"Hey, sweetheart, how are you holding up?"

Bruce looked tired, like he hadn't slept in days. You studied his face on the screen, and contemplated asking if you could finally join him, hoping to be a support for your big brother; he clearly needed someone to take care of him if he wouldn't do it himself.

"I'm good, but you look like hell, Bruce. I've seen the news and the footage from Africa." Your tone softened as you put your hand to the screen, wishing you could just have a second to touch him. "I'm worried about you."

He shook his head, looking down and avoiding your eyes. "I'll be okay. I've got to get her out of my head; the whole team took a hit." He glanced up at you for only a second before looking away again. "You know I have to leave."

"And you assume I have to stay?"

"You can't, (Y/N), you know that. You need to be protected; from SHIELD, from Hydra, even from the Avengers. I won't have you becoming something that they want to use. You have gifts that any of them could turn into a weapon."

"Like they did to you, Bruce?" You were getting angry now at his hypocritical argument. "How long before you trust me?"

There was a long pause before he spoke again, his eyes never meeting yours. He would shake his head, as if he were arguing with himself within his own mind. "It's not you I don't trust." He sighed and removed his glasses, bringing his hand up to rub the fatigue from his eyes. He groaned at what he was about to say, knowing already how you would react.

"(Y/N), when I'm gone, you need to promise me that you won't try to find me."

"I can't do that."

"(Y/N), listen to me-"

"I'm sorry, but you know I can't, and I won't fight about this anymore. I love you, Bruce." You cut the communication before he could say any more, and refused to answer it when he tried to reconnect. It would be the last time you spoke to him before he left for Sokovia.

~~~

When you heard that the Hulk had been listed as officially 'missing', you made good on defying Bruce's wishes. You knew that you had to start at the tower, and your one contact there would be your way in; the only person other than Bruce who knew who you were and who knew your abilities. You never told Bruce that you had contact with anyone on the team, and if your brother were here now, he would have turned into the Hulk just on principle alone.

You stared at your phone and thought of your brother, wondering where he was. This wasn't the first time he had gone into hiding, but this felt different; it felt permanent. You sighed and began the text, hoping you would find the help you so desperately needed.

Tony, do you know where he is?

The phone rang almost immediately; you assumed he wanted to talk rather than leave a traceable communication by text. If Bruce had asked him to make the same promise of leaving him in hiding, he was taking it very seriously. "Hey."

"If I knew, I'm not sure that I would tell you."

"So you don't know?"

"Sorry, kiddo. I have no idea."

"But you're looking, right?" There was silence on the other end, but you knew he was still there by the sound of his breathing. "Tony? You're still looking, right?"

"Unofficially, yes. We were told to drop it, but I'm still looking."

"Let me help."

"I don't know if that's such a good-"

You were growing more and more frustrated with being stopped by these two guys who thought they knew what was best for you, and you had reached your limit. "Dammit, Stark. Either I work with you or I work alone. But I'm doing this. It would be smarter if we worked together."

"I forgot how stubborn you are."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'. Now get your ass down here and let me in. I'm outside." He laughed out loud and his voice sounded more lively now, putting you at ease.

"Why the hell did you even call if you weren't going to take a 'no' for an answer anyway?"

~~~

Tony led you up to the lab at the tower and you marveled at the sheer size of the building. You knew what the name Stark meant, but you had never seen it in action and the grandiosity of it up close. "You know, I think you could have made this bigger."

"Shut up, smartass." He closed the door behind you and took your suitcase, setting it down and thrusting his hands in his pockets, looking slightly uncomfortable that you were there. "So, do you want me to introduce you, or are we keeping this under wraps?"

"Well," you began, "the way I see it, your team is down by one. I'm here to offer my services." You walked slowly around the lab, studying the equipment and random scientific tools scattered about. It was eerie how much the environment still felt like Bruce was there.

"Ha! Your brother would kill me. He would straight out kill me."

"You know what I can do, and I know that you have the most advanced training facilities in the world upstate." He looked at you, surprised and about to interject, but you continued. "I do my research, Tony. And you know that you need me. Fortunately for you, big brother isn't here."

"Fine," he sighed, "let's go."

Once you entered the common room, you saw them; the Avengers. The stories Bruce had told you over the last few years were remarkable, entertaining, and sometimes hilarious. Outwardly they looked like a group of friends just hanging out for the night, but you knew that collectively they were an unstoppable force to be reckoned with. And you were anxious to become one of them.

