All rights belong to Disney/Marvel. I own nothing.
Mexico
"So you fought with Hawkeye to stop a crime organization who called themselves the 'Tracksuit Mafia' and you," Cassie pointed at Kamala, "just returned from helping Captain Marvel stop a Kree warlord from stealing Earth's resources in order to restore her homeworld."
Kamala and Kate glanced at each other before nodding.
"Yeah," they said in unison.
For the past couple of hours, the three heroines had been sharing their backgrounds and the adventures that led them into the world of superheroes and saving people.
Cassie had gone first, talking about the war she and her family had been launched into when her quantum satellite had been used by a cyborg named M.O.D.O.K.-the first bad guy that Ant-Man had defeated—to pull them all into the quantum realm. She reflected on what she had learned from her dad and the freedom fighters, but most of all, the dangers of being a hero.
That sometimes, no matter how good you are, there will always be someone who is stronger and there's always a chance you'll get hit and won't get back up.
Kate had explained her experience during the Battle of Manhattan, where she had first seen Hawkeye, inspiring her to become a winning archer, fencer, and martial artist. She went through her holiday with Clint Barton, helping him dismantle the Tracksuit Mafia, which led to a run-in with the crime lord known as Kingpin.
Wisely, Kate left out the fact that Clint had once been Ronin and that destroying the Ronin suit had been the real reason for all their misadventures.
Kamala had explained how her ancestor's bangle gave her powers to manipulate Noor—the energy source for the Noor Dimension.
She had laughed when talking about the awkward period when she was still wearing her Captain Marvel cosplay and trying to save people before becoming more serious when she reached the part of her story that included her time in Pakistan and what had gone on there.
She wrapped up the stories with her journey in space with Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau.
Cassie leaned back in her seat. "You two are badass."
"Says the girl who built a quantum satellite and defeated a conqueror that planned on destroying dozens of other worlds," Kate replied quickly.
"You also stood up for the homeless," Kamala added. "You're a hero in the suit and out of it, Cassie."
"Yeah, I guess," Cassie said quietly, obviously pleased with the comment. "So do you work with other heroes often or…"
"Not really," Kate said. "It's weird. New York used to be the mecca of superheroes, you know? Iron Man, Captain America, and the Hulk all lived there for most of their time as Avengers. Now? The only masked vigilante is the dick who steals purses from old women."
"I haven't really had time to 'work' with anyone," Kamala said, feeling slightly embarrassed as she reminded herself of just how little time she's had with her powers. "Have you worked with anyone?"
"Besides my dad and Hope? No," Cassie shook her head. "Do you think all the others will be, like, proteges of the Avengers?"
"The M.I.T. student looks like she's trying to emulate Iron Man," Kamala shrugged. "The girl in Nepal has powers I've never heard about before. From what Fury has heard, she creates interdimensional portals."
"Whoa," Cassie muttered with surprise.
"Yeah," Kate agreed. "It would certainly help with travel if she can open up portals. I'm sure Julian wouldn't mind either." She laughed.
"I still can't believe you have a private jet," Cassie grinned.
"I don't have a private jet. My stepdad has one," Kate corrected.
"Your almost stepdad, you mean," Kamala joked.
Kate rolled her eyes but grinned at the joke. She had held some reservations about the whole "team assembly" project that Kamala had undertaken. Her biggest fear was if she and the other heroes would gel as a group and build the trust and bond she felt was needed to work as a team. So far, any fears she held regarding that were far from her mind.
"Jack has stepped in when I didn't have anyone left," Kate said easily. "My mom is in prison and my dad died when I was a kid. As far as I'm concerned, he's as good a parent substitute as I can find."
"Your mom is in prison?" Cassie asked, caught off guard that Kate had freely admitted the fact.
"She did what she did and now she has to deal with the consequences," Kate said, frowning as she felt she sounded eerily like her mom. If she had adopted an attitude of reserved sympathy mixed with motherly superiority, it would have been a perfect imitation. "I still love her, but she's done horrible things."
"You can't pick your family," Cassie agreed.
The group settled into a relaxed silence for the rest of the trip. When they touched down at the private airfield in Mexico, the pilot, Julian, came out to talk with them.
"Miss Bishop, may I have a word?" He asked politely.
"Of course," Kate said, slinging her backpack on. "What's up?"
