Chapter 2 : Broken SHIELD
XX
He searches around the tank and find the evacuation button.
He pushes it and the tank empty itself.
Finally he can touch her; tenderly he removes the needles in her body.
He still can't hear any heartbeat.
He removes her from the tank and put her on the ground, then performs CPR. The third time is the charm; her heart beats again, slowly but strongly.
She doesn't wake.
Pierce is savoring his victory, in his opinion; none of the Avengers and co will be able to stop them. Soon, the World will be at their feet.
As it would have been years ago without Captain America intervention.
The High Council, his "bosses" at S.H.I.E.L.D. are all there before him, physically at last!
And like a virtuoso Maestro, He plays them.
He smirks as they all put the biometric analyzer.
Now everything is ready.
XXXXXXX
Sam and Steve are running full speed towards the Stark plane, Natasha runs ahead of them.
"Captain! How will I recognized the good ones from the bad ones?" suddenly asks Sam to Steve.
"The bad ones will fire at you!"
XXXX
She is in England, just recovered from the Dark Elves, the Ether and terrible loses – Thor's mother and Brother – when the World turn again.
Eric, Thor and Jane watch as the Avengers – without one of course – goes head to head with agents of SHIELD.
Her phone buzz, Pepper is calling her.
"What is happening out there, Pepper?"
"Hydra. Where are you?"
"In England still. Hydra what?"
"I will be there soon, do not trust any agents of shield! Do you understand Jane? Not anyone!"
"Okay okay"
"Good. Stay there!"
XXXX
Not even three hours later, Pepper is there, and they all go to the Avengers Tower.
Pepper did not say a word in the plane; she kept looking around, and at her phone.
Thor and her exchanges glances, Eric and their new assistant Yann, are silently playing poker in the back.
"Pepper, what is happening? Why are they all there battling? And where is Bruce?"
"JARVIS? What is the situation?" Pepper asks, not even trying to pay Jane and Co. some attention.
"The tower is still in lock down mode, two teams of twenty men tried to enter by force, the Hulk made sure that they regret it, Miss Potts. Sir has also tried to reach you, they are going in and Sir would like if you could manually activate the reserve armor."
"Thanks!"
With that, Pepper took out her private netbook and goes to work.
"Mister Odinson, Sir would very much like if you could give them assistance with their enemy."
XXXXXXXX
"Tony, can't you neutralize them at distance?"
"Captain, I may be a GENIUS, but even I will need some TIME to hack them!"
"What do you need?"
"To go to their system, like physically in!"
"Alright" whispered to himself Steve then "Widow, Hawkeye, Falcon clear us a path!"
"OH shiiitttt" screams Tony as Steve grabs him and jumps from the Stark plane.
Hesitant to bring her pain, he carefully takes her in his arms.
Once gathered, he and his precious cargo went to go out.
Her breath is slow, silent. If he hadn't put her head on his shoulder, he wouldn't know she is breathing.
He goes back to the first and very imposing office.
He had gathered Intel – like tape and paper – about what was happening here, he hopes that it will help him with her. He takes it, and finally, they escape this hell.
Thunder is heard then felt deep inside their bones.
Then the sky is illuminated by lightening.
Hawkeye cheers.
Thor has joins them.
With new vigor they attack the Helicarriors.
Steve and Tony are already inside, trying to hack and corrupt the program.
Tenderly, he places her on the back seat of his jeep.
Careful not to hurt her head or any of her limbs.
He covers her with a blanket before going to his seat.
Then he drives to the farthest city to this lab.
He has no desire to tempt fate.
Hulk is having fun.
Smashing the puny humans that try to go passed him.
He snorts.
Didn't they know that Hulk is the strongest?
"Hulk SMASH!"
XXXXXXXXX
"Come on, Come on!" talks softly and frustratingly Tony to his electronic system. While corrupting the data for the Insight program, he is downloading all their data about hydra agents and location. They will need to act fast after that, no doubt Hydra will relocate every agents to new bases or eliminate them.
