Hey there! So...that was a good seven months and a half. I deeply apologize, I really didn't mean to keep you waiting so long - work continues to throw off my writing schedule (if I can even claim to have such a thing) and juggling a handful of active fics has not been as easy as it used to be lately. I'll once again reassure you that I have no plans to abandon any ongoing fics - I'll be writing this thing for years and years to come. If you're still here, and you're willing to keep being patient with me, I'm very grateful! I'll try my best to make sure the way till next chapter isn't nearly as long.
On to the chapter!
There's a brand new Ancient Greek archaeological dig site a few miles south of Albany, New York, now.
It's more than a bit bizarre, Kara thinks, surveying the scene from above. It's nighttime now, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ever efficient quarantine teams have taken over, setting up a perimeter around the former battlefield, the ceiling of which caved in shortly after the battle – probably on account of Hercules bursting through it and as far away from them as possible. It's the strangest thing; the temple-like hall and what remains of Doom's lab underneath are no longer connected to the Labyrinth – almost like they were forcibly ejected by Daedalus' monstrous creation to keep what lackluster integrity it has left intact. There's no way back in, at least from here.
Kara's fine with it. If she never sets foot in that mythical place again it'll be too soon. Even discounting the revelations about her heritage, the twisted torture of the Black Mercy, and having to face Victor again, the Labyrinth kinda sucked, all on its own.
Alex whistles for her attention below, so she floats down to meet her. Her sister is back in S.H.I.E.L.D. fatigues, begrudgingly following Kara's advice. "You guys sure made a mess of this place." –Alex notes, crossing her arms.
"I know, I know. But Doom forced our hand." –Kara says. "Still, considering Thor and the Hulk fought actual, literal Hercules here, this place is remarkably intact." –she points out.
"True enough." –Alex admits. "So, what was he like? I take it he wasn't the lovable dork Disney sold us."
Kara scrunches her nose. "No, not at all. He was this bitter, stone-faced ancient Roman guy. I didn't really fight him, but he almost killed Nico and Ellie without batting an eye." –she shakes her head. "It's gonna feel really weird when I watch that movie again."
"Ah, it's not really his fault." –Strange says, walking over to them. He's out of his sorcerer's robes, clad in a stylish blazer and wearing that flying cape of his as a lengthy scarf. Whatever else she can say about the Sorcerer Supreme, his fashion sense is impeccable. "Hercules' mortal life was harsh and unforgiving, and the treatment he's received as a god by his divine peers has been less than respectful. I don't condone his actions, of course, but…I understand his reasons."
"I don't know, Strange. I've heard a lot of tough origin stories these past few months, and I can't say I see any of them attempting to crush a teenager to paste with a weapon fit for a caveman."
Strange smirks. "You should ask Nico; all things considered, this was one of his safer adventures."
"You realize that's worse, right?" –Alex says, deadpan.
"Take it up with the Olympian gods, Agent Danvers." –Strange says. He turns to Kara. "I realize S.H.I.E.L.D. must have evaluated you already, but as a former doctor myself, I need to ask: are you feeling well, Kara? I understand your confrontation with Victor turned violent quite quickly."
Kara shrugs. "I'm fine. I still have that magically inflicted burn on my thigh, but it doesn't hurt too bad, and the medics said it should go away in a day or two." –she says. "I was more disoriented by the fact that we spent a couple hours inside the Labyrinth and came out to find we'd been gone for two days."
Strange winces. "Yes, I…probably should've mentioned that before we delved inside. Time and space, both, typically function quite differently in the presence of powerful magicks." –he explains. "Many demigods and other such adventurers have taken advantage of the Labyrinth's space-time dilation properties in the past as a 'shortcut' of sorts – a very deadly one, of course, but most useful when a quest takes you back and forth across the country. Nico himself can attest to that."
The blonde grunts. "I'll take your word for it, Doc." -she says, then nods at the dig site. "What's the news? Did they find anything of value yet?"
"Indeed they have. Shall we?"
The trio heads towards a large tent pitched right beside the dig site, which serves as a temporary command center. Various computer banks and pieces of scientific equipment Kara can only vaguely identify fill the room, operated by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. In the middle of the tent, three familiar figures are examining what's probably the most relevant items salvaged from the wreckage – the mangled remains of the robot that served as Doctor Doom's stand-in for the entire scenario, and what little survived of his workstation.
Maria Hill, Winn (of all people…), and Nick Fury himself ponder the Doombot, studying the readouts projected by the high-tech mortuary slab apparatus the 'corpse' is laying on. It's the first time Kara's seen Fury for more than half a second since she found out about the Kryptonite dagger – her first instinct is to deck him on the spot, but she figures they won't exactly get much work done if she shatters the man's jaw right now.
