Chapter 22: Coulson, the Scapegoat Hero

Having just acquired a new toy, Annie had been obsessed with her after-school joyrides for the past few days. Of course, it wasn't the kind of joyride where you drive a car; it was the kind where you truly fly a fighter jet into the stratosphere to go wild.

What frustrated Annie, however, was that she no longer had the chance to run into that tin man called Iron Man. What a pity! And to think she had specially prepared a whole bunch of secret weapons for him.

"Uncle Coulson, are you really not going joyriding with us today?" Annie had changed into the small-sized, high-G flight suit custom-made by SHIELD specifically for her and boarded her dedicated flying mount, the *Princess Annie*.

Ever since she got this toy, she had to go out for a joyride every day after dinner, only flying back reluctantly when it was almost pitch black. During this period, she had even left her inseparable teddy bear at home! In her current state, Annie wouldn't recognize anyone named Tibbs—who was that?

Annie had been very happy during this time, but someone else was not!

Regarding this red aircraft that caused chaos in national airspace every day without timely reporting, the military had lodged numerous protests with SHIELD. SHIELD's explanation was simply: "testing new equipment." Then, the matter was left to fizzle out. After several unsuccessful protests, the military could only get used to its existence and turn a blind eye.

"No, no need, thank you very much! As long as you're happy. Don't mind me, I prefer enjoying the beach in the evening." Hearing Annie's call, Coulson gave a start.

A few days ago, he had been tossed around in the fighter jet until he felt like he was dying, eventually losing consciousness from the ordeal. When he woke up, he swore he would never ride that red Quinjet again!

It was fine for the two of them in the front, in the specialized, load-reducing pilot seats, but Coulson was in the rear cabin, which now only contained civilian items like sofas. Load-reducing seats? Non-existent! It was enough if two seatbelts kept him from rolling around the cabin! But what use were two seatbelts?

After resolutely declining the invitation, Coulson ignored Annie's calls. He put on his sunglasses, reclined comfortably in a beach chair, and took a delightful sip of his drink.

Since Melinda was accompanying her, there wouldn't be any danger; he would never go crazy with that little girl again! He swore he would never again attempt that terrifying sensation of being strapped into a cabin while the jet performed various high-angle maneuvers.

Waving from his beach chair, he watched the red jet ascend and fly further and further away until it was out of sight. Only then did Coulson close his eyes with satisfaction; the evening sea breeze was incredibly comfortable.

This seaside villa was truly a great place for a vacation. He wondered which damn bureaucrat it had originally been prepared for? Coulson wondered if he should follow the lead of others in SHIELD and try to skim a little off the top when on missions. For example, reporting one percent less when turning in spoils? If he did that, perhaps he could afford a slightly smaller vacation cottage by the sea when he retired.

"Phil! You're certainly getting better at enjoying yourself." After an unknown amount of time, as Coulson was drifting in and out of sleep, a voice sounded beside him.

Nick Fury's face looked a bit dark—well, actually, his face was always that dark.

Regardless, he was very dissatisfied with Coulson right now! He had just sat down silently on the lounge chair next to Coulson, and the man hadn't reacted at all? Was this the professionalism an agent should have? Was this still Senior Agent Coulson?

This subordinate was becoming increasingly lazy and indulgent. Truly, ease makes one dull! If this continued, Nick Fury would start to doubt whether he could still handle field missions in the future.

"Ah! Director, when did you get here?" Coulson was startled. Why did the Director have time to visit him? Had something happened again?

"Enough, enough! No need to stand up, just stay seated." Nick Fury waved his hand in annoyance and imitated Coulson by lying down on a lounge chair. "Honestly, I'm almost envious of your carefree life now."

After lying down, Nick Fury let out a long sigh. He hadn't been able to lie down this comfortably in a long time! Under various pressures recently, he hadn't been this relaxed for a single moment! Fortunately, Hill's operations were going relatively smoothly, and with more good news coming in lately, his confidence was growing.

"Director, is there something going on?"

Coulson didn't believe for a second that the Director had come just to chat; there had to be a mission. However, he was a bit puzzled—if there was a mission, couldn't the Director just send a message or call him to headquarters? Why come here personally?

"I knew I couldn't hide it from you!" Nick Fury nodded and turned to look at Coulson. His expression was still somewhat grim, as if something was troubling him. "Do you know, Phil? I almost don't dare trust anyone easily anymore. SHIELD is facing an unprecedented major crisis!"

Coulson did not respond. Since the Director had come here to say this, it proved that the Director still trusted him. But why would the Director say something so alarmist? Was SHIELD really facing a major danger? He hadn't noticed anything unusual within SHIELD. That didn't make sense! Though he couldn't understand it, hearing how serious the Director sounded, Coulson couldn't help but drop his playful expression and sit up straight.

