Awakening Quake
By Misha

Disclaimer in Part One.

A.N- Natasha may be uncharacteristically welcoming here, but I've decided that she feels a kinship with Skye and remember Coulson told her the whole ugly story of Skye's background.

Chapter Three: Meet the Avengers

The flight to New York was actually pretty relaxed and Skye found herself liking Steve, Sam and Natasha.

Natasha was the one that surprised her the most, she was actually pretty funny and pretty friendly.

Sam was pretty friendly, but he was also the one flying the plane, so Skye didn't really get a chance to know him well. He did assure her that the Avengers were all very welcoming, reminding her that he was the new kid on the block.

As for Steve… He was very polite and friendly, though a bit reserved. She wasn't sure if it was her in particular or just part of his personality.

When they arrived at the Tower, everyone was waiting for her, which was definitely a little intimidating.

"You must be Skye." Pepper Potts said, stepping forward. "It's so nice to meet you. We'll let you meet everyone and then I'll show you your quarters."

Natasha had told her that Pepper, while not an Avenger, was the one who ran things at Tower. She was also the only one who could keep Tony in line.

The man himself stepped forward next. "You're tiny and how old are you? 16? Is S.H.I.E.L.D recruiting high schoolers now?"

"Well, probably," Skye told him, "but I'm 26."

"And according to Coulson, she's a computer genius." Sam spoke up. "Apparently she hacked her way into a position with S.H.I.E.L.D."

Tony's eyebrow went up and he looked intrigued. "Is that so? Well, we'll have to see what you're capable of."

"Let her settle in before you put her to work." Pepper scolded.

After that, everyone else introduced themselves. Skye was surprised by how friendly everyone was. Jane Foster and Bruce Banner invited her to visit their labs once she was settled in and see what they were working on. The only person who was reserved was Clint Barton. He shook her hand politely, but Skye got the impression that he was assessing her and that he hadn't formed an opinion yet. It was strange that he was so reserved and Natasha so friendly.

After everyone had had a chance to hello, Pepper smiled at her. "Do you want to go get settled in?"
"Yes, please." Skye said politely.

"JARVIS?" Pepper said, appearing to talk to the wall.

"Yes, Miss Potts?"

Skye took an instinctive step back at the sound of the disembodied voice, even though Steve and Natasha had warned her. She was actually pretty intrigued by the idea of a household run entirely by AI, but she figured it would be a no-no to try and hack into the system. At least on her first day.

"Are Skye's quarters set up?"

"Yes." JARVIS answered. "And her vital information has been added to the system."

"Perfect." Pepper said, she smiled at Skye. "JARVIS now has you on file. So you will access to all non-restricted areas and you're included in the security and protection system."

"Oh." Skye said. Well, that was good, wasn't it?

"I'll show you to your floor." Pepper told her with a smile.

"My floor?" Skye asked in confusion. Pepper had obviously meant room.

She could see Darcy and Jane both grinning.

Pepper rolled her eyes. "This Tower has 85 floors and originally it was intended to at least be partially open to the public, but after everything that has happened, that seemed like a bad idea, so while Stark Industries does have offices in the lower floors, the rest of the building is completely private and many of the floors have been turned into private apartments. 2 apartments per floor."

Definitely a far cry from living in her van, Skye thought to herself as she followed Pepper to the elevator.

Pepper gave JARVIS instructions and a moment later the elevator stopped and they got out.

"This is all mine," Skye said, looking around the huge apartment.

"It's insane, isn't it?" Pepper said with a smile. "There are three bedrooms. You are allowed to have guests, but obviously they have to be screened properly and each bedroom has a private bath. There's a kitchen and dining area, a living room and a private office space."

"Are all the apartments like this?" Skye asked in amazement.

"For the most part," Pepper confirmed, "they've all been modified a bit for their occupants. If you have any specific needs or requests, Tony will be happy to accommodate them. For example Bruce's apartment is big enough to accommodate the Hulk and everything is reinforced, just in case." Pepper rolled her eyes. "You should see the Penthouse. It's ridiculous." Pepper smiled. "Actually, you will see it. On Saturday. I have a weekly morning brunch for all the women in the tower and I expect to see you there."

"Ok." Skye agreed. That sounded nice actually. "So who else lives on this floor?"

"Steve." Pepper told her. "His apartment is across the hall and I'm sure he'd be happy to help if you need anything. Generally, as a rule, we stay out of each other's private spaces unless specifically invited. Private quarters, Tony's labs and the floors occupied by Stark Industries, are the only floors off-limits and really if you want to go see what SI is doing, go ahead just give me a head's up first. The rest of the tower is set up for the Avengers' personal use and once you're settled in, I'll give you a tour."

