Here is chapter three! ATTENTION PLEASE! I had some issue with certain words. Those who read this chapter on Ao3 know that a few words are crossed out to show Carrie mentally correcting herself or thinking something in the back of her mind. I couldn't do that hear so I had to put said lines into the semicircles (I forgot what they are called.) I'll try to correct this in the future, if possible.

Disclaimer: I do not own Carrie White or the Avengers or any MCU character.

Chapter 3: Moving On

Nicholas Fury, the director of SHIELD and his second Maria Hill were simultaneously intimidating and... well not exactly kind, but not cruel either. They calmly laid down the facts in front of her concerning the most likely scenarios of what would happen depending on the choice she made. Neither adult sugarcoated anything nor pulled any of their words. It was nothing but the brutal truth Carrie needed to hear.

They reminded her of Ms. Desjardin.

Carrie couldn't go back to her hometown – even though the school was forced to publicly acknowledge that her. . . snap. . . was the result of one final cruel prank after years and years of abuse people were still scared of her. Especially the families of her classmates because Carrie did have legitimate reasons to hate a lot of them. There were also enough people in town and in the public, who sided with her that those kids were getting harassed and verbally abused online. It could get worse if Carrie went back and decided to encourage it.

She wouldn't, but the families didn't have any reason to believe that. The papers said that Tina hadn't left her house since her release from the hospital two weeks ago. Her parents had made a statement that they wouldn't let Tina's behavior go unchecked but didn't want to take any action while she was recovering and begged to be left alone.

Apparently, Carrie had thrown Tina hard enough that some ribs were cracked, and her back covered in bruises. There was very little sympathy for the bully – many were calling Tina a monster instead of Carrie herself. The telepath didn't know how to even begin to process that and chose not to.

There was also the fact that Carrie realized she didn't want to return. She had no true happy memories or attachment to the town, the only thing making her hesitate was how worried Ms. Desjardin and Sue must be. That only could be solved with a letter or email – one of the agents could teach her – and Carrie really didn't feel like going out of her way to return to Chamberlain just to make them feel better. Perhaps it was a bit selfish but. . . that was how she felt.

Everyone in SHIELD was a lot nicer to her, if distant, and she couldn't feel any disgust that she knew she would find in Chamberlain. True, they were not friends or anything, but their kindness was real. Carrie found she much preferred that as unsettling as not needing to look over her shoulder for the next humiliation was.

The foster system was out of the question too, as far as the (super?) spies were concerned. (Mr.) Director Fury and (Ms.) Deputy Hill made it abundantly clear that Carrie would never truly be safe again. Her power was just too tempting for many very bad people who would put her mother's treatment of her to shame. There was also the fact that Carrie was, in their own words, "soft with zero backbone" and likely remain a social outcast. The risk of another snap from being bullied again was significant in that kind of environment too.

Carrie had to admit that they were probably right in saying that some people just couldn't stop themselves from being cruel even if it was in their best interest. Chris had been one of them -even though her father got her off the hook with legal charges in the past, the bullying still damaged her reputation and left her with no real friends. It also increased the amount of people who had a grudge on her, and now that they smelled blood in the water, they were taking the chance to get back at both Hangersens at their weakest. The teen knew that with her luck, she would run into people like Chris and her dad.

So that left. . . SHIELD itself, and Carrie couldn't help but be interested as they explained their offer. There was a superhero team they were building that they wanted her to join. Carrie was shocked that they would even consider her after what almost happened at prom, but their response left her unable to say anything.

"Don't give us that kid," Director Fury said flatly. He was an older black man getting on in years, a touch of grey in his beard – there was none on his head because he was bald. "You were treated like shit all your life by everyone until the week before your prom. When you found out you had powers you didn't go after the bullies – you just stood up for yourself against your mom. And yes, you would have killed your classmates if my people hadn't been there – but that was after that Hangersen bitch extraordinaire dumped pig's blood on you for daring to be happy. When you woke up, you lost your shit when you thought you killed someone. You have what it takes to be a hero with the right help so don't tell me otherwise."

It was the nicest thing anyone had said to her and Carrie didn't know what else to do but nod mutely. Profanity aside. . . the compliment made her feel good and warm inside. (Yes, they wanted her power on their side, Carrie wasn't naïve. He meant what he said at least a little bit though and that was something.)

Deputy Hill nodded. "You are not evil Ms. White, you just got pushed too far and it isn't a failing that you snapped. Everyone has limits and is capable of being pushed past their breaking point. That's why it's important to have people to support you – and everyone in Chamberlain failed to do so."

"Sue and Ms. Desjardin, they –, "Carrie protested. They had helped her.

"They helped too late." Deputy Hill said bluntly, reading the teenager like a book. "And it doesn't make up for what they did and didn't do in the past."

The rest of the conversation wasn't as uncomfortably honest. Director Fury wanted her to see a psychiatrist to help her get over her life in Chamberlain. She would also be a support member of the Avengers until cleared by the psychiatrist and sufficiently trained to take part in combat more directly.

