"I can't believe you're leaving me to work that stupid diner all by myself," Hannah whined as I was getting ready for my first day at S.H.I.E.L.D. She didn't know who I was working for or where I was working for safety reasons. However, that didn't stop her from complaining that I was leaving Frank's.

"You don't have to keep working there," I said as I started to pull my hair back into a ponytail. There was no way I would let my hair be in my face while I'm working. "I'll be making more than enough money to take care of us. Plus, I know how much you hate working at Frank's."

She sighs, "I know, but I don't want to be your burden. I want to work for half of the apartment. I don't want to mooch off of you."

"You wouldn't be mooching. The program I'm switching to says they are going to pay for the apartment. You don't have to work at the stupid diner anymore. You can focus on getting a job you truly want. Think of it as a thank you for helping me get through college and sticking around after.

"Ara, you know you helped me get through college just as much as I helped you."

I rolled my eyes and laughed, "I'm not quite sure I agree with that, but please tell me you will think about quitting the stupid diner job?"

"Alright, fine. I'll think about it," Hannah sighed. I smiled as I checked over my outfit one last time. I was wearing a simple pair of jeans with a tank top and cardigan. Nothing too fancy, but also nothing too casual. "But if I don't find a job, I'm going back to the diner. At least I would get paid to be miserable for the rest of my life."

"You're being dramatic."

"And you are going to be late for your first day."

I looked at my phone to see the time, and she was right. I was going to be late if I didn't hurry up. I didn't want to make a wrong impression with Dr. Banner, especially since he just returned from wherever he was. However, part of me was still hesitant because it was S.H.I.E.L.D. after all. I have been avoiding working for them because of my powers and my parents. Now, I was walking in there willingly.

I sighed, "I'll see you when I get back. Unless you're going over to Jason's."

"And miss seeing you after your first day with a big girl job? Never."

"It isn't a big girl job. I'm just studying with Dr. Banner instead of the professor at the university. He just happens to be friends with someone my parents are friends with."

"Your parents seem to know everybody."

"You have no idea," I said as I walked out of the apartment and made my way to S.H.I.E.L.D. Here we go.

I took a breath as I stepped into the lab that I was working. Dr. Banner was already there, reading over what I have been working on. I knocked before entering the lab.

"Hi, Dr. Banner," I said as I entered the lab. "I'm Adara Hawkins. I'm the one that came up with the design and working on the engineering of the machine you are currently looking over."

"You're the daughter of Dr. Hawkins and Dr. Hawkins?" Dr. Banner asked. I nodded but didn't reply. I hated it when people ask me that. After all, my parents hardly claim me as their daughter, so why should I claim them as my parents?

After a few minutes of silence, Dr. Banner said, "What made you come up with the idea for this machine?"

"I thought about how MRIs and other machines don't exactly tell doctors if a tumor is cancerous. They end up having to do biopsies. I figured, what if a machine could help figure out if a tumor is cancerous or not? However, they have a different plan for it here."

"Isn't that how it always goes?" Dr. Banner jokes. I smiled as I started to set up my work area since it was my first day here. "Why don't you finish setting up, and we can start working?"

"That sounds good to me," I said as I continued to unpack and organize my new work area. This was the only time my workspace will be clean because it will never be organized once I start working.

After a few hours of working on my machine, there was a lot of noise out in the hallways. Dr. Banner and I both looked up from what we were working on to see what was happening. Every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent was lining the hallways for what looked like a security measure. When I saw a familiar face not far from the lab, I snuck over to them.

"Hey Jason, what's going on?" I asked when I stood behind him. Jason turned around and was shocked to see me.

"What are you doing here, Ara?" He whispered as he turned back around. I rolled my eyes at him. "Does Hannah know you work here?"

I shot back, "Does she know you work here? Of course, I didn't tell her I was working here. I can't put Hannah into danger just like you never told her where you work because it could put her in danger."

Jason sighed but didn't reply. Dr. Banner joined us to see what was going on, as well. He froze when a group of agents came in transporting a prisoner. The prisoner was tall but lean. He had a mischievous look in his green eyes while his raven black hair was slicked back out of his face. The prisoner could make anyone uneasy, yet I was somewhat fascinated by him.

As the group of agents led the prisoner by us, I made eye contact with him. He seemed interested in me, as well. However, Jason caught on to who the prisoner was staring at and stepped in front of me. Jason was shielding me, but that only caused the prisoner to smirk. I put my hand on Jason's shoulder to let him know that I was okay. It wasn't like I was going to be near the prisoner.

After the agents moved the prisoner to the prison, we all started to go back to work. Jason followed Dr. Banner and me to the lab to make sure I didn't do anything stupid. It wasn't like I was going to chase after a villain. If S.H.I.E.L.D. was holding them, that meant the prisoner was extremely dangerous. I was smart enough to know to avoid him, even if he was fascinating. I just wanted to finish my Ph.D.

"Who was that?" I asked as soon as the door closed behind us.

Dr. Banner sighed, "That was Loki Laufeyson. He destroyed New York City a few years ago and is Thor's brother."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yes," Jason said. I was in shock that he was back on earth then. "And you need to make sure you stay away from him. He isn't someone that you can trust to be around." I nodded in agreement and started back up on my work. However, I knew it was going only to be so long before I saw Loki again.