Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter! Like always I don't own Marvel, I only own my oc's. Enjoy!
It's been two months since the battle of New York, and I have to say for the first time in forever, life was good. I'm currently flying through the skies since I'm bored. I no longer live in prison and I'm not following any orders anymore so that's a plus. I'm actually free. But the thing is that freedom gets kind of lonely. I don't have anyone by my side, but maybe that's a good thing for now. I need to figure out who I am and what I want to do with my life before I try to become friends with anyone.
All my life, I've been worried about others and how things would affect them. That didn't get me far. It left me feeling lost when I was by myself, so I need to change that. I'm not saying being selfish is a good thing, but maybe thinking about myself every once in a while is not such a bad thing either. Basically, I can't allow my world to revolve around others. It will only hurt me in the end, so instead, I need to learn how to keep my world going without isolating myself and without being overly dependent on others. So here I am wondering what to do with myself.
If I am being entirely honest, I've always been a quiet person. I usually left the talking to others as I quietly listened to the conversations in the background. Unless when I needed to speak to someone, I would just keep to myself, but that doesn't mean I'm not aware of my smart mouth and my attitude. I am well aware of that, and lately, I've noticed that side of me has come out more and more. I don't know if that's a good thing or not but I'll find out soon enough. Not to mention I'm way too blunt with people so I can already tell that I'm going to be a handful. But that's okay because for the first time in who knows how long I'm not afraid to speak my mind and truly that is an amazing feeling to have.
Now if I only knew what I wanted to do with my life. These last two months I've been keeping to myself trying to figure that out. I don't have a home, food, or any money so I've been hopping from one homeless shelter to another. I'm used to it by now. When I first escaped from those mad scientist with my sister and Christopher, we would often occupy the homeless shelters. We always left before Child Services was called that way we wouldn't get separated.
Luckily this time around, I look old enough for the people at the shelter to leave me alone. I also put on a simple disguise that would allow me to move about without getting caught since my face is all over the news because of the battle. It's a simple short sleeve baggy maroon shirt with black leggings. This outfit is one of the two sets of clothes I own, the other one is the outfit that S.H.I.E.L.D. gave me. The one I'm currently wearing is from a homeless shelter down in Florida. I also have a pair of black sunglasses (to hide my pink eyes), a black baseball hat, extra undergarments, and a backpack which holds my few personal belongings since I don't have a home. Now that I think about it, I have no idea what state I'm currently in. I've been flying all over the country as of late trying to keep away from S.H.I.E.L.D. since I'm still a minor. I won't be considered an adult for another five months, which means until then they will try to capture me because I have powers. Which is a no for me.
When I turn 18, I'll finally have the right to make my own choices without having to fight against the world. However, I can't help feeling like I'm making a huge mistake about S.H.I.E.L.D. Don't get me wrong I still stand by what I said about them earlier. When I was with S.H.I.E.L.D., they treated me more like a weapon than a person which I didn't appreciate. Then the thing with the Avengers happened, and S.H.I.E.L.D. did improve but not as much as I would've hoped for. I don't know how I feel about them anymore, so I just kept my distance until I could figure everything out for myself.
In the meantime, I'm still wondering what I want to do with myself. I can't keep going back to homeless shelters. I have the ability to work and do something with my life, so I believe that I have no right to go back. But I'm a high school dropout, so that doesn't leave me many options when it comes to well-paying jobs. Plus I have no documentation since S.H.I.E.L.D. confiscated everything I own. What to do, what to do? Well, there is one person I could ask for advice. I haven't seen him in forever, but he'll have to do. Hopefully, he's in a good mood today.
After getting a shower at a local high school, I got dressed in my black shirt and dark blue jeans. I made sure to put my hat and sunglasses on before packing everything away and taking off once again. I knew where he was staying. I had come to visit him several times before, so this was nothing new to me. When I reached my destination, two guards stood at the entrance. Both of them raised their guns once I touched down.
"Put your hands over your head," The first guard orders. "State your name and your business here."
"Calliope Rodriguez, I'm here to visit an old friend," I respond as I raised my arms.
