3: The Test and No Rest

Wham! Eli stumbled around for a moment, reeling from the sudden impact of a simulated piece of debris.

"C'mon, kid," Stark's voice came in over the speaker, "You can do better than that!" Clenching her jaw, the girl shot a streak of lightning at an approaching "rock" and blasted it to pieces. Hearing a roar behind her, she turned around and gaped. Rushing towards her was a dragon with five flame-spouting heads.

"What the heck?!" she screamed as she lept out of its way.

"You like that?" Stark's voice asked proudly. "Just thought it up. I call it the Awesome Serpent, otherwise known as Tonyus Awesomus." Eli ignored the annoying Avenger and ran behind a building, buying a few precious moments to brainstorm.

"Think, Eli, think," she murmured, raking her hands through her neon blue and orange hair. Peeking out from behind the wall, she was surprised to notice the dragon's heads fighting with each other. Eli smirked. With a flick of her wrist, she sent pure energy sailing towards a head, which knocked into another, causing that head to sink its teeth into another one whom he thought had hit him. Eli used this opportunity to sneak onto a building that towered above them. She forced the electricity to flow out of her until her hands were covered in it, then jumped onto the building's side, sailing on the lightning down the side and towards the monster. The dragon didn't see her until it was too late. She belly-flopped onto the beat's back, still covered in lightning. She was just fine, but the monster was not. About ten seconds later Eli stood proudly on top of a fried five-headed dragon, still smoking. Suddenly, everything disappeared, and the girl found herself standing in a bright white room with nothing in it except herself. She looked to the left, smirking triumphantly. On the other side of a panoramic window, her new friends from SHIELD simply gaped through the glass. Eli walked towards the door and opened it, exiting the Weapons Testing Facility. When she got to the window, she found the agents were still in shock. Eli rolled her eyes.

"Come on," she said, "I mean, I'm awesome, but I'm not that awesome." She was answered by complete silence, which was broken by Fury's entering the room.

"I think that was a satisfactory display, Eli." He stuck out his hand. "Welcome to the Avengers." She took his hand and firmly shook it, a small, childlike smile creeping onto her face. She was congratulated by the rest of the team, all except for Peter, who mumbled a sarcastic "Yeah, congrats," then rudely strode out of the room.

Lying in the big, fat bed she was provided with, Eli tossed and turned, unable to sleep peacefully, which was perfectly normal for her. She had been having these dreams ever since Tokyo, and she knew exactly how it went.

A boy, his face blurred, looped his arm around Eli's waist. She knew somehow that he was kind and caring, and he would lay down his life for her. Suddenly, they were surrounded by blackness, and she felt the young man ripped from her. A cold, clammy hand threw itself over her mouth, and her vision faded. She felt jabbing needles in her body, and then a burning sensation filled her completely. She tried to scream, but no sound came. The burning felt like someone had injected fire into her body, and it was spreading, spreading to the tips of her fingers. She could feel the sharp pain of her veins twisting into knots, and she finally found her voice.

Eli woke up screaming, as she usually did. She slowly sat up and rubbed her temples, cursing at her sharp headache. Natasha suddenly burst into her room, her chest heaving from stress.

"Eli," she breathed, rushing to her, " are you okay?"

"Um, yeah," the girl shakily replied, "I just had a bad dream, that's all." She buried her head in her knees, which she had drawn up to her chest. Natasha sat next to her, and putting her hand comfortingly on her back, she felt Eli shaking with tears. She put her arm around the girl's small shoulders, her own eyes getting moist as she did so.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked gently. Eli shook her head.

"Okay, then," the agent said with a sad smile, "Go ahead and get some rest. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you." She gave the girl a one-armed squeeze and left, quietly closing the door. The moment she walked away, Eli threw the covers off of herself and jumped out of bed. She strode over to the large window with the view of the sea. It was just starting to rain, and the sound of the drops splashing in the water calmed her.

Sitting on the window seat, she raked her fingers through her neon hair. Examining her fingers, she realized with annoyance that she needed to recolor it. The last thing she wanted was to walk around in her real hair color. It made her feel weak, normal. She gently smiled at the drops caught on the window, and traced them with her finger, as the steady beat of the raindrops slowly lulled her into a dreamless sleep.

Eli was awakened by a sharp knock on the door.

"If you want breakfast," Stark's voice called out, "you better get up. I've got hungry superhumans at my table, and I'm not making seconds." As the sound of his footsteps faded away, Eli slowly sat up, feeling groggy, but with a lesser headache. Now, instead of a large, iron anvil pounding on her head, she felt the pain of a two-by-four, which, in case you were wondering, still hurts. She stood, stretching her muscles, and patted down her hair, which, due to static electricity, usually stood up on end during the night. Looking out her window, which showed the sea in a calmer mood, she noticed a fresh change of clothes on the window seat. She slipped them on, the clothes fitting perfectly, and strode out the door. It didn't take her long to find the kitchen, as she simply followed the scent of bacon, coffee, cinnamon, and a host of other mouth-watering smells. The dining area was filled with a majority of yesterday's characters, and they all greeted Eli as she entered. Stark whipped by her, leaving an empty plate in her hand.

