Zavier, Cass, and Cam sat outside the meeting room, clinging to each other for dear life. Agents Corvus (both of them), Imrie, and Phil were inside the meeting room, pleading the kids' case to the holographic figure of Nick Fury.

"Sir, they'll make great agents. They are determined and already part way through their training," Phil said.

"I've seen their determination. They never stop until they succeed," the male Agent Corvus said.

"Our daughter has told us how far they've come. Arthur, tell him," the female Corvus said, her heart pounding against her chest. She knew the consequences if a Fury didn't let the kids stay. However, Agent Imrie wasn't paying any attention to the conversation, instead, his attention was on the three outside the room.

"They're just kids." Arthur's voice broke as he spoke. "Don't you guys understand?" He turned towards the others, hands clasped in front of him.

"Elaborate, Agent Imrie," Fury ordered. Arthur's eyebrows knit together, looking at the screen with Fury's face on it.

"These kids have seen things no child their age should see. They've been through things that not even you or I could imagine. They're eight years old, too young for all of this."

"My daughter is eight, are you saying that she shouldn't join?"

"Not at all, Agent Corvus. You and your husband were able to make that choice, with Par's consent. Vi and Peia don't have parents to make that choice for them or to tell them the risks," Arthur said, using his hands to speak. "They need to be a part of this decision. They need to be in here with us."

"No offence, Agent Imrie, but as you said, they're kids, they don't know how to decide on something of great importance such as this," Fury said.

"But, Sir-"

"Don't 'but, sir-' me, Agent. They will stay out there." Arthur submitted under the glare of the Director. "Now, Agents Corvus, Agent Coulson, tell me, will they be able to make the right calls. If they are to live here, I need to know I can trust them."

Phil sucked in a deep breath. Director Fury didn't trust anyone. This was going to be difficult.

Cam, Zavier, and Cass sat outside the meeting room, watching the adults speak. Cam could read their lips well enough, but didn't have the heart to tell her friends what they were saying. Yet somehow, Zavier and Cass knew. They sat out in the whitewashed hall for what seemed like hours, but was only mere minutes, until Zavier just couldn't handle it anymore. He stood and headed towards the door. He didn't stop, even when both Cam called his name in confusion. Cass was right on her brother's heel, knowing what he was about to do. He reached up and took hold of the doorknob, opening the door quietly, silently. He stood in the doorway, Cass just behind him. They both stood with their arms crossed across their chests, legs spread apart. The adults didn't notice them until Zavier spoke up.

"You're going to send us away, aren't you?" His voice wavered, slightly terrified of what might happen to him and his sister, were they to go to an orphanage, but he kept his face stoic, solid.

"They'll separate us," Cass added, a tremor in her own voice as well.

"They'll never come back." Cam's voice was quiet, scared, meak. Her eyes swam with tears as she thought of her only friends, seperated, alone, gone. Agents Corvus looked at each other, Phil glanced at Fury, Arthur smiled at his little defiant dancers.

"We're staying." The statement was final, said in unison.

The room was quiet.

"Well it's a damn good thing that we came to the same decision," a voice said from the whiteboard. Cass and Zavier turned their heads to see the scowling face of Director Fury. "Agent Coulson, take them to their quarters."

Phil stood.

"Yes, Sir." He started towards the three kids, all of whom were smiling, and stopped. "Where are their new quarters, Sir?"

At 8-years-old, Cam, Cass, and Zavier all started their real training. Cass and Cam still spent most of their time dancing, but Zavier started taking two other classes just as regularly as Dance; gymnastics and mixed martial arts. Together, Cass and Cam began basic weapons training, where they learned how to use their bodies and weapons to defeat their enemies. Arthur was against the kids taking weaponized classes so early, but the three enjoyed them so much. Agents Corvus enrolled their daughter in the second grade, the same school that Cass and Zavier went to. There was only a month left of school before summer, but Cam knew most of the information already, having learned it from her parents.

Juggling school and agent training was difficult for the three, but there was no Uncle Abidemi in the mix to confuse everyone. Zavier and Cass only told Arthur what had really happened. They ghosted over the subject with Cam, refused to bring it up around Phil, and didn't have a good enough relationship with the Corvus's to talk about it. Phil cleaned up the whole mess all pretty and topped it off with a bow. To this day, neither Cass nor Zavier know which blow killed their uncle.

