A/N: Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Review responses are in my forums like normal. And now a note on this butterfly chapter. I never truly understood how SHIELD operated. And by that, I mean what was their legal authority to act as they did? In the TV show and in some glimpses of the movie, they acted like a federal law enforcement agency, but they had a world security council and near world-wide jurisdiction. How? Why? What legal authority would let a seemingly independent intelligence gathering agency have and deploy nuclear weapons over US soil? That is the sole authority of the president. There might be an explanation in the comics, but in the movies I never really had a good sense of how SHIELD even existed. But one thing I did know is that if the CIA, on their own prerogative, was found to have and use nukes here in the USA, there would be hell to pay.
So, here is my take on what happens when SHIELD cannot hide their militarization and nuclear stockpile. We are well, and truly, AU from this point forward.
Chapter Fourteen: Duty and Sacrifice
"Hold on, help's here!"
Steve had no idea that the city of Houston had a large network of underground pedestrian tunnels that ran through much of their downtown area. One of the troopers in the National Guard unit told him it was because in mid-summer, downtown Houston was like a sauna.
Whatever the reason, the tunnels proved to be both a curse and a blessing. When several of the skyscrapers came down, people sought shelter in the tunnels. But when the Chitauri discovered them, they became deathtraps. Occasionally, though, collapses isolated portions of the tunnels that were packed with desperate, terrified people that had no easy access to the surface. It protected them from the Chitauri, but left them trapped.
"We're not going to get heavy equipment in for days, Cap," Captain Holcomb said. "Not with this debris."
Like everyone else, the man was covered in powdered concrete, with the only interruptions caused by streaks of sweat. The rest of his squad were continuing to search for survivors while also doing their best to grab and control the Chitauri weapons.
What they didn't have were any earth movers to break through to the tunnels, or in this case move the massive piece of rebar-spiked concrete that used to reside inside a telecommunications tower that had fallen across four blocks and blocked the entrance of this section of tunnel.
"Guess we're going to have to brute-force it," Steve said.
"Sir? I don't have enough men to budge that."
Steve could not stay physically tired for more than fifteen minutes before his body regenerated. That didn't mean he wasn't mentally exhausted. Even so, he walked around the piece of concrete until he found the right spot. He shouted through the tiny cracks that let those within alert him to their condition in the first place. "Everyone, I need you to back away in case anything falls!"
He heard a distant voice calling "Okay!"
He gave them a few minutes before he squeezed himself into what looked like the base of a support column where a clump of rebar formed a handle. Not even a supersoldier could hope to lift the entire piece of debris. But he might be able to build himself a lever. "Holcomb, see that point ten feet down? Looks like a foot. See it?"
"Yeah."
"Put my shield under it when I give the word."
"What?"
Steve handed him the shield. "Just do it, Captain."
Holcomb shook his head, but took the shield and moved into position. Steve braced himself, grabbed the low-bundle of rebar in a deadlift, and then lifted for everything he was worth. He screamed at the effort, straining muscles that were rarely ever strained any more.
"Holy shit!" Holcomb shouted. Steve heard other soldiers shouting as well, but he didn't stop. Not until Holcomb got the shield in place.
And suddenly, he had a lever. Steve let part of the object rest on the shield, and then began pushing away from the wall, turning the T-shaped column until its slim side faced the tunnel entrance and formed an opening. "Holcombe, grab the shield," Rogers shouted.
He lifted again, his whole body trembling from the effort, and the other captain retrieved the shield. "Holy shit, Cap," The man said.
"Yeah. Pretty good for a guy in his 90s, huh?"
Holcomb laughed with a note of hysteria as his men began escorting out stunned, speechless survivors. The number that came out gave Steve some small kernel of hope. If four hundred civilians survived in this part of the tunnel, thousands more might have survived elsewhere.
"Captain Holcomb!"
Sergeant Little, who was anything but, rushed toward them. "Captain! Some suits are trying to take the alien shit!"
"Shield," Steve said. He didn't mean the word to come out as a growl, but at that moment he was not very happy with Fury or the rest of the organization. He ran toward where they'd been storing the Chitauri weapons with Holcomb a step behind. He was not surprised when he saw a group of men and women in suits and ties holding up SHIELD badges and pistols against a tired, overwrought company of National Guardsmen who just fought off an alien invasion using the aliens' own weapons.
It was going about as well as one would think.
