▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂
𝙉𝙊𝙏 𝘼𝙉𝙊𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙀𝙀𝙉 𝙈𝙊𝙑𝙄𝙀.
───○☆ ✸ ☆○───
CHAPTER ONE: BRIEFING
𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐎𝐍, 𝐃.𝐂. ─ 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐀𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 #𝟑
𝟎𝟑 𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟑
───○☆ ✸ ☆○───
☆
𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐙𝐀𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐇 𝐉𝐀𝐘 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑 grew up in a household of war stories and superheroes. Most of those superheroes, at least in Lizzie's eyes, had the last name as her. That was expected when an entire side of your family dedicated themselves to service and honor—the infamous Carter legacy. A common surname that became a building block for one family that knew the weight it held. The founding Carters, although dating back for a very long time, really began with the three siblings: Margaret, Michael, and Nicholas. Lizzie only ever had the chance to know one, losing her grandfather and great uncle in two very different wars before her time. It just so happened that Margaret Elizabeth Carter was the very same woman that Lizzie got her name from. Well, half of it. She still wasn't entirely sure where the middle name came from, but she was sure her father—Mike Carter—had a reason for giving her a weird middle name like Jay (yes, her family had a thing for recycling names).
Lizzie just never guessed that she would be the next Carter to dedicate themselves to a life of service and honor, and definitely not two days after her thirteenth birthday. She stared out the window of the medium-sized apartment, realizing that her usually-crappy view of New York City's side alleyway had been replaced with a beautiful view of D.C.'s town circle. The sidewalk was bustling with different people rushing to get a start to their morning. If she looked up, she could see the grey clouds starting to part and make way for the sun to come out. It was beautiful, and early Fall had always been her favorite time of year. It made her want to go outside right then so that she could find a nice green area to sit and read a book. She hated it.
"I miss home."
"You can always go home. I can get it all sorted out in a matter of hours."
Sharon Carter stood in the small kitchen area, busying herself by putting all of the random utensils and kitchenette in their rightful place. She barely glanced over at her younger sister as she spoke, the two finding a new routine of their lives together. The loud clanging of glass reminded them that none of the stuff was actually theirs, but supplied to them. It was hard enough that they were both shipped so far away from their home, and now they had to make a pretend life with pretend things in a pretend apartment. Still, the idea of going back home was enough to made Lizzie's blood run cold.
She scoffed, turning to look at Sharon expectantly. "To Mom? Yeah, no. I'm not listening to her rant on and on about Aunt Peggy 'not being fit to make a decision like this for her daughter'."
Lizzie's mockery of her mother's words were too spot-on. The thirteen-year-old couldn't help but raise her eyebrows expectantly at her older sister, daring her to say she wasn't right. Sharon's lips pursed at the thought, but she nodded after a few seconds. Neither one of them wanted to start the conversation again on their mother. The last few days had been spent going back and forth with her. Lizzie's only hope was that her phone would magically break so that she could stop receiving texts and voicemails from Sophia Carter—but then that would mean she wouldn't get texts from her friend (and most definite crush), Aaron. Sacrifices, sacrifices.
"You know she's only letting you do this because Dad convinced her to," Sharon said, frowning a bit as she pulled another box of things from the floor onto their new kitchen table. "And Aunt Peggy, but Dad was the deciding factor. She had enough of a fit as it is when I joined at eighteen. You just turned thirteen, Liz. I don't even know if this is a good idea...I don't like the thought of putting my baby sister in possible harms way just for this."
Lizzie's brows shot up in rebuttal. "I'm not a baby, and you started training when you were thirteen."
"Yeah, but it was a different world back then—"
"Oh, don't give me that talk again, please," she groaned. "I get it. Aliens exist, and now we've got superheroes and Gods out there to protect us...but our family knows better than anyone that they aren't always there. I need to do this. I've gotta be able to protect myself. I'm not some whiney, oblivious thirteen-year-old, Share. If I was, you know I wouldn't be here right now. Fury wanted me himself."
"And I could—and still can—easily tell him that I can do this mission by myself. This could be dangerous, and I'm protecting more than just one person here. I can't be worrying about you all the time or stressing over you accidentally blowing our cover."
