So, You Wanna Save the World?
The second my eyes opened, I already knew I needed more sleep. Unfortunately, due to the jet lag and time change, I knew I was not going to fall into another dream anytime soon. I rubbed my eyes and sat up with a yawn. I stretched my arms over my head in an effort to get the blood circulating. As I did, a warm voice spoke and the blackout screens over my windows slowly began to rise with a gentle, mechanical hum.
“Good morning, Miss Green. I am FRIDAY, Mr. Stark’s AI. I am online throughout the building. Would you like me to read off the weather for the day?”
The female voice seemed kind though it still startled me. I take no pride in how long it took my sleep deprived brain to realize that Tony had told me about his AI previously. He mentioned it had been JARVIS before it went haywire, and he couldn’t get it back online again. FRIDAY was the new AI.
“Yes please, FRIDAY. Thank you!”
As she read off the fairly warm temperatures for the beginning of April in New York City, I stood up and relished the feeling of sinking my toes into the wonderfully fluffy white rug as I fully stretched out my body. My gaze wandered around the room. Last night I was so tired that all I focused on was getting a shower and sleeping. In the daylight streaming in the windows taking up a whole wall, my gaze wandered around the suite. There was no other word for it. In true Tony Stark style, the room was obviously expensive— tasteful only thanks to his girlfriend and business associate, Pepper, reining him in. White and gray with accents of black were the only colors the room was furnished in. White headboard, twin nightstands, desk, dresser, and ladder-like bookshelf. The walls were painted a very light gray, but the ceiling remained white. White, gauzy curtains were pulled to each side of the large window wall. I could tell they would help make the room very comfy if they were pulled closed. There was also a very large TV hanging on the wall above the dresser.
The room held three white doors. One I knew led to the hallway and the other to the bathroom. The only other one I hadn’t explored yet must be the closet. I let out a huff of laughter as I thought about how there wasn’t even a need for a closet. It wasn’t like I had any clothes to fill it anyway.
I made the bed before heading over to the cardboard printer paper box on the desk that now held all my belongings. The only things in the box were my one outfit that, thankfully, SHIELD had gotten cleaned and my purse made from upcycled Army canvases. Picking up the outfit, I made my way to the bathroom to get ready for the day.
As I went through the motions of my morning routine, I thought back on all the events that had led up to this point.
~~~~~
The night before last, I had been in my own bed, in my own home, in Beverly Hills. I was planning a calm day of going to a cafe and then spending my time browsing in bookstores. That didn’t happen. Instead, I stepped out the front door to Nick Fury running up to me, yelling at me to run. And when Nick Fury tells you to run, you run. So I did and barely had enough time to duck behind his black SUV before my house was blown up.
My ears rang with the noise of the explosion. Smoke and the tang of explosives filled my lungs. Debris started showering around me. Fury rushed me into the car before the driver hit the gas and drove with a manic skill away from the inferno.
On the way, I finally started to overcome my shock and the ringing in my ears had subsided considerably.
“Well,” I started. “It’s good to see you again, Fury.”
He shot me a glance and raised his eyebrow. “I’d say the same, if you hadn’t almost just been killed.”
“Yeah, what was that about?” I laughed, borderline hysterical. Okay, so maybe I wasn’t fully over my shock yet.
“We don’t know.”
“Oh, that’s not scary or anything,” I laughed again.
“We will find them, Evie.” He paused. “I need to know. Was there anyone else in the building?”
I took a moment to process what he was telling me before responding. “No. It was just me.”
And it had been. Ever since my father passed away, I dismissed the staff and stayed to myself so that I could practice my power. Sevvie, my nanny and closest thing I had to a mother, was back visiting family in Maryland.
Nick nodded, “Good. I don’t think anyone else was close enough to be injured either.”
“What’s the cover story? Faulty gas line?”
“You know us too well, Green.” The corner of his lip twitched up. “You might want to take care of those scrapes.”
I glanced down at my hands. I guess I had scraped them when I dove down behind the SUV. Concentrating, my magic shimmered over my palms and the abrasions began to heal until all that was left was perfectly unmarred skin.
