The following week, I kept to myself.
I went down to the training room every morning to warm myself up, working my legs on the treadmill for about an hour before I was forced upstairs to eat. After that, I'd disappear downstairs again to practice with the punching bag, and I made sure to keep Steve's tips in mind. I had to keep my body moving quickly, I had to stay agile or I'd be an easy target and a burden on the others. I wanted to be useful, I didn't want to be that person in the group that always needed saving.
By the end of the week, my hands were bruised and my legs beyond sore. I'd felt as though I'd pulled a muscle; I expressed this thought to Tony who suggested I talk to Dr. Banner about it. I hadn't had any interaction with him before, so I nervously walked into the room where he and Tony were. They were both working away at the computers, watching the screens; when I entered Bruce noticed me first, and sent me a kind smile.
"If it isn't our newest member. Haven't seen you around here much."
"I've been busy." Tony looked up at me, looking me up and down before going back to his work. "But, uh… I heard you were a doctor and…" I blushed and looked down in embarrassment.
"Yes? What is it?" He walked away from the computer, looking me over. His eyes were much more innocent than Tony's when they looked me over, however. "You don't seem to have anything wrong with you."
"It's just my leg… I think I may have pulled a muscle or something…" He nodded, kneeling down and looking at my legs.
"Which leg?"
"Right." He touched the back of my leg gently, pressing against certain points. I inhaled sharply as pain shot through my leg and I flinched. He chuckled softly.
"Your leg is bruised right there, you may have pulled a muscle, but it's not torn. Just put some heat on it before you go to bed, and it'll be fine in time. Try not to push yourself to hard." He gave me another kind smile before returning behind his computer. I thanked him, glancing one more time at Tony before leaving the room.
I hurried down the hall, wondering where I'd get a heat source when I ran straight into what felt like a brick wall. I fell back onto the floor, still registering what had just happened. Thor towered above me, looking down on me in confusion.
"Humans are so tiny." He muttered under his breath. "Are you alright, tiny girl?"
"I'm fine." I replied quickly. "Are you sure you're not the god of brick walls?" He looked at me, confusion written all over his face. I sighed, blushing and excusing myself back to the training room. Steve had taken over the punching bag, and I watched with awe as he relentlessly punched it until it flew across the room. He panted heavily, dropping his stance before turning to look at me.
"You should be resting, not down here." He walked over to place up another punching bag. "Fury called for a meeting tomorrow to discuss the situation about the Tesseract; you should get as much rest as you can before we're called to action."
"I guess I should be going to bed then. Goodnight, Cap'n."
"Goodnight." He gave me a small nod before he got back into his fighting stance. My eyes drifted towards the muscles flexing on his arm before my cheeks began to heat up. I was still a teenage girl, and the movie we watched about him in school never really showed off how muscular he was. Or how handsome and kind he was.
I didn't feel like dealing with Fury after a whole week of not having to see or hear his voice; I didn't voice my unhappiness as I entered the room however. The rest of them weren't even there yet, only Fury, who was looking over his computer with interest. I took a seat at the table in the middle, ignoring him completely until other people were around. Bruce and Tony came together, followed by the others.
Tony and Bruce both grabbed the seat on my right side, sharing a look as Bruce gave up the seat for Tony. The Iron Man slid into the seat beside me, inching the chair slightly closer to me before facing Fury. I looked at him suspiciously from the corner of my eye, before turning to look at Steve, who slid into the other chair beside me.
"How's your leg?" Bruce asked from behind Tony, forcing me to face him and Tony.
"It's better now. I guess I still shouldn't train."
"What exactly do you do?" Tony addressed me for the first time since I'd met him. "I mean, you're obviously not a genius such as I or the good Doctor over there, and we've already got a soldier, and a pair of assassins. So, what is it, exactly, that you do?" I glared at him, the rude tone of voice he spoken to me with instantly grating my nerves.
The water glass he had brought in with him was lying in front of him, probably there due to his hangover from the night before. I raised my hand quickly, earning a raised eyebrow from him. The water from his glass splashed his face and hair, causing him to sputter in surprise. I smiled proudly as I heard Steve snicker from my other side. I pulled the water from his hair, allowing the small ball of water to land back in his glass.
