1.1

In Stark Tower

"What is all this?" Pepper asked.

Ms. Virginia "Pepper" Potts, Mr. Tony Stark, and Mr. Phil Coulson were standing in a very spacious living area in Stark Tower. Tony was given a digital file filled with classified information (which Pepper knew nothing about) and the man was currently setting it to connect to his tech.

"This is, uh," Tony began to answer, swiping his fingers out to open the file. "this."

Coulson stood at the door, completely silent as he observed the two adults.

Tony glanced across the open files that displayed four different individuals he had never met. His face didn't give away much, but he had a feeling he knew what was to come when each video on display involved the individuals engaged in combat.

Pepper didn't know where to look first. She had known what the Avenger Initiative was supposed to be, but She didn't realize just how dangerous this new venture would be when Phil walked through the elevator doors.One explosion, two,three strangers, four,each holographic screen revealed a new story that was riddled with one destruction or another. Her face fell, and she shook her head as she took it all in.

"I'm going to take the jet to DC tonight," She told Tony, not even turning to look at him.

"Tomorrow." Tony shot back.

Pepper turned to her friend, a frown still on her face. "You have homework. You have a lot of homework."

"I'm not gonna be able to convince you to stay for that celebration, am I?"

Pepper shook her head, and Tony sighed in defeat.

"Alright," He said with a shake of his head. "Fly safe."

Pepper nodded, walking backward towards Coulson and the elevator. "Work hard."

As Pepper started to talk to Phil about a ride to the airport, Tony turned back to the various floating displays before him. Turning to one, in particular, he examined a diagram labeled "The Tesseract" and turned it over in his hands as if he were handling a physical object.

"So this is what all the fuss is about, huh?" He muttered under his breath.

Then, before he could do any deep reading, he heard a voice from the elevator.

"By the way, Stark,"

He turned to face Coulson, an impatient expression draped over his features. "What is it now, Agent? I'm kind of busy with my 'homework'."

Coulson had the urge to roll his eyes, but he held it back.

Pepper actually did roll her eyes, causing Tony to scoff quietly to himself.

"Fury wanted to ask another favor of you." Coulson continued.

"And that would be?" Tony inquired, turning to look back at the screens.

"He wanted you to pick up a Miss Jamie Breaux on your way in. She's the only one we haven't gotten to recruit, yet, and we have a feeling that she'd trust a public figure more than a stranger - even if it happens to be you. Her current location is in her file."

Tony's eyes widened in surprise, and he shot his head towards the elevator.

"What?" He shook his head. "No. Uh-uh. No way. There's no way I'm -- "

The elevator doors closed.

"babysitting..."

The room was silent as Tony was left by himself. He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he, once again, turned back to his screens. Out of curiosity, he picked out Jamie's file and enlarged it. It showed a picture of a woman in her late thirties in light, high-waisted jeans, a pink shirt with a strawberry design, and slip-on shoes. He quirked an eyebrow at the sight; she seemed perfectly normal.

Then he moved on to some of the videos.

The earliest recording that S.H.I.E.L.D. had of her was security footage from a bank in Moss Creek, Louisiana. She had stopped a heist single-handedly without a single casualty, much less a scratch on her person. Sure, it seemed like a plan that was thrown together in the moment, but it looked like she had expected every hit or bullet that came her way.

Then, the latest recording was security footage from a café in Pheonix, Arizona. There was a protest taking place right outside. She was shown protecting the café patrons when the protest became violent. Once again, not a single casualty, not a single scratch.

Upon closer inspection of her file, it stated that she never stayed in one place longer than a month at a time. She shows up, saves whoever she can, and then leaves before claiming any of the credit.

Tony hummed in thought as he continued to read through the information, then he smirked. "I guess I'm going to Detroit." I stole a minuscule glance towards the ceiling. "Jarvis,"

"Yes, sir?" The AI responded instantly as his creator closed all of the files and collected a few things around the room.

"Make sure Happy knows I'm going out of town. Don't know when I'll be back."

"Yes, sir."

----------------------------------

With Jamie

'Well, Jamie, this is a fun time, isn't it?'

