***

don't forget to comment, react, and vote! thank you for reading!

***

WHEN SHE WALKED INTO THE GYM, SHE HAD HOPED THAT HER SLOWED BREATHING ON HER WAY HERE WOULD HIDE THE FACT THAT SHE'D JUST GOTTEN INTO ONE OF THE WORST DISAGREEMENTS SHE HAD EVER HAD WITH HER FATHER. WHEN SHE SAW THE LOOKS ON PETER'S AND ERIS' FACES, THOUGH, SHE KNEW HER HOPES WERE FRUITLESS.

Her mind was still racing, between her argument with her father, meeting her cousin, and thinking about everything she should have said. She was painfully aware that the Maximoffs, and several other unfamiliar faces, were looking at her and her blotchy face, but she did her best to continue breathing away the heat on her face.

"Are you good?" Eris asked under their breath, pulling Joey to the side slightly.

Joey rolled her eyes. "Yeah. It's just family stuff." Eris gave her a look of pity— ironic, considering that Joey's current situation didn't have much to do with what Eris was thinking; her current emotions had almost nothing to do with her mother at all. "It's fine. I just— I'm ready to take my mind off of it."

Besides the two sets of twins, Joey looked around the room at the rest of the crowd. She saw Agents Johnson and Campbell standing and talking with someone she had yet to meet, but had seen around; she saw a couple of girls in the corner comparing their powers— one of them had sparks coming out of her hands, and the other's hands were giant. A few others were scattered around, but again, none that Joey had met, or even seen around.

A red-haired girl made her way over to Joey and the Parkers, then.

"Hey, Jean," Eris greeted, smiling. "Joey, this is Jean. She's from Xavier's School, in Manchester."

"Hi," Joey greeted, attempting a smile as Jean looked at her. Deep breaths.

"Nice to meet you," Jean said, smiling. "What do you do?"

"Um, I have telekinesis and control over gravity and electromagnetic forces. Potential control, I should say. I still have trouble with that, sometimes."

"That's neat!" Jean smiled.

"What about you?"

"Telepathy and telekinesis. That realm of things." She shrugged.

"Cool," Joey chimed. She looked around the room again, before turning back to Jean and Eris. At this point, Peter had gone and started talking with Pietro and Wanda. "So, who is everyone?"

Eris gestured across the room. "The girls in the corner are Jubilee and Kamala," she explained. "Jubilee's from Xavier's, and Kamala is Agent Carrelli's cousin's friend. She's from Jersey, we don't see her all the time, but usually during school breaks, she's here more often."

"Who's with Daisy and Lincoln?" Joey asked.

"That's Agent Rodriguez. We call her Yo-yo," Eris replied, "and then over there is Bobby, and Jean's sister Lola."

Just as Joey's attention turned to Bobby and Lola, it seemed that Bobby irritatedly turned away and went to talk to Kamala and Jubilee. Lola was then sitting by herself in the corner, a sour look on her face.

"Don't worry about her," Jean said, rolling her eyes. "She always has a bad attitude."

"What are her powers?" Joey wondered.

"She doesn't have any," Jean explained. "That's why we're here. We're 24, so a little old to be training outside of our daily training at the Institute, but Carrelli and Dr. McCoy— you'll probably meet him today— are always trying to figure out why Lola doesn't have powers, since she and I are twins. We have the same DNA, and I have powers, but she doesn't. They typically do different tests and data collection for her while the rest of us are training."

"I guess that explains her... disposition," Joey remarked. "It can't be fun watching everyone else exercise their powers while having doctors try and figure out what's wrong with you and why you don't have them."

"True," Jean said, "but she's also a big girl. She doesn't need to mope."

Joey looked sideways at Jean— this must have just been some sort of tough, sibling love that Joey didn't know about.

The door opened then, and following Agent Carrelli inside was a blue, furry man— a beast.

"Sorry we're a little late, everyone," Carrelli announced. She began giving a short spiel about today's training plan— a fight simulation that was curated for each individual person and their powers.

