the new avengers initiative | applyfic [au]

chapter two: it's nice to have a friend

THE NEW AVENGERS INITIATIVE
CHAPTER TWO: IT'S NICE TO HAVE A FRIEND

"WHEN FURY SAID 'let's get to work', I didn't think he meant making us spend a week cleaning the tower", Vincent sighed. He was not having a good time. When was the last time he'd cleaned something again? Oh, well. At least he was trying his best. It wasn't that Vince was above cleaning or that he couldn't, not at all. This was just... beyond terrible. He'd never seen a mess like this. It was very clear that no one had been to the tower in a very long time. The fact that it was left empty and abandoned was kind of sad. It felt like the place had once had life and that life was taken from it. Its very essence was long gone.

"It's not so bad", Daiyu said, trying to be optimistic. Daiyu always tried to see the bright side of things. She felt that if she dwelled on the negative part of things, it would consume her. She didn't want that. She wanted to live a life of peace and freedom, of happiness. Living in her negative thoughts would never allow that to happen.

"It's hell", Petra said flatly. "But I'm pretty sure this is just his fucked up way of trying to get us to bond." She wasn't that into the idea, to tell you the truth. She could have just stayed at home and pretended that none of this was happening. That was asking too much.

"Bonding cannot be forced", Emerson sighed, scrunching her nose as she tossed something moldy into a trash bag. Good thing she had worn gloves. "This? This is just torture." Emerson didn't believe that you could force people to bond and get along. They had to want it on their own. Or, you know, go through some traumatic life event together. Whichever came first.

"I don't know, I think it's smart", Casey hummed from where she was sweeping the floor. "Took the original Avengers some time to get acquainted with each other. If we bond before we have to go into an actual battle, we'll be better teammates in the field." She couldn't really say that she was one of those 'always look on the bright side' people, but she did try to see things from a good perspective. (Mostly because she was afraid of overwhelming emotions. She was always afraid it would trigger her powers again and she'd have a repeat of the incident that had basically ruined her life.)

"I guess that makes sense", Theon frowned. He still didn't like doing manual labor, but he could understand Fury's reasoning. The man was trying to avoid repeating his past mistakes. He could respect him for trying to do better this time around. Anyone who was willing to try and learn from their past mistakes was alright in his book. He just hoped this didn't end up being all for nothing. What was the point of becoming the new avengers if they couldn't get along?

"Well, I think that if we were going to bond, it could have been in a training seminar or something", Wyatt frowned. "It would be more beneficial for us all to be working with a simulation so we can learn how each other fights." Not that Wyatt enjoyed fighting in particular, she just thought they could benefit more from actually working together in a way that mattered. Sure, they could be forced to spend hours together, but would it really matter at the end of the day when they were in the field? Would bonding this way matter when someone needed to have your back?