Hello, all readers! Thank you for putting up with my late updates. My exams start in 4 DAYS TIME so obviously, I'm scared as hell. I've been writing this in car rides and such whenever I have time that I'm not revising. Hopefully, you'll like it.
Response to reviews:
Winter-Soldier88 - Thank you very much for your name suggestions. If you look at the poll on my page, they have been taken into account. They are fantastic! Thank you for submitting them!
Howling2themoon - You are such a faithful reviewer, thank you so much! Thank you for appreciating the stress :P Some people just don't get it. Good luck with your exams too and thank you for the review.
FangedMe - Thank you so much for the review :) I like your nickname, reminds me of a vampire!
Charlouchua5 - Had to double check if I spelt your name right! Haha! Thank you :) I'm glad you like Wanda's character
Quicksilver1 - I literally get so happy when you review, because the reviews are so long and it just shows how much you appreciate my work. Honestly, I love you so much! Hanging from the balcony, oddly, seemed like something that her character would do. She's a bit of a crazy nut. I honestly appreciate you so much. THANK YOU!
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
There is a POLL on my page that is to do with Riley's name. Choose your vote wisely. It ends in a couple of weeks so get your vote in quick.
You guys deserved a new chapter :)
"Sharing?"
The corridor divided the rooms, symbols on the doors representing each existing Avenger, just like the helicarrier did. Hill had explained how we were meant to meet her in the living room at 10 am. Hill had explained that we could shower and look around if we wanted to. What Hill didn't explain was the reason why I was sharing a room with Pietro.
"Is that a problem?" Hill asked expectantly, folding her arms as everyone else stood outside their doors. I shook my head, not wanting to cause a fuss, especially in front of everyone. I'm sure I would get used to sharing with a male. I had done it on missions before, but I usually knew the person more. I sheepishly smiled up at Pietro who just whispered: "Looks like you're stuck with me, shorty."
I glared at him playfully and he nudged my arm before our attention was drawn to Hill who spoke up. "I'll see you all at 10 sharp." She said, potently looking at Stark. He grumbled something and rolled his eyes, but Hill continued. "Unpack your belongings, if you need anything then tell JARVIS and see you in an hour and a bit."
Landing and making our way up to the suite had taken a while, it now being 9 am. We had an hour basically before we had to convene in the living room.
"Moving in together?" Pietro asked, speedily opening the door and leaning against its frame. "This relationship is moving fast." I guffawed and slap him on the chest, blushing slightly at the fact that my laugh was so embarrassing. I rolled my eyes as I pushed him out the way and ducked under his arm to enter the room. Why am I such an awkward person sometimes?
The first thing I noticed were the huge glass windows, a balcony showing a beautiful view of the surrounding grounds of the facility. It was such a beautiful location. I bet the sunsets on the roof were amazing. The place was surrounded by beautiful, green trees, which was refreshing considering S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers were usually based in a city. The area was so spacious you could probably freely dance in it.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the small kitchen that Hill said we could use if we didn't feel like going to the communal one. I looked across on the other side of the room and nearly smiled in delight. Pietro began to speak, but I was too distracted. "I can sleep on the floor i-"
"Oh my God!" I squealed, running up to the bunk beds that were on the furthest side. I jumped up, pushing my feet against the wall to propel myself onto the top bunk bed. Obviously, I wasn't perfect with my aim, but I'd trained my body to get to places no one thought a body was able to reach. "I love bunk beds." I sighed, sinking into the impossibly comfortable duvet and clinging my hands onto it.
I opened my eyes and quickly looked over at him from my high position, hoping that he didn't think he'd been stuck sleeping with someone crazy. "What?" I asked at his slightly curious expression. He slowly smirked and winked at me. There was something incredibly sexy about it that I didn't know what to do with, so as usual, I ended up blushing like an idiot.
"You're cute," he replied, which only made me blush even more. Luckily, he didn't see me turn completely beetroot as he sped onto the bottom bunk bed below me.
After ten seconds of silence, I made the executive decision that I couldn't just sit here and do nothing for the next hour waiting until 10 when we were meant to meet everyone again.
I shuffled to the section of the bed that wasn't barriered up and jumped down, landing firmly on my feet. I turned to him, only to notice he wasn't there anymore, but actually putting clothes in his closet. "I wish I could speed my clothes into my closet too," I told him, half wishing it were true. It would save a lot of time.