Lizzie scowled, turning away from the window so that she could walk into the kitchen area where her sister was. "But then you all wouldn't have someone that can get close to him, no questions asked. That's why Fury wants me, isn't it? Because I can make him talk to me since I'm just a kid."
"Lizzie," Sharon sighed, exasperated. "This isn't a game. We don't even know if we can trust him—"
"Don't we? Sharon, it's him. We've heard stories about him our entire lives."
"And that was, what, sixty-seven years ago?" Sharon gave her a look that was only fit for an older sister. "Look, we'll go get briefed at the Triskelion, and then we start when we get back. He should be getting home around that time. Until then...just stay by my side, please."
"Want me to hold your hand too, Mom? Geez. He'll probably hear us trying to kill each other over the single bathroom and run through the wall with a tablespoon and an apron."
"Lizzie."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I know."
"Good. Now, can you help me with this instead of standing there since you're all grown up now?"
───○☆ ✸ ☆○───
𝐒.𝐇.𝐈.𝐄.𝐋.𝐃. 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 ─ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐊𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍
There were fifty thousand things that Lizzie could have said about the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, but the only thing that kept running through her mind was that it really was a bit of a disappointment. Maybe it was because she grew up hearing stories by her Aunt Peggy, and she always made the place seem like its own kind of Disneyland. Really, the place looked like any other work building. There were people carrying loads of coffee in one hand and beige, manila folders in the other. The walls were bare and stripped of any art. She was pretty sure her mom's law firm back in New York looked closer to this than Disneyland did.
Sharon must have seen the look of disappointment on her face because one side of her lip turned up, the only indication of emotion on her sister's face. That was another weird thing for Lizzie. She had never seen her sister at work before. Sure, she knew Sharon was technically a spy for a secret organization, but she was still just Sharon. The same Sharon that used to complain about driving her to her Tee Ball games and cheered loudly at all of her gymnastic competitions—the same Sharon that she threw a hairbrush at when she was six and put a permanent hole in their living room wall (that was covered up by Sharon's high school graduation picture).
This Sharon was cold, stoic. It reminded Lizzie that women in the workplace were, unfortunately, still not as respected as men were. That annoyed her to no end, and she refrained from giving a glare at the group of men in suits who all stopped to give a once-over at her sister. They barely took a second glance at her, but before Lizzie could even begin to say a word, Sharon's arm had latched tightly onto her wrist and pulled her away to an elevator. Lizzie grumbled as she did so, but noticed immediately that Sharon's face had let up after passing by the group of men. Now that they were alone, she was back to being Sister Sharon. Well, besides for the pantsuit.
"To Director Fury," Sharon said casually, then gave a glance over at her sister.
Lizzie nearly jumped in her skin when she heard the elevator chime in response, "Level Six Clearance for Agent Thirteen and Level One Clearance for Elizabeth Classified accepted," and then start up its ascent. Her eyes widened when she noticed that there was a clear picture of her on the keypad of the elevator, printed along with her name and her clearance title.
"Wh—is that my school picture?" Lizzie said in exasperation as she looked at herself. "Gross, Sharon! Look at me! Everyone can see that? And what's with the last name? I don't think Classified was on my birth certificate."
Sharon glanced over at the picture that soon faded away, replaced with the floor numbers as they quickly went up. "Probably. They had to add you into the system before you could have access into the building. Facial recognition and everything makes sure you're cleared from being a threat. Otherwise, you would have been detained...and our last names are classified so only Level Ten clearance has access to it. When I joined, I didn't want anyone to treat me differently because of my last name. I wanted the same to apply for you."
"Oh, okay..." she paused, dumbfounded, then her eyes narrowed over at Sharon. "How did they even get that picture? That's from last year."
