2. Smoldering

"And as you can see here by the size of the star, it is classified as a red supergiant. Can anyone here name this star? Miss Fraser?" Professor Lee pointed to her.

"Uh, Betelgeuse, sir?" She guessed wildly.

Professor Lee, a wiry elderly man with thick glasses and a bushy white mustache, nodded with a smile. "Very good. Now if we look closer at the star, we can see..."

As part of her new SHIELD training, Melanie had to take some general classes at the SHIELD academy. But Melanie would much rather be tinkering in Tony's lab with his ridiculously high tech gear. Over the course of the past few weeks of being officially employed at SHIELD, Melanie and Tony had grown to be close friends. While they had known each other in college, this sort of friendship was the thing they both seemed to be looking for.

As Professor Lee kept talking about the temperatures of red stars, Melanie felt her phone buzz in her pocket. As stealthily as she could, she reached into her pocket and took out her phone. The message was from Tony. She unlocked the screen and read the text. It was an answer to her prayers.

"Lab? :D"

Melanie looked at her watch. She still had about ten minutes left in class.

"In class."

"Booooooooooo."

"You're a child. There's like 10 mins left in Lee's class."

"Come on Fraser! The lab is calling to us!"

"10 mins!"

"Fiiiiiine."

She put her phone down just in time to see a woman glaring at her from across the room. It was the woman from a few weeks back! Natalie, the agent in training. Though, she didn't look like she was attending the class. She looked like a fully-fledged agent who was sitting in. Melanie shifted her eyes back to her notebook and wrote the rest of Lee's lecture in the book. He concluded by talking about the vastness of the universe and how there are still discoveries waiting to be made; how everyone would find their place in the universe and there was a greater purpose. A shrill bell rang, and everyone started to pack up. Melanie stood and stuffed her blue notebook into her backpack. She glanced at where Natalie had been sitting, but the woman had vanished.

God, she was hot.

Melanie smiled to herself and slung her backpack over her shoulder. Maybe she'd as her to get drinks together or something. As Melanie turned to leave, she ran into someone's chest. "Oh, goodness, I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching—"

"I know you weren't." A smooth voice replied.

Melanie looked right into the eyes of Natalie the-agent-in-training. Melanie swallowed and was at a loss for words. Natalie's eyes were an intense blue-grey, staring daggers into Melanie. "Do you know who Professor Lee is?" She asked. It must've been rhetorical, because Natalie continued, "He is the most honored member of SHIELD. The fact that you are being taught basic astronomy by him should be more than an honor for you."

"I, I'm sorry, please just back up a few inches, you're kind of frightening..." Melanie stuttered.

Natalie's eyes darkened and she stepped even closer. "If I frighten you now, then you have no idea how frightening I can really be. Pay attention in class."

"Oh my god, please don't hurt me, I was just telling Tony that I—"

"Tony?" Natalie's face dropped the terrifying look. "Tony who?"

"Stark...?"

"How are you communicating with him?"

"My... phone?" At Natalie's glare, Melanie put up her hands in surrender. "Sorry, I meant that we were friends in college! We got re-acquainted the other week and have been spending some time together. I didn't mean to overstep any boundaries, please don't fire me?" She had said this all very fast.

Natalie sighed and backed off. Melanie exhaled quickly. "So you're the one he's been talking about. You're Mels."

"Yes! That's me!" She said with a smile.

"And you were the one I ran into on the day of your interview. You fell and your papers flew everywhere." Natalie said, looking Melanie up and down for a few seconds, as if examining her. "I'm sorry to have lied to you," she said, extending her hand. "The name Natalie is an alias. My name is Natasha. But you'll probably know me as the Black Widow."

Melanie's mouth dropped open. "You're the Black Widow?" She squealed slightly. "Wow! What an honor! It's so nice to meet you! I'm Melanie Fraser!" She shook the other woman's hand violently.

Natasha smiled lightly. "Yes, I know."

Melanie put two and two together and blushed deeply. "Oh, yeah, right. Um, I'm sorry. I just got excited and I..." She cleared her throat and started walking out of the classroom. "I'm sorry I was texting. He wouldn't have left me alone if I didn't answer."

Natasha shook her head as she followed the blonde. "Believe me, I am more than a little acquainted with Tony and his child-like manners."

Melanie snickered. "You got that right. I was at the gym two days ago and left my phone in my locker and when I came back, I had thirteen messages from him alone." She smiled. It was so easy to talk to Natasha. When she wasn't being terrifying, Natasha was actually a very nice person to be around. "Do you, uh..." Melanie felt her tongue tie. "I mean, only if you want, because of course I'm sure you're busy, and I don't want to be a bother—"

"What is it Mels?"

"M-Mels?"

"Is it okay if I call you that?" Natasha asked, looking at her with an unreadable expression. "I know that's what Tony calls you, so..."

