Willpower

Being led to the gym, the rhythmic thuds of a punching bag being smashed repeatedly echoed down the hallway, which was a result of, as I had guessed, Cap taking out his frustrations on a bag. *whistles* "Hate to see what he'd do to Tony after hearing about the child labour thing. Oh, who am I kidding I'd love it."

"Shh Nathan, we're gonna have to break him into the idea slowly."

"Wait, Nat, you're being serious? You were a child soldier, Bucky was a mind-controlled killer, not to mention the number of teen boys that fought in WW2, I think he'd be used to the idea, even if he disagrees with it."

"Still, just be cautious."

Clint was the one to gain Cap's attention, calling him over to meet the temporary trainee. "Are you sure it's a good idea right now? Considering our current state?"

"No, but the kid made some valid points and wants to be trained with his brother, Spiderman, whose been bribed into siding with Tony should a fight occur."

"And?"

"They're 15 Steve."

"He's hiring child soldiers now?"

"He offered 100K and a new suit," I added. "To be honest the suit is tempting, but I couldn't pull off the red and blue thing."

"Wait, 100K AND a new suit?!"

"Yeah, he was originally just going to offer the suit but I called him out on being an idiot for trusting the government in front of Peter and now he's 100K down as well."

Bucky, bored with the conversation dragged me to the weights and got me to lose the mask and jacket, revealing my face to the group. "A little heart-breaker huh?" Clint teased.

"Yup, do you have a daughter my age, maybe I'll ask her out." The smirk on my face was obvious but the surprise on the group's faces at my retort was hilarious. Moving under an automatic weight-adjusting barbell I bench over 650 kg for a few reps before asking for the machine to go to 1000kg, or 2200 lbs, where I struggle and barely get it back over the hooks before putting it back. "Huh, 1000kg exactly, that's a little weird obviously," but as the biomass runs through my body it gets stronger and denser, rather than bigger, allowing me to stay flexible. Moving on to the Squat rack I lift 1400kg or 3090 lbs before I take a rest, finding myself physically tired for the first time since I died. Looking at the awestruck team I cock up an eyebrow, "So am I physically capable enough?"

Being the strongest person in the room was amusing but as I reminded them, "My brother is actually stronger than me physically," giving them another shock. "But he's not as experienced in fights as I am, and he can't just shrug off bullets." Being picked up by Bucky and taken to the sparring ring I ask quickly, "Are we using powers or not?" To which he smirks, tapping his metal arm and drawing a gun. "Powers it is." Wanting to practice with my kakuja form, I grow a long, beaked mask, and a single, thick kagune with blades running along the sides and with a wider head at the end of the long tail. A better option against singular strong opponents or when I need to deal heavy damage quickly, I dash around the ring, faster than I could ever in my base form, giggling quietly about how fun it is to be able to fight again. After seven years, he could finally fight again. While most bullets ricochet off the kagune, Bucky uses the moment I swing at him, to aim for my chest, a move I wholly ignore, as regardless of the bullet size, I can recover instantly, the kagune was dodged initially, however, instantly reversed on itself, slamming into Bucky and launching him into the wall, saved only by the metal arm that had acted as a shield from the initial blow. Getting up the winter soldier drew a knife as well, rolling to duck and dive towards me, firing shots in an attempt to restrict my movement.

POV- Natasha Romanoff

The boy was...strange. He didn't act like a boy concerned for his brother even knowing who he'd be facing, and he seemed so confident, so assured of his situation as if nothing could surprise him. Even his understanding that I had already seen his file, and had actually, 'let slip' the information that made me look for it, I knew. He was dangerous. Not just because of his powers or weird cannibalism which he denies as being a truth as he isn't human. The casual response to Clint's teasing and joking nature make him seem friendly but that makes it worse. Looking at his file had not prepared me for his looks either, the shimmering radiance of his eyes, the casual confidence he held himself with despite being in a room of internationally recognised superheroes. His strength alone was monstrous, surpassing Steve or Barnes, and apparently, he's currently the weakest brother. Then the fight began, not using the 4 limbed tentacles that provided him reach and control, he shifted, forming a long kagune he called it, shaped similarly to a centipede, 15 feet long and razor sharp. A deadly weapon on its own, but when mixed with the quick and nimble movements of the boy, Bucky was put on the back foot the entire time. Looking at Steve for a moment, I hear several people gasp in horror. Bucky had somehow closed the distance and pierced the boy's heart, the blade visible from the other side of his chest, however as we moved forward to help, the boy laughed, patted Bucky's shoulder and told him it was fine, before headbutting the now trapped super soldier into the ground unconscious. If the boy is telling the truth, and he can really consume other's powers, I'm all for training him and having him on the team, the added benefit of him being the most beautiful boy I've ever seen doesn't hurt, but he's too young unfortunately, younger even than Yelena.

POV- Clint Barton

I get called in because some kid wants to talk to us, apparently with superhuman abilities, and after talking with him, he seems polite, smart and caring towards his family, all traits I find endearing in a person. Watching the kid rep 1000kgs was disconcerting, watching him kick the ass of the Winter Soldier, get stabbed in the heart, and then proceed to bash him into the ground anyway was terrifying. 'Maybe the kid's right. Maybe I should just start teaching instead.'

POV- Nathan Cross

Pulling my opponent from the floor and dissolving the kakuja I pass him to Steve, as although Bucky's already waking up, I don't want to carry the crazed murder robot. "So now that you're confident in my powers can someone teach me hand to hand, please? I'm confident against weak opponents but against stronger opponents, I'll need skill to dominate." Looking between Nat and Bucky I put out the question, "Will you teach me how to fight?" Seeing the shared look and an accompanying nod from Bucky, I burst into a grin. 'With Natasha's control and maneuverability and Bucky's offence, there's almost no one better to train me.'

