Chapter 34 - Mission Accomplished

Soladat and Ward were in the debriefing room, arming themselves for the mission. Soladat, as usual, was armed with a sniper rifle, though she was only going to kill if necessary. On Soladat's orders, Ward was arming himself with Fitzsimmons' Night-Night Gun, a rifle designed to incapacitate targets with a paralysis-inducing neurotoxin. The two glanced at each other briefly, some tension still evident after their argument. As a sign of peace, Soladat gave Ward a friendly nod, which he returned after a moment's hesitation. Once they finished their weapons, Fitz and Simmons entered. Simmons was wearing her labcoat and goggles.

"Find out anything else?" Soladat asked her.

"Yes." Simmons said. "The man didn't explode because he was angry. It was sort of connected, but it was more of a chemical reaction that the rage had accelerated. Calming Mr. Peterson down should slow the countdown, but he will detonate in the next few hours."

"Solution?" Soladat pressed.

"Erm... Isolate him? Get him away from people?" Simmons was just asking now. Even she wasn't sure.

"Or put a bullet in his brain." Fitz added meekly. This caused Soladat's eyes to rise up a bit, and she quickly looked to Simmons for clarification."

"If he's dead, this irradiated metabolic process will stop." Simmons said. "The Extremis in his system flows as long as his circulation is running. Death is the only thing that could possibly stop it."

Soladat looked down at her rifle, and gripped it tightly in her hand. She had a contemplative look on her face, when she turned to look at the dossier of Mike that was posted in the holotable. Her expression softened when she took notice of a family picture at the bottom of the screen. It showed Peterson sitting happily with his wife and child, before the former left. They all looked so happy. Her grip on the rifle lessened, and she looked back to Fitz and Simmons with a frown.

"There needs to be a third option." Soladat said with authority. "One that doesn't involve Peterson's kid losing his father."

"Ma'am, he only has a couple of hours at most." Simmons tried to reason. "There's no way we could possibly-"

"Don't!" Soladat said, lifting up a hand to silence the British scientist. She was glaring now. "Don't ever tell me there's no way!"

The two scientists stepped back meekly, intimidated by the Archangel's outburst. Soladat sighed, stepping forward and looking Simmons in the eye. "This is on you. You said it yourself. Peterson is going to blow unless we stop it, but we're not gonna traumatize a child to do that. Not to mention he has Skye. Lives are on the line. Now, get it done. That's an order."

Simmons sighed. "Yes, ma'am."

ooooo

In the parking lot of a train station, Skye's van was parked. Inside, Skye was typing fast on her laptop as Mike sat restless nearby. His son, Ace, just sat on the floor playing with the laces on his hoodie. Skye bit her lip as she quickly brought up all files on Mike. Birth certificate, driver's liscence, social security number, S.H.I.E.L.D. dossier. Everything. Now she just had to clear it all.

Mike looked at her seriously. He was getting very restless, and it was making Skye nervous. "How long is this going to take."

"This is top speed." Skye said both carefully and stiffly. She was obviously not happy about being abducted. "Trust me. It's not like I'm deleting a facebook page. I'm bypassing the license bureau's A. E. S. Protected data stream. So chill, alright?"

"How do I know you can really do this?" Mike queried suspiciously.

Skye's typing lost its rhythm for a moment, and she looked distant. "I've done it before."

Regaining her stride in seconds, Skye typed a few more keys with confidence. To Mike's satisfaction, all of the files opened vanished, and a window with the words 'FILES DELETED' appeared on the screen.

ooooo

Fitz tapped his finger against his arms, which were crossed, impatiently as he watched the new strand of Night-Night neurotoxin test itself on the holoscreen.

"Come on." He muttered. "Give me more paralysis. Less rigor mortis! Come on!"

Simmons, who was working nearby, glanced up when she heard him speak, and bit her lip. She was splicing the necessary chemicals that made the neurotoxin, and was struggling to find the necessary splicing to verify the results Soladat wanted. Obviously the results aren't what they needed. Fitz spun around, pulling at his hair in irritation.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no."

"Fitz..."

"Please, hush, Jemma." He said gently. "Please."

"Just..." Simmons said carefully. "Just pretend that it's an exam. We're taking an exam."

