S.H.I.E.L.D. took Emma in and helped her and trained her to control and use her powers. They trained her in martial arts and helped her use her new strength abilities, which she discovered were from the serum given to her as a child. She learned she would stop aging by the time she was 25 due to the serum and stay that age forever due to her cells regeneration and healing nature, so it was practically impossible for her to die. Adjusting to everything was hard for Emma at first, but when she needed to clear her head, she would just close her eyes and travel somewhere else; which pissed Phil off.
She traveled to medieval England and nearly got robbed by highway bandits. She traveled to Victorian era Paris and took in the Moulin Rouge in its hay day. She saw the grand reveal of the statue of liberty, saw her parents get married, and protected a young boy being bullied by the name of Phil Coulson. Coulson actually was grateful for her help on that day and gave her a huge hug when she came back.
But most of her trips revolved around New York City, since that's where her past was based out of. Her parents had lived on in the suburbs, but her father and mother had worked in the city for the SSR. And somehow she felt like her future was connected to there as well.
One day she traveled back to New York City, in 1941. She saw the latest newspaper and saw it was May, a warm spring day. She quickly got some clothes and headed out. She just walked the city and enjoyed the day and let her mind clear. As she was walking she ran into a group of excited twenty some things.
"Oh hey sorry about that! Didn't see you there!" The one guy said laughing and Emma looked up to see the two boys from the alleyway, Bucky and Steve. Bucky had his arm around some blonde who just stifled a giggle behind her hand.
"It's alright, I wasn't paying much attention to where I was going, in my head lost in thought." Emma started to leave, it was never good crossing paths twice with people you met during time travel, it was dangerous, just like how it was dangerous to change any course of events in your time traveling. Emma could never save her mother and father from death and it broke her heart.
"Hey wait! Don't we know you?" Bucky called out.
"Bucky, stop!" Steve hissed at his friend.
"No I'm serious Steve," Bucky retaliated and Emma stopped and turned back towards them.
"I'm not sure." She said, she couldn't lie, she was a horrible liar.
"Do you live in Brooklyn?" Bucky asked.
Shit! Well, it was now or never, "Yeah, my dad used to be a cop, now he's serving in the army."
Bucky got a huge grin and nudged the girl and Steve, "I knew it! You were the girl a few years back that helped me and Steve out with those bullies." Emma watched Steve blush a huge shade of red.
"Come on Buck, let's just let her go about her day." He said.
"That's right! How are you guys?" Emma asked walking towards them.
"We're great, aren't we Steve?" Bucky asked Steve who just gave a small smile. "We're heading out to the Dodgers vs. Phillies baseball game if you want to join us? We have an extra ticket, Steve's date couldn't make it. You like baseball?"
"Like it? I love it! I would love to join you, if that's okay with you Steve?"
Steve looked up and smiled, "Uh…yeah, that would be swell."
So they headed to Ebbets Field to watch the game, the seats weren't too bad and Bucky kept flirting with, Shannon, his date the whole time, leaving Steve and Emma for small talk.
"So we can be properly introduced, I'm Emma Walker." Emma always changed her last name when time traveling to be safe. Steve took her hand and shook it.
"I'm Steve Rogers." The name sent off a warning signal in Emma's head but she just ignored it.
"So, Steve, do you have any siblings?"
"Nope, just me. You?"
"Nope, just me as well. My mother died when I was very little and Dad never had the heart to remarry."
Steve suddenly turned his attention away from the game and looked at Emma in a way he hadn't looked at any woman before, he understood her pain.
"I lost my mother too, well and my father during the First World War. My mother died a while back couldn't shake TB when she worked in a TB ward."
Emma felt a connection to Steve and just gave his hand a sympathetic touch, "I understand and I'm very sorry."
"It's alright, I've got Bucky, and he's always been there for me. As you well know," He gave a smile and Emma laughed.
Just then the crowd went wild and it was the first score of the game by the Dodgers.
"Did you two see that?! It was fantastic." Bucky cried.