Sharon gave her a look, and she realized her sister was telling her that she didn't want to know the answer. Well, Lizzie thought, it was starting to look a little more like Disneyland's Tower of Terror and less like an attorney's hell. She still had to warm up to the idea that she was going to be spending every single day in this facility—one of the perks (or faults) of being shipped to D.C. at thirteen was that she was going to be homeschooled. Or S.H.I.E.L.D.schooled. Along with being taught about the World Wars and algebraic expressions, she was also going to be taught how to defend herself. No guns, though. At least, that was everything that Sharon and Fury told her back in New York.
"So, is there a reason why Fury shipped everyone out to D.C.?" she asked, her eyes watching as the numbers started to go slower. They must be getting close to his office. "I mean, you and him seemed fine in New York. I know he was adjusting alright there, obviously...so why the change of scenery?"
Sharon crossed her arms over her chest with a sigh, glancing up at the ceiling. "I don't know, Lizzie. I'm sure he'll explain everything during the briefing. Stop asking questions."
"But—"
"Director Fury's office," the elevator said, cutting Lizzie off.
Sharon didn't wait another second, her arms falling back to her side in a professional manor. Lizzie followed behind with a small frown, taking one last glance at the elevator when she noticed her picture flash up again as she got off of it. Facial recognition must happen when entering and exiting—huh, that's cool. She stopped looking when the doors nearly chopped her arm off (and she was kind of scared they actually would) and ran after her sister.
Sharon was already opening the door to his office when she finally reached her, and Lizzie felt a small shiver run down her spine as she realized she was going to be seeing Director Fury for the third time. The first time had been in her parents' home when he randomly showed up with Sharon one weekend, sitting down their parents to explain two very important things—the first was that Aunt Peggy was being moved into a retirement home in D.C. close to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters per her orders, and the second was that Sharon would be moving there, as well.
Aunt Peggy's move had been hard news to swallow, especially for their Dad since she and Grandma Ruthie were the only two living relatives that they had left in America (no one talked to Mom's family; they're all crazy). All of their cousins lived in England with their respected families, leaving the rest of the Carter's in New York. The Vietnam War had gotten to Grandpa Nick before Lizzie and Sharon even had the chance to meet him. Uncle Michael, Peggy's other brother, had passed away in World War II before Grandpa Nick was even born. That left only Aunt Peggy and Grandma Ruthie, her Dad's mom, in their immediate family. All strong women, but women that found themselves victim to each war of their time. Knowing that one of those women was showing signs of beginning Alzheimer's, and that the other one struggled every day with polio made things difficult for their family. They were still Lizzie's heroes.
Sharon leaving had been hard to accept, especially for their mom who was Anti-S.H.I.E.L.D. in every way, but the real kicker of that conversation had been when Director Fury and Sharon looked at Lizzie—and asked her to move with Sharon to assist in a easy, (nonlethal) surveillance mission. The results of that conversation ended up with her mom throwing a skillet at Fury's head (not a Carter by blood, but definitely still a Carter). That day began the month-long meetings between her parents, Sharon, Fury, and her Aunt Peggy on her good days to talk over the logistics of Lizzie becoming an 'associate' for S.H.I.E.L.D. Lizzie still wasn't entirely sure how in the holy hell Fury and the others managed to convince her mom. The second time ever that Lizzie met Fury, it was the day that she escaped the clutches of her mother's iron-grip and got into the car with Sharon to Washington, D.C.
"Sharon and Elizabeth Carter, Director Fury," another intercom announced as they made their way into the room. Lizzie had to resist spinning around to figure out where exactly the voice came from—and why did every place have that? Did the bathrooms have that? That would be awkward.
The room was huge, as expected, and she was about 90% certain it had the same dimensions as their entire new apartment did. Her eyes widened despite herself, taking in the huge screen that was set up on the left of the wall, before turning to look at the other half of the office. This was Disneyland. This was definitely Disneyland. Half of the wall was replaced with windows, and she couldn't help but feel like dying a bit inside when she realized just how high up they actually were. Heights were not her thing.
Then, she zeroed in on the man sitting at the desk in front of the windows and realized the heights had nothing on him. Fury glanced up when he heard their names, his one-eye gleaming with what emotion he could actually show. Much like her sister, he was still stoic. It made her want to test how much she had to do in order to get him to break, but she decided that now was not the time for that.
