AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Belongs to L.J. Smith, Stan Lee, Marvel, and whoever else is involved with these charries. I'm just mashing up the sandboxes and I own the plot.

2014

Brock's eyes clouded as he headed to the mess hall. Something's not sitting right, he mused. He couldn't put his finger on it, but recently, it felt like more and more of his people were changing, though he wouldn't be able to say why. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he was right. He gave himself a mental shake and went to get his food before going to sit at one of the tables in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s cafeteria and began eating.

"Damn, slow down, man," a voice chuckled. At this, Brock looked to see, his best friend and second in command, Jack Rollins.

"Just wanna get back to work as soon as possible without having to eat in my office," Brock explained and Jack nodded in understanding. That makes sense, he thought to himself. Things had been hectic over the past few days, for example, the fact that everyone was fawning over having Captain America unthawed. Wonder what it'd be like to work with him, he thought to himself. He had heard so many stories growing up. Of course, most of those stories had stated that the Captain had died and he hadn't, so that was a mind-fuck. What Fury was going to do with this information, he had no idea. It was just weird though. They could soon be potentially be fighting alongside of Captain fucking America.

"You okay though? You seem…" Jack struggled with how to proceed. "Worried," he finished. At this, Brock leaned forward, causing Jack to do the same.

"You ever notice how more and more of our guys seem to be changing? Like, they're becoming…harder…for lack of a better term," the team leader commented in a soft tone. And I'm not sure I like it, he mused. It put him on edge even though he couldn't explain why.

"Yeah," the other man agreed in the same voice. It's weird all right, he thought to himself. It was like their mindsets were being changed but….that was impossible…wasn't it? A person couldn't just change their whole philosophy on a dime. They wouldn't. Gotta figure this out, Jack mused. He didn't much pay attention to the politics or goings on of the higher ups, but he did notice things. And one thing he had noticed was that their guys were starting to change personality wise. Oh, they tried to act the same, but it was like sometimes no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't answer certain types of questions. It was weird and he just wasn't sure what it all meant. How would he find out? And what would he do once he knew the truth? But at least Brock was apparently noticing the same thing, meaning that he wasn't going crazy, which was a relief. Now they just needed to figure out what they were going to do about everything.

"We gotta figure out what's going on there," Brock determined and Jack nodded. "But keep it under wraps. No need to incite panic," he stated and the other man nodded again. Plus, this way, we don't run the risk of Hydra finding out that we're having problems, he thought. It was the last thing that they needed. And yes, he was thinking that. Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. had trusted him with his mission to keep the world safe and he wasn't going to let them down. The men fell silent as they finished eating and then on with their day.

While this was going on, a man in his early thirties was driving a 1983 black Mustang towards the base, a young woman in the passenger's side.

"Tell me again why you have this car. As far as I can recall, you always liked the newest and shiniest toy," the woman stated.

"Because Brock likes the classics," came the response.

"Right. Of course," she said. Then, "Do you think he'll accept us back?"

"That's the hope. Which is why I'm wearing what I'm wearing. He's always liked me in t-shirts best," he said.

"And grey jeans," she noted, a hint of appreciation in her voice as she gave him a once over.

"Don't think that this absolves you of anything, Katerina. You're still on shaky ground," the man threatened, momentarily taking his eyes off the road to glare at her.

"Ugh! How many times do I have to tell you? I did not reject you! I was protecting myself because you wanted to kill me!" she huffed, crossing her arms. Why can't I get him to see reason? she fumed. Honestly, he could be so infuriating! Was anyone as stubborn as Klaus? Somehow, she really doubted it. Klaus let out an unneeded breath. Why won't she admit that she hurt me? She never even gave me the chance to explain that I had a way to make sure that she was safe during the ritual, he thought. Yes, Elijah had made the elixir, but he had known about it. I'll do anything to protect her, even if it's from myself, he thought to himself. But at least she had agreed to come with him to find their other soulmate, so that was something at least. Glad she's here. It's something I can work with, he thought to himself. And that was what he wanted: to work on their relationship. He had a lot to make up for, he knew this. He just hoped that he'd have the chance to make it right. "So uh…not to be one of those passengers, but how much further is this place?" the woman wondered, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"I think we'll be there soon," came the response and she nodded. Just want to see Brock, she mused. She had missed him over the years and she was curious to see what he was doing now. Klaus' eyes flickered. Can't wait to see him, he thought. Hopefully, he'd give them a chance to explain, though he wouldn't be able to blame him if he reacted badly as they had both left him. But that was why he was coming to him, to apologize to him, and he was pretty sure Katerina wanted to do the same, though he wasn't quite sure as she hadn't said anything. Beside him, Katherine's eyes flickered. Worried. What if this doesn't go the way we hope? she wondered. What if Brock had moved on from them? Sure she still saw his name occasionally, but it had been years since they had been together and she and Klaus had really screwed up where Brock was concerned. They just needed a chance to make things right-to show him that they still desired him.

Back at the base, Brock had finished his meal and headed back to work. Just want this day to be over with, he thought. Was that really such a bad thing? He didn't think so, but then again, he had been wrong about his soulmates actually wanting him, so what did he know? Okay, he couldn't think like that. He just had to focus on his work. He could do that. Yeah, and maybe if he kept telling himself that, he'd believe it. As it was, he wasn't there yet. He just…he had to get past this. All he had left was S.H.I.E.L.D. He didn't need them to fuck things up for him. But still, he had to admit that it hurt to see others with their soulmates knowing that his wanted nothing to do with him.

