a/n: This chapter is kinda slow. I apologize in advance.

June 2013

The car pulled up to the front of the tower. Gwen looked out of the window and up at the large A that sat near the top of the tower. This was her life now. She had agreed to become an Avenger. She had agreed to become a prison guard to some mythical god. She was both excited and nervous.

"Here we are." The driver that Stark had sent to retrieve her turned around to face her. "Avengers Tower. I'll bring your bags up. Tony said he'd have someone waiting for you in the lobby to give you the tour."

Gwen nodded and stepped out of the car. She straightened her skirt and shirt, removed her sunglasses, tucked them in her shirt, and entered the building. Sitting behind a large desk was a woman with short black hair and brown eyes. She looked up at Gwen and smiled at her. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Gwen," she said simply. "I'm looking for- "

"Hey, Copperfield!" They both turned to see the man himself, Tony Stark, walking towards them. "Happy just texted me and said you're here. Glad to see that you're a prompt kid. Come on, I'll give you the tour."

Gwen couldn't think of what to say. He was different than what she had been expecting. More eccentric, more enthusiastic. She probably should have expected it. She had seen him on tv before and he never took anything seriously, like her. They had that much in common. But Tony had more of a spring in his step, more pep. Gwen was too sullen and hostile for that. So, instead of saying anything, she just nodded.

He punched a button on the elevator and waited. Gwen remained silent. "So, Copperfield, you're a Black Sabbath fan?" he asked, gesturing to the logo on her shirt. She nodded again. "You've got good taste, kid. AC/DC and Black Sabbath, that's where it's at."

Gwen shrugged now. "They're good, but Pink Floyd is where it's at."

Tony laughed for a bit, then saw that she was being serious. "Wait, you're not kidding?" Gwen shook her head. "You know, I should've guessed. You wizards seem to be into that trippy, magic Guru style stuff." The elevator doors opened and the two of them stepped through the doors.

Gwen scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Well, the trippy, magic Guru guys are the very thing that protects your reality."

"I didn't see any of your magical asses stepping up when Loki was attacking New York," he retorted.

She shrugged. "I can't speak for us then, I wasn't a member at the time. You'll have to take it up with the management."

"With your father?" Tony snorted. "No thanks. Steve says he's a tight-ass, and that's coming from the king tight-ass." Gwen couldn't help but snort. They did have a similar sense of humor, that was for sure. Maybe working with him wouldn't be so bad.

"I'll show you to the top floor first," he told her. They stepped out into the penthouse, which was lavishly decorated. Gwen had grown up quite rich, given her father's occupation, but that was nothing compared to this. The place had a minibar, several leather couches, a large tv screen, a couple pool tables, and everything seemed to be made of glass. "We like to have team dinners here. It's supposed to be great for team building and bonding. Hasn't really worked so far, but this way none of us has to cook every single night, so…" He shrugged. "You're welcome to join us for dinners if you want. I don't mean to brag, but I make kick-ass spaghetti."

"Where is everyone?" Gwen asked curiously. The place was suspiciously empty.

"No doubt Rogers is in the gym. The man does nothing but work out. I'm guessing Wilson is with him. Bruce is most likely in the lab, which is our next stop. Thor is back on Asgard. Barton and Romanoff are who knows where; no one can keep track of them. Hill and Anderson are probably in their offices. Loki is in his little cage of course, and Kill Bill is hiding in her den of solitude." Tony ticked them off on his fingers. "We don't really hang out that much. Dinner is about all we can stand of each other. And even that's pushing it."

"Some kind of team," Gwen muttered sarcastically.

"You say that as if you're not part of the team," Tony countered. "Guess what kiddo? You're already on the Christmas card. You're stuck with us now."

The blonde rolled her eyes at his lame jokes. He reminded her of her father in that way. They both thought they were funnier than they were.

They climbed up another set of stairs and entered the next stop on their tour. "These are our labs and the medical bay," Tony explained. "We have all kinds of fun in here." Sitting at the back of the lab was a dark haired man wearing a lab coat and glasses. "This purple shirt wearing nerd is Bruce Banner. Except when he's angry and becomes the Jolly Green Giant."

Bruce shook his head and sighed. "Charming, Tony," he muttered to the eccentric billionaire. Then, he stuck out his hand to Gwen. "You must be Gwen. I'm Bruce."

Gwen shook his hand politely. He was not what she had expected when she had pictured the Hulk. She had been expecting someone more muscular, taller. Not this scientist. Still, he seemed pretty calm and collected in general, which contrasted highly with Tony's eccentric personality. It would be a nice change of pace to be around him. "Nice to meet you," she greeted him politely.