I looked up to see Nick looking at my small display of power as well. “You know,” he started, “I could really use a skill like that in the field.”
Letting out a laugh that sounded more strangled than anything, I responded, “Yeah yeah. We go over this all the time. I suppose now I have no choice but to join though, do I?”
He gave me a small grimace. I’d take that as a no. “I need you, but not out on the field with SHIELD. I have this new plan to protect the Earth using a group of specialized individuals. We call it the Avengers Initiative. I want you on it.”
I weighed my options. I had no more home to go back to. Nothing held me here. Hydra wanted me dead. I could at least learn how to better defend myself if I was a part of this team… Besides, it was high time I started using my powers to defend Earth and live up to my potential.
I locked my blue eyes with Fury’s one good eye. “I’ll do it.”
“I hoped you’d say that.”
“So, where are we going?”
Nick gave me a half smile. “LAX. We are taking a private SHIELD jet back to headquarters to get you inputted in our systems. Then you’re going to be dropped off at Tony Stark’s high rise. My people let him know about the attempt on your life, and he said you were going to stay with him.”
A small smile curled my lips at that thought. Tony Stark was the closest thing I had to an older brother. He was always the one to keep me entertained throughout the boring galas and banquets my father dragged me to. Tony was the first person I talked to about my powers, and when I was told who I really was, he was the first person I ran to. He had been wanting me to come live with him ever since my dad passed, but I always declined. I was glad to see him again, though.
Then another thought hit me. “Hey, Nick? How did you know my house was going to explode?”
“We got a notification from one of our undercover agents that was in your area. We ran a thermal sweep of your home before finding the bomb. I was already on my way to see you, but I sped up the trip to get there in time. You weren’t answering your phone.” He eyed me with a harsh glare.
I shrunk in on myself. “I, uh, didn’t want any distractions today…” I trailed off and played with my hands. “I just wanted to have one day where I didn’t get bothered by tons of emails from reporters and live my life. If you had been Tony, Wade, or Matt, the notification of your call would have gone through. But I didn’t want to talk business with you again today, Nick. I’m sorry.” I hung my head.
“I’m not mad you wanted to take time for yourself. I’m mad that it could have gotten you killed. You need to be more careful in the future.”
“I know. I’m sure Tony and SHIELD will help with that. So who’s in this group anyway?”
“You, Stark, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and the Hulk.”
My eyes widened with each name. Captain America had just been pulled out of the ice recently. I could only imagine how he was coping with everything now. Black Widow and Hawkeye were two of SHIELD’s best agents and had grown quite popular. And everyone knew the Hulk. This would be quite a powerful group. I did wonder how well we would all work together, though. I knew I would probably get on well with everyone, but Tony… Well. He had some problems with cooperation.
We made it to the airport and boarded the jet. Nick let me rest most of the way to New York. When we touched down, I was ushered into yet another black SUV and taken to SHIELD headquarters. I was given two pairs of pants and T-shirts with the SHIELD emblem printed on. They took my old clothes to be washed, thank goodness. They were covered with dust and grime.
The rest of the day was spent getting questioned, fingerprinted, scanned, and so many other security processes. By the time I was on my way to Stark Tower, it was already midnight. I was so exhausted, I was shown up to my room, showered, and practically fell into bed.
~~~~~
I shook my head to get my thoughts back into the present. I had finished getting ready and took one last glance in the mirror before I left the room. Light brown hair with curtain bangs framed my face. Black AC/DC shirt tucked into jeans with a belt and worn black converse was the extent of my outfit.
I took a breath. Time to go see Tony and Pepper!
Leaving the room, I looked both ways down the hallway. To my right, ending in a window streaming in sunlight, were a few other doors that I assumed led to rooms like mine. To my left led to a longer hallway of even more doors. I followed it to the elevator.
“Friday, can you take me to wherever Tony and Pepper are?”
“Of course,” the cheerful voice responded. “To the common floor.”
In less than a minute, the sleek metal doors were opening to an open concept floor. Windows lined just about every wall, giving the room an amazing natural lighting while also providing an excellent view of New York City. I knew my eyes had to be round as saucers as I took in the huge kitchen, dining, seating and bar areas. Everything looked to be made out of chrome in pure Tony fashion, but I had to admit, it looked splendid.
