The Avengers fidgeted awkwardly, "So... Stark, why are we here?" Wanda asked eventually.

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, he looked like he wanted to be sick. "Tony..." Steve started

Tony waved his hand, "FRIDAY, show it to them." FRIDAY immediately pulled up a holographic display of an online news article, a man was slumped on the street, "They identified the guy as one Derek Simmons. Guess now we know why he isn't picking up." He said, slowly.

Peter froze, "Oh shit, how did it happen?"

Natasha laced her fingers, "Obviously it was Hydra. But they are usually more subtle. why are they beingso obvious?"

Sam let out a low whistle, "Damn it. What do with her?"

Peter glared at him, "We can't just throw her into the foster system!" He argued, "What sort of idea is that? 'Here you go, we saved your sorry ass on a suicidal mission. Whoops, your only relative is dead! Bye!' Have you gone mad?"

Everyone looked away immediately, "That's really not how I was thinking about it, but yeah, it seems a little harsh, what DO we do?" Clint asked

Everyone was silent for a second, then Wanda blurted out, "She can stay here!"

Absolute silence.

Then Bruce said patiently, "Wanda, you can't just adopt her. She's a random girl who we found trapped in a HYDRA cell."

Clint nodded, "Normally, I wouldn't be against this sort of thing, but have you looked around? We're the most chaotic household in history. Pretty sure Child Services will refuse when they hear Tony's name." He snarked. Tony flipped him offf, Whatever, Hawkass. We can't just dump her in the foster system! That kid has potential, she's special. If we send her into the foster system, she'd probably be sent into a lab for observation!"

Natasha sighed, "I'm not comfortable with having that kid around. There's next to no information about her until she's eight. And none of that information hints at a good kid. Always getting suspended, picking fights, being absent for most of the year..."

Peter groaned, "She punched out Flash, when he was three years older than her. She can't be all bad!"

Sam shot him a look, "Just cause she used her superpowers to sort a bully you never bothered standing up to doesn't mean she's the best thing since sliced bread, okay? Nat's right, we should be suspicious, there are a lot of unanswered questions about her..."

Wanda scowled at him, "You're just mad that she beat you in a foot race."

Silence. Then, Steve cautiously asked, "She beat you in a footrace?"

Sam just sighed, "I'm not proud of it either."

Vision was just listening the entire time until he decided to speak up, "Might I suggest a vote?" He offered.

Bruce looked around, "Why didn't we do that sooner?" He asked, everyone shrugged.

Tony grinned, "Okay, all in favour of Valerie staying, say I." Tony, Peter, Wanda, Clint, Bruce, Vision, Thor and Steve raised their hands and said I. Tony smirked, "Okay, that's a majority! We win! Friday, contact Child Services and tell them about the situation. Now, who wants to tell her about what happened to her brother?"

They all looked at Peter, who gulped, "Why me?"

Bruce scrambled for an excuse, "Cause you talked to her for a little while, right? You have some common ground. Also tact, tact is very important and no one else has even a sliver of it. Maybe Nat does but she's definitely not being caring to the girl who has more secrets than her."

Peter groaned, "She's gonna be so upset, I don't want to be around if she ever gets mad. I've seen her strength, she'll probably break down the wall or something and that shit's been reinforced with a vibranium/ iron alloy!"

"Language." Both Tony and Steve said at the same time, then paused, after which Tony groaned, "Just great! I'm turning into Capsicle!"

Peter shuddered, "Whatever. I'll go, tell her what happened."

Peter stepped outside to find the excitable girl playing Mario Kart with a bunch of NPCs. And she was absolutely demolishing them. Her nose twitched when he came in and he found himself wondering if she could smell his scent, which made him equal parts disgusted and curious as to what he would even smell like. Back to telling her about her brother, "Um, Valerie, there's been a little complication." He said. Valerie raised her eyebrows and Peter found himself wondering if she could smell his fear, like a bloodhound. "Spill." She commanded.

Peter bit his lip, "It's kind of weird, but while you were beating Sam at a footrace, we had this meeting and it turns out-"

Valerie glared at him, her eyes shrunk into pupils, her ears flattened, tail wagging feverishly and her blue-black canines glinting fiercely, "I. Said. Spill. You were the only person who didn't treat me with kid gloves and I appreciated it, but you're acting weird. What's up, Peter?"

