Chapter 23: Intros and InfiltrationsSummary:Quake holds her own new employee orientation for SPEAR, and we get a look at the kinds of people that Quake has chosen to join. Then Coulson gets... forcefully acquired to help Quake with an errand to recover something that he lost anyways.
Notes:Obligatory disclaimer: I don't own Marvel, DC, or any characters that come from other works.
I also want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement, and RhinoMouse for the inspiration their world of "Retirement Ended Up Super" provided.
Finally got this chapter out! Was not as quick as I would have liked, but it is also nearly twice the length as my normal chapters. So hopefully that makes up for the delay. Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter TextSeptember 1st, 2009, MCU
Daisy Johnson, SPEAR HQ
As Daisy stands before the gathering of the first round of SPEAR employees and contractors she hopes to get to sign on today, she can't help but let her fears about the last time she was the head of a spy organization bubble up. She was questioned at every turn, her orders were disobeyed, and in the end she became the shortest serving SHIELD Director ever, even including the whole 'Real Shield' debacle.
The base they are staying in is actually located in the SHIELD outpost of The Lighthouse. Shield went through all of the trouble of carving it out, and making all of the hallways, why would she not take advantage of the fact that it would be completely abandoned for nearly another decade?
And that doesn't even take into account the lightest touch of hacking, and in-person file destruction she did to Shield that took out every buried shred of evidence of this base's existence. The place was Shield's one safe hideout in the old timeline, and now it would be the Headquarters of SPEAR, the group meant to replace Shield in the long run.
Daisy found it both hilarious, and pleasantly familiar.
The base still needed a lot of updates to get operational, and even expansions to hold a larger organization than Coulson's Shield held, but between Tony, Jarvis, and Kara, Daisy was able to get her base up and running in time for her grand opening!
And if this is the only SPEAR base that is actually fully operational… well the new employees don't need to know that until they have already signed on the dotted line.
As the last group enters into the main meeting hall, Daisy stops acting like the evil gargoyle she is playing up as at the front of the room and begins to draw the attention of everyone that had been doing their best to act unaffected by her presence.
Good. Her choices for recruitment were right if they were at least attempting to be unphased by such an imposing presence that she knows she gives off in her full Quake get-up. Once only a couple people remain talking, mostly in the back thinking they are being quiet enough or off to the side having not noticed her movement, Daisy holds out her hand and channels her power to smother all of the audio vibrations going through the air.
While she does not quite have the finesse to completely counteract noise as it is being made, Daisy is still able to give the effect as if everyone that is talking sounds like they are speaking with a hand held over their mouth, their voices so muffled.
This draws the attention of the stragglers, as well as doing a good job of causing a widening of the eyes of those who had been watching her the most. While not a threat… It does help to put her on top of the totem pole in a way that the mask is hindering.
"Good afternoon everyone, I hope that the flight over was enjoyable. My contacts managed to locate a shipment of StarkJets, and managed to… liberate a few, and one of my engineers managed to upgrade them to better suit our needs." Bold faced lies. They were a gift from Stark not stolen, and Kara is not actually a member of SPEAR. But looking more influential and connected won't hurt. "While all of you have at least been given the primer of my organization I am starting up here, I have more details to give since you all have accepted."
Moving around the room, Daisy looks at the faces of everyone there to search for anyone having second thoughts. She passively uses her powers to feel the heartbeats of everyone in the room, searching for those who may be double-agents that she may have missed. Finding neither, she continues on.
"Welcome to SPEAR. Strategic Protection, Evaluation, Acquisition, and Rescue." The SPEAR symbol, with the full name that she FINALLY decided on, blooms across the screens around the room, thanks to the assistance of Jarvis. "With the emergence of Iron Man and Supergirl, everyone should now know that is just the tip of how weird the world is going to get. There has always been more going on behind the scenes, but soon things will start happening in greater numbers and more in the public eye."
Another advantage of displaying her powers, nobody has doubt on their face about the idea of more people like Kara and Tony coming out soon.
"The modern world is not made to protect people from these threats, or even worse, doesn't know how to protect innocent people that gain powers. Some of you may know of another organization similar to what I am making, Shield."
At the mention of Shield, Hunter's heartbeat spikes for just a few seconds, before he is able to get it under control. All the same she nods towards him to let him know that his association is not unknown.
"Shield has been doing their best throughout the years, but I want to be better than what they consider the best that they can do. Anyone with powers, or alien ancestry, is automatically put on a list they call 'The Index' and everyone with any historical knowledge knows how well lists like that can end up. The Director of Shield is currently trying to put together a team of those with powers to act as the front line weapons against any aliens.
"But worst of all, I KNOW that Shield has been infiltrated by an organization that wants nothing more than to rule the world, and has no morals about how they go about it. I made the first strike against them with 'The Red Sunrise' incident. What I painted as a lone and complete organization in the files I leaked, was actually just the bankroll behind the true monster."
Heartbeats around the room spike at her words. Both at the size of her advisory, and the blanket admission that she was behind one of the bloodiest incidents to strike the modern world so suddenly. A few people even take a few steps back.
"To fight something that massive and horrible, hands getting dirty is a necessity. But I won't become Shield, where we run secret prisons around the world. When we can, I have no objection to turning people over to the police, as long as they will actually face justice for their actions. I am not asking everyone here to become cold blooded killers."
Daisy tries to comfort as much as she can, while also not sugar coating things. Daisy won't let her world become like Kara's with their cardboard prisons, but most good people will have objections to being a part of executions.
"Now when I contacted you all, I offered a job with a length of one year. And while that is still true, I also want to offer everyone a ten year contract with one hell of a bonus at the end." The way that many swing from being anxious to being VERY attentive is a bit distressing, but Daisy won't judge people for being self-interested. Daisy herself joined Shield to find her parents afterall. People can both do good, and be looking out for themselves at the same time.
"Some bonuses are simple, and they are just an additional five years worth of the already generous pay as a bonus at the end." Daisy looks over at Idaho, Hunter, and Hunter's team, which is actually a few members larger than she had encountered. Probably a couple members that died, or left over the years. Aside from them, the largest group this applies to are the support staff members she helped to find when they rebuilt Shield. It's hard to find someone passionate about the cause, and settle for being a janitor or maintenance worker afterall.
"Other bonuses may be paid in a couple parts." Daisy looks over at the group of veterans, most of whom in the original timeline would have become terrorists under AIM, all of them missing one limb or another. "Such as the most advanced cybernetic limbs to be custom made for you this week. And then the option to take an injection of Extremis once my mole in HERO lets me know that the formula is ready to regrow limbs in a safe and permanent way." At that ALL of the veterans have their full attention on her. AIM was able to turn patriots into terrorists, she can turn Patriots into loyal SPEAR agents even easier.