The remains of the robot have been cleaned up as much as possible; most of the clothing it wore was incinerated by the gods' massive blow, and much of the armor is damaged, either by blunt force or heat. The robot looks kinda like a burn victim, with Doom's scowling mask making his face appear to be stuck in some kind of cadaveric grimace. If this were Doom's actual body, she might feel some sort of pity or regret – if nothing else, she'd find the imagery too reminiscent of the dead lining the streets of Argo City, a fate she wishes on no one, not even Victor – but knowing that this is simply a robot, all she can feel is contempt.
All the horrible things he put her through, and he couldn't even be bothered to actually be there to inflict them. Was he even present back when he stabbed her?
"Doctor. Kara." –Fury greets. "Hell of a find."
"Yeah…lots of that going around, huh?" –Kara says snidely. She can't help herself.
Fury holds his hand up. "We'll talk, Supergirl. Business first."
She sighs. "Make it quick, then."
"Agreed." –Steve says, joining the meeting with Romanoff not far behind. "Victor took an important defeat today. We need to press the advantage."
Fury simply hums. "Anyone care to take a guess on what we're looking at?" –he asks, surveying the room.
"A robot, of course." –Alex says. "More complex than any I've seen, at least at a glance."
"And capable of wielding magic, I guess, as Kara's injury can attest to." –Romanoff adds.
"Wrong on both accounts!" –Winn says.
"Hmm. Inaccurate, more like." –Strange chides. Winn's enthusiasm is completely unaffected.
Fury rolls his eye. "The point being, there's quite a bit more than meets the eye, here." –he says. Hill winces at the pun, intentional or otherwise. "This robot is no ordinary bucket of bolts – this is a Life Model Decoy, a type of robot designed by Howard Stark in collaboration with S.H.I.E.L.D. in the mid-to-late 60s, following the Kennedy assassination. It's a robot designed to perfectly mimic a subject's behavior and appearance, in order to fool would-be attempts on their life – taking the shot for a VIP if necessary."
"They were mostly used to temporarily replace indisposed politicians for important public engagements, though, to be honest." –Hill says, clearly annoyed.
"Also, while extremely impressive, even by today's standards, the LMDs' positronic CPUs decayed rapidly, as the strain of mimicking human thought proved way too much to handle long-term for the hardware available, even to S.H.I.E.L.D., in the 70s and 80s." –Winn supplies. "You'd be lucky to get a year out of them before the logic errors piled up to the point the LMD either went full Terminator or started sucking its thumb and babbling like a baby."
"We phased them out in 1989." –Fury says. "Howard's obsession with finding Captain Rogers here had long since caused him to lose interest in the project, and the Cold War was on its last legs, so assassination attempts had become much less common, turning the project obsolete. We've kept them mothballed at a secure location since."
Steve shifts uncomfortably at the mention of Howard. Kara crosses her arms. "So, Doom stole this thing from you." –she concludes. "Again."
"Yes and no." –Hill says, conflicted. "We've determined that Von Doom did steal one of the original prototypes, but that's not what this robot is; he seems to have reverse-engineered the technology, instead, and improved upon it."
"'Improved' is putting it mildly!" –Winn says, excitedly. "I've only scratched the surface, but I can confidently declare that this is the most advanced robot on the planet. I knew Latveria was one of the top names in robotics, but this is next level."
"That it might be, but…much more worrisome is its ability to wield arcane powers." –Strange interrupts. "This robot should be unable to harness the ambient magic around us, as it possesses no life force that could resonate with such energies; it bears no mark of patronage from a higher being, and it obviously lacks the bloodline it would need to cast divine magic, and yet we've seen firsthand that it is indeed most capable of it." –he says. "Moreover, technology tends to be affected by the presence of magic – and the more complex the device, the more likely it is to break down or malfunction. Simply put, this construct is so advanced it should've fried or exploded the moment a spell was cast in its presence. And yet, not only did it survive unscathed till the Gods of Thunder and Strength struck it down, it cast the spells itself."
Widow frowns. "You said that was 'inaccurate', though."
"That's where Victor's brilliance comes in." –he says. He points a slightly shaky, scarred finger at what looks like silvery chainmail, underneath the warped armor plates. "It's difficult to tell now, in this state, but the robot's innards are meant to be insulated from magic – the material in this protective layer is promethium, a magic-resistant metal found only in the liminal realm of Limbo, which would easily prevent the delicate electronics within from being affected. The magic cast by the robot flows through the armor instead – see the runes inscribed underneath?"
Kara does, in fact, see a bunch of weird, tiny golden squiggles inscribed on the underside of the individual armor plates. The runes are arrayed in a specific pattern, with the largest ones encircled and connected to each other by lines. "Flows from where?"
"From Victor himself." –he says, looking suitably impressed. "When this robot fought, it used its creator as a magical battery over a very long distance – all the way from Doomstadt, Latveria."
"Could you use this thing to track him, then?" –Rogers promptly asks.
Strange shakes his head. "Not anymore, unfortunately. The connection was shattered when our divine allies destroyed the robot, so I can only tell you where the real Victor was at the time. Perhaps if we encountered another…" –he trails off.
"I guess it's likely, but it's not something we can depend on." –Romanoff notes.
"Even if it was, if it points us to Latveria, we can't actually do anything about it." –Hill says. "The country rejects S.H.I.E.L.D.'s authority, and even if we just sent your team in, Von Doom would claim the Avengers are too intrinsically tied to our agency and Western interests in general as grounds for forcefully expelling you from the country. So far, the UN and its member countries have been willing to let you operate unrestricted – that's not an envelope we want to push."
Kara narrows her eyes. "Doesn't Doom present himself as some kind of young, charismatic industrialist? Surely we could use something like that to expose him for the monster he really is."
"As much as I hate to admit it, it's obvious that he knows S.H.I.E.L.D.'s playbook too damn well." –Fury says. "He'd just use the excuse we intended for Stark before he blew his goddamn secret identity to kingdom come – that the Doctor Doom persona is a guardian of sorts he's created to defend Latveria. He could even pop one of these things open for the public and claim it's been a robot all along."
"We must have some kind of footage we could use to counter that, though. Doesn't Stark stick our suits full of monitoring equipment? Cameras, microphones, biometrics?" –Romanoff suggests. "They're basically privacy nightmares."
"Sure, but LMDs are no joke. One of us could be an LMD, and 99 times out of 100, you wouldn't be able to tell." –Hill says. The Black Widow mutters something along the lines of speak for yourself. "He could even claim he invented the tech, and S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't be able to contradict him – we'd risk admitting to a whole lot of shady crap if we did."
Kara snorts. "What else is new?" –she drawls. Fury narrows his eye at her.
Rogers crosses his arms. "You're saying we have nothing to go on."
"I'm saying we don't have much." –Fury retorts.
"Hercules did tell us to rest and prepare for the next bout." –Strange chimes in. "It's typically unwise to disregard such direct advice from a god."
Kara notes that Steve looks markedly uncomfortable about the prospect of acknowledging Herc's divinity. "Sure, but we can't just sit around and wait for him to strike, either." –she says. "What about his computers? Did you get anything from that?"
"We're still parsing through the data." –Hill reports. "What little survived, anyway. But…well, we were able to glean and confirm some things. Mostly about you, Kara."
Kara scowls. It's not particularly a topic she wants to discuss, especially with S.H.I.E.L.D., but there's no way around it. "Don't hold back on my account." –she says. "I'm sure everyone here's read the debrief by now."
"We know now that not only are there untold numbers of universes out there, Victor von Doom has the ability to freely travel between them, 'recruiting' people and integrating elements from other realities that he believes can improve our planet's chances of survival in some inevitable future confrontation with the sponsor of Loki's attack on New York."
"Thanos, the Mad Titan." –Strange says, soberly.
"Right. There's that name again." –Rogers notes.
The non-Avengers in the room seem curious, so Romanoff clarifies. "The alien that recently invaded California was trying to steal a powerful artifact in order to take him on, or so that Tennyson kid said."
"I have peered at Thanos through the Eye of Agamotto, and I'm afraid I see nothing but death and destruction in his future – in our shared future, to be precise." –he says, fairly disturbed. "He's no immortal deity, and yet his cosmic presence is akin to that of a God of Death."
Kara purses her lips. "I think I saw what you mean." –she says. "When Victor showed me his world – the original version of this one, I guess – I saw endless hordes of aliens commanded by him invading the planet, killing indiscriminately. And not just civilians who couldn't fight back…I saw him kill heroes, too. Avengers and otherwise." –she admits.
"Who?" –Romanoff asks, a harsh edge to her tone. Kara thinks of Peter dying in Tony's arms, crumbling to ash and blowing in the wind of an alien world, and finds she can't articulate the words.
Steve seems to notice. "I don't think we need to know, Romanoff." –he says, gently. "Despite his horrible methods, Victor and this…original Reed Richards are working to prevent that future as much as possible."
"Captain Rogers is correct." –Strange says. "The future Kara saw no longer applies to us. In fact, now that I know what to look for, I suspect I'll find that our universe has experienced a great many changes since that dour original."
Fury leans forward. "But some things haven't changed. Thanos came then, and he will come for us, eventually. And clearly, the Avengers have been a fixture from the start, and most likely still humanity's best bet against him – otherwise, Doom probably wouldn't be so obsessed with challenging you and potentially bolstering your numbers or providing you with allies."
"I almost wish we hadn't found out about that." –Kara mutters. "I feel like now I'm gonna second-guess every friendly hero we meet."
"Don't look at it that way. That may be Victor's plan, but I highly doubt he goes around and asks people to join us – he just creates circumstances that might lead to that." –Steve surmises. "That said…do you think he intended for us to find out?" –he asks Strange.
The Sorcerer Supreme narrows his eyes. "I'm not quite sure. There are benefits to both approaches." –he muses. "If we never found out, his plans would most likely be able to unfold largely unopposed. But now that we know, we can prepare for what's coming, likely a number of years ahead."
"I think he does want us to know. It's not just the speech he and Reed gave me – that could've been a spur of the moment decision." –Kara says. "Centipede, which we know to be connected to Doom, sent out Sue and her family to attack a Damage Control vehicle in broad daylight, fairly close by for the Avengers to intervene. He kicked our butts and stabbed me, but chose not to kill any of us. And when I was under the Black Mercy's spell, I…it was all a big experiment for him. Maybe he's kept us – or, uh, you – in the dark in other iterations, but he definitely wants us in the know for this one. Heck, judging by the way he acts, he likes us knowing."
Strange hums. "Perhaps, but at the end of the day, Victor is still human, same as the rest of us." –he says. Kara isn't, obviously, but the spirit of his statement stands. "He's not infallible, and he can't predict every eventuality. This, right here, is evidence of it." –he says, gesturing at the broken robot. "The destruction of this Doombot was a sacrifice play; he didn't expect that Nico would be able to nudge Hercules back to heroism just enough for him to be forced to stay behind so Richards could escape with Hecate's divine essence. Now that we know what he's been doing – the broad strokes, at least – we know what the stakes are, and we can fight accordingly. The task is more daunting than ever, but I believe we can prevail with this information."
A report on the retcon phenomenon appears on a nearby screen, built from Kara's debriefing and the information they've managed to salvage so far from Doom's databanks. "No wonder he's three steps ahead and fully capable of kicking the collective asses of Earth's mightiest heroes; he's been doing this same song and dance for the equivalent of centuries." –Hill continues. "He must've fought dozens of previous versions of you."
"And if he gets something wrong, he gets a cosmic do-over." –Fury says, with the tone of someone who would really like to have that power, too. Kara leers at the man, who pointedly ignores her.
"It's not quite so simple." –Strange reassures them. "As someone intimately familiar with manipulating time through magical means, I can almost assure you that Victor has to pay a hefty price for his meddling with the natural unfolding of events. I imagine he has to actually live through much of his life all over again, if not all of it, whenever he changes something. He likely has to personally orchestrate certain events such that they happen as he wishes them to, and risk his life to procure the power he needs to achieve this 'retroactive continuity' effect."
"Maybe I've just had a really crappy life, but I feel like that would drive me insane." –Winn comments.
Kara snorts. "I mean…isn't he?"
Strange tilts his head, conceding the point. "That being said, and knowing Victor – as well as he's allowed me to, apparently – it would be safe to assume that he's minimized the risks as much as possible, and created workarounds for some of these…operational hazards. While I doubt his ego would allow him to miss every battle, these robots of his are probably intended for just such a purpose."
"We should try to do that, too." –Rogers crosses his arms. "If we're not able to press our advantage by taking the fight to them yet, then we have to focus on finding out as much as we can about Doctor Doom, his accomplices, and their plans – he's been able to blindside us twice, and we cannot afford to have that happen a third time. We need to know everything we can about Thanos, as well."
"S.W.O.R.D. will provide us with everything they have on the Black Order." –Fury promises.
"Don't stop there, Nick." –Romanoff smirks. "Don't you have a team of some of your top agents investigating Centipede right now? Letting the people who've actually faced them in on the case would probably be a big help for them, don't you think?"
Fury looks somewhat miffed about this rebellious gesture – not that the Avengers weren't already aware that S.H.I.E.L.D. had taken over the Centipede investigation, of course, but it is kind of suspicious that Fury won't allow them to work together.
