Celia straightened out her tank top, standing in front of the mirror in her bathroom. Even after a week of it being official, it still felt weird to refer to it as such. The week had kind of gone by in a blur though, after her little stunt with the nail. That had sure threw everyone for a loop. Bruce had immediately whisked her away to his lab, eager to do tests and get readings now that it was confirmed that the incident in the elevator had changed her in more ways than they thought. All of her vitals came back normal, like they had before. He was currently coming up with new ways to test her.
After a little convincing from Steve and Tony, she had given up her old apartment. It wasn't that big of a hassle, since she had worked out a deal with the landlord to let her have a revolving door of temporary, unofficial roommates and sign paperwork under a false name. She used her professional trade to barter favors. And she lined up a new renter to take her place.
So she ended up moving into the room on Steve's floor. Celia had been adamant that she couldn't accept her own private floor and Steve seemed happy enough to keep her close by. Tony had been equally as adamant that he buy her all new furniture, instead of her bringing her own. Something about her lower quality items bringing down the property value of his tower. Steve had yelled at him for being so rude, but later came to her to tell her that was just Tony's way. He liked to downplay his charity by seeming overly brusque. She'd agreed to it, uncomfortable with all the money being spent, but happy she could give her old things to someone who would need it. The only things she ended up bringing with her from her apartment were clothes.
The bed Tony insisted on ordering was having a shipping issue, since it had to be a specific mattress from some obscure town in Europe, so Celia had been stuck sharing with Steve this whole time. Not that she completely minded, but she always offered to take the couch instead. Steve always declined, ever the gentleman, and when he asked Tony why they couldn't use one of the extra beds from his floor, he always was called away by an emergency before he answered. Celia didn't know what Tony was playing at, but she decided to let it go. She had bigger things to worry about. Like what she was about to do next.
Enhanced reflexes were one thing, but that was only one advantage Steve had gained from the serum. Her upcoming session in the gym with Clint and Natasha was going to help them find out if any of Steve's other gifts had been passed down to her. They hadn't told her what they had planned, only to come in her best workout gear. Celia was not looking forward to their reactions when they saw her worn gym clothes and sneakers. She hadn't had a billionaire backer as long as they had.
The sound of a blender drew her out of her room, slowly wandering to the kitchen. Steve and she had gotten into a good rhythm of cooking meals together most days, typically Celia doing most of the work and Steve helping where he could. She still felt weird joining the team for meals, but she needed to get over that soon. She didn't want to make Steve think he had to stay on his floor more than usual just because she was there.
"Perfect timing," Steve said, switching off the appliance. "I raided Bruce's kitchen and got some stuff to make smoothies. I figured it would be a good breakfast before your session with Natasha and Clint."
"That's so sweet of you," Celia said, letting her eyes wander over the mess of cut up fruits and vegetables all over the counter, before stopping on the very green results of his work sitting in the blender. "It looks very healthy." They had gotten into a nice rhythm once all the drama with Shield and her past had been dealt with. It was easy to relax around someone when you saw them at their post sleep rumpled worst. That wasn't to say they didn't still have their awkward moments, like when Celia woke up somehow completely on top of Steve, or when he walked into her room while she was dripping in a towel post shower. They were able to laugh it off though. A little embarrassment was better than the weird guilt competition that defined their relationship before.
"I wasn't sure what to put in it, so I went with everything," Steve grinned, pouring a thick serving in a glass. Celia accepted it graciously, bracing herself before taking a sip. Any intestinal issues that came from this could be taken care of with a quick nap. She took a drink, immediately suppressing her gag reflex as soon as the taste hit her. Steve took a drink at the same time, covering his mouth with his hand as he coughed. Celia choked her mouthful down, gently placing her glass back on the counter.
"Not your best work," she said with a grimace, hiding her smile at his forlorn face.
"I don't know where I went wrong," Steve mumbled, looking around at all of his ingredients.
"If my tastebuds are correct, the onion probably had something to do with it," Celia giggled, picking up her glass to take another drink. It wasn't unbearably bad. Maybe if she just drank it really fast?
"Gah, don't do it!" Steve said, snatching her glass and dumping it along with his own before she could protest. She hated wasting anything. "I probably made you sick. Maybe you should wait a while longer before going to train." Celia sighed, recognizing how apprehensive Steve was about this. It wasn't like she was heading straight into a life or death battle.
"I feel fine," Celia assured him, rolling her eyes.