"An exam." Fitz repeated, taking deep breaths. "An exam. Yes. An exam. Yes. Yeah. Okay. I don't want an F. F equals a massacre."

While Fitz was catching his breath, Simmons placed the new neurotoxin into a vial and quickly inserted it into the bio-metrics scanner. She bit her lip and crossed her fingers as she and Fitz looked at the holoscreen for results. Suddenly, the screen sizzled with static before it started buzzing, 'Security Breach' beeping across the screen repeatedly.

"No! What is this nonsense? Why are you making nonsense?!" Simmons said frantically.

"This is not me!" Fitz said. "It's noise. Someone's hacking our secure channel."

"It's Skye." The pair turned to see Soladat, who was leading Ward to the SUV parked in the Bus' hanger. "Mike has her, and she's telling us where. Keep working on that neurotoxin. We'll call you in when we're ready."

ooooo

Mike could feel a headache coming on, and Skye glanced over, eyes widening when she saw that there was an orange glow pulsing beneath his flesh. She quickly looked away and kept typing on the computer, silently urging Soladat and her team to hurry up and find her. Mike turned to Ace, and tried to soothe the agitated child.

"We're gonna bring the nice lady with us. We we we can't go to the airport, So we'll we'll take a train. And there, she'll she'll help us start over, make a new life. A better life, like I always said."

The van's occupants jumped when the door was violently ripped off its hinges and tossed back. Skye gave a relieved sigh when she saw Soladat, dressed in civilian clothes, pointing her rifle at Mike. Agent Ward was with her, pointing a pistol at the metahuman as well.

"You're under arrest, Mr. Peterson." Soladat said with a commanding tone. "Let the girl go and come quietly."

Mike instantly turned towards Skye with a snarl. "What did you do?!"

"Get out of the van, Peterson." Soladat repeated. "Now."

"Screw you!" Mike yelled, and instantly shot out of the van. Before she could even react, Soladat felt a fist strike her in the jaw and she was knocked back several feet, crashing into a parking meter. Ward attempted to open fire on Peterson, but a shove to the chest knocked him back as well.

"Mike, stop!" Skye said, but he grabbed her wrist as well as Ace's, and dragged them both out of the van and into the station, passing by a number of terrified pedestrians.

Soladat grunted as she rubbed her jaw. She looked up to see a hand offered to her, which she took. Ward pulled her up to her feet. "You okay?"

"Tell you when I see the x-rays." Soladat muttered, and quickly grabbed her rifle. "Come on!"

Skye struggled in Mike's grip, desperately trying to get loose. She hissed in slight pain when his gripped tightened, and she looked around to find some way of freeing herself. A smirk grew on her face when she spotted a small gang, thugs no doubt. As they passed them, Skye quickly kicked her foot out, nailing one guy right in the crotch. He doubled over in agony, gripping his nether regions. His gang all looked in surprise, as did Mike.

"You're right!" Skye said to Mike in fake enthusiasm. "He is a little bitch!"

This set the other thugs off immediately, and Mike was forced to release Skye to defend himself. As Skye ran off into the crowed, Mike put an arm over his son defensively, and quickly jerked his head back to avoid an incoming punch. He grabbed the thug's arm and flipped him over his shoulder, sending the man flying overhead and into a receptionist's desk. The receptionist jumped out of her chair and screamed as the desk crumbled beneath the thug, and Mike nailed another thug in the face, knocking him out instantly. He was so distracted with the thugs, that he failed to notice Ward take his son's hand and carefully lead him away from the ruckuss. Mike caught another man's fist, and twisted it around, breaking the man's arm. The man screamed in pain as Mike twisted his arm further. Mike was seething with rage, and was about to rip the man's arm out of his socket, when a paler, softer hand wrapped around his wrist. With surprising strength, the hand squeezed Mike's wrist hard enough to get him to let go, and he looked up to see Soladat, glaring at him.

"That's enough." She ordered.

Mike snarled and wrenched his hand free, sending another to strike Soladat in the face. She dodged it, and ducked low enough to deliver a punch to Mike's sternum. Mike doubled over in pain, and Soladat jumped up and nailed her elbow into the back of his head, knocking him to the ground. He started to get up, and Soladat quickly reached over and grabbed a line dividing pole and tried to smash it over the dazed man's head. the pole bent in half over his skull, but didn't even seem to phase him. Mike turned to Soladat slowly, glaring, and she started to withdraw her pistol, but he delivered an uppercut that sent her flying backwards, crashing into a pile of luggage.

