Just to note, this will be entirely a single POV, taking place during the events of chapter 4. We'll be back with our irregularly scheduled Graviton next chapter
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He could appreciate an ocean view, as odd as the thought was for a former marine to have. But he missed the skyline, the stretch of land and water that should've filled the porthole. Instead, all the portholes would show now was endless blue.
Like the mighty eagle emblazoned on his chest, Director Nicholas J. Fury was a creature of the sky. He needed altitude. Distance. Perspective. To soar above it all and dive in to shield the world under his watch.
With the Helicarrier still benched in the middle of New York's coast, his wings were clipped and his reach grounded. Nonetheless, neither he nor SHIELD were caged birds, despite being landlocked to the SHIELD Central HQ in Midtown, New York.
It wasn't the first time the Helicarrier was knocked out of the sky. While it wasn't quite as frequent as "every other Thursday", as Agent Hill once exaggerated, it happened often enough to necessitate that SHIELD adapted. They developed robust protocols to ensure operations continued seamlessly despite catastrophic damage and active repairs.
In fact, the Helicarrier had been designed and engineered with that possibility in mind. With the ever-escalating arms race of missile technology, not to mention the volatile and unpredictable element of superpowers, it would've been foolish to assume it would be untouched forever. That said, having an entire prison expand to full size and erupt from the inside was certainly a first.
It would certainly be the last,as well.
When first proposed, there were concerns about the idea of the Big House- a prison designed by Hank Pym, with its maintenance involving prolonged use of Pym Particles, capable of housing enhanced individuals at a fraction of their size.
The potential of a disaster of this magnitude was the primary concern among skeptics, even himself, along with a few minor qualms regarding the ethics of shrinking criminals. However, the possibilities were too tantalizing to pass up.
The Big House provided Shield multiple benefits: an opportunity to keep and observe supervillains with enhanced genetics, a near-zero breakout potential, and a secure, hidden system practically invisible to outside attackers.
The Helicarrier was already a formidable fortress, well designed to keep its prisoners within its brig, equipped with some of the most advanced security systems on the planet, and constantly moving in the sky. Any attempt to break into the Helicarrier required a lot for any would-be intruder.
First, they'd have to locate the Helicarrier in real-time. Then, reach it undetected through airspace actively monitored for incursions. Of course, there were the brute force approaches, such as ramming an aircraft, but those would've been shot to shreds before they could hope to retreat.
And that was just the start of it.
Assuming they breached the hull, they'd still need to bypass multiple layers of security, navigate to where the Big House's location, extract their miniature target (good luck to anyone without the training to operate Pym Particles), and then escape while facing a hailstorm of countermeasures. All without getting shot down from the skyat the end of it.
Any one of those steps would be incredibly difficult. But all at once? It'd be damn near impossible for anybody and manage it in one piece. Whether it be Hydra, AIM, the Serpent Society, or any other group with motivation, none had ever succeeded; they had never even tried. Until today, that is.
Before, however, the Big House only amplifiedthe security SHIELD had when it came to keeping anyone of note imprisoned. Of course, it couldn't hold everykind of threat, but that's what the others were for: the Raft, the Cube, and the Vault.
And most enticingly, was the prospect of finallybringing Hank Pym into the fold. His genius and innovations offered a brighter future for SHIELD's agents and its operations.
Pym's pacifistic nature had kept him at arm's length from SHIELD for years. But by adopting and investing in his 'rehabilitation' facility, Fury had hoped to draw him closer, to show him that his work could serve a larger cause. And that by observing the unrepentant nature and unwillingness to change from the prisoners, which consisted of scum like Mandrill and Arnim Zola, would understand the necessity of utilizing Pym Particles for more defensive and offensive means.
Ultimately, it was the endless potential of Pym Particles, in containment, in transportation, espionage, and tactical applications, that had Fury greenlight the construction of the Big House.
It had seemed like a calculated risk. One sure to pay off.
Until today, as the chaos caused by escaping and rampaging supervillains has proven otherwise. As did Pym's stalwart refusal to budge from his morals. At best, Janet van Dyne could'vebeen roped in as an agent, but that prospect was foiled by today's events.
