Author's Note: I've told myself numerous of times over the past few months that I would stray away from OC's after my last one. ~sighs~

As you can see from the characters listed, that didn't exactly happen. I was going to stick to the fandom given characters- even if I had to genderbend someone- but this idea struck me one night as I was falling asleep.

SPOILER ALERT.. the OC will be a mutant BUT I'm not doing any research on mutants so there won't be any detailed descriptions of mutant history or how the gene was passed down and blah, blah, blah. However, there will be other- more famous- mutants mentioned.

And I know that the mutants probably came out long before the superheroes/avengers but for this, let's just say that the mutants remained in hiding until after the Avengers became public heroes.

That is all.

Oh.. and Coulson lives! This will also ignore the events of Thor: TDW and CA: TWS so I guess you can say this is an alternate universe.

If you're still on board, try to enjoy!

Growing up, Camille Saunders had the average life.

Her father was a post-office worker and her mother a kindergarten teacher- the both of them just barely making enough money to pay the bills and live somewhat comfortably while still making sure their daughter had a good life.

The only not-so-good thing about Camille's childhood was that she had blackouts- blackouts which rarely had her parents panicked when she awoke and asked what had happened. But other than that, her life was pretty average.

At least until she was old enough to keep secrets and her parents started telling her stories about people with special abilities. She had always smiled and craved to learn more- she soon finding out that the tales of people with special abilities weren't just tales.

They were real.

They were called mutants.

And she was one of them.

She had soon learned that the blackouts only happened when her ability took over- her ability taking over when her emotions got the best of her. Her parents had told her that as she got older and learned control, she'd be able to stay in control of her mind and not black out so she'd know what was going on at all times.

Camille had also learned that in their little family, she was the only mutant. Her parents were normal human beings- the two of them having to explain that the x-gene could pass from generation to generation without a person knowing they had it, and the only reason they knew exactly what Camille was was because Camille's father's grandfather was a mutant though he had different powers than hers.

Camille's own mother hadn't known about mutants but when Camille's abilities started to manifest- it was just luck that no-one freaked out or shunned Camille for not being normal.

When Camille was thirteen, she and her family had an unexpected visit from a bald man in a wheel chair- he explaining that he too was a mutant who ran a mutant school. He confessed that he saw Camille struggling and that she would benefit from said school if she'd like to attend to learn more about herself.

The Saunders' saw no problem in this and Camille easily agreed to attend.

And while the school was everything that Camille thought it would be, she didn't exactly fit in.

The school and it's teachers were all about being heroes and doing good- something in which Camille didn't mind because she didn't have one bad bone in her body- but she just couldn't click with her Professors or fellow students. While she wanted to learn everything and learn it fast, the Professors wanted her to pace herself and not do this or that.

At age fifteen, the world as they knew it gave them more surprises- these surprises in the form of a ragtag group of humans, superhumans, and demi-gods that called themselves the Avengers. They had saved the world from an alien invasion and just when the mutants thought that this was their chance to finally go public, the human race proved to the mutants why they were hiding in the first place.

While most of the world praised the Avengers for their duties, the other majority of them blamed the Avengers for the attack and the destruction of New York City.

So while the Avengers and their handlers fought to keep their image squeaky clean, the mutants remained in hiding. Well, at least the smart ones did.

Camille ending up leaving the mutant academy at age sixteen- she just staying long enough until she learned control and just what exactly it was that her abilities entailed- and though the Professors said there were no hard feelings, she could tell that they were severely disappointed in her. She continued her schooling with the normal humans, keeping her ability a secret and only practicing in the comfort and safety of her own home.

And it was only months after she left the academy that word about mutants got out to the rest of the public when a few brave souls thought that they'd be praised just as the Avengers ended up being. Only they didn't realize that their abilities would scare and confuse the public instead of making them feel comfortable.

