Alyssa's eyes flew open and everything slowly came into focus. She shook her head to try and clear out the remaining fog in her vision. She felt a shudder ripple through her body involuntarily. It was cold. She made to move forward when she saw that she was strapped to a chair. Her heart began to race, and her stomach flipped. What had happened? She looked up and really looked and saw that she was surrounded by several people. She knew Tony Stark's face, so she focused on him.

"Easy there blue beam," Tony Stark said cautiously, as he approached her. "We don't mean you any harm and since we're on a plane, we would prefer to avoid a fight."

Alyssa tilted her head to the side and she felt a tiny surge of her power. She was still weak, but that didn't mean she was entirely helpless. A sharp pain hit her behind her eye and a wave of nausea crashed over her as well. It did nothing for her already bad temper.

"Get these straps off of me, right now," she snarled. Why was she so sick?

"No can do blue beam," Tony Stark said, said glancing around before looking back at her. "Your eyes are glowing blue."

"I'm aware that they do that!" Annoyance mixed in with her rage. Did he think to explain her own damn powers to her? The ones she had since she was a child?

"Then maybe you can understand the precaution here," he said pointedly, and Alyssa decided to look around. To his right was an incredibly beautiful woman who was about 5'5 with perfect porcelain skin, blue eyes, and slightly wavy crimson hair that reached just below her chin. She was dressed in black from head to toe, with what seemed to be some sort of utility belt and thigh holsters that contained guns. Her face was cold, and her eyes seemed to suggest she was sizing Alyssa up.

On the other side of her was a man, a great man that looked to be about six four with a thick and muscular build. He had long golden hair and piercing blue eyes. He was dressed strangely. Like someone from some sort of renaissance fair but a more modern twist to it, with a great red cloak drooping from his shoulders. In his hand, rested a big grey hammer.

Alyssa pursed her lips and glanced in the opposite direction. Oh, how could she have missed Captain America? Who didn't know him and the stories? But up close there was no comparison. The man looked like a god with his perfect physique and features. He looked to be about 6'2 with those broad shoulders, deep barreled chest, and those long-muscled legs. And his face, was something else, like something out of the renaissance era with those chiseled, fine features, those stormy blue eyes, and that short golden hair. He was wearing a dark blue, white and red suit and he had his shield on his arm.

And then there was a man, a man who looked to be in his early forties with greying dark hair, who was in a seat, wrapped in a great blanket, clearly exhausted and bothered by something. There was something familiar about him, but she had not seen his face. Never mind that, Alyssa, she thought to herself before turning her focus back to Tony Stark.

He stared at her for several moments before walking forward and undoing the straps that held her against her will. He stepped back, and Alyssa sprang to her feet though she felt a wave of dizziness come over her and she grabbed the arm of her chair for support.

"Take it easy there blue beam, I imagine whatever you did to the Hulk took a lot out of you, considering he isn't the average man," Tony Stark cautioned, and Alyssa fell back into the seat with a wince.

"What do you want?" She asked warily.

"Apparently, my teammate here brought you aboard because he didn't know if you were a threat or not and he wants your help," Captain America explained, shooting a dark glare at Stark.

It was all Alyssa could do to not throw up violently right then and there. "Take me back to South Africa, I have to get my things, I'm not even from there, I'm from New York," she said weakly, and then everything began to swirl again before it went black.

When she came to, she was lying on top of a bed with a cold cloth placed on her head. She shot up with a gasp and started coughing slightly. Where in the hell was she?

"Oh, your awake, I guess I need to get the others." A woman stood in the doorway with a basket filled with laundry. She looked to be in her late thirties/early forties with shimmering dark brown hair that fell below her shoulders, and a nice, pleasant, face. And she was pregnant. Very pregnant.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Laura, Clint's wife. And you are in our home now," the woman said simply. "You apparently passed out again on the jet and you have been unconscious for little more than a day." Alyssa covered her hands over her mouth in horror. She had been out that long? And this was her second time fainting. What was going on?

"Your name is Alyssa, right?" The woman asked. "Mr. Stark arranged for your things to be brought here."

"How did he know-?"

"In their line of work, they tend to have access to quite a bit of information and technology," Laura said with a wry smile on her face.