"That's Dr. McCoy," Eris said under her breath, nodding in the direction of the man that had followed Agent Carrelli in. "He goes by Beast on the field." Huh, Joey thought. That checked out.

"Alright. Please take your positions," Carrelli announced, while Dr. McCoy got to work on Lola.

Within seconds, the room was lighting up around Joey and the rest of the Enhanced and Mutants around her in a greenish tint. Faceless figures formed and they started to come at each of them. Somehow, Joey could tell which ones were meant for her, which, compared to the other people beside her who had done this many times before, was really not many.

Two were heading for her straight on, and with two swift kicks to one and a force-field-encapsulation-turned-punch to the other, they disintegrated. Despite the fact that Joey knew this was a simulation, she was awed at how real the figures felt.

Another one came near her, faster than the last two. This one was approaching her from above, and almost as an instinct, Joey levitated herself in the air slightly so she was on an equal plane with it. She couldn't exactly leverage herself enough to kick it, so instead, she braced herself, a blue aura encasing her hands as she did so, and extended her fists in front of her before maneuvering her body mid-air toward the figure. She couldn't deny that she felt her stamina weakening as she fluctuated the gravity around her and sent an electromagnetic punch through the simulation, disintegrating it. She immediately lowered herself back to the ground, slightly breathless as she basked in the small break between attacks.

She looked over to her left; Peter was webbing up sim after sim, Agent Johnson was kicking some, old-school, Pietro was racing around some figures, and Wanda had a few suspended in the air. Joey contemplated borrowing some of Wanda's tactics with her next attack, but it was too late when she got a punch to the gut, sending her stumbling backward.

She made a sound that was something between a gasp and a groan, but she didn't let herself feel it— the sim that attacked her, and two more, were coming at her from three different directions.

"Think, Joey," she muttered, shutting her eyes for one second. With an intentional exhale, she opened her eyes and double-palm heel struck the one that previously attacked her, and it disappeared, leaving her with the last two assailants; one on the left, and one on the right. The left one was closer than the right one, which was in her favor since her right was her stronger side. She was breathing heavily— not because it was too physically taxing, but because she had never used her powers like this. It was draining, but she wasn't sure what part of her exactly was losing energy.

As she inhaled and braced herself again, she used her left hand to encase the left attacker in a force-field, and the other hand to manipulate the gravity surrounding it, raising it high. When the sim on the right was close enough, she let the left one fall free, and sent a sidekick right into the middle of the one on the ground. When this one crumbled, she looked to her left to ensure that the other one did, too, and she was pleased as her combo succeeded.

While the rest of the hour went by, she stopped noticing what the others' fights were looking like, especially after their distraction had previously caused her a hit to the abdomen. Instead, she was focusing on different ways she could use her powers, especially as the AI system that the simulation fed off of started upping her number of aggressors as the 'battle' went on, leaving her against five at once sometimes. Her moves became repetitive, and she started to get frustrated by the last ten minutes when her combos were becoming less effective, both fight-wise and power-wise.

To her favor, the green hue in the room finally lifted, returning to its natural, fluorescent lighting. Joey wasn't the only one of the twelve to stumble slightly at the transition back into real life, and when she blinked her eyes into focus, she was somewhat surprised at the smile on Agent Carrelli's face. She was not, however, surprised at the scowl that still remained on Lola's face, who was still sitting in the corner, while Dr. McCoy drew blood from her arm.

"That was great, guys," Carrelli said, drawing Joey's attention back to her. "I'm going to review the footage later, and then on Friday, we can buckle down in our individual lessons and really sharpen anything that was amiss today— which, really, wasn't much. I'm impressed."

She went on to explain something that only really applied to the students from Xavier's, but Joey had to think that that last part— I'm impressed— was directed to the group generally, and not to her. She was exhausted, and by the end of the simulation, she was damn close to having her ass handed to her.

"Anyway, great day today, you guys. You're free to go," Carrelli finished.

People started quickly filing out of the room, and as Joey went to approach Agent Carrelli, the Maximoffs got to her first. Instead, Joey found herself talking with Peter and Eris.

"You leaving?" Peter asked.

