The Thunder

"So, vwhere are vwe going?" Pietro asked while he walked through the New York streets, Wanda by his side, with the rest of the Avengers.  

"Oh, you'll see Speedy, you'll see," Tony replied, a childish smile on his face. "It's a place Capsicle over there loves with all his heart, right, soldier?"

That made them all laugh, except Steve for obvious reasons, Pietro and Vision. After a moment, Wanda had read Stark's mind and couldn't help but giggle. She just couldn't imagine the almighty Captain America, the head, the leader of the Avengers, Earth Mightiest Heroes, being that embarrassed for the mere fact of being next to a girl. It was so cute.

From Tony's point of view, the Scarlet Witch had been able to see the Captain's face all red, stammering but someway relaxed next to a young, pretty girl. But from Steve's, she saw a girl that couldn't be considered anything other than purely beautiful. Specially when it came to the eyes, the part of that girl Steve thought most of.

She thought that it indeed made sense. The eyes are the mirrors of the soul, after all, and if she had to judge yours from the look in your eyes, she bet her powers it was as beautiful as you.

The sokovian girl moved closer to Natasha, who had turned out to be a great colleague after a few weeks of training as an Avenger and a giant apology for what she had done to her back in Wakanda. Wanda had been feeling truly guilty lately, and she knew she deserved it. No one of them, even Stark himself, had deserved to see what they did. She had the feeling the Black Widow didn't trust her completely, but she doubted she did with someone, except Clint and maybe the Captain.  

However, she wanted to be trusted. She had never had friends, since both of the siblings hadn't stayed around a place long enough to get to know someone, and when that had happened they closed themselves up, so when they eventually had to move, didn't get hurt. The saddest fact is, that lack of relations in her past, now weighed on her shoulders: She wanted to make friends, specially with Nat since she was the any other girl in the team, but Wanda didn't know how. And to be honest, she was a little scared of being rejected.

"VWhat's going on vwith the (h/c) haired girl?" she asked in a whisper.

The redhead gave her a look, keeping her face blank, and Wanda raised her hands in front of her like an act of defense.

"I saw her in your minds," she clarified to the expert assassin.

"Why do you want to know?" Natasha said in return, giving her a glare that made the Scarlet Witch flinch a little. However, Wanda was brave, and she wouldn't shrink back.

"I regret vwhat I did," she said in a very low tone while Pietro gave them a very suspicious look from his place next to Thor, who had just come back the day before from his father's realm, to which he had departed right after the fight against Ultron was won. He hadn't told them anything about it yet; instead, there he was, smiling and moving his large arm as if he was waving Mjölnir, thundering about some battle back in Asgard. "I saw that girl vwhen I... vwell, you know. She vwas there, seeing Cap and that other girl dancing. He felt happy vwith her, but then he saw this girl and things... changed... in his mind, I mean. Is she important to him?"

After a moment, Natasha gave her a tiny smile that made her red lips curl up a little.

"She could be if we do things right," she admitted. Wanda's eyes lighted up.

"Count me in".

While Thor kept telling them his battles, completely ignoring the hints Stark was shooting him about his trip to Asgard, Pietro looked at the two women. He didn't like anything to be left out of a conversation, and when he saw Wanda's shudder, the speedster was about to intervene, until he heard the voice of Clint.

"I wouldn't go for it, kid." Pietro looked at him curiously and the archer made a gesture with his eyebrows at Natasha. "First, you do NOT know what she is capable of. Second, believe me: I have seen Nat threatening people, and they're just talking. And third," with a mischievous smile that sent a chill on Pietro's back, Clint cracked his knuckles while winking at him, "in the unlikely event that you got to approach her, you'd have an arrow on each knee before you even see them out of my quiver."

Pietro paled a little, as he swallowed hard, but then snorted, recovering his usual attitude.

"I vwould like to see you try," replied Quicksilver. Clint's expression completely changed in an instant, laughing and slapping him on the back.

"You know what? I'm starting to get used to you," Hawkeye joked. Then, Sam said something about 'the parental instinct of Clint surfacing' and agent Barton frowned, going straight to Falcon, who, of course, had said that to divert Tony's attention from his friend, the Captain.

