Author's Note:

Sorry this is so delayed. But I live on the East Coast where Hurricane Sandy affected the most so finding power has been hard to find and when I got power I've had alot of things to catch up on school wise and family wise. So I'm so sorry for the dealy!

Enjoy the next chapter!

12.

"Wait," Charlotte said slowly, "You mean me? I'm the teammate with the laser vision?"

Tony just stared at her then looked away seeming to slip back into his thoughts. That or he was playing a childish and thoroughly agitating game of 'I can't see you, you can't see me'. Bruce wined, if they weren't deep in the doghouse already, Tony just drilled them a whole new path.

"It is me," Charlotte confirmed taking a step towards Tony. It was a warning step with a menacing undertone.

"Don't test me Stark," Charlotte nearly growled out, "After all it seems you know I have laser vision. I could roast you alive."

Tony sighed in annoyance as if Charlotte was the one inconveniencing HIM. As if it was Charlotte that had snooped through a file that basically illustrated her entire life through words, pictures and video all stored on a drive you could carry in your pocket. As if it was Charlotte that had betrayed him. As if it was Charlotte that had a lack of trust in his moral character.

"Please tell me that you asked Fury or some government agent that tested me for the information regarding the extent of my powers," Charlotte said.

Bruce closed his eyes and turned away. He didn't want to see the flash of hope in her hazel eyes that maybe, just maybe, they didn't violate her trust or the look of disappointment or anger that would surely follow once Tony confirmed they did.

Charlotte stared at Tony. Tony Stark-genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Her newest partner, newest teammate, and newest friend. He couldn't have went through her files and snooped through her life wondering if she was hiding something valuable from him or if she was some kind of double agent. He couldn't possibly think that. She hadn't done anything to make him think that.

"We looked through your files," tony said finally.

With that confirmed Charlotte felt her heart clench and drop at the same time. It reminded her of when her mom and dad told her not to come home after her accident. She didn't blame them though. They were wary of her as they should have been. She was unstable, an experiment gone horribly wrong. But with Tony and Bruce and the other Avengers, she felt a sense of belonging. They were all different, dangerous and unstable. She thought there was an understanding amongst them. A sense of trust and mutual respect. Apparently not.

"You went through my file," Charlotte repeated.

"With good reason," Tony said holding his head up.

Oh this is rich, Charlotte thought. The great Tony Stark was going to smooth talk his way out of the mess he created, wasn't he.

"You violated my trust," Charlotte said throwing her hands up in the air, "What 'good' reason could you possibly have?"

"First off, I never violated anything," Tony stated confidently, "Never did you say to not access your files."

"It was implied, Stark," Charlotte cried in exasperation, "Why did you even have the need to look at my files in the first place? Did you not trust me?"

Tony was silent.

"You don't trust me?" Charlotte whispered, taking a step back.

Bruce opened his eyes. There it was. The look of disappointment on Charlotte's face was so prominent and heartbreaking he wanted to bury his face in his hands. He should have stopped Tony. He should have just walked away from the situation. He should have never gotten involved. Anything Tony does leads to disaster, chaos or arguing.

"You can't blame us," Tony said, "You were just thrust upon us, we didn't know anything about you."

"You were all just thrust upon me," Charlotte countered, "We were all thrust upon each other. But you don't see me researching your files. You don't see me suspecting you of not being trustworthy. I thought after fighting in the battle of Manhattan together there would be a high degree of trust. I know I trust you and everyone else on the team."

So much thrusting, Tony thought. He almost said something but there was a flash in Charlotte's eyes that reminded him she had laser vision and his suit was not currently in the room.

"I have a history of people I trust going against me," Tony argued thinking about Obadiah and how he had trusted him but he had been selling his inventions to terrorists and slander the name of Stark Industries, "It's hard for me to trust openly."

"Oh and you think that I don't have a history of people ruining my trust," Charlotte seethed, "You should know all about the people that walked out of my life seeing as though you read my file."

