Jupiter [Marvel Phase I]

thirty-three.

Dev knew something was up the moment Jenn volunteered to go back down into the crater. It didn't take S.H.I.E.L.D. long to catch on either. Within fifteen minutes, it became "All eyes on 141!" They searched the crater top to bottom only to come up empty handed.

After that night, Dev wasn't sure how he was supposed to return to his normal life, like the guys at S.H.I.E.L.D. expected. Monday was his only day without one of Dr. Sutton's lectures, but he could feel the shockwaves of his death reverberate through the university from the moment he stepped foot on campus.

The fact that Jenn was absent wasn't a surprise, considering. When she didn't show up for Harry's funeral, or for his on-campus memorial service, people began to whisper. She was officially declared missing on the fourth day. One week later, Dev started wondering if he should give up hope of ever seeing her again himself.

It was around that time that S.H.I.E.L.D. began to step back as well. The first few days, Dev couldn't seem to swing a wrench without hitting a covert agent. They had him stay overnight with them for a debrief after getting back from the C.E.N.T.R.E. facility. His mother was none too happy when he showed up the following afternoon - mostly due to the unfamiliar woman at his side. Speaking of Melinda, she continued to show up to classes and Dev swore he could feel her eyes on the back of his head everywhere he went.

She wasn't the only one. Dev found himself wondering if there had always been so many agents around campus or if he was only noticing it now that he knew what to look for. Some of them interacted with him, asking banal things while avoiding the one question they were most desperate to know; had he been in contact with Jenn since the battle?

No, he hadn't. Dev was sure he was the only person on the planet who wanted to see Jenn more than they did.

But there wasn't a single sign of her. Ten days on and it seemed like S.H.I.E.L.D. was reconciling the fact that they weren't going to be spotting Jenn around the university anytime soon. If ever. Dev only wished he could say the same for himself.

The overwhelming consensus seemed to be that Jenn had joined C.E.N.T.R.E.. In S.H.I.E.L.D.'s final communication with her, she had mentioned that she was going back to help some trapped C.E.N.T.R.E. agents. Melinda and a few of the more understanding agents seemed to think she'd been kidnapped (coincidentally, this happened to be Dev's greatest fear). However, most of the agents seemed to think the choice was Jenn's own. "You can't overcome your programming" or some other nonsense. But Dev knew Jenn better than that. He had to believe she was better than that.

Two weeks later and Dev almost succeeded in giving up hope of seeing his best friend ever again. Which was, of course, the exact moment she chose to drop by.

xxx

Dev didn't scream when he saw her, thank god. The moment he turned on the lights to his basement workroom and spotted Jenn lounging at one of the benches, he froze up like a deer in the headlights. Jenn managed to get half-way to a smile before she realized that his scream was on a delayed timer. She leapt up with a desperate finger to her lips, but Dev had already clamped both hands over his mouth. He let his eyes do the screaming for him.

"Shh..." Jenn warned anyway.

"But...B-but-" Dev began.

Jenn could tell he was making an effort to keep it down, but his voice was still a couple decibels higher than she felt comfortable with. She shushed him again before adding, "I managed to knock out S.H.I.E.L.D.'s bugs temporarily, but no doubt they've got lazer satellites trained on your house anyway. We're gonna have to make this quiet and quick - before they figure out what I did."