Merry Christmas to you all!

oOo

Chapter 4 – Shield

"There's nothing to talk about, Rogers." Fury said.

"I wanted in on Shield because I thought it would actually help people, not endanger their lives because someone wasn't being honest. If this is how you actually run an operation, I wouldn't want a part of that."

"She had a different mission that you, so what?"

"So what?" Steve gaped.

"Woah!" Tony interrupted. "Hold on!"

"Now's not a good time to join in," Natasha grimaced. "It's really not your place."

"Look, it's a movie." He voiced. "And yes it's the supposed to be future but come on guys, are you really going to argue it out? Like hell Steve, you already knew what you were getting into."

"I knew that, but I should at least have some trust."

"Can we continue the movie now?" Hill voiced.

Everyone turned to her.

"I'm just saying that we're all wasting time arguing when we could just watch the movie, which would apparently all voice out our frustrations."

"She's right." Clint settled himself back on the couch. "I'm not arguing with that logic. A movie is a movie, and we're lucky enough to be able to watch it unfold."

"You'll be lucky I'm not kicking your ass to next Tuesday," Fury glared. "What says you, Rogers?"

"Fine," Steve sat back down. "Peace for now."

"If this is just the beginning," Bruce mumbled. "I fear the time we reach the climax."

Tony snatched the remote back from Steve's hand and played the movie again. The lights were turned off once more for their viewing purpose to make the movie more surreal. The team was quiet, too quiet, but it beats having them talk at once and blurring out the sounds.

"Here we go."

The scene showed the Potomac River between Washington, D.C. and Virginia on Theodore Roosevelt Island and quickly layered out the entire building. The text appeared on the side saying:

THE TRISKELION
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters
Lat: 38N 53' 33.78' Long: 77S 3; 38.91'

It panned out and showed the inside where a Shield Logo stood in the middle.

The others were going to comment about the boldness of the logo and the headquarters right out in the open, but was stopped when the scene quickly changed from calm to a full storm when Steve walked right into Fury's office.

"You just can't stop yourself from lying, can you?" Steve stalked forward.

"I didn't lie." Fury replied, staring out the window. "Agent Romanov had a different mission than yours."

"Which you didn't feel obliged to share."

"I'm not obliged to do anything."

"Knew there was no point in fighting," Tony called it.

"I think we all called it," Bruce muttered.

"Those hostages could have died, Nick."

Fury sat up and faced him, "I sent the greatest soldier in history to make sure that didn't happen."

"Soldiers trust each other." Steve argued. "That's what makes it an army. Not a bunch of guys running around shooting guns."

Fury stood up. "Last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye."

Everyone in the room was tense.

There were unspoken arguments there and Fury and Steve still wanted to settle things between them, but it looked as if the movie had already done so and voiced out things that were better left for their ears alone. Too bad everyone was in on the deal, and an agreement had already settled.

There weren't secrets anymore.

"Look," Fury began. "I didn't want you doing anything you weren't comfortable with. Agent Romanov is comfortable with everything."

Clint sent a wink towards Natasha, who simply shrugged back at him.

"I can't lead a mission when people I'm leading have missions of their own."

"It's called compartmentalization." He stared. "Nobody spills the secret because nobody knows them all."

"Except you," Steve pointed.

Fury backed off as if a thread was cut. He looked back at Steve, who still gave him a challenging look. "You're wrong about me." Steve momentarily frowned. "I do share. I'm nice like that."

The elevator door opened and in came Fury and Steve.

"Insight bay."

Fury voiced as the elevator recognized him as Level 10. And when Steve entered as Level 8, he was immediately denied.

"Captain Rogers does not have clearance for Project Insight."

"Director, override. Fury, Nicholas J."

"Confirmed."

The door closed.

The movie was paused.

"I think now might be a good time to say things before we move on," Tony smiled at everyone. "You can thank me later."

"If you're going to show the insight bay," Hill drank and smiled. "I think we can start settling things now and let it go later on."

"He said my piece," Steve pointed at himself on screen. "And will say it anyway."

"And he said mine," Fury copied. "And will say it anyway."

"Fair enough," Natasha voiced.

There was still tension in the room thick enough to cut.

"We all get it." Clint raised a hand. "Shield is an asshole and this is why we nearly got our butts kicked when all we focused on was a single enemy that we didn't realize we were up in our necks recruiting bad guys all along."

"Now we know what we're up against." Natasha added.

"And I'm cool with that." Fury said. "It prevented numerous failings that I suspect is in this movie."

"Numerous failings?" Steve sarcastically asked.

"Can we turn back to the movie?" Bruce squeaked as he interrupted. "I think it would be best if we just let this all go before we say things we're not going to be happy with."

"We're way past that." Natasha muttered.

"Agreed," Clint said.

"You're being awfully quiet, Hawkeye." Tony voiced.

