She sits in the dark meeting room, the laptop balanced on her knees illuminating her fair skin, delicate features and blue-grey eyes. Natasha Romanoff is the first to see her, darting out and calling for Fury immediately. The Avengers file in, preceded by Nicholas Fury, who stands in front of them almost protectively. The strangers eyes dart over her screen, before examining the people before her. She closes the lid of her laptop carefully, then stands and moves over to stand before Fury.
"Hello SHIELD," she says softly. "I'm UNIT."
Her words make Fury frown, then pull out a phone. He tosses it to her, and she catches it easily.
As she dials the number, they get their first good look at her. She's slim and short, with fair skin and shoulder-length honey-blonde hair. She's dressed in a dark blue-green top and tight black leggings, and her black heeled boots click as she retreats to her previous position. She glances up and taps the speaker phone option with a wry grin and places the phone on the table where everyone can hear it.
'Hello? What can I help you with?', a cautious male voice asks. The intruder rolls her eyes.
"Put me through to Kate," she requests. There is a short silence before she continues. "It's Ophelia." The person on the other end of the line makes a sound of comprehension before it goes silent. The woman - presumably Ophelia - returns to her seat and crosses her legs. She looks about to pick up her laptop again when there is sound from the phone.
'And who are you today?' a woman asks with amusement. The Avengers share glances. Ophelia grins.
"Ophelia, the Mad Princess. Tomorrow I might be Juliet, the Doomed Lover. Or Cordelia, the Faithful Daughter. I'm not really sure," she replies.
'Or perhaps you could be Lady Macbeth, and drive a person to murder,' the woman says drily. Ophelia gives a small laugh but continues seriously.
"Katie, I need you to vouch for me. I'm with SHIELD right now, and I don't think they trust me, much less my credentials."
'And I wonder why that could be,' Kate replies sarcastically. 'Don't answer that, actually. Are you with Fury?'
"Yes, and the Avengers too, so if you could explain the situation, I would be indebted to you," Ophelia says, eying their weapons. Natasha shifts position slightly and her eyes widen. "Preferably before the scary redhead kills me," Ophelia adds. Kate laughs.
'Am I talking to Director Nicholas Fury?' she asks.
"Yes," Fury replies tersely.
'Good. My name is Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, and the woman who is currently Ophelia is an agent of UNIT. I can personally vouch for her. She is here to keep an eye on things on behalf of the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, and you will treat her with respect, or face the consequences. Agent Shakespeare, you know your mission, you know your rules, you know your gear. If you don't come back, I will be very upset, but I know someone who'll be even more unhappy. So come back, don't make the Doctor pissed off, and tell me your names. Fury, if she is in needless danger, I am going to bring the Doctor down on your heads, that I swear. Good luck Ophelia. You have everything you need?'
"Yes Kate," Ophelia replies dutifully.
'Good. Remember to update me on the situation. Good luck Agent Shakespeare,' Kate tells her, before the call ended.
Ophelia turns to Fury and the Avengers and gives them a small smile.
"Sooo, hi," she begins. "I'm Agent Shakespeare from UNIT, and today I'm Ophelia. I was sent here to keep an eye on, and aid if necessary, the Avengers Initiative. I don't have a set name or designation, so just wait for me to tell you what to call me. I have some … unusual skills and knowledge that made it necessary for me to come here. Don't hack UNIT, it's protected and you'll set off alarms unless you use the password that I'm not going to tell you," she says all in a rush.
"First things first, I'll need a SHIELD uniform, an American ID and somewhere to stay. Can you do that for me?" Ophelia says sweetly.
"And what would your ID say?" Fury asks, almost curiously. Ophelia frowns.
"Hmm. I don't really know, because I'm not always Agent Shakespeare, and I've only been Ophelia for a short time now," she replies.
"What's your real name?" Clint asks. Ophelia's blue-grey eyes harden and become cold.
"That's classified," she says flatly. Tony raises an eyebrow that Ophelia matches with a glare. He backs off.
