She wasn't special by any means. She didn't see herself as pretty or intelligent. Ava was just that, she was just Ava. She wasn't really good at anything, she wasn't the same as the others. Everyone else had their special powers, their intelligence, their anger issues, their skill sets, their super soldier serums, Ava was just a girl. She had no idea how she ended up where she was. She hunted and pecked keys in some windowless office in the Stark tower in New York. She twisted her golden braided hair around her finger for a moment as she looked at the large box of papers that she was inputing into the computer. She was a fairly fast typer, probably the only reason she got the job. It was an easy job, Verbal memos from the science department were typed up and sent to her. She took the hard copy of the Science Department memos and put them in the appropriate files in the computer system, backed them up and saved them. Easy job, it paid good. Jarvis, the AI system that kept her company sometimes was a good chat. She never really thought she'd end up here talking to the AI that Tony Stark himself made.

Ava popped a piece of bubble gum as she worked in her office. It was some windowless box on the science floor. She didn't understand much of what she was typing up. Her fingers clicked on the keys as she hit enter and gently picked up her I-pod and put it on a different Pandora station. She lived for her music. Not that she could sing or play any sort of instrument, she loved to sing. No one bothered her, no one even acknowledged her as she sat in her closed off office. That was how she liked it. Since moving to New York, she had been pretty much invisible. That was how she liked it. Being that she was on the Science floor, her office was sound proofed. She didn't need to worry about the fact that anyone next to her might not like the occasional Disney Movie karaoke singalong. Her skills weren't many but the ones she had she felt were going to waste. If only she could make this kind of money for singing horrible sounding renditions of "spoon full of sugar" or "Circle of Life".

Her door was closed, kept the cool air that circulated from the box fan that was perched atop a shelf in the far corner from escaping. The air smelled like cinnamon. So what if she was what most people called basic? She liked Starbucks coffee, except she didn't like pumpkin flavored anything, she did enjoy her comfortable Ugg boots her cousin had given her as hand me downs, well she wasn't into pop music with the exception for a few songs. Huh, maybe she wasn't as basic as she thought she was. She looked at her in box, it was empty for the moment. She glanced at the clock on the wall for a brief moment before standing up and stretching. It was nearly time for lunch break but she didn't want to leave the little cubical just yet. She gave her little pop figurine a fist bump. It was silly and kinda dumb, but it was a pop figurine of her favorite character of all time, Stitch. God almighty she needed friends, she thought as she stretched in a different direction.

"Miss Ava, you do know that you may use the gym facilities if simple stretching isn't enough."

The AI system spoke up, nearly giving her a heart attack. Ava jumped about a foot in the air.

"Holy cheese weasels. Don't do that Jarvis."

Ava clutched at her chest as she took deep breaths to try to calm herself.

"I don't do big crowds or anything like that, you know that Jarvis."

"Well my data indicates that with your own schedule if you wanted, you could use the gym first thing in the morning, No one is there."

Ava rolled her eyes. That AI was somewhat insufferable but he was good company when she didn't want to deal with people. Real live people were kind of a pain. She gave a huff.

"I think I'm gonna head out for the day Jarvis. I'll be back in tomorrow."

No one cared when she got there or when she left so long as he work was done. And as of right now, the work was finished. Nothing left in her tray to type up. Stark was a very lenient boss and for that she was thankful. She had ran and needed a change. For some reason, Stark thought it was a good idea to take her on. Why? She didn't know. Ava really didn't care. Maybe he owed her dad a favor or something. Stark had worked with him on multiple occasions. Ava crossed her arms and sat down at the giant ball that replaced her work chair.

It felt like she had known Tony forever. She had been young when her father started dealing with Stark Industries. She was only about twenty eight right now and Tony was ancient. Well no ancient. When she had left Seattle to get away from everything that had been going on, she got a call from Tony saying that a position had opened up in his science division. Now she's here. She still felt like a little girl some times, talking to Tony. He had changed. Ava didn't know what it was, maybe it was Pepper. Maybe it was being Iron Man. She didn't know. He walked different, talked different, offered her fatherly advice. She saw him as a brother, okay maybe not a brother. He was more like a second dad. Like the crazy step-dad who was trying too hard to get his new wifes kids to like him. Ava had told him plenty of times that it was okay. She appreciated it.

