Heyo guys! Nice to see you again for my weekly posting.

We are not getting closer to the events of Age of Ultron, and I've got a few plot twists to add in. However, I will be sticking to canon where possible, but it is inevitable that some things will be changed or tweaked by having another super. You'll have to drop me a line if you want a certain speedster saved. If I owned Marvel, I would be bringing him back, ASAP.

Sadly, I do not own Marvel. Only OCs and original plot.

Please enjoy.

By the letter

The next day doesn't bring any more news about the proposal to become an Avenger. Neither does the day after. It's only after 12 days that Astraea hears back, having received a letter to come to a meeting at Avengers' Tower. Madison is almost as nervous-excited as Astraea and begs to come along and meet some of her heroes.

Black Widow is the one Madison is most eager to meet; declared both the most-terrifying and most-beautiful woman she's ever seen. Astraea laughed at that, saying that she might not even be there but confirmed the terrifying part. She was so glad that Natasha wasn't the one she had to spar. If it was, Astraea would likely have been coming back with a little more than a few bruises. Namely, cuts and maybe some broken bones.

So, they headed off to the Tower, deciding to take a subway despite the short trip. The journey was only 12 minutes and neither student bothered to hunt for a seat. They were unlike to find one, and there was virtually no point. It would probably take them just as long to find seats as to make the journey.

Both girls had been unsure of the dress code expected but had elected to go casual but smart. Blouses, nice shirts, trousers, and skirts were all options. Astraea had brought the letter, uncertain as to what was actually going to happen. The letter had been rather brief on details – only a time, date, and floor number to go on, past the civil courtesies making up the body of the message. She hoped they would mind that she'd brought a friend, not that Madison would have stayed behind anyways.

They entered the front doors, gaping at the beautiful lobby. Astraea had left via a back entrance before and now felt completely underdressed in her floaty top and flouncy skirt ensemble. Men and women were going about their business in fancy suits, clutching briefcases, handbags, and many folders. None of them gave the girls strange looks. Obviously, they were used to strange happenings in the Avengers' Tower. Two girls looking out-of-place would seem of little importance compared to gods, rage monsters, and super soldiers from the 1940s.

Having reached the front desk, heart pounding madly, Astraea cleared her throat, holding the letter forwards to the male receptionist they were nearest. Madison was still scanning the crowds for hints of superheroes.

"Um … hi," Astraea cursed herself inwardly at her quivering voice, "I'm here to see the Avengers. I got sent this letter – " she handed over the note, ignoring the sceptical look on the dark-skinned man's face, "and I have to be at that appointment exactly. 10:30 a.m."

The man studied the note for a moment, then tapped a few things on his computer screen. "I see. A Miss Astraea Blake, an appointment at 10:30 a.m. on floor 93, yes?" He gave her an expectant look, over the top of his rimless glasses.

"Oh … uh, yeah. That's me. Astraea Blake."

"Proof of identity?"

Astraea pulled her driving licence from her purse, along with her student card for University. Madison also produced hers."Here ya go."

"Hmm." He gave them a look over but seemed to see no problems. "Take these security passes and proceed to the elevator to the left. The employee elevator doesn't go that high, so you'll be taking the personal one for the Avengers." A hint of a grin appeared on his face. "Try not to break anything."

Astraea took her letter and both cards back, dumped them in her pocket before taking the passes. She and Madison headed to the lift, both wearing giddy but nervous grins on their faces. One behind the closed doors of the lift, they burst into bubbly giggles that turned into pure laughter.

A voice issued from the ceiling. "Are you in distress, or would you like to select your floor?" It was JARVIS.

Both girls sobered up, with Madison glancing at the ceiling in confusion. "Who the hell is that?" She whispered.

"My name is JARVIS and I am Mr Stark's personal assistant. Now, would you like to select your floor Misses Blake and Lance?"

"Uh … 93 … I think." Madison drew out the words, looking upwards uncertainly.

Astraea nodded, and the lift started up. The girls slumped against the sleek walls, still grinning at the fact they were in one of the most famous buildings in New York and the world. The fact that the Avengers lived there made it even more awe-inspiring. Astraea made met some of them, but that didn't take away the excitement of meeting them in a way that was an official invite and not an unofficial kidnapping. Followed by a pizza party, of course.

The ride up didn't seem that long, despite the distance of their ascent. In only a few minutes of riding in silence, the doors opened and the pair had to step out onto one of the Avengers' common floors. The entire space was a vast and open plan layout. A seating area was right in front of them; a game station with its own tv at the other end; a bar complete with stools; and many other recreational areas. Everything was sleek, shiny, and incredibly expensive-looking. It wasn't the same floor that Astraea had been to before.

