Not everything is according to the movies, I like the comics better and so I have changed some things in accordance with them. I also have played around with some stuff myself, as I can do that cause this is my story. I don't own agents of shield or Avengers.
Jemma walked through the large new compound, her boots silently slapping against the floor as she moved through the windowless corridor. Coulson had said that this was shield's new base and that the team was expected to stay here for the foreseeable future. Fitz was off in one of the labs somewhere, she would need to see him soon, about the radiation disc that they had brought in last week from a mission. They would talk and get the job done, they would finish each other's sentences, gossip about the team, Fitz would even joke now…but every time she looked in his eyes she could see something broken. She saw the hurt, the anguish and the helplessness there. He would never look at her like he had used to, and that broke her heart.
Simmons shook her head, she didn't have time to dwell on the past or Fitz, she tucked her short hair back and proceeded to where May and Skye were waiting for her. The large doors swept open and revealed the two said agents currently wrestling on the floor. Simmons smiled and made the effort to clear her throat as Sky glanced up from her awkward position trapped under May's arm.
"She is here can you get off me now?" She seemed to be wriggling under the oppressive strength that was May.
"You've gotten sloppy you could usually get out of this hold easily."
"I get it I need to train more, I've been slack. If I could use my powers on you though you would be smashed into that wall right now," Skye gasped for breath as May let go of the struggling girl to nod at the staring biochemist. She then looked back down at her loudmouthed pupil.
"You can't always rely on your powers." She turned again to Jemma, "The director wants to see us all, it's something important." Skye leapt off the ground with excitement.
"A mission?"
"I don't know he just said to get the two of you before coming to his office." Skye snorted.
"What are we, Charlie's angels? Ooh or should we be called Coulson's angels?" Jemma couldn't help but giggle as she watched May glare at the bubbly hacker now slash super powered agent. May soon got Skye to get changed and to lead them both down stairs to a hidden away office. Once inside Jemma knew it was something big as not only was Coulson sitting at his desk waiting but agent Hill was standing behind him with her ever present super serious face.
"Hey AC, what's the deal?" Skye said straight to the point plonking down on a chair seemingly unperturbed by the two very serious authority figures behind the desk. Jemma shifted uneasily from foot to foot as the man himself seemed to stare directly at her. The face he held was the exact same one he had just before he sent her off to infiltrate Hydra.
"The 'deal' agent Skye is that we have asked you three here for something very special, particularly you agent Simmons." It was Hill who spoke out. "What we are about to talk about is highly classified and should not leave this room. Am I understood?" The three women nodded in unison.
"We have another shield base currently in Canada and we are sending all three of you there for different reasons." Coulson had finally spoken and he looked strained as he did so. "Agent May will be going over to keep an eye on you two as well as to look into a couple of things for me, she has already been briefed for this." Simmons looked over at the stoic woman; there were no traces of surprise…or of any emotion of any sort really on her face. Of course she knew what Coulson wanted to see her about, May always knew.
"Skye you will be going over for an assessment, they will be looking at your powers and seeing how well you can work on a team. There is a leader and friend of mine there who wishes to see what you can do and decide if you are suitable for a very special team…" Coulsen seemed to tense up as he debated whether to actually use the word. It turned out he didn't need to.
"Oh my goodness! No. Freaking. Way!" Skye immediately sat up wide eyed and looked at the director as if he had gone crazy. "I am going to be an avenger? Like THE Avengers?"
"No you are being assessed as to whether you may be considered an asset." Hill said sternly. Sky apparently had not heard her as she leapt up from her seat and seemed to be on the cusp of a happy dance. A glare from May made her reconsider and settle for a giant smile as she bounced on her heals.
"Best reason to be called into your office ever AC! I promise to not forget the little people and always remember the friends who got me where I am. Hey Simmons if your nice I might introduce you to some of them, I can do that right? Who do you want to meet? Hawkeye? the Hulk? Ironman? Captain America? I personally can't wait to meet Thor, he has the body of a god!" Skye looked like she could keep rambling but Coulsen quickly cut her off.
