The Thunder

"What's up, Sparky?" Quentin said, siting beside you on the bleachers.

You looked up at him, reparing on his sweaty face. Your friend was a dark-skined, strong-built man in his early twenties who had already been at war. He had a friendly face, with high cheekbones, long lashes, bright brown eyes which sometimes seem able to look right through you and an always permanent smile. He was two years and a half older than you, and had quit school when you were fourteen to go to a Military boarding school. After that, he had enrolled the Army. He just came back not even a year ago, just eight months ago.

"You've been very thoughtful since you came back with Peter," he stated like a matter of a fact. "And he was quite agitated."

You shrugged.

"He's always like that".

"No, he's not," your friend replied, smiling slightly to himself. He knew you pretty well (he liked to think so at least) and knew better than to pressure you... unless he would want an electric shock, and he didn't. "If you don't want to talk, that's right. Just know I'm here for you".

"I know Q," you whispered back. "As I am."

Quentin's eyes widened, and his jaw droppred slightly, with a childish bright on the eye.

"Oh my God! The Ice Queen has feelings!" he exclaimed with his breath shaking, earning a glare and a hit on the shoulder that made him chuckle.

He then extended his hand, making impossible for everyone but you two to see. The water on the atmosphere condensed, flowing from the tips of his fingers, forming an ice rose in his hand with its cold-glass petals shining. He winked at you then, leaving the rose in your lap.

He stood up then, resting his right hand on the back of your neck for a moment with the other patting your head.

"I'll be your Ice King, pretty girl," he said, giving you the lightest of grips before parting away, walking down the bleachers toward your friends. "Don't forget that."

Natasha looked at Steve, who was with his shoulders hunched, elbows on knees, and found herself in a particular sour mood.

It was not unusual to see Steve this tucked into his thoughts. Since she had known him, Captain Rogers had amply demonstrated why him, and not any other, had received the super-soldier serum. Steve was someone who pondered his actions and wasn't swayed by emotions, as that could suppose casualties.

However, what was unusual was to see him... defeated. He looked so... sad, kind of broken... rejected. Because that was what he had been: that girl had rejected him, and was not subtle at all.

Steve wasn't in love, of course -she didn't even believe in love, less in love at first sight. But that girl had impressed him. She had a nice voice, almost as much as her herself, and it was all sweetness and light. To see them talk at the bar that night, Natasha had assumed that at least they would enter into friendship, and that was something. After all, she was the first person who wasn't an agent of SHIELD or an Avenger for whom Steve had shown any real interest in a long time.

Steve had explained very excited that the girl used to live near Brooklyin, that she was in college and played guitar since she was twelve because someone close to her had taught her. Also that she would play again in that little bar in about a week, and that she had only played that time because of her blonde friend, the one who had helped Natasha to fulfill her purpose of introducing (Y/n) and Steve to each other.

And Natasha was unable to stop the smile that crept into her face. Not her typical scathing smirk, but a smile for real... the Captain seemed genuinely delighted with her, and the Widow couldn't help but to be proud of her skills as a matchmaker.

But then things had been terribly twisted with 'the Ultron issue'... and everything had been ruined. Later they had to train the newbies, plus Fury had asked her -ordered her- to pull up any information about the girl who had saved the life of Clint and Pietro in Sokovia. As in Fury's case, something told her she was alive. And although she didn't like to track her, knowing that she owed her one, she had obeyed.

Natasha was a spy -a master in her field- but not a detective. She could search for information, of course, as she had done with the Winter Soldier, who had proved to be Steve's best friend, but track him was more complicated.

However, it seemed a breeze compared to this girl. There was nothing in the files of SHIELD or the CIA, or the FBI. Nothing at all. She had found a pair of alleged sightings of a dark figure in some files of the NYPD, a figure that could be her as good as any other, but all the evidence of such -photos sightings, videos- had been eliminated. The girl was a real ghost... like Bucky in the last year.

When Thor was back, Fury had decided to give them a rest. And then Steve had suggested with a smile go to 'drink to celebrate', to that 'bar that Tony took us all before this'.

And everything had become a twist again...

Although Natasha could not help but respect the young woman for standing up to that piece of an idiot, she had a difficult time controlling her expression, and being who she was, that was saying something.

The sweet girl of the bar had disappeared to be replaced by a fierce and rebellious young woman with sarcastic comments and sharp tongue.

