Heather Sinclair
Verified Force User
Since the Wildstorm et. al. merger with DC a few years back, Death has been female, specifically Neil Gaiman's Sandman Death.
The Valkyrior (MCU Thor/Worm)
- Thread starter Heather Sinclair
- Start date
Since the Wildstorm et. al. merger with DC a few years back, Death has been female, specifically Neil Gaiman's Sandman Death.
VolantRedX
Official Conscience of Worm Fanfiction!
Or less charitably the comic book writers think nothing scares their readers more than a woman.
New Mexico 3.1
Heather Sinclair
Verified Force User
3.1
May 31, 2011
The first week had me busy typing up all that I could remember about PRT protocols. While I knew quite a few of them it was because of my interactions with personnel in the field and not so much behind the scenes. Most of the threat assessments weren't as useful, because this Earth hadn't developed things like containment foam – at least the kind the person trapped in it could breathe through. It wasn't their main line of defense for the low end cape. SHIELD's was through more mundane means: hand to hand, stun guns, and projectile weapons. I was told there were other things in the works, but that was beyond my limited security clearance. Hopefully, it would help spark ideas that they could incorporate into their own response teams.
It may seem like I'm one of the lead people on the project; at times I feel like I'm anything but. My scope was severely limited and Sharon Carter was my minder. It was her judgement, probably backed up by Hill and Fury, as to what I was allowed to see, where I could go, and what tools were at my disposal. Officially, I still didn't even know what city I was in. Thanks to my bugs, I'd overheard enough conversations to know we were somewhere in the mountains just south of Simi Valley, California.
Security reasons; I get it. As far as they were concerned I was a pseudo-alien that was being backed by a major power that offered up something they wanted or at the very least something they might be able to control. Truthfully, if I was in their position with their power backing me, then I'd probably be doing the same thing. One just doesn't walk up off the street and get handed a seriously sensitive job like this without any boundaries.
It wasn't like I was hampered so much I couldn't do my work. The second week I wound up going through each and every one of the people that were on the Index, their files anyway. A good number of them were incarcerated already and if their personality profiles were anything to go by, those particular people were deranged and dangerous enough to belong in the Birdcage. Their powers did something to their minds or they were simply the type of people that never should have possessed them to begin with.
A handful of people were in other countries that fell under the purview of the foreign divisions of SHIELD. I concluded that their abilities were more along the lines of parlor tricks, or even nuisance powers. For instance, there was a teen boy that lived in France who could turn any part of his body the color blue. That was it.
While I consider myself talented in terms of making something out of virtually nothing, I couldn't think of a damn thing to do with him.
As far as I could tell, each and every one of them triggered – for lack of a better term at the moment – though accidents. Science was the cause and not some multi-dimensional space being shedding parts of itself. Ultimately, I suppose I could call that science as well, but I'm sticking with more mundane terms when I use the word.
In the weeks that followed, there were a handful of prisoners that I'd personally spoken with at the Fridge – SHIELD's version of the Birdcage. The ones that didn't seem entirely sociopathic I mean. Six of them were a complete wash, and two I was very iffy about. They went into my last resort pile while I had Agent Hill running some different psychological profile tests on them to see if they might be willing to work on some sort of probationary status.
The only reason I suggested it was because they weren't involved in purposefully hurting other people. Their powers were just that volatile. A big enough mistake and people could get hurt just by being around them.
The past two days I had foregone my regular running routine at the really nice gym they had for agents that lived on site. My knees and thighs were killing me, I think from overstress. I was never much of a weight lifter so most of my athleticism came from running and general calisthenics. Needless to say, when I'm without my routine, I substitute coffee in its place. Their tea really sucked.
When I made it to the office that morning, Sharon had already beaten me there and had a profile up on the big screen as I walked through the door. Armed with a half empty coffee cup I was mildly coherent.
"Another bad night?" she asked in a voice that was far too chipper.
"I'll get over it."
"You really ought to drop by medical. It's what they're there for."
I shrugged and dropped off a file on my desk that I had been working on the previous night. "Who's this?"
She grabbed a controller off her desk. "Sarah Garza; she's a level three SHIELD computer technician."
I raised my brows at that. "She's a cape?"
