• It took a whole month in order for her to choose, and finally she had decided on joining the Avengers.

    Vanessa held the piece of note book paper in her right hand, "890 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York City," she looks at it for a second before looking back up at the mansion. She didn't believe that this was the right place at all, it looked too.... too fancy, but so did the academy, "well, here goes nothing," she walks up the steps and rang the door bell, but nothing happened in those twenty seconds that she stood there. Maybe no one was home, or it was vacant? But she found that very hard to believe. "Okay! I give up," she throws her hands up in defeat, maybe she should have stayed back at the academy, and even though she was there for a year, she was beginning to feel homesick, Vanessa missed Logan, Ororo, Kurt, the Professor, and all the rest, but most of all she missed Remy.... That damn Cajun, he had to kiss her before she left, and now she felt such deep regret for leaving, but maybe she could visit some time, the small thought made her feel a bit better, and before she knew it the door opened, a short Hispanic old woman stood in front of her, "we have been expecting you," she said before moving out of the way so Vanessa could step inside, "we? Seems so quiet though.... Miss?," the woman shut the door before answering her, "Consuela Sanchez," Vanessa smiled awkwardly before looking around, the place was huge!

    "Um, Miss. Sanchez," Vanessa stopped in the middle of the hallway, "yes?," Consuela turns around half way, "how will I know if they like me?," she asked her before walking up to her, "you're new, and like any other new recruit you will have to prove yourself to them," Consuela told her before turning a corner. So she would have to prove herself to them? Vanessa crossed her arms, "I'm not proving myself to anyone," she said bluntly, little did she know that when she turned the corner she the whole team of Avengers had been sitting in their chairs, discussing things she had no idea of. All eyes are on her now, she thought about hiding behind Consuela, but she was too short, "glad you could make it," the familiar voice of Nick Fury had made its way into her ears, "well, don't just stand there, sit," Vanessa stood by Consuela as she looked around the large living room, "but there's no, seat available," she looked back at Fury, "what? Am I supposed to sit on the ground?," Vanessa felt the need to make a smart a** remark, but she didn't want to ruin her first day here. "You can either stand up or sit down," Tony said before running his fingers through his some what messy hair, she clenched her fists, Logan told her about this guy, he was smart, and anything you said against him, well he would throw back at you five thousand times harder, so she held her words.... for now. Consuela had vanished before she could say thanks, so Vanessa walked up towards the others a nice sized red X forming on her right side, it lowers under her butt and she sits on it, now it wasn't the most comfortable place to sit, but it would have to do, "I think introducing yourself will be helpful," Fury told her, everyone looked at her, except a few choice people, one of them she already knew as Tony, or Iron Man, "my names Vanessa Johnson," she clears her throat, shyness now kicking in, "I used to, be in the X-Men," a slight snicker manifested, her cheeks grow hot, "what's so goddamn funny?," Vanessa turns her head in the direction she heard the laugh, "oh nothing, continue," a boy about the same age as her had smiled softly, she knew she wouldn't like him at all, "I'm a mutant and have the ability to create red X's," another small chuckle from the same guy again! "Shut up web head....," a girl hissed.

    Vanessa was silent, she didn't want to say anything anymore, "continue," she looks at Fury, "no," his look was as sharp as adamantium daggers, "I said continue," now everyone's eyes were on them. The red X that had been under her had slowly vanished, now she stood, "and I said no," Vanessa turns around and heads towards the exit, "Consuela, show her to her room please," Tony told her, Vanessa had passed her by as soon as she appeared, "Logan was right, I should have rethought this through," Vanessa said. Consuela had brought her to her room and left soon after she got settled in, this gave her the time to take out her phone and dial down a number, the rough voice of Logan responds with a, "who is this?," Vanessa smiles, "it's me, Vanessa.... I can't believe you've forgotten me so easily," a low chuckle came from him, "I wish you were here," there was a pause before she heard a low growl, "its that b*****d Fury isn't it?," she nods her head, "yeah, and a few others," she couldn't believe she was getting all emotional over this, "I just wanted to lash out, but I couldn't," she was on the verge of tears, and even telling him she wanted to come back, that is until he began to give her words of encouragement, "you can't back down now," Logan told her, "don't let em get to ya, especially Fury," Vanessa agreed, she wasn't going to back down, especially from those people, "you're going to do good kid," she smiled, "thanks Logan, for everything," a slight laugh came from him, "I'll talk to you later kid," she holds the phone a bit tightly, she didn't want him to hang up, but she knew he wouldn't stay on the phone for long, "tell Ororo I miss her, and Kurt too," her cheeks went warm with embarrassment, "I will, and stay strong, for all of us," and with that the phone call ended, and the door her room opened, Vanessa turns around, "haven't you people ever heard of knocking before entering," she watched the boy from before walk in, she raised her head, "what do you want?," her tone of voice cold as ice.