Still, among the disaster of every superhuman prisoner of all four super prisons being unleashed in the world, there was at least a silver lining.
Fury knew the motherfucker to blame for all of this.
Under normal circumstances, he would have been sceptical of the source who gave him that information. But when Thor Odinson personally confirmed the intel, backed with verification from the Allfather himself, Fury was keen to believe it. It explained the cause of four prisons simultaneously losing power in a way his top agents, including Coulson and May, still couldn't piece together. The Breakout was done far too cleanly for it to be any of the other suspects, though they certainly benefited and ran wild with the surprise opportunity.
Loki, the God of Mischief, and Amora the Enchantress. They orchestrated the entire breakout. They hadn't done all of this in some attempt to conquer the planet while SHIELD was distracted, not directly, anyway. No, all of this was just a distraction.Just to keep Thor busy while they launched their campaign to conquer the "Nine Realms", which would eventually turn towards Midgard. Towards Earth.
As if that revelation alone wasn't enough to spike his blood pressure, the thought of an unseen army, one the Earth was hopelessly outgunned to fight and couldn't even try to prepare against, might've given him a stroke were it not for the Infinity Formula in his veins.
Then there was Loki himself, proficient with the use of magic illusions from what Thor had informed him. The Trickster God had also worked with a sorceress who could enchant minds.
SHIELD had developed, and was still testing, safeguards against traditional mind-reading technology and telepathy, because that was an annoyingly common mutation. But magic? Magic was still a problem. The supernatural and mystical were issues far beyond the reach of conventional methods and technology to control.
And of course, she happened to be guarded by a 'Scourge the Executioner', a formidable Asgardian warrior. A mind-controlling sorceress and a magical Juggernaut that he had to worry about.
Thankfully, Loki was captured by Odin and was no longer one of the many immediate problems he'd have to deal with. But if he had managed to escape one Asgardian prison already, getting one over the Allfather, then it would only have been a matter of time before he did it again.
Fury would need to push even harder towards getting SHIELD and SWORD the upgrades it desperately needed. They needed better technology, more potent agents, maybe even a few sorcerers of their own, if they were going to keep pace with the threats brewing and bursting out the woodworks at home, let alone from the stars.
At the very least, he had a group he could call on to help deal with them. The newly formed Avengers, along with…
Franklin Hall.
Or Graviton, his codename following his placement in the Raft. A fitting name for the new superhuman, though Fury had ensured Hall's file was carefully modified. To any unauthorized or untrustworthy eyes, Hall was only an exceptionally strong telekinetic, a mimic of what his name implied. Not as the most successful recreation of Erskine's formula. Not in control of a fundamental force of the universe. Not someone on par with the Master of Magnetism in sheer destructive capability.
Frankly, he was relieved that his escape from the Raft hadn't been as destructive as it could've been, even in a moderate scenario, let alone the worst case. And while the man was clearly wroth with him, if "removing limb privileges" was anything to go by, he was content, for now, to express that rage through veiled threats and extortion.
In truth, Hall's words may have caused some concern, were Fury not wellaccustomed to all kinds of cover ups. One doesn't become Director of SHIELD without managing and burying dangerous truths. With surveillance capabilities the NSA could only dream of, and influence in every news piece worth and worth not a damn, Fury had means of controlling a narrative.
At least among the general masses, that is.
Franklin Hall wasn't just an average scientist who happened to luck into superpowers. He was a respected physicist, well known in the scientific community for his work on theoretical physics, notably on gravity, over at the Research City. So, when he disappeared ten years ago after he accepted to work at SHIELD, people had noticed. But Hall had never been particularly sociable, so his becoming a recluse to his research had been easy to sell to most.
Now, however, Hall resurfacing was bound to raise some questions. Questions that, if answered (objectively or uncharitably), would make recruiting more scientists of worth much harder than it needed to be.
So, he was content to let his former employee have his compensation if that was all he needed to be placated. Even if the amount would take a noticeable, but not unrecoverable, chunk of Shield's funding. Better that than losing all of New York in a rampage, for example.