"Phil, do you know? SHIELD has been heavily infiltrated by Hydra!" Nick Fury stared at the ocean, remained silent for a moment, and then turned to look at Coulson, speaking one word at a time.

"Hydra? Weren't they wiped out a long time ago? How is that possible?" Coulson naturally knew the legend of Hydra! The predecessor of SHIELD had risen by destroying Hydra, stepping over its corpse, but that was back in World War II.

"I used to think so too! Cut off one head and two grow back, hehe... there's truth to that saying!" Nick Fury gave a self-deprecating laugh, but his eyes turned cold.

"I am personally in charge of the Hydra matter; do not ask about it! And do not tell anyone; just keep it in your heart! However, there is another incredibly important mission at hand. You will handle this one, and there can be no mistakes whatsoever!" After saying this, Nick Fury handed a document directly to Coulson, leaving no room for refusal.

The Avengers? Coulson took the document, somewhat confused. After flipping through a few pages, he immediately understood Director Nick Fury's intention.

It turned out that, given the increasing emergence of things beyond SHIELD's control—such as those mutants with bizarre abilities! Such as powerful aliens like Annie, the sorcerer organization Kamar-Taj that SHIELD could never trace, the bald sorcerer Ancient One, and even Thor the God of Thunder who arrived from Asgard not long ago with his damn hammer, a weapon of the heavens! And finally, adding the recently discovered resurgence of Hydra...

These endless incidents made Director Nick Fury feel increasingly powerless and exhausted. He didn't know what kind of threats Earth would face in the future. Therefore, Nick Fury planned to build a special small squad as quickly as possible to deal with these increasingly powerful enemies. Although the Council had never approved his proposal, Nick Fury decided to bypass them and form it in secret!

Coulson looked at the list of names at the end of the document; those were the Director's recommended candidates. The first was: Annie Hastha!

Well, Coulson did not deny Annie's strength. In his view, the abilities Annie had displayed so far were only the tip of the iceberg! The deeper he got to know her, the more he felt her power. Although she was a bit playful and mischievous, that was normal—after all, for a girl of her age, it was quite normal! One couldn't demand too much.

Second and third: Hawkeye, Black Widow! Coulson was very familiar with these two; they were veteran SHIELD heavy-hitters. He skipped over them for now. As for their abilities? Average! They were decent, with no particularly magical powers, but they were much stronger than ordinary agents!

Fourth: The Hulk? Huh? Wasn't he captured by the military after being beaten up by Annie? Did he break out again? Hiss! If that's the case, this green guy's prison-breaking skills must be quite impressive; how many times has he escaped now?

Fifth: Iron Man? Oh! He knew him too—the famous playboy and billionaire, Tony Stark! The news reports had been buzzing about him recently. It was said that after this playboy was kidnapped by terrorists, he created a very powerful iron suit, now known as Iron Man.

Sixth: Captain America?

"Sorry, Director! Didn't Captain America die a long time ago in a plane crash somewhere in the Arctic? He's been dead for over half a century; where am I supposed to find him?" Seeing this name on the list left Coulson extremely confused!

Nick Fury said nothing! He stared at Coulson for a full ten seconds! He even began to doubt whether he had chosen the wrong person by giving this important mission to Coulson.

"Just how long has it been since you paid attention to SHIELD affairs?"

"Uh..." Coulson was momentarily speechless. Thinking about it, he indeed hadn't followed SHIELD's recent developments for a while. He had been living a bit too comfortably lately, you know.

"Captain America was recently excavated. Not only is he alive, but he is also very young! He is currently recuperating. Once the time comes, if you just tell him what you know, he should be easily recruited. As for the Hulk, he escaped from the military some time ago, and SHIELD now has his exact location. When you go to recruit him, remember to bring Annie, and there shouldn't be any big problems."

Nick Fury let out a helpless sigh, stood up, and turned to leave. His dissatisfaction with Coulson had escalated from "very dissatisfied" to "extremely dissatisfied." If it weren't for the fact that there was truly no one else to use, he wouldn't have wanted to entrust such an important mission to him. After walking a few steps, he turned back and roared at Coulson

"The hardest one to recruit right now is actually Iron Man! Who told you guys to chase him around until he was frantic a while back? Who told you to keep chasing him until his plane ran out of fuel and crashed into the sea? Just how much of a grudge do you have with him?! I don't even know how you had the nerve to call for support to have people send you fuel! Tell me! Huh? Mute? Too afraid to speak?"

...

(Revision 1)

(End of Chapter)