SHIELD (A Captain America Story, Book 1 of the SHIELD Series) COMPLETE

Chapter 11: A Wider Circle

The invasion and subsequent destruction came to be known as the 'Battle of New York.' Ava knew this because the television became her only source of information after she'd been essentially locked into a SHIELD hospital after the fight. Agent Carraro had scolded her for leaving the Helicarrier medbay and fighting in her condition as she re-did the sutures and bandages on her arm.

Ava watched as reports about the damage and government reactions and conspiracy theories took over the news, but almost nothing got more screen time than the Avengers. People shared firsthand stories about sightings, kids and adults alike dressed up like Thor, Captain America or Hulk and talked about who their favorite hero was. Really, Ava was only in the hospital a few days, but it quickly began to feel like an eternity as the news reports got repetitive, the same shaky footage used to show heroism now playing over arguments of who was to blame. Loki? The Avengers? SHIELD?

As someone who'd been up close and personal, fighting the Chitauri with one arm, listening to talking heads trying to pin the blame for the Chitauri's destruction on the team was almost too much.

Forty eight hours later, Ava was finally allowed to go home, the only remnant of her injury a puckered scar running down the front of her lower left arm and an ache if she strained the muscle too far. She also had two weeks of recovery time. Eevn though she really didn't need it, SHIELD's policies on injury didn't really have any clauses for advanced healing factors.

Ava signed her documents and headed for the door, wondering how much the taxi back from Queens was going to be. The hospital was still chock-full of police, national guardsmen and other military injured during the Battle of New York; most of them were recovering, and luckily, a few of them had already been discharged.

​On her way home in the cab Ava read new case briefs detailing how, despite their best efforts to clean and contain New York as quickly as possible, SHIELD already had reports of stolen Chitauri tech being auctioned off to underground companies eager to experiment on it, and was sending their best agents to deal with it, like Grant Ward, a Level Six Special Operations agent on the same combat level as agents like Natasha Romanoff.

All of the events since Tony's "I am Iron Man" speech had rendered Ava and her powers but a blip on SHIELD's radar, and that was for the best, as far as she was concerned.  But now, in the wake of an actual alien invasion, and the formation of the "Avengers", Ava found herself thrust into SHIELD's spotlight. Someone had captured shaky cell phone footage of her fighting alongside Captain America and the news had no idea what to make of it. As of right now, it seemed as though every news station had a different nickname for her--"Prism" and "Binary" were her two favorites so far.

It coat nearly forty dollars to get back home, which should have been ridiculous, but considering half the streets back to the apartment were now rubble Ava supposed it could be forgiven. Once inside she made herself some tea and curled in her favorite chair, wondering how long it would take the city to go back to normal. She had just closed her eyes, and had almost felt relaxed for thirty seconds when her phone rang.

She picked it up, clicking it open only when she recognized the number.

"Tony–" She began in a warning tone, only to be cut off immediately.

"Ava, be at Bethesda Terrace in ten minutes," Tony ordered, "Run if you have to."

"Tony, where did you get this number?" Ava demanded, "This is a SHIELD phone!"

"Are you really asking me that, Ava?"

"Fine, never mind. Are you at least going to tell me why, exactly, I'm going to Central Park?" But even as she asked she was up and on her way out of the apartment again, trotting down the stairs in a not-quite jog.