However, now that they were together with Cam, doing the things they loved without any interruptions, they were happy. For what seemed like the first time in three years, they were happy.

Cass, Cam, and Zavier began to branch off from each other. Zavier didn't want to do dance any more, that much was clear. He quit the class entirely and started doing gymnastics, where he learned to be a tad bit more graceful, but still managed to look like a bulky chicken. As time went on, as the three graduated from elementary school to middle school, they began basic weapons training classes. They learned to shoot guns, use daggers and throw knives. The learned how to defend themselves from attacks and how to get out of the way when necessary. Along with these lessons, Cass started an Intelligence class, where she learned about the art of being Undercover. Zavier began a mixed martial arts class, where he learned to do more than just defend himself with his fists. Cam began training under Nurses Loordes, the twins who were there when Zavier and Cass first came to SHIELD. They were all good agents, everyone could see that. Together, they made a great team, almost unstoppable. Separated, they were irrational, uncooperative, angsty.

Starting High school was one of the most terrifying things Cam had ever done. She didn't know how Zavier and Cass were calm about it until she remembered that they had seen things far more horrifying than a few kids who thought they were the biggest people ever and a teacher who have you the stank eye and more homework than everyone else. They weren't worried about relationships or status or importance. They went to school to learn, not socialize. Cam, on the other hand, had read all the high school books. She knew that status was important to the students. She needed to survive.

Cass kept a calm exterior, while she was freaking out in the inside. She was sure everyone would hate her and the bullies would be relentless. She was scared for her brother and for Cam. She was not excited about homework. She too had read the books and knew that high school was not easy.

Zavier, on the other hand, couldn't be bothered to care about homework, people, or status. He just needed to go to the school to keep Coulson off his back. He didn't intend to have friends, get a girlfriend, or become popular, all of which he did. Cass and Cam could only watch as their little brother became the high and mighty around school.

It started on the second week of school. He was sitting with Cass and Cam at lunch, per usual. One of the junior boys thought it would be funny to throw a football at them. It missed hitting any of them, but it did destroy the beautiful omelette Cam had made that morning. Cam was pretty mad, however, Cam wasn't one to let her anger overcome her, so she started to cry instead. She hadn't meant to, and it was only a few tears, but it was enough to piss Zavier off completely. Zavier glowered at the group,

"Zav, don't-" Cass tried to stop her brother from doing anything stupid, but he was up quicker than she could say anything. He stormed over to the juniors, who were laughing their faces off, howling like coyotes.

"Apologize, now," he ground out through his teeth, attempting to keep himself calm.Cass would be disappointed in him if he got suspended only a week into school. The boys just laughed even harder, even louder.

"I'm not going to ask again."
"Look, kid," the guy who threw the football stopped laughing long enough to stand and talk, "I don't know who you think you are but-"

Before he could continue, Zavier's constant training kicked into action. He lunged forward, grabbing the guy's dominant hand, his left, and twisted it. He ran up behind the guy and bent his already twisted arm, making the guy cringe. He then pushed the already pained arm up the guy's back, causing him to cry out in pain and slammed him against a wall. The other juniors looked between each other. Two of the remaining five stepped forward, prepared to fight.

"Zav!" Cass voice came out as a sigh. She was already irritated with him, but Zavier wasn't done yet. His blood still raged, his vision still red. He turned to the other two, who seemed kind of terrified, but one still swung an arm, which Zavier dodged easily. Zavier noticed the other guy picking up a chair and threw it at him, Zavier lifted his right forearm and blocked it, but felt a sharp pain course through his arm.

"Zavier!" Cass yelled from her spot at the small table. She stood up and started forward, but Cam grabbed her arm, shaking her head. Cass glanced between her friend and her brother. Zavier was doing well by himself, but she couldn't just let him fight three guys by himself. She tore her arm from Cam's grip and charged towards the fight.

Ignoring the pain, Zavier saw the Hit-and-Miss guy and Mr. Chairman charge at him. He jumped over them with the skill of an acrobat.

"Getting tired already?" Zavier taunted, then saw his sister come up behind him.

