Note: For those who have not seen The Avengers, there is a MAJOR spoiler from the movie in this chapter! Read at your own risk! :-)
Chapter One: S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier Base – 2012
"Did she just say that…she died?"
Fury had been watching the entire scene between Agent Livingston and the mysterious woman through footage from the surveillance camera projected in hologram form onto the conference table near the Helicarrier Bridge. At his side were Steve Rogers and Maria Hill, both watching along with Fury; the one statement uttered by the woman took Rogers by surprise.
"What did she mean by that?"
Fury shook his head in confusion. "No idea." He then turned to Hill and asked, "What do we have on her?"
"Nothing much." Hill reported. "She claims her name is Joanie Navarro-Thomas."
"Well, do we have anything on a 'Joanie Navarro-Thomas' then?"
"Our computers came up with a Joan Navarro – no 'Thomas' at the end – that lives in Orlando, Florida. She died just a week ago from natural causes. She was only fifty-eight…no next of kin." Hill gave that last bit of information with a sympathetic tone that Rogers seemed to share with her; Fury, on the other hand, did not appear to care. The S.H.I.E.L.D. director's focus was primarily on what took place inside the holding cell between his agent and their visitor.
There was no training S.H.I.E.L.D. could have prepared Sean with for what this strange woman standing in front of him dished at him. For minutes he listened to her ramble on about having died and reincarnated as a completely different woman, yet still retained the memories of her previous life. Before she could have gone on any longer, he stopped her and asked, "What's your name?"
She shrugged while answering: "I have no clue after now. I mean, I used to be Joanie Navarro-Thomas, but now…" She looked back to the only mirror in her cell, analyzing her face again. "I just really don't know. But, one thing's for sure – I am not Joanie Navarro-Thomas anymore."
Sean decided to have a little fun with the woman at his expense; he started to become less freaked out by her and more amused; clearly, she appeared like a mental case to him. "How about 'Gigi?'"
She looked back to him with a cringe. "Gigi?"
"It was my great-grandmother's name, or nickname, I suppose."
"Gigi" shook her head and chuckled. "Your great-grandmother's name was Yvette, Sean."
The young agent grinned. "You still think that I'm your son."
She gestured to his S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform. "And what're you doing wearing that thing? Have you joined the military or something? Just how long have I been gone?"
Sean glanced to the surveillance camera that loomed over them as if he were looking to Fury on the other end for help. The interaction swerved its way back to being awkward again, but Sean was prepared for just how to handle it. "O.K., so…I'm your son," he began, trying not to sound too sarcastic. "What was the last thing you remember me doing before you died?"
Gigi hesitated for a slight moment as he tried to answer him. "Y-You stood over me and said that you were gonna miss me…and that you'd always love me." She sniffed a bit, signifying that she was on the verge of crying. "You were so unsure how you were gonna move on without me. It was so unfair to you and your sisters. I wasn't old enough to leave you all, but another force decided it would be time." She approached him and affectionately placed both her hands at the sides of his face. "I'm so sorry, Sean."
Listening to her and seeing the genuine sadness in her eyes, Sean somewhat trusted the fact that she was telling him the truth. The only contradiction was that his mother never went by the name of "Joanie Navarro-Thomas." Curiously, he asked Gigi, "When did you die?"
She shrugged and sighed. "I don't know. A week? A month? A year? Apparently some time has gone by if you've joined the Armed Forces."
"I'm not Armed Forces."
"Alright, then the Navy."
"I'm not the Navy."
Gigi chuckled. "Then is it Halloween? Because that's a pretty convincing uniform you've got on, especially that funky symbol there." She pointed to the two S.H.I.E.L.D. insignias stitched to the left breast and upper right sleeve.
Sean was slightly insulted from her comments over his uniform, and he did not hesitate in setting the record straight with her. "I am an agent of a secret organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division."
Gigi whistled humorously. "No wonder you guys settled on S.H.I.E.L.D."
"That was Agent Coulson's idea."
"Smart man."
"Yes, he was."
Hearing how much emphasis he put on the word "was" clued her in on the fact that this "Agent Coulson" was dead. "I'm sorry."
Sean nodded despondently. "He went out the only way he preferred – fighting."
"Sounds like he was a great man." There was brief silence before Gigi got enough courage to make an important request. "Look, since you're part of this S.H.I.E.L.D. team or whatever, you can talk to the H.D.C. about the sphere they've got locked away in the Mojave Desert."
The young agent raised his hands for her to stop. "Whoa, whoa. First off, what the hell is a H.D.C.?"
"Head Dude in Charge."
Nodding with amusement over the title, Sean continued: "Nice, but I honestly have to know how you know so much about Project Geo. My boss tells me that you broke into the base in the Mojave – a heavily fortified base, I might add. How did you manage to get in there and get close enough to the sphere?"
"That's my secret." She looked up to the surveillance camera that Sean glanced at earlier and added in a mildly aggressive tone, "And I won't give it away until I speak to the H.D.C. now!"
Sean looked up to the camera at the same time she did, only to give a defeated look to the audience of Nick Fury.
As soon as Gigi became somewhat hostile during their "interrogation" of her, Fury made the order for Livingston to leave her holding cell and meet with him on the bridge. He kept his eye on the footage that was just Gigi leering at the camera; after a while, he could have sworn he saw those eyes of hers turn completely white just as the image of Tony Stark popped up in a separate window, blocking the one that featured Gigi. Angered by his interruption, Fury shouted, "Dammit, Stark! I told you not to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D. communications!"
"It's just way too much fun not to." Stark said.
With a heavy sigh, Fury merely accepted Stark's interruption, especially when it meant something important. "Did you find out anything from the Sphere?"
"I don't know how you guys could've examined this thing for thirty-five years and think that it was tech." Stark responded. "I mean, it's not even Earth tech…more like alien tech."
Fury appeared highly curious over Stark's analysis. "Are you saying that we're dealing with another alien artifact?"
"If we are, then that beautiful young lady you have locked up on your ship must know enough about it to sneak past your security without any difficulty. Either she's your most valuable asset in finding out the truth behind this thing…"
"…or she's as big of a threat to us as Loki was." Fury concluded Stark's last statement, letting his suspecting tone loud and clear. "Keep looking into that sphere, Stark. You and Banner do whatever's necessary to get inside that thing and find out what it's capable of."
Stark mocked a salute in front of Fury and said, "Aye-Aye, General."
Once Stark disconnected, Fury said under his breath, "Jackass."
