Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. Stella and the plot are mine.
Finding out you're only human is hard.
I want to change the world,
But I don't know where to start.
And I am bold enough to believe
There's hope among the ruin,
Finding out you're only human.
Stella shot straight up in bed. The alarms were so loud that she had to cover her ears as she struggled to stand up. Her legs entangled in the covers made her nearly fall out and onto the floor but she quickly righted herself and skidded over to her door. Falling against the frame she waited, bouncing up and down on her toes, for the automatic system to slide the door open. When it finally swooshed across she staggered out into the hallway clad in her bright orange nightgown with her light pink hair a static mess all around her head.
"Friends!" She shouted into the hallway, knowing full well that her cries were not loud enough to be heard. "Friends?!"
Steve launched himself out of his room fully dressed in his uniform, eyes wide and ready for action. Stella briefly wondered if he had slept in it. His mouth formed her name as he made his way over to her. She kept her hands pressed tightly to her ears, gritting her teeth and squinting her eyes. The glaring red of the alarm was bright and illuminating every inch of the hallway.
Clint tumbled out of his own room down the hall, falling over backwards as he hurried to pull on his boot. He sprung to his feet with expert agility and kept his hand on his gun attached to his belt. Natasha gracefully exited her room, perfectly poised without a single hair astray, and quickly ran over to the group.
The group of Avengers were on high alert as they ran down the hallway. A door opened and out came Thor, his cape barely on but Mjolnir firmly grasped in his hand.
"What madness is this?!" His booming voice reached above the screeching alarms. He struggled to get the clasp of his cape snapped in and Stella hurried to fix it for him.
"I don't know!" Steve's voice was barely heard. "We gotta get downstairs!"
"Bruce!" Stella whipped her head around and made to go back down the hallway to find him.
"There's no time!" Steve grabbed her wrist and started to lead her down the hall when she yanked her hand away.
"I will not leave him!"
"RAAAHHH!"
Bruce's door was larger than the rest - and for good measure too. The Hulk came bounding out, the remains of Bruce's nightwear barely clinging to his huge form. He thundered down the hall and scooped up Natasha along with Stella and, without missing a beat, kept going forward to the staircase. Stella yelled "Find Tony!" as she was carried away.
"Let's move!" Steve called after he had regained his composure from watching Hulk's entrance.
The team all but flew down the main staircase and rounded the corner into the massive main room. It was huge; a television screen spanned the length of one long wall with various StarkTech monitors and gadgets hooked up to it. A large U-shaped couch faced the screen and just behind the couch was an enormous kitchen with two refrigerators (The Avengers were a hungry crowd, much to Thor's delight). A dining area was off to the side, the long rectangular table able to seat all of the Avengers and then some.
"There's nothing on the screen!" Clint yelled out as he watched Hulk twist every which way, looking for danger. Stella and Natasha were like rag dolls in his arms, their bodies jerking with each of his spastic turns. Stella struggled to keep her nightgown against her legs. The Hulk's big arm made it hard for her small hands to reach over and keep the fabric from flying up.
Thor paused and sniffed the air, "Do you smell that?"
"Thor, now is not the time to-" Steve paused and sniffed as well. "Bacon?"
"I do not understand!" Stella called out, her silvery eyes wide and scared. "Why is everything so loud and why does everything smell so good?! This is most distressing!"
Movement directed all of their eyes to the kitchen as they watched Tony Stark walk out with an apron tied around his waist and carrying a huge frying pan full of scrambled eggs. He gave them all a strange look and held up his free hand. A small device with a red button was grasped in his palm and he used his thumb to click down on it. Immediately the blaring alarm and the red lights went off.
"Hey, guys," he said as if nothing had happened at all. "How goes it?"
Steve blinked, "What's going on? And why are you holding a pan full of eggs?"
Tony shrugged, "Breakfast."
"B-breakfast?" Clint asked incredulously. "There's an emergency going on! The alarm was going off and you're making breakfast?!"
Tony walked over to the dining room table and set the pan down on a pad next to a plate piled with bacon. He turned to his friends all crowded around looking extremely confused and held up the small device, giving it a little shake.
"I turned it off."
"Where is the danger, Man of Iron?" Thor asked while his eyes not so secretly gazed at the steaming hot food.
Tony narrowed his eyes and said slowly as if he were talking to three-year-olds, "There is none."
Hulk dropped Stella and Natasha into a heap on the ground, his arms hanging at his sides, "No bad guys?"
"No bad guys," Tony shook his head. "Just food."
"Food!" Hulk leaped over the two women, who were groaning and tangled on the ground, and rushed to the table.
Tony held a hand out, "For Bruce. Not you, big guy."
Hulk pouted, "Why not?"
"Because you will eat it all," Tony gave him a look. "Now give me back my brainy and awkward friend."
Hulk stormed off in a rage after being denied food and Tony shrugged as he watched the big green mass run away, "So, Bruce will be late to breakfast, I guess."
"Tony," Steve's voice was hard. "What the heck was that? You sounded the emergency alarm to call us down for breakfast?"
"Noooo," Tony gave the super soldier a look, his voice dipping down and then going back up. "I sounded the breakfast alarm. It's different."
"That was the breakfast alarm?" Natasha was livid as she helped Stella up off the ground.
The pink haired woman quickly fixed her nightgown and looked at her friends.
"I do not see how breakfast is an emergency. Have I missed something?" She asked curiously.
Tony looked at his friends incredulously, "Guys! This is the first time we're all together in the new mansion! Breakfast is a big deal, damnit."