"Miss Rodriguez?" Both of the guards looked at each other whispering something, but I couldn't hear them. The same guard from before took a step closer with his gun still trained on me.
"This facility has been informed some time ago that you were no longer welcomed here."
"Odd I wasn't told about this, but I don't think it matters," I told him as I begin to look around. My sunglasses were still on so they couldn't see me looking elsewhere.
"Why do you think that wouldn't matter?" The second guard questions me.
"Because whether you people like it or not I'm going inside." I simply stated as I lowered my hands and took a step forward.
"Stop moving, or we will shoot!" The first guard yells as the second one calls in for back up. "You no longer have clearance to this facility. Director Fury made that very clear. If you wish to enter, you have to go and get permission from him first."
"Now why in the world would I go to him when he can simply come here?" I ask the guard as I started walking towards them. I heard multiple people yelling now and to humor them I stopped walking, but that doesn't mean I had given up. "Tell me, what will your tiny bullets do to me? I prevented an alien invasion and knocked the Hulk unconscious. All of that with barely a scratch on me. Do you really think y'all can stop me?"
I started to walk forward until I was just in front of the first guard, and I looked him in the eye as I said, "I'm going inside. You are welcomed to try and stop me, but I promise you that you won't. Now open the gates before I tear them down."
The guard stared at me for another minute before holding his hand up, signaling to the rest of his men to stand down. I smiled at him before walking past all of them through the now open gates. I stopped for only a split second to say, "Tell Fury if he's man enough he can come here and face me himself."
After that, no one stopped me as I entered the facility and searched for Christopher. It took a while, but I finally found his cell. Well, actually it was a door, that led to a room which led to another room that held his cell. Yeah, a lot of precautions were put in place for him. He almost broke free twice so I can understand why. When I finally reached his cell, it was to find Christopher in the same place as always. His actual cell is a reinforced glass box that has eight bars of solid steel holding it in place. Christopher himself was being held down by manacles that encased all four of his limbs.
I stood just outside the room that held his cell looking at him. I wasn't allowed to go inside the room or go near his real cell to say hello. I had to stay outside and look at him through the two-way mirror. I put my hand on the mirror as I tried to get a feel of his power. Christopher and I had this thing where we could feel the radiation from other objects and people. I could actually sense it in Banner when I had first met him. Still, I'm not perfect at it. It takes a lot of concentration to sense it from others, but with Christopher, it takes seconds to feel him. His current radiation changed from when I first met him due to his second mutation, but it's still him. How I missed him. Finally, I gather the courage to speak to him, and I push a red button that would allow him to hear me.
"Hi Christopher, it's been awhile hasn't it," I say, although I'm not sure if he could even understand me at this point. "I've been busy actually, saving the world and all that. I know I never thought I would get back into the hero stuff, let alone with S.H.I.E.L.D. involved but I did. Except it was a bit different this time because I was actually a part of a larger team called the Avengers. Earth's mightiest heroes... Yeah, it just as dumb as it sounds but the people who are in it aren't that bad I guess. Clint's there too, by the way, me and him are cool again. We haven't really had a heart to heart talk but we're cool."
Like always he said nothing back to me so I just kept rambling telling him everything that happened in as much detail as I could. I know it doesn't make a difference, but just speaking to him even in this state has always put me at ease. I never had to hide anything from Christopher, he was like my rock. Although I do miss him responding with his own point of view. I just miss him.
After catching him up on all the current events of my rather messy life, I stayed silent. I allowed my thoughts to run rampant as I continued to sense his radiation. My only source of comfort. It was so lonely in this world without him and Cristina here to keep me company. I know there was no way of getting either one of them back but oh how I wish I could have one more day with them by my side.
"I'm starting to wonder who gives me more headaches, you or Stark?" Fury stated as he entered the room, disrupting my train of thought.
"Well look who it is the big bad pirate Furry reporting for duty," I declare as I kept my eyes trained on Christopher. From my peripheral vision, I could see Fury walk up to stand right beside me. Neither one of us said anything for a while. A couple of minutes later, I chose to break the silence, "Did you know that when I first met Christopher, he didn't have a name?"