"Miss Ava, Mr. Stark would like to know if you are available to meet him downstairs for lunch."

Ava blinked as she looked upwards. She always half expected to see some sort of stately man lingering over her shoulder and gently chastising her.

"Oh yeah… Sure. Now?"

"He said he'll be waiting for you now."

Ava adjusted her blouse, it wasn't anything super fancy or professional. At least she had showered, she didn't want to look like a total hot mess when she left the building. Not that she did so often. With everything available online she didn't need to even leave Stark Tower. Tony had set her up on a private floor with an apartment. Again like that step-dad trying to be too agreeable. But he had always been nice to her.

Ava let out a bit of a huff again as she turned and flicked the light switch. She smiled fondly at the picture of her and her father she had on the desk.

"Looks like Tony's taking me out for my monthly walk, see ya later Jarvis."

"Till you return Miss Ava."

Ava turned and headed downstairs. She wasn't dumb enough to take the actual stairs, it was too tall of a building for something like that. She didn't mind the elevator. Ava always took the stairs when she was able to. Once the stainless steel doors opened, she saw the edges of the wood paneled doors that were the opening to the lobby. Ava smiled as she nodded at the receptionist before she spotted Happy and Tony waiting for her off in the corner.

"You turned your phone off Ava, we've been trying to get to you babe."

Ava's brow furrowed as she looked at Tony. Even behind the sunglasses she could see that something was on his mind. Happy looked at his highly polished shoes, finding them and the pristine floor a bit more interesting then whatever it was that was going on currently.

"Tony… what's going on?"

"you've been in that office too long, come on. I know a great Middle Eastern place."

Tony was avoiding what she had asked him, gently putting a hand on her back and steering her through the revolving doors and out to the car. The drive was long and tedious. Ava couldn't help but wonder what was going on. The silence was awkward and super painful.

The car pulled up to the restaurant. Tony walked in and near immediately got a place near the back. He looked anxious, his ever working hands tapping the top of the acrylic table with nothing to tinker or play around with. His small talk was even painful. Even the compliments were something that felt even wrong.

"Are we waiting for someone?" Ava asked with a raised eyebrow.

"yeah Pointbreak is gonna meet us here."

A low rumble of thunder on an otherwise clear day seemed to make Tony feel a bit more at ease. That was odd for him, Ava thought as she watched a large blond headed male walk through and make a bee line for their table.

"Ava, this is Thor. Thor this is Ava. Did you look into what I asked?"

Tony's voice was quick and snappy. Thor seemed to just go with it. He pulled out a thumb drive and slid it over to Tony. He nodded in appreciation as Thor then turned his attentions to her.

"Hello Ava."

"Thor, like Avengers Thor?" Ava couldn't help but let her jaw drop.

Tony nudged her in the side, making her stare at the large plate of food that had been sat down in front of her. She didn't remember ordering. Tony did that some times. It irked her to no end, but right now her brain wasn't computing like it should have.

"Yes I am that Thor."

"God of Thunder, lightening, storms, oak trees, hero of mankind?" Ava asked incrediculously.

"Yes, Friend Stark you did not tell me your friend was so well versed in Norse mythology."

Thor looked a bit surprised as Tony continued to drum his fingers on the acrylic table top. There was a bit of sounding impressed in Thor's voice. Ava's ears went scarlet.

"I forgot about that, you went through a phase didn't you?"

"It wasn't a phase Tony." Ava rolled her eyes.

"Anyways," Tony interrupted as he tapped harder on the table to change the subject.

"Ava your dad, someone's killed him. So now, as the oldest, you are the singular owner of Ishihara industries."

Tony lowered his voice as Ava made a choking sound. She swallowed hard and bit her lip. Sudden news like this wasn't something you just wanted to come right out and say. Talk about needing a lesson from Pepper in tact and diplomacy.

"Y-you think somethings up don't you?"

Ava stated as she looked at the table, she wasn't really seeing it. Shock had over taken her system and there was nothing that she could really think or pay attention. Her brain wasn't working, she just sat there and looked at her sprite intently.

"Ava."

Tony's touch shook her from her stupor.

"We think foul play is involved. Till we can get everything hashed out, I don't want you to leave the Tower without an escort. You need protection."

"Yeah protection..."

She muttered as she intently focused on the weird pattern on Tony's tie. Was her dad really gone? Why didn't she have her phone on?

