Initiative 2028
Avengers
Nick Fury frowned as the now mostly gray haired man moved through new york. He didn't wear his usual eye-patch and had 'aged' his face even more than it should be, resembling any number of old soldiers home from the wars. He dressed shabbily but not too bad, like a man living on a limited, retirement budget.
Nick shuffled down the dark alley, then into a small barbershop. A older man looked up as Nick entered, nodding slightly. "Go on through," he said quietly.
With that Nick went through the small room to a door opposite the entrance. Pressing a small device in his pocket he scrambled remote survelance and killed any nearby cameras, just in case. Then he opened the door... and disappeared.
The place that Nick Fury reappeared in was outside of normal space and time, a extra-dimensional place accessible through certain doors. Created by Hank Pym after the last Skrull Invasion, the Infinite Mansion was the sanctuary Pym's Mighty Avengers used, as well as the base of Avengers Academy. As the Heroic Age fell to darkness the Avengers retreated here, as well as erasing all records it had ever existed.
A soft sound and the three dimensional hologram of the Mansion's AI appeared. "Greetings, Master Fury," JARVIS said formally, resembling the former butler of the Avengers. "Would you prefer to change to your usual garb?"
"It's fine," Nick shook his head, "though I could use a cigar."
"Of course sir," JARVIS teleported a lit cigar to him. "The teams are awaiting your report in the green room."
"Right," he nodded, puffing on his cheroot as Nick walked down the hall, seeming to find the right door instantly. In reality the nearly infinite space in the mansion 'shifted' as needed, allowing near instant travel to wherever you needed to go.
The meeting room wasn't packed, only the leaders of the factions tied to the Avengers and the ongoing resistance to Valeria Richards. Steve Rogers, Captain America, sat at one end of the table, the fit, young looking blond haired man looking serious. Thor sat beside him, the taller, heavily muscled Asgardian looking like some ancient lord. Tony Stark was on the other side of Rogers, his brown hair streaked with grey like Nick. He wore body armor from the neck down, the famous red and gold of the Iron Man.
"This it?" Nick asked flatly as he walked to the table.
"Nick, good to see you," Steve stood, offering his hand and shaking Nick's. "We don't want to channel the teams through the Mansion too much, SHIELD isn't as good as when you ran it but...," he shrugged slightly.
"Maria Hill's better than you'd expect," Nick said gruffly as he pulled out a seat and sat down, "Stane's tried to have her whacked a few times, hasn't managed it."
Tony looked startled, "Why would he...?" It took a moment for the remarkable mind to work, then Stark narrowed his eyes as he muttered, "Hammer."
"Got it in one," Nick nodded. He looked over at Steve and Thor, "Zeke wants his girl-toy Justine Hammer running SHIELD. If he had that, he'd have more leverage to use against Richards, assuming he eventually betrays her."
"These mortals constantly scheme to destroy each other," Thor rumbled grimly, "how is it they can hold onto power."
"I wonder that myself," Steve sighed.
Tony sighed too, but mostly at the innocence of his comrades. "Valeria Richards is very good at making her allies hate each other more than they hate her," he pointed out, "in essence she keeps them too busy plotting against each other to plot against her."
"Anyway, my source within Valeria's camp has come up with why Val went for the Presidency," Nick said briskly. He swiftly added, "No way to know how reliable the data is, though I trust the agent in question."
"What was it?" Steve asked eagerly.
With that Nick sketched in the 'Sentinel's kill everyone' scenario and Valeria's intent to try to prevent it. There was a beat of silence then he added, "Again, I don't know how much we can trust her word on this."
"Didn't she kill the Fantastic Four and Franklin Richards?" Steve asked, looking deeply puzzled.
"I've studied data of the explosion at the Baxter Building," Tony looked thoughtful, he had always liked puzzles as he said, "it doesn't match the usual spread of a energy based warhead." He frowned, "It COULD have been a displacement device."
"It did not slay them, but instead sent them elsewhere?" Thor asked.
"An' no one knows what happened to Franklin," Nick acknowledged, "hell, even I don't know. He just literally dropped off the grid just after Val got elected."
"Is the plan she has rolled out for the States consistent with trying to stop a Sentinel uprising?" Steve asked grimly.
"Hard to say," Tony admitted as he sat back, his expression thoughtful. He called out, "JARVIS, get me a US map with the Initiative teams and our reports on their current activities."
The hologram appeared before them, with states marked with each team, and their activities. Most of the team names were the same as when Stark himself founded the Initiative, though California was notably marked with a 'X' symbol.
"I see Cyke is still holding California," Tony noted mildly. He pointed, "And is that a new team in Alaska?"
"Northguard," Nick nodded, "to be honest they're mostly wash-outs from other teams. They serve six months, then the kids are rotated out."
