Aurora Voss had been with the Avengers for less than a month, yet already she felt like an outsider. She wasn't flashy like Thor, nor commanding like Captain Marvel. Her gift was different—quiet, subtle, sometimes unnerving. She could become anyone she faced. Their power, their fighting style, even their instincts—if she saw it once, she could mirror it.
But she never liked using it to its fullest. Not when it meant turning someone's violence back against them.
That morning, the team gathered in the Avengers briefing room. Not for another world-ending threat, but something quieter, stranger.
Maria Hill tapped a screen, showing a series of reports. "Over the past two weeks, several powered individuals—small names, mostly—have vanished. Street-level vigilantes, young mutants, even a couple of low-tier Hydra remnants. No ransom, no bodies, no claims of responsibility. Just… gone."
Tony Stark leaned back in his chair, smirking. "Sounds more like a missing persons case than Avenger-level."
"Except," Hill continued, "every one of them disappeared within a block of the same location—an old biotech facility in Brooklyn. Abandoned for years. Until now."
Aurora straightened, her golden visor reflecting the map. Something about it tugged at her.
Steve Rogers noticed her focus. "You've been quiet. What do you think, Aurora?"
She hesitated before speaking. "If someone is hunting powered people, then it's not about money. It's about control. Whoever it is, they're studying us—maybe even trying to become us."
Her words hung heavy in the room. Stark stopped smirking.
Natasha Romanoff gave a slow nod. "She's right. That's not a war. That's a shadow game. And those are the most dangerous kinds."
Aurora felt her pulse quicken. For the first time, her gift—the very thing that made her feel like an echo—might be the key to understanding what was happening. If she could copy someone's powers, maybe she could sense who was behind the disappearances.
But deep down, she knew this wasn't just another mission.
It was personal.