"Sit back down, I can handle a few pansies," Zavier ordered, "plus, this fight is just getting started." Cass grinned at her brother.

"I can't let you have all the fun, now can I?"

Zavier circled his attackers, taunting them some more. Mr. Chairman, now frustrated, charged, Zavier stepped around him and tipped him off his balance making him fall face first into the tile. Now distracted, Hit-and-Miss had an opening. He clenched his fist and swung as hard as he could. Zavier caught his fist and stepped directly behind him, slammed his back against the tile, knocking the wind out of him. The first guy Zavier had attacked, the one who was just now recovering from a twisted arm and a face full of plaster, stood and staggered over to Cass, who was waiting patiently.

"Come on, big fella! You're almost there," she cooed. Before he charged her and before any of the other guys had a chance to continue the fight, a few teachers ran into the scene, pushing the two parties apart. One of the guys spat at Zavier's feet. Zavier growled and lunged forward, but Cass put her arm out and caught him before he got too far.

"What's going on here?" One of the teachers asked angrily.

"This fresh meat's the coolest kid in the world, that's what's going on!" A senior said, walking up and grinning. He slapped a hand on Zavier's shoulder. Zavier would have seen it as an attack and defended himself, had Cass' hand not been on his shoulder. Cam stood and joined the two.

"I can explain what happened, sir."

After the whole explanation from Cam, in full detail (hand motions and all), the three guys got suspended for two days, Zavier got two lunch detentions (for being in the fight, but never delivering any blows), and Cass got let off with a warning (the teacher just so happened to love her and may or may not have been rather creepy about it).

From that day onwards, everyone knew Zavier's name. He was 'the kid who could fight'. He was even given a nickname: Creed.

"After that one black guy from Rocky," one kid had to explain to Zavier. Cass wasn't given as much popularity, but a few people would point her out as 'Zavier's little sister'. Coulson, however, didn't take the fight as well as everyone at school did.

"A fight, Zavier? On your second week of school? Fury will not be happy about this." Coulson ran his hand over his head., sighing deeply.

"I'm sorry, sir," Zavier said ground out, although he really wasn't sorry at all. "It won't happen again."

"Good." Coulson nodded. He looked down at the 14-year-old boy before him. He was young, too young, for the look of rage on his face. Coulson knew that rage was Zavier's resting face, and that wasn't a good thing. The best agents were stoic, they didn't let themselves have emotions like that, even rage. Coulson also knew that that rule was complete baloney and that Zavier was a prepubescent boy and having no emotions was impossible. However, it worried the Agent that Zavier was constantly angry, that he never stopped glaring, that he hardly spoke. Coulson cared for the boy, which he, once again, knew he shouldn't do. Good agents don't get attached to others, especially other agents, but Zavier, Cassiopeia, and Camelopardalis were important to him. He'd seen them age decades in only 9 years. He had no idea how they would turn out, no idea how they would end up. And that thought scared him more than anything.

Cass was in the school library, reading her book while she was waiting for Cam so they could work on their English project. Cass had already grown accustomed to the place being their official hangout. She'd also grown accustomed to being approached about Zavier and getting his autograph over the past three months of high school. So, when a boy, junior, 17 years old, sat next to her, she simply sighed dramatically.

"Look. I'm not going to try to use any cliché pick up lines on you, but I would really like to know your name," the boy said. Cass looked up from her book, glaring slightly. She opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped short by the utter beauty of the boy sitting next to her.

It was his smile that she noticed first. It was a half smirk, as if he'd expected her reaction, but it was also half relieved that she actually looked up at him. After she'd managed to get past his white teeth that practically glittered in the sunlight, she noticed his strong jaw, his sharp cheekbones, his pointed nose. His eyes were a emerald green colour, shining brilliantly with amusement. His long black hair was tied back in a short ponytail, a few of the strands falling against his face. Any other body type, and Cass may have reached up and cut the ponytail right off his head, but the ponytail fit the boy perfectly. His skin was an olive tone, hinting at a hispanic background. One of his muscular arms was draped over her chair nonchalantly, the other resting peacefully on the desk.