"Ignore them," Bruce intervened and Pietro looked at him curiously. Except that one time on the plane, back from Sokovia, when he had teased Steve, the scientist had been silent, keeping himself to one side, working on his lab or reading. It was hard to understand how he and his sister could have believed for a moment that someone like Bruce, all quiet and shy, was a threat... until 'the Big Guy' appeared, of course. "Sometimes they can be kinda annoying... but you learn to love them -or tolerate them, at least".

Pietro nodded thoughtfully.

"I think you're right. And guess vwhat? I'm enjoying New York. And the Avengers. It's nice to have a place to stay and enjoy life," then his face broke into a dazzling smile. "And most of the girls here love superheroes!"

Bruce chuckled, shaking his head and thinking that the group had won another Casanova. He could take the place of Tony, who was madly in love with Pepper, something no one could deny, even when Stark kept calling himself a playboy.

They kept walking, stopping occasionally when someone screamed their names or came to ask for an autograph or photo. The Avengers responded delighted when this happened; and they tried to ignore it when the opposite happened: people watching them suspiciously, hiding their children with their bodies as if at any moment Steve was going to throw his shield or Natasha would shoot them.

After all the times they had gone into action, all the lives that they had saved, many people used to cheer them before, now detested them. Or what was worse: feared them. Being a hero who wants to help and receive in exchange hatred was a truly nightmare.

After the press conferences of the past few weeks and all the rejection they were getting since the disaster with Ultron, the Avengers were touched. Each member dealt thereby in different ways, but it was really affecting them although they didn't show it.

One example of many was Clint with his nephews, whom he had been found out crying a day that he had gone to visit them because their classmates said that 'Hawkeye and his companions were bad people'; or Bruce, who had been yelled down the street 'MONSTER' among other not nice things while the poor scientist dedicated himself to lower his head and went away. Nobody deserved that.

The least affected should technically be the Maximoffs and Vision, being the new additions to the team (Rhodey and Sam had just been appointed Avengers, but they had helped them in the past and people used to recognize if they were in the scene); however, it wasn't like that at all.

Several videos were leaked, including one where Pietro and Wanda attacked the heroes of New York. That had made them win the title of villains. Wanda had to hear their thoughts, which made everything worse, and Pietro could not do anything to stop it ... The worst thing was knowing that, in part, it was deserved after what the twins had done.

But the team... they didn't deserve any of this.

While Pietro was deep in thought, he heard a cry that made him look up at once. Only three words, spoken by a woman's voice: 'leave me alone'. He looked at his companions. They also had heard her, like the few people on the street that was crowding at the entrance of one of the alleys of Bay Parkway -ones with amused looks on their faces, others with worried ones- keeping a safe distance from whatever was happening but without intervening.

Pietro sped up over there immediately, not daring to make a run in front of all those people but going considerably faster than his peers. Upon reaching the alley, he stared at the alley's area which faced another street, where a girl who should be in her early twenties demanded to the man in front of her with a trembling voice to stop following her. The man, a muscular idiot around his thirties with black hair, simply laughed at her.

"Don't be like that, sweetie!" he exclaimed, trying to take her by the waist. "I'm a friend of Ian and he has told us everything about you two... You and I could get a little fun, huh? That dress of yours is not simply to stroll around, don't you think?"

Pietro felt his insides boiling and closed his hands into fists, ready to break the jaw of that asshole. He could be drunk, drugged or God knows what, or maybe he was just like that (and dumb enough to do something like that in public), he did not care. He wouldn't let anybody to be treated that way, let alone a woman.

Steve, the second to arrive, must have thought so too because he raised his voice when he saw the scene before them.

"Hey!" cried the Captain, as several people turned to him and started whispering. Man, why people was so... cliché these days? Why they didn't move? He took a few steps forward, not daring to go straight to them, fearing he maybe would hurt her. "Leave the miss alone. Now."

The man raised his eyebrows at him, amused.

"And who's going to make me, posh kid?"