I was standing on the seat of a toilet, hands on each wall of the stall as I kept my breathing as quiet as possible. I could hear the sirens outside, and I could hear police officers and paramedics scrambling through the hallway outside the bathroom. For once, the authorities had shown up earlier than I was expecting. Well, I guess that's what happens when it only takes five loops to finish a job instead of, like, twenty.

I sighed.

'Alright, shouldn't take too long. Just wait till it gets quiet, then you can go through the window across the hall.'

I had been in the stall for about ten minutes already. I groaned quietly as my legs started shaking, growing sorer by the minute.

'Just a little longer...'

Shaky legs...

Shaky legs...

Shaky, shaky, shaky legs...

'Yeah, no. I'm sitting down.'

I readjusted myself, and then I sat on the toilet's water tank. I sat there for a moment, just breathing as I let my legs relax. I closed my eyes with a sigh.

'Why didn't I do that in the first place???'

Suddenly, the bathroom door opened and a man stepped in. I held my hands in my lap as my eyes snapped open, and I made sure my breathing was silent. Leaning back against the wall, I just waited for him to leave. He took a few steps in. He closed the door behind him. I listened as he walked, watching his feet through the bottom of the stall. He finally stopped in front of mine. I held my breath, expecting him to open the door. Instead, he walked backwards towards the sinks and leaned against the counter.

"You know,"

I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion as he began talking to himself.

"Out of all the places you could hide, like a broom closet, under a teacher's desk, in the kitchen behind the fridge, you chose to hide in the bathroom on top of a toilet?"

'Hold on... Is that Tony Stark? Does he know I'm in here?'

I recognized the billionaire's voice, and I wondered why he was even here. Last I checked, Ladies Man, Philanthropist, Engineer, Tony Stark didn't have any children, teenage or otherwise. So why in the world was he, hopefully, talking to himself in an empty high school bathroom?

"But, hey," He continued. "To each their own, I guess."

It was silent for a moment. I held my breath, hoping that the man would give up and leave.

"By the way, I've gotta ask, how have you been standing there this whole time?"

'Well, then... I guess he does know I'm in here... Shoot...'

"I mean, I was told the police drove up around, what, ten, fifteen, twenty minutes ago? If you're here, then you never left. If you've been here the whole time, then you must have some fantastic legs!"

I blinked silently in disbelief. Although, part of me knew I shouldn't have been surprised.

'I'm sorry???'

"Do you have some kind of gym membership, or something? I mean, to stand on a toilet seat like that for twenty minutes? Either your legs are shaking like crazy, or you've been working out. I see no other likely scenario."

'So..... Tony Stark, Ironman, decided to visit little old me and trap me in a bathroom stall just to talk about my legs?'

"Which gym do you go to? I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind seeing legs like those in some yoga pants."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

'Okay, yeah, I'm good. I'm done.'

I sighed, looking down at the floor in front of my toilet.

"Oh! So you do breathe! I was starting to wonder about that!"

I stared at a spot on the floor, shaking my head. I was disappointed with myself. No wonder he knew I was in here; he could see my shadow from the overhead lights!

I forced myself to forget about it, the past being the past and all, and I stood up. "Yeah, so, first off, I don't really do yoga pants."

"Well, that's a shame," Tony commented.

"Secondly, I don't really do the gym either. Can't exactly afford it even if I wanted to." I stepped off the toilet seat and onto the floor.

"Really?" He asked, a hint of confusion in his voice. Or maybe that was sarcasm? Who knows; it's Tony Stark.

I didn't bother to answer the question, continuing with, "If you're really curious, I was sitting on the toilet tank for part of the time."

"Wow, why didn't I think of that?" He seemed to be kind of genuine when he said that, but, again, I wasn't really sure.

"Then, umm," I finally opened the door, crossing my arms with an incredulous smile and a raised eyebrow as I looked at the infamous hero. I took notice of the Manila folder tucked under his arm. "Out of all the places you could pin me down to talk about my legs, like a coffee shop, a park, anywhere more public really, you chose a highschool bathroom?"

