All rights to The Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow goes to Marvel Animations and Young Justice rights goes to DC Entertainment. OC's belong to me. Please do not steal or take. Just ask.
Sorry for the wait, I have to awesome people!...how are editing and helping me create this story. They are historynerd1995 and Little-Silver-Sparrow. These two are my awesome friends and helped brain storm the whole idea, who's in it, what will happen, and the new OC's that will come!
I know I changed the story to cross over, but there is a good reason for it! Love all of you!
"Where is that girl?" Nick asked irritated.
"She'll be here soon." Steve said with a sigh, turning back to his book.
"She probably ran off while we were all asleep." Nick accused with a huff.
"You really want to accuse me of something don't you?" Crystal asked walking into the room. She was now wearing black combat boots that reached her calves, black shorts that reached end of her thigh with big pockets on the side, a black tank-top over a white one, fingerless gloves, and a jacket that was almost an exact copy of Francis' but much smaller and sleeveless. A black ribbon held up her hair as it swayed back and forth gently.
She plopped onto the couch between Janet and Natasha, leaning back and trying to blink the sleep from her eyes and the fog from her brain. Janet could see the bags beneath her eyes and the sluggish movement of her body. They had been there a week, and it seemed Crystal was becoming more and more tired.
"Did you get any sleep?" Janet asked worriedly.
Crystal shook her head but gave a warm, reassuring smile as she looked over at the petite woman. "It's okay. It was just a nightmare."
Henry perked up at the confession, his inner scientist coming out. "The same nightmare as before?"
Crystal looked at him before nodding her head again and rubbing her eyes. Henry got up and walked over to the young girl, spreading her eyelids open, and looking at her eyes that were completely blood shot.
"Do you want some medicine?" Henry asked, pulling out his pocket flashlight and shining it in each of her eyes. Crystal shook her head, giving him a reassuring smile again.
"She's probably planning to destroy us." Nick grumbled.
"Give it a rest Nick!" Bobbi scolded as she whacked the man behind the head. "If she wanted to do something to us she could have done it while we were hurt and unable to fight back!"
"What's wrong with Angel?" Francis asked with a smirk as he and the others walked in.
He leaned on the back of the couch and looked at her from the side. He furrowed his brows and brought up his hand, running his thumb along the bottom of her eye. "Not sleeping enough Angel?"
"Was it the nightmare again?" Toruun asked looking at her in curiousity.
Crystal nodded her head as she rubbed at her eyes. "I'll get sleep soon."
"You've been having that nightmare all week." Toruun said worriedly.
Toruun sighed as Crystal gave them a goofy smile, making her smile as her and James took the last seat. Azari walked over and plopped in front of them, while Pym sat on the arm rest of his father's chair, talking about scientific findings.
"Oh, I see. Don't leave a seat for me." Hawkeye joked.
"You can have mine." Crystal said politely, making him look at her in surprise.
"I didn't actually mean for someone to give me their seat." He said guiltily, rubbing the back of this neck.
"You would have stolen one of ours." Azari teased, smiling at the teen.
Francis glared at the younger panther as his ears darkened. "Because none of you deserve the seats."
"Why not just let her sit in your lap." James taunted, making the archer flush even more.
Francis directed his attention to James in a glare as he stared the boy down fiercely, before stopping and letting a smile appear on his face. He turned his back on them as he side-stepped Crystal and sat in her spot, before pulling the back of her shorts and making her land in between his legs in his lap.
"That wasn't such a bad idea." Francis taunted back, his arms going around Crystal.
Crystal sat there confused as her foggy brain tried to keep up with what had just happened, leaving her in a dazed state. Her cheeks flushed quickly as she finally processed it and could feel him behind her incredibly close.
"You know, if you wanted a girl in your lap, you could have just said so." Crystal joked, trying anything to keep it from becoming awkward.
The room silenced as they looked at her, before bursting out laughing at the random cocky sentence she had just said, relaxing everyone instantly. They all did their own thing from conversations, to reading, to cleaning their weapons, to just playing around.
