Natasha was training with Wanda and the Vision when Pepper had ushered their new friend downstairs- Harley Quinn. She couldn't see her that much, as she was barely managing to dodge and evade the attacks from her teammates left and right. Sweat lightly sheened on her skin, giving her a somewhat healthy glow as she moved. She could see Steve with Sam and Rhodey, casually reclining at a table and sharing a basket of curly fries. The smell teased her all the way in the training box, and soon she found herself on teh floor, phantom fingers caressing her cheek.

Wow. Wanda had caught her off guard. That usually never happened.

"Sorry, Natasha," the witch apologized meekly, trembling hands reaching down. Natasha took hers gratefully, pulling herself to her feet. Shaking her head, she took a minute to regain her breath. Her lungs felt like they were on fire.

When was the last time that happened during practice?

It didn't matter. All that mattered was that Wanda was getting better at her aim. The Vision? He still had a nasty habit of floating around, unsure of what exactly he was supposed to do.

"It's alright, Wanda," Natasha huffed, wiping her brow the back of her hand, "You did good." Wanda's eyes lit up like fireworks; Natasha was a tough trainer. If things were bad, she would say so, and immediately pin you to the mat if you struggled to correct your errors. If it was good? You managed to avoid a pummeling. The Vision floated behind them by a good few feet, Wanda casting childish grins at the android over her shoulder every other step. Natasha shook her head, smirking.

Her teammates could be such children sometimes.

"Hey, how's the training going?" Pepper called as Natasha plopped herself down in a chair, across from their new guest. Harley was looking around curiously, her blue eyes a haze of wonder. Wait, blue? Natasha thought, last I saw her they were brown. She shrugged as she watched Harley, her gaze falling on the tray of curly fries the boys were sharing. It was probably a trick of the light; after all, it was dark and she was in the middle of some sort of episode.

"Wanda's getting pretty good at interpretive dance, I see," Sam cracked, making the mutant blush profusely, her gaze flitting discreetly to the Vision, who simply smiled along with them.

"But seriously, you are getting good," Natasha pointed a fry at her, chomping obnoxiously as she added, "I just might have to step up my game with you."

"Bu Agent Romanoff, we are not playing a game," The Vision pointed out, oblivious, "You said specifically that we were training for better chances at survival during battle-"

"It's an expression," Wanda explained quietly. Natasha noticed the Vision had stopped floating, now contemplating the best way to claim the empty chair next to Wanda as his. After listening to the legs scrape against the floor, he finally settled himself, Wanda casting her gaze on teh fries, leaving it there.

"Aww, you guys are cute!" Harley piped up, "Jus' like ol' Batsy 'n Selena, let me tell yah!"

"And you are….?" Rhodey asked, snatching a fry from the plate.

"Harley Quinn, darlin', pleased to meet yah!" Harley practically yelled, her voice booming as she leaned over the table and shoved her hand at him. Hesitantly, Rhodey shook her hand once, and firmly, before she pulled away abruptly, crossing her arms as if she had been burned and was trying to smother the heat.

"James Rhodes," he politely returned, "But they call me Rhodey."

"And I'm Sam Wilson-" Sam was about to follow suit until Tony cleared his throat. Steve sat silently, eyeing Harley with what Natasha could only discern as worry. Worry and caution.

"And, Miss Quinn," Tony put on an air, making the woman giggle at his terribly fake British accent, "are you a new recruit for the Avengers?"

"She's our mission."

Everyone was surprised to find Steve having echoed those words. They all knew what those words meant to Steve- one of the few things Bucky had uttered when they found him, half brain-washed and absolutely delirious.

Natasha never thought such words would leave the Captain's mouth.

It seemed apparent that Steve was correct, as Harley's bright demeanor diminished slightly, her smile sagging at the corners of her lips. Drumming her nails on the table, Harley let her eyes dart between the team, wait for a reaction.

It was then that the trained assassin noticed the dried crusty red of her hand.

"Harley, what happened?" she demanded bluntly, and Harley blew a raspberry, rolling her eyes.

"It ain't nothing, don't worry your pretty little head," she attempted to reassure her, but Natasha reached over and grabbed her fingers, inspecting each digit closely. Thankfully none were broken, but she noticed multiple lacerations and cuts across her knuckles. Blood had dried, looking black against her doll-like complexion.

"Did you punch something?" Natasha asked.

"Maybe I did," Harley humphed defiantly, "Why does it matter?"

