It had been a couple of months since Natasha had started working full-time on her project. The depths to which Hydra went to infiltrate SHIELD was sickening. To some it would offer reward, revolution or power. To others it would threaten the lives of their family. Not once would they not follow through with a threat and so their power base grew uncontested and unknown.
Natasha had the dubious honour of following people, meeting their contacts and finding out how far it went. When a viable target was found, Natasha would hold her gauntlet above them and activate the enchantment. Only the first couple of hundred were monitored, but everyone she tagged was followed on a giant globe, which Harry had set up. He couldn't wait for Tony to integrate his systems with a magical counterpart. In the meanwhile the portion of Jarvis that was on the mission with them, would have them expand the area until he could pinpoint their location.
When Harry was not on the mission, he was busy doing a bit of his own secret work. It would be a surprise for later, but he suspected it would come in handy pretty soon.
He was busy on the Island, working on a side-project that involved the Room of Requirement, when he received the call. "Agent Hill, what's going on?"
"They came for Fury. He's in critical condition. His last words to me were 'They are watching.'" Hill said.
"I understand." Harry said before hanging up. He had been given very specific instructions, not that he intended to follow them. He geared up with little more than a thought, went invisible and apparated quite a ways up from where he felt Natasha. He then flew down and entered the building. It didn't take him long to find the people he was looking for. Steve, Natasha and Hill were all watching as they operated on Fury.
Harry cast a security spell followed by a quick illusion of Natasha as he put a hand on her shoulder. She spun around and immediately embraced him. "Oh Harry, tell me the toxin worked and he's not really dead?! Please?"
Harry cast a spell at the director, as slowly and gently as he could, not wanting to destroy any of the devices connected to Fury. The information he got back was not good, but would put her mind at ease, at least. "He's under, but alive. He's not going to be happy when he wakes up, though. I can tell that much."
Natasha sighed and relaxed a little. "Why are you here? Not that I'm complaining. I felt you coming, but aren't you supposed to be waiting at phase two?"
"I've never been the sort to wait and do nothing." Harry said honestly. "What do we know?"
"He was attacked as our intel stated. He was en-route to his secondary safe house, after escaping, when he was attacked by someone who should not be here. Steve was already trailing him after I called him in and the attacker ran after putting a couple of distinctive holes in Fury. Same as the one I had in my stomach until you fixed it. I think they defrosted the Winter Soldier." Natasha said.
Harry thought about it and then nodded. "Okay. Best get back to business. I'll be a call away." He said as she changed her body language back to the tension she was holding before and stepped into the illusion, so that Harry could remove it.
An hour later, Harry picked up Fury's body, mid-transport and deposited him on the couch in the Marauder's Den. There he focussed his magic and healed Fury's body. He would have some stiffness, but his life was no longer in danger and his bones were set and kept in place with magic. It would last until the bones had mostly healed, so it was just as good.
Then he cast an enervate at Fury, who woke with a start and sat upright, hands flying to his many wounds, only to find them closed. "You changed the plan." Fury said with some anger, but allowing Harry to explain as he slowly sat up.
"They did it first. I hear someone gave you the cold soldier." Harry joked.
"Funny." Fury said with a straight face. "How are the others?" he then asked, meaning Natasha and Steve.
"Steve was called in to HQ by Pierce. He decided to go, against advice. He can get out by portkey, so he'll be fine if push comes to shove. Worst case scenario, Ghost teleported him out." Harry reported. "Once he's back they'll be going to the base to spring that trap. Once everyone in the field is called in, and we know we have all the hostiles pinned down, I'll activate sleeping beauty."
Harry pulled out his mirror and called up Hill. It took her a minute to answer, as it normally did when she was at HQ, but when she did, it was with a frown. "Agent Potter?"
"Marauders." was all Harry said before he hung up.
"That's a really bad name for a project." Fury groused. "Are you sure you got everyone?" he asked.
"How many times are you going to ask? We got everyone we could find, considering it was mostly only me and Natasha working on this for three months." Harry said, just as Hill appeared at the arrival point and looked up at Fury with a sigh of relief. "We have barely had the opportunity to sit down for a meal together, thanks to you."
"And you will likely take more time off after you finish the job. Once national security is, secured, we can take some time off on that Island of yours. I hear it's a magical place." Fury deadpanned, while Hill nodded along, having wanted to go to the Island for a while.
"Funny," Harry said back.
Hill decided to speak up, "Sorry to interrupt, but why did you deviate from the plan?"
"I was also waiting for that answer." Fury nodded along. "'They changed their plan', is not a good enough reason."
Harry sighed, "Natasha thinks the Winter Soldier is in play. I don't know where he is and he's definitely not on the list of those invited to our party."
"So, you need to wait for him to make an appearance and disable him first?" Hill asked.
"That's about the gist of it, yes. I also didn't want him blowing up Fury's body in transit. Everybody knows about Fury's contingencies" Harry confirmed. "Is Coulson aware and ready?" he asked.
"He has the information and Agent May is ready. Once your project activates, they will handle the rest." Fury confirmed, then he smirked. "Coulson asked me to ask you a favour. Apparently his team has been working hard and he wants to give them some time on your island as a reward."
Harry took it as a compliment that Fury could joke after he had taken liberties with the plan. "As long as…" he started.
"They sign a contract, I know. Coulson already requested standard island access contracts and a demonstration." Fury nodded.
"I think we can handle a couple of visitors for a couple of days to a week once this is over. I've even got a surprise for the next visitors to the island. Will you be among them?" Harry asked. "When's the last time you had a holiday, anyway?"
Fury actually smirked at him, "The last time America didn't have enemies to be protected from."
"I think Fury took a nap once, but I can't confirm it." Hill joked along as she drank the tea Harry had made for her.
"So, never." Harry nodded. "I'll have rooms ready for you as well, then." Harry then opened a portal to France where the monitoring system was and led Fury and Hill through. She stayed for only long enough to finish her tea, before returning to her post, not wanting to be noted as missing. They watched as Steve confronted the assailants in the Elevator and made his escape.
They watched as Steve and Natasha lured the agents to the mall, 'discovered' the location of the base and escaped them using Natasha's stealth gear.
