I was awoken by the sound of knocking at my door. It took me a moment to recognise my surroundings.

"Just a second!" I called.

I got up from the floor and stretched. I walked over to the door and opened it, revealing Natasha. She held a change of clothes in one hand and a plate of bacon and eggs in the other.

I motioned for her to come in. She placed the food on the coffee table and the clothes on the bed. She eyed the pillow and blanket on the floor.

"I – um... the bed was too soft," I said. "I'm just... not quite used to comfort like that yet."

Natasha nodded.

"Steve, Sam, and Bucky all felt that. After coming back from military and wars, they said their beds were like... marshmallows. So soft, it felt like they could swallow them whole," Nat said.

I nodded.

"That's what it's like," I confirmed.

Natasha smiled sadly at me.

"Eat your breakfast," she said. "We have a big day today."

I nodded and ate my breakfast. Nat told me about what we were doing today. First, I was going to meet the Avengers. After a few hours or so of talking to them and getting to know them, Natasha and I were going shopping.

I finished my breakfast and placed my knife and fork together like my parents taught me. I blushed and looked down as I realised that I'd finished the entire thing in less than five minutes.

"Don't worry," Natasha said, noticing my body language. "Majority of us eat like we can never get full. Mainly Thor and the super soldiers, but the rest of us have our days."

I nodded. Natasha gave me the clothes and I had a shower before getting dressed. My mind wandered, again, as I showered.

I wonder how skilled she is at fighting.

New member, new friend.

I wonder how similar she is to me.

I shook my head, water droplets flying through the air.

Stay focused, I thought.

I finished my shower and got dressed. I took a deep breath before opening the door and finding Nat. My gloves were on and I felt secure.

Natasha led me through the tower and to the elevator.

"They might seem intimidating, but we're all just children, really," Nat assured me.

I laughed a bit. The elevator doors opened, and we walked into the common floor. Steve was closest to us. He smiled at me and I smiled back nervously.

"Everyone, this is y/n," Natasha said. "Y/n, this is... almost everyone."

"Nice gloves," a man snickered. I recognised him as Tony Stark.

I looked down in shame and heard someone smack him. I looked back up to the group and locked eyes with Wanda Maximoff.

Hello, she said into my mind.

Hi, I said back.

I'm Wanda, she said.

I'm y/n, I replied, smiling at her.

"What's happening there?" Tony asked, gesturing to Wanda and I.

"Were you not paying attention to the meeting?" another man asked. That was Clint Barton.

"Peter was texting me," Tony said, shrugging.

"I'm a telepath," I supplied.

"So, you can read our minds?" a man, Sam Wilson, asked.

"Well, yeah, but I try not to," I said awkwardly.

"Here, come sit down," Wanda said kindly, patting the space next to her.

I walked over and sat down, leaving some space between us.

"So, tell us about yourself," Tony said.

"I, um... I'm twenty-six, I was taken by Hydra when I was sixteen... that's – that's pretty much it," I said.

There was a moment of silence.

"Okay, then, tell us about your powers," Clint said.

"Uh... I can read minds. Except, it's not quite reading, it's listening. And sometimes seeing. I can see and share memories. I can... I can also... cut off people's consciousness and shut their brains down," I said sadly. "And that's it so far."

"So far?" another man – Bruce Banner – questioned.

"Well, Hydra told me that I could do a lot more, but that's it for now," I said. "They wanted me to work on mind control and – and stuff like that."

"Do you have any other powers?" Bruce asked.

I shook my head.

"Super soldier?" Tony asked.

I shook my head again.

The Avengers asked me a few more question, and I asked them some, too. After a few hours of talking, I became more comfortable around them. I even started making a couple of jokes.

At the end of our third hour talking, Nat checked her watch.

"Okay, guys. Y/n and I are gonna go shopping now. Tony, what's the budget?" she asked.

"I reckon six hundred should be enough," Tony said.

"Wanda, Clint, you coming?" Nat asked.

Wanda and Clint both nodded and we all stood up. We followed Natasha to the garage and got into a really fancy sports car. Clint called shotgun and Natasha drove, leaving Wanda and I to sit in the back. I nervously rubbed my gloves and pulled my jacket tighter around myself.

"Hey, you'll be fine," Wanda said gently. "We won't let anyone touch you. Promise."

I smiled at her. We arrived at the shopping centre and Wanda stayed true to her word. As we shopped, she was always next to me, making sure that no one came within touching distance of me.

As we shopped, I kept checking the price tags. Just from leaving the first store, we were already close to going over budget, and I had only gotten a few items.

"Hey, aren't we a bit over six hundred dollars?" I asked the others after we'd visited three more stores.

They looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"You think the budget is six hundred dollars?" Natasha asked. "Tony is a billionaire. The budget is six hundred thousand dollars."

My jaw dropped. Clint chuckled and Wanda elbowed him.

We continued shopping. I stopped looking at the price tags and let the others pick things out for me. We got clothes, shoes, toiletries, and things for my new room. I told them that I was fine with a plain room, but they wouldn't listen.

At the end of the trip, we went glove shopping. I got five pairs, but I couldn't help but feel weak. Like I had to depend on the gloves.

As we drove back to the tower, we all spoke like we'd been friends for years. I felt included.

I felt like I belonged.