Author's Note: Okay, I'm really really sorry I skipped last week. Let's just say I'm going through a very stressful few months, and I've still got this dreadful cough keeping me down, so last week, the chapter just... fell by the wayside. But, here's a chapter for you, and I hope it delivers! Enjoy!
"You want us to what?"
Friend looked around at the others, from Chill, who had just spoken their disbelief, to Sparky and Reg, who looked confused about the offer, to Ghost, who was staring at Coulson as if the agent had just offered to let them grow extra heads.
"It's only a temporary position," Coulson assured them. "Unless, of course, you want to stay on as agents after this all blows over."
"We're offering you protection while you learn to control your powers," Hill said. "You'll each have your own room, you'll have access to the mess hall and gyms, and you can learn a bit about Hydra and the war before you decide where you want to go from here."
"Sound good to me," Muscles said, leaning back in his chair.
"Hold on a minute," Reg said, holding up his hand. "A place to live and train is one thing. Signing on as agents?!"
"That's the only way we can give you access to the facilities," Hill argued. "We're a top-secret organization, not a YMCA."
Friend and Red looked at each other, silently asking what they thought of this offer.
"And how do we know we can trust you?" Chill asked.
Coulson sighed. "You don't," he said. "You're just gonna have to chance it."
"That's comforting," Chill noted sarcastically, under his breath.
"I think it might be a good idea," Ghost said quietly. "I mean, obviously, Hydra isn't going to let us go now. We know too much. If SHIELD is willing to teach us while we're here, well, that's decent of them."
"I think…" Friend said carefully. "I think we're better off here than on our own right now."
"I agree," Red said. "We know nothing of the world. The only one who even had some access to outside information was Light. If we stay here and train as agents, we could stop Hydra for good."
The others all considered this.
"If you think this is the wisest course of action," Sparky said seriously. "Then you have my vote."
"Oh, it's a vote now, lovely," Chill said, standing and beginning to pace thoughtfully. "I suppose it is the best situation for now."
"MUSCLES VOTE YES!" Muscles yelled with a grin.
"You already know where I stand," Ghost said with a nod.
"With Friend and I, that makes six," Red said. "Reg, how about you?"
Reg looked around at the group, and at the two agents. "Alright," he said finally. "If it's best for the group, I won't stand against it."
Coulson gave a small smile. "Glad to hear it," he said. "Now, the first course of action is the paperwork. You can't get by in this world without papers, and you eight are the definition of non existent. Don't worry, though. Our forgery department is the best in the business. By tomorrow, you guys will have full names, dates of birth, hometowns, and passports."
"And the day after that, death certificates," Hill said. "In order to join SHIELD, you need to be officially dead."
"You need to give us identities just to have those identities pronounced dead?" Reg asked. "A bit extensive, don't you think?"
"Extensive, but necessary," Coulson said. "Eventually, the war will be over. We'll all come out of hiding at that time and be pronounced legally alive again. You guys will need identities to "reclaim" at that time."
"What about who we really are?" Friend asked. "What about our real identities?"
"We're still working on that," Coulson said. "Whoever you were before, Hydra has no record. See, Hydra has been kidnapping and killing people since the war began. The list of missing persons is in the millions, it will take months to find your true identities."
Something in Friend went off that this was wrong somehow, the same something that had alerted him to the trap in the Hydra base. But for now, he decided to go along with SHIELD. They could make use of SHIELD's training and protection, and they could figure everything out as time went on.
"I have a request," Chill spoke up. "Don't give me a stupid name like Bill or Pete. I need something that rolls off the tongue."
"Me too!" Muscles agreed.
Coulson's phone went off then, and he picked it up, reading the message there.
"What is it?" Hill asked.
"Your friend Light has woken up," Coulson said, standing. "Friend, if you could come with me, please. Apparently, he won't let anyone near him."
Friend stood quickly, feeling a jolt of concern shoot through him, replaced with a bit of relief that Light had finally woken up. "Sure," he said, following Coulson from the conference room.
As they walked quickly through the hall towards the med bay, Coulson explained the situation. "As far as we can figure," he said. "Hydra was draining the power from the, uh… light on his chest, into a secondary battery. That light is a self-sustaining energy source, which explains why he doesn't need to plug into an electrical outlet to use his computer."
"Winston," Friend noted absently.
"What?" Coulson asked, glancing over his shoulder.
"Winston," Friend said. "That's what Light named the computer."
"He named it." Coulson repeated. "That's interesting."
"He also named the wireless hotspot Mahavir," Friend offered.
Coulson let out a small chuckle. "At any rate, the energy source had been mostly drained when Hydra took him after he contacted us. But, as it's self-replenishing, it's been making that energy back, and now that it's regained enough power, he woke up."
"Wait," Friend asked. "What does the power source for the computer have to do with Light himself? I mean, just because the computer's on low battery doesn't mean he is, right?"
