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saiilorstars · 9 months

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Ch.2: The Girl with the Hive Mind

Steve Rogers x OFC fic • squeeze your eyes for a Bucky Barnes x (2nd)OFC

taglist: @ocappreciationtag @arrthurpendragon @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel @stareyedplanet @gloryekaterina @averyhotchner @foxesandmagic @lenonizi

Story Masterlist • Seren’s Masterlist• Chloe’s Masterlist

Also available on Fanfic ○ Ao3 ○ Wattpad

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'Ready, ready, ready.'

'Be alert.'

'You are ready.'

Chloe tossed in her bed. She squeezed her eyes shut even more and hoped to God that sleep would finally claim her. If not, she was about to feel terrible for taking a bed that wasn't hers.

'Be ready. There's a 98% chance they are coming.'

Chloe's eyes snapped open and though she couldn't see it, she knew that her eyes were glowing bright blue again. Those numbers hadn't come from them. The Hive Mind spoke very little English to her. No, those numbers had come from her.

Chloe sat up and rubbed her eyes. Sleep was not going to happen tonight.

"Dammit," she threw the covers and got out of bed. It was near six a.m. Another failed night of sleep. She might as well do something productive that morning. She walked up to the dresser and faced her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were still glowing blue. She shook her head hard enough to feel a little dizzy but it was fine if it meant getting rid of the glow and the whispers.

Steve was already in the kitchen getting a drink when Chloe walked in. One look at her and he knew exactly what happened — again. "No sleep?" Chloe silently shook her head as she went in search for a clean glass in the cabinets. "And here I thought you were just coming to join me for my morning run today."

"Mm..." Chloe smirked, "Trying to flatter yourself?"

Steve half smiled, but even then it did not last long. The seriousness took his face over as he continued to study Chloe. "If it has to do with the Hive Mind, you should really see somebody." Steve was almost positive that Chloe's lack of sleep, and other odd symptoms, were because of the alien Hive Mind living in her head.

"Nothing to worry about," Chloe assured him but Steve didn't buy it.

He'd noticed these past days that Chloe was acting a little strange — stranger than usual anyways. He'd grown to really know Chloe Winters, his sometime roommate in D.C. and overall a good friend. Chloe was one of SHIELD'S agents who went on spontaneous missions all over the world but almost always returned to headquarters every few months for a while. Usually in her short stays in D.C. she would be up and about. She was like a buzzing bee—she never stopped. But this time around, she seemed more tired and distant. Something was on her mind and she wasn't saying a thing.

"You're kinda late, aren't you?" Chloe remembered the time it was before leaving his room and it being the hour it was now meant Steve had also slept very, very little last night. Something about her words flustered him and it wasn't until he explained what happened that Chloe understood why.

"I, uh, got held up talking to Seren..." Steve cleared his throat and moved his empty glass to the sink.

"Aaah," Chloe lifted an eyebrow at him, watching him fumble trying to wash his glass. "Another video call?" Steve nodded fairly fast and made a clear attempt to avoid her gaze by washing quicker and harder. "What's that? The fourth call this week?"

"They're just calls."

"And I was born yesterday." Chloe smirked. "I know I look young — my skin care routine is immaculate — but we all know those are two lies. So," she set her own glass on the counter, "what did we talk about? Date ideas—"

"Chloe—"

"—wedding ideas? I'm thinking a June wedding would suit you—"

"Chloe!" Steve turned the water off and grabbed a rag to dry his hands. "You know, I don't think you should push the guy who's graciously letting you take his bed. That was very nice of me."

Chloe met his smile with her own. "It's what brothers do."

"You know? I don't think Bucky ever did that for his sister..."

Chloe smirked. "Then he was a foul brother. Good thing you're a sweet one!"

"Oh, yeah?" Steve started smirking and Chloe came to learn that was never good. Steve was usually very kind but he did have his moments. "Since I'm such a great brother, I'm going to make sure you get some exercise today and since you're already up—"

Chloe's eyes widened. "No!"

"—let's go running!"

"NO!"

Steve Rogers was the nicest man on the planet but he was also ridiculously advantaged. He grabbed Chloe's arm and dragged her out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

"No, no, no, no!" Chloe insisted she had many other things to do and when that didn't work, she threatened to call up Seren Soul herself to make him stop.

"Seren's actually resting! Timezones and all!"

Chloe snorted. "Because you were busy making lovey-dovey calls all night! Sheesh! I'd say get a room but I'm in your room right now and I don't want to see anything that'll traumatize me!"

Any other moment, Steve would've felt awful for shoving a young woman into a room and slamming the door on her...but not today. "Get dressed! And I'm going to wait right here for you!"

~ 0 ~

Chloe loved Steve. She absolutely adored him and was so grateful to have met him but right now she absolutely despised him. They were best friends, yes, and sometimes best friends wanted to murder each other. Steve probably never felt that way with her but she did. She absolutely felt that way each time he made another lap and teased her as he ran past her because she couldn't keep up.

"Oh, but I bet if I was ginger with star birthmarks on my body, I'd be getting A TOTALLY DIFFERENT TREATMENT!" She yelled after him, no longer bothering to try and run decently.

Another man was running the same laps and on occasion Chloe would run either with him or behind him. It turned out he was also faster than her but still slower than Steve. And just like Chloe, the man also became another target for Steve's taunts.

"On your left!" Steve said with a grin on his face when he once again passed Chloe and the man.

"Uh-huh, on my left. Got it!" The man sourly said.

Chloe had to huff her way up to the poor soul. "You won't beat him," she flashed him a smile, albeit a tired one. He was rather cute.

"You know that?" He met her gaze with a playful suspicion.

"I do because he doesn't even give me mercy!"

The man laughed. "Because you're his girlfriend?"

"Oh no, no," Chloe shook her head, her high pony tail swinging even more. "That position is taken even though he refuses to admit it." Chloe had to stop for a moment to catch her breath. Luckily, the man stopped a few steps ahead of her and waited. "And for the record, it's clear I'm a friend because only friends would be stupid enough to go run with him." She knew that Seren would be more than capable of keeping up with Steve on a jog, maybe even surpassing him. Once Chloe felt like she could breathe again, she walked up to the man and held a hand out. "Chloe Winters."

"Sam Wilson," the man shook her hand. "And your friend…?" He pretended to look around like he didn't know that Steve was long gone and probably close to making yet another lap.

Chloe chuckled. "Yeah, you should expect him to make a run by us soon. He's not rude—I think he's incapable of doing it—but he's too fucking cocky for his own good sometimes. We can still try to catch up."

"Seriously?" Sam raised an eyebrow at her.

