WHAT IF EPISODE SIX
by Gunman
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvels What If? or their characters.
Summary: Nick Fury and his team get ready for war.
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Chapter 2
Rise of Heroes
(Malibu, California, 2010)
"And I look forward to that." Pepper Potts said as she smiled at the much younger woman on the video screen.
("So do I, Miss Potts.") Shuri said.
The video monitor blinked off and Pepper sighed as she rose from her chair and proceeded down into the basement of the large Malibu mansion.
It had been a year since Tony and Rhodey were resurrected by the Ancient One.
Though that was probably not the most app description.
Pepper had been given control of the company thanks to a post-humus letter that 'suddenly' surfaced a few months after Tony Starks death. It named Pepper Potts as the CEO of the company, herself being third in line after Tony Stark and Obadiah Stane. But with Stane being exposed for attempted murder and cooperating with terrorists, he was sitting somewhat uncomfortably in jail. This made Pepper the new CEO of the company.
However, while she was a good middle-management type she was not really cut out for this sort of thing.
She was originally Tony's gofer and press secretary and even a damage control coordinator. She handled the problems that Tony got himself in to. Now she was being asked to run a multinational corporation.
The Stark Board of Directors were upset at this, but with Tony's original controlling interest in the company now transferred to Pepper, they could do little other than to bitch and moan.
The military was still pressing for more weapons after the Wakanda Incident. Even with Pepper Potts and Princess Shuri showing evidence that Eric Killmonger was responsible for the whole thing, the government still wanted advanced weaponry to defend itself.
The Liberator Drone, created by Stark with Killmongers help, was being rebuilt and examined by some of the governments best minds.
Which meant they weren't even close to anything resembling a breakthrough to get it operational.
And with Killmonger mysteriously gone, the conflict was left unresolved.
Pepper knew about T'Challa being back amongst the living, thanks to Shuri. She had explained outright that her brother had been 'resurrected' by a bald woman in a yellow cloak. That was enough of an answer for her. Shuri also said she knew about Tony Stark and James Rhodes being alive.
Since then the pair had traded emails and video-conferenced each other back and forth, keeping the other informed and doing their best to help each other.
Because of The Wakanda Incident, as it was known, in which General Ross had used the few-made Liberator Drones to attack Wakanda, and their subsequent defeat by Wakanda's own military forces, the UN had formed an embargo around Wakanda. Since it's true nature and potential threat had been revealed the UN, especially America, had been trying it's best to get as much Vibranium out of the isolationist nation as possible in exchange for their withdrawal.
King T'Chaka and Queen Ramonda were adamant about not letting this happen, as they knew the true dangerous power of Vibranium. They were also keenly aware of the militaries intentions to use Vibranium as a weapon.
The political turmoil was still on-going.
But they would have bigger problems in a couple of years.
Deep inside the basement/workshop of Tony Stark, the final touches of their armored suits were being put into effect.
"Are you sure about this, Tony?" Rhodes asked.
"No. Which is why we need to test it." Tony said.
"A field test? Sure, but... won't that expose us?"
"In that vision the bald sorceress showed us, I tested my armor suit inside my garage."
"I remember that." Rhodes laughed. "Got tossed into a wall, and wrecked one of your cars."
"Ha-ha-ha. Still... knowing what happened helps you to prevent it. Even though every failure is an opportunity for success..."
"Yadda-yadda-yadda. Enough with the spiel. Now, what about firepower?"
"Are you still on that?"
"Hey, having a big gun helps."
"Bells and whistles don't always win the fight." Tony snarked.
"How bout bullets and lasers?"
"That could work. Or repulsors."
"I'm thinking an M-134. Mounted right here." he said, pointing over his right shoulder.
"Please!" Tony scoffed. "I can give you a laser-gattling gun!"
Pepper Potts just smiled as she watched her boss and friend work. She had seen the Iron Man in action and saw what the War Machine could do. In a vision. She had seen what the other Avengers were also capable of, and hoped that in two years time, things would be different.
