A/N: So I've been away from the fanfic world for a while, so forgive me. This fic is going to be A/U and I'm hoping to make it really well rounded. Constructive criticism is very much welcome. Ratings might change as I develop the characters a little more, and I might add a pairing.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Avengers, their friends, brands, or families. I'm not Marvel/Disney you know.
What I Did This Summer: A Journey into Super Journalism
Chapter 1: Acing the Interview
As she approached the last summer break of her college career, all Lilliana Hudson wanted was an internship. Any internship. She was in desperation for the credits, GPA boost, and hopefully, the compensation, and being a Creative Writing and Theatre double major left her with plenty of opportunities in New York, but even more competition, especially when her small town background was taken into consideration. However, she never in a million years thought that her Journalism minor would be the deciding factor in the magical moment that Pepper Potts selected her out of nearly a million applicants to interview for the Stark Industries summer publicity intern. Yet, she received a call for an interview, and sat in a room with a dozen other eager applicants ready to meet Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. As the competition filtered in and out of the board room, some were sniffling; others maintaining confidence, Lilliana got nervous. However, she was not prepared for what awaited her on the other side of the door when Ms. Potts called her name.
At the sound of her name she stood, straightened her jacket, and confidently walked to the door, even though she was shaking inside. Inside there were two men, Tony Stark, of course, his dapper smirk plastered on his meticulously groomed face, and a small scratch above his left eyebrow, and a man that Lilliana would later identify as Nick Fury, a husky, yet muscular, dark skinned man, whose hands and head were peppered with scars and whom sported an eye patch with all the fury and mystery of the pirates of legend. A confused look must have crossed her face, because Tony snickered at Lilliana before motioning for her to sit at the empty chair across the table. She sat and placed her portfolio, a 2-inch thick, pastel, plaid binder, clearly labeled with her name, and stuffed full of renderings, writing samples, and references. She said a small prayer to herself before Pepper began telling the men all about her, more than she may have been comfortable with them knowing.
"Lilliana Hudson has just finished her junior year at CUNY Brooklyn, 3.6 GPA. Creative Writing and Theatre, minor in journalism. Cheerleading and Dance background, quit Karate lessons at age of twelve. Parents are middle-upper class, Massachusetts, Conservative Democrats. She wrote a piece for her Intro class on Iron Man, and the necessity of superheroes in a modern world. Four auto accidents, no speeding violations, she drives a 1998 Ford Ranger Standard. Not a single smudge on her criminal record and any teacher I've gotten ahold of says she's a fast learned and a great writer." Pepper stated, taking her seat next to Tony, and finally putting down the file she'd been reading from. "This is not an ordinary internship, but we advertised it to get a broad range of candidates. We're going to ask you some odd questions, but we need you to be honest, and if you aren't comfortable, you can leave at any time."
"Yes ma'am." Lillian replied, an uneasy smile crossing her pale face. Tony sat up from his comfortable slouch and cleared his throat, asserting his authority and arrogance.
"You like Iron Man?" Tony questioned. Pepper let out an aggravated sigh.
"You're a hero, Mr. Stark. I like people that sacrifice themselves for others, yes." Lilliana replied, not sure what the purpose of the question was, except to perhaps stroke his ego. "What you and the other Avengers did, was outstanding and brave."
"Would you be willing to write about it? Other things they did?" Fury interjected. Lilliana nodded. "What about lying? Falsifying records to protect public concerns?"
"I think sometimes it might be necessary, to protect not only heroes, but the regular people as well, I mean, if everyone knew how they did it, then think about the mass amounts of terrible things that could occur, normal people cannot handle the responsibility of being exempt from the rules!" Lilliana paraphrased points from one of her more recent papers, he had picked a passionate topic for her, and his satisfied grin was a greater relief than the eye roll and C+ she had received from her professor.
"What about entering life threatening situations?" Tony piped in. "Are you willing to put your life on the line for some credits and a couple grand?"
"At this point I'm more intrigued at the possibility of working with the Avengers than I am about the money or the grades. It would be an amazing experience, well worth the dangers." Lilliana brightened as the possibilities crossed her mind, a hopeful glint in her eye and a shudder of excitement. Pepper smiled at her, and Tony clapped his hands loudly. She'd nailed it.
"Don't get your hopes up, I need to run her files through my system, and you're not the only crazy fan girl running around New York with a dream. I think she's too good to be true and too opinionated for the position. Glorifying the initiative is the last thing we need, before we get other people asking to join." Fury ranted, snatching the file from in front of Pepper and walking out the door to the balcony. Lilliana swore she saw him grab ahold a ladder and fly away, or did she?
"Don't let him get you down. Someone will be in touch later in the week. I have a great feeling about it; you're the first file he took." Pepper beamed. Lilliana nodded, cautiously excited. "I love the sample articles I saw." She reached to shake the young girl's hand with a smile, which Lilliana returned.
"Thank you Ms. Potts." Lilliana replied. Tony grasped her hand with both of his and shook excitedly.
"You're the first one to offer their life up for us. I bet ole Fury was just fizzled it was a girl that manned up. I see great things in your future. Hey, Pepper, if Fury won't take her, get my publicists to hire her for the summer. She could do my image some good I'm sure. We'll let you know soon." Tony gushed; clearly pleased she provided the ego boost he'd been hoping for in this process.
"Thank you Mr. Stark!" Lilliana smiled. "Thank you both for your time." She left the office, knowing she had a position, but desperately hoping it was writing for the Avengers and not just Tony Stark. As she traveled back to her apartment, she texted her roommate to let her know she was staying for the summer, and Mary Jane Watson could not have been happier.
A/N: I have decided to write Mary Jane and Spiderman/Peter Parker in… please forgive me, but it was my pet peeve that he wasn't included in the movie, yet they set both in New York. I might not develop it any more than this, or I might make Spiderman an Avenger. I haven't decided yet, but I know that Fury is looking for more Avengers. So who knows where I will take it from here.