Welcome, everyone, to my new story, now this is a reboot of my previous story Avengers The Highschool Initiative. You don't need to have read that story to understand this one but to any fans of that story I want to stress that while there will be some similarities and throwbacks this is a completely story that follows a completely different story.
I don't really have anything else to say except that this is an Avengers high school AU and to please leave a review telling me what you think as I spent a lot of time and put a lot of effort into this. But most of all I hope you all have as much fun reading this as I did writing it. Alright let's get this show on the road.
Disclaimer: The Avengers and all related characters are owned by either Marvel or Sony.
October 16, 2012
"It's a lovely fall afternoon here in New York City. So far the weather has stayed fairly warm throughout this still young new season. And with Halloween soon approaching the community is gearing up for a number of spooky festivities. The headlining event this year will be young Johnny Blaze's performance in…"
The TV screen fell silent as the phrase "BREAKING NEWS" flashed across in bright red and white letters.
"We interrupt this regularly scheduled program with the news of an escalating and dangerous development. About an hour ago the NYPD responded to a robbery in progress. What they didn't expect to find was powerful enhanced individual dressed in green armor."
A picture of the assailant became displayed in the top right corner of the screen. The most defining characteristic of the suspect was his cone-like emerald helmet that hearkened back to the knights of medieval times.
The name Whirlwind sat beneath the picture.
"The enhanced, coined Whirlwind by the media, has been wanted in connection for several high scale burglaries committed in the past few weeks. "
The TV shifts to a live feed taken by a news helicopter which showed Whirlwind spinning through the streets of Manhattan in the form of a mini green tornado.
"Authorities are advising the public to stay indoors until this situation is resolved."
The camera suddenly shakes uncontrollably as a flash of gold and red is seen shooting right past it, causing it to seize as if it was reporting an earthquake.
"What the hell!?" The camera man screamed.
"Was that Iron Man?"
The armored mechanized hero boosted through the air and shifted his shoulders slightly to the side in order to initiate a barrel roll. He then used that momentum to lower himself closer to building level atmosphere. The face behind the helmet used his visor screen to search for Whirlwind.
"Alright Jarvis buddy, show me where our Beyblade wannabe friend is."
"Right away, sir."
A red and orange targeting circle zoomed about his HUD until it finally settled on the street just ahead of him.
"Oh I found a stupid villain and a-bingo was his name-o," Iron Man sang to himself.
"Stark! Do you have eyes on him?" An authoritative wind rushed voice chimed into his helmet's speakers.
"I just found him, boy scout. He's really not all that hard to find. All you gotta do is follow the trail of damaged cars."
"We're on our way."
"Yay. I'll set the party favors out."
Iron Man nosedived towards the ground and set his shoulder and thigh repulsors to straighten himself to make sure he would land upright and on his feet. His crimson boots skidded across the tarmac once he touched ground and planted his heels to stop himself. Once he was completely still he raised his right glove repulsor and waited for Whirlwind.
It didn't take long for the charging tornado to reach him, when he got closer Iron Man noticed that only the bottom half of Whirlwind's body was engulfed in the ripping shards of air leaving his torso and everything above visible and vulnerable.
The hero was just about to fire when his target picked up speed and barreled right through him before he had any chance to even react. The powerful snaps of wind launched Iron Man onto the side of the street and into a mailbox.
"Damn it," He growled, lightly rubbing the side of his head gear. "Whirlwind got past me."
"Fret not my comrade." A smooth older voice spoke through the comm in Old English.
"Great…" Iron Man groaned since he knew exactly who the voice's owner was.
Whirlwind couldn't help but laugh to himself as he charged through the streets and created all sorts of debris. Granted all he was really destroying were empty cars, stationary signs, and fire hydrants.
But a rush was a rush.
He was almost near the city limits when a large projectile came out of nowhere and penetrated Whirlwind's wind barrier, smacking right into his padded chest like a freight impact knocked him off his feet and flat onto his back, the temporary lapse in concentration caused his powers to "shut off" for a moment.
Whirlwind weakly moaned in pain, blue and purple spots filling his vision. Steel boots thumped onto the street. Whirlwind gingerly lifted his head up to investigate and saw a strange sight to say the least, even by New York standards.
