Fandom The New Avengers - POST ENDGAME (Closed RP)

[cosmicforce]

He didn't know how Sam found him, Rowan had spent the last two years on the run, never spending more than a few months in one place and never, ever using his...Powers unless there was absolutely no other way to get out of a situation. But the Avengers always found a way and this time that was through Sam Wilson showing up quite literally on his doorstep just outside of Vienna on a warm May day. Rowan knew who it was immediately, and slammed the door in his face without much of a second thought. There was no way he was going back to fighting, that was like leading them right back to him.

Sam knocked again and it slowly creaked open. Just Rowan's green eyes poked through the crack, glowing green in the most animalistic way possible. "Project 262."

"Rowan," the teenager corrected, and Sam simply nodded and smiled gently.

"Rowan," He replied. "I'm here to invite you to the new Avengers Initiative --"

"No, thank you." Rowan introjected and went to close his door again. A slim hand reached out to stop it, and Rowan jumped back a little in shock. Why was he fighting this? They didn't need Rowan by any means, even with all their recent losses.

"Tony Stark had a personal request that we invited you."

That made Rowan freeze in place. He gave Sam a once-over, an are you shitting me? style look that could only possibly come from someone completely in shock. Sam didn't have to speak for him to know this was no joke.

*****

Less than Twenty-Four hours later and here he was, standing in the newest Avengers base while Bucky and Sam looked him over like a piece of meat. It wasn't anything he wasn't used to; if anything it was an all-too-familiar feeling. "What's your thing?" Bucky asked, and if he was trying to be nice at all he was doing a terrible job of it.

Rowan inhaled deeply, closed his eyes and exhaled again, willing them out from under his skin with all the force he could. They pushed through layer after layer, but no blood was shed. Just pain, excruciating pain that ate up inside him. It consumed him from his ankles to his neck as branches formed and wrapped their way his legs, and arms, then up to his collarbones and over his Adam's apple. He could make them go further if he really tried, but it was already getting to be too much, and he feared if he pushed any harder they would make him pass out - not a great way to start your first day.

"So...You're a tree?" Bucky asked skeptically. He eyed Sam with a confused - and amused - smirk. Rowan knew what he was thinking; why did Tony want this freak? and he really didn't know the answer. All he could do was demonstrate what he could do as he let a branch dart out from his wrist. It wrapped around a soda bottle on the bar behind Bucky and pulled it close to him, allowing Rowan to crack it open and take a long sip.

"Something like that," He remarked. He couldn't help the cocky smirk that formed on his lips as he watched both Bucky and Sam's faces turn to something akin to horror and admiration.

"You can go get a seat in the lounge, the other new recruits should be heading in soon." Sam pointed behind Rowan and the superhuman gladly followed his gaze to an area of lush red and black couches and chairs. He didn't bother to pull his branches back in while he got comfortable on one of the couches.

PixieDust

 

[PixieDust]

“Show us what you’ve got,” Sam looked at her with a reassuring but still expectant smile. The sullen looking guy next to him clearly wasn’t the encouraging type though, he just stood there, arms folded and giving her a hard stare.

Come on, Leighton get it together, she thought as she slowly lifted one hand to shoulder height.

She still had no idea how to do any of this stuff on command other than what Wanda had told her: something about letting the power source come from your subconscious, but hell if Leighton could remember that with these guys watching her every move.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Leighton concentrated on visualising the light source moving through her body until it reached her fingertips. When she opened her eyes once more her outstretched arm and her entire body was glowing with golden light. She clenched and un clenched her fist, visualising the light turning into a tiny bird and so it did. The bird of light formed from her hand and swooped once around the room and then burst into white hot sparks.

“Useful, I know,” she said awkwardly, “it was either that or accidentally blinding you...sorry.” She ran a hand through her dishevelled red hair hoping somebody would dismiss her or tell her they had made a mistake in recruiting her. Unfortunately, she knew that Wanda has already vouched for her and knew exactly how deadly her power could be.

“This isn’t the Disney parade, kid” Bucky said, looking unconvinced. Sam shook his head and gestured toward some black couches. “Go on ahead, Leighton, the rest of the recruits will be with you shortly.”

Leighton nodded as she made her way over, noticing someone else was already sat sipping a soda.

