THINKING OUT LOUD || Avengers

-)Twelve: The Circle of Supersitters(-

Dani did indeed sleep all day, as ordered and enforced by Tony Stark.

Overall, she was pretty happy with the results of her unplanned outing: She now had a stack of newspapers, some cork and a ton of string with which to recreate her board of crazy and she had made a new friend. Peter Parker. Peter Pan. Dani liked alliteration.

In her dreams, she was once again darting between bookshelves, grinning to herself as he stumbled trying to follow her. Only she wasn't sure if it was Peter behind her, or if it was someone else, another boy with dark hair and a slow, bright smile.

Sighing to herself, Dani rolled over and reached for her rucksack, digging through the pockets. Her expedition had served another purpose- the team she'd been a part of at HYDRA had safeboxes in every major city in the world, and New York was no exception. Technically, it was supposed to store emergency supplies, fake passports, spare ammunition. But her group had used them to hide the things they weren't allowed to bring into the cold confines of the compound.

The picture Dani smoothed out in front of her now was spiderwebbed with cracks, tells of its age and constant attention spreading along the blue sky of the background. Six kids huddled in a group in the centre, grinning at the camera. There was Dan- a gap-toothed seven year old on the leather-draped shoulders of a Tate Miles that was thirteen but already infinitely knowledgable- and next to Tate, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners when he smiled, was Nato.

Dani had only been ten when Nathan Conner had failed to return from their mission, but she could still remember the way he had tucked her in and sang her hushed nursery rhymes under his breath, where no one else could hear. The CD he'd smuggled to her and told her to hide where no one could find it was still huddled in the corner of the safe box hidden inside a brick in an unassuming street in Brooklyn.

But he was gone now. Just like the twin boys that were only two years older than Dani. Just like Kim, who had been fourteen when she opted to leave, or befell an accident- they were never really privy to that information. Just like Tate.

A whole team, a squad that had been all Dani had to claim as family. They had brought her up, yelled over the sound of her crying just so the Mistresses would leave her alone, quietly bandaged all her wounds. But now she was alone again.

Swallowing, Dani pushed her way off the bed and into the softly illuminated corridor outside.

The music room was right where it had been her first night in the tower. Her bare feet sunk into the cream carpet as the light slowly switched itself on. The pure white piano in the centre still looked like it hadn't been touched in years, slightly sad and lonely, and harsh because of it.

Only the small acoustic guitar leaning against a metal stand was new.

"Hello." Dani breathed. Her hands were reaching for the neck before she had chance to ponder the instrument's peculiarly random arrival.

Floors below, in the basement of the Avengers Tower, Tony was sat hunched over the same prototype stretcher that he had shown the teenager weeks ago. Soft, experimental chords hovered through the air from the wall-mounted speakers, followed occasionally by the mutterings of Dani Atteberry.

He looked up briefly, hesitated for a moment, and then let a small smile onto his face.

({(+)})

"This is dumb. I don't see why I have to be here."

"Hmm."

"It's not like I'm helping."

"MmHmm."

"What is it you're even doing anyway?"

Dani started as Sam Wilson leaned forward to squint at the screen over her shoulder. She'd been so absorbed in the layers of code, in beating level after level that she'd almost forgotten he'd been sat in the corner whining about being tasked with babysitting her.