“There she is! Get over here, kid!” Tony shouted over to me from where he was drinking coffee and working on his tablet at the dining table.
I skipped over to hug him. “Tony! It is so good to see you!” I smiled.
“It’s good to see you too! Just next time, don’t wait for something to blow up before you come say hi, okay?” He mocked.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah…” I sassed. “Pepper!” I ran over to give her a hug too. “I’m so glad I get to finally see you again!”
Pepper laughed, “I’m sorry. Tony keeps me busy running HIS company.” She rolled her eyes. “And he still won’t put my name on the building with his!” Pepper jokes, making me laugh.
“Didn’t I just say the next building would be the Potts building?” Tony tried to defend.
I looked at Pepper and we both just burst into laughter. Pepper had always seemed like a sister to me. Tony always seemed like a big brother. Both of them took care of me when my dad passed away, but even before that, they helped me make it through galas, dinners, and other meetings without dying of boredom. They were truly my only good friends for a while.
Grabbing a green apple, I plopped myself down at the table with my friends.
“Any new power updates?” Tony inquired.
“Nah, I’m still trying to figure out how to use what I have now!” I laughed.
When I turned 18, I was given my powers. On top of such a life-changing event, I was told that I was a goddess— Earth’s goddess. I was created by the old gods to defend the planet and its people, even from themselves. My father had told me I was adopted, but he said that no one knew where I came from. I apparently just showed up at the doorstep of a firehouse one night.
I was given powers over the elements. Fire, water, air, earth, and even had abilities with ice and plants. A few other powers came recently— the ability to heal myself and others and the ability to fly. I had a feeling those would be the most useful.
“Hey,” Tony said, breaking my reverie. “Cyclopes said that all your things were destroyed, so I figured you would need some new clothes. Use this tablet and find styles you like. I have a personal stylist that will find things matching your preference. They should be here in a day or two. Oh, and that tablet is yours now.”
Pure Tony style to just dump things like that on you like it was no big deal. “Thank you so much, T! This is amazing! You didn’t have to do all this! I have my own money, you know.”
“Oh, I know.” He waved off my statement. “Daughter of a billionaire or whatever. I wanted to do this for you.”
My eyes welled up with tears. It had been so long since someone had taken care of me like this. My hand reached over to grasp his. “Thank you, Tony,” I said, sincerity dripping from every word.
“You’re welcome, Evie.”
FRIDAY chimed in then. “Sir, Director Fury is here to see you and Miss Green. Shall I send him up?”
Tony rolled his eyes. “Ugh, fine. Send him up.” He started muttering as he drank the last of his coffee, “I knew I should have put alcohol in this today…”
Pepper smacked his shoulder. I struggled to keep my laugh in and held up my hand to block Tony from seeing my smirk.
“Oww! What was that for?!”
“It’s way too early for alcohol,” she said with a raised brow.
“It’s five o’clock somewhere, right?” Tony retorted.
At that, a true laugh escaped me and it was no longer any use to try and hide my grin.
The elevator doors didn’t even open all the way before Nick was storming in, black coat billowing like his own personal rain cloud.
“The Avengers are needed sooner than I realized. We need you in the air. Apparently some psychopathic alien is trying to take over the
world.”
“Well, good morning to you too, sunshine,” said Tony.
Fury glared at him. “Now is not the time for jokes, Stark.”
He held up his hands in mock repentance. “Fine, okay. I’ll go get suited up. Evie, you stay here where you’ll be safe.”
I shot up from the table. “I think not! I’m on this team, too! I’m going!”
“Look, kid, you’ve already been through enough in the past 24 hours. Besides, you don’t even have any training!”
“Oh, so the times I helped Daredevil and Deadpool mean nothing now?!” I shot back.
“Of course they do! They were just petty crimes compared to something like this though!”
Fury interrupted then. “She’s coming, Stark. We need her.”
I smirked at Tony, daring him to go against Fury. He looked between Fury and I as if debating whether or not he could win this.
