Alone Together

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It didn't take long for me to fall into a routine. My new life here was shockingly similar to the one I had been leading in Sokovia for the past few months, minus the mad scientists of course. My injuries hadn't taken long to heal, a fact that Bruce equated to me having an increased rate of healing due to the experiments I had undergone. My hybrid DNA was a point of fascination with the Avengers. Thor was convinced that I was some type of Norse angel that his father had once told him about. That made me like Thor; I would rather be some type of angel than a test tube baby turned bird hybrid.

Angel or not I was definitely among kin here with the Avengers; we were all mutant freaks in our own right. I think that is the reason behind why Steve and I get along so well; we are both HYDRA experiments. Our friendship was like none I had ever experienced before, albeit I didn't have much experience in this area, but I knew this was different. I spent a fair amount of time comparing different types of relationships; the ones I had formed in Sokovia versus the ones I formed here. Natasha was far different from Wanda. With Wanda we shared a bond because of our telekinesis; I don't think anyone else in the world knows what it is like to be able to do the things we are capable of. But I think that Natasha understands the darker, lonelier side of me in a way that Wanda never could because of her relationship with Pietro.

Thinking of Pietro never failed to confuse me. Our relationship was the one I pondered over the most: the one that kept me up at night. It took a month for me to tell Natasha about the blue-eyed Maximoff twin, a month for me to finally admit to the strange fluttering in my stomach he caused. The red haired assassin gave me a knowing smile and told me that I had feelings for him; which lead to her having to explain the interworking of these types of relationships to me. I had never considered the possibility of love before. I had grown up in an environment that was not conducive to love. But the Maximoffs had changed my perception of life; maybe they could bring love into my life as well.

I pushed that thought out of my mind as quickly as it entered; it was easier not to think about those types of things. Instead, I chose to immerse myself with the Avengers program. It turns out that I had broken two ribs and suffered a concussion during the raid in Munich. It took a month, but Bruce finally cleared me and gave me permission to begin training with Steve. At first Steve was hesitant about training with me; he was too much of a gentleman to hit a girl. But after receiving a well-placed right hook and ceaseless taunting from Tony, Steve finally stopped holding back.

Our sparring matches became quite the spectacle. It seemed like his super soldier serum had paid off nicely; he was quite the match for my enhanced body. After a while, our fights began to draw crowds. The rest of the Avengers would come down to the training room to watch, often making bets on who they thought would win.

Steve wasn't the only person I trained with. Natasha taught me how to handle a firearm as well as how to use my looks and charm to my advantage. Those lessons were terribly amusing; I had no idea how to use my "feminine allure" as a weapon. But Natasha was a brilliant teacher and had a patience that could only come from being the only woman on the team so it wasn't long before I had a few more tricks up my sleeve.

When I wasn't with Steve or Natasha, I was with Bruce in the lab. It seems that you learn a few things after being caged up in a laboratory your entire life. I worked with Bruce to try and help him understand the work that HYDRA was doing by explaining to him, in great detail I might add, what was pretty much my life story. I told him about all the experiments that I had undergone as well as the experiments that I had seen take place.

It turned out that my knowledge about the interworking of HYDRA was invaluable. Because of me they were finally able to find out where the main HYDRA base was located, and because of me they were able to plan an attack against Baron von Strucker. It took us two months to come up with a seemingly fool proof plan, but we were finally ready.

The morning of the raid Natasha appeared in my room looking far too cheerful for someone who was about to be mounting an attack against a major organization in a few hours. I gave her a weary look as I reluctantly took the clothing that she offered me. To my displeasure it was a black cat suit identical to the one she was wearing. Unfazed by unhappiness Natasha grinned, "Quit being such a child and put on the suit Liliya. Besides, don't you want to look hot for when we see your Russian today?" The ginger shot me a cheeky wink before darting out of the room, narrowly dodging the pillow I threw at her.

I hesitantly pulled on the black suit and was shocked by what I saw in the mirror. The woman who looked back at me was a stranger, a familiar stranger. The black suit clung to curves that hadn't existed two months ago. Silky blonde curls fell down her back and deep blue eyes shown against the tan held by her fair skin. The woman looking back at me radiated confidence. It was so hard to believe that I was the same person now as I was two months ago. I had blossomed here with the Avengers; I was finally the person I was meant to be.

A/N: Sorry about the short update, but I have been having some writer's block lately. With that in mind, I am hoping that you as my readers can help. If there is anything you want to see in the story or any ideas that you might have, feel free to let me know!