"For those of you who strive to be more like freedom fighters, we will release as much information as we safely can without endangering the innocent, and I am more than open to pursuing targets for a cause you feel passionate about with more resources than you could ever gather on your own, as long as it doesn't go against our mission aims." Looking over the group of Lorna, Marcos, Morty, David, and a couple other would-be future Rising Tide members, she sees the interest present. She also very specifically did NOT recruit Miles, no need to bring him into this, for his history of selling out and just their personal history as well.
"I know some of you are here for the money you will be able to send your family from this. So the ten year bonus for you ranges from full college expenses covered, hospital bills waived, or even the cost of childcare covered throughout the years if it's needed." Again, some of the support staff, engineers, inventors, and non-injured veterans perk up at that. But the main one she looks at is Robbie Reyes, who has a fire in his eyes at the mention of family support.
Thankfully it is not a literal fire in his eyes… yet. Who knows if the Rider will choose him again, but Daisy will be sure to help him if it does.
"Finally, I already know some of you have the same genetic heritage as me, and you may have found your life always feeling a bit incomplete. You may have associated this with another need, like I did with the need to find my family. It may feel like the need to take down the cartels and dealers that killed your family." Daisy turns her mask to Yo-Yo in the crowd, the woman shocked at the implication that she may gain powers.
"Or maybe you feel the craving to be accepted for who you love, despite your traditional family being so important to you." Joey Gutierrez is her next target, a man who is just starting to find himself, unlike the scared man who just wanted to go back to his old life like he was when he gained powers before.
"Or maybe you feel the need to solve the problems of others, but can already feel yourself burning out of Medical School, despite having less than one year left before you graduate and can start doing real good." This time, Daisy turns her head and mask to look at the man, but her eyes stay focused elsewhere in the room.
Lincoln Campbell.
She is in love with Kara, and knows that looking at him won't ignite old feelings. But that does not mean the guilt does not remain, nor the new guilt for recruiting him young using her knowledge of his life before it fell apart.
But she will keep her distance, she will make sure he stays in the med labs, so he never has to choose to be the one to take the suicide mission again. Once is enough.
"If you sign on for the ten year contract, I'll help you to unlock your hidden powers to help you feel complete and to help you use your powers to help others like us, if you prove stable enough to handle it after your initial year here is complete." To punctuate her point, Daisy causes the whole room to vibrate, off and on. Not quite an earthquake, more a display of control than power, but still more power than any of them have seen or wielded before.
"So… Anyone having second thoughts? Now is the time to back out, before you sign the full contract. Speak now, or have a more complicated time retiring in the future." Daisy won't be Shield, she won't chain people to the organization like she will, but at the same time she is running a spy group that needs to be kept secure.
Finally, after nearly a full minute of people whispering with those they know or flew in with, someone speaks up.
The highest ranking military officer that would have joined AIM, Eric Savin, speaks up. He is much more composed and professional than the reports of his actions while high on Extremis would have led her to believe. "Why should we trust you with so much when you won't do the same? You won't even show us your face but we are supposed to dedicate ten years to you?"
"It's a fair question. I could go with the easy answer, and say that my powers and position as Director make me the biggest target of anyone here. I could go with the more complex answer and tell you that Shield has placed a 'Dead or Alive' bounty on my head, and I need to keep my civilian identity safe. I could go with the more reassuring answer and let you know that I plan to reveal my face to those who work loyally for at least a year. But I'll go with the most reassuring answer, and say that I'm going to make it so you don't actually have to trust me as much as you feel like I am asking right now."
While all the previous reasons help to bring understanding to the room, the last one is definitely the one that stops the wind in Savin's sails, giving him a look of confusion instead.
"I'm the founder and Director of SPEAR, yes. But my top leadership is all coming from this group here, people hired at the exact same time as you, with their faces known. If you can't trust me then learn to trust them." Daisy finishes with a shrug.
Savin nods back at her in understanding, and a noticeable look of respect in his face. Daisy suddenly feels like maybe he had been testing and probing her more than asking the question, but it seems she passed all the same.
"Speaking of leaders, let me hand out your offered ten year contracts first, as I have yet to tell them about their leadership position." Daisy hopes the chirp, cheer, and slight mischievous tone comes through the voice distorter, and based on the wide eyes stressed look from some people, she thinks it does.
"Eric Savin, Head of Field Agent Training." Highest rank, will mean the other soldiers will fall in line easier. Knowing his profile he will eventually want to be a field commander, but this will give him time to get used to his new limbs once they are finished.
"Geri Diaz, Head of Flight and Combat Overwatch." A solid pilot that joined Shield after Hydragate, although she will definitely need training to act as mission Overwatch.
"Lincoln Campbell, Head of Medical." Once his powers awaken, his healing abilities will be even better than the Medical Degree he hopefully is able to get this time around.
"Alexa Borel, Head of Research and Engineer." Possibly the most prominent name when it came to the Deathlok project at Cybertek, but only because of the 'incentive program' that held her parents hostage. While Cybertek is still up and running as a part of the Deathlok/Centipede Programs, Daisy was lucky to be able to recruit the woman before they could.
"And finally, Piper Vasquez, Assistant Director." Piper BY FAR has the biggest reaction to the offers so far, and it makes sense. Piper is young, with not a lot of experience as a commander, just as a soldier. But when the core team were kidnapped to the future, Piper was the one to step up. Piper ran Shield when the whole leadership suddenly disappeared into the future. Something that was NOT rewarded or talked about enough when they got back.
The only time she really went wrong was when she worked with Hale to get the team turned over. But she thought Hale truly was representing the US Military and not Hydra, and the reason Daisy and everyone even went to that dinner was to turn themselves in anyways, so she probably saw it as just completing the deal already made.
But if Daisy can train her, like how Coulson and May trained Daisy, then by the time Kara and her go to return to Kara's world, SPEAR may truly have a chance of living on.
"I believe that is everything for now, and it does not seem like I have any takers on the easy out I'm offering right now…" The pause to double check goes without anyone taking her up on the offer, and instead causes most people to stand up straighter and with more pride.
"Then it is time for orientation and the tour of the base! Ignore the one armed Russian sleeper agent I have locked up in the cells, still trying to undue his brain washing. Then we have two months of training, team building, skill acquisition, and procedure generation. After that, we start our missions easy. Go after the human traffickers that are starting to pop up in the power vacuum I left from the Red Sunrise." Daisy exits with an excited pep in her step!
Nothing quite builds up confidence and commitment in an organization like taking down slavers, rapists, and other scum of the earth. So for the first real missions, Daisy can't think of any better target for all of her cute little minions!
