Phase 7: No good deed goes unpunished Part 2
Disclaimer: I do not own any movies set up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Star Wars movies, cartoons, games, books, or comics. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with a commercial aim. It is not for sale or rent.
SHIELD facility White
location classified
Stark's visit did have its benefits, Victor grudgingly admitted. By the end of the day, Richards got released from the clinic and sent to his quarters so that he wouldn't rile up everyone else. The same was true for the SHIELD security agent, Grimm. While he would remain under observation just in case, he got released to the barracks.
The downside was that Sue and her brother got their rooms as well, while Victor remained the sole occupant of the clinic. Unfortunately, that made sense.
Johnathan would still need minders with fire extinguishers for the time being. However, now he was stuck somewhere will less expensive equipment to burn down.
Sue was safer alone than most of them, which was an unpleasant thing to admit.
Victor winced and looked down at his hands. A Nurse was working on them above a metal pan. She liberally doused his bandages with an antiseptic solution to make them easier to remove without hurting him. The cold oxidized water sent chills through his aching hands.
The Nurse carefully cut through the bandages on the back of his hands. That way, she avoided most of the burns. She used more antiseptic solution and eventually got the last bandages off. By doing so, she revealed raw, disfigured skin and meat. Some of his skin looked wrong as if melted. That, more than the actual burns, would require further medical intervention if he ever wanted to regain the full functionality of his fingers.
Victor grimaced at the sight. The thought that something like that could have happened to Sue because of his temper cut deeply.
The Nurse replaced the pan with discarded bandages and now dirty antiseptic solution and brought out another one. She carefully washed his hands, then began slowly applying a cool gel to help him heal from the burns. Finally, she got out clean bandages and got busy bandaging his hands. With that done, a cup with antibiotics and one with water followed, then more painkillers.
The rest of the night, Victor was stuck watching an instructional video about meditation and various exercises that should help deal with anger. He immediately decided a punching bag with Reed's face on it would be a better solution, but that would have to wait until his hands healed.
Ben sat in a small briefing room built next to the barracks and explained everything he knew about his powers to the Director himself.
"That's some space magic shit you're stuck with, Agent." Fury eventually declared.
"Was that what research on our condition concluded, sir?" Grimm carefully asked.
"Research on commonalities with your abilities and what we know of Stark leads to all kinds of bullshit. From Star Wars fan sites to Dungeon and Dragons sourcebooks!"
"We're pretty sure Stark's trolling us by larping like a Sith when he can get away with it. I would almost admire the gall of the bastard if he were someone else's problem! Hell, he's already trying to buy Star Wars," Fury shook his head in a rare display of exasperation.
"What are your orders, sir?"
"Get a handle on your abilities without getting yourself killed. Figure out if Stark's right and that's a danger in the first place so you can avoid it. And keep an eye on that pyromaniac greenhorn, so he doesn't manage to burn down one of our bases."
The conference call cut off from the other side. Ben groaned. Johnny was a hothead before he could accidentally set things on fire. Grimm had the nagging suspicion that he would be stuck with the boy for the foreseeable future. Figuring out how not to get baked like a Thanksgiving goose suddenly became a high priority.
Reed was too excited to ever go to sleep. He couldn't fathom why the others were frustrated. Their abilities led to endless possibilities! Knowing that direct energy manipulation with the mind was possible opened all kinds of new avenues of research. There were whole new scientific disciplines at his fingertips.
He first needed to figure out how to detect, measure and classify the energy that fueled their abilities. That should be straightforward – get to a lab with all available sensors, then use telekinesis and measure the results. Perhaps stick Susan's brother in a test tube to better measure how his pyrokinesis works when surrounded by different gases? Test Susan's invisibility in front of different camera types, including thermal visors. Get Doom to shoot lighting into sensors to measure the power and the kind of energy his lighting was made of!
Reed's mind kept spinning with ideas to best test the limits and nature of the energy that fueled their abilities. There had to be a way to tap into it with technology and use it as a power source! The ideas and possibilities were indeed endless!
SHIELD HQ
New York, US
Fury left his office after ensuring it was properly sealed behind him and walked into a nearby conference room. He confirmed that the standard security protocols were active and sat at the table in the middle of the room. A large flat screen on the wall in front of him lit up and divided into smaller windows, showing SHIELD's Oversight Councilors from Europe.
"Director Fury, what do you have for us?" Hawley demanded, not bothering with greetings or pleasantries. That by itself was a sign she was under a tremendous amount of stress.
"First, we can confirm what your intelligence services undoubtedly found out. The usual suspects are fueling money to slow down and discredit fusion technology as if cash is going out of fashion. The latest analysis of the issues at hand points out that we're dealing with an uncomfortable number of idiots who either haven't bothered to google fusion or don't believe it. We've got an increasing number of conspiracy theories that are a concern. Their reach and spread go beyond the usual suspects as far as these things are concerned."
"It's always good to have an independent confirmation, Director," Stefano's lips quirked into a tired smile. "We aren't speaking just to hear what we already knew again." She pointed out.
"There is a large number of industrialists, CEOs, and a diverse group of organizations that back up initiatives to slow down the introduction of fusion. At the same time, they are doing their best to divest from their current business models and are looking for ways to get on board the fusion train. Some are nominally among our backers, who aren't aware of the larger picture." Fury explained.
"We always knew that introducing changes as fast as humanly possible would cause unfortunate disruptions and more opposition than a slower approach," Monet admitted. "What we're seeing has implications I don't like. Director, there can be no incident with Stark's prototype reactor."
"The whole world is watching," Von Holstein added. "If we see anything but a flawless test, the consequences will be unpleasant. Some countries are facing elections soon, and we are already seeing the approval rating of demagogues standing against fusion rise sharply. We can't have anything adding fuel to this fire."
"SHIELD will take all possible precautions to ensure there will be no incident. As long as Stark can deliver."
"He has already delivered, Director. Scientists the world over had gone over his theories and reactor design. Both are sound and should work. SHIELDs scientists as well." Hawley's harsh reminder did little to improve Fury's mood.
The moment Stark delivered working fusion, he would become the next best thing to be indispensable for Earth's future security.
"Do you have contingencies in place if we have to pursue disclosure to proceed with the uplift?" Monet's question came out of a left field.
"Councilor?" Fury countered with a question while his mind raced to find a reason for this line of inquiry.
"Director, public opinion is a fickle thing. The ongoing madness in parts of Europe proves it. A few elections going astray can compromise the future of global security. If it comes down to it, we might have to painstakingly explain our dangerous strategic position to the public to justify doing what needs to be done to protect Earth. If it comes to that, SHIELD will become the public face of Earth's defense."
"Something like that would make much of our work more difficult. You're well aware that some of what we do as a matter, of course, is outright illegal." Fury didn't bother hiding a grimace. "Full disclosure would be a nuclear option, one I wouldn't dare pursue unless SHIELD as a whole is compromised."
"That's not good enough, Director," Hawley scowled. "However, you're right. The world knowing what SHIELD does would be counter-productive. Perhaps it would be for the best to hide the real SHIELD."
"What do you have in mind, Councilor?" Fury carefully asked for clarification.
"Director, explore the possibility of splitting SHIELD in two. We need a clean organization that has the singular purpose of ensuring Earth's defense against alien threats. That would be SHIELD's public face. The rest of SHIELD will continue to act clandestinely, doing what needs to be done away from public scrutiny." Hawley suggested.
Fury didn't even want to think about the disruption and logistics nightmare of doing as suggested. That said, on the face of it, the idea had some merit.
"Perhaps less of a traditional split?" Fury offered. "We create a new department within SHIELD that would focus on global defense against extraterrestrial threats. We use handpicked personnel that's clean and fold much of our R&D and some of our logistics personnel into it. That department will be our face if we have to go for disclosure."
The Councilors looked at each other.
"This idea has merit, Director. We'll bring it in front of the whole Council. You can start exploring what will be needed to make this suggestion a reality." Stefano offered.
Phase 7: No good deed goes unpunished
=SI=
Part 2
=SI=
=SI=
Part 2
=SI=
SHIELD facility White
location classified
Stark's visit did have its benefits, Victor grudgingly admitted. By the end of the day, Richards got released from the clinic and sent to his quarters so that he wouldn't rile up everyone else. The same was true for the SHIELD security agent, Grimm. While he would remain under observation just in case, he got released to the barracks.
The downside was that Sue and her brother got their rooms as well, while Victor remained the sole occupant of the clinic. Unfortunately, that made sense.
Johnathan would still need minders with fire extinguishers for the time being. However, now he was stuck somewhere will less expensive equipment to burn down.
Sue was safer alone than most of them, which was an unpleasant thing to admit.
Victor winced and looked down at his hands. A Nurse was working on them above a metal pan. She liberally doused his bandages with an antiseptic solution to make them easier to remove without hurting him. The cold oxidized water sent chills through his aching hands.
The Nurse carefully cut through the bandages on the back of his hands. That way, she avoided most of the burns. She used more antiseptic solution and eventually got the last bandages off. By doing so, she revealed raw, disfigured skin and meat. Some of his skin looked wrong as if melted. That, more than the actual burns, would require further medical intervention if he ever wanted to regain the full functionality of his fingers.
Victor grimaced at the sight. The thought that something like that could have happened to Sue because of his temper cut deeply.
The Nurse replaced the pan with discarded bandages and now dirty antiseptic solution and brought out another one. She carefully washed his hands, then began slowly applying a cool gel to help him heal from the burns. Finally, she got out clean bandages and got busy bandaging his hands. With that done, a cup with antibiotics and one with water followed, then more painkillers.
The rest of the night, Victor was stuck watching an instructional video about meditation and various exercises that should help deal with anger. He immediately decided a punching bag with Reed's face on it would be a better solution, but that would have to wait until his hands healed.
=SI=
Ben sat in a small briefing room built next to the barracks and explained everything he knew about his powers to the Director himself.
"That's some space magic shit you're stuck with, Agent." Fury eventually declared.
"Was that what research on our condition concluded, sir?" Grimm carefully asked.
"Research on commonalities with your abilities and what we know of Stark leads to all kinds of bullshit. From Star Wars fan sites to Dungeon and Dragons sourcebooks!"
"We're pretty sure Stark's trolling us by larping like a Sith when he can get away with it. I would almost admire the gall of the bastard if he were someone else's problem! Hell, he's already trying to buy Star Wars," Fury shook his head in a rare display of exasperation.
"What are your orders, sir?"
"Get a handle on your abilities without getting yourself killed. Figure out if Stark's right and that's a danger in the first place so you can avoid it. And keep an eye on that pyromaniac greenhorn, so he doesn't manage to burn down one of our bases."
The conference call cut off from the other side. Ben groaned. Johnny was a hothead before he could accidentally set things on fire. Grimm had the nagging suspicion that he would be stuck with the boy for the foreseeable future. Figuring out how not to get baked like a Thanksgiving goose suddenly became a high priority.
=SI=
Reed was too excited to ever go to sleep. He couldn't fathom why the others were frustrated. Their abilities led to endless possibilities! Knowing that direct energy manipulation with the mind was possible opened all kinds of new avenues of research. There were whole new scientific disciplines at his fingertips.
He first needed to figure out how to detect, measure and classify the energy that fueled their abilities. That should be straightforward – get to a lab with all available sensors, then use telekinesis and measure the results. Perhaps stick Susan's brother in a test tube to better measure how his pyrokinesis works when surrounded by different gases? Test Susan's invisibility in front of different camera types, including thermal visors. Get Doom to shoot lighting into sensors to measure the power and the kind of energy his lighting was made of!
Reed's mind kept spinning with ideas to best test the limits and nature of the energy that fueled their abilities. There had to be a way to tap into it with technology and use it as a power source! The ideas and possibilities were indeed endless!
