Flawed Minds

Chapter Twelve

Avengers P.O.V

Over the next month, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers regularly recorded updates on Nova, her training and how her abilities manifested. Originally just electrical, her powers had evolved to include a variety of energies such as a blast that could knock a person off their feet disarming them. At one point her abilities even allowed her to levitate a few meters above the floor allowing her to hit the target from a higher angle and from a lot further away; however she struggled to repeat that, much to her frustration. While Bruce was having the time of his life studying the changes of her powers both physically and visibly, Tony and Steve both had hidden concerns about what could happen if she ever turned against them.

"Honestly Stark, I agree," Steve murmured, watching Nova train in hand to hand combat with Natasha, working hard and learning fast; even for a quick evening practice session her agility and speed were impressive. "Watching her and the pace at which she learns and manipulates her abilities, it is concerning if you think about it like that. But I also believe it's something we probably won't have to worry about. I mean looking at her time here as a whole, it's just not probable that she'll turn on us."

"But it is possible." Tony responded flatly. "It wouldn't be the first time a member of the team has turned on us, voluntarily or not, it's still a concern." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Look, for now we just keep an eye on her. She's been through a lot, she's still learning, I mean she's not been in a normal situation for years- I don't want to know how she'd react if she thought we were going to lock her away again."

"You're right. She would react out of fear and people could get hurt, I don't want her to be scared of us. Besides, she's starting to feel like one of the team already."

"Is everything okay?" Nova had jogged over to the two after ending the training session with Nat, leaving her both impressed and proud. She had immediately noticed their concerned expressions and felt a little uneasy.

"Everything's fine," Tony spoke reassuringly. "We were just talking about how fast you're learning and how it means even more updates have to be sent to Fury," He nudged her playfully causing her to laugh.

"Sorry about that, it must be so much work for you to do!" She exclaimed sarcastically. "Seriously though. I'm trying really hard to be on a similar level to you guys, I want to be able to help, and I want you to know... I feel safe here. I mean, I feel like I can be who I am, even if I'm still trying to figure that out." Tony sighed, the worried thoughts still running through his mind, but every interaction with her made him feel more at ease. He pulled her to his chest and hugged her tight for a moment.

"I'm glad you feel that way, Sparks. We'll try to help you figure out who you wanna be." She looked up at him with a smile.

"Sparks?"

"Yeah I thought of that nickname- hit me like a bolt of lightning earlier, get it?" Nova laughed, lightly shoving Tony at the stupid joke, who smirked. "Anyways, I think Sparks is a more fitting nickname than-" He was interrupted as the door slammed open and Clint strolled in.

"What's that smell?" He asked before sniffing the air exaggeratedly, screwing up his face in mock disgust. "Ewwww it's just Creep over here," He grinned as he walked over to the group, ignoring the muffled 'shut up, Clint' from Nat as she packed away the training gear.

"That's funny 'cause I could smell you before you even got here, birdbrain" Nova responded, screwing up her nose and sticking her tongue out at him, causing him to laugh loudly. She landed a punch on his arm as he reached them, grinning when he yelped and grabbed his arm in mock agony.

"Seriously it's like having a couple children running around here," Tony rolled his eyes while Steve cleared his throat to hide his chuckle. "What did you want Clint?"