Case in point, Hall was soon found on camera at a local ATM. He took a few thousand before flying off too quickly for SHIELD to even try to attach a tail to him. Off to who knows where, only that it wasn't at his home in the States or Canada. But Fury did not doubt that SHIELD would find-
"Sir!" His lieutenant and second in command, Maria Hill, called out, breaking through his thoughts, "We're receiving an emergency distress call from the Hulkbuster Unit."
At that, he raised a brow. Somewhat impressed that Thunderbolt Ross had already pursued and engaged with the Hulk.
The comms then lit up with Ross' voice, full of anger.
"Fury! Some unknown blindsided my forces! And they're in cahoots with the Hulk! I need information on who this is so I can call in the proper backup. He could be some mutant freak or Raft escapee for all I know!"
And the Director was more so annoyed, though he kept from rolling his single eye. Hard not to when the General was begging intel after what he tried to do to the last help he sent.
He turned to the monitor and studied the image Ross' men had transmitted intently. The photo, captured from a significant distance, showed two figures. One was unmistakable, even reduced in size by the perspective, and was still too green and mean to miss.
The Incredible Hulk.
The other was instantly recognizable to him, despite the new wardrobe of a blue hoodie and white sweatpants (a fashion choice veryunlike what Hall wore, from what he recalled).
The wild, unkempt mane and thick beard belonged to the man who had just dragged him into the sky for a session of "aggressive negotiations".
"Hall," Fury breathed, "Of all places…"
What the hell was he doing here?
Then he exhaled sharply, piecing together what could have happened.
He still had no idea how Hall had learned of Hulk's whereabouts, or even how he had found out about Banner so soon after waking from his coma in the first place. That was a detail Fury intended to get to the bottom of. But the "why" behind his sudden appearance with the Hulk was far easier to guess.
He knew the man's intentions, supposedly at least.
After all, Franklin Hall and Bruce Banner's circumstances weren't so different from each other. An experiment gone wrong, granting the both of them great yet monstrous power. The label "uncontrollable" was what had the Hulk a constant target of the government. It was also the reason why he kept Hall in a medically induced state of sleep for the last ten years.
But now? Now, neither seemed so out of control.
Still unstoppable once they got going, yes, but not unmanageable.
And judging by the general's phrasing of "in cahoots", rather than "engaged in combat", it seems that Hall hadn't gotten into a brawl, like what had occurred between the Hulk and the Wolverine a few years ago. Not a confrontation, but a conversation.
Hall succeeded with his chat.
That fact alone was enough for Fury to reconsider any immediate action.
Not that he had any intention of helping General Ross continue with his obsessive crusade against the Hulk. Not after he had nearly gotten two of his best agents killed because of his callousness, knowingly launching a missile at the Black Widow and Hawkeye. If Barton's report was to be believed, the Hulk had to activelytank the missile to save their lives.
Had the Cube not been taken over by its former prisoners, he could've humored Ross a little longer, if only for getting the Hulk out of the way. Because as consistently proven by Ross and lately the Absorbing Man, he was just a magnet for trouble.
Still, a part of him couldn't deny the appeal to get more samples of his blood, as Hulk soldiers would certainly turn the tide in an alien invasion.
But now? Things had changed and he, along with all of SHIELD, had bigger concerns to worry about.
Fury tapped his comm. "Ross, stand down."
A tense pause. Then an incredulous, "Excuse me?"
Ross damn well knew what Fury said, he just didn't like what came from his mouth.
"You heard me." Fury said coldly, "This is a direct order. You and your Hulkbuster Unit are to stand down and cease pursuit of the Hulk. You and your men can go after Gamma and other radiated supervillains controlling the Cube, or you can go home, I'm too busy to really care which."
Ross' response was immediate and full of fire. "You can't be serious!? This man, whoever the hell he is, just hijacked my entire unit! We were trapped airbourne until we were suddenly flipped on the ground upside down! You expect me to sit on my ass while a potential ticking time bomb is about to go off with the goddamn Hulk?!"
