Astrid Foster/Valkyrie's Story

Astrid sat in class sort of daydreaming as the stoic teacher went through his history lesson in a monotone voice. "Im passing back your book reports and I must say I was impressed by how thorough some of you were on your topics of interest. Miss Foster", he tapped Astrid on the shoulder. I'm very impressed with yours, the extensive information you had on Norse mythology and viking history was very interesting. I commend you on on your grade, very rarely do find one of my students reports to be so enthralling that I don't want to put it down till I'm finished".

Astrid nodded "Thank you sir" she blushed slightly as some in the class laughed at her, the teacher nodded and continued passing out the rest of the graded assignments.

ᴬ⁺ 150/100

She hated getting papers like this sometimes, it usually ended up with her getting teased, she sighed and as soon as the bell tolled she bolted out the door and to her locker. "Just be grateful it's your last year of high school" she said quietly to herself, the fact that is was a school on a military base didn't help either. "Astrid dear your just special that all", she heard this all the time from her mother, but that didn't change the fact it was embarrassing as hell.

She stood staring into the mirror in the back of her locker at the necklace around her neck it was a gift from her mother on her tenth birthday,"Thor's hammer" she mumbled.

"Oh so the freak is talking to herself again" said a loud obnoxious voice at the locker next to her. Griffin Marx was one of the many school bullies that liked to pick on Astrid and his locker was just four down from her. "Didn't ya hear me freak", he said again, Astrid sighed and continued grabbing the books she would need to take home with her. Suddenly the locker door was slammed shut, but Astrid was quick and expecting it she pulled her backpack out before the door shut.

"Griffin I don't have time to sit and listen to you be an idiot I have to get home ans start dinner so if you don't mind. Can we get this fight over with quickly" Astrid was well know around the school for winning fist fights that she was tossed into. But this was the first time someone had forcefully decided that they wanted to fight her.

Griffin smirked "So you think you can beat me, just because you beat the crap out of Collin last week. He's a puss it doesn't surprise me that you kicked his ass", Griffin laughed.

Astrid threw her backpack over her shoulder, "Well let get on with it" she walked ahead of him as he and his gang of thugs followed behind her. There was an empty field next to the school that the ROTC typically used for drills. She sat her backpack down on the side and turned to face Griffin, he shrugged off his leather jacket and stood in front of Astrid. "It's gonna be fun beating you down bitch", he said with his crocked teeth grin. Balling up his fist, pulling back to send a right hook right into Astrid's face.

But in a blink she grabbed his arm in mid punch, hefted the much bigger Griffin over her head and slammed him on the ground behind her. She then cranked his arm behind his back almost to the breaking point. "If pull any harder Griffin I will snap your arm so I suggest you give right now".

Griffin had tears streaming down his cheeks and mumbled a response, Astrid took that as the sign he had, had enough and released him from the painful hold. She walked back to her bag and walked away from the field leaving Griffin and his goons in shock, she lived in a house on base and it didn't take her long to jog home. She knew it would be some time before her mother got off from her shift at the military hospital so Astrid decided to begin prepping food for dinner.

"Wow it smells wonderful in here" said Jane as she set her keys and purse down, she walked into the kitchen to see her daughter Astrid. She looked over Astrid's shoulder "Chicken and noodles sounds good to me. How as your day Astrid?" she asked.

Astrid sighed "Alright I guess..." as she kept stirring the food.

"Oh no... Honey don't tell me you got in another fight, I can't afford to get another set of parents off my back again" Jane said as she slumped down into one of the kitchen chairs.

"I'm sorry mom but the guy challenged me, I couldn't just back down" she sighed as she took the pot off the burner.

"Your too much like your father sometimes" whispered Jane to herself, so Astrid wouldn't hear.

Astrid spooned some food into a bowl and set it down in front of her mother "If I knew who my father was I could maybe avoid acting like him" she said "I'm going to my room" she turned to left out of the kitchen.

