The Valiant (The Seventh Avenger)

One Year Later...

S.H.I.E.L.D won't allow me to go on any missions since my nightmares returned, I now live in the Washington D.C. S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters. I still continue to train with Natasha whenever she is available but it just isn't the same as it used to be. It has been a long year, especially without Coulson. I occasionally see Clint, but that is more like every three months and Natasha is all over the place with her schedule so it just depends on the week. Steve started to train here but we never see each other either, it's kind of hard being here since there is no one around my age. I miss Coulson and I miss Ava but I don't know where she is.

I look at myself in the mirror as I try for the tenth time to braid my hair. After getting a semi-decent french braid, I straighten my hearing aid and walk out of the bathroom. I grab my suit jacket and go downstairs. As I am descending the stairs, I pull out the iPod shuffle and select a random playlist. I walk down to the main level and stop in front of the S.H.I.E.L.D. statue as I wait for Fury, he told me that I had a meeting with him and one of his representatives.

I stand there awkwardly as people begin to come in for the day. I smile and nod at a few of them as they walk by. I look down at my I.D. and see the number six scrawled across it and a smile appears on my face at the thought of how far I'd come. 

"Well, for once you are early," Fury says coming up behind me, I chuckle at him and look out at the strike team leaving the building, I wonder where they're off to. 

"You can't blame me for last time," I say making him snicker. He hands me a hot drink. "What's this?"

"Some hot chocolate." He says and I thank him.

We walk over to the elevator and go up to Fury's office. We stand there awkwardly and in silence.

"I wish they still played music in these," I mumble as I take another sip. "They used to at the other building."

We reach the top and the doors open. Tony and Pepper are sitting in front of Fury's desk and stop in the middle of their conversation in response to the doors dinging open. They quickly get up and I give them a hug, it's been about six months since I've seen Tony, but it has been a year since I've seen Pepper.

"Really kid, you like her more than you like me?" He says and Pepper smacks him on the arm.

"It's been a while since we've seen each other," Pepper playfully says.

"Yeah almost a year," I respond. "It's good to see you guys."

Tony smiles. "It's good to see you too kid."

We walk over to the chairs and sit down in front of Fury's desk. It had been a couple of years since I had a meeting like this with Fury, a lump forms in my throat from nervousness but I push it down as I try to remember if I had done anything bad enough for this.

"Stark had brought to my attention that about a year ago you were not too excited about the fact that you were going to return to S.H.I.E.L.D.." Fury says and I give Tony a look. He just shrugs. I look at his eye and see slight bruising on both of them but he just shakes his head. I nod and look back at Fury. "I understand why you didn't want to come back here, but I don't understand why you didn't say anything to me."

I wasn't expecting this. "I don't know, I may be just growing accustomed to this and I didn't want to hurt your feelings," I say and look down at the cup in my hands.

"Hurt my feelings?" Fury says looking me with his eye. "Grace, we all know that that is not true, now what is the real reason?"

"I want to know where Ava Starr is." I blurt out. Truth be told I have been wondering about her for a while. I've searched for her in records but I haven't found anything on her whereabouts... yet.