"Serve yourself, kiddo," he called as he left the room, "mugs are in the second cabinet to the right and straight on 'till morning." Eli rushed over to the fragrant counter, which was covered with various breakfast casseroles, over a dozen different styles of morning pastries, pancakes, and waffles, every variation of eggs and bacon under the sun, and one sad, lonely bowl of fruit. Eli grabbed a blue mug and poured some dark black coffee, and filling her plate with as much as it could carry, carefully walked over to a vacant armchair. She sat, placing her plate on the side table, almost knocking another plate off.

"Hey!" a voice cried, as a hand shot out and grabbed it with inhuman reflexes. Eli looked up, and right into the eyes of Peter Parker. "Watch it! I got the last cinnamon roll, and I don't want to lose it to the floor!"

"Good morning to you as well, Little Miss Sunshine," Eli replied dryly, turning her back and sipping her coffee. She sat there, thinking about the last time she had eaten a cinnamon roll. She couldn't remember one. "Did you say 'the last cinnamon roll'?"

"Mmhmm," Peter replied, taking a bite of the pastry, "and it is delicious." Eli stared at the roll for a moment, then suddenly looked behind Peter's shoulder, her eyebrows raised.

"What is Nick Fury doing here?" she asked. Peter jumped, whipping around, but there was no Nick Fury to be seen. When he turned back around, his cinnamon roll was gone, and Eli's cheeks were unnaturally bulbous.

"My cinnamon roll!" he cried, "you stole my cinnamon roll!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Eli said mid-chew, "but, even if I did, it was technically a fourth of a cinnamon roll."

"Well, it was still-" the door flew open, and the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. strode in.

"Now Nick Fury's here," Eli said to the young avenger, who scowled at her, "I was just early."

"Avengers," the man called out, "Assemble!" Immediately the younger portion of those present stood, Parker included, and rushed over to him, while the veterans, such as Rogers or Black Widow, stayed sitting. Eli sat awkwardly, not sure whether to stand or to stay seated.

"That includes you, Miss Eli," Fury added, and Eli jumped up and joined the group. "Avengers," Fury began, "on a recent infiltration of the Oscorp tower, our agents found a letter of interest in the Executive's desk drawer."

"And now is in mine, so to speak," Tony added, just coming in the door.

"Is everything ready, Stark?" Fury asked.

"Did I make your breakfast this morning?" he replied. No one answered. "Well, no, I didn't, but yes, everything is in place. Follow me." The group followed Stark to his futuristic lab, where his Iron-man suit was proudly on display.

"Here," he said, gesturing towards a small table in the middle. Everyone crowded around it, and Fury, picking up the paper situated on top of it, began to read.

"To the executive of Oscorp, greetings. I would like to thank you personally for your cooperation, and for all your corporation has done for our cause, which is coming along splendidly. I would like to ask that you keep careful watch on Operation: 1861, and if this proves to be too difficult of a task to Shield, we would be more than happy to provide security to ensure its safety. Again, thank you for your unparalleled progress and enthusiasm, and remember, "loose lips sink battle ships!" Regards, Baron von Strucker." The room was enveloped in silence, as everyone pondered the meaning of the letter.

"1861," War Machine said, "why 1861?" "1861 was the year that the Civil War began," Falcon answered, "but that raises another question. If they meant to reference the Civil War-"

"It's the name of their operation," Parker added.

"Yes," he continued, "if that is the title of the operation, what "civil war" are they trying to create?"

"And how would they accomplish it?" the Scarlet Witch asked.

"As interesting as those questions are," Fury said, "we have a much bigger problem on our hands. This letter was written by von Strucker, and was sent to Oscorp. And what was the letter about? Why, Strucker sent Oscorp a sweet little note thanking them for their cooperation for their cause! This, ladies and gentlemen, means one, and only one thing: HYDRA and Oscorp are working side-by-side, and we need to stop it."

"And how are we going to do that?" Eli asked.

"Well," Fury answered, "if you listen, you may just find out. Vision, Falcon, War Machine, Parker, and Scarlet, I need you to break back into the office. Anything that has to do with HYDRA, secret developments, or operation: 1861, I want it taken." The heroes nodded, and rushed out of the room to suit up. Eli was left with Fury, Rogers, Natasha, and Stark, whom she looked at awkwardly.

"Soooo," she said, "what exactly do I do?"

"You come with us," Natasha replied, standing with Rogers, "and you get your gear."