Thunderstruck

Her heels clicked on the floor as Lexi paced back and forth in front of the elevator which led up from the garage of Avengers Tower. She had just received the text from Bobby saying they’d arrived and gone down into the garage so she was waiting for them to come up so she could tell them which way to go. Well, Bobby didn't need to be told which way to go, but he wasn't exactly alone this time.

Finally, the door pushed open and they came through. Lexi smiled as she approached Bobby, leaning over to give him a kiss before turning to her mother.

"Dad's waiting for you upstairs," she told Kimberly after giving her a hug. "He said he wanted to talk to you. Also, you look amazing. I told you the red dress was the right choice."

"Thank you," Kimberly said, rolling her eyes. "I'll see you upstairs."

Kimberly disappeared down the hallway in the direction of the party and before she followed, Lexi turned to her two idiots and stepped in front of them, stopping them from walking in the same direction.

"And where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"Uh… to the party you invited us to?" Finn said.

"Nope, we gotta lay down some ground rules first."

"Lex, are you serious?" Finn asked.

"Five hundred percent. The Avengers are up there along with a lot of other important people and if you make me regret convincing my dad to let you come... I will make sure you step in puddles in socks for the rest of your life."

"That's not a threat," Bobby said.

"Speak for yourself," Finn said.

"First rule, you two. Behave. No shenanigans of any kind. You will not drink any alcohol, you will not prank any Avengers or anyone else and you will be on your best behaviour. Or I will make sure you never see the interior of this Tower ever again."

"Alright, alright," Bobby said, wrapping an arm around her. "We get it. Be good tonight. Let's go to the party."

"I will be watching you both," she promised, even as Bobby started leading her away. "And I told JARVIS to keep an eye on you as well and you know he sees everything—"

Upstairs, everyone was mingling and enjoying each other's company. Lexi watched Kimberly talking with Maria Hill for a while and then she turned and saw her dad and Rhodey talking with Josh while Olivia and Rosie chatted with Sam. It was like worlds colliding in the best possible way, of course.

Four months ago, Lexi heard the name Bowman for the first time since her freshman year of high school. She hadn’t heard the name Joshua Bowman or even Olivia Bowman, as much as she couldn’t imagine that now, having been there when they pulled Olivia out of that Hydra base and when Josh had reunited with his niece. Lexi loved her dad, she really did, but she knew the kind of man he was, even now. It wasn’t until after Rosie was kidnapped that Tony actually acknowledged the pleas for help from one of his employees, whose niece had been taken off the streets of New York on her way home from school. It wasn’t until they realized they were in the same boat that Tony actually acknowledged Josh Bowman’s desperate pleas for help.

The guilt in her father’s eyes was evident, it always had been. There was a reason he hadn’t been able to help before — Hydra being exposed and taking a bunch of magical weapons, including the sceptre, had to take priority — but it didn’t stop him from feeling guilty he’d ignored Josh. His guilt was why he had paid for Olivia’s entire new wardrobe, why they were both here at this party (aside from it being Olivia’s birthday) and why he was the one footing the bill for their house to be completely renovated with a state of the art security system so both Olivia and Josh could feel safe and reassured this would never happen again. 

Lexi leaned against the bar with Bobby next to her — Finn had wandered off but she was keeping a studious eye out for him — and sipping on a drink in a fancy cocktail glass she'd gotten from Natasha. She knew it had alcohol in it, not just from the taste of the drink but the way the former assassin had winked at the teenagers when passing them their drinks. Lexi wasn't going to argue about being given alcohol when she was underage and she definitely wasn't going to argue with Black Widow of all people. At least not tonight.

Sweeping her eyes across the room, the blonde caught sight of Perseus and Madeline just finishing up a conversation with someone she didn't recognize and figured was probably one of those ex-SHIELD employees her dad had mentioned. Lexi immediately raised a hand to get their attention, beckoning them over once they'd caught sight of her trying to get their attention.

"What are you doing?" Bobby asked her.

"You said you wanted to meet Perseus, didn't you?"

"Right now?" he asked.

"As opposed to the next time you'll be in the same room?"

Before Bobby could say anything else, the two Avengers had reached them. Lexi couldn't help smiling at the natural way Perseus draped an arm around Madeline. She had heard through the grapevine that things had been sticky between them for a while, even when the Avengers had been forming for the first time three years ago. But they seemed to have gotten past whatever had happened and gotten back together. And if they weren't already, they were definitely well on their way to being back together.

"Enjoying the party?" Madeline asked.

"Absolutely. Say what you want about my dad but he knows how to throw a party. I'm just glad I'm allowed to be at this one," Lexi said.

"I suppose the kinds of parties Tony throws are usually not the place for kids," Perseus agreed with a laugh.

"Well, no. And my mom would never have let me even if Dad did," Lexi said, casting a look across the room to where Rosie was. "I guess the one good thing to come out of my sister getting kidnapped is that it's shown my mom I need to get to spend time with my sister and dad."

"It's good that you found a bright side in all of this," Madeline told her. "I know you struggled with it."

For a moment, Lexi was confused. She knew she'd put on a brave face through it all, not let anyone know just how much she was hurting by her sister being taken. Then, of course, she remembered who Madeline was. A mutant with the powers of telekinesis and telepathy in addition to many others. Those were just the ones Lexi saw her make the most use of. She couldn't hide behind a brave face in front of her, no one could.

"Yeah, it was... tough. And being strong for my parents didn't help the situation, I'm sure..."

"I'm still proud of you for how you held up," Bobby said, kissing her temple and making her smile.

