I awoke with a start, struggling to restrain from screaming. I had the same nightmare again… I was a child, hurt and confused. I was overpowered by the thoughts of everyone around me, and unable to block them out, I felt like I was going mad. I sensed my mother's fear as she crept towards the front door of our dank two-room house. She slipped away, abandoning me out of horror. A sense of anger seeped through the mental attack and I subconsciously began trashing everything around me as I huddled in the corner crying and holding my head. I was so desperate to make it stop, to just have some personal solace within silence. Instead I was swallowed whole…

But that was then; I thought to myself, I have the control now. Taking a few steadying breaths, I stretched and got out of my warm bed, pulling the gray satin sheets over my pillow with a single thought upon standing. I walked over to the large window and observed the sprawling cityscape that surrounded Stark Tower; New York seemed so small at this height. Suddenly, there was a knock at my door.
"Lilith, are you awake yet?" called Pepper Potts, Tony's fiancé who treated me like her own daughter.
"Yeah, I'm up, Pepper, you can come in."
Her bright smiling face peeked out from the cracked open door.
"Big day today! What do you want for breakfast?"
My stomach gurgled. The meeting today had slipped my mind, and nausea began to set into the pit of my abdomen. I forced a smile.
"I'm not really hungry, Pepper… but thanks anyway."
She pursed her lips good-naturedly.
"Alright… but you need to hurry up and get dressed, Tony and Bruce want to talk to you before the meeting."
I nodded and she left. I hurriedly grabbed a pair of tight cargo pants and my Black Sabbath t-shirt, and headed for the shower.

I found both Tony and Bruce, unsurprisingly, in the laboratory.

"Howdy there, sunshine."
Tony called to me as he tested out his new blasters for the suit. The noise no longer bothered me; after nine years of regular explosions, I was unfazed. Bruce looked up from his tablet, a glance of annoyance over his wire frames. I felt it briefly as I brushed against his subconscious.
"Tony, you are aware that it is barely seven in the morning, correct?"
Tony dropped his arms to his sides, and looked condescendingly at him.
"Bruce, you are aware that this is my house, correct? God, PMS-ing so soon, Banner? Lil, come here for a sec, I want you to check out this new blueprint for a beta ray scanner that I came up with last night."
I smirked as Bruce rolled his eyes and walked over to the screen, waiting for the blueprint to appear.
"Tell me what you think. Jarvis, display file 32091."
I scanned the file with lightning speed, calculations zoomed through my mind and within seconds I had analyzed the entire schematic.
"You forgot to cube the nine in the third Emerson equation. Other than that, it's perfect."
Tony looked a bit shocked and scanned the image for himself, taking much longer than I had.
"I knew I kept you around for a good reason."
He softened the sarcasm with a one-armed squeeze and a kiss on my forehead. I chuckled. Suddenly, the computer screen changed to a map of the tower.
"Sir, the rest of The Avengers are here, escorted by Agent Coulson." Jarvis said in his monotone English accent. "Thank you, Jarvis." Tony patted me on the back.
"Showtime, kid."

I stood nervously at the door to the first level of our penthouse, careful not to obstruct the path of the very important people filing through. Agent Coulson, a small serious-looking bald man, walked past me as though I was invisible, greeting Tony with a handshake. A skinny young guy with glasses and messy hair looked at me guardedly through his peripheral vision as if to size me up. I had never seen him before, but I noticed a shiny purplish scar on the back of his neck, and knew immediately who he was- Peter Parker, better known on the street as Spider-Man, the scar a reminder of his life-altering bite. Several others walked past me without a glance, a hulking blonde man and a petite red-haired woman accompanied by a small but burly man. Finally, he walked past me, the man I was hoping to see; Captain Steve Rogers.
Tall, blonde and handsome, irrevocably noble and kind, Rodgers was an ever-present member of The Avengers, and was frequently at Stark Tower. Physically, he wasn't much older than my own eighteen years, but he had been alive far longer than I had, his heroism preserved nostalgically in ice for nearly sixty years. Truth be told, I had grown very fond of him….he treated me like a lady while others still treated me like a freak. As he passed, my heart beat twenty times faster than normal and I had to resist the strong urge to brush against his unconscious, desperate to know if he felt the same. His baby blue eyes contained a certain unperceivable glimmer that just urged my curiosity more. He smiled warmly.
"Ma'am."
He greeted me with a nod. I swallowed hard.
"Captain." I squeaked out, my voice several decibels higher than normal.