"Francis!" Nick shouted excitedly. "You've become quiet! She's being a problem for you isn't she?" Nick's accusation was caught off as he looked over at the couch.
Everyone's attention went to the couch where Crystal and Francis were sitting, making them all go quiet and let out an amused smirk. Hawkeye had traded places with Natasha at the side of the couch, and Crystal was still sitting in his lap, but now she was turned sideways with her back towards the arm rest. She was leaning against his chest, her legs curled to the side on his legs, her nose nuzzling into his neck, her hand gripping his shirt. His arm was around her waist, holding her gently to him so she wouldn't fall off the couch in any way, his head was leaning on hers, his breathing ruffling her hair smoothly, and his body relaxing back against the couch comfortably.
"So cute!" Bobbi squealed looking at her son and Crystal.
A flash erupted into the room as Janet snapped a picture of the two on the couch.
"He's going to try anything to get that picture from you." Tony laughed looking at the women squealing over them.
"At least I don't have to worry about my son not getting a girl!" Clint joked as a booming laugh burst from his lungs.
"Young love is always the best." Ororo commented, smiling gently.
"Though they try to deny it," T'Challa chuckled with a nod to his wife.
"Blackmail!" Pym laughed as he buzzed around everyone's heads.
"Shhh!" Toruun shushed him as she grabbed him and pushed him to the ground. "You are too loud."
"At least she's finally getting some sleep." Steve said with a content sigh.
"It's that nightmare." Henry said with a frown.
"What nightmare?" Nick asked curious.
Silence filled the room as the Avengers looked at one another, unsure of whether or not to tell him. On one hand it could make him realize that she isn't bad like he thinks, yet on the other hand it could make her seem worse.
"What nightmare?" He asked more sternly, looking at all of them with hard, narrowed eyes.
"It's more of a memory than a nightmare." Henry spoke up first.
Hawkeye stirred after all the talking and cracked his eyes open as he glanced at all of them, then at Crystal, jumping slightly as he noticed her so close to him.
"Crystal used to have these nightmares when we first met her." Natasha told him gently, glancing at Crystal to make sure she stayed asleep.
"Boris, an old friend of Crystal's, told us that she's had them since the day it happened." Steve said, laying his chin on his fist.
"What was the nightmare about?" James asked curiously.
Clint looked at James, then at his son, before landing on Crystal herself. "The day her family was killed in front of her."
The teens gasped as Nick leaned back in surprise.
"They made her watch as they tortured and killed her family. More precisely her siblings." Janet said in a growl.
"Who did it?" Nick asked intently.
"Her own parents. Amora and Nightmare." Thor said. He glanced at Crystal and knew how much she must have gone through with them as her parents.
Crystal began to grumble as she twisted her head into Francis more. She cracked her eyes open, looking at the clothing before her eyes. She looked up confused and let out a small squeak as she saw Francis staring down at her, centimeters from her face.
"Ah, I'm sorry!" She said quickly, her face flushing in embarrassment. She looked around the room and saw everybody looking at her, but with pity and hurt. "What's going on?"
The momentary embarrassment left her mind as she watched the others fidget in their seats and look everywhere else but at her. Dawning hit her as her eyes clouded over and she stared at everyone slowly. Silence continued to fill the room as awkwardness and pity covered everyone.
Crystal took in a deep breath and clapped her hands together loudly, snapping everyone out of the silence and look at her. She slid off Francis' lap and stood before all of them. "Let's do something."
"Like what?" Pym said excitedly.
Crystal placed her finger on her chin, trying to think of something that would be fun for them. "How about we do a little training session?"
Azari looked at her confused. "Training? That doesn't sound fun."
"We'll make it fun." She smirked looking at all the confused faces watching her. "We're going to go against each other, and learn the other's moves."
"That's too dangerous." Nick grumbled leaning back and looking at her fiercely.
"Why? Because I'm going to train too?" She teased with a smile. "But they'll learn how I fight."
