Robin set a mug – the one with cat ears poking up from the lid and whiskers painted on – of coffee in front of Captain America from where he sat at her kitchen table.

     Totally normal.

     "Thank you," the relic said politely, his face looking like he had cat whiskers when he tilted the mug up to take a sip.

     She nodded awkwardly, sitting across from him and drinking her own mug of tea.

     "So," Steve coughed, clearly feeling a little awkward himself, "Your mom works at a hospital? What does she do?"

     Oh God, she was making small talk with Captain America. Take that, Suzy from seventh grade who said she'd never amount to anything.

     "She's a nurse," Robin explained, her nerves on edge, "Sorry, you know when you see your teacher out in public and you feel weird because, like, that's not where they're supposed to be? Or, I mean I guess they have a right to be wherever they want but you're not expecting them to be there so you kind of feel like you're dreaming? That's kind of where I'm at right now."

     Steve smiled in amusement, taking another sip of coffee to stop himself from laughing at the nervous girl.

     "It's been a while since I went to school," he joked, "but don't be nervous. Sorry for dropping in-,"

     "Breaking in," she corrected, then winced, "Uh, sorry. You can break in anytime?"

     "Right, breaking in," he laughed slightly, "It just seemed pretty urgent when you came to Avengers Tower, so I was a little concerned when you never showed up to meet me."

     "About that," Robin hesitated, her eyes darting around nervously, "I was a little sleep deprived and I may have been overreacting. It was just a few weird dreams, I've been told I have an overactive imagination."

     "You seemed pretty sure of yourself last week," Steve frowned, then noticed her hesitation, "but we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

     Robin looked at him skeptically, seeing the thinly-veiled hope in his eyes. It was a look she knew well. Steve Rogers was a man desperate for answers.

     Answers to what, she had no idea.

     "So, your mom is a nurse," Steve tried to smooth over the conversation, "What does your dad do?"

     "I actually have two moms," she informed him, eyeing the man closely to see his reaction, "and she's a kindergarten teacher. Leave it to my parents to pick two of the most thankless jobs on the planet."

     Steve Roger's may be Earth's most beloved superhero, but he was still born in a much less accepting time.

     She was taken aback as the blond beamed at her.

     "That's great to hear," he said enthusiastically, "There's a lot of things I miss about the forties, but the intolerance isn't one of them. It's incredible to witness our society evolving to support everyone in their right to love who they love."

     Robin softened, smiling at him. She took a deep breath, hands clutched around her warm mug for comfort.

     "So the dreams," she started, and his eyes brightened with hope, "I used to get them when I first got here, but they haven't ever been coherent until recently. Lately they've felt so real, but the stuff I'm dreaming about is impossible."

     "When you first got here?" Steve asked, his brows coming together in confusion.

     "You didn't read my file?" she asked wryly, "Mr. Stark seemed to have pretty extensive knowledge about me."

     "I was hoping you'd tell me yourself," he admitted, smiling softly at her.

     She sighed, grateful to him for respecting her privacy but a little tired of rehashing her tragic backstory.

     She told him about the hospital and how she came to live with her moms, elaborating about her lack of dental records and the lack of any missing children in the system that matched her description.

     "You had two gashes in your back?" he frowned at her, "Did they seem even? Like they were deliberate?"

     "I- hold on," she realized, pulling out her phone.

     She scrolled through her camera roll and came across a picture of her back that she had taken to send to her mom when the scars had become inflamed a few weeks ago. There was nothing remotely explicit about the picture, but she was a little embarrassed by the reflection of her messy room in the mirror.

     Steve frowned, squinting at the picture like an old man even though he had enhanced vision. His eyes widened in awe when she double tapped the photo and it zoomed in on the scars.

     "I'll never get over how far technology has come," he shook his head slightly, handing the phone back to her gingerly.

     "Right," she huffed out a laugh, her tone teasing, "You must still be excited over the printing press."

     Steve let out a dad-laugh, throwing his head back and putting a hand to his chest.

     "Watch yourself, kid," he grinned, "Even I'm not that old."

     She shook her head, smiling to herself. Robin was still nervous about the impending conversation, but it was obvious some of the tension had been lifted.

     "I've had three dreams that felt like- like memories," she explained, "In the first one, I was really young. Maybe three? I'm not sure. I was with this woman and she looked- well, she looked a lot like me. Then there were these men and one of them had a case full of cash. Honestly, it was like something from a movie, and he gave it to the woman and she gave him me."

     She looked up at Steve, who nodded at her encouragingly despite the look of horror in his eyes.

     "Anyways, both of the men had this creepy symbol on their jackets," she elaborated, "I honestly thought I had made it up until I was looking through a textbook and I saw it again."

     Recalling something, she dug into her backpack and pulled out the notebook she had been using to detail her dreams. On one of the pages she had drawn the symbol she kept seeing and she handed it to Steve.

     "Yeah, that's HYDRA alright," Steve's eyes narrowed down at the icon, tracing it with his hands before looking at her again, "What about the other two dreams."

