I agreed with Sammy that today would be a great day to update.

Thank you is7140, LaughingLadybug, Ghost Rider of the Aragon, Esmerelda Diana Parker, LarielRomeniel, Qweb, Sammy, and BenRG for reviewing chapter 4! So many ideas as to what can happen!


Coulson slowly walked out of the room. How long had he been in there? Minutes? Seconds? Had he run out, unwilling to look at… himself any longer?

"Someone want to fill me in?" he heard May ask.

"We don't have a visual." Fitz said.

Simmons continued, "The dwarves are still in the case."

Skye was standing quietly by the wall.

"Sir?"

He turned to a worried looking Ward, who still had the doctor restrained.

Coulson held up the doctor's phone, "Who were you planning to call?"

The doctor actually looked relieved, "Director Fury."

Coulson nodded. "Hold down one?"

The man nodded, visibly unnerved by Coulson's demeanor. What? he thought, as he held one down. Had he expected yelling, crying, threats? He might be alright with threatening him.

It only rang twice before Fury answered. "If you're calling me, Doctor, you had better have news."

"I'll say. The first thing he did was go for this phone."

"Coulson?" Fury asked, his voice uncharacteristically quiet and… hopeful?

"Maybe you should explain why I'm currently looking at myself, unconscious, in a bed."

The comms went noticeably silent.

Coulson could almost hear Fury straighten. "You shouldn't be there."

"So people keep telling me."

"I'm ordering you to leave that facility, now."

Coulson's jaw clenched but his voice was quiet, "No."

"Damn it Coulson-"

"If you're about to say something about authorization or authority, sir, I really don't care."

The line beeped and went quiet. Coulson's hand clenched around the phone, hard. He'd been put on hold. He could feel his life unraveling around him and Fury had put him on hold. For the first time in a long time, he didn't just think about it, he started looking around for something to throw. There was nothing. A chair. But he couldn't risk it hitting any of the patients. He took a deep breath instead of laughing at the absurdity of his thinking. He couldn't even let himself breakdown like a normal person. Skye had shown more of a reaction than he had and he was the one in the bed. No, he was standing here. Someone else was laying in the bed. Someone who looked just like him. Someone they were hiding from him.

"Phil!" Fury's voice cut through his suffocating thoughts. It sounded like it wasn't the first time Fury had called his name.

"Sir."

Fury let out a breath. "I'll be there in an hour Coulson. Can I trust you not to torture information from any of the agents there in the mean time?"

Could Fury trust Coulson? Trust. What an interesting thought.

Fury must have realized he said the wrong thing and spoke again. "Can you be the professional I know you are until I get there?"

Fury was right. If nothing else, and he might not be anything else, he was a professional. He made himself revert to his default personality. His bland, emotionless voice. "Of course, sir."

"Good. You might as well get the rest of your team there. By the time I get there, Hill should have everything in order to have them read in on this as well."

"Yes, sir. I imagine you'll want to talk to the doctor here, make it easier for my team to get up here."

Fury hesitated. Hesitated. "Phil…"

"I'm handing you over now." He held out the phone. "You can let him go, Ward."

Coulson didn't look at Ward or Skye. As soon as the phone was taken he returned to the room. He stood, back against the wall, facing the bed, arms folded. And stood there for the next hour, staring at himself.


"What's he doing in there?" Skye asked, tapping away at her phone.

"He's still just standing there." Fitz answered, sitting on the floor by the door. He seemed at a loss of what to do.

"He hasn't moved for a while now," Simmons said, her voice soft, "Do you think he's alright?"

Skye shook her head, not looking up. "No way. Who would be alright after finding a secret clone of themselves."

"Is it a clone?" Simmons asked slowly.

"We don't know anything definite." May said, stepping forward.

Skye raised her brows. "Yeah, that's the problem. But let's see what I can come up with."

"What are you doing?" Ward demanded, snatching her phone.

"Hey! I'm looking for answers!"

"Where? Rising Tide?"

"Really?"

"You were ready to go to them before."

"Yeah, before. Before we found his doppelganger. This is way bigger than we thought it was."

"And your contacts would love to know about it."

"You think I would do that to Coulson? He's more important than that." She sounded hurt, making Ward pause, the anger draining from him.

"Are you two done?" May asked.

Ward nodded, handing Skye's phone back. "Sorry. I… I'm just on edge. I shouldn't have let it affect my behavior."

Skye reluctantly nodded back.

"We're all feeling a little off." May allowed.

"Couldn't we just ask the doctor?" Fitz asked, motioning to the man moving from bed to bed.

He looked up from checking one of the patients, surprised.

"We can start getting answers," Coulson said from the doorway, drawing everyone's attention.

The doctor looked alarmed. "Director Fury isn't here yet."

"And I told him I would wait an hour." Coulson motioned to his watch. "Times up," he said, giving him a 'what can you do' look.

"I…"

"Fury's not here yet, so you really should be more worried about me. Why don't you start by telling us about that man in there."

"You're… he's, um…"

Coulson didn't move, didn't twitch.

"The body's in a coma."

"No shit." Skye glanced around at the others. "Is he allowed to give obvious information?"

"I really can't say anything."

"I could break a few of his fingers." Ward offered.

"That sounds a bit extreme." Fitz said.

"Yes," Simmons agreed, "I'm sure with the supplies they have here we could mix up something to get him talking.

Fitz nodded.

"He's not as afraid as he seems," May announced. "Think about. He may be a doctor but he's also a SHIELD agent. This act is just a ploy to get us to underestimate him."

"I've got to say Coulson," Fury called, across the room from the entryway. "I may still have my reservations about your team. But I can see their appeal."


Alright, Fury's there now, so the next few chapters are the doozies.