A/N: First off, no party in this chapter. :( It ended up waaaayyyy longer than I had intended, and I had to get some fluff in there before I went and ruined everyone's days. I'm still very happy with the tone of this, though. :)

Chapter Four

Harry What's-His-Name

Gwen had been sitting in her newly assigned room for about thirty minutes, staring out the window at the city below. The room wasn't anything special. It was comprised of white walls, beige carpet, and a bed. If she had any clothes at all she would have been bothered by the lack of a dresser, but as luck would have it she currently only owned a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform that was much too big and a dinosaur printed hospital gown that was much too small. She didn't even sleep in a bed.

"Lord, child, you look a straight mess," a voice caused Gwen to start and turn around. The intruder was a slightly heavyset black woman in her early to mid forties. She wore a completely black pantsuit and matching black heels. Her sleek hair was pulled tightly into a French twist on the back of her head, and her lips were painted a deep burgundy. Other than that her face seemed to be clean of make up. Gwen thought she looked quite classy.

"Um, who are you?" Gwen asked. She hadn't even heard the door open.

"Olive Hutchison, at your service," Olive pronounced every syllable with flair. She closed the doorway before continuing, "I'm here to fix you up. Goodness me, look at this disaster." Her voice had the slightest Bayou twang to it. She tsk'd as she proceeded to lift up random strands of Gwen's hair. If Gwen hadn't just been fished up from the Earth's crust, she might have been offended. But this Olive woman seemed so genuine that Gwen just humored her as she continued to poke and prod around Gwen's head and nails.

Thirty minutes later, Olive had Gwen lying back in a portable salon station. Her head was in a basin of water to soften up all the dirt and debris, and her nails were being buffed and polished by the amusing woman who had not stopped jabbering since the process had begun.

Once Olive paused to take a breath, Gwen asked, "So, do you work for S.H.I.E.L.D?"

Olive scoffed and shook her head before musing, "Not really anymore. I used to be an agent, but I left not too long after that Captain man got himself fished up outta the ocean. Now they call me in when things need fixin'up or redecoratin'. Better to have a former agent who knows all the secrets be proddin' around than some no good busy body, I suppose," She placed Gwen's hands under two heat lamps and then continued, "Now I run my own salon and interior design company. It's nice and quiet, just like I like it."

Gwen leaned back as the woman drained the dirty water from the basin her hair was floating in. She closed her eyes as she felt a warm spray of water hit her scalp. "What did you do at S.H.I.E.L.D?" Gwen inquired. She felt like she was being nosy, but she didn't really have anything else to talk about and she was bored.

"Research science, mostly. Never really went out into the field much. I did a lot of research on what S.H.I.E.L.D. likes to call 'people of special interest.' That's you," She sounded amused, more than anything. Gwen felt a cold spot of something on her scalp before she felt Olive scrubbing out the rest of the mess. Gwen guessed this was shampoo. She had never had someone else wash her hair before. It was weird. The scientists who studied her as a child had tried, but she just shot them out of the room when they got too close.

"Hm," Olive mumbled something and Gwen arched her neck a little to look back at the sassy woman.

"What?"

Olive had a playful glint in her eye. "How do you feel about a little hair bleach, honey?"

Gwen wasn't sure how to respond.

Two hours and fifteen minutes later Gwen was clean and wrapped in a fluffy bath towel. Her hair had been painstakingly dried, and Olive was pleased to find that without all the dirt and mud caked in the strands, Gwen's hair now fell in gentle waves down her back. Olive had lightened up the dirty blonde to a much healthier looking, brighter shade and cut off a lot of the dead ends that had accumulated over the years. Now the length was just below her shoulders. Gwen liked it.

"Alright sweetie," Olive said as she packed up her portable beauty shop, "I'm gonna be right back with some clothes that you can wear. You won't get a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform for a while since they all have to be custom fitted, but I'll see what I can do baby, okay?"

