Okay. Hold up. I fell through the street, ended up upside down in a tree in the middle of the night glowing, and now I apparently met Tony Stark, who says I'm from another universe. And I thought I knew weird.

Then Captain America walked in. I decided to resign myself to my fate and act like this was normal. I could freak out later- I was a huge fan of Cap. So of course the first thing I said was, "Hi! I'm your biggest fan! Can I hug you?" Smooth. Real smooth.

Cap said nothing, just stared at me and then looked questioningly at Tony. Tony smiled while I blushed. "Um, yeah, I think Glowstick here is from another dimension. You follow?"

Cap frowned. Oh he looked so cute I really wanted to hug him! Ahem.

"So she- I'm sorry, what's your name?"

"Oh! Hope. Hope Mulan."

"So Hope came through a portal like the Chitauri used to get here?"

"Something like that. You got the idea right. So the question is, who made the portal, and why?" Tony asked. Steve looked really confused.

I raised my hand like I was in school. Well, one good thing about all of this was if it was real, I wouldn't have to worry about school anytime soon.

Tony called on me. "Yes! Hope!"

"Um, I think we are forgetting the more obvious question of WHY AM I GLOWING?"

Tony covered his ears. "Geez. No need to yell, sunshine queen. Dr. Banner and I were running some tests this morning. You should come to the lab to see."

Okay, as crazy as all of this was, I had always loved computers and mechanical stuff. For me, a visit to Tony Starks lab was like an all expense paid trip to Hawaii. Minus the coconuts.

And it was even better then I thought it would be! He had hot rod cars with modified engines, electro-magnetic pulse deflectors, an arc reactor, piles of blue blueprints for things that only he could build. I snapped out of my trance when Tony said, "I think Sunny is geeking out over everything I own."

I instantly whipped around to glare at him. "None of your business!"

Cap was very noticeably trying not to be there.

Tony raised his eyebrows. "It is very much my business, as it is my lab in my tower."

I stopped dead. "Wait. So we're in Avengers Tower? Formerly Stark Tower?"

Cap smiled for the first time since I had met him. "Pretty much my first reaction too. Tony was mad about changing the name, but Hawkeye 'accidentally' scared him a bit with a couple of stray arrows and he caved."

We both laughed, and for the first time I saw Cap as someone I could be friends with, not just someone I idolized. Although I idolized him too. That will probably never change. I mean, he's Captain America! His hair is so cute!

"Umm, Hope? Why are you staring at me? Hope? Earth to Hope?" Cap looked very uncomfortable and I was suddenly extremely embarrassed.

"Oh! Right! Um, let's go see what Tony is doing like now okay thanks come on!" I ran into the lab, being very careful not to damage anything. When I saw a destroyer gun, I stopped and gawked for a solid minute until Cap tapped my shoulder. I was so transfixed by the freaky gun that I jumped and sort of landed on his foot. "Oh my god, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that." He grinned and rubbed his foot. "It's okay. It won't even bruise. Look, there's Tony up ahead."

I hurried out of the labyrinth of worktables and display stands to the spot where Tony was working. He was wearing sunglasses and studying a white vial.

"Hey, Tony. What's that, and why are you wearing sunglasses?" The vial looked completely unremarkable, with a standard test tube shape and a black cap.

Tony glanced up, looking surprised. "You mean you can't see the glow? This stuff shines like the sun."

"Um, nope. No glow. Plain white liquid. What is it?"

"As a matter of fact, it happens to be your blood." I stared at him.

"Don't know if you got the memo Stark, but blood is red and it doesn't glow. Well, it doesn't look like it's glowing to me. Hey Cap, is it glowing?"

Cap nodded. His eyes were squinty. "Definitely glowing. I have no idea why you can't see it. It's hurting my eyes. Hey Stark, can I have some of those glasses?"

"Sure Steve. Catch." Tony tossed the glasses and Cap caught them. He put them on and relaxed visibly.

"So my blood, assuming this is my blood and not some chemical you cooked up, glows and it's white? What's that about?" I asked, quite confused.

Tony sighed. "Hope, what's your birthday?

"October 17, 1997." I answered, not sure where this was heading.

He walked over to his big fancy floaty screen computer. I had always wondered how that thing worked. I resolved to ask him.

"JARVIS, do a search on the date Hope just mentioned."

"Yes sir." It was weird thinking the house was run by an AI.

There were a few clicks and whirrs and the screen in front of Tony filled with data. "HA! Maxima Solar Flare. According to this, no kids were born that day. But one was and it was you. You, my dear, have unique light power thanks to the biggest solar flare of the century. You're a superhero."