"Well, we'd best be off," Tony said, breaking up the moment. "We still have to introduce you to your new roomie."

"Hilarious, Mister Stark," Gwen said sarcastically. They left the lab so Bruce could work in peace.

"Whoa, whoa. Mister Stark was my father. And a cold bastard he was," Tony said. "Call me Tony. I insist."

"Alright then," Gwen replied, though she was somewhat confused. Tony was just going to take some getting used to.

They got back on the elevator and took it down to her floor. "And this is where the magic happens," he said as they stepped out onto her floor.

Her floor was easily as large as her father's flat had been, if not larger. The elevator opened up into a sitting room/kitchen. The sitting room had two love seats, a glass coffee table, a plasma screen, and an empty bookshelf. The kitchen had a fridge, a stove, several cabinets and drawers, a sink, and a bar with tall barstools. "The fridge is fully stocked, as well as the cabinets. Your floor is between Romanoff's and Rogers's. The order goes Bruce on the bottom, then Romanoff, then you, then Rogers, then Barton, then Thor, and then me. So if you get in trouble, call Romanoff or Rogers first, since they're closest." Gwen nodded in understanding.

"We also have Jarvis installed in all the floors, so he's always around. If you need him, just call for him. I'll show you. Jarvis!"

"Hello, Mister Stark," a British sounding voice sounded from above them. "And hello Miss Strange."

Tony nudged her. "Go on, say hello."

Gwen cleared her throat. "Uh, hi?" she said.

"Don't worry, Jarvis won't invade your privacy," Tony assured her. "He does monitor your heart rate, but that's just in case. If it elevates to high, we'll assume you're under attack and Jarvis will alert one of us."

"Do you think it's likely that he will attack me?" Gwen asked curiously.

Tony shrugged. "Who knows with Reindeer Games? He might. But even if he does, I'm sure you could take him. All his powers have been stripped away. He's merely mortal now." Gwen nodded, feeling a little relieved. "Do you want to see him?"

She shrugged, trying to act casually about it. "Sure."

Tony waved her forward, guiding her down the hall. There were three doors down the hall. "So you have three bedrooms down here," Tony said, staying the obvious. "That one there at the very end is yours. It's got all you'll need in there. Feel free to decorate it however you want. This one is Loki's. And this one- "

He was cut off as the door to the bedroom he was pointing at opened, revealing a blonde girl around Gwen's age. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She was taller than Gwen by a few inches. She wore simple black pants and a red shirt. She stood straight and tall. Her face was unreadable as she glanced between Gwen and Tony.

"Is for our dear Kill Bill," Tony finished. "Scarlet, meet Gwen Strange. Copperfield, meet Paige Anderson."

"Which is it? Paige or Scarlet?" Gwen asked.

"Well, her mother named her Paige, but she grew up responding to the name Scarlet Killer," explained Tony. "You two are going to be roommates, by the way. But I've got a feeling that you two will get on swimmingly." Neither of the girls stepped forward to introduce themselves or to say hi. They just stood there and stared the other down, as if sizing them up. "Hey, Kill Bill, we were just going to say hi to our resident god. Do you want to come?"

Paige said nothing. She just stared blankly at the other two. "Right, I forgot. You're giving us all the silent treatment," Tony replied. He turned back to the door, shaking his head.

"Is she always like that?" Gwen asked him, watching Paige out of the corner of her eye.

"Yep," Tony confirmed with a nod. "Anyway, here's Loki's room. The door is made out of adamantium, which is nearly indestructible, so he won't be getting past it without a lot of pain. Behind this door, he's kept behind a five inch thick, bulletproof, glass wall, so double the protection. The door can only be opened by a five digit code and a retinal scan. Only you and the other Avengers are authorized to open the door."

Tony let her put in the passcode and do the retinal scan. The door swung open slowly and they walked inside.

Sitting on his bed, idly reading a book, was Loki. His dark hair was slicked back and tucked behind his ears. He wore a green and gold armored shirt and a pair of simple black trousers. Black boots clad his feet and on his wrists were two silver cuffs. His skin was pale and his blue eyes were nearly gray. He had sharp features and a look of boredom on his face. From here, he didn't seem to be much of a threat at all. He seemed surprisingly normal.

"Hey there, Reindeer Games," Tony greeted him. "Brought you some company."

