I was strange for a human. In many ways I felt inhuman. My parents left me when I was born on the steps of the orphanage and since then I never fit in. Most kids were interested in dolls and building blocks while I became fascinated with technology. By the age of seven I could fully disassemble a desktop computer and by nine I could put it back together in the correct order of function. The mistress of the orphanage was very attracted to Tony Stark, leader of Stark enterprises and one of the best engineers in the world. Her entire private collection of books was written by Stark and through his words I entered into a new domain.

At eleven I was freely fixing electronic appliances in the orphanage without being seen. Yet despite my entire intellectual prowess, there was no one to share it with. All of the other kids thought I was weird, a freak for my unnatural habits and strange colored ethereal blue eyes. None of the couples who came through would adopt me, mostly because despite my intellect for a young age I was dangerously shy.

It was one day that I started tinkering with an old pocket watch I had found in the grass when my strangeness hit its peak. I started giving off a strange blue energy that fixed any device I touched. I even got a flashlight to work without the batteries! There were voices that started appearing in my head, people talking about me, about themselves and others. I had discovered the ability to read minds. With practice I was able to choose who I listened to and blocked out the noise most of the time. By the time I turned fifteen, I was a full fledged freak. Some of the kids had seen my so called powers and though the adults pretended not to believe, they still gave me a wide berth.

I was alone and for a while I thought that I would stay that way. That is until my sixteenth birthday when something changed my life.

"Come right back you here? Get what we need and leave, I don't want you around normal people too long, they'll know." I hated the way she talked, that bitch of a woman who owned the orphanage. I had long forgotten her name on purpose calling her M'am in public and bitch in my mind. It was a Sunday and all of the usual volunteers weren't there. Since M'am was a lazy little bitch, she refused to go out and buy groceries herself. I was the oldest kid in the orphanage so I got the brunt of the duties. It was like any other Sunday at first. The grocery store was packed to the brim with people, several giving me funny looks since I was alone. I ignored them and headed back to the electronics section. There was practically no one except a very familiar man working behind the desk.

"Alex! You got something for me?" I asked curiously. Alex smiled.

"Yeah, we don't sell it here, but it's Stark so you'll love it." I practically drooled as he reached behind his desk for the merchandise. Let's get this straight, Alex was a kid from the orphanage who had always felt sorry for me. When he got adopted we met in the grocery store and we had been decent friends ever since. We shared a love for technology, that was close enough for me. He was a good looking boy with dirty blond hair, long oval face, and dark brown eyes. He was tall and lean with a pair of rimless glasses that were sitting on his nose. His new father was a worker for Stark industries and sometimes got to take merchandise home, lucky me!

"Here it is babe." He slid a small brown package onto the desk. I ripped it apart and Alex chuckled. My abnormal blue eyes glimmered as they settled on the new piece of technology. It was a silver metal rim with bright glowing blue in the middle.

"You got me an arc reactor!" I whispered, closing the box so no one else would see. He shrugged.

"Stark wants a few of the engineers to know the parts so that they can at least fix it. This is one of the old ones, not perfect like the one Stark has but…" I grinned, making him shut his mouth.

"This is awesome! Do you have any idea what you just gave me? It's like handing a gold digger a huge diamond and asking her if she likes it. This is beautiful! I'll finally get to study the arc technology." I had almost died and gone to heaven. I peeked at it again, seeing the blue center dimming before my eyes. The copper wires were crude and even the framing looked archaic.

"This is…"

"Excuse me! You wouldn't happen to be Dr. Lions son would you?" I closed the box quickly and shot around making my bright crimson hair fly around my face. My bangs got loose from behind my ear and fell slightly in front of my eyes. The woman who had spoken was tall, lanky with smooth milky skin that had a reddish tint. She had high cheekbones, full lips, blue eyes, and sandy ginger hair. Her long sleeved white blouse was pressed to perfection as well as her tight knee length black skirt. I had a feeling that all those clothes were designer. Anyone who knew Tony Stark knew who this woman was and there was no way she'd be caught dead in cheap clothes.