"You mean the same Hulk who saved two of my people from a missile you knowingly launched at them? The same two agents who took down the Hulk in the first place whereas he was dismantling your toys? I think Shield could handle this just fine without you, Ross. Consider yourself lucky that I have more important matters than getting you court-martialed. Don't come talking to me about ticking time bombs when you were more than happy to cover and finance one when it was conveniently setting up an eventual weapons designer for you."
The silence that followed was thick with restrained outrage. But Ross knew better than to push back any further, at least for now.
"Fine." Ross spat the word like venom, "But don't come crying to me when this blows up in your face."
Fury smirked. Ross may have had a Hulkbuster Unit, but he had Iron Man and the God of Thunder to take care of any potential issues the Hulk could cause. And even they may not be needed if Hall was around.
He ended the call and turned back to the screen, studying the image of Franklin Hall.
The man dressed more casually than he ever remembered the man being, even when the physicist was engaged in civilian life, and looking jovial in front of what most would be afraid of. But then again, with Hall's control over gravity, he was one of the most capable beings on the planet in handling the threat that the Hulk was. And if he knew about Banner's story, then he had to have known about the Hulk's rampages and the destructive power he possessed.
"So," he muttered to himself, "what exactly are you up to now, Hall?"
"Our next course of action, sir?" Maria Hill asked, her gaze narrowing as she scrutinized the transmitted images once more. A particular intensity was given to Hall's carefree face and relaxed position.
"Nothing beyond surveillance for now."
"Sir," Hill frowned, her voice tight with disbelief, "Do you really think we should be letting those two-"
"Given Hall's closeness to the Avengers," Fury said, steepling his fingers, "and the fact that he and Hulk share similar circumstances, it seems all too likely that he intends. Another Avenger."
Her frown grew even further at the mention of the newest group of superheroes. The recently formed Avengers Initiative had been a point of friction between them. His second in command saw this as an unnecessary gamble, one he seemed far too willing to wager on.
He didn't blame her. If he had his way, Stark, Pym, and even Reed Richards would've realized long ago that the most good for the world they could accomplish came from working for SHIELD, rather than around it. More superheroes would drop the vigilante act and lone wolf antics for structure, order, and mission-based deployment, or freelance if suited to it.
But that wasn't the world he lived in.
So he adapted. Worked with what he had. And that meant wrangling a circus of colorful characters instead of sharp-suited soldiers.
Hill would come to understand eventually. Being the Director of SHIELD wasn't just the usual bouts of espionage, politics, and military. It was about rapid-fire juggling of landmines while blindfolded, on top of gambling with stakes that were simultaneously far too high on far too low odds. All of which were skills he had to learn on the job.
"With all due respect, sir," Hill said, her usual prelude to a disagreement, but he could tell this wasn't just protocol. The respect was genuine, not the usually veiled 'kiss my ass', but concern. Tactical, honest concern. Out of her many qualities, it was something he appreciated about his second in command.
"I still maintain that placing so much faith in a group of enhanced individuals, all of whom operate outside of SHIELD oversight, is only going to end in disaster. Stark was bad enough already as a liability. Thor, whom we have no way of holding accountable to us. But the Hulk? And Graviton-"
Fury raised his hand, cutting her off at the mention of the physicist.
Ever since his return to the Helicarrier, relieving her from active command, she had made her objections clear as soon as she was able to. Not to his face in public, not where any agent could overhear, but in every closed-door meeting since. Every bit of the compensation, or concessions as she called it, Hill had dissected and challenged.
Hard.
The money. The return of Hall's research (even knowing full well that he had already made copies of it). The smoothing with the IRS's scrutiny over a quiet transfer of such a significant sum of wealth to a man he made the system ignore. All of it.
But nothing pissed Hill off as much as Hall's final demand did. The one she had vehemently argued against the most.
An exemption from any oversight from SHIELD unless Franklin Hall allowed it.
"Hall has constraints. Just not the ones we pick."
Hill's eyes narrowed. "And that's supposed to be enough?"
"He sees himself as a victim of SHIELD. And he's not entirely wrong. I'm the one who gave the order. Kept comatose for ten years. I own that. But so does he. If he wants to keep playing the role of the wronged party, who only wants justice, then he better stay in character."
Hill's voice sharpened. "Graviton abducted you. He dragged you stories into the air like some superpowered thug for a shakedown!"