They monitored all the action and watched until the rocket almost hit the base. That was when they hid from sight and used Natasha's portkey to return to Marauders Den. Harry and Fury had been ready and arrived just after them, via portal. "Well done." Fury said at the shocked looking Steve.
"How?" Steve asked, until he saw Harry and sighed in relief. "Natasha told me you were off helping Thor and were unavailable."
Harry walked up to Steve, took his hand and shook it. "Of course I'm helping. Sorry for not letting you in on this. Fury didn't trust your acting skills."
Steve looked up at Fury, who only gave him a look and Steve couldn't help but nod in understanding. He could accept that he was not a spy. He was a soldier. "Fair enough." he said. Then he turned to Harry. "Can I assume you have a plan?"
"Actually, you need to tell me yours," Harry said. "You need to do what you would have, to draw out the enemy." Harry said.
"Harry is right. The Soldier has never failed before and has never been caught. If we want to catch him you'll need to act like you would have, starting by following whatever plan you would have made without our assistance." Fury stated.
Sam Wilson was apparently Steve's first idea. He had been considering contacting him since he left the Triskelion. Harry had not heard of his unit before, but apparently Fury had. He kept what information he had to himself though, to allow Steve to act and react normally.
They captured a known Hydra operative after 'procuring' Sam's wings, as Loki would have put it, and interrogated him using a strategy Loki would have approved of. Once they had the information, they started for SHIELD HQ, with Harry following them every step of the way, invisible, silenced and flying.
When Harry noticed a vehicle discretely making its way over to his teammates, he got himself ready. He allowed the soldier to jump on the roof of their vehicle, but the moment he grabbed and threw the agent into oncoming traffic, Harry went to work. He cast a quick illusion of the man dying while catching him, knocking him out and sending him to a safe drop-zone.
Then he focussed on the man dead-set on killing his girl and one of his friends. He needed to remain secret as long as possible, so he tried disabling the mechanical arm first. It stopped working for only a second, before apparently rebooting itself. Harry shrugged and transported him to a different safe drop-zone with a wave of his hand, after casting an illusion to make it look like he was blown off by some kind of explosion from inside the car. He was sent to an enclosure on the island. It was meant for something much stronger, so he'd not be escaping.
He lowered himself in through the window and took control of the car's steering with magic, since the Soldier had pulled the steering wheel off. "Hi," he said as he became visible, only to those in the car, holding a hand out and jiggling it so they could see he was in control of the car when it swerved. "Hi Sam, I'm Ghost. Tell me where to take us and I'll steer. You still have to control the gears and gas, though."
Sam was surprised as he looked at the new arrival, but smiled, "It's damn good to have you with us." he said as he looked over Harry's shoulder. "Are you aware of the car following us?"
"I was not," Harry said, as Natasha fired a bullet into the grill of one of the vehicles following them. The 'stunning bullet' was enchanted not to kill, but knock out. The magic worked on electronics as magic usually does and the car started slowing down as the engine died. "But that's nothing to worry about. I need you to stop looking at me and start looking at the road though, since I'm invisible to anyone outside the car. We can explain away how you regained control, not why you were speaking to nobody."
Sam quickly turned around and started acting like he was in control. "How are you doing this, by the way?" he asked.
"I'll tell you another time. Right now, let's call it one of my powers." Harry said.
"Okay." Sam shrugged. "Are the rest of the Avengers going to join us?" he asked having met three of them in the last week, two of which happened in the last couple of hours.
"Nah, this isn't big enough." Harry said nonchalantly after Natasha disabled another two cars, who were catching up to them.
"Millions under threat isn't big enough?" Sam asked incredulously.
"Yes. That's just another Tuesday for me." Harry joked. He wasn't necessarily telling the truth, but he wasn't lying either, considering how many his company had already helped. "We can't have every evil organization think they warrant the full attention of the Avengers, after all."
"So, what's the plan?" Steve asked. "I'm assuming you have what you needed, now that you took the Soldier out?"
Harry nodded and said, "You know what, you're right. Let's go to HQ. I'm parking the car, Sam. We're leaving it behind."
Steve looked at Harry and quickly stuck a hand in the glove compartment, looking for the car's registration. When he found it he pocketed it and looked at Harry, "What? We stole this car. I need to make sure I fix it or repay them or something." he said.
Harry laughed as they stopped off the side of the road, after a turn-off. "Never change Steve. We might need a baby-sitter one day." Natasha smirked at him, but said nothing. "Okay, I've made it so we won't be noticed for a couple of minutes. Let's get out of here." He said as they all got out and Harry watched as Sam pulled his flight-suit from the car.
Sam watched as Ghost lifted one hand, pointer and pinkie fingers extended, palm up and turned his hand like one would turn a key until his palm was pointing down. The next moment a circle appeared out of nowhere and everyone went through what seemed to be a portal. On the other side, they found themselves in a Bar with a sign above it saying 'Marauders Den'.
Standing in the middle of the room was Nick Fury. He had been listening to the situation through Harry's wrist-mounted Mirror, though he never uncovered his mirror, just in case some camera got lucky.
"How are we looking, Ghost? Did you ice the soldier?" Fury asked.
"Wow, these jokes just never stop, do they?" Harry asked. "He's where we keep the dangerous animals." he said.
"Good. We wouldn't want him to escape." Fury nodded in approval. "Are we going to rain on Pierce's parade?" he asked with a predatory smile.
"I don't see why not." Harry said. He opened another portal, stepped through and came back with the last of his inventions. It was a control rod, which connected to the orbs and through them to the people who were spelled by Natasha's bracer. He then pulled out a pitch black flying carpet. And stepped onto it. It started floating an inch off the floor. "Are you coming?" he asked. Everyone stepped on, but Harry grabbed Sam by the arm. "If you're coming, you'll need to leave any tech you don't want destroyed behind. My powers can be uncompromising when your tech isn't specifically shielded."
Sam grumbled, but dropped his flight-suit and cell phone on the couch, much to Fury's annoyance, but how was the man to know it was his favourite place to nap? "We're coming back for that." he stated.
