Avengers x Reader: When The Going Gets Tough

I felt it. Cold hands probing me, trying to gently stir me from my unconscious state. I opened my eyes only to be momentarily blinded by bright lights glaring down at me. That's when my heart sank, adrenaline pumping through my veins. I had been running from something, but I had no recollection of what that something was.

'Joy to the world, the Queen has awoken!'

The voice startled me, causing me to reach out and grab a dark figure that had stepped into my line of vision. I twisted it's arm and swung it around and throwing it to the ground with frightening strength. 'Hey!'

I crouched down and hopped off what appeared to be bed and raced towards the open door. 'She's getting way! Stop her,' ordered a new voice, which sounded surprised at how the situation had escalated. I met a huge, well-built blonde-haired man as I neared my exit. He reached out, trying to get a grip on my waist. Think again. As soon as he came into contact with my skin, he recoiled, exclaiming in pain. I shouldered him and bolted past him, racking my brain for a battle plan. From what I could gather I could see that I was at a disadvantage. I was in a hospital gown, which thankfully, covered my behind, and I was in a unfamiliar environment, which was probably crawling with enemies. Just an average day for (Y/N) (L/N).

'Warning: highly dangerous target has escaped, prepare to fight and bring her back to the Infirmary. I repeat....' echoed a visible intercom. I muttered a few curses under my breath and ran through the halls of my confinement. Soon enough, I was met by men in black suits who were equipped with intimidating weapons. I steadied myself and drew a breath to calm myself. 'Inferno,' I whispered and on cue, fire began to whip around my body, building up into a small tornado. I lifted my hand and pushed out the fire, causing it to rush forward and collide with the men, who fell to the ground with heavy thuds. I didn't look back at them to see if they were still alive.

I then came across a window and I let out a grasp. This was an aircraft of some sort. It looked pretty far up but I had no choice. I had to jump. It was a crazy, ridiculous idea but when the gnawing feeling of fear was clutching onto your body you tended to do anything to shake it off. Anything. Of course there would have been better ways to escape, like consulting with the leader of this place or begging on my knees to go back to land, but that would take time. Time I did not have.

I gripped the smooth metal wall of the flying contraption and tore it down. The benefits of being inhumanly strong, I mused. The wind gushed forward, trying to knock me down and pull me along with it. I dug my heels into the ground and closed my eyes, drawing on my strength. My ability to control fire could help me with the fall, if I used the right amount of energy and kept myself at the right angle, I would be fine. Not that the fall would kill me. Some people just couldn't die easily, and I was one of those select few. Lucky me.

The voices of people yelling filled my ears and I knew that I had to jump. It was now or never. I clung on to the opening I had made and stuck out my left foot in the open air. That's when I heard a gun being cocked. 'Stay where you are,' demanded the same feminine voice from earlier. I turned my head and open my eyes. Stood before me as a woman with firey red hair, who was clad in black, and a brown-haired man with a bow and arrow pointed at me wearing the same attire. I narrowed my eyes at them and inched forward, my body swaying in the wind. 'Stay where you are,' she repeated, a drop of sweat trailing down her face. I smiled coldly at her. 'Sorry, but no can do,' I replied softly. The wind's pull on me was getting stronger.

Another group of people piled in. I could see the blond man I had burned earlier among them and another man with dark brown hair and cocky posture clutching at his right arm. I deducted that he was the man I had thrown to the ground. Two other men were in with them: a second man with blond hair, dressed in a blue suit decorated with the American flag, and a timid looking man with soft brown hair wearing a purple shirt and grey slacks. The hunter and the prey. That was how this whole thing was going to play out and I sure as hell wasn't going to end up as the prey.

'Hey, lady rocking the hospital gown, thanks for the wounded arm,' the man I had injured earlier stated sarcastically. He seemed familiar. Something about his cheeky manner....... Then it hit me. Tony Stark. I remembered watching him during the news when they were showing him in the middle of a press conference. This must be the Avengers HQ. The thought sent a shiver down my spine and without another look in their direction, I flung myself out of the aircraft.

The wind rushed past me, making hair whip my face and my clothing flap wildly. I felt a tingling sensation then and extended out both my hands. I felt the warmth of the fire well up and spread through my body, covering it in suit of red heat. The speed my body was plummeting at decreased until I was completely still in the air. It was the second time I had managed to pull this off but I didn't know how long it would last. I started to speed down towards but I started to choke. A numbing feeling was taking over, making me feel drowsy and unsteady. I felt cold, metal arms circle around me. My fire hadn't subsided though. I could hear faint sizzling noises and the sound of a man shouting out a string of curses and complaints. It sounded like the man from before- Tony.