Tony grabbed his glass, swishing the water around inside of it as he observed it.
"Thanks, I love hair in my water." He muttered dryly, placing the glass back down onto the table.
"Let's get down to business." Fury slammed his hands on the table to gain the attention of everyone "We've been tracking down Loki, but we need more time. We need to draw him out, think of what he's planning next. All around the world, things have been going downhill, so I've decided that while we're still waiting for Loki's position to be revealed… All of you will be going on side missions. We all have our means of communicating with one another. I give you a file, you complete the task, and then you come back, got it?"
So now I was going to be forced to go on missions? I guess it was what I had expected; I just wasn't prepared to completely leave my mother without any way to communicate with her.
"I have three case files now. You're paired with the person next to you, two per group." I was glad Steve had sat on my side; it meant I'd be working along with him instead of Mr. Hangover. I felt bad for Banner, but maybe he didn't get the attitude like I did from him. Steve stood up, taking the case file with him as the rest of the group scattered to prepare. Only Tony, Steve, and I lingered back for a few seconds.
"Wait." Fury called out before I could leave. "Stark, what's your mission?"
"Burglar." He muttered with a bored expression, holding up the yellow folder. "Do I get a trade-in?"
"No." Fury replied impatiently. "But you do get a switch of partners. You'll be working with her. Rogers, you'll be working with Banner."
"Are you kidding me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at the man standing in front of me. "Why do we have to switch partners?"
"Good question." Stark stated. "I'm too powerful to stop a burglar, she's too weak."
"Excuse me?"
"You're a teenage girl who can splash some water around; Oh, Mr. Burglar let me interrupt your meal by splashing you in the face. I'm sure he'll wet himself in fear."
"I suggest you watch your tone, Stark." Captain America warned from behind me. "Without your suit she could beat you in a fight, hands down."
"Want to bet on it?"
"Enough." Fury bellowed. "My word is final; get this mission done or you will both suffer the consequences."
"I'm already suffering." I growled under my breath, turning on my heel to go to my room. Agent Coulson popped up in the doorway before I could stop, holding his hands up defensively over his chest.
"I've got your suit ready for you, if you just follow me." Seeing it as my chance to leave this nerve grating conversation, I nodded.
"Meet you by the planes in twenty, munchkin." Tony called out, heading off towards his room before I could find the proper object to throw at his face. Steve shot me an apologetic look, but like the good soldier he was, he obeyed his orders and walked away to tell Banner of the partner reassignment. Damn, I was looking forward to seeing him in action in person too.
I followed Coulson as he led me towards the locker room, where in the far corner a skin tight black outfit hung.
"It stretches to fit you how you want it to." He took it from the hanger and handed it to me. "Fireproof and waterproof, thought that'd be usual for you. I helped design it after all. I added a special touch just for you." He pointed towards a part on the shoulder, where a miniature version of Captain America's shield was sewn in. I couldn't say I didn't like it; a bit tight for my taste, but otherwise it was comfortable.
"Thank you, Agent Coulson." I pulled the trading card out of my shirt, where I had been carrying it around with me for days. "This will be my good luck charm, alright? When I look at it, I'll be fighting for you, and for my hero." I handed him back his card, smiling as he smiled back at me.
"Good luck, hero." He saluted me, leaving me on my own as I went to meet up with Stark. I stood by the plane that was being prepared for us, arms crossed as I watched the entrance and waited for him to arrive. The others slowly trailed in, Steve and Banner coming over to stand with me while I waited for my partner.
He walked in, completely suited up in his Iron Man gear as he joined us, only his helmet not covering his face. How unfortunate, it meant I'd still have to hear him talk. Steve looked at me.
"You could ride along with us; we could drop you off at the same place as Stark if you don't want to fly with him." Steve whispered as we both watched Tony stagger into the aircraft.
"I can handle myself Captain, don't worry." I smiled at him before running into the aircraft after Tony. I waved goodbye to the good Captain, sighing as I realized I wouldn't see him for awhile.
I had a feeling this mission was going to be a long one.