A/N: So, it looks like the leaders in the poll on my profile are Thor and Tony so far! Hey, I like those options hehe… Vote please to see if your favorite is the winner!

Anywho, I don't own the Avengers, but I plan on going to see it again this weekend. Huzzah! Such a good movie…

Chapter One: S.S. SHIELD

Rubbing a hand along his jaw, Bruce exhaled slowly, exasperatedly.

Just how many freaks like him were there in the world?

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A sharp, metallic thunk hit the ground beside me, but I ignored it, instead stretching my arms and legs out and huffing. A few more pings sounded beside my head, until one made contact and sending me flying upward, startled.

Dr. Banner had a duffel bag between the two of us, worry etched in his deep, chocolate eyes, while Romanoff sat, her knees on the seat, peering over the back of her chair. She had a few pennies in her hand, another poised between her fingers as she readied herself to throw it.

Growling low under my breath, I shook my head and sat up. The helicopter shifted slightly at my movement – I weighed more than the good doctor and the secret agent combined in this form – and Dr. Banner immediately clutched at his duffel, frowning anxiously, "Please, please… could you not do that…"

Nodding, I sat back on my haunches and shot Natasha as harsh a glare as I could in my tiger form. It worked, obviously, because she raised her hands in surrender, "I wasn't gonna come up to you and try to wake you up, Maeve."

Well, I could understand that. Licking my lips, I fought the urge to pad over to the window and peer out into the darkness; were we getting close to SHIELD's headquarters?

"I wish you brought something to change into," Romanoff rolled her eyes, "you need to read these files before the others show up."

Snorting, I shifted my gaze from her to Dr. Banner, a silent question, Who else is there?

Rolling her eyes in exasperation, Romanoff grumbled under her breath, "Reading to cats was not in my job description… Okay, we've got Dr. Banner, Agent Coulson is on his way to pick up Steve Rogers…"

Captain America? I mused, my bright, ocean eyes widening at the thought, I heard they found him, but damn… I get to meet him! Bet Coulson's pissing himself right now…

If there was one thing I knew about Phil Coulson, it was that he had a serious man-crush on the world's first superhero. Cursing myself for not being there when he first saw the tall, blond, all-American boy, I huffed once more; they surely weren't the only ones…

"…and Tony Stark, if he'll come along," Romanoff rolled her eyes once more, flipping through the folders, "there's always a possibility of Thor joining us, but the subject isn't exactly someone he could care less about."

Glancing at Dr. Banner, I found myself wishing I was in my human form; I had one too many questions for the two of them. Who was the subject? What, exactly, was going on that they needed a bunch of superheroes and superfreaks for?

"There's something called, called the Tesseract," Dr. Banner announced, removing his glasses and wiping the lenses with the corner of his shirt, glancing nervously at Natasha before returning his gaze to me, "apparently someone stole it; Loki…"

The brother of Thor, at least according to mythology, I wondered, my whiskers twitching in thought, well, even if one of my brothers did something so stupid, I probably wouldn't want to fight against him, either… Tesseract… What does that do?

The helicopter jolted suddenly, my form heavy enough to keep from launching into the air, but still, I dug my claws into the metal instinctively. Banner stiffened and Romanoff simply unbuckled her straps – when she had buckled herself in, I couldn't imagine – and stood.

Apparently, we landed.

Stretching my arms out before me, I extended my claws and let out a loud, growling yawn; padding toward the door, I smirked to myself as Dr. Banner gave me a rather wide berth, nearly pressing himself against the helicopter's wall in an effort to avoid me.

Hopping out onto the aircraft carrier, it seemed, I peered around at the hustle and bustle; even though it was nearly midnight, agents were everywhere, either working on their jets or milling around (trying to look busy). I didn't see Fury anywhere, but I assumed he had to be around somewhere.

Wasn't their headquarters on a secret base, though? Last I knew, they were out in the desert somewhere, with massive laboratories underground. Something must have happened to it, then, if the whole agency seemed to be on one gigantic ship.

Suddenly, stalking out from the darkness was Director Nick Fury, the mastermind behind this whole big thing. The eye patch was still there – even in my tigress form, I couldn't help but stare at it. Why were there black thread-like marks stretching out across his skin from beneath that patch? Did he actually have an eye under there, one that was all deformed, or was it simply an empty socket?

Some sick part of me was dying to know…

Dressed in all black, down to his snazzy leather boots, he looked like a force to be reckoned with; I knew from experience that that appearance held true. Arms folded behind his back, he looked between Natasha, Dr. Banner, and I, nodding to himself, "Agent Romanoff, you did well."

She saluted him, thanking him emotionlessly, before querying casually, "Any word on Barton?"