I felt myself being pulled through the air and as I glanced behind me I could see the gold and red flashes of a metal suit. Tony's suit. Then the black airship dominated my vision, drawing a gasp from me. I wasn't going to escape.

It was nothing but a spiral of colours after that. I heard soft voices murmuring about me, but did not have the strength to call out and ask what they were saying or what they were planning to do with me. The gnawing fear left me cold and afraid. I did not know what these people were capable of and how they reacted. Once again, I was in a unknown environment.

The blur that ringed my sight slowly disappeared soon after that. A man harbouring a black eye patch and dressed in a flowing black jacket and other black clothes waltzed into the brightly lit room. The room where I first started off. I bared my teeth at him. 'What do you want? I have nothing to give you nor do you have anything to give me,' I said, anger tinting tone. I was surprised at the strength of my voice.

'You're recovering much faster then I expected,' he commented, pursing his lips, completely ignoring my previous statement. 'What can I say, it's a gift,' I retorted, keeping my face void of any emotion. He didn't respond to this, just stared at me silently. I stared back at him, unwilling to appear weak. This went on for a while until a cough came from the other corner of the room. We both glared over at the group of so-called heroes who all seemed rather uncomfortable with the awkward quietness that had taken over. 'The maiden is awake!' boomed the big blonde man. I blinked at him, his excitement making me frown in confusion. I could see the man with the eye patch smirk slightly at my expression. 'I suppose the introductions should be dealt with. I'm Fury, head of this operation. This Thor, God of Thunder,' he pointed at the blonde man, 'Steve Rogers, our super solider,' the other blonde man, 'Agent Natasha Romanoff and Agent Clint Barton,' the two dressed in black, 'Doctor Bruce Banner,' the man with brown hair, 'and Tony Stark, who you probably already know.' I nodded at him, letting him know I understood. 'Yeah, I expect you to pay for the damage you decided to do my precious body,' interjected Tony, pouting and gesturing at his arm. I ignored him. 'What did you do to me when I tried to escape?' I questioned, turning my attention back to Fury.

'That was a tranquilizer that could have taken down five elephants,' he answered simply.

'Nice to know you're comparing me to elephants now,' I muttered back, causing a few of the Avengers to let out a quick burst of laughter, which was poorly covered up by fake coughing.

'What I mean is,' said Fury, glaring at the group, 'is that you're strong. We need that. And you're fire power could come in handy too. I'd like you to join the Avengers.'

'No.'

He froze at my response and gave me a look. 'Think it over first, don't go shooting it down right away.'

I glowered at him. 'I do not want to join this group of- of heroes. I am not a hero, never have been, never will, so you really shouldn't be asking me, you should be asking someone who wants to be one,' I explained, sliding off the bed and standing up. Fury rubbed his forehead and let out a sigh.

'You have no family, no place to live. You lost everything you ever loved when you just five years old. Don't you want to stop that from happening to someone else?' asked a new voice. I whipped around and stared at the speaker. It was Steve Rogers. The man in the suit with the American flag.

'How did you know that?' My voice was raspy and sounded small. 'We did a background check on you before we brought you here,' said Agent Romanoff, who was looking at me with a soft expression. An expression I had seen too often in my life. I shook my head in disapproval and looked into one of the blinding lights. 'You're one of those people who act like the villain but are really the hero.' This one was Doctor Banner. I sneered at him, hoping to make him second guess his words. 'Why do you say that?' I asked, keeping my voice neutral. Bruce smiled shyly at my question. 'Because you're not threatening to kill us all.'

At this I burst out laughing. I clutched my stomach and bent down, the laughter rippling through my body. I wiped the tears from my tears and breathed out sigh. I looked at each of them and before I could stop it, the words tumbled out of my mouth. 'Okay, I'll join if you stop pressuring me.'

There was a hoot of joy from Thor and the others rolled their eyes. Agent Barton stepped forward and extended his hand, while the rest nodded at me in respect, bar Tony, who was still nursing his wounded arm. 'Welcome to the team, Fire Fury,' Clint said politely. I couldn't contain my laughter at the name and somehow ended on the floor while Steve tried to hoist me up.