Chapter 1: Step Up

The following morning, I woke up at 6 am sharp. Today is my first day working for S.H.I.E.L.D as the new pilot for the Avengers. That's only 21 years old, with a Bachelor's degree in Genetics, Psychology, and military training, let's just say I'm not your average University graduate. I remember the day that my parents adopted me from the hospital in Baltimore. I had and still do not have any telling memories from before I was found. Only remembering bring small and alone with no concept of time is not a benefit either. It didn't take them long to notice that I have advanced knowledge. More than there should be in an 8 year old. They convinced me to taje a few tests and that lead to more and more. That lead to many parties taking interest in trying to coerce me to leave my parents or for my parents to hand me over to them. No matter the money that was offered, I liked wuere I was, they same was said for my adoptive parents. Soon the offers started to dwindoe when the news stopped covering my unprecidented high IQ amd questioning where I study. It was only three years after my adoption that I decided and was placed into an ivy league school. After that I kept going to other highly ranked universities to study before taking the military route. It was a pproud moment for me, but my adoptive younger brother and sister weren't there. I stayed to study in America while my parents and adoptive siblings lived in Russia. They left us only a month after I announced my enlistment in America. It never takes me more than a week to master languages, it's as if i have all the knowledge in my brain and I just need to access it. My brother and sister were pretty active in protests against STARK industries. They never explained why to me, but I could see that the anger and pain in their eyes whenever I brought it up. When they left so suddenly, it hit my parents and I hard. It was like a deja vu moment for me, not that I told my parents that. They could not report my brother and sister missing, they was no trace of where they could have gone. My parents moved back to the states and I moved in with them again. They told me what they could to console us all: that the twins would stick together so they'd be safe and that they would always welcome them back if they came to us. At our parents funeral, I had hoped they would come, but they didn't. I never had a way to tell them since they never did come back.

Presently, I had to adjust myself in the S.H.I.E.L.D uniform that was mailed to me and squeeze into a pair of black jeans. With my collection of CD's in hand, I headed down to my car. As an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, I am required to live at the nearest base of operations. In New York City, that would be the newly designed STARK tower. All of my major necessities were already in my car. I took a deep breath before I left, once I leave this apartment, my life goal is to protect the world and the Avengers. With the door handle in my hand, then a twist of my wrist, I leave for my new life.

XXX

My arrival at STARK tower, or S.H.I.E.L.D. tower… whatever tower, was interesting. Agents escorted me into the building while someone park my car. They told me that an agent would bring my stuff to my assigned room.I was taken to a conference room on a higher level, near the top, that was already full. First, I firet saw María Hill, she's the one that scouted and hired me in the first place. I gave a nod of acknowledgement and stood in my standard pose with my hands behind my back,facing my official. She nodded for me to enter. Every pair of eyes in the room shifted to me as soon as I stepped into the room. There was Natasha Romanoff next to Clint Barton. Across from Romanoff was Bruce Banner next and Tony Stark. Captain America AKA Steve Rogers was next to the demigod Thor and adjacent to Mr. Stark. Thor looked at me with wide eyes, but I ignored it. It took me a second to realize there was someone else in the room as well. He stood in the back corner, just behind Thor. His eyes were wide as well as the stared at me.

"Everyone, this is Daphne Hecate Reynolds. Daphne, this is the Avengers."

"Daphne?" The man in the corner echoed Agent Hill. He sounded like he was testing out the name. Agent Hill nodded,

"Yes, she is our new pilot and as of last night she will be assisting Stark and Banner in their lab and any experiments from now on. She is only 20 years old and has a Doctorate's in Genetics, Psychology, and is military trained. Agent Reynolds passed at the top of her class in every University she attended and has the highest military training. Officially, she was declared a child prodigy. We are exceptionally lucky to have her, especially after the events of last night."

Tony Stark spun around in his chair,

"So, you assigned an adolescent genius to babysit a millionaire-genius and rage doctor?"

Practically everyone in the room rolled their eyes. I crossed my arms over my chest and pointedly responded,

"I may be an adolescent Mr. Stark, but I can assure you, I take this job more serious than anyone my age or any of my other 'qualified' military trained graduates. The Avengers safety is the first step to keep our planet from being invaded by purple aliens with a pension for disintegrating human people. Besides, I can't imagine that many recruits would be so willing to put themselves on the front lines to save someone so condescending as yourself Mr. Stark."

Now everyone smirked and so did Stark. He held his hands up in defense. Agent Romanoff debriefed me,

"Last night, we had an unknown asset come out of containment. It destroyed JARVIS, our intelligence system for the building and beholder of Stark's business. It goes by the name Ultron. He threatened to wipe out all of the Avengers. It is in the internet, so we have to be careful. He will know all of our plans if we were to do them electronically."

