Chapter 23 – In New York City

"Look! Up in the sky!"

"What is it, Jen?"

"That was Spider-Man! I'm sure I saw him swing by!"

And neither Buffy nor Samantha would forget their reaction. They exchanged a glance; and there was a smile in it, though it was not visible to anyone else but them. Neither wanted to say it, let alone to rub it in, but it was at times like this that the difference between their culture and Jennifer's came out. In Sam and Buffy's world, super-beings were circus freaks and suspects. Both sisters felt that Jen's delighted wonder was a country-bumpkin sort of thing, but neither wanted to say or even hint it.

The irony of it all was to fester in both sisters' minds for a long time to come.

…...

New York. New York City. No matter where you come from or what you are doing there, this is one of those places where you cannot help feel wonder and awe. Samantha, the Air Force brat, knew the interior and the West Coast better than the East Coast, except for DC. Buffy had rarely been outside California; and Jennifer, of course, had never, until recently, been in a city bigger than Boise at all. And everything had conspired to make them feel that they were going to experience something special, something climactic. They had had to wake up early to catch the train from Asbury Park at about six, and then change at Red Bank. They were lucky to find three contiguous seats; and they sat there, watching the urban sprawl outside as it went by, broken by the occasional stretch of wood or field, while the train filled with commuters headed for Manhattan (and also for Hoboken and Jersey City). Jen and Sam looked around themselves, curious about the faces and backgrounds, while Buffy was busier thinking that this was "Joisey" of which she had heard so many nasty stories. She wondered whether it harboured any vampires. But then the train was into a densely built -up area – and then went under the river in a tunnel – and they were there!

Samantha Carter, Jennifer Hailey and Buffy Carter Summers emerged from Pennsylvania Station, metaphorically blinking into the sunlight. The buildings, the roads, were really unlike anything else the had experienced; Buffy realized that they just dwarfed LA. And they all had that strange feeling of recognition that so many visitors have. Everyone, after all, has seen it in movies, in TV shows, in music videos, in photos, in illustrations...

...Pennsylvania Station in the morning...

...the enormous roads like canyons, full of traffic like even Los Angeles did not have. Cars, cars everywhere. And Sammy beating on one and saying "Hey, I'm walking here! I'm walking!" and then looking disappointed that neither Jennifer nor Buffy got the joke...

….Yes, they really had road signs that said "Don't even think of parking here"...

...the restaurants, the shops, and every now and then some strange building that might be a church or a museum...

…a glimpse of Central Park. Only a glimpse, they were going in a different direction; but it seemed astonishingly big, and wild...

...a pavement artist making wonderful sketches with coloured chalks, with her hat turned upside down for donations. Jen wanted to stay and see how she worked...

...the people. The people! Even in LA, Buffy had never seen so many different kinds, colours, even clothing. The whole world seemed to have poured into one island, to do business and argue and flirt and ignore each other...

...street musicians, mimes, and a black kid who break-danced with the fury of a little demon...

...Jen suddenly looking upwards with the sun on her face and a look of wonder in her eyes, to point to a man in costume...

... Saint Patrick' s Cathedral, a beautiful Gothic intrusion among the high rise buildings...

...Samantha hilariously pretending to be holding on to Buffy for dear life to stop her sister vanishing into Saks' (but Buffy had tensed up for a moment – and then been silently horrified inside at how close she had come to giving her secret Slayer strength away)...

To Jen and Buffy, if not to Samantha, Sak's was one of the highlights of the visit. Buffy just compared what she saw with her Los Angeles experience; but Jen was making a kind of study of the clothes and shoes and accessories in her own mind, with different eyes from Buffy's.

An impression was forming in her head. Many of the things she saw were barely less revealing than her sister and mother's "work" clothes. But the impression was entirely different – she was not sure exactly why, perhaps it was the material, perhaps it was the cut or the design. They did not look cheap. But neither did they look chaste. As she saw it, her people's clothes said, "take me – I'm cheap;" whereas the branded gowns in the Fifth Avenue stores said: "Bid for me – I'm expensive."