"So, does anyone have anywhere for me to stay?" Ophelia asks. Tony rolls his eyes.
"You can stay in the tower with the rest of us," he tells her. Ophelia shrugs and picks up the bag that had gone unnoticed and follows him out the door.
-o-o-O-o-o-
Agent Shakespeare wanders into the Avengers' kitchen at six o'clock in the morning. Her blonde hair halos her face and she looks half-asleep. She wears soft cotton pyjamas and flops down at the table beside Natasha.
"Good morning," Natasha greets calmly.
"Mornin'," Agent Shakespeare replies sleepily. The redhead eyes her sleep-ruffled appearance with a smile but says nothing. "You got cereal?" the blonde asks, and five minutes later, she sits before a bowl of nutri-grain and full-cream milk and looks a lot more aware of her surroundings.
The rest of the Avengers turn up one by one, and Tony is the last to arrive.
"And who are you today?" he asks Agent Shakespeare. She smiles at that.
"I think I'm Beatrice today," she replies, sipping her apple juice.
"Beatrice?" Steve echoes uncertainly.
"Much Ado About Nothing. The intelligent feisty woman tricked into a loving marriage with a man who appreciates her for her wit as well as her beauty. The Clever Woman," she tells them, pulling out her phone. She texts Kate with today's designation, puts her dishes in the sink and leaves the Avengers to their morning chat.
She dresses for the day in a blue top and dark blue-purple leggings paired with a navy hoodie. Around her wrist she straps something that could almost pass for a watch. The design inside the strap reads "To Shakespeare's Maiden, my little Viola, from Captain Jack." She runs her fingers along it for a moment before tying her hair back in a ponytail and pulling her boots on. Beatrice picks up her laptop and returns to the living room.
She walks in on them discussing her unusual names, or at least, most of them are. Tony and Natasha are trying to explain to Thor and Steve the plot of Much Ado About Nothing while Bruce sips his coffee and watches the show with Clint.
"But who is the fair maiden Ophelia?" Thor asks loudly.
"Ophelia is from Hamlet. She is the bride-to-be of the Prince Hamlet, and after his false descent into madness, she with all her wit joins him and drowns herself and causes a Civil War. She divides a country, spurs Hamlet into revealing that his uncle killed his father and is the Daughter of the Lord Chamberlain. The Could-Have-Been Princess of Denmark, the Mad Princess, the Drowned Girl," Beatrice says from the doorframe, startling them.
"So, Tony Stark, I have a few things to work on with you. You do seem to handle all the Avengers' PR, so perhaps you're the best person to deal with this," she says, opening her laptop and turning it on. She opens a file labelled 'The Accords' and turns the screen to face Tony, who takes a seat beside her and scrolls through it with interest.
"It's a rough draft but it's basically legislation for powered people, making sure they have rights, that they're treated right, even if they just want to ignore that they have them. It's not looking good at the moment, but UNIT gave the most up-to-date version so we can go through it and make sure it's actually palatable," Beatrice explains. Tony makes a hum of agreement, then looks at her properly as she passes over a USB. "The soft copy," she tells him.
He pulls up a screen and they get to work, pointing out this or that, highlighting sections that needed to be changed, and in one memorable incident, deleting an entire page. It takes them a few hours, and they've only gone through the first fifty pages - and they need to comb through all the small print they've missed.
"Beatrice," Tony says seriously. "Thankyou for bringing this to our attention. Imagine if we didn't hear about it until it was being passed? That would be a disaster!" Beatrice smiles, and Bruce (the only one who stayed) slides over another cup of coffee. Beatrice scrunches up her nose.
"I can't believe you drink that," she says. Tony raises his eyebrows in response.
"I can't believe you don't drink coffee, tea or alcohol," he returns drily. Beatrice snorts in amusement.
"Whatever. Just give me another glass of juice, or I'll leave you to go through the Accords alone," she retorts. Tony gets her another glass of juice.