Madison stepped out first, looking around with an expression of utmost glee on her tanned face. "This is so … just whoa … I can't even … " She turned to Astraea, a giddy smile lighting up her face, "I never thought I would ever see something as posh as this in person. It's amazing. I want to touch everything and make sure it's real!" Her footsteps echoed in the largely empty space as she ran around the floor in her flats.

"I know, I know," Astraea giggled, grabbing hold of her friend's arm, "but try not to break anything. I don't think we can afford to replace anything in here without winning the lottery first."

"True. Guess I'll just have to look then," she sighed, gently running her fingers over a leather settee.

As they wandered further place door at one end opened, revealing Tony Stark in the doorway, giving them an amused look. Behind him, separated from the main room by a glass wall, seemed to be some sort of conference room. A large, oval table dominated the room, sat around by four other people. Astraea and Madison exchanged nervous glances before moving closer.

"So, you received our message then? Good. Lots to discuss and I really don't want to waste time I could be using for science on this, so let's get this over and done with." He gestured inside and returned to his seat.

The girls walked in, feeling the heavy stares of everyone else in the room. Astraea was surprised no one had yet commented on Madison's presence. Well, she thought, it hadn't specified to come alone. Not that that would have stopped Madison from trying to come along anyway.

"Uh … hi." Astraea tried, glancing down at her feet and nibbling her bottom lip.

Behind her, Madison snorted with laughter. "Ok – that was terrible." Astraea elbowed her. "Hey! It was, though. You can't tell me that 'hi' is a good way to introduce yourself to a group of supers."

Astraea scowled. "Yeah, well, it's something. What do you want me to do? Give a bloody speech and look like even more a twat. I don't think so." She shook her head and gave Madison another playful nudge, smiling.

Someone cleared their throat; it was Clint.

"We're here to give a proposal, Miss Blake." Captain America leaned forward, pushing a folder towards the girls. Astraea stepped forwards and took the folder with Madison peeping over her shoulder. "I'm sure you know what from your previous stay here." He gave Natasha and Clint a look; Natasha merely shrugged and returned his glance. "All the details of what this will entail are within the folder, including housing, pay, and a disclosure agreement for details of what goes on here. You'll also find a brief overview of expected duties associated with – "

"Holy sweet potatoes!" Madison interrupted, staring at the paper in front of the two best friends, "that is a shit-ton load of money. Man, you could pay both our debts off and maybe even have money to spare. Whoa … I need superpowers, ASAP, if these are the benefits." She glanced at the adults watching and blushed beetroot red. "Uh … sorry … continue."

" – with such a role. Medical care will also be included; given the nature of the Avengers' work we anticipate that you will need to use this service at some time." Astraea gapes at the last bit – free medical care would be great, but she doesn't really want to have to go on dangerous missions to get it. "We'll give you some time to read all the information and come to a decision."

Astraea nods. "I'm okay to read this in private, right?" She gestures out the door, towards one of the sitting areas in the common room.

"Of course."

She waves to Madison, who follows the other girl from the room.

oOo

Once outside, the girls collapse on the nearest sofa, clearly relieved to be out of the room. Astraea sure the Avengers could still hear and see them; the building is likely the most advanced in the world. It'd make sense that the place would have cameras and sensors everywhere.

"You should totally go for it!" Madison half-shouts, gripping Astraea by the shoulder. "I mean, the money alone is awesome, but housing and free medical to boot? That's too good to refuse."

Astraea stands, dropping the folder on the cushions, and begins pacing backwards and forwards, nibbling on the bottom lip. "I can't just … It'd mean getting up and completely remaking my life. We have a routine, and jobs, and university to think about. I can't … I won't just throw all that away."

Madison scrambles to her feet too, waving her arms at Astraea in exasperation. "You'll be throwing away a massive opportunity if you don't! Here is a chance for you to do something amazing, and you're just going to give up without even trying it! That's the most ridiculous, selfish thing I've heard you say yet."

"It's selfish of me? For wanting to have control over my own life?"

"Yes! Especially when it's an opportunity for you to save so many other people!"

"What happened to it being okay for me to just save myself? Huh? What happened to that?" Astraea steps closer to her friend, angry now.

"That's still okay. But you won't even try. That part is not okay at all." Madison runs a hand through her hair, calming her breathing. "Look, I did some research on the New York alien invasion after you got this proposal. The death toll they got is high – I know that – but without them, the death count could have been 7 billion people. You can't save everyone, but if you can save most everyone then isn't that something worth attempting. Don't you even want to give this a go?"

