Twenty minutes later the jet touched down on the Tarmac outside of the Triskellion and Oliver was escorted off the plane by Nat and Clint helped Ethan limp down the ramp. The moment Ethan looked out across the Tarmac he groaned. Normally he would have been amazed by the building and the scale of the place. The Triskellion was the biggest building in DC and could be seen from anywhere in the city. However today all he could do was groan when the bane of his life was standing ten feet away.
It was dusk outside so Ethan could only dimly seen as he was half led half carried across the Tarmac.
Dr Hope was waiting for him with a two man medical team who had a gurney between them. Ethan also noticed six armed guards in small groups, all trying to look like they weren't watching Ethan. So Fury didn't trust him, what a surprise.
Clint helped Ethan limp over to the gurney which Ethan hopped up onto. "Good to see you again ma'am" Ethan said slightly sarcastically.
In return she prodded the bullet wound on his back causing him to gasp in pain and smirked. "I'm impressed, it's been almost three weeks since you've been in medical. Are you making up for it by giving me some fun extra paper work?"
"You know I've always got you in mind."
"Mmmmhh, now get him up to the infirmary before he gets anymore blood on the Tarmac, oh and bring the boy up too. I need to check him over."
One of the medics pushed Ethan down onto the bed and pushed him inside at top speed. Ethan swore that they were trying to kill him before he got to medical with how fast they were getting him up there. Maybe they just really didn't want to piss of Dr Hope.
Ethan's vision was going a bit fuzzy again as he was pushed through the building so he didn't really see much of the inside of the Triskellion until he was lifted onto a bed in an infirmary. The room was massive, with machines all around Ethan. He was in there on his own and was left alone for a moment before a nurse came in and smiled at him but she was pushed out of the room when Dr Hope suddenly appeared behind her.
Ethan was shocked to see that Amy walked in behind her pulling in Oliver by the hand but beamed when he saw her even though it hurt to smile. Hope shut the door firmly behind them and Amy rushed to his side and kissed him. Oliver stood awkwardly in the corner.
Ethan beckoned for Oliver to come over and he walked to the side of the bed. "Oliver Hunt, this is Amy Waters. The woman I love more than anything else in this world. Amy Waters meet Oliver, recent immigrant from Germany and a little superhero. Oh and that's Docter Hope, Great doctor and possible Nazi sympathiser." Oliver gave a little smile but blushed which caused Amy to laugh.
"Yes, enough of your lip young man. We have serious things to discuss." Hope said barely even scowling. Something was very wrong. She walked over to Ethan and started checking his wrist.
"You might as well tell them both. It affects them equally." Amy said looking worried.
"I've been ordered to collect a full set of blood and fluid samples. I'm to do a full bank of tests. They're the initial process for the Index!" Hope said almost looking panicked. Ethan could feel her hands shake slightly as she wrapped a cast around his arm.
"Fury really doesn't trust you right now. You must have seen the guards downstairs, at least they were trying to be discrete but I've been completely locked out even though I would normally be called in to do the psych eval. They're getting in a man called Andrew Garner. He's the best, I studied under him but he is ruthless. He will know every true meaning or every hidden truth. They want him to find out if you are a threat in any way and Fury doesn't like threats" Amy looked scared and she was right to be, she was close to losing him, maybe forever. Ethan felt anger racing through him. Fury feared him. This new power he had, but he also wanted to control Ethan. That was what these tests where for, that was why Fury brought them to DC. He wanted Ethan contained and vulnerable.
Suddenly to the side of them a cabinet exploded and glass shattered everywhere. Ethan covered his face and fell small piece of glass hit his arm. Hope and Amy both ducked backwards and avoided the shards.
Ethan watched as Oliver slumped back in the corner, his eyes wide. He was looking at the cabinet which looked like someone had hit it with a sledgehammer. "That was me. I felt it. I was scared and it felt like electricity ran along my arms and then it exploded." He looked at Ethan with fear in his eyes "Maybe I am a threat."
Ethan looked into the little boys eyes and felt the anger inside of him pick up a new level. Fury was pushing new lows. He wanted Oliver assessed to see how valuable he could be in the future. Ethan had to end this, now.
Ethan swung out of bed and knelt down on one knee in front of the small boy. "Oliver. Listen to me, you are not a threat. You just a kid and I'm going to make sure nothing bad happens to you. You were given power, now it's up to you how to use that power."
Oliver gave a small nod which made Ethan smile. He looked shattered and closed his eyes as Ethan stood up.
