Waking up wasn't hard...it was just more annoying than anything. Her phone alarm went off and reaching under her pillow she groggily hit the 'dismiss all' button. Her glasses had fallen off her face as she had slept as she always forgot to take them off. Finding them she placed them on her face and sat up. Her little flat was lit through the light coming through her window. For it only being seven in the morning it was fairly busy outside as she heard the hustle and bustle of New York. Today she had her first interview at a company called Oscorp. Getting ready she decided a creme colored dress that she had often worn to her fathers benefits would do. She straightened out her hair and put it up in what she deemed a professional ponytail and put on her most sensible heels. Once dressed and fairly put together she put her glasses on and then took them off debating on wearing them. Would they make her seem more intelligent or stuck up? The question ran through her mind but she didn't want to bother her tired eyes with the contacts so she stuck her glasses on and picked up her brief case.

Hailing a taxi was like second nature as she often did it in Los Angeles. The ride was long as morning traffic was a bane and she mentally checked herself next time to either invest in a car or learn to take the subway. She checked her watch as it read eight thirty, she had twenty minutes until her meeting. Walking into the large building she checked in at the security desk and waited in the lobby before a man came down dressed in a suit with a lab coat over it. He extended his hand to her and she graciously took it. He was a tall man with defined cheek bones and pale skin. His hair was long and tied back in a low ponytail and if anything Mia had to say he was rather handsome in a vampiric way.

"I'm Dr. Morbius. You must be Dr. Harper?"

"Yes that's me." she said with a small smile.

"Well come on up, we'll start this interview."

She followed him in earning some looks from the guards and they stepped into an elevator before arriving on one of the floors. She followed him to an office, which also looked like it was his private lab and he gestured to a chair across from a glass desk and she settled into it.

He rummaged through his papers with spindly fingers and produced her resume she had faxed maybe a month ago. Mia slipped a red folder from her briefcase that had her portfolio in it and he looked at it for a moment before looking at the papers in his hands.

"I really do hate all these formalities." he sighed as he leant back in his chair. "So call me Michael, and I call you Mia? Fair?"

"Yes. That sounds fair." she nodded in agreement.

"Well your credentials are exemplary. I do need a new team to work with and Mr. Osborn has given me permission to hire for such a new team. You seem to be the kind of candidate we're looking for at Oscorp."

"Thank you sir. I have a portfolio." she handed it to him and he took it as he flipped through it, nodding in certani places.

"You have experiences with gamma radiation, genetics, molecular biology...dear me what did you want to become when you were younger?"

"I like science." was her simple reply. "Both of my parents are doctors. My true passion lies with Bio-Engineering, but I am qualified in all those areas you listed. I can also perform small medical procedures as well as psycho-therapy. So in other words I keep my mouth shut and am a good listener who doesn't spill beans."

"I like you Mia." he said and then tapped his fingers momentarily on his desk as he looked off to the side in thought. He then sprung up from his chair and gestured for her to follow. Mia did as she left her briefcase as instructed by him and followed him down the hall and he pushed open a few glass doors to reveal a giant lab. There were other people at work and they paid the pair no mind as he led her to a containment lab where inside were a bunch of blood samples. Mia watched curiously as he plucked up one and took a vial before turning and holding it out. Mia spotted a container of gloves and put a pair on before accepting it and looking at the vial in question.

"Show me how you properly set up this sample for testing."

"Well I'll need to examine it first." she said sort of confused. This was obviously a test. She looked at him apprehensively but she walked over to a box of slides and an applicator stick as she set the vial on a stand and began the process of doing a blood smear. Dr. Morbius watched her intently and quietly as she worked with the blood sample and set up a perfect blood smear as if she had been doing this as a young child. Then she went to a high powered microscope and turned it on before settling the slide and placing it in her vision. She put her glasses on top of her head and peered into the microscope only fiddling with the magnification a bit before it came into focus. There were tiny little blood cells and platelets but it was not a healthy blood sample. Mia frowned.

"I'm not sure what this is, but the formation of the cells aren't what I would deem normal. They seem to be breaking down very slowly, going through stages of mitosis but breaking off before complete. It's a degenerative quality."

"Well I'm impressed but a Freshman in college could figure that out."

"Well, I mean if you're looking for a cure..."