"Agent Thirteen, Elizabeth," he greeted, and she couldn't help but awkwardly wave her hand in his direction. Was that a thing? Did people wave to the Director of a spy company? Hell, she hugged her aunt all the time and she co-founded the freaking place! "I hope the two of you are enjoying Washington. Your mother has already left me fifteen voicemails in the last twenty-four hours."
Sharon sighed and made her way over to the chairs that were in front of his desk, Lizzie following very small behind her. "I'm sure all of the messages were respectful of your position, Director?"
"She called me something a little different," Fury said, but not without humor. His dark stare turned from Sharon to her now, and she resisted the urge to slouch all the way down in her seat. "Elizabeth, it's nice to see you again. I hope you got the birthday card I sent you."
"Before or after Mom burned it in the backyard with our Yankee Candle?" Lizzie asked, a bit surprised that she was able to get out a joke given the way her heart was pounding. "I think I saw a 'Ha' and a 'B' in the ashes somewhere."
Sharon turned to look at her sharply, but to her surprise, Fury was smirking. "Well, Ha B, Elizabeth. I know that it isn't ideal circumstances for someone your age, but your association with S.H.I.E.L.D. and this mission is going to be what makes or breaks this for us. So, if you're all right being talked to and treated like an adult, I'm all right treating you like one."
"Please, Director."
She shot a dark look at her sister before turning back to him.
"All right, then. Let's get started..." Just like that, the briefing began and so did Elizabeth's first mission with S.H.I.E.L.D. "Agent Thirteen, I have asked you to come to D.C. because we have just recently signed a contract with a new advisor to our division. Similar to how we have asked Tony Stark to be an advisor, he is going to be acting in accordance to guidelines we have laid out for him regarding fieldwork and mission operatives. I'm not going to pretend like the two of you don't already know who it is. Captain Rogers has worked with us in the past at the Battle of New York, and in turn, helped take down a critical threat to S.H.I.E.L.D. and the world. Since then, Captain Rogers has been...hesitant...to commit to helping S.H.I.E.L.D. and we—I—am concerned about the amount of trust that we can place in him as an advisor to the division. After New York, we wanted him close to Headquarters...but we also want him to adjust to life outside of the ice without too much intervention."
Lizzie's eyebrows furrowed, and she found herself speaking without thinking. "Hasn't he had, like, two years to do that?"
"Two years to find a routine after missing sixty-five can be a difficult adjustment, Miss Carter," Fury said, casually. He didn't even flinch at her interruption, but she could see her sister's disapproval clear on her face. Oops. "As the two of you have already seen, you are living in Apartment Three at the same complex Captain Rogers currently lives in. He moved in two weeks before you, and we have him set up in Apartment Four. Agent Thirteen, you will be acting as a protective detail for Captain Rogers while he is home. I'm not asking you to watch his every move, but the walls are thin—any suspicious activity, you come directly to me."
Lizzie had a joke for that, but she stayed quiet. It didn't seem like the time with Sharon's compliant nods and Fury's serious conversation. Besides, she'd told him to treat her like an adult. She might as well act like one.
"Miss Carter," he turned to her now, his eye boring a hole into her soul. "We already know that Captain Rogers is hesitant to trust any adult, even those that he believes have no affiliation to S.H.I.E.L.D. Your service in this mission will provide us with intel on whether or not you believe that he is trustworthy by becoming friends with him over time, while you, Agent Thirteen, maintain brief and distant contact as to ensure he does not discover your connection to S.H.I.E.L.D."
"With all due respect, sir," Sharon said, interjecting as she sat up straighter. "What if he isn't trustworthy? I don't want to put Lizzie in an environment alone with someone that this division doesn't trust, and if I'm not meant to make direct contact with Captain Rogers, how am I—"
"Sharon," Lizzie interrupted, looking over at her with a small frown. "You know he won't hurt me."
Sharon's eyes were pierced with protectiveness when they turned to her, fierce and wide with their usual level of Carter personality. "He isn't going to know who you are, Lizzie. We don't know the type of man that he became after he got out of the ice...I'm not going to just hand you off to become best friends with some stranger, Steve Rogers or not. Not when I can't intervene and protect you while you're with him."
