The Battle of New York
Aliens were everywhere.
You had seen billionaires in flying suits, a secret organisation dedicated to global security, a super soldier, and even a Norse God! Aliens shouldn't have been such a stretch. And yet you could barely breathe.
"This is not how I planned my Friday afternoon." You muttered to yourself, backing against a wall to get a good view of what was happening.
It was like hell on earth. Already bodies were lying in the street, most of them trapped under rubble. Some were even children, barely older than Peter. It broke your heart and you knew you couldn't just stand there and watch as people died.
You had to do something.
You returned to the dilapidated coffee shop and grabbed your bag, digging around it until you found another new invention. Tiny balls filled with acid. You stuffed as many as you could into your pockets before leaving, your heart still going at one million miles per hour.
You quickly ducked for cover upon seeing one of the aliens trying to attack a family with very small kids. It was threatening them with a spear and chittering in a language you couldn't understand.
You grabbed one of the acid balls and flung it at the back of the alien's head. It exploded on impact and the creature let out a deafening shriek as the flesh on its body burned away. Luckily all it took was the one hit and it dropped to the floor, presumably dead. The family didn't stop to see who saved them and took off without looking back.
"You're welcome." You called after them.
Already you were tired but you knew it was because of all the smoke and obstacles now lying in the streets. It was impossible to go anywhere without climbing over a dozen fallen street posts or even a whole building
Your first thoughts once you had time to collect them was to go after the Parkers and Ned. But you had faith they were safe at school and work. Those places weren't in the heart of the city so they were at the least risk right now. They would be safe.
Then a scream pierced the air.
You spun around, panicking, and saw a little girl running from five or so aliens. They were heading your way and it was too late to hide so you fought instead. You threw some of the acid balls and managed to take out four of the pursuers, leaving only one more.
It was about to take a shot at the little girl with its gun but you ran forward and snatched the weapon from its hands. You kicked the alien back and pulled the trigger which sent the thing flying a couple hundred meters away and into the ruins of an apartment block.
"Are you okay?" You quickly asked the girl.
All she did was cry, running up to you and hugging you tight.
"Hey, it's alright." You cooed, looking around. "Where are your parents? Who were you with?"
"My dad." She sobbed into your shirt and shook her head. "He took me for milkshake and the monsters came."
You crouched down and carefully lifted her up. "Don't worry, sweetheart. We're gonna find your dad and get you home, okay?"
She was too upset to say anything and just nodded feverishly as she clung to your neck. You held her tightly and tried backtracking to where she came from in hopes she would find her dad and point him out.
"What's your name?" You asked the girl in hopes to keep her mind off of the destruction and chaos.
It took her a moment to calm herself down before she answered. "Liz."
"Hey, Liz. I'm Ellen." You smiled at her. "I know everything looks very bad right now but I need you to tell me if you see your dad, okay?"
She nodded and sniffled, wiping her tears away, and flinched at all the fires and ash building in the streets. As you ran you kept her safe, throwing acid balls with one hand and holding her close with the other.
Until your entire world seemed to freeze.
You saw a great big portal in the sky, the one the aliens were coming through, but you also saw a figure in a glinting suit carrying what could only be a nuke right into it.
"Stay here." You told Liz, gently setting her down in a safe place as you stood somewhere else with a decent view.
"Dad..." You whispered, realizing he was trying to save the city. "No..."
When he vanished through the portal or wormhole, your blood ran cold. Every second felt like an hour and even the wind turned to claws as your body tensed up in anticipation.
"Come on, Dad. Come back home." It was hard not to cry at the prospect of him not making it but you tried your best. "Please!"
And then, like a miracle, you saw him return.
"Yes!" You grinned like a mad woman and almost started jumping around as he came back.
But then you stopped.
Something was wrong.
He wasn't flying, he was falling.
"No, no, no!" You yelled, looking around as if you could actually help from where you were. "Dad!"
At that moment it didn't seem to matter what you were shouting. All you knew was that your dad might not make it and suddenly the danger meant nothing to you. You were even about to abandon everything and run until an almighty roar shook the entire city and none other than the Hulk jumped up and grabbed him.
You stumbled back, hitting another wall, and gasped. The Hulk was a good guy. He defeated Abomination and saved the entire city in the process. Your dad would be okay, right?
"Ellen?" The familiar cry called.
"Liz!" You ran back to where you hid the girl to see her rocking back and forth with her hands over her ears. "I got you, sweetie, it's okay."
You gently reached out and scooped her back up, trying to walk the streets and find her father. You didn't want to admit it, but there was every possibility he was dead. In fact, you wouldn't be surprised if the majority of the city was dead or missing after this battle.
"Dad!" Liz suddenly yelled, almost deafening you.
You jumped and followed her gaze to see a man frantically digging through rubble and debris with tears in his eyes. He looked up at the shout and relief flooded his features upon seeing you and Liz.
"Liz!" He called, running over and immediately taking the girl from your arms. "Thank you, thank you!"
You smiled. "She's okay."
"Thank you." He repeated. "You saved my girl."
You nodded and stepped back, giving the two a moment. Despite how happy and relieved you should have been to save that girl, part of you was actually jealous. They were a father and daughter who clearly loved and adored each other. You never got that.