People crowded around to see if she was okay, and one man bent down to help her up. "You alright, kid?"

"Yeah, yeah." Soladat said, standing up.

Mike took that moment to sneak away, but realized his son was missing. He started looking around frantically. "Ace? Ace?!"

He spun around when he heard a gun clicking, and saw Soladat pointing her pistol. "Look, the stuff inside you is unstable. If you don't calm down, its gonna kill you and everyone else in this place."

"I'm not like that other guy!" Mike said angrily.

"You're loosing control." Soladat explained. "Look around you, you beat up innocent civilians. Stop this, please."

Mike snarled, and looked around quickly, spotting Skye making it for the exit. He glanced at Soladat quickly, and then jumped in Skye's direction. Soladat quickly fired her pistol at Mike, missing each shot as he flew through the air and landed only a few feet away from Skye. Skye screamed and spun around as the ground shook, a large impression in the ground beneath Mike's feet. He grabbed her by the arm, grunting when a few gunshots from Soladat's pistol hit the door. Kicking the door down, he dragged Skye out.

ooooo

Agent May quickly pulled up in a police car, having called the cops on Soladat's orders. She got out, and prepared to page Soladat when she noticed a car nearby. Narrowing her eyes, she studied the passengers closely, and immediately recognized the woman in the passengers seat. It was the same woman whom Mike rescued from the building. She was talking to the driver, who nodded at what she said and exited the car. With a sniper rifle.

May immediately drew her gun. "Freeze!"

The man stopped and looked over at her, before taking aim and firing. May quickly ducked for cover behind the cop car, as did the cop he escorted her. The man then ran towards the train station, and when May got out of cover, he was already gone. She heard the sound of a car starting and looked to see the woman attempting to make a break for it. Narrowing her eyes, May aimed at the back tires, blowing them both out with two precise shots. The woman quickly scrambled out of the downed car, but the moment she exited it, she received a chop to the neck.

Then she passed out.

May looked down at the woman, cracking her knuckles. She looked to the cop. "Detain her."

She then left the cop and headed toward the building.

"Soladat?" She said into her walkie talkie. "Soladat do you copy?"

"What is it, Mel?"

"There's a third party here. It was the same woman from the explosion." May explained. "She had an accomplice. Tall, caucasian male. Armed with a sniper. I think he's going to try and kill Peterson."

"Stop him. We'll handle Mike."

"Affirmative."

ooooo

Soladat put away her walkie talkie and looked at Ward. "He's gonna head to the tracks. You go high, I'll stay low. Only take the shot if you have to."

Ward didn't respond. He just headed towards the upper level. Soladat glared. "Ward!"

Ward stopped, and looked back at her. "Only if I have to."

Soladat nodded, and ran after Mike.

Mike, meanwhile, pulled Skye alongside the balcony leading to the stairway that in turn led to the train tracks below. Skye pulled frantically.

"Please, Mike." She urged. "You've got to stop. These people can help you!"

Mike looked at her incredulously. "The men in suits? They're your buddies now? Where did they take my son?!"

He didn't even give Skye a chance to answer, and pulled her along again. The both ducked quickly when a gunshot rang through the air, striking the wall mere inches from Mike's head. They turned to see the man with the rifle, who took aim at the pair again.

Mike, eyes wide, quickly shoved Skye away. "Get down!"

Another gunshot rang, hitting Mike right in the shoulder. He grunted in pain, and fell back, right over the balcony. He fell two stories down, hitting the floor below. People cleared out as he struck the ground with so much force, a crater was imprinted into the ground.

The gunman smirked, and walked towards the balcony to see if his kill was a success, when out of nowhere, Agent May sprung in, striking him right in the face. He attempted to retaliate, but May jabbed him quickly in the sternum, then the throat, eliciting painful responses form the man. She flipped him over her shoulder so he fell face first onto the ground, and she kicked him right in the head. He was out instantly.

