Part One
A year passed since the Super Skrull invasion of Hell's Kitchen.
The world moved on, just as it had after the Chitauri invaded. The Super Skrull was no different; just another intergalactic monster to chalk up another victory for the Avengers – or, at least, the few that were able to fight that night. Captain America and Black Widow were busy with another matter involving the infiltration of HYDRA in S.H.I.E.L.D.
None of it mattered to Ciciley Livingston, former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
For those twelve months, she dedicated herself to searching for her son, Sean.
Last she saw of him was on Liberty Base, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top secret bunker miles and miles beneath Liberty Island. He blew up at her for keeping Yamila, the little sister he and Elendriel never knew they had, a secret for twenty-eight years. After then, she never saw him or her mother, Chrissy, again.
She swore to herself that she would not stop until she found the only lead to his disappearance: that strange Portuguese girl they encountered at Saccheri's warehouse. Somewhere in New York, she was around; but Ciciley would not put it past herself if she still remained in Hell's Kitchen. It was one reason why she stationed herself there.
Hell's Kitchen was the perfect spot to keep a low profile. No sane person would ever give up a luxurious life in favor of living in such a rundown, crime-ridden section of New York.
Ciciley's sanity vanished the moment she lost Sean.
Then again, she grew up in the Bronx, which was just as bad as Hell's Kitchen, if not worse. To her, it was going back to her old roots, hitting the streets and the gym every single day. And Hell's Kitchen did have one of the sweetest gyms she ever trained in, "Fogwell's Gym." Her trainer, Anne, kept her from getting soft, if that was still a possibility, considering her "rejuvenation." She may have had the spirit and mentality of a sixty-something woman, but her body was forever twenty-something, thanks to the influence of an alien being known as "The Guardian."
The other day, after a rigorous spar session between her and Anne, she received a call through the gym's payphone. It was Maria Hill, another former S.H.I.E.L.D. operative who recently found employment with Tony Stark, in the aftermath of the HYDRA situation. Ciciley's presence was requested at the New Avengers Facility upstate. Her personal escort, a black SUV, waited outside Fogwell's.
The driver, a young Caucasian male with cropped blond hair and wearing a black suit and tie, offered to drop her off at her apartment to shower and put on "more comfortable" clothes. She made the bold choice of going directly to the facility in her sweat-drenched navy blue tank top and grey yoga pants. She knew the place where she was headed had no dress code – not for civilians.
Plus, she knew the person who arranged this visit could care less about her attire.
The drive was close to two hours, too much time for her young driver friend to tolerate the "gym funk" her body gave off in the once-fresh-scented SUV. She didn't have the heart to tell him how she cut one (on purpose) halfway through Queens. The poor guy did nothing to deserve it, but she knew these guys were trained to deal with anything; his experience gave him the intuition to roll all the car windows down.
Once they arrived to the facility, Ciciley admitted it was an impressive complex up close. She spotted a group of trainees running exercises on a built-in course. One of them was a raven-haired, olive-skinned beauty with a super athletic build accentuated from the white sports bra (engraved with the Avengers' insignia) and black yoga shorts she wore.
"Yamila!" She called to the young woman.
The second her youngest daughter's focus shifted to her, she beamed with joy.
Leaving in the middle of her training exercise, Yamila rushed right up to Ciciley and warmly embraced her. "Mama," she cheered. "You came back! I've missed you so much!"
Ciciley mentally cursed the one responsible for this impromptu gathering. If it was his intention to melt her supposedly "cold" heart with this reunion, then he had another thing coming.
"Did you see me on TV? I was in Sokovia with the Avengers!" Yamila energetically noted.
Ciciley proudly nodded and smiled. "Yes, I did. You were awesome."
Yamila giggled. "They're training me to be a New Avenger. I'm going to work with Wanda, Rhodey, Sam, and Vision!"
Ciciley could feel the tears developing in her ducts; she held them back to the best of her ability. "I couldn't be more honored to be your mother than I am this moment, sweetheart. You always dreamt of being a superhero. Look at you now."
"You have no idea how hard she's worked her butt off for this."
The sour-toned voice spoke out near them.
They turned and noticed Elendriel walking down the busy, polished corridor, accompanied by Mindy. As pleasant as it was to see her oldest daughter again, Ciciley was unable to ignore the woman with her.
With the exception of the Tony Stark-designed artificial forearm, a constant reminder of the night she fought in Hell's Kitchen, Mindy looked just about the same since the last time Ciciley saw her. She did, however, change her hair from brunette to blonde. Unfortunately, it did nothing to change how Ciciley felt towards her kind – the Guardians.
The feeling was mutual in the case of Elendriel, who seemed less than pleased to see her mother. That much was obvious when she didn't bother greeting her with a "Hello."
Instead, she acridly asked, "Any luck finding him?"
She knew the "him" she referred to and somberly answered, "No."
And that was as far as the conversation went between them before she departed, notifying to Mindy, "I'm gonna check up on Karter in the daycare center, if you need me."
Mindy acknowledged with a nod, watching Elendriel disappear through an automatic sliding door.
Ciciley felt her heart become very heavy. "She blames me for what happened."
"No, she doesn't," Mindy denied. "It's just the grief talking. It wasn't your fault."
