CHAPTER FIVE:

The Mutant

Rose wasn't at all impressed by with the man who was supposedly her new asset.

The Doctor faltered in his eagerness to expose her as an 'alien' and turned to look at his flustered companion. He looked back at Rose and gazed down at his sonic screwdriver before mouthing an 'oh' and scratching his ear in embarrassment. He opened his mouth, clearly preparing to apologise to the bewildered Agent but before anyone could say anything, the doors to the cafeteria flung open and an extremely grumpy Nick Fury strode in with his one good eye glaring specifically in the direction of the Doctor.

Maria immediately stood up as her boss approached and saluted him in greeting. "Sir"

"Would someone care to tell me what is going on in here? Why did I just get a message from a frightened rookie that there was a lunatic running around in here, flashing some kind of weapon at Agent Tyler?"

"Ah sorry about that" the Doctor said sheepishly and rubbed his neck gingerly. "My sonic picked up on some unusual readings. I was a little concerned and may have..."

"Harassed me in an attempt to get me to admit that I was an alien" Rose finished flatly and she glared at him through brown eyes. She hadn't know what to expect that morning when she discovered she'd be meeting her new asset and the key to her promotion but the Doctor wasn't anything like she could have imagined. "Would you like to tell me what that was all about because the last time I checked I'm completely human?" Well besides from the fact that she was a mutant with special abilities – but there were plenty of mutant humans in the world. Most of them went to Xavier's school though and didn't join up with SHIELD at fourteen.

The Doctor's gaze flickered over to her in surprise "Ooh you're British"

"And you're rude" she retorted while his companion – Donna – smirked at him knowingly.

"I have been told that from time to time"

"That's enough of the chit chat" Fury barked, interrupting their banter. "You three with me" he ordered, pointing at the Doctor, Donna and Rose.

The blonde looked mournfully at her unfinished lunch but pushed it aside as she stood up and made to follow them out. Maria gave her a sympathetic look as she passed; having gone through this herself several times since she was the second in command to Fury.

"Doctor, the next time that you want to interrogate any of my employees I must insist that you allow me to be present in the room"

"I wasn't trying to interrogate anybody"

"I think blondie over there disagrees" Donna snorted and Rose threw her a look.

"The name's Agent Tyler not blondie, Ms Honour"

Donna's eyebrows shot up as the Doctor held back a laugh. "Ms Honour? Who is that supposed to be?"

"That's not your last name? Director Fury told me that you were Donna Honour"

"You're telling me you forgot my last name?" the fiery woman looked at the director indignantly. "What am I not important enough for you or something? I'm just the Doctor's tag-along or his assistant, am I?"

"I apologise, Donna" Rose interrupted calmly before Donna did something to annoy the director and get herself thrown into a holding cell for the day or something. "What's your name?"

"Donna Noble"

Rose nodded and gave the woman a patient smile "Okay then Ms Noble"

"Sorry for accusing you of being a monster" the Doctor added to Rose as they made their way to the director's office. "You don't look at all monster-like if that's any consolation"

"It's fine. It happens all the time"

"Really?" he squeaked in surprise.

"No" she retorted dryly as they entered the office and took a seat in front of the director's desk after he signalled them to sit.

"So if you're not a monster and you're not an alien, what are you then? My sonic wouldn't go mad for no reason"

"Agent Tyler is one of our most valued assets" Fury answered the Doctor's question on behalf of Rose. "She has been with us since she was a teenager after her mother was killed in an event SHIELD investigated. She was brought on because of her unique skills. She also happens to be a mutant"

"A mutant, what's one of those then?" Donna demanded, eying Rose suspiciously. "She's not half turtle or dog or something is she?"

Rose looked at them both in surprise. "You don't know what mutants are?"

"Well I'm an alien but I've been around a lot of human humans and not whatever mutant humans are" the Doctor shrugged. "Never even heard of them until now and Donna's used to always missing the bigger picture so you'll have to excuse her ignorance"

"Oi I'll slap you in a minute if you keep speaking like I'm not here"

"A mutant, Doctor, Miss Noble" Fury spoke cutting into what was probably about to turn into a bickering contest between Donna and the Doctor "is what we call a certain special type of human"

"You mean blonde, perky and pretty?" the red head snorted. Fury shot her a glare that warned her to shut up before he had her carted off.