"No, I wasn't aware of that."
"You see I first met him when I was 7 years old so about a year after my parents died. Some mad scientist adopted my sister and I from an orphanage and brought us to an underground facility. In our defense it's not like we knew the guy was crazy or anything but oh well. Christopher was in the cell right next to me. He was the first friend I ever had." I looked over at Fury with a small smile before looking back at Christopher. "None of us were allowed to have a name down there. They said we weren't human we were only weapons to be used, so each of us had our own number. I was subject 501 and I was the first and only successful female experiment they had. Christopher was 329 and he was just like me."
"Years later when we all escaped together the three of us agreed that we needed to find a name for Christopher. We couldn't call him 329 in public or people would begin to wonder. It was actually my sister who named him." I said as my heart began to ache from the memory, "She said that since both of our names started with a C we might as well give him a name that started with one too. Finally she said his new name should be Christopher that way the beginning of both of their names sounded the same. Christopher and Cristina. He loved it and so did she."
"Did you?" Fury inquired.
I laughed a little before I responded, "No, I thought it was so stupid. I thought there was no way people would not find that suspicious, but they never did."
"Why are you here Rodriguez?"
"Because I have no idea what to do with my life. I don't want to be a weapon, but I also have nothing else to offer this world."
"That may not be true."
"What do you mean?" I ask, looking away from Christopher to Fury, "What could I possibly offer?"
"Hope." Fury simply stated as he moved to put his back against the two-way mirror.
"Hope? For who? I'm a monster, not an angel. Monster's don't give hope we spread fear."
"Have you not seen the news lately? You're considered a hero-"
"By half of the population." I added, "The other half thinks of us as monsters and freaks."
"Since when have you ever cared about what the world thought about you?" Fury questions me, "Since when did their opinions become so important that you allowed it to define you. The world called you a weapon, and you strived to be considered human. S.H.I.E.L.D. tried to define you, and you left. So please tell me why it matters that this world thinks of you as a monster? I think it doesn't matter and even if you are a monster, well then we're lucky to have someone as amazing as you on our side."
I was left speechless by what Fury just said. Did he really have so much faith in me as a person? Even if he didn't, he did bring up a very good point. Since when did I let this world define me. I really have lost myself since the loss of my family. I just stopped fighting, and I allowed this world to trample all over me. But no more. I am not going to let them do that to me or anyone else anymore. I'm going to fight for what's right. I have to because if I don't who will.
"I'm not what this world wanted me to be." I started as I returned my gaze to the man I once loved with all of my heart. "I'm not who I once was either. I'm something else, someone new."
"Then who are you?"
"I'm the woman who is done with the cruelty of this world. I'm fighting for the people this world tried to suppress. I'm going to fight for those who decided to live once again. I'm fighting for the people who want a name, and were denied."
Fury and I looked at one another resolve written on both of our faces. He extended his hand waiting for me to accept it and all that it stood for. I looked at Christopher one last time before turning to face Fury and shaking his hand. I'm not hiding anymore.
"Hope. That's what you're offering, and that's something this world needs, Star Ray." Fury tells, and I couldn't help but smile at the thought of becoming something more than what others had intended for me to be.
-Two days later-
After Fury and I spoke, we both agreed to meet today to discuss the last details of my employment. Apparently, I'm heading to the Triskelion which is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s HQ in Washington D.C. I asked him how was I supposed to get inside and his answer was for me to wait in the front lobby. I left it at that knowing Fury will figure something out for me.
In the distance, I could see the Triskelion, and I must admit it is a bit intimidating. I actually got kind of nervous to go inside. I mean this place was huge, and it put most of the buildings I've seen to shame. It even rivaled the Helicarrier. I wonder how it looks inside. I guess I'll find out in a few seconds. As I came within ten blocks of my destination, I landed in a nearby alleyway to hide my backpack. Afterward, I took off once again until I was just in front of the doors to the Triskelion. After taking a deep breath to steady myself, I open the door to the building.
