Frostbite

Four

The party was in full swing. There were so many people moving around the room, intent on conversing and having a good time. The music was just at the right volume, loud but not so that you couldn't hear the person next to you. It was an open bar, and many were taking advantage of that, but somehow it hadn't turned wild yet, like so many of Tony's parties did.

Tony had finally entered the room only moments ago, after checking the scepter. For some reason the Ultron protocol wouldn't take, even with the power of the scepter. Thor was leaving in the morning, so Tony and Bruce were out of time and out of luck with their secret project. I was just glad no one had found out, and nothing had gone wrong.

I took a small sip of my drink and glanced around the room. Steve and Sam were chatting up on the balcony, Tony and Thor were deep in conversation across the room, and it seemed like Natasha and Bruce were flirting a ways down the bar counter. I smiled to myself as I watched them interact; they had grown close over the last few months.

"You're awfully quiet over here," a voice spoke up from beside me. I peeked over to see Helen Cho coming to make herself a drink, staring curiously at me. With a small smile I shrugged and turned to face her. It irked Tony that she loved me, but had a small, snarky distaste for him.

"I don't think I even know half of these people and the ones I do are all occupied at the moment. And I don't think I'm in the mood for the questions that always seem to come up," I replied honestly. She nodded, understanding what I meant. She opened one of the fridges but shut it again with a sigh.

"No ice," she explained, pouring the liquor and coming around to sit next to me. I glanced at her glass and the outside frosted over, chilling her drink. Her eyes widened slightly, and she took a small sip before saying, "Your powers are advancing. You didn't even have to move a muscle; you only used your mind. Fascinating..."

"Well, only small things. I can't do anything on a larger scale, at least not without losing control. I'm working on it," I admitted, shrugging my shoulders. Helen had always been interested in me. I knew she wanted to study my makeup, but she was too polite to ever ask. Her mood seemed to shift, and she lowered her voice even though no one was around us at the moment.

"Have you ever thought of trying to have the components that give you your powers eradicated from your DNA?"

"Is that even possible?" I asked, flummoxed from the turn in conversation.

"I believe so. If the components could be tracked down and isolated, it could be done. Tests would have to be done. I wouldn't want to erase anything that didn't come from the serums."

At first, I figured she was just trying to get me into her lab but staring at her I realized she was being genuine. Of course, I had thoughts of what it would be like to just be normal again. To lead a semi-normal life that didn't involve dodging bullets all the time or some crazed new enemy. But after all these years I had come to accept who I was, and that hadn't been an easy thing.

"I don't know. I'm not sure I could go back to before, not after gaining so much. And I feel like I finally have control over myself again. Thank you, but I don't think I'd be interested," I apologized, finishing my now watered-down drink.

"No, I'm glad to hear that. Just know if you ever change your mind, the offer still stands," she smiled warmly and excused herself. I watched her stride towards Thor, who was across the room with Tony still. Her crush on him was adorable. I was about to swivel in my seat to finally get up, when a pair of strong arms wrapped around me.

"Why do you look so serious? We're in the middle of a party, which seems to be slowly spiraling out of control," Steve chuckled, releasing his grip so that I could stand and turn to face him.

"No reason. Just laying low at the moment. Where did Sam go?" I asked curiously, glancing around for him.

"He couldn't stay."

"How rude. He didn't even come to say hello," I huffed, cocking an eyebrow at him. He put his hands up innocently.

"So, are you going to come socialize with the rest of us normal folk or are you going to hide out at the bar like a sad little puppy the whole time?" he teased, enjoying the look on my face at his words.

I quickly wiped the outraged look off my face and smiled coyly, "Sure, right after you come dance with me." The look of horror I received was priceless.

"Mel, you know I don't dance well. There's no one even dancing," he argued, narrowing his eyes. I grabbed his hand and started dragging him to an open part of the floor.

"So what? We'll make them want to. And you can't keep using that as an excuse, because we both know I've taught you how to dance. I don't know why you get embarrassed, because you're actually good," I grinned, not backing down. He groaned, knowing he wasn't going to win this one.

"Hey, you say that like you'd expect me to be bad!" he realized loudly. We came to a halt, and I turned to face him.

"Well..." I chuckled, earning a disapproving look, which only made me laugh more as we started to sway to the beat, attracting the attention of a large portion of the room. Not that I cared, there was only one person who held my attention at that moment.