"I had no idea the train was coming! All those people- I had to do something right? I mean you're a hero too, Miss Walters. We have a duty to protect people! And I'm really good at swinging!"
Jennifer nods and lifts a hand. The boy is full of spunk and she already likes him.
His aunt seems equally as passionate, reminding Jen of her own.
May reaches for Walters' paperwork;
"It's alright, Peter. Take a breath every once in a while. So, where are the hidden fees; I doubt this covers everything, sounds too good to be true. Where do you get us?"
Jennifer folds her hands on top of her desk and crosses a knee, "I don't 'get' you, I help you. And if you want my help, that's the cost. I'm not a mean person, I do payment plans. I don't think Peter's case is a difficult one-."
The boy turns between the lawyer and his aunt, interrupting the former, "I really just wanted to save the people on the bus- It was on instinct. I didn't really have time to stop and think about the property damage."
Jen offers a smile, "Some people are very ungrateful."
She lifts a photograph of the incident, rotating it sideways to get a better view of the red mask over his face;
"Do you need a bit of a suit upgrade? I might have a contact…"
"I don't think he needs a suit," May chuckles.
Jennifer moves to answer but her ringing phone cuts her off. Seeing Lucy's girlfriend's name pop up on her screen is never a good sign, even if said girl is the daughter of Trish Walker, one of her closest friends.
"I need to take this," the lawyer stands with an apology for Peter Parker and his aunt, slipping into the hallway;
"Hello?"
'Miss Jenny, I'm so sorry to bother you,' the young woman starts with a sigh.
"It's okay, what's up?"
' I haven't heard from Lucy in a few days and I'm getting worried. I drove by the apartment and she wasn't home.'
Jen circles outside her office, trying to keep her voice low, "Have you tried her father?"
She sighs again, 'No. Not yet. I'm sure she's fine, I don't mean to worry you.'
I'm sure it's fine..the usual. I'm sorry to bother you."
"It's okay Jessie, you don't have to apologize. Check in with…her father and let me know? I'll call if I hear anything."
'Okay, same here…bye.'
"Bye."
Jennifer lowers her phone with an exhausted sigh. She recognizes the figures standing in front of her.
"Ma'am," the blonde tips his head first.
"Steve…Sam, hi."
Sam Wilson toys with his goggles, "Is it a stressful day?"
She fumbles with her device, swearing under her breath when she hears Lucy's voicemail inbox is full, "I'm just dealing with typical- mother/daughter issues. What are you boys doing here?"
He shrugs and addresses the clients on her office through the window;
"I figured I'd stop by. To see what the smartest lawyer in New York City looks like when she's in her element...still green apparently."
"Always green," she corrects with a bit of a far off stare and her mind still on Lucy.
Steve extends an invitation in her direction, "Actually we're here to let you know about the Stark event. We're all invited."
"So, Tony's in town…and he wants to see us,' she looks shocked, 'that's surprising."
"Suspicious, if you ask me. Which is why it would be great if you could, come, and attend at bare minimum. Having the She Hulk around could detract any unwanted guests. SHIELD is the registered security for the event."
"Wow, Tony. I haven't talked to him since…,' she drifts in thought, 'I'm a little busy with a client, send me the details and let me get back to figuring out where the hell my daughter is-."
Sam lifts a hand, "Do you need me to scan the city for Lucy? You seem worried."
The lawyer forces a laugh, "You might need to scan the whole country, knowing her. But don't, please. She's a grown woman now...if she needs anything she'll call me,... right? She has her own place, she doesn't need me... She has made that very clear…"
"Ma'am?" Steve checks in cautiously with a bit of worry.
"We're good. This is fine…"
"I can drive by her apartment this evening. I have an invitation for her as well."
Jen nods, reaching for the handle to her conference room, "Sure. Why not? I'll let Jessie know Captain America is on the case…"
"Deja vu."
"You and me both," Maria scoffs over an agent's plain remark, watching the figure on their screen swinging into the desired building to collect her intel.