However, things were already different than they should be.
Knowledge of what could have been was far more useful than they could have imagined.
Pepper would be wholly willing to admit that this was completely and totally out of her grasp. Not even in her wildest dreams could she have imagined this.
But she had seen two very different timelines happen, like watching a movie. She saw one world where Tony was dead and the universe suffered for it, and another where Tony was alive, and a hero, and mankind grew and prospered.
While dangerous and very, very concerning, it was far better than the alternative.
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(The Triskelion, Washington DC, USA)
Four people were heading towards the office of their commander and leader of SHIELD, Nick Fury.
"Any idea why Fury called us in?" Clint Baron asked.
"No clue. He's being more mysterious that usual." Maria Hill said.
"Maybe he found Captain Rogers." Phil Coulson said.
"Then you could get those trading cards signed." Natasha Romanoff joked.
"I hope so. They're vintage." Coulson said.
"First he gives us a bunch of special assignments, like watching out for Dr Banner and Dr. Foster, then calls us in without notice." Barton said, upset at not being able to spend time with his family.
"Sounds par the course for our commander-in-chief." Hill sad.
The quartet arrived at Fury's office.
"Come in." Fury said through the intercom speaker.
The quartet enter the office, only for Fury to stand to greet them.
"Secure and Lock the room." Fury said aloud.
The automated system closed, locked and secured the office. The blinds of the windows closed, and the signal scrambler systems were enabled.
"Sir?" Coulson asked.
"I've called you all here because we have a big problem." Fury said. "Several actually."
"What's going on? Is it Doctor Banner, because we've had him..." Romanoff started to say.
"It's not Banner, though we're gonna need him soon." Fury said.
"Sir?" Coulson asked.
"First of all... Tony Stark and Colonel Rhodes are alive." he said.
"What?" the quartet gasped.
"And so is Prince T'Challa of Wakanda."
"The Black Panther? But how? Stark was killed by Erik Killmonger, and Colonel Rhodes and T'Challa were also killed by him." Coulson said.
"Before the assault on Wakanda by the military." Hill added.
"I'll get into that later. They've been alive for the last year and in hiding." Fury said.
"How do you know?" Barton asked.
Fury turned his head and nodded in the direction of the corner of his office. The quartet looked and saw T'Challa, in his Panther suit, emerge from the shadows.
"Greetings." the Black Panther said.
"The dead walk." Coulson uttered as the others just stared in shock.
"T'Challa has been establishing an embassy in Washington and New York, in preparation for the attack." Fury said.
"What attack?" Coulson asked.
"The alien invasion that will happen in 2012. Unless we can prevent it." Fury said.
"What alien invasion?" Barton asked.
"Sir?!" Hill said, becoming very concerned.
"You didn't tell them." T'Challa smirked at Fury.
"That's what this briefing is for." Fury replied.
"Tell us what exactly?" Natasha asked.
"What do you know about the Tesseract?" Fury asked.
"That glowing cube of power that HYDRA used to create their weapons back in World War II?" Barton asked.
"The one Howard Stark fished out of the ocean while searching for Captain Rogers, and turned over to us." Coulson stated.
"It's been in our safe keep since then." Hill said.
"And its power is unlike anything we've ever seen." Coulson added.
"Well, it's not the only power." Fury stated. "A year ago, Pepper Potts and myself were contacted by a... person... who had a similar yet unique power. She called it the Time Stone, one of the six cosmic Infinity Stones. The Tesseract is one of those six stones, specifically the Space Stone."
"Cosmic space stones?" Coulson asked.
"The others being?" Natasha asked.
"The Power Stone, The Reality Stone, The Mind Stone and the Soul Stone." Fury said, counting off on his fingers. "The Tesseract and the Time Stone are here on Earth, the other four are somewhere in the cosmos."
"Do we know where?" Natasha asked.
