I am finally over my writer's block in regards to this story! After seeing Civil War, I honestly could think of nothing more than how Josephine was going to react to everything. It's safe to say it will be just as intense as the movie itself.
However, we still have a long ways to go until then, and last night I was finally able to push through and breathe some life into Joei once again.
The first few parts of this chapter are kind of short. They're a bit like deleted scenes or short scenes that build up background for the future. Since I'm basing this whole thing off of mostly the movies, I kind of see it in my head in movie format.
Anywho, with one last disclaimer about how this story and all characters but Joei belong to Marvel, I present to you, chapter 4.
November 17, 2009
The sun was starting to set as Joei sat on a large beach blanket, her knees drawn up to her chest with a sweater wrapped tightly around her. It was cold on the Stark's private beach in Malibu, but after living almost her entire life in a house with an ocean view, she had missed this. The moment she had arrived home to an empty house for Thanksgiving break, she'd thrown on an old gray cardigan that Pepper had left for nights when she took care of Joei and headed out toward the sand. Her dad would be back soon from his meeting, so for now she was content with feeling the salt and sea spray and smell the ocean before her. The Academy didn't have any views that came close to this.
A few minutes later, she heard somebody making their way through the light sand and turned, raising an eyebrow.
It was Agent Coulson, his black trousers rolled up to mid calf and his shoes and socks in his hand.
"Thank you for having the courtesy of not sneaking up on me and making me fall face first in the sand," said Joei, scooting over on the blanket to allow the man to sit.
"I figured you get enough of that from Barton." said Coulson, sitting down in a similar fashion to Joei, "How's it feel to be home, Miss Stark?"
"Like shit."
Coulson raised an eyebrow, "That's not the answer I usually get."
Joei sighed, "An hour from now my dad and Pepper are going to walk through the door, asking me all about Syracuse and how my classes are going. I was barely able to stand lying so much to them the night they went to visit me for my birthday. Now I'm in the same situation for four or five days."
"It's part of being an Agent."
"Yeah, I know. I just thought I would start off telling lies to bad guys, not to my family."
They were quite for a moment, the breeze getting colder and causing Joei to pull her sweater closer around her torso.
"I'm guessing you didn't come here to listen to my woes," Joei broke the silence.
"No. I came here to give you a debriefing."
"Debriefing?"
"You said you wanted to be kept informed on everything having to do with the candidates for the Avengers Initiative. We found Banner."
"Where is he?" Joei asked, sitting up straighter. "Have you talked to him?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D hasn't engaged him. We intend to let him be until we need him, or until he proves to be a danger to innocent bystanders. So far he hasn't been."
"So...where is he then? And how did you find him?"
"South America, currently traveling toward Rio de Janeiro. He had an incident with some bandits."
"Was anybody hurt?"
"A couple of a drug cartel's most dangerous men are in the hospital with serious injuries. If anything, Banner did the people of that village a favor. Last we heard from the ground agents, some of the villagers were making Banner's alter ego a big green shrine in the center of the village."
"So other than a few South Americans worshiping a new Patron Saint, there's no other collateral damage?"
"He took out a telephone pole and stepped on a couple of chickens. That was about it."
"Try to keep your eyes on him this time."
"He's not exactly easy to track. For somebody who's spent his life working with some of the world's most complicated and advanced technology, he's pretty good at going off grid."
"Keep me posted. And also keep me posted on any new possible recruits, and on the status of the search for Rogers."
"We have agents analyzing everybody on the Index, but so far no one has come through as a possible Avenger. As for the search, the boats are still out there, but no luck."
"Thank you, Agent Coulson."
"I'll take that as my cue to leave. It was nice seeing you again, Miss Stark.
"I'll see you around, Coulson," Joei held out her hand for him to shake. The Agent grinned, shook her hand, and began the trek up the beach toward a boardwalk that was not too far from the house.
It wasn't long before Joei's cell phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Miss Stark, Sir has asked me to inform you that he has arrived." JARVIS's voice rang through, making Joei raise an eyebrow. Her dad must have upgraded Jarvis to make calls himself.
