A/N: Welcome to the next installment of the Elizaverse! This story follows directly after the final events of The Changeling, but I will attempt to tell you what you've missed if you don't want to go back and reread the 250 chapters of the previous fic.
All you really need to know is that Eliza White is the royal twin daughter of the late Queen Freyja of the Vanir. They are a race that inhabits not only parts of Asgard but also all of Alfheim/Vanaheim. They rule over the light elves. Eliza's powers are magic, like Loki, and she also has telekinesis, and very weak telepathy. Her twin sister Hnoss rules as steward of Vanaheim when Eliza is on Earth. Eliza shares a special father-daughter like bond with Clint Barton, and also saw Natasha as her mother figure.
Directly before this takes off, Eliza is on the pro-registration side of the Civil War alongside Clint Barton, Peter Parker (her former boyfriend), Bobbi Morse, and Tony Stark. In the course of those battles against anti-registration Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Bucky Barnes, and others, she begins losing the people she held close. At the end, when Steve Rogers is killed (well, actually, he's been kidnapped by HYDRA, but only Fury, Nat, and Bucky know that), she reverts back to her nasty habit of cutting and, to recover, allows herself to be placed in therapy for the losses she's suffered.
After the Civil War, Nick Fury entrusted Clint and Bobbi with the job of constructing a new team of Avengers to take up their place on the West Coast.
I hope you enjoy this story! Trailers for it are linked from my profile. Reviews are always welcome!
Smile Always!
Silz
Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel character whether he/she has appeared on screen or only in the comics
It was warm in California when Eliza White, Bobbi Morse, Clint Barton, Leo Fitz, Greer Grant, and Sharon Carter arrived at the airport from their private jet that SHIELD had provided them with. Eliza had spent the entire five hour flight staring out the window, trying to catch glimpses of the ground far below them. She still had yet to completely get over the death of Steve Rogers, but she was well on her way. She had another two and a half months of mandatory therapy she had to attend, all in the hopes that she would make a full recovery from the ordeals of the Civil War. She knew she wasn't alone though, as Clint had another month and Sharon another two as well.
She wondered what Peter Parker was doing at that moment. He had gone to live with his Aunt May at Avengers Tower with Tony and Pepper after Mary Jane Watson had been killed because of a hate crime aimed at Peter after he'd revealed his identity. No one had heard from Tony since that day at the Court house, at least none of the other former Avengers. He'd shut himself off from the world, locking himself into his R&D labs at his tower and letting Pepper handle press conferences when they came up.
Natasha and Bucky had been sent out of the United States for their participation in the rebellion against the Superhuman Registration Act. Nothing had been heard from them either. Indeed, there was very little correspondence between the former Avengers. Bruce had at first remained in contact with Clint and Eliza, but since then he'd left Avengers Tower and disappeared off-grid.
It had been about a week and a half since Clint and Bobbi had received their orders to construct a new Avengers team for the West Coast. They had approached each member that they wanted for their team differently and separately. First had been Tigra, and she had readily agreed. Greer was eager to start over in a new city after her revelation to America that she, Greer Grant, former NYPD officer, was the superhero Tigra.
Sharon Carter, her heart still broken from the betrayal and then death of her boyfriend Steve Rogers, was hesitant to join them. She wanted to quit SHIELD, settle down somewhere in the country, and wallow in self-pity and misery, if she had been completely honest with herself. But she knew that she needed to keep herself busy or else her grief would consume her. So eventually, Sharon Carter, Agent 13, agreed.
Agent Leo Fitz, prodigy that he was, couldn't bear being anywhere near the East Coast SHIELD academy for Sciences. That was where his former best friend and almost-girlfriend was now teaching after being acquitted of her crimes during the Civil War. Fitz saw this West Coast Avengers team as an opportunity to get away and still work on his projects.
Finally, Clint and Bobbi had approached Eliza. She was still hurt from breaking up with Peter Parker in such a dramatic fashion, she blamed herself for Mary Jane's death, and she hurt from losing Steve and Natasha (one to death and one to exile). She had talked about returning to Asgard and then Vanaheim where she could rule her people as their queen alongside her sister Hnoss, perhaps even meet Thor's newborn daughter, but after being approached by Clint and Bobbi about the West Coast Avengers, she had agreed on one condition. She was allowed to return to Asgard and Vanaheim at her pleasure to see her sister and Thor.
Now, as the plane landed and they disembarked, Eliza couldn't help but feel a little excited. She'd never been to the West Coast! She'd grown up in London, and when she'd finally moved to the United States to join SHIELD, the farthest west she'd had to travel was to Illinois. Now she was setting foot on entirely new ground, and she was excited. She forgot for a quick moment about all the loss in her life. But only for a moment.
"Come on guys," Bobbi gestured as they were escorted straight from the plane across the tarmac to a SHIELD convoy limo.
A SHIELD agent got out of his bullet-proof car and went around to open the limo door for the party. Eliza thanked him as she got in, as did the rest of them. Their weapons were stowed in the car that was to go behind them. Their luggage was stacked in the car in front. Clint and Bobbi had already been to their new home twice to help with the move in. But Eliza, Eliza had never been to this new place.
