They call her Human Torch! Chapter 8

Sunday, January, 30, 2011.

I woke up feeling so refreshed once again, the past 3 nights have been the most peaceful sleep I have gotten in a while. I think the country was still high off the sentencing, at least I was and Mrs. Grimm was too. I have not been in much contact with anyone and as happy as I was that I was accepted by the public on Thursday, I still was not ready to turn on the TV or listen to any kind of radio show. Tomorrow the insurance agent was coming to go tour the apartment together so I had all my belongings in 9 boxes all stacked up by the door, I was living out of my little suitcase for now. I felt butterflies dancing around in my stomach just thinking about the move. I didn't have many things and even less that I actually value but all the folders that I had gotten in the bank with important paperwork was giving me nerves, I couldn't stop thinking what if I lose the deed with my name to the apartment or the packet that proves I opened up that account for the money, god forbid I lose the file that contains the formula to unstable molecules, it was incredible to see it on paper, it just seemed so simple that I almost didn't believe it. I was going through every drawer in this place for the third time just checking that I might not have missed something. I was looking forward to dropping these keys off at the lobby and never coming back up, not that it was a bad place but it just wasn't mine. A knocking on the door scared the crap out of me, I had not buzzed anyone up and I guess I grew use to granting permission before hearing a knock by now, my heart started pounding as my head filled with stupid scenarios and the same little words taunting me 'a vampire wouldn't need to be buzzed up'. Shaking myself out of it I took a deep breath and walked towards the hall, as soon as I opened the door I relaxed seeing as they were certainly not vampires, there were 2 men, one tall black man with a long black trench coat and an eye patch and a shorter white guy in a suit and a comb over. They had a very intense feel to them and that alone was enough to put me on edge.

"Hello Ms. Swan. My name is Phil Coulson and this is my boss, Director Fury."

"Okay.. Hello. You men clearly know who I am."

"Would you like to invite us in? We are here on private matters."

Instantly I tensed up again and narrowed my eyes, were they serious? They wanted to be invited in to be alone with me behind closed doors… of course they noticed my now tense form and visibly tried to look less formal. This Fury guy has yet to talk but I could feel he was the one in charge, obviously. What was a Director doing at my door? And what was he a Director of anyway?

"Ms. Swan we are no threat to you, we just want to talk, besides even if we were threats, you certainly have proved capable of defending yourself."

That's right fucker, I can burn that smirk off your face. I didn't say anything, just nodded and stepped away from the door to give them space to pass. I opted to seat them in the kitchen table instead of the living room, I felt the ease of sitting on couches was not fitting to this situation, the look they exchanged made it clear they knew what I was doing. For the first time, after staring at me for so long the Director finally spoke.

"We are going to be honest here Ms. Swan. We both work for S.H.I.E.L.D. I am Director Fury and Coulson is an Agent. We are here today to speak to you about the Avenger initiative."

"Okay, first of all, shield?"

"It stands for Strategic, Homeland, Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics, Division."

"Strategic Homeland Invention..You lost me."

"Intervention. You will catch on to it eventually."

"Will I?

"If things go well today then yes, you will."

"What is the Avenger initiative? You seem like upstanding men, so get to the point gentlemen."

"I'm glad to know you do not dilly dally."

"Not with strangers no."

He sighed and sat up straighter.

"Ms. Swan there is an idea, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea is to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they can become something more, see if they can work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles we never could. Heroes, Vigilantes, those are all nice ideals and with so many things going on in the world, many have arisen but just like in books and movies, for there to be a hero, there must be a villain. We need a response team, one full of people who can help humanity when human armies are not enough."

I stayed silent for a while, not knowing what to say, or what to believe for that matter. These guys wanted me to do what exactly? Mr or should I say Agent Coulson started speaking, I think he saw my confusion.

"In plain terms Ms. Swan, we are here to recruit you. There is no Avengers at the moment, it is an idea, a backup plan if you will."

"Yes, if you were ever to be in the Avengers, if the plan was ever accepted and had a reason for them to be assembled then you first must have a semblance of training. What I am here to offer is a chance to be trained by some of the best Agents in the world, a place to hone in on your skills and learn things you could never learn anywhere else. To be a part of something bigger than you and I. To accomplish things no ordinary person could."

"That all sounds great but I'm sure you understand when I ask, are you really the good guys? Or do you pretend to be? How am I to know that you are not just using me to learn more about my ability? Do you have other mutants on staff?"

