Initiative 2028

US Agent II

It was snowing heavily in Washington DC, but Barbara Munroe didn't really notice as she boarded a plane at the Initiative base. The stealth jet was pure black and ran primarilly by computers, allowing her to be launched without anyone being aware.

Settling into the cockpit she activated the fly-by-wire systems, then Barbara sat back as the mission briefing came on the heads up display. Henry Peter Gyrich looked out at her from the view screen, the old man looking sullen and wizzened n his wheelchair. "This briefing is two levels above top secret," the old man growled, "discuss it with uncleared personnel and you will be shot."

'Can the drama,' Barbara thought but didn't say aloud.

Gyrich looked out at her as he said, "This is a retrieval mission in a allied country. We're sending you into Canada, specifically northern Manitoba."

Barbara check the sat-nav and confirmed they were, indeed, going north. 'Canada, huh?' she mused silently. President Richards had a pretty good relationship with their government, which meant this was going to be another covert job.

"A former member of the Initiative, Ultra Girl, has fled the states and is hiding out there," Gyrich brought up the image of a attractive blond haired woman, "your mission is to capture her and return her to the United States." He scowled, "And do it quietly. We don't want Canada's Department H or K finding out."

The message cut off, and Barbara sat back to enjoy the flight. There was no point in donning her US Agent gear, she would probably need civilian clothes. And a wig, which would be a pain in the ass to keep on in a fight.

Barbara tried to remember what she knew about Ultra Girl, but it was pretty slim. Ultra Girl started out trying to be a media star, then ended up in the New Warriors. Sadly that blew up in her face during the Civil War, and she ended up joining the Initiative. She served out her period with a official team, then dropped out of sight after Osborn took over.

'And she's pretty powerful,' Barbara thought grimly. Ultra Girl could fly, was incredibly strong, invulnerable and had 'reactive' powers that changed based on threats she encountered. Which meant subduing her was going to be a bitch.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Oof!" Barbara grunted as she crashed through the trees, her black haired wig barely staying on. She HATED being right, especially when it involved getting hurt like this.

Not only was Ultra Girl tough as hell, it appeared the entire small town she was in had turned out to protect her. Almost as soon as Barbara had started showing the photo of Ultra Girl around she got the cold shoulder, then when she checked into the local hotel she was attacked.

"Get out of here, now," the bar keep she had talked to earlier ordered, hefting a alien yet powerful looking gun.

'Oh, you have got to be kidding me,' Barbara though, wishing like hell she had her shield with her. All she had was a wristband mounted energy shield, and she wasn't willing to test it against alien weapons tech.

"Don't kill her," Ultra Girl ordered, her eyes flashing as she descended. The old man and the lynch mob all backed off as she landed, offering her hand to help Barbara up. "You all right?" she asked politely.

Barbara took the hand, pulling herself up as she wondered what the heck was going on. "So far," she said dryly. Improvising she lied, "I'm a private investigator, sent to find you."

"Right," Ultra Girl said skeptically. The woman runs a hand through her long blond hair, "You must be pretty dedicated, working on Christmas Eve."

Barbara felt a slight jerk as she realized the woman was right. She hadn't even noticed, having been so busy heroing and such...

"Come on into town, we'll get you cleaned up," Ultra Girl offered. She smiled ruefully, "Maybe you can talk me into going back with you tomorrow."

Deciding to play along Barbara followed her, trying to ignore the hostile looks from the town's inhabitants. They seemed to dote on Ultra Girl, almost following her in a religious way, though to be honest she couldn't tell why. She deeply suspected Gyrich had left important information out of his briefing, and meant to have a little talk with him after...

They ended up at Ultra Girl's home, who provided her with a shower, change of clothes... and another wig. Deciding the gig was up Barbara skipped it and came out with her own hair, even while hoping her bosses wouldn't hear bout it.

"Thank you, Ultra Girl," Barbara started as she entered the living room where the other woman was sitting.

"Suzy," she cut her off, "I'm Suzy Sherman. Nice to meet you, Miss Monroe."

It took a real effort to keep a straight face, but Barbara managed it somehow. "Then thank you, Suzy. How did you know...?" she asked.

"It's a long story," Suzy gestured for her to sit the room lit by the glittering Christmas tree off to one side. "What do you know about the Kree?" she asked as Barbara sat on a comfy seat nearby.

Barbara raised her eyebrow slightly at the question but answered, "They're a alien racem ruling a large chunk of the galaxy. They resemble humans but are faster and stronger, and have been at war with the Skrulls for years."

"True enough," Suzy agreed, "and they've sent agents to earth a few times. Captain Marvel, Marvel boy, and others."

"So what does it have to do with you?" Barbara asked, though she suspected she knew.

"I'm Kree," Suzy acknowledged, "though I only found out in my teens. According to a colony of Kree living on Earth, I'm supposed to save the Kree somehow."