"Thor has volunteered to keep an eye on you. He'll be in your apartment in the tower."

"Uh-huh."

Again Ava was just agreeing with Tony. Her brain felt broke.

"maybe it's nothing, maybe Nat is just being paranoid but don't worry babe, we'll look into it."

"Thanks tony. I mean It you're always looking out for me."

Ava swallowed hard again, trying to wet her dry throat with a small sip of sprite. The carbonation alone made her throat seize up. She wanted to cry, she wanted to just scream and let the fur fly. Everything just seemed to feel like it was going to come crashing down.

Tony touched Ava's hand with a gentle touch.

"Don't worry Ava. I promised your dad I'd take care of you. I'm good for my word, you know that."

Thor nodded.

"Take her back Thor. I have to meet with Homeland Security here soon, but I'll be up to check on her later."

Tony stood up and paid the bill while the waiter stared to shove food into boxes. Tony had ordered the whole menu it seemed like.

"Come, Ava."

Ava felt a strong hand guide her upwards as she stood and the food was gathered up and placed near daintily in a bag. She didn't much pay attention as Thor's hand on her back guided her through the crowds. It felt like her mind was on auto pilot. She blinked as they walked back through the crowd to the car. She blinked as she sat in the back of the car and Thor managed to slip in beside her. Everything felt strange, like she was moving without thinking, she was just on auto pilot. She felt light headed and everything was swimming. A sniff came from her nose and she tried to swallow but there was nothing that she could do to force her throat to do what she wanted it to do. Ava wanted to cry, she wanted to throw a tantrum, but her mind was just at a halt.

The elevator ride, the sound of Jarvis unlocking her door and pushing it open while Thor dutifully followed along behind her, she dropped her keys on the counter as she emptied her pockets like she normally did when she walked back home. The feel itself was as if someone of weird taste had taken up residence. Posters and photographs of movies, comic books and games adorned the walls. On the far side near the windows was a massive built in book shelf. Off to another side was a TV complete with gaming systems and a large laptop.

Thor placed the food in the fridge as he then turned and looked intently at the bookshelf while Ava sank down in the L shaped couch that dominated the wall closest to the door. She didn't bother to take her shoes off and throw them in the basket where most of the other shoes were thrown haphazardly.

"Lady Ava, you have quite a book collection. I may not understand, but I am here if you wish to speak to me. I'm not just here to protect you."

Thor's voice was quiet, docile. Even though he didn't know her and he seemed to not know what would truly be alright to say to a girl who had just found out her father had died. He stopped as he gently ran a finger on the bottom of a picture that was on the wall.

"Your father looks like a smart man. How does he know friend Stark?"

"Hmm?" Ava blinked as she fixed him with a blank stare. "Huh? Oh. Uh…. Well he and my dad met at a charity benefit in Kyoto. My dad is Japanese, my mom was from Oslo. They both were into nanotechnology. that's how they were originally introduced to Tony."

Her voice seemingly squeaked as she spoke.

"Tony and my father hit it off. I'm not as brilliant as they are. My brother is ten times smarter than I am. I'm just a history nerd who can't face problems."

There was a hint of sadness in her voice. From a glance at the book shelf, Thor seemed to agree with that sentiment mostly. Not that she wasn't smart, it took a lot of intelligence to understand and to slog through the leather tomes that she had. Thor was most impressed by what was there.

"I'm sorry I'm not a very good hostess..."

Ava whispered to Thor. If he hadn't seen her lips move he wouldn't have caught it, let alone know that she had said anything.

"You do not have to do anything. It is alright I promise. Unless I get called away, I will be here."

Ava took a moment and nodded.

"Help yourself around I guess. There's a bathroom here attached to the Guest room. I think I'm going to lay down."

"Rest well lady Ava." he said with a wave of his hand. "And if you need anything, just call my name. I'll be around."

Ava nodded her head as she then got up off the couch, stumbling through the small hall way before opening up her bedroom door. Not even bothering to undress, she flopped down on the bed and cried into her pillow. He was gone. She couldn't believe he was gone. It felt like she had just talked yesterday and now, there was no one who was going to answer that phone anymore. She sniffed hard and her thumb hovered over her phone where she kept his number. Ava wanted deeply to call. She hit the number. It just kept ringing and ringing.