A Path to Freedom (pt.1)

2014

Hell's Kitchen, New York City

Warehouse District

One Year Later

(Brock POV)

"Is that all you got?" I asked as I broke through the silver metallic shell of Zeru's Mechsuit once again. "Stark's suits wouldnt've been this easy to get past." I taunted challengingly as I raised my fists high, intentionally telegraphing my next strike.

As expected, Zeru reacted angrily to the taunt, the metallic panels of his suit quickly shifting around to patch up the hole I made as his fists began glowing brightly, generating wild arