Avery never knew where she was going to end up specifically. She could focus on a time and a plane of existence, but the universe just seemed to plop her down wherever it seemed convenient. This time though, it had been an accident. She had been in 19th century London helping the Frye twins take control of the city from Templar hands. That had been pretty fun, even though Evie had thought her completely mad and Jacob kept hitting on her. They had been celebrating, Sterrick was dead and they were having a drink on the train and she had gotten a headache.
Then the world had erupted around her and she woke up in a metal cell. It looked modern so she'd say 21st century, but other than that she had no idea. Before she had been dressed in maroon assassins robes, a dagger strapped to her thigh and her hidden blade snugly on her wrist. This time though she was in a pair of worn jeans, dirty combat boots, and a plain black t-shirt. Her hair was longer too. The two years she was in London she had kept it short, cropped to just above her shoulders, but now her wavy black hair was pulled in a tight ponytail at the nape of her neck.
She had noticed that her appearance would change a little with each transition, her clothes would be more fitting of wherever she was, and she would instantly understand the language of whoever spoke and found that she could speak it back. It reminded her of the babel fish which served as a universal translator from Hitchhiker's Guide.
She made a mental note to add that to the list of places to check out. She'd been to perhaps a dozen different universes so far, ranging from hunting down templars in ancient italy to pushing Wolverine in the right direction in the mutant universe.
She had always wanted adventure in her old life, always wanted to save people, to make a difference, and now she could. Of course it was hard to make people trust her at first, given her vast knowledge of the universes she chose to visit, people sometimes thought she could see the future or was some kind of time traveler. She sometimes claimed to have foresight just to avoid the hassle of explaining she had watched their world in a movie or read about it in a book. It was especially difficult when she went places that didn't have modern science.
Well, she shook herself out of her thoughts, it would have been nice to say goodbye to Evie and Jacob and Henry but they were assassins, used to abrupt losses. Pushing herself into a sitting position, she eyed the camera in the ceiling. Maybe she was in one of Abstergo's labs. She'd been in one of their cells before though, and they were typically much nicer. Even dungeons have to show a sort of class when it comes to templars, she thought in disgust.
Standing, she could see through the small window in the metal sliding door. Men and women in blue uniforms were walking to and fro in a brightly lit hallway. One man passed close enough that she could see the insignia on his shoulder. An eagle.
Either the assassins had recently implemented a drastic change in uniform or she was somewhere she'd always wanted to be. She was being held by S.H.I.E.L.D in the the marvel universe. She vaguely recognized the uniforms from the first avengers movie and truly hoped she was where she thought she was.
Then, the door slid open and two men dressed in black combat gear with heavy rifles strapped to their backs walked in.
"Time to come with us, kid. The director wants to talk to you." The taller of the two says.
She sighs. That's the problem with being stuck looking like a 19 year old girl. She hadn't aged since the first time she had traveled. She thinks it's been around fifty years and she still looks like she should be in high school. No matter what happens, it's like her body always resets back to it's default setting. She had been stabbed, drowned, cut apart, burnt at stake (again, people really don't like witches). She'd been tortured, she'd fought, she'd killed. She'd done horrible things, truly awful things in the name of good.
When they go to grab her shoulders she resists the urge to fight them and just goes along with it. After all, first impressions are everything.
A walk through several winding hallways that she gave up trying to memorize had her standing at a door. One of the agents punches a code into a keypad on the wall, the door slides open, she is shoved inside, and the door closes with a swish behind her. The room is obviously a conference room of some type. There is a light brown wooden table with several chairs placed around it. At the head of the table sits a man she instantly recognizes. Nick Fury, director of SHIELD. Of course it would be kind of hard not to recognize him, what with the eyepatch and all. On either side of him sit his second in command, Maria Hill, (who she absentmindedly notes was played by the same woman who played Robin on How I Met Your Mother, a TV show back in her original world,) and Phil Coulson. (Mental note: don't let Loki kill Coulson). They just look at her for a moment so she walks forward and takes a seat at the other end of the table.
"So," She says conversationally, "What time is this?"
They look at her uncomprehendingly for a moment before agent Hill speaks.