A tall warrior with flowing blonde hair that was contained by a winged helmet that did just enough to shroud his face. A dark red cape completed his outfit and in his right hand was a giant square hammer. Most likely the thing that rammed into Whirlwind just a moment ago.
Weird.
"You have caused much mischief today but now you face the mighty Thor, son of Odin."
Whirlwind slowly ambled to his feet and blinked his eyes a few times.
"What is the circus in town or something?" The thug yelled with a raspy voice.
"From what I see before me it does not appear as if you should be throwing stones," Thor challenged as he lazily spun his hammer Mjolnir at his side.
Whirlwind was about to bite back with retort when the sound of a roaring engine seemed to get closer and closer to their seemed to recognize it because he wore a tiny smirk once he heard it.
A motorcycle soon zipped over the horizon, the rider turned it to the right to make it lean so he could slow down. This caused it to stop right next to Thor.
The rider stepped off the bike and grabbed the large circular shield off his back. The red,white, and blue design was an obvious homage to the American flag. The star in the center matched the emblem in the middle of his dark blue spandex suit.
"I miss anything?" Captain America asked Thor.
"Nothing of importance. He is rather puny up close."
"What!" Whirlwind exclaimed.
"Well the raspy voice is kinda cool I guess."
"Don't patronize the super villain, Hawkeye."
"You just hate seeing me have any fun don't ya Widow."
"What?" Whirlwind whipped around quickly after he heard two new voices enter the fray. He nearly jumped out of his skin when a boy and a girl appeared out of nowhere. The boy was clad in a sleeveless purple and black leather vest and pants with matching violet shades. And the girl had fierce red hair that went a little above her shoulders and was wearing a black catsuit.
He had a bow resting on his shoulder and she wore gauntlets that looked not unlike projectile launchers.
"Of all the days…"
He turned around to see Thor and Captain America raising their weapons at him. He looked back at Hawkeye and Black Widow and they were doing the same.
"Fine,"Whirlwind growled as he focused energy to his hands, wind started to generate. "I'll take you all on!"
Blast
An orange beam fired into Whirlwind's covered back. The tiny shock wave blasted him face first into the ground and knocked him out cold.
"Ughh…"
Iron Man gingerly walked up to the other heroes and lowered his still smoking glove to his side.
"He really does look stupid from this angle."
"Looks like he was competent enough to get past you," Black Widow deadpanned with a smirk.
"You know Romanoff I can't tell if you're trying to insult me or make me feel better."
"I wouldn't bet on the latter," Hawkeye said.
Thor came up behind Iron Man and clasped him on his metal alloy shoulder lightly. Well lightly for Thor. His Asgardian strength of course carried enough power with it to cause the boy in the hi-tech suit to flinch.
"It was a valiant effort friend, I am sure that with enough practice one day you will be able to slay a beast of this Whirlwind's caliber." Thor said in an honest attempt to inspire.
Although he couldn't understand why the other mortals were laughing.
Iron Man just stared at him with his mask plate covering his face so nobody could actually see what his expression was.
A healthy guess would be that it was nothing nice.
"...I stopped an influential terrorist ring once you know?"
"Oh go we're not diving into this discussion now are we?" Hawkeye complained.
"I can regale you with the tale of how Baldur and I stormed the gates of Sirta." Thor offered earnestly.
"I'd rather hear one of Banner's stories," Tony remarked.
Widow watched the boys begin to measure who was the bigger hero historically with a blank and definitely uninterested stare. Her green irises darted over to their Captain who looked like he wanted nothing to do with the conversation, only for entirely different reasons than her own.
She was about to walk over to him when a calm older voice came in through their comms.
"Avengers, what's your status?"
Cap quickly shook off his melancholic demeanor and brought his finger up his right ear.
"Whiplash is down, Coulson."
"Good. I'll send a clean up crew for him."
What felt like only a few seconds later a black van pulled up seemingly out of nowhere and six agents of S.H.I.E.L.D piled out of it.
"Wow, I wish Amazon would deliver my packages that fast," Tony mused.
The agents wasted no time in hoisting the limp Whirlwind onto a stretcher and hauled him into the back of the van.
The Avengers had already moved out of their way and pooled together on the closest sidewalk.
"Why bother checking in if you were watching the whole time?" Cap wryly asked Coulson.
"Company policy."
