Rogue -The Avengers-

E L E V E N

      Rogue leaned against the wall while watching Nick Fury lay there, Natasha was getting her arm patched up and Steve was watching him too. Honestly, Sam was just worried about Natasha. 

     "Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, and one hell of a headache." Fury counted off what was wrong with him.

     "Don't forget your collapsed lung," the doctor added.

     "Let's not forget that," Fury said, "otherwise, I'm good."

     Rogue grinned a bit, "you're tougher than I thought."

     "Thank you, Rogue, I appreciate that," he says with a half-smile.

     "They cut you open. Your heart stopped." Natasha said confused on how he was still alive after everything he went through.

      "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." He explained.

     "Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?" Steve asked.

     "The attempt of the director's life had to look successful," Hill told them.

     "Can't kill ya, if you're already dead," Fury sighed, "besides, I wasn't sure who to trust..."

~~~~~~

      Nick sat down at the table while everyone watched him, they had explained everything about Hydra and about SHIELD. He picked up the picture of Pierce resentment in his eyes, Rogue watched him carefully wondering what he was thinking.

      "This man declined the Nobel peace price. He said 'peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility'," Nick scoffed, "see, its stuff like this that gives me trust issues."

     "We have to stop the launch." Natasha said.

     "I don't think the council is accepting my calls anymore," Nick opened a suitcase, inside were three chips.

     "Whats that?" Rogue asked looking over them carefully.

     "Once the helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with insight satellites becoming fully weaponized," Hill began to explain, "we need to breach these carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own. One or two won't cut it, we need to link all three carriers for this to work because if even one of those ships remain operational... A whole lot of people are gonna die."

      "We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is Hydra. We have to get past them and sort these server blades and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left-" Fury was interrupted by Steve.

     "We're not salvaging anything!" Everyone looked at Steve, "we're not just taking down the carriers, Nick. We're taking down SHIELD." He told him sternly.

     "SHIELD had nothing to do with this!" Nick argued.

     "You gave me this mission, this is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised, you said so yourself. Hydra grew right under your nose and no one noticed." Steve shot back.

     "Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed." Fury said.

     "How many paid the price before you did?" Steve asked.

     "Look... I didn't know about Barnes." Nick said.

     "Even if you had, would you have told me? Or would you have departmentalized that too?" Steve asked.