Even after a few weeks Sharon still looked at me funny whenever I used terminology I was most familiar with. "She has powers, yes."
"And I'm just now finding out about her?"
"STATION has had her for the last two years."
One thing I have learned over the previous few weeks was that SHIELD loved acronyms. Maybe it's just governments in general, but I find that SHIELD really goes out of its way sometimes. STATION for instance – Scientific Training and Tactical Intelligence Operative Network. It's basically the first step after a think tank comes up with an interesting idea and STATION tries to make it work. Case in point: Sarah Garza.
I read over her general statistics while Sharon started in on the explanation.
"She originally started off at the Operations Academy and then switched over to Science and Technology."
"Why?"
"Bad fit. She wanted to be a field agent, but physically couldn't handle the pressure, and she clashed personality-wise with the instructors."
I nodded while she clicked to a split screen which showed two guys in suits.
"Dr. Abner Croit and his assistant Marcus Daniels; scientists. They were working on harnessing the electrical power of a substance known as Darkforce."
Daniels I recognized; one of the psychos currently locked up in the Fridge. "I remember Daniels was the one that went chasing after a cellist. Agent Coulson took him down, if I remember right."
"Correct. Before the accident that gave him his powers, SHIELD had their eye on the lab. Garza had the right qualifications to be placed inside. It was supposed to be a babysitting job. Once a week she'd pass on whatever progress they made and eventually we assumed the project would flop."
I could already see where this was going. "She was there that day… when the lab blew."
Sharon didn't bother acknowledging my conclusion. Instead, she clicked the remote and the screen split with a before and after image of Sarah Garza. Her security photo was the before image: a young woman, Hispanic heritage, long curly brown hair, and dark eyes. The after image was completely different. If they were separated I would never think they could be the same person. Her skin was stark white; I would guess stage makeup was involved if the picture had less resolution. The white of her eyes were bright red and her cornea had turned gray, or perhaps silver might be a better choice. That wasn't the most obvious change.
Her hair was bright orange, cut in a short flared bob.
"Tell me she colored her hair."
"Uh, no."
"Ouch."
"What didn't make it to your report on Daniels was that Garza was the cause of the explosion at the lab where it happened."
That got my attention. "She was a mole?"
Sharon shook her head. "No, whatever happened there happened to her. It changed her. She emits… energy, uncontrolled. If she gets the least out of sorts emotionally, everything within a hundred feet of her feels the fallout. It was an accident, but that energy caused the explosion that turned Daniels into whatever he is."
I was already categorizing her in my head and thinking of ways to take her out if need be, then I remembered what I was supposed to be doing there in the first place.
"Right. I'm guessing since STATION has her then they've found a way of controlling her power?"
Sharon smiled. "They have, but it's not exactly… well…."
Instead of telling me, she clicked her remote again.
"Is that…?"
"Iron Man armor? Sort of. It was based off Tony Stark's idea, but all the work was STATION."
It wasn't full coverage, only a breastplate, and gauntlets, but the device centered on her chest made it look like piecemeal Iron Man armor.
"It collects any energy she puts out and diverts it to batteries that she can expel though her gloves and the main emitter on her chest."
"So she's safe to be around now?"
"Yes."
I almost smiled. In fact, I was halfway there at the moment I realized there had to be a catch. It couldn't be this easy. Nothing ever is.
"Why isn't she here?"
Sharon set her remote on the desk and crossed her arms. "She doesn't want to be a field agent anymore."
"Ah."
"Garza just wants to go back to her computer. Apparently one bad experience was enough to sour her opinion of the job."
"One really bad experience," I noted.
"It's a valid reason, I know, but we could really use her."
I frowned at the way she said that. "She could be a valuable team member. We don't use people on this project."
"That's not what I meant, Taylor."
Taking a sip of coffee, I walked around my desk and set the mug down. "SHIELD is a spy agency. Garza has just become a very valuable asset to be used. Whether or not you know it, that's what it means. It's what you were trained to do, and I get it. For now let's just attempt to change the way we speak about people that have powers and hopefully down the line we might one day believe they're something more than a new weapon to be deployed."
Sharon leaned against her desk and sighed. "I'm not your enemy. We have the same goals here."
"We have similar goals. That's not the same thing."
When she didn't say anything, I took a seat and started downloading Garza's file into my laptop.