"If you're game," she smiled innocently before taking off in a slow jog. When she heard Sam laugh, she knew he was coming after her.

Their impromptu competition against Steve was, unsurprisingly, futile. He passed them several more times but not without his new favorite words: On your left. Chloe had the time of her laugh watching it get to Sam. It slowed her down in the process but it was all worth it to see the show.

"Don't say it!" Sam started once he felt Steve catching up again. Chloe was long lost behind him which just left him in the competition. "Don't you say it!"

Steve may have also been having a bit of fun from his end. "On your left!" he said quickly and swiftly when he passed Sam.

"Come on!" Sam angrily yelled after him but no matter how much he tried pushing himself, his body was just too exhausted. He had to stop and rest under a tree before he passed out.

"I told you," he heard Chloe say. She was practically dragging her feet towards him. "You don't win against him."

Sam had plenty to say but at that moment, his lungs begged him to grab air. It left Chloe to come take a seat on the ground across from him. She fell flat on her back and shut her eyes. Soon, Steve came by with a big grin on his face. He didn't seem very tired.

"Which one of you needs a medic?" He gently nudged Chloe's leg with his foot. Chloe did not hesitate to try and kick him.

"Shut up!"

"I need a new set of lungs," Sam rested his head against the tree behind him. "Dude, you just ran like 13 miles in 30 minutes!"

Steve pretended to consider the time with a bob of his head. "I guess I got a late start."

Chloe opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Stop talking now."

"Oh c'mon, I'm just having a little bit of fun. And you needed the run."

"Oh!" Chloe brought a hand to her chest. "Never say that to a woman. And you owe me a yogurt parfait." She held a hand up and waited for Steve to take it. He pulled her up to his feet soon enough. "And jokes on you because I've made a new friend and now we're both going to plot your demise."

Sam's laugh drew both of their attention. "Spunk," he directed at Chloe. Steve made a noise that explicitly warned Sam he was wrong. It was way more than that.

"Nice meeting you," Chloe said to him before looking back at Steve. "And I have to go now. Meeting with Tony and all."

"Again?" Steve watched her backtrack away from them.

"Mhm! Might be late for lunch!" Chloe nodded and held her thumbs up. "See you later!" She quickly turned to sprint off.

Steve watched her disappear and wasn't exactly hiding his concern. Over the past year, Chloe had been visiting Tony Stark very often for God knew what reasons. He would ask sometimes but Chloe was a master at being secretive. 'Nothing to worry about!' was her favorite answer. He mentioned the situation to Seren many times and she herself was also worried.

Chloe was always, always, very obscure about what she did for SHIELD and outside of it. The fact that she was meeting with Tony, who had made it very clear he hated SHIELD, could not bode well.

"Let me guess, that's the boyfriend?" Sam's guess was enough to pull Steve out of his thoughts.

He turned back to Sam with wide eyes and a quick shake of his head. "Absolutely not!" Sam laughed but Steve fully meant it. He knew there was no way in hell Chloe and Tony would ever date.

"Big brother, huh?" Sam deduced fairly quickly.

"Something like that." Steve suddenly realized that he had no idea who this man was. The morning had been incredibly entertaining with him around that he forgot about the most basic act of introductions. "What unit you with?"

"58, Pararescue. But now I'm working down at the VA." Sam stretched a hand out to shake with Steve. "Sam Wilson."

"Steve Rogers."

"Yeah I kind of put that together. Must have freaked you out coming home after the whole defrosting thing."

That was an understatement. Steve couldn't imagine what his life would've been like if Seren hadn't been the agent assigned to help him out two years ago. "It takes some getting used to. It's good to meet you, Sam." He turned to leave when Sam called to him.

"It's your bed, right?"

"What's that?"

"Your bed, it's too soft. When I was over there I'd sleep on the ground and use rock for pillows, like a caveman. Now I'm home, lying in my bed, and it's like…"

It was funny how things could be so similar even when there was a near century of a difference. "Lying on a marshmallow. Feel like I'm gonna sink right to the floor," Steve finished Sam's thought. Even right now when Chloe was staying with him and he took the couch, it was far more comfortable than the places he used to sleep in during the war. "How long?"

"Two tours. You must miss the good old days, huh?"

No, he couldn't say that completely. There were various things he liked about today's world that his didn't have. It started with one person and then all the smaller things around her. "Well, things aren't so bad. Food's a lot better, we used to boil everything. No polio is good. Internet, so helpful. I've been reading that a lot trying to catch up."

"Marvin Gaye, 1972, "Trouble Man" soundtrack," Sam suddenly pointed at him. "Everything you've missed jammed into one album."

"I'll put it on the list," Steve said and followed through by actually jotting it down on a small notebook he carried with him. He had taken his re-integration very seriously, as he had once promised a special woman. He wanted to know what the new world was all about and he felt like he was doing a good job. He wasn't that helpless man that SHIELD found two years ago. He started exploring — he went to art galleries, restaurants that honestly intimidated him sometimes, museums, and just about anything that drew his curiosity. He felt like he had done well with his promise to Seren. And he kept doing new things every day.

He skimmed his list so far and found it was growing bigger than the last time he last checked. Chloe was adamant that he watched something called Doctor Who—apparently it was something she, with her Hive Mind, could connect to—and then there were the classics Seren had listed for him. Natasha had already gotten him to watch Star Wars. Even Stark made his own opinions heard which was why Steve would soon be learning about the moon landing and the Berlin Wall.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw Seren's name on the screen. Without deliberating for a second he answered the call. "Hey!" He turned away from Sam for the time being.

~ 0 ~

On the other end, Seren Soul was practically bouncing on her feet. She felt like an absolute child the way she was so damn excited. "STEVE!" She had not intended on yelling and she would apologize if she'd scared him—

~ 0 ~

Steve actually did get alarmed. "Seren? Shouldn't you be resting? Is everything okay? Are you—"

~ 0 ~

"I'm fine, I'm fine! Steve, you gotta listen to me! We've become official! My new Avengers' team is becoming official!"

"What?"

"My team!" Seren laughed. "You know, the team I've been putting together in London for the past 2 years to try to recreate the Avengers Initiative?" Perhaps Steve hadn't needed the review of her sole mission for the past 2 years but he wouldn't tell her that. He simply told her that yes, he did remember that mission. "They've passed all the tests and the evaluations. Steve, they're really ready now."

~ 0 ~

"Wow, Seren, that's great!" Steve felt a burst of pride for Seren. Seren worked so hard to complete that god awful long mission of hers. Seren had become the first recruit of the Initiative at the age of 9—something Steve still wouldn't forgive SHIELD for—and now she had recreated it with new members and all on her own. "So...so what happens now?" He didn't want to outright ask her if it meant she was finally coming home, especially because they had already discussed the possibility of her moving to another country to restart the mission with new recruits.

"Well, the council wants to meet the new team in D.C."

Steve's heart may have skipped a jolt there. "Really?"

Seren may have been missing a few beats herself. "Y-yeah, um...we'd be coming this weekend. It's going to be an event. The Council, a few top ranking agents, Fury...I'd...I'd really like it if you could be there."

"You know I'll be there." Steve really wished he could see Seren right there and then. She had to be over the moon with joy.

"Yeah?" Seren was grinning from ear to ear. Her hand reached to touch the star pendant sitting on her neck. Two years ago, for her birthday, Steve had given her the gift of visiting her ancestors' planet for the first time. Celessia, the planet of the stars, is where Thor - her tour guide - had brought her to and it was there that Seren carved out her own star from the mines just like every Celessian traditionally did when they reached adulthood. Seren's star was a unique one, once again earning a comment from Thor that it represented her unique biology of a Celessian and a human, because the material that she carved it out of wasn't just one color. It never shined the same color twice in one go. Where her grandmother's star shined a bright silver, Seren's was a baby blue and then a bright orange, then a fierce red and so on. It was a true gift that Seren would never get over. And it all came from Steve.

Seren gripped her pendant tightly. "I can't wait to see you..." she said quieter but with even more feeling behind it. It had been too long since she last saw Steve. Two years, to be exact. And on the worst conditions.

"Me too," Steve agreed, nearly sighing. He couldn't remember feeling this giddy about something in such a long, long time. He would get to see Seren, touch her...

But as friends, he had to remind himself. It was what they agreed on the last time they saw each other because each one had things to do for their work, for themselves. And back then, it seemed like it would be ages before they saw each other again.

Steve swallowed hard. Even if nothing changed between them, he would be grateful for the opportunity to see Seren again. Seren once said that it would be too painful to have each other and not be able to touch each other but now he knew that it wasn't the worst thing in life. No. The worst thing in life was not being together. Not being together was a whole other level of pain. He learned that the hard way.

"I gotta go. Lots of planning to do, make sure to tell the others they're invited please!" Seren said. "I may not have a lot of time to do it all, you know?"

"Of course! See you soon, Seren." It was such an odd thing to say and even then Steve couldn't quite believe it was actually real.

"Bye Steve," Seren hung up but only after forcing herself too. The quicker she got things done, the quicker the weekend would come.

Steve slowly pulled his phone from his ear and took a moment for himself. He had to be very careful right now because if he didn't, he might get his hopes up for something that wouldn't happen. But how couldn't he? Seren was coming back and even if it was just for a few days (and a promise of uncertainty for the future) he was happy.

"Special lady?" Sam thought he was getting closer on these guesses judging by the look on Steve's face.

Steve had turned sideways, almost feeling guilty for forgetting that Sam was still around. He often lost his train of thought when Seren was around. "Uh, something like that." That would be yet another understatement.

Sam laughed. "Yeah." He may have finally gotten a guess correctly.

The next time Steve's phone buzzed it was because of a text from Natasha.

'Mission alert. Extraction imminent. Meet at the curb. :)'

"Alright, Sam, duty calls," Steve tucked the phone into his back pocket. "Thanks for the run. If that's what you wanna call running." He did the polite thing and shook hands with Sam. He actually really did like the man.

Sam laughed at the jab. "Oh, that's how it is?"

"Oh, that's how it is," Steve nodded.

"Okay. Any time you wanna stop by the VA, make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know."

Steve playfully rolled his eyes at Sam. "I'll keep it in mind." He turned to leave in time for Natasha to pull up on the curb. He came to recognize her favorite SHIELD car a long time ago so when she rolled the windows down, he automatically skipped over her smirk.

"Hey, fellas. Either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil." She specifically smirked at Steve — it was her favorite joke.

"That's hilarious," he said with another roll of his eyes as he walked up to the car. Natasha certainly thought it was funny. Even Chloe did too—although that could be because she'd helped Natasha come up with that and about a dozen other jokes about Steve.

"How you doing?" Sam had caught a look of Natasha and couldn't help himself from smiling just a tad smugly.

Natasha returned the favor even when Steve got in the way getting into the car. "Hey," she greeted.

"Can't run everywhere," Steve remarked once he was comfortable in the passenger's seat.

Sam shook his head. "No, you can't."

Natasha soon drove away. "Get ahold of Winters, will you? I've been trying to call her but she won't pick up."

"Mm, she'll be a while." Steve's face turned grim which gave Natasha all the indication of where Chloe was.

"She's going to miss the debriefing," she gave a light shake of her head.

"She'll be fine." Steve had no doubt of it.

Chloe's Hive Mind allowed her to gain the knowledge she needed in an instant. It was an odd thing to see but after 2 years of knowing her, Steve was used to it. In the beginning, it would freak him out whenever she blurted out bits of information, or when her eyes would go blue and she herself would basically dissociate from the moment. She would sometimes go into such a state for minutes, sometimes an hour, and according to her it was perfectly fine. She assured Steve many times that it was the way that she would go into the Hive Mind to get information or even try to speak with the aliens.

~ 0 ~

Chloe laid perfectly still on a medical bed as a machine hovered over her, scanning her from head to toe with an annoying, blinding light. Behind the safety window, Tony Stark and Dr. Helen Cho monitored the procedure.

"Feel anything different, Megamind?" Tony's voice rang through the speakers. If she could have, Chloe would've rolled her eyes at him.

"Please don't disturb my patient," Dr. Helen Cho warned him for the third time already.

"Your patient?" scoffed Tony. "I have rights."

"Over Miss Winters? I think not." Helen focused on the results she was getting on her screens. Whenever it came to the case of Chloe Winters, she was extremely fascinated. "If we give her the chance, she might get us."

Tony paused at the new tense in Helen's voice. Even though she didn't say it, Tony knew she had found something.

As usual, when the exams were over, Chloe met Tony and Helen in the former's office. In the beginning, when Tony had first convinced Chloe to let him help her, she was completely on the defensive side about Dr. Cho. She had no idea who the woman was, much less why she had been called in.

"Tony, I told you that nobody could know about this!" Chloe paced back and forth in Tony's office. "God, not even Seren knows about this and you went ahead and called some stranger to come look at me like I'm a lab rat!"

For all the yelling Chloe was doing, Tony sat calmly at his desk, feet propped up. "Hey, I know who I call and she—" he pointed at nothing in particular, "—is good at what she does. Magnificent really, and I don't throw that word out so easily, you know."