"Some people on Earth are born with special gifts. They make up about thirty five percent of Earth's population. They are what some scientists call 'evolved humans' meaning they are more advanced than us normal humans with supernatural gifts of varying kinds depending on the person"

"That's not possible" the Doctor shook his head. "I would know if humans like that existed and had been in existence all this time"

Rose felt a stab of annoyance at his tone as if it wasn't something he already knew, it wasn't real or possible. Her lips pursed tightly to visibly display her irritation. "It's pretty arrogant of you to say so, Doctor. Has it not occurred to you that maybe you've not uncovered all that there is to uncover about our civilization?"

The skinny brunette man gaped at her stupidly. Donna's lips stretched into a wide smile, her eyes twinkling with delight. "Oh but this is brilliant, you've finally done the impossible and shut him up!"

"If you are telling the truth" the Doctor finally managed to get his power of speech back and narrowed his brown eyes at her. "Then why don't you show me what special power you have?"

Rose glanced over at her employer for permission. He nodded and sat back in his seat with a smug smirk on his face, more than happy to see this so called alien genius put into his place.

"Very well but try not to freak out" she calmly stood up and gazed at him for a moment. Suddenly her eyes flashed a vivid, sparkling gold and his eyes locked onto hers, unable to glance away for a moment. She was beautiful. Her whole body began to glow, her hair and her skin lighting up like a luminescent light. Then, to Donna and the Doctor's alarm, her body began to dissolve into dust.

Donna shrieked in alarm. "What – what's happening to her?!"

Fury didn't even bat an eyelid at the twosome "She told you not to freak out"

They watched in horror and amazement as the golden dust flew over to the other side of the room and Rose's body slowly began to put itself back together again until the woman was standing before them in all her human glory. "I can do more than that but I thought that would suffice for now" she informed them with a slight grin on her face.

The Doctor spluttered at her, seemingly unable to believe what he had just seen. "But that was impossible!"

"Not for a mutant. I assure you that there are stranger mutants than myself out there and far more dangerous" Her expression turned serious as she walked back towards them. "Some will kill you on sight just for not being a mutant. They're mostly part of a dangerous society called the brotherhood of mutants"

"Is that why you called me in? To help with this brotherhood?" the Doctor asked as he turned to Fury.

"No, that's the X-Men's jurisdiction, not SHIELDs. We called you in because we wanted to see if you would be a good fit for our team"

"What team's that?"

"The Avengers"

Rose tilted her head slightly and pursed her lips at them in thought before speaking. "Personally I don't understand why all these organisations are tripping over themselves to get you to work with them"

"Ms Tyler-"

"Really?" the Doctor preened, cutting off the director and ignoring the fact that Rose had in fact just insulted him. "They're all desperate to work with me?"

"Well not Torchwood, they just want to capture you and dissect you"

"Enough with the gossiping" Fury barked, silencing everyone even Donna. "As I was saying we were hoping that once you got to learn the ropes around here that you would consider either joining or consulting our specialised team of heroes who protect this Earth from any and all major threats"

"You mean like that Tin Man?" Donna asked fixing her gaze on the director who seemed amused by her description of Tony Stark – as was Rose.

"Iron Man and yes"

"Ooh look at that, space boy, you get to be a real life hero!"

The Doctor snorted in derision. "I'm already a hero. I don't see what any human has over me"

"Modesty for one" Rose snapped, growing increasingly irritated with the Doctor's attitude. "And an instinct that I doubt you could match"

"So Doctor" Fury interrupted before he could began arguing with Rose. "What will it be?"

"Let me meet them and then I'll decide"

"Fine but as some of the team are away currently, you'll have to wait a few days"

"I've got a time machine"

The director nodded "Very well, now if you don't mind I would like a word with my Agent alone"

"No doubt to talk about me" the Doctor assumed. Fury merely glared at him until the man grabbed Donna and disappeared into the TARDIS. He then turned to his mutant employee with a questioning gaze.

"So what do you make of the asset so far?"

"I think he's arrogant, presumptuous, eccentric and borderline crazy but he obviously knows his stuff" Rose answered honestly.

"Keep an eye on him and his assistant and report back to me weekly"

"Yes sir"

Rose saluted her boss before walking out of the room and thought to herself that her day couldn't possibly get any stranger which was the exact moment one of the SHIELD alarms chose to blare.

"CODE GREEN, CODE GREEN" a bland voice called out of the speakers which Rose knew meant only one thing: Doctor Bruce Banner had hulked out in the building and was on the loose.

Thanks for all the encouraging reviews so far! I hope you enjoyed this update :) By the way, I'm putting up a poll on my profile page so you can vote for which Avengers pairings you'd like to see :)