ug this chapter was like pulling teeth! I have realized that most of my best scenes come from when I listen to music. Almost like I can see it when I hear the songs and the flowing and ebbing of the notes. I keep forgetting to say this because without this person I would not be writing this and posting it on here so I would like to thank LouBlue for giving me a kick in the pants and getting on this, THANK YOU! ^^ Now I do not own the Avengers team they belong to Marvel and Stan Lee (god bless him)
It had been 3 years since Halder had left for Asguard, and 3 years since the young avengers had been together in a group. They saw each other individually but an unspoken agreement had formed not to meet as a group until Hal was back. It just wouldn't be the same.
Alisha was training with Natasha and her girls every weekend, learning how to move, block, dodge, and fight in hand to hand. At first it was a joy because she learned quickly and only had as much difficulty as the twins, but now that she was having growth spurts it was very painful and she found that is was becoming harder for her to breathe on a regular basis; thus having to take more serum. She could still spar with the twins but she didn't make as much progress as they did. In fact she was stuck at a point in time with her training because the moves and fighting was so strenuous right now that she couldn't keep going after about 5 minutes.
Her father and she had discovered that with the growth spurts, hormone changes, and all other natural things that happened when a girl went through puberty the serum was doing more harm to her body then before. Since her muscles where growing as much as the rest of her body it was causing more blood to rush to toughs parts and, at the same time, causing more pain than normal. Her muscles where also requiring more oxygen to grow in short bursts that she could not provide because of her condition, also causing more pain and over time and, if it kept up, unhealthy growing overall.
"I know it's far away Alisha, and I know it's for a long time. But it's the best option we have right now. I am ONLY agreeing to this because it is the healthiest option for you and your growing body" Tony said. Him, Pepper, Susan, Jane, and the rest of the Avengers on earth had come together to offer advice about Alisha's condition. Bruce had suggested that with the growing muscles requiring more oxygen that the serum was becoming more of a hindrance to her health. Tony had argued that without the serum she would most surly die. It was Jane that suggested that Alisha should move to a higher elevation so she could take less serum but still get enough oxygen to grow somewhat normally. Tony had tried to argue the point, since if she did move away then he would not be able to ne with her, but he could see the benefits of going through with this plan. Much to his annoyance and hate, he agreed that this was the best plan for Alisha.
"But dad I will be living away from home, my friends, my life here" Alisha argued, stomping her foot on the ground acting more like Pepper at that moment and making it harder for her father to argue with her.
"Alisha, we are making you go not because we want to but because we want what is best for you. And right now that is going up to Jane's observatory next week after spending this week at Bruce's cabin in the mountains" Tony said, trying to keep his voice from rising. She was just being a defiant teenager, but right now he was getting fed up with it.
"Alisha"
"What Mom" she snapped, pointing her glare to the always calm Pepper Stark.
"You are going, and nothing you can say or do is going to change that. Now you can keep arguing and not pack anything you want. Or you can stop and go pack what you want to bring" Pepper said as she flipped the page in the book she was reading. Alisha stormed off in a huff.
"How did you DO that Pepper? I have been trying to convince her for 30 minutes and you just say one thing and she does it" Tony asked, a look of shock on his face.
She looked at him and smiled. "I would think you would know what it was like being an immature brat, since it was a shorter time ago for you then for me" She winked at him, remembering back when he was still single and she was still his assistant and not his wife.
Tony glared at her. "Sorry I was to busy trying to convince our daughter to do what was best for her health and not her social life" and with that Tony stomped away in a huff as well.
"That and I have had a lot of experience dealing with immature brats" Pepper snickered after her husband stomped away.
In 3 hours she had packed thick warm clothes in one bag, shoes and jackets in another, toiletries and warm undergarments in the next, and all her computer stuff in the last. She also had her guitar and alto clarinet and a backpack full of physics books, calculus books, and a book about the quantum theory. She was working on a few songs while she was missing her group of young avengers and also expanding her knowledge. She said good-bye to Dummy and JARVIS before heading to the hovercraft. In another hour she, Tony, and Pepper where on their way Bruce's mountain getaway while Jane was in DC for a conference for the week. The idea was to slowly get her body use to higher altitudes while also seeing how much less serum she needed for how high she went up in elevation.
They arrived at about 3:30 up in a remote mountain cabin in Canada. They were all greeted by a happy Lance and a clam smiling Bruce.
"I am glad you are here for a week Alisha" Lance said before blushing when she hugged him.
"I am…kind of happy. I just wish I could stay with the rest of my friends you know?"
"Not really. I don't have many friends out in the boonies" Lance joked and chuckled in a deep voice. Lance had changed a lot since she had first met him. He was no longer nerdy looking. He looked more like a runner with glasses. That and he had a very strong yet quiet voice. He was about 15 years old now and puberty was being a friend to him. His brown hair was no longer fluffy but thick and easy to deal with, and he hardly had any acne. She was jealous.
"Ok Alisha, Pepper and I have to get going to a meeting. We will come and visit as much as we can and we will call and text as often as we can" Tony said as he gave his daughter a hug.
"Thanks dad, and I am sorry for being a brat today, it's just hard to deal with all of this" She said hugging him back. "Love you Daddy"
"Love you too Ali" Tony smiled as he let go and walked back to the hovercraft.
"Be safe and do what Bruce tells you while you are here. We will come and help you move over to Jane's observatory. I love you" Pepper said giving Alisha a hug as well.
That's when Alisha tensed for the third time this week. She felt like someone was watching her, studying her, almost in a judging way. It gave her goose bumps. She looked over to Lance and saw that he was tensing as well but not as much as her. "I will Mom. I love you too" She said kissing her Mother on the cheek and waiving her mom and dad good bye as the hovercraft took off.
