Freedom | Avengers Story

Prologue

"3...2...1!" Tony counts down. Me and Sam launch ourselves into the sky, our wings creating a hurricane of wind below us. Leaves and dust dancing around as we soar through the sky, me getting the advantage and flying ahead of him.

"You're cheating!" Sam claims. He's just mad that I'm winning my race.

Excuse me...our race.

"Am not! Thou don't be a hurt, Sam!" I spit.

We dive down, weaving ourselves through the high treetops, the leaves rustling as we zoom by.

"Quiet, Shakespeare!" He comments, forcing his strength to get even just a meter ahead of me. Who does he think he is?

I burst forward, the distance between us closing, and me and him are flying at similar levels. Once we realise the race was coming to an end, we muscle all our strength to see who can land first.

The air resistance gets stronger as our flying gets faster, and soon, we hit the ground with a bang. It shakes lightly, the team almost falling from the wind's whiplash. Me and Sam pant heavily, that race consuming almost all of our energy. I even feel peaks of sweat beginning to poke out from my forehead. Sam rips his goggles off his face and paces to Tony in an anxious manner.

"Who won?!" He pries, not leaving a second for Tony to check the watch.

"Uh...Freedom. By a second." He responds.

"Oh yeah!" I shout, throwing myself in the air in happiness. When I land, Sam gives my forehead a sudden flick.

"Hey!" I exclaim, the random action taking me by surprise, obviously.

"Only a second. If the tables were turned, you'd be crying yourself to sleep every night." He whines.

"If they were turned." I tease, an evil smug running across my face. He sighs, knowing he can beat me at anything.

"Admit it, Icarus. You can never beat the wing-strength of Freedom's." Loki teases from the sidelines. His brother, Thor, smacks him on the back of his head, Mjölnir staying right at his side as he grips it, tempted to send Loki flying back to Asgard. I giggle at his comment, hearing Sam's retractable wings mechanical movements shift due to his offended reaction.

"Call me 'Icarus' again. I dare you." Sam warns, moving closer to him. Loki whistles, a stupid smile plastering his face. 

"Calm down, guys. It's just one race." Steve reassures, and I agree with him. This is one race out of many.

"And so far, Freedom's ahead of the game." Natasha adds, a smile growing on her face as she throws me a wink. She's on my side, for sure.

Suddenly, I feel a small tug on my wings as they move involuntarily. It's as if someone is playing with them...

I look over my shoulder and see Bruce brushing his hands over the snow-white feathers, his eyes mesmerised by them.

"Everything alright, Banner?" I question, his eyes flickering up at me.

"Your wings. They're just so...beautiful." He responds, fixing his glasses with his index finger. He doesn't stop examining them. That's Bruce, for you. A scientific genius who's interested in anything he can't explain.

"You're scaring her, Bruce. Keep your hands to yourself!" Clint jokes, fiddling with his archery. He pulls the elastic string on his bow, making sure that it's sturdy and strong. I laugh at his remark, Bruce staring at him with a pure, blank expression. I'm pretty sure he's had enough of him.

I can never get enough of this team. They are probably one of the biggest blessings I've had in my life. Endless love and happiness.

You are probably wondering how this all came to be, right? It's a long story...but I'll share it, anyway.

I'll put you back at the start: My mother, this pale-skinned brunette who possessed such beautiful, sea-blue eyes, never had a husband. She was unable to keep one, as most men deemed her unsuitable. She was desperate for a child. So desperate, she would sacrifice anything to have one.

One day, she ran to the temple at Olympus, stepping on her dress and falling on the way up the stairs. She yelled out a name with all her might...