Every fiber in Cass' brain told her to be an agent, to not act like a stupid person. Her brain was slowly melting into a mush of 'pretty boy' syndrome, but Cass shook her head and regained her composure. She wiped the stupid grin off her face and returned to her book.

"You already know my name," she said, still trying to keep the smile off her face. The boy huffed, scowling.

"What book are you reading?" He asked. Instead of answering, Cass lifted her book higher, so he could see the cover. He huffed again. Cass found the sound oddly satisfying, so she continued to irritate him.

"Talk to me," he said. Cass forced herself to glare and slammed her book down.

"If you want 'Creed's' autograph or whatever, you're not getting it from me," Cass said her brother's nickname as sarcastically as possible. The boy scoffed.

"That kid? Please, I honestly think he's a pushover," the boy said. Cass' glare narrowed. Her hands tightened into fists.

"What did you say about my brother?" Cass' voice was so low and deadly, that the boy backed away slightly in his chair, hands raised in surrender.

"I was kidding. Well, I was trying to impress you. I really admire the guy," he said. Cass' body untensed, her hands uncurled.

"Well then, are you done?"

"No. You still haven't told me your name."

"Like I said, you already know me."

"I've heard of you, yes. You're Creed's younger sister-"

"Older."

"Sorry, older sister. But I don't know you personally."

"Believe me, you don't want to know me personally."

"Believe me, I do."

Cass looked up at the boy and scowled. She stared at him for a moment, and allowed him to stare back. Now, her brain was screaming at her. Don't let him in. Don't let him in. It'll end terribly. Don't let him in. You're an agent, not a girlfriend. You're a soldier, not really romantic material.

"I can tell you're unsure as to trust me or not. I was there, at the fight. Not in the fight, but I saw you. I saw how ready you were to fight alongside your brother." The boy stood. "My dad is an ex-boxer. If you ever want some practice punching people, head down to Crane's Boxing. Lame name, I know. Ask the person at the front desk for Synth."

Cass scowled, but nodded.

"I'll do that." It's not like she needed any practice punching people, she did it every day, but maybe, just maybe, punching this guy and beating him up would be a nice birthday present.

He put his hand on her shoulder and smiled. She managed to smile back. He started to walk away as Cam wandered into the library. He stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked, whistling a Fall Out Boy song as he went. He passed Cam and nodded his head at her. Cass picked up her book and attempted to cover her smile before Cam arrived by her.

"Who was that?" Cam hissed as she slid into the seat he was just sitting in. "Oh, it's still warm."

Cass shrugged.

"Let's get to work."

"Zavier would freak-"

Cass grabbed Cam's arm roughly.

"Ow!"

"You're not telling Zavier."

"I was kidding! Geez."

Cass and Cam worked on their project for a few minutes, before Cam spoke up again.

"He was cute though."

"Cam!"

Zavier wasn't ever alone. Ever. It was a change, a nice change, for the first month, but by the time January rolled in, bringing his sister's birthday, Christmas, and winter, Zavier was getting rather irritated by the lack of thought he got. Naturally, he got the few blissful minutes before bed and when he got up in the morning, but at school he was constantly surrounded by lovesick teenagers and hateful adults and when he was at SHIELD, someone was always breathing down his neck; Coulson, Arthur, the Corvus', his S.O., his teachers, Cam, even Cass. Everyone was always everywhere he was. It seemed as if he couldn't even piss anymore without someone knocking down the door to see what he was doing.

He was just about to reach his limit of number of people he allowed to follow him around when he met her. Cliché as it is, Zavier suddenly felt as if those two lunch detentions and the constant nagging of all these people was worth it when he caught sight of Avyanna Aselma. She was hands down the prettiest girl in the school. Not to mention, she knew how to handle herself in a fight. It just so happened that Zavier met her when he was sitting at the same exact table he had been when he became 'Creed'. She was a sophomore, only a year older than him (that's not too bad, Zavier tried to tell himself). She was arguing with her boyfriend, a senior, who was one of the cruelest kids at the school. Zavier had heard of the two before, they were the school couple. So when Zavier saw them fighting that day in the cafeteria, he was rather surprised. Unlike Cass and Cam, Zavier hadn't read all the high school books or seen any of the movies, so he had no idea how couples really acted.

It went something like this.