"The door over there to your right is where the bathroom is. Why don't you wash up and then come downstairs in the big dining room? You can't miss it and Lunch is almost ready."

Alyssa stared at her for several moments before nodding slowly. Laura gave her a small smile before walking away. She looked down and saw her suitcase on the side of the bed and picked it up. She opened it and sure enough, her things were as she left them along with her id., wallet, and other necessities. She had to admit it was impressive. She grabbed a soft pink sleeveless blouse, a pair of black oxford shorts and a bra and decided to use the shower. Once she stepped out and dried off, she grabbed a bottle of lotion and rubbed it on. She hated being ashy. She put on her clothes and grabbed her phone which was dead.

Alyssa bit back a huff of annoyance. She was sure her parents had called and her friends as well. She yanked the charger out of her suitcase and connected her phone to it before plugging it into the wall. She slid off the bed and decided to make her way to the living room. She stepped out into the hallway and looked around a bit before walking to the end where there was a set of stairs; she heard voices and walked down to the first floor. Alyssa hesitated before following them to a large and open room which fell silent as she appeared. This annoyed her. They brought her to whatever the hell this place was and now they wanted to act awkward?

Laura smiled warmly at her and nudged the man next to her, whom Alyssa didn't recognize. He looked to be in his early forties and seemed to be in great shape. He had short brown hair and nice blue eyes. "This is my husband, Clint."

Alyssa nodded, but she didn't smile as she looked around to the several faces that occupied the room. "Why am I here? And I don't mean the part where I wasn't feeling well, I mean what do you want?" She asked harshly.

"Bruce, step forward please," Stark said pleasantly, waving his hand as the man who spent his time on the quinjet wrapped up in a blanket, stepped forward.

"Do you recognize him?"

"I saw him on the plane," she said shortly.

"So, you can't read brain signatures?" Stark mused. "Interesting."

He could think as he liked. Alyssa wasn't in the habit of giving all her personal details to strangers who had taken her against her will to heaven knows where.

Her curiosity was piqued though, and she turned towards the man Stark had called Bruce. He looked weary, and she reached out with her power, trying to see if there was anything familiar about his brain. She pulled back with a frown. No, there wasn't anything familiar. But his mind had recently been disturbed. That much she knew.

"He was the big green guy that you took down in Johannesburg," Tony Stark explained, and Alyssa's eyes widened in shock. She looked at the man again, who stared at her impassively. He was that monster? Screwing his brain up in that manner had taken so much from her. Alyssa didn't like to do such a thing, but the circumstances had demanded it.

"What was wrong with you?" She questioned aloud. "Outside of the obvious, something else was clearly going on."

"See, Cap?" Stark said, turning his head towards Captain America, "I told you she was useful."

"Check this out blue beam, a witch named Wanda Maximoff messed with everybody's minds, but she made Banner go berserk in Johannesburg," Tony informed her.

"I could choke the life out of her without turning a shade at all," Banner said quietly, and Alyssa felt a pang of sympathy for him.

"We are going to stop her Banner," Captain America spoke firmly. "Her, her brother, and Ultron are going down."

Alyssa stepped forward towards Bruce and gently held up her hand. "I can heal minds," she explained. "May I?"

Banner looked at her, a hint of wariness in his eyes before nodding his assent and she placed a hand on his forehead. Alyssa took a deep breath and began to work her magic. She let it seep through Banner's mind, banishing any fragments left from not only what she had done but what the witch before her had done as well. After a few seconds, she stepped back, and Banner looked at her in awe.

"Thank you," he whispered as the red headed woman walked up next to him. "Bruce?" She questioned, and Alyssa could hear the concern in her voice.

"It's gone, she undid the damage," Bruce said, looking at her and a spark was in his eyes.

"I wanted to stop you," Alyssa admitted. "But if you were under someone else's influence, then I am happy to help." She turned back to Stark, who had a pleased grin on his face.

"Shall we make the introductions?"

"Like you already don't know my name it you were able to get my things?"

"You don't know us, though," Stark pointed out and Alyssa cocked her head at him.

"I know the Merchant of Death when I see him," she said dismissively, before glancing at Captain America. "And who doesn't know Captain America?"

"Merchant of Death?" Stark was flustered, and Bruce smiled a bit. "She's got you there Tony. I'm Bruce Banner and this is Natasha Romanoff."

