It is well known that Stark Industries is an extremely prestigious workplace within a very competitive sector. Employing only the best of the best, it goes without saying that the majority of it's employees are the smartest minds of the generation - alumni of top-tier colleges and universities across the globe. If you're not the best, then you have no business within the futuristic building.

Naturally, it's a surprise when early on a Monday morning, a young girl who looks no older than twelve enters the building through the visitors entrance and approaches the receptionist with a small smile and hunched shoulders, threadbare rucksack hanging from one skinny shoulder.

Jane Howard had been working at Stark Industries for the last three years, and in that time never had she seen anyone younger than college-age enter alone at this time. She lifted her eyes from the gossip magazine she had been holding, dog-earring the page she was on, and observed the girl.

Caramel hair was tied back, a few flyaway strands stubbornly framing her face. Bottle green eyes were large behind round glasses, peeking innocently at her.

"Um, hi, I-I'm Amelia Smith...I'm here to, uh, start my internship." She had a thick British accent. Jane wondered idly, as she searched for the girl's name, how recently she had moved to New York.

"I've found you," Jane assured the child, who seemed to be getting increasingly more nervous as the silence stretched on. "I just need to take a quick picture for when you scan your card, and then once that's printed, I'll have someone brought down to show you to your area."

"Thank you."

Amelia gave a slightly awkward smile at the camera, sure that one corner of her mouth had risen more, before waiting for the ID card to be printed.

"You must be pretty smart, Kid, if you've managed to get an Internship here," Jane observed casually as they waited, sharp eyes seeming to reach through to the teenager's very soul.

"I guess," the girl shrugged slightly before realising that it might be seen as rude, cheeks flushed and she glanced down at the piece of plastic in her hand, "I like science and making things."

The awkward wait was broken when another employee approached, a grin on his lips, "hey, you must be Amelia, our new nerd, right?"

The teenager smiled up at him and nodded, too nervous to be sure that she wouldn't stutter.

"Well, I'm Tom. I work in HR and do a lot of the tours for new employees. Follow me and I'll show ya 'round."

Speed walking to keep up with his long paces, Amelia looked back and gave a wave to the kind receptionist who returned it. She smiled gratefully when Tom slowed down a little after noticing how she struggled a little to keep up, as well as how she repeatedly had to force herself not to be distracted by the glass walls showing glimpses into interesting labs and meeting rooms.

"So, you're one of our Lower Interns at the moment. It just means that you have only just started and have yet to prove yourself. There are a lot of opportunities to progress to a Higher Internship, which comes with a small wage, larger labs, more allowances for projects, and a lot of job opportunities - which, at your age, probably isn't really something you're looking at yet." The man grinned warmly at her before continuing.

"There's a chain of command here. Interns do not order one another around; if a Higher Intern orders you to do something, you are not obligated to do it, and will not be punished for not doing so. You will report to Jared Jones - he's the Head Intern, and he works in the same Lab you'll be in. He's a good guy, great to talk to. If he isn't available, there is the Assistant Head Intern, Donna Masters, who works is the Higher Intern Lab - like Jared, she's very protective over her interns, and she's definitely mother you. Above them two is the Level 3 Lab Director - Camilla Choi. The other two Levels are for our Higher Interns and employed scientists. Above Camilla is HR, and then would be Tony Stark, the CEO of Stark Industries. If you wanted to arrange a meeting, you would need to send an email with the reason and an acceptable date and time."

We expect interns to keep up with school work along with their responsibilities here. If you have coursework to finish, don't blow it off to come here - we understand what it means to have a chance to work here, but there will be consequences if someone finds out you've been missing your other responsibilities...have you sorted out a school yet? I know you've just moved here."

Amelia smiled and nodded her head, hair bobbing behind her, "I'm going to be doing it online so I don't need to start at a new place this late in the year."

Tom accepted that answer and continued, "...while we give allowances for school, we still expect interns to work at least sixteen hours every week in order to keep on top of projects...now, that seems like the most important things - have you got any questions?"

Amelia thought for a moment before shaking her head, "no, I think you answered any I had."

"Great! This here is the lab you'll be working in - you will need to scan your badge to enter the first time, but after that you'll be able to use your fingerprint to get in. As you can see, there's six lab tables in here - one per person - and there's another, larger, Lab just downstairs that holds the other Lower Interns - it was decided that since you're still a minor, you'll need to have a qualified adult on standby for now. There's a cabinet there with materials that you might need. If there's something that you require, but it isn't there, you would need to request it through your Lab Director. You'll be told more when Jared gets in in an hour or so, but for now feel free to set your area up and settle in. The food court is down that corridor and through the door on the left - the food's pretty good, I'd recommend the tomato pasta - and if you need a coffee or soda, the machines are just outside the food court."

Amelia thanked him as he left, a wide smile on her lips as she scanned her badge and entered. She walked slowly around the room, taking note of the only empty table and placing her bag on the floor next to it. Allowing a moment to look around, she freely admired the silver walls and matching tables. The wall that closed them off from the corridor was made completely of glass that stretched straight from ceiling to floor. A switch on the side allowed the option to make the glass opaque.

She pulled her ratty notebook from within and opened to the last page she had been writing on, beginning to read back through it carefully to try and ensure that there weren't any obvious mistakes.

When the door opened forty minutes later, the girl was shocked out of her furious writing and looked up to see a small group of young adults entering the room together.

"You're the new intern."

Amelia nodded her head, smiling shyly and giving a tiny wave to the man who had spoken.

His hair was dark and curly, his eyes a warm chocolate shade, and he had a kind smile on his lips as he approached, "I'm Jared, the Head Intern. You must be Amelia?"

"Yeah."

"Perfect, we're just about to start our new projects this week, so you started at just the right time. Deadlines were on Saturday morning, so a lot of the Interns won't be in 'til a little later. So, we usually spend the mornings brainstorming on plans for the next project, and then in the afternoon or when we're finished, we'll start on theory. We have Deadlines every three months to ensure that funds are being well spent on teaching. For this quarter, I'm gonna partner you with Maya - we usually do this with interns so that the work isn't too overwhelming. It'll help us to figure your skills and work out what needs to be developed on."

Amelia grinned widely, excited, "that sounds great, thank you."

"Good, let's get you introduced."