The Spark

We were all sitting couches facing the TV, watching the newest Doctor Who. My parents were wrapped around each other, hands tangled together as Mum’s head rests on Dad’s chest. My little sister was curled up on the armchair, distractedly drawing on a sketchpad as she occasionally she looked back up to the TV then back down to the sketchpad. I was curled up on the floor, leaning against the family dog, a Great Dane by the name of Warlock. I was petting her ears when they pricked up, a low growl in her throat when the door bursts open, revealing three men, dressed in black and carrying guns.

It was all so loud, the men yelling, my little sister screaming, Warlock growling and barking, and my own heavy breathing.

They shot Warlock first, straight through the head. Then they shot Dad, who was trying to protect my little sister, who then died.

“Run” was the last thing my Mum said, her eyes staring at me as the shot echoed in my ears, blood trickling down her face.

………………………

I wake up screaming, sitting up straight in the bed. I clap my hand over my mouth, cutting it off hallway, looking around furtively, my ears straining to hear any noises.

“Jarvis, how long was I screaming” I whisper, crossing my legs under the covers.

“Only about five seconds, (Y/N)” Jarvis answer.

“Um, I don’t suppose anyone heard me, did they?”

“No, (Y/N), the entire room is soundproof” Jarvis sounds slightly proud, and I chuckle at an idea that pops into my head.

“So, hypothetically, I could murder someone in here and no one would know” I ask as I stand up, quickly putting my phone on a charger that’s already plugged into the wall.

“Well, I don’t think Mr Stark would like that, but hypothetically, yes, you could” Jarvis chuckles, as he stresses the word hypothetically. I chuckle with him as I walk over to the walk-in wardrobe, my eyes roving over all the cupboards and racks and cubbyholes that line the room’s walls.

After 10 minutes of exploring and deliberating, I choose a black tank top and black leggings, with a metal grey trench coat over the top. I also pick a pair of black and red combat boots. I leave my hair out and I brush it out, so it pools over my shoulders in waves.

When I leave the wardrobe, I nearly walk out the door when I notice a folded piece of white paper on my bedside table. Curious. I walk over and pick up the note, reading the messy, handwritten note.

Dear (Y/N),

I don’t want to know why you were in the kitchen eating pancakes at 2 am, but I’m not one to judge. Though I am wondering why there were two plates, but again, I’m not judging.

But please, you are welcome to come down to the communal kitchen. Don’t worry about being late, nearly all of the Avenger’s are not morning people.
After breakfast, I think we should get you started on hand to hand combat. No powers, so don’t worry. But we can ask Wanda for help, if you’re comfortable with that.
Everyone here loves you, so please, don’t be shy, and don’t be afraid.

- Tony Stark

I’m frozen, the note in my hand. I reread the note again, feeling multiple feeling at once. Relief that Tony didn’t see Bucky and Steve when they left, anxiety at fighting while controlling my powers, yearning for talking to someone that knew of my powers.

Striding out of my bedroom, I look around and walk over to the elevator, then I remember something. I remember that I don’t know where the communal kitchen is.

“Shit”

“Jarvis” I call out, my finger poised above the elevator call button.

“I would tell you ‘language’, but then I would sound like Mr Stark” Jarvis’s humour makes me chuckle.

“Don’t worry (Y/N), I will take you to the right floor. The communal is an open plan as you remember from last night.” The elevator doors ding, opening for me. I step in cautiously, looking around at the mirrors that reflected myself.

And before I even knew it, the elevator open, revealing the open plan communal floor. I slip out, sticking to dark walls when I realise something.

“Shit, my phone” I face palm myself but I look down at something nudging at my leg.

“Oh” I gasp at the sight of the little robot, that reminds me of the robot from Wall-e. And in it’s tiny hand, is my phone.

“Aw, thanks little buddy. High-five?” I hold up my free hand for a high five, crouching down to the robot’s level. It beeps happily and gently pats my palm in a approximation of an high five.

“There we go. You have a name?” I don’t know what I expected, but I didn’t expect a deep voice to come out of the tiny robot.

“My name is Beeper”

“Oh, I did not expect that voice” I’m startled when I hear a loud, deep voice laughing behind me. I screech and fall over, to see Vision floating a few centimetres above the floor.

“Vision!” I shout in surprise, Beeper attempting to help me up from the floor.

“I’m sorry (Y/N)” Vision’s voice is full of excitement, but with a hint of guilt. “Wanda was explaining to me what she called ‘pranks’”

I chuckle, shaking my head, and Vision’s smiles grows.

