When the pair had woken the next morning, Steve was quick to usher Maj out of the house. The young woman was nervous enough as it was but knew it was something that needed to be done. She felt lucky to have Steve with her. Though quiet that morning, he was a pillar of strength. His presence was enough to ease some of the tension she felt.

As they entered the tower, JARVIS was quick to greet them and the two made the move to the labs. It was the only place Bruce could be, especially since they all knew he preferred to lock himself away to work. The man in question was found looking through a microscope, a mug and notepad beside him.

"Doctor Banner." The man jumped before removing his glasses and facing the pair. "Sorry. We were wondering if you had a bit of time."

"Did something happen? Another break-in?"

Steve turned to the brunette, eyebrows raised. She hadn't gotten the chance to really tell him about that incident. "No. Um, something else did." With the man's attention, Maj retold the events of the previous night.

"They were levitated off the ground and dropped at a force more so than should have?" Maj nodded. "I think we should run some tests. Adding this to what happened with the other night, you're the catalyst."

"You think I did this? But how?"

"We'll figure it out."

The tests took a bit over two hours to complete and by the time they were over, Maj was exhausted. She had stumbled over to the cot in the corner and laid down, not bothering to pay attention to the conversation between Bruce and Steve. She'd find out later, especially since both men were worried.

A gentle prod was what woke the young woman up. As she glanced around the lab, she found that Steve was nowhere to be found. Bruce gave her a small smile before he returned to his desk. Rubbing her eyes, she brought her legs over the side. " Where's Steve?"

"He went to grab you some food. You've been asleep for a few hours."

"Oh. Did you figure anything out?"

"Just a bit. Did you want me to wait for Steve to get here or did you want the information now?"

"Does he already know?"

"Yes. But you seem to respond better to him."

Maj shrugged. She could see where Bruce was coming from, but at that moment, she promised herself that he wouldn't freak out. Not about this. "Uh, you can tell me. I'll be fine. Promise."

Bruce observed her for a moment before removing his glasses. "We think Loki did something to you."

"When he took me?"

"Yes. Whatever he did altered you, giving you some form of abilities. Your blood was nothing like normal cells. The erythrocytes lacked the iron necessary but nothing has been damaged. I also noticed that they went through moments of lightning before going dense once again."

"So... what?"

"Steve and I discussed running a few more tests, some that have to do with the situations you were in."

"You want me to be mugged and nearly assaulted?"

"No. Of course not. I would like to see if the response could be repeated in a more controlled environment." Maj let out a breath, releasing her shoulders. "Steve had mentioned the first time it happened was when you were horsing around?"

"Yeah. I couldn't get him off of me. I told him to stop trying to get up and when he had, he was able to move."

"Maybe we could recreate it. Better that scenario than the others."

"I suppose. But don't you think it'll come across as forced? I mean, I would know that we're being watched. Performance anxiety and all that."

Before he could respond, Steve entered the room with a bag of what Maj could only assume was food. He glanced between the two before placing the bag on a far desk and motioning for them to come over. "I take it you told her?" Bruce nodded. "How do you want to go about this?"

"I suggest we go based on the first occurrence. Maj brought up a good point so we need it to happen as naturally as possible. I'll call Tony and see if I can install some equipment. Once that' set up, we'll work on getting the results."

"And if anything happens before the equipment is installed?"

"Keep a log of it. I need to know when, where, what time, and what caused the event."

"What if I'm asleep?" Both men gave her a confused look. "I woke up the other day with my things floating in the air. When I realised, they all crashed to the ground."

"So it's subconscious. Probably a defence mechanism. Whatever Loki did to you, it seemed to be more so to help you. Which given who he is, might not be the best thing."

"So I'm aware. He seemed quite concerned when I woke up upstairs. He said something about power and that I would secure his victory or something."

"Wait. You woke up while you were with him?"

"Yes. He put me back under a little while later though. I didn't even have time to get away, although it was not for a lack of trying. I mean the guy can duplicate himself!"

Steve went to respond but Bruce cut in. "If we go by what Loki said, you already had these abilities and he just unleashed them. If that's the case, why didn't any of your previous bloodwork show any anomalies?"

"Mom was a doctor. She did all my check-ups. That's how she and dad met Tony. It was a fundraiser and he and dad got along wonderfully... after dad put him in his place for flirting with mom."

"Where did your mother work? What hospital?"

"I don't remember. She was always going between New York and DC. I think the hospital was there." Maj shrugged before averting her gaze.

Weeks passed since the day at the lab and Maj was no closer to answers than before. Apparently, she was able to manipulate gravity. She had been practising, but she was no closer to control. Everything was out of whack, and from what she realised, based on emotions. It was just her luck that her emotions were all over the place. Steve was great to have around, but there was only so often he could cater to her. Before the holidays rolled in, he was sent out on another mission. He had promised to be back before Thanksgiving, something Maj hoped he would accomplish. She had reached out to Nat and Clint, but her brother was the only one to respond. Natasha was out on a mission, one that Maj assumed was the same as Steve's. Clint had said he would try to get back for the day. Maj had heard the exhaustion in his voice so she didn't press him, although she felt he would most likely stay away.

A week before Thanksgiving, Nat called. She promised she'd drop by though she wasn't sure about staying for the holiday. All the maybes made Maj wish she at least had her soulmate. Then she would have had one person to be with. She sighed. It wasn't the time to dwell on her apparently absent bond. Instead, she focused on whether or not she would cook for the possibility of company or just buy something for herself from a diner. She decided to wait until a few days prior to know exactly if anyone would show up. If worse came to worse, she could always call Bruce and have dinner with him.

