Welcome back. Another Friday and another chapter for you wonderful readers.

I hope you've been enjoying this tale. I would also like to thank the viewers, reviewers, favouriters, and followers of this tale. You are all fabulous people.

As always, I don't own Marvel.

Enjoy.

Kindnap and pizza

The cool feel of metal handcuffs was the first thing Nemesis woke up to. The second was the realisation that she'd been kidnapped and Madison had no idea that she was out. The third was the fact her mask was no longer covering the upper half of her face. It sat before her, on a metal table. Around which were a group of faces Nemesis had seen all over the news. The Avengers. She had been kidnapped by the Avengers. Were they even allowed to do that?! Nemesis didn't know, but she sure as hell didn't want to get on the bad side of these extremely powerful people.

"Welcome to the land of the living, kiddo. We've been expecting you." The man snarking her was none other than Tony Stark, known as Iron Man while performing heroic acts. And dickhead to anyone who disagreed with him.

"You … you shouldn't have stayed up for me," Nemesis quipped, struggling to straighten herself in the cold metal chair. "Or maybe you shouldn't kidnap people in future. Do I get a lawyer? I want a lawyer."

"I like this one. Can I keep it?"

"She's not a pet, Stark. She's here because we need to ask a few questions and discuss our proposal." It was the same female voice Nemesis had heard before – belonging to none other than Black Widow. The red-headed woman may have been outnumbered by the men but certainly looked as though she could hold her own. "Besides, it's Hawkeye's job to collect strays, right?"

"Damn right, Nat." A sandy-haired man gave a good-natured nod to Stark. Her brain supplied the name, Clint Barton. "Don't go stealing my strays. I picked this one up with a little help from Tasha."

"My house, my pets. That's the rules." Tony crossed his arms, waggling his eyebrows at Clint.

"You don't even like pets!"

Nemesis rolled her eyes, chuckling slightly. These so-called 'superheroes' seemed a lot more like children up close. Maybe not children, but more like people than the media had ever portrayed. To the public, including herself, the Avengers seemed like an invincible group of protectors ready to leap into action. All the footage of the 2012 invasion seemed to prove that. Nemesis had been 16 when it all happened, and safely in the UK. But then more aliens came in 2014, right to Greenwich, where Nemesis and a couple of friends were spending a weekend away. Physics seemed to be going haywire, and Thor was battling a bunch of 'elves' that looked completely different to the Tolkien kind. It had been terrifying, but seeing that someone was there to fight back, someone who was strong enough to fight back had been reliving. They seemed unstoppable to the world. But the world, Nemesis included, always forgot that the Avengers were people too. People that made mistakes, loved and lived as much as anyone else.

"Are we amusing you?" Widow raised a perfect eyebrow at her and Nemesis shivered. She definitely did not want to irritate Black Widow in any way, shape, or form.

"Er … No?" Nemesis tried, going for an innocent look. "I was just … um … thinking how you all seem more, uh, real? I guess?"

"Real huh, kiddo? Think we were plastic or something?" Stark waggles both eyebrows at her and turns on what looks like a patented media-smile.

"I didn't mean that. I just –" Nemesis sighed, groping for the right words to say what she wanted. This was exactly like trying to write an essay. You have to think so much about what you're going to say, and the audience it's for. In her case, this audience could dispose of her if they disagreed with her. Permanently. "– meant that you're messing around and arguing over silly things and … well, acting the same as ordinary people. The kind that isn't superheroes, or gods, or assassins."

"You missed out green rage monsters." That statement earned Stark several glares from various people around the table. The words were from a man with curly brown hair and glasses, wearing a purple shirt. That had to be …

"Bruce Banner! You're the one who … " Nemesis faltered, casting uncertain glances around the room, "does the thing," she finished lamely, drifting off into an uncomfortable silence.

To her surprise, Banner started chuckling dryly, placing his hands on the table. "That's certainly one way to describe it, Miss -?"

