Invitation

FanGirlForever19: Gosh, Nick Fury is honestly one of the most fun characters to write (along with Tony Stark, of course). Probably just because Samuel L Jackson is amazing, but seriously, I was so excited to bring him in.

Bimbumel: Thank you and welcome aboard!

DarylDixon'sLover: This question made me laugh so much. I think in my own head-canon, Clint is called in when they need him, but most of the time he's working on the farm! Also, when I got your review that just said "uh oh," I literally laughed out loud.

kuppcake: Bless Bucky and his incredible timing- and thank you for that! Aa I said above, Fury is so fun to write!

LeeMinah92: You and me both, man. I've never been a superfluous writer, but I do like to put a lot of time and thought into the content that I do write. Remember, if you ever have any ideas, I'm ready to listen!

Demigod-Gallagher Girl: This review just makes sense, like...yes, Eliza, just yes! I thought similar things when I was writing that chapter, because obviously she's not a trained assassin or anything, but she knew it was do or die time and she stepped up to the plate.

My eyes turned back, blazing. "I am not a soldier."

His eye met mine, expression solemn. "You are now."

James entered the plane before I could retort, and he must have known something was wrong. I felt a gentle hand rest on my back, causing my eyes to blink before I looked to him for an explanation.

"Eliza, this is the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury."

I sat across from him, arms crossed and my eyes deliberately glued to the window. Amidst the uncomfortable atmosphere, I could sense James' warm presence on my right. Part of me longed to reach out and grab his hand, but I felt like I couldn't. Not now. Not while he was watching my every move.

"Look," the former director said, effectively breaking the past thirty minutes of tense silence. "I get it. You're not happy with the situation."

"You could say that," I mumbled. My eyes shifted to the floor before I met his eyes. Age had worn him down. He looked different from the picture I'd used when I wrote a public letter of thanks for his service almost six years ago.

Fury huffed, falling back in his chair and putting his hands up in exasperation. "What do you want?" he asked. "I can't say anything until I know that."

I could feel James' eyes on me. His gaze was slowly crumbling my resolve. "I want a normal life," I sighed after a moment's consideration. "I don't want to be on the run. To be taken away to some safe house, and even then have to worry that I'll get killed. I want to go back to my job, back to my apartment, and back to how things were."

An amused smile came onto Fury's face. "And you think you can just…make it so, don't you? Act like nothing happened, forget it all." His eye flickered over to James before it looked back at me.

I knew I was falling into his trap, but I couldn't help but nod. "Yes, that's what I want."

Fury leaned forward in his seat, hands folding together. "Gotta take the good with the bad, girl."

I felt James shift uncomfortably beside me, and I looked over. He was trying to keep his face blank, but I knew what he was thinking. He thought I wanted to get rid of him, too, not just the chaos of the last month.

My attention turned back to Fury. "Then what are my options?"

He turned his eye out the window, then back again. He studied me for a moment. "Option number one, you come with us," he stated. "You become a full time employee, live at the Avengers facility, and are sworn to secrecy. Your involvement with the Avengers will become public knowledge soon enough, and you'll learn how to live in the spotlight."

I took in a shaky breath, nodding. James' hand suddenly grasped mine, and I took in his expression. He was almost silently begging me to agree, but he wouldn't say anything. He knew it was my choice.

"And option two?" I asked.

Nick Fury's eye flicked back and forth between us before he replied. "You go back to normal. All your work with the Avengers is erased, all contact is cut off. We keep an eye on you from a distance for a year or so, make sure you're okay, then disappear. Like it never even happened."

James squeezed my hand. I knew what he wanted…I just wasn't sure what I wanted.

A car picked me up from the airport and took me to my apartment, giving me only a brief moment to tell James goodbye before I was whisked away. When I arrived, I found my spare key in the usual hiding spot. I opened the door and turned on a light, a mixture of emotions hitting me as I took in the messy state of my apartment. In a way, it felt so familiar. In another way, it felt entirely foreign.

I spent the next few hours catching up on things. I sent an email to my boss and my landlord, explaining that I'd recovered and been released from the hospital. After unpacking, I sat down on my bed and pulled out my phone. I could hear Tony's voice in my head, mocking me with an incorrigible smirk as I pressed the call button on my iPhone. I pushed the thought aside.

I smiled when I heard a voice say, "Hello?"

"Hey, mom, I'm back home."

"Oh, Eliza! That's so good! How's your leg?"

I laughed, falling back against my pillows. "Much better."

"Good! And the boy? How's he?"

My heart dropped, but I kept my voice cheery. "Yeah, he's…he's great."

"You've always been bad at lying, honey," my mother chided.

"Yeah, I know," I sighed. "I don't know, things are just…complicated right now."

"Are they complicated or are you making them complicated?"

I stared out the window, suddenly being struck with an inescapable feeling of loneliness. "…I'm not sure," I admitted.

"Well you think about it, okay? Think about it for a while, talk to him about it if you're comfortable. If you care for him, he'll be hard to get out of your head."

"Trust me, I know," I mumbled. "I'll give it a few days, okay?"

"Okay, honey. I'm glad you called, though- I just got the weekend before Christmas off! They're sending me upstate for some end of the quarter conference thingy, and well, I'd be more than happy to stop by for a visit! It's been so long since I came up to see you."

I smiled, knowing she was right. "Sure, mom, sounds like a plan. We can talk more later, okay? I need to clean up my place a bit."

"Okay, just don't work your leg too much, alright? And if it hurts, get some Advil. Baby steps."

"I know, I know. I'll be fine, mom, don't worry. I love you."

"Love you too, Elizabeth."

I put the phone down with a sigh, turning my attention to my old tv. I guess I didn't have an AI to ask to turn it on. Sighing once more, I got up from the bed and grabbed the remote, flipping the channel to the local news station. I sat on my bed for a while, staring at the screen and listening to the reports.

They were still talking about the attack, but there was nothing about the infiltrations on any of the women. It was as though they hadn't even happened. I started to wonder if any of it had happened at all. If history could be rewritten so easily, or if the details just got "left out."

After a few more hours, I crawled into bed. My room seemed darker than it used to, as if it contained more places for people to hide. A sleepless half hour passed before I caved, got up, rifled through my bag, and placed my gun on the bedside table. I went to bed that night feeling empty, wondering when I'd gotten so used to the comforting fact that James was right down the hall.