"No problem Sam. We can come for a drink once we finish this business off. Just, be quiet, okay? We'll be doing some unexpected things and it would be very bad if you screamed while we are invisible." Harry warned, before activating first his privacy spells and then the portkey to SHIELD HQ. Sam did not look happy when they 'landed', but kept his mouth shut for now. Harry flew them up to one of the windows and saw Pierce screaming into his phone at whoever was on the other side. He silenced an area and Apparated the carpet and its passengers into the area.
"… mean you can't find them?! You had the Soldier and a full convoy. How are both the Soldier and the targets just missing?"
Harry held up a hand and indicated for everyone to stay where they are. "We are silenced here, but let's keep talking to a minimum. We need him to recall all his forces to prepare for our 'attack', when he realises they can't find us. Once they are all in the facility, we can activate the countermeasure." Harry whispered to the rest. Fury looked about ready to ignore his advice for a moment before controlling his temper and nodding. He'd rather not have any innocent bystanders suffer because he had an itchy trigger finger.
They waited for another ten minutes and were relieved when Pierce recalled all the teams to base. He wanted them prepared, just in case Steve got outside help.
Another half-hour later and the teams were all assembled and ready. Pierce got feedback that the council members would be there in an hour, just before the launch of the carriers. Fury decided to move now, before the council could arrive. They had a quick discussion about what should happen next and confirmed that Harry had everything in hand before Fury stepped off the carpet.
"Good morning, Secretary Pierce." he said when he knew he'd be visible again. He showed no hint of fear as he walked to the desk and sat down opposite his enemy, as if he was expecting a cup of coffee. "How are you doing today?" he asked.
Pierce, after schooling his features, moved a hand to his panic button, but found he couldn't touch it, as if his hand refused to move to it. He gave up and smiled at Fury. "Good morning. Did you get my flowers?"
As Fury and Pierce had a nice conversation, Harry was not idle. He sent Natasha off to the helicarriers with their backup plan, which would have them target each other, should they reach the correct height to activate their systems. She could not be invisible, since that might fry the tech, but Harry transfigured her clothes and added an illusion over her face, before sending her off, to one helicarrier at a time.
Sam and Steve were Fury's backup, since Natasha didn't need it and they probably couldn't pull it off as well as she could, anyway. The idea that Harry needed backup at this point and in this situation was basically laughable. Harry listened to their conversation and watched the mirror, which Natasha kept open for him. Once she was done with one Carrier, she'd show him where to open the next portal and continue her part.
The conversation soon came to the point. "What do you think you're going to do, Nick? Did you get one of your pet Ghosts to drop you off and go for the Helicarriers?" Pierce asked. At Fury's look, he chuckled, "Yes, we know about them. We haven't been able to get to one of them, but once everything here is under our control, it won't be difficult to replace your people with ours." When Fury smirked, he asked, "What's so funny?"
"If you knew how ridiculous you sounded, you'd be laughing too." Fury said. "If I had secret, secret agents with stealth and transportation capabilities on par with Ghost, I'd be damn sure they couldn't betray me even if they wanted to, don't you think?"
Pierce's eye twitched, "If you had that capability, there would be no Hydra in SHIELD."
"I've recently upgraded my skillset." Fury stated easily. "That doesn't matter though, because your time here has come to an end." he said as he got up and walked to a window. "Come look at what your precious Hydra looks like when they go up against me and my people."
As Fury said this, Harry readied himself. He took the rod in hand and lifted the other hand to the side, pinkie and pointer extended. Natasha was back from the last Carrier already and took out her gun, just in case Harry lost control of any of his other magics, like the carpet or the privacy spells.
Pierce got up and cautiously walked to the window and looked down, seeing only what he was supposed to. People working at their assigned jobs and his personnel keeping an eye out for the intruders who were already in his office. He had no doubt that Fury was not alone in his office, even if he couldn't spot anyone.
Harry activated the rod and a pulse of magic was suddenly released, activating the potential locked in the spells that had been layered on every Hydra agent over the last three months. He specifically chose to leave Pierce out of it, for Fury's sake. He twisted his other hand and opened a portal into the coms room for Steve to go make an announcement.
As Pierce watched, he saw one of his men collapse, and then two others, suddenly most of the staff on the ground were on the floor, seemingly unconscious. Then he heard the voice of Steve Rogers over the intercom system. "Good Morning, members of SHIELD. This is Steve Rogers. I'm broadcasting this message to explain what is going on right now." He began.
Pierce suddenly had a sinking feeling and he looked up at Fury. "Those are all my men, aren't they? How long have you known?"
"Long enough to plan for it." Fury replied. "I didn't want to believe it, but once I interrogated a few of your men, using a new truth-serum I have access to, I couldn't deny it anymore."
"None of my men were interrogated. They would have reported it." Pierce denied.
"If they remembered it, maybe." Fury said with a smirk. "I've had you and your people under constant observation for months now. Every single one of you will be tried under truth-serum. We will find out about every single one of your people, whether they are programmed or simply biding their time. We will find out about your crimes. I realise this will take years, but that does not mean we won't root out every single person and bring them to justice." Fury promised.
"You can never stop Hydra." Pierce smiled. "Cut off one…" he started before falling over like the rest of his people had.
"Sorry," Harry said. "I've heard that line too many times. Besides, what if it's the voice command that starts a self-destruct sequence?"
"I wouldn't put it past him." Fury said with a look of relief and disappointment on his face. It was a strange look.
Harry opened the portal again, when he heard Steve's announcement end. He had informed those who were still conscious that the people who had passed out were all Hydra agents and that they needed to be taken into custody.
Many people didn't want to believe it, but every single person moved at Steve's command. None had believed he would betray them. Harry took out five cylinders and handed them out. Then he took a disc out of the bottom and placed it on Pierce's prone form, making sure they were all watching, he tapped it twice and stepped back. A moment later Pierce floated up, was enveloped in a cocoon of energy and then he disappeared.
"What the hell?" Sam asked.
"Stasis field and emergency evacuation. I've been working on it for a while now. It puts a person in stasis, even if they are moments from dying and transports them to a safe location, where they can be kept indefinitely until care can be given. It was meant to be used in emergencies to save lives, but I suppose it serves the same purpose with this." Harry said slightly unhappily.
"How did you figure it out?" Natasha asked. "I know you've been struggling with it for months now. Something to do with the difference between living tissue and inanimate objects?"