Your smile fell and you very awkwardly started walking away, wondering if your dad would be okay and if he would ever forgive you for running off.
-
Five days later, the entire world now knew for definite that aliens and superheroes existed. An entire planet's point of view had changed in just one day, altering most of what they believed to be true or moral.
The Battle of New York is what they called it. $88 billion in property damage and numerous civilian and military deaths.
Coulson was dead too. You heard people talking about it and cried when you found out, realizing he was the first person you completely trusted since you left home. He gave you a car, he always checked in to see how you were doing, and he was exactly what you imagined a best friend to be. You would miss him every day he was gone. He was and would always be your favorite agent.
The only good thing to come from the battle was the Avengers defeating Loki and his alien army and apparently sending him and Thor home.
The Avengers... Thor, Agents Romanoff and Barton, Hulk, Captain America, and Iron Man.
Your dad was an Avenger, a savior of humanity.
You were on the helicarrier, tears still fresh in your eyes from learning about Coulson as you watched a news report on whether the Avengers were friend or foe via your phone.
"Captain America saved my life." The blonde waitress was saying. "Wherever he is, and wherever any of them are, I just... I would want to say thank you."
It cut to multiple people voicing their opinions.
"It's just really great knowing they're out there, you know? Someone watching over us."
"I love you, Thor!"
"And then these guys were like pew pew! And then the Hulk goes like 'roar!'"
You finally cracked a smile upon seeing a kid trying to explain the Hulk saving a bunch of people from the Chitauri aliens. It was Ned. His mother was with him and Peter was standing a little bit behind as his friend acted out a dramatic fight.
"I don't exactly feel safe with those things out there." It cut to a man saying.
"It just seems like there's a lot they're not telling us." A woman next to him agreed.
It then showed an elderly man with tinted glasses on. "Superheroes in New York? Give me a break."
"Agent Campbell." Fury then greeted.
You quickly switched off the phone and put it away to meet him. "Good afternoon, Director."
"I trust you're well rested?"
"Is anyone lately?"
"Good point." He began walking and you followed. "I've got a mission for you, Agent Campbell."
"Really?" Your voice showed clear surprise. "So soon?"
"Is there a problem?"
"No, not at all, I just - I didn't expect it. Especially not me."
"Yes, well, this mission requires someone unexpected." He told you, opening the door to a large but isolated room. "I don't want anyone else hearing what I'm about to ask of you."
"Well that's not ominous at all." You joked, complying and heading in.
Fury shut and locked the door as an uneasy swell of nerves and anxiety filled the pit of your stomach. This was serious, whatever it was. Either that or he was about to kill you.
"Loki's staff." He stated once he was sure they were alone. "What do you know about it?"
"Oh, uh..." You racked your brain, trying to think. "It's an 0-8-4. We only know it probably came from space and it's dangerous. Very dangerous."
"Good. That's exactly why your mission is to retrieve it from Agent Sitwell before he hands it over to someone else."
Before he could go on, you frowned in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"
"Extraction. Take that thing before it's passed over."
"Okay, so-" Your brows furrowed as you tried to understand. "You want me to steal from SHIELD... For SHIELD?"
"Yes."
"Right." You nodded slowly. "Why not Agent Romanoff? She's much more skilled than me."
"Agent Romanoff is an Avenger now. She has other duties. And, like I said, I need someone unexpected to handle this."
You thought about it.
Loki's staff was dangerous, especially in SHIELD hands. If they planned to make weapons with Destroyer technology, you could only dread what they'd make with this. Not to mention their little weapon plans were seeming less and less like SHIELD. You trusted Fury and Hill, and you would have trusted Coulson, but something was apparently off with the rest of them.
You nodded, understanding now. "I'm just the engineer girl who made this and that. They wouldn't suspect me if it went missing."
"Exactly. Can you do this? I can't trust Sitwell with that weapon." Fury continued. "The only reason I'm trusting you is because Agent Coulson did."
"Okay." You only agreed so quickly because something else was on your mind. "Coulson, he... How did he die?"
Fury looked down, seemingly deep in thought. "Kicking Loki's ass. And he's going to continue to do that."
"What?"
When he didn't answer, you asked again. The look in Fury's eyes was something indecipherable. It was almost like mischief with a hint of pride. And, judging by the silence given to your question, you could only assume it meant one thing.
Your voice lowered considerably. "Is Coulson alive?"
Fury looked up again, the glint more clear. "It's called Project TAHITI. If you tell anyone, I'll have to kill you."
Normally you would have laughed at the threat but you knew coming from him that it was very serious so you didn't dare crack a smile.
"What is it?" You asked.
"Terrestrialized Alien Host Integrative Tissue I."
"You harvested alien corpses?"
"The tangible results were only to be used if an Avenger died, but Coulson is just as important. I put the project in action after he was killed."
"That goes against every law of life and death." You were struggling to process it all. "The side effects could be horrendous, especially mental ones."
"Previous subjects have displayed hypergraphia, aphasia, catatonia, or complete psychosis." He confirmed, not seeing the need to sugarcoat it.
"And Coulson..."
"He's in recovery as we speak."
"Oh, God, that's..." You shook your head. "If I die, don't ever do that to me."