Alyssa nodded as she took in the additional names. "Who was the big blonde guy dressed bizarrely?" Clint and Tony Stark snickered, and Laura shot them a glare.

"Thor, son of Odin," Captain America answered, and Alyssa raised her brows. Odin? As in the Norse god? Never mind, she wasn't going to worry about that at the moment.

"Well, I'm Alyssa Brown, as if you all don't already know that."

"Before you all get into business," Laura cut in smoothly. "How about lunch? I'm sure our guest must be starving," she emphasized, and Alyssa smiled at her. They sat down to a table filled a tray of cold Italian pinwheel sandwiches, two bowels of cold pasta salad, and a great pitcher of what seemed to be strawberry lemonade. Alyssa made sure to appear like she had been raised with manners (which she had been) but in the end she ended up eating two plates in total, something which embarrassed her. It had to have been because I scrambled Banner's brain when he was in that other form of his. I had never messed with a brain of that size, that could be the only explanation that I can think of at the moment

"How long am I to stay here?" Alyssa asked as she leant back in her chair. It was weird how casual she was in this wild situation, but she couldn't work up the energy to worry about that. She just wanted to go home.

"Well, blue beam," Tony began, and Alyssa cut him off.

"Alyssa." Her tone left no room for argument.

"Well, Alyssa, we are the Avengers, a group of rag tag heroes dedicated to saving the world." He motioned to the entire table. "We need your help. You're not a prisoner here and you are free to refuse if you'd like, but I think the powers you have shown so far can be a helpful counterbalance to Wanda Maximoff's evil," he finished, and Alyssa stared at him with an arched eyebrow. Saving the world?

She was silent for several moments. She had to get back to New York and get on with her life. She had family, friends, and a job to return to. And did they really need her help?

"I'll make it worth your while Alyssa," Stark said, and for once he looked serious and she could see a bit of fear and concern in his face. "I'll donate to a charity of your choice too, if you like."

Oh really? She had no problems holding him to that, but still she had to weigh the consequences if she tried to help save the world. That was a matter of life and death and while Alyssa had her powers, she still wasn't up to her full strength and she didn't have the experience of the rest of the Avengers. But what if they really needed her help and they failed? Alyssa let out a long sigh before looking at Stark. She couldn't believe she was doing this, and especially under the current circumstances, but the same feeling that had made her intervene in Johannesburg was back.

"Alright," she said, albeit there was still a bit of reluctance in her voice. "Let's make this quick though, because I have a life to get back to."

"Welcome aboard then," Stark grinned. "We were just about to plan our attack in Seoul."

"Your way ahead of things Tony," Rogers said, before turning to Alyssa. "If you're going to help, Ms. Brown, then we need to be able to trust one another."

"What can you do?" Natasha Romanoff asked. Well, these were the Avengers, and despite the rough start, she didn't think they would go spilling her business. Besides, if they did, she could always tell what she had seen and heard to the media.

She held her hand up and it lit up in a ball of blue energy. "So far, I can throw them at objects or people and as Mr. Banner is aware, I can mentally scramble your mind to where you can't do anything." She let her hand fall and the blue light disappeared. "Of course, it's temporary and it will wear off, but if I decided to, I can heal your mind, though this has more to do with like what happened in Johannesburg and not for instance, a man who had half his brain blown off type of situation."

"And what did you show the other guy?" Banner asked.

"I can create illusions of the mind. They aren't real physically, but to your eyes they will appear otherwise."

"Anything else?"

"Mental shield." She shrugged slightly. "One that is very difficult to move, and I've been trying for years and I can get a feel of people's brains so to speak as Stark said earlier."

"Alright," Captain America said, before addressing the entire room. "We need a plan to take down Ultron and the Maximoff twins."

"And who is Ultron?" Alyssa interrupted. If that wasn't one of the most ridiculous names she had ever heard.

"Homicidal robot bent on destruction basically," Tony explained, and Alyssa nodded.

"Like some terminator shit or something?"

"Careful there," Natasha admonished, "Steve doesn't like that kind of talk."

"You know what Romanoff?" Rogers shot her a look, but Alyssa could tell he wasn't actually angry. Steve? It was weird to hear his actual name and not the title of Captain America.

