Changes
At first, the changes were subtle: Max's hands would warm up a little hotter than normal when she was angry; Will's water was a little more... energetic than was usual; flowers grew outside after Dustin walked that path; metal would bend and twist slightly for Robun; and Steve could feel the wind change, and notice things that were off a mile away.
Then they started getting bigger.
The first incident was Max.
Max was angry. Very angry. She had just woken up from a nightmare about Neil, and the memory of him hitting, beating, grabbing her pissed her off.
She had gone into the kitchen to get a calming cup of tea.
That was when it happened.
Her hands were resting on the counter, her fingers fiddling with each other, when an orange-red glow formed inside them. She didn't notice it at first, until she felt a searing pain up her arm, and looked down.
Her hands were on fire.
But they didn't hurt.
What hurt was the fire exploding onto her arm. She raised her hands in wonder, only for fire to fly out of them, running down her legs.
The pain was almost unbearable, and the last thing she remembered was screaming before she fell into darkness.
Max had third degree burns on her legs, and a new superpower. Neither of which she wanted.
It wasnt that she was against people having powers- it was awesome that El had them- but she had already been hurt beacuse she couldn't control them.
What if she hurt someone else?
What if she hurt El?
She wouldn't be able to live with that.
However, Wanda had talked to her. The older girl had explained that when she first got her powers, she was afraid to hurt people, too. But, she had learned to control them, and now she was the most powerful Avenger- Nat's words, not hers.
A few weeks after Max's "incident", just after she had started to walk again, was Will's incident.
The swimming pool was meant for training, but during weekends, the kids were allowed to use it for recreational purposes.
Max and El were sitting at the side- Max's legs weren't healed, and El couldn't swim- and Dustin, Peter, Wanda, Robin, Steve and Will were in the pool.
Then it happened.
At first, it was so gentle that nobody noticed it, but then the waves in the water got bigger, until they were nearly two meters high.
Will felt a weird pull towards them, and moved his hand.
The water responded.
Will gasped in shock, and gently lowered his hand, the water corresponding to his movements.
Everyone looked at him in shock, before exploding with excitement.
In short, Will had powers. They were nowhere near as volatile as Max's- nowhere near as dangerous- but he liked them.
He liked the water, it was calm. He had so much things happening in his life, this outlet into the smooth, gentle world of his own, was welcome.
Will liked his power.
Dustin was next to have an incident.
Everyone liked Dustin. They were fiercely loyal towards Steve- not in a "hurt him and I'll murder you" way, like Max, but more in a "I'm always with you" way.
Ther quickly won the heart of everyone in the compound, their bouncy, bright energy and serious, calming attitude made him a bit like a dog, and everyone loved them.
So, it wasnt surprising when flowers bloomed under their feet. This sweet, bouncy kid with his calming aura was very compatible with the earth element.
In fact, once the Avengers had noticed a pattern in the powers- they had so far all been elements- they had all bet on who would get what, and almost everyone said Dustin would have earth. They just had that "vibe" as Peter said.
It happened on a bright day, Wanda and Peter had taken them to the woods that surrounded the Compound, and they were all laughing and playing.
Dustin wasnt aware they were doing it until Max spoke, "Dustin, are you... moving the trees?"
Dustin looked behind them and saw, sure enough, that the trees had intertwined in intricate patterns.
They cautiously flicked their hand, honing in on the slight pull they felt, and it moved.
"Holy shit! This is awesome!" They exclaimed, and the others nodded happily, before rushing back to tell everyone.
Dustin liked it. Sure, it felt weird, and sometimes it hurt, but all in all, they liked it.
Dustin was a pacifist, so they sort of wanted to not get a power, so they wouldn't have to fight.
But they did get it, so they would fight. It wasn't that big of a deal, was it?
Robin was next. Hers came in quite a surprising way...
Robin liked Wanda. Not much more to say, apart from the fact that she would never get sick of her green eyes, or their sweet smile, or their beautiful accent.
Wanda liked Robin. They liked her smile, her laugh, their eyes.
So when Robin tentatively approached the witch, she was met with enthusiasm.
And that was how they started dating.
They didn't tell anyone, but everyone secretly knew- put two hot queer teens together, something is probably gonna happen.
Robin was lazing under the sun, Wanda's head on her lap. They were on the roof, stealing a moment alone.
Robin jumped as Wand last up. She turned to face Wanda, their face entangled in her hair.
Wanda smiled and gently pushed the hair off, before leaning in.
Robin leaned in, too, and their lips connected in an explosion of fireworks and feelings.
Suddenly, Wanda's breathe caught and she pulled away. Robin was confused, "What's the matter, was that not-"
"-it was perfect, Rob. But look!"
Robin turned, and nearly fell over. The railing on the edge of the roof- the metal railing- had bent and twisted.
"Did I do that?"
"Well I didnt," Wanda replied, grinning.
Tentatively, Robin held out her hand, moving the railing back to its original place.
It felt... good? No, it didnt feel good, exactly. But it felt right.
Robin liked it. She had always wanted something to hold onto, to be special. They had this, now. And Wanda, but also this.
It was good.
Steve was the last one to get his, and the most dramatic.
Meaning, he put on a show.
Steve was angry. No, not angry. Frustrated.
They had just finished their lessons, and Steve just couldn't understand all this quadratic equations shit. It made no sense. Maths made no sense. Neither did science, not really. Some of it was easier than others.
He sighed, walking out the door. They were going on a team hike, all of them. Steve didn't really want to go, but didn't trust anyone else to deal with "his kids" as everyone called them.
When they reached the top of the hill, the wind was strong. Stronger than normal.
That was when Steve felt the pull toward the sky, he felt the falst moving wind in his bones. But he couldn't control it. The wind grew stronger and stronger, until Steve couldn't take the feeling inside his bones- not exactly painful, just wrong.
He lashed out, causing the wind to stop. When he looked up, everyone was staring at him. He looked down sheepishly, "sorry."
Dustin shook his head, "Dude. That was awesome."
Peter nodded, and Tony clapped him on the back, "Well, I'm happy you got your power things. However, I post five dollars to Cap, cos Robin got metal and you got air. I thought it would be the other way round." Tony huffed, and they all laughed- five dollars was nothing to Tony's large sum.
Steve didnt like it. He didn't hate it, he just didn't like it.
He wasn't like Will, who disappeared into his power when the memories got too bad.
Neither was he like Max, who shrank away from hers, hating it with a passion.
He didnt really feel either way about it.
Training began a couple of weeks before they were due to yo to school- in the first two weeks, it was mainly to gain control of the sometimes volatile powers, so nobody got hurt.
Max enjoyed training, and felt like she was coming more to terms with her power.
Will liked it, as he could use his power more often.
El- who joined them purely for the sake of not getting left out- liked seeing everyone else's power grow, building up and, occasionally, falling down.
Dustin enjoyed it, but then again, they like almost everything.
Robin didnt mind it, and her powers grew, so she could twist even the densest of metals with effort.
Steve found it fun. Seeing Dustin and Will's smiling faces, Els grins, Max's smirks, and even Robin's smiles, made it even better.