A/N: Gosh almighty, it's chapter 15 and we get to see how Phoenix goes on her first mission. Now in some chapters I may have hinted at certain plot points that I know are going to happen in Age of Ultron, I wonder if you guys have spotted them yet. Also I'm sort of in the process of planing an Agents of SHIELD/Avengers Hogwarts AU, let me know if you guys would want to read something like that and I'll consider publishing it. In the meantime, my focus is on this story, so as always, don't forget to read, review and enjoy.
Phoenix exhaled a deep breath, trying to calm her shaky nerves. She kept her eyes on what was in front of her, and tried not to exhibit too much fear. Natasha walked up behind Phoenix and put her hands on her shoulders. "You've got this Phoenix," Natasha reassured her.
Phoenix inhaled and nodded, keeping her shaking nerves at bay, she removed the dress from the coat hanger and took it into the bathroom to change into. Natasha had proudly picked it out for her and was extremely pleased at how the colour complimented her and the way it fit on her body.
Phoenix exited the bathroom in her dress just as Clint entered the room. As he walked past Phoenix, he wolf-whistled jokingly. Phoenix smacked him lightly on the elbow but he just chuckled and threw himself down onto the bed after placing a makeup bag onto Phoenix's desk.
Natasha led Phoenix over to the desk and sat her down, standing up behind her, comb at the ready, Natasha began to work on Phoenix's hair. She knew exactly what style would be a perfect complement to her dress, so Natasha wasted no time in achieving the perfect style. Once she was done she proudly showed off her masterpiece to Phoenix by use of a hand mirror. She earned a smile and a high-five from Phoenix.
Now it was Clint's turn. As he prepped the makeup bag, he made Phoenix turn her chair around so she was directly facing him and not the wall. He worked away while Natasha watched over his shoulder. Each time she tried to instruct him on something, she was met with a harsh, "shush."
Clint finished and handed Phoenix a mirror. She smiled as she observed Clint's work, prompting Clint to shoot Natasha a triumphant smirk. Phoenix rose to her feet off the chair a moved towards the mirror on her wall. Taking in her full appearance, her smile widened.
"I'm ready," she announced.
Clint and Natasha escorted her down to the foyer, Clint holding out his arm to Phoenix, which she took and linked with her own. The Experiments, having already gathered in the foyer with Bruce, Tony and Steve, were already dressed and ready for the dance and waiting impatiently with noticeably bored expressions.
The moment Phoenix stepped into the room, half of them nearly went into cardiac arrest, and the rest simply stared in shock. Exactly the effect Natasha was looking for.
Phoenix wore a floor length dress, of a vibrant dark blue colour that brought out the colour in her eyes. The neckline dipped down into a deep V, and coupled with the beaded bodice, it accented her cleavage, which is where most eyes in the room were focused. The chiffon skirt, started at the waist and flowed all the way down to her feet.
Her hair, woven into a stylish braid, began at the back of her head and came down over her right shoulder. Her makeup consisted of dark red lipstick, and blue eyeshadow that matched her eyes and her dress, cheekbones accented by a light blush that matched her skin perfectly.
Muttering broke out amongst The Experiments, but surprisingly Heather did not take part. Instead, she gave Phoenix a dead-eyed stare as she walked by, and looked down at her own light pink dress, taking stock of her own appearance, quite obviously pale in comparison to Phoenix.
Steve approached Natasha while Phoenix began a discussion with Bruce. "You've really outdone yourself Natasha, she looks great," Steve praised her. "If you ask me, she'll attract every teenage boy in the room."
"As long as she attracts Thravi," Natasha refused to look at Steve, making her anger known to him. "Have you spoken to Phoenix?"
"I have," Steve answered. "And I apologised for what I said yesterday."
"She was more concerned with what was being said, rather than who was saying it," Natasha informed him. "She was particularly upset that SHIELD never gave the kill order. She was horrified actually, so thank you for spilling that information."
Natasha ended the conversation abruptly as she walked away, returning to Phoenix's side to give her one last piece of advice before the mission began. Tony led them outside once they had all gathered as a group, and spread his arms wide in demonstration, to reveal a black limousine waiting outside for them.
