Cool, soft sheets greet me as I wake this time. I've got to stop doing that, I think as I realize how badly my head is pounding. Slowly I roll over taking in the size of the bed. My breathings had evened out and my chest doesn't feel as constricted as it did earlier. Lying back I enjoy the coolness of the sheets against my skin. Startled I realize I'm no longer in my time suit but rather just the tank top and shorts I had underneath.
"Don't worry," a voice said from across the room, "I was the one to take the suit off, not the guys."
I all too quickly sat up, feeling a slight dizziness come over me with the shift in positioning. Looking around I find the voice that had spoken sitting relaxed in a beanbag chair in the corner of the room.
"Smartie," she innocently offered as I gaped at her while I clutched the sheet that had been thrown over my legs.
"Excuse me," I whispered out in confusion.
"Smartie," she offered again, this time offering me a tiny roll of candy to explain.
"Sorry, I love candy and sometimes it helps to break the tension in the room. You know, to seem less threatening." I could feel my mind begin to whirl with confusion. Too much had changed that I couldn't follow.
I was just at the police station and now I'm here, wherever here was. Plus, it was dark out before I passed out and now it's daytime. How long was I out exactly?
"Six hours, give or take a few minutes here or there from the time you passed out to the time we got you here," she offered with a cheeky grin.
"Sorry, force of habit," she said as she gave her temple a soft tap, "I try not to invade someone's thoughts, but sometimes a person's mind is practically screaming and it becomes hard to shut it out." She gave me a soft smile in apology.
"I'm…," she started to introduce herself.
"Wanda Maximoff, I know." It was my turn to surprise her this time.
Her confidence barely flickered before she asked me for my own name in return, "Madison," I offered.
"But my friends call me Maddie," I stammered out, offering a small smile in return for her kindness.
"Well then, I'm going to call you Maddie, because I have no doubt you and I will be fast friends," Wanda said, smiling before getting up and heading for the door.
"I'm going to leave you to freshen up a little bit. Showers right through there," she pointed toward a closed frosted glass door. "There are some clean clothes on the counter that should fit you." At the door she paused, turning back to me she continued, "the guys are going to want to talk to you soon. I'll fend them off as long as I can, but you might want to hurry along. Breakfast will be ready soon. I hope you like muffins?"
Before I could answer, she had slipped out the door and was gone. All I could think at that moment was, what the hell had I gotten myself into?
Getting to my feet, I noticed how the coolness of the floor began to change to a comfortable, in fact pleasant temperature. "Smart house technology, this has to be Tony's place," I chuckled as I made my way into the bathroom.
Just as I had imagined it would be, the bathroom was spectacularly decked out.
Porcelain his and her sinks, a separate Jacuzzi tub that was calling my name, but would unfortunately have to wait till later. Taking my clothes off and casting them to the side I grabbed shampoo and soap from the small supply on the shelf before moving to the shower. He even had heated towel racks I realized as I put my towel in place before stepping underneath the gloriously hot spray of water.
Dad always joked that I'd end up cooking myself if I wasn't careful because I loved the water so hot.
Thinking about dad suddenly caused my eyes to fill with tears. My chest grew tight and I found myself openly sobbing. Sobbing so hard that I was having a hard time regaining control.
My legs felt like they were made of jello so I sat on the shower floor. I brought my knees up to my chest and buried my face into my hands trying hard to stifle the sound. The last thing I needed was for someone to come check on me, especially in this state.
It took me several minutes to regain my composure enough that I felt like I could stand back up and take the bath I had begun.
Wanda's warning kept playing over in my head. I knew I was going to have to go downstairs and all too soon there would be tons of questions that I wouldn't be able to explain.
After having quickly cleaned up, I stepped out of the shower being sure to be careful. Wouldn't be the first time I had lost my footing and fallen on my ass in the bathroom. "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up," I mumbled to myself under my breath while chuckling.
Wanda was right, the clothes fit fine and before long I realized I was running out of reasons not to go downstairs. I found a hair tie and brush in the bathroom that looked brand new, taking them out to the bed I proceeded to brush out my long strawberry blond hair.
It's strange how the little things can make you stop and think.
"I have always loved your hair. Always seemed like the perfect mixture of your dad's color and mine." I could practically hear her voice in my head. It might have been five years since she was taken from us, but in this very moment it felt like she was sitting right there beside me.
The noises coming from downstairs snapped me out of my trance and brought me back to the here and now. Finishing braiding my hair, slipping on my socks and shoes, I made my way slowly out the bedroom door into the hallway.