-
(As soon as Kara hears about it she instantly objects to Daisy referring to her SPEAR agents as 'her minions', even in her head, for fear of Daisy continuing to play into her villain aesthetic too much.)
December 24th, 2009, MCU
Phil Coulson, Fitzsimmons Cover Apartment, Los Angeles
Agent Phil Coulson could just feel the slight tinge of frustration bubble up from inside him as he exited the apartment of the SHIELD's most experimental undercover agents. Not frustration at the agents, mind you, they are performing far better than expected by every metric that can be applied.
No, the frustration is at the continued lack of progress when it comes to anything Stark/ Danvers. Stark Industries has yet to hire any of their plants for any key positions that they wanted, as the covers were not ready in time for the initial hiring run in the wake of Stark Industries restructuring when Tony Stark returned, and the new Stark Industries HQ in New York City is still years away from being finished.
Meanwhile, they have been able to get eight undercover agents implemented into HERO when their HQ opened up in Los Angeles, but only 3 are in positions that have come into contact with any worthwhile information so far.
Dr. Leopold Fitz and Dr. Jemma Simmons. Both scientists have been placed in the two teams that they most wanted to keep an eye on the most, and he has finally been able to stop by to get an in-depth check in from the two.
Afterall, travelling salesman Phil Coulson was visiting his niece for the holidays since she has started her new job! An excuse that they were hoping not to use, and instead just have Lance Hunter and his team pose as roommates, but unfortunately his team was already under contract before they were able to make the offer.
The biggest area of anxiety from Director Fury was with Simmons' assignment under Maya Hansen and the work on Extremis. Luckily, every report and snooping work gathered by Dr. Simmons leads to the idea that Dr. Hansen was being truthful in her orientation speech.
Extremis has taken a large step back from the horrible work that Aldritch Killian was doing, and is ensuring that the work with plant implementation is completely solved first, before moving on to animals, and then to humans.
From the reports of Dr. Fitz, the water filtration project is coming from an area that he has absolutely NO experience with, or even heard of from scientific papers, but that just made him all the more excited to go on a very… lengthy discussion about it.
That said, using charged lab grown crystals is also not any kind of alien technology that SHIELD has heard of, so Fury currently does not suspect any off-world interference in the success either, just a protege making their own breakthroughs.
For all of the excitement about the science, Dr. Fitz has yet to be able to make any progress about becoming a social confidant of the young CEO of a similar age. The best piece of information that he has been able to uncover is that Kara Danvers and Daisy Johnson are actually girlfriends. Which explains the report given by the Assistant Head of Security, Bobbi Morse.
Agent Morse, on the surface, has been given a lot of responsibilities in her role as well as a lot of access to gain areas otherwise restricted. By job assignment, she was given even MORE access by the simple fact that the actual Head of Security/ COO/ Co-Founder, Daisy Johnson, works 100% remote.
Great for getting more assignments to sensitive areas for Agent Morse, worse for getting an in with the other major player at HERO. The good always comes with the bad on this assignment it seems.
At first Coulson and Agent Morse both came to the same conclusion, Daisy Johnson was the leech who rode the coattails of the genius childhood friend and is content to sit back and enjoy an easy assignment while having their assistant do the hard work.
But then Agent Morse started getting her assignments, and schedule, and the information on the procedures already in place. Daisy Johnson was not in the office because she did not need to be in the office. The alarm, security procedures, camera, and cyber security are all top of the line, and have almost all custom coding behind the scenes, meaning none of Shield's pre-prepared hacks will be able to do anything.
The fact of the matter is, Daisy Johnson is both a good boss, and a great head of security.
Maybe she is an extreme introvert, or has undiscovered health issues, or enjoys working from home, or is a weird eccentric genius that has her quirks like so many others in California. Agent Morse's gentle probing question during department head meetings, that she is the one to attend instead of Ms. Johnson, have been met with non-committal answers.
In the end, it is not worth it to push the matter, when the answer is most likely not worth the additional scrutiny she would be placed under by trying to pry.
So the debriefs went well, and their people are well placed to gain the kinds of information and access they want in the future, but for now the lack of actionable intel is still an area of just a twinge of disappointment.
As Agent Coulson thinks of the long drive he has out of the city in Lola, he turns the corner to the alleyway where he parked her, just to freeze as he sees a figure leaning against the front bumper. Something that should not have been possible without the alarms and sensors in Lola notifying him.
"Sup AC! Ready to go on a fieldtrip?" Says the source of some of his biggest headaches over the past year. But just as Coulson goes to respond, either with words or by reaching for his service pistol, Quake continues on unimpeded. "Well ready or not, we're going! And since Shield has a Kill or Capture order, I gotta kidnap you!"
Even with the warning and his trained reflexes, Quake's enhanced reflexes far outstrip him, that the glowing blue round is hitting him in the chest before he even fully draws his pistol.
With that, Agent Phil Coulson goes out like a light.
As Agent Coulson regains consciousness, he makes sure to maintain his breathing and facial expressions as much as possible. Continuing to fully wake from unconsciousness, he tries to take stock of his surroundings.
The thrum of engines, and slight bumping of turbulence lets him know that he is on an air vehicle of some sort, and his best guess at size makes him think of a Starkjet. The way sound echoes around him lets him know that he is towards the back of the cabin, close to the rear ramp. Finally, the sounds of feet shuffling, bags moving, and light conversation lets him know that he is not the only person in the cabin.
Covertly rolling his left shoulder, that is facing away from the other occupants, lets him know that he is not really sore and feeling his mouth with his tongue lets him know he is not parched.
He was probably only unconscious for a few hours, the standard time for a single Icer round, rather than being held under for longer. So that is good at least… he thinks.
"Just so everyone knows, our special guest is up and awake." Comes the distorted voice of Quake, from what he guesses is the cabin. "I could feel your heartbeat pick up when you woke."
Well he HAD thought her powers were telekinesis that gives a feedback of some sense, without needing line of sight. The idea that she could use her telekinesis not just on a person, but on individual body parts like hearts is… scary.
Opening his eyes and looking around, Agent Coulson is able to confirm that this is a Starkjet of some sort, although a weird distortion outside of the windows makes him think something is different about it. Finally he does get a look at the rest of the occupants… and it just wants to give him a headache.
Around the cabin he sees a variety of people preparing weapons, both Icer and lethal, and all of them are dressed in a manner VERY similar to Quake. From the dark bulletproof suits, to a face mask covering their mouths, to combat boots.
There are some differences, luckily for his sanity. Nobody else has their mask covering their eyes nor a creepy LED smile on it. Nobody has the silver gauntlets on their forearms, so hopefully Quake is the only Enhanced present. Everyone seems to have standard hair colors, unlike the toxic purple bob. Finally, the accent colors on the suits seem to be a variety of colors, although if there is a reason beyond personal expression he can't see it.
