It's disconcerting to wake up in yet another new setting.
How many times has this happened so far?
At least, she thinks, I'm back home. On Earth.
Putting on a set of clothes she found in the closet, Corinne fumbles her way through the new facility until FRIDAY starts guiding her. This place was completely different from the tower. The layout of it had no resemblance to the old base, but everything was just as state of the art.
The hallways seem to go on forever until she comes across an eye-catching room. Behind what looks like thick panes of glass is gear. The uniforms, the weapons, and all the other gadgets.
"Awake already? Morning." Someone says behind her. They brush past her towards the door of the room. Sam.
"Morning." She replies, looking curiously on as he rushes into the room after a hand scan. "What's the rush? Is there another invasion already?" She looks behind herself, expecting the rest of the crew to barge in.
Sam barks out a laugh as he straps on his wings. "Nah, that would suck a lot for you, yeah? I'm just checking on something up on the roof-you don't have to suit up."
"Why is it only you?" She eyed the other suits still on the mannequins.
She swore she heard him mutter something about being the newbie before he spoke. "The others are in a pretty important meeting, or just busy."
Corinne can see why Steve befriended Sam. It was hard not to. The man was open, easy going, and just nice.
"Can I come anyway?" She asked. If they were all busy, then she would just interrupt them. She could waste some time. Besides, something told her that Sam would find something interesting. "I'll just stay a little bit behind you, out of your way."
Sam regarded Corinne for a beat, then shrugged and jogged towards the elevator. "If you feel up to it, sure."
The elevator makes no stops and goes straight to the rooftop, thanks to FRIDAY.
She keeps her word and watches Falcon's back as he scans about at the front. There's a set to his shoulders and posture that differs from when they were in the elevator. With the way he inspects the rooftop, it isn't hard to tell that he had military experience.
"I had a sensor trip, but I'm not seeing anything." Falcon says, both to her and the support back downstairs. He glances about some more, and freezes. "Wait a second."
"What is it?" Corinne asks quietly, not having the aid of his goggles.
Sam throws up a hand, stopping her from going any closer. "I can see you." He calls out to, well, nobody. To her, anyway.
She's proven wrong as a man seems to materialise, no, expand from thin air.
"Hi, I'm Scott."
Magic? She automatically thinks due to her recent, prolonged exposure to it. No, it's tech. She amends as she observes the man's silver and red suit.
"What are you doing here?" Sam demands.
The man in the silver and red suit doesn't have killing intent in his eyes. Instead, it's almost humorous. "First off-I'm a big fan."
"I appreciate it."
Scott peers around Sam and looks at her inquisitively. "Hey, aren't you the dead one?"
"Yup." Corinne replies casually, popping the p.
"Huh." He blinks. "Big fan of you too."
"Thanks." She smiles, shrugging as Sam shoots her a look. Without turning his head fully, though. He was careful to avoid losing sight of the intruder.
She's had her fill of HYDRA and other not so well meaning people. She was wary of this guy at first, but not anymore. Her intuition told her he wasn't anyone to worry about. She had been right about Wanda and Pietro, hadn't she?
Sam reverts his full attention back to Scott. "Who the hell are you?"
"I'm Ant Man."
"Ant Man?" Even Sam cannot help letting a shadow of a grin escape.
"What, you haven't heard of me?" Scott winces. "Nah, you wouldn't have heard of me."
Corinne stifles a laugh at the absurdity.
"You wanna tell me what you want?"
"I was hoping I could grab a piece of technology. Just for a few days-I'm going to return it." Scott pointed. "I need it to save the world...you know how that is."
"I know exactly how it is." Sam approaches Scott, reaching out to grab his shoulder. "Located the breach, bringing him in."
"Sorry about this!"
With a blink, the man is gone again. Or rather, small again. Corinne shouts in surprise as Sam is hit with surprising strength.
"Where is he?" She yells to him urgently. "I can't see him without the goggles, but I can bubble him with a shield."
"No, I've got this! Stay here or Cap's gonna kill me." Falcon zooms away in pursuit of Ant Man. Sentinel watches as he leaps and stomps at someone too small to see. Occasionally, Ant Man would revert back to his full size before shrinking again.