One of the agents, who from their cleanliness was obviously not from the Helicarrier, saw him approaching. "Captain Rogers! Tell these men to stand down. This is SHIELD property and…"
Steve stepped right past the national guardsman, slapped the agent's gun from his hand and one-armed him two feet off the ground. "SHIELD?" Steve said. "The same SHIELD that had nuclear weapons and sent a fifteen-year-old girl to her death to save your asses? THAT SHIELD?"
"SHIELD pulled you out of the ice," the stunned agent said.
"They also pulled the Tesseract out of the ice, and that's what caused all this."
Steve put the man down. "Get out of here. Captain Holcomb, get on the horn and tell all units not to cooperate with SHIELD. I'd recommend arresting them, but frankly the civilians are a higher priority."
The four other SHIELD agents looked stunned. The lead agent looked furious. "You are making a big mistake, Captain Rogers," the man said.
"Maybe. If you take another step toward those weapons, I'll make an even bigger one. Leave."
Meanwhile, Holcomb was on the radio in the big, heavy jeep the men called a Humvee, spreading the word about SHIELD.
One of the other guardsman stepped a bit closer. "What he said was true, Cap? About the ice? Are you the real Captain America? Like out of the comics?"
Holcomb laughed. "Ramirez, I just watched this man deadlift at least four tons of concrete. It's him. We've got our orders, gentlemen. Cap's orders. Let's get to work."
They went back to work. More soldiers were arriving every hour-national guardsmen and regular army out of Fort Hood. Steve wasn't sure how he ended up in command, but the officers who knew who and what he was just looked to him for orders. So, he provided direction until someone else came along who could do better.
He glanced up at the partially collapsed tower where the portal used to be. Like everyone in the city of Houston, he'd seen Swan fly into the portal. He'd seen a brilliant flash of white light and watched as the entire invading force seemed to fall dead where they stood.
The giant flying millipedes dropped onto buildings; the war sleds fell like gnats. And the seemingly endless wave of monsters that were quickly overrunning the unit that Steve had fallen into just dropped dead to the ground.
When Thor closed the portal minutes later without any sign of Swan, Steve knew the war was over. For her self-confessed sins, the young winged alien had given her life to save their world. And the two Asgardians?
The last Steve heard was Thor's voice. "My friends, I have closed the portal. I cannot speak enough to the grief my brother has caused you. In Odin's name, I promise Loki will be punished. But for the sake of your world, we cannot remain here. Fare thee well."
It was after dark when Holcomb led Banner to him.
Like many of them, Banner was coated in powdered concrete. His only clothing was a pair of dangerously tattered pants that he held up as he walked bare-foot into the pharmacy market where they'd set up a temporary C&C.
"Doctor, are you injured?"
"No," Banner said. "Have we heard from Swan?"
Steve shook his head. "She's gone. One way or the other, she's gone."
Banner blinked back moisture. "The Big Guy really liked her. It was weird." The lieutenant drifted away back to their efforts to keep the alien weaponry from falling into too many civilian hands. Steve knew it was an impossible task, but he also recognized it was worth the effort.
Steve could hear the sound of choppers flying military personnel in and civilians out. They had no idea what the casualty list was, but just based on the fact that downtown Houston had been all but razed in the middle of a weekday, he suspected it was many, many thousands. That last group of five hundred he saved in the afternoon was the biggest single group found since then.
"Fury's not here, but he promised you'd go free when done," Steve said. "And I agree. You did good, Dr. Banner. You, and the Big Guy. You saved lives, and that's worth something. Sergeant Little?"
The sergeant was a large, muscular man who snapped to attention. "Captain!"
"Sergeant, this man was an integral part of the first response team. Could we find him a set of clothes and transport out of the area?"
Sergeant Little was also not an idiot. He glanced at Banner, looked at Steve, and then nodded with a wry grin. "You got it, Cap'n. Come on, Dr. Banner."
Bruce cast Steve a grateful smile before following the sergeant out.
The work continued for hours into the night. From the pharmacy, he was able to better reserve his time for when the searchers found pockets of survivors. On four separate occasions Steve had to display his superhuman strength to help free civilians caught in rubble or collapsed buildings. Every time he did so, more of the National Guard viewed him in awe and took his orders as the word of God.
When General of the Army Joe Greller finally arrived on site just after two in the morning, Steve was effectively directing all rescue operations in the city.
"Atten-tion!"
Steve snapped to attention near the map table map they'd set up by necessity, just like everyone else in uniform. General Greller stepped into the tent with the persona of a man who had commanded his entire life. Steve did not recognize the older man behind him, but he appeared to be a Lieutenant General.
