Jupiter [Marvel Phase I]

twenty.

In the end, impatience won out. Dev had volunteered to join Jenn on her trip to Dr. Ingram's once he was finished with work, but Jenn headed out first thing in the morning. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the support. If anything, it was the opposite. He'd already done so much for her. Compared to everything else, this wasn't such a big ask, but everything felt like too much after their most recent row. Her best friend had a life outside her and Jenn couldn't keep dragging him into her personal quests.

"But why are you going to your doctor's?" Dev had asked when Jenn told him her plan. "He's the one who's been hypnotizing you all these years. What makes you think he'll tell you now?"

Because I saw it in his eyes, Jenn wanted to say. Harry never looked at her like that. He was the one with all the answers, but if Jenn wanted to confront him, she would need solid facts. If he was an accomplished enough liar to keep this from her for a whole decade, then it would take nothing less to get the truth from him now.

At a red light, Jenn found herself bouncing between her feet, the way she did on runs. Dr. Ingram's office was across the street. She took the opportunity to run through the questions she would ask once there.

How? was a question best reserved for Harry. For now, Jenn was more interested in the why. Why was I given these powers? Why did we run away? Why did you force me to forget?

Jenn looked up at the clouds overhead. Despite the early hour, the overcast sky painted everything in muted grey. The atmosphere was heavy. A storm was coming.

The light changed and Jenn surged forward with the crowd. As she walked, she couldn't help but notice the way people avoided her, like she was surrounded by a polarizing magnetic force. She felt the weight of their stares on her like the high pressure lingering in the atmosphere. She pushed the thought from her mind and walked quicker.

At Dr. Ingram's door, Jenn hesitated. This was it, she told herself. Somehow, taking on three armed men felt less daunting than this.

"Dr. Ingram, I've come to...talk-"

Her words, which had started out so strong, faded as she took stock of the room before her. It was completely empty. No chairs, no reception desk, no posters. Jenn nearly walked back out to check that she'd gotten the right room.

Before Jenn could ask herself just what was going on, the door into Dr. Ingram's office opened. But instead of the doctor, it was his secretary that walked out.

"Ah, so you're finally here," she said by way of greeting.

"Where is Dr. Ingram? I need to see him." Jenn tried to push past her, but Val stopped her with a single hand.

"Ingram's not here. He's been taken," Val replied. At her words, Jenn felt her mouth go dry. She tried to speak, but all she managed was a breath that sounded vaguely like what? Val went on, "Tell me, Jennifer, what do you know of an organization called C.E.N.T.R.E.?"

Speechless, and now paralyzed, Jenn could only stammer, "Are you from C.E.N.T.R.E.?"

"Luckily for you, the answer is no," Val deadpanned. "We've never been properly introduced. Forgive my manners. My name is Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and I'm an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."

S.H.I.E.L.D...Now Jenn had definitely heard of them before. Something prickled at the edges of her memory, on the tip of her tongue. "The Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and..."

"And Logistics Division," Val finished for her. "I see your memories are returning. And your other abilities?"

"Other abilities?" Jenn asked, perhaps a shade too quickly.