A/N Hey guys, it's me... well of course it's me... who else right?

I own nothing... *Deep breath* Damn I hate saying that

Phoebe's POV

"Marco!"

I growled under my breath, slightly moving over to the side as Tony waddled through the water, a content smile on his lips as he eyes remained hidden under a blindfold.

"You're meant to answer!" he continued, frowning when the silence continued.

I smiled then, watching him as the others held back laughter. They were using his own strategy against him, waiting for someone else to speak up so their voice would be drowned out by the others. Of course though since they were all imploring the strategy no one was speaking.

"Guys," Tony whined, his arms falling into the water with a muted splash.

I chuckled then, "They're not going to make a peep Tony, they're doing exactly what you did last round," I told him, moving back slightly when he spun at the sound of my voice.

"They can't all do it!" he complained, huffing as he crossed his arms like an over-sized toddler.

I smiled again, "Well you know the Avengers... Rebels; the lot of them."

Tony scoffed, "Cheaters more like it," he snapped, unfolding his arms and once again voicing; "Marco!"

Natasha rolled her eyes and decided to answer him, "Polo."

The others were shocked by her answer and hurried to speak the word as well, attempting to use Tony's strategy but instead sounding like an out-of-time choir. Tony's content smile slid back into place and he stalked forward again, pushing the water away from his body as one arm remained stretched out in front of him.

I sighed as the others skirted around him, "Why, may I ask, are the Avengers playing Marco Polo?" I voiced to no one in particular.

"Just 'cause," Tony answered in a stubborn voice, "And not all of the Avengers are playing, you're too mature," he mocked, smiling as if he could see my glare.

I huffed, "One of us has to be."

Bruce spoke up, "Yeah and it's my job, so stop stealing it and come play," he said, obviously not caring if Tony heard his baritone voice.

Tony started towards him almost as soon as the sentence was spoken and Bruce carelessly ignored him until the last second, chuckling silently as Tony pouted when his fingers collided with thin air.

"Does anyone here have the ability to throw their voice?" Tony asked curiously, the blindfold slipping down his nose as he wiggled his eyebrows.

I cocked a brow, "Hope not," I said aloud, "This is starting to get too painful to watch," I snickered at Tony's spluttering.

"You're just jealous that you're missing out on all the fun," Clint threw in, splashing loudly as he hurried away from Tony. Assassin or not, apparently he couldn't care less about stealth at that moment.

I sighed again, "I am not, if I was I would've joined the game already," I told him, content with just floating on my back and watching Tony putter around as if he actually had a chance of winning.

"Spoilsport," Tony's voice sounded, making me glare at him again.

I huffed out and continued pawing at the water around me, ignoring the small thud of pain in my wrist. Bruce had yet to notice I was favouring my left hand and I wasn't ready to ruin the fun just yet and tell him I'd managed to hurt myself. Again. And hopefully they hadn't seen the small mess I'd made in the Penthouse...

Probably should've cleaned it before coming down here, but I couldn't be bothered. Also my hand was hurting so I wasn't all too keen on using it right away. But as the pain escalated I regretted not cleaning and taking a few pills to dull the sharp pain.

"Is there a reason you're not playing?" Bruce asked, his keen eyes watching me carefully.

I noticed then that I had been cradling my hand to my chest, a grimace of pain painting my features. I quickly let my hand drop back to the water and smoothed out my features as I shook my head, shooting the man a weak smile.

"Nothing to do with the mess you left in my Penthouse is it?" Tony asked, cocking a brow above the blindfold, "You are paying to replace the hole in the wall by the way."

I let the corner of my mouth quirk up, "My bad," I muttered, "Course I'll pay Tony, although you might want to strengthen the walls."

He could hear my smirk and turned to face a little off to my left, hands on his hips in a scolding matter, "You strengthen the walls," he retorted childishly.

I frowned, "Why would I pay to improve your Tower?" I demanded, moving to my feet and slowly rotating my sore wrist.

Tony spluttered, "My Tower needs no more improvements," he grumbled, lifting the blindfold from his eyes and sending me a small glare.

"Uh huh," I said back, "Then why were you just telling me to strengthen the walls?" I said back, a smirk on my lips.

Tony hesitated, his mouth hanging open before he growled, "Jarv? Find me someone that could strengthen my walls, and look at strengthening the windows while you're at it. A bullet was able to shatter it before, not acceptable."

I smiled softly as Tony turned from childish billionaire to protective genius, "Also I thought you were going to repair the blind spot in JARVIS's system?" I reminded him, no malice or teasing in my voice.

He sent me a small thankful look, "Guess I better get around to that as well," he said, moving over to the edge of the pool, fingers reaching out for the ladder.

Clint sighed heavily, "Fun's over," he grumbled, following Tony's example and leaving the pool. The others soon followed and I felt guilt stab at my chest. I hadn't meant to end the game, I didn't even mean for Bruce to notice my wrist.

"Wait!" I called, "Can we at least finish this round first?" I asked with a hesitant smile.

Tony looked back, his hand just brushing his towel, "We huh?" he said, a smile taking over his concentration filled features.

I rolled my eyes, bringing up my left hand to splash him irritably, "Yes, I know what I said, now get your ass back in this water. You aren't getting out of being 'it' that easily" I informed the billionaire, smiling as he reached for his blindfold again.

"Fine but you guys need to actually answer this time," he warned, slipping back into the water with a sigh.