It all sounded reasonable to Carrie – and she really didn't want to take any chances with people outside of SHIELD and lose control again. There wasn't any real judgement here, even though by all rights they should be wary of her and want to keep their distance. Everyone was so. . . nonchalant about it, like it wasn't that big of a deal.

She tried not to think about what would count as a big deal to them.

In the end, Carrie accepted their offer. What else could she do?

The month that followed was strange, very strange. Carrie had a lot to catch up on about the world and school, the relentless bullying had hurt her studies a lot. An agent named Phil Coulson was her handler/caretaker, in charge of making sure she learned what she was supposed to and attended her therapy sessions. Mr. Kurt, the psychiatrist, was very nice man and very polite who always treated what Carrie had to say as important.

So naturally she was on edge. The teenager was not use to all this kindness and non-malicious indifference – it felt like she was long overdue for a slap of harsh reality. There had to be someone in this building that hated her or thought she was pathetic.

Carrie had told Mr. Kurt as much and felt better when he admitted there were agents who were wary of her, but they didn't hate her. SHIELD had seen too many impossible, world-ending near tragedies for Carrie's almost-massacre spree to be anything exceptionally horrible. Yes, she was a potential threat but the same could be said for many SHIELD agents, even those without powers and there were contingencies in place for such people if they became bad investments.

The lack of actual hate still made Carrie nervous, but she was able to handle the minimal negativity better. SHIELD had things in place to deal with her. It was like living with Mama a bit, except SHIELD was more predicable and not actively waiting for Carrie to screw up – it was just in case. They had a bit more faith in her to behave and as long as she followed the rules, she was fine. Thinking that way helped Carrie stay calm.

Then, Phil brought her to the Joint Dark Energy Mission Faculty in the Mojave Desert. SHIELD was studying something called the Tesseract, also called the Cube, to create a source of clean and renewable energy. He would be stationed there for a while and since she was his responsibility, Carrie came along. Mr. Kurt would continue their sessions remotely until physical visits could be arranged again.

Even before the helicopter landed, Carrie could detect an odd alien-like presence that was unlike anything she ever felt before. She cautiously reached out and almost flinched when the Presence curiously prodded at her own mind.

Phil still noticed. He did that quirk with his eyebrow, the question that was only half a question because he knew something was off, just not what, so only the second one needed an answer.

Carrie intertwined her fingers. "There's something in there. It's not. . . it's not human is it?"

Her handler went still for the briefest of moments, but she had spent the last month beside him and knew his body language pretty well.

"No, it isn't." He admitted. The helicopter landed and they stepped down. "We knew it was possible you'd sense it. Don't initiate further contact until I talk to Selvig about the Tesseract. "

"Um, I'm not sure if I should." Carrie replied nervously. "The. . .Tesseract is curious. I don't know how it'll react if I try to ignore it."

They were still walking and had gotten inside the facility by now. Phil didn't say anything for a moment.

"How does it feel?"

"Huh, very. . . polite, I think? It's just nudging my mind, poking a bit." She pulled at the sleeve of her gray cardigan. "It's not actually inside my head. It's more like it's knocking on the door, trying to get me to look out the window."

It wasn't a bad feeling to be honest. There was no malice or indifference or the feeling she would be crushed. The Tesseract felt incomprehensible for the most a part, an ocean who's depths was a complete mystery. Carrie was only at the border, where the incoming tide gently hit her ankles. She wasn't being dragged into something she didn't know she could find her way back from.

Most importantly, it really was just politely curious. Carrie was cautious, mostly because she knew Phil would want her to be but felt no danger from the mental contact.

Should she try to say hello?

"Keep contact to a minimum then," Phil said, dashing her hopes. "I need to talk to Selvig before I can let you in the lab."

So that was how Carrie found herself inside a small room that only contained a bed, a dresser, a desk, and a closet. She put her suitcase on the chair that came with the desk and sat on her bed – there was another door that probably let to the bathroom, but the teen didn't feel like investigating.

The Tesseract was still prodding.

Half an hour later, Phil returned, and he brought her to the room the Tesseract was in.

Erik Selvig, the one leading the investigation, was pleased to meet her. Carrie made sure to be polite but couldn't shake the off feeling she got when he spoke. She could tell he meant everything he said, but when he spoke, a lot of the time it felt. . . double layered.

"The energy from the Tesseract spiked forty minutes ago," Mr. Selvig told her as they approached the machine the scientist was using to hold and study it. "That was when you arrived. It's well within acceptable parameters so I'd like you to make contact again so we can study the results."

Carrie nodded nervously. "Do I have to touch it?"

Selvig paused. "You can make mental contact without it, yes?"

She nodded.

"Then don't. I rather study this more before we think about physical contact."

After an encouraging nod from Phil, Carrie kneeled next to the Tesseract's stand and sent out an 'hello'.

Thirty seconds passed and she felt every one of them as the stone absorbed the words and seemed to process them. When it sent a response back, it was more of a feeling than words, but she heard the meaning all the same.

"Hello, to you."

Hoped you liked it!

Sincerely,

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