Agent Coulson can feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. These are not one-time mercenaries, temp hired mercenaries do not have specifically tailored suits made to conform to a set uniform style.
That can only mean one thing, SPEAR has well and truly expanded.
As he finishes assessing his situation, Quake steps out from the cockpit from the co-pilot's chair and walks to the back of the cabin, sitting down across from him. Now that he is no longer playing the knocked out victim, Agent Coulson straightens up in his seat to meet Quake face to face…. metaphorically.
As he does so, Agent Coulson manages to catch something that both he and Agent Romanoff seemed to have missed. Quake always has a way that she carries herself, with confidence and an aura of danger that makes her seem to tower over everyone, along with a body suit that seems to be adding to their bulk. But now that they are both seated, and facing each other, he can't help but feel that Quake is actually quite small. Both in height and bulk.
Something to note down, although he makes sure to regain 'eye contact' quickly so he doesn't give a hint that he may have found out something Quake was looking to hide.
"Not that I don't find this all very flattering, but I feel like this is the weirdest way I've ever been asked to spend time with someone. Mind telling me why you couldn't just send me an email?" Despite everything, Coulson does not actually feel in-danger, as if she wanted him dead, he would have died quite easily to her ambush. But that does remind him… "And what did you do to Lola?"
Surprisingly enough, the LED face actually rolls its eyes at his questions… seems she has been upgrading her mask some. "I mentioned it when I shot you, but you do work for an internal secret spy agency that has an active 'kill or capture' order out for me. And when it comes to people with powers, your version of 'capture' is either locked up in a secret prison, indentured servitude by working for Shield, or going on a hackable list of every known non-standard-human or alien. Because lists of people who are 'different' has NEVER gone badly in history."
Honestly, Agent Coulson does not have a good response to that. He would like to bring up the Avenger's Initiative but one; it's a classified project that he is not authorized to reveal, and two; the Avenger's Initiative is not NOT an indentured servitude position. Maybe others will be allowed to have private lives outside of it, such as their hopes for Dr. Bruce Banner, but Quake will definitely be under 24/7/365 guard IF she is allowed in.
So instead, he does his best to move on and not let the resentment for SHIELD fester. "And Lola?"
A humored snort is his first answer, before Quake follows it up. "Men and their cars, I'll never get it, but I will respect it. All your security systems in Lola were entwined together rather than separate, and since it had a constant connection to your phone to allow you remote access and to be notified of any alarms, that gave me a line to use to hack in and disable everything without letting you know. Next time, keep the systems separate with redundancies, dude. But after the mission we'll drop you off at the high security parking garage we left it at."
In his defense, digital security systems have never been an area where he has excelled, so he left that to the SHIELD experts when he was getting it upgraded. Something tells him that Quake is a step or two or twelve above SHIELD experts when it comes to digital security though, based on how much she always seems to know about SHIELD whenever they meet.
"A mission?"
"The company of Cybertek has been expanding their more cartoonishly evil programs, so while SPEAR's second squad is hitting their corporate office in California, we are hitting their evil villain HQ that has all of their hostages and test subjects in New Mexico." While Coulson does not claim to know everything that SHIELD does by any means, it is still surprising to hear that an American company caught SPEAR's anger without SHIELD having them on their radar.
"And this mission requires abducting me because…?" Coulson prompts.
"Most likely spurned by some of my more… dangerous actions around the world, Cybertek has started putting more focus into their main evil plot, Project Deathlok. The reason to bring you in, is that among the newest test subjects they moved to New Mexico, is someone you know." Quake's demeanor shifts to something softer, seemingly trying to communicate comfort in spite of her ominous appearance. "Akela Amador."
Any remaining grogginess from the icer round is completely ignored, as Agent Coulson nearly bolts to his feet. "She's… She's alive?"
"Yup. She was the only survivor of the raid, and spent a couple years in a copper mine but was moved to New Mexico sometime within the past week. Thought you would want to get back your smart, talented, fearless protege. I know whoever you choose as your second protege just could never compare."
Quake's tone, despite the modulation, is a bit weird with that last sentence. It seems to have a bit of humor and… teasing to it? But what the joke is by comparing Akela to a second protege that he has never had, he doesn't quite get. Before he can ask, Quake is rising up and moving.
"We'll be landing in ten minutes on their roof landing pad. Rules of engagement are lethal force for security and executives unless they surrender. Icer rounds for scientists, office workers, and test subjects, even if they resist or become violent. The second basement level contains hostages for each of the normal workers, so that's why they may still resist our rescue. Weapons are at the front just before the cockpit, so choose whatever loadout you want. We maintain stealth as long as we can, and since they don't use internal cameras for security I hope that can be for a long while." Quake says as she starts to walk back to the co-pilots chair.
As Coulson begins to select his weapons, both lethal and Icer (with a bit of glee as SHIELD has yet to be able to purchase Icer weaponry on a large scale due to maintaining secrecy from Stark Industries), Coulson notices something strange in what she said.
"I know that Starkjets are actually incredibly quiet for their size and lift, but we're still landing a large jet on top of a building. Even if they don't use cameras, surely someone will notice our landing and ruin our stealth from the start?"
Coulson does not expect the bark of laughter that comes from Quake at his question. "Ha! No they won't. But don't worry, when we land you'll see what I mean, or actually you won't see." The statement is followed by what can only be described as… a robot giggle maybe?
A sigh can't help but escape his lips at the situation he finds himself in. At this point, he doesn't know if it's good news that the Winter Soldier doesn't seem to be among the group here or not. If the Winter Soldier was here then that could mean all of Secretary Pierce's fears were true, but at least Coulson could get all of the new headaches out of the way, instead of stringing it along for the foreseeable future.
All the same, he is at least thankful to get to save his old protege, so Agent Coulson ignores the stress piling up, and finishes assembling his loadout.
Well he certainly learned why Quake had no concerns about them getting spotted in their approach, as he had stepped out of an INVISIBLE StarkJet. Something that certainly is not possible in any commercial Starkjet or even Stark's personal StarkJets can do according to all of their sources of information.
So SPEAR may very well have some advanced scientists on their side.
The men and women making up the main force of this strike team move with efficiency and practice. They seem to be using standard SHIELD covert breach and clear tactics, if that is their usual or just what they are using for his integration he does not know, but it does speak to their professionalism and ability. The sudden decrease and destruction of the human trafficking rings around the world over the last month that had been gaining power in the vacuum left by the Red Sunrise suddenly makes sense.
So SPEAR has more manpower, experience, and influence than they had been estimated to have.
Finally, while he expected Quake to be leading this group, she very quickly peeled off to secure the hostages trapped in the lower basement level, so one of the male SPEAR agents took the lead without it even needing to be discussed beforehand.
