Crimson (A Marvel Story)

Chapter 4: New Beginnings

The first thing I felt as I opened my eyes was the aching of my body. I stared up at the white ceiling. The dust and soot still covered my body. I slowly moved my limbs, praying that they were fully operational. I sighed in relief as nothing ached too bad. I pushed myself up and winced as a twinge of pain shot from my joints.
"Hot head's awake!" came Tony's voice. I glanced around to see Tony, Thor, and Falcon.
"Hey," Falcon mumbled. He took in a deep breath. "I wanted to apologize for how I treated you before. What you did back there for us was...pretty damn awesome."
I smiled and nodded. "I'm Sam."
I glanced at Thor. He smiled as he nodded towards Sam.
"I'm Briella," I mumbled.
"See," Thor said as he pointed at me. He glanced at Tony. "Told you she liked that name."
Tony flashed a sarcastic smile.
"Funny, I don't remember asking," he retorted. I chuckled as he picked up a white box and handed it to me.
"What's this?" I asked.
"Just a little something from all of us. Well, I mean, I'm the one who made it and designed it but I guess the others had a tinny part in making it."
"I came up with the color," Thor added proudly.
My brows furrowed as I grabbed the box and tore it open. My eyes widened as I stared at the beutiful material. It was black with red accents here and there. It had a black hood and came with red and black leather gloves that went up to my elbows. The pants were black and looked to be tight. It also came with a cool thigh holster that would hold knives and a pistol. It also came with dark red combat boots. I ran my fingers across the fabric. I instantly recognized the smoothness of the vibranium. It was a suit but...nothing like the one Doctor gave me. This one was...so much cooler! I honestly wanted to put it on now, but seeing how filthy I was, I figured it'd be better to wait. My eyes flickered back up to Tony's as I realized what this meant.
"Does this mean—?"
"The moment you blasted the bomb the other way, the moment you put yourself in harm's way to save us, was the exact moment you became an Avenger," he said.
"Let's face it. If it weren't for you, we'd all be dead," Sam added.
Tony nodded.
"So, what do you say, kid? Wanna become an Avenger?"
I couldn't help but smile. Yes, I spent my whole life training to end them, but deep down, all I ever wanted was to protect people, to help them. If this was how I could truly do that, then of course I'd be in. I nodded. Tony clapped his hands together.
"Wonderful! Now, your filthy and reek of dirt. Not to mention, there are loads of reporters downstairs waiting to meet the newest member. There are showers two doors down. I suggest you take one."
I chuckled as I put the suit back in the box and wandered into the bathroom two doors down. I placed my suit down. I turned my head and wanted to crumble to my knees as I saw my reflection. My hair resembled a dirty mop, and I still wore the suit Doctor had given me. I slowly walked up to the mirror and stared into my eyes. The heat rose off my sweaty skin. I watched as the red consumed the brown iris. I quickly turned and rushed into the shower, turning on the freezing water, trying desperately to scrape away everything Doctor had given me. I tore off the suit and scratched at my filthy skin. The freezing water was like knives on my skin but I had to get everything off. The water turned black and red as the soot and blood washed off. I peeled off the dry soot from my cheeks and tore it from the rest of my body. I finally stopped as I scratched off the last of the filth. I took in deep breaths and switched the water to warm. I sighed and closed my eyes as the warmth dripped down my freezing body. My mind was still racing back to Pheonix. Where was he? What was he doing now? Was he in pain? I bit my lip and shook my head. I had to let him go. I wanted to start a new life, a life without Doctor. I took in a deep breath. Let him go. I clenched my jaw and shook my head. No. I couldn't. I would gladly let Doctor go, get him out of my life and mind, but not Pheonix. He was innocent. He must be saved. After a few minutes of just letting the warm water run over me, I got out of the shower and put my new suit on. I stared at myself in the mirror again except for this time, I wasn't ashamed at who was staring back at me. I took in a deep breath and walked out of the room. My eyes snapped to the side as a tall blonde woman stood by the door. She was talking to someone on the phone while writing something down on a notepad. I glanced behind her to see two other people standing there. Her eyes caught mine and she flashed a rushed smile. She quickly hung up and gave me a bigger smile.
