The World We Live In

"Isn't this just a cozy scene?" Tony said when he walked in and saw Matilda and Clint asleep. Clint stirred and cracked an eye open, before flipping Tony off.

"Cool it Bird boy. I come in peace?"

"Do you come in shut the fuck up?" he asked.

"No, I come in sarcastic, genius, nar-"

In a flash Matilda's hand was up, and Tony had been slammed against the wall. "If you do not shut the hell up, I will pull your insides out through your skin," Matilda threatened groggily. She dropped him.

"Cap's looking for you," he said as he got up.

"Tell him, I'll see him a bit," she said.

"Fine, JARVIS-"

"Do it somewhere else," she growled.

Clint chuckled and rested his head on hers.

"Sleep now, laugh later," she said.

"Fine by me."

When Clint had woken up, Matilda was no longer next to him. In fact she was sitting on top of a desk with electrodes hooked up to her head moving various objects both with her mind and normally. He left for his room. On the way he ran into Natasha.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Walking," he responded, knowing that wasn't what she meant.

"We cannot trust her. She's a risk, a threat."

"So were you once," Clint said.

That struck a nerve in the red head.

"What if-"

"If she were to cross us, which I don't think will happen, then we take her out. It's as simple as that." Clint's tone was cool, but underneath he was seething. He understood where Natasha was coming from, but the accusations of Matilda being a threat burned his ass.

That seemed to appease Natasha somewhat although not much.

"You should really distance yourself from her, let Steve or Thor get closer, someone, who absolutely needs the interaction."

"She does."

"What?"

"She's spent years not getting close to anyone, running, hiding, not trusting, just like you. She craves the interaction and if I'm the one to give it to her, I don't see it as that big of a deal. Everyone needs a friend."

Natasha huffed and walked off. He was her partner, but he was no good to her compromised. He hadn't been controlled this time. This was all him. She couldn't save him from himself.

Matilda had finished Bruce's tests without issue. After she was done, she went to her room and changed before heading to the training room. Once she was there, she started off running before getting to the good stuff. She had JARVIS create a simulation specifically designed to meet her training needs. It was more or less an obstacle course designed for her to attempt to get out of without her gift.

She'd just made it through her second run of the simulations, when Natasha walked in. "You don't like to fight, but when about when you have to? What do you do then?" she asked.

"Then I fight," Matilda answered simply.

"Like when you're attacked." Natasha went to kick the older woman. Matilda bent backwards and ducked the foot. She shot back up and grabbed the Widow's barm, before her fist could hit her in the face. Natasha moved to send her foot into Matilda's stomach, But Matilda flipped Natasha over onto her back. Natasha jumped up and quickly twisted Matilda's arm around her back.

Matilda twisted out of it, reversing the move. Natasha head butted the brunette woman. Matilda heard a crunch and put a hand to her nose and saw blood. "That's gonna take forever to heal," she said. She glared up at Natasha, who had stopped her assult, feeling that she had made a point, and lifted her up five feet off of the ground. Natasha was unable to move. She could still hear, still see, still think. Her thoughts were still her own and at this moment they were very unpleasant.

"Listen, I know you don't trust me. Honestly I don't expect you to, you're a spy and I'm some random girl, who just waltzed into your team, that's already a volatile mix to begin with, but this isn't that. I know it isn't. If you have an issue then try speaking to me before attacking me. Now if you need me, I'll be icing my nose. Don't attack me again, because I promise, next time you'll regret it."

Matilda dropped Natasha and walked off. She pulled her tank over her head leaving her in her sports bra and held it to her nose.

"What the hell happened to you?" Tony asked as she walked past.

"Natasha,"`she answered.

"Spidey's got a bite," he said.

"Blow me," Tilda said as she continued walking. She set her own nose, before grabbing ice from the kitchen. She set it on her face and laid down on the couch.

"Steve walked in and found her like that and was instantly flustered at the amount of skin exposed.

"Oh quit blushing, there are girls who walk around wearing a lot less. You've got to get used to it, especially, when we go somewhere warm."

"Ms. Knight, Director Fury is on the line for you."

Matilda beckoned over a phone. "What?" she answered tersely.

"Matilda, we've got a problem that we believe you can help us with."

"Send the Widow," she said.

"It's a retrieval mission."

"Send the Widow."

"It would be best if we could retrieve the item without a lot of agents-"

"Send. The. Widow."

"Y-"

"LISTEN FURY, I AM HERE TO TEACH NOT GO ON MISSIONS ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU HAVE PERFECTLY CAPABLE AGENTS LIKE THE ONE THAT JUST BROKE MY DAMN NOSE, SO FUCKING USE THEM, BECAUSE I'M NOT GOING!"

Steve watched as her pupils changed and things began to randomly float around them. He noted that Bruce wasn't the only one with a temper issue.

"What are you looking at?" she snipped at Steve.

He raised his hands in surrender. "Just your eyes are different."

"What?" she asked.

"They look different. Bruce said, when he checked you out in the lab after you passed out they were weird and your skin was turning white."

Maitlda looked at Steve. "Are you on drugs?" she asked. Not once in her life had she ever seen or thought about her skin turning white. Her eyes changed all of the time and she was known to have moments, where her shifts could get caught and she would awkwardly be caught in the middle of them. That's just what she assumed happened.

He walked over to the wall grabbed the large mirror from it and held it over her. She looked at her reflection and her eyes widened with shock. "Holy shit!" she swore.

She stared hard into mirror. She went to change her eyes, but nothing happened. Rather than start to panic, she calmed herself down. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths. When she looked back up at the mirror her eyes were back to the chocolate brown of her current appearance.

Steve hung the mirror back up. "What do you think that was?" he asked.

"Just an accidental switch. It happens from time to time." 'At least I hope so,' she thought. She placed the ice back on her nose and focused. She looked asleep on the outside, but internally she was rifling through every transformation she could remember trying to find something that looked remotely close to what she had just seen.