Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers, only their kids :) This is a joint story with Kelda1771 so part of the credit goes to her!
I apologize for the lateness in updating. Me and Kelda have had a crazy summer and so it has taken awhile to update. Hopefully they will come more regularly soon. Thanks everyone for reading! Oh and suggestions are welcome! Thanks again :)
Coulette:
The quintjet flies smoothly towards the sky. Suddenly, as if a light is turned on, a giant aircraft carrier appears, floating in the sky. It's the helicarrier. My dad had told me all about it. The jet lands on the deck and we all walk off. Piper is the last to rise and she is still staring off into outer space. When we were captured, I was so mad at her I could barely look at her. But now, I am upset with myself that I could ever be mad at her. And I feel so bad for her. The people that had helped rescue us put the kids on different planes from the parents. My dad rushes up and envolepes me in a hug. He's still wearing his red, white, and blue Captain America uniform and he is coated in blood and dust. He starts fussing over my battered and malnourished body, but I don't have it the worst. Nate Barton is holding his side where he was shot and wincing with every breath. Alex is clutching the back of her head while she hugs her mom and dad. I had never seen the twins parents before today, and to be honest, they scare the shit out of me. Her mom is breathtakingly beautiful with porcelain skin, fiery red hair, and fierce emerald green eyes. She was absolutely lethal in that warehouse and I have no doubt that she could kill me at least 50 different ways from here. Their dad, on the other hand, is much less scary. Short, probably around 5'10", with medium-brown hair and grey-green eyes, he is muscular. His outward appearance is scary as hell, but his eyes twinkle with unshed laughter as he helps Nate limp to the medical bay. Piper is standing on the deck, alone, huddled up against the wind, making her petite frame look smaller than it really is. I'm about to walk over to her when Jacob Hill beats me to it. He whispers something in her ear and her head whips around, looking for her dad. And then it seems to hit her, he's not here. Her face crumples and her chocolate brown eyes fill with tears as she runs after Nate to the medical bay. Abruptly I'm bloody furious. Tony Stark has done nothing but hurt Piper since they day she could talk. This is too far. She almost died and he can't take the time to be there for her. Part of the anger I am directing at Tony is anger at myself. I can't believe I made her feel that it was her fault, but I can't change that now. I can tell that she blames herself. It's in her nature and I didn't help to comfort her, too angry at her for shutting down JARVIS. My anger grows more and more, filled with anger at Tony, at myself, and at the idiots that did this. And then, Stark appears. He waltzes onto the deck and glances around. Not seeing his daughter anywhere, he shrugs and saunters back the way he came, opposite the medical wing. This is my undoing, I am about to charge up to him and tell him where he can stick it, when my dad, of all people, beats me to it.
"STARK!" he yells. Tony turns around, mild annoyance on his face.
"What?! I have important things to do in the lab, Rogers." By this time Dad is right next to Tony and I see the steely warning flash in his blue eyes before he punches Tony right in the jaw. Stark stumbles and lands on his back, rubbing his jaw. "What the hell was that?" He yells.
"Your daughter is injured and all you care about is going to work in your lab?!" My dad's voice cracks with the volume of his voice.
"She'll be fine. She wasn't injured that badly and I can't do anything in medical bay, so I might as well get to work." the men's argument is fading as they walk away. I'm trembling with fury. Tony Stark is so full of himself. I swear I'm going to- AHHH. Jacob Hill suddenly appears next to me.
"Hi, the name's Jacob. Jacob Hill." I nod. I know him, I've had a crush on him for the past year. I've never really had the chance to talk to him. I'm a junior and he's a senior, so we have no classes together.
"Hi, Coulette. You can call me Coul. It's a pleasure to meet you. So why are you here?" I smile. He returns my smile with a lopsided one of his own. My heart nearly leaps out of my chest then and there.
"My mom is Director Fury's second in command. I am here to personally escort you to the medical bay. Wouldn't want you getting injured on your way there." He smirks and helps shoulder some of my weight. When I was running to escape a bullet, I twisted my ankle pretty badly. There was no way I could walk well with it, so his help is really, well, helpful. As we begin to limp down the three flights of stairs, a boom rocks the ship below us. Glass and metal push outward and I know in an instant Piper had another mental...incident. Leaping down the last of the stairs, I gimp over to where Piper's unconscious body has sagged to the floor. Luckily, Nate's dad was able to grab her before she hit the floor. He's gingerly checking her for any signs of trauma. He signals to the doctors and helps her get settled onto the bed before they wheeled her away for surgery. Nate stares after the swinging doors worriedly. Jacob helps me limp over to him.
"What happened?"
"I-I don't know. She was running down here and then suddenly the ship like imploded and she collapsed. I'm worried about her." Seeing the worry and anxiety in his face, I realize that he loves Piper.
"Don't worry kiddo, I'm sure she'll be fine. She's a Stark. I've seen Tony get thrown 50 feet by the Hulk without a suit on and he got right back up. She's just malnourished and exhausted. She will be right as rain by tomorrow. Where's Tony? He should be down here for her." Nate's dad is consoling Nate. Nate looks less worried but he sits down right outside the Surgery Doors to wait. "Nate. You need to get medical care yourself. That bullet wound was sloppily repaired and you nearly broke your ankle. Not to mention the massive concussion." Nate gives his dad a glare so big that his dad just shrugs and walks away. Limping to catch up, I tell him where Tony is at. He whirls around and stares at me in shock.
"He WHAT?! So help me Stark, you are going to wish you had never learned how to make a robot." He growls and storms off to find Stark and drag him down here by his earlobe. Meanwhile, I decide that the bench next to Nate looks really comfortable. With Jacob's help, I collapse into it and fall asleep in seconds. I'm woken up when the nurses come to check on my ankle and other wounds. They help me into a hospital bed next to a newly bandaged Piper. She's awake by now and staring at me, worry clear in her eyes.
