Today's a day where I really wish I could be with my family. Well, the ones I like anyway...

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

Desperation is a marvelous thing. It can cause people to do things they never would bring themselves to otherwise, like order a biological attack on a group of superheroes. That was guaranteed to work out well.

Adoniram had been introduced to Maurita Sharpton by his close personal advisor, Congressman Eduardo Salinas. Sharpton was deeply mourning the loss of her daughter during the Battle of New York, so she was easily corrupted and converted into a member of the Peoples Unity Church. Adoniram considered such a conversion a win, especially considering her high position within the Roxxon Corporation's conglomeration. Not only did it give them access to Roxxon's assets, but it also added to their clout.

The best people to recruit – in Adoniram's opinion – were those who had already made a name for themselves; titans of industry, celebrities, and people who were just successful in general. Often the general public worked as a hive mind. If someone famous or successful joined the Church, they would see an uptick in recruitment numbers, either because their fans and followers were feeble-minded people who just blindly followed the leader, or because they thought that the Peoples Unity Church would cause them to be successful as well. It didn't matter which they thought to Adoniram, if the Church could sink its teeth into them before their delusions faded. Once their minds were corrupted, it would be next to impossible to leave. (That was, you know, unless he failed to produce results again.)

This tactic made it easy to see why Freeman would suggest recruiting the Avengers. After all, he'd seen the power of celebrity work before. If they got the Avengers to joint the Peoples Unity Church, they would certainly see an uptick in recruitment like they had never seen before. However, it couldn't be done. Adoniram had already painted the Avengers in a villainous light to his already established followers. If he were to do a one-eighty and recruit the Avengers into the Church, then he would be risking losing the established group. Although his brainwashing techniques were thorough and intense, Adoniram wasn't arrogant enough to think it was perfect. It could and had been broken in the past – hence why he always said, "next to impossible." The previous mass exoduses were only proof of that. He didn't want to risk losing any more followers. After all, he needed as many people as possible for what he had planned.

Speaking of what he had planned, that was another reason why he couldn't recruit the Avengers; they would most certainly try to put a stop to it. He just knew none of them would be able to morally stand for it – no matter how much brainwashing he subjected them to – so they had to be eliminated. That was why he ordered Sharpton to send the virus to Avengers Tower. He wanted them out of the way ASAP.

However, it ended up not working. Although the news had reported that the Avenger dubbed "Hawkeye" was successfully infected with the virus and had come close to death, he was now apparently recovering. Thankfully, Sharpton had taken the blame as planned and there was nothing to connect the plot back to him or the Church. That was all fine and good except for the fact that it put a minor hitch in his plans.

Adoniram originally planned to use the virus for another purpose, but after hearing the reports of how it had affected the Avengers, he realized it wasn't going to work. He had expected the Black Widow, Captain America, and maybe Dr. Banner to walk away unscathed, but he hadn't expected Stark and Hawkeye – the two most human members of the group – to survive. This showed him that the virus wasn't nearly as deadly as Sharpton had claimed and with the woman in prison, he couldn't exactly force her to fix it. So, he was going to be forced to figure something else out.

That's what he was doing when he touched the shard. He had Marx show him all the information that was archived on different poisons and diseases. Most of it was alien, however there were some information on Terran poisons. Apparently, most humanoid creatures were vulnerable to nerve agents such as Sarin and VX. They had different names depending on what part of the galaxy you were in, but they still had the same composition and were just as deadly. The only way a person could be exposed to the gasses and still survive without permanent damage was if the person was enhanced and they were only exposed for a short amount of time, which Adoniram had found interesting.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Husband, are you decent?"

Adoniram pulled his hand away from the shard a little too fast. As a result, he was momentarily blinded, and his head felt like it was spinning. Shutting his eyes and shaking his head usually fixed it, but this time it took a little longer than normal. By the time his vision came back to him, Margot was calling for him again, her voice growing slightly concerned. Adoniram shut the shard's case and went to get the door.

"Hello, wife," he said. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"It is no problem, husband," she said. "You could never keep me waiting."

"As it should be," Adoniram said. "Now, why have you summoned me, dear wife?" Margot's lips twitched upwards at the term of endearment.

"Brother Eduardo and Brother Duane are here to see you, husband," she reported.