Nick's interest perked up at the mention of his Avengers becoming stronger, and learning about her. He looked up at her and smiled, waving his hand for them to go.
She smiled and ran to the hallway containing the teenagers' rooms. She grabbed a backpack and raced into the kitchen to make food for later and then grabbed some of the weapons she knew everyone would use.
"We're actually using weapons?" Pym asked surprised.
"Dull pointed arrows, blanks, and rounded edged blades. If you're going to use your zaps, then tone them down okay?" She told him with a wink. She looked around at everyone excitedly. "So, who wants to go?"
"I'll go," Francis said with a cocky smirk. "But I'll have to warn you, all of you will lose."
"I think that's a challenge." Clint said, smirking at his wife with a challenging glint in his eyes. "Shall we show him who the original Avengers are like?"
The rest of them agreed, wanting to finally train once again like they used to. James, Toruun and Azari all got up and joined the crowd that had formed.
"Let's go," James said, taking the lead.
"Oh, no you don't, boy wonder." Crystal said grabbing the back of his jacket. "I know where we'll go."
James blinked at her in surprise. The others stifling their laughs as she took the lead and smirked back at him.
"Toruun, make sure your guy stays with you." She said, quickly turning and walking towards where she wanted all of this.
The two blushed as they looked at each other and looked away.
"We're not together!" James shouted, his ears turning dark.
"No?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "Well we can all see you two want to be."
She chuckled, walking faster. She lead them out of the headquarters, down the slope that surrounded the whole building except for the front, into the woods, and led them towards the lake clearing she saw when she first arrived there. The waterfall sending a light mist over everyone as it fell down 50 feet to the water's surface.
Crystal set the backpack down carefully, and laid out the weapons for people to grab what they wanted. She watched as each one grabbed their weapons that best fit them.
"Isn't it unfair? There's close range and long range weapons." Azari pointed out as he looked at his normal weapon, a staff.
"Not if you're good enough." T'Challa told him proudly.
"Exactly," Crystal nodded, thankful for the help on the explanation. "No powers, only weapons. You can use the woods, but when you get hit, you have to meet up at the lake here."
The others smiled victoriously as they nodded to the rules.
"What about teams?" Bobbi asked with a smirk.
"You can have pair ups, but when it comes down to the two of you, you'll have to battle each other." Crystal told them sternly. "So remember that. Pym I'm serious when I say no powers."
His jaw dropped as he held out his hands. "Why me?"
"Azari tells me how you tend to 'ignore' that part of the rules." She said with a smile, using her fingers to quote what he said. She laughed when the small boy pouted at her and crossed his arms with a huff. "Everyone ready?"
"Let's do this." Natasha said, pulling her gun out.
"Try not to kill anyone." Crystal laughed, joking around. "Okay. Start!"
Everyone darted off into the trees in different directions. Crystal kept her bow close to her, ready for anything to come towards her. She climbed into a tree and looked out over the floor, spotting Pym instantly as he flew through the air zapping at Azari. He had once again ignored the rules and shrunk his size, making Crystal shake her head. She pulled out and arrow that would pin the small boy underneath a glass case on the end. She aimed carefully, before letting the arrow slide between her fingers and through the air and, true to its cause, it captured Pym and pinned him in a glass case, the sticky residue on the end attaching itself to a tree.
"Hey!" Pym shouted inside the glass case, pounding his hands on the inside.
"You're out Pym!" She smirked. "You cheated anyways."
Azari laughed, giving her a small wave, before running off to find someone else to attack. Crystal watched as Pym grew bigger, escaping the glass case, and flew off pouting towards the lake.
She shook her head and chuckled quietly, jumping from one tree branch to another. An arrow shot in front of her, making her back up and slip on the branch. Gravity took over her body as she fell towards the ground; her hand shooting up and grabbing the branch at the last minute.
"A little clumsy, Angel?" Francis smirked landing on the branch she was hanging onto and looking down at her.
Crystal smiled, swinging her weight and going underneath the branch, using the momentum to swing her feet into Francis and land on the branch once again. This time he was the one to catch himself on the branch as he hung below her.