Widow shrugged when Cap directed bright blue questioning orbs at her.
"We'll debrief later," Coulson ordered. "Right now you should start heading back so you don't miss sixth period."
The Avengers sans Iron Man all began to casually stroll off one by one to begin their walk back. In the very front Thor scratched the side of his neck as he kept pace with Steve. Behind them Widow rested her hands on her hips while Hawkeye rested his arms behind his neck, elbows pointing East and West.
Iron Man stayed back by the scene of the battle for a little bit longer. He threw his shell-head up towards the sky and moaned.
"I hate high school."
October 16,2012-Midtown High(20 min later)
Dr. Hank Pym's Physics class was a larger room than most in terms of space due to the need for large lab tables and equipment. The walls were a calming light green that bordered on lime.
Even with all that room the class was still pretty cramped. Although he would never admit it, the biggest reason for this was the older man's popularity amongst the students.
There were a variety of factors that made this true with some of them being his kind demeanor, sharp wit, and most importantly his mentor ship skills.
In fact there were only three empty seats around and that was just because the students that usually occupied them hadn't arrived yet.
"So Liz, how'd your date with Flash go?"
Liz Allan, a sophomore, smiled at her best friend Glory Grant who was a beautiful dark girl that like her was a cheerleader.
"It was nice."
"Nice? That's all? Don't hold out on us now Lizzy"
Their teammate Sally Avril aggressively cut into the conversation from her seat next to Glory.
"It went fine Sally, there's really nothing more to say about it," Liz said beginning to grow slightly annoyed with her blonde friend.
"Easy girls, no need to fight," Glory quickly interjected. "Why don't we talk about something else?"
Sally tapped her chin thoughtfully with her pointer finger.
"Hmm… Have you seen that new third year student?"
"The tall blonde muscle hunk with the blue eyes?" Glory attempted to confirm.
"Uh huh."
"I heard his name's Steve Rogers," Liz casually offered.
"You would know that, Liz." Glory teased causing the girl in question's eyes to widen.
"What's that supposed to mean!?"
"Come on girl, you have a type."
" I do not."
"You so do."
"I don't know Glor," Sally teased. "She does talk to that Parker twerp a lot."
"That doesn't mean anything," Liz quickly sputtered. "Peter's just my math tutor who happens to be a really sweet guy."
"Whatever," Glory droned. "But this Rogers guy sure is interesting, even if he is pretty quiet."
"Have you seen the people he's been hanging out with?" Sally asked. Both girls shook their heads.
"Well not only have I seen him chumming around with that other hunk Donald Blake, but guess who else."
"Who?" The two girls nearly hooted.
"Tony Stark."
"No way," Glory exclaimed.
"Uh huh. I heard they're all part of some Youth Leadership program."
"Wow. The new guy knows how to get around."
"I heard he's single too. But the thing is he's always with that red-head."
"Who? Pepper Potts?" Liz asked.
"No that other girl, what's her name… Tiffany?"
"You mean Natalie." Glory corrected.
"That's the one." Sally snapped her fingers
"She's pretty," Liz mentioned absentmindedly. "Kind of scary though."
"You've got that right…"
The classroom door opened silently but heavy footfalls diverted every student to direct attention it's direction.
A tall well built teen with dirty blonde hair and cobalt blue eyes stepped through and froze when he saw everyone looking at him.
Steve Rogers was dressed in a navy blue jacket over a white t-shirt and dark tan khakis. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck until soft hands pushed him forward.
Natalie Rushman could hardly be seen behind his large frame but once she came into view all eyes could see her glaring daggers up at Steve. She was dressed in a stylish black hoodie over a red top and black tights. Her wavy red hair was cropped just above the bottom of her neck.
After another shove from her the two walked over to the only table with empty seats at the back of the room. They were followed by a boy the same height as Steve. He wore a red and black flannel shirt, dark wrangler jeans and rounded it out with flowing gold hair.
Sally, Glory, and Liz watched them breathlessly until a bone chilling look sent their way from Nat caused them to quickly avert their gazes.
Steve was the first to reach the table, he pulled out the second chair in and greeted the younger boy sitting at the end.
"Banner."
"Steve."
Bruce Banner was a 15 year old genius with scruffy black hair. His intelligence made it so he could be a junior in high school a year early. He would probably be even further along if it wasn't for a string of strange unexplained absences.
