This is my next Avengers fanfics -(Go ahead, call me obsessed. I don't care.)- and it also has an OC character. This fanfics isn't in first person, but in third. Okay, warning(s): possibly minor coarse language as the story progresses, possible character death (Who knows where this fanfics will go), mentions and flashbacks of torture (You'll understand when the story gets there. But you may have speculations now), and whatever else happens in this story. Sorry, most things aren't entirely set in stone.
Okay, DISCALIMER: I do NOT own the Avengers. If I did, trust me, the movie would've ended much differently.
A woman was sitting on her porch, a book in her hands. It was obvious on her face that she was completely engrossed in the book. It was also obvious by the book's spine that it had been read and used many times before. In the light, tinted green by the hundreds of leaves that whistled in the slight breeze, the woman's pale skin looked somewhat shadowed. Her eyes, which were still very much intent on the book before her, were shining in the light. A brilliant gold color, Kiera had always had people note on her striking gold eyes. She wore black skinny jeans on the brisk, November afternoon, and didn't seem to mind the rather sharp wind. She also wore a short sleeve shirt that was colored a deep red, resembling the color of blood.
While this woman seemed entirely typical, she was far from it. As she reread her favorite book, the woman knew she held a secret in her heart that none would ever guess. That is, if it weren't for the few files that may have been left over. The woman brushed a strand of straight fawn-colored hair from her face just before her head snapped up, scanning the area. It was as if she heard something, as if she was a sensitive deer that heard a hunter. But she didn't run. Instead, the woman elegantly stood and set down the book with an uncanny grace. She walked down the steps and stopped a few feet from her porch, smiling.
"Well, well, well, my friend," she called. "Long time no see, hmm?" she asked with a chuckle. A mirth of laughter was heard as another woman stepped forward, out of the shade of the forest. This woman also had red hair, but with a more fiery color. Her eyes were steel-gray, and she moved with a sort of deadly lithe.
"It's been too long, Kiera," the woman answered. "But, I'm sad to say I'm here for business and not to catch up."
"Natasha, you know I'll do mostly anything, if I can actually help. What is it? Do you need another medic aboard the Helicarrier? Another lone shooter? Negotiator? Forensic scientist? Or just someone to placate Fury?" the woman, Kiera, asked in reply.
"All of those, that's for sure, but none of those are why I'm here. We need you on our team. As an Avenger," Natasha answered. "We could use someone with your abilities, you know." Kiera tensed, seeming just about to reply when Natasha cut her off quickly. "And the team, including Fury and the rest of SHIELD, only knows that you are a psychic. They know nothing about the, er, other part," Natasha finished. Kiera watched Natasha stiffly.
"Natasha, you and I both know that I can't join. You know the reason. You found out why I can't work with or for anyone on a team like that all those years ago, back in Moscow. Nothing's changed since then. I can't, Natasha. It- I, could hurt too many people," Kiera replied, some kind of heaviness weighing her voice down.
"That was almost ten years ago, Kiera. We were only children. You-" Natasha started, but Kiera cut her off.
"I'm just the same as then. I may have only been a child, but you're still who you were then, aren't you? Still a skilled assassin, still sometimes feel the effects of the brainwash? Natasha, I'm the same as I was. Still that same thing. That thing to be feared and hated," Kiera said, spitting the last sentence out like poison.
"Kiera, you have to stop blaming yourself for that. And, frankly, those people deserved what happened. They-" but Natasha didn't get to finish that thought; Kiera cut her off again.
"No one deserves that, Natasha! No one! No matter what they did or how bad they truly were, no one deserves that!" Kiera exclaimed. Natasha stared at her, as Kiera fell silent. Then Kiera laughed darkly. "I may have lied. There is one person who deserves that. But that person is the only one who isn't affected by it." Kiera let out another dark laugh, leaving Natasha looking shocked.
"Kiera-"
"Oh, don't you go 'Kiera'-ing me, Natasha. You know that what I say is true," Kiera said, her voice low. "And I know it, too."
Natasha let out a frustrated sigh. She shook her head before taking a deep breath. "Kiera. We need you on this. The world could be lost if you don't help us."
"You handled Loki perfectly well last time the world was in danger, and he's a god. I think you can take on anything with your little group," Kiera interrupted. "Why do you need my help?"
"Because Loki's missing. He's not in his Asgardian cell anymore; all that's left is a few hundred blood splatters. Thor was horrified to know that the guards abused his brother how they did. But there are obvious fingerprints, hair fibers and blood samples all around the cell. We could use a forensic scientist for that. We need to find Loki," Natasha explained.
"I can be a forensic scientist, easy. But why does it sound like there's more?"
"Because there is. After we find Loki, or after he finds us, we need a medic to care for whatever wounds he might have. And you're the best option, since you're the closest thing we have to a supernatural medic, so-"
"But, can't the medics on Asgard care for Loki?" Kiera asked, cutting Natasha off again.
