Hey, I'm back. So, I forgot to mention in the last chapter that this story will have 2 parts. Part 1 will be about how Zoey gets involved with SHIELD and Part 2 will be about her adventure with the Avengers

The title of this chapter is from Travis Porter 'Party Time'

I don't own MARVEL and only my characters

Chapter Two

We're gonna party, have a good time

"Up, up, up! Wake up guys, you gotta pick the grapes." I awake to the sound of Mom knocking on the door. Groaning, I open my eyes and sit up.

"Be right there." I call to her weakly before flopping back down on my bed. Be right here.

I turn to look at Madison, who is sleeping soundly on her own bed. Her strawberry blonde hair is splayed out everywhere in knots and snarls.

She suddenly gives a little jolt and I snort. Probably dreaming of being a cat or something.

Sighing, I roll off my bed and thump onto the floor, which, thankfully, has my purple rug. Dragging myself over to her as if my legs are broken, I snatch her pillow out from under her head and then whack her with it.

"Wak'up!"

Madison screams and falls off her bed, landing next to me. Unfortunately for her, she didn't land on my rug, because her's is in front of her bed. Fortunately for me, I found it very funny.

"Uuugh," Madison groans, sitting up while rubbing her head, "What happened? Did you- oh shut up!"

I let out my final laugh and a few giggles before calming down, an idiotic smile plastered on my face.

"Mom said we have to wake up." I snicker and she scowls, "Did you really have to scare me to death?"

I look her up and down and say sarcastically, "You seem alive enough to pick grapes."

Madison scowls again and hits me with her pillow. "You interrupted my dreaming." she complains, "It was weird, though. At first I was this pregnant black cat. And then I was, like, this big black wolf, like, really big, and I ate the other me. Well, I didn't eat me, just killed me, but I would've eaten me if you hadn't woken me up."

My smile falters a little and I roll my eyes to make it up. This isn't the first time she almost came to discovering my secret. And I just predicted her dreaming of cats. Sometimes….it feels like we're way too close. Freaky.

After getting dressed, we walk out of our room and towards the kitchen. Finn, of course, is already there, sitting on the floor. He jumps up when he sees us and yaps, "Oh, heeyyyy, my two favorite masters in the whole world! I love you soooo much! You know what would make me love you even more? If you-"

"Oh, be quiet Finn." Madison yawns as she opens the cereal cabinet, "Go eat your kibble."

"But I want bacon!" Finn whines as if she could understand him, "Or sausage!" he looks at me desperately and gives me the puppy dog eyes.

Sighing inwardly, I smile and say, "Why don't we make some bacon? I'm not in the mood for cereal."

Madison shrugs and goes to the fridge. I give Finn a wink and his tongue lolls. Madison takes out the raw bacon and starts setting it up. "How many strips?" she asks as I go to get orange juice.

I think about it for a moment and then reply, "Twelve. We can have it with toast or something."

She nods and puts the plate of bacon in the microwave. I start pouring the juice in two glasses and just then Angus walks in with Luna behind him.

"Mmm, I smell bacon." he barks gruffly. I notice, with my enhanced nose, that he still smells like green apple. Mom scratches his head and says in a lovey-dovey-doggy-voice, "What? You smell the bacon? You smell the bacon, don't you? You wanna get some!"

I inwardly giggle and pour juice into a third glass. A minute or so later, Madison takes out the bacon and sets it on the table.

"Oooh, yes!" Finn yipes, "Can I have some, please, please, please, oh, please, please, pleaseee!"

He jumps up and down and Madison puts her leg in front of him, "Whoa, Finn, calm down! You'll get some later, just stop barking!"

"Okay! Okay, I'll stop!" Finn immediately stops and lays down quietly on the ragged kitchen rug.

I roll my eyes and put bread in the toaster. Sipping my orange juice, I hand the other two glasses to Mom and my sister. Madison gratefully takes hers, but Mom waves her hands, saying, "I can't stay for long. I gotta go to a meeting with the workers. Give it to Finn or something."

She grabs a couple of pieces of bacon and, once it pops, a piece of toast before walking outside, "Pick the grapes! Bye!"

I sigh and gobble down my breakfast. Fifteen minutes later, Finn and Angus are wolfing down the remains of our meal. After finishing his piece, Finn moves on to the glass- or bowl, now- of orange juice, practically inhaling it.

Madison stares at him and shakes her head, "That dog is gonna die some day- either from eating all this crap that we give him, or eating too quickly. Or running off a cliff. Or running so fast that he can't stop and explodes."

I laugh and Finn looks up, "You find my death funny?"

"How 'bout we ride the horses to the vineyard?" I suggest, changing the subject. Madison nods and we walk outside, Angus and Finn following.

Madison turns around and says, "Alright, Finney. Herd out."

'Herd out' means he has to herd the sheep out of their pen. With a bark, he trots away. Since Angus is too old to herd, he joins us as we walk to the stables. Some of the horses are already in the field, such as Pepsi, but I go inside to find Moon laying down in her stall.

I gasp and rush to her side. One of the workers named Jacqueline is trying to pull her up.

