SAM SAT IN A CELL OF SORTS. Handcuffs attached her wrists to the table in front of her, glowing blue. Some sort of Tesseract power. That terrified her more than anything else— like history repeating itself. She had to remind herself that the Red Skull was dead. Hydra was gone.
Whatever she was facing now was something new.
Sam was left alone for hours. It was an interrogation tactic, she knew. Give her time to stew, see what she did. They wanted some sort of reaction. Something to see what kind of weakness she had, what drove her, what could break her. So she didn't give them anything.
Sam only stared at the wall opposite her, knowing they were watching. She sat still and refused to so much a fidget, waiting for someone to come.
Hours passed.
Finally, the door opened.
The man who stepped through was not what she'd been expecting. He was tall, menacing, and dressed like some sort of pirate-spy from a movie.
He had an eyepatch.
Despite herself, she blinked in surprise.
"Samantha Clarence."
She raised her jaw.
"We've been searching for you for a long time."
"Could've just called."
"Didn't have a number."
She shrugged, shifting her cuffed hands. "I make a point not to give my contact information to pirates. Morals, you know?"
"Very funny."
But he didn't sound amused at all, sitting in the metal chair opposite her. Sam clenched her jaw, forcing herself to hold his gaze. His one-eyed gaze. She wanted to ask. But at the same time, that should be the last thought on her mind.
For a split second, she wished Meg was there. Despite condemning the woman earlier. This would have been a lot easier with her presence.
"Why am I here? Who are you?"
"You can call me Director Fury. We have a... problem that we could use your help with."
Sam stared for a long moment. Then she yanked on her cuffs, irritating flaring under her skin. "So what, that's the reason for the ploy? The fake mission, the test? Seriously... a little dramatic."
"We like the dramatics."
She stilled, letting the words sink in. If they needed her than that meant she had the upper hand. Not to mention they knew who she was. That alone should be enough to tell her they— whatever SHIELD stood for— were a threat. "What's this problem? And why go to all these lengths to get me here?"
Fury raised a brow. He glanced toward the door and it opened— Phil stepped through. She scowled further.
He, on the other hand, was smiling. "Samantha Clarence. The Phantom. I have to say, it's an honor to meet you—"
Despite herself, she blinked. That wasn't what she'd expected him to say.
"Coulson," Fury grunted. Phil cut off, closing his mouth. He set a folder on the table, pushing it in front of Sam.
"Right. Sorry. These might provide some insight."
She looked at them, then looked at her handcuffs, giving Fury a pointed look. He muttered something and unlocked them and she massaged her wrists, trying not to cringe away from the cuffs. The blue light. The way it weakened her.
It brought an onslaught of repressed memories.
Instead, she opened the folder.
Her blood chilled.
The first picture was one she knew all too well. The Tesseract, clipped to a sheet labeling its details— unknown object, containing unlimited power. Flipping the page, she looked at her own face. Standing between Steve and Bucky, arms thrown around their shoulders, caught mid-laugh.
Her heart twisted and she slapped it closed, looking up.
"What is this? What did you do?"
"Why would you assume we did something?"
"I wouldn't be here if you didn't."
"You've been out of touch for a long time, Miss Clarence," Fury said. She pressed her lips together and he continued. "Immortality... that's something we've yet to understand. But I am fairly certain there are things we've discovered that you've yet to understand as well. You miss a lot of things underground. A lot of important events."
"I trust this is going somewhere?"
He didn't look impressed at her tone. But she couldn't help it. All of this was something she'd walked away from years ago. She'd walked away from it on purpose. And she wasn't about to get dragged back in, no matter what this organization claimed to represent.
She didn't even know what it represented.
"We recently had our hands on the Tesseract."
"Had?"
"It was... taken. You've had your share of experience with the Tesseract and its power." He gave her a pointed look. "From Howard Stark's notes, some of its energy runs through your veins. We could use your help in getting it back."