"Are you sure? You can wait a little longer if you're not ready."
"Are you gonna write me a note to get me out of class?" Celia teased, sighing when her lighthearted comment didn't loosen him up.
"I'm serious, you don't have to do this," Steve insisted. Celia walked around the counter to stand next to Steve, bumping his arm with her shoulder.
"I know, but I want to. I need to find out how far this goes. You know how much I hate the anticipation and being in limbo," Celia said, tipping her head to the side to catch his eye. "And I'm kind of tired of Clint throwing marbles at me." That finally got a smile out of him, Steve groaning as he was reminded of Clint's antics.
"I still don't know where he gets all of them," Steve huffed, shaking his head.
"I don't know, but I have a bucket of them stashed away for when I exact my revenge. I've got a whole Home Alone thing planned out," Celia grinned devilishly.
"Oh, you need me to leave for it?" Steve asked, furrowing his brow.
"Jarvis, add the first two Home Alone movies to our Education of Steve list," Celia directed, shaking her head at her clueless roommate. She'd started the list a few days ago when she found out Steve hadn't heard of The Brady Bunch before. She was slowly filling it up with things to show him and places to take him. Somehow he still hadn't been to a Mcdonald's, so that trip was planned for later in the week.
"And these are movies about marbles?" Steve asked, shaking his head. "Doesn't sound very interesting."
"You'll understand once you've seen them," Celia assured, somber mood officially lightened. Now she just had to get out of here before Steve came up with another reason for her to stay. "Try not to make anything too inedible for lunch."
"Ha ha!" Steve called after her as she trotted to the elevator. As much as she wanted to convince Steve that this was going to go well, she was nervous. Celia knew she had to prove herself so the team didn't see her as a waste of time. She didn't think Tony would rescind his offer of having her work and live in the tower, but being good in this way too would help secure her spot even further. And it would probably help her find her footing with the rest of the team. They were all friendly enough, but still very intimidating.
"Jarvis, to the gym please," Celia directed, finally finding a bit of a flow with the computer man. He still freaked her out when he spoke out of nowhere, but she was getting better at hiding her reactions. A male voice sneaking up on her would probably always be a trigger, but once she got used to his tone, it would ease up.
Clint and Natasha were waiting for her when she got to the gym, looking focused and severe in a way they hadn't since she met them. This was not going to be like one of those aerobics class videos she'd watched sometimes.
"Hey guys," she greeted lightly, letting her smile slide away when it wasn't returned. The marbles weren't looking too bad right about now.
"Are you ready to get down to business? Because we aren't here to play games," Natasha asked roughly, sizing her up.
"Of course," Celia insisted, stepping forward to stand in front of them. She was ready for this.
"What does your current workout routine look like?" Clint asked, all traces of the usually playful man gone.
"I try to get an hour on the elliptical a few times a week," Celia answered, feeling immediately embarrassed by their blank stares. "I'm sorry." If she'd known she was going to be in this situation, she would've stepped up her training a long time ago. But sudden superpowers hadn't really been on her radar.
"Let's start with a warm up," Natasha sighed, leading her over to a treadmill. "I want you to run on this until you throw up." Celia snorted, laughing at the joke until she looked into Natasha's eyes. She was not kidding.
"You're serious?" Celia asked, glancing back at Clint. If she was expecting support or help from him, she wasn't going to get it. "I don't-"
"Are you serious about this? Because if you aren't, you should tell us now and not waste our time," Natasha snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Can I at least listen to some music or something?" Celia grumbled, stepping onto the machine.
"Do you think we can pause in the middle of battle to hit shuffle on our ipods?" Natasha bit out.
"Damn, it was just a question," Celia hissed, turning the treadmill on and setting it to a casual jog. She could do this, and she had the added incentive to do well to stick it to Natasha and Clint. She had done a lot of things in life fueled by pettiness and she could do it again.
Of course Natasha only let her keep her easy pace for a few minutes before bumping it up. It was still okay though and Celia went with it, trying to keep her mind on anything but the run. Would they really make her run until she barfed? What if she kept going for hours? Wouldn't that be good enough?
Clint stood in front of the machine, trying to look intimidating maybe. Natasha was standing right next to her and that was making her pretty uneasy. She knew they could be fierce when they needed to be, but Celia never thought she'd be on this side of it. Natasha turned up the setting again, forcing her to a speed just under sprinting.