The visitors had gone into the conference room for the meeting, the door closing behind Captain Rogers. Pepper had come into the entryway, and walked over to me.
"You shouldn't be around here, sweetheart. You'll drive yourself crazy thinking about what they are deciding."
I forced a smile; it was my fate that they were deciding, why shouldn't I be here? It was already bad enough that I wasn't allowed in the meeting.
"You know, you're probably right." I lied.
Pepper gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder and left the room. Waiting for the door to close behind her, I crept over to the door of the conference room. Pressing my ear to the door, I was disappointed that I couldn't hear anything. Struck by inspiration, I used my powers to feel around the mechanisms of the door. A few moments passed as I attempted to find a flaw in the doors construction that wouldn't alert those inside of my eavesdropping. Finally, I found it. It was so simple; just manipulate the doors seal. I pushed the rubber aside with a thought, and soon I could hear Tony's voice.

"She is truly remarkable Coulson. She deserves a spot on the team. Her powers are unmatched! She is a gifted telepath, she is amazingly telekinetic and her mind holds more information than any computer man could make."
My heart warmed at his kind words.
"But Stark, she's unstable. You know it, I know it. Sure, she is fine while contained, but take her downtown. All of the information of the city and the thought processes of millions of people would cause her to overload."
Someone cleared their throat. I could tell by the derision in the sound that it was Bruce.
"On the contrary, Agent. Stark and I have worked endlessly for nine years to help her gain control. She can block out the thoughts of others, not allowing them to overwhelm her. She no longer moving objects unconsciously and all of her actions are exquisitely purposeful. I have given her all of my knowledge on self- control, which as you know is quite extensive. In my scientific opinion, her attributes would be astoundingly helpful."
"Yeah, right,"
I heard someone say in an uneven tone, rich with bitterness.
"She's a freak and I don't trust her. Who's to say that she isn't reading all of our minds right this second? She belongs with Professor X and the rest of the mutants, if you ask me."
Anger bubbled inside of me. I wasn't a freak, I had a gift. A natural gift… I heard a nasty chuckle.
"No one asked you, Parker."
"No one had to, Stark."
I heard the sound of chairs being pushed back and the two getting into a heated argument.
"Gentlemen, please!"
I heard Coulson's directive. The room quieted. A new voice continued the meeting.
"I personally think that Miss Foster is beyond trustworthy."
I knew that it was the Captain.
"Actually, out of all of the people I've met since I've been back, I feel most comfortable with her. I would be honored for her to be on my- our team."
I stepped away from the door. Pepper was right; this was an emotional rollercoaster and I didn't want to be a part of it anymore. I walked over to the glass staircase and sat on the first step to wait it out. I wanted to be an Avenger more than anything; Tony and Bruce had given me so much love and support, had instilled so much confidence into me. To not use my gift to help people like they had helped me would be unfair, immoral even. I wanted to make them proud.

Soon, the door slid open. I leapt up, standing at attention and hoping for the best. Tony's face broke out into a grin.
"We did it, kid! You're in!"
I couldn't contain my joy. I stumbled out gracious, thankful words to the heroes in front of me and threw my arms around Tony.
"Also," he said, "I think Cap-sickle has a crush on you. He spoke of you better than even I did."
Captain Rogers pretended that he hadn't said anything and obverted my direction as I tried to contain the pink flush on my cheeks.
"Now, Miss Foster," Coulson began, "This is only the beginning. There are months of more training ahead of you, and S.H.E.I.L.D. needs to be absolutely positive that you can handle this."
I took a steadying breath.
"I know, sir. I am willing to do whatever it takes to make a difference out there. I'm ready."