Galactic Savior | Avengers✔️

✮ 𝟎𝟏𝟗 ✮

nicky the undead director of s.h.i—oops, hydra

MARLENE was carried by Steve into the cave-like hiding place as Sam helped Natasha walk. Marlene felt Steve holding a cloth to her side, knowing the only reason she was alive was because of what she was. She had lost so much blood.

Maria Hill yelled for a doctor. "GSW. She's lost at least a pint," she said in reference to Natasha.

Sam gestured to Marlene. "She's lost maybe two."

"Let me take her," the doctor said as he neared Marlene and Natasha.

Hill shook her head. "She'll want to see him first," she said. Hill took them to another room where Nick Fury was alive and lying in a bed with a look of triumph on his face. The trio who thought he was dead looked at him in shock as Marlene's eyes closed.

"About damn time," Fury stated.

Steve placed Marlene down as the doctor raised her shirt to extract the bullet. Another man helped Natasha clean her wound. No one spoke as Marlene was tended to, but Steve was glad when she began to look tan and alive again. Her eyes went from Steve to Fury. After she was bandaged up, she was sat up to lean against Steve. The supersoldier had no problem holding her to his chest as she took a deep breath.

Closing her eyes, she went through Fury's thoughts and memories that he had on her. She wanted to know how much he knew.

"You're only making yourself weaker," Fury stated, feeling her in his head.

"I don't trust you," Marlene said seriously. "You keep things from your employees... from your friends."

Fury shrugged. "Well, you're not wrong. Did Tony snoop into my personal drives again?"

"No, I did," Marlene said with a smirk. "I'm glad to know you were as clueless as I was about myself."

"I'm not the enemy, Miss Maximoff," Fury stated, telling everyone her last name. She glared at him. "And I never wanted to use you as a weapon—"

"Don't lie," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"An agent is not a weapon," Fury corrected. "I just wanted you to work for me."

Marlene smirked. "Yes, well. It seems none of you have a job anymore."

Fury laughed. "You're right about that."

Natasha furrowed her eyebrows. "What's wrong?" she asked, gesturing to the machines.

"Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, one hell of a headache," Fury listed.

"Don't forget your collapsed lung," one of the doctor's stated.

"Oh, let's not forget that. Otherwise, I'm good," Fury said with a nod.

Natasha looked even more confused. "They cut you open, your heart stopped."

"Tetrodotoxin B. Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it."

Steve felt Marlene grab his hand, holding it tightly as she shifted a bit. She was in pain. "Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?" Steve said.

"Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful," Hill stated.

"Can't kill you if you're already dead. Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust," Fury said, grinning a bit when Marlene rolled her eyes. He really did like the woman. "Yeah, yeah. Hypocritical." Marlene's lips twitched at that.