"What happened?" I ask as Moon struggles to stand. Jacqueline is panting a little, "Oh, nothing, just a stomach ache. I'm going to take her for a little walk. You shouldn't ride her for the next few days, though, until she's completely better."

I stare at Moon worriedly and pat her muzzle, "Okay. Feel better, Moony!"

Disappointed, I walk outside to see Madison walking towards me with Pepsi following. She frowns and asks, "Why are you sad?"

I give her a strange look and ask, "How do you know I'm sad?"

Madison shrugs and mutters, "Just felt it I guess."

I shake my head and say, "Moon's sick so I can't ride her. I'll have to take Fox."

Fox, short for Foxy Roxy, looks kind of like Moon, but has more of a fiery chestnut color. She's also...well… a tiny bit more insane than Moon. But she's a good horse.

"Aww, poor thing." Madison says and I sigh before going to get Fox. She's currently rolling around in the grass. See? Insane.

Fox gets up when she sees me and snorts in my face. I scrunch my eyes shut and wipe flecks of goo off of my face. Fox neighs and I open my eyes. Sighing again, I heave myself onto her back. Unfortunately, her spine juts out more than Moon's so I'm rather uncomfortable. Oh, God, I miss Moon already.

Madison laughs at me as she gets up onto Pepsi's back. "Let me guess," she calls over as she walks to me, "You totally miss Moon?"

"You know me so well." I laugh slightly, shaking my head. She smiles and we set off towards the grape field. It isn't very far away, but, hey, riding horses is fun anytime!

I'm about to be proven wrong.

"Trot on, Pepsi!" Madison commands and Pepsi starts trotting. Fox, seeing her friend getting ahead of her, starts trotting too. I grit my teeth in pain as her spine smashes into my tailbone over and over, until, "Okay, how about we canter- whoa!"

Fox suddenly surges forward and I cling onto her neck. Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God! I hear Madison laugh and quickly get into a more comfortable position, with my hands on Fox's short mane and my knees squeezing each of her flanks so I don't fall off.

In a few minutes, the vineyard is in sight and I jerk the horse to the right where there's a trail leading around the area. Slowing down, I jump off immediately and hook Foxy Roxy onto a pole, using a quick rope bridle that is left there. Madison does the same.

"Alright," I say, rubbing my hands together, "Let's get this done."

We are about to walk down the slope to the grapes, but then Madison says, "Wait, don't we need buckets for the grapes?"

I stop dead in my tracks. Oh, come on!

I do a facepalm and groan, "I hate myself." Madison rolls her eyes and walks back to Pepsi.

"Wait," Angus, who followed us, barks, "Try that shed." He points with his nose to a nearby shack and I call Madison back.

Walking over to it, I open the door and guess what? There's, like, one basket of clippers and other gardening stuff, and the rest is just buckets. Like, forty of them!

Madison and I glance at each other and I roll my eyes. We both grab one and then start walking in the lines of grapes. They are plump, purple, and look ready to harvest.

"So," Madison says as she plucks the first grape from its vine, "We set up some games before the guests arrive, of course, and then climb a tree and sing, right? I've got my guitar and you've got your rockin' voice."

I nod and pretend to blush, "Why thank you, Madison! I never knew you felt that way about me."

"Oh, shut up,"

I laugh and say, "Alright, alright! Let's sing P!nk songs! I love the album 'The Truth About Love'!" By the way, have I mentioned how much we love P!nk? And fun.? So just imagine our reactions when we heard them singing together in 'Just Give Me a Reason'. Total flip out!

"Me too!" Madison says, "Let's practice later. Do you think the Avengers will like her songs?"

I nearly drop my bucket of grapes.

What?

I shake it off and act normal as I turn to her, "Why do you want them to come?"

Those superfreaks will only bring trouble. With that whole alien attack in New York- I don't trust them. They'll put Madison in danger, or- well, something's bound to go wrong! And what did they do to the bad guy? Not kill him, that's for sure. Actually, I have no idea what they did to him, but still...

Madison shrugs, "I think it'd be cool to have superheroes at our house."

I grunt and continue picking grapes. Madison raises and eyebrow, "Why don't you want them to come?"

I blink and say quickly, "Oh I do! Can't wait!"

She gives me a 'seriously' look and I grin sheepishly. "Come on, Zoey, I know you too well. I can feel it- in mah belleh!" she puts her hands to her stomach as she quotes from 'Rise of the Guardians'.

I laugh, "Okay, okay. So what if I'm not...comfortable with them coming? I mean, they did kinda tear apart Manhattan. And anyway, they live in New York. Why would they travel thousands of miles to come to a vineyard party?"

"I hear Tony Stark has a house in Malibu."

Suddenly, Angus growls.

Madison looks down at him and says in a doggy voice, "What? Smell any lions?"

I snort and shake my head, "There's no lions in California!"

"No, no," she corrects, "Mountain Lions. And big ones!" Ha! I don't believe it! I think she had one piece of bacon, too many.

"Sure." I say sarcastically.

"It's true, pup." Angus barks. Ugh, I hate it when he calls me 'pup'. It makes me feel small.

Madison, of course, doesn't understand and guesses, "See, Angus agrees."

