Protégé

A New Home

I spun around in awe to try to get the full view of everything inside the Stark Tower. I had never been in a building so big or full of so many people dressed in suits! Being here was something I'd never imagine in my wildest dreams, yet here I was.

"Ms. Shade, please try to keep up." Said an exasperated yet polite Maria Hill.

"Oh my gosh...I'm sorry Maria-"

"Agent Hill."

"Right yes, sorry agent Hill, I've just never thought I would ever be in a place like the Stark Towers in my entire life." I gushed, trying to keep up with Maria's fast pace.

"You have every right to be excited, there are Stark agents who have still never gone in here." She said quickly. She seemed nice, but she was on a schedule and I was clearly someone who was making her late.

We went inside a big elevator full of so many people that I had to keep my arms at my side just to not get squished.

I didn't realize the elevator was glass until Maria pressed the 100th floor and I gasped in surprise as we shot up the building and I could see the beautiful city from above and the people working on each floor.

Several people in the elevator noticed my giddy self and smiled, while others rolled their eyes and ignored me.

Once we reached the 100th floor and walked in, Maria led me into a huge echoing hallway where two giant doors stood in front of me.

"Ms. Shade, may I ask you to stay professional while we meet your new team, I understand this is all new to you but you need to stay as mature as possible while we introduce you to your team. We are not sure how they will feel about a new member." Maria said. I understood where she was coming from though it was a little condesending, but you get used to it when you're a teenager.

"Whoa- am I meeting them today? I thought I was just getting a tour...I'm not even dressed for this-" I say looking down at your plain purple shirt, faded jeans and converse. "This is not the impression I wanted to make."

"I'm afraid we had to start you right away, we need all the help we can get around here."  She replied.

"I...I haven't even met Mr. Stark yet-" I protested, but before I could say another word Maria had punched in a code on a keyboard and the huge doors opened into a recreation room with several posh couches, a huge screen, a kitchen and wall that was just one giant window looking over the city.

I suppressed a gasp."Remember Ellie, pretend like you fit in." I thought to myself trying to look cool.

In the living room there were five adults slouching over couches. They looked super beaten up and tired, and definitely looked like they wanted anything but a surprise. They gazed over at me and Maria as the man I presumed to be Tony Stark and a gorgeous redheaded women stood up.

"There she is!" Tony Stark boomed, opening his arms wide. I thought maybe he was going in for a hug but it was just a very flamboyant gesture.

"That, everyone, is my very own protégé, Ellie Shade, and she is our newest member of the team!" He pronounced every accent in protégé eloquently.

"What?" Said a curly haired man with glasses. "Natasha did you know about this?"

The redheaded woman shrugged and replied. "Ellie Shade is a genius for her age, not to mention she is gifted. We understand she is very young but she's extremely valuable for us and could be a great help while we're on the ground."

I looked around at these adults and suddenly felt very, very self conscious.

"...Uh hi." I said sheepishly, but they continued to ignore me.

" So you recruited someone without telling us? Isn't that exactly what you're not supposed to do, you know, cuz we're a TEAM? Said a man who I later found out to be name Clint

Tony scoffed. "She's a GENIUS guys, and that's saying something coming from me. she could help me out a lot and I thought you'd thank me for this, after all I've done for everyone around here-"

He was interrupted by a man with blonde hair and stunning blue eyes. "How old are you?" He asked.

I blushed hard, mostly because the attention was finally on me and I knew he wasn't going to like my answer, but also because a gorgeous blond dude just asked me a question."Uh, I'm 16, but I'm really mature for my age and I promise I won't be a bother and I-" 

"I think it's best to take my leave." Said Maria Hill, who I completely forgot was still here. She turned to me and handed me a slip of paper with her number on it. "If you need any help, there's my number." She said as she left.

I shoved the paper into my jeans and returned to the arguing group.

"Alright look guys, if she isn't a good fit then I'll send her to a couple floors down and she can work with Pepper. But I think we need some younger faces here, considering our oldest one could be her grandpa- sorry Steve."

The blonde haired man said nothing but gave a disapproving look- Wait how old is this dude
guy? Damn I thought it was weird that I had a crush on a guy that was twice my age not five times.

"She's a child, where are her parents?" Said the curly haired man with glasses.

Yikes, way to be condescending, jerk.

"They're dead." I muttered with a locked jaw. The room quieted suddenly.

The lady named Natasha finally spoke up. "She's been in the system for a while, no one knows her family or where she came from."

I looked at the ground with embarrassment, but this was good news, they knew I was less of a liability at the very least.

"Give her a chance, six months." Said Tony. "If she doesn't like it here or this isn't a good fit, she can work with Pepper." Tony turned to me. "Does that sound good Ellie?"

I shrugged, but was grateful he was on my side. "Works for me." I said with forced nonchalance.

The redheaded woman spoke up. "Ellie, why don't I show you to your room and give you a tour?"

I nodded as she took me down a hallway. I could still hear the others arguing. "We need you more than they know, they'll figure that out eventually." She said as she squeezed my shoulder and gave me a tour of my new home.

So this is my very first chapter of my very first fic! Give me some feedback and tell me how you feel about it! Thanks.