"Agent Hill is right it is only an assessment and I am sorry to inform you that the team has changed dramatically."Simmons looked up.
"What do you mean sir?" Jemma said quietly. Coulson seemed to tense at her voice and looked sadly at Jemma.
"The Hulk has taken off somewhere, there is no trace of him. Ironman has left for a…quieter life. Thor has returned to Asguard-" Skye visibly slumped. "and Hawkeye has retired."
"Well who are the Avengers now then?" Skye seemed considerably less excited than before. Maria sighed in exasperation.
"This is not information that needs to be discussed right now. You will only need to know who will be taking your assessment and that is agent Natasha Romanoff. If and only if she thinks you are suitable will you need to know exactly who you are working with." As exciting as this all was Simmons still felt confused as to why she was there. Surely whatever job she had would pale in comparison to Skye trying out for the Avengers, or what's left of them.
"Why is Simmons coming?" Jemma looked over in shock at May who seemed to be rather uncomfortable, apparently she was not informed of Simmons' role and was thinking the exact same thing as Jemma herself; why was she coming? Coulson looked at all three of them before landing sadly again on Jemma.
"I will be briefing agent Simmons as soon as we have finished here, what is important now is making sure Skye and you are ready for what is to come." Simmons immediately flinched, what would she have to do? Why was Coulson looking at her apprehensively?
"Hold on back up, agent Romanoff, as in the black widow? The scary lady with red hair will be assessing me? She is terrifying! I would rather spend a week sharing a room with May than go near that psycho. I hear she can kill a person just by glaring at them!" Skye seemed to have done a 180 on this whole idea as she stared incredulously at both Hill and Coulson.
"That's physically impossible" May said sternly to Skye.
"Well you're sure giving it your best shot" Skye pointed at May's eyes.
"Enough! Skye there is a file in your room with more details about what you will be doing. Both you and May should go pack your bags; all three of you leave tomorrow." Skye was dragged out by May as she tried to question Coulson further but was cut off by the shutting of the automatic doors.
Suddenly Simmons was on her own, in a room, with the two highest members of shield staring at her. "Well Skye seems…exhilarated." Simmons felt a little better as Coulson chuckled quietly at her attempt at breaking the ice. Hill however continued to stare at the small biochemist without a hint of emotion, Jemma felt her nerves resurfacing.
"Now Jemma, I will not lie I am not entirely comfortable with the assignment that I am giving you, but I truly believe you are the best for the job." Simmons sat down in one of the chairs facing the two. She felt her heart speed up, Coulson only used her first name when he was sorry for something.
"What do I need to do sir?" Coulson seemed to hesitate before sending a pointed look at Maria. The senior agent sighed before taking her leave but not before giving her superior one last meaningful glance and a nod toward Jemma. As soon as the doors swished closed Jemma turned wide eyed to the director, she played with the lanyard hanging around her neck nervously. The older agent cleared his throat and sat straighter.
"You are aware of Steve Rogers aren't you?" Jemma looked confused at the man in front of her. Of course she had heard of the super soldier, the science used to create the serum that ran through his body was utterly fascinating. Oh how she would love to study a blood sample of his. Not to mention how long he was frozen in ice, that should have been physically impossible to survive and she would love to know how exactly his body was able to be revived. Of course she also knew that he was a great hero, a man of much strength and integrity who has helped save the world not just back in his time but recently with the avengers.
"Yes I know of him."
Coulson rubbed his forehead. "When Hydra came out of hiding from within Shield, well they sent someone after Rogers, someone from his past." The older agent handed her a tablet with a picture of a man being displayed. He was frozen in a fighting stance in front of a burning car, his brown matted hair hung limply on the sides of his face, his eyes held deep black rings under them and his body was fully covered in a black combat suit. The thing that made Jemma gasp though was the metal arm attached to him that was bright silver contrasting brightly with his dark figure. Her perceptive eyes zoned in on the red star on the shoulder.
