S.H.I.E.L.D. fell on the afternoon of the 12th of January, Alexandra had spent that whole morning almost biting her nails, sitting on her desk her S-Pad on her lap and all of her monitors running, her extractions had started early in the morning, Legionnaires sneaking in and taking the Agents out, the HYDRA moles were in for a surprise once they knew what was going on. Thanks to JARVIS, Alexandra had also managed to station a few Legionnaires at several S.H.I.E.L.D. bases including The Cube and The Freezer as those were used as prisons and thus needed the extra protection.
Alexandra watched the footage of Steve walking into the Triskelion and knew that it was about time, she ordered both FRIDAY and JARVIS to be in the lookout, she stood from her desk, fixing her blazer as she did so and stood in the middle of her office watching the monitors, S-Pad in hand. Thor watched her from his chair, he noticed her tense posture and thought that she was probably worrying too much about something that would probably be a near perfect mission. He understood her stance, she was young and she wanted to prove herself to Tony, so while she fretted over her people he contented himself with watching her, it was amusing.
Alexandra's S-Pad started beeping as the rescued agents started arriving to the centers, thankfully not all had been severely hurt and the ones that had been were currently receiving medical attention from her teams. She watched as the Legionnaires moved around the globe rescuing field and undercover agents, she oversaw as JARVIS saved what he could from Natasha's move and she saw as the Helicarriers went down, all with her breath partially held. Her teams were working flawlessly and so were JARVIS and FRIDAY, she smiled as she received an all clear from her teams in Asia and South America, not two hours later her Australian team came through and so did her Northern European team, her African team said present and so did her second European team, her Canadian team reported back three hours before her Midwestern team did so. Her last team to report in had been the North American one as many agents were in American soil.
Once all of her teams were accounted for she prepared herself to deliver her speech to the rescued agents that were reuniting with their families, she fixed her makeup and pulled at her dress until she felt comfortable enough with it, she shot a look at Thor who was munching on some popcorn on one side of the office, he smiled at her and she sighed, she could so this.
"Fry, girl, patch me through" she said turning back to her monitors.
"Starting transmission in 3..2..., Transmission Started little boss" said FRIDAY, Alexandra took a breath and put on her best smile.
In the different centers monitors suddenly came to life capturing the attention of all the present agents, both Stark employed and S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Good Night agents," she said, then seemed to think about time zones "And good day to the ones on the other side of the hemisphere, my name is Alexandra Stark and if you are right now at one of our Support and Management centers then you should know that as of this afternoon the Organization known as Shield has fallen due to a Hydra infiltration. After I end this message all of you will be briefed on the events that occurred early this afternoon in Washington D.C., for now I want to explain a few things to you," she paused;
"You have been rescued by the combined efforts of Dr. Stark's personal Iron Legion and the Stark Industries Security Division of which I am current head of, here at Stark Industries we concern ourselves with the development of the world into a new modern era, we are number one in clean energy and Stark Medical has had several breakthroughs, and that's only talking about the last few years, The Stark Relief foundation has been tasked with rebuilding our cities after the catastrophes that we have seen at the hands of alien forces, while the Maria Stark Foundation is tasked with helping our citizens, seniors, veterans and young minds to create or better their place in the world, us Stark Security are tasked with keeping our world safe, our work is done from the shadows to the people who need it, like most of you did today, with the combined effort of Dr. Stark's resources and ours we not only managed to save you from Hydra but also your families were saved and are currently waiting for you…
… In Stark Industries we value family and dedication, and here at Stark Security is our duty to keep those families together, to keep our world moving forward, as many of you right now might find yourselves unemployed we, The Stark Industries Security Division, want to offer you agents a job, a job that most of you already know how to do, should you wish to join the Stark Industries family, you will be given a briefing package informing you of your new situation as Stark Industries employees, should you want to continue serving S.H.I.E.L.D. you will be directed to their bases after your families have been secured by the Stark Relief Foundation, should you want to retire then the Stark Relief Foundation shall designate new Identifications for you and your families so you can live as safe as you can in this world, should you have any questions my agents will be more than happy to assist you, it has been a pleasure addressing myself to you and I can only wish that this is not our last meeting, welcome to Stark Industries" she said with a grin at the camera, FRIDAY ended the transmission.