"Those are answers that you can answer yourself in time. We fight for freedom of the people, the whole reason we want to recruit you is to use you when we need to help innocent people. You tell me Ms. Swan, are we the bad guys? No we do not currently have mutants on staff, unless one of our employees are hiding something but we do thorough background checks."

"Why me then? There are mutants I'm sure that have abilities that far surpass mine so why would you choose me to employee?"

"Do not underestimate your power, the footage I saw was quite impressive, to be able to melt a bullet coming at you? Fire is a very potent weapon-"

"How do you know I am not a threat?"

"I did consider you one until last night."

"What changed then?"

"You asked me why you? Let me answer that. I have seen mutants with great power, I have witnessed what they can do but the moment that I approached them, they were either afraid because humans have looked down on them or they refused because they looked down to humans. Have you met a mutant before Ms. Swan?"

"Not personally."

"Well I'm sure you will soon. There is a group called the X-men, they are a team of very good people, fighting for mutant rights while at the same time fighting to maintain the equality, they are taught that though what they can do is great, it does not mean they are better. The people who don't agree quickly leave that group but the ones who do are recruited immediately. What I am saying is that there are good mutants like them that I would appreciate having on my team but there is a limited amount of them, humans have treated them in a way that has left most mutants using their powers for their own good, that is not the type of Agents I want on my team. When I saw you melt that bullet I thought of how hard it could be to kill you. When I saw how fast you moved to stand in front of that woman, I thought of how hard it would be to catch you. Then last night as I looked up all I could on you and I saw how that old woman spoke of you, how you were willing to expose yourself to assure that Mr. Doom would spend the rest in his life behind bars, I thought how hard it would be to recruit you."

Well shit. I knew I wanted something more out of life, I had been thinking for days what I would do now that the trial is over, I didn't feel that school was for me, I can't imagine having a boring job sitting behind a desk all day, so what would I do? Then this guy comes and offers me something to do. I knew I was over thinking things, I knew that no matter how unclear it was what exactly I was getting into, I had already decided.

"I will never let anyone take a DNA sample from me."

"We are not asking for one."

"As long as it's clear never to do so."

The men got up and smirked in a way that actually didn't seem arrogant. They both gave me a firm handshake.

"Welcome to the team Ms. Swan."

"Thanks but if you want me to stay on then you better start calling me Bella."

They both gave a hint of a smile but I was quickly learning that these men were very inexpressive.

"So where is there a contract, when do I start and where do I go? Also is it like business casual or do I have to dress as uptight as you?"

Mr. Coulson looked genuinely surprised as he looked down at himself, what did he think a suit was casual? The General cracked a smile seeing my bewildered look and Mr. Coulson's confusion.

"Contract will be given after your training. After we have evaluated you and made sure you will be a fitting Agent. As for where, Agent Coulson will pick you up bright and early Monday morning."

"Sorry, I have an important meeting on Monday."

I looked to my stack of boxes thinking of what a busy day I will have.

"Moving?"

"Yes, I have to tour the apartment on Monday and move in."

"It is going to take more than just one day to move all of this."

"No, I am only taking those boxes by the door. The furniture is not mine."

"You are going to tell me that all of your belongings are in those few boxes?"

I shrugged my shoulders not knowing how to respond to that.

"I don't need much I guess. Plus the apartment is fully furnished. This was just mine until after the trial."

They seemed surprised and looked at me a new way, not sure what it was all about though.

"Ms. Sw- Bella, you will fit right in. He will pick you up on the following Monday then, give you time to adjust."

They made to leave but I stopped them.

"How will you know where I live next Monday?"

"We have our way's. See you soon Bella."

With that they left and I sat down to process everything that has just been said. I think it's time to turn on the TV now.

Monday, January, 31, 2011

Buzz..Buzz

I was already kinda anxious so when my phone started ringing I was already on my way out the door before answering.

"Hello?"

"Howdy ma'am, my name is Joseph Young, I am downstairs with a cab if you are ready for our appointment."

"Yes I'm on my way down now."

"Great then I'll see you in a minute!"

Man this guy sounded very enthusiastic, I hope it doesn't get on my nerves.. Getting down I saw that there were only like 5 photographers outside, I hadn't left this place in day's so its good to see they had given up. Those 5 quickly jumped up and started asking me questions and taking pictures but before it could seem rude that I was not answering, I jumped in the cab, startling the poor insurance agent. This guy looked like he was no older than 26, what the fuck? Well I was not one to judge, he must be good if he is an insurance agent at so young. He saw me and I saw the surprise on both him and the taxi driver.

