'Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.' ~ Dalai Lama
XoooX

Ronan Spire should be lucky.

It had been what his mother had told him before she died. That he was lucky, born under the star sign of Leo - a lion. Brave, courageous, always willing to take risks and, supposedly, born into good fortune.

So far, Ronan had doubted that.

His supposed 'luck' failed when his mother caught an illness and never recovered, dying when Ronan was ten. He grieved, of course he did - he loved his mother. He'd always felt that he could have done more - he was lucky, he could have used that and saved her.

Everything sort of went downhill from that point on.

His father was a good man and he tried to go on, to help them remain comfortable. He had a low income, though, and Ronan had been getting lower and lower grades, his self esteem had shattered a few months after his mother's death. He found it hard to make friends, finding comfort in technology and books and his father wasn't at home enough to console him. One would think all the reading would help with his grades - as if. No, he preferred fiction, imagining that he was one of the heroes, off to save the world. Not stuck in a small flat in the middle of New Mexico.

He left home at the age of eighteen. Two years later, his life turned upside down.

A hammer had fallen to earth, wedged in a rock, like some Arthurian legend style deal. Mostly because no one could lift it. Even Ronan had tried and he could've sworn it wobbled, just a fraction, but it was probably wishful thinking because God, that thing was heavier than anything he had ever tried to lift in his life.

Of course, then some secret government organisation had closed off the perimeter to investigate it and, of course, Ronan had been caught up with the idiot who decided to bust in.

Ronan liked Jane Foster. She was intelligent and pretty and didn't question him too much. She helped his confidence and, although she obviously wasn't interested in him, she helped him a lot.

Then there was Thor, who made Ronan question his previous 'one hundred percent heterosexual' status because God, he was attractive. Also, being around him made him dangerous because he was an 'Asgardian'. Norse mythology, which Ronan had read about. Last time he checked, it didn't include robots that shot fire and destroyed towns.

A few weeks after that incident, Ronan had decided he wouldn't have anything to do with pseudo gods or secret governments or items of unknown power. Just no.

Luck was most definitely not on his side.

XoooX

"I am reconsidering the entirety of my life choices right...now." Ronan muttered to himself, shielding his eyes from the sun as he stepped out of the helicopter. The man who was there looked sympathetic - the woman looked amused.

"Agent Romanoff. You must be Ronan Spire." She offered a hand which Ronan took, shaking it. Common courtesy, after all.

"That would be me - why I am here though...that remains a mystery."

"SHIELD has information on you." Romanoff sounded slightly too smug. "Blood samples and lists of past incidents. You have the X gene - you're a very lucky man, Mr Spire."

"If you have my files then you know that I most certainly am not lucky." Ronan retorted, before turning to the blonde man, who had been watching the conversation intently. "Sorry - Ronan Spire."

"Steve Rogers." He sounded slightly bewildered and, oh yeah, Steve Rogers was Captain America. "Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine. I...uh...grew up reading the comics." Ronan felt his ears grow hot with embarrassment. "Helped me get through a hard time so…" He shrugged awkwardly. Captain America - no, wait, Steve - looked just as awkward.

"Um...thank you?"

"This is really touching, boys, but I should introduce you to Doctor Banner." Romanoff smirked and the man who had joined them, with salt and pepper hair and glasses, started slightly. "Doctor Banner, this is Captain Steve Rogers and Ronan Spire."

"Hi." Ronan offered a smile in greeting as Steve and Banner shook hands.

"Word is you know how to find the tesseract."

"...That the only 'word' you heard?"

"Only one I care about." Ronan was confused - had they been given files or something?

"Was I not given a file for a specific reason?" Ronan had to ask. Romanoff shrugged.

"You haven't been actively involved with SHIELD."

"And yet here I am." Ronan muttered. He was pretty sure the muffled noise he heard from Banner was a laugh. Not a mocking one, Ronan thought, but one that meant he appreciated the fact that there was some irony in the whole situation. "Sorry for having no clue who you are."

"It's fine. Bruce." Banner - well, Bruce - offered a hand and Ronan shook it. "I got files, but there wasn't much information on you."

"'Cause I was a friend of Jane Foster, so I got slightly involved with the incident down in New Mexico." Ronan shrugged. "SHIELD meddle in everything. Can't get them to leave you alone once they get their teeth into you."

"I can hear you, you know." Romanoff pointed out. Ronan ignored her. "Gentlemen, I suggest we move this inside - it's...going to get difficult to breathe in a minute."

