Avengers X Eternals

Phil Coulson

Phil Coulson stood in the office before Nick Fury, his singular eye scanned over him with a spies efficiency. "You were supposed to be on a peace mission, a friendly recruitment, how in the world did ninety-eight people die?"

"Sir," Coulson straightened his back, "would you like me to repeat the story?"

Fury's office was on the final story of an eighty-floor building in downtown manhattan. Out of the glass, Coulson saw the skyline extending across the city. In the far distance, a thunderstorm was battering the open sea. It was metaphorical, he'd caused so much damage overseas and now he was back in America facing no consequences for his actions.

Fury pushed his chair back and walked over to the window. Normally, he'd stand for someone in authority, although Fury hated when people stood to respect him. "I heard your story. I just came to a realization." He dramatically walked to the other side of the room and admired some of the awards on his wall. Coulson knew he actually didn't care about them, just wanted people to think he did. "It was something the man said, 'remember what we were brought here to do.' We are assembling the Avengers to fight the battles from other worlds, but we have just as much of an issue in our own backyard than the neighbor's house. We have no idea how either of these two strangers happened upon their powers. Or why they are here."

Coulson stayed wisely silent at the desk.

"We are currently testing the tesseract, I leave later today to oversee the progress but I fear that even unlocking the knowledge of the tesseract won't be enough. I want to know Coulson; I want to know how people get their powers, where they come from, and if they are replicable. Start by talking to the man."

"The man, Sir?" Coulson stood and straightened his jacket, ready to get back into action.

"The strong one, from the desert. After Thena, or whatever her name is, chased you away I sent a team back in to retrieve the other one's body. He's currently in a hospital in England. He's stable but I want you there when he wakes up. I also want you to watch over him, make sure she doesn't come back to finish the job."

"Will that be all, Sir?"

"The Avengers Initiative, mention it to him again. He's calm, composed under pressure, good at negotiating, wanting to protect innocent life, and good at fighting. He could be an invaluable asset to the Avengers if we can get him on board."

"You want to make him team leader?" Coulson said, a little taken aback. He'd been collecting Captain America trading cards for his entire life. It only seemed right to give that mantle to a man who'd given it all.

"I want him on the team, that's all I want at the moment."

Coulson nodded, "Understood, Sir," and went to the door. Then paused at the frame. "What about the girl? I lost a lot of friends today, Sir."

"We are currently tracking her on a cargo ship bound for America. Part of what you get from him, determines whether or not a squadron of F-18's blows it out of the water."

Now Coulson left, wiping a tear from his eye. It had been hard to sleep on the plane ride back to America, all he could see was his men's dying breaths. The ease at which that girl had cut through them all and destroyed the helicopters. And it was all his fault, the man had tried to warn him, show him off without setting her off. And he'd ignored it, against his better judgment, trying to make the Avengers.

Not again, he promised himself. His failure this time had led to hundreds dead. They needed to be ready whenever the next wave of aliens or powered people showed up. They needed to be able to fight back against them because he didn't know if the next person that showed up at their front door would be friendly.