"I'll be right up, J, thanks."
November 30, 2009
"I thought famous people were supposed to be in shape!" Hector called up.
"Says the asshole who is eating donuts while I climb a freaking rock wall!" Joei heaved back, getting more and more frustrated by the second.
"You're halfway there, Joei. Keep going! You can do it!" James called from quite far above her.
"You and I both know," Joei huffed, grabbing a yellow "rock" above her, "that this is nowhere close...uff..." her right foot slipped and her ear met fake plastic rock, "...to halfway."
"Call it one third," one of the twins called up, "Come on, Jo. You got this."
"Jo?" Joei chanced a glance downward, instantly regretting it, "Woah. That's really high."
"You don't mind if we call you that, do you?" Hector asked.
"I already have a dozen other nicknames. Why not? But just the two of you, alright? I don't want the media to start calling me a boy's name..." she sighed, "Can I come down now?"
"No, Joei," James insisted, looking quite relaxed as he hung near the top of the rock wall "You have fifteen days to be able to climb to the top of this thing in less than two minutes."
"My dad can fly! I will never need this!"
"Jo," Carlos called gently, "Do you want to take a break?"
Joei tried her best (and failed) not to pout, "Yes, please."
The twins helped pull her down and remove the harness, James not far behind her.
"I hate this stupid wall," Joei grumbled.
"How do you pack so much junk food and not grow twice your size?" Hector asked, still chewing on his donut.
"Didn't your mom ever tell yo not to chew with your mouth open?" Joei laughed, "And, I used to ride my bike around the beach a lot. And I'm also a fan of swimming. But I lost a lot of weight last year because of..."
A heavy silence fell and the boys nodded in understanding.
"I'm still getting a lot of that back," Joei shrugged, "And I burn quite a few calories taking the stairs at SI. But I've never been overly graceful, nor have I got much upper body strength. It's a side effect of growing up with robots that carry heavy things for you."
She walked over to the gym's bleachers and took a sip of water, sighing and running a hand over her ponytail, "Sometimes I feel like I shouldn't even be here, you know? Everybody else here is really smart, the best programmers and hackers in the world. I just sit there and watch a gps and camera footage from my dad's garage. Fury brought me in because of who my dad is, and who my grandfather was. I can't even climb a stupid wall."
"That's not true!" Hector said defensively sitting beside Joei, "You're really smart."
"You wouldn't have graduated early or aced all your other midterms if you weren't," Carlos agreed, sitting on her other side, "You belong here, Joei. Just as much as everybody else here does."
"You know, I couldn't climb the wall either," James admitted standing in front of her so the Joei had to crane her neck to see his face, "And I failed Freshman Stealth."
"You're just messing with me," Joei laughed.
"Nope. He was overweight, too," Hector nodded.
"And the professor back then wasn't very nice," James shrugged, "He would yell at me that I was going to get myself killed in my first mission every time I couldn't climb. And let's not even mention jumping over stuff."
"Not everybody aces all their classes here, even if it looks that way," said Carlos, "We've failed at least three each. But S.H.I.E.L.D takes potential into account more than anything else. If you're here, then they saw it in you, too. They wouldn't waste a perfectly good spot on somebody who will never become an agent."
"I guess," Joei shrugged, "It's just frustrating that I've been here so many months and haven't adjusted yet."
"You'll figure it out, we promise," said James, holding out his hand, "Now, come on. Let's try to get you halfway up this time."
December 15, 2009
"James!" Joei pounded on the door next to hers, "James! Jimmy open the door!"
"I'm kind of...unpresentable," was his muffled reply from inside, making Joei blush.
"Oh...um. Sorry." she called, "Just come out when you...when you can."
Josephine was pretty sure that her blush was reaching down to her toes by the time he opened the door.
"Everything okay?" he asked, an amused glint in his eye as he crossed his arms over his bare chest. Joei almost glared. Surely he knew she had expected him to be wearing more than a pair of jeans.
"I passed the Stealth final," she smiled, ignoring his exposed skin.