"No," Joey said. "I'm gonna stay back and talk to Carrelli a little bit."

He nodded. "What'd you think?" He wondered, slipping his web shooters off his wrists. "This versus basic?"

"Basic is definitely easier." Joey practically laughed, Basic was nowhere near this difficult. Having to rely almost solely on her powers today was a lot harder than she had expected.

"This will get easier," Eris said. "Plus, you've got cool powers. And Carrelli didn't even have to shut the sim down early, today. Typically, they're cut short when first-timers are in the ring. Give yourself some credit, Jo."

Joey smiled, and in perfect timing, Pietro and Wanda came to join the Parkers. Wanda shot Joey what could definitely be considered a dirty look, out of nowhere, but before Joey could react it was over, and she looked to Pietro then, who ripped away his eyes slightly slower than he probably meant to. If Peter and Eris noticed either of these things, they didn't say anything about it, and instead, the two of them said their goodbyes to Joey, so the two sets of twins could make it out of the gym.

When the gym was finally empty, save for Joey and Agent Carrelli, Joey finally blurted, "I want to do it."

Carrelli was still turned to the counter, probably looking over whatever work she and Dr. McCoy had done earlier. Joey's words, however, piqued her interest.

It wasn't in total spite of her dad. At least, that's what Joey kept saying in her head, ever since the voice inside it mentioned that, if her dad wouldn't let her help save her mom, two highly decorated S.H.I.E.L.D. members, who tried to convince her to help save other people just yesterday, would. 

Carrelli, after an eerily long moment, slowly turned around with a small smile on her face. She didn't say anything, so Joey went on.

"I'll train. I don't care how much I have to. I want to be good enough to help people. Anyone."

Carrelli finally pulled away from the workspace she was organizing, and she strode up to Joey and took her hands in hers. "I am so glad to hear you say this," she told her, and Joey could practically feel the excitement seeping out of Carrelli's voice, despite her best efforts to hide it. Even when she said, "But your mom..."

"I don't want to talk about it," Joey shut down quickly, pulling her hands out of Carrelli's and shaking her head. "I can't— I need to keep my mind off of it. There's no better way to do that than to prepare me for what you and Fury asked. And I know I was... hesitant yesterday, but I'm sure now. Really sure."

"Of course I'll train you, Joey," Carrelli said with a smile, and just like the excitement, the gears turning in her head were practically visible while she thought of all the different skills she could instill in Joey over the course of the next however-long. "You still have to show up at basic training, but after that, I can come find you with any extra time I have. I can..." She trailed off slightly, shaking her head. "I can make you amazing. I have so many theories, and ideas, and— oh, Fury is going to be so happy about this."

Joey smiled, and with that, she turned and headed for the door. She placed her hands on it to push it open, but before she could see herself out, she had one more vitally important detail to add.

"Agent Carrelli," she called, catching her attention one more time.

"Hm?"

"My dad... he can't know about this."

Carrelli was quiet for a second, pursing her lips slightly. She cleared her throat. "That shouldn't be a problem," she said, and suddenly her professional demeanor from her initial questioning of Joey yesterday was back. "May I ask why?"

Joey was the quiet one now, and after a beat, all she did was slowly shake her head. Agent Carrelli looked like she had something to add, so Joey waited.

"All Avenger missions," Carrelli started, "are run through S.H.I.E.L.D., through the Avengers initiative. All other S.H.I.E.L.D. operations, however, are run independently through Director Fury. If an emissary is not signed onto a certain... enterprise, of S.H.I.E.L.D., such as, say, the Avengers... no one who is part of the said enterprise is entitled to... awareness. Of what other operations look like. Or," she finished off, "who they consist of."

Joey swallowed, and she nodded.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Joey," Carrelli said. "I look forward to working with you."

And with that, Joey was out of the room and letting the gym door fall closed behind her.

***

Despite the fact that Joey didn't remember sleeping after Enhanced training, she woke up with a start— straight out of a nightmare.

