This is my first Avengers fanfic so I'll start off by saying that I don't own anything. Now, I'd really appreciate any reviews or any comments you have at all, seriously, let me know what you think because the storyline I have in mind is still adaptable. This is based around the movie-verse but AU so no promises as to storyline. I went with the title because my OC's name means 'helper' or 'defender'. Though the genre is Drama/Romance there will be a fair bit of angst in here as well including some disturbing themes which I will warn you of at the start of relevant chapters. Rated M for reasons.

Natasha Romanov was not impressed. She had been sent to collect two people for the 'Avengers Initiative' and was genuinely afraid of one of those people. Fear didn't often happen to Black Widow, so when it did she was really uncomfortable. First, she was picking up Doctor Bruce Banner aka The Hulk. He was currently in Calcutta and though he wasn't a big fan of SHIELD, she was sure he would talk to her and could be persuaded to come along.

It was the second person that made her stomach twist with worry. As much as the Hulk could hurt her physically, Alexis could hurt her much worse. The woman had a telepathic power, not only would Natasha's thoughts not be safe around her but she could also meddle with the assassin's mind, change the way she thought. It was a particularly touchy area since Clint had been compromised. Natasha wasn't even sure why this Alexis woman wasn't under lock and key, the only part of her file Natasha could see was the section relating to her abilities which culminated in a few words.

'Ability level: 5
Danger level: 5'

Surely the country she lived in couldn't be safe when someone so dangerous walked free. Maybe she could convince Dr Banner to talk to the woman so that she didn't have to.

Bruce Banner was, somewhat reluctantly, sitting in a jet on his way back to America apparently via Scotland. Usually he would spend such a journey in a confined and breakable container meditating, doing his utmost to ensure the Other Guy didn't make an appearance. On this occasion that wasn't necessary since he was given plenty to think about. The files on the Tesseract were interesting, particularly Selvig's observations but he would find out more when he got to SHIELD's base. What was really interesting were the files on the Avengers with whom he'd be working until he found the cube (at which time he'd be free to leave, Agent Romanov had assured him). He already knew about Captain America and Iron Man of course, they were both pretty big public figures even if one of them was frozen in ice for decades.

The files on Romanov, Loki and Alexis were what he was interested in. There was another agent's file included but stamped across it in red letters was the word 'COMPROMISED' so he didn't bother reading much into that one.
Agent Romanov was the one who had picked him up. Of course, he wasn't given access to all of her information but he did find out that she was an assassin with a very specific skill set. With her track record, he was pretty glad that he was working with her rather than against her even though he knew that the other guy would make an appearance before he could be hurt. Bruce knew she was nervous around him but she wasn't outright frightened which was better than usual reactions to him.

Loki was the villain in this situation (though Bruce was definitely not going to be directly involved in this situation) and he was an immortal god from the realm eternal; Asgard. He was the god of lies and mischief and had stolen the Tesseract – an object of unlimited power – and was planning to use it against the planet. This was the type of situation Bruce actively tried to avoid. He didn't cope well with stress.

The last file of interest was of someone called Alexis. Her first name was the only personal information in the file; they didn't even have an age. This was the person they were collecting from Scotland, the person who, when Agent Romanov – master assassin who wasn't even afraid of the Other Guy – spoke of her, her voice wavered and her shoulders tensed. After reading this woman's file he could understand why. Telepathy (including mind control), telekinesis and a skill which was given the title 'particle control'. Telepathy or telekinesis by themselves were not that unusual, he'd been around enough to have seen it before, but both together in one person, with a skill level 5 was a potent mix. He didn't even know what 'particle control' was but the ideas the name evoked encouraged him to be scared of it. He was also impressed that she had a higher danger rating than him, he was only a 4.8. Bruce wished there was more information before he met this woman.