"At ease," Greller said. He crossed the hastily cleared floor of the pharmacy and walked directly to Steve.
Steve couldn't help it. A lifetime of hopes, dreams and hardship forced him to snap a salute. "General, sir!"
Greller almost missed a step, before saluting in kind with a wry smile. He then offered a hand. "Captain. An honor to meet you."
"Likewise, sir." They shook hands.
"This is General Thaddeus Ross," Greller said. "He was hoping for a chance to speak to Doctor Banner."
Steve might have been on ice for over 60 years, but he recognized the look in Ross's eyes. "I saw Dr. Banner briefly a couple of hours ago, sir. I instructed a Guardsmen to find him clothes and a transport. I haven't seen him since."
"On whose authority, Captain?" Ross demanded hotly.
"With respect, General, Dr. Banner was recruited by Director Fury to assist SHIELD in trying to prevent this. When that failed, Dr. Banner risked his life to fight the Chitauri and save lives. I stand by the decision to let him go on my authority, such as it is."
"I can respect that, Captain," Greller said before Ross could speak.
Steve looked over Greller's shoulder as a pair of regular Army specialists slipped through the crowded C&C with communications equipment. They moved further into the building, past the main shopping area toward the pharmacy in the back.
"Walk with me, Captain," Greller said.
Steve fell in beside the general, with Ross a step behind. They too headed toward the pharmacy.
"I used to read the Captain America comics as a kid," Greller said casually. "They came out in the sixties, during the Vietnam War. It was a bad time for the country, and a lot of people appreciated the stories. The story of the Howling Commandos was the first time I ever saw a black man in a soldier's uniform depicted in the comics as a hero."
"There were quite a few as I recall," Steve said. "There are a lot of things about this new country I still trying to get used to. But there are a lot of things that got better, too."
They reached the pharmacy where the two lieutenants had already set up a communications rig with a laptop and a small, dedicated satellite dish. Though they had never spoken, Steve recognized the man on the monitor.
"Mr. President," Steve said with a respectful nod.
President David Palmer was the first black president of the nation, and was finishing his second and final term. The elections were six months away and the fight to succeed the man was already fierce.
"Captain." The sound quality was as good as anything SHIELD had, though the video was a little fuzzy. "Initial estimates are telling me forty-to-sixty thousand Americans were just killed by an alien invasion. And yet, try as I might, SHIELD is refusing to tell me anything. They have refused to divulge how or why they had a flight capable aircraft carrier equipped with military-grade and experimental aircraft, or why they had a compliment of fifteen nuclear warheads, or why they had SHIELD agents in the city clashing with the army and national guard trying to seize alien contraband."
Steve's heart thudded heavily in his chest. "Mr. President, I was under the impression that you had a say in the World Security Council."
"So was I, Captain," Palmer said. "Secretary Pierce has told me it was an internal matter and under treaty he cannot answer my questions." Through the monitor, he glanced at Geller.
The general cleared his throat. "I understand, Captain, that it was you who 'suggested' the National Guard refuse to turn the alien contraband over. Why is that?"
Steve looked to Greller then back to the president. "Sirs, I was told that SHIELD was a direct successor to the SSR. I only agreed to serve because I thought they had a similar mission. Then I saw them send a teenaged girl to her death to stop an invasion they helped create, using a nuclear weapon they should never have had... I am not confident any more about my affiliation with them."
Greller frowned. "Are you referring to the alien named Swan?"
"She was a child," Steve said. "Strong, yes, but a child. Dr. Banner estimated her age between 15 and 17. She was so torn up with guilt about what her adopted father made her do that she basically killed herself to save us. And SHIELD let it happen."
"I wasn't aware of her age," Greller admitted.
"I did some digging into SHIELD's history," President Palmer said from the monitor. "The SSR was a command under the Department of the Army. SHIELD was not, nor has it ever been, part of any US military command. Its foundation was always by treaty. Nor can I find any information on the various members of the World Security Council who supposedly run it. Secretary Pierce is not cooperating."
If it were anyone else, Steve would think it a conspiracy theory. But he stood in the presence of the highest ranking officer of the United States Army speaking to a second-term president.
"I'm not sure about Fury. I think he might have been honest. But everything else was suspicious," Rogers admitted. "And it wasn't just the nukes. What was SHIELD doing with the tesseract in the first place? That's what HYDRA used to power their weapons. It...did trouble me, sir. We just had more immediate issues to distract us."
