AN: Welcome, welcome, welcome!

The last three chapters have been a lot of Ella, so in this chapter, we finally get Alex's POV again!

I'm going to post the next chapter this weekend, as I wrote it simultaneously with this chapter. However, after that, updating will become much less frequent, as I have PSATs, tons of homework, and a lot of competition stuff coming up. I also have to split what little free time I have between this and the big bang, which has an actual deadline. I will update when I can, but the chapters won't be coming in as quickly as usual.

Chapter 8: Welcome to Womanhood

An alarm blared in the smallest bedroom of a modest Chelsea home.

Alex Rider groaned as he rolled over, shutting off his alarm clock. He had no motivation to get out of bed on this particular day. It was Thursday, the day of his lovely chats with Mrs. Tulip Jones. This would be the third week in a row he would have the pleasure of discussing his subconscious with Tulip.

The first session ended badly. It lasted about 10 minutes. After eight straight minutes of the two parties just staring each other down, Jones had asked her employee the root of his psychological issues, to which Alex dryly responded "MI6." When asked to expand upon his answer, he said, "You have files. Start on John Rider, before making your way to Helen, and then Ian, before finally starting on mine. I'm sure you'll find something," and promptly got up and left her office.

The second meeting hardly went any better. Mrs. Jones had brought Ben in with them, to see if a third, more neutral party would help Alex to open up. This also backfired, as Alex didn't want Ben to learn about his past. The last thing that the teenage spy needed was for another person to be on his case about his family and Scorpia.

Alex got ready slowly. He didn't want to get to the Royal and General Bank any earlier than he had to. College starts soon he realized, Then, I'll only have to go to the bank for mission assignments. Thank God…

An hour later, Alex wass standing in front of the bank, considering the large sidewalk discoloration in front of him. He didn't much care for the front entrance, as this was where he had gotten shot a few years prior. He was glad that in a week's time he wouldn't be forced to walk through it regularly. He took a deep breath and walked inside.

He clicked the elevator button labeled 13. Unlucky, he realized, and nodded at another agent whom he vaguely recognized.

He trudged from the elevator to his office. Thankfully, his clearance level was high enough for him to have his own office, as we would have hated sharing.

For the past three days, Alex had been writing detailed descriptions of his missions for Tulip to put in his file. As the clock ticked closer to 3:00, Alex was writing the mission in which he infiltrated the Snakeheads and defeated Major Winston Yu, and an evil idea began forming in his mind.

He took the elevator up to Smithers' room. The man had decided to come back to his old job after a 6-month Caribbean vacation and was back in his fat suit.

"Mr. Smithers," Alex announced, wryly.

"Alex, old bean, how can I help you? Jones didn't tell me to prepare anything for you today."

"No, I'm here on my own accord. See, I'm mad at Tulip and her bullshit therapy sessions. I don't have the patience today to deal with her. So, what I'm thinking is we get back at her through a good old-fashioned prank." Alex winked.

"Hmmmm," Smithers considered, before a wide smile appeared on his pudgy face, "Yes, I see. Anything, in particular, you have in mind?"

"Remember when you…" Alex said, outlining his downright disgusting plan to the gadget master.

Thirty minutes later with a cardboard box in hand and a gas mask on his face, Alex got to work. This plan was the perfect mix of harmless and downright nefarious. Luckily for Alex, the legitimate part of the bank had a different ventilation system than the MI6 part of the bank. He didn't want the actual bankers and customers to get hurt in his prank against MI6.

He took the elevator down to the 12th floor, where all of the lower-level agents work. He went to a secluded part of the hallway, and, standing on a chair, began unscrewing the vent cover.

Alex had remembered back in Thailand when Smithers had mentioned vomit-inducing incense. He figured that this would put the "bank" into enough disarray to allow him to go home for the day without his impromptu therapy session with the one and only Tulip Jones. If his plan worked properly, the incense would travel throughout the "bank's" vents, causing everyone to throw up.

He was thankful that Smithers had two gas masks in his office. It wouldn't be pleasant if either he or his only ally in MI6 also threw up.

He had just lit the incense when blaring loud alarm bells went off. Three men in biohazard suits reminiscent of the ones he, Sabina, Cray, and Yassen had once worn, stormed him. Two of them grabbed Alex by the arms and legs, while the third attempted to put out the incense. It was too late, however, as Alex already heard retching noises from the room next door. He smiled at the thought.

The two men holding Alex frogmarched him up the stairs and into the office of MI6's ever-lovely leader. She looked pissed. Across from her was a girl who looked just a little younger than he was. Her legs were crossed, and she was resting her feet on Jones' desk.

