Colson, the Fall Guy

Annie had just gotten a new toy, and for the past few days, she'd been completely absorbed in taking it out for a spin after school. Of course, she wasn't driving around in a car. She was literally flying a fighter jet above the stratosphere and going wild.

The only thing that annoyed her was that she hadn't run into that tin man called Iron Man again. What a shame! She'd even prepared a whole pile of secret weapons for him.

"Uncle Coulson, are you really not coming with us for a flight today?" Annie had changed into the small, custom-made flight suit S.H.I.E.L.D. had designed for her, complete with the G-suit she needed to pilot a fighter. She climbed aboard her personal flying mount, the Princess Annie.

Ever since she'd gotten this toy, she'd gone for a flight every day after dinner, only returning reluctantly when the sky was almost completely dark. During this time, she'd even left Little Bear at home, though he'd never left her side before! Annie in this state wouldn't even recognize Tibbers. Who was that?

Annie was having a wonderful time, but someone else wasn't!

The military had lodged no shortage of complaints with S.H.I.E.L.D. about the red aircraft that flew around causing trouble in national airspace without filing a flight plan. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s explanation was that they were testing new equipment. After that, nothing came of it. Once their complaints had repeatedly gone nowhere, the military had no choice but to get used to the aircraft and turn a blind eye.

"No, no thanks! You two go and have fun. Don't worry about me. I'd rather enjoy the beach at sunset." At Annie's invitation, Coulson jumped in fright.

A few days earlier, he'd been tossed around in the fighter until he'd nearly died, then knocked unconscious by the end of it. When he woke up, he'd sworn never to ride in that red Quinjet again!

It was all right for the two of them up front, in the pilot seats equipped with G-force protection. But Coulson was in the rear cabin, where all they had now were civilian sofas and the like. A G-force seat? Not a chance! He was lucky to have two seat belts keeping him from rolling around the cabin. But what good were two seat belts, anyway?

After firmly refusing the invitation, Coulson stopped paying attention to Annie. He put on his sunglasses, stretched out comfortably on a beach chair, and picked up a drink, taking a blissful sip.

Melinda was with her, so there wouldn't be any danger. He absolutely wasn't going to go wild with that little girl again! The terrifying feeling of being strapped into the cabin while the fighter performed all kinds of high-G maneuvers—he swore he'd never experience that again.

Lying on the beach chair, he waved as the red fighter began to rise and flew farther and farther away, until it was out of sight. Only then did Coulson close his eyes with satisfaction. The evening sea breeze felt wonderful.

This seaside villa really was the perfect place for a vacation. He wondered which damned bureaucrat it had originally been prepared for. Maybe he should follow the example of the others at S.H.I.E.L.D. and skim a little off the top whenever he got the chance during a mission. Like underreporting the loot by one percent when turning it in? If he did that, maybe he could afford a little vacation cottage by the sea when he retired.

"Phil! You're really learning to enjoy yourself." After who knew how long, a voice spoke beside Coulson as he drifted in and out of sleep.

Nick Fury's face was a little dark. Well, actually, his face was always that dark.

Either way, he was very displeased with Coulson! He'd quietly sat down in the other lounge chair beside him, yet Coulson hadn't reacted at all. Was that the awareness an agent should have? Was this really senior agent Coulson?

This subordinate was getting lazier and more indulgent by the day. As expected, comfort made people dull! At this rate, Nick Fury was beginning to wonder whether Coulson would still be fit for fieldwork in the future.

"Ah! Director Fury! When did you get here?" Coulson jumped. Why had the director come all the way out here? Had something happened again?

"Enough, enough! You don't have to get up. Just keep sitting." Nick Fury waved dismissively and lay back in the lounge chair, imitating Coulson. "To be honest, I'm a little jealous of your carefree life these days."

Nick Fury let out a long breath as he lay back. It had been a long time since he'd been able to lie down this comfortably! Under all the pressure lately, he hadn't been able to relax like this for even a moment. Still, Hill's operation was going fairly smoothly, and there had been more and more good news lately. He was growing more confident, too!

"Director, is something wrong?"

Coulson didn't believe for a second that the director had come to chat. There had to be another mission. But he was a little puzzled. If there was a mission, couldn't Fury just send him a message or call him to headquarters? Was it really necessary for the director to come here in person?

"I knew you wouldn't miss it!" Nick Fury nodded and turned to Coulson, his expression still troubled. "You know, Phil? These days, I hardly dare trust anyone. S.H.I.E.L.D. is facing an unprecedented crisis!"