May looked down at the man indifferently, before glancing up at Skye, who was sitting against the wall, surprised and impressed.

ooooo

Mike grunted in slight pain as he pulled himself up. He looked around as the people present backed away in slight fear, both from his survival and the fact that his skin was pulsing with red Extremis power. The entire room was silent, save for a few footsteps that grew louder. Mike watched as the crowd of people parted, and Soladat emerged.

Mike's fists clenched and he got defensive, noticing the gun in Soladat's hand. She stopped five meters in front of him, wearing a look of indifference. Then, she carefully placed the gun on the floor, and kicked it away.

"You think that means anything?" Mike scoffed. He glanced up at the balcony, where Agent Ward was aiming a rifle at him. "I know you got men everywhere waiting to put me down. I know how this plays out."

"Just try to look at this from my perspective. Please." Soladat said gently. "Look around you. You're frightening all of these people. I know you have poison in your system. I know it's burning you up."

She took a step forward, stopping when Mike got defensive again, his eyes glowing red. A new look appeared on her face. Sympathy. "Mike, the last guy who wore that exploded."

"I'm not like that other guy!" Mike enforced. His voice was cracking as he started to loose track of his emotions. "I'm... It matters who I am inside, if I'm a good person, If I'm strong."

"I know." Soladat said with a gentle smile. "Believe me. I know. Your kid knows, too. But he needs you to let us help."

"You took him!" Mike said, angry and upset. "You took my wife, my job, my house!"

Soladat's face fell with sadness and pity. She didn't turn as Skye and May ran up alongside her, and they all watched as Mike pulled the sleeve of his jacket back, revealing the Centipede implant. "You think this is killing me? All over there's people being pushed down, being robbed. One of them tries to stand up, you got to make an example out of him."

"If you bring this building down on us, will that help them?" Soladat said challengingly.

"That's a lie!" Mike roared, his body pulsing with a fiery glow. "All you people ever do is lie!"

He spun around, lashing his fist out of a pedestal that was mounting a welcome sign leading inside the train station. It crumbled, and the sign fell with it. Skye flinched, and Mike looked at the three women with a fierce glare.

"You said if we worked hard, if we did right, we'd have a place."

"And you can." Soladat promised.

"And how do you know?!" Mike said. "You're with them! Liars, killers. All of you! How could you possibly know?"

Soladat didn't say anything, and sighed, looking down. Mike frowned in confusion, only to back away in surprise as the back of Soladat's shirt rided up. May and Skye backed away, Skye wide eyed as a pair of large, metallic wings unfolded, spreading out for the whole world to see. There were gasps and murmurs in the crowd, but Soladat paid them no mind. Mike finally recognized her face.

"You... You're..."

"I know who I am." Soladat said. "And I know, god believe me, I know, what you're getting at. We're outsiders, granted gifts we either resent or cherish. I've worked hard. I've gotten my life back, or at least some of it. There's some things I'll never get back, but I've lived past it, and lived new. I've seen things. There's gods. Giants. Then there's normal people. The ones they step on. I've grown close to people, who've had the privilege of meeting those gods. And that has cost them a lot. More than needed. But the good ones, they're the real deal. They... We, are not heroes because of what we have that they don't. It's what we do with it. So, you're right, Mike. It matters who you are."

Mike was looking down in shame now, tears falling from his face. The fiery glow was dimming, but was still there. "I could, you know? Be a hero."

Soladat smiled, and reached forward, taking Mike's hand in hers. She gripped it gently. "I'm counting on it."

Mike cracked a small smile as well. Then, a gunshot rang through the air, and Mike's head jerked back violently before he fell back on the ground. Skye gasped, and rushed forward instantly. Soladat looked down with wide eyes, and she and May looked up quickly in Ward's direction. Standing next to him was Fitz, and seemingly out of nowhere, Simmons had appeared near Skye, looking over Mike. Instead of a bullet wound, there was a blue material plastered on his forehead where the gunshot hit. The Night-Night neurotoxin. Simmons checked his pulse. He was still alive.

Skye breathed a sigh of relief, and Soladat smiled up at Ward and Fitz. Ward smirked at her, and Fitz gave her a thumbs up as police swarmed in. Soladat sighed internally.

Mission accomplished.

ooooo

Director Fury smiled as Soladat gave her debriefing for the mission. In his desk at the Triskelion, he looked at Soladat through the video chat screen.

