AN: Sorry this chapter is so late! I've been busy and than lost focus for the last few days... Than of course we went on vacation and... yeah. Anyways, thanks to Foxbracken - Phoenix Everren for reviewing!

Chapter Ten

Each swing of Natasha's fist seemed to move more smoothly. Alice moved from side to side while Natasha taught her defensive strategies. Apparently she had good reflexes too as she was about to find out. Natasha had barely thrown in a fourth fist when Alice caught it mid-throw.

"Did I really just do that?" Alice's eyes widened when Natasha cut the training short.

"You did," Natasha replied. "You have better reflexes than you realize. That will come in handy during a fight."

Alice restrained a blush as she thought of the fight she'd had against Josh. Even if the creep deserved it she'd never expected to hurt him.

"Something's on your mind," Natasha stated when she noticed the troubled look Alice gave her.

"It's just... I could've killed someone back at school," she admitted. "I almost killed Greg."

Natasha eyed her curiously before settling down at one of the tables. Alice followed her and sat down on the seat across from her.

"You didn't kill him, he was only stunned," she explained. "And from what it sounds like he deserved what he got."

Surprise flared within Alice before she met Natasha's eyes. The woman was telling the truth. Or at least she was good at faking the truth. Either way that helped calm Alice down when she realized that neither of the guys she had attacked were killed.

She was surprised at how accommodating Natasha was being. For having the kind of job she had, Natasha seemed more compassionate than Alice would have suspected. She couldn't say the same about Clint - she barely knew the guy and his reaction when they'd first met was less than happy.

"We should get some lunch," Natasha suddenly announced.

Alice barely noticed the hunger that was gnawing at her stomach. With a sigh of relief she followed Natasha down the hall until they reached another large room. This time white walls stretched around them on three sides, while the back of the room had large windows overlooking the outside.

She stiffened when she saw clouds swirling past the window. All she could see was a bright blue, telling her that the ship was in the air.

"Hope you don't mind heights," Tony said as he walked in. He and Pepper were holding bags from Chick-fil-A, and Alice wondered exactly how they would have gotten the food if they were above ground level. "Chicken sandwiches for me, Pepper and Steve, chicken fingers and waffle fries for Bruce, and a salad for Romanoff." Natasha rolled her eyes when Tony pulled out a bowl of salad out of one of the bags. "I wasn't sure what you wanted, so you can have what's left."

Alice raised an eyebrow when he tossed the bag over after digging through it. Steve and Bruce were sitting on one side of the large glass table while Tony and Pepper sat on the other side. She held back a sigh of frustration as she sat beside Natasha.

She'd never joined anyone for lunch at the orphanage. Not even Nikki. But her stomach's rumbling was enough to make her grab the sandwich that Tony had passed her.

"Well this is awkward." Tony broke the icy silence that settled between them. "So when's your birthday kid?" He ignored the glare Pepper sent him, and Alice held back a smirk.

Someone has to keep him in line, she guessed. It seemed like even Pepper had a difficult time keeping Tony under control at times. From what she had read on the files, Tony was stubborn and a child at heart. Well, a child with the heart of an adult.

"October twenty third," Alice replied after swallowing a bit of her sandwich.

No one had bothered celebrating her birthday before. She didn't expect them to. At the orphanage a birthday meant they were one year closer to getting kicked out on the streets. Though Alice had never known what it was like to get kicked out, she had seen other kids getting thrown out. It wasn't a pleasant sight.

"That's in a few days from now," Pepper murmured as she sifted through a tablet she had pulled out.

"I don't want any big party," Alice admitted. "A birthday isn't exactly something to celebrate."

She didn't want to add that she was terrified of the big crowds a party would likely drawl. Especially if it was organized by Tony or Pepper. A safe closed in room was more her style.

"You sound just like Steve," Tony remarked with a smirk towards Steve.

"It's not that I don't like them," he muttered crossly. "But you're 'old man' remarks get a little old after a while."

Alice held back a fit of laughter when Tony scowled at him.

"She can smile!" Bruce's remark made everyone laugh, even Natasha. Heat swelled up in Alice's cheeks before she looked away in embarrassment. Finally she couldn't hold back the laughter that was threatening to make her stomach explode.

"I think that's the first time you've laughed since you got here," Natasha added after recovering.

"Not like there's anything to laugh about," she muttered after taking another bite of her sandwich.

Natasha and Bruce exchanged worried looks before continuing their meal. Alice was thankful for the awkward silence as she finished her meal and stood up. She didn't know what to say at this point - not that there wasn't anything worth mentioning.

The team had their own agenda to work with. She wasn't even sure what to do now that she was on the Hellicarrier. At least Director Fury was keeping her busy with the training she received from Natasha and Bruce.

"So how long does it usually take for crimes like these to be stopped?" Alice asked when another report was sent to the TV screen in the room.

"Depends on how big the crime is," Steve replied with a shrug.

"And how good the villain is at hiding," Natasha added.

Alice restrained a groan of frustration as she began to pace. This was going to get boring if something didn't happen soon. Not that she was wishing for someone to get hurt, but life aboard the Hellicarrier was worse than high school.

She looked back at the TV to see that the attacks were getting worse. A few SHIELD agents were already sent to keep cities safe. But only so much could be done if these kids had genetically enhanced powers. From what it looked like the Gamma poisoning that had effected Alice was beginning to take hold of more and more children.

How could they just sit here and watch as innocent kids were getting caught like this? Even if she couldn't defend herself she would have tried to stop this madness.

"So we're just going to sit here and do nothing?" The lights were beginning to flicker again, and Alice made a point to keep her emotions under control. Tony and Pepper were arguing under their breaths when she had asked the question, and both looked at her in surprise.

"We're doing everything we can Alice." Natasha stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder. Much as she wanted to push it away, Alice decided it was better not to. "Until you've finished your training, you aren't ready to face them."

"It doesn't matter if I'm not ready," Alice snapped. "We could at least help the children by catching them."

"Doesn't help if we don't have the antidote," Tony replied with a shrug.

It took Alice a few seconds to realize that he was right. As long as there wasn't an antidote the children were helpless. And she was as well.

But I survived the poisoning, she reminded herself. Maybe there's a way for them to survive the poisoning as well.

"Why don't we get back to training," Natasha suggested after noticing the tension in the room.

Alice was about to agree when an alarm suddenly went off. Almost at once Natasha took a defensive posture, but Tony only raised an eyebrow in amusement. When Pepper looked at the tablet he took from her she nearly burst out laughing.

"This should be good," Tony said with a smirk.

"What's going on?" Alice demanded when she realized it wasn't a threat.

"We have a visitor," Bruce replied.

She was about to ask who it was until she saw the message on the tablet. With a roll of her eyes and realized that Tony was right. The God of thunder would likely explode with anger when he learned of her powers. Or they might get along really well. Either way wasn't going to end well, and Alice could only hope and pray that he didn't start asking questions again.

AN: I think just about everyone knows who's joining them. Should be interesting to see how he reacts when he meets Alice ;)