The short tan boy shook a little bit when he felt a firm hand grip his shoulder. He looked up quickly but settled down once he saw who it was.
"Oh hey Thor… I mean Donald. Hey Donald." He covered awkwardly.
Nonetheless Donald Blake/Thor beamed down at Bruce with a toothy grin and sat down in the seat between Steve and Bruce while Nat sat in the last chair to the left of Steve.
Nat flipped the back left side of her hair with her hand and grabbed the physics textbook out of her bag. The corner of her right eye perked over to the boy sitting next to her. Steve's head was cast slightly downward, the windows to his head calm but pained. She also noted that he was twiddling his thumbs, probably absentmindedly.
"You ok?"
"Huh?" Steve straightened up to look at her, his chin and mouth a dull curve and his eyes held the same strained emotion. Nat had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at him right then and there. She knew how hard all of this was for him still but that didn't do much to calm her.
The slight puffing of her right cheek was a covert warning that she wouldn't stand for any nonsense from him.
"Don't think I didn't notice how withdrawn you became after Tony and Donald started strolling down memory lane." She challenged. His mouth morphed into a sad but knowing smile as he looked back down at his portion of the table.
"I told you to come talk to me if you started struggling with 'it'" She reminded him harshly.
"Yeah, you did," He said quietly but not timidly. His voice did hold strength and backbone to it, he wasn't shrinking like a child caught doing something wrong. He was merely being honest.
"I just didn't know what to say. Still don't."
Nat stated at Steve silently for a few breathes, her icy facial facade still impregnable. She wanted to scold him further but suddenly "lost" the energy to do so.
"Well I can't help you with that." She stated bluntly as she faced forward.
"... But keep trying," She quietly added.
Steve turned to sneak a look at her but turned forward as well when all he saw was her usual blank slate. What he didn't know was that Nat did her own undercover glancing once he looked away.
She unapologetically stared at his features though not for the reasons most of her classmates would have assumed. She wasn't looking at him necessarily, rather she was looking for something. Something that wasn't there.
Everybody in the room began to quiet as cleared his throat to begin that afternoon's lecture.
Nat would let the issue between Steve and her drop for now, but their conversation was far from over.
It wasn't even close.
October 16,2012-Midtown High(After school)
"All you women, who want a man of the street…"
Tony Stark rocked his legs back and forth over the hood of his ruby red sports car, it's expensive speakers blasting the beginning to AC/DC's Shoot to Thrill. The school parking lot was bustling with students getting into their cars and leaving to either go home or go somewhere else.
And every fiber in Tony's being wanted to do the very same and get the hell out of dodge… But he knew that there were a bunch of lunatics that wouldn't let him.
Through the pink tint of his red lens shades he picked through the crowd for one of them, odds were he would find either arrow boy or the psycho Russian.
"Cause I shoot to thrill and I'm ready to kill…"
A boy with short brown hair that was about Tony's height walked up to the sports car. He wore a black jacket over a dark grey shirt and black jeans.
Archery boy it is.
"Barton," Tony greeted when he got close and turned his head when Clint nodded back. Clint stared at the young heir with an arched eyebrow as Tony stared into the distance.
"Got any plans tonight Stark?"
Tony kept on swinging his legs.
"I don't like making plans. Too time consuming."
Clint kept his expression at base level of blankness but on the inside he was highly amused.
"Keep it that way. Coulson wants you to stay for dinner."
Tony rolled his eyes and dropped down from the top of his car.
"If this is just another attempt to get me to take up permanent residency at your little clubhouse, tell him to save his breath. The answer's still no."
"It's not about that," Clint interrupted. "Be there in half an hour." He said sharply and walked away. Tony's shades had fallen to the bridge of his nose, the bored smirk at the corner of his lips now rotting into a scowl.
"I'm not gonna go it Barton! I'm a big boy now!"
"Half an hour!" Clint yelled over his shoulder.
Tony threw his hands up into the air and rolled his eyes up his eyelids as he could, his mouth slack jawed in disgust. All he wanted to do his junior year was slack off and maybe be a big damn hero from time to time. How in the hell he got stuck with the super friends he'll never know.
When he finally looked back down he noticed a group of his classmates staring at him. He stared back dumbly until he wordlessly went around and get into his car.