    "Well, for starters, my names Peter Parker," he rubs the back of his neck as she stared him down, "well if that's all you have to say then get out," Vanessa points to the door, "no, wait.... that wasn't all," he took a deep breath before speaking again, "I'm sor~ry, for laughing at you. There, I said it," Peter crossed his arms, a wide smile plastered on his face. Vanessa looked at him, did he actually think she would fall for his apology? She rolled her eyes, "next time, try actually coming up with a more believable apology, maybe then I would believe you," Peter's eyes widen just a bit, "now get out of my room," but before he could react Vanessa had pushed him out, slamming the door in his face. "Ha! Smooth move Romeo," Luke or other wise known as Power Man had said with a grin, Peter frowns, "I could care less, all that matters is that we have another person to do our jobs for us," Luke raised an eyebrow, "you should cut her some slack, she is new after all," he told Peter who only shrugged his shoulders, "and plus, she's going to be in the same High school as us," Peter froze, "what?! No way! Did Fury do it?," Luke nods his head, "I don't know why you're so mad about it, besides it's rare to get girls our age in the Avengers," Luke stretched out his arms, showing off his muscles, "I think I might have a chance with her," he told him, but of course he wasn't listening, "huh? What ever.... but it doesn't matter! Tomorrows training, we'll see how good she really is," he crossed his arms, "and I have a great way of turning up the heat," Luke raised an eyebrow, "man, why are you so evil today?," Peter shrugs, "don't know, maybe the change in weather, you know how it is," he said before walking off, Luke crossed his arms, "no I don't know how it is."

    - - - - - - -

    Night had arrived and she had been asleep for the longest that is until an obnoxiously loud alarm was set off, "AAAAHH!!!," Vanessa jumps out of her bed before crawling over towards her bag and unzipping it, she reached in, grabbing the katana Logan had given her on the day of her birthday and a pair of ripped jeans. Vanessa struggled to place on her pants while hopping over towards the door, once there she had finally got them on and she opened the door before running out into the dark hallway where she could see dark silhouettes running down the hall as well, one of which she bumped into, Vanessa lost her balance and fell on her back side, "ouch!," she looked up, her eyes squinting just a bit in order to see who this person was, "sorry about that," a hand extends out to her and she takes it, "it's fine," she said before he pulled her up. "We don't have much time, here, let me assist you," Vanessa raised an eyebrow, "what? What do you mean assist?," but before she could say anything more he had swooped her up in his arms, and ran down the dark hall, "will you promise to get me up to speed?," she asked him as he turned a corner, "I would be glad to do so. My names Danny," Vanessa looked behind him to see others coming their way, "thanks.... my names Vanessa."

    Everyone stood side by side, she had placed her self by Danny's side because he had been telling her about what was going on, it was basically night training for the younger superhero's. It looked like the danger room back at the mansion, but a little more advanced in technology, and a lot less safe.... Vanessa took a look at herself and then at the others, they were all in their uniforms while she had been in a long white t-shirt, and ripped jeans, "uh, can I go.... change?," she asked the man who looked like he was in charge, the tall, bald, Caucasian man looked in her direction, along with everyone else, except Danny, who was grinning just a bit, "did I say you could speak?," Vanessa shrugs her shoulders, "you didn't say anything along the lines of speaking, and who are you to tell me when I can or can not speak?," she placed her hands upon her hips. A vain was seen on the forehead of the man, it seemed she had aggravated him, "it seems like we have a volunteer," all of a sudden she was pushed up front, she looked behind her to see Peter waving, a wide grin upon his face, she clenched her fists, it took all the strength inside of her to not punch that stupid grin off of his face, but instead she only smiled and waved back, which made him frown.