Not gonna happen fuckers! He thinks viciously. He may not have had the best relationship with his father – read disastrous – but S.H.I.E.L.D. and Steve had been is "babies" as J.A.R.V.I.S and Iron Man is his, it's his heritage to the World. No way is he gonna let it shattered.
"Sir, Armor in approach."
"Yess!"
He takes a deep breath and let himself fall from the satellite, onto the sea. His Armor is there to recuperate him.
Only when he wears it, can he admit that Iron Man is part of him, and he can't give it up.
Not even for love.
XXXXXXXXX
Agent 13 is panicking.
Everything is going to hell.
Agents are killing each other.
She is still reeling from the news.
Hydra. They had been working for Hydra without even suspecting anything.
Still; she steels herself and acts.
Guns out she fires at the strike force.
No way will she be killed without at least trying to fight!
XXXXXXXXX
"Huh Cap, I think this buddy is for you!"
Steve turns where Tony is looking.
Bucky is there. In full Winter Soldier attire.
He swallows and with a nod to Iron Man, goes.
XXXXXXXXXX
Maria is tapping full speed on the computer in Alexander Pierce office, overriding every password accesses to go straight to the record.
Every data related to Hydra is lunched on the Internet. Every mission ordered by Pierce and the council also. She destroys everything about the agents she knows are trustful (Widow, Hawkeye, Coulson, May, etc.).
No more secrets.
She looks at Pierce, still drinking his champagne, gun pointed towards him by the other council member.
He looks calm.
Not for long as Fury finally makes his appearance.
XXXXXXXXXX
They exchange blow for blow.
They do not play around, they aim to hurt.
"Bucky" Captain America says every time he can speak.
An explosion separates them, Winter Soldier returns to his primary target, he jumps into an helicopter and fly away to the first Helicarrier.
"Hey Sam? Can you drop me off?"
"Roger! Anytime!"
Steve jumps from the Helicarrier as a rocket launcher fire at him.
"Now!" he says as he falls.
Sam manages to catch him by the arm a few moments later; with a cry he gives his wings more strength before dropping to the first Helicarrier.
"Didn't think you were so heavy!" gasps Sam as they walk together.
"Too hearty your breakfast" is Steve come back before Winter Soldier attacks.
XXXXXXXX
"Secured" calls Natasha as she connects her electronic card in the core-system of the third Helicarrier.
A few minutes later its Sam who called "Secured" as the Second Helicarrier is connected.
Thor and Hawkeye take care of Hydra Agents with the help of the still loyal agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. present on the base, while Tony protects them from missile.
He finds a motel, carries her inside and closes the door.
He calls the reception and asks for two hearty meals.
He's not sure if he will eat it, but with his metabolism better safe than sorry.
He turns around, towards the woman when he hears her heartbeat accelerate.
He slowly goes onto his knees beside the bed.
He knows that man with the red and blue shield.
Flashes explode behind his eyes.
He cries at the pain in his head make itself known.
He falls on the ground, near the core room.
"Bucky!" Again that nickname. He knows it.
"Bucky, you know me, it's me Steve!"
Yes, he knows him, little Stevy,
"You remember, Bucky, till the end…"
An explosion shook them.
But he knows.
Clarity returns to him.
"I'll be there for you." He finishes.
XXXX
A raspy and breathless voice called "Secured".
Bucky takes Steve on his back, and attempts to get the hell out of the Helicarrier.
XXXX
Maria and Fury exchange a glance.
The plan worked.
Project Insight is now null and void.
Now, they need to eliminate Pierce.
She is gasping and moving slowly, as if she is fighting or reaching something or someone.
"Hey, hey, you're fine, you're fine" he says calmly, trying to soothe her.
As she goes to take the electric charge to disable the biometric bomb.
Pierce falls dead on the ground.
XX
"Nat, did you do something?" Tony remarks incredulously as hydra's agents fall before them on the ground, dead.