"Guess I'm coming by for dinner."
He shifted the car out of park and re-adjusted his shades as he pulled out the lot.
"Ready to kiiilllllll"
Miss Lola's Home For Scamps(15 min later)
"Earlier this afternoon the enhanced criminal Whirlwind was apprehended by authorities after he destroyed several blocks worth of public property with no casualties."
Melinda May stared up at the kitchen's television with the remote resting in her hand.
"But was the police responsible for his arrest?" The newscaster with the bad hair questioned. "Right before the reported time of apprehension our news camera caught a glimpse of the superhero Iron Man arriving on the scene."
The screen replayed the footage of Iron Man shaking the camera as he zoomed by.
"This is not the first time in recent memory that a so called hero has been caught on camera."
"Who could forget the destruction caused just a couple of weeks ago that has since been dubbed The Hulk Incident…."
Melinda clicked the small black box on top of the fridge off and brought the remote up to her chin.
The kids were getting sloppy. So far they had been lucky enough to avoid getting caught in the same place at the same time. But that was unlikely to last.
The best the two of them could do was prepare them for the consequences that would follow when it did happen.
"We need to talk to Stark," She said craning her neck towards the man standing by the small homely stove.
"I told Clint to invite him to dinner," Coulson blandly assured her as he basted the ham he was about to roast.
"He's too cocky. We need to rein him in."
"We can sternly discuss it with him over dinner," He said with the tone of a complacent parent as he measured out a cup of water, squinting his eyes to make sure he was hitting the tick mark exactly.
Melinda raised a maternal eyebrow at her co-worker. Damn it, she had been spending to much time with these kids.
"You're going to easy on them."
"It hasn't even been a month, May. I'm just giving them time to adjust." He countered as he bent down to place their dinner into the oven.
Melinda shook her head and leaned back against the counter.
"They're too powerful," She said to nobody in particular.
"They're kids. It takes patience to raise a village."
Melinda eyed him for a second, she wasn't surprised with what she found in the slightest. "You're enjoying this too much," She chastised with an eye roll.
"Well what can I say," Coulson smiled while he wiped his hands on the apron he was wearing.
"A part of me always wanted to play mother hen."
"Alright kiddies, everybody out."
"Clint you're only a year older than us."
"And what a glorious year it was."
Steve, Thor, and Bruce got out of Clint's truck as he and Nat began to go back and forth with each other. In front of them was a tall, skinny, house that had come out of nowhere and became their collected living space only a half month ago.
Miss Lola's House For Scamps.
The maroon and tan bricks gave the building an old fashioned charm, even though it was nearly identical to surrounding buildings it just oozed its own unique homeliness. At least in Steve's opinion.
"Come on let's go," Clint urged as he quickly walked past the three.
"Coulson's making ham."
The group scaled the low set of steps that lead up to a dark green front door. Steve took a moment before they reached the porch to appreciate the potted plants resting on it's banister.
"We're back!" Clint shouted after he opened the door and held it open for his friends to step through. The quiet clicking of flats echoed as Melinda was seen walking out of the kitchen. She was dressed in a pleasant deep violet long sleeve top that perpetuated a maternal like aura.
Though no one ever had the courage to mention it.
"Welcome home everyone," She greeted making sure to give each of them their own welcoming look. However her face quickly drooped down into a frown when she noticed that there were only five young adults before her.
"Where's Stark?"
The different reactions from the Avengers proved the amount of individual experience of dealing with Melinda May each one of them had. Steve, Bruce, and Thor visibly shrunk into themselves from sheer intimidation. Nat never made an attempt to even look remotely interested in what was going on. And Clint was putting all his charm into a small devilish smile.
"He'll be here soon."
"Hmm."
Melinda was getting tired of having to cock her eyebrows at the men living under this roof. But she already knew it was going to likely become a regular exercise.
"Take off your shoes and settle in. Dinner will be ready shortly."
The Avengers grouped together at the front door as she walked back into the kitchen.
"We might as well sit down at the dinner table," Nat suggested. "Coulson loves dining timeliness."
Clint shrugged but still followed their only female member into the dining area, Thor quickly did the same as he mumbled something about how his stomach deserved a reward after the day they had. Bruce and Steve watched them go but were in no particular rush to join them.
