Adopted by the Avengers

The Meeting in the Living Room

Reluctantly, I stumble into the small room.

I hear them nudging and notifying each other of my presence. Hesitantly, I decide to speak. "Hi." I say quietly, not enjoying the feeling of being studied like an animal in a zoo. A chorus of hi's and hey's respond. I close the door and stand near a wall, keeping my distance, not wanting to annoy them or make them feel uncomfortable. When I finally glance up at them, I see an unusual mix of people.

In the first chair there's a short yet fit, agile looking lady with flaming red hair reaching just below her shoulders looking from me to the rest of the living room.

Beside the woman sits a man with spiked up brown hair and deep blue eyes looking like he would rather be anywhere else. I instantly feel unnerved and shift my gaze to the next person.

The third chair supports a gentle looking man with curly black hair, dark brown eyes, and a soft, kind smile.

Next to him is a very muscular man who seems barely able to sit properly on the unsteady chair. He has abnormally long blond hair that cascades down to his shoulders, slightly like the lady's. His entire composure reminds me of the old cartoon character, He-Man.

In the chair next to He-Man is another very tall, muscular man with dirty blond hair and sky blue eyes, watching me closely.

The last chair supports a man visibly shorter than the rest with spiked brown hair, brown eyes, and a few fancy gadgets attached to him. The most offsetting thing about this man is not, for some reason, the strange blue glow coming from his chest, but instead his eyes. Despite his smile, the eyes of this man set him apart from the others because of their haunted look; the look of a soldier that can only mean he has seen things that no one should ever see. Maybe we'll get along.

"So what's your name?" Asks the man with the chest glow.

"My name's Charlotte." I reply with a little more confidence than earlier.

"Nice to meet you, Lady Charlotte." Says the He-Man doppelgänger while he stands up to shake my hand. I can feel the heat creeping up onto my cheeks from all the attention already. In the orphanage, attention isn't exactly a common thing to get.

"Why don't we introduce ourselves? My name is Steve Rogers," The man with the dirty blond hair says as he too shakes my hand. "Tony Stark," He points at the man with the blue chest on his left. "Thor Odinson," He points to He-Man on his right. "Bruce Banner," The man with the black curly hair smiles at this. "Clint Barton," He points to the man who appears to want to be elsewhere. "And Natasha Romanoff." He points at the red haired lady.

"Nice to meet you all." I nod. So far, they all seem decent.

Ms. Romanoff pipes up first. "So, Charlotte, how old are you and how long have you been here at this orphanage for?"

"Well, I'm thirteen and I've been at this place for about six years now." I reply along with a small shrug. Apparently question time has begun.

As soon as I finish, Mr. Stark jumps in. "Why are you at an orphanage? What happened that landed you here?" He inquires abruptly, his eyes fixed on me. I watch Mr. Rogers immediately elbows him in the gut.

"Tony, you can't just ask that!" Mr. Rogers whisper shouts at him harshly.

The rest of the group gives him sharp glares while Mr. Barton poorly disguises his chuckle with a cough, followed by an "Unbelievable."

So far, Mr. Stark definitely seems like one of those people who have absolutely no filter on what comes out of their mouth. If that's the case, then this should be interesting. The question caught me off guard at first and I stumble at first before answering him. "Mr. Stark, my family died."

I don't like talking about my past, especially not to people I've known for two minutes. It always ends up bringing back the horrible memories I can't forget.

"Cool." Mr. Stark replies carelessly as he picks at his thumb nail.

"Tony, that's enough." Ms. Romanoff warns him in a low tone. I stand at the front of the room, growing slightly irritated by the ignorant man.

"Um, excuse me?" I feel a little hurt but I try not to let it show. How could someone be so coarse about the death of someone else's family?

Mr. Stark huffs and glares at the rest of his crew prior to meeting my eyes. "Mine are dead too."

I feel oddly relieved at hearing that and a rare wave of confidence washes over me. "Cool."

If I hadn't been watching him like a hawk, I would have missed the split second smirk cross Mr. Stark's face.

"Anyway, what are some of the things you like to do or that you're interested in? Hobbies and stuff." Asks Mr. Banner, changing the topic to something more pleasant.

"I enjoy reading. That's probably my favourite thing. I also like to take things apart then put them back together again to see how they work. Oh, and I play the guitar, but I'm not very good since I only managed to get it last year." I state truthfully, earning head nods in approval.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Mr. Rogers asks. He appears to be one of the nicest out of the crew.

"To be honest with you, that's a hard one," I chuckle a bit. "Probably either a scientist of some sort, a teacher, or a soldier so I can protect and save people. I haven't made up my mind yet."

Everyone seems to look and smirk at Mr. Banner and then Mr. Rogers. It's probably just an inside joke. Then for the first time, Mr. Odinson speaks. "We have one final question." He says it as if it's rather important. "Have you ever heard of a group that calls themselves the 'Avengers' or an organization called 'S.H.I.E.L.D.'?"

I rack my brain for any information. This could be the question that determines whether I get adopted by these people or not. I decide to go with my honest, gut instinct. "No, I'm sorry. Am I supposed to?"

"No, no, it's not bad at all. If anything, it's better that you don't." Mr. Barton finishes as he glances at everyone else in agreement, much to my confusion.

"Alright, well it's been nice talking to you, Charlotte, but I'm afraid we also have to see the other kids. Thank you for your time and have nice day." Mr. Rogers wraps up, and with that, they all shake hands with me and say their goodbyes, before I exit the room with a rare proud grin on my face.

That actually wasn't half as bad as I expected it to be. Maybe this is the family I've been waiting for. Maybe I will finally have a place to call a proper home.

~H