Disclaimer: I do not own any of the featured Marvel characters. But I do own Victoria/Stupéfier. So there!

It smelled different.

That was the first thing Victoria noticed. The air smelled different. It was thicker and harder to breathe. She couldn't describe it, but it was much different. It was American air. Free air. She had finally made it. Now France seemed so far away. But that was okay. Everything suddenly became okay as soon as she saw the Statue of Liberty waiting for her.

As Victoria found her motel without a problem, which, in a city that big, could have been a problem, and unpacked her few suitcases. Her motel was a few blocks before the Brooklyn Bridge, closer to Soho than anything else. And, even though she wanted to see all they city's landmarks, she knew that it was not the time. First she had to do what she had come to this country--this city--to do. And that was to join the Avengers.

She threw on her costume; a long, silk dress with the end ripped. It was purely black, which matched her football-shaped mask. She wore long, black ballroom gloves and shoes she had designed herself to help with her coordination, balance, and leaps. Back home she had named herself Stupéfier. It meant "Amazing" in French, and she decided to let the name stick.

Her powers were not necessarily original: she had super-strength, super-speed, and the ability to leap great distances. And as he jumped out of her motel room window and landed two blocks away on top of a roof, she decided that her powers would come in handy here.

Out of her shoe she pulled a list. A to-do list. She had researched how superheroes work in New York, and she wanted to become familiar with their ways. The Daily Bugle was apparently big on superheroes. She made that her first stop.

She leaped three to five blocks at a time, meaning she was at the building within minutes. It was very near Soho, which helped her out greatly. She wanted to meet Mr. Jameson, the famous leader of the newspaper. She knew his office was on the top floor, but how to meet him? Just walk in? Stupéfier decided that, if she were to introduce herself, she should do it professionally. So, with her dignity, she entered the building from the ground floor, took the elevator, and spoke to the secretary. She was young with a dark bob haircut. Her nameplate read "Betty Brant".

"'Ello, Miss Brant. May I meet Mr. Jameson?" she said with a thick English accent.

Betty looked up from her papers, startled at the guest's appearance, and didn't say anything as Stupéfier allowed herself in. Mr. Jameson was on the phone. But when he saw that his visitor was wearing a mask he hung up instantly.

"Who the hell are you?"

Confused by his rudeness, she said, "I am Stupéfier. I am new here, and I have heard that you are...eh...a big influence in the superhero business, no?"

The man put out his cigar. His face was square, his face flushed and his mustache very funny looking, by her standards. "Where are you from? England?"

"France, but close enough, eh?" She stuck out her gloved hand to shake. Jameson eyed it, then shook it very awkwardly.

Then a young boy--well, he wasn't that young--rushed in with his camera. He was gasping and he started snapping photos, as he had seen the mysterious visitor through the window. He seemed to be a guy who took care of himself. His hair was pushed back, and his glasses were smudge-free.

"Who is that?" Stupéfier asked.

"That would be Peter Parker. My photographer. Right on time, there, kiddo! And if you charge me extra, I swear I will--"

"What's your name?" Peter asked as he stopped clicking the buttons on him cameras.

"Stupéfier."

"You from France?"

She nodded, happy that someone got it right.

"What's your deal? Your powers, I mean?" He seemed very curious.

"Oh. I, eh, am strong, fast, and I can leap very far. It is how I got here, at the newspaper. I researched and found this place to be very big in superheroes. I--" and she pulled out her list "--also want to see the Brooklyn Bridge in greater detail, and the Stark Tower, and Times Square, and Central Park, and the Museum of Natural History and--"

"Wow. You pretty much got it covered, huh? Have you met any other superheroes?" Peter asked her.

She shook her head. "No, Mr. Parker. But I want to meet the Avengers...I want to join them."

"Join them?!" Both men asked.

She nodded and smiled like a little girl. "It is my dream. It is why I came here."

"Wow. Uh, it's not really like you just go on a job interview, y'know?" Peter said, unsure of how to explain the concept to her. He, of course, knew all about the Avengers, as he was secretly Spider-Man. He could tell that Stupéfier wasn't from around here...who introduces themselves willingly to Jameson?

She nodded. "I know. But I will try really hard. I will go now, as I have much to do. Nice meeting you." And she opened a window and leaped. Both men stood, mouths open and speechless. Wow, Peter thought. She can jump three times higher than I can! "Was it me, or was she out-there?" Peter asked his boss.

"She was out there, all right. Way out there. Now what are you doing standing around?! Get me more photos of her!"

Peter rushed out of the office, hoping that girl didn't leap too far ahead for him to catch up.