This Is Stella's Reality

April 20, 2015

"Alright," Tony said a bit too happily. "Draw your cards."

Team bonding. My heart raced a bit at the idea of being on an opposite team from Steve and Bucky. We were playing capture the flag, and I dreaded the power imbalance that could come from random choice.

The whole team crowded around the coffee table, grasping for cards. My fingers picked up a red card. Eagerly, I looked at Steve and Bucky. They flashed each other their cards and grinned. Same team.

They looked at me, and I turned my red card to them. The look on their faces sent a shiver through me. Different team. They turned their black cards to me. My blood ran cold. This would be a long night.

I looked around the room, trying to categorize the teams in my head.

My team was myself, Thor, Natasha, Tony, and Sam.

The other team was Steve, Bucky, Bruce, and Clint.

It wasn't too uneven, and my team had one more person than the other, so I felt a bit better. But the boys' thoughts were loud in my head. They were practically yelling at me through their minds.

You'll look so pretty trying to run from us. Those big eyes of yours pleading for mercy. Be a good girl and at least try to make it difficult for us.

I shivered and shut my eyes, blocking out their thoughts. Natasha's arm came to wrap around my neck. "Let's show those morons who really runs this team, hm?" Her eyes were narrow and determined. A smirk tugged at her lips, and I grinned in response.

The boys thought I would submit to them easily. But I was a witch, and they were my boys. They should be worried about me.

I stood and gave them a wink, admiring the way their jaws clenched when I offered Natasha my hand. We walked arm in arm to the rest of our teammates.

The boys' thoughts teemed with lust and visions of punishments for me. I smiled to myself and pushed them away. This would be a long night, but an interesting one.

We split up, each team making the trek to their own flag. Tony had made Peter hide the bases earlier so nobody knew where the other team was hidden.

The red team's flag was buried deep in the woods. We had a lot of natural camouflage and defensive areas.

Our plan was for Thor to primarily guard the flag itself. Tony and Sam would scout the tree line, watching for the black team's scouts. And Natasha and I would leave the base, looking for the other flag.

It felt like a solid plan, but I knew Steve and Bucky were excellent strategists. Bruce was more conniving than Tony, and Clint was a perfect marksman. This would not be an easy game.

Nat and I slowly made our way through the woods, stepping over tree roots and snapping branches. Leaves crunched beneath my feet, and I could hear my heart racing in my ears.

Each team had their own comms devices, and Sam was humming some r&b song over the mic. Natasha huffed, "Can you shut the hell up?"

I breathed a laugh. "We're trying to be quiet, Sam."

He made an irritated sound and grumbled something about being bored. I rolled my eyes and stopped beside Natasha as we reached the tree line.

"Where do you think the flag could be?" I asked.

She hummed. "If it were me, I'd put it in the garden or roof of the compound." She was silent for a moment, thinking. "Problem for both teams is the lawn. It's empty space. They'll see us coming, but we'll also see them coming."