7.
The Captain didn't hesitate when he told the others he thought it was best for Anne to leave the team, but none of them seemed to care very much.
"Well, everybody has their reasons..." Was Tony's "I don't give two flips" reply.
"I don't think we want someone who's only ambition was to kill her father's murderer on the team."
Bruce thought he had a good point, but he still shook his head.
"Maybe not, but if she's so lost as you say she is, do you really want her set loose alone on the city right now? Desperate people tend to do desperate things. Maybe it's a good thing if she stays, so at least we can put her on the right track again."
"Thing is Uncle Sam, if we let her go now as desperate as you say she is, she might make bad decisions that lead to very bad consequences."
Steve couldn't do anything but agree with this theory. They were right. He didn't want her to become a bad person just because she was desperate. No, she couldn't leave just yet.
But none of them would have had to worry so much, because it just so happened that Anne was thinking the same exact thing.
So THAT was what was driving her. She had always thought it to be the will to do good, to honor her father, but it wasn't... James was right. It had always been revenge. But now what was that worth? Nothing. It only made her feel worse and she could never forgive herself for letting Steve see her like that. James had told her a lot about Steve. From what she understood he was one of the greatest men alive and she had probably lost all of his respect. That feeling pierced her like a knife.
The days went by. Most of them came to see her every day and at least one of them stayed with her for the rest of it. Everyone except Steve. Anne understood his decision the break off every communication with her. He didn't trust her, maybe he hadn't trusted her since day one. It was awful to think that after her first day, she was already put aside by one of the people she most respected. At least from the idea she had made of him, and from James's description, Steve Rogers was the most noble man ever to be seen on earth. But James never did say anything more.
Even Thor came to keep her company and she swore she had never laughed so much in her life. Anne knew he was doing it on purpose, she could see from his eyes that he was actually extremely bright and quick-witted, but maybe he hid that side of himself so he could surprise both his enemies and allies. Anne had the greatest respect for him.
"What is the cellular device you talk of?"
"It's a cellphone, Thor. We use it to communicate with each other even from a very long distance."
"Ah! Like a letter!"
Anne giggled.
"Kind of... But we can actually talk with the other person."
"I do not understand."
She laughed again and Thor smiled. That was proof he was doing it on purpose, but she was happy he was.
When Bruce came to stay with her, she asked him to read. He had a really nice ready voice, soft and steady which brought the words to life. It reminded her of her father's voice, so she asked him to read often. When he did, her mind travelled to distant lands and met the strangest people. He made her feel so much at home, that somehow they bonded instantly. Banner would never had admitted it, but he actually liked reading to her and seeing her eyes light up. He liked to make her smile and somehow, she became like a daughter to him in a very short time. Barton, on the other hand, was the perfect remedy for gloomy days, even more than Thor, who was just really sweet and big brotherly like. They too bonded quite easily. Barton just made her laugh. He would do the most hilarious things. Pull pranks on Tony, which was the best thing ever to watch, or on Natasha, not so fun when she got hold of him, or he would just say something so funny she would just burst out laughing. Once day, a couple of weeks after the attack, Barton had the brilliant idea to dump a bucket of water on Tony's favorite Iron Man suit while he was working on it. He managed, or better, Jarvis managed to get it all on camera.
Anne didn't even know so many cuss words existed.
When it was mister billionaire's turn to keep an eye on her, because it was obvious that that was what they were doing, it started out in sarcastic remarks and always ended up in big fights and Tony would leave the room mumbling about children and how stupid they were.
Nonetheless, Anne noticed that under his selfish, sarcastic shell was a man ready to give his life for the good of the world and the one's he loved and she found herself wishing she had such a reason to go on.
He was childish, but underneath, he was tormented by terrible memories.
In a short time, the young girl managed to bond with each Avenger, except for Steve and Natasha. Nat was the one responsible for finding whomever had done this to her, so she was never there, but Steve just didn't want to see her. But one day, after three weeks had passed, he was forced to.
Nat had found a lead, and someone needed to stay with her. The others, though were bent on going, so Steve was forced to stay and protect her. He entered her room without saying a word and sat down. Anne smiled at him with kindness.
"Are the others gone?"
"Natasha found a lead somewhere in Germany. So I'll be..."
"Protecting me for a few days."
She smiled again, but Steve fell silent.
"Why is everyone so worried about me? Are they afraid whoever did this is going to come back for me?"
Steve never ceased to be impressed by her quick-witts. So she had noticed.
"You noticed, huh?" He smiled gently and Anne felt like she was making progress.
"Well, it doesn't exactly take a genius. So what is this all about?"
"Changing your mind."
The reply surprised her.
"About what?"
"About the reason you've been fighting."
Her face turned grave and a certain darkness fell upon it as she sighed.
"Right, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. Listen, I'm sorry about the way I reacted. I was in a lot of pain and I don't even know where that came from. I guess I should have listened to James when.."
Steve shuddered.
"James? Who's James?"
Anne's top lip quivered. She had promised she would never mention her meeting him to anyone, but now, to regain his trust, she was ready to break that promise.
"I met him about six months ago. I found him wandering the streets like a lost dog, so I offered him some food and a place to stay. He promised to train me to thank me. I was already fighting then, but I wasn't as good as I am now and it's all thanks to him. He called himself James and that's all. He didn't seem to remember much about his past, but he seemed to know you and always talked fondly of you. I never understood why. He trained me for five and a half months. We even became friends, then..."
She paused. This was so hard for her.
"Then?" There was a certain eagerness in his face, something she had never noticed in him before.
"Then, one morning I woke up and he was gone. I haven't seen him since."
The Captain's face had went grave and he was very quiet.
"What was his name?"
"James."
"James what?"
"I don't know. He never told me. He didn't really talk much. When he did, we were training."
She felt guilty. She did know his last name, but James had made her promise to keep it a secret. Already telling Steve was a big step. James had been a big part of her life. He had trained her, made her what she was. He had been her friend. The day he had left, everything seemed to come crushing down on her. He had just gone, without a single word. Disappeared into thin air. Anne had been hurt by his sudden decision.
Steve did not talk. He was lost in deep thought. Could it be? Bucky? He had lost him around the time she said, it was a possibility. And she said he had mentioned him, but why would he just leave? Were his memories coming back?
After a while, he spoke again.
"Why are you telling me this?"
A smile appeared on her face.
"Because I trust you... And I want you to trust me too... And forgive me, if you can."
Maybe he had been wrong about her. Maybe she was just lost. Maybe it was a natural reaction to want revenge.
Steve finally smiled at her and she could see it was sincere.