Avenging in July *Editing Before Continuing* [Avengers Fanfiction]

XI | Spilling the Past

"Confession is always weakness. The grave soul keeps its own secrets, and takes its own punishment in silence." -Dorothy Dix

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Fury immediately turns and walks inside, clearly in a rush to get things under control or he's just really, well... furious.

I don't hesitate to rush after him, shoving open the door that he almost closed on us and not waiting for the superhero that stands confused in a red and blue spandex body suit. I walk in on the full team of Avengers, the loyal Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Rhodey, and the mother hen that stands fuming next to a grumpy Tony: Pepper Potts.

I have to take a moment to understand what is going on here. First of all, I'm glad to see Pepper, I've missed her so much. But how did she get here so fast? Secondly, why is everyone on the top floor? This never happens. And it doesn't necessarily look like a party at the moment. And finally...

"Um, Fury?" I give him a questioning look as he turns around from the bar, holding up a flask of alcohol. That's highly unlikely. What am I seeing here? "I thought you were going to be undercover from everyone. Wh-Why now? This must be extremely important or something."

Fury takes a whiff of the flask and sets it back down on the counter. "Well Miss Stark-"

"Jackson," I correct him.

"Yes, of course," Fury says grimly. "We think you know what's going on here."

"Who's 'we?'" I gesture my hand around the semi-crowded room.

"Me, specifically," Natasha stands up from sitting next to Clint on one of the couches.

"What-"

"Who were you talking to inside the Iron Man suit?" She crosses her arms and holds her ground with her feet spread shoulder-width apart.

"No one was inside it-"

"There was someone in my suit?" Tony stands up suddenly, anger flushing his face. Pepper pushes him back down to his seat.

"Then who were you talking to?" Natasha asks in a calmer tone than Tony. "He sounded like an old friend to you. And considering we don't know too much about your last home-"

"He's no friend of mine," I cut Natasha off with a growl. Images come flashing back to my mind. Images of the camp and the people who lived there. I was still searching for that one person. He had given me a handful of clues. More than a handful and I still couldn't put the pieces together. Why couldn't I figure it out? This is where my strong point lies.

"What was the map on the screen then? Caldecott Tunnel. Near Berkeley, California." Natasha says, "There has to be some story behind that tunnel. I heard you talking about it."

"You what?" I squeal. "I thought you left with the UBS's and the papers!"

"Berkeley?" Tony speaks up once again.

"I would've if you hadn't tried to be all heroic and wanted to help the firemen out," Natasha fires back at me.

"That's just east of San Francisco," Agent Triplett acknowledges.

"Seriously?" I scoff at Agent Romanoff. "I can handle a large fire. I put it out by myself-"

"How did you put it out?" Agent Hunter asks curiously.

"Don't answer that," Agent Morse says right beside him, "You'll intrigue him. He'll ask more and more questions. It gets quite frustrating."

"What?" Agent Hunter asks defensively. "I do not!"