Bronze Mettle (MCU/DC SI)

[Older-than-Time]

Don't most ways of taking a God's power involve eating them, though? At least, all the rituals I've seen for that do.

Click to shrink...

That works. We just gotta spit them back out and laugh at them.

Zeus did that for Kronus

 

[Mizu]

If you wanna help me find out, and punch 'em in the teeth for me?

Click to shrink...

out, punch 'em in the teeth

Seeing things the same way as gods is weird. Makes sense!

EDIT:

Don't most ways of taking a God's power involve eating them, though? At least, all the rituals I've seen for that do.

Click to shrink...

Oh hey, you're back! Nice to see you again. @Xavier Bronze, this person's the one I mentioned when you first brought up your tulpa aspect, in case you don't remember.

 

[Bailey Matutine]

Don't most ways of taking a God's power involve eating them, though? At least, all the rituals I've seen for that do.

Click to shrink...

Strangely, only a few of those are tantric.

 

[Xavier Bronze]

out, punch 'em in the teeth

Click to shrink...

If I were being grammatically correct the same-meaning version would be something like "If you wanna help me find out and punch 'em in the teeth that'd be great." But that's not what I'd say. Natural dialogue exception, ho! 'Course, the exception to the exception is Asgardians, who always manage to sound proper even if they're taking a shit while on fire.

This person's the one I mentioned when you first brought up your tulpa aspect, in case you don't remember.

Click to shrink...

We talked, briefly. Different skulls, different strokes, or something like that. We talked, we disagreed, and now we're friends. That's how that works, right?

 

[Valor]

Personally I would've asked to come with the Asgardians. Cause, let's be honest, staying behind with the assholes that set my hand on flame, tortured me, didn't let me poop whilst restricting me to a chair for hours upon end...

Then get help in mastering your ability.

Get yourself sent back to Earth after a few years or so. Just, outside of America, y'know. Bam, voila.

 

[Xavier Bronze]

Personally I would've asked to come with the Asgardians.

Click to shrink...

Go to the realm full of millions of indestructible, super strong people with thousands of years of weapons training, who can all very easily find out that SI appeared at the exact same moment, in the exact same place that their favorite prince and beloved future king vanished without a trace, potentially never to be seen again? Sure. She'll get right on that.

SHIELD isn't that bad. They've been downright humane compared to what most real-world intelligence agencies would do if they found someone who knew their deepest and darkest. Can you imagine what the CIA would've done by now? They didn't actually seriously torture SI. She just likes exaggerating about when Hill tested her claim of being fireproof, which was a completely reasonable thing for Hill to do. And the reason I didn't mention the toilet that folds out of the cell wall is because no-one wants to read about that stuff, and I didn't want to write about it either.

Also, there's no internet in Asgard, and that sucks.

 

[Xavier Bronze]

Don't most ways of taking a God's power involve eating them, though? At least, all the rituals I've seen for that do.

That works. We just gotta spit them back out and laugh at them.

Zeus did that for Kronus

Click to shrink...

This seems relevant to this line of discussion.



Thor: Make like your daddy, and swallow my babies!

 

[Xavier Bronze]

Mike and Ike stuff me back in the sketchy government van not long after. They take me back to the crater site, and my cell. While I was out they renovated. And by "renovated" I mean they threw a mattress on the floor. Still, nice. I'll take what I can get.

I don't know what will happen in Asgard without Thor around. Maybe Loki becomes king and destroys Jotunheim. Maybe someone else stops him. I feel like I should care more about a whole planet of Frost Giants than I do. But they might not even be in danger. Who knows. Maybe he never even tries. He's already the only rightful heir left. Let's hope nothing happens to Odin anytime soon.

Fuck, Thor: Ragnarok was coming up, wasn't it? So I've got, what, eight years at most? I'll figure something out later. Now, I'm gonna rest for a week.

...It doesn't take me long to realize there's other stuff going on. Specifically, Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk. All of them took place around the same time, right? I can't remember the chronology. I bang on the door and yell until someone responds. It's Mike and Ike, of course.

"Hey, can one of you bozos page someone important? I've got inforrmation for them. Tell them it might be urgent."

They close the door again. I have no idea if they're actually going to call anyone or not. Maybe I should have asked nicer.

A few minutes later, Barton steps in, "They said you called?"

