"You trained with who?"

Beth's voice was one of disbelief as she sat across Corinne. The duo were enjoying a coffee at one of the little tables after a busy day. It was a routine of theirs, to catch up on everything that was happening in their lives.

While they had went on different paths after high school, they had maintained their friendship. Corinne had gone to study science at Culver with a full scholarship, while Beth went to fulfil her dream of opening a bakery.

Both of them fortunately succeeded, and once Beth heard that Corinne would be taking a break after her Bachelor's, she invited her to work there for the summer. Corinne had developed her love for baking from Beth, and the opportunity to spend a couple of months with her best friend and bake was irresistible.

"Steve Rogers-and I totally kicked his ass." Corinne stirred the milky contents of her cup.

"Captain America."

Corinne smirked. "With help from Black Widow."

"You've got to be kidding me. Seriously," she scoffed, "where can I get some superpowers so I can do that too?"

"I honestly haven't figured that out yet." She explained to her how no anomalies had shown up in her DNA analysis. They even tested Bruce's DNA to make sure the machines were working properly. "And I've left that alone, because I've been experimenting on this material that's made of my pure energy shield-but it's visible. I've got a shard of it, like glass."

"The most exciting thing I've done today is bake that." Beth pointed at the new macaroon flavor she tried out. "Not join an important group devoted to saving humanity."

"This is pretty important to me," Corinne took a bite of the dessert. Beth was innovative in her recipes and always experimenting in her own way. It was one of the reasons why her bakery succeeded even with all the competition. The food at Bee's Bakery were from unique recipes created by Beth.

In the soothing warmth of the cafe, she almost felt as if the alien attack never happened. She was grateful it did as she got to meet the others. But it was kind of humbling to just reconnect with a normal, childhood friend.

By the time she stepped out onto the streets, it was already dark. The city was in still in constant motion though. She took the public transit to her apartment with no trouble at all, feeling content. It was earlier than usual when she slipped off her shoes.

Corinne immediately sensed something wrong in her home.

Treading cautiously, she mentally shuffled her SHIELD training through her mind. She readied herself to conjure a barrier as she rounded the corner. She was not sure if a shield would be right in her situation.

The living room came into view, but there was nobody there. Corinne scanned the area and then continued on, keeping her back to the wall. She checked and found nothing in her bathroom and kitchen. That left her bedroom.

There was nothing out of the ordinary in her bedroom at first. But as her eyes roamed over the room, she spotted a drawer in her desk pulled out, and the open window where they must have escaped. Most likely an easily frightened robber.

"Someone was in a hurry," she muttered to herself, relaxing. "Why would they look here of all places for valua-"

Her musings were cut short as a strong grip caged her shoulder. Panic rose and almost took over her, but she pushed it down. The muscle memory that had been ingrained into her for the past week surfaced as she fought back. Corinne delivered kicks and punches to the invader.

She couldn't quite see their face in the dark, but could tell by their stature that they were a man of muscular build. A few days ago, he could have easily overtaken her. But Corinne had learned to evade, strike, and overcome people like him.

When he understood that he could not subdue her, he aimed for something else. Both hands of the man wrapped around and pulled at the strap of her messenger bag. Corinne pulled back, holding tight to the base of the bag. She leaned back to the heels of her feet to shift her weight. The two were at an impasse.

Smiling innocently, Corinne abruptly let go of her bag. The man fell back unprepared. She landed the final blows and secured this limbs together. Corinne sat down with way more energy than before from the adrenaline. She observed the semi-conscious man as she pondered what to do next.

Out of caution, she formed a small dome shaped shield just big enough to fit over him. She waited and watched as he half heartedly tried to get up but was deterred from doing so.

Satisfied, the woman took out her phone and tapped at it.

"Hello?" A distracted voice answered.

"Hey Tony, sorry I'm calling so late…"

"No problem," Tony tinkered with something in the background, "I'm working on the suit all night. What's up?"

She glanced at the slumped man. "I think I'm going to come and stay at the Tower for a while. A guy broke in so I had to use my SHIELD training." She felt a twinge of guilt of harming the man, but pushed it back.

"Shoot, are you-" His normally self-assured voice was suddenly filled with apprehension.

She smiled. His instantaneous concern showed that the billionaire had soft spots under his arrogant exterior. "I'm okay. I'm calling you, aren't I?"

"That's…good." He returned his tone to its normal brashness. "Yeah, no problem. Happy will pick you up in ten. I'm guessing the guy got away worse off since you're calling me."

Corinne had gotten up and retrieved a carry-on from her closet. She began placing clothes and essentials in it as she hummed an affirmative. "Never got away though. I've got him tied up in my room."

"Kinky."

"Ha ha." She replied sarcastically. His sexual innuendos were not new to her.

Voices in the background. "Bruce wants to know if you're okay for sure."

"Tell him I'm fine," she smiled to herself. The doctor was kind hearted. "Not one scratch on me. The other man looks worse. Anyways, I have to call the police soon to take him away. "

She contacted them, and they eventually arrived to take him off her hands. The two officers looked vaguely impressed at the state of the robber.

"You did a number on him." One of them said as her partner heaved him up. Something dropped out of his pockets with a clink at the motion. "That yours?"

It was a silver medallion the size of a quarter. There was an octopus like thing with a head of a skull engraved in it. She had never seen that symbol before, but it gave off an foreboding feeling.

"Not mine," said Corinne uneasily, "not sure if it's his either."

The officer nodded, encasing the intruder's hands in handcuffs over the zip ties Corinne already bound around his wrists. "Has anything happened recently that might have caused this?"

Minus her superhero duties, no. She hadn't bought anything new that someone would want to steal either. "No, he was probably just hoping for anything he could find."

"Well then, have a safe night." The cops nodded to her. The man's head lolled a bit as he was carried out.

Corinne saw them out the door. "Thank you and good night to you too."

Happy was waiting with a car when she got out of her apartment building, as promised. Corinne had a few encounters with him, but just enough to be an acquaintance. He seemed like a nice person, and cheerful like his nickname suggested.

Brief greetings were traded. They got her luggage into the back and were off.

"Hope I didn't cause too much inconvenience," Corinne said, "I know it's late."

Happy waved her off. "It's all part of the job. You get used to getting called to work at weird hours when you're working for Tony. But, I'm thinking of trying to get a promotion."

"You should go for it. I think you deserve it after dealing with Tony for so long." She joked.

The rest of the ride went by fairly quickly, with Happy knowing the best routes in the city. Thanking him, she was in the Avengers Tower in no time.

"Good evening Miss Lin," intoned JARVIS, "Doctor Bruce requests your presence on the common floor. He informs me that it is for your own health."

Corinne entered the elevator that was built specially for the Avengers' access to their floors. "Alright, thanks JARVIS."

"You are most welcome. Please enjoy your stay, and let me know if you need any assistance."

The elevator doors slid apart with a ding. Bruce was sitting at the kitchen island, plastic first aid kit in hand. Corinne took a seat on one of the stools with a sigh.

"I honestly don't have a scratch on me." She told him.

The doctor raised an eyebrow and tapped on his own cheek. She got out her phone as a mirror and it reflected the scrape on her face. Her mind thought back to the intense brawl and how the man's fist had grazed her. Idiotic man wore rings to a fist fight. Her hand went up instinctively but Bruce stopped her.

"You might infect it," he said gently. He then sanitized her cut just as gently with some wipes. The stinging but cooling sensation was oddly calming to her frayed nerves.

"He didn't leave right away." Corinne blurted out. She had been internally mulling over every detail of what happened. Bruce was someone she trusted and she couldn't help but voice her frustrations. "He left the window open to make me think he did, and then he attacked me. Then I thought he wanted to take me." She flinched at the thought of her fear coming true. Capture. Experimentation. "But he went for my bag next. I'm just so confused."

Bruce was a good listener and had been staying quiet throughout her rant. When she was done, he had placed a bandage on her cut. In an as comforting tone as he could, for he was angry that this had happened to his friend, he asked her a question. "What is in your bag?"

She was thankful for him understanding her need to resolve everything and helping her do that, instead of just consoling her.

Corinne opened her messenger bag. In it was her laptop, wallet, and her notebook. Realization dawned on her as she set her eyes on the fluorescent green book, full of notes on her power. "My research is in there. Do you think?…"

Bruce met her unsure look with a nod. "It could be a coincidence, but as much as I hate to say it, there are people out there who would do anything to get information on enhancements to further their own causes."

She was reminded once again how the man in front of her had suffered as a result from his abilities too. He acted so normal and opposite of his other self that it was easy to forget. Especially when all he had ever been to her was tranquil. "What should I do now? Go into hiding?" She couldn't imagine herself doing that.

"Live on. People like them are always here. Judging from tonight, you can defend yourself well enough. If anything, you're under SHIELD's and the Avengers' protection, and if something does happen-we would find you in no time."

Her posture slackened as she gave him a weary smile. He had managed to calm her with his reasoning. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he put away the first aid kit, "go get some sleep. You look like Tony when he has been working on a new project."

She laughed. Their friend's habits were not healthy, but he was just too stubborn to be moved. "Night, Bruce."

"Good night."

She unpacked her belongings, cleaned up, and climbed into bed. It was unbelievably soft, probably worth more than she wanted to know, and she was quickly deep in her dreams.

Over the next few days, she made herself more aware of her surroundings. Whoever wanted her and her research was not going to catch her off her guard. She noticed some SHIELD agents just beyond her sight sometimes, and knew Fury must have learnt what had happened.

In her opinion, if they actually managed to get her, all she had to do was put herself in a shield. Corinne had anticipated all possibilities since she knew what she could do. There was nothing to fret over after the initial panic.

The others had reacted strongly to her situation.

Steve's features had hardened into one of fury when she walked into the training room of the day. His intensity did not subside as it switched from anger to concern. She tried to set his mind at ease, telling him that the person responsible was being punished accordingly. However, his eyes regularly fell on her bandage throughout the day.

Clint and Natasha hid their reactions better, with only a flicker of emotion revealed in their eyes. That millisecond of the dangerous gleam sent shivers down Corinne's spine. Natasha had asked her in a light voice who did it, with Clint listening intently, and she felt pity for her attacker. She told them as she had a feeling they would be able to find out anyway.

Tony stole her phone the next day in the lab, and returned it nonchalantly later. He told her he installed an app he made that would locate her anywhere in Earth and space with a press of the panic button. He left before she could thank him.

Bruce seemed like the only sensible one throughout this, though it might be because he controlled his anger well. He just checked her graze to make sure it was healing properly.

She didn't bother telling everybody her thoughts on why the man had attacked her, knowing that the drama following it would be pointless. Corinne brushed it off as a common robbery, though the agents were disbelieving as always.

But as much as she was annoyed with the overreaction, it confirmed her place as one of them.

She kept her valuable notes close as her research delved deeper and deeper. Corinne managed to recreate the solid energy construct, and already had ideas on how to use them.

As for how and where her DNA had mutated to allow her to create these force fields, she still did not know. She went back once in a while to the sequencer, but to no avail.

"Maybe it's beyond our understanding as of now," Corinne had thought out loud to Bruce during one of the days the group had breakfast together. It was a rare occurrence, but sometimes all of the Avengers minus Thor would gather at the Tower. Today they were having Bruce's popular pancakes at the kitchen island. "Maybe our equipment just can't pick up the anomaly."

Clint was drawn out of his conversation with Steve at this. "Maybe you should ask Thor."

"Thor?"

Bruce nodded thoughtfully. "He is from an advanced realm."

Excitement bubbled up in Corinne. "Do you think he could help me?" She hadn't thought of this since the demigod hasn't been seen since-

"If he comes back." Corinne realized disappointedly.

Steve gave her a sympathetic look. "He will, just after dealing with Loki."

"He has somebody to come back for too, and she's been working relentlessly at SHIELD to make an Einstein-Rosen Bridge," said Natasha.

"Dr. Jane Foster," Tony supplied, pouring himself a cup of coffee as he joined the group. He helped himself to a stack of pancakes and plopped down on a chair. Corinne and Bruce frowned as they noticed the increasingly tired state of their friend. The Battle of New York had affected him greatly, and he was not coping well. "Brilliant astrophysicist. Too bad SHIELD hired her before I could."

The name rang a bell in Corinne's head. "She was a TA for one of my physics courses at Culver. I've heard of her work in New Mexico a couple years ago."

"Well, she is now considered one of the most important astrophysicists out there because she developed a revolutionary theory on Einstein-Rosen Bridges. She could have connected Earth to Asgard if the Bifrost wasn't damaged." Elaborated Bruce.

She would be the first to know when Thor returned.

"Do you think I could get into contact with her?" Corinne had not talked to her a lot during her classes, but hoped she would agree to let her know when Thor came back.

Natasha smirked. "Ask SHIELD, I'm sure they would be eager to help you."

Corinne got her hint. SHIELD had her signed as an Avenger, but not as a scientist. Yet. Or that's what they hoped. During one of her training sessions with Steve, an agent had given her another contract to consider. SHIELD had an eye on her not just because of her abilities, but her research as well.

She declined for now. SHIELD was not a terrible option for a scientist, but she had planned to finish her Masters first.

"I'll make sure to do that."

SHIELD had been receptive of her idea to meet up with Foster, keen on involving Corinne in SHIELD's scientific endeavors-even though astrophysics wasn't Corinne's area of expertise. She had spoken to Dr. Foster, and she had agreed to let her be in the know.

