73 The Iron Legion's Growing Pains -71
[SITE-009]
Alexander Was getting ready to summon up the next SCP. He had been thinking about pushing it back a few weeks, until the end of the month. After all there were already plenty of objects out there needing to be found or contained.
With the large amount of Keter class objects out there he really didn't want to add more to that mess. Yet he couldn't deny that the Foundation was handling things pretty well. While not every object had been found and contained yet, plenty were close.
SCP-1678, unLondon, for one, was found. Not that it had been too difficult to find an entire underground city like that. Yet with that object came its own share of trouble; after all, it was massive and filled with hostiles. Even in the original universe, the Foundation didn't have full control over the city.
Even now Alex didn't expect that city to be under his control anytime soon. The only way that could change was by using Marvel Technologies or heroes. After all, an army of trained agents in Ironman suits would be very effective for any containment attempt on pretty much any and all SCP objects.
Other objects like 137 was also on the lose, yet given how low their dangers generally was he wasn't too worried about such objects. Only a handful were really dangerous and he expected most to be found soon enough.
"Alright, system. Give me an easy and quick one this time, alright?" Alex asked his system even though it ignored him completely; it was mostly just a coping mechanism at this point. "System, summon a random SCP."
[Ding! Understood Host, please stand by as the random SCP is summoned!]
[Ding! Warning! SCP-3026 has appeared!]
[Ding! Warning! Host a SCP has appeared in the world and is outside Foundation control! Host is asked to deal with the situation and follow the Foundation's goal of Securing, containing, and Protecting!]
[Ding! Congratulations to Host for getting SITE-117, a class 3 Foundation facility in Eastern Europe! 500 class C combat personnel, 50 research personnel, 100 administrative personnel, and 30 maintenance personnel!]
Alex sat waiting, waiting for the bad news, the extra summoning, whatever the damned system had planned for his ninth monthly summoning. Yet, as the seconds ticked by and turned into minutes, nothing happened.
"Now I can't help but be suspicious…" he whispered as he looked up this object. Fearing that it might be something dangerous enough that even his system took mercy on him.
However, as he read on about SCP-3026, the Fashionable Neruovore, he couldn't help but feel strange about the situation. The object was just an Euclid one—dangerous to be sure, but easily enough to deal with.
It was interesting enough—a human-like figure who ate the brains of anything that had one, growing limps to catch prey. It didn't move very well, so it wouldn't be hard to contain. It would only need some strong spotlights on it at all times, and then it wouldn't be any dangerous at all.
The only thing truly worthy of note here was that it might have some association with the group of interest, "Are We Cool Yet," which, while in question due to a note left behind, still drew Alex's interest.
So far, he hasn't had too many SCP objects that have a relationship with any groups of interest. Some of the toy ones might be connected with Dr Wondertainment, though that wasn't confirmed.
The question that lingered in his mind was. 'Will any of those groups come over as well? Will I have to deal with entirely new objects created by them?'
Should that happen, he wouldn't just have to deal with the dangerous native to the Marvel universe but also the SCPs he summoned and new ones created within this world. This could be all the more terrifying given the magic and tech available here.
Shaking his head to rid himself of that depressing thought, he quickly added the new SCP to the list for his agents to look out for a while and be ready to contain before he went back to his remaining work.
And he had plenty of work piled up for him, and more stilled came every day. Not only did he have to go meet the Mandarin in a few days, but he also needed to show his face in his new O5-1 SITEs and facilities.
The only good thing was that he didn't have to go out and personally capture SCP objects, or he wouldn't even have time to breathe from all that work. Even just aiding in the securement and containment was work enough to bury him ten times over.
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[Triskelion]
As two of the world's most powerful underworld figures planned to meet in the beating heart of America, another such figure was trembling with a mix of anger and shock.
Nick Fury, the director of SHIELD, had just gotten news that his highly secret lab, codenamed Guesthouse, had been attacked. Perhaps only a few dozen people knew about the very existence of that place.
Fury trusted every one of them, or at least he trusted them as much as he would trust anyone. Which is why he was so shocked that it was attacked. After all, who could attack something they didn't even know of?
Well, clearly, someone knew about it, and they had also been daring enough to raid the place. Thankfully, Fury had access to the video recording of the attack since they hadn't cut that off. Which if nothing else, pointed towards the attacker not being the mysterious group he had Coulson hunting down.
Instead, it seemed that none other than that damned terrorist Xu Wenwu was behind it. Another daring display of his might unfolded before the cameras.
Fury's worst fears were confirmed when he saw that he very clearly was there for the guest. How he could possibly know about the Kree body, he didn't know, but he would find out. Only so many ways that little detail could leak out after all.
Thankfully, most of the drugs so far refined from the Kree body weren't at that facility right now. It was stored in another facility so the project could still see use in the future.
That didn't do much to quell his anger, though; this damned terrorist was dismantling SHIELD in a way that should have been impossible. Already, two nations, one even being China, had lost every presence of SHIELD.
The amount of heat he was under was unlike anything he had felt so far in his career, and he had struggled a lot over the years. Yet never before had anyone been able to push SHIELD like this. Not only was the Wenwu powerful, he also had some powerful support.
His attempts at intervening had all been blocked by the Chinese government. Forcing him to pull back since they crippled his ability to fight back. Never before had he wanted the Avengers incitive as much as he did now.
Having a group with the ability to deal with this Mandarin would allow him to ignore the clearly compromised security council. Without a response team like that he couldn't do anything since the large scale of the operation would require approval.
And now he was hitting targets inside the EU, which had both the English and French seats of the council come to him for answers. He needed to deal with this situation before he started tearing down SHIELD facilities in America, or his head would go.