"Mr. Peterson is making a slow recovery." Soladat explained. "But he should come out alright. He's gonna have to endure some proper training to get that strength under control."

"And the Extremis?" Fury asked.

"That neurotoxin that Fitzsimmons whipped up seemed to neutralize the explosive effects of the serum. We're not totally sure how, but we're looking into it."

"You did good Soladat." Fury said. "The man almost blew, and hundreds of people almost died."

Soladat smiled. "It was nothing. We still haven't gotten much intel on this Centipede group. The assailant who was with the assassin, the woman? We've found a name. She's Dr. Deborah Lucio, a geneticist who went off the grid several months ago. We sent her to the Cube for interrogation, see what else she knows."

"Good." Fury said. "Keep me posted on that."

"Will do." Soladat nodded.

"Now, about the girl..."

"She's smart." Soladat said. "Her hacking skills are superb, something we could use. With your permission, Nick, I'd like to take her on as a consultant."

Fury gave a heavy sigh. "Normally I wouldn't authorize you to make a request like that, Archangel. But, I suppose given the success of the mission, I'll allow it."

"That's good." Soladat said with a smirk. "Cuz I probably would have gone through with it anyway."

Fury smiled. "Right. Well, that's all, Soladat. I've already posted another mission for you. We've discovered an 0-8-4 in Peru. I'm sending you the coordinates now."

"Got it." Soladat said. "Later, Nick."

"Good luck, Wrekk." Fury said, and the transmission was cut. Fury sighed, and turned his chair around to look out at the Patomic River. He was about to page in Agent Tremel for some coffee, when he got another call. Frowning, he pulled up the communication, and a disseveled looking agent came up.

"Yes? What is-"

"Director Fury," the man said frantically. "Emil Blonsky is missing. He's escaped, sir."

ooooo

Seattle, Washington

Given everything that he had been through for the past few years, Bruce wouldn't even think of risking exposing himself in public. Not after the accident, Ross, and Harlem. But S.H.I.E.L.D. had promised him cover, and he got it. He could enjoy freedom, something he was deprived of while on the run. Currently, he was sitting in a diner in Seattle, crammed in a booth. Seated across from him was a young woman, perhaps in her mid-twenties. She had brown hair tied back into a ponytail, and was wearing a simple outfit consisting of a gray jacket, brown skirt, as well as glasses.

Jennifer Walters was Bruce's younger cousin, and the only family that Bruce had that he really bothered to stay in touch with. The two were closer than cousins, more like siblings. She was currently enrolled in law school, garnering for a degree at the top of her class.

She gave her cousin a smile. "You know, Brucie, when you called saying that you wanted to catch up, I almost didn't believe it. It's been years hasn't it?"

Bruce let off a chuckle. "Three years, seven months. I've been busy."

"Obviously." Jennifer said back with a smile. "How have you been Bruce? Last time we talked, you were still a grad student at Culver. Are you still dating that one girl? What was her name... Betty?"

Bruce's smile faltered. "Betty and I... well, we decided things weren't working out. Too many personal issues between us."

Jennifer's face fell, and became more sympathetic. "I'm sorry, Bruce. You two seemed pretty close."

"It's not all bad." Bruce said reassuringly. "We still talk. I visited her a few months ago. She had a nice family cabin in the Rockies."

"That's good. Friendship is always nice." Jennifer said.

"So what about you?" Bruce asked. "You still trying to become a lawyer?"

"Yup." Jennifer said proudly. "All on my own. Took some time, but it's going great. I'll most likely get my degree next year."

"Great. I wish you luck." Bruce said. His face then turned soft. "It's really good to see you again, Jen. Things have been hard. Given all that I've been through, it's just nice to see an old face."

Jennifer frowned at that. "What do you mean? Has something happened?"

Bruce shook his head. "No. It's just that-"

Bruce was interrupted when a ringing came from his pocket. He sighed, taking out his phone. He looked at Jennifer apologetically, but she just smiled back, not minding at all. Nodding in gratitude, Bruce took out his phone. He frowned when it said unknown number, and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Banner."

Bruce froze. He recognized that voice. A Russian accented baritone, with cracked tone that beared evidence of past injury. Instantly, images of Harlem went through his head.

"... Blonsky?"

