[A Sentinel Situation] – Family Ties and Alien Intrigue – A Reunion

Val took a look at Peggy's unnerving smile and swallowed hard. He knew she was angry. During his recovery after the war, he had seen that same eerie smile every time she was upset with him.

So, he cleared his throat and gave a simple answer, "I was... bored."

Just as he finished speaking, he swiftly ducked, barely dodging Peggy's incoming slap.

He protested, "Hey! What was that for? Cool it, you violent woman!"

Peggy kept her unsettling smile and said, "You're bored, you say? I'm feeling a bit bored too." She gave him a devilish look and went on, "Come here, let me help shake off your boredom."

Val quickly slid away from her on the couch and said, "Why do you always have to be so violent?"

Peggy put on an innocent face and replied, "Me? Violent? No, no. I'm just a gentle and sweet girl. I'm just trying to give you a wake-up call."

Val asked, "Why?"

Peggy smirked mischievously and said, "Well, after parents, it's the job of older siblings to set their younger ones straight. And as your older sister, I need to do my job..." She raised her hand to hit Val and continued, "By giving you that wake-up call."

Val quickly grabbed her hand and looked at her, asking, "Wait! Are you...upset that...I didn't tell you about what I'm doing on my own?"

Peggy's smirk faded and she quickly pulled her hand away and 'hmphed', saying, "Me? No, no. I don't care what you're doing."

Val grinned at her and said, "Ah! You're just upset that I didn't tell you about it and you had to find out from somewhere else."

Seeing Peggy give him a stern look, Val quickly switched the subject and asked, "How did you figure out that I was hanging out with the mutants?"

Peggy let out a sigh and answered, "Like I've told you in the letters, S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't just another government body. It has its eyes and ears everywhere. You wouldn't even realize that the person running the grocery store you visit is a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. spy."

Val shouted, "Wow! How do you know that?... Wait a minute?...", he playfully teased her, "You've been stalking me!"

He saw her lift her hand to hit him, which made him quickly put his hands up in defense and say, "I'm just joking!"

Peggy let out a sigh and looked at him with a soft gaze, "This morning, I got some files. They had reports like the total number of people who got hurt during the mutant battle on the Navy ship, and so on. They also had pictures of several mutants involved. One of the pictures was of you...", she gave him a sharp look, "carrying the body of Adrienne Frost, who was the CEO of Meridian Enterprises."

She went on, "Also, there was one particular picture in the files that is very, very worrisome."

Val raised his eyebrows and asked, "Oh? What's that?"

Peggy replied, "The picture was of a green alien that looked like a person."

Val asked, "What? Alien? Are you sure?"

Peggy nodded and said, "Absolutely, sure. In fact, I made extra copies of the pictures and brought them with me. They're in my car."

She was about to stand up to get the pictures when Val stopped her and said, "Wait here! I'll get them."

Peggy relaxed back on the sofa and watched as Val flew out of the house. She stared at him, feeling a bit of jealousy but quickly shook her head and thought, 'No! I shouldn't be jealous. I already got the serum. I should be happy with what I have. I don't want Val to feel like I'm using him. I can't be greedy.' She noticed that Val hadn't finished the glass of water she had given him and she picked it up, drinking what was left.

A bit later, Val flew back into the house with her bag which he handed to her.

Val sat next to her and watched as Peggy opened her bag, pulled out a picture, and handed it to him.

Val took the picture from Peggy and looked at it, nodding as he said, "Yep, this looks like an alien to me." He gave it back to her and asked, "How did you find it?"

Peggy took the picture and put it into her bag, which she set aside. She let out a sigh and said, "This is the worrying part. This alien was....the C.I.A Director not long ago."

Val raised his eyebrows and asked, "What?"

Peggy nodded and said, "It's shocking, right? Apparently, this alien can change their shape into anyone they want."

She let out a sigh and continued, "These aliens are made up of elements we don't know about. They also carry diseases we can't fight off. Many of the scientists who were studying this alien's body died from unknown causes. This is another problem we're facing right now. It's why we haven't been able to properly look into their bodies and find their weak points."

Val nodded, keeping a calm face but inside, his feelings were all over the place. He thought, 'Fuck! Fuck! Fucking Skrulls! Thank goodness I have the power to see energy signatures now. Using this, I can easily tell if someone is a human or not.'

Peggy said, "This picture has stirred up a lot of trouble in the White House. Everyone's scared. Things got so bad that the President had to make an order, limiting who could see this picture and giving strict warnings to officials to keep quiet. If this information got to the public, there would be riots, violence...total chaos. The world is still healing from the war and it hasn't been very long. Now, we might be facing an alien invasion. The world would go crazy."

She let out a sigh and softly held Val's hand and said, "That's why I'm worried about you. I know I shouldn't be but I can't stop myself."

She looked at the black and golden designs on his upper body and asked, "And what are these? What did you do to yourself?"

Val sighed and began to explain, "Well..."

A few hours later, Val and Peggy were having dinner together. Peggy saw some sauce on Val's cheek. She took a tissue and cleaned it off, making Val say, "Thanks."

Peggy chuckled and said, "Why do you still eat like a child even though you're in your 40s?"

Val grinned and replied, "Because, I have you to clean up after me."

Peggy giggled and gave his cheek a little pinch and teased him, "You're quite cheeky, aren't you?" This made Val burst into laughter.

They then spent some time catching up on what they'd been doing and what had been happening around them.

Peggy asked, "Since you've spent some time with the mutants, do you know anyone the S.H.I.E.L.D. could trust?"

Val rubbed his chin as he thought and said, "I have one person in mind but...it's up to them if they want to accept the offer or not."