Fury didn't blink, well used to life threatening danger. "And yet, here I am. Very much alive. No broken bones. No bruises. Just a high-altitude negotiation. Not my preferred venue, but it got the job done."
"Supervillains shouldn't be dictating terms to us," Hill snapped.
"They don't," Fury rebuked, his voice clipped, "And unless everything's gone FUBAR. And they won't. This wasn't the plan I wanted for Hall. Sure as hell didn't want the outcome, either. But it's the one we've got to deal with."
He looked past her, eyes narrowing.
"He could've dropped me, sped the fall up just enough that there wouldn't even be a body left to recover. He could've destroyed the entire Raft instead of punching a clean exit hole. Hell, he could've brought the whole of New York down to its knees."
He turned back to her.
"And he didn't. That tells me everything I need to know."
Hill held his gaze for a long, silent beat. Her arms were crossed tightly, jaw clenched like she was holding back everything she wanted to say, a variation of previous arguments and new ones.
Then, finally, she exhaled. A slow release of breath as the tension bled from her shoulders, but not gone. Not entirely.
After another quiet second, she gave a reluctant nod. "You always did play the long game, sir."
He nodded once. "It's the only one worth playing."
Hill turned away, back to the screen. She didn't say anything else, her silence told enough.
She wasn't convinced.
Fury didn't expect her to be.
But she was loyal. That was enough. She'd follow his lead, no matter how much she disagreed.
"So…" she said, her voice flat, "I take it we're not sending intel on Graviton to Ross? He's going to raise hell about this."
Fury scoffed, "Let him. We've got 73 supervillains loose, and we're going to need everything we can get, including the now freed up Hulkbuster Unit. There are plenty of villains as dangerous and powerful as the Hulk. The Abomination already proved that before by being twiceas powerful. And if Thor's assessment is anything to go by, Scourge the Executioner might be another one."
Hill quirked an eyebrow. "Well, after they get some repairs done first."
Fury chuckled, dry and humorless, "Thankfully, Hall decided to show more restraint here than he did at the Raft."
Building a supermax prison at the bottom of the ocean to contain the worst of the worst meant that extensive countermeasures had been implemented, to prevent both internal and external breaches. Thankfully, no one had drowned from the hole Hall left in his escape, the emergency foam having sealed up the hole.
Still, the vengeful scientist had earned himself a few enemies that day, especially among those who almost met a watery grave.
But better "nearly drowned" than any of the alternative methods Hall could've used to escape.
Fury remembered the hospital incident vividly. A younger, panickingHall had nearly torn his hospital room asunder, let alone the rest of the building, during his lack of control.
That moment alone was enough to have Hall classified as a one-man catastrophic event. And that was just from the potential damages that could've occurred had he not been sedated.
Had he fully given in to his anger during his breakout… had he truly unleashed the capabilities of what the threat projections labeled a fully realized "Graviton"… there wouldn't have been anything left of the Raft to recover. Neither the Raft at the bottom of the ocean, nor the garbage barge entrance hundreds of meters above. The very platform Fury himself had stood on during the starting events of the Breakout.
Like most brilliant scientists, Franklin Hall had an ego and wasn't always the most obedient. The testament to that was the experiment he refused to stop, which gave him his powers. But Hall was compliant in his time working with SHIELD. Hell, he recreated the Super Soldier Serum. Even better, it also granted incredible manipulation of gravity. Even if he could only recreate that with a four-man squad, they'd have a guaranteed success rate against any supervillain, alien, or rogue element SHIELD went up against.
By all means, Fury had absolutely wanted to wake Hall up just to congratulate the bastard. To shake his hand and honor his brilliance. He'd have even overlooked the physicist going against his orders, results that good sure as hell bought some forgiveness.
Then, the threat analysis came in.
Reviewing the hospital footage, SHIELD analysts were unanimous; it was only due to luck that Hall had been sedated during the start of his panic episode. Any delay, and it'd be all too easy that the gas could've been repelled from him, along with the rest of the hospital building. And from there, the potential for collateral damage before he possiblymanaged to gain control over himself was countless.