-o-o-O-o-o-
Agent Shakespeare finally stumbles into the kitchen at nine o'clock, her golden hair half in her face. She glares at the snickers elicited from her bedhead and plops down with her usual bowl of cereal - Weetbix this time. Tony's getting tired of buying Australian cereal, but it's the only thing she eats. She stifles a yawn and flops onto the table, narrowly missing her bowl.
Steve slides a glass of apple juice over, stifling his smile. She moans then looks enviously at Natasha.
"I want your hair," she mumbles. "I feel like a dandelion." The click of a camera makes her start towards the door, where Tony leans against the frame.
"You look like a dandelion," he teases her. She sneers. "So, who are you today?" he asks curiously. She hides her head in her arms before giving an almost violent whole-body shiver, suddenly looking a lot more alert.
"I'm Miranda," she tells them, returning to her cereal. Clint narrows his eyes, caught out.
"Miranda?" he asks, confused.
"Miranda," she repeated. "The Tempest. Daughter of Prospero, a magician. Clever girl, not quite clever enough. Marries the Prince of Milano, returns her father to power, it's all going on in here. Magic, spirits, Dukes and a King. Lots of fun. So, yeah. Miranda. Not exactly as empowering as Beatrice or Ophelia, but it'll do," she says with a shrug.
"Miranda," Steve says, rolling the name round, testing it out. "Not bad." She gives him an unimpressed look in response.
"Of course it's not, it's my name. For today anyway," she replied with a yawn.
"Why are you so tired today?" Bruce asks. Miranda shrugs.
"Dunno." He nods and doesn't push. She smiles at him. Steve didn't get the message though.
"Why do you keep changing your name?" he asks her. She glares at him.
"I don't want to talk about it," she replies flatly. He raises his eyebrows.
"We need to know if it'll be a liability," he continues to push. Miranda stands and leaves the kitchen without a word, leaving her half-eaten breakfast on the table for the first time.
Later she's in the pool, in a white one-piece with black polka dots. She swims laps, freestyle mainly, and Steve enters. He doesn't say a word, looking instead at her scars. The silvery lines criss-cross her limbs and there is a scar - large and round, like she got hit with a laser or something - on her shoulder.
Miranda doesn't notice him, too caught up in the rhythm of swimming, so he sits and waits. Ten laps later, she's coming up for air when she notices him. She starts visibly, and closes herself off, he can almost see the walls going up behing her eyes.
"I'm sorry," he says simply. "I didn't mean to push. I'll leave it alone." He turns to leave, not expecting a response.
"Wait," Miranda calls, and he turns back around. She looks oddly vulnerable, a small, almost wistful smile on her face. "I forgive you," she continues. "I'll tell you sometime, when I'm ready."
Steve smiles at her and leaves. This time she doesn't stop him.
Miranda feels oddly light, as though a weight has been removed that she didn't even notice was there. She traced the words on the strap of the Vortex Manipulator.
'You'll need to tell them one day, Princess,' his voice echoes in her head. I know, she tells him. Just not today. And maybe not tomorrow.
'When you're Viola again,' Jack whispers. 'When you're ready. But you can't keep secrets to save your life.'
"And what would you know about keeping secrets?" she whispers.
'You can't run forever. It's who you are. You can't keep denying your identity,' Jack tells her.
"I can too," she whispers desperately, harshly, wanting to shake him - but he's not here.
She climbs out of the pool and wraps herself up in a fluffy towel. She makes her way to the Avengers, but stops.
"I'm not ready," she whispers. "Not yet, not today." Miranda slides down the wall to sit next to the door.
'It's OK, Princess. Not today. But later, when it's important, when you need to, you can tell them.'
She smiles bitterly.
"It seems like I'll never be ready. I'm not prepared to face my identity, and I don't even know why," she whispered, her throat chocked with an unknown emotion. Fear, she thinks. Or maybe guilt.
She ignores the fact that it is sorrow, and stands up again. She takes a deep breath and enters the room.
Miranda listens to Clint and Tony bantering, sips her apple juice, and pretends that it will be all OK. She smiles when Natasha sits next to her, but doesn't say anything.
