Returning to Grace
A Marvel: Avengers Alliance fanfiction
By Jonathan "KnightMysterio" Spires
Chapter 5: Satana
All characters not original copyrighted to Marvel and used without persmission for non-profit amusement reasons. All original characters are copyrighted to me. Agent in this and subsequent stories is male and based on me, but my in-game Agent is female.
SHIELD Helicarrier...
Quarantine Area...
Heavy footsteps echoed in the dim light. Slowly but surely, a dark-haired male of slightly above average build tiredly made his way through the barely lit hallway and cramped. While his physical features were nothing out of the ordinary his overall appearance however, seemed more impressive thanks to his special reinforced variation of the SHIELD Kevlar jumpsuit known as the, 'Stark Tech Armor'. With the internal fortification of DermoSteel nano-fibers, an external coating of Nanominium, and a specialized left gauntlet that contained a wrist computer with photokinetic aka 'hard light' screen and interface, it was the latest piece of armor to come out of Stark's R&D Department and quite frankly? In the wearer's opinion, it hadn't come a moment too soon.
It was one thing to deal with all the grueling missions that had been piling up as terrorists and criminal organizations were all vying for the Iso-8... how friggin' Hell itself was after those goodies from space and San Francisco had become the chosen battle ground! And while the Recon2 Impact Suit with its Nomex honeycomb Carbon Fiber high velocity absorption and energy redistribution interior had served him well during its time, this newer armored uniform's superior defense and bandoleer-styled Iso-8 Interface for extra power customization made it the protection of choice for having to take on this domino effect of greater threats. Hydra and Demonic forces at Fisherman's Wharf, then Maggia and even more demons at the Golden Gate Bridge... all of which culminated into an all-out war between Mephisto and Blackheart at the core urban area of the city that ended up with the TransAmerica Tower going up in flames and the Oakland Bay Bridge being torn in two at its central point!
Oh yeah, and can't forget that he had to deal with all that and that rat bastard Taskmaster taking pot shots at him the entire time thanks to an apparent contract he made with the devious Baron Mordo no less! Even with his new badass armored uniform and extra Iso-8 carrying capacity, if it hadn't been for Daimon Hellstrom of all people jumping to his assistance and sticking to his side through thick and thin as if he'd been Gondor calling for aid, the Agent didn't think he would've been able to come out ahead this time. Things were just getting that much more difficult if not dangerous as time went on... and in the case with demons, they also got creepier and weirder.
"The next time there's something strange in the neighborhood, we're calling the Ghostbusters," The tired Agent chosen to be the Field Commander of the Alliance grumbled as he continued down the corridor of the Helicarrier. The further he got towards the interior, the louder the thrum of the engines became. Not only were they immensely audible but the Agent physically felt the tremor through the ship as they worked at max capacity. No surprise though, as at the moment they had to due to the fact that thanks to a number of demons literally suicide bombing themselves against the aerial base two of the four massive turbine engines that gave them sustained, independent flight were out of commission until further notice, leaving the other two to work double-time and then some so they could stay aloft. "How much longer until they're back online anyway?" He mumbled to no one that was there...
Then as an afterthought, he raised his left arm and keyed up the SHIELD Mainframe. Going through to maintenance, he frowned. An ETA of two more hours? Well, that suited him just fine. It would give him enough time to talk to his... guest. Hoo boy, had Daimon been mad at him for this one but he couldn't just leave her at the Golden Gate Bridge in her injured state, let alone lying in the center of a sacrificial pentagram! Who knows who would've taken advantage if he had? And that was one problem he was nipping in the bud before it bloomed, thank-you-very-MUCH!
Besides that, this mission proved that despite vast number of good folks who had already joined him as part of the Alliance... they needed a lot more hands on deck if they were to be as efficient as possible! Sure, they had the Sorcerer Supreme himself as part of the team but he could only be in one place at once and as such, this Special Operations had been the Alliance's most difficult to date: mostly because they had so few members of the magically-inclined. Sure, the Asgardians were a huge help this go around in pushing back the forces of Hell but they were more of a straight-forward physical force that had little in the way of pointedly defending San Francisco itself. The Alliance needed someone that could make great use of the literal mystical aspects of magic like Dr. Strange, Scarlet Witch, and the team's latest addition of Daimon Hellstrom could.
