Disclaimer: I do not own any of Marvel's characters, settings, or plots. I only own Claudia and Jack.

Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry it's been FOREVER since I last posted. I happen to be a very scatterbrained human being. Anyway, this character of mine is my favorite (shhh! Don't tell her siblings!) and I use her in EVERYTHING. She is literally THE most developed character I have ever created. Don't even try to tell me she's fictional. I have a black with yellow belt in American Freestyle Karate. That would be a bad idea. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. PLEASE leave a review! Happy reading!

One

The Stranger in the Storm

Thunder rumbled over New York City and the rain poured through every crack and crevice it could find. A hooded feminine figure stumbled through the downpour as every drop stung her face. She winced as lightning cracked across the sky. Just keep pressing on, she told herself. The girl looked, squinting up at the stars, but they could not be seen through the dense clouds. She looked down dejectedly at her sticky note. The ink was beginning to run. If she just found this address, the man had said she'd find shelter. Through the blinding sheets of rain, she saw a light. Maybe there was some kind of hope, after all. She dragged herself toward the light.

Eventually, she found herself at the foot of the enormous tower. The teen walked up to the door and pounded on it. "Hello?" She glanced at her post-it. Did she really expect this to work? Why should the Avengers care for a monster like her? She shook her head. Turning on her heel, she dejectedly began to walk away.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" a voice with a clipped British accent suddenly inquired from behind.

She turned, but there was nobody behind her.

She observed cameras pointed at the door, several hidden speakers, and a small, high-techy looking screen next to the door. Of course! Jarhead or whoever must be on the other side! She picked up a twig and began trying to type the passcode in on the screen, failing miserably. The tech couldn't sense her, but maybe it could see her sticky note? She held up her note in front of the camera. Stopping to think for a moment, she pulled it back down and scribbled, "Sam Wilson said it would be safe here" on the post-it before resuming her attempt to get in.

Meanwhile, Tony Stark had been lounging in the Tower.

"Sir?"

"Shh, I'm enjoying the sound of the rain," he groaned. Stark sighed heavily. "What is it, JARVIS?"

"Something rather peculiar is going on at the front door."

"Pull up the live camera feed."

"Already on it, sir."

Stark pulled out his phone. "What the heck?"

A floating post-it note seemed to be suspended in mid-air outside the tower.

"Barton's probably bored anyway. Send him to check it out."

Indeed, Barton was bored. He was trying to beat his personal best on the dartboard in his room. He tossed a dart over his shoulder, hitting the bull's eye for the umpteenth time.

"Mr. Barton?"

"Yeah, JARVIS?"

"Something funny is going on out front. Mr. Stark proposed you check it out."

"Sure. I'm bored anyway." He grabbed his bow and quiver and made for the elevator.

The girl frantically waved her Post-It in front of the cameras. She felt absolutely ridiculous. "Help?" she squeaked. She dropped her aching arm and sighed. Wilson had sent her to Avengers Tower, as if a monster like her could ever be worthy of the mere presence of an Avenger. She'd already met a few, and the few she'd met she had done nothing but maybe cause them grief. She turned on her heel, ready to face the rain again. Maybe she could find a dry spot in

some subway station somewhere…

"Is somebody out here?"

She spun around in shock. Clint Barton stood in the doorway, bow ready.

"Uhhhh..."

Barton rolled his eyes and lowered his bow. He radioed Stark. "It's just a kid. Disengage the weapons."

He turned to her. "Why are you here?"

She looked at the ground in shame before fixing her startling gray eyes back on him. "I didn't have anywhere to go, and Sam Wilson said it'd be safe here." Well, she hadn't lied...

"You know Sam?"

She nodded. "He gave me this." She extended her sticky note to him.

"Why don't we go inside first?"

The teen nodded, shivering. She shuffled after him into the sparkling lobby.

Barton took her post-it. The ink was smudged and runny, and the yellow paper itself was so torn and wet it barely held together. The girl held her breath. Surely the Falcon wouldn't have given her false information. Maybe it hadn't been him. Maybe it was a prank. Oh gosh, had she gone soft enough to miss it was a prank?

