Chapter 55

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Fury

I took a deep swig of Scotch and drew a steadying breath in preparation for what I expected would be one of the hardest calls of my career.

The phone rang at 7 pm on the dot, and I hit the receive button. Alexander Pierce, one of the members of the World Council, appeared on the flat-screen Tv in front of me with a scowl that would've made a first-year agent crap their pants.

"What the hell happened at that mansion, Fury!"

"Charles Xavier happened," I said. "He got into the head of one of his students a decade ago and sealed off her power and childhood trauma. When she finally remembered, the results were…explosive."

"That's an understatement," Pierce snorted, looking down at his desk. "The preliminary report says that she shattered the foundation of the mansion, scorched the grounds, covering it in black glass that's as hard as steel, possessed another mutant, burned and beat your metahuman agent so badly, they're in critical care, and worst of all, crushed Xavier with a snap of her dainty little hand. Is that right?"

"That about covers it," I said rather dryly.

Pierce steepled his hands. "This girl is no mutant. She's a walking natural disaster. One we needed to have on lock and key, and you're saying you let her escape?"

"We didn't let her escape," I said. "She let us live."

Pierce snorted. "You went into that operation on the recommendation of a kid who hadn't been properly vetted and trained, with a team of six. Why the hell did you approach the problem with one hand tied behind your back?"

"Frankly, Pierce," I said, "you read the incident report. It wouldn't have made a difference."

"So says the kid, who you refused to officially bring into SHIELD, who disappeared into a 'portal' with a sorcerer of all things!" Pierce slammed his hand on the table. "You're being had, Fury! How can you be sure he's not responsible for the invasion at the park and the girl? Have you considered that he could've planned this?"

I had indeed considered it. Dante was always at the center of it all. At first, I'd been willing to overlook his involvement because of his gift. But a chat with his Silvery friend, revealed that the kid might've sown the seed for jean's eventual break on the night they met for the very first time. Of course, Pierce will never know about any of this."

"Dante has not given us a reason to doubt him," I said. "And he put himself on the line to save our agents TWICE during the fighting. Scorched and limping, the kid offered to go with the girl and stabilize her so she wouldn't turn all of New York into a smoldering crater. Dante might've only been in SHIELD for two weeks, but he's accomplished more than some Agents do during their careers. You're not giving him enough credit, Undersecretary."

"And you give him too much," Pierce asserted. "Do you know where he's disappeared alongside the girl?"

"He was badly wounded," I defended. "He's likely still unconscious." It was a terrible excuse I'd never tolerate, but it was the only one I had. We had to play it all close to the vest.

Pierce took a long, deep breath and breathed out. "We have to secure that girl when your man makes contact, and I don't care what it takes. Failing that, eliminate her. The RX-29 is the most powerful rifle we have. It failed because it was in the hands of the wrong man. Fix that and get ready for a second run around. As for the Xavier situation, tell the truth. A mentally ill student lost control, and Xavier paid the price."

This motherfucker.

I saw it coming from a mile away, and it still caught me off-guard. This is why I wanted Charles alive to face his crime. Pierce intended to see heads roll; if it weren't Charles's, it would be Jean's.

After Dante told me about Pierce, I started digging. He'd been lobbying for more mutant control and policing for a while, and the girl gave him everything he needed.

"The world will rip itself apart if the word gets out," I argued. "Mutant hate will reach an all-time high, and they will start fighting back eventually, especially those that have the overwhelming ability to."

"She killed Charles Xavier," Pierce said in a sanctimonious tone. "We can't let her get away with it, no matter how dangerous your man claims she is. We have to stop covering for these people," Pierce shook his head. "The world needs to know that mutants like Jean Grey exist and how helpless we normal humans are before their overwhelming might. We need better containment, technology, and registration!"

I couldn't hide the scowl fighting to the surface.

Pierce's claims were not bad at first brush. Secret superhuman registration was fairly routine in SHIELD. If you knew who the superhumans were and kept tabs on them, you could effectively manage incidences before they escalated.

The Mutants were not ready for the limelight, and the humans were not ready to accept them either, especially not after Xavier's death. Price was orchestrating a Civil War that was bound to end in thousands dead on both sides and give higher-ups at Hydra cart blanche to experiment, develop superhuman countermeasures, and suppress mutant insurgencies.

"There hasn't been a mutant attack in 20 years, Pierce," I said. "This goes beyond America now. The world will not remain the same if we go public with this."

"Maybe it's time it changed."

"I call a vote for the board," I said. I hated bureaucracy, but if there was one thing I could rely on, it was the self-interest of the members of the World Security Council. While it was true that the news of Xavier's death and the girl's existence would alarm them, they'd know better than stoking a global race war.

"They're already here," Pierce said with a self-assured smirk.

Motherfucker.