"No, it's not." She directed the cold gaze of her icy blue eyes on Mindy. "It's yours. Yours and that other skank of a 'reincarnation,' or whatever you want to call yourselves. Do me a favor and, as long as I'm here, stay out of my way!"
The severity of her voice made her point clear.
Mindy, stunned speechless by the aggressive address, made herself scarce.
"You didn't have to talk to her that way!" Yamila furiously yelled to her mother. "She's my friend, and she saved my life!"
"Yamila, listen to me, and listen good – she is not your friend. Being around her will only make bad things happen to you and your sister…just like they did with your brother."
A scowl formed in the face of her daughter. Never had she seen Yamila look at her with such resentment.
"Elle's right about you!" She unforgivingly bellowed, running away thereafter.
That bitter grimace would forever be engraved in Ciciley's memory.
She's too young to understand, she lamented in thought.
"That girl is definitely your daughter with that attitude."
Ciciley's fists clenched. She knew that unmistakable voice speaking from behind.
She spun with her right fist swinging, only for her forearm to be caught before it could connect with its target: Nick Fury.
"You dirty son of a—!"
"How did you know?"
Ciciley frowned. "What?"
"You wouldn't have come, unless you knew it was me. How did you know?"
She jerked her arm out of his grasp. "I figured it out when I saw that Helicarrier show up right next to Sokovia's floating city on TV…but the fancy escort was a given."
"I'm sorry."
It was a genuine apology, not something he rehearsed when their paths crossed again. She shrugged, calming herself. "You've done much worse in the past. This was just Tuesday for us. Of course, there was HYDRA, so it's all good."
Fury smiled in satisfaction. "C'mon. I'll give you a tour."
Fury guided her through the complex, while the couple caught up on their adventures since the HYDRA incident. She impressed him with her recollection of the events leading into the Battle of Hell's Kitchen, but he was most delighted to know she went back to their old stomping grounds of Liberty Base. When it was his turn, she was enthralled over all that it took for him to keep under the radar from HYDRA, which included promoting Phil Coulson to S.H.I.E.L.D. director.
"If it weren't for Phil, we wouldn't have pulled off an extraction that saved hundreds of Sokovia citizens," Fury reminisced.
The reference prompted Ciciley to consider one bit of detail.
"So…whatever happened to Banner? You guys ever find out where he's been?"
Fury gravely shook his head. "It's a lost cause, searching for a man who doesn't want to be found."
"At least he can't change his face to something other than green."
He caught onto the hidden comparison she made. "You'll find him, Cici."
She sighed, grief-stricken. "I don't know, Nick. I saw the woman he changed into, or I think was him. I haven't seen her again since."
"You know that we have everything you need here to find him." He hesitated for a brief moment but managed to bring himself to say, "Come back to the team."
She perceived this desperation from him.
If it really was his way of buttering her up, with the special tour and fancy escort, he did a decent job of it. Alas, she was still reserved on the matter.
"I…I can't, Nick. I've not been the same since a year ago. It seems like more and more each year, I lose that woman I once was before I came back to Project Geo. I don't recognize myself in the mirror anymore."
Fury brandished a devilish grin. The one true opportunity in getting her back to the team was on the table, and he did not hesitate in taking it.
"Well, we do have a therapist on staff here. She's helped the team cope with their new lives. She's quite the miracle worker, even managed to get Stark back on track after his bout with PTSD."
Ciciley scoffed. "Nick, with all due respect, a shrink is the very last thing I need right now."
"Give her a chance." Fury insisted. "She's helped Elle and Yamila, too, just to let you know."
"Oh, in that case, I would love to meet the woman who made my own two daughters turn against me."
Even though it was a request spiked with deep mockery, Fury nonetheless made the call for a "Doctor Marie Nylen" to come to their section of the facility. Within a few short minutes, they heard a pair of heels click-clacking rapidly down the hallway, reverberating closer to them.
It drew Ciciley's attention to their owner – a blond, long-haired young woman in a white blouse, black dress pants, and glasses.
Then she saw the face…and lost all feeling in her body.
This "Doctor Marie Nylen" of Fury's was Genevieve.
Dr. Nylen saw the panic in her face as she approached and immediately reassured her, "Miss Livingston, I know what you think, but it's not—"
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"
Nick jumped at the sudden roar of her voice.
"Is this your idea of a joke?!" She screamed to him. "Did Elendriel and Yamila put you up to this?! Was this some sick way of getting to reconsider?!"
"Cici, calm down." Fury said. "I don't know what you're talking about. I just—"
"I know about Genevieve, Miss Livingston." Nylen clarified. "Elendriel had the same reaction when she first saw me, and she shared all the details with me."
She even sounds like her, Ciciley processed in her increasing anxiety.
"She said it has helped her come to grips with what happened to Sean, so I've—"
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY MY SON'S NAME AGAIN! EVER!"
Nylen remained silent, not wishing to infuriate the former agent any further.
"I swore if I ever saw you again, I'd kill you! Don't think I've forgotten that!"
The cold-blooded warning chilled Nylen to the bone.
Fury made another attempt to figure out why Ciciley reacted this way but was blown off the minute she turned and left in her rage.
"What just happened?" Fury inquired to Nylen.
The young therapist moaned. "Where do I begin…?"