Camille and her parents watched everything unravel on the news, Camille watching with rapt attention as one of her ex-Professors fought for the mutants to not have to register themselves as mutants and be known world-wide.

But at age seventeen, the law ended up passing and Camille soon found herself standing in line at the Town Hall with numerous agitated mutants as they had to register themselves with a crowd of humans nearly rioting and calling for their demise.

And at age eighteen, Camille was awoken in the middle of the night to a blade at her throat. She was injected with something that made her lose the ability of her limbs and then dragged out of her room where she saw more masked people standing in her parent's bedroom, looming over their sleeping forms before two gunshots rang out in the night.

Coulson sat in the back of the surveillance van, eyes glued to the grainy screens of the live feed from their target. Or targets, really, who were known as the Anti-Mutant Extremists.

He rarely ever went into the field now-a-days, he choosing to stay behind wherever it was they setup blocks away but this mission- this mission was something different.

When Phil Coulson had officially became an agent with Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division- or S.H.I.E.L.D- he was absolutely baffled by how much he didn't know about the world. But the great thing about Phil Coulson- and the thing that had him easily climbing in ranks- was that he dealt with the knowledge as if it were just that, knowledge.

He didn't let the knowledge of super-beings or the paranormal scare him off or make him a fan boy- at least not to anyone else's knowledge-, he choosing to push that to the back of his mind as he trained and got his body in top shape. And when he was confronted with a super-being or something paranormal, he didn't let it throw him off his game and dealt with the mission as professionally as he could.

Phil Coulson became the best agent S.H.I.E.L.D ever had the privilege of calling theirs and as he aged, he became the best Handler to recruit those heading down the wrong path and making them agent worthy.

Life was pretty average as it can get working for S.H.I.E.L.D and then Bruce Banner had to go and try to recreate the super-soldier serum- a serum that had only once been effective and gave the world Captain America- but it didn't work in Banner's favor. He was super, all right, but instead of being like Captain Steve Rogers from the 40's, Banner turned into a giant green rage machine when agitated.

Knowing that humans could be capable of such things then set the ball in motion- others trying to get their hands on such things that they had no right to have. Wars were breaking out left and right, and the world's largest weapons manufacturer- Tony Stark- had been kidnapped.

S.H.I.E.L.D rarely got involved with normal cases but since a majority of their weapons and technology came from Stark Industries, they gave up some of their decent agents to help out the military who were most involved in retrieving Stark.

Months later, Stark ended up saving himself by building an Iron Man suit. After the military and government officials failed in getting their hands on Stark's technology, S.H.I.E.L.D kept on eye on him because such things shouldn't be in the hands of such an unpredictable being but should they ever need his assistance, it'd be great to be on his good side.

And then the Fates had a great big laugh at them all when they tossed Thor down to them- Thor who was not only from another realm, but practically a god.

Coulson had seen Thor in action and he immediately knew that if he were a hostile, they'd have a huge problem on their hands. But no, Thor was actually a friendly only trying to get back home and figure out why his hammer wasn't responding to him like it usually did.

But with Thor came his adopted brother's temper tantrum in the form of a nearly indestructible giant robot that nearly leveled a town out in New Mexico.

Thor had ended up saving the day, returning home soon afterward with promises that Earth- or Midgard as he called it- was now under his protection.

Life continued on as normal- well as normal as it could after they came face to face with Thor- and things seemed to look up when they found Captain Steve Rogers' body frozen in ice. When he was returned to S.H.I.E.L.D and defrosted, everyone was shocked to learn that he had a heartbeat and would be okay. Well, as okay as one could be after sleeping for nearly seventy years.

Coulson had been secretly ecstatic- his childhood hero actually being alive and well- but then the Fates just wouldn't leave them alone.

S.H.I.E.L.D had been in possession of a blue cube that wasn't from Earth and had been found years ago- S.H.I.E.L.D running tests on it when another being came from another realm- this one killing and destroying without a second thought. The hostile, Loki, took a few hostages and put them under mind control- taking the cube with them and leaving survivors fearing the worst.