"Well, I had your help, so it wasn't the hardest thing in the world," she told him.

"How long have you guys been together?" Madeline asked.

"Since my last birthday," Lexi answered. "Bobby here made me smile for the first time since I found out Rosie was taken."

"I had to do something," Bobby said. "Seeing you sad at the New Year’s party was bad enough, I couldn't see you sad on your birthday, too."

"I'll have to get some pointers from you later," Perseus joked.

They all laughed and as Lexi took a sip of her drink, she couldn't help feeling at ease. She'd gotten her sister back, she was on the mend, gotten to go on her first mission with the Avengers and now got to celebrate with them all. Everything was definitely looking up.

"You know," Lexi began. "You are actually Bobby's favourite Avenger, Perseus."

"Really?" he asked, looking at Bobby.

"Just don't let her dad find out," Bobby said in a low voice.

"No, I'm sure he doesn't like you enough already."

"My dad likes Bobby just fine," Lexi said. "Or, he did before I told him we were dating, anyways..."

"Yeah, don't think I'm getting away from those glares anytime soon."

"Really, though, why is he your favourite?" Madeline asked. "The demigod thing is that appealing?"

"It's appealing enough to you..." Perseus said, taking a sip of his own drink.

Madeline elbowed him in the ribs, causing him to spill a little of his drink while he laughed.

"I think his name is the coolest," Bobby admitted a little sheepishly.

"Ha!" Madeline said, pointing a finger in Perseus' surprised face. "He only likes you for your name!"

"Really?" Perseus asked Bobby, who just shrugged. "You need to raise your standards, kid."

"Are you saying he has low standards?" Lexi asked, putting her free hand on her hip.

"What, no, I was just—" Perseus cut himself off when Lexi couldn't fight down her smirk any longer. "Oh, I see what's happening here. Everyone gangs up on the demigod. You're a bit too much like your father."

"I take that as a compliment," Lexi said.

"It wasn't supposed to be."

"That's a matter of opinion."

"See that, that right there? That's what I'm talking about."

Lexi knew it wasn’t intentional, but the day the party was hosted also turned out to be Olivia’s birthday. Her fourteenth birthday and the first since her eleventh she was celebrating outside of captivity and they were all going to make sure it was one she’d remember.

As the large cake was wheeled into the room with the candles already lit, Olivia was brought to the front of the crowd with her uncle and Rosie by her side. Everyone started singing her happy birthday even though Olivia looked like she wanted nothing more than to disappear back into the crowd and never be looked at again.

She may not have been enjoying all the attention, but Lexi couldn’t help but smile as she sang along with everyone else. Olivia deserved this, more than anything. She deserved a birthday where she was surrounded by people who didn’t want to hurt her, didn’t want to poke and prod and turn her into a weapon. A birthday surrounded by the only family she had left and the people who — Lexi hoped, at least — would become like family to her.

When the song came to a close, Olivia leaned down and closed her eyes for a minute, clearly thinking of a wish before she blew out the candles. Everyone cheered and Lexi’s smile brightened when she saw the way Rosie jumped up and down on the spot and clapped her hands, her excitement clear all over her face.

The smile faded from her face as she watched her baby sister hug Olivia, who stiffened immediately. Rosie was eleven. The same age Olivia was when she’d been kidnapped by Hydra. If they hadn’t been so lucky, if Hydra had Rosie for longer, she could have turned out just like Olivia; shying away from physical contact and scanning every room she entered like there were enemies hiding in the shadows. Her little sister who had always been like a ray of sunshine could have been turned into a shadow of her former self. The similar shades of their hair made it all too easy to see the comparison, to imagine what Olivia might have looked like at eleven when she was taken.

Lexi didn’t blame Olivia for what she’d become, for making her think of what could have happened to her sister. It would never — could never — be her fault for what they’d turned her into. It was Hydra who Lexi blamed.

Rosie had Lexi and Tony, even Pepper and the Avengers, to help pick her back up from her months in captivity. But Olivia, she only had Josh. The rest of her family had died in the Battle of New York. She didn’t have anyone but someone filling a parental role to be there for her.

Not anymore, Lexi thought to herself. Let that be her birthday miracle. Lexi may not be able to be the big brother who Olivia lost when Loki led the Chitauri to invading New York, but Lexi could be a big sister. She knew how to do that and some might even say she was good at it.

And, as the big sister of two, it meant Lexi would do anything in her power to hunt down and stop who had hurt her little sisters. She was going to burn whatever was left of Hydra down into hell itself if she had to.

As the party started to die down and the sun set, leaving the tower lit only by its own lights and that of the moon, people slowly started filtering out so they could go home. Lexi stood in one of the hallways that lead away from the main room the party was taking place in with Bobby as he called his mom to ask if he could stay over at the Tower that night since the party was running late and he didn't want to make the trek across town so late.

Luckily, Bobby's mother, Madeline Drake, loved Lexi. And had ever since Lexi and Bobby had become friends. All it took to convince her to let Bobby stay was for Lexi to lean in closer to the phone and ask herself for him to be allowed to stay. After that, she caved and allowed Bobby to stay, as long as he was home before noon the next morning. Lexi interrupted Bobby to promise that she would personally make sure he got home on time and Madeline Drake bid them goodnight.

"You're proud of yourself, aren't you?" Bobby teased her as he put his phone back in his pocket.

"Incredibly," she affirmed, leaning against him.

"You know, sometimes I think my mom loves you more than me," Bobby said, wrapping his arms around her.

"Well, I'm very loveable, as you know."

"Yes, yes I do."