"Yes, Tony performed quite well didn't he? We were right to place our trust in him. His efforts have left us with an alien visitor to study, an alien prince who claims him as a… heh, 'Shield-Bro', and the destroyed remains of an alien weapon. Your people have secured the automaton, yes?"
Nick nods sharply.
"Yeah, it's been secured. Got some eggheads working on it now. As for Stark… did you know about the armor?" Here, Fury half-hopes Pierce will be as in the dark as he was and maybe even upset about it. But the way the Secretary's smile widens tells the SHIELD Director that his paranoia has paid off once again.
"I knew, yes. Something that Tony has been working on for the World Security Council and SHIELD for a couple years now. And it's why I'm going to have to decline your request to revisit the Avenger's Initiative, I'm afraid."
Narrowing his one good eye, the Director of SHIELD grits his teeth.
"I'm supposed to be in charge of SHIELD. If Stark was working on something for us, I should have heard about it, right?"
But Alexander Pierce isn't a man who's easily intimidated. He just chuckles as he taps his desk. "You're hearing about it now, Nick. I'm sorry but until recently it was all very theoretical and thus very hush hush. Couldn't risk this sort of thing getting into enemy hands.
Nick Fury leans back in his chair as Pierce swivels his monitor around to show him what Tony Stark and the WSC had been working on. He stares at the rows of tin soldiers, the shiny armor, and finds himself curious in spite of his immediate dislike of anything Stark related.
"Tony calls them the Iron Legion. Initially they were to be remote piloted, but I convinced him otherwise. One-man suits with the power and strength of a hundred men. More maneuverable than an F-22 Raptor, Nick. Capable of both ground, air, and water missions. Unbeatable by any modern weapons. And just the sort of thing we need our brave men and women in SHIELD wearing to combat aliens the next time they decide to threaten our planet."
Here, the Secretary leans back in his chair and steeples his fingers together with a sigh. "I know you had your heart set on the Avengers, Nick. But bringing a bunch of antisocial misfits with superpowers together was always a long shot. And between Banner once more in the wind, I'm not sure who you even have in mind for it at this point. But this… we have people in mind for the Iron Legion. Specifically, I want to put the STRIKE Team in the suits. They're our best and brightest after all. Consider how much stronger they'll be flying around in these things."
Fury had to admit… it was an appetizing mental image. There was just one glaring downside.
"Can we trust Stark not to screw us over on this?"
As anticipated, Pierce just sighs and gives Fury an almost wounded look.
" Of course we can, Nick. Tony is a good man. He went through a crucible just like all good men do and he came out the other side wanting to make the world a better place. He's on our side."
"There's still a lot we don't know about his activities, Mr. Secretary. A lot we haven't been able to find out because of his AI. He might not be as good of a man as you think he is."
"Well that's why I pushed for the Iron Legion to be made into suits that would have human pilots Nick! Men we could trust!"
Fury just shakes his head, not placated in the slightest.
"All I'm asking is for a little compartmentalization. Fine. We put the STRIKE Team in these suits. Make them this… Iron Legion. But we don't put all of our eggs in Stark's basket. Give me approval to start researching alternative weapons. Without Stark's knowledge. No consulting. No nothing." Pierce tilts his head to the side at that before letting out a sigh.
"You want to use the Cube, I presume?"
A memory of one of SHIELD's greatest treasures, a glowing blue box unearthed during their hunt for Captain America, surfaces in Fury's mind even as he nods.
"Yeah. I want to use the Cube. The energy output of that thing… SHIELD might not have been equipped to properly handle it back in the day, but we're in the twenty-first century now. And we're dealing with fucking aliens who can show up on our planet uninvited at any time they want. Time to revisit old treasures, I'm thinking."
Alexander Pierce ponders it for a moment before sighing.
"I'm not opposed to it Nick… but you know Tony could be a huge boon to any research you did with the Cube, right?"
Fury scowls, but the Secretary just holds up a hand.
"… Give me a day to think it over. I'll have my answer for you by tomorrow. For something of this magnitude, I need to consult with my colleagues."
That was probably the best that the SHIELD Director could expect to get, in the end. Nodding sharply, Fury rises from his chair, throwing one last glance at the Iron Legion as he does so.
"… Iron Legion's a dumb name by the way. Is that the best Stark could do?"
Pierce grins.
"You know, Tony said something similar about the Avengers Initiative. Something about naming your superhero group after the concept of revenge instead of protection sounded like a loser's mentality from start to finish."
Fury scowls angrily at that, causing Pierce to raise his hands in surrender.
"He said it, Nick, not me. Don't shoot the messenger."
Huffing, Fury points at the image of the Iron Legion.
"Be careful about putting too much power into the hands of that man, Mr. Secretary. Think about what I said. Get back to me as soon as possible so I can get to work."
And with that, Fury turns and stalks out of the office, thoughts of alien gods and metal suits and mortal men swirling through his paranoid mind. -x-X-x-
Alexander Pierce watches Nick go for a moment, his expression contemplative. Then, he turns to his monitor and shoots off a ping to Arnim Zola. The veteran Artificial Intelligence responds to him quickly and Pierce outlines the situation to Zola, explaining Fury's proposal and asking for advice.
On the one hand, Tony had definitely gotten results since joining HYDRA. On the other hand, it had never been HYDRA' s intention to reveal the Iron Legion to SHIELD. Originally, the suits were supposed to be used by HYDRA operatives for HYDRA missions only. But when Tony had nearly been struck down out in New Mexico and forced to reveal his own personal armor as a result, they'd had to pivot.
It was no big loss, truth be told. The STRIKE Team were all HYDRA anyways after all, so them flying missions as part of the Iron Legion under SHIELD would still ultimately be serving HYDRA's purposes. And it wasn't like it was Tony's fault that he got targeted like that in the end. Given the boon he'd been to HYDRA these past couple of years, Pierce was happier with him alive then dead.
Still… perhaps Fury was right about avoiding putting all of their eggs in Stark's basket. Zola had already assured Pierce that he could easily wrest control of the Iron Legion Network from JARVIS if he needed to, but even still…
There's a ping as Pierce gets a message back from the German Scientist turned AI. He reads Zola's message with a raised brow and after a moment nods to himself.
Even Zola agreed that Stark should be kept in the dark about research into the Cube. In this case, Fury's paranoia was serving him well. If Stark went off the reservation, they would need a way to put him down. It was only good sense in the end. Shooting off a quick 'thank you' to Zola for his assistance, Pierce then begins drafting a message to Nick granting him approval for the new gambit, to be sent out in the morning. Can't have Nick thinking he made up his mind in just five minutes, after all.
Once that's done, Alexander Pierce sits back in his chair and laces his fingers together over his stomach, a satisfied smile on his lips. Everything was going just as planned. Even this alien attack in New Mexico wasn't enough to disrupt the peace that HYDRA had so far managed to bring to the world. He did so love an orderly planet.
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"Unlock the full story now—click here to download the complete novel in PDF and embark on the adventure today!"
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"Unlock the full story now—click here to download the complete novel in PDF and embark on the adventure today!"
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ko-fi.com/abrahamsmith1b