"Did you tell them that I'm seeking council with the Supreme Understanding?" Adoniram asked.

"Yes," Margot responded. "But they said the matter was urgent." Adoniram sighed.

"The Supreme Understanding is nothing if not compassionate," he said. "I can put my conversation on hold for now. Tell them to come in." Margot nodded.

"Right away, husband." She patted his cheek before retreating into the den.

Adoniram moved to sit in the armchair he usually sat in when there were meetings in his study. Salinas and Freeman arrived rather quickly, with Salinas careful to shut the door behind him. When he turned around, anger clearly marred his face.

"Where have you been?" Adoniram's mouth quickly dropped open, aghast.

"Excuse me?"

"You know what I mean," Salinas said. "Utter bedlam has been breaking over the past day and where have you been?"

"I was communicating with the Supreme Understanding," Adoniram said. "I do not need to defend myself to you."

"Sure, you don't," Salinas said. "It's not as if your plan completely failed."

"In what way?" Salinas' jaw almost completely dropped.

"The Avengers are still alive," he said. "The virus didn't kill them, like we had hoped! They are still a threat to us!"

"What?!" The exclamation flew right out of Freeman's mouth. "What the… Does this… You're the ones who sent the virus to the Avengers?" His eyes darted between Salinas and Adoniram. Salinas was completely unphased.

"Oh, yes," Salinas said. "We launched a retaliatory attack against the Avengers. We didn't tell you because we needed you to act authentic in front of the authorities."

"What the…" Freeman stammered. "Why the… That was so dangerous! I could have been exposed!"

"A shame," Adoniram heard Salinas mutter under his breath. Adoniram glared at him. Now they had a third accomplice to worry about.

"That explains why you wouldn't stop texting me, trying to find out the Avengers' conditions." The look of sudden realization was quickly replaced on Freeman's face with a look of sour confusion. "Wait, what do you mean 'retaliation?' What did the Avengers even do in the first place?"

"The unthinkable," Salinas said. "Tony Stark tried to kill me." Shock spread across Freeman's face.

"What?" he gasped out, astonished. "When? How?"

"Last week," Salinas said. "While Stark was in my house, he and possibly my maid attempted to poison me with the venom of a rare species of jellyfish."

"How do you know that?" Freeman asked.

"I found the box that once contained the venom on the steps to my basement," Salinas explained. "Luckily I caught it before I could eat or drink anything in that house. I'm even having the hot water heater replaced, just in case."

"When did you find out about this?" Freeman asked. "Was it while the RCMP was searching for Stark?"

"It was before I even called to tell you he was missing." Freeman brought his hands up to the top of his bald head.

"What?" he exclaimed. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I had to be certain that you weren't somehow involved in planning the attack, Brother Duane." Salinas' voice took on a dark quality. "Now, were you?" Freeman's face scrunched in disgust.

"Absolutely not," he firmly denied. "I didn't even know Stark was planning something like that! I thought he was actually drunk!"

"So, did I," Salinas said. Freeman turned his gaze to Adoniram.

"You knew about this?" he asked. "You ordered it?" Adoniram sighed.

"It's not like I had much of a choice," he explained. "The Avengers twisted my hand. They attacked first. I can't let something like that go. So, yes, I had Brother Eduardo put the order for the attack forward."

"My God…"

"Excuse me?" Guilt flashed across Freeman's face.

"My apologies, Brother Daniel," he said. "But you have to understand that what I just learned is quite shocking."

"That still does not excuse the blasphemy," Adoniram said, his voice still booming.

"You're right." Freeman bowed. "I am truly sorry, Brother Daniel." Adoniram was silent for a moment as he analyzed the apology. Unfortunately, he found that in this situation, he would have to allow it.

"You are forgiven," he said begrudgingly. "Just don't let it happen again." Freeman straightened up and nodded.

"Yes, Brother," he said. "I won't." Adoniram took a deep breath as he formulated what he wanted to say next.

"Now listen," he said. "I know this comes as a shock to you, but the Avengers are not good people. They want this organization and movement to die. That's why Stark won't let us practice in his building and why they tried to kill Brother Eduardo. I know you might have grown fond of the Avengers by working at Stark Industries, but you need to understand that they cannot be trusted. I'm sure that if Stark found out that you were affiliated with the Church, he would have you fired immediately." Freeman frowned.