"You are in a secure SHIELD facility. We found you unconscious on deck. We'd very much like to know how you ended up there." Her voice is surprisingly soft, and Avery briefly considers heading straight into the 'look, 'I'm a lost, scared, helpless, teenager and I don't know what's going on' play, but she remembers how many people died in this movie, even though it was never explicitly shown. She can change things, can help the team form on more solid ground, can stop Stark and the Captain from trying to rip each other's throats out, can warn Thor of Thano's plans. So she decides to start simple.
"Have you ever heard of the multiverse theory. It's the theory that there are an infinite amount of parallel universes, all different. It's the idea that every single possible reality is real." She speaks slowly, wanting to wean them on the idea slowly
Hill and Coulson just look at her unblinkingly, not really getting why she's telling them that. Director Fury, however, is looking annoyed.
"Listen girl,"
"Avery," she cuts in.
"Listen, Avery. If I wanted a science lesson I'd watch NOVA, now where is Loki!" He was angry now, frustrated and clearly thinking she was some sort of plant.
"Loki, good, that means I'm sometime after you lost the cube and before you found him. Tell me, have you gone to see the captain yet, asked for his help? Have you sent Romanoff to get Banner?" She leans her head on her hand, looking up at his increasingly angry expression.
"How did you know about that?" Hill asked, her voice high pitched with shock.
Fury just studies her.
"Look, I'm one of the good guys, I swear. I'll even help you out. There's going to be some sort of gala in Stuttgart, Germany the next couple of nights. One of the men that is going to attend it, well, Loki is going to murder him rather publically. Your facial recognition software will find him. You'll send the Cap and Romanoff in a quinjet to go get him, Stark'll join them there. They'll capture Loki and when they try to bring him back, Thor will show up and Tony and Steve will fight him for Loki before settling a truce. They'll all show up back here but Barton will have gotten the metal he needs for Selvig to finish the portal. Oh, and the Captain will give you ten bucks when he sees your flying fortress. Something about the world having gotten even stranger. And that's all I'll say for now. Don't ask why or how. You don't even have to believe me. Throw me back in that cell and wait for it to play out." She looks at them expectantly, waiting to see their responses.
"Who are you and how exactly do you know all that?" Fury was angry. What a surprise. He clearly thought she was crazy.
Okay, that irritated her just a tiny bit. She had given them her name."I just told you my name. If you didn't care enough to pay attention than I don't care enough to repeat myself."
"Seriously, what are you, nine?" And there was the bitchy side of agent Hill that she'd always suspected existed.
"Close, nineteen. Well, technically." She was technically nineteen, well, in appearance at least. She had lost track of how long it had been since all this had begun.
"Okay, so why is a nineteen year old girl that doesn't exist in any government database on my ship." Of course Fury had tried to ID her.
"I don't know. Sometimes I just end up where I end up. Believe me, I'd much rather have ended up at Stark Tower. I figure he's about ninety percent more likely to own an xbox." That would be fun. She'd yet to play the newest batman game. Batman, now there's a thought. She makes a mental note to visit Gotham next time.
"What do you mean end up?" And there's Coulson speaking up for the first time since she'd entered the room. She decides to be nice. After all, Coulson had been one of her favorite characters in these movies, at least until his death.
"I'm kinda like your little avenger group. I have, well, let's call them abilities. I'm immortal and I can travel anywhere in time and space. Wow, Doctor Who reference. Didn't even mean to do that. Anyway, I'm highly trained in most types of combat, I'm unkillable, I can teleport when needed, and I have a working knowledge of this universe's future." That just about covered everything, though by the disbelief present on their faces she could tell they thought her deranged.
"Why should we believe a word you say? Even if you could do everything you claim, how do we know you aren't a threat?" Fury was being silent, letting Hill do all the talking.
"Okay, fine. Shoot me if it makes you feel better. I'm here to help and if that means I have prove myself, so be it." She didn't really expect them to shoot her. Especially in the head.
"Owww Owwww Owww, what the hell, Hill! I thought you would shoot me in the leg or something. Do you have any idea how much getting shot in the head hurts? How would you feel if I just walked up and shot you?"
"You're not dead" Hill and Coulson look taken aback while Fury is as unreadable as ever. Of course that's the only thing he has to say.
Seriously? "Gee, really? And here I thought I was a ghost."
"Shut up."
And that was how I joined SHIELD. They even gave me the outfit and everything.