My name is Athena Hawkins. I'm an army vet. Off duty now. I am 24 years old.
"Hey, Atty. Can you pass me that?" Right now, I'm camping with some army buddies.
"Yeah, Si." I say to Simon, handing him can of beans. My other two friends, Kasi Daron and Laura Macker, are off hiking. Right now at camp it's me, Simon Jin, Leo Warner, and Kirsten Kahn.
"Food of the army." Kirsten says, pointing to the can of beans. We all laugh, when we were all in the same squad, that's the only thing we ate.
"I kind of miss the base, you know? I mean, it's kind of weird going home and feeling like you're going to melt through you're bed, it's so soft." Leo says. I feel similarly. Although, I don't miss the base.
"I don't know. I learned everything I know about fighting there. Which is fine...Exactly what I wanted to do...But at the same time, if you backed down, you were weak. I take backing down as a sign of courage, you know? Like, if you back down, at least
you know your strengths and weaknesses." I add, Si and Kirsten nod in agreement. I don't add this, because they know I don't like talking about my powers, but, that's where I learned about my abilities and learned to harness them.
"Well we all know you aren't one to back down, Atty." Si says to me, taking a spoonful of beans. Suddenly, I hear branches breaking. Someone is running towards us at full speed. Two people. We army folks are also HIGHLY trained by ear. All four of us
stand up abruptly. I see Kasi and Laura running towards us, making the "get down" motion. We all immediately go flat on the ground. And we all begin to hear the familiar sounds of gunshots.
Leo starts screaming and sobbing, crying out his boyfriends name he lost in battle. Kirsten scoots over towards him, trying to calm him down. Everyone else covers their ears. I try not to have flashbacks, try not to go back to the horrors I saw in Afghanistan.
I start muttering to myself quietly. Then, I decide to take charge.
I motion for everybody to stay silent and follow me. On our hands and knees we shuffle through the forest. My heart sinks as I remember exploring this area, at some point we will come upon a sudden ravine. And I can hear the gunshots getting closer by
the minute.
"Okay, guys. This will sound truly nuts, but we have to climb up into the trees, stay silent and don't move." I explain. They nod and we all begin climbing a tree. Kasi and Laura do it easy, despite their packs from hiking.
I can hear punching, the gunmen screaming, then silence. Leaves crunch beneath somebody's boots, a woman looks up the trunk of the tree I'm in, she has red hair and is dressed in all black.
"Who the hell are you?" The woman asks. I look like an idiot. I begin to climb down, when I get down to a low branch,I jump down right next to the woman.
"Sergeant Athena Hawkins." I can see everyone else has jumped down from their trees. I realize one thing, these are the famous Avengers...Or, infamous, if you're in the army. "So, you're the infamous Avengers?" I ask, crossing my arms.
"I wouldn't say infamous. Hey, Athena. How you been?" A familiar voice asks me.
"Sam?!" The man shows himself from behind the woman. "Oh my god! It's been forever, man!" I say, shaking his hand. We were stationed together for a while, I was there for him when his best friend was killed. We were really good friends back then. But,
we haven't spoken in so long. Back then it was him, myself, Laura, and Leo. Laura and Leo got reassigned with me, and that's how we met Si, Kirsten, and Kasi.
"Sam! Jesus, man, where you been? Out with freaks, huh?" Leo asks, gesturing towards the rest of the team. "Man, you guys know the trouble you cause for the army, right? Always comin' in, moppin' up your messes with other countries." Leo asks, leaning
on a tree. I shoot a 'stop it right now, you'll get us in trouble' look at him.
"Come on, Athena, you know the trouble they cau-" Kirsten is cut short, she reveals a bullet wound in her shoulder, and sinks to he ground, fainting. A man with a silver arm picks her up.
Suddenly, everything is kicked into gear. More gunshots sound and we begin running, when we get to the ravine, a woman with light brown hair surrounds a tree trunk in red mist and tips it over, makinga bridge.
