TW: Glad you enjoyed it. You'll see.
Washington DC
Late Afternoon
In the Oval Office, the President sat in front of a news crew as he went live, about to deliver a speech that would change the lives of America and the world.
"My Fellow Americans, in this time of adversity, we are being offered a moment. A moment to recognize a growing threat within our own population, and to take a unique role in the shape of human events."
There was then a brief flash of light and the teleprompter seemed to turn off.
"Did we just lose feed, are we still live?" The President asked.
Not receiving an answer, the President looked around the room and noticed, to his horrified astonishment, everyone seemed frozen mid-task. The lights then seemed to go out and he heard wind blowing outside. Turning around in his seat, The President stared, horrified at the storm clouds that had rolled in, blocking out the sky as thunder was heard. He then turned around, startled to see a group of people standing in front of the crew. Lightning struck outside, lighting up the room and revealing the group to be Oliver, Clint and the X-Men.
"Good evening, Mr. President," Charles greeted politely.
The President looked over to see Kurt, who waved at him cheerfully and The President nearly got out of his chair.
"Please don't be alarmed. We're not here to harm you," Charles assured him.
"Who are you?" The President demanded.
"They're mutants, Sir. The people you're about to call a manhunt on," Oliver said coolly.
"We're not here to harm you. Please, sit down," Charles requested.
"I'd rather stand," The President said stiffly.
"Suit yourself," Clint said as he walked forward, putting a file on the desk. "Agent Clint Barton of SHIELD, Sir. These are the files from William Stryker's office."
"They detail his torture and experimentation of mutants, including brainwashing, which he used to send an assassin after you," Oliver added as The President looked at them briefly, shocked and horrified.
"How'd you get this?" The President asked after a few moments.
"Well, let's just say I know a little girl who can walk through walls," Charles quipped, causing Kurt to chuckle.
"I've never seen this information," The President said as he sat down.
"I know."
"Then you also know I don't respond well to threats," The President said angrily.
"Mr. President, this is not a threat, this is an opportunity. There are forces in this world, both mutant and human alike, who believe that a war is coming. You will see from those files that some have already tried to start one, and there have been casualties. Losses on both sides," Charles said and Logan looked over at Scott for a moment as Charles rolled forward. "Mr. President, what you were about to tell the world is true: this is a moment. A moment to repeat the mistakes of the past, or to work together for a better future."
"And you two?" The President asked, looking from Clint to Oliver. "You're humans. Yet you'd really stand by their side?"
"With all due respect Sir, it's not about humans and mutants. It's about right and wrong. And what you were about to do…it's wrong," Clint declared. "If I have to hunt down people whose only crime is being a mutant, you might as well as ask me to hand in my badge right now."
"I didn't get in this to hurt innocent people," Oliver said firmly and The President was silent for a moment.
"We're here to stay. The next move is yours," Charles told The President.
"We'll be watching," Logan said.
There were a few more claps of thunder and when it faded, the group was gone and the lights came back on, the storm clouds fading as the news crew unfroze. They looked at him, confused on why he had stopped speaking.
"Mr. President?"
The President didn't respond, merely looking back down at the files, considering what to do next.
Later, at the spot where they had parked the X-Jet, the SHIELD team stood outside, saying goodbye to Charles, Logan and Ororo.
"I must thank you all for your help," Charles said gratefully.
"We barely did anything, Sir," Clint said respectfully.
"You came to our aid. That is no small thing," Charles assured them before pausing. "Is it true? Is Nick truly dead?"
"Yeah. Yeah, he is," Oliver said gently and there was a moment of silence.
"When I first met Nick Fury, a mutant who could not control their powers was putting people in danger. Any other SHIELD Agent would have wanted to track them down, perhaps imprison them and put them on that Index of yours. Instead, he agreed to help me find another way to resolve that situation. And in the end, he allowed me to take that mutant back to my school, which he spent the next several years attempting to keep off SHIELD's radar," Charles said, lost in memories for a moment. "There will never be another like him."
