Larger Than Life – Backstreet Boys
Chapter One
Eighteen years later
Fury rubbed his temple as he looked at the sight before him. The brand new 2012 Ford Mustang he had just purchased was in complete shambles. The front windshield was completely missing as were two of the tires. The seats were ripped and the roof was peeled back. Sighing, he turned and looked at the culprit, the one who caused all the damage.
"For the record, I blame Phil. He wanted to go off road." She said, trying to smile innocently, "We can fix it, though, right?"
Fury stared at her for a moment before pulling out his cell phone and dialing Maria. When she picked up he gave her simple instructions, "Please bring me two Tylenol and a glass of water." Hanging up, he turned back to his daughter, "From now on, you take a S.H.I.E.L.D. car and a driver."
"Dad! That's not fair; this is the first car I've wrecked." She argued, "I don't want a driver anymore."
"I'm not arguing about this Shiloh, you will have a driver or you will go nowhere. You're lucky I don't take your privileges to leave here completely." He points to the Mustang, "That is absolutely ridiculous."
Shiloh rolled her eyes but she knew he was right, "Fine but can I drive again eventually?"
Fury sighed yet again, "We'll see."
That was enough for Shiloh. With a smile and a squeal she ran over and kissed her father's cheek before leaving the garage. Fury stared after her and wondered when he had become such a softy. Smirking to himself, he knew that it was a side only reserved for her.
If someone told him over eighteen years ago that he would have a daughter, he honestly would have shot them, but that night would forever be burned within his memory. He never saw Valerie again, and he never managed to find Shiloh's real parents. It hadn't mattered to her though, she knew she was adopted yet loved him the same. Though they had their differences, they had come to form some sort of dysfunctional family that included Maria and Phil. It was interesting, to say the least.
Each day, though, he was reminded of Valerie's words and what she made him promise. He had been lost as to what she meant for the first few years of having Shiloh. Then the girl turned five, and he knew that only complete and utter desperation would cause him to utilize what she could do.
As he turned to leave the garage, he took one last look at the Mustang. Shaking his head, he wondered how he had managed to survive raising a child. Luck, he smiled, it was all luck…and Maria.
Upstairs in the apartment Shiloh lived in; he found her sitting at her dining room table. She was reading a book and had earphones in, so she was completely oblivious to him. Gently tapping her on the shoulder, he grimaced as he spoke.
"I have to fly out to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base in New Mexico for a few days. Maria is going to keep an eye on you while I'm gone," He gave her a meaningful look, "I want you to be on your best behavior."
"I'm not eight, Dad. I'll be fine." She frowned at him, "I don't even understand why Maria has to stay and babysit me."
"As I recall, you put a whole in the wall the last time I left you here by yourself." He told her.
"There was a spider, and I panicked!" Fury shook his head.
"Maria will be monitoring you, end of discussion," He leaned down and kissed her forehead, "I will see you in a few days."
She nodded and their eyes met, saying what they would never dare say out loud. He had far too many enemies, and though she was capable of protecting herself, he would rather be damned than have anything happen to her.
I love you.
With her father gone, Shiloh took to lounging around the apartment instead of doing her studies like she was supposed to. True to his word, Maria checked in on her at least twice a day, much to her chagrin. She hated being treated like she was a five year old. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.
Being honest with herself, she was tired of being trapped within the confines of S.H.I.E.L.D. Sure she got to go out into the world, but it was always with protection. She recalled a trip to the mall she took in which her father had snipers placed on the roofs of surrounding buildings. It was ridiculous, and she had long since learned to control her powers. She was not a danger and had been well-trained to handle danger.
Yet her father wouldn't see that. To him, she was the same little girl who completely leveled a building at age six. It had been a total accident, but Shiloh couldn't help but wonder if that was what did her in. Knowing that she would not win in an argument on this subject, she abandoned her thoughts just as there was a knock on the door.
Slowly getting off the couch, she was prepared to see Maria, but when she opened the door, she was surprised to see Phil standing there. And the look on his face told her that something had happened.
"You need to come with me, now." He told her and she didn't hesitate in complying.
As they walked down the hall to the elevator, she turned her head to him, "My Dad, is he alright?"
"Director Fury is fine, but has given me strict orders that you come to where he is." Where he was? She was going to New Mexico? When she asked Coulson, he shook his head.
"What's happened, Phil? Please tell me." Phil didn't respond though as they entered the elevator. The silence was sickening as they rode down to the garage.
A black SUV waited for them and they quickly climbed in. Phil directed them to the airport before giving Shiloh an apologetic look. She knew that he wanted to tell her what was going on, but was most likely on strict orders to be quiet. She would just have to be patient.
They arrived at the airport and hurried to the quinjet that was waiting on them. Taking a seat, Shiloh tried to relax as the jet took off down the runway. Her father was fine, Phil had said so. She was going to see him. There was no need to worry.
Phil came over to sit by her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "It's okay, Shi. We'll be there soon."
"I just wish you could tell me more. It's not often that I get whisked away on a quinjet." Shiloh chuckled and Phil smiled reassuringly.
A few hours later, they landed on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean. Taking her hand, Phil led Shiloh off the jet and onto the landing strip. There she searched frantically until she laid eyes on her father. She immediately rushed towards him and threw her arms around his neck. He lightly returned the embrace.
"I apologize for worrying you," He told me and she smiled.
"It's okay, I'm just glad you're alright." It was then that Shiloh noticed all the agents running around as though they were in DEFCON 4, "Dad, what's going on?"
"I'll explain when we get inside. Come with me." He turned and walked away, with her hot on his heels.
Inside the base, Fury began to explain that they were facing a potential alien invasion. A man named Loki had stolen a cube called the Tesseract (which she vaguely knew about) and had taken two of S.H.I.E.L.D's best agents under his control.
"So what are we going to do to stop him?" Shiloh asked and Fury stopped walking.
"I am currently working on that," He turned to face her, "You, however, are here to be under protection."
Shiloh frowned, "I can help Dad, and you know I can."
"We are not going to have this argument, Shi. I will not allow you to fight. It is not necessary." Shiloh shook her head fiercely.
"You're facing a potential alien invasion and you're saying that my help is not necessary? That's crap and you know it!" Her voice had raised a few octaves and had attracted the attention of some agents. A harsh glare from Fury made them keep working though.
"We are not going to have this discussion, you will not fight and that is final. If you try to go against that, I will lock you up in a holding room." He was deadly serious and Shiloh knew it. She glared back defiantly, though.
"Keep being stubborn, then." And with that, she turned and walked away.
As he watched her storm off, Fury knew that his words had hurt her. However, now was not the time to be a parent, but rather it was time to be the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. The planet was being threatened and in order to defend it, he would have to pull an old strategy and dust it off.
"Agent Coulson, get the Black Widow on the phone. I need her to pay a visit to the good doctor in India." He said into his headset, "Also, find Rogers for me."
"Yes sir."
As he walked through the base, he eventually found Shiloh standing in front of one of the large windows. Though he wanted to go to her, he had other things to do first. They would have to talk later.
He couldn't shake what she had said earlier, though. And he once again recalled what Valerie had made him promise all those years ago.
He wasn't desperate, though. Not yet.
