That evening, Ashley found herself being driven to her new home, aptly named 'The Avengers Tower', with Tony Stark himself. The car ride was quiet, but Ashley didn't care - she was transfixed. Staring out of those polished tinted windows whilst Stark blasted ACDC from his car speakers was an experience she'd never forget. Once they pulled into his showroom-like garage, Ashley hopped her way out with a harsh gasp. "Mr Stark, I know we've only just met," she began, "but if you ever needed to get rid of one of your many cars, I'd gladly be of service." Tony let out an overly enthusiastic 'HA!' and rolled his eyes.
"I'll keep that in mind - and please, call me Tony. Mr Stark was my father, and he was no fun. Now…welcome to paradise, Newbie!" he grinned whilst leading her into the awaiting glass lift. Within twenty seconds, they'd arrived at the 'main lounge'. It was beautiful, modern and sleek (like Christie's, but minus the minimalism) and it impressed Ashley to no end. She wasn't used to all this. The school was pretty traditional and well decorated, but the level of tech was nowhere near the same.
"This is insane," Ashley breathed as they both stepped out of the lift. There were a number of luxurious sofas positioned in a square, and they were surrounding a long glass coffee table, and to top it off was the excessively sized flat screen TV positioned above a pricey looking fireplace. "So where…um…which sofa do I stay on? Do I just choose one?" Ashley guessed with a little frown. Tony blinked back at her in surprise.
"Yikes Red, who do you think I am? You're down the hallway, first room on the right. We'd give you your own floor but sadly…well, we kinda ran out of floors. But your new stuff should all be in there: clothes, shoes, wash stuff and whatnot - somebody must've dropped it off at some point. There's no privacy with those S.H.I.E.L.D guys by the way, so don't expect any. Um…help yourself to food and stuff. Oh, you have your own bathroom, TV and all that jazz in your room, but you don't have to lock yourself in there 24/7 if you don't wanna. By the way, we have an appropriately named 'Avengers Bonding Night' every Friday - helps keep the whole 'team spirit' thing alive, you know?" Tony informed her, ticking off each point with his fingers. Ashley couldn't help but give him a baffled look.
Nobody had ever been this welcoming towards her before.
"Right, well….thank you. Thank you so much, for everything. Um...I'll go and sort myself out then," she politely excused herself and cautiously made her way to her new living quarters.
Ashley loved her room. It was spacious and dimly lit for presentation, but that was absolutely perfect for her. A queen-sized soft quilted bed was positioned outwardly against the right wall, with two tall wardrobes standing proudly on either side. Her ensuite bathroom consisted of a brand new shower, sink and toilet, all of them the same shade of pretty ivory. Even her new clothes were neatly stacked on the bed. She shuffled off her jacket, hung it on one of the wooden hangers and shoved on her long knitted cardigan instead. Then she threw herself onto the soft bed with a relieved smile, feeling at peace for a few seconds - when suddenly, there was a rapid knock at her door.
Naturally the noise startled Ashley, so her immediate reflex was immediately clicking a raging fireball into her palm and hurling it towards the sound without thinking. But as soon as it hurtled through the air, the door opened and Clint's curious head popped around.
"Oh sh*t!" he exclaimed, ducking just in time for the fireball to miss him and fly into the hallway wall instead. Ashley let out a short scream and her hands flew over her mouth in genuine shock.
"Oh my god! It's Clint, right? I am so sorry, Clint!" she groaned, leaping off the bed and rushing over to where he was stood cowering. He stood up straight again and glanced back at the brand new hole in the wall.
"Don't..*ahem*…don't worry about it! Hey, JARVIS, could you do us a favour and get that cleaned up, buddy?" he requested casually.
"Right away Mr Barton," a clear male voice sliced through the silence. Ashley's mouth dropped open.
"Yeah, that takes some getting used to," Clint smirked back at her. She closed her mouth again and shook her head in disbelief. "So! How d'ya like the place so far?"
"It's super cool. I just hope I don't…accidentally burn it down. Everything looks mad expensive," Ashley sighed wearily, skimming her fingers along the white polished doorframe.
"Yeah, that's cos it is 'mad expensive," Clint chuckled. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. We've all been a bit messy before, it's kinda expected. Plus Stark seems to like you so far, so I guess a few accidental fireballs won't hurt. The thrill of your powers seems to do it for him." Ashley smiled at him thankfully, letting her guard down ever so slightly. This guy didn't have to take the time out to comfort her, so she appreciated the effort. "And hey, it looks like Cap's taken a bit of a liking to you, too."
That's when Ashley rolled her eyes and let out the deepest sigh. This was the kind of teasing she used to deal with from the guys at school. That whole 'my friend has a crush on you' palaver was boring.