“So, is that his real name?” I gesture at the little robot, who waves his arms at me.

“I believe so, as Mr Stark called him that” Beeper nods his head.

“Well, thank you Beeper, for bringing my phone. May I take a photo?” I ask Beeper, and he nods again. Grinning, I take a selfie of Beeper and I, with Beeper waving his hands. When I’m done, I turn around to Vision, and I raise an eyebrow at him, waving my phone in a question. He looks surprised.

“I- No one has ever asked me of this” Vision’s voice is full of surprise and awe. Smiling, I take a selfie with him, him smiling uneasily behind me.

“Thank you, Vision” I pocket my phone, and I courtesy, gesturing for him to lead the way.

He smiles and drifts forward, and I follow, making polite chit chat, but I falter slightly at the sight of the people scattered around the kitchen.

“I- um” I take a step back towards the wall.

“(Y/N), what’s the matter?” Vision’s voice is full of concern as he lands on the floor and takes a step towards me.

“Vision, I’m really not that good with people. Especially people that either gods, super soldiers, super assassins, rich billionaires or people with magical powers” I take another step back. And I flinch slightly when Vision’s hand rests on my shoulder.

“Well, Wanda helped me, so maybe she can help you. You know, with all of this social interaction” Vision looks at me hopefully, so I force a smile onto my face.

“Yeah, maybe she can help me” I walk forward with Vision again, but slightly behind him as we walk towards the closest group of people. But when Vision sees Wanda, he gets excited and floats over to her. I chuckle to myself and walk over to the actual kitchen part of the communal floor, to see a humming Captain America, wearing an apron and flipping pancakes.

A smile tugging at the corner of my lips, I snap a photo of Steve halfway through flipping a pancake, his hand running through his hair, a smile on his face.

“Are we stalking Cap?” a cheerful voice whispers in my ear from behind, and I jump, turning around to see an amused Tony Stark, who was wearing a suit even though it was around 9 in the morning.

“What? No! I want to have some nice photos of my new friends” I watch Tony’s face beam with joy at the word friends.

“Like, I already have photos of Vision, and Bucky, and now Steve” My voice trails off at Tony’s amazed expression.

“What?” I ask indignantly.

“Bucky willingly took a photo with you? Wait, when were you even hanging out with Bucky?” Tony looks down at me in curiosity.

“Um, we were just, hanging” I shrug.

“Right” Tony says, looking unconvinced.

“What’s got Tony’s knickers in a twist?” A familiar voice asks behind me, and I turn around to see Steve walking towards us, leaning on his elbows on the kitchen top as he looks up at me. I snort as Tony mutters.

“Oh, Tony’s just unconvinced that Bucky and I were hanging out and that I got a photo of him” I sigh as Steve’s expression becomes amazed as well.

“What is with you guys?” I exclaim, my hands waving as I roll my eyes.

“(Y/N), remember what I told you about Bucky and how we moved him here about a month ago?” Steve’s eyes focus on my face. I nod slowly, and I see Tony sit down.
“Well, we had him in isolation for about half a year, with me as his only contact. At first, when we found him, he was the Winter Soldier, only the Winter Soldier. Then he started getting better. He would have relapses. So, when he hadn’t relapsed for three weeks, Tony thought it would do some good to bring him here, acclimatise him to people” Steve glances at Tony, who nods in agreement.

“So, when he arrived, he knew the stakes if he had a relapse, he cut himself off from everyone, including me, to protect us. He opened up about a week ago but is still reclusive, only turning up for training, or sticking to the shadows” I frown as I feel sorry for Bucky, empathising with him slightly.

“Look, all I’m saying is that we are surprised that Bucky is opening up to so quickly, that’s all” Steve straightens, but pauses when I wave frantically at him.

“Wait, wait, I want to take a photo of us!” I pull Steve and Tony behind me. Tony joins enthusiastically while Steve is a bit more restrained about it. I grin, snapping a picture, then sliding my phone into my pocket.

“Excellent” I pull Steve into a quick hug, and he chuckles as he pats me on the back. I pull back and grin at Tony, who rolls his eyes and ruffles my hair. I snort and pull away from his offending hand. Then, with a wave, I quietly stroll away, to see Thor sitting in the corner, a jug of what looks like to be alcohol in his hand.

Frowning, I walk towards him, sliding into the bench opposite him, startling him.

