obtaining Wilson and Barton.”“What kind of backwards logic are you following, Steve?” Tony snapped, “It’s their fault that they were taken in the first place.”“They couldn’t have possibly known that an attack would–”“If they were here like they were supposed to, it wouldn't have happened!”“They’re here for a reason, Tony! They just need a chance to prove themselves.”“They were given that chance. And now they have no reason to be here. I’m sending them back to SHIELD. Tomorrow.”He shut off the projector and began to rush out the door. He stopped in the doorway and said, “After we , the real Avengers, rescue Clint and Sam.”With that, he stormed out in the only way Tony can; silent and brooding.“Tomorrow?” Joey repeated, the disappointment in his voice all but breaking Steve’s heart. He knew how it felt to want to be a part of something and being rejected without a chance to prove himself.Steve noticed that Cas looked at Peter, and they shared a look that echoed within his own mind; the way he and Bucky would communicate with a simple glance, or a wrinkle of the nose, or a twitch of the mouth. Steve felt it was deeper than that, but they were silently communicating all the same.And then he saw Dani.She was picking at her cuticles, seemingly unfazed by what went down. But Steve saw the masked pain as she glanced past her fingers and into her future. She knew whatever deal she made with Fury was probably over if she left, and she had no idea what to do.And neither did Steve.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
February 17th, 2017
(Dani)
Dani was torn.
To be told that she’d be leaving the Avengers, to go back to living her life uninterrupted, seemed like a dream. It was
the
dream she had in the beginning.
So why did it feel like a defeat all of a sudden?
She looked around the room, to see Joey and Cas’s reactions to what Tony said.
Cas had a hard exterior as usual, but his eyes told a different story. He looked at Peter, eyes watering and threatening to overflow, and she saw Peter’s hand twitched towards Cas’s. Dani was grateful that Cas had a shoulder to (possibly) cry on, but it didn’t hurt Dani any less seeing him like that.
Joey’s anguish was far more noticeable. He looked upset, disappointed, and the tiniest bit pissed. He glanced up at Dani, and she, of all people, couldn’t handle the heat of his gaze.
She got up hastily and left the conference room, not wanting to be bothered by any kind of emotion.
As she was making her way through the building with no regard for anyone walking by (she tried her best not to bump into anyone, but there were moments where it was out of her control), she heard someone call after her.
“Dani!”
She turned to see it was Captain Rogers, his large frame maneuvering through the people she plowed through with ease. Aside from immediately feeling bad, she was confused.
“Are you okay?” Cap asked her as soon as he caught up with her.
“I’m peachy,” Dani said nonchalantly and looking him directly in the eye, “Not a care in the world.”
“We both know that’s not true.”
Dani stayed silent. Usually, people couldn’t tell if she was lying. Cap was a different breed. Her eyes left him and traveled down to the front door of the building, now visible over the metal balcony they stood by. Her eyes didn’t focus on the various people walking through the facility, but rather the sunlight streaming through the glass doors and windows. Now that she was caught, she wanted to escape. Preferably through the doors, but the windows seemed inviting.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Cap asked her.
Dani couldn’t stop the inevitable eye roll. She said, “I of all people would be talking if I wanted to.”
Cap shook his head and sighed. It was a universal sign of frustration that Dani was all too familiar with.
He finally said, “Do you wanna talk about what happened last night? About why they wanted you?”
Dani began to remember all that happened that night, much to her dismay.
She remembered how she and Pietro went off towards an ice cream shop. It was probably the last place Dani wanted to go, but Pietro was practically dragging her and she wasn’t going to complain.
They made it inside, and the line wrapped around the small store like an amusement park ride. The crowd of people would have made Dani panicky, but she had a newfound confidence. She’d been training with Wanda for what felt like forever, and she felt more in control of her powers than she ever did. There was still a little leftover anxiety from the Italy incident (which caused a shiver to run down her spine the moment she thought about it), but it seemed to melt away with Pietro’s presence, and the way he held her hand both securely and gingerly at the same time.
“Are you feeling any better?” Pietro asked her with a smile. His sharp blue eyes had a soft edge to them that only served to make Dani even more heated than she already was.
“A little,” she said, looking around the room. People seemed to be enjoying themselves, either eagerly awaiting a cone, or already enjoying their massive treats. She saw a little girl, vanilla ice cream circling her mouth, which formed a giant smile. Dani’s lips curled only slightly.
Pietro tapped her hand, making her turn.
“Are you sure?” he asked, worry in his eyes.
Dani glanced at her feet before she looked up at him silently.
“Is it ice cream? Can you not eat it?” Pietro asked, “Is it your powers?”
Dani smiled wide and said, “No, that’s definitely not it. I can eat ice cream, it’s not gonna melt any faster than if you were holding it or anything like that.”
“Then what is it?” Pietro asked, his sincerity making Dani a little woozy. She looked down, her curly mop of hair falling to block her vision with a giant black and pink curtain. She wasn’t used to feeling this way.
“Danielle, you can talk to me,” Pietro whispered, right before he gingerly slipped his hand into hers.
Surprisingly, his hands were warmer than hers. Either that, or the contact made Dani begin to burn hotter than normal. She was tempted to let go, but she fucking loved it too much.
She loved it enough to tell him what was up.
“I just. . .I don’t want to. . .gain any more weight.”
“What?” Pietro asked, his head cocked to the side in confusion.
“I feel like. . .everyone else on the team is so fit. And has been fit for the majority of their lives. And then there’s me, a girl who hasn’t even done a push-up in her whole life before getting here. I’ve always felt. . .I don’t know, fat? And this training program only makes me feel even more unfit. I don’t want to be ‘the big girl’ like I was in school.”
Pietro seemed to glare at her with the same loving apprehension her dad would give her whenever she would say she hated herself. The look was too familiar, brought back too many memories and feelings, to the point where she wanted to cry.
It was clear Pietro cared.
He squeezed her hand and whispered, “Your body doesn’t define who you are. Just like our powers don’t. I will never see you as ‘big’ or ‘fat’, and neither will anyone else on this team. More appropriate words would be ‘strong’, ‘confident’. . .‘beautiful’.”
Dani’s breath caught in her throat. She didn’t think she could get any more heated, but it happened: heat traveled through her cheeks and her neck, and she was silently grateful she was too dark to actually blush.
She barely noticed that Pietro was tantalizingly, dangerously close to her.
And he was moving closer.
Dani wanted to close the distance. Her body practically twitched toward him, itching to press her body, her lips against his.
She stopped.
“We should get ice cream then,” she said with a nervous smile.
After that, they ended up getting ice cream (through some
unconventional
means), heading back to the group, and they never spoke about it again that night.
Dani wanted to think about all that happened, but she didn’t get a chance to. In fact, she was thinking about it right then, deciding to omit that part from her description of the night.
It seemed like mere seconds after Pietro left her side that they were all attacked by some pretty interesting characters. The new guy, Simon, immediately went after the tallest guy there, and Joey seemed to want to challenge a guy wearing goggles. Dani felt sort of powerless in the sense that she didn’t really get to choose her opponent. As soon as the guy with goggles went for Joey, the guy wearing the white cuffs charged at Dani with almost feral intensity.
The guy used the cuffs to propel himself, a ghostly white substance coming out of them and throwing him forward at a ridiculous speed. Whatever came out of his cuffs stuck to the ground, crystallizing and hardening into a shiny sheet over the asphalt, almost like diamonds.
Ice.
That was the only thing Dani had time to think about before the guy swiveled forward into a two-footed kick to her chest, throwing her backward toward the sidewalk.
Dani stood up, quickly recovering from the guy’s blow. She was pissed.
She wasted no time in gathering energy in her heated palm, creating a smoldering-hot ball of pink fire glowing with energy and intent to destroy. She threw it at him as hard as she could, but not before he began shooting shards of ice at her like a lethal sprinkler. The collision that ensued rocked the entire block they battled on, and left Dani even angrier than before. There wasn’t anything her fire couldn’t destroy.
She kept chucking fire at him, and he kept evading the flames, either by blasting them out of the air with ice or avoiding them completely and letting them destroy the street around him.
At this point, she was
really
pissed.
Her anger only served to raise her temperature, as she began to charge at the other guy as he did before—using her fire to launch herself at him like the firecracker she knew she was.
Her propulsion was met with a sudden chill, as the guy started to create a barrier of ice that Dani would have had no problem destroying, if it weren’t for the fact that Joey rolled in and knocked the guy over before he could finish it.
Even though the intrusion on her fight wasn’t welcomed, she saw it as an opportunity. She made it to him just as he stood up, and ignited her fist, ready to melt his face off with an explosive punch.
He reacted quickly to her magenta flames, using his wrist contraptions and freezing her entire hand in an iceberg of really heavy, really cold ice.
Her hand immediately lost its momentum and fell to the ground in a
thunk!
of ice hitting asphalt, and Dani fell to the ground along with it. She only had time to register the weight and burning chill of it before the guy brought a knee up to her chin and knocked her on her ass.
She was on her back, her wrist aching from dragging the heavy ice down with her and her jaw throbbing with pain and subsequent rage.
“I’m glad I upgraded for you,” the guy stood over her to say, holding up his mechanized hands like trophies.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Dani slurred. Her jaw was still numb.
“Don’t worry your little head about that,” he cooed like a parent chiding his child, “Just know you’re the reason we’re here. We’re gonna get paid good for you.”
Dani was still pissed, but she held back from spewing profanities at him. She instead said, “What are you talking about? What do you want with me?” She kept a level voice; she instead shot all of her anger into the hand that was so largely incapacitated.
The guy, unaware that she was stalling, said, “Your tiny little brain can’t comprehend this, but you’re useful. And that’s gonna–”
Dani cut him off by blasting him into a streetlight.
Her hand, now free of ice, had thrown a ball of red fire into his chest, and she was surprised it didn’t blow through his chest completely. It was pure fury, placed into a solid mass of power and purpose.
The guy hit the light, sparks flying off of him and his suit for a millisecond before he hit the ground, out cold.
Steve interrupted her recollection with a chuckle, as she used that exact description to show how the ice guy looked to her.
“Sorry, that was pretty funny.”
“I don’t think he thought so,” Dani said, hoping he had time to think about it in whatever prison cell he was given.
“So, you really don’t know what they wanted with you?” Steve questioned, switching back to his serious voice.
Dani shook her head. She said, “Hopefully, they can’t find me wherever SHIELD decides to send me.”
Steve sighed and said, “Tony may be a genius, but him sending you guys back might be the dumbest move he could ever make.”
“Well, I’d say that to his face, but I’d face ‘serious consequences’,” Dani mocked Tony with air quotes and a pouted lip.
“If you don’t like Tony so much,” Steve leaned on the railing with her, “why do you want to stay?”
“Who said I wanted to stay?”
“Your face in that conference room.”
Dani huffed a breath, not even bothering to argue. She looked down at the people bustling about on the ground floor.
“I guess. . .I wanted a chance to prove. . .that I wasn’t a complete screw-up. That I could be known for something other than. . .the negative stuff. To prove I really could be an Avenger.”
Dani finally looked up at him, hoping he could feel what she was saying without her having to say it; she felt
guilty
and wanted to make things right.
Steve pursed his lips, looking down for a moment as if pondering what to say and then looking up at her, smiling almost, “We all have our moments, Dani. And whether it’s here with us, or out there in the world, you’ll have it. You’ll get your chance.”
Dani couldn’t help but correlate what Steve told her to what Barton told her. It was essentially the same thing: a moment will come. She’ll have to make a choice.
Dani just didn’t know if she would be able to make the right choice without the Avengers.
* * *
So, the next day, Dani sat in her room, her duffel bag at the foot of her bed. She didn’t have much in it—which is how it was when she got there—but she still had a hard time packing it up. Steve was right: she didn’t want to leave. For numerous reasons.
And one of those reasons knocked on her door.
“Come in,” she said, knowing exactly who it was.
Pietro walked in, glancing backward before closing the door behind him.
“Are you okay?” he asked her, leaning against the wall by her door.
Dani gestured to her bag and said, “Just packing.”
Pietro glanced at her bag, then doubled back to the other end of her bed.
“Are you packing that?”
Dani turned to look at what Pietro was talking about. The suit that Tony had made her was laid out on the comforter, the sharp, magenta pieces that ran down the sides shining in the evening light that came through the window.
Dani had wanted to pack it, but she kept putting it off. She had no idea what she’d do with it, and she definitely wouldn’t have anywhere to put it in whatever foster home she went to. Or worse, a prison cell.
She simply shook her head and looked back in Pietro’s direction without meeting his eyes, “I don’t think I want a fashionable reminder of my failure like that.”
Another one, anyway
, she thought, playing with the zipper of her leather jacket.
Pietro sighed and said, “You are not a failure, Danielle. You have done so much good. And accomplished so many things.”
“You’re right. I didn’t have a passport before I got here,” Dani chuckled, recalling the hell they went through to get her to Italy
legally
.
“I’m serious,” Pietro said as he took a step closer, “One mistake does not determine one’s character. It is used to build one’s character. You’re growing. You’re changing. And you’re becoming a better–”
“Don’t you dare say ‘hero’. I will light you on fire.”
“Hot,” Pietro smirked, stepping closer to Dani, close enough to pull her up from her seat and into his arms.
“The reason I came here was to tell you that Stark and the Avengers are leaving for New Jersey right now. And he’s taking me along. Just a small group,” Pietro explained this to her, but his eyes kept drifting, making it seem to Dani that he was talking to the floor.
“You’re going after that Nefaria guy?”
Pietro nodded and looked back up at her before saying, “I just wanted to let you know because I don’t know if you’ll be here when I get back. So I wanted to say goodbye.”
“Why does it have to be goodbye? I mean, I’ll still be around. New York is my home. I’m not leaving.”
Unless it’s on a prison bus
, she thought.
Pietro smiled a little. Dani couldn’t be sure, but it felt like the guy in front of her was trying to light her on fire with his gaze. He simply leaned forward, closing the space between them, but stopping. He was letting Dani decide.
Dani wasted no time in smashing her lips against his, succumbing to the fire that Pietro ignited within her a long time ago. It was something far different than any fire she could start. It felt inviting, secure. Safe. Enticing. They moved together with an urgency that can only be attributed to a goodbye, with the same newfound tenderness of a hello. Dani reached for Pietro’s face, and allowed his hands to reach around her waist. She began to burn up on the inside, her entire body experiencing an alarming warmth that made Dani’s heart jump. Her heart was avoiding the flames that reached through her body, threatening to demolish her.
“Ow!” Pietro pulled away insanely fast, his back hitting the wall with enough force to shake the room a little.
Dani was confused, then glanced down at her hands to see that they were pulsing with purplish heat under the surface of her skin, making her hands smolder with energy. She could only guess how they felt on Pietro’s face.
She looked up to see that his cheeks were a little red, but he was otherwise okay. He absentmindedly rubbed his cheek before laughing like crazy. His laughter funneled into her, making her echo his amusement with small chuckles that quickly evolved into a fit of cackling that would have scared anyone who wasn’t Pietro.
They stood that way, laughing their hearts out, until Dani couldn’t feel her own stomach anymore. She fell back on her bed, letting her hair fall wherever it decided—which was everywhere.
Pietro leaned over her, his hair spilling past his forehead and creating that shadow over his eyes like the most attractive predator she’s ever seen.
“It won’t be a goodbye if you don’t want it to be,” he said softly before kissing her quickly (slow for him) and speeding out of her room.
Dani stayed where she was, reveling in what happened. Somehow, despite all that had happened beforehand, she felt as though she really could fly.
She let her hands spread a little farther on the comforter, and her right hand grazed the edges of the suit. Part of her wanted to melt it into a puddle of metal and mesh, but every other part of her seemed to override the hateful bones in her body. And she seemed to have a lot of them.
But Pietro seemed to be the reason. In fact, it wasn’t just Pietro. Cap, Cas, Joey, Wanda…they all made her…
happy
. For the first time in a long time. They made her feel different. Important. Loved, even.
She snatched the suit and shoved it in her bag.
* * *
Dani had a feeling a sort-of goodbye was in order with the other two. Which is why she wasn’t surprised when she found them in the mural room, the lights completely off. The sun was already setting, making the natural lighting of the room fail to illuminate anything. Luckily, they had an industrial-grade flashlight pointed at the wall, making their looks of anguish only that much more chilling and noticeable.
Both of them sat by the light, all three of them facing the mural. Cas had his arms wrapped around his knees, and he had a blank expression on his face that Dani hadn’t seen since their first week there. She had forgotten how unsettling his eyes made her; even more so now that she knew why.
Joey was leaning back on his hands, his legs spread wide and carelessly placed next to leftover cans of paint. He moved his feet back and forth, as if he were tempted to just kick one of them over and spill it all over the linoleum.
Dani sat down in-between them, her legs crossed and mouth closed. The silence that surrounded them only served to make it that much more awkward for her. She didn’t know what to say.
Joey beat her to the punch, “This fucking sucks.”
“Tell me about it,” Dani said, nodding.
“Y’know,” Joey said, sounding a bit bitter, “I don’t think I want to.”
“Woah, Joe, you’re not the bitter one, that’s my job,” Dani said, turning to see that Joey’s anger was very evident in the burning gaze he was giving her. One to rival even hers.
“You’re kidding me, right?”
Joey got up and took a stance over her before continuing, “It’s your fault we have to leave. Your fault we look like the dumbest superheroes to ever exist. Not just to Tony, but to the whole world.”
“Hey, Joey, I came here for a goodbye. Something on the heartfelt side, maybe? I didn’t want-”
“Oh, sorry, Dani, I can’t help you. We can’t all help you get what
you
want. It can’t always be what
you
want.”
“Since when has it always been what I want? I of all people know it can’t be that way. I didn’t even want to be here.” Dani was starting to get upset; so upset to the point she stood up to face Joey, on the defense again. When would people stop pushing her?
“Yeah, exactly. You don’t even want to be here. So why is it that when you screw up, or you decide to make yourself the center of attention
again
, we all have to pay for it?” All of a sudden, Joey kicked over the paint can, knocking it away from Dani, but spilling red paint all over the floor.
Cas was silent, keeping his head down and trying not to get involved. Still, she could really use his help to keep the peace.
Dani decided to continue on her own, “Me being the center of attention is not something I want; everyone is making it about me. Stark, Masque, now you…Pietro… I just don’t understand why people think I’m always the problem.”
“Because you are! Every time you open your mouth, it makes all three of us look bad. It makes us look incompetent, incapable of handling any responsibility. And that makes me-”
Dani cut Joey off, “I don’t remember anyone throwing you through Cas’s portal last night. And if you didn’t constantly have something to prove-”
Cas decided to join the cut-off game when he said, “Joey has a point, Dani.”
Her head whipped around to Cas, whose green eyes were ghostly in the harsh white brightness of the flashlight.
“Your ignorance of the people around you makes it seem like you really don’t care. About anything. I know this isn’t the case, but you can’t live your whole life in that kind of denial. Especially if you want to be an Avenger.” Cas crossed his arms passively, not necessarily being cross, but definitely not being gentle.
“I don’t want to be an Avenger!” Dani finally blew, “What do you know? Just because you can read minds doesn’t change the fact that you’re the weirdo who sat in the corner that nobody wanted to talk to when he first got here. You can’t possibly act like you know me that well; you don’t interact with
anyone
.”
Dani hated to say it, but it was true. She was tired of people acting like they knew her.
“No one needs to interact with you to understand how completely unbearable you are,” Joey barged back in, his anger beginning to boil to the surface. Unfortunately for him, Dani was a force to be reckoned with.
“I don’t have to read minds to know that you’re in your own world,” Cas said, “Regardless of what Joey thinks, it’s clear that your self-involvement is distracting you. You gotta start thinking about other people.”
“All I do is think about other people!” Dani said, glaring at Cas.
“You’re thinking about how they perceive you. And that’s not the same as being selfless.”
“Oh, so you’re not the exact same way?” Dani gestured toward Cas, “All you’ve been doing since the day you came here is change yourself so people will like you. So
Peter
would like you.”
“Dani!” Joey called out.
Cas’s face trembled, but his green eyes remained as hard as the emerald gems they resembled. He shook his head slowly toward Dani as he said, “No, Joey, it’s fine. I know who I am. I know I haven’t changed. The sad part is, I thought she had. Turns out I was wrong.”
With that, Cas turned around and walked through a portal to his room.
Joey turned to Dani in the silence. He looked angry, but something in his eyes made it seem as though he pitied her, which Dani didn’t like.
“You think you know a person,” he said.
“You don’t know me,” Dani replied, trying her hardest not to chuck a fireball at his pretty little face.
“No, I don’t. But I wanted to. We wanted to.”
With that, he sped away, the only thing he destroyed being the flashlight that illuminated the now-dark room.
So there Dani was, full-circle; she was ending where she started. Alone, angry, and in the dark.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
February 17th, 2017
(Tony)
Tony had forgotten how bad Jersey was.
Flying over New Jersey, Tony could practically smell the smog, the garbage, and the desperation; the scent of a cheap imitation of New York that it was trying so hard to be. On top of that, they were on their way to the Palisades, cliffs that weren’t good enough to be called cliffs, on their way to stop a villain not good enough to be called a villain. It made Tony want to scream. Or laugh. It was pretty laughable.
As he was flying, he felt a presence come up behind him. He thought it was Barton initially, but quickly remembered why they were on this mission. A reminder of that mission was the person who approached him.
Natasha said, “You seem tense.”
“You better not try to give me a massage.”
Natasha ignored his quip and asked, “Do you really think this is a good idea, Tony?”
“We don’t really have much of a choice.”
“But c’mon, even you have to admit that something feels off about this whole thing,” she said, staring off over the horizon of evening haze and low buildings.
Her comment struck the alarm bell that was already ringing loud and clear within his mind, making it louder and more urgent. Something about this whole thing was off, and Tony couldn’t help but think he was making the wrong choices regarding it all. Part of him hoped that sending the kids back was the right move and he finally came to his senses in doing so. Another part of him—the part that usually figured Steve was right—thought Steve was right.
Tony turned to glance at the soldier, who sat unmoving and taciturn in his civilian clothes. All of them were in their civilian clothes: Barnes, Natasha, Pietro, Cap, and even Tony himself, with his backpack suit next to his seat. He was taking a different approach, but it still felt like the wrong approach. A nagging voice in the back of his head wanted to ask Steve what he thought. Steve always seemed to be right.
“I know it’s strange,” Tony said, turning back to face the front, “That’s why you’re gonna be key in figuring it out. You’re the spy and all. See if you can track Barton somehow.”
“Clint hasn’t answered any of the encoded signals I sent out.”
“Well, what does that mean?” Tony asked, that tidbit of information leaving him irked.
“It means he’s either dead, or he doesn’t want to be found,” Natasha said with a sigh, “And I refuse to believe he’d go that easy. So if he’s at this place we’re headed… it won’t be a smooth ride.”
“Seems pretty smooth so far. Let’s not get irrationally intimidated. We’re the Avengers, for god’s sake,” Tony said, doing his best to mask his incredibly irrational intimidation.
* * *
When Tony read the castle was moved “brick-by-brick,” he didn’t take it literally. Once they made it to the Palisades, though, it was hard to believe that the structure was built by anyone American. It looked entirely out of place, as if someone ripped the palace out of a storybook and threw it onto the edge of the cliff. The sandstone structure was beautiful, with several towers featuring wide turrets and narrow crenellations. There was a large stone bridge that led from the main road to the sectioned-off location of the castle; the bridge was perceptibly devoid of people, with an occasional tourist group leaving the large gatehouse.
As the team approached the structure, Tony heard Bucky say, “I’m surprised there isn’t a moat.”
Tony decided to ignore his comment. It sounded too much like what Clint would say.
Next to the gatehouse entrance was an even more out-of-place ticket booth, with a short uniformed man behind the smudged glass.