The school…the X Men. Yikes. She hadn't even thought of them. Why was it so easy for her to forget that she was still on the run? That she'd nearly killed a whole chunk of mutant kids from something as simple as an exam? Was anyone even coming after her? Had they even noticed that she'd gone?
"Damn Ashley, if you don't like him that much maybe you should warn him from now," Clint winced at her sudden sombre silence. Ashley's head snapped back up to face him and her eyes grew wide.
"Oh, n-no I wasn't…I'm sorry, I drifted off," she rushed out.
"You do that a lot?" Clint frowned amusedly.
"Most of the time," Ashley murmured back. She let out a little cough and stood up straighter again, regaining her focus. "Anyway! I just met the guy a few hours ago and spoke all of two sentences to him…so, as sweet as he is-"
"He lives here too, you know - so you'll be seeing him a lot more, and then we'll see if there's any truth to my words," Clint teased her playfully. Ashley was just about to deliver a smart mouthed comeback - when there was a sudden smack of thunder somewhere in the distance and the clouds gathered together, turning a miserable stormy grey.
"What the hell was that?" Ashley panted, skidding over to her vast bedroom window. "There…there wasn't a cloud in the sky earlier!"
"Oh, fun," Clint hummed amusedly, glancing at his watch. "Thor's back - and right on time." He nudged his head towards the living area, implying that she should follow through to meet him. So Ashley tugged her cardigan tighter across her chest and she did just that. As they made their way into the living room though, she spotted a sweet faced ginger woman dressed in a tight pencil skirt and a petite white silk shirt. She briefly glanced up from where she was making a coffee as Ashley came into view, and shot her a welcoming smile.
"Hi! You must be Ashley!" she beamed, walking over to her with her hand outstretched. Ashley shook it, returning the smile. "I'm Pepper Potts, Tony's partner and, at times, overall servant."
"Lovely to meet you Pepper," Ashley giggled back, "you have a beautiful home!"
"Thank you - the interior was all down to me, although Tony will literally never admit it," Pepper whispered back knowingly, taking Ashley's hand and guiding her towards the open plan kitchen. "Would you like a drink? Champagne, coffee, anything?"
"Oh, just a juice would be great, thank you," Ashley answered as she followed her to the bar. Pepper nodded and fetched a champagne flute from underneath the bar to pour her a glass of thick orange juice.
"I'm so glad you're here. I think it'll be great to have another woman on the premises," Pepper started off with a small smile. "Ice?" Ashley hopped onto a bar stool and leant on her fist.
"No, thank you. Doesn't Natalie live here?"
"Natalie?" Pepper repeated with a frown, passing Ashley the flute before reaching for another one. Then her face lit up. "Oh, Natasha? That damn alias - yeah she does, but she's out on more missions than anyone, so she's hardly ever home. The testosterone has way too much time to build up in her absence." Ashley's pretty pouty lips formed into an 'o' shape and she gave a nod of understanding.
"Gotcha."
"So, what's your story?" Pepper asked her with another smile. "Or are you one of those super secret spy assassins who refuses to open up?" Ashley let out a short laugh. That was a perfect description of her sister.
"No," she giggled. "I literally ran away from home…just yesterday actually, although it feels like weeks already - turns out S.H.I.E.L.D have been tracking me for a while. They found me as soon as my foot stepped off the premises and asked me to come in. I put up a bit of a fight at first but…well, here I am."
"Huh. Why'd you run away in the first place?" Pepper questioned, already intrigued.
"It's…a long story," Ashley gave a tight lipped smile back. Pepper smirked and nodded.
"Understood. Did you tell your friends you were leaving? Or did they just wake up to find you gone?"
"I didn't tell anyone. I didn't see any reason to," Ashley shrugged carelessly. "I only had a small group of friends anyway."
"Any boyfriend? Girlfriend? Nobody that would be extra concerned about your whereabouts?" Pepper blinked, finding it hard to believe that this young woman sitting in front of her with a reasonably sweet personality, pretty features and a rather curvaceous body didn't have anyone out looking for her. Ashley seemed far too good to be true, and Pepper knew that everyone had a weak spot - she just couldn't imagine what the hell Ashley's could be.
"No, no partners of any sort. I had a guy that I liked…but sadly the feelings weren't mutual," Ashley rolled her feline-like green eyes.
"Ugh. Let me guess - hung up on an ex-girlfriend?" Pepper guessed with a sigh.
"Try dead girlfriend," Ashley corrected her, lowering her voice. Pepper's eyes grew wide, just as the elevator doors pinged open to reveal Tony, Bruce and Natasha. She stole a glance over at Tony's excitable face as he chatted and smirked.
"Tony was telling me about your powers on the phone," she hummed back to Ashley again, causing her to grimace.
"Ah. Really?"