I nod, "Thor was one of three movies that took place around the same time. Around now. The other two were Iron Man 2, and The Incredible Hulk. I want to brief you on what happens in those, so that SHIELD can know what's coming."

He raises his eyebrows, before walking over and sitting in one of the chair that isn't a lie detector, "Yeah. Go ahead."

I sit across the table from him, "I don't know when the three take place relative to each other, and I know you can't tell me what's happened already, so you'll just have to figure that out for yourself. I'll save you the nitty grittys and jump to the big, important bits.

In Iron Man 2, a criminal who calls himself Whiplash attacks Tony Stark at a car race in a foreign country. I'm sorry if I can't be specific, but my memory of the movies isn't perfect. I think his name might be Vanko? Ivan Vanko? Or I might be thinking about someone else. Anyway, Whiplash is arrested, and Justin Hammer illegally frees him to develop a competitor to the Iron Man suit. He succeeds, and Hammer makes a presentation at Stark Expo. Except Whiplash hacks the drones and attacks the audience. You need to make sure Stark Expo is secure, and Whiplash is behind bars before that happens.

In The Incredible Hulk, General Ross attacks Bruce Banner somewhere in South America. The Hulk makes short work of Ross's troops. Banner comes to the states to meet with an affiliate to develop a cure for his condition. The cure ultimately fails, but before that Ross creates his own monster. He uses some variant on the Super Soldier Serum to empower one of his soldiers, and it works. Unfortunately it works a little too well, and he winds up even more bloodthirsty and mindless than the Hulk. The Hulk battles Ross' creation in Harlem, devastating the city. I'm gonna make two recommendations. Leave Banner alone. He's not hurting anyone. And for fucks sake, don't let Ross use his formula. Or if it's too late for that, at least get his empowered soldier into custody as fast as possible so that he can't rampage through New York. He's just as dangerous as the Hulk, so take more precautions than you think you need to.

I think Iron Man 2 happens first, since Stark shows up briefly at the end of Hulk's movie. If you can, just get Ross fired. His vendetta against the Hulk gets a lot more people killed than the Hulk ever would on his own. Similarly, Hammer is in no mental state to be running a company. He's corrupt, if not insane."

He sits for a minute. "That it?"

I slump back in my seat, "Yeah. I think so. There's some other stuff going on in Asgard right now, but I don't even know if that's still happening the same way. And it doesn't immediately affect us anyway. Oh, I guess you can tell them that the robot I mentioned probably isn't coming after all. It was sent to kill Thor, and since Thor isn't here…"

"Got it. Anything else?"

"Nothing until twenty-twelve. I'll let you know if I remember anything else."

I could tell them about Rogers. But I figure they found him anyway. If I tell them that they're gonna find him, they might change whatever patterns wound up finding him the first time. So they're more likely to find him if I say nothing. No idea if that really makes sense, but it makes sense to me.

He nods briefly, "Ok then." He gets up and walks toward the door.

I stop him, "Hey Barton?"

He turns back, "Hmm?"

"When Sif, that's the woman from earlier, when she attacked me… Why did no-one step in? I mean, I'm glad they didn't. That would've been war. But, I also almost died. So."

He sighs, and looks like he just aged a week, "We had a way to probably take out the four. But we didn't have any way to protect you from friendly fire."

Fuck, were they thinking about an orbital strike? Nuke? What were they planning?

I nod, "Alright. So you never had any way to protect me at all, either. You were just hoping I could figure it out for myself, or that if they killed me they'd be satisfied and go home. Makes sense."

He looks downright dejected, "Look, I-"

"No no. It makes sense. No apology needed. I'm used to people treating me like trash and trying to throw me away. It's just good to know that's where we stand."

"Coulson wanted to go in." He lets me take that in for a moment. "Coulson wanted to go in himself to talk to them. He'd already made contact, briefly, but he hadn't tried to talk them down, or convince them to leave. He didn't want to risk you, So he tried to go himself. Fury overruled him."

So that's where I stand.

Clint leaves, and leaves me to think. He probably committed a few dozen accounts of treason telling me that, but I'm glad he did. It feels good to be valuable. I meant enough to Coulson for him to risk himself, and I meant enough to Clint for him to tell me about it. It took Fury, the big dog himself, to make the smart call. That means a lot. I set out to make allies in this world, and it feels like I've succeeded. And I talked down a few of my enemies too.