But nobody else seemed to have any problems. Buffy, especially, seemed to almost go into ecstasy at some of the more attractive models; and while Samantha was clearly not as interested, she tended to look at her sister with what seemed like indulgent affection. And she still knew enough to know quality – once or twice, the sisters got into real debates about particular items of clothing. But when Buffy asked her and she pointed out a couple of outfits she liked, both Sammy and Buffy agreed that they were dreadfully middle-aged.

As the holiday had gone on, Jen had paid more and more attention to the sisters and the interplay between them. After a while, she had realised that she wanted to see how a real family worked, how two sisters as different as Sammy and Buffy treated each other and did things. And she saw the affection between them, not stated or emphasized, just come out in a dozen ways, in companionable behaviour, in instinctive mutual understanding, in shared jokes, in the way they sometimes called each other "Lengthy" and "Tinkerbell". And she could see that Sammy saw nothing wrong about Buffy's taste in clothes. Perhaps it was she, then, She had seen Sammy ruffle Buffy's hair as she had done to her in the plane; and Buffy had just grinned. She remembered her own bewildered and slightly scared reaction, and she could see that it really was normal to them. Perhaps, once again, it was she who was the abnormal one, the one with the excessive reactions. Perhaps she was conditioned to see everything through the prism of lust and money.

"Maybe you should give me a few lessons, Buffy."

"Who, me?"

"Well, you clearly know so much more about fashion than I do."

"Me, giving lessons. I guess I never thought of it."

"Well, actually, the only dress I feel sure about... is a USAF cadet uniform."

"Oh, no!" Buffy burst out, and both she and Samantha laughed. Jennifer looked bewildered."

"Sorry... sorry... It's just that when I was about three or something, I surprised Lengthy here with a junior version of her uniform."

"She was nine, actually. And she looked so darn cute in it. Especially when marching or saluting... Maybe she's forgotten. Private Carter Summers. Ten-HUT!" Buffy gave a salute that was technically correct, but so ridiculously exaggerated that Jen wondered how she did not dislocate her own elbow,. Everybody giggled; evidently she remembered enough.

"Damn, that was a great day..." sighed Sam, and her eyes shone.

So of course Buffy had to make a silly remark. And Jen found something to retort. And Buffy said something else. And Sam broke in. And soon they were being very silly and laughing out loud in the middle of Sack's.

In the end it was inevitably Samantha who brought them down to earth.

"Girls, that's all great, but I think we should go. I think we ought to try and get to the Statue of Liberty before it gets dark."

"No need to hurry, is there? I bet it's even more of the impressive at night, with artificial light..."

"Yes, but we've got a train to catch tonight. And besides, I suspect that if you're left in Sak's any longer, we'll have to reserve beds for a couple of nights. And probably mortgage something."

"Aw. Sammy..." - but then, having reached the street, all three women stopped and stared.

The weather had changed, and changed into something strange. The sky was covered in squally, black clouds, blown wildly around by a wind that did not seem to reach the ground – it was barely breezy where they stood – and lit by incredibly frequent and vicious lightning. Samantha, the airwoman, looked up in something very like fear.

"Holy Hannah... I wouldn't want to be out in something like that."

"What on Earth is it, Sammy?"

"No idea, Buffy. I've never seen a storm act like that."

"So what do we do?"

"I don't know. It's not raining, it's not even windy... But even if it is, we might as well get soaked on our way to Lady Liberty as trying to shelter in some doorway."

Buffy and Jennifer both agreed, and the trio set off. Then a tall man who was walking by stopped, turned his head, and focused on Sammy.

"Excuse me, are you Lieutenant Carter of DST?"

Samantha looked at the man. He did look familiar. "I am. And you are?"

"I guess you wouldn't recognize me out of uniform. Captain William Lawton, USAF, attached to SHIELD."

"Holy Hannah, yes! You were with the SHIELD delegation." And Samantha snapped a salute, just in case.

"At ease, Lieutenant. We aren't on duty here. Just glad to see you is all."

"Same here, Captain. This is my sister Buffy, and this is our friend Jennifer Hailey, who is about to join the Zoo."

"Really! A whole family of Air Force brats?"

"Oh, definitely not," said Buffy with a smile. "I'd look horrible in a uniform." And this time Jen laughed along with Sam, because she was in on the joke.