"Yes, no that's fine!"

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Yes, no?" She asked with a smile.

Melanie thought about her phrase. "No, I meant that it's okay! I didn't mean... Fuck." She put her head in her hand.

Natasha took her hand and smiled. "It's okay. Just because I'm to Black Widow doesn't mean that you have to be nervous around me." No, it's because you're so goddamn attractive! Melanie thought. "Unless I was interrogating you." Natasha went on. "Then you should be very nervous." Melanie laughed slightly. "But we're just talking as friends. What did you want to ask?"

She floundered for words for a seconds. We're friends?! Oh god... I hope she can't hear my heart beating... "Do... Do you want to um...? Do you want to get drinks or something?" That was much harder to ask than she thought.

Natasha looked at her watch. "Tonight?" She had a doubtful look on her face.

"Or, whenever you're free! I know you must be very busy!" Melanie said quickly, opening the door to go outside.

The agent smiled and stopped walking. "How about tomorrow night? I'm free then."

"Sure! Eight o'clock?"

"Absolutely."

"Great! It's a date!" Melanie felt the color drain from her face as she said it. "I mean, not like a date, date! Like two friends having a good time date!"

Natasha laughed. "I know what you mean, it's okay." You don't have to explain everything. Don't worry so much!" She looked at her watch again. "I have to go. Fury will have my hide if I'm late to this meeting. It was lovely talking to you, Mels. See you tomorrow?" She smiled and waved, walking back down the hall. Her red hair swayed behind her with every step.

Melanie raised her hand in goodbye. "Yeah... Tomorrow..." She smiled like an idiot. Her phone buzzed again.

"Meeeeeelsssss... I'm booooored..."

Tony again. She rolled her eyes and walked out to her car, sending a message that she would be there in a few minutes. The snow swirled around her and she shivered. But not because she was cold. She was never truly cold.

"And just where were you, young lady?" Tony said, hands on his hips. His expression of amusement betrayed his body language.

Melanie snorted as she walked in. "I was talking to someone." She brushed the snow off her hat and took off her coat, throwing the items on the coatrack.

"Welcome, Miss Fraser. Thank you for utilizing the coatrack." Jarvis said politely. The bitterness was evident in the AI's voice. Melanie noted that not two feet from the coatrack was Tony's light jacket hanging over the back of a chair.

"Oh someone!" Tony said, waving his arms around and going back to his project. He seemed to be ignoring Jarvis's jape. "I see that I'm not good enough for you now. That's alright. I'll just go be sad over here... With nothing but my robots to keep me company!" He added dramatically, draping himself over the desk in a false faint.

Melanie shook her head and went over to the fridge to grab a carton of orange juice. "So the person I ran into turned out to be a friend of yours." She rolled her eyes as Tony sighed loudly. "Said her name was Natasha, the Black Widow?"

"Holy shit, you ran into Natasha Romanov and you still have all your limbs?" Tony laughed, still draped over the desk. "Fucking incredible."

"Yeah..." She said, taking a drink of juice. She hesitated before adding: "We're going out for drinks tomorrow."

Tony sat up at that. "Oh. My. God." He said, a huge smile on his face. "Ha! You actually have a crush on her, don't you?" At Melanie's blush, Tony laughed even harder. "Wow, Mels, you set your standards pretty high, don't you?" He ducked as she threw a wrench in his direction.

"Shut it, iron ass. I can't help it. She's really pretty! I happen to have a thing for pretty girls," she said with a huff.

"What are you going to scoop up all the pretty girls into your pretty girl sack and carry all of them off to your pretty girl tower? Like a dragon with a hoard of pretty girls?" Tony snarked.

She shot him a withering look. "Honestly? Can you honestly not be more supportive than that?"

"To be honest, no I can't." Tony became quite serious. "I'm going to drop this now so you know. She's dating someone."

Melanie felt a weight drop onto her. The breath left her lungs and she sat down. "Fuck, man. Go figure." She shoved the tears aside that threatened her vision. "God, can't I have anything nice?" Her chest felt hot and she exhaled heavily, letting the heat leave, but it only built back up again. The heat angered her, and she growled, feeling the heat migrate into her hands. Suddenly, she didn't care what was around her, and she slammed the ground with her hands. A ring of bright red fire leapt out of her hands and skittered across the floor around her, singing the floor.

"Holy fuck!" Tony jumped back from the flames and looked at Melanie in surprise.

Melanie gasped and looked up at Tony, horror-struck. They locked eyes for a moment before she started floundering for words. Not being able to say anything, she just looked back down and looked at the singed floor. The world became blurry and she felt tears roll down her face, sizzle on her hot skin, and turn to steam.

"Mels, how long have you been a mutant?"

Tony's voice jerked her back to the world. "A what?" She asked.

"A mutant. Your genes are mutated and you can..." he gestured at the floor, "you can make fire."