"Sharon, I get what SHIELD is trying to do. There could come a time where there are genuine threats out there that will need a trained and talented response team to take the lead. I just want to make sure that we're doing it for the right reasons and not wind up being part of the problem."
"I've listened over the last few weeks," she said while approaching the chair in front of my desk and sitting down. "I know you had a rough time of it on your Earth. I can see a lot of the things the ones in power did wrong, but we aren't them. We aren't the PRT or the Protectorate or even Cauldron. You can't assume that we'll act like them. Some of this you'll have to take on faith for now, just like we're taking a lot about you on faith."
The stories I told her were mostly summaries or the reports I'd been submitting to Agent Hill. It was all in an attempt to show them what could be out there in terms of versatility of powers. Examples of mind control powers were submitted along with my summation of Master/Stranger protocols. Examples of brute abilities were submitted with my report on alternative ways in taking down someone that could shrug off high caliber ammunition.
In other words, Sharon had spent a lot of time just sitting there and listening. I'm sure it all made it into her reports to Hill on me. They never verbally spoke about it within range of my bugs, but I was fairly sure it happened regularly. Again, it was something I would expect, given the nature of my job. I didn't hold it against them, since I would do the exact same thing in their position.
They had given me a lot of leeway in terms of creating a team from virtually nothing. So, I concluded that I should reciprocate in turn.
"That's fair," I replied.
"So, I'll try to be understanding when you point out my occasional slips of tongue, and you can understand when I make them. It's our actions that will speak for us in the meantime."
I sighed and closed my laptop. "Deal. So… where's Sarah Garza now?"
~O~
Off went the pants suit and on went the SHIELD uniform. The only time I got to do this was when we left Hill's field office on a trip to another SHIELD facility. Fewer questions were asked about me if I didn't look like a civilian that was far too young to hold the position that I did. Basically, I looked out of place all dressed up for the office. I felt out of place as well. In the form fitting outfit that any number of agents used while on the job, I could be any one of a thousand people fresh out of the academy and on assignment, even if my level access didn't match my age.
Before leaving my room I grabbed an apple for the road and didn't even make it to the hanger bay before being intercepted by a familiar face.
"Agent Coulson?"
"Valkyrie." He looked me up and down with a pleasant smile. "Uniform looks good on you."
I shrugged as I shook his hand. "It's just when I leave the office. I'm on my way out. Is there something I can do for you?"
"I'm commandeering your quinjet, Agent Carter, and you for the duration." He gestured down the hall and then looked to the side with an odd expression on his face. "That sounded wrong. The skies above Puente Antiguo are acting up again, the same as right before you arrived last month."
"Really? But I thought the Asgardians were supposed to use the site in Nevada when they come down."
"Exactly. The Director wants eyes on the ground in New Mexico. I've been assigned there and he wants you there just in case we have an incident."
I nodded as we were cleared through security and hit the doors to the hanger bay, so I finished the unsaid portion of his sentence. "In case it's someone that's not supposed to here."
"If you wouldn't mind."
This is what I liked the most about Phil. He was nice and actually asked for my help even though he could put it in much stronger words.
"No problem. The last thing we need is someone breaking the deal."
"I'm glad we're on the same page."
I almost stopped and went back for my costume, but if we were meeting up with any Asgardians then my armor would be better suited. Frankly, I was somewhat annoyed I still hadn't had a chance to use it. There never seemed to be a reason to anymore. That was one of the biggest differences between Earth Bet and this one more than any other. Weaver didn't need to make a daily, or even a weekly appearance. At this point I was going to add monthly, but I hadn't been on this Earth long enough to make it plural.
"So how have things been?" Phil asked when we reached the boarding ramp.
"You haven't been keeping track?" I said jokingly.
"Hardly; this thing with Stark has been taking up most of my time."
Right. Tony Stark was having meltdown issues at the moment. Senate hearings, attempts on his life in Monaco, stock prices taking a dive, a new CEO, and his latest fiasco, a drunken binge at his birthday party a few days back.
"Do I need to be on alert?"
The ramp started closing and Phil looked at me oddly. "You could take on Iron Man?"