"The teams deployed could stop a Sentinel uprising," Tony conceded thoughtfully, "but they could also be used to suppress the citizenry." He toggled the image, zooming in, "Someone destroyed a lab trying to develop the Nimrod Sentinel, too."
"I thought that was X-Force," Steve asked, frowning.
"No, it was the Shadow Initiative," Nick shook his head, "Daken, their Wolverine, lead the team as it turns out.
"Does Logan know Daken's active again?" Tony asked curiously, knowing about the relationship between Daken and Logan. Estranged son and father, seemingly doomed to constantly face each other over the years. It'd be poetic if it wasn't so sad.
"He's the one who told me," Nick noted dryly, "Logan keeps a damn close eye on the kid."
"Betrayal by blood," Thor shook his head, "it is the worst of fates." He looked at Tony, "So, is yon queen lying, or is she telling us the truth?"
"I can't say for sure," Tony finally admitted, "I just don't know. Her tactics have been pretty dirty, though admittedly I'm not one to talk."
No one brought up the Negative Zone prison or anything else Tony had been up to. It was ground all of them had been over more than once, and for awhile Steve, Thor and Nick had been his enemies. But much water had gone under the bridge, time had passed and sins had been forgiven, more or less.
"I'm getting pressure from members of the Secret Avengers," Steve said, referring to the covert squad he lead now, "they want to openly hit back against Valeria."
"Aye, as is my brethren in Asgard," Thor noted, "hiding within our halls is dishonorable."
"No, no," Tony quickly shook his head, "no, we don't dare. She's the President of the United States! Until we can actually prove she's committed criminal acts, we can't strike against her."
"Yet she uses villains as her minions and attacks us with impunity!" Thor protested.
"Which she can legally do under the Thunderbolt Act," Steve sighed. He sat back, rubbing at his eyes tiredly, "Bucky has asked me if I could let her get publically arrested, fight this mess through the legal system."
"No," Tony shook her head, "as brave as Rikki Barnes is, I don't see it helping." He shrugged tiredly, "Unless she could arrange to get herself arrested on national television, they'd just whisk her off to their new Dreamland prison."
"We need to do something!" Thor growled, thumping the table with his fist.
"Not until we're ready," Nick shook his head, getting out another cigar and chomping on it. "Look, I've got people in SHIELD doing their damndest, as well as folks in Valeria's own government. We WILL get the proof we need, it's just a matter of time. But if you three jump in swinging, you'll just screw the pooch."
"And while we wait innocents suffer," Thor scowled.
"Yeah, an' that stinks," Nick agreed readily, "but that's the hand we've been dealt." He shifted his cigar in his mouth, "Not that we can't stomp on every illegal thing we catch, even if we can't prove it's hers. Stopping that kinda thing is our jobs, after all."
A slow smile appeared on Steve's face, "You're right about that."
"So we'll carry on snipping as many of Valeria's schemes in the bud, while you keep digging," Tony smiled slightly too.
"And what of Asgard?" Thor demanded frostily.
"Your people gotta stay outta this," Nick said firmly, "if you act as a group it'd give Val the perfect reason to go after you. Just remember what happened with Siege."
"But that doesn't mean you and Valkyrie can't act," Steve said quickly, "just don't drag the Asgardian armies into it."
"My comrades will be displeased," Thor grumbled then smiled faintly, "but they understand strategy. As long as they know they will have a chance to avenge themselves on our enemies."
"You have my word," Tony promised.
"And I know you will be good for it." Thor nodded, rising as he added, "I must return to Asgard, and let Baldur know of our deliberations. I will return when needed."
"Good luck," Steve nodded as the others said their farewells.
"Must be tough answering to a Asgardian council," Tony noted once he was gone. "They set that up after Odin disappeared again, right?"
"Yeah, though Baldur's pretty level headed. Can't say I like having Loki there though," Nick grumbled as he chewed the end of his cigar.
"He's supposedly just a trickster now, not serving evil?" Steve asked warily. He sighed, "I'll admit Loki helped us out a lot during the fall of Asgard, not to mention the attack of the Chosen."
"I'll get back to Avengers West Coast," Tony sighed, "we've all got work to do. Catch you later."
After Tony left Steve sighed quietly. "How's Sharon Carter doing?" he asked Nick quietly.
"Still in deep cover tryin' to infiltrate Dreamland. As soon as I hear more I'll tell ya," Nick shrugged slightly.
"If I find out you guilt tripped her into doing this," Steve said flatly, "I'll beat you within a inch of your life."
"She might be your ex, but she volunteered Rogers," Nick snapped back, "and you know her well enough to realize that." Ne got up, wincing at stiff muscles from age as he added, "Keep your head down, you're on the top of Val's most wanted list."
"Yeah, you too," Steve sighed as they each left.
To be continued...
