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Stephanie Carter nodded to her doorman as she stepped out onto the streets of Washington DC as the first rays of light crept over the horizon signaling the start of a new day. She knew he was a SHIELD agent. Hell, Steph knew that the vast majority of her neighbors were as well. They weren't there to keep tabs on her. No, Fury was smarter than that. They were there for her protection. It was funny to think about, really. Captain America, superhero and leader of The Avengers, needed protection. But she was SHIELD's primary asset, not to mention a so-called national treasure. She didn't think of herself as such, but she had been called it by more people than she could count. Steph understood why she was guarded day and night, and the way her life went, maybe it wasn't the worst thing in the world.

She took off towards her normal route and began her morning run, and the car that followed her every morning rolled behind her. Being an enhanced human, the run would last about an hour and cover the distance of a normal half marathon. It helped cleared her head, at least most of the time it did. On that day, Steph couldn't do anything but notice how many people stopped to watch her as she passed by. Children pointed and waved, adults looked star struck, and some of the elderly even saluted her.

It was still terrifying to her.

They saw her as a symbol of strength or as an immovable object. Superman had the world's attention and love, but Stephanie was considered America's superhero. She was the one who was supposed to stand for them no matter what against anything. She was one of the least powerful superhumans on the planet, if she was being honest with herself, but she was the last line of defense for the homeland if it came down to it. Hell, even Captain Atom on her own team had the ability to destroy small countries if he so chose, but she was the one they all counted on.

Stephanie often wondered how her father dealt with it. In Steve Rogers's day he was the only one of his kind. He was the be all, end all of the Allied hope. And he made it look easy. She tried to find strength in that, but most of the time it made her feel even more inadequate. Sometimes she wondered if Bucky's first impression of her was correct.

Which is when, of course, she ran past the statue that commemorated her father that stood along the Potomac River. He stood defiant, with the flag held high in his right hand, and his shield prone to defend it in his left. It made her proud...and made her run a little faster.

As she passed in front of the Capitol Building, her communicator went off. Steph picked it up, "Go for Carter."

"Oh captain my captain," a sarcastic and annoyingly confident voice came from the other end. "Always so official."

"Stark," she sighed, "what a surprise. It's before noon. Shouldn't you be deep in a hangover?"

Tony Stark was one of her very best friends and allies. She'd never admit that, of course. And the way the two treated one another you'd never know it. But Stark's tech, as well as his superhero alterego Iron Man, were invaluable to her fight against evil. He was brash, egotistical, and took nothing seriously, but he was as good as they come, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

"I don't think her name was hangover."

Steph cursed herself under her breath, "I walked right into that one."

"Yes you did," Stark laughed. "So how you been? Good? Enjoying all the avenging?"

"I can't complain," Steph chuckled. "It'd be a lot more fun with you on the team."

She had wanted Iron Man on the Avengers for longer than she could remember. He would be an invaluable member of the team, but Stark was dead set on being independent. He'd help SHIELD when it was necessary, but that was the end.

"Everything's a lot more fun when I'm added, Cap. I'm like alcohol. Or ecstasy."

"Yea well, I wouldn't know about that," she rolled her eyes.

"Right, you didn't get to go to college."

"Is there a meaning to this call? Or are we going to quip each other to death?"

"Oh, right. Yea. Fury wants to talk. Big stuff. End of the world. You know the deal."

[center]**********[/center]

[b]Triskelion
SHIELD Headquarters[/b]

The elevator stopped at the top of SHIELD headquarters, and Cap stepped out in her full uniform, sans helmet. There, waiting for her were Stark, dressed in a custom Italian suit, and Nick Fury in his normal, black tactical gear. Fury's office overlooked the capitol, and Steph had to admit it was one hell of a view.

"Captain, I'm glad you got dressed for the occasion," Tony smiled as he shook her hand.

"You're looking a lot less shiny than normal," Steph shot back. 

"New face wash," he flashed his million dollar smile. "Thanks for noticing."

"Can we get down to business?" Fury sighed. Nick Fury was a man of action. He wasn't here to make friends. No matter how hard she tried, Steph couldn't break his defense systems. Maybe it came from running the world's preeminent defense initiative, but it was clear Fury was all business.

"Aye-aye, sir," Stark saluted sarcastically. "Or I guess just eye in your case."

With nothing more than a glare from Fury, Tony continued, "Right. Well, at 0400 Eastern Standard Time the entire world's electrical systems turned off for a fraction of a second."

"Everything?" Steph raised an eyebrow.

"All of it," Fury nodded.

"Even JARVIS and my tech shut down," Tony continued. "I had him scan the time preceding the blackout. All we know is there was a vast surge of energy in the upper atmosphere before the shutdown. Unknown origin. But that's where we're at."

"So what? EMP? Some weapons test?" Steph theorized. "Or alien?"

The two men exchanged a worried glance, and Fury shook his head, "To be honest we don't know. Which is why we called you in. We need to figure this out. Whether it's a weapon or something alien entered our world last night, someone knows."

"So we put pressure on our usual contacts. Arms dealers. Terrorists. The like," Steph nodded.

"I've got some feelers out in my old contacts," Tony patter her on the shoulder. "If I get any hits, I'll give you a call."

"Thanks, Tone," she nodded. "Looks like it's time to get the team together."

[center][b]Captain America and The Avengers
in
Arrival of the Gods[/b][/center]