edit posted 3/16/2018

5.

I knew I was going to get overwhelmed being surrounded by so many superheroes but I don't think I was quite prepared for what I was met with when Natasha pulled me inside. It was a very boisterous environment. There was a bar, and people dancing on one side of the large loft that they were using, plus a pool table where Captain America and Thor were having a friendly game. Steve raised his head when he heard Natasha pass by.

"Hey Bee! Glad you could make." He smiled.

I gave him a small wave as we stopped a few paces further than the table. "How come you got to meet her first, Rogers?" Natasha sighed.

"I actually go to Sam's house." He called as he got in position to knock in a stripe ball. I looked at Thor who was concentrating on Steve. He hadn't moved to greet me yet. I didn't see that as a bad thing. The large man had forgone his battle armor and was in civilian clothes. It was a very strange sight once you knew that he was a part of a bigger world that was far far away.

I didn't comment on it as Nat once again took my arm and we circled back around to the sofas where a few others were gathered around. A man in a leather jacket with cropped brown hair that almost looked blonde in the strobe lights that were flashing in different parts of the room. He tilted his head backward once we stopped. "Barton, this is Bee. A friend of your best friend."

"Not you?" He questioned. He was fully aware that Natasha did have a lot of friends that weren't in this room.

"Sam. Your bird friend or whatever." She rolled her eyes.

He poised his hand on the back of the couch and moved in-between the two of us. "A friend of Sam's is a friend of mines. How's it going? Your name is Bee?" He questioned. I had a feeling I was going to get a lot of that tonight.

I shook my head. "Yeah. It's not a nickname." I may have sounded a bit exasperated but I got this question a lot.

"Cool. You're the second insect person we have in our ranks." I gave him a look of confusion. I hadn't heard of any such guy. "New recruit. Or he will be soon enough with the way things are going. Scott Lang also known as Ant-Man."

Oh! I did know who he was talking about. He had saved his daughter from an insane business mogul. "Oh right. Why are you getting him?"

Clint Barton didn't say anything. He just smiled and gave Nat a very careful look. "I'll see you in a bit. I'm going to see if I can win over Thor since Cap's taking a break." We both looked in the direction of the pool table where Steve was looking abashed before leaving to join Sam who had just trickled in. He was searching for something. It was only when he spotted me and Natasha that he nodded trying to make sure that I was okay. I was perfectly fine in the hands of Black Widow who gave him a wave of dismissal as if he was being annoying. Perhaps to her, he was. But, I didn't mind his concern. It was rather comforting considering where I was.

We moved on to Tony who was by the DJ talking to a strawberry blonde who looked half irritated and half happy to be here. "Pepper. This is our new friend Bee. Sam brought her along."

"Technically 'Steve' invited me but Sam is the only one I really know here." I chimed in as I took the tall blonde's hand and gave it a firm shake. She was very pretty and I knew who she was. A civilian and proud CEO of Stark Industries which she took over for Tony as Iron Man as a full-time gig. She's also his partner. "Nice to meet you."

"I wish Jane had been able to come, and Darcy. Then we wouldn't be the odd ones out. They are in a foreign country doing some work in the interspace technology realm. I guess the easy way to explain it would be something to do with Thor."

"He's here though so why isn't she?" It confused me. It wasn't in any papers but Jane Foster had been spotted with Thor a few years ago when New Mexico had been hit by the aliens of the Nine Realms. It wasn't too far to think that they were an item.

"It's safer. He does know how to Skype so that helps."

I almost wanted to ask was it safe for Pepper too? Or me? If a scientist wasn't safe then people who had no idea how to do anything that could possibly help superheroes or act around them, was she truly okay being here?

Pepper must have read the panic on my face because next she had put her drink down and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry. This is the safest place you can be right now."

I hoped that she was right about that. To alleviate my concerns they decided to skip the introduction to Tony who immediately asked if saying hello was too hard and something about birthdays before taking a trip to the bar. "Have you ever had White Russian?" Natasha asked as they had me sit on one of the stools.