"Guys, I...um...I have someone to introduce you to." Tony took your hand and led you to the front of the group, standing close by your side. "This is (Y/N). She's Banner's sister."

It was hard to contain your laughter when you saw their reactions; the jovial group had immediately turned into one of shock, their eyes wide and expressions confused as they began to whisper to each other. You couldn't help but feel a little bit like you were on display. Steve looked around and noticed the lack of manners, quickly stepping forward to take your hand.

"Ma'am. Pleasure to meet you, I'm Steve Rogers."

"Hi Steve, it's great to finally meet you."

"Finally?" he asked, looking to Tony to find clarification. "I'm sure we would have met before, but we were busy having no idea that you existed."

"Yeah, Bruce can be pretty overprotective. But I suppose I can't blame him, given the circumstances." Steve looked back at you, still unsure of what you meant. "I have certain...abilities, things that he didn't want getting into the wrong-"

You were cut short when she entered the room. She seemed small in her build and fairly unassuming, but you knew that her powers where formidable. After what she had done to Bruce in Wakanda, you had prepared yourself for the day you would meet, and how you would protect yourself from her. The look on her face told you that she knew exactly who you were; she stopped and began to back away when you pursued her.

"Don't leave," you said, your voice cold and authoritative, stopping only a few feet from her. "Yes, I know exactly who you are, and I know what you did to Bruce." Tony quickly stepped up behind you and grabbed your arm, but you forcefully yanked it away. Steve was moving towards her, but he wasn't sure of what you could do and what to protect her from.

"You and I are going to have words, Wanda Maximoff."

Part 2

Wanda's eyes darted from you to Tony to Steve and back, obviously nervous in your presence, and clearly worried about what you were going to do or say to her. "I know you're angry."

"Oh, we're way past that." The skies began to darken and the sounds of thunder and flashes of lightening filled the room with each burst of anger that you felt. Tony squeezed your arm as he looked anxiously out the window.

"I promise you, (Y/N), I never meant to cause him so much pain. I wasn't...I wasn't in my right mind then."

Steve stepped forward, his hand reaching out towards you in an attempt to keep you calm. "She's telling the truth. She was being misled, but she's a part of the team now." He looked at her then back at you, "they made amends before he...went missing."

"She hasn't made amends with me. She didn't hear the things he said, she didn't see the look on his face or the pain in his eyes after that day." Your hands were clenched at your sides, resisting the urge to wrap them around her throat.

"(Y/N), you need to stop!" Tony spun you around to face him and gave you a small shake to pull you from your focus on Wanda. "Look at what you're doing."

Your eyes widened as you looked outside, surprised that you didn't recognize what you were creating. "Shit!" You raised your hands and put them against the window, willing the storm to stop and dissipate. "I'm sorry," you whispered, "sometimes this just happens, and I don't always realize." After a few seconds, the clouds were thinning and the sun was beginning to peek through again; you felt your body relaxing with the atmospheric change.

"Maybe it would be best if we talked about this later," Steve sighed, grabbing your bags. "Let me show you your room, (Y/N), if you don't mind."

"I think that's a good idea," Tony said, gently rubbing your arm as Steve joined you. "I'll come see you in a few, okay?"