I could feel my heart pounding in my chest the closer I got to the kitchen. This all felt so surreal and so familiar at the same time. The banter back and forth, the laughter, even the occasional groans complaining about how early it was all felt like being back home on a Sunday morning when the whole family would come over for dad's special breakfasts.
The past five years hadn't been the same as they had been when I was younger and I missed that more than I had realized. Coming to the edge of the kitchen doorway the room quickly fell silent as they all realized I was standing there awkwardly staring at them.
"There you are," came the always positive and cheerful voice of Aunt Pepper. Her smile always made you want to smile back no matter what dark cloud you had previously been under and this Pepper was no different.
Coming over here, she gently took my arm and led me to an empty seat. A plate was set before me that took no time to be filled with eggs, bacon, toast and two muffins. Having no time to complain that I wasn't really hungry and that all of that was surely too much to eat, I was handed a cold glass of orange juice that set my stomach to grumbling. Maybe I was hungrier than I realized.
"Now you eat as much as you can," Pepper offered with a motherly smile before walking quickly to the stove.
"We've got a big day today," Wanda, who I realized was sitting directly across from me said with a big smile. "You've got nothing, absolutely nothing that we could find with you, so I feel a shopping trip is in order to rectify that."
Her smile was infectious, so I couldn't help the one I gave in return. If only it was that easy to ignore the other faces in the room that were staring intently at me.
"Slow your roll Dolce, before you take Gabbana anywhere we have to have a discussion of just who the hell you are and why do you believe that I'm apparently your Godfather?"
In true Godfather fashion, Tony had taken a seat at the head of the table and was kicked back with a steaming cup of, what I could only assume was his custom blended coffee.
With a smack to the shoulder Pepper scolded him for talking "shop" as she called it before I had even had a single bite.
"All of you eat before it gets cold. She's not going anywhere anytime soon, so this discussion can wait half an hour while you all eat something," she scolded before placing a bacon and egg sandwich into Tony's open hand.
The scrapping of utensils to plate began slowly again and I offered up a small smile of thanks to Pepper before digging into my own plate of food. The eggs were amazing, fluffy and light just like they always were, and of course, the bacon super crispy making you wish you had more. The orange juice, pulp free and wonderfully cold and of course my favorite, one blueberry and one chocolate chip muffin. I never could pick a favorite because they both tasted so amazing and these were no different.
My plate, having been cleared and a sense of being overly stuffed coming over me, I wiped my mouth with the napkin. Slowly being slipped into my view came the envelope. "We didn't read it." Pepper's voice was apologetic, like she was sorry that she even had it in her possession. "You didn't have anything else with you other than this and it seemed important and private." She reclaimed her seat beside Uncle Tony as she motioned for me to have the envelope back.
"Some of us could have steamed it open without anyone having been the wiser," Tony added with a wise crack. "But none of us did that," Pepper added, looking accusingly at Tony before smacking his shoulder.
"No, none of us did. So come on kid. Spill it. Who are you?"
Just as I was about to open my mouth to begin to explain, it felt like my world had been placed on one of those amusement rides at the fair that spun you around so fast you felt like you wanted to vomit.
"The jet is back," was all I heard before finding myself lost in the deep blue eyes of Captain America himself, Steve Rogers.
It was like I was caught in a trance and couldn't look away even if I wanted to. He was just like I remembered. Six-foot-two, broad shoulders, dirty blond hair, big blue eyes, perfect smile with just the slightest hint of two freckles on either cheek that made you think of dimples. He really was the perfect specimen of a man, I never had any problems seeing why the ladies loved him. I couldn't help the smile that came to my face.
A sarcastic, "Oh, brother," came from someone from across the table and I realized I had been staring too long so I turned quickly away. My awkwardness stepping in.
"What did I miss?" he asked before grabbing a couple of muffins and sitting in a vacant seat near the window. He was still within my line of vision, which was throwing me off because I so badly wanted to stare at him but at the same time I knew it would be creepy. He just smiled softly to me, that Captain America smile he always gave to the fans that never seemed to fade away no matter how many years passed.
"Madison here was just about to fill us in on the 411 of how she knows us," came the probing voice of Tony.
"Well, you see…" I stammered. How was I supposed to explain who I was without freaking everyone out much less getting everyone to believe me?
"You all should have seen this guy," came the chuckling voice of none other than Hawkeye himself, Mr. Clint Barton. "I didn't think it was possible for a metal arm to ripple but I swear this guy was absolutely showing off with his choke slams." The playful ribbing continued as the men came into view, "Uncle Clint," I said in what was supposed to be a whisper but apparently came out much louder than intended because everyone turned their attention like lasers right back to me.