That was why Agent Towers was willing to make a deal with a literal devil. He made his way to the special section of lockdown known as the Quarantine area. He felt it was a better fit for the woman as she had come aboard injured and this area of confinement was more suited to administering more personalized medical needs than the more generalized prisoner medical unit of the Helicarrier. Besides, he needed to keep her away from the rest of the SHIELD staff for the time being. She was succubus, a particular type of demon blessed with great beauty, magical powers, and... an apparent need to eat souls.
Oh yes, the Agent knew if he managed this, he was likely going to get an earful from more than just Daimon. Still, the need to add another powerful magic-user and the opportunity on hand were just too good to ignore! He would just have to hope the old adage was true: 'ti's easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.'
And so, as the thrum of the overworked engines died down as he came to a more secluded part of the Helicarrier; one towards the proverbial belly of the beast so that the whole thing could be jettisoned in case of an emergency. The Agent let loose a breath of relief as she found that yes, she hadn't escaped. There she was, reclining along the white couch within a circular cell of bulletproof glass reinforced with nanolaire. She was adorned in dark violet leotard that was decorated with white fur along the lower legs to give it a boot-like effect along with cleavage and hip cuts to show off the sheer curvaceous nature of the redheaded beauty's body. A set of gold horned demon skull with golden rope tassels and gold king cobras were affixed to the outfit like belt and boot buckles respectively.
Without a doubt, this was one of the Princesses of Hell. The daughter of Marduk Kurios herself... Satana Hellstrom.
And she had noticed that he had arrived. "Ah... an Agent," she cooed; albeit her voice was slightly muffled by the material of the cage that surrounded her. "It's so nice to see a potential... guest..." she finally said after a pause. "Won't you be a dear and give a little lady some company?"
Needless to say, she was quite surprised when he did just that! She sat up on the white couch as she watched him fiddling with some translucent effect hovering over his left arm—magic perhaps? As a portion of the wall suddenly had a seam from which it opened outward and the man stepped in, she scooched over on the couch to make room for her; the succubus' left hand patting the seat beside her in anticipation.
That excitement slightly dulled when the man carried a folding chair into the cell with him; the piece of glass-like paneling rising back up into its former space, the seam which it had freed itself from sealing over as if it had never been there to begin with once more. As he unfolded the chair and set it down before her, the Agent sat down and gave her a smile. It was a tired one to be certain, but the smile seemed rather genuine. "Good evening, Satana Hellstrom. Welcome the Iliad, one of SHIELD's most prominent Helicarriers and home of the Alliance."
Rolling her eyes as soon as he brought up the Alliance, Satana let out a long suffering sigh. "Ah yes," she replied in a rather droll manner as she recognized what was going on. "So I take it this is one of those oh-so infamous, 'Agent Towers Interviews' that the others have been talking about?"
Needless to say, that comment caught his attention. The main raised an eyebrow as he considered that statement for a moment. Finally, he couldn't help but simply query, "Infamous?"
Nodding her head, the infernal redheaded beauty replied, "Quite. Some of the blasé heroes that had checked up on me have commented that you apparently like to sit down with us so-called, 'villains' before letting us join, to feel us out to see if we can't do good or—like in my case—repay the kindness of a stranger in my time of desperate need? Well, let's get this out of the way, shall we?" She smiled as she leaned closer to the Agent, making sure to let her breasts droop forward to put a great emphasis on her cleavage. "First of all, yes, I'm evil. Secondly, no, I can't be trusted. And furthermore, yes, I will betray you when it's convenient for me. Does that cover all of Daimon's whining?"
The SHIELD Agent twitched at the woman's rather blunt and forthcoming manner. Truth be told, those were indeed a lot of the reasons Hellstorm took him aside to chew his head off for bringing his sister onto the Helicarrier not as a prisoner but a, 'person of special interest'. "Yeah. Pretty much," he admitted.
The demonic hell-spawn nodded her head in a way that was a cross between belligerent and prideful. "Good. He's right. My father is a demon prince, after all."
