BORN TO BE AN AVENGER

07: Great to Really Bad

Before her was all of the Avengers, Natasha and Clint on the couch, each with drinks in their hand. Tony and Bruce sat at the breakfast bear, seemingly in an important conversation while Steve sat in the corner with a small smile on his face. Upon hearing the elevator ding, all head turned towards her.

"There she is!" Stark shouted, raising a drink in the air that Albany had yet to see.

She let out a small laugh, as the team's conversations stopped. "Why are you all still up?"

Clint stood. "We wanted to hear how your day had been."

"Accept we hadn't expected you to be out this late." Cap added, looking quite tired. Though he had managed to stay up, just for her.

"Oh." Albany spoke, eyes wide in slight surprise. "It was good."

Tony threw his hands in the air. "We waited all night to hear about your boyfriend, and all we get was that your day was 'good'?"

"Because it was." She smiled, thinking of how much she had missed Marshall.

"Yeah, you mean you guys were making out all night." He countered, earning chuckles from the team.

"We are not dating!" Albany scoffed, feeling her face heat up. "We just went to Portillo's!"

"False." Bruce joined the conversation. "We heard you giggling outside."

"And I'm sure that's not your Jet's sweatshirt." Natasha added, gesturing to Marshall's green hoodie she had grabbed.

"I was cold!" The girl saw the suggesting looks on the team's faces. She puffed, "Oh, forget this! I'm going to bed."

The turned around, ignoring the chorus of laughter behind her.

///

Apparently the universe was against Albany after having such a great day, for she could not sleep. As soon as Albany had closed her eyes, the rest of the night consisted of violent tossing and turning. No matter how hard she tried, the teen could not fall asleep. Her restlessness turned into a hurtful ache in her stomach and pound in her head.

She finally gave up around 7 AM, despite only laying down around 3 AM. Her legs ached as she flipped them over the side of the bed. Albany didn't get sick often, but when she did, it was her least favorite thing in the world. Finally the girl had managed to rise out of bed and enter the elevator to get some breakfast. She didn't have much of an appetite, but Marshall always told her it was good to try to eat something. Even if you aren't feeling well. She almost laughed out loud thinking how Marshall was right about it getting too cold last night. That had to be why she felt this way.

The elevator doors opened with their usual 'ding', and Albany was surprised to see Bruce in the kitchen. She let out a soft laugh. "Hey Bruce. Why you up so early?" She cringed at how drowsy her voice sounded.

Without turning around, the Avenger answered, his focus still on the stove. "I'm trying to make french toast for the team. But- it's not going too good." He turned around to face the girl who was now suddenly closer. His eyes scanned her figure, that seemed barely able to hold its own weight. Albany's brown hair was a mess of frizz, some of it stuck to the sweat on her forehead. He noted how her skin was pale, and under eyes dark. "You okay, Al?"

"Think just a cold from being outside so late last night. I didn't get a lot of sleep." Albany was quick to change the subject, she always hated when others worried for her. "Let me see this french toast. Maybe I can help."

Bruce let her take his spot in front of the stove, his worried eyes still trailing her form. She looked at the plate of messy french toast and the one's currently sizzling in the pan. "You're doing good, everything's just very sloppy." Albany noted, nodding slightly. She picked up the brown sugar and added a bit more to the ones cooking. "These aren't bad at all Brucey, I would just-" The teen stopped speaking once a sharp pain stabbed her in the stomach. She grasped her torso and winced, trying her hardest not to let out a scream.

"Albany?" Bruce asked, his voice thick with concern. "Albany!" She fell to the ground, Bruce barely able to catch her small figure. "JARVIS tell the rest of the team to get down here!"

He held the girl closer to him and felt her forehead. "Damn it Al, you're burning up." She clenched her eyes shut against the pain, holding every scream in. She could physically feel her temperature rise, so hot, Bruce could not hold her anymore. His arms retracted in surprise, and he stood above Albany. Within seconds her body started emitting a magenta glow. 

"We need to get you to the lab." Were the last words Albany heard before she blacked out.

A/N: Sorry for any typos. Hope you liked this longer chapter!! Comment your theories!!