"Seriously?" he smiled.
"A minute and forty-five seconds," she nodded.
"Joei, that's great!" he laughed, pulling her into a bone crushing hug.
"Thanks," he smiled into his shoulder, her arms coming up to return the hug before the clearing of someone's throat made her jump off him so fast she almost tripped backwards.
She turned to see Erin, a knowing smile on her face as she stepped into her own dorm. Joei's blush returned when she realized she'd not only been hugging a shirtless James, but she herself hadn't zipped her S.H.I.E.L.D Academy deep blue windbreaker over the sports bra she had been wearing, and was currently revealing a lot more skin that she was used to outside of her all-female Stealth class.
"So...um..."
"How about a celebratory lunch off-campus?" James asked, ruffling his hair but still looking very shy in his attempt at recovery.
"Since when are we allowed off campus for lunch?"
"We are on finals week," he said, "There's this Italian place not too far form here. You'll love it."
"Yeah, okay," Joei nodded, "Let me just put on something more – ugh – not this."
"Right," it was James' turn to blush, "I'll go...put on a shirt."
Joei retreated to her bedroom and went to the closet for something to wear, feeling significantly more confident than she had a week ago.
December 20, 2010
"I'm hoooooome for the holidays!" Joei yelled loudly as soon as the door was closed behind her, tossing her bags to one side and beaming at Pepper and Tony.
"Just in time for tree decorating," said Pepper, going to give the younger girl a tight hug.
"Where's Dad?" Joei asked, pulling away only slightly to look around the living room.
"Dad is currently stuck underneath hundreds of fake pine needles," came a groan from the ground where the Christmas tree was halfway put together.
Joei giggled from Pepper's arms, "Don't you have robots to help you do this sort of stuff?"
"I thought I did, until You and Dum-E almost set the thing on fire," said Tony, emerging from underneath the tree and walking over to hug Joei, "Please tell me you have decided that this semester was too much and you're coming back to something closer by."
"Sorry," Joei shrugged, "No such luck, Mr. Man of the Year."
"A dad's got to try. And it's called Person of the Year. As in, the best person in the entire year on the entire planet. No big deal. Did you at least ace all your finals?"
"With flying colors," Joei smiled brightly, giggling again when Tony flicked her nose with a finger.
"Alright. You can either help me build this thing, or get started on that wonderful hot chocolate of yours. Ingredients are on the kitchen counter."
"I've been here five minutes and you're already putting me to work. Some would call that exploitation."
"I call it being thirsty and cold," said Tony, "Please?"
Joei rolled her eyes, "Fine. Want some, Pepper?"
"I could never say no to up of your hot chocolate." said Pepper, hugging Joei again, "It's so good to have you home, sweetie. I'm sorry I couldn't be here for Thanksgiving."
Joei waved it off and said she understood before walking off toward the kitchen, removing her sweater and rolling up her shirt sleeves to get started on the hot chocolate. Something big and new caught the corner of her eye, and she turned to see a rather large blown up poster of Tony's TIME Magazine cover on the wall. She shook her head and laughed. No big deal, indeed.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she smiled at the message from James, accompanied by a picture of a very snowy Montana street.
Home sweet home. Enjoy your holidays.
Joei in turn went toward one of the large windows and took a picture of the beach and palm trees in the distance.
Happy holidays from the sun, the surf, and the water. It's so good to be home.
January 1, 2010
"Please don't make me do this!" Tony begged as Josephine and Pepper practically dragged him onto the back of a plane.
"It's not my fault that you decided to get royally plastered the night before the opening of the biggest event in your career." Joei rolled her eyes, pushing him up the steps.
"It was New Year's Eve," Tony pouted, holding his head as they entered the bright lights of the plane.
"Still, you shouldn't have challenged Hank William Jr. to tequila shots at two in the morning," said Joei, crossing her arms as Tony let himself slide to the floor with his back against the wall, "Put on the normal suit, and the Iron Man suit, and a smile. I will see you down there in a few minutes."
"Are you nervous?" asked Tony, his eyes finally focusing on her in his hungover state.