XX
In America, dozens and dozens of people fall dead on the ground.
XX
"Coulson! What is happening?"
"No idea! But be careful!" he says to Skye than to May: "Go find Ward we can't let him go!" then he turns towards the gasping body of Simmons. "No no, come on come on you will be fine!"
He smiles a little as her eyes open.
They are lovely green and suit her fine.
"Hey, its fine, you're safe. You're safe." He soothes her. "I'm Logan, who are you?"
Her answer came from a whisper, without his sense he wouldn't have heard her.
"…Cassandra…"
Four hours later, Tony seriously considers this day to be "Resurrection day".
"Oh fucking fuck!"
"What the Hell!" gasps Clint, leaning on a very, deadly silent Natasha.
"Coulson" says Maria.
"Maria" Then He turns to Stark. "We need your doctor."
"What for? Do you need a little blood?" come his sarcastic reply.
"One of my agents has been shot." Says somberly Coulson. "And the one who shot him was also one of my team but a Hydra's agent."
Silence met his sentence.
"Alright, Zombie-Coulson, get him there! Oh and who are they?" Tony asks as he finally took in the two persons following Phil.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Four months later, everything has calmed down to reasonable level again.
All the Avengers are back to the Tower, with now Sam Wilson and Maria Hills as Tony assistant.
They have been hitting Hydra base with the help of team Coulson and the agents who decided to stay in the now clean S.H.I.E.L.D. under Fury commands – the ones Tony managed to get his hand on thanks to Insight- and are really tired.
And that is without counting on the still mysterious phenomenon that had plague America. And that no one can explain, not even Thor, who did ask his father and Heimdall.
As they come into the private living room, they stop dead in their track.
Jane, Eric, Pepper, Rodney and Bucky are there, waiting for them.
Unusual? Well no, but Jane is shaking, white as a ghost and leaning heavily on Pepper, who is in turn leaning against Eric and Bucky and Rodney are focused on one of his stark-pad.
"Okay who died?" Yes he is an asshole. Everyone knows it! Why does it still surprise people?
"Tony" shakily said Jane. "She… You… they…"
Tony is now seriously considering inventing a "Jane translator".
Thankfully, J.A.R.V.I.S. takes the matter in his skillful imaginaries hands.
"Sir, if you could please watch the TV screen."
"Okay, come on guys."
They all take their place, plus Coulson, Skye, Simmons, Fitz and May, who have decided to stay a bit in the tower to recuperate from this last assault.
Coulson turns white.
Steve clenches his hands tightly.
Natasha and Clint swore in Russian and Japanese.
Bruce turns a bit green before going to normal. But immediately he goes inside the kitchen to make some tea.
Thor is speechless. He is lost, taking Jane in his arms to try to find equilibrium again.
"J.A.R.V.I.S. tells them when it was tapped." Orders Rodney who still does not stop looking at the pad.
"The video was taken two days after Hydra was revealed. Four months ago."
On the screen, a city gas station, the scene is playing in repeat by the A.I.
A Black, non-descriptive Jeep is parking to be fuelled up, after a minute or two, a woman - average height, long braid hair, sporting street basket, a short and a tee-shirt - comes out. She taps the conductor door, then disappears inside the station.
Then a man comes out the same car, and the Avengers –minus Thor and Bruce – and the S.H.I.E.L.D agents recognized him. All could they not?
It's Wolverine.
An X-men.
A scary son-of-a-bitch.
And then, the woman comes back. And,
She,
Turns,
To,
The,
Camera.
And,
She,
Smiles.
And,
She,
Waves,
Hello.
"Hello Darcy." Faintly and whispering answers Steve.
"Hello Cassandra, do you know what happened to you?"
She doesn't answer. She just looks at him.
Not through him, but inside him it seems.
Then she smiles beautifully.
"I'm awake."
X
X
X
THE END.
To be continued, in the next part.