Had she not read her well when they met for the first time? It was impossible for anyone to stick such a radical change in a month. And yet, she wasn't able to discern whether the girl had faked her attitude, the first time or the second.

She felt her intuition surfacing, saying something was wrong, but she didn't know why. Natasha moved toward her room, her heels clicking on the floor of the Avengers Tower (Or it was again Stark Tower?) and, still walking, she took the phone from the back pocket of her black jeans as she entered the elevator .

"FRIDAY, turn off the cameras and microphones while I'm inside," the readhead beauty commanded in a monotone voice as she dialed on the phone.

"Of course, Miss Romanoff," replied the new Tony's AI immediately as the metal doors closed.

Natasha put the phone to her ear and it didn't reach the second ring before the other person answered on the other line.

"Agent Romanoff".

"I need to ask you for a personal favor," Natasha replied immediately, her voice as emotionless as ever.

There was a moment of silence before Maria Hill answered.

"What is it about?".

Natasha knew Maria knew it was not a what. It was a who.

"Look for our best Hacker. I need everything you have on (Y / n) (L / n)".

Skye dropped her head on the desk. She couldn't believe that something like that was happening to her.

The last few weeks had been a real madness...

She had had to deal with a lot of things, like most members of her team... of her family.

Tripp... Tripp was gone. He had died trying to save her, and that was something that haunted her every day and every night ... in the shadows and in her dreams.

Coulson had lost an arm to save Mack and Fitz from becoming stone...
petrifying himself in change; Mack had prevented his death -Skye couldn't help the shiver that went through her at the thought of losing the only person who had been like a father to her- by cutting his arm off with an ax before the infection could spread through his whole body.

Bobbi was recovering after the torture Ward had put her through. She had gone to see her a few times, and the blonde agent had apologized to her. Skye didn't know if it was because of the morphine, but in those days they had a couple of much more honest conversations than in the nearly ten months they had known each other. And Hunter... Hunter seemed like a complete different person, seeing Bobbi so hurt and helpless.

And that scared Skye. She didn't know if he would ever be himself again, if any of them would be.

May was the one who had taken the best part, in her opinion. She had decided to take a well deserved holiday with her ex-husband, who may be her future-husband in a few years. A girl can dream, right?

Fitz... had finally gotten a date with Simmons, who otherwise seemed to have finally accepted Skye for who she was and what she was.

That would be good, if it weren't for the fact that shortly after Jemma had disappeared without a trace.

And Skye... Skye couldn't take it anymore. Her powers, After Life, Ward, HYDRA, the alleged betrayal of her team, the Inhumans, her mad, villain of a mother, her not-so-bad-parent-after-all-but-still-crazy dad who now didn't know who she was anymore, Lincoln, almost losing Coulson...

She hadn't been able to find anything about Jemma, although those who were still standing were moving heaven and earth to find her.

She had to deal with forming a new team of people with powers, something that was not proving being easy. Who could be trusted, who couldn't? Who was a threat? Who had a useful power to become part of that kind of... 'School of Avengers'? And who simply had to learn to control their powers to not hurt anyone or themselves on the way?

And now... this.

Coulson had assigned her to find information about someone named (Y / n) (L / n). And, until about a year and a half ago, there was nothing. NOTHING.

That girl was a ghost. There was not even a fucking birth certificate. Or if she went to school. There was no family nearby.

The only information is that the girl was in college, with honors, and lived with the family of a dead police officer. Nothing else.

Frustrated, she groaned aloud. And then she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"What do you have?" Coulson asked giving her a squeeze.

Skye groaned again, without opening her eyes.

"Agent Johnson ..." AC began with a scolding tone, and Skye stood up.

"Sorry, Director," the girl half-apologized snorting, at what Coulson gave her a glare. Skye sighed. "I have nothing".

Coulson blinked.

"What? What do you mean, nothing?"

Skye put her hands to the sky, standing at once, frustrated.

"I mean nothing! No records of parents, schools, anything. Until a year ago, that girl didn't exist..." she crossed her arms, looking worried. "I don't know why she is important, but she or someone else is really, really good. Even I wasn't able to do something like that being so young."

Coulson looked thoughtful, tight lips into a thin line. Skye knew then something was up; she knew that look too well.

"What happens AC?"

Coulson was so deep in thought that he did not even react to that she didn't call her 'Sir' or 'Director'.