I walked inside, ready for anything they threw at me only to freeze after taking a couple of steps. There I stood in the middle of the lobby, and I actually felt a little self-conscious about myself. Everyone was wearing a suit and tie, and here I am with a white tank top that had four buttons at the top, two of which weren't even buttoned, and a pair of light blue jeans. Well, at least I'm not wearing the other two outfits that I own. I just managed to get this new one yesterday from the homeless shelter I was staying in. The only thing I couldn't replace was the dirty black converses that I own, but that's okay. At least I have a pair of shoes, some people don't even have that kind of luxury. I also decided to leave the hat and my sunglasses inside of my backpack today. There was no point in wearing them since I was coming to S.H.I.E.L.D.
As I continued walking, I saw a familiar female walking towards me. I couldn't place a name on her, but I know I had seen her somewhere before. I stopped walking, and within seconds she reached me.
"Hello Miss Rodriguez, it's nice to see you again." The woman stated with a warm smile on her face. "Director Fury is waiting for you. If you would follow me, I'll bring you to him." I nodded as she escorted me out of the main lobby and into one of the elevators.
Once inside, I couldn't help but look at the woman who stood right next to me. She had light brown hair with two braids on both sides of her head. The rest of it was let down, and it reached her mid-back. She had pale skin that was smooth and unblemished along with large brown doe eyes. She had a small button nose and pink lips. She was also very slender from what I could gather. She might even be my height or shorter if it wasn't for the white high-heels she was wearing. She also had on a white button-up long sleeve shirt with black slacks and a simple belt. She barely had any makeup on her face. All in all, she is an extremely beautiful woman.
"You don't know who I am, do you?" She asked me out of nowhere.
"Should I?"
"Well this is the third time we've met." She informed me as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. She led the way and as we walked together I couldn't help but think back to my past. When did I meet her. I know she looks familiar but I can't remember when I met her, and now she tells me this is the third time we've met. How odd.
"Well this is it. Director Fury is already inside waiting for you." She told me with a cocky smile on her face.
"Um, thank you," I tell her as I entered the room. As I walk into Fury's office, I notice that someone else was already inside speaking to him and it was none other than Clint Barton. I smile at Clint, and I took my seat to his right as Fury sat behind his desk facing both of us. I had to admit Fury's office was kind of a letdown. It looked like every other office you see on TV or in a magazine. Nothing special about it really.
"So we're all here today to discuss your future at S.H.I.E.L.D. is there anything you want to ask before we get started?" Fury directs the question to me, and there was only one thing that came to mind.
"Yeah, only one." I told him before looking at Clint as I asked, "Not that I mind but why are you here?"
"Actually kid that's something we'll tell you about in a few minutes. It has to do with the whole job offer." Clint informs me. I nod my head happy with the answer, and I turn back to face Fury.
"Well, first, I'm thankful that you are willing to meet with us today. I know we messed up in the past and I'm glad you're willing to work past that with an open mind." Fury begins, and I nodded my head for him to continue, "That being said we have a lot to go over. Including the training, you'll be going through."
"Training?" I ask Fury.
"Yeah, training." Clint answers for him, "Everyone who joins S.H.I.E.L.D. must go through training. Even Natasha had to go through it, and she used to work at the KGB and she's also considered the most talented spy and assassin in the entire world. It's mandatory for everyone to go through some type of training. Whether it's the bare minimum or in-depth training from level one."
"I'm guessing I'm at level one."
"You're somewhere in the beginning, yes." Fury confirms, "You've worked with us twice now, so you're more accustomed to how we work and who we are than most of the newer recruits, but there are a few things you lack."
"Like what?" I ask them.
"Proper training." Clint replied, "I'm pretty sure you noticed already that you mostly throw your weight around instead of actually focusing it."
"With that being said, I think it would be a good idea to enroll you in one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academies." Fury tells me as he brings out a pamphlet for the school.
"Wait, there's more than one?" I ask no one in general as I look through the overall information about the school.
"There are three different Academies that S.H.I.E.L.D. runs." Fury explains to me, "The first and largest of the three is Communications. They deal with data analysis."
"Basically, they do nothing." Clint interrupts as he rolls his eyes. The look Fury gave him for interrupting him was too funny.
