Beginning of the End | Laven

The New Guy

Lavi looked anxiously around the office. He'd been sitting with Allen when three agents came by. Allen, assuming the agents were there for them, tried to get up but one of the three raised their arms.

"We just need Lavi." The teens shared a look until Allen laid back on his bed and whispered a good luck.

The office seemed pretty bare, the wall had a single S.H.E.I.L.D logo. There was a desk with two chairs in front of it and one behind it. On the desk there was a name plate reading: Nicholas Joseph Fury. Fury? Sounds familiar. Lavi could vaguely-perfectly- remember Allen muttering under his breath about a Fury giving him trouble. The redheaded teen walked around curiously, looking at what he could. On the edge of the desk was a file labeled: Walker, Allen- POL.

"POL? What th-"

"It stands for Phantom Lost. Which is what you're here to talk about." Lavi spun around and saw an African american man completely dressed in black. He had an eye patch over one eye and his voice let off an incredibly serious tone. Lavi wanted to ask him who he was but the man answered his question before he could.

"My name is Nick Fury, I'm the director of S.H.E.I.L.D. I need to talk to you about Allen Walker. Have a seat Lavi." Lavi sat stiffly at the chair in front of the desk.

"Before we start talking, I need you to understand something. The Phantom's identity is a government secret-"

"Am I getting arrested?" Fury seemed to be surprised that the teen actually interrupted him.

"As long as you don't reveal the Phantom's identity or anything else that I tell you, you'll be fine." Lavi let out a sigh of relief, relaxing a bit in the chair.

"You need to understand something about Allen and his abilities." Fury leaned towards him slightly.

"This file," he spoke while walking to the edge of the room towards a key pad-When the fuck did that get there?- "has information that only the Avengers know. POL is an acronym for Phantom Lost. It the code we're using for whenever this situation arises."

"Excuse me, what is the situation? Is Allen in danger?" Lavi's voice was soft but laced in worry.

"This has happened twice, Allen only knows about the first time. He can't remember either events but he saw the wreckage of the first POL while the agents were leaving the scene. I know you have questions but let me finish." He typed in a few numbers and the wall holographic screens appeared. Two were of the Phantom fighting, one was of Allen training.

"Phantom lost is what we call when Allen loses control of himself due to his emotions. So far it's been triggered by an argument with someone close to him before battle and the fall of his guardian Agent Ramirez. I believe he needs to be critically injured for this to be a POL." The director turned to Lavi and almost seemed to frown as he turned around.

"The following video is a POLs in progress. I warn you it's graphic and I understand if you don't want to see it-"

"Show me!" Lavi sounded desperate, the idea of Allen fatally injured was giving him chest pains. The redhead realized then just how much Allen meant to him- No. This isn't the time.

"Please," he continued, calming himself down. "show me the video." Fury frowned but started up the first video.

"This is the first POL, Allen had mentioned getting into an argument and how he would need Natasha to watch him. He was fine until about halfway through the mission when he started to act strangely. He grabbed his arms in a very anxious manner and would look around constantly. Paranoid. Then Agents Romanoff and Barton were separated from Allen before the ambush. I warned you it would be graphic, I won't show you when he got shot but you should know he was shot five times in the chest. This what happened after he went down." Fury moved out of the way and pressed on one of the holographic screens.

Allen was laying on side, in the center of a room full of metal crates, seemingly unconscious. There were three other men, two had what looked like handguns and the other man had a shotgun. They seemed pleased as they walked towards the teen. Lavi couldn't believe them; proud of killing a kid. One of them knelt down, probably to check his pulse. Before he could reach though, he was sent flying back by an invisible energy wave. The two other men reacted immediately, lifting their guns and looking around for enemies. Allen suddenly sat up, looking...-no, that's not Allen. This...this person. No way.- The black haired soldier -That's not Allen.-  stood and looked around. Phantom lifted his hand, then suddenly the video went black.

"What happened? Why'd the video stop?" Lavi was shocked. That was not my Allen. My Allen wouldn't... wait. My Allen? Really? Lavi shook his head and looked to the director for answers. Fury held up his hand and motioned towards the video. It stayed black for a few more second and then it flickered and started again.

The video was shaky and has sound, on the screen was unbelievable. The warehouse that they had been in had been leveled. Debris was everywhere except for one area that was spotless.A woman he recognized showed on the screen, a redhead that was in Allen's med room. Natasha. She seemed shocked, then a voice from behind the camera.

"Phantom down! Call our evac, he needs medical attention now! Shit." The man holding the camera must've ran towards him. The video flickered and started up again. This time there was a man holding Allen up.

"How the fuck? Nat you saw him, right? He got shot! Wait, his suit has blood. He's not bleeding what the hell!" He picked Allen up and the video stopped.

"Do you understand why I called you hear?" Lavi nodded and stood.

"You want me to help him emotionally? Make sure he's alright before mission and stuff." The teens voice was suspicious, as though he knew that couldn't be it.

"One more thing." I knew it. Fury stood and grabbed a folder. He handed it to Lavi and smirked as Lavi dropped it upon reading it. Avengers Initiative.

"Sir," Lavi spoke politely as he picked up the folder. "what are you trying to tell me here?"

"You want to keep Allen safe and happy, that's a given. This is one way you could do it." Fury answered in a superior tone.

"The Avengers? Me? I'm sorry but I..." Lavi trailed off.

"Do it 'Vi." Lavi almost screamed. Allen was standing next to him, looking a bit downcast. Fury shook his head.

"Agent Walker, you should be back in medical. I'll let Mr.Bookman here think about my offer. Get back to me with his answer." Fury left the office and pulled out his phone.

"So... you know about my episodes?" Allen muttered fidgeting with his hands.

"Yeah. Allen look, if you don't want to talk about them it's fine but," Lavi looked at Allen's bandages. "do you mind if I just hold you?" His voice broke. Allen held out his arms and Lavi hugged him tightly. Allen couldn't tell but he could've sworn Lavi was crying.

"I'm gonna join." Lavi moved one of his hands to the back of Allen's head and stroked it.

"I don't ever want to see you that close to death. Ever again."

"Lavi..." Allen breathed out, hugging Lavi as tight as he could.

"I'm sorry you had to see it. I promise I'll be more careful." Lavi seemed to be content with that and released Allen. He sheepishly laughed and rubbed his eyes. They walked back to the medical area together in silence, it wasn't awkward but there was a silent conversation. A realization. They both cared about each other more than they thought.