-o-o-O-o-o-
When Tony asks Agent Shakespeare what her name is today, she pauses and runs a list through her head. One name in particular stands out, but she locks it away and pretends that it never crossed her mind. When she selects her name, she looks up to reply and sees worried faces. She smiles and brushes it away.
"Katharina," she tells them, and smiles at their confused faces. "Katharina. The Taming of the Shrew. Horrid play, but she's pretty cool. Headstrong, brave, tempestuous. A bit of a temper, but that's understandable. She's the Shrew, Untamed, Wild. Pity she got a bad ending, though." They glance at her and she gives them a reassuring smile, though from their faces it doesn't seem to have done any good.
"Where are you from?" Steve bursts out. Katharina frowns.
"I thought we were done with the personal questions," she snaps acerbically, but softens when he gives her an apologetic look.
"Sorry, I mean, where's your accent from?" he asks, quieter this time. She gives him a half-smile before replying.
"Australia. It's not rural Australia, it's inner city Melbourne, so I have Australian vernacular and spelling, but the accent isn't as harsh. Why?"
"I was curious, and I hadn't heard it before," Steve replies. Katharina nods before examining the other Avengers. She purses her lips, thinking, before coming to a decision.
"You get one question each. I know you're curious, so fire away," she says, surprising everyone. Thor is, unsurprisingly, the first to speak.
"Fair lady, why is it that your names are so often from the Bard, Shakes of the Spear?" he asks. Katharina hears a soft snort of stifled laughter, but when she turns to look, Natasha's face is as impassive as ever.
"I'm not really sure. He has good names, empowered women, sometimes, and the stories are interesting. Sometimes they don't even die," she replies. "Any other questions," she continues shortly.
"No, I think we're done for today," Tony says softly. "Don't want to push too hard." Katharina smiles.
"At least you get it," she murmurs, before leaving the kitchen.
They go to the Helicarrier that day, and Katharina, in her teal top and blue-grey leggings, turns heads, wary eyes following her and the Avengers.
"Why do they stare?" Bruce asks her quietly. Katharina grins at him.
"I snuck into the Helicarrier at night, setting off no alarms, got into the meeting room and spoke with Fury, and no-one found out until Natasha walked into the room half an hour early. Of course they stare. Also I'm from UNIT, and they dislike having to answer to me when they try to call the Avengers out for a petty issue that could be solved by the local police," she says with a grim sort of grin.
"Wait," Clint says confused. "You're why we haven't been called out recently?" Katharina grinned.
"Of course! You're of no use to anyone if you do SHIELD's chores and are injured or tired when you're really needed," she tells him.
Natasha looks almost surprised, and her 'thank you' is almost too quiet to hear. At least for her, regular human that she is. If any of the others hear it, they don't say anything, and Katharina is just fine with that.
The meeting with Fury goes well - it's more of a joint meeting-with-Fury-and-check-up-with-Kate.
In the back of her mind, the soft voice of Jack Harkness urges her to tell them. She purses her lips and fiddles with the strap and says nothing.
-o-o-O-o-o-
It's way too early in the morning when Agent Shakespeare shuffles into the kitchen - or at least, it is for her, having gotten to sleep at eleven. The Avengers are up and ready for the day ahead - Bruce sips his coffee, Steve checks the news, Thor munches on his pop-tarts, Clint sits on top of the fridge, Tony has more Accords revisions to go over, and Natasha … is just sitting in the corner being scary.
She stares at them blearily and then at the cereal already set out on the table. She frowns for a moment, then her face clears in comprehension, her brain still fuzzy from sleep. She sits down with more of her usual grace than normally appears in the morning and sips the glass of apple juice Natasha passes to her. She lets out an almighty yawn then rubs her face, running that list through her head again - and no, that name will be ignored.
'Really? Today is the best day to do it!' Jack tells her in her head.
I am a master of procrastination, she grumbles back silently. I can put it off for as long as I like.