Jane sighed how she wished Astrid could know her father she was sure he would be elated to know that they had a child, but the consequences of the government or worse finding out who Astrid's father was too great of a chance. "Honey I wish you could know your father" she said under her breath as she began to eat her food.

Astrid hadn't spoken to her mother for the rest of the night and by the time she woke up in the morning her mother had gone to work. She was starving cause of the choice she had made the night before not to eat. As she made herself some scrambled eggs, she thought about the slight argument that she had, with her mother the night before as well. It was an argument they had been having since Astrid was about 10 years old, and the answer was always that her mother didn't know. But then Astrid would her comments like she did last night and she knew her mother wasn't telling the whole truth, it really pissed her off cause she was always truthful with her mother. But she insisted on keeping something as important as her parentage from her, when she was younger she had wondered if her father was some serial killer or rapist or...something. But now she knew there was just something her mother wasn't willing to tell her, "Why doesn't she trust me?" she sad to herself. When the smell of scorching hit her nose she knew she had spent too much time daydreaming and had almost burnt her breakfast.

After slapping the "good" parts of her eggs on a couple of slices of toast she was heading out the door to school. She had thought briefly about skipping today but living on a army base that plan hardly ever worked.

She was surprised at the amount of people chatting outside the school Did you hear about the new guy I heard his reeeeally cute" said one girl to the other.

Astrid shook her head she never understood the "fan girl" fascination that some girls fell into and she proceeded to find a tree to lean up against until school started. She always got weird looks from girls, because she was tall, had blonde hair, and a body that many girls would die to have. But Astrid never had to do a thing, no exercise, no dieting she always looked like this and girls hated her for it. Or they were curious as to why she wasn't one of the most popular girls in school. The truth was Astrid didn't like people who thought they were better then another person based on the fact that they were prettier then everyone else.

"Hey Astrid whats up?, she looked up to see her best friend "Hey, Bailey" she said.

They guy before her was a head shorter then her, had large, thick black glasses on, and Captain America t-shirt on. The kid was by everyone else's standards considered be a geek, but Bailey was one of the nicest person you would ever meet. He had an obsession over the Avengers, he had all kind of books and merchandise at his house, much to the chagrin to his father who was a General. All tough guys like General Hicks wanted their sons to be muscle headed idiots like themselves. So to have a total dork for a son is very disappointing to him and he never ceases to let Bailey know either.

"Soo you hear the rumors about the new kid that just enrolled?" he asked with pure enthusiasm over the social buzz that was floating around school.

"I think it's kind of odd for someone to be coming in a couple of months before school get out, but hey I'm not the principle. So if someone want to come in and the tail end of school I guess it's their prerogative" she said as she pushed away from the tree.

"I also heard through the grape vine that you beat the holy hell out of Griffin yesterday too" he said with a smile. "Almost broke his arm, I swear Astrid are you sure your not some kind of super hero from another planet, like in the comic books?" he chuckled.

This was a conversation that she had been having with him since they were in the third grade, "Nooo, I'm sure I'm not some kind of super hero" Astrid sighed.

"Maybe your a mutant? I've been hearing allot about that lately in the news there's supposed to be some school in New York. All kinds of secret shit" he said with genuine concern for her.

That was a new explanation, Astrid thought about it for a moment, maybe he was right and that's why her mother wold tell her anything about her father. "I don't know maybe I am..." it was then the bell rang and everyone started to file into school to start the day. The pair walked in hoping the day would be fairly uneventful.

Bailey and Astrid walked up to their lockers, Astrid was still thinking about her mother "He must be the new guy" said Bailey.

Astrid turned to see a guy with dark sunglasses on, who was obviously attracting attention from the girls, the guy looked like all the typical self absorbed, pompous ass's that were the "popular kids" in school. "Must be a typical General's kid, no offence Bailey", said Astrid.

"None taken, I know I'm not normal but I enjoy being different. Besides in ten years when I'm a computer genius this guy is gonna a drunk, wasted in a bar in Tahoe" he laughed.

