My eyes fluttered open and my head rose from the sofa I was laying on, I was still dressed in my clothes from last night. My eyes scanned across the room, there were empty bottles and glasses on the coffee table in front of me whilst all of my friends were laying spread out across the room.
Last night when we got home, the party carried on just like how I predicted it would, we stayed up till the early hours of the morning just talking about little things and whatever popped up in conversation. "Wake up, we have press today" I shout to them remembering our agenda for today, I see bodies start to shift around and groans come from their mouths, Tony told us that we had to be at the hall for 10 am and currently it was... 9 am now. "C'mon we don't have long" I encourage the group to wake up and After approximately five minutes or so, we've all departed to our rooms to get dressed and ready for the interviews ahead. I dressed in jeans and a white blouse that was tucked into the denim loosely, whilst I got ready I was thinking about what type of questions they would ask and how to answer them properly, I had never done anything like this before.
My feet carried me to the car where the rest of the Avengers were "are you nervous?" Pietro asked me when I was seated next to him
"I wouldn't say nervous but I'm definitely feeling something" I replied, swiping my clammy hands against my jeans
"You'll be fine" he held my hand to comfort me, Pietro truly was the best brother me and Wanda could ask for.
"How have you been feeling since the other night Adeline," Scott asked me accidentally, we haven't spoken about it since and I didn't want the others to know mainly because I didn't want anyone to worry, especially Steve
"What is he speaking about ad?" Steve furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and concern
"Nothing it's fine, I just got overwhelmed, nothing out of the ordinary" the lie drops from my lips, I hated lying to Steve but this was a white lie to protect him
"Why didn't you tell anybody?," Nat questioned, sympathetically
"I didn't want any of you to worry, that's all" my hands became warm and I wanted to move on from the subject. nobody said anything else for the rest of the journey even though it was short
"Okay we're here" Happy announced as the vehicle came to a stop outside of a large building made of glass and metal, the bright sun reflected off of the shards of glass and blinded my vision as we got out. We walked as one into the building and inside it was dark and cold, I didn't expect it to be warm partly because big business facilities never were. A blonde haired man waited for us at one of the double doors to the conference rooms "press conference for the Avengers?" he asked
"Yes" Tony agreed
"They're ready for you" was the last thing the blonde said before he opened one of the doors. billions of flashes from cameras Came from different angles and heaps of reporters waiting for us in front of a long table that had microphones for each seat, is what I saw when we walked in, in our line formation. I took my seat between Bucky and Sam, next to Sam was Peter and next to Bucky was Wanda, still, the interviewers were applauding and taking photos of each of us
"The Avengers will now take your questions" a woman standing off to the side of the stage-like platform, told them as a female dressed in a black suit stood up
"I have a question for Tony Stark" of course the first question goes to Stark, "what's it like recruiting new members and rehabilitating them," she asked, I got a feeling that this was based around either Steve, Bucky or my siblings
"It's not as difficult as some think it may be because they grow to be a part of your family and everyday life, as for rehabilitating though, it comes with time and you can't force them too" Tony answered, I was surprisingly shocked that it wasn't as sarcastic as I thought it would be and as the woman sat down a male stood up
"My question is for Bucky Barnes, what are the relationships on the team like," the brunette asked
Bucky took a minute to think about how to answer "all of our relationships are very strong and respectful as they should be, we are a family that can't be divided but I don't think that's the answer you're looking for so as you know the maximoffs are siblings but apart from that there are no romantic relations" Bucky answers strategically, I'm glad that he left Steve and I's relationship out of his answer and out of the public eye
"The third question goes to Adeline who I know recently joined you, we know you lost your parents and have only just reunited with Wanda and Pietro so how has it been trying to overcome that and having to deal with articles being put out there saying something different every day" a lady who looked to be in her 40's asked me politely, I concentrated on how I was going to word my answer
"It's not easy, it's hard enough without the articles hence why I don't read them and have never paid attention to what strangers had or have to say. And you'll never overcome it if you don't grow from it so every day is a day to make it better for myself and the people around me, you never forget but it heals in time like with everything. Take a step back, breathe and look back on how far you have come since an incident, that's how you draw inspiration from within and it helps, I hope that answers your question" I smile after my miniature speech, answering that brought up so much that I didn't even realise was there. It reminded me of Steve's advice he's given me countless times.
For the rest of the interview I zoned out into my own world of thoughts and plans, it wasn't that I was bored or had lost interest, it was that I was thinking how much had happened over the past year and reflecting on myself. Out of nowhere a whisper slipped into my mind, interrupting my pointless thoughts "no more mutants" it was whispering in a dark tone, it sounded more than familiar but I couldn't think clearly enough to tell who the malevolent voice belonged to. a pain surged through my arms even worse than the night it happened the first time, I gritted my teeth so that no screams escaped my mouth but my eyes squinted and my head tilted slightly to the side. I looked down at my burning arms that felt inflamed, they were seeping red without any control from myself, I quickly hid them behind me and tied them around each other so nothing moved or was destroyed.
"No more mutants" the voice whispered again, I looked over at the glass wall that looked over a forest. it's like I'm hypnotised and being controlled, tears spilt from my eyes as my hands twitched behind my back and I couldn't resist my actions. Glass shattered everywhere through the room and screams of innocent people filled my ears, Lifeless bodies laid on the floor with shards and blood around them and I had caused this. People ran out of the room from all different exits, some were bleeding and struggling to walk whilst others managed to escape, My eyes were glued open as tears escaped them and my hand covered my mouth in fear. Everything became a blur and I didn't know where anyone went, my legs became weak and I fell to the ground, my arms still burnt and felt irritated more than ever.
The room became heated and I saw flames spark out of my peripheral vision but I couldn't move, I was in shock and pain. I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me and pick me up from the warm floor and when my hands came into contact with the blue shirt they instantaneously cooled down and the red evaporated through thin air, I looked up and saw Steve carrying me in his arms through one of the doors and smoke following behind us. I was vulnerable to the smoke that filled my nose and lungs.
