Leah Stark - The Unknown Child

1.01.0

Leah's POV

When you're ten, leaving a hell hole of a home, you don't really think it could get much worse. While living on the street isn't a price of cake, you learn much more about the real world than you ever could in a classroom.
One thing I learnt is that people throw away some really useful stuff, even if it is a little broken. All you gotta do is know where to look for the right parts, the bins of an electronics shop for example, and you've got yourself a perfectly functional computer. And if you know the right thrift shops, you can find some pretty nice clothes.
It's been five whole years since I left, and somehow I managed to travel from Ohio to Manhattan, New York, where I have recently decided to take up residence, on the streets.
A lot of people often think that being homeless must be terrible, especially if you're a kid, but personally I don't mind it. It wasn't too difficult to bypass security measures for executive buildings and use there stuff; people wouldn't question it either, because the building had security gates.
I had my eye on one building in particular I wanted to explore ever since I arrived in the Big Apple - Avengers Tower, previously know as Stark Tower. Apparently it was one of the most secure buildings in the world, so it was more of a test for me to see how far I could go before getting myself caught by security.
I slid the old laptop out of my rucksack before stashing the bag under a garbage bin. I was wearing a shirt and skirt along with some slightly scuffed up shoes, which in my mind was enough to get away with my mission.
I walked towards the tower, the train being too expensive for me, and as I arrived I began scanning the people leaving the building, trying to find the easiest person to pickpocket for their badge.
My eyes instantly fell on a woman with short, bright red hair, who looked out of place among the lab coats and suits. She wore a leather jacket and jeans. I smiled, seeing her badge poking out of her jacket slightly. I strode over towards the building before looking down and bumping into her, sliding my hand into her pocket and taking the pass. Most people don't realise this but most pickpockets let their victims feel like the alpha, it makes the other person feel like they're in control when really they're the ones getting screwed over.
I quickly apologised to her before running up the steps, admiring the pass as I did so.
"Thank you Natasha Romanoff for keeping a street urchin fed. I will make sure to ask the big man in the sky to reserve a special place for you up there" I muttered to myself, analysing the card. I then noticed some small text under her name - 'Penthouse Clearance'.
"Holy shit." I muttered to myself, rushing into the elevator and scanning the card to get up to the penthouse floor. I powered up my laptop and logged into the WiFi, which was luckily free.
I opened the software o used to hack and used the WiFi as my opening, knowing it was often connected to the security servers and other areas. The penthouse security was incredibly difficult to hack into. Whoever made it clearly knew what they where doing as the incription got harder and harder to get past.
I sat in the corner of the elevator, attempting to disable the security as the doors rolled open. 'Screw it' I thought, putting my laptop in the corner of the elevator in case I needed to make a quick escape. No doubt someone knew I was already here.
I crept through the apartment, checking around each corner for any signs of life before I eventually made my way to the kitchen. It was modern, with the sleek black counters and large white tiles. I moved my fingers over the counters, mesmerised by the luxury of the penthouse.
I quickly sped over to the fridge freezer and opened it, only to find a bunch of leftovers and take-out boxes. I sighed, muttering about how I thought billionaires would eat nicer food.
I picked some up before the doors of the kitchen burst open and 20 fully armed security people surrounded me, their leader yelling at me, "Put your hands up!"
I did so, dropping whatever food I was holding. I turned around to see Natasha, holding a knife that glinted in the light, along with 3 other stern looking men, who looked rather out of place wearing casual clothes.
My eyes kept flicking between them and the knife.
Knife.
KNIFE!

Tony's POV - 20 minuets earlier.
AC/DC was playing as I methodically fiddles with some small wiring for one of my suits when FRIDAY alerted me to hacking in the penthouse security.
I laughed slightly, thinking about how idiotic it was to even attempt to get into my system. "Just tell me when they reach 65% competition, then I'll be worried." I returned to adjusting the circuit, when not even a minute later I was informed that the intruder had reached 65%.
"What?" I screamed, shocked.
"The intruder is now at 69% completion sir."
"Fri, treble, no quadruple encrypt the security data and alert armed security. Get Capsicle and Big Green up here too!"
I was terrified, things like this didn't happen here. The only person that had attempted to hack into the penthouse security, apart from HYDRA was Peter, and he had permission after I updated the system. I stabilised the circuit quickly before moving over to the computer to try and hack into the intruding source. It was just as convoluted as my security. Whoever was doing this had a genius equal to myself, which explained the quick hacking.
"Sir you are receiving a call from Miss Romanoff, would you like to accept?"
I nodded, confused because Natasha normally text people unless it was an emergency.
"Tony! Someone stole my pass into the tower! I have no idea how, but it's gone!"
"Nat, just get into the tower, I'll have Happy let you through. Get to the lab, we have a Code Amber!"
"Code Amber!" She yelled astonished. "I'll be right up!" The line went dead.
I returned to the lines of encrypted data of whatever device was being used.
Both Banner and Cap soon burst into the lab, panicked looks on their faces. 20 armed security officers enters close behind them.
"Tony what happened?" Bruce asked.
"Someone is hacking into the security and their system is as good as mine. I've had FRIDAY quadruple encrypt the  system, but considering they got through so fast, I don't think it's going to stop then for long."
Just at that moment Natasha burst through the service stairwell, frightening everyone in the room.
"Tasha, why didn't you use the elevator?" Steve asked, an amused look on his face.
"They were taking to long to come down, so I ran up the stairs!" She yelled, angry at the fact her card was stolen and Steve being amused at her sprinting up over 50 floors to get here.
FRIDAY suddenly spoke up: "Sir, hacking has stopped at 92%, however I have detected a heat signature heading towards the kitchen."
We all looked at each other and nodded, all sprinting up the service stairs towards the penthouse.
When we reached the level, Nat pulled a knife from her boot. The security guards cleared the floor, us following close behind, before we made our way to the kitchen.
The guards kicked open the doors, surrounding the intruder, yelling at whoever it was to put their hands up.  I, along with Steve, Bruce and a furious Natasha, pushed our way to the front.
Then I saw her.
A small, pale, frail girl wearing charity shop clothes stood in my kitchen. Her cheeks were hollow, as were her eye sockets apart from the deep, brown eyes that seemed to be filled with both feat and ambition. Her body seemed to be only skin and bones and her clothes hung of her body, creating the horrifying illusion that she was smaller than she really was. Her brown hair was thin and brittle from malnutrition.
I attempted to seem angry at the petrified child, but all I could feel was misery for the girls situation. I glanced at the others; both Steve and Bruce seemed surprised, yet stern, but Natasha seemed pissed.
The food she was holding dropped on the floor as the girl raised her hands, staring in fear at the knife in Natasha's hand, not the guns pointed at her.