So SPEAR seems to have a set and specific chain of command already developed, with trust in that chain that the other operators don't balk or question the transfer of authority.
Agent Coulson does everything to make note of all of these concerning thoughts, without letting them affect the mission he is taking part in. The team commander, in a thankful normal unfiltered voice, calls out targets as lethal or non-lethal every chance he gets. Signaling teams to split off and clear side rooms as needing, but taking Coulson along at his right hand the whole way.
Any doubts he may have had about Quake's intel gets very easily squashed as they go through the building. Building security has military grade armor and weapons, rather than civilian. Scientists and researchers seem to descend into hysterical violence against them, or tears of thanks, lending credibility to the hostage scenario. Absolutely anything that doesn't need to be done digitally is done physically, lockers and lockers of notes and files and forms that would be considered archaic by modern day standards, which serves as a sign of the illegal work being done here.
With the speed and efficiency with which the team moves, it takes less than an hour to clear the above-ground levels of the building, before they are moving on towards the first of two underground levels.
A radio check in five minutes ago from Quake informed the team that she had secured the bottommost underground layer and freed the hostages, but has had to close off all access points to protect them in the face of the last of the remaining security becoming aware of their operation and seeking to gain the leverage of hostages back again.
"This level is the testing labs, expect the last of the armed security trying to break into the stairwells leading down, as well as a variety of test subjects that need to be rescued. Check your fire. Move out." Comes the voice of the team lead as they form up on the door.
One blasting charge later, followed by a flashbang into the room, and the team is sweeping into the room. Security forces that were posted up on doors around the room that lead to the floor below, trying to break into the level Quake has secured, are stumbling back trying to raise their weapons but have not recovered from the flashbang.
Shots ring out around him, and from Coulson's own gun, as security forces drop with new holes in their heads and chests. Sweeping forward, he passes a variety of people strapped to hospital beds hooked up to IV lines with their vitals monitored. Luckily everyone seems to be sedated, so they don't have civilians running around in their lanes of fire.
Shouts of 'clear' come out as side labs and offices are swept for anyone remaining, as Coulson and the team lead approach the largest closed off room at the back of the level. As the two of them post up on the door, the frosted glass window in it suddenly bursts open as gunshots come firing out.
"I have a hostage! I want to talk to whoever is in charge right now about how I'm getting out of here!" Shouts a male British voice from within. Just as the team lead looks like he is going to step forward for negotiations, his ear piece seems to come alive with some instructions that are NOT in his own earpiece for some reason, and instead the man motions for Coulson to take the lead.
Confused by the action, but unwilling to voice any objections that would undermine the appearance of his authority with the hostage taker, he holds out his gun into the view of the broken window as he strips it of the ammo and bullet in the chamber before stepping up with his hands raised.
Looking in, he sees a tall man with dark hair, standing on the other side of an operating table with a dark skinned woman sitting up on the operating table acting as a human shield.
Akela Amador is there, right in front of him, marks around one of her eyes seemingly for whatever surgery she was scheduled for here that got cancelled due to their assault. While she is sitting up and conscious, she is obviously still under some effects of the drugs for the surgery, as her head lolls from side to side in a haze.
"Ah Agent Coulson, I should have known." Says the man that Coulson now recognizes as Vanchat, the very man that ran the gulag that was hit by Akela's team when she was taken. "That just makes my happenstance hostage all the more valuable. I want a single engine plane, and one hundred thousand in cash to be brought here. I'll release her once I am in a nice extradition-free country."
"Coul-... Coulson?" Says Akela as she tries to focus on his form, squinting to try and see if he really is who Vanchat claims.
All the same, he forces himself to keep eye contact with Vanchat instead of reassuring her as he wants to do. "That is a lot you're asking for there Vanchat, it's going to take a while for us to get all of that. And why should we trust you to follow through with releasing her?"
"You don't think I find it suspicious that the one time I am here, transferring over your rookie, just so happens to be when you strike this place? Keeping her is not worth the heat it will bring, so that's why you should trust me to let her go." His voice has a tinge of both anger and desperation. He is an internationally wanted criminal, and he knows he is backed into a corner.
"Be prepared to use the icer from your secondary holster, I'm giving you an opening in ten seconds." Quake's voice comes out over the comm link in his ear.
"You're right." The vindication and swell of confidence in Vanchat's face is what he is going for. "What I care most about is getting Akela home safe, so I'll make that happen." The tension leaves Vanchat's shoulders just enough that he moves the gun off to the side instead of pointing right at him for just a second.
And in that one second, the room erupts into chaos.
Suddenly the stone floor just below Vanchat's feet is exploding upwards, the gun moving further away from either him or Akela, while bits of stone tear across Vanchat's body, while the metal operating table Akela is on protects her from being hurt in the same manner. The pain and shock ends up being too much for Vanchat, and he drops the gun when he hits the ground, only to suddenly catch a glowing blue icer round right between the eyes, from the icer pistol Coulson drew from his hidden holster.
Opening the remains of the door and running up to her, Coulson goes to make sure that Akela is truly unharmed from the explosion. Once that is confirmed, as Akela starts to gain more of her bearings, he looks down into the hole in the stone floor and sees the glowing mask of Quake shining on the dust kicked into the air, letting him know what caused the blast. The tied up, unconscious scientist held in the crook of one of her arms that he could just barely see was strange, but not the highest priority at the moment.
"Akela, talk to me. Are you alright?"
"Why… Why are you doing this?" Akela's strained words bring his focus back around to her face, as she gains enough focus to look him in the eyes. "Why are you helping me? Where's the 'I told you so'?"
"That's not me anymore. I'm just glad you're alive." And it really truly is that simple for him, when it comes to rescuing one of his Agents he thought he had lost.
-
It will be a LOT less simple when SPEAR drops him and Akela off at Lola and he needs to report everything to Fury about what has happened… but that is a problem for later. Now, he just needs to comfort a woman who is gaining her life back thanks to Quake.
Notes:Author's Endnote: Did you know that for Piper of Agents of Shield I could only find the name Piper. And then for Vasquez for Supergirl I could only find the name Vasquez? Who is to say that her name in both realities isn't Piper Vasquez, and the military of the DEO had her go by her last name while the 'family' approach to new-Shield went with her first name? Well in my fanfiction I am the one to say, and that's how I say it. And no, Daisy and Kara have not yet realized the crossover, as in Rhino's fic Daisy didn't really have a chance to notice Vasquez being Piper.
Thank you for all of the suggestions for what SPEAR stood for! I believe I ended up Frankensteining a few suggestions to make my final version, so apologies that I do not remember who recommended what to give credit.