Overall, it's been a good day. And now I'm gonna rest for a week.

 

[Mizu]

What butterfly might result from this, I wonder? Probably good stuff from averting Hulk: Baddie Edition if nothing else.

 

[Vaalintine]

Given she's done literally nothing but cooperate, and there is no way they can prove she is intentionally misinforming them, SHEILD's actions are flat-out pants on head retarded. Seriously, is someone going to call them out for the obvious mistreatment? Because there is no way any intelligence agency would toss a cooperate asset into an empty cell with a matress on the floor. At some point one would have to assume it's a universe where SHEILD is evil and say: "Fuck all of you, I'm not doing jack shit. Kill me and get it over with."

And on the topic of "General" Ross, all I can say is that if one of his own men shot him in the back of the head the damage & casualties attributed to the Hulk would be greatly reduced.

 

[Xavier Bronze]

Given she's done literally nothing but cooperate, and there is no way they can prove she is intentionally misinforming them, SHEILD's actions are flat-out pants on head retarded. Seriously, is someone going to call them out for the obvious mistreatment? Because there is no way any intelligence agency would toss a cooperate asset into an empty cell with a matress on the floor. At some point one would have to assume it's a universe where SHEILD is evil and say: "Fuck all of you, I'm not doing jack shit. Kill me and get it over with."

Click to shrink...

Let me see...

Given she's done literally nothing but spout federal secrets, and there is no way they can prove she is intentionally misinforming them, the CIA's actions are flat-out pants on head retarded. Seriously, is someone going to call them out for the obvious mistreatment? Because there is no way any intelligence agency would toss a security liability into an empty cell with a matress on the floor. At some point one would have to assume it's a universe where Hydra is evil and say: "Fuck all of you, I'm not doing jack shit. Kill me and get it over with."

Click to shrink...

Read that and see how it looks. SHIELD is being cautious of a potential threat, as any good intelligence agency should be.

And on the topic of "General" Ross, all I can say is that if one of his own men shot him in the back of the head the damage & casualties attributed to the Hulk would be greatly reduced.

Click to shrink...

Agreed. SI said as much in her recap data dump.

 

[Xavier Bronze]

One week later, Coulson comes into my room, "Pack up your things. We're moving you to another facility."

I gather the few flannel shirts they've given me, a couple of fireproof uniforms, my wallet, and the tablet, "Don't want me in the same place as the hammer for too long?"

He throws me a duffel for my stuff, "Actually, you have an assignment."

I unceremoniously dump my possessions into the bag and follow him back out, "Does this mean I'll finally get to tell Jane and Selvig that I'm still alive?"

He talks as we walk, "We've told them already. Didn't seem to ease their minds that much."

I give an amused chuckle, "Really. The scary government agents telling them that the person they abducted is perfectly fine didn't put their minds at rest? I can't imagine why."

After taking a direct route for once, we step outside and there's a plane right there. As we walk up the ramp he hands me a sealed folder, "You're being granted selective access to a Level 1 report on the events surrounding the manhunt of Bruce Banner over the last nine days."

So I met Sif in Puente Antiguo, and saw the Stark Expo battle on the news. Now I get to find out what happened in Harlem. Hopefully I made some kind of difference.

We sit down and I open the file, "What's my assignment?"

June 2nd, same day I talked with Sif, Emil Blonsky battles the Hulk at Culver University after undergoing Bio-Tech Enhancement. He's damn near killed, but is completely recovered in under two days. I remember all that from the movie.

"We need you to talk General Ross into turning Emil Blonsky over to SHIELD custody."

Unlike the movie, Blonsky was kept under medical observation for an additional 48 hours after being declared fit for duty. I can't help but feel like I might have had some part in that decision.

"Why me? Why not go yourself? Or send Romanoff?"

June 4th, his augmentations began to destabilize. His pain receptors shut off, his skin tightened and started to peel, and he grew bone protrusions on his arms and spine. There's a picture, and yikes. Not pretty. Only, when he heard that he'd have to stay in bed even longer, he smashed the bed, along with several doctors' skulls, and busted out.

"You're not strictly SHIELD. Anything you say we can just deny later if we need to stay on good terms with the General."

Without Banner's Gamma blood infusion from the movie, the Battle of Harlem was really more of a five-second pummeling that resulted with Blonsky waking up in an ultra-reinforced cell. Banner escaped.