"Why don't you start with what you know?" Came a voice and everyone turned to see black man with a shaved head and dark brown skin enter the room. He was dressed casually, except for the eyepatch that covered his left eye. She could see the slashes in his skin above and below the eyepatch and wondered what had happened to him.

"Nice entrance eyepatch," Tony Stark said, as he stepped into the middle of the room. Alyssa eyed him curiously. Who was he and where had he come from?

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time," the man continued without sparing Stark a glance. "My contacts all say he is building something."

"Building what though, exactly?" Clint asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"He made off with a lot of vibranium, so I don't think it's one thing," The mysterious man answered.

"What about Ultron himself?" Steve Rogers asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Oh, he's easy to track alright. He's everywhere and multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit," the stranger continued walking towards the table. "Still doesn't give us an angle on what he's up to."

"How is a robot walking around though?" Alyssa interrupted. "Doesn't he have some sort of control switch or some program that he runs on that can be shut down?"

"That's a long story," Clint answered her. "To make it quick, he's self-aware."

The man stared at Alyssa long and hard. "This is the one you found?" He asked, turning to Stark slightly. Alyssa scowled. So, he knew who she was, and he didn't have the courtesy of introducing himself?

"Yes, but who are you?" She asked pointedly, not backing down from the hard stare he gave her.

"Nick Fury," he said shortly, before addressing the entire group once more.

"Still going after launch codes?" Stark asked, picking up a dart and hurling it a dartboard nailed against the wall.

"Yes, he is," Nick Fury poured himself a glass of strawberry lemonade. "He's not making any headway though."

"I cracked the pentagon's firewall on a dare in high school," Stark said, throwing another dart at the board. Alyssa barely refrained from rolling her eyes. She was sure if it had been anyone else, they would have gone to prison.

"I contacted our friends at NEXUS about that," Nick Fury said before taking a sip from his glass.

"NEXUS?' Steve Rogers spoke up, clearly curious. Alyssa shared his curiosity as well.

"It's the world internet hub in Oslo," Banner answered. "Every byte of data travels through there; fastest access on earth."

"So, what they say?" Clint Barton asked, picking up a dart and hurling it at the board with deadly accuracy. Stark gave him a look and Barton shrugged, though there was a hint of arrogance on his face.

"He's fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed," Fury said.

"So, we have an ally?" Natasha Romanoff asked.

"Ultron has an enemy, there's a difference."

"You know I think I speak for everyone when I say, I was kind of hoping you'd have more than that," Romanoff said dryly.

"I have you," Fury said, raising his glass to them. "The Avengers are what's standing between Ultron and his mission: global destruction."

"Why?" Alyssa asked. "What pissed him off?"

"We're still not entirely sure on that front," Stark said a bit hurriedly.

"Well, what does he want?" Nick Fury asked.

"To become better," Rogers answered. "Better than us. He keeps building bodies."

"Cursing bodies," Stark said. "The human form is inefficient, biologically speaking we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it."

"You two programmed him to protect the human race and you amazingly failed." Romanoff remarked. So, there it was. Stark had been involved with the creation of whoever this Ultron was. And Banner as well it seemed. They had better hope that this robot can be stopped.

"They don't need to be protected," Banner said ominously, "They need to evolve."

"How?" Nick Fury asked.

"Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?"

And that was how Alyssa found herself strapped in a seat on board a Quinjet high up in the air above Seoul. She was wearing a slim black suit that felt like a wetsuit with black boots and a communicator was in her ear. Her stomach was also turning flip flops, though whether it was from Barton's flying or the fact that she was about to go into battle against a robot in a large metropolitan city, she couldn't tell.

"There's a truck from the lab, right above you Cap," Clint spoke. "On the loop by the bridge. It's them. Three with the cradle and one with the cab." He flipped a couple of switches. "I could take out that driver."

"Negative," Rogers countermanded. "That crash is the gem, it could level the city."

Alyssa felt her heart skip at his words. The stakes were so high, and a mistake would be a catastrophic. She uttered a silent prayer to herself.

"We need to draw out Ultron," Captain America ordered, and Alyssa decided to go over the information she was given in prep for the battle.

"What are we going to do now?" Alyssa asked Barton.

"Waiting for an opening," Barton said when Rogers spoke again on the com.