Nodding his head in affirmation to this, Agent Towers continued to give the woman his full attention, just in case she tried anything funny while he was confined in the SHIELD ScienCell with her. "Oh come now, you can't be all bad. I mean, look at your brother Daimon and all the good he's done, or the powers someone like Dr. Strange has to handle every day. Just because something is of the ark doesn't mean it has to be evil."
Considering the mortal's words for a moment, the infernal noblewoman titled her head to the left and sighed, her crimson eyes rolling back in exasperation. "All right, I can at least say I wasn't born bad; my brother proved that if you're strong and brave and stupid enough, you can take the hard way through life. But I had a different path in mind for myself. While Daimon ran away to be miserable and self-loathing, I lounged in Daddy's palace and learned everything I could about life in the infernal realms."
Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, the SHIELD Agent pressed on. "Really? So you're telling me that your choice to stay with your father was research? That this was your chance to discover everything you could about that side of your lineage?" When the succubus gave him a noncommittal, he nodded his head. "All right then..." he murmured to himself, mulling over what the demoness had told him. Finally, he continued with, "Well, what did you learn from your time with your father?"
"What did I learn?" The redhead parroted with a tone of annoyance. "I learned that it's just as banal and pointless as life on Earth!" She straightened up her posture on the couch as she suddenly went on a tirade about, "The politics, the back-biting, the constant bickering over this soul or that one!" She collapsed back into the couch, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose as if to avert an oncoming headache as she practically whined, "You can imagine my utter disappointment..."
Agent Towers wanted to argue, he really did. But he himself had his own similar experiences with SHIELD. He put up with a lot of BS from higher ups and Heroes alike since he became the Field Commander the Alliance. Sure it had died down to nothing by this point but there was so much open discontent in the beginning. Extremely few people had faith in him as, 'the Rookie' since not only he had only just finished his SHIELD graduation test before the Event occurred that caused Isotope-8 to come crashing down all over the planet but it truly was a series of misunderstandings by the media at large that elevated him into being named by the President as the Head of this Alliance and many didn't know what to make of him. Nick worked him like a pack mule while Stark made so many jokes at his expense. It was only thanks to people like Captain America and Spider-Man that he hung on long enough to finally feel like a real force of good.
"Yeah..." the SHIELD Agent admitted quietly. "I can imagine that better than you think."
Lowering her hand, the woman tilted her head so that her flashing ruby eyes made direct contact with the Agent's own sapphire orbs. Not noticing any deception from the man she continued, "Then imagine my utter shrieking terror when Mephisto tried to extract my life force with an excruciatingly painful ritual." Her expression became a rather sour one as she shook her head vigorously in annoyance. Finally though, the small fit of rage subsided and she could only let off a tired sigh. "And after everything I did for him..."
While he truly felt sympathy for the woman, his memories of past encounters with the succubus couldn't keep from quipping, "You mean like how you would often set my teammates and I ablaze with literal hellfire?"
Shrugging her shoulders—and causing her breasts to jiggle in a rather enticing way—the princess of hell could only explain that, "Loyalty is fickle among my kind, Agent Towers. Our alliances are about two things: gaining power and saving our necks." She then tilted her head forward, once more making eye contact with the Agent. "With that in mind, allow me to propose a deal: Protect me from Mephisto, and I'm yours, body and soul." Then, as an afterthought, she amended, "Well... body, anyway."
Agent Towers was about to ask what she meant by that when he suddenly found the succubus sitting on his lap, her right arm wrapped around the back of his neck as her hand lay on his chest, idly playing with his bandoleer. She then continued to promise, "Whatever you need from me, you'll have it. I'll even promise to behave myself. Mostly."
Drawing his eyes away from the breast practically mashed up against the lower half of his face and up to meet her bemused expression, the man tilted his head back so he could have the freedom to speak once more. "Mostly?" He repeated. "When you say, 'mostly' are you referring to..." he couldn't bring himself to finish verbally, too embarrassed to say it aloud. Instead, he motioned down with his eyes to emphasis the fact she was grinding her ass on his lap.