I nod, "Makes sense. I guess I don't get to know what you do with Blonsky once you have him?"

"That's not part of your selective clearance."

Only an hour or two later we touch down god knows where. They give me some fresh clothes, implant a tracker into my neck, and send me on my way. For the first time in a week, Mike and Ike aren't breathing down my neck, but I'm still not free. I could probably dig the tracker out. It's not in very deep. Lucky for everyone I'm a coward, and I know SHIELD would find me again anyway.

Someone over my earpiece tells me that Ross is in a local bar. Wasn't this Stark's job? I walk in. Luckily they don't ask for ID. I walk over to Ross as he downs his second shot since I came in. That can't be good for his health. Then again, hunting the Hulk can't be too much better.

"General Ross?"

He sneers over at me, "Who's askin'?"

I sit down at the bar next to him, "I'm Xavier Bronze. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD."

That gets me a second sneer. Or maybe that's just what his face looks like, "What, was Fury busy?"

"To be blunt… yes. Anyway, we hear you've got a little problem on your hands. A certain former soldier has recently become more difficult to contain, I understand?"

He waves a recently emptied shot glass at me, "Stop talkin' in riddles and ask the question they sent you for."

"We want Blonsky."

He laughs, "You wanna dissect a war veteran? That's a media field day waitin' ta happen."

"Sir, we have the best containment facilities on the planet. If there's anywhere Blonsky is going to be safe, it's with SHIELD. We have no intention of making monsters. That's yo-" The words are out a half second before I can stop them. Damn.

He throws the shot glass to the floor and it shatters, "That's what? My job? That's what you were gonna say, wasn't it? Because that's what I do. Forget the years of service before! All I'll ever be remembered for is the Hulk! I made a monster and then I failed to take it down, got a lotta people killed. And now I went and made another one. That's what's gonna go on my grave! "Here lies Thaddeus Ross, his own final victim, by proxy of the Abomination. You can go tell SHIELD to fuck itself in a hole! They're not getting him from me."

Well fuck.

I lean away and whisper into my earpiece, "Got all that?"

Coulson comes back loud and clear, "Every word. The operation was a complete success. Report back to the plane in one hour."

...What?

I get back to the plane and Coulson's there to greet me with a cupcake, "Congratulations on your first successful mission as a Consultant of SHIELD."

Ignoring the fact that I'm now technically the same rank as Iron Man, I take the cupcake, "How the hell was that a success? He told SHIELD to go fuck itself."

"Exactly. The World Security Council insisted that we request that Blonsky be transferred. We have our own reasons for not wanting him under their control. We had to pick someone who could have full plausible deniability and still guarantee that the General make the wrong call. You were the best candidate."

I blink. So that's why Stark was the one to talk to Ross. That never made sense before now... "Thanks."

"You should take it as a compliment. Your blunt honesty is a trait I admire. If the world had more people like you, SHIELD would have a much easier job."

We sit down as the plane lifts off again, "Not sure I agree, but I appreciate the sentiment. Where are we going now?"

He pauses dramatically. He loves to do that, doesn't he? "Home."

...Well what the fuck does that mean?

 

[Vaalintine]

...are they still keeping her locked in an empty room, despite having basic security access? To be honest, the reason why SHEILD is giving me "evil government agency" vibes is because of the constant threat of "do what we tell you else", lack of anything resembling respect to someone who approached them giving info without strings attached (aside from Coulson), and the locking somone in a cell empty besides a bare mattress as opposed to basic furnishings. They have the mein of those who'd only see her as a threat/asset to be locked up.

tl;dr They don't look like they intend for her to feel comfortable or welcome, only obedient.

 

[Tachikoma's Aunt]

Given she's done literally nothing but cooperate, and there is no way they can prove she is intentionally misinforming them, SHEILD's actions are flat-out pants on head retarded. Seriously, is someone going to call them out for the obvious mistreatment? Because there is no way any intelligence agency would toss a cooperate asset into an empty cell with a matress on the floor. At some point one would have to assume it's a universe where SHEILD is evil and say: "Fuck all of you, I'm not doing jack shit. Kill me and get it over with."

And on the topic of "General" Ross, all I can say is that if one of his own men shot him in the back of the head the damage & casualties attributed to the Hulk would be greatly reduced.

Click to shrink...