He smirked at me with a boyish grin and quickly sped away. Blue flashes went to and fro from where his suitcases lay by the door. It made me feel a little dizzy for a while. Thankfully, he stopped before I reached the stage where I felt like I was going to pass out from the blurs he was giving off, the blue energy he had created quickly dissipating into the floor. I looked at the closet that was now full of his stuff. I huffed at the fact that he didn't even look tired.
"Have fun unpacking your stuff," he told me with a slightly singing tone to his voice. My glare at him was genuine this time, jealous of the powers he possessed. He ignored me as he leapt over the couch and laid down, relaxing as all of his items were put away and his suitcase was empty.
I sighed and walked over to my suitcase, preparing myself for the next half of unpacking I would do. "Unless you want me to do i-"
"Nope!" I cut off that sly suggestion immediately, remembering the thongs that I had packed that I 1000% did not want him to see.
We didn't talk for a while. I had rolled my suitcase over to the other closet that was next to Pietro's and had unpacked most of my stuff before we started another conversation. I didn't mind the silence and it wasn't awkward, something that comforted me.
"Have you thought more about the name?" He asked from his place on the sofa. He had zoomed around a bit, getting a snack from the kitchen, but apart from that, he hadn't moved from the sofa.
"What name? My superhero name you mean?" I asked, putting a crop top into one of the drawers. I looked back down at my suitcase, very happy that I had managed to sneak my underwear into the fourth drawer without him making some snide comment about me.
"Yeah, I'm not sure. Maybe something to do with a ghost? Because I'm invisible, you know?" He just kinda nodded slowly as he laid his arms across the back of the sofa.
"No shit." He deadpanned and I managed to control my laugh a little more than last time. I rolled my eyes as I put my last items into the chest of drawers. I smiled to myself as I zipped up my bag, happy that I was unpacked. I didn't have that much stuff so there was lots of room left in my drawers and the bathroom cabinet, but that just meant I had a lot of room for other things.
I looked at the time and frowned when I realised I only had about fifteen minutes before the meeting. I had taken longer than I wanted to at unpacking, though I had spent some time in the bathroom looking around. It was very posh, but I was excited most about the shower that had sprays coming down from the ceiling.
I decided to go into the bathroom to change, not wanting Pietro's eyes peering at me, invisible or not. Thankfully, he didn't mention anything about changing in front of him if I wanted to. Pietro wasn't THAT big of an ass.
I walked out and saw him leaning against the fridge, mid-bite into an apple when he stopped as he looked at what I was wearing. He raised and eyebrow at me and I looked down at what I was wearing. I pulled the skirt down a little, feeling a little self-conscious under his gaze.
"Interesting style choice," he said and I could've sworn I saw him smile slightly. I looked at my outfit - a black tank top with a plaid miniskirt and knee high socks. It was a little immature, but I liked it. Maybe the skirt was a little high, but that didn't concern me.
"Yeah, is that a problem?" I questioned to which he immediately put his hands up in innocence, probably not wanting a kick in the balls from me for questioning my fashion choice.
"No, but is it practical?" he said, finishing the bite of the apple he started.
"I'm gonna fight in what I'm most comfortable with." I pulled up my skirt and he immediately turned around.
"Jesus, what are you doing?" he exclaimed, remaining to face the other way. I laughed at him turning his back, chivalry not being one of the traits I though Pietro would have. Perhaps I was wrong.
"Showing you my shorts, you dufus. Just in case they want us to do anything extravagant like training." I explained and he hesitated for a moment before he turned around to look at the shorts I was wearing under the mini skirt. His expression went into one of realisation, and slight relief, and he shook his head, laughing to himself slightly.
I reached up and ruffled his hair, much to his dissatisfaction. "Let's go, dufus," I said, pushing off his head to walk towards the door. There was a gush of wind as he sped past me to open the door. I glared at him as I took the hairband off my wrist and started doing my hair up.
"You're the dufus." He retorted and stuck out his tongue playfully. I rolled my eyes and let him shut the door behind us as we headed for the living room.
We arrived, most people already sitting in the room. I took my place next to Wanda and smiled. 'That's a cute outfit.' She said through her mind, nudging my shoulder and winking.
