Hello. Today we get a proper introduction to Ella in her crazy goodness plus Steve's first appearance. Thanks to ninjaavengergal,Captainfancypant, Angi Marie, Bor Vampire, emc2fantasyfan, mamamittens and tula453 for your favorites, follows and reviews.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my OC(s)

May 7th, 2012

"Thank you for coming Cap." Fury said, waving to the black and silver swivel chair in front of his desk.

"Is this about an assignment sir?" Rogers asked. He looked a bit distant, and Fury didn't blame him.

"I think you can take a break from helping us for a while." He said, placing his elbows on his desk and lacing his fingers together. "Now we're interested in helping you."

Rogers' eyebrows lowered over his eyes in confusion.

"Sir?'

Fury sighed. "To be comfortable in our society, we believe, we believe you will need you will need to get…updated a bit." '

Rogers looked unimpressed.

"Am I a little too old fashioned for this world sir?"

Fury shook his head. "Not you. Just your knowledge of the history and culture of the years you… missed out on."

Rogers raised an eyebrow.

"Why now?"

Fury leaned back in his chair.

"Rogers, I'm going to be honest with you. The woman you're working with, our librarian, she's…different. If S.H.I.E.L.D were a family, she, her name is Ella by the way, would be our problem child. And she. Is. Bored. We thought we'd kill two birds with one stone, that's all."

Rogers blinked, most likely shocked at the straight up honesty.

"Ok." He said. "Where do I need to go?"

"You're in the library. You'll find it."

XXX

Steve, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his brown leather jacket, strode down the hall, wondering where the library was.

"Excuse me?" He stopped a black-haired agent who was absorbed in her tablet. She looked up, an annoyed look on her face, at least until she saw who he was. "Where would I find the library?"

She laughed. "The library? Why'd you want to go to the library?" She leaned in conspiratorially, "Did Freaky Gunther bribe you?"

"Who?"

She blinked. "You know…Freaky Gunther. The librarian. Wild Thing Gunther."

"I just need to get to the library." Steve said, not liking the negative things he was hearing about a woman he had never met.

The Agent sighed and pointed down the hall.

"Third hallway on the right, all the way down. Door's spray-painted red. If I were you I'd just Google whatever it is your looking for."

"Google?"

But the Agent was walking away from him, reabsorbed into her tablet.

XXX

Steve opened the door of the library to be greeted by a wall of sound, a rare occurrence in a library.

YOU ARE THE DANCING QUEEN, YOUNG AND SWEET, ONLY SEVENTEEN…

Steve covered his ears and hurried over to the boom box, which was shaking with the force of the music it was blasting.

YOU CAN DANCE. YOU CAN JI-HIVE. HAV-ING-THE-TIME-OF YOUR…

Steve punched the 'off' button, but a loud voice continued to sing at the back of the room.

"Li-ife! Ooooo…" The singing stopped abruptly, as if the singer had just realized her accompaniment was no longer blasting. A young woman appeared from around a bookcase.

She came up to Steve's shoulder. Her blonde hair was loosely caught up under a pink bandana, Rosie the Riveter style. She wore a short black dress, flats, and an orange sweater. In her hands she held a spray bottle and a rag.

"Hey buddy!" She yelled. "You here for a book?" She said it almost like she was dealing drugs.

"Director Fury sent me." Steve said, feeling distinctly awkward.

"Oh yeah." She blinked, set her spray bottle on a bookshelf, tossed her rag in the air and strode over, her hand outstretched. "Captain Rogers, right? Ella Gunther."

"Ma'am." Steve shook her hand.

"Plant you ass over there, soldier." She pointed to a small wood table with two chairs. It was painted a mish-mosh of reds, green, blues and yellow and covered with doodles in Sharpie. "I'm gonna grab some crap." She bounced over the counter of her circular desk and started rummaging.

Steve, still blushing from the lady's word choices, sat himself on her indicated chair and looked around. The library was carpeted with thin, faded blue carpet. The walls were grey and most likely soundproof, except for the far right wall, which was all glass panels, showing a lovely view of the clouds. Bookcases covered the back and part of the left wall, and three more jutted halfway out from the back. The rest of the room consisted of more tables like the one Steve was sitting at and Ella's circular desk.

"You want coffee?' Ella yelled.

Steve blinked, not sure if he should yell. He settled for a loud, "Yes please, ma'am."

"You like double espresso?"

"Just black, if you have it ma'am." He replied.

A few minutes later, Ella set a cup of coffee in front of Steve and sat down herself, throwing a cardboard box full of stuff down on the table. She sipped from her steaming cup.

"Double espresso is the drink of the gods." She said, her eyes closed." I have about three or four of these a day."
Steve's eyes widened and his eyebrows rose at the mere idea of how much caffeine this woman consumed a day.

"So" She set her cup down and clapped her hands loudly, "70 years deep-frozen, they defrost you, get'cha to kick some Chitauri ass and then send you to me to learn all the crap you missed. That sound about right?"

Steve nodded slowly. "Seems right, ma'am."

"To be honest with you, I'm more concerned about the pop culture aspect, since my job is to make sure you're on the same page as everyone else. So I got'cha a schedule…" She grabbed a sheet of paper from the box and set it in front of Steve. Her nails were painted alternating lavender and olive green. Steve picked up his schedule, his eyes flicking from MONDAYS: MUSIC to the doodle of a duck in the upper right hand corner.

"So Mondays are for music, Tuesdays for movies, Wednesdays for TV shows, Thursdays are actual history and Fridays are for books. We get weekends off." Ella said, leaning over the table to point to each box on the schedule with her lavender painted index finger. She leaned back as she finished her introduction, a mischievous grin lighting up her face.

"This afternoon we'll get started with 50's music. This morning, we'll listen to Mamma Mia."

And so, within a span of under 10 minutes, the music was blasting again.

XXX

"So, how was Ella?" Fury asked.

He and Steve sat across from each other in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s cafeteria.

"You weren't kidding." Steve said. "When you said she was…different."

Fury closed his eye. "Please tell me she let you turn down the volume on her boom box."

"Of course." Steve said, looking confused. "Why wouldn't she?"

Fury sighed in relief. "Good." He said. "That means she likes you."

Steve smiled slightly. "I think this arrangement will work out alright, Director."

He glanced at Ella across the cafeteria.

"How long has she had that sign?"

Fury almost laughed.

"Ella's been protesting ever since her first day when she found out the cafeteria doesn't serve pastries."

Ella sat on the other side of the cafeteria, eating a salad. Propped up on her table was a large, glittery pink sign, reading,

IF WE'RE COPS,

WHY DON'T WE GET

DOUGHNUTS?

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