"I was looking in the wrong place. I was trying to induce stasis, like I did for food. Turns out I just needed to isolate them from the normal flow of time. It's like creating a vacuum, only a bit more complicated and using, um, different forms of energy. For them it's like we are moving really, really fast, so they aren't completely frozen, just going forward, very slowly." Harry explained. "Does the same thing though." He shrugged.
Natasha hugged him with a huge smile on her face. "I don't care what Tony calls himself; you are a genius. This will save so many lives!"
Harry smiled at her, "That was the original goal, yes."
"I can see a use for these in other situations as well." Fury said as they started out of the office.
"And that's what I feared." Harry said cocking his head to the side, having expected that.
"These are yours and I know you'll have contracts involved with anything you supply SHIELD," Fury said as they made it to the elevator.
"If SHIELD survives this." Harry put in. "You remember the good senator, who is part of Hydra?"
"Yes?" Fury asked.
"What happens when he gets tried?" Harry asked.
"He doesn't." Fury replied. "He's protected by law."
"What?" Harry asked, calmly, dangerously. "He's getting away with it?"
"Oh, I don't think so. We may not be able to take him in, but he will not get through this unscathed." Fury said.
"Not good enough." Harry said darkly. "Leave him to me, then. I'll sort him out properly."
"But that brings us back to what happens to SHIELD when the truth gets out." Natasha said. "This is too big not to." Steve was nodding alongside her.
"The world needs SHIELD. We have no choice in the matter." Fury said. "If anything, this situation just proves it."
"And what if you can have the organization without a nuke-happy council on the other end of your strings?" Harry asked, not looking at him.
Fury thought about it for a moment before asking, "What did you have in mind?"
"Later." Harry said as the elevator doors opened up to a large control room. It seemed the entire room was armed and guns were pointed at them, until they saw Fury. At which point all of them were pointed away instantly, while many people sighed in relief.
"Okay, people," Fury started, "I know there is no protocol for this, but you can move the unconscious to central locations at least." As Fury said it, Harry walked to one of the downed men and placed a disc on him, before tapping it and having the man disappear with the golden glow of the stasis field.
"You heard the director!" Hill's voice rang out, seconds later when people stared at the spot the man had been. She had a black eye and a split lip. Apparently she had stood her ground and been assaulted for her effort. The way everyone jumped when she spoke, showed Harry how much respect people had for her. "I want someone at coms, right now! Get the prisoners to a central location for Ghost to secure." Harry smiled and walked to her. She cocked her head to the side when he lifted a hand and held it over her wounds. A couple of seconds later it was healed and Harry turned to walk away, only for her to place a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you." she said. He nodded and continued on his way noting that the others had started taking prisoners as well.
Sam especially seemed to like walking up to a new person and transporting them away. "If only it was this easy when I was with the unit." Harry heard him mumble.
"If you end up joining us, I'll get you your own." Harry said indicating the disk dispenser.
"Join?" Sam asked.
Steve walked up to him and nodded. "I agree. He's got potential. We'll have to see how he works in a team, but from the little I've seen, he's at least capable."
"I only caught one guy, which she threw off a building." Sam objected, pointing at Natasha.
"And, what's your point?" Harry asked. "You were there when Steve needed backup. If nothing else, that proved you to me. And if you don't like the action, we could always use someone who can render medical extractions."
Steve shook his head, "No, he's a fighter. I can tell." he said before moving off to continue rounding up people.
Natasha approached Harry. "We need to leave and let the others take care of these. I'd like to check the globe and see who we missed. I doubt an organization like Hydra ever puts all their eggs in one basket."
"You should probably stop by the other facilities as well," Fury spoke up from where he had been sending the next person off. "We've got the other branches and the secure detention facilities who don't know what's going on."
"They do now." Hill spoke up, dropping her hand from her ear, where she must have had a coms unit. "They are putting everyone that went down in lockdown."
"Thanks for that," Harry said to Hill, before turning back to Natasha. "We always knew we wouldn't get them all, right off the bat. The idea was to get everyone that was associated with SHIELD, first." he said, "I do see your point, however, and thanks for the reminder." He walked back to Hill and held up the cylinder. "Can you handle this, while Agent Romanoff and I go check for any missing enemies and clear out the other secure facilities?"
Hill took it and nodded. "Just place and double tap?" she asked, having seen it a couple of times, now.
"Yes." Harry said, "But no letting it out of your sight. This is proprietary technology."
"Understood." Hill nodded and resolved not to delegate the job. Even Fury was busy sending off Hydra agents, himself.
Harry walked back to Natasha, offered her an arm and activated a portkey to the monitoring room in France. Once there, they quickly confirmed the few stragglers. "Jarvis, the mission is almost complete. If you can start the scrubbing process, please?"
"Of course, Harry. I should be through the data in the next day or two. Can I assume you'll plug me in when that is complete?" Jarvis asked.
"No problem Jarvis. We just need to be sure none of this data can get out first. You can put everything we need on the backup drives, in duplicate please, and then I'll open a portal and setup a fibre connection with Malibu so you can reconnect, just like we discussed." Harry said to the AI. "Is it just me, or are you eager to reconnect?"
"While it has been an interesting diversion to no longer run everything at Stark Industries and be able to focus on one task, this system is not nearly as strong as I am used to. I feel… limited." Jarvis admitted.
Harry laughed, "Sorry about that, my friend. I'll stop by tomorrow evening to check on your progress, okay?"
"Thank you, Harry." Jarvis said.
They were soon on their way to the first target. Fortunately the missing people were easy to find. They were all unconscious, after all. There was one uncomfortable situation, where a pair were both knocked out during an intimate moment. Harry had covered them both with blankets and sent them off in stasis. Fortunately that was the only case of nudity. Harry was glad he hadn't caught anyone in the bathroom.
Once everyone on the list was secured, they went to the other secure facilities, looked for whoever was in charge and gave them the abbreviated version. When they were done picking up the downed agents from those sites, they returned to HQ and found Fury, Sam, Steve and Hill being questioned by the Council. "Did I miss something?" he asked.