They all approached the booth, but Tony moved to the front. He quickly said, “Four of your premium tour tickets, please.”
The man, who previously appeared blase and fatigued, suddenly perked up. Eyes wide, he fumbled with the computer to his left and said, “Yes! I mean- of course, Mr. Stark, Mr.- uhm… ” he stopped himself before he could mess up even more and clicked his mouse a few times. Before Tony could pull out his wallet, he held up his hand.
“No, don’t worry,” he squeaked, “It’s on the house.”
He handed the tickets through the slit at the bottom of the window and said, “Enjoy your time at the Nefaria New Jersey Benefit Museum. You’re with Tour Group Four.”
The gate, two massive wooden doors, slowly creaked open, allowing them to step into the massive foyer: marble floors, dimly lit chandeliers, and a massive imperial staircase, all inlaid with hints of gold. This display of power and wealth that he just walked into made Tony upset for all the right reasons.
Spread out across the room, tour guides in fancy black suits held up large cards with bold black numbers. Tony found the guide holding up the number “4” fairly quick, and led his team to their group.
Once they reached her, she gave a warm smile before saying, “Oh, sorry sir, I’m gonna have to take that backpack from you. We can’t allow it past this room.”
The tour guide held out her hand to Tony, and he glanced at his backpack before shrugging it off his back and handing it to her. She almost immediately crumbled under the weight, but hefted it over her shoulder and handed it to a security guard by the front gate. So much for his contingency.
The tour began with useless information about Italian architecture, and Tony easily checked out, allowing him to focus on the mission.
Despite having spacious hallways and rooms, the castle was rather closed-off. Entrances and exits were sparse, and windows only seemed to appear on holidays. Escape would be difficult.
Once they reached a long hallway with nothing but ornate sconces, he began to hang back, making sure no one was in earshot. Then, he signaled Natasha.
He said, “Send the green light,” allowing FRIDAY to send the go-ahead to Natasha, who was purposefully not with him. She was somewhere around the castle, using her particular skill set to infiltrate the castle for reconnaissance. No doubt in some genius disguise.
“Hey Daisy, you see the green light?”
He heard her voice over the comm link, “The green light was for Gatsby.
You’d
be Daisy in this dumb analogy.”
“Well, I am the pretty one that everyone is obsessed with,” Tony said, doing a quick scan of the building with his glasses, “Heavy power usage on the third level, east wing. Should be security or a network hub.”
“Roger that. Beginning recon,” she said before going silent.
The tour continued, with the other Avengers doing their best to seem interested. Except for Bucky, who seemed unconcerned about anything most of the time anyway.
Tony could only imagine what Natasha was doing at that moment, but he needed to focus. If anything happened, he was the distraction; though, he had a hard time deciding what his distraction would be sans armor.
“Definitely the security office,” Natasha said, “Gonna see what I can find.”
“Stay frosty,” Tony responded, watching as the tour guide led them to a very large room with large white support columns along the walls, tall vertical windows, and marble floors that launched the sounds of everyone’s footsteps across the room and back. A magnificent chandelier dangled overhead, drawing attention to the gorgeous frescoes all over the ceiling. It was a ballroom.
The tour guide said with enthusiasm, “This is the Nefaria ballroom, a room used by the Nefaria family for generations. It’s known throughout all of southern Italy as one of the premier spots for large social events and balls.”
“My balls could never fit in here,” Tony quipped, making a portion of the tour group snicker. Their laughs rang through the ballroom, drawing the attention of the tour guide.
“What did you say?” she asked with a phony smile.
“I was just saying, I have pretty big balls,” Tony said, stepping toward the front of the group, “They’d probably be too big for this lovely ballroom.”
A moment of confusion followed by a sudden pang of familiarity flashed across the tour guide’s face. She realized who was talking.
“Wow, we have a pleasant surprise, ladies and gentlemen, Tony Stark has decided to join our tour group!”
A wave of applause from the tour group echoed off of the walls and ceiling of the ballroom, and Tony graciously stepped forward next to the guide. He was used to the attention, but this time it served a bigger purpose. He was a distraction, a line cast out into the ocean of people watching him now. Both in and out of that room. He only hoped the right fish would bite.
“So glad to be here, in this lovely hall,” Tony went on, keeping the attention away from the other four, “I’ve heard many good things about this place.”
“So glad you’re here, Mr. Stark,” the tour guide said with a chipper bounce in her voice.
“I’m in,” Natasha said over the comm link. Tony tensed, bracing himself to attract more attention. He glanced to his left and saw that the ballroom had a grand piano nestled in a corner. Emphasis on the word “grand”: the large, black instrument seemed to dwarf other pianos of its size. He practically skipped to it and hopped on top of it, swinging his legs back and forth like a child. Everyone’s eyes were on him.
“I’m glad I’m here, too. Don’t worry, I’m not here to sing.”
A chuckle rippled through the tour guide, as well as the group.
“I know this is a giant castle, so there’s gotta be some aged wine or fermented spirits somewhere. Can we get started on some drinks for the group? Bit of bubbly?” he asked the tour guide directly, but led to a few hoots and hollers from the group.
“Yeah, let’s celebrate!” he exclaims, making them cheer a bit louder, which was cacophonous in the ballroom.
“I would if I could,” the tour guide said back, clearly nervous, “but, what are we celebrating?”
“You’ve attracted security’s attention. Nice work, Daisy. I’m going in,” Natasha said.
“We’re celebrating this museum! Mr. Nefaria! A possible deal!” Tony said as a few men in deep azure suits and sunglasses strutted in toward him.
“Well, it’s only a possibility, since he’s not here himself, but it’s an idea,” he says, hopping off the piano and putting an arm around the tour guide.
“Nonsense!” a voice called out from the entryway.
A tall man strutted in, more confident than all of the other men put together. He had warm honey skin, with slight crevices in his face from age and experience. His hair was a dark brown hinted with gray at the sides, and a goatee to rival even Tony’s. The only difference was that it, too, had gray hairs littered within its strands. He wore a three-piece-suit blacker than black, with a blood-red tie and handkerchief. His polished shoes squeaked against the marble he moved across. He was moving, too; long, powerful strides with heels striking the floor beneath him with the force of his steps.
This was the Count for sure.
Tony was baffled. This wasn’t a fish he hoped to snag. This was a shark.
“Tony Stark,” he said as he stood face-to-face with him.
“Luchino Nefaria,” Tony responded, shaking his outstretched hand, “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Shit, he’s here?” Natasha said over the comm link.
Nefaria prevented him from responding to her because he said, “Oh, nonsense, we’ve been planning this meeting for quite some time, Stark! I knew exactly when you’d come.” His tone was much more sinister than it should have been, but it was emphasized by the influx of guards that began to enter the room and line the walls of the ballroom.
Not breaking eye contact with Tony, Nefaria said, “Linda, would you kindly take the tour group and continue? Mr. Stark and I have some business to discuss.”
She happily complied, leading the group away. Tony hoped the other three would get out of there, too. Sadly, his hopes were stricken by the sudden clamor of strong hands gripping fabric and yanking three figures out of the fray. Pietro, Buck, and Steve. They were all let go, but they could no longer stay incognito.
The large doors to the ballroom were shut behind the last of the tour group, leaving an echo across the rest of the room. It was almost as if the gates of hell themselves had shut, trapping them in the inferno. Nefaria beckoned a guard, who was holding something hidden under a scarlet cloth. Tony braced himself when the man turned the clothed object on him.
“Hey, hey!” Tony yelled, holding up his hands to defend himself.
He suddenly felt stupid, as Nefaria unveiled a bottle of champagne.
“Why the hostility, Stark? You afraid of Dom Pérignon?” Nefaria quipped, a thick Italian accent making him sound even more friendly. Which was off-putting, for sure.
“Uh… no, no,” Tony lowered his guard, “Just an occupational hazard.” Dead air now hung above them. A once-electrified environment was now struggling to relax, but failing to do so. Tony may have visibly relaxed, but he did not feel safe.
Nefaria chuckled, as another guard handed him two champagne flutes. He skillfully poured the bubbly liquid into the flutes as he said, “I understand. As an Avenger, you always are on guard.”
He handed a flute to Tony, who repeated, “Always.”
Tony took the glass gingerly, not taking his eyes away from the other man’s. They were black obsidian orbs, mesmerizing and sharp all at once. Danger oozed out of them, setting off that alarm in Tony’s head. This was not how the mission was supposed to go. This was reconnaissance. This was not supposed to happen. Nefaria knew it, too.
Tony hardened himself as best as he could, while the other man poured three more glasses.
“Come, Avengers! Drink, celebrate!”
The other three reluctantly walked forward, taking a glass each. A soft metallic sound caught Tony’s attention as Bucky’s metal hand grabbed the flute. He was nervous. They were all nervous. Tony only hoped they had enough sense to tread as lightly as he was, if not lighter.
“To new deals! And to a brighter future!” Nefaria cried, lifting his glass above his head in a dramatic sweep of his arm. Tony and the rest of them kept it subtle, but during the toast, Tony heard Natasha.
“I don’t know what’s going on in there, Tony, but there’s something crazy going on here. That power source wasn’t just the network hub. It’s something much bigger.”
Tony desperately wanted to respond, but Nefaria interrupted, “So, Stark, what kind of deal were you trying to broker?”
“You want me to say something along the lines of a tech conglomerate? Wildlife fundraiser? Fast food chain?” Tony quipped, trying to alleviate the pressure.
“Well, Mr. Stark, I’m sure what I
want
you to say does not matter in this case,” Nefaria responded, “What matters is what you feel you
need
to say.”
No use trying to alleviate pressure now
, he thought. Tony cleared his throat and glanced at the rest of his team.
“You have something of mine. No use denying it, we know it’s true. I want it back.”
The other man smiled, which was clearly fake; his eyes never changed, never crinkled. They remained cold and observant, and remained trained on Tony. He felt exposed, like an animal left out in the open for a predator to easily strike him where it hurts.
“Tony, if I had something that you needed, I’d give it back immediately,” Nefaria said, still smiling.
The dead air that hung above them finally began to descend and fill the space around them, resuscitating the hostility.
“Oh, cut the bullshit, Nefaria. We know you have Barton and Wilson. And the Visio-Projector,” Tony snapped, making the other three tense up next to him. Silence.
Nefaria didn’t seem taken aback, but his smile grew more sinister with every passing second of silence. He said, “Mr. Stark, such wild accusations are unbecoming of a man of your stature. Were you ever taught restraint?”
He handed his glass of champagne to one of his men and stepped forward.
“Of course not. You’re Tony Stark. The famous Iron Man. You have all the power in the world to do whatever you want.”
“There are lines I don’t cross. Like kidnapping,” Tony said, standing his ground.
“Ah, but you’ve done quite a lot to get what you want. Inviting a terrorist to your front doorstep? Fighting Captain America himself? Creating a global peacekeeping program, only to have it turn on the world it was meant to protect? You did it all for something you wanted, and yet, you’re still Iron Man. Still standing tall.”
“The things I’ve done are not the same as what you’ve been doing. And they don’t excuse your actions, either,” Tony said a bit forcefully, and he was starting to feel a bit small. There was a clear shift in power once Tony revealed the truth. It was almost as if Tony was a child, acting out against an elder, and quickly being shut down.
“ I’ve simply done things in the name of my own desires. Such are decisions that must be made by someone with power.”
At this point, Nefaria was slowly taking position behind the piano, leaning against it nonchalantly. His smug demeanor only made Tony angrier by the second. He gripped his champagne flute tighter in his hand, hoping it didn’t shatter.
“And what exactly do you desire?” Tony asked pointedly.
Nefaria ignored his comment and continued, “I’ve worked long and hard to gain the power I have. But a consequence of power? Sacrificing your anonymity. People know who I am, so I can’t go around doing whatever the hell I want. It’s led to the downfall of many men, including your friend Obadiah.”
“I’d hardly call him a friend,” Tony said quickly, setting his glass on the piano.
The other man glared at the flute for a moment before continuing once more, “Regardless, you’ve lost anonymity because of your power. Now your decisions have been made public. The good, the bad, and the cataclysmic. This is precisely what I am trying to avoid. So I take a step back, but keep possession of my power.”
Tony leaned forward and said, “Sounds rather deceptive, don’t you think?”
“Deception exists despite all of our efforts to preserve authenticity. The great and powerful Wizard of Oz was simply a man behind a curtain, was he not? I know my place, as the man behind the curtain. But do you know your place? The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity.”
“André Gide,” Steve said quickly, somewhat alleviating the tension. They all turned to him, as he said, “That last quote… from André Gide. Big French writer during my time.”
“Ah, the scarecrow has a brain,” Nefaria said. He gestured to Bucky and Pietro while he continued, “But does our Tin Man have a heart? Does our lion have some courage?”
He then proceeded to stare Tony down. The smile, however fake it was, was gone. It was replaced with one of the coldest glares Tony had ever seen. This shark was circling its prey, waiting for the opportunity to strike.
“Tell me, dear Dorothy, what will you do, now that you’ve come all this way to my palace, only to be told that you cannot get what you want?”
“I’m sure we can make our way back to Kansas just fine,” Tony said, standing up straight. He needed to get them out of there, as quickly and as discreetly as possible.
“I’m afraid you can’t leave, Mr. Stark. And frankly, I don’t think you’d want to. Not without your dear Toto.”
Tony had to break through the analogy for his panic to set in. He turned away from Nefaria to access the comm link.
“Natasha? Natasha!” he practically screamed into the comm. There was nothing on the other side, not even static.
“She can’t hear you,” Nefaria said, forcing Tony to turn around and face him.
“She’s trapped. Much like your other friends. And much like you four.”
That’s when the walls closed in on them. At least, that’s what it felt like. The guards that lined the walls rushed toward them all with silent ferocity.
Tony wasted no time, slapping his wrists together twice in rapid succession for the mechanisms in his watch to link together. With a swift rotation of his hands, now linked at the wrists, a mini-repulsor took shape in his palms, and he intended to use it.
He shot a guy in the chest with a low-powered blast, blowing him back into a wall. Tony repeated the process, sending men to the ground or employing some forms of hand-to-hand self-defense to subdue some guys that slipped past his watch.
As soon as the men started to attack, Tony knew something was off. They were barely trying to subdue them, and Tony figured a man with the power and money that Nefaria had could afford to arm his lackeys with handguns at the least. They were all unarmed, however, basically throwing themselves into the fire. His concerns were only reinforced when Tony glanced at Nefaria, who spectated silently in front of the piano while continuing to sip his champagne.
Tony yelled at Steve, “Cover me!” as he turned behind his back to face the ballroom door. He doubted he could get it open. On his own, anyway.
He deactivated his repulsor and accessed FRIDAY through his glasses. He decided to take a page out of Nefaria’s twisted version of
The Wizard of Oz
, as he said, “FRIDAY, bring me my ruby slippers.”
“You got it, boss,” FRIDAY responded, and Tony waited a total of two seconds before a loud
thud!
shook everyone out of their fight. Everyone turned toward the double doors of the ballroom, which shook with another thunderous
thud!
Finally, a final blow blew the doors off their hinges, and Tony’s backpack flew into the ballroom. The backpack collided with Tony, and he yanked the straps quickly to make his suit construct itself around his body.
Before anyone could react, Tony said, “Activate the HARP.”
“Activating Homing Aerial Relief Package,” FRIDAY said, as two orbs the size of baseballs detached themselves from the back of his suit. They both floated up to above his head, and whirred for a few moments before activating.
“Cover your ears, gang.”
The orbs exploded, emitting a bunch of high-frequency sound waves that brought every one of their attackers to their knees. After a few more seconds of it, they all collapsed, collectively unconscious.
He turned to his team, who looked like they all held their own pretty well. Still, they looked pretty beat. He saw that Cap was resting on his knees, and Tony knew what the point of the fight was: to wear them down. But what would it be for?
He then turned to face Nefaria, who began the slow clap of villainous intentions.
“Well done, Avengers. You have lived up to your reputation, truly.”
“Where’s Natasha?” Tony said, trying his hardest not to blast this man in his face.
“She’s still here, upstairs. Along with your other friends. You will soon be joining them.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Tony said before signaling Pietro, who was hasty in charging toward the doorway, now devoid of doors.
Pietro stopped.
Without warning, he keeled over in apparent pain. Tony couldn’t see his face, but he began to heave heavy breaths, and he was struggling to do so.
Tony turned back to Nefaria, who was staring at Pietro with laser focus, grinning with a maniacal mystery. Tony noticed that a strange red glow was manifesting behind the whites of his eyes. Much like Dani’s eyes did when she was using her powers.
Tony made a split-second decision, raising his repulsor and shooting Nefaria in the chest, making him slam straight through his piano and into a wall. The piano splintered and groaned in a discordant clash of strings breaking. Tony looked back at his teammate, who was now catching his breath, but still struggling to stand.
Nefaria stood slowly, his dark suit smoking slightly and his eyes wild with fury.
“What are you?” Tony asked.
“I told you, Stark. I’m the great and powerful Wizard of Oz!” Nefaria yelled, punctuating his last word with a deafening clap of his hands. A wave of energy left his hands and bombarded the group with a massive amount of heat and force. The marble where Nefaria stood shattered in a wide circle, a crack crawling around the circumference of his space. Steve and Bucky were thrown back, and Pietro was thrown onto his stomach. Tony’s suit took less of a beating, but Tony reacted quickly and began to hover before he was thrown onto his ass.
“Energy readings show a massive amount of ionic energy, boss,” FRIDAY said to him, “almost as much as the Hulk.”
“Pietro? You okay?” Tony yelled, not taking his eyes away from Nefaria. His system was trying to scan for weakness, a possible pattern to his ionic exposure that he could exploit.
Pietro didn’t answer, so Tony had no choice but to turn and look at him. The boy was on his knees, but he stood up slowly. His hair was a mop of aimless strands covering his face, and it made Pietro look all the angrier. Without warning, he charged at Nefaria. Tony couldn’t even cry out a protest, he was so fast.
Nefaria was faster.
A strong arm stopped the speedster, holding the blonde by his throat. Pietro struggled to be released; he clawed at the hand clasped around his throat, and his legs vibrated faster than Tony could perceive on his own. But as Nefaria stared at him, with violent intent, the vibrations slowed visibly. Bit by bit, they decelerated, until his legs were still and his head lolled back.
Nefaria dropped the boy, who crumpled to a heap on the ground. FRIDAY still detected his heartbeat, but he was out.
“We have to get out of here, regroup and find a new plan,” Tony said to the other two.
“What about Natasha? Or Pietro?” Steve said, a panicked look in his eyes.
“There’s no time. We’re outmatched and uninformed. Come on.”
He aimed a small rocket at the east wall, blasting a large hole that exposed a view of the Hudson River. He grabbed Steve and Bucky’s hands before attempting to fly out of the building. A warning sounded from FRIDAY before Tony could react, and he felt Steve slip out of his hand.
He looked to see that Nefaria had hit him with something, most likely a blast of energy, and Steve’s unconscious body slid across the marble, stopped by a piece of rubble from the wall.
“Steve!” Bucky yelled, reaching out behind them and nearly throwing Tony off-balance.
Every fiber of Tony’s being wanted to fly back and get him, to make sure he was safe, but he knew he couldn’t. They’d be destroyed, with no way of getting any word back to Vision. He wished Vision was there with him, now. But he had no idea any of this would happen, making him feel more idiotic by the second. So, he made the smartest decision he could: he flew away, with Bucky in tow.
“Let’s head back to Kansas,” he told Bucky. He had the Tin Man in hand, who evidently had a heart: tears were leaving his eyes, and it wasn’t from flying. Tony himself felt heartless, having to abandon his friends to survive, and hopefully save their lives.
Nefaria’s voice rang through his brain as he flew back to the Quinjet at the base of the cliffs:
“Tell me, dear Dorothy, what will you do?”
For one of the very few instances in his life, Tony had no idea. He did know one thing, though.
Jersey was
much
worse than he thought.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
February 17th, 2017
(Casper)
Casper was a mess.
Usually, he had it all together. He feigned placidity to avoid people coddling him or thinking he was emotionally unsound. However, saying goodbye to anyone was not something he enjoyed doing, much less the others.
Especially Peter.
Cas and Peter had grown incredibly close. To the point where Cas was comfortable enough to communicate without words. They started to send silent messages to each other, which began in a fashion far more comedic than Cas would have hoped for his abilities: Peter would think something in a rather loud fashion, hoping Cas would hear. Either while they were in the same room, or Cas would be relaxing and happened to hear Peter’s loud thoughts drift into his mind’s ear. It started out sparse and cursory, and it would elicit a soft chuckle from Cas’s chest.
Then, Peter asked Cas if he could say anything back, and Cas’s proof came in the form of him responding telepathically. Since then, it became a cognitive exchange that sometimes outweighed verbal interaction. It was a safe space for them, to speak freely and without outside distraction. It was hard for Cas to imagine his own mind being a safe space, but it happened regardless.
During the briefing, he and Peter were communicating, going back and forth telepathically amid the information they were given. As soon as Tony said they were leaving, though, Cas went silent.
Tomorrow?
Peter’s voice echoed through Cas’s mind, which only served as an empty chasm for the words to bounce around. Cas’s focus was lost, his consciousness drowning in thought and possibility. Where would he go? Would he have to work for SHIELD permanently?
I can’t just have one more day with you, that’s not fair, there’s gotta be something else we can do…
Peter’s voice continued to bombard Cas, forcing his thoughts to spiral further into the future. They shared a look, a silent exchange of energy, as Peter’s hand twitched toward his.
After they left the conference room, Peter and Cas escaped through a portal to the roof, their usual hangout spot. As soon as they stepped out of the portal, Cas was pacing. The movement of his legs felt involuntary, but he felt himself forcing himself to breathe deeper as to not pass out. He also couldn’t meet Peter’s eyes; something told him that if he did look, he wouldn’t be able to hold it together.
“I can’t believe this, this is so unfair,” Peter said out loud. Cas glanced at him to see that his gaze was downward in contemplation, and his eyebrows were furrowed. His hands were tucked underneath his arms, which made Cas that much more upset.
“It’s entirely fair,” Cas sighed, “We’ve been nothing but hindrances to Tony and the team ever since we got here.”
“No, Dani has,” Peter shot back, finally looking up at him. His eyes had a fire in them, making Cas flinch a bit.
“Dani is… troubled. But she’s been doing her best to remain genuine. We have to take into account all that Joey and I have done as well.” Cas recalled the previous night and his excited coercion of the others into going to Times Square. He had never felt more alive, but actions like those had consequences. He knew there would be a price to pay, but he didn’t expect it to be this steep.
“You and Joey haven’t done anything I wouldn’t have. Or Wanda or Pietro. Pietro sneaks off all the time.”
“To do what?” Cas found himself asking, even though it was the last thing on his mind. Maybe that’s why he asked: to distract himself from the mess that was his thought process.
“Who knows? He’s wild,” Peter joked, “But that’s not the point. The point is, you belong
here
.”
Cas threw his hands up in frustration and exclaimed, “I don’t belong
anywhere
!”
Peter stayed silent, clearly shaken by Cas’s outburst. Cas himself was surprised. He had no idea he was capable of such mindless displays of emotion.
Cas continued, “I have been nothing but lost ever since I was eight. I don’t have a mother, or a father, or any semblance of a family. I don’t have a home, and I have nowhere to go but a SHIELD living quarter where I’ll spend the rest of my youth fighting for people I don’t want to fight for. I may have left Hydra, but SHIELD isn’t any different. I’m helpless once again.”
Cas barely even noticed that tears were streaming down his face; he only noticed when he looked at Peter, and his vision was blurred. He lifted his hand to wipe his face to see that his hand—both of them—were glowing that familiar blue-green hue that indicated he was using his powers somehow.