"Nothing yet," Fury relied, a frown tugging at his mouth, running a hand over his incredibly shiny head.

Wax much?

Romanoff deflated only slightly, before she queried, "Are we finished here, Director?"

Wait, wait, wait, what happened to Barton? I wondered, my brow furrowing as I looked between the two; Romanoff seemed worried, afraid even, at the news that there was no news on Barton; Fury just looked pissed. Not that it wasn't a usual look for the SHIELD agent, but still… What had happened to Clint? Did it have anything to do with the Tesseract? This Loki character?

Damn, I need to read those files…, I huffed, whiskers flicking in annoyance.

"Dr. Banner, it's good to see you," he offered the seemingly shy doctor a hand, one that he very reluctantly accepted.

"Can't say the same," he muttered under his breath, glancing quickly at me as I huffed in amusement.

"Miss Brady, why haven't you changed into your normal form?" Fury queried, either having not heard the good doctor's comment or simply ignoring it.

Peering up at the man beside me, pleading with my wide, round eyes; adjusting his collar awkwardly, Banner offered Fury a sheepish smile, "Um, well, I think that she's, she's kind of like me, when I, uh… You know…"

"Oh," Fury noted; whoa, I'd never seen him uncomfortable before. If I had the balls, I would seriously tease him about that.

Oh, hell, if Tony Stark is on this boat, I'll be mentioning this, I grinned, my ears twitching with every little noise, he'll never let Fury live that one down. And I freaking loved seeing Nick Fury squirm.

"We've got rooms for you both," Fury announced, clearing his throat and leading us across the massive deck, toward the main body of the vessel. Pressing his thumb against a keypad, Fury waited for the door to open, glancing casually over his shoulder – with his bad eye; what was up with that? "And a lab for you, doctor. We'll have to show you in the morning; it's not quite ready for you yet, but it's got all the perks."

And what did I get? Catnip?

Making our way through a labyrinth of hallways, Fury fell silent and none of us felt like filling that awkward tenseness with noise. Though, I did have to repress the urge to let out a roar, just to see what they would do…

We stopped before a door, the number 38 bolted just above the peephole. Fury waved an arm toward it, glancing down at me and commenting, "This one's yours, Miss Brady. As soon as you've… freshened up…," I glanced down at my mud-covered paws and lifted a brow; he had a point, "you can find the kitchen and grab something to eat. Word has it you've been on the run in Mongolia for a while. When's the last time you weren't in this form?"

Chuffing, I shrugged a shoulder and nudged the door with my muzzle. Dr. Banner was nice enough to open it for me, offering me a slight grin as I gave him an open-mouthed smile, my sharp canines bared. He shifted nervously, before shutting the door behind me with a soft click.

Now out of sight of the others, I searched the darkness for the light switch. Thanking the Lord for my excellent eyesight, I crossed the room and trotted into the bathroom. Stretching up against the wall, I flicked the light on with my nose and squinted against the blinding light.

Believe it or not, it was a pretty nice bathroom. Glass-doored shower, fluffy towels hanging from the rack hanging over the toilet, a wide, spotless mirror over the sink… Peering into the main room, I eyed the setup; freaking awesome.

A four-poster bed, the sheets a dark color, though, in the poor lighting, I couldn't quite tell what shade it was. A desk in the corner. Two dark dressers. A floor-length mirror beside what looked like a pretty big closet.

Not too shabby, SHIELD, I mused, shifting back into my human form for the first time in a few weeks. It was always a strange sensation, morphing from form to form; always a sharp, uncomfortable stinging beneath my skin as my bones shifted and moved. When I did it daily, the pain was always much less; almost tolerable, actually. But after so long…

Cursing under my breath, I stood to full height – rather unimpressive at five feet – and hopped into the shower. I didn't bother looking in the mirror; it was probably a horrifying sight to see, worse than a zombie, most likely.

As the water hit me in a warm, steady spray, I let out a sigh of relief; being human had its perks…

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Sitting on my bed, wrapped in a silk, lilac robe, I ran a hand through my wet hair and moved onto the next file. My bangs fluttered into my eyes, the longest part of my hair, but a quick swipe pushed them back.

Anthony Stark. Iron Man.

If there was any picture I didn't need to see, it was his. Handsome, cocky, the works; I'd seen his strangely-goateed face on the cover of dozens of magazines and in the midst of press conference after press conference. No need to study his file.

Bruce Banner. The Hulk.

Hulk?

"Oh shit!" That guy was the Hulk? That sweet, shy doctor had been hit with so much gamma radiation that, at the drop of a hat, he could be consumed by rage and shift into a massive, green, well, hulk of a man? "And he's afraid of me?"

Steve Rogers. Captain America.