"Of course, Agent Thirteen. Your sister will be given a panic button that not only alerts you of any danger, but also alerts a STRIKE team here at Headquarters...but I believe Elizabeth is right. I have no personal concerns that Captain Rogers is a threat to your sister or the public. If I did, I would not be asking for her involvement in this. My only concern is whether or not he is a threat to S.H.I.E.L.D. The two of you are the only people I trust with this mission."
That inflated Lizzie's ego a bit. She bit down her lip as Fury spoke, beginning to take in the weight that came with his words. Really, the mission seemed easy enough. She just had to be kid, and while doing that, she needed to figure out whether or not Steve Rogers was trustworthy. The ease of it didn't stop a small discomfort from rising in her stomach, not enjoying the idea of lying to him. He was the man Aunt Peggy loved, and she was being asked to become friends with him only to lie about everything in the end...but wasn't that what S.H.I.E.L.D. did? To better the world? Isn't that what her aunt would have wanted out of the place she created? Lizzie could do this for her. She would do this for her. That had been decided the moment she followed Sharon here.
Her hands tightened a bit around the arms of the chair, frowning a bit. "So I just become friends with him? How do I do that?"
"By being a teenager," Fury said, like it was obvious. His brow raised a her. "Like I said, Captain Rogers is still adjusting to the twenty-first century. Who better to explain to him how it works than someone who can text a hundred words a minute?"
"That's a...fair point," she agreed, pursing her lips. She glanced over at Sharon. "But what about Sharon? He's going to think it's weird that I'm always around to bug him, but she is never in sight."
"That is why Agent Thirteen will be acting under the alias as a nurse at the local hospital, while you will be enrolled in West Tech Middle School," Fury explained to them as he carefully slid two (ironically enough) beige, manila folders in either of their directions. "Neither of you will need to continue your cover any further by actually going to these locations. Elizabeth, your schooling has been arranged here on sight, and you will be taught by Agent Monroe on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Agent Sitwell will be handling your S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol training on Tuesdays, and your sister will be training you in combat and fieldwork. Thursdays are your free day. I don't want the responsibility on my hands for your limitations, so she is in charge of you there. I believe she began a similar training at your age."
Lizzie couldn't stop the smirk on her face, knowing that Director Fury added that in there just to prove a point to Sharon. Still, even though all of the information was right in front of her and coming out of Fury's mouth, it still didn't feel real. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been all but an urban myth to her for so long, and Mom always told her that she would basically murder her if she even thought about joining when she was an adult...now, she was only thirteen, and she was a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. Well, an associate but that sounded cool enough, right?
"What about when he's at the Triskelion while I'm here? Can't that ruin the whole operation if he sees me?"
"Contrary to what you may believe, Captain Rogers keeps himself out of this building as much as he possibly can. The only time he is going to step through those doors is when he is being called for a mission or a meeting. In those instances, we will either send you a message to stay at the apartment or redirect you to a different location within the building until he has departed for his mission."
"Okay...got it." Lizzie's mind was whirling, realizing that they had thought of every possible thing. She stopped in her place when she came across one thing in the file. "Emily?"
"Kate and Emily Culver. Two sisters from New York City that moved to Washington after their parents' divorce. Big fight led to Emily living with her older sister, Kate, instead of their father who currently lives in Bethesda." Lizzie's brow raised, realizing how similar the cover-story was to their actual lives. Aside from the parent thing, of course. Fury saw it. "Agent Thirteen has disguised her Brooklyn accent after enough training, but there is no hiding yours in a matter of hours. Captain Rogers isn't an idiot, and hopefully, the two of you can bond over the subs on your favorite corner and Coney Island's hot dogs...the closer you stick to your actual lives, the easier it is to pretend. Emily and Elizabeth sound similar enough, don't they?"
"I mean...sure. As similar as Hannah sounds to Tiffany," Lizzie said hesitantly, then immediately got kicked in the shin by her sister. She winced, bringing the wounded ankle closer to her other and glared at her sister. "I'm sorry, Director Fury. Mom says I get my personality from Dad."