"For a first meeting? Probably. I've studied all the footage I could get on him. In flight his armor needs air intake. I could block that easily enough with my bugs and ground him. Swarm him afterward and slip in hundreds of bugs through every nook and cranny that opens whenever he goes to shoot something at me. I'm sure some systems would be affected. While he's busy with that, I have an Asgardian sword that can cut through almost anything, and armor that can protect me from virtually anything he can throw at me in the meantime. He's a genius though, so if I can't take him down then the second time around might be a different story."
"Bugs," Phil said in a low voice before he smiled. "That might be a show worth seeing. And no, he's under house arrest at the moment, so we're good."
I went ahead and strapped in while he went to speak with Sharon and then joined me in the back, handing me a pad with a number of people already loaded up on the screen.
"Just to keep you in the loop if we wind up meeting them," he offered.
I nodded. "Short version?"
"Jane Foster, astrophysicist out of Culver University back east. Her and her intern, Darcy Lewis have been there for over a month studying the strange atmospheric goings-on since your arrival."
"Oh… sorry."
"Not a problem. Or it wouldn't be as long as this latest incident doesn't hit their radar, which is unlikely." He didn't seem the least bit put off by having to clean up my mess. "With the addition of Eric Selvig things get a little dicey."
I looked down at the pad. "He teaches theoretical astrophysics at the same university. Friends? Colleagues?"
He nodded. "And mentor. With the two of them working together I wouldn't put it past them to figure this whole thing out."
"Really?" I raised my brows at that. "They'd conclude that Asgardians did it?"
"Specifically, no. Have you ever heard of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge?" When I shook my head in the negative he explained in layman's terms. "Think wormholes. Since your arrival, that theory has pretty much been made a proven fact by SHIELD scientists. Now think about what an astrophysicist, much less two, might do in order to publish a paper on this topic."
"Ugh."
He grinned. "Right."
Then a feeling of dread started welling up in my stomach. It was almost a comfort in a way, because adrenaline followed soon after.
"If it is Asgard doing this, then Heimdall will probably use the exact same site as last time."
Phil looked away, obviously pondering something. "Excuse me. I need to make a call."
May 31, 2011
The first week had me busy typing up all that I could remember about PRT protocols. While I knew quite a few of them it was because of my interactions with personnel in the field and not so much behind the scenes. Most of the threat assessments weren't as useful, because this Earth hadn't developed things like containment foam – at least the kind the person trapped in it could breathe through. It wasn't their main line of defense for the low end cape. SHIELD's was through more mundane means: hand to hand, stun guns, and projectile weapons. I was told there were other things in the works, but that was beyond my limited security clearance. Hopefully, it would help spark ideas that they could incorporate into their own response teams.
It may seem like I'm one of the lead people on the project; at times I feel like I'm anything but. My scope was severely limited and Sharon Carter was my minder. It was her judgement, probably backed up by Hill and Fury, as to what I was allowed to see, where I could go, and what tools were at my disposal. Officially, I still didn't even know what city I was in. Thanks to my bugs, I'd overheard enough conversations to know we were somewhere in the mountains just south of Simi Valley, California.
Security reasons; I get it. As far as they were concerned I was a pseudo-alien that was being backed by a major power that offered up something they wanted or at the very least something they might be able to control. Truthfully, if I was in their position with their power backing me, then I'd probably be doing the same thing. One just doesn't walk up off the street and get handed a seriously sensitive job like this without any boundaries.
It wasn't like I was hampered so much I couldn't do my work. The second week I wound up going through each and every one of the people that were on the Index, their files anyway. A good number of them were incarcerated already and if their personality profiles were anything to go by, those particular people were deranged and dangerous enough to belong in the Birdcage. Their powers did something to their minds or they were simply the type of people that never should have possessed them to begin with.
A handful of people were in other countries that fell under the purview of the foreign divisions of SHIELD. I concluded that their abilities were more along the lines of parlor tricks, or even nuisance powers. For instance, there was a teen boy that lived in France who could turn any part of his body the color blue. That was it.
While I consider myself talented in terms of making something out of virtually nothing, I couldn't think of a damn thing to do with him.
As far as I could tell, each and every one of them triggered – for lack of a better term at the moment – though accidents. Science was the cause and not some multi-dimensional space being shedding parts of itself. Ultimately, I suppose I could call that science as well, but I'm sticking with more mundane terms when I use the word.
