Chapter four: The Avengers Initiative
The car ride to Stark tower was awkward with talk from Phil consisting of question like: So, what's it like being related to Captain America? Have you always known that you were related to Captain America? What's he like as a person? The questioning continued into the elevator as well.
"I swear to God, Phil!" Emma snapped. "Shut up! Agent Coulson - more like Agent Pain In My Ass!"
"I'm sorry," Phil said softly, his cheeks tinged with embarrassment. "I won't bother you again."
"Phil, you know I love you but I told you because I thought you keep a cool head on this," Emma said. "Please, don't prove me wrong."
Phil nodded his head and the questions stopped as they rode the elevator in silence. He pulled out his phone to call Tony but was unable to get through. A minute later, he was finally put through to Tony.
"Stark, we need to talk," Phil told him.
"You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark, please leave a message," Tony's voice floated out from the phone and Emma snorted quietly.
"This is urgent," Phil replied.
"Then leave it urgently," Tony told him as the door the elevators opened and the two agents appeared. "Security breach."
"Mr. Stark," Phil spoke.
"Phil! Come on in!" Pepper greeted.
"Phil? Uh, his first name is Agent," Tony said. "Agent Coulson, who's your girlfriend?"
"Oh no, she's not my girlfriend," Phil replied.
"No, no, God no, I'm fellow Agent Emma Carter," she replied quickly.
"I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that," Phil told her and she grinned in replied.
"Carter? Any relation to the Peggy Carter?" Tony asked.
"Yes, I'm her granddaughter," Emma said faintly and Tony hummed quietly to himself.
"Come on in, we're celebrating," Pepper said. "And it's nice to meet you, Agent Carter."
"Please, call me Emma," she told the red head.
"He can't stay but Emma may," Tony said with a grin towards the other girl.
"Who said that I allowed you to call me Emma? That's Agent Carter to you," she said stiffly. "Be a little nicer and I may let you call me Emma."
"I like you," Pepper said with a grin.
"We need you to look this over," Phil said and held out a file towards Tony.
"I don't like being handed things," Tony said, looking at the file as if it were a foreign object.
"That's alright because I love to be handed things. So let's trade," Pepper said, passing Phil her glass of champagne and taking the file from him then took her glass back from him and passed the file over to Tony. "Thank you."
Emma wondered what Pepper was doing with a guy like Tony, she was far nice than the billionaire superhero.
"The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought and I didn't even qualify," Tony replied.
"I didn't know that either," Pepper said.
"Yeah, apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed, don't play well with others," the egotistical man said.
"That I did know," Pepper said and Emma snorted quietly.
"Whatever. Miss Potts, got a moment?" Tony asked his girlfriend.
Emma and Phil stood off to the side while the couple had their moment to discuss the mission. Emma watched when Tony expanded his arms and different profiles appeared in holographic form floating in the air. Her eyes landed on the video of Captain America in action and suddenly she felt guilty. She hadn't talked to him all day and she wondered if he was missing her at all. Emma looked away when they kissed goodbye and then Pepper left with the two agents in tow.
THE NEXT DAY. . .
Emma rode in the Quinjet with Phil and her grandfather, watching as Steve held a tablet watching the footage of the Hulk's attack on the Army at Culver University. She felt guilty for him being dragged into this. He was just starting to get used to the time period, well sort of, and he now here was; getting pushed into this chaotic lifestyle. Phil stood up from his seat and walked over to Steve.
"So, this Doctor Banner was trying to replicate the serum that was used on me?" Steve asked and Emma hear the slight guilt in his voice.
"A lot of people were. You were the world's first superhero. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula," Phil told him.
"Didn't really go his way, did it?" Steve asked.
"Not so much. When he's not that thing though, guy's like a Stephen Hawking," Phil replied and Steve looked at him in confusion. "He's like a smart person. I got to say, it's an honor to meet you, officially. I sort of met you, I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping."
"Phil, we've talked about this," Emma hissed as she hit her hand with her forehead.
Steve stood up, closing the tablet, and walked to the side with Phil following.
"I mean, I was . . . I was present while you were unconscious from the ice. You know, it's really, it's just a. . . just a huge honor to have you on board," Phil said.
"I'm so sorry, Steve. Obviously the 's' in SHIELD stands for Stalking," Emma said shaking her head at her friend and Phil glared at her.
"No, it's alright," Steve told his granddaughter. "I just hope I'm the man for the job."
"Oh, you are. Absolutely. Uh. . . we've made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input," Phil said.
"The uniform? Aren't the stars and stripes a little . . . old fashioned?" Steve asked.
"With everything that's happening, the things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old fashioned," Phil told him and Emma grinned at her friend, this was why they were friends.
Steve took in Phil's sentiment as he took his seat next to Emma.
"I'm sorry you got dragged into this," Emma told him.
"Don't be. I'm glad to help. I wouldn't be Captain America if I didn't help out," Steve said.
"Yeah, but you're not always going to be Captain America," Emma said. "Right?"
"I don't know," he said softly and she laid her head on his shoulder.
The Quinjet landed down on a massive looking battleship. Phil, Steve, and Emma walk down the ramp, meeting up with Natasha Romanoff. Emma's eyes widened slightly as she laid eyes on the Black Widow. She had seen her around SHIELD but she had never actually spoken to her.
"Agent Romanoff. Captain Rogers and Agent Carter," Phil introduced.
"Ma'am?" Steve spoke politely.
"Hi," Natasha greeted and then turned to the other two agents. "Coulson, they need you on the bridge, Face time."
"See you there," Phil said to the others.
He walked away leaving Steve and Emma with Natasha, walking towards the railing of the ship.
"There was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was going to swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?" Natasha asked and Emma groaned.
"I completely forgot about those," Emma said shaking his heads.
"Trading cards?" Steve asked.
"They're vintage, he's very proud," she replied.
They walked up to Dr. Banner who looked nervous as hell being around all of these people.
"Dr. Banner," Steve greeted, shaking his hand.
"Oh, yeah, hi. They told me you'd be coming," Dr. Banner replied.
"Word is you can find the cube," Steve said, getting down to business.
"Is that the only word on me?" Dr. Banner asked.
"Only word I care about," Steve replied.
"People have compared you to Stephen Hawking," Emma spoke up and Dr. Banner chuckled, looking rather flattered.
"Must be strange for you, all of this," Dr. Banner said.
"Well, this is actually kind of familiar," Steve told him.
"Gentlemen, you may want to step inside in a minute. It's going to get a little hard to breath," Natasha said and suddenly the helicarrier started shaking as it prepared to sail.
"Is this a submarine?" Steve asked.
"Really? They wanted me in a submerged pressurized metal container?" Dr. Banner asked.
They moved closer to the edge of the helicarrier. Four huge lift fans mounted on the sides started to lift into the air in flight. Steve watched in awe as Banner smiled.
"Oh, no this is much worse," he said.
"Suddenly I wished it were a submarine," Emma spoke and the others looked at her. "What? I'm slightly afraid of heights."
The helicarrier rose high into the heavens. Suddenly, the entire ship was covered in reflecting mirrors, which then camouflaged in the sky.