Author's note: Yeaaahh I kinda took forever again, didn't I? Sorry this took so long. I hope you enjoy it!

Eight

Where There is Smoke...

A day prior, Jack grinned as he watched the place burn. If only Alice- Claudia- could see it now. She had hated it just as much, if not more than he had. Now, it was going up in flames. None of them could hurt him ever again, or get in the way of his revenge. If the Silver Phoenix was running with the Avengers now, all he had to do was get their attention. He may make a few enemies in the process, but Jack didn't care. After all, he was no one, no one was for him, and he was for no one. It was better, he decided, not to be tangled in strings.

Romanoff and Claudia arrived at the tower just in time to board the Quinjet. Claudia quickly put on more practical stretchy cargo pants and her new combat boots. She grabbed her jacket and slid it on over a new light gray tank top as she walked. The teen followed Romanoff on board the vehicle before hearing a stiff "no".

She was actually rather surprised that it wasn't Rogers or Stark. In fact, the voice was Barton's.

"Natasha, she's thirteen. Also, we don't have a way to communicate, she's trained for two weeks, we barely know her, and," he grabbed her arm and held Romanoff close to whisper the last part, "How do we know she's on our side?"

"Clint! What's wrong with you? I was barely out of my teens and had done a lot worse than she had when you gave me a second chance. Did you forget?"

"I just want to keep her safe, and her being a loose cannon…"

"You're one to talk about loose cannons, Barton."

"I plead the fifth."

"Besides," said Stark, approaching the group. "Loose cannons keep things interesting, don't they?" He patted Barton's arm and looked at Claudia. "You aren't planning on betraying us, are you? Widow, is she?"

Romanoff shook her head. "Nah. She's good." She sauntered up the ramp onto the Quinjet. "Coming, Claudia? Boys?"

As Claudia trotted up the ramp after Romanoff, Stark patted Barton on the back. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's don't argue with women. Especially Romanoff. Bad idea. You ought to know that by now."

Claudia sat alone in a corner of the Quinjet, trying to make sense of things as she quickly absorbed Captain Rogers' briefing.

"Claudia. You and I are on the ground. I want you dismantling the shields and security from the northwest side. Wait for my signal, and please, don't make the whole thing explode. After that, I want you to back up Barton in the control room. You're okay with jumping?"

"Absolutely," Claudia grinned. But still, her mind wandered. The Avengers had taken her in; even after they found out she had lied to them. Heck, Rogers had let her stay on his floor and Romanoff had taken her shopping. She couldn't understand it, having grown up among dishonest, ruthless spies and killers. Mercy was such a foreign concept to her. It was certainly an awful strategy as far as logic went. She could easily betray them at any time. Not that she would, of course.

Her train of thought was interrupted by another person taking a seat next to her. Her eyes snapped awake from staring at the wall, which she seemed prone to do.

"Hey," Banner said. "Um, I hope it's okay for me to sit here."

"It's fine, Dr. Banner."

"I just was thinking that I should get to know our newest addition."

"You and I both. I don't feel like a teenage ex-assassin with freakish powers and brain issues is exactly Avenger material."

Banner raised his eyebrows. "And you think we are?"

"Well, yeah."

"A patriotic icon having a culture shock, a snarky billionaire genius with a suit of armor, an Asgardian with family issues, two ex-assassins and a scientist who turns into a giant green rage monster? I think you'll fit right in."

Claudia smirked. "Aw shucks. You're gonna make me blush."

Banner laughed. "Don't mention it."

"Oh, I won't"

Suddenly, the plane began to quake. "We're hit," Barton said from the cockpit.

"Looks like we won't have to search too hard for that HYDRA base. They just sent the welcoming committee," Stark remarked. Avengers rushed around the jet, gearing up. Claudia jumped to her feet, zipping up her jacket and pulling on her fingerless gloves. She slipped a small, heavily padded device in her pocket. She tied her new black mask over her nose and mouth. The teen stood ready with a single handgun in a holster on her right hip. She heard a voice from beside her, "on your left." She glanced sideways to see Captain Rogers and smiled slightly under her mask. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Sure you wanna do this, chicken nugget?" Stark asked, clad in his full armor with the exception of his mask.

"Chicken nugget?"

"You're the Silver Phoenix, a phoenix is a fire bird, which led me to fried chicken, and you're a kid, so that means you're a chicken nugget."

"Um, yeah. Sure," Claudia said, half ignoring him, as she was learning to do, and fastening her parachute.

With a loud whirr, the bay doors opened. The wind whistled in Claudia's ears and whipped the loose ends of the knot tied in her mask. Hair blew in her face as she adjusted her protective goggles.

"On my mark," Rogers commanded. "Three, two, one."

Claudia backed up and ran with all her might, throwing herself fearlessly into the fierce wind. The cold bit into her flesh as she dropped like a stone. Her heart pounded at what felt like a thousand beats per minute. She felt like the was flying, with the exception of the ground getting closer.

She pulled her chute and was suddenly jerked upwards. She floated towards the ground, and landed with her knees perfectly bent. The teen searched the landscape for Rogers, but was distracted by a sickening smell. Smoke.

Claudia felt a pair of eyes boring into her from behind. A gravelly, metallic voice that she had once known to be warm and sad whispered dementedly from the shadows, "happy yet, silly girl? Took you long enough."

"What have they done to you?"

"The same that they did to you, but I chose to let it make me stronger. You are weak. You must give it up."

"You know that I couldn't. It's not in my nature."

"The one you invented as nothing more than an escape? That's all you ever do. Escape. Abandon. Create a new shell rather than facing who you truly are. A monster."

"What have you done? All monsters are human, Jack."

"Not anymore. Look at me."

"Not until you tell me."

"I thought-"

"Tell me."

"They stripped me of my humanity." Even though Claudia wasn't looking at him, she could sense the grin creeping up his face. Her spine tingled. "I hadn't realized what a favor they were doing me. They were cutting me off from what could never be. And now, I'm free. As for what I've done? I replaced the Avengers coordinates with my own. I thought you would be happy to see my good work."

"You mean, this is-?"

"Yes! Give the girl a prize. Oh wait, I already did- One less piece of your past to run from."

Claudia whipped around to feel his cold, sticky, corpse-like breath on her face. It smelled like he had died. But Claudia remained unfazed. "You ought to know it's not that simple. If you can change from the man you were to whatever you are now, I can be good. It is a choice."

A red light in place of an eye glared unblinkingly back at her. "I still don't understand."

"Here's hoping you will. Eventually." Claudia grabbed him by his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Jack."

Then she did what she'd done for too long.

She ran, hoping that she was headed in the right direction.

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