"His name was James Barnes and he was enlisted in world war2 and was reported dead in 1945, the same time Steve Rogers was." Jemma looked at him perplexed.
"That's impossible there is no way he could-"
"We thought the same about Captain Rogers too remember."
"True, but still how was he able to live till-how do we know it's even him?"
"We don't know, I am taking Steve's word on this, he swears it's him. We don't know how he was able to survive, if it really is him; this is where you come in." Coulson seemed to find organizing his pens to be very important as he talked. "I was a huge fan of the Captain's, well still am. He not long ago found out I was still alive...he didn't take it well." Simmons looked at the senior agent in sympathy, she knew how hard his 'death' and consequent secret was on him. She didn't know all the details but May had briefly informed her of the turmoil he had been through.
"It took a while but he seemed to get over it. I got a message from him not long ago, he needs help. He wishes to find Mr Barnes, he was a...good friend of the captain's. He wanted me to send someone, someone I thought he could trust and who could assist him in not only finding him but in being able to help him..." Simmons looked at the director.
"Me?"
"Well yes, you are a doctor as well as a fully trained field agent now. You have dealt with robotic limbs before as well as having one of the most approachable personalities of any of my agents. You have been inside Hydra yourself and I know for a fact that you are extremely trustworthy." As flattering as Coulson's words were Simmons felt her insides knot.
"What about Fitz?" Coulson sighed as if expecting the question.
"Fitz is needed here, I can assure you that this assignment is not mandatory. If you wish to stay here in the labs with Fitz I will find someone else. I would actually prefer to have you here close by, but I said I would ask the person I thought was best for the job and that is what I am doing. It is up to you Jemma what you decide to do." The biochemist looked back down at the glowing screen and at the tortured look of the man holding the gun.
"You want me to work with THE Captain America? To help find a man that should not realistically still be alive?"
"This is a very delicate situation, Rogers is very set on finding his long lost friend and finding out why he has been working for Hydra. I want you to follow his orders but-"
"But?"
"Well if it isn't really Mr Barnes, or he can't be helped and he poses too much of a threat...well the Captain may not be in the best state of mind right now, this whole thing has brought back painful memories. Another reason I want to send you is because I think you could also be of help to him."
In the training room every time he hit the punching bag he saw more images flash in his mind.
One hit, he saw the boys eyes crinkle as he laughed at a joke told by one of the other troops.
A second hit, he saw him take out a Nazi soldier who had snuck up on him with a well placed kick.
A third hit, he saw the boy run up the stairs ahead of him toward the base Baron Zemo had infiltrated.
A fourth harder hit, he saw him climbing on top of the experimental drone plane and opening a panel.
A fifth hard punch that made the bag swing slightly, he saw the clouds whizzing past and the look of horror on the boys face as he realized he could not defuse it in time.
Steve hit the bag so hard it came swinging off its hinges and flew straight into the opposite wall. He took a deep breath before slumping down on a bench and wiping his face with a towel. Behind his closed eye lids all he could see was the dark figure with the metal arm and the dark rings under his eyes. He knew it was Bucky, he just knew it was him. He didn't know how he was alive or why he was working for Hydra, he did know however that he had saved him and that it really was his old friend. Steve heard footsteps and stood up knowing exactly whose steps where so sure and confident. The doors opened to reveal Natasha with a stern look and a file in her hand.
"What did that punching bag ever do to you?" She glanced over at the ruined bag smashed against the wall.
"What you got there?" Steve ignored her jab and looked pointedly at the file.
"I just heard back from the Coulson ghost, our possible new recruit is coming." Steve looked expectantly at Natasha. "Don't worry he is sending your little request as well, some doctor named Jemma Simmons. She is a field agent as well so don't freak out, apparently the old man didn't want to let her go but he has given her up and she is coming along with Skye. I brought her file for you to read." The red head passed the thick folder over to the captain as he immediately began to flick through.
"Thanks Natasha."
"You really think she will be able to help him?"
"I don't know...I hope so."