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Starlight

Summary:

Alex Harper is a woman haunted by her past with badass skills, superhuman abilities, and wit to make up for it. Never known to back down from a challenge she had steadily climbed the ranks through her time in S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy and quickly became the leader of her own S.H.I.E.L.D. unit. She's efficient, seemingly ruthless, and even has a metal prosthetic of her own. But after being inducted into a "trial period" to see how she'd work alongside the Avengers, she unwillingly catches the eye of a certain metal armed super soldier. With lots of questions of her own abilities unanswered and a sudden threat emerging bringing faces new and old to the fray, would there be a chance for romance?

Notes:

The title is based off of Starset's song "Starlight", which you should listen to because it's swell. :)

Chapter 1: Introductions

Chapter Text

The Avengers are sat at the large conference desk, most talking amongst one another with mixed emotions radiating off them. The sound of the door opening snaps their attention to it, them watching as Hill and Fury walk in with Maria holding a stack of files.

"I'm gonna cut this short. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s had a new specialized task force up for a while handling people who are dealing in alien tech, and for some reason Ross wants to implement them into the Avengers as some subgroup or something. He wants you all to speak with the squad leader and get the best course of action for how you'll be working together, make the unit feel welcome since you will be working with them. The squad leader though, she's a bit hard to get along with, so can either take it or leave it." Fury states, Maria placing the files on the table.

"I mean, we deal with Tony all the time, so it really shouldn't be hard." Natasha states in monotone, Tony giving an indignant squawk in protest before her glare shuts him up. They each take one, looking over the file with some semblance of interest until Steve's eyebrows raise.

"Alex Harper, huh? What more info can you tell us about her? What you've got here is pretty vague." He says, looking up to Fury with genuine interest.

"Well, we've got her classed as an omega level mutant due to her enhanced abilities and her powers of elemental manipulation. Besides the fact that she leads this new task force she works robotics and handles any and all alien tech we get our hands on. Much else we were asked to keep private by Harper herself. She's a strong fighter, but she has a bit of an... aggressive attack style with all she can do." Maria states, Sam leaning forward.

"How aggressive are we talking?" He asks, Maria looking to Fury for him to nod.

"Just during her time at the Academy she put over 50 other students into the infirmary during her time spent in sparring matches. She's powerful, more than we hoped, but we've been informed there's more to her powers she has yet to discover. We want to get her on board with the Avengers Initiative at some point, but we need ample people to properly train her and get a feel for what you all would possibly be working with. Hence why we wanted to bring you all on board. We also need her to get on Ross's good side, but you didn't hear that from me." Hill ends, the group looking at their folders. Thor looks at Maria.

"Would you happen to have a better picture of Lady Alex's features?" He asks, Maria nodding. It's a photo of Alex talking animatedly to an older gentleman with greying blond hair in a café of sorts. Her dark golden brown hair is tied up in a loose bun, full lips pulled to a grin and cheeks dusted pink. The things to point out were the heterochrome eyes, sparkling in the sunlight beaming through the wide café windows, the left pale green/grey and the right crystal blue, and the slightly pointed ears that are far pointier to human standards. Everyone watches as Thor surveys the image before realization washes over his face. Thor leans back in the chair, seemingly lost in thought.

"Oooookay then, moving on." Tony states, rubbing his hands together.

"I'm personally not going to touch that whole fighting thing the kid does with a ten-foot pole, I do enjoy my beautiful features after all. But, I am willing to negotiate an alternative to your plan." Tony says, Fury's eyebrows furrowing.

"And what would that entail." He asks, seemingly annoyed.

"We meet her, but we have her work in the labs with Bruce and I, let her handle any robotics shit I don't have time to get to. Which is a lot. And we can see how she works in that setting before moving from there. Physical training is one thing, being able to work with a team that isn't your own is another. Call it what you will, but if she's gonna lead a team she needs to know how to work with anybody. Plus, I could be her lab supervisor, have F.R.I.D.A.Y. take evaluations or whatever." Tony says, Fury silent as he contemplates the idea.

"I'll need to consult with some people first. It's taking a lot just to keep her in our hands here at S.H.I.E.L.D., I can't imagine how they'd react to her transferring to your care.

"When do we get to meet her?" Wanda asks, a bit of excitement lacing her tone.

"She's currently out on a recon and retrieval mission, she'll be back in a few days. Until then, we'll be in touch about the decision for Stark's proposal. You're dismissed."

-


It took two weeks until Fury called, saying everything was in order for Stark's plan. Alex had arrived back from her mission at some point last week, and they were surprised to find out she was so damn hard to find. She seemed to hold a routine to her days at the Facility that didn't match with their own, and to say Bucky wasn't trying to see where she'd be hiding would be a lie. He was intrigued the moment he saw that dark metal prosthetic, and it didn't hurt she was quite the looker either.