She absent-mindedly eats a spoonful of cereal before focusing on the team who watch her expectantly. Oh yeah, she realises. My name.
"Juliet," she grumbles. "And if I have to explain that to any of you I will bash your head in with my bowl and scoop your brains out with my spoon, and then, I will cut out your entrails with my glass that I will smash on your sensitive areas, because I am not in the mood this morning," the newly-christened Juliet snarls. Tony takes a step back.
"Who's Juliet?" an also-not-quite-awake Clint says, hopping off the fridge. Juliet snatches up her bowl and leaps toward him, held back by Natasha's restraining arm. A glass of apple juice flies towards that (arguably vital) junction between his legs, and he flees. Juliet slumps at the table and closes her eyes.
"Do you have a hangover?" a stunned Tony asks. Juliet just brandishes her spoon at his -ahem- equipment, and he takes another step back.
"No," she growls. "I don't drink. But I did just stay up most of the night looking over the damn Accords, so that you people are treated like actual human beings, so I am not in the mood to explain bloody Romeo and Juliet to a Norse God, a Rage Monster and Clint!" she yells. His eyes widen and he looks at Natasha pleadingly.
"Fine," the redhead says, scooping up the relatively tiny Juliet in her arms.
"You are not my Romeo," Juliet grumbles as she is deposited on the couch. Bruce tentatively steps forward with a fluffy blanket that she all but snatches out of his hands. She beckons to Tony. "Bring the Accords," she orders imperiously. "We might as well finish this section."
They go over the Accords for a while, Natasha keeping her well-stocked with apple juice - and sometimes Juliet has to wonder where she gets it, because there certainly isn't any in the fridge, not that she's looked.
Clint returns to the room sometime later, and then everyone is involved in sorting out the mess that is the Accords, and Juliet doesn't need to think about it.
They're flopping down on the couch with drinks in hand when Clint asks his question.
"Why did you get sent to work with us?" he asks curiously, no longer wondering if she'll cut off his delicate bits and hang them up like baubles on a Christmas tree. She doesn't, and instead, she replies after a moment.
"To keep my mind of some … things that have happened recently. I suspect some ulterior motives, though. Maybe Kate thought it would get me to 'open up'," Juliet says quietly.
"Why do you need to open up?" Clint asks softly, and they all move a little closer to hear her answer.
"Some things happened when I thought I was free, I … I needed to get away. That's all you're getting from me today," she says and walks off.
They're getting used to her leaving abruptly when they push, but they're still annoyed at Clint for pushing.
Tony finds Juliet sprawled out on her bed, surrounded by the paper version of the Accords that she updates every night, with highlighters spread out around her head in a multi-coloured fluoro halo as she Skypes Kate Lethbridge-Stewart. It's the first time he's seen the elusive Kate, and he can definitely see a few similarities. A theory starts to form in his mind, and he walks away silently.
Juliet flops on her bed, having turned her laptop off a few minutes ago. In her mind, Jack pushes her to tell them, to open up, echoing Kate's words from earlier. She tugs at the wrist-strap before getting up to go to dinner.
Tomorrow, she thinks. I'll tell them more tomorrow.
'The good thing about tomorrow,' Jack says sarcastically, 'is that it never comes.' She shushes his mental voice - ineffectually - and leaves the room.
She enters the kitchen to an unusual scene. Steve and Tony have been cooking, and while Steve is good at cooking, Tony is less so. As a result, there are spices and vegetables and dirty dishes everywhere, and Juliet can't help but laugh.
Maybe I'll be someone happier tomorrow, she thinks, and resists the urge to tug on the wrist-strap.
-o-o-O-o-o-
Agent Shakespeare is actually awake and reasonably aware that morning, and there aren't any death threats as she sips her apple juice.
"And who are you today?" Bruce asks, and she tilts her head to the side, considering.