How high is this guy to not recognize Captain America? Pietro thought, raising an eyebrow.

"Myself," Natasha replied, crossing her arms over her chest. Pietro hadn't even noticed her, but he was getting used to that. She was the spy, after all. The Black Widow gave him a smirk. "I could kill you in ten different ways with my pinky."

There was a heavy silence as the man looked at the trio in front of him, the rest of the Avengers keeping their distance, not wanting to put on a show. Three of them was enough, although after hearing him talk, every one of them wanted to rip that pure excuse of a man to shreds. The silence was cut when the girl, who had tried to back away, stumbled and almost lost her balance. He turned to her at once.

"How? Are you going to go before the party?" The Pig-guy (Pietro could not call him otherwise) received a slap straight in the face on the part of the girl when he had attempted to come closer. His face turned red and raised a fist, growling. "HOW DARE YOU!?"

Then several things happened at once:

Natasha took out a taser gun from her belt, aiming at him.

A very angry Steve shouted: LEAVE HER!

And the guy's hand was stopped in the air with one that grabbed his wrist tightly, preventing it from moving.

"I think the young lady here has said to leave her alone," said a girl -a woman- a little younger than Pietro.

He was gladly surprised someone had intervened from the other street, which seconds ago seemed pretty dessert, instead of just stare at the poor girl, as if it was a TV reality. After a moment, he really looked at her: (s/c) skin, (h/c) hair, (e/c) eyes. She was dressed in black ripped jeans, cobalt blue converse and a tank top of a group called 'The Sex Pistols'.

Pietro thought she was very beautiful, but then he heard the Captain heard whispering something and he couldn't help turning his head towards him in confusion.

"(Y/n)...?"

You were at the park with some of your friends: Gwen, Peter, Quentin and ... well, although you hated to admit it, Flash. Yes, the same Flash Thompson had bullied you and Peter at school. The twists and turns of life. When Gwen had defended Peter, he had begun to behave better; which it had been definitive after Uncle Ben's death.

He had called Peter to inform him that he was on leave from Service for a few days, and you all had agreed to meet with him to talk about life and that sort of things.

The boys were playing basketball. You had united them you for awhile, until you decided that was enough and wanted something to drink. You drove off down the street, to a grocery store where you usually bought the drinks. You were about to pay a large bottle of orange soda when you started to hear the tumult that was forming in the street. Sticking your head to the window, you saw a girl backing toward the wall while a high-built man approached her.

You went over there right away, watching as the man was getting more and more violent. You felt anger, you had never supported the cowards who used their strength against those who couldn't defend themselves. Who did he think he was?

Before thinking about what you were doing, your hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

"I think the young lady here has said to leave her alone," you indicated in a calm voice.

"(Y/n)...?" When you heard that whisper, you moved your view of the enormous idiot in front of you and saw sky blue eyes and golden hair.

"Steve?"

Leveraging you were distracted, the man tried to stick a fist in your side and you answered using his strength against him, twisting his arm behind his back and raising his whole body over your hip, making him spin in the air and fall to the ground on his back with a blow that even made you shudder. You gave a nod to the girl, who moved to where the Captain was, ipso facto.

"What are you doing here?" You put yourself upright as if nothing had happened and gave a couple of steps toward him; he looked at you with wide eyes and mouth slightly open. You were both amused by his reaction and frustrated because it seemed that fate worked against you. That's when you noticed his two companions, and a little behind them, the rest of the Avengers (of who you could recite off memory the greatest achievements of their lives), scattering the few people who remained.

"There's nothing here to do!" You heard a man screaming as he pulled a government badge (possibly SHIELD). He had dark blond, spiked hair, blue vibrant eyes and hard features, but the spark in his eyes said he could be a funny guy, not just dangerous. He was Clint Barton aka Hawkeye.

You could list each of them, from the billionaire and eccentric Iron Man to, despite his  green and red skin was camouflaged (who knows if by Wanda's magic or any invention of Banner), the creature that had emerged from Stark's laboratory (you didn't know how... yet, but you'd figured it out), Vision.