It was team training day when Fury and Maria came waltzing in, Fury exuding his usual commanding presence a little heavier than usual.

"Today's the day, ladies and gents. She should be on her way here as we speak, so you either do what you usually do or just wait to meet her." Maria says, Thor setting her weights aside to stroll and stand nearer to the door. Bucky continued his jog, having not really heard Maria with his headphones in his ears. A few minutes pass before Thor's booming voice cuts through his peace. He takes out a headphone and looks in the mirror ahead of him to almost fall off the treadmill he was running on. Alex walks towards Thor with a smirk, Thor finishing his statement by introducing himself and sticking out his hand. Her dark golden brown hair was down from her seemingly usual ponytail, her slightly wavy tresses cascading down her torso for the ends to stop just below her breasts. She looks like she came in from the city, her olive green jacket on her left arm and gloves in her bionic hand. She wears a crimson sweater, a grey scarf, black jeans, and black combat boots.

"Well if I didn't know any better I'd think you'd be inviting me to Asgard with that type of greeting." Alex retorts jokingly, taking Thor's hand and shaking it. Rolling thunder shakes the building, and the Avengers watch as Thor's grin only grows wider.

"Can I not treat a fellow God, or should I say Goddess, with a welcoming she deserves?" Thor asks, it taking a moment for those words to settle before shock ripples through the room and Alex pales.

"Goddess?" Sam asks, Alex looking to Fury with a cold, unreadable expression.

"Uh-" She states, eyes flicking to Thor as a gesture.

"You are not able to sense her strength?" Thor asks, head tilting slightly.

"She just walked in, Point Break. The cue we got was your rolling of thunder and you saying she's some goddess." Tony says, Thor looking to him.

"Brother Tony, that thunder was not my doing. The Creator has been oozing her proof of strength the moment she stepped onto the premises, that was merely a... show of strength if you will." Thor says, turning to Alex and lightly slapping her arm.

"You would think they would be able to recognize such an archaic being." He mutters, Alex's face turning pink as she gives him a "would you please shut the fuck up" look.

"They also aren't gods, Son of Odin." Alex hisses, Thor smirking.

"I am aware, but if Fury was able to recognize your talents he must have known." Thor says, looking to Fury.

"I... We had reports of the supposed legends, yes." Fury says, Alex looking to him with an eyebrow raised.

"My mom really spilled that much?" Alex asks, and she'd almost seem horrified if it weren't for her level tone.

"Hold on!" Tony snaps, Alex looking to Tony with the same expression on her face she gave Fury.

"You are a goddess?"

"Well, uh, sort of? Not really... It's, uh, a bit of a long story." Alex says, scratching the back of her neck shyly.

"Wait, Thor, what did you call her?" Steve asks.

"The Creator. She was the being thought to be created by the One-Above-All to create the universe with her brother, The Destroyer. It's a very long piece of lore and occurred far before my family's time, but we still respect both as the higher power even if we've never seen them. Whoever dare challenge them is against a formidable foe, from what I've been told." Thor turns to her.

"Your mother told me this day would come, but I never imagined it would have been so soon. It is truly an honor to be fighting by your side." Thor says, patting her shoulder. She sways slightly with the force of the pat, Thor moving away to walk out of the training room. Alex turns to the rest of the group to see they're all looking at her, some sizing her up while others are just shocked.

"Anyway, uh. I'm Alex, as I'm sure you're aware, and I'm looking forward to working with you all. If you have any questions about... I suppose literally anything since the cat's out of the bag, don't be afraid to ask." Alex says awkwardly, looking to Fury and Maria.

"Can I go now? I did what you wanted." She asks quietly, Maria giving a small sigh before gesturing to the door with her head. Alex all but sprints to the door, throwing on her jacket and her left glove before the door closes behind her and Maria.

"And when were you going to tell us that?" Sam asks Fury, Tony pointing to him with an annoyed look on his face.

"Ms. Harper asked we withhold the information until she herself was prepared to disclose it. It's not something she wants spreading around the compound, nor is it something she's proud of." Fury responds coolly, Bucky stepping off the treadmill to look at Fury in confusion.

"Why? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not a mind reader like Wanda but isn't being a goddess a title to wear with some semblance of pride?" He asks, Fury looking at him showing barely any semblance of emotion.

"She'll be working in her lab, Barnes, why don't you ask her yourself?" He asks, before turning and walking to the door. He stops in front of it before turning back and looking at Tony.

"I told you, she's got warning labels. She's complex and especially difficult to figure out, but still you wanted to handle her on your own. If you want out, Stark, you'll know where to find me." Fury muses before he opens the door and departs, Tony's eyes widening in shock at the challenge before competitive anger fills the gaze.

"We'll see." Tony snaps, his eyes narrowed. "We will see."