"Looks like he's unhappy, I'm going to try and keep him that way."

Alyssa could see Captain America dangling off the back of the truck, which had its doors blown open.

"You're no match for him Cap," Barton warned.

"Thanks Barton," Rogers replied sarcastically as Clint flew underneath a building overpass. Alyssa wished the circumstances had been better, because otherwise Seoul looked like a fascinating city to visit and explore.

"Alright we got a window, Natasha," Clint said as he pressed another button and Alyssa heard the sounds of something opening. "Give them hell." Natasha zoomed in front of the ship on a motorcycle, weaving in and out of traffic with an expert and ease that Alyssa envied.

"What do we do now?" She asked.

"We're headed under the overpass which means I have no shot," Clint explained

"Which way?" Romanoff asked.

"Hard right." Barton looked down to the right of him where a navigation system stood. "Now."

It was some time before Romanoff spoke again. "Clint can you draw off the guards?"

"Let's find out." Clint swooped the jet in low where they could see Rogers and what appeared to be a huge robot fighting. Barton opened fire on the robot who held up his arms out of obvious reflex.

"He's sentient right?" She asked.

"Sure, as hell seems like it," Barton answered before his eyes widened at the implication. "Go for it."

Alyssa took a deep breath and concentrated. This was new for her. Messing with the mind of a sentient robot and at quite a distance from inside a quinjet. She reached out after some hesitation, hoping she could feel his brain, the impulse that controlled what he did. The robot, or well, Ultron looked up at them and two robots leapt out of the truck, rocket blasters shooting out from their feet as they flew towards them. Alyssa felt the strain of what she was doing, but she still hadn't reached Ultron's mind.

"Hang on," Barton said, as he maneuvered the quinjet around and took off up into the sky. The two robots latched onto to the glass surrounding the cockpit like area and Alyssa felt like she was near to having a heart attack. She tried to feel for their brains, but unlike Ultron, there were merely robots following at his command. And she couldn't blast them, not from inside the plane without causing a huge mess. Illusions probably wouldn't work either.

Barton sent the jet into a barrel roll, throwing the two robots off but that was it for Alyssa, who leant over her seat and promptly threw up.

"You're going to clean that up," Barton warned, and Alyssa grimaced. Right now, she was hoping that they made it out alive. The robots flew up in front of him and she clenched the sides of her seat when they suddenly turned around and flew downwards.

"Headed towards you," Barton remarked over the com. "Whatever you're going to do, do it now." He whirled the jet back around into the sky above most of the buildings where they saw a flying trailer.

"The package is airborne," Barton said, flipping a switch. "I have a clean shot."

"Negative I am still in the truck," Romanoff said firmly.

"What the hell are you-"

"Be ready, I'm sending the package to you," Romanoff interrupted.

Barton adjusted his position in his seat. "How do you want me to take it?"

"Uhm….you might wish you hadn't asked that."

Barton flew the ship right in front of the trailer. "Nat, we gotta go," he warned as the back door of the quinjet began to open.

Alyssa unbuckled her seat and stood up and walked to the back, her heart racing as she felt the wind and she had the sickening feeling of being thousands of feet in the air. The jet began to angle slightly downward, but Alyssa held her place. She watched as the cradle came sliding out of the truck and into the air.

Romanoff was going to make it, until she saw a that giant hulking piece of metal flying up right behind Romanoff. She pursed her lips and felt a surge of power in her hand before she hurled a blue bolt at him. It struck Ultron's head, not enough to damage him, but enough to prevent him from doing whatever the hell he was trying to do.

The woman and the cradle slid into the ship and the doors began to shut. Ultron quickly recovered from the blow and flew up when Alyssa hurled another beam of blue energy at him.

"Barton, go!" Romanoff yelled, and Alyssa felt herself thrown backwards as the quinjet sped up.

Clint flipped the switch again. "Cap, come in," he demanded.

"If you have the package, get it to Stark," Captain America yelled over the com. Alyssa made her way to the front and flopped back into her seat and threw up once more.

Romanoff studied her. "That was decent work." It sounded condescending as hell, but Alyssa nodded and leant back in her seat. What a time to be alive.

AN: My thanks to everyone who left a review, followed, or favorited this story! Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter!