After the War

34

"Rogers, I'm putting you on a special task force to take down the Inferno" my boss said.

"I have to decline, sir" I probably had to tell him about my alter ego.

"But this so called hero is killing people. I want to know who this guy is".

"Inferno is a woman, and she's stopped most of the crime in Denver" I was about to say that I was stoping the crime. I'd always felt more comfortable behind a mask.

"Why are you defending a criminal".

"I can't believe that I'm going to say this" I muttered "I know the Inferno".

"For how long, and why the hell have you not told me".

"Six years, and I haven't told you because we should be working with her. She's helped us take down so much crime. Yes, she hasn't signed the Accords, but who the hell cares. As long as she's in our side, we should trust her" I argued.

"Why should I trust you on this".

"Look, sir, I've been around superheroes by whole life. If they're taking down drug rings, then we can trust them. If you absolutely need me to, I can call SHIELD. I worked with them a few times when I was in the army. They can deal with the Inferno. If they trust her, then we have nothing to worry about".

"So you want me to work with a vigilante. Vigilantes are illegal. We work to uphold the law".

"Oh please, we've all done illegal stuff at one time or another. Even the chief of police has to break some laws".

"I've never broken a single law in my life" he started.

"You're lying. You've broken the law before, and we both know it. My father was the poster man for upholding the law, and look how I turned out. I did a lot of illegal stuff when I was in high school" partly a lie.

"No. But I want you to call SHIELD. I won't trust Inferno until the director of SHIELD does" I went back to my desk to call Jeffery.

"What do you want, Rogers" he asked.

"I need a favor" I started.

"What is it".

"My boss says that we can work with the Inferno if the director of SHIELD trusts her".

"You want me to call him and tell him that I trust you".

"Yes, but just don't mention the fact that I have an alter ego. The chief doesn't know" I said.

"Fine. But you should really sign the Accords if you're going to continue down this path".

"Not a chance in hell" I hung up. My boss was still debating whether or not he could trust Inferno. Brian was on his way to Chicago to visit his brother. He couldn't get a direct flight, so he was on his way to Dallas. I didn't expect him to call, but he did.

"I think I met the love of my life" he sighed.

"Oh god, who is it" I rolled my eyes.

"Well, I sat next to her on the flight to Chicago, and she's just the best. Her name is Ava Ayala" he said. I knew that name. I knew the person that went with the name. Ava was the White Tiger, and I had gone to high school with her in New York.

"I went to high school with her" I stated.

"You did" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, back in New York. She was part of the superhero team I trained".

"This couldn't be a different Ava Ayala" he asked.

"Was she wearing a jade tiger necklace" I asked.

"Yes. How'd you-".

"She's the Ava I know".

"How'd this happen. How did I meet another superhero".

"To be fair, you didn't know I was a superhuman until I told you. Please continue your story".

"Well, we got off the plane, and I asked her if she wanted to go get coffee".

"What did she say" I asked.

"She said yes, and she gave me her number".

"Alright, Brian, I have a couple of calls that I need to make, but we can finish this conversation later" I hung up so I could call Peter "hey Pete, I need a favor".

"Will, you never call me. Is something wrong".

"Nothing's wrong, but my friend Brian just went on a date with Ava".

"Ava, White Tiger Ava" he asked.

"Yup. Apparently Brian sat next to her on a plane to Chicago, and when they landed, he asked her out".

"This is the Brian you met in the army, right".

"Yeah. My world's are colliding".

"Does Brian know about you, and did you tell him about Ava".

"He knows about me, and of course I told him about Ava. I don't want him to get hurt".

"It sounds like you really care for him".

"He's basically my brother, so of course I care about him. Can you just tell Ava to be nice to him" I asked.

"Yeah, and I'll text you her number so you can call her yourself. And feel free to call any time you want" Peter hung up. I sat back and sighed. I was going away for the weekend. I was going to go visit the X-Men and see how Mia was doing.