When Steve and I left New York we were sent straight to the Triskelion in D.C to prepare for our mission. Fury gave us a night to ourselves as he gets the necessary things in order for our mission. Tomorrow at seven thirty Steve and I will rendezvous at the hangar and be briefed on the details. We separate at the doors when a few chirpy agents bound over to greet Captain America. I pass unnoticed and give him a wave as I head to my onsite quarters. Most agents live in quarters in a smaller building away from the main office or somewhere off site, my room is below ground on one of the sub levels where I could easily access the building above in case of emergency. My missions often take me away from base and I rarely spend more than a couple of days here at a time. Down the sterile hallways and into an elevator I press the button for the sub level three. With a hand scan the elevator begins its descent and I lean against the wall with a sigh. All I want is a nice shower and nap, anything else requires too much effort. I think as the doors open and I make my way through the twists and turns until I see my door. Before I can open the metal door I hear someone calling my name from the stairway.
"Hey Kelsie! Hey I have a new one for you." I hear the British voice of my friend agent Fitz. Fitz is a talented engineer that works with a biologist named Simmons who works with him like a second half. When I have the chance to spend time at the Triskelion he is the one who repairs my prosthetic or upgrades it when he can. When he gets closer I see the shiny new leg that he carries with him. I greet him with a smile and a hug that he returns gladly. We head into my room and he makes himself a spot on my couch while I set my jacket aside and rummage through the cupboard for a glass to fill with water.
"Alright Fitz, what do you have for me." I ask him as I plop down beside him on the couch. My quarters are sparse and the couch and coffee table sit alone in the living area. Through a doorway to our right is the kitchen and to our left is the bedroom. The cot in the bedroom is covered in navy sheets and blankets and is next to the little wooden nightstand with its little desk light.
"We heard about New York, in fact almost everyone watched it live. Fury sent down the notice for a replacement leg and I started as soon as I could. It should nearly match the old one except that it's circuits are insulated far better and there's this laser..."
"No lasers!" I interrupt quickly, the one thing Fitz always wants to add in is some kind of laser. To make me more badass he says. He grins at me and shakes his head with a chuckle. He likes to poke fun at me for not wanting lasers inside my leg, it's become an inside joke. Fitz hand me the new prosthetic carefully and I look it over with an approving smile. Like the last couple it is a shiny silver color and the seams are barely there. The toes are always my favorite part; Fitz knows I want my toes as realistic as possible. I think it makes me feel more normal to be able to wiggle my toes and not just have a two unit toe set. These little piggies are prepainted a slick red that reminds me of our conversation about Natasha being so scary partially because of her red hair. Everyone knows red is the scariest color. The calf is shaped to match my real one and the places without plated metal, where there is high flexibility, are a black super durable plastic that stretches to accommodate movement. On the shin Fitz took my suggestion of some sort of embellishment and etched into the metal a floral pattern with vines and roses.
"Damn Fitz, this is fantastic looking. Really it's the best yet." I tell him as I set it down to remove the old one. He smiles and blushes at the compliments and explains all the details as I unlock the connectors and slip off the spare.
"How did you manage to dent this?!" He exclaims as I hand over the old leg, there are a few scrapes on it and a couple places where the circuits are visible but he must be noticing the severe dent on the front that runs from the knee to the ankle. It must be from one of the falls I took, really I just tend to turn off the sensors in it when I'm fighting. Couldn't feel a thing. Fitz looks over the leg while grumbling to himself about hard work and ingenuity and I strap into the new one. The base built onto my stump connects to circuits at the top of the leg and when they meet the leg responds to my brainwave commands to perform functions. Once all the latches are secure and it s properly running I wiggle my toes and watch the little red tipped digits dance. I walk through the usual test to make sure it functions, bend the knee, stretch the knee, twist and turn the knee. All the movements are smooth and fluid, going just how they should.
"Looks good Fitz, feels like it works alright so far." I tell him as I stand up carefully. The leg easily takes my weight and I shift back and forth on the ball of my foot. A few steps forward and back confirm its sizing is fine and the calibrations are correct. "All the bits are good. Hopefully it lasts longer than the last one." I say as I do a circuit of the room. The leg before this one had worked about a month before Thor fried it, the one before that had lasted nearly a year.
"I don't see how I could of prepared for a Thunder God. It's just not fair." He says with a frown, the last model he had named Bernice and it had been his favorite of the more durable ones. "This one is named Flora because I already named one Rose. Eventually I'll run out of names." He continues as he watches Flora compared to my other leg. Fitz likes to name everything he makes but I kindly asked him to give all my legs a feminine name. A few models back he had wanted to name a heavy duty one Chuck but I had vetoed it. I take my seat next to him and turn to look at him.
"Thanks Fitz, it looks great. How have you been? Not getting into too much trouble I hope." I ask him with a grin, checking in with him has become part of our routine and after one of the agents had started making rude comments I felt responsible for him. Once Fitz broke down and gave me the name I had shown agent Havart what I thought of his bullying. Since then he hasn't been bothered by anyone but I still ask just in case.
"It's been great, Simmons and I are working on some very cool projects. I may have had a small explosion issue a week ago but it all was settled nicely. You could hardly see the damage to the office." He tells me with a mischievous grin. Explosions were par for the course with any SHIELD scientist, there was an entire division of agents specializing in explosion reconstruction.
"I'm glad you are having fun. Fury didn't even let me finish my pie." I whine with a pout. Fitz laughs at my plight and takes the old leg as he heads to the door.
"Fury will take my pie for a month if I don't get back to the lab. I'm glad you're alright, I'd hate to have to replace you." He jokes with a wink as he closes the door behind him. The room is silent and I listen to the clock on the counter as it ticks out the seconds. My glass on the table sits abandoned as I walk over to my bed and sit with a sigh. A few seconds of stripping and rearranging later I'm comfortably tucked into my bed and the pillow is fluffed beneath my head. My thoughts turn to the agent that didn't come back alright and how I'll miss Coulson's enthusiasm and dry wit. He was someone I knew from the beginning of my time at SHIELD, even while I was in physical therapy he came to check in on me and encourage me. I roll over to my side and look at the blank wall of my room. Everytime I saw him he was prepared and smooth, no situation ruffled his feathers and he was an inspiration to many of us. He was the epitome of the spy in the suit, he could blend in anywhere and knew everything. Or at least that's what we told the recruits.
Coulson was a good man and I wish I had been there to help him. I close my eyes and turn to my stomach on the unforgiving mattress, a deep breath calms my fluttering heart and the tears retreat. You never really get used to losing a teammate, it's just part of the job