Coulson entered first, his expression as stony as ever, though Carmen could sense his irritation. A group followed him in, curiosity present in the minds. Carmen stared at them, eyes hidden behind the cheap sunglasses. "Gentlemen, glad you finally decided to join us. Please welcome our latest recruit, Carmen Ortega. She is fully capable and probably willing to kill you if need be, so keep that in mind." Fury eyes stayed glued to a short man who seemed to have a smirk permanently attached, surrounded by his overly sculpted facial hair. He merely raised his eyebrow in response.
"Tony Stark," he grabbed my hand, placing a quick kiss on top of her knuckles before releasing it "pleasure to meet you beautiful." She gave an awkward nod in response. "Steve Rogers" A tall, well-built man extended his large hand next, which she took, trying to ignore how small she felt in his presence. Before she could even turn to the next person, she was pulled up from the ground, her feet dangling and her torso squeezed so hard, she feared for her ribs. "I AM MOST PLEASED AT THE PROSPECT OF A NEW FRIEND AND COMRADE!" The man who held her captive said, squeezing even harder, and before she could stop herself, he was flung across the room, through the wall, and landed on the floor the hallway. Carmen ran after him, her face heating up and heart pounding as she jumped through the hole in the wall. " I am so sorry, it's a reflex." To her surprise, his shocked expression turn into that of amusement and soon his hearty laughter was bouncing off the walls. "Such a tiny creature, even by mortal standards, was able to down me, the god of Thunder. I look for to sparring with you, my lady." Her eyes narrowed at his word choice for describing her, but she turned back towards the others anyway. "I like her" Stark concluded.
Fury stepped through the hole in the wall as well, muttering under his breath as he did so, and handed a file to Carmen. "This has more detailed information on our plans for you, specifically. I hope you will read over our suggested diet outline, as a few extra pounds are probably needed before you can go on missions. You'll meet the rest of the team later today, they are receiving medical treatment as we speak" he explained to her. She took the file with a polite smile, and glanced back up at him. "Now, you will be transported, with the rest of the team to your new base. Lewis, you are to return to your supervisor position for the time being. It is your responsibility to get Carmen ready for whatever may come." Fury turned to Carmen again "Good luck Ortega, don't make me regret this decision…or you will be the regretful one." Carmen kept her stare stony, trying to not to let her fear show as she nodded in agreement.
"Well, let's get you settled in princess. Something tells me you'll just fit right in." Stark said, wrapping an arm around the petite girls shoulders, starting to guide her towards the exit. Once they got out, a limo was waiting for them. "Oh and I think you won't mind the base either."
Carmen was having a hard time trying to keep her shock at bay. They had pulled up to the most decked out building Carmen had ever laid her eyes on. Her gaze slowly grazed the length of it before settling on the large 'STARK' spelled out in lights. "Very subtle Tony" she said with a roll of her eyes for good measure. A chuckle came from Rogers, which he tried to stifle. Tony's smirk on grew bigger "When you are as good as I am, subtlety is not needed." They all made their way out of the limo, with Carmen being the last to get out. She thanked the driver as she stepped out, noticing the group had already made their way to the glass doors, and Tony was already marching inside. She jogged to catch up, and then finally noticed Steve was waiting for her, the door held open. "Thanks, that's very sweet of you." Her words made a blush creep its way to his face.
After a quick elevator ride and a brief explanation of what Tony called 'JARVIS' they arrived to the level of their rooms. Tony led her down the hallway to a room at the end of the hallway, telling her it was now hers. He then headed off saying something about prototypes. She opened the door, and revealed a rather plain room, with a open closet stocked with clothes and soft looking bed. She crossed over to the closet, her eyes flitting over the clothes, which appeared to be a mix of everyday things and plenty of workout clothes. She grabbed on jacket that hung towards the back, a leather one, and checked the tag for a size, not sure what to think when she saw the 'XS' written on the edge of it. 'They just bought an entire set of clothes without me even knowing my own size' she thought to herself.
A soft knock at her door pulled her from her thoughts, and she turned to see Darcy standing in the door way. "I hope those all fit. I mean they'll be a little big for a while , but with the diet you are on, you'll fit in them before you know it. I sort of guessed what you'd like and told the other agent in charge of it to buy" She paused, then continued as she saw Carmen holding the jacket as though it would bite her "Sorry if you don't, you can always get more later." Carmen shook her head, turning to put the jacket away "These are fine, perfect even. Don't mistake me for being upset with it, I…just never really learned a proper way to react to such kindness." Darcy blinked for a couple of minutes before saying "A simple thanks works." Carmen stared at her for a minute before they both began laughing.
Once they settled down, Carmen's face returned to its stony standard. "Did I make a mistake doing this? I mean, I know you work for them, but should I have run?" The other female came all the way in the room now, closing the door as she did, and sat on the edge of the bed. "Look as sketchy as S.H.I.E.L.D can be, I don't see how it could go badly for you. You are going to be a super hero! You actually had a choice, unlike I did, and I think it is the right one. You get to help save the world. What could be more right than that?" Carmen nodded at this not wanting to speak further, and was almost over joyed when a knock sounded at her door. "It's open!" The door pulled open soon after the words left her mouth, revealing an uncomfortable looking Steve.
"Sorry to interrupt ladies," Steve said sheepishly "but the rest of the team is here, and they'd like to meet the new member." They both nodded, and Carmen stood up waiting for Darcy to come with her. "You go on kid. I've got a couple things I have to do, just wanted to stop to check on you before I left." Carmen just then noticed the keys in her hand. Darcy shoved her a little more towards Steve. "You have more super heroes to dazzle." Carmen rolled her eyes but began to follow Steve as he began his walk down the hall anyways.
"I'm not sure I'll ever be able to find my way around this place." He turned his head, only to see her glancing around the building, probably trying to memorize the layout. "If I can do it, you will have no problem," he said, a broad smile thrown in her direction. She returned the smile, "Let's hope that's true." Chatter began to float their way, and it did not sound to be all that happy. Steve sped up, with Carmen on his tail, heading towards the raised voices. They turned a corner to see two men yelling at each other, or rather one yelling and the one scowling. "If you just fucking stayed here," the one with sandy blonde hair was getting dangerously close to the other person, "none of that shit would have happened." Steve stepped forward, placing himself in between the two men. Before he could do anything, a fist caught him in the mouth, dazing him slightly. He gripped his jaw before going to pin the man down, only to see the job was already done for him. Carmen had him pinned against the wall, one arm pinning his behind him, the other across his neck. "You done," she growled out, "or are you going to continue acting like a child?"
For a while only heavy breathing filled the room, but soon laughter cut through it like a sword. They turned to see Tony in hysterics, bent at the waist, clutching his stomach. "Allow me to correct myself," he began " I love her."
I am genuinely shocked anyone would like this story at all, and just floored at the great response I've gotten. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm working on writing longer ones, but I was so excited, I had to keep this short so I could get it one here as soon as is my first crack at writing really, and I'm very open to criticism. Thank you guys again.
