PREVIOUSLY: VEILED VACATIONINGS
PENNY OFF A DEAD MAN'S EYE - RATED M
1.1
Fury Jr. and Daisy Johnson sit in her office.
1.2
Johnson looks down at her desk.
1.3
Fury Jr.’s gun (the one Fury took) is on the desk.
1.4
Johnson looks back up at Fury Jr.
JOHNSON: You’re going to take a leave from active duty.
Page 2
2.1
Fury Jr. and Johnson both in-panel.
FURY JR.: That’s…
FURY JR.: Yes ma’am.
2.2
Same shot.
2.3
Same shot. Fury Jr. starts standing up.
2.4
Same shot. Fury Jr. sits back down.
FURY JR.: …Any idea why he did it?
2.5
Johnson.
JOHNSON: He ever tell you about the Infinity Formula?
Page 3.
3.1
Over the shoulder view of Fury Jr. looking at Johnson.
FURY JR.: The thing keeping him alive? He said he was running low.
JOHNSON: As it turns out, yesterday was his last day.
JOHNSON: The bo-- He had already aged significantly when we found him.
3.2
Fury JR.
FURY JR.: He seemed fine when I debriefed him. Enough to catch me off guard.
JOHNSON: He’d been holding this back for a long time. He clearly knew it was coming, and when it did it was hard and fast.
JOHNSON: We’d tapped the room for security. By the end of it, he was just rambling about senility and Doctor Strange.
JOHNSON: It’s no wonder he wanted to be alone for it.
3.3
Johnson closes her eyes.
FURY JR.: Any leads on the HYDRA cadavers?
JOHNSON: All came up dry.
JOHNSON: Like I said, that’s not your problem anymore. For the moment, go take some personal time…
3.4
All black.
CAPTION: JOHNSON: “…And hope the old man’s in a better place.”
Page 4.
4.1
Fury, still looking older, stands in a pitch black room.
4.2
Fury looks around the room, seeing he’s in a long dark tunnel with a light a good distance away, at the end of it (of course). Though notably, the tunnel is completely round, and there appears to be someone standing silhouetted at the circular end of the tunnel.
4.3
Zoom in to the end of the tunnel, for a better view of the person standing in the light. It’s a woman, dark haired and in a long open-backed dress. She’s turning to face the reader, smiling playfully.
4.4
Fury, now only a few feet away, approaches the woman, who still seems open to him.
4.5
Fury wraps his arms around the woman and kisses her, with so much force that the two of them are beginning to tip out the end of the tunnel.
Page 5.
5.1
Zoom out to show a micro-sized Fury & the mystery woman (still making out) falling out of the tunnel, which turns out to be the barrel of the gun Fury shot himself with. The gun is levitating in a fairly run down room.
5.2
Overhead view of Fury and the woman as they continue making out in freefall, with Fury on top. Miles below them is a giant, dirty mattress in the same run down apartment room.
5.3
Close up on Fury & the woman’s faces as they kiss, eyes closed.
5.4
Fury’s face as he finally comes up for air, opening his eye in shock.
5.5
Another overhead view as we see the woman, with Fury’s arm’s still holding her, has become Death, skeletal and all. Her hand is gently caressing Fury’s cheek. Below them, the giant dirty mattress is much closer.
Page 6.
6.1
Fury, now normal sized and alone (but still damn old), lands face first on the infectious mattress.
SFX: THUMP
FURY: AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGggggggggg--
6.2
Zoom out, showing Fury’s in a tiny, low-rent apartment, roughly the same size as his quarters on the helicarrier. It’s pretty much just the mattress and the door.
FURY: --gggggggggggghhhhhhhhhnnnn--
6.3
Zoom out even further, now out the apartment window, showing the decrepit brickwork of the building.
FURY: --goddammitallta--
6.4
Zoom out the furthest, giving a full establishing shot of the apartment building, the street it’s on, and the generic city sprawling off into the distance. The whole urban setting has a just slightly desaturated look to it; not quite bleak, but mildly unpleasant.
CAPTION: HELL. THE FIRST CIRCLE. A.K.A LIMBO.
Page 7.
7.1
Back inside the apartment. Fury pushes up off the bed as there’s a knock at the door.
SFX: KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
FURY: Who in God’s name are you?
7.2
Handle-level view of the door opening, showing a gloved hand holding a key.
???: Oh good, you’re in.
???: No need to swear, bud, I’m your...
??? (small text): Your contact!