"Um, you remember that I resigned right?" Adoniram's brow knitted in confusion.

"What?"

"Yeah," Freeman said. "It was in that speech Salinas sent me." Adoniram sent a sharp, side-eyed glare to the other man who didn't look guilty in the slightest. His gaze went back to Freeman as he continued. "Although, Miss Potts refused to accept my resignation and fired me herself." That revelation caused Adoniram's eyebrows to raise up.

"Really," he said. "What was the stated reason?"

"Attempting to slander my employer while still under contract and gross negligence," Freeman said. "The former was for reading Salinas' statement in front of the press, and the latter was for 'not acting responsibly' while Stark was missing."

"Did anyone at Stark Industries know about your affiliation with the Church before they fired you?" Adoniram asked.

"Stark and his assistant knew for sure," Freeman said. "It came out when I told them and the other three Avengers that I called the RCMP."

"Interesting," Adoniram remarked.

"However, none of them were there at the time and it was the company's CEO – Miss Virginia Potts – that fired me," Freeman said. "I don't know if she was aware of my affiliation."

"It doesn't matter," Adoniram said. "As long as someone in a position of power at the company knew you were a member of our Church, we have grounds for wrongful termination – and Stark certainly fits the bill of someone in a position of power."

"Wrongful termination?" Freeman questioned. "Is that really necessary, considering I was resigning anyway."

"Of course, it is," Salinas said. "Especially since you just lost us our key to Avengers Tower." Freeman frowned.

"I was resigning because you told me to," Freeman pointed out.

"But instead you got fired," Salinas snapped. "And now you've royally screwed us over!"

"I wouldn't say that," Freeman tried to defend.

"Neither would I." Salinas turned his gaze to Adoniram, eyes wide with shock.

"Excuse me?" he said. "We just had one of our biggest avenues of publicity cut off! Do you know how many people joined us because they saw our services in and around Avengers Tower? This is going to be a detrimental blow to our recruitment efforts! How can you be so nonchalant about this?"

"Because I'm not," Adoniram said, his firm tone unwavering. "I have a plan for this."

"Really?" Salinas scoffed. "Care to share?"

"Of course," Adoniram said. "But first, there's another matter we need to attend to." He looked Freeman directly in the eye. "I want you to find Sister Grace and tell her that I'm authorizing you to be moved from the Worker's Section to the Disciple's Wing." Freeman's mouth dropped.

"The Disciple's Wing?" He was practically stuttering with shock. "But, Brother Daniel, I just lost my job. Shouldn't I be moving to the Proles' Center?"

"No, no." Adoniram shook his head. "Don't worry about that. I have a new job lined up for you and trust me, it will have you doing good work for the Church."

"Wow," Freeman said. "I, uh, this is amazing! Thank you so much, Brother!" He stepped forward and reached out his hand, which Adoniram took and gave a quick shake.

"I'm glad you've chosen to accept the position," he said. "I have a feeling you'll do exceptionally well."

"I'll do my best, Brother," Freeman said. "I promise, I won't let you down."

"I have no doubts about that." Adoniram then stood up from his chair, put a hand on Freeman's shoulder, and started leading him to the door. "Now, if Sister Grace gives you any trouble, just tell her that she can come and speak to me personally. I'll make sure everything gets sorted out."

"Okay," Freeman said as Adoniram opened the door for him. "Will do." He took a step through the doorway before turning around to face Adoniram. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to gush, but thank you again, Brother, for this wonderful opportunity. It is truly an honor."

"As I am sure it is," Adoniram said. "That will be all for now, Brother Duane." Freeman bowed.

"I thank you for hosting me in your presence, Brother Daniel," Freeman said.

"And I you, Brother Duane," Adoniram said. "You are dismissed."

Freeman straightened up, nodded, and started to make his way down the hall. Adoniram slowly backed away from the door and shut it, careful to twist the lock before backing away from the door. He turned around and looked Salinas dead in the eye.

"Go ahead," he said. "Say what you're going to say." Salinas' face turned red faster than a stoplight.

"What the hell?" he shouted. "What are you thinking, making that idiot a Decibel? Do you know what kind of damage he's done to us; to the Church?"