Cas had noticed that since letting himself give in to his emotions, his powers have also shifted toward something much more intense. Even then as his tears fell and his hands glowed, he could feel the energy around them shift, the pull toward the earth strengthen slightly. There was a clear correlation between the two, but he couldn’t do anything to offset it. The more emotional he got, the more out-of-control his powers felt. Situations such as the one he was currently facing weren’t helping, either.
Peter stepped closer to Cas, holding an arm out to bring him into a hug. Cas reluctantly obliged, trying to relax into the mold of Peter’s frame. Cas felt his muscles unwind, his fists unclench, his weight even out.
“You do have a home. And a family,” Peter whispered, “At least with me, you do.”
Cas pulled back to look Peter in the eye. Those doe-eyed pools of hickory that reminded Cas of a perfect plot of soil, rich and ready to foster the blossoming of something beautiful.
“And no matter how lost or helpless you feel, I’m here to give you whatever you need. Whether it be strength, or direction, or even a hug.”
Cas felt something in his chest begin to stir, a strange mixture of pain and joy. It was an ache. An ache to burst forth and made itself known. Maybe this was the beauty that Peter’s eyes, that
Peter
in all of his virtue, cultivated.
Without even thinking, Casper slid his hand behind Peter’s neck and brought their lips together in a slow and chaste kiss. That small collision was enough to rock Cas right off of his axis, though.
In that small moment of contact, Cas felt everything. All that Peter had felt, was feeling in the moment. From when his uncle died, to getting bitten by a spider, to becoming the hero he was, to becoming the man he was, to meeting Cas. It was way more than thought, way more than memories. They were so complex, yet so easy to simplify. It threatened to make Cas scream; he had no idea if it would be out of fear or delight. It was exhilarating, but there wasn’t room for anything else. Including his own feelings.
Cas pulled back, his eyes opening to see Peter frozen in disbelief. Cas, however, had perfect clarity. Probably for the first time in his life.
“I’m sorry,” Cas said softly, “That was a huge mistake.”
“What? That was–” Peter began.
“No, Peter, I get it now,” Cas said.
Peter stopped and took a small step back to look at Cas as he said, “What do you get?”
“That kiss… I felt everything you feel. About your life, about me, about us,” Cas said.
An image from Peter’s memories flashed through his mind: a girl, tall and gorgeous, in a cute red dress. Cas said, “You’ve been afraid of getting hurt again.”
A few more images flickered through his mind: an adorable boy in a hat who could only be Ned, a weathered man in a mechanical suit surrounded by fire and sand, his Aunt May flashing a perky smile. Cas continued, “And you’re afraid of hurting other people again.”
The memories sped up, risking a headache for Cas. Nevertheless, he kept going, “You’ve been through so much, Peter. And meeting me, you felt like you found someone who matched you in trauma. Surpassed you, even. So you felt like it was your responsibility to make it right. To make
me
right, somehow. And in the process, you created more wrong ideas than that one. I’m guilty, too. Of thinking they were right.”
“What are you saying?” Peter asked.
“I’m saying,” Cas said, “that we’re friends, Peter. Really good friends. Nothing more. Either of us trying to make it seem otherwise is just hurting us both.”
“But…I–” Peter started to say, but Cas cut him off once more.
“Don’t. Don’t say something you don’t mean. Save it for when you
do
. When I’m a fully-fleshed out person, and you’re not… alone with nothing else to latch onto.”
Casper opened a portal behind himself and prepared to jump through it when Peter said, “Cas, wait.”
He turned around, seeing Peter rooted to his place on the roof.
“All that from one kiss?” Peter asked, an almost-smile creeping onto his face.
Cas grinned himself and said, “One thing I’ve learned from Bucky is that trauma can either define you or strengthen you. And it can either create feelings that aren’t real, or even reveal hidden feelings that have been there all along.”
“And what are you feeling?” Peter asked.
Cas had to think for a second. No, feel. He felt more in-control than he ever did before: of his life, of his emotions, of his powers. All because of Peter. It wasn’t what Cas expected, however. He originally hoped that their kiss was the beginning of something between the two of them. But Cas was finally able to identify that feeling he purged from his chest: catharsis. He was letting go of all he was harboring, allowing himself to grow and fill the space with himself, rather than his experiences.
“I feel…stronger. Less hopeless. Like this isn’t the end of anything. It’s only the beginning.”
With that, Cas stepped through the portal.
* * *
The conversation Cas had with Dani and Joey happened the next day, making Cas wish Peter was with him. But he was sure that they both needed to not be near each other for a bit. To think clearly, to feel clearly. Cas spent so much time beforehand worrying about what everyone was thinking, that he never knew he could tune into what people were feeling like he did. It was scary, but exhilarating.
Still, it wouldn’t hurt to have a hug from Peter.
Cas shook his head, trying to shake the thought away. Their exchange was still so fresh in his head, there’s no way they could interact properly.
So Cas was sitting in the lounge on the second floor, a leisure space usually occupied by Steve and/or Bucky during that time. They would either read together, or play a board game, or simply talk and let Cas chime in whenever he felt the urge to. Sadly, they were off on the recon mission, leaving Cas alone to watch the sun finally set behind the tree line outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.
He sat there, a book in hand but closed. He couldn’t focus enough to read. His mind kept drifting, and Cas didn’t mind it at all. The only thing that bothered him was how negative he felt, especially after purging all of it from his soul the day before.
Without warning, a voice sounded behind him, “You okay?”
Cas jumped a little, and turned to see that it was Simon, arms crossed but smiling warmly. Cas almost forgot that he had been staying at the compound with them since Times Square.
“You’re probably the first person to successfully sneak up on me,” Casper said.
Simon chuckled and said, “Why is that?” He uncrossed his arms and walked over to sit in the chair adjacent to Cas’s, leaning forward in intrigue. Cas noticed that his eyes were a bright ocean blue, not unlike the waters of the coast he used to see in his youth. Simon’s eyes were trained on him, waiting for an answer. Cas still didn’t think he should have given him one, considering the dilemma.
“For some unknown reason,” Cas said pointedly, “I cannot read your thoughts. Neither can Wanda. It’s…unsettling.”
Simon let loose a chuckle, one that oscillated between being hearty and light.
“Well, it’s not for lack of trying. One of my training requirements was developing a resistance to telepathic invasion. To avoid sensitive information being compromised, or being psionically coerced into something I had no intention of doing.”
Cas was suddenly intrigued himself, leaning forward and giving Simon his full attention. If he were being honest, he would’ve admitted to trying harder to breach his brain after he said it. Cas didn’t think that was the right time, though, considering it didn’t work.
“SHIELD can do that?” Cas inquired.
“Of course. Now, at least. The training is fairly recent. It sort of became crucial after what happened in Africa a few years back with the Hulk. So, you can tell Wanda that you both not being able to read my mind is her fault in a way,” Simon smiled smugly, and his cerulean eyes shimmered with pride.
“I’d tell her if she wasn’t hiding out in her room and fretting over her brother. This is the first time since he’s recovered that they’ve been apart on a mission,” Cas disclosed.
“Another time, then. Also, you never answered my question.”
Cas looked at him quizzically, asking, “What question?”
“I asked,” Simon said, leaning forward a bit more, “if you were okay.”
“Oh.” Truth be told, Cas didn’t have an answer. He was torn between feeling “lonely” and feeling “distressed beyond belief,” but decided not to say that. Instead, he said, “I’m okay.”
Simon stared at him for a moment, then said, “Casper, I don’t have to be a mind reader to know that you’re lying.”
Cas sighed and looked down as he said, “Just…a lot on my mind.”
“Well, talk to me,” Simon gestured widely, “I’m here to listen.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Well, no one can read my mind. So I’m essentially a vault you can lock your secrets in.” Simon smiled at his reasoning, but Cas was not entirely convinced.
“That logic suggests that nothing will stop you from saying anything out loud,” Cas offered, leaning forward even more. The book that sat in his lap was teetering on his knee now, threatening to be pushed over the edge if he leaned forward any more.
“Well, for that, you’d just have to trust me.”
“And why should I trust you?”
They were a mere six inches away from each other at this point, staring each other down with playful antipathy. Cas wished more than anything he could read his mind.
Finally, he folded.
Cas told Simon everything that had happened, from the day before to what had happened only an hour prior with Dani and Joey. Cas should’ve felt weird exposing his personal experiences like that, but somehow he didn’t. Simon listened intently, not once interrupting. He seemed to absorb it all before deciding to comment, which Cas appreciated. Simon was doing well as a vault, and Cas felt a lot more secure than he expected to be around him.
“Sounds like you’ve had quite an eventful 48 hours,” Simon said, not sitting back and expanding on the distance between them. Instead, he simply placed a contemplative finger on his chin.
“The word ‘eventful’ is an understatement,” Casper responded.
“Do you really not see a difference between SHIELD and Hydra?” Simon asked.
Cas sighed and said, “It’s very hard to tell the difference. During my time in SHIELD custody, the only difference was that someone had the courtesy to tell me exactly why I was being imprisoned.”
A pensive “Hmm” sounded from Simon’s closed lips. Cas was having a hard time sitting there and watching him think, and not being able to hear his thought process. His uneasiness grew, but it wasn’t as unpleasant as originally anticipated.
“So, how do you feel about leaving, taking your feelings for SHIELD into account?” Simon asked after a moment of quiet contemplation.
“I think it’s an opportunity. For…something. I don’t know what yet, but I’m not worried. I’m
excited
. For the first time in a long time. Probably ever.”
Simon smiled warmly and said, “I’m glad to hear it. I know we don’t know each other, but I can proudly say that I’m glad you’re happy.”
“I said I was excited,” Cas rebutted, “I don’t know if I’m necessarily happy.”
“Why do you say that?” Simon asked.
Cas sat for a second, then scooted forward on his seat. He then said, “Everything that happened with Peter caused me to re-evaluate how I view worthwhile things. Is something really worth my time if it means losing someone I love? And is it worth being excited over? I’m incredibly confused, and I don’t have very many past emotional experiences to go off of when dictating how I should respond. This is all incredibly new territory.”
Simon remained silent, as if he instinctively knew that Casper wasn’t finished.
He continued, “And the kiss…I mean, I know it was a mistake, but it’s new territory that opened me up to a world of new emotions, a new ability I had no idea I had. I feel like that means something, you know?”
“Was it your first kiss?” Simon pointed out.
Cas nodded, and looked down. He kept replaying it over and over in his head, and wondered if it was right, or if it was even real. It left him more confused than anything else he was going through.
“You say you felt everything
he
felt during the kiss, but you haven’t talked about how
you’ve
felt about it, other than your confusion about if it was right or not.”
Cas nodded, and sat there, unmoving. He was still looking down, his fingers drifting to his face. He ever-so-slightly touched his lips, trying his best to recall the moment.
“How did you feel? How
do
you feel?” Simon asked.
Cas finally looked up at Simon, meeting his eyes.
“I don’t know. I couldn’t feel anything past Peter’s emotions. They were so strong, there wasn’t room for mine. It was all so overwhelming. That’s probably why I’m having such a hard time with it.”
“That does make sense. Your powers are incredibly strong. It’s quite a sight to see, truth be told.”
Cas smiled, and he could feel a blush blooming across his face. He needed to nip it in the bud, so he changed the subject. “Peter’s thoughts have always been a little loud, though. I guess his emotions aren’t any different,” Cas chuckled, looking down again.
“So, you think it would be different with someone else?”
Cas looked up, and saw that Simon’s eyes were blown wide in curiosity. His question gave rise to Casper’s curiosity, but he quickly reigned it in. He instead counterfeited obliviousness by saying, “I never really thought about it.”
“What do you think would happen if you kissed someone whose mind you couldn’t read?” Simon asked, “Hypothetically speaking.”
Cas exhaled slowly through his mouth. He didn’t want to make the mistake of throwing caution to the wind like he did with Peter. He needed to give himself room to think. More importantly, he needed to give himself room to feel.
“It sounds like your hypothetical situation,” Cas said, “is beginning to become one of the literal variety.”
“Only one way to find out, then,” Simon said before leaning forward to close the distance between them. In no time, their lips were connected in a gentle and intimate kiss.
This time, Cas felt nothing.
Well, not necessarily nothing. He didn’t feel anything in regards to Simon’s thoughts or emotions. Cas, however, could feel everything.
He could feel every nerve ending hollering with delight, every rapid pump of blood through his body, practically every synapse firing in his brain as their lips moved together. He could feel every ounce of the excitement and joy flood through his nervous system, every jolt of serotonin picking away at his body and his mind. It was as if his entire body had become charged with electricity, and the charge was opposite to Simon’s. It drew them closer: Cas’s hand extended to his neck, as Simon’s hand slipped to Cas’s waist to bring them even closer. They were magnets, some unseen force drawing them together until there was nothing between them but their magnetism.
The magnets were pulled apart, however, by the sound of the Quinjet landing.
They both stopped, staring at each other in amazement and confusion, before simultaneously turning toward the airfield outside.
They saw Tony and Bucky step out of the jet, followed by…no one else.
The two of them shared a look before Cas made a portal to the airfield appear in front of them.
They stepped through and stopped Tony and Bucky from rushing toward the compound.
“Where is everyone?” Cas asked.
“We have an incredibly big problem,” Tony said, a grim look on his face.
Without warning, Tony’s eyes became vacant. He was clearly focusing on whatever FRIDAY was saying through his glasses, but judging from his eyes growing wider, it didn’t look good.
“Correction,” Tony said, taking off his glasses, “we have several problems.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
February 17th, 2017
(Joey)
They all sat in the lounge area, a foreboding air hanging over all of them. It hung heavy, weighing them down until they were all a bunch of discouraged heaps of flesh and worry, hunched shoulders and low-hanging heads. Joey knew it was because not all of them were there.
It was Tony, Bucky, Vision, Wanda, Simon, Peter, Cas, Dani, and Joey. Five less Avengers than when the teens first showed up. And way more teens than adults.
Joey was entirely prepared to leave that night. To go back to SHIELD and live out the rest of his youth as a trainee, or to go home to New Jersey and see his sisters and to leave all of his silly Avengers dreams behind. Now he was sitting there, listening to Tony tell him that he couldn’t leave yet. Not now.
Tony, who looked far more exhausted than he ever did, was briefing the group as fast as possible, “Cap, Nat, and Pietro have all been captured by Nefaria, and are being held in his museum in New Jersey. During our encounter, he exhibited abilities we did not foresee when we decided to engage him. To make matters worse, we received this transmission as soon as we landed.”
Tony tapped the table, bringing up several holographic videos. The first featured a video of an outdoor press conference, the location unknown to Joey. The viewpoint was from a security camera, mounted on a rooftop. It overlooked the building steps that the conference was being held, and showed a hooded figure with a duffel bag kneeling on the rooftop and watching intently. Soon, as an unknown figure began to speak at the podium, the hooded figure took a rifle out of his duffel bag and shot the other, causing a commotion. The hooded figure turned to the camera and revealed himself to be none other than Clint Barton.
The next video was similar: a security camera watching a bunch of men sitting at a table inside of a dingy bar. They were playing some card game, and they seemed incredibly focused. That is, until Natasha broke through the back door and took all of them out with her bare hands. Natasha gave a sickening smile before the footage cut out.
The next showed Captain America himself, smiling, as he shot four men directly in the head at what looked like a democratic-style hearing in another country.
The last video wasn’t a video, but rather four simple words in bold letters:
Bring me the girl
.
The hologram shut off, leaving the room silent and devoid of light, both literally and figuratively. The lights turned back on to see a frowning Tony, standing over the table.
“So, what does this mean?” Peter said, voicing Joey’s thoughts.
“It means, not only do they have the Visio-Projector,” Tony said, “but they also have the fate of the Avengers in their hands.”
“So, those weren’t the Avengers? Just holograms,” Cas said. Tony nodded grimly.
“He plans on using the likeness of the Avengers for the destabilization of world organizations,” Simon said, “Maybe even spurring another UN debate about the ratification of another Sokovia Accords.”
“He did say something about taking a backseat while he preserves his power and anonymity,” Bucky said, “He could rule the world and no one would even know it was him.”
“Or he could get the Avengers put away, leaving no one to stand in the way of him carrying out larger operations,” Vision chimed in, “We all saw who he had to hire in order to acquire the projector in the first place.”
“He’s clearly planning something much bigger than we thought,” Wanda said.
“But what do I have to do with it?” Dani asked, louder than everyone else. Everyone turned to look at her, even Joey. Joey was still fuming after their fight that happened not even two hours ago, but he was glad to be there and be able to help figure out this mess. Of course, he didn’t appreciate how much the situation revolved around her (like
everything
else). Still, he felt like part of the collective he worked so hard to be involved in.
“After analyzing FRIDAY’s scans,” Tony said, “It seems as though he emits high levels of ionic energy, which baffles me. Probably work courtesy of his in-house scientist Midas. However, I also noticed that using his abilities depletes his ionic emission drastically. My guess is, he absorbs energy of many different kinds to sustain a balance.”
“Could he be…
feeding
off of Pietro?” Wanda asked, tears in her eyes. Joey wanted nothing more than to go over to her, hold her, and tell her that everything would be alright, but that would’ve been inappropriate given the circumstances.
“He did during the fight. It gave him the boost he needed to take us down. But Pietro’s energy output isn’t great, and it definitely isn’t ionic.”
“So…mine is?” Dani questioned.
“Your output is everything. You give off massive amounts of energy, of various types. He could feed off of you for an eternity. His message is pretty cut and dry: give up Dani, and he’ll give back the Avengers. Maybe even the projector,” Tony explained, disregarding how scared everyone was. Maybe that’s what they needed; to be scared shitless, so they could feel threatened enough to fight back.
“So, what do we do?” Joey said, sitting up straight.
Tony looked at him, then looked around the room. They were by no means impressive (besides Wanda and Vision), and they all looked like scared puppies. But Joey figured that Tony knew exactly what they were all thinking: this was all they had.
“We,” Tony said, taking a deep breath, “are going to give him what he wants. Trade Dani for the others.”
Dani wasted no time, as she stood up incredibly fast and said, “I’ll do it.”
“Woah, woah, slow down, I didn’t mean literally,” Tony said, waving his hands as a way to keep her from misinterpreting.
“Why not? If me being turned over brings everyone back, brings Pietro back, then I’m doing it,” Dani said.
“We can’t let you anywhere near him,” Tony said, “You plus evil crime lord equals very bad time for all of us. He’ll be unstoppable.”
“So, what else can we do, then?” Dani asked, crossing her arms.
Tony sighed, then walked across the room to his backpack. He opened a compartment and pulled something out, before walking back to the front of the room and placing it on the coffee table.
It was the Visio-Projector prototype Joey had seen during his first briefing. It was rather clunky, but it sent chills up his spine.
“I took a little trip and grabbed this from my archived tech on the way back from Jersey. We can use it to exchange ‘Dani’ for the others.”
“You…kept it?” Wanda seemed confused, almost disgusted. It was only fair; it was the clear source of their anguish. The whole reason any of this had started. Joey wanted nothing more than to grab it and chuck it out of the window. It represented everything that was wrong with his life: his dreams falling apart, his life shattering into pieces, his idol failing him.
“Look, I know I have made some mistakes,” Tony began, as if he had read Joey’s mind, “I also know that this situation is a result of my ignorance and rash decision-making. But now I have an opportunity to correct those mistakes, and make better decisions. Starting with all of you. I’ve realized I’ve made you all feel… less than worthy to be here. Not to mention throwing you to the wolves before you guys were ready. But I’d be wrong if I said that all of you didn’t belong here.”
Tony turned to Dani, “Especially you. I’ve been the hardest on you for a variety of reasons, but mostly because I see myself in you. Determined, stubborn, hard-to-please, easy to anger. It’s that exact same reason why I know you have the most potential.”
He then addressed the rest of the group, “But it’s up to us. All of us. Well, mostly.”
Tony’s eyes flashed to Vision, causing Joey to look. He was still banged up from his fight with Moonstone, so it was safe to say he wouldn’t be joining them.
“So you want me to sit out probably the biggest fight I’ll ever witness?” Dani asked, a small smile playing on her lips.
“No. I don’t want you to. I need you to. Otherwise the fight could turn into a massacre,” Tony said, and surprised Joey by placing a hand on her shoulder as he continued, “You sitting this out could save everyone.”
Dani’s eyes were cold and angry, but soon her face softened and she lowered her head. She nodded in agreement.
Joey had to speak up, “And what about after?”
“After what?” Tony asked.
“After the fight. If we survive this, what happens to us? Are you kicking us out again?”
Tony’s face woefully deflated, and it was clear that his brilliant mind was hard at work trying to figure out an answer. Finally, he said, “If this ends the way it should, the choice on whether to stay or not is in your hands. I’ll make sure of it.”
Joey didn’t like that answer, but it was enough to give him motivation. Maybe that was the plan all along. Or maybe Joey just really, really wanted to stay. Either way, he was ready to fight. Joey nodded.
“Vision and Dani need to stay here,” Tony told the group, “The rest of us need to develop a game plan.”
* * *
Joey slapped on his crimson gauntlets for the second time since starting as an Avenger trainee. He hoped it wasn’t the last, for any reason. Failure, a change in direction, or death. Joey hoped and prayed that he didn’t
die
.
They were on the Quinjet, heading towards the New Jersey Palisades. It reminded Joey of a time when he and his family would go to the Palisades and go hiking all the time. His dad and his mom would make some tamales and cut up some mangoes before the trip, and his little sisters Sophia and Marisol would chase him around the house in their overused hiking shoes. Then, they’d head up to Palisades Interstate Park in their little sedan, and hike up as close to the cliffs they could without scaring the girls.
Joey was never scared, though. He would always ask if they could go higher, to reach the top of the world and see what the planet had to offer. Whenever they told him no, he would get so upset, and he would throw a fit unbecoming of the oldest child. Then one day his dad, the great Roberto Williams, sat him down one day and explained something to him.
He explained that sometimes, we got stuck in one place, unable to move forward. He said that this would happen because God knew that we weren’t ready to face whatever is ahead. So we should take the time that God gave us to get stronger, wiser, better, so that we would be prepared for what we would face when we were allowed to move forward. After hearing that at the ripe old age of eleven, Joey didn’t get mad whenever they said “no” to him. He simply would keep playing with his sisters, and enjoy where they were in the moment.
Now, here he was, about to reach that mountaintop and beyond, and he only hoped he was prepared enough for what was about to come.
“You are,” a voice sounded next to him. It was Casper, who gave a small smile and a nudge of his shoulder.
“How do you know?” Joey asked.
“You’ve grown the most,” Cas said, “And you have the most to lose.”
Joey chuckled and asked, “You sure the senior superlative for ‘Most Changed’ doesn’t go to you?”
“No. For one, I don’t know what that means. And for another, my growth has been emotional. You’ve seen far more growth in a lot of different ways. Mind, body, and spirit.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well,” Cas said, pursing his lips, “I used to think you were a self-absorbed jerk who only cared about making himself look good at the subtle expense of others.”
“Wow. Thanks.”
“I said ‘used to,’ Joey,” Cas said, nudging him once more, “You’ve had some road bumps, but I know you’re trying your hardest to prove yourself, and to even potentially make your family proud.”
“Y’know, for someone who’s supposed to be the youngest and most inexperienced, you sure know a lot,” Joey said, nudging him back and smiling.
Cas smiled and said, “Experience and age rarely ever match up.”
“Hey, speaking of matchups, what happened to you and Peter? You guys aren’t attached at the hip like you both usually are,” Joey pointed out, glancing at Peter. He was near the back of the Quinjet, talking to Wanda softly. Much like he and Cas were doing.
Cas answered with, “People grow apart. Sometimes it’s time-related, and sometimes it’s out of necessity.”
“Which was it for you?”
“I’ll let you guess,” Cas said, throwing a sideways glare that made Joey both nervous and merry.
