'What a Goddamn mess!' Thought SHIELD director Nick Fury as he surveyed the chaotic scene in front of him, trademark scowl on his face. A warzone that had earlier that day been a scenic street in Midtown Manhattan. The Helicarrier had just docked, and was currently undergoing an evaluation of the extensive repairs it would need.

Stark Tower stood, tall and gleaming in the skyline. The S,T,R, and K had been taken down in the fight, so now a huge A stood tall on the crest of the tower, which Fury found ironic, considering his team was beginning to call themselves the Avengers, after the initiative that had brought them all together.

Coulson's voice cut through the confusion, as always he sounded just about on the brink of hysteria.

"Hey, you can't be here! Hey!"

Fury looked up to see a hooded figure, decidedly female, marching towards him, shoulders set in a determined way. As the figure drew closer, he noticed the figure was dressed in skinny jeans, a pair of black converse, and a heavy green jacket with a fur-lined hood. As the figure approached, small hands pulled down the hood, allowing long, violently red ringlets to tumble down past the woman's elbows. She had a pretty, heart-shaped face and chocolate brown eyes that looked oddly familiar.

"Are you in charge here?" she demanded, fixing Fury with a glare that unsettled him for a moment.

"Yes, I'm Nick Fury, I'm the head of-"Fury began, but the redhead cut across him.

"Save it, I know you're SHIELD. My name is Alexandria Stark, and I want to see my brother, Tony."

"Mr. Stark is on our carrier with the rest of the team, He'll return home after he's been cleared by medical and debriefed." Fury turned to leave.

"That wasn't a request, Fury." She spat at him, catching up to him quickly, which was quite the feat, seeing as the girl topped out at five feet tall at the most.

Fury whirled around, already at the end of his rope with this pushy girl.

"Listen, Alexandria. After the day I've had, you don't want to be pushing my buttons." He said

"Oh, I am so sorry. Did your brother nearly kill himself to save the world? No? Didn't think so. And by the way, it's Aly." The girl said indignantly, crossing her arms.

Fury pinched the bridge of his nose. He had a feeling this headache wasn't going to fade easy.

"I'm going to say this, one more time." Aly continued, "Let me see my brother. Now."

"You've seen what he's been doing on TV. You know what he's been through." Fury said, trying to soften his tone. While he might not have experienced what Aly was going through, procedures were in place for the safety of civilians and personnel. It wasn't a matter of wanting her to see Tony. He had already crossed several lines with the council today. If they knew he'd allowed a civilian on the Helicarrier, they'd have his job.

"He's. My. BROTHER." Aly yelled

"Then you'll wait for him." Fury said with an air of finality in his voice.. Aly thought for just a moment, looking Fury up and down. Taking the conversation as being over, Fury began walking away, gesturing to the two agents closest to him to escort the petite girl off of the Helicarrier. Aly, however, seemed to have other ideas and began to follow.

"Tony may be a wiz with mechanics, but my major was biochemistry, with a focus on the human anatomy." She said. "In other words," she reached up with two fingers and applied pressure to a muscle in Fury's neck. It made his legs weaken. As he started to fall, Aly pulled him back and pushed him against the glass wall. "I can beat you and anyone who stands in my way." Fury noticed Agent Hill standing in the doorway, a hand on her gun, waiting for Fury's word.

"Drop him, now!" An agent yelled. Soldiers and agents all around drew their guns, aiming at Aly. Maria hid a smirk.

"You are going to let me see my brother. Or else you're taking a long trip down to New York." Aly said.

Fury sighed and spun around. He knocked Aly off balance, and the next thing she knew, she was in the same position she'd had Fury in just seconds before. He studied her for a moment, but she didn't back down under Fury's hawk-like glare. Seeming to make a decision, He keyed his earpiece. "Be advised we have a civilian in the Helicarrier. Be aware, she only wishes to see Stark, but keep an eye on her the entire time. She is a Stark too, so keep her away from all computers and personal barracks. Especially mine." He said.

Maria snorted, trying to hold back her laughter. "Can I be her escort?" She asked. One glare sobered her up. "Sir?"

Fury nodded, and Hill gestured for Aly to follow her. They passed what Aly expected was the bridge, where many agents were busily working on their computers. They turned down a hallway, and passed a sign that said "Detention Level"

Aly shuddered, knowing that was where he was being held. Loki. The one who'd started all of this. A quiet malice emanated from that hallway. The only signs of life she noticed coming from that hallway came in the way of a tall, blond, muscle-bound man clad in armor. Had Aly not been so wrapped up in worry for her brother, she would have noticed that this man was beautiful.

