Fury's POV
Six pairs of eyes bore into him as Fury steeples his fingers, and settles into a chair. In the debriefing room, six kids sit rigidly around the table. Coulson stands quietly in the back, Maria joining him. Silence hangs heavily over them.
"So, should we address the elephant in the room?" Fury inquires.
Bruce fidgets uncomfortably, Clint examines everyone carefully, Steve lays his head in his arms, Tony leans his head against the chair and closes his eyes, Natasha avoids looking at anyone, and settles on a spot on the wall, Thor is just sitting quietly, staring at his hands.
"You're in SHIELD." Fury chimes in. "A secret government assigned to protect you."
The kids stay silent.
"A man named Oscar Wilde is the founder of the Federal Directorate. We just got news from a confidential source, that you are on their hit list. For what reason we don't know."
"How long are we going to be here?" Says a voice quietly.
It was Natasha that spoke.
"Indefinitely."
"Do they want to kill us?" Bruce asks.
"We don't know."
"Where's my Dad?" Tony asks. "What about my mom?"
"We can't let you have any outside contact. You need to stay hidden."
"Where are we going to sleep?" Thor asks.
"We have rooms for all of you."
Steve raises his head off the table, holds up a trembling hand, and tries to wipe some of the blood from under his nose.
"Can- can I go to to my room now?" He asks quietly.
Fury realizes that's he should've taken the kid to get checked out. He looks terrible.
"Agent Coulson, please take Rogers to the medical wing."
Fury looks at the other kids.
"Actually take all of them. It wouldn't hurt them to get checked out."
Maria and Phil walk towards them, motioning them up, and out the door. Phil helps Steve stand up, the kid wrapping his arm around his torso. The SHEILD issued shirt hangs loosely on his frame, and blood already stains it. Phil wraps his arm around him, and they follow the others out the door. Fury sees Clint look one more time through the door, and narrows his eyes. Fury shakes his head. Teenagers. He will have to get them to trust him. It's going to be a long next few months.
Phil's POV
Phil and Steve follow slowly behind Maria and the other five kids. He notices how Steve winces when his hand grabbed his back to support him. Dried blood cakes the side of the kid's face, running from his ear. Phil suddenly feels something inside him. A...protective instinct? If he remembers correctly, the kid was only fifteen. He looks at the other kids, their traumatized, young faces, and silently swears that he will protect them to his last breath. He doesn't know for sure, but some of the agents that came back from rescuing Steve were saying that Fury picked him up, and carried him to the transport. Phil doesn't know if he believes it. Fury is not a kid person. Then again, neither is he, but here he is wishing death upon the people that did this to these kids. He can't help but feel guilty about taking some of them from their parents. Especially Natasha. Her expression splays sadness, fear, anger, confusion... Probably what they are all feeling.
The medical wing doors whoosh open, and Maria gestures the kids inside. Six pairs of eyes wander around curiously. The wing was probably the equivalent of all of their houses combined. State of the art equipment, technology that ordinary hospitals could never dream of. It smells of bleach and cleaner. It's so sterile...cold even. No wonder Steve looks so nervous. It looks like an experimentation lab. Tony rushes around, staring intently at a holographic image of a DNA strand. Maria pulls everyone to a halt, giving orders to the staff. A sweet looking nurse guides Natasha farther down the main entrance before disappearing down a hall. Two other nurses take Tony and Bruce, another two take Thor and Clint. Steve reluctantly follows a nurse down a hall, casting one last glance behind his shoulder at Phil. It's...trusting. But distrusting at the same time. The kid isn't sure who to trust, Phil figures. He can't blame him. He can only hope that in the next few months the kids will realize that taking them was for their own good. And that hopefully the kids won't hate them for life.
Steve sits rigidly on the cushioned exam table. He tries to suppress a shiver that runs down his spine. A nurse had collected his dirty clothes, giving him a soft pair of sweats, and slightly large t shirt. Steve's eyes examine a cabinet in the corner, a scale against the wall, and the various machines at the head of the bed. His hands fidget nervously, twisting his shirt. A knock on the door startles him, and his head snaps up. A female doctor in a white coat smiles softly at him.
"Steve Rogers?" She asks.
"Yeah."
"My name is Helen Cho. I'm going to ask you to remove your shirt please."
Steve swallows, reluctantly pulling it over his head.
"Is it alright if I examine you now?"
He nods.
Soft cool hands gently touch his back. When Steve looks up at her, her face is grim. She moves on to his stomach, asking him to sit up straight and take a deep breath. Steve can barely manage to do it without passing out. Once she's done, she wraps his ribs, and cleans his back, placing bandages over the cuts, and some cold ointment. He could almost sigh at how good it feels. She carefully puts the same cream on his black eye. She gives him a medication for pain, and tells him he's free to go. He eagerly stands up, more than ready to be out of the hospital. Quickly putting his shirt on, he opens the door and sees Phil standing. He hesitantly walks over to him. Phil smiles warmly in return.
"What's the prognosis, doc?" He asks.
Steve looks up and realizes Phil wasn't talking to him, but Doctor Cho who had come out of the room. She examines her chart before looking up at them.
"Mostly superficial. Bruises, and minor cuts on his back. Perforated eardrum. Bruised ribs, and face. He'll live." She smiles.
"Great. Thanks Helen." Phil waves.
"Of course. I need him to come back in a week to check how he's healing, got it?"
"Got it. Cmon kid let's go wait for the others."
Steve follows Phil into the waiting area, and takes a chair across from him. He looks quietly at his hands. Phil eyes him for a moment before settling on a magazine.
Natasha comes out first. Cleaned up, and dressed in soft pants, and a SHIELD hoodie. She sits next to Steve silently, eyes glued in front of her. Steve glances at her, but then continues to look at his lap. Tony is next, taking the other chair next to him, dressed the same. Bruce and Clint come out practically the same time, also dressed alike. They sit next to Tony.
"Good, you're all here." Phil smiles. "Would you like me to show you to your rooms?"
"Yes please." Steve says quietly. The others echo their agreement.
Maria, who came from out of nowhere, silently follows them from behind as Phil leads them out of the medbay. They step into an elevator, awkwardly silent. When the elevator bings, and they're taken up to the 7th story, Phil gestures his hand around.
"This is where you'll be staying indefinitely." He smiles.
The teenagers' mouths gape open.
The entire story is furbished into a comfortable living space. A living room on the right, kitchen on the left, and a wall with six doors on it. Granted, the story is smaller than the rest of them, because they aren't going to use an entire floor for a bunch of kids. (Fury's words not Phil's.)
"Go on." Maria urges. "You're free to explore. We'll be heading out now. But first." She points to a speaker on the ceiling. "This is how we'll communicate with you. There are going to be guards posted here at the entry at all times. No speaking to anyone you don't know unless we give you permission. Don't even try to escape. This place is built like a fortress. Any questions?"
They shake their heads.
"Ok. Good. We'll be seeing you." She steps into the elevator, and waits expectantly for Phil.
"Um-yeah." He waves lamely at them, wide, confused and scared eyes staring back. He mentally kicks himself when he steps into the elevator, and pushes the buttons.
"Wow." Maria smirks. "Who knew you were such mommy material."
"Shut it." He mutters.
She continues smiling all the way down.
A/N:
Ok. I'm the worst at updating. I know.
I hope you enjoyed! And I'm sorry it's a shorter chapter. Glad I got it out nonetheless!