"Um… okay what's the other school then."
"Don't worry about that one." Fury said as he tried to move on.
"Why? What is it?" I ask, "Who knows I might like it."
"It's the Academy of Science and Technology." Clint told me, "To even get in you need at least one Ph.D."
"So basically it's a paradise for Stark and Banner."
"Basically."
"Well okay, then what's next?" I ask them.
"The one I want you to enroll in." Fury tells me as he motions to something behind me. I turn around, and it wasn't until right then that I notice a huge screen behind us that wasn't there before. Maybe Fury's office isn't a let down after all. I wonder what other cool gadgets he has laying around here. On the screen is what I'm assuming is the last S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy. "The Academy of Operations is by far the most difficult of the three."
"What does it involve?"
"How to do fieldwork." Clint tells me, "Basically the stuff Natasha and I do. You would just be doing it on a different level because of your powers."
"Did you go to school there?"
"No, I never even finished High school." said Clint, "But I have been to the school a couple of times to help out, and it's not that bad."
"So what makes it so difficult? I would think the Science one would be the hardest."
"Operations has a very strict regimen and an aggressive approach that the other schools lack." Fury informs me, "By far more people wash out of that program than any other."
"And you think that I can make it?" I turn back around to face Fury because from what it sounds like, this school is almost impossible to pass. I haven't even finished high school yet.
"No, I don't think you can just make it." Fury starts and at first, I was gonna punch him until what he said next, "I believe you will dominate it. You might just be the best agent to come out of the Academy."
"What do you say, kid? Which one do you want to join?" Clint asked me.
I took a moment to think about it. In reality, I have two choices and that included the Academy of Operations or Communications. In all honesty, communication did sound boring. All you do is analyze a bunch of information. Operations, however, is something I can benefit from. I have no fighting skills. All I do is throw my weight around and hope for the best. I can't do that anymore, not with people like Thor and Loki running around. They know how to fight, and they're powerful too. Plus I need to learn better control of my powers if I'm going to carry out my goals. It wasn't a hard decision to make in the end.
"Operations it is then." I tell them, "But don't just teach me about fighting. I need more than that if I want to survive."
"Don't worry, I have that covered." Fury states as he puts a folder on his desk with my name on it. "Inside this folder is a list of things you will need to learn before starting the Academy next semester. Just in case you agreed I already had arrangements made to get you started. This includes temporary living quarters until the school year starts in which you'll move into the campus for the duration of the year. Starting the day after tomorrow at 8:00 am, you will begin learning the basics like Math, Science, English, and History that the Academy requires all of their students to know. At 4:00pm, you'll start learning about the skills and techniques that are also required for all students to know before entering the Academy. On August 1st you will be tested, and if you pass then you will automatically be enrolled into the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy of Operations."
Okay, so all I have to do is pass a test that will be in twenty-three days from now. That's just great. Alright, I can do this it's no big deal, right?
"Alright, so when I'm enrolled in the school, what then?" I ask Fury, "I'm pretty sure my stay at the academy will be a lot different from anybody else."
"You're right. You will be pushed harder than any previous student we had." Fury explains with a stupid smirk on his face. I swear he's enjoying the fact that I'm basically going to be running around every day all day long. "For example every week you will have a test on Friday after school here at the Triskelion. Saturdays mornings you will also have another test, and after that, you will be free to enjoy the rest of your weekend."
"Why am I being pushed harder than everyone else?" I understand my training would be different since I have powers, but why am I getting tested more?
"Because you are an Avenger, the youngest one in fact." Fury states, "I need you to be ready for anything the world might throw at you."
"That's why I'm taking over as your Supervising Officer." Clint jumps in to tell me. Well, that explains why he's here at the meeting. "But I'm also needed on other assignments, so I won't always be here. Usually, when someone becomes SO, they don't receive many assignments, but that isn't the case here."
"Agent Barton is one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best agents, so he has other responsibilities that need to be taken care of other than you. The only reason we made him your SO is that we knew he would be best suited to you. Any other agent we would have assigned is someone you would have ignored. That's a known fact." Fury informs me. I couldn't help but smile at that comment because it sounds like I'm a rogue agent and that's hilarious.