"Part of Loki's punishment was that any and every Asgardian, except for the guards, are unable to come into any contact with Loki, to teach him-"
"What it meant to truly be alone in the world," Kiera finished. "That's horrible." Kiera shuddered at the thought of the mental torture alone Loki may have had to go through.
"In short, yeah."
"So what does it have to do with the… other side?" Kiera asked. "Why do you need any more than a psychic, forensic scientist, medic?"
"Because of two things. One; we're expecting to have to fight whatever took Loki eventually. We barely overpowered the god, all five of us, and this thing just plucked him out of thin air-"
"Which was while he was in chains and with a muzzle preventing him from speaking or using any magic. You had to deal with full-powered Loki," Kiera pointed out.
"And then, the second reason. The Avengers are falling apart, Kiera," Natasha said. "You're the only person I can think if that could stitch a sorry bunch like us back together again."
Kiera couldn't help but smile slightly. "At least your trust in me hasn't dwindled. And I'm sure that you haven't stated any of these concerns or even let slip that you're worried?"
"Of course not. Most of the Avengers have yet to see the side if me that you know," Natasha said with a smile. "You know I'm not one to be open. It took you months to get me to say a word to you that wasn't required."
Kiera laughed. "True, very true. But look what my perseverance got me; a friend that isn't fuzzy or furry all over."
"Still keeping odd creatures around the house, Kiera?" Natasha asked with a smile, her tone a teasing, admonishing tone.
"Well, of course. What else? You want to meet them? Three Newfoundlands: Vic; he's five years old, Reverse; she's three years old, and Andy; he's seven months old. One Greyhound- you remember Skillet, right? She's eight now. Two German shepherd puppies- only about ten weeks old. Brother and sister; Gun and Horizon. Then there's-"
"How many dogs do you have, Kiera?" Natasha asked in disbelief. "Do you have an entire shelter of them?"
"No! I only have seven!" Kiera protested. "The last one is Link, and she's Andy's age. She's a Sheltie." Just as the last words slid from Kiera's lips, she turned and whistled. A pack of seven dogs came running. They ran to Kiera and Natasha. Kiera clicked her tongue, and the dogs almost immediately fell into a sort of line, sitting. Kiera smiled, before beginning to point to the dogs. "Skillet," she said, pointing to a light blue-silver Gray Hound. "Vic," she continued down the line, pointing to a tall, lean, and muscular brown Newfoundland. Even under all of his thick, dark fur that Vic had, it was obvious that he was very agile. "Reverse," she stated as she gestured to a black Newfoundland. She wasn't as tall as Vic, nor as fuzzy, but shorter and with smoother fur. "Andy," Kiera continued, pointing to a light brown and white patched Newfoundland. "Link," she addressed a small white and black dog with floppy, short-ish ears that half pointed up. "Gun and Horizon," she said finally, the two puppies looking up at Natasha and Kiera. Their ears flopped slightly, and they looked practically the same. Horizon just had a bright flash of white across her face, against the typical dark brown of German shepherds.
"And that's all of them!" Kiera said brightly. "All seven!" Natasha just shook her head, hiding a smile.
"I can't imagine how you care for all of them. Or how you can stand all of them," Natasha said, shaking her head.
"Well, a cat person wouldn't understand. I just love my dogs."
Natasha chuckled. "I can tell. Now, how did you get them to all sit in a line? It's as if you taught them to fall-in, or something."
"I just clicked my tongue. It took forever to teach them, but they got the concept. After a lot of training, but it paid off," Kiera explained. Then, she smiled deviously, and clicked her tongue again. That must have been the 'fallout' command, because the dogs broke formation, and Reverse, Andy, Link, Gun, and Horizon all jumped up at Natasha. Skillet and Vic were nosing at Natasha. And, somehow, the seven dogs got Natasha down. Kiera laughed as Natasha was covered in wet, slobbery doggy kisses.
"Hey- help!" Natasha shouted as Andy laid himself on Natasha's stomach, and licked her face. Kiera laughed harder, almost doubling over. Soon, though, she clicked her tongue. The dogs hopped off, and 'fell-in'.
"That was," Natasha started, picking herself up off the ground, "unexpected," she finished as she dusted herself off.
"That was," Kiera started, mocking Natasha. "Freaking hilarious," she finished with a laugh, grinning from ear to ear.
"Oh, shut up."
"Hey, is that how you treat your new teammate? I thought you wanted me on the team," Kiera teased. Natasha blinked at Kiera.
"You're joining?" Natasha asked hesitantly, disbelieving. As if she didn't expect Kiera to give in that easily.
"I guess so," Kiera said after a pause. "But, on one condition: my dogs get to come with me anywhere I go." Natasha rolled her eyes, but nodded.
"Sure thing. Fury might pop a vein when he finds seven dogs on his Helicarrier and Stark will hate the fact that seven dogs will be living in his tower, but they can deal with it."
"Great," Kiera said. "Then I'm in."