"I'm afraid that I must return to New York," Julian said, folding his hands in front of him. "Mister Duquesne has a trip to Argentina in a few days."
Kate forced a smile to hide her panic and nodded, shaking Julian's hand.
"No problem," she lied. "Thank you for all your help, Julian. I hope we haven't made your life too miserable."
"Not at all, Miss Bishop," Julian bowed his head. "Safe travels to you and your friends."
The three young heroes collected their things from the storage compartment under the ship, waved goodbye to the pilot, and then headed to the nearest town to find a boat that would take them to the island Bruce Banner was living on.
"So what will we do now?" Cassie asked.
"We can always just use normal planes, can't we?" Kamala offered.
"That may be our only option," Kate nodded, though internally worried about the call she'd receive from Jack regarding the credit card bill she was about to rack up due to paying for both Cassie and Kamala to fly to the other side of the U.S. from Mexico. "Right now, let's just find the Hulk. He's big and green. He shouldn't be too difficult to find."
"Say what you want about the Hulk, but he knows how to pick a secluded island," Kate joked as the trio walked through the forest with their things.
The place was beautiful. The forest was lush and green—not too dense or sparse. There weren't a large amount of bugs or weird noises. They didn't have to trek across mud but walked along a nice dirt road that hopefully led them to a well-known scientist with an anger management issue. The sky above them was clear and blue, but there was enough shade from the trees so that the heat from the sun wasn't overpowering.
There was also a pleasant breeze from the sea that seemed to cover the entire island.
The three girls wore shirts, shorts, and running shoes, looking like college students on a mission trip rather than superhero proteges. Even their bags and backpacks didn't put them out of place.
"I wonder what made him choose this place?" Cassie asked. "I mean, it's obviously beautiful, but…"
"It's not exactly lowkey," Kamala finished.
"If I were a hulk, where would I hide?" Kate muttered, looking around. She wasn't sure how big the island was, but despite its beauty, she didn't intend on spending the night outdoors when the less-than-friendly creatures came out of their holes.
Their conversation was interrupted when a green giant fell out of the sky, wearing shorts and a Hawaiian shirt.
"Whoa!" Kate gasped, stumbling back as she dropped her things and reached for her bow.
Hard light covered Kamala's arms, tripling the size of her fists as she brought them up, ready to attack.
Cassie slapped something to her chest, causing her suit to emerge. It was similar to her father's suit, but purple and chrome instead of red and black. The entire sequence took less than three seconds.
The green giant was well over seven feet tall and had enough muscle for three bodybuilders.
He was clearly a Hulk, but there was something different about him, especially to Kamala. He was calm, not angry, and despite his size, he didn't seem to be as large as the videos she watched made him out to be. He looked to be at least a foot smaller and slimmer if such a thing was possible.
"Ummm….?" Kate glanced at Kamala, who she hoped had a better knowledge of Avengers than she did.
"You're Bruce Banner, right?" Kamala asked.
The green giant stood up straight and frowned.
"Why wouldn't I be?" He asked in an oddly human voice. "Who do you think I was? Shrek?"
"Well…." Cassie said as her helmet retreated.
"Don't answer that," the giant warned with a sigh, shaking his head. "Yes, I am Bruce Banner. Who are you?"
"Kate Bishop, Cassie Lang, Kamala Khan," Kamala said quickly, pointing to each person as she introduced them.
"Lang?" Banner frowned, looking at Cassie. "Your dad is Scott Lang?"
"The one and only," Cassie answered. "We're putting together a team…."
Banner held up a hand immediately to stop her. "Whoa whoa whoa, I appreciate the invite but…"
"Oh," Kamala said awkwardly. "Um, well, we weren't…."
"What?" Banner asked. "You didn't come here to ask me to join your team?"
The three girls were noticeably quiet. The Hulk rubbed the back of his neck and looked a little embarrassed that he had jumped to the conclusion that they were there to ask him to join them.
"Well, this is awkward," Banner said finally.
"Kamala came to me, and then we went and spoke with Cassie and Scott," Kate explained apologetically, fishing the postcard Scott had given her from her backpack. "Scott suggested that we talk to you since you keep in touch with people."
The Hulk nodded. "That's true," he muttered before gesturing for the three heroines to follow. "Come on. You can tell me about this group of yours over nachos."