"Thanks...um, I hate to bother, but would it be inconvenient to ask to take a shower?"

Days have gone by already, with no lessening of the media scrutiny. Despite Maria's best efforts, it seems like politicians are out for blood. And no small amount of it, frustratingly. Perhaps that's the one and only thing I miss about my days living in the shadows — bring beneath the radar of the waking world. Being able to come and go without someone so much as knowing who you were. I miss the black-ops missions, slipping in and out again to conduct risky business, never having to deal with fallouts, never having to stay in the good graces of the media. I miss simply being a ghost. I miss anonymity. Well, then again, technically I still have anonymity at the moment. How long that lasts is dwindling though...I'm going to have to make a choice soon. I can feel its dawning.

On the brighter side of things, these past few days haven't been horrible. Getting to know the Avengers better has been...enlightening. Clint is so much more parental than I could've ever imagined. Always checking in with everybody, making sure everyone's comfortable and fed. Then there's his heaven-sent wife. She's so calm about everything, very attentive, good at keeping the peace. No true fights have broken out by any means, but tensions have been high in light of our messy defeat. Natasha is as mysterious as ever but strangely affectionate with Clint's kids. Steve is...more brooding than how he's portrayed in the media. Sure, he has his noble "patriotic" moments here and there but since arriving all I've seen is a distant look, closed body language, and distant. Bruce and Tony are still exactly as I imagined them, shy and outgoing respectfully. And Thor? I can't attest due to his long absence.

The splitting of wood draws my attention from the distant horizon. Nobody seems to like standing still in the midst of a brewing war, but no good soldier does. Except for Murk. That man is on a whole different spectrum. He'll be bursting with energy, helping around the farm, exploring the area, even entertaining Clint's kids with watered-down stories of our 'heroics.' Then there are times where he can't be persuaded to even get out of bed. Correction, get off the couch. Our first day here was quite awkward when it came to deciding the rooming arrangments. Murk was all for sharing a room, but it was eventually decided the two of us would sleep out in the living room. As for the rest of the rooming arrangements...best not to talk about them. 

"41. Better catch up, Murk." I tease, moving the split logs aside to an expanding pyramid stack of firewood. He scoffs at me and brings an axe down on his own log. I can already see the strain in his muscles, the sweat building on his forehead. He's trying so hard to outshine Mr. Patriotic in some feeble attempt to draw Stark's attention. It's like watching playground politics. "Hey, Rogers, think you can rip one of those in half?" I muse aloud while continuing with my task, stepping around the Stark who's chosen to help me.

"Maybe if you threaten to take his shield away." Tony scoffs with a roll of his eyes.

"Oooh, I bet Thor could." I point at the brunette and we both grin.

"Oh, no doubt. Dude's built like-"

"If you say like a god I swear on my not so distant grave to kick you in the shin." I threaten, to which he holds his hands up in surrender. "Hey, wait, where is Thor?"

"He's taking some time off, Iris. Not everybody can walk off mental manipulation like you did." Steve tells me.

"Look at that, he speaks." I roll my eyes. I've told him about a hundred and one times now that I was under no mental manipulation by Wanda — I have been completely and wholehearted me. But hey, you know what they say — you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink. Nevertheless, I can't find it in myself to retreat from the brewing confrontation. Perhaps having lived on my own for so long numbed the remembrance of the fact that I'd rather be in the company of others than be left alone with my thoughts.

"Thor didn't say where he was going for answers?" Tony asks while picking up Murk's split logs.

"If he did, don't you think Steve would've told us?" I ask as I swat at a beetle that's buzzing by my face. Then again, I've come to realize that apparently the Avengers don't tell each other everything. Therefore I can't exactly put anything past this lot anymore. Shocker. Perhaps there was wisdom behind some of the Maximoff's words.

"Sometimes my teammates don't tell me things." He casually casts a look over to where Clint and his two kids are working on the railing of the front porch. "I was kinda hoping Thor would be the exception." I shift uneasily while waiting for more lumber to apprehend.

"Oh yeah? What about little miss sunshine over there?" Tony jerks his head in both Murk and I's directions.

"Hey hey hey, step off my man. You guys have only just met us." I scowl at Stark after lifting my gaze. "You can't exactly expect us to spill our guts to people who wouldn't do the same. Besides, it's not like we're really part of the team — and I'm just here to see what saving the world looks like." I defend. Steve grabs another log of wood and lifts a brow at me.

"Speak for yourself, Iris. All this man has to do is take me out for dinner and I'd do more than spill my secrets." Murk flirtatiously insinuates with a quick wink to Stark, who's quick to brush off the comment.

"Hold on now, who said you weren't part of the team? It's not like Clint brings just anybody here." Tony asks. I'm suspicious. Stark's known to be sarcastic. And right now? I can't tell.

"If I'm part of the team do I have to talk about my life? Is that like, the Avengers entrance exam?" I ask sarcastically.

"Absolutely." He smirks from where he stands.

"Yeah, alright, whatever." I puff out my cheeks in defeat. Everybody stills, faces turned towards me in anticipation. "Wait wait wait now..." I hold up a single finger. "That easy?"

"That easy." 

"Man, what the hell. Getting into college was harder than this. I want a refund." I scowl.

"College? Where'd you go?" Murk asks quietly, some sort of sadness growing behind his false smile.

"Uhh, just a local college while I was in Kentucky. Computer science."

"So...you a hacker?" Steve asks cautiously.

"What? No! Well, maybe I was once. Whatever, shut up all of you. It was so I could track down my idiot." I look at Murk pointedly.

"Awww, I'm your idiot? I'm honored." Murk slaps a hand over his heart. "Does this mean we're getting hitched?"