"No, no there won't," Clint agreed, thinking of how Fury had helped him keep his family secret. "Fury was…complicated. Ruthless, manipulative, had secrets up to the eyeball, but his heart was in the right place."
"About sums him up," Oliver agreed with a tight smile.
"There will never be another Nick Fury," Dragon added and it was silent for a moment.
"Thank you," Ororo said and they looked over at her. "Not just for coming to our aid, but for reminding me that not all humans hate mutants. I'd forgotten that."
"I'm just sorry that we couldn't do more. That we couldn't…" Clint trailed off but they all knew he was thinking of Jean.
"There was nothing you could've done," Logan said although they could tell the loss still pained him greatly.
"You loved her," Oliver realized.
Logan remained silent, looking away but Ororo's sympathetic gaze was answer enough. For a moment, it was silent.
"I'm sorry. I can't even imagine what you're going through," Clint said in empathy, unable to imagine losing Laura in such a way.
"Someone told me once that the essence of heroism is to die so that others may live," Oliver said and Logan looked at him oddly. "This probably won't help right now….but Jean was a hero."
"Yes, she was," Ororo said with a tearful smile.
"We must part ways here. I must return to my school," Charles said and the SHIELD team nodded.
"Of course. We need to get back to base anyway," Clint said.
"Good luck. From the sounds of it, you have your mess to clean up," Logan noted.
"You have no idea," Dragon barked out a laugh.
The SHIELD team watched as the three mutants walked up the ramp and into the X-Jet. After a few moments, they watched as the ramp lifted up and closed, the engines roared to life, and it took off into the sky. They waited until the jet had vanished from view until speaking.
"I called another SHIELD team, they'll be here to pick us up, take us back to The Triskelion in about fifteen minutes," Dragon informed Clint and Oliver.
"Will take you two back there. I'm not coming," Clint said and they looked at him in surprise. "Nat still isn't answering my calls."
"That's unusual, isn't it?" Oliver noted and Clint nodded grimly.
"Only reason she wouldn't check in with me for this long is if she's off the grid. Something's going on, and I don't like it. There's a safe house about half an hour west of here, she might be there. I'm gonna go check it out. You two give the report to whoever is currently in charge until they name a new Director," Clint said as he walked off. "I'll keep in touch."
"And explain your absence to, I take it?" Dragon asked dryly.
"Please and thank you," Clint shouted back at them before vanishing among the trees.
"You ever think sometimes he just enjoys messing with us?" Oliver asked dryly.
"Oh, he loves it. It gives him life, makes him feel young," Dragon said, only half joking.
Safe House
Later that day
Over half an hour later, Clint pulled up outside the safe house on a motorcycle. Still no calls from Nat.
As he approached the door to the safe house, Clint stilled, pausing. He didn't know what it was at first, a sense at the back of his mind that something wasn't right. Then, he saw it from the corner of his eye. Reflected in the window of the safe house, was a gun, seeming to be aimed at him.
Clint jumped out of the way just before the sniper fired. Rolling on the ground to avoid the bullets, Clint reached his motorcycle and grabbed his bow and quiver. Quickly notching an arrow, Clint fired and his aim struck true, getting the shooter in the chest. The gun went off as the finger instructively pulled the three as the shooter went down to the ground, dead.
Hearing movement behind him, Clint turned around, unsurprised when various men with weapons emerged from the safe house. But he blinked as he recognized the uniform, realizing they were all SHIELD agents.
"So, what's going on guys? There a new dress code I don't know about and it's punishable by firing squad to break it?" Clint asked, gripping his bow tightly.
None of them responded, merely opening fire on Clint.
SHIELD Transport
Same time
In the back of a plane that was heading towards the Triskelion, Oliver sat down, looking at the picture of Bobbi he kept in his wallet.
Realizing Logan had loved Jean, seeing how affected both he and Scott had been by her death…it put a few things in perspective. Jean was gone…but Bobbi was still here.
Maybe they could never go back to what they were, get back what they had. But at the very least, they had a lot to still talk about.