I rolled my eyes and gave her a look. 'Your brother didn't.' She looked at Pietro who wasn't paying any attention to either of us, talking to Steve about something. She looked back at me.
'Ignore Pietro. He's a pula sometimes' She laughed a little at Pietro who was oblivious to her giggles.
'What does that mean?' I asked and she looked at me slyly. I could speak a little Sokovian but I was never fluent. I found the language beautiful, but I found learning it quite difficult.
"I mean that he's a dick sometimes," she whispered aloud. We laughed quietly to ourselves as Hill entered the room with Fury. We immediately shut up when we saw him, both of us observing them with sceptical eyes. I never liked Fury, Hill was much better, but trust was something I didn't have with either of them.
"Avengers..." Fury announced as he approached us, settling next to the chair Clint was sitting on. "Let it be clear that I am not here to lead you." I mentally scoffed at that and I saw Wanda smirk out of the corner of my eye. "I am here to assist and guide you if you need doing so."
"If you need to get through Fury, you can go through me," Hill said, stepping forward slightly. "I have a plan for today if everyone is in agreement. Steve and I will observe your skills, finding out each person's limits and strengths. Today will be considered as our first day of training. Does everyone agree on this plan?"
All of us nodded and she gave a small smile. "Good," she said, pleased that no one had objected to her plans. "The Captain and I will take notes then." She said, giving a brief nod to the man. "If the other current Avengers want to be there, then they can be, but otherwise you can rest or train."
She looked around at me, assessing what we were wearing. Her eyes focused on me. Straight. "Can you fight in that? The others are wearing suitable attire for training. "We can wait if you want to change." Her suggestion wasn't forced but wasn't polite either. I didn't know what to make of Hill. I think I could trust her, but wouldn't push my luck.
I shook my head. "I'm wearing training shorts underneath and I'm perfectly capable of fighting in this," I explained, something that some of the men in the room seemed to be relieved about also.
She nodded curtly and said, "Let's go." We all followed her as she walked out of the living room and towards the room where our powers were going to be analysed by Hill and the Captain. I followed behind Wanda as we walked towards the room down a corridor surrounded by glass windows. I hadn't had the chance to explore the facility properly yet.
I could see the green fields expand out towards the broccoli shaped trees that surrounded the area. Brocolli trees...I liked that term. The sun was shining over the fields, people fighting below on the ground in the heat. I could tell from far away that they were only beginners, just learning to pick up their fighting skills.
"Here we are," she said as we came to a stop outside a door in the corridor. Instead of glass, there was just a long wall, hiding the rooms inside from sight. There was a small window in the door, but that was it.
"This room is for your private use. Avengers only. You can invite people in if you wish but at your own risk. If they are irritating and play their music too loud, I will kick their ass out." She smiled in an overly fake manner and entered the training area, holding the door open for us. I was starting to like Hill a bit more. She actually did have a sense of humour.
The room was humongous, the ceiling stretching ridiculously high. Because we had entered from the top floor, we were looking down on the room. I could see at the end of the room was a gym that had several punch bags. I smiled to myself at the sight. I did love boxing.
There were three boxing rings as well as sparring mats, but the thing that confused me was the black tape in the shape of a rectangle that covered half of the flooring, an entire area made for...something.
"As you can see, you have your own gym, boxing rings and sparring mats. The perimeter is the holographic simulator Stark helped to develop." I tried to ignore the smug look that Tony wore as we walked down towards the bottom level.
"It gives the user the feeling that they are experiencing the battle. Very effective on the tests that we've done." Hill explained, stepping next to the control panel that was there. "Jungle, city, country, choose whichever you like. The weapons you have, the number of enemies, the type of enemies, the level of difficulty. You can manipulate it as you please."
There was also a raised platform that split the holographic simulator from the mats, rings and the gym. It was for two people to have their own matches on, we all knew that. She came to a stop next to it. I only now realised that Fury wasn't with her. How the hell did he disappear like that?
"Now, the order today is Pietro, Wanda, Riley and then Vision. We already have training specs on Sam and Rhodey. So, Pietro..." she said, inclining her head to him. "I want to know how many laps you can do in five minutes. A counter is already set on the walls."
