"41." I pluck another blade of grass from the earth as I continue to watch Steve chop away at the Barton's pile of future firewood. "Can you rip one of those in half?" My nose crinkles suddenly as I think about the possibility. "I bet you could." It wouldn't be a far off thought. He is a superhuman after all. "I know Thor could." I return to looking at the grass surrounding where I sit on the lawn. I've got nothing better to do. "Where is Thor?" I question, my eyes alight with curiosity. This time my voice poses the question as one I wish to be answered.

"He's taking some time off, Iris. Not everybody can walk off mental manipulation like you did." Steve tells me. I roll my eyes. I've told him about a hundred and one times now that I was under no mental manipulation by Wanda -- I have been completely and wholehearted me. But hey, you know what they say -- you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink. Nevertheless, I can't find it in myself to retreat from the sunny patch of grass, counting the number of logs that Steve splits. Perhaps having lived on my own for so long numbed the remembrance of the fact that I'd rather be in the company of others than be left alone with my thoughts.

"Thor didn't say where he was going for answers?" Tony asks from his station of chopping wood. I had almost forgotten the billionaire was here. He's been uncharacteristically quiet this whole time.

"If he did, don't you think Steve would've told you?" I ask him as I swat at a ladybug that's buzzing by my face. Then again, I've come to realize that apparently the Avengers don't tell each other everything. Therefore I can't exactly put anything past this lot anymore. Shocker. Perhaps there was wisdom behind some of the Maximoff's words.

"Sometimes my teammates don't tell me things." He replies and casually casts a look over to where Clint and his two kids are working on the railing of the front porch. "I was kinda hoping Thor would be the exception." I shift uneasily where I sit before going back to staring at the fascinatingly interesting lawn.

"Oh yeah? What about little miss sunshine over there?" Tony nods his head to where I'm sitting cross-legged in the grass.

"Oi, heck off my man. You guys have only just met me." I scowl at Stark after lifting my gaze. "You can't exactly expect me to spill my guts to people who wouldn't do the same. Besides, it's not like I'm really part of the team. I'm just here to see what saving the world is like." I defend. Steve grabs another log of wood and then lifts a brow at me, making me fall quiet again.

"Yeah, and who said you weren't part of the team? It's not like Clint brings just anybody here." Tony says casually with an insinuating tone. I lift a brow, suspicious. Stark's known to be sarcastic. And right now? I can't tell if he's being sarcastic or serious.

"If I'm part of the team do I have to talk about my life? Is that like, the Avengers entrance exam?" I ask Stark sarcastically.

"Absolutely." He smirks from where he stands cutting logs.

"Alright, fine, whatever." I puff out my cheeks in defeat. Wait a second, did I just become part of a team? That easy? What the absolute heck. Getting into college was harder than this. I want a refund.

"Okay then, Iris, what was the Maximoff twin talking about back at the ship? About leveling a facility?" Steve questions, pausing from chopping logs to regard me. My mouth forms an 'o' immediately as I lean back and use my hands to support me from where they are behind me.

"I don't talk about that. It's actually the one thing I don't speak about. It was during my...rebellious teenage phase, I guess you can put it." Steve places the log on another larger log so that he can cut it and then motions a hand at me as if to say 'see?' I briefly feel guilty, but then I remind myself that my secrets are my own and if I don't want to reveal them then I shouldn't have to. I will talk about my life, but I will not talk about the incident.

"Okay, but what do you mean by 'teenage phase?' If that's the case, then whatever happened would've been not long ago." Tony asks while setting the blade of the ax in the grass before leaning on it. "Which means, we would have heard about it, I'm sure." He concludes.

"Well, I suppose when you get tested on your body doesn't function the same way it used to. Time is a bit more...wibbly wobbly for me." I reply and shrug my shoulders slightly before giving the cocky billionaire a disinterested look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tony asks in exasperation while shaking his head as if he's trying to hold a conversation with a five-year-old.

"It appears that I age at a much slower rate than normal humans." I say flatly and lift a brow at him as my lips press into a firm line. I cock my head slightly. "I appear younger than I am."

"So you age like Cap then?" Tony's eyes narrow slightly as he watches me.

"I'm not sure how our aging processes compare. He might age slower than I, or vise versa." I lift one leg and cross it over the other at the ankle as I recline just a bit more.

"Another test I can run between the two of you then." Stark smirks before going back to chopping wood. He sounds pleased with himself.

"Whatever. Besides, you wouldn't have heard of the accident as I'm sure it was well covered up." I sigh, not in the mood to argue against being turned into a lab rat.

"Earth's Mightiest Heroes." I look at Steve again, where he's grabbing another log to split. "Pulled us apart like cotton candy."

"Wasn't that a kids tv show?" I question aloud. Both Tony and Steve ignore me.

"Seems like you walked away alright." Iron Man says while grabbing a log as well. I guess Steve takes offense, as he turns to look at Tony with a look somewhere between surprise and anger.

"Is that a problem?" His voice sounds defensive as well.

"I don't trust a guy without a dark side." Tony pauses to swing the ax before allowing it to drop, splitting the log in front of him. "Call me old-fashioned."