"If you're attending a ball, then you need a stylish carriage," Tony announced as he strode over and opened the door for Phoenix. "Your Prince awaits you Cinderella."
The Experiments' eyes lit up in joyous surprise, and they surged forward towards the shiny vehicle in a herd. Phoenix following cautiously behind them, using her right hand to hold the skirt of her dress so it didn't drag across the ground. Phoenix waited to quickly say something to Natasha before the climbed in after the other five.
"Really Tony?" Clint questioned.
"Don't worry, it's just to take the kids there, we won't be riding in it," Tony reassured him, high-giving Phoenix as she climbed into the limousine. "We'll follow behind in our delightful surveillance van, which we will use to keep an eye on their mission. Piece of cake Barton." Tony clapped him on the shoulder.
"Thanks Tony," Phoenix expressed her gratitude brightly, and as the window came down, she stuck her hand out to wave at him.
"Don't forget to tear up the dance floor," Tony called after her as the window began to close. They briefly heard Phoenix laugh, before the window closed fully and the limousine chauffeur started the engine. Tony pointed behind him sharply. "The van's out back, let's see if we can make it there before them."
Long Island Preparatory School lived up to its prestigious expectations. As Phoenix approached in the limousine, she saw a grandiose building looming ahead of her, impressive in both size and style. It looked very much like a converted 18th century manor house.
The car ride from Manhattan to Long Island hadn't been pleasant, Phoenix had wanted to run over the plan with the group, but they had taken themselves to one side of the limo and spoken amongst each other in hushed whispers the entire time. They only ceased when they noticed that they had reached their destination, and proceeded to stare out the windows in silence.
Phoenix saw her opening and took it. "As we walk in, I think it would be best for us to stay as a group until we get inside," Phoenix told them. "You only have to pretend that you like me for two minutes at the most. We have to give the impression that I'm popular. Is that ok?"
They stared at her like she had suggested they go on a killing spree together. It took a minute before everyone looked to Heather for confirmation and surprisingly, she made a muttered noise of agreement, but made no effort to hide her angry tone.
The limo came to a halt, directly in front of the pathway up to the school. Phoenix took a moment to compose herself while the driver opened the door. She exited the vehicle, wearing an excited smile and scanned her surroundings while anxiously moving up and down on the balls of her feet.
She spotted a group of student waiting outside, dressed in elegant gowns and neat suits. Phoenix waved to them.
"Hey guys!" She called out happily. They saw her smiling and waved back, calling out greetings of equal excitement. Phoenix smiled and laughed, while Bella fixed her with a dead-eyes stare. Phoenix leaned down to Bella's ear. "I have no idea who those people are, they could think I'm Beyoncé for all I know."
Bella laughed, but covered herself by placing her hand over her mouth. This did nothing, Heather saw the exchange and looked at both of the girls murderously. Hiking her dress up, Heather stormed over to walk beside Josh. Bella however, remained at Phoenix's side.
As they walked up to the school's entrance, Phoenix shot a look over her shoulder at the car park, just in time to see an electrician's van pull up and turn their lights off. Phoenix smiled, and looked back at the path in front of her, waving at yet another group of people to their left, seemingly unfazed about the colossal task ahead of her.
Phoenix strode into the hall, head held high with a smile on her face. The room was laid out in front of her with the clear structure of a school hall, but had been heavily decorated for the night's festivities. A DJ booth was set up on the stage, round tables with ten chairs were located close to the entrance of the hall, and in-between the tables and stage, was an empty space reserved for dancing. Streamers and balloons in the school colours of green and white were strung around the entire hall.
Despite the dim lighting, it was still clear enough for people to see Phoenix, and she was attracting a fair amount of attention. Through her earpiece, Phoenix heard Bruce's voice relaying information. "Thravi is at your two o'clock, hasn't spotted you yet. Keep a look out."
Phoenix looked slightly to her right, and found exactly what she was looking for. Thravi stood amongst a group of friends, in the middle of the room amongst the tables. While watching him from the corner of her eye, Phoenix moved into a position where she could easily be seen by him.