She's floated down and neared the skirmish just as the man is gone again. Sam let out a groan, having landed on his back in the grass. Something, a fly or some insect, buzzes by her ear. She watches it fly past her towards the door.
Without much thought, she bubbles the creature. But Ant Man drops off the insect just as she bubbles it. Another insect zooms underneath to catch the falling man. She lets the bubble dissipate exasperatedly.
She squints to see it fly towards one of the base's warehouses. "Think he's in there?" Sentinel asks.
Falcon nods and gets to his feet. "Definitely small enough."
The doors open and close for them. The corridor is so dark Corinne has to take a minute to let her eyes adjust. They don't get that minute.
Sam's wings had suddenly spread and started to ascend on its own. By his shocked exclamations, he hadn't planned on this.
Corinne tries to bubble him but his movements are too erratic, too out of control.
"He's inside my pack!" Sam shoots out of the building.
Corinne rushes over on a shield, and winces as Sam's dragged across the ground. "Where is he now?"
Sam looks all around him, but shakes his head. "Goggles are busted. He's gone."
"That's too bad." Corinne says, not meaning it at all. Sam rolls his eyes at her.
"It's really important to me that Cap never finds out about this." Falcon said into his comm. He looks pointedly at Corinne. "Seriously."
She smiled innocently. 'I was never here."
"You weren't too surprised back there." Sam remarked as they went back into the facility. According to him, most of the others would be out of their meeting by now. "Something I should get used to?"
She shrugged. "There are worse things out there."
"Do you handle those things just as well?" He shot her a lopsided grin.
For a moment, she thinks about it. This past year had given her plenty of mental and emotional damage, and more than enough fuel for night terrors. If she hadn't been so exhausted from travelling between dimensions, she would have had nightmares. However, she was still here, right? Could be worse.
"Well enough." She smiles with what she hopes looks like ease.
The jovial glint in Sam's eyes disappears for a second before returning. He's seen right through her lie. "If you ever want to help the other guys handle it well, feel free to drop by the VA."
Corinne gives him a slow nod, understanding his offer to help. She appreciated the way he did it without putting her on the spot.
"Thanks."
Sam shrugs. "Just help me find a reason to explain what happened to my pack."
"What, you're not telling Tony that a tiny man crawled inside, messed it up, and owned you?" Corinne grinned.
He shushed and shot her a false alarmed look, eyes darting around. "The walls have ears. Or specifically, FRIDAY."
"I assure you I do not have any ears, Mr. Wilson." FRIDAY interrupted. "However, I do have instructions from Mr. Stark for you two to divert your path right no-"
Corinne feels herself crash into another body.
"Sorry." She mutters as she rights herself. The sentiment isn't returned like it usually is.
"Corinne Lin."
A greying man stands before her, stance strong and screaming military. Something about his face, his moustache mostly, reminds her of somebody. Somebody who was on the news several years back, around the time Harlem was-
"General Ross." Sam greets, his posture back to rigid. The laid back friend is gone, replaced by the soldier.
General Ross nods at him absentmindedly, attention on Corinne. She felt like she was some subject in an experiment. Again. "I just finished a meeting regarding your...return, among other things. Did you know that the media had managed to match a name to your face while you were 'dead'?"
"No, but I guess it would have happened eventually." She replies uncertainly. Something tells her that her every word was going to be analyzed thoroughly.
"If that never happened, would you have done it yourself?"
She looked back in confusion.
General Ross continued. "Your abilities are very powerful. Behind that hood of yours, you could have done anything."
"My hood was to protect my identity." She had a life to keep separate from Avengering back then.
"But what protects the rest of the world from people like you?"
Sam tensed even more. "Sir-"
Corinne felt offended. "What? I wouldn't-"
"You said so yourself that your identity would have been revealed eventually. Would it have not been better to be known in the first place?"