Smirking, the woman cooed in an ever-seductive voice, "Well that... and the fact I'm not giving up the souls. I mean, true, it's not that I really need them; they're just soooo delicious! Like cake!" She licked her lips in a sultry manner. "Just keep finding naughty boys for me to drain, and we'll both be happy."
And thus, the pair stayed there for a bit, the succubus grinding and caressing the Agent, literally throwing herself all over him in an effort to get him to agree to this deal if not get a better one out of it. Yet as time wore on, Satana had to admit that it seemed like her usual tactics for negotiation were failing her. "Hmm... strange..." she murmured. "Usually men—and women—are all over me right now willing to offer up their souls and then some. I mean, it's romantic when they offer up their hearts to but—"
She was interrupted when the Agent blurted out, "Nanominium."
Blinking her crimson eyes once, twice, then a third time, all the sensual succubus could bring herself to verbally muster in response was, "Wot?"
"Nanominium," Agent Towers repeated. "Is a metallic substance that can be applied as a gloss for anti-magical properties. My current uniform has such a coating and as such, the charm magics you've been ruthlessly bombarding me with have had no effect."
"Ahh... so you were cheating then," she said in understanding, the tone of her voice filled with relief. After all, no succubus liked to even entertain the concept that could possibly, 'lose their touch' as it were. It was a matter of pride, damn it!
Nodding his head rapidly, Agent Towers was quick to reaffirm. "Yes. Now, if you'll excuse me..." he picked her up in his arms and then gently placed her back onto the couch. Taking a moment to use his wrist-com, one of the translucent wall of the ScienCell began to release a portion of its surface for him once more. Upon fully opening, the Agent chose to forego all dignity and run as if a he was being chased by a bat out of hell.
A fitting descriptor, all things considered as Satana quickly realized he left the entrance her quarters opened. The redheaded demonic beauty couldn't help but grin in a most devious manner.
SHIELD Helicarrier...
Mid-Deck Public Lounge...
"Hey Puppet Pal Clem!"
"What is it, Puppet Pal Mitch?"
"Do you know what time it is?"
"Gee, I don't know. What time is it Puppet Pal Mitch?"
"It's—"
*BONK!*
"Bonk-o'clock!"
"HA!" The mutant known by the code name of, 'Iceman' laughed as he watched the television in one of the lounges of the Helicarrier. While there were many such break-rooms, this was one of the few with a working television so that those who didn't need a quieter atmosphere could indulge themselves entertainment... such as Bobby was with the robust and majestic theater of puppet violence comedy.
Indeed, it was a fun way to relax and pass the time when you were off-shift. However, the mutant's attention was brought to sudden and grinding halt, the X-Man genuinely surprised as a hand firmly and repeatedly tapped him on the shoulder in rapid succession. Turning his head about to see what was going on, he relaxed when he realized it was just Agent Towers. "Hey! What's up, my dude?" He greeted before motioning to the TV set. "Care to watch some Puppet Pals with me? It might not be My Little Pony but it's still friggin' funny!"
However, he didn't get an immediate answer as Towers stood there shivering... and not exactly from cold either. "Hey, Bobby?" The SHIELD Agent began in all seriousness. "Could you do me a solid and dump a snowball down the front of my pants?" He asked, the human's hand already pulling at his waist.
Iceman blinked his eyes once, twice. Clearly, he was not sure what to make of this situation. At all! So understandably, the only response he had for his Field Commander was a resounding response of, "U~uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh..."
However, understanding came to the ice-powered mutant when Satana of all people sashayed up to the entrance of the lounge. Leaning in, she saw the state the Agent and Iceman were in… and smirked. "AH! Glad to see I still have it," she cooed as she raised her right hand to playfully salute the pair. "See you around, Agent Towers. I look forward to working more... intimately with you in the future." She then winked as she continued on, intent to explore the Helicarrier as well as get accustomed to her new play things—er—'teammates'...
Iceman just stared at the now empty doorway. Then at the pleading SHEILD Agent. Then back to the door way before settling on his current superior officer once more. Finally, without a word, Bobby simply dumped a snowball down the front of Agent Tower's pants.
Trembling in absolute relief, all the Head of the Alliance could whisper out was, "Thank you…"
TO BE CONTINUED...
