THINKING OUT LOUD || Avengers

-)Five: Interesting Interrogation Tactics(-

"You aren't meant to look at it for that long, you know. I think even highly trained Russian ninjas can't beat the sun in a staring contest."

Natasha Romanoff stood on the balcony of Avengers Tower, watching the great ball of fire in the sky as it slowly descended towards the horizon, licks of reflected flame dancing off the windows of skyscrapers. The slow, steady steps of her friend's arrival were instantly familiar, the way your own ringtone is distinguishable from everyone else's.

"You never know. I haven't tried yet." There was no force behind Nat's words. She turned her head slowly to look at Clint, "And you can save the Dad Speech, Barton. I'm not one of your kids."

"You're right." The agent replied, crossing his arms, "They do what I tell them to. And they always tell me what's up."

Nat ignored his pointed tone, "Where's Atteberry?"

"Downstairs. Sam's babysitting her. I think he's terrified." Clint seemed amused by this idea, "Apparently Tony took his earpiece out with him to a record store across town, so we're just waiting on him getting back."

Nat nodded, "Good. She shouldn't be left on her own. We don't know what her mission statement is."

"She seems like a good kid, Nat." Clint said, "She turned out alright, even with all the-"

"She's lying." Nat cut him off, turning back to the view.

Clint scoffed, "She hasn't really said a lot so far. She tried to invent an Avengers themesong, tried to convince Steve that the Daredevil was a blind lawyer and tried to improvised dance to a police siren. What's she lying about?"

"I don't know." Nat's fingers curled into fists, "But I will."

The other agent braced his hands on the railing, "I'm not sure about this, Nat. She's just a teenager. And not the angsty kind, either."

"It's an act, Clint." Nat muttered, "It's always an act. That's not her. That's who she could have been if HYDRA and SHIELD hadn't decided to build their own super spies. She's something different. Don't compare her to your kids because she's not one of them, and when the time comes, you might have to fight like it."

({(+)})

By the time Tony Stark swanned back into his home, chaos had begun to reign.

Someone had taken their eyes off Daniella Atteberry long enough for the girl to discover the 'Party in a Box' collection of gadgets Tony had hidden at the back of the training room. She had moved straight past the inflatable strip club and bar, until she'd found the little box with a very short label.

Within ten minutes, a ginormous bouncy castle had inflated itself in the training room. It had spires and turrets and three separate rooms, one of which was equipped with an inflatable pool. Initially, Sam Wilson had been opposed to the idea of putting it up, but it kept the teenager occupied, and who knows, it might tire her out. Steve Rogers, on the other hand, had just figured it was best to let her get on with it.

Tony did not share their opinion.

"What's going on here?" He demanded as he strode back into the room. Sam was leaning against a wall, watching Dani as she grinned and bounced about, "Hey, Tea and Crumpets! Out of there!"

"Shh! Don't!" Sam gestured to him urgently, "This is the first time she's stopped talking since she got here."

"Okay, so you should 've got loads out of her." Tony said pointedly, "Go on, don't let me stop you. Who is this person?"

Steve spoke slowly, "I'm still not entirely sure."

"Interesting." Tony raised his eyebrows, "So you're telling me you brought an unknown operative of a highly secretive terrorist organisation into my home and then let her inflate a bouncy castle in the middle of my floor?"