In the weeks that followed, there were a handful of prisoners that I'd personally spoken with at the Fridge – SHIELD's version of the Birdcage. The ones that didn't seem entirely sociopathic I mean. Six of them were a complete wash, and two I was very iffy about. They went into my last resort pile while I had Agent Hill running some different psychological profile tests on them to see if they might be willing to work on some sort of probationary status.
The only reason I suggested it was because they weren't involved in purposefully hurting other people. Their powers were just that volatile. A big enough mistake and people could get hurt just by being around them.
The past two days I had foregone my regular running routine at the really nice gym they had for agents that lived on site. My knees and thighs were killing me, I think from overstress. I was never much of a weight lifter so most of my athleticism came from running and general calisthenics. Needless to say, when I'm without my routine, I substitute coffee in its place. Their tea really sucked.
When I made it to the office that morning, Sharon had already beaten me there and had a profile up on the big screen as I walked through the door. Armed with a half empty coffee cup I was mildly coherent.
"Another bad night?" she asked in a voice that was far too chipper.
"I'll get over it."
"You really ought to drop by medical. It's what they're there for."
I shrugged and dropped off a file on my desk that I had been working on the previous night. "Who's this?"
She grabbed a controller off her desk. "Sarah Garza; she's a level three SHIELD computer technician."
I raised my brows at that. "She's a cape?"
Even after a few weeks Sharon still looked at me funny whenever I used terminology I was most familiar with. "She has powers, yes."
"And I'm just now finding out about her?"
"STATION has had her for the last two years."
One thing I have learned over the previous few weeks was that SHIELD loved acronyms. Maybe it's just governments in general, but I find that SHIELD really goes out of its way sometimes. STATION for instance – Scientific Training and Tactical Intelligence Operative Network. It's basically the first step after a think tank comes up with an interesting idea and STATION tries to make it work. Case in point: Sarah Garza.
I read over her general statistics while Sharon started in on the explanation.
"She originally started off at the Operations Academy and then switched over to Science and Technology."
"Why?"
"Bad fit. She wanted to be a field agent, but physically couldn't handle the pressure, and she clashed personality-wise with the instructors."
I nodded while she clicked to a split screen which showed two guys in suits.
"Dr. Abner Croit and his assistant Marcus Daniels; scientists. They were working on harnessing the electrical power of a substance known as Darkforce."
Daniels I recognized; one of the psychos currently locked up in the Fridge. "I remember Daniels was the one that went chasing after a cellist. Agent Coulson took him down, if I remember right."
"Correct. Before the accident that gave him his powers, SHIELD had their eye on the lab. Garza had the right qualifications to be placed inside. It was supposed to be a babysitting job. Once a week she'd pass on whatever progress they made and eventually we assumed the project would flop."
I could already see where this was going. "She was there that day… when the lab blew."
Sharon didn't bother acknowledging my conclusion. Instead, she clicked the remote and the screen split with a before and after image of Sarah Garza. Her security photo was the before image: a young woman, Hispanic heritage, long curly brown hair, and dark eyes. The after image was completely different. If they were separated I would never think they could be the same person. Her skin was stark white; I would guess stage makeup was involved if the picture had less resolution. The white of her eyes were bright red and her cornea had turned gray, or perhaps silver might be a better choice. That wasn't the most obvious change.
Her hair was bright orange, cut in a short flared bob.
"Tell me she colored her hair."
"Uh, no."
"Ouch."
"What didn't make it to your report on Daniels was that Garza was the cause of the explosion at the lab where it happened."
That got my attention. "She was a mole?"
Sharon shook her head. "No, whatever happened there happened to her. It changed her. She emits… energy, uncontrolled. If she gets the least out of sorts emotionally, everything within a hundred feet of her feels the fallout. It was an accident, but that energy caused the explosion that turned Daniels into whatever he is."
I was already categorizing her in my head and thinking of ways to take her out if need be, then I remembered what I was supposed to be doing there in the first place.
"Right. I'm guessing since STATION has her then they've found a way of controlling her power?"
Sharon smiled. "They have, but it's not exactly… well…."
Instead of telling me, she clicked her remote again.
"Is that…?"