"What a movement..." Natasha muttered, blinking a few times, as she realized what she had just seen. "Where...?"

Natasha was cut when you turned suddenly at feeling a hand on your knee, giving the man a kick to the solar plexus, leaving him breathless. Then you took his hand and fore-arm, twisting it roughly after his back until a crack was heard, indicating with his cry that the shoulder had been put out from its place. He fell to the ground, his face against the asphalt and you on his back, with a knee between the shoulders. Everything happened in just 5-6 seconds, each movement burned into your muscle memory.

The man began to whine for help. The stench of alcohol made you wince.

"Gym and martial arts for ten years," you answered her not ended question, breathing heavily. You got the phone from the back pocket of his jeans.

"Good afternoon. Are agent Carisi or Tutuola there? A man tried to attack a girl... No, no. I've dislocated his shoulder.

...

Aha.

...

Aha.

...

Bay Parkway with the 67th.

...

Finn asks how is he?"

You tilted your head to one side to see the man's face, which was congested. You came back on the phone with a small smile. "The sexist pig is moaning like a little bitch against the road." You heard a powerful laugh followed by someone trying to hide a giggle and you could not help but smile too, if only a little. "Okay. Thank you."

Hung up and looked at them. Natasha came saying a "I got it" and you raised yourself from above the man, pulling your neck and shoulder muscles.

Steve was there, looking like a fool. It was one of the new, one of the twins, who broke the silence.

"VWow. That vwas incredible," the silver-blonde haired guy said with a beaming smile that made his blue eyes glisten. Then he winked. "And I don't mean just your movements".

Steve turned to him immediately, with visibly darkened eyes and clenched jaw. You raised your eyebrows, stunned. Was he angry because the boy was flirting with a civilian?

"Pietro...," began the other Maximoff, his sister Wanda. If you remembered correctly, her thing was neuro-electric interfacing, telekinesis and mental manipulation. She was called the Scarlet Witch. Her brother, Quicksilver. He had increased metabolism and improved homeostasis, which translate into superhuman speed, something you could already tell from Sokovia.

"Are you still going to the gym?" he kept going and you just nodded. He nodded too with a confident expression. "Brilliant. VWe could go together. Today I touch biceps and back."

"And the face when, Casanova?" The smile faded from the Pietro's face and he frowned. This time, you were able to identify the roaring laughter: Thor and Tony. Soon, Clint also laughed, and who else who least escaped a smile, including the Captain, trying to press his lips so no one noticed.

Pietro seemed to go to speak, but was cut by Natasha returning. You realized that she must've left the guy somewhere for safekeeping.

The girl seemed to be just about to faint. You thought it was due to be surrounded by so many superheroes, but her eyes hadn't left you for a moment, and before you knew it, she had thrown herself on you, hugging you.

"Thank you," she whispered in your ear. You returned the hug as you could and smiled.

"You're welcome," you whispered back. "Now, I think you should get something to eat. You could go into shock. Can someone take you?" The girl nodded vigorously saying a friend of hers worked down the street on a Restaurant, the place she was going to before. You replied by giving her a number -Olivia's number- and telling her to call there if she wanted to go further with this. She dedicated you an aqueous but cheerful smile.

"Hope to see you again," she replied, walking towards one of the main streets and turning to lend a glance over her shoulder. You said goodbye to her with a wave of the hand and then you turned to the picturesque group.

Before any of you could say anything, Thor made the first movement, putting one knee on the ground and taking your hand in his.

"You are a brave woman, Lady (Y/n). We saw only once, and were not formally presented. Let me do it now: I am Thor Odinson, from Asgard, son of Odin. And I feel very honored to meet in person someone of your caliber," after his speech, he kissed your hand and everyone looked at him with wide eyes and then look at you, who tried to hide her laughter. What made it even funnier is that Thor was not armored, but with blue jeans and a white shirt, so there was just the trick as a knight of the Round Table. Would you think he was just a crazy man that looked like a Viking?