We are entering the part of the fic where I have done most of the set up that I wanted to do so far. So now we are going to be speeding up towards the next movies. 'Shield's Big Week' with Captain America being found, Thor, and what is left of Iron Man 2 all take place in 2011 (according to timelines I found and am using). So expect each chapter to skip forward by months, as Daisy keeps taking on Hydra, Kara being Supergirl and running her new company, until we reach those movie events.
Finally, we have a random scientist that Quake is taking as a souvenir? I wonder what that is about…?
Chapter 24: Revenge and RemembranceSummary:A meeting takes place between powerful individuals to discuss Quake's recent moves, but is quickly interrupted by an outsider. Meanwhile, someone finally begins to find themselves again, after so long suppressed.
Notes:Obligatory disclaimer: I don't own Marvel, DC, or any characters that come from other works.
I also want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement, and RhinoMouse for the inspiration their world of "Retirement Ended Up Super" provided.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter TextApril 1st, 2010, MCU
Alexander Pierce, Triskelion
Supreme Head of HYDRA, Alexander Pierce, sits at his desk doing his best to keep his annoyance off of his face. He is currently listening in on the pre-meeting small talk that is starting to strain as time goes on. Ever since the destruction of the Banker's Head of HYDRA, he had taken a more direct role in overseeing the other heads, hence the monthly meetings over hologram in his office.
Yet his annoyance this time is that apparently trying to run HYDRA with a structure more similar to SHIELD with regular meetings, is finally starting to meet some resistance. The Baroness and the Sheikh, the two heads based out of the Middle East and Asia, have been the most vocal about their displeasure at the time of the meetings.
In the end though, this was the time of day that caused the least amount of problems for most of them, and his regular schedule required as the Secretary of the World Security Council took precedence.
This little show of insubordination, by currently being 10 minutes late and counting, was always going to happen, and they will most certainly claim to have a very good excuse for it as well. For now he will have to play the understanding superior, but next month's meeting he will be sure to arrange for an ACTUAL emergency that will delay them, without fully implicating himself in the actions.
It will send the message that he wants to send to everyone else; Cross him and be brought low. Leading HYDRA has always required the iron fist more than the velvet glove.
Just as he considers starting the meeting early to spite those two, something strange starts to happen. The two projection units for the Baroness and the Sheikh start to power up with incoming projections at the same time… only for nothing to show.
The rest of the Heads also notice the same activity from their projectors most likely, and quiet down anticipating the start of the meeting, only to share in his confusion.
Before he can question the others to see if they have an idea of what is happening, Arnim Zola, who speaks up in these meetings only once or twice every few months, beats him to it by answering first.
"It appears that the projectors are receiving a pre-made video file, rather than a connection to a live feed. Something they should not be able to do with their base coding…"
As he finishes his explanation, the projector for the Baroness begins displaying the recognizable form of his most hated adversary.
"Quake!" The words coming out of his mouth in a growl as if the name itself is a vile curse. The others obviously see the same things on their ends, as shouts of exclamations and curses come from the group.
"Why hello there, whomever is on the other side of this communications device! I would say that I hope your day is going well… but that's only because I look forward to ruining it so thoroughly." The smile on Quake's mask takes on a more feral quality, corroborating Agent Coulson's report about the increase in asinine capabilities of her mask.
"Zola, can you get me any information about the video or its origins?" No need to let the supervillain monologue when they can at least TRY to find a mistake that would hopefully lead to her downfall.
"Now I know what you're probably wondering; Why is Quake taking time out of her busy day to talk to you? Well that's because when I was busy taking down the Banker, I came across some wonderful hints of information in his files… I thought I was taking down a piece of human scum making money off of human trafficking and corruption, but what I found instead was evidence that the piece of scum was actually making money to fund other pieces of scum. And nothing sounds more fun than trying to find and take down a super secret evil organization." Quake says as she paces around the area that the projection can reach, as if giving a lecture.
"I am sorry Supreme Leader, but as far as I can tell the video files truly are coming from the Baroness's and Sheikh's projection broadcasters. Although the connection was only used to deliver the video file, rather than opening up into the call, so they have gained nothing from us." Zola reports back.
Looking at the bright points he supposes, no matter how bad of news Quake plans to deliver, there is still some hope that the rest of them are not compromised.
"While the details of his partners and boss were light on specifics, looking through the details of how he moved his money at least brought me to his two closest partners in whatever organization this is. One who worked with the Banker in plenty of their money making schemes with their smuggling operations, but also moved weapons into the hands of terrorists."
The grimace on the faces of the others lets him know that they are also frustrated about what Quake has found. While the smuggling and weapons trade both fell under the Sheikh due to their overlapping needs, they were kept as separate as possible so that if one side fell then the other could survive. Except Quake seems to have blown open both sides of his operations at the same time.
"While the other close associate that was heavily involved with them both seemed to be in charge of your little group's weapons manufacturing, The Baroness, but we will hear from her projector in just a little bit." Quake continues, her video self either unaware or uninterested in the effects she is having on his colleagues.
Making use of this time while the others are putting their full focus on Quake, Alexander Pierce begins to make his first moves, issuing pre-prepared orders from his workstation. Ever since the Banker fell, he started putting plans and contingencies into action that would help him to consolidate power in the event that another HYDRA head fell. Not having prepared for what appears to be two heads being attacked at once, his plans will be stretched thinner than he would have liked. But in the end, he should be the one to gain the most amount of influence and manpower from their remains, which is a necessity if he wants to stay Supreme Head of HYDRA in the face of yet another disaster.
"For now, I want to give my message to the rest of your group before I distract you with the news of what happened with your two associates. I don't know who you are, I don't know how far your reach is, and I don't know how long I am going to be fighting this battle, but I declare war on you all the same. Both SPEAR and myself are ready for you, so do me the favor, come out of the woodwork and bring the fight to me so I don't need to spend the next few years playing exterminator. As I'm sure you may already be thinking, taking me on in numbers is the only way you have a chance to win anyways, so it's in your best interest to do so as well. Bring it on, scum."
As Quake's speech goes on, her figure begins to radiate power. In the form of a projection, it is as if her form wants to transform into something greater, the lines of her body shooting off in rays of power like a sun giving off a series of solar flares.
The otherworldly display, that could easily be something as simple as visual effects applied to the video file, causes the more gullible and skittish of his colleagues to recoil. Their stupidity is his gain though, as their fear will prevent them from moving to gain power in the fear that it will lead to Quake discovering them.