"Should I be telling you guys that kind of information? Urgh … who am I kidding? You probably did some sort of facial recognition of me, as soon as you removed the mask. I bet you guys know my life better than I do."

"We'll have to see about that." Barton twirls a drumstick, watching Nemesis from the corner of his eye. "JARVIS?"

"A full file has been completed of Miss Blake's life and history. Will you be requiring the information, Agent Barton?" A disembodied voice, speaking in a butler-ish British accent. The kind that everyone associates as being the stereotypical British accent, completely ignoring the fact that there wasn't even a certain accent per county. Regions and even just individual cities like Hull, Manchester, Blackpool, and Liverpool had their own separate accents.

"What the actual banana brain was that?" Nemesis questioned, eyes scanning the room nervously for other people.

"'banana brain'? That's a strange curse." Barton flashes a quick smile. "That was just JARVIS."

"You say that like I know what it means."

"It's simple really. He's essentially an AI butler. Very helpful, friendly, and a surprisingly good sense of humour and sarcasm."

"Thank you, Agent Barton." The voice – no, JARVIS – spoke again, sounding pleased despite the description of AI.

"So, he's like a really fancy computer system. That can sound pleases apparently, " she deduced, casting the ceiling a cautious look. "How on earth do you make something like that?"

"Simple really. Genius." Stark winked at the table, earning a couple of headshakes. He tapped onto a tablet lying on the table, bringing up some sort of information Nemesis couldn't read from the angle she was on. "Although, you aren't doing too bad; decrees in physics, and biochemical engineering. Going for a writing degree. Pretty smart, are you?"

It was an innocent question but lined with something much weighty. He wasn't asking about her decrees. Stark was asking about whether or not her 'powers' affected her brain if they could be a useful asset to the Avengers no doubt. As much as Nemesis was pleased to meet the famous heroes, she wasn't too sure about working for them. Which, she assumed, was the proposal Widow had mentioned earlier.

"Yes … Isn't that in the file? You obviously seem to have enough on me, according to that computer-thingy."

"I was asking you. Sometimes you have to gauge a reaction from someone in person. You seem a little reluctant to give away information about yourself."

Nemesis felt like exploding. "Of course, I am! I've been drugged, handcuffed, and subject to some sort of strange interrogation. You know an awful lot about me, so I don't why I should give you any more information. I'd like to leave now." She leant backwards, glaring at them, voice hardened with steel.

"Not happening." Widow folded her arms, giving Nemesis an equally hard stare. "We're not done here. Not yet."

"You don't get to decide that. You don't get to kidnap people and interrogate them. 'Cause that's what this is – kidnap. Dress it up any way you like, that doesn't change what this is. I know who you people are, but you aren't the law. You can't do this."

"Oh, honey, "Black Widow purred, eyes softening slightly, mouth pulling into a mocking smile, "we are doing this. We do get to decide. All we have to say is we were holding a dangerous enhanced individual in our custody and they'll back off. The Avengers might not be the law, but we've got plenty of power. Look around. This isn't some amateur attempt at getting a ransom for a nobody. It's organised by spies, assassins, and geniuses. Tell us some reason we haven't already heard. Tell me why we can't do this?"

"Because … " Nemesis deflated, searching for a good enough reason. Widow smirked at her, leaning back and enjoying her struggle. "Because I have to study. For my writing degree."

"Ok." She frowned, giving Nemesis a look of grudging appraisal. "That's a new one. Good reason. Got any more of them?"

Nemesis stared back in silence, unwilling to believe the evidence before her own eyes. "Uh … Io non parlo inglese?" She tried to shrug as best possible whilst handcuffed and secured in a chair.

"Italian, huh? Can you say anything else or just your inability to speak English?"

"Chto ty khochesh', chtoby ya skazal?" She asked, casting a careful look at the red-head.

"Eto zavisit. Skol'ko yazykov vy uznali?"