Joey sighed and placed an arm around Cas’s shoulders as he said, “Don’t worry about it, bud. You’ll be appreciated by these losers soon enough.”
“Who are losers? No one has lost anything,” Cas said, “There has not been a competition of any sort.”
“It’s an expression, Cas,” Joey said, now a full laugh rumbling through his chest.
“Seems derogatory. I think they are all fine individuals.”
“Even Dani?” Joey asked, a bite to his words that was entirely intentional.
Cas heaved a breath and sighed before he said, “You can’t stay mad at her forever, Joey.”
“I’m not mad, I’m just… I don’t know, disappointed?” Joey spoke a bit louder since Dani wasn’t there. Still, he was wary of who was listening. He didn’t mind Cas listening in on his thoughts, but Wanda listening would surely freak him out.
“It’s not completely her fault that we were made to leave. We also made some questionable decisions. Not to mention the damage you’ve caused with your powers in the past.”
Joey thought back to before and said, “Like the race. Remember the race?”
“Of course I do. The pain of being knocked into concrete doesn’t disappear from memory very easily,” Cas said as they shared a laugh.
“What I wouldn’t give to go back to that…” Joey heaved a heavy breath and tried to pull himself out of the past. Tried as he might, it was all too alluring against the alternative: whatever the hell they were flying towards.
He thought back to when they all were laying in the airfield, laughing as though nothing was wrong, as though they were all lifelong friends. Not total strangers laughing like maniacs in the face of pain. He only wished he had that kind of infectious joy at that moment, to replace the fear that was seeping into his bones. To be able to look danger in the face and not feel as though it was certain death, but feel excited that danger liked him enough to call. A voice in the back of his head told him that being an Avenger was all about danger, and if he didn’t like the feeling, he should quit right then and there.
He then remembered the joy again, and the camaraderie. He held onto that, for strength. Maybe that’s how the others did it: remembering the good in the face of all the bad. He remembered thinking then that even though he was worried about Dani’s attitude and Cas’s off-putting demeanor, that moment made it seem like they’d grow into something better in the time they would train. A team, maybe.
“Dani thought the same thing,” Cas cut in, rocking Joey out of his thoughts.
“What?” Joey turned to him and asked.
“Dani felt exactly what you just did that night, I remember. She wants what you want, whether she wants to admit it or not.”
“Which is?” Joey was compelled to ask, since he had a hard time imagining Dani as wanting anything, except to be left alone.
“For one, to be an Avenger,” Cas said, “But also to be a part of something. Avenger or not, she wants friends just like any one of us. She just doesn’t want to admit it. She’s a girl who’s been alone for such a long time, she instinctively keeps it that way without her realizing it. Her powers are destructive, but her emotions are self-destructive. She won’t be able to get past that until she accepts what she wants.”
“I doubt she’ll be able to do that,” Joey refrained from rolling his eyes, but the urge was there.
“Well, she won’t be able to if you keep pushing her away like you did earlier,” Cas continued, “She’s only going to continue to withdraw from people if she thinks people aren’t open and accepting of her. Why do you think she and Tony always have problems?”
“Because she’s unbearable,” Joey said, despite the empathy that was beginning to bloom in his heart.
“Because they both tend to be. And he doesn’t like how much she’s like him, so he shuts her out. Because of that, she tries to push him away. But he also cares about her, which is why he won’t let her push anyone away. And now that we need her, and she
has
to be pushed away…she could have really used your forgiveness.”
Joey looked down, a trickle of guilt starting to creep into his conscience.
“Not all of us can be prepared,” he said.
“We’ll be okay, I know it,” Cas responded, nudging him again.
Joey smiled, grateful that Cas wasn’t afraid of the mountaintop.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
February 18th, 2017
(Avengers)
No matter how much confidence and fearlessness Tony exerted, it was safe to say he was scared shitless.
Not to mention that he had done this countless times before: prepared to face an enemy that was seemingly impossible to defeat with insurmountable odds and some handicap that would have made the fight a piece of cake without it. Something about this was different, though. He somehow knew the odds were not great. Especially without his actual team.
The whole situation was an amalgam of quasi-preparedness, deception, high stakes, and just a dash of bitter rage. On both sides. There wasn’t a chance in hell that this would go by smoothly. Still, Tony had contingencies. And a hell of a lot of determination.
The team was in front of the large ornate doors at the Palisades castle. It was late, most likely after midnight, but there was no doubt that Nefaria knew they were there. Tony was wearing one of his newest armor models, which had more than a few tricks for the crime lord.
He looked around the group in the sparse lamplight of the bridge, doubling back when he saw Dani in power-dampening handcuffs. It took him less than a second to realize it wasn’t her, but Wanda disguised under the technology of the Visio-Projector. He nodded at her, which she reciprocated. Some part of him wished Dani was there with them. He could use her fighting spirit. Tony had a feeling this would be the fight of their lives.
Looking at the rest of the team, he expected to see a bunch of wide-eyed newbies trembling slightly in the face of conflict. Instead, he saw the opposite of what he expected: poker-faced adults with the determination of…well, Avengers.
“Six figures approaching from inside, boss,” FRIDAY sounded.
The moment of truth had arrived. Tony and his team stood ready, waiting. He felt as though they were prepared for anything, but life was full of surprises. Still, he stood poised, watching as the doors opened.
Nefaria stepped out, in what could only be described as a caped bodysuit. It was form-fitting and a dark black with hints of navy blue, with a long cloak inlined with bold red fabric. Opulent gold chest pieces decorated his shoulders, holding the cape in place. He even had a pair of gauntlets on, the bulky form making his fists look bigger and more threatening. He almost looked like the Count he was dubbed by the crime world.
Alongside him were the rest of his team, looking disheveled and disheartened. They were all in handcuffs pretty similar to the ones Tony placed on Wanda. Tony’s eyes caught Steve, whose face was beaten and bloody. He wanted to cry out to him to fight back, to throw a two-handed punch with his heavy handcuffs and run. He knew that wasn’t a good idea though, and kept his mouth shut.
That is, until he and Nefaria were face to face.
There were so many words that Tony wanted to throw his way, to bombard his ears with choice phrases that his late mother (or Steve) would surely chastise him for. Still, he refrained, and gave him a curt nod before saying, “Let’s get this tea party over with.”
“Is it of the diplomatic variety, or the friendly kind?” Nefaria quipped, a smug grin playing on his lips that Tony was beginning to think was a trademark for him.
“The Boston kind, if you don’t let my team go.”
“Hand over the girl, and they will be released.”
A tense moment of silence followed, only disturbed by the small, mechanical sounds that echoed inside of Tony’s helmet. They mirrored his own thoughts, small but crucial in how he functioned, and how he would proceed.
Finally, Tony turned away to look at Wanda. She stepped forward, and was about to cross the threshold of the established territory when Nefaria said, “Wait.”
Wanda stopped.
“The girl,” Nefaria said, “I cannot sense her energy.”
Tony wasted no time in offering an explanation, “The cuffs are power-dampening. She’s a bit of a wild card, and we didn’t want anyone to get hurt. Least of all, you.” Tony ended the sentence with an endearing head-tilt that did its job of making Nefaria’s smile waver.
“Take them off. I want to feel her power.”
The air grew charged, but Tony took a small breath and said, “The others first.”
Another silence ensued, where Nefaria’s face was almost just as hard to read as Tony’s was behind his helmet. Nefaria clenched his jaw ever so slightly, and he pressed a button on his gauntlet, which deactivated the cuffs that restrained the rest of his team.
“Now the girl.”
Nefaria held an outstretched hand, presumably to Dani, but Tony felt as though it was partially directed to him. As though he were being invited to dance. Something was off.
The team members reluctantly began to walk over to them, and crossed the threshold just as Tony released Wanda.
She stepped forward, taking his outstretched hand, and a wide smile formed on Nefaria’s lips.
Then it faded.
Faster than he could say anything, Tony yelled, “Now!”
In an instant, Wanda threw her hand up, sending Nefaria flying into the doors of the gatehouse with a jarring
thud!
Tony gestured to the group of hostages, who ran to join him as soon as Wanda’s scarlet energy connected with Nefaria’s jaw. FRIDAY read their vitals and saw nothing wrong, but a warning beep and a worried voice told him, “Boss, something is wrong.”
Tony read the scans of his teammates, and noticed that Nat was giving off...energy. As well as Cap.
“Nat?” Tony reluctantly spoke.
Natasha smiled, but not a normal Nat smirk. This one was more sinister, more maliciously motivated.
Suddenly, Nat let loose a wave of energy at Tony’s chest, throwing him back into the stone bridge and narrowly missing the teenagers behind him. The scraping of metal against rock screeched in his ears, and the impact made his body shudder.
He looked up to see that Nat touched a button on the cuffs she was wearing and discovered that it was Dr. Sofen, the Moonstone lady who demolished Vision not even 48 hours prior.
Tony quickly realized what happened, not too long before the other Avengers revealed themselves to be the other mercenaries that fled with Sam and Clint.
Oh, no.
Tony’s vision blurred with red rage and tunneled to Nefaria, who was recovering from his blow. The massive doors to the castle were completely demolished, and Nefaria was pulling himself out of the rubble.
“Where are they?!” Tony screamed, his thrusters propelling him toward the other man at an alarming speed.
That’s when all hell broke loose.
* * *
As soon as Wanda sent Nefaria back, she had a feeling that she made a mistake.
He stood up and stared her down with murderous intent, and she reached for the Visio-Projector attached to her waist hastily. She shut it off, bracing for impact from the other man, when she heard Tony yell a very angry, “Where are they?!” before barreling right into Nefaria and through the entryway of the castle.
Before Wanda could react properly, the rest of the team—on both sides—charged.
Wanda locked eyes with Moonstone, the woman who injured Vision, and maneuvered through the chaos to get to her.
Wanda tried to go on the offensive with a blast of energy aimed directly at her chest. Moonstone was unfazed, however, as the familiar red glow of Wanda’s powers traveled straight through the other woman, as if she were made of air. With quick realization, Wanda found out that her intangibility was going to be problematic.
Moonstone was quick to counter, as she grabbed Wanda’s outstretched hand lightning-fast and brought her into a chokehold. Without warning (though Wanda didn’t expect her to offer a heads-up), she took off into the sky. Her intangibility was no longer the main issue at this point.
The ground was receding from her view too fast to process, but Wanda knew she had to do something. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Mach IV was flying in a serpentine pattern, as though he was trying to shake something off. Or someone.
She yelled, “Peter!” in the direction of Mach IV, who had a very panic-stricken teenage boy dangling from his back leg by way of his webs.
Peter understood without any further explanation, and used the momentum of the armor to propel himself forward, his nimble body flying through the air and directly into Moonstone’s face.
After a very shocked and painful grunt from Moonstone, Wanda was now falling toward the ground fifty feet below.
Wanda had a split-second once again to process her panic. She came into luck with Mach IV barreling back into the battlefield, having been freed from his red-and-blue fetters.
Wanda waited until he was directly below her to push herself downward, directly into his back. He crashed into the ground, breaking most of Wanda’s fall. She braced herself before flipping off of him involuntarily and rolling away onto the cobblestone of the courtyard. She looked up to see that the other man was slowly getting up, a good distance away for her to do anything significant.
She began to charge, hoping the other man didn’t know what she was planning. The other man saw her, evidently. He began to speed toward her with incredible velocity, and Wanda knew she’d have to time it perfectly.
Her gaze quickly flicked back and forth from Mach IV and the castle behind him, and pretty soon he was about to run straight through her. A blade almost as long as her torso revealed itself from inside the wrist of Mach IV’s suit, and she knew he was going for the kill.
She jumped up at the exact moment she had to, using the other man’s back to boost herself into the air. In the split-second it took for him to understand what was happening, she had already detached the turret off of the east tower of the castle entirely, and hurled it at the man with newfound viciousness.
The turret collided with Mach IV, as well as the courtyard. The others that surrounded the area were forced to jump aside due to the impact, as well as the rubble that flew off in every direction. Wanda landed gracefully, triumphant in her plan.
Then Moonstone came back, Peter in tow.
Moonstone ripped through the air unannounced, hitting Wanda directly in the back, as Peter desperately tried to stop her. They both collided into her, making a mess of tangled limbs and aching backs.
Wanda sat up, head pounding but heart strong. She was face-to-face with Moonstone, Peter sitting up behind her soon after. The lenses on his suit glitched, the dilations and contractions making his mask appear to be confused and disoriented.
Moonstone made the first move, and Wanda anticipated. They both stood up incredibly fast. Wanda dodged a punch saturated with orange energy, and swung a leg underneath her to trip her up. The other female fell, but before Wanda could land another blow, she swiveled up into a kneeling position and once again flew directly in Wanda’s direction like a human bullet.
Wanda put up a telekinetic shield just in time, redirecting the force and sending Moonstone careening backward. Wanda took a moment to catch her breath; this woman was not letting up, and Wanda had to take the opportunity to regain strength in Moonstone’s absence.
She got up slowly, her anger beginning to rise to the surface through the menacing snarl she let loose. Wanda was almost prepared to take a step back, but there was no way she was backing down.
“Better cut it out, Red,” Moonstone said, and it was the first time she heard her speak. She had the elegance of words that came with someone with higher education, but the grit and growl of a soldier or thug. It was an odd combination, but terrifying nonetheless.
“You and I both know I can’t do that,” Wanda responded, preparing to defend herself again. Energy coursed through her veins as she said, “You took my brother.”
“Your point being? I made you. Both of you,” Moonstone said, her hand shining an iridescent orange, “And I’m gonna have fun tearing you apart.” With that, she charged.
* * *
Joey was struggling.
Immediately, as the fight broke out, he and Simon somehow drifted together and teamed up against the woman with the pink streaks in her hair, Songbird.
She zeroed in on Joey much like Speed Demon did in Time Square, but this time with a set stare that Joey had a hard time determining if it was ferocious or flirtatious.
As soon as they were within ten feet of each other, the girl let loose an ear-splitting scream that rocked both Simon and Joey back a few feet. It was much like Joey’s own powers (which he then recalled from the briefing Tony gave), but the only difference was that it was incessant. Joey’s abilities let him let loose short bursts of concentrated low-frequency sound. This was high-pitched, and hit hard and long. It didn’t stop, and had both Simon and Joey clutching their ears and writhing on the ground in agony. The last few ounces of sense Joey had amid the constant sound was to block it completely.
Joey took his hands away from his ears and thrust them forward, moving the sound away from him and Simon and throwing it right back at Songbird.
The force of amplified sound and air made her slide back a few feet, but she stood firm regardless. She glared at Joey before pressing a button on her bulky gold belt. A mechanism whirred as she screamed, this time without any particular direction or target in mind. The sound didn’t travel anywhere, but rather, was sucked into the belt as though it were a vacuum.
As soon as the entire scream was swallowed, the belt stopped whirring and glowed a luminescent pink, and a pair of glowing pink wings appeared behind her, the wingspan wide and threatening.
“What in the-” Joey said incredulously. He didn’t know what it was, but he knew it needed to go.
Joey stood quickly and aimed for the belt with a concentrated blast of sound, focused and powerful. He expected the belt to shatter at the force of the sound, but the familiar rings of sound instead disappeared once they reached the radius of the contraption, whirring louder and making the wings glow brighter.
“What the literal fuck?!” Joey couldn’t help but exclaim. He meant it, too; he had no idea what it was or why it even existed. And he couldn’t destroy it.
“The belt seems to turn sound into energy wings of some sort,” Simon said, and Joey turned to see that he looked calculated and seemingly unimpressed.
“What does that mean for us?” Joey turned back to Songbird, who now resembled more of an angel, her wings the dreaded flaming sword.
“It could be a problem, or an advantage.”
Without saying anything else, Simon sprung toward her with his staff elongated and his feet moving incredibly fast. Songbird at that point was levitating, prepared for anything. Even Simon, who appeared as though he was going to jump and tackle her and ended up sliding underneath her stealthily. Joey had a feeling his move operated on a notion of teamwork, so he himself sprang into action.
Joey accelerated toward her, knowing the sound he was riding would be absorbed by her belt by the time he reached her. Still, he didn’t need the speed, just the momentum. By the time he was two feet away from her, he jumped up to face her. The sound he was using was absorbed, which he anticipated, and the wings glowed a little brighter.
At this point, the sound didn’t matter. He had the momentum he needed to throw an incredibly powerful punch to her face, knocking her down to the ground in Simon’s direction.
Simon knocked her back into the ticket booth with his staff, making her crash into the window and causing her wings to disappear. Simon turned to face Joey and grinned a bit, making Joey feel a bit triumphant in the face of the life-threatening situation they were in.
Joey’s sense of triumph faded, however, as Songbird climbed out of the booth and shot toward Simon on her sound wings lightning-fast. Joey didn’t even have time to shout a warning and she tackled him and sat on top of his chest, prepared to let out an ear-splitting scream directly in his face.
There was a moment of hesitation on Simon’s part, but he then did something entirely unexpected: he employed the same move that Cap taught him to get out of that same position. The same exact move, for the same exact situation. Songbird didn’t even have time to let out a whimper before she was knocked on her ass. Simon held his staff against her throat, a victory evident.
Her wings pulsed beneath her, and Joey knew something was going to happen. He sped in just as she pushed herself into the air, Simon in tow. She was about to fly off with him, but Joey stopped her with a massive pulse of sound. It was almost like a lasso, both of his hands grasping the strengthened air at one end, and spinning it into something even bigger on the other end. He swung it, feeling much like the title character of his favorite Disney movie Hercules as he threw the Titans into space. Only this time, he was using his powers to send Songbird into a quick meeting with the ground.
The only downside was that Simon was still attached, and was struck to the ground right along with her, the sound energy that her belt harnessed dissipating with a massive
boom!
Joey ran to help, only to have another mercenary fly past him and almost collide with him. He looked to see that Cas had just kicked him, and Joey began to feel a bit better about this whole fight. He rushed to Simon, who was out cold.
Songbird, however, was wide awake.
She sent a chilling whistle of sound through her wide-open mouth in Joey’s direction, which traveled into his ears and down his spine, splitting him open.
Kneel, it echoed throughout every cell of his body. He couldn’t help but obey. He felt as though if he listened, the pain would go away.
She stood over him with a glare he knew was not flirtatious at all, and he knew he was a goner.
* * *
Casper zeroed in on Radioactive Man, but Penance had other plans.
As soon as Tony barreled into Nefaria, Cas went straight for the man with the head tattoos. However, he never got to reach him; Penance, the mercenary with the spiked suit, stopped him in his tracks with a right hook. Cas masterfully ducked backward, narrowly missing the blow and slipping behind the other man and landing a kick to the side of his abdomen.
The other guy flinched, but then turned around with a wicked smile.
Cas briefly forgot about this man’s particular brand of superpowers, which is why he acted on instinct when kicking him. Penance decided to throw a wave of violet energy at Cas, which Cas ended up blocking with a force field last-minute.
Cas wasted no time as he slammed the barrier into Penance, sending him back into a portal that Cas made. The portal sent him right next to Cas, where Cas sent a gravity-augmented kick to his chest, sending him flying across the cobblestone.
Penance slid across the battlefield, nearly knocking Joey off of his feet as he fought against the redhead Songbird with Simon. Cas noticed that Simon wasn’t moving, and Cas immediately went to help. He was stopped, however, by a flying elbow.
Penance came back with a vengeance, seemingly out of nowhere, and tried to incapacitate Cas with an elbow to his orbital socket. Cas managed to recover quickly from the hit, and went to sweep his legs, but his attack was avoided effortlessly. A back and forth akin to him and Steve’s spar began to develop, and Cas could barely focus. He was losing momentum against the other man, who was much larger and far more powerful.
Luckily, Cas had a friend.
Bucky came to the rescue as he blocked a kick that was headed straight for Cas’s skull. Soon, they began to double-team the mercenary with cold-blooded ferocity. Bucky began to hit the man with short and forceful blows to Penance’s body, but proved to be ineffective once a wave of kinetic energy sent Bucky to the ground far faster than Cas could ever do.
Cas decided to gracefully swing around his body and onto his shoulders; he locked his legs around the other man’s neck and grabbed his arm into a hold meant to restrict his movement, but not hurt him.
Penance would normally have Cas beat in the physical strength department but, with a quick jerk of his head, Cas made gravity a bit more forceful on his legs, making the other man crumble underneath him and fall onto one knee in the struggle against him and the earth.
Bucky came behind him and made the other knee buckle with a quick kick, and held his other arm.
Then, the castle began to fall.
Well, it wasn’t the entire castle. Wanda had thrown a turret at the armored mercenary Mach IV, and all three of them jumped out of the way before they were crushed. At least, Bucky and Cas did.
Penance wasn’t so lucky, as a giant piece of the turret seemed to swallow him whole.
As the dust began to settle, Bucky and Cas watched the pile of sandstone brick with intense interest.
Suddenly, a glowing purple fist emerged through the rubble.
Cas knew they were, for lack of a better word, screwed.
* * *
Tony didn’t care about anything else but taking Nefaria down. He charged at the other man, knocking him through the already-demolished double doors of the gatehouse and into the foyer of the palace.
It was dark, but Tony had no problem seeing Nefaria. For one, Tony had the obvious night vision feature built into his helmet. For another, Nefaria’s eyes were glowing an angry red, making him hard to miss. Tony retreated to hover above the other man, who gripped the end of his cloak with anticipation.
Tony threw a couple of repulsor blasts his way, which only succeeded to irritate the other man, who was trying to fire concentrated blasts of bright red energy at Tony. Even within his suit, he could feel their heat and potency. Tony maneuvered through the air like a pro, hovering in the vast ceiling space of the foyer. He then shot a laser at the top of the chandelier, making it come crashing down on top of Nefaria.
It did nothing against him, but that’s what Tony was banking on.
During the time it took for Nefaria to toss the chandelier off of him, Tony shot two small disks onto the staircase behind him. They latched on for dear life, drilling themselves into the base of the stairs. Tony flew around to the other side just as Nefaria erupted from the mess of crystal Tony buried him under, and decided to charge the man again before he could regain his bearings.
He didn’t do it early enough, as Nefaria swatted him out of the air with his left gauntlet. Tony was slammed into one of the large paintings on the wall, but fell to the staircase in a cacophonous clang of his armor.
Before Nefaria could move, Tony sat up and shot two more cylindrical disks in the wall behind him, and urged FRIDAY, “Activate the TIP.”
“Activating Tachyon-Ionic Prison,” FRIDAY said before the disks began to glow a bright blue. Soon, they let loose a string of pulsating tendrils of energy, latching on to the other disks and wrapping around the perimeter of the other man.
The effect it had on Nefaria was almost immediate, as similar tendrils of red energy began to be siphoned off of his body and into the cage in all directions. His face contorted into a pained expression, and he fell to his knees.
Tony whipped up those little doohickeys after their encounter with him, and they seemed to work like magic for him. He wanted so badly to make an innuendo about the TIP, but he decided against it. Instead, he focused on what really mattered as he asked, “Where are they?”
Nefaria, whose eyes were still glowing a bright crimson hue, glaring at Tony angrily.
“Where are they?” Tony asked a little louder, hoping the other man just didn’t hear him over the electrical whirring of the ionic prison.
“You really think…that I wasn’t prepared for your arrival? That I didn’t…know the great Tony Stark would attempt to…subdue me with his notorious technology?” Nefaria struggled to speak as the machines locked his energy away, but Tony was worried that the cage would not hold for long, especially after hearing those words.
All of a sudden, Tony’s suit lit up.
Someone hit his armor with an electrical charge of some sort, sending his systems into a frenzy and causing it to lock up and reset. By the time he was able to move again, he was already on the ground, watching as someone stepped over him.
It was Masque, who turned and looked at Tony. She looked expressionless, an elegant and cold statue. She then ignored Tony and proceeded to smash one of the TIP’s disks, rendering the prison inoperative. Nefaria stood, brushing his suit off before placing a gentle hand on Masque’s shoulder.