Chloe rolled her eyes and stopped pacing to face the man. "Tony! You said you would take this seriously!"

"And I am. Helen Cho is at the top of her career and she's done some pretty good work on some of my creations. I trust her and because I do, you should too."

"Oh, so you just automatically believe that I trust you then?"

Tony smirked. "If you didn't, we wouldn't be here." He pulled his feet off the desk and stood up then began moving around the desk. "Look, Dr. Cho is here to help me run some exams on you. I need to know exactly what that—" he tapped her temple, "—little Hive Mind of yours is."

"I know what it is," Chloe muttered and pushed his hand away from her. "It's an entire alien race living in my head."

"And see, 'alien' is what makes this so much more complex. Besides, you know that's not exactly true. You're part of a Hive Mind but the aliens you're connected to don't live in your head. They live on some other planet in some other part of the galaxy. I need help and so do you. Trust me, Chloe." Tony set his hands on Chloe's shoulders. "For all my jokes, I am here to help."

Chloe pursed her lips together. Help. She was in dire need of it.

Trusting Tony Stark was one of the biggest leaps of Chloe's life and that was saying something considering everything else she had done prior. But, to his credit, he'd been right. Helen Cho was one of the most trustworthy people Chloe had ever met. And she was overly kind as well.

"Chloe, you mentioned there was something new recurring in your dreams…?" Helen was starting off gently and cautious.

Chloe was too tired to act stoic. She plopped down in one of the chairs opposite of Helen and Tony. "Dreams would mean that I actually got to sleep," she huffed. "I do no such thing lately. I'm not sleeping because every time I do, my mind starts going crazy."

"But that's never been new, right?" Tony raised an eyebrow at her. "I seem to recall you mentioning that in the beginning of all this. Sometimes you sleep, sometimes you don't because those aliens are talking to you."

"They don't talk to me as much as they overwhelm me," Chloe corrected. "But lately, it's been getting worse. Usually, they don't specifically talk to me — it's typically me overhearing the conversations these creatures have amongst themselves — but nowadays they're talking to me. It's not one, it's not two...it's a lot of them. And they're telling me similar things. 'You are ready. Be ready.'"

Chloe got the faint idea that Helen seemed to know something about it. The doctor was quite fidgety.

"I did see higher levels of energy signatures in your body," she started. "And when did you say this started exactly? As close as you can get to the date."

Chloe saw absolutely no point but she assumed that Helen had to. With a sigh, she thought back to the very first night she heard the message. Be ready. "Um...I think...it started last month. Right before I visited Brazil."

"Brazil?" Tony repeated and Chloe nodded. "Wasn't that a few days after your birthday?"

"Yeah, my 25th," Chloe shrugged. Her eyes flickered to Helen. "Why?"

"There's a theory that may...may coincide with what's happening here," she said. "But, because this is all brand new — aliens — it's just a theory."

"Lay it on me, doctor," Chloe motioned for the whole story to come out. "All of it." Helen smiled. She would never point out that Chloe shared some similarities with Tony. It was simply too funny.

"It's been said that a female's brain stops maturing at the age of 25. Some say it's at 21 but most agree that in the 25th year of life, the rational side of the brain has reached maturity. If you're saying that these messages started only a couple days after your 25th birthday, it could mean that these creatures detected it and have finally agreed to make contact with you—"

"Because in their creepy alien eyes, I'm an adult now?" Chloe shuddered. She'd never seen these creatures that were part of her mind and she wasn't all that interested in ever seeing them. She imagined they were...creepy.

"It could be a matter of different customs," Helen said and suddenly Tony was snorting.

"They're aliens!" he reminded.

"Who have their own lives and customs," went Helen. "Just like we do. In the U.S., an 18 year old is considered an adult and given full autonomy over their life. For these creatures, it could be the 25th year of their life. A Celessian is marked as an adult at the age of 21..."

Chloe's expression fell flat. "Of course you'd throw that one in." She pushed her hair out of her face. "Okay, so let's say that this is true and that because I turned 25, these aliens are now willingly talking to me?" Helen nodded. "But they're saying weird stuff to me. They're...they're telling me that I'm ready! And in English. Do you know how hard it's been getting them to speak to me in my own language? They've never even told me what they're called!"

"Another confirmation they're aware of your full maturity."

"I don't know about 'maturity'," Tony smirked at Chloe who glared in return.

"Rich coming from you," she retorted. "Seren always liked to say that I'm psychic but the truth is that the numbers I had weren't from me — it was the aliens. They've always fed me numbers and statistics."

"And how's that recently changed?" Helen moved around the desk with widened, fascinated eyes.

"Yeah, are you psychic now?" Tony grinned.

Chloe sighed. "Shut up...but maybe, I don't know. The numbers are coming from my head now. They're saying it but they're getting the numbers from me. My brain's the one coming up with the numbers. I can feel it."

"Absolutely fascinating," Helen whispered. "You've shown extensive progress on psychic shielding…"

"Yes, because enemies will be eager to try to fight me with mental weapons," Chloe said with a sarcastic smile.

"Hey," Tony pointed a finger at her. "You're able to fight off mental intrusions for a lot longer than when we started."

"Mhm, and your psionic blasts," Helen reminded. "The amount of energy you're able to create is off the charts."

"When I don't blast myself in the process," Chloe pointed out. It was still a work in progress but she would admit that it had gotten better in the last months. "Look, you've both been a lot of help to me. Do we have any idea what's going to happen to me now?"

Helen shrugged lightly. "I have another theory: precognition. With more studies and certainly more training, this could be the beginning of your ability to perceive future events."

"Ah, so a true psychic." Chloe's first thoughts went to Seren's grandmother, Atria Dade, who was a well known psychic amongst S.H.I.E.L.D. It was never ideal to tell what was going to happen in the future. "Yeah, I don't want that. It's all fun and jokes but I really don't want to be a bigger freak than what I already am."

"Miss Winters—"

"Thanks for everything guys," Chloe got up from her chair quickly. She pulled out her phone to see several missed calls from Natasha and later Steve. "S.H.I.E.L.D. needs me anyways." She turned to leave in a hasty sprint, ignoring Helen's calls for her to wait. She was just a fool to believe that Tony would let her leave like that.

"Open the damn door, Stark," Chloe huffed at the locked entrance doors. JARVIS had been instructed to lock it until otherwise stated.

"I will just after you calm down."

Chloe spun around to meet the man's gaze. Her face was red from how unsettled she was. "I am always calm, Tony. It's how I've trained myself to be after that stupid day I touched the freaky alien tech now lodged in my head!"