"You're Pepper Potts." I whispered. The woman was smiling, it suited her. She turned from Alex to me, blushing a little.

"I didn't think I was that famous. Yes I'm Pepper Potts, can I ask your name?" I gulped, this was almost as awesome as meeting the man himself.

"I-I'm Naiira, just a friend of Alex's." Great now I decide to stutter. I couldn't think of anything to say. This woman was my hero, she worked next to Tony Stark on a daily basis, got to see the real engineering in action.

"That's a uniquely beautiful name. Are your parents friends with Alex's too?" It wasn't a rude question, she didn't know after all. I blushed slightly.

"Um…no I don't have parents." I whispered. Pepper looked embarrassed.

"Oh goodness I didn't mean to offend you. I heard you two talking over here and just thought…" She looked thoughtful for a moment. I had to ask, there may not be a chance again. I took a brief sigh finally finding the courage to speak.

"What's he like?" Pepper's head shot up, looking at me confused.

"What?"

"Stark, what's he like?" It was a strange question really, making me sound like I had a crush on the older man. Alex chuckled behind me, making me feel a little embarrassed about the question.

"You have an interest in To…Mr. Stark?" She corrected herself. I blushed and shook my head.

"No! Well not that way anyway. I'm fascinated with his work on the Arc Reactor! I've read all of his books, I've even fixed some of his…" I shut my mouth, looking back at Alex. Pepper looked between us and raised an eyebrow. I had said too much, the things he had gotten me had been in secret. If anyone knew I feared that the Lions family might get into trouble and I didn't want that.

"Well, um, I should go or M'am will wonder where I am." I muttered and scurried off to finish the groceries, keeping my new treasure close as I went back to the orphanage.

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Pepper set the groceries down in her apartment, thinking about what the boy had said about the strange orphan girl. He had told her that his father had been giving him scrap pieces that he in turn was giving to the girl. He even showed Pepper one of the pieces that the girl had made. It was an engineering masterpiece, a solar energy powered panel of lighting colors. According to the boy, she had made it when she was eleven years old. The girl reminded her of Tony, pure genius. She was a good bit more shy than the outspoken philanthropist but that didn't diminish her obvious talent. That box the girl had taken must have had more parts in it. Pepper became curious as to what she would make with it.

From what Alex had said, Pepper assumed the girl was an outcast. She'd always been different apparently. She had seemed so excited though at the prospect of knowing anything about Tony. Her heart went out to the girl, stuck in an orphanage that couldn't be more than a cramped home. Most of the city was like that, sweeping the unwanted children under the rug as if they didn't exist.

Pepper sighed and looked down at her watch. It was around 8pm now. Tony was probably in the lab. She picked up her cell phone and dialed Happy's number. All the time her mind was on that interesting orphan named Naiira.

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It may have been an archaic arc reactor, but it was beautiful. I tinkered with it using the tools I had stolen from the boiler room downstairs. Many of the wires were torn and a few pieces of metal were broken, but it was easy enough to fix using my power. The energy took tangible form, moving the wires and plates into place and melding them together. I knew most things about the arc reactor after studying separate parts given to me by Alex. This one would be a basis for my own. I charged it, the blue light coming to life showing a cracked cover which fixed itself with my help. I stared into the blue light, fascinated by this small yet powerful piece of technology.

"Thank you Tony Stark."

I used the original as a template, a practice before I made my own from scratch. Over the next week I took apart many pieces of computers, dishwasher, blender, any type of electronics that had the parts I needed. During the night I worked on the arc reactor, my own made of parts around the orphanage. I got beatings many times because they knew it was me taking things, but I kept the pieces, melding them together. It was harder to find some pieces among the appliances so I took apart my old inventions to make up for that. When the month came to an end I was still missing one tiny vanity part. Luckily, it was Sunday and I knew Alex had it. After making some excuse to leave I made my way down to the store. I practically skipped inside and towards the back where Alex stood. When he spotted me he smiled.

"Hey Naiira..."