'I need results… sending Romanoff into the Ricci mess might be the only way I might get some intel, ' he Thought to himself as he came to a decision he had been pushing off due to not liking the idea of losing one of his best agents to a long-term undercover mission at a time like this.
However, he simply didn't have many options. The 10 Rings was an organization he hadn't paid any attention to before now. How was he meant to know just how powerful it was? Clearly the Ricci family had some connection, which he hoped would remain intact even with a new leader.
It was a risky move, and whether or not it would give any results was unknown; it was entirely possible that Romanoff would have to earn some trust to start off with. Which meant that she wouldn't get much while the Mandarin was still actively after SHIELD.
If possible, Fury hoped that they would be able to learn why he was after them at all. Why did Ricci's men believe it was SHIELD that killed their boss, and why did they mention Hydra as well?
There were a great many questions to be asked. He could only hope he would get some answers out of this. Hopefully, Coulson would get something before Romanoff was back from her current mission in Ukraine.
…
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A small fleet of highly advanced Foundation improved quinjets made their way towards the highly secret Garden facility of O5-1. Inside one of the jets sat the overseer himself. Working on a tablet all the while.
The new Foundation stealth jets were a marvel of technology. Using the near-infinite financial powers and scientific prowess that was available to him, the quinjet had become something far greater than what Shield could ever do with it.
Even greater improvements were planned once Tony Stark was done with his own jet. The spies placed inside Stark's company had reported quiet some bits of useful information on the progress.
Hopefully he would still send over a jet once he was done as he had promised back when he came and checked out one of his own. Alex was after all supposed to be dead, so whatever or not that promise had died with him was unknown. If not, well he was sure that there were ways to get Tony to cough up.
…
Landing, Alex was rushed inside; the memory of his assassination was still clear in the heads of his guards and himself; the less time spent outside after getting off the plane, the better.
Inside, he was greeted by one of his loyal lieutenants: Jun-seo Park, the person who was now in charge of the Iron Legion program. "Welcome sir, its good to see you are alright, I heard about what happened. A dreadful affair, I do understand why you are investing in his project here."
Alex just smiled at the overly enthusiastic welcome, he knew this man well, and once he had something worthwhile to play with he was like a kid in a candy store. "Well why don't you show me how things are going? I do have high hopes for this project indeed."
Jun-seo led Alex through the sprawling complex of the Garden facility, his excitement barely contained as he spoke about the advancements and challenges of integrating Stark technology with Foundation resources. "We've made significant progress, sir. The Iron Legion prototypes are coming along nicely."
They entered a vast hangar, where a row of sleek, armored suits stood in silent testament to the project's ambition. Each one slightly different from one another, clearly many different ideas were being tried out.
"Within each suit we have tried some different things, well I say we, but you only recently put me in charge of the project." Jun-seo explained, gesturing toward the nearest suit.
"You are making it sound all too good, what is the problem you face?" Alex asked, as he knew well that there had to be some major problem from Jun-seo's actions so far.
Jun-seo chuckled at his words. "You know me well boss, yes indeed, we are facing a major problem. The flight technology is still not quite where we would want it for stable precision flight, the overall control is also lacking."
Alex listened to the explanation. He knew that the tech used for their flight wasn't entirely mature yet, Stark was still only working on it himself, and they merely had some second hand knowledge of his work.
Then was the control part. Tony had used his AI to help control the suit, yet the Foundation didn't have its own. In fact the Foundation was very much against the use of such tech. Meaning that the burden on the user would be far higher as there wouldn't be any backup assistance.
Yet there was nothing that could be done about that. They simply had to make do with what they had. "Anything else? How are the arc reactor and the new element coming along?"
Jun-seo quickly lead Alex away from the suit prototypes and towards another lab. "Well we have already cracked the reactor, neat stuff they are. The element is a lot harder to make, we have the atomic model, but fabricating it in any worthwhile amount isn't easy."
Alex followed Jun-seo into the lab, a state-of-the-art facility buzzing with activity. Scientists and engineers were deeply engrossed in their work, some huddled over complex machinery, while others engaged in animated discussions over data screens. The lab was a testament to the SCP Foundation's commitment to harnessing and understanding the technologies of the Marvel universe, blending them with their own to push the boundaries of what was possible.
"The arc reactors could revolutionize how we power our facilities and containment units," Alex mused, examining a reactor prototype encased in transparent protective material. "And if we can master the synthesis of the new element, we could significantly enhance our capabilities."
Jun-seo nodded in agreement. "Exactly, sir. The energy efficiency and output of these reactors are most impressive, those two external experts you had brought in aren't half bad, though the elder one is unable to work due to his health, making the younger one distracted."
Alex nodded and picked up on the veiled request. "Will try to have something done about that, SCP-407's reappearance has been confirmed once we get it secured I will send over a copy."
Approaching another section of the lab, they observed a team working on refining the new element. A complex apparatus filled the room, with various instruments monitoring the process. "This is where we're attempting to fabricate the element. The challenges are significant, but the potential applications, are worth the effort."
Alex understood the magnitude of the challenge. "I appreciate the hard work everyone's putting into this. Success here could be a game-changer for the Foundation. I'll ensure we allocate whatever resources are necessary to overcome these hurdles."
As their tour concluded, Alex felt a renewed sense of purpose. The integration of Marvel technologies into the Foundation's arsenal was not without its challenges, but the potential benefits were immense. Yet still opened the possibility of new containment measures.
"Jun-seo, keep me updated on all developments, especially with the new element. And make sure the teams know their efforts are recognized and appreciated," Alex instructed as they made their way out of the lab.
"Will do, sir. We won't let you down," Jun-seo responded, his determination clear.
A/N
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