"Wow, I wasn't sure to believe the name on the form or not but you are really her! I mean you are you!"

I started laughing because this guy was suddenly flustered, usually I was in his place not the one making other people blush.

"Uh yeah I'm definitely me."

"Oh that sounded rude didn't it? I am sorry ma'am!"

"No really its fine. So where exactly is this building?"

"You- You haven't been yet?"

"No, they gave me the address and keys but since I was not allowed entry until I came with you I didn't bother going at all."

"Well I have the layout papers here and the documents, it seems no one has been in the penthouse since the last owner passed away."

"Penthouse?"

"Yes? Is there something wrong?"

"I- Yes, it's an apartment not a penthouse."

"No Ma'am, Reed Richards is the name I have on these papers, is that the name of the last owner or did I bring the wrong papers?"

"Yes that is the correct name but, I just- I didn't know it was a penthouse."

"Oh, well.. surprise! it's a penthouse."

Holy shit.. just shit. Why did they give me a penthouse? Why did no one tell me it was a penthouse? Thank god it's not for rent and that Mr. Richards already finished paying it or else I wouldn't be able to afford it! Well I could with the settlement money but I did not want to depend on that too much. Also how the hell did he pay for it?

"Would you like to hear some building history while we get there?"

"Sure, thanks."

"No problem, the building first of all is on 42nd street and Madison Avenue. It says here that the building was built in 1949 by the Leland Baxter Paper Company and it's purpose was to accommodate pulp recycling machinery which would explain the tall floors. Every floor is 24 feet which for New York is very grand. It looks like the top 5 floors were bought outright by Mr. Richards and no one has access to it. If they wanted to go to the roof they would have to ask your permission since there is no other way, besides there is nothing on the roof that they would need to access. Mr. Richards made sure that all air conditioning, electrical panels, antennas, and boiler rooms are all located on the 29th and 30th floor so you will never have to hear any neighbors making noise. There is a security system that was designed by Mr. Richards, we have not been in so we are not sure how it works but it says that it can scan people in the elevator and from the roof access so that no one that does not have permission will be able to get in. The top 5 floors are completely airtight; all doors are airlocks. Complete environmental and atmosphere support is provided by the buffer zone which apparently is the 29th and 30th floors as well. Hmm lets see what else, ah the landlord for the rest of the building is one Walter Collins, he- ma'am? Ma'am are you okay?"

"Yes, just- just that place sounds very.. big. I never expected..."

"Well I am sure you will find yourself busy keeping up with it then, I myself am excited to see this place for myself. It says Mr. Richards was constantly taking out permits to build and add on to the place so who knows what it really looks like. It does say that all the outer walls are obviously made of glass, as is the norm in New York now but it says the material of the windows are a mix of various glasses and plastics. They are 2 feet thick and are mirrored so you can see out but no one could see in, also with something as thick as that well its obvious that they are armored, no way could simple weapons cut through that glass."

"I wonder why he had to do that."

"Probably for no reason, it has become very popular believe it or not. I think it is that building there."

He pointed at a cornered building and it was stunning, all of it was mirrored, I even saw some people standing in front and checking their clothes or teeth on it before they kept on walking.

"You will be happy to see that the 1st floor is all an open lobby and there are 4 entrances so no matter which direction you are coming from, there is an entrance on every side of the building. No need to walk all around to get to the front anymore. This first time we will need the badge that you were given and the number for the elevator but once you get to Mr. Richards old office you can change everything for the elevator to scan you and automatically take you to your first floor. There are no buttons for the top 5 floors so you will always need a badge/ key card for guests, you can make as many as you want, for yourself you can do the scan options or just change the pin number to whatever you want it to be. You will have quite a few options for security but just know that there is no one else that can access this place without your permission. There are motion sensors so the system will send you a text with a picture every time someone gets to your floors, even if they use the pin or had a key card."

"Wow, he was serious about his security wasn't he?"

"Apparently, I am impressed by all this, you are very lucky to have it ma'am."

I only nodded while he quickly paid the driver, I was so glad that the privacy screen was closed, I wouldn't want the public finding out where I am moving to quite yet. Walking in was very nice, there was a desk for questions or concerns but that was it so I liked how open everything was. We came in through the Madison entrance and the elevators were all on the opposite side, against a wall. The first one was access to floors 1-6, second was for floors 7- 13, third was floors 14-21, the forth elevator was by key card only for the other penthouses on floors 22-28 including access to the 'Buffer zone' on floors 29 and 30. the last one all the way to the right was for floors 29-35. 5th elevator is mine I guess? That is kinda cool, I won't have to ever wait for it or awkwardly share it with strangers. I went right up to it and pressed the card near the scanner, immediately the doors opened up and revealed a pretty big elevator, I could easily fit a king size bed in here and I guess that is the point of it since there are no stairs to do the moving through. Are there stairs? I didn't see any.