"He's in here." Hill pointed at a sliding glass door. Through the door, she could see her brother sitting on a table, attempting to pry off his red-and-gold armor and having little success.

Aly shook her head, a smile wide across her face.

"You'd think it'd be easy for Tony Stark to take his clothes off." She said as the door slid open.

"I'm pretty sure my shins have been welded to the metal," Tony said, not noticing just who it was that came in to see him. "I've been tinkering with the idea of projectile armor that can fly to me when I want it to."

"Sounds like for that you might need more than just a mechanical mind." Aly said, walking closer.

"Mhm." Tony said, holding one screwdriver in his mouth while twisting the second at his wrist.

"Like maybe, the mind of a biochemist?" Aly suggested

"Hm." Tony paused looking up, but not at her.

"Like maybe... Your sister?"

Tony slowly turned to see Aly. The screwdriver in his mouth fell out. Aly caught it but made a disgusted sound when she felt his spit along the handle. Tony smiled and held out his arms.

"Aly!" He said. He put his arms down. "On second thought, might not want to hug me. I could be radioactive."

"Really?" Aly asked, wiping the spit off with a sleeve of her hoodie. She lifted up his leg to start unscrewing his boot. Tony was thrown onto his back by this action.

"I saw everything Tony." Aly said,trying to keep a steady voice.

"Yeah." He replied, continuing the work on his wrist. "I would have called you, but I wanted to call Pepper first. You know. I love you though. It's not your birthday, is it? I don't know. I was knocked out and then we won and Arrrgggh!" Aly tightened the screw at his heel, tightening the pressure that wrapped around it.

"Shut up." She said before loosening the screw again

"That's my Baby Sis." Tony groaned as Aly succeeded in prying the boot off of her brother's leg. She allowed the twisted metal to clang to the ground. "Such a sweet, nonviolent girl."

Aly smiled sweetly at her older brother and shrugged off her jacket, tossing it on an unoccupied chair. She pulled her hair into a messy bun and pulled a pair of black-framed glasses out of her pocket.

"That's me, bro. Want some help getting the rest of this off?" She gestured at the shoulder plates and breastplate still on Tony.

Tony sighed and nodded his assent. The redhead pulled a chair over and Tony slid off the table to sit in it. Aly perched herself on the table, the better to have leverage to pry the armor off.

Just then, the door opened, and a man with prematurely graying dark hair and dark eyes entered the room, a bewildered expression crossing his features.

Bruce Banner was used to trying to blend in. He had been hiding, terrified, for so long. Hell, he hadn't even planned on staying in Kolkata for as long as he had. The people there had needed him, though, and he had enjoyed the feeling of helping people.

Here, though, with SHIELD, people didn't seem to fear him anymore. Agents he'd never met before were grinning at him and telling him he was a hero, he wasn't sure, but one female agent may have invited him for drinks.

He finally made it back to the relative safety of the lab he'd shared with Tony Stark. Stark was sitting on a chair in front of one of their lab tables. Perched on the table behind him was a petite young woman with bright red hair wearing square-framed glasses, skinny jeans, converse sneakers and a black Sex Pistols T-Shirt.

"Oh, you're back, Big Guy!" Tony said brightly. Bruce gave his usual wry smile and shrugged.

"Uhh…yeah…" Bruce said, eyeing the redhead warily as she stared at him, hand still gripping a screwdriver in midair, halfway between her and the plate on Tony's shoulder. "I can come back if you're…" he trailed off, for some reason unable to take his eyes off the fiery redhead. She continued to stare at him, dumbstruck.

"Banner, you have a dirty mind!" Tony exclaimed, wiggling his eyebrows and grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Bruce rolled his eyes at this. "She's my sister, big guy. Bruce Banner, meet Alexandria Stark."

At this point, Alexandria dropped the screwdriver she'd been holding. It clattered to the floor and rolled under a lab table.

"No." she said, eyes wide. "Not the Bruce Banner? The famous physicist? I referenced your research in my dissertation!" She jumped off the table and rushed over to him, hand outstretched.

"Dr. Alexandria Stark. Biochemist and this idiot's sister." She gestured at Tony. Bruce snickered and shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you." He said, surprising himself by giving her a genuine smile.

Looking back, both Aly and Bruce would consider this moment, their first meeting, as a turning point in their lives. They couldn't quite put their fingers on it, but they both had a feeling that this was the beginning of something, but good or bad, no one knew quite yet.