The President of the United States nodded thoughtfully as he studied Steve. "Captain, that shield you carry means a lot, to a lot of people. Your face is on the news across the world. This is intentional-you and Tony Stark are much more marketable than two gods and a winged alien who claims to have butchered other worlds. But the reason we're speaking is because you personally led soldiers in defense of this city, and then stood by them against SHIELD. I want to reactivate your commission, and I wish you to take command of a SHIELD offshoot that I have just formally brought under Air Force jurisdiction."
"Sir?"
"Tell me, Colonel Rogers, have you ever met or heard of Director Monica Rambeau?"
~~Titanomachy~~
~~Titanomachy~~
"Hey."
Natasha hated pain meds; completely aside from the memories being drugged brought up, it just made her feel unprepared and weak. The roiling pain in her stomach did not help. Blinking to clear gunk from her eyes, she looked and saw Clint sitting by her bedside.
Instinctively she started to turn away but went still when she found herself facing an army MP staring down right at her. "What's going on?"
"So, ah...Loki's out of my head," Clint said. "Woke up a mile or so north of the portal. Got a stand-down order from Fury, and then came the army."
Natasha sat up, only for her head to swoon. "What…?"
Gentle hands helped her lay back down. "Nat, you got Houston bay water in an open wound in your calf," Clint said. "Sepsis. They had to cut a lot out to save the leg, and you're still on some heavy antibiotics. You almost died, and you're not out of the woods yet."
Whatever else she wanted to do, her head and stomach forced her to lay back. "We win?"
"Yeah. Swan took a nuke through the portal. Loki showed himself to try and stop her and Thor laid down some divine wrath. He's the one that closed the portal, and then he took the scepter, the Tesseract and Loki back to Asgard. Good riddance."
"How long has it been?"
"Two days. Oh, yeah. We're both under arrest. Did you know there were nukes on the helicarrier?"
"What?"
The door opened and Steve Rogers stepped into the room. He was not wearing his captain America costume, or civilian garb. To her utter shock, he was wearing an Air Force dress uniform with a general's stars as well as his old WWII medals.
"That'll be all," he said with the MP.
The soldier nodded and left the room.
"Steve, what the hell is going on?" Natasha said.
The muscles of Roger's jaws were clenching tightly. "The President of the United States was unaware that SHIELD had a military airship with nuclear weapons flying over the continent. That wasn't just a breach of the World Security Charter, it could be construed as an act of war and terrorism. Did you know, Nat?"
She hated pain meds. It took a moment to digest what he said. "I don't know everything, Steve. I just act like I do. I'm a field agent-I only knew what I needed for mission ops. What is going on?"
"President Palmer has formally withdrawn the United States from the SHIELD treaty and has issued a formal complaint to the Council. My understanding is that the UK, France, Spain, Italy and Germany are also considering leaving the treaty and scrapping SHIELD entirely. It was meant to be an international intelligence organization. At no point was SHIELD ever intended to possess weapons of mass destruction or the military infrastructure to depose whole nations."
Though Steve kept his voice calm, she heard an undertone of indignant rage in the man's voice she'd never heard before. "Steve," she said, struggling to keep the drugs out of her voice. "I have personally saved the world."
"I was there too, Nat," Clint muttered.
"Right." She spared a smile for her comrade. "SHIELD fights international forces that no singular government could afford to confront. I know this looks bad. I'm not going to try and justify why there were nukes on the helicarrier. But we've done good work!"
"I know," Rogers said. Some of the tension eased from his shoulders. "I know, Nat. That's why we're talking. While you were in surgery, I spent part of the day yesterday in Florida speaking to an acquaintance of Nick Fury's named Monica Rambeau. She is former Air Force and the director of a SHIELD counterpart agency called SWORD. President Palmer just nationalized it and brought it formally under Air Force control. Director Rambeau will continue to head air and space operations. And I will now command ground-force operations. We're already in talks with NATO about making it an international replacement for SHIELD."
She looked from the captain's serious face, over the Clint's. "And you're going to need ground agents?"
"I'm going to need ground agents," he said. "More importantly, we're going to need people to tell us what we'll be facing out there. Did you know SHIELD has another whole aircraft carrier? It's gone dark. China doesn't even have an aircraft carrier yet, but SHIELD has two, and one that flew? We're going to have to crack it wide open, Nat. The question is are you with me, or not?"
"What about Clint?"