"Iron Man armor? Sort of. It was based off Tony Stark's idea, but all the work was STATION."
It wasn't full coverage, only a breastplate, and gauntlets, but the device centered on her chest made it look like piecemeal Iron Man armor.
"It collects any energy she puts out and diverts it to batteries that she can expel though her gloves and the main emitter on her chest."
"So she's safe to be around now?"
"Yes."
I almost smiled. In fact, I was halfway there at the moment I realized there had to be a catch. It couldn't be this easy. Nothing ever is.
"Why isn't she here?"
Sharon set her remote on the desk and crossed her arms. "She doesn't want to be a field agent anymore."
"Ah."
"Garza just wants to go back to her computer. Apparently one bad experience was enough to sour her opinion of the job."
"One really bad experience," I noted.
"It's a valid reason, I know, but we could really use her."
I frowned at the way she said that. "She could be a valuable team member. We don't use people on this project."
"That's not what I meant, Taylor."
Taking a sip of coffee, I walked around my desk and set the mug down. "SHIELD is a spy agency. Garza has just become a very valuable asset to be used. Whether or not you know it, that's what it means. It's what you were trained to do, and I get it. For now let's just attempt to change the way we speak about people that have powers and hopefully down the line we might one day believe they're something more than a new weapon to be deployed."
Sharon leaned against her desk and sighed. "I'm not your enemy. We have the same goals here."
"We have similar goals. That's not the same thing."
When she didn't say anything, I took a seat and started downloading Garza's file into my laptop.
"Sharon, I get what SHIELD is trying to do. There could come a time where there are genuine threats out there that will need a trained and talented response team to take the lead. I just want to make sure that we're doing it for the right reasons and not wind up being part of the problem."
"I've listened over the last few weeks," she said while approaching the chair in front of my desk and sitting down. "I know you had a rough time of it on your Earth. I can see a lot of the things the ones in power did wrong, but we aren't them. We aren't the PRT or the Protectorate or even Cauldron. You can't assume that we'll act like them. Some of this you'll have to take on faith for now, just like we're taking a lot about you on faith."
The stories I told her were mostly summaries or the reports I'd been submitting to Agent Hill. It was all in an attempt to show them what could be out there in terms of versatility of powers. Examples of mind control powers were submitted along with my summation of Master/Stranger protocols. Examples of brute abilities were submitted with my report on alternative ways in taking down someone that could shrug off high caliber ammunition.
In other words, Sharon had spent a lot of time just sitting there and listening. I'm sure it all made it into her reports to Hill on me. They never verbally spoke about it within range of my bugs, but I was fairly sure it happened regularly. Again, it was something I would expect, given the nature of my job. I didn't hold it against them, since I would do the exact same thing in their position.
They had given me a lot of leeway in terms of creating a team from virtually nothing. So, I concluded that I should reciprocate in turn.
"That's fair," I replied.
"So, I'll try to be understanding when you point out my occasional slips of tongue, and you can understand when I make them. It's our actions that will speak for us in the meantime."
I sighed and closed my laptop. "Deal. So… where's Sarah Garza now?"
~O~
Off went the pants suit and on went the SHIELD uniform. The only time I got to do this was when we left Hill's field office on a trip to another SHIELD facility. Fewer questions were asked about me if I didn't look like a civilian that was far too young to hold the position that I did. Basically, I looked out of place all dressed up for the office. I felt out of place as well. In the form fitting outfit that any number of agents used while on the job, I could be any one of a thousand people fresh out of the academy and on assignment, even if my level access didn't match my age.
Before leaving my room I grabbed an apple for the road and didn't even make it to the hanger bay before being intercepted by a familiar face.
"Agent Coulson?"
"Valkyrie." He looked me up and down with a pleasant smile. "Uniform looks good on you."
I shrugged as I shook his hand. "It's just when I leave the office. I'm on my way out. Is there something I can do for you?"
"I'm commandeering your quinjet, Agent Carter, and you for the duration." He gestured down the hall and then looked to the side with an odd expression on his face. "That sounded wrong. The skies above Puente Antiguo are acting up again, the same as right before you arrived last month."
"Really? But I thought the Asgardians were supposed to use the site in Nevada when they come down."