She raised an eyebrow at the sight of branches protruding from his body but she didn’t comment on them. Instead she simply took the seat opposite him. “Hi.” She smiled slightly, unaware that her entire body was still glowing. All she felt was a pleasant warmth like hot cocoa. “I’m Leighton. Guess we’re teammates now.”
cosmicforce

 

[cosmicforce]

Rowan could hear the faint chatter from somewhere behind him, but he didn’t bother to turn around. His branch still wrapped around his can of soda, leaving his hands free as he sipped on it - not that they really had anything to do. Having them visible was a weirdly nice reminder that he had the control now, not them.

The black couch was far from cozy, and as his branches hit off it from all different angles he found himself growing more and more annoyed and more and more uncomfortable. Thankfully, though, the pain had subsided some to the dull ache that was a constant in his life. No pain killers would fix it, but he could move with it and that was what mattered.

The new girl showed up as promised, and Rowan was forced to quickly focus his gaze on her. She was glowing, and gave off an energy - whether it was just light or actual fire he didn’t know. Either way he hoped she stayed away from him.

“Rowan,” he replied, giving her a very obvious once over as he tried to decide if she was trustworthy. “Want a soda?”

 

[PixieDust]

Leighton tried not to stare at all the sentient branches, but they were pretty fascinating. She couldn’t help wondering if this guy was a mutant too. She had only just gotten used to that fact.

To avoid staring like a weirdo she glanced down at her hands briefly and finally realised that she was still glowing. With a chuckle she replied to the guy who’s name was Rowan.
“Sure. Maybe it’ll stop the glowing. Sorry if it’s kinda bright. I can’t really control it yet. I figured saying ‘flame off’ would work, but what do ya know...not so much!”

The redhead got the impression that Rowan wasn’t gonna be easy to hold in conversation, but Leighton wasn’t great with awkward silences, so without thinking she added, “cool branches by the way.”

 

[cosmicforce]

Rowan almost cracked a smile, but yet somehow his brain still stopped it. “I don’t think that’s how that works,” he replied, thinking about his own days of being unable to control it. Of shock therapy to get them to show up and the uncontrollable pain of when they finally did. He hoped this new girl never had to feel that.

Without looking back, a branch pushed from the back of his neck, extending across the room, back to where Bucky and Sam stood. He could faintly hear Bucky shout, “What the Hell?” and Sam just laugh. He had a feeling that the super soldier didn’t like him, and the feeling was mutual. That was what happened when you were literally made to be better than someone, but yet all you seemed to do was fail.

The branch extended a diet soda towards Leighton, and Rowan just shrugged. “I couldn’t see what I was grabbing. Hope you like sugar free.” He was ignoring the “compliment”, because to them they weren’t cool. He was a failed science experiment, a mess of a person. “You glow.” He said obviously. “Why?

 

[PixieDust]

Leighton watched in amusement as the branches reached for a soda and Bucky exclaimed in annoyance. When the branch ‘offered’ her the soda she took it gratefully. “Thanks. I don’t think it’s getting you in his good books though,” she raised an eyebrow toward Bucky with a small smile. Honestly the guy made her feel nervous and pretty much completely inadequate.

Leighton popped open the can of soda and took a sip before answering Rowan’s question. The golden glow around her dimmed almost to nothing instantly. “My guess is that it’s just residual energy left over from when I use my power.” She shrugged, “I barely notice it half the time, but it usually freaks people out.” With that she demonstrated her power to him by creating a ball of light in her palm. Wrinkling her nose slightly in concentration, she managed to shape it into a pair of rock and roll horns before it burst into white hot sparks.

“I don’t believe her, but Wanda reckons I could make deadly weapons with my power if I trained it. That’s literally the only reason I’m here.”

 

[cosmicforce]

Bucky wasn’t at all part of Rowan’s worries. In fact, if the soldier never spoke to him again he would be completely content. He was raised - built - being told that he had to be better than the Winter Soldier. As far as Rowan was concerned Bucky was the reason he was like this; a monster, a freak, constantly in pain. Not nearly as good as everyone else wanted him to be.

"Nothing freaks me out anymore. I've seen it all," he mumbled, taking another sip from his soda before crumpling the can in his branch. The empty tin fell to the floor and the branches slowly started to disappear, pulling under his skin and forming supports around his bones. He could feel them move inside of him, and though it was less painful than when they came out it still made him shift uncomfortably. It was harder to focus on the redhead while he was getting rid of them, but he still managed to hear her speak. He had heard of Wanda. Had yet to meet her, but knew exactly who she was.