She took that brief moment to gleam over his appearance. In human years, he appeared 17, but Phoenix knew that mostly likely wasn't his correct age. Though she had only ever seen two Asgardians in person, she recognised the regal mannerisms.
Tall, with a chiselled, symmetrical face, and what could be measured as the perfect physical structure, Phoenix took stock of the other-worldly attractiveness Thravi was gifted with. It was difficult to see his eyes from a distance, but Phoenix saw a glint of green, illuminated by short brown hair that appeared warm in the light of the hall.
Phoenix would have no trouble flirting with him.
Phoenix had really captivated the attention of the room by that time, many sets of eyes were staring at her, mostly belonging to males. Natasha and Clint had succeeded in their job of turning Phoenix into the most stunning girl in the room, she outshined the other girls by miles.
One of Thravi's friends saw her and clapped his friend on the shoulder, directing his attention to the mysterious girl. Soon, Thravi noticed her and rose to his feet off the table he was sitting on. Discussions were made amongst the boys as to who would approach her.
Phoenix glanced over her shoulder at them, pretending that she only just realised they were staring at her. She gave them a small smile, just enough to leave them hanging, before she whipped her head back around and strutted over to the punch table, striking up conversation with another girl in a sweeping red ball gown.
The first boy approached her, greeting her in a cocky manner, wearing a cheesy grin on his face. Phoenix looked him up and down, scoffed, gave him an unimpressed fake smile, and turned on her heel to walk away with the other girl.
Phoenix made it to the edge of the dancefloor, standing with a group of girls who engaged her in a conversation about the boys in the room, allowing her to pick up on some information about her target. Clearly, the girls she had mixed herself up with, were the 'popular' group that she had heard Heather discussing several days ago. They seemed to think Phoenix was one of them, which fitted into her plan perfectly.
A girl Phoenix had identified as Amber, wearing a dress in the same shocking colour as her own name, tapped Phoenix's shoulder and whispered in her ear. "Erin, don't look now, but I think Edward Queen is checking you out."
Knowing that Thravi had also taken an alias by the name of Edward, she had attempted to compliment his alias with one of her own. Phoenix decided on the name Erin, believing it was a clever variant of the name Eris, the name of the Greek goddess of discord.
The group of girls dissipated in a wave of giggles as Phoenix felt a presence behind her, moving past her right side to stand in front of her. "Congratulations Phoenix, you've caught your first fish," Tony commented through Phoenix's earpiece as Thravi approached her.
Tony leaned back in his chair and passed a packet of food to Bruce who was focused on watching the screens in front of him. Black and white footage of the school hall was laid out over six monitors set up on one side of the van they occupied.
Thankfully, their guest in the corner was keeping his opinions to himself which appeared to be a first. Though he had complained when Natasha had tied him to the chair using handcuffs, zip ties and rope, Loki now seemed to have accepted his position, and sat slumped in his chair wearing a scowl.
Bruce regarded him with a sensible level of caution and suspicion, while Tony flat-out ignored him. Tony was more focused with what was happening on the screen, the first interaction with Phoenix and Thravi seemed to go well. The two had now taken to the dancefloor, and Thravi was clearly interested in her.
"She's doing well," Bruce commented. "Whatever Agents Barton and Romanoff have taught her, seems to have paid off."
"Hmm," Tony made a noise of annoyed contemplation, his chin rested on his hand as he stared at the screens. "Where's Romanoff?" he asked with a sigh.
"The security room no doubt," Bruce answered. "She's good at her job, she'll follow the plan right down to every exact detail."
Tony scoffed. "Because she helped Spangles put the plan together. She's the one putting Phoenix in this position."
Bruce immediately rose to the defensive, turning around in his chair, taking his complete focus off the screen. "So first it's the Captain's fault, and now you're blaming Natasha?" he questioned rhetorically. "Agent Romanoff knows what she's doing." Bruce paused for a moment before hurriedly adding, "And Rogers."
"Oh I'm sure they do," Tony murmured sarcastically, leaning forward until his face was inches from the nearest screen, the glow illuminating his unimpressed facial expression. "What's Barton doing? Is he in position?"
"Hasn't moved off the top of the building. I don't think he's even blinked in the time he's been up there," Bruce answered. "And before you ask, The Captain is patrolling around the perimeter of the hall. Just focus on our part of the job Tony, and that's watching Phoenix."
