Tell me if this is any good. I don't have a beta or anything, and I'm pretty young and new at this so I'd love constructive criticism (emphasis on constructive). Sorry if Coulson is a little OOC.

Chapter One

Willa was yanked out of a daydream when the music suddenly stopped.

"Hey!" Her eyes snapped open and she frowned (read, pouted) at the face hovering above her. "I was listening to that."

"You're going to go deaf," her mom said. "That cannot be a healthy volume."

She shrugged. "Probably. Dinner ready?"

"Not yet. You have a visitor."

Willa sat up and swung her legs over the edge of her bed. She frowned, trying to think of who would visit her and coming up blank.

"It's Agent Coulson," her mom supplied, making Willa's eyebrows rise. "Tell him you can't do whatever they want you to do. Now… Now is a time you should spend with your family."

She could tell her mom was getting upset thinking about it so she threw herself backward onto the mattress and groaned dramatically.

"You tell him that. I'm listening to the Hamilton Soundtrack!"

It worked. Worry and sadness momentarily faded from her mom's face and a short bout of laughter rang through the air.

"Only you would deny a secret agent audience because you're too lazy to get up."

"I'm not being lazy! I'm… thinking profound thoughts."

"Oh, yeah."

"Yep."

"Like… ?"

Willa thought fast then said in her best superior voice, "Now is not the time for you to know, mortal. You will discover the answer in time."

Her mom laughed again. "Come on, goofball."

"But Mom!"

"But Willa!"

"Why won't you talk to him?"

"I did. He won't listen to me."

"Gah!" She dragged herself to her feet dramatically, grumbling under her breath about pushy secret agents just loud enough for her mom to hear.

Willa Lumaban is a fourteen year old girl, short for her age with a very round face. She sports a very short pixie cut and an unusual power.

"Hello, Mr. Agent Coulson," Willa said brightly as she entered the entryway where he waited. Wait… He's leaning against the wall - the one that is connected to her bedroom… Was he listening in?

Well, it's not like it matters. He didn't learn anything new except that she enjoys Broadway music.

"Hello, Miss Lumaban." He stood up straight and held out a hand.

She shook it. "Nice to see you again." And it was. She genuinely liked Agent Coulson. While waiting for pick-up after a mission, they had bonded over a Harry Potter marathon.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"I'm afraid it's not a social call," Coulson admitted. "How are you feeling?"

She ignored the question. "What could it be, if not a social call, Mr. Agent? SHIELD is well aware that I am retired."

"We know. However, we need your help."

"Find someone else."

"At least hear me out?"

"Damn it, Coulson. Can't SHIELD just leave me to die in peace?"

Agent Coulson flinched, as if she'd slapped him, and a gasp alerted Willa to the fact her mother was behind her. She wanted to eat her words.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped. That was mean." A quick glance at their faces just showed she made them feel even worse. She shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. Don't misunderstand her, dying sucks. It really, really sucks to realize just how much you won't get to experience, but, for the most part, Willa has come to terms with it over the past few months. Now, the worst part is moments like this - random moments in which she watches her family's hearts break all over again.

"Well," Willa said, loudly, "dinner smells wonderful, Mom."

Could she be anymore painfully obvious?

Luckily it did the trick.

Her mother gave one sad smile and went to the kitchen to check on the pork chops.

"What do you need my help with?" She would listen, if nothing else. He was just doing his job, after all. Just following orders.

He brought up a picture on his phone and showed it to her. It was a glowing blue cube that looked very other-worldly. "This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet."

"What do you want me to do? Crush it?"

"It was taken from us a few hours ago."

"That… That's bad."

"Miss Lumaban-"

"How many times have I told you it's Willla.?"

"Willa."

Her eyes widened. Did he actually just listen to her? He's always insisted on "Miss Lumaban at least until you call me Phil."

"Willa, I realize we have no right to ask this of you, but it is a worldwide threat. If you will decline, we, of course, will find a suitable substitute."

"Mr. Age - Phil," - if he was breaking tradition and skipping formalities, so was she - "don't be like that. It's still me, after all, poison or no. No need for all the… " she flailed her arms for a moment, trying to find the right word or act if out somehow, "weirdness, formal-ness, apologetic-ness. And besides, I told SHIELD to inform me if my family was in any danger and, as Earthlings, I believe this counts."

"So you'll help."

"I guess. Want to stay for dinner?"

"I couldn't impose."

"I'm sure Mom won't mind. When was the last time you had a home-cooked meal?"

"I really have a lot to do."

"Which you can't finish until you finish your mission to collect me, which you will not successfully complete until dinner is over because I'm not leaving until I'm full."