     "The next one is a little strange," she warned, "I was on top of a roof somewhere with another man. I must have been six. He was different than the first, but he had the same symbol on him. It was snowing, and I remember being freezing because my shirt was cut up in the back."

     "Why were you on a roof?" Steve asked.

     She grimaced, taking another sip of tea.

     "That's where it gets weird," she explained, "He pushed me off of it. Which is crazy, because if I had been pushed off of a rooftop that high I would have died, right? It just felt- it really seemed like a memory."

     "It depends," Steve shrugged, "It could have been shorter than you're remembering, and if it was snowing a bank may have cushioned your fall."

     "Oh," she frowned, "Well, that still doesn't account for the last dream."

     "What happened in that one?" Steve leaned forward.

     "I was eight. I- I think I know that because it had been my birthday recently, which doesn't make any sense because I don't even know when my birthday is," she frowned, "but I was sitting in this room with a bird."

     "A bird?"

     "Yeah," she nodded, "A robin, actually. It's funny, because when I first woke up in the hospital the only thing I could tell them was my name."

     Her eyes glazed over slightly, deep in thought. How had she known her name?

     "Robin?" Steve brought her out of her stupor, "Are you okay?"

     She blinked, smiling sheepishly at him.

     "Yeah, sorry," she apologized, "So I was with the bird and a guard came and took me to another room. There was a man laying in there, but he seemed different from the others. He had a wound in his abdomen, but I don't know how he got it."

     "Different how?" Steve asked.

     "Well he was the first person there that didn't have a symbol," she said, "and his eyes. They were really pretty, but I've never seen anyone with eyes that cold. They were so blank. Like he didn't feel anything at all. Also, he-,"

     She cut herself off, realizing how crazy she sounded.

     "He what?" Steve pressed.

     "He had a metal arm," she admitted, "I know that sounds strange, but it was metal all the way up to his shoulder."

     Steve's hands clenched the wood of her table so hard that he was leaving small indentations where his fingers met the surface.

     "What happened next?" he urged her, his eyes pleading, "Please, this is important."

     "Uh, the guard who had taken me said something in Russian and I seemed to understand it, which is strange considering I don't know Russian," she huffed in frustration, "but I took his hand and I- well, I healed him."

     "You healed him?" Steve frowned, "How?"

     "I told you it was crazy," she shook her head, "It was like a surge of energy that ran through me and into him, and his wound was healed."

     Steve, somehow, was not looking at her as if she was insane. Though, she supposed after aliens coming to attack Earth everything else probably seemed pretty mild in comparison.

     "Did anything else happen?" he asked.

     "Yeah, the guard told me to do something else – it was in Russian again, so I really have no idea what it was – but I really didn't want to," Robin told him, "so I refused. I guess the guard didn't like that, so he threw me to the ground and started kicking me. It was over and over, in the same spot I had just healed the other man in."

     "And you were eight?" Steve looked horrified.

     "I think so," Robin nodded, "I just remember the pain being so bad that I thought I was going to die. Then the man with the cold eyes dragged the guard away from me and snapped his neck."

     Robin's hand went to her own neck as she recalled the sickening crack that had followed when the man had twisted the guard's neck to the side.

     "So B- the man saved you?" Steve's eyes were now shining with full-blown hopefulness, "He was protecting you?"

     "Yeah," Robin smiled softly, "I guess he was. I don't think he wanted to be there. He didn't seem like he wanted anything, honestly. It was more like he was a prisoner, like me."

     "If I showed you a picture of him," Steve was practically buzzing with excitement, "Do you think you'd recognize his face?"

     "Definitely," she nodded, before pausing, "Why? Do you think you know him?"

     "Maybe," Steve whispered, before brightening again, "Will you come with me back to the tower? If it's who I'm thinking of, I have a lot of pictures."

     "Wh- now?" Robin panicked, "I have school."

     "Weren't you skipping already?" Steve pointed out, before looking at her sternly, "That's not a good habit to get into, by the way."

     She sighed, her shoulders dropping in defeat.

     "Touché."

➶

     Robin's wide eyes flitted around the common area of the Avenger's living quarters. She was beginning to think she should skip school more often.

     "Is anyone else here?" she asked, before perking up in excitement, "Is- is Thor here?"

     Steve laughed slightly, taking his coat off tossing it on one of the luxurious couches in the center of the room.

     "Most of the team is on a recon mission," he explained, "and no, Thor isn't here. I believe he's back on his home planet, Asgard, but it's been a while. Wanda may be here, though. She's not exactly mission-ready yet."

     A pang of something stirred within her at the sound of the Scarlet Witch's name. She chalked it up to excitement over being in the same vicinity as someone with so much power, though that explanation didn't feel quite right.

     "The photos are in my room," Steve explained, "I'll go get them, you can make yourself at home."

     Robin obediently sat down on one of the couches, shooting the super soldier a smile. As soon as he left the room, though, she darted up again and began to explore.

     She was admiring a rather unique looking plant when her phone buzzed, and her eyes went wide when she realized she had six missed calls from Harry and twice as many messages.