As expected, Clint said he wouldn't be making the trip. Maj had tried not to let it bother her, but it did. She had hoped to spend time with him- it had been months since they'd seen each other and she missed the man. Natasha had reiterated her statement of dropping by, and Steve had told her he'd be back the day before and asked if he could stay over.

"Of course you can, ya' oaf. Why would you even ask such a stupid question?"

"I figured you'd have Alec or Wade over. I know you like to keep us all separate."

He wasn't wrong in that. Maj did have a tendency to keep her groups far apart. It wasn't that she was ashamed of any of her friends- it was more so that Wade had a tendency to piss people off and she would rather keep the man alive. As for Alec, while he knew Nat and Clint, they didn't care much for him and if he knew she hung out with Captain America, he would never leave her alone. Alec had always had a thing for the American hero- his walls were plastered in memorabilia when they were younger- and the fascination had yet to go away. It had dulled after a period, but after the battle, the thirst came back with a vengeance. With knowing the man behind the mask, Maj had found his adoration annoying and hoped that they would never meet.

Maj had been washing her hair when she thought she heard something out in the living room. Not wanting to jump to conclusions, she continued with her wash, pausing every so often to see if there was any movement. It was when she heard something against her counter did Maj begin to think the worse. Not wanting to alert the intruder, she left the water running and crept out of the bathroom. When she saw a shadow move across the living room, she instantly threw her hands out and the figure hit the ground with a heavy thud. Eyes wide, Maj rushed into the room, hands over her mouth when she saw the 'intruder'.

"What the hell, Steve!"

"Well, it worked." He tried to stand to no avail. "Mind letting me up?"

"As a matter of fact, I do mind. What were you thinking?"

"Maj, it feels like my back is breaking."

Focusing on relieving some weight from him, Maj crossed her arm over her chest. "What did you mean it worked?"

"It was a test. I talked to Bruce and we figured it would be a good idea for me to surprise you. Especially considering your abilities are linked to your emotions... at least at the moment." With a little more focus, Maj released her friend. "Thanks. You did good."

"I could have killed you. Wait... at the moment?"

"Bruce thinks that over time you'd have more control over it. Something about how your emotions are necessary at the moment but the more you practice, the less likely spontaneous bursts will occur. He said more, but it was more technical jargon."

"So I need to practice. Great." With a huff, she stalked back to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Two hours later, Maj emerged from the bathroom and dropped onto the couch. Steve grabbed onto her legs and draped them over his lap, rubbing into the muscles of her calves. She shot him an annoyed glare only to receive a cheeky grin. America's Golden Boy her ass. Moving quickly, Maj grabbed the remote and changed the channel when she came across a horror film. It was the perfect form of payback. Steve could handle a lot, but senseless and gory killings were where he apparently drew the line. He protested but when she reminded him of what had just happened, he quieted down.

Not long into the movie, there was a knock on the door. The two shared a confused glance before Maj went to check who had decided to visit her. She cursed as she saw the person on the other side. It would be her luck that Alec would show up. She tried to sneak away and pretend she wasn't in, but Alec had made it known that he knew she was in. Sighing, Maj quickly opened the door and slipped out before either man could see each other.

"What are you doing here?"

"I missed you. We haven't seen each other in months and while talking on the phone is great, I miss your face. The real question is, why didn't you invite me in?"

"I missed you too but I have company."

"When has that ever stopped you? You're not in anything sexy so I know it's not that kind of company so what gives? Are you ashamed of me?"

"What!? No. Of course not. It's jus-" At that moment, the door opened and Maj would have fallen backwards if not for the beefcake that caught her. "Seriously! You couldn't stay inside?"

"Maj... is that..."

"No."

"It is, isn't it?" Alec moved from his spot and studied Steve for all he was worth, a smile creeping onto his lips the longer he stared. "You've been keeping Ca-" She slammed her hand on his mouth and dragged her best friend inside, pushing Steve out of the way as she did so. Okay, he let her.

"Please don't freak out." Alec nodded. "Promise?" The man held out his pinky and she wound hers around it before removing her hand.

"But how?"

"You know when Nat picked me up? That's how I met him."

"And you didn't tell me? You know how much I love him." Maj gave her friend a pointed look. "Okay. I get your point but I would have played it cool."

"Alec. You just about screamed his government out."

"I was surprised."

Maj rolled her eyes about to speak when Steve cut in. "What's going on?"

"Steve, this is Alec. We've been friends for years. I've been trying to keep you apart because Alec is a fan. Happy?" The blonde nodded although she could tell he was wary of her friend. "It's fine, Steve."

"It's nice to meet you, Captain Rogers. It's a real honour."

"Steve is fine."

"Right. I hope you don't mind me interrupting your date. I really haven't seen Maj in months."

Maj facepalmed but remained silent, opting to return to the couch. She paid no attention to what the guys spoke about but was glad that a few minutes after she'd taken her seat, they'd joined her. Steve had retaken his position while Alec sat behind her. Satisfied with having her boys with her, Maj decided to change the movie to something they'd all enjoy.

Hey all! So finally updating! I hope you're enjoying the story. I know we haven't gotten to Bucky yet, but we'll be there soon.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, favourited, and/or followed I Dare You. It means a lot to me. And while I hate to ask this, I would totally appreciate if you let me know your thoughts. They definitely keep me motivated and I would like to hear your thoughts.

Anyways, enough of that. I'll see you all in the next chapter.