Author's Note: Okay everyone, I'm so sorry it took me so long to respond. Life, you know? Sometimes I was busy, sometimes I wasn't feeling too well, and sometimes I was facing selective writer's block where I couldn't write anything Avengers. (however, I had quite a few ideas involving Fairy Tail, and some involving Harry Potter.) HOWEVER! Now I'm back, and hopefully I'll be able to get into the swing of things. I think I'm gonna try to have new chapters on Mondays now, instead of Wednesdays. Wednesdays are just too busy for me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's a bit on the short side, but I like the somewhat cliffie ending. XD Also, for the next few chapters, I'll be including a list of names before each chapter, to help people remember the new names I sprang on you last chapter, and also to help you all remember which teen is which Avenger. So, enjoy the chapter!

LIST OF NAMES, for clarification.

Clint: Friend: Davon

Thor: Sparky: Paul

Tony: Light: Michael

Loki: Chill: Jasper

Natasha: Red: Ariana

Steve: Reg: Timothy

Bruce: Ghost: John

Hulk: Muscles: Nathan


It had been about a month now, and the teens had taken to the training without any problems. They were having a blast while they were at it, learning things such as rifling, sniping, reconnaissance, hand-to-hand combat, infiltration, decoding, everything anyone could teach them. And while some of them excelled in one field while another excelled somewhere else, on the whole they took to things with such natural expertise that they seemed to have been born for it.

They were still having a little trouble with the names, however.

"Hey Red," Muscles said, leaning against the wall as the team gathered in their common room for a break. "Gimme coke."

"Call me Ariana, Muscles," Red said, grabbing a coke and a water bottle from the mini-fridge. "I mean, Nathan."

"Nice save," Friend jibed. "So, uh... John! What'd'ya think of that move we pulled in the infiltration setup today?"

"Well, it certainly was clever," Ghost said after a very short pause, not having fully realized at first that he had been talked to. "Though, I was afraid Sparky- I mean, Paul, would blow our cover."

Sparky- I mean Paul, grinned. "Ah, but I figured it out just in time, with Chill's help!"

"You're supposed to call me Jasper," Chill pointed out. "You can remember that because jasper is usually green." He paused, realizing what Sparky had just said. "Did you say just in time?" he asked in mild amusement. "Just in time, indeed. They were supposed to be half-wits."

"No need to go insulting our intelligence," Reg teased. "We were supposed to play the gun smugglers, we would have 'figured it out' soon enough. Michael just got way too into his role."

"Please," Light scoffed. "I could have demonstrated a grenade launcher over the punch bowl and SHIELD's finest over here wouldn't have had a clue. And call me Light."

Everyone groaned. "Come on," Reg said. "We're never gonna get used to these names if we're not all trying!"

"Well then I guess you're stuck with Regular Guy for the rest of your life," Light said. "I don't care what Coulson says. I'm gonna go by Light."

"But you agreed to go by Michael if he let you keep the last name you wanted," Friend noted.

"I never agreed to go by Michael," Light stated. "I agreed to let my name be Michael on the legal papers. You know, most people go by a nickname instead of their given one. I'm gonna go by Light."

"Coulson won't be too pleased," Red warned.

"Yeah, that guy needs to loosen up," Light said. "Maybe this'll help him."

"Somehow I don't think it will," Chill said dryly.

"At any rate," Light continued. "Call me Light."


New York City was quite the sight. As the dark figure stood on the rooftop of a skyscraper and looked out over the city, he felt… sorry? Sad? Pained? No… Not quite. He wasn't trained for pain. Pain was weakness. Pain was bad. Pain was the enemy.

Whatever he was feeling, it was strong enough to make the dark figure want to turn away- but he didn't. He must watch his handiwork. He must watch as the black smoke rose ever higher, smell the scent of the burning city, listen to the sirens and the screams with his perfect ears. Cries for help rang out over the city, the city that seemed… almost familiar to him.

But that wasn't right. No, of course it wasn't. He had only ever known one life. Waking up in solitude, in a metal room with nothing but a single bed, living for months without companionship, until that fateful day. That day when the door had opened for the first time, and his captors appeared. That day when they had begun his training. Always pushing him to be stronger, always unlocking new and strange powers and skills he hadn't even known he'd had. Always teaching him the same lessons, the same words.

Pain is weakness. Pain is bad. Pain is the enemy. Love is weakness. Love is bad. Love is the enemy. Hope is weakness. Hope is bad. Hope is the enemy. Compassion is weakness. Compassion is bad. Compassion is the enemy.

Instead, kill. Instead, hate. Instead, accept. Instead, despise.

Kill. Hate. Accept. Despise. Kill. Hate. Accept. Despise.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't despise. As the dark figure stood and watched the burning city, he thought over all the cities he had visited. All the places that had stood against HYDRA. All the places full of those things he could not- should not- feel. A city of love, hope, and compassion. Now a city of pain.

And he just could not despise their pain. It cut right to his heart.

This… this was HYDRA's world. And he was HYDRA.


As Phil walked through the hallway, his phone went off. Answering it, he greeted the voice on the other end with indifference. But as he listened, his face began to reflect the seriousness of the situation. Without a word, he turned and began walking back the way he came, a purposeness to his step that hadn't been there a moment ago.

Reaching Fury's office, he entered without knocking.

"Fury," he said, by way of greeting, hanging up his phone.

"Agent," Fury responded, glaring. "I assume you have a perfectly good explanation as to why you decided to barge into my office."

"I do sir," Phil said seriously. "New York City is under attack."

Fury paused. "Are they not holding their own?" He asked.

"They're holding as well as they can," Phil said. "According to miss Potts, Colonel Rhodes is defending the city as well as he can while the police evacuate."

"How many enemies?" Fury asked.

"One."

Fury raised his eyebrow. "Excuse me?" he said. "Just one enemy?"

"According to miss Potts," Phil said. "One is all they need to send. This guy is strong. And definitely HYDRA, by the looks of things. It's gonna take something special to take him down."

"And what are you suggesting?" Fury asked.

"Sir, I think it's time we deployed the Avengers," Phil declared.

"Are they ready?" Fury asked.

"Sir, their strength in battle has increased, and they work together as a team almost better than before."

"But are they READY?" Fury asked. "Are they ready to handle being entrusted with a mission of this magnitude?"

Phil felt the corner of his mouth turn up in a smile. "Sir," he said. "I think they're more than ready."

Fury thought for a moment. "Very well," he said. "Deploy the team."