Apparently he projected a failure, because he huffed out a sigh, “Fine. Evie you have a suit in my lab. Go get dressed.”
My crossed arms dropped. I blinked in astonishment. “A suit? Tony, you made me a suit?”
“Not an Iron Man suit, God knows the damage you’d do with that… I made you one that will help keep you from getting hurt. It can withstand bullets from a distance, but they’ll still hurt like hell. It also has built-in tech specifically for your abilities. Normal fabric wouldn’t withstand your fire abilities, but this will.”
It seemed like he thought of everything. I ran over and hugged him again. “Thank you, T. Thank you.”
He pulled away first, uncomfortable with all the affection. “You be safe. I’m gonna be up in my suit. Fury, give me updates on where to go. Evie, you go with Fury. And please, I know you’re on the team, but I don’t want to see you get hurt. Please stay on the Helicarrier unless we need you…”
Fury seemed to ponder the thought before nodding in agreement with Tony. “That will be fine. She can observe from the ship.”
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little upset that I wasn’t going to be seeing any action, but I knew it would be better to let more of the “professionals” handle this than going in without any skill but what I had mastered over my power. I wouldn’t want one of them to get hurt simply because of my incompetence.
I nodded. “Okay. Be safe, T.”
“You too, kid.”
He kissed Pepper goodbye before putting on his bracelets and calling for his suit. It gathered around him, and he saluted before taking off out a window that opened for him.
“Go change, I’ll meet you on the roof,” said Fury.
“You got it.”
Pepper took me down to a lower floor and opened the doors to one of Tony’s labs. High-tech equipment was everywhere. I could only imagine how much money was sitting in this room alone. She waved me over to a smaller offshoot of a room.
Walking to the door, I opened it and the automatic lights kicked on. On a mannequin was a beautiful suit of black with blue accents. It was a catsuit, similar to the Black Widow’s, but it left more of my neck open. Tony had even given me a little half skirt lined in blue that was attached to the pants giving the suit the illusion of being a dress. It looked like a dream. I loved it!
I gently took the material off the mannequin and slipped it on. It was soft, breathable material— it hardly seemed like it would stop a bullet at all. The only issue?
“Hey, Pep? I uh, need help getting zipped up,” I laughed.
She finished pulling the zipper up all the way, and I said, “Seems like Tony doesn’t always think of everything, does he?”
“Oh no. I think he thought of everything… Just imagine one of those superhero hunks taking their time to unzip this…” She wiggled her eyebrows.
I laughed and lightly hit her arm. In the mirror, I marveled at how powerful I looked. I conjured up a ball of flame in my hand and let it snake up my arm. The fabric didn’t burn or even singe. Tony might be cocky, but he was also a genius.
There was a pair of slightly heeled boots that stood next to the mannequin. I put them on and loved the comfort they provided while also letting me look like a complete badass. I let myself have a moment to jump around giddily— at which Pepper got a good laugh at— before settling down and making my way up to the roof. The skirt flowing behind me made me feel extremely powerful.
Once there, Fury looked me over. “I gotta say, Stark sure knows his stuff.”
Smirking, I replied, “He sure does.”
We said goodbye to Pepper who told us to be safe. We boarded a Quinjet which took us out to the Helicarrier. At the time, the gigantic ship was resting in the harbor. I stepped off the jet and followed Fury over to two men standing at the rails, looking out to sea.
“Evangeline Green, meet Captain Rogers and Dr. Banner. You three go ahead and get acquainted. Make sure you step inside soon. I need to make sure everything is flowing smoothly.”
“Hello, feel free to call me Evie.” I shook Captain America’s hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, miss. You can call me Steve.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. Dr. Banner, please also call me Evie.” I shook his hand.
“Evie, nice to meet you. And just Bruce, please.”
“Bruce, I don’t know too much about science, but from what I have read, your work is absolutely revolutionary! It’s incredible what you do.”
Bruce looked uncomfortable. “Thanks, but I’m sure you’re just talking about the big guy, right?”
“Oh no! Bruce, your work is so much more than just the Hulk! You have completely changed the fields of biochemistry, nuclear physics, and gamma radiation! We are set years ahead thanks to your work!”
