Chapter 1~ The Gang's all Here?

Natasha Romanoff stood in front of me, arms akimbo, facial expression stony as ever. I was sweating where I stood, in the center of the expansive training room, high ceiling making me feel vulnerable in the open. Her orders were not easy, everything considered. The woman was terrifying, even if I knew she was on my side. I replayed her orders in my head, trying to think of something fast.

"Make me flinch, and we're done with training."

Oh man, this was going to be a long training session.

"Well? I'm waiting."

"I-I'm sor-" The look she gave me shut me up. She kept telling me to stop apologizing, pointing out that the next aliens that attack won't care if I'm sorry. I took a deep breath. Closed my eyes, shutting out visual stimuli. Reminded myself that I was an Avenger. I was special. I can do this. She's only trying to help me become better. I opened my eyes, and out of habit took a fighting stance even though we weren't at the physical defense stage yet.

The first illusion I tried was the exploding head, trying to imagine and construct every piece of gore I could. Brains, bone, blood, eyes, you know… gross stuff like that. No reaction. Figures, she's likely dealt with some bloody situations in her time. Wouldn't have surprised me.

The second and third tries were pretty pointless too. They were just a couple explosions engulfing the entire training area. I wondered if anyone outside could see the illusion through the large windows. Of course she wasn't going to fall for that, she knew it was fake. Not to mention she also probably dealt with explosions on a regular basis.

And so it went. I used everything from swarms of bees to Godzilla tearing the place apart, but she refused to budge, eyes boring into me. It was as if they were saying 'You can do better than that'. When we had finished, it was dark outside.

"Alright, that's enough of that," She said, as I tried a last feeble attempt at an explosion.

"But..." I sighed, massaging my temples. "Ok." Pretty disappointed in myself, I let it go.

"Make sure you make time to practice, DeHart. You're not going to get any better if your only practice is when we meet." I nodded, wondering if she could tell I felt a little down. No doubt she did. I imagined that she could tell what everybody was thinking, but instead of doing anything about it she'd make mental notes and file them away in her brain for future use. She seemed like that kind of person, although I didn't know her at all.

Just as I was about head through the doors, Natasha stopped me, a hand on my shoulder. Nearly scared the shit outta me, but I knew she didn't mean any harm. To my surprise she cracked a small smile. She almost looked amused.

"Remember to think outside the box, DeHart. When you have time, try to study psychology, and try picking up on little nervous ticks and behavior. It could be a huge advantage once you make it to the field."

I returned the smile, wiping away a lock of brown hair. "Thanks. I'll look into, Agent Romanoff."

We parted ways in silence, striding in opposite directions down the building's wide hallways. Why were they so wide? There really weren't that many people here. A handful of heroes, and a slightly larger handful of Shield Agents and Faculty. Agent Romanoff was both. What must it be like to be Black Widow? She was always so mysterious and hard-faced, but it seemed that there was something Captain America knew. They always seemed somewhat comfortable in each other's presence, although I'd never seen them being unprofessional.

Stretching as I strolled into the common area that connected the personal living quarters, I flumped onto the big couch that sat opposite a large screen that passed for a TV. It was currently playing live news reports. One of the Agents had told me that Tony Stark had a pretty big influence in the technology used, and it showed. So much of the technology was incredibly advanced, and I could barely even comprehend how a lot of it worked. Everything had a weird blue aura about it, and instead of an electrical buzz, an almost soothing ring filled the halls. It was all beyond me, but I'd never been a huge 'techie' person anyway.

Fortunately, I knew how to work the TV.

Before you could say "Nick Fury's dead," the remote was in my hand, and I was flicking through the channels, bored. Believe it or not, I'd done a lot of TV watching since I'd started living here. Not the best choice, but when you've done nothing but run around a track and create illusions all day, it's nice to veg out once in awhile. It just so happens that for me, vegging out happened a lot more than once in awhile. What can I say? Crime dramas captivate my attention. It's a hell of a lot more fun than running laps, doing push ups, and mental stimulation.

