Experimental

Chapter 10

Thea wandered around the workshop, admiring all of Tony's gadgets.
"Woah," she muttered picking up a chunk of metal. "What's this?" Tony didn't look up from his work.

"That is an old watch of mine. Got destroyed." Thea shrugged and put it in the basket of scraps she had before walking over to Tony.

"What are you working on?"

"Another Arc-Reactor. This one," he tapped his chest, "has been through some shit." He dropped the screwdriver.  "Damn!"

"Here let me," Thea grabbed it and the screwdriver, "the bolt isn't tight enough in this spot. And the copper needs bent s little more. She handed it back to him. "Try it." He tried it, surprised to see it working.

"How-"

"I've always been good at those things." She stood back up. "Steve wants me to start training today so I should probably go. I'll see you at dinner, Stark." She walked away, leaving Tony still dumbfounded behind her.

***

"Thea's good, Tony.  She single-handedly took down four SHIELD agents in three minutes, it's incredible." Steve stood with Tony behind the thick glass window of the training center. Thea sat on the floor, picking at the rubber mat.

"I stand by what I said earlier,  Rogers, there's no other place she could get such kickass training except the Red Room," he crossed his arms, "we need to ask Nat if she remembers her."

"Stark you know that's risky. One mention of that place could have both of them against us. Do you realize how bad that would be for both of us?" Steve shook his head, "I'm sorry, it's not going to happen; Captain's orders." Tony sighed and riddled his face.

"Fine! You come up with some patriotic way to get some information on her. Until then, she's your problem." He stuck a finger at Steve's chest and walked away. Steve nodded and turned back to the window. Thea was standing now, the sun's rays were coming through the large windows and falling onto her body, illuminating her skin and giving it a healthy glow. She hit the bag in front of her, rattling its chains, sweat dropped from her brow. He opened the door, the squeaking hinges catching Thea's attention.

"Now what did the bag ever do to you?" He teased, wrapping up his hands. "How about a breathing target?" Thea glanced at him before sending a powerful kick at the bag, smiling as she watched it fly from the chains and crash to the ground. She turned toward him.

"Bring it old Man."

***

Three weeks have gone by since Thea started training with Steve. Her combat skills have increased greatly, as has her coordination and flexibility. She's studied with Bruce as he's helped her control and strengthen her powers and worked with Tony in the workshop. She's also grown close to Bucky, who was hesitant to be around her at first but soon warmed up to the brunette. Now, she roamed the halls of the tower in sweats and a tee, checking out the different rooms.

"Thea!" She stopped and Bucky jogged over to her.

"Yeah, Buck?"

"Stevie needs you in the training room, Doll. Somethin' about wanting to see how you fight an actual opponent." Thea groaned but nodded, blowing a piece of hair out of her face.

"Lead the way, One Armed Wonder."
***

"Okay, Thea, I wanted to see how much your skills have improved so I've decided to put you up against some of SHIELD's agents," Steve stood in uniform, hands together, on the other side of the training room. Tony stood next to him, and then Bucky and Natasha.

"Good luck, Kid," Tony walked by her, slapping her shoulder. Natasha followed.

"Thanks, Tin Man."

"Alright," Steve sent a signal to Bruce, who gave a few agents the Okay as Thea readied her batons, a gift from Tony. The first agent charged toward her, followed by other. Thea took him down easily, sending a swift kick to his abdomen. The agents were dressed in all black, masks covering their faces. Each agent fell quickly until one was left. It was obviously a female, the black suit hugged her curves as she ran for Thea, who planted her feet in the mat. Just as she took a swing, the woman jumped into the air and landed on Thea's other side. She kicked, knocking one baton from the hands of the brunette woman, and wrapped her legs around Thea's arm, twisting until she fell to the ground.

Something sparked inside of her, turning Thea's mood around like a switch had been flipped. She recovered and stood up, grabbing the female agent by the throat, who once again, used her legs to latch herself onto Thea, sitting on her shoulders. Thea lifted her arms up and grabbed her by the head, swinging her from her shoulders and into the ground, knocking the wind out of her. It took longer for her to recover this time, but when she did she charged Thea who jumped, rolling in the air and landing several feet away in the perfect landing stance; one knee touching the ground, the other foot planted firmly in front. She grabbed the abandoned baton and ran, once again flipping in the air to hitting the woman with the baton. The fight was broken up by Steve. The woman huffed and removed her mask. Thea stopped.

"Natasha?" She offered her hand to the redhead who took it. Steve made it over, followed by Fury.

"Theadora Grace," he held out a black and red uniform, "welcome to the Avengers."