"Now I will admit, there are definitely more romantic places for that kind of talk." I chuckled silently as Tony's smirk only grew. "I'm more than willing to remedy that, Ms. Breaux!"

I snorted, brushing off his comment easily. "Thank you for the thought, Mr. Stark, but I will have to politely decline your wonderful offer." I placed my hand against my chest dramatically with a slight bow of my head.

"Please, call me Tony."

"Nah," My nose scrunched up slightly when I shook my head. "I'll stick with 'Mr. Stark' for now."

I walked towards the man. His smirk never left his face as I did so. I approached the counter space on his right and turned around, pushing myself up and sitting on it. I turned my body towards him, sitting criss-cross and leaning my arms on my knees.

He shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms, his eyes never leaving my figure. "Okay, then," he said. "suit yourself."

I rolled my eyes, sending the man a playful, slightly dismissive smile. "I'm sure I will."

Then, I propped my chin in my hand with a sigh. "So, I'm sure you have a reason for being here. Last I checked, Tony Stark doesn't flirt with a stranger in a bathroom unless it's a hot girl, and the both of them are drunk." I paused and shrugged. "Or maybe you're sober. Who knows. Anyway, you also know me by name, apparently, which is weird. I'm not as famous as you. So, what's up, stranger?"

"Stranger?" Tony's smirk fell for a moment. "I thought I was 'Mr. Stark'?"

"You forget, I've only seen Mr. Stark on the news. You're still a complete stranger to me."

"That is true."

I watched as he pulled the folder out from under his arm. He opened it, flipping through a page or two before pulling one out and handing it to me. I took it without hesitation. It was actually a stack of papers held together with a paper clip, and there was a small photo on the top of the stack. I took a quick glance over the top of the stack, seeing that Tony's face had dropped into a more serious expression. I hid my surprise easily, having plenty of practice at hiding my thoughts, and turned back to the stack with the same level of seriousness that Tony seemed to hold. I mean, if Tony Stark was taking something seriously, then there must be a good reason for it.

I took the photo from behind the paper clip, lifting it towards my face for a closer look. It was a blue, glowing cube that looked like it was made of either crystal or maybe frosted glass. Of course, it was also glowing, so I had a feeling that crystal or glass was not what I was looking at. I moved the picture out of the way, looking at the page on top of the stack. It was a file on something called the "Tesseract"; This must have been the cube I had just seen in the photo. I skimmed the documents, quickly reading over everything. (In my line of work, every detail can be useful, so I make a point of gathering every bit of information as early as possible.)

"You ever heard of S.H.I.E.L.D?"

I looked up at Tony, shaking my head as I tucked the photo back under the paper clip and handed him the stack. "No, I have not. Should I have?"

He took the stack, shaking his head as he placed it back in the folder. "Oh, no." He shot me an amused smile. "I think Fury would have an aneurism if you had."

I rose an eyebrow, chuckling a bit at his comment. "And Fury is?"

"The head of S.H.I.E.L.D." Tony clarified.

"And S.H.I.E.L.D. is?"

"If you'll let me finish, then maybe I'll tell you!"

I could see that Tony was beginning to lose his patience with me, and I couldn't help but laugh at the man's frustration. I was always known in my hometown as a childish person. If anything, the awful scenarios I'd put myself in over the years somehow made that worse. I joke around a bit more than most people my age, and people have even told me off for being purposefully annoying. Even the people that I've helped have questioned if I take anything seriously. I most certainly do, but I've grown to believe that a smile and a laugh or two makes a dire situation a bit more palatable. Healthy? Probably not. Easier? Most definitely.

I had leaned back from the force of my own laughter, holding onto my toes to keep myself from falling onto the sink behind me.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, taming my laughter into smaller, manageable giggles as I sat up, pulling my bottom lip between my teeth. "Please, continue."

He tilted his head a bit with narrowed eyes, but ultimately shook his head.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.," he began, "is this super secret organization run by Fury and all of his buddies."

I put my chin in both of my hands, taking a deep breath, and I nodded silently to show I was listening. "Mhmmm."

He pushed himself away from the counter to pace the tile floor. "You know, typical secret government type of deal."

