A/N: Hey, sorry this update took so long! I'm still working on the character of Lilliana, and how I want her to play out later in the story, so sometimes I have to sit on things for a while before I can publish. So, here it is. I had a review asking who Peter was, and that would be Peter Parker, aka Spiderman, who will be appearing soon as a minor character. So far I've decided my majors are going to be Lilliana, Bruce, and either Steve or Thor, still not sure which yet. As of now, I'm striving for a brotherly figure within Bruce, so hopefully that's what is coming across right now.
Disclaimer: Avengers and SHIELD and Spiderman are not mine!
Chapter 5: Training Day
Lilliana Hudson hated to admit when other people were right, especially when they were right about her. At 6 AM, Agent Hill came and got her up, and took her down to the training gym, and proceeded to work her to a breaking point. Lilliana had always thought she was strong, and in shape, but keeping pace with Agent Hill on the treadmill after hardly two hours of sleep was excruciating. After the cardio, came the weight training, and Lilliana was grateful she could shine at something, years of lifting girls over her head had made her strong, and the people in the training room were pleasantly surprised after the disappointment of her cardio performance. Lilliana didn't notice them, because she was too busy being terrified of the part of her training that was slowly approaching. After weight training, Agent Hill took her to the small shooting range on the base, and for the first time, Lilliana Hudson held a gun. She felt her hands shaking, and she could barely focus on what Agent Hill was telling her.
"Just hold it steady, aim a little higher than where you want to hit, use two hands, and fire." Agent Hill told her gently, trying to understand the nerves in the young woman before her. Neither of them knew that the Avengers and Nick Fury were watching the session through the cameras. Lilliana held the gun towards the target, and couldn't bring herself to pull the trigger. "Just take a breath, and let it go, it could save your life."
Upstairs Natasha snorted and Clint shook his head as they watched Lilliana finally pull the trigger, screech at the sound, and miss the target completely before putting the hand gun on the table and leaving the room, looking like she might cry. It was hard for Tony to hide his disappointment in this development, especially when he got the glare from Fury, confirming that they may not have made the right choice. Bruce shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to think of a way to help her. However, it was Steve that sprang to action, recalling the first time he fired a gun, having a similar reaction, and ran downstairs to find her.
Steve found Lilliana sitting in the hallway outside the firing range, crying. He crouched down in front of her and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, wiped her tears and shook her head. He stood up and offered a hand to help her up, which she took.
"I did almost the same thing the first time I fired a gun, granted I was twelve, but it can be a scary thing. Don't feel ashamed, but you have to go back in there and prove you can do it." He told her confidently. "We're watching you."
"Oh just great, so now everyone has seen me make a fool out of myself? I'm sorry, I never thought in a million years I would need to use a gun, and I'm just not prepared for the responsibility." She vented to him, looking away and down.
"Think of it this way. There may come a time when you, or someone you love, are in danger, and your only choice is to pull that trigger, and it's not going to do anyone any amount of good if you can't hit the target. You have to overcome this." He shifted to move to face her. He made eye contact with her, and she sniffled. "Listen, it gets better. Don't quit. You want to give them the satisfaction of you quitting?" She shook her head. "Go show Natasha what you're made of, what normal kids off the street like us can do. I know you can."
"Thank you." Lilliana said, her body quivering. She took a few deep breaths, nodded to Steve and went back into the firing range. Agent Hill smiled at her, and nodded to Steve, who was peering into the window to see how it would go this time.
"Are you ready to try again Hudson?" Agent Hill asked. Lilliana nodded, and shook her hands out before picking up the gun, aiming at the target, closing her eyes and firing, the noise made her jump, but she stayed with her eyes shut for a moment before peering nervously at the target. She had just grazed the corner of it, but it was better than nothing. "You have to keep your eyes opened, and stop jumping."
"Yes Ma'am." Lilliana said. She took another breath and tried again, this time managing to keep her eyes open at least, but barely hitting the target again. She fired off the rest of the rounds in the gun, receiving similar results and sighed. It was very tiring on her, mentally and physically.
"It will come in time. Let's take a break." Agent Hill told her. "You should eat and get some rest, especially since you didn't sleep last night."
"I find it incredibly frustrating that everyone knows everything about me all the time." Lilliana vented, setting down the gun once again.
"You get used to it, or you find a way of knowing things too." Agent Hill smiled. "You're doing really well, I hope you know, even if the boys think otherwise."
"Thank you." Lilliana smiled back, and the two women walked up to the mess hall together, ate lunch, and discussed future training plans. After lunch Lilliana took a shower, trying to scrub off the insecurities from her body, leaving her skin red and sensitive, she was tired of feeling like the outcast on the ship, she felt fat and useless, and she wanted to go home. After her shower she collapsed on her bed and cried again, but only until lack of sleep caught up to her and she dozed off.