"I think we need to visit some old friends of mine," Phil replied, pulling out his cell phone and calling Hill to ask for a Quinjet.

Skye frowned slightly at that.

"What do you mean?"

Coulson then smiled, looking amused.

"I know you said you only did it once, but I hope you don't care you have to go there a second. Call Fitz and Mack. We're heading to the Stark Tower."

Tony leaned against the bar of his living room, laughing to himself as the Captain faced him with clenched fists.

"Does it seem funny, Stark?" Steve rebuked him, his blue eyes darkening slightly.

The Avengers were gathered in the living room, looking at them in silence:

Bruce seemed fearful that a fight had place and he lost the nerves, sitting on one of the sofas and wringing her hands nervously, adjusting his glasses every few minutes.

Natasha looked at them without emotion, though prepared to intervene if necessary, with folded arms and the shoulder against the wall. Clint, a few steps away from her, played with one of his arrows, rotating it between his fingers as if it was a drum stick, with his sharp eyes following every movement in the room.

That was the reason that sometimes he just couldn't stand Pietro, even his hawk eyes couldn't see him when the speedster put his whole being to run. He was on his feet, tapping a foot on the ground, so fast that it had formed a steady pace that almost seem like background music. Beside him, Wanda read the minds of the two men, trying to find something to avoid the incoming confrontation.

Vision watched silently, floating above the ground, glancing to all of them, Wanda the most, just in case he should protect her. Any other it would have caused the teasing of their peers, but now...

Rhodey and Sam were in silence, not wanting to take sides even though they were ready to separate them if necessary.

On his part, Thor seemed to agree with Steve, but he kept aside because if it was him instead of Rogers, he would not want another to take his place. No, he understood the anger of the Captain. He would have been like that to be the object of discussion his Jane.

"Well, yes," IronMan replied without thinking twice. "It's fun, in a twisted way, that you" he pointed to Steve's chest with a finger, "take sides for a girl you barely know instead of your team."

Steve raised his arms to the sky, frustrated.

"YOU CAN'T PRETEND ME TO AGREE ON YOU AFTER VIOLATING HER PRIVACY!" the blonde man growled.

Tony raised his brunette eyebrows at once.

"Really? Because for what I know, since you heard that mermaid-like girl and you fell for her voice as if you were a sailor drifting, you just wanted to know more about her," The philanthropist raised his glass in his direction just in time to see how the blood flowed to the Captain cheeks, adopting a pink tone that reached his ears. "You should learn how to clear the Search Internet History after searching on Google, Capsicle".

"Tony ..." Bruce began to say, in a tone that clearly meant 'Shut up'. But, after all, Tony was not going to stop just because his 'Science-Bro' asked him to- he could only possibly be silent if Pepper would be present... but she wasn't.

No, he was Tony Stark, and if there's one thing that he was really good at was getting people riled. Not that he wanted to make Steve angry (although that was pretty funny, indeed). He wanted someone to tell the truth, because he knew something was up since the cameras and microphones of the tower had being giving problems all damn day, and his guts told him it had something to do with that girl.

"The good thing is you doubt me, but not of the two spies?" Tony jerked his thumb to Clint and Natasha, to which Hawkeye rolled his eyes. The redhaired woman tightened. Stark was entering dangerous territory. "Do you really think by these hours SHIELD doesn't know everything about her?"

"GODDAMMIT STARK, I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU-!"

"Language."

And then the hands of the Captain had closed around the throat of Tony and this one hung a foot off the ground.

"CAPTAIN, LET HIM DOWN!" Clint shouted immediately, looking for his bow, which, of course, he didn't carried.

Rhodey made a move to call his suit, but Sam threw the remote across the room in a few movements. Wanda formed an energy shield between them before they could do something else.

"CAPTAIN ROGERS IS RIGHT!" Thor thundered, glaring at Clint. "THAT MIDGARDIAN GIRL HAS NOT DONE ANY HARM TO DESERVE SUCH A VIOLATION OF HER PRIVACY". Then he looked at Tony, who clung to the arm of Steve that kept him aloft. His eyes flashed like a storm under the golden fringe. "If you were in Asgard... Oh, we would teach you respect, Man of Iron".

There was a blur and Tony slammed into the bar, several bottles fell to the ground, breaking, and Pietro stood in front of Captain, who was breathing quickly as he looked at Stark.

