Rogue (Under Rewriting)

Chapter Four

New York, 2012, two weeks later

Two weeks had passed since Alex had last seen the Avengers as a whole. She had met with Steve a few times but always at a coffee shop or the gym she 'worked' at. She had seen Bruce or Clint around but she never acknowledged them or let them know she had seen them.

For the past two weeks, Alex had been watching, following, and gathering information on the six Avengers. Thor had left a few days after she had met them, Bruce normally stayed in the lab, Clint went out a couple of times, sometimes meeting up with a woman and small child, but nothing worth noting. Tony, however, never stayed out of the spotlight of people. Every time he went out there was always a crowd but, again, nothing was worth paying attention to. Steve spent most of the time with Alex either at a coffee shop or at the gym. Natasha, however, was a slightly different story.

Being a spy was in her nature. She was bound to look over her shoulder and pay closer attention to some people than others. She was in and out of secret meetings with some of the same people multiple times. All of which were men in suits, most likely her bosses.

One man stood out in particular, not because of the eyepatch or the ridiculously long jacket he often wore but because Alex was familiar with the guy. He had played a big role in the unfreezing of Captain America. Hydra made sure to inform her of the man, they made sure that she knew who he was and what he could do. Alex had also made sure to start her own file on him when she got to her apartment.

The seven files sat scattered across her dining room table each with a different label. Each file was color-coded and gaining in size as the Avenger grew bigger in threat. Alex sat at the table looking through each file. She was currently studying the two files that matter the most.

S. Rogers and N. Romanoff.

She kept her eyes on the paper as a small thud came from her living room area. She listened and quietly unholstered her gun. She heard footsteps getting closer to the dining room so she quickly cover the files with the placemats at the end of the table and quietly stood up. She made her way to the wall by the entrance. She heard the footsteps stop right outside the door and took this as her chance to turn herself to face the mystery person.

Now, she stood facing the person with her gun pointed at their neck. She took in the person as they took a step back with their hands up. The person was dressed in a blue zip-up jacket with a purple beanie. The beanie barely held in the long, light brown hair that sat on their head. She couldn't help but smirk at the look of fear that was clear in their eyes.

"Who are you?" Alex asked not moving the gun.

"Bailey. Bailey Mann." The small voice that exited the girl didn't suit her body.

"What do you want?" Alex still didn't budge. She had learned to never judge an opponent by looks.

"Nothing. I didn't mean to break in. Well, I kinda did but I didn't know you were home or had a gun." By now the girl had backed up a couple more steps putting more space between the two.

"The couch. Now." Alex instructed while moving her gun in the direction of the living room.

"Yep. Yeah, the couch. Going." Bailey stated quickly turning around.

Bailey was now seated on the couch and Alex had re-holstered her gun, keeping her hand close by. Alex stared at Bailey while she looked around the room trying to avoid Alex's harsh eyes. Alex took this time to further look at the girl and take in her appearance. The small amounts of dirt that littered her hands and face told Alex that she hadn't taken a shower in a few days.

"So-" Bailey tried to start a conversation but failed when Alex cut her off.

"Do you have a home?" Alex asked, tilting her head to the side.