Loki looked up from his book to see who had come to visit him. Stark was there, obviously, but he was accompanied by a young woman. She was probably around twenty years old. Her blonde hair was straightened and lay as a curtain over her shoulders. She had blue-green eyes, a round face, and she was scowling at him. She wore a white shirt with the words Black Sabbath on it (he thought that he had seen Stark wearing a similar shirt), a simple, short, black skirt, and black boots that were quite similar to his own. She wasn't very tall, probably just over five feet.

He sneered at the sight of them. "And what made you think I wanted company?"

"Nothing," Tony replied with a shrug. "But I'm surprised that you don't want it. We all know how much you love attention, right?"

Loki chuckled darkly to himself. "You're one to talk, Stark," he said softly, putting down his book and standing up. He stood closer to the glass to get a better look. "So, this is the best the Avengers could come up with as a guard?" Loki quipped, smirking. "I'm underwhelmed."

Gwen scowled and crossed her arms. "Says the powerless god trapped behind a glass wall," she retorted with a glare. Tony snickered a little.

"Well, I think you've got a good handle on this," Tony said, clapping her on the shoulder. "I'll leave you to get settled."

"Do I have to stay with him twenty-four seven?" Gwen whined.

Tony shook his head. "I honestly don't care, Copperfield. Just give him three meals a day, bathroom privileges, and make sure he doesn't escape. The rest is up to you."

"Thank goodness," she breathed to herself. Imagining hanging around with Loki all day did not seem like her idea of a good time.

"Well, look who decided to join us," Tony commented. Gwen turned to see Paige standing in the doorway, staring at all of them. "Maybe we'll get lucky and Scarlet here can get rid of Reindeer Games for us. Wouldn't that be nice?" he sighed, as if daydreaming about Loki's death. He gave them all a wave over his shoulder. "See you at dinner," he called before leaving them all alone.

Gwen turned back to look at Loki. Their eyes met for a moment before Loki sat back down on his bed and picked up his book again. "Get out," he told her.

Gwen scowled again. "Let's get one thing straight, your worship, I don't take orders from you," she told him sharply. "I do whatever I want. Understood?"

Loki just chuckled. "Really? So you don't do what Stark tells you to then?"

"What? No." Gwen shook her head. "I do what I want. It just so happens that Tony and I want the same thing." Loki didn't say anything, but Gwen could see him smirking. "You know what? I will leave," she snapped. "But not because you told me to. Because I want to." She spun on her heel and made her way through the door.

Wow, what an asshole, she thought to herself as she closed the door behind her and then went into her room. The room was much larger than her room back at Kamar Taj. Gwen was surprised to admit it, but she missed that small room. Luckily, she had brought all the essentials to make her room seem like home. Her luggage had been brought up to her room by the driver that had picked her up that morning. Other than things like clothes and toiletries, she had brought her pictures, her posters, her books, her records and record player, and her two most prized possessions: Chris P. Bacon and her mother's photo album.

She decided to spend the few hours between then and lunch unpacking her things and getting settled in. It was boring work, but she put on her music while she did so, which made the task far more enjoyable.

When lunch time finally arrived, Gwen practically sprinted into the kitchen. She was starving and would have killed for some chicken of some kind.

The little dorm felt eerily silent and empty. Loki was, of course, trapped in his room. She had no idea where Paige, or Scarlet, or whatever the hell her name was, was. Probably in her room too. Gwen wondered if she should make lunch for the girl as well, but decided against it. If she wanted to eat, then she would have to come out of her room to get it. But then again, Gwen had no idea if she even had food in the kitchen to eat or if she would have to go hunt it down.

"Hey Jarvis?" She tentatively called out to the AI. It felt weird, like she was talking to herself.

"How may I help you, ma'am?" the british voice responded right away.

"So, I was hoping to get some lunch and I was wondering if there's any food here or if I have to go find it somewhere else?"

"It seems that Mr. Stark has stocked all the cabinets and the fridge," Jarvis replied. "Is there something specific that you would like me to locate for you?"

Gwen hummed and thought it over. "Anything with chicken in it?" she asked curiously.

"There's some chicken strips in the freezer," he told her. "Or frozen chicken breasts."

"Great," Gwen said, her stomach practically rumbling at the thought of those chicken strips. She grabbed the bag out of the freezer. There were about fifty strips in the bag. Gwen emptied out fifteen before she remembered that she would have to feed Loki too. Sighing, she dumped out about ten more onto a pan. Then, she preheated the oven and waited. While they were baking, she took out ketchup and mayonnaise from the fridge. She put a bit of each into a bowl and mixed it together. During her junior year of high school, she had gone to Salt Lake City for an academic decathlon trip. They ate at a place called The Crown Burger and had something called fry sauce, which Gwen had fallen in love with. Mixing ketchup and mayo together wasn't quite the same, but it was better than nothing.