The jet landed in a small aerodrome on the outskirts of a small town. Really, after all the places they'd seen, everywhere in Scotland could be classified 'small' to people who'd travelled as much as Natasha and Bruce. A sleek black car was waiting and they were taken to a large house surrounded by fields. Natasha felt her heart rate speed up a little and made an effort to focus on her breathing, reminding herself that she didn't know this woman, that there might not be any problems, that the Director trusted her.

Bruce picked up on Natasha's tension and was impressed that no emotion could be seen on the assassin's face. So far he wasn't too worried, though his heart rate was a little faster than normal in response to Natasha's fear. Really he was just curious, he was a scientist after all. 'There's a high chance that curiosity is going to be the death of me' he thought to himself with dark humour.

Natasha double checked he was okay before they got out of the car. It was dark outside by now and all the windows in the house were bright and Bruce smiled as he recognised a Brian Adams song drifting from an open upstairs window. He wasn't exactly expecting this and from the look he shared with Natasha, she was unsure what to think as well. They rang the doorbell.

The music upstairs was cut off and the sound of the latch being turned before the door opened to reveal a girl. She had bright red dyed hair which was tied up in a knot witch appeared to be held up by a pen that was stuck through it. She was wearing an oversized sweater, pyjama shorts and slippers and her blue eyes were bright behind her glasses as she smiled at the strangers on her doorstep.

"Alexis?" Natasha asked, her voice clipped, not displaying her confusion with the person in front of her.

"That's me," the girl replied brightly before glancing behind them, at which point the smile dropped off her face. "You better come in. No good news comes in black cars." She stepped back to allow them entry.

"Are you going somewhere?" Bruce asked in his soft voice as he was shown into a living room which was bare except for the couches and cardboard boxes littering the floor.

"Hmm, no." She replied looking at him with a considering expression on her face. "This house was my parents and is being packed up to sell. I live up north now. Tell me, how can I help you?"

Natasha stepped in. "I am Agent Romanov from SHIELD. Director Fury asks for your assistance." She was confused about this girl – that's what she was, she couldn't be older than 20. Of course she could be manipulating them to make sure she was seen that way. Natasha didn't know what to think and she didn't like that feeling so she simply followed her orders and kept her face and voice neutral.

Alexis seemed to tell the Agent did not like her at all – her face took on a sad and resigned look that Bruce recognised from his own reflection in the mirror. He was used to people not liking him because of something beyond his control. Of course people were right to keep their distance in his case, was it the same for her? After a thoughtful moment she sighed, "I did promise to come when he called," she paused again. "Well my things are already in a bag so if you could give me a couple of minutes, I'll make sure I've got everything. Feel free to help yourself from the kitchen if you're hungry."

When Bruce heard her footsteps on the stairs he turned to Natasha. "What's her existing connection to SHIELD?" He became easily enthralled with puzzles.

"I know what you do, Doctor," she said in a vaguely annoyed tone. "The personal section of her file isn't just confidential, it simply isn't there. It's either been very thoroughly deleted by someone with high clearance or was never put on the system in the first place. That will change if she decides to help though."

Bruce nodded, lost in thought. He was interested to know what she owed Nick Fury and how she manipulated thoughts and her opinions on her skill and danger levels and all manner of other things. He was, however, aware that if he asked questions it gave her the right to ask in return and he wasn't very happy answering questions. Not that she couldn't just pick it out of his mind if she wanted to. Being around a mind reader was going to be frustrating and confusing.

His train of thought was interrupted as Alexis returned to the room looking much more put together. The pyjamas were gone, replaced by a navy blouse and cream jeans tucked into grey, laced boots. Her hair was still held up by a pen and she had a sports bag over one shoulder and a laptop bag over the other.

"So, I know Agent Romanov but can I ask your name?" she directed at Bruce.

"Doctor Bruce Banner." He introduced himself.

Bruce didn't imagine the sparkle of interest in her eyes when he told her his name but all she said was "It's nice to meet you both." He wondered how much she knew of him. She didn't seem scared but she would have been if she knew about the Other Guy, wouldn't she? Bruce Banner was intrigued. This couldn't end well.

AN: Thanks for reading.