∆ {2¹} {BIRDSONG} ∆

SHE DIDN'T KNOW exactly why she'd chosen the countryside. It could be the seclusion, and the peacefulness, but maybe it was the isolation, the fact that no-one would be around except the postman and the milkman, who came at the same time every morning. At the moment, Roxi was trying to fix her bike. There was a problem with the exhaust pipe, it was dented and it was causing issues. Her hands were coated in a thin layer of oil, and she wiped them on a dirty rag that was resting on the leather seat, before putting her hand on the exhaust pipe, and concentrating. The dented metal creaked ever so slightly before pulling out and straightening itself, leaving no sign of the original mark.

It had been about half a year since Thor and Loki had gone back to Asgard and the Avengers had gone their separate ways, and she had been practising since. So far she'd figured out that her powers were related to metal, because she'd tried it on an old door she'd replaced after she moved into her new place, and it had just sat there, rotting slightly with the yellow paint peeling. She'd replaced it with a new one, which was painted lilac. Roxi had moved into a cottage a few miles out from most of the main cities, and it was in a small wood, with a quaint river that trickled through her garden. She'd had to do a lot of work on it, but it gave her something to do and gave her a chance to practise her powers. 

She'd done a good job at hiding herself away apparently, because not even Fury had turned op at her new residence, though she'd received a call from him once, and had exchanged a few words before hanging up quickly enough to ensure that he couldn't trace the call. She stood up and grabbed the cloth off the seat, flicking the light off near the door and walking out of the small garage, and throwing the rag down on a small table in the hall. She picked up one of her phones from the table as she passed, unlocking it and glancing at the news; she liked to keep an eye on things that were happening around the world. She'd ended up buying a few cheap flip phones in case she needed to call someone and didn't want them to find her, she could easily get rid of the phone without it costing her too much money. Nothing had really been happening in the past six months, but recently, there had been news about a terrorist called 'the Mandarin', and her phone showed her another attack by the man, and she frowned slightly. This wasn't good, someone would have to deal with it soon if it didn't go away. 

Roxi made herself a quick cup of tea and drank it while she looked out the window, watching the birds flit from branch to branch, and the way that the sun shone in beams, painting golden dapples on the green grass. It was so quiet. An image flashed in her mind, of opening her eyes to find the aliens around her crumpled on the ground, crushed by their own armour. It was gone as quickly as it came, but it made her head throb, especially her temple where she'd been hit during the battle. It had left a small scar, and the burn on her left forearm was still visible, turning whiter as it too scarred over. Once she'd finished her tea, she placed the mug next to the sink to wash later, her mind otherwise occupied as she wandered out of her back door and down to the gurgling brook that rushed gently through the garden. She sat down next to it, trailing her fingers in the cool water, enjoying the sense of refreshment it brought her, and the way it helped her take her mind off everything. The birds chirped their song to one another, and for a moment, she envied their freedom, the way that they could simply fly and be far from their problems within a few hours, with worries about injuring others. 

After a little while, she stood up from where she'd been sitting on the bank and dusted off her light blue jeans, sending a few ants flying, before she turned around and surveyed the piles of scrap metal she had in the old shed that she'd left open. Most of it was twisted up tightly in strange forms and was beginning to rust. For some reason, she found it harder to control the metal if she'd already experimented with it. She managed to find a few screws, which she tried both unscrewing and screwing in, although she was only successful with the latter. She didn't really have anything else to work with, so she'd have to go on a quick trip over to the nearest scrapyard to try and find some metal that she could wither recycle or add to her stash. It was about half an hour later when she finally got going, with her aviator style sunglasses covering her ice blue eyes, and her leather jacket flowing slightly behind her as she drove. That was another thing she needed to sort out; if she wanted to be able to move around more freely, she would have to change her appearance, at least for the moment. 

She drew to a stop a short while later, sending a nod to a few workers, who all recognised her from some of her previous trips to gather supplies for 'renovations'. She walked around for a little while, picking up random pieces of metal before dumping them in the saddlebags that she had on either side of the seat. As she searched, she thought. She thought about metal, and the way that it could be practically destroyed, but then be melted and harden as a new thing (perhaps she could do the same?) and about the Avengers. She wondered how everyone in the group was doing. She wondered about Clint and if he still made as many jokes without her there, about Tony, who was doing well with his relationship with Pepper, according to the news (though who knew how accurate it was) and she wondered about Steve, and how he was adjusting to the 21st century, and if he'd seen Star Wars yet. She wondered about Thor, who was back on Asgard with his family and how he was dealing with Loki, about Bruce who she hoped was dealing well with his anger issues, and finally about Natasha. 

She wondered what the redhead was doing. Probably off on a mission for S.H.I.E.L.D. Roxi missed all of them in their own way, Tony, strangely for his sarcastic jokes, Steve for his confusion about everyday things (which she would make fun of in her head), Thor for the way he spoke (she found it amusing when he said things like 'forthwith'), Bruce for his sensible, calm suggestions, Clint for his willingness to go along with her jokes and involve her in his own, and lastly, the professional way Natasha dealt with everything; Roxi found it strangely calming and comforting. 

She thanked the workers before making her way back along some main roads, then side roads, before finally turning down the small road that led to a short dirt track that eventually reached her house. She drew up and locked the bike in the garage, holding an armful of scrap metal in one arm as she set down her keys on the oak table before going outside and dumping the metal down in an ungainly pile. The grating sound the metal made as it tumbled back to the ground almost made Roxi cover her ears. She picked up a slightly rusted piece about the size of a candlestick and concentrated on what she wanted to happen. Slowly, but surely, the bar began to bend as the spot where she was gripping it steadily became imprinted with a hand print, and when she was satisfied, she opened her hand to reveal it bent into a simple wave. She continued like that for a few hours until she had enough and made her way back inside, locking the door behind her. It seemed that paranoia was determined to creep in at every possible opportunity. She had just poured herself a glass of water and sat down when someone knocked on the door.

