At the ripe young age of seventeen, Ellis Howard joined the army. She had watched as men and women left the country, entering war zones in a noble attempt to defend what they knew. It inspired her - she wanted to be strong enough to defend not only herself, but those who were left behind for months at a time. So, with a set jaw and narrowed eyes, she enlisted and consequently sold away her life.
A year later, stronger than ever before and yet still not strong enough, Ellis sat in the back of the shaky truck. She was squashed between an extremely well built man who seemed likely to murder anyone who even breathed in his direction and a girl around her age.
Her back bumped against the coarse fabric behind her, but a nervous grin was on her lips as she turned to her left and smiled at the female, "Hey, I'm Ellis. Ellis Howard."
"Talia Hunter."
Twenty years old and finally back in Manhattan, having gained much more than she had lost, Ellis finally looked across at the boring grey buildings and smiled.
Her left hand, enclosed as it was in that of the man she considered to be her big brother, shook as she stepped onto the concrete. Faces surrounded her, ones she didn't recognise and ones she did - she noted the similarities between the eyes of a woman and a soldier she had fought with every day for just over two years, watched as a pregnant lady wrapped her arms around the neck of her husband and pressed her lips against his the second he approached her.
Watched as a middle aged lady waited for a son who would never return home.
"Home at last, Howard, Hunter, how's it feel?"
"Foreign."
The woman on her other side nodded her agreement, "in an odd way, I kinda miss our little home..."
The man looked down at the two beside him, his tanned face splitting into a wide grin, "yeah, me too...well, there's my ride."
He pointed to a grey haired man standing beside a teenaged boy, "I guess I'll see you two later."
At only twenty three, she had witnessed so many horrors that she wouldn't wish on even her very worst enemies and yet had also seen so many occurrences that came close to restoring her faith in humanity - almost.
At twenty four, she stepped off the truck, heavy bag on her shoulders and yet not as heavy as her heart. Her steps echoed in her head as she walked solemnly over to her friend's father, noting the additional lines on his face, and brother.
She could see the dim light in their eyes as they wished with all they had that the man would climb down from the back of the truck, bag in hand and wide smile on his lips. He didn't.
He should blame her, Ellis thought, she had returned home while his son had not. And yet, though tears were in his eyes, his face twisted into a smile that was more of a grimace as he opened his arms for her.
Still young, not even six months after returning home from a war zone with only herself for company, Ellis tucked a chain of cold metal under her shirt and pulled on a long white jacket.
A lanyard hung from her neck, tangling with the two dog tags, attached to a vivid red identity card. Imprinted on the card beside an image of her was the name of her new place of work; Stark Industries.