"I need the solar panel lights." I whispered to him. Alex lifted an eyebrow.

"You finished it?" He asked curiously. I shook my head but pulled out the almost finished product. It looked just as crude as the one I had received, but all it was missing was a cover for the now shining blue light in the center. Alex beamed.

"You really are a genius Nai, I hope somebody realizes it." He shook his head, reaching back under his desk and pulling out his book bag. He pulled out the lit up panels and I pulled one piece off. It was an iridescent piece of quartz I had been given by a couple who thought I was cute. I placed it onto the reactor and the blue light glowed now in different refractions and colors.

"Finished." I smiled and covered it up, sticking it in a black canvas draw string bag and handing it to Alex.

"What do you want me to do with this?" He asked curiously. I'd thought so hard about it and decided that I wanted someone to know what I was doing with my life. If anyone would understand it would be Tony Stark.

"You have to have your dad take it to Mr. Stark. Please Alex, I really want to know if I did it right." I pleaded. He looked surprised, but it seems it wasn't because of my request. The sound of heels clicking against the tiled floor was hard to miss. I tensed up in anticipation.

"How about I take you straight to him and you can ask him yourself." Pepper Potts had appeared again, her eyes on the black canvas bag that was being permeated by a blue light. I squeezed the bag a bit tighter in my grip, afraid that she might take it from me.

"I swear I didn't mean to steal it, I made him do it I…" Pepper held up her hand and smiled.

"It's okay Naiira, but I do want to see that. I'm sure Tony would also have interest in it." I fidgeted slightly. Was she serious? It would be easier to get it to Tony if I gave it to her. I'd have to tell her where the original was first though, I was sure she'd want it back.

"Well, the original is back at the orphanage." I anticipated getting hit. It's what happened when I was caught saying something Ma'm didn't want to hear. Pepper's eyes widened.

"You mean, you didn't fix the old one, but made a new one? All on your own?" She whispered. I nodded and handed her the black bag. She opened the drawstring and pulled out the small copper ring that sent multiple colors of light across her face. She was quiet for a while so I felt the need to explain.

"I pulled copper wires from the computer for the rim, I wanted it to look like the original." Pepper stared in awe at the little device. It looked almost exactly like the one she had framed for Tony so long ago. Yet this one was different somehow, many little quirks that Tony hadn't used were around it. Of course the obvious quartz cover was different than the usual plastic. Then there were little silver rings welded into small patterns that she wasn't even sure were intentional. All in all it was a masterpiece of technology.

"Did you really mean it?" I asked, breaking the silence, hoping to dream. Pepper looked up from the new arc reactor until her eyes met mine.

"If you mean bringing this to Mr. Stark then yes I meant it." My eyes lit up like the fourth of July. If I didn't know my manners I would have tackled Pepper to the ground. Somehow a simple thank you didn't seem like it was near enough to express my gratitude.

"I think you just made her day Miss Potts." Alex muttered, a big grin breaking over his face. I fidgeted again.

"Can I um…hug you?" I asked curiously. Pepper smiled and nodded. I moved forward and walked into her arms. It was the first hug I had in a long time and it felt good to have another person's arms around me. She smelled like apples, a happy scent that reminded me of orchards I had gone to on field trips to as a kid. If only she knew at that moment that she gave me more hope than I'd had in my entire lifetime.

Pepper walked me home and promised to come get me tomorrow morning. She had insisted that I present the reactor to him personally so I could explain what all I did to make it. I was so excited that I was going to meet the Tony Stark! Perhaps this freak was going places!

"And perhaps you're delusional." I stopped midstep, where in the world had that voice come from? It wasn't from anywhere around me, was that in my head?I looked about on the street but there was no one around. I shrugged, walking into the house and shutting the door behind me. I could hear others moving about as I walked back towards my room.

"It's called telepathy, speaking to others through mind waves. I'm afraid your thoughts were so loud I contacted you to hush." I blushed. There it was again, that same voice. So it was in my head!