Roxi's head snapped to the door, and she stood up slowly and grabbed her quarterstaff, which somehow, she'd managed to keep, off one of her side tables, before cautiously approaching the door. She glanced through the peephole she'd put into the door (which had admittedly taken her a while), and relaxed a little when she saw who it was. As she opened the door, something at the pit of her stomach flitted lightly, like the birds had earlier. It was a nervous, jumpy feeling, and Roxi wasn't sure if she liked it. She was slightly surprised it's taken them so long to find her. She smirked slightly at the figure in front of her.

"You're late."

{~}

IN THE FEW months since Natasha had turned up at her front door, they'd met up a few times. Sometimes the redhead had come out to the secluded location in the countryside, and occasionally Roxi had gone out and met her at cafés and restaurants, mainly to discuss everything that was going on in the world and with S.H.I.E.L.D. Today, Nat had texted her and told her that she was taking Roxi to see Clint to catch up. In the interval time, Roxi had dyed her hair black and now had a habit of wearing coloured contacts when she went out. 

She had about twenty minutes until Natasha had said that she would arrive, so she sat down and braided her hair loosely and considered putting contacts in before deciding against it. It was only Clint. She slipped her keyring into the pocket of her leather jacket and her retracted quarterstaff in the other pocket. She couldn't help being paranoid. 

The doorbell rang a moment later (which she'd finally installed, upon Natasha's request), and she opened the door with much less hesitation than she had before to reveal the redhead, whose hair was longer and straighter than it had been a year ago at the battle of New York. Roxi hadn't told Natasha about her powers yet; she was still working up to it.

"Hey Nat," she greeted lightly.

"Hey Ryder, how've you been?" The redhead returned, wearing a blue and white striped hoodie as Roxi walked out and locked the door behind her.

"Oh, you know pretty normal, enjoying my peace and quiet until you call," she joked, walking with Natasha to her car and slipping into the passenger seat. The redhead gave her a look as she sat down in the driver's seat, which Roxi ignored. She hadn't seen Clint in a while, or even called him since they'd all met up just after New York. After a few hours of driving, radio music and general conversation, Natasha stopped on a dirt road not to dissimilar to the one that lead to Roxi's place of residence. It slightly surprised her that Clint lived in the country; he'd always seemed like more of a city person. She got out after Natasha and followed her walking for a few minutes until they reached a large house that had a small barn a couple of feet away.

"Well, he got a nice place," Roxi said quietly glancing at Natasha as she walked straight up to the door and knocked. For some reason, she almost felt nervous. The feeling disappeared when a lady opened the door, dressed in a summer dress, and the nervousness was replaced by confusion and slight shock. She sent Natasha a questioning look, which was completely ignored. 

"Laura, it's nice to see you again," the redhead greeted instead, hugging the woman. 

"Nat! It's been a while," 'Laura' greeted warmly, before her gaze landed on Roxi. 

"Oh, this is a friend from S.H.I.E.L.D," Natasha started, but before she continued, Roxi cut in.

"Everyone calls me Ryder," she said warmly, holding out a hand.

"I'm Laura, Clint's wife," she introduced, taking Roxi's hand in a gentle shake. Her hands were smooth, which meant that she probably didn't do too much hard work (Clint probably made sure of that).

"Nice to meet you," Roxi continued, in the same tone.

"You too," Laura replied, though she seemed a little unsure of Roxi so far. Clint walked up behind her.

"Hey honey, who's at the door?" He asked, before looking up and seeing the two of them just standing there waiting. 

"Hey Nat," he said, before turning his attention to Roxi and frowning slightly.

"Ryder?" He said, sounding confused.

"Hey Clint, it's been a while," She replied, fiddling with the keyring in her pocket.

"Yeah, it has. Why don't you come in?" He suggested, stepping back into the hallway, letting them in. Roxi once again followed Natasha in and further into the house and the living room, where a kid was sitting. He looked like he was around 10, and Clint and Laura introduced him as Cooper, who was their son, before they called down their daughter, who was a few years younger, Lila. Roxi wasn't feeling quite at home around this, as she'd never grown up or had the chance to be in an environment quite like the one  in the Barton home. Regardless, as the afternoon progressed, she tried her best to fit in and not dim the atmosphere. She got better at it over the following year, and became more relaxed around the family of four, as well as Natasha, who continued to visit a few times a month. 

She had finally told the redhead about her powers, and she'd taken it surprisingly well, just telling her to keep practising and to not try anything to extreme. Roxi sat by the window again, with a mug of tea as she listened to the birds, which had become a habit of hers every morning. It let her relax and calm down from her nightmares as she just experienced peace, the sound of the river and birdsong. She wasn't really thinking about anything, trying to just have a completely un-stressful half hour, when her phone rang. It was one of the cheap flip-phones, and she checked the number before answering it.

"Hey, what do you need?"

{A/N:} Sorry if this chapter seems rushed, it's more of a filler and it's definitely not one of my best chapters. I'll explain it more in my next chapter and hopefully add some more depth to the content in this chapter. In the mean time, thank you SO much 1.2K reads and over 100 votes! It means so much to me and this is the most amount I've ever received on one of my stories. See you next chapter!

JabberJay11

2525 words

Written: 21 / 08 / 2020

Published: 26 / 08 / 2020