"And who was this person who contacted you?" Hill asked.
"She called herself The Ancient One. A sorcerer of some kind. She used the Time Stone to show me a vision of the future. A very grim and bleak future, without the Avengers. She also used the stone to bring Stark, Rhodes and T'Challa here back to life, by reversing time itself."
"Reversing time? Is that even possible?" Barton asked.
"This is a whole new level of trouble, sir." Coulson said.
"Agreed. But their existence is out of our hands. Knowing that these things exist is bad enough. Especially with who is after them." Fury said.
"After them?" Hill asked.
"There's this guy, named Thanos. A megalomanic who wants to wipe out half the universe. He's got a lot of power and an army behind him. If he gets his hands on all six of the Stones..."
"He could do it?" Barton asked.
"With a snap of his fingers." Fury said in an even tone.
The quartet looked shocked. Horrified, even.
"Sir... you said that this person showed you a vision of the future. Could they be wrong?" Coulson asked.
"I did think the same thing, but Potts, Stark and Rhodes saw it too. And so did T'Challa here." Fury said.
"The Ancient One showed me a vision of what happened after my death. Because certain people were not there to prevent it. And unless my 'resurrection' is not proof enough for you..." T'Challa started to explain.
"Okay, okay, okay. I'm willing to go on a little faith here." Barton said.
"As for where the Stones are, I have a couple of leads. And I've already contacted Danvers." Fury said.
"That serious, huh?" Coulson asked, clearly surprised by that.
"I think so." he said.
Hill, Romanoff and Barton knew about Danvers, but had never met her. She was more a story that Fury insisted was real.
"So... what do we do? Get the Avengers Initiative up and running?" Hill asked.
"Stark and Rhodes are on-board. T'Challa has also agreed to help. As for the others..." Fury said, trailing off.
"You want Banner?" Natasha asked.
"He and the 'other guy' could be useful." Fury said. "I've also got a line on a couple other potentials. First and foremost... James Barnes."
"You mean Sergeant Barnes who went missing back in World War II? No one's seen hide-nor-hair of him since the war." Coulson said.
"He's not dead. HYDRA found him back in '45 and turned him into their personal assassin. They been keeping him in cryo-stasis whenever they don't need him." Fury said.
"Need him?" Natasha asked.
"The Winter Soldier." Fury said, getting Natasha to silently gasp. "I suspect he was responsible for Howard and Maria Stark's death. He's currently being held in a hidden base in Siberia. We'll need to liberate him. And we need to do it under the radar."
"Under SHIELD's radar?" Hill asked.
"Another little snafu I was informed of." Fury said.
"What snafu?" Barton asked.
"SHIELD has been infiltrated. By HYDRA." Fury stated. "Probably right from its inception."
"What? How?" Coulson asked.
"HYDRA went bust after World War II." Hill said.
"But their scientists didn't. I'm sure some of you have heard of Operation Paperclip?" Fury asked.
"German scientists granted amnesty after World War II. People with strategic value." Natasha said.
"They helped build up our intelligence networks and advance our technology. SHIELD might not exist without them... but it's going to be a problem. They used SHIELD to rebuild their bases and restock their weapons and personnel around the world."
"Including Stark's weapons." Natasha said.
"And the US government footed the bill." Coulson said.
"Exactly." Fury said. "And all the while, they've been pulling strings behind the scenes, under our nose, sowing seeds of resentment and potential rebellion around the world. Making us look like the bad guys so that they can emerge as the good guys." Fury said while handing Romanoff a file.
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me!" Barton said, not liking this bomb Fury had just dropped on them.
"They're certainly patient enough. Do we know who?" Hill asked.
"Off the top of my head... Senator Stern. Jasper Sitwell. Brock Rumlow and possibly all of STRIKE. And...Alexander Pierce." Fury stated.
"Good god!" Coulson gasped.
"If SHIELD has been compromised that badly..." Hill said.
