Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers

Chapter 3: Families and Wishes

By the time the final bell had rung for the end of school, Erica was more than ready for the day to be over. It seemed like every teacher had assigned homework. She had spent so much time joking with Timmy during lunch that she had only had two bites of her sandwich by the time the bell rang. Oh, and there was the Mythology discussion that had taken place in her English class.

For reasons that Erica can't remember, the students of that class were discussing different ancient Mythologies. Now, if Erica wasn't so impulsive, she would have known by then to just stay out of the conversation and tune out everyone till the bell rang. But, since she is impulsive and obsessed with Mythology, Erica started to butt into the conversation.

Erica has never considered herself to be extremely "school smart." Her mom is an Astrophysicist for the local college so she knows a bunch of random stuff about wormholes and planetary orbits, but when it comes to most stuff in school, Erica feels like she is just as lost as most of her classmates. Most people get the impression that she is incredibly smart since she gets A's in most of her Pre-AP classes and hangs out with people like Timmy and Phil, but in reality the A's are a result of hanging out with smart people who are willing to re-explain everything from class and help her with the homework.

However, the one thing Erica considers herself to be the local expert on is Norse Mythology. When she was little and still demanding for bedtime stories, her mother and Uncle Eric Selvig (not her real uncle, an old friend of her mother's and the closest thing Erica has to a Grandfather) would either read to her from a Mythology book or tell her stories about Thor saving the world. As a result, Erica knew more Norse Mythology than anyone at school (a fact that she was both extremely proud of and a little disappointed in, since she always had to educate people before she discussed Myths with them). This is also the reason why Erica's favorite Avenger is Thor.

Usually, if Erica chances upon someone who knows enough about Mythology to form an argument, they end up in either a loud discussion or a heated argument. The discussion in English today had ended on the argument side. Hence her bad mood.

"Just ignore them, Erica," Timothy tried comforting her. "You and I both know that Valkyries are awesome, and if those idiots don't agree, it's their loss."

Erica sighed. "You're right, of course. Still doesn't stop me from being mad. I think I need a pick me up. Hey Ana," She called out at seeing her friend,"want to catch some hamburgers and get Tim and Phil to help us with our homework?"

"I'd love to Erica, but I'm afraid I've got some family stuff to take care of," Anastasia told her friends.

"Seriously Ana, you've got 'family stuff' every day. Doesn't your family want you to have some form of a social life?" Lily asked.

"Sometimes, I wonder about that myself," Ana joked. "Bye, guys."

"See ya, Ana."

After watching Ana walk away, Erica turned to her friends other friends and asked "Have any of you actually met any of her family members?"

"I think I remember hearing her mention something about 'needing to talk to Auntie Hill,'" Phil said, "at least, I think she said Auntie."

"I heard her say that the only reason she didn't join the Cheerleading squad was because her Uncle Fury wouldn't let her," an unknown voice said behind Erica.

Erica whipped around to find that the owner of the voice was none other the James Rogers.

He looked a little sheepish, like he was embarrassed that he had been caught eavesdropping. "Sorry, didn't mean to but in. I had just come over to apologize for not defending you guys last period. Those guys were just being mean, and I couldn't find an opportunity to tell them to let off."

"Yeah, well, apology accepted," Erica replied, ignoring the fact that Lily looked like a deer caught in the headlights at the sight of James talking to them. "What were you saying about the only reason she didn't join the Cheerleaders?"

James sighed. "After she did so great on that tumbling portion of P.E., I overheard Coach ask her if she would be interested in joining the Cheer squad. Anastasia had told her she would love to, but her Uncle didn't want her to participate in something as time-demanding as Cheer. Real shame, I saw her in P.E. She was really good."

"I didn't know that she wanted to cheer," Phil said.

"Neither did I," said Lily.

"Nor I," said Timmy.

"Nor I," said Erica. "Honestly, I don't care much for Cheerleaders, most of the ones I know are stuck-up idiots who aren't even good, but it would be really cool if she joined and straitened them all out." Suddenly, Erica had an idea. "Hey! Here's an idea: why don't we follow her home and talk to her parents? Maybe we could convince them to let her try out for the squad if she really wants to."

"Hey! I think I've got something that might help us!" Tim exclaimed. He started sifting through his backpack until he pulled out what looked like an archaic flip phone. "I made this in Electronics. Technically, we were supposed to be using a bread board to make different switches turn on different lights, but since I'd finished that in like, three seconds… Basically, it's a cell phone tracker. Just type in a cell phone number," he typed in Ana's phone number, "press the green button, and in a few minutes the phone's location will show up on the screen."

"Are you sure that's legal?" James asked.

"Satellite codes mean nothing to me," Tim answered. "Now let's see… Whoa. She's at Philip's Bay."

"What's so special about Phillip's Bay?" asked Phil.

"Well, you see… Due to my extracurricular activity of using my supreme hacking skills to find out everything about everything, I happen to know for a fact that Philips's Bay is actually a loading bay for S.H.I.E.L.D. quinjets."

"Shield?" James asked.

"Yeah, S.H.I.E.L.D. As in Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. The super spies. Best known for forming the Avengers for the first time."

Ah, that explained it. For reasons that are unknown to Erica, Tim is obsessed with the Avengers, especially Iron Man. Erica suspects that it might be partly because he sees a lot of himself in Tony Stark. They are both technically minded geniuses, and they even have the same initials. However, Erica finds it highly unlikely that Tim will inherit a multi-billion dollar company. She wouldn't put it past him to build a flying suit of armor, though.

"Well, let's get going," James suggested. "Tim, keep that device out so you can let us know if she moves. We've got a family to meet."

Well, now we're going somewhere. Hopefully I will finally start to explain most of these character's backstories, even the ones they aren't fully aware of themselves.

Reviews are much appreciated!