Fury's Bad Day

POV Nick Fury

I was awoken from the operation that was just done on me. It took me too long to get to a dose of Rad-Away and as such I developed a few serious illnesses. I look at the Miss Nanny that did the operation.

Nanny: "Mr. Fury, the operation was a success but I must reiterate that this will only give you more time. A more advanced medical robot or facility is needed to fix the issues."

Fury: "Yes, I heard you the first time and my answer is the same. I can't get to a facility like that because of my situation."

Nanny: "I am just following my program, sir. My only directive is to ensure the safety of all Vault Residents."

Fury: "Sigh. Your right. I assure when I can be certain that I will be safe I will seek medical aid immediately."

Nanny: "Very well sir. Will that be all?"

Fury: "Yes, that will be all for now."

I leave the clinic and head to the Overseer's office. I had taken to making it my new office. Once I was there I saw that Barton and May were already there.

Fury: "Any news?"

May: "Nothing good sir. The war has gotten worse and from what few resources I have I can say that it might not be too long until the war reaches the homestead. Hydra has been through and the last few sources of info outside of the Federalist Government have gone dark. Most of the known safehouses are also compromised."

I look to Barton.

 Barton: "No perimeter breaches. But we are running low on resources."

Fury: "How bad."

May: "Even with the relative self-sufficiency of the Vault we will need more robots to run the Hydroponics Lab. If not we will run out of food in 3 weeks. Even if we ration more than we already are it will only last another week. We are running out of money."

I understand the comment underneath that last statement. It wasn't only us running out of money. Barton's family is running out as well.

Fury: "Take the remaining money we have and buy some supplies. Take Laura with you. And don't get spotted."

May: "Yes sir."

Once May leaves I look at Barton.

Barton: "Permission to speak freely sir?"

Fury: "Granted."

Barton: "I am not sure how much of a help I will be sir. And my family is struggling."

I think about his injuries. Even with Stimpaks and the Clinic in the Vault Barton now has a permanent limp and his strength has decreased greatly.

Fury: "You want to retire?"

Barton: "I am not suited for field duty anymore and Laura needs more help around the house. Combined with the chance of the war reaching here. We talked about leaving the farm and taking the chance of going up North. I don't want to retire but I want to be there for my family."

I don't speak for a moment while I think about the situation we are in.

Fury: "I don't blame you for looking out for your family first. And I don't see any reason to deny that we have already lost. SHIELD is dead. Hydra killed every last agent that wasn't loyal. And we have nearly no contacts left. It is only a matter of time before Hydra finds this Vault and despite my confidence that it can survive their siege, I know that is no place to raise a child. So yes, you are officially relieved of your duty. I would offer you a severance pay but I don't have much. You can take any equipment or supplies you need. Thank you for your service."

Barton: "Thank you, sir. It's been an honor."

Barton leaves the office and I am left alone with my thoughts.

'Maybe I should try my luck in the Imperium as well. Staying here will get me nowhere. But am I willing to give up? To let go?'

I don't know how long I was sitting in the office thinking but I was eventually snapped out of my thinking by Agent May.

May: "Sir? You let Barton go?"

Fury: "Yes, and I offer you the same. You haven't done anything really bad in your life. You like Barton have a real chance at getting into the Imperium."

May: "Then why not come with?"

Fury: "Hah. I have done many things in my life some I like to think were the right thing but I have done many bad things. Things that looking back may have been done by the order of Hydra. No. I won't be able to get in and even if I could I don't want to. I can't bring myself to trust them. No. I will stay here and wait for Hydra to come for me. They will bleed for everyone they have harmed. I will make sure of it."

Before she can respond the computer in front of me alerts me to a vehicle driving towards the farm. We both look at it and get nervous. It was a standard SUV that government agencies used. Including Hydra.

Fury: "Suit up. It looks like we will have company soon."

We get our gear on and we prepare for an attack. We hide in the barn that the Vault is built under. We watch as the SUV stops and 2 beings come out.

May: "Impossible."

I too am quite surprised by who comes out of the car.

POV Clint Barton

Barton: "Stay in the house I will deal with this."

Laura: "Be careful."

Knock Knock Knock

I open the door and see Coulson. He smiles at me.

Coulson: "Nice to see you again Agent Barton. I have come here to offer you and your family a safe place."

Barton: "Let's speak outside."

He nods and I am surprised when I see Hendricks.

Barton: "How are you to alive? Hydra killed everyone."