"Cordelia," she says, then elaborates. "King Lear. She's the daughter of King Lear, the youngest daughter in fact. When he asks his daughters how much they love him, she replies that she loves him more than salt, and as such, he disowns her. It's quite sad, because have you ever tried eating without salt, without any flavouring at all? Because this was Shakespearian England, and their food was dismal. She's hanged in the end, but not before she is reunited with her father, and it's all very sweet and sad. She's the Faithful Daughter."
Tony looks at her with a concerned frown, but says nothing.
"Why do you work with UNIT?" Bruce asks. Cordelia looks at him curiously, considering, before speaking.
"I guess you could say it's a … family business. Upholding traditions and all that," she says. Bruce nods and doesn't say that she didn't answer the question. No-one does.
Tony looks at Natasha and they both know what they're thinking. Cordelia has opened up. She's answering questions, personal questions, even if it's just halfway. Natasha hands Cordelia a white ribbon, which she uses to pull her blonde locks back from her face, contrasting her black top and leggings. It's Natasha who asks next.
"Why were you in Australia?" she asks. Cordelia pauses, tensing before relaxing.
"There was an … accident," she says softly. "I forgot everything, I forgot who I was, so I went away to Australia. I made a life for myself, but then I remembered. Kate sent me here so I could think without people constantly pushing for me to be the person I was."
They don't push her anymore, and she's thankful. They go down to the gym and she asks them to show off their moves. As they train, Cordelia spreads out the Accords and gets to work, calling one or another over for a moment to ask their opinion.
"Who are you?" Steve bursts out, unable to help himself. Cordelia sneers at him and collects her papers and laptop, before stalking out of the room. As she's about to leave, she pauses and turns.
"I'm not sure anymore," she says softly, but it carries. The door slams shut behind her, and she slumps against the wall. Cordelia runs her fingers over the wrist-strap.
"I don't know if I can be your Princess anymore, Jack," she whispers, curling into a ball. "Maybe I never will be."
She feels hot tears running down her face, and leans her head against the wall, her eyes sliding shut. Tears squeeze out of her closed eyelids, and she feels a hand on her shoulder.
"You don't have to say anything. You don't need to be who you were before, but sometimes it helps to remember who you used to be. Don't share unless you're ready to," Tony says softly, before removing his hand. He turns to go, but is stopped by Cordelia's hand on his wrist. He looks at her tear-filled eyes and waits for her to speak.
"I don't know who I want to be. I don't know if I can be who I was before, and I don't know what to do with that. And I'm sorry for being difficult, I'm sorry for being unprofessional. Forgive me?" she asks softly, and he crouches down to place his hands on her shoulders.
"Cordelia," he begins. "Agent Shakespeare, whoever you are today or tomorrow or in a year, it's us that should forgive you. We were being unprofessional, asking personal questions when you said we couldn't. It's fine that you don't answer, that you are someone new every day, because you're still figuring out who you want to be. Because I know that it's not a liability, it's just you deciding who you are, and that's perfectly OK. I'm sorry, forgive me?" he asks, echoing her words. Cordelia smiles at him and dries her tears.
"Of course, Tony," she replies. He moves to leave, and she holds him back. He looks at Cordelia curiously, and she places his hand on her wrist-strap. "My name, from before. If you like," she tells him, a silent invitation. Tony frowned slightly, and read the inscription on the inside. He smiles, doesn't say a word, and walks off.
Maybe I can be your Princess, Jack, she thinks.
'You were always my princess,' his voice tells her.
Cordelia dries her tears, stands up, and returns to the Avengers. And if she ignores Steve for the rest of the day, that's perfectly alright. Tony doesn't say anything about the incident in the hallway and calls her Cordelia.
Maybe tomorrow, Cordelia tells herself. I'll tell them when tomorrow comes.
-o-o-O-o-o-
Agent Shakespeare is wide awake when the alerts go off. She's sipping her apple juice, waiting for the Avengers to show up, when the lights flash. The team assembles around her, the lights and alarms waking them up more than coffee ever did.
"I know these things," she says softly. The Avengers turn to look at her. "They're Cybermen," she continues.
"Explain," Steve says, his voice hard. She rolls her eyes.