"I believe it. We're all more powerful than we think." Rowan shifted again like he was about to stand up before pain shot through his leg and he immediately sat back down. The branches weren't done moving inside him. "Training..." He inhaled sharply. "Training is key, takes years to understand what you've been handed. I'm sure Wanda can help you with that."

 

[PixieDust]

Leighton frowned slightly as she watched the branches retracting. It was clear that Rowan was in a lot of pain. Although she couldn’t make the process any less painful, she could at least alter the general mood of the surroundings to be a little more cosy and warm. It was the one aspect of her abilities that she could confidently use without concentrating or even thinking about it. Most of the time it happened naturally.

Before she could ask if he was okay, someone approached them. It was Wanda. She looked fairly sombre and had that whole mystical vibe going on like always. Her eyes seemed dark like she had just been crying, but Leighton didn’t comment of course.

“So you’re both here. Good.” She said with a very faint trace of a lifeless smile. Wanda glanced in brief acknowledgment of Leighton before turning her attention to Rowan. “My name is Wanda Maximoff. You’ll be meeting the other team members in due course, but you need to be assessed. I will be orchestrating a simulation of a rescue mission for you both, and as you’ve probably guessed, you have been paired together.”

She paused for a moment flashing a warning look between them both. “No complaining about pairings and no trading. I had to get that out of the way. Do you have any questions before I show you the most important parts of the compound?”

 

[cosmicforce]

Rowan didn't have plans to argue, but even if he had that was all the more reason for him to just not talk. The only thing he would ever want to ask would be about Tony; most importantly why did he remember Rowan after all those years? He figured it would be a sore spot though, so he kept to himself.

He was careful to stand up the second time, stretching each limb to make sure the branches fell into place inside him - and they did. With faint snaps and cracks sounding from inside him he finally got to a standing position, directly in front of Wanda. He wanted to get this over with, half hoping that they would see him work and brush him off as useless - just as HYDRA had. He didn't have a home but he knew for sure this place wasn't it.

All he said when he finally spoke was, "Can we get started?" 6'0 tall, he towered over Wanda. For any other person, it might have been intimidating but for a superhero like her? Rowan assumed she would be fine.

Not even waiting for a response however, Rowan moved a few steps closer to his new friend. They would be stuck together for the extent of a mission at the very least. He knew they had to be able to tolerate each other, even if he didn't make that easy.

 

[PixieDust]

Leighton wasn't exactly about to complain about her pairing. Sure Rowan seemed kind of standoffish, but she didn't know him well enough to form a real opinion anyway. Besides, she liked to think of herself as pretty non-judgemental. When Wanda asked if either of them had questions, she was surprised when Rowan actually said something.

"Can we get started?" he had asked and Wanda smiled slightly. "Eager I see. I probably wouldn't be if I were you. I'm not known for making my simulations easy."

"Wait," Leighton said, folding her arms with a slight frown, "Don't you think using a simulation is less realistic? I mean, you're the ones who told us we were all so 'special' after all. Now you're selling us short."

Wanda shook her head, shooting a searching look toward Leighton that made her shift uncomfortably. "You're too reckless for your own good, Leighton. Clearly. That is my point. But since you are so insistent..." Wanda glanced between them both, "Spar each other, right here. Just make sure you don't kill each other. Use any ability you have. You aren't teammates now; you are enemies." With that she simply stood back and watched them.

Leighton swore under her breath and shot Rowan an apologetic look. "Sorry..."

 

[cosmicforce]

"Are you kidding me?" Rowan went from looking just slightly annoyed to pissed. He didn't want to spar, he wanted to go through the simulation and then be done for the day, not spar with some girl who barely knew how to use her powers. Reckless was right, his new partner was an absolute mess. If this didn't show Wanda that he wasn't meant to be here, maybe at the very least, it would be enough to show her that Leighton was not the partner for him.

He knew there was no getting out of the situation so he stepped a little away from the couches and braced himself. The pain which had just started to fade came back full force, causing his teeth to clench tightly as the branches, spotted with green leaves, once again started to poke through his skin. From his ankles up his body was intermittently wrapped, stopping just below his chin. It burned, and pulled, and made him hate the position he was in even more, but he just kept going, working hard to ignore all the bad.

