Running Out » Quicksilver

chapter ten

"She can do that?" was Bucky's question as he cast Natasha a curious look.

"I've been reliably informed that she can," Natasha agreed. By reliably informed, she was referring to Steve - who was actually in a different part of the Tower with Vision, working on trying to figure out the origin of the supers that had attacked Megan and Wanda earlier.

At least, they had been. Natasha had a feeling they were probably delayed in that, given the recent loss of power.

"But seriously," Sam sighed, tugging his goggles up onto the top of his head, "where is Thor when you need him?"

"New Zealand with his genius girlfriend," Bucky relayed with a shrug. "Man's got priorities."

Sam huffed. "Wish I had those kind of priorities."

Meanwhile, Clint was perched on top of one of the numerous metal contraptions that hadn't vanished with the power, legs dangling. He had no doubts that Megan would be there soon, but he was more than amused by Pietro's response at the mere mention of her. Poor kid, he thought. He's got it bad.

"You going to come down from there any time soon?" Natasha asked, heading over to his perch.

"Depends on how soon Megan gets here," he said honestly. "Given I don't think I want to be down there while Pietro's going bonkers."

Pietro practically materialized beside Natasha upon hearing his name, peering up at Clint curiously. "What is bonkers?"

"Crazy," Clint reiterated.

Pietro scoffed. "Coming from the one in the air for no reason, I do not see reason for offense."

Natasha chuckled at that, grinning up at Clint. "Kid's got a point."

Pietro smirked proudly, before he was off again in a blur of blue and silver, leaving Clint rolling his eyes before looking back down at Natasha. "At least he's not stuttering."

"Always a bright side, huh?" Natasha smiled.

Clint didn't need to answer that, though, because that was when Megan literally fell through the ceiling and came to a landing a few feet away from Natasha.

The short haired, dark eyed girl looked Natasha over curiously, before flashing a wide smile and offering a hand. "Megan Sinclair. You must be Natasha."

Clint could see Natasha's amused smile, even from his position. He watched the two shake hands before he heard Natasha ask, "What brought you to that conclusion?"

"You're the only other female Avenger I haven't met," Megan shrugged modestly. "Call it a lucky guess."

>>

[ Megan's POV ]

Natasha wasn't what I had expected from what I'd heard of her (which was very little), but that didn't stop me from deciding almost right off the bat that I liked her. She definitely had an in control vibe about her, and as with any fellow lady-hero, I could appreciate that.

I was about to ask her how she managed to put up with so much testosterone on a daily basis when suddenly, from above me, I heard a very familiar voice.

"Hey, shorty," Clint said. When I looked up, I could see his head peeking over the edge, just above his dangling feet. "Wanna help an old man down?"

I was about to come up with a witty remark (I swear I had a good one, too) when there was a rush of wind and suddenly, a majestic Pietro appeared.

But seriously, he scared me half to death.

"You drop from ceilings often?" he asked, a cocky smile on his face.

"Only when I have to save impatient speedsters and other Avengers," I retorted with a smirk.

"So not quite that often," he teased.

I rolled my eyes before returning my attention to Clint. "You want me to use telekinesis, or some other creative form of my abilities?" I asked, arching a brow.

"Telekinesis works," he relayed.

"Telekinesis it is," I agreed. "Don't freak out," was the only warning I offered, before I lifted a hand and gradually maneuvered him off his little nesting area. As I lowered my hand, Clint began to drop (at a completely controlled rate, of course) until he was only a few inches off the ground. Then I dropped him.

He grinned widely. "I'm impressed, shorty."

"You should be," I grinned. "I'm very impressive."

"I'm starting to agree," Natasha mused, looking me over before smiling slightly.

"Don't do that," Bucky warned. I hadn't even realized he was there. "You'll inflate her ego. She seems to have a big one."

"Not as big as Maximoff's," Sam chimed in.

"So glad you two are here," I said sarcastically. "Because I didn't feel ganged up on enough when I was with Stark."

"Did you ever wonder why Pietro and Stark don't last long in a room together?" Bucky asked, as though I hadn't even spoken.

"I'm going to guess this joke's ending has something to do with their egos competing for space," Clint said dryly.

Bucky shot him a look. "There went the joke. And the humor."

Natasha waved a hand dismissively. "Clint lost his funny bone forever ago. Don't let him tell you otherwise."

"If you're all done bickering," I sighed loudly, looking over to Pietro (who seemed about as unamused as I felt), "then we should really be getting out of here."

"Are we all going to free fall through the building?" Pietro asked, a lot more eagerly than I expected.

"No," I said quickly, and at the exact same time as Natasha. I smiled pleasantly at her, before gesturing they all follow me toward the doors. "We're walking out. Through the walls."

There was silence from all of them for a moment as they followed me, and I came to a pause just a step away from the doors, turning to take Pietro's arm. I had to have physical contact to surge my power through - to turn them all intangible with me. I initially reached for his wrist, but he shifted his stance the last minute. When we were holding hands, I didn't argue.

Instead I turned and placed a hand on Natasha's shoulder, before glancing at the boys. "All right, each of you make sure you're in physical contact with . . . anyone touching me."

"That sounds all kinds of wrong," Bucky muttered.

"Shut up, Barnes," Clint sighed.

"Let the record show," Sam said, "that you are infinitely the best for this, Meg. Infinitely."