7.3
Fury looking at the door, frustrated, as he pulls out a cigarette.
FURY: My…
FURY (small text): …No. Dammit, no.
7.4
Back view of the contact, now standing in the apartment. He’s wearing a stereotypical beige trench coat and fedora.
???: Jeez, Nicky. Long-time-no-see. Really let yourself go, huh?
Page 8.
8.1
We see the contact is actually just Mephisto, awkwardly wearing the lame spy costume, sunglasses and all. Fury lights the cigarette.
FURY: Speak for yourself, ‘Stopheles.
MEPHISTO: Hey-hey-hey-hey-hey!
MEPHISTO: Not my fault!
8.2
Mephisto takes off his hat.
MEPHISTO: With the Hells goin’ under new management*, some’a us been finding work a little hard to come by. Gotta live off side-jobs like this one.
EDITOR’S NOTE: *See X-Factor #250-#256 for the details! Or, y’know, just see this panel and take our word for it. -International Man of Mystery, Jose.
8.3
Mephisto throws the hat over his shoulder with one hand, while reaching into his coat with the other.
MEPHISTO: ‘Sides, half a’what you’re seeing here isn’t even the real deal. Just that human brain trying to rationalize it all.
MEPHISTO: Case in point…
8.4
Close up on a silenced, but otherwise ordinary handgun in Mephisto’s outstretched palm.
MEPHISTO: This’s here’s one of the best weapons you’ll find ‘round these parts.
MEPHISTO: Forged from a horn of the one true Minotaur, bound in eldritch magicks as old and dark as that which lies beyond the farthest stars.
MEPHISTO: This baby won’t kill a man, since… Y’know.
MEPHISTO: But it’ll shove his soul right off the edge. Leave ‘im to fend for himself in the bottom circle of Hell. Make ‘im wish on everything he’d been a good boy and stayed in the circle where we first put ‘im.
Page 9.
9.1
Fury holds up the gun while Mephisto glares.
FURY: So it’s not a gun.
FURY: It’s just a gun-shaped object I point and click at the bad guys to make ‘em go away?
9.2
Same shot.
9.3
Same shot.
9.4
Same shot.
MEPHISTO: …Eldritch, minotaur…
MEPHISTO: Shut the f**k up.
9.5
Mephisto points to a street map.
MEPHISTO: Now, the leader of this little band of trouble makers lives up in the penthouse of the Ffohlessah Plaza, here at the corner of Reyog and Ydrah.
FURY: Does this leader have a name?
9.6
Mephisto crumples the map up.
MEPHISTO: Your buddies didn’t pay me THAT much.
FURY: That much what?
MEPHISTO: Heh. You’re adorable.
Page 10.
10.1
Back on Earth. Fury Jr.’s hand rings a doorbell on a large wooden door, in the middle of the night.
CAPTION: MEPHISTO: “Come on, get your feet wet for yourself! It’ll be fun!”
SFX: KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
10.2
A baggy-eyed Stephen Strange, wearing nothing but a bathrobe, answers the door.
STRANGE: Can I help you?
10.3
Fury Jr. in all-black civies, holding up his S.H.I.E.L.D. ID.
FURY JR.: Hi, I’m Nick Fury, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
10.4
Strange stares blankly at Fury Jr.
10.5
Same shot.
STRANGE: …Are you quite sure?
10.6
Fury Jr. gets slightly annoyed.
FURY JR.: Right, I guess you met the other guy.
FURY JR.: Long story short, I’m his son.
10.7
Same shot of Strange just staring.
10.8
Same shot.
Strange: …I still have so many questions.
Page 11.
11.1
Fury Jr. turns away, while Strange looks at the ground.
FURY Jr: Look… The old man passed a few hours ago.
STRANGE: Oh… I’m um…
STRANGE: Well, I can certainly empathize with your--
11.2
Fury Jr. points at a convertible parked in front of the Sanctum Sanctorum, with an incredibly conspicuous body bag propped up in the front passenger seat.
FURY JR.: Point is, I’m going out on a limb here, but I was wondering if you could help me with--
STRANGE: OH DEAR GOD.
11.3
Strange grabs Fury Jr. by the shoulders, screaming in his face.
STRANGE: By Agamotto’s mane, child! Have you any idea the ravenous forces with which necromancy plays?
