After Coulson's death was announced, the entirety of the Helicarrier's occupants were in a state of mourning.
Fury gathered John, Tony and Steve back into the briefing room.
A look of numb shock is shown on their devastated faces.
"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket. Guess he never did get you to sign them," Fury throws Coulson's Captain America trading cards on the table towards Steve.
The super soldier picks them up, even if they were stained in blood.
"We're dead in the air up here. Our communications, location of the cube, Banner, Thor. I got nothing for you," Nick begins, "Lost my one good eye. Maybe I had that coming," a beat passes and Fury looks to John now, "Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract...but I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier."
John folds his arms and looks to Fury, eagerly interested in what the man had to say now.
"There was an idea, called THE AVENGERS INITIATIVE." Nick looks down now, "The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea, in heroes."
Tony gets up and walks off, not wanting to hear it anymore.
Nick sees this and nods absentmindedly before tapping his knuckle on the glass table that Steve sat at, "Well, it's an old fashioned notion."
Fury walks out...heartbroken that his old friend was no longer with them.
Steve then looks to John, whom was flexing his jaw, his thoughts unknown.
The World War II veteran was lost, "What now...?"
"I don't know," John simply responds, as a beat of silence passes, the former assassin then narrows his eyes, looking towards the door, "...But...I've got an idea..."
"What's the plan?" Steve asks as he stands up.
"Haven't got it all figured out yet," John sighs, "But first...we have to gather up the team."
"Team?" Steve asks as he watches John begin to exit the room, "What Team?"
John stops at the door and looks back at Steve with a smirk, "The Avengers. You go get Stark...I've got someone else that needs a little motivation right now."
...
Shadow is currently seen sitting alone as several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents around him are working on repairing whatever damages they sustained in the attack from Loki's men.
The former assassin still has Coulson's blood on his hands and a lost expression as he tunes out the rest of the commotion going on around him.
He then feels someone's presence sitting next to him and he does nothing as he already knows whom it is.
"Hey," John's voice addresses him, "...The Paramedics told me you didn't want to get checked up."
Shadow says nothing as the noise of the surrounding work going on drowns their silence.
"...He was just a normal man," Shadow finally finds, "With nothing but a dream.."
John says nothing as he allows Shadow to continue.
"Loki was right there...I could've gone after him...I should've...so why didn't I?" Shadow asks, his lost voice sounding like that of an innocent child's, "Why..?"
"It's called loss, Shadow," John replied simply.
"Yeah...well...I don't like it," Shadow and John both release a breath of exhaustion.
"I know..." John's response is short.
"So, what now?" Shadows finally asks.
John shrugs, finally finding an opportunity to implement his plan, "Nothing...Loki and the Tesseract are gone, there's nothing we can do--"
"Bullshit!" Shadow snaps his gaze to John, whom is looking forward, "Loki is still out there! He made this personal! And now you're just gonna--what--give up?!"
"What are we supposed to do then?" John turns to Shadow with a calm face.
"What we were trained to," Shadow steels his resolve, "Why do you think we were dragged here in the first place?! Because we're chivalrous like Captain America? Because we're billionaires like Stark? Smart like Banner? Or loyal like Widow?"
John still says nothing as Shadow continues to vent.
"No!" Shadow turns his head, fuming, "We were brought here because we're what they're not...assassins. Not soldiers. Not heroes. And not spies...we're hunters."
John finally places a hand on Shadow's shoulder and the assassins share a look, "...Then let's go hunting."
"Wait, what?" Shadow asks as John gets up and begins to walk away. The former assassin is perplexed now, "Just like that?"
John finally stops and turns to smirk at Shadow, "Just like that....For Phil."
Shadow swallows a bile of emotions in his throat, "Hey Ghost?" John, whom was about to leave, stops once more and looks back to Shadow, "...I've got your back."
"I know," John leaves it at that as he goes to make another stop, implementing Step 2 of his plan.
He calls Steve as he makes his way over to the Helicarrier's main control center.
...
Nick Fury was currently standing in his office with a glass of Scotch in his hands as he overlooks the Helicarrier's agents whom are all in a state of work.
There was a far away look on the Director's face as he hears the doors of his office open and close.
He takes a deep breath, noticing John's reflection from the glass he was looking through, "...You here to kill me, John?"
"The thought has crossed my mind," John says as he walks over to the mini-bar in Nick's office and pours himself a glass as well.
Fury releases a breath of amusement, "You'd be doing me a favor."
"Exactly," John says as he stands next to Nick, "Death is just too easy."
"Ah-Ha-Ha-Ha," Nick laughs sarcastically, "Tell me about it."
John smirks slightly.
A beat passes and the two men remain standing in their spots, drinks in hand and eyes in front.
"So, why have you come, John?" Fury asks, "Not that I don't enjoy your company of course."
John chuckles as he swirls the glass in his hands, "I'm glad you asked..." Fury glances at the former assassin now, "...I've come to make a deal..."
Nick shakes his head and chuckles, "God knows I've had my fill of those."
John chuckles now as well, "True, our last deal didn't exactly fall through well, did it?"
"No...No it did not," Fury takes a small sip from his glass and relishes in the taste of the alcohol as it glides down his throat, "...What'd you have in mind?"
