Earth, Sweet Earth
The flashes of light momentarily blinded you as you began to properly orient yourself back on a planet you hadn’t been on for months. You should have known it would be happening, really. You should have. Masses of people were surrounding you in an enormous crowd, tons of smartphones and similar devices where pointed at you in anticipation, lights shining from most of them while only a flash radiated from others.
Really, it was early morning judging by how the sun shone high and bright above you, who needed flash in such a situation?
Deciding to ignore the crowd of curious passersby around you in what appeared to be a vague mixture of nervousness and annoyance, you began to move along, trying to get out of their way as you spared them no further glance in hoping to get them off of your trail. Luckily it worked; most of them were apparently too shocked to react with your sudden departure while others simply continued to work with their phones—no doubt to upload the videos and pictures they had just taken somewhere, possibly to Youtube.
Being an Internet sensation might not have sounded inherently bad, but being an internet sensation because you were apparently brought to Earth by what people knew to be a god might lead to an abundance of heavy interrogations by all sort of organizations, and you could only remember the last one you had with a shudder traveling up your spine.
That was right. Fury.
He most likely was still displeased by the way you had left, and with you back in his vicinity the fear you had pushed to the far corners of your mind stealthily managed to creep up on you as your picked up your speed in the midst of trying to blend in with the crowd. You felt some of their stares linger on you as you pushed past, involuntarily making yourself smaller to be less conspicuous in your need to hide, all the while tumbling around a couple of construction workers tending to repair the damage from a few months prior.
Even just few months appeared to have you numbed slightly to the use of technology, to smartphones and all the similar stuff people apparently couldn’t live without and decided to shove inconsiderately into poor, disinterested people’s faces; much like the man stumbling next to you on your left, who had watched you so intently while walking with his phone out he could barely react in time to avoid running against a street pole.
Yet as you had finally walked off all the people around you, having moved into the stream as if a fish following along the swarm in a river while pulling the coat tighter around you with an additional pang in your heart, you realized that you didn’t exactly know where to go.
It had, after all, been a while since you had last been on this planet. Your friend must have left long since, taking your belongings back to your family and you just now began to understand, that you had no phone, no money, no anything to even try to reach out to anyone you knew. In a different country nonetheless.
Casting a glance over your shoulder to note a woman staring intently at the phone in her hand—catching the familiar glance of a map appearing on the screen—you gave a defeated sigh.
You missed technology. You really did.
But what you missed even more was your family. Now that you were back on Earth, familiarity in it all coming back to you in a rush, you could only clutch your heart at the thought of facing them after all this time. They had feared you dead after all, and now you were suddenly returning without knowing how to explain anything of what had happened, all the while trying to not mention your abilities, lest you would be declared insane and shoved off into the next asylum. All the pain and uncertainties were barely enough to drown out the feeling of yearning deep within you, of your soul screaming for what was missing to make it whole and desperately trying to pull you somewhere you knew you couldn’t return to.
That thought had to wait until later though.
For now it might have been the most intelligent idea to pick up where you had left—not Stark Tower or that weird organization thing, mind you—but the hotel you had stayed at with your friend. Maybe your things weren’t gone yet or you could use the owner’s phone to contact your family or something. It might be best to not draw any more attention to you than you already had—thanks for the heads up, Thor.
Though maybe you should have thought about reminding him that you were not actually living in New York.
Entering an alley you could have sworn was a shortcut based on what you had seen on the earlier woman’s map, you couldn’t help the grimace and slight rise of panic as you felt yourself walking into a dead end. Perhaps you had been mistaken and the shortcut was another street further to the left, after all New York wasn’t exactly quiet and empty, enabling you to freely, calmly and properly access your situation to figure out what to do. And it certainly didn’t help that you could still feel being watched—you had hoped to have completely shaken off anyone after sneaking on and about for an entirety of thirty minutes, but apparently that had not been the case. With all the newest revelations as well as the feeling of a weird sort of homesickness trying to draw you to your family, while at the same time trying to pull you to the stars and beyond, you couldn’t help the fire rising within you urging you to act rash and instinctive. Your gut trying to coax you into screaming at whoever might be following you to tell them that this is considered stalking and most definitely against the law.
Yet the thought fell short when you fell an abrupt contact with your neck; sizzling sensation crawling like ants under your skin leaving unpleasant tingles in its wake as you felt yourself sink to your knees.
Just what exactly had you gotten yourself into?
———
You awoke, hands immediately trashing against whatever you found was binding your wrists together behind your back and to what you realized was a chair. After all this time of being unconscious you were really having enough of it, your body being unsure whether to react with panic or rather fury to your sudden predicament. Trying to calm yourself proved almost futile as you felt the white light shining above you still blinding your eyes, white walls only aiding the effect of it and you couldn’t help the glower you threw at the most likely one sided mirror facing you on the wall.