"Aw, a little clumsy, Francis?" She teased back, looking down at him.
He grabbed her ankle, pulling himself up, and making her fall on her butt with a squeal on the branch. They glared at each other with smiles betraying their gazes, when a rustling happened below them. Crystal grabbed Francis and pushed him against the trunk of the tree, his back pressed against it as she sat on her knees between his legs and pressed close against him. She put her finger to his lips, making him close his mouth in what he was about to say. Two figures began to form walking along the forest floor, and formed into James and Toruun, walking casually.
"So, Pym, Mom, Bobbi, and Tony are all out." James said counting them off.
"Aye, and my mother is now fighting against my father." Toruun sighed.
"That is dangerous to be around." James said looking back in fear and reproach. "Hopefully they'll take each other out."
Crystal looked at Francis with a raised eyebrow and she mouthed a 'wow' to him. They carefully watched the two new arrivals. Crystal's legs began to cramp as she clenched her teeth; her leg gave out as it slid off the branch and began to take her body over the edge. Francis reached forward quickly as his arm went around her waist and held her close to him; her legs wrapped around his waist, as his other hand covered her mouth to hold the scream in.
Crystal watched as his face flushed greatly, but he continued to look down at Toruun and James. Crystal could feel his heartbeat beneath her hand as she suddenly felt very self-conscious. His heat wrapped around her as his arm stayed around her waist to keep her on branch.
"What was that?" Toruun asked after she heard the thump. She looked around quickly, trying to spot where it had come from.
"What? You scared?" James teased. "You want me to hold your hand?"
She glared at him, but her head went back to when Crystal told them that they BOTH wanted to be together. She looked away from him and slid her hand into his.
"Please," Toruun whispered, looking up reproachfully.
"Yeah," James said twining his fingers with hers. "No problem."
"Gotcha!" Azari shouted, diving for James quickly.
James activated his shield and slammed it into Azari, sending the small panther into a tree. T'Challa zoomed out of the trees and pounded into Toruun and James, sending them to the floor as he smiled predatorily down at the victoriously.
"I didn't even get to have any fun," Ororo said with a smile, placing her hands on her hips. She helped her son up and looked at him gently. "You okay?"
Azari nodded as he dusted himself off and frowned. "I can't believe I got defeated so easily."
Crystal felt Francis move in front of her, making her remember where she was, that he was with her, and look at him quickly. He had his bow and arrow ready and aimed at T'Challa, waiting for the right moment to attack. Crystal smirked as she moved quietly, grabbing her bow and one of his arrows, cocking the arrow back smoothly. She stealthily moved in his lap, pushing onto her knees that were on either side of his hips and standing up on them, switching her bow to her right hand and pulled the arrow back with her left.
They looked at each other and smiled, nodding to tell the other that they were ready. As if synched together, they let the arrows go and watched as the rubber tips suction cupped to each of their foreheads. They quickly looked up, spotting the two sitting up in the tree, very close to each other.
"Such a cute display of affection down there." Francis snickered.
"Coming from the one who has Crystal straddling him." James said lifting an eyebrow.
Francis looked forward and realized just how close they were, and sucked in a breath. He looked down and noticed the smirks on the faces of the people watching them, making his irritation rise up in his chest.
"You're just jealous." Francis snubbed at James.
"Oh yeah?" James said. "Seems like you're pretty embarrassed."
Francis brought his bow around Crystal and pulled her close, her face coming within millimeters of his. He smirked still watching those on the floor. "Yeah, because I can actually take charge."
James groaned as he smacked his forehead and got off the ground. He reached for Toruun's hand, and brought her up. "I think we need to leave the two love birds alone."
"Ah, young love." T'Challa chuckled, walking off with his wife and son.
"What the heck are they talking ab…" Francis stopped as he turned his head and his nose touched Crystal's who froze and reddened.
