Hydra. Hydra had grown like a disgusting parasite inside of her own agency. She had done everything she possibly could to destroy the Nazi regime, to complete what Steve had started and she had failed. More then failed, she had basically made the fortress for them to hide into. In the next few years she and Howard would build up the blocks they needed to one day attempt to exterminate millions of people.
She looked up from her lap to the other side of lab where Tony and Bruce had retreated to in order to give her space to absorb what she had just heard. They were standing side by side with their heads close together as they spoke and would occasionally look up at her, slight apprehension on their faces.
She gave a deep sigh and strode toward them. "How were they stopped?" She asked quietly. "They were stopped, correct?"
"Of a sorts." Bruce replied. "Their Hellicarrier plot was thwarted, but they're still there. They have bases and operations running all over the world. S.H.I.E.L.D is barely existing and doing everything they can to take down what is left."
"Are you in charge of that?" She asked.
"Nope, but Stark Industries has taken a lot of agents in. My lawyers protect them from the government people who would want to lock them up and it allows me to assist the remaining agency with anything that I can." Tony replied with a sad smile. "I claim to be privatizing National Defense, it pisses people like Talbot off but at least we have something."
"So the government just assumes all agents are now, what, Hydra? Enemies?" She asked with a small glower.
"Yep." Tony said loudly, popping the 'p' and shrugging. "But I think understandings are being made."
"So you are in contact with what remains of S.H.I.E.L.D?"
"We have team mates who can get a hold of them. Tony and I have avoided contact with actual S.H.I.E.L.D, neither of us want to draw attention or cause problems for ourselves."
"Are you two agents? You mentioned a team?"
The both grinned. "Of a sort." Bruce answered. "We're part of a mostly independent team called the Avengers, but we both have things, or are things, that the government would like to claim or control."
"Are things?" She surveyed the two of them. "You both seem quite normal to me?"
Tony's grin widened and he nodded enthusiastically. "Right now! But Brucey here was the lead of a science team attempting to recreate your buddy Cap's super serum and ended up, well, with a big green super problem."
Bruce frowned and rolled his eyes at the engineer. "I was exposed to an alarming amount of gamma rays in an accident and it caused a, delicately put, alternate large identity referred to as the Hulk."
Tony nodded again, and tapped the table before him, causing images to rise from the surface. She took a step back in alarm at the shimmering images. He grinned at her reaction and typed into the air, causing a video of a large green creature beating up some sort of terrifying creatures.
"This is you?" her voice was filled with awe as she reached up to touch the image, her hand going straight through it. "What on earth are these images? And those things!"
"Yes that is technically me. I'm not really in control there, it's like I'm in the back of his mind and he's in the back of mine. He comes to the surface when I have strong emotions, like anger. "Bruce explained, gently brushing Tony's hand away and closing the images.
"The images are holograms!" Tony answered the second part. "They're a series of lasers and lights that reflect off each other to create images; at least that's the basics."
"Fascinating!" She exclaimed, leaning onto the table to peer at its blank surface. She sighed in disappointment at seeing nothing and stood up and added, "And those monsters?"
"That's a little more complicated." Bruce replied . "Those things are called Chitauri, and they are aliens."
"Aliens?" She almost gasped her eyes huge. "Actual aliens?"
"Sure are! Disgusting things really, but not all aliens are bad!" Tony said in a tone that was supposed to be reassuring.
"Other aliens?" she raised an eyebrow. "So there are aliens visiting earth?"
"Yeah, that's what Asgard is. It's another planet that first made contact with us thousands of years ago, in Norway and other Scandinavian areas, and the citizens believed them to be gods, thus, Norse mythology." Bruce explained.
"That is, really hard to imagine." She thought for a moment and then shrugged. "Actually, if you think of it, it is not that hard to think that the Tesseract would be alien."
"Exactly! We can get into that more later okay?" Tony replied. "Did you still want to see my super awesome special thing the government would probably literally kill for?" He asked eagerly.
She gave a little laugh at his enthusiasm and nodded. The holograms returned, this time showing a red and gold machine flying.
"That's you?"
"Absolutely! The Ironman suits! I designed and made them, they're my babies, my pride and joy!" He said with happy waves of his hands. "I'll show you the actual things at Avengers Tower later."
"Avengers Tower? Is that your headquarters?"
"Totally is, it's also where we all live, when occasional members aren't traipsing across the world." Tony replied. "We store all of Howards, as well as the highest classified S.H.I.E.L.D reports here on a secure server."
"Very secure. You have to be here in person to get ahold of them and only the two of us have access into here, or even know it exists. We came to get the technology blueprints and notes on cloaking technology." Bruce continued for him.
"Which is like an invisibility field for airplanes and stuff." Tony finished.
"Fascinating! So you have your own front, as well as access to whoever is leading S.H.I.E.L.D?"
"Yeah Natasha, the only woman on our team who you so most totally will love, she and Maria, one of the agents who works for me, can get in touch with them."
"Good." She crossed her arms and gave the two scientists a determined look. "Get in touch with one of them and get me there. I'm going to help destroy Hydra."
AN: This is my first story I've posted! Its going to be very long and have lots of plot! There will be Agents of Shield, Agent Carter as well as all other Avengers and their separate movies references in here but I will try to avoid as many spoilers for the shows as possible! Hope you enjoy!
