Title: To Be Like Him

Plot: Years have passed since the day Rebecca's life changed. Now a recognized war hero, she has come home to face down her demons. The truth, once she hears it, sends her down the road of revenge with two possible outcomes: avenge her father or turn out like the man who murdered him.

Rating: M+ for talks of war, death, PTSD, and acts of violence and sex.

Disclaimer: Except for the Prolog and Epilog, the chapter titles are all song titles or lyrics. S.H.I.E.L.D, The Avengers, and almost all members of both are not mine. Rebecca Coulson and the rest of her platoon are mine.

Prolog

Sixteen years ago, everything in the life of Rebecca Coulson had ended abruptly. She remembered the promise her father had made to come back safe, had kept it in her brain the same way she kept those collector cards in her wallet. Agent Phil Coulson had died defending the meek and innocent, something that Rebecca swore to do the rest of her life. In school, Rebecca made sure to look out for those who needed it. Tony and Steve couldn't have been prouder.

Tony and Steve raised her right, each aiding in a different aspect. When she became the student body president or brought home another report card with top grades, that was Steve. When she came home after prom wasted or spent time in her room alone that was Tony. Her personality was a combination of the two: always looking for the right thing to do but at the same time wanting to stay to herself. With their help, not the help of Emilio and Annie, who acted as if the two year absence when she was a child meant nothing, she graduated with top marks.

After graduation was yet another debate she had unto herself and within the members of her surrogate family. Steve pushed for a career in the military, citing that it would be good for her temperament and would help her get through college when she was ready. Tony, on the other hand, pressed for Rebecca to follow a passion and go to college which he would pay for, simply for the fact that she would be safe at home. Rebecca debated it for a while before she, alongside Emilio, decided to join the military to defend those who needed it.

Military life suited Rebecca. It was something that she could excel at and excel she did. At the young age of 20, only two years after joining the military, Rebecca Coulson became a recognized war hero. She refused to leave any man or woman behind and often faced down dangers that she swore to never write home about. Surely Steve and Tony would demand her to come home and Tony had enough money to make her.

Everything was going great in her life until the explosion.

Her platoon had been traveling in a convoy. Emilio had been driving, Rebecca sitting in the back with her teammates Troy Burton and AJ Simpson. They had been joking, teasing AJ for a letter he had received from his fiancé. The car in front of them had exploded, causing their own car to flip. In a mess of glass and broken steel they laid there. Rebecca's eyes were the first to open and though she felt a warm trickle of blood coursing down the side of her face, she had to make sure the others were safe. She turned her head, noticing Troy laying there with a lifeless look in his eyes. It was to late for him. Crawling forward, she realized she couldn't feel her leg. That didn't matter. What mattered was saving the others.

Hearing the coughing of someone, she saw AJ laying on the ground, half out of the car with his arm trapped under the metal. He was just a kid, only 18. "Becs…god Becs…I can't feel my arm…" he sobbed, looking at her. She didn't have the heart to tell him but the arm wasn't attached anymore.

Rebecca managed her way out of the broken heap of metal, noticing that her leg was severely snapped. Helping them was helping her pay no attention to her leg. "A.J…I'm gonna pull you away from the car…"

"But my arm…" he sobbed, looking at her.

"Shh, shh," she replied as she pulled him away, making sure he wasn't looking at his missing arm. "I have to bandage this up, okay AJ?"

"It's…oh…god…" AJ sobbed as he looked at his arm before turning his head to vomit. He passed out, the blood loss immense as Rebecca removed her shirt, revealing a black tank top, as she used the over shirt to stop his bleeding. One of her men was dead, another close to it, and she had yet to see Emilio.

Her eyes scanned the area before she leaned back against the sand. Annie would never forgive her if she couldn't bring Emilio home safe. But the pain in her leg was tremendous and she was having a problem seeing anything. Hearing a voice call out, she narrowed her eyes to focus on Emilio digging through the wreckage, looking for something. Horsley she called out, "Emilio…here…"

Her friend turned to look at her, letting out a breath, "Thank god…where's Troy and…and AJ?"

"Troy's dead," Rebecca replied softly, her eyes closing. "AJ…his arms gone and he's passed out. You…you okay?"

"I'm fine Becca, I dunno how I got the least of it but I did," Emilio replied as he crouched to wipe the blood off of her face, "Med evacs on its way…god your legs bad…"

"Make sure they help AJ first, he's worse off…" Rebecca replied, eyes closing heavily. As they closed, she though she saw a familiar figure in the distance. That green armor…the pale skin…she swore she had seen it before.

Nine months passed: six months to heal and another three to go through physical therapy. There was a remaining limp but that was not the issue. The issue was the honorable discharge. She didn't know how to take it, how to move on with her life. Two things filled her mind: what would be in her life now and who exactly was the man she had seen in the last minutes of consciousness.

A/N: This is short for it is the prolog. Chapters will be longer!