"We still might be able to go to Siberia and rescue Barnes without SHIELD knowing." Natasha said.
"Might." Barton stated. "It only takes one to tip off the base."
"Plus there's the matter of hiding Barnes so that he isn't found by our... moles." Coulson said.
"I can help with that." T'Challa said.
The quartet looked at T'Challa and then at Fury.
"Is there anything else we need to know?" Hill asked, clearly unnerved by all this.
"Arnim Zola is still alive. Technically." Fury said.
"Zola? But how?" Coulson asked.
"What do you mean 'technically'?" Barton asked.
"Zola officially died in '72. His brain was saved on 200,000 feet of data tapes." Fury said.
"You mean... like an AI?" Hill asked.
"A self-aware AI. He's currently interned at Camp Lehigh in New Jersey." Fury said. "And has been helping HYDRA behind the scenes as well."
"So... we should get to Siberia as soon as possible?" Barton asked.
"Sir? I have a question." Coulson asked.
"Go ahead." Fury said.
"What are Stark and Rhodes going to do? Build more of those Liberator Drones?" he asked.
"No. They're working on something much cooler." Fury said with a smirk.
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T'Challa had his own ship, The Royal Talon, which he used to transport the two special agents to the Siberian HYDRA base.
They managed to locate the entrance to the base, and landed the stealth-shielded craft just out of visual range of the main entrance.
"So... how do we get in?" Clint asked as Natasha peered through a pair of small binoculars.
"There are two entrances. The front door..." Natasha said.
"Or... the missile silo." T'Challa finished.
"Okay. There's no guards outside. So, how do we...?" Clint asked.
"Follow me." Natasha said.
The pair followed her to the steel door, where Natasha punched in a code on the keypad for the 'front door'.
"Fury gave you a code?" Barton asked.
"He did." she said.
"How did he know?" the archer asked.
"Something else we need to ask him."
"Bet it was the Ancient One." T'Challa said.
"The woman who brought you back to life?"
"Exactly."
The trio entered the facility. They didn't see anyone at the entrance, but they were sure the place wasn't empty. They made their way to the second level when they finally ran into a guard.
"You do know we're probably gonna run into..." Barton started to say.
"Halt! Who goes ACK!" a lone HYDRA guard said as Hawkeye silenced him with an arrow.
"Stealth is gonna be a problem." Barton said.
"Agreed." T'Challa said as he took something out of his belt. "This should help."
Clint and Natasha looked on as T'Challa walked over to a computer sitting on a table in what looked like a small monitor room, and dropped a couple of small silver balls onto it.
"Shuri? Are you online?" T'Challa said as he touched the side of his helmet.
('I am here, brother.') Shuri said through his intercom.
"I've placed Kimoyo Beads on the HYDRA computers. Can you access...?"
('I'm in.')
"She's in."
"She?" Barton asked.
"My sister, Shuri. She's taken control of their computer systems."
('Oh, My God!")
"What is it?" he asked.
("These computers are old. Ancient! I could build something better in a cave!") she complained.
"Shuri!" he snapped.
("Sorry. Communication systems are down. I'm sending you a map of their base.')
T'Challa touched his wrist as a holographic map of the base appeared before the trio.
Clint whistled as he saw the map.
"Shuri, we're looking for James Barnes, the Winter Soldier." T'Challa said. "Can you find him?"
("I have. Uh... you said one person?") she asked aloud.
"Yes. Why?"
("I am detecting six!")
"What?" Natasha asked.
("They're all in cryo-stasis.")
"We only need the one. Should we... rescue the other five?" T'Challa asked.
('I don't think that's a good idea, brother. Look.')
The holographic image changed to a scene where James Barnes was fighting against another HYDRA agent. This one managed to beat him in a hand-to-hand fight. There were four other HYDRA agents with them. The trio watched as the five other humans suddenly stood up and began attacking the HYDRA personnel.
"What is this?" T'Challa asked.