"So are you," He rebuked. "I for one want to know how this movie ends."

"And we will."

Bruce stole the remote and played it before hiding it in one of the pockets in his jacket. He really wanted this to end, because if their arguments don't stop, they would really wish they hadn't pissed him off. He didn't want the big guy to come join them.

"You know they used to play music," Steve began.

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Really?" Tony scoffed. "That's your ice breaker."

"Yeah," Fury turned to him in a much less agitated mood. "My grandfather operated one of these things for 40 years. Granddad worked in a nice building. Got good tips. He'd walk home every night, a roll of ones stuffed in his lunch bag. He'd say hi. People would say hi back. Time went on, the neighborhood got rougher. He'd say hi."

"Insta-back-story," Tony yawned.

"Why haven't I heard of this before?" Natasha teased.

"Keep talking, Romanov." Fury coiled.

"They said, keep on steppin'. Granddad got to gripping that lunch bag a little tighter."

"Did he ever get mugged?" Steve asked.

Fury chuckled and shrugged, "Every week some punk would say, what's in the bag?"

"What would he do?"

"He'd show them." Fury continued on as the elevator went lower. "Bunch of crumpled ones, and a loaded .22 Magnum."

Steve awkwardly looked away.

Behind him as the elevator went further down, was the facility Fury wanted to share with him. Steve moved to look at the view and Fury went on. "Yeah, Granddad loved people. But he didn't trust them very much."

Steve looked at where Fury was staring and gaped at the view.

"Yeah, I know. They're a little bit bigger than a .22."

Fury hid several Shield Helicarriers that it nearly looked like a city down below.

Clint whistled, "Now that's taking off with style."

"I can't believe it." Steve shook his head. "I suppose this is the project you're working on right now."

"It was already in works." Fury said. "Even before we knew about this movie and after the Chitauri incident here in New York."

Tony gave Fury a look.

One that Fury saw and returned with a simple nod, one that he hoped Tony understood to keep his silence. After all, it looks like all the secrets were about to be broken all in one sitting. Natasha and Clint seemed to notice this as well, but whether they knew or not was entirely theirs react on.

Bruce just gaped.

Steve looked as if his eyes were opened for the first time, unsure of his disbelief and distrust growing as he saw guns underneath the carriers. Quinjets were being loaded above the Helicarriers, ready for take-off. Supplies in each and every one of them and giant turrets above were stationed.

"This is Project Insight." Fury voiced as they walked on. "Three next-generation Helicarriers, synced to a network of targeting satellites."

"Launched from the Lemurian Star," Steve replied.

"Once we get them in the air, they never need to come back down, continuous sub-orbital flight, courtesy of our new repulsor engines." He pointed as they walked towards one of them.

"Stark?"

"He had a few suggestions once he got an up-close look at our old turbines."

"Oh boy," Bruce muttered.

"Here we go." Clint grimaced.

The screen showed the turbines and then several guns at the bottom.

"These new long-range precision guns can eliminate 1,000 hostiles a minute. The satellites can read a terrorist's DNA before he steps outside his spider hole. We're gonna neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen."

"Thought the punishment usually came after the crime."

"We can't afford to wait that long."

"Who's we?"

"After New York, I convinced the World Security Council we needed a quantum surge in threat analysis. For once, we're way ahead of the curve."

"By holding a gun to everyone on Earth and calling it protection," Steve deduced.

"Can I say something?" Steve raised his hand and smiled.

Tony awkwardly looked up and knew that wasn't a friendly smile. It's the smile that gets his enemies killed once Steve puts his mind into it. Tony clasped his hands together and turned to Bruce.

Bruce took the remote and paused the movie.

He knew full well that Steve would want an explanation. As soon as the movie was paused, Steve rounded on him.

"Okay, so you're in on this too?" Steve pointed at him.

"Don't make me look like the bad guy, okay?" Tony defended as he raised both arms. "You just heard Fury say I got an up-close look at that turbine. You were there, and don't you deny it! You knew how badly beat up we got caught trying to fix that turbine."

"And its good we got his opinion on it too." Fury added.

"I can understand the turbine, I don't get the guns."

"You heard it first hand, Rogers. We can't afford to wait. You saw what happens during war, you know the good and the bad, like I said: numerous failings. We still don't know if this is the good or the bad."

"Good for now," Hill added. "Most of the threat at this moment is eradicated. The Council knows as much as they have to."

"She's right," Natasha nodded. "And we happen to be ahead of Hydra."

"And we know about Sitwell's involvement," Clint joined.

"It got a lot easier from there to try and find out what's happening. It's Coulson who has more of the upper hand in all of these things, so we're still clueless in that department. But the Council is still the council."

"I still don't like where this is going," Steve said. "We're all supposed to be a team."

"And we still are," Fury managed. "There are just some things that weren't supposed to be shared, but now that we're at our wits end, it's time for the reveal. And this is the reveal."

