Girl At War

Leaving - 22

"I want to see if I can do it again." she firmly said. Tony was on the edge of the clearing, looking excited. The rest of the team was also around the edges of the clearing. Their emotions were confusing Eloyse, a jumbled mixture of nervousness, excitement, encouragement, and fear. She closed her eyes a took a deep breath, trying to shut them out. Halfway succeeding, she accepted it and prepared to fight Steve. 

She had been unable to make the shield come back since the battle yesterday. Now fully rested and energized, she agreed with Tony to see if adrenaline could help. Steve launched himself at her with no warning. Eloyse nimbly ducked aside, letting him barrel past. That was probably the worst move he'd ever made; she snickered as the usually agile Captain sprawled full-length on the grass.

"You can move fast!" he grumbled, getting to his feet. He brushed off, grinning. He felt.... mischievous. Eloyse dropped and rolled just as he threw his shield. It barely cleared where she'd been standing. Of course, they weren't trying to hurt each other, but just get Eloyse's power activated. Eloyse used her momentum to roll back to her feet. She flashed a quick grin at Steve before giving a startled gasp and ducking again as the shield returned to his hand.

"That's like a metal boomerang..." she complained, crossing her arms like a petulant child. She tipped her head to one side, thinking. Suddenly she nodded to herself. "Steve, throw the shield at me. Right at me."

"No." Steve instantly dismissed her idea. Eloyse sighed. She could feel his strong dislike for that idea.

"Just do it!" she commanded. Steve groaned, but tossed the shield in a half-hearted manner. Eloyse glared at him as it landed by her feet. She kicked it back. 

"Throw it. Hard."

Steve argued, but Eloyse was adamant. Finally Steve gave in, warning Eloyse that if she died it "won't be my fault." He held it, glancing at her. Her hands were by her sides, the blue glow gathering, a concentrated look on her face. She nodded, and he threw it.

Clint saw Eloyse's hands go up, and the blue light flash out followed by a loud crash. For a moment everyone was blinded, then the light softened. Eloyse was on one knee, slowly getting up. Her hands were in front of her, holding the force field. An excited look crossed her face.

"I got it!"

There was a moment of shocked quiet, then somebody started clapping. A second later, the whole team was in full cheering mode. They clapped, and Tony whistled between his teeth. Steve's shield lay in front of the blue halo. Eloyse grinned, dropping her hands. "That wasn't so hard." she mused under her breath. She raised her hands, putting the protection back up. "Once you know how."

"Nice." Steve was the first to speak when the congratulations died down. Wanda was sitting with her back leaning against Pietro, looking proud. Steve suddenly jumped toward Eloyse, scooping up his shield. She responded by throwing up the barrier again. Steve smacked into it, and staggered backwards.

"Man! Ok! Great! It works..." he rubbed his shoulder. Eloyse let the barrier down with a happy smile.

"I'm hungry!"

Clint laughed. "Me too! Let's go find something to eat!"

                                                   ******************************************

Later that found all the Avengers sprawled around a shady clearing, trying to escape the sun. Eloyse had gone on a walk. Clint, Steve, and Natasha were trying to plan the next war. Thor and Tony were trying to create rain with Wanda's magic. Tony was pretty sure she could do it, but Wanda was positive she couldn't. When Eloyse arrived back, she found them loudly arguing while the rest of the Avengers just rested under the trees, too hot and miserable to do anything. It was Clint who noticed the horse first.