Every day since then for the past 2 weeks, me and Peter have been trained by Bucky and Natasha, or at least that was the plan before he fanboyed over Captain America and asked him to teach him how to box first, as he didn't understand the more advanced techniques required for jiu-jitsu the mixed style of Bucky. My training was difficult, without question, as I limited myself to human strength and got my ass beat, over and over again. The only upside was the one time Natasha did the aerial chokehold, wrapping her thighs around my head. Honestly, all the (admittedly minor) pain of being stabbed, shot and burnt was worth it just for that. Between the early hours and the painful training, I'm not sure I could have held up without Batman's will, encouraging me to sleep, eat and study despite how tired I am.

At the end of the two weeks, Nat took me so a holding cell for a prisoner they'd arrested, having performed some relatively minor crimes using what they believed was a form of hypnosis. "Go on, we have a regeneration stimulant here ready for him once you're done, so bite down and see if you can absorb the hypnosis."

The balding, fat man with bruising to his face and tied up like a Christmas Turkey was squirming on the ground, having heard Nat's order to bite him. As he bounced along the floor like a seal on land, I pull out my combat knife, as although it was not perfect, it is still cleaner than using my hand and ripping. "You know he doesn't have to be awake for this right? He could have been anaesthetised?"

"His victims had to remain conscious as he robbed them blind, taking everything he could physically carry with him away."

"Fair enough, just wondered." Digging into the thigh meat, I cut out strips as I would for teriyaki, placing them on the plate beside me, ignoring the muffled pleas of the fat man as I take the meat to the kitchen, preparing the meat on a hotplate after lathering it in teriyaki sauce, which surprisingly has little to no taste for me anymore, but smells better than without it. Under the curious gaze of my second favourite widow, after May, I start chewing on the meat, gulping down all three thick strips in under 2 minutes. As I'm chewing my left eye suddenly morphed again, as it does when I'm famished, or using my kagune, signifying something drastic was happening to my body. A faint smell of rain filled the room, with the smell emanating from my skin, or more accurately, my sweat. I always found rain calming, and looking over at Natasha and seeing her relaxed smile I figured out what my new power was. Using my insane will to control the new ability, spending 10 minutes on that task, and another 5 focusing on anything other than the sexual implications this power could have, lest it affect Nat. With it now 100% under my control, a fact I confirmed by checking my list of abilities in my status, I alert Natasha to what the man's power truly is, warning her that under no circumstance should his gag be removed, lest he becomes another Kilgrave. They'd apparently assumed he had hypnosis, tranquilised him from afar then gagged him, which is an effective method of capture, as although the pheromones make people more suggestible, they cannot give instructions without a mouth or hands. Playing around with my new power, I realise that I can instil different emotions into people near me, and through physical contact as a direct exposure to the pheromones, such as fear, rage, joy, lust or calm, which will prove most useful in social settings, as the smell itself is, according to Bucky, Nat and one of the ladies at the reception desk, odorless and therefore undetectable. While part of me was tempted to see how far I could push Nat, I also knew that 1, she was aware of the power and 2, she had undergone extreme training in bodily control such as ignoring desires and urges, sharing incredible willpower herself.

"I guess we know that you can in fact gain new abilities, which makes you possibly one of the most dangerous people in the world."

"Well isn't that a comforting thought, a horny teenager with little patience and overflowing charm is that powerful? I'd feel SUPER safe trusting my life to them hahaha."

It was later that night when I stayed late to train my abilities against Bucky and Steve, at their request, that I met Scarlet Witch for the first time. Ducking under a kick aimed for my face and sweeping Steve's supporting foot out from under him with my kagune, in it's tentacle form, I hold him, incapacitated in the air as I duke it out with Bucky, eventually flipping him into the padded floor with my foot on his back and his arm in a locked position, restricting movement and forcing him onto his belly.

*Clap Clap Clap Clap*

"Well done. Not many can fight these two as their equals, fewer still dominating them both together." Her soothing voice made me relax momentarily, before I recognised the effect similar to my own pheromone's calming effect, using my willpower to lock down my emotions and keep a calm expression while looking at one of the most charming women I've ever seen. In my past life, I was envious of the stupid droid Vision for getting with the hottest avenger and looking at her now, my jealousy would have been blazing had I not already locked down on my own emotions. "Hmmm, interesting. Such a young boy has control not only of his emotions but also the perception to recognise when he's losing control of them. Mr Cross, you are a rarity."

"Thank you, Ms Maximoff, both for the praise and for testing my defences. Though I cannot help but wonder why you are here, seeing as you have not visited this gym in the two weeks I've been here. Are you simply avoiding other Avengers in preparation for the fight or did you want to see something, because I'll have to warn you my strip shows are quite expensive, even if the client is one as enchanting as yourself?" Wanda simply laughed at the joke, understanding that it was not intended to be serious, and was simply a method of breaking the ice between them.

"You're right of course, I came to see the one who garnered attention from five of the Avengers himself, and perhaps check the claim on you being a magical creation?"

"No magic that I'm aware of. I think it's a biological effect of a mutation of some kind, altering how my body acts and what it needs to function." Having a short discussion on the differences between a magically created ghoulish being and what I am, I returned home having cleared the concerns of the chaos witch in regards to me spreading the ghoul fever through bites or scratches.