The lights in her room were still on, her hair was still in a ponytail— albeit a slept-in one— and worst of all, she was starving. As she came to her senses, she hit the power button on her phone in an attempt to check the time, only to find that in her accidental slumber, she didn't plug in her phone before falling asleep. She scoffed to herself, realizing for the second time in the past few days that her phone wasn't a very reliable time teller.

In all honesty, she didn't even really care what time it was; she didn't feel well-rested. But still, she changed out of her day clothes and into a presentable combination of pajamas— black fleece bottoms and a loose red hoodie. She pulled out her hair tie, and finally, she put her phone on its charger before stepping into the hallway.

Upon closing her bedroom door, Joey had to squint her eyes as they adjusted to the darkness of the corridor. She saw some lights beneath one of the doors in her hall, though she wasn't sure who it belonged to. Either way, she was slightly comforted by the fact that she wasn't the only one awake.

She walked quietly to the kitchen, noticing as she passed the den that the sky outside the large windows was completely black. No signs of sunset, no signs of sunrise. It was just late.

When she made it into the kitchen, she pulled the milk out of the fridge while telekinetically pulling a glass from one of the cupboards— she figured a glass of milk was a better idea for easing her stomach than a full-blown meal at this hour. When the glass made it close enough that she could grab it midair, she did, and she set it on the counter to fill it just over halfway.

She left the kitchen, then, and made it to the hallway and back toward the den. She was looking for a little peace and quiet, in a space a little less claustrophobic than the bedroom she'd just had a nightmare in. As the minutes passed since waking up, the images in her head of her mother's unknown circumstances were fading.

She finally passed through another hallway, and finally, as she was about to turn the corner, she heard a sort of familiar, muffled piano tune coming down the hall. As she stepped into the den, the glow of the TV was the only light in the room, but no one was in there. Someone must have left the TV on.

How I Met Your Mother was playing, which was fine by Joey. She took a seat on the couch with her glass, and she sipped on it while she watched.

"What are you doing?"

Joey gasped in surprise, turning to her left to see Pietro standing behind the couch, coming from another entrance in the room. She realized then that the TV must not have accidentally been left on at all— Pietro must have been watching it, and then left the room for a moment.

"I didn't realize anyone was up," Joey said, just above a whisper between sips.

"The television was on," Pietro pointed out.

"I thought someone left it on," she retorted. She had half a mind then to get up and go back to her room, but a bigger part of her knew that she still needed the change of scenery.

Pietro's jaw tensed, and Joey looked back at the screen. He came around the couch and sat on the left side of the sectional, the furthest point away from Joey. She rolled her eyes.

The two of them sat in silence while Barney and Ted argued in the back of a cab.

"You did not sleep?" Pietro asked, finally breaking the silence. Joey looked down, rather than at him, surprised that he was attempting to make conversation. Especially when he hadn't attempted any explanation of what happened at the party.

"I did. Surprisingly," she answered. She didn't have the energy to fight him, or actively ignore him. She sipped her drink. "What time is it?" She added, wondering why he was awake. Now, she looked at him. He shrugged.

"Time for you to get a watch," he said. Yeah, Joey thought. She really did need a watch. She glared at him, and he slung his phone out of his pocket. "It is 2:53," he told her.

"Why are you awake at 2:53 on a Wednesday?" Joey asked.

He avoided her question. "Why are you drinking milk?"

She looked at him incredulously. "Because I feel like it." She took a sip. "You ask too many questions." The second half of her reply came across a lot less irritated than she wanted it to, but to be fair, it was a reach to begin with.

"I asked you two questions," he countered. "You are the one who asked me why I am awake at 3:00 on a Wednesday."

"2:53," Joey corrected, though it was probably 2:55 by now. "And you didn't answer."

"I don't have to answer." He shrugged, and before Joey could let her irritation get the better of her and retreat to her room despite everything, he caved. "I am just an early riser. It comes with all the..." He searched for the right words, but he didn't find them. Instead, he settled on, "fast thing."

Joey doesn't acknowledge his response with anything but looking in his direction. She took a sip. Sensibly, Pietro did not ask her why she was up so late-slash-early.