“Thor, what are you doing over here by yourself?” I glance down at his jug of beer. “And why are you drinking this early in the morning”

“Oh, Lady (Y/N), it is normal for us Asgardians to drink with any emotion. Right now, I am drinking because I am sad. My love, Jane Foster, is away, and won’t be back for at least a week” Thor sighs, fiddling with the handle of his glass.

“Oh Thor, with how much you love her, the time will fly past” I urge, watching his eyes flicker with happiness, but then it fades again.

“Oh, it’s no use Lady (Y/N), I still miss her, and I’m still sad” His voice breaks, and my heart breaks with it. But then I grin as I come up with an idea.

Beckoning Thor to lean in, I whisper in his ear, and he chuckles at the proposition.

“You gonna take me up on this?” My eyebrows flick up in competition, and he smirks back, his eyes gleaming.

…………….

10 minutes later, I slam down my empty fourth jug of beer onto the table, licking the drops of beer off my lips as I wait for the other men to finish chugging their own beers. Thor slams his down mere seconds after me, then Clint finished last.

“What! How can you beat us (Y/N)?” Clint exclaims, looking down at me in disbelief. I shrug, a small smile on my face as I look away, catching Tony’s suspicious gaze. I sigh.

“Oh fine, I just have a high alcohol tolerance, t’is all. And the fact that I practised a lot.”

“And why would you practise, Lady (Y/N)?” Thor brings out a small silver flask.

“So I can beat guys like you” I chuckle, and I glance at the flask.

“Thor, what’s in that flask of yours?” Thor smirks and his laughter booms.

“It is something that will even make someone like you drunk”

“Oh yeah? Bring it on Big Guy?” I refill our jugs with beer, and go to grab the flask, only for Thor to pull it out of my reach. I go to argue but Clint interrupts me.

“I’ve heard of this drink, Thor. Didn’t you give it to some old blokes at one of Tony’s parties, and they were carried out after only one sip?” Clint looks shaken, and I snort.

“All right Thor, you control the God juice and if Clint wants to back out, then that’s his problem” I smirk as Clint splutters. Thor just grins and grabs the three jugs of beer, pouring a couple of drops into each jug. I grab mine, but I quickly grab my phone, taking a picture of the two men smiling, holding their beers up at me. I grin, then quickly chug the beer. Again, I finish it first, slamming it down. Tony and the others stare at me as I don’t even flinch. Clint staggers as he finishes his beer after Thor, who just chuckles as Clint groans, clamping a hand over his face. Then Thor looks at me.

“No offense Lady (Y/N), but why are you not stumbling around like Arrow man?” Thor looks at you intensely.

“Um, I don’t really know. It did taste like liquorice though” I grin, quickly walking over to Clint and guiding him down onto the armchair, where he promptly groans and falls unconscious. Tony tuts and walks over to me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me away from the group, so I wave my goodbye as everyone starts talking around Clint.

“Tony, where are we going?” I ask as Tony steers us towards the elevator. He sighs, and stops me, placing his hands on my shoulders and turning me to face him.
“(Y/N), what you did back there, it’s not exactly normal. A few drops of Thor’s Asgardian crap should have made you passed out like it did to Barton. But it didn’t, so I want Bruce to check you out.” I flinch at the thought of someone else knowing about my powers. Tony’s eyes soften, and sighs as we get into the elevator.

“Sweetheart, we don’t have to Bruce, but maybe it would be good for someone else to know apart from myself and Wanda. You can go to him if something goes wrong or you need help”

I sigh, nodding as the door opens and we walk into Bruce’s lab.

………………..

“Interesting” Bruce murmurs as he examines the computer readings again. I roll my eyes at him.

“Interesting what?”

“Well, it seems that your body burns off the alcohol as soon as you drink it. So you wouldn’t be affected by beer at all. And for Thor’s God drink, well, that wouldn’t stick around either” Bruce looks at you curiously. I shrink a little bit, looking at Tony for guidance. He just gives you a look, and you sigh as you realize what that means.

“Bruce, can you keep a secret?”

Bruce nods slowly, his face open as he waits for you to continue.

“Well, it’s best if I show you” I stand up from the medical bed that Bruce had told me to sit on, and I walk into a more clear, open place. I clench my fists, closing eyes, focusing on emptying my mind and on my hands. When I hear Bruce gasp, I know that it worked.