Peter sighed, then he shrilly replied, "Yourbrotherwasshottodeathonthestreet!"

Valerie paused, "What?" Her eyes glistened as though she understood what he had said, but wanted him to repeat it anyways.

Peter sighed, "Gah! I'm so sorry! I really don't know how to say this better... Ah come on, I need to take you somewhere."

He guided the confused teen out the door and into the garage, and snatching the least expensive car before heading out. Valerie's ears were nervously twitching, her nose quivering as if smelling his guilt. An hour long drive did nothing to diffuse the tension. He pulled up into the mortuary Friday had reported as containing Derek's body. Valerie took one look at the body and tears starting trickling down. He couldn't see her ears, but he was pretty sure they were lying down flat. He looked at her and tried to put his hand on her shoulder, "Hey, hey, it's gonna get better. I know it hurts. I'm so sorry this shouldn't have happened, but Mr Stark said he's gonna give you a home, however long you want it. Just calm down." He soothed, guiding her back in the car and starting the long trek home.

Valerie was sobbing the entire ride back. She had taken off her hat and had dashed off as soon as they had parked. She went to the bathroom, locked herself in and cried for hours. Steve eventually came to get her. "Hey." He said.

"Hey." She replied hiccuping a little through her tears

He tugged at his sleeves, "I… know it's hard. I thought I lost a friend once, who might as well have been my brother, we were just that close. The pain I felt then was difficult to bear, I can't imagine what you're going through right now."

Valerie wiped away her tears, her ears no longer drooping but leaning backwards like an alley cat getting ready for a fight, "Well, unlike you, my actual blood, only living relative, guardian for my entire life is really DEAD and what's worse is that it's my fault! Do you have any idea how I feel? DO YOU?!" With a thud, Valerie slammed her fist in to the wall, leaving a little crater where it was left.

Her tail was whipping backwards and forwards and her eyes were menacing slits. Steve got the idea that she was not in a playful mood. He sighed, time to try another tactic, "We have a gym. With reinforced punching bags." He offered.

Valerie glared and marched off, her teeth grinding.

Clint walked into the gym, he could hear Valerie growling and sobbing as she punched a punching bag. He came inside just in time to see her punch the bag clear off its hook. He gulped, that punching bag was designed so not even Cap would be able to do that. He continued watching, trying to determine the next course of action. He didn't want her to waste away if her metabolism was anything like what Bruce had hypothesised. He didn't have to wait, though. Valerie immediately pounced on the felled bag. She was kicking at it, biting it, screaming and sobbing and Clint immediately pulled her away. She turned towards him in pure anger. He looked at her, "Calm the hell down." He ordered, "This isn't the end of the world. You might think trying to beat me up might make you feel better but the honest truth is all that's gonna give you is a sore arm."

Valerie deflated. The rumble of her stomach made obvious.

Dinner was an uncomfortable affair. Tony tried to cautiously avoid the gaze of the young girl who was alternatively stabbing at the haleem Bruce had made, a type of meat stew that he had picked up in India, or sobbing into a tissue. Wanda slowly wrapped the young girl in a hug, patting her back soothingly. "It's gonna be okay. I know what it feels like. I had a brother too, he died on a mission..."

Valerie brought in a strangled breath, "In Sokovia," she said quietly, "In the Battle against Ultron. Quicksilver, he was so brave."

Wanda laughed sadly, "His real name was Pietro Maximoff. He loved me so much. When he died…"

"It felt like the end of the world." The two said simultaneously. Valerie frowned, while Wanda's eyes twinkled.

"You can stay as long as you want." Wanda promised. "We'll foster you for as long as it takes to get you back up on your feet."

Valerie nodded, listlessly "Yeah. Thanks."

TTATT Oh god, I'm so sorry! I had this entire thing planned out, there was an original villain, several old classics, SHURI had a major role and she's still not here! But I can't do this right now, it's taking so much time to get through the unhappy bits, and I am really not in an unhappy mood. Maybe I'll get around to it whenever I'm feeling depressed, but until then I cannot, and since it's so important to her arc, until I am sufficiently depressed, this story is on hiatus!