The flash of a hand grabbing the remote made me look away for long enough that I failed to notice the TV returning to it's regular spot. Wanda looked down at me in amusement, eyebrow raised.

"Oh come on!" I protested, reaching for the remote. She did her weird telekinetic power thing, remote drifting just out of my reach. "I just got done with training!"

"That's what you said yesterday. And the day before that, and the day before-" I made a lung for the remote, but she stepped aside, smiling. "Beth, please. I think you can go one day without binge-watching Criminal Minds." She paused, then added, "Nerd."

Huffing and rolling my eyes, I relented my fruitless pursuit. I rested my arms on the back of the couch. "Okay, what do you suggest I do in my free time? I'm so ready to not think."

She shrugged, remote returning to her hand. "Maybe try drawing? I know you like to do that. Besides, isn't it your entire job to think? Maybe try some puzzles. We could play a game of chess?" She offered, gesturing to a glass table in the kitchen area. A stack of games sat on top.

I sat back down on the couch, turning away from her. "I don't know. I'm not feeling inspired right now. How many times have we played chess in the last week?"

"24, unless you count the game you didn't finish," The Vision said, strolling into the room. He looked down at me. "And Wanda is right, you should be experimenting with your mind's abilities."

I groaned. "Not you too, Vizzie." I stood up, crossing my arms. "Look, I've already figured out my mind's limits and what I can and cannot do. Mental exercises aren't gonna do much for me."

Vision and Wanda glanced at each other.

"What?" There was a pause before they started barraging me with questions.

"Do you know if your abilities affect electronics like cameras?"

"What is the greatest distance your abilities have effect?"

"How do your powers work?"

"Why do you sleepwalk?"

"How much of what you actually see is illusion?"

"How do you hold the illusions back?"

"What-"

"Alright, alright!" I yelled, getting the point. "I'll work on it. But I need a break."

Vision smiled his strange sort of amused smile. "Good, because I came in here to inform the two of you that Mr. Stark will be arriving shortly. I expect he wants to meet you formally."

"Me? Oh. Oh!" The thought of meeting Iron Man completely surprised me. Of course, I've always been a little starstruck when it comes to superheroes, and meeting all these icons was a surprise, but I had yet to meet several of the heroes. "Are we going to meet him now? Should I get changed? Ack, give a girl some warning before she's going to meet an iconic figure!" I yelled, running to my room to get a jacket.

Five minutes later, the lot of us were standing at attention out front, Captain America and Romanoff nearby, speaking to each other in hushed tones. Whatever they were talking about, it seemed pretty serious. The stars shone above us, brilliant lights in the middle of nowhere. Night birds sounded in the nearby expanse of forest, out in the dark, inky wilderness. We stood in a circle of lights, leading to a long driveway piercing through the night. Remnants of the day's summer heat lifted off the asphalt, making us comfortable and warm.

"What's Iron Man like?" I whispered to Wanda beside me. She smiled, the familiar amused glint in her eye. I barely noticed a pang of sorrow in her face at the mention of the celebrity hero, but I did notice it. I felt a little bad, but my curiosity overrode everything.

"You've asked me about everyone here, Beth. What makes you think I know anything more than you? Besides, I think my opinion of him is… biased."

Okay, now I felt bad. I winced. "Oh. Right. I, uh… sorry."

She half-shrugged it off, but I could still sense some uneasiness in her posture.

"Maybe you'd be better off asking Vision."

"Yeah, what about it, Vizz? What's the Iron Man like?" I said, leaning around Wanda.

He shrugged. "I believe he has good intentions."

"Yeah, but-" The sound of tires on road moving closer interrupted my frustration. I fell back to my position, realizing I was yet again starstruck. It'd been worse meeting Captain America, but man, I just have always loved superheroes.

Of course, the car was a dazzling red. Mr. Stark sure liked red. Made sense. I'd read somewhere that red was the color of confidence, strength, and energy. Certainly described him. At least, what I'd heard of him.

His car was probably going a bit too fast when he stopped, but who knows how many changes he'd made to it technologically, so it worked fine. He stepped out, wearing shades for some reason, along with a stone-gray suit.