"Because our job is to protect you at all costs," Steve interjected, having signaled Rhodey to get his medical kit.

"Uh-huh," Harley deadpanned, "Well, I'm not gonna hurt myself on purpose-"

"You already did so unintentionally, so who knows," Steve shook his head, "We can't take that chance. Pepper sighed, smoothing the folds of her skirt before saying, "I tried to get her to bandage it, i really did-"

"Well, it wouldn't have happened if you just gave me my shoes like I asked-"

"Asked? Really? I specifically remember you growling like an animal and having a temper-tantrum-"

"Well whaddya expect me to do after I wake up in some stranger's living room, huh?!" Harley cried, gnashing her teeth at Pepper. Natasha pursed her lips. Of course none of her teammates would bother to mention where they were. Then again, Tony had knocked her out back at the asylum, so it wasn't really any of their faults. It was simply Harley being unaware of her surroundings. As she watched Rhodey and Sam begin to take care of Harley's injury, she let ehr mind wander- what was it about this woman that was so important?

The Joker never really stepped foot in New York City, Natasha knew. Bad guys like that had a tendency to stay in Gotham, to have fun tormenting (Jesus Christ, she hated even thinking about that sorry excuse for a superhero) Bruce Wayne, although he didn't keep it a secret that he was Batman. In a way, it was almost like Tony, how he let the world know he was Iron Man simply because he could.

But Harley Quinn? She was an easy person to spot, although it seemed right now that she tried hard enough to stay out of the limelight. Sure, she looked and acted pretty outlandish, but Natasha was sure it was all a facade, a rich bravado she put on to cover up something.

What exactly, however, would that be?

Wanda and Vision had left, most likely to get back to training, as he heard the slight buzzing of Wanda's magical energy shooting every which way. A perfect knot finished off Harley's bandage, and Rhodey let his kit sit on the table as he leaned back in his chair. Harley was staring, boggled, at the medical equipment, the cover left flipped open to reveal tiny scissors, band-aids and dental floss, among other things.

"Why do you have dental floss in there?" Harley asked, lowering her voice.

"For stitches," Sam said, "if we don't have twine on us."

"Oh."

It was then that Harley's stomach growled, announcing its exclusion. The woman smiled, tried to pass it off, but Steve shoved the plate of fries across the table, staring her down with a stone-cold mask. Natasha noticed the little hitch in Harley's breath, how she almost mouthed something when their eyes met, but she took the food anyway, silently chowing down.

Weird.

Well, not really. If you were with the Joker…. he was a pretty messed up guy. Anything was bound to happen with him.

Still, Natasha wasn't fond of the silent, stoic look for Steve. She preferred him smiling, cracking jokes about being an old man, and, on occasion, giving orders when in training or in battle. Not this angry son of a bitch who looked like he would bite a (not really) innocent woman's head off for being the tiniest bit hungry.

"So, how about we go back to training?" Tony broke the awkward silence, Natasha releasing a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in. It was a good idea, and who knew how much damage the inexperienced members of the group were doing to the training room right now?

Pepper decided to take her leave, rubbing Harley's arm before she let her heels click loudly on the tiled floor. Harley looked positively revolted at Pepper's kind gesture, slumping her shoulders as she tried to fold in on herself. Her pigtails seemed less bouncy, hanging slightly limp from her head. Her mouth was clamped shut and she seemed to be trying in vain to hold back tears.

Sam noticed too, thankfully, for he asked softly, "Harley? Is something wrong?"

It was as if she was seeing them for the first time- wait, scratch that, she technically was. But her eyes seemed empty, a dark smile playing on her scarlet lips. Cocking her head, she leaned back in her chair, resting her neck over the top she her head hung backwards, her pigtails twin ropes hanging from the ceiling of a high school gym. Chest rising slowly, she began to chuckle.

It was ominous laugh, one that made you think "This is a person who needs serious help." And she was. It echoed throughout the recreation room, and even the others had stopped in their tracks. A stray blast from Wadna collided with one from Vision, exploding in a firework of red and yellow, spark suspended in the air before snapping out of existence. Her voice grew, louder and louder until it was a knife, cutting through Natasha's bones as if she were bread. The bang of a door signaled Agent Phil Coulson and Maria Hill burst in, taking Harley by the arms and wrenching them behind her back as she cackled, babbling incoherent nonsense as they lead her out of the room.

No one seemed up for training anymore once the door had closed behind them with an audible click of the lock.