"Yeah."

"They've got this thing going called 'the Avenger Intitiative.' It's like a crime-fighting team of epic proportions, and Fury wants you to be a part of it."

My head popped up at that. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and I shook my head in disbelief. "Uhhh, yeah... So, this guy does realize I'm working on a much smaller scale than saving the world, right?"

"Hey," Tony shrugged his shoulders with a smirk. "I used to be on that small scale, too, and look at me now!"

"But I'm no genius in an iron suit." I rebutted.

"It's not really made of iron."

"Like I said," I cut him off, pointing at him. "not a genius." I placed my hands against my chest as I started explaining myself once more. "I'm entirely self-taught," I brought my hands back down, adjusting my position so that I was sitting with my legs dangling off the counter. "and it's not like I have any history of military service or anything."

"While that may be true," Tony leaned on the space between the stall doors across from me and crossed his arms. "I don't think that's what Fury was looking at when he picked you."

I grabbed onto the edge of the counter with both hands, swinging my feet. "Then what was he looking at?"

I tilted my head, simply watching as Tony pulled the folder back out. He flipped through it once again. Then, once he found what he was looking for, he dramatically cleared his throat and began to read the document aloud.

"Jamie Breaux,"

I blinked in surprise, opening and closing my mouth silently like a fish out of water.

"Human female, 36 years old."

I gripped the counter tightly. I took a slightly shaky breath.

"Shows signs of clairvoyant abilities,"

'Huh?'

"and accelerated healing."

'I'm sorry?'

Tony looked up at me, smirking at my dumbfounded expression. "I think you get the picture." He snapped the folder shut with one hand and placed it back under his arm.

I blinked, taking a split second to think.

'I mean, yeah, I've got a picture. You've just got the wrong one entirely! I can't really tell the future, and I'm pretty sure I heal at the same rate as everyone else.'

"So,"

Tony cut my thoughts short.

"Fury's putting this team together to get back this thing called the 'Tesseract'."

"That blue cube?" I asked.

"That would be the one." He confirmed. "It's supposed to be this source of clean energy, and someone managed to steal it."

He took a step closer.

"Fury wants us," He took another step, pointing his fingers between the two of us. "to get it back."

I lifted my foot, and Tony bumped into it, keeping him at an appropriate distance. I snorted when I saw the affronted expression he wore, and I decided to leave my foot where it was.

"I thought you said that Fury was putting together a team, not a duo."

"Well," Tony waved his hand. "yes. It's not just the two of us. There's also this demigod, -- "

I shook my head with a breathy chuckle of disbelief.

"No," He insisted. "I'm serious. There's Thor, the demigod, a freshly-thawed Captain America, -- "

"That guy's still alive???"

"I know right? Unbelievable! Anyway, we've also got a Dr. Banner, a guy with breathtaking anger-management issues,"

I didn't even know what to think about that one.

"and a woman who used to be on my legal team, who actually ended up being a master assassin and a total badass."

I nodded at the last one. "Well," I smiled. "You sure do know how to pick your staff, huh?"

"Hey," He pointed at me. "She took down the guy that would be my head of security in ten seconds flat."

I finally put my foot back down, confident that he wouldn't get any closer, and I slid off the counter. "That is impressive! And to think," I shoved my hands into my pockets, looking up at Tony with pursed lips as I subconsciously twisted my body left and right. "out of all those people, Mr. Big Shot sends Tony Stark to recruit me."

He smirked down at me, and I had a feeling that the expression never left his face as he said, "That would be accurate."

"Well," I rocked on my heels. "I'm flattered."

He moved to take another step closer, but I stepped out of his path.

"Although, you'd think that you'd keep your distance after I put my foot right underneath your arc reactor. You got a fetish or something?"

I heard something that almost sounded like a choking noise come from the back of Tony's throat, and I exploded into another fit of laughter. I squeezed my eyes shut and I leaned against my knees to keep myself balanced.

Tony snorted. "How old are you again?"

I stood up straight again, forcing myself to take a deep breath. "Five at heart, Mr. Stark. Five at heart."

"So it turns out I am babysitting."

