Radioactive: The Mystery Avenger

14~ Gone

*Jodie's P.O.V*

Bruce and I have been working non stop in the lab for the last 24 hours, figuring out all these complicated equations and stuff and setting up the right equipment. I did not think it would take a full day to do all of that. Not to mention eight pieces of toast, four cups of coffee, three pots of yoghurt and eighteen muesli bars to keep us going. Phil, Natasha and Fury walked in at different times to see how we were doing, but we have told them all the same thing: "Not yet." Phil then told Bruce to keep me away from the coffee, as he could see how buzzed I was.

When we at last decided to take a break, Bruce went off to his room to sleep but I was too buzzed on caffeine to sleep, so I went to the training room and grabbed six throwing knives and a bandana, setting up a training exercise that would test my hearing, reaction skills and sense of direction. Natasha told me this sort of exercise is good training for if you ever find yourself fighting in an area with bad lighting or even darkness. I agree with her on that; I don't want a repeat of that fight in the alley. I dimmed the lights slightly and pressed GO on the exercise. I tied the blindfold around my eyes held the first knife ready. In this exercise the targets pop up randomly at any distance, so depending on the frequency pitch of the target, I can tell if a target is at close or long range.

I moved carefully on my feet, trying to make as minimum of noise as possible. I heard a noise on my right and threw the knife, hearing a satisfying thunk and a noise telling me I'd hit my mark. Another noise and I spun around, throwing the knife as hard as I could, followed by another noise telling me I'd hit my mark. I did this for three more rounds, and when I got down to the last knife I braced myself, knowing the last one is usually the most challenging.

There was a buzzing sound which meant someone had stopped the exercise, and I heard something behind me and prepared to throw a knife in that direction - but I heard footsteps and someone's quiet breathing, along with the scent of cologne. I whirled around and heard a gasp of surprise. I smirked, knowing I hadn't hurt anyone. With my free hand I lifted the blindfold up and raised an eyebrow at Steve, who currently had my knife blade hovering inches from his throat.

I am honestly surprised his fighting instincts hadn't kick in and he hadn't thrown me to the ground. Then again, he is a gentlemen from the 1940's and probably doesn't believe in hurting a woman. Over his shoulder I saw Phil and Fury in the doorway. Whether they had called out to me and I just hadn't heard because I was so busy concentrating or if they were just observing, I don't know. Lowering the knife I sighed and turned away, dropping the blindfold to the floor. "And people wonder why I don't trust easily..." I muttered, clenching my fist around the knife handle. "Because you're always sneaking up on me!" In my anger I whirled the knife away, embedding it deeply in a target near Fury's head. He glanced at me in surprise but I stormed off to the locker room, ignoring Phil as he tried calling after me.

I sat on the floor with my back against my Papa's locker, running my fingers over the chipped and dusty frame of the photo taken on my 16th birthday with me and the boys covered from head to foot in mud, grass and soap suds. Oh, how I miss those guys. It makes me wonder if they ever wondered what had become of me, because if Fury had kept his promise and gotten the police off my tail, it would seem as if I had vanished without a trace, which is basically what happened. I heard the locker room door open but didn't look up, quickly wiping my eyes as Steve sat beside me on the floor. He didn't say anything, he just sat there in silence before flicking his hand at the photo still in my hand.

"So, where are you in there?" he asked quietly. I gave a small smile and pointed out my teenage self sitting on the shoulders of Leo and David. Steve smiled as his eyes scanned the happy and goofy looks on our faces underneath all the soap suds, grass and mud. "Just checking. I couldn't tell under all that mud and grass," he grinned.