"How goes 'Team 'Merica?'" He said, striding up to Steve and Natasha. "Good to see everything's ship-shape. Cap, Romanoff." They shook hands. He seemed a little wary of the Vision, but not for long, giving him a pat on the shoulder. He gave Wanda a brief nod, knowing her feelings towards him and her abilities. When he greeted me, he lifted an eyebrow.

"New blood, huh? So this is the rookie I've been hearing about. What's the name, kid?"

I was a little flustered at his abruptness, but I responded in an instant. "Elizabeth DeHart, uh, sir." I stuck out my hand on a whim. God I'm such a mess, I thought when he seemed a little surprised by my action.

"Sir? You been teaching her by military standards, Steve?" He shook my hand heartily, a cocky smile on his face. "Nice to meet ya, Liz." He turned to address everyone. "Now, let's get inside. I've got some news."

We sat around an oval table that was way too large for six people, the Stark-blue hologram-screens appearing to levitate in the center. The room was window-less, seeming dark but we could all see fine. A strange feeling of secrecy hung in the air. I sat next to Wanda, who was sipping at a mug of tea. Across the table, The Vision sat, back straight as a rod, but not uncomfortable. Somewhere in the walls the technology was ringing, pulsing ever so slightly. Captain America, Black Widow, and Iron Man sat in their chairs on the sharper curve of the table, almost as if they were trying to share being at the head.

"Alright, who's ready for something big?" Tony said, flicking a semi-transparent rectangular field to the center, blowing it up so we could all see. A map appeared, a red dot with waves radiating off of it in the center. Immediately Natasha and Steve sat up.

"Someone sent me these coordinates. Don't know who, don't know how. But when my satellites checked them out, I found a surprising amount of… gamma radiation."

"Where is this located?" Steve said.

"Hold onto your trousers. The coordinates put us somewhere in Iran. Looks like complete wilderness, but there are a few villages just on the other side of some hills."

"So what does this mean? What's our next move?" Wanda said, a dubious look arching her eyebrow.

"It means that someone's either wanting to help us or hinder us," Natasha said. "What we do next is what we decide tonight."

"It would be crazy to not check it out," Tony said, fiddling with a pen. "But sending bots out of nowhere might cause some rioting if they're spotted."

"But if it's an ambush, we'd have to deal with some sort of Hydra agents at best," Steve pointed out.

"...Unless they have something we don't know about," Natasha said.

There was a brief silence. Should I be listening? Obviously I was way unprepared for a mission like this, but being an Avenger meant being a part of the team. Listening and stuff.

"But what if it is just someone trying to help? We wouldn't want to overpower or intimidate them," Steve said.

"...Assuming intimidation is an option. Whoever sent me that message certainly knew what they were doing. I haven't been able to track anything back to the sender."

"Perhaps we could wait, and see if you receive another message. If they believe it's really important, they could try to contact you again," The Vision noted. He seemed to be considered a more important part of the team than Wanda and I. Even if he was technically the youngest, his powers and his morals were simultaneously more mature and innocent than anyone in the room. It made sense, it was just a little infuriating that I (well, more like Wanda and I) were going up against that. Not that it was a contest…

"We might have to try that… but if they don't contact me within the next 14 days, we're going to have to do something."

"Maybe the three of us could go check it out," Natasha suggested, indicating herself, Tony, and Steve. "...After the twenty day waiting period."

"Why not have Vision come along?" Steve asked.

"I'm afraid I'd stick out. If we had to traverse through a town or a city, I would be easily identified as inhuman and dangerous."

"Alright, it's a date," Tony said, leaning back in his chair, clapping his hands together. "Class dismissed!"

"Hey, we still need to keep everyone in shape. DeHart, Maximoff, Vision… when we're gone, you will continue training as usual. But try working together."

"I agree with Steve. It's about time you three tried collaborating. In fact, we'll start collaboration tomorrow," Natasha said. "More detailed instructions will be given to you upon our departure."

"...Now class dismissed!" Tony said, smirking.