A/N Just a short one. Been thinking of a sequel, involving more of AOS and Avengers, secret weapons, more twists. Stay tuned! Thanks for the follows!

The fingers pressed, choking off air. Talk about serious-intense. If she wasn't dying she'd be thrilled—her first super-to-super fight! He might have the strength, definitely felt a notch above hers, but he hadn't had her training. Left arm up and over, knock his hand away. A punch to the exposed floating rib to cave his middle. A chop to throat to rattle his air. Lance staggered backwards. Reeling. Shocked. He gathered himself. His foot stomped the ground, shaking the room like a pile driver. Steam curled from his nostrils. His eyes turned red. What looked like longhorns popped from his head. He bellowed an animal noise, and then he charged, slamming his shoulder into Carly's gut and barreling them across the room. He pounded her into the bookcase and through the wall. They landed in a heap on the floor of some dining room, Lance on top, books and wood and nails underneath.

Carly gasped for air, her lungs crushed, her head mashed. No, wait. She could breathe okay. Head fine. No broken bones, only an ache crossing her back. No blood. Lance shook his head and the horns disappeared. He looked down at her. Carly stared at the ceiling, shocked. She'd just survived something major.

"Oh god oh god, I've killed her. Oh god." He shook her face gently and then stopped when she blinked. "Wait. You're alive? Oh Christ, what have I done?" He jumped off of her, knelt down and examined her body. "Wait. You're not hurt?"

Carly grabbed his hand, gently. He had genuine fear and concern in his eyes. No need to continue the conflict, he'd shown her everything she needed from him. And learned a few things about herself as well. Things she never should have exposed. "Well, help a girl up."

"I don't think I should move you. Let me go for help."

"No! Please. I'm fine. I'm sorry I pushed you into this. I had to know."

"I could have killed you."

"But Lance, don't you see? We are both alike. Supers."

Lance helped Carly to her feet, did his best to examine her, brushing off the splinters and drywall dust. "I don't even know what that means. No one tells me anything. They just run tests and take blood samples."

"Come." Carly led him to the table where they sat. She eyed the gaping hole in the wall, the lingering dust in the air. "If I tell you how I got my powers, will you tell me your story?"

Lance nodded. He grabbed a nearby pitcher, filled a glass with water, and downed it in one slurp. "Okay. Fine."

Carly wiped the grime off one arm. "I don't remember it, but as a little girl, I was given some kind of super serum. I never get sick or injured, and I have extra strength and speed. We're not talking Captain America abilities here, I'm just a bit better. I didn't really notice it 'til recently, but they say there could be bad side effects. Like maybe one day I wake up in the body of a walrus."

Lance actually flashed her a smile. "Sounds mysterious. And scary. You have no idea what it was?"

"Blood tests, DNA analysis, everything normal. Except the ability to be thrown through walls. Injury-resistant."

"Sorry."

Carly laid a hand on his. "That's okay. My bad. Now what about you? What's your deal?" Finally, the payoff pitch. The whole point of the mission. Who gave the governor's son his powers?

Lance shook his head. "We don't really know. A couple months ago, I got upset at something, and I literally turned into a raging bull. Lots of theories, but they think maybe I ate some steak that had been irradiated with gamma rays or something."

Carly stifled a laughed. "Wait. That's what Bruce Banner got himself into. So you're saying that you're a cow-hulk?"

"It's not funny! Yes. I have the strength of a bull. It's not totally under my control, mostly comes out during stress."

"So you're not Elephant Boy. You're…Cow Boy?"

"Bull Boy, if I had to choose. But I don't want to be anything. Definitely not Steak Man."

Carly giggled. "What about Beefsteak Boy? No?" Now for the close. "Listen. I sought you out, snuck into the ball because you're different. You know what it's like. I have to hide my abilities all the time. I don't want to be labeled a freak, or have some organization like S.H.I.E.L.D. take me to a lab and dissect me. But you know, I've made some friends. They've been helping me deal with my situation. They're independent, and they're the ones who got me in here, to see you, to see what we could do for you." And to video you throwing a girl through a wall if you don't cooperate. But hopefully she wouldn't need that. "What do you say? Would you like to meet some other supers?"

Lance looked down. "Um, yeah, sure. Just like, casually?"

"Sure, we can—"

Red letters flashed across her contacts:

MISSION COMPROMISED BY S.H.I.E.L.D.

ABORT! ABORT!