Imagine If You Assembled The Avengers: Volume 2

Dragon Lady (Romanoff x reader)

You had worked with Natasha Romanoff before, back during her days at SHIELD and before she became an Avenger. Back when she and Barton were the team to find yourself working with, if not only because they always won their battles, but because they were far and away the most fun to be around even in the midst of extreme danger. There were a few times when your lives hung in the balance, and you worried that the secret of your mutant powers would be given away out of pure necessity, but so far, you had managed to keep it from both SHIELD and the Avengers. The most important of them all, however, was Natasha; you feared the loss of her in your life more than the rest.

When you signed up for duty with SHIELD, one of the requirements that you had insisted Fury agree to is that your life and indiscretions as a mutant be wiped from record; you hadn't led the most law abiding life up to that point, but he believed that you could find a life in helping people. He had seen something in you on the day that he apprehended you, and had brought Natasha in specifically to be sure that his vision for you was realized. Your skills were sloppy and raw at best, but with her help, you rose quickly to a level that brought you to work at her side as a peer. It was that close work together that led you to fall hard for her, but it was something that you didn't feel safe in showing. Your previous life couldn't come to light, or she would be sure to turn away if she knew who...or more so what you really were.

It wouldn't take long for you to realize that even the best-laid plans can fall apart in the worst situations. One mission with the Avengers destroyed your resolve to keep your powers quiet, finding yourself standing between an injured Natasha and a group of Hydra assailants, with an empty gun in one hand and the other with only one bullet left. You were backed into a corner, and even though you would ready yourself to die to save her, once you were gone, she would be taken next and you couldn't let that happen.

"Nat, I'm sorry that I've kept this a secret for so long," you hurried to explain, "but this is the only way to save you."

"(Y/N)? What do you mean? What are you going to do?"

"Please, look the other way," you begged, knowing that it wasn't likely anyway. You closed your eyes when the deep rumble built in your chest and the fire within you began to grow; you had held it back for so long that it was raging quickly and eagerly to be set free as if your body missed its abilities. Before you had full control, you lifted your head, unleashing an eruption of flames from your hands and mouth, setting everything that stood in your way ablaze.

"Holy shit," she gasped, staring in awe at the power that filled you, feeling none of the anger or betrayal that you had expected of her. Natasha was amazed and intrigued, and dare she say proud of you for letting your truth out like this; she was sad that it took for her to be in danger for you to feel safe to show this side of you, but she was nonetheless thankful to be a witness to it. "(Y/N), why haven't you told me about this?"

The screams of fallen soldiers and trees that were engulfed in flames had caught the attention of the rest of the team quickly, leaving you in a panic to get away. It took every ounce of energy that you had left to calm yourself and to quell the fire in your chest, but that couldn't stop you; none of them would want you there after this, and they wouldn't see you as anything other than a danger that needed control. You had been through this before, and you weren't about to let anything or anyone bring you back to that life.

"Nat, I'm sorry. Please, don't look for me. I had to do this because...because I love you, and that's why I can't stay. I'm a liability to everyone around me, including you." You spun around to find your best route of escape, searching for any way to go that would make it harder for the team to follow; in a moment of clarity, the answer was right in front of you. Despite her screams at you to stay, you broke into a sprint, running straight into the inferno that you had created.