STRANGE: Why, when my dear Wong was raised from the grave, the simulacra nearly--*
EDITOR’S NOTE: *Wong is dead? He is to me! Go read Doctor Strange: Malpractice Suit, it’s twice the fic this is! -The Inciting & Vainglorious InnerVenom123
11.4
Fury Jr. breaks away from Strange.
FURY JR.: THAT’S NOT THE OLD MAN.
FURY JR.: But I’m pretty sure he’s tied to his death somehow.
FURY JR.: The autopsy didn’t bring anything up, but I thought maybe you could offer some insight?
11.5
Strange.
STRANGE: So because S.H.I.E.L.D. is unable to do their jobs, they expect me to use the full power of the Vishanti to complete their paperwork?
Page 12.
12.1
Fury Jr. looking at Strange.
FURY JR.: Actually, this is just me.
FURY JR.: I’ve got until Hill finds my requisition for the corpse and the hovercar before I’m court-martialed, our god knows what else.
12.2
Same shot.
12.3
Same shot. Strange shrugs as he steps forward.
STRANGE: Well, if it’ll annoy the Hill woman.
STRANGE: What am I looking for precisely?
12.4
Inside view from the body bag as Strange unzips it.
FURY JR.: Hell… Try the cause of death?
STRANGE: Hmmmmmm…
12.5
Strange, still robed, stands next to the convertible, waving his hands all over the body bag while Fury Jr. stands watch.
STRANGE: Seems as though it were a simple heart failure. Though I suppose he’s a bit young for it…
FURY JR.: But supposedly it was spontaneous. Moment he was captured, like a cyanide pill.
Page 13.
13.1
Strange’s nostrils flare as he looks toward the unzipped section of the bag.
STRANGE: No, as far as I can tell, this is an extremely ordinary…
STRANGE: …Hm.
13.2
Strange shoves his head inside the body bag.
STRANGE: Why now that I think of it…
FURY Jr.: Doctor?
13.3
Fury Jr. digs through his pockets for his ID as a middle aged woman walks her dog by. The dog smiles and wags it’s tail towards Strange. Strange meanwhile continues rummaging his head around in the body bag, his private parts on the verge of sticking out his robe.
STRANGE: DEMIURGE’S WHEEL, THIS DEAD MAN IS SO ORDINARY AS TO BE EXTRAORDINARY!
FURY JR.: Ma’am, I am a government official, I assure you, there’s no need to--
13.4
Strange pats his hand on Fury Jr.’s shoulder, while Fury Jr. continues looking at the woman.
STRANGE: The sheer amount of otherworldly forces most individuals encounter in their lifetimes without realizing it should leave them with SOME minute markers of their spiritual history.
FURY JR.: This man is a licensed medical professional…
STRANGE: But this poor fellow was SO unmarked… SO statistically impossible, it’s almost as though the universe itself were using that to mask him.
13.5
The woman looks between Strange and Fury Jr.
FURY JR.: So they were definitely hiding something… You think there’s a chance of mind-control?
STRANGE: I’ve never quite seen anything that fits this description, but it’s entirely possible.
FURY JR.: Can you use that to… “Sense” anyone else who fits this description?
Page 14.
14.1
Strange looks at the city skyline.
STRANGE: That’s the odder thing.
STRANGE: It seems as though nearly half this city were under the same influence!
14.2
Strange looks down at the dog.
STRANGE: Although…
STRANGE: I am detecting a great number of recent signatures, clustered along the bottom of the Hudson river.
14.3
Fury Jr. starts climbing in the driver’s seat of the convertible. Strange holds onto his arm, and the woman still stares in the background.
FURY JR.: Can you give me directions?
STRANGE: No need!
14.4
Same shot, but Strange and Fury Jr. are gone.
SFX: pop
14.5
Same shot.
14.6
Same shot, the woman starts casually walking away.
Page 15.
15.1
Back to Limbo. Establishing shot of the Ffohlessah Plaza, a very blocky, Stalinist structure, though fairly tall. Humans and demons can be seen casually walking the streets in front of it.
15.2
Back to Earth. We see a large metallic aquabase with A.I.M. written on it for no reason, under the murky Hudson waters.
15.3
Limbo. Inside the Ffohlessah Plaza, which takes on a 1930s hotel look. A Human and a Demon, both in bellhop uniforms, come in through a fire exit, the Demon dropping a cigarette behind him. They appear to be talking, despite the lack of dialogue.
15.4
Earth. Inside the aquabase. A large group of people, some in S.H.I.E.L.D. uniforms, some in HYDRA, some in A.I.M., some in civies, silently move several crates around the place, extremely professionally.