The two of them sat quietly, eyes on the TV. When Joey finished her glass, she set it on the coffee table in front of her. Her stomach didn't feel as settled as she would have liked, but she figured more sleep was necessary as well.

She leaned her head on one of the throw pillows next to her, eyes still on the TV. She felt Pietro's eyes on her, and when she finally gave in and looked his way with raised brows, he said, "You plan to sit here until when?"

"Dunno," Joey answered, letting her eyes go back to the TV. The truth was, she could fall asleep right now, if she let herself. But there was also truth in the fact that she really didn't want to sleep again— not when she had nightmares waiting for her. "What time is it now?"

She glanced over at him, and he rolled his eyes as he took his phone out to check the time. "3:06," he told her. "Don't you Americans have a saying?" He muttered. "A pot will not boil when you watch it."

Joey didn't hold back the small smile creeping onto her face. "A watched pot never boils," she corrected.

Her blinking was slow, as her attention remained on Pietro, whose eyes were trained on the TV. Her mind told her to return her attention to the TV, but she didn't. She just looked at him, unbothered by the view. He wasn't so bad to look at.

***

It was two days later that Joey saw Pietro again.

Not to say she hadn't seen him since Wednesday morning— she didn't exactly have a choice in regards to seeing him in the training gym every morning. But the next time she spoke to him, it was Friday— exactly a week since the party, and their short-lived dance.

Joey jolted out of her sleep, and it was almost automatic, the way she used her powers to flick on the lights and bring herself back to reality. Today was four days without her mom, and if this was what her dreams were going to be like for the foreseeable future, there was no way she was getting enough sleep. Especially not enough for the amount of training she had been doing every day.

After the Enhanced group training on Tuesday, Agent Carrelli had immediately taken action changing her schedule to find extra time to train Joey— and Joey was grateful for it in every way. She was spending extra hours zoning in on each asset she needed to be a great fighter— hours she may have otherwise spent on sulking and panicking over her mother. There was strengthening, cardio, boxing, karate, and of course, each of her powers. Enhanced Specialist wasn't a fit enough title for Agent Carrelli, Joey had decided. Enhanced Expert seemed more suitable, especially after what Carrelli was able to discover about and teach to Joey concerning her powers in just a few days. She couldn't imagine what she'd be capable of after weeks of this.

Surprisingly, or maybe unsurprisingly, Joey also hadn't spoken to Tony in two days. Ever since their disagreement on Tuesday, Joey hadn't had it in her to go to him— even when she found herself thinking of something she wanted to mention to him, or ask him, or if she wanted to go to him for comfort thinking of Heidi.

It wasn't the subject matter that was keeping her from stepping off her high horse— clearly, she's found a way around that, thanks to Agent Carrelli. It was instead two other aspects that were hurting her: for one, he had told her that she was acting childish. She didn't believe she was, and even if she were, her mother was kidnapped. She had every right to be acting childish! She had every right to be acting however she wanted to get through this situation. And two, the bomb he had dropped about Joey having a cousin— though he did take the liberty of clarifying that they weren't exactly blood-related. But that didn't matter— Joey took family matters very seriously— obviously.

Her entire life, it had always just been Joey and her parents. Neither of her parents had siblings, she didn't have any siblings herself, and her parents' parents had all passed away before she was born or before she was old enough to remember them. Her whole life, she has wished she would have had the chance to know her grandparents, since they were the only extended family she had. Growing up, she begged Tony and Heidi for a sibling, and then when she understood that Tony and Pepper were together now, she begged them for a sibling. Now that she was older, it was obvious that she just didn't have the blessing of a big, happy family that she had always yearned for as a child. So when she found out that not only did she have a cousin who certainly knew things about the family Joey never got to know, but that this said cousin was also living in the building she had been in for a week now, and Tony hadn't told her anything this entire time, let alone her entire life?

While Tony dealt with trying to find Heidi's location with the Banners, he hadn't been coming to training. Not that he or Dr. Banner needed it— hell, Joey thought that half these damn Avengers would be just fine without the daily hours spent training— but it was yet another divide coming between Joey and Tony for the time being. He was caught up trying to solve the issue, and he wouldn't let Joey be caught up in it herself. To her favor, at least, it also meant he had no idea how she was spending her meantime.