Tony had to force her hands from her head lest he want to treat some head injury. She tended to hit herself whenever the situation got to be too much. "Hey, stop!"

Chloe took in a shaky breath. "I don't need to learn that now I'm also going to become a damn psychic too."

"Well...how bad could it really be?" Tony's nudging smile wasn't going to work on her this time.

"I don't want to see what's going to happen." She levelled with him. "I know Atria Dade and I know that she's seen some of our agents dying and you know what? She can't change it because the future is always changing. I don't want it, Tony, I don't. I can't...I wouldn't be able to handle it." There were tears welling in her eyes the more she thought about it.

"Okay, okay, hear this then…" Ton set his hands on her shoulders. "If this power were to develop into...that...maybe Helen and I could come up with some sort of inhibitor."

Chloe swallowed hard. "Really?"

"Yeah, hell of a challenge I'd be up for." He certainly looked the part which was what gave Chloe a little hope that things wouldn't turn out to be so bad.

"You'd do that for me?"

"You and me, Megamind," Tony held a fist for her to pump. She rolled her eyes and pushed it down.

"You jerk."

Tony smiled and clapped her shoulders. "Alright, you go and help S.H.I.E.L.D. and whatnot while Helen and I do the real work."

Chloe smiled lightly at the man. "Thanks Tony. Seriously. I know I yell and complain a lot but...thanks for everything."

"You can always trust me." He left the 'and not trust S.H.I.E.L.D.' part out. He had made that line very clear the first time they met to discuss their plans but no matter what, Chloe was like Seren: they had endless trust in that organization. It was a shame that they pulled Steve with them.

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bardic-tales · 10 months

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OC CREATOR BINGO 2023

Created for @malice1329

Abigail Barnes

I hope you like this.

#other people's oc #oc: abigail barnes #oc creator bingo #ocb 2023 #fd: marvel

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petrichorocs · 2 years

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Lennox Slater + her friendship with Peter Parker + the ending of No Way Home

a little life / champagne problems / x / us against you

#ocapp #allaboutocs #fysvocs #lennox slater #fd: marvel #fic: spectral #mh tag #words #gif #*#listenn... i have many a feeling abt nwh and lenny losing her best friend and not even knowing it.. its Insane

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ocappreciation · 1 year

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ocappreciation + 2022 oc gift exchange ☃

↳ to: @dolce-elegy → from: @morgan-stardusts-god

#oc: renzo barnes #fd: marvel #holiday gift exchange

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itsdafuckhause · 6 months

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jamie hangin' with o'hara by eggconcept

#oc: jamie johnson #fd: atsv #fd: marvel #ship: arachnofang

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that-demigirl · 8 months

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This is one I haven’t introduced yet but now is better than never

Full Name

Hekate

Nicknames, If Any

Hogwarts House

One of my few Gryffindor OCs

Gender

Cisgender Female

Sexuality

Bisexual and Polyamorous

A Song I Associate With Them

Young God by Halsey

3 Important Relationships

Druig and Makkari - Her partners. They have a love that has lasted centuries

Sersi - Closest confidant. These two have always been super close and Hekate goes to her whenever she has an issue

Ikaris - Brother turned Enemy. When Ikaris turned against their family it hurt Hekate more than anything she’s lived through

2 Fears

Her family falling apart

Not being strong enough to protect her family

1 Element of their backstory

Hekate used to be a close advisor to Ajak and would often have plans ran through her before they were executed

#my oc #ocappreciation #oc ask #oc: hekate #fd: eternals #fd: marvel #fd: mcu

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dancingsunflowers-ocs · 7 months

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So I saw your Pinterest board about your new Marvel OC… 👀

Please tell me anything and everything about Clio!! I’m super curious!! 🖤

Whilst she’s still in the plot bunny stages, I’m very excited to tell you about her, my darling Dolly!!! 💙

I would like to thank.. the lovely @luucypevensie for helping me come up with the idea for her.. 💛

Clio is the daughter of the sea goddess Amphitrite (who’s FC is Brandy), and her powers are water multiplication.. 💦 I haven’t thought of many ideas for her, as of yet, but I’m sure Grace will help me through them, but I know for a start that she attends Midtown School of Science and Technology with Peter, MJ, Ned, etc, and is very much involved with The Avengers.

Her whole aesthetic is basically mermaid/beach vibes, and she’s a huge fan of teen films from the 1980’s and the TV shows ‘Outer Banks’ and ‘Gossip Girl’. She also admires Greek history too.

I like the idea that her and Peter’s relationship trope is enemies/co-workers to friends to lovers, and eventually in the future, they have a daughter (played by Jaz Sinclair) who’s a beautifully, shy, asexual nerd..

Thank you SO much for your interest @faerieroyal/@daughter-of-melpomene!! 💕

#oc: clio #fd: mcu #fd: marvel

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eddysocs · 6 months

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Halle's Comet - Part One (Tony Stark x OC)

Summary: Halle is determined to set boundaries with Tony at his New Year's Eve party, whether he likes it or not.

Word Count: 1,420

Warnings: Dub-con kiss

Halle surveyed the partygoers, registering a few familiar faces in the crowd of hundreds she didn’t recognize. Some faces and names she knew, not well perhaps, but she was at least able to pick some out of the throngs of people. She’d been questioning why Tony invited her at all when they were supposedly just in this mutual beneficial relationship, but she could see now that it didn’t quite matter at all to Tony who he invited, as long as it was one of the biggest parties this New Year's Eve.

Halle wandered the room, wondering how long she might have to wait until she saw the illusive host. He did make a habit of showing up to his own parties, didn’t he? She didn’t peg him for some Jay Gatsby type. No, Tony always liked attention, and he’d make a show of himself sooner or later. Of that she could be sure.

Finally giving up at attempting to find a friendly face and make small talk, Halle took a seat at a bar, one of the several small stations situated about the room, where she sipped her drink of choice; a Rossini. She did love a good party, and this certainly qualified, but without any friends to accompany her, nor an official date, she was finding it rather daunting to strike up a conversation with someone new. Normally, she was a social butterfly, but with this being a New Year's Eve party, the added pressure to make a connection and share a kiss at midnight was just a little more than she wanted to deal with.

"Halle, you made it!" For an already loud room, Tony somehow managed to make his voice heard over the sea of others, even from ten feet away. Halle turned at the sound of her name and fought back a smile at the exuberant man as he parted the crowd and headed right for her. He looked as he usually did; expensively crafted suit, suavely styled hair, and those almost ever present sunglasses. Worn inside, no less. Maybe it was to hide how drunk he was, but Halle almost doubted that. It was just his way of presenting the Tony Stark image. Hell, he may even have it trademarked.

