Heart Of Stone

Chapter 7

By the time Vision is standing again, I have gotten the beast to remain still. "What did you...?" Vision is shocked. "He is sorry for hurting you," I tell him. "He cannot think for himself, at least not at his full brain capacity. He only knows that he must release his anger. On what depends on whatever is closest to him, angers him further or opposes him."

The other Avengers come in, all ready for a fight, but stop when they see the green beast. "How did you do that?" Tony is the first to ask, looking to Vision. "It was all her," Vision replied, gesturing to me. All eyes followed.

"He will listen to whatever I ask of him," I say. "He is under my complete control. Why would you like me to tell him?"

"Tell the Hulk to calm down," Steve says. I nod and turn back to the 'Hulk'. "Calm down," I use my powers to persuade him to obey. After a few moments he starts staggering, holding his head and shrinking. I watch in shock as the Hulk reverts to Bruce, though not exactly... decent.

I release him from my control and unclip the buckle on the tiger skin skirt I'm wearing over my shorts that's short at the front but long at the back, then toss it over Bruce, who adjusts it over him in a dazed state.

"What happened?" He asks, confused. Natasha tosses him some clothes, which he hastily changes into. "You Hulked out," Clint said. "Lexis managed to stop you. Don't ask me how."

Again all eyes were on me, but I simply walk out without a word. I don't feel like explaining my powers and frankly I don't have any obligations to. I just want to get home and get away from these idiots. I want the comfort of not having to worry about being touched and the familiarity of my daily routine.

"Lexis, wait!" Steve jogs to catch up with me. "What do you need?" I huff in annoyance. "Nothing, I just didn't want you to think you had to go," he said. "If you don't want to say anything, you don't have to. Nobody's going to force you... well, Tony will probably try, but just ignore him."

"He is very annoying," I comment. "I wish I could disagree," Steve sighs. "But can I just ask - and you don't have to answer - why are you so scared of human contact? If we know we might be able to find a way to prevent it."

"You can't," I say simply. "I've tried. Only one thing helps and it's in no way a permanent fix."

"What is it?" He asks. "Water," I answer. "Water cures me. That's one of the reasons why I live by a lake. If I do, I have easy access to a place where I can swim."

"Then why don't we take you swimming?" Steve suggested. "Did somebody just suggest a pool party?" Tony's voice piped up. He was instantly here. I backed up, just a little. "More or less."

"We're doing it," Tony declared, then shouted to the others. "Drop your socks and grab your crocs, we're about to get wet on this ride!"

"That's Tony's code for swimming!" Steve shouts to clarify. "Lexis is coming with!"

"You really don't have to do this," I argue. "We do now that Tony has an idea that gets you, Natasha and Wanda in bikinis," Steve sighs. "That wasn't the main reason why I'm so excited, but it is a bonus," Stark replied, not disagreeing.

"And if I would prefer to just go home?" I question. "Then I'll drag you down there," Stark replies simply. "In my armour, of course," he adds when he sees my nerves.

I sigh, realising there's no way out of this. "Fine." Steve grins. "Glad to have you with us, Lexis."

I just glare at him until Natasha and Wanda walk in. "Come with us, Lexis," Wanda smiles warmly. "Let's get you ready."

I look into her head and see that she's planning to 'play dress-up' with me, so I agree to go with her when I'm confident nothing dangerous will happen to me. I don't know exactly what will be going on, but I'm hoping it won't be bad.

The girls lead me off to a room which I've been told belongs to Wanda. It's pretty nice, though I prefer my home. Natasha leaves while Wanda filters through her wardrobe. Just as Natasha returns with a few bathing suits, Wanda has finished grabbing a few of her own.

"You can borrow one of ours," Natasha explained to me, probably seeing a confused look on my face. "We're not going to go all the way back to wherever you live just to grab one. You seem about our sizes, so go ahead and pick what you like."

I scan them all, quickly weighing up the pros and cons in my head for each one of them. I usually wear something that I know is just comfortable, but if I'm going to be in front of men... I'll need something less revealing, to put it lightly.

I take a plain black two-piece that had been offered by Natasha. "Are you sure you do not mind?" I wanted to confirm. "As long as you don't break it, I couldn't care less," she replied. "I have too many as it is. We barely ever go swimming and half the time it's an unexpected dip in a lake during a fight anyway."

"Thank you," I say to her, something I haven't said in who knows how long. It's not that I deliberately don't thank people for things, it's simply that I've never really had the excuse to. I send people away for my own protection. In the end, I guess it's also for their protection, since they could wind up as animal prey if they hang around in the forest any longer.

"Not a problem," Natasha doesn't smile or even look in my direction, but I can tell she's being sincere. We all get changed, put our normal clothes over the tops of our bikinis and head out, seeing that the boys have done the same thing.