"No…"

Natasha looked happy with the news. "It's a good night to try it. Hey, can we have two White Russians and a water." She turned back to me and motioned to a woman with loose and shiny brown tresses. "Maria, this is Bee."

"Sam's Bee?" She asked as she moved from the further side of the bar so that she could come down to where we were.

"How do you people keep finding out about me before I even meet you?"

"It's my job to know the people who associate with my friends." She smiled.

"You're good." She commented a second later. She said it slow and with a bit of hesitancy which made me believe she knew about my past. I bit my lip trying to school my expression as to not let on that I didn't want that put anywhere. She just continued smiling.

I let out a sigh. Natasha passed me my drink. It was foamy at the top and looked dark towards the bottom. I gave her an uneasy look. "It won't kill you, I promise."

"Don't tell her lies, Nat." Pepper said. "It's nice to try new things though." She said a second later, gesturing for me to go ahead.

I went for it. The first gulp down burned. It had been awhile since I had done any drinking. I wasn't a huge drinker to begin with but I could indulge like the rest of them. I put the glass down as I let it go down. It wasn't the smoothest first taste but it wasn't bad.

I did cough though. It had hit me hard. I drew in a deep breath. "I may have overdone it." I choked out as I looked at the red-haired assassin. She waved it away. "You were better than Pepper." She joked at the blonde who just gave a very dry laugh.

"I may clean up Tony's messes but I don't try to kill myself in one shot."

"I didn't tell you to chug it, Pepper." Nat said in reply. I just laughed at them. They were so amusing.

Another voice soon came from behind us. "Natalia, what have we told you about hazing prospective girlfriends?" The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes was standing there with a look of disdain. Next to him was a woman with purple hair who just poked him for being so moody.

"Don't mind him, he's just a little annoyed with being here. Tony isn't making it easy on him." She paused as she gestured to the drink. Mind if I finish it for you? Take the water." She pointed to the bottle of chilled water.

I smiled in thanks as I passed her the drink. She twisted the glass around to get a clear spot and tossed back the rest. Bucky had a faint grin on his face as if to say 'that's my girl.' Bucky looked less threatening when he smiled. I hadn't even thought of the idea of him being here after everything that had happened. My money was on Steve and Sam getting him here somehow. I'd have to ask one of them later.

There was a short lull of silence before the purple haired woman actually introduce herself. "Barnes, you're really going to get it when we go home. Your manners have gone out the fucking window." Anyone else would have thought she was upset. She was really just teasing him. "I'm Emilie. I kind of got myself in the life by accident. Oh, and I'm stuck with him too. Boyfriend or something like that."

I heard Bucky grumble at her choice of words. 'Something like that my ass.' It was hard to take him seriously when he was like that.

"Don't downplay it Emi. You were kind of fated to this idiot." Natasha mumbled.

Bucky sighed. "You're all testing me. But okay fine. She's right."

"I'll tell you about it sometime, Bee was it?" She smiled as she outstretched her hand. I took it and nodded. It would be nice to have another friend among the others I was slowly collecting tonight.

"Yeah. I'm sure it's an interesting tale."

"You have no idea." Emilie said as she squeezed Bucky's hand. I watched him return the gesture in kind. They were pretty cute together. It was almost surreal to see a trained killer being affectionate with someone who looked so normal; like me. But, if the way Emilie responded to what I said was anything to go by I was sure there were things about her that would give me pause too. I would look forward to meeting her.

"You know if you let go of her hand she won't walk away, Barnes." Natasha really loved to egg on the Winter Soldier. It was funny because he seemed to not be able to shake her off even when he was relatively calm. He shut his eyes as if counting to ten but then Emilie was waving at me.

"C'mon."

He jerked his head towards Emilie who was starting to pull him away from our group.

"What?"

"You're going to dance with me." It wasn't a command she was making a suggestion.

"Am I?" He looked amused.

"Yep. I believe you owe me a dance." She told him with the same amused look. From the roll of Natasha's eyes it was clear they were always like this. Utterly adorable.

"Okay?" Emilie asked him a second later.