And so the test continued as she went to a few other corporations before standing and staring up at Stark Tower. She was supposed to be meeting with a Ms. Pepper Potts; Tony Stark's personal assistant and CEO of his company. Sighing she walked in and once more checked in at Security before this time a woman came down dressed very similarly to herself and her strawberry blonde hair was tied up in a bun.

"You must be Dr. Harper?" she said with the friendly extend of her hand and Mia nodded as she shook her hand.

"Well I'm glad you showed up. I think you're the first female doctor actually that we've chosen to interview." Mia had to swallow hard at that. There must be some pretty stiff competition. After all her desired field was mostly operated by men.

"Well thank you for giving me an interview. I really need a good job." she said and Pepper nodded and gestured for her to follow her to the elevator of which she did.

The two of them stood side by side in a comfortable silence before coming to the very top floor where it was Mr. Starks own personal penthouse. There he stood by the bar making himself a drink with a holographic screen in front of him that he was fiddling with date which seemed to be streaming out of thin air. The penthouse was by far the most lavish thing she had ever stepped foot in but oddly enough it had a comfortable vibe to it as well. Lush couches, some ferns were by the wall and the elevators were flanked by waterfalls.

"Tony, we have a guest." Pepper said and the one named Tony Stark settled his drink down and looked up before grinning. he was dressed in an AC/DC shirt and slacks the sleeves of his shirt rolled lazily up to his elbows. He looked very different from the peacock she had seen in tabloids. But the smirk on his face was definitely not new to her. She had seen it many times on Forbes magazine and Time. "This is Dr. Amelia Harper. Dr. Harper this is Tony Stark, owner of the company."

"Hello Mr. Stark. And please call me Mia."

"Mia." Pepper nodded and Tony extended his calloused hand which was surprising to her. It meant tat he had seen many days of hard work. It was unlike any CEO or owner she had ever faced today. Most had finely manicured nails, still in suits and seemed completely impersonal. The only exception was she had liked Dr. Mobius even though he was a tad strange.

"So Mia, tell me about yourself?" Tony started and Mia took a small breath before replying.

"I am a Bio-Engineer with a Masters in that field. I also have a Bachelors in Psychology, Radiation, and Microbiology. I graduated four years ago from Stanford University at an acceptable middle of my class, but with honors. Since then I have worked for the medical department of my university studying human and animal physiology and adverse effects from things like radiation treatments and developing machinery and medicine to counteract things like the spreading of cancer cells or mutations."

"That is quite the mouthful." Tony said. "How about things for fun? You like swimming? Scotch? Horseback riding?"

"I am fond of swimming." she said. "How is this relevant?"

"It's not." Pepper scolded as she looked at Tony pointedly and he rolled his eyes.

"What Pep, we've gone through eight interviews and they were all boring. I'm switching it up here." he then looked back at Mia. "So art? music? literature."

"August Rodin, I am fond of Rock music and Classical literature. Anything else?"

"Bra size?"

"Tony!" Pepper elbowed him hard and Mia just had to smile.

"I am a thirty-six C, 26 inch waist, and a size nine shoe. My blood type is O and I'm a Leo." she said quickly and indifferently. Pepper only looked at her with slightly wide eyes and Mia shrugged slightly. "What else would you like to know?"

"Oh I like her. Can we keep her?" Tony asked eagerly and Pepper sighed.

"I'm sorry for his behavior. You don't have to answer anymore of his questions." Tony seemed to pout at that.

"Also you seem more than qualified for the job. What are you doing out here in New York and not working for the government?" Tony butt in before Peper could speak.

"I was never approached for a government program." Mia said finding the question odd. "I guess I just don't fit that kind of profile."

"Well that doesn't explain why you're in New York."

"My brother died six months ago. We had always talked about coming to New York together. So I suppose I just wanted to carry on that ambition. And start over." Mia said honestly.

"I am so sorry Mia." Pepper said sincerely. "Well I would offer you the job here and now if it were completely up to me. But Tony here has the final say."

"I already said I want to keep her." Tony mumbled.

"Well?" Pepper asked as she looked at Mia expectantly and the latter's eyes widened.

"Wait you're gonna offer me the job now? No test? What exactly am I going to be doing for the company anyway?"

"Well a colleague of mine need some help with his studies but you'll be working on the first twenty floors of R&D." Tony said. "If you can develop some clean energy projects for me, I can allow you to work on whatever your heart desires."

"The catch?"