"Um, I…" Crystal said, fumbling with the words in her brain. "I-I-I…" She swallowed, trying to take her eyes off of him. She could feel his breath run over her mouth and it made her mind fog up and jumble itself.
Francis couldn't take his eyes away from her as he gazed into her light blue eyes that sparkled at the edge, her tanned blemish free skin, her long eye lashes and thin brows, her tiny, smooth nose, and her soft, smooth, full pink lips.
She swallowed again as she felt his muscles tense beneath her hand. She pushed him slightly away as she closed her eyes and breathed in, making her mind clear up. "I think we need to move." She finally said, grabbing at the words she needed.
She got up quickly, keeping her eyes closed till she turned around and knew she wouldn't be pulled back into that magnetic pull. She picked up her bow, and the quiver, and sat against another branch before turning slightly without looking at him.
"You ready to go?" She asked him softly. "Or do you want to finish this here?"
She heard him shuffle behind her and stand up, and then felt him lift an arrow out of her pack, making her whip around to look at him. He pushed the suction cup to his forehead, and let it sit there as he looked at her shyly and gave a small smile.
"I give." He told her gently.
"What?" Crystal breathed out. She reached out towards him just as he climbed down from the tree and began walking off towards the lake.
She sat down on the branch with a huff, putting a hand to her forehead as her mind tried to figure out what has just happened. Twenty minutes flitted by as she sat there, trying to figure it out.
"Crystal!" Pym shouted flying through the forest. "You won! You can come out now!"
Crystal snapped out of it as she looked at Pym who now floated in front of her, looking at her with a huge smile. She smiled back at him, getting off the tree and walking towards the lake.
"We all thought it was over and turned against one another. We never would have thought you were still in there." Clint laughed, ruffling her hair.
"We never saw you in there at all." Thor said chuckling.
"Sorry, I think I zoned out in there for awhile." She laughed, throwing it off as a joke.
"Blew your brain out?" Steve teased her.
"Shut up," She laughed. "I was thinking too hard." She smiled at all of them before looking at her backpack. "How about we eat then?"
"I'm starved!" Pym shouted, his mother close behind.
They ate their food with laughter and conversation, but all the while Crystal couldn't keep her eyes off of Francis who joked around and ate as if nothing had happened. Her mind was becoming more jumbled and confused the more that happened and she didn't know what to do.
"So, isn't Hulk a part of the Avengers?" Crystal asked realizing this fact.
"He's with Betty." Tony told her.
"Betty?" She asked him.
"Bruce, that's his name, was always fondly attached to Betty." Tony explained to her.
"I wonder if he's heard about you guys." She wondered looking up at the sky.
She didn't see that Francis was watching her every move and trying to figure out himself what had happened before. He doesn't know why he acts that way with her; it's a reaction to bring her closer and try to keep her only near him. He didn't like the thought of her being with the other guys.
"I sent a message to him, telling him about us." Henry said with a smile. "I figured he'd be here soon."
"Oh no…" Francis groaned. "He wasn't too happy with us when he left."
"I don't want to know what you did to him." Crystal laughed looking at the others with a raised eyebrow.
"So Crystal," Pym said catching her attention. "If your family is dead, then how did you live before you took care of our parents?"
A silence pounded on them as the adults glared at him in disbelief. "Pym," His mother hissed at him angrily.
Crystal shook her head, making the black cloud disappear from her mind. "No, it's okay." She said waving her hand at them. "He's just curious."
They looked at her in shock. They never brought up her past, for the sole reason they saw how hurt she got when she talked about it or remembered it.
"Um," She scratched her nose, not really knowing what to bring up. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and looked at him again. "Well it only happened about a year or two before I met your parents. I had Boris take care of me while I was there."
"So you didn't have any family?" Toruun asked sadly.
Crystal shook her head. "I wasn't on good terms with my parents. They were pretty cruel to me, my sister, and my three brothers. We left after they found out I wasn't going to help them in anyway."
"What about your siblings?" James asked, leaning back on his hands.
Crystal sucked in a breath, making James instantly regret that he asked. She looked around all of them, checking something that the others didn't know.