My secondary screen lit up, populated by the faces of the other four SHIELD board members.

"Are we really going to bring down fucking Armageddon on our countries because of Charles Xavier, of all people? You heard the recording. The man is reprehensible. He fucking deserved what he got," I said. "The Secret Program is not perfect, but it fucking works. If anything, Xavier's insistence that his kids get special treatment led us to this point. If we'd known about Jean–"

"We would've put her down," Council member Yen said, cutting me off. "She's a walking calamity. It's common sense."

"I don't know about killing her," Council member Singh said, "but early containment and study could've improved her prognosis and help us better understand her limitations."

"If we had somebody like her on our side, in addition to the Clairvoyant kid, we could've handled the Park issue without losing so many men," Council member Malick declared, slamming his hand onto his table. His old, withering voice vibrated with every word. "The mutants are Earth's answer to the Alien threat. We must bring them into the fold."

"Pierce's response might be unwieldy," Council member Hawley, ever the negotiator, weighed in, "but it has some merits. Fury's man has the girl's trust. I suggest having him bring her and the rest of the X-men in before we go public with the WHOLE truth about Charles. They're all about saving mutants, so they shouldn't turn down a chance to protect their own. I think word of the Alien threat will win them over completely if mutant liberation does not."

I was fucking disgusted by what I heard. It seemed I gave them too much credit. They didn't know better than provoking the mutants.

"Liberation? Bring them into the fold? Study and weaponize?" I scrutinized each of their faces.

"You talk about them like they're wild animals! They're humans and will fight like hell if they feel like they're in danger. And don't even get me started on containment! Mutations can be vastly different, even between family members. How do you plan to prepare for that variation, and what about Mutants on Jean and Xavier's level? You know they exist out there and how dangerous they are!" I said with some exasperation. "We have a system that's kept us safe for decades now. Monitor and diffuse. Jean Grey was an isolated incident."

"Quite the impassioned speech, Fury." Pierce finally deigned to speak. "I did not come to this meeting unprepared. We are in talks with Trask, and he's assured us that containment and threat removal for the more problematic elements will not be an issue."

"The madman?" I said with some surprise.

"This is going to happen with or without you, Fury," Pierce said. "Would you rather supervise their integration into society, or do we have to find another man for the job."

Did this asshole just threaten my job?

"Is this how you all feel?" I demanded, surveying the room.

No one avoided my eyes or looked away, standing firmly rooted in their silent agreement.

"Y'all do remember that we still have an alien invasion to deal with and coordinated global attacks from unidentified monstrous humanoids?"

"Give us your answer, Fury?" Pierce demanded.

I bit back a string of curses and took a steadying breath. "You knew the kind of man I was when you appointed me Director," I said. "I'm here come hell or high water. Still, I want my objection to be on record. I still think this is a terrible idea."

Pierce smirked. "I knew you'd come around, Fury. Don't worry; it will be in your file, and we won't hold your lapse in judgment against you. You have 72 hours to bring the girl and your man into the fold. After that, we go public."

Pierce cut the call after that, and I let out the string of curses and expletives I'd been saving since I first laid eyes on that squid.

"That bad, Sir?" Natasha said, entering my office.

"Saving Charles wouldn't have made that much of a difference. Pierce has been prepping for this since QUELLITRAX and likely earlier. He wants to weaponize and control the mutants, and Jean Grey just gave him the perfect excuse."

"Get me Drumm on the phone," I said. "We need Dante and the girl down here ASAP. We could really use some Clairvoyant and a Telepath right now."

I'd hoped I had enough clout and influence to sway the council, but Pierce was making me consider the nuclear option.

"You want to recruit Jean Grey?" Natasha's face lost some of its color. "You've read the reports. She's unstable."

"I know that," I sighed, "but it's not up to me anymore. We need all the help we can get. And if the kid reigned her in once, he can do it again. And get Coulson and May in here. We can't put off Project Lazarus anymore. We need the Cap back more than ever."

"You really think he's under the Ice?"

"There's definitely something under there," I said. "Preliminary scan said so, and about Dante, don't be too quick to judge him. Remember the shit you pulled when you were new?"

Natasha made a face.

"He's not let me down yet, but that doesn't mean I don't keep an eye on him."

"But he's not a 120-pound woman," Natasha pointed out with a frown. "You put too much faith in him."

"And you put too little. We're out of options and surrounded. Your reservations are noted but don't change the facts. Unless you have some superweapon that can save all of our collective asses, I say get to work, Agent Romanoff," I said firmly.

Natasha's lips stiffened, but she nodded. "I'll get right on it, Sir."

I collapsed on my chair when she left and opened a file labeled Prometheus.

It was slow going, but we were getting there.

(Read to Chapter 70 on Patreon.com/Artandcreativewriting. Two chapters are going up tonight, making a total of 72.)