For the rest of the game, both Steve and Emma stumbled through small talk and getting to know each other, she could tell he wasn't that great with the ladies but she found him sweet and kind and felt a friendship towards him. As the game was coming to a close, she saw the Dodgers win 8-4 before her head started to get lightheaded, she was getting better on controlling when she should leave but sometimes it controlled her.
"I hate to leave like this but I have to go, thanks for the invite." Emma said getting up.
"Wait, we were going to go out for celebratory drinks! You can't leave now!" Bucky called.
"I really have to go." She said trying to go against the crowd up the steps.
"Wait!" Steve called and Emma felt her body stop, she couldn't leave him without a proper goodbye.
"Steve, I'm so sorry, but this was great, I just have to get home."
"Can I see you again?" Steve asked blushing.
Emma hesitated, she didn't want to break this poor guy's heart, and she really liked him too. She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"I will find you again, I promise." And with that, she pushed through the crowds and went and found an alleyway and disappeared.
"If we are to send you on any missions, you need to stop leaving whenever you feel like it!" Phil shouted at her as he came into her room.
"I hate that you guys can track when I travel, I sometimes just want some time away from all of this."
Phil sighed, "I get it, but when we are trying to train you to control it and use it for good, you can't keep abusing it all the time either; when we need you here and when I'm trying to prove to Director Fury you are ready for missions."
"You think I'm ready for missions?" Emma asked excitedly.
Phil smiled, "I believe so, Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton are in need of a new team and they asked for you, they've been watching your progress. They are a lot more mature than you are sometimes and they are only a few years older than you." Phil tried to chastise her actions and she just laughed. If only he knew the stuff those three had gotten into when they all weren't around.
They were practically the three amigos, Natasha the brains, Clint the instigator, and Emma the supplier. Emma had recently discovered how to travel with others but kept that secret from S.H.I.E.L.D. since she was still working on it with Clint and Natasha. So far they've traveled back to the Rolling Stones first concert, the Star Wars Premiere (per Clint's request), and to partake in the Berlin Wall Collapse.
"A few? Try only two." Emma scoffed. Phil shook his head and walked over to her.
"So where did you go?"
"May, 1941, Brooklyn Dodgers Game vs the Phillies. The Dodgers won."
"I know, meet anybody?"
"Yeah some friends from the last time I was in Brooklyn in the 30's. And before you get on your high horse about me meeting and spending time with people more than once in my travels, let me explain. I feel like my time traveling has been leading me to these two men, like they are important in my life."
Phil gave her a strange look and then asked, "Who were they?"
"Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers," Emma looked up at Phil whose eyes were bug eyed wide.
"You met Captain America?"
"Uh, Phil…you okay?"
"YOU MET CAPTAIN AMERICA?!" He shouted like a fan boy. Emma gave him a strange look. "Do you know what this means? I have to tell Director Fury, this could be useful for you and for us!"
Emma followed Coulson as he left in a huge hurry. "Which one was Captain America?" She shouted after him.
"Steve Rogers!" He shouted back.
"The skinny guy?!" She said in shock.
"That's pre super soldier serum Rogers! Oh my God, this is huge! Emma you were right, they are, well Steve, is important to your past, present and most likely future!"
Emma stopped and just let that absorb in. "Wait, what?!" She quickly followed behind Coulson again until they reached an office where they could contact Director Fury.
"Coulson, you better have a good reason for interrupting my meeting with the Council." Fury said once he appeared on the screen in front of them. "And nice to see you back from the 40's Agent Barker."
"Hello Director," Emma said waving to him, "Phil is having a fan boy moment."
"No I'm not!"
"Coulson, she's your S.O. just please keep your Captain America fan boy moments between the two of you. I don't care if she saw one of his USO Girl shows and you have to tell me about it."
"See, that's it Director Fury, she was a few years earlier and it's important."