"They are people," she says softly. "Real people. They have been killed, cut apart, their bodies encased in metal, their emotions turned off. They are the perfect soldiers. They are horrible. Aim for the head. Tony, if you can find the right signal, you can turn off their emotional inhibitors. They won't put up a fight if you do. They can fly, but they rarely do so. Stay out of the way of their beams and you'll be fine."
"You are not fighting?" Thor booms. Agent Shakespeare shakes her head.
"No. Too many memories. I'm a liability," she admits. Tony glances at her, remembering the words that made her walk off when she was Miranda. Speaking of names …
"Who are you today?" Tony asks, and she smiles.
"Portia," she replies. "The Merchant of Venice. A clever woman who sets up a test to determine her suiters worthiness, and saves the day in the end by defending Antonio against Shylock in court. Of course, she has to dress up as a man to do so, but she gets a happy ending, which is more than I can say for most of them," she elaborates.
"You are the clever woman," Natasha says.
"More like the only person in the entire play that uses common sense," Portia replies with a smile. She pulls her phone from her pocket and calls Kate.
"Kate," she says curtly. "Cybermen in New York. I need the code that Mickey and Martha gave UNIT, back when they travelled. Please Kate." Kate pauses.
'I can send it over, but there isn't much else I can do. We've got our own problems up in Scotland. Autons, I believe,' Kate replies, and Portia smiles.
"Thanks Kate. I'm Portia today," she adds.
'Good luck then, Portia,' Kate tells her, and ends the call.
The Avengers leave once the message comes through, and because of Tony Stark's amazing tech skills (at least in comparison to Portia's), New York is no longer overrun by metal men. They return to find Portia in the middle of a conference call with the UN. They stay out of the screen as she desperately argues her case.
"You can't treat them as though they aren't people! Take Captain America, for example. He is a hero, he is powered, he can't get rid of it. He would be under the influence of the Accords, and as such, you are advocating for locking him up, through no fault of his own!"
"Yes, I am all for the idea that they should be held accountable for their actions, but I've seen the ideas that Secretary Ross has put through, and I - and the rest of UNIT, Torchwood and SHIELD - am very against them. RAFT treats them like animals, for stars sake."
"Of course they should be answerable to someone, and I agree that it's best for them to answer to representatives from all over the world so as not to be biased, but the legislation proposed is simply ludicrous. Next you'll be saying that the Chitauri Invasion was because of Hawkeye!"
"Please, you need to understand that we are not alone in the universe, and actually, having heroes to protect the world is a very good idea."
"Look, we can't bother the Doctor every time we get the tiniest sneeze, and honestly, UNIT is tired of doing things that could be handled by heroes. And no, I don't mean a full scale invasion, I mean ten Cybermen in New York is not an adequate reason for an entire unit of UNIT to traverse the ocean, when there are people fully equipped to handle the situation here!"
Finally, as the Australian Delegate, showing common sense, helps argue for the changes, Portia turns to the team and gives them a small smile.
"I don't have much time, but you should go get yourself cleaned up and join me. You helped write these changes," she teases them, and shoos them away.
They return a short while later, sit down beside Portia and then they begin to help. She realises just how much she's underestimated Tony's ability to sway people to his side, though she thinks it the threat to go and live on the moon that makes them pay attention.
Steve looks askance at Tony when he suggests it, but Tony backs it up with the technology that he's made, the suits able to go into space, and Portia hides a smile at the rapid paling of the delegates.
And as Portia sits back on the couch, relaxing for once and watching them defend their choices, she rubs her wrist-strap and gives a small smile.
Tomorrow's coming soon Jack, she thinks. I'm getting there.
-o-o-O-o-o-
Agent Shakespeare shuffles into the kitchen, her blue ribbon lost in the tangled mess of hair that is her bedhead. She sits down, wrapping her hands around the glass of apple juice Natasha passes her, and sighs. She starts speaking before anyone else can, making Tony close his mouth and Bruce look at her in astonishment.