I roll my eyes. Mountain Lions in California? Or anywhere remotely near Malibu? Phh, when pigs fly!

We don't talk much after that. By noon, our buckets are full of grapes, and to save us from spilling them, we decide to walk back to the house instead of riding the horses. I unhook Fox from the pole, "Alright, girl, beat it!"

She looks at me with big brown eyes and I shrug in confusion. "What? I'm not riding you." I smack her rump lightly, "Scram!"

She and Pepsi take off at a canter back towards their pasture. I look at Madison and shake my head. She laughs and we make our way back to the house.

As we pass by, I see Mom and some of the other workers decorating the field where the party takes place. It's near the wooded area that surrounds most of the vineyard.

Hmm...I guess Mountain Lions could live there. Walking inside the house, we quickly wash the grapes. Popping one into my mouth, I savor its' delicious flavor. Madison suddenly disappears for a few moments, then reappears with her guitar and an iPod. "So, let's practice."

Sunday 7:00 AM

Day of Party

Madison and I both wake up at the crack of dawn. We're too excited to sleep. I jump off the bed and grab a jacket. My step-sister does the same and together we quietly sneak downstairs. Mom's still asleep, along with Angus and Finn. Wait, no, I take that back.

Finn suddenly rushes towards us, "Hey, guys, whatcha doing? It's a bit early but I guess-"

"Shhh!" Madison shushes, "Be quiet, Finn!"

Finn clamps his mouth shut and I tiptoe up to the door. I'm about to open it when Madison grabs my arm.

"What?" I hiss, turning around. She points to a white box on the wall. The alarm. Leave me to be the idiot.

She turns it off and I quietly open the door. It's late spring, so a warm draft of air hits our faces. Finn follows us as we run around the house to the Party Field. Yep, that's what I'm calling it now.

There are tables everywhere with funky tablecloths covering them. Dotted here and there are poles with ribbons wrapped around them. For the adults, Mom set up a mini wine tasting bar with cabinets full of different kinds of wine near a pond. I've tried a bit of wine in my past and believe me when I tell you this. It. Is. Disgusting!

It's all sour and tart and I can't taste the grapes! I don't know why grown-ups make such a big deal about it. And beer isn't any better.

Our games are on the other side of the field, near a clearing in the wooded area. There's arts and crafts, where we teach kids how to make masks and pins. We have a big rope for tug-of-war. A waterslide for cooling off. A twister set. Bingo….for some reason. And at around 2:00 the kids step barefoot into a big crate of grapes and squish all the juice out of them. According to Mom, that's how people made wine back in the days.

Also, at 12:00 Madison and I show all the little kids the animals we have. Horses, sheep, the dogs, chicken, cows- but not Buster the bull. That guy's got wicked horns and the temperament of a honey badger. Look it up on YouTube. You'll see what I mean.

I walk up to a nice big Jacaranda tree and climb up to a suitable branch. Yes, yes! The wolf, I know! I taught Madison how to climb when we were seven. Now, she's almost as good as me.

Almost.

Since it's spring, there's a fair amount of bees buzzing around the tree and its purple flowers. They don't bother me, though. Used to scare the stuffing out of Madison, but now she's okay around them. Just as long as they don't get too close.

She quickly runs back to the garage to get her guitar and I help her up. I set the guitar on a fork in the branches and reach down to grab her hand. I easily pull her up, what with my super-wolf-mutant-strength, and she sits down next to me on my branch.

"Okay," I say, "Let's practice, 'Just Give Me a Reason'." Madison nods and starts playing her guitar.

Right from the start you were a thief

you stole my heart

and I, your willing victim

I let you see the parts of my that weren't all that pretty

and with every touch you fixed them (ew)

Now you've been talkin' in your sleep

uh oh

Things you'd never say to me

uh oh

Tell me that you've had enough,

of our love, our love….

(scene changes and they're singing to a crowd at the party later in the day)

Just give me a reason

Just a little bit's enough

Just a second,

we're not broken, just bent

and we can learn to love again!

The crowd sways from side to side to the beat of the song. I smile and sing on.

It's in the stars

It's been written in the scars

on our hearts

That we're not broken just bent

and we can learn to love again!

Madison starts singing with me because the song's a duet with Alecia Moore and Nate Ruess. Both of our favorite singers. Singing a song. Ahh, I still remember the day when we first heard it.

The crowd cheers and whoops when I sing the high note perfectly. I notice a familiar looking man walk up to us when we finish. For a moment, I wonder if he's one of the Avengers, but then Madison screams and jumps off the tree.

"DAD!" she cries and runs to him. Ahh, now I remember him. Mason grins and hugs his daughter and I get a warm, joyful feeling in my stomach.

Which, of course, turns to complete dread and despair when I see who is behind him.

I let out a little growl and mutter, "You just had to come and bring your little friends to Malibu, eh, Stark?"

Told ya we'd get into the Avengers soon. Anyway, I wrote this chapter a little while ago when 'Just Give Me a Reason' was still popular, so... yeah. Sorry for all of you that have never heard that song. I hate reading stories and the characters just start singing songs I have no clue about.

Anywho

R&R

-Flaming Crow