Astrid laughed and shook her head, "Yeah your right it's always the one that were considered odd or nerds in high school that become successful" she said as she closed her locker. She noticed the guy had blue tooth or something stuck in his ear and he was talking, "I never understood blue tooth, back in the day if you saw someone talking to themselves like that you just assumed they were crazy" said Astrid.

"Your weird like that Astrid, you always act like your from another time. Maybe that's why you are the way you are, your a time traveler with amnesia" Bailey said.

Astrid rolled her eyes "Why does that sound like a bad episode of Doctor Who" she sighed "Come on we need to get Physics before the teacher blows a gasket".

The pair did there best to get ahead of the new kid and his entourage of fangirls "I don't know why but he seems familiar like someone I've seen on TV or something" she whispered to Bailey.

"I know it's like he thinks he's Tony Stark or something" he laughed.

Bailey and Astrid sat next to each other in class but Astrid kept looking back at the new guy who was sitting casually in the back of the room. "Miss foster perhaps you would like to come up and do the next problem on the board" the room was filled with slight giggling from other's in the class. The only time this teacher made someone do problems in front of the class was when he thought they weren't paying attention to his lecture.

Astrid sighed and shook her head "Yes sir", she said as she walked up to the board. Why was this guy getting to her maybe it was his air of sure arrogance around him like he was too smart or good for the class. It was those type of attitudes that grated on her nerves, she took the chalk in her hand and began to work out the equation on the board. The laughing stopped as Astrid's hand flew across and in about a minute she had it solved, she set the chalk gently down in the tray and sat back down. The teacher brought his manual up to the board with an astonished look on his face, quickly glancing back and forth between the book and the board. It was right and he didn't know what to do at that point, most of the time he would have something to critique but there was nothing it was completely correct.

"How did you do that... we haven't even studied the equation to solve this by yet" he mumbled.

Astrid raised an eyebrow at the new guy, "Foster, Astrid Foster and actually I study... not that you know anything about that".

Bailey's eyes went wide when the new kid took off his sunglasses Oh my God it's Iron Man's son! he said in excitement.

Astrid looked the kid up and down now she remembered where she had seen him before, and it had been on TV he was Tony Stark's son but what the hell was he doing here. Bailey looked like he was going to hyperventilate and pass out. Astrid rolled her eyes "You know if you have a problem with the public education system then why the hell are you here Mr. Stark she said.

The teacher was drooling over the bill that the rich kid had slapped down on his desk "You kids do whatever you want I'm going to take a break" he turned and walked out the door.

David Placed a hand and Astrid's shoulder motioning to the door. '' Can I talk to your for a minute. Just in privet.'' David Lead her out into halls of the school and held his hand out in greeting. "David Stark, you probably heard of me. listen You may not know this But your are currently under satalite trace by Non-Government founded organization, know as SHIELD. I was able to find you using some advanced technology used by my Father's Industry, and I took the first. Ummm plaine flight here. I think I might be able to help you. I may have Access to information, That well probably Shouldn't even exist. That is Unless you enjoy living alone with your mother on a Military Base, even though have no record of your father or any service men under the name of Foster.'' said David after giving off detailed Information on her. '' or am I just wasting your time, and mine '' Because seriously there's about three other people I could be looking for right about now.''

Astrid gave an awkward face as David pulled her outside the classroom. He started talking a mile a minute "Whoa Whoa slow down, first of all Foster is my mothers name I don't know what my father's name is. Secondly why are you after me, and what do you mean a tracking device?" she asked. What did she have to do with anything secret... then she thought about it maybe that was why her mother didn't say anything about her father. "Are you trying to tell me I have something to do with the Avengers... I think your mistaken theres nothing that extraordinary about me"

"Hey wait!" said Astrid "Don't think your pulling that stupid reverse Psychology crap on me, Im generally interested" she said as she grabbed his shoulder. "But I have to tell my mom I'm leaving, Im not a multibillionaires kid I can't just catch the next flight to god knows where without telling my mother" she said. "But I want to know more okay... I've always wondered why Im different guys pick fights with me at least once a week becuase I can bench press more then them. But it's still hard for me to wrap my head around being something... special".