Aubrey swooped down as water shot up around her. Spidey had hit a fire hydrant with one of his webs. The screams of terrified civilians played in her ears as her eyes focused on the elemental. It swung clumsily at Spiderman, who was dressed in a black version of his own suit. In one of the nearby alleyways, they had stored barrels full of water. Using a rope handle that they had attached, Aubrey heaved the barrel out of the alley and into the sky. Carefully she maneuvered over to where the monster was. It flung a fiery fist at the carousel. In one swift movement, she had detached the handle and the barrel dropped onto the beast. A sizzling sound erupted as Spiderman was flung to the ground. It roared with malice before its glowing eyes heard the yell of nearby civilians. She recognized them from Peter Parker's class. Mysterio covered Spidey as he regained his balance and Aubrey's jets purred as she hovered in front of its face. It growled at her before lunging, she easily dodged, leading it away from the ferris wheel as Mysterio flew up beside her, green mist escaping from his suit and shooting at the beast. It staggered back, colliding with scaffolding that was leaned against a nearby building. Panting, Aubrey watched as he murmured something to Spidey before summoning tethers of green energy. He launched himself straight at the beast and Aubrey watched with horror as the green grew, overtaking the elemental. It howled with rage before imploding into a million emerald shards that evaporated. All that remained was the destruction the beast had caused, and a collapsed figure on the ground. Gliding to the ground, she watched as Spidey held out a hand and Mysterio took it, letting Peter Parker help him to his feet. Smoke and ash rose around them as Nick Fury approached with Hill.
"So that was the last of them?" Spiderman asked, throwing an exhausted glance at Aubrey.
"Yes but it won't be the last threat we will ever face-" Fury cut in before anyone else could respond. "-we need to stay vigilant." he took a stop closer to Mysterio and the two exchanged words before Fury ambled towards Spiderman.
"We'd love to have you in Berlin too. But you've got to decide whether you want to step up to that. Tony Stark took a chance on you, he made you an Avenger, I need that, the world needs that. Maybe Stark was wrong, was he? The choice is yours" He turned, meeting Aubrey's eyes.
"You have been a great help to us Eagle. You're more than welcome to come to Berlin with us."
Shuddering as her Nano wings slithered away, Aubrey heaved a sigh "As much as I'd like to take you up on that offer, I need to be able to go back to America. There are people there who need me. But-" Fury had started to turn away, he froze at the word, casting a glance over his shoulder. "-if you ever need help, I'm sure you'll know where to find me." He gave her a nod before heading towards the dark-colored vehicle he'd arrived in. She just caught the last words that Mysterio said to Spidey before heading towards an alleyway. She caught his arm in a light grasp and he jumped, turning with a surprised look.
"You did good kid...just..-" pausing, Aubrey lowered her voice, casting a look over to where Mysterio was waiting. "-be careful, something about him is not quite right. He's hiding something, don't forget that."
He gave a wordless nod, unshed tears shining in his eyes. Peter Parker seemed to hesitate a moment before mumbling. "Did I make a mistake….being Spiderman? Letting Mr. Stark help me?"
"No, neither of you made a mistake. I can see what Fury wants but I also know that you are young and it takes time to figure these things out….Tony….He...he was so proud of you, that, I know-" Her voice trembled as she let go of his arm. "- I know I can't replace Tony, but if you ever need something, I'm here."
"Th...Thank you" Peter Parker stammered, nodding his head to her before turning and walking towards Mysterio, who was giving Aubrey an odd look.
She arrived back at her lonely apartment in Venice to find it clean and empty. The doppler ganger was gone. In her wake was a small, gray pager. It was positioned on the coffee table and the moment she walked in, a cellphone beside it began to ring. Hurrying forward, she inspected the caller id, it was a foreign one but she answered anyway.
"Hello?"
"Aubrey, this is your therapist, Dr. Raynor. Are you busy?"
"No, I have a few moments" her heart had begun to thump as she carefully settled down onto the worn couch in her apartment.
"That is good, I'd like to talk to you about the past couple of days."
"Okay," it was then that she noticed the folded piece of paper that had been tucked beneath the pager. With her free hand, Aubrey slid it out from its spot and unfolded the parchment. The script was written in flourished handwriting and as she studied it, she found a recounting of everything the doppler-ganger had done the past couple of days.
"-Are you listening to me-? Aubrey?" the doctor's voice brought her back to the conversation at hand.
"Um, yes but if you could repeat what you were saying, just so I know I'm interpreting it correctly."
A sigh was her answer, silence followed for a moment before Dr. Raynor continued. "-I have come across some...interesting video footage from last night. However, there is something more important that unfortunately will need your attention. -"
"What do you mean?" her heart lifted slightly as she wondered if the U.S wanted her back.
"We are aware that you went and were of use to the Mysterio character in defeating the beast in Austria.-" pausing, her therapist heaved another breath. "-how much have you been keeping up with the news, Aubrey?"
"I haven't been, why?"
"The U.S government has appointed a new Captain America.
Aubrey felt her stomach drop as grief began to rise from the depths of her mind.
"What?"
There was a rustling on the other side as a new voice spoke.
"Brie, you can come back...Sam contacted me...he needs something" there was deeper meaning hovering behind the words, something he didn't want to say with Raynor around.
"Bucky-" she breathed, afraid that his voice was a figment of her imagination "-surely...surely I'm still not allowed back." the words came out in stammers but they must've understood her because Raynor answered.
"In light of recent events, they have decided they'd rather have you on U.S soil. I know it doesn't make much sense but it is what has been decided."
"Okay….okay...so I can come back? And...is...is Sam okay?"
"He is okay for now, just needs the help of some friends" came his gruff reply. A click sounded as the call ended and Aubrey collapsed back onto the couch in shock. It didn't make sense….nothing did these days. Elementals popping out of the ground, the U.S changing their minds? A new Captain America? They really wanted her to come back? Something didn't seem right to her but she wanted it to be real and so she accepted it.
Within hours, she was on a flight, headed back towards the United States.
A/N* More coming! I took a bit of an impromptu break as things out of my control took place but regular chapters should be returning.