"I don't understand why this has got your underwear so twisted up in a knot," Tony said with an eye roll, "You can read my file if you want."

"It's not about that," Charlotte exploded her voice taking on an almost bird like screech, "Your life may be public property, but mine isn't. You can't just root around about my life and expect me to not get defensive or feel slightly betrayed."

"You're overreacting," Tony said. He felt as though this should have dismissed the conversation, ending it completely but Charlotte kept going.

"No I'm not overreacting, if you looked through Natasha's ledger without her knowing, she'd have you on your ass so fast your suit or brains or money wouldn't be able to save you. So I'm behaving quit normally for the circumstances I've been thrust upon."

Charlotte stood there staring at Tony, "I haven't even seen what's inside my file. The only reason I know about the laser vision was because it happened once during the time I was imprisoned. I don't know the extent of whatever my powers are. The fact that you do is even worse."

"Then read your file," Tony said with a shrug, "It's not a big deal."

"No big deal?" Charlotte repeated, "This thing ruined my life. It was an accident. I didn't make it happen or sign up for it to happen like you all did it was forced upon me like some kind of virus I can't cure. I don't want to know about something that I didn't want to happen to me in the first place. I haven't reached a point in my life where I've accepted it. If I could go back and change it I would do so in a heartbeat."

"That's another reason why we wanted to look," Tony said pulling out his last card and possibly pulling Bruce into the line of fire with him, "It was for curiosity's sake. The bomb you were caught up in was the same bomb Bruce was ruined by but it was modified. We wanted to see how your side affects differed from his side effects."

"We," Charlotte repeated. She turned to Bruce, "You were involved in this too? I thought you just came when I came."

"No," Bruce said quietly, "I've been here this whole time."

"You didn't try and stop him or anything," Charlotte said, her face screwing up in a distraught expression, "Do you not trust me either. Do you think I'm some kind of double agent or something. I thought...I thought that..."

Bruce rubbed his face, "I didn't think that you were a double agent or anything at all, I was doing it for curiosities sake."

"You are the only one besides me who didn't sign up for this whole 'superhero' business," Charlotte said turning away from Tony to walk towards Bruce, "Would you want Tony to read your file behind your back?"

"It's not that," Bruce said, "I wanted to know how your side affects differed from mine. I know the extent of how the Hulk controls me, I wanted to know the extent of how your side affects controlled you. I thought that I could help you or something if I understood better."

"You could have just asked me," Charlotte whispered. Her eyes started to water. "You could have just asked."

Bruce felt like the worst person in the world as he watched her eyes fill up with tears but he still felt the need to defend himself.

"I would have, but you said it yourself, you transform when you're angry, anxious or feel threatened but you must have felt two of those three emotions during your argument with Tony just now but you didn't transform at all," Bruce said, "You don't know the extent of your powers."

"But Bruce, if you wanted to know and you gave me that reason, I would have opened my file with you," Charlotte answered, her voice cracking, "It would have been easier to read it for the first time if it was with someone who understood what was going on like you understand it."

Bruce walked around to reach out for her but Charlotte back away.

"Both of you are to blame equally," Charlotte said, "Tony you may think that this is no big deal but that was probably the biggest thing in my life at this moment and you looking into it feels like you are staring into my soul. Which is uncomfortable, foreign and wrong."

Tony's confident demeanor faltered slightly. He didn't understand that was the truth. He first became 'Iron Man' when he was trapped but he didn't need to stay that way. He could have just went corporate about his problems but he had to become a metallic superhero. He didn't have to but he chose to.

"And Bruce," Charlotte said, "I thought we understood each other but we don't. At least not to the extent that I had originally thought."

With that being said, Charlotte walked quickly out of the room away from her problems, away from the anxiety that she had been going through.

Bruce stared at the place where she had been standing as did Tony. Bruce came out of his frozen state quicker than Tony did. Minutes after Charlotte left the Tower Bruce turned to Tony.

