The Echoing Princess

My name is Maya Lopez. You may know me as Echo. “The silence is where you will find me.”

[notafanofbeingpoked-deactivated]

Blinking in a bit of surprise, Phil ducked his head a bit, giving it a slight shake. “No, no. Really. I’m no poet or philosopher. I just know how to string words together well by now.” He assured,pushing the short hair from his face. “I think once you find somewhere between instinct and one’s mind is when you can best know what to do. Like the best power can come from the space between anger and serenity. You need both to be a good agent.”

[theechoingprincess]

"Well, it's rather impressive," she said, a small smile on her face. She slowly nodded. "All about finding the right balance," she said. "I suppose that's true for anything in life, finding regularity and balance. I know I had to," she said.

[notafanofbeingpoked-deactivated]

Phil smiled lightly. “A living nightmare is what it’s like.” He said with a soft snort. “That is what it is. Empathy comes from that humanity. Without being human and humane, they would lac the sympathy and empathy to do what was right and help others.” He nodded his head, glancing down some before back up at her. “Well, your instincts must be superb. I hope the Academy can help further hone them. You will have some help now at least.”

[theechoingprincess]

Maya was stunned for a moment. "That was very...poetic," she said, raising an eyebrow. "You sure you're a SHIELD agent and not a philosopher?" she said, a hint of teasing in her voice. She shrugged. "Hardest part is separating what your mind tells you to do from your instincts. Your instincts can save you but your mind is sometimes the one to follow."

[notafanofbeingpoked-deactivated]

"Sadly, no. It’s just a hunt all over again to find legitimate ones online. Real pain in the ass really." He shook his head, letting out a little huff. "An icon and inspiration really, but still a man." He amended. "I think my instincts and character judgement are pretty sound by now. Confidence is a big key to success anyway."

[theechoingprincess]

Maya laughed. "I can only imagine what that's like," she said. "And I suppose that's what it really is, you know, being a hero and all that but still being human inside." She averted her gaze to the floor for a moment. "Instincts are everything for me. If I didn't trust them, I couldn't survive."

[twelvepercentof-amoment]

Pepper’s smile brightened just a bit as the girl spoke, taking a step up and extended her hand to her. “Well, why don’t I help change that– I’m Pepper.”

[theechoingprincess]

Maya smiled slightly. She took the woman's hand, shaking it. "I'm Maya," she said. "Nice to meet you."

[notafanofbeingpoked-deactivated]

"Yeah, from around ‘45 or so. What can I say? I like old things. Used to have one of the first com pieces, looked like a watch that was used to talk across distances like a discreet walkie talkie." Phil smiled a bit proudly. He did love his little collectors items. Of course, that piece was lost when it was needed to help unlock a door, but it was a good cause at least. "They do. And eventually, you will be helping provide that comfort as part of the response teams, as the person to protect the people that need protection." He smiled lightly as he spoke.

[theechoingprincess]

"I suppose you don't just buy that sort of thing from the local Walmart," she said, laughing. "Well, Captain America was, or is I should say, a national icon," she said. "Thank you, but isn't that jumping the gun a bit too soon? You seem very confident that I'll succeed," she said, raising an eyebrow.

[twelvepercentof-amoment]

Pepper was walking quickly through the crowded city sidewalks, arguing with the editor of the Times about their latest attempt of getting an interview with Tony. Finally, she was able to bring the conversation to a close, just as she arrived back at the Academy– having returned to the familiar building to continue some of her latest research. She noticed the unfamiliar girl sitting on the steps and took note of the look the dark-haired girl gave to a group of people passing by. A kind smile appeared on her features as she moved to stand on a step located a few below the girl, so she was at her eye level. “Do you mind me asking why you’re out here without any company?”

[theechoingprincess]

Maya looked up in surprise. She didn't recognize the person who had stopped and said something to her. "Oh no, I don't mind," she said. "I was just...lost in a trail of thought," she said, shaking her head slightly. "I don't know too many people here anyways." She gave her a small, lopsided smile.

[thornhollowhq]

"Bubbles. They’re tons of fun," she replied with a smile. "Wanna try some?" she asked, holding the small bottle out. 

[theechoingprincess]

Maya gave a laugh. She shook her head, amused. "No, that's quite alright," she said, a small smile on her face.

[monkeys-and-machines-deactivate]

Ftiz nodded. “Thanks.” He chuckled nervously and ran a hand through his hair. “They call me a genius but I just like to say it’s all the hard work I’ve done.”

[theechoingprincess]

"Give yourself some credit," she said, smiling. "Not everyone's born with super brains," she said. Sometimes she wished she had something like that, something that made her stand out. Sure, she had photographic reflexes, but that wasn't all that flashy.