The foyer of the house was the picture of high quality humble suburban living. Old chandeliers lined a path across the ceiling and below them rested mahogany wood floors. To the left was an archway that peeked into their modest living room, and to the right was a diagonal staircase that went up to the second floor.
Straight away from where the two Avengers stood was a hallway that led to the kitchen and dining room.
"Are you used to it yet?"
Steve had to crane his neck down to look at Bruce who was observing the more muscular teen with an expression that was somehow both curious and knowing. He did the same to their youngest member for a moment before he cracked a tiny smile.
"No. How about you?"
"No," Bruce admitted a little bashfully. "But it's better than where I was."
Steve nodded somberly trying his best to sympathize with his teammate, but despite his best intentions he couldn't stop his shining eyes from darkening. Bruce immediately recognize the cause behind the shift and tapped Steve's arm lightly.
"You'll find your answers."
Steve chuckled without even moving his chin but his eyes did clear like the sky they resembled.
"So will you."
Their quiet moment was broken by the crack made by somebody opening the front door. They both turned around to see Tony causally entering the house, trademark shades over his eyes and a brown paper bag in his hand. He stopped and stared at the two once he noticed them.
They stared back.
"I brought bagels," He announced, holding up the bag.
Bruce offered Tony a "good job" smile that wasn't entirely authentic. Steve, still not used to their most eccentric club member only crinkled his brows in question.
"You know you usually bring bagels for breakfast, not dinner," Bruce educated Tony who merely returned it with a dumb gaze.
"Yeah well, breakfast/dinner, tomato/Toma-to."
Steve was about to ask each man a question when Coulson's voice rang through the house.
"Dinner's ready!"
The Avengers and Melinda had all gathered around the long table in the eating area. On one side sat Nat, Clint, and Steve while Thor, Tony, and Bruce sat opposite them. Melinda was camped at the end of the table leaving the head of it vacant for the chef.
Coulson walked in, apron and all, carrying with him a mouth watering and glistening ham. He carefully maneuvered it onto the landing pad that rested in the middle of the expansive white table cloth. He wasted no time in cutting off some slices to make it easier for everyone to grab their portions.
"Eat up."
Within seconds every plate became covered in glaze pork and creamy mashed potatoes that Melinda had made.
"Natasha, Maria Hill wanted me to tell you that the boys in R&D developed an upgrade for your stingers," Melinda told Natasha as she passed the bowl of potatoes over to Steve.
"Hmm."
Coulson watched his flock descend on the meal he slaved over with a smile, though he did cock his head to the side a little bit when he saw Tony's bag of bagels resting by his plate.
"So nice of you to bring a side dish, Tony."
The boy with spiky black hair looked up from his plate with cheeks already stuffed to the brim with food. When it actually registered with him what it was that Coulson said he gulped down everything in his mouth and grinned from ear to ear.
"Well I'm nothing if not a gracious guest." Tony bragged without noticing the way that Bruce, Steve, Natasha, and Clint collectively shook their heads at his inability to recognize veiled sarcasm.
Then again he wasn't the only one.
"That's the spirit Stark!" Thor bellowed as he hammered his fist down onto the table in celebration. Though his shoulders shrunk ever so slightly when Melinda glared at him for potentially damaging their furniture.
"A feast such as this should be celebrated, Son of Coul." Thor praised, already halfway through his second plate.
"Thank you Thor."
The whole table fell into a comfortable silence as they appreciated the well designed meal. After everybody finished Steve and Natasha helped Coulson load all the dirty dishes into the dishwasher while everyone else relaxed in the living room.
Coulson was busy loading the machine up when he felt somebody glare a hole into the back of his neck. When he moved to investigate the source he was met with Natasha offering him a dirty plate. The thing was her eyes were sending him a message she apparently had no wish to verbalize.
Do something about him.
Coulson crinkled his older eyes at her.
Who?
She nodded her head towards the boy collecting silverware off the table.
Steve. He's moping about his memory again.
Phil's eyes softened but the rest of his expression stayed firm and authoritative.
We can't force him to talk if he doesn't want to.
She already knew what was going to follow and she wanted no part of it.
Give him time.
The look of pure teenage disgust she gave him would have made him laugh out loud if he didn't know how murderous she could and would be, so he decided to take the smart approach which entailed walking right past her and Steve and into the living room.