"Where does she live?" Bruce asked.

"What?"

"Where does she live," Bruce repeated, "What's her address?"

Tony informed him the address bewildered and Bruce left the Tower as quick as Charlotte did.

...

Charlotte stormed into her apartment and slammed the door behind her.

"Charly," Annabelle called form her comfortable spot on the couch in front of their TV, "What's wrong?"

"If someone went through your entire life, looked through all your secrets and basically stared into your soul without you knowing would you be angry?" Charlotte asked.

"Yeah, I'd be pissed," Annabelle asked, "Why do you suddenly want to know?"

"Tony and Bruce read my files," Charlotte said, "The ones that the government had on me when they were experimenting on me after the bomb accident."

"Was there anything bad on it?" Annabelle asked. She moved her legs from their outstretched position to sitting up straight as Charlotte took a seat on the cushion next to her.

"I don't know I haven't read it," Charlotte said,

"You haven't read it?" Annabelle asked, "But wouldn't you want to read it, to understand why they did why they did? For closure's sake."

"It's hard, Anna," Charlotte whispered looking at her, "I can't look at it because that would mean that I accept it, that I've accepted everything that's going on with my life and my accident."

"Or it could mean that your brave that you're ready to move on to the next chapter of your life, the government experimentation was the biggest part of your life and also the worst," Annabelle said, "It's wearing a winter jacket, you have to shed it off in the summer time."

Charlotte stared at her little sister. Her little sister seven years her junior. She was a philosopher. She didn't know what had caused her to think like that. Annabelle definitely saw the world and life differently then Charlotte did. She didn't know how she felt like that.

"I just don't know if I ready for it," Charlotte said biting her lip.

"I thought you had accepted it when you fought at the battle, when you finally used your power. When you used your so called curse for good," Annabelle reasoned.

"It's just," Charlotte started, "I don't even know, I don't think I even understand. I've spent years of my life thinking that my powers were the worst thing about myself. I've just been thinking that everything was wrong with me and I've just started thinking about this whole thing in a positive light."

"Well," Annabelle said touching her big sisters arm, "If you ever need someone to talk about or read the file or need moral support in general. I'm here you know, I figure you could use some family."

Charlotte sniffled and cried for the first time. After the whole argument and the tensions in Stark Tower it took those simple words: I figure you could use some family to send her over the edge. Tension and arguments were something she was used to by now. Familiar ever. But family love was not.

The two sisters were hugging when the doorbell rang. Charlotte pulled away and kissed her sister on the cheek before walking over to her door. She opened it without looking through the peephole. She was rewarded for her thoughtlessness with an eyeful of Bruce Banner.

She froze and her grip tightened on the door handle. She was silent, not really wanting to invite him in. Torn between what she discovered about his betrayal to the leftover feelings she felt when she rushed up those stairs to tell Bruce she had feelings for him beyond platonic.

"Charlotte," Bruce said and she got tingles down her spine. Welcomed tingles down her back unlike other ones she got during transformation.

"I want to understand," he said, "I thought we did as well and I still think we can." He took a deep breath. "I may have already seen the file, but you haven't. And I still think I can help you read it for the first time."

"Really?" Charlotte asked her voice soft.

"Of course," Bruce answered with a small smile, "I care about you Charlotte, I want to help. I know it wasn't easy to control this...accident...and I want to help you a way I wasn't."

Charlotte studied him before smiling softly, "Okay, Bruce, how about we meet up for lunch tomorrow, bring a tablet."

Bruce nodded and walked away from her door. Charlotte closed her apartment door and leaned against it, taking a breath feeling like a teenager girl before prom.

"Thank god," Annabelle said. Charlotte looked towards her and her little sister smirked back, "He is more qualified for those kinds of things. I'm still just human. But I will be here demanding the details about this date."

Ohhh, the wait is over they're having the first date! Excitment.

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