Sparrows and Iron

Chapter 1

The setting is a place called the Xavier Mansion, found in New York. The year is 1970.

On the steps of this great house, a small child has been left, bundled tightly against the biting January wind.

The door opens and a man notices the curious package. This figure seems timid at first glance, but upon closer inspection, one can tell that he fights a great beast within. The man, still perplexed, takes the child into his arms and quickly ducks back inside.

He finds a note tucked into the many folds of cloth. He unfolds the paper and begins to skim over the letter, hoping for some answers. What he finds nearly makes him drop the baby. The man rushes to find the professor. This was indeed urgent news.

-Present Day, Stark Tower Avengers Tower, New York-

"Let me get this straight, Hill, Fury wants to do what now?"

Maria huffed and rolled her eyes. Sometimes, she swore the billionaire was literally five years old.

"We found a girl--well, woman really--in one of HYDRA's prison bases. She hasn't said a single word since we got her out, and no one has any idea who she is. The database was wiped so there are no clues there, but best we can figure, she's a mutant."

Tony was instantly wary. They didn't need a do-over of how they met the Maximoffs...

"So... what? They experimented on her? How'd they manage it without the scepter?"

Maria raised an eyebrow, pleased that she finally had his attention.

"That's the thing: they didn't use the Mindstone with her." At his confused expression, she elaborated, "She was born with her powers. Like that group involved in the incident back in '73."

Tony stopped tinkering with the piece of his newest Iron Man suit.

"You mean people like that... what was it, Brotherhood?" he questioned, remembering the cult-like movement that would occasionally try to wipe out all of the lesser 'Homo sapiens'.

"Something like that," Hill confirmed.

"So what are we looking at here?" he asked, anxiously fiddling with a screwdriver. "Some psycho chick with a vendetta against humans? You want us to lock her up, interrogate her?"

Maria smiled, yet the humor was grim.

"Not this time. Think more 'traumatized, super-powered girl with a mysterious background'. We need you to sort of... rehabilitate her."

His gaze snapped to her, dangerously icy.

"And by 'rehabilitate', you mean 'control'? Find out what her powers are and turn her into a weapon?"

The agent kept her cool. She knew that SHIELD had made some poor decisions in the past, but they had to move on from that.

"No, I mean that the Avengers should help her to adjust to life outside of HYDRA. Find out who she used to be, whether she had a family before they took her. We just want to help her."

Tony still seemed skeptical, but he relented slightly.

"Fine," he sighed. "Bring her in. But I want the team to be in charge of the whole process." He pointed the screwdriver at her. "SHIELD has nothing to do with this, got it?"

"Understood," she said. Satisfied for now, Agent Hill turned and walked away.