Fury rolled his eye and waved his hand for Coulson to continue, "See, Emma has met Captain Rogers and Bucky Barnes twice now in her travels and she tells me, it seems they are not her planning them, it's her powers controlling her. It's like they want her to meet Rogers. He's the key to her learning about the serum in her and maybe she's an important key to his future."
Fury looked confused but interested, "How so?"
"I don't know, but maybe we should set it up as a mission for her, she travels to learn what she can-"
"Director Fury if I can interrupt?" Emma stepped forward.
"Yes Agent Barker?"
"I don't choose when to see Steve Rogers or for how long, it's like my powers choose for me. So there is no way this can become a mission of any kind, but I will promise, any time I do travel to see Rogers, I will give a full report of my experiences."
"Fine, but just be careful, don't change any of Captain Rogers life or history. His relationships, his friendships, his future, nothing, got it?"
"Crystal clear," Emma smiled.
"Now can I get back to my meeting with the council?"
At that both Coulson and Emma turned off the screens and ended the call.
"I was not having a fan boy moment," Phil muttered as they left.
Emma just patted his shoulder, "Yes, yes you were."
Emma continued her training sessions when she wasn't on missions with Natasha and Clint, controlling and using her power to its full potential. She really got to see what her time stopping trick could do on a mission in Italy. They were hunting down some international art smugglers, they were using the art to smuggle weapons to terrorists. Barton was the eyes on the roof of the museum and Natasha and Emma breaking in to catch the smugglers.
"Any sign Barton?"
"If you would stop asking every 5 minutes Nat, then the answer wouldn't still be the same, NO!" Emma and Natasha grabbed their ears.
"You don't have to yell," Emma moaned
"Well if you would stop playing with your damn arrows-"
"Oh and like you don't fiddle with your bites when-"
"Would you two shut it, I hear something!" Emma hissed as she got the window open and heard noises inside.
"I see them, in the corridor off your left at 8 o'clock."
"Copy that Barton." Natasha said as she jumped through the window and Emma followed her. They moved swiftly through the corridor following the smugglers without being heard and Clint started to repel from the ceiling in the main gallery room. What none of them expected was the smugglers had this planned out and had an army waiting for them in the gallery room.
"Shit." Natasha said out loud when she saw them all.
"Well, this sucks." Clint said joining next to her.
"Agents, it's wonderful to see you, we have been expecting you," the leader of the smugglers said.
"We love it when we're invited to a party," Natasha said grinning.
"Well it's time for the main event, kill them."
"EMMA NOW!" Clint yelled and Emma closed her eyes and grabbed both Natasha and Clint and stopped time.
"It worked!" Natasha said looking at the bullets stopped midair.
"I can't believe I could stop with you two! Coulson's gonna love hearing this!"
"Yeah, he sure will." Clint said starting to gather weapons out of the men's hands.
"Alright, Emma you grab all the art work while Clint and I get the weapons and backup."
Once everything had been collected, they got out of range of fire and Emma started time up again. The smugglers all looked around in surprise.
"Up here boys!" Emma called from the second floor of the gallery room, where now S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were standing all around pointing guns at them.
"I do have to admit, that was a little less fun than the usual business but it was worth it, you guys weren't worth the fight." Clint teased pointing his arrows at the smugglers.
As they were getting on the flight back to the states, Emma started to feel the rush around her.
"Uh oh, take these!" She tossed her weapons at Clint and Natasha.
"Traveling?"
"Yup!"
"I thought you could control them now?" Natasha asked.
"I can but some are just too important for me to control, they just happen on their own and I don't know why. I also don't know how long I'll be gone. Cya later!"
And with that Emma traveled to her next destination.
"I'm never going to get used to that," Clint said to Natasha while holding some of Emma's weapons in his arms.
"Neither am I."
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that installment! Going to try and post an update once a week. Please comment and review, feedback and comments are always helpful! What do you think of Emma being a part of Steve's life? How do you like her and her two best friends Clint and Natasha? Isn't Coulson the best fan boy? Comment away on your thoughts and feedback!