     With a wince, she scrambled to answer her phone.

     "Hey Haz," she attempted to sound casual, "How are you doing on this fine winter afternoon?"

     "I'm sorry, are you dying?" Harry sounded through the speakers dramatically, "Have your legs stopped working? Have you been replaced by an evil twin? Something drastic must have happened, because the Robin Reynolds I know has never missed a day of school in her life."

     "What are you talking about?" Robin scoffed, "I miss school all the time, it's cool. I'm cool."

     She attempted to lean against the wall but missed, stumbling into the adjoining hall slightly.

     "Robin, you once came in to school with chicken pox," Harry reminded her.

     "We had an important test that day!" she defended herself, "Besides, it's better to get chicken pox as a kid. In fact, I was doing everyone a favor."

     "Where are you?" Harry sighed out, and she could imagine him pinching the bridge of his nose.

     "Home, where else would I be?" Robin answered, using all her willpower to not start rambling incessantly like she usually did when she was lying.

     "Fine, I'm coming over," Harry decided, "We can talk about what's really going on with you."

     "What? No," Robin floundered, waving her free arm around in a panic, "You can't skip school! Education is important! Did you know that a pelican's beak can hold up to two and a half gallons of water at a time? Are you staying hydrated?"

     There was a beat of silence.

     "Okay fine I'm not at home," Robin admitted.

     "Wh- Robin!" Harry cried indignantly, "Where are you then?"

     Robin went to answer but paused as she heard Steve's voice conversing back-and-forth with a feminine one that was lilted with a slight accent. They were making their way down the hall.

     "I have to go," she whisper-hissed into the phone.

     "Robin Reynolds don't you dare hang up on me," Harry was incredibly affronted, "So help me I will call your moms-,"

     "Love you, bye," she interrupted, hanging up the phone.

     She scrambled over to the couches in an attempt to make it seem like she hadn't been snooping.

     Steve was clutching a giant photo album and smiling at a beautiful woman with long hair as the two turned the corner into the main room.

     "Wanda, I'd like you to meet-,"

"Сонгбирд," the woman – Wanda – said breathlessly upon taking in the sight of Robin, her green eyes filling with tears.

"Songbird," Robin repeated immediately as she shot up from the couch, before becoming confused, "I- I don't know how I knew that."

     "I never thought we'd meet again," Wanda's voice cracked slightly as she spoke.

     "Again?" Robin frowned, "I'm sorry, I don't think I recognize you,"

     "It's okay," Wanda shook her head slightly, "You wouldn't. I did place a memory blocker in your mind for a reason."

     Robin felt as though all the breath had been knocked out of her. Steve, who had been watching the two in confusion, turned to look at Wanda with wide eyes.

     "You did what?" Robin asked hoarsely.

     The Scarlet Witch approached her, gingerly grasping the younger girl's hands in her own. Robin wanted to pull away from the woman who had just admitted to messing around in her head, but her instincts led her to grasp on to her powerful hands tighter.

     "When we realized you were with HYDRA against your will, that you weren't like us," Wanda explained earnestly, "Pietro and I helped you escape. We knew we couldn't have you releasing any information, so I blocked your memories of the place that had become your prison. I'm sorry, we only wanted to help."

     "So I'm not crazy?" Robin's voice broke, "I really- my dreams were real?"

     Her head began to swim at the implications. If the visions she had been having truly memories, it would be lifechanging. She ripped her hands from Wanda's grasp and carded one through her hair.

     "You met Robin when you were with HYDRA?" Steve interjected, clearly trying to wrap his head around the situation.

     "You should not be having dreams of your time there at all," Wanda ignored Steve, her features clouding with worry, "Though my powers were not at their full capacity when I preformed the spell. It might be wearing off."

     "Can you take it away completely?" Steve asked, still holding on to his photo album.

     This was not how he expected this meeting to go.

     Wanda frowned, turning away from them both and hugging her arms to her body.

     "Some things are better left forgotten," she said somberly.

     "Why do you get to decide that?" Robin protested.

     "I couldn't lift the magic even if I wanted to," Wanda shook her head softly, her eyes apologetic, "It would be far too dangerous. I can try to fill in a few blanks, though. If you want, I mean."

     Robin bit back any frustrations she may have had with the woman, knowing that she was probably her best chance for answers. Instead, she nodded.

     The unusual trio sat on the couches. Wanda's hands hovered over Robin's as if she wanted to take them again but was holding herself back.

     "Pietro and I first met you when you were eight years old," she started, her eyes a little hopeful and a little sad, "That's when you came to Sokovia, but I think you had been with HYDRA for much longer."

     "What makes you say that?" Steve asked.

     "Her powers were already so far along," Wanda explained, "It seemed like years of experimentation."

     "My powers," Robin parroted, but allowed Wanda to continue.

     "All you brought with you to the facility was a bird, a Robin I think," Wanda smiled fondly, "You used to stare at that bird for hours. It was months before you would even speak to me and Pietro, but he used to bring you sweets when he could find them, and books. You really loved the books."