"Doesn't this place have stairs?"

"Yes they do, the entrance is behind the lobby desk but there is no access to the top 5 floors through there, there should be instructions in Mr. Richards office on how to access the stairs from your floors to the stairs on the rest of the floors, it's hidden I think so that no one else could use them."

Of course they are. We got in and the elevator moved so fast that I actually unbalanced forward a bit. Less than 35 seconds later we were already at the top and the doors opened to a very big opened space. Most of the walls seemed to be made of glass in this floor and to my left there was a glass room with no door, it was full of couches, it looked more like a sitting room to chat with stiff guests. The more we explored the more it became apparent that this was a guest floor, it did not have any personal rooms just a lot of entertainment rooms. The front was a siting room but the further into the floor you went the funner it got. There was a game room with machines and a pool table all the typical stuff and it was all glass walls so you could see into the next room which was where there was some plush couches and a gigantic screen with all kinds of systems and a bookshelf full of video games and board games. There was a gym room with an indoor pool that fit about 25 people, along with changing rooms and bathrooms that had showers, even a small kitchen that was more for storing snacks and heating up stuff but not equipped to cook an actual meal. It was all very grand and I was overwhelmed, especially when I saw the basketball court and sauna, I don't even freaking play basketball!

We went up to the second floor and it seemed more homey, there was a formal dining hall and kitchen, an informal dining area around the kitchen counters, a large TV area that looked very comfortable, lounging area, a computer lab, library and 6 big guest rooms, they were more like suites with how big they were, each had bathrooms and a king size bed except 2 of them had 2 sets of bunk beds. I really don't know why Mr. Richards needed all this or what he was preparing for but one thing for sure, this was all too much for me. I was only 2 floors in and already I didn't want to keep going. Joseph was having a freaking blast, he couldn't believe all this either and I think maybe I would have a hard time getting him to leave if the floors had more luxuries like this. I just wanted to see the lab!

The third floor finally had less things, it had 2 offices and one was definitely Reed's, it was full of files and papers everywhere but it looked like it had an odd order to them. The other one I think was Mr. Grimm's office. There were 3 large suites and 2 of them were actually used so I knew it was their rooms. There was a conference room that doubled as a projection room and had a huge map of the world on the wall. Computer lab, a storage room full of supplies, a photo analysis lab/ server room.

As well as another small basic kitchen, there was a kitchen on every floor but the one on the second floor was a dream, I couldn't wait to use it.

The fourth floor was amazing! It was not a lab, no it was labs as in plural! It had a sitting room in the middle with a TV but all the walls here were glass, you could see into all of the floor and the endless equipment in the labs. Each one had 2 switches by the equipment, one for lights and another to dim the glass walls and make it so no one could see in or see out. There was a biology lab, detoxification station, machine shop, robotics, biology complex, computer centre, medical centre chemistry (organic and physics) multiplex, electronic lab, and research labs. I was in heaven reading the labels on all the doors, Joseph was the quiet one now because he had no idea what was what. I wish I could get Jane in here now, she would freak out and never leave. I wanted to stay in here and go through every single drawer and cabinet but I knew I just needed to finish this walk through.

Finally the fifth floor was not exactly a floor, but it had a freaking observatory! I couldn't wait to lay down on the floor and just open the observation roof to gaze at the stars, it was beautiful. There was also the scanner roof access that opened up and gave access to the rest of the penthouse, I guess that would be handy if I had a helicopter and I flew everywhere but for now there wasn't really a use, it was a hangar, a very very large open and empty space but the more I looked around, it was empty but with the hard concrete floor, it seemed very fire resistant, it was a potential spot to practice my fire. After going over some more things and getting some more paperwork he finally said it was time to leave.

"Alright ma'am last thing before I go, can you come with me to the parking garage so we can look for the car?"

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't tell me he left a car. I only asked for the apartment, why am I getting a car?"

"Well to be honest, in situations like this the bank comes and looks at the car, if it were a nice brand that was less than 3 or 4 years old then they would take it, sell it, and keep that money but this car is older so they would not get more that 10 thousand, it's not worth it so they will just let you keep it. Besides, anything that was under his name and address is now under yours, those are the papers you signed."