So Fury made the call. To keep Hall comatose. For the greater good.
There'd been hope that SHIELD could've created an effective dampener, or recruited a powerful enhanced to subdue him. A failsafe. And then, they could try waking Hall up, safely. But progress had been slow. Too slow. And there were no second chances when a single fuck up could flatten an entire city.
If only he'd known Hall would wake in full control of his powers. If it were a year, perhaps five at most, then Hall could've been content to let bygones be bygones after a less exorbitant compensation. Possibly, he'd even be willing to work with SHIELD again, as their greatest scientific and military asset.
But ten years was just too long.
Now, while not an enemy, Hall flat-out refused to engage with SHIELD unless it was on his terms.
Still, that bridge wasn't entirely burnt. Hall had shown restraint. He'd waited. Negotiated. Even with exorbitant demands, he'd done it peacefully and accepted some pushback. And he'd made it clear that he'd work with SHIELD again, if the threat warranted it.
Fury wanted to salvage the lost opportunity that Hall represented. But he couldn't just let a man of his capabilities roam unchecked. Not out of just paranoia, but it was the principle of the matter. Someone as powerful as Graviton, who could drastically shift the balance of global security with little to stop him outside of overwhelming force, needed eyes on him. From there, they could make contingencies. Failsafes. Counters.
And the first step was finally getting a lock on this man.
Judging from the last reported coordinates of the Hulkbuster Unit, and the direction Hall flew off to, it didn't take much to determine his next destination. Los Angeles.
Where Jennifer Walters resided. A well known attorney. And, most notably, Bruce Banner's cousin.
HowHall had made the connection so quickly, Fury had no idea. But he would be making a note of it. If Hall could piece together that kind of intel after only a few hours out of a coma, it meant he had help... or his intellect had only been growing during his time under.
Fortunately, SHIELD had an agent stationed in the area nearby. At the very least, they'd be able to observe the meeting and gather some intel. Capture of body language, gauge tone, track departure vectors. Insight on Hall's next move from there, besides looking for legal help. But surveillance alone wasn't going to cut it.
Because tailing Hall directly? That was out of the question.
Just as soon as the agent gathered everything of note, Hall was very likely to just fly off to his next location. Gone as fast as a blink. There wasn't aircraft or a drone fast or stealthy enough in SHIELD's arsenal to keep pace with someone who could ignore gravity.
No. The better play was to think ahead. Look to where Hall was most likely to stay.
And Fury knew exactly where Hall would eventually stop.
Stark Industries, New York.
Hall would be working there, that much wouldn't be a guess. It was inevitable, really. Becoming a part of Stark Industries would easily grant Hall access to a plethora of resources and protection that Stark's name granted. And given his skillset, it'd be certain he'd be working as a physicist. Most likely focused on gravitational theory.
Though, a small part of him can't help but worry over if either scientist would attempt to recreate the process Hall used to become a Super Soldier and gain his powers. Not just a re-creation governments and groups all over the world had failed, but an evolution of Erksine's formula.
Stark could claim to be for peace all he wanted. But the Iron Man armor was still one of the most advanced weapons platforms on the planet. And at the end of the day, beneath that armor, Tony Stark was still just a man. Brilliant, yes, but still mortal. And the Iron Man armor had been created during the most vulnerable point in Stark's life, as that Reactor in his chest served as permanent reminder of. But even if he wasn't tempted by the enhancement right at his beck and call, he might just try to create the serum out of ego and just to out do one of the smartest people on the planet, for all he knew.
And that meant these two couldn't be left unmonitored, for their own good if not the rest of the world.
Regardless, this presented quite an opportunity for Fury.
Most scientists, genius or otherwise, needed help. Assistants. Lab techs. Support staff. Even someone as smart as Stark needed assistance, even if it was only from his AI. And Hall, having been out of the loop for the past decade worth of scientific discoveries, would very likely need someone at his side while catching up back to speed.
That gave Fury his in.
A long-term, embedded asset. Someone capable. Trusted. Skilled enough to blend in seamlessly, while keeping an eye on one of the most dangerous men on the planet. And importantly, someone smart enough to belong in a high level lab and valuable enough to stay there without raising suspicion.