"Stark, nice of you to find me," she said rather flatly as he sidled up to her at the bar. The bartender immediately slid him a drink, probably one of the perks of playing host. The bartenders already had his drink order memorized and prepared immediately when they caught sight of him approaching.

"Been looking all over for you. Midnight isn’t that far away. After all, gotta have my midnight kiss." So perhaps he was a little drunk.

"This isn’t a press tour. I’m helping your public image, remember? This is a private party. You don’t need me, and you’re not owed that kiss if that’s still all I am to you." Tony flinched like he’d been wounded. Maybe he had. Maybe he deserved to be. Halle didn’t care. She was the one that begun this arrangement and hence she’s the one who should set the terms of it. She wasn’t Tony's doll, after all. She was however, one of his publicity stunts and this was a no-press event. They were left on the red carpet outside like the vultures they were. Had to keep the Stark dynasty's squeaky clean image, and inviting the paparazzi inside a Tony Stark party was the worst thing for that image.

Without another word, Halle slid her empty glass towards the bartender, got up, and left him there. She wasn’t about to be at his beck and call, whenever and wherever he wanted. That wasn’t their agreement. One of these days, he was going to have to understand that. Boundaries had become all the more important to her as her days and nights with Tony passed by. She recalled what she’d said to him when they struck that deal. "Don’t go falling in love with me, Stark, because I assure you, I won’t be doing the same."

'Professional' had become the key word to how she behaved around him now. It was dangerous for both of them if she behaved otherwise outside the ever watchful eye of the public. She’d already made that mistake enough. She let Tony get to her and she knew if she didn’t put that professional distance between them, then it would only end badly for her, possibly even for them both. She wouldn’t say she’d gone so far as to have feelings for him but—

"Hello. Don’t you look lovely tonight?" The compliment, thinly veiled as fully sincere, Halle knew better than to take as such. But it had taken her out of her thoughts, and for that alone, she was grateful. They were starting to go to a place she didn’t want to visit just now.

When she focused in on the young man behind the blatant pick up line, she found him to be rather handsome. Out of what may be spite, or at this point just boredom, she decided to let him flirt a while. "Thank you," she replied. "You look pretty good yourself. I like a man who can clean up well." She regretted the line as soon as she said it, as it brought up an image of Tony to the forefront of her mind.

"I’m Chase, and you are?"

"Halle," she said, thankful once again for his ability to keep her from staying in her own head for too long. Halle then let him get her a drink, and they chatted. Halle was all too aware of the time on the clock, having decided to let this Chase wear down the minutes until she chose whether or not she’d let him have a kiss at midnight.

Chase hadn’t turned out to be nearly as interesting as he was handsome, going on and on about how he’s got this great job at his father's company and is set to make so and so odd dollars in the coming year. Halle really started to tune him out in favor of watching the minutes go by. Setting aside how positively dull he was, Halle made the decision to let him kiss her anyway. It’s not like it was a contract for anything else between them, and maybe, should Tony see it happen, it would remind him of where they stood.

The countdown began, and Chase finally shut up about himself long enough to join in. He seemed rather confident about getting what he wanted out of her, so Halle wouldn’t have to prompt him or even give permission when the countdown ended.

"Five…four…three…two—" the chorus of voices echoed in the room, but Halle's own voice went quiet when a hand grabbed her wrist, tugging her away from closing in for that kiss with Chase and another hand on her waist spun her around, held her steady and dipped her low to the ground. Before she found the breath to protest, a pair of lips met hers and the hand on her wrist moved and interlocked their fingers instead. When she realized who it was, she didn’t fight it, but she didn’t allow herself to kiss him back either. She wasn’t about to give Tony that satisfaction.

Confetti filled the room, red and gold flakes littering the floor and sticking to her hair. Tony let her back up on her own two feet where Halle freed herself fully from his grasp and was able to catch her breath and find her voice again. She only used it after the hoots and hollers of the enthusiastic partygoers died down. Mad as she may have been, she wasn’t about to lose her cool and start yelling. She may not be able to stop herself.

"That was quite a show," Halle finally stated, crossing her arms as she spoke. "I thought I told you that my New Year's kiss was off the table."

"You did," Tony confirmed, a cocksure grin plastered on his face. "But that was before," he followed up.

"Before what," Halle asked, not letting go of her rigid position.

"Before you walked off without letting me tell you that I might have…maybe, some…possible feelings for you."

Halle's eyebrows shot up in surprise as she froze mid breath. That was the last thing she was expecting. As she processed the information, she finally exhaled slowly and evenly. What the hell did he expect her to say to that?

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

-> Part Two

Forever Tag: @arrthurpendragon, @baubeautyandthegeek, @foxesandmagic, @carmens-garden, @bossyladies, @getawaycardotmp3, @misshiraethsworld, @kmc1989, @curious-kittens-ocs, @fanficanatic-tw

Halle Conners: @adrianas-ocs-and-such, @dollvi3e

#oc: halle conners #fc: natalie alyn lind #fd: marvel #halle x tony #tony stark #tony stark x oc #marvel #mcu

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arrthurpendragon · 8 months

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Coming soon! (Hopefully)

#oc: logan “lo” reese #fic: the hero dies in this one #fd: agents of shield #fd: marvel #ocappreciation #poster #story cover

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ironverseocs · 7 months

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Hello! I'm @rebel-author-chick and you are on my bingo OC Creator Bingo card. Your OCs look so cool, I can't wait to learn more about them!

1. How close is William to Pepper and Happy? What about Peter?

2. What does Melissa think of Kirk? Does she take after her dad in personality?

3. Has The Soldier ever come across The Doctor? What do they think of each other?

4. Out of her parents who does Lana take after more?

5. Out of all your OCs, who is your favorite to write for? Which is the hardest to write for?

I know this is LONG passed Bingo, looong overdue, and I apologise for that. However, I still want to give your ask the love and attention it deserves, so here goes me answering all your lovely questions. :)

—

Happy Hogan is close to both the Stark-Potts kids due to the nature of his relationship with their parents, Pepper and Tony. I would say he has more inside jokes with Morgan who spends a little more time with him, but he loves William just as much. Will, being an introverted ADHDer, chooses to spend most of his time hyperfocused on his projects as he prefers the stimulation he receives from them as opposed to other people. He is also close to Pepper what with her being his mom and all. She makes sure to keep a closer eye on her son to make sure he doesn't forget TOO much of life while holed up with his projects. As Will grows closer towards adulthood, Pepper has had to prod him into the "real" world more and more frequently.