"Well, if your aim is as good as the rest of your family's is, I'd say you are going to fit in perfectly fine here, Miss Carter."
A real smile spread across Elizabeth Carter's face at the compliment. She always got compliments from people saying how similar she looked to her Aunt Peggy and her sister, but very rarely did it ever extend to other parts of personality—the parts that actually mattered. If people looked close enough, they'd be able to see that she was great at talking to people and could tell the ins and outs of a person's heart within a matter of seconds. She also had a bit of a temper, but that didn't really need to be discussed (i.e. hairbrush-in-wall situation). She blamed both her mom and dad's sides for that one.
She glanced down at the file again, pursing her lips as she saw all of the random details of information she would have to read over later on. Still, in the quick glimpse, there was one thing she was missing. She looked back up at Fury. "How soon exactly am I supposed to become friends with him? Because I can be a little overbearing at times—and pushy, in an endearing kind of way, I mean. I just...I'm a really big people person."
Fury's eye turned in the direction of Sharon, getting confirmation on whether or not what Lizzie was saying was actually true. Sharon, as much as she hated it, had to sigh and nod her head once. "She's not wrong, sir. If you need her to befriend Captain Rogers quickly, she can do it without spiking any suspicion. Quicker than any agent in this division."
Lizzie wanted to squeeze her sister for the compliment, but her head was already getting too big and her ego was soaring now, so she decided to grin briefly over at Sharon before paying attention again.
"How soon can you become friends with him?" Fury asked, looking back at her. His features raised at the question, testing her for an answer he wanted.
She shrugged, a bit too casually for the occasion. "I've never met him before, but...if he's anything like I've heard about for the last thirteen years, I don't think becoming friends with him will be too difficult for me. I'd have to meet him first and figure out how much I can push before I scare him away. I'm sure being myself—or being as much of myself as Emily can be—will make it easier..."
"Then, the pace and approach for gaining Captain Rogers' trust is on you, Miss Carter. The last time Captain Rogers talked to a teenager, it was James Barnes' little sister back in nineteen-forty-three. He isn't experienced in handling someone your age. That's exactly why you are the one person we believe can help him. You're something new, something he can't predict."
The idea of Captain America—Steve Rogers—becoming best friends with her was a funny thought. It was especially funny because she spent half of her life wishing that she was best friends with him. He had always been everything she wanted out of a friend, hearing all of the stories about him and Bucky Barnes together. Now that she was literally being handed the opportunity to be just that (with a few exceptions of course), she couldn't believe it.
She couldn't believe she had to be best friends with Steve Rogers, and he wouldn't even know her real name. He wouldn't know the real her. She frowned at that, trying not to focus on the negatives of the situation and focus mainly on the positives. Like, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. told her she was the only person who could help Captain America. Her, Elizabeth Carter!
"I just have one question..." Lizzie began, turning to look in between Fury and Sharon. "Do I get to pick a cool agent number for myself? Because Miss Carter makes me sound like I'm eighty and Elizabeth Classified is a bit of a mouthful, if I'm honest."
───○☆ ✸ ☆○───
▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂
Author's Note:
Lizzie has my entire heart and soul, my little child. Also, I used my own name as her alias. Oops. I thought it was a funny, little easter egg. How are you liking the story, and Lizzie so far? Are there any questions that you may have regarding complications with her mission? (i.e. any loose ends or plot holes I may need to address that you are confused by). Let me know, please! It will help me really shape this story and make sure it isn't confusing or out of character (or canon).
(Also, I'm super proud of the gif I made of Sharon and Lizzie. My lil sister duo, ugh).
Thank you for reading! I'm so excited for this story. GUESS WHO LIZZIE MEETS NEXT CHAPTER. Part One will be shorter, and definitely at a faster pace than the second part of this story will be (Peter comes in in Part Two). This part is just going to be setting up Lizzie's S.H.I.E.L.D. training, her relationship with Sharon, and her friendship with Steve. I can't wait!!