=SI=
SHIELD HQ
New York, US
Fury left his office after ensuring it was properly sealed behind him and walked into a nearby conference room. He confirmed that the standard security protocols were active and sat at the table in the middle of the room. A large flat screen on the wall in front of him lit up and divided into smaller windows, showing SHIELD's Oversight Councilors from Europe.
"Director Fury, what do you have for us?" Hawley demanded, not bothering with greetings or pleasantries. That by itself was a sign she was under a tremendous amount of stress.
"First, we can confirm what your intelligence services undoubtedly found out. The usual suspects are fueling money to slow down and discredit fusion technology as if cash is going out of fashion. The latest analysis of the issues at hand points out that we're dealing with an uncomfortable number of idiots who either haven't bothered to google fusion or don't believe it. We've got an increasing number of conspiracy theories that are a concern. Their reach and spread go beyond the usual suspects as far as these things are concerned."
"It's always good to have an independent confirmation, Director," Stefano's lips quirked into a tired smile. "We aren't speaking just to hear what we already knew again." She pointed out.
"There is a large number of industrialists, CEOs, and a diverse group of organizations that back up initiatives to slow down the introduction of fusion. At the same time, they are doing their best to divest from their current business models and are looking for ways to get on board the fusion train. Some are nominally among our backers, who aren't aware of the larger picture." Fury explained.
"We always knew that introducing changes as fast as humanly possible would cause unfortunate disruptions and more opposition than a slower approach," Monet admitted. "What we're seeing has implications I don't like. Director, there can be no incident with Stark's prototype reactor."
"The whole world is watching," Von Holstein added. "If we see anything but a flawless test, the consequences will be unpleasant. Some countries are facing elections soon, and we are already seeing the approval rating of demagogues standing against fusion rise sharply. We can't have anything adding fuel to this fire."
"SHIELD will take all possible precautions to ensure there will be no incident. As long as Stark can deliver."
"He has already delivered, Director. Scientists the world over had gone over his theories and reactor design. Both are sound and should work. SHIELDs scientists as well." Hawley's harsh reminder did little to improve Fury's mood.
The moment Stark delivered working fusion, he would become the next best thing to be indispensable for Earth's future security.
"Do you have contingencies in place if we have to pursue disclosure to proceed with the uplift?" Monet's question came out of a left field.
"Councilor?" Fury countered with a question while his mind raced to find a reason for this line of inquiry.
"Director, public opinion is a fickle thing. The ongoing madness in parts of Europe proves it. A few elections going astray can compromise the future of global security. If it comes down to it, we might have to painstakingly explain our dangerous strategic position to the public to justify doing what needs to be done to protect Earth. If it comes to that, SHIELD will become the public face of Earth's defense."
"Something like that would make much of our work more difficult. You're well aware that some of what we do as a matter, of course, is outright illegal." Fury didn't bother hiding a grimace. "Full disclosure would be a nuclear option, one I wouldn't dare pursue unless SHIELD as a whole is compromised."
"That's not good enough, Director," Hawley scowled. "However, you're right. The world knowing what SHIELD does would be counter-productive. Perhaps it would be for the best to hide the real SHIELD."
"What do you have in mind, Councilor?" Fury carefully asked for clarification.
"Director, explore the possibility of splitting SHIELD in two. We need a clean organization that has the singular purpose of ensuring Earth's defense against alien threats. That would be SHIELD's public face. The rest of SHIELD will continue to act clandestinely, doing what needs to be done away from public scrutiny." Hawley suggested.
Fury didn't even want to think about the disruption and logistics nightmare of doing as suggested. That said, on the face of it, the idea had some merit.
"Perhaps less of a traditional split?" Fury offered. "We create a new department within SHIELD that would focus on global defense against extraterrestrial threats. We use handpicked personnel that's clean and fold much of our R&D and some of our logistics personnel into it. That department will be our face if we have to go for disclosure."
The Councilors looked at each other.
"This idea has merit, Director. We'll bring it in front of the whole Council. You can start exploring what will be needed to make this suggestion a reality." Stefano offered.
Last edited:
