Peter had never seen anything like her.

Over the past week he'd been in the room for every moment of Kaida's introduction to the team and her new life.

On that first day, after seeing her all but naked and needing to quickly run for a quick shower before training started, he'd gotten to see her in action.

There was no taking it easy or soft starts for new Avengers. They started with a brisk 10k, after which it didn't even look like she had broken a sweat.

Then she'd been pushed in his direction. This was a routine Peter had become accustomed to by now, with a few new recruits filling up the roster, primarily temporary placements by SHIELD as they recruited enhanced individuals. Peter was the first line of hand to hand combat examination, because while he wasn't overly skilled, he was obviously extremely agile and very strong.

Kaida cocked her head at him and cracked her knuckles. "Give it all you've got Bug Boy, I'm not holding back."

She and Peter had circled each other for a few seconds before she lunged, aiming a blow at his face that, unfortunately for him, was a ruse to get him to block upward, leaving his sides unprotected. With a quick jab to his kidneys, he grunted and instinctively bent over, nearly face planting with a strangled screech as Kaida then swept his legs out from under him.

He rolled over and she was immediately on top of him, pinning him down. "Easy as pie," she crowed in his face, taunting him with a wink.

Angry that he'd been made a fool of so easily by this girl, he channeled all his strength into flipping over her light weight and pinning her down on the mat. She grunted and struggled, but Peter's hands were like iron, easily encircling both wrists and caging her hips in with his knees. His grasp was inescapable.

But Peter, it seemed, could only make mistakes around this girl.

Fire flaring in his eyes, he bent his head to whisper in her ear, "It doesn't pay to be cocky Kai, now who's big and bad?"

Her breath caught for a second as she tensed below him, and a moment later Peter was tossed into the air, screaming as Kai had managed to open her palm and blast him up and away from her.

"Not cool, Kai. You know that powers are off limits," Peter croaked indignantly. The other, observing Avengers cackled at Pete's distress, even Natasha looked slightly impressed.

"Still me, it would seem," she said popping right to her feet and turning on her heel and walking towards the rest of the team that had decided to come in and spectate that morning.

Perhaps not so strangely, Peter noted, only Mr. Stark was missing.

It was then unanimously decided that her next test would be facing Natasha in hand to hand combat. He thought he couldn't be more impressed or dumbfounded by this woman, but as the day progressed, Peter almost had to pinch himself. She matched Natasha jab for jab, move for move like it was as easy as breathing to her.

"Holy shit," he heard Clint mutter next to him.

"Wait, you mean we didn't know she could… well, do that?" Peter gestured helplessly towards the Master Assassin and the twenty year old run away who was proving to be her match in every way.

"No kid, we had no idea. We don't know shit about her. Not even Fury does, despite our digging and searching. She's essentially a ghost. But we figured… Well, after she stopped that school building from collapsing a few weeks ago, until all the kids got out, we figured she couldn't really be a threat. After all, it put her on our radar in a big way. An enemy operative would have known better, acted differently…"

Clint's explanation petered off into silent awe as he saw Natasha, the Black Widow tap out, calling a cease fire, if not a surrender. No one had ever seen that. No one had ever done that without extensive training over years. But this spitfire who ran away with a suitcase full of books and apparently sleeps with billionaires… She could.

"If you all are done staring," Nat snapped them all out of their shocked stupor, "I believe we all have training to do. Kaida, Banner wants you in the lab next. F.R.I.D.A.Y. will show you the way.

"Actually, Nat, I'm supposed to head up to the lab anyways, we're working on testing the exact trigger to my Spidey senses, so I can just show her the way." Natasha just inclined her head in an obvious dismissal so he took off jogging after the rapidly disappearing figure.

He skidded to a halt next to her. "Who are you?" He asked without hesitation.

"That seems to be the question of the day, isn't it Peter. But I came here under the agreement that my past didn't matter and I don't intend to hash that out with anyone, least of all you," she huffed and just kept walking.

"But, how did you get your abilities? Like, I was bitten by a radioactive spider. Wanda was experimented on with the Mind Stone and well… everyone knows Captain's story…" Peter again trailed off after he realized, belatedly, that she had frozen and begun panting and trembling like a leaf.

Peter recognized this, understood what the clenched jaw and wildly roaming eyes meant. Something he said had triggered a panic attack, but he just wasn't sure what. But then, as though it wasn't a big deal, her mask of calm indifference slipped back over her features and she resumed walking.

"Just shut up Buggy. And if you mentioned what just happened to anyone, I will not hesitate to relentlessly humiliate you with all the weird shit you keep in your room and write in your diaries."

"Ex-excuse me?!" Peter cried out. "Who the fuck let you into my rooms?"

"No one, Peter. Unless you count myself. Good luck getting your friend Ned laid though, it sounds like it's been an exhaustive search so far. You're a good friend. When you're not being a huge idiot."

Peter didn't know what to say to that so he just kept leading her to the lab.