     "Alice in Wonderland," Robin said suddenly, causing Wanda's eyes to widen in surprise, "I remember Alice in Wonderland."

     "Yes," Wanda said breathlessly, "It was in Sokovian, so I used to read it to you. It was your favorite."

      Robin closed her eyes as her head started to pound.

     "You became family to us," Wanda's green eyes were soft, "Pietro and I taught you Sokovian lullabies and you would sing them with us. Our little cонгбирд."

     Robin caught glimpses of blond man with a bright smile in her mind, bowing exaggeratedly and asking her to dance with him as Wanda laughed in the background. Another glimpse showed him preforming card tricks, his hands working so fast that it was impossible to keep up with the movements.

     "He taught me how to play cards," Robin recalled.

     "He taught you how to cheat at cards," Wanda shook her head, but her smile was amused, "We tried to make your time there as fun as possible. He would have done anything to make you smile."

     "So what changed?" Robin asked, her tone laden with nostalgia for people she could barely remember.

Wanda's expression fell and became grim.

     "You seemed unhappy, but we did not realize you had been kidnapped until you were about ten. We thought you had volunteered, like us, but after-," Wanda grimaced, her eyes closing for a moment, "We just knew we had to get you out of there. I placed a block on your memories, so you wouldn't tell anyone about HYDRA and incapacitated the guards, and Pietro ran you all the way from Sokovia to a safer place. He never told me where he took you, just in case we were questioned. I never thought I'd see you again."

     She looked as though she was holding back tears. Wanda had suffered a great deal of loss over the years, and to have someone who she considered a sister returned to her was overwhelming.

     "Could I-," she laughed, her words watery, "May I hug you?"

     Robin hesitated. She was still trying to process everything in her mind, and this was the woman that had her memories away. Looking at her, though, filled the girl with a warmth she couldn't define as any other way besides love. She nodded.

     Wanda immediately gathered the girl in her arms, hugging her tightly. With marginally less enthusiasm, Robin hugged her back. She couldn't deny that the embrace felt comforting and familiar.

     "You mentioned powers?" Steve asked, "Does she have abilities like you?"

     The girls pulled away from each other, both having forgotten that the man was in the room with them.

     "Not like mine," Wanda wiped away her tears, "but she does have powers."

     "What are they?" Robin asked, frowning.

     The most supernatural she had ever felt was when she managed to bake twelve dozen cookies in a single afternoon for the animal shelter she volunteered at's bake sale.

     "You have the power to heal others, it is a great gift," Wanda smiled fondly, before adding on, "and flight."

     Robin leaned back in shock.

     "Flight?" she blinked at her, "I dreamt about the healing, but I can fly? Like- like a bird?"

     "Yes," Wanda confirmed, "They did something to you, something with your DNA, that made wings grow from your back. They grew with you and could be reabsorbed into you when you weren't using them."

     "Why don't I have them now, then?" she pressed, "I feel like I'd notice if I had wings on my back."

     Wanda frowned ruefully, her gaze dropping to the floor.

     "A few days before we got you out of there, they- they ripped the wings from your back," she admitted, "It's part of the reason we decided to get you as far away from that place as possible."

     Robin thought about the two scars on her back and shuddered. She felt violated, like they had turned her into a monster.

     "If I'm not mistaken, though," Wanda was almost reluctant to say anything, "They will grow back on their own. In fact, they probably already have. I suspect that your loss of memory is what has stopped them from manifesting."

     "Oh, Harry's gonna have a field day with that one," she muttered, talking mostly to herself.

     In all fairness, she wasn't sure what the proper response to this whole situation was. She didn't think screaming and then curling up into a ball on the floor was a good look to have in front of two Avengers.

     "You can't tell anyone about you," Wanda shook her head insistently, grabbing Robin's hands again.

     "What?" Robin frowned, "I have to tell Harry, he's my best friend. Plus, shouldn't my moms know? They've been trying to make sense of what happened to me for years."

     "When we took you away from HYDRA, I manipulated the doctor's minds to make them believe you had died," Wanda explained, "No one can know. If HYDRA finds out that you're still alive, it could endanger your life and the lives of everyone you told."

     "So they are still active?" Robin inferred.

     "HYDRA will always be active," Steve clenched his jaw, "I've learned that lesson the hard way."

     "I- okay," Robin agreed, not wanting to put anyone she loved in danger, "Do I have any other abilities? Or is it just, you know, being a flying first aid kit?"

     "That's it," Wanda said immediately, "Those are the only ones I ever witnessed."

     Her eyes darted away, and she dropped Robin's hands to fiddle with the rings on her fingers. Steve frowned at her. He had been around the young woman long enough to know when she was lying.

     "Well, where's Pietro?" Robin changed topics, "Is he on the mission too?"

     Both Avengers avoided her gaze this time, somber expressions clouding their features. Wanda looked heartbroken, and Steve seemed a little guilty.

     "During Ultron's attack on Sokovia, Pietro sacrificed himself to save a young boy," Steve explained grimly, "His accelerated physiology allowed the wounds on his body to heal, but he fell into a coma. He's in the tower's medical wing still, but the doctors told us that he has showed little to no brain activity. That means- he's brain dead."