His excuse is the same as before. "You're right. You have already faced those bastards, and more than proven that your sledgehammer of an approach isn't the way to go. If the investigation turns up anything relevant for you, I'll forward it to you myself."
"Keeping secrets isn't the way we win this, Director." –Rogers admonishes.
"Maybe not for the Avengers, Captain, but it is for S.H.I.E.L.D." –Hill counters. "Always has been."
"You know what? No. I'm calling bullshit on that one." –Kara says, scowling.
Romanoff raises an eyebrow, amused. "Oh, here we go."
"Your secrets didn't keep Doom from stealing gods know how much technology from S.H.I.E.L.D. Your secrets didn't stop Centipede from taking your little Iron Man replacement project and throwing it against us with a fresh coat of paint and a remorseless mercenary at the controls." –she hisses. "And, oh yeah, your goddamn secrets almost got me killed!"
Fury stares at her for a moment, then sighs. "I think we're done for today." –he says, but what he really means is everyone out. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents around them immediately get up and leave the tent, barely even slowing down to save their work; Hill and Winn go along with them – her friend shooting her an apologetic smile – but her fellow Avengers and Alex don't move at all. "You're dismissed, Agent Danvers. Stand by for further orders from your superior." –he says, pointedly.
Alex looks like she wants to argue, but Kara holds up a hand. "Go, all of you. I can handle him on my own." –she reassures them. The three of them leave, after a moment's hesitation, Alex nodding at her begrudgingly and shooting a murderous glare at her boss's boss.
Fury sits at one of the computer banks – he looks…tired, for once. "Do you know how old I am?" –he asks, seemingly out of nowhere.
Kryptonians lived about half again as much as humans, but she's been on Earth long enough to more or less accurately guess. "Late fifties, early sixties, I guess?" –she says. Her anger remains, but she's willing to bide her time for a minute or two.
"I kind of look it, but no." –he says. "I'm eighty-two. Born in Huntsville, Alabama, on the fourth of July, 1930. Cap and I actually share a birthday, just…twelve years removed."
Kara blinks. "…you've aged remarkably well."
"Definitely not as well as Rogers." –he says, mildly amused. "I was exposed to an artifact that cut my aging rate in half when I was twenty – one of the Red Skull's wicked little treasures, secured by the SSR after the war. I should look just a hair over fifty, but…well, the job takes its toll."
Kara takes in his appearance – the wrinkles, the scars, and yes, of course, the eyepatch. No one could doubt his commitment to the job, she doesn't think. "Your point being?"
"I've seen a lot of shit during my time." –he shrugs. "More than any one human should, even by their eighties. I've seen the worst, most destructive, bloodiest things humanity has done, publicly or otherwise. And all of it – all of it – pales in comparison to what I saw when we found you."
The blonde frowns. "What are you talking about?"
"That little starship you arrived in." –he says. "After we rescued you, we studied its technology, hoping to replicate it and improve our own – we couldn't use much, not without the extraterrestrial materials it was made of…and all things considered, it was a very simple craft."
"My dad and my uncle put it together with minutes to spare." –Kara says. She sounds defensive, and she's not exactly sure why. Fury's right – the ship was pretty much a glorified escape pod.
"I know. I saw." –Fury says. "I studied the starship's databanks myself. I watched Krypton's destruction."
Something twitches in Kara's gut, underneath her scar. Fury leans forward. "Probably goes without saying, but…I'm not shaken easily. I've seen humans killed in just about every way you can imagine, and a few you probably can't." –he says, tone carefully kept neutral. Kara believes him. "But seeing entire cities crumble to the ground, only to get violently blasted into space along with continent-sized chunks of rock and cooling lava?"
Fury shakes his head, but Kara's a little zoned out to care. She remembers what Fury's describing all too well, herself; the kick of liftoff against her chest as her pod blasted upwards, the skyscrapers of Argo City collapsing under their own weight as Krypton's unstable gravity well violently fluctuated, and a final death rattle before the incomprehensibly powerful explosion that obliterated her homeworld. Kara remembers looking back and seeing entire oceans vaporizing in seconds, what were once canyons and valleys briefly shooting past the tallest mountain peaks, and the atmosphere spontaneously igniting from sheer pressure and friction.
Not a single living creature on the planet could've survived.
"That kind of shit changes a person." –Fury continues. "Until you dropped out of the sky, my biggest worry had been the Cold War coming back for a much shorter, much hotter sequel, but even if nuclear apocalypse razed our civilization to the ground, some scattered pockets of humanity would survive, in all likelihood, and eventually thrive. Once I saw what happened to your planet, I realized our spot in the universe was a lot more fragile than I thought it was."