"What, Piper? You can tell me what's wrong?" I ask her.
"Can I? You're still mad at me for screwing up. If I hadn't tried to impress my dad, or get his attention, or whatever, we wouldn't be here right now. This whole thing is my fault and now my mom is treating me like a child and my dad is ignoring me... I'm so sorry. Can you ever forgive me for what I have done?" By the time she finishes, tears are falling down her face and her brown eyes are deep pools of sorrow. I'm shocked on the inside. Did she really believe that I would still be mad at her after all we have been through together? She must be truly crushed to believe that I would give up on her. But she's right. She screwed up and put not only her own life in danger, but others as well. I have to get that point across.
"Can I forgive you? You nearly got yourself killed! And what's worse?! You put Nate and Alex in danger!" I don't mention myself. "You need to stop trying so hard to get your dad's attention. Tony just isn't the type of dad to get cuddly. He takes the time he can with you, but he can't do any better than that. Stop doing idiotic and foolish things, hoping they will work because they NEVER will." I'm surprised by the force behind my words. Pipers eyes have deepened in their sorrow. She must think I hate her. Guilt washes over me, I'm being too harsh. Softening my voice and taking the steely glint out of my light blue eyes I speak again. "Piper. Look at me. Do you know why I am so angry with you? It's not so much that you put us in danger. We could handle that. Its that you got hurt, and I don't just mean physically. Your father has hurt you in ways even he can't repair, for all his skill in technology. He hurt your heart. And I'm sorry. I really am. I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through right now. But you need to get over it and survive. Pick your head up and face the challenges that you see. You are a STARK. You do not bow down and give up. You pick yourself up again and again and fight till you can't fight anymore and even then, you keep on fighting. Piper Toni Stark, you will not fall into a depression because you're facing a hard time. You will survive and you will learn and grow!" My voice is fierce and she looks up at me, hope flaring in her eyes. She knows I'm right. She's a Stark, for crying out loud. She doesn't ever give up. "Oh and for the record, I forgive you. How could I not? You're like the sister I don't have, Piper. There is nothing on this Earth that you could do that would make me hate you. Even you're not clever enough to think of something that bad. So I say we start over again. How about it?" I smile and the last of the sadness vanishes from her eyes, replaced by the sass and sneaky cleverness I know so well. She grins.
"Well then. I guess its time for me to clean myself up. I'm a mess. Oh, and thank you, Coul." She slowly gets up off the bed and heads for the bathroom. I hear the shower turn on and I sink back into my warm pillows. The door creaks and I crane my neck to hear who has entered the room. A tall, black bald man steps into the room. He has an eyepatch on one eye. He smiles at me.
"Is Miss Stark in the shower?" I nod. He smiles at me again. "I am Director Fury, your boss here on the Helicarrier. I need to speak with you, Miss Stark, and all of your other friends. Do you think you could grab Piper Stark and meet on the observation deck by noon? I will be waiting." I nod and he leaves. Grabbing my phone, I check the time. 11: 30. Flying out of bed, I limp over to the other shower and get ready quickly. Throwing on the red and white sweatshirt and blue jeans that are on my bed, I practically sprint out the door before I remember I am forgetting someone. Running, or rather gimping, back into the room I grab Piper's ear and run back out again. Together the two of us make it to the elevator and onto the deck at exactly 12:00. Fury was there along with Alex, Nate, Jacob, Bryce, and an unfamiliar girl. The girl was tall, probably close to 5'9" with long flowing, golden hair and deep green eyes. She had the perfect figure. However, she is wearing some seriously weird clothes. Tan parachute pants, a dark green tunic, gold vest, and brown leather riding boots adorn her body. She looks like she stepped out of a different time.
"Miss Rogers, Miss Stark, nice of you to join us. As you already know this is Alexandra and Nathaniel Barton and this is Bryce Banner. Special Agent Jacob Hill should be familiar as well. This is Valkyrie Thorsdaughter, although she prefers to be called Valerie. This is your team. Agent Hill will be your team handler, in charge of any transportation, communication, and case needs. While on a mission you will call him Foxtrot or Leader. Nothing else. Future Agents Alex and Nate are your spy team. They will go undercover and discover any information you may need. This is what they have spent their lives training for and you would do well to listen to them. Bryce Banner is the brains of this operation. He will be working in the lab with you, Miss Stark. You will create the equipment needed, however, you will both be trained in basic hand-to-hand combat, just in case. Miss Rogers, you are to be team leader on the field. You-"
"Wait just a minute. I think that I should be team leader. I am a natural leader; it's in my blood. It's a clear choice." Piper interrupts the man. He closes his eye and pinches his nose. Before he can shoot her down, I pipe up.
"Director, I don't think I would be able to do the job alone. If I may propose an idea. What if Piper and I were to be co-leaders? It would strengthen the idea of a team unit." He looks at me for a moment before nodding.
"That's fine. We will need you operational as soon as possible and arguing over team leader is not going to get that done any faster. You will begin to train today. There is a fully operational gym in the basement of the helicarrier. Nate and Alex will begin your training. Go on now." At his dismissal, we all leap up and head downstairs after them. After four flights of stairs, some pain, and a lot of grumbling, we reach a set of double doors. Nate and Alex push them open and we all walk inside. The training room takes up the entire belly of the helicarrier. There is a boxing ring, an obstacle course, a range, training mats, ropes criss-crossing the ceiling, and an entire wall of weapons, all lethal.
"So... Where should we start?" I ask. Nate and Alex look at each other and smirk.
"We start with hand-to-hand combat."