Once Upon an Avenger

Chapter 9: I'm sorry

Steve crashed into the room. "Hope Swan-Jones, did you change my coffee?" He stopped when he saw Sam in the den next to her. "I see it didn't take you long to get your feet under the table. Are you planning on making your way around the team? Who's next, Loki?" Sam and Hope looked at him, slightly confused, partly because they'd only just woken up, but also dumbfounded by what Steve was implying. Turning back around, he left the bedroom mumbling. "I can't believe you, Wilson..."

Hope turned to Sam. "Did he just?"

"I think so..."

"That's it, he's dead."

Hope crawled out of the den to go after him, but Sam grabbed her hand to try and stop her. "Swan, you said so yourself, he's not worth it."

She pulled her arm away and continued making her way after Steve. "That was before he called me a hooker."

Sam tried to stop her, but it was too little, too late. By the time he'd made his way out of the maze of blankets Hope was already gone.

She stormed out of the bedroom and started making her way to the main cortex. How dare he? When is he going to get it into that thick head of his that he needs to leave me the hell alone? I can't believe that guy. He better be glad that I can't kill him, because right now, I really want to. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, everyone was already up, getting ready for the day ahead.

"Hey, girl!" Wanda said as she walked past her; her greeting was ignored as Hope continued walking straight towards the kitchen where Steve was. "That was rude!"

Now in the kitchen, Hope could see her target with his back to her, listening to his music.

Loki and Bruce had been discussing the time that the Hulk had pummelled him into the ground when he tried to take over Earth. The conversation quickly came to an end when Hope entered the room, closely followed by Wanda who was mumbling about her friend completely ignoring her.

Standing behind Steve, who was still oblivious to what was about to happen, the pirate-princess took a deep breath and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. "Oi, Spandex Man!"

Wanda knew from the second those words left Hope's mouth that this was going to end badly, as she'd explained to her that one way to tell if she was angry was if she sounded more American or British. And right then, she sounded like she'd come straight from Buckingham Palace.

As the super soldier turned around, his face was met with the palm of Hope's hand, causing him to lose balance and stumble backwards, though he caught himself on the counter. The three spectators gasped in shock; none of them knew that she could hit that hard, not even Hope. She'd been so angry that, without her knowing, her magic had amplified her actions.

"That's enough, princess." Loki took her hand and turned her to face him, worried that she was about to do something she'd regret. "Even if it did look like fun!"

"It sure was," she smirked, rubbing her stinging palm against the other. After another deep breath, Hope got a packet of peas from the freezer and threw them towards Steve who was holding his cheek, the red hand mark clear as day. "Call me a slut one more time and you'll be wishing that you never came out of the ice! I hope for your sake, deary, that I've made myself clear. Now put that on your face before I become known as the lass that disfigured America's pride and joy."

Turning on her heels, Hope left the room, leaving the four Avengers and an awkward silence behind her.

"Care to tell us what that was about?" Bruce asked, after making sure that she was out of earshot.

Steve picked up the peas, wrapped them in a dishcloth and put them to his face. "Not really..." He mumbled, slumping down on one of the island chairs.

"How many times do I need to remind you that I can read minds, Steve?" Wanda sighed.