Joey stepped into the hallway with no intention of heading to the bathroom, or the kitchen, or the den— not when she kept running into you-know-who. It was— she looked at the digital clock on her dresser, which she had previously asked Friday to purchase— 3:41 AM. She didn't need to be getting ready for training just yet. She doubted anyone else would be getting ready this early.

She made her way down the hallways, and when she reached the den, instead of turning left into it, she turned right and stepped onto the balcony instead. Fresh air would be good for her.

She cracked the sliding glass door open and went straight to the railing, looking out at the grass that was slightly dewy, even in the summer night, the trees on the horizon that made the skyline, and the black sky— despite the electrical lighting that surrounded the compound, she could still see a few stars if she looked hard enough.

"Ahem."

Though she didn't see it herself, Joey's body flashed blue as she gasped and turned to look behind her. "Oh my god," she breathed, when she saw it was Pietro, seated on the bench against the wall. What were the odds?!

"If you are thinking 'not this again,' I should remind you that I was here first."

Joey's eyebrows pulled together slightly. "I wasn't gonna..." She scoffed and trailed off, rolling her eyes and turning back to the view. She could practically feel him staring holes into her back, but she ignored it. To her delight, it was quiet for a few minutes while she took in the fresh air, the faint chirp of crickets, the white yet somehow black glow of the moon.

"You are up early again." Well, so much for silence.

"I could say the same for you," she replied. Pietro hummed in response. It was quiet again now, and while Joey obviously didn't come here with the intention of talking to anyone, she suddenly didn't mind it. In fact, when a certain question popped into her mind, she couldn't help herself from turning away from the view and leaning slightly against the railing, crossing her arms over her chest for warmth as a small breeze picked up.

When she looked at Pietro, prepared to speak, he looked at her expectantly. She looked to the ground.

"Yes?" He asked. A twinge of humor was laced in his tone, but when she looked back up at him, sitting with an elbow on each knee, she didn't find any in his facial expression. She didn't know how to ask what she was wondering, then.

"Are you and your sister very close?" Joey said.

He looked at her, and then just past her over the railing, before his jaw tensed and he leaned backward in his seat. His lips smacked slightly when he finally opened his mouth to respond... with another question. "Why do you ask?"

His demeanor was different than it was just a moment ago, and doubting herself, Joey shook her head and dropped her arms as she prepared to turn back around. "Never mind."

"No, no," he gestured with one of his hands, "please."

Joey was unsure of his intention behind getting her to continue. She dropped her arms to her sides then, and she wasn't leaning on the railing anymore. She was grounded in her place.

"OK," she continued cautiously. "I guess..." She looked at the ground as she trailed off, tucking her hair behind her ear and crossing her arms again; this time for insecurity, rather than the chilly air.

"She seems bitter toward me," are the choice words Joey settled on when she looked back up. "I guess I was just curious if you know why, or if I'm just crazy and taking... things too personally."

He scrutinized her face— something he seemed to do every time he was in direct proximity with her. Joey fidgeted at the attention, and she suddenly worried that he was taking her words as a veiled question about him and the way he treated her last week— which wasn't her intention at all. She was of course confused by his behavior, but she was even more confused by Wanda's— she had barely spoken to her.

Joey opened her mouth to try and clarify, but as soon as she did, he said, "My sister is my best friend." He was avoiding her eyes now, but still, Joey looked at him, half-expecting him to answer the question hanging in the air: did he know why Wanda was so cold toward Joey, or was it all in Joey's head?

When it was clear that he didn't plan on going on, Joey was the one scrutinizing him this time, though she wasn't sure what she was looking for, if anything. Her eyes found the floor for a second before she let out a small sigh and turned back to look off over the railing again. A chill passed her the second her back was turned, along with the click of the sliding glass door. She didn't peek over her shoulder. She knew she was alone out here, now.

***

don't forget to comment, react, and vote! thank you for reading!

***