The others smiles brightened as we got around to finishing the game, my own laughter echoing through the room as we became engaged in the most brutal game of Marco Polo ever played.

"I swear that you broke that particular vase on purpose," Tony quipped, carefully stepping around the shattered remains as he walked towards the kitchen.

I ignored the comment and looked over at the setting sun; we had spent more time in the pool than I thought. The others were happily pottering around, grabbing books or flicking through Tony's extensive movie collection. We seemed to have relaxed in the clear water more than I thought.

"You know, 'cause it's the only one I actually liked," Tony continued, flashing me a smile.

"I was feeling vindictive," I commented, moving forward to hunt for a broom so I could clean up the mess.

"Why'd you do it anyway? Did Clint piss you off?" he asked, grabbing out random ingredients from the fridge and chucking it on the counter before looking over them all with a calculating gaze.

Clint looked up at the comment, eyes roaming over my face to check if Tony's statement was true. I smiled softly at him before answering Tony.

"Of course not, I spent the morning with Fury," I said airily, as if it meant nothing at all.

"Why?" Clint asked, book going to his side as he leant forward, elbows resting on his knees, "I mean he would've yelled about something am I right?"

I sighed as I nodded, "It was about the man, the one who attacked me," I said before clearly hesitating, my hands no longer sweeping up the glass.

"Pheebs?" Clint continued, shooting the others a worried glance.

I swallowed thickly, "Also about Miranda," I added, my voice small as the sounds of glass clattering filled the air again.

Tony stopped fidgeting with the sad mess he called dinner and leant against the counter, "What about them?" he asked, his curiosity now piqued.

I worried my lower lip with my teeth, feeling the still tender wound from where I had attacked it before on the Helicarrier, "The man who attacked me was the younger brother of my previous employer and also the one who gave me the job of killing Jane..." I trailed off, closing my eyes in resignation.

Before anyone else could speak, Tony beat them to the punch, "I think they deserve to know," he said gently, coming over to take the broom from me, "About Miranda," he clarified.

I stood up with a thankful nod, my left hand gently massaging my right as I thought about how to say the truth, "How did I say Miranda died?" I asked, half setting the mood and half actually wondering because I forgot my lie.

Clint narrowed his eyes, "A stray bullet, during a robbery," he informed me, leaning back in his chair, "That's not the truth is it?"

I shook my head, "The truth goes a lot deeper," I admitted, "I just didn't want to tell you straight away, not because I don't trust you!" I quickly spoke, "It's just that, well, SHIELD... They..."

"SHIELD shot her daughter," Tony finished when I showed no sign of completing the story myself.

Natasha's eyes widen in a momentary show of shock, "What? Why would they murder a child?" she demanded, disgust starting to paint her beautiful features.

"Hostage situation," Tony continued gently, "There weren't any other details in the folder."

I sighed, "I didn't tell you because I'd already caused a rift between you guys and SHIELD; when I made you stand up for me. I didn't want to make it worse..."

Natasha nodded but Steve answered, "We understand, so what else did you learn today?" suddenly his face went red, all the way from his neck to his ears, "You don't have to tell us, I-I mean—"

I cut him off with a half hearted chuckle, "Steve its fine..." I took a deep breath before continuing, "The hostage situation was caused by my employer Miles Southwick. He used to be the head of a branch in SHIELD, the branch that would take care of things and stage it so it wouldn't link back to the Government."

"So technically you use to work for SHIELD?" Steve asked, his brow furrowed in thought.

I smiled, "Technically yes," I admitted, "But they got greedy, and when they didn't get what they wanted, they took a few important people hostage. My daughter was among them... God knows why. Maybe because she was there and since she was a child they assumed SHIELD wouldn't..."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, "But they were wrong. In order to win the stand-off SHIELD had to take out a few people, and those few people included my daughter because she was of no political importance." I finished with an exhausted smile, "I thought I was protecting my daughter but I handed her over to the people who took her life."

"And you hated the wrong people," Natasha added as everyone finally realized why I had such a strong dislike towards SHIELD.

I nodded, "That's about it, no more secrets hiding in here," I laughed weakly, tapping the side of my head.

Clint had a deep-set frown on his lips, eyes glazed over as he thought. I blinked over at him as the others absorbed the new information and Tony finished sweeping, the same look in his intelligent eyes.

I jumped when a warm hand touched my injured wrist. I looked over to Bruce as he gently probed it with expert fingers, "Let's take a look at this," he murmured, turning to go fetch the first aid kit from a decorative table.

I nodded at his back, cradling the wrist to my chest protectively, remaining silent as the others thought. Everyone had different ways to deal with stress and grief so I left them to it. Apparently my way of dealing with it was throwing punches at poor walls and smashing anything in my sight.

Bruce sat down at the counter, motioning for me to sit in front of him. I obliged and sent him a thankful smile, ignoring the small touch of sadness that coloured his warm eyes. It was almost comforting, the fact that my friends shared in my grief even though they never had the honour of meeting my daughter.

"How far can you twist it?" Bruce asked, his eyebrows lowered as he focused on the arm in front of him.

I showed him, grimacing when a throb of pain went through it. Bruce nodded, his hands automatically bandaging it as his eyes flickered to life, "Only a minor sprain, I'd say about a few weeks until you can use it like normal... Just don't push it too far please."

I chuckled, "I would never!" I exclaimed.

Bruce opened his mouth to reply but the sound of bullets cut him off.

Remember that if you guys kill me for this cliff-hanger you'll never know what happens next!

-Taila