Let me see...



Read that and see how it looks. SHIELD is being cautious of a potential threat, as any good intelligence agency should be.



Agreed. SI said as much in her recap data dump.

Click to shrink...

@Xavier Bronze: agreed. SHIELD has been dealing with you for less than twenty-four hours. Regardless of how well Coulson and Barton have taken to you, it is completely ludicrous that the organization as whole would trust you as far as they can throw the godsdamned Moon. I am not a formally trained operative, but the simple fact is that I / we have been hiding who we are for over a decade. We know a thing or two about just how far people are willing to go in the name of secrecy.

Frankly, you are lucky a semi-competent agency like SHIELD has you. If you were in the hands of just about any agency within the IRL American "Intelligence" Community, you would have been shot in the head by now, and never mind how much useful information you have access to.

One week later, Coulson comes into my room, "Pack up your things. We're moving you to another facility."

I gather the few flannel shirts they've given me, a couple of fireproof uniforms, my wallet, and the tablet, "Don't want me in the same place as the hammer for too long?"

He throws me a duffel for my stuff, "Actually, you have an assignment."

I unceremoniously dump my possessions into the bag and follow him back out, "Does this mean I'll finally get to tell Jane and Selvig that I'm still alive?"

He talks as we walk, "We've told them already. Didn't seem to ease their minds that much."

I give an amused chuckle, "Really. The scary government agents telling them that the person they abducted is perfectly fine didn't put their minds at rest? I can't imagine why."

After taking a direct route for once, we step outside and there's a plane right there. As we walk up the ramp he hands me a sealed folder, "You're being granted selective access to a Level 1 report on the events surrounding the manhunt of Bruce Banner over the last nine days."

So I met Sif in Puente Antiguo, and saw the Stark Expo battle on the news. Now I get to find out what happened in Harlem. Hopefully I made some kind of difference.

We sit down and I open the file, "What's my assignment?"

June 2nd, same day I talked with Sif, Emil Blonsky battles the Hulk at Culver University after undergoing Bio-Tech Enhancement. He's damn near killed, but is completely recovered in under two days. I remember all that from the movie.

"We need you to talk General Ross into turning Emil Blonsky over to SHIELD custody."

Unlike the movie, Blonsky was kept under medical observation for an additional 48 hours after being declared fit for duty. I can't help but feel like I might have had some part in that decision.

"Why me? Why not go yourself? Or send Romanoff?"

June 4th, his augmentations began to destabilize. His pain receptors shut off, his skin tightened and started to peel, and he grew bone protrusions on his arms and spine. There's a picture, and yikes. Not pretty. Only, when he heard that he'd have to stay in bed even longer, he smashed the bed, along with several doctors' skulls, and busted out.

"You're not strictly SHIELD. Anything you say we can just deny later if we need to stay on good terms with the General."

Without Banner's Gamma blood infusion from the movie, the Battle of Harlem was really more of a five-second pummeling that resulted with Blonsky waking up in an ultra-reinforced cell. Banner escaped.

I nod, "Makes sense. I guess I don't get to know what you do with Blonsky once you have him?"

"That's not part of your selective clearance."

Only an hour or two later we touch down god knows where. They give me some fresh clothes, implant a tracker into my neck, and send me on my way. For the first time in a week, Mike and Ike aren't breathing down my neck, but I'm still not free. I could probably dig the tracker out. It's not in very deep. Lucky for everyone I'm a coward, and I know SHIELD would find me again anyway.

Someone over my earpiece tells me that Ross is in a local bar. Wasn't this Stark's job? I walk in. Luckily they don't ask for ID. I walk over to Ross as he downs his second shot since I came in. That can't be good for his health. Then again, hunting the Hulk can't be too much better.

"General Ross?"

He sneers over at me, "Who's askin'?"

I sit down at the bar next to him, "I'm Xavier Bronze. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD."

That gets me a second sneer. Or maybe that's just what his face looks like, "What, was Fury busy?"

"To be blunt… yes. Anyway, we hear you've got a little problem on your hands. A certain former soldier has recently become more difficult to contain, I understand?"

He waves a recently emptied shot glass at me, "Stop talkin' in riddles and ask the question they sent you for."

"We want Blonsky."

He laughs, "You wanna dissect a war veteran? That's a media field day waitin' ta happen."