"This is the passcode, and it's in Sam's handwriting. Looks like you told the truth." Barton looked up. "Take down your hood. No need to hide here," he smiled. "You're welcome to wait out the storm with us."

"Th-thank you." Stuttering? She was that weak already?

She pulled down her charcoal gray hood, revealing her long, dripping wet brown hair. She followed him into the elevator.

It started a rather awkward ride up, but about halfway up, Barton started asking questions.

"What's your name?"

"Claudia."

"How old are you?"

"Thirteen."

"Where are your parents?"

"I don't know."

Barton looked at her. Not in puzzlement, not in judgement, but in sincere understanding. He glanced away. "Are you a foster kid, then?"

Claudia nodded vigorously. Lies, lies, lies. So far, she was doing an excellent impression of an innocent little girl. She hated herself for that.

With a ding, they reached their destination.

"Gotta tell Stark you're here, and we might want to contact your foster parents, just so they know you're safe," Barton said.

"Yeah." Maybe Amelia could cover for her? She couldn't go back, but maybe she could convince them...

Lying to an Avenger. If Claudia had the option, the would tell the truth. She hated the lies, but there was no other choice for someone like her.

Barton led her out of the elevator and down a hallway into a large common room. "Stark?"

Stark was collapsed on the couch spread-eagle, asleep. Barton turned to Claudia. "He hasn't slept in days, maybe even a few weeks. We should probably leave him."

"Don't even try and act like you're not relieved. It's like he's been trying to break a sleeplessness record for the last few weeks. We've all suffered," said a female voice from behind.

The duo spun around. A woman with short red hair stood there, chewing a piece of gum.

"You're right, Nat. I can't fake it."

Claudia analyzed the woman. Natasha Romanoff, AKA Black Widow, trained as a Soviet assassin, converted to SHIELD by Barton here, and a strong presence in the much needed fall of the HYDRA invested SHIELD. Current Avenger. Danger level- through the roof(And considering that they were in a skyscraper...).

"Who's this?" She asked, popping her gum.

"Um, my name is Claudia," Claudia said, again feigning innocence. Innocence, what a noble concept...

"Natasha."

The two shook hands quickly. Romanoff glanced at Barton, and then at Stark, sprawled across the sofa, snoring loudly. "We ought to let him sleep. Steve can move him so we can have our meeting in here. He can sleep through anything, but his snoring is obnoxious."

Claudia laughed. If anyone could see through her, it was Romanoff. She felt like she read her like a book. Romanoff eyed her, then smiled. "Eighth grade?"

Claudia nodded. She would be in the eighth grade if she were in regular school, she supposed. So at least here was one truth she'd told so far.

"You don't seem very impressed," Romanoff smirked.

Claudia shrugged.

Romanoff asked many of the same questions Barton had. Claudia continued her act with her until more Avengers began to gather in the common room. First, in came a tall, clean-shaven, broad shouldered man with clean cut blonde hair and blue eyes. Claudia recognized him immediately, even without his star-spangled uniform or shield. Captain Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America. How was she going to lie to Captain America? She couldn't believe herself!

Next came an even taller, more muscular man, with a blonde beard and long hair. Thor, Claudia guessed from the large war hammer at his side. Mjölnir. Claudia felt a stab of unworthiness. She knew she could never lift that hammer, even if she got the opportunity.

After Thor, a much shorter man with curly salt-and-pepper hair shuffled in. Claudia's only guess was that he must be the legendary Dr. Bruce Banner. Unlike most people, she had always looked to him as a man of science rather than the Hulk. Maybe it was that she knew what it was like to be called a monster. Maybe it was because she hoped he could maybe find a cure for her.

Claudia shook her head. Even if he could find a cure, she was the last person to deserve it.

Finally, all the Avengers were present and accounted for, Captain Rogers had moved the heavily sleeping Tony Stark to his room(it was quite the spectacle, too), and everyone sat around the common room. Claudia sat on the couch uncomfortably. She had her legs tight together and her hands folded in her lap. Her clothes had mostly dried, but her jeans were now stiff and itchy, which only added to her discomfort.

"So," Captain Rogers started. "What's our first order of business?"