She gave a call once in a while, because even though she was specialized in biochemistry, Jane's work was fascinating. It was in her scientist nature to be curious. Just like with Tony and Bruce, she quickly bonded over the wonder of science.

Corinne thought that Jane would be a lot more heartbroken from the absence of her significant other, but Jane was anything but that. The scientist was determined to a fault. Corinne's calls were usually picked up by her intern Darcy, who was actually another Culver graduate. Jane worked day and night and usually got so distracted she ignored real life, so Corinne got to know the intern too.

As time flew by, Corinne found herself less interested in the why and more interested in the now and what she could do.

She accomplished using the solid energy as material that would stay in anything she chose. The energy was weaved into fabric, plastic, and metal. The results were formidable. Like her own shields, the objects she injected her energy with could hold out against the strongest forces.

Corinne knew better than to keep them lying about though. Tony and Bruce agreed to her idea of removing the solid energy from the objects once they were done testing them, and destroying them. Tony has had his own experiences in having his creations taken by terrible people.

Her days were cycled through research, training, baking, and hanging out with the others.

On one of the days Natasha would stay at the Tower, she invited Corinne to a spar.

The spy assessed her progress, and offered some advice. Natasha taught her more useful skills than Rumlow ever did. Her methods were more escape, evade, and use others' brute force to your advantage. It had certainly worked for Corinne. They had a couple of spars before Natasha brought up what she really wanted to tell her about.

"I paid your intruder a visit a while ago," the redhead casually started during a water break, "he wasn't there."

Corinne froze, water bottle forgotten halfway to her mouth. "At the police station?" They could have been bailed out by now.

Natasha shook her head. "Clint and I did some digging. Any police file on his arrest doesn't exist-he's wiped clean." She looked for something in Corinne's expression before continuing. "Bailed out, but no record."

"By who?" She had a feeling there was a reason why Natasha omitted who it was.

Natasha inspected their surroundings. "JARVIS, is there anyone in proximity?"

"No, Miss Romanov. Shall I set up the Blackout Privacy Protocol for you and Miss Lin?"

"Sure," Corinne responded, focused on Natasha who also agreed.

They waited for a moment before JARVIS' voice resonated throughout the gym again. "Blackout Privacy Protocol activated. No one is permitted to enter this gym, and no video or audio evidence would exist for as long as you decide."

Corinne was starting to get nervous. "So who was it?"

"SHIELD." Natasha said simply.

She was dumbfounded at first, but she connected the dots. "They orchestrated the whole thing."

"I don't think it's that. There's something going on with SHIELD lately," the former assassin contemplated, "I just wanted to tell you to be careful. Don't blindly trust SHIELD."

"I've got that part down perfectly. Thanks for telling me this." She didn't know what Natasha meant by the things going on in SHIELD, but assumed she would find out soon enough. Corinne would be away in harmless Culver anyway.

"Good luck on your Masters," Natasha took a swig from her water bottle. She jabbed at the control panel to take away the mats they had sparred on.

Corinne smiled. "Thanks, good luck on your mission." She doubted she would need it.

Like anybody else, Corinne was intimidated by the spy at first. She was capable, and she knew it. As time went on, she realized that as long as you did nothing to provoke her, there's no reason to be scared. So she acted normally around her.

Natasha took a liking to her. Most people would either be jumpy around her, or be tripping trying to get on her good side. When Corinne did none of these annoying things, she found her more than tolerable.

A little smile played on Natasha's lips. "JARVIS, you can deactivate the Blackout Protocol now. "

"Blackout Privacy Protocol deactivated. I believe Mister Barton is looking for you, Miss Romanov."

"I'll find him. See you later." She nodded goodbye to Corinne.

A quick shower later, Corinne headed to the common floor. The sunset could be seen through the glass panes that made up the walls. The woman stared out at New York in contentment.

"Makes you feel like you're flying over everything."

Corinne jolted a little and turned to sigh at the voice. "Yes, it does. Funny you say that, Hawkeye."

"It's true, C-Force." Clint took a perch beside Corinne on the couch. "Get it? Corinne and force field."

Corinne laughed. They had started this since he started training Steve and her. "That one's pretty good. But I don't need an alias."

"You're an Avenger!" Clint exclaimed in exaggerated offense. "You need a cool one. What else are we going to call you during missions?"

"If we really do have one, I think it'll be the last thing on our minds. Besides, I think we're safe for now-Loki's locked up."

The archer shrugged. "Don't jinx it."