"We just caught this degenerate burning incense into the vents. We fear he's trying to poison the entire office. Do you know who this is?" One of the men holding Alex demanded.

Mrs. Jones groaned. "Yes, Mr. Robertson," she says, addressing the man who had spoken, "Leave him here. You two are dismissed. Crawley, follow them." The men left her office. "And you," she growled, turning to Alex, "Sit down. You have some explaining to do."

Alex sat down next to the mystery girl. He was just about to defend himself when he was interrupted by the girl swinging her feet off of Jones' desk, leaning over Jones' trash can, and throwing up. She stood up and wiped her mouth with a tissue from the box on Jones' desk.

"What the hell was that?" she asked, "What's going-" Her little monologue is interrupted by Jones grabbing the same trashcan and performing a similar action. "What's going on? Why is everyone throwing up? And why," she questions, turning to Alex, "Are you wearing a gas mask? Did you just poison us? Who the hell are you?" she demanded, inching closer to Alex. She looked about ready to snap and kill him.

Alex looked up at her. She had light brown hair tied back in a braid that rested on her right shoulder, and mesmerizing, piercingly bright green eyes. The girl wore blue jeans, a black-and-white striped shirt, those black combat boots Sabina had, and a ton of cool jewelry. She spoke in a slow and intimidating manner as though she knew she was in charge. She sounded distinctly American, but there was something in her accent that Alex simply couldn't place. German, maybe? It smoothly weaved its way in and out of her voice, increasing as she got more passionate. Alex could feel the authority and control radiating off of this girl, despite her being almost 20 centimeters shorter than him. Despite the snarl on her face, the girl was kind of pretty, but Alex was too daunted to think about that right now.

"Well," Alex started.

However, he was interrupted by a fuming Tulip Jones. "What the hell, Alex, what did you do? You didn't poison the building, did you?" She looked a little nervous, almost as if she was scared of what she created.

"I thought you said you'd swear less," the girl mumbled, flippantly at Tulip, a smirk on her face.

Mrs. Jones ignored her. "Alex," she repeated.

The spy just rolled his eyes. What a scene this was. A girl stood over him, fuming; Tulip Jones, who was failing miserably to hide her terror; and a trashcan full of two people's vomit sat between them.

"Well," he began, trying to match the girl's nonchalance at Tulip, "I didn't poison anybody. I just used one of Mr. Smithers' gadgets, that's all." He tried his best to sound innocent.

"Can you expand on that?" Tulip prompted.

"Of course, anything for you, Tulip," he said smoothly. He noticed the girl trying to hide a smile at Jones' name. "Remember the incense from Thailand?"

Jones sunk back in her chair, annoyed at the nuisance that this situation had become. Now that she had learned that the situation was just a harmless prank, she was no longer scared but felt considerably more annoyed. "Really, Alex? What made you think that this was a good idea? Are you insane?"

"Well, you seem to think so, Tulip," Alex remarked.

Realization dawned on Tulip, "No. Alex, no. You did not light that wretched incense just to get out of our conversation." Her accusation was met with only a smirk. "Alexander John Rider, you are a liability!" Tulip roars. Alex had never seen this side of her before. However, he was even more nervous when he saw a downright evil smirk appear on her face. "Alex, meet fou-"

"Ella," the girl, who finally has a name, interrupted, quickly, "My name is Ella."

"Yes, right," Tulip recovered, "Alex, meet Ella, your new partner."

"What?" Ella demanded, whipping around to face Tulip, "First you blackmailed me into your stupid contract, and now you're assigning me a partner who TRIED TO KILL ME," She roared. Alex tenses up. This girl could be scary.

Tulip chuckles, humorlessly, "Alex didn't try to kill you, Ella, he has no idea who you are. The vomiting thing was just a prank, directed at me. You two should be fine to work together."

"Tulip, who even is this girl? I don't...what does she know? What are we partners for?"

Mrs. Jones grinned evilly, popping another peppermint into her mouth a "Yes. Yes, this is perfect, actually. You guys are one in the same, and you don't even know it," She said cryptically.

Ella considered this for half of a second before speaking. "Wait," she said, pointing at Alex, "You're MI6's child agent!"

Alex choked on his own saliva. "What? Who are you?"

"I'm you," Ella says, simply, "If you were female and American."

Alex was still puzzled and tired of Tulip and Ella's nonsense. "What? What does that even mean? Who are you?"