They called in Bruce Banner to try and locate the cube since it gave off gamma radiation and got Captain Steve Rogers- Captain America- to bring in Loki when found.

The first to be found was Loki- Agent Romanoff flying Captain America to where they needed to be when Iron Man showed up to help. Loki surprisingly went easily but it was when they were up in the air and flying back to S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters that Thor intercepted them, taking his brother from them and flying away.

Iron Man and Captain America didn't know who Thor was, and Agent Romanoff tried to tell them to let it be but Iron Man couldn't let it go. A fight came to blows but Thor soon realized that he needed to listen to these people and Agent Romanoff when he learned of what his brother had done.

Everything had been a mess- Loki escaping after pitting the so-called team against each other and bringing an alien invasion to Earth. It took a while but the team- or the Avengers as Director Fury called them- put a stop to it all after much blood shed and destruction.

It took a while for everyone to believe that the Avengers were the good guys, and just when things had finally calmed down, mutants came forward.

The World Council and S.H.I.E.L.D had been pissed that mutants had been able to keep themselves hidden but not everyone was so welcoming of the mutants. If they could hide so easily, how did the public know just how many more were out there?

When the mutants tried to claim that they were the good guys and superheroes just like the Avengers- possibly even better than the Avengers- no-one seemed comfortable with the knowledge they were learning. After all, would you be comfortable knowing there were mutants who could read minds, walk through walls, manipulate metal, and change appearances and voice to sound and look exactly like someone else?

S.H.I.E.L.D tried taking over but other officials weren't having any of it. Everything went to press and soon enough, laws were passed that made it mandatory for every mutant to come forward and be registered.

Coulson hadn't known how to feel about that, though. Sure it was a good thing to have them registered and known just what they were capable of in case they were hostile but he didn't think it needed to be public knowledge. After all, some of these mutants were mere children.

But as the years passed, the Avengers weren't in the spotlight as much as the mutants. Average humans rioted and petitioned for mutants to not attend the school or work as themselves- starting small wars nearly every other month.

S.H.I.E.L.D and other government agencies thought they had a hand on things but then mutants started to go missing. While some were found- thanks to one mutant who could track other mutants- others were just gone from the man's radar. And while the one mutant wanted nothing more than to bring everyone home, he didn't like working with the government so S.H.I.E.L.D took it upon themselves to continue searching since they were more equipped with handling these type of things.

Hence the reason for Phil sitting in the back of a surveillance van and attempting to rescue innocent mutants.

The building three blocks away was under the guise of being a large Pet Store Warehouse but really, it was just the largest operation of kidnapped mutants that humans put on display as a freak show. S.H.I.E.L.D had been lucky that they'd come across this operation though they weren't so lucky because other mutants- the good ones- couldn't get close enough without the humans somehow finding out about it and moving their base of operations.

The back door to the van opened and Agent Romanoff- in disguise- appeared. "Ready, Boss?"

She flashed him one of her rare genuine smiles, he still getting used to this side of Natasha. When he had first met Natasha, she was going by the name of Natalia Romanova aka the Black Widow and had been brought in by Agent Barton who had made a different call than the kill order he had been given on her.

She was a Russian spy and assassin but when Barton laid eyes on her, he couldn't bring himself to kill her. So instead, he gave her a choice- join S.H.I.E.L.D or someone else from the agency would be sent to put her down, and she made the right decision when she went in with him and was immediately greeted by Fury and Coulson.

Natalia Romanova quickly became Natasha Romanoff, partnering up with Clint Barton whenever she was allowed out on the field. She had rarely ever showed emotion but after joining the Avengers Initiative, something had softened within in the Russian and she was a bit more easy going.

"Just about, Widow," Coulson nods at her as she climbs into the van with him and shutting it securely behind her. "How does it look in there?"

