I don't own Avengers or anything Marvel related!
Both men stood next to Evelyn, each had one hand braced against the metal beam above their heads. She shot Phil a look behind Steve's back and rolled her eyes as she gestured toward the wall where Captain America's shield and uniform were hanging.
"Ah- we made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input," Phil turned back around to lead Steve toward the wall.
Steve followed him and surveyed the uniform, taking in the overall effect, "The uniform? Aren't the stars and stripes a little...old-fashioned?"
Phil shook his head slightly and shrugged, "Everything that's happening, the things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old-fashioned."
Steve nodded and took in his words as his gaze drop to the shield, his fingers flexing as if he missed the weight of it on his arm.
"Sir, we're about to land in a moment," the pilot said, cutting off the conversation as all three of them looked toward the cockpit window to see Helicarrier coming into view.
Through the cockpit of the jet, Evelyn could see that they were about to land on a massive aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean. As the pilot maneuvered their jet into a sweeping arc, positioning it for landing, a massive S.H.I.E.L.D. symbol came into view, emblazoned across the tarmac in bright white paint.
Evelyn's grip on one of the handles in the cockpit tightened as she realized how short the runway was compared to the normal ones she was used to at airports. She looked over her shoulder and saw Phil and Captain Rogers discussing something as they watched some video footage of Loki. They seemed completely unconcerned by the fact that the jet was about to land on a too small runway, on a ship, in the middle of the Atlantic ocean.
"Agent Coulson, we're about to land. You all should strap in," the very young pilot informed them over his shoulder as he flipped two switches.
Evelyn tried to keep calm as she sat down and strapped herself in. The logical side of her brain kept telling her, it's fine, he's a trained pilot, there's no way he's gonna miss the tarmac; while the less logical side was tempted to grab a parachute and life jacket just in case. Giving in to that side, she scanned the wall opposite her for the closest parachute and sighed in relief as she found it secured next to Captain Rogers head. She momentarily let her head drop forward and looked up again to find him observing her.
"First time?" He asked with a half smile casually adjusting the X shaped straps of the seatbelt.
She nodded sharply and held her breath as the jet began to descend.
"I'm fine with ships and I'm fine with planes. But I just realized I really don't like them together," she wrapped her fingers around the straps crossing over her shoulders.
She inhaled deeply as the jet touched down and held her breath again as the irrational side of her brain told her she needed the oxygen for when they slid off the runway and landed in the water in a few seconds.
Over the rumbling of the wheels against the tarmac, Captain Rogers said, "If we end up in the water, I promise I'll save you first."
Even with her eyes shut, she could hear the smile in his voice.
"You better not be laughing at me, Captain"
"Of course not, Doctor." He replied, his voice much closer. "What's there to laugh at?" It sounded like he was speaking directly into her ear now.
She opened her eyes, surprised to hear him so close to her and realized he was sitting on the bench next to her.
"I'm sure you'll notice we're not in the ocean," He said nodding to the windows in the cockpit through which she could see people in bright orange uniforms walking past the jet. Captain Rogers stood up as she slowly released her death grip on the seatbelt straps. Her fingers were pale but rapidly turned pink as the blood returned to them, highlighting the deep nail indentations in her palms. She squeezed her hands together to get rid of the deep gouges.
"Come on, Evelyn. I know you like the jet but we can't stay here all day," Phil said sarcastically as he grabbed a duffel bag off the floor.
She shot him a dirty look and pressed the seatbelt buckle to release it.
"I knew I shouldn't have listened to you about coming here," She grabbed her bag and joined Phil and Captain Rogers at the back of the jet where the ramp was descending. The thin sliver of bright white light grew larger until all three of them were squinting against the sun. As they stepped out of the jet, Evelyn realized they were in the middle of a flurry of activity. Various personnel wearing different types of S.H.I.E.L.D. uniforms were walking around, speaking into radios, strapping down jets and other containers.
Phil grabbed her bag in his other hand and passed both off to a man in a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform who had just approached them.
"Shaw, can you take these down to the bridge?" He asked, "We'll be down there in a second."
"Yes, sir," Shaw nodded and made his way across the tarmac, crossing paths with a woman with bright red hair who was walking toward them.
The salty wind from the ocean whipped Evelyn's hair around her face until she was forced to hold it back with one hand. Even though the sun was too bright to make out any features on the red-headed woman's face, Evelyn recognized her instantly from the way she moved, Natasha Romanoff.
Keeping her eyes trained on Natasha, Evelyn tilted her head toward Phil, "She's a redhead now." It was more of a question than a statement, but there was no need for Phil to answer her. Still, he lifted one shoulder casually as if to say yeah. She's a redhead now, and stepped forward to make introductions.
"Agent Romanoff- Captain Rogers."
"Ma'am." Steve nodded at Natasha.