"Transmission has been terminated little boss" said FRIDAY, Alexandra took a deep breath and nodded.
"Thanks girl, and thank you J" she said looking to the camera.
"It has been my pleasure Miss, Sir is very proud of your speech, as I am" JARVIS said, Alexandra grinned, the turned to Thor.
"How did I do?" she asked him, Thor stood from his chair and went to stand in front of Alexandra placing his hands on her shoulders.
"You did wonderfully, should you, one-day address Asgard in the same way I can assure you that the people will have no trouble following your lead" he said, she was looking up at him, a grin on her face.
"I was terrified," she said with a laugh, Thor's eyes softened.
"You spoke as a Queen does, you need not to doubt your capacity" he said, she nodded at him, neither of them noticed as the monitors flickered behind them.
"Am I interrupting something?" asked Tony, Alexandra and Thor turned fast to see Tony's face in the monitors, he had an eyebrow raised and Alexandra laughed.
"No dad, you are not interrupting" she said, a smile on her face.
"Just checking, Thor's still devoting himself to celibacy?" he asked, Alexandra rolled her eyes, while Thor cleared his throat.
"Aye, I am still devoted, Stark" he said, Tony grinned.
"Good, good, kid, I am really proud of you, you spoke like a leader should, Pepper is really proud too, you reminded me of your Grandmother, mom had a way with words that could sway people to do her bidding, she would have loved you" he said, a fond look on his face, Alexandra's smile softened as Tony rarely spoke of his parents, then he smirked "Now please do remember that, just like a pet, the new agents are your responsibility, so good luck baby girl, I will be in New York next week to oversee the construction of the Avengers Compound, that will also be your responsibility as the Avengers now belong to Stark Industries, since you're our Security Head, the team is yours" Tony informed her, she nodded.
"I will do my best dad" she said, Tony grinned.
"I know you will kid, now go celebrate or something, today you saved countless lives" he said, Alexandra shook her head.
"I couldn't have done it without your help, thank you, dad"
"Always kid, always"
The video ended and Alexandra blinked away tears, Thor not knowing what else to do pulled her into a hug and they stayed like that for a couple of minutes until Alexandra gently pushed him away and wiped away her tears with the back of her hand.
"Thank you Thor" she said, he smiled at her.
"There is nothing to thank, my Queen" he said with a smile, she grinned at him.
"Want to order pizza with cheese in the crust and marathon Game of Thrones with me?" she asked, Thor grinned.
"I thought you'd never ask," he said, she smiled and they walked into the elevator in between laughs.
The next few days were for Alexandra to assess the damage of Natasha dumping the S.H.I.E.L.D. files, as while JARVIS had retained the compromising ones he needed to let of go of them once the names of Alexandra's new agents were cleared from them, she also needed to update her database as most ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had joined Stark Industries so she now had a bigger force in her corner, a small amount had decided to retire and an even smaller amount had decided to return to S.H.I.E.L.D. so she needed to make the transition for her new employees as smooth as possible, along with their families. She also checked the Avengers file that she had received from Tony, he had made her the official handler of the Avengers as Pepper already had enough with SI as it was.
On top of it all, Alexandra had also received word from Jen Walters about the status of hers and Thor's wedding papers, that was bound to be public knowledge in the first week of February giving her just a small window of time to adjust to her new functions, hopefully Jen would try to do it discreetly and it wouldn't blow up.
"Little Boss, Mrs. Stanton has Maria Hill in HR for recruitment, she asks if you would like to conduct the interview yourself" said FRIDAY as Alexandra took her coffee, it was early in the morning, Thor was in the gym and Alexandra had just showered from her run, she eyed her cup and sighed.
"Please tell Mrs. Stanton to send her to Tiffany, I'll be there in a bit" she said and stood, she walked to her room dumping her robe on the way and walked into her closet picking a pastel pink pair of trousers a white blouse and a flowery blazer on her way, she quickly got into her clothes and put on a pair of platform nude shoes and a sturdy silvery necklace.
When she walked out of the closet straightening her blazer she almost bumped into Thor, the height of her shoes throwing her off balance for a moment, Thor placed his hands on her shoulders and held her in place.