Ella sat back down, arrogantly. She swung her feet back onto Jones' desk. It was clear that she enjoyed being in charge. "I'm Ella Cornell," she projected, slowly and clearly, and with a smirk on her face, "And you're Alex Rider, and we're in the same situation."

This gave Alex no new information except for the girl's last name. He was still confused and desperate for more information. "Could you please explain to me what the hell is going on?" He said through clenched teeth.

"One minute," the girl promised. Turning back to Tulip, she said "Mrs. Jones, I need my phone back. I'd like to call my boss to find out what information I can divulge. Otherwise, I'll be forced to escape, and neither of us wants that." She was calm, cool, and collected. Power and control radiated off her. She said it with enough of a dangerous lilt in her voice, that Tulip warily complied.

Alex was amused by her nonchalance with Tulip. Her devil-may-care attitude really reminded him of himself, especially when he was younger. Alex still had no idea who this girl was, but it was easy to tell that she had experience. Experience, and balls.

Tulip nodded and pulled out an iPhone from her desk drawer. Handing it to Ella, she pointed her in the direction of an empty conference room.

40 minutes later, Ella returned to Tulip's office. "Great to see you again," Alex mumbled. He felt as bored as he looked. Mrs. Jones had not said a word to him the entire time Ella was gone. A janitor came in to clean out the trash can, but other than that, the office was completely silent.

"I'm good," Ella told Jones and Alex, cryptically, "My boss knows about everything."

"Are you going to give me any information about yourself at all? Because it seems unfair that you know so much about me, and I only know your name." Alex was getting sick of Ella's cryptics.

"All in good time, Alex," Ella was truly a master at giving answers-that-weren't-really-answers.

Jones just nodded and began to explain the mission. "You two are going to be sent, as mission partners to Austin, Texas."

"Texas?" Ella interrupted, "Shouldn't this be a CIA job, then? It is America, after all."

"This man we are investigating, Todd Eldridge, is a British citizen, and has been on our radar for a few years now," Tulip explained, "Anyways, he is now the principal of Truman Elementary School in Austin. In this particular school, seven children have up and vanished in the past two months. The parents are freaking out, and pulling their children from school. While it may just be your run-of-the-mill serial killer, it's too coincidental that they're all from the same school. Additionally,-"

"Jesus Christ, another child sex ring," Ella said under her breath.

Alex looked over at her, feeling concerned about this girl's well-being. Everything she said only left him with more questions. "Um, Ella, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, ignoring him.

"Anyways, if you'd be so kind as to stop interrupting me, here at MI6, we don't believe in coincidences."

Alex suppressed a snort. "Yeah," Alex mumbles pointedly, "Unless they involve international pop stars." He was, quite obviously, referring to Damian Cray, and the almost-disaster known as Eagle Strike.

Jones ignored him. "I'm sending you too undercover to investigate the school. You're a little young, but some makeup and the right outfit will age you both a couple years. Alex, you'll be undercover as a 4th-grade teacher, and Ella, you'll be undercover as a secretary."

"Wow, Tulip, sexist much?" Ella asked her defiantly, "Make the woman be the secretary, why don't you. I want to be a teacher, too."

"We need to have someone stationed near the principal's office," Jones sighed, "Just, please, cooperate with me."

"You wanted me to work for you, Tulip," Ella rebuked, "I'll sit down and shut up for the rest of your little spiel, as long as I can help with Alex's and I's covers. I always did back at my former occupation, and I was damn good at it." Her voice was daring Tulip to say no. Alex was confused, though increasingly more intrigued, by Ella.

Mrs. Jones sighed. "Fine, but only if you shut up for the rest of my speech." Ella seemed to agree to this, as she does stop talking.

"What do I get out of this, Mrs. Jones?" Alex asked, innocently, his eyes wide. He was just screwing with her because he wanted to see her squirm.

"You get a regular paycheck, Alex, now please, let me speak." She took a deep breath. "You two will be investigating Todd Eldridge and his shady elementary school, and you will be reporting back to us on your findings. We don't know what is going on with these children going missing, but we are determined to figure it out. Any questions?"

"No, ma'am," Alex said, politely.

Ella clearly does. She began protesting her role in the mission. Deja vu, Alex thought. "Yes. Now that you have him, do you even need me anymore? Can't Alex just complete this mission while I go back to school?"

Alex began to laugh. "You really think that Tulip gives a singular shit about your schooling? When I was 14, I missed more school than I attended because of MI6."

Tulip ignored Alex's outburst, much to his dismay. "We have a contract, Ella. You signed it."

"Yeah, that's a bullshit contract. I could sic the CIA on your asses. Is that what you want?" Wait, CIA? Alex thought, glad to finally have some information about this mystery of a girl.