"Fine. I won't apologize if it's a horrible dance." He grumbled as they headed further away to the corner where Tony had just disappeared from. I blinked. Pepper decided to go find him. She didn't want him to get into any more trouble, especially at a party. I had wanted to ask her how much trouble could he be at one of these. From what I knew I had already had my answer. The man hadn't mellowed too much.

"Do you like daiquiris, Bee?" Maria asked as the bartender came over.

"Uh, sure. Yeah." She orders two. One for her and another for me.

"Are you guys still trying to get Bee drunk?" Steve asked as he and Sam came over. I smiled at the latter to let him know that I was fine. I was adjusting to all of this but the girls were really nice not to mention entertaining.

"No one is forcing her to do anything, Rogers," Maria told him as our drinks came out. I took a sip of mine. Strawberry daiquiris are probably one of the drinks I like the most if I'm actually drinking. I let out a sigh.

I heard Sam chuckle from my left. "What?"

"Nothing." He shrugged.

When I tilted my head to look up at him he was still smiling. He was obviously amused about something. I just gave him a look which made him laugh more. I shook my head at him. It was nice that he had finally made his way towards me. Besides Captain America, he was the only one I really knew here. Not that everyone hadn't been absolutely nice but I felt that weird ease with Sam.

Steve leaned over my shoulder to my right. "So Bee do you dance?"

I must have looked very shocked or something because he too started laughing.

"I guess. I haven't danced with anyone in a while…" I trailed off.

He looked to understand. "Well, there's someone who wants to dance with you if you want to."

He was asking for someone that wasn't currently in front of me. I could read it off of him. Also, Steve wasn't being as awkward as most guys would be if they were asking a girl to dance. I spun around to try to scope out who he's talking about.

"Who?" I was curious and trying to figure out who would want to dance with me. I had literally just come because one of the Avengers asked me to come.

"Dark hair, orange shirt, close to the DJ." He motioned to the left a bit. He wasn't particularly special but I didn't like rejecting people. I had felt rejection way too often. So I decided maybe I'd go for it.

I looked over at Sam who looked to be in a conversation with Maria. He looked preoccupied. One dance wasn't going to hurt. "Okay. Sure."

Steve helped me off the stool and walked with me over to where he was standing. The guy's name was Tucker. He was from Minnesota and was only here with a friend of his who was currently in a heated conversation with Thor. Thor looked amused but other than that there was no way to tell what they were going on about.

Steve only stayed long enough to explain that I was a friend of the Falcon and that he would be good not to do anything stupid. It wasn't a huge threat but it was there. It wasn't until we were on the dance floor that I felt this sudden panic rise in my chest. He looked like someone I knew.

Emilie who was close by must have noticed that I had stilled for a second. She called – more like yelled – to get my attention, "Bee, you okay?"

Bucky and Emilie and stopped dancing as they waited for me to either snap out of it or tell them that they needed to interfere. I did both at once with a little laugh. "Sorry," I told Tucker. I inclined my head slightly so that the other two could see me. "Just thought I saw someone. It's nothing." Neither of them looked like they believed that but they didn't push it.

Bucky gave me a little nod before twirling Emilie around so that she was pressed into his chest. I turned back to the guy who just smiled. "Wouldn't happen to be Jay, would it?" He had his arm around my waist. I stiffened again.

Before I could ask who he really was the ground was shaking and it had little to do with the bass of the song. It felt like the floor was turning and with that, I slipped. He wasn't too far away from me but I didn't care.

What the hell was happening now?

Sam tried to look for Bee first. He knew that Bucky and Emilie were close by. That they would get to her before he did but he still wanted to look. Steve stopped him. "Emilie has her. We need to get everyone else out. Focus."

He was focused but he nodded anyway. He took in a deep breath and grabbed the bag that Clint passed to him. It was time to suit up.

"What's going on?" I asked as Emilie and I tried to stay close to each other. Bucky had gone to try to help Steve with everyone else. He had muttered something about meeting at a place with sunshine. I hadn't understood what that meant.

"I don't know. We gotta get out of here. Now." She sounded distressed. I wasn't as afraid as I should have been. Maybe it was the idea that the guy who had mentioned Jay was still nearby and my thoughts were immersed in that whole debacle.