    "Alright! Ms.Johnson here is going to show you all how she takes down an android," he turns to look at her, "what ever you throw at me, I can take," Vanessa told him, he gave her a slight smirk before pressing a button on his remote, and stepping back a few feet, along with everyone else, she didn't know why until about four human like androids appeared, one behind her, one in front of her, and the other two on her left and right hand sides, "begin!," as the man said the word begin the for androids rushed her on all sides, giving her little time to react to their attacks. Vanessa ducks her body down, avoiding all four of their punches, she watched as each one took on a hard punch to the face, it was enough to make her chuckle, "what a bunch of scrap metal," she says before quickly backing away from the four androids, but again they gave her little time to attack, they had already recovered from their mishap and bolted towards her with great speed. The first one came at her with a flurry of punches and kicks while the other three tried to catch her off guard by going at her sides, "crap....," she said before conjuring a single red X to block the android that kept throwing punches and kicks at her and jumped up, avoiding the other three's attack from the sides, but before she could react fast enough a strong force on her back sent her crashing down, "uhg!," everyone gasped, the man in charge soon realized that something wasn't right, the androids weren't supposed to be reacting this fast, but as he pressed the off button nothing happened, "damn it! Johnson, get away from there!," Vanessa looks in his direction and shook her head no, "what do you mean NO! You're going to get torn to bits!," the man looked over at Luke and Ava, "go in there, and help her!"

    Vanessa rolled over, before one of the androids fist could smash into her face, she quickly got up and sliced through the metal of the android with the red blade of her katana, it fell onto the ground before short circuit, then shut down. A bit of blood slithered down the side of her face, she used the back of her hand to wipe it away before it reached her chin, "nice one," Ava said while quickly flipping over one of the androids and slashing it in the back about three times before it powered down, Luke really didn't have to do anything, the last two ran into him and smashed into bits, "wow," Vanessa said before rubbing the back of her sore neck, now that she thought about it, that first strike did quiet a number on her back, she straightens up her back, causing her back to crack, "UH!," she fell to one knee and used her katana as a sort of crutch to support her weight. Danny was the first to come to her aid, his hand resting upon her back, she let out a shuttered breath, "that sounded like it hurt," Ava said as she extends her left hand out towards her, Vanessa smiled a bit, "I felt worse," she said as she reached up to grab her hand, but Danny had disagreed, "no, you've torn a muscle in you shoulder. I'm surprised you could even attempt to lift your arm," Vanessa raised an eyebrow, she didn't even feel pain in her shoulder, how did he know? "The medical team are on their way right now," the bald man told them before speaking back into his walkie talkie.

    - - - - - -

    Two weeks had passed, she had about three more days in order to get out of the mansion and attend her new High School. Vanessa flipped through the pages of a history book that she had found under the bed just a few minutes ago, but now she was getting bored very fast. Oh how she wished someone would visit her, mainly Danny, she liked the way he talked, Vanessa shook her head before checking the watch near her bed, the watch Luke gave her, "schools out," she whispered to herself, actually, it had already been out for about fifteen minutes, there was a knock on her door, "come in," the door opens, her guest, Luke. Vanessa sat up, her arms crossed, and her eyes piercing his own, causing a bit of sweat to run down the side of his face, "are you just going to stand their and think of ways to woo me, or are you going to say something," Luke rubbed the back of his neck, "I... I uh.... you are....," she sighed, "Luke spit it out already, I have.... books to read," she squints her eyes, making Luke feel small, "I.... like you....," by the time he had said that his face was covered in sweat. Vanessa got up from her bed, "like me, you like me?," she straightens her pants a bit, Luke nods his head before speaking again, "I was just wondering if you liked me back," he tried coming a bit closer but she placed her hand right in front of him, only inches away from his well built chest, "wondering, if I liked you?," her eyebrow raised, "Luke you don't even know me, yet you like me," Vanessa crossed her arms, "did Peter make you do this?," Luke's cheeks went red, "no, what?!," she smiled softly, "well, I'm flattered Luke, but I just don't like you," he swallowed, "oh, okay....," she already knew he was embarrassed for confessing his true feelings for her, and now that she turned him down he just felt regret, and now she felt bad, "Luke, look at me, in the eyes," he hesitated at first but he looked her in the eyes, "you are talented, and a handsome guy, don't let me of all people bring you down," she sits on the edge of her bed, "can we at least be friends?," she asked him, Luke smiled half way, "sure, I can hang with that," another knock on the door caused, "come in," it was Danny, and he brought Chinese food, "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?," Luke shook his head, "nah man, nothing important," he gets up from her bed and walked towards the door, "and Luke, see you in three days," she smiled, "yeah, can't wait."