Hearing a buzzing sound, he pushed this thought away and took his phone out of his pocket, frowning in concern when he saw the text. Crap. Gonna have to keep Pierce happy, he thought to himself. The man was creepy and his head always felt foggy after meeting with him, even though he wasn't quite sure why. But he had his orders. Pretend to be HYDRA, let Pierce and his goons continue to use him so that Fury and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. could gather up as much intel on the organization as they could. With a sigh, he headed down the hall to where Pierce's office was, knocking on the door once he reached it.

"Enter!" came the command and Brock opened the door and walked in.

"You wanted to see me, Sir?" the S.T.R.I.K.E. commander queried.

"Yes," Pierce confirmed. "Please, sit down," he requested with a smile and warily, the younger man did so. "You haven't checked in lately, and I thought I'd get a report," he continued. Well shit, the younger man thought. Of course the man wanted updates.

"I haven't checked in cause there hasn't been anything new. Just the discovery of Captain America and you already know about that, Sir," Brock replied. Remember what Fury said. Play the long game. Let Pierce think that he has you, he coached himself. They needed this to look real. He had to play this just right.

"Is that right?" Pierce questioned, staring directly into the younger man's eyes.

"Yes, Sir," Brock confirmed. Stay cool, stay cool. Don't let him suspect anything, he coached himself. He had to keep his cover. Everything hinged on him being able to play lapdog to the guy, as much as he hated it. Hope Fury gets everything he needs soon so that I can put a stop this fucking charade, he thought to himself. He wasn't sure how much longer he could take the subterfuge. He hated pretending to be into Pierce's crap. No, he could do this.

"Okay," the man accepted. "That will be all," he continued and Brock stood up and walked out. Worried, he thought to himself as he headed back to the S.T.R.I.K.E. gym. At least his head didn't feel foggy this time around. He couldn't explain why it happened sometimes, but he was glad it hadn't happened this time. He just…he needed to figure out what all of this meant. But how? And how was he going to get all of the relevant information to Fury? Think. He needed to think. He sighed and went back to his duty station. He'd figure it all out later. Everything was fine. He had his orders and he was just going to follow them. He didn't need to know everything right now. He just had to trust that things would work out for the best. Trust…that wasn't something he was good at. His soulmates had seen to that. The soulmate mark was a damn lie. He wasn't wanted. At least…not by them. Fury and his team though…they wanted him, valued him, and that was all that he needed. And maybe if he kept telling himself that, he'd finally believe it. Ugh, I don't want to be thinking about this, he thought mused. It would just put him in a weird mindset, which wasn't what anyone needed. No, they needed him to focus on his assignment. And his assignment was to infiltrate HYDRA, find out their plans, and then relay them to Fury. That's what he was going to focus on. At least today was almost done and he'd be able to go home soon. Then he could eat some dinner and then just…crash. That's what he needed and wanted: some sleep. Was that really so bad? He didn't think so. Just a few more hours, he reminded himself. He could last a few more hours.

In his office, Nick Fury frowned as he perused the information that he had. Things weren't adding up. Rumlow's given me some good info, let me know that we've got some HYDRA agents within the agency, but a lot of them have beenlower level. We need the higher ups, the man mused. As it stood currently, if they took people in, they could just be replaced with newer members and he didn't want that to happen. No, he wanted a more permanent solution. But who could he trust? That was the thing. Come on, Nick, think! he coached himself. There had to be something he was missing here. But what? Ugh, it was gonna bug him until he figured it out. He flipped through a page and-looked up at the knock.

"Who is it?" he queried.

"Me," came the answer and a soft smile graced the man's features.

"Come in," he invited. The door opened and Maria Hill walked in, closing the door behind her.

"Nick, we've got to talk. I've been hearing some things," she began.

"What things?" Nick wondered.

"People's personalities changing, becoming harder, crueler. Gravitating towards Pierce," Maria replied. And I don't like it. I don't like not knowing what's going on, she thought.

"That doesn't sound good. You sure you're hearing right? Maybe people are just overreacting," Nick said.

"You really believe that?" Maria questioned.

"No," Nick commented with a frown. What could cause something like that? he wondered. It didn't sound like anything he had ever heard of.

"I think everyone's trying to keep things on the downlow but I hear things," Maria said and Nick nodded. We need to figure this out, he mused.

"Continue to keep an eye on it and keep me posted," he ordered.

"You got it," she agreed. She then nodded and walked out of the office and headed down the hall.

At the same time, Brock was going over some reports at his desk. Need to figure this out, he thought to himself. Some things just weren't making sense and he had to figure it out. He couldn't just let it go. People's personalities don't just change on a dime like we've been seeing, he thought to himself. And yeah, it was going to bug him until he figured it out, he could admit that.

"Brock." The man looked up to see Phil Coulson. "Go home."

"I've still got a report to finish up."

"Just leave it. That's an order. You've been pushing yourself too hard." Brock sighed, placed the papers down, pushed his chair back, and stood up. Satisfied, the man nodded and walked off even as the other man blew out a breath. He then put the papers away, and then went to sign out of the building. Once he did that, he went to his car, got in, put his key in the ignition, started the car, and then headed home, arriving there forty minutes later. He then parked his car in his driveway, turned the car off, got out of the car, went into the house, locked the door behind him, put his gun away in his gun safe, and then went to the kitchen, where he pulled a pizza out of the freezer, turned the preheat on his oven on, and then waited. Once he heard the beep moments later, he took the wrapping off of the pizza, put the food on a round tray, and then carefully put the food in the oven. Moments later, he heard a knock on his door. Who the hell could that be? he wondered. And why would they come when he was in the middle of making dinner? The knock came again, and with a sigh, the man walked towards the door.

"I'm coming!" he snarled as the knocking became more persistent. He opened the door, his eyes widening when he saw the couple at the door. He couldn't believe it. It was Nik and Kat.