You nodded and followed Steve towards the elevator, refusing to look back at Wanda, feeling her eyes on you, knowing that she was watching.

~~~

When the lift reached your floor, Steve led you to the room that would become your new home. He opened the door and waited for you to enter first, following cautiously behind, not knowing if you were still angry and what that would even mean for him. He stood by the door and watched as you looked around, his mind racing with the question that needed to be asked.

"So, (Y/N), I see that you have elemental control." He finally closed the door and set your bags down gently on the bed, then turned to look out the vast window overlooking the busy city streets below. "Is there anything else we need to know? We will need to take you to the lab for indexing later."

"Indexing?"

"It's how we keep a list of who can do what. Kind of like a superpower roster."

"Gotcha," you mumbled as you walked around the room, looking for the right thing to help you demonstrate your most valuable skill. "Well, there is one other thing..." you put your hand on Steve's arm and closed your eyes for just a second. You knew your shift was successful when he jumped back in shock.

"Holy hell!" Steve's face was pale as he looked at you, actually, looked at you after you had shifted to become him. He was looking at himself, and he couldn't comprehend it in the moment. "You...that's me...you're me..."

"Not exactly," you said, your features matching his, but your voice still yours. "It's just a copy, and it's very temporary. The more detailed the shift, the shorter amount of time that I can hold it. I can only hold this form for a few minutes." A few seconds later you released the shift and returned to yourself; you smiled, knowing your point had been very well made.

Steve stood motionless, watching you closely and inspecting your recovered appearance, still in shock at your skill. "That's impressive, (Y/N). Hell, it's downright amazing. I've never seen anything like it."

"Thanks. Yeah, it comes in handy in a fight. I can shift into pretty much anything; throws the other guy off long enough to take the upper hand." Your expression changed from a smile to more solemn, thinking of your brother. "Bruce kept it pretty well a secret from everyone. He worried that I could be used as a weapon in the wrong hands. Even yours."

Steve crossed his arms over his chest and his expression changed to deep concentration. He nodded slowly then looked to the ground, "I can see that. But (Y/N), I promise, if you feel at all threatened here, I want you to come to me and I'll fix it, okay?"

"Deal." You reached out a hand and he took it readily, locked in a firm handshake.

"Okay," he sighed as he released you and clapped his hands together, "first thing's first. FRIDAY?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Have Wanda meet us in the gym." He looked down at you, smiling at the shock on your face. "We're gonna work this out right now."

~~~

Tony, Clint, Natasha and Thor stood at the side of the gym, looking visibly nervous at the sight in front of them. Steve stood between you and Wanda, his shield in his hands as a precautionary measure.

"Hey Cap," Tony called out, "I don't think this is a great idea. I think you missed the mark on this one."

Steve kept his eyes on you as he replied, "Stark, sometimes the best way to solve a problem is a good 'ol fashioned back-alley fight."

Nat rolled her eyes and leaned in to whisper to Clint, "he clearly doesn't remember that he lost all of those back in the day."

"I heard that."

Mistakenly paying too much attention to the bickering, you were hit with the equivalent of a sucker punch when Wanda unleashed her energy to knock you across the room.

"Hey! I didn't say to start-"

You jumped to your feet and raised your hands, releasing lightening from your palms to strike her down in return. She attempted to block it but was unable and shrieked at the pain and impact that drained her energy. Wanda slammed her hands to the ground and shook the floor, knocking you and Steve off balance.

"Yeah, great idea, Cap!" Clint yelled across the room, holding on the wall for support.

Now you were getting angry. With a deep breath, you cleared your mind and began to shift; taking the form of water, you created a wave that quickly overtook her, shifting back to your human form as you landed on her and pinned her to the floor.

"Give up?"

Wanda's eyes began to glow red, and before you could counter her attack, she was in your head. Flashes of Bruce filled your mind, images that you recalled seeing on the television, but also new ones that showed you your fear of seeing him in pain, and your fear of losing your older brother. It took all of your strength to push her out, and once she was gone, you fell to your back, too weakened to stand.

"You bitch," you panted, "too far."

She stood and ran from the room, not looking back. Tony ran to your side and knelt down next to you, helping you sit up. "So, Steve," he growled, "any other bright ideas? Perhaps a fight to the death next time?"

