Lady Liberty |1| The Liberty Saga (An MCU Fanfiction)

Prologue

The human memory was a funny thing.

On the one hand, her memories of her husband were clear as crystal. She could still see the way he smiled, the way the corners of his eyes crinkled up, the way he always looked away like he was going to burst if he held her gaze for a moment longer. As memories went, it was one of her favourites, the one she returned to far more often than was healthy. Probably it was unsurprising, then, that she remembered it so well. It had, after all, only been a few years since his death.

In her mind, anyway.

At the same time, though, the true vastness of the years encroached upon her thoughts. The man she'd married, the man she'd adored... He'd been dead for nearly seventy years. Sixty-eight years, five months, two weeks and a day, to be exact—not that she was obsessing over the date or anything. It was just very strange to feel with every breath, every heartbeat, that she was drifting a little further away from him.

Back in the day, she'd thought losing him would be the worst thing in the world. She'd been right, of course, but she hadn't fully understood the enormity of it. Of how it would turn out. In 1945, the streets of Brooklyn had been full of widows young and old, grieving for the brave men who hadn't come home from the war. These days, hardly anyone was left who even remembered the war.

Today, though, that number was about to tick up slightly, all being well—and nothing filled her with more guilt than that. Because as much as she cared for the man they were pulling out of the ice...

She couldn't help but wish it was his best friend instead.

Her phone rang, and with her muscles taut like a bowstring, she answered in an instant. "Coulson."

"Afternoon, ma'am," came the reply. "I got orders to call you in. It's time."

She closed her eyes briefly. "Is he awake? Is he... okay?"

"Awake, yes," Coulson confirmed. "Okay... Well, not exactly. He freaked, attacked our people, ran out into the traffic. Fury wants you to meet him in Times Square. We could really use your help."

"Right." She checked her watch, swallowing. "I'll be there in two minutes."

"Copy."

With that, she hung up, left a tip for the barista and stepped out into the hustle and bustle of New York City. It was a brave new world, but at least a small part of it was about to become a little more familiar.

Time for a stroll down memory lane.

~~~