"You're telling me that you got Captain America-the War Hero, Steve Rogers-to become best friends with a thirteen-year-old kid? What, is this supposed to slowly introduce him to how irritating Generation Z is? Project Training Wheels or something?"
...
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Shock reminded Lizzie Carter of one of those white rooms in solitary confinement, and the only noise you could hear was the static from an old television buzzing loudly in your ears. She felt exactly that as she sat on the steps of her apartment complex, curled into the tightest ball she could possibly imagine while police and other sirens woke anyone trying to sleep that night. Her eyes squinted every so often, trying to adjust to the blinding light, but it was hard to see anything.
What she did see was the S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives rush Fury's dying body out in a gurney, and then the police cars and the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents race into the apartment complex and completely fly by her like she wasn't there. Lizzie remembered how many times Sharon kept shooting looks her way, trying to talk to her a few times in between briefings with other agents that kept arriving. She remembered seeing Steve, quickly, and the look of utter betrayal he shot her. He did not once come up to her, but instead turned in the opposite direction to the hospital. But all of it was static noise.
She only broke free of the half-conscious daze when Sharon crouched directly in front of her, gripping her chin to gain her attention. Her lips were moving, but Lizzie didn't catch any of it. Her sister had changed clothes. The bloody scrubs from Fury were replaced with her usual S.H.I.E.L.D. attire now. When did that happen? Lizzie was still wearing her t-shirt and shorts. Her body, shivering from the cold. She wasn't even wearing shoes.
"What?" she finally asked, and then just like altitude pressure, her ears popped and she was back into the reality of what was going on. The sirens were deafening, the chatter of all the people making her head start to ache, and she only just barely saw Sharon. "What did you say?"
Sharon's eyes flickered in concern over her facial features. "I said, I need you to come with me to SHIELD."
"What?" Lizzie asked, looking at her sister disturbed. "No."
