Radioactive: I Will Always Return

1~ Relief

~6 MONTHS LATER

*Jodie's P.O.V*

Early morning is always my favourite time of the day, apart from sunset. The way the sky lights up in different colours, and there is that crisp and clear feeling to the air. Almost refreshing. I should get up to watch the sunrise more often. Then again, I've only just been getting back into what most would consider a 'normal' routine of life, so some things are still pretty peculiar to me.

Like using the internet again, and driving. But I usually prefer to walk - or run, as I've been doing for years living in the city. But I can't exactly hitch a ride on the roof of a bus anymore without drawing attention to myself.

Let me fill you in: A week after I woke up from a coma, Fury sent me on a mission to recover my old friend, Caleb. You may remember him from my childhood in the orphanage. It turns out one of my father's enemies - I know, here we go again! - caught him and was trying to get information on me, but thankfully we got there before something bad happened. How Fur found him, I have no clue, but I'm more that grateful and relieved that he did.

Of course, Caleb then gave me an earful of grief and a lecture about disappearing on him for seven years, but more than anything, we're both relieved to see the other alive, at least. The two of us moved into our own small-ish house just outside of D.C., and whilst keeping undercover we've both remained in contact with all of our friends from Morningside - and that includes the whole gang: Tom, David, Michal, Liam, Andrew, Leo, Harry, James, Robin and Nicholas.

Heck, they give a whole new definition to the term 'dog-pile'.

And to this day it had been six months since New York happened, and as much as I want to, I have never gone back there. The orphanage gang eventually moved out of the city after the alien invasion, and so they don't live too far from myself and Caleb now. Harry is happy and has moved in with his girlfriend, and he and the others still tease me that Caleb is technically my legal guardian. It's great to know that even though I technically left their lives, they are still living well and are getting on with their own lives without worrying about me. All I have ever wanted is for them to be happy, since the day I met them.

I haven't seen or heard anything of the Avengers or SHIELD since I woke up from my coma, excluding Fury and Agent Hill. Actually... that may be stretching the truth a little bit, but I won't go into details at the moment. I also visited my brother Kevin and cousin Alvin in Wisconsin, and gave them a very long and well deserved explanation, seeing as I haven't seen them since I was 8 years old - a good 19 years ago.

I quit SHIELD for good. It's not as if I can go back with a clean slate; I've been declared as dead, and very few people know of my existence now. Huh, I even had my own funeral, which just really tops it all off (note the sarcasm). Unless the situation absolutely demands it, I won't be back in the field ever again. And honestly, I'm okay with that. It's nice to do things I might've done if I hadn't gone on the run in the first place, live the life I feel I was meant to live. After a long time living on adrenaline rushes and risky moments, it is actually nice to get away from all of that.

That's a;;; the goss for the moment, except... Oh, yeah. I kind of 'lost my powers after New York, which came as both a shock and a relief for me when we went to recover Caleb; it gave me peace of mind that I would not suddenly explode and evaporate everything within a 10-mile radius, but that also meant I might struggle to fight my way out. Either way, we succeeded. I don't know if it was the amount of energy I projected across New York or not, but along with that I have also lost my sudden anger outbursts and my incredibly sensitive hearing, but apart from that, life could never be better.

"Lost in thought again?"

I looked over my shoulder and smiled at Caleb as he stepped onto the balcony, dressed in a white V-neck shirt and boxers, his dirty blonde hair sticking up at odd angles - a clear sign he'd woken up moments ago - but his green eyes were shining.

As he came up beside me I looked back out at the horizon and sighed happily. "Before New York, here was very little time for me to think without someone interrupting me," I told him. "It;s nice for me to be able to relax and do what I please at my own pace now, rather than having those around me to set the pace at which I lived my life."

He smiled and then nodded at my outfit. "Still wearing your brother's boxers, I see."

I smirked and glanced down at my choice of pyjamas: Kevin's boxers and an oversized shirt that belonged to Nicholas. Because that's how I roll, borrowing clothes off my friends when I don't really have my own. "Hey, they didn't exactly ask for them back."

He chuckled and looped one arm over my shoulder, pulling me into a sideways hug as the sun peeked over the horizon, bathing the majority of our hometown in a gorgeous golden light. I hugged him back, not even caring about the height difference anymore, and just basked in the tranquil moment - one of what I hope is many to come.

Of course, I'm not always thinking like that. Living on the run on the streets of New York opened up my mind to the fact that you have to be prepared for almost anything, even if i seems like the most unlikely of situations. Running into Natasha and Clint, and then fighting alongside the Avengers, was proof enough of that. So just because I'm living the peaceful side of life now does not necessarily mean I am lowering my guard.

For the time being, I am merely doing what they call taking a break... and a long one at that.