Quicksilver raised his hands in a defensive gesture.

"Although no one vwould like more than me for you to break his face, I really don't think the solution is to kill him," stated the silver-blonde haired young man, without puting his hands down.

Tony stood up, rubbing the back of the his neck grimacing, but before the billionaire or any other said anything, the AI was heard throughout the tower.

"Mr. Stark, there are some agents of SHIELD at the door."

A screen slid from the roof and put out a hologram where two young agents who seemed to be in their twenties appeared. The woman had dark, shoulder lenght hair and almond, vibrant eyes; she dressed in black and was wearing leather gauntlets. The boy had dark curly blond hair and seemed lost, but also pleased as he looked around.

"Huh? Hello?" the girl took a couple of taps on the lens that was recording the images and all of them jumped. "I'm Daisy Johnson, SHIELD agent. And this is agent Leo Fitz" she added jerking her thumb at the other boy, who smiled absent.

Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Those two are SHIELD's agents? Really?"

Natasha gave him a look.

"That Fitz boy has developed at a young age many of our weapons, including a gun able to leave KO by nerve impulses from dendrotoxin and various types of arrows to Clint." The sneer of Stark gave way to an interest. That boy could serve in Stark Industries once he was done with SHIELD... "Do not underestimate them."

"Let them in, FRIDAY," Steve said then with a much more calm voice.

Within seconds, the doors of the elevator opened and that two appeared the two. Fitz put a gadget into the slot of the device, preventing the doors of closing again.

Skye smiled nervously at seeing them (because C'MON! Maybe now she had powers and all, but THE WERE THE FRICKING AVENGERS!), taking out her SHIELD badge, and Fitz stared at the holographic display.

"You like it?" Tony asked with a smile. The boy nodded, approaching the appliance.

"Of course, Mr. Stark," the blonde said enthusiastically. "We had some similar to this one in the HUB to... to..." Fitz closed his eyes, as the Avengers was left looking confused, and sighed after a moment. "Forget it."

Skye gave him a couple of pats to the back, squeezing his shoulder with a look of sympathy to the confused looks of the superhero team.

"Don't worry, Fitz, you're getting better," her gaze went then to the group before them, her eyes quickly wandering from one to another.

Instinctively, she tried to stay as far away from the Maximoff twins and Vision as she could. Perhaps it was her Inhuman part reacting to the genetics of these, but they didn't give her good vibrations. "Mmmm ... Well, hello".

There was a heavy silence, with confused looks and funny ones between them. When the time of silence reached in that while was absurd, Skye finally sighed and said aloud, "Look, I don't know who wanted information on such a (Y / n), but I've been sent me here and-"

"I KNEW IT!" Tony roared triumphally turning to the Captain, who blinked, his face blank. "See? I KNEW IT, ROGERS!" He shook his head. "It was better me than SHIELD."

Sam looked then at Natasha with hard eyes, feeling some kind of rage inside although he didn't exactly know why, while Bruce whispered a 'Not again' to himself.

All eyes, including Clint, had gone straight to Natasha, who advanced towards Skye.

"Nat..." Clint whispered, looking surprised. The Widow fought the overwhelming feeling of guilt she felt at his gaze, walking with arm extended toward Skye.

"You must be the Hacker. I asked for the best." Skye tried to hide her surprise as she shook hands with Natasha.

The best. The Black Widow had asked for the best, and they had chosen her.

Really Coulson's considered the best? Wow.

W-O-W.

"Uh, yeah. I guess I am." Skye scratched her head, tilting her neck to one side, without words. "As I was saying ..."

"I would prefer this to be private," replied Natasha, but the way she said it made it clear that was not an option.

However, a well-known voice made the original Avengers there remained stone and pale as death.

"If you don't mind, Natasha," intervened Phil Coulson, leaving the elevator where moments before were Skye and Fitz while he put in right place the sling where his now handless arm was, followed by Mack, who seemed really nervous to be among so many hostile people, "I'd rather that we discusse this together. "

...

...

...

...

Phil grinned at the looks of amazement and confusion around him, proud of himself.

"Sorry for the dramatic entrance, I couldn't help it," he replied while he put off his dark glasses and then point with his thumb toward the elevator, still open. "And Tony? Do not worry about the cameras, as soon as Skye clean the virus she got into the system, it will remain as new".