The updating schedule has been really off lately and I apologize for that. I've been going through some emotional transitions that's been taking a lot out of me, my health has been going up and down (and staying down) and I also have some huge state tests coming up for school that's been taking up time too. Stress levels are at an all time high. But thank you for everyone whose PM'ed me and reviewed messages of concern and checking to see if I'm okay, it means a lot.
And though I think I've said this before: I do not own nor claim anything Marvel, this includes though not necessarily limited to: SHIELD, Nicholas Fury/Director Fury, Steve Rodgers, James 'Bucky' Barnes, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Sam Wilson, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner
~CWA
OMAKE IV
New York, New York
Jazz couldn't help but pace the living room, biting her bottom lip with worry as her heart sped up in her chest. She's done everything she's discussed with Danny before – before Vlad even reappeared, they had thoroughly discussed what to do in case of his reappearance, something they have been preparing for. She's taken to their lab with every anti-ghost weapon they have. A ghost shield protects the house, invisible to the naked eye, though not to her boyfriend's 'employer' who have openly questioned her about why they're having such a strange blimp on their energy radar. She, in turn, has openly expressed her dislike toward SHIELD, though Director Fury trusts her enough to at least keep it up after explaining that she's in a potential danger. Of course, saying that you're in potential danger to the Director of SHIELD only leads to you being placed in protective care. Something that Bucky, along with his close friends, are more than happy to provide. Director Fury, though Jazz may not always agree with him, is more than happy to provide a secluded safe house away from the city.
She's tried to tell them as much as she can without breaking down – them being only Bucky, Steve and a few of the closest friends. She doesn't trust Director Fury or hardly anyone else in SHIELD. But she tells them of a species that's based solemnly on an alternative energy that's not found here on Earth. Of how her little brother has been fighting these beings for a long time and how eventually, she joined the fight as well. How her parents knew of these beings and created weapons against them. How this particular enemy is the one responsible for the death of her entire town and her family and how her little brother is out there facing it alone because she has to stay here to keep Ellie out of danger. It's the closest to the truth she can get. She doesn't drop any names, not aside from her little brother's own name.
She trained them, the best that she could, with weapons that can fend off the 'energy beings' – she still isn't sure what they will think if she actually uses the term, 'ghost.' Blasters. Guns. Wrist Rays. Even the thermos. She wishes that she had Danny's gift for modifying the tech – she can create the weapons, but only off her parent's old blueprints, she still has trouble integrating it with other tech, something that Danny has no problem with. But this will do. It has to. She's went over it all with them again and again until she knew that they could use them properly and that she could trust them to protect Ellie. 'She's more important,' Jazz has told them again and again, 'Protect her first.' She doesn't explain farther. She doesn't know how she could tell them that if Vlad comes after them then Ellie could defeat him in the future, after she's grown up and mastered her powers. She doesn't tell them that if it's Dan that comes for them that Ellie may also be their only hope of bringing back Danny from him, or at the very least, Ellie may be able to defeat Dan as well in the future.
The clock reads just past eleven o'clock at night and she still can't sleep. She doesn't know if she ever will to until Vlad's taken care of and her little brother is safe. All sorts of different things ran through her head and none of them were good. She wants nothing more than to hop into the nearest plane to help Danny. How could she just sit here knowing that her little brother, her family, is back in San Fransokoyo facing his worst enemy? An enemy almost worst than the Ultimate Enemy? An enemy that's the very reason everyone they know is dead? An enemy so foul that if Danny isn't careful, he'll become something worse.
But right now she has other duties. She has a duty to protect Ellie and keep her safe. She cannot, no matter much she may want to, go against that duty.
"Jasmine," a familiar voice comments, causing her to jump, "Pacing won't do you much good."
James' voice snaps her back to reality and she begins to realize that she's not alone in the room. James, or rather Bucky as his friends call him, stands beside her with a hand gently on her shoulder, a dark expression on his face as if he's frustrated that he doesn't know why she's so anxious or why he can't protect her from whatever is scaring her. Sam Wilson sits on the couch, a slightly disgruntled expression on his face as he mumbles complaints under his breath. Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton (who Jazz personally isn't sure about, but it was clear that Natasaha and Clint work as a team just as often as Natasha works with Steve or Steve works with Sam) seem to be content keeping Ellie entertained – they all gave up trying to get the toddler to go to sleep, realizing that the girl will never be sleeping if she knows that several heroes are in her house – but she still has a cautious gleam in her eyes and her stance suggests she's constantly alert. Steve Rodgers, James' childhood best friend, sits on the couch looking a bit uncomfortable and anxious, but he gives Jasmine a hesitant, comforting smile.
Personally, Jazz is glad that Tony and Bruce are both too busy with other business to help – she isn't sure how she would manage with the two scientists bothering her constantly about the 'energy beings'.
"I can't help it," Jazz admits, wrapping her arms around herself, "My little brother is out there facing someone he may not be able to defeat and if he fails…"
She falters slightly and even as she says the words, she's not sure if she means Vlad or Him, the Ultimate Enemy. She thinks maybe it's some twisted meaning of both of them, but she'd be foolish if she ever says that she fears Vlad more than Him. She closes her eyes and for a moment, the image of her little brother flashes in her mind with pointed canines, red haunting eyes, his hair spurring around his head in wisps of white flames, and a powerful white glow shooting from him like daggers. She saw Him during the Battle of Amity. She saw Him and something about it was eerily familiar, as if she's seen it before and couldn't remember, and that almost scared her as much as He did. Because He is her little brother, if a bit twisted and full of anger, but he's also… not him. He isn't someone or something that she can explain, not entirely, and she's not sure how such a dangerous, angry being can be dwelling inside of her little brother, hidden in the depths of his core.
"...Then I'm the only standing between him and Ellie," she continues, still unsure if she speaks of Vlad or Dan, "- Him and the world… I know you're all used to this, but I'm not… I'm not a superhero, I don't even think I'm a hero. I'm a psychologist. I can handle my own, sure, but against him?"
She takes a shuddering breath, trying to ease her anxiety. She fought in the Battle of Amity, a war of its own, but that was a few years ago. She's changed since then. She's normal, for the most part. She's a budding psychologist that's successful, pushing her way through another degree, and she has a happy, loving relationship. She's trained since the war, sure, but not like this. Danny's always been the hero, not her.
James doesn't hesitate to take her into his arms, holding her close. Sam grumbles about how it may be helpful if they knew exactly who they were up against, but he doesn't get to say it loud enough for anyone else aside from Steve to hear as Steve elbows him harshly in the ribs to shush him. Natasha nods solemnly, knowing that Jazz would tell them who they were up against when the time is right. She knows how hard it is to talk about what scares you. What haunts your dreams. And talking about it only causes you to relive it and sometimes that's even worse.
"You're not alone," Natasha speaks up, standing as she picks up Ellie and holds her on her hip, "We're all here to help you."
Jazz is sitting comfortably on the couch in the living room, her knees brought to her chest as she reads one of her favorite books, a warm cup of tea sits on the coffee table and a thin blanket is hanging off her shoulders. She tries hard to distract herself with her book so that she's not thinking too hard about Vlad or Danny or Him. Ellie is still fast asleep, but she rests on the other end of the couch with a large blanket tossed over her and a soft snore. A pillow rests on the arm rest for her head – Jazz doesn't remember putting it there, so she assumes James is the one who did it. It's early in the morning, a few hours before dawn, but the others are slowly beginning to wake up as well.
Steve is the first to come into the living room, giving her a small nod in greeting before he heads to the kitchen to brew some coffee. His broad shoulders and tall frame make it hard for him to navigate through the small space. For a moment, Jazz watches him through the corner of her eyes in amusement. Natasha comes in next, her dazzling red hair tossed lazily into a bun on the back of her head and she wears clothes that are obviously not hers as they devour her frame – according to James, Natasha has a tendency to steal Steve's, Tony's, and even Clint's clothes (by now she's bound to have a second wardrobe of just their clothes) and no one knows exactly how she does it or no one cares enough to try to stop her (aside from Clint, as Bucky has told her, whose tried and failed to stop her multiple times). Clint comes right after Natasha, looking worse for wear with bags under his eyes and hair all disheveled, he sleepily uses his hands to sign a few words to Natasha as he passes her, too tired to speak, and she signs a few words back to him that make him grumble and pout. Sam comes next, glaring lightly at Steve as if he's the reason for the whole mess, before he plops down at the table with a yawn and a stretch.
"So," Sam speaks up, "Whose up for breakfast? I could fix my famous omelets."
Steve snorts into his coffee mug, muttering something about how Sam can't cook worth shit causing Sam's glare to intensify briefly. Natasha and Clint are engaging in a conversation of their own, signing in sign language rapidly to each other. Though Jazz does notice how their eyes stay sharp and aware and in a way it reminds her of how her little brother never truly relaxes in an environment and keeps his guard up. The thought makes her heart sink slightly as she sets her book down to take a sip of her drink, staring in its contents as she wonders where James has gone and a small frown stretches across her lips. Thankfully, her questions are answered when James is the last to appear, coming in through the front door with a few large bags in his arms, disheveled hair, and a disgruntled scowl.
"Do you know how hard it is to find a place that's open this early? I thought New York was supposed to be a city that never sleeps."
Steve is quick to his feet to take some of the bags from his arms, a sleepy, yet happy grin on his face as they both set the bags onto the table. Jazz just watches as everyone tears into the bags openly, making a quiet fuss about who gets what from it, but James has no problem taking one of the breakfast muffins from Clint's hands with a minor glare before he turns and tosses it to Jazz, who catches it easily with a small smile before she bites into it. Clint tosses his hands in the air in exasperation, only settling down when Natasha rolls her eyes and hands him one of the muffins she nabbed.
For a moment, it feels like she's part of a family. That these people that's she gotten to know, not just as heroes of New York or as 'the Avengers', but as people. She looks briefly at Steve. A man out of time with a heart that bleeds for everyone and a passion to fight for what's right, but who also falters with modern slang and loves animated movies. Her eyes go to Natasha. A black widow who hides behind a guarded wall with a past that still haunts her, but who also has a sense of humor and enjoys making others fluster with blunt words. She turns to Clint. A deaf archer who doesn't let his deafness define him and who acts dumb, but in reality is a man with a big brain and a heart that longs for a more normal life and creates the biggest fuss if you eat his leftovers in the fridge. She glances at Sam. A solider who sees people as who they are and not what they are with a need to do for what's right and always burns the eggs despite his insistence that he's a great cook. Finally, her eyes fall onto Bucky. As a soldier and now ex-assassin with PTSD, the worst case she's ever seen, whose haunted by his past and by actions he can't control, but who has a big heart beneath it all that just wants a family. A family she sometimes hopes she can give him one day.
She wishes this moment of peace will last forever, but realistically, she knows that it won't with the threat of Vlad, or even Him, lurking over them like a dark shadow.
No. There will never be peace like this again until she knows her little brother is safe.