Rogers waved at the man. "Clint was compromised. We've already brought Selvig on board, along with much of his compromised staff. What about you?"
"What's the alternative?"
The man met her gaze without flinching. "You'll be debriefed, and then released under supervision. But Nat...one way or the other, SHIELD is done. There is no forgiveness for possessing and deploying illegal nuclear weapons in the continental United States."
She felt Barton grip her hand. "Hey, there are worse gigs," Clint said. "Besides, even if it pays less, I hear the Feds get good benefits. Orthodontics are expensive, you know."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm in," she said.
Natasha knew which way the wind was blowing.
~~Titanomachy~~
~~Titanomachy~~
"Let the cards fall where they will," Nick Fury said as he watched Swan flying away with a nuclear warhead in hand.
"Director, we're getting calls from everyone," Vic Gonzalez said. He stood at their temporary communications hub on the deck of the downed helicarrier and looked shell-shocked. Nick knew it wasn't from the crash-Gonzalez was an old field agent who had been through bad stuff.
No, it was the attention. SHIELD worked best in the shadows; and there was no way to hide a flying aircraft carrier crashed in the middle of Trinity Bay. He'd told Pierce there'd be a price to pay to militarize as much as they had in the past few years, but it seemed like the bad guys just kept getting more powerful too.
They could always justify it, until with a numbing sense of shock Fury realized that he was sitting on a patently illegal nuclear stockpile a stone's throw from one of the largest cities in the nation.
Trinity Bay was too shallow for large craft, but he spotted several Coast Guard vessels en route, as well as state police. Pierce and the World Security Council weren't going to be able to sweep this under a rug.
"Gonzalez, have security lock down all munitions," Fury said. "I mean, locked down tight. Once that's done, spread the word to abandon ship."
"Sir?"
Fury moved closer to the experienced agent. "Vic, we had to call in the Army. I just let an alien fly off with a nuclear warhead. What do you think Washington is going to think about all that? All SHIELD employees are hired under shell companies to protect their identities. Lock the ship down, and get off this boat."
The man's eyes grew wide for a moment before he nodded. He began issuing the orders.
Fury left the deck, moving quickly not to the command deck, but to the central security hub in the middle of the ship. It was hard moving through broken or bent hallways, or around the debris that littered everything, but finally he reached the security center.
There was a working console, operating off the ship's sizable battery power. It took time, with the systems as damaged as they were, to pull all the data. He went through twenty thumb drives, taking each one from the cracked, spilled supply cabinet at the back of the room. The Helicarrier had its own server and database that updated every time they made contact with one of the SHIELD satellites in orbit.
When he captured everything he could, he removed his own USB drive from the interior of his coat pocket. It was red, with a thumb print scanner on its side. He activated it, and then plugged it into the monitor.
The virus began to aggressively destroy every piece of data in the main servers.
His earpiece clicked, and with a shock he realized he'd been working for an hour. "Sir, this is Barton. I...I just woke up. What should I do?"
The agent sounded hurt and lost. "Clint, stand down. Cooperate. Stay alive."
"Sir?"
"Call it a gut feeling. Stand down."
"I killed our own people."
"No, you didn't. Loki did, and he used you to do it. Now stand down, go coms silent."
"Sir. Good luck."
"You too, Clint."
Fury made his way out of the security center. When he reached the deck, he saw four Blackhawks on the deck with regular army swarming out. Those few SHIELD agents left were being arrested. Fortunately, they were cooperating.
"Fuck that," Fury muttered.
He made his way back down to the aft launch bay. It took a few minutes to find what he was looking for in the mess caused by the wreck, but soon enough he found it. The boat was a single outboard engine, 25 foot center console fishing boat. It was his own personal baby that he brought aboard for when the Helicarrier was in the water.
The gantry motors were busted, but the boat's hanging status actually saved it, where the other escape craft that were against the port side of the ship were crushed. He grabbed the chains and pulled the boat around to the closed bay door. When he had his baby in position, he hit the emergency manual release. The seams blew with a dull thud, and the heavy door fell out into the bay. Filthy water came rushing in as Fury brought the boat down just outside the ship.
The bay was filled with boats just like his. The Coast Guard ships were coming from the starboard side where other bay doors were already open, and the Army was coming down from the decks.
Fury got the boat in the water, freed it from its chains, and then began checking the equipment. The tank was fueled because, before this whole nightmare started, he planned to take Ramirez and Hill fishing.
He took off his coat, found his red 'Bama fishing hat, and took the boat out into the bay.
