“THIS IS INJUSTICE I TELL YOU!” I yell, pushing myself up from the kitchen table, “Injustice!” I scream for emphasis.

“There’s no other way” Cap says calmly.

“Plus, it’s already been decided” Tony emphasizes, folding his arms and leaning back on his seat.

“By who!?” I challenge, “This is inhuman, criminal even!” I grit out. “You guys can’t just sit around and decide life changing and soul crushing news like this!”

“It has to be this way, Howard” Steve addresses me by my last name, “This is for the best interests of everyone involved”

“Beside,” Tony gloated, “You can’t whine your way out of this one”

“What’s going on?” Johnny asked as he entered the kitchen.

It was mid afternoon and everything was just calming down after the hectic morning. Reed had gone back into seclusion in his lab, Susan went out with Alicia, and Ben decided to go to the game with Wade, David and Kevin. Me and Sara had been in my room exchanging stories and I confided in her what happened this weekend, I had to slap my hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming.

Then all of a sudden Tony and Steve come marching in and destroy my whole life and everything that was ever precious and dear to me.

“Vick doesn’t want to continue with her training with me” Cap says flatly to Johnny. “And we’ve only had one lesson!”

“You make it sound like I’m the bad guy here” I say defensively as Johnny chuckles at the scene before him. What did you think we were arguing about?

This may look like no big deal but I refuse to go back in the ring with Steve, despite the probable life lessons I might learn. I'm lazy and that's that!

“The big baby here can’t take afew more bruises from Cap,” Tony points and mocks me, then he shrugs, “Not that I approve of it myself but it’s necessary”

“How in the name of GOD is that necessary?” I question, “I beat Doom!”

“And apparently we’ll never hear the end of it” Reed says in a bored tone, walking into the kitchen with is head behind a newspaper and an empty mug in hand that he probably only just came out of this lab to refill.

“Plus that was a fluke” Tony added. He had been in his suit but it disassembled after he sat down.

“What!?”

“What he means to say,” Cap interjects, “Is that it was a onetime thing, and your next adversary probably wouldn’t be as easy”

I blinked at them.

“You call beating the guy that succeeded in taking down the Fantastic Four, and encasing me in a bubble even the Avengers couldn’t break, easy!?” I won’t lie, it gives me pride saying that I beat Doom, which is why I make sure to repeat it often.

Everyone in the room huffed and snickered.

“Doom caught us on a bad day” Reed says uninterestedly. He sat down and was looking at the scene with mild interest.

“He beat your asses and you know it” I squint my eyes at him.

Cap holds up his hand, “Okay fine,” Reed and Johnny look at him in surpris, “But what if you go up against Loki? Or Red Skull? Heck, what if you run into a Skrull?”

The made me pause a moment and think for a moment.

“Not that any of us in this room will allow it” Tony adds with a laugh.

“Of course we won’t” Johnny chuckles.

“You darn tootin’” Steve grins.

“Wow hold up,” I use my hands for emphasis, “What are you guys trying to say?”

“That no male in this room thinks you’re strong enough to handle the villains just mentioned,” Reed said in an I-thought-you-were-smart-but-I-guess-I-was-wrong voice. “And to be honest, neither do I” he says, briefly looking up from his paper.

I open my mouth.

“And if you mention Doom one more time, so help-”

I close it again.

“And for future reference, it was Johnny’s fault why Doom beat us” Reed lashes.

Johnny had been leaning against the refrigerator door silently laughing at the scene, when his whole frame froze and his head whips to look at Reed.

“Say what?”

When Johnny entered the kitchen he’d been giving me sly looks and knowing smiles, but now his total attention was not on me but focused on Reed.

“When we were in Latveria and scouting out Doom’s castle, you left and the whole mission failed” Reed said short and sharply.

Johnny’s jaw went slack and dropped.

“You left the battle field solider?” Cap, looked at Johnny, said what must have been closest thing to disgust Cap could ever muster.

“I didn’t bother to inform you about that after we left central park cause Vick seemed to clean up nicely,” Reed continued, “But I refuse to let her continue with this notion that she’s the best since she took down Doom and no one else could. It will hurt her down the road. We could have done so easily but circumstance shifted it in her favor and may not do so again”

The room became stone dead quiet.

I tried to gulp but my whole mouth had gone bone dry. After and uncomfortable stretch of silence I speak, “So….” I fist my hand, “I’m not a hero?”

I was so sad I almost didn't point out a rhyme just there...

Reed demeanor calms down when he looked at me and realized he might’ve taken things abit to far. “I’m sorry Vick. It was indeed your victory. But the circumstances…” Reed paused and looked thoughtful, “Let’s just say we all really want you to keep training”

Everyone in the room look at me, and what I saw in their eyes made me angry. They looked at me with sadness and pity, probably thought a girl like me was disillusioned by thoughts of fame and grandeur. In all honesty if it wasn’t for that blackhole glitch in me I’d be as good as dead right now, it wasn’t my fighting or skills that save me, it was a phenomenon -that is still unexplainable- and sheer dumb luck.

“Stop looking at me like that” I grow at the men in the room.

“Let’s not get carried away,” Steve stood up, talking hastily, “Now what Johnny may have done must’ve seemed cowardly but he did a sweet thing.”

“Cowardly!?” Johnny shouts. “How is what I did even remotely cowardly?”

“Last time I checked, flying away from Doom’s castle would give the impression of that person being gutless” Tony says, sitting comfortably back.

Johnny fumed at Tony.

