1429.
I apologize for the painfully long post. It gets cheesy after a while, Silver.
The further my muse ran from me, the cheesier it got.
Beware.
_________________________________________________________________________________
~ ~ ~
Two
~ ~ ~
My dreams were tormented and dark. Images of blood, fire, and death swirled around in my mind throughout the duration of my sleep. I woke with a start and glanced around the room, immediately going into a panic. I had no recollection of where I was, nor who I was with. Questions began to flood my mind. How long had I been asleep? Where was my cellmate? How did I get to a place such as this?
“There is no need to be alarmed.” I jumped as I heard a voice nearby. I looked around wildly for its source, eyes darting to a fro. They soon met another’s eyes, brown and soft. The man looked at me intently, keeping a respectable distance from where I lay. “I can understand your confusion. The Mansion is very different from your previous residence.”
I stared at the man, dumbfounded. My expression must have portrayed my feelings, for the he gave a short laugh. The stranger walked over and sat down at the end of the bed, still making sure to keep his distance. I continued to stare fixedly at him. I wished to say something; to express my gratitude for his kindness. However, the more I tried to find the words to say, the more impossible the task seemed to become.
“My name is T’Challa,” he said gently. “I am king of Wakanda, an Avenger, and a friend.” Here he paused, studying my face closely. “There is no reason to fear my presence, nor that of any other members of this house. I brought you here for a reason.”
My curiosity got the better of me and words burst forth from my mouth before I had time to stop them. “What on earth would you need from someone like me?”
T’Challa chuckled once again. “You will find out in due time,” he said, standing up slowly. I watched him as he strode over to the door and turned the knob. “You are welcome to come down any time you wish,” he said with a small smile, turning back to look in my direction. “The others of the team are very curious to meet you. They’ve heard many things about you, you see.” He quickly walked out of the door, shutting it softly behind him.
A confused expression spread over my face. It soon gave way to worry. “Heard many things about me,” I thought to myself. “That can’t be good.” I glanced around the room again, now taking the time to observe the furnishings. Everything seemed fancy enough. It was far cleaner and nicer a room than any I had ever been in, though I myself had never had much luck with dwellings.
I leapt out of the bed after a few moments, eager to meet the “others of the team” that the man had spoken of. I walked quickly towards the door, but slowed as I approached it. I was afraid that they would judge me, call me a merciless creature for what I done. After a few minute’s hesitation, I reached for the handle, hands shaking slightly as I did.
~ ~ ~
Three
~ ~ ~
I nearly yelped as the door swung open of its own accord, or so I thought. I soon realized that another girl was standing just outside the opening, her eyes opened wide in shock.
“You scared me half to death,” she exclaimed, hand still grasped tightly around the knob. I was about to retort, but thought better of it. They must already consider me a monster; why make it worse? “My name is Janet, but you can call me Jan if you want.” She talked a mile a minute. It annoyed me slightly, but I tried not to make such a bad judgment of her so early. “Most people know me as the Wasp, but I’ll explain that later. Since you’re up, you might as well come down and see the rest of the team!” A huge smile played across her face and she grabbed my hand, dragging me down the stairs against my wishes. As we walked down the staircase, she blabbered on about how “curious everyone was” and how she wished I “hadn’t kept her waiting for so long.”
“How long was I asleep?” I nearly yelled the question at her. It was practically impossible to get a word in edgewise when she got to talking.
“About two days! You were out cold, lemme tell you that. T’Challa went to check on you a couple of times. You know, I think he may have taken a fancy to you,” she whispered the last sentence, bringing a light blush to my cheeks. Before I could consider what she had said, though, she was off again. “He seemed a little disappointed by how long you slept. I think he was eager to talk to you. Well, everyone was. Anyway…”
I held up my hand with a small laugh. “Stop, stop, stop. You’re going to make my head explode if you keep going on like that.” Janet smiled once again, eyes twinkling. “Sorry, I always forget to let somebody else talk for a change.”
By this time we were nearing what I assumed was the dining room. I could hear the din of voices sweeping down the hall as we approached. Suddenly, a loud crash erupted from the room. Jan and I looked at each other, eyebrows raised. We then rushed into the room, startled by the sight we beheld.
The dining room table was overturned, its contents strewn across the floor. I could see many playing cards, as well as a bowl of what appeared to be potato chips, though they looked more like sand now. Something had crushed them, leaving them lying forlorn on the ground. I quickly spotted T’Challa, lying awkwardly a little ways away, his chair having been upset. I walked over to him and held out my hand. “What was that about there being no reason to fear the presence of the other members of the house,” I asked with a smile. He took my hand with a grin and I helped him up, brushing the chip fragments off his shoulders as he looked around. I turned around and took in the situation. Two large men were fighting in the corner, upturning more furniture as they went. They appeared to be the Hulk and Thing. I had heard about them many times, but I had never gotten the chance to actually see them. Everyone else in the room - from what I could see, Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, and the Human Torch - were either on the ground or standing as far as they could from the wrestling pair, some brushing themselves off, others laughing at the battle.
They had taken no notice of me as of yet. I was about to take my chance to escape back up to my room, but T’Challa held me fast. “Now, where do you think you are going?” He smiled and held on to my shoulder. I frowned, wishing to be anywhere but here. After a few moments of confusion and chaos, everything settled back down. The pair ceased fighting and now stood next to each, the Hulk with his arms crossed. The table had been replaced, as well as the chairs and other furnishings. A rather awkward silence ensued as all eyes turned towards me with wonder.
~ ~ ~
Four
~ ~ ~
Ant-Man was the first to speak. He stood next to Janet, his arm around her shoulder. “We thought you were never going to wake up,” he said with a chuckle, removing his arm from Jan’s shoulders. He walked over to me and took my hand, shaking it kindly. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Before I knew it, everyone in the room had crowded around, each one shaking my hand in turn. All the while, T’Challa’s hand remained steadfast on my shoulder. It was fortunate for him that it did: I would have run from the room for sure if it hadn’t. I was never one for attention. I preferred to remain in the shadows, free from disturbance and interaction.
“Okay, okay…let’s not crowd her now!” This time the voice came from Iron Man. “That’s better. Now, how about we introduce ourselves, hm? I am Tony Stark, smartest -- and most handsome -- member of the team.” Many in the room rolled their eyes at this, including myself. I laughed slightly as Tony showed off his muscles, posing to prove his point. He looked like an idiot, but it was amusing nonetheless.
Every member of the room made their introductions after Tony quit acting a fool. In all: Steven Rogers (“but you’re more than welcome to call me Steve, miss”); Clint Barton (“and I’M the most handsome, thank you very much”); Henry Pym (“feel free to call me Hank”); Johnny Storm (“I may not be a member of this team, but I sure as hell am more handsome then those losers”); Thor (“it is grand meeting thee, mortal”); Benjamin Grimm (“I don‘t know what they’re talking about…I’m the most handsome”); and Hulk, known as Bruce Banner when not in his current form (“Hulk doesn’t like new people”).
I was quite overwhelmed by now, but smiled at each of them in turn despite this. It was now my turn to share my name. All were looking at me expectantly, eyes boring into my skull. “And I’m Kat Davies,” I said with a small grin. “And Hulk is obviously the most handsome. No doubt about it.” Hulk grunted in reply, the shadow of a smile on his face. Every being in the room chuckled, even T’Challa -- who, for your information, still had his damn hand grasped tighly around my shoulder.
~ ~ ~
CHEESY. YAY.
I believe I shall make something exciting happen next...but which villain to use...