"There was a fight. I've been with UNIT most of my life, but there was a fight we could not win. I got hit, and I'm not entirely sure how it happened, maybe I hit my head or something, but I forgot. I forgot who I was, what I did. I forgot my family, I forgot that my team died, and Kate, being the wonderful, benevolent goddess that she is, sent me to Australia. And I made myself a life there, a life with friends and a job and a home, and it was nice. But there was an attack, and I remembered. I called Kate and told her I remembered, that I didn't want to go home, that I wasn't sure who I was anymore, and she smiled, gave me a codename and sent me here.
"Because I didn't know who I was going to be, because I wasn't sure I could be the person I was, because I have two lives in my head and I don't know how to merge them. And today I'm going back to London, because now I'm OK with who I am, who I was, who I will be.
"And, until we see Kate, call me Ophelia. I want to bring it full circle," she says. It's the most she'd said about herself in any one sitting, and Tony leans over and gives her a half-hug.
The plane ride is quiet. Most of them are reading books. Ophelia is halfway through Jingo by Terry Pratchett when the plane lands. She has left her Harry Potter books in the Tower, and that's fine. She doesn't need them anymore.
Ophelia is the first one out of the plane, walking towards Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and a man introduced as Captain Jack Harkness - A pleasure to meet you (JACK! Stop it!).
She stops just before them. Her hair is in a ponytail, and she wears the same blue-green top and black leggings that she wore when she first arrived, tucked away in the meeting room in the Helicarrier.
"Agent Shakespeare," Kate says, her voice filled with hope. Ophelia shakes her head, her lips twitching upwards.
"Viola," she corrects Kate softly. Kate smiles. "Viola Lethbridge-Stewart." The Avengers are stunned - or most of them are, Tony just looks smug.
"What?" Steve says quietly.
The newly-named Viola turns to Jack.
"Sebastian," she greets with a smile. He hugs her.
"Princess," he whispers. "You came back."
"Of course," Viola replies.
After the explanations - which involves Steve saying 'what?' so many times that Viola snaps at him crying "Doctor, shut up!" - it is revealed that Viola is Kate's sister and that apparently, Jack (the time-and-space-travelling sort-of-alien) is her childhood friend/first crush/best friend/sometimes father figure, despite looking about ten years older.
"What?!" Steve says, and Viola smacks him, hugs Tony and Natasha, hits Clint lightly (that's for not knowing Romeo and Juliet!), tells Thor to come by some time and turns to leave.
"Maybe we'll see you sometime?" Tony calls. Viola turns back, blue-grey eyes glittering suspiciously.
"Maybe. Tomorrow," she replies. "When tomorrow comes."
And Viola walks off with Kate and Jack, leaving the Avengers behind.
-o-o-O-o-o-
And if when the Avengers return to the Tower they see a small pile of boxes, the revised Accords and a post-it note with co-ordinates and a time, they don't say anything.
And if, when that time comes, and they are at those mysterious co-ordinates, a blue, blue box appears and Viola pokes her head out, followed by Jack, Kate and an older man in a black velvet coat to take them on an adventure, they don't say anything.
And if Wanda Maximoff can't get into their heads, they don't say anything.
And if they take down a Dalek about once a year, they don't say anything.
And if a new post-it note appears with a warning, well, they just smile and suit up.
And if Viola stumbles into the Towe looking worse for wear with a warning to 'Keep that bloody Scepter out of the gods-damned Tower', well that's a story for another time.
-o-o-O-o-o-
So I'm trying to stave off Writer's Block. It's horrible, but I got this out within 10 hours, so I count that as a win. Viola is an OC, and her backstory is kind of weird and kind of non-existent, but I just felt like it. I didn't even know who she was at the start, so at least I got a first name and a last name.
You can see Viola and Tony as almost a couple, or more of a platonic relationship, I don't care.
I don't really like Steve. It's kind of obvious.
I hate the ending, but I think the rest turned out OK.
Tell me what you think, it's nice to have other opinions.
~ Queen of the Rings