"Yeah, I might have misjudged this one."

~~~

"You two need to get it together. There's no way for either of you to be a part of this team if you can't work out your differences without trying to kill each other." Steve stood at the head of the conference room table, reprimanding you and Wanda, holding an authoritative stance over you. "I feel like I shouldn't have to say that."

"I'm sorry, Captain." Your voice was mumbled and you didn't make eye contact with him.

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to, (Y/N)."

"You're kidding, right?" You finally turned to face him, your tone changing to disbelief, "she attacked me. She's the one who tortured him-" You began to stand as you spoke, but he pushed you back into your chair with a firm shove against your shoulder.

"That is between the two of them, (Y/N). You need to let that go." He turned to face Wanda now as he continued, "And you," he sighed as he pointed at her, "you need to apologize for how you handled yourself back there. That's not helping your case to convince her that you should be here. It doesn't do much to convince me either."

Her eyes widened for a split second, then changed to embarrassment as she looked away. "I'm sorry, Captain." She glanced at you for just a second before looking away, but then decisively looked back to hold your gaze. "I am very sorry, (Y/N). I was acting inappropriately. Please forgive me, it will not happen again."

"(Y/N)?"

You stared at her for a moment before replying, deciding whether or not you could trust her. You wondered what Bruce would do, or rather, what he had done when she made the same apology to him. Steve said he accepted it, but did he really? You may never know if you don't find him, so all you could do now was make your own decision in the moment at hand. You needed this team to help you, so it wasn't in your best interests to mess that up so early in the game.

"I'm sorry too, Wanda. I accept your apology, and ask that you accept mine." You looked at Steve for his approval, hoping it would convince him to let you both leave so you could find solace in the privacy of your room.

Steve nodded, "Go, both of you." He sat in one of the chairs, quietly watching as you both left and turned in opposite directions. Tony passed you, but didn't say anything as he entered the room, taking a seat next to the Captain.

"Took 'em to school, did ya?"

Steve huffed as he rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "Can you imagine what those two could do if they worked together?" He leaned back in the chair, looking at Tony and shaking his head slightly with a worried expression. "It scares the hell out of me, Stark."

Part 3

"She's quite intriguing, isn't she? I know she has every reason to hate me, but I can't help but feel like I need to know more about her. She's a very unique soul."

"Sounds like someone has a crush on the new girl," Pietro laughed from behind the couch, creeping up to startle Wanda out of her thoughts. "Is this true?"

Wanda jumped at his voice and turned to slap the side of his head. "I don't know what you are talking about. I just find her...interesting, that's all."

With perfect timing, you strolled past the entry to the common room, stopping to see who was inside but moving past when you saw Wanda there. You had accepted her apology, and you wanted to be truthful in it, but now you couldn't find anything to talk to her about to start to get to know her like Steve wanted. Steve had also wanted you to work on your physical skills as much as your powers, so you opted for some time in the gym instead of figuring out this uncomfortable situation.

"You had better follow her, sister. She's getting away."

~~~

When you walked into the gym, Steve was already there, working on the punching bag so furiously that it was hard to focus on the speed of his hands as they connected with each hit. "Impressive, Cap. I hope you aren't expecting that kind of performance from me."

"Hey, (Y/N)," he panted, stopping to steady the bag and look at you. "Not right away, but you will have to pass a fight with me before you get a mission assigned." He gave you a small smile and began to remove his gloves, glancing at you curiously as you put yours on. "So, have you talked to Wanda at all since our discussion? Any progress?"

"No," you sighed, "I don't know what to say. This is one of those things that I'd ask Bruce for help with. He's better at this kind of thing than I am." You lowered your gaze to the floor to hide the sadness that was welling up in your eyes at the thought of him, but you could feel the lump in your throat that would betray you when you spoke. "I miss him."

He was about to say something, undoubtedly something supportive, but before he could open his mouth to speak you turned and punched the bag, sending it flying through the air and into the far wall.

"What the hell?" he gasped. "I didn't see that on your skills list."

"When I get emotional, everything amplifies. I'm stronger than most already," you tipped your head towards him, "well, present company excluded, I would imagine. Anyway, I've found that if my emotions are running too high then all of my abilities get stronger. Historically, not awesome."

Nodding with understanding, he walked over to the fallen bag and lifted it with ease. "What did you do?"

"Let's just say that if we have any missions within a hundred miles of San Andreas, I can't go."