Having been a history major in college, I was certainly familiar with the captain. Not to mention, every generation from his to my own was giddy over the idea of such a strong, powerful American icon. He was every girl's dream, from my great-grandmother's generation to mine; it was obvious from his picture why. I skipped his file, though, too, aside from the information that SHIELD withheld from the history books. There wasn't much.

I didn't bother reading over Natasha's – there was nothing about her past that I hadn't already learned; SHIELD had tried recruiting me multiple times before and I'd already seen her file.

There was nothing on Clint – which had me nervous – and Thor, which was just strange. If there was a possibility of him helping us, why didn't I know anything about him? Maybe Fury hadn't been able to contact him – I didn't really see how he could, since apparently he was from a different planet; I'd just have to ask the director later.

The file on the Tesseract was incredibly interesting. I didn't understand half of it, but it certainly was interesting. After twenty minutes, I gave up, tossing the file onto the nightstand by the bed and hopped to my feet. My stomach was noisy as hell and maybe I could find Dr. Banner on the way. Ask him exactly what the file meant.

I wasn't big on science-y stuff.

Give me a good novel or a tome on the American Civil War and I was peachy keen. But gamma radiation? Energy… stuff? Eh… The only science I liked had to do with oceans, geology, astronomy… that kind of thing. Chemistry and physics? Bleh…

The corridors were busier than I had expected, but still, I only ran into a few people. They directed me toward the kitchen, some eyeing me curiously as I strolled through the halls in gray yoga pants, a wife beater, and a ridiculously fancy robe. Bare feet? Yes, please.

Yawning slightly, I entered the kitchen, where I was lucky enough to run into the good doctor. While his other side made me slightly nervous, I was put at ease by the fact that my other side did the same to him, "Evenin', doc."

He started in his seat at the island in the center of the room, dropping his spoon into the carton of cookie dough ice cream. His dark eyes surveyed my face, recognition flashing in them, and he straightened, "Miss Brady?"

"Call me Maeve," I replied, waving a hand dismissively, crossing the kitchen and diving into the freezer, "anythin' else in here? Seein' as ya tainted th' cookie dough with yer spit…"

"You wouldn't turn into, ya know, the Other Guy from my spit," Banner replied, offering a slight, humorless laugh as he lowered his gaze, scooping up another spoonful.

"It's not that I'm worried about," I noted, withdrawing some chocolate chip ice cream with a triumphant 'ha!', "I'm worried 'bout yer spit. Spit is spit an' I'm not too fond o' double dippers."

"You're Irish?" he questioned curiously, grinning slightly at my lilt.

"Didn't ya read the file?" I questioned; there had been one on me, of course, but I hadn't bothered looking over it. I didn't care what they had on me.

"Well, yeah, but it didn't say anything about where you were from," he replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, "sorry if I… freaked you out by… freaking out. I don't usually come that close to… tigers."

Shrugging a shoulder, I sat across from him, happily munching on my own ice cream. I fought the urge to moan; when was the last time I'd actually had my favorite anytime desert? "That's alright; I'm used to it. No harm, no foul, aye?"

He nodded silently, tapping his fingers absently on the counter. After a moment, he queried curiously, "What do you think of the Tesseract?"

"Uh, about that, doc," I grinned sheepishly, "layman's terms, please?"

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So, no Thor yet (sigh), or the rest of them. Just Bruce and Natasha so far – and Fury. I like Banner. I like writing him quite a bit =D I'm very excited for Tony to come around, though; he's my favorite Avenger, even though I adore Thor. Hehe!

So what'd everyone think? I'm not too thrilled with it, but nothing's really happening yet. Just further introductions to Maeve… But it'll get way better shortly, I promise!

Iforgiveyou: I know, it really is! I'm glad you like her! I had to make her Irish; I just love writing that accent and I thought it'd throw a nice little flair in the group, too. Yeah, he is fun! I'm excited to write him, too. That's a good idea; there's definitely gonna be flirting with Tony, but you're right – he does work so well with Pepper. So it'll be harmless flirting I think. And then Steve would be a fun one to have her flirt with too. Innocent friendship; I like that idea. So Thor or Clint, hmm… I think I know which I'm going with =D

LiliAnn Jackson: Yes! I love Tony too, but you're right. Not enough Thor going around! He's probably the least written about and I find him the yummiest hehe.

XxKeeperOfDeathxX: Thank you! Thanks for your vote!

Bambi Nyla-Rose: Hmm, that is a good point! The only thing I was thinking was that he's so used to all kinds of crazy stuff that it might not be too big of a surprise. But it is a good point you bring up; I'll have to think about it! Out of curiosity, who's your choice?

Mercenarybunny: Thank ya! I'm glad you're liking it so far =D