The ping of the elevator doors opening snapped Tony's eyes open and he moved to intercept his uninvited guest. A glance to his side told him that Birdbrain and Romanoff had shifted to positions that seemed at first glance to be non-threatening, but were close enough to offer support if necessary. Who the support was for was still up for debate.
The woman inside the elevator wore the traditional black S.H.I.E.L.D. jumpsuit with the logo on her upper sleeve. She was blonde with blue eyes, but what particularly marked her as different, was that, like Clint and Natasha, she carried additional, unique weapons. In addition to the mandatory gun strapped to her waist, she had a baton in a holster on each thigh.
It was this that prompted Tony's memory.
"I remember you. You were with Fury in Harry's place after the battle," he accused.
"Good memory, Stark," she replied as she walked in.
"Hey, I don't remember inviting you in?" Tony protested.
"You hadn't. But as I need to talk to everyone here and you're all conveniently in the one place, it was more efficient for me to simply invite myself," she replied. She glanced across at her fellow agents, then. "Hawkeye. Widow."
"Mockingbird," Clint returned, while Natasha simply nodded.
Being invaded in his own house was still a very raw feeling for Tony, therefore he wasn't surprised when he found his feet taking him to the bar, nor the fact that he automatically snapped the wrist cuffs on. The Mark VII wasn't completely repaired yet, but it was in much better readiness than the Mark VIII which was still somewhere between the drawing board and production.
When he turned back, his tumbler now full of scotch, it was to find that Mockingbird, Agent Morse as Jarvis had identified her, had the full attention of the room.
"For those who do not know me, my name is Agent Barbara Morse, I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, also known as Mockingbird. If you prefer, you can call me 'Bobbi'," she said.
"Mockingbird? Do all you agents have codenames?" Bruce asked and Tony noticed that Harry's lips twitched at the question.
"Just like the people in this room, only the very best," Agent Morse replied.
The fact that her eyes flicked to Murdock was very intriguing, something else for Tony to investigate later.
"What are you doing here, Bobbi?" Natasha asked, then, before the other woman could reply, she answered her own question. "Fury sent you. Why?"
"You're right. Fury did send me," Agent Morse confirmed. "I've had a change in assignment."
"You're our new Handler," Natasha stated.
"What? But I thought Phil …" Clint began before tapering off. "Right."
"Phil?" Harry asked.
"Agent Phil Coulson," Tony replied. "He recruited a lot of us. Brought us together."
"The Son of Coul died bravely at the hands of my brother. His spirit and courage will never be forgotten," Thor said.
The raise of glasses in the air by those who knew him was echoed by Tony, not something that he would ordinarily do.
"You're right, this wasn't supposed to be me," Agent Morse confirmed. "But someone had to take over the job and I've been tapped.
"You Avengers are a very special group of people but there are going to be times when you're going to need the support and backup that only S.H.I.E.L.D. can provide. I'm your liaison to that support. You need something, you come to me and I'll see what I can do. That goes for everyone in this room, including you, Doctor Selvig and you, Mister Murdock. Both of you have made important contributions and have unique abilities that S.H.I.E.L.D. would like you to continue to use."
"What role does the Avengers have now?" Steve asked.
"That is up to you," Agent Morse replied.
"Really?" a sceptical sounding Bruce asked.
"Yes, really," Agent Morse echoed. "I'm told that Director Fury promised that you'd be free to go once the tesseract had been recovered and we intend to keep that promise. You are free to do what you want, go where you want. We won't be keeping tabs on you. All I ask is that you keep in touch either with myself or one of your teammates in case you're ever needed again."
"Which you can bet your sweet ass that there will be," Tony stated.
Agent Morse nodded. "I'd be very surprised if there wasn't."
"Indeed. Whoever gave my brother that sceptre and directed the Chitauri to Midgard is still out there. It may take some time, but they are sure to try again," Thor stated.
"And if any of you are looking for a job, then S.H.I.E.L.D. can help you out there. Barton and Romanoff are Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.; Stark is a consultant. We could use the talents the rest of you have, but only if you're interested," Agent Morse said.
"Don't look at me, I've got a café to run," Harry stated.
"I won't object if you want to send a few cases my way, but otherwise I'm happy where I am," Murdock said.
"Captain?" Agent Morse asked.
"Possibly. Let me think about it," Steve said.
"Fair enough," she replied before stepping forward and placing a set of black cards on the nearby coffee table. "Take one. My number's on it. Call if you need anything."
Idly, Tony wondered if it was written in braille for the blind guy, but noting Pepper's gaze on him, he kept his mouth firmly shut. For now, at least.
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