The cabin was more like a normal house with 2 floors. 3 bed rooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, living room and dining room. Lance and Bruce helped carry her things into her room. They offered to help her unpack but she declined saying that she would be leaving within a week anyway. It was mid September and there was already at least a foot of snow outside. She thought she would hate the cold but it felt nice after forcing herself to stay outside for at least 10 minutes. She was sitting on the porch swing watching some elk grazing and some foxes diving into the snow when she heard the front door open and close slowly. She had a black jacket with fur on the inside that her father had gotten for her at a top of the line sports goods store and matching boots that tied up. She was wearing leggings under her jeans as she swung watching the nature around her, her hair in red curls around her face.
"Hay, I thought you would be pissed off, considering what you posted on Facebook this morning" Lance said as he handed her a mug full of steaming hot chocolate. Before she had began to pack, she had raged on Facebook about how unfair her parents where being.
"You know me. I can't stay angry with anyone for too long. I will have to make an apology on Facebook later on when I do cool down." She said bringing her knees up to her chest and sipping the hot chocolate. "And thanks for worrying about me. So how is your training going?" She asked. Lance and Bruce had been working on how to cooperate with their other selves for a year in the uninhabited forest.
"Well, it is going better but I still don't fully trust him, but we have worked out a way to communicate inside our heads. When we meditate, we picture ourselves in a room with the other guys. We tested it out by asking them to find something that we hid in the mountain" Lance said, beginning to sound nerdy about all this.
"And"
"They found them and didn't crush them. They where pictures of the group" Lance said with a smile. "So we tried that a few more times and now we even get responses back from them. We talked to them last week about you coming and told them we were taking a break for your safety"
"How did they take it?" She asked, her curiosity taking hold as she took a big gulp of her drink.
Lance blushed "Well Hulk was kind of a little agitated but my dad convinced him that we would start back up once again, after you left, and that this would be a time to replenish our energy so the transformations would not be as painful or stressful"
"Hmmm good idea. Reasoning with people is done best in a way that makes sense to the other. And what about Tank?"
"Well he…um" Lance was getting very nervous, his glasses where fogging up and his face was turning red. "He was not happy at all. He wanted to actually see you and…stuff" He looked away, his face beet red.
"What kind of stuff?" Alisha asked leaning forward to try and see his face.
"Stuff that I would never except if he did" Lance said in a growl and he pounded his fist on the arm rest, causing the swing to shake.
"Ok, ok you don't need to get that angry. It won't happen" Alisha said then went back to watching the wild life.
There was a long pause before Lance spoke again. "He really likes you, if that helps any. I mean he REALLY likes you" his voice was soft and regretful.
"Oh, THAT stuff. You could have just said. I have been through sex ed before Lance" She commented, unfazed by the word or the thought. Seeing as her father had the reputation of a ladies' man still even though he was happily married.
"Kids, it's time to eat and get warm" Bruce called from inside.
"You go ahead I will be right in" Lance said as she got up and went inside.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid! That is NOT something you talk about to a girl. He wanted to see you and stuff. What a way to start the week" Lance said in a pathetic voice as he walked in after a few more minutes of brooding outside.
Dinner was elk stake with some sweet soup and warm milk. Alisha enjoyed the meal since it was handmade. "You know. I kinda wish my dad knew how to cook better. Then I wouldn't have gotten his talent of burning everything I touch" She said with a smile. It was true. She had her father's uncanny ability to ether burn or destroy any food she prepared.
"Are you nervous about being away from your family for so long Alisha?" Bruce asked, sipping a mug with brandy and milk in it.
"Ya kind of, but I know why I have to do it. I am already feeling a bit better just being here. I can actually breathe for once and I am only half way up. I will try experimenting with my serum tomorrow morning. I will have JARVIS run a scan on my body before I go to sleep and see what options he comes up with." Alisha smiled as she finished her dinner. Lance looked at her in confusion.
"Why do you have to take that serum anyway? It's seems like suck a hassle"
"well I got use to it fast. It's not that bad if you're not afraid of needles" she said winking at him and missing the blush that appeared on Lances face.
Alisha took her dishes to the sink, washed them, and went to the downstairs bathroom to take a shower. "Do you mind if I use this bathroom for my…stuff?" She asked Bruce.
"Not at all, it's all yours while you are here" Bruce said cleaning up the dishes.
She walked in, unpacked her tooth brush and paste, her feminine products, and her hygiene products. After a 30 minute shower, she cleaned her face, brushed her teeth, put on a robe and walked outside. Bruce and Lance had already gone to bed and the house was dark except for the full moon shining in threw the observing window in back. The sky was clear and the light shone bright against the snow. She walked up to the window to look out and saw a white wolf right on the edge of the tree line. The wolf was watching her as she stepped out onto the deck. Its fur as white as the snow around it with eyes as gold as the sun. They stared at each other for what seemed like hours before it thru its head back and howled. Many more howls joined in as a chorus sounded in the night. She joined in the song, letting her voice mix with the others before it died down ending her welcoming ceremony.
She watched the wolf turn around and trot back into the forest. "I hope this is a sign of good things to come" she said to herself, going back into the cabin. She dried her now cold damp hair with a towel, got changed into her thick pajamas, and snuggled up under the covers with a stuffed wolf animal Demon, sleep taking her soon after.
Nice touch at the end. I have to have a wolf in my stories somewhere ^^. Again reviews are greatly appreciated, I would like to know what you think. Love to all. Thanks LouBlue! Seriously read her stories!