Coulson didn't reply. If the director had come here to tell him this, then he still trusted him. But why was Fury saying something so alarming? Was S.H.I.E.L.D. really in serious danger? Coulson hadn't noticed anything unusual at S.H.I.E.L.D. That didn't make sense! He couldn't understand it, but when he heard how serious Fury sounded, he dropped his joking expression and sat up straight.

"Phil, did you know S.H.I.E.L.D. has been infiltrated by Hydra... badly." Nick Fury gazed out at the sea in silence for a while, then turned to Coulson and spoke slowly, pausing between each word.

"Hydra? Wasn't it wiped out a long time ago? How is that possible?" Coulson knew the stories about Hydra, of course! S.H.I.E.L.D.'s predecessor had risen to power by wiping it out and stepping over its corpse. But that had happened during World War II.

"That's what I used to think, too! Cut off one head, and two more take its place... Heh. I guess there's a reason for that saying!" Nick Fury gave a couple of self-mocking laughs, though his eyes had gone cold.

"I'm handling Hydra myself. Don't get involved, and don't tell anyone. Just keep it to yourself! But there's another extremely important mission that needs attention right now. You're going to handle it, and there can't be a single mistake!" After he finished, Nick Fury handed Coulson a file without giving him a chance to refuse.

The Avengers? Coulson took the file, still confused. But after reading a few pages, he immediately understood what Director Fury had in mind.

More and more things were appearing that S.H.I.E.L.D. had no power to control. Mutants, with their strange and varied abilities, for example! There was Annie, a powerful alien; the sorcerer organization Kamar-Taj, whose origins S.H.I.E.L.D. still couldn't trace; that bald mage, The Ancient One; and Thor, who'd come from the divine realm a while back, along with that damned hammer he'd thrown down—the weapon of the heavens! And finally, there was Hydra, which had recently been discovered to have resurfaced...

These endless incidents were leaving Director Fury increasingly overwhelmed and exhausted! He didn't know what other threats Earth would face in the future. So Nick Fury planned to quickly assemble a special team to deal with increasingly powerful enemies. The council still hadn't approved his proposal, but Nick Fury had decided to go around them and put the team together in secret!

Coulson looked at the list of names at the end of the file. They were the director's recommended candidates. The first one was Annie Hastur!

Well, Coulson couldn't deny that Annie was powerful. In his view, what she'd shown so far was only the tip of the iceberg! The more he learned about Annie, the more powerful he realized she was. Sure, she was a little playful and mischievous, but that was normal for a girl her age! You couldn't expect too much.

The second and third names were Hawkeye and Black Widow! Coulson knew those two very well. They were veteran S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, so he'd set them aside for the moment. As for their abilities? They were decent enough! Nothing especially supernatural, but far beyond ordinary agents!

The fourth name was Hulk? Huh? Hadn't the military captured him after Annie beat him up? Had he gotten out again? Damn! The green guy must be pretty good at escaping, if he'd broken out several times already!

The fifth name was Iron Man? Oh! He knew him, too: the famous playboy and billionaire Tony Stark! He'd been all over the news recently. Apparently, after being kidnapped by terrorists, the playboy had built a powerful suit of armor. Now he was going by Iron Man.

The sixth name was Captain America?

"Sorry, Director! Didn't Captain America die when his plane crashed somewhere in the Arctic? He's been dead for more than half a century. Where am I supposed to find him?" Coulson was baffled to see the name on the list!

Nick Fury said nothing! He stared at Coulson for a full ten seconds! He was even beginning to wonder if giving this important mission to Coulson had been a mistake.

"How long has it been since you paid attention to what's going on at S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Uh..." Coulson was momentarily stumped! Thinking about it, he really hadn't kept up with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s activities for a while. He'd been enjoying a rather comfortable life lately, as Fury well knew.

"Captain America was dug up a while ago. He's not only alive, he's still young! He's recuperating now. When the time comes, just tell him what you know, and he should be easy to recruit. As for Hulk, he escaped from the military a while back. S.H.I.E.L.D. has his exact whereabouts now. When you go to recruit him, just bring Annie along and there shouldn't be any problems."

Nick Fury sighed helplessly, stood up, and turned to leave. His dissatisfaction with Coulson had gone from serious to extreme. If he weren't so short of people to rely on, he wouldn't have handed such an important mission to him. After walking a couple of steps, he turned and roared at Coulson:

"The hardest one to recruit is Iron Man! Who told you to chase him all over the place the other day? Who told you to keep chasing him until his plane ran out of fuel and crashed into the sea? What did you have against him, anyway?! I can't believe you even had the nerve to call for backup and ask someone to bring you fuel! Go on, tell me! Huh? Cat got your tongue? Don't dare?"