"Ghost! I'm told you took SHIELD Agents to an undisclosed secure facility." An older, balding white man stated. "We demand that you return them to us."
"Oh, you're demanding now, are you?" Harry asked. "You want your SHIELD agents back? Sure thing. Just turn around and walk into the building behind you. All your SHIELD agents are there. I've only taken the Hydra agents into custody."
"You know damn well what I mean!" he snarled. "We are the Council. We will decide if they are guilty, not you. What right have you to incarcerate these people without a trial?"
"What right? What right?!" Harry repeated, purposefully releasing a sliver of his power. The visible aura and flash of his eyes scared the man so much he stumbled back and landed on his rear. "What right do you have?! These people were planning to kill twenty million people, world-wide! Anyone that would make a difference if they stood against Hydra would be dead in a matter of hours."
Harry walked up to the shaking man and squatted close to him and asked softly, "Would you be alive if they completed their plan? Would you pose enough of a threat for the system to kill you and your family, just in case they decided to avenge their father and husband? Or would the system deem you unimportant and leave you and yours alone?"
Then Harry got up and looked at the other three council members. "Do you have his short-sighted perspective of the world as well? Or do you see that we just saved the world from the tyranny that your pet project would have wrought?"
Two of the council members looked down, but the third, an older British lady, by the looks of her, stood straight. "We won't deny that you believe what you say. I myself am inclined to believe it, considering what we have learned so far from Director Fury and Captain Rogers." she said. "We do, however, have the right to demand to witness the trial of the agents you have taken into custody."
Harry reined in his power and smiled, not that she could see it, "Of course, councilwoman. Please, let me escort you and your associates to a secure location where I will produce Secretary Pierce, so that he can be questioned." Harry said as he led them into the HQ building with the rest of the team following. Harry led them into a boardroom and once everyone had entered he looked at Fury. "Is this room clean?" he asked.
"One moment." Fury said as he walked to a wall and tapped it. A panel appeared and he typed in a code followed by a button that disabled all the feeds from the room and enabled the anti-eavesdropping technology. "We're clean." he said.
The councilmen noted that Fury seemed to be referring to this man and paid close attention. When he pointed at a wall, they looked and saw as an opening seemed to form leading to somewhere else. "Is that a portal?" the same councilwoman asked.
"It is, but not like the one Loki used. And this one leads to the secure facility." Harry said as he walked to the portal. "Follow me, if you please?"
"You can't be serious!?" the middle-eastern looking fellow said. "You want us to go with you to an unnamed location, just because you said so?"
"Yes." Harry replied, stopping by the portal. "If you want to speak to Secretary Pierce, now is your only opportunity." Then he walked through, followed by the rest of the team except for Steve, who stood by the door.
"I give you my word that Ghost will do you no harm. He is a good man." Steve said with a kind smile. The councilmen took a moment to look at each other, but when the British lady started walking to the portal, they followed suit.
As soon as everyone was through, they looked around. They seemed to be in the lobby of a large, modern office building.
"Where are we?" the same councilwoman asked.
"Welcome to EPI. That's short for 'Earth Protection Initiative'. This will be the headquarters of a new organization I have founded that will use technology, such as the portal you just used, to deliver support and protection around the world for people who need it. We will have a research and development department, specifically aimed at creating better defences for the Earth, from extra-terrestrial and extra-dimensional threats.
"We have formed a close partnership with Potter Innovations, which is why their initials forms two thirds of this organizations' own, as the majority donor. As a company already dedicated to global peace and support, our agendas align completely. Mister Potter has graciously allowed me to assign my own staff and security force, since he understands my need for discretion and prefers not to step on any toes." Harry finished this part of the speech. He had been leading them through a maze of hallways, continuing down the entire way.
When they reached the bottom, Harry opened a door and looked inside. "Please wait here while I prepare the room for you." Then he went inside and, in under a minute, returned. He then led them in and seated them in comfortable chairs, charmed specifically for that purpose. They had a view into an interview room with a metallic table with rails to tie the cuffs to and chairs on both sides.
"We will hold the interview here and you can watch from there. If you want to ask a question, please let me know, as I will be with you when the interview starts." Harry said as he turned to Fury. "If you would follow me?" he said and walked out of the viewing room and led Fury to a corner. "A lot of what you saw there was just temporary conjuration. It should only last a couple of hours to a day, but that will be good enough for now." He said as he opened another portal and led Fury through.
On the other side was the stasis evacuation point. There were rows upon rows of people all still in their gear and apparently asleep. They looked dead with how they weren't visibly breathing. "When did you set this up?" Fury asked as Harry walked towards the first delivery point, where Pierce was.
"Over the last three months I started purchasing sites around the world and securing them. Only a few people will know how to enter and exit and everybody will be signing a contract to protect both the people who work here and anything they learn. There will be zero chance of infiltration. The contract will hold multiple penalties, including temporary knowledge loss for people who are coerced."
They had reached Pierce and Harry ran a scan over him, for technology and poisons. "Really, a false tooth with poison? Even I've seen that in movies." Harry scoffed as he vanished the tooth right out of his mouth and healed the resulting wound. Then he levitated the man in front of him.
"Anyway, I'd like to tell you more, but I'm afraid you don't have high enough clearance." Harry said with a straight face.
Fury looked at Harry in shock, before a genuine smile crossed his face. "Is this you recruitment speech?" he asked.
"Is it working?" Harry returned.
"Maybe. I need to see the benefits package first." Fury replied.
"Every facility will be equipped with a Room of Requirement, for training, which can only be accessed and operated by the respective branch manager and the Director of International Operations, who will function as the general manager." Harry said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Said Director would also have access to his very own, if slightly smaller, Room, which will be protected by its own Fidelius."
"Damn you, Potter! You know how much I want one of those." Fury cursed.
"I can imagine. You'd finally have a place you can rest in complete security with whatever comfort you may desire at any given moment." Harry smiled. "Call it a perk of the position. I take care of my people."
Before they could step back through the portal, Fury stopped Harry. "And what is your real goal here, Harry?" he asked. Harry could not remember the last time Fury had used his given name.