"Tony, we've lived here for four months now," Clint said as he scratched his head and yawned.
"Yeah, but not all together. You were just in Dubai and before that Thor was in Washington-"
"Trying to find Jane!"
"And we'll find her, He-Man. But even before that, Ms. Romanoff over here was gallivanting through Istanbul."
Natasha huffed, "We have jobs, Tony."
Clint added, "And I had a very sensitive mission."
"I know, I know," Tony rolled his eyes. "Ghost Protocol or whatever the hell that was-"
"How did he know?" Clint questioned to himself.
"-and yet we've all never had breakfast together in this mansion that I slaved over for months after that mama's boy destroyed Stark Tower 2.0. So humor me and eat these damn eggs and this shit-load of bacon I just made."
Steve made his way over to the table, still glaring at Tony but no longer able to keep his growling stomach at bay, "Something tells me you didn't make this yourself."
"Steve, that offends me. You have little faith in me. Eat."
Tony ushered all of his grumbling friends into their seats and soon the Avengers were all serving themselves breakfast and chatting idly. The philanthropist looked at the motley crew around him and couldn't help but smile into his glass of orange juice. He would never say it out loud, but these people were his life now. This team of superheroes, Pepper, S.H.I.E.L.D...they were all Tony had. Before any of it had started he had only thought about himself and while he was still selfish in some endeavors (because one as rich as he could never have too many cars), he noticed that his mindset had significantly changed. It was no longer just about protecting himself and his company - it was about protecting his family, these people sitting around him at the table.
"Tony?" Stella's tiny voice reached his ears. "Are you alright?"
He looked over to her and smiled at her wide eyes that cared so much about the answer to his question. She truly wanted to know how Tony was. He didn't think he'd ever get used to people caring about him but he really liked it nonetheless.
"Yeah, Supernova. I'm perfect."
Stella smiled and shoveled a forkful of eggs into her mouth. With her cheeks full and a broad smile on her face she giggled and replied, "Wonderful!" before continuing to chow down.
"Did I miss something?"
Tony noticed the pure joy that lit up Stella's face as the bashful voice of Bruce Banner filled the room and the billionaire's heart warmed at the sight.
Yeah, Tony thought, I could get used to this.
Nick Fury had his back to the woman who had just walked in. His arms were crossed and he was hunched over an agent's shoulder, both of them peering at a computer screen.
"Are we sure that room can contain Molecule Man?"
The agent nodded, "Yes, sir. The room is fused with tiny living organisms whose exoskeletons are as strong as kevlar."
"Interesting," Fury remarked. "And Richards built this?"
"Reed Richards, yes."
Fury straightened and pulled on the lapels of his trench coat, "I'll have to thank him the next time I see him. You are dismissed, agent."
"Yes, sir."
Fury watched the agent leave and took notice of Maria Hill standing at the side of someone whom he did not know.
"Agent Hill, who is this?"
The unknown woman stepped forward. She had a hard face, the skin tight and her lips pulled into a thin line. Her eyes were a steel blue, piercing right into Fury's good eye. They contrasted with her jet black hair strung up into a neat bun. He noticed her hands clasped tightly behind her back, her clothes pressed to perfection. She narrowed her gaze at him and held her head up snootily, staring down her pointy nose at him.
"Director Fury," her accent was harsh- Russian, Fury recognized. "Melinna Von Vostokoff. Appointed by the council."
Fury's lip twitched, "Appointed by the council to do what?"
Melinna pursed her lips tighter, "Director Fury, the council does not like how you are operating S.H.I.E.L.D. You have defied their orders concerning global crises twice now." She cocked her head to the side, "It seems that they no longer trust your judgement."
Fury took three long strides up to Melinna and stared down at her from his height, "Both of those times I successfully averted the crisis and the world was saved. Did they forget that? And the second time doesn't even count as a global crisis because all Molecule Man was was a confused and deranged man. He only wanted attention."
"And if he didn't get it from his stunt on Staten Island? Then what, Director?"
"You don't get to come in here and question me, Ms. Von Vostokoff. Hill," Fury barked, "get me the council."
"Yes, sir." Maria hurried out of the room while throwing a worried look over her shoulder.
"What authority do you have coming down here? And how did you even get in?" Fury's voice was low and menacing. He didn't appreciate being cornered and questioned like he was now.
Melinna held up a laminated identification card, smirking and waving it between her fingers.
"I work here."
Maria rushed in, "Sir, the council isn't responding. I don't know what's going on."
Melinna's smirk became even more pronounced as Fury's gaze became suspicious.
"What position are you taking up, Ms. Vostokoff?"
Melinna clipped the ID card to her shirt and stood toe to toe with Fury, her steely blue eyes boring into his glaring brown one.
"Yours."
I'm back! I'm so sorry this sequel took so long to get out. It was longer than I intended, but this has been my toughest semester of college yet. But the worst is over and I'm ready to go on with Stella and the rest of the Avengers' story!
I re-wrote this first chapter three times and changed my idea for this story more times than I can count but I'm really happy with the direction it's going now and it's everything I wanted for this story. I hope you all enjoyed the first installment to Only Human!
Note: Melinna Von Vostokoff is NOT an original character. She's a real character from Marvel but I'm tweaking her for my purposes. You'll see :] Only Stella is an OC.
If y'all are wondering, the song inspiration for this story and its title is Tim McGraw's upcoming single 'Only Human'. Give it a listen if you'd like :D
Your reviews keep me going and I can't wait to hear what y'all think! Remember, I love you all to teeny tiny bits and pieces!
Stay tuned!
xx Nikki