╔══════════════════╗
VALOR
ix. HAPPY BIRTHDAY
╚══════════════════╝
THE YEAR IS 2011. The date is November 2nd, 2011. More specifically, today is Riley O'Dair's birthday.
As of today, Riley has orbited around the sun ten times. The young heroine liked to think she'd learned a lot throughout the past decade—information about the strange world she inhabited, about the people surrounding her, and most importantly, about herself.
The idea of growing up had always excited Riley. She used to dream about the day where she was big and strong. She fantasized about being able to prove herself to everyone who doubted her that she was worth betting on. Riley couldn't wait for the days where her dreams could come true, where her life was finally paradise.
Her motivation and pure optimism toward her future were what kept Riley O'Dair going all of these years. Her life wasn't easy. She hadn't started her story off on the right foot, but even as she stumbled hopelessly through life, Riley O'Dair swore to herself that she would persevere.
Even if life tended to kick Riley's ass, she always tried to maintain a sunny exterior. She might have been a ruthless agent in the field, but her bubbly personality always shined through behind the scenes.
But today was different. Because now, not only was Riley 10-years-old, she had finally grown old enough to understand that whatever God was in control of her life really had a personal vendetta against her.
Riley was brought up differently than other children. She began to mature at a much younger age than anticipated, which was why many of her phases starter earlier than they should have. The newest phase she was experiencing was the one teenagers were notorious for—the one where they're constantly bitter and angry at the world for something, anything.
Still, Riley thought she was pretty valid in her regularly scheduled rage.
It all started last year, in which Iron Man was favored for the Avengers Initiative, whereas Tony Stark was rejected.
"I can't believe they liked Iron Man, but not the dude behind the mask! What kind of logic is that!?" Riley remembered shouting after finding out the news that Tony wouldn't be joining the Avengers.
She remembered how Tony shrugged despite his disappointment. He wouldn't let it show. "Funny. I said the same thing," Tony had calmly replied.
Riley had sighed, pouting. "If it makes ya feel better, I really fought for you in my report," she revealed. "I'm sure they cut some stuff out 'cause I wrote a lot, but I really thought you'd be perfect for the team!"
She remembered Tony's reaction after she had said those words: confusion mixed with something she couldn't quite identify. She hadn't realized it, but Tony was touched by the girl's kindness and optimism. "You really liked me that much, Tink?"
Riley shrugged. "You treat me like a normal person, you're really smart, and sometimes you're funny," she explained.
Riley smiled as she remembered how Tony placed a hand on her shoulder—a poor attempt at comforting her. Before he could get a word out, Riley burst out with laughter. "Geez, you're awful at comforting people!"
Though the memory of her conversation with Tony made Riley smile, she was still annoyed a year later. She had been so convinced that Tony was a perfect potential candidate for the Avengers Initiative! He wasn't like these other agents, and they all knew it. They were just scared of being proved wrong by Tony Stark. She knew it because she was in the same predicament as him!
Before you ask, yes, Fury had her second-guess her decision after telling her that Riley only liked Tony because they were incredibly similar. But Riley didn't care about all that. She had been considering the fate of the world when she wrote her mission report. Was that so hard to understand?
"How hard is it to understand that lifting a hammer shouldn't be what makes someone worthy to be the President of Asgard!" cried out Riley O'Dair. She sat in the cafeteria that afternoon, pointing her fork at her colleague as they chatted.
"King," corrected Phil Coulson as he munched on his salad. "I don't know why you're the only person who doesn't get the logistics behind Thor's hammer."
Riley shook her head. "No, I get it. I just think it's stupid," she defended. "You know what else doesn't make sense? If Thor can conjure thunder and shit, why does he need a hammer? Are they good conductors? Because I don't think so!"
Coulson lightly chuckled at the 10-year-old. "A god fell out of the sky in New Mexico, of all places, and you're concerned about the most trivial parts," he mused. He shook his head, eyeing her. "Have you been spending time with Tony Stark?"
Riley arched an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah," she confirmed. "Why? Is it obvious?"
"Only a little bit," he teased. That was his way of saying that it was as clear as the color of the sky.
The 10-year-old laughed at her close colleague's observation. Truth be told, Riley had spent quite a lot of time this past year with Tony Stark and the people he associated himself with, which really was just Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan.
She couldn't help herself when it came to team Iron Man. After being surrounded by agents who either treated her like a pitiful charity case, Riley ached to be around people who treated her like a normal person. Natasha had been one of those people for years, but she was still a pain to be around since they were still learning to like one another. The next best thing was Tony.
Riley had been significantly busier than ever this past year. Not only had she graduated at a high school level, but she also completed her training under the legendary Black Widow. It had taken two full years, but Riley finally gained a stronger grip on her powers and expanded her skill set as an agent. It was all thanks to Natasha Romanoff (for the most part, at least).
Now that Riley had completed the two tasks that had taken up her life the most, she had plenty of free time. That was where Tony Stark came into the picture.
Riley adored being around Tony, as well as Pepper and Happy. But mostly Tony. She soaked up the feeling of being treated equally like she was a sponge. It meant more to her than her colleagues could ever truly understand.
"So you're done with high school, you're done training with Romanoff," Coulson listed off. "What's next for you, Agent?"
Riley hummed. "I dunno," she admitted with a shrug. "I guess whatever Fury assigns me, right?"
Coulson nodded. "Fair," he started, "but there's gotta be something you're looking forward to."
