Facing Your Past [Book 1]: A Grant Ward FanFic.

Chapter 1 - The New Team

Pilot

Taylor makes her way to Maria Hill's office, feeling nervous and a little excited knowing she'll be working with some friends from Sci-Tech who she hasn't seen in years, after being debriefed about the new team she's been assigned to. Phil Coulson's team. She knows about four of the five members because of her past with the other specialist she will be working with Fury refused to tell her for kicks.

"I see you've been debriefed" Hill stated

"Yep, but Fury said you would tell me who the other specialist is because he 'couldn't'. He's always so dramatic." Taylor complained.

"Probably because he wouldn't want to deal with the reaction." An all too familiar voice started while chuckling to himself.

"Grant Ward, the best example of the tin man from wizard of Oz at its finest." She smirked.

"Oh, thank god." Phil's voice filled the room. "I thought I'd have to deal with her reaction." He joked.

"Phil." She said welcomingly.

"You knew?" Grant questioned, gesturing to Coulson being alive and well.

"I'm level Ten, of course I knew." Taylor turned to Hill "His reaction?"

"Priceless." Hill replied, making Taylor smile.

"Wait," Ward clocked on to Taylor's comment. "Your level 10?!"

"Yeah, a lot has happened whilst you've been on solo missions." Taylor confessed.

"When I left you were level 7." He reminded, his competitiveness showing.

"Well, looks like you'll never catch up." She laughed, scrunching her nose at him before walking off with Hill. He shakes his head and smiles knowing she hasn't changed a bit.

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The four of them walked down the hall towards the command centre of the Hub. Ward was still taken aback so didn't say much while Lee, Hill and Coulson conversed, until Ward piped up.

"Director Fury faked your death to motivate the Avengers?" Ward questioned, intrigued.

"Well, the death of a common ally is a particularly effective team builder." Maria stated as they all scan their IDs, entering the control room.

"Plus, it wasn't that much of a stretch. I stopped breathing for about 40 seconds." Phil added.

"Eight, it gets longer every time you tell it." Taylor interjected, rolling her eyes jokingly.

"Yeah, well you get shanked by the Asgardian Mussolini. You can tell it your way, but I was looking at the big white light, and it felt a lot longer than 8 seconds." He reminds, dramatically.

"Do they know? The Avengers? That Fury played them." Grant questioned.

"They're not level seven." Taylor stated.

"I got out of ICU, and he stuck me in a grass shack in Tahiti. Rough gig. Mai Tais, Travis McGee novels, and a physical therapist whose command of English was irrelevant." Coulson smirked, making Taylor shake her head in humourous disbelief.

"But something put you back in the game." Ward paused, watching the clip on the screen of a hooded man jumping from an exploding building, several stories up. "What is that?"

"That's a superhero Agent Ward." Coulson stated.

"An unregistered gifted. Identity unknown." Maria added. More clips and files appeared on the screen.