"Noted." Steve hung a new bag for you and walked towards the door. "Believe it or not, there may be someone here who could help you learn to control that. That might be something to say to her."

~~~

After your workout and a long hot shower, you retreated to the library to wind down enough to tire yourself for bed. The tower had quite an extensive selection of reading materials for you to choose from, and if you took the time to really look, you could see sections that reflected the personalities of each member of the team. As you ran your fingers softly over the spines of books that obviously belonged to Bruce, you could imagine that he would recommend them to you now. After a few minutes you selected a book on the events of World War 2, hoping to find a way to connect with your new S.O., and to stay on his good side.

"What exactly are you afraid of?" Clint whispered to Wanda, making her jump slightly and distract from watching you thru a small window in the door, just out of your line of sight.

"I'm not afraid," she said, "I just don't know what to say."

"I usually start with 'hi', then go from there. But since you guys started at the 'I couldn't hate you more' phase of the relationship, maybe start with 'I come in peace'." She gasped when he pushed her towards and through the door, stumbling and grabbing the wall for support.

You looked up at the commotion and tried to hide your surprised reaction, not wanting her to think that she had disturbed you. "Hi," you paused and closed your book, "if you wanted to come in, I was just about finished." You stood to offer her the chair and moved towards the door. You didn't know what to say, despite Steve's suggestion; even if you asked her for help, it seemed rude when all you had done up until now was fight.

"No, please...don't leave," she said, looking at books on nearby shelves, though it was clear that she wasn't actually interested in them. She didn't know what to say either.

"We seem to be at an impasse, Wanda. Steve wants us to learn to get along, but I get the feeling that it might not happen if we can't be able to even stay in the same room together."

"I think we can, (Y/N), but I don't know where to begin."

You stood up and set your book on the table, turning to face her and extending your hand. "Hello, I'm (Y/N). It's very nice to meet you."

She stared at your hand for a second, then laughed when the realization hit her of what you were trying to do. "Hello, I'm Wanda. It's my pleasure to meet you." She took your hand in hers and shook it gently.

"See, we can do this," you chuckled. "Piece of cake, right?"

"Right." She sighed when she noticed that she still had your hand in hers and dropped it quickly. "So, what are you reading?"

"Well, um, I'm not sure if it would interest you," you said with uncertainty, wondering why she was acting so timid around you now. "I was just doing some brushing up on my World War 2 history."

"Could that have something to do with our Captain?"

Steve's head poked through the library door and you jumped slightly at the surprise of his deep voice resonating throughout the small room. "No need to impress me, (Y/N). You've already done that." He stepped fully into the room and looked between you and Wanda several times before speaking again. "So, are you ladies learning to get along?"

"We're trying to, yes." You looked at Steve and studied his face for a moment, finding that the look on his face was a cautious one; you knew he had more to say and that this wasn't a social visit. "So, Cap, why are you really here?"

The Captain looked at you and took a deep breath, steeling himself for whatever reaction you might have, remembering how your powers take on their own life when your emotions are heightened. He took a step towards you and put his hand on your arm.

"We think we have a lead on Dr. Banner."

~~~

When the team arrived at the coordinates given to them as a possible sighting of Bruce, there was no one there. It was the third time that Steve thought there was a lead on your brother, but this was the first that he felt secure enough to search in person, so something had to get his attention.

"I'm sorry, (Y/N)," Steve panted as he ran back towards you after completing his search, "I thought for sure this time would be the one."

"It's okay, I've pretty much decided that he doesn't want to be found. It's okay, Cap." You took off your gloves and threw them into the back of the jet, sighing and rubbing the fatigue from your eyes and the dirt from your cheeks. "We can stop now."

"No, we can keep looking. It's important to you that we find him, and we want to be sure he's okay. We can keep going." You knew that Steve was trying his best to be supportive and you would thank him one day for it, but this would not be that day. You were growing tired of the lack of progress and tired of the patronizing looks from the team whenever Bruce's name was mentioned. You were just tired.

"Oh my god," you sighed, clenching your fists together. "If I say we can stop, then dammit, we stop! He took it upon himself to run away and leave me...leave us behind, with not even so much as an indication that he's okay, so fine! He can go!"

Steve looked around, worried as the winds began to grow, much like they had that first day at the tower.

"He obviously doesn't care enough about anyone but himself if he can abandon me...I mean us! I never realized that my brother was such a selfish asshole before, but let's just add that to the list of things that I'm wrong about!"

Dark clouds rolled in over your head, but you made no notice of it. They began to swirl in an ominous pattern that had the team scurrying for the jet to make their escape if you couldn't be stopped. The swirling clouds pulled down towards the ground, churning up the earth only yards away from where you stood.

"(Y/N)!" Steve yelled over the howling winds, but you didn't reply.

Wanda jumped forward and grabbed your face, pulling you in for a kiss to break your concentration. As your lips connected you felt her mind in yours, willing you to calm down and regain control of your own power. Once the shock of the moment passed, you pulled back from with confusion in your expression. The winds died down immediately when your anger slipped away, and you could hear a collective sigh of relief from the team.

Natasha poked her head out from the back of the jet, looking at Steve and holding her hands up in defeat. "Okay, so we're getting along now? I can't keep up." She moved back towards the front of the jet, shaking her head and mumbling under her breath, "Women."