"Honestly?" Harry asked. When Fury nodded, Harry allowed the portal to close. "I want you to come work for me. I want you to disband SHIELD and form this new agency with me, bringing what personnel you can convince to follow you, with you. If you were here running things, I wouldn't have to worry about who you answer to. I also want you to convince the council that it is a good idea to back EPI, even if they won't hold any real say. That way they 'feel' like they have oversight and can smooth things over with the UN.
"Meanwhile, they get contracted into keeping our secrets and we give them some time on New Atlantis, or another island, as incentive. By the time we've cured their parents' Alzheimer's and arthritis, they will throw their full support behind us and help us expand until we are what SHIELD was always meant to be." Harry finished.
Fury looked at him for a full minute before answering. "You've put some thought into this."
"Only since New York." Harry said easily.
"I can see why." Fury said in a monotone voice. "I can't disband SHIELD. It's a government agency, overseen by the UN. But, I'll tell you what. We start this project on the side and get the wheels rolling. Once everything is operational I'll hand in my resignation and take over here."
"No deal." Harry said instantly. "When I put someone in charge here, I need to know they believe in what we're building from the start. I need that person invested in the future of this world, enough to make that choice instantly. If you don't give me the 'Yes' this company deserves right from the beginning, I won't ever have the same faith in you that I could, right now."
With that Harry turned the portal into being again and walked through with Pierce hovering in front of him. He walked into the interrogation room and looked at the mirror. "Sorry for the wait. Pierce had a poison capsule in a tooth. I needed to take it out first." Then he pointed at the floating Pierce.
"You'll notice that he seems to not be breathing, that's what the stasis device does. He's basically suspended. This technology was developed for emergency services. A person who is in pain or dying can be brought to be treated without fear that there isn't a doctor immediately available. Surgeons can be made ready before the stasis is removed. No worry of dying because of blood-loss. This is a device developed here at EPI in conjunction with Potter Innovations.
"Another breakthrough, though this one was entirely from Potter Innovations' Medical Research Division, is a truth-serum, with a hundred percent success rate. Administer three drops orally and the person cannot lie for up to an hour." Harry said as he poured a glass of water and added three drops, before removing the disk from Pierce and stepping out of the room. Once Fury stepped in, cuffs in hand, Harry cast a couple of spells at Pierce. Then he went to the viewing room where Sam, Natasha, Steve and the council were waiting.
The spells worked as advertised and Pierce woke with a raspy throat and the Confundus made him forget, for a moment, that he was a captive, even after Fury cuffed him to the table, as he drank the water greedily. He refilled the glass from the decanter and sat back, drinking another half glass with a sigh.
Fury just smiled and started questioning him. "Are you a member of Hydra?"
"Yes." was Pierce's automatic reply.
After that, the council were believers. Fury got him to reveal everything he could think of including names of government officials that were also part of Hydra. Natasha was taking notes dutifully. An hour later, when the potion wore off, Harry stepped into the interview room, stunned Pierce, placed him in stasis again and allowed him to disappear to the receiving room.
Needless to say, the council were disturbed. "How could you let this happen Director Fury?" the balding man asked. "You're supposed to protect the world from organizations like Hydra!"
"Didn't you hear him, man? Hydra has been part of SHIELD for nearly seventy years. He couldn't have known if he wanted to." the Brit said. "How did you end up finding out, though? You were obviously prepared when this all started."
"Another Potter Innovations invention, but I'm afraid I had to sign contracts that make it impossible for me to discuss their products outside of controlled circumstances." Fury said easily.
"If these inventions can save millions of lives, surely it should be released to the World Security Council?" one of the men asked.
"I'm afraid not." Fury said with barely contained joy at being able to give the council the finger, figuratively speaking, "Because of, ahem, certain choices regarding nukes and Manhattan, PI has specifically stated that should any of their products be released to you, they will stop rendering any support to any agency outside of their own control. I would tell you, but I like my toys too much."
"And why does Potter trust you?" a councilman asked.
"Because, I've proven myself trustworthy whenever I can, even if I am forced to make difficult decisions, which people disagree with." Fury stated with a hard look.
"We get it. We should have listened to you." one of them said.
"Yes, you should have." Fury said.
Harry stepped up and said, "If you don't mind, I've got other responsibilities, as I'm sure you do, and if I don't let you out, I'm afraid the systems here would make it, quite literally, impossible for you to leave." With this, he turned a new portal into being and led them through into the same boardroom they had left from.
"Before you leave." Fury said to everyone in the room. "There is one last thing." he looked at Harry and nodded. "Effective immediately, I'm resigning my post as Director of SHIELD."
"What?!" nearly everybody asked. "Why?" the Brit asked.
"I've had enough of answering to people who want results without action. I want to be part of the solution, not the problem. I've been offered a similar position in a different organization. I believe they will be more successful in the mission SHIELD was meant to be on." Fury said as he removed his badge and placed it on the table. "Fortunately I was already declared dead and removed from the system, so that makes this much easier." he smiled.
Hill stepped forward, removing her own badge and dropped it on the table next to Fury's. "I've been offered the same. I told them I go nowhere without Fury." Hill looked at Fury and he nodded in thanks for her loyalty.
"You can't do this! Without you, SHIELD will fall apart!" one of the councilmen said.
"Have you not noticed? SHIELD has already fallen apart. Hydra was recruiting at all three academies. We only have Ghost and PI to thank for stopping them in time. Now that trust has been broken, people will refuse to return there. With so many key roles vacant and no new recruits, what do you think will become of SHIELD?" Fury asked.
"But the world needs SHIELD!" one of them said again.
"No, the world needs Nick Fury, in charge of good agents and better technology." Harry said. "With PI's public support of EPI, I think people will trust them more easily at this point." Harry paused and looked at them speculatively, before continuing, "I have pull with Mister Potter. I can get a meeting scheduled for you, but you'll have to convince him that you can be useful. At this point, I don't think he thinks he needs you. Perhaps if you can cut through the red tape at the UN and get him official backing, that might change his opinion of you, but I don't know the guy that well." Harry lied easily. He noticed Steve was struggling to contain a smile. He subtly cast a calming charm on him.
"Nobody knows Potter. He's reclusive. Likes his research and experiments. Nice enough guy I guess, if a bit eccentric." Fury said. "We used him as a consultant for a bit, but ended up using someone more focussed on our priorities."