"Find him a bed would you. I'm going to go speak to Fury." Ethan tried to make it to the door before gasping and almost falling over. He had almost completely run out of energy and was running on empty with pain aching all over his body. He curved over grabbing his chest as he coughed coarsely.
"Oh no no no. You aren't going anywhere. You nearly killed yourself just getting out off bed." Hope said pushing him until he was lying down again. "You'll be fine but right now you need to sleep. Now do I need to give you a shot or will you be a good boy and listen to me."
Ethan rolled his eyes but nodded. Hope did her fakest smile and said "Excellent. Let me know when your awake although something will probably explode around here before then anyway."
Amy was standing on the other side of his bed and rested a hand on his arm. "I'm going to stay here and keep an eye on you two. Just get some sleep. I love you Ethan."
Ethan felt a sting as Dr Hope pushed a needle into his arm. Ethan groaned as he felt tiredness wash over him. "I thought you weren't gonna stab me!" Ethan managed to say before passing out in his bed.
Ethan woke out of bed with a start. His bed was surrounded by people and his heart started racing as fighting instincts started. All the people around him were wearing combat fatigues. Ethan did a quick head count and counted five men and Ethan acted fast jumping out of bed and spinning over the head of the line of soldiers.
Two of them tried to grab at him but Ethan dodged them and smashed their heads together, knocking them both out. Two more tried to grab him but Ethan swept the first's legs out and jump kicked the second one in the chest causing him to fall back. All the men were groaning on the floor as the fifth man sighed and stepped forward raising his fists into a boxer stance.
The man struck out at Ethan with lightning speed and Ethan managed to block him, pulling his arm in and rolling with the punch to hit the guy in the face with his elbow, knocking him back but he just shook his head slightly and swung back at Ethan. He could hear people running outside and knew that he had to move or risk being surrounded.
The big soldier tried to rush him again, punching lightning fast at Ethan but Ethan was faster. He felt the energy in him again, it had recovered somewhat during his sleep and he used it. Ethan blasted the man with two beams of energy from his hands. He tried to hold back and hoped that he had because the man was thrown backwards but he didn't have a hole in his chest which he felt like he could've caused.
Ethan turned and ran out of the room. He still was wearing the same civilian clothes that he had fallen asleep in which were covered in blood but he didn't let that slow him down.
Ethan made it out into the hall before he was cornered again. There were soldiers everywhere, something serious must have happened if Fury was letting US army men on site. The were at least twenty of them waiting for him in the corridor and all of them had their weapons primed and pointing at him.
Ethan didn't waste time as two tranq darts sailed towards him. He had only just spun out of the way in time, reacting faster than he through the he could and the confusion on the soldier's face just made him smile. Ethan slammed his palm into the soldiers jaw. They weren't wearing body amour, just light Kevlar plates. They mustn't be expecting a firefight so Ethan gave them a brutal beating.
Ethan moved through the group like a tiny demon, incapacitating the soldiers in quick secession. Ethan had just knocked down the eighth soldier, knocking him out with a punch that had probably broken his cheek and had grabbed another in a choke hold when a loud voice came from behind a group of guards.
"Stop this. All men stand down." A grey haired man wearing combat fatigues walked out from behind the line of retreated soldiers. He was a short man with large round glasses on but still had a powerful build. He raised his hands slightly in a slight act to show he wasn't armed. "Now son, would you put private Jenson down. He seems to be turning slightly blue."
Ethan dropped the man who spluttered on the floor but still remained ready as the man, a general by the sigil on his shoulder, nodded to two soldiers who approached Ethan. The second one of them reached behind his belt and pulled out a pair of cuffs Ethan struck out.
He grabbed the offending man's wrist and twisted it until it snapped with a loud crunch and kneed him in the kidneys. Ethan grabbed the second man's gun and smashed it into his face causing him to topple over before levelling it back at the general. All of the soldiers around Ethan tensed but the general just smiled slightly.
"Ok then, no cuffs. I just want to talk. Maybe we should just do this somewhere else. If you would step this way Ethan." The General moved aside and motioned to the elevator. Ethan didn't like that he knew his name, which must be so deep in a classified file the President would have trouble getting it.
"I don't have a choice do I?" Ethan said trying to detect any deception in the General's face but he couldn't see any. He didn't move the gun an inch though.
"Not unless you want to fight your way through thirty more soldiers, which I have no doubt you could but then it would be inconvenient for me as I would have to declare you an enemy of the state." The General said with a slight smile.