"Is there something wrong?" he asked, she smiled at him reassuringly.
"No, Maria Hill went to Human Resources this morning to apply for a job position, Mrs. Stanton asked if I wanted to direct the interview myself, I'm going there now" she explained, Thor nodded.
"I will never understand your use of those shoes" he said, she laughed.
"I'm short and young, well not that short, I'm 5'6, but I'm nineteen, people usually don't take me seriously, but if I'm towering over most of them it gives me an edge, of course since you're a giant you wouldn't understand" she said looking up at him, he smiled at her.
"You midgardians never fail to amuse me with your quirks" he said, she rolled her eyes at him, a smile on her face.
"I'm glad we're putting on a show for you, your majesty, anyways, we're still up for lunch? There's this new Thai place one block away from the tower and the reviews are awesome" she said, Thor nodded.
"We shall feast on this Thai food for lunch" he said, Alexandra grinned.
"Great, I'll be going, FRIDAY will inform you if anything changes" she said taking a step back, Thor nodded and walked into the bathroom.
Alexandra walked to her vanity, deciding to forego something complicated and just decided to apply bb cream, a pink lipstick and eyeliner, she left her room for the elevator that led her to her office, taking her S-Pad and her phone on her way out. In the elevator FRIDAY informed her that Maria Hill had been waiting for her for 45 minutes and counting. Alexandra stepped into her office from behind her secret elevator door that was behind a painting, and placed her S-Pad in its stool, which converted it into a computer monitor and pulled out her keyboard starting up her SI-SD Program, she then pressed her comm, which connected her to Tiffany, her secretary.
"Miss T, please send Miss Hill in, thank you" she said, the light on her comm flickered.
"Will do Miss Stark," answered Tiffany.
Maria Hill walked into Alexandra's office, mahogany double doors opening automatically as she did so, Alexandra smiled at her from behind her desk and motioned to one of the free chairs.
"Good morning Miss Hill, Alexandra Stark at your services" Alexandra said once Hill was seated in front of her.
"Miss Stark, I didn't know it would be you overseeing my interview" Hill said, Alexandra refrained herself from smirking.
"Yes, Mrs. Stanton was to be the one interviewing you today, but since I have a new project coming up she decided to contact me, seeing as your knowledge could be beneficial to my goals" Alexandra said, Hill nodded her face betraying no emotion, "From what I've read in your file after S.H.I.E.L.D's fall last week you've been MIA until two days ago when you took a plane here, from what I can see you're most likely looking for legal protection from what went down at the Triskelion, now I have no problems with you belonging to Stark Industries, I truly don't, I would really appreciate your knowledge in dealing with global protection and all, but I do have a small issue with loyalty, should you become a member of Stark Industries I will expect that your loyalties will be first and foremost to us, not S.H.I.E.L.D., not Director Fury, us, Stark Industries, Anthony Stark, Alexandra Stark"
"Miss Stark, I assure you Director Fury is dead, and S.H.I.E.L.D. is no more" said Hill, Alexandra raised an eyebrow.
"Miss Hill, let me ask you something, I'm nineteen, and fairly young, and I know that, you know that. But do you think I'm stupid?" Alexandra asked keeping her voice steady, Hill adverted her eyes "It is my job to know things Miss Hill, I am head of the Stark Industries Security Division, Dad once said that he would privatize global security, that's my job to do, or who do you think was on alert and saved most of your undercover agents? The academy? Coulson? I did, my division did, my father did, Nick Fury is good, but we're Starks, now as I said, I don't have problem with you helping S.H.I.E.L.D. from time to time, hell I like Agent, he's nice and his team is really cool, but I need to know that you won't rat out Stark Industries at the first time you have the opportunity, so Miss Hill, what will it be?" Alexandra asked, a wolfish grin on her face, Hill looked impassive as she weighted her options.
"I would like to work for Stark Industries" she said, Alexandra kept on smiling and nodded.
"It will be our pleasure to have you belong to the SI Family" Alexandra said, Hill tilted her head to the side, "Please direct yourself to Mrs. Stanton office where you will be given a briefing package, you will have two weeks to get your affairs in orders with the congress and in two weeks' time you will report to me at 10:30am, this same office, Tiffany will let you in once you arrive, any questions Miss Hill?"