"That we're holding the entire Earth hostage?"

"That's not the point."

"It's a scary thought, Nick."

"17 minutes in and we're all turned against each other." Clint rolled his eyes.

"A compromise, we need to settle things after the movie," Steve sighed and calmly said. "Can we at least agree on that?"

"Agreed," Fury nodded.

"And you," Steve rounded on Tony.

"Yes, dad?"

"We're going to talk."

"If I don't want to or if I direct you to my lawyer?"

"There's no point, Steve." Natasha said. "Reasoning with Tony is as easy as getting your eyes clawed by a cat."

"I'm not giving up on making him see sense either."

"And here I thought we were getting along just fine," Tony crossed his arms. "Can we watch the movie now?"

Finally they resumed, but it didn't stop the tension.

"You know, I read those SSR files." Fury turned to him. "Greatest Generation? You guys did some nasty stuff."

"Yeah, we compromised." Steve stared. "Sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well, but we did it so that people could be free. This isn't freedom. This is fear."

Steve decided not to comment.

He knew full well that he had already made his point earlier on.

The conversation on the screen only made things a lot worse for their relationship as a team, and Steve knew that it wasn't going to end so soon. Nearing 18 minutes in, and it was still the short end of the stick. It wasn't going to be easier from here on then.

Fury must've felt the same way as he kept his silence.

"Shield takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be." He stepped closer to him. "And it's getting damn near past time for you to get with that program, Cap."

"Don't hold your breath."

Steve walked away from him.

Everyone in the room held their breath, unsure of how to react at that very moment. There were so many things that needed to be clarified between them, but they chose their silence.

The next scene showed Steve on his motorcycle, exiting the headquarters with his shield behind him. The next scene showed the museum.

"Welcome to the Smithsonian."

Natasha snorted.

Steve recognized the joke and chuckled.

Everyone else got wind of it and at a point, laughed. It was a good icebreaker, that's for sure, one that they were all lucky to have. The movie had its perks and it didn't stretched too wildly into an emotion.

The camera panned down to several tourists and changed to the "Captain America" department saying 'Welcome Back, Cap' and Captain America the living legend and symbol of courage. It then focused on the displays and a narrator sounded…

"A symbol to the nation." It said as it showed a painting of him saluting in his outfit with a flag behind him. "A hero to the world. The story of Captain America is one of honor, bravery, and sacrifice."

"Nearly didn't recognize you there, Cap." Tony said. "Nice disguise."

"Thanks," He sarcastically replied.

Steve walked with a blue cap on, a blue jacket and white shirt as he went around the museum. It then showed a very scrawny picture of him:

PRE-SERUM.
Weight: 95lbs.
Height: 5'4.

And another built up picture of him:

POST-SERUM.
Weight: 240lbs.
Height: 6'2.

"Denied enlistment due to poor health, Steve Rogers was chosen for a program, unique in the annals of American warfare." Children were comparing themselves to Steve and had Captain American merchandizes with them. "One that would transform him into the worlds first Super-Soldier."

"Sassy Soldier's more like it." Tony voiced.

Clint snorted as he took in a huge pile of popcorn.

"Creep kid staring at 11o'clock."

The child stared and Steve smiled at him, putting a finger to his lips in a gesture for silence, which the kid nodded in a shocked response. Steve continued to walk and reminisce, staring at the nostalgic memories the things at the museum had to offer.

"In this rare footage, everyone's favorite war hero, Captain America…"

"Battle tested and his howling commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission: taking down HYDRA, the Nazi rogue science division."

"And we're still taking them on." Bruce pointed out. "Well, you are, anyway."

"It never ends." Steve sighed.

"Hopefully it will," Hill smiled. "Soon enough."

"Not as soon as we'd hope." Natasha joined.

Steve walked away and stared at a picture of Bucky with the title: A Fallen Comrade. "Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield. Barnes is the only howling commando to give his life, in service of his country."

Steve looked, dejected.

"That was a difficult winter." Peggy carted from the recording voiced. "A blizzard had trapped half our battalion behind the German line. Steve, Captain Rogers…" Steve sat there, watching from the projector. "He fought his way through a Hydra blockade that had pinned our allies down for months. He saved over a thousand men."

Steve dropped his gaze.

"Including a man who would…"

He looked at a compass.

"Who would become my husband, as it turned out… even after he died, Steve was still changing my life."

"I think we're through the anger emotions," Bruce muttered.

Everyone could see how hard it was for Steve to try to avoid looked at the screen. It was his past, and unfortunately still his present. Things weren't going to get easy from there on. They were still 20 minutes into the movie, and they've already experienced thrill, arguments, turmoil and now the drama.

Steve wasn't sure how he'd get through this.

One thing that he did know that would come off this movie was that…

It wasn't going to get any easier.