Melissa likes Kirk. For the longest while, she and him had a solid platonic relationship, and she held strongly to the word platonic as that's where she both felt they were best and also where she felt most comfortable with men in general (regarding her ambitions and her personal life matters she was mindful of at the time). Around the end of Into Darkness, however, she and him do get together romantically.

The Soldier has come across the Doctor before and they are surprisingly neutral looking on their fellow kin. Of course, they are glad that they aren't the only Timelord anymore, but they don't feel much of a connection between their mentality/outlooks on the universe's happenings, and they don't judge the difference either. Unlike The Doctor, who does passively wrinkle his nose at The Soldier's tendency to jump in with a fight instinct instead of a figure it out one. When they do have to work together, however, they can flow rather well. There is a string of respect tying between them, and if one needed help, the other would assist.

Lana takes after her mother more in personality. She exhibits Nora's form of practicality and cunning over Ray's, as in she holds herself with an air of individualism and is first and foremost a self-possessed, self-aware person. While of course she cares for other people, Lana thinks of her own needs and wants before that of others.

I have two favourites and can't narrow it down any further. My favourites are Stephen Knope-Wyatt and Jared Williamson. The hardest muse to write for is probably Shiloh, my son of Tyche from the Percy Jackson fandom. He's probably the hardest because I don't really know what kind of story he's best suited for and can't really think up a plot (still) for him.

Thank you for the ask, @rebel-author-chick! Hope you had a great time during Bingo while it was still happening, and sorry again for answering your questions super late.

Forever tag list: @arrthurpendragon @foxesandmagic @shrinkthisviolet | if you'd like to be added, send me an ask or dm!

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saiilorstars · 10 months

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Ch.1: Prologue

Steve Rogers x OFC fic • squeeze your eyes for a Bucky Barnes x (2nd)OFC

taglist: @ocappreciationtag @arrthurpendragon @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel @stareyedplanet @gloryekaterina @averyhotchner @foxesandmagic @lenonizi

Story Masterlist • Seren’s Masterlist • Chloe's Masterlist

Also available on Fanfic ○ Ao3 ○ Wattpad

If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know!

Los Angeles, 2006.

"C'mon Chloe! We're going out for burgers!" A teenage girl with short brunette hair waved the tall blonde over to their group.

Her blonde tresses bounced with her as she crossed a football field still crowded with several other cheerleaders and football players. Practice had been going strong even when the sun was set to go down in a few hours. Chloe Winters was no stranger to long practice hours, though. Even as her friends begged her to come with them to get those burgers—their favorites—Chloe reminded them that she still had to meet her gymnast trainor.

"C'mon, you're still going to practice after everything we just did?" Her best friend Ally Gale whined ever-so-dramatically. If her hair was longer, she would've flipped it to accompany the effect.

Chloe smiled. "It's my schedule, what can I do about it?"

"Drop it, maybe?" Ally rolled her eyes. "You're already a cheerleader—and a good one at that—so why do you have to pair it up with this nonsense?"

"Because I have plans, Ally," Chloe reached for a duffel bag on the bleachers. "We're graduating in a couple months and I need to be at my best when that happens. So…" She wiggled her fingers goodbye and started backtracking away.

"You know Max is going to be asking for you, right?"

Chloe smirked. "He better. That's what boyfriends should do." She turned all around and headed off. She reached for her cellphone inside her bag once she was on the sidewalk. She was a little late and knowing her trainer, she would be flipping over. She sent a quick text notifying her that she was on her way. She was almost reaching the pedestrian light when she heard a loud clang from a building behind her. She stopped, frozen, and waited to hear something else. A few seconds later, she did.

Chloe was overly curious. She always was. It was deemed by her friends as something adorable — her boyfriend thought it was quite so — but her parents often expressed their concern. 'It'll get you into trouble one day if you stick your nose where it doesn't belong,' her father would say constantly.

"I'm not an idiot," she muttered as if she was still having that conversation right now. She turned around with a new sense of determination, especially when she heard something new. Running footsteps. She stopped in front of the building and inspected it as much as a 17 year old girl could. No one had come out and all the windows were as dusty and old as they always were each time she walked by.

She finally stepped inside and found it to be as old and dirty as its exterior was. It seemed like an abandoned office space of some sort. There were various buildings around the neighborhood in similar states. Only none of them ever made noises. That's why they were abandoned.

"Hello?" she quietly called, hoping that she wasn't going to get an answer. Whatever made the noise was probably gone. She saw an open backdoor as she crossed the bullpen. She had her phone in her hand again, just in case some creep tried to sneak up on her.

But so far, no creep was in sight.

Chloe continued past the bullpen into an old hallway. Each room was open and solitary, until she heard an odd buzzing noise. She backtracked to the specific room and approached the doorway. She poked her head inside and was relieved to see no one inside. Whatever the buzzing noise was, it wasn't' a person. A thing, she beamed. She could definitely work with 'a thing'. Contrary to the popular belief about blonde cheerleaders, she wasn't dumb and she most certainly didn't hate science. That's why each time she was curious about something, she followed the lead. Who knew what she could discover?

She crept into the room and soon spotted a faint blue glow behind a grimy desk. Her duffel bag slipped off her arm before she reached the desk. Her tongue slipped out to her top lip as she curiously bent over the desk to try and get a peek of what was glowing. She was mighty surprised to find a small, almost dainty-like, silvertech piece as the responsible culprit.

Ideas buzzed in her head. What if it was a technological advance just waiting to happen!? She loved dreaming big and maybe this was finally going to be it! She rushed around the desk and dropped to her knees in front of the device. She leaned down close to it. She pushed her hair to the side to keep it out of her face.

"What are you…?" she whispered. She noticed some of the ground around it was missing, almost like someone pulled it off. Who could be strong enough to do that?

The device continued to glow and buzz. Chloe bit her lip as her hand reached for it. Maybe she could take it home and study it, maybe even use her school's lab to figure what it was. But the moment she touched it, something sparked and forced her hand away.

"Ow!" she stuck her index finger into her mouth. That would definitely leave a burn mark. Her eyes narrowed on the device. "What the hell are you?" she demanded and went again to grab it. This time there was no spark but the buzzing got stronger the more time it spent on her palm. Even the glow got stronger. "What is — ah!" Chloe yelped when she felt something pricking her skin right underneath the tech piece. "What's...are you…!?"

The tech piece was sinking into her flesh. It was like a cut getting wider and deeper for the entire piece to disappear underneath her skin. Chloe screamed in terror as blue glowing streaks flourished up her arm and soon spread around the rest of her body. She fell back and scooted away until her back hit the wall.

