Location: Los Angeles, California.
10:02 PM.
The city rumbled far beneath her feet as they dangled loosely over the ledge. Across her lap she hugged a duffel bag, while in both hands she gripped a single, pale envelope. Her eyes reflected the multitudes of lights below as they gazed out over the skyline, though they were lost in thought.
Three days ago, she had received the notice in her mail, addressed in a plain, unremarkable envelope to her name.
Janine Chen. It had felt surreal, then, seeing it beside the SHIELD emblem, and it still felt surreal now.
Two years ago, she would not be sitting here, at the very top of the US Bank Tower, with only her wings to catch her if she slipped over the edge. Now Jay often came here to clear her mind after especially stressful days or nights, to leave her burdens behind in the city below for just a few moments.
Now or nothing.
The plane, according to the ticket enclosed in the envelope, was set to leave at 11:15 PM. To take her away to a different life that she did not know if she was ready for yet. She had already made all the necessary arrangements, told those who knew her about where she was going, terminated her lease, and called up her parents in Pennsylvania. Something to do with a "medical internship", she'd told them.
But for some reason, Jay couldn't bring herself to make that one, final leap. Here in LA, she'd been doing good; healing the sick in the hospitals and in the streets where she could find them-- or when they found her, calling her the "Ángel de Los Angeles". She wondered with a pang what would happen to those people if she left them. How many would wait for her? How many would die?
But then, Jay realized, she could also help so many more alongside the Avengers. She had seen firsthand the casualties and destruction they brought along with them during their battles, and only a month ago she had been in Sokovia to help with the injured.
With the Avengers, she could make a real difference. It was why she had been chosen after all, wasn't it?
Jay's fingers gripped the envelope tighter as she finally set her sights for the airport. It was really happening. She could do this. For her family, for all these people. Her wings unfurled from behind her with a soft snap, feathers uncurling and bones realigning, until they sat behind her like some great, dark bird. She pulled her mask over her face and readjusted the duffel bag across her side so that it fit securely over her shoulder, then tucked the envelope deep into her pocket.
Then, she jumped. Her stomach gave a familiar lurch as she dove downward for several dozen feet before banking upward and leveling herself off. The cool Californian night rushed past her face and her wings, carrying her along the path of the highway to the Los Angeles Airport.
Jay landed in an empty part of a parking complex beside the terminals, casting her gaze around before swapping her clothes for a pair of sweats. The next few hours went by in a blur as she passed through security, got her ticket scanned, boarded the plane, and arrived in New York at approximately 7:50 in the morning.
Still groggy from the trip (she never did like planes, nor red-eye flights), Jay wandered out the exit terminal.
A car waiting for me, they'd said? She nearly missed the woman that approached her from the side, jarring her,
"Hello, you must be Miss Chen?" Jay turned to meet a brunette woman in a crisp business suit, giving a slow nod in response. But when she didn't make a move to follow, the other woman reached into her blazer and flashed a SHIELD badge. "This way, please."
They left the airport in a sleek Lincoln town car, complete with tinted glass windows and little cup holders with refreshments inside them. It was silent for most the drive there, the woman at the front not making any attempt to communicate with Jay- which was fine by her. Instead, she trained her eyes on the passing scenery outside the window, watching as the city flashed by and gave away to the more open land of upstate New York.
"Welcome to the New Avengers Facility." The woman announced as they crested the curve of a hill. The estate spread out before them, glimmering chrome in the morning light. It was even more stunning than what she'd seen in the photos, situated beside a lake in the distance and surrounded by trees. They passed several smaller facilities as they rolled down the road, across from what looked like a training field, as well as a large hangar with two gleaming jets parked outside. The car eventually slowed down to a stop beside the main building, a looming structure that overlooked the lake.
The woman rose out from the car, checking her watch, "There will be a short assembly at 1000 in the main hangar. I suggest you take this time to get settled in; someone inside will show you your room." Jay didn't get a chance to inquire about the topic of this "assembly" before the woman went back to the driver's seat and drove off, leaving her alone at the front of the building.
It was then that she remembered there were supposedly two other new...recruits as well, though that was all the letter disclosed. For all Jay knew, these people could be shape-shifters, or fire benders, or kung fu masters, or--
"Janine, what the hell did you get yourself into."