"Technically someone doesn't receive a SO until they graduate from the Academy and start as an agent, but you've already had two assignments, so we thought we would bend the rules just a bit." Clint smirks, "But there will be times I won't be beside you so someone else will be there to pick up the slack."
"Who?"
"You already met her actually." Clint remarks, "Her name is Madelyn Edwards."
"Yeah, I have no idea who that is?"
"Seriously kid she was there on your first assignment."
"She was also the agent who showed you to your room on the Helicarrier."
"Well, now I feel awful," I muttered as I slid down in my chair. Apparently, I've met this woman two other times and… wait a minute, "Is she the agent that brought me up here today."
"So you do remember her," Clint asked me.
"Well, no not exactly." I tell both of the older men, "She had to remind me that we met before. Even then, I couldn't remember who she was until you guys jogged my memory."
Fury shook his head at me, and I could hear Clint let out a deep sigh. It's as if they already gave up on me before I even began. Clint let out the comment about how he shouldn't be surprised, and all I could do was shoot him a look in retaliation.
"Okay, so this Madelyn person what is she supposed to do anyway?"
"I'm going to be your main SO, but she will help out whenever I can't be there to test you or whatever else is needed," Clint explains to me, and really it just sounds like they're my handlers.
"Okay is there anything else I need to know?"
"At the moment, that's all. The rest of the information you need is in this folder." Fury tells me before motioning to Clint, "Agent Barton will take you to your temporary living quarters for now."
All of us stood up from our seats, and for the first time, it seemed as if we were all on the same page. We shook hands and left Fury to the rest of his work. Clint and I didn't speak until after we got into the elevator where he told me that he needed to get something from one of the lower floors. He also told me the day I passed that test that will determine if I get to attend the Academy I will finally get registered in S.H.I.E.L.D. files and be given clearance to certain levels. I'll have to get my pictures taken and everything. But I can't tell anyone about it since normally you can't have clearance until after you graduate.
When the elevator dinged, singling we had reached our destination we got out. We didn't walk too far to reach the room Clint told me about which was a plus. Also, there was almost no one here, so it shouldn't take too long for Clint to get what he needs. Apparently, since I didn't have clearance to this area yet, I couldn't go inside with him, and I had to wait out here.
"It won't take long, I promise," stated Clint before slipping into the room and leaving me behind in the empty hallway. I stood there for about five minutes bored out of my mind. Don't get me wrong I'm a patient person, but I'm kind of hungry, so I want to get out of here as soon as possible. I'm lucky that my stomach didn't decide to practice its rendition of a humpback whale during our meeting but that's mainly to do with the meeting being rather short. Any longer and who knows what type of sounds my stomach will make. I'm just glad no one is here right now and we're about to leave this place. What I would give for a spicy chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-a or chicken nuggets from Mcdonald's. My mouth is watering at the mere thought of food.
"Calliope?" I turn around at the sound of a familiar voice and all thoughts of food leave my mind.
"Steve, what are you doing here?" I ask as I flew towards him. Once I reach him, I kept myself at eye level with him. It took a lot of effort to look up at him so I rather just keep flying than crane my head upward. Clint was easy, he's only like three inches taller than me. Steve, on the other hand, is… how tall is he? I'm gonna have to ask him one of these days.
"Um… I work here now." Steve sheepishly told me.
"Really? I didn't think you would ever work for an organization like S.H.I.E.L.D." It did shock me that Steve was now an agent here. I wonder if we'll work together on an assignment one day.
"Well it took some time, but I finally agreed to work here. I thought it would be the best course of action." Steve responded, but a sudden look of confusion came onto his face as he asked me, "What are you doing here? I doubt S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to catch you."
"Oh well, it seems like you aren't the only one S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to recruit," I explained.
"Really? How did that happen?"
"Long story short I figured it was time to move on with life and to stop living in the past." I said while shrugging my shoulders, "So now I'm going back to school which is S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy of Operations. That's if I pass a test that's in a couple of weeks from now."