"Okolo chetyrekh ili pyati, ignoriruya angliyskiy. Ponimayete, eto pomogayet, kogda u vas yest' eydeticheskaya pamya" Nemesis smiled at the confused looks on the faces of most of the others. Tony and Bruce looked to have no idea, but Clint seemed to be following the conversation, a smile lighting his face briefly. Just then a thought struck her: there were only four people here, and there were six Avengers. While everyone knew Thor must have left Earth considering his sudden appearance in Greenwich, surely Captain America, leader of the Avengers, would be here if everyone else was.

Nemesis decided to voice that question aloud, switching back to her native tongue. "Why are there only four of you? I realise that Thor would be unlikely to turn up, but why no Captain America? Unless this is sneaking behind his back or I am only important enough for four Avengers."

"That's – "Stark exchanged terse glances with the rest of his fellows. "classified. Need to know basis as I understand it. Right, Nat?"

The assassin flashed a feral grin at him. "Of course, it is. Have you tried asking nicely? I don't bite you know."

"Eh. I'm not risking it. I'll just ask Star-Spangled when he gets back. He's not very good at lying." Stark turned back to face Nemesis, sipping from a glass of amber liquid. "Nothing for you to worry about, Nemy."

"Don't you start with that." Nemesis glared at him. "Spidey does that too, and it's so bloody annoying. Just leave the name as it is. Do people go around calling you Iron-y? I don't think so."

"Well – there was one time when …"

"Cut it, Stark. We don't need any stories. Let's focus on the task, and get this over and done with so I can go get pizza." Barton rocked back on his chair, peering down his nose at the other man.

Nemesis' stomach growled audibly, and she groaned in annoyance. "Food … Man, I want some of that. Please." She tried for puppy-dog eyes, sticking out her bottom lip and looking as pathetic as possible. "I haven't since like 6:00 p.m., and it's hungry work patrolling this place. Please."

"Why the hell not?" Stark threw his arms into the air. "We've got enough data to be going from now. I doubt she's going to attack us, and we've got two assassins and a green rage monster if we need them. Let's order takeout and relax for a bit."

Half an hour later and Nemesis is sitting in some sort of lounge area, alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Well, most of them. Several boxes of pizza are stacked upon the table, plus three tubes of fries and various condiments. A huge flat screen TV blares in the background, but Nemesis isn't watching that. She's watching the people sat on the seats around her, munching and feasting just like any group of friends having a gettogether. It's giving her vertigo; Nemesis was expecting a lot of things, but not this. Not this.

Reaching across the table, Nemesis snatches a couple of pieces of pepperoni, settling them on a box lid she ripped from one of the discarded boxes. She really doesn't need to get oil and grease all over her suit. How would you explain that to the dry cleaners?

Hi, I'm not really that vigilante you've heard on the news, I just happen to have a similar outfit. How much do you charge? No – that wouldn't go down easily.

Other than the TV, they're pretty much sat in silence, bar the occasional comment from the others. Nemesis is still in wonder at how she's on the same sofa as Black Widow, eating pizza and watching TV as though it's the most natural thing in the world. Her body was going haywire, and she felt like she's likely to explode.

The noises from the building don't help either. Her enhanced ears are picking up on everything within 6 stories of their current floor. It only really becomes clear when Nemesis focuses on the sounds, but the overall background noise is enough. The whole tower is a hive of activity completely foreign to the usual sounds of her dorm building. She'd gotten used to the sounds of around her shared apartment, but this place was completely new. People were bustling around, doing jobs despite the late hour and machinery was whirling throughout the building. It was enough to make Nemesis drop the food and clutch at her ears.

Black Widow, ever the spy, noticed first and flashed her a vaguely concerned look. "You alright? You don't look so good."

"'m fine. Just need to … need to block it … it all out and then I can … can be ok." Her words came in starts between her panting. Nemesis' face was all screwed up in an attempt to block out the noise, noise, noise that surrounded her.

By this point, both Barton and Banner were looking over at Nemesis. Stark was dozing in his chair, looking as though he desperately needed the sleep. Nemesis tried to calm her racing heart, seeking a sound to latch onto and keep listening to. But nothing was coming to her, and Nemesis' ears were starting to ache. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, she knew that, yet it still hurt.