He just had to knock her down, that was it. So he went for the legs, rapidly, he extended a branch. It wiggled and pulled inside him as he commanded it silently to wrap around the girl's knees once, then twice, then three times, pulling back in an attempt to knock her down. "You shouldn't have done that, I don't play all that nice."

 

[PixieDust]

Leighton barely had time to process what was happening before she felt the tendrils wrapping around her knees in an attempt to knock her over.

As if on command her body began to glow white hot and a surge of light shot from inside her, making the branches recoil slightly. Leighton freed herself with a look of deep surprise and visualised a rope of light. In no time at all she had managed to form the rope and tie it around the branches, tugging on them in the hopes of knocking Rowan off balance.

“That’s okay, apparently neither do I.”

Wanda watched them both with rapped attention and even Sam and Bucky were looking over. Sam raised an eyebrow at Wanda sceptically but she simply put up a hand as if to say ‘just wait.’

 

[cosmicforce]

Rowan started to fall but quickly rooted himself in the ground. The branches went through the floor to hold him in place, tearing holes in the tile flooring. Oops, he'd have to pay for that.

The sight of Bucky made Rowan's anger grow, and suddenly he was swatting the light away with a branch that then travelled up Leighton's arm in an attempt to immobilize it. Maybe it was irrational, but something about the super soldier watching him brought Rowan so close to snapping. It wouldn't be fair to take it out on Leighton, but his clouded and enraged mind didn't care.

It soon became obvious why, at least to him. His brain began running on autopilot, his green eyes somehow getting brighter. Grab, twist, pull. The branch worked to push Leighton's arms around her back as the roots slowly pulled from the ground so he could approach her. "I don't like to hit girls," he growled. His voice was suddenly deeper, and like the rest of him seemed that it grew more...evil.

 

[PixieDust]

Leighton didn't have much time to celebrate her brief triumph against Rowan before the branches had wrapped tightly around her arm and began to twist it behind her back. She gasped in alarm, her hazel eyes darting about for something she could use in defence. The pain was searing through her and unsurprisingly, it was very distracting.

The redhead had already used up an alarming amount of energy from using her power and though she tried to send a powerful blast forward, she was beginning to rapidly weaken, her vision becoming blurred. She did manage to see Rowan approach her with the most menacing expression she had ever seen. It sent a chill of dread through her and her eyes widened. "Wait...stop..." she said feebly.

"Rowan, let her go." Wanda said sharply, looking troubled. "That's enough. I've made my point."

 

[cosmicforce]

Rowan didn’t stop, in fact he made the branches tighter, to the point that he knew that it was close to breaking her arm. Then he stopped, and let them instead start to creep up to her neck. He was going for the kill, and Bucky seemed to know that.

The super soldier started walking towards Rowan briskly, speaking in rapid, worried Russian. Anyone who could translate it would know he was saying something to the affect of, “Stand down, 262. She is not a threat. Listen. Focus.”

That seemed to work. The branches stopped and eventually retreated back into his body, the anger in his eyes faded. And he fell. Straight onto the floor, in a heap of pale, shaky skin and heavy breathing he was a shell of the person he used to be. Bucky reached down to help him up and Rowan just swatted the hand away, breathing heavily. “Get away from me.”

Bucky stepped back as he was asked, knowing exactly what Rowan was going through. The younger seemed to look up then, blinking back the tears in his eyes, he turned Leighton, “I’m sorry,” and then to Wanda. “I’m not meant to be here, I don’t know why Tony wanted me here.”

 

[PixieDust]

Leighton almost screamed when the branches began inching toward her neck. She struggled against them as much as she could given how much energy she had lost, but she was almost certain she was going to be killed if somebody didn’t intervene.

After that everything happened so fast that she barely had time to process what was going on.

The branches released her and she fell to the floor, clutching her arm and staring at Rowan with a mixture of sympathy, fear and confusion. What the hell had just happened? It was almost like a switch had been flipped.

When Rowan apologised, Leighton could not find a response. She simply nodded mutely.

Wanda didn’t take any steps toward Rowan when he addressed her. She knew it wasn’t the right thing to do.