"Well..." trailed Riley. "I guess the Avengers Initiative. I'm still bummed that Tony isn't gonna be on the team, but I'm excited to see who Fury actually approves."
Coulson's smile dropped. His gaze flickered back to her, concerned. Riley grew uncomfortable under his gaze. "...What?" she wondered.
"You mean, Director Fury hasn't told you yet?" Coulson inquired.
The naïve girl placed her fork down, tilting her head to the side. "Told me what?"
○ ○ ○
"No offense, Fury, but I'm going to actually kill you!" ragefully thundered Riley O'Dair as she forcibly swung open the door to Director Nick Fury's office.
Nick Fury sat at his desk, his attention focused on some papers in front of him. He leaned back in his chair in a relaxed state as he replied, "None taken."
Riley's eye twitched. She could practically feel the steam spewing out from her eyes, her skin hot to touch. "I'm serious," Riley snapped. Despite her anger, she carefully shut the door.
Fury sighed and glimpsed up at the 10-year-old. He studied her with a blank expression. Now, this wasn't the first time he had seen Riley so enraged. He basically watched her grow up, meaning he'd have to be completely blind to not know all of Riley's sides. This was nothing particularly new to him.
"Alright," he said. He placed the papers down and sat up. Leaning his arms on his desk, Fury asked, "What's wrong, O'Dair?"
Riley scoffed. "What's wrong?" she repeated. "How can you just look at me and act like you don't know anything?"
"The same way all of us can. It's our job," returned Fury. "Now, what is it?"
Riley folded her arms over her chest, trying to keep her emotions in check. It was a little hard to, considering this was the one thing Riley thought couldn't get taken away from her.
"The Avengers Initiative," she started. "When were you going to tell me you didn't have plans for me to be an Avenger?"
Fury visibly hesitated. It was clear to Riley that he hadn't expected the word to get back to her so soon. He wasn't sure how she found out in the first place, but he was surprised that it had taken her this long to find out. Riley glared daggers at her superior, awaiting a proper response
"It's... It's more complicated than that," Fury began.
Riley blinked furiously, trying to wrap her head around the fact. "Then explain yourself," demanded Riley. "Because I've been working my ass off for two years to master my powers and my skills to become a stronger agent and to become an Avenger. I thought that was the plan this whole time!"
"It is the plan," assured Fury.
Ignoring him, Riley continued to rant, "Why else would you have a kid go running around a freaking warzone for years? Why would you put someone through all this shit that no child should have to experience before they're even close to being an adult?"
"Agent, sit down."
Puffing her cheeks out, Riley unhappily sat down in the chair before his desk. She stared at him with the intensity of 1000 suns and said, "Well?"
Fury sighed. "Look, if you think you're not going to be apart of the Avengers Initiative, you were misinformed," he clarified. Riley was about to interrupt with more questions, but he beat her to it, "We just aren't planning on you joining the first batch of the Avengers. There are a lot of threats that we need to be prepared to handle, which is why we wanted to save you for the next batch of heroes that join the team. You're just..."
Riley narrowed her eyes at him. "Just what?"
"...Too... young."
"TOO YOUNG?" Riley was on her feet again. "Are you kidding? Was I too young when you sent me on the field for the first time? I was six, Fury! I was nine when I saved Iron Man's life three times! And you're telling me I'm too young!?"
"It's not like that—"
"I can't believe you!" interrupted Riley. "All I want is to help people. You know that's all I've ever wanted to do. You know that all I've wanted to do is use these powers for good! So why aren't you letting me do the one thing I've been training my whole life to do!?"
Fury wasn't sure what to say to that, nor did he know what she said after that as he became lost in his thoughts. For once, he was caught off-guard. Nick Fury was always firm with his decisions, always confident in himself and his abilities. But for the first time in a long time, the poor child had made some points that Fury actually listened to.
After all, Riley was right. She'd been put through hell to be a hero. Everyone knew she was destined for greatness. It was just a matter of when and how; a matter of who was going to help her get there. Fury had been convinced that having Riley join the Avengers when she was older was the right call.
In all honesty, Riley O'Dair was a perfect candidate for the Avengers Initiative. The issue was that Fury didn't want to just throw her in when the team was still vulnerable. He didn't want to jeopardize Riley's life by having her join a team he didn't even know would succeed. He also wanted to wait until Riley was older, more experienced. He didn't want to worry about losing someone with Riley's particular skillset all because the Avengers weren't as strong as he once thought.
But now that he was thinking about it, Fury had an idea...
"Okay," Nick Fury said, cutting into Riley's rant.
The girl tilted her head to the side. "Okay, what?" she demanded.
"Okay, I changed my mind," Fury announced rather nonchalantly. "It's been a pleasure chatting with you."
Riley was taken aback. "...Huh?"
Fury leaned back in his chair to continue working. "You heard me," he retorted. "Now, get the hell out of my office before I decide you're better off organizing paperwork for the rest of the week."
A big smile grew on Riley's face. Truth be told, Riley had been in this situation plenty of times. She was always arguing, always fighting for what she believed was right and just. Most of the time, she was dismissed for her age and inexperience. But maybe something was different now that she was 10... or maybe everyone was just tired of the poor girl's complaining.
Well, whatever it was, Riley was excited to solidify her spot on the Avengers. It was easily the best birthday present she could receive. She didn't know it yet, but being apart of the Avengers would be the first time Riley ever experienced what it was like to have a family. And that itself meant more to her than she would care to admit.
Riley just wished she knew that before meeting everyone the next year because God knows that it would take some time for everyone to tolerate each other.