"Okay," Gwen smiled shyly from her seat on the bed as Olive backed out of the room. When the door closed with a snap, Gwen stood slowly and walked to the full length mirror Olive had discovered on the inside of her closet door.

It was times like these that Gwen was glad she remained semi conscious throughout her time cocooned in the dirt. She couldn't imagine waking up with the mentality of a ten year old and the body of a 28 year old. Now that the dirt had been scrubbed away, Gwen could see that the tan she had when she was younger had paled just a little bit. She was sure it would be back as soon as she started spending more time outside. Her hair looked wonderful. She had always hated the mousy blonde color when she was younger. This was much better. Gwen smiled. Olive was wonderful. Gwen hoped she would see more of her after today.

Gwen heard a small knock at the door. Speak of the devil, as they say. Do people still say that? Gwen frowned a little to herself. She would have to get some lessons on the modern lingo.

"Hey, I was just letting you know-" Gwen turned in shock to the very not-Olive voice that rang through her room. She also squeaked and ducked behind the bed at the very not-Olive Steve Rogers that had frozen in shock at the sight of her in a towel.

"Oh- I just- My apologies Ma'am- I would never-" Steve stammered. "Uh- We're all eating dinner if you wanted to join." He practically shouted the last part before making an about-face out the door. Olive stood in the doorway after watching him practically sprint down the hall.

"Goodness me, you would think he had never seen a woman in a towel before," She shut the door behind her and paused before adding, "Actually, you know what, he might not have."

Gwen laughed nervously and looked at the clothes Olive had brought up for her to choose from. Among them were a green plaid button up and some jean shorts. Gwen picked them up and Olive laughed.

"Girl, I knew you were a lumberjack at heart," she mused. Gwen smiled. "Well, don't go oogling at me, get some clothes on, you naked thing," Olive shooed her into the bathroom.

Gwen shut the door behind her. She tossed the clothes on the porcelain toilet lid and flopped on the edge of the matching bathtub. This was all happening so fast. There were so many new people! Gwen had already forgotten half of the names of the people she had met. It had only been, what, twelve hours? Gwen put her head in her hands. God, help her. And now she was being invited to eat dinner with six people she barely knew. Gwen hadn't eaten in almost twenty years. She wasn't even sure she needed food. She ate before her escape, but what if her body had learned to do photosynthesis or something weird like that? She was sure they all already thought she was a freak and now she wasn't even sure if she could eat dinner!

"Honey, you okay in there?" Olive called through the white door.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a little overwhelmed."

"Well take your time, I'll make sure those rascals leave you a little something to eat, okay, baby?"

Gwen smiled again, "That would be… very nice, please," Gwen decided she liked Olive very much.

Gwen listened for the shut of the door that had indicated the stylist had left. She took a deep breath. I can do this, right? She asked herself, Just a bunch of superheroes. No big deal.

She quickly got dressed and left to try and find the rest of her new flat mates.

It wasn't difficult. The living room was just around the corner from all of the bedrooms, and the kitchen was directly connected to it. Plus she could hear Thor yelling all the way across the compound.

"WHERE IS THE MAYONISSE?"

"For the last time, it's MAY-OH-NAYS. Not MA-YO-NEESE."

"Besides I think your peanut butter sandwich would taste better without it-"

"Guys, I just want my leftover ravioli. C'mon," That was Natasha's voice, Gwen recognized it.

"Fine, mortal, I will consume my meal without mayo-nace paste."

"MAY-OH-NAYS."

Gwen paused outside the door as the playboy (whose surname she knew was Stark but she couldn't remember his first name) corrected Thor for a second time. The kitchen was fairly large and thank God for that, because otherwise it would have been a complete and utter mess. Even so, everyone seemed to be having a good time getting their food together. Gwen was glad she wasn't late. The Captain noticed her entrance and blushed before clearing his throat and walking into the living area. Gwen crinkled her eyebrows together. She was going to have to talk to him. It wasn't that big of a deal.

"Gwen!" Stark had noticed her. He walked forward with his arms outstretched before casually placing one of them over her shoulder.