Their figure has the moves, the means, and the skill to tackle her victims in an extremely familiar manner. And the suit doesn't help the resemblance to her favorite mentor, Natasha Romanoff.
The familiarities only stop when she pivots to manage the desk area. Her hand feels for the contents of the drawers.
The Blind Bandit (coined by the nerdy Garrett Barton) has managed to quickly work her way to the top. A master spy and super soldier in training. Using her heightened abilities to read her surroundings, collect information- all with the goal of taking HYDRA down and avenging her friend and mentor.
Riley moves quickly, silently responding to the order her adoptive mother gives over the communicator;
"Get out. Agent Marks is ready to disembark."
Maria tries to keep her more motherly worries out of her tone while they're at work.
The day that the adoption contract 'expired', Riley applied for SHIELD's official training program and was immediately accepted. Her focus is and has always been to take down HYDRA, to go toe to toe with the human bomb, Linda, who keeps evading her.
Maria almost loses her breath mid work day, whipping around too fast in her standing position to see Garrett Barton standing behind her.
She clutches her chest when her heart jumps;
"How did you get in here?!"
He shrugs and snaps his gum, Maria's eye twitches as soon as spots a bouquet of tulips in his hold, "Is Riley back yet?"
"No," Maria hands a tablet over to one of her fellow agents.
She waves to signal her team to keep the doors locked next time, in no mood for interruptions.
"I can wait," Garrett moves to sit on a nearby bench.
Maria forces a smile and takes the flowers, "She'll be a few hours- days, even! So, if that's okay with you, I'll take those, thank you for stopping by but off to Maine you go. Tell your mother I said 'hello'."
Garrett laughs, tucks a hand into his jacket pocket and shrugs, "Okay. I guess I'll call her. I'm in New York for the weekend. Dad and I, we're hunting upstate- and I'd like to see Riley. Would you tell her I came by?"
"Mmhm, sure," Maria holds her forced expression and rushes him to the door.
Moments after forcing Garrett to leave, Riley comes through the back door.
Her dark hair tied up in a tight bun, wearing one of the infamous suits of the Black Widow with the once red hourglass painted teal.
She bites her gloves off, "Mission accomplished."
Maria scrambles to toss the flowers onto the desk and leads her daughter in the opposite direction with a hand on Riley's shoulder.
The young girl frowns as her nose squishes;
"I smell tulips."
An agent interrupts, "Garrett is in New York. He just stopped by."
Riley's face lights up. She pivots. The Tower is her second home at this point as the new SHIELD homebase. She knows every room, every path.
She extends her hand out and Maria feels a need to lead her to the desk with little direction.
Riley reaches to feel for the stems and the small tag attached. It's punched in Braille. Badly punched, but an attempt nonetheless. Based on Riley's reaction he's written something sweet.
Maria crosses her arms disapprovingly and glares at her employee. The agent ducks out and moves to sort through the data Riley collected on her mission.
Riley lifts a flower to feel for the bulb, her eyes clouded over when she turns to face the direction of Maria's voice;
"You weren't going to tell me."
Hill rolls her eyes, "Do not read my mind without permission."
"Garrett is sweet."
"I don't have a problem with him,"she tugs at the bottom of her long sleeve shirt.
Riley shifts, unable to hide her giddy smirk when she asks, "What color are they?"
"Yellow," Maria steps beside her daughter, "Why Garrett?"
Riley responds with sarcasm, "I graduated last year and he's still around."
"I never said he wouldn't be-."
"You thought he'd leave me. Multiple times. Like it or not he is the endgame. We are getting married one day and we want one child, two dogs, and our own cabin in the mountains."
Maria holds her head, feeling Riley trying to breach again, "Does he have a job yet?"
"All you do is pick on him. Garrett Barton learned braille for me. He's personally delivering flowers. If you'd just accept his application, he'd have the job you're so worried about."
"I can't arm him with a gun, and with Hydra's continuous attacks? SHIELD simply is not the place for him. It's not about his abilities, or lack thereof, it's about his safety."
