"This is only a small portion of the destruction which has been unleashed," agent Brink told them as footage of monstrous creatures with worryingly advanced technology wreaking havoc on New York City was displayed on the wall-sized monitor behind her.
Simmons couldn't believe what was happening, couldn't believe the barriers being broken, the neat, well ordered balance between the problems SHIELD dealt with and the rest of the world shattered in only a few minutes. A door had been open and the death and destruction they worked so hard every day to stop had been unleashed upon the innocents of their world.
Someone on the video was screaming and Simmons dropped her gaze to the floor, breathing quickly but trying not to look as frightened as she was. This was bad, those things could wipe out everyone, not just New York, but the everywhere and the portal showed no signs of closing, the alien army no signs of being exhausted.
Fitz still held on firmly to her hand and as agent Brink explained what was happening he shuffled closer to her so that their arms were pressed together and she leaned into him, feeling better. She glanced quickly at his face and saw that he was afraid too (of course he was, who wouldn't be?) but it didn't take away any bit of the comfort his presence provided. She couldn't call her mum and dad, no one in the facility was allowed to contact anyone outside, but she still had family with her, she had Fitz.
'That's one of the reasons you need people who care about you in your life,' her father had once told her, `to have someone to talk to when you're scared.'
Fitz wasn't talking, not with words, but they didn't always need those to communicate.
"We are not alone in this," agent Brink informed them and the footage changed to a mixed group of fighters battling the alien soldiers. Simmons recognized Iron Man, agents Romanova and Barton (the last two being other SHIELD agents) along with Captain America (SHIELD again), back from the dead. "A team of highly gifted individuals is defending the city but, we need to do our part."
Simmons saw Fitz nodding out of the corner of her eye. She knew he looked up to Iron Man, Tony Stark, especially and the presence of the powerful group was reassuring to both of them. They gave them hope.
"We're receiving samples from the ongoing battle as we speak," agent Brink announced. "We're the closest Sci-Ops facility to New York," she paused as the room of people took that in, filling the air with anxious whispers. It was crowded, packed from one wall to the other and it wasn't a small area. Even though agent Brink was elevated by the podium, Simmons had to stand on tip-toe to see her. She suspected Fitz was fairing better than she was, having an advantage in height, though he too was stretching his neck for a view. "That means we'll be the first to obtain samples and we need to be the first to provide information."
"It also means we'll be the first to be attacked once they're done with New York," someone muttered behind them.
"They're not leaving New York," Simmons said quietly to herself, faking confidence.
"No, because we're going to stop them," Fitz agreed in a whisper, playing along.
She smiled nervously. Even with a team of super-heroes that was an enormous army to fight, an enormous, never-ending army with advanced alien technology.
"I don't think I need to remind you what's at stake," agent Brink was finishing. "I'm going to send all of you back to work now, an assignment will be sent to your SHIELD phones via a scrambled signal. You will follow your assignment, do your work, get answers and help us stop this."
With that she ended her briefing and the room chorused with the buzzing of hundreds of phones.
Simmons released Fitz's hand to slide hers out of her pocket an he did the same beside her.
"Lab-" they began.
"023" "546" they finished and their eyes met, alarmed. Neither of them wanted to be separated, they wouldn't even be on the same floor. She'd be in the basement, practically a stronghold, while Fitz was on the fifth floor with all those glass windows, vulnerable. She didn't like it, not one bit.
People started moving, springing to work, and a woman squeezed her way between them and then someone else did, and someone else, until they were being swept away from each other in the crowd.
"Wait, no, excuse me," she tried to make her way back to him but she couldn't and he was getting further away, flowing with the crowd towards the north door while she was shuffled to the east one. Her chest tightened, she didn't want to leave him like this during a disaster, without even saying goodbye or good luck.
Fortunately (for once) Fitz wasn't as polite as she was and he was making better progress swimming towards her through the crowd. She had been pushed out the door when he caught up with her, clearly upset.
"This is bloody ridiculous," he growled. "We work better together, we're a team. Who designed this plan?"
She took his hand, attaching herself to him so they wouldn't be pulled appart again, before she answered.
"We need to help stop this," she reminded him determinedly. "Even if it means-"
"But Simmons they've put you in the basement," he objected worriedly. "It's a dead end down there, no way out, if we were attacked..." he stopped, eyes bright and staring into her.
She shuddered because she hadn't thought of that. It was becoming clear that, if they were attacked, nowhere in the building would be safe.
"We're going to stop them," she repeated his earlier words. "All of us, SHIELD, that team in New York, the police and firefighters there. We'll be OK."
The pair was coming up on the lifts, they were going to need to go in different directions soon.
As they waited in line (the lifts could only hold twenty people at once) she turned to him and embraced him tightly, letting them draw comfort from each other one more time before they were seperated. He returned it, arms wraping firmly around her torso, giving her a quick squeeze before they moved apart.
"See you soon," he murmured, staring miserably at her.
"See you soon," she answered, promising herself she would.
Then he boarded the lift going up and she stepped onto the one going down and they were carried off in different directions.
On the way to the lab she passed Sam and Jack, old friends from the Academy. Simmons and Fitz hadn't always been stationed with them but they'd kept in touch and she was fond of the specialist-engineer duo, as was Fitz.
"Hey, Simmons," Jack greeted, his usual cheerfulness darkened by the destruction and death only a few hundred kilometers away.
"Where are you off to?" she asked, eyeing the engineer's bullet-proof vest wearily.
"Sam and I have been assigned to New York," he told her somberly, and it was strange to see him so was usually such a clown, grinning excitedly about the next prank he and his best friend were planning, bursting to tell her and Fitz about it.
Her concern must have shown because they smiled reassuringly at her.
"I'll take care of him," they vowed in unison, pointing their thumbs at each other before grinning, amused.
Someone nearly ran into her and she shuffled back to avoid them, accidentally placing herself in front of a wall of people walking forward.
"Be careful," Simmons called, because she was once again caught in the swarm of agents buzzing to work.
"You too!" Sam called back before she lost sight of them.
At least they were together. They were an exceptional team, like her and Fitz, one important difference being that Sam was a specialist, which meant Jack had been working in the field with him for the past several years, which was why they were leaving to help in New York.
Even though they were headed straight into the heart of the danger, she couldn't help feeling a little envious and wishing someone had thought to keep her and Fitz together because it was, in her opinion, as unpractical to keep them apart as it was unpleasant.
/-/-/
Agent Brink is named after Topher Brink from Dollhouse.
The Fringe reference in this chapter is what Simmons' dad said. It is a paraphrasing of what Peter says to Olivia in What Lies Below.
Sam and Jack are from an academy fic I wrote a long time ago called Best Team Ever (We're Going to Win) and I kinda have a soft spot for them so I brought them back.
I have seen Romanova spelled Romanoff as well, feel free to let me know if I chose the wrong spelling.