"Well," Coulson said. "When they inserted the computer and merged the power source with Light, they also put in several other implants, and the energy invaded his blood stream, merging with his blood. Without the energy powering all the new technology in Light, he himself loses energy."
"Oh…" Friend said. So Light was a full-out cyborg. Somehow, the computer should have tipped him off, but there was still something disconcerting about it.
Reaching the med bay, they walked through the first room towards the back, just as before. There was a doctor waiting by the door to Light's room, and as they approached, the doctor hurried to meet them.
"He's very suspicious of us," the doctor said in hushed tones. "Keeps demanding we let him see his friends to prove we're SHIELD. He won't trust the paper proof we showed him."
"Smart kid," Coulson said. "I wouldn't trust the papers either. Come on, Friend."
Going through the door with the doctor following, Friend saw Light sitting up on the cot with his arms folded and his eyes closed. He was on his computer.
"Light," Friend said.
Opening his eyes, Light looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
Friend nodded with a small smile. "It's SHIELD," He affirmed.
"There you have it," Light said, turning to a nurse who was standing across the room. "Was that so hard? Did you really have to argue with me for half an hour?"
"Can I take a blood sample now?" The nurse asked with a long suffering sigh.
"Uh, no, not yet," Light said with a frown. "So you're SHIELD. That doesn't give you free reign to my blood. Friend, what's your initial impression of SHIELD? Good? Bad? Super lame?"
"Well, if it helps," Friend started. "We all just agreed to sign on as agents until we find out who we are."
"Wow." Light said. "That cool, huh? Fine then. Okay, doll, you can have your precious blood sample." As the nurse came forward and began drawing blood from Light's arm, Light turned back to Friend. " Agents?" he asked. "Us? That'll be fun, I guess. Who's the suit?"
Friend followed Light's slightly-suspicious gaze to Coulson. "This is agent Coulson," Friend said. "He's one of the people who pulled us from the Hydra base."
"Cool, cool," Light said, watching as the nurse wrapped a bandage over Light's arm and took the translucent pale blue blood sample from the room. "Sorry if I don't remember you. According to the doc here, I was running on low battery the whole time."
"It's fine," Coulson said with a somewhat strained smile. "It's good to see you feeling better."
"Yeah, so when can I leave this tiny white room?" Light asked. "This place is driving me crazy."
"You've only been awake for half an hour," The doctor stated.
"And that's half an hour longer than I'd like to be," Light stated. "I'm good to go now. When can I leave?"
"You're not in any state to be going anywhere just yet," The doctor said firmly. "You have just enough energy to be awake and talking. Until you regain a bit more power, you're staying here."
Light groaned. "I don't even have Mahavir anymore," he said. "No internet. I'm so bored, I'm going stir crazy! I can't stay here."
"Doc, give him your iPhone," Coulson said.
The doctor turned in surprise to Coulson. "But, sir-" He started.
"That's an order," Coulson said. "As long as it keeps him in the room, it's his. Now then, I'm very busy. I have to get some requests in for paperwork, and I can't leave Friend here until that paperwork comes through. So we're going to have to leave. Light, nice to see you up and about."
Light, who was already busy with the iPhone, barely glanced up. "Yeah, thanks," he said. "See ya later, Friend."
"Bye," Friend told him, following Coulson from the room. As they started the walk back to the conference room, Friend let out a small sigh of relief he'd held since Light was first taken. They were all okay. They'd really, truly made it out.
The next day found the seven of them from the Caravan beginning their training, while trying to get used to their new names.
"First is basic hand-to-hand combat," Coulson announced. "We're going to split you into teams of two, With Hill standing in for the final position."
Everyone nodded their understanding, and Coulson started listing the pairs.
"Timothy and Davon," He said.
Reg, having been newly-christened Timothy Matthews, stepped forward and faced Friend, now called Davon Williams.
"Paul and Nathan," Coulson read.
With a grin, Sparky stepped forward, now called Paul Jacobs, and faced Muscles, who pounded his fists together eagerly, with the new name Nathan West.
"John and Jasper," Coulson called.
Ghost sighed and stepped forward. "John Smith," he muttered. "Why don't you just name me Anonymous?"
"I think it suits you," Chill noted, stepping up as Jasper Thomas.
"And Hill goes against Ariana," Coulson finished.
Red stepped up and smiled innocently at Hill, who looked just a little bit worried. "Ariana Walker," Red noted. "Not too bad. Give my compliments to the forgery department."
"Will do," Coulson said. "Now the point of this isn't to do much fighting, but rather to test things out, see just how far you all are in your combat skills."
"Red real good with combat," Muscles noted. "Beat Chill with me."
"Yes, and thank you for bringing it up," Chill said with a light laugh.
"Focus, guys," Coulson said, though chuckling a bit himself. "Nathan, remember, you gotta try to use their new names, to get used to it. You guys are keeping your other names as codenames, but you still gotta use the new ones."
Muscles rolled his eyes. "Ugh," he said. "Fine. 'Riana good with combat. Beat Jasper with me."