Despite her distance her eyes were soft with kindness as she spoke to him almost so that no one else could hear her: “None of us are ever meant to be here. We earn it by making good choices. That’s the only reason we are the good guys.” A quiver of emotion crept into her voice as she added, “if Tony wanted you here, then there’s no question you belong.” She held out her hand for him to take if he wanted to. “Now, you both need rest.”

 

[cosmicforce]

Rowan took Wanda's hand but only because he wasn't sure he could make it up on his own. He pulled himself onto shaky feet, and once he did he seemed to turn towards Leighton and start to hold out a hand before thinking better of it and turning away again.

Good choices? He didn't make those; if anything his life was a series of bad choices. He was on the run from one of the biggest evil corporations in the world, he had left his safe house to move to a base that was my all definitions, quite easy to find, and the one guy who wanted him here in the first place was dead. Maybe he should just leave before that happened to him too? Or maybe that was what he wanted to happen.

Rowan looked nervously between all the Avengers in the room, pausing when he and Bucky locked eyes. It took everything inside him to pull his gaze away and not snap out again. "Is there somewhere where I can crash? It's a little bit of a walk back to Vienna." He wasn't particularly tired, but being alone was what he craved right now.

 

[PixieDust]

Leighton still wondered whether she ought to say anything to Rowan, but finding something casual to say to someone who had almost killed you was no easy feat. Wanda was right, they definitely needed rest.

Sam walked over at Rowan’s question. “I’m pretty sure you couldn’t walk back to Vienna if you tried, kid,” he said with a chuckle that somewhat alleviated the tension in the room. “Don’t worry, situations like this happen all the time here. This place is filled with places to crash.” With that he gestured for Rowan to follow him and he made a start on his walk.

Against her better judgement, Leighton stopped Rowan just before he could follow Sam and said quietly so that only he could hear, “I’m really sorry, Rowan. I got both of us into this mess...”

 

[cosmicforce]

Rowan froze when Leighton approached him. He stared down at her with tired eyes as he gently rested his hand on her shoulder. From the corner of his eye, Bucky seemed to tense and start moving forward, but stopped when he noticed how calm Rowan remained.

"You got us to spar, I almost got you killed," it seemed to be his way of saying don't be sorry but it was all he said before he started following Sam. They both needed to sleep, and maybe in the morning light, they would be calmer and more caring towards each other - though somehow he doubted they would get very close at all.

When Rowan left, Bucky took his place, taking the time to look down at Leighton with a sympathetic look. "He doesn't mean it, but it doesn't excuse him. It's up to you if you want to help him move on or not." He seemed to have no bias towards which answer she chose, and no expectation for her to answer now. "Go get some rest, both of you will work some more in the morning."

 

[PixieDust]

Leighton almost backed away when Rowan placed his hand on her shoulder until she saw the calm expression on his face as he spoke. “You got us to spar, I almost got you killed.” That remark was strangely reassuring for Leighton and she let herself smile slightly, knowing there were no hard feelings. She watched him and Sam walk away, jumping in surprise when Bucky of all people decided to give her a pep talk.

That guy still made her super nervous so she didn’t make eye contact as he spoke to her. “Uh...thank you...”

With that she followed Wanda towards where she would be staying. “There are other new recruits here that have already settled in, so you’ll be rooming together. Try not to challenge them to a sparring match.”
Leighton blushed with embarrassment so that her cheeks were nearly as red as her hair.

—————————

Leighton couldn’t exactly say she struck lucky with her roommate, though the girl wasn’t dislikable either. Her name was Saphira and she was one of those girls that instantly makes other girls feel inadequate in comparison just by being there.

Honestly, the girl looked like a model, but it was worse that she was so nice.

“Oh hey, so we are roommates now! I’m Saphira!” The brunette had exclaimed with a playful smile as she shamelessly gave Leighton a once over. “You’re pretty cute!”

Leighton had raised an eyebrow as she replied, wondering if Saphira was always this perky. Maybe she should’ve got the ‘sunshine’ power. “I’m Leighton. Hi. I don’t mean to seem unsociable but I’ve kind of had a long day so I’m gonna need a bit of rest-“

“Oh my god don’t even worry about it, hun. I’ll leave you in peace and go on a Winter Soldier hunt.” She had winked and then bounded out of the room, leaving Leighton to look on in bewilderment.

