Thing About Superheroes (UNDERGOING REWRITE)

Chapter 7 *Rewritten*

A/N - The next few chapters are completely rewritten with a new plot.

Madison and Peter finally made it to the Barton apartment in Brooklyn.

"I'm so sorry, Peter," Madison said.

Peter sighed. "It's just...you scare me sometimes, Madison. You're constantly on alert and looking for a fight."

"It's all I've ever known! This is what I was raised to be! You try have two assassins as parents and see how you turn out! Look, I don't want to fight with you, but you have to understand that being in SHIELD, being an Avenger, it's what I was trained for. I never had a normal childhood."

Peter wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Madison deserved better than to be treated like a soldier. She deserved to experience everything a normal teenager did.

Madison started to shake in Peter's arms and that's when he realized she was crying. "Hey, hey, shhhh. It's okay. You're okay, Maddie."

Madison looked up at him. "I wish I could be normal. For you." Madison could see herself falling in love with Peter, but so many things held her back from doing so. Steve, her past, her future at SHIELD and as an Avenger. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't she have the things that every little girl dreamed of?

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not normal," Peter told her, "And I'd never want you to change who you are. The fire inside you is part of you."

Madison sniffled and leaned up to kiss him. The kiss was gentle and her lips were salty with her tears.

Peter returned the kiss until Madison pulled away.

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep? I...I don't want to be alone tonight."

"Of course."

Madison led Peter to her bedroom and went inside the bathroom to get changed. She set her necklace down on the counter and reached for her pill bottle. She swallowed two of them and then crawled in bed with Peter, her head on his chest.

There were no nightmares that night.

The next morning, Madison woke up to voices coming from the living room. She got up to investigate and found her father, Tony, and Fury. "What's going on?" Madison asked.

"Why don't you tell us?" Tony said, pulling up a video on his phone.

It was of the fight the day before.

Madison hadn't seen the footage. She looked unhinged and nothing like herself.

"You attacked a civilian," her father said.

"Who was going to rob me and Peter. I think I was justified," she argued.

Tony sighed. "Katniss, you're not well. You barely sleep, you pop pills like they're candy, and your temper has been off the charts lately."

"I'm not crazy!" The last thing Madison wanted was to be sent to a psych ward.

"You need help!"

Madison looked at her father. "Daddy, please!"

Clint shook his head. "Tony's right. You need help, Baby Bird. Help that Tony and I can't give you."

Madison wrapped her arms around Clint and buried her head in chest. "Please don't let them take me. I'll be better, I promise!"

Clint could feel his heart breaking in his chest. It felt like losing her mother all over again, but he was going to put Madison's needs above his own. Like he should have after Piper's death. "This is the best option. Fury is going to make sure you get the best help you can. Then, you can officially train to be a SHIELD agent or you can choose to come back to New York and live a normal life."

Madison knew she wasn't suited for civilian life, but deep down she knew they were right. What if she snapped and seriously hurt someone? Or worse, what if she accidentally killed someone one day? Finally, Madison nodded. "Okay."

"Good. You have one day to say your goodbyes," Fury told her, "Arrangements have already been made. We leave tomorrow."

Madison nodded. "I need to tell Peter."