"You cheap son of a-"

"Ah, ah, my little pumpkin. A proper woman doesn't swear."

"Proper woman? Proper woman? Don't 'proper woman' me, Anthony! And don't you ever call me your little pumpkin! I am not yours and I am not a pumpkin!"

Zavier didn't usually like to get into other people's business, but Cass and Cam weren't there (doing a project in the library or something like that) and Zavier had finally managed to get rid of all of his followers, so he thought he'd listen in to this little brawl. He turned to find a 5'2 girl, her hair raven black and flowing gracefully down her back like a waterfall of ink. She was standing in front of a guy who stood at least a foot taller than her, glaring daggers. He looked slightly amused, but Zavier was good at reading people and it was obvious that he was also slightly terrified of her; the twinge in his eye, the unbalance of his stance as he leaned away from her, the wavering of his lips as her anger pulsed off of her.

"Anthony, you know what, screw you." She turned to walk away and all the amusement vanished from Anthony's face, replaced with undeniable anger. He reached out and grabbed Avyanna's wrist. Avyanna cried out in pain from the pressure of his hands. A few people backed away, the cafeteria silent. Zavier stood and was about to run to her aid, when he saw the fury in her eyes. Even he felt a tingle of fear in his heart.

"Let go of me, Anthony," she snarled, baring her teeth like an animal.

"Don't you walk away from me," Anthony replied in a voice that was far less terrifying than hers. For a second, nobody breathed, nobody moved, everyone was frozen. When it was clear Anthony wouldn't let go, Zavier started forward again. Before he could anything to help, Avyanna lifted her hand to her face and grabbed Anthony's wrist with her other hand. She twisted her captured arm in a circle, releasing herself from Anthony's grip. Using Anthony's arm as leverage, she pulled herself on to his back and scrambled up his shoulders like a monkey.

'A really hot monkey,' Zavier added in his inner monologue.

She wrapped one arm around Anthony's neck and put the other on top of his head, wrapping her legs under his armpits, completely immobilizing him.

"Don't ever touch me again," she seethed. She jumped off of his back and landed gracefully on the floor. Her eyes found Zavier's gaze. Zavier hadn't even realized that he was smirking until she grinned at him and walked past, a sway in her hips. Zavier couldn't help but watch her leave.

Cam was the only one who hadn't managed to find a love interest and, strangely, she was okay with that. She was so caught up in studying and getting perfect grades, being the teacher's pet in every single one of her classes, and becoming friends with as many people as she could, Cam didn't even think about boys. She was content to be her own person. Not to mention, her father had threatened to kill anyone who attempted to touch her, so she decided that it would be best to stay away from potential love interests, for now, at least.

Cass, however, was perfectly fine with using her one break of the week on Thursday to head down to Crane's Boxing and ask for Synth. She even gave the guy at the front desk a nice, pretty smile, and attempted to ignore the look of disdain on his face.

"Watch out for that boy. He could hurt you," the guy called to her as she walked towards the boxing ring.

"I can take a punch!" She called gleefully back.

"That's not what I mean," the man said under his breath. Had Cass been any other girl, she wouldn't have heard him, but Cass was far more than any other girl and could hear him loud and clear. Yet, still, she ignored all the warnings in her head. She smirked as she entered the boxing room.

Synth's match was just finishing, him coming out on top. Cass set her bag down and grinned, clapping slowly. Everyone turned to her.

"Cassiopeia!" Synth called, raising his boxing gloves in the air. Cass smiled, sickly sweet.

"You said you wanted to help me fight?" She said in as innocent of a voice as possible. He grinned.

"You bet I did, Sweetheart!" He ducked under the ropes that closed off the boxing ring. He pulled off his gloves and shook her hand.

"Follow me. I'll get you some gloves," he said. She kept her smile up and batted her eyelashes once.

"No thank you. I have my own pair." Cass reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of gloves. The other men there expected her gloves to be hot pink, but then she pulled out these pitch black gloves with red paint dripping down the sides. She flashed another smile and she slipped them onto her hands.

"You'll need a teeth guard and a helmet..." Synth tried, but Cass was already in the ring, bouncing back and forth on her feet.

"Come on, Slow poke. Fight me."