"When did this all happen?"
"Oh like 10 minutes ago."
"10 minutes ago!" Steve exclaimed before composing himself once again, "And you came here to get a job dressed like that?"
"And what is that supposed to mean?" I ask him crossing my arms and raising one of my eyebrows.
"Nothing!" Steve tells me as he stumbles over his words. Goodness gracious this man is a mess, but it is kind of funny to watch him trip over his own words. Finally, after a minute of stuttering, Steve regains his composure enough to speak to me again. "It's nothing against you, it's just that, well, when you want to get a job you have to dress to impress. That's all."
I couldn't help but smile at Steve as he tried to explain himself but what he said was true. The only problem is that I don't have the money to buy anything for myself at the moment. Although, there was no way I'm telling him that. So I might as well go a different route if I want to keep him away from the whole I'm homeless situation.
"Look I could come here in my PJ's and S.H.I.E.L.D. would not have cared so long as I accepted the job offer." I joke "Hey maybe that should be my new uniform, my PJ's"
"I doubt that would be a good idea," Steve told me as he moved to lean against the wall to his right. "So are you staying here in D.C.?"
"For now, I guess. That is, until school starts and then I'll only be here during the weekends."
"School, huh?" Steve says as he tilts his head to one side, "Is it for training purposes?"
"Yup, and I'm going to take a wild guess and say you didn't have to go through any of that, did you?" I ask Steve as some of my irritation swept into my voice.
"Well, I was a soldier before all of this, so that could explain it." Steve answered, "But that doesn't mean I'm not going through some type of training here at S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Well, at least I know I'm not the only one going through training then."
"True," Steve smiles, "But I'm a bit confused about one thing."
"What's that?"
"The Academy it's nowhere near here so why would you come back to Washington for the weekends alone."
"Testing purposes." Clint interrupted out of nowhere, "Cap, it's good to see you."
"Likewise agent Barton," Steve said, standing up straight once more. As both men finished greeting each other Clint turned to me stating it was time to go. Clint said goodbye and walked off, but I stayed behind for only a moment longer.
"Well, it was nice seeing you again, Steve."
"It was nice to see you too. Maybe I'll see you again sometime soon." Steve said with a smile, his hand stretched out to meet mine. We shook hands and parted ways after that and I met Clint in the elevator just as he got done pushing the button to for garage.
Once we arrived, we got into his car and left the Triskelion. As we were driving down the road, I couldn't help but think I was missing something. Something important too. That's when it hit me.
"Stop the car!" Out of nowhere, Clint swerved into a nearby parking lot that was for the most part empty.
He looked at me, eyes wide with surprise as he asked, "What? What happened?"
"I forgot that I need to go pick up my backpack." I calmly replied. When I saw Clint's face, I could tell he already gave up on my very existence right then and there.
"Kid you didn't come into the meeting with a backpack on"
"Yeah, because I hid it somewhere else in the meantime."
"Why in the world would you do that?"
"Just in case something went wrong at the meeting, I wanted to make sure my stuff was at a different location. If those things got taken away, I would have to start over from scratch again."
"Again?"
"It's nothing. Look can you just take me 10 blocks down from the Triskelion in the other direction, take a right, and wait for me to get my stuff."
"Sure kid no problem," Clint said as he drove out of the parking lot. We stayed quite the whole way there, which was something I was grateful for. I didn't feel like explaining my living situation to Clint. When we got there, I got out to retrieve my belongings, and afterward, we took off again to my temporary apartment.
"Is that the only thing you need to pick up?" Clint asked me, "If you need me to get some of your other belongings that you may have left behind, you can tell, and I'll go get them."
"Actually it's okay don't worry about it."
"You sure?"
"Yup." I said with a pop.
"Kid?"
"Hmm?"
"Where have you been staying these past two months since the battle?" I froze when he asked me that question. Lying to Clint is so hard to do for some reason. It's not that I'm incapable of lying to the man, it's the fact that he can always see through the lie no matter how good it is. Ignoring him will do me no good either since that will only confirm any suspicion he has. In the end I guess the truth is always the best choice to go with.