"Actually, Miss Carter, I am sure you would look nearly as good as your sister." The look he gave Sam was not quite uninterested. "I happened to be with the two loveliest lady officers in SHIELD when we met, and she easily outshone them both."

"I don't think I did."

"Ask Captain Hill. After we left, she made a lecherous remark about you, whose content was that if she had known that the 'chair force'" - Captain Lawton made quotation marks with his finger - "enlisted such fine specimens, she'd have given a thought to joining us."

"Interesting way to speak of a colleague," Jennifer broke in.

"Oh, we're all used to it. You should hear what she says about me. You see, Captain Hill is bisexual, but she is also very respectful of laws and codes. I think that kind of barracks talk is how she relieves the pressure. She would never have come on to your sister, or even considered a romance, especially if they happened to be in the same chain of command. But struck by her beauty? She certainly was. And she had to say it to someone."

"Now I feel like the ugly duckling."

"Well, Miss Hailey, the choice between you and the Lieutenant is the choice between gold statuary and gold jewelry. You are small and exquisite, your friend is tall and splendid. You are both golden. I could also talk about the younger Miss Carter, but I think I would be out of order... just call me back in three years."

Buffy pouted, while Jennifer broke into a grin. "Wow. Ladies, for your delight and admiration, here is a prize-winning specimen of silver tongue. Is it regulation to pay compliments like that without warning, Captain? Because I need to know if I'm going to be an Air Force cadet."

"I'd just say being alone will not be your main problem, Miss Hailey."

Samantha was listening carefully, and thinking of what her Aunt Joyce had told her a few years ago. Was this how another woman would have deflected Don Juan talk? Or was she just trying to claim centre stage? She certainly had taken the driving wheel away from Lawton.

And then Buffy's head snapped to one side, and her eyes grew large. "Listen! Listen!"

"What?"

"Someone is screaming! Can't you hear it? High above us?"

Sam and Jen looked at each other in bewilderment. "No, Buffy, I can't." "And neither can I."

"Someone screamed the word 'Fury!' Over and over again."

Sam did not even answer. Jen just shook her head.

But this time Buffy was sure of herself. Something strange was going on. She could almost literally feel in her bones; and she was growing silently exasperated that neither Sammy nor Jen seemed to have a clue. (She did not notice that Captain Lawton had given her an odd, thoughtful look.) The scream "Fury!" had apparently just passed them by, one of the many noises that flew through the Manhattan air. Buffy cursed her mystical senses, that let her hear and feel what normal people could not. How was she to communicate to her level-headed, rational sister, that they were in grave danger? With that Air Force captain in the way, too?

They decided to take the Lexington Line from Grand Central to Bowling Green. They had expected to be impressed by the old station, but in fact it looked curiously small in the shadow of immense skyscrapers and under that angry sky of torn clouds. Conversely, they had heard all sorts of horror stories about the NY subway, but none of them found it so bad. They emerged at Bowling Green station and made their way to the ferry.

They never reached it. As they made their way to the shore, neither Samantha nor Jen could deny that something was strange and wrong, It was not only the strange storm in the sky; thousands of people were crowding the shore, looking at something that was happening. And now they could hear the screams and shouts from the sky: a male voice, ragged and hoarse and full of hate. A few people had telescopes and binoculars and were giving an account of what they saw.

"Somebody in yellow just smashed him into the water."

"That's got to be Iron Man."

"Yes, it's – my God, he's back!"

"He is! And, and, and – he's blown Iron Man out of the sky!" And Buffy, with her sharper senses, just caught sight of a red-and-yellow streak, blown upwards and away from earth. But nobody could miss what happened next, as what looked like a human shape, only at least three hundred feet tall, strode out into the bay – and was suddenly slapped back into the city, to smash into some buildings and lie there, obviously dazed.

Lawton, Sam and Jen crowded around one of the people with binoculars, trying to follow his narrative. But Buffy's sharper senses had now caught sight of a distant human figure, clearly the enemy. As she looked, she saw him pull upwards another human figure by invisible means; and then the other human just suddenly exploded into parts. But that did not seem to appease the enemy: to the contrary, he screamed one word, full of frustrated, homicidal hatred – the same word she had heard ten minutes before outside Sak's:

"FUURYY!"