"Sir, we have the best containment facilities on the planet. If there's anywhere Blonsky is going to be safe, it's with SHIELD. We have no intention of making monsters. That's yo-" The words are out a half second before I can stop them. Damn.

He throws the shot glass to the floor and it shatters, "That's what? My job? That's what you were gonna say, wasn't it? Because that's what I do. Forget the years of service before! All I'll ever be remembered for is the Hulk! I made a monster and then I failed to take it down, got a lotta people killed. And now I went and made another one. That's what's gonna go on my grave! "Here lies Thaddeus Ross, his own final victim, by proxy of the Abomination. You can go tell SHIELD to fuck itself in a hole! They're not getting him from me."

Well fuck.

I lean away and whisper into my earpiece, "Got all that?"

Coulson comes back loud and clear, "Every word. The operation was a complete success. Report back to the plane in one hour."

...What?

I get back to the plane and Coulson's there to greet me with a cupcake, "Congratulations on your first successful mission as a Consultant of SHIELD."

Ignoring the fact that I'm now technically the same rank as Iron Man, I take the cupcake, "How the hell was that a success? He told SHIELD to go fuck itself."

"Exactly. The World Security Council insisted that we request that Blonsky be transferred. We have our own reasons for not wanting him under their control. We had to pick someone who could have full plausible deniability and still guarantee that the General make the wrong call. You were the best candidate."

I blink. So that's why Stark was the one to talk to Ross. That never made sense before now... "Thanks."

"You should take it as a compliment. Your blunt honesty is a trait I admire. If the world had more people like you, SHIELD would have a much easier job."

We sit down as the plane lifts off again, "Not sure I agree, but I appreciate the sentiment. Where are we going now?"

He pauses dramatically. He loves to do that, doesn't he? "Home."

...Well what the fuck does that mean?

Click to shrink...

Yeppers. I've run enough cons to say dat this id basically how at works.

 

[Xavier Bronze]

...are they still keeping her locked in an empty room, despite having basic security access? To be honest, the reason why SHEILD is giving me "evil government agency" vibes is because of the constant threat of "do what we tell you else", lack of anything resembling respect to someone who approached them giving info without strings attached (aside from Coulson), and the locking somone in a cell empty besides a bare mattress as opposed to basic furnishings. They have the mein of those who'd only see her as a threat/asset to be locked up.

tl;dr They don't look like they intend for her to feel comfortable or welcome, only obedient.

Click to shrink...

A government agency, evil or not, wants someone to feel obedient. No shit.

For further response, see:

@Xavier BronzeSHIELD has been dealing with you for less than twenty-four hours. Regardless of how well Coulson and Barton have taken to you, it is completely ludicrous that the organization as whole would trust you as far as they can throw the godsdamned Moon. Frankly, you are lucky a semi-competent agency like SHIELD has you. If you were in the hands of just about any agency within the IRL American "Intelligence" Community, you would have been shot in the head by now, and never mind how much useful information you have access to.

Click to shrink...

And to expand that briefly... They gave SI a mattress. Keep in mind this was less than 24 hours after they got her. And I don't know for sure but I'm thinking that rickshaw base they threw up overnight doesn't have very many spares. That mattress had to come from somewhere. Not only that, but someone also had to approve it. Sounds like a few agents went out of their way to make her feel comfortable. Maybe there's an Interlude in that somewhere. Or maybe it's better if I leave it implied.

Also, she's not going back to the cell now that she's a Consultant. She's going H.O.M.E.

 

[Tachikoma's Aunt]

A government agency, evil or not, wants someone to feel obedient. No shit.

For further response, see:



And to expand that briefly... They gave SI a mattress. Keep in mind this was less than 24 hours after they got her. And I don't know for sure but I'm thinking that rickshaw base they threw up overnight doesn't have very many spares. That mattress had to come from somewhere. Not only that, but someone also had to approve it. Sounds like a few agents went out of their way to make her feel comfortable. Maybe there's an Interlude in that somewhere. Or maybe it's better if I leave it implied.

Also, she's not going back to the cell now that she's a Consultant. She's going H.O.M.E.

Click to shrink...

It is better implied. In covert ops, one tries to avoid being explicit wherever possible.

