LSHU One-Shots

Good one-shot.

The Initiative

   "Your team is a terrible idea, Phil," stated Director Nick Fury. "You know that."
   "I don't think it is, sir," replied Coulson. Out of the corner of his eye, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent noticed a young girl in an apron approaching the table. She had short red hair tied back in a bun.
   "I've never seen you talking to anyone but me, Nick!" She laughed. "I feel like I should be jealous."
   Fury laughed with the waitress. "This is my friend Phil. We work together."
   "Hi, Phil. You can call me MJ. Nick doesn't talk about his coworkers at the post office very much!"
   Coulson awkwardly smiled. "Yep, I work at the... post office."
   "Would you like anything to eat?"
   "I'm fine."
   "Now, now," chuckled Director Fury. "Get Phil a stack of pancakes. It's on me."
   "One stack of pancakes, coming right up!" MJ walked back toward the kitchen.
   Coulson looked back at Fury. "Post office?"
   "Now, I couldn't just go telling her I'm the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., could I? Let's get back to talking about your team."
   "Right. I just got news that Victor Von Doom, the Prince of Latveria, has stolen a priceless artifact from a museum in Munich."
   "With a name like that, he's destined to be a super villain. What was the artifact?"
   "They call it the Chain of Souls. It's just a necklace with a little orange stone on it. The thing is that anyone who's touched the stone... has literally exploded."
   "So you think he'll try to harness that power?"
   "Possibly. That's why I want to assemble the Avengers. Latveria has a lot of advanced technology, so we can't just send in our regular agents. We need a team that can go in, extract the necklace, and keep it all under wraps."
   "Nothing ever goes according to plan, Phil. Are you sure this is big enough to risk the lives of your heroes?"
   "My team is ready. I have six members picked out, and I brought you the files on them."
   "Let's take a look."

The Assassin

   Coulson spotted the young diner employee, MJ, approaching the table with a full platter of pancakes. "Here you go, Phil!" she said while setting the plate in front of him.
   "Thank you," he replied, picking up a fork.
   "Anything for one of Nick's friends!" She started back toward the kitchen.
   "She's cheery," noted Phil as he took a bite. "Oh." He closed his eyes. "I see why you come here every night."
   "The secret is in the syrup," said Fury. "Let's get to the next file."
   "Right." Coulson reluctantly put his fork down. "The next file is Natasha Romanoff. I'm sure you know all about her already."
   "Only because Barton won't stop talking about her," he joked.
   "I can't believe it's already been thirteen years." The file exchanged hands.

---

Name: Romanoff, Natalia
Codename: Black Widow
Activity: 2000-
Status: Active
Birthdate: 11/22/1984
Age: 33
Affiliation: STRIKE Team Delta
Nationality: Russian
Dangerous assassin, trained in the Red Room program. Converted to S.H.I.E.L.D. in 2005. Skilled in many forms of close-range combat.

---

   "Clint can keep her from taking out too many people," noted Fury. "She helps him keep a level head. You put them in the team together, you have to make sure they don't get separated. Alright?"
   "Of course, sir." Coulson took another bite of pancakes. "Can I eat here with you again tomorrow?"