They were calling it Avengers Academy. Avengers Academy was to be a safe-haven for young, superhuman teens and young adults alike to call home and hone their skills. It also served as a place to certify young superheroes after the Civil War. But it was equally so a SHIELD base for the West Coast Avengers. It had state-of-the-art security, top notch staff, and much else.
"Hey Clint, Bobbi," Eliza asked after several minutes of silence was spent inside the limo, "Any idea who the first students will be?"
"Yeah," Clint nodded, "I know of a few. Remember the Young Avengers we apprehended? Well they agreed to sign the act and now need certification to continue practicing as superheroes, so there's them. Fury told me that more will be coming too, but I'm not sure who."
"They probably aren't too happy about this arrangement," Fitz muttered.
Bobbi shrugged, "It's required by law now. There's no other way."
"I just can't wait to get my hands dirty in this new city. See if we can't improve the lives of the San Francisco citizens," Greer said.
Sharon agreed, "I intend to inspect the security of the campus first though. See if it really is all it's hyped up to be."
"First thing I'm doing," Eliza smirked, "First thing I'm doing is making sure you and Bobbi did a good job decorating my room, Clint."
Clint rolled his eyes, "We did a fine job, didn't we Bob!"
"Absolutely," Bobbi agreed with a smile.
The limo trip took about half an hour. Finally they arrived at the campus/base that would be home to the West Coast Avengers for the foreseeable future. The land had green grass that looked slightly sunbaked and the entrance was guarded with a large metal gate. The sign to the side said "Welcome to the Avengers Academy!" Eliza decided it was a rather inviting place, for a base at least.
They drove on inside after showing their IDs to the base security guard. They drove up to a drop off circle at the front of the building. The building was made of white and light brown stone, no doubt covering up some sort of super strong metal. There were two large, wooden doors that opened into the main hall. From the outside, the SHIELD school looked huge. Eliza was in awe.
"Avengers," nodded a man who stood at the top of the steps that led into the school base, "Welcome to the Academy. I am Mr. Dose. If you'll follow me, I will give you a tour of the school and the base."
"Thank you," Bobbi smiled and nodded, "What should we do about our luggage?"
"It will be transported to your rooms, do not worry," Mr. Dose assured them.
They followed the short, stout man through the great entrance way of Avengers Academy and he showed them the inner rooms. First stop was the student quarters. There were about fifty rooms, and each housed two students. There were going to be nowhere near that many to begin with, but as Fury had told them a few days ago, they were "planning for the future" in this case, not of America, but of the school.
After that they found their ways to the cafeteria. This was a very large room with a kitchen on one end for the kitchen staff to prepare meals. Most would be pre-cooked food that would be reheated, but there were to be hot breakfasts, lunches, and dinners as often as possible.
Next was the library. Very large and filled not only with physical books, but also StarkPads, computers, and charging stations for electronics. All sorts of tables and desks lined the room. The carpet was a pleasant red that reminded Eliza of the libraries of Asgard that she had visited often when the Avengers had gone to that land multiple times.
Once they finished with the library, they found the Avengers' sleeping quarters. They were above ground, unlike the students, whose rooms were below the first floor. Instead, these were along the outside of the base so that windows allowed for light to stream in. The rooms were rather spacious. Not the five room suits that they'd been accustomed to in Avengers Tower, but they had a small sitting room with a TV, a generous sized bedroom, and an adjoining full bath. Over all it was nice.
When they had finished the tour, they returned to the large lounge that was for the Avengers to hang out in. It had a pool table, an air hockey table, two TVs, a minibar, and three large couches. The wood floor had three green and grey rugs that complimented the light grey walls. It was a very modern look. Mr. Dose left them here to return to his duties as head of housekeeping.
"We have two days until the first students start arriving," Greer said, looking at her phone's calendar, "Plans before that?"
"None," Clint shrugged, "Honestly, I have no idea what to do."
"Did you look into bringing Professor Xavier out here for a little while to teach us how to run the Academy," Eliza asked him and Bobbi.
Bobbi nodded, "We asked. He said he might come out in a few days to help us, but that he's too busy right now back at the Institute. He did talk about sending us a student though, someone who knows the ropes of being in a school for gifted kids and might be able to keep the kids in line."
"Who?"
"Laura Kinney? Professor X said you know her," Bobbi told Eliza.
Eliza smiled, "Yes I do! That would be wonderful. When is she going to come?"
"No later than when the others arrive," Clint said to her.
Eliza smiled. Laura Kinney. Also known as X-23 to those who didn't know her well. Laura was an interesting girl. She was almost fifteen, and had grown up first in Weapon X, then in HYDRA, and finally in a terrorist mutant group calling themselves the Mutilators. But she'd joined up with the X-Men's school no more than three months ago after Eliza and the Avengers had rescued her from the mutant terrorists. She was a troubled child, a girl who had difficulty handling her emotions. She cut. She had psychotic breakdowns. She would lose control sometimes. But most importantly, she was getting better. Eliza looked forward to seeing her.
The West Coast Avengers hung out with each other for a few hours, watching TV, playing video games that they found in the lounge. They had fun, something they hadn't done for many weeks since during and after the Civil War. But how long would the peace last?
After all, soon enough there would be kids in the house.