Their usual banter ended, and they fell into a companionable silence. Corinne discovered that Clint was a really fun guy once you got to know him. He didn't always train them on their training days, but she did see him a lot more since she moved in. Clint enjoyed staying at the Tower, reasoning that SHIELD facilities were way too utilitarian.

And of course, there were the game nights.

Corinne was reminded that it was game night tonight as the others started filtering in. If you told Corinne months ago that superheroes that saved the world would sit down and play board games, she would have not believed a single word.

It happens, though.

The ritual's first origins came from when the whole team played Mario Kart. But it really began as Corinne was acquainting Steve with the twenty-first century at the Tower after training. They did this frequently with the convenience of the common floor. Movies, books, and music were what they usually shared. Corinne would share the new and her personal favourites, and the Steve would share his own old favourites. That day was different as they decided to show each other board games. Corinne had brought Jenga, one of her favourite games as a kid, that day to show Steve.

"It was invented in 1980s," Corinne was explaining as she set it up, "It's pretty simple and fast, but gets intense."

Steve, as always, caught on quickly and excelled at the slightly strategic game. Together, they got the tower to the height of Corinne standing up. That's when the others started trickling in.

"Jenga!" Tony shouted. "And you didn't invite me."

At this disruption, Steve jumped, the tower wobbled too much, and scattered onto the floor.

"Tony." Steve and Corinne said in exasperated unison.

The brunette glanced at the pile of wooden blocks. "Sorry," he grinned, "Look, I'll make it up to you guys. I'll make it the tallest it can be."

So Tony joined their game of Jenga, which wasn't a bad thing since he did help tremendously. Also, the billionaire needed the break from his workshop.

"Can I join?" Clint asked as he came in, Natasha not far behind. They were greeted with the sight of Corinne sitting on Steve's shoulders to place a piece on top of a huge Jenga tower. Tony was directing the exact angle it needed to be placed from the floor.

They were quickly included. Bruce came by, and eventually everyone was involved.

They set up dates for the game nights, and everyone tried to make it. A lot of the time, Natasha and Clint wouldn't arrive because of missions. But everyone tried their best. Mostly because it was fun, but also because it helped Steve.

Sometimes instead of playing the chosen game the whole night, they would go off track and just talk. This was one of those nights.

Tonight they played Cards Against Humanity for an hour, before the drinks were brought out. As the night went on, everyone opened up.

"Okay, worst injuries?" Clint asked, before telling them his own. "Bullet to my shooting arm during Budapest."

Tony tapped his arc reactor. "This thing."

"Head injury in Budapest," Natasha shrugged, "messed with my thinking."

Bruce shifted in his seat. "Bullet."

The others caught on and left it at that. The original Avengers knew what he was talking about from the heated dispute between them on the Helicarrier. Corinne knew from their own discussions.

"A wound from a bomb during the war." Steve swirled his drink in his hand. It was useless in blurring his memories. "Didn't heal up as quickly as the usual scrape."

The others cast expecting looks on Corinne. For her, the answer is clear. But she doesn't want to tell them about it.

Instead, Corinne just says with a laugh. "Broken leg was the worst."

They laugh along with her at that.

"Worst one yet." Tony points at her jokingly. "Wait a little while."

"It's in the job description," Clint just says. It seemed like a joke on the outside, but was laced with truth.

The room erupted into light laughter again. Corinne rolled her eyes, but smiled. This was why everybody tried to show up on game nights. The common floor became so much livelier as they took a breather from their daily lives, and let themselves unwind.

"Pardon me, but there is a call from Director Fury. He says it is an emergency." Everyone stilled in their good cheer. Several of them snapped to attention.

"Put him through." Natasha replied promptly.

JARVIS abided and the director's voice came through. "There is some disturbance happening right now that requires the Avengers. We believe a dangerous group has gotten hold of Chitauri weapons, made them fully functional, and are currently terrorizing civilians. The coordinates have been sent to you."

The Avengers didn't linger around.

Tony made arrangements with JARVIS. "Meet at the helipad in five. The jet will be ready."

"I'll go suit up." Steve said as he took off in a sprint. The others did the same.

Although they had to abandon their game night, they didn't mind. Because there wasn't anything better they did together than fighting off threats to Earth.

I managed to churn out a chapter even though school's crazy! I'm quite proud of myself. Thanks for reading,

Please let me know what you think. Sometimes I worry people click follow but don't actually read? Telling me what's wrong with it would be helpful to me too! I'd really appreciate it if you guys could leave me your thoughts :)

04.10.15.