"Repeat it again, why don't you?" Chill said.
"Okay, getting back to the point," Coulson said. "Ready… Begin!"
Friend shut the others out, just focusing on himself and Reg… or, Timothy. He watched as Timothy muscled up about five pounds of muscle. Not his best, but enough to even the odds out a little. Lunging forward, Reg swung with a tentative right hook, Friend seeing it come a mile away. Dodging it easily, he shot his left hand out and connected with Reg's jaw.
"Come on, Re- Timothy," Friend taunted. "You can do better than that."
Timothy scoffed. "Fine," he said. "I'll stop pulling my punches."
Friend smiled. And the real fight began.
Phil Coulson watched as the different pairs fought, not entirely sure what he was feeling. In some respects, the teens were the same as their adult counterparts. Especially Thor and Loki. Er, Sparky and Chill. No, wait, Paul and Jasper. Phil's headache hadn't exactly left. As Paul fought Nathan, the security footage taken three years earlier of Thor fighting the Hulk played through Phil's mind. The styles were almost identical, the only differences were the age of the two, the location of the fight, and the subtle change between two enemies fighting and two friends sparring.
Over where Clint and Steve were fighting, now Davon and Timothy, Phil had nothing to compare the fighting with, as the two hadn't sparred with each other as adults. But taking what he knew of both people, Phil could tell that they both had retained their fighting styles. The same could be said of Loki and Dr. Banner. Which is to say, it was more a game of wits to the both, almost a strange rendition of hide and seek. Jasper was conjuring clones and making good use of his ability to disappear, while John was simply trying to figure out which was the real Jasper, and where he would show up next. Every once in awhile, one would get a hit in on the other, Jasper pulling his punches quite a bit, and John not able to hit necessarily hard in the first place. They seemed to have developed a point system, as Phil heard Jasper say "six," upon getting a hit, and John returning with "You're winning, I only have four."
And poor Hill was facing all the might of Natasha Romanoff, holding her own fairly well as the teenager moved quickly and gracefully, fighting in such a way that it almost seemed a dance instead of a sparring match.
Everything was interrupted as the door opened, and Light came in. Everyone stopped fighting and crowded towards him, and Phil sighed. Of all of them, Light was the one who was both the most like his old self, and the most different. In attitude, in the way his mind seemed to work, he was very much the same he'd ever been. But definitely in appearance he looked nothing like Tony Stark. Nothing like his older self at all.
"I thought you weren't supposed to be released until tomorrow," Sparky exclaimed with a grin.
"Ah," Light smirked. "I was released early after I pulled doc's iPhone apart to build a remote control."
"A remote control?" Reg asked warily. "What did it control?"
Light paused. "I refuse to answer that on the grounds that it might incriminate me," he said.
Mentally, Phil facepalmed. "Light," he said. "Did you get your papers?"
"Yeah," Light said. "I didn't like 'em. Sent 'em back."
"...You what." Hill stated in disbelief.
"I sent them back," Light answered. "I mean, Michael Jones? That is so not me. I'm thinking I'll keep Light. It's grown on me. I'm pairing it with Fortunato."
"Are you serious?" Red asked, raising her eyebrows. "It's supposed to be common."
"Well, I'm not gonna join SHIELD if I don't get my way," Light said. "Doc said he wouldn't send my request through without Coulson's OK. So, Coulson, I'm gonna be Light Fortunato. Send word that I'll do it."
This time, Phil's facepalm was real.
"Light," He said. "You can't have a name like Light Fortunato! It's way too uncommon. It's easy to remember, it'll catch people's attention. As a SHIELD agent, your job is to be hard to remember."
"Well, I don't think there's any danger of that," Light said. "Saw my reflection in the mirror, and I must say, my glowing personality as well as my looks will leave me unforgettable. I might as well have a name to match."
Phil sighed, recalling his earlier reflections that Light was the most like his old self, and Tony Stark never took "no" for an answer, not as long as SHIELD had known him. He never followed orders, either, as he had proven when the whole Iron Man business had gotten started, and went off the cue cards. Phil's best hope was to try and compromise.
"Alright, here's the deal," Phil tried. "You can keep the last name, but the first stays Michael."
"Michael Fortunato," Light tried. "...Okay, fine. I accept."
Phil nodded. "Right," he said with another sigh. "Okay, fine. Did the doc clear you for sparring?"
"Sparring?" Light said, folding his arms. "No, he told me to find you, take it easy, give the darn phone back and try to avoid needing the Med Bay for as long as possible."
"So no sparring," Phil confirmed. "Right then. You sit over there and don't distract everybody. The rest of you, get back to the training. I'm gonna call the forgery department."
The other teens all looked at Light again, and the teen frowned. "That's it!" Light said. "End of show! Nothing to see! Go about your business."
The teens all looked away and got back to their sparring, and Phil turned away quickly to hide the smile he felt coming on. These kids were going to be the death of him. He was just glad he'd seen so much Supernanny.