Synth smirked and reentered the ring. Cass tapped her glove against her chest once.

"Come at me, Bro."

"Cam, where is Cass?" Zavier asked for the fifth time, this time a little firmer. Cass sighed loudly and slammed her book shut.

"For the fifth time, Zav, she's out taking her break." Cam attempted to keep her voice steady, but her anger was smoldering rather rapidly.

"She's seeing someone, isn't she?" Zavier asked, just to see how long Cam can keep this up. Cam crossed her arms and looked at him warily.

"Look, Zavier, if you really need to know where your sister is that badly, just ask Coulson. We've all got trackers in our blood anyway." With that, she stormed off to find a nice, quiet place to read her book. A searing anger burned within Zavier, only his was towards his sister. She never, ever went anywhere without telling him where especially if it were with some stranger. He picked up his stuff and walked toward Coulson's office.

"I'm not going to fight about the fact that you put tracking devices in my blood without my knowing," was the first thing Zavier said when he found Agent Coulson. The Senior Agent looked unamused.

"Then what have you come to fight about, Zavier?" Coulson asked, still looking at his paperwork.

"I don't know where Cass is and Cam won't tell me," Zavier said, eyeing the agents around him.

"It seems to me like she doesn't want to be found." Coulson stood. "Cassiopeia is 15-years-old. She's brave and she's strong and she's an agent, wherever she is, she's safe. I don't think she needs her brother breathing down her neck."

Zavier growled as Coulson left. He turned on his heel and went to find Imrie.

"Agent Imrie? Agent Imrie! Arthur!" Zavier burst into the dance room, forcing a look of panic onto his face. Arthur was dancing.

"Arthur, Cass is missing." Zavier always did his best not to lie to Agent Imrie, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Arthur Imrie stopped dancing mid-leap and ran towards Zavier. Imrie pushed past the kid, saying, "Follow me."

Imrie jogged down the halls of the SHIELD building, Zavier right behind him. He opened a Level 5 clearance door, a door Zavier had always wanted to open, but being only level 2, had no authority. Inside was row after row of computer monitors.

"Agent Imrie? Why have you brought a level 2 into this room? We've talked about this!" An agent that Zavier didn't recognize asked, voice firm, a twinge of anger laced in his voice.

"We have an agent missing. Agent Cassiopeia Harper-Ali. I just came to see where she is."

"We have eyes on her. She's safe. She's just taking her free time to practice kickboxing." Zavier glanced at all of the monitors around him and finally found the one that showed where his sister was. She was in a boxing ring, a group of guy's surrounding her. She had a wicked grin on her face as she lifted her black boxing gloves to her face. An address lined the bottom of the screen. Zavier turned on his heel and walked back out the door.

"Zavier? Zavier! Where are you going?" Imrie called after him.

"To get my sister," Zavier grumbled back.

"C'mon, boys! Is that all you've got?" Cass asked, letting out a laugh. Three of the seven guys in the room were already sitting out of the ring, a bloody nose or a set a black eyes to go with their wounded egos. Synth was standing off to the side, laughing hysterically. The two were supposed to fight, but the other boys wanted a stab at it first. The four left in the ring advanced simultaneously, but Cass was better than they were. She pounded her gloves together, a wicked grin on her face. She ducked under one punch and spun around another, using the grace she had learned from Imrie to keep her level. She jab a guy in the ribs and kicked another in the face. His friend caught him and the two fell to the ground. She sent rapid fire punches into the chest of the fourth guy, until he was laying against the rope, breathless, groaning. Synth helped him over to the other side. Cass helped one of the guys off the floor and kicked at him, but she grabbed her foot and twisted her around so she was staring at the ground. She scowled. He punched her stomach once before trying to flip her over her own head. As he did so, she used the momentum he had given her to kick his chin with her free foot. He fell backwards, grabbing his jaw just as she landed on both her feet.

She turned to the final two guys who simply scrambled over the rope in fear. With the ring completely clear of everyone but herself, she lowered her hands and gave off a girlish smile. The few other people who were watching gave a round of quiet clapping, giving each other looks of amusement. Synth jumped into the ring, pulling on his gloves. Cass grinned and pulled off her shirt, revealing her sports bra. Synth looked impressed.