"You really are rather frustrating woman. Would you please stop keeping your mind so open?" I tried to block my thoughts, but it didn't work.

"I don't know how." In my head my voice sounded weak. There was silence for a few moments. Thinking the voice had finally left I entered my room, laying back on the small twin bed.

"Listen, just imagine a wall, a tall one to block me out." I was startled by the sound but decided I'd try and listen. I sat down and closed my eyes, trying to imagine a large brick wall.

"Well you blocked most of it. You aren't very good at speaking through your mind are you?" It was definitely a male voice, deep and distinct. It was a smooth and handsome with a suave tone. Somehow I imagined him to be beautiful even if I had no idea who he was.

"I don't have anyone to practice with. I'm alone." My voice still sounded quiet unlike the easily distinct man in my head. Before the voice could answer me the door to my room slammed open. I lost focus, looking at who at barged in without knocking.

"You little whore! What is this?!" It was the bitch and in her hand was the original arc reactor. I had given the other to Pepper for safe keeping. The first had been hidden in a small opening in the back of a brick in the backyard attached to the house. I couldn't hide it in my room since it was searched almost daily due to this woman not trusting me.

"None of your business." I hissed. The bitch walked in and slammed the reactor onto the ground. It didn't break, but when she stomped on it, a few things cracked and the light ceased to shine from its center. I felt horrible for the demise of the object, it was something I cherished.

"You freak! I knew as soon as I found you I should have left you on the street! Stealing from Stark Enterprises is unforgivable!" The bitch walked forward and smacked my left cheek with the back of her hand. I got knocked back into the wall as the bitch moved towards me again. My head was fuzzy, my vision blurred from the force of the hit. It had been almost two days since I'd eaten a full meal. My body was weak and on top of that I was used to this treatment.

"Freak! Disgusting Freak!" She beat me about the arms and legs, whipping my torso with what felt like a piece of leather. It must have been her belt. My skin stung with the contact. My mind was blocked, I couldn't concentrate on anything. I screamed out a few times, little yelps when the leather met my skin. Welts of blood began to appear where she struck. I tried to guard my face from the blows but she managed to get my chin and forehead a few times. I was going to die here, she would beat me to death. After meeting Pepper Potts and learning that I would meet Tony Stark I was going to die. Of course life hated me, why would I be allowed to live?

My body heated up, the blood running onto my face suddenly glowing silver. The beating stopped as I glowed bright blue. The bitch ran out of the room, closing the door and locking it behind her. She wouldn't be back, but that meant I was dead anyway. The glow disappeared as I felt my body give in. I was losing too much blood. I reached out to the first reactor, the one piece of my life that had meant something and pulled the broken device to my chest. As I held it close, the blue light flicked to life, my touch giving it enough power to barely function. Yet as I found myself weakening the flickering became more prominent and just before I blacked out the light disappeared.

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Loki was horribly confused. True he lied to whoever this girl was, but she had seemed so inexperienced. To be perfectly honest, Loki was feeling extra lonely. Compared to the other Asgardians, his powers were quite odd. His brother Thor had control of the Mjolnir, Sif and the warriors three were amazing in battle, and Loki had magic.

Unable to stand the thought that he was the only like mind in the universe, he had reached out with his consciousness, hoping to find someone who could speak his language. He didn't know what world she came from or exactly what her full powers were. All he knew is that her mind had almost snapped towards his wavelength, like a magnetic pull. Her thoughts were so loud too. She was thinking about something called an arc reactor and someone named Tony Stark. Just his luck that a like minded person was younger.

Yet he saw potential in her abilities from the moment she was able to erect a wall. It had blocked most of her thoughts, but then he got knocked back. Something amazingly powerful was blocking her from contact. An entire energy barrier was refusing to allow him to speak with her at all. The thought in itself was intriguing. He laid out on his bed and once again began to study the worlds beyond his own. Perhaps if he could find her, he could find out what made his new friend able to block out his advance. If anything, the study might bring him some sort of ally. Though what he still refused to voice was that all he wanted was a friend.