And They Were Roommates (STEVE ROGERS X OC)

Chapter Seven

When Taylor found the case, where she had her project, half open, she completely freaked out. She remembered closing it, even locking it, yet it was now unlocked, with the suit fortunately still inside it. It had been moved as well; she knew from the way it was folded back into the box. It was different; everything in front of her was different from how she left it.

Taylor had been working on the suit for a while now, improving it so she couldn't get seriously injured by anyone attempting to harm her while she was wearing it. It was still not perfect, but she installed all she could think about, making it thicker and bulletproof, creating its own heating and cooling system in case of emergencies. Tony always took a look at it, after each month of its development, he wanted to see it to make sure it was absolutely safe for her to use.

Taylor asked him each time to not give her any ideas for it, as she wanted it to be completely hers, while only receiving minor feedback. The reflecting panels were her idea, she had been fascinated by them, perfecting them for a whole year, tinkering with them during her coffee breaks at work. With that came the fun part of the suit: becoming invisible to the human eye. Just by the blink of an eye she could disappear, and be completely isolated if she wished to, or go to places she would never go to in person.

After it had been discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D., she was offered that lab position and a place in the Avengers Initiative. They even let her store the suit in her own space in the building.

But they betrayed her trust.

She would never know how many times the suit was taken, what was changed, and what they did to it, or with it. Sometimes, she felt selfish for containing it from the world, hiding it in secret when she could help others with it and take advantage of its qualities. She envied the people who used their powers to help people in need and help get rid of crime.

But what could Taylor do? She didn't receive any training, she couldn't fight. All she had was the suit, which was her life, but she couldn't use it for good. And how could she protect the people she loved? She felt useless because of it a lot but she didn't figure out what to do yet. She wanted to change, but she wasn't sure where to start.

With shaking hands, she closed the box in the case, taking it out calmly and slipping it into her duffel bag. She had to talk to Fury, but she didn't want to tell him what happened, she didn't want him to know that she was aware of it. She had to pretend.

On the way to Fury's office, she was nervous. Knowing that Steve got a job as an agent of some kind, he was going to go on missions, and fight for good. And to be part of the Avengers Initiative, she had to be in top shape, and learn how to fight too. How to defend herself from the people around her.

S.H.I.E.L.D. felt like a ticking bomb whenever she entered. Most people there were highly trained and could end Taylor's life with a single move, with just one swish of their knives. A collection of people like that was dangerous, even more so to Taylor who had never been Fury's favorite.

She wasn't fully against what they stood for, but she wasn't on their side either. If she had a choice, whether to stay with S.H.I.E.LD. or go and fight on her brother's side, she wouldn't hesitate to choose the latter. Tony wasn't with S.H.I.E.L.D. because he didn't trust them. And Fury knew that extremely well, that she wasn't with them, that she couldn't quite be trusted with anything remotely classified.

Taylor only noticed how dumb she must have looked, standing in front of Fury's office hesitantly, when she heard murmuring behind her. The two passersby eyed her strangely but she ignored them, raising her fist to knock on the door. It took a minute for the door to open, and Taylor wasn't exactly relieved to see Fury in a worse-than-average mood either. His expression never told her much, but she felt like he could use a smile on some days rather than that sour face.