"We go to the jet!"A man with blonde hair yells,he must be the leader or something. We all scramble across the trunk, and a large jet uncloaks itself. Everyone scrambles on the jet except me. I see the gunmen run across the log.
I board the jet. No one goes to fly it, I take it upon myself, I did get a bit of flying lessons in when I served. I go the control panel, it isn't like a regular plane.
"Are you kidding me? Will somebody please fly?" I yell to the rest of the people on board. A man with greying hair pushes me aside, closes the door, and gets us in the air. Everything seems calm again.
"Leo, what did you mean earlier: 'the messes you guys create'?" Sam asks, leaning his head against the side of the plane and taking deep breaths. When Sam asks it, everyone and everything goes quiet.
"The Avengers are kind of infamous in the army. The war in Sokovia, all your fault. The battle with Wakanda. And countless others, all your fault." Kasi explains, Leo still having a bit of a panic attack on the side.
"But...The peace talks. The treaties." The man with the silver arm says, almost as if he's pleading.
"I don't know, man. All we know is to go in and do what the generals tell us. That's it." Si finishes. Leo begins sobbing again, and having a complete breakdown. Kasi rushes to his side, helping calm him down again.
"What's wrong?" The man with blonde hair asks.
"None of your concern." I add, crossing the plane, and sitting by Leo and Kasi, Si follows. Laura is aiding Kirsten with her wound. Leo just sobs as we try and help him out. He let's out his boyfriends name a couple times.
"Who's Daniel?" The light brown haired girls asks.
"What is it with these people and wanting to know everything?" I mutter to Si and Kasi, they both crack a grin.
"What did you say?" Sam asks, his voice has turned rough and stern.
"I asked why you people needed to know everything. Some things are just kept private, Sam. I thought, you, especially, would understand." I say, turning on my heel and heading back to Leo, Kasi, and Si. The plane stays quiet for over two hours.
"Where are we going?" Laura asks, still helping Kirsten.
"Avengers Tower." A man with a large mechanical suit answers. The plane stays quiet th rest of the way there, except for Kirsten's occasional swearing and Leo's breakdown. Another threehours pass, this jet is slow. Finally, a robotic voice announces
that we have arrived at our destination.
We all get off the plane, and we are led inside to a common area with leather couches and a metal coffee table. A bar sits not too far from it. We sit in silence. The woman with the brown hair goes somewhere, and the woman with red hair follows, carrying
Kirsten, with Laura tagging behind.
"Where are they going?" Kasi asks, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. My brownhair is always in a ponytail.
"Medical ward. In the meantime, introductions. I'm Tony." The man with the mechanical suit answers. But he no longer has on the mechanical suit, just a tshirt, jeans, and sneakers. He carries a beer in his left hand and sits down. Everyone else except
for me and my friends goes. I look at Leo to try and introduce himself first.
"I'm Leo. Leo Warner." He says, his tears have dried and he's mostly in shock now. I look at Kasi to be next. But Si goes next.
"I'm Simon Jin. Si to my friends." Si says, putting his hands on his knees.
"Okay, Si." Tony says, kind of pushing Si's boundaries. I don't mind, I'd like to see Tony get punched in the face.
"To my friends." Si emphasizes, leaning back and stretching his legs out. Tony puts his hands up to say that's fine.
"I'm Kassandra Daron. But I prefer Kasi." Kasi says, folding her arms and slouching a little more into the couch. I don't pay attention, so I don't realize I'm the last one.
"And you?" The blonde man, who I now know is Steve, asks me gently.
"I'm Athena Hawkins. Why are we here? Shouldn't we be addressing the police? Or the CIA? FBI? Somebody important?" I ask.
"We are important Miss Hawkins." A man with dark skin, a black trench coat, and an eyepatch says, stepping out of the shadows, a clearly excited balding man behind him who wore a suit, "and we'd like to ask you a few questions."