 

[Xavier Bronze]

Turns out "home" was actually "H.O.M.E.". God, these people have a problem. The Habitat Of Mobile Emissaries is a secret base embedded in a cliff face somewhere on the east coast. I overheard some agents saying that Metropolis is a short drive north of here, so we're probably in Delaware, Maryland, or Virginia. I actually saw Superman out the hanger door my first day here.

My room is a lot nicer here. It's the same living quarters the agents use. It's got a desk, a walk-in closet, its own bathroom. There are a few things wrong, like it still has a metal floor like the rest of the compound. But it's better than a cell. Hell, it's nicer than Alex's old apartment.

A few days after I've moved in, Coulson comes in. He doesn't say anything. Instead he just walks over and sits in the armchair in the corner. He's got a weird look on his face. It's hard for me to read.

"Come on in. What's up?"

He pauses. Not dramatically, this time. Ponderingly, "I met a cellist yesterday."

I freeze. Oh god. I screwed up. "Really."

He nods, looking right at me, "You know you don't know as much as you think you do. You're wrong about a lot of things. Nick Fury was never a member of the Howling Commandos, for one thing. He wasn't even born yet when that group disbanded."

I know that much. Spout a few dozen cultural references off the top of your head, you're bound to get a few wrong. I know there's more he came here to say.

And there is, "But you're right often enough. Just enough to make it worth our while to listen. Usually when you say something like 'that I'm dating a cellist', we can safely file it under things you only think you know. But I guess you know a little more than I thought, because she's wonderful, and beautiful, and I can't even look at her without wondering how you knew."

I put my head in my hands, "I've already told you…"

I don't think he's blinked since he walked in, "Oh, I know. Earth Prime. Comicbooks and movies. I've read every file. But I'm not important enough for my future girlfriend to be noteworthy. Fury, Hill, hell even Barton I can understand. I can even accept that you'd recognize me. But I can't imagine any scenario where Audrey would be important enough for you to remember her, that ends well for her."

I'm looking back up, and there's faint tears in his eyes. He's not angry. He's scared.

"So I want you to tell me what happens."

I sigh. This was a lot easier when no-one wanted to believe me. "You died. Aliens invade New York in 2012. The Avengers Initiative is activated, but the people called don't get along. They need a catalyst to become a team. They all like you. They all know you. You die, and that triggers their transformation into something greater. That's what makes her important. She's important to you, and you're important to them."

There's the whole thing with her other ex, too. But I really don't remember that episode well enough to give any useful information. And Phil's not in any kind of condition to take vague foreboding right now. I can tell him about that in a month or two, when he's recovered from the initial shock.

He nods lightly, and then rubs the tears from his eyes, "Okay."

Fuck me, he's not even scared for himself? He was just scared for her? How can he be that good of a person? "If it makes you feel any better, there's almost no chance the same thing will happen this time. Even without my intel, Thor not being here is gonna cause ripples. It already has."

"You know, the Butterfly Effect was disproven a few years back in a controlled experiment. Time actually does a pretty good job of repairing itself."

"Spoken like a true movie character. Let me restate. We can make sure the same thing doesn't happen again. Even if time is linear like Fitz claims, I'm not from that linear structure. I'm from another universe. I can change things. All we have to do is make sure you're nowhere near New York or the Helicarrier when Loki arrives."

Goddamn, I hope it's that easy. I'd much rather be dealing with a Butterfly system than have to fight Thanos in twenty-whatever, whenever Infinity War was gonna happen. The person who wrote that Fitz scene back home is probably rolling in their grave right now.

"You said I'm the catalyst, that creates the Avengers. I'm the thing that turns them into a team, that brings that dream to realization. I don't think that's a death I want to avoid. What kind of agent would I be? if I put my own wellbeing over the formation of a team that, according to your own testimony, saves the world."

I'm speechless. I thought he couldn't get more selfless, and then he goes and says something like that. Damn. I don't even know what to think about this guy. Is he a saint or a fool? Or both. Probably both.

He continues, "A very poor agent, I can tell you. No. The Avengers… That's a legacy I can live with. Or I guess a legacy I could die for, in this case."

I'm just sitting there on my bed, observing the most Lawful Good person I've ever met. This isn't something that I think could exist in my old world. But it's undeniably a good thing. It's definitionally a good thing. Rogers and Stark, and Banner, Clint, Natasha, they're all flawed. They're monsters, aiming themselves at the bad guys and hoping for the best. This agent right here, this seeming everyman on the screen, is a real goddamn larger-than-life hero.