     "Could I heal him?" Robin asked immediately, "You said I have healing powers, don't I?"

     Wanda smiled at her sadly, her expression grateful.

     "Thank you, Robin, but I don't think even you can bring someone back from the dead," she said softly, "Besides, your powers are no where near their full potential without your memory."

     The girl fell silent, disappointment coming off her in waves. What was the point of her powers if she couldn't help people with them?

     "The pictures," she said, remembering why she was here in the first place, "Can I see them?"

     If she couldn't help Pietro, maybe she could help Steve.

     Steve nodded eagerly, opening the album to a page in the middle and handing the book to Robin.

     She looked at the photo that covered the page. It was monochrome and tinged with sepia, depicting Steve and another man with his arm tossed over the blond. Both were grinning, their eyes filled with mirth as they stood in uniform.

     Her fingers traced over the second man's photo, her eyes sad.

     "That's him," she nodded, "or, it looks like him. His hair was longer, though."

     The sadness she felt stemmed from the joyful expression on the man's face. What could have happened to this vibrant, happy man to make him so cold?

     Steve exhaled sharply, a smile lighting up his face.

     "That's Bucky," he explained, "He's my best friend. Do you have any idea where he could be?"

     "What? No, I'm sorry," Robin shook her head, "I can't remember ever seeing him again after that one time. Though, I can't really remember much of anything."

     Steve visibly deflated but sent her a grateful smile.

     "He saved you, though, didn't he?" he said hopefully, "He saved me too, you know. He stopped me from drowning."

     "After being the reason you ended up in the water in the first place," Wanda reminded gently, as if this was a discussion Steve had brought up with the group many times before.

     "If he was really too far gone why would he have saved Robin?" Steve protested.

     "It was after I healed him," Robin added, "He was cold, but I think he may have felt gratitude. I'm not sure though."

     "I've been healed by you before," Wanda mused, "It fills you with warmth, like you can feel your compassion in its purest form. Perhaps that triggered something emotional in Mr. Barnes?"

     "If his emotions were still inside of him, we can still save him," Steve insisted, his gaze steeled over in determination.

     Wanda sighed, and Robin's eyes darted between the two uncomfortably.

     "Can I see Pietro?" she asked, causing them both to look at her in surprise, "I'd like to pay my respects, at least."

     The woman smiled softly at her.

     "I think he'd like that."

➶

     Robin followed Wanda and Steve into the infirmary, feeling a little out of place. There were two nurses working in the wing, but they left to give the group some privacy.

     Wanda immediately approached a lifeless looking Pietro, brushing her fingers across his gaunt cheek. A pulse of red shot through her hand as she tried to transfer some positive emotions into the young man.

     Steve stood in the corner and tried to keep a respectful distance. He didn't want to interfere but felt that he should stay to keep an eye on Robin. He had brought her to the tower, so he saw the girl as his responsibility.

     "It's odd, seeing him breathe and knowing that he probably isn't alive," Wanda spoke somberly.

     "The doctors are doing everything they can, you shouldn't give up hope," Steve soothed, "We shouldn't give up on anyone."

     It was becoming very clear that though the Avengers were trying to work together as a team, each was going through their own battles. Each had different priorities. Robin only hoped that those priorities didn't end up clashing.

     Robin hesitantly walked up to the bed Pietro was laying on, her eyes sad. She didn't have many clear memories of him, but she still felt the sorrow as though she did.

     She knew she cared about him.

     The young girl reached her hand out to grasp his cold, limp one.

     "I'm sorry this happened," she whispered, "I wish I could help you."

     The deep concern and compassion she felt for the man swirled within her, and she wanted nothing more than to bring him comfort and warmth.

     Without conscious prompting, a brilliant golden light illuminated from her veins and poured into Pietro from where their hands were connected. The heart monitor beside him started beeping rapidly. Robin felt his entire body begin to vibrate and looked at him in shock.

     Then his eyes flew open, blazing gold.

     Robin released his hand in alarm when his body began flickering in and out of view, Steve running to get a nurse while Wanda cried out in shock.

     "Pietro?" Wanda asked shakily, wanting to reach out and help but afraid of hurting him.

     As sudden as it had begun, Pietro went limp again. The room fell silent as Robin and Wanda stared at him in alarm.

     It was as if nothing had happened, the heart monitor returning to its steady pattern. His eyes were closed again, and his chest rose and fell evenly.

     In the corner of the room, though, a once silent and grey monitor lit up with color.

     The nurse stopped in shock after rushing into the room, staring at the monitor.

     "Is that-,"

     "His brain is showing signs of activity again."

➶

     After the ordeal in the medical wing, Steve decided that it was time for Robin to go home.

     Wanda had bid her farewell with a tear-filled hug and a promise to contact her with any updates about Pietro. No miracles had been performed, but the doctor had said the change was a promising one.

     Steve had dropped her off at her house, drowning the girl in more thank you's and assurances that she could call whenever she needed anything.