"Yes, well. As you all know, I'm (y/n) (l / n). From New York, daughter of... my father, I guess," you couldn't help but to grimace a little. "Nice to meet you, mate," you stated before giving him a couple of friendly pats on the arm. Thor smiled brightly and rose from the ground, tilting his head again.

Shaking your head, you made a nod toward Natasha and you decided you didn't want more shows, especially with the new ones. And more with Pietro. Thanks, but no, thanks.

"So tell me Steve, what is the Scooby Doo gang doing around here?" Steve smiled faintly at you, rubbing the back of his neck.

"We were going to... well, the bar," he finally admitted. "I thought maybe you'd play again".

"You thought wrong, then," you said, shrugging, and his face fell. "I told you I'd maybe play again that next week, but you guys didn't come." Thank God you added to you. "It's been over a month, Steve."

"I, I know..." he stummered, but was interrupted by Tony.

"Honey, don't you watch TV? We were busy saving the world." And ladies and gentlemen, there was IronAss, being a pain as he usually was.

You faked a confused expression, then your eyes lit up as if suddenly you recognized who they were, something they all believed, judging by the reproached looks Stark was getting (mainly from Natasha. If looks could kill...), the cocky ones (cough cough Pietro cough cough), uncomfortable ones (Dr. Banner, Vision) or sadness mixed with anger ones, which was the case with Steve. He seemed a little hurt that someone had blown his cover in front of you. There were people who still didn't know who the Avengers were, and your card was playing to be one of them, even tho you had to admit people who didn't know about them should be living under a rock.

"Of course. Steve Rogers..." you muttered under your breath, closing your eyes and biting your bottom lip. Avoid eye-contact made easier to pretend. "Or should I call you Captain?"

"I..."

"I can't believe I know the Avengers... that I'm with the Avengers." You shook your head with a disbelieving look plastered on your face. "Wow".

"Hey," began Sam, aka the Falcon, stepping forward, "I know you're talking to him and you won't probably give a shit about this, but I'm saying it because I'm sure you've heard a lot about us and that's not the truth at all ".

"You're right," you agreed with him. He seemed to relax a little.

"For real?"

"Yes, but the point is: I don't care," you ran a hand through your hair, a gesture designed to appear nervous, but somehow you felt a little guilty at seeing the face of Steve; something that never had happened to you, except with Gwen that time... You sighed, trying to concentrate. "Look, my friends are waiting for me, makes enough that I've gone and..."

"(Y/N)!!!!" You turned your head in time to see a tall, handsome guy crossing the street, running towards the group. He had messy brown hair, brown eyes and pale skin. His muscles were well defined and it was obvious that he was agile.

Damn, you thought, it wasn't precisely a good time for him to appear.

He arrived at your side, still sweaty from the match, and ignored the people you were with.

"Hey (y/n), what the hell have happened? You left your phone, you've been gone for like 20 minutes just to buy a drink?" he asked, looking for any kind of threat in your (e/c) eyes.

"It's okay, Peter, I just found myself in a little fight-"

"Wait, what!?" he cut you off right there. "Are you okay? Are you- are you hurt?"

"She's okay," Steve stated with a calm, nice tone but Peter turned his body to him, a serious expression on his face.

"Excuse me, was I talking to you, huh?" he said, his brown eyes located on the blue ones of the Captain. "No, I think not".

"Well, don't take this out of place kiddo. We know her. We were just talking," Clint interjected then, taking a step ahead to support Steve.

Peter snorted.

"Yeah EagleMan, you mean like with that killer robot that almost destroys the whole damn world?"

Tony closed his hands into fists, but Rhodey put a hand on his chest, asking him quietly to keep himself in place. You took one of your friend's hands and squeezed it lightly. He turned his gaze to you and you make a move with your head towards the zone where the park was.

"Let's go back, Pete," you said, walking away with him by your side. He turned his head and screamed to Clint: "By the way, the name's Peter Parker, not kiddo!"

"Leave them alone," you retorted him, walking a little faster and pulling him with you.

The Captain hoped you would look back at least one last time before going, just so he could see your eyes, to see the same girl he had met... He waited. He hoped .

But you... you didn't.