"A little," Joei admitted, biting her lip and smoothing down the long black dress she was wearing, "I've never worn anything like this before. Not to a public event."
"It's time for the press to see you as more than just some kid. That worked last year when we were trying to distract them from my sleuthing," said Tony, "But this is your first public event since then, and since you went of to college. You look great, kiddo."
"Thanks, Dad. Try to get over that hangover, won't you? You have about twenty minutes." she smiled and ruffled his hair, "I'll see you there."
"Can't wait." he smiled back as she made to leave the plane, "Hey, kiddo?"
"Yeah, Dad?"
"Knock 'em dead."
"Break a leg, sweetie," Pepper offered.
Joei walked toward the runway and toward Happy, who was holding the door to the limo open.
"Alright, Happy, we've got ten minutes max to be parked out back."
"I'll get you there in five," said Happy.
Joei pulled out the compact from her clutch purse. She almost didn't recognize herself. Sure, she wore a little make up when she was at school, but it had been a while since she pulled out all the fashion stops, but never like this. She'd spent most of her life walking red carpets in cute colored sun dresses or sparkly tulle. Tonight's dress was long and black, with long sleeves to fight the cold of New York. As a plus, Tony had managed to make her a body suit that trapped in warmth and was imperceptible beneath the fabric, except for her left leg which had a slit halfway up her thigh. The make up had also been a huge change from the fresh face and rosy cheeks that she had usually worked. Tonight their usual make up artist had gone for smoky looking eyes with neutral colored lips, and her hair had been pulled back in a loose twist.
"Happy?"
"Yeah?"
"Do I really look okay?"
Happy smiled at her through the mirror, making the last turn into the backstage parking lot of the expo, "You look great, Joei. You look like you're ready to take on all of Stark Industries by yourself and make headlines. Just wait until Joan Rivers comes on tomorrow. You're going to knock her socks off."
Joei laughed, "Thanks, Happy. I just feel so different."
Happy parked and turned in his seat to look at her, "Hey, what's your name?"
"Joei."
"Your full name."
"Josephine Margaret Stark," Joei rolled her eyes but played along, knowing where he was probably going with this. Happy gave, for the most part, the same advice, but it was always good.
"And that's who you will always be," he pointed at her, "It doesn't matter if you look like a million bucks or like you spent five months in hibernation. You're still one heck of a girl. Now get out there and knock them dead."
Joei smiled fondly at Happy. Over the years, he had always been the best at telling her that she was worth everything she had. Spending her first few years in an orphanage that stripped you of who you were and made you feel like you were lucky to have food and water could do severe lasting damage to a kid's self-esteem. Happy Hogan had known that almost since the day she had met him, and had made it a mission in his life to remind Joei that she was worthy.
"Thanks, Happy."
"Any time, kiddo."
Joei stepped out of the limo and was immediately greeted by one of the organizers. He couldn't have been more than thirty years old, and Joei almost towered over him in her glittering high heels. He was holding a clipboard and had
"Miss Stark, this way. I'm Alex. You're on in three minutes. This is Caitlin," he pointed to a very young looking woman in a pinstriped pant suit, a grey coat, and ballet flats, "She'll be your assistant throughout the Expo. She'll be here every night in case we need her for something else, but on days when you present she'll help you with whatever you need."
"I can take your purse if you like, Miss Stark," said the woman.
"Thank you," said Joei, handing over her clutch as they stepped inside a tunnel that would lead them up and backstage, "And call me Joei, please, Caitlin."
Alex turned to her as they reached the end of the tunnel, the sound of a very large crowd muffled by a door.
"The podium is off to the right side of the stage. We were told you already have an ear piece."
Joei nodded, pointing to the ear piece that would allow her to hear the producers and her dad.
"Good. So there will be some music for you to make your grand entrance," said Alex as the speakers began to play some sort of welcome and the crowd got even louder outside, "You will walk up to the podium, the prompter will be in front of you with the speech you sent in. Everything has been timed so that Mr. Stark lands just as you announce him. You're on in one minute."