"Well let's just say you haven't seen it yet." Steve says with an underlying warning in his tone.

"You know Ultron's trying to tear us apart, right?" Tony changes the subject quickly.

"Well no dip, Sherlock." I quietly whisper to myself as I rip grass from the ground.

"Well, I guess you'd know." Steve retorts.

"Ooooh. This is gonna be goooood..." I sit up taller, ready to watch a fight between Tony and Steve. And by fight, I mean watching Steve hand Tony his butt.

"Whether you'd tell us is a bit of a question." Steve continues as he swings his ax.

"Banner and I were doing research." Tony defends quickly.

"That would affect the team." Steve fires back.

"That would end the team!" Stark's voice rises sharply. The smile on my face drops immediately and I grimace before I begin to stand up. You know what? It's not my place to get into their Avenger business, even if Tony 'says' I'm part of the team. Once on my feet, I gently brush off my pants before I dig my hands into my pockets. I begin to walk away, whistling, as Tony's voice grows louder. Then there's a sound of wood being shredded, but without the sound of an ax. I turn and see Rogers has ripped a log in half.

"Aw yeah, I knew he could." I whisper under my breath approvingly.

"I'm sorry." I turn my head and see Laura has come out of the house and is preparing to talk with the two of them, so I continue on my way and head toward the front gate. Hopefully, I won't be needed anytime soon.

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I fall backward for what I'm sure is about the fiftieth time today as I try to perfect throwing energy, much like I had seen Wanda do. "Geez! Throw the frickin' energy in a straight line, Iris!" I shout at myself and the half-scorched tree ahead of me. The maple has been the target for my practice for the past few hours. Luckily the tree had remained unscathed. Until my last shot, that is. My aim is still wobbly and nowhere near perfect and I am now intensely envious of Hawkeye's natural grace of aim with his now. And Wanda's precision when handling her abilities.

I grumble to myself as I stand up, brush the dirt from my jeans, and regain my stance. One foot forward, one foot propped purposefully at an angle behind me so that I don't slide back when I fire a ball of energy at the innocent tree. I suck in a deep breath, roll my shoulders, and hold my hands in front of my stomach, palms facing each other as I work on extracting energy from my surroundings. A softball-sized golden sphere soon forms between my hands, twisting and twirling as it fidgets between them as if they're magnets with opposite poles. Another deep breath and I do my best to concentrate on moving the energy over to my right hand. I try desperately to ignore the shrieking cicadas that line the trees around me, which are a distraction to my practice.

I blow a puff of air between my lips silently and just as I'm about to successfully transfer the orb to my right hand, a spider falls from the canopy above me. I let out the most horrific screech as it lands on my head. The wobbly energy, which still has a connection to me, explodes like a bomb in all directions. It sends out a blast that looks the same as when the sound barrier is broken, only golden, into the surrounding area. Meanwhile, I'm squealing and making all kinds of high-pitched noises as I jump around, brushing off my arms and hair, even though I know the eight-legged creature is no longer on me. Once I finally manage to calm down, even though my heart is still beating furiously in my chest, I shudder. I look around me and wince. The blast has made all the trees around me bend at awkward angles, facing away from where I'm standing. On top of all that, the bark of all the trees closest to me is singed black and smoking.

"Oops." I drop my hands to my sides, blow out my cheeks, and then release a lungful of air.

"Iris!? Iris!" A familiar voice shouts fearfully.

Busted.

"What...happened here?" The fear quickly disappears and is replaced with suspicion and awe. I slowly turn and wince, facing an half-terrified, half-pissed Barton.

"Uh, I saw a spider, but I think he's gone now."

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"It was a big spider." I try to explain to Barton seriously.

"And those were big trees." Clint replies, shaking his head, probably still in wonder.

"Trees aren't as scary as spiders." I grumble dejectedly.

"Hush." Clint says and chuckles slightly.

"Are you gonna make me?" I ask, my lips turning upwards into a smirk.

"I could make you sleep outside." Hawkeye threatens with a lifted brow in my direction.

"That doesn't sound too bad." I reply as I think it over in my head.

"Spiders live outside." Clint clarifies.

"Nevermind." I say quickly and all thoughts of staying outside evacuate my mind.

"That's what I thought." Barton grins sideways at me as we approach his humble home. We climb up the porch stairs and then Clint holds the door to his house open for me as I walk in. He trails after me and motions to his kitchen and dining area. It seems like the whole team is there already, plus one.

"See, told you she didn't run off." Clint declares as soon as we get closer to the kitchen area.

"Guess I owe you 5 bucks." Tony says and looks over at me with an amused look before looking over at Captain Rogers.

"Don't give him anymore because they might fall off a train." I say sarcastically, but not viciously.

"Hey!" Steve looks like he's trying not to laugh, but there's a serious undertone.

"Well well, what did the cat drag in?" A new voice, one all too familiar to myself, asks without looking up from whatever task they're busy with.

"Fury, this is Iris." I turn my head away from the Captain and Stark to the olive-skinned man with an eyepatch.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" I crack a smile while crossing my arms over my chest. I must admit, it's been awhile since I've seen the Ex-director of SHIELD, Nick Fury.

"I could say the same about you, Irissë."