On a Friday afternoon, a small young girl rode the bus home from school alone in the front of the bus, her long, brown hair whishing in the autumn wind coming through the open window. She hummed a tune as she watched the farms pass outside, ignoring the taunts from the girls behind her.
"Seriously, you are so weird!" She was not fazed by the abuse and continued on with her humming. Just a normal part of the day for her.
She arrived at her home shortly after and found the large house empty as usual. She slung her backpack over a kitchen chair, retrieved a box of macaroni and cheese from the pantry, and began cooking.
The pot of water and noodles boiled on the stove as she strode into the bathroom. She stared at her mousy appearance in the mirror for a moment before putting her hair into a messy ponytail. She stared once more at herself. Something was different today. Her skin had more of a glow to it than normal.
A knock on her front door startled her out of her trance, and she ran to look through the window to the side of the door. A man with spikey brown hair and odd facial hair stood at the door with a tall blond woman. The two adults noticed the curtain move as the girl observed them.
She opened the door and greeted them, "Hi, how can I help you." Her southern twang wavered under her shyness.
"Hey, kiddo. I'm Tony. I work with your Dad when he comes to New York." Alexandra scoffed at the word "kiddo" as she was clearly not a child, but the man seemed friendly enough and oddly familiar. "This is Pepper Potts." The woman smiled. The girl smiled back hesitantly.
"My dad is in San Diego right now on business and my mom should be home any minute now," she lied about her mother, knowing she wouldn't be home from her retail job for quite some time.
"Good!" exclaimed Tony. "I was actually looking to speak with her anyway." The girl seemed confused.
"So you work with my dad, but you want to talk to my mom."
"Boy, you sure a smart girl," Tony mocked her with a fake southern accent. The girl rolled her eyes. "I like your spunk," Tony continued.
"Well, I can't let you in so you'll just have to wait on the porch for her."
"Okay, fine," Tony replied. "We'll wait." They turned away from the door and stared out into the farmland in front of them. Tony sat down on the porch steps while Pepper stood tall in her black heels. The girl shut the door and called her mother's work.
"Hey, Mom," she greeted her as her mother answered the store phone. "There's some people at the door who want to talk to you. The guy says he works with Dad in New York, and they won't leave the porch." Her mother returned only silence for a moment.
"Alright I'll be home in about thirty minutes. I reckon I know what they want to talk about." And with that, her mother hung up the phone leaving her daughter confused.
She ran to the kitchen as she heard the pot of water boiling over onto the burner. She finished making her lunch while in deep thought. Why was her mom suddenly coming home from work almost five hours early? Who are these people on her porch? Why do they seem so familiar? Why didn't they call before they arrived? How rude she thought, but they're from New York. Everyone's rude there. She gave them the benefit of the doubt considering perhaps they simply lacked some southern hospitality.
But she didn't lack of drop of southern hospitality, and went back to the porch.
"Hey, are y'all hungry? I made some mac and cheese if y'all want some." Pepper smiled at her.
"No, thank you," Pepper responded.
"Yeah, I'll take some," Tony answered. "Thanks, Al," Tony said as he took a bite.
She stopped suddenly at the sound of her nickname.
"How do you know my name?"
"You're dad talks about you a lot." She considered this a moment, realized it made sense, and sat down on the floor by the door to eat her mac and cheese.
Her mother arrived home from work exactly thirty minutes later, pulling sharply into the driveway and causing the tires to squeal as she brought the car to a sudden stop. She flung the car door open and marched up to the porch.
"What are you doing here," she asked Tony and Pepper. The girl was surprised to hear her mother greet people so indecently. Before either of them could answer, her mother continued, "You think you can just hop a jet and come hang out on my porch? You people have no manners. A little warning would have been great!" She yelled the last word.
"Look, Sarah," Tony began. The girl was surprised to hear that they really did know each other. "We just want to talk about Alexandra." The girl became nauseated at the sound of her name.
"It's just 'Alex'," she hollered through the open window. She regretted it instantly as she realized she brought attention to herself. Her mother opened the front door.
"Go upstairs, please," she ordered. Sarah had never been the type of mom to order her children around. Alexandra obliged and left the foyer, but she didn't go to her room. She rounded the corner at the top of the steps and sat in the hallway, hoping to hear more of the conversation apparently about her.
Sarah returned to the porch, closing the door behind her, but the window was still open. Alexandra struggled to hear the rest of the conversation from farther away.
"I know she's getting older," she heard her mother say, "but I don't want her taken from me like Kate." Alexandra stiffened at the possibility that these people were going to take her away from her beloved mother, her best friend. She listened more intently.
"Kate is coming home soon," Pepper assured Sarah. "She's doing great in training and she's ready for a home visit." Silence.
Alexandra had fleeting memories of her older sister, Kate. Tall and lean with wavy brown hair lighter than her own. Kate was always quieter, but wittier. You had to really pay attention to what Kate said or you would miss comedy gold. She also had a knack for insults. She could insult you without you even knowing it. Hours later you would be happily remembering the conversation and realize she called you stupid. Kate left for college three years ago, at least that's what Alex thought. Kate hadn't been home since then.
"You people just think you can come and take my children away from me," Sarah continued, pulling Alexandra out of her flashback. "S.H.I.E.L.D has done nothing but hurt my family."
Alexandra recognized the word "S.H.I.E.L.D" and thought back to where she had first heard it. Her father was on the phone in his office speaking quietly to someone on the other end.
"Listen, I don't need any trouble," her father pleaded. "I'm just trying to raise my girls and I don't need any help from your so-called S.H.I.E.L.D. You people are trouble." He slammed the phone down on his desk and put his head in his hands. Less than two weeks later, Kate was gone. Alexandra started to panic as she put puzzle pieces together in her mind.
And then sudden realization. Tony Stark. He's Tony Stark. Iron Man. She ran through news casts in her mind, remembering the horrible images she saw from the Battle of New York. Tony, or Iron Man, had saved Manhattan, but so many people died at the hands of someone not from this world. She recalled the others, the Avengers.
"You're not taking both of them," she heard her mother say. Sarah sounded like she was crying.
"Don't think about it like we're taking them from you," Pepper replied. "We're training them to be the best they can be and control their gifts." More silence.
Tony added, "We're also giving them some seriously kickass combat skills while we're at it."
This comment threw Sarah into a rage. "I don't want my girls in fights! I don't want them hurt or killed! Lonely and away from home!"
Tony cut her off. "Kate's not lonely at all." Sarah stopped. "She loves it."
Alexandra had had enough. She sailed down the steps and flung the door open.
"Okay, what's going on," she asked, glancing wide-eyed from her mother to Tony to Pepper and back. Her mother sighed.
"Let's go inside," Sarah finally said, ushering everyone into the living room. Alexandra plopped down on the couch next to her mother and Tony similarly plopped down into an arm chair. Pepper gracefully placed herself onto the love seat.
"Okay, where do I begin?" Sarah asked herself.
"How about you start at the part where all of you have special powers?" Tony suggested sarcastically.
Alexandra laughed at him but saw despair in her mother's eyes when she looked back.
"Alright, so our family is a little different," Sarah began. "The women in our family, that is."