“Thank you, Giulietta,” he said softly.
“Of course, Father.”
Tony’s mind had to double back.
This man is her father?
Before Tony could dwell on it any further, Nefaria turned to Tony.
At this point, his suit was finished rebooting. He bolted upright with his repulsors, landing on his feet and charging his unibeam.
He let the beam fire directly at Nefaria’s face, which he blocked with his open palm. He let the energy trickle past his fingers like a torrent of water from a hose. He stood slow and steady steps toward Tony, who didn’t let his beam stop firing for a moment. He didn’t care that his suit’s power levels were depleting, or that Nefaria was clearly absorbing the energy. He didn’t have any other options.
Finally, Nefaria was face-to-helmet with Tony, who didn’t let up. It didn’t matter, though, as Nefaria grabbed Tony by the throat. The unibeam stopped, and FRIDAY’s systems went into a frenzy. His grip was inflexibly strong, and it brought Tony back to memories of a little scuffle he had with the Hulk in Africa.
Tony braced himself as Nefaria threw him out of the gatehouse and back into the fray outside.
Nefaria and Giulietta stalked toward him and he collided with the stone outside. His suit was panicked because of the depleted power levels, and Tony had limited mobility. He wanted to tell FRIDAY to do something, anything, but something stopped him. It was something that sat right on top of his chest, hindering his breathing and consequently made his heart race.
It was fear, pure and unadulterated.
As Nefaria and his daughter approached, he took a look around and saw glances of the losing battle they were fighting.
He saw Joey kneeling in front of the redhead, who had giant pink wings of energy poised to swipe him right off the bridge.
He saw that Cas was guarding Bucky with a force field against Penance. Bucky was unresponsive, and Cas looked as though he was going to scream against the onslaught of purple energy the mercenary was throwing his way.
He saw Wanda scuffling with Moonstone, but upon closer inspection Tony realized it wasn’t much of a fight; Moonstone had Wanda in a chokehold, and Wanda was clawing at her arm, struggling to breathe.
He looked up to see Peter, poor Peter, was on one of the castle’s many turrets, hanging over the edge. His mask was off, as he hurled over the side. The man with the head tattoos loomed over him, watching him vomit over the side for a moment before grabbing him from behind and holding him over the edge. Peter normally would be quick to swing away, but his head simply lolled back. He was out of it.
Finally, Tony looked at Nefaria and his daughter, who were directly above him. Tony knew this was the end.
Nefaria seemed to read his mind as he said, “Today is the end of the Avengers.”
Tony, who in that small moment contemplated all of his recent mistakes, closed his eyes and began to understand. He did this. He was given a challenge and, for one of the first times in his life, he handled it entirely wrong. Now his team, old members and new, were all going to pay for it. Even the newest three.
Joey, the wide-eyed hopeful who admired Tony, but who Tony ultimately began to admire himself.
Cas, the stone-face soldier turned big-hearted softie who teleported himself into the entire team’s heart.
Even Dani, who annoyed Tony to no end but gave Tony and the rest of the team a new strength, much like the fierce fire she created.
Tony’s eyes were still closed, but saw a light through his eyelids that was no doubt Nefaria’s red hand glowing in preparation to end Tony’s life. He took a moment to take a breath before it happened.
The red glow was suddenly interrupted by one slightly brighter, and louder.
Tony opened his eyes to see that everyone, including Nefaria, was looking at a bright pink light approaching from the north behind the castle. It screamed with energy, a low rumble sounding and shaking everyone out of their fighting.
“What is that?” Giulietta said. Tony knew that it wasn’t a what, but a who.
Tony knew exactly who it was, too.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
February 18th, 2017
(Dani)
Dani felt dysfunctional.
She was out of harm’s way, basically in the lap of luxury, waiting for the team to return. She should be happy that she wasn’t risking her life or anyone else’s. She was safe.
She felt defective because any normal person would be glad for these things. Dani, however, wanted nothing more than to fight. To storm whatever stronghold the team was rushing to, to throw fire in Nefaria’s ugly face, and take Pietro back. To take everyone back. She was forced to sit, though, and wait for the inevitable storm to pass. She felt truly useless for the first time in her life.
She was also incredibly bored, which was not easy for her. She could find mild entertainment with almost anything, and it unnerved her that nothing she attempted to do gave her comfort or distraction. This only furthered her feelings of feeling flawed.
To try and offset her boredom and terror, she decided to sit outside in front of the facility. There was a little bench by the strip of road in front of the main building. It was a particularly lovely night, but Dani had a hard time focusing on the beauty of the stars in the sky. Her head was burrowed deeply into the ground, dwelling on things she knew would eat her alive if she let them. She had to remind herself to look up, or blink, or even breathe in some moments; that’s how stressed out she was.
She was so immersed in her own melancholy that she barely noticed Vision taking a seat next to her.
He was still recovering from the fight with Moonstone; his were systems repairing themselves, and his artificial skin went through regular treatment in his tissue chamber thingie that still baffled Dani. He still managed to move almost silently, and Dani didn’t notice he was there until he spoke softly.
“My dermal tissue does not have a sensitivity to the cold, but I’m rather certain it is too cold for you to be outside right now.”
“I run a little hot, but I appreciate the…concern?” Dani had a hard time figuring out if he was worried or made an observation.
He clarified, saying, “I simply want to make sure you’re comfortable. The last time I was on the property alone with a superpowered individual, I was sent 300 feet into the ground. Due to discomfort, of course.”
Dani already knew he was talking about Wanda. Something about the way he talked about her made it seem as though he was fond of the memory, which didn’t make sense to Dani. Nothing about Vision did, really.
“I’m not sure if that was a joke or not. Can you, like, make jokes?”
“I have the propensity to replicate human behavior, so if I am around the right people, I would assume humor would be possible,” Vision said, a slight curve of his lips indicating a smirk. He was definitely joking.
“Y’know, despite the humor, it’s hard to believe Tony made you. He’s so… bleh. And you’re… well, you’re something,” Dani pointed out, feeling a twinge of guilt for saying it, but she wasn’t known for having a filter.
“Well, on the contrary. I happen to be the product of numerous creators, systems, and manners of circumstance. Mr. Stark, Ultron, Dr. Banner, even Thor. All played a part in my creation.”
“Ultron? Didn’t Tony, like, make Ultron? So, like, he’s still Tony?” Dani questioned rhetorically.
Vision prepared to speak, then stopped.
“I suppose you’re right,” he said, a contemplative finger on his chin.
“That’s a first,” Dani muttered, her head turning back to gaze at the sky.
“Well, Danielle, I believe you are much smarter than you give yourself credit for,” Vision said, seemingly out of nowhere. Dani had to look back at him, just to give him the face she was no doubt making: utter confusion.
“Me? Smart?”
Vision nodded and said, “You are quite intelligent.”
Dani scoffed and shook her head, feeling a laugh come on. “If I was smart, I’d be much more useful than Tony is making me out to be.”
“You are clearly intelligent enough to understand your role,” Vision argued, “And how important your current position is.”
“One decision to stay doesn’t excuse the countless other dumbass decisions I’ve made,” Dani finally stood, getting heated. The android was supposed to be
smart
; why was he siding with her, of all people?
“This may be true. But maybe consider everyone else’s capacity for bad choices. Tony himself made a choice to create Ultron, and he paid for it. I have made my fair share of mistakes in my short existence. Humanity itself thrives on bad choices because it allows an opportunity for growth. Being capable of making mistakes does not mean you are not capable of heroism.”
Dani wanted to argue, but she shut herself up. The android was smarter than she gave him credit. Maybe she’s not giving anyone enough credit for their intelligence, including herself.
“And based on your file, Dani,” Vision continued, “I know you are capable of great heroism.”
Him saying that, paired with their isolation, made her involuntarily think about that fateful day only months prior to her time at the compound.
It was a normal wintry day, and Dani was alone as usual. She had been alone for a few years already, but it was one of the few times in her life where she was content with it. She was avoiding her foster home for numerous reasons (number one being her total bitch of foster mom), and she didn’t have any friends. She didn’t mind, though; she was perfectly fine just enjoying the weather, and the city.
She was strolling through Brooklyn, popping gum and tagging the sides of buildings with gnarly-looking scorch marks. She usually made faces, but sometimes she got creative and made bunnies or tiny blades, or even tiny letters. They usually spelled choice words.
She was distracted from one of these projects by someone running past her. She was prepared to curse at him until she saw just how many people were running. From the sounds of the commotion, they were running
toward
something.
Dani followed the crowd and rounded a corner to see a massive apartment building, probably eight stories high, engulfed in red-hot flames. Dani could see firefighters trying desperately to tame the blaze, but it was not looking good. Dani was horrified, preparing to turn and walk away to even avoid thinking about it. Something changed her resolve, however.
“Please! My mother is still in there!”
A lady was draped over a firefighter, who was visibly annoyed. She was in tears, which was made evident by the soot covering her face featuring two distinct lines on the skin on both of her cheeks. Her voice was a shrill soprano of pain and fear, one that Dani knew all too well.
“Ma’am, we’re doing everything we can, but the flames are too dense. We can’t get anyone on the inside,” the fireman said, trying to calm her down but failing to do so.
As Dani observed, she felt something switch inside of her. As if her parents were screaming in her ears. Her logic was shifting, her heart aching, her body twitching.
If I have the power to do something
, she thought,
why would I just stand there and do nothing?
Dani rushed into the building.
The flames were, in fact, dense. Dani almost couldn’t see a foot in front of her own face. But a wave of her hand absorbed the heat and calmed the blaze blocking her path. She was able to see the person cowering behind the front desk, crying his eyes out. She cleared a path for him with her powers and yelled, “Go!” over the roar of the flames.
He stopped crying and bolted out the door.
She took the stairs (since the elevator was not functional) and continued to look for the lady’s mother. She found several people along the way, and helped them reach safety in the process. Dani knew she had the power to end the blaze, but she wanted to make sure everyone was safe before absorbing all that energy. She was not one to accidentally absorb all the oxygen and suffocate someone, or worse.
She finally managed to find a woman amid the flames on the top floor, clutching a cane and hacking her lungs out in the middle of the ignited hallway. That had to be the mother.
“We’re gonna get you out of here,” Dani said as she began to lead the woman out of the building.
“Help!” Dani heard behind her.
Dani stopped, turning to see whose voice that could’ve been. She was almost certain she got everyone out. This was the top floor. She wanted desperately to believe she imagined it, to keep going and get the hell out of the building with the person she came to find in tow. But that voice, those voices of her parents were still screaming, louder than the fire that surrounded them. Almost as loud as the voice who called for help once again.
Dani practically growled before yelling, “Go down the stairs and don’t look back! Your daughter is waiting for you!”
The old woman nodded, and continued to cough as she moved down the stairs. Dani was surprised that no other firefighters were making their way up here, but she also figured the flames below them were much worse than up there.
Dani listened out for the other voice, and heard them scream once more from a room furthest down the hallway.
Dani burned the door down when it didn’t open for her, and searched the apartment. It was seemingly empty, the new residents being the fire dancing around like a murderous house party. Finally, she saw who it was.
It was a firefighter, his legs trapped underneath a wooden support beam from the roof.
“How did you even get up here?” she asked him as she went to his side of the living room and attempted to move the flaming block of wood from his legs.
“I got up here before the fire got too bad, but a backdraft made the lower floors explode, and it rocked the support beam off the roof,” he explained. Dani managed to lift it, but not very high. He still couldn’t move his legs without potentially performing his own amputation.
She stopped lifting and wiped a bead of sweat off of her brow. She was immune to fire, but the flames paired with the smoke and the physical exertion made her deteriorate fast. She was losing her mojo.
Finally, she heaved a heavy breath and lifted the pillar, almost above her head. He shakily stood up, and was about to thank her. As she let the pillar go, however, he said, “Oh no.”
Dani followed his gaze to the corner of the room, where an oxygen tank stood. It was most likely for a senior (maybe even the mother she rescued) and was mere inches away from a new blaze that had started by falling embers from the pillar she moved. There was no time for her to react as the fire licked the side of the tank and exploded.
Dani only had enough time to grab the firefighter and turn his body away from the blast, guarding him with her own body. In that split second that the tank lit up, she knew she made many mistakes. She could have led him out of there before deciding to talk, or douse the flames in the room before even attempting to help him. None of that mattered, though. She was painfully stuck in the present. For the first time in a long time, her present was tainted with pain.
Dani blacked out and woke up in the hospital only hours after. She was stressed out being there (because a hospital didn’t work out so well for her last time she was admitted), but she was offered some form of relief. Her assuaged anxiety took the form of the survivors. She found out that everyone made it out okay, including the firefighter. People came to her in her bed over the course of several hours, thanking her. Even the firefighter she saved, whose name turned out to be Brian, came to her room with a bouquet and deep thanks. Without her, he would’ve died.
Dani ended up taking the brunt of the explosion. That would’ve been fine if it hadn’t been an oxygen tank. The fire was absorbed, but the shrapnel from the pressurized tank was launched into her back, nearly killing her. She ended up getting a total of thirteen scars on her back, each around the length of a pencil. They healed nicely, but even with the accelerated healing her powers offered her, they burned constantly. They barely even had time to finish the healing process before she was in handcuffs. SHIELD detained her the day after the accident, and she had her conversation with Nick Fury that led her to the compound and all of its mess.
The memory made her back ache, and she rubbed the back of her neck in an attempt to soothe her pain. Both in the physical and mental capacity.
Vision, who simply watched her relive that horrid memory in the span of two seconds without a clue in the world, said, “Is everything alright?”
Dani’s hand, which left her neck, let loose a frustrated spark of red into the air. It exploded with blinding red light and cacophonous sound, which was not as loud as her guttural scream of resentment.
“No!” Dani screamed at Vision, “I’m not alright! You’re calling me a hero, and I know for a fact that I’m no hero! I’m crazy, that’s what I am! I feel crazy sitting here worried as hell because my friends are all fighting for me and I’m not even there! I feel crazy for thinking that my safety is the last thing I’m worried about, and I feel even crazier for wanting to take myself out of this safe place and fight for them so that no one else gets hurt! It’s my complacency that’s endangering them! My mistakes that led us here! It’s me! It’s always me! I can’t let it happen anymore!”
Vision stared at her, no doubt having already processed her outburst and simply giving her time to breathe. She desperately needed it. She had never, ever expressed herself to that degree before. It scared even herself. She could only imagine how Vision felt.
If
he felt.
“It appears, then,” Vision finally said, “That you’ve already decided on a course of action.”
Dani, whose eyes were closed to keep tears from falling, opened them to look at Vision. She almost felt like that woman by the building begging someone, anyone, to save her mother. Dani felt just as desperate for her friends to make it out of this unscathed. The only difference was that the woman was powerless in her endeavor. Dani was not.
“If I have the power to do something, why would I stand here and do nothing?” Dani muttered to herself, truly lost in her thoughts. So much bounced around in her head, she almost didn’t realize she was taking slow and steady steps down the airstrip.
Thoughts of her experience in foster care fueled an anger she barely knew she had. It was because of the lack of true support that she was so angry at everyone: making sure everyone hated her so that no one would learn to.
She then thought about her experience at the compound where she was getting support and (dare she say it?) love from people who barely knew her, and she still rejected them. It was a vicious cycle that she was perpetuating, and she knew it had to end.
She thought of Tony, and how disgusted and repulsed she was of him in the beginning. Mostly because of his choices, but many things that were out of his control. His upbringing, his image, his connection to her. It was most likely how he viewed her, and was exactly the reason why Clint was right: they were really alike.
She thought of Pietro, who she desperately wanted to save. She needed him, whether she was willing to admit it or not. He brought joy when all she knew was anger, and brought love when all she felt was hate. For her situation, for the people around her, for the universe.
She thought of her parents, and of their never-ending love. Their patience, their lessons, their voices nagging in the back of her head, which had only seemed to become louder and more persistent since she became part of the team. She let all of these run through her head, and by the time she realized she was crying, she was already running at full speed down the runway.
Fire surrounded her in a rainbow of color, making her skin buzz with a feeling she couldn’t pin down. Anger? Joy? Excitement? Despair? It was all of them, all of them at once. She was finally able to breathe, though. She finally settled on one feeling that could help her to focus.
Release.
Her fire suddenly glowed a bright neon pink, and exploded around her, sending her aloft into the night sky. The tears streaming down her face were literally being burned away as the flames carried her over the highway and toward the horizon. Her rage turned to disbelief, and her crying turned into laughter. She was soaring, much higher than any other attempt in the past, and in far more senses than the literal. This time, there was no hesitation. No panic. No anger. Just determination. Her fire was hers, and no one could douse it. Not even her at this point.
All she needed was a target.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
February 18th, 2017
(Avengers)
Dani had no idea what she was doing.
She never did, truth be told. Here, though, it might have been a problem.
The first thing she noticed when she finally approached the castle was that Peter was on a balcony with the head tattoos guy, looking very close to death. Dani targeted him first, launching at him with incredible speed.
She swiped Radioactive Man off the ledge, taking him down to the courtyard with the rest of her team and slamming him into the stones that made the pathway. Dani broke her fall with his back and let her fire die down with her landing.
She looked at him and saw that his eyes were starting to glow a sickly green, along with his tattoos. Dani figured this was how his powers worked, and wasted no time in grabbing him by the throat and absorbing his energy.
She felt a rush of… something. It didn’t hurt, but it wasn’t pleasant. It made Dani’s skin crawl and her head hurt a little bit, but the feeling was soon numbed by a feverish heat. A few seconds of this, and Radioactive Man was no longer active.
She stood up from the unconscious villain and saw her team—and their opponents—staring at her in disbelief. If the stakes weren’t so high, she would have felt embarrassed. She felt proud, however, and charged with newfound confidence.
“Let’s kick some ass!” she decided to scream into the void.
The team shouted a resounding scream and began to fight even harder than she assumed they were fighting before. Dani turned to face Nefaria.
He was gazing at her, less with shock and more with…hunger. Almost as if he wanted to peel off her skin and eat her like a piece of chicken breast. The sheer amount of discomfort that emerged was enough to immobilize her, but she quickly shut it down. It was game time.
* * *
Cas saw Dani through the glassy green sheen of his force field, and almost let his guard down. That would have been a mistake, however, as Penance was not letting up his onslaught of energy against him and a blacked-out Bucky. The man stopped to watch Dani render the radioactive mercenary unconscious, but as soon as Dani heaved her battle cry, Penance was back to trying to break through the shield.
“Come on, little boy,” he screamed over the sounds of his violet punches, “Just let me kill you nice and easy.”
The patronizing coax sent Cas into a headspace that would have normally brought him to tears. Suddenly, he was back in a small training room at the Facility, being bombarded with kicks by Hydra goons instructed to show no mercy to a teenage boy.
It sent him even further backward, to the kids that bullied him at ARGUS for being different, for having weirder abilities, for being black, for being quiet. For simply
being
.
Cas wanted to give up, to crumble like the force field in front of him was bound to do. Every bone in his body screamed at him to do so. But he couldn’t. It would be a defeat, and Cas knew what happened when he loses.
As he let out a guttural scream, Cas pushed against Penance. He pushed with the might of a kid bullied for years in an unfamiliar place. The might of a child tortured by the hands of strangers and scientists in the name of turning him into a monster. The might of a person hellbent on proving that he was more than everything he was made to be. The might of an Avenger.
He pushed Penance into a portal.
Cas knew the portal was extremely far; one of the farthest portals he’s created. Cas just didn’t know exactly where it was. Only that it was above them.
The portal led to an unknown point somewhere in the air, several thousand feet and pointing downward. Cas had a plan, and used every bit of his ability to execute it.
He used his spatial awareness to find precisely where Penance was falling, and increased his gravity tenfold. Cas could feel him falling faster, experiencing upward of four Gs. Cas knew as soon as he reached five, he would pass out. He fell faster and faster, well past terminal velocity. In the span of a few seconds, Cas knew he was out cold.
And a mere second before Penance hit the ground, Cas suspended him in the air.
He floated inches away from the ground, head limp and eyes closed. Cas gently let his body fall, and then fell to his knees. Exhaustion tunneled his vision, and he fought hard to keep his breathing under control. Not because he overexerted himself (which was honestly not even a concern at this point), but that he finally won. He finally won
his
way. Not how Hydra wanted him to, and not how SHIELD wanted him to. It only made him feel his freedom that much more.
* * *
After Joey was freed from Songbird’s influence, he switched up his strategy.
Using strategy itself wasn’t something Joey was altogether used to, but he had a plan. He only hoped it worked, since his life was on the line.
He was on his knees ready to accept his end when Dani showed up. Her presence gave him freedom, in more ways than one. He returned her scream, and proceeded to sweep Songbird’s legs from under her. She twirled toward the ground, but a bright pair of wings stopped her. She hovered above the ground, her nose mere inches away from the stones of the bridge.
Her recovery time was all Joey needed, though.
He flipped over her, finding his footing and trying out a kick that Cap taught him, where he corkscrewed into the air. She dodged it, swerving out of the way with winged assistance before kicking him in the chest.
Joey flew back, farther down the bridge. He was back on his knees, which he knew from past experience was a dangerous position to be in. Sure enough, Songbird let loose a wave of sound, a piercing cry that made Joey want to scratch his own cochlea out of his skull. Or rip his own head off entirely. He just wanted to die, to end the torment.
Joey fought back, though. He knew this wasn’t his time. He had family, friends, allies, teammates counting on him. By some extension, the world. It wasn't over. Not by a longshot.
Joey took his hands off his ears long enough to let loose a wave of his own sound. This time, though, it wasn’t careless. It was intensely deliberate, a meticulous set of sound waves that canceled out Songbirds entirely. The sound of her screeching immediately stopped, the peaks and valleys of her soundwaves being filled by Joey’s.
Tony, amidst his lessons about Joey’s powers and how they functioned, taught Joey about how soundwaves worked. Joey did some of his own digging to find different ways he could manipulate them and discovered the science behind noise cancellation: filling soundwaves with the direct opposite through phase inversion. This was the first time he successfully did it, and Songbird’s face was priceless.
This gave Joey enough time to completely cancel the sound around them, creating a silent bubble. Instead of keeping sound from escaping the area, he pushed it all away, letting their space be as dead as sleep. The fight around them was silenced, and her wings disappeared. He saw her eyes widen in fear, trying to bring back sound somehow with a flexing of her neck and an open mouth. Her panic made him chuckle. He couldn’t hear it, though, and neither could she. She really did have the best reactions. He only hoped the same couldn’t be said for her fighting.
Joey lunged.
No matter the advantage Songbird may have held in the sound department, Joey definitely had the upper hand in hand-to-hand combat. She bumbled and stumbled around him, trying to dodge and counter his attacks, but they were useless. Joey was moving swiftly, sending guerilla hits to her knees, arms, and torso. He was slowly taking her down, and moving faster than if he did have acceleration on his side. He didn’t though; he had a newfound confidence. That was enough to propel him forward.
Finally, he saw an opportunity. He caught a punch she threw haphazardly at his face, and twisted her arm into a headlock. He used his free hand to unbuckle her sound belt and snatch it off her body, then pushed her away. He threw it on the ground where he stood, and raised his fist. The sound bubble collapsed and collected into his palm, a load of raw sound shaking within his fist.
“No, no, no!” Songbird screamed at him, preparing to lunge. It was too late, though.
For both of them.
Joey smashed the belt with the unhinged sound, a shockwave of low-frequency sound cascading across the cobblestone. Once he felt the belt break, he was overjoyed.
Then the ground began to crack.
Joey took note of his surroundings, which only made his own happiness fissure into horror.
Joey was on the part of the cliff that the foundation of the castle stood on. The mouth of the bridge was only a few feet from him, but the bridge itself was beginning to crumble. Songbird was closer to the midpoint of the bridge, and her look of terror said everything that needed to be said for Joey. It was over.