'Colony of Kree...' Barbara thought then realized what she meant. "This whole town is Kree?"

"About eighty percent, I think," Suzy sighed. "Some of the Kree married humans, too. They started out in California, then moved up here after President Richards took over."

Barbara shook her head, trying to decide what to do. Clearly getting Suzy away from here by force was out, considering she had a whole town to fall back on. Not to mention Ultra Girl clearly outpowered her too.

An attractive redhead entered the room, frowning at Barbara before noting to Suzy, "I see the stranger is still here, Tsu-Zana."

"Ambra, you know I prefer being called Suzy," she scolded gently. "And be polite, we shot her through a wall and out into the woods."

"Sorry," Ambra said meekly. She looked at Barbara and noted, "we have a defeathered terran fowl that has been charred in traditional fashion. Would you care to join us?"

"Huh?" Barbara looked at Suzy.

"We have turkey dinner." Suzy laughed. "Ambra likes to play up her alien side, even though she's lived here for years."

Ambra looked amused, "It's fun to see your reactions."

Rather surreally Barbara found herself sharing Christmas dinner with her target and several of her friends. Suzy was warmly friendly, which helped ease the antagonism from her fellows, and it ended up being an enjoyable meal. After Suzy offered Barbara her couch to sleep on, which she accepted. Of course it still left Barbara trying to figure out what to do about her mission, but she decided to wait until tomorrow.

Chjristmas morning came without much fanfare, Barbara awakening to the sound of a crackling fire. There was coffee perking, and she could smell cookies too. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, even as Ambra carried in coffee and set it on the coffee table by the couch.

"We Kree have lost a great deal over the years," Ambra said flatly. "Our empire lies in ruins, our leaders dead, our potential squandered. There is little left to the Kree, other than hope to the future." She looked at Barbara as she whispered, "Please don't take that away from us too."

With that she left Barbara with her coffee and her uncomfortable thoughts, stalking off.

"So, have you decided what you're going to do?" Suzy asked curiously as they walked through town after a lovely breakfast.

Barbara turned to look at her, "Gyrich knows you're here, you know. Even if I don't bring you back he'll send someone else after you."

"I know," Suzy sighed, "we'll have to evacuate the town and scatter, I suppose. I hate to do it, but the people here won't give up on me."

Barbara realized she was ight. Just from what Ambra said, these people would follow Suzy to the ends of the Earth. As they walked an idea began to form in her head, one that was both daring and a bit forbidden. "I think I have a idea," she admitted.

"Do tell?" Suzy looked curious.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"They did WHAT?" Henry Peter Gyrich asked, gazing up in shock at the bloody and battered form of Barbara Monroe. She looked like she had been run through a meat grinder then set on fire.

"There was a alien community hiding in the town that took Ultra Girl captive," Barbara said flatly. "They attempted to capture me, but I managed to free Ultra Girl from captivity. We tried to escape in the jump jet, but Ultra Girl stayed behind to hold them off."

Ironically, this wasn't the strangest story Gyrich had heard. In his years working with the Avengers, the Initiative and with SWORD, he had ran into very strange stuff. "Were you able to identify who took her?" he demanded coldly.

"They looked human," Barbara shrugged, "but that doesn't mean much. I passed on sketches of some of the weapons to the tech boys, they think they're Skrull make."

Gyrich grunted in disappointment. Since the Skrull Invasion back in '10 there was a lot of salvaged Skrull tech out there, including weapons. Having it proved nothing. "Spy camera shots show they destroyed the town down to bedrock," he sad flatly, "the Canadian Prime Minister is up in arms. Your covert mission was a bust, Agent."

"Sir," Barbara stood at attention, like a good soldier.

Gyrich sighed softly. "Get cleaned up and have the medics look you over," he ordered, "I'm sure you have public appearances as Miss America to deal with."

"Yes Sir," Barbara saluted then turned and marched out.

Gyrich sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He had been hard on her, but you needed to be firm with agents like this. Especially superhuman ones, since they were so hard to control. Back when Barbara had been first considered for US Agent he had advocated more complete conditioning, but he had been overruled. Now, he wondered if he had been right.

'Did she lie?' Gyrich wondered as he studied the files. They had footage of her capture, her escape and the destruction of the town. On the surface, her story held up. So why was something bothering him?

Sighing again he summarized the report and sent it off. 'Let the President deal with it,' Gyrich decided, rolling his wheelchair away from the desk. It was nearly new years, and he had some serious drinking to catch up on.

To be continued...

Notes: I wanted to 'soften' Barbara a bit, show her having a bit of a compassionate side. Of course, this may bite her on the ass later. Heh. Ultra Girl is a canon Marvel character, who's mini-series set up the idea of her being a Kree savior. It hasn't been followed up in the comics, so I dealt with it here.