"𝐎𝐇, 𝐌𝐀'𝐀𝐌, 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓 permitted to go up there."
Grace paused at the door and turned to look at the young woman standing behind a desk. "And may I ask why?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"Security clearance," the woman replied and the brunette nodded to herself. "Only the Director himself can give security clearance."
Grace pursed her lips and walked forward. "Uh-huh. And, um, did the director ever give you a list of people cleared to go up to the floor?"
The woman shrugged and looked down at the piece of paper. "Just Agent Phil Coulson, Agent Maria Hill, and one of the founders. And he mentioned that I should alert him if the founder ever arrived."
Grace hummed and nodded. "Would you mind just looking at the photograph behind you?" she asked, pointing behind the woman. "Just on the wall there."
"Um, it's a picture of the... founders..." she trailed off before looking between the photograph and Grace. "Oh, Miss Stark, I am so sorry. I didn't realize it was you. Director Fury is waiting for you. He's just finished a meeting with the Council."
Grace smiled. "Thank you." She turned back to the young agent. "Don't feel bad. It's good you were cautious. You never know who could come through the door." She gave the woman a reassuring smile before stepping inside the elevator.
"Miss Stark."
"Agent Rumlow."
"What brings you to SHIELD, Miss Stark?" he asked and she looked over at him. "It's just that we hardly ever see you unless it's something important."
"Oh, you know..." The elevator doors opened and she stepped off. "Stuff... Enjoy your day, Agent Rumlow."
Various agents greeted the brunette as she walked through the halls, the heels of her shoes clicking with every step. Some agents stopped in their steps, having never seen the founder in person before.
Despite being very involved at the beginning of the program, Grace stepped away from active leadership many years ago. She hadn't wanted to spend the rest of her ageless life doing the same task over and over again. Which was how she found—
"Director Fury."
The tall man whose trench coat went to his ankles and an eyepatch that covered his left eye turned at the mention of his name.
"Miss Stark," he greeted and she walked over to him with a small smile spreading across her face. "Thank you for coming."
"I have to admit, you make me nervous anytime you call," she said, sitting in the chair across from him. "It's so rare that something horrible must have happened for you to call me. What is it this time, Nick?"
"We have a new recruit," he replied and she quirked an eyebrow upward.
"That's it?" she asked with a frown. "You've never called me about a recruit before. What makes this one so special?"
"Agent Barton was sent to kill her," he told her and she pursed her lips. "But he didn't. Instead, he brought her here. It must have been for good reason."
Grace let out a breath and leaned back in her chair. "Well... tell me about her."
"Her name is Natasha Romanoff..."
⸻ ~~~ ⸻
𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐌𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐘 people as one of the founders of SHIELD. She was always introduced to any new agents who joined the organization. Even after she gave Fury the leadership role, she was still a respected member of SHIELD.
One of the first agents Fury introduced her to following his appointment as Director was Clint Barton. He had a skill with a bow and arrow like nobody had ever seen. He quickly rose through the ranks of SHIELD and was now one of its best agents. Of course, Grace knew him better as the loving husband and doting father to two children.
"Are Cooper and Lila well?" she asked the agent while watching the redheaded assassin through the window.
He nodded. "They are, ma'am."
"I suppose they miss their father?" she guessed, looking over at him and he shrugged with a chuckle.
"They're still young enough," he replied. "They usually only realize I was gone once I get home."
She nodded, pursing her lips. "And Laura? They're all still well-hidden?"
"Thanks to you," he said and she smiled lightly at the man. "Everybody is still out of sight. Though, I am curious as to why you chose Iowa as the location."
Grace shrugged. "Nobody goes to Iowa." Clint chuckled and looked down. "Tell me about her." He looked at her and she motioned to the redhead who was now choking a dummy from behind. "Your mission was to kill her. What made you bring her here?"
"Gut feeling?" he replied, though it sounded more like a question. She quirked an eyebrow upward and he sighed. "I just... I saw something in her. Like she didn't want to fight. And I believed her."
Grace nodded and looked down at the file. "The Red Room..." she said with a sigh. "What happened with that?"
"It's the organization that trained her," Clint said and she glanced at the redhead. "She gave SHIELD information and we took it out. In exchange, she was allowed to come to the US and join SHIELD."
"Miss Stark." Grace looked up at the voice and saw Maria Hill walking in with the newest addition in tow. "Natasha Romanoff, meet Grace Stark. She's one of the founders of SHIELD. Miss Stark, Natasha Romanoff."
"It's very nice to meet you," Grace said, extending her hand out which Natasha took and shook. "Are you settling in well?"
"Yes, ma'am," Natasha replied and Grace nodded. "Everyone has been... welcoming."
Grace glanced between Clint and Natasha before clearing her throat. "Right. I better be going. Make sure my nephew hasn't killed himself by crashing into a wall again. Agent Hill, walk with me."
"Certainly."
Grace handed Clint the folder before turning to the redhead. "Welcome to SHIELD, Agent Romanoff."
She started out of the dark room and Maria followed. "Was there something specific you wanted to talk about, Miss Stark?"
"I want you to make sure that Agent Romanoff fits in well," Grace replied, stopping at the elevator. "From what I read, it seems she was on SHIELD's radar for all the wrong reasons." Maria nodded. "Which I will imagine might not go over well with others. Regardless of her past, everyone deserves a second chance."
"Of course."
"Good." Grace nodded before stepping onto the elevator. "And please tell Agent Coulson that I will not be signing any of his Captain America trading cards. I'm not Steve."
"You're still a hero to him," Maria said and Grace smiled lightly.
"Have a good day, Agent Hill."
⸻ ~~~ ⸻
𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐅𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 elevator and was walking toward the front door of the building when a photograph on the wall caught her eye. She stopped and fully looked at the picture. Grace was seated beside Peggy while Howard was on the other side of the table.
She remembered that day well.
"Okay, Howard, what was so important that we had to get here immediately?" Grace asked, sitting in the chair and letting out a breath.
"You know how we've been trying to figure out a shorter name for our organization?" he asked and she and Peggy both nodded. "Well, what if it isn't the name we have to change? What if we just gave it an abbreviation."
"Like what?"
"SHIELD." Grace and Peggy both looked at each other before shrugging. "The Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division. Better known as SHIELD."
"Why SHIELD?" Peggy asked, tilting her head to the side.
Howard let out a breath and glanced at his younger sister. "In honor of Steve Rogers." Grace looked up at him and he smiled lightly. "Steve represented so much good in our country," he said and her hand found the dog tags around her neck. "He was a symbol of hope and his shield became synonymous with that. What better way to honor him than with an organization named after him?"
Peggy glanced at the woman beside her. "I like it," she replied, resting a hand on Grace's shoulder. "What do you think, Gracie?"
Grace nodded and looked up. "Yeah. SHIELD it is..."
Grace tore her gaze away from the photograph and let out a breath. She played with the dog tags in her hand before tucking them under her shirt and smiling softly to herself.
⸻ ~~~ ⸻
an: one of these days the
chapters will be longer but I
feel like with this you get
more of Grace's story
Also, I tried to figure out
when everyone joined
SHIELD and I gave up
because I got confused
(I tried)