The bridge collapsed, and Joey tried to ride the sound of stone plunging toward the ground, to grab Songbird—no, wait, what was her name….Melissa—and carry her to safety. But he could barely even focus on the sound of his own breathing, much less the raucous sound of hopelessness he was witnessing.
He managed to scream a loud, “No!” as he reached for her, but even that was dulled out in his own ears. All he could hear was his own heart pounding, as it broke in two.
The stones fell to the river, as Joey fell to his knees. Melissa was nowhere to be seen.
* * *
Wanda watched Dani in awe for every moment after her bright pink fire died. She saw how she locked eyes with Nefaria, before Tony moved incredibly fast by blasting Masque into the castle and yanking Nefaria into the sky.
Dani looked confused for a moment, before turning to look at Wanda. She smiled, a look of much-appreciated mischief in her eye. Wanda wanted to smile back, but was quickly distracted by a kick in her back.
Moonstone was back on the offensive, and Wanda knew she wouldn’t be strong enough to fight her for much longer. Still, Wanda was not known to give up.
She stopped herself from crumbling, only falling to one knee and swiveling to face her foe with an energy blast straight to the chest. Moonstone was knocked back, hitting a stack of rubble from the turret she threw.
Wanda turned to rush back toward Dani in the wake of the compromised villain.
“Dani! You shouldn’t be here,” she said quickly as soon as they were within a foot of each other.
“Well, when have I ever been good at listening?” Dani quipped, that signature smile forming before she said, “Where’s Pietro? And the others?” The concern on Dani’s face was almost certainly mirrored by Wanda’s, but Dani’s worry radiated off of her in waves.
“They’re still inside the castle somewhere. We haven’t been able to get past these guys long enough to get inside. Not to mention Nefaria.”
Without hesitation, Dani said, “Well, let’s handle them, shall we?” She smiled, and Wanda had an urge to hug her. She was prepared to fight the feeling, but Dani’s eyes went wide as they focused on something behind her head.
“Look out!” Dani said, gripping her shoulder and forcing the both of them into a duck. A bright orange blob of energy whizzed past them, narrowly missing her head. As she crouched, Wanda turned to see Moonstone, hands glowing and eyes formed into a murderous glare.
Dani yelled, “Base!” Wanda took the hint, staying crouched but steadying her footing. Dani used Wanda’s back as a base, rolling over her back-to-back to build momentum for a giant pink fireball. She lobbed it at Moonstone, who launched into levitation to avoid it.
Wanda anticipated this, as well as Dani. The fireball was nothing more than a means to get their opponent where they wanted her, which was in the air. In that small moment, Wanda was almost proud that Dani had come this far, learned so much. As soon as Dani landed her roll, she became a base for Wanda to do the exact same thing. Only instead of a fireball, Wanda heaved a cluster of turret rubble, making sure it hit its target this time.
Pieces of stone hurtled to Moonstone like an automatic rifle, and Moonstone was properly occupied by taking the hits. She crossed her arms to stave off some of the damage, but Dani was already in motion. Wanda was crouched again, focused intently on bombarding the other woman with stone, and Dani used her back once again to pitch herself into the air, letting loose a wave of neon energy at Moonstone, the downward force sending her to a direct collision course with the ground. She shouted in surprise and pain, but it was drowned out by the sound of rock becoming gravel.
Dani landed, and watched the dust clear alongside Wanda. Moonstone was jammed into the ground, out cold.
Wanda turned to Dani, both of them out of breath. Dani’s eyes were blown, most likely out of excitement. Wanda had a slight hope it was something else. She felt the need to say something, anything. Dani looked as though she was about to speak, too. They were both stopped, however, by a crashing sound not too far from them.
As Dani and Wanda raced toward Joey, who was on his knees, they saw that the sound was the bridge collapsing, the cobblestone tumbling down the cliffs and into the Hudson River.
“Joey, what…what happened?” Wanda said, watching the splashes of water change color, from the sandy brown of the stone, to white foam, and settling back to the moon-tinged blue.
“I…I…” Joey struggled to form words. He swallowed and said, “I killed her. Songbird…Melissa.” His eyes were threatening to spill over, and his face was contorted in a way that Wanda had never seen before. It was pure anguish, and it was entirely unlike Joey. It was wrong, all wrong.
Wanda herself struggled to find words, but Dani beat her to the punch.
She was on her knees in no time. She practically lunged for Joey, pulling him into the most aggressive embrace Wanda could envision. She hissed into his ear, “I know this is hard. I know you feel like the lowest form of scum on Earth. But no matter what happened, Joey, you are
not
a killer. You hear me? You are too kind and loving to let the death of someone take you down that dark path. You didn’t kill her. She knew the risks, and so did you. You just got a suckier hand:
you’re
stuck here to fight another day.”
She shook the words into him, giving a firm jolt of movement to him with each sentence and emphasized word. Joey, though he made no sound, was sobbing. Wanda lamented at his silent cry, made even sadder by his wide-open mouth and its struggle to scream. The boy with sonic powers, incapable of making any sound of grief.
* * *
For probably the first time ever, Tony was glad to see Dani and her familiar flames.
The bright magenta light that she gave off was this beacon of hope that was entirely unexpected, but he nonetheless took advantage of. As soon as Nefaria was distracted by Dani’s presence, Tony let loose a small but potent repulsor blast under his arm. It struck Giulietta directly in the chest and knocked her back into the foyer of the castle. Before Nefaria could react, Tony grabbed the other man and rocketed into the air.
Nefaria broke free from the embrace incredibly fast, but Tony had a vice grip on his arm, making sure he did not slip out of his grasp.
Nefaria had other plans, though.
Nefaria’s eyes glowed a deadly red, and a sudden burst of energy from them sent Tony barreling toward the balcony of the castle. He hit the platform, which held up surprisingly well for having had a metal suit of armor collide with it. His helmet hit the railing, however, and took out a few pieces of the stone posts.
Nefaria landed on top of him, his hands glowing red and prepping to melt his helmet right off of his head. Tony knee-jerked a mechanism in his repulsor, which launched a tiny disk at his chest. The disk stuck to one of the opulent knobs before beeping rapidly and exploding in Nefaria’s face. He was thrown back into the castle through the glass doors behind him, and Tony followed suit.
The room itself was not lit, aside from the moonlight outside streaming in through the demolished double doors. It was a bedroom of some sort, with displays meant to showcase some form of Nefaria family history. Tony shot a repulsor blast at a case of diaries, for good measure.
“If your family is anything like you, I wouldn’t want them around,” he added as he walked towards Nefaria, who climbed out of a destroyed wardrobe.
They were in an enclosed space, and Tony was beginning to feel less confident about his position. Tony did a quick scan of the area, and suddenly felt a whole lot better.
Before the other man could take a step, he held up both wrists. Lasers popped out of compartments on his wrists and followed a path on the ceiling predetermined on his HUD. They cut a precision pattern through the ceiling before closing a specific shape and stopping completely. The ceiling came crashing down, along with a turret that sat directly above them. Tony leaped backward onto the balcony, avoiding the mess he created.
“FRIDAY,” he said quickly, hoping she’d do a thermal scan.
“He’s alive under there,” FRIDAY answered, “But immobile.”
As soon as she said it, Tony heard another burst of sound behind him. He turned to see the bridge collapsing, and the others rushing to Joey.
Tony propelled himself off the balcony and with the rest of the team, watching as Dani comforted Joey. Wanda looked shaken, but otherwise okay. Cas was holding Peter’s shoulder, and Bucky looked washed as he held Simon in his arms. Simon’s head was limp, but his groans indicated he was alive.
“What happened?” Tony asked Wanda.
“Joey…he was fighting Songbird, and…” she said, hoping Tony would fill in the blanks. He saw the collapsed bridge and connected the dots.
He felt for the kid. He wished there was a way to take that burden off his back, but Tony knew that was his cross to bear from that moment on. There wasn’t any going back after that. Dani knew it, and Wanda knew it. Tony knew it all too well.
“Look, kid, you did what you could. But we have injured teammates, and no bridge back to the quinjet.”
“I can portal them, but we still haven’t gotten the others,” Cas said.
“Okay,” Tony said, thinking as fast as he was speaking, “Cas, make a portal to the ship. Wanda, help the others back onto the ship. I’ll send a distress signal when I’ve gotten the others and we need a quick way out.”
“What about Nefaria?” Bucky asked.
“We don’t have the firepower to take him down. I’ve kept him at bay for now, but not for long.”
“Tony,” Dani said, standing up and facing him, “Let me handle him.”
“Are you crazy? You’re exactly what he needs to-” Tony started.
Dani was too quick as she said, “Tony, I know. But if there’s one thing I’ve taken from being here, it’s that we have to trust each other.”
Tony looked into her eyes and, despite the barrier the HUD in his helmet created, saw something there that almost scared him. It was confidence, but it wasn’t boisterous or unwarranted. She had a plan, and Tony had half a mind to unleash her onto Nefaria.
More than half.
“Okay, Dani. You distract Nefaria while I find the others. But if you find any opportunity to neutralize him, you take it,” Tony said, pointing at her firmly, but then offering his armored hand.
“I trust you.”
Dani glanced at it for a moment, then took it into her own and shook it once.
“I got this. Besides, you still have Masque to deal with.”
“Oh. Right,” Tony said, turning toward the castle. He almost forgot about that. He honestly hoped that he’d forget about it forever, He added, “Well, we needed to talk, anyway.”
He stared at the gatehouse, into the darkness that awaited him. The part of his past that lied in his immediate future. He was terrified, but he readied himself.
“This conversation is long overdue.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
February 18th, 2017
(Tony & Dani)
The last thing Tony wanted to do was talk; but, he knew that’s what was needed.
He knew Giuletta. Granted, he knew her as Krissy, and he wasn’t exactly sure what was real about her and what was acting. Still, he felt like there was something genuine and sincere in those gray eyes whenever he would talk to her all those years ago.
Tony explored the castle, FRIDAY illuminating his path toward the immense energy readings that Natasha had found in their last visit. He hoped it was a containment unit for his teammates. It was the best-case scenario given the circumstances, and he didn’t want his imagination to run any wilder than that.
He was on the third level, the spacious halls of the east wing making even Tony a little jealous. Ornate sconces lined the walls, but the lights remained dormant. He wasn’t concerned about that, though. He sped through the hallways on a predetermined path, his repulsors whirring like a siren in his head. As he continued, the halls became less extravagant and more corporate, with thin beige hallways and doors marked with bland office plaques. He finally made it to the door of the security office, which stood ajar.
Inside, a wall was lined with screens, all showing nothing but static. All but one. A singular screen showed, in night vision, the back of Tony’s armor. He turned and looked up, to see a security camera pointed directly at him from across the narrow hall. He shot it down with a repulsor blast, making the screens finally match.
He turned to the other wall of the office, and a quick scan revealed the entire face to be a secret door. He observed the desk in front of the security screens and found a singular red button.
It can’t be that easy
, he thought.
He pressed the button, making the door open outward into a spiral stairwell descending
downward. The opening was large enough for him, but the space didn’t allow for him to fly down. He’d have to walk.
“All hope abandon, ye who enter here…” Tony mumbled as he began his descent.
* * *
Dani’s heart was pounding, and she had a hard time deciding if it was out of excitement or fear.
For the first time since meeting Tony Stark, he was finally trusting her. It was enough to get excited over, but not for the reasons that others might think.
She wasn’t one to value the permission of a white man to do
anything
. He was still “rich white man” Tony Stark, after all. She wasn’t excited because she had won his approval. No, it was because, in some way, she had finally earned his respect. That’s all she really wanted. Not just from Tony, but from everyone. Respect, and a chance to prove herself.
The only problem was that she was given both in the face of great danger and imminent death.
Here she was, flying (fucking
flying
, dude) up to the decimated room that Tony buried Nefaria under, and she was terrified of what he could do to her. Still, she had a plan. For the first time in her life, she thought it was a
good
one.
Dani decided amidst the rubble and the absence of Nefaria that the racing heartbeat was a mixture of both elation and terror, a kind of furor she wasn’t too unfamiliar with. It was a similar feeling to the one she felt in that burning apartment building.
She landed inside the room and climbed over the rubble into the castle, following a pull of some sort. Nefaria was charged with an insane amount of energy, and her body was following it like a dowsing rod. Dani followed the trail of energy left behind by his movements, and could almost get a clear image: where he went, how fast, and how he walked. He walked like a man on a mission, but didn’t stumble or falter.
She followed the trail swiftly, wasting no more time in seeing his actions. The trail stopped behind a set of double doors at the end of a long, large hallway. She pushed one open and found herself in a large room. The marble floors had gold inlay, and the windows of the east wall were practically floor-to-ceiling. At the end of the room, however, sat Nefaria, on a throne of ivory.
“I knew you’d come,” he said in a hushed husky voice. Despite how quiet he was, his voice still bounced off of the space like they were in a concert hall.
“And, how exactly did you figure that out? Was my fiery entrance enough indication?” she snapped back, taking step toward him with the swagger she knew she couldn’t hide.
“I knew you would want to be the one to approach me. To face me.”
Dani pursed her lips and looked around as she said, “Hmm. Nope. I’ve just been taking a tour of the castle. Really nice digs, honestly. Prime real estate. Could use more light, though.” She pointed a finger gun at one of the torches that hung from the wall and jokingly
pew’d
. Magenta fire leaped from her finger and engulfed the torch, making it glow with pink light.
“Having fun?” he said, an exasperated sigh leaving his lips.
“Oh, always,” she responded with a smirk.
He sighed and stood, saying, “I knew you’d be the one to face me. I’m the one who hurt your friends, kidnapped your team. Your…special friend. He’s been calling for you amidst his agony.”
It took all of Dani’s energy not to incinerate him where he stood. Just the thought of Pietro in pain made her want to scream, and the dickwad in front of her baiting her with his suffering only fueled the fire in her gut. But she had the upper hand, and she had to keep it that way.
“Oh, come on,” she rolled her eyes, “Why do all you men folk always assume a woman with agency is doing things only because of a man? I’m here to face you for
me
. To show you that I’m not afraid to do so. No threats, no torture, and no fear is gonna make me back down.”
“Are you sure? I know all about your little Maggia excursion with the Black Skulls not too long ago. You’ve been doing things for me for a while. You may be with the Avengers now, but you’re still the little girl from the Bronx who was on my family’s payroll. And now here you are, ready to give me exactly what I need. Your agency has led you here to my aid, the aid of a man.”
Dani was no longer smirking, or swaggering. Her jaw was set, and her eyes were no longer masking her fury. She said slowly, “That little girl from the Bronx? She died the day she crushed hundreds of innocents under the rubble of a hospital building. I’ve been fighting ever since, and I’m not gonna stop now.”
“Then prove it. Show me the power you possess, Danielle,” he said, taunting her.
“You’re gonna wish you hadn’t said that!” she growled as she unleashed a torrent of white-hot flames at his face.
* * *
Tony’s armored boot touched the bottom of the staircase, the smooth concrete making it screech a little. The room was large, and had vertical ceiling lights much like a bunker. They flickered with yellowed light, and illuminated the door at the end, where the energy readings were emanating from. The room was practically empty, with metal tables and chairs in weird positions all over the room. It seemed like the room was meant for something, and was in the process of being reworked.
He looked around, his scans not picking anything or anyone up, and took a step forward.
There was a slight tug before his body was thrown to the side like a rag doll.
After he collided with the wall and slid down, he immediately knew it was a tripwire, something his scanner wouldn’t have picked up. He’d had to work on that later, if he survived. A hole in the wall next to where he stood indicated an explosive was placed there. How his scanner didn’t pick
that
up was beyond him. This room was booby-trapped to hell and back, and Tony couldn’t do anything about it.
His attention was caught by movement next to the staircase. Giulietta, her mask off and her hair wild, stood by a lever.
Before he could say anything, she yanked it down, killing the lights.
The explosion scrambled his HUD, and his night vision was toast from the overexposure to light and energy. He let his helmet collapse into his suit, exposing his head. A flashlight popped up from his shoulder, illuminating a narrow scope of the room and letting his eyes adjust. He looked at the switch, which now was accompanied by empty space. He slowly swept the room, and Giulietta was nowhere in sight.
“I’m getting real tired of being in the dark with you,” he said out loud, making sure that wherever she was, she could hear him.
Silence.
“You’re gonna have to get used to it,” she said.
His repulsor whirred to life, shooting in the direction of her voice. It was meant to stun, but the blast connected with one of the metal chairs, sending it flying into the wall. The noise filled the room before slowly dying out. The same happened with the light: a whisper of light illuminated the room for a moment, and left even quicker. In that small moment, he saw the other tables and chairs, but no Giulietta.
He took slow steps toward the door, the sound of his armor echoing throughout. He was cutting through the silence, but it was still as loud as ever.
SNAP!
Another tripwire was ripped in two by his boot, triggering a flash of light in front of him. A flash grenade fell from the ceiling, or shot out of the wall, or something. He couldn’t figure it out; his eyes burned and his vision consequently suffered, and he fell to his knees. He was disoriented, but he knew with a little time he’d be alright.
He decided to talk again, “God, you’re good at hurting me.”
Silence.
When she didn’t respond, he said, “You know, I remember you telling me that you didn’t have any family. I’m sorry I didn’t realize that translated to ‘batshit crazy father with lasers for eyes.’”
“Seems like you made the mistake of believing me,” Giulietta said. Tony didn’t move, only listened out for the sound of her movement. Nothing.
“Ah, y’know, a lot of the conversations we had,” Tony said, slowly standing up as he blinked furiously, “are more real than you give yourself credit.”
She didn’t respond, and that was a sign for him to continue, “Remember that one night? When you were working late? You were no doubt plotting your little heist, but I was still a concerned boss. I had said that ‘your boyfriend must be home waiting for you.’ To which you replied…”
There was a pause.
“I said that I was alone.”
“Yep. You didn’t say you lived alone, or that you were single. You said you were alone,” Tony said, looking around. His flashlight was demolished from the grenade’s shrapnel, and the darkness swallowed him. Still, he continued to step forward.
“I know how alone you felt. How alone you feel. It’s there, ingrained in your being. Which is why you couldn’t hide it. I feel–I felt…that way once. It’s why I know you didn’t know Luchino when you robbed me.”
She didn’t respond, so Tony still listened out for her movements.
Screech!
Tony’s repulsor whipped toward the noise and let loose two pulses of energy. They connected with one of the tables, flinging it across the room.
“I know what it must be like. To have finally felt like you found your family,” Tony continued, “To feel like you belong somewhere.”
He heard it. The sound of her foot moving toward him.
He turned around swiftly and caught her arm in a vice grip. She tried to flip around him, to get him caught in a headlock, but he flipped it back on her and slammed her into the ground. He sat on top of her, restraining her wrists. Her face was barely perceptible in the dark, but he could see her gray eyes were wide with panic.
“You think you’ve found family, but he doesn’t love you, and you know it,” he said right to her face.
She didn’t make a sound, just continued to struggle in his grasp.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I can help you. Let me help you. Please.”
She stared at him, her struggle slowly waning into immobility. Her eyes, though shrouded in darkness, told him everything he needed to know. That they were both right back where they started, in that R&D room all those years ago. That she was struggling back then just like she was struggling now. Only this time, she had so much more to think about.
Suddenly, her wide-eyed expression became a scowl, and she reared back to headbutt Tony. He let his helmet don itself back onto his head, and she slammed her forehead into the metal covering. She knocked herself out.
Tony could only wish that she was dreaming of a better life for herself.
* * *
Dani really hated this Nefaria guy’s guts.
Not only was he a manipulative prick who confirmed everything she knew about rich white men, but he also packed a damn good punch.
No matter how much destructive force she managed to throw at him, he returned it in spades. She was setting off explosions in his face that would obliterate concrete, and he was shaking it off and charging at her with renewed force. Tony was not wrong when he said that she was exactly what he needed to fuel his fire.
Still, she fought hard, hoping to tire him out. They traded blows like the boxers she’d see on TV with her dad. He would sometimes say that he knew them from “back in the day” or that they used to practice “down at Morris Park”, a boxing club in the Bronx. The fact that she was even thinking about it during the fight was proof she was getting tired.
Their fight was testing the integrity of the castle. Each explosive blow rocked the structure to its core, cracked the floors, and shook the walls. She didn’t care if the castle collapsed, she was buying time for Tony.
Nefaria was also making mad swipes at her, but not with a closed fist. He was grabbing for her, trying to get the weathered claws that were his fingers around anything on her person he could: her jacket, her hair, her leg. Dani wouldn’t let him touch her, though. She knew that would mean something very bad.
Nefaria floated above the throne, sending waves of red energy out of his eyes at Dani. Dani ducked out of the way in mid-air, using her fire to spin out of harm’s way. She then created a burst of multi-colored energy all around her, which manifested in several orbs of red-hot fire all around the air. They all shot at Nefaria, showering him in the multi-colored sparks that she got her namesake from. She bombarded him with bursts of red, green, blue, and pink energy. She felt angelic, as in she was raining down heavenly bombs of fire.
They sent him flying backward into a collision with the wall, a cloud of rubble gathering from the amount of stone and plaster being demolished in its wake.
Dani floated down as the dust settled, hoping she at least subdued him for a moment.
She was proven wrong, however, by the sight of Nefaria speeding towards her with angry red eyes.
Dani braced herself, but Nefaria was too fast. He slammed into her with energized ambition, slamming her into the ground and through the layer of marble into a crater of concrete and stone. His hands were now around her throat, and Dani could feel something being taken from her.
Nefaria’s eyes were crazed, lit up by an insane intoxication. His hands around her throat were tight. It was giving him some sort of frenzied and deranged satisfaction. Dani knew it wasn’t going to end well. Her vision blurred, but she stayed focused. This was it. Her “defining moment”.
Or rather, defining “few seconds of air she had left”.
* * *
Tony hated the sight of his friends in pain, and the sight that awaited him on the other side of that door did not cater to that at all.
They were each in their own containment unit, which were each large cylindrical contraptions of metal. They were all suspended in a state of pain, the energy that held them siphoning off their strength and feeling directly into a large and circular machine in the middle.
Wasting no time, Tony blasted the machine, which effectively cut off the suspension energy in all five units.
All five glowed red, then beeped twice. The doors opened as an automated voice said
“power source compromised, emergency release activated”
. All five heroes fell to heaps on the concrete floor.
Tony rushed to Cap, who was in the leftmost compartment. Steve slowly came to, sitting up and shaking his head.
“Are you alright?” Tony asked, helping Steve up. He was still in his civilian clothes, but he was bruised pretty badly on his neck and arms.
“Very, very sore. But I’ll be alright,” he said with a pained grimace.
“Did he torture you?” Tony asked, rage beginning to bubble in his chest.
Steve sighed and said, “I think he was just using our bodies as a meal, as energy. It’s a little painful, but it was bearable.”
“Speak for yourself, Captain America,” Tony heard Sam say sarcastically.
Tony looked to see the others regain their senses, and a flood of relief washed over his body, calming the fire that was his anger.
“Nice to see you all, sorry it took so long,” he said, “Had to have a talk with my ex.”
He glanced back in the other room, where Giulietta was sitting in a chair, unconscious, restrained by a set of heavy cuffs he made out of the table in the span of a couple of minutes.
“Some talk,” Steve said, also catching the same sight that Tony did.
“Well, better late than–” Barton started, but was stopped by the sound of the Earth shaking above them. The ceiling shook, and small particles of dust rained down on them from above.
“What the hell is that?” Natasha mumbled, looking up.
“It’s Dani buying us time. Shall we head upstairs?” Tony said, helping the team file out.
* * *
Nefaria’s smile widened with each passing second as his hands grew tighter around Dani’s throat. He was draining her, leaving Dani feeling weaker than she’s ever felt.