"Krypton exploded because we mined the planet's core with obscenely powerful gravitational engines that permanently destabilized its gravity well; humanity hasn't even been able to drill more than a handful of miles into the Earth." –Kara counters. "I don't think you need to worry about anything like that for at least a few thousand years, and even then, only if your descendants make some really stupid mistakes along the way."
"I think it's been well established that we're fully capable of making really stupid mistakes." –Fury says, sarcastically.
Kara sighs. "Good point." –she says. "I hope that's not your attempt at an apology, though, because I will break your jaw if that's the case."
Fury snorts. "I'm not going to apologize for having the Kryptonite dagger made, Kara." –he says. "Given the option, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I think you already knew that, and I think you get why."
She scowls once again. Fury really brings it out of her. "Because it worked, right?" –she says bitterly. "Because even though I'm practically invulnerable to everything else humanity can throw at me, that stupid green rock can kill me in seconds."
"There's that." –Fury admits. "But that's not what I meant. I think you get it because, even though the dagger almost killed you, you chose to keep it around."
"I didn't keep it around for you." –she spits out. "I kept it for myself. For my own peace of mind."
He shrugs. "Doesn't matter to me what your reason is, honestly. The important part is that you realize it's necessary." –he says. "And I consider everything I've done at the helm of S.H.I.E.L.D. to be the same, whether it was successful or not."
"Yeah, sure; the problem is that when you're not successful, all you've really done is some shady crap that we're left to pick up the pieces for." –Kara says, narrowing her eyes. "Face it, Nick, your methods and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s general modus operandi are getting left behind; this isn't a spy's game anymore! You can't stop an alien invasion with a few bribes and a well-placed sniper! You can't defeat a supervillain by throwing regular people with little pea-shooters at them! Rao, you can't even protect your top-secret weapons and tech because some armored scumbag with a god complex could just open a magic portal and reach into your stupid, fancy vaults!"
She slams down her hand on a nearby steel desk, which bends to her strength like it's made out of modeling clay. Kara half expects several squads of troopers to come into the tent, guns blazing, but no one comes – definitely not standard protocol with S.H.I.E.L.D. VIPs, which means Fury explicitly ordered against it.
He must really trust that she won't hurt him, which…she's not entirely sure what to think of.
Fury doesn't comment on her outburst, nor does he react in any way other than holding her gaze. "I was terrified when Krypton was destroyed, too, but I've had years to come to terms with it. You know what I still can't get over?" –she says, looming over him, feeling the heat in her eyes rise. "Victor's cold, unfeeling eyes staring at me as he runs me through with a jagged piece of crystal." –she hisses. "The twinge in my gut – of my scars – every goddamn time he's mentioned, and feeling my life slip through my blood-soaked fingers as I get to watch my friends looming over me, looking at me like I'm on my deathbed."
A red spot appears between Fury's eyebrows – her heat vision getting away from her a little bit. To his credit, Fury seems entirely unfazed. She closes her eyes, and forces herself to take a few deep breaths, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"You were on your deathbed. You very nearly died that day." –Fury admits. "If not for Miss Luthor's intervention, the kryptonite would've done it."
"Hah. Did you feel triumphant, knowing your weapon worked?" –Kara sneers.
"Not in the moment. All I could feel then was regret." –Fury muses.
Kara scoffs. "Oh, come on. Sell it to someone who's buying, Nick."
Fury rises, brushing past her. "You're not getting it – your tendency to assume the best in people, I assume." –he says, coldly. "I admit, you're right about one thing: the world is only getting more dangerous, and S.H.I.E.L.D. is falling behind. Like you said, secrets and lies just don't cut it anymore. So, let's get honest – we're not here to make friends, after all, we barely need to be allies to take out evil bastards like Doom and get the job done." –he says.
The blonde rolls her eyes. "Don't worry. I've never considered you to be much more than a necessary evil."
"Good. We understand each other, then." –he says. "The truth is, any regret I felt that day was because you were going to die before you realized your full potential, Supergirl."
The man grabs a walkie-talkie from his belt and clicks it twice. Suddenly her phone buzzes; she's been sent a rather sizable file labelled 'PROJECT Kr' from an unknown number. "…what is this?"
He clasps his hands behind his back and turns to her. "You're holding yourself back, and you don't even realize it." –he says. "You remember how we told you our equipment couldn't analyze most of your biology when we tested you back in the day?" –he asks. She nods, uncertainly. "We lied. Or rather, we left out a very important detail; human technology couldn't make sense of you, but Kryptonian technology certainly could. Part of what little equipment we could salvage from your craft was a bio-monitor, with which we were able to analyze your entire genetic makeup, mods and all, without drawing a single drop of blood."