And he could only hope that she wouldn't a knife into his back. She wouldn't kill him of course, at most she would really mess up his shoulder. He knew Clint had some scars that would back up his claim.
Coulson cleared his throat once he stepped into the living room, Steve and Natasha only a few steps behind him.
Melinda and Bruce sat on a short green couch while Tony lounged in the adjacent love seat. Finally Thor and Clint were standing by the fireplace.
"Alright," Coulson commanded once he had everyone's attention.
"Get in the basement people."
Officially the house did not have a basement. There were no visible doors leading to a lower level inside or outside the building. If anybody looked all that they would find would be a foundation of bricks.
Nobody would notice the loose brick hidden right next to fireplace. Nobody would feel the urge to pull said brick down like it was a lever. And nobody would ever see the entire fireplace swing open like a door to reveal a metallic elevator large enough to hold nearly 8 people.
Nobody would ever think to hop into the contraption and ride down to the building's totally existent building.
Nobody would know how good at his job Phil Coulson was.
In the middle of the unfathomably spacious subterranean room filled with a set of expensive looking computers, workout areas, archery ranges and other Avenger related equipment pieces sat a large conference style table.
The Avengers sat in the same design they were grouped in when they ate dinner except this time Coulson and Melinda were both standing at the head of the table.
"First of all I want to congratulate you all on a job well done today against Whirlwind," Coulson declared as he began their official debriefing.
"You were able to complete the mission nearly without mishap."
"Nearly." Melinda parroted in a much sharper and deliberate tone. The two adults wasted no time in turning their gazes to Tony, who up to that point was barely paying attention.
The other Avengers quickly picked up on why they were really assembled down there and all looked at Tony as well.
Bruce's look was knowing but almost wistful, Steve and Natasha's were completely serious and in Natasha's case specifically deadly. Thor looked on with an almost impish curiosity, as if he was legitimately interested in what was going to happen next. Clint was doing a pretty good job of masking his amusement.
Tony finally looked up from his phone and froze when he saw multiple eyes trained on him, his right eyebrow doing what every eyebrow seemed to do in that household.
"Not that I'm opposed to all you guys gazing at and admiring my beauty, because really I'm not, but with that in mind I would like to know why you're doing it. Now mind you the answer that it's because I am anatomically irresistible is totally acceptable.
Coulson was glad that he had Melinda with him because that meant that she could do all the spooky bone chilling death stares. All that left him was the role of pointing a remote at the larger computer screen and pressing a button.
The "kids" all turned their heads to the screen that began to play footage of Iron Man zooming past the helicopter camera.
"Aw, they barely got my good side."
"You're lucky that's all they caught," Melinda warned.
"We told you all from the start that you had to be careful when you're out in the open." She directed towards the whole gang.
"Hey at least I didn't flash my face at the camera, right?" Tony unsuccessfully attempted to bring levity to the situation.
"With your reckless behavior it's only a matter of time before you do."
"Probably," Tony admitted lazily. "But is that really such a bad thing?"
Everyone else either groaned or shook their heads but Tony stood firm. In a surprising display of passion the teen sat up straight and put his phone down.
"No, seriously. What is so damn terrible about people knowing exactly who it is that's protecting him."
This time the room fell pretty silent, which was frightening considering who the occupants were.
"And what about your protection?" Coulson countered. "Or that of your classmates for that matter. It doesn't take much imagination to consider a villain going as far as bombing Tony Stark's classroom just because everyone knows he's Iron Man."
For once in his life the young Stark didn't have a snappy and entertaining comeback. All the lad could do was sink back into his seat and glare at Coulson, the emotion behind it betraying a troubled past.
Coulson calmly kept his usual demeanor while Melinda kept shooting daggers at the Iron teen. Nobody else felt the need to speak up.
Natasha walked up the stairs with her hands in the pockets of her hoodie, her black boots gracefully lifting and falling. The beautiful scarlet girl glanced at the clock hanging on the wall as she ascended to the next level of her home.
10:15 p.m.
Tony had left almost as soon as Coulson ended their debriefing. He practically rushed out the door with his shades covering his eyes, all the while saying something about having cars to drive and girls to see.