("I found some information.") Shuri's voice came over the intercom. ("Apparently these five people were given some kind of super soldier serum that one of their men stole from Howard Stark. Back in 1991. They gave the serum to their best agents, but the agents turned on them. They were apparently all locked up, placed in cryo-stasis until they could figure out what to do with them.")
"So the theory was right." Natasha said.
"What theory?" Barton asked.
"The original super soldier formula used on Steve Rogers back in WWII was said to 'amplify everything inside' a person. No one really read into that. What that means is that the serum doesn't just make you physically stronger, it makes your personality stronger. So..." she started to explain.
"People who are comfortable killing the same as breathing, are worse than before." T'Challa said.
"Like HYDRA agents." Barton added.
"Obviously HYDRA didn't read the warning label." Natasha said.
"Or was the label included?" Barton asked.
("Brother, I do not recommend releasing those other five.") Shuri said.
"Agreed, sister. We should locate Sergeant Barnes and depart." T'Challa said.
"What about the personnel here?" Clint asked.
"Shuri, can you activate the bases self-destruct system?" he asked.
("The base does not have a self-destruct system. But it does have a geothermal power station tied into a small nuclear reactor. I can overload their power grid and destroy the entire facility.")
"Fine. Give us ten minutes." T'Challa said.
("Counting down... now!")
"Ten Minutes?" Barton gasped.
"We'll have to be fast." Natasha smirked.
Following the map, the trio of Avengers raced into the main facility where James Barnes cryo-tube was.
"HEY! What Are You...?" the Russian commander, Vasily Karpov, shouted as the trio rushed him and his men.
The HYDRA agents shouted as they fired at the trio.
Black Panther raced towards them, his suit taking their bullets with no effect. He barreled through them while Natasha and Clint provided cover.
Within a minute it was over. The soldiers, including Karpov, were dead.
Barton opened the cryo-tube that held Barnes as T'Challa grabbed him and hoisted him over his shoulder.
"We need to leave. Now!" T'Challa shouted.
Natasha grabbed a red book that Karpov had been holding on to and followed the trio out of the base.
They made their way up through the missile silo and were out before the geothermal station went up like a roman candle.
"Look Out!" Barton shouted.
KA-BOOM!
The trio looked at the fire and rubble that was now a smoldering ruin.
"That's probably gonna blip on someone's radar." Barton said.
"Had to do it. Couldn't let those HYDRA assassins get found by our moles in SHIELD." Natasha said.
"Mr. Barnes is coming around." T'Challa said.
The trio gathered around the slowly wakening and reluctant assassin.
"Ohhh... What... where am I?" Barnes asked, looking around the cold Siberian tundra.
"What do we do? Take him back to SHIELD?" Barton asked.
"No. We need to take him to Wakanda." T'Challa.
"Agreed. And this will help fix whatever they did to him." Natasha said as she held up the red book in her hand. "But first... a little side-mission."
"Side-mission? To where?" Barton asked.
"Moscow."
The quartet loaded themselves onto The Royal Talon and airborne within seconds.
"Welcome back, Sergeant." Natasha said as T'Challa piloted the ship.
"Where... where am I?" Bucky asked. "Who are you?"
"We're The Avengers. We've been sent to rescue you. We're on our way to Moscow. There's an issue that needs to be dealt with."
Clint and T'Challa looked at each other in confusion.
"What are we going to do?" Barton asked.
"Destroy the Red Room once and for all... and to do it... we're gonna need some help." she said.
"Help? Whose help?"
"My old family."
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Nick Fury was standing on the rooftop helipad of the Triskelion just waiting for his old friend to arrive.
He smiled when he saw the bright energy flying towards him.
Carol Danvers had returned to Earth.
"Fury. What's up?" Carol asked.
"I received some critical intel." Fury said.
"About?"
"The Infinity Stones." he said, causing her to gasp.
"You mean... you know where they are?" she asked.