Once the food was ready, she put fifteen on her plate and ten on the other plate. Then she put a bit of sauce on each plate. She considered taking Loki his food first, but her stomach won out. She devoured her food in a matter of minutes. Then, she began to search for something to drink.

In the cabinet above the fridge, she found several bottles of whiskey, which made her snort. She didn't know Tony very well, but it seemed like something he would do.

A part of her was tempted to take a bottle. She hadn't really had alcohol before, just a sip or two of her dad's wine and beer. But she thought better of it. It was her first night with the Avengers and the last thing she needed was to show up to dinner completely wasted.

In the fridge, she found several cans of something called red cream soda, which she decided to give a try. It turned out to be pretty good. Not as good as Dr. Pepper, but nothing was that good. She grabbed a can for Loki as well before taking the plate and it to his room. She entered the code and did the retinal scan. The door swung open. Loki was still sitting on his bed, reading his book. Gwen wondered if he had even moved since she had left earlier.

She found the slot where she could send in food and things and she was vaguely reminded of Hannibal Lecter's cage in The Silence of the Lambs. The very thought creeped her out. Hopefully Loki wasn't as creepy as Hannibal was. Still, she wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. She would bet money that he could read her just as easily as Hannibal could read Clarice. He gave off that sort of vibe.

"What's this?" Loki sniffed, eyeing the food with disdain.

"I have provided for you today an excellent selection of chicken," Gwen told him sarcastically. "It should pair nicely with this fine red wine." Her sarcasm was lost on the god, who just stared at her in confusion. "If you don't want it, then go ahead and feel free to starve. I could give a shit less."

Loki put down his book and picked up the plate. He gingerly picked up a piece of chicken, looking at it like he thought it might be poisoned. "Are you going to watch while I eat?" he asked, mildly annoyed by her presence.

"Why? Is it bothering you?"

"Yes, actually."

"Then yes, I will," she shot back with an innocent smile. Loki narrowed his eyes at her, mouth pulled down in a frown, but he said nothing. He ate slowly and precisely, taking small bites of the food and chewing it completely before swallowing it. After about five or six bites, he would take a sip of his drink. The first time he did so, he winced, apparently disliking either the flavor or the carbonation. Gwen couldn't help but compare his eating patterns to her own. She almost always scarfed down food as fast as she could get it. Her justification was always that she never knew when her last meal was going to be. Loki, however, seemed less concerned, in less of a hurry.

Loki finished all the food and even drained his drink. "Enjoy the show?" he asked, trying to goad her a little.

Gwen couldn't help but wrinkle her nose at the thought. "Almost as much as I enjoyed watching The Notebook," she answered snarkily. She snatched up the plate and the empty can and left in a hurry, yet again.

As she cleaned up her dishes, she couldn't help but think that it might end up being a long year if she always had to hang around Loki.

Dinner arrived soon after. Gwen wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but she was actually a little excited for dinner with the Avengers. She really wanted to meet Black Widow and she wanted to see Tony and Steve again. Really, seeing anyone besides Loki would be amazing in her mind.

She prepared herself for dinner by making sure she looked ok. She was always so concerned with her appearance, so she spent five minutes in front of the mirror, checking her clothes, her hair, her makeup. Everything. Once she was certain that everything was in place, she walked out of her room and towards the elevator.

The notoriously silent Paige joined her on the elevator. It was such an awkward moment that Gwen just had to fill in the silence.

"So, how's life as an Avenger treating you?" she asked.

Paige turned and stared at her. Gwen awkwardly stared back, trying (and failing) to force a smile. "It is adequate," she finally answered, turning back to stare at the wall.

Gwen nodded, pursing her lips. "Great," she replied, allowing silence to settle over them.

They reached the top floor not long after. The Avengers and a few others were gathered in the kitchen, chatting amongst themselves. Tony was the first to notice that they'd arrived.

"Copperfield! And Kill Bill! My favorite duo!" he cried in welcome.

Paige's face hardened and she turned back to the elevator, got back on, and went back down to her floor.

"Nice going, Stark," said the red headed woman sarcastically.

"What?" Tony said defensively. "I just greeted them. How was I supposed to know that she would leave?"

"Maybe if you started calling her by her name instead of Kill Bill," Steve suggested, "she would stay for dinner."