Natasha herself got out for some air shortly after. How she ended up walking around New York for five hours she couldn't say, not that she would have any reason to worry in the first place.
"Welcome back, Lady Natasha."
She looked up to see Thor leaning over the banister by his forearms. He welcomed her with a small grin that just teased his pearly whites, the big man's eyes were noticeably tired.
"Hey there Thor."
"I trust that your journey was pleasant," He half inquired as she got to the top of the staircase.
"It was nice and boring," Natasha answered as she strolled past him.
The hallway on that floor was sparsely lit compared to how it was ground level. Some of the light from the chandeliers did leak over but for the most part that section of the house was mostly enveloped in the warm orange of the Avengers' bedroom lamps.
There were nine rooms in total. The two at the very end belonged to Coulson and Melinda respectively. To the right of Coulson's room was one that had a door labeled "Stark", though the boy never stayed nights. The door next to Melinda's led to an empty room with a bed they reserved for guests.
The three rooms next to Tony's belonged to Thor, Steve, and Bruce in that exact order while the one next to the guest room was her's. Natasha saw Bruce laying on his bed with his noise cancelling headphones on, the barely teen happily lost in another world.
She stopped at her door and turned to Steve's, Natasha saw the fit young man doing one armed push-ups on the ground. He had seemed to have changed into a soft grey shirt and matching sweatpants.
Natasha could see the sweat dripping down the back of his neck, every droplet humming with every fiery grunt that came after a completed motion. She leaned back against the frame of her door and casually rested her well manicured nails on her biceps.
And despite her best efforts an apparition of a smile adorned her attractive features.
"If you like the view so much then take a picture, it'll last longer."
She didn't need to move to know that Clint was leaning against the frame of his door that was next to hers. It didn't take long for that smile of hers to sour.
"I don't know what I would do without your amazing humour, Clint."
"You'd still be stalking Rogers with your eyes like you are now," He deadpanned causing her to roll her eyes.
"I'm a spy, it's not stalling it's called doing my job."
Clint mumbled a chuckle and moved in to basically stand next to her and watch Steve.
"You know there's nothing wrong with being concerned for a friend," He said with a weird warmth in his voice.
She still didn't look at him.
"I know you're gonna hate this." He said after they watched in silence for few seconds.
"Then don't say it."
"But you really should give the guy a break. It's only been two weeks since we thawed him out."
"I know that."
"I know you do. I also know that he has absolutely no memory of his life before we found him."
"I know that."
"I know you do."
Clint slowly started to walk back to his room but he paused halfway through and looked over his shoulder.
"When it comes down to it he doesn't know who he really is and neither do we."
He put his hands in his pant pockets and started walking.
"It might not be easy to admit that we all need each other right now, but it's the truth."
She didn't watch him retreat to his room.
Natasha never did take her eyes of Steve so she noticed when he had finished his set of push-ups. Now he was rubbing the back of his neck with a short towel.
Eventually his eyes noticed that he had an audience. He offered a boyish smile though he quickly picked himself up and gave it more of a teasing tilt.
She politely returned it but quickly and smoothly entered her room, making sure to close it behind her. Frowning once she was secure in her own space. She wasn't mad at Clint or the things he said, she wasn't even annoyed at Stark for his less than satisfactory behavior.
Steve was the problem. Or rather the problem was what he was missing.
Even the most generous of optimists could deny that their little bundle of heroes was just band of misfit toys. They needed a leader. Somebody who inspired simply by being. Steve was the best candidate, Natasha could see it plainly.
He just couldn't remember that version of himself.
It didn't help matters that nobody else knew where he came from or what he was like before the ice. Technically they didn't even know how old he was, all they could find out from his body scans that he was seventeen when he became frozen.
Who knew how long the cold conditions preserved him.
Natasha didn't like working with impossibly erratic variables. And unfortunately Steve's background was just that. She had a tough job ahead of her, but that never stopped her before.
And it wouldn't now.
And that's the first chapter. Did you like it? Did you hate it? Let me know in the comments. This is kind of like a teaser chapter because the next few chapters are actually going to take place two weeks prior to this chapter and will detail the initial formation of The Avengers.
I don't know how often I'm going to be able to update because of life and stuff, hopefully I won't go more than two weeks without an update but I can't make any promises.
Well thanks guys, take care and see you later.