Vibrance (Avengers/X-men Crossover)

Chapter 4

I wake up to the smell of toasted bread and sun piercing through the blinds of the window. I'm almost startled by the new surroundings of a different room, but remember I'm in one of Tony's guest rooms. I get up and sit on the edge of the bed and stretch my stiff limbs. I should probably go get something to eat, so I put on my clothes from yesterday and leave my pajamas on the freshly made bed.

Letting my nose lead me, I head downstairs to the living room and go down the right hallway to where the delicious aroma seems to be. I find what seem to be a kitchen and a small dining room with the team sitting down and eating some king of pastry. There is also a new face sitting next to Clint. It's a man with chestnut brown hair and green eyes behind a pair of glasses. He eats his food while carefully reading a book about some type of science I don't understand. Tony looks up when he hears me come in and smiles while chewing on his food. Once he swallows he asks, "Croissant?"

"I'm good." Which is a lie; I'm starving, but I didn't want to bother any of them. I sit in the empty seat next to Natasha. I glance at the new man at the table and he catches my eyes for second, but then quickly darts them away. "Who's this?" I ask politely. The man looks from his book and gives me a kind smile.

"I'm Bruce Banner, you might've heard of me. You are SHIELD agent, right? At least that's what I've heard," he says light-heartedly. He's right about both things. I have heard of him, he's the Hulk; he can change into a giant green monster that loses his human control. Everyone in SHIELD is wary of him, but being a mutant and growing up with the mutant rights beliefs of accepting all people even if they aren't human, makes me feel sympathetic to him. I've heard he's started to control it and I hope that's true.

"Yes, I am," I say. "I guess the group told you that one. Did they tell you about my powers?"

"Oh yeah, you're a mutant. Telepathy. Telekinesis. Energy blasts. It's quite fascinating. You sure have a gift."

"Thanks," I say and give him a smile and slight nod.

Tony comes over and sits in the seat across from me. "You know what I could go for right now? Coffee!" he announces for the whole table to hear. He points at me, "New girl, you should be the one to go get some. I'll take an expresso with just a little bit of sugar."

"Whoa, you can't just send me to do your chores like a maid!" I look around the table for any support, but there is none. They all look down in their laps and say nothing. "You guys are really with him?"

"Well we all take turns to get coffee," says Natasha, "and since your the new girl you have to start our new cycle. It's right down the street so you don't have to drive. You really can't miss it." I give Natasha a look. "Sorry it's how it works here. I'll have a latte." I roll my eyes playfully.

"Hey Sam, it's the one we went to, remember? If you need help I'll come with you," offers Steve.

"No, I'm good. I know how to get there. What do you want?" I ask.

"Just a decaf," he replies.

"Anyone else?"

"I'll have what Tony's having," says Clint not even looking up from his phone.

"You want anything, Bruce?" I offer.

"No, I'm not a coffee person and it's probably better if I don't get too excited front the caffeine rush." I nod and head to the elevator.

Once I leave the tower I walk down the walkway that leads to the old coffee shop. I walk past the crowd of people flooding the New York streets, they're blank faces heading from place to place. Everything seemed normal until I got to the crosswalk that ended with the coffee shop. I hit the crosswalk button and waited for the sign to cross. I looked to my left and saw a built man with tight fitting sweatshirt. I couldn't see his face because the hood was up and he was looking down. He seemed like a normal person, but for some reason I felt like I knew him.

I looked away and saw the green light to go. I walked a little faster than usual when I crossed. Just as I was about to get the other side I looked back to see if the guy was still there. He wasn't.

I half-run, half-walked the last few feet to get to the door of the coffee shop. Now I had this weird sense that someone was following me and my best guess was that it was that man. Luckily, I came to the shop at an hour where it wasn't busy and I just walked to the front. I told the lady my order and waited as she made the drinks. I kept looking around me to see if the guy was still there. He wasn't and I let out a sigh of relief.

But my calmness didn't last long when I felt a hand firmly grab my arm. I screamed, but it was muffled by another hand. I was lead to the corner of the shop. I tried to struggle and break free, but this man was strong. No one even seemed to notice. Once we were in the corner, he let me go and looked up to see who the guy was so I could kill him, but once I did I knew I couldn't do that.

Because I was looking at the eyes of a guy I'd been best friends with since I was five.

"Peter?" I asked astonished.

"Sam! I found you!" he exclaimed. I was then engulfed in a hug that almost squashed the life out of me.

"What are you doing here?"

"I've-I mean we've been trying to find you for so long. You-"

"Wait" I interrupted. "Who's we've?"

"You know, Kitty, Bobby, everyone!" What he said next struck me so hard that I had to wait a minute to process it. "You're gonna come home now. We need you."