He stands up, looking for all the world like someone who could spend thirty years working in sales, "Thanks for listening."

...And he's gone. Just like that.

 

[Vaalintine]

.....I'm calling it now, Coulson picks up Mjolnir.

If this isn't Worthy, I don't know what is.

 

[Mizu]

Pretty rare to encounter folk that selfless.

 

[Tachikoma's Aunt]

Pretty rare to encounter folk that selfless.

Click to shrink...

Speaking as someone who was once mistaken for being that selfless, I feel qualified to state that that sort of person does not actually exist at all in real life. There is always an angle, always an agenda, no matter how well it works out for other people.

 

[AraelStannis]

Wow, that scene with Coulson is seriously awesome. His conviction after the opening where he's so happy to have met his girlfriend is really freaking touching. Does Xavier know what happens in Agents of shield? And if so does she want to tell Phil?

 

[Xavier Bronze]

Speaking as someone who was once mistaken for being that selfless, I feel qualified to state that that sort of person does not actually exist at all in real life. There is always an angle, always an agenda, no matter how well it works out for other people.

Click to shrink...

That's a little harsh. There isn't always an agenda. Alex has done things for pure altruism that could never be traced back to him or help him in any substantial way. The friggin' hippie. So I know it's possible. But, with the life-and-death stuff, there usually is. Even the most self-sacrificial soldiers usually have someone or something back home that they want to protect. And no-one lives their whole life like that, except maybe Buddha.

 

[Xavier Bronze]

Wow, that scene with Coulson is seriously awesome. His conviction after the opening where he's so happy to have met his girlfriend is really freaking touching. Does Xavier know what happens in Agents of shield? And if so does she want to tell Phil?

Click to shrink...

That's what this paragraph is about.

There's the whole thing with her other ex, too. But I really don't remember that episode well enough to give any useful information. And Phil's not in any kind of condition to take vague foreboding right now. I can tell him about that in a month or two, when he's recovered from the initial shock.

Click to shrink...

So, yeah. She remembers general outline stuff. Basically that someone who's obsessed with her gets superpowers and attacks her. She doesn't remember that that was how they met, or how long the guy has had his powers, or even what his powers are, although she does know it's called Darkforce and it's connected to Element Zero from Agent Carter. There's a lot of stuff she's only got in broad strokes, and this is one of 'em.

Also, glad you liked it. I knew I wanted them to chat about Audrey later, and I knew it would be good, however it turned out. I knew I liked it, but still good to know it didn't disappoint.

 

[Amrynel]

Also, glad you liked it. I knew I wanted them to chat about Audrey later, and I knew it would be good, however it turned out. I knew I liked it, but still good to know it didn't disappoint.

Click to shrink...

I think it's one of my favorite Butterfly Smash moment so far in this fic.

 

[Tachikoma's Aunt]

That's a little harsh. There isn't always an agenda. Alex has done things for pure altruism that could never be traced back to him or help him in any substantial way. The friggin' hippie. So I know it's possible. But, with the life-and-death stuff, there usually is. Even the most self-sacrificial soldiers usually have someone or something back home that they want to protect. And no-one lives their whole life like that, except maybe Buddha.

Click to shrink...

Perhaps. But if so, I have yet to encounter or hear a verifiable account of such an individual. In my case, what I did was sign over our house to a random homeless man a few months back. We had inherited it a few years ago, so there was no morgage. But we had begun to manifest physical changes as a result of our hormone replacement therapy. And I make our living in the funeral industry.

While I had already owned the funeral home in question for several months at that point, and had been transitioning to an increasingly hands off approach rather than continuing to personally reassemble the shattered ribcages of clients who had died in vehicular collisions, the simple reality is that corpse disposal is deeply religious activity. And Abrahamics tend to react poorly to anyone who is not heterosexual and cis-gendered. Staying at that address carried far too great a risk of publicly outing us as trangender, and thus destroying our livelyhood. Therefore, that house was not only worthless too us, but an active threat to our well being.

And even leaving aside all of that, it is common sense to behave charitably when doing so will not harm you. People tend to be less willing to act against "individuals" with a reputation for selflessness. Plus, helping people feels good. It is rewarding emotionally, if not materially. And personally, I consider emotional gains to be every bit as selfish in their own way as economic, social, or political ones.