Gwen's cheeks tinged pink and she politely moved his hand before asking, "So… do we have any thing good to eat here or…?"

"Pfft," Gwen turned to see Clint (she remembered his name now that she saw his face) sitting on the counter. He continued, "Name something. I bet we have it here somewhere."

"Just do not ask for may-oh-ness," Thor added as he shuffled to join Steve in the living room, "It is clear that we do not have any here." Tony face palmed at the mispronunciation.

"You know what?" He said, "I'm not even going to try anymore. How about a sandwich? Do you like sandwiches?"

Gwen shifted uneasily on her bare feet. "I don't… know?"

"How about we start your body off with something simple," Bruce piped up as he entered the kitchen, "Like… ah hah. Here we go," He tossed something at Gwen. She fumbled, but managed to keep it from hitting the ground. It was an orange. "We need to make sure you actually eat," He continued. Gwen scrunched up a face. Leave it to Bruce to reveal all of her insecurities to the world.

"Actually," She muttered, "I am kind of thirsty..." She trailed off. Natasha, after finally getting her leftovers in the microwave, pulled a glass out of one of the many wooden cabinets.

"Here," the redhead said. She handed the glass to Gwen. "The tap water's kind of crap, but the fridge has a water dispenser you can use."

Gwen nodded a thanks at Natasha before shuffling past Thor to get to the fridge. She stared at it for a minute, trying to figure out how to get the water out.

"Here," a voice said, "I just figured this out a little while ago, myself."

Gwen looked over her shoulder to see Captain America- Steve, she reminded herself- reaching for her glass. She stepped out of the way and handed it to him.

"See, you just set it under here and push this button. Then you let off of the button when your glass is full," He explained. She noticed that he wasn't making eye contact with her. Way to make it awkward.

"Thanks, Captain Rogers," Gwen smiled up at him.

He gave a small smile back, and joined the rest of the group in exiting to the next room.

"C'mon, rock star, we're all watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Bring your orange," The playboy steered her into the living room as he spoke. Tony, Gwen suddenly remembered.

Of course, Bruce sat down in one of the only available seats in front of the huge television screen. Gwen was sure he didn't do it on purpose, but the only seat left was between him and Steve. Steve noticed and he shifted uncomfortably on the white leather couch and cleared his throat. She rolled her eyes and sat down. She tried not to marvel at how freaking humongous the television was (and it's flat, that's weird) and sat back to enjoy Harry What's-his-name and the whatever-it-is.

Of course halfway through the movie Gwen noticed Steve trying as hard as he could to weld himself to the arm rest on his other side, and Bruce sitting there completely oblivious to the fact that his arm was resting on the couch behind her. Gwen sat there picking at her still not eaten orange, and had no idea what was going on in the movie because Tony and Natasha kept arguing about who the apparent female lead should have ended up with and Thor kept asking what was going on.

And once again, Gwen had the unfortunate luck of realizing she wasn't wearing a bra. She was just lucky her chest was medium-sized and the shirt was huge and flannel. Her face flushed in the dark. She needed to get some clothes.

Before Gwen had even realized it, the credits were flying across the screen to some orchestra tune she was sure played almost the entire movie. Banner looked down at her orange. "You know, oranges usually taste better without the peel. And you have to actually, you know, eat it," He teased.

Gwen chuckled. "I guess," She said, "I'll work up the courage eventually." She snuck a peek at Steve. "Hey, uh, Captain America?" He looked up at her with a surprised look on his face. She mentally kicked herself for not using his actual name. "I- uh- noticed on the way here that your room is right next to mine… everyone else's are in the other wing… And I'm not sure how to get back," She knew it was mean. She knew he was uncomfortable. But she also knew she really was lost and he couldn't avoid her forever.

"Uh… Yeah. Yeah, I can do that," He looked absolutely flustered.

"Neato," Gwen responded. Tony laughed, and she turned to him and demanded, "What's so funny?"