     He had offered to have her come back to the tower when Tony and Bruce were there so they could run more tests to figure out the lengths of her abilities, but the thought of anyone running even more tests on her made the girl sick to her stomach.

     Especially if the person testing her was Tony Stark.

     Wanda had apologized for that, explaining that it was probably her and Pietro's rantings about how much they hated the man during their time with HYDRA that had influenced her instinctual negative opinion of him. She assured Robin that Tony Stark was actually a good man, that he was a hero.

     Robin knew this, but she couldn't help the annoyance that burned within her at the thought of him. Perhaps it would have been better for her to spend more time with him, in order to get over her unfair bias, but Robin wanted to figure out more about her powers on her own.

     It was this train of thought that ended with her on top of her apartment complex's roof, wearing a shirt that she didn't mind ruining and trying her best to ignore the dizziness she felt from being up so high.

     "Come on, Robin," she muttered to herself, "Can't have a fear of heights when you're freaking Bigbird."

     She released a shaky breath, peering over the edge. She had been spending way too much time on rooftops lately.

     "Okay, so two outcomes," she rationalized out loud, "Either I jump and sprout giant wings, or I jump, and I die."

     She gulped, taking a step back from the ledge.

     "Or the third option," she mused, "Where I go back inside, eat some pasta, and try to forget that this day ever happened."

     That option sounded pretty good, and was probably the sanest of the three, but Robin was done forgetting.

     She had already seen what her powers could do in person earlier that same day and had no reason to believe Wanda would lie to her.

     Taking a deep breath, she started towards the ledge again. The tips of her toes protruded over the roof and she looked down.

     A rock was pushed forward by her foot and fell to its death. She didn't even hear it hit the ground.

     "Nope, pasta it is," Robin mumbled, scrambling to turn around and leave the rooftop.

     Then she tripped over her untied shoelace.

     Suddenly, she was falling.

     In the past, Robin had imagined a near death experience to be dramatic and full of glimpses looking back on her life. She expected to regret all the chances she didn't take, and all the mistakes she had made.

     Yet, as she was plunging to her death from that rooftop, all she could think about was her pasta.

     She was thinking about how she was going to miss out on the delicious tortellini left abandoned in her fridge, and then she wasn't falling anyone.

     Robin let out an embarrassing shriek as her body was caught by two arms encased in blue fabric.

     "What the fu-,"

     Her exclamation was cut off by another shriek as one of the arms shot out a white fluid from the wrist and something that looked like a giant spider web connected to the far wall and the two began swinging forward rapidly.

     The person holding her shot out a few more webs down alternating walls before landing them self and Robin safely in the alley between her apartment building and the one next to it.

     "Are you okay?" the mysterious person asked, their arms still wrapped tightly around Robin's torso as though she would disintegrate if he let go.

     The voice was oddly muffled, masking any distinguishing characteristics, but it sounded masculine.

     Once she got her bearings, Robin spun around in his grasp and let out another shriek at the sight of someone about four inches taller than her, clad from head to toe in a red and blue fabric outfit and wearing a cloth mask with goggles in the eye holes.

     At her noise of alarm, the masked person let out a yelp of their own and leaned back, but their grasp remained firm on Robins waist.

     "Dude," Robin breathed out shakily, "What just came out of you?"

     "Were you- were you trying to jump?" the person asked her, panic and worry evident in their voice.

     She could have even sworn she heard their voice crack.

     "What? No," Robin shook her head, "Well, yes, but no. What is that stuff made of, some kind of nylon fiber?"

     "If you weren't trying to jump, why were you up there?" the masked individual demanded, "You don't even like- aren't most people scared of heights?"

     "You aren't, obviously," Robin answered absentmindedly, still preoccupied by the odd fluid that had come out of him, "Hey, are you that guy that's been all over YouTube? The spider guy?"

     "Spider-Man," he replied instinctively, "Call me Spider-Man."

     "Oh, okay," Robin nodded, tilting her head to the side, "Do you have a thing for spiders or something?"

     "No, I don't- it's a long story," the guy huffed out, his grip on her waist tightening, "I'd really rather talk about why you were up on that roof in the first place."

     Robin paused, eyeing the male with some suspicion. It probably wouldn't be the best idea to tell a random guy in a mask that she thought she might have giant wings.

     "I was looking for birds," she fibbed, "and I thought I saw a Red-tailed Hawk, so I got too close to the edge and tripped over my shoelaces. Hey, did you know that they can spot a mouse from thirty meters in the air? I wish I could do that, I'd make friends with all the mice that live in this alley. Do mice actually like cheese? Sometimes cartoons just make stuff up, like saying that cats should drink milk when in reality almost all adult cats are lactose intolerant to some degree."

     The guy – Spider-Man – relaxed when she began to ramble, releasing her and taking a step back.

     "Gee, miss, you really scared me," Spider-man leaned against the alley wall and crossed his arms, kicking one foot back against the brick, "You should keep your shoelaces tied, by the way. That's a real bad habit."