"I've been staying all over the place, actually," I told him as I looked out the window.
"So you've been homeless this whole time?" he asked me although it sounded more like a statement.
"Yeah…"
"Want to explain why you didn't ask for help?"
I turn to face him, and I gave him a look. "Why does it matter? I'm here now."
"It matters because for two months you were without a home. Living on the streets with no food, no money and barely any clothes," yelled Clint.
"Please, I wasn't starving, and I went to a homeless shelter to get some sleep." I explained, "Sure, there were a couple of days where I didn't get to eat as much, and I would also have to leave the shelter I was staying at because it was too crowded, but it was okay."
"You still could have called." Clint frowned, and I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. Clint clearly didn't like the fact that I was homeless for two months, but to me it was life. Plus I'm used to being in tough situations like this.
"With what phone?" I pointed out.
I heard him let out a deep sigh before saying, "You wouldn't have called anyways, would you?"
"No, I wouldn't have," I said quietly, as I watched Clint park near a set of apartment buildings. Okay so from what I can tell it will take less than 10 mins to get to the Triskelion from here by car. Neither one of us got out of the car, so we just sat there quietly together.
"I need to know where we are kid." said Clint, "I don't know if you trust me or not. I don't even know how you feel about me being your SO."
"I'm not mad at you anymore if that's what you're wondering."
"What's with the sudden change then."
"What do you mean?"
Clint gave me a hard look when I asked him that as if I should already know the answer to his question. "I mean, I can hardly read you anymore. You went from being one way to another, and now I'm lost."
"I just don't think you're used to me being nice to you anymore," I told him, and I saw Clint's eyes widen in realization. "You're so used to me hating you and being mean to you that this is completely unnerving for you. To have me smile at you again, talk to you, just being in the same room with you and not giving you the stink eye. You're not used to us being friends anymore."
I took a moment to look at Clint, who was my first friend after I met Christopher, and the person who taught me so much about life in such a short amount of time. "I'm not mad at you anymore, Clint." I gently told him.
"You're not?" He whispered.
"No, because I understand it now. Why you did it. Why you couldn't say anything to us. I understand, and I'm sorry." I noticed Clint attempt to say something, but I waved him off and continued with my explanation, "Don't try to say you don't deserve my apology because you do. You didn't deserve anything that I said to you when I was angry. I was mad at the world, at S.H.I.E.L.D. and I chose to place all of that resentment on you."
I looked down at my hands as I continued to explain myself to Clint. "I lost my whole world that day, and it left me bitter and angry. It's not something that simply goes away, I know that now. At least it doesn't go away when you lock yourself up as I did. I was just so sad and angry that I thought I was doing the right thing in shutting the world out, but now I realize that it was just me not accepting the reality of it all. I didn't want to accept a world they couldn't be a part of anymore. I didn't want to be a part of it. I'm sorry that I was mean to you when all you were trying to do was your job as well as being my friend at the same time. That must have been hard for you."
"No, I should have told you about the bomb Calliope." Clint stated, "But I didn't because I was afraid you would hate us for it. Hate me. All I wanted to do was give you kids a better life, and I messed that up. For that, I'm sorry kid."
"Wow, look at us being all emotional." I laughed, "How the mighty have fallen."
"Ha, you're telling me, kid." Clint said laughing along with me, the tense atmosphere surrounding us disappearing at that moment, "I've been manhandled by a couple of teens, mind controlled by an alien psychopath, seen monsters and weirdo's alike stand by my side and fight an alien invasion. I'm through with life."
"Same dude, same." We both laughed for another couple of minutes before a comfortable silence fell between us. "Hey Clint, promise me one thing okay."
"Depends… what is it?"
"No more secrets between the two of us."
"I promise kid. No more secrets."
Hey guys I actually have to admit this chapter was a bit more difficult for me to write just because I didn't want to repeat to much of what I wrote in the past but I needed to explain some things to introduce something else too. Also I hope you like my sneak peak into my new character Madelyn Edwards. P.S. she was inspired by Margaery Tyrell from Game of Thrones. Well until next time bye!