“Oh (Y/N) this is amazing. It’s almost like Johnny Storm, except it’s localised in your arms.” Bruce steps closer, and I raise my hands, waving my fingers, smiling as I watch Bruce’s fascinated face.

“How long have you had this?” Bruce inquires, holding a piece of paper to my fiery arm and watching it burn to ashes.

“I’ve only been aware of it since Tony picked me up, and, uh, I do have another over that I’m aware of.” I frown to myself slightly, before looking back at Bruce.

“Do you have anything that’s reinforced enough for a hurricane?”

Tony looks at me in confusion. Bruce nods again, scratching his forehead in thought.

“I suppose the Big Guy’s containment unit would be suitable. This way please (Y/N)” Bruce guides me to a door on the other side of his lab, carefully avoiding my flaming arms, not even questioning my words, which I appreciate greatly.

“Woah, wait a minute guys, (Y/N), what are thinking of doing?” Tony yells from behind us as he follows us into a large empty room, where the only thing in it is a large containment unit, it’s frame made out of metal and the window panes must be made out of plastic or something.

“This is it?” I ask Bruce, walking up to the containment unit, extinguishing the fire on my arms and running my fingers over the surface.

“(Y/N), this unit has held the Big Guy before, many times. Why do you need it?” Bruce walks over to the door, punching in a number combination that opens the door.
“I’m going to let go. And I don’t know what will happen, hence the container” I step closer to the door when I feel an iron grip on my arm, holding me back.

“(Y/N), what do you think you’re doing?” Tony begs me, his eyes boring into my own.

“Tony, it’ll be fine, I promise. Plus, if I get out of control, you can shoot me with a tranquilizer or something, I promise I won’t mind” I smirk, pulling him into a quick hug which he returns. He sighs, pulling back.

“Fine (Y/N), but please be careful”

I smile and I walk past Tony and past Bruce, entering the containment unit and turning around as the door slides shut.

Knowing I have to focus, to relax, I stand in the middle of the room, closing my eyes as I focused on the air around me, the silence that permeates the air. Flexing my hands, I concentrate on keeping the flames at my fingertips, letting them slowly creep up my arms. When they reach my elbows, they stop, and that’s when I know that I can focus on attempting on controlling the air.

I breathe in deeply, letting the anxiety that I have been in myself to rush though my body, the slithery, roiling feeling curling up in my stomach, rising it’s head up to constrict my chest. I start to breathe heavily, my jaw clenching as the air around me start to whirl around me in the beginnings of a whirlwind.

But I know that I can go further, so I let my other emotions flow freely. My fear, my anger. My desperation. The wind gets stronger, growing darker and colder. Then something new happens. My two powers mix together, the flames from my arms getting stronger and larger as they mix in the whirlwinds swirling around me, creating a storm of fire and air. The wind is loud, buffeting me, but my legs won’t move, refusing to leave contact with the floor. With a cry, I crouch down, my head lowered. In this new position, I can hear the faint cries of Tony and Bruce over the sound of the storm that I have now created. And when I realize that fact, a new element is introduced to this storm as tears fall down my face. The rain drenches me almost instantly, making it a true storm.

It’s like I had started an ecosystem in here with me. I opened my eyes and the floor was covered with mud and dirt. My hands have been extinguished with the rain and I fell to my knees, watching the storm swirl around me, the area immediately around me clear, as I was in the middle of the storm.

But in the muddy ground in front of me, I could see something small and green, growing before my eyes. A plant.

I was staring at it when I started to feel groggy, and I sway from side to side slightly, my vision growing fuzzy around the edges. I groan, the storm losing strength as I fall onto my side, my face right next to the plant. I roll onto my back, looking at the now empty room, the windows foggy.

I hear the door slide open, and then I see a fuzzy Tony, rush to my side with Bruce who instantly checks my pulse.

“Ugh, Tony, what’s happening?” I slur, pulling against Tony’s warm hands.

“Sweet cheeks, I didn’t really want to shoot you with a tranq dart, so we did the best next thing. We put a sedative through the air vents. Now come on, let’s get you out of here” Tony picks me up, leaving Bruce behind as he carries me out.

…………………..

I watch sadly as (Y/N) steps into the containment unit, walking to the middle of it as the door slides shut behind her.

“Tony, what is the second power that (Y/N) is talking about?” Bruce asks me with his eyes still glued to the door of the unit.

“Well, remember when I went out on my city patrol and found (Y/N) getting attacked, and I said that I got there before they even started?” Tony pauses as Bruce gestures for you to continue.