She pauses to take a deep breath. "I'm inviting him to the Stark Gala if he's in town. He'll be my plus one."
"Of course."
"How'd I do on the field?"
Maria smiles proudly, wishing Riley would breach her mind in that moment to understand the depth of her love and affection;
"Great. Go check in with the medical team and then you can clock out. Tai, for dinner tonight?"
"Cool."
Hill sighs once she's left alone, snatching up the makeshift note from Garrett to translate it for herself.
Izabella blows her hair away from her forehead, handing Svetlana her medicine with a bit of coaxing in her mother tongue. It's harsh, a little threatening but it does its job. Svetlana takes the capsule with a grumble and a shaky hand, swallowing her pills.
Izabella's aunt is too young to be this ill. And if things were different, she'd warp her aunt to Betty Ross 2.0 for a cure, but her powers are rusty from lack of usage...and she has no desire to dust them off.
Taking off her scrubs from class, Izabella changes into a skirt and snatches up the jacket on the rack, heading out for her monthly trip to the cemetery.
With her new shorter hair highlighted with a hint of red for her late mentor. The same crystal hangs around her neck with the same stones.
Svetlana's standard four door vehicle has become hers, saving up for their senior cat's upcoming surgery and better care for Svetlana.
Next on her list of todos is to seek out those pesky orange calla lilies to lay at the headstone labeled for The Hulk and the Black Widow. Even Alex has a mention.
It's the same way she used to care for her actual parent's graves back home in Russia. She blames herself for all of it, and after all that has occurred throughout the past few years she has given up.
Imagining them together with their dog gives her some sort of solace, cleaning their area and adding fresh flowers to the front of each headstone.
A fresh black rose tells her that Fury is hovering nearby.
He's not as frequent of a visitor, but Izabella knows when he's missing his daughter, their visits will collide.
"Natasha would hate all of this fuss. I'm imagining her flipping us off."
Izabella chuckles with a closed mouth grin and brushes the dirt from off her hands, "Graves are not for the dead; they exist for the living. To help us cope. Keep those we love alive."
Her English is practically perfected though, her Russian accent will always be thick and come through with every word.
Fury barely reacts and refuses to respond to her statement. With a small pivot he lifts a finger;
"Tony Stark; he's in town for a gala Saturday night. You should go."
She laughs nervously, "Stark does not want to see me. I have failed him over twenty times…twenty dimensions."
"I wouldn't be so sure,' he hums, 'People grow, they move on."
"We haven't," she mumbles and adjusts her green coat, one of Natasha's.
The man nods, handing her an invitation after a moment, "Think about it. You might see a few familiar faces. It should be nice-."
"You're just wishing for the apocalypse, now," Izabella jokes.
"Kid."
"I don't think anyone but Steve has forgiven me," she checks the front of the invitation envelope, taking in between her fingers.
Fury grins, "You remind me of Banner when I sent Romanoff to Calcutta."
"Fussy and sarcastic?"
Nick shakes his head.
Izabella bites her lip, "Was their inevitable Chitauri victory and wedding all a part of your master plan?"
He shrugs coyly, "It worked out."
"Didn't you send them after me, too?"
"Among other missions."
Izabella lowers her head and opens the invitation to read its contents, moving her hair out of her face.
He circles a hand over Natasha's stone while he reads the etching he's read so many times, "Riley and Director Hill are still hunting down HYDRA. Tony's event could give us a break-."
"-I'm sorry, I'm not interested in being a hero."
"…You need to be a little braver, Miss Mikhailov. Think about it. For Banner's sake, Tony's old pal."
Izabella bites her lip. That hurts and she's not entirely sure why. It's as if she's letting her 'father' down by not matching his achievements in some way;
"I messed up. They're gone because of me."
He waits in silence. With a tap on her shoulder he pivots to leave, "They are gone because of HYDRA. You did your best, no one is perfect."
Izabella sighs over the thought and fiddles with the emerald stone on her necklace. Fury knows how to hit a nerve...
"Honey, I'm home," Lucy deadpans and throws her keys onto the floor.