"If the Tesseract is in someone else's hands—" Sam cut off. "Wait, you knew Howard?"
Coulson's brows furrowed and he gave her a confused look. "SHIELD stems from the SSR. Peggy Carter was the original director. Howard Stark helped get the whole thing started."
The world around her slowed.
Sam pushed herself up, turning away and blinking once. Twice. How long had she been avoiding the real world? Moving from country to country, staying underground, out of sight. She'd cut herself off from the real world as best as she could. But it seemed things had kept going. More had happened than the simple end of WWII.
"I haven't paid much attention." She whispered. She turned. "Who has the Tesseract?"
"A being named Loki. He's a god of sorts."
"A— god?"
Fury looked away. "She might be just as behind as Rogers."
Sam stumbled. "S-Steve?"
He looked back at her in surprise. It didn't look like he experienced that emotion very often. Sam felt like she could collapse, so much piling on her shoulders at once. A few hours ago, she'd been content with roaming around as a mercenary, picking up jobs and staying off the grid. But... it couldn't be possible. She'd listened to Steve's last words.
She'd listened to him say goodbye.
"Coulson," Fury pushed himself up, shaking his head. "Do what you can. Bring her up to speed."
Sam looked between them and despite everything, Coulson looked like he'd just won the lottery. She didn't know what to think. How to react. SHIELD, Steve, the Tesseract—
"Don't bring up the trading cards," Fury said. "I think she might pass out."
Sam could have socked him.
Except he was right.
~ ~ ~
Hours later, she finally stopped feeling dizzy.
Shifting through the file, she did her best to process everything Phil said. From how SHIELD had been formed, to the little things that had happened during her time off-grid. The revelation of Iron Man. The finding of Steve in the ice. All the little anomalies that she once might have filed away as fantasy.
"Most history books disregard the Phantom altogether," he said. "But I've got the cards. Trading cards— and some comic books. You're one of the original Howling Commandos. The books could never disregard that fact."
Pain struck through her chest. "They should."
"Sorry?"
"I left them. No loyal Commando would have done that."
Coulson was quiet and she looked to see him studying her face. He was a strange man. So different from Fury, so excited and full of life. But his lips were pulled into a frown now. She lowered her eyes.
"I don't mean to ruin your fantasy. Sorry."
"It's because of Barnes, isn't it?"
That struck her like a blow to the chest. Sam pushed herself up, running a hand through her hair. Bucky. How long had it been since she'd allowed his name into her mouth? "He in the comic books too?"
"All of SHIELD recognizes him. He was the first fallen hero."
She closed her eyes.
"Loki has the Tesseract. If we can't stop him, it's going to be a lot worse than the Red Skull. We don't know what he wants with it, but it can be anything good."
"Does Steve know I'm alive?"
"We'll be dispatching a quinjet for Rogers within the hour. That's my next trip. I don't know what Fury said to him, but we weren't even sure you were real until today. That's where the test came in."
"So I'm guessing I'm not getting paid for my time."
Phil smiled a little and she was relieved to see the look back. She didn't want to break the spirit of this man. He reminded her of Meg, in a way. "You'd have to take that up with Fury."
"Maybe I will."
Coulson gathered the folder and stood, pressing a few numbers into the keypad by the door. It beeped and swung open and he stepped back, nodding her forward. "Then shall we?"
Sam hesitated for a moment. She hadn't wanted to get back into this. She'd never even planned to again. But on the other hand... Steve was alive. This entire organization was something Peggy had put her name into. Maybe it was time she stopped fighting for herself and turned to something greater. Just like she used to.
Maybe it was time for the Phantom to return.
Forcing herself forward, she moved past him and stepped out.
~ ~ ~
Chapter Two, here we are! Guys, I'm so excited about this, this entire fic is one of my favorite fanfictions I've written. Thoughts so far? Comments?
Big additional shoutout to trash_goddess600 for the trading cards idea. You're a genius and I adore you.