At my praise, he blushed. “Oh, uh… thank you… not many people know or like to talk about my other work… They only want to talk about Hulk.”
I pouted. “They don’t know what they’re missing.”
Bruce let out a small laugh.
I turned to Steve and led him a little ways away from Banner. “Hey, Steve. I know you have been through a lot in the past few days… You’ve been through more than I could ever comprehend. I just wanted to say that although we just met, I will be happy to help you with whatever you need. Technology, among other things, has changed over the years, and it can be quite confusing. I’d be happy to help you out if you have any questions.”
As I spoke, I could see the hurt from his past swirl in his eyes. Yet he still said, “I appreciate that, Evie. I know I will take you up on that as soon as this whole thing is over.”
“You got it.”
A new voice spoke up. “So, we’re all on a team now, huh?” The redhead female walked over to all three of us introducing herself. “Natasha
Romanoff, code name Black Widow. You must be Agent Green.”
Her perfect features were kept blank. She held out no hand in greeting. I knew she would be tough to get to know, but I could only hope that she was more welcoming with people she was close to.
“Yep, that’s me!”
“You all may wanna step inside in a minute. It’s gonna get a little hard to breathe,” Natasha addressed us all. The whole ship started shaking as if it was waiting for her cue.
“Is this a submarine?” Steve inquired.
Bruce scoffed. “Really? They want me in a submerged, pressurized, metal container?”
We walked to the edge of the deck to see giant turbines rising out of the water. I know the awe on Steve’s face is reflected on mine.
Seconds later, the whole Helicarrier begins to rise out of the water. Bruce, Steve, and I stumble a few steps back.
“Oh no, this is much worse.” Bruce says with mock joy.
Natasha leads us off the deck into the ship as it continues to gain altitude. She leads us into what looks to be the command center. Steve stops for a moment to take everything in. I don’t blame him. This is amazing to even me, how must it look to someone who is unaware of the many technological advances made in the last few decades?
I notice Bruce looking off to the sides, probably looking for exits. He is pacing, notably agitated. And that is when the Hulk is liable to come out.
I step over to him. “Bruce? Are you alright?”
“I just can’t see how anyone thought this was a good idea…” He begins mumbling about the Other Guy and anger.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay. We will be wherever we are going before we know it. If you need to take a minute to help relax, I don’t think anyone will blame you.”
“Thanks, Evie. I think I’ll be fine for now.”
I give him a small smile before I hear Fury call for the ship to vanish which I assume means the Helicarrier becomes invisible to the naked eye.
He walks over to us. “Gentlemen. Ladies.”
Steve passes Fury a folded bill before continuing to walk toward the large windows.
“Doctor, thank you for coming.” Fury holds out his hand for Bruce who seems to hesitate to shake it.
“Thanks for asking nicely. So, uh. How long am I staying?”
“Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you’re in the wind.”
Walking over to a set of computers, Bruce asked, “Where are you with that?”
A voice I have only heard a few times answered. “We’re sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cellphones, laptops… If it’s connected to a satellite, it’s eyes and ears for us.”
I walk over and hold out my hand. “Agent Coulson, it is good to see you.”
He brings me in for a brief hug. “You too, newly minted Agent Green.”
Natasha spoke up from near a computer that displayed Hawkeye’s image. “That’s still not gonna find them in time.”
“You have to narrow your field,” Bruce spoke up. “How many spectrometers do you have access to?”
“How many are there?” Fury asked.
“Call every lab you know.” He began taking off his jacket, and I could tell his mind was fully focused on the moment. “Tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I’ll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places. Do you have somewhere for me to work?”
“Agent Romanoff, could you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please?”
She walked up to begin leading Bruce away. “You’re gonna love it, Doc. We’ve got all the toys.”
I chose to stay with Phil, Steve, and Fury. Phil was the first to break the small silence. He asked Steve if he would sign some of his vintage Captain America trading cards. “I mean, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“No, it’s fine.”
“It’s a vintage set. It took me a couple of years to collect them all.” He seemed so proud and excited to be near one of his heroes. I hid a smile at the actions of one of the best agents of SHIELD. “Near mint. Slight foxing around the edges, but…”
“We got a hit,” another agent stated. “A 67% match. Wait, cross match 79%.”
