People considered me strange; I couldn't really blame them though. At eighteen I was the youngest university graduate ever, but then I did start my courses when I was twelve. Kind of gave me an advantage over other students. But it probably balanced out in the end; I mean, who can be a brilliant young computer expert and have expert social skills? Nobody, that's who, which is why I am so nervous at the moment After only a week out of uni I was about to go in for my first job interview. Truth be told, I was having trouble controlling myself. In the office that the nice secretary had showed me to, there were a lot of lights and electrical things. And for reasons Susan, the secretary, couldn't figure out, they kept on breaking down. It wasn't her fault; if I could, I would probably tell her that it was mine. But I can't tell; dad said to never tell, so I won't.
"Miss Sold." I glanced up and smiled; Susan smiled back, people always do. "Mr Fury will see you now." Nodding I grabbed my bag and followed her through the massive glass doors into an obnoxiously large office. It was shockingly empty though, like somebody had just moved in or was in the process of moving out. Only a single desk and chair were in the office, besides the one I was supposed to seat myself in. I froze for a fraction of a second before seating myself, my gaze instantly assessing the man seated at the desk. He was obviously American, and going by the eye patch and resulting scaring it was easy to deduce that he is or was a solider whose eye was damaged by some sort of blast.
"Is it my turn now?" Confused, I glanced up at him through my bangs.
"I'm sorry?" I at least knew how to act during an interview; I had certainly read enough on them.
"Is it my turn to now deduce you?" Eyes widening in surprise I quickly looked at the floor. How he had guessed what I had been doing? Nobody ever guessed.
"I...I don't understand, sir."
"Well its simple Miss Sold, you have probably already guessed that I am American and a solider of some sort, especially considering you just called me 'sir'." I silently cursed my forgetful nature; sometimes I found it hard to focus on something properly though. "Now, your name is Freyja Elizabeth Sold, and you are a technopath." The second he said that I went for the door; my mind flashed through the images of government experiments done to people with similar powers. How scientists had tried to harness the energy. "Miss Sold, I urge you to stay and listen." I ignored him. "Your father sent us." Freezing, I turned slowly and stared at the man who lied to me and who I also saw as a threat to my future.
"Not possible."
"If you mean that isn't possible because he died two years ago, then you are correct. He did however leave this letter, advising us on your particular abilities." Slowly, I walked back to Fury and took the letter. It was obviously old, going by the yellow and crumpled state it was in. But it was definitely my father's handwriting.
"Why... Why would he tell anyone? Dad promised that he wouldn't." The scowl on Fury's face lessened, I could only guess because of my obvious naivety.
"We believe that he did it for your own protection. This letter only arrived several days ago, which means somebody either mailed it themselves, or it was kept in a secure location and then mailed by a postal company."
"Are you going to lock me up?" My voice felt smaller than it ever had, and for a girl bullied for most of her life, that was damn small. Fury smiled and sunk back into the chair, his hands positioning themselves in a cross over his chest.
"I am going to offer you a job."
"W... What?" While I was instantly relieved that I wasn't about to have my body hooked up to electrodes, for the sole purpose of seeing how much energy my body could consume, I wasn't about to believe anything a stranger told me; especially not in these uncertain times.
"A job. It's what your here for, right?" He was correct and I was desperate for one; the government paid for my university but I still had to pay them back.
"You don't want me to kill anyone do you?"
Fury laughed, "No killing. We save that for those trained to do so. We need you because of this." He handed me a holographic chip. Obviously he knew I wouldn't need the screen, seconds after I touched it the thing simply appeared in the air. I had no clue what it was however. The closest description I could come up with was a glowing blue cube.
"What's wrong with it?" Fury looked surprised for a second then grinned. It wasn't an unfriendly grin, more of an excited one; it calmed me down a little bit.
"You can tell that it's different." I glanced back at the cube, of course I can. The entire energy signature for it was wrong; nothing on earth should look like this.
"It's alien. Isn't it?"
His eyes narrowed for a second, "How could you know that?"
Instantly my defences were up; all around me the electrical circuits sent out tiny bolts of electricity, ready to aid me should I need it. Fury seemed to sense this and immediately calmed down. "I apologise, things have been unusual lately." Nodding in understanding I forced the circuit boards to stop sending out sparks, all is well.
"I can tell; the pattern is wrong." Fury nodded at my answer.
"It's called the Tesseract. It was fished out of the ocean back in the forties and we have been using it to experiment with producing fully self-sufficient energy." I smiled at that, it was something I understood. "It was stolen by a man named Loki." He handed me another holo-chip, this one portraying the side view of a man. He was obviously very tall and reasonably thin, the prominent cheekbones and harshly set lips would have set of warning bells for any normal person. For me though, it was the eyes; they were ice cold when looking towards the camera. I forced my own away rather than suffer their disdain.
"What does he want with it?"