"How?" she asked, Alexandra smirked.
"I'm afraid that's classified Miss Hill, but you'll know in time, welcome to Stark Industries" Alexandra said, Maria Hill nodded and stood from her chair.
Once Hill was out of the office Alexandra's windows darkened and Tony's face appeared on them, a smile on his face.
"I think you scared her, kid" he said, she laughed.
"I need people loyal to us Dad, you saw what's out there, I know what's out there, if we can create a reliable base we can depend on to keep the civilians safe while we deal with a bigger threat then we have half the battle won" she said, Tony frowned.
"And you think it will come to it?" he asked; she nodded.
"The mad titan is searching for the infinity stones, there are two of those in Asgard and probably three here on earth and another one lost in space, if he were to collect them all he'd be an unstoppable force and he won't stop until he's got them" she said, Tony adopted a grim look on his face.
"We managed the chitauri, we could surely beat him" Tony said, Alexandra sighed.
"The chitauri were nothing compared to Thanos, the power he wields, his assassins, he's mad dad, completely bonkers with the stupid idea that a being could court death" she said, Tony's mouth thinned into a straight line.
"He wont hurt you or Pepper, we'll make sure of that Alex" he said, she smiled at him and nodded "Oh and by the way JARVIS has been tracking Sergeant Barnes since the man left Washington, what would you suggest?"
"Surveillance only, Captain Rogers will, no doubt, start searching for his missing friend but I think that we should allow Sergeant Barnes to find himself some answers, should he need help then we step in, for now let's let him be, it's been a while since that man took a decision that was his own" she said, Tony nodded and Alexandra sighed. "Oh and by the way, I talked to not-uncle Mike yesterday, he and I will go visit great aunt Peggy in DC, Thor's coming with us, he also says it's a crime that I haven't met not-aunt Danielle or not-uncle Harrison so I'm meeting them in DC, maybe you could come and say hi to your cousins"
"Kid, that's fantastic for you, really, it's really good that you're cultivating your relationships and the Carter-Souza bunch are really cool, but I really have much to do-"
"Dad are you trying to walk out of a family meeting? 'Cause not-uncle Mike told me that you've avoided them since you were 17, I mean I don't know what happened, but they're family dad" she said, Tony sighed.
"Fine, when is this family meeting?" he asked, Alexandra giggled.
"I'll be in DC in two days, we'll meet at The Capital Grille for lunch as apparently the steak is to die for, I would have been happy with Shake Shack but since not-uncle Mike is offering, I'm sure Thor will appreciate it, after lunch we'll visit great aunt Peggy and then definitely not-aunt Sharon said that we could visit the monuments at night, she says it's quite a beautiful sight, I've been to the monuments during the day so I'll hold her to that" she said excitedly, Tony rolled his eyes.
"I'll be there" he said, Alexandra grinned at him.
"You could bring Pepper along" she offered; Tony scoffed.
"Of course she's coming, I refuse to third-wheel you and Point Break" he said, she laughed again.
"We're not dating, so it's not third-wheeling" she said, Tony gave her a look.
"No kid, it's worse, you're married, but hey I'm just your old man" he said, Alexandra smiled at him.
"You're not that old Dad, you're just vintage" she said, Tony snorted.
"But anyways, Thor and I are just situational roommates and I think it's safe to say that he's my best friend at the moment, I probably need more friends" she said, Tony smiled at her.
"You'll get there eventually sweetheart, now if you excuse your old man, I have to go and try to clean Pepper's schedule for our DC trip, it's been almost two decades since I last saw Hal and Dani" he said before cutting the feed.
Alexandra smiled and checked her watch, it was way past noon, she typed a fast text to Thor instructing him to meet her down in the lobby, she grabbed a credit card from her desk and her phone, when she got into the elevator FRIDAY had a pair of boots and an overcoat along with gloves and a scarf waiting for her, she quickly changed her shoes and slid into the coat, adjusting her scarf as it was cold in New York in January. When she got out of her elevator in the Lobby, Thor was already waiting for her, dressed in jeans, a dress shirt and his leather jacket. She smiled at him and they walked out of the Tower discussing their upcoming trip to Washington.
Reviews = Love = Chapters