Hearing that the Avengers lives were at risk put me into business mode. Before I could say my input on the issue, Dr. Banner interjected,

"Tony and I was designing him to help save lives and escort civilians out of harms way whenever an attack like the one in New York happens again. We were trying to perfect artificial intelligence to advance security technology. We can't find him...especially without JARVIS. Ultron attached him for undoubtedly trying to stop him."

It was at that moment that the man in the corner burst out in anger,

"This is precisely why you two should've let Thor and I take my scepter to Asgard! Even if we destroy Ultron, we still have to keep in mind that the being that LENT me that scepter in the first place wants my head."

"Loki! Now is not the time!" Steve hushed Loki. So, this is the man who opened the portal to those aliens who ultimately killed my adoptive parents. He's just lucky he switched to the Avengers side and helped defeat his alien army. Loki had a dark look on his face, but he said nothing else. He glanced at me, but turned his gaze to the ground around him. Thor was still staring at me, but addressed me directly,

"If you feel that this ordeal is too much-"

I cut him off by strongly replying,

"I would be more than happy to help you guys. You are the Avengers. Besides, what other job do you know that provides a view like this of New York and allows me to utilize my talents."

I smiled at them and we then began strategizing on where Ultron could be, what he needs, what he could be doing, and what he could be planning. Maria and I stood as we all discussed Ultron. Clint suggested that he could've gone to HYDRA for help. But I was quick to justify why that wouldn't be reasonable.

"From what you all described to me, Ultron is an alpha figure. He isn't a beta or omega, it's his way or the highway only. He craves for followers to be by his side for aid. He wants to lead. Although, he has access to every file on HYDRA, that doesn't mean that they are who he's getting going to get help from. At the last attack your team made on HYDRA you said that there were people who were experiments fighting for HYDRA. You call them Enhanced. I've heard a few other terms and phrases for it though... Ultron will want anyone willing to defeat you guys. If I were him, I'd get those Enhanced to fight on my side."

Everyone thought deeply about what I had said. Stark was nodding his head absentmindedly.

"Good observation kiddo. That psychology degree is being put to good use. But is he willing to travel that distance? Sokovia is basically in Russia...'

Turning to Maria, who was still standing beside me, I asked,

"Agent Hill, do you still have the files on the enhanced?"

Nodding, she extended a hand towards Natasha. It was then I noticed that everyone seemed to have multiple files in front of them. Natasha handed hers to Maria who handed them to me. Opening the file, I was prepared to read about people captured and forced into testing or criminals that joined forces with HYDRA. That is NOT what I found at all. My heart felt like it stopped beating for several beats. My hands wanted to start trembling as I read the files. The picture on the top left corner of the two profiles haunted me. Had I not caught myself, I would have broken my professional demeanor.

Though their hair was longer. Though his hair was now silver and hers is more reddish in hue. Though I hadn't seen them in over 3 years. I recognized those two faces instantly. Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. The twins. My adoptive older brother and sister. They are the Enhanced. The hesitance and confusion I felt was troublesome. Agent Hill and Dr. Banner were at my side,

"What is it Daphne?"

Instead of answering, I placed to file on the table and placed my hand on my forehead. Taking in a few breaths, I replied,

"I know them. These two Enhanced. They are my adoptive brother and sister. They went missing just over 3 years ago without a note or trace when our adoptive parents were in Russia. I haven't heard or seen them since...not even after the funeral."

All of the Avengers and Agent Hill was silenced. Trying to maintain my composure, I picked up the file again and kept reading through it. My heart ached when I saw in black letters 'VOLUNTEERED.' They left willingly. No, they abandoned our parents and me to be experiments. Reading that their birth parents were killed in Sokovia by a STARK missile that was launched into their complex, I was disappointed, but not at Tony. Did they actually think that Tony launched that missile? I knew there was active protests against STARK Industries at that time. Could this be what they were protesting for? It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Tony couldn't possibly have given the order to strike a missile. He never had that authority over his weapons before. Stark only invented, designed, and upgraded weapons even before he became Iron Man. They left us for revenge against an innocent man. Steve suddenly took me out of my thoughts.

"How come there wasn't any details about you or your adoptive parents in their file?"

"I don't know. I was with our adoptive parents for a long time before they became part of the family. I was 17 when they left. They were 15 at the time. Maybe they just never told HYDRA about us... or maybe HYDRA just kept tabs on me. It was only a few days before my first day of my 4th college that they left. It was so sudden. There was no warning."