Natasha smiled briefly and said hi to him before she turned to Evelyn.
"It's been a while, Doctor" Natasha surveyed Evelyn with a shrewd look. "I didn't know we were expecting you."
Evelyn pushed her hair behind her ear and looked at Natasha with an impassive expression. She shrugged and said, "I wasn't expecting me either."
Natasha narrowed her eyes momentarily, then addressed Phil. "They need you on the bridge; they're starting the face trace."
Phil looked at Evelyn, "You should come with me, Evie. Natasha, I'll see you down there."
Evelyn nodded at both Captain Rogers and Natasha and turned to walk with Phil.
Phil and Evelyn walked in silence for a few seconds, both observing the people rushing around them in all directions. Everyone was either wearing at least one article of clothing bearing the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo or a black suit, identical to Coulson's.
In a flash of self-consciousness, Evelyn looked down at what she was wearing- a loose white button-down with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows tucked into a pair of fitted navy jeans and tan leather ankle boots with a slight heel.
"This was a bad idea, Phil. I'm underdressed, I'm not going to be useful. I don't work with superheroes, I work with normal people. And- I can't imagine Fury wants me here any more than I want to be here." She took a deep breath and was about to continue when she realized Phil didn't seem to notice that she had spoken.
"Phil, did you hear what I said? I should leave." She repeated with a furrowed brow, confused by his lack of reaction at her words.
"That's Dr. Banner," Phil said suddenly, nodding toward a man in a purple button down. Banner was nervously rubbing his hands together as he tried, unsuccessfully, to avoid bumping into people.
"Given his condition," Phil continued, "I'm sure he would rather leave as well. I can't make any of you stay here if you don't want to, but I think you made the choice to come here for a reason. If you still want to leave though, the jet's back that way," Phil gestured in the direction they had just come from.
"Ugh, I hate that you're right," Evelyn groaned and shoved her hands into her back pockets as they approached a set of large, steel doors.
Phil flipped open a biometric scanner next to the door and pressed his palm to it as he let out a relieved sigh, "Thank god you said that because I actually can't let you leave," The doors slid open and he gestured to let Evelyn go ahead of him. "We're about to take off in a few minutes."
"This thing flies?" Evelyn stopped short and turned to him with a blank look.
"It's a Helicarrier, You won't notice it when we're up in the air." He gently pushed her through the doors with a hand at her back.
"Perfect," she nodded as her mind started filling up with all sorts of disaster scenarios again.
He hasn't changed at all, Evelyn thought as she and Phil stepped onto the bridge and saw Fury in his customary black trench coat. Same posture, same jacket and probably the same eyepatch. He was standing in the center of the room with large screens all around him flashing updates and warnings - all of which he ignored as he barked orders at three men furiously typing on their computers.
Maria Hill was standing at Nick's right side. His loyal and ever-present right-hand man, or rather, woman. She was rapidly speaking into her earpiece as she flipped through images on one of the screens.
As Phil approached them, a voice projected through the intercom warning everyone on board to secure their position for takeoff.
Evelyn followed behind, trying to compose herself. This is it, she thought. First time since the funeral. A sudden burst of sadness and disgust welled up inside her, closing around her throat in a choking grip. She inhaled deeply. A voice that sounded suspiciously like Jackson's rang through her head. Pull your shit together, Evie. Only fools show their weakness. She schooled her face into a well-practiced, detached expression and hoped her voice would match it.
The hand around her throat clamped down tighter as Fury turned around, but she couldn't tell if that was because the helicarrier had begun to rise into the air or because Fury's gaze narrowed when it landed on her. She continued forward until she was steps away from Fury. Phil looked between the two, face to face again after seven years.
Evelyn held out her hand and spoke in an calm, emotionless tone, "Director Fury."
"Doctor Clark," He took her hand, "Commander Hill will brief you."
As he released her hand and turned back to the large windows at the front of the Helicarrier, she felt the choking grip around her throat lessen somewhat. She swallowed and turned to face Maria Hill who had pulled out a small black case and handed it to Phil along with a file bearing the official S.H.I.E.L.D. insignia.
"Phil, that's your earpiece," she tapped the black case, "And they're running the face trace down there." She pointed at two computers a few yards away flashing through thousands of pictures.
Maria grabbed Evelyn's arm and pulled her toward another set of doors saying, "I'm going to show Evelyn where she can work."
The doors opened into an empty hallway where Maria took a left and slid open another door- this time into a sterile looking room full of medical equipment and Evelyn's bag.
Before Evelyn could speak, Maria wrapped her arms around her and squeezed stood still, shocked at the emotion from the other woman.
"I can't believe you came," Maria said, pulling back with a smile to hold Evelyn by the shoulders. "I missed you, Evie. I'm so glad you're here."
Evelyn jolted forward and hugged her again. If there was one person who knew how much she missed Jackson, it was Maria. They had joined S.H.I.E.L.D. together, Maria had been his partner for years and at the very end, she had told Evelyn about Jackson's death. Maria had become a sort of big sister to her when Jackson was undercover and unable to respond. Evelyn was sure Maria would have continued being a big sister if Evelyn had let her.
The first few months after Evelyn left S.H.I.E.L.D. Maria had begged her to come back. But Evelyn, in her anger and heartbreak, had ignored every single phone call and e-mail. When Maria had taken it upon herself to track Evelyn down in Minnesota, Evelyn had slammed the door in her face and begged Maria through tears to please leave her alone. The phone calls had stopped after that, and Evelyn assumed Maria had cut her losses and moved on. It was clear now, however, that neither of them had forgotten or wanted to forget one another.
"I'm sorry," Evelyn whispered against Maria's shoulder, "I'm sorry I never talked to you."
Evelyn pulled back and gently shoved Maria's shoulder, trying to cover up the emotion in her voice with a laugh, "But look at you now- Commander Maria Hill."
Maria let out a soft laugh and shrugged, "It just means I get to make decisions that make people angry."
"It's more than that and you know it. I'm proud of you Maria. I'm happy for you," Evelyn said sincerely.
Maria smiled at her slightly and shook her head, snapping back into Commander-mode. She pulled out a second black case, similar to the one she had given Phil moments earlier. "Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D. Dr. Clark. Here is your earpiece," She handed the case to Evelyn. "Your biometrics have been keyed into the database. You'll have Level 8 clearance so you'll be able to access almost everything on board the helicarrier."
Evelyn paused in the middle of putting on her earpiece and looked at Maria in surprise, "I was Level 7 when I left."
"By my authority, you're Level 8 now," Maria said firmly with a decisive nod.
"Everything you need should be in this room. I'll introduce you to your staff in a few minutes. Congratulations, Evelyn, you're officially the head of the Avengers medical team." Maria grabbed Evelyn's hand and shook it. "Make sure they don't die."
Maria had called the rest of the medical team into the high-tech med bay and introduced Evelyn before she headed back to the bridge to monitor the face trace.
Evelyn had spent the last hour familiarizing herself with the S.H.I.E.L.D. databases and technology and was now swiping through a tablet, looking over what she needed to know about each of the Avengers when the door slid open. Bruce Banner walked in and froze when he saw his surroundings- he looked confused by all the medical equipment
"Dr. Banner, right?" Evelyn asked from where she was sitting on one side of the room, apparently not in his field of vision.
He startled slightly and spun to see who spoke, not expecting anyone to be in the room. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought this was my lab." He said, as he backed out.
She smiled and she stood up. "Don't worry about it, come on in. I'm Evelyn Clark."
"I'm sorry Ms. Clark, I was just trying to find my way back."
"It's Doctor Clark, actually. But please call me Evelyn."
"Bruce," he smiled at her and looked around, rubbing his hands down his thighs. "So what do you do here?"
"I'm on the medical team. I'm trying to learn everything about the Avengers right now," She joked, holding up the tablet.
"Ah," Bruce nodded, "I'm sure you have… questions," He said hesitantly as if daring her to ask him about the Hulk.
"None that need answering at the moment," She said, putting the tablet down, "Although, I do have a favor to ask- can I see your lab? The rest of the med staff is being useful and all I'm supposed to do is read" She said. "I finished a while back so…" she shrugged.
"If I can find it, you're more than welcome to see it," he replied with a laugh as they walked toward the door.
Next time:
Evelyn watched in horror as Loki created multiples of himself to box in the crowd. Innocent people dressed in evening gowns and tuxedos were screaming in terror in the pavilion. Loki lifted his scepter and pointed it at a police car, violently flipping it over and eliciting a fresh burst of terror from his victims.
His gold helmet gleamed in the dim light as he walked to the top of the steps and grandly spread his arms as if he was a benevolent king.
"Kneel before me. I said- KNEEL!"
Hello All!
1. As always, ask me questions, send me suggestions or just say hi! I'd love to hear from you :)
2. I have a Thor/OC one-shot coming out soon because so many of you said there's not enough Thor/OC fics! It's also going to be rated M because who doesn't want to daydream about sex with Thor? It's going to be called Lightning in a Bottle.
3. Also, I just started a Maria Hill/Sam Wilson fic! It picks up at the end of Captain America- Winter Soldier. Evelyn Clark makes an appearance in it!
4. I'm almost done with chapters 6 of Bring Me Back to Life so look forward to an update for this!
5. Finally, I've been considering changing the title of this to "I Need a Doctor" after the song by and Skylar Grey. Any opinions on that?
Please review with any critiques, input or ideas about this story or any others!
-Mo-