"But back to talking about our two dear mutual friends that we are borrowing their communication projectors from. From my estimates, by the time you are hearing this, as of 10 minutes ago both organizations and their heads will be dead, with their resources either burned, scattered to the wind, or taken by SPEAR to be turned against you. I can speak for the Sheikh's death, how about you, Assistant Director?" Quake looks over in the direction of the projection unit for the Baroness. For a split second Pierce is afraid that this means she knows the layout of his office, but then he recalls that Zola had everyone set up the projects in the same order and spacing, so that turning one's head would be accurate for everyone.
Not to his surprise, but still to his frustration, from the projection unit steps another figure that is NOT a HYDRA head. Instead it is a woman, with short cut hair, with what looks like blood stains on her combat suit and half-face plate in a style similar to Quake.
"All clear over here Ma'am. The Baroness and her closest allies have been eliminated, and by the time this message goes out the rest of the teams should be finished mopping up the remnants of her organization." The woman says before quickly stepping back out of the area of the projection field.
Interesting. An inexperienced Assistant Director maybe? Or someone that is possibly recognizable to one of them, so she wants to spend as little time in the spotlight as possible? Or maybe Quake is just that much of an attention hog that she does not want anyone else taking her moment longer than needed.
Hmm… That last theory does seem to fit with her actions so far, every encounter she has had a flair for the dramatic, and all of it with her as the focal point. That could be a possible point of contention to exacerbate and exploit in SPEAR later if at all possible.
After a couple seconds of silence, Quake finally speaks back up. "... I'm going to be honest; the way this operation has had to be coordinated, I can't be certain that I got the timing right with the call and response there. So hopefully it worked out! Now let's check my to-do list." Quake begins to count off their list on their fingers as she goes through what apparently is her list. "Mocking intro; done. Bragging about finding these two idiots; done. Revealed that I knew their dirty secrets; covered. Declaration of war on the rest of you; declared. Mission accomplished report, done. Hmm… Now what am I missing?" Quake suddenly perks up, in mock inspiration. "Oh! I know!"
Suddenly the light whirring from both hologram projection units turns into a loud screeching, bordering on grinding almost. At the same time, Arnim Zola suddenly shouts up, the first time Pierce has ever heard the AI human mind yell.
"Sabotage of units detected, deploying attempted counter measures! Take cover!" The Swiss accented AI voice rings out.
As one, Alexander Pierce and every other Head of HYDRA duck down to whatever cover they can. Behind desks, off to the side, down to the ground. Pierce even thinks he can see Bloom dragging someone who was right next to him as a human shield from whatever is about to happen.
For all of their panic though, in the end the light bulbs suddenly burst, and a puff of smoke comes out from both units, just before the distorted voice of Quake rings out. This time even more distorted as the speakers and audio cards in the units suffer from their damage, and are obviously powering down or burning out.
"Lastly give you all one last liiittttttlle scccccccaaaaarreee. Seeeeee y-" By the end, the voice is so low, mechanical, and slowed down from the unit self-destructing that he isn't even truly sure if there was more to the message or not. But in the end, after giving it a few more seconds to be sure the units are fully down for the count, Pierce stands back up to begin herding the rest of HYDRA back into order.
"QUIET!" Pierce yells, stopping all cross talk and shouts of anger/ denial that the others had dissolved into. "We have lost two more of our own, we can not afford to descend into bickering and infighting now. I have already given orders for my loyal teams to begin gathering whatever scattered forces remain."
Some of the more easily read, such as Bloom, are noticeably angry at this. Those were the ones who probably had similar plans in place in case Quake struck, but with him making the responsibility for their retrieval now an order from his own faction, to move in would be to move against him openly. And no one will do that, not when they are facing their biggest threat since Captain America nearly brought down their whole organization.
"Now. As our business for this meeting was already having to do with Quake, I suggest we cover it now, as I was told there was a very important update into our investigations following the raid on Cybertek. Whitehall?" Pierce addresses the man with the update, trying to regain some sort of order.
After just a moment of hesitation, looking like he might fight the order, but relents all the same. "As we all know, Quake led a raid with their new organization of SPEAR on one of my projects of Cybertek. While I had no concerns of any of their files leading back to me, there were some concerns of John Garrett being identified based on how much information SPEAR was reported on taking according to SHIELD Agent Coulson. We are hopeful that this fear is unfounded as no action has been taken against Agent Garrett, but will continue to distance ourselves from him for the time being. The main outstanding issue was the abduction of one of the scientists on staff by Quake personally. Due to Cybertek's adherence to paper documents only, with most of them taken by SPEAR, it took a while for the scientist to be identified and for the investigation into the reason behind Quake's interest to be complete."
Here, Whitehall pauses yet again, but this time is different. This time it is obvious that the hesitation is for the bad news to come, in the wake of the bad news of losing two HYDRA heads. But he continues in just a short time.
"The scientist has been identified as former Soviet General, Vasily Karpov, the lead handler of the original Winter Soldier program under the USSR that collaborated with HYDRA in hopes of expanding it to multiple subjects. He operated his cell independently for a while following the collapse of the USSR, but once his resources dried up he fled and signed up fully under HYDRA while bringing the Winter Soldier as his ticket to maintaining his role as lead handler of the project for us. Following the loss of the Winter Soldier asset, most of his team transitioned to the support team of the Supreme Head's anti-enhanced strike group, but Karpov didn't find his new work rewarding, and bounced around various projects before landing at Cybertek."
"So Quake took the handler in charge since she hasn't been able to gain control over the Winter Soldier so far, but so what? The activation phrases programmed into the Winter Soldier's head are not only impossibly long, but change mentally at intervals that are impossible to track without an entire book's worth of calculations and instructions. Whatever Karpov remembers or has memorized, can not possibly be enough to gain any form of reliable control over the weapon." Dismisses Baron von Strucker.
Von Strucker's dismissal of the situation is not surprising, as the man is a German and is naturally disdainful of anything Soviet. More than that though, his work on Project Worldkiller in conjunction with Whitehall has led him to have higher expectations for the enhanced. While the Winter Soldier was a great weapon, he could never be a member of that project. For all that Strucker is Pierce's second in terms of HYDRA's current structure, he has his obsessions and blind spots just like everyone.
But when the only true alternative for Pierce's second is Whitehall, a man that is most likely to try and usurp him of his Supreme Head status, the choice is the only one he can make.
"The problem, Strucker, is that when the investigation led to Karpov's place of residence, evidence was found of the place having already been turned over by SPEAR." Everyone stiffens at this, where this is leading can only be a bad thing for them. "Going through what was left found an empty container that was hidden in the wall with Soviet symbols all along it. Detailed forensics of the container found evidence of it holding both papers… and what is believed to be something made of leather. Based on the size and position of the traces, the best guess is a leather bound book."
At that, the hot fury going through Pierce's blood goes cold. This, this is news that is far worse than just losing two Heads of Hydra. "Are you telling me, that Karpov most likely kept an instruction book from his time in the Soviets, that could very well give Quake full control over the Winter Soldier?" The words come out calm, but everyone knows he is anything but, as the fury just below the surface is easily noticed.