     "Why would I do that when I can just get my friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to save me?" she laughed, finding it easy to talk to someone who's face she couldn't see, "Oh yeah, thanks for that by the way."

     The man – well, boy, judging by the pitch of his voice – puffed his chest out slightly as he stood from the wall, obviously proud of himself.

     "There's no other damsel-in-distress that I'd rather be saving," he said smoothly, before holding out his hands and immediately backtracking, "Not that you're helpless or anything! You seem super, uh, helpful. Totally capable of taking care of yourself when you're not, you know, falling off of buildings."

     "I'm sure it'd get annoying after a while, but I bet it'd be kinda fun to be the damsel-in-distress," Robin pondered briefly, "I mean, you'd get to just throw yourself headfirst into danger and not have to worry about the consequences."

     "Please don't do that," the webslinger asked politely of her.

     Robin laughed, about to tell him she was joking, when her phone went off again. She groaned in annoyance, switching the device to silent without checking the screen.

     "Someone you trying to avoid?" he pried lightly.

     "It's probably just my friend Harry," she explained, "He's freaking out because I ditched school today. Honestly, you'd think that the guy who has a standing date with his truancy officer would be understanding of me missing one day."

     "Why'd you miss school?" he asked, and she could almost hear the frown in his voice.

     "You know, you're pretty nosy for a guy who won't even show the world his face," she jabbed teasingly.

     "Can you blame a guy for trying to get to know a pretty girl in a dirty New York City alley?" he shot right back.

     "Where all the great love stories begin," she giggled.

     He waved his arms at her, gesturing for the girl to explain.

     "I guess I kind of had an anxiety attack?" she sighed, crossing her arms over her torso insecurely.

     "Wh-why? Did something happen?" Spider-Man seemed incredibly worried over this statement, "Did, uh, did someone say something to you?"

     "I mean I haven't really been getting a lot of sleep these days anyways, and a lot has been changing in my life," she explained, hesitating before adding the next part, "It was a lot of things piling on top of each other, but yeah, a friend of mine said something that finally set it off. Well, I'm not sure if we're still friends, actually. We weren't that close in the first place, but I think he blames me for something bad that happened to him recently."

     Her voice was embedded with sadness as she spoke, and she cast her eyes downward.

     Her unusual counterpart was silent for a moment, and he hunched over as if trying to make himself smaller.

     "He sounds like a real jerk," he said quietly.

     "No, not at all!" Robins eyes widened in horror at the idea, "I think he might be the nicest guy I've ever met. In fact, I know he is. He's just- he's going through a really hard time right now. I wouldn't blame him if he never spoke to me again, honestly. Everyone copes with grief in their own ways. I just wish he'd let me be there for him, that I could help him. Even if he doesn't, I really hope that he lets someone help him."

     Spider-Man fiddled with the devices on his wrists uncomfortably.

     "Still, I bet he's sorry for what he said," he insisted, "If I was friends with a girl as great as you, I'd regret ever doing anything that'd make you sad."

     "You don't even know me," Robin laughed quietly, "But thanks. Also, thanks for listening to me ramble about my problems. You really didn't have to. Don't you have some super cool superhero business to be taking care of?"

     "You think I'm a superhero?" he perked up at that, excitement lacing his tone.

     "What else do you call a guy who saves random girls from falling to their deaths?" she looked at him in confusion.

     "Yeah," Spider-Man nodded, his posture considerably lighter, "Yeah! I am a superhero, aren't I?"

     "A superhero that's going to make me late for dinner," she added, "Not that this hasn't been fun, but my moms will probably start to get worried soon."

     "Right, sorry," he nodded rapidly, "Uh, can I walk you home."

     "I'd say we're pretty close by," Robin pointed to the building she had fallen from a little while ago.

     "Oh, okay," the hero seemed a little dejected.

     "Thanks again, Spider-Man," she grinned at him, turning to make her way to the front entrance of her complex.

     "Wait!" the boy said hastily, causing her to look at him once again, "Can I see you again?"

     She paused, mulling over the request in her head. Making plans to meet up with a masked stranger probably wasn't the best idea, but neither was jumping off of rooftops in hopes that she'd sprout wings. Besides, talking to the superhero was easy. Something about him hiding behind a mask made it feel a little bit like Robin had one of her own.

     "You know where I live," she settled on, smiling at him.

     "Great," he nodded, shooting finger-guns at her before smacking his forehead, "Uh, forget I did that. Oh, and one more thing?"

     "What?" she asked.

     "Call your friend," he told her.

     "He hasn't answered me so far," she frowned slightly at this.

     "Call him again," he said.

     Robin hesitated, then shot him a small smile.

     "You got it, spidey," she relented.

     With that, she watched the red-and-blue boy shoot a web into the distance and swing off into the quickly darkening streets of Queens.

➶

     Robin turned the key and entered her apartment, still a little giddy from her recent encounter. She jumped at the sight of Harry and both of her moms standing in the kitchen, staring at her with crossed arms and stern expressions.

     "Uh, hey guys," she said, a little confused by the intervention-style scene in front of her.