“Well, she was already halfway through creating a whirlwind when I got there. Then she tossed a full grown man over my head with the help of the wind, but she didn’t know what she had done at the time” I ignore Bruce’s gasp and I take a step towards the window to see that (Y/N)’s arms were engulfed in fire up to her elbows.

I could only watch as the air around her starts to move faster and faster around her, and then Bruce and I both gasp as the fire from (Y/N)’s arms mixes with the air, creating a whirlwind of air and fire.

“Bruce, what’s happening!” I motion for Bruce to come closer to the window with me as I notice dirt spread rapidly across the floor, cementing her feet to the floor as the storm that (Y/N) created grows stronger. It was now so dark that I could barely see her.

“Bruce, we have to stop this! We don’t know how far she’ll go!” I rush to the door but Bruce stops me.

“Tony if you open the door then the storm will grow truly out of control and wreck this entire building. But it’s okay, I can get a sedative through the air vents in the unit” Bruce presses a few buttons and I hear the hiss of air over the sound of the storm inside the container. Then Bruce looks inside again.

“My God, she made an ecosystem in there!” I hear Bruce exclaim as the rain starts and adds to the storm.

“Come on, come on, come on!” I yell as I bang on the door, wanting the sedative to act quicker as I watch (Y/N) fall to her knees, staring at something in front of her in the muddy ground.

I yell out and bang on the door as I watch (Y/N) fall onto her side, still looking at the small plant that had grown before her. Once I see the storm finally clear, I open the door and rush to (Y/N) as she rolls onto her back. Bruce rushes over with me, checking her pulse, nodding at me when he finds a pulse.

“Ugh, Tony, what’s happening?” (Y/N) slurs, pulling against me when I try to pull her into my arms.

“Sweet cheeks, I didn’t really want to shoot you with a tranq dart, so we did the best next thing. We put a sedative through the air vents. Now come on, let’s get you out of here” I say in a soothing voice, picking her up in my arms, and holding her securely in my arms, walking out of the containment unit and heading towards Bruce’s own private medical bay.

When I get there, I carefully place (Y/N) on a medical bed, pulling back the covers and back over her.

Bruce rushes in, and in his hands is the flower that (Y/N) had grown with the storm she had created. He rushes over to the nearest container and carefully places the flower down, grabbing a dripper and filling it with water, dripping the water around the base.

Satisfied with (Y/N), I walk over to where Bruce is cooing over the flower, running tests on it. When Bruce looks away, I run a finger over the dark blue petals, only to jerk back when veins of fire run through the petals, following the heat of my finger.

“Yo Bruce” I beckon Bruce over beside me and show him the magical flower petal trick.

“Oh My, interesting” Bruce does the same trick, but it doesn’t work for him. He opens his mouth but we both get distracted by (Y/N) swearing.

“(Y/N)! You should be resting” I rush over to her, propping her up on the bed as she rolls her eyes, pushing my hands away.

“Tony, I’m fine, really. Honestly, I feel better than I have for the last couple of years” (Y/N) springs up, bouncing around on the tips of her toes, doing a few jumps. She catches my suspicious eye and sighs.

“Really, Tony, I feel as fit as a fiddle” (Y/N) catches sight of the flower and points at it.

“What’s that?

“Well (Y/N), you created that” Bruce says, and you smile as (Y/N)’s mouth opens in surprise. She walks over to it, staring at it in awe. She touches the petals gently, oohing when the flower petals shimmer gold. Bruce immediately starts fussing over it, running more tests on it.

“Come on (Y/N), we should leave Bruce to your flower, knowing him he won’t be out of his lab for a couple of days” I wrap my arms around her in a hug, chuckling as she hugs me back.

“There we go, no let’s go back up to the communal floor, you still have some training to do.” I laugh as (Y/N) full out groans, playfully sagging against me.

“See you Doc!” I wave a hand as I walk (Y/N) to the elevators. When the door closes behind us, I turn to her, my face serious.

“(Y/N), please, please be careful, and please don’t do that again without giving me warning!” (Y/N)’s face falls with sadness.

“Oh Tony, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know that I could do that. Really” She promises me, and I nod at her, smiling slightly.

“So” (Y/N) starts as the doors ding open, and I stride out.

“Well” I pause and look back at her, a grin on my face before I start walking again, heading towards a particular red head.

“Natasha, sweetheart! How do you feel like a bit of training?”