Weaker than Joey made her feel for being vulnerable.
Weaker than Pietro made her feel in her knees every time his arms encircled her.
Weaker than Tony made her feel every time he opened his smug little mug.
Even weaker than she felt after her parents died.
Dani was not giving up, though. This was not her losing. She was prepared. He was doing exactly what she wanted him to do.
“What? No silly last words from the girl with the big mouth?” Nefaria said, a chuckle reverberating through his body into hers. It slowly morphed into a maniacal laugh, too exaggerated and cartoonish to be considered serious.
Dani couldn’t focus on that, though. She merely focused on the man in front of her, taking what he wanted, and not even realizing what he was being given.
Dani’s hands moved from clutching the rubble in the crater to clasping around Nefaria’s forearms. His eyes were still wide and wild, but his smile wavered at how strong her grip was. How much stronger it was getting.
With each passing second, she was getting stronger, and he was getting weaker. His face was becoming gaunt, as he was being starved of the very energy he was attempting to steal. His olive skin became tinged with green, and his eyes became bloodshot and tired. She unclasped his hands from her throat after about seven seconds, and she could finally speak.
“Told you you’d regret it,” she whispered.
Dani exploded, waves of energy and fire coming off of her skin like sweat. She grabbed Nefaria’s wrists tighter, and floated into the air with him in tow. Without even looking at his face to see how dumbfounded he was, she threw him out of one of the large windows overlooking the courtyard.
He collided with the ground, another crater forming around his trembling body. As Dani floated down to where he was, she could see his body convulsing with a shiver that seemed akin to the flu.
She watched as he struggled to get up, and he instead tried to crawl away from her. He seemed so much smaller than he did just moments ago, Dani was almost amused. He was being swallowed by the heavy drape that was his cloak, and his leather boots were now singed at the tips and soles.
“Dani!” Tony said from behind her. She turned to see Tony, an unconscious Masque draped over his shoulder. She saw that behind him was the other Avengers and…
“Pietro,” she said softly, running to him with reckless abandon.
He smiled at her, gentle and pure amidst the clear injuries he had. Bruises painted a brutal picture on his body, but Dani didn’t want to think about that. She hugged him ferociously, and kissed him even harder.
He kissed her back, gentle and intense all at once, before murmuring a muffled, “Ow, ow, ow!”
She pulled back, and smiled to see him touching his lips.
“You’re a little too hot, Dani,” he said jokingly.
“Sorry,” she said, “Haven’t had time to adjust.”
“Adjust to what?” Tony said, then turned to Nefaria.
He was now laying on his stomach, the shivers still ripping across his body.
“What did you do?” he asked her, his eyes never leaving Nefaria.
Dani stepped toward the Count, the man she was terrified of at first. It was crazy to think about just how much different her mindset was a solid few hours prior to fighting him. To
flying
.
She turned to Tony and said, “Well, I knew he’d do anything to get to me, so I used that to my advantage. He hadn’t noticed earlier how I had robbed Radioactive Man of his powers, so I decided to give him those. I figured if he needed me and had that guy around, that kind of radioactivity must have been bad for him. So I gave him juiced-up radiation wrapped in a nice little Trojan Horse of my explosive energy, then took all but the ugly stuff back. So now he’s a walking husk of radiation poisoning and disappointment.”
There was nothing but wide-open mouths all around as Dani took a look at everyone.
Tony spoke first, “So, you poisoned him? How come it didn’t affect you?”
“I’m not sure. It didn’t feel great when I absorbed it, but I was fine afterwards,” Dani explained.
“Wow,” Clint said, “Did not see that coming.”
“That’s probably the smartest thing you’ve ever done,” Steve said incredulously.
“Not like that was hard,” Sam said, a smile forming on his lips, “I was starting to wonder if there even was a brain underneath all that hair.”
Dani smiled and said, “I think the correct term is ‘thank you, Dani’.”
Tony took a step forward, and placed an armored hand on her shoulder.
He paused before he said, “You did good work, kid. I’m proud of you.”
Dani looked into his eyes, searching for any mischievous twinkle or hint of sarcasm. She didn’t find any of it. His words were real, genuine pride. Dani had a very hard time believing it, but she accepted it. She mouthed a silent, “Thank you.”
Suddenly a gut-wrenching pain ripped through Dani’s abdomen, sending her straight to her knees. She exclaimed in pain and panic, and everyone around her took a hasty step back.
“Are you alright, Dani?” Pietro asked, reluctant to reach for her but making a partial attempt to do so. Dani could no longer see his face, though; just a heavy darkness that came with eyes shut tightly. When she did open her eyes, her vision blurred, and was lined with a strange red light. Something was definitely wrong.
* * *
“FRIDAY,” Tony said, donning his helmet.
FRIDAY’s voice sounded, “She’s giving off high levels of energy.”
“What kind?” Sam said, an urgent tone in his voice Dani had never heard before. She couldn’t see his face because her eyes were clenched shut, but she imagined he looked worried.
“All kinds,” Tony said, reading the scans and the numerous indicators that were flashing because of it, “she’s lost control due to a massive intake of energy, like a dam overtopping and spilling over.”
“What do we do?” Pietro asked frantically, grabbing Tony’s armored shoulder.
Tony signaled the Quinjet as he said, “We get the hell out of here.”
Seconds later, a green halo appeared next to him, and Cas stepped out. He saw Steve draped over Tony’s shoulder and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
“Glad to see you’re not dead,” he said.
“You think I’d go down that easy? We had to fight Italians in the war, too, y’know,” Steve retorted, before hobbling through the portal, along with the rest of the team. Even Nefaria’s trembling body was escorted through the portal by Wanda.
Unexpectedly, Joey burst through the portal before it closed behind her.
“What’s going on? Cap said that Dani…” he trailed off as he looked in Dani’s direction.
He mouthed a silent “Woah,” which gave reason for Tony to turn around and inspect her.
Tony was borderline horrified to see that she was glowing an angry red, eyes and skin alike. Her clothes and hair were singing, and smoke rose off of her in small curls.
“What do we do?” Cas asked, jaw set. That kid was almost too good at hiding his emotions.
Tony’s mind began to race, thinking of ways to fix this. Every time his brain found a track, though, his emotions became giant speed bumps that manifested as lumps in his throat. They were only spurred by FRIDAY, who said, “Energy levels reaching critical levels. The imminent release of such force could be cataclysmic.”
“She’s going atomic…shit, Tony, what do we do?” Joey goaded, panic making his voice squeaky and almost irritating.
Finally, an idea sprouted.
“Cas, there’s a bunker beneath the castle, can you portal us there?”
Cas wasted no time, taking a quick moment of focus to find the location before opening up a rift for Tony and Dani.
Tony picked up Dani, glowing doom and all, and carried her through the portal, into the room beneath the castle. He set her down, where she attempted to get up, but remained on her hands and knees.
“Okay, Dani… I’m gonna figure this out, I promise,” he slowly said, noticing her visible pain. She was shivering, and her skin was beginning to look like her clothes. He saw the skin on her fingertips was leaving scorch marks whenever she shifted her hand. No, not scorch marks…ashes. The fireproof girl was starting to burn from the inside out.
It was making Tony feel a certain way. Frustrated? Morose? Dare he say it, terrified? Not for the civilians that could be put in harm’s way by her impending combustion, but for her. The little pain in his backside that actually saved their lives. The problem was, she did it the only way she knew how: by inadvertently putting them in danger at the same time.
As his thoughts moved at a million miles a second, she spoke, “You…you ha-have to…to get out of here… to save the…the real Avengers…”
Tony sighed and said, “You think you’re not good enough to be an Avenger? Because you’ve proven it.” He almost felt an urge to laugh, especially at the recollection of a rather fond moment of their first meeting. All anger aside, he wished they were back there: worried about her attitude, not worried for her safety.
He smiled sadly, and gave her a gentle squeeze with an armored hand. Even with his armor on, he could feel the heat emanating off of her. She was dangerously close to letting go. He hoped she could hold on for just a bit longer.
“Now, hold still, okay?” he said as he activated a latch in his helmet.
His suit opened up entirely, taking itself apart hurriedly to equip itself on top of Dani’s trembling form. It encased her in the armor, which whirred and creaked as it tried not to fall apart under the pressure of her heat and energy.
Tony turned around and dove through the portal, barking at Cas to close it. He wanted to kick himself for leaving her alone, but he didn’t have any other choice.
“She’s in the bunker, and she’s gonna blow any minute. Do you think you can contain the blast?” Tony said to Cas, who was no doubt reading his mind; tears were forming in his eyes from seeing what Tony saw.
“I can try,” Cas said, and stepped forward. His raised arms glowed a bright blue-green, and a giant dome of the same color began to shimmer into existence over the demolished castle. When it finished, they stood there with bated breath.
Tony half hoped that she had finally gotten control of her power, that-
BOOOOOOM!
The ground shook with the force of the explosion, which bathed all of their faces in white-hot light. The fire inside the dome swirled around the space angrily, desperate to demolish more than some asshole’s castle. It clawed at the edges of the dome, looking for any way out. It was almost mesmerizing to watch, like watching smoke snake around in a cyan-stained jar.
The ground shook ferociously again as the fire obliterated the castle, and Tony had a quick moment of clarity. The dome was blocking the explosion, meaning that the low-frequency vibrations could only move downward, compromising the integrity of the cliffside.
He was about to yell at Joey, but he jumped into action without hesitation.
“On it!” he yelled, jumping forward and letting loose a wave of phase-inverted sound to silence the blast and keep the cliffs from crumbling beneath them.
He watched as both Joey and Cas struggled to keep the blast from destroying everything in its path, and it gave him a bittersweet feeling in his stomach. He couldn’t watch them, crumbling under the exhaustion of saving lives, and call them kids anymore. They were Avengers, no doubt about it. And they were doing some serious Avenging.
What felt like hours was merely a few seconds, and the explosion finally died off into a mere blaze over the surface of the cobblestone. Cas let the barrier down, and both he and Joey collapsed.
The castle was completely disintegrated, the only indication of its existence being a giant rectangle of ashes that were once the walls of the structure.
Tony took a reluctant step forward, wanting to say something of the congratulatory sort. He was interrupted, however, by Joey’s sudden movement. He began to hastily stumble toward the rubble of the castle, looking for something.
“Joey, what are you doing?” Tony yelled, almost ready to go after him.
“I’m gonna find Dani!” he yelled back, “I’m not losing two people today!”
“Joey…” he mumbled, wanting to tell him, but stopped.
He wanted so badly to be like Joey. hopeful for her fate. But Tony also knew that he didn’t see what Tony saw. It was precisely why Cas was simply kneeling in Pyrrhic victory. They won, but the clear cost was too high.
Still, something tugged at the back of his head. Something that said it wasn’t over.
He busted out his glasses, and instructed FRIDAY to do a scan of the area. He held his breath, hoping it would yield something.
“Boss,” FRIDAY said, “I detect life signs beneath the structure.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
February 23rd, 2017
(Dani)
“Danielle Marie Gordon, what are you doing?”
Her father’s voice made her jump a little. She turned around to see her dad, standing in the doorway of her room. Mama was behind him, standing by the wall. Her thick curls were wrapped up in a silk scarf the color of honey. Her bangs peeked through the front, though, a curtain of curls that made her look like the black version of Lucille Ball, from that one show her mom would watch with her sometimes. The memory stabbed her eyes briefly, flashing across her parents’ figures for a moment like costumes before snapping right back to the sight she was faced with.
Dani wiped her eyes and said, “Nothin’, Daddy.”
“It looks to me,” he said as he stepped closer to her, “like you’re crying. Now, why would you be doing that?” The familiar scent of her father wafted through her nose: cinnamon and smoke, with a metallic stain. He always smelled like the kitchen. Ironically, it was her mother who always smelled like oil and barbecue coal. Wait, why was she talking about them in the past tense? They were right in front of her.
“Dani,” her father dragged her name out, “why are you crying?” He took notice of her silence amidst her thoughts.
Dani was hesitant to tell him. Any other time, she wouldn’t shut up. In fact, the reasons for her tears made no sense, as she was not one to let anyone or anything get to her like this. But somehow, she felt smaller. Weaker. It was not a pleasant feeling.
Dani began to speak, also sounding smaller than she would’ve liked, “It’s just some boys at school. They were picking on me, and pulling my hair. Calling me names and stuff.”
“Well, what did they say, pumpkin?” Daddy asked her, kneeling next to her. His chocolate-brown eyes gazed at her with the inquiring mind Dani knew he had, along with the gentle understanding she wished she inherited.
“They…they told me I should stop drinking so much coffee…that way my skin wouldn’t be so dark.”
Something in his gaze hardened, and Dani recognized that look all too well. It’s what she saw in the mirror every day. Especially after he—
A gentle beeping in her ear broke through her thoughts, and she began to swim through the blurry mess that was her mind. Where was she? Why was there a numb pulse of pain making rounds through her body?
She was brought back to her thoughts by her father, who sighed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. A gesture so gentle it ripped her to pieces. He said, “Well, I guess this conversation has been a long time coming.”
Dani sniffled and looked up at her father, afraid of what he would say, and knowing exactly what was about to come out of his mouth.
“There are gonna be people all throughout your life that are gonna tell you that you’re nothing. It may be because you’re black, or because you’re a girl, or for any other reasons that aren’t true. It may be for no reason at all, other than to tear you down. I can tell you to ignore it all I want, but that won’t help. Don’t ignore it. Take it, hear it, but don’t listen to it. They’re all lies meant to feed their superiority. It’s your job to turn around and show them
exactly
who is better than them. It’s you, Danielle. In every way. And it has nothing to do with the color of your skin.”
He pointed to her chest, exactly where her heart was.
“It’s because of what’s in here.”
A distant whisper jolted her out of the conversation. It sounded nothing like her father, or her mother. Was it…Pietro? But, what was he doing here?
She closed her eyes to try and understand what the hell was going on but when she opened them, she was in a different room.
She was in the living room, watching the TV talk about a situation in Manhattan.
Her first instinct was to look away, and when she turned, she saw her parents standing by the archway of the kitchen, which almost bled into the living room. A testament to how small their tiny Bronx apartment really was.
“Wait,” she said as she swiveled back and forth from them to the TV, “but I thought you were–“
“We were, Dani,” Mama’s soft voice said, her gentle alto something she didn’t think could make Dani cry. It was about to.
“We came as a reminder,” her father chimed in, “to not let your past define you.”
“But, this doesn’t count,” Dani said, getting louder and feeling stronger than before, “This is different, this is what you told me would happen if I trusted–“
“Dani, we’re your parents, but we’re also human. Not everything we say is law. And not everything we say is true, either,” her mom said, a small smile forming on her plump lips. The lips that would chastise, smile, and offer the most comforting forehead kisses in the past.
“And even if it was law,” her dad added, “there is always an exception to the rule.”
The words echoed in her mind, and in the space around her. It was an echo of a memory long-repressed, of the words her parents used to tell her all the time. It taught her to not sacrifice her ideals, but always have an open mind. It was something she forgot.
She turned back to the TV, which showed an overhead shot of Stark Tower, the bold letters on the side of the building in shambles amidst the destruction.
“Are you saying I should trust him?” Dani asked, glancing down at her knees, which were clad in her normal gray jeans. They were ripped and bloodied, however, and clarity began to seep into her mind.
“Everything comes with time, Danielle,” Daddy said.
“Grief, healing, and trust,” Mama said right after.
Dani stood up, now feeling her strongest. Her entire body was stained with pain, but her mind was clearer than ever. The apartment around them began to get a bit brighter in slow increments, like someone was slowly turning up the brightness of reality every few seconds.
“Trust in others, and yourself,” Mama continued, “And since you’ve learned to trust yourself, maybe other people is a good next step.”
Dani took slow steps toward the front door, doing exactly what her father said: hearing, not ignoring. Except, there was nothing to deny. Her words were the truth, and no matter what they said, a lot of their words were, in fact, a ruling law of her life. This time was no different.
“Danielle Marie Gordon,” her dad almost barked, “where do you think you’re going?”
She turned to look at her parents, looking exactly how she remembered them. Mundane, yet everything but. Tough-looking, yet gentle. Stressed as hell, but happy. She held onto it, tightly, and gripped the door the same.
“Can’t do much trusting while I’m stuck here, can I?”
Her mother began to laugh, deep and dynamic, as her father said, “Better watch that mouth too, little girl.” It was meant to be a warning, but his smile betrayed him. He held open his arms, and Dani wasted no time in throwing herself into the embrace of her parents.
It was every bit as warm and comforting as she expected, if not more. The light around her was growing brighter even as her eyes were closed, and she was met with a very bright white light before waking.
* * *
The beeping she heard, no surprise, was a cardiograph directly next to her.
Her vision came into focus slowly, the same brightness that infected the reality in her head clouding her waking vision. She was in a very sterile-looking bedroom, and was hooked up to several machines that sat in her periphery.
The bed she was laying in was nicely made, save for the lump that was her legs underneath the covers. Looking at her legs made her realize just how much they hurt. How much
everything
hurt. It was a dull throb of pain, but it was there.
She groaned a bit, moving her arm and feeling the tug of an IV tube. No wonder she felt numb. She looked to see her skin was devoid of any new scars, but it felt otherwise.
Then she saw him, sitting pensively at the edge of her bed.
“You’re awake,” Tony said, less matter-of-factly than she expected and a lot more surprised than she could detect with her hindered senses.
“Barely,” Dani groaned, her voice gravelly and rough.
Tony heard this, as he said, “Here,” right before he grabbed a glass of water from the bedside and handed it to her. He was ready for her to wake up. One could say waiting anxiously.
The lack of sleep was very evident on his face. Tony Stark didn’t seem like the type to sleep anyway, but he looked brutally beaten by fatigue and worry. It was almost comforting to Dani.
“How long was I out?” Dani asked after taking a sizable chug of the water he handed her.
Tony sighed and said, “Five days. You’ve been recovering very quickly, luckily. Probably a side effect of your powers. Still, it was a bit of a scare. For all of us.”
“Well, it’s nice to know you care,” Dani quipped, feeling herself smile. She had a hard time deciding if it was sarcastic or not. It was probably dependent on Tony.
“Well, just don’t scare us like that again,” he said, looking away, “Some of us have other things to worry about.”
“And there it is. The deflection I expected. You could’ve just said, ‘I’m glad you’re okay’ ya know,” Dani said.
“Gotta keep you on your toes somehow,” Tony said, tapping her toes. Dani winced in pain, and that made Tony jump to the edge of the bed, away from the pain he unintentionally caused. “Sorry,” he said softly.
Dani just shook her head and gazed at him, wondering why it was her and not Pietro by her side. Was she not allowed to see anyone? Was her energy dangerous? Did she have residual radiation?
She was going to ask him these things, but she settled for, “Where is everyone? Are they okay?”
Tony nodded and said, “The others have recovered nicely. They’re all just waiting around to hear about you, really.” It was unspoken that he really meant one specific person, but Dani didn’t point it out. She was more curious about his presence.
“What about you?” she asked, an almost-whisper.
“Not much to recover from besides a bruised ego, really,” he said in his usual speedy cadence.
“I meant, about me. Were you waiting to see if I was okay?” Dani asked, leaning forward a little. She wasn’t trying to bruise his pride further, or bolster her own, really. It was just something she wanted to know. Maybe it would make her feel better to know someone other than Pietro cared.
Tony said, “Well, I’d be a dick if I didn’t.” There was the deflection again.
Dani sighed and sat back and said, “Well, you’d probably be a dick anyway, my recovery aside.”
Tony smiled, tight-lipped, before he sighed and prepared to get up. He stopped, though, thinking about something. He un-tensed his muscles, relaxing back into his seat. He looked back at Dani with concerned eyes and asked, “Who should you trust?”
“What?” Dani asked, stopped dead in her tracks.
“You were mumbling in your sleep. Something about trusting someone, or deciding whether or not to. Who?”
Dani debated whether or not to feign obliviousness. She could very easily claim she doesn’t remember any of what she dreamt about amidst her five-day slumber. She opened her mouth to say as much, but stopped herself. This was her chance to have the conversation that her parents, real or not, knew needed to be had. Even Dani knew deep down it was long overdue.
“Well, honestly…you,” Dani said simply, sitting up a little to be eye-level with Tony.
Tony stayed silent, gazing at her with confused anticipation. Dani took that as a signal to continue talking. Something Tony had not given her pretty much
ever
: a chance for her to speak, and him to listen.
“I have spent a lot of time hating you. Everything you did, everything you stood for. But what I mistook for a comment from my parents was really a warning. To not trust the billionaire white men who didn’t do shit for us common people. And for the most part, they were right. Y’all really didn’t do a goddamn thing for us. But one thing I’ve forgotten is that there’s always an exception to the rule.”
Dani looked around, and saw that on the other bedside table, laying in perfect shambles, was her pink leather jacket. It was obliterated, practically black with charred holes littering the surface.
Dani swallowed her tears quietly before she said, “My parents gave me that jacket, days before they died. They were excited because they were coming into some good money, and they wanted to get me something nice. My parents were chefs and caterers, but the work they got was small events, local stuff. It was nice, but we struggled. But they had gotten a new permanent gig, and it paid really well. The problem, though, was that they started as chefs for Stark Tower.”
A slow development of understanding began to form on Tony’s face, and he struggled to meet Dani’s eyes.
“We were from the Bronx, so there wasn’t really any other reason for my parents to be in Manhattan. And,
of course,
they had to start on that fateful day, when a giant hole was torn into the sky. That wasn’t even the craziest part of that day, though. The craziest part of that day was that my parents didn’t come home. I spent days with my neighbors, who had four loud-ass kids, waiting for news. It was five whole days before they were able to identify their bodies and contact me. A twelve-year-old with no other family. A twelve-year-old who thought that things were getting better, but only had all of her hopes crushed in one simple moment. At that point, my anger at the name Stark was out of my hands.”
Dani barely noticed that she was crying until it became too physical for her body not to react. She was getting a slight shiver, which made her body ache even more than it already did. She crossed her arms slowly, but not defensively. It was out of comfortability. Her arms were resting on her stomach, relaxed for the first time around Tony. She was just desperately trying to hold herself together.
“But meeting you, I’ve learned that it isn’t fair to blame you for that moment. For those five long days. Granted, I’ve found plenty of other problems to have with you…but it isn’t fair to take out my anger on you for something that you had only the slightest association with. And something you prevented from becoming much worse. And if there’s less hate in my heart, I can make room for nicer things…like love. And forgiveness. And trust.”
Dani stopped, sighing and struggling to regain her composure. Her voice was breaking a little, but she managed to keep her cool for just one moment, long enough to say, “I’m sorry, Tony.”
Tony was watching her silently, waiting for her to calm down a little. Her body was now trembling with sobs, but it slowly subsided. As she began to breathe a bit deeper and sniffle a little less, she looked at him and hoped for a response.
“Y’know, I lost both my parents at once, too. Turns out it was an assassination carried out by the Winter Soldier that’s rooming with Steve in there. I was mad, beyond furious. But I had to learn something similar to what you had to. It wasn’t his fault. Sure, he carried out, but it wasn’t his thoughts, his conscious actions. He was a Hydra puppet, and I spent too much time blaming him rather than the puppeteer.”
“How hard was it? To face the truth?” Dani asked.
“Oh, hard as hell. Steve kept trying to appeal to me for weeks, but I wouldn’t listen. I even tried to kill both of them. But I found the truth in a dream, much like you did. The difference between you and I, though, is that I’m older and wiser, and I continued to be young and dumb. The fact that you found your truth so early in life is proof that you’re on a much better path than me.”
Tony moved closer to her, not touching her, but establishing his presence. Letting her know he was there.
“Dani, I’m sorry that happened. We all wish Manhattan went differently than it did, and I’m sorry it affected you so deeply. That I affected you so deeply. And I’m sorry I struggled to see just how powerful you are. Inside and out, Dumbo.”
