Hello, me again. I'm glad I am able to upload this the same day as the first one. Sorry if any of the Avengers or anyone are OOC at any point in this story and don't be afraid to review or message me about it.
Chapter 2 - Proving Herself
"Alexia Brookes, nickname Lexy, codename Siren. We've been watching her for a while, now," Nick Fury explained as a photo of a stunning brunette appeared behind him.
Tony Stark whistled appreciatively, while Steve and Thor gasped. Natasha observed her every detail before turning her attention back to Fury. Clint barely even glanced at her, too interested in leaning back in one of the black leather chairs surrounding the rectangular table in the brief room. Dr Banner didn't even look up from his laptop and continued to furiously type away.
"She's a marine biologist here in New York who's had a... Troubled past," the director continued.
"I met her yesterday! She was in the park," Steve blurted.
"So did I," Thor announced.
"Right. Why's she on your radar?" Tony asked, intrigued.
"She has certain abilities that we found could be useful in the future. That future is now. We want you to recruit her," Fury instructed.
A silence broke out as everyone turned to the man, who smirked at their sudden attention.
"Who says we need a new member?" Natasha questioned.
"Maybe it's the fact that you guys barely speak when you're not fighting despite living in the same tower as each other, perhaps it's the idea that, as you face new dangers you'll have to become stronger and a lot of people around here including me don't think you're up to it, possibly I just think that she would make a nice addition to the team," Fury stated evenly.
A few of the team members looked at each other, considering each reason and the proposal overall. Cap seemed completely fine with the idea. Thor still seemed unsure, along with Dr Banner and Clint. Tony and Natasha simply looked unimpressed.
"You're saying that an international super spy, billionaire genius in a metal suit, supersoldier, master archer, radioactive scientist and Viking god aren't enough to keep the world safe?" Natasha raised her eyebrow.
"And you want to solve that problem by recruiting a marine biologist?" Tony just looked like the world had gone mad.
"She's a lot more than that," Nick chuckled.
"What if we refuse?" Natasha pushed.
"You can't. Anyway, I think that most of the team are ok with it," Fury pointed out.
Natasha stared dumbfounded at her teammates, who all shrugged uncomfortably. She rolled her eyes and marched out. Tony stayed silent but didn't seem particularly happy with the decision.
"She seemed nice, I don't see why this is so bad," Steve spoke up.
"The whole reason we are here is because we try to keep people safe. Hiring a complete newbie is probably going to get her killed and if we have to waste time training her, we won't be much better off," Tony snapped.
"What if we show you what she is capable of?" Nick offered.
"How?" Stark replied suspiciously.
"Just come back tomorrow around lunch time. It will be worth it," Fury promised.
Still uncertain, the team left the room and eventually the helicarrier.
The morning after her strange encounters with the familiar and handsome men, Alexia got up and changed into a simple, slimming grey dress with a black belt and a red cardigan. She also slipped on a pair of tights and simple black heels before heading out to work. On the journey there by means of subway, she had the distinct feeling of being watched.
She shook it off as paranoia and continued to weave her way in and out of people, buildings and anything else in her way, eventually finding herself in a deserted alley. Now the fear of what she felt truly sunk in. She began to run but was caught by the wrist by someone. Before she could react in any way, or even turn around, a cloth was over her mouth. That was the last thing she remembered before completely blacking out.
When Lexy woke up, probably hours later, she was in a monochrome grey room. The only sign that colour even existed was her own clothes and the four pools of clean water in each corner of the spacious hall, which had underwater lights emitting a soft blue aura. Before she could even gather her thoughts, two giant doors on either side of the rectangular slid open, revealing two identical enormous machines. They were humanoid in shape but had no facial features. They stayed immobile for only a second before one jerked awake.
Despite the fact that it had no eyes, Alexia got the sickening feeling that it had seen her. She quickly stood up and kicked off her heels, readying herself for the fight that was about to begin. At that moment, a voice echoed through the room, shaking her from her focus.
"Miss Brookes, good afternoon. We are sorry for-" the deep voice began before another voice cut in.
"Yeah yeah, can you just fight the giant robot please?" It commanded impatiently.
Lexy narrowed her eyes and huffed, but turned to the hunk of metal anyway. It raised a large, heavy arm at a surprisingly quick pace and aimed at her before firing a round of speeding bullets. Alexia quickly dodged them, her expert instincts sliding her out of the way just before the shrapnel was able to rip through her body.
Swiftly scampering over to one of the pools of water, Alexia raised her palm. The water imitated her every movement, becoming a perfect replica of her small, dainty hand. She tightened it into a fist and swung around with her arm out. The water followed and smashed into the robot, which stumbled back due to the force.
Still standing, the robot shot a rocket-launcher-style missile towards her. Before it met its target, a wave thrust itself in front of the young woman. The water, which was moving faster and more forcefully than the rocket, pushed it back, deflecting it from Lexy and sending it into one of the walls. The water quickly covered Alexia in a hollow dome to shield her from any force or shrapnel that may have hit her.
The robot changed tactics, simply running at her instead of trying anymore ranged attacks. It swung one of its arms at her and she was barely able to move out of the way before it made impact. She swivelled around to see it halt in its charge and turn around. Once she was in its sights again, it began running again. The robot seemed more intelligent than Lexy gave it credit for so she doubted it would fall for the same trick twice. Instead, she gathered liquid from all of the shallow pools and created a massive sphere of H2O. Using both arms, Alexia turned 90 degrees away from the machine. She slashed her arms from left to right, sending the sphere flying at it at whirlwind speed. The robot had no time to stop, turn or dodge as the ball hit it right in the chest. It was knocked backwards off its feet and the water that had slammed into it now had time to find chinks in the armour. It wasn't long before multiple sparks could be seen from all over its body as the water seeped into its wires, ending its artificial life. Lexy keeled over, exhausted from the amount of energy it had used to form the sphere.
"That was magnificent!" Steve marvelled appreciatively, watching the battle from a security camera.
"Yeah but look how much it took out of her," Natasha argued, glaring at the brunette with obvious disdain.
"Where'd she get those powers from, anyway?" Bruce asked Fury, who sat in the corner.
"That doesn't matter right now," Tony said quickly, "Natasha's right. She's exhausted, has no water left and still has a robot to fight."
The Avengers heads all turned back to the screen as they saw the woman stand up slowly. The second machine had already taken its clone's place, moving towards Alexia slowly.
She was exhausted and irritated but she wasn't going to give up. Lexy stood completely still, ignoring the robot entirely. She focused all of her remaining energy on finding the nearest water source. There was still plenty of water around and the amount of water vapour was countless as it hung in the air, but Lexy knew that bringing them all together would take too much time and energy. Instead, she centred all of her energy on the ocean she could feel below her. It was a long way down and numerous walls of metal stood in between it and her, but she still summoned it.
Unbeknownst to everyone watching, a spire of water formed in the Hudson River. It began rising, pushing upwards as fast as lightning to find the woman who summoned it. The Avengers watches with shock as the woman merely stood there. Even the robot looked confused as Alexia slowly opened her eyes and grinned at the beast of technology. Suddenly, her hands, which had been at her sides, shot upwards until they were in front of her face. Simultaneously, a spire of water smashed through the ground, shooting straight through the robot and spurting out of its head.
With its circuits fried, the machine toppled over. The water slowly began to descend again, leaving Alexia alone. She watched it fall peacefully back to where it belonged through the hole it had left in the floor before closing her eyes, falling unconscious for the second time that day. She hadn't used her powers to that extent for a long time, nor was she ever planning to again. Of course, plans can change, as Alexia was about to find out.