Calm, you chided, you needed to stay calm.
That thought was immediately squashed under your feet as the door to your left opened with a click, heavy boots sounding against the clear white floor as a man shuffled over to where you sat, pulling the seat opposite from you away from the table to sit down. YouTube was really starting to get on your nerves too, especially now that you knew a certain organization seemed to love spending their time on it.
Sitting in front of you was Fury, what irony.
His mouth was obviously moving to speak but you cut in first, feeling way too exhausted by the latest constant turn of events and terribly numbed by all that you had felt to even understand the possible danger you could have found yourself in.
“Why did you bring me here?”
You weren’t sure whether to add in malice or not, and accidentally ended up with it either way. At the moment you weren’t quite sure of many things, head spinning as you fought to keep from trying to break out of the restraints. Merely a week ago you had definitely been terrified by the prospect of ever meeting the man again—yet this feeling had vastly subsided.
After all he was only human. And apparently there were much larger threats looming right above your heads hanging down on your neck, like a guillotine above a criminal, judging by the fact that some of them could apparently travel through powerful artifacts to where you were seated in the blink of an eye.
“I believe I do not need to reintroduce myself then,” he spoke, perfectly unbothered by your accidental hostility as his hands intertwined on the silvery table, “I have brought you here to find out more about whether we can see you as a possible ally.”
You couldn’t help yourself. You couldn’t help the snort that tore through your nose as you gave him an incredulous glare through squinted eyes. So he wanted an interrogation again?
“And that’s why you knocked me unconscious and tied me to a chair? You couldn’t just ask?”
Fury’s expression appeared set in stone as he didn’t move a muscle to answer your accusation.
“No, as I believe you to be powerful enough to fight back should you feel you are in danger. I could not risk that while the city and its residents are already weakened as it is.”
Your froze in an instant.
“Yes, we are indeed aware of your abilities as I am sure you’ve been told,” he spoke, shifting his hands to retrieve something from the pockets of his jacket before placing it on the table for you to see, hand merely a grasp away, “It is important to find out whether you are a possible threat to this planet—especially after having been absent for months with a person who has just attacked and laid waste to an entire city.”
The words he spoke barely clicked in your brain as everything was reduced to a low hum, the ace you had held dear to your heart and hidden in your sleeve laid open in bare sight, useless.
“Furthermore Loki’s cell had been under video surveillance.”
He gave a huff, picking up the device laying on the table and toying with it as if to mock you despite you not knowing what purpose it served. “We have seen and heard everything—“ He gave you a sharp glare as if trying to detect something within you that you didn’t dare try and figure out— “And taken immediate counter measures to assure our safety in case of your sudden arrival.”
“...So that’s what that thing is?” you spoke after a few seconds of silence had passed, only filled by both of your collective breathing and you could swore he knew how yours had grown more anxious.
“Yes.” His voice was crystal clear as he spoke, deep and striking a chord of fear within you you had decided to ignore for the past weeks. The device reflected the light painfully brightly with its silver polish as he held it between two fingers to show it to you with an air of confidence surrounding him.
“I had my team work on this device since you disappeared. It emits a sound so high that neither humans nor animals can hear it—but if our theories are correct it will penetrate through your connection to minds, unable to be shut out—“ his thumb stroked over the obvious button to the side in a threat— “Care to test it out?”
You bit your lip so hard a droplet of blood fell on your tongue and you winced at your bad habit, all sorts of sarcasm and whatnot gone from your face as you were caught by the cold grasp of fear. Somehow this seemed to slightly ease Fury from what you could pick up without utilizing your abilities, silently scolding yourself for what you had so eloquently declared as a lack of a proper pokerface.
“No,” you grumbled, begrudgingly so, while you watched him give a satisfied but oddly relieved hint of a grin. Whether that was because he was indeed using a pokerface of his own to blatantly lie or whether he honestly simply didn’t want to use the device was beyond your understanding, and you sort of glared at him in jealousy for his obvious control of emotions. Why couldn’t you just this once manage to hide what you were feeling?
“Alright,” he spoke, trying to move his apparent interrogation onwards, “I really want to trust you. The fact is that you would make a marvelous addition to our team and as such, ensuring your cooperation is our top priority.”
Now this caught you even more off guard then crowds of people rushing to take videos from you as you were brought to Earth. Almost.
“And what do I have to do for you to trust me?” you asked, for you were now honestly at a loss for words, scrambling to collect your thoughts as you tried to fight the sudden itch of your nose by trying to rub it against your shoulder. Damn these restraints.