I rolled my eyes when I heard his comment. "Oh, chin up, man. At least you're not changing any diapers."

He met my eye, meeting my childish smirk with a chuckle as he shook his head.

As he realized that I had finished joking around for the moment, he cleared his throat. "So, Fury wants us to meet him in person. You in?"

I began to chew on my bottom lip in thought, my smile dropping entirely. This sounded like a big decision. This wasn't a one-day commitment, either, so I couldn't just reset if things went south.

"I don't think Fury's gonna wait for you to decide."

I glanced up at Tony, nodding my head as I took in his words.

"So, yes or no?"

I stared at him. Then I nodded once more. "Alright. I'm in."

He clapped once, a contagious smile on his face. "Alright, then! I have a car parked outside."

I raised a finger to stop him as he started walking, "Mr. Stark, -- ", but he ignored me.

"We can head over to your place, pack a bag, and then we can get going."

"Wait, Mr. Stark!" I grabbed onto his sleeve as he reached for the door handle.

He turned back to look at me. "What's up?"

"First off, I'm living out of my van right now, so I can just follow behind you."

His eyebrows shot into his hairline. "You're living out of a va -- "

"And, secondly," I smoothly cut him off, wanting to avoid the van conversation. "Just how many people know you're here?"

He blinked in surprise, but still turned his entire body to face me as he put his hands in his pockets. "Well, I didn't really tell anyone,"

I sighed in relief.

"but I wouldn't be surprised if there were some reporters outside."

'Dang it...'

"I mean," He continued, staring at me as I ran a hand through my hair. "You've been avoiding the limelight for quite a while, and Tony Stark paying you a visit seems like a pretty big scoop, wouldn't you say?"

I sighed heavily, looking up at the guy with a frown. "Yeah, I don't really do the press."

Tony simply smirked down at me, again. "I've noticed."

"So," I walked around him, leading the way into the, now empty, hallway. "You can go out the front if you want," I turned to face him, jerking my thumb back as I walked backwards towards my original escape route. "but I'm gonna slip through the window."

I turned my back on him again. I approached the window and attempted to lift it, ignoring the fact that Tony was still standing behind me, watching my every move.

"Do you always take the window out?" He asked.

I huffed when the window wouldn't open, pulling a swiss army knife from my pocket.

"Not always." I answer him, flipping out the flathead screwdriver portion of the swiss army knife. "Sometimes I take the back door, or the roof, or even the garbage shute, depending on the building."

I jammed the screwdriver between the bottom of the window and the window sill, wriggling it up and down like a mini pry-bar.

"Occasionally I'll get to leave through the front door, but I'm not always that lucky..."

I was beginning to get a bit frustrated with the window. I huffed as I pulled out the screwdriver and switched it out for the scissors.

I heard Tony snort from behind me. "Need any help?"

"Nope." I bit on my bottom lip as I stuck the scissors into the window lock. "I got it...."

I jiggled it around, occasionally pressing the scissors together in hopes of clicking the lock open.

"You sure? 'Cause I can just -- "

*CLICK*

"Yes!" I whispered to myself in satisfaction, putting my swiss army knife back in my pocket and smiling back at Tony.

"Don't worry about it, man. I've done this plenty of times." I tried not to laugh at the surprised look on his face. "Thank you anyway, though. I appreciate the thought."

I turned back to the window, lifting myself up and through, and then dropping down to the grassy ground outside. I took a few steps forward to steady myself from the drop. However, before I close the window again, I heard another set of feet touch down behind me. I swiftly swiveled my head back. I cocked an eyebrow as I saw Tony Stark on my side of the wall, closing the window behind us.

He had his phone pressed to his ear. "Yeah, I'm hitching a ride back. ... Yeah, thanks."

I hummed as he hung up, putting his phone in his pocket. "And who was that?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "My driver. I thought I may as well see this van you're living out of."

I nodded slowly, chewing on my lip once more. "Aright, then. I guess you're gonna have to give me directions to wherever-the-heck we're going." I turned around, and Tony was quick to catch up and walk by my side. "I'm totally gonna get us lost otherwise.

"I think I can do that."