"Honestly Ashley, he was beside himself. He wouldn't stop rambling on about them," Pepper rolled her eyes as she began to wipe down the countertops. Ashley now couldn't stop blushing - this whole situation was just embarrassing to her instead of being 'flattering'.
"That's so…weird," she sighed, leading Pepper to let out a snort.
"What, people finding your powers cool is weird?" she scoffed.
"Seriously…I haven't had people this excited for that stuff in years," Ashley admitted, just as Tony turned up at the bar to fix a drink for his pals. He pecked a sweet kiss on Pepper's lips.
"Ladies, what are we talkin' about? My infinite wisdom and overall brilliance?" he guessed cheekily.
"Far from it," Pepper hummed, shooting Ashley a ghost of a wink as she giggled back.
"Hm. Hey Red, why don't you come sit with us?" Tony suggested, chucking his thumb to where the rest of the crew were already lazily lounging around.
"Tony, she might be tired?" Pepper muttered as she gave Ashley an apologetic smile. Ashley didn't mind, though. Hanging with the crew without feeling lesser than them was something she could definitely get used to. But, just as she opened her mouth to accept Tony's invitation, the elevator doors slid open again, revealing the one and only Thor himself. He was kitted out in a black t shirt and jeans, with those beautiful blonde locks of his tied back. It was as casually stylish as he could look without the crimson cape. Ashley was almost in awe at how gorgeous he was - he almost looked unreal. She didn't understand why everyone in this group was attractive.
"Heyyy Golden Compass!" Tony grinned as he slapped Thor on his broad shoulder once he'd entered.
"Stark," Thor gave a pleased nod at the pleasant welcome. "My oh my, you have truly spruced this place up since my brother last…well, you know, destroyed it."
"Hey Thor," Pepper beamed, giving him a warm hug too.
"Ms Potts, a pleasure as always," Thor smiled down at her.
"Thor, good man! How're those nine realms doing, buddy?" Bruce asked without glancing up from his laptop screen.
"And how's Jane? We never see her anymore," Natasha remarked, leaning further back into her favourite armchair.
"She is very well, thank you Lady Nat - just busy," Thor explained. "And those nine realms are doing just fine, Banner."
"Kill anymore mythical beings?" Clint smirked.
"None more than usual, my good Birdfriend!" grinned Thor.
"Oh, Selvig told us about Loki," Bruce suddenly murmured, finally looking up. Thor's smile to immediately faltered. "How…how did Christie…you know…?" Ashley's eyes fluttered over to Bruce at the mention of Christie's name, not expecting her to pop up in conversation so soon.
"Ah. Not very well at all - and I now have not the slightest idea where she is. We both bode my father farewell and travelled back down to Midgard, but she disappeared as soon as we landed," Thor sighed in response, his deep sorrowful voice echoing through the air. Ashley frowned to herself - she still had no idea what happened to Christie in Asgard because she'd point blank avoided talking about it…but now she knew it was bad. "I just hope she's doing well, wherever she may be."
"You know how she is," Tony sighed knowingly, "she slips away a lot without telling a damn soul."
"Well I can guess where she's gonna be," Natasha murmured back, staring down at her lap. Now Ashley's eyes darted over to her instead. From the way they were discussing her so freely, they clearly didn't know that she and Christie were related. Was this the time to let them know? Or perhaps keep quiet until she trusted them a little more? She decided to go with the latter - it's what Christie would've done. "She's probably gonna be on that top secret Level 7 Sub(A) mission that Fury just conjured up out of his ass," Natasha grumbled to the group.
"Level 7 Sub(A)? These names are becoming more and more bizarre," Thor shook his head and loudly slammed himself into a seat on the sofa.
Ashley didn't even notice that she was staring at them all in silence until Tony abruptly called her over. She approached the small group timidly, leading Thor to only just notice her for the first time.
"Pointbreak? This is Ashley. Apparently she's part of the team now," Tony introduced Ashley, nudging her forward with his hands gripping her shoulders like a proud father would. Thor took one of her soft hands in his own large ones and pressed a polite welcoming kiss to her knuckles. Ashley felt the flush crawl up her neck within seconds, and put all of her energy into not letting it spread to her face.
"Wow. Dude just can't help himself, can he?" Bruce yawned before finally closing his laptop lid. Thor glanced into Ashley's eyes and felt something register within him. She resembled somebody - but he couldn't put a finger on who.
"Wonderful to meet you, Lady Ashley," he nodded graciously, releasing her hand once more. "What's your…'special thing' that led you here? Another assassin? A spy perhaps?"
"No." Ashley bit down on her jaw.
"Oh you gotta see this," Clint grinned. Thor raised a fair eyebrow in nothing but interest, already intrigued.
"She's really that good?" he blinked sceptically.