"Just that you help my colleague first." Tony replied.

This sounded too good to be true.

"If it makes it any better your starting pay will be around this much," Tony took a pen from his pocket and plucked a sticky note off of Pepper's clipboard that was in her arms before writing a figure down and handing it to Mia. Her eyes widened before she stared at the both of them. "So you in?"

"I'm very much in." Mia said slowly and both of them grinned.

"That's great!" Pepper said as she took a packet from her clipboard and handed it to Mia. "Let's get started on your paperwork then. Monday you should have your new clearance card waiting for you at the security desk. But after we're done with this I'll give you the grand tour."

And so they sat down at a table and went over her information before she signed a few forms of confidentiality and legal things before they made their way to the elevator. Who knew she would be walking into her last interview of the day and coming out with a job. Excitement bubbling inside she followed after Pepper like a school girl on her first day of school and they came to a vast science department on the 20th floor. It was a private lab but inside was a man. He was bent over a microscope and wore a white lab coat over his grey button down shirt. He had dark curly hair, tan skin and a worn look to him. Like he had seen so much pain in the world. You could see it in the crows feet around his eyes though it could have been from smiling in his youth. His eyes were the most striking feature on him...they were like warm honey.

"Bruce." Pepper chimed and the man looked up and smiled slightly and Mia found that his smile was slightly crooked if not handsome. "Bruce this is Dr. Amelia Harper. She is going to be helping you and working for our R&D department starting Monday. Mia this is Dr. Bruce Banner."

Mia's eyes widened as she stared at him, her lips slightly agape.

Both Bruce and Pepper were looking at her with confused looks though Bruce's was filled with more apprehension than anything.

"Bruce Banner?" she questioned and he nodded slowly unsure of what to make of this reaction. It was most certainly a first. "Your work with Gamma Radiation is unparalleled. It's truly an honor to meet you." she said and stepped forward extending her hand. He took it and shook her hand gently before letting it go.

"Aren't you a little young?" he looked at Pepper and Mia answered.

"Well I'm twenty four...barely." she said awkwardly. "But I graduated four years ago."

"With a Masters and Several Bachelors degrees." Pepper input.

"At twenty? You finished all that and a Doctorate in two years." Bruce looked more than a bit surprised.

"I graduated high school at fifteen." Mia said smalley now. "So it was more like five years. but I did a lot of double majors and courses at Stanford."

"And you went Stanford." he chuckled seemingly now impressed. "Where did Tony pluck this one from?"

"She applied." Pepper said and Bruce nodded.

"Well Dr. Harper I look forward to working with you. You seem capable."

"Thank you Dr. Banner. I too look forward to working with you, and perhaps picking your brain on a few theorems. I also went to your lecture when I was Freshman. Aside from my parents being doctors and following in their footsteps...you inspired me a lot."

"That lecture seemed like forever ago." he then narrowed his eyes and searched his brain before he started laughing lightly. "The young girl that sat in the front who raised her hand eight million times at the end of the lecture? Don't tell me that was you?"

"Guilty. I'm surprised you remember!"

"I have a good memory." he said. That girl back then though was scrawny and barely filled out her clothes, this one was a woman before him. Her hair was slightly more on the red tone then but now it was a deep auburn and her skin was olive complected. Her blue eyes were more womanly too, as they swam with age and experience.

"You also were the youngest looking one easily in that room. I wouldn't have guessed however you were fifteen at the time."

"Well I'm not fifteen anymore." she said with a grin.

"Well I'm glad you two are hitting it off!" Pepper said enthusiastically. "I was worried for a moment. Well, Mia you want to get some coffee together and discuss some further details?"

"I'd love to." Mia checked her watch then. "As long as I can catch the 7:30 subway. I don't have a car."

"Oh that's no trouble." Pepper said. "I can get Happy to drive you home."

"Happy?"

"My and Tony's personal driver. He's a very nice man." she said and gestured for her to follow her.

"I'll see you Monday Dr. Harper." Bruce said and Mia nodded as they shared one last friendly handshake.

"You too Dr. Banner."

And with that Mia left and followed behind Pepper once again eager and excited. Bruce looked after her as he saw the excitement bubble and radiate off of her. His expression then turned into a frown...sooner or later this young impressionable girl will find out about the "Other Guy" and probably quit. He wondered then if Tony told her any further details about exactly what she was doing for him.