"Oh, come on," Celia grunted, pumping her arms to try to keep herself going. She had no idea how long she'd been running, but it didn't feel anywhere near as long as she needed to impress them. She felt like she was being set up for failure and she couldn't stand for that. All she needed to do was keep moving. That wasn't so hard, right? She'd been running for years and hadn't been caught yet.
But that was always a possibility. She'd tucked herself in a city full of faces in a place far from home, but there was always that chance. A random coffee shop, a trip to the grocery store, a new client at work always came with the risk of running into a face from her past. And that thought still terrified her. If they found her, everything she'd worked for would be ruined. Celia would never be able to stay and she was just now finding her place. If she lost her job? If she lost her home? If she lost Steve?
That thought pushed her over the edge and she slid backwards off the treadmill, falling to her knees. Celia grabbed the bucket Natasha had so helpfully placed on the side, curling herself over the top as she heaved into it. The fact that she knew she was failing was making her stomach cramp even harder.
"Why the hell is it green!" Clint shouted, covering his own mouth in disgust. Celia rolled her eyes up at him, preparing to explain that this wasn't some weird side effect where she finally turned into The Hulk, but another spray of Steve's super smoothie shot out of her mouth. She hadn't even drank that much. How could it turn all of her stomach contents into something resembling Nickelodeon slime?
"I can do better, I swear," Celia panted as soon as her stomach stopped trying to somersault out of her body. She couldn't go crawling back to Steve with puke on her breath and beg him to give her another chance. Failure wasn't an option.
"We'll see about that. Hey, while you're down there, how about you give me some push ups?" Natasha suggested, in a way that made it obvious it wasn't optional. Celia scooted away from the bucket, not needing that assaulting her senses anymore, and got into position. She felt so stiff as she tried to keep perfect form, not even letting the idea of putting her knees down cross her mind. Celia hoped throwing up wasn't supposed to signal the end of every set of the workout, because she didn't want to do it anymore. It was disgusting and downright wasteful.
"Permission to dispose of the barf bucket, Mistress Natasha?" Clint grumbled, turning his nose at the smell before darting off with the evidence. If this kind of thing was a kink for them, Celia was going to scream. She did not want to be caught up in their sexcapades.
"Only about 100 more before you can stop," Natasha directed, sounding bored.
"What the fuck," Celia wheezed, feeling her arms shake from fatigue. She tried to focus on getting through them one at a time, not worrying about the billion she still had left. Just one more, and then one more after that. Her arms were wobbly, but she couldn't give up.
Natasha's foot hooking around her wrist and pulling sent her slamming face down onto the floor, just barely stopping her nose from connecting. Celia rolled onto her back and sat up on her elbows, staring up at Natasha in open mouth shock.
"No point in continuing with such bad form," Natasha sighed, snapping her fingers. Clint stepped out from another room, carrying a dummy over his shoulder. He dropped it next to her on the floor with a thud, giving her a cheeky grin. "Now it's time to run through the obstacle course carrying our friend here." Celia groaned, having hoped that the giant, complicated looking contraption running the length of the walls wouldn't come into play today. She grabbed at the doll, ready to heave it up with her when she felt how heavy it was.
"What the hell? How much does this thing weigh?" Celia gasped.
"It weighs the same as Cap. Would you leave him behind in the field if he was injured?" Natasha questioned, shaking her head in disappointment.
"Of course not!" Celia snapped, leaving out the part where she might be tempted to leave Natasha at this point. She got into a crouching position, trying to figure out the best way to get this thing up. If this were a real person, she'd have to be careful, but she hoped she wouldn't be judged on style during this demonstration. Celia grabbed it by the arms, hooking them over her shoulders and using her upward momentum to bring the whole body up with her as she stood. She staggered under the massive weight, but kept her footing just barely. This was going to be so shitty.
"Get going. The enemy is still lurking," Natasha prodded, punctuated by Clint nailing her with a marble in the stomach. Celia decided at this moment that she hated the marbles and they were all going in the trash. She lurched her way over to the start of the course, trying to figure out how she was going to get over this climbing wall with 200 pounds of fake Steve on her back. Celia hooked one of her arms through the dummy's legs, grabbing its arm and securing it more firmly to her body. She only had one free hand left, but it was better than dropping her cargo.