He studied you a while longer without saying a word which honestly started to creep you out; stared at you as if trying to peer into your very soul and figure out your deepest darkest secrets—or whatever, really. After a while he sharply turned around in his seat to glance at the mirror behind him with a curt nod, before abruptly standing and declaring to be right back. It was obvious that he was going to be deciding your ‘fate’ in a conversation with the people behind the mirror and you couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat. Should it come to it you were indeed willing to test the device, perhaps even if it worked you could manage to escape, even though you weren’t sure if such noises might leave possible damage for you to suffer from after—
“You successfully passed the test.”
You spluttered, doing a double take in your position on the chair as you turned to stare at Fury standing casually in the doorframe as if he hadn’t just admitted to having judged you for something you had no knowledge of.
“Test? What test?”
“I had agents of mine observe you through the glass to gauge whether you might have been mind manipulated yourself—we had collected all possible data from people who ever went through it and looked for symptoms within you,” he spoke, holding up a key before moving behind you, a clank following as you felt your wrists were free for you to move once more.
“You need to understand—“ he walked back to sit down, almost looking wearily at you as you rubbed your wrists despite them not actually hurting— “After the attack and your sudden arrival we had good reason to believe you were used as a spy of sorts.”
Wow, he almost managed to make you feel bad for your previous rage. It was a good argument after all, you would have most likely been wary yourself given the circumstances.
“I now see this appeared to not be the case,” he continued on, looking slightly more relaxed—which didn’t help much as you has possibly never seen a person being that much constantly on edge and seemingly on the verge of snapping in half from tension—yet he still held the dreaded device in his hands while he talked, “Following this reassurance I want you to join the team of mine I kept talking about. While you certainly are rather young, 18 if I remember correctly, I believe it would be best to keep your abilities under close surveillance.”
You fought the scoff itching to be let out, you really did. And barely managed. Everything had been under control for years, had been until aliens decided Earth was apparently worth their time to viciously attack and forced you to act on instinct. But you managed to see that this would probably be the easiest way to get out of this entire disaster you found yourself in, much easier than...than what actually? What would they do if you denied? You weren’t sure if you wanted to know, but that might have been merely all these movies you had watched.
“And what do you want me to do...?” you said instead, with all the uncertainties that had followed you all your life surrounding your abilities back in your heart, “What’s that team of yours?”
“The Avengers Initiative.”
You choked on the lump in your throat you had intended to swallow, coughing to breathe. The Avengers Initiative? The one known all around the entire world? The one a freaking god was a part of? What were you in comparison to a man that had survived enclosed in ice for hundreds of years? To a man intelligent enough, as well as rich, to create whatever technology came to his mind in a sudden epiphany? To a man who turned into a creature fueled by rage whenever he got furious enough? To agents and spies trained to take you out with only coins and ballpoint pens?
Yes, you had done your homework—or at least gotten the basics from Thor back when you had first been briefed by him.
The point still stood, where were you in the equation?
He must have sensed your obvious and unmistaken distress as he began to talk after gaining your attention by clearing his throat.
“Your abilities would provide great help; It would be nothing combat related, certainly, but gaining off-limit knowledge as well as gaining access to closed off top secret places connected to foes such as Hydra would be a definite win for our organization.”
His expression turned to slight amusement as you tried to process all the new facts and bits and pieces of information thrown at you as if you were actually strong enough to handle all of it, strong enough to handle the mere thought of that much responsibility.
“Hydra?” you asked instead, trying to at least half the amount of worry coating your voice to no avail, “What foes are there?”
“Many,” he replied, utterly unhelpful, “The Avengers Initiative stands to protect our world from any kind of foes. Hydra is one of them, an authoritarian terrorist-criminal-paramilitary organization bent on world domination. It has been around for longer than any of us and will continue, should we not try to stop it.”
You could only gape at him, not even trying to pretend as if you had understood all that he had just said.
“That sounds...” you pondered the words, “...dangerous.”
“It is, yes,” he replied matter-of-factly, “Which is why your help would be greatly appreciated. You could search the agents’ minds once we have captured them, finding out what they have planned, where and how.”
He leaned forward on the table ever so slightly as if to help you in understanding the gravity of the situation...which you felt he was unsure you had grasped.
“It could save millions of lives.”
Apart from the fact that you didn’t feel like you had much of a choice in the first place, something within you stirred to answer to the call for heroism. You’ve had these abilities for as long as you could remember and now had been finally granted a possibility to use them for the greater good; a resolve you had always made in secret back when you were younger. That you would one day use what you had been gifted with to help others.
“Okay,” you spoke, certainty which you didn’t have about half an hour ago clear in your voice, “I’ll do it.”
———
After having been given all the details of when and how they would contact you, topped off with a phone that didn’t look all that smart and a new schedule for you to look after, you had been shoved into the hands of another agent as Fury declared that he needed to sort out a few things with that team of his, telling the agent to fly you home—as if that was such an easy task at all. Yet considering they had some sort of flying operational base as well as you as their newest Agent/Avenger of sorts, you felt like it was the least they could do.