Natasha smiled as she leaned towards Crystal. "Nick isn't down here to spy on us."
Crystal froze, letting out a shy smile at them. "Well….I don't want Nick to know yet…"
"We won't tell him." Francis said, pushing her on.
"Well, I actually have a sister. Still alive." She told him begrudgingly.
"What?" Azari said excitedly. "No way! Where is she?"
"I didn't want her to be in danger." Crystal told them with a red face as she placed her hands in her lap and looked down. "I sent her to Lily, who was a good friend. I knew she would be safe there."
"So the information was right." Nick said appearing out of the trees.
Crystal jumped up, turning around to look at Nick and placed a hand over her mouth in fear. "Fury, I swear if you harm a hair on my sister or Lily, I will become your worst enemy." She threatened walking up to Nick Fury and placing her finger on his chest. "I will be worse than any enemy you have faced."
"Calm down," Nick said as the others quickly stood up also. "I already knew your sister was alive, and staying with this Lily person."
Crystal backed off of him as she looked at him confused. "What do you want?"
"I don't care about her," Nick said waving his hand. "Our information told us you were the stronger one with more power. We couldn't care less what happened to her. You were the one we saw as more of a threat."
"What do you want?" She asked him again. She took a step forward, but stopped as Francis hung onto her arm, holding her back.
"I want you on our side." Nick told her plainly, crossing his arms in front of him.
"Am I not already on your side?" She asked confused.
"I don't know," Nick growled at her. "For all I know, you are a spy for your parents, sent to take us down."
"You're kidding me!" Natasha yelled at him, standing next to Crystal.
"What does my sister have to do with this?" Crystal asked trying to step forward again. Francis wrapped his arm around her to hold her in place.
"I invited her here." Nick told her. "Along with this Lily girl."
"You invited her here?" Crystal asked blinking at him incredulously. "Where people who are against us know where we are? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"
She lunged forward trying to get to Nick, while Francis hung onto her with his arms around her as her body lifted into the air, her legs lashing out at the man.
"I kept her away to keep her safe! And now you're ruining it!" She shouted at him.
"Francis, take her away." Nick commanded him.
Francis waited for a moment, not sure what to do, until he realized his father was flicking his head towards the headquarters, giving him the cue to get out of there. Francis picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, taking her away from Nick Fury.
"Calm down! CALM DOWN!" He shouted at her as she tried to push him away. "What is the bid deal?"
She whipped her eyes towards him, the color no longer blue as they flashed blood red at him and dangerous. "What's the big deal? I'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL!" She shouted at him, her fists balling into fists. "I have lost my whole family! All I had left was my sister! I made myself live alone, and sent her away to Lily, all so that she would be safe and I wouldn't put her in danger! But Nick decided to let her come here! Where every person that is after you guys and me, knows where it is! It's putting her in danger and throwing all my work away!"
"Aren't you tired of being alone?" He asked her.
She stopped, her mouth dropping as her heart slowed down. "I wasn't alone."
"Right, you had our parents." he said angrily.
Crystal groaned as she crouched down and saw on her heels, putting her face in her hands. "I'm sorry. I just don't want her to get hurt. She's the only one I have left. I can't lose her."
Francis breathed out as he crouched down in front of her and pulled her face up from her hands, with his hands on either side of her face. "I know. You're scared. But you need to stop tormenting yourself. If she's the last person you have in your family, then you need to live your life with her next to you."
She let out a shaky laugh as she smiled at him. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"I'll be here if you have trouble." He told her with a kind smile. "If you're scared, hurt, sad, or anything else, just come to me. Okay?"
Crystal looked into his eyes and saw he was being completely honest. She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you so much."
Francis froze for a minute before hugging her back and smelling the sweet smell of cherry blossoms on her. Neither of them knew what was going to happen. Hulk and Betty were coming, Crystal's sister, and Lily were coming to visit, but something much more was going to come, and disrupt their lives. But was it for better or was it going to ruin their lives?