"I … "Astraea thumped down onto the floor and tucked her long legs underneath, voice quivering slightly from nerves or anger. "I just can't, okay? I can't do this. I can't … "

"Why?" Madison pressed, using a gentler tone now. "Why can't you? Is it me – are you worried about leaving me alone because – "

"I'm scared!" She burst out, eyes widening and tears beginning to spark in her eyes. "I'm scared, alright? I'm just scared shitless about the possibility of dying somewhere far away from home, far away from my best friend. This … it's too much. I can barely cope with what I do now; what will happen if I become part of a team responsible for the safety of the world? How am I supposed to … supposed to keep myself afloat when I'm already drowning?" Her eyes were rimmed with red, an expression of utmost fear all over her face.

Madison took a step back, astonished by the answer. Her friend had always seemed relatively cool and collected. In control. There had been no hesitation for Astraea to put herself in harm's way to rescue others in the few times Madison had seen her in action. But this – this was an Astraea shattered and broken. Torn up by her own fears boiling inside her. Madison had expected this. Then again, Astraea had been having nightmares; Madison just wasn't aware of them until recently. Her heart softened, and she wrapped her arms around her shaking friend.

"It's okay, I've got you. You don't have to stay if you don't like it. I'm not forcing you into anything." She wiped tears from Astraea's face, letting the other girl sink into her. "It's okay to be scared. I'm scared too, of things that I don't say because I'm worried what people will think of me. But that's okay. You're allowed to be scared; I'd be worried if you weren't." Madison pointed out, earning a shaky laugh. "If they want you for this team, I'm sure you can make being able to leave a condition. They shouldn't be able to legally force you into staying and working for them.

"I'll come and stay with you, too. It's okay, " She murmured over Astraea's faint protests, "I'll be living in a super awesome tower with superheroes. What could be cooler than that? You know that come where you need me, just like I know you'd do for me. Like I know you do for me. We're best friends and that means staying together no matter what. Now get up and stop moping before this gets too soppy and I start bawling too."

Astraea nodded and clambered off the floor with Madison. Exchanging watery grins, they strode back into the conference room arm-in-arm.

oOo

"I've come to a decision," Astraea announced, taking a deep breath and steadying herself for the next sentence. "However, I've got a few things I want to add. Assuming I decide to accept this proposal, I want to be able to leave whenever I want. If it gets too much, or I don't want to do it anymore, I want out. Second, I want – well, Madison wants 'cos this was her idea – for her to also be able to stay here, with me. From the size of the Tower, I'm guessing there's plenty of two-bedroom apartments we could use for the 'housing' clause of this agreement. Third, I want to continue with my degree – I'm not stopping it just for this."

Astraea held her breath, waiting for a response in the pregnant pause.

"I think those things are easy to arrange, Stark?" The Captain turned to face Tony, a small but genuine smile on his face. "Think you can find a big enough floor for them?"

"Shouldn't be too hard." He looked up at the gaping girls. "Billionaire here. You guys could have a whole floor if you want – complete with multiple bedrooms, a small library, kitchen, games room, etc."

"Whoop!" Madison shouted, grabbing Astraea's arms and dancing with her. The other teenager was laughing at her friend's antics. "I'm so moving in as soon as possible."

"So, you're accepting this opportunity?" Steve Rogers gave Astraea a piercing look. She nodded.

"Yeah … I am. With those points included. Especially the university bit." Astraea plopped the folder onto the table, fishing in her pocket for a pen. Bruce handed her one from his shirt pocket.

"You'll have to take online classes then," Natasha stated, blunt. "We can't have you disappearing for classes when we have to go on a mission. That much is very important. When we call for you, unless you are injured or previously engaged in something more important, you have to turn up, Astraea. Whenever."

"Uh … yeah, sure. I can do that." She looked back at Madison who nodded encouragingly.

"Great," Tony stated, fiddling with something on his StarkPhone. "Just sign and I'll have some SI people collect your stuff. We'll get it all packed up and sent over in a few hours. You kids just sit here. Get a tour, or whatever you kids do these days."

"Like, right now right now?" Astraea questioned, alarm creeping into her voice.

"Yes. I literally just said that, Nemy."

"Enough with the nickname. It's as bad as with Spider-Baby."

Regardless, Astraea clicked the pen on and signed her name, reading carefully through each page first. Another disclosure agreement was sent up for Madison, who signed promptly. The girls were going to stay together, no matter what the world threw at them. For now, that meant living in a skyscraper with superheroes, as Madison put it in a whisper to her best friend.

"So, we're packing up our lives and moving in with a bunch of people we don't know. I'm essentially freeloading, and you're going to go save the world with these strangers. As you do."

There you go - Astraea and Madison join the Avengers at last. Let's see how things go for them.

As always, thank you to anyone who has read, reviewed, favourited, or followed this humble tale. I hope you're all enjoying it as much as I love writing it!

Feel free to send me any thoughts or guesses you have on chapters and future events.

Until the next time.

Look-for-the-miracles