"Yes Supreme Head, that is the prevailing theory that we have. While before I thought of it as the sloppy work of amateurs leaving behind the evidence of them tossing the house and the container, based on Quake's actions today I find it far more likely that she is bragging about what she can do now." Whitehall grimly reports.
Fury clear on his face, Pierce looks into the projected faces of everyone present, taking stock in their fearful expressions and defeated looks.
"No more. I order it now, not another loss like we've experienced today will be tolerated. Projects, cells, and connections that you may have had with the Baroness or the Sheikh must be severed immediately. Any proof or dirt or evidence on each other that you have in your possession for the normal politicking is to be deleted, today. No more of our Heads will fall because we got sloppy, or underestimated Quake and SPEAR. Tighten security, train your men, locate SPEAR bases or members, and increase your research into ways to kill the bitch. Is that understood?"
"Hail Hydra." The response he gets is quiet in the face of both Quake's actions and his new hardline response, but he will not have it. Alexander Pierce will not be the Supreme Head that sees HYDRA fall from its highest heights, back to hiding in the darkest shadows.
"I said, are my orders fucking understood?!"
"HAIL HYDRA!" This time, the response is filled with the passion and anger he wants to invoke. With his orders given and acknowledged, he ends the hologram call with all but one.
As soon as he is sure the connections have been severed, with a wordless cry of rage Pierce clears his desk, throwing everything to the ground to sate his anger. Taking nearly a full minute of adrenaline driven heavy breathing, Pierce finally regains control of himself, and notices he is still not alone, but remains unconcerned about that.
"Zola, why are you still here? It's not usual for you to stick around so quietly." Pierce turns towards the only hologram projection he did not cut off, showing the static image of the human face of the AI that was once a man.
"You needed the time to regain your composure, while I needed additional time to calculate the new information to run simulations and projections." Zola replies.
"And? What have you come up with?" While technically a Head of Hydra, the fact is that Zola has no one who follows his orders. He sits in on these meetings only due to his position as Pierce's chief advisor. Zola's programmed in loyalty to HYDRA is the only reason why Pierce tolerates Zola staying past the end of the meeting to see him in a moment of weakness.
"First, a high priority suggestion I have is that my facilities and capabilities need high end upgrades." At Pierce's shocked expression, Zola elaborates the unasked questions. "I have always wanted to try and stay as true to who I was in my organic life, during my digital life, hence why I have been against upgrades in the past. I will not place that want above the well being and mission of HYDRA though. From Tony Stark, to his AI JARVIS, to HERO's Head of Security Daisy Johnson, and finally Quake with SPEAR, I have found myself to be… lacking in nearly every digital area." Zola answers.
"Approved. Next?"
"I find it to be a 73% likelihood that Quake and SPEAR actually know much more about us than she was saying. In her declaration of war, she made it too key of a point to claim not to know anything about the rest of us, despite what she should have been able to learn from the now three heads she has taken out."
Pierce clenches his teeth in frustration. "Yes, I gathered that too, despite hoping I was wrong. Do not let the others know for now. Especially Hale. She was on the edge of breaking down as it was, she always has been the one most ruled by her fears. We need to have an answer to the problem, before letting them know. What about my resources?"
"Luckily there I find it to be only a 3% chance that Quake and SPEAR know that HYDRA is buried within SHIELD or that you are the Supreme Head. She would not have interacted with SHIELD's agents how and when she has if that were that case. I concur with your choice of picking up the remnants of the destroyed Heads' forces, but I would recommend utilizing the lie detection system developed by Director Fury before bringing them into SHIELD, to ensure that no one was released on purpose and is being tracked by SPEAR." Zola recommends.
Now that… is something that Pierce had yet to consider. He would have eventually, but being an AI gives Zola the advantage of not being distracted by emotions. "Agreed. I'll also arrange for a quarantine of their identities, and cutting loose anyone who is even a little bit suspect. Anything else?"
"Lastly, with the loss of the Banker we will have no choice but to need to gain funding from the World Security Council at large, which will take a truly extraordinary event to sway the members holding the votes we do not control. But I wanted to pitch a project that I predict as having the best statistical chance of taking out SPEAR, Quake, and every other enemy HYDRA has or ever will have. It is my magnum opus, and what will give HYDRA the push to its rightful position in the world. That being on top."
The passion in Zola's electronic voice is surprising to hear, as it is a true rarity for the AI. Pierce leans forward with anticipation of what is to come.
"Let me tell you, about Project Insight."
??? ??st, 20??, MCU
The James Winter Bucky Soldier Barnes, ???
The voices were quieting, the rules being dismantled, and the grip on his mind loosening. It has been going on for months now. Every time a new set of command phrases cycled into prominence in his mind, they were immediately used to destroy their own conditioning.
Who was he? Every day the answer he had been trained to believe was slipping away, but in its place something else was surfacing. Something older… but very possibly truer.
There were times he felt like a person, and not a weapon. He held conversations, and spoke with those who came to visit him in his cell. But with his mind changing, the conversations slipped through his memory almost as soon as they ended.
Yet today was different. Today was something new. It took months, as his different code word strings were cycled through, but his mind was not endless, so neither was the conditioning.
Today it finally happened, the last shackle holding him in place was destroyed.
Between the blink of an eye it happened.
The Winter Soldier closed his eyes for the final time, and in his place James Buchanan Barnes opened his for the first time in a LONG time.
"Welcome back, Sergeant Bucky Barnes." Said a female voice in front of him, although Bucky was busy staring down at his own hands in awe.
As he looked up to see the owner of the voice, the first thing he noticed were her eyes.
The kind, understanding, eyes that were looking back at him. And the weight on his shoulders felt just a little bit lighter at that.
Notes:Author's Endnote: Ugh. I miss when I could sit down and pump out a chapter of 4k words in just 5 to 6 hours in one day. I've slowed down in my writing, which has ruined my schedule. But I continue to do the best I can, and I don't think I'm half bad for my first story ever!
But here is the next chapter! We get another bad guy chapter, as we enter the sped up time of the story. Expect most POV's to be months apart, until we get to the start of Thor/ Iron Man 2. And what a chapter, as Daisy and Spear have not been idle during this time, and take down 2 more Heads of Hydra!
I'm sure that Zola getting an upgrade and Insight getting attention earlier than canon won't in any way change things… But Bucky Barnes gets free of all of his programming! While his recovery took longer without his childhood friend to help bring him out of it, at least now no one can come along and pull a Zemo like in canon!
Until next time :D
This fic is ongoing so look on ao3 for any more chapters the author may have posted