"Two of them are here on Earth. I have leads on the others."
"Where?"
"The Power Stone is on some planet called Morag. The Reality Stone is supposedly on Svartalfheim. The Soul Stone is...not an issue. And the Mind Stone... is in the possession of Thanos."
"The Mad Titan?"
"You know him?"
"Heard of him. Pretty powerful guy. Got his own army and everything. Lives on a ship that moves around a lot. Current location: unknown."
"Thanos wants all six of the Stones. If he gets them he'll wipe out half the universe."
"So... what's the plan?"
"I need you to secure the Power Stone. Make sure it's somewhere safe and out of reach."
"I know just the people for the job. What about the others?" she asked.
"The Reality Stone might be tricky. It's not like the others. From what I understand, it's more a liquid than a solid form. And The Soul Stone is on Vormir, but apparently can't be retrieved unless you sacrifice something important to you." he said as his good eyebrow lifted up. "You don't still have that cat, do you?"
"Goose is a Flerkin, Nick, remember?. And why? You want a matching set for your face?" she laughed.
"Ha ha. Not what I meant."
"He's busy. That being said, how do you know about the Stones and their location?"
"Long story. In the meantime, I need you to secure the Power Stone and make sure Thanos can't get it."
"You got it."
"And if you've got time, we're putting a team together to defend Earth. You'd be perfect for it."
"Oh? What's it called?"
"The Avengers."
"Sounds cool. Who else you got on the team?"
"Two special agents, a genius-billionaire, a scientist with anger issues, a super soldier, a warrior prince and an Air Force Colonel. To start with." he said, not revealing his other candidates. Mostly since they hadn't come to 'fruition' just yet.
"Once I take care of the Power Stone, I'll be right back."
"Take your time. We got about two years before the invasion."
Carol just gave him a look, wondering what he knew and how he knew it. She gave a simple salute and then flew away from The Triskelion as fast as she could.
When she was gone, Fury was looking over the files for his other candidates.
Sam Wilson, the pararescue trooper.
Scott Lang, an electrical engineer from San Francisco.
Hank Pym, the former Ant-Man who invented the shrinking technology only he knew about.
Hope Van Dyne, Hank's daughter and another possible future heroine.
Peter Parker, the Spider-Man, was not yet of age to become part of the team. He might not be ready for at least seven or eight years at the minimum.
Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, a pair of Sokovian siblings who were transformed into superhumans... thanks to the experiments conducted by HYDRA using the Mind Stone. The problem is that they had joined HYDRA because they thought Stark and the American military had bombed out their country and killed their parents.
Vision, an artificially intelligent android created by Ultron, a rogue robot created by Tony Stark to protect mankind but would ultimately end up trying to destroy it. A warped sense of 'Peace in our time' caused it to wipe out the source of war: Mankind!
'Maybe I could get Stark to build Vision instead of Ultron. Gonna need Vibranium from Wakanda and synthetic skin from Dr Choi's Cradle in Seoul. I can talk to T'Challa about that later.' Fury thought.
And then there was Thor, the Asgardian god of thunder. Getting him to join the team was going to be a problem. Mostly since his arrival couldn't be controlled by Fury or anyone. Fury was just going to have to wait a year or so for Thor to arrive on Earth.
Which is why he had his people keep an eye on Jane Foster.
However, Fury had a bigger problem on his hands. And a more immediate one.
"Nick? What's going on up here?" Alexander Pierce asked as he stepped onto the rooftop helipad for the Triskelion. He had his security detail, made up of STRIKE members, behind him.
"Oh, you know, the usual. Saving the world and all that." Fury said, keeping his emotions in check. It wouldn't do to just kill Pierce right here and now.
If he wanted to play games, then Fury would play it.
For now.
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Authors Notes:
Wasn't sure what to do with the first chapter when I posted it. It was just something I thought of and wrote up. But now it seems like I've got another project on my hands. So... enjoy.