     "And just what do you call this hour?" Harry demanded haughtily.

     "Uh," she glanced down at her phone, "six-thirty?"

     "Oh, she's got an attitude," he scoffed, turning towards her moms, "Can you believe the nerve of it all?"

     Amelia Reynolds looked at the teenage boy strangely before turning her attention back on her daughter.

     "So you've taken to skipping school now?" she asked disapprovingly.

     "Wh- since when are you a snitch?" Robin accused her best friend.

     "I told you I would if you hung up on me," Harry offered no sympathy, "For all I knew you could've been dead, or worse!"

     "What's worse than that?" Amelia frowned in confusion.

     "No note, bed empty," Harley Reynolds added on to the conversation, waving her arms about, "car gone!"

     "We don't own a car," Robin reminded her.

     "Where have you been, bumble bee?" Amelia sighed, her face pinched with worry, "This isn't like you at all."

     Robin softened at the worried expression on her family's faces.

     "I'm sorry, I was having a really bad day," she admitted, "I needed to clear my head, so I went to the Met to look at Van Gogh paintings."

     This was a believable excuse for the girl, who was known to be fond of museums because they were peaceful and quiet. She felt guilty lying, of course, but Wanda's warning echoed in her mind.

     "My daughter finally does something rebellious and skips school and she ends up in a museum," Harley shook her head, "I live in a house of nerds."

     "Why didn't you just tell me where you were on the phone?" Harry scowled, "Why lie to me?"

     "I didn't want you to miss another day of class for me," she said quickly, "and I had to hang up quickly because one of the attendants was glaring at me for talking in the exhibit."

     Something twisted painfully in her stomach at how easily the lie came to her. She had never been the kind of person who could easily deceive the people she loved. She never wanted to be. Supernatural powers were an amazing concept, but she wasn't sure becoming a different person was worth it.

     Of course, she had no idea what type of person she was before she came to live with her moms. Maybe her true self could lie with ease.

     "I'm sorry you had a bad day," Amelia melted, "Do you want to talk about it?"

     "I think I'm figuring it out, but I'll let you know if I need help," Robin smiled weakly, "Thank you."

     "This can't happen again, though, got it?" she countered, always having been the stricter of the two matriarchs, "If you ever skip class again, we'll take away your laptop."

     "I don't have a laptop," she reminded her.

     "Alright, your phone then," Harley interjected.

     "So then what do I do if I have an emergency and need to call you?" Robin questioned curiously.

     There had never been a need to ground the girl before, so it was foreign territory for them all.

     "Fine," Amelia huffed, "if you skip school again you lose Harry privileges."

     "Wh- no Harry?" the Osborn boy asked, obviously offended.

     "No Harry," Harley confirmed, slamming her hand onto their kitchen table for emphasis.

     "Why do I have to be punished for her delinquency?" he protested.

     "You're too privileged," Harley shrugged, "You need structure."

     Harry began grumbling angrily to himself as Amelia looked up at the ceiling for strength.

     "Are you staying for dinner, dear?" she asked of Harry, who nodded eagerly.

     Dinner in the Reynolds' household, though much less extravagant, was far preferable to eating alone in his penthouse.

     "I'm going to go get changed," Robin announced, heading towards her room.

     "Yeah, why are you wearing that shirt?" Harry frowned, "You hate that shirt."

     "I love to suffer," Robin informed him.

     She shut the door behind her, exhaling deeply as the weight of the day hit her fully.

     In one afternoon, she had met two Avengers, regained a magical power, and been saved by New York's newest superhero. Not a bad lineup, if you forgot about the whole learning she was tortured by a Nazi organization for seven years of her life part.

     Can't win 'em all.

      She began rummaging through her dresser for a less horrifying shirt – stylistically it wasn't bad, but the material was scratchy against her skin – when a flash of silver shot through her bedroom.

     A few loose sheets of paper rose into the air as a sudden gust of air blew through the room and fell to the floor, and her hair blew backwards.

     She dropped the sweater she had been holding and looked at her now open bedroom window with wide eyes.

     A pang of paranoia induced fear shot through her, but her nerves eased when she caught sight of the object now resting on her bed.

     A small smile graced her features as she picked up the copy of Alice in Wonderland, written in traditional Sokovian.

➶➶➶

it has been,,,so long,, since i slept

who caught my teen wolf ref? shoutout to the first fandom i wrote fanfiction for (besides that one niall horan fic but we don't talk abt that)

pete baby and robin are a lil shaky but never fear spidey is here to swing in on his girl and do that cute squinty thing with his bug eyes

everytime i write for a new verse i make it my personal mission to have my oc heal the broken souls of every sad angel i can watch out avengers u arent ready for robin

i went with siberian for the sokovian language bc i assume theyd have their own dialect but itd be close??? idk

anyways this is unedited (like everything else i post) so im always scared ill think something is rly good and then ill read it back later and its all just sjkhdgkjhsdg and it turns out i was having a stroke the whole time

so much love and hoping this isnt khdksdlhg,

-belle xx