"We aren't entirely sure, but if this guy is involved, you can bet it isn't going to end well." Frowning at the idea of this 'Loki' having such power, I couldn't help wondering exactly what they want me for. As if reading my mind Fury answered. "We need you to help us understand it once it is retrieved, perhaps even destroy it." I shuddered at that; something as powerful at the Tesseract would 'overload' me should I try and destroy it.
I had already made up my mind about going, but to be honest I knew I didn't have much of a choice.
"How are you going to find it? Something like this would only give out very small signals." They would need an expert in Gamma radiation to find this masterpiece, and the only one who knew enough about them would be...
"Bruce Banner has agreed to come on board and assist." Are they insane?!
"I did my graduate paper on Banner's theories." Fury smiled and opened his mouth, no doubt to explain that I could meet the man. But he had the wrong idea; Banner and what he had become terrified me. I have never been able to handle a lot of people or loud noises, and both of which seemed to follow Banner. "I can't... I won't work with Mr Banner. I saw what he did to Manhattan; I know he was trying to save us in the end, but he frightens me too much." A problem I had was recognizing what was socially acceptable to mention; apparently mentioning one's fear isn't common for a first time meet. Fact noted.
"Mr Banner will be contained should the Hulk escape. Besides, something tells me you can protect yourself." As he spoke I shook my head. My guess was Fury already knew the truth so I might as well be honest; I was a horrible liar anyway.
"The last time I protected myself, I burnt down my house." Breathing through my tears I looked at Fury. "Turned out my father was still in the house."
"Miss Sold, those men who tried to hurt you..." Fury trailed off before sighing and rubbing his eye. "We are well aware what happened last time you protected yourself, and will endeavour to ensure that you will not have to again."
I realized where this was going, "I don't really have a choice do I?"
"I am afraid not, Miss Sold. I know you have already heard of S.H.I.E.L.D.." I nodded. "Good, we leave tonight for America. Please pack lightly."
Never being much of a fighter and knowing a lost situation when I saw it, I simply agreed and shook Mr Fury's hand.
...
It didn't take me long to pack. The only thing I wanted to bring was the one thing I couldn't: my cat, aptly named Thor. But I didn't call her that because of all the media last year about the God himself. I called my cat Thor because when she was a kitten—and back when I thought she was a he—there was a little grey patch on her black fur that looked like a hammer. It changed as she got older; was more of a blob now, but the name was still hers. At the moment Thor was curled up in my lap, my fingers were sifting through her pure fluffiness.
"I'm sorry baby; I can't bring you to America with me. For one, you wouldn't survive the flight in my suitcase." Before I could finish, Thor did her adorable yawn with a small squeak. That made up my mind. Moving her carefully off my lap I pulled out my cell. Technically Fury hadn't given me his number, but then again I was doing him a favour by not trying to run away. My eyes closed and I concentrated on Fury; I didn't really need his name, just the memory and my phone does the rest. The small beep signified its completion, for the sake of courtesy I sent a small 'thank you' mind message. I liked to think the machines had feelings; it made me less lonely.
Nick Fury's number was right there. I weighed my options and clicked 'call'. It didn't buzz for even a second before it was picked up.
"Whoever this is we are tracing the call."
"Wait—no—I mean—" Flustered I glanced at Thor for help, who just stared back with her evil blue eyes.
"God damn it. Freyja is that you?" I nodded and then remembered this was a phone call.
"Yes..."
"Cancel the trace; I don't care if it's already done." I heard some bickering. "Look Stark I get that you're excited, but you can't just—" there was a slight shift in the mobile noise and I knew that somebody had hacked into the conversation. There was no question of whom.
"So you're the little technobug." I smiled, amused by the little nickname. "Ah I can hear her smiling, Fury. Guess I already win the favourites award. But let's face it; you could have been a bit cuddlier."
"Could I please talk to Mr Fury?" I felt weird talking to a billionaire playboy, not because he was intimidating but because he was a person other than my professors.
"Wow, she's polite. See if everyone was this nice to me, this would be what I like to call a happy environment." There was another noise and I knew Stark was gone.
"I apologise for that Miss Sold, how may I help you? I presume you must have a good reason for hacking into a phone which doesn't technically exist." I froze and looked at Thor. Yup, good reason.
"I want to bring my cat." Silence.
"Your cat." I could hear somebody laughing in the background. Stark. Fury sighed. "Would it make you more comfortable?"
I jumped at the opportunity. "Yes."
"Fine then, bring your cat. I will see you in two hours, Miss Sold. Please don't be late." Before I could thank him the tone went dead. It was nice to know I wasn't the only one with bad social skills.
Looking down at Thor I crept over to my wardrobe and grabbed out my cat carrier. It was like she could smell it; the second I opened the tiny door Thor jumped up and hid under the bed. Sighing I looked at my watch and set to work, knowing I would need every second to get this kitty in the carrier.
...