    "Mmm, looks, and smells good," Vanessa placed her hands together, she couldn't wait to stuff her face, but it would seem she would have to wait before she could eat, "take this opportunity to get dressed, I'll be waiting out side your door," she watched him walk out her room and shut the door behind him, all the while she had been smiling with out even noticing it. She dug in her black bag like a wild animal trying to quickly dig out grubs, she found a rather nice white long sleeved shirt, blue skinny jeans, some regular socks, old beat up black and white converse, and a gray jacket. Vanessa ran towards the bathroom, grabbed the comb, and starts to pull at the naps in her thick short hair, "argh.... pain," the easiest part had been the long straight side bang, one run through with the comb and it curled almost instantly, but she knew it wouldn't last long. She ran towards the door but came to an abrupt halt, "wait, this isn't a date is it?," she wasn't sure what this was, maybe it was just to take her to get some fresh air or something along those lines, "yeah, yeah.... fresh air," that was what she thought anyways. Vanessa opened the door, the smell of the Chinese food greeting her, along with Danny who took her by the hand, her cheeks went warm from the feel of his skin touching her own, 'fresh air, fresh air', she had to keep reminding herself or else she would think the wrong idea, and plus that kiss Remy had given her, didn't that mean he still had feelings for her? But every time she thought of him it would get hazy, like a dream she couldn't remember, maybe it was time to move on, Remy had Rogue, and she had.... 'fresh air, freeesh air'.

    "Where are we going?," Vanessa asked him, a puff of smoke coming from her mouth, he squeezed her hand lightly, as did she. It was cold out, and it was a good thing she wore what she had on or else she wouldn't be out here, "you'll find out soon enough," and by the smile on his face she could tell that they were almost close to their destination. They were now in the big city near Central Park, although it was close she had been shivering from the cold and the wind, " here we are," he looks over towards a book store, Vanessa smiled, mainly because they were finally going to be in a warm building. The door opens, causing the bell to jingle, the woman in charge waved her hand at the two, "hello there Danny, it's been a while," she then gasps, "and I see you brought Chinese, along with somethin else," the some what aged female smiled warmly and gave a wink that she spotted 'fresh air, fresh air', Danny smiled, "make yourselves at home you two," she giggled and left the counter to head in the back room. She raised an eyebrow.... weird. They head up swirling steps that went up, Danny let go of her hand in order to push up the ceiling door, he went in first then helped her inside, it was dark in the room until he pushed the curtains out of the way of the large glass window, "wow.... the view is so nice up here," she grins, "but you know what's even better, that Chinese food," Danny chuckled before sitting on the ground, Vanessa walked over and sat beside him, the bag of food had still been hot, he opens up the bag, dug in and pulled out a box of Chinese food, there was only one, were they going to share? Her stomach growled loudly, "oh dear god....," she mumbled to herself before taking hold of the chop sticks near her, "I'm not very good with these," she tried picking at the shrimp but failed, Danny gets closer towards her, "here, let me show you," he took hold of her right hand and gently placed her fingers in the correct position, "now try again," Vanessa slowly moved the chop sticks and took hold of the shrimp again, she took hold of it and brought it only inches to her mouth before it slipped away from the chop sticks, "uhg, do you have a fork any where inside that bag of yours?," she asked, but he shook his head no, "I won't eat a single thing until you have," Danny looks over at her.

    It took her three tries before finally eating the mini shrimp. As she ate she noticed Danny wasn't taking his fill, "hey, eat up, this is good stuff you know," she didn't even notice that while she was eating he was busy looking at her, but she noticed when he placed his hand over hers, the chop sticks fell into the half empty box, Vanessa looks at him, she picked up a napkin with her free hand and used it to wipe her mouth, "you're looking at the wrong thing Danny," her cheeks grew hotter by the second, he leans forward just a bit, "I don't think I am," Vanessa felt the beating of her heart go a bit faster 'fresh, clean.... air, fresh air', she felt his fingers lacing with her own, "D-Danny," his free hand softly caresses the side of her face until it rests on the soft flesh of her neck, he could probably feel her pulse racing, along with the warm heat coming off of it. Vanessa was losing the battle against Danny, but perhaps she wanted to. Slowly their lips touched, she pulled away slightly, their lips only inches away from each other, both look deep into each others eyes until he came in for another kiss, and this time she didn't pull away from him, 'Danny'.

    - - - - - -

    The next day she was called in by Fury, he had been the first one to find out that she was missing, but instead of busting a vain, he told her about S.H.E.I.L.D, she didn't like the idea but she had to, she left the mansion with out letting anyone know, and plus she would be attending school first thing tomorrow, Fury had said if she had the strength to walk about in the cold then she could attend. A slight smile formed on her face, the thought of having Danny in the same High School as her made her feel much better, maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.