"They want their revenge," Tony stated in a grave but critical tone. I immediately defended him,

"Mr. Stark, you have done many things in your life, both good and bad. But, I know that you are not at fault for what happened to their parents. It was beyond your control. They, however, don't see it that way and they would never take your word for it. When I see them, I will do my best to get through to their common sense, I will make them listen."

Natasha then addressed the whole table,

"Both Pietro and Wanda Maximoff will be hard to handle in battle. Ultron won't just stop with them by his side. He needs something else. Something to make him stronger. Ultron needs a new body."

Dr. Banner continued on that note,

"He left here as scraps last night. He has the contacts and knows all the whereabouts of the material needed to repair himself, if he hasn't fixed himself already. He'll seek out the strongest metal-"

He stopped and his gaze snapped to Captain America's shield. Everyone caught on, Steve replied,

"Stark, I thought your father got all of that metal to make my shield."

"He did, but that was almost a century ago Ice Cap. More has most likely been produced and extracted since then. There is only one sight in the world where it can be found, but they don't sell it. There was some stolen in the early 90's and it's in the jurisdiction of a corrupt and dangerous man. But with Pietro and Wanda by his side, getting it won't be a problem."

Stark amplified his voice as he clasped his hands together,

"Alrighty, everyone, it seems that we are going on a trip to South Africa. Be ready within the hour. Daphne, if the twins are there, I hope they listen to you. You're coming with us for your first official mission."

With some hesitant looks at Mr. Stark and I, the Avengers and I disbanded, leaving the room to collect weapons and such. Thor and Loki were among the last to leave the room. Agent Hill was still by my side. The two Asgardians eyed me in confusion as her and I left. Hill quickly escorted me to the weapons vault. I grabbed four fully loaded handguns with four extra rounds of bullets to reload, two daggers, a stun gun, and a short and long hand whip. I didn't get all that high quality military training for nothing. I learned how to do more than shiot a gun and kickass. As I began making my way to the jet, an agent approached me with my iPod. He told me that I should take it in case I get any nerves on the way there, or if Mr.Stark won't stop talking. I took my iPod, thanked the agent, and continued to the jet. When I got on board, I saw that I was the first to arrive, I guess I didn't have to rush after all. Getting into my station as the pilot, I thoroughly checked the systems. By time I finished, I noticed that Loki had boarded and was strapped in already. Nodding my head at him as acknowledgement, Loki only stared at me as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Mr. Loki... are you alright?"

I'd heard plenty about Loki over the past few years. I read his file and the other Avengers as well once I had accepted this job. My mind knew better than to trust this trickster, but I knew he wasn't about that life anymore. I do know that he can be trusted in battle, if Thor trusts him, so can I.

"Oh, I am fine. I just don't wish any further harm on this mission. It is your first time out in this field after all. Not to mention, it's also your first day as well."

So his reputation for a silver tongue was no mere exaggeration. Turning my chair around to face him, I replied,

"I know what I agreed to do and what I am risking by taking on this job. I'm am more than ready, sir."

He smirked, but it didn't reach his eyes. His expression, even by the tiniest muscle, looked forced.

"Please, call me Loki. Just Loki."

Loki nodded to me with a pleading glance. I couldn't tell what he was thinking but I knew he wouldn't say anything else so I began to turn back around.

"Okay...Loki."

His name left my lips like water. My tone was gentle be assuring. Not a moment later, Natasha and Clint came onto the jet and I stopped. When they saw how geared up I was they smiled. Natasha stood beside me, looking at the controls,

"Hey, Daphne, if I run out of ammo, lend me a gun."

"Can do. I would've brought a machine gun but I couldn't find a way to strap it to my belt."

That made the two former assassin's laugh.

"So, you like the big guns?" Clint asked me.

"Oh I like many things. I've been trained to use just about every gun, war machine, and knife there is."

Natasha pointed to my whips which were wrapped around my waist.

"What about those?"

I shrugged,

"When in doubt, let it whip. I learned to use these before I decided to even join the forces. But I took to them easily and I'll be damned if I go into a fight without them."

"Language!" Tony shouted. Turning, I saw that everyone had now boarded the ship and were smiling, even Loki.

"Ok everyone let's rock n' roll to South Africa."

Everyone got into a seat and Clint took the co-pilot seat next to me. He looked focused and ready to go.

"Engines ready. Wind is going at 10 mph southeast. Clear skies all the way out. Oh, I brought my music collection if you guys don't mind some music to get in the zone."

No one protested. I connected my music to a port and let it play on shuffle. As soon as the jet was airborne, my hard beats playlist began. Although everyone was nodding to the songs as we flew and there was a small smile on my face, I had one thought on my mind….

Will Pietro and Wanda hate me for working with Tony Stark and should I even care when the world is at stake?