Her polite demeanor strained. She could sense that Sam's patience was wearing thin too. All of his questions were more statements of his own opinions, and she didn't like how he was steering the conversation to his advantage without letting her put her input in. "I'm not sure I follow. Secret identity or not, I wouldn't be any different. It would only put family and friends in danger."
"Perhaps for you." The man agreed unconvincingly. "But there are others out there that are different. I believe they should be held accountable."
"With their identities out? Information can be very dangerous once it falls into the wrong hands, General." Corinne argued. To hell with politeness. "I think we can both remember what happened with SHIELD's files and HYDRA."
Something changed in General Ross' gaze. "There's-"
"General Ross, your flight will be departing very soon." FRIDAY's voice rang through before things escalated.
"Accountability. Think about it, Ms. Lin." The general said before striding past them.
"That was intense. And confusing." Corinne tells Sam as soon as they hear the man's footsteps fade away.
"That guy's been hovering a lot lately. Don't worry about it." He replies, obviously brushing it off.
She wracked her mind and tried to figure out why the name General Ross rang a bell. "Wait, wasn't he-and Bruce? The whole Harlem disaster. Was he here for Bruce?"
"No…" Sam says. He's picking at his damaged goggles. "He was only here to figure out what to do with the press, since you know, pictures of you alive are all over the place."
"Oh. Is Bruce okay, though? I haven't seen him yet, so I assumed he must be off the grid again…"
Sam hesitates, but sighs in the end. "We don't know where he is. Dr. Banner disappeared after Sokovia-went off on his own."
Despite Sam's assurances that Bruce was fine, Corinne couldn't help but worry. Why did he do it? Will he come back?
The team somehow gathers at the kitchen around the same time. Corinne and Sam walk in to see that someone had ordered take out, and everyone was unpacking the containers of food. The food takes up the whole table, and half of another one. They're huge tables.
"Some things never change." She muses out loud. Though, with Thor here, it makes sense.
A scattered chorus of hellos greet the two of them as they near the table.
"I hope your stomachs are ready." Clint said, already looking queasy.
"Tony ordered this time." Natasha elaborated.
"Hey, I'm offended! You guys always like my the stuff I order."
"Hm." Steve feigns complemplation.
"I, for one, enjoy the food you select!" Thor declares loudly, but genuinely as always.
Tony gestures at him. "See? Thank you, Thor."
"That's cause he's got a demigod stomach." Clint murmurs to Corinne just loudly enough for her to catch. She lets out a huff of laughter in response. "Our mortal stomachs just can't handle it."
They dig into it, nonetheless. The combinations of flavors are different and weird, but it worked after a couple bites. Food is food.
"Heard you had to handle a breach." Natasha mentions offhandedly to Sam while reaching over for another helping. "How'd it go?"
Sam choked on the bite of food he had. "Great! It went great. You can read all about it in my report later." He manages after he gets his coughing fit down. He shoots a meaningful look at Corinne.
"It wasn't too bad." She offers. "Got so into the fight that his pack needs to be repaired, but otherwise, pretty great."
Natasha just smirks knowingly.
He's quick to change the subject before it goes any further. "Corinne and I bumped into General Ross on our way here."
Steve's head snaps to her. "What?"
"What'd he say to you?" Tony frowns.
"We just talked in circles. Something about accountability and secret identities." She herself isn't even sure what the exchange had accomplished. It hadn't earned her the general's approval, that's for sure.
"That guy is up to something." Clint shakes his head. "Every time he lurks around here, I swear."
"He's handling matters on the government side of things." Natasha reasoned. "The general might not be likable, but he's getting a lot of pull lately."
"He clearly doesn't types like us, either. That's not great for someone with pull." Steve said.
Superhero types. Enhanced. Sometimes Corinne forgot how normal people might think about them differently. It must be weird for them-all the super strengthened people, alien gods, magic-
"He said something about taking care of my being alive thing. Is that...going okay?" To be honest, she hadn't thought of the public in her rush to get back.
"People are analyzing those photos of you that the passerby took. We tried to take them down, but you know, internet. Renaissance and fantasy fans went berserk." Tony replied with his mouth nearly full. Gross.
