In the Shadows of Legends - A Winter Widow Story

Chapter One

High school sucks. That's a given. Every teenager feels that way. You spend hours a day surrounded by people who will likely mean nothing to you in a few years but imagine high school while being surrounded by the children of the greats. I'm not talking celebrities or politicians. Not even saints or philanthropists. Dealing with their kids would be so much easier.

I am growing up amongst the Avenger's Offspring. Thor's daughter, Torunn, literally has the blood of Gods running through her body. Morgan Stark inherited her father's brilliant mind as well as her mom's ability to shut down any stupid ideas any one might have, Henry and Cassie Lang both have access to the Pym Particle, but Cassie is off doing her own thing with a few of the older kids like Kamala Kahn and Kate Bishop. James Rogers has Super Soldier serum in his blood. Azar is in line to take on not only the throne of Wakanda, but the mantle of Black Panther as well. Sofia Strange is training to be just like her parents. The Barton's are the only ones with out some sort of power, powered tech or genius but they are much older than the rest of us. Lila has taken over her mom's roll as Agent 13, Cooper is high in the S.H.I.E.L.D. ranks as well, Nathanial took over the family farm. Francis goes back and forth on his decision weekly. He trains with us but has never taken it seriously. But serious or not, he has always been a good friend. We have different priorities in life but still seem to get along well. The list goes on and on, name an Avenger I know their kid, their powers, strengths, and weaknesses. They are my friends, and I love and respect them but it doesn't make growing beside them any easier.

Which leads to me. Unlike the others I don't have a super power, or some special ability, I'm as close to normal as one could get living full time around the Avengers and their kids. Unless you count not being able to feel. You've heard of congenital insensitivity to pain I assume? Take it a step further and you've got me. Not only can I not feel pain, I can't feel the sun warming my skin or the cool breeze nipping at my nose. I can't even feel the touch of someone I care about. Makes for interesting training sessions when I can't tell if one of my peers has done damage. S.H.I.E.L.D. calls it impressive and useful. My parents call it concerning. I call it isolating. For as long I can remember I have been unable to feel, Stark helped create things to notify me if I get badly injured. And it's nice but it doesn't stop me from wondering what it is like.

And there is the parentage. Most of the kids have one parent in the Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. I've got both. Don't get me wrong, since the day they brought me home they have been incredible parents. They have given me everything I could ever want or need, and shown me more love than I probably deserve. And I love them just as much, I'm proud of them. They were handed rotten lots in life and changed them. But they were gone a lot, and it was hard as a kid to be worried about both. That each mission could be the last time I saw both parents. To be alone during those stressful moments wasn't easy, it's not something I'd want any one to be forced to go through.

Dad was Captain America's best friend in the war and before it. Until he fell off the train while trying to capture Doctor Zola. He was found by Hyrda, they turned him into the Winter Soldier. He was used by Hydra and the KGB to change the way the world was going. Taking out targets and never getting caught. And then training the Black Widows. That's where he and mom met the first time. Sometime in the 60's he was on lone to the Black Widow program to help further train their best students. From what I hear mom stood apart from even the best. She caught on quickly and didn't argue. When they first started training together things happened fast. They spent their nights sneaking into each others rooms but once they were caught the Winter Soldier was removed from the Black Widow Program and he was wiped and prepared to move to a new mission. But mom never forgot. She graduated the program shortly after and her prize for doing so? A serum to reduce her aging and a hysterectomy to prevent the chance of a 'mistake.'