A few names flickered through his mind.
The Black Widow couldwork for a short-term op, but she was already deep as a 'new member of HYDRA'. It's too late to pull her back now, not with Hawkeye already a witness to her 'betrayal' and the Hulk blood that given to 'prove' Widow's loyalty to HYDRA.
Quake had potential. She was loyal, more than able to handle pressure, and powerful. Powers of her own would give her a fighting chance against Hall, or to even take him out if she plays her cards right. But she lacked the scientific acumen to fit in a lab environment. That last point had him cross out Agent 13 as well. Solid field agents, both, but not the right fit for this assignment.
Then there was the option that solved the issue of scientific background.
Not quite as seasoned in deep cover as the others, she was still competent. She had the skills, the training, and, most importantly, the credentials to walk into a research lab and genuinely belong. Her scientific background, a focus in biology and biochemistry, made her an ideal candidate for this mission.
"Hill," Fury said, "Keep an eye on current goings and notify me if it's urgent."
Then he moved away from the monitor as he activated a secure line on his earpiece.
"Coulson, get me in touch with Mockingbird. Tell her that I've got a new assignment for her. Covert, long-term, and critically sensitive. I'll give her the full debrief myself."
XXXXXX
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one I hope
My main goal with this interlude (mini or huge) was to give Nick Fury some depth. From Hall's perspective, it was pretty easy to think the worst of the super spy while grudgingly acknowledging him as being on the side of good. And he is that, Fury is certainly a cold, manipulative, spymaster, but I also wanted to look at the human beneath the trenchcoat and paranoia (there's just more paranoia beneath lol). He's very much a 'muh greater good' type fella and willing to do some fucked up/real asshole type shit if he saw it necessary. But in the end, all the guy wants is to keep the world safe as best he could. Though, considering that he has Maria Hill as his second in command, it's rather likely that he does share the same opinions she does on certain matters but is experienced enough to know he can't always get what he wants and makes do with what he has. (he'd rather the Avengers be Shield agents but is content to let them do good, either one helps him out. whereas Maria would be my way or the highway to an extreme point) So I wanted to have a bit of mentoring here too.
As Fury himself notes, he has to juggle landmines while blindfolded. Any of his decisions has big impacts on the world, positive or negative. And while he does feel some regret for what he did to Hall, he still stands behind the decision with the info he had at the time. He didn't tell Hall 'I was totally gonna wake you up, just wanted to be sure first' because he could see that it wouldn't have landed, even when he was telling the truth. Hall was pretty set in his opinions at the time (understandably) and Fury isn't the kind of guy to just be open to people, he's always gotta be in charge, or in control, if he could. Especially when he still hasn't gotten a full measure of Hall just yet, a part of him still expecting a potential mad mad out for revenge (it tends to be a common story in comics).
Like with Loki's POV, we get a glimpse of the ripples Hall has made. This time, over at SHIELD's side of the pond. Fury is gonna want to try and prep against Loki's eventual? return (and Iron Man is prepping as well, so a possible 'suit around the world' may be in the works even if its not exactly Ultron).
We also got a bit of set up for future events, Maria Hill isnota fan of Hall (so expect her to be a big pain in the ass once she becomes Director). Though the biggest one is that Fury (unintentionally) fucks Hall over big time, [ISPOILER]no easy solution for the Secret Invasion now./ISPOILER].. That'll be fun to see from Hall's pov.
Though, I will say that Fury was an interesting challenge. I got the gist of his thoughts well enough (I think), but the voice was difficult since I did have the MCU's version bleeding in every now and then (though I did leave one obvious link in). But do let me know if I perhaps made him too dry (or not military enough), or perhaps put too much background info, as I also wanted to add a bit of reflection/worldbuilding from Fury's perspective for the past and the present to flesh things out.
Now, I'm not going to post an interludeevery timea big thing happens, but will try to do so when I felt it'll be the most relevant or useful to do so. In the cases we have so far, the readers can see what changes Hall's actions have made so far, be it on the world or to the characters in it.
Anywho, I thank you for reading thisminichapterinterlude and please leave me your thoughts.