"Come on Pseudo-Steve," Celia grunted, grabbing the bar in front of her and starting her climb. This would be nothing in normal circumstances, but the reduced mobility and increased weight had her sweating profusely in a matter of moments. She just pictured that this really was Steve and she was the only thing keeping him alive. Celia could go well past her limits if it meant saving someone.
The heavy landing on the other side of the wall jarred her knees, but she kept going. Celia wasn't even paying attention to the obstacles anymore, just moving through them as best she could. She was distantly glad that she'd already emptied her stomach, because she felt sick from exertion. Going from casual cardio a few times a week to a training session that rivaled something out of the military was no joke.
If she was having such a hard time with this, was she really cut out for this life? DId they expect her to be battle ready at this point? They were going to be sorely disappointed if they were. Her legs felt like rubber and her chest was on fire, but she couldn't stop. She wouldn't stop until she physically couldn't anymore, and then she'd go a little bit more.
"Just keep going," Celia panted to herself, feeling her neck start to cramp from the slightly tweaked position she'd had it in this whole time. Falling asleep was going to suck a lot more than usual. "You can do it."
Her foot slipped off the metal bar of the climbing wall and there was nothing she could do to stop her fall. She slammed down to the floor on her chest, the dummy never leaving her back. The air was pushed out of her lungs and she laid there for a few seconds trying to reinflate them.
"That's it?" Natasha scoffed, stepping forward to fill Celia's vision with her shoe covered feet. "That was a pretty bad fall you let Steve take. I don't think he's gonna make it."
"Shut up!" Celia snapped, shifting the body on her back to settle across her entire length. She hooked its arms around her neck and started to drag herself forward. Celia knew deep down that this wasn't real, but a part of her was struggling to remember that. There was nothing more important than getting from point A to point B.
Celia felt like she wasn't making any progress, each painfully gotten inch getting her no closer to her goal, but she could still move, so she wouldn't stop. Another pull got her further from her mother. Another pull got her further from her father. From her ex husband. From her past failures. But it also got her closer to salvation.
Her fingers finally brushed on the next station. Of course it was the tire hopscotch from hell. There was no way she was getting to her feet again with this thing on her back. Celia wasn't even sure she could get through the obstacle on her own. Her legs had gone numb and she could feel they were shaking from the way her hips were vibrating. She tried grabbing the top of the tire and pulling herself up, but it wasn't happening. Her hands were trembling and her muscles were cramping and her brain was sparking out before it could form a complete thought past the constant chanting of go, go, go. The weight was suddenly lifted from her back and she panicked, flipping over and trying to sit up to grab it before her back spasmed and she fell back with a thud.
"Put him back," Celia rasped. "I can do it."
"I think we're done for the day," Natasha said, crouching down at her side.
"No, I can keep going," Celia whispered, feeling the ache of failure take her breath away.
"Nah, you did good," Natasha shrugged, standing up and offering Celia a hand. She stared at it like she didn't know what it was, shocked by Natasha's words.
"What?" Celia murmured, waiting for the aggressive woman to come back.
"This wasn't about testing your strength and agility. Anyone can train to become an agent. This was about seeing if you had heart. If you had the will to push through," Natasha explained with a grin.
"Oh, I hate you," Celia groaned, laying her head back down. She was too tired at this point to appreciate the approval she'd gotten. All she wanted to do was take a nap and recharge her body.
"No you don't," Natasha laughed, shaking her hand toward her again to entice her to take it.
"Oh I do. I'm imagining all the terrible things I could do to you right now. The next time I have gum, it is definitely ending up in your hair," Celia mumbled, breathing through a cramp in her back.
"What do I get?" Clint asked, walking back over to them.
"You're the one who has to help her get the gum out," Celia said, smiling at his nervous squeak. These were the people she could see herself becoming friends with.
"Are you gonna stay down there all day, or would you like to get back to Steve? I'm sure he's pacing a hole in the floor waiting for you," Natasha asked with a smirk.
"Honestly, I don't think I can move," Celia admitted, grimacing as she tried to shift into a sitting position. Clint and Natasha shared a look before crouching down on either side of her and pulling her arms around their shoulders. She couldn't suppress her moan of pain as they lifted her up, supporting her weight between them. Celia was glad Clint didn't just throw her over his back like he had the dummy. At least there was the semblance of the idea that Celia was walking of her own volition.
"Cap's gonna kill you for breaking his new friend!" Clint hissed at Natasha as they made their way to the elevator.
"Don't worry," Celia laughed. "I'll protect you."