"Exactly. The Director wants eyes on the ground in New Mexico. I've been assigned there and he wants you there just in case we have an incident."
I nodded as we were cleared through security and hit the doors to the hanger bay, so I finished the unsaid portion of his sentence. "In case it's someone that's not supposed to here."
"If you wouldn't mind."
This is what I liked the most about Phil. He was nice and actually asked for my help even though he could put it in much stronger words.
"No problem. The last thing we need is someone breaking the deal."
"I'm glad we're on the same page."
I almost stopped and went back for my costume, but if we were meeting up with any Asgardians then my armor would be better suited. Frankly, I was somewhat annoyed I still hadn't had a chance to use it. There never seemed to be a reason to anymore. That was one of the biggest differences between Earth Bet and this one more than any other. Weaver didn't need to make a daily, or even a weekly appearance. At this point I was going to add monthly, but I hadn't been on this Earth long enough to make it plural.
"So how have things been?" Phil asked when we reached the boarding ramp.
"You haven't been keeping track?" I said jokingly.
"Hardly; this thing with Stark has been taking up most of my time."
Right. Tony Stark was having meltdown issues at the moment. Senate hearings, attempts on his life in Monaco, stock prices taking a dive, a new CEO, and his latest fiasco, a drunken binge at his birthday party a few days back.
"Do I need to be on alert?"
The ramp started closing and Phil looked at me oddly. "You could take on Iron Man?"
"For a first meeting? Probably. I've studied all the footage I could get on him. In flight his armor needs air intake. I could block that easily enough with my bugs and ground him. Swarm him afterward and slip in hundreds of bugs through every nook and cranny that opens whenever he goes to shoot something at me. I'm sure some systems would be affected. While he's busy with that, I have an Asgardian sword that can cut through almost anything, and armor that can protect me from virtually anything he can throw at me in the meantime. He's a genius though, so if I can't take him down then the second time around might be a different story."
"Bugs," Phil said in a low voice before he smiled. "That might be a show worth seeing. And no, he's under house arrest at the moment, so we're good."
I went ahead and strapped in while he went to speak with Sharon and then joined me in the back, handing me a pad with a number of people already loaded up on the screen.
"Just to keep you in the loop if we wind up meeting them," he offered.
I nodded. "Short version?"
"Jane Foster, astrophysicist out of Culver University back east. Her and her intern, Darcy Lewis have been there for over a month studying the strange atmospheric goings-on since your arrival."
"Oh… sorry."
"Not a problem. Or it wouldn't be as long as this latest incident doesn't hit their radar, which is unlikely." He didn't seem the least bit put off by having to clean up my mess. "With the addition of Eric Selvig things get a little dicey."
I looked down at the pad. "He teaches theoretical astrophysics at the same university. Friends? Colleagues?"
He nodded. "And mentor. With the two of them working together I wouldn't put it past them to figure this whole thing out."
"Really?" I raised my brows at that. "They'd conclude that Asgardians did it?"
"Specifically, no. Have you ever heard of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge?" When I shook my head in the negative he explained in layman's terms. "Think wormholes. Since your arrival, that theory has pretty much been made a proven fact by SHIELD scientists. Now think about what an astrophysicist, much less two, might do in order to publish a paper on this topic."
"Ugh."
He grinned. "Right."
Then a feeling of dread started welling up in my stomach. It was almost a comfort in a way, because adrenaline followed soon after.
"If it is Asgard doing this, then Heimdall will probably use the exact same site as last time."
Phil looked away, obviously pondering something. "Excuse me. I need to make a call."
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Night_stalker
Slava Ukraini!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Soo I see Thor managed to get himself shitcanned. Again.
Heather Sinclair
Verified Force User
This is one point of canon that I don't imagine Taylor having much impact on. All of this happened in Asgard while she wasn't there. The only thing that's changed is their agreement with SHIELD to use the Nevada site for arrival. But Thor won't be on official business while there. In fact he'll be decidedly Humanesque, so it might even be a loophole Odin would exploit.
Night_stalker
Slava Ukraini!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
On the upside, Taylor should probably resist being too smug to Thor.
Actually, come to think of it, Taylor's existence here might make Loki shift to a more concealed form of attack...
thefluffyone
Big Ego for Something so Small, eh?