15.5
Limbo. Fury enters through the still open fire exit, silently grabbing the Demon Bellhop in a sleeper hold without the Human Bellhop noticing.
15.6
Earth. Fury Jr. and Strange appear in the middle of the room, in a puff of bright multi-colored smoke, attracting everyone’s attention. Strange is still in the bathrobe.
15.7
Limbo. The Human Bellhop, now unconscious, lays at Fury’s feet.
15.8
Earth. As everyone else in the room raises their guns, Strange sends out a magical shockwave and Fury Jr. ducks.
Page 16.
16.1
Limbo. Fury presses the button on a nearby elevator, his gun raised.
16.2
Earth. Fury Jr. picks up a machine gun off a nearby S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, unconscious from Strange’s attack.
16.3
Limbo. Fury points his gun inside the elevator, at a terrified young elevator operator.
16.4
Earth. More seemingly random enemies run into the room. Fury Jr. unleashes on one door, while Strange casts magic at another.
16.5
Limbo. The elevator operator slowly reaches for an icepick tucked in the back of his pants.
16.6
Earth. Strange gets grazed by a bullet to the leg.
16.7
Limbo. The elevator operator lunges at Fury with the icepick, just as Fury shoots him in the face.
16.8
Earth. Fury Jr. shoots the HYDRA agent that shot Strange.
Page 17.
17.1
Limbo. Fury enters the large penthouse, his gun still raised.
17.2
Earth. Fury Jr. helps Strange up.
17.3
Limbo. Fury turns his gun on a horrified woman in a nightgown. She’s 30-something, slightly round faced, with blonde hair done in a 30s-40s style. She’s wearing a wedding ring.
17.4
Earth. Fury Jr. looks at a nearby S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, only wounded in the shoulder, still alive.
17.5
Limbo. The woman turns to run, but Fury is suddenly grabbing her arm. Her face turns to shock.
17.6
Earth. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent spontaneously drops dead.
17.7
Limbo. Fury pulls the woman to him. Her expression changes again, now to a coy smile.
17.8
Earth. Fury Jr. looks around the room. Everyone but him and Strange are dead.
Page 18.
18.1
Fury Jr. kneels by one of the bodies, while Strange magics at his leg wound in the background.
STRANGE (small text): That damned flunky nearly struck my femoral artery!
FURY JR.: Dead. All of ‘em.
STRANGE: Yes, perhaps that has something to do with the bullets?
18.2
Fury Jr. glares at Strange.
FURY JR.: Same goes for the ones you hit!
STRANGE: What? I merely knocked them uncon…
STRANGE: …Damn.
18.3
Fury Jr. walks over to a nearby open crate.
FURY JR.: Well, they left evidence this time. From here we can…
18.4
Fury Jr. looks inside the crate.
FURY JR.: …Oh.
STRANGE: We didn’t spill any anthrax, perchance?
FURY JR.: No…
18.5
The crate. The Ani-Men’s uniforms are packed into it.
FURY JR.: …But it looks like these guys were stockpiling supervillain equipment.
Page 19.
19.1
Back to limbo. Fury is in bed with the woman he found. Though everything is covered by the blankets (you happy CV?). Fury’s gun is on the nightstand.
FURY: Mmmm… I take it you’re in something of an open relationship?
19.2
The woman turns to look at Fury.
WOMAN: Oh, my husband would be outraged.
WOMAN: But he’s been so fixated on his own tiny world lately… It seemed as though you could give me an attention I rarely receive.
19.3
Fury strokes his grey hair.
FURY: Heh.
FURY: You thought I still had it?
19.4
The woman kisses Fury on the forehead.
WOMAN: Don’t be ashamed.
WOMAN: This isn’t the first time I’ve been with an older man.
19.5
Someone opens the door on the affair.
???: M-my dear, our forces are nearly--
Page 20.
20.1
Large panel of Adolf Hitler standing in the doorway, wearing green power-armor, an American Flag cape, and a sheathed sword. Yes. There’s a large black dog at his side.
HITLER: EVA! WHO IS THIS MAN?
20.2
Eva Braun moves away from Fury, towards the nightstand. She’s crying.
EVA: HE MADE ME DO IT!
20.3
Fury’s completely neutral expression.
FURY: …
FURY: Huh.
NEXT TIME: AS THE CLOCK STRUCK THIRTEEN
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