College. College has taken over. Gotta love College. FUCKING COLLEGE PEOPLE.
Anyways, this is an update. It is only happening because I believe I need to keep my fics somewhat updated, and with all the work getting thrown at me now, I'm sure it's gonna lighten up before finals fast approach. So here is the next chapter.
Thank you, Tannerdarko, for the review! Of course I was going to continue. Just because the Iron Man trilogy ended, that didn't mean Ellie's story was ever going to end. Not if the Marvel Cinematic Universe keeps existing.
I hope you guys like this chapter! Tell me your thoughts!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Captain America, Steve Rogers, or anything Marvel.
Steve dragged me right up to Fury's office, and I was forced forward first. I winced, when his voice rose.
"You just can't stop yourself from lying, can you?" Fury had his back to us, his chair swiveled around to face the view of D.C.
"I didn't lie. Ellie had a different mission than yours."
"Which neither of you felt obliged to share." I winced again, scooting even further away. I didn't like angry Steve. Angry Steve made me want to curl up in a ball, and cry my eyes out. I felt like I failed him, like I'd betrayed him, and I didn't like that feeling. Not one bit of it. Steve was such a nice guy, he didn't deserve to be angry. Seeing him angry was just wrong.
"I'm not obliged to do anything, and neither is Agent Stark." I'm glad Fury was standing up for me, but now wasn't the time. I lived with Steve. I'd have to face this at home, too.
"Those hostages could have died, Nick." Fury swiveled around, looking right at Steve, as he said his retort.
"I sent the greatest soldier in history to make sure that didn't happen."
"Soldiers trust each other, that's what makes it an army. Not a bunch of guys shooting guns." I hated that word. I hated that word more than anything.
"I'm not a soldier, Steve. Neither is Fury, we are not soldiers. S.H.I.E.L.D. is no army. We're spies, we're special forces, but we are no army. We protect people, but we're not fighting a war." Steve turned back to me, and he had this hard look in his eyes; he looked a little guilty, too. I'd said the same thing on the Helicarrier, and two years later, I still had to remind him. He was a soldier, yes, but we aren't. And he still had to learn that.
"Last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye." The last time Fury trusted someone, he trusted my mom. Steve and I both looked back at Fury, but his main focus was Steve. "Look, I didn't want you doing anything you weren't comfortable with. Stark is comfortable with anything." Basically. Just not planes, or the Helicarrier. If he ever mentioned those again, I would probably get sick. Like, physically sick. And probably have a mental breakdown. Not good times.
"I can't lead a mission when the people I'm leading have missions of their own." Ouch. That stung.
"It's called compartmentalization. Nobody spills the secrets, because nobody knows them all." Of course. Because Nick Fury knows all, and nobody else ever will.
"Except you." How was I thinking that at the same time Steve said it? I still didn't get it, but whatever. At least we were on the same page there.
Fury paused, and looked at his desk, before he stood up straighter.
"You're wrong about me. The both of you." I frowned, when Fury glanced at me. "I do share. I'm nice like that." I frowned further, when he walked past us, headed out the doors. I stared at Steve, silently begging him to not be pissed at me any longer, but he just followed Fury. I sighed, and turned on my heel, right behind him.
"Insight Bay." Fury called out his directions, but the elevator argued that neither I, nor Steve, had the clearance to go there. "Director override. Fury, Nicholas J." The elevator confirmed that, and I leaned against the opposite wall of Steve. I tried to stay as far away from both of them as possible.
It was silent for a second, and then Steve spoke up. "You know, they used to play music." I frowned, nodding.
"I remember that. I used to ride in the elevator with Mom all the time, I'd hear it everywhere." Cheesy old romance songs, which made me want to puke. "Dad had AC/DC tracks playing in the elevator that led down to the workshop when I was a kid, but then Pepper managed to convince him to get rid of it. I wasn't sad to see it go, honestly. I heard enough of it in there as it was." Fury chuckled. I smiled at the thought of the mansion in Malibu. I missed it.
"Yeah. My grandfather operated one of these things for 40 years." I turned to look at Fury, tucking my fist under my chin. "Grandad worked in a nice building, got good tips. He'd walk home every night, roll of ones stuffed in his lunch bag. He'd say 'hi,' people would say 'hi' back. Time went on, the neighborhood got rougher. He'd say 'hi,' they'd say 'Keep on steppin'.'" Fury looked up at Steve now, looking him dead in the eyes. "Grandad got to gripping that lunch bag a little tighter."
"Did he ever get mugged?" I asked, and Fury turned to me. I almost shivered. The look he always had on his face was one I could never erase. They sometimes even popped up in my nightmares. It was this stone-cold glance, like he was staring right into your next words, and he'd come back with an even bigger bite.
Fury chuckled. "Every week, some punk would say 'What's in the bag?'"
"What would he do?" Steve was curious now. Fury stared at him.
"He'd show them. Bunch of crumpled ones, and a loaded .22 Magnum." Fury stepped away from the elevator wall. Steve didn't look very amused. "Grandad loved people. But he didn't trust them very much." Steve froze, when he glanced out the wall behind him. I peeked over his shoulder, and my eyes went wide. I pressed myself tight against the elevator wall, trying to stay as far away from them as possible. "Yeah. They're a little bigger than a .22."
My hands were already shaking, and I felt the heat filling me up, going towards my fingertips. I felt like I was either going to shit my pants, puke, have a heart attack, or do all three at the same time. If I did, that'd be amazing.
I couldn't go near them. I became paralyzed in the elevator, I couldn't move. Steve had to grab my arm, and drag me out of there. I didn't even realize he was talking to me, until I heard him whisper in my ear.
"You won't have to go anywhere near them again. I promise." So he'd be nice to me for now. That's good. Now I just needed to remember to breath. In, out. In, out.
Nope. Not working.
"This is Project Insight. Three next-generation Helicarriers synced to a network of targeting satellites."
"Launched from the Lemurian Star." I don't know how I knew that, or how those words came out of my mouth, but they did. How was I even standing right now? I didn't know. I just knew that my lungs weren't working like lungs, and that I felt like my head was going to explode.
"Once we get them in the air, they never need to come down." Bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit. And no one I cared about was going up there again, I'd make sure of it. "Continuous sub-orbital flight, courtesy of our new repulsor engines." Wait. WHAT?
"WHAT?!" Fury and Steve both turned to me. I paused right there, and then stormed up to Fury, getting extremely close to punching him, but I was already on fire. I knew my eyes were probably glowing bright orange. "DID MY ASSHAT DAD HELP YOU WITH THIS?!"
"Your father had a few suggestions, once he got an up-close look at our old turbines." Yep. I was killing them. I was going to kill Dad first, inherit the company, and then I was going to kill Nick Fury. I'd be in mourning; perfect cover up. "These new long-range precision guns will eliminate 1,000 hostiles a minute. The satellites can read a terrorist's DNA before he steps outside his spider hole. We're gonna neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen."
I couldn't stand this. I couldn't take any of this, I couldn't, I just, I couldn't. I had to get out of there. I tried to get away, but Steve still had a hold of my arm. He wasn't letting me go.
"Thought the punishment usually came after the crime." Steve argued, but I knew what Fury would say.
"We can't afford to wait that long."
"Who's 'we'?" I braced myself for it, but it still made me shudder. It still made me panic.
"After New York, I convinced the World Security Council we needed a quantum surge in threat analysis." Gramps. Of course Gramps was involved, too. Hell, why not even Mom! Mom would be a great addition to this; oh, wait! She's dead. Because of this stupid organization. I hated it. I hated all of it. Why was I even here? I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be here at all. "For once, we're way ahead of the curve." I clenched my fists, resisting the urge to knock Fury's teeth out.
"By holding a gun to everyone on Earth, and calling it protection." Fury paused, turning to look at Steve.
"You know, I read those SSR files. 'Greatest Generation'? You guys did some nasty stuff." I wanted to punch him. I wanted to knock his lights out, I wanted him to shut his goddamn mouth, because I couldn't listen to this anymore. I couldn't do it, I didn't want to do it, I just wanted to run. I wanted to run as fast, and as far as I could away from this place as possible.