Tony made a face at him before both men returned to their activities of watching the screens in complete silence. It was an extremely boring task, but if they didn't concentrate their full attention on what was going on, they could miss something.
Bruce broke their silence after several minutes, lifting his head up to look at Tony in confusion. "Where did you even get this van?" he asked.
Tony shrugged. "I know a guy that works for the news, they use things like these to spy on celebrities," he answered.
Bruce titled his head in confusion, turning back around to look at the screen, his forehead scrunched up as he though over Tony's answer. He decided to let it be, and returned to his activity, ignoring the stares that Loki was giving him from the far corner of the van.
Thravi, or Edward as Phoenix was calling him, led her off the dancefloor as a quicker paced song began playing, seeking refuge at a table populated by several of Thravi's friends, who gave Phoenix up and down looks, clearly impressed.
"Gentlemen, Erin. Erin, Gentlemen," Thravi introduced them, pointing back and forth between Phoenix and the group of boys staring at her like Christmas had just dropped out of the sky. Thravi put an arm around Phoenix's waist, and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "All a bunch of idiots."
Phoenix laughed, fuelling Thravi's ego just like Natasha had instructed her. Everything was moving faster than expected, Phoenix having to speed up the course of their interaction as Thravi wasted no time in making a move on her. He was practically spinning himself into Phoenix's web.
Thravi attempted to subtly shoo his friends away, but missed out on the subtle part, using his hands to wave them away like flying insects. Phoenix pretended not to notice, after all, she did want to get Thravi on his own. It was almost like Thravi was helping her succeed.
"So," he sat down on a chair next to her, moving as close to her as possible until his leg was pressing into hers. "I must be honest Erin, I've not noticed you before tonight," he leaned in close. "Are you that shy girl, who hides her true beauty behind glasses and a crude ponytail, but then reveals her true beauty, rendering everyone speechless on the night of the big dance?"
Phoenix laughed, brushing a loose strand of her from her face and slowly looking up at Thravi. "I think it's because we don't have class together," she corrected him with a smile. "I'm a junior, you're a senior. Remember?"
He chuckled. "Well yes, there's that," he moved his face closer to hers, placing his hand on her upper leg. "You just seemed like that movie star type of girl. I couldn't help but spin a fantastical tale to match your beauty. Forgive me."
He was definitely Asgardian, his vocabulary was like someone jammed a dictionary of Elizabethan language down his throat. Phoenix his her true thoughts, and smiled warmly at him, focusing her attention to his lips. "You're forgiven," she whispered.
Thravi cupped her face with his hands, leaning in slowly to kiss her. Phoenix saw her opportunity, and put a finger to his lips to stop him. Grabbing his hand, Phoenix nodded her head towards one of the doors. "Maybe somewhere more private," she suggested, bitting her bottom lip, a smirk forming in the corners of her mouth.
Thravi agreed instantaneously, and willing allowed Phoenix to lead him out of the hall and into the school hallways. Mark, who had been watching their whole interaction from start to finish, saw them go and immediately began to worry. He wasn't sure if Phoenix was supposed to leave the hall or not.
He expressed his panic to Sam, who was standing next to him and had reached what was probably, at an estimate, his fifth glass of orange punch. "Phoenix just left with the guy," Mark informed him, acting like it was a big deal, which is clearly wasn't to Sam.
"Good for her," Sam responded dryly, staring intently at his glass. "Maybe she'll get laid."
"Dude be serious, were they supposed to leave the hall? What if he figures out what's up and attacks her? She doesn't have any back-up, man," Mark expressed his worries in jarred sentences, overflowing with panic. "Aren't we supposed to be watching her or something?"
"Mark, what's the problem?" Bella questioned, seeing that Mark was in distress, she approached cautiously, moving to stand beside Sam.
"He's worried about Phoenix," Sam answered the question for her, speaking in a flat tone while swirling around the remaining liquid in his glass, looking like a sophisticated wine taster. Aside from the extremely bored expression of course.