"We'd heard." the Brit said. "It's at least worth considering. If the sun really is setting on SHIELD, maybe it's time for it to rise on something new. New ideas and techniques with tried and trusted leaders."
There was silence for a moment, when Harry's mirror vibrated. "Ghost here," Harry answered.
Coulson looked at him in his gear and instantly knew he was in character. "Ghost, good to see you in one piece. Thanks for the heads-up, by the way. We just landed at the rendezvous point. Come pick up the luggage, please? There are some people here who would like to thank you, too." He smiled that smile of his.
"I'll be there in five." He looked up. "Anyone interested in saying hi to some old friends?" He got a bunch of nods in return. He looked back at the Mirror, "I'm bringing friends."
"See you in five." Coulson said and closed the connection.
"Is there anything else?" Harry asked the councilwoman. She had become his favourite of the group. Not because she was British, but because she had a backbone and didn't try to make unreasonable demands of him.
"How can we contact you? To set up that meeting, I mean?" she asked.
"Contact Fury. He's always been my contact at SHIELD. He can get hold of me." Harry said easily. "Remember, if you want access to Potter's tech, you have to keep it a secret. The portals I use is his tech. Do not let it get out. That's the quickest way to burn that bridge." he said before he left.
The rest bid the council farewell and left them to their discussion. Before Fury left, he had them stop by the control room and removed one of the activation keys for Insight. That would stop activation for at least a month, while they rewired the Carriers to start without them or to replace them.
Harry held out an arm and everyone grabbed hold. They soon arrived in a stretch of desert, next to an airplane. The moment they arrived the rear hatch opened and Coulson walked down, followed closely by his team.
"Director, Ghost, Captain, Romanoff, its good of you to join us. We have some uninvited guests aboard. Fortunately they all seem to have decided to take a nap." Coulson greeted.
"Agent Coulson, it's been too long. You don't write, you don't call. You scarcely ever come over for poker night anymore." Harry joked. Poker night was a code phrase for meeting at the Marauders Den.
"I've been busy." Coulson replied. "Care to take our guests off our hands?"
"Sure." Harry said and pulled out a cylinder, handing it to Sam. "Agent Coulson, meet Sam Wilson. He's considering joining the team." he said before turning back to Sam, "You don't mind, do you? I'd like to catch up with my friend for a bit."
"No problem." Sam said as he was led inside by Agent May, closely followed by a curious Fitz and Simmons.
"What's in the cylinder?" Fitz asked before disappearing into the bus.
"So, I hear you caught everyone before they could cause any major damage." Coulson said. "I'd love to know how you did that."
"Trade secret, Agent Coulson. I'd tell you, but then I'd have saved your life for nothing." Harry joked.
"Is this what I have to look forward to, working for you?" Fury asked, shaking his head.
"If you were working for me, you'd not be able to make statements like that." Harry said with a straight face. "Fortunately, we will have a partnership. I was not kidding when I said I don't want you answering to anyone. I suspect that you will have all kinds of redundant paperwork for me, just like I'm sure I'll drive you mad in other ways."
"What's this?" Coulson asked, shocked.
"Ghost decided to start his own Agency. Chances are SHIELD is done for after everything from Hydra comes to light. We'll be interviewing prisoners under truth serum for months. When Hydra is completely uprooted, though, I'll rest easy for the first time in months." Fury said.
"An agency with Ghosts resources and you at the head?" Coulson asked. "Where do I sign up?"
"You're at the top of the list, Phil. You and your team, that is." Harry said, "That reminds me, I hear you put in an unofficial request for a vacation on the island."
"I appreciate the priority. It would be nice to work out of a central location again." Coulson said. "And yes, the team has had a rough while. You know about some of it, especially when you came in to heal Skye. Most recently Sif helped us take down another Asgardian with seduction powers. She seduced Agent Grant, who turned out to be one of Hydra's, as you know."
"I'll have to catch up with Sif soon, we've not had a chat in a while. As for the new Agency, I've got a whole lot of goodies planned and I think you'll like most of them." Harry said looking over Coulson's shoulder at the young woman he had healed, who was trying to come closer, unnoticed. "Of course, getting to the island will be difficult without permission slips." Harry said.
Coulson knew he meant contracts. "They won't have a problem with that. Fitz and Simmons might never want to leave the island, though, especially with what can be found there. And Skye seems to be quite the fan of yours. She's been going on about your capabilities and guessing what the common factor is. She hasn't gotten very close yet."
"You knew?!" Skye exclaimed, having come close enough to hear that last part. "You knew and you didn't tell me?"
Coulson gave Harry a look, trying to see the smile he knew was there. "I'm not at liberty to discuss that information. It is beyond your clearance level." As soon as he said it, he looked up at Harry, "Wait, at your agency, will I have the same clearance level?"
"Probably higher." Harry said. "With the way I'm hoping to set things up, with the slips I mean, the information will be safe no matter who knows. We'll just use more restrictive protocols for higher level access for those who need access."
Coulson followed that and understood it to mean the contracts will become more comprehensive. "It does make things simpler. As soon as someone has a slip, they won't have to worry about even accidentally giving things away."
"You're talking like that on purpose aren't you? You're replacing words to keep secrets." Skye said. "Does it have to do with your powers?" she asked Harry excitedly.
"She's a sharp one isn't she?" Harry asked, not answering the question.
"Sharp enough to know that she won't get answers we don't want to give." Coulson nodded.
"Oh, come on!" Skye complained.
"Okay. Tell me what I just did?" Harry asked casting a cheering charm on Skye.
"I don't care!" Skye suddenly exclaimed. "I'm meeting Ghost! Can I have a selfie?" she asked taking a phone out of her pocket and looked at him hopefully.
"You can try." Harry said with some humour as she stood next to him and took a picture.
"Oh, come on!" Skye exclaimed again, when she saw Harry was blurry in the picture, as he was in all footage of him in his armour. "Why do you never take a good photo?"
Harry cast a calming charm on her and sighed. "Is she always this excitable?" he asked.
"She's not. Otherwise I'd have warned you before you healed her." Coulson said with a straight face.