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders as I followed him into the elevator. We went down to the garage level and walked around for 3 minutes just pressing the button on the key he had until we heard a car beep, I almost started laughing when I saw the car, it was an adorable looking classic car, it was a dark blue and had the letters GTO on the side and the word Pontiac in the front. It looked older but still well kept. Perfect for me really, nothing flashy.

"Wow, that's neat! it's a '74 Pontiac GTO! That is a nice car, looks pretty well taken care of too."

"It looks like a classic, why didn't the bank take it then? aren't they supposed to be worth a lot of money?"

"Well whoever came probably did not know about cars and this is like an underrated Classic, it is not worth much, 30 thousand at best if it was fully restored but this one looks worth 15 thousand maybe, plus who knows how the engine runs. I don't have to report this, I don't feel like it is worth the trouble of paperwork. Here are the keys. Ma'am it has been an absolute pleasure serving you and meeting you, if you need anything you can find my personal number as well as my office number in the papers I left upstairs."

"Thank you very much."

"Ma'am, may I be so bold as to ask you for a picture? For myself, I promise I would not share it publicly! I just want to show my sister and momma back home."

"I'm not a celebrity, I – well sure, I guess."

"Thank you ma'am, I know you are technically a celebrity but you have been on the TV so much that I feel like I know you!"

We took the awkward picture with his phone, he stretched his arm and wrapped the other around me, I think I came out doing a grimace but that was so strange, he had a wide grin on his face as he walked away and went through the street exit of the garage while I went back towards the elevator. As soon as I got back up I called Mrs. Grimm and she told me she would call when she was downstairs. Meanwhile I went and turned on Mr. Richards office computer, hacking the password (thank god for the computer science courses I took in Arizona) then I accessed the security program and rewrote it as my own, I changed the settings to how I wanted and for now I made sure to keep the roof access locked at all times. I made a new pin for the elevator and deactivated any key cards that have ever been made. Who knows if any others have a key, the last thing I want is walking in one day and meeting a stranger in my supposed new 'home'. It is going to take a while for this to feel like home though. Those first 2 floors are overwhelming, although I could see myself relaxing in that pool.

1 hour later I saw a text on my phone asking for permission to call the elevator. Mrs. Grimm had just called so I knew it was her and granted access. I went to wait for her by the entrance of the first floor. As soon as she walked in she looked around and started crying, we spent a few minutes sitting in the front room before she composed herself and we toured the place together. It almost felt like the first 2 floors were for show, like no one lived in them at all, they were dusty but not truly messy or dirty at all. The rest of the floors however seemed like actual people had lived lives here. We spent the whole day filling up boxes of Mr. Grimm's things from the room he used when he was here and then we went through Mr. Richards office and bedroom, packing up all of his awards and certificates, she wanted to keep it all as well as some photo albums that we found. I helped her carry the 7 boxes and we put them by the elevator. We decided to test out that old car, although I was nervous to drive in New York traffic for the first time, we made it to her town home, unloaded the boxes, said goodnight and finally I took the car back to it's spot, locked up the elevator and took a cab back to the small apartment to sleep for now. I would clean up all the rooms before moving my own boxes over there. I wanted to wash all the bedding and drapes too so I had to go buy all kinds of cleaning supplies. I fell asleep quickly with a tired but satisfied feel to my day.

2 Days later. Wednesday February, 2, 2011

I was so tired and sore, I spent the past 2 days washing, sweeping, moping, and dusting every inch of this place. I had even bought a new cleaning and heating system to update the pool. Do you know how hard it it to find a pool supply store in New York? Yeah. Today Tom, Brian, and Aaron were coming over to see the place and it was a good thing too because I needed help folding everything I had washed and redoing every bed with all the sheets I had washed, it was back breaking work but they were gonna be put to work. I had Skyped with the pack last night and showed them every room. Tonight I was going to do the same with Jane and Darcy, the guys really wanted to visit to play on the first floor but I knew that Jane would come over the weekend as soon as she saw all the labs, I was very excited to show her, hopefully she would bring Darcy with her, she has been having trouble as school, she hasn't met anyone or made any friends other than Jane and I guess it has been weighing her down a bit. Hopefully she can find her place soon. My phone rang with an alert that the guys were asking permission to enter. I went back down through the stairs to wait for them. The stairs were tricky, the ones on all my floors were there and visible but to get from my first floor 31st to the public floor 30th it saw like a secret passage, I had to go through it and have my hand scanned as well as my eye, it was crazy and kinda pointless since it was so hidden but in case of an emergency where the elevators were not working then I guess it was useful.