

The 0-8-4 Job
A cursed stuffed bunny with the power to manipulate minds. A thief with a past she can't escape. When S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Coulson and Barton reemerge to finish what they started twenty years ago, Parker must confront the supernatural force that shaped her life - and decide whether to trust the team who's become her family or run like she always has before.The ashes of Bunny still cling to my clothes as I sit on the floor of Nate's office, staring at the burn marks on my palms. The team hover in the doorway, their faces a mixture of concern and relief. "You sure you're okay?" Hardison asks for the third time in ten minutes.
I flex my fingers, testing the range of motion. The burns sting but don't impair my dexterity - always the first priority. "I told you, Simmons gave me something for the pain. It's fine."
"It's not just the physical stuff, Parker," Sophie says, her voice gentle but firm. "That thing was with you for most of your life. Removing it..."
"Was necessary," I interrupt, standing up too quickly. The room spins momentarily, a side effect of whatever Simmons injected me with. "It was making me do things. Dangerous things."
"Like jump out of a flying car?" Eliot smirks, but there's no humor in it.
"Like set fires and blow up buildings when I was a kid," I correct him. The memories surface unbidden - the smell of gasoline, the heat of flames, the sound of sirens fading as I ran.
The intercom buzzes, startling us all. "Uh, guys? We got company," Hardison says, his voice tight. "S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicles approaching from the north."