"Worse than your little screens are showing," she grunts behind him, pulling off the straight shoulder length brunette wig and tugging off the flashy diamond earrings and name brand sunglasses. "The mutants vary in ages and health, all are miserable and are forced to showcase their abilities for our entertainment," she tells him as she undresses behind him to put on her S.H.I.E.L.D assigned catsuit. "They also have a young mutant girl working for them- she looks just as miserable as everyone else- and she's the one they're forcing to help them determine if they're about to be found by the X-Men. It's how they know when to move."

"Explains a lot," Coulson sighs.

"Mhm," she hums, pulling on her boots. "There's also a Seer." At this, Coulson peers over her shoulders and she smirks. "I skipped him for obvious reasons- we didn't need our covers blown- but he still saw something from me."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," she huffs as she straps holsters to her thighs. "Is that the kid was giving the people their money's worth by telling them something from their future. I was walking passed when he didn't have any customers and without anyone looking, he grabbed my hand. His eyes went complete white for a second but when he came back to himself, he nearly cried in relief." Set and ready for action, Natasha shrugs as she brushes her infamous red hair behind her ears. "It's safe to say the operation is going to go off in our favor."

Natasha grins and Coulson raises one eyebrow at that piece of information. "Let's just get in there before they realize their little mutant is far happier than he should be."

The Black Widow is serious once more, gives a brisk nod, and watches as Phil arms himself before they're climbing out of the back of the van. Several other agents flock to them from other nearby parked vehicles, Coulson knowing that even more backup hid in the surrounding buildings should they need it.

They march right up to the building without second guessing themselves, the Black Widow flanking Agent Coulson as they step through the front door with ease.

The so-called secretary in the front takes one look at them before he's immediately reaching under the counter for possibly some sort of weapon. But with the Black Widow standing right there, she easily launches herself atop the counter and uses her hands to balance herself as she sweep kicks the guy across the face, effectively knocking him out and signaling for one of the other agents to tie him up and escort him out.

Phil gives her a brief grin as if telling her job well done and the Widow nods in acceptance while brushing the hair from her eyes.

When the other agents finally enter the establishment, the Black Widow nods to the set of doors that will take them through a short hallway before opening up to the back of the warehouse where everyone is.

Coulson and Romanoff lead the way, faces void of any emotion as they stride with purpose into the back of the warehouse where Phil has a moment of hesitation after seeing all the mutants either chained to the wall or floor- all of them wearing collars around their neck.

Not many people see their entrance or pick up on the fact that these people aren't paying customers. "Excuse me," Phil hollers as politely as he can, watching on in hidden amusement as many people freeze and tense at the picture Phil and his agents paint. "But on behalf of Strategic Homeland Intervention-"

"RAID!"

Lips twitching in amusement, Natasha hides her grin as Phil grumbles, "They never let me finish."

There's a mad scramble of humans trying to flee- Phil and the agents not giving them a second glance because their backup outside will be wrangling them all up anyway- but those who stayed are looking more and more like they're ready for a fight.

"Remember," Phil peers over his shoulder. "No casualties. Knock them out if you must and zip-tie 'em up. Fury wants them all alive."

The moment Phil faces forward again, it's like an unspoken Go! and the agents plus the Widow are all rushing forward and rounding up the so-called extremists.

He watches on with pride as the Black Widow slinks between targets, sweeping out their feet from beneath them before tying their hands behind their back within the blink of an eye. She easily subdues others by twisting their arms behind their back, flipping them on their back and pressing on their pressure points until they black out and leave them there for the other agents to run in and tie up.

Only one man makes the mistake of targeting Phil- Phil rolling his eyes in exasperation as he sees the incoming target from his peripheral vision. Without even breaking a sweat, Phil flexes the fingers of his left hand before curling all of them in towards his palm except for the pinky. And with a quick thrust of his pinky to the man's throat- the now choking and gasping man falls to his knees.

