Rebecca took the opportunity while at a stop sign to double check the directions she had hastily scribbled down from the last phone call with Pepper. She looked back up at the street sign. Mills Avenue. Perfect. She was right on track. According to her directions she was only about thirty miles away. She reached to her right and plucked a granola bar off her passenger seat that she had picked up at the last rest stop. She took a big bite and settled back into her seat and started driving again. It had been a long ride from her apartment in New Jersey to upstate New York; almost seven hours and she still had about twenty minutes to go. Pepper had actually offered to send a car to pick her up, but she had instantly declined. Freedom was the most important thing to her, and she wasn't ready to give it up at this point. At least not yet. Not until she could see for herself what she was getting herself into. Besides, she had enjoyed the drive a lot more than she had expected to. This part of the country was simply beautiful. The rugged rocky landscape of western Pennsylvania had changed into vast forests and gorgeous farmlands and fields. With each mile she put behind her she could feel her excitement grow. This project meant the world to her. More than she could convey to Pepper in just one interview and a few phone conversations. Since she had the very first inkling of the idea, she felt somehow that it was going to be one of the most important things she ever did. Thor. Captain America. Iron Man. Hawkeye. Black Widow. Hulk. Their names felt like jewels rolled in her mouth.

She turned the radio up as it wa playing some nonsensical new pop song. Caught up in the joy of the moment she slid off the band holding her ponytail in place and rolled down her window. The wind whipped her long hair behind her and she caught the scent of freshly cut grass in the air. This is fate that brought me here, she thought suddenly; unexpectedly. I was meant to do this. She let out a laugh at the sudden burst of confidence that had overtaken her. It surprised her. Confidence had never been one of her strong points. It had been hard to believe Pepper when she had called her back so quickly and confirmed that she and the others wanted her to go ahead and come up to the facility to get a head start on her book. She had been hoping for the best when she had went in for the interview, but was desperately afraid of getting her hopes up. If she was completely honest with herself she would admit that she didn't think she had much of a shot. Despite her brave words during the meeting she felt somewhat inadequate in terms of her ability. Sure, she was an author. Had three books published already. But weren't there much more qualified authors to get the job done? More famous authors? In terms of public image she imagined that it would be a lot better if someone who was much more well known was pursuing this endeavor. She went into that interview with nothing but her heart and her belief in the goodness of the Avengers fueling her forward. Well, that must have counted for something, she thought as she munched her snack. It got me this far at least! It had finally hit her, the magnitude of what she was doing, as she had loaded the rest of her things in the car earlier that morning and left before the sun came up. She felt complementary waves of nervousness and excitement the closer she got to the compound. She could hardly believe it was really happening. Meeting the Avengers. Her! She would never forget the way she felt the first time she had seen them fighting together. It had been news coverage in the alien attack in New York City. It was about a week after the incident that the media had released all the footage they had procured. She had seen them all seperately before, of course. Captain America had done plenty of interviews, and Tony Stark seemed to love himself so much he was on the air doing a press conference at least once a week. But she had never seen them together before that moment. That one shining moment where the world had needed them and they had risen to the challenge. And despite the wreckage and destruction in the background it had still been the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. All working together, in harmonious unity. They moved together so fluidly, so synchronized. Without even hearing them speak she could tell how much they relied on each other, supported and helped one another. Almost like...a family. Or, at least, what she would imagine a family to be like. Her own experiance in that regard had been somewhat lacking.

The most recent world calamity had portrayed them in a much different light, unfortunately. Rebecca frowned as she remembered after the incident in Sokovia months ago the subsequent news reports of the dangers of the Avengers and speculation on whether the world really needed superheroes. She scowled. Of course the world needed superheros! Even if they wern't charging out to save this planet all the time the amount of hope they inspired in the hearts of the people could and should never be forgotten or taken for granted.

After a few more hilly turns she came to a gravel road that had been indicated in Pepper's directions to be the driveway to the facility. She bit her lip nervously, consulted her directions one final time and made the turn. The burst of confidence slowly trickled away back into nervousness. She switched off the radio and popped a comforting cd in the player instead. She slowed her speed somewhat as she drove, turning her head this way an d that, trying to take everything in. Not that there was much to see. For almost two miles it was just fields on either side of the driveway. The field to the left of her was flanked by a massive forest. There were no other cars and no sign of any other people. Just when she figured that she had made a wrong turn after all and was about to turn around and start heading back toward the main road when she caught a glimpse of a building far off in the distance. She increased her speed a little as her pulse hammered in her throat. This is it, she thought. It all starts here.

As she neared the facility she couldn't help but be impressed, even with her already high expectations. It was gorgeous; a sleek and modern testament to the ingenuity and heroism demonstrated by the Avengers. There was a big blue capital 'A' towards the top, and countless windows that were darkened for privacy. As she got closer, one of windows folded down to reveal a door large enough for a vehicle to fit through. She stopped, hesitating for a moment. Do I just drive in? she thought wildly. Or will I be shot on sight? As she wrestled with indescision a tall woman with dark hair walked out of the building towards her. She put her car in park and got out, figuring it would be more polite than just waiting in her car.

"Rebecca?" the woman asked when they were within a few yards of each other.

"Yes," she answered. "Thats me."

The woman shook her hand. "I'm Maria Hill. I've been expecting you."

"Oh good," Rebecca said with some relief. "Pepper told me I should ask for you." Pepper had explained that Maria would be her go-to person. She ran mostly everything in the facility.

Maria smiled. "Pepper called ahead and explained what was going on. I recognized your car so I thought I would come out and get you."

"Are you...okay with me being here?" she asked shyly. "I would hate to be a bother to anyone." The very last thing she wanted was to step on any toes.

Maria shook her head. "You're not a bother at all. In fact, someone really ought to have thought of doing something like this sooner. I know Steve and Tony said they were all for it, and to be honest..." she trailed off.

"Yes?" Rebecca prompted.

"Well, to be honest I think a little good publicity is exactly what we need right now," she admitted.

"I hope to do justice to all the good...wait." She said. "Did you say you recognized my car?

Maria grinned. "When Pepper told me you were coming, I took the liberty of pulling some information on you." She shrugged. "Nothing too deep, just some basic stuff." She handed her the folder she had in her hands.

Rebecca took if from her and flipped through it with trepidation. Some pictures of her were in there, as well as a picture of her vehicle and apartment as well as a page of generic information. It wasn't too troubling, as it wasn't as if she had anything to hide. But it was staggering to think about. She handed it back to her, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

Maria laughed softly. "Your face is pretty priceless right now, you know that?"

Rebecca smiled. "Ah, just wasn't expecting that, I guess."

"Well," Maria said as she led her into the building. "That's the first and probably best piece of advice I can give you about us." She pressed a button on the wall and the door closed behind them. "Expect the unexpected."

~*~ To be continued