AN: Hey everyone, I'm back. As always, please thank my awesome Beta MegaDiary123. From this chapter on we enter the second part of this story. Hope you like it...

All rights go to Marvel

~ About 5 years later ~

Skye's POV

I was lazily driving my van in the middle of the night. I watched as the big New York city lights came closer by the minute and soon I was in the town. It was pretty late, and I was truly expecting the city to be empty or at least partially dead at this hour but the streets were all full of life.

I carefully kept driving on the streets that I knew no cameras would catch my presence and so I could remain undetected in yet one more place. I observed as teenagers got wasted drinking alcohol, and not just that, as they were laughing really hard with their friends. I never understood why someone would waste their control over their actions so that they could have one more drink. But I guess since I never really had the chance to taste it myself I wouldn't know what was so appealing. Maybe my opinion on it would change over time.

I turned a left and found a relatively quiet alley to park my vehicle. And by relatively I meant that there were a few boys hanging around, talking loudly, but it seemed like the kind of people that wouldn't pay any attention to me.

I pulled the handbrake and claimed a spot in the darkness. My mind tracked back, trying to find the reason why so many people would be at the normally-less-lively New York so late. And then it hit me. It should have been obvious, really, considering that they were probably there for the same reason as me.

The Stark Expo would soon be open to the public.

Stark, whose head was over the clouds since birth, believed that since he became Iron Man we had the longest uninterrupted period of world peace. And truth be told there were no major terrorist hits anywhere, and this made his gigantic ego even bigger, something that I was sad yet at the same time impressed, to learn that was possible.

But, of course and I knew better than to believe him. I had already hacked into the FBI, CIA and other organisations, including S.H.I.E.L.D. At first, I said that it was so that I could keep track of what the people I care about are doing and to be updated on their wellbeing, but the truth was that I really wanted to hack in there just for the fun of it. And the director did try to keep me out once or twice, even almost succeeding, but I think he either gave up and decided that I wouldn't harm anyone with the info that I was gathering or was just waiting for me to get sloppy and get me. My bets were on the latter, but I never lost focus when hacking into this organisation.

Anyhow, I knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. continued working on the shadows and so, preventing many major terrorist attacks and was monitoring other… events happening in the world. With that being said, of course and Stark couldn't get the credit for all the peace-keeping around the world. But, also of course, he would never admit that and he did love the spotlight. And so, he decided to reopen the Stark Expo that people from all over the world came to New York just to see.

One of those people was me, only my purpose on the busy city was completely different from that of most. I came here with only one goal, to hack into Stark Industries.

I was sitting comfortingly in my van, which was filled with high tech computers. A lot of them, if not all, I had programmed and upgraded myself, since I couldn't get a strong enough software in the market that easily.

It was a few of days before the Stark Expo and a couple days since I arrived at the city. By now I had hacked my way through the general security walls of Stark's system and was working my way to the centre of it, so that I could take control and play a little bit with him. It would be really funny if, I didn't know, Iron Man's suit suddenly started punching itself or flying circles to no end for example. Just some thoughts that had crossed my mind more than once while my hacking took place.

It was in the middle of the night when I made a major breakthrough and I started sending viruses that I knew would work. Soon I would have the access I needed and then–

Suddenly the viruses started bouncing back to me and I was the one who was getting attacked by the foreign system. I title my head a little bit, utterly confused by what was happening. My system always worked and there was no freaking way that my coding was false, I knew my stuff and was pretty damn good at them. So, what the hell was happening?

With newfound energy I crunched on top of the keyboard and started typing like a mad man receiving, defending and sending attacks almost simultaneously. Well, that was an interesting turn of events. I never expected someone so high on his horse to have a defence system that I had not encountered before. Another first was my computer shutting down on its own, or rather being forced to.

"Shit!" I exclaimed before I could help myself and I turned to the rest of the computer at my disposal. Moving fast, I turn everything else down, saving my work to one and only encrypted hard drive that I safely stored to a place that only I knew of. Just as I made the final move and was sure that everything was safe and at its place, my van door opened to reveal three men in black that were certainly sent by Stark.

I paused a moment and then turned to look at them, smiling as if I had done nothing wrong.

"Hey… what up?" The words left my mouth and next thing I was being forced out of my home and towards a black SUV.

I fidgeted in my sit, playing with the wraps around my arms and hands. As soon as I was thrown off the SUV I saw that we were at the entrance of Stark Industries. The 'very kind', bodybuilder-like bodyguards led the way with me trapped between them to the lobby and from there we took the elevator.

"Mr, Stark is expecting you just down the hall" a British accent voice spoke as soon as the door opened. I was expecting the other people to follow along but they seemed as if frozen in place, all looking at me. When I made no move to go forwards the voice spoke once more. "Mr. Stark doesn't like to wait".

I guessed that that was my clue to go and I left the goons behind to move to where the voice told me to. I reached a room that looked like a very big and expensive living room, that had a bar on the side as well and basically screamed that Stark had money that he didn't know what to do with and spend them on whatever he wanted to. And sitting on one of the many couches was the man himself with Ms. Potts a few feet away. My eyes locked with hers and she nodded so that Stark knew that I was in the room, not that he hadn't heard me walking in.

He got up and turned to face me, his expression switching to a surprised one as soon as he laid his eyes on me. "You are the one that tried to hack me?" His voice didn't mask his curiosity at all.

A smirk appeared on my face because of the reaction that I got from the billionaire. "I would prefer almost succeeded" I replied titling my head to a mocking bow.

He walked up to me, trying to tower over me with his height. His face was all serious again, a business mask washing over his features. I could still see the playboy in him, it would be almost impossible for him to hide his true nature completely, but I would give him credit for trying. "Well, 'almost succeeded', how did you do it and most importantly why? Who do you work for?"

"Wow, wow" I said, taking a step back and lifting my hands separating us. "Isn't that an awful lot of questions now? And given you having no idea who I am, how I work and not to mentions you have no leverage over me, why should I answer?" My hands now were folding in front of my chest.

The mask that he wore for only a couple of minutes crumbled down with my reply and a really bright smiled appeared out of thin air. What the hell was it with this guy and his mood changes? He turned his head to look at his assistant who was eyeing me worryingly, almost as if assessing me up. I guessed that this was her job since nothing seemed to face Stark. Then he turned back to me. "How old are you? I would expect someone as bright as you in computers to be already swapped by S.H.I.E.L.D. or something".

If only you knew, I bitterly though but the smile never left my face. "They don't know about me. Just like you won't be able to find anything either, so I wouldn't bother continuing the research that I guess you have already started to find out my identity. I work alone".

"So why try hacking into Stark Industries?" He repeated the question that he had asked before in hopes that this time he would actually get an answer.

"Why not?" I just said and that seemed to be enough for him as his smile now reached his ears, if that was even possible.

"I like her" he declared to Ms. Potts who was now standing next to him. "Can I keep her?" He asked as if for permission. This earned him what could only be an evil and full-out judging glare from his assistant who was clearly struggling not to roll her eyes at him.

"I am no-one's property" I simply said before anyone could say anything. I had learned about Stark's behaviour and he was never short on money. Which was a bad combination since he could get whatever he wanted really, and no-one would be able to say anything. But the way that he phrased his question, which sounded more like a statement to my ears, in combination with his tone gave out a creepy vibe.

I could see the hints of a smile on Ms. Potts face when she looked at me. Then she turned and looked at Stark who was just as eagerly looking at her. They seemed to have a silent conversation and then simultaneously they turned their attention back at me.

"What I mean, is that I want to hire you" he stated.

"Come again?"