A Mask Of Iron

Chapter 1: Sweet Sixteen

Rita Rhodes woke up groggily on a Sunday morning.

She had inherited her mother's glossy curls that never seemed to get tangled. Her friends insisted it was a gift and she should use it to her advantage. But Rita didn't understand her hair.

At least, not the way she understood quantum mechanics.

Rita rubbed the grog out of her eyes and walked to the bathroom before dunking her face into freezing water. Now she could think.

Organization wasn't Rita's strong suit. She relied more on memory instead of a calendar or diary to remind her of things. Though it usually never worked.

Still in her angry birds pyjamas, Rita made her way into the kitchen and poured herself a hot cup of coffee.

"Aren't you a little young for coffee?" her father walked in, already dressed for the day.

Rita's dad worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. More accurately, in the Avengers project. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes; A.K.A: War Machine.

"You try staying up until two in the morning," Rita whispered, it was all she had the energy to do.

Her dad smiled. "Well, I cooked pancakes, which you need to eat. I have to leave to go to work. You know, saving the world stuff."

"Dad, stop showing off," Rita located the stack of pancakes.

Rhodey grabbed some folders from the bench. Rita caught a glimpse of the contents for a brief moment.

Subject 001
James Ro-

That was all she saw but she got a feeling it was something she shouldn't have seen. Her father appeared to have noticed this but ignored it for his daughters sake.

"Oh, and by the way," her father walked out the door. "Happy birthday."

Shit. Rita knew she had forgotten something. It was her sixteenth birthday.

She was fully awake now and desperate to not be late for her arrangements. Rushing to her room, she forgot all about eating breakfast.

There was a parcel on her bed. How had she not seen it this morning? Well, it was no longer on the bed. It lay atop the sheets on the floor. Rita tended to toss and turn in her sleep.

With curiousity, she ripped the parcel open. It was a box. With a small laugh at the irony, she took the lid off the box.

There was a note on top of whatever was inside;

You're gunna need these if you want to be a S.H.I.E.L.D Agent.
- Dad

Rita squealed. No way. Her dad had always been against the idea. Nonetheless, she had pushed her father's limits and achieved her means.

S.H.I.E.L.D Agent Rita Rhodes. That sounded good to her.

There was more writing on the back of the card.

P.S; you get to meet your team at nine so you better hurry.

Crap. It was already eight thirty. Rita quickly pulled the suit out of the box. She put it on with no time to waste then looked at herself in the mirror.

It was like the suit she had seen Black Widow wear on the television. It wasn't as flattering as she made it look. Something was missing.

Rita grabbed the necklace from her drawers by the mirror and put it on. It was a golden bird spreading its wings with a blue gem for an eye hanging on a silver chain. It was all Rita had left of her mothers. She didn't even know what her mother looked like. Rhodey wouldn't even say her name.

Ever since her birth, nobody had seemed to know anything about Rita's mother besides Rhodey and his lips were sealed. Sometimes Rita just wished she could know more.

Rita put her watch on overtop of the suit, it was always handy to know the time. Speaking of time, she noticed it was now eight forty.

Rita grabbed her bag and was about to ran outside when she realised something. How was she even going to get there?

Her hand hovered over the doorknob. Rita shrugged, she would just catch a bus. She would be a few minutes late but at least she would get there.

Grabbing a set of spare keys from the bench she opened the door and felt the cold wind hit her face. The suit was surprisingly warm. Rita looked at the slushy snow on her lawn and then at the street.

Parked at the end of her gate was a sleek black motorcycle. "No fucking way."

A smile broke her troubled features. This was officially the best birthday ever. The keys were under the seat. Rita quickly stuck them in the ignition and put on her helmet before zooming away to S.H.I.E.L.D.

Soon enough, she drove towards the entrance of the Triskellion. Her breath hitched for a moment. This was unbelievable, her dreams were finally coming true.

The security guards stopped her at the check point. Rita took off her helmet and held it with her elbow while she retrieved the S.H.I.E.L.D I.D she had found with the suit.

The guard briskly nodded her on and flipped a switch. The bar was lifted up and Rita put her helmet back on before driving down into the parking lot.

Rita had only been there once but one trip was enough to recall where the main desk was. She headed towards the petite blonde lady in the front office. She didn't look up from her keyboard.

"Yes?" the lady spoke, her eyes trained on her keyboard. "Can I help you?"

It took Rita a minute to realize that the woman was talking to her. "Oh! Um, I'm Rita Rhodes and my dad told me to come here."

"Rhodes..." the lady continued to stare at the screen. "Room seventeen, floor eight."

Surely Rita could remember those simple instructions. With a quick 'thank you', Rita ran to the elevator. It was eight fifty-seven.

The elevator had glass on two of the walls, revealing the city beyond. It was beautiful. Rita wondered if she would ever get used to a sight like that.

Washington's buildings lay just across the lake, scattered around like grey trees in a man-made forest. It was beautiful, yet eriely perfect.

The elevator opened to reveal floor eight. Rita quickly walked past some S.H.I.E.L.D agents before coming across a door with a silver seventeen stuck to it.

That must've been it, the room that would change Rita's life forever. Her future lay beyond that door. She twisted the knob and the door creaked open...

...and she was covered in water from an exploding arrow. What a bright future.