“Easy, calm down” Steve rushes to Johnny and holds a hand up against his chest, “I’m sure it was a onetime thing, Jonathan doesn’t seem like the kind of person to leave others hanging”

Tony made a dragging sound with the back of his teeth, “Haven’t ya heard Steve?” Tony looks up at the two mischievously, “Johnny ditched Reed and Susan just last Friday”

“That not the whole story!” I yell.

“It still tells you want kind person Johnny is” Tony says annoyingly.

Johnny shoves Captain aside, bursts into flames, and grabs Tony by the collar of his shirt and yanks him up from his chair.

“Now you listen hear-” but Johnny was interrupted by Tony’s armor coming back together on him, one metal piece hitting Johnny in the head.

Johnny drops Tony as his suit finishes assembling and Tony stands up tall, “You were saying?” Tony finishes cockily.

Johnny’s flames grew brighter.

“Johnny, leave him alone!” I call out, “He’s not worth it. Tony’s just being annoying Tony.”

“Hey!” Tony says.

Johnny growls at Tony one more time. “Flame off” he says reluctantly.

It warmed me up to see Johnny backing down, it was the right thing to do and for the fact that Johnny listened to me made it all the more sweeter. I smile brightly at Johnny and make a mental note to thank him properly later.

“But it does beg the question-” Tony continues, still not tired of messing with Johnny. “That’s two occasions were Johnny bailed twice…and all for the same girl”

Tony’s head-mask comes up, “Care to share?” Tony says cockily.

Steve makes a thought filled face.

Reed peaks up from his newspaper and I just looked at Johnny with held breath. Tony had a point, was this when I finally get answers to question I never even knew I had?

“What are you implying” Johnny tired and fail for a bored tone, and I see a sliver of sweat go down behind his ear.

What is he so scared about? Just out with the feelings!

“Either a) Your a gutless yellow bellied-and-liver coward who likes to flee and bail on people-” Tony says, leaving off the rest.

“Or b) You have feeling for Victoria” Reed finishes for him.

Before Reed could even close his mouth Johnny exploded.

“Me!? Feelings!? For Vick!!??” he made it sound like I was the most repulsive creature on earth.

“It does seem-” Cap started but Johnny cut him off.

“Like what?” Johnny nearly sounds hysterical. “I like her?”

Johnny throws up his hands and laughs so convincingly that even I believe it.

“Okay so I left Latveria and came back here, and I ditched Reed and Susan, so what?” he continues, practically running over his words.

“It’s not the ‘so what’ that matters, more like the ‘so why?’” Tony says, walking up to Johnny.

“Back off Stark” Johnny warns darkly.

“I’d like to see you make me Storm” Tony is nose-to-iron-nose with Johnny now.

“It’s none of you beeswax” Johnny snarls. Do guys even say beeswax? Sounds off.

“I like to make things so,” Tony says dead quietly. Then all of a sudden “WHY WERE YOU WITH HER,” he yells in Johnny’s face, “ADMIT IT! YOU LOV-”

Johnny burst into flames again and shoves Tony clear across the room.

“I came back cause she’s still a kid and I don’t trust her to be alone with herself!” Johnny yells at Tony, whom was lying flat, indented on the kitchen sink. “She threw that tantrum right before her concert and she had a busted arm this weekend! And with her idea of taking down Doom who knew what trouble she’d get into thinking she could handle it,” he continues to bellow, “She’s childish and immature and can’t be left on her own for one second! I don’t like her, I have no feelings towards her and I’d prefer for you not to fill her head up anymore than it already is with any more rubbish of the notion of us being together!”

That did it.

Johnny was still breathing heavily, glaring at Tony, when his eyes grow wide upon realizing what he’d said. His flames go out in a snap and he looks at me while Cap rushed to go help Tony.

The glare I gave him must’ve been the coldest and most unfeeling one in all of human history. But in retrospect I probably shouldn’t have given him the cold look if you put into account my powers and everything.

Johnny opens his mouth to talk but I just shake my head silently at him.

Don’t

Ice seeps out of me and into the air, coating every resurface. The brown kitchen table slowly turned blue as the cold ice swallows up its surface, and Reed actually gave me a worried look. The accumulative breathes in the room showed as the temperature dropped well below 0.

“Happy Stark?” I say to Tony mock sweetly, with a certain chill in my voice. “You got your answer” I finish in disgust. “And along the way we found out that I’m a no talented screw up, but at least you accomplished one thing” The event that just took place helped me to decide.

My feet were iced to the floor but I broke free and left the kitchen. As I turn and leave I speak over my shoulder, “I’m free tonight and tomorrow afternoon Steve. Pick whichever time you want to train with”

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Author’s Note

VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE (You’ve read it so you might as well do so)

***COMMENT COMMENT(Did Reed’s revelations shock you? Was Tony being a dick? And did Johnny really mean what he said??)COMMENT COMMENT***

 SHARE (F) SHARE (T) SHARE (IG) SHARE (TBR) SHARE (G+) SHARE (P) SHARE (EML)

Please please please do those things!

I know a lot of you enjoy this story so just let me know how you truly do. I love votes and I crave comments.

And y’all have been starving me of both.

Wad I ever do to you? You guys have stopped showing me the love! C’mooooooooooooon guys.

I know your there!

Plus! Let’s make it to 20K reads! And along the way beat our record 42 comments in one chapter! We’ve never even come close to that ever again! (I have nothing else to do in my life so I checked :p)

*About to sign off…*

(*still having this nagging feeling like something’s missing in this chapter*)…Checked the story again a third time……Okay I fixed it! Nagging feeling resolved!

Also, don’t forget to be you and stay awesome! Lots of Love!

~Ya Gal Vicky<3