[notafanofbeingpoked-deactivated]

"I did have the comics. And trading cards in mint condition, until a certain director needed a moral booster for the team." He shook his head, letting out a sigh, almost pouting over the loss of his cards. It wasn’t like they were easy to come by now. "Well, I always believed in heroes. They inspire others to be small, everyday heroes and to do good. They set a higher moral standard, but it is something for everyone to strive towards while remaining safe under the protection of people like us and the Avengers." He smiled lightly. "And I’m sure you’re do fine." 

[theechoingprincess]

"Trading cards?" she said, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "I'm assuming they were from the 1940s or so?" She internally laughed at the whole idea of having mint condition Captain America trading cards. Maya nodded in approval. "Well said," she said honestly. "I suppose people need the comfort that there's some sort of response team that can protect them."

[monkeys-and-machines-deactivate]

"That’s what I do. I’m a good thinker. I have a doctorate in engineering with a masters in both math and science. But I leave the chem stuff to Simmons." He chuckled nervously. "Nice to meet you too."

[theechoingprincess]

Maya was instantly impressed. "Seriously? That's...incredible and insane. Wow. Crazy," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "So engineering, huh?  You must be a flippin' genius."

[monkeys-and-machines-deactivate]

"Wow lucky guess. Or well not a guess. More of a hypothesis. I assumed languages because besides having the power to persuade someone I couldn’t think of anything else that had to do with mouths. Okay now that sounds weird but I just mean you’re good with your mouth." He said to correct himself before he realized how it sounded. "Now I’m going to shut up." Fitz looked away and held out his hand. "Leo Fitz."

[theechoingprincess]

Maya raised an eyebrow. "How did you narrow that down so fast? By the way you say hypothesis, I'm going to assume that you either work in the science or technology field," she said, an amused smile on her face. "Nice to meet you," she said, shaking his hand.

[monkeys-and-machines-deactivate]

"I’m bad doing accents. I mean I can recognize them but not do them." He smirked again when she went back to her American. Then Fitz shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe like different languages or something. Not sure where I was going with that but I guess I was just asking who you were?"

[theechoingprincess]

"Languages are actually my strong point," Maya said. "One of them, anyways. Ah, I'm Maya Lopez," she said, sticking her hand out. "And you are...?"

[monkeys-and-machines-deactivate]

As he heard the accent Leo smirked. “That’s actually pretty close to the real thing. Good job. I’m from Glascow.” He ran a hand through his hair. “So are you just good with accents?”

[theechoingprincess]

"Thanks," Maya said with a laugh, slipping back into her regular American voice. She shrugged. "Depends on what your definition of 'other skills' is," she said. "But yes, I'm pretty good with accents. The hardest one is German though. Too deep and low."

[monkeys-and-machines-deactivate]

I keep telling everyone. I’m Scottish. Not English. There’s a difference.

[theechoingprincess]

Maya couldn't help but laugh as the man next to her said something about being Scottish and not English. Being deaf, she could easily replicate accents all by just reading their lips. "Scottish, you say? What part of Scotland are ya from?" she said in a near perfect accent.

[bionicallybucky-blog]

 Barnes shrugs his good shoulder. “Nobody’s really that good at training at first, especially here, since they like to teach everyone something different. You’ll get the hang of it in no time though.” He shakes his head a little and forces a small smile at her next words. “I don’t have a very good track record with these guys…at least, not recently. But I appreciate that, thanks.”

[theechoingprincess]

"I suppose you've got a good point there," she admitted with a sigh. "Maybe I just need to give myself more time to see if I'm an actual failure or if I just need more work," Maya said with a short laugh. "I hope it's the latter." She frowned slightly. "Well, everyday is a new time to start fresh," she said.

[notafanofbeingpoked-deactivated]

Phil rubbed the back of his neck, clearing his throat with a small grin. “What? No. Definitely not. Not at all.” He said with a shake of his head. Okay, so he was one of those people. He had a Captain America costume as a little kid, but he’d never admit to it or share the pictures. “Better late than never. Heroes, both super and human, are no more extraordinary than everyday people, they just use their skills for the better of others.” 

[theechoingprincess]

"Riiiiight," she said with a laugh. "Definitely not one of those people," she said, obviously knowing that he probably was. "That's true. I used to think that we didn't really need heroes. But if you really think about it, heroes aren't just people who save lives, there are so many normal people who do heroic things," Maya said, nodding. "I kind of hope I can live up to that standard."

[thornhollowhq]

Don’t try to tell me it’s not fun. 

[theechoingprincess]

Maya frowned and turned to the woman next to her. She didn't know exactly what she said, but she could feel the vibrations of her words. "Pardon me?" she said.