In her attempt to take in as much as she could, Buffy had pushed herself through the crowd and near the shoreline. Suddenly she felt the ground shake and change beneath her feet. She felt, as much as saw, the ground shake beneath her feet; there was a monstrous groan, and then, after an interval of a few seconds, a collective, hideous scream of terror and astonishment, as ithe very line of the horizon seemed to change/i. And as Samantha looked at her and shrieked her name, Buffy tumbled and fell, tipping over the shoreline.

…...

Nick Fury was getting used to chaining his girlfriend as they went to sleep. Habit was an unpleasant thing, and he hoped that he would not forget that it was against his own view of himself and that he had once hated the idea. But poor Valentina really seemed the better for it, sleeping peacefully and getting rested – except for the occasional muscle pain in the arms – and the alternative did not bear thinking about. Two of the other Winter Soldier prisoners were still mind-broken, only Gabe making slow visible process. He did not want to chase Valentina back into that Hell.

It had been a stressful week. The visit to the psychiatric unit had only been part of it. So Fury had decided to take a day off, ordering the activation of the Life Model Decoy unit in cse there was urgent need for him. And he had spent the whole day with his woman, in bed and in various places in his flat..

He looked at her and thought. He wanted her healed, he wanted her back as she was. But he also wanted her to be his for the rest of her life. He wanted to marry her, perhaps even have children. And he knew that a whole and secure Valentina might not consent to the children, and would certainly not consent to the marriage. He kept going back to what she had once said to him: iYou have to understand, Nick, I can never be faithful/i. If he cured – or rather, helped cure – Valentina, he would lose her. If he did not, she would be his, as she was now. But he would not be able to look at himself in the mirror.

So cure it was. And anyway, who could be sure of the future?

Valentina was awake, he realised. He unlocked her shackles, and she smiled, and he started drawing her to him...

And everything ended at once. Fury's phone rang with the highest-priority ringtone, the one intended for war-level threats and calamities.

"Fury here!" he barked. All the time, Valentina's eyes were on her master and lover, and was horrified to watch the blood drain from his face – to see terror such as she had never seen before, such as she had not imagined Nick Fury might feel.

…...

Buffy tumbled down the steep and crumbling slope. Even her powers could do nothing to stop her fall, and the next second she was in the void. She could still see Samantha looking at her... and she saw the ground moving iaway/i from her, up and further up in the sky.

Suddenly her fall was broken. She was swinging at the end of some sort of thick web, and her momentum was being diverted outwards, to avoid the falling rocks. She realized that it was Spider-man, and that he was trying to swing her upwards towards the insane floating island. She did her best to position herself, and then she was being thrown at a flat area, as her rescuer turned away – without even making sure of her – to catch someone else.

So began the worst two hours/ of Buffy Summers' life, and of millions of other Americans.

…...

Sam looked down, her eyes wild. Buffy had gone over the edge, and she could do nothing to save her. Then something... it might have been Spider-Man... had broken her fall; but she had lost sight of both as the superhero seemed to be dodging stones. Buffy was gone, and she could do nothing. Jen was on the floor, unconscious and bleeding from a scalp wound, one of dozens of injured people, while the uninjured were milling around, directionless and terrified.

Sam had been trained for this kind of moment, and her training took ruthlessly over. Her inner pain was terrible, but her duty was clear. At the moment, she could do nothing for her sister. She did not know where she was; Jennifer needed immediate aid; and all around her she could hear screams of terror, and smell spilled gasoline, acrid smoke, and dust. Someone had to take over, someone in authority, someone trained. These people needed help, but first and foremost they needed to be led, taken away from the danger area if possible, told what to to do. Captain Lawton was raising himself to his feet, holding on to a street light. He and she were needed.

Samantha Carter stood upright over Jennifer Hailey's little body, looked straight into Lawton's eyes, and – even though the earth was still rumbling and trembling – saluted.

"Captain Lawton, sir."

"Yes?"

"Lieutenant Samantha Carter, reporting for duty."