With that in mind, Oliver put her picture back in his wallet, pulled out the note she had given him two days ago (had it really only been two days ago?) before pulling out his cell phone and dialing Bobbi's number. Putting it to his ear, Oliver waited before Bobbi picked.
"Oliver, thank God you're still alive," Bobbi said in relief and Oliver frowned as he heard how out of breath Bobbi was.
"Bobbi? Are you all right? What do you mean 'still alive'?" Oliver inquired, a sinking feeling entering his chest.
He had never heard Bobbi sound so terrified, not even when they had lost the baby.
"I don't have a lot of time, but you need to get away from anyone SHIELD, now. We don't know how deep it goes, but get out, now," Bobbi rambled, only bewildering Oliver further.
"Bobbi, you need to tell me what is going on, now," Oliver almost demanded.
"Hydra, Oliver. They've been inside SHIELD for decades, and today is their coming out party," Bobbi said, stunning Oliver into silence. "They're crossing off anyone who isn't Hydra; I don't know how deep this goes. It feels like they're everywhere. Do what I say; get away from anyone who you think is SHIELD, for your own safety. I love you, Oliver. Don't trust anyone."
"Bob-" Oliver started but she had already hung up.
Oliver stared down at his phone for a moment before snapping into action. Getting to his feet, Oliver turned around, almost jumping when he saw Dragon standing a few feet.
"Take it you heard about Hydra? I just got a call from my old SO, sounds like Hydra just crossed them off," Dragon said, seeming pained.
"So what do we do?" Oliver asked, relieved he had someone with him.
"Best case scenario, we fight off everyone on the plane, assuming they're all Hydra, grab a couple parachutes, and make a break for it," Dragon said, pulling out a gun and holding it out for Oliver. "Here, my spare. Have a feeling you'll need it."
Oliver was silent, staring at the gun as dark memories crossed his mind.
Gregor howled in pain, blood soaking his shirt after Oliver had shot him.
Oliver pulled the trigger, shooting Kovar's man in the head, killing him as Anatoly stared at him, horrified.
"I don't like guns," Oliver said gruffly, willing the dark memories away as Dragon shrugged.
"Suit yourself," Dragon said as he pocketed the gun. "Let's do this, while we still can."
Oliver nodded before the pair slowly made their way back towards the front of the plane. Several other agents were sitting towards the cockpit when the pair entered. They looked up at them and Oliver realized at least a few them were Hydra by how their hands were on their weapons, preparing to take him down if needed.
"Hail Hydra," Oliver said and one chuckled.
"Sorry Queen, we know you're SHIELD. Nice try though," one said as he got to his feet.
Oliver heard Dragon pull out a gun behind him and cock it as his mind raced. It would take them a few minutes to fight these guys off even together, and that was depending on if the pilot wasn't Hydra as well. Oliver was still planning out his next move when there was a gun shot and he felt something hit him in the neck.
Reaching back, Oliver pulled it out, seeing it was a tranq dart. He looked over at Dragon, who was smirking as he lowered his gun.
"Sorry Oliver. But, in to be fair, Morse did warn you not to trust anyone," Dragon pointed out, still smirking. "Hail Hydra."
"You son a bitch," Oliver said angrily before swaying on his feet, the sedative starting to take effect.
Dropping his bow to the ground, Oliver fell face forward, his vision blurring. His last memory before passing out was of Dragon and the Hydra agents surrounding him before it all went black.
Well, that happened.
Dun dun dun! Yes, Dragon is Hydra. This is a plot twist I've been planning since I first introduced Dragon in the first story, so it's very nice to finally be able to reveal it.
Oliver going through the Hydra uprising is such an import moment for his character, not just for the Dragon reveal, but because it's that last step needed to fully turn him into the man we first met in the pilot who doesn't trust anyone and has a hard time letting anyone in. He already had trust issues because of Yao-Fei, Slade and the Bratva, but this is different. Not only is he being betrayed by another friend, but the people he's been working with for the last three years are turning on him left and right. It's all Oliver's worst fears about trusting someone come true and validated.