WHIPLASH ▷ QUICKSILVER !

Chapter 02: I Miss You

a/n: what the actual—? i left my story alone for two days and i'm amazed at the feedback i've gotten!! gaaah! you've all got me blushing like idiots, i didn't see that coming (whoops?). thank you all so much! here's the next chapter. i hope you enjoy it, and again: thank you sooo much for the kind comments!

p.s: belated happy birthday to youuu :-)

‹ don't waste your time on me/you're already the v o i c e inside my head ›

"Why didn't you save us, Flor? Why didn't you save us?... You could have done more... We were right there, Flor; we were right there...! Flor... Flor... Wake up, Flor!"

A scream escaped Florea's lips as she shot up. She heard a distinct 'what the fuck!' followed by a jeer of 'language!' as her eyes began to adjust to her surroundings. Natasha was holding Florea by the shoulder, while Tony clutched his head to everyone else's amusement. "Oh, sorry, Tony." Florea said meekly to which the scientist waved his free hand dismissively.

"I'm sorry for waking you up, but your nightmares seemed to be getting pretty bad," Natasha said worriedly. "And... well... we're here."

"Where's 'here'?" Florea asked groggily, standing up and looking out of the ship window. Pastures and forests rolled out endlessly, a solitary house resting on the greens not too far away.

"We're at a safe house," Clint answered the entrance. Out of all of the Avengers, he seemed to be the most excited to get out. 

Florea understood moments later why: to the Avengers, it may have been a safe house, but to Clint, it was home. She watched wistfully as he greeted his pregnant wife ("That's an agent," Stark whispered, unable to comprehend) and his two children ("Those are... smaller agents." Stark persisted). Laura, Clint's wife, approached Florea with a gentle smile.

"You must be Flor," she said. "Clint has told me a lot about you."

"All good, I hope?" Florea replied awkwardly. Laura laughed kindly, patting Florea's shoulder. "All good." she said, smiling. Florea managed to return a smile before turning away, hoping the woman wouldn't spot the tears brimming in her eyes.

[ . . . ]

"Do you have any powers?"

Florea looked up from the Lego blocks in her hands, towards the two wide-eyed children staring expectantly at her. Nicole (aged 7) and Lewis (aged 5) had been Florea's playmates for the past hour or two, and they had watched intently as Florea made different Lego works for about thirty minutes before trying it out themselves. Other than the occasional giggle and "Look what I did", the two were rather quiet. But now, they were curious.

"Daddy can shoot arrows. He can shoot so straight, you won't even see the arrows go." Nicole said proudly, and Lewis bobbed his head up and down in agreement. "I know," Florea said, smiling. "Can you shoot arrows?" Nicole questioned, cocking her head to one side.

"No. Only your daddy can shoot arrows," Florea hummed, piecing together a few blocks to form a miniature Lego house. "Then what can you do?" Nicole pressed. Shaking her head and laughing a bit, Florea put down her blocks.

"Well, I can do this little thing called 'manipulation'," Florea said, smiling as she watched little Lewis mouth the big word to himself. "I can manipulate sound, gravity, molecules and shadows."

"What's 'manipulate'?" Nicole asked. Florea opened her mouth, ready to sprout a dictionary definition, then she pursed her lips in to a smile. "Why don't I show you?" she said, winking, before holding out her hand. "Don't come too close though," she warned the two children who had began to shuffle impatiently.