I crouched on the rooftop of a small building overlooking Times Square. I'd stayed in the modern times for a few weeks now.

I pulled my leather jacket tighter around me. Everything was so...different. It didn't always take me long to readjust to the modern times after spending that long in the past. But this time? This time, it took me a while, longer than I'd ever had to. But I was glad to be able to wear comfortable pants again. The ones I had to wear back then were so itchy.

The screeching of tires reached my ears. My attention snapped to black cars speeding into Times Square, entrapping a single person. Men in suits pushed back curious onlookers.

What was going on? I'd only seen Times Square shut down three times, and they were all caused by my favourite idiot in the red and yellow metal suit. I could tell that this was different, though. I just had a feeling.

There was another rooftop below me that could offer me a better look at what was happening down below. I carefully climbed down using the windows.

I squinted at the scene, my eyesight stretching out to examine the situation.

I noticed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s eagle logo, which explained why I could see the black-cladded form of Nick Fury making his way into the centre of the entrapment. He was confronting another man wearing a white shirt and beige pants. The man looked around, obviously confused.

And then I gasped. I recognised the way he stood, the way he held himself. 

But...but that was impossible. The plane...it...it was destroyed.

Steve.

The moon climbed into the midnight sky. Milky white beams shone through the windows, casting shadows within the light.

I sat in my office behind my desk, paperwork spread out before me. I just had the longest and most painful week of my life. And I fought in the Cold War, so in comparison, it was pretty bad. The only upside was the discovery of the famed Captain America entombed in ice in the Arctic, perfectly preserved.

Things didn't exactly go according to plan when the captain escaped into Times Square. However, I was fortunate enough to convince him to stay in one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s safe houses. Hopefully he coped with his new surroundings soon. He had no choice.

"Director."

I shot to my feet, my weapon drawn and pointed at the voice.

"Put that down." The girl with hair of fire strolled out of the darkness. She wore an expression of irritation. "I don't appreciate staring down the barrel."

Reluctantly, I lowered my weapon. She still made me suspicious. Although I was like that with everyone, she made me especially so. There was something about her, something she was hiding. And it was my job to find out everything about my associates.

The girl crossed her arms as she glared at me. "So. You found Captain America."

I holstered my weapon. "We did. He was frozen in the Arctic."

"How cool."

I raised an eyebrow. Where did the attitude come from? The last time I'd talk to her she was more...reserved. Polite. "Is there something wrong?"

"No." She rested her closed fists on my desk, leaning on one leg. "The captain is on the list. You put him in the Initiative."

I lifted my chin. I asked the same question last time. But it had to be asked again it seemed. "Why are you so desperate for the Initiative to go ahead? How does it benefit you?"

She glared at me unflinchingly. I wasn't intimidated. But those green eyes were disturbing. There was something in them. They were pained and unmerciful. Old. There was definitely a reason for why she wanted the Avengers Initiative. And I was going to find out.

"I told you," she replied irritably. "There will be a bloodbath if it doesn't." She leaned forward. The steely exterior melted to that of pleading. "Fury, I'll let you in on a secret: I've seen what happens if the Initiative does not work out. I've seen what happens if Cap is not in the lead. I've seen what happens if you do not authorise this project to go ahead and I've seen what happens to S.H.I.E.L.D. if you refuse. Long story short, it is not good."

And then it hit me. She was a special. She had powers. The question was: what were they? Claiming that she'd seen things in the future? Time travel, perhaps?

"You're one of them," I stated.

She made no indication of denying or agreeing with me. She closed her eyes and stood straight. What she did show was that she seemed to be tired of hiding. "I am."

I inclined my head. "Then you're in the Avengers Initiative. I have a feeling S.H.I.E.L.D. and the world could use someone like you."

"The world has had me. It's had me for too long."

"Then I hope you can make time to aid it some more."

Andi retained an expression of stone, before a single corner of her lips rose in a sideward smirk. She closed her ageing eyes. "It seems I don't have a choice."

I held my hand out for her to shake, which she did. I felt an object be transferred via that handshake. I unfurled my fingers to see a silver pocket watch in my palm.

She headed towards the door to leave. A portal appeared in front of it. Before she stepped through it, she turned and pointed at the watch resting in my palm. "So, I don't own a phone. That watch is the only way you can contact me. I have faith that you can figure out how to use it yourself."

And with that, she disappeared through the portal. It snapped closed and fizzled out.

I flipped the silver watch in my palm. It was a curious thing.

The doors of my office flung open, and Agent Coulson walked in. He stood before me, hands clasped in front of him with a folder in one.

"Well?" I questioned.

"Project Hourglass is gathering information as we speak," my good friend replied.

I walked around to sit on the front edge of the desk. I gestured to the chair in front of me. "Inform me."

Coulson took a seat, kicking one leg over to rest on the other. "It's taken a lot of time and effort, not to mention money and research to find out as much as we can about this woman."

"And?"

He handed me the folder. I flipped through the papers and photos inside. Judging from the variety of dress, she'd been all over the place.

"She's definitely is a special, and time traveller at that." He pointed at the photos. "She was present in many of the world's greatest historical events."

We stood side by side as we lined up the photos on my desk. There were a fair amount. I recognised the environment of a few of them.

She sat in the back of a lifeboat as the Titanic was sinking in 1912. She was trapped in the South Tower during 9/11. She joined the march with the Suffragettes for women's rights in 1909. She was present at the assassination and funeral of President Kennedy in 1963. She rode with Native Indians on the Trail of Tears in 1838. She sat in the theatre during the assassination of President Lincoln in 1868. She was apart of thousands to storm the streets on the day of the 1929 Stock Market Crash. Curiously, she stood among many a part of the SSR in the 1940s.

"According to our research, the furthest period recorded where she has appeared is the Italian Renaissance in the mid to late 1400s."

Shit! How old is this woman?

"She's not screwing around," I mumbled. "She doesn't look much older than twenty five."

"Similarly to Rogers, she clearly has inherited the delayed aging," Coulson deduced.

I raised an eyebrow. "Clearly."

I flicked through the papers detailing her possible abilities in addition to time travel, portal creation and delayed aging. "What about any other abilities? Has she displayed anything else?"

"Nothing else, sir," Coulson replied.

I tossed the folder on my desk. "We'll see soon enough. With her being on the Avengers Initiative, we'll see what else she can do."

"So what of Project Hourglass?"

I crossed my arms over my chest. Her motives were clear: to protect the earth. But what then? Her powers were classified as dangerous. More dangerous than any other enhanced being I'd come across. "We need a way to defend ourselves if things go wrong with her."

I handed the folder back to Coulson. "Project Hourglass's next task is to build something that could counter her if things were to go pear-shaped."

He took the folder. "I'll get them on it straight away." And with that, he left my office.

❈Author's Note: Hey, there! And so ends Act 1 of Out of Time.

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