- Location
- Earth
If we don't see Taylor either berating Thor for being a buffoon or being smug, I will be dissapoint.
OverReactionGuy
Verified Sanity
God damnit Thor, you did not even last a month or so after you made a great diplomat.
Now someone many times your junior gets to make fun of you or be smug!
Honestly, I think Taylor would be good for Thor's character growth.
Now someone many times your junior gets to make fun of you or be smug!
Honestly, I think Taylor would be good for Thor's character growth.
tertius
drunken shitposter extraordinaire
And then, Taylor kept custody of Mjolnir.
Nah, just kidding. She's damaged as hell.
- Location
- Ireland
some out of towner named james worthy just strolls in after the pick-up truck and walks off with it
Taylor is going to be able to say "I told you so" when the Hydra infiltration is discovered, isn't she?
tertius
drunken shitposter extraordinaire
Not really, as it had been pointed out, m/s protocols work for short term threats, but Hydra has burrowed deep for more than half a century. This shit ain't gonna cut it.
EDIT: I'm pretty sure I'm mixing up my tenses, but hell, I'm a drunk hungrian and still better than most native speakers
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- Location
- Crackship Space!
Phil - Miss Foster. *Nods*
Jane - Who are you? Who are they? Why are they going through my stuff! This is private university equipment!
Phil - *Looks at Taylor and shrugs*
Taylor - *Comes over to talk with Jane* Hello Jane. Can we talk a minute?
Darcy - *Makes some popcorn*
Jane - Who are you people?
Taylor - Jane, we are the government. More specifically we are with the... Help me out Phil.
Phil - Strategic Homeland Inteligence and Logistics Division. You can call us SHIELD.
Jane - What does the government have to do with astrophysics?
Taylor - Well when you go poking around a landing pad for alien space travel we tend to notice that. Even if the damn aliens forgot they were supposed to use Nevada... *Glares upwards*
Jane - Aliens?
Darcy - Hey does one of you have that crazy hair like the guy on the history channel on that show? I love that guy. *MUNCH*
Phil - *Chuckles*
Taylor - Yes it's about aliens.
*Suddenly...*
Thor - Jane Foster... a little help? *Drags a drunk Eric inside*
Taylor - God Damnit Thor...
Phil - *Facepalms*
Less the M/S protocols, more the "We're not the PRT, the Protectorate, or even Cauldron" bit. Honestly, the MCU SHIELD/Hydra thing really does resemble the PRT-Protectorate/Cauldron dynamic....except Cauldron's less horrible then Hydra. Just kind of dim.
- Location
- In the depts of despair.
I wonder what will happen when Taylor decides to train Thor the Mortal, after all once stripped from all his titles a Valk probably outranks him, not to mention that is probable that now Taylor can take him in hand to hand if necessary (with a little and subtle use of bugs, if you're not chating you're not trying), and I bet both Taylor and Coulson are going to want to keep a close eye on the walking diplomatic disaster (on that note they should send a stern diplomatic letter to Odin, if they're going to exile someone they should fill the proper immigration papers at the very least).
Let us not forget that Thor does have roughly a thousand years of actual experience in battle, he was kicking the asses of an entire SHIELD base while having a nervous breakdown, and finally got taken down after he had basically already given up.
Taylor can be pretty badass, but it ain't just the hammer that makes Thor so goddamn hardcore either.
VolantRedX
Official Conscience of Worm Fanfiction!
Not to mention he's 220 pounds of muscle. Taylor is likely barely above 110.
That and I'm pretty sure he was above human norms even while powered down. Either that or he was pushing himself to overperform and would have seriously hurt himself if he hadn't got his mojo back fairly quickly.
VolantRedX
Official Conscience of Worm Fanfiction!
Well he was likely brought down to Cap's level of human endurance. So technically possible if the person had spent a lifetime training.
So allegedly how comic book Cap is? Because MCU Cap is blatantly superhuman.
Heather Sinclair
Verified Force User
In the movie, Thor is stripped of his Asgardian powers and faced with a guy of fairly equal size had a difficult time getting past him. So, he's down to human norms. He's still a giant brute of a guy, so that has to be taken into account.
VolantRedX
Official Conscience of Worm Fanfiction!
He did however take down a squad of special forces soldiers on his own, without any weapons.