For lack of anything better to do, Nemesis began to hum the alphabet. The familiar song soothed her and helped slow her raising heart. The tune was completely normal, simple, and unlike the buzz of activity coming from around the tower. It helped.

That was all Nemesis needed: something to concentrate on doing. With herself now focused on other things, the background noise dulled and her hearing levels lessened to something a little above the normal range. If she concentrated, Nemesis could focus her hearing again but she preferred to keep everything at normal human levels. It was too much otherwise, and she just couldn't cope. Especially not in a completely new place.

The others – excluding the still-sleeping Stark – were still giving Nemesis concerned looks. It surprised the young vigilante, who had expected little of the powerful Avengers, considering they had kidnapped her and all. But each of them was expressing some degree of worry on their faces, despite not knowing a thing about her. Well, Nemesis knew they had a file of facts and data but they had nothing on personality and what made her tick. Those things could be much more important than a string of facts could ever be.

"What was all that about, kiddo? 'Cos that did not look like something 'fine'. I – "Barton seemed to pause as though about to reveal something, but thought better of it. "I know all about pretending to be okay when everything is clearly tumbling around me. Just because I don't know you doesn't mean I don't care when someone looks in pain. I'm an assassin-spy-archer, not a robot." His blue eyes flicker up to the ceiling. "No offence, JARVIS."

"None taken. However, I must stress, Agent Barton, that I am not a robot. I have no corporeal form for undertaking tasks." The AI's voice seemed mildly amused, as though it was a mistake people made all the time.

Amazing, Nemesis thought, how it – JARVIS – could express emotions, though only a computer system. Truly wonderful.

Nemesis removed her hands from her ears, casting her eyes downwards. "It's nothing. Well … I just … It gets so loud sometimes, and I … I can't focus. There's too much noise. Not … not from you guys … it's the floors around us … all the people … all the machines and systems and … I just can't focus in new places with so much noise!" She looked upwards, head ducking downwards. "It's not … not weird, is it? Oh, who am I kidding? Of course, it's weird." Nemesis slumped down in the chair, tucking her feet underneath her.

"So … you have some kind of enhanced hearing then, I guess?" Banner's mild tone interrupted Nemesis' turbulent thoughts. "How far can you hear?"

"Um … " Nemesis had never really had to answer questions about her abilities before. "I think it was about 6 stories away the most I could hear – " she murmured, hearing startled gasps from the others, "in either direction. Not … not really focused, just background noise buzzing around in my ears. Noise, noise, noise. Far too loud. It's only when I, um, concentrate that I can … can hear something clearly at that distance."

"That's … Wow, that's pretty far, kiddo. Guess you could give Cap a run for his money with 'the ability to hear conversations despite not being anywhere close'." Barton gave a low whistle, then snatched up the TV remote. "You need this quieter?"

Nemesis was silent for a moment before shaking her head, gaping at the fact that they (or Clint at least) were ready to do things, just to make her more comfortable. It was ridiculous. First, they kidnap her; second, interrogate her; and third, have a pizza party with her. What kind of people were they?

A little voice in her head answered her: the best kind.

So, Nemesis meets the Avengers. Well, most of them. This is taking place maybe a month or two before Age of Ultron (hence the presence of most of the Avengers at the Tower).

Here's the translation. I don't know Russian or Italian, just google translate.

Italian:-

Io non parlo inglese - I don't speak English.

Russian:-

Chto ty khochesh', chtoby ya skazal - What do you want me to say?

Eto zavisit. Skol'ko yazykov vy uznali - It depends. How many languages did you learn?

Okolo chetyrekh ili pyati, ignoriruya angliyskiy. Ponimayete, eto pomogayet, kogda u vas yest' eydeticheskaya pamya - About four or five, ignoring English. You see, it helps when you have an eidetic memory.

Anyways, have a wonderful Christmas on Monday. I hope you get the presents you want and the most magical experience.

Look-for-the-miracles

3 days until Christmas

Merry Christmas!