Kara's eyes widen. "…that's why you let us keep the blood I lost that day, isn't it?" –she realizes. "You already had all the data you needed."
Fury shrugs. "We could always use more, but that's right." –he says. "You're already one of the strongest people on the planet, obviously, but the data showed us that even the most impressive benchmarks you'd set were far, far below a Kryptonian's full capabilities."
Kara huffs. "I get it, I hold back a lot. Tony already ran the tests when I brawled with the Hulk."
"I'm not talking about strength, here – though you're right, the only time you've used more than a fraction of it was when you kept that ship from wiping out the western seaboard." –he says. "I'm talking about practically everything else. The flight, the speed, the goddamn freeze breath. And now that we know more about where you truly came from, it all makes sense; you're built to take on a universe that's a lot more dangerous than ours seems to be."
Kara winces at the mention of her origins – she might've been willing to discuss this discovery as a group, but she's not about to deep dive into that particular can of worms with Fury alone. Seeing her confusion, Fury nods at her phone. "Everything's in the file, warts and all. I ordered S.H.I.E.L.D. to find a way to make more of you, which I'm sure you'll be relieved to hear was a mostly failed endeavor."
The blonde balks at the revelation. "What…you had me hide and suppress my powers for nearly a decade while you tried to, what, clone me!?"
"No. The idea of clones was discarded almost immediately – Kryptonian DNA is too complex to fully reproduce with our technology, and likely will be for the foreseeable future. We're unable to fully sequence your genome, and any attempt at replicating it would produce an unstable creature we'd probably have to put down immediately." –Fury says, like he's talking about the weather. "Our best bet was to create human-Kryptonian hybrids, filling in the holes in the gene sequence, but…well, you'll see how that went. As for the reason why we had you keep a low profile, it's very simple: your psych profile all but screamed that you would never follow our orders willingly. If you wouldn't be an asset, then you had to be restrained – not that I expect you'll be grateful that I deemed life with the Danvers family restraint enough."
Kara shakes her head. "I always knew you were a horrible person, Fury, but this…"
Fury narrows his eye at her. "I'm as horrible as the world needs me to be." –he says. "We all fulfill our roles, Supergirl; you and the Avengers can be the symbol of hope and justice in lunchboxes and posters all you want, but at the end of the day, someone needs to make the hard calls you won't be able to. Someone needs to be the knife in the back of the people trying to take you down."
"That can't be the end of it. S.H.I.E.L.D. can be better than an army of cutthroat spies." –Kara says.
"Someday, maybe. Helmed by someone better than me." –he shrugs. Kara could be wrong, but he sounds almost…hopeful. "But I'm all you've got, and this is the S.H.I.E.L.D. you have to work with. Until that day comes, you and the Avengers better get with the program."
Kara frowns. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He tilts his chin up at her. "Up until now, the Avengers have been allowed near complete operational freedom. It was curbed when you recklessly charged into OsCorp and nearly got yourselves killed, but clearly, that wasn't enough – had you coordinated this mission of yours into the Labyrinth with us, we may have been able to at least salvage more information and technology from Doom's lair, if not more."
She snorts, crossing her arms. "What, you want a heads-up next time?"
He ignores her sarcasm. "The Avengers may not be a direct part of our chain of command, but you operate at our leisure; the governments of the world only tolerate your rampant law-breaking because I vouch for you. At the end of the day, you still answer to S.H.I.E.L.D." –he says. "Ask your vigilante pals what it's like to be a hero without that kind of protection."
"That a threat?" –she drawls.
"Just a reminder." –he says. "Until this Doom business is resolved, any operation the Avengers undertake must be run by me or Hill. Do what you want on your own time, but the next time you charge headfirst at Victor von Doom, you're not doing it without a whole damn S.H.I.E.L.D. battalion around you. Otherwise, I hope you're ready to slum it with Matt Murdock and Jessica Jones."
At least Matt is better company than you, she thinks, though she can't help the concern she feels, knowing S.H.I.E.L.D., or at least Fury, is aware of his identity. "You really think I trust your people enough to let them in on some critically important mission like that? Even you can't deny that S.H.I.E.L.D. seems to have a bit of a leak problem lately."
He sighs. Slumps a bit, even – for a moment, he almost looks his actual age, like every single extra year is weighing on him then. "I did say to run it by me or Hill, didn't I?" –he muses. He looks at her for a moment. "Look: I don't regret making the kryptonite blade, but…I am sorry for the pain it brought you. You might be hopelessly naïve, but you didn't deserve that. For what it's worth, you'd already convinced me I'd never need to use it."
