The Initiative

Hey guys, this is my first fanfic story… I hope you like it! ^^

DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Avengers or any of its characters.

SUMMERY: You are part of the Avengers Initiative; a group of highly trained and extremely skillful individuals. With each member being polar opposites of one another, can you all pull together to become the best team the world has ever seen, or will you crumble when mankind needs you the most? You never thought saving the world would be this difficult…

Chapter 1: The Letter

The TV flickered with an unsettling sound and filled the room with white noise. A half eaten bagel and a box of cereal were sitting nonchalantly in the corner of the room, whose only source of light came from a cheap bulb you had long forgotten to replace. The carpet was no longer a 'Magnolia Cream' as it said on the tin, but had faded and worn to a less attractive mushroom colour. The wallpaper was still intact but had started to rip in places; in some areas even showing the plasterboard hid beneath. The room's current predicament was due to the permanent vacancy of the owner – you almost never set foot in this place that you had once called home. It was now a sort of rest stop that you had come to hate. You were always moving. You had no time to upkeep the shabby apartment; and you knew there was no need. Why renovate a room you never use? Your job was probably the main reason why the area had become so dilapidated. It required your full attention. Everything you could do should be done, and everything you could learn should be learned. That's just the way it was. It was constantly evolving, and – though you liked that aspect – you found yourself coming to dislike the amount of true effort you needed to put into the job. S.H.I.E.L.D had found you eight years ago. Or rather, you had found them. A normal day of life had caused you to visit your bank. Something to do with your mortgage repayment – though you never quite recalled the exact details. It was that day that a few local criminals had thought it wise to come in, partially armed, and attempt to rob the entire bank of all its money. You were quick to react. All you really remembered was acting on instinct. You held a concealed weapon permit – something your overprotective father had forced you to carry – and now, here you were, doing the only logical thing you could think of. You withdrew the gun from the holster and started to randomly point and shoot.

They had been watching. They had always been watching.

S.H.I.E.L.D had contacted you later that day. They had said something about 'loyalty to your country' and 'how much better you wanted your life to be'. Of course, you had no idea what they were talking about. Some of the words they used you didn't even understand. But you had promised yourself that if ever an opportunity arose that would get you out of your mediocre job, you would take it. Even if it turned out to be something that sounded like a complete lie.

You couldn't believe it when the opportunity turned out to be true. Your employers were called S.H.I.E.L.D, whom you had found out were a secret government espionage and military law-enforcement agency. It had baffled you as to why exactly they had chosen you to join a military spy agency. Until that day, you didn't even know if any such spy agency existed and you were pretty sure that you didn't belong with it. When they took you on, they explained to you why. It was something to do with the way you held the gun in the bank that day and how you positioned yourself. They had said it was your hand eye to coordination and how you moved and reacted in a situation of extreme stress. 'Only a few skilled individuals in the world can do what you just did' was all you took in before a flurry of questions were pouring from your mouth. They cut you off quickly and explained that, with the proper dedication and training, you could become one of the very few elite superassasin's. Without meaning, you had laughed in their faces. This was total bullshit. Just because you had pulled a trigger on a gun, and aimed vaguely at some mediocre crooks didn't mean you were some highly trained killer. You excused yourself from their presence but not without gaining a warning from them. 'Do not waste the gift you have.' You scoffed, and departed.

Walking through the tattered room, you came to realise why you had went back. These people, even if they were offering something completely unrealistic, were actually offering you a chance. A chance to break free from your mind-numbingly monotone life. In your heart, you knew all along. You knew you would go back, and so did they. They hadn't stopped you leaving. They could have – but they didn't. You later scolded yourself for only lasting 3 days before curiosity got the better of you.

It wasn't hard to get a ride to S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters. They were so sure you would return that they had taken the liberty to send an official looking coupé to your building every day. You remember vaguely thinking of what your neighbours must have thought when they saw you – of all people – getting into a suspicious-looking car.

You laughed quietly to yourself; all alone in the empty room. You allowed your fingers to trace the edge of the coffee table. Bringing them up to your eyes, you became mildly amused to see dust gracing your fingertips. It had taken five years for them to train you to the highest quality; after all, you were to be a secret government spy. They used every method, and every technique. You learned styles, practises and routines that you didn't even know existed. Some were a little questionable and their way of teaching could be called brutal – even, at some points 'vicious' – but you had grown to accept anything they flung at you and, after five years of rigorous training, they sent you out on your first mission as a rookie eradicator.

You blinked hard. It seemed like so long ago. You allowed your hands to trace the coffee table again in the semi-darkness. You stopped abruptly when you felt something that did not belong to the counter. Eyes now adjusted to the darkness, you looked down and were able to make out what seemed to be an envelope. It was A4 sized; thin and agile looking. You studied it for a few seconds, weighing out whether you should open it or not. In the end, as proven before, your curiosity got the better of you and you swiftly scooped up the letter, eyes scanning the front of it for any important messages. None. Just the usual 'TOP SECRET' embellished in red. You pondered for a moment as to why S.H.I.E.L.D had chosen to drop their letter off here and not just given it to you as they had regularly done. It seemed in the eight years you had been with them; they had learned all your characteristics and traits. They knew you far too well and, as of the time being, they knew you would come here. You smiled slightly, for a brief second underestimating the true capability they possessed. You sighed, feeling not quite ready for another mission at this time, but – against your better judgement – opened the letter anyway. There was a single sheet of white paper inside. Printed on the top was the S.H.I.E.L.D logo – confirming your suspicions – and the title of the mission was 'The Avengers Initiative'. You smiled. It certainly did have a ring to it. Below were listed a few of your fellow agents; Clint and Natasha were part of this assignment already. The letter then went on to describe the goal of the operation, who else would be involved, and why they needed you. Your eyebrows rose when you noticed the infamous Tony Stark would also be asked to join. Man, you hated that guy. There was also someone called Steve Rodgers and Thor Odinson enlisting. You swore that Thor was a name of some Norse God but you couldn't be sure. It didn't sound like S.H.I.E.L.D's normal route for a mission, but you were still interested as to what it would hold in store for you. The letter was very brief; it told you to pack for a long journey, bring any essentials, and to be ready by 8:30am tomorrow. The letter sounded like a uniform one that had been sent to everyone who was to be part of this mission – S.H.I.E.L.D knew you travelled a lot and they had all your clothes and personal belongings on the Helicarrier anyway, so clearly this letter wasn't addressed to you personally.

You took out a small cigarette lighter and allowed the flame to lick the end of the document, swiftly engulfing it in flames. You watched as you let go of the file and it fell to the floor in a crumpled heap of charcoaled paper. You had already memorised the all important details. With one last reserved glance at the old room before your eyes, you turned on your heel and strode off, making a mental note to never let your room on the Helicarrier get like that.