"Hi, Bri. I'm Pepper. Pepper Potts."
She reached out her hand and grabbed mine. My eyes narrowed as she shook it. What was she doing? I wondered. I figured it was a way of greeting someone. In the compound, we usually just bowed and nodded. She pointed to the two people behind her. One was a smaller woman with dark skin and curly hair and the other was an older man with coke-bottle glasses. "These two are your prep team. They're gonna get you looking nice before you go out in front of the press. Is that okay?"
I swallowed hard as my mind raced back to the last time I got prepped for something. The showers. My heart started to race just at the thought of it. I bit my lip and nodded. I wanted to get the shower over with as fast as possible. She smiled and my prep team lightly pushed me back into the showering area. I rolled my eyes at the whole thought of it. Why didn't they do this before I put my suit on? The woman walked in front of me and flashed a welcoming smile.
"Hi, Briella. My name is Gabby and this is Daniel," she said. The man smiled and gave a small nod. I flashed a weak smile before turning back to myself in the mirror. Let's get this over with, I groaned to myself. My eyes narrowed as Gabby took out a black funny-looking thing. It almost looked like a gun. I clenched onto the fabric of my leather gloves, watching carefully as she turned it on. I braced myself only to be met by hot air. She blew the weapon into my hair. The hot air made my hair whip around wildly. I watched in pure confusion as she used the weapon to dry my hair within seconds. While she was working with my hair, Daniel was taking pencils and weird...ink sticks to my eyes. He made me close my eyes as he colored on my eyelids and brushed black goo through my eyelashes. This was a lot differnt from the preperation I used to get at the compound, but I wasn't complaining at all. It felt like heaven in comparison to what they did at the compound.
"Such beauty!" Daniel exclaimed. "I don't even have to do your eyebrows! They're already so perfect!"
My perfect brows furrowed as I tried to figure out what to say to that. No one had ever called me beautiful before.
"Oh," is all I could say. Gabby nodded as she scooped out white goo from a bottle. She rubbed it in her hands and scrunched up my curls with it.
"Your hair is absolutely gorgeous! It's not often I get to work on someone who has curls like you," she said. Again, I wasn't sure what to say so I just flashed a weak smile. They both backed away and smiled as they examined me.
"Perfect!" they both exclaimed. They scooted away. I looked up and caught my own eyes in the mirror. The way they made my eyelids a dark red, the way my eyelashes looked longer, it made my light brown eyes pop. Any scars I had on my face were gone. My hair was long, shiny and curly, the prettiest I had ever seen it. Gabby took my hood and delicately placed it ontop of my hair.
"What do you think?" she asked. I let out a faint chuckle. I looked...alive. I looked...
"Pretty," I mumbled. Gabby clapped her hands together and pushed me back out the door. Pepper smiled as she glanced at me. She grabbed my arm and lead me down two floors. I caught Tony's eyes. He smiled and pointed at me.
"Quick, what do you want your superhero name to be?"
Pepper tilted her head and sighed irritably.
"You haven't come up with a name yet?" she questioned.
He waved her off and squeezed his eyes shut.
"C'mon, Little-bit. We're on the clock!"
I glanced back and forth between him and Pepper.
"I—I don't know!"
Pepper sighed again and rushed over to a door.
"She goes out in one minute, Tony! Figure it out!"
My heart banged against my ribcage as she opened the door. I couldn't see anyone but I could hear the many voices hovering in the air as she walked through.
"C'mon, kid! You can do, Firegirl, Flamegirl...pick something!"
I just shrugged again.
"I said I don't know, Stark!" I snapped. He sighed and rolled his eyes.
"You get angry a lot. How about Hot Head or Crimson Ball of Burning Fury."
My eyes narrowed as he finally shut his mouth. Parts of that name actually sounded...good. His brows furrowed as he glared at me. "What?"
I smiled at him as I thought of the perfect name.