"This is going to be fun."

They circled each other for a second, scoping each other out. Synth was the first to make a move, which was his own fault, because it gave Cass time to figure out how he hit. He went first for her face, and then for her stomach. She allowed him to hit her in both places. She retaliated with a high kick, which he blocked.

"I've spent the last twenty minutes observing your moves, Cassiopeia, I know how you fight," he said. She raised an eyebrow, a smirk on her face.

"Do you?" She grabbed his wrist and spun around, so her back was to him.

"Ow! Jeez, woman!" He yelled as she bent his wrist. She pressed her back into him and flipped him over her. Landing hard on the ground, Synth groaned. Cass walked over and sat across his chest.

"You see, the place where I learned to fight, right about now, I'd be punching your lights out," she said in the most sing-songy voice she could muster. In a moment of what seemed like defeat, Synth pulled off his gloves. Before Cass could do anything but smile, Synth grabbed her arms and flipped her onto her back, hands pinned above her head, knees pressed against her chest.

"Hmm," said she, "That could have gone a little better." Synth grinned above her. "You smell bad."

"So do you."

She pushed him off her by straightening her legs. Now standing above him, she said "Never tell a girl she smells bad. It'll always end badly for you."

Synth stood up.

"Since you took your gloves off," she said, "I find it only fair to take off mine."

"I've seen what you can do with gloves on, I'm not sure I want to find out what your knuckles feel like," Synth said. Cass flashed him a smile before throwing a punch, which he managed to block. He went for her face again and then, much like she predicted, for her stomach. She blocked both attacks with ease and sent a few his way, each one he struggled to block. She landed one on his chest, which sent him stumbling backwards. Before he could recover, she sent a roundhouse kick his way which completely knocked him off balance and he was once again on the floor. Smiling with pride and breathing heavily, she offered a frowning Synth her hand. She helped him up, but before she could throw one more punch, or even think about it, the door burst open and a raging Zavier stormed into the building.

"Cassiopeia!" With an irritated sigh, Cass dropped her hands.

"Yes Zavier?" She asked, walking over to the ropes and jumping out of the ring. She looked back at Synth and glanced down at her gloves. Still breathing heavily, he walked over to them and tossed them at her.

"What are you doing here?" Zavier asked walking over to her as she neared her bag. She shrugged.

"Taking my break," she told him nonchalant. She stuffed her gloves into her bag and pulled out some boxing tape, and as she started to wrap it around her hands; Synth jumped out of the ring after her.

"Without telling anyone?" The anger was obvious in Zavier's voice. Cass could hear him straining to keep calm.

"I told Cam. And it's not like I was in any real danger." She looked over at the boys who were mending their wounds. She felt a smile creep up her face. "Besides, what's it to you where I am anyway?"

"I can't protect you when you're out gallivanting like a kid!"

"Newsflash, Zavier, I am a kid. I'm 15 years old and last time I checked, that's still kid age. And I don't need you protecting me anyway. I'm perfectly fine on my own," she snapped. Zavier glared.

"Look, Creed," Synth tried, "I asked her to come here, it's not her fault-"

"Shut up, Synth," Zavier hissed, "No one was talking to you." Cass' eyebrows knit together and she glared at her brother, stepping between the two.

"Don't talk to him like that, Zavier," she said, her voice low. It was a warning, almost a threat. Zavier stepped closer to his sister.

"Or what?" He seethed. The two stood face to face, glaring at each other.

The others in the room may not have understood, but the siblings knew all too well that this was a dangerous game they were playing.

Cass let her glare answer for her.

"They're watching us, Cass. They've got trackers in our blood," Zavier whispered just low enough for he to hear. He attempted to keep his voice steady.

"And?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"And that means that I can find you wherever you are. You can't hide from me," he said, staring down at her, his dark eyes intense and full of fury. Cass gave no indication of standing down. For a few seconds, she just stared.

"Who said I was hiding?"

"You can do all this at SH...home. We need to go now, Cass," Zavier said,.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"We have to go home now, Cassiopeia." Zavier put a hand on her arm. She pulled away from him as if his touch burned her skin.