Coulson: "They did. Hendricks and I fought off Hydra to ensure May escaped but we didn't survive the battle. We died. But after we died we woke up. We were resurrected by His Highness. And he offered us a job after letting us know what happened after we died."

Barton: "And you just accepted?"

Coulson: "No, we were skeptical of his claims and the info he gave us but that changed when we met an acquaintance. Natasha. She was saved by the Imperium as well after Hydra had unknowingly hired their agent to kill her. Apparently, her entire family lives in the Imperium. That combined with getting to experience life in the Imperium convinced us to join them to work towards a better future. That is why we are here. I know Director Fury and Agent May are here. I wanted to give them a chance at a better life and to do something bigger than ourselves."

Barton: "Natasha is there?"

Coulson: "Yes, she would have come but she is currently undergoing training for an assignment. I can't say what for but just know that she is hoping that you will come to live in the Imperium as well."

May: "And why come now?"

May appears with a pistol aimed at Coulson.

May: "How do we know that this isn't some Hydra plot to kill or capture us?"

Coulson: "Besides the fact you know I would never break under interrogation. Beyond that, there is the fact that Hydra doesn't have the resources to transport many soldiers this deep into enemy territory. The Enclave has air superiority and would annihilate Hydra before they made it even halfway. As for why now. The simple answer is that we just recently completed our training. Our teacher was Nick Valentine and we had a lot to learn. Then we had to make sure we arrived when the South and North began a battle that would distract Hydra and the Enclave and allow us to get here undetected."

May lowers her gun.

May: "And why come here at all? I doubt that the Imperium doesn't have numerous other people they could train that are vastly superior to us."

Coulson: "To some extent that is true but the reality is that His Highness is very kind and doesn't want to see you die here when you have good hearts and are interested in making the world a better place. That and we also asked to have this chance. If you refuse then that will be the end of it. We will leave and never come back. If you change your mind you can always either wish to join the Imperium before bed and get taken to the Imperium or make the journey on foot to the border."

Barton: "And how do we know you are telling the truth?"

Coulson: "The easiest answer is that when you say yes a magic-using Unicorn will teleport here to help you transport your things to the Imperium. If you somehow believe that Hydra has access to magic or Unicorns then I know there is nothing I could say that will convince you otherwise."

I think for a moment but I don't have to think for long as Laura comes out and answers for me.

Laura: "We will go to the Imperium. We all ready talked about leaving here sweetie. Now the answer is right before us why make things harder."

Barton: "You're right."

Coulson: "Glad to hear it."

Once he said that 2 Unicorns appeared in a flash of light and looked at us.

Unicorn 1: "What do you need us to take?"

Laura: "I will handle this."

Laura leads the Unicorns away and I look at May with a question.

May: "Sigh. Fine. I just talked with Fury and he told me to retire. I was going to either try my luck in the Enclave or the Imperium. But the Imperium seems safer."

Fury: "So he really brought you back to life?"

Coulson: "Yes he did sir. And it's a pleasure to see you again. I know this is pointless to ask but do you wish to come to the Imperium?"

Fury: "No, I will stay here. Or maybe I will take my chance and assist the Federalists."

Coulson: "I figured you would say that. Then take this as a gift for the years of service and the help you have given me."

He hands a strange-looking Stimpak to Director Fury.

Fury: "What is this?"

Coulson: "A Perfect Stimpak. They are usually only used by the government or Paramedics but they can heal any issue or illness. I know that you are dying, sir. This is the least I could do before we say goodbye."

Fury: "How did you know?"

Coulson: "Two things. I studied your escape from Hydra. Getting away from the blast unharmed would be nearly impossible. Combine that with an increase in purchases of Rad-Away and Rad-X and it becomes clear that you took a very high dose of Radiation. And I doubt you managed to get healed in time. That level of radiation is not that easy to heal and would cause numerous problems long term."

Fury: "Thank you. For everything. I know you will do good things."

We gather our things and I say my final goodbye to Director Fury. We shake hands and I disappear in a flash of light.

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Authors Note:

Well, Shield is now officially disbanded. I don't think Fury after being betrayed by someone he saw as a mentor and losing everything would be willing to leave it all behind. And I don't think that he would meet the Karma requirement for entry into the Imperium. As for Barton, I think it makes sense that he tries to retire after Shield had basically collapsed. And once Barton left I think May would follow soon enough. Until next time Ciao.