Jessica Walker throws the phone from her lap and into the window, mid rage with her eyes wide;
"Where, THE HELL, have you been?! I called your mother because I was worried!"
Lucy snorts, looking physically off with her dilated pupils, and smudged eyeliner, "You are so dramatic. Why the fuck would you call my mother?"
"You were gone for days, Lucy! Four days,' Jessie shouts and backs up, holding her girlfriend back from her attempts at kissing her, 'Can you be serious?!"
Lucy groans loudly and collapses onto the couch in her camo sweats, combat boots and dark tank top stained with dirt and a little blood. Her hair is still a pixie cut with floppy bangs, one blue tinge down the middle of her dark almost black hair.
"Where were you?" Jessie maintains eye contact and sits in front of her, "Can you sit up and have a conversation with me?"
"No," Lucy grumbles and clears her throat. Forcing herself to sit up, she reaches into her bra to pull out clumps of cash.
Jessie huffs a sigh, "So, you're illegally fighting, again. What happens if you get stuck in the red zone?! What if you seriously hurt someone!"
The Jameson girl rolls her eyes and moves for the fridge;
"You won't be whining when I have rent paid on time."
"I can cover your rent. I need you to be safe, look at me!"
Lucy sips a beer, "I'm looking!"
Jessie pinches her temples, borderline on edge. If she could win a fist fight she'd start one;
"I have been by your side since our freshman year! I've stood by you through so much; your parents divorce, during your arrests- Lucy! Stop doing what you're doing for a second and look at me!"
Lucile is laughing, numb to her own pain and unable to process emotion.
Jessica shakes her head, "I'm trying to talk to you, and you can't stay in the present with me."
"What do you want from me?!" Lucy snaps angrily, squeezing her beer can until it cracks, "Why are you being so dramatic right now?!"
"…you think I'M being dramatic right now."
Jessie points to herself. She's somewhere between a complete breakdown and bawling there in the studio kitchen.
Lucy nods, "Yeah? You're dramatic."
Her girlfriend shakes her head and barely stops her lip from quivering, "I'm worried about you."
"So you called my mother, who I'm not talking to right now."
"Why not? What did she do that was so terrible-!"
"Get the fuck out, Jess!"
The other woman closes her eyes in a failed attempt to stop a tear from falling down her cheek, "Okay."
Lucy scrambles, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean any of that-."
"I'm done, Lucy."
She pivots to block Jessie from the door, "No! Please. Please Jess, don't go. I love you!"
Jessica shakes her head with fierce eyes, "Other than beating people to a pulp, I don't think you even know what you love."
"Why would you say that?!"
She lifts a finger, "Get out of my way. I've stood by your side-."
"-I love you! Jess, stop-."
"If you really loved me? You'd listen to me. You'd call me when you're running late. You'd talk to me, confide in me."
"Jess, please."
"I hope you figure it out Lucy, I really do. But I can't do this anymore. I deserve so much better."
Lucy snaps when she's pushed away from the door, "You won't find better!"
"Asshole."
"You know what?! Go. Fine. I don't care!"
"I know,' her eyes are full of tears and disappointment when her voice lowers, 'I loved you, Lucy. That's what hurts the most about all of this. I'm going to let your mother know you're alive but after that I never want to hear from you or family, ever again-."
"You don't mean that."
"I do. Goodbye Lucy."
Jameson slams the door behind Jessica with gritted teeth. She grips her hair and starts to scream at the top of her lungs. She's a little drunk and a bit high from her night. Blood on her cheek from her last victim.
This isn't the first time Jessica Walker- the daughter of the infamous Patsy Walker- has walked out on her but it certainly feels like the last. And with her mind racing in a million different directions, rather than being able to process or hunt down the woman she's loved for the past few years, she stands to grab another drink.
The remote is swooped up next, small television with its broken screen flicking on.
Riley Park-Proctor-Hill shows up on the screen in her teal Widow uniform with a red line rolling across the bottom, 'Blind Bandit strikes again'. She's praised for being a hero, judged for her fashion sense.