"Do we eat in our apartment?" Skye asked, referring to the fully stocked kitchen. She wasn't a great cook. She could fend for herself, obviously, but years of living in her van hadn't provided the opportunity to hone her culinary skills.

"Not usually," Pepper told her, "we generally all eat together. There are 2 that are dedicated common areas. You can eat here, if you like, but you're welcome to join everyone else as well. JARVIS will alert you when meals are being served. However, most people like being able to grab a snack or breakfast on their own. Tony employs a staff to cater to everyone's needs, so if you need groceries, you just have to tell JARVIS and he'll make sure it's provided."

"This is going to take some getting used to." Skye admitted. Especially the AI who ran everything. Ok, that part was actually pretty awesome and Skye was dying to know how Tony had come up with the concept, but she thought it would probably take her a while to bring herself to ask.

"I can understand that," Pepper said, she frowned as she noticed Skye's bag. "Is that all you brought with you?"

"I've learnt to travel light." Skye said with a shrug, feeling a little self-conscious about her lack of belongings.

Pepper was quiet, obviously ready to offer to buy Skye new things, but then thought of it better. "If you need anything, just have JARVIS ring me." She said finally.

Skye nodded and saw her out, glad she hadn't pushed about Skye's belongings. It just highlighted Skye's outsider status and the fact that she had never fit in anywhere. Here she was at 26, starting over again. Everyone was friendly, but Skye knew she was still on probation. She didn't belong here yet, she had to prove herself and there was still a good chance that she wouldn't fit in here either and that once again, she'd have to move on.

"Do you have a problem with Skye?" Natasha asked Clint when they were alone. She had noticed Clint's aloofness when he'd be introduced to the younger woman and while Clint wasn't usually super chatty, he was generally friendly. Especially where gorgeous women were considered. While they were committed to each other, they both liked to flirt and the fact that Clint had resisted, well it set off warning bells.

"Not her exactly." Clint told her.

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We don't know the girl." Clint told her. "All we know is that suddenly Phil's alive and this girl desperately needs protection only the Avengers can give? After we've cut ties with Fury and what remains of S.H.I.E.L.D and vowed to go out on our own? Doesn't it sound a little suspicious."

"This is Phil, not Fury." Natasha reminded him. "While Fury might try and manipulate us, I don't see Phil doing the same."

"He let us think he was dead for two years." Clint pointed out.

Natasha sighed. She knew Clint was taking it personally, even if he had pretended to be unaffected. He and Coulson has been close once upon a time. She had been diplomatic about it, she had spent enough years as a spy and had learnt to take nothing personally, but not everyone was as hard as she was.

"My gut says to trust the girl." She told Clint finally.

He paused. They had both learnt over the years to rely on their gut instincts.

"That's not saying she won't bring trouble," Natasha cautioned, "apparently her father's a piece of work and he's still out there, but I think she is what she says she is: a scared girl who suddenly came into powers she didn't understand."

"You're just happy to have another woman around," Clint joked and Natasha knew that was his way of agreeing to give Skye an honest chance. "One who will eventually go out in the field."

"It'll be nice to have someone else to bitch about you bozos with." Natasha said with a grin. "Phil said that she was being trained first by Grant Ward and then Melinda May, so she's probably tougher than she looks and I thought you and I might have a go at training her."

"I thought you liked the girl." Clint teased.

"Why else would I offer to make sure she learns from the best?" Natasha told him.

She had immediately liked Skye, but she'd also recognized that the other woman was lost and a bit broken. She needed something and the Avengers could give it to her. Natasha knew what it was like to feel alone and lost and that immediately made her feel a kinship with Skye. Part of that kinship meant making sure the other woman was prepared to face anything that the world might throw at her, because in the world they lived in, you never knew what that might be.

"Besides who else could train her?" Natasha pointed out. "Tony and Sam are too dependent on tech, I think we can agree Bruce is out. I can't see Thor giving combat lessons to a Miguradian female. So that leaves us and Steve and I can't see Steve being comfortable with it either."

"You mean those 1940s manners might get in the way of him combat training a woman?" Clint said with a laugh. "You're probably right. So, she's stuck with us, but then again if she trained with Ward, then she's dealt with worse."

Clint had never gotten along with the cocky young agent and had been pretty smug when he'd found out Ward was HYDRA.

"Did I mention that Coulson said that Ward has a bit of a sick obsession with Skye?" Natasha told him, knowing that this would be exactly what Clint needed to come around on the subject of Skye. "Coulson worries that he's going to try and come for her again, apparently he's already kidnapped her twice."

Clint's eyes narrowed and his lip was a thin, angry line. "Well, he'll have to get through all of us first." He declared. "And believe me, I'd love to rumble with Grant Ward."

Natasha hid a grin. That was exactly the reaction she had been hoping to provoke. No, Clint would come around to Skye in no time, especially if it meant he got to bring down Grant Ward in the process.