"Ah, so it is you. I was afraid I may have been given the wrong number. I couldn't tell if it was you at first. It has been quite some time since we've talked."

Bruce's lips thinned, and he barely contained his growl. Despite the seemingly docile tone, Bruce could sense the utter contempt Blonsky held for him.

"Ross put you away." Bruce said, ignoring the confused looks that Jennifer was sending him from across the table. "How did you get access to a phone?"

"Ah, yes. That. Hehe, sorry, Banner. Had to split. I hate small confined spaces. Not enough room to let off some steam when need be. Sound familiar?"

"Where are you?" Bruce interrogated.

"Oh, I'm around. I'm actually on my way to Seattle right now. Thought I'd pay you a visit."

"How do you know where I-"

"Oh, a little birdy told me. She knew quite a lot."

"Who?"

"No idea. But she certainly seemed to have it in for you. She knew I shared similar sentiments, and thought I could fix both of our issues."

Bruce glared. "You don't have the serum anymore, Blonsky. S.H.I.E.L.D. pumped you dry. I know. I helped them."

ooooo

Farther away, in the slums of Seattle, Blonsky, wearing a jacket and baseball cap, stood near an alleyway, talking into a phone booth. He grinned, staring up at the Space Needle that was looming in the distance. He gave a chuckle, which quickly turned into a pained cough.

Once he cleared his throat, Blonsky spoke. "Funny you should mention that. The scientists kept some of Sterns' rage juice around, doing some experiments on it and what not. One of them was mixed with some of Captain America's blood. Stupid assholes just left it lying around in a syringe. So, I pumped the whole thing into my arm."

There was silence on the other end, and Blonsky's grin grew, picturing the look of fear on Banner's face.

"Why would you do that?"

"Well," Blonsky started. "the way I rationalized it was that turning myself into the monster again would give me a chance to catch up on what I've missed out on. Take a walk through Seattle, see the sights. Work things out with the little runt who had me thrown away like yesterday's trash!"

Blosnky yelled that last part, and the moment he did, his heart started beating and an intense pain coursed through his body as he fell to his knees. Grunting, he let off a weak chuckle as he spoke again into the phone.

"But the honest-to-God truth of the matter... is that I just missed being big. Hahahaha..."

As Blonsky laughed, he slowly fell into a heap on the sidewalk, falling unconscious in seconds.

"Blonsky? Blonsky!" Bruce's voice yelled from the phone.

Moments later, civilians started crowding around Blonsky's prone form, a woman yelling for someone to call an ambulance.

Happy new year, everyone. My how long it's been. Not exactly a satisfying chapter in my opinion, but I'm just happy to be posting again. Next up, the Abomination returns, and S.H.I.E.L.D. will have to call in some of the few heavyhitters they have at their disposal. Who? Well, we'll just see.

Tibrical Tibby: I'm very happy to hear that Carrie will be making a return in Winter Soldier, I really hope it's not just a cameo. Keep up the great work. I honestly think I like your universe better then the cannon.

I can assure you that it will NOT be a cameo. And thanks. Glad you like it.

BethylOTPs: hey this just occurred to me but are your Kirby and dany phantom dossiers going to tie in with the avengers:age of ultron sequel you will undoubtedly write? Cause that would be awesome. And as soon as I realized you had a protean in the story I swear my neighbors heard me scream, I LOVE mass effect! The whole asguardians are super humans made by the protheians was unexpected but you managed to pull it off nicely.

Thanks :) that's very nice of you. And I happen to have an answer to each of your questions. Yes, Kirby and Danny will tie in to United They Stand. Danny will come in during the Winter Soldier arc. Role anonymous. People have really been wanting to see Kirby in UTS since his appearance in the Dossier fic, which got surprisingly good positive feedback, but the order of his appearance is left to be seen.

Duh. Of course I'll do Age of Ultron. Pretty sure it would be sinful not to. I actually have a huge idea on what to do with that piece, but to relay it all to you would be giving much away.

Mass Effect is fantastic. Protheans, Reapers. You've already seen them clash in Thordis: The Dark World, assuming you've read it. If so, I'm sorry if I spoiled anything.

I am Miranda: Who is Madison Harper?

She is a female character who is featured in this story. Lol. That's all I can give you right now.

Anyways, thanks for reading. Review if possible, and enjoy life :)