Steve was the greatest human being I'd ever had the pleasure of knowing. Fury didn't have the right to throw that at him, not at all. He hadn't done any of the things Fury was accusing him of, I know he hadn't. I knew all the stories.
"Yeah. We compromised, sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well. But we did it so that people could be free. This isn't freedom, this is fear."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be. And it's getting damn near past time for you to get with that program, Cap."
"Don't hold your breath." Steve started to walk away, and dragged me with him.
I couldn't have been more grateful.
"Ellie-" I shook my head, fighting back tears. I was still panicking, and Steve could see it. He turned me around, so my back was facing the Helicarriers. He held me by my upper arms, looking me dead in the eyes. "Breath."
I sucked in a breath, but it turned into a strangled sob. I bit my lip, but he sighed, and hugged me. Stroked my hair. I wrapped my arms around his middle, and laid my head on his chest, trying not to panic. I focused on his voice, the feeling of his arms around me. I tried to breath again, but I was wishing I could hear his heartbeat. It'd probably steady me faster.
"You don't have to go anywhere near those again. I'll make sure you don't."
"I'm sorry." I covered up my face now, pressing on my eyes, trying my hardest not to cry. "I'm sorry."
"Hey." He forced me to look at him, and his eyes looked hard; they looked a little frustrated. "Don't apologize for something you can't control." I nodded. The elevator opened again, and I backed off, heading down the corridor. I had to get out of there, but Steve stopped me. "I'm sorry, too." I looked up, and smiled at him, patting his cheek.
"It's not your fault, Steve. Don't worry your star-spangled head about it."
Coulson pulled up next to me, before I could even leave the parking garage. He was driving Lola; he only ever drove Lola for special occasions. This must be serious. And my second clue to this being serious, was that my grandfather was sitting in the passenger's seat.
"Get in." Coulson ordered, and I sighed, running a hand through my hair.
"Phil, I can't-"
"Get in, Lizzie." I turned to Gramps, who patted the back of his seat, turning to face me. He smiled gently, trying to bring me comfort. "We have some things to talk about."
They dragged me to the Washington Monument. It looked completely deserted, which was surprising, considering that it was a tourist trap. They sat down on a bench, so I set my bag down on the grass, and plopped down in the space between them. I didn't sit back. I was on the edge of the bench, staring at the monument, trying to ignore them.
"I know you don't want to, but you have to trust him." I bit my lip, looking up at the sky. Not even a cloud in sight.
"I know I do, Gramps, I just...don't trust him entirely. Not yet, anyway." Phil cut in, which made me shoot him a death glare.
"Cecilia trusted him with her life, and yours."
"And look where that got us." Gramps shot me a look, I could feel it, so I turned back to look at him. I wasn't squinting at all, surprisingly. The sun was really bright, like Mom was looking on us as we talked. "Mom's dead, and I'm a boiling hot mess. Considering, I don't know if I should trust him, especially now, since he's decided to build new torture ships." Gramps stiffened, going all stoic. I turned fully to him, with my anger flared up again. "And you knew about it, too, didn't you? You, and my dad, you all knew about it. And you didn't say a word."
"Because we knew you'd react like this, Elizibeth." I glared at him even further, and shook my head. I stood up, grabbing my bag from the ground, but Gramps grabbed my arm to stop me. I turned to meet his eyes, and he looked...guilty. He looked like he really regretted it, but I didn't believe him. Not this time. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you, but you have to believe it was for your own good, sweetpea."
"I'm sorry, but I can't. Not this time." I looked him in the eyes one last time. "You better hurry up, too. Visiting hours are only until two today." His expression saddened even more, and I turned around, walking the opposite way from where we came.
I didn't want to go today. I didn't want to go, at all, but I had to. I couldn't not visit, because Mom would yell at me if she had the chance. So I went. And I regretted it as soon as I got near that room.
I knew Steve went and saw Grams when he could, I just didn't think he'd see her today. He didn't normally come and see her on Tuesdays, he normally went on Saturdays, or even Sundays. Tuesday was our day, and now he was making his way into that part of my life, too.
"You should be proud of yourself, Peggy." My eyes went wide. I pressed myself against the wall, next to the door of her room. Grams hummed in response to his admiration.