"Home, Zavier? Home? I don't have a home. Our home was burned to the ground years ago. That place isn't my home, it's where I live. It's not home." Maybe that wasn't the full truth. Maybe Cass had to lie a little to get her point across. She hoped to heaven that Phil or Arthur weren't listening.

"Fine. Every time you are here, I will drag you out of that ring, so help me Cass." Zavier said. Cass turned to the nearest punching bag.

"Then you'll be here every day because this is where I'll be." She slammed her fist into the bag once, a second warning. Zavier, still fuming, turned and left. As soon as the door slammed shut again, she rapid fire punched the punching bag until Synth put a hand on her shoulder.

"You okay?" He asked. Cass fought back tears.

"Yeah," she punched the bag again, with enough strength for it to swing, "Fine."

It wasn't the first time Cass and Zavier fought, and it most definitely wasn't the worst of it, but Cam felt extremely awkward being around them when they were in a state such as they were now. It had been a few months since their argument and both had held true to what they said. Cass was at Crane's Boxing everyday and Zavier was there everyday to take her home. Cass would never admit to anyone that the real reason she went to Crane's Boxing everday was to make Zavier irritated. She knew it pissed him off that she had a life outside of him. She desperately needed a life outside her brother. But it wasn't just her brother. It was everything. She needed a life away from SHIELD, a life that didn't involve training and fighting to the death all the time. Sparring like she did with Synth was so much more enjoyable than sparring with the other SHIELD trainees because there's no goal. You don't win or lose for a grade, you win or lose just for the sake of winning. She also would never admit that she may have developed...feelings...for Synth after the first two months of her daily visits.

Zavier hated Synth with every ounce of his being. Synth was the boy who'd stolen his sister away from him. Zavier hated it every time he had to walk through the ghetto streets towards Crane's Boxing and he hated walking through the doors. He hated the way the floor creaked under his feet and the way the place smelled of sweat. He hated the way the ropes of the rings creaked when someone was fighting. He hated standing there like an irritated parent waiting for Cass to finish talking or to stop punching that bloody punching bag. He hated seeing her talk to Synth. He hated watching her laugh. He hated watching her smile at the sight of Synth. He hated it because he wanted to see her like. He hated it because she deserved to smile and to laugh and to have fun, but as soon as she walked away from Synth and Crane's Boxing, as soon as she was alone with him, she was angry again, sad again. He hated it.

Cam, the poor child, was caught in the middle of all of this. She hated watching the siblings fight. It was like watching a hurricane and a blizzard have a face off and she was the poor soul trapped in the middle of it. They would be on good terms eventually. She just had to wait for that to happen. However, she couldn't help but think that it was her fault. Maybe if she had convinced Cass to stay...maybe if she had told Zavier where she was...maybe if she had forced Zavier to stay.... She felt personally responsible. So she would be damned before she'd let the siblings break up permanently.

And I never wanted anything from you
Except everything you had and what was left after that too, oh
Happiness hit her like a bullet in the back
Struck from a great height by someone who should know better than that

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
Can you hear the horses?
'Cause here they come

Run fast for your mother, run fast for your father
Run for your children, for your sisters and brothers
Leave all your love and your longing behind
You can't carry it with you if you want to survive

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hello again my friends. My dearest readers, I do hope you are enjoying this journey. I know that we haven't gotten to the actual Marvel universe with Tony and Steve and all them peoples, but consider this as the first of their movies. You have to watch the First Avenger before you can watch The Avengers and the first Iron Man. So, this is basically their first movie. :)

I do hope you like it. If there are any mistakes, please point them out to me. I am really bad at editing s it'll be much appreciated. How is your day today? I hope you're well. I'm pretty good, if any of you were wondering, a little stressed from school and stuff, but pretty good. I'll be updating as soon as I can. Thanks loves!

The song is "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence and the Machine.

If you ever need to talk to me about anything, anything at all, you can just drop a message in my Inbox. Don't even ask if you can talk to me, just start ranting or whatever you need to do. I'll be an open ear. I love you all so dearly. Please do remember to vote. It'd be much appreciated by me and my fellow authors.

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Strawberry_Bubbles

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Thanks my loves. I hope you all have a wonderful day.

With a lot of gratitude and a gigantic smile,

Bucky.