“Oh – Uhm, hi there.” Astrid blinked several times as there was a sudden whirlwind of blond and plaid with a flurry of southern accent before she was left standing alone again. She finally got a good look at the rushed young man, ready to give her name before yet another young man sauntered out. Oh jeez. Was she going to be the only girl on the team? She wrung her hands nervously as she followed them both out of the corridor and down to the main area. “I guess so... Oh – I'm Astrid, by the way. Astrid Torres.” She had quickly turned to answer Nick, mentally chastising herself for not having answered him when he addressed her previously. She was able to get a good look at both of the young men now and wasn't sure if she should feel even more self-conscious or if she should giggle a little. Standing next to them she was obviously the odd-one-out. The runt of the litter. Blondie looked like he just stepped out of a GAC music video while the brunet looked like he should be modeling for Aeropostale or American Eagle. 

They were both also very muscular and tall. 

She, on the other hand, decided to wear lightly torn daisy dukes [despite the chilly September air], suspenders, a tight white button down, a DC hat that was turned a bit to the side so she could see properly, and Ed Hardy heels. Yeah. Really professional. She fiddled with her lip piercing and suddenly felt like some kind of punk kid taken in to be reformed into a functioning member of society. She didn't really act like a punk – She was a complete sweetheart. But she could be a very outspoken and loved a good prank. She was also aware that she was the only one in the room with tattoos. And as far as she knew none of the other Avengers had tattoos. Yeah. She seriously stood out in this crowd in every way. “So... I'm guessing you guys are like super secret agents...or soldiers, right?” 

- - - - 

“I'm telling you that these plans are entirely possible. Given enough resources, minds, and time.” Agent Fidel exited the elevator with Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, all three of them seeming to be inspecting 3d holograms of what looked like...a person. The young teenager had been running over ideas with her mentors since the moment she met them and they seemed pleased to no end to have such a young and brilliant mind to work with. Though Tony did take a blow to his ego when the fourteen year old was able to work out a kink in a blueprint that he had been working on for weeks. She had only [i]glanced[/i] at it. But it was a bigger boost to know that she practically worshiped him. And not in the creepy way. 

“Great – We're all here then.” Steve Rogers' voice boomed out across the foyer as he exited his room, leaning over the rail and looking as though he had been standing there the whole time. Thor, Natasha, and Bart seemed to come out of their rooms one after the other, making their way down to the foyer. Sofia took a stand next to the other three apprentices as the six Avengers stood in front of them, Steve heading them. “I don't think I have to tell you all how special you are to have been chosen for the Avengers Apprentice Initiative. You four were hand picked out of literally hundreds of thousands of others. You're the best at what you do – You've got raw potential that could do the world some good and this world really could use some good.”

As he went on, it wasn't a surprise that most everyone in the room was giggling internally. Not out of disrespect, but simply because everything about him was so plain and old fashioned by modern standards and it was a bit comical. The other Avengers also laughed internally when Thor spoke, so Steve wasn't alone in his outsideness. But he was serious though. He held a kind expression, giving the young people before him a light smile. They gave him hope for the future. He and the others went on to give short, but inspirational, speeches before the sun began to set over the tall buildings outside, casting a purplish glow inside the building. “I know that we didn't really get a chance to talk and answer any questions you might have, but we won't start training until tomorrow night so right now, we've got enough time for chatting.” Natasha was the last to speak, approaching the others in a plain green t-shirt and black jeans. 

Astrid couldn't really say that she had any questions to ask. She was just there to follow orders. Normally she was against following humans blindly – You'd think that this particular situation would make her more cautious. But she trusted Steve. The others? She wasn't so sure. Thor seemed pretty trustworthy. But Tony Stark had a reputation, Bart and Natasha were apparently super spy assassins, and she didn't know much about Doctor Banner. Instead of launching into questions, she stood quietly with her hands clasped together. Sofia, however, was quick to jump into interviewing the other mentors. She had a week prior to grill Stark and Banner to get to know them. Thor was her next target. Steve was truly something, really. But Scandinavian deity trumped frozen American icon. “Excuse me – I hope I'm not interrupting.” 

That was a lie. She didn't care if she was interrupting. She had an ego as big as Avengers Tower and she was positive that she had far more stimulating conversation to offer the Prince before her than the country bumpkin Thor had apparently taken under his wing. She was actually dying to know why he took Nicholas as an apprentice. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s file on him was relatively fresh but she hadn't been able to get much information on him. While she could keep them from tracing her hacks back to her, they had Tony putting up firewalls specifically meant for her and she didn't have time to come up with new programs as fast as Tony was pumping out his firewalls. She was fourteen. She had homework. And not Algebra I. She had homework in Holographic Engineering.