Shadowfax (An Avengers fanfic)

Explanations

The Avengers were all seated in the living room, each in various stages of their own morning routines. They all froze, however, when Jade entered the room; Tony pausing mid-chew. The teen crossed her arms over her chest, tugging on the sleeves of her black shirt.

The young Scot looked like the poster child for street orphans: her striped hair was knotted in several places, dark bags hung beneath her eyes, and she didn't bother masking the true red color of her eyes. A faint scar swooping across her right eye in a diagonal slash could be seen as well.

She seemed more subdued too, unlike the last time she had woken up, a curious and studying expression on her face. Crossing the room quietly and quickly, she slipped into a seat at the table, Steve wordlessly passing her a bowl and a cereal box. She accepted them with a small nod, eating slowly in the awkward silence, eyes flickering from person to person. When she finished, Steve took the dishes back, loading them back into the dishwasher. Everyone stared for a moment, unsure of what to do next.

Tony finally shrugged, snatching an iPad from the counter and heading towards his workshop. With someone to finally act as an icebreaker, everyone else eventually drifted back to their own schedules, occasionally sneaking a glance at Jade.

After waiting a few moments, and having a private debate with herself, she padded over to Vision.

"Can I pull you aside for a moment?" The young teen asked, her head tilting curiously. Her red eyes glowed with a bit of her usual spark, and Vision nodded agreeably.

Drifting over to the corner, the pair stood part from the others, oblivious to the fact Widow was listening in on the conversation.
"I just wanted to explain why I passed out in front of you. That must have been alarming, and I didn't want you to blame yourself."

Vision motioned for her to continue. "I've just never seen anyone with no shadows before, and in my lovely condition it was a bit startling."

"Shadows?" Vision questioned.

"Right." Jade nodded, "Shadows cling to people who have any sort of evil potential in them. The more...corrupt, I guess, the darker the level of shadow surrounding you. Even most of you Avengers have a bit of a gray area, but not you. I'm gonna be a wee bit blunt with you mate. Are you human?"

Jade was definitely back to her regular self, but her eyes remained the same color of intense red, shining brightly. Vision replied honestly. "No."

"That could be it. That or the nifty little stone in your head." Jade flicked her head at the gleaming jewel in his head. Behind them, Black Widow piped up, causing them both to jump slightly. "Or the fact that he's only about a month old."

Jade inclined her head agreeably. "Brilliant. Now that that's settled, I with be going." Clapping her hands together, she turned towards the door and found herself face to face with Natasha again.

She reeled back in surprise. "Judas Priest! Someone should put a bloody bell on you."

Natasha smirked. "You're not going anywhere kid." Jade rolled her eyes. "Right." She stood relaxed for a moment, and then her eyes flashed and she shadowed behind Natasha, taking off running. She made it down three floors before a flash grenade arrow landed in front of her, momentarily blinding her.

She snarled, backing up and sending red tendrils down and up the hallway. "I'm walking out of here." Jade was in total survival mode, a frightened light dancing in her eyes that hadn't been there before. As Clint stepped into her range of view, he leveled another arrow at her chest, talking calmly.

"We're not going to hurt you Jade. We just want to make sure you're okay and ask you a few questions."

"HYDRA wanted to ask a few questions too." Jade's voice was deadly calm. "Guess how that turned out."

She sent out a pulse of red energy, blowing Clint backwards.

Unfortunately, she was so preoccupied with Hawkeye that she didn't notice Steve until he had her pinned down on the floor. "Stand down kid," He growled into her ear.

Jade scoffed, her muscles flexing as she strained against his grip. "I don't give up. One of my issues."

With that, she rolled to the side and was almost up before Natasha joined the dog pile. Jade thrashed under the Widow's grip, teeth gnashing. They continued struggling to hold the teen down when Tony entered the hall, whistling shrilly.

"GUYS!" He yelled, everyone freezing. "If you're done messing around, the alert's going off outside." He jerked the iPad out in front of him. Jarvis enlarged the image of the two teens standing on Tony's landing strip. A lanky boy was leaning against the wall, sending a pointed look at the security feed. The girl beside him was holding a black cat in her arms.

Spying the image, Jade knocked her head on the floor in exasperation. "Those daft idiots."

"Who are they?" Vision asked. Jade groaned frustratedly.

"They're my teammates."

...

When the Avengers finally managed to convince the teens (and cat) that they weren't going to turn them into Frankenstein's monster, they finally settled down for a little Q and A. Widow, of course, directed the conversation.

"So what brought you to New York?" She asked with a soft voice.

Jade grinned cheekily, the cat on her lap purring happily. "We're here to help out an old friend."

"What kind of friend?" Banner asked curiously, earning a glare from Natasha.

Nutsy interjected with a sarcastic tone. "The kind of friend that sticks to walls."

"Spiderman?" Tony inquired with boyish enthusiasm.

Natasha inhaled deeply. "Everyone not named Natasha Romanoff, please shut up." The rest of the Avengers obeyed accordingly. Natasha returned her focus to the teens.

"Why did he need you?" She continued.

Sphinx answered this time, her eyes glowing menacingly. "Vacation. Not that it's any of your business."

Under the girl's careful scrutiny, the men in the room all found a section of the floor incredibly interesting. Natasha didn't blink. "Why are you still here then? Spiderman is back as far New York ' concerned."

"Actually, he just got back from the vacation with his family today." Jade replied, standing up slowly. "And to answer your first question, Hydra's looking for us. Nutsy pissed them off."

Tony's eyes shot up. "Now it just got interesting."