A/N: One of my friends complained that I made my OC too similar to myself (which I consider a compliment, cause Sam kicks ass), so I gave Sam an iPhone. I have an Android; clearly we are very different. Me to my friend earlier: "my OC is going to have a best friend just like you, because everyone deserves to have someone like you in their life" - get out of jail free card for when I do something stupid later lol. Thank you, once again to everyone who favorites and reviews for my story. I love you all. I'm so glad you like Sam, I'm like a proud parent. ^^ This chapter may seem like filler, but everything happens for a reason. Except when I write something just cause it's funny. There are gonna be lots of laughs in the next chapter now. Also, I'm trying to write longer chapters for you all. Disclaimer: I still do not own the Avengers or any of the actors. I got excited when I heard a muffled thump in my closet, but it was just my cat. She opens doors. It's creepy. O.O
Two days after the incident at the warehouse Samantha Harper found herself out for a jog in a park a few miles from her house, enjoying the sunny afternoon. The trail through the woods was relatively quiet, with only one or two stray bike riders disturbing her listening to music on her iPhone. Checking the time, she had a few hours before her best friend/roommate got off work. They were going to have a girls' night. Hopefully without guns this time.
Back at her house however, the Avengers were doing a little breaking and entering. Or rather, just entering. Strangely, the house wasn't even locked. They entered the small three bedroom house without a single neighbor so much as looking out a window at them and helped themselves to a little tour.
It was surprisingly clean for two college students. The living room was neat, even with it being slightly cramped from all of the furniture. Pillows and blankets were stacked on a chair. An impressively large DVD collection was arranged next to the flat screen. There were a few pictures scattered around the room of groups of teenagers and Steve picked up one of the frames closest to him. The girl was begrudgingly posing under a gazebo and looked exactly like the blonde girl, except for her long, dark brown hair and eyes of a similar shade. She was actually more attractive as a brunette, he thought, and quickly blushed at the thought. He set down the frame and hurried into the kitchen where Clint was helping himself to a soda from the fridge. Steve glared at him.
"What," Clint said defensively. "I'll leave an IOU. I was thirsty, and this is strawberry soda. I wanted to try it."
Steve just shook his head as he looked around the kitchen. Technically, he was the youngest person on his team, but sometimes it didn't feel like it. He was impressed by the kitchen. Not because it was large or had gadgets he could never work, but because it looked used. There were groceries in the cabinets and fridge, and a bowl of apples sitting out. It certainly looked more used than the one at the tower; they got take out more often than not. In fact he smelled...cookies. Chocolate chip, like the kind his mom used to make growing up.
He smiled as he walked down the hallway to the next room. Tony was laughing as he went through a pile of colorful paper on the table.
"Tony," Steve sighed," it would really help if you weren't doing...whatever it is that you're doing."
"Check it out, Capsicle. There's arts and crafts,"he exclaimed. Natasha stalked into the room and ascertained that yes, the table was covered in scrapbooking supplies and there was various colored yarn in a cabinet to the side. She smirked as she held up a rainbow scarf. Yes, Steve thought, sometimes he really felt like the oldest in the group.
Across the hall Bruce was checking out an office-like space, with two desks. One of which had a laptop sitting out and various notebooks and textbooks stacked in the corner. Bruce's interest was currently focused on the large bookshelf that seemed to contain a variety of genres.
Clint left the kitchen and went up the stairs. There were three bedrooms up here, and two bathrooms along with the one downstairs. Two of the rooms looked actually used; the other must be a guest room. He idly wondered which one belonged to Samantha. The purple room seemed a more promising bet. He looked around and let out a small laugh as he found a closet that looked moderately neat- except for the pile of Captain America goodies on the floor. There were birthday cards, playing cards, a t-shirt, even a toy shield. He picked it up and carried it down the stairs.
Natasha was making a few discoveries of her own. She had left the craft room and passed an office where Bruce and Steve were looking at the bookshelf. There was a door at the end of the hall that she assumed was a closet, but when she turned the handle discovered that it was locked. Now she had to open it. Why leave the front door unlocked, but keep this door shut? She had it opened rather easily, making sure not to damage it. She had to worry about first impressions and all. Not that she figured the teenage girl would be too happy to come home and find her house invaded. Oh well.
There was a light switch just inside the door frame which she used to illuminate the staircase that descended downward. When she reached the bottom she figured out why it was locked. There was a nice personal gym down here, but instead of the usual treadmill and yoga mat a punching bag hung in the corner and a large target was set up along the far wall. A shelf with throwing knives was nearby. It actually looked like a lower tech version of a SHIELD training room, except for the lack of a shooting range. Of course, the neighbors might not have appreciated the noise, she thought wryly.
She picked up one of the knives and threw it herself, smiling when it hit dead center on the target. As usual. When she retrieved it she was happy to note that there were plenty of marks around the center of the target, with a few stray ones in various places. The girl couldn't be that bad, although the strays suggested a need for more practice.
Natasha headed back up the stairs and into the living room at the same time most of the others were gathering there. They heard Clint coming down the stairs and saw him round the corner, shield in hand.
"Oh guys, look what I found," he called out with a grin and lifted the shield. "Someone has a secret shrine in her closet!"
"Great, we can just let Spangles seduce her into joining," Tony said, watching with a smirk as Steve blushed.
"Come on, guys. Don't fool around," he said. "Besides, that could be her roommate's stuff."
"We'll find out when she comes home," Clint teased.
"Did anyone find anything actually relevant," Steve asked in an annoyed tone.
"I went through a laptop in the office, but it was mostly full of assignments," Bruce said.
"Hold up," Tony said to Bruce,"You hacked the computer? Invading peoples' privacy is my job!" He almost looked hurt.
"Sorry, but you were too busy making macaroni noodle necklaces."
"There are lots of fun toys in the basement. I found a punching bag, throwing knives, the usual," Natasha cut in with a shrug.
"You and I have very different definitions of 'fun toys' and 'usual'," Tony replied. Steve chose to not read into that statement too much.
"I guess now we wait," Bruce said as he settled into a chair with a book he had found earlier.
It wasn't long before they heard a scratching noise from the back door in the kitchen. The group tensed and prepared for a confrontation as they made Natasha open the door. A little calico cat ran inside and towards an unnoticed food bowl in the corner.
"Hello to you, too," she said sarcastically as she was ignored by the cat who was fully focused on it's food. She walked back into the living room with the rest of the team to patiently wait on their guest of honor.