"For those of you who haven't met her yet, this is Claudia," Barton said, absent-mindedly fiddling with an arrow. "She needed a place to wait out the storm. Since Stark is currently otherwise occupied, I was hoping Pepper would be here so maybe we could get Claudia into a guest room for the night."

"Welcome, Claudia. How old are you?" Thor asked.

"13," Claudia answered, hiding her annoyance with this question. That was the fourth time she'd been asked that.

"Well, Miss Claudia," Captain Rogers said. "There's a guest suite on my floor. You can go wash up while we take care of some other things. My floor has a picture of my shield next to the elevator button. You can't miss it."

She smiled sweetly. "Thank you, sir."

"My pleasure, miss."

Claudia followed the path Barton had taken her back to the elevator. When she was sure no one was looking, she pulled a pen out of her pocket to press the button. Sure, there was metal and plastic already there between her and the electric component, but she didn't want to take any chances. Wait, why hadn't she just used this on the keypad outside? For a trained strategist, she felt pretty stupid. Too late for that now.

The elevator reached Rogers' floor with yet another ding. There was no door to his suite, so Claudia was practically in his living quarters. It felt kind of weird- he had always been such an icon, but now, standing in his home, he seemed so much more human. Only Claudia knew this wasn't his home; his home was back in 1945. She bowed her head for a moment. She knew the feeling.

Claudia looked to the left and saw a hallway painted a different color than the rest of the room. She followed it and found the guest suite- a good sized bedroom with plain decor, a bed, a chest at the foot of the bed, and a nightstand. Branching off of it was a bathroom and a small laundry nook. Claudia immediately plopped her backpack on the chest, put her clothes in the washing machine, tapping the buttons with her pen again, and made her way into the bathroom. She caught her face in the mirror. A girl with grimy skin, long, greasy, tangled brown hair, a strong, stubborn jawline, and frightening gray eyes that shifted with her emotions stared back at her. The dark circles below her eyes were etched deep. Claudia sighed and pulled herself away to shower. It felt like an eternity since she'd had a warm shower like this. She got out and toweled herself dry. Wrapping herself in the fluffy bathrobe provided, she caught her reflection in the mirror again. Her dark circles had improved a good bit, considering they were at least 42% muck before. She picked up the brush and started working on her hair. You could now tell it was long to her waist, thick, wavy, and at a place between chocolate and honey brown. Claudia smiled at her reflection, but dropped it immediately. She could never simply wash away her past. That wasn't possible.

She finished brushing out her hair and retrieved her clothes from the laundry nook. They were so clean now. They even smelled fresh. Claudia dressed herself. As she did, she saw her reflection in the full length mirror. What was with all these mirrors? She almost couldn't bear the sight of herself. Now, in only her bra and underwear, you could see practically every scar. Claudia traced her finger along one across her back. Her first failed mission. The sad part was that it wasn't from the mission itself, but from the cruel man who enslaved 8-year-old girls and forced them to kill. When they failed? That was where the scar came from. Only Claudia hadn't failed her assigned mission. She had blown her cover when she realized what the object was.

Closing her eyes, she pulled her lightweight charcoal gray hoodie over it. She didn't need to be thinking about that now. 5 out of 6 current Avengers were male, so passing out and having a scarring flashback in her underwear would be pretty embarrassing. She pulled on her jeans and draped her tan leather jacket over the bedpost.

Claudia couldn't find any sleepwear, (other than oversized Stark Industries footsie pajamas, which Claudia shuddered at the thought of who might actually have worn them.) so she decided just to try and sleep in her clothes. She hadn't slept in pajamas in weeks, anyway. At least now she was in a bed.

Claudia tossed and turned, but sleep wouldn't come. Her bed was too soft. It felt like it might swallow her whole. Thunder rumbled in the distance. She supposed sleep made no difference anyway. With sleep came the nightmares. And with the nightmares came her weakness.

I hope you enjoyed chapter one! I am fully aware of the vagueness of her powers and background, but it'll make sense in a few chapters or so. Kudos to anyone who figured out what her powers are, but please don't spoil it in the reviews. And I've noticed that you haven't been reviewing (tsk tsk tsk). Please leave me a review to tell me what you think! I really do appreciate it. Thanks for reading!