Hi all, this came out of nowhere after rereading my favorite fics. It made me realize that Carrie has something in common with each of the Avengers and why she truly belongs with them.
Disclaimer: I do not own Carrie or the Avengers. All rights go to Stephen King and MCU respectively.
It's still so strange having a foster child living in the Tower, especially one with raw power and a good heart. Teaching and training her proved to be a challenge given her painful upbringing. Yet despite Carrie's hardships and timid personality, she proved to be determined and hardworking to live up to the Avengers' expectations.
As they taught their first apprentice, they noticed striking similarities between Carrie and the heroes.
Steve Rogers felt connected to her in terms of being targets for bullying. Both were considered weak and easy to hurt and beat up. While Steve was willing to take a punch and fight back, Carrie never had the courage or motivation to fight, let alone protect herself. Still, she remained steadfast and strong throughout the years of getting bullied. That kind of strength is something he shared and bonded with. To him, he felt he had the strongest bond with Carrie.
At first glance, it would seem Tony Stark had nothing in common with the 'sweet innocent farmgirl' as he personally called her. But that's not true at all. Like Carrie, he had a poor relationship with his parent, but not to the extreme level Carrie suffered. For Tony, while he had a loving relationship with his mother, he felt a cold distance between himself and his father Howard Stark. Their relationship was complicated, but not abusive. The most he could describe was feeling unloved by his ever-absent father. A painful commonality to share with Carrie who spent her entire childhood feeling unloved and unwanted by the only parent who was supposed to protect them. While Tony won't ever admit it, he's very overprotective of the girl who he believes deserves to know she is loved. Which also adds to the rivalry between him and Steve who also appointed himself as a main parental figure in Carrie's life.
Bruce Banner, for all intents and purposes, resembles Carrie the most in terms of childhood abuse by an evil parent for being different, being timid in the presence of others, and having powers that were mainly tied to their emotions. For Bruce, it was both easy and difficult to be around her. She keeps the Hulk at peace, but at the same time, he felt anger at how she was poorly treated by her own mother. His father was a monster who made his life hell and murdered his mother. That kind of trauma is also the reason why the Hulk was born in the first place, his other personality. Sometimes, he wondered if Carrie also carried another personality that would rage out to protect her from people like her mother. The Hulk seems to share his sentiment, he is also fond of the girl due to her sweet gentle and understanding nature. Hulk always referred to her as 'nice girl' and will smash anyone who'd dare hurt her.
Clint Barton, much like Bruce, had a less than ideal childhood with an alcoholic father. The abuse ended when his parents died in a car accident due to the father's drunk driving. This left him and his older brother Barney orphaned and in the foster system, which proved just as bad as their father. He knows more than anyone else what it's like to run away from pain and the people who caused it. He saw a bit of that trait in Carrie who finally had the guts to leave her crazy mother and seek out a better life. Granted, he ended up being a circus act for an embezzling thief before Nick found him. He hoped Carrie will never have to feel like that. He also hoped that one day she'll find love and a create that loving family like he had after the bad years.
Natasha Romanoff for all her secrecy and ability to hide her feelings, couldn't hide her own personal fondness for the girl. She reminded her of her adopted sister, Yelena, before she was taken by the Red Room. She saw a bit of her sister in the girl, and a bit of herself. Carrie's mother is no different from the Red Room. Being indoctrinated physically and psychologically, depriving them of love and family as they were forced to be what they never want to become. Most of the team is male, so she took it upon herself to be Carrie's guide in all things that are feminine and teach her to fight back against people like the Red Room. Natasha may have spent her childhood years with a fake family for the sake of a mission, but they were real to her. She wants this team to be Carrie's official family. Not for a mission, but because she was meant to be with them.
Being the Prince of Asgard, Thor Odinson had the most extravagant and most adventurous in all the centuries he's lived. Yet despite that glaring contrast between him and Carrie, one thing that connected them was their worthiness of Mjolnir. Her compassionate heart and soul made her powerful, yet fragile at the same time. She was cautious by nature, and naïve. That kind of trait brought out his protective brother instincts to a new level. Her telekinesis is a force to be reckoned with, but her sweet nature makes it too easy for cretins to take advantage of her innocent heart. He also listened to her when she described one of the many bullying incidents that made her mother snap violently at her and lock her in the prayer closet. He wept at how such an innocent girl called for help but never received it. That woman obviously didn't deserve a child. Hearing about her life from Carrie and from SHIELD, he remembered his own childhood, all revolving around his little brother Loki. How often was he by himself while Thor indulged with his friends. Loki was silently crying for help, begging to be heard. He knew people whispered unkind words about Loki despite all he's done for the realm. He wasn't like Thor; he always had his tricks. But he felt alone beside his older brother. How much pain and loneliness did he hold onto until he took it out on innocent people? Would Carrie have done the same thing if pushed too far? Possibly.
Seeing themselves in Carrie enforced their drive to protect her and keep her safe. Somehow, she just naturally brought out their parental instincts. They know the past can never change, not for Carrie, or for themselves. But they hope to heal and move forward together. One thing was certain and agreed upon by the Avengers, they are Carrie's family, and she is there's. Any who try to bring harm to their daughter shall face all of their wrath.