"I'm going to do what you brought us here for," John and Fury both exchange a glance, "...but in exchange, you're going to have to promise me something." Fury says nothing as John raises his glass to him, "The Tesseract...it goes back to Asgard, where it should be. Out of our reach."
Nick looks down at this.
"Humanity is not ready, Nicholas," John states simply, "Look what happened when my organization got their hands on it...what yours did. This isn't the way."
"You asked me before..." Nick begins, "How many people died in this quest for power..." his mind goes to Coulson, "...Well, too many."
Fury knocks his glass with John's and they both down their drinks.
"You've got yourself a deal, Godfather," Fury says as he and John both place down their glasses.
"Alright then," John finally says and taps Fury on the back, "Daddy's gotta go to work."
Fury turns and watches as John walks out of his office. The door shuts and Fury heaves a deep breath, knowing that he may have well just put all of his and humanity's trust in one assassin as of right now...
As John exits the room, he notices Steve, whom was waiting for him already.
They both make their ways down the hall, "What did he say?" Steve asks John whom smirks and looks at the soldier, "...No way..."
John simply chuckles and Steve releases a breath of relief.
"You are something else, John Smith," Steve simply says and the English teacher laughs now, "We've got our green light."
"Yeah," John says, feeling himself getting amped up, "So, what do you say, Cap? You ready to follow an Assassin into the jaws of death?"
Steve suddenly stops...
His mind reminding him of something he once said to his best friend...
"So, what do you say, Buck? You ready to follow Captain America into the jaws of death?"
Smiling as he remembered what Bucky told him, Steve looks up to John, whom had stopped and was waiting for him.
"I'm not following him," Steve nods to John, "I'm following the good man and father from Brooklyn."
John just smirks, "Then let's this show on the road."
...
Over in the Medical Wing, Steve and John currently walk over to one of the rooms and enter whilst Steve is wearing his full uniform, minus his helmet.
Natasha looks at them in confusion
"Time to go," Steve begins.
"Go where?" Natasha asks as she looks to John for some sort of explanation.
"I'll tell you on the way--" John promises as Steve continues.
"Can you fly one of those jets?" Steve finishes.
Barton walks out of the restroom and looks at Cap and Ghost whilst drying his hands with a towel, "I can."
Steve looks at Natasha and she nods her head to confirm Barton's on their side.
"Good to have you here, Barton," John smirks at the man, "It's been a while."
"Yeah," Clint nods, "Nat hasn't shut up about it since."
Clint and John both chuckle and Cap smirks with Natasha.
"You got a suit?" Cap asks Barton, whom nods.
"Yes sir," Clint's face is serious now.
"Then suit up."
...
Out in a field of wheat grass, a blinding BOLT OF LIGHTNING strikes down from above, colliding on Mjolnir, prompting a massive explosion.
THE MIGHTY THOR stands tall!
...
Currently in Steve's room, he pulls on his helmet and looks down before taking a deep breath and slowly reaches down for his vibranium shield.
As CAPTAIN AMERICA is ready to charge into war once more!
...
Tony is seen welding his helmet now as a light slips down over the eyes of the contraption.
And so IRON MAN powers up!
...
Natasha takes a deep breath as she opens a small case that was on her bed and attaches a gloved gauntlet with rounds on her wrists.
A blue light charges...
The BLACK WIDOW is now ready to fight the good fight!
...
Clint Barton picks up his bow from his bed and slips his hand into his quiver of arrows before practicing his aim.
HAWKEYE was ready to complete his directive!
...
Currently inside their room as well, a hand reaches down and picks up their dual Desert Eagle handguns and their fully modded out SCAR-L MK, 16.
SHADOW was eager to move into battle!
...
And finally...
John was currently in a black sweater and cargo pants as he straps on his bullet-proof vest and places on his dual pistol holster as he picks up his silver Hardballers.
The former assassin places them in his holsters before picking up his brown leather jacket and slings it over his shoulders.
He then pulls out his wallet and looks at a picture of his family that was in it for a moment.
His eyes then go to the Ronin mask that was on his bed...
THE GODFATHER was ready to do some hunting!
...
The team now walks towards and into a Quinjet that was currently getting ready to make a supply run.
A young S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot looks and stands in their way, "You are not authorized to be here--"
"Son... " Steve raises a finger, "...just don't."
Currently standing in the Helicarrier's control center Fury looks out the window of the ship, contemplating.
Agent Hill walks up to him knowingly, "Sir."
"Agent Hill?" Nick asks as he was holding Coulson's trading cards.
"Those cards," Maria looks to them, "They were in Coulson's locker, not in his jacket."
Nick simply smiles, "They needed the push."
A loud noise screeches and Fury looks out to see Iron Man flying off as well as a Quinjet.
Nick's smile brightens as he remembers his earlier conversation with a certain assassin, " And it looks like they found it. Get our communications back up, whatever you have to do. I want eyes on everything."
Maria also smiles, "Yes, sir."
...
(A/N): I know that this chapter was a short one, but I just decided at the last second to put the Battle of New York into the next one to make it one long cohesive experience for everyone reading.
So, hope to see you all soon!
-trinikirito