 

[cosmicforce]

Rowan wasn’t quite as lucky when it came to roommates. As soon as he walked into the room the stench of Axe body spray and dirty laundry hit him like a ton of bricks. Sure enough the floor was covered in clothes, a guy with messy brown hair dancing in the middle of them to music only he could hear in his headphones. Rowan waited until Sam left to even enter, and he was halfway to his bed - he could tell it was his because it had yet to be slept in - before his new roommate noticed him.

“What’s up roomie? I’m Ace,” he said as he took off his oversized headphones. Rowan rolled his eyes and didn’t respond before making it the rest of the way to his bed and laying down. So much for being alone. “You don’t talk much. Can I at least have your name?”

“Rowan. I would like to sleep now.” His eyes started to close, but he could feel Ace’s eyes on him even as he turned onto his side. He was probably annoyed Rowan didn’t talk, most people were, but he didn’t have the energy to care.

“Fine by me. I’m gonna go for a walk,” Ace grumbled in reply, putting his headphones over his ears and disappearing from the room.

 

[PixieDust]

Leighton had pretty much slept right through the night without incident. The waves of exhaustion had hit her pretty hard. When she finally rose from under her blanket in the morning, she found Saphira already awake and fully dressed standing at a mirror and applying mascara. It was super early in the morning and Leighton was surprised anyone would voluntarily be awake at that time.

Saphira turned to Leighton with a sunny smile, "Oh hey hun, you were down for the count last night! What had you so exhausted?" Leighton blinked sleepily and ran her fingers through her messy hair.
"It's kind of a long story..." she said as she recalled the events of the day before.

"Well you can tell me your story on the way to breakfast. I heard there were a few other new recruits. I'm hoping they're all as cute as you!"

Leighton rose from her bed with a sigh, ignoring Saphira's flirtation but offering her a small smile.

------

Once the pair were ready, the girls made their way to the kitchen for breakfast. Luckily Saphira (or Saphi as she had requested to be called) already knew the way and talked Leighton's ears off the entire walk. Leighton barely processed most of it, but she nodded politely in all the right places. She couldn't help wondering what it was that made The Avengers recruit the perky brunette.

 

[cosmicforce]

Rowan woke up once, twice, three times screaming with nightmares. Thank God Ace wore those fucking headphones to bed. By five he was awake enough to know there was no more sleeping for him. He got dressed, putting on his mission outfit while under the assumption that they had a long day of training ahead. For some reason that woke Ace up and the brunette sat up straight. His glasses were crooked and his hair even messier than the night before. “BREAKFAST!” He announced, hoping down from his bunk and putting the headphones around his neck again.

He seemed to put on the first pair of pants he could find - Rowan was sure they were dirty - and soon was gesturing for Rowan to follow him as he made his way out of their shared bedroom. He followed hesitantly, still not wanting to talk to the strange boy.

“So, why are you here?” Ace asked expectantly, but when he got no response decided to answer his own question. “I’m a wizard. Not a Harry Potter wizard but I’m fairly good at sleight of hand stuff. More of a trickster I guess, they said I act like someone named Lookie? Loki?” Ace shrugged. “Anyway this place looks fun.”

The conversation was that one sided the whole way to the kitchen which, in hindsight was not far but felt like a mile long walk.

 

[PixieDust]

Saphira seemed to instantly notice the other two recruits as their paths crossed and apparently she didn’t mind joining the conversation either.
“You mean Loki, sweetie,” she said to the boy who had pronounced the trickster god’s name incorrectly.

Leighton looked up when she realised she was no longer addressing her and she noticed an annoyed looking Rowan with the guy Saphira had spoken to.

“Hey, Rowan.”

 

[cosmicforce]

Rowan’s head shot up at the sound of Leighton’s voice and he made eye contact with her. His expression of annoyance instantly becoming softer. Why was she talking to him? She didn’t have to. He would forgive her if she never wanted to look at him again. “Hi,” he replied.

Ace looked at the two, seeming to notice how Rowan’s expressions changed. “Are you two friends?”

“Something like that.” He made a beeline for the coffee machine, knowing that if he was going to get through today he needed a hell of a lot of caffeine. “You like coffee, Leighton?”

“Yep!” Ace replied, and Rowan let out an exasperated sigh.