Phil waves over an unoccupied agent, the agent's eyes sparkling in amusement at the fact that his boss was such a badass and zip-ties the downed man.

..

..

Once all the people who were running the operation and/or participated in keeping the mutants against their will are all rounded up, they're all seated back to back in a line as they yell and holler about being American citizens and having rights.

The agents who aren't occupied with keeping an eye over the pathetic excuses of human beings are walking around the mutants and taking down their names and age- many mutants laughing and crying in relief as their chains and collars are cut off.

But one mutant in particular catches Phil's eye.

"Agent Romanoff," he calls out to her, gaining her attention and waiting for her to come to him. When she's there, he subtly gestures to the mutant in question. "What's the story on her?"

The mutant in question is lying in a cage- a dirtied tank top and black shorts barely hanging on her too thin frame. Half her hair seems to be shaved off, the other dirtied blonde tangled locks hanging down to mid-bicep, and a chunky collar is clasped around her neck.

"Don't know," she murmurs low enough for only Coulson to hear. "When I did my first sweep of the place, she was refusing to display her abilities and a woman was electrocuting her with that shock collar. It was like she gave up."

"Name? Age?"

Pursing her lips, Natasha shrugs before striding up to the agent in charge of that particular section. Coulson watches as she taps the female agent on the shoulder, taking the clipboard a moment later, and watches as she skims each and every page. And with a small frown, Natasha hands the clipboard back before having a small conversation with the agent and then heads back toward Coulson.

"No name, age, or ability so far," she tells him. "Others have spoken about her being one of the most timid ones here. She also doesn't speak."

"Doesn't or won't?"

Natasha shrugs yet again and Phil sighs. "Let's find out, shall we?"

Phil takes the lead now with agent Romanoff at his back, the both of them walking right up to the cage.

The mutant in question sees their incoming and scrambles backward until her back hits the cage wall- dull ice blue eyes widening at their approach. Holding his palms out to show that he means no harm, Phil pauses and takes a moment to take in the mutant's features while she assesses him.

While dirt clings to every inch of available flesh, he can still make out the heart-shaped face though gaunt at the moment, small mouth, and upturned nose .

"I'm Agent Coulson," he tells her gently as he crouches by the cage, fingers wrapping around steel bars. "I work with a government agency called S.H.I.E.L.D and we're here to take you home. Can you tell me your name? Your age," he asks.

The mutant continues to stare at him, gulping and nearly trembling at everything going on around her but she gives him no answer. Needing an answer, Phil tries again. "We need your age so we know what group you are to go with," he confesses. "S.H.I.E.L.D can't take all of the mutants so Charles Xavier- the man who runs a mutant academy- will be sending a team to pick up the children and teenagers. Are you a teenager?"

Thinking they're not going to get far with this female, they're a bit shocked when she gives them a quick shake of her head. "An adult then," Natasha quirks an eyebrow. At this, the mutant gives a brisk nod.

Just then a female agent walks up to Natasha and Coulson, holding out a chain with a key dangling from it. "We pulled this off one of the main men," she tells them. "Grumbled about it being the key to the cage after we pestered him for it."

"And by pester you mean.." Phil quirks an eyebrow at her as he straightens up.

"A lady never reveals her secrets," she winks, casting a smirk at Natasha. Obviously the agent is fairly new because she startles when Agent Romanoff remains passive, face void of any emotion before she scampers off.

And now it's Phil's turn to smirk. "You really need to learn to be nicer to other agents."

"I will when they learn not to be so playful on a mission in front of a victim."

Phil huffs at her and moves toward the cage door, shoulders slumping in relief when the key fits the lock. Clicking the lock open, he swings the door open and tentatively holds a hand out. "Come. It's time to get you cleaned up and find your family. You're going home."

So there's that. -nervously chuckles-

Just so you know, not all chapters will be this long. Some might be longer, some might shorter. Who knows.

I'm also still in the process of writing this story so updates will probably be only once a week.