"I have lived a life." She paused. I closed my eyes. I felt the tears coming, the silence, already. And I hadn't even talked to her yet. "My only regret is that you never got to live yours." Steve went silent. "What is it?" I wanted to run away. I didn't want to hear this, I didn't want to hear something that sounded like the life Steve might've led if he hadn't been frozen. I didn't think I could live my life without knowing him, without him there, through everything. He was was one of my best friends now, I'd grown to care about him dearly. I really didn't want to hear this.
"For as long as I can remember, I just wanted to do what was right. I guess I'm not quite sure what that is anymore." He paused, briefly. "And I thought I could throw myself back in, and...follow orders, serve. It's just not the same." Grams laughed. I smiled; I hadn't heard her laugh like that in ages.
"Always so dramatic!" She laughed a little longer, and stopped. "Look, you saved the world. We rather...mucked it up."
"You didn't. Knowing that you helped found S.H.I.E.L.D. is half the reason why I stay." It was practically the only reason why I stay. Grams was my hero, next to my mom. I wanted to do her justice, I wanted to make her proud.
I jumped slightly, when a hand landed on my shoulder. I turned, and Gramps smiled at me softly, leaning forward to press a kiss to the side of my head. He pulled me in for a hug, and stroked my hair. I hesitated, but I hugged him back.
"The world has changed. And none of us can go back. All we can do is our best. And sometimes, the best that we can do, is to start over." She started to cough. I felt my heart drop. Steve probably got up, and grabbed her a glass of water. Gramps let go of me, and went in to see her, looking worried.
Steve said her name, and it was like she was seeing him, all over again. I bit my lip, shutting my eyes.
"Steve. You, you're alive! You came back!"
"Yeah, Peggy." She sounded like she was going to cry. I was about to walk away, but I couldn't get away that easy; she spotted me, just like she always did.
"Cecilia! Cecilia, darling, come here, I need you to meet someone." I took a deep breath before I walked in. Steve looked angry; he looked extremely pissed off, actually. But I didn't let him get to me, not now. Gramps, though, he smiled at Grams, taking her hand when she held it out to him. Steve's heart would've broke at the sight of it, but he didn't look at them. He was staring right at me.
"Hi, Grams. How're you feeling today?" I smiled at her, sitting on the edge of her bed, and took the hand she held out to me, after she let go of Gramps. She smiled brightly.
"Sweetheart, this is Steve, Steve Rogers." I nodded, glancing at Steve, and then back at Grams.
"Yeah, Grams, we've met. We work together. I met him when he first came back." Grams smiled even brighter, if possible. She turned to Steve.
"Steve, this is my daughter, Cecilia." Steve smiled at me, but I could see the hidden anger in his eyes. And also a flash of pity; he was pitying me. Grams looked at Gramps, and then back at Steve. "And this is my husband. Sweetheart, this is-"
"Captain Rogers." Gramps held out a hand, and Steve took it, shaking it firmly. "It's an honor to meet you, Captain. Truly."
"The same to you, Colonel." Steve smiled politely, and then took in the three of us. He cleared his throat, and looked at Grams, smiling kindly. "I think I'll leave you three to talk. I have to be getting back, anyway."
"Please stop by again." Steve nodded, holding her hand that she'd put on top of his other.
"Of course. I can't leave my best girl behind, now, can I?" Grams smiled at him. He patted her hand, and went to the door, waving goodbye. She turned back to me, as bright as I'd ever seen her.
"Where is Lizzie today, hm? How's that boyfriend of hers...Adam, is it?" I smiled at her, and took her other hand. Gramps sat down in the chair Steve had left open.
"She's working. Adam's fine, he's doing well. He's supposed to be on a mission today." Grams sighed, and turned to Gramps. She frowned, and then turned back to me, looking shocked.
"Who are you? Where's...where's my sunshine girl. Cecilia, darling, where are you?" I let go of her, and Gramps grabbed her attention, trying to distract her. I got up, and he shot me a look, but I got out of there as fast as possible. "Cecilia! Sweetheart, come back!" I turned a corner, and Steve was standing there. I met his eyes, and he still looked angry, but when he saw me, he looked far less angry, and more guilty than anything. I walked right past him, though, and didn't dare turn back.