"Murk, I swear to the heavens I will glue legos to the bottom of your feet while you sleep."

"Harsh." Stark jokes.

"Okay then, Iris, what was the Maximoff twin talking about back at the ship? About leveling a facility?" Steve questions, pausing from chopping logs to regard me. My mouth forms an 'o' immediately as my shoulders tense up. I can feel my adrenaline surging as my flight-or-fight instinct ramps up. I can see fire in Murk's eyes now as he straightens up and adopts a rare, cold look.

"That was an accident-" "That was the incident-" Both Murk and I start at the same time. I clear my throat. "That was the incident, the HYDRA facility I was telling you about when we first met." Steve places the log on another larger log so that he can cut it and then motions a hand at me as if to say 'see?'

"How long ago was this?"

"Before the Maximoffs. I'm not sure of an exact date. They didn't exactly give their prisoners calendars there, and afterwards we were taken in by a small community. We were young and didn't exactly have the best grasp on the world at that point." Murk and I share a small, fond smile. There was a short period of time where everything was just...right. Until it wasn't.

"Why didn't we ever hear about it?" Stark questions.

"Unlike what everybody seems to think, I don't actually know all the answers." I shrug again as we continue our tasks in silence for a long period.

"Earth's Mightiest Heroes." I look at Steve again. "Pulled us apart like cotton candy."

"Wasn't that a kids tv show?" I ask rhetorically.

"Seems like you walked away alright, too." The Man of Iron shoots me a fast look. I guess Steve takes offense, as he turns to look at Tony with a look somewhere between surprise and anger.

"Is that a problem?" He's defensive.

"I don't trust a guy without a dark side." Tony pauses. "Call me old-fashioned."

"Well let's just say you haven't seen it yet." Steve says with an underlying warning in his tone.

"You know Ultron's trying to tear us apart, right?" Tony changes the subject quickly.

"Really? I don't think anybody noticed, Stark." I insert in a not so subtle attempt to tell him to cool it down.

"Well, I guess you'd know." Steve retorts.

"Oh boy. I can already smell the testosterone." I sigh and lean against the stacked wood, ready to watch a fight between Tony and Steve. Murk even stops chopping wood to watch intently.

"Whether you'd tell us is a bit of a question." Steve continues as he swings his ax through a log.

"Banner and I were doing research." Tony defends quickly.

"That would affect the team." Steve fires back.

"That would end the team!" Stark's voice rises sharply. The smile on my face drops immediately and I grimace before I turn away. You know what? It's not my place to get into their Avenger business, even if Tony 'says' I'm part of the team. I brush off my pants and jerk my head towards the front gate, eyes locked with Murk. I whistle as the two of us wander off while Tony's voice only grows louder behind us. We pause and turn very slowly when we hear the sound of shredding wood.

"I guess that answers that." Murk murmurs.

"Steve Rogers can rip apart a log with his bare hands."

"Nice." We say in unison before our feet carry us away from the scene faster than before.

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I fall flat on my back for what feels like the thousandth time today.

"C'mon Iris, you're 'posed to throw it in a straight line." Murk taunts me, legs crossed as he sits on one of the unlucky fallen trees.

"I'm trying. Throwing concentrated energy is way harder than it looks!" I whine in distress while sitting up, brows furrowed in frustration. How did Wanda make it look so easy? I sigh while looking at the half-scorched tree in front of me.

"Okay, okay. Give me a light. I'll show you how it's done." Murk stands and crackles his knuckles in a theatrical display. I grumble and stand up before snapping my fingers together. A dainty little flame flickers above my fingertips. He giddily pulls it to his own hands, nurturing the flame until its the size of a basketball. I watch as he chaotically twirls in a circle while extending one arm in the direction of the tree, sending the ball of fire directly into the center.

"Show off." I grumble.

"You're just jealous I'm better at something than you." I look away. I can't deny it. My aim is wobbly and nowhere near perfect. I am now intensely envious of Hawkeye's natural grace of aim with his bow, with Wanda's precision when handling her abilities, and Murk's natural 'grace' as he calls it.

With a long sigh, I brush the dirt off and regain my stance. I position one foot forward, one foot propped purposefully at an angle behind me so that I don't slide back. I suck in a deep breath, roll my shoulders, and hold my hands in front of my stomach, palms facing each other as I work on extracting energy from my surroundings. A softball-sized golden sphere soon forms between my hands, twisting and twirling as it fidgets between them as if they're magnets with opposite poles. Another deep breath and I do my best to concentrate on moving the energy over to my right hand.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon..." Murk whispers lowly.

I blow a puff of air between my lips silently. Just as I'm about to successfully transfer the orb to my right hand, a spider falls from the canopy above me. I let out the most horrific screech as it lands on my head. The wobbly energy, which still has a connection to me, explodes like a bomb in all directions. It sends out a blast that is no dissimilar to the breaking of the sound barrier, only with a golden tinge. Meanwhile, I'm shrieking like a banshee and dancing around the clearing like a jumping goat. Once I've managed to calm down, I wince as my eyes eye the surroundings. Murk is cautiously peering over an overturned tree. The blast has made all the trees around me bend at awkward angles, facing away from me like the area was just bombed. On top of all that, the bark on all the trees closest to me is singed black and smoking. "Oops."

"Oops? Oops?!" Murk shouts with a laugh, an arm thrown over his tree barrier.

"Iris!? Iris!" A familiar voice shouts fearfully.

Busted.

"What...happened here?" The fear quickly disappears and is replaced with suspicion and awe. I slowly turn and wince, facing an half-terrified, half-pissed Barton.

"Uh, I saw a spider, but I think he's gone now."

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*whistling as I sip some tea, pretending I wasn't gone for half a year*