The Experiments all saw something was up, and had flocked together, forming a circle without even realising. Bella stared at Mark like he was an oddity, but calmly told him that Phoenix knew what she was doing and that she would return to give them the signal to leave shortly.
So Mark watched the door, while Bella and Heather engaged in a hushed argument about their participation in the mission, associating with Phoenix and so on and so forth. Heather had been in a foul mood all night, which was to be expected, since she was being forced to spend a large amount of time in the same room as Phoenix.
Mark eventually got fed up with waiting, and turned back to the group. "We need to go find her," he told them. "As a group, head out the doors into the hallways. We'll split off into different directions once we're in the hallway."
They moved with an odd determination. Once out the doors and in the hallway, they broke off one by one from the group and moved into different directions, following their intuition as they set out to find Phoenix, Mark leading the charge.
Mark pushed opened the door to the boy's bathrooms and was encountered with a strange sight.
Phoenix sat up on the sink, Thravi in front of her, and their lips combined in a horrifying clash of mouths and tongues. Thravi had a grip on Phoenix's hips, while Phoenix had her arms on Thravi's shoulders, leaning forward so they were in the optimal position for making out.
Mark yelled in surprise, attracting the attention of both Phoenix and Thravi, who snapped apart and whirled their heads around to look at him. Thravi looked at him in confusion. "What the hell?" he demanded, throwing his hands into the air in frustration, he turned back to Phoenix.
Upon seeing Mark, Phoenix's façade had dropped away, and when Thravi turned to look at the beautiful Erin, he saw instead, Phoenix looking to complete her mission. Something clicked in the back of his mind, and he came to the realisation that Phoenix had played him.
Phoenix reacted before Thravi did. Still sat on top of the boys sink, she lifted up her legs and kicked him in the direct centre of his chest, a sickening cracking noise echoed around them as Phoenix's stilettos collided with Thravi's ribcage. On the ground and dazed, Thravi looked up to see Phoenix jump down from the sink and grab his suit jacket, lifting up of the ground slightly, and slamming his head into the tiled ground.
He fell into unconsciousness and Phoenix whirled around to face Mark. Adjusting her dress, she glared at him, holding back her anger. "You nearly compromised the mission," she told him sternly.
She lifted up one foot and ripped her high heeled shoe off, and proceeded to do the same with her other foot. She threw the pair of shoes at Mark, lightly enough so that they barely hurt when they hit his legs. He shrugged apologetically, and attempted a half-smile. Phoenix shook her head at him in response.
The other Experiments ran into the room, stopping in the doorway to look down in shock at Thravi's unconscious form. Their eyes then moved up from Thravi, to Phoenix and Mark. None of them asked for an explanation, so Phoenix didn't give one.
Instead, Phoenix pointed to Thravi. "We'd better move him out of here quickly before people start to wonder where he's gone," she bent down to grab his ankles, and looked back up at The Experiments as she leaned over. "Does anyone want the satisfaction of dragging him out of here?"
Mark and Sam both moved to help, grabbing a leg each; they dragged Thravi out of the bathroom. Bella, Heather and Josh lead the group, opening doors for them along the way, all six of them laughing whenever Thravi's head collided unfortunately with an object.
As they exited the building, they saw a shape in the distance moving towards them. It turned out to be Steve, who nodded in appreciation at the sight of Thravi. Phoenix, Mark and Sam dropped his legs simultaneously, letting them flop onto the ground.
Steve picked the Asgardian boy up, swinging him over his shoulders and walking him to the van in the carpark. Natasha exited the building seconds later, in time to see all six of The Experiments standing together as a group, high-fiving each other in success.
It was when Phoenix and Heather moved to high-five each other, that they all realised that something terribly wrong had happened. For a solid ten minutes, all the animosity hanging over their heads had seemingly dissipated, and they operated as the perfect team. Now, they were just realising that they had treated Phoenix equally, and that though terrified them to no end.
They stormed off in a huddle, leaving Phoenix behind with Natasha. She looked down regretfully and nodded her head, as Natasha approached her from behind, putting one hand on her shoulder. "You did a really good job Phoenix," Natasha praised her.
Phoenix sighed, watching The Experiments walk away from her with a glum expression. "For a moment there, I thought we had done a really good job."