"Show him, Red - let's see if he's gonna try and act nonchalant about the fact that what you do requires actual talent and not some mystical Shakespearean super strength," Tony encouraged her with that familiar sparkle in his eyes. Ashley nodded, took a deep breath and grounded herself. She drew water into a ball, breathed out in relief and evaporated it. She created a rock bursting out of her palm, breathed out in relief and crushed it in her hands again. Then she sparked the flame which engulfed her entire hand, before using her other hand to spin the mini tornado around the room as she did before. Again, it was done beautifully and quietly, with mass concentration on her part. Even those who had already seen it remained astonished, whilst Thor stared at the sight.
"That is truly magical - as magical as the Bifrost of Asgard itself!" he exclaimed giddily once she was done. The others laughed and Ashley closed the tornado and smiled. She hadn't received this amount positive attention since she was much younger.
"Thank you, Thor," she slightly bowed her head in a humble fashion, making Thor grin.
"Hang on, where's the Captain?" he suddenly frowned as his eyes scanned across the room.
"Oh you mean Ashley's future husband?" Clint hummed sneakily, leading Ashley to shoot him a deathly glare.
"Oh, you're courting the Captain?" Thor let out a pleasant laugh, making Ashley's face successfully flush red this time. "It's really about time, he is rather useless when it comes to the women."
"No, I've actually only spoken to the guy once, but someone won't let his own weirdo fantasies go!" Ashley muttered hotly, eyes still trained on Barton who simply gave a smug shrug.
"Yeah, just a lil F.Y.I though - Cap isn't really the relationship type," Tony filled Ashley in as he amusedly watched her cringe more. "He's more the… 'date you for twelve years and then ask to take it slow' type."
"Well thank you for that, Tony," came a stern voice from behind them, leading everyone to crane their necks to see Steve standing at the spiral staircase instead of the lift. The ground could've literally swallowed Ashley her up then and there - she couldn't get any redder. And for a girl with deep red locks, the tomato face wasn't a good look.
"Seriously? You're telling me that nobody heard him come up those steps?" Banner blinked back at the group as Steve fully entered the lounge.
"Oh, I did," Natasha raised a shameless hand as Ashley shot her a frown. Natasha raised an eyebrow and shrugged back at her nonchalantly. "What? It seemed like far too good of a moment to interrupt."
"I mean I didn't lie, though - did I, Cap?" Tony smirked cheekily. Steve looked a little embarrassed then as well.
"My love life-" he began hesitantly.
"Love life?!" Thor and Clint repeated with a simultaneous scoff, causing Ashley's mouth to drop open at the blatant disrespect.
"- should not be a point of discussion, regardless of how entertaining," Steve pressed on, ignoring the various scoffing adlibs from around the room. He turned to Ashley with apologetic eyes. "I'm so sorry if they made you feel…uncomfortable. Late nights make them childish." Ashley gave him a small smile back and ducked her head in a half careless shrug, half thankful nod.
"It's fine, I swear," she assured him. "But…I'm feeling kinda exhausted, so I'm probably gonna get some sleep."
"So soon? But I only just arrived! We haven't poured the drinks, we haven't yet been merry!" Thor frowned with his hands outstretched, as if this was a genuine national emergency.
"Honestly. Party pooper or what?" Tony muttered, shaking his head pitifully.
"I'm sorry, I'll be able to bond with you all properly tomorrow…or another time," Ashley gigged before giving them a shy wave. "But it's bye for now! Unless you want me to dramatically pass out on this very expensive flooring?"
"Goodnight!" Banner and Clint waved, Tony sighed and Pepper practically sang. Even Natasha gave her a small smile to bid her goodnight, already a little warmer with her after their little interaction amidst the Steve teasing, and Thor simply grinned as he made his way to the bar to begin his 'merriness'.
"Do you need me to walk you home?" Steve offered up to Ashley quietly, whilst the others fell into new conversations amongst themselves. Ashley fluttered her long lashes at him in wonder, amazed at his old fashioned gentlemanly ways.
"Aw, that's so sweet of you - but no thank you, I literally live just down the hallway," she giggled, making Steve's blue eyes widened.
"Oh! I'm…I'm sorry I didn't realise," he mumbled back, trying his best to mask his embarrassment. "I live just downstairs, one floor down."
"Oh, nice," Ashley hummed.
There were a few moments of awkward silence before she spoke again.
"….okay well - goodnight, Steve!"
"Goodnight, Ashley," he chuckled slightly.
…
Just so you know, Christie's own story that will run alongside this one in (real time) is up now! It's called Assassin in HYDRA and will be considerably shorter than this one (like a mini fic) but I put it in a separate story anyway. Upload times will vary depending on where her story slots in with this one - but this will updated every week, of course!
Thank you for the lovely reviews thus far! See you next weeeeeek!