Avenger's Compound
Afternoon
"So, you were trapped in the Quantum Realm until my daughter got you out?" Barry said, his mind whiling as Scott and Fury led them inside.
"Yeah. She brought me and Cassie here and told us that you guys would be back soon. She also told us Fury would show up with Castle and Murdock," Scott explained.
"Who?" Rocket asked.
"Frank Castle and Matt Murdock. A couple of new recruits I picked up," Fury said and Barry perked up at the sound of his old ally's name.
"Okay, I know Castle, but who's Murdock?" Clint asked.
"Daredevil," Scott supplied as they entered the kitchen.
Barry, along with everyone else, stopped and stared at the sight that greeted them. Frank Castle, the mighty Punisher who struck fear into the hearts of criminals everywhere, was making something, some kind of desert, as Cassie assisted. Judging from the astonished look on Matt's face, he could hardly believe it either.
"And then we take it out in half an hour," Frank said as he put it in the oven.
"Are you seeing this?" Barry whispered Clint quietly and Clint nodded.
"I guess he's nothing like the Frank Castle we know," Clint whispered back.
"Don't be so sure," Matt spoke up and they jumped, realizing he could hear them. "This is definitely new for him."
"You can hear us?" Steve asked curiously.
"When I was a kid, I was in an accident and got a face full of toxic chemicals. It cost me my sight," Matt said, gesturing to his eyes. "But on the bright side, my other senses were enhanced to superhuman levels."
"Well, I see you're all getting acquainted," Freya said as she walked in and they stopped as they all looked at her, Barry especially being in awe.
"Freya?" Barry asked softly.
She looked towards him and her heart clenched at the sight of him. Seeing him like this, still full of hope, beaten down but not broken…it was better than anything she could have imagined.
"Hi dad," Freya said softly.
Barry stared at her for a moment. She looked so much like Wanda, but he could see himself in her to.
"Hard to imagine you just put me down for a nap a few days ago, huh?" Freya asked with a weak smile.
"Yeah," Barry said, for once at a loss for words.
"Well, as much as I'm enjoying this awkward silence, I brought some backup with me," Freya said as she glanced behind her.
The first person to enter after Freya was a beautiful blond haired woman who looked to be in her late twenties to early thirties. Clint, Fury, and Natasha started, staring at her in a mix of shock and relief.
"Bobbi?" Clint breathed.
"Hey Clint," Bobbi greeted and the former SHIELD agents were concerned by how lifeless she looked compared to her normal self.
"Bobbi, everyone. Everyone, this is Bobbi Morse. And this is Mack," Freya said as Mack walked in.
"Hey. It's an honor to meet you all, although I wish the circumstances were better," Mack greeted politely.
"And I believe some of you know him," Freya said, glancing back as Coulson walked in.
"Hey, everyone," Coulson said awkwardly as the original Avengers and Rhodey all stared in shock.
"Phil?" Natasha breathed.
"Hey Nat," Coulson greeted, still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"Son of Coul!" Thor bellowed, racing across the room and picking him up in a bear hug. "I thought Loki had killed you!"
"Easy big guy," Coulson groaned as Thor set him down.
"I don't understand. How is this possible?" Steve asked shocked. "We thought you were dead."
"Technically, I was," Coulson said with a look over at Fury, something which everyone noticed.
"Something you wanna share Fury?" Rhodey asked.
"Project TAHITI," Fury said simply and Clint narrowed his eyes.
"I thought that was just to modify memories," Clint said lowly.
"That was just the cover," Coulson said and they looked back at him. "The true purpose was to develop something capable of reviving a fallen Avenger."
"And it did," Fury said as he glanced over at Coulson.
"You've known the whole time he's been alive and you never told us," Natasha realized as anger began coursing through her.
"God Fury, are you incapable of being straight with us?" Steve asked angrily.
"You all needed the push. And there was reason we didn't tell you the truth," Fury started.
"Well I'd love to hear it," Thor snarled.
"There was a reason project TAHITI was shut down," Coulson said and they looked over at him. "We tested it on SHIELD agents prior to Fury using it on me. They all suffered mental breakdowns, starting carving alien writing into whatever surface they could find, insisting they 'needed to know'. We had to erase their memories, give them new lives."
"Phil started experiencing the same symptoms as the others, so we erased his memories of after Loki stabbed him in the heart. I wasn't sure it would take since we only erased a small part of his memories," Fury explained.
"Well, clearly Coulson is fine," Rhodey pointed out.
"I wasn't always. My symptoms came back with a vengeance for a while but I got better," Coulson said.
"We had a right to know," Natasha said gruffly.
"Both of you lied to us," Clint snapped, looking from Fury and Coulson, both men feeling guilty at the look of betrayal in his eyes, as well as everyone else's. "We trusted you and you lied to us! For years, you looked us in the eye Fury and said nothing! And you let him Phil."
"You're right, I did," Coulson acknowledged. "I'm sorry everyone. I thought I was doing what was best, but I see now I was doing what was easy. But none of that matters now. Thanos is what matters; bringing everyone back is what matters. We need to put aside our differences and-"
Coulson suddenly stopped. He put a hand to his chest, looking like he was in pain.
"Coulson, you okay?" Steve asked as they all stared in concern.
"Get him to the med bay," Mack ordered as Bobbi grabbed Coulson and began leading him away.
"What's wrong with him Fury?" Clint demanded but Fury looked to be at a complete loss.
"Fury doesn't know," Mack sighed as he turned to face them. "It's a recent development."
"What is a recent development?" Steve demanded and Mack ran a hand over his face, trying to find the words.
"Coulson is dying," Mack said to the shock of everyone in the room. "And there's nothing anyone can do to save him."