Ethan relaxed and let his gun drop. He started walking to the elevator as he heard the General say "Excellent." A few steps from the elevator Ethan through the gun at a soldier who looked particularly nervous and said "You know those adverts which say 'Join the army, you'll learn useful skills'. Well I hope that you at least learnt how it feels to have your asses handed to you."
Ethan saw the General smirk as he got into the elevator next to Ethan flanked by four huge men. Ethan leant against the wall but was still visibly tensed, ready to strike if he needed to.
"I think you should trust me. I'm not here to arrest you or have you killed." The General said slightly patronisingly. "It was remarkable though, watching you tear through some of the best soldiers I have to offer, and to think you are only a year older than my son."
Ethan tilted his head slightly, "Well I doubt your son has quite had the upbringing I had. Mine had more knives and guns than school books."
"So I've heard, though it has been hard trying to piece together your history. It's still full of holes in my file on you. As to my son, it's all a father can hope for to keep his son safe. Isn't it." The General said, completely poker facing Ethan.
"Well I just killed my father for the second time in as many months. But you already knew that, which is why you were testing me and trying to push me into giving you information. Now, you have ten seconds to tell me who you are, why you're here and to give me an excuse not to kill you or your son is going to have to find out what it feels like to see his father dead." Ethan saw all four soldiers tense at his threat but the General stayed remarkably calm. Maybe he just wasn't used to being threatened by five foot six pseudo- ninjas.
"Ha. You complain about me trying to get info out of me and then you try the same thing. Well well, you really are the best aren't you."
"Seven seconds left." Ethan said through gritted teeth. He was getting annoyed now, this man was toying with him and Ethan didn't have time for it. He just needed answers.
"My Name is General Stanley Ferrister. You probably haven't heard of me, I head the US army Black Ops devision which, naturally, don't exist. Which means my job doesn't exist. As to why I'm here, well that would be easier to show you." The General said as the elevator dinged.
The doors opened onto the floor with Fury's office on it. Ethan followed Ferrister and his goons along the corridor until they reached the door to Fury's office. Nat stood sentry to the door and Ethan broke off from the group. He looked at Nat, she looked scared. Nat was never scared.
"Nat, where's Amy and Oliver. Are they ok?" Ethan said quickly and quietly. Ferrister looked impatient waiting at the door to the office.
"It's fine, Amy took him back to Steve's. We're all setup in the city now. The whole team has been relocated." Nat said quickly before Ethan turned back to the door but Nat caught his arm. "Ethan whatever happens in there. Remember, you are the closest thing I've had to a brother and I love you for that and won't ever stop believing in you."
Ethan nodded, confused now before Nat let him go and pushed him back towards Fury's office. What was going on, why did Nat seem to think she had lost him. Ethan walked into the office. He saw a clock on the wall that said eleven o'clock which was why it was pitch black outside. Fury was sitting at his desk while Maria Hill stood behind him. Something was playing on the screen infront of Fury but he had it muted.
Ethan walked across the room and dropped into a chair opposite Fury's desk.
"So anyone want to explain what's going on because, don't take this the wrong way general, but I don't appreciate being woken up by thirty soldiers." Ethan said sarcastically.
"Yes, that was unfortunate. I thought you would have known about what happened but apparently not. Nicholas, would you care to explain." Ferrister said politely.
In response Fury swiped his screen and the video he had been watching appeared on the wall. "Play it from the beginning." He said plainly.
Ethan watched the screen as a news clip played. "Yes, it has been confirmed. This package was delivered to all major new stations. This is breaking news about the truth behind the Avenger Triton." The camera cut away and showed a picture of him fighting in New York. Suddenly Ethan let out a sigh as the picture changed to the one his father had taken inside his base. His nose was bleeding and he had a huge bruise covering half his face. "Along with that picture was an information package. Triton's real name is Ethan Jacobs and he is an agent for SHIELD but the most shocking piece of information is that he is only sixteen years old. This is dire news for our government because under UN charter he could be considered a child soldier which is against international law. SHIELD has so far refused to comment. We will keep you informed on the latest information." Fury paused the video.
Ethan leaned back in his chair and sighed. "My loving father, still screwing with my life even after I killed him... Again. At least this explains why you didn't rush to my bedside Fury, I know how sentimental you are." Ethan was still guessing that Ferrister didn't know about his powers.
Fury opened his mouth to speak but Ferrister cut across him. "I know that this is not how you would have wished the world to find out about you Ethan but it is good it did. The President will officially deny he knew anything about you but his private view is that you've done enough. He wants this swept under a rug and you to be quietly looked after provided you stay in contact with me. You still are a child and the American government is offering you a full payment package as well as free schooling to any school and college. In other words, you have an out. Something not offered to many people in our world."
