A result of HYDRA's experiments, Ava Maximoff knows she's powerful, strong, special. But she can't control that power and it costs people their lives. Now, she has the opportunity to use her power for good - by joining the Avengers. Follow her on he...
Today is the day. Today is the day I join the Avengers. My eyes drift upwards to my reflection in the mirror. A young face looks back at me, made to look younger by stipples of amber freckles. The same amber specks highlight otherwise green eyes. Eyes that are tired, worn, older than my lived years as a consequence of my lived experiences. Am I ready for this? What if I lose control again? What if the others don't accept me? A knock at the door jolts me from my thoughts. There is no time to reconsider.
"Ava? Are you ready?" the voice from behind the door questions.
"I'll be right there, Tony. Come on in," I reply. With a flick of my wrist, a flash of blue light darts from my fingers and the front door swings open. Glancing back at myself in the mirror, "You've got this, Ava" I say.
"Why do you look like you're going to a parent-teacher conference?" Tony asks as I exit the bathroom, referring to my modest navy pantsuit.
"Is it really that bad? I just want to make a good first impression."
"It's not a job interview, loosen up a bit," he advises as I wander back over to my closet. This is off to a great start. I swap the blazer out for my trusty leather jacket, which I may or may not have had for almost a decade, and remove my hair from the slicked-back, apparently teacher-like, ponytail. I know Iron Man doesn't have X-ray vision, but it certainly feels like it as his eyes look fixedly at the cascade of obsidian hair that now flows down my back to meet my waist.
"That's better," he smirks.
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My forehead rests on the car window as we drive through the streets of New York to reach the compound. It's 6 o'clock in the morning and the city is starting to stir from its slumber. Faceless 3-piece suits and dress shoes pound the pavements of Broadway, no doubt heading towards lifeless desk jobs on Wall Street. This is what I love about places like New York, the anonymity, the ability to become invisible (not literally, in my case. Although there have been many times that I have wished for that particular superpower). It is easy to get lost in the crowd. Everyone else is simply too busy and too consumed by their own lives to care about or even notice a stranger. Everyone is a stranger here. Perfect for me.
Breathing in, the fresh smell of rainfall mixes with the musty exhaust fumes of the morning traffic to create a scent entirely unique to cities during a storm. In the 2 years that I have lived here, hurricane season has always been my favourite. There's something humbling about looking outside at the torrent of rain falling from the sky, trapping us in our houses, cars, under our umbrellas. It's as if the Earth is reminding us of her power. I wind down the window a few inches, just enough to allow my hand to rest outside the car. The cold, sharp droplets hit my skin in miniature explosions sending shivers up my arm. Yet, they make me feel surprisingly warm. They remind me that I'm alive. Part of me has the urge to jump out of the car at the next light and simply stand in the rain and feel the cold, sharp droplets and miniature explosions hit the rest of my body. But I know better than to be impulsive like that. Impulsivity is the enemy of control.