"That doesn't sound ominous at all." Ronan said, and frowned as Bruce turned dramatically pale. "You ok, Doc?"

"I feel quite ill, actually." He said in reply, and he looked ill. Romanoff frowned in concern.

"Inside." She said, and Bruce and Steve eagerly followed. "Spire!"

"Holy shit, do you have propellers on this thing?" Ronan had raced to the edge of the aircraft carrier, looking down with wide eyes. He could feel excitement coursing through his veins. This was like in his childhood daydreams and fantasies. "It's a flying machine! Oh my God, this is the best day ever!" He was well aware that he sounded like an excited five year old. He didn't care. "How much does it hold? Oh my God, oh my God!"

"You can fanboy inside, Ronan." Ronan jumped to attention when Romanoff used his first name. Her eyes were sparkling with amusement. "But seriously, it's going to get hard to breathe in a minute. Besides, the inside is much better."

At that, Ronan jogged over to the rest of them, still bouncing slightly in excitement.

"What's this called? I can't refer to it as a flying machine."

"It's called a helicarrier." Romanoff said. "And this is where SHIELD conducts most of their work."

"So like a secret hideout?" Ronan asked. "This is like all the books I used to read!"

"I thought you were regretting your life choices?" Steve had to ask, voice tinged with laughter. Bruce tried to hide a snort. Ronan waved a hand.

"That was before the aircraft carrier began to fly."

"It can also turn invisible." Another agent had appeared - older than Romanoff, with a pristine suit.

Ronan made a dying noise at the mention of invisibility. Romanoff let out a laugh.

"Careful, Phil. Spire might pass out if he gets over excited."

"I'm sure he is made of stronger stuff." Phil managed a smile. "Natasha, Fury wants to speak to you. And these three."

"Of course." Natasha nodded. "I was going to take them there, anyway. Better to understand where we are in our search now rather than later."

"...Search?" Ronan asked, raising an eyebrow. "What...what are you searching for?"

"It's...a long story." Natasha admitted.

"And it's more of a who. Not a what." Phil added. "I'll explain."

XoooX

Apparently, another pseudo god wanted to take over the world.

Brilliant.

"There was a reason I didn't want to get involved with this." Ronan stated to Phil and Steve. Natasha had left with Bruce to show him the labs. "Because the last time I dealt with a pseudo god, I almost got toasted by a mechanical man."

"You nearly what?" Steve's eyebrows had risen high up his forehead in shock. Ronan hummed.

"Long story. New Mexico. Magical hammer. Phil was there and stole all of Jane's research." Ronan said. Phil sighed.

"We didn't steal it." He said.

"Felt like stealing." Ronan retorted. Steve looked very confused and Ronan really couldn't blame him. If he hadn't been there himself, he would be just as confused as the super soldier. "So. Another pseudo god."

"They're called Asgardians." Phil said. Ronan sighed.

"I don't really care. I want to go back to my crappy apartment. But I suppose helping save the world would probably be a good idea." Ronan ran a hand through his dark hair. "Any sign of him?"

"Not yet." Phil said, leading them over to a set of computers that Ronan suspected were collected to satellites. "We're running a face recognition programme here. With your luck, maybe we'll catch him quicker." Ronan snorted.

"It doesn't work like that - I can't control it. My luck has a mind of it's own."

"For your well being. When you were seven, you were hit by a car - you should have had broken bones, internal injuries. Instead -"

"- I had bruised ribs. A mild concussion." Ronan finished for him, and he sounded tired. "The doctors said I was 'very lucky to not be any worse'." He rolled his eyes. "So?"

"So, it would be in your best interests to find them - find Loki - so he doesn't take over the world." Phil stated. Steve shrugged.

"Sounds like a good plan." Ronan was pretty sure Phil stood up a bit straighter at that. Looked happy. An agent as a fanboy? Who would have thought it?

"Well, it doesn -" Ronan was cut off by someone announcing that they had a match. Phil made his way over, nodding.

"We've got him. Might want to suit up - you're off to Germany."

Ronan cursed.

Sometimes, he absolutely hated his lucky power.

XoOoX

Hi there!

I keep making new fics instead of updating existing ones, but this one...I've had the idea for this for months and needed to get it out.

Hopefully, Ronan is much more original than the typical 'seventh Avenger', and gains more love as I write this.

Read, review and all that jazz! ~ Jazz xx