Steve cringed at Tony, but turned to Corinne. "We confirmed to the public that you're alive, but…"
"You're going to have to have a press conference sometime soon. They want answers from you." Natasha finished.
"Okay." It shouldn't be too bad, right? The Avengers minus her had had several press conferences following the Battle of New York. Celebrities had them. She's seen a couple of them on television, and that had to help somehow. Even when Fury promised a hidden identity, she has always had an inkling that she would be dragged into it. "I can do that."
"We will be right beside you." Steve assured her with a warm smile. She returned one gratefully.
Tony's eyes lit up. "On the bright side, if you're bored, you now have Illuminati conspiracy videos about yourself on Youtube."
"Oh great." Corinne said dryly.
"What is an 'Illuminati'?" Thor's brows drew together in confusion.
"Oh no." The spies groaned in unison as Tony almost leaped out of his seat in excitement.
"I know what it is!" Steve straightened up in attention.
Corinne snorted. Despite her memories not being fully restored on this half of her life, this still felt familiar. This atmosphere...she knew it was like this before HYDRA. Only now...wait. "Where's Wanda and Pietro? Vision?"
"Vision doesn't eat, so he opted not to come. As for the other two-Dunno," Tony shrugged, "FRIDAY?"
"They informed me that they did not feel like eating, sir."
Corinne pushed her chair back and got up. "Well, that's me right now. I think I'll go see if I can find them."
With a tip or two from FRIDAY, she manages to catch them.
Pietro is shuffling back and forth while Wanda is murmuring exasperatedly to him. He has the stubborn look she knows all too well on his face.
"Hey?" Corinne says as she approaches. "Haven't seen you two all day."
At her voice, Pietro seems to be startled and starts to run off-only to be stopped by scarlet magic. Pietro glares at Wanda, to which she returns with an equally deadly glare.
"Were you...avoiding me?" Corinne asks, surprised at first, but then understanding. She looks down guiltily. "It's me, isn't it? I'm sorry you had to think I was dead. You have every right to be angry. I just...hope I can make it better soon. I missed you guys."
Pietro looks at Wanda for help. She raises an eyebrow. He sighs.
"When I...died, you gave up your own life."
Corinne nodded slowly. "I didn't know it was going to happen, but I wouldn't change my mind even if I knew."
Pietro recoiled. "That's the problem. You shouldn't have. Everything I did to help HYDRA...I'm not, not-"
He halted as he felt arms wrap around him.
"You're worth saving." Corinne whispered loud enough for him to hear. "Besides, I helped HYDRA too. You're not the only one."
"But I convinced you."
"So did Wanda. Are you going to blame her?" Silence. "Then don't blame yourself."
Pietro sagged against her, but finally returned the embrace.
"You too, Wanda. Join the hug." Corinne looked over Pietro's shoulder with a grin.
As large as the facility was, Corinne couldn't help but feel restless and cramped with each passing day.
"I'm going out." She announced to the team one day. "To the city."
They cast each other looks.
"Are you sure?" Pietro said.
"Where are you going to go?" Natasha asked.
Steve furrowed his brows. "You should have someone with you."
Corinne shook her head. "I'm just going to go walk around, and see Beth." It's been so long, she had realized. With her kidnapping, Avengering, and dying. She heard Beth was there at her funeral, but she must have fled when the Bifrost activated. Corinne owed her a huge explanation. "I'll just go alone. FRIDAY can keep track of me somehow, right?"
The others hesitated. While she had been around for a couple days, it wasn't a lot compared to the months she's been gone. What if she disappeared again?
But they saw that she really wanted this, and relented. They couldn't keep her here forever, and they knew they themselves would be in her situation very often.
"You're taking three tracking devices." Tony decided, getting up and heading to his workshop.
"Gonna have to disguise yourself too, now that your face is known." Advised Clint. "I recommend the classic sunglasses and cap. Basic, but it works."
"Thanks guys." Corinne smiled as Tony came back with some minuscule metal tech.
Steve shook his head, the look in his eyes almost convincing her to stay. "Just stay safe."
Winter break is awesome. 12.20.15.