"Thank you," she said, nodding to Alex before the man walked away, and then turning toward Caitlin, "Are my hair and make up still okay?"
"All good."
"Okay, help me check my dress."
She and Caitlin brushed off a few specs that were on the dress and the door opened.
"That's my queue," said Joei, stepping forward as a recording blasted over the speakers.
"Ladies and gentleman, with you, the heiress of the Stark Family Legacy: Josephine Stark."
Joei smiled and waved once before grabbing the sides of her dress and walking toward the podium. She'd stood in front of a crowd before while her dad spoke, and sometimes she would even put in her two cents on whatever he was talking about of say something cute. But she'd never been up in front of these many people, much less alone. Everybody was screaming, whistling, and clapping. The thunderous echoes died down until it was only a few wolf whistles and "I love yous."
Joei smiled brightly at them all and leaned towards the microphone, allowing her eyes to sweep the crowd less she need the prompter to remind her what to say next.
"Good evening and welcome to all! It's a new year today. A new decade, in fact." she pointed out, her voice echoing over a silent and enthralled crowd. It felt empowering, knowing that they hung onto her every word and were mesmerized by her elegant dress and glittering jewelry, "So it brings me great pleasure to be standing here on this day, to help ring in not just the new year, but the future as well."
She flashed a winning smile, making the crowd applaud once more. Over her comms, she heard Tony in a heaving voice say, "I'm almost there...oh God I'm going to puke again...aaargh...whyyyyy?"
Joei swallowed back the laugh that was on her lips and continued to smile as the crowd died down, "A few years ago, a little girl stood before a very large Arc Reactor that didn't do much except light up and spin. Two beings that, seemingly, possessed no purpose. Two entities without a future. One man changed that."
"I'm at the drop point," Joei heard Tony say through her comm as the crowd cheered once again.
"It is with great honor and pride that I present that man to you today. The one who gave me and that big old metal circle a future. The man who has brought the future to the present!"
"Dropping in three...two...now!" Tony yelled.
"Ladies and gentleman! The man who has made all of this possible!" Joei lifted and arm toward the center of the stage as the first of the fireworks went off, lifting it slightly to point toward the sky "My father, and Stark Industries CEO, TONY STARK!"
The crowd applauded but kept their eyes trianed on the sky as firework after firework went off. Joei looked up with them, scanning the sky until she found a trail of light that was falling rather than rising.
Tony landed with a loud metallic CLANG, right fist hitting the floor along with his left knee. How on earth he was going to keep his black tie suit pressed underneath that many moving parts was a mystery to Joei.
The crowd immediately went crazier than before. Their hands rose, they chanted Tony's name as ACDC blared loudly on the speakers and women dressed in skimpy versions of an Iron Man costume danced in a line. Joei applauded, tempted to roll her eyes at her dad's extravagance.
Iron Man stood, raising his hands to encourage the crowd. Joei stepped back form the podium, allowing it to descend into the stage as a stage hand gave her a cordless microphone. Iron Man turned toward Joei and placed a hand on his faceplate where the mouth would be, blowing his daughter a kiss for the crowd to see. Joei smiled at him and blew a kiss back as the robots that would dismember the suit began to rise out of the stage.
The girls finished their dance as Tony adjusted his black suit, giving off a big finish around Tony before leaving the stage.
"Oh it's good to be back!" Tony declared, turning toward the crowd, "Where is that daughter of mine?"
The crowd cheered again and began to yell out toward Joei.
"Josephine, get over here!" Tony called, "I'm going to need you with me on this."
Joei stepped forward until she was standing next to her father, who held out a hand for her to take, and then raised it for her to spin. Joei actually did roll her eyes this time, but spun around anyway.
"How about a round of applause for this young lady, huh?" Tony winked.
The crowd began to chant Joei's name, to which she dramatically widened her eyes and smiled in amazement. Usually her dramatic reactions were completely acted out, but this time she honestly felt overwhelmed.
"Wow," was all she could say into the mic as a continues stream of "Joei, Joei, Joei" pressed on her eardrums, "Thank you everybody. Let's hear it for this old guy, huh?"
"Well," Tony scoffed, "I'm hardly that old. Am I right?"
The crowd cheered louder again.
"Now, where was I?" Tony asked.
"It's good to be back," Joei reminded.
"Right. It's good to be back!" Tony said, going back to working the crowd, "Did you miss me? I missed you too...Blow something up? I already did that."
Joei laughed along with the crowd and Tony took her hand as he continued, "I'm not saying that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace because of me."
Joei laughed and pretended to roll her eyes again. This Tony was the guy who knew how to work a crowd. If she was honest, he was kind of an asshole, but it was all part of keeping up an image. She had been the cute, quirky, sweet talking heiress for years. Now she was going to be the funny, charasmatic, relatable heiress who was also smart and centered enough to inherit an empire. Tony had been the sarcastic, self-centered rich guy who made weapons. Now he was the sarcastic, self-centered rich guy who moonlighted as a superhero.
"I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a greater Phoenix metaphor been personified in human history," Tony let go of her hand to hold out his arms. Joei giggled and clapped again, trying to amplify that crowd's reactions, "I'm not saying that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping on an ice tea, because I haven't come across anyone who is man enough to go toe to toe with me on my best day!"
"Really?" Joei pitched in, "Are we here to talk about you, or the Stark Expo."
"I am talking about the Stark Expo." Tony said in a 'duh' voice.
"Nooo...you're talking about how you're a badass. I already did that while you were flying around over us."
"But you missed some points."
"I summarized, Dad," Joei lifted an eyebrow as the crowd continued to laugh at their banter, "We're here to talk about the Expo, remember? And the future? Remember that?"
"Right. Right," Tony nodded.
"We love you, Tony!" a woman yelled from the crowd.
"Please, please," Tony waved, "It's not about me. My daughter just said so. It's not about you, either. It's not even about us. It's about legacy."
Most of the crowd couldn't tell the difference, or they might have thought that Tony's sudden change in demeanor was just his way of introducing a much more serious part of the show. But Joei knew him better than that. The seriousness was coldness. It was a wall that he put up whenever he spoke about the more difficult points in his past. Joei stepped forward to take his hand again.
"Thanks, kiddo," Tony murmured, kissing the top of her head in a moment that only looked acted out, but was probably the most sincere gesture they'd had all night, "Like I was saying...it's about what we leave behind, for future generations like the one standing next to me."
"And that's why for the next year," Joei continued, "and for the first time since 1974, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations the world over will pool their resources, share their collective vision, to leave behind...say it with me, Dad..."
"A brighter future!" they finished together.
"It's not about us," Tony continued over the cheers, "Therefore what I am saying, if I am saying anything, is WELCOME BACK! To the Stark Expo!"
The crowd rose up once again, and Tony and Joei raised their joined hands in salute for a moment.
"And now, seeing as my daughter was kind enough to give me such a grand entrance, it appears to be my turn. Making a special guest appearance from the great beyond, to tell you what it's all about, please welcome, MY father, Howard."
Tony held out an arm for Joei to take and they stepped back stage for the video to play.
"Oh my God, you are doing amazing!" Tony hugged Joei, a smile radiating brightly off his face as soon as they were out of sight of the crowd, "They're eating out of the palm of your hand, kiddo."
"Thanks," Joei smiled, "But most of their cheering was because of you."
"But the laughs came from you. You did great, kid. You deserve a gift for this. Pick anything. A fancy camera, new car? You name it."
Joei sighed, "I don't need you to get me anything, Dad. I'm just glad to be home."
"We're in New York." Tony pointed out.
"Home is wherever you are, Dad," Joei smiled, hugging him again. When she pulled away, Tony's expression had become guarded agaian, "Is everyhting okay?"
"Huh? Yeah. Peachy. Just...listening to Howard..."
"Right. Well, you did great," said Joei, "And I'm sure you'll give them a great finish. I'm going to go change into some flats and something warmer. The body suit is great and all, but it's still freezing out here."
"Yeah, you go do that."
Joei walked off as her dad went to fish something out of his suit pocket, probably his cell phone.
She scanned the backstage for Caitlin and found her quickly enough.
"Caitlin, did my change of clothes get here okay?" she asked the assistant.
"Yes, Joei. They're in you and Mr. Stark's dressing room. This way."
Joei hadn't had much of a chance to oversee the logistics of the Expo sicne she'd been at school, but the entire backstage was incredibly large. Down a hallway that was bustling with stage hands and producers, Caitlin took her to a door marked Stark, unlocking it and showing her in. the dressing room was one large room with two make up and hair stations on either side, with a clothing rack beside each one that contained changes of clothes for her and her dad respectably. There were also two doors to what must have been two separate bathrooms/changing rooms, two televisions, and a table laden with water bottles, coffee, and snacks.
"Thank God," said Joei. Kicking off her shoes and walking toward the table to grab a hot dog, "I'm starving."
Caitlin closed the door behind them and locked it, taking a seat on one of the lounge chairs as Joei plopped herself on the couch with her feet up.
"Help yourself if you're hungry, Caitlin."
"Thank you, Miss Stark, but I would actually like to speak to you first."
"Ooookay," said Joei confusedly, swinging her feet back tot he ground and putting the food aside, "What's up?"
"I was supposed to inform you as soon as possible, but you got here with very little time to spare..."
"You're not holding me hostage in here, are you?"
"No! Of course not. That's not what...I mean I'm not..."
"If you aren't holding me hostage then I'm sure whatever it is won't bother me that much," said Joei, "What is it, Caitlin?"
"I'm not really an assistant. I mean, I am...but I don't work for Alex. I work for Nick Fury." said the woman, holding up a badge with the S.H.I.E.L.D logo clearly etched on it and an identification that showed she was a Level 2 Agent.
Joei was silent for a moment, staring at the woman who couldn't be more than twenty years old, "So you're a S.H.I.E.L.D agent? You're pretty young. How is it you've already graduated?"
"I'm twenty-one. I just graduated last semester. Agent Coulson was my SO..."
"SO?"
"Superior Officer," Caitlin explained, "You get one around sophomore of junior year depending on your study plan. And he recommended me for the job."
"Which is what, exactly?"
"To assist you in anything you might need like a real assistant. To cover for you if need be, to report any suspicious activity around you or the Expo, and to help you avoid anybody who needs to be avoided. I'm specialized in stealth."
Joei groaned, "I bet you climbed the stupid rock wall on your first try."
"Well, yes, but most of the students at Ops do...it's sort of out thing. We take three times as many physical and combat classes as any of the other two branches."
"Well, it's nice to know I can count on you for personal stuff and S.H.I.E.L.D stuff," said Joei, "But I'm going to have to get in contact with Coulson just to make sure...as a safety measure."
"Of course."
Before Joei could finish writing the test to Coulson, her phone rang with a message from the Agent in question.
By now you'll have met Caitlin. She's with us. Consider her a PA, Body Guard, and maybe a bit of a baby sitter, too. Just a precaution, really. Barton's out and can't keep an eye on you and Tony. Trust Caitlin. She's a newbie, but she's as good as they come...p.s. she gives a mean temple rub.
"Well, it looks like Agent Coulson beat me to it," said Joei, handing Caitlin her phone so the other girl could read the text. "Thanks, Caitlin. I'm sure it will be a pleasure spending time with you. But if I have to keep you by my side all the time, I don't think pretending you're with the Expo will help. I'm not set to come here every day, just on a few. So how about we wait here until my dad comes back, and I'll tell him that I want you to be my Personal Assistant for everything whenever i'm not at school."
"Sounds like a plan." Caitlin nodded.
"Great. In the meantime, will you help me get out of this dress? I feel like a tightly wrapped burrito."
I finally got to write Dad!Tony and CrowdWorker!Joei and it makes me so damn happy. I've got half of chapter 5 already written and should be finished within the next couple of days, even if it means getting no sleep.