He took off his coat and went to the side of the room. "Ready when you are," he called, with a smirk. He winked at me before Hill told him to start running. I felt the gusts of the wind from where he ran past us each time, but after the two-minute mark, I was used to it. I was fascinated by the blue light he emitted that was now a constant ring around the room, Pietro's actual body figure disappearing due to his high speed.
I found him a fascinating, beautiful creature. There was something about his personality that really hooked me. He could be too flirty sometimes, but he genuinely seemed like one of the good guys. Bodies weren't what I was attracted to, it was the personality, but Pietro did have a hell of a body on him. The tight running clothes didn't hide a thing and I may have casually looked at his eight pack for a few seconds or so. I admired him for keeping it to in shape. His body was a temple. I felt myself get a little hotter when I wondered what it would be like to have sex with someone who had all those muscles. I shook my head and tried to push that image as far away from my mind as possible. He was my roommate, NOT an opportunity for a boyfriend. Romantic partnerships were seriously frowned upon in S.H.I.E.L.D and most likely in the Avengers too.
"Do you like my brother?" Wanda asked me suddenly and I felt my cheeks redden, wondering whether she had heard all those thoughts I just had.
"No, I hardly know Pietro," I responded and tried to keep my eyes forward, not wanting the conversation to continue.
"I didn't read your mind if you're wondering." She added and I refrained from sighing in relief. It would be awkward for her to know the thought I just had, even though it was brief. "But you know I can measure heartbeats, right?"
"STOP!" I heard Hill shout and suddenly Pietro was next to us, sitting with his back against the raised platform and gasping for air. She looked at her iPad as the data came through.
She showed Steve and he nodded. "234 laps. Very impressive."
"I can hardly do two in that time." I chimed and everyone seemed to laugh, except Hill who just continued to write down her notes. Even though I was lying about being able to do two, I wouldn't be able to do much more than that.
Wanda and I walked over to Pietro who was still breathless. "You okay?" I asked as Wanda crouched next to him. I looked at him from above as he nodded and placed a hand on Wanda's arm.
"I'm fine," he replied, moving his hand off Wanda and pushing himself up from the floor. "Just never run that far for so long before without a break."
He calmed down after half a minute and just sounded a little puffed out after a while. "Wanda, you're next!" Hill shouted and Wanda nodded before standing in front of the woman. Hill was doing a lot of the controlling, though Steve didn't seem to mind. He actually looked quite tired and was obviously deeply pondering about something. It was odd to see him so sad because on television he would always have a smile. Maybe he was just putting on a brave face for whatever he was trying to hide.
"What do you want me to do?" She asked, standing in front of Steve and Maria.
I looked over at Pietro who was still gaining his normal breathing back. He looked at me and I immediately turned away, not wanting to be caught in some kind of stare off. He nudged my shoulder and I looked over to see what he wanted. He smiled, not in a boyish, hitting on me fashion either. It was more sincere than that. It was the type of smile that made me want to smile too.
"Don't worry about me, short stuff. I'm fine," he whispered, not winking at me or smirking like he had in the past. Well...I say the past, we had only known each other for a day. I had come to know a lot about him though.
"I wasn't," I said, nudging him back. He smiled at me momentarily before focusing on Wanda. He was a distraction for me really, but I didn't mind. It was nice. I didn't really have distractions. He felt like a luxury to me sometimes, a guilty pleasure of some kind, but I knew it would be bad to indulge in something or someone that made me happy. Pietro and I weren't that close yet, but I knew if I did feel close to him, I would need to limit myself. I don't even know how I would deal with that kind of relationship, having never really experienced one apart from in the HYDRA facility. However, that was a HYDRA facility, not freedom like I had now.
"We know that you can move objects, tear things apart. We want you to fly." We all went silent for a second and turned our heads at Wanda and Hill. Steve even looked a little shocked at the suggestion.
"What?" Wanda asked, looking flabbergasted at her words. I could sense her self-doubt and I didn't even need to abilities she had. I could sense it.
"Obviously, you wouldn't be able to get their straight away though," Steve said. His words were meant to be reassuring but seemed subconsciously doubtful. He gave her a smile, but that didn't give any further reassurance to Wanda.
"I don't...how am I supposed to try and do that?" she questioned, looking at her hands that were now swarming with red whispers.