Clint gave a soft laugh, looking to the others to figure out the joke before grabbing breakfast. "Well hello to you too little miss. Do we know one another?," he asked giving me a moment to answer. I didn't know what to say to that. Thankfully, the second man that I didn't recognize took that opportunity to reach around Uncle Clint for his own breakfast items.
This man I didn't recognize at all. Tall, but maybe not as tall as Steve. Dark hair that flowed down to almost his shoulders giving you that L'Oréal commercial feel. Broad shoulders covered in a jacket that was oddly missing a sleeve but in its place a dark metal arm with gold outlines that actually did seem to ripple as he moved. I confess to being transfixed once again but it was the piercing blue eyes that ultimately got my attention, as he stared at me. I both wanted to say something and couldn't all at the same time. My mouth felt dry like after having run a marathon and realizing you desperately needed water.
I watched transfixed as he walked around the table filling his plate, his slow saunter made you feel like you were watching him move in slow motion so that you wouldn't miss a step he made. I honestly couldn't remember if I was breathing as I watched him coming closer. "The blueberry are personally my favorite," he said before giving me a wink along with a coy smile that showed just enough of his perfectly white teeth that gave off both a predator and Papi Chulo feel to it. "I'm Bucky by the way," he said before turning to find a seat. His voice was soft like a whisper of a secret, drawing you in. I confess I had the desperate urge to giggle as he turned, finding an empty chair next to Steve. Plopping down they gave each other a subtle fist bump before diving into their breakfasts.
I don't know why it never dawned on me before, but everyone in this house was insanely beautiful or handsome like they all belonged in Hollywood or something. How is it I came out so plain?
"Is there anyone else that we are missing?" came Tony's exasperated voice as he pointed out that this would be the now third time I'd started my story.
"Alright?," he paused, as if waiting for everyone to answer. Snapping out of my trance I looked around the table. I couldn't see who we would be missing. Wanda, Steve and Bucky were across from me. Pepper was next to Tony at the head of the table. Peter sat on the other side of Wanda as Vision sat to her left. Maria was on the loveseat near the frosted windows that led to the hallway working on her laptop. Sam and Rhodey were seated at the bar, it seemed everyone was here.
"Alright kid, you're up," Tony snapped his fingers, drawing my attention back in his direction, "start from the beginning. What's your name?"
"Madison," I answered timidly. I swear, Tony never changed. Whenever he wanted information it was like being interrogated by a principal. He made me nervous.
"Madison. Is that like Cher or Madonna?" he asked with growing exasperation.
"I know those references," Steve chimed in looking to Bucky with a big silly grin for confirmation. "Material Girl," he offered. "If I could turn back time," Bucky threw in, almost in a sing-song voice, looking impressed that he too knew a pop culture reference.
Boy if they only knew, I thought to myself.
"Focus people," Tony interjected again. "I'm getting whiplash from all of the starts and stops this story is taking and my patience is wearing very thin young lady."
Tony gave a sudden, yelp, as he was apparently reminded to mind his manners by Pepper. "Continue, please," Pepper asked nicely with a forced smile on her face as she silently scolded Tony for his attitude. He scooted his chair slightly away from Pepper's abusive feet which made me smile. They were always doing that. Pepper always seemed to know how to bring the best out of Tony no matter how much he tried to fight it sometimes.
After rolling his eyes at having been scolded, he waved his hand at me to resume my story.
Looking down at my hands, I suddenly became very interested at picking at the purple polish that covered my nails as I started again, "I don't know how much I can tell you, exactly, without going against the rules."
"Rules? What rules? Whose rules?" Peter took that moment to chime in anxiously wanting to urge my story along.
It was just then I heard the voice I thought I'd never hear again in my life. The one voice I had missed more than anything in the past five years. So much so that my heart felt like in that instant it had stopped beating and everything began to move in slow motion. "I swear if I have to keep picking up after you boys," came the sarcastic yet sultry tones of the ex-spy herself, and just like that she was somehow back in my life.
Tears instantly filled my eyes, escaping quickly down my cheeks. It felt like all of the breath had left my body and I was suddenly swimming in a dream. My voice escaped me before I had a moment to even think about the consequences.
"Mama," I squeaked out in shock and disbelief. Standing before me was Natasha Romanoff, my mom, in the flesh. Alive and well.
The room fell so deadly silent that you could hear the water running to the ice maker in the refrigerator as everyone sat there in shock at this new revelation.
"Oh no. Forget about the rest of the story, start from right there," came the shocked voice of Uncle Clint.