Kara scoffs. "Bare minimum, Fury." –she says, then sighs as well. "…I guess for a cold, calculating bastard, I do trust that you want to keep everyone safe. And I know you only care about me as a weapon to point at the bad guys – and you worded it the exact worst way possible, thanks for that – but…you're wrong: I am thankful that you gave me a family with the Danvers. So I guess I'm grateful for one single thing you've done."
He snorts. "Maybe I can make it two." –he says, digging into one of the pockets on his trench coat. He pulls out what seems to be a sliver of metal and tosses it at her. It takes her a second, but her eyes widen once she recognizes it: it's a Kryptonian command key, and judging by the symbol of the House of El on it, it's the one for her ship. "It has no weapons, and it obviously doesn't fly anymore – whatever Doom blasted it with to get you here, it fried the engine, and we were never able to repair it. Still, it is yours." –he says, clicking the walkie-talkie again.
Kara receives another message, this time with a set of coordinates and a black and white square filled with a strange pattern of smaller black squares. "…I bet you're just done squeezing all the tech you could out of it, aren't you?" –Kara says, deadpan.
Fury turns to leave the tent. "Just be there tomorrow. Take your girl, make a date out of it." –he drawls, striding away.
Now alone, Kara examines the command key, tracing her finger over the symbol of her house – this is only the third object from Krypton she's touched in nearly nine years, and one of them was a radioactive crystal sticking out of her abdomen. Thanks to Fury – and what a thing that is to think – tomorrow, she'll be able to change that.
"You're still an ass, Fury." –she mutters to the empty air. "But…thank you."
I thought I was done with original fic's published chapters but I guess I did manage to put a scene like this up before I pulled the plug on it; it's changed quite a bit, but the spirit of the scene is the same - Fury's kind of horrible person, but he ultimately wants to protect people, and he's got some good points about the way the Avengers have gone about this Doom business. Secrets and lies may not be the way to win, here, but neither is going full Leroy Jenkins mode and hoping for the best.
Some trivia for y'all:
• Despite Kara's doubts, Doom really was there when he stabbed her. As much as he trusts his engineering prowess, some things simply require a personal touch.
• Winn isn't a part of SHIELD, he's just really smart and particularly knowledgeable about robotics – kinda like in Supergirl canon, his dad was a serial killer that used intricate toys to murder people, and he taught Winn everything he knew before getting incarcerated and sentenced to death. He's being paid as a consultant on this Doombot case.
• Maria Hill's comment about LMDs being used to sub in for indisposed politicians is a little nod to the animated series Inside Job, which I watched while writing part of this chapter – the very first episode is basically about this premise going horribly wrong. I am so bummed about its recent cancellation :c
• Lest you think Doom copied someone else's homework with the Doombots, he invented them all on his own in the original MCU; he's just choosing to integrate them with LMD tech now to entice the heroes to maybe look a little deeper into SHIELD.
• The price Strange had to pay for using the Time Stone to defeat Dormmamu was fully experiencing every single death in that time loop, and remembering the entire affair afterwards. Strange accurately guesses some of the ways Doom himself pays – having to live through big chunks of his life all over again, personally orchestrating certain events, etc., but do you think there are other costs?
• The team Romanoff mentions is the one from Agents of SHIELD (minus Skye for now)! She doesn't know who's in it, though (aside from Melinda May, they're friends), and she definitely doesn't know Coulson is still alive. She…probably wouldn't be so chill if she knew.
• I realize giving Fury a longer lifespan kinda messes with his appearance in Captain Marvel, but I wanted to reference his comics origin and also have him be Abigail Brand's long-suffering counterpart. They were exposed to the same artifact – though Abigail would smugly point out she's aged way better. Guess leading SWORD is a bit less stressful than SHIELD.
• I really struggled with keeping the balance between "hardass military commander", "cold-blooded spy", and "jerkass with a heart of gold (but like, a very thin coating of gold foil)" WRT Fury – to be honest, that's one of the biggest reasons why this chapter took so long to write. I wanted him to be unlikeable, but not unreasonable, and ultimately having a bit of a soft spot for our heroes, even if it's buried pretty damn deep. I hope I achieved that!
That's it from me! Not sure when the next chapter will come, but I'll try my best to get it done in much less time than this one. Leave a comment/review if you'd like, and feel free to reach out to my tumblr's ask box, which is open to all (just don't be rude, please, for both our sakes :P I'm 28, have a full time job, and I've been on the Internet most of my life, so I no longer have any patience for it hahaha)
Hope you enjoyed! Until next time!