Riley shamelessly corrects the press who interview her, clarifying that she is Korean for the millionth time.
Lucy snickers and sits back on her sofa over the next topic being Antonia Vivian Stark and her newest apparel launch.
Lucy adds in her head, "Spoiled little 8 year old princess. You go girl."
Jessie's words ring in her ear...Lucy shuts her television in another ADD/ADHD moment, checking her phone when it dings. It's a text from her mother so she ignores it.
The knock on the door receives a mumble and a groan, "Lucy's not here!"
There's another knock.
"If that's you, mom, I so swear-!"
She's swings the door open, bra strap slipping;
"Steeb?!"
"Woah," Rogers quickly covers his eyes with a hand and turns around. Not entirely sure if it's merited or not due to her disheveled and intoxicated appearance.
She hiccups.
He turns back to face her and nods, one eye peeking from between his fingers, "Ma'am."
He's not exactly who she had in mind but it's still company. She adjusts her strap and opens the door a little wider;
"Do you want to come in?"
"Thank you," he takes a step inside her train wreck of a studio apartment. She could use an intervention.
"Mom sent you?"
"Well…yes."
She tucks her chin and invites him further inside with a flourish, "Do you wanna drink?"
"No, thank you."
"Your loss."
"How have..uh,' he eyes the crumpled cash thrown on the table, 'how have you been?"
Lucy grabs her bottle, "You know, the girlfriend just broke up with me. Mom's blowing up my phone. Dad wants me back in Cali, I just got bailed out of prison by a buddy of mine. And I made about a thousand bucks in some street fights-bucks as in money, I didn't make a thousand of your little war buddy boyfriends."
Steve frowns, his mind still processing.
"Uh..I," he manages to compose himself, taking a seat on the crooked barstool, "Miss Jameson, if you ever want to talk-."
"Ha! No. I've done the whole talking thing! It doesn't work. Shocking, I know. Especially because I love to talk."
Steve nods patiently, "Yeah...Well. The offer stands."
"Thanks," she takes another sip from the bottle, exposing a tribal tiger tattoo on her wrist.
Steve crosses his arms and offers a smile, "I'm here to invite you to a Stark event."
She snorts, "Another one?"
"Have you heard from Tony?"
Lucy cringes and flips her device running on 2% battery life, "He just kinda ditched us, didn't he?"
"We could use some backup in case something goes wrong during his event-."
She nearly sends her drink down the wrong pipe, "So, you're inviting me to work, not to party…"
"A bit of both. Primarily the latter."
She cringes, "You asked Izzy too, didn't you? We're not friends anymore just for the record."
"-With HYDRA on our tail, we really need our bench players to be reunited. That's you. That's Riley. It's Brody…Before things get bad."
Lucy visibly weighs her options with a laugh and a seesaw motion of her neck, "That was Izzy's thing; the whole 'I can be a hero' thing, and she failed epically. Riley could be ten times the killer bee she is right now if I didn't sting her...You know what I'm capable of. More than anyone else in this world."
"And I trust you."
His words strike a chord. Trust...that's a word she hasn't heard in forever. Not from her girlfriend, her parents…
Steve knows he has her half convinced, he's planted a metaphorical seed so with a swift knock on the table he moves to stand;
"I'll be there Saturday. I'll have Sam send the details."
"I'll think about it, would that make you happy, good old' Cap, my man? My main man with a plan?"
Steve nods with a smile, "That's all I ask."
She salutes as he exists. He knows his way around by now.
It's not the first time Steve has had to find her apartment, the first when she was stranded on the side of Queens Boulevard, the second when she drunk texted him instead of her girlfriend. He's the equivalent of a chill uncle in her mind. Someone who watches out for her…
She imagines Bruce would be the same way. Except, he'd be able to coach her, help her to control her powers.
Lucy checks the label on her bottle…
Steve trusts her.
But she's no hero, she's never done anything to merit said trust or the title. Why would he come to her for help with HYDRA or the gala?
She rolls her eyes, at least there would be a free booze.