Disclaimer: I don't own, would be nice to though :).


Slowly, Tanaya opened her eyes and looked around the room. When she saw that she was surrounded by people, her eyes widened and she instantly attempted to spring out of the hospital bed.

"Whoa, stop! You'll hurt yourself even more!" Bruce cried as he rushed forward to restrain her.

"Wait, I haven't seen you before. There are only a few scientists that come to test me, so are you new?" Tanaya asked groggily, looking confused. Come to think of it, the whole room looked unfamiliar. Maybe they were finally showing their superiors the results they had gotten so far. Tony, seeing her rushed thought process, quickly spoke up to reassure her.

"It's ok Tanaya, we got you out of that place and want to help you, ok?"

"Not to be rude, but who are you guys? And how do you know who I am?" Now that she was more alert, everyone could hear a clear accent making itself known.

"Of course!" Steve stated excitedly and made sure to introduce everyone in the room and was about to get to Tony when he interrupted as expected.

"And there's me, the handsome billionaire/superhero that you know as Tony Stark." He stated proudly, but Tanaya just looked confused.

"I'm sorry, but I don't really know who you are. Any of you." She said apologetically. The team looked at each other, confused. Had she not heard of the Avengers? How long had she been in that lab?

"Just wondering, how long were you in that place?" Bruce asked tentatively. Tanaya seemed to think for a bit.

"October 2011 was when I was taken, I think." She said, "And I am sorry for not knowing who you are, but I never watched TV, so I am obviously a bit behind."

"We need to talk to you about some things, Tanaya. First of all, do you have any family that we can contact?" Natasha suspected that she knew what the answer was, but didn't want to assume anything. Tanaya looked down and started fiddling with the white hospital sheets, "there's no on to call." She mumbled, feeling awkward. "My mum is dead, and my dad and sister moved away as soon as she died." Her attempt at nonchalance was unsuccessful, but no one wanted to pry. Not yet anyway.

"Well, it is up to you where you stay for the time being. Mr Stark here is happy to let you stay with us in his home, but if you feel uncomfortable with that we can organise other arrangements." Steve said sensibly. Tanaya looked up, amazed at the offer. Everyone was looking kindly at her, and they seemed to be nice people. She felt safe with them, but needed to clarify something first.

"I hate to have to point it out, but it would be expensive to house me as well as your friends, and we would take up a lot of room. Do you have enough money and space for us all? It would be difficult for you if you didn't and I don't want to burden you anymore than is necessary." Tony could do nothing but stare in disbelief at her, in his opinion, serious lack of knowledge.

"Don't worry, Tony has many issues, none of which are money though." Natasha said kindly, "He will not be inconvenienced at all." Tanaya nodded gratefully "Thank you so much then, I think I'd prefer to stay with you guys, I trust you and you seem relatively normal." She gave them all a bright smile and noticed that they all seem worried about something. "Oh. Do you guys have a problem with the things they put in my hands? I know that they are not nice, I can cover them up if you like." They were quick to reassure her that they had no problem with her additions. "We're not so free of weirdness either Tanaya. See, we are called the Avengers and-" Steve quickly shut Clint up with a sharp glare. "We will explain later, but what I want to know now is how much you know about what has been done to you?" Steve was not unkind, Tanaya thought, but he seemed to be a bit too serious than he needed to be.

"Well, I was told that they were trying to model me after some guy called Ironman. That's why they put the things in my hands and feet, but I have no idea about the reasoning behind the thing in my chest. All of these things seem kinda useless now too."

Tony felt guilty, it was his designs they were trying to copy, and they used this girl for it. He did not want this hanging over his head. "I am Ironman Tanaya, I created the suit of armour that was the basis of those experiments. I'm so sorry that it affected you." Everyone was shocked to hear him apologise for anything, let alone something he hadn't even done wrong. Tanaya assured him that she did not blame him at all, it was not his fault, but that she would like to see him in action one day. "I think we can arrange that, you'll love the suit. Everyone does. Now, we should probably give you some time to rest. Hope you sleep well." With that, he swept out of the room, leaving everyone stunned in his wake. Slowly, everyone else left, saying their goodbyes as they went. "Natasha? Do you mind if I ask you something?" Tanaya timidly asked. Natasha nodded kindly and waited till all but Bruce had left the room. "I don't really have any clothes or anything, I can possibly get access to my bank account, but I was wondering if you could take me to some cheap clothes stores? Asking one of the guys would have been a bit awkward." Tanaya laughed nervously, waiting for rejection. "Of course I will, as soon as Bruce says you can walk around, it'll be a date." Tanaya smiled, relieved.

"Thank you so much, I really look forward to it."


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