"I have nicknames for everybody, no need for her to get offended over it," Tony said with a shrug. "Right, Copperfield?"

Gwen just shook her head at his ridiculousness. "Come meet the rest of the team," the eccentric billionaire insisted, gesturing for her to come closer. "Capsicle you already know, of course." Steve rolled his eyes at the nickname, but gave Gwen a polite nod. "Over there is Clint Barton, our resident archer."

"Hey," he greeted, giving her a small wave.

"The redhead is our Kill Bill Sr., Natasha Romanoff."

Natasha shot Tony a death glare, which made him gulp. Gwen grinned at the sight. She liked Natasha the best already.

"That guy over there is Rhodes, or Rhodey. And standing next to him is Sam Wilson, the Falcon." Sam and Rhodey waved to her and she returned their waves.

"And that's Maria Hill," he finished, pointing to a dark haired woman. She nodded and Gwen nodded back.

"Now everybody knows everybody, can we eat?" Sam asked impatiently. Gwen nodded in agreement. Clearly this guy was her type of guy.

They all moved into the dining room. It was Bruce's night to cook and he had provided burgers and fries for them.

Gwen ended up sitting between Tony and Natasha, and across from Sam. They all passed the food down the table, taking some before handing it to the next person.

"Where's Clara?" Steve asked.

Tony shrugged. "You know how Anderson can be. She's such a- "

He was cut off by the splash of water on his back, soaking his shirt. "Whoops," said a dry, sarcastic voice from behind them. "Sorry, Stark. I didn't see you there."

Gwen couldn't help but snort at that. Beside her, Natasha was suppressing a grin as well. Sam openly snickered while the others just shook their heads.

"I might have deserved that," Tony admitted. The rest of the table murmured in agreement whilst Clara took her seat at the end of the table, opposite of Maria.

Maria cleared her throat. "So, Gwen, why don't you tell us about yourself?" she asked as she picked up a few fries and dunked them in ketchup.

Gwen hesitated, unsure how to begin this conversation. What did they want to know? She never really had had to do anything like this before. Her dad already knew everything about her and she didn't really have any other friends.

Classically, Tony picked up the conversation in the silence. "She's eighteen. She likes long walks on the beach, and tall, dark, and handsome men. Sorry Cap, you're out of the running." Gwen's cheeks burned at the insinuation of something between her and the captain.

"Shut up, Stark," Natasha said irritably, not even looking up from her food.

"Yeah, you're not that funny," Sam agreed from across the table. "Go on, kid." He nodded encouragingly at Gwen.

Gwen nodded and opened her suddenly dry mouth. "I'm nineteen. I've lived in Manhattan pretty much all of my life. I was gonna go to Cornell before my dad got in his accident and we moved to Nepal. Uh…" She trailed off, unsure of what else to say.

"What do you do for fun?" Clara spoke up. She was looking at Gwen, trying to conceal the sadness in her eyes. When Stark has told her that they were hiring someone named Guinevere Strange to work for them, she knew it had to be Jessie's daughter. Seeing her in the flesh only confirmed it. She was Jessie in miniature. It was like seeing her best friend all over again.

She wanted to talk to Gwen, to tell her about Jessie, but she hadn't figured out what to say yet. She just needed more time.

"Oh, uh, I like to read. And listen to music. And I play the piano a little," she said with a shrug.

"She's a Pink Floyd fan," Tony supplied. "And a Black Sabbath fan. And an AC/DC fan, so clearly, she's the only other one in this tower with taste." He put his hand on her shoulder, as if he couldn't be prouder. "What's your favorite movie, Copperfield? We'll watch that on our Friday movie night."

"Friday movie night?" she echoed.

"New tradition," Tony explained. "Cap needs to be caught up on the times, so we started Friday movie nights as a way of doing so."

Gwen thought over all the movies she had seen in her life. "The Silence of the Lambs," she finally decided.

Tony looked at her like he had never seen anything so cool in his entire life. "I like this one. We're keeping her."

Gwen wrinkled her nose at that. The way he said it made it sound like she was some kind of pet. She knew it had been meant as a compliment, but it still made her feel weird.

"She's not a dog, Tony," Steve spoke up. He leaned around Natasha and gave her a polite smile. "But we would like you to stay."

She smiled back before digging into her food. Tony began to talk about The Silence of the Lambs and other movies they needed to watch with Steve and Paige and how maybe they should invite Loki just for fun. Gwen felt more relaxed now, more like she belonged.

It felt good.