Ethan looked back at Fury who remained passive and Hill wasn't giving anything away either before he turned back to Ferrister and said, "No."
Ferrister seemed to double take and Ethan heard a slight shift behind him. Fury had just let his breath out, he had been holding it in till now. Ferrister smiled slightly. "I'm not sure you heard me quite correctly. This wasn't a request. You either take my deal or we will take steps to distance our government from you. And that means you will be branded an enemy and will be eliminated. What can SHIELD offer you? This is an order that you will follow."
Ethan felt anger rush through him. He was being threatened and he didn't like it but he didn't let it show. He just grinned slightly and made a snap decision. A few hours ago he could have killed Fury if it meant that he and Oliver would be free but now everything had changed. "No General, I don't think you heard me. I said no. I am a SHIELD agent which means you can't order me to do anything. And if you think for a second that you can somehow take my life away from me you can go fuck yourself." Ethan said with deadly calm in his voice.
Ethan saw Ferrister's face strain and contort in anger. "Now you listen to me. You are just a boy who has been through a lot and it's time to end. You'll be coming with me." Ferrister reached out and grabbed Ethan's arm. Ethan reacted with lightning speed and grabbed his wrist, snapping it in his hand causing Ferrister to scream out. The soldiers behind him launched themselves at Ethan but Fury had stood up and shouted.
"General Ferrster. It's time for you to leave unless you want to assault more of my Agents and face the consequences." Fury sounded scary when he was yelling which stopped all the soldiers in their tracks.
Ferrister cradled his hand and shot evil eyes at Fury. "This isn't over Fury. I will see you burn for this." Ferrister stormed out of the office and Fury slumped back down into his chair and Ethan sat opposite him.
The second the door closed behind the General Fury thumbed his earpiece and said "Romanov, see the general out and make sure he doesn't linger to long."
"Sir is it wise just to let him go? He won't forget this." Hill said curtly.
"Oh I think he learnt his lesson. Though I do wonder what will stop him from coming after Jacobs." Fury said watching Ethan intently.
Ethan rolled his eyes. "Don't think I don't know that you know what I'm going to say."
"I know what you will say, I just don't know why." Fury said leaning back in his chair.
Ethan stood up and looked at the photo of him from the news that was still frozen on the screen. "Seeing my father again and having that little incident with the army. It made me think about where I belong. You see, my dad told me that I belonged with him and that I was a failure but here, I'm not a failure. Here I can do some good and it was here that I found a proper family. When I got back from my mission. Amy and Dr Hope told me that you didn't trust me, that you were going to put me on the Index and then you would abandon me. But then I remembered the first thing I heard about you. It was from Clint and he said that he trusted you do always do the right thing. That's why I'm still here. I believe in SHIELD like I didn't before. I trust it now, trust that we will always fight for what's right and that means that I trust you Fury."
Ethan turned back to look at Fury who had stood up from behind his desk. "It means a lot to me to hear that Jacobs. Your belief in this organisation... In me, is humbling. I was wrong not to trust you before, not to believe that you would use your new power for good. But you do know there is only one way to keep the US off your back and that's to make you SHIELD's problem. And there's only one way to do that."
Ethan sighed and said "I know. Putting me on the Index will make sure that the US can't come after me because I'm SHIELD's person to watch. The only problem I have is that I'm not the only person who will have to go on there. I've seen what Oliver can do, and he is dangerous which is why I am asking nicely to be the person who 'watches' him."
"Done ,as long as he agrees and pending his psych eval. If he's to dangerous to keep in public he will have to be hidden away. It's a big responsibility for you though. The kid's nine, maybe ten and you'll be the closest thing he has to a parent or family. We have other agents, desk jockeys or pen pushers who could watch him who already have families and settled lives. They might be better at looking after him." Fury said calmly.
Ethan shook his head. He knew that Fury was only being reasonable. He was only a sixteen year old boy. "No. With what we went through together, I'm closer to Oliver than anyone else could be. He's my responsibility now, I'll look after him."
Fury gave him a long look. Ethan felt like he was being x-rayed but he held his ground. After a long pause Fury said "OK. Just bring him back in tomorrow so we can have him accessed. Though Ethan, if he shows anyone his powers we have no choice but to take him to the Fridge until he can control them."
"I know that but it will be ok. Just trust me about this." Ethan said as he walked out of the room.
As the door shut behind him Ethan strained to hear "You're putting a lot of trust in him."
"I know, but I do actually trust him. Enough that one day everyone around here might be calling him sir."