This time Natasha spoke up instead of Hill. "My suggestion is that you act as if you are the object that is being propelled off the ground. Or push your powers towards the floor and act as the turbine to a rocket, propelling yourself up."
Wanda looked sceptically at Natasha, but she just gave a small smile to the Sokovian woman. Maybe Natasha had a soft spot for the girl because she didn't smile at many people. It was quiet as Wanda took a couple of steps back before positioning her hands by her sides, her energy slowly moving towards the ground.
She looked at her brother who smiled encouragingly at her. She then looked at me. I nodded and she smiled, her eyes glowing as she smirked at me before slowing rising off of the ground. It was only a couple of centimetres as she was doing it.
"Sfinte rahat..." Pietro whispered, stepping forward as he watched her sister rise towards the ceiling. She was only a metre up when she stopped there and kept herself at that level. Her mouth was wide open, gasping slightly, as she stared down at the floor.
"Woah..." she said, amazed at what she'd been able to do as she skillfully balanced herself to stay upright. If she could do this, what else could she do?
Tony quickly pulled out his phone and took a photo of her, something that Wanda gave him a glare for afterwards. "Hashtag new abilities, hashtag day one, hashtag Avengers, hashtag awesome," he said, his phone clicking from his letter entries.
I rolled my eyes and focused back on Wanda who was lowering herself back to the floor. She took a few shaky breaths before she smiled, giggling slightly. "I can levitate," she said excitedly and I could tell she was resisting jumping up and down.
"And hopefully, with practice, you'll be able to do more than just that," Steve said, standing beside Hill as she took down notes.
"I need more strength, build up my muscles," Wanda said, shaking her arms off to loosen them. "I won't get much better if I'm this weak."
"I can help you with that," Natasha said to Wanda. Natasha looked like she was planning something. She was probably already planning Wanda's eating and weight lifting plan.
"Great," Wanda replied, smiling at the woman who slightly scared all of us.
"Right, now for our newbie," Hill said, turning her critical gaze to me. Hill was the same species as Natasha - scary, but brilliant. I stepped to stand in front of Steve and Maria, awaiting their instructions.
"We don't know much about your abilities apart from invisibility, but we have a suggestion." She walked towards the raised platform and reached behind one side of it, bringing out a black cube that she placed on the floor.
"We would like you to make it invisible." Easy. I walked towards the block to sit down and reached out my hand, but she told me to stop.
"Without touching it," she said from above me. I furrowed my eyebrows and stubbornly put my hand back to my side. I focused on the object and tried to push my energy out towards it, a contracting feeling happening in my chest.
I felt myself reaching towards it in my mind and saw the edges of it begin to become invisible. It was like it was crawling towards the centre of the block and after about twenty seconds, the block was consumed into nothingness, shielded by my powers to turn invisible.
Even though I was pleased with myself, I did feel drained. I stopped my energy spreading and felt the sweat on the back of my neck and over my body cling to my clothes. I wasn't dripping in sweat, it was light, but I still felt a bit hot and sticky.
"Very good." Steve praised and I looked up at him with a smile, feeling proud that I had mastered something new.
"Do you find it easier to shield something when you are touching it then?" Hill asked and I simply picked up the block, immediately turning it invisible without showing any effort. Moving my energy from my body seemed to take a lot of energy out of me, but a part of me felt really good about it.
"I guess that answers my question," she said and typed something into her computer, notes on my abilities most likely.
"You alright?" Pietro asked, coming over to me and offering a hand to stand. I smiled and took it, nodding my head.
"Yeah. I learnt something about my powers, so that's great." I said, speaking to Pietro and also Wanda who was also walking over to me. They were cute as twins, in sync.
"I have a feeling we are gonna learn a lot of new things while we are here," Wanda said, smiling at the room we were in like it was the place where our future was going to be built upon. It probably was.
"Good." I wanted to be a stronger person, a better person. Expanding my powers would help achieve that.
If you didn't read above, I have exams starting and would really appreciate a comment on my work. Thank you all for following this story. It's been great writing it so far and I have so many ideas planned. I mean like...pages and pages worth of notes.
Once again, if you didn't see in the start notes, look on my page for the name poll. Your Riley, your choice :)
THANK YOOOOUUUU! Feed me in the review box below!