"Wait," Alex interrupted, "You're CIA?" Ella nodded. "Do you know Mr. Byrne?"

"Yeah, I've seen him around," she said casually. Mrs. Jones concealed a laugh. Obviously, this girl knew more than she's willing to say. "So, anyways Tulip, would you like to feel the wrath of the entire CIA? I could get them to take you fuckers down, no questions asked. You know who's in charge over there," Ella threatened.

"Yes, Ella," Jones said cooly, "But what about your suitcase?" Suitcase? Alex wondered.

"What do you mean?" Ella demanded. Clearly, Tulip had struck a nerve with her. Intentionally.

"You know, that little suitcase that Crawley found under your bed. Well, you can refuse to work for us, but we keep the suitcase. If, however, you choose to go to Texas with Alex and complete the mission, it's all yours."

"That is blackmail!" Ella yelled back.

"That never stopped Jonesy before," Alex said flippantly. He wondered what exactly this suitcase contained. Something incriminating, obviously.

"Which will it be, Ella?"

"Fine," Ella groaned. Fluidly switching into a Southern drawl, she said "Guess I'll see y'all down in Texas."

Jones smiled, very pleasantly. However, it appeared to Alex as though she was baring her teeth. "Very well. You have until tomorrow to work with MI6 to develop yours and Alex's covers. After that, since you aren't flying to Texas for another three weeks, you two will go up to Wales for more training. Specifically, the Brecon Beacons for SAS training."

"Tulip, what the hell!?" Alex exploded, "Are you Alan Bloody Blunt?" He was not about to go back to the Brecon Beacons and be bullied. Again. And he definitely wasn't going to subject Ella to the same horrible treatment he had to endure.

"A great leader," Tulip said, just to spite him.

"Tulip, let me remind you, that I set a man on fire because he tried to rape a complete stranger. Just imagine what will happen if I'm the victim," Alex's eyes widened. Every sentence brought a new surprise from Ella.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Ella, you have years of training, and Alex here to protect you." She said, nonchalant. Alex froze. He didn't want Ella to get hurt, but being forced to be her bodyguard? He felt as though Tulip was patronizing the both of them.

Ella's bright green eyes filled with fury and rage. She glanced at Alex as if asking his permission to go off on Tulip. Alex nodded, not wanting to get in her way.

"I DON'T NEED A MAN FOR PROTECTION!" she screamed, "What I need is to not put myself in the middle of another goddamn testosterone-filled army camp. What I need is for you to not disregard my safety and well being. Is that how you treat all of your agents? You literally just discounted my fears of being sexually assaulted, and put the onus of my protection on Alex. You treat him like shit, by the way. Anyways, how can you call yourself a woman when you treat me like that! I cannot believe you. In the CIA, my health and safety were always put first. You call yourself the 'good guys,' but you can't even offer the people you blackmail into working for you the basic feeling of health and safety! This is complete and utter bullshit, Mrs. Jones." Ella was upset, and Alex understood. He has never dealt with the unimaginable struggles of being a woman in the world of espionage as Ella likely has.

"You're right," Mrs. Jones sighed, "That was really insensitive of me. I, unfortunately, still have to send you, though, because MI6 legally requires army work before employment."

"First of all, this is a top-secret mission anyways so we can sweep this requirement right under the table. Second of all, I have trained with the Green Berets, so I have army experience," Ella protested. Alex racked his brain, before remembering that the Green Berets were sort of like America's SAS.

"British army service, and besides, after the whole Alan Blunt scandal, using underage agents," Alex shuddered at the memories as they came rushing back to him all at once, "We have to be completely clear and transparent with the rest of the government."

Bullshit, Alex thought. Tulip was definitely still tricking this girl, but it's obvious that Ella won't win this argument.

"So I have no choice in the matter," Ella groaned. Tulip shook her head.

"I can, however, give you your own separate sleeping quarters and bathroom," She offered.

"Yes. Throw in the video footage of me setting that prick on fire, and the permission to murder anyone who intends to inflict harm on me, and we have a deal."

She raised an eyebrow. "Deal, but try to save murder as a last resort. These men have been vetted, and it is likely that nothing will happen to you. However, your safety is first, because the entire CIA will truly bring down a shitstorm if anything happens to you. Use your judgment, Ella." Alex was a little bit terrified of Ella's judgment, but he kept those thoughts to himself.

"Deal," Ella and Jones shook hands. Alex felt frazzled about what just happened. "Welcome to womanhood," Ella said, sarcastically, "It's a wonderful place." Alex can only nod.