“Hello,” the stranger introduced himself with a light smile on his pale face and his hand stretched out for you to take, “I’m Agent Richards.”
You introduced yourself to him as well, shaking his hand and admiring his apparent calmness despite most likely being very well aware of who you were and what you could do. To your utter surprise you found he seemed to be mostly genuine about it, though deep within his eyes, you felt him being ever so slightly on edge. Understandably so.
You followed the stranger, blonde hair almost terribly pale itself and an utter uncombed mess on top of his head, length short enough to stick up in wild variations, yet too long to not drop slightly past his ears. There were not yet actual strands of hair fading to grey, though you were sure it might not take many more years at best; perhaps five or so. His eyes seemed kind enough to trust, you mused, light green eyes motioning you over to enter the jet situated on the weird gigantic, floating operational base you found yourself standing on top of once more. You sat with an exhausting plummet, sinking as deeply into the cushions as they allowed while you watched him knock on the door separating the cockpit from the rest to stir the person which had already been waiting and asking them to start the engine.
Right after he took a seat across from you, having taken something out of one of the many silver niches of the jet and carefully setting it down on the table before your eyes.
Immediately your hand went to stroke the familiar fabric, fingers gently tracing the few loose threads after years of wear, before moving onto the googles feeling their familiar weight resting in your hands. You could almost feel your eyes sparkling in relief and happiness as you pulled the scarf to rest comfortably around your neck, smile turning into a grin that threatened to split your face after your first, actual sign of total familiarity.
“We kept them while you were gone,” he spoke, regarding you with an expression that already told you he would be easy to get along with—a look which made utterly clear that he, for the most part at least, didn’t see you as a threat at all. Rather as a child unfairly dumped into a life of terror and death.
You blamed your overly excited smile for his assertion as you held the objects close.
“Your family picked up your belongings from the hotel room you’d been staying in,” he continued, watching you in some sort of amusement, “We have already called in ahead to tell them that you’re safe and sound.”
Now that made you think.
“What am I supposed to tell them?” It was a thought that had plagued your thoughts before, but as you neared your home you couldn’t keep the distress from rising in your chest any longer.
His smile was purely sympathetic and it eased your fears immediately.
“We’ve already talked to your family about your situation, saying that you were comatose because of injuries during the attack on New York and that you’ve been taken care of on site.”
You only blinked in response. That excuse could actually coincide—with your unyielding honesty that is. Sure, it would be terrible should they inquire more about what exactly had happened, but you might just manage to pull yourself out of it with vague responses that weren’t lies. Before you could even open your mouth he continued on,
“If they ask about any costs, tell them that Anthony Stark, aka Iron Man, took up the charges for the people who had been hurt during the attack. He knows about it too in case anyone asks for proof.”
Your smile was bright in reply as you could only thank the heavens’ for everything working so well—is what you were going to say, but upon feeling the slight tug in your chest from earlier you rethought that initially positive statement while the corners of your lips started to drop. It felt empty, purely hollow within you in a way that was truly hard to put into words. Like a literal hole through your chest, noticeable as you breathed and the air left in a cold rush.
Subconsciously your hands grasped the fabric to your chest, tightly, breath slightly shallow as your stare was as empty as you felt.
“Is everything okay?” The words that snapped you out of your daze were spoken with clear worry by the man, pretty much stranger, seated opposite of you. You almost didn’t notice that the roaring of the engine had stopped and the sudden silence had startled you as you came to.
“It’s fine,” you muttered, following him as he stepped out of the jet, your hands tightly clasping the goggles. As fine as possible at the moment, that is. He seemed to give no further objections even though you knew he wasn’t convinced; yet having no reason to pry he let it rest.
“Remember the communication device,” he called to you as you had said your goodbye, gaining a nod from you as you stumbled in your path. The Agent had told you that Fury might send a notification at any given time for you to answer, as well as declaring himself to help introduce you to the new world you inevitably found yourself in. The world of agents and spies, of probable and inevitable lies and deceit—even though you would try and refuse the call for easy ways out.
And the world of the Avengers apparently, even though you still seemed to be designated to be an agent as number one, extracting information from other spies.
You barely managed to ring the doorbell to your home, having stood in front of the door for what seemed like the better half of a year—you could have sworn you had seen the seasons change, though that was probably a result of your exhaustion as well as, perhaps, lingering effects of whatever it was the organization had drugged you with to capture you. The sound of your familiar doorbell echoing all the way to your ears made immediate tears spring to your eyes as you realized that you were home, finally back home.
Just what exactly had you gotten yourself into, indeed.