Dani felt another wave of tears coming, but she stopped them with a smirk. “You can’t call me that anymore,” she said, “I can fly now. Probably faster than you in that hunk of metal.”
“And that is a theory to test on another day,” Tony said, sharing her smile as he got up, “But for now, there’s someone here to see you.”
With that, Tony got up and prepared to open the door. He stopped dead in his tracks, though. He turned to look at her and asked her, “What were their names? Your parents?”
Dani smirked a little and said, “Rachelle and Jonathan.” Just saying their names was painful, a wound she only added to the many that were healing across her body. This time, though, there wasn’t a hot knife still in her anymore. This time, she would heal properly.
Tony nodded and said, “Hmm. Alright, I’ll write that down.” With that, he opened the door to her room, trading places with Pietro.
Pietro wasted no time, speeding to her side before the door could even think about shutting. He held her gently, awkwardly holding both her arms and the pillows she was practically buried in.
“Dani,” he said softly, “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” she said back to him, indulging in his warmth. It was almost as comforting as the hugs she would get from her parents, just without the bittersweet bite that the memory came with.
“Hey, Pietro,” Dani said softly.
Pietro sat up, eyes blown wide as if he were about to cry, “Yes?”
“We should probably talk.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
February 24th, 2017
(Joey)
Joey didn’t really know how to cry.
He always had to be the toughest around: the strong older brother, the machismo machine of the track team, the oldest son who stood tall against anything, even asthma. He never gave himself room to cry, so when it happened, he never knew what to do.
Yet here he was, sniffling like a baby in the middle of his room, still not ready to face what he had done.
The flashbacks crept up on him, then struck with burning intensity right in his chest. And they’d all be snippets that were so specific, it was like the memories came to a sharp point just to poke him where it hurt. He’d see the edge of a bridge beginning to fall, or the bottom of the cliffs, or Melissa’s face right as she realized what would happen. It was too much.
Joey sniffled loudly, but still managed to focus long enough to keep his sobs from leaving the room. It was painful somewhat, but it was a cakewalk compared to the anguish he was experiencing in his heart. It made him physically hurt, like a vice grip on his heart and lungs. Joey was no longer asthmatic, but he felt as though he needed his inhaler.
He was interrupted by a knock at his door.
He was about to yell, “Go away!” to whoever it was, but the door opened without warning, revealing Wanda in a blood-red cardigan and a look of sadness on her face.
She closed the door behind her, sitting down on the floor next to Joey.
“I heard you, I wanted to see if you were okay,” she said softly.
“How did you hear me?” Joey asked, confused. Were his powers out of whack?
“No, your powers are working fine,” she said, answering the question in his head, “I was listening to your thoughts.”
“Oh,” Joey put his head down, feeling his face getting hot. He did his best to silence his thoughts, to keep her out, but they were just too loud. Too fast.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Wanda asked, placing a gentle and comforting hand on his shoulder.
He flinched instinctively, his body curling up into itself slightly. He wished secretly that it could go farther, that he could collapse into nothing instantly. He guessed with Wanda, though, it wasn’t so secret.
“You know, Clint has this thing about heroism. There’s always this defining moment, the single decision that changes your course of action,” Wanda spoke, staying still, “For Steve, it was enlisting and becoming Captain America. For Tony, it was creating the Iron Man and stopping the use of his weapons. For me, it was Sokovia. I had to decide whether or not I was brave enough to fight for my country, for my people. So I stood firm, and fought an army of robots. It was when I knew I was doing the right thing, and it
felt
right.”
Joey was no longer trying to curl up into oblivion, but instead, he could feel himself opening up a little, hanging on her every word.
“I used to think the experiments we volunteered for were somehow linked to that moment. Pietro and I were by no means evil, but we joined Hydra because we wanted to change the world. But it wasn’t until I became an Avenger where I actually felt like it was possible.”
Joey wanted to say something, but couldn’t. It honestly felt like Wanda was saying the words for him, vocalizing all of the hurt and confusion that was muddled in his own heart. It was the perfect mixture of comfort and agony.
“Then when Lagos happened, I had to face that same decision again. Could I still be an Avenger, a hero, knowing how much I’ve hurt people? Knowing that my actions were directly responsible for the life…or death…of someone else?”
“I don’t know…” Joey mumbled.
“Joey, I can feel your pain. I can’t say that I relate, because you were given the worst possible moment of definition: your decision to fight the good fight was entwined with that horrible feeling of responsibility for someone else’s life. And for that, I am so sorry.”
He could feel the tears coming, but he held them back. No way was he crying in front of her.
“But you, you have two things: a home and a family. Whether it’s here with us, or with your family in Jersey, it’s there. So, really, that gives you a third thing: a choice. You need to decide if the good fight is something that feels right to you, and if it’s enough to make you stand up and face anything coming your way. A villain, a genocidal robot, or your own guilt.”
“I don’t know, Wanda,” Joey whispered, “I don’t know if this…is worth it.”
“I know. And it is inherently your choice. But just know that I was in the exact same emotional spot you’re in right now. I know exactly how this choice feels. The difference is, I had seconds to decide. You have as much time as you need.”
With that, she stood up and walked out of his room, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Even in silence, there’s sound. The whisper of wind that touched his window, or the rustle of his clothes with every infinitesimal movement he made, or the sound of his own lungs struggling to catch air. For someone who could literally control sound, he had a hard time blocking out noise. It was all he could focus on that didn’t make him upset. The sounds that resided in silence were his only friends.
All of this pain, all of this turmoil, and for what? Joey kept asking himself why being an Avenger was so important to him. It wasn’t the awesome costumes, the cool powers, the literal heroes who he interacted with on a daily basis. No, those rose-colored glasses were long gone. Hell, they were broken after Italy. But something made him stay. His only question was, what?
Alone with his thoughts and silence, all that could really answer was his thoughts. And, of course, they brought him back to his final weeks at AIM four years ago.
He remembered the day they took him to the facility. They told him and his parents that it was a camp/research station where they could help him improve his athletic abilities. So he said goodbye to his sisters, who were only nine at the time, and headed off to some remote location that was hours away from where they were. The windows of the SUV were heavily tinted, so he couldn't see anything. Joey had a feeling that if he did, though, he would have run for the hills. Or tried to, anyway.
The “camp” was more like a prison. It was nice enough, with interesting living quarters, nice buildings, and strangely robotic staff. But they never let him go outside, and they seemed to subject him to all sorts of experiments every week. If one didn’t work, they moved on to another. Needles, gas masks, weird and disgusting concoctions they forced him to drink; it was all too much for his body to handle. He almost broke after a month.
He kept wondering about his family. The men who took him explained to them that he’d be in a remote location without any means of communication, but he hoped and prayed that they were safe, and that they missed him just as much as he missed them.
Then, a miracle he never expected.
Sure, he entered the program to cure himself of his asthma, but he got so much more. Enhanced hearing, a weird control over sound. It was mesmerizing, and their treatment of him changed drastically. He was suddenly given outdoor privileges, and even access to a circular track much like the one at his middle school. They started training him, teaching him to use his newfound abilities. He overheard one of the guys say that they had “never seen anything like it”. It was a huge confidence boost, for sure.
Some time into the endeavor, though. He started noticing things. Even at thirteen, he was very perceptive. And his enhanced hearing only made his suspicions more credible. He did some listening one day, while two scientists were studying his breathing while he ran on a treadmill.
They thought he was listening to music as he ran, but he was pushing those sound waves aside to make room for their voices.
“What’s on the agenda after this subject?” one of them asked.
“We have to conduct a regen test on an Extremis subject on the lower levels,” the other responded.
Extremis? What is that?
“Is the subject a former amputee?”
“Yeah, so they should be used to losing limbs at this point. What’s one more time?”
They began to laugh, a shared chuckle so twisted that it almost made Joey stumble in his run. His breathing and heart rate picked up substantially, making the scientists cease their conversation and focus on him.
“Everything okay?” one of them yelled, gesturing for him to take out his earbuds.
Joey, the clever boy he was, took them out and said, “Huh?”
“Is everything okay? Your breathing patterns changed drastically.”
“Oh,” he played dumb, “I guess? Maybe I’m just tired.”
They unhooked him from the machines, and sent him on his merry way. He spent the rest of that day pondering his time there.
All day, he started noticing certain things he didn’t before: there was a gate around the camp, but it had barbed wire on it, like a prison; the elevators had buttons for lower levels, but they required fingerprint access; every night, there was a distinct
click!
on his door as he went to bed, meaning they locked him in. And the worst part? He never saw anyone around but the scientists watching him.
Something was off. And Joey intended to find out what.
The next week, as he and two scientists stood in an elevator taking him to his room, he made a decision.
He knew he would have to be careful, as to not kill himself or the others. One decibel too low, and he could shatter the elevator’s suspension or frame, sending them plummeting to God knows where. He had to find the right frequency.
Once he found it, he unleashed two waves of sound to the other two scientists, sending them careening into the elevator walls and knocking them out.
He grabbed the limp arm of one of them, and placed their index finger on the pad next to the lower level buttons. It beeped twice and turned green. Joey pressed the lowest possible floor, and waited and the elevator zoomed toward the underground part of the camp that he never saw.
What he saw, though, was terrifying.
The lowest part was containment units, each housing a person in a six-by-eight cell with one bed and a glass door.
They were all clearly in pain, with some of them showing off some weird, glowing skin, like their entire nervous system was on fire. It was painful to watch, and scarring to someone as young as he was.
He kept moving down the line, and was horrified to see how many people there were. Some cells had
corpses
, people lying on the ground motionless.
They could just be asleep
, he kept telling himself. It was all too much.
Joey had a choice. He could go back up, back to his room, and pretend he didn’t see any of this. He could finish out all of the tests and then go back home to his family, to his school, to his perfectly normal life.
Or, he could do something.
Joey knew that seeing all of this, experiencing all of this, meant something important for his old life. It meant the death of the mundane, and the birth of a world much bigger than his. For the first time in his very short life, Joey was concerned about more than his family, or his grades, or whatever girl he happened to be crushing on at any given time. He wanted to help people. He wanted to make a difference.
Without hesitation, Joey unleashed a wave of sound, matching the frequencies of the containment cells and shattering the glass doors of every single one. He watched as the glowing humans crept out of their cells, watching him with wonder and confusion. Joey was sure he looked the same.
An alarm sounded, and they then all began to move toward the elevator, with haste and panic, and Joey almost didn’t make it along with them. He kept his eyes away from the open cells that no one came out of, ignoring the truth of his suspicions. He went straight to the crowded elevator in all of its heat and stench, and went back to the ground level.
He felt exhilarated, and proud. He knew these types of things were stuff that the Avengers did, that heroes did. He knew his parents would be proud.
It all came crashing down when the elevator door opened to reveal a wall of armed guards waiting for them.
They were all put right back where they were, only Joey was with them then. His heroic moment, gone as quickly as it came.
Since then, Joey always said he tried to escape and failed. It was probably in his file, he told the story so much. He didn’t want people to know that he failed so miserably in trying to save people.
Thinking back on it, though, it reminded him of his reasoning to become an Avenger. He wanted to help people that couldn’t help themselves; to stand against evil, or the fates, or the system, and not back down when they try to punk him into submission.
Anyone
into submission.
The Joey he was now, the one crying on his bedroom floor, kept asking himself the same question: would he still do it? Would he still shatter those doors, and lead those people to the freedom they deserved?
Present Joey wouldn’t hesitate. Past Joey didn’t.
So why was it so hard to stand up now?
What would future Joey do?
* * *
Joey finally left his room once Dani was well enough to leave her room. There was a team meeting being called as well, and Joey figured it was a good enough reason to get out of bed.
He made his way to the main building, taking his time to the entrance of the shiny pillar of business and bustle.
He went to the conference room, where everyone already was. Cas and Dani stood at the back wall, near the entrance. Even Simon stood there, a weird new addition to the team he didn’t expect but also was not shocked by.
“Joey, you’re here,” Tony said, and everyone inspected him quizzically.
“Now we can begin,” Tony added, not doing anything but gesturing at him to come forward.
Joey stepped forward, and noticed that both Dani and Cas were approaching along with him. They stood up front, watching the rest of the team. He was terrified of public speaking, and the onset of sweat and racing heartbeat meant it wasn’t far from that moment.
“After careful deliberation,” Tony began, “the team has decided that we have wrested too much control from your tiny, adolescent hands. We believe that you all have proven yourselves at go-time, and if you want to be an Avenger, you have that choice.”
Joey looked at the other two, who were very hard to read. Either that, or he was just really bad at reading people.
“So, Dani, what do you choose?” Tony asked, almost like he knew the answer already.
She looked at Tony, then scoped the rest of the team. Something was on her mind, Joey could tell that much.
“Well, I’ve never been one to follow anyone’s rules,” she quipped with a mischievous grin, “So I’ve decided on a couple things. I’ll be a reserve roster member, like Rhodey or Barton, only coming when y’all need me. Or miss me, which will be often.”
The team shared a laugh, which even Joey joined in on.
“But I've also decided it’s high time I get that high school diploma everyone’s been raving about. I wanna see the hype for myself. And who knows? Maybe I’ll go to college and…I don’t know, do something more meaningful to help people than blow stuff up.”
“Well, I’m sure we can all agree that we wish you the best of luck in whatever school you choose to curse–I mean, bless with your presence,” Tony joked, holding out a hand for Dani to shake.
Dani looked at his hand, then smiled wide and shook it firmly. Joey half expected her to hug him, but he knew that wasn’t something she’d do. She’s tough, and she’s not one for sappy and emotional moments like this.
And sappy it was, as the team began a bout of applause, which Joey half-heartedly joined in on. It felt very corporate, but it still felt good to see Dani was making a decent choice for once. Or twice, depending on how he looked at it.
She stepped aside, and Tony said, “Alright, Friendly Ghost, what about you?”
Cas stepped forward, looking so much less militant than he did when they first met. He was so much freer, so much happier. It was clear on his face, which was no longer set in stone but rather a fluid river of evident emotions.
“I’m gonna strike out on my own,” he spoke after a heavy sigh,” For a while. I’m gonna explore the world I never got to see, enjoy the freedom I have yet to taste. Maybe even find some family I never knew I had. Hydra had me in chains, but I think SHIELD has me in similar bonds, and I just want to get away. From all of it. I need to decide what I do, not anyone else. And since I don’t really
know
what I truly want to do yet, why not go and find out?”
“Is… is that legal? Like, you’re not even sixteen yet, I don’t think I can legally let you out on your own–” Tony began.
Steve cut him off, “Tony, Tony… let it go.”
“But, where will he go?” Tony hissed, almost amused.
“If he can take me on, he’ll be fine. I promise,” Steve replied with a gentle smile before winking at Cas. They had an inside joke or something, it was very clear.
Tony fell silent for a moment, then sighed and said, “Okay, then, I guess. Um…Cas…don’t die. Please.” He shook Cas’s hand amidst the chuckle that Cas gave.
“And Joey?” Tony directed his attention to Joey, which he almost didn’t hear. He was too busy with his racing thoughts, and the choice he was facing.
He looked at Cas, whose smile was becoming the norm, and only proved to Joey that it was all worthwhile.
He then looked at Dani, who stood taller despite having almost died, and knew that her pride was now something he admired rather than despised.
And then he looked down, at his feet, which he noticed were now slightly pigeon-toed, pointing toward each other. He wished he knew which way was the right way for them to face.
He could go home, to his family, to his school, to his perfectly normal life. Leave the crazy big world he jumped into far behind him.
Or, he could do something.
“I have decided…that I want to be an Avenger. It’s what I’ve always wanted, but now…I’m sure.”
Tony smiled, and it was the most comforting thing to him at that moment. He felt right, like Wanda explained to him. He glanced back at her, and she smiled wide.
Tony held out an outstretched hand as he said, “Welcome to the team, Concussion.”
* * *
Joey, Dani, and Cas all stood outside the living quarters, stopping on their way back with some of the team. They were on the airstrip, the sun bright in the sky amidst the weirdly cool air that settled around them.
“So, when are you guys leaving?” Joey asked, breaking the silence that was accompanying them the entire walk. It was clear they wanted to—no, needed to—talk, but he didn’t know how.
“Um… today, actually,” Dani said, a surprise to Joey, “Like, right now.”
“Oh? Both of you?” Joey asked, wide-eyed. He glanced at Cas, who nodded silently, a strange look of content on his face.
“What about Peter?” Joey asked, turning to glance at the building where Peter was no doubt going to sulk in his room.
“He and I reached an understanding,” Cas said softly, “Besides, he’s probably going back to school, too.”
“Oh…” Joey paused, a lot more despondently than he intended.
“And Pietro?” he turned to look at Dani, who looked practically naked without her jacket, which Joey knew got shredded in the blast.
“He’ll be fine without me. Besides, I'll be back very frequently. And you’ll be here to keep him company.”
Joey wanted to agree, but he was having a hard time understanding how nice she was being to him. The last time they talked, he dug into her without remorse.
“Dani…I just want to say that I’m sorry for…whatever our last conversation was. I was angry and I shouldn’t have blamed you,” he said quietly.
Dani smirked and replied, “Dude, it’s fine. We were all pretty terrible at that moment. But hey, you’re an Avenger, not by any fault of mine. And you also just happened to save my life, so I think you get some wiggle room.”
“How did you…?” Joey said, trailing off.
“Tony told me,” she finished for him, ‘How you went looking for me when no one else did. It’s sweet, really. Nice to know you care.”
She placed a hand on his shoulder before continuing, “And, just so you know, I do care, too. I saw how hard you worked, every day. And in a weird way, I’m proud.”
“Yeah, that is pretty weird,” he said, laughing.
“Yeah, yeah, yak it up,” she rolled her eyes, letting some heat escape her palm and burn his shoulder ever so slightly through his sweatshirt.
Joey took a look around the airfield in front of them a lot like their uncertain future: a stepping-off point for whatever lay ahead, and maybe whatever was above them.
“Remember when we first got here,” Joey said, still looking off in the distance, “And we all were excited to be Avengers?”
“Speak for yourself,” Dani scoffed, “I hated both of you.”
“Yeah, Joey, I think you were the only one excited. It was kinda mandatory for us,” Cas added.
“Okay, okay, I get it, I'm kind of an idiot,” Joey laughed.
“Still, I get what you mean. Thinking about back when we were in our own little worlds. And the world itself didn’t really matter,” Dani said, also looking into the distance with Joey. Probably thinking the same thing: the future was big, and they had to explore it. Separately, but together.
“And now?” Joey asked, the question directed at the two of them.
“Well,” Cas spoke first, “our worlds are a little bigger now, huh?”
“A lot,” Dani corrected him.
“All the more reason to get to exploring,” Cas said, as they shared a smile.
A portal opened behind Cas.
“You’re not gonna pack?” Joey said a little panicky.
“I don’t really have much,” he said, laughing a little.
“So you’re going full-on hermit?” Joey joked, sharing that laugh.
Cas sighed and said, “No. I like the term ‘nomad’ better.”
Joey turned to Dani and asked, “I’m guessing you have a similar issue? With packing?”
“Yep, and…a similar departure time.”
“So, this is goodbye?” Joey looked at the both of them, who came toward him for a group hug. One he didn’t expect, but welcomed nonetheless.
“Nope,” Dani said.
“Not by a longshot,” Cas added.
With that, the ex-Hydra agent turned nomad stepped through his portal, which disappeared just as quickly as it was made.
The ex-con turned aspiring high-school graduate took a single step before launching into the air in a bout of magenta flames, stuttering the air around him and making it warmer than before.
Joey turned around, toward the now less-crowded compound, and stopped.
He looked back into the sky, seeing Dani’s flames paint a pink line onto the light blue canvas. Seeing her up there reminded him just how big the sky was. And reminded him how small he was. Still, he knew he would do big things. Just like his other two friends.
Friends.
It was the first time he even thought about it, much less said it to their faces. Still, it didn’t need to be said. It was a silent agreement they made with that hug, and that sorta-goodbye. They were friends for life now. Almost like the Avengers, who united under the stress of certain doom. They were their own little team, brought together by circumstance and kept together by choice. It almost made him want to cry. But, he didn’t really know how to.
Instead, he took his first step toward the compound.
Toward his future.
THE END
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
March 2nd, 2017
(Cas)
Cas was glad to be back, even for a little bit.
The compound had not changed one bit. Everything was like he left it. Granted, he was only gone for a week, but it was still nice to see that not much had changed.
They were all in the mural room, for his birthday. His first birthday party in… years. Cas couldn’t even remember the last birthday party he had. That didn’t matter, though. The past was the past; he was in the here and now.
Peter was very adamant about throwing him a party. When they first talked about his leaving, Peter begged Cas to throw him a party.
“I don’t care if you leave, that’s your choice,” he said in that sweet voice he said everything in, “But no one should be alone on their birthday.”
So here they were, having a little karaoke party to celebrate his sixteenth year of life.
Sixteen years.
Meaning that officially half of his life was spent on his tumultuous journey of chaos.
From ARGUS, to Hydra, to SHIELD. Eight years.
Just thinking about it made Cas want to cry. He shook those thoughts away, though. Here and now, here and now.
“Enjoying the party?” Simon crept up on him. The only person who could do that.
Since he came back, Simon had been talking to him a lot. Aside from the number of times he was striking up conversation at the party, he was also finding weird ways to contact Cas back in New York, which is where he was staying for the time being. He’d check in, make sure he had food and a comfortable place to sleep. It was sweet, but also pretty concerning. If Simon could find him that easily, that meant SHIELD definitely was keeping tabs on him.
Even despite all of the conversation, there was no mention of the kiss they shared, from either party. It seemed as though he was flirting, and Cas was just unaware. Not talking about it only confused him more. Did Cas
want
to talk about the kiss, though?
“Of course,” Cas responded, taking a sip of the punch he had. He watched as Dani screamed a very soulful song into the mic, singing about belonging with someone. The notes were high, and Dani was not quite reaching them.
“You seem a bit out of it,” Simon said, nudging his shoulder lightly, “What’s on your mind?”
Cas turned to look at Simon, staring him down without response.
“What, you can explore everyone else’s head, but no one can get a glimpse into yours?”
“I can’t read
your
mind, remember?” Cas responded, smiling.
Simon leaned forward and placed his chin on Cas’s shoulder, pouting his lip and widening his eyes to an obscene amount as he begged, “
Pwetty pwease
?”
Cas rolled his eyes and laughed softly. He whispered, “I’ve just had a lot on my mind since I got here. I keep thinking about the past, but it shouldn’t matter. I should be here and now.”
“Nothing wrong with thinking about the past,” Simon shrugged, “Especially on your birthday.”
“With my past, you’d change your tune very quickly,” Cas retorted, sipping his punch again.
“Well, what’s so bad about it? Tell me.”
Before Cas could refuse him, Tony called his name. Or, rather, his nickname: “Friendly Ghost!”
He whipped his head around to Tony, who stood by the double doors in the back.
Cas hurried over to him, curiously staring at the man holding a package wrapped in a big red bow.
“You have… a package,” Tony said, just as confused as Cas was. Who would send him a gift?
He took the package from the man in the delivery hat, and ripped off the bow.
Opening the box, he saw a very weird-looking metal sphere, with several rings swirling around within it. They moved with each turn of the orb, and it shone with a metallic sheen.
There was a note inside the box, which Cas promptly took out and read to find out who sent him this gift.
Oh, no
.
No, no, no, no, no
.
The sounds around him began to fade a little. He heard Tony say something, but it bounced around the endless cavern that was his mind. He kept telling himself
here and now, here and now
, but the black hole that was his past was swallowing his consciousness whole.
He dropped the note on the ground, which read:
Happy birthday, son. I cannot wait to see you again.
Love, Dr. Franklin Hall