Two and a half hours later I finally arrived at the airport. Having spent the entire time fishing for Thor and covered in scratches, it was suffice to say that I was exhausted.
As I approached the obviously private plane I noticed a man besides Fury, as I got closer I realized that it was Stark. Breathing deep I forced myself to continue walking. The billionaire literally owned the only piece of electrical equipment that I couldn't study; everything else even remotely connected to an outer hard drive I could gain access to instantly. Stark seemed to have some sort of artificial intelligence in his software, and the one terrifying time it had spoken through my speakers, it seemed to be English.
"Ah, so you're the little hacker." Starks words terrified me; I halted mid-step and contemplated running away. It didn't look like he was about to sprout a metal suit and chase me. Stark seemed to sense my need to run and quickly removed his glasses and held out his hands in a non-threatening manner. "Hey, I'm not about to report you. If Jarvis had sensed a threat he would have done it already."
"So Jarvis was the one who spoke to me?" Stark seemed surprised for a second.
"What did he say? Jarvis promised to never talk to strangers." Smiling at his playful tone I relaxed my stance and passed the captured Thor to a model-like air hostess.
"He asked me my name and why I was looking where I shouldn't." Fury made an annoyed noise and motioned for me to walk up into the plane. Slightly hesitant I took small steps, but relaxed instantly when I felt the machine beneath my feet; like most things it ran with electricity and computers. I sent it a quick hello, and please don't crash.
The voice of Jarvis actually answered, "Do not worry, Miss Sold. This plane is made of the safest materials and the chances of it crashing are less than 99.999%. And hello to you as well, Miss." Tony smiled wildly and if Fury hadn't restrained him I had a feeling he might have hugged me.
"You can talk to Jarvis through your mind—Ah… your, ah… ability?" His hands were moving wildly as we entered the plane and took our seats.
"Yes." I hid my eyes with my bangs, an old trick. It allowed me to view the area around me without being seen, and I had to say I was impressed. The entire inside of Stark's private jet was perfectly shaped and centred to give off a more open feel, which was probably important to a man who spent his time flying around in a suit of armour.
"Wow, just wow. What else can you do? I mean, can you tell any machine to do what you want?" I sighed and looked at the ground; the best way to describe it was the way I used to explain it to my father.
"Well it's not so much that I tell them, it's more I ask and they know what to do. I mean, as long as it is connected to something hooked into the hub." Stark looked confused.
"Hub?"
"Oh it's… ah… what I call the entire," I motioned a big circle with my arms and hands, "technical world."
"So that means that you could, say, look up foreign secrets and even American arms codes." I nodded slowly, not liking where this was going. Even Fury looked interested in our conversation. The plane made the noise of it starting up; in the back of my mind I could feel everything Jarvis was doing to ensure a safe and secure flight.
"I would never do that. I don't want to hurt anybody." Fiddling with my fingers I decided to look out the window, better that then seeing worried looks between Stark and Fury.
"Hey." A hand touched mine, instinctively I jilted it back. Stark looked surprised for a second and then a little angry, but not at me. Obviously Fury had told him about what happened to me. "Look Freyja, we don't think that you're a threat. I mean, obviously you would never willingly harm a fly, or that's my belief anyway. But somebody could force you to find things for them; it's just a little worrying to know that you could find out such top level secrets." I thought for a second then remembered something, finally looking Stark in the face and smiled. He blinked in shock for a moment and then returned it, like I knew he would.
"I can't reach your Ironman suit... because of Jarvis." I could tell I had pleased them both and sensed I had just passed a test. I was willing to bet that Jarvis or a version of him already monitored most top secret codes, and they had to find out where I stood. I didn't mind; if there was one thing I understood it was manipulating something.
"Excellent, now that Fury's little test is over... Drinks? You do drink, right Freyja?" I shook my head no, but Stark didn't seem surprised. "Well I'll teach you, it's really very simple." Despite myself I laughed, there was something charming about him.
...
Two hours later I was well and truly feeling tipsy, to my shock... I loved it.
"So tell me Freyja, how does an attractive young lady like you end up with abilities like yours? Were you dropped into supersonic goo as a child, injected with magical mechanical serum, or were you just lucky?" I smiled lightly at the question. I may be enjoying this buzz but I wasn't about to blab out all my secrets. Well, maybe this once.
"My dad told me I was born with it." I noticed the slight rise in Fury's big bald head; obviously something was wrong with my version of events, but it was all I knew. "The technopath side of it anyway. The brains I got off of dad."
"What about your mother?"
My throat thickened a bit, like it always did when mentioning mum; the guilt was overwhelming. "She died giving birth to me; ironically I killed both my parents."
"Stark, she's had enough."
Tony sighed; he told me to stop calling him Mr Stark awhile back. "Probably right. But hey, nice to know I can outdrink an eighteen year old Australian." Smiling again I rested my head against the window. I would just shut my eyes for a second...