"I am aware," Adoniram said. "That's why I'm not actually promoting him to Decibel." He moved to sit back down in his armchair. Salinas' eyes followed him the entire way.

"Then what the hell?" he said. "Why are you moving him to the Decibel's Wing and giving him some special new job? He's not responsible and can't be trusted!"

"I know," Adoniram said. "That's why I'm moving him; to keep an eye on him."

"The move him in with the RCMP," Salinas said. "That's their job, isn't it; to keep an eye on things?"

"Yes," Adoniram said. "But placing him with them would arouse suspicion. Besides, we shouldn't be tempting the women into breaking their chastity vows. Also, isn't the phrase 'keep you friends close and enemies closer?" Salinas raised an eyebrow.

"Do you suspect that he may be working for Stark and the Avengers?" Adoniram scoffed at the idea.

"No," he said. "But he is a risk. I don't trust him not to leak information – whether intentionally or unintentionally. It's best to keep him where we can watch him."

"And this 'special promotion' you're giving him," Salinas said. "What is that all about?"

"It's not really so much of a promotion for him as much as it is an opportunity for us." Salinas' eyebrows knitted together.

"What do you mean?" Adoniram smirked.

"We are going to take our campaign against Stark and the Avengers to the next level." Salinas frowned.

"How are we going to do that?" he asked. "Without Freeman there, we can't get inside the building anymore. We're not going to be able to protest in Stark's lobby."

"You're right," Adoniram said. "But we don't need to do that anymore. Not when we have this golden opportunity just sitting in our laps."

"And what would that be?" Salinas asked.

"Think about it," Adoniram said. "We have an ex-Stark employee on our hands, and not only do we have plausible grounds for a wrongful termination lawsuit, but we also have access to a literal treasure-trove of Stark Industries secrets. We can expose all of them."

"All of them?" Salinas questioned.

"All of them." Adoniram smiled. "Every single industry trade secret. Every single shady dealing and off-shore bank account. Everything Stark has tried to keep hidden over the past twenty-one years. Hell, we could probably find dirt going as far back as Howard Stark! The possibilities are endless because we have access to everything!"

"Okay," Salinas said. "So, you're going to take all of this to court?"

"Not just court," Adoniram said. "Tell me, Eduardo, how hard would it be to get into contact with Miss Christine Everhart?" Salinas shrugged.

"Not that hard," Salinas said. "ABC has her based out of D.C. now, but I'm sure if we make it worth her while, she'd be willing to fly out here." Adoniram smiled sinisterly.

"Oh, I have no doubt she will," Adoniram said. "Especially if Stark is involved." Salinas nodded in agreement.

"Wouldn't doubt that for a second," he said. "Anyone else you'd like me to make a call to?"

"Just call as many reporters as you can," Adoniram said. "Put a particular focus on those Stark has had an issue with in the past, but make sure Everhart comes first. She really knows how to get under his skin, if the D.C. interview is anything to go by."

"Right," Salinas said. "I'll get on it right away." He then turned and started walking towards the door.

"Oh, and Salinas." He stopped as he finished unlocking the door and turned to face Adoniram again.

"Yes?"

"When talking to Miss Everhart," Adoniram said. "Don't be afraid to lay on the charm, if you know what I mean." Salinas smirked.

"Oh, don't worry," he said. "I can be very convincing when I need to be."

Salinas then opened the door and walked out, leaving Adoniram alone in his study once again. He took a deep breath in and out. The playing field had just changed radically. However, he had been prepared for this, so it didn't come as a total surprise. He needed a moment to process all the changes and events. God, old age was making him weary.

After a few moments, Adoniram stood and went back to his desk. He tapped the small button on the top of the circular case and the shard slid out. Gently, he placed a finger on top of it, and once again he came face-to-face with the image of Karl Marx.

"Now," Adoniram said. "Where did we leave off?"

Special thanks to mfaerie32 on FFN for the review and DiveTooDeep on AO3 for the comment! It really means a lot! :)

Sorry for the short chapter and the fact that it centered on OCs! It can't really be helped, but most of the chapters that I've written so far after this center on at least one of the Avengers, so hopefully that'll make it up to you guys!

Remember kids, the plot needs what the plot needs.