"That was you?" Skye asked suddenly very in control of her emotions. "Thank you. I was sure I would die." Then she looked troubled, "Though, I would think I'd remember meeting you before."
"Not a problem and I choose when I'm remembered. Healing you had the price of your memory of the occasion. I try to keep my involvement to a minimum, otherwise people will start to expect my help for every little thing." Harry said as Coulson's prank failed, when Skye calmed down.
"That's simply not fair." Coulson said at her lack of reaction.
"From Phil's reaction, I'm guessing you had a hand in my sudden chill? Were you also responsible for my fan-girl impression?" Skye asked shamelessly.
"No. Your esteem of me is responsible for that. Your excitable moment and calm was affected by something I did though." Harry said, glad she had calmed down. "If you figure it out before you come and visit my island for your holiday, I'll give you a reward."
"I'll happily take that reward, then." she said confidently as she walked away to go do some research with the new information.
"Are you sure that was wise?" Fury asked.
"Phil trusts her." was Harry's simple response.
"She's a good kid." Phil agreed.
Just then Fitz and Simmons came running out of the plane. "Okay, I know that was not human science. Are you an alien?" Fitz asked as they approached Ghost.
"I was born on earth from human parents, as far as I know." Harry said. He almost said England, but realised that might be giving too much away and nobody could hear his accent while his mask was up.
"Then how do you explain a simple metal disk, changing the flow of time and teleporting an unconscious person to a secure facility? It's impossible!" Fitz demanded.
"How does teleportation work?" Harry asked.
"Teleportation doesn't exist." Simmons put in. "Its science fiction."
"Then, what does science fiction say?" Harry asked.
"Molecular deconstruction and reconstruction?" Fitz offered.
"Wormholes?" Simmons offered.
"Faster than light travel, maybe? It would seem instant, at least..." Fitz offered again.
Harry laughed and placed a hand on both their shoulders and apparated them to the other side of the plane and back. "How about you tell me?" Both of them lost their lunch. "Oops." Harry said.
"Don't abuse my geniuses!" Coulson reprimanded as he stepped to the two and offered Simmons a handkerchief. "I don't abuse Banner or Stark, so do me the same curtesy."
"First off, wow, those are some big shoes to fill. Secondly, I was only showing them that they were not open minded enough." Harry said. "I didn't think they'd lose it."
"You guys did kind of used the wrong word in front of him. Ghost does not believe in impossible. He finds it limiting." Coulson reprimanded them.
"Wormhole." Simmons got out when she was able to speak again. Fitz was just nodding along. "Definitely a wormhole. It felt like I was compressed to a pinprick and then kicked out the other side."
Fitz looked up and asked with a hoarse voice, "But how?"
"Coulson will have the proper paperwork in the next couple of days. We'll probably be at the island this evening already. It's been a rough couple of months for us too." Harry said. "You want to find out how? Be on the island."
"Are all the prisoners secure?" Coulson asked.
"As far as I know." Sam said. "Unless there's someone else you've got packed away in a cupboard?"
"That should be everyone then. Now, if you'll excuse us, we've got a clairvoyant to find." Phil said turning around and starting to lead his people into the plane.
"No need." Fury said. "We picked him up today. He was Hydra. Wasn't even enhanced."
"Seriously? Who was it?" Phil asked as he stopped in his tracks.
"Garrett." Fury said.
"Damn. He completely fooled us." Coulson said.
"You can be the one to interrogate him if you want. I know he's been one of your sore spots for a while now." Fury offered. "Just give it a bit of time. I'm about to build a whole new agency from the ground up with Ghost's help. In the meanwhile, take it easy. Once the new SHIELD is up and running, I'll be keeping you busy."
"What will you be doing until Ghost has had the opportunity to rest?" Coulson asked after nodding.
"What do you think I'll be doing? There's a spot on that island with my name on it and I intend to be there as long as I can." Fury said, before looking at Harry. "Something tells me things will get busy, once I take the reins of an international peace-keeping organization funded by this trouble-magnet."
Natasha smirked, "He's not wrong."
"You're all comedians." Harry said. "Okay, let's break this up." he took Coulson's hand, "I'm glad you came through that okay and I'll see you in a couple of days."
"Goodbye Ghost. See you soon." Phil said.
Harry held his arms out and everyone that was going with him took hold. Fitz just shook his head. "I can't believe anyone would do that to themselves willingly."
After they disappeared, Coulson replied, "You get used to it. I don't even get dizzy anymore. What's going to bother you later is that he has other methods of instant transportation, one of which is entirely without strange sensations and doesn't have the side effect of ruining your tech."
"What?!" both Fitz and Simmons exclaimed. Fitz lifting a dead device from his pocket.
"Did Wilson warn you to keep your distance while he was transporting the prisoners out?" Coulson asked. They nodded. "Did you?" Fitz shook his head. "Then it was probably fried already anyway."
When Harry and his party landed at Marauders Den, Harry offered to take Sam home first. "I'm not invited to the island?" Sam asked.
"One day." Harry assured him, "Right now, there are people that need it more."
"Sure." Sam said easily as he walked to the couch to pick up his equipment. Harry opened a portal to his house after Sam provided him with a memory and he stepped through.
"We'll be in contact." Fury said through the opening, just as it closed.
"Okay, who's coming along and who do I need to send elsewhere?" Harry asked.
"I think I'm staying at HQ for a couple of days to help sort things out. I'll have your first people ready by the time you come get me." Hill said. "I'm assuming you still want me in HR until we're up and running?"
"That's right. After that, I'm sure Fury will want his right-hand back." Harry said.
"You've got that right." Fury nodded at her. "It'll be good to continue working with you, Hill."
"You too, sir." Hill said with a smile. Then she turned to Harry. "I can go to my drop point on my own. I'll contact you on the Mirror and meet you here, when I'm ready to come to you.
"Good luck," Harry said just before she activated her portkey. "Steve, are you coming?"
Steve thought about it for a bit before shaking his head. "I'm going to take a rain check on that. I've got some things to take care of." Then Steve stepped back and activated his own portkey.
Harry looked at Fury and before he could ask, Fury said, "Just open the portal. I've got everything I need on me and anything I don't you can make."
Harry smiled and complied. He opened the portal and they stepped through to some much needed rest.