"You're not mad?" She asked, her voice quiet and afraid.

"No, no, never. I'm going to come closer? Is that okay?" She nodded and he stepped over the scorch marks and sat down next to her. The sat in silence for a little bit. "Tell me about this." Tony said. "When did it start, how do you keep it in check, what happens with your powers?"

Melanie sat quietly for a minute. "I've always been able to," she said. "Even since I was little. My mother said that when I was a few months old, I burnt the new drapes in the living room of our old house. When I was three I accidentally burnt that house down."

Tony stood quickly and walked across the room. "Keep going, I want to take notes on this!"

"Okay... Um, when I was five—" he returned with an iPad and a touch pen and began writing into a program, "—I burned a hole in my new church dress because I didn't want to wear it." She laughed a bit. "That's when Mother started hitting. Any time I even looked like I was getting mad or I looked like I was getting a fever, whap! A smack across the face or a hit to the back of my head. She yelled a lot too..." Melanie could feel her heart rate going hay-wire. "She... was a good mother... She kept me... in line..." Her breathing started to hitch and become short gasps.

"Mels, look at me, c'mon look here," Tony said, taking her hands. "She can't hurt you here. She can't come near you. Keep breathing. Don't stop breathing." Melanie took as many breaths as she could. You don't have to tell me anymore, Mels. It's okay. You're safe."

It took a few minutes, but Melanie eventually got her breathing back. "I've never been able to do much more than make small flames. What happened just there..." She shook her head. "I've never done anything like that before. I just got really angry and..." She broke off again, unsure of how to proceed.

"So you've got a temper," Tony said, a smile working its way across his lips. "I think I know someone who can help you with that."

"The trick," Bruce Banner said as he took a deep breath, "is to not think about anything."

"Nothing at all?" Melanie asked doubtfully.

The young doctor opened his eyes and gave her a look over his glasses. His dark hair was swept back, a few streaks of gray running through it. He had a kind face and dark eyes. They both sat cross legged on woven mats, the lights down so they could just see each other.

"Meditation is an ancient art, Melanie. It's difficult, but rewarding." He closed his eyes again.

"But what if—"

Bruce cut her off and said, "One of the candles has gone out. Would you mind relighting it?"

She blinked in surprise. "Uh, yeah... Sure." She stood and went over to the desk, where a tall white candle sat dormant. Melanie picked the lighter up off the desk and was about to light it before Bruce chuckled and said:

"Not with the lighter."

She looked at him incredulously. "But what if I get out of control?"

He opened his eyes and stood, looking at her with deep understanding. "Trust me, you'll be alright." Bruce extended a hand to her. "Do you want to hold my hand, just in case?"

She looked terrified at the very thought. "No! I'll burn you!"

"I don't think you will. Just trust me?" He smiled; it was a reassuring smile.

Melanie looked at the candle again. She took Bruce's hand and took a deep breath. She reached for the candle, her finger tips becoming hot. In mere seconds, the candle was lit and flickering softly, as if applauding. Melanie smiled broadly. "I... I did it!" She said happily, turning to Bruce.

He returned the smile and patted her on the shoulder. "See? Was that all that bad?"

"I can't believe I did it..." She looked at his hand skeptically. "And I didn't burn you?"

"Not once," he said, holding it up for her to inspect even further. And he was right. His hand was the same as it was before: smooth with neatly trimmed nails. There was even a small freckle on the back of his hand an inch or two below his pointer finger. "Fire isn't just a destructive power, Melanie. Look at that candle." She turned. "Fire is light and life. It lights up the dark and helps you find your way. While yes, it can be uncontrollable and scary, fire is the basic need of humans. Without fire, we might not be where we are today."

Melanie drank in the sight of the tiny flame, feeling it pulse within her. "It's almost like... like a heartbeat," she said softly.

"All of our hearts have fire in them," Bruce said sagely. "Some just more than others."

Melanie sat on her bed that night thinking about what Bruce said. Fire is life. She thought as she looked at her hands. Focusing quietly, she made her hands catch. Warm fire crackled to life in her hands. She made her breathing calm and put her hands together. The fire that enshrouded her hands became a ball in her hands, pulsing and drinking in the oxygen around her hands. "It is alive!" She said, the glow warming her face. Slowly, she squeezed the fire in her hand and brought her hands outward, cutting the fire off and dispersing it. Nothing had burned, nothing was on fire or damaged.

Melanie was getting the hang of this.

Again, I know things look familiar, but it's the small stuff that was changed that will make all the difference in the end.

Also: I am able to see the traffic to this story and it is getting quite a bit of it. Yet, I see no reviews. Truly, this makes me sad. The favoriting and the following is nice, but at the end of the day, reviews are what help push this story forward. So please take a moment or two to leave a little message in the review box.

Thanks very much! I'll see you guys in a few days.