"C'mon." Emilie said as we dodged a few chairs. I could see Steve's shield and an arrow or two from Hawkeye but other than that everything else was moving too fast. I wasn't as built as any of the others but I pushed myself to survive the next couple waves of debris and falling objects.

I had a pretty good grasp on timing but the men with weird facial art were not something I was prepared for. One second I was following Emilie towards the windows and a second later I had been thrown back by a force that wasn't entirely natural. I faintly remember the sound of glass shattering before I hit my head on something rock hard. Then there was nothing.

Emilie was trying to make a grab for a falling Bee. She was unconscious and there was blood at her temple. Sam cursed as he switched his trajectory to grab both girls before something else happened and he had one angry assassin on his ass. He didn't need that on top of everything else.

Emilie thanked him but looked concerned about Bee. "Who are these guys?"

"Thor might know." Was the only thing he could think to say before dropping her off where Bucky was waiting. He gratefully caught her.

Sam waited until the two had started down the stairs before moving out the window. He'd catch up with them shortly. He wanted to make sure there wasn't anyone else left behind before he headed towards the summer house.

The area was remotely clear besides these new enemies. He looked down at Bee. He had to get her somewhere safe. He needed to make sure she wasn't hurt seriously before he went any further.

It had taken about thirty minutes of Sam flying through the air before she stirred at all.

"Ow." I breathed. I didn't open my eyes just yet. I felt strange as if I was on a rollercoaster that was barely moving. It was cool wherever I was.

I decided to peek one eye open. "Oh fuck." I practically shouted. I kind of flailed a bit and reached up to take hold of Sam's shoulder. "We're fucking flying." I was aware that I was cursing a lot but could you blame me? I had never flown outside of a plane.

"I'm glad you're awake." He mumbled as he dodged a particularly deep cloud. How could he see where he was going like this?

"Had me worried for a bit there."

"I'm sorry?" I questioned. I was still trying to wrap my head around the flying part of all of this. "I don't really remember what happened."

"Emilie can tell you once we get there." He said as he shifted me in his arms slightly. It must be tiring to carry around someone like this. Especially when you have to focus on where you're going and not the person.

He chanced me a glance as if he was just checking I was still breathing.

"Where are we going exactly?"

"A safe house. Or a version of one." I had no idea what to think of that. It was better for me to go with it. Wing it. I had to stop myself from laughing at my pun. I smiled a little. "What are you thinking about?" I think it was half his curiosity and a way to distract himself and me when he did a particularly quick loop.

I groaned. "This will never be easy to deal with." I almost removed one of arms from around his neck but I was scared of falling. I didn't think he would drop me but still. "Oh, I thought of a bird pun. Not worth mentioning."

"Humor me." He was smiling.

"It's stupid. Instead of just being like I can just go with it. I was like I'll wing it." He didn't say anything for a moment. It looked like he was searching for something. "See. Silly."

"No, it was good. I'm just trying to remember if the house is further down." He paused a second and using one of his hands to touch the right side of his mask.

"Steve, how far am I?"

"A mile out. How's the package?" I heard him say.

I rolled my eyes and Sam actually laughed.

"She didn't appreciate you calling her a package but she's awake."

"Oh! Sorry Bee! I was just…" I heard him trying to not put his foot in his mouth. I let out a sigh. These guys.

We had started to head down a bit. We must have been getting closer.

Sam and I stayed quiet up until the point where he told me to let go. "What?" I asked him really alarmed. "Steve's gonna grab you. I need to land somewhere else. I'm too low."

I trusted Sam. So I took a deep breath before letting go. It scared the shit out of me but I was glad when I felt the strong hands of Steve Rogers around me. "Nice catch, Cap." I told him.

He tried to apologize again for what he said but grew concerned when I clutched my head. "Let's get you inside."

I looked at the house which looked more like a large cabin in the lighting. This was very different than what I was used to. The first person I saw was Emilie who had stopped mid-pace to rush over to me. Despite only just meeting me I could tell she had been worried.

I could use some fretting I suppose. Things were certainly getting stranger around here.