Phil immediately snapped back into work mode. “Location?”
“Stuttgart, Germany. 28 Konigstrasse. He’s not exactly hiding.”
Fury called to action. “Captain, you’re up.”
Steve took a deep breath before going to suit up.
“Evie, I want you watching from the Quin with Natasha to step in if you’re needed. You could also use the experience to watch how everyone performs.”
“Will do.”
Phil leads me over to a few monitors where I can see the eyes on a tall man with dark hair.
“Thanks, Phil.”
“Of course. I know you’ll make a great agent, Evie.”
He didn’t know it, but those words helped ease my anxieties. Sitting there, knowing I may have to jump into my first big fight, put things into perspective for me. I didn’t have much practice at all. I had only ever worked with Deadpool and Daredevil. What if I made a mistake?
We had some time before we would get to Germany, so I pulled out the new phone Tony gave me. He had transferred over all my information from my old phone. I found Wade’s number and called.
He picked up on the second ring. “Eves! What’s up?!” I could hear fighting in the background.
“I can call back another time…?”
“Nah. Just some low-life drug dealers.” A few bangs went off before everything went quiet. “All done. Daredevil is here too. I’ll put you on speaker.”
“Hello, Evie.” I heard Matt say.
Hearing their voices brought a small smile to my face. “It’s so good to hear from you both.”
“What’s going on?”
“Well, uh… My house got blown up, SHIELD took me in as an agent, I’m living with Tony now, and I’m currently on my way to Germany to fight a big bad alien guy with Black Widow, Captain America, and Iron Man.”
Silence responded before both of them started speaking over each other.
“You’re hanging out with the hot red-head and All-American Boy?!” I heard Wade shout.
“Are you alright? Did the explosion hurt you at all?” Matt’s concern showed through.
“Okay, okay! I can’t talk over you both! I’m alright. Fury got me out before anything bad happened. And yes, I guess I’m hanging out with them? We only just met.”
“Good to hear you’re okay,” Matt sighed, relieved.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. The girl can heal herself, and she’s a fucking goddess. Of course she’s fine.” I had to laugh at his reasoning. “So what’s the deal with this alien mother fucker? World domination?”
“Yep. And he took some high-level SHIELD personnel that we need to get back.”
“And you’re gonna go fight him? Hell yes! The grasshopper is growing up!”
“Actually, that’s kind of why I was calling. I’m sitting out this fight unless they need me. Fury wants to make sure I’m safe, and that I get some experience in watching the team perform for the first time. But… I’m really scared that if I do have to fight, I’ll fail everyone. That someone will get hurt because of me, or that I’ll freeze up, or get in the way. I just… I don’t know. I’m scared, guys…”
Matt spoke first. “Evie, we know how powerful you are. Not only in magic. You have great instincts, and always have mine and Dead’s backs. You look out for us first and foremost. Stick to doing that with this new team, and you’ll be fine. I know it. Don’t go after the big-bad alone, yet. You’ll get the chance to do that in the future.”
“Think of this as your first ride without training wheels. You might fall, but if anyone gets upset with you for messing up your FIRST time, I’ll personally slice their dicks off and feed them to piranhas.” I huffed out a laugh. “You’ll be fine, Eves. And when you get back to NYC, we will be here waiting to hear all about it. At least you’ll be closer to us now!”
“That I will be.” I took a deep breath. “Thank you so much, guys. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” My voice quivered with unshed tears.
“Hey! No time to get emotional! Get your head in the game, Bolton!” The joke made even Matt snicker. “You’ve got this. We’ll see you when you get home, ‘kay?”
“Okay. Love you guys.”
They both responded with their own “I love you, too’s.”
“Go kick some ass,” Wade said before hanging up the phone.
I smiled to myself, thankful for having such good friends. They had each taught me a few things in the times when they came to LA, but those times were few and far between. The biggest criminal I fought was a drug lord. I wished I had more time training with them.
No sense in wishing for the past to change now, though. Time to move forward. I took another deep breath and got ready to face the future— whatever it may hold.