"No one says 'neato' anymore, sweet cheeks. Or coolio, or rad, or whatever else you think is still in style," He chuckled.

Gwen's face turned red and she scowled at him. Before she could make a retort, Bruce responded, "Ah, she'll learn," and ruffled her newly bleached hair.

"Hey, Olivia worked really hard on that!"

"Who's Olivia?" Thor and Clint asked at the same time.

"You don't want to know," Natasha responded. Clint just shrugged and Thor looked confused.

"Well my friends, while this has been an eventful and slightly overwhelming day, I believe I am going to retire," Thor said. Gwen felt like he was trying to cover up for the Olivia thing.

"Yeah, me too," Bruce responded. He stood and stretched his arms over his head. "See you guys in the morning."

"You guys are all lame. No one wants to stay up late and tell scary stories?" Tony complained, "Gwen?"

"Uh," Gwen started.

"If Gwen still wants an escort, I'm about to head to my room also," Steve interrupted. Gwen shot him a grateful look and let him take the lead. Before she left she heard Tony make one last appeal.

"What about you, Hawky?"

She heard a sigh. "Fine."

The first few minutes of walking behind Steve was awkward. He didn't talk or try to make eye contact, he just maintained a steady gaze on the halls ahead of him. The next few were irritating. It's not like she was going to try to steal his virtue or anything. Sure, she wasn't exactly the most naïve person on the planet due to her constant check-ins on the surface, but she certainly wasn't anywhere near as knowledgeable as she should be about… things. Her face flushed and she stared at the floor.

Then she hit Steve's back and almost fell on the ground.

"Oh, are you okay?" He turned around and caught her arm before quickly letting go. "Uh, this is my room, for now. I guess yours is a couple of doors down?"

"That sounds about right," She answered. She noticed he said "For now." She wondered if everyone stayed here all the time, or just during missions. He nodded and started to turn the handle to his room. "Wait- Captain," She started. He stopped and turned to look at her. "Just, uh, chill out, okay? No more awkward. So you walked in on me wearing a towel," his face flushed at her words but other than that he betrayed no emotion. She continued, "But if you haven't noticed, I'm tiny. Trust me, you didn't see anything you wouldn't see in a frumpy sleeveless dress."

He gave a small smile. "I'm just used to more respect than is common these days, ma'am," He explained. Then he entered his room and shut the door. Gwen just hoped one of the other doors ended up being hers.

When she finally did find her room (She only knew because of the dirt everywhere and the hospital gown) she flopped on her bed and stared at the ceiling. It was a weird feeling, lying on something so soft and squishy. Even before she buried herself, she slept on the floor. She wasn't sure if she could sleep on a bed. Apparently, however, being stuck in the ground for two decades can really tire someone out. Within minutes, she fell asleep.

Hundreds of miles away, another woman pulled herself out of the Earth. Her skin bubbled red-hot with magma, and her hair flicked with flames. As she stood carefully, she examined the ruined town around her and smiled. She noticed movement in one of the buildings.

One sole man remained alive, and she blasted the rubble from his back. She recognized him as the mayor. He yelped and looked up at her shakily.

"Marsha? What- what are you? What happened to you?!" He cried. He shielded his face from her.

The fire in her eyes blazed white and she burned a hole through the collar of his shirt.

"Run, little worm," she whispered, "Run and tell them what Volcana has done to your precious little town." The mayor continued to stare, and the woman's face contorted with anger.

"Marsha-"

"RUN YOU INCOMPETENT FOOL!" Flames almost devoured the wretch, but she kept them close to her.

She watched as the pathetic little man ran in whatever direction he could. She smiled, her anger dissipating. She knew that girl and her friends would seek her out soon enough. Yes, she thought, let them come.

Let them come.

A/N:I would also like to point out that while I am taking things from the movies and the comics (Volcana is a real villainess, S.H.I.E.L.D. is technically located in Manhattan, even though the Triskelion is in DC) I take a lot of creative license sometimes. If any of you guys think I should change something or have any tips, I would appreciate them.