"Get it off me! Get it off me!" she cried. She desperately tried pulling the piece from her palm but it had already disappeared. The buzzing noise she had heard was now coming from within her. She could feel it in her head, along with another overwhelming load she couldn't understand yet. Voices were talking all at once, not all of them English, and she was seeing things. Flashes of places she didn't know of, creatures that only made her scream stronger were filling her mind. She clapped her hands to her head and snapped her eyes shut. "STOP! STOP! STOP!"

She was going to die, she could feel it. Whatever was now inside of her wasn't leaving anytime soon. But, just like that, everything stopped. Her body, exhausted, fell lump against the wall. Chloe's eyes briefly flickered open to shine blue that she wouldn't catch until later.

~ 0 ~

New York, 2013.

"So why am I here?" Chloe disinterestedly walked through a room under construction, or renovations as Tony had put it.

The man himself was watching her attentively from his desk. "Because I finally figured you out, Megamind."

At this point, Chloe was too tired to argue with him about the stupid nickname he had appropriated on her in their fight against the Chitauri last year. She focused on the thing that sounded slightly more interesting. "Oh really, and what have you found out?"

"You, yourself," Tony motioned her to come forwards. She did, but not without rolling her eyes. "You have barely any record of your work at S.H.I.E.L.D."

"I like to redact many things. Consider me the Ron Swanson of S.H.I.E.L.D." At Tony's look, she sighed. "Parks and Recreation? No? Whatever. Point is, I like my information to stay within a specific circle...me."

"Right, really just you. And maybe Fury. Because not even Twinkle Star knows why you don't have a record. She swears she's made some in the past years. She thinks they're still there."

Chloe didn't like that Tony had such vast information like that. She made a good job so that her best friend, Seren Soul, would have no idea about what was really happening with her. "It probably has, probably got lost somewhere."

"All of them?"

"Probably."

Tony commended Chloe for keeping such a straight, stoic face throughout the conversation. Anyone else would be shifting or stammering, but not Chloe. She was good. A good liar, and perhaps a good runner. "Do you know what I think?"

"No, but I'm sure I'm about to hear it. Let me make myself comfortable." Chloe grabbed an empty chair to sit on, crossing her legs like the conversation was as casual as a simple talk about the weather.

"I think that there's secrets you don't want to let out - that you can't. That's not safe."

"Really?" A slight smile formed on Chloe's face.

"Cheerleading and gymnastics, sound familiar?"

Chloe nodded. "Yeah. I did both in high school."

"You were a popular girl, Winters. That little cheerleading video on the internet has how many hits again? Million? Two? And then suddenly it all went away, all of it. To say, you didn't even graduate." Tony watched as a slight twitch marked Chloe's face. There it was.

"Yes I did," she said, muttered.

"No, you didn't. The little graduation diploma S.H.I.E.L.D. on record? False," Tony came around the desk and leaned against it beside Chloe's chair. "You did not graduate from high school, much less go to college."

"Stark, you want to make a point here?" Chloe shook her head at him. "Lots of people don't graduate from school, so what?"

"Why lie about it?"

"Because it would look bad for S.H.I.E.L.D.!"

"Next," Tony leaned away from the desk. "You were at the top of your game in high school. I know, I checked."

"Stalker."

"Interested," Tony corrected. "I like prodigies working for me, but I like to know who I work around with. You had a scholarship for gymnastics, you were good at it. You were also good with tech. It's uncommon for the cheerleaders to have any role in science."

"That's a stereotype," Chloe said flatly.

"But then you stopped. Born and raised in Los Angeles, you suddenly got up and left at 17…2 months before you were to graduate."

Chloe was glaring daggers at him by that point. "Things change," she spat.

"Clearly," Tony tapped the side of his head specifically. It just made a blue vein quiet noticeable on her forehead. "You were off the grid until you resurfaced with S.H.I.E.L.D. but your dear old folks never got over your sudden upleaving, huh? Never contacted them?"

"Is there a fucking point to this?" Chloe's voice had dropped to a low mutter. She was getting angry and that was exactly what Tony had been hoping to see. If she was angry then it meant he was right, and if he was right...she needed help. "I don't get along with my parents, big deal. Lots of people have that. Seren has that."

"Yeah but Seren's like our Golden Boy - she's as transparent as possible. You're not. You had everything in the world - you liked what you had, and then you disappeared," Tony moved beside Chloe's chair, lowering down to her level and meeting her daggering eyes. "You don't have a record with S.H.I.E.L.D. and you keep moving around. You're running."

"Am not," Chloe said on automatic, more than enough proof Tony was on the right track.

"Are too. Nobody does what you do unless you're running. So, who are you running from?"

Chloe smiled and shook her head, trying to give the indication that she was more amused than anything but Tony saw right through it. She was trying to deflect. Smart move but it would fail.

"C'mon Winters. In all of S.H.I.E.L.D., you are the most interesting person there!"

"Am I supposed to be flattered?"

Tony was no longer playful. He straightened up, looking down at her earnestly. "No, you're supposed to take the hand I'm offering you. A lifeline, if you prefer."

"I don't need your help."

"Ah, giving me the answer that you do need some help."

Chloe looked away. "I can't believe I'm listening to all this. Why are you even going on about this?"

"You know I've talked to Rogers about this place," Tony made a quick gesture to the room. "My proposal still stands and since you've been running for God knows how many years, I would think that you'd be more inclined to take me seriously here. I'm not playing games here. I know something's wrong when I see it. Believe me, I've learned the hard way."

"What's it to you, Stark?" Chloe snapped, her head flipping in his direction. "It's my business."

"And your business is going to get you killed, or maybe your family." Chloe remained silent. "I know you have family in Queens. You visit them sometimes, but never more than once in a few months. They're the only ones you're brave enough to see. Wouldn't you like to change that?"

Chloe bit her lower lip, looking at him like she was trying to find his game, the angle he was playing at. "Why are you so interested in me?" She finally asked, her voice softer than he'd ever heard.

"Because I've had people try to kill me too, people that I've known my entire life. Plus, like I said, you're the most interesting person at S.H.I.E.L.D. So, c'mon, tell me, who are you running from?"

Chloe seemed to breathe in, like she was taking a final moment to consider the benefits and downfalls of telling him. In the end, it seemed like the benefits - or perhaps simple tiredness - won. "It's not just 'who', it's also a 'what'."

Tony's eyebrows raised together. "Really," he moved around his desk to take his seat again. "What is it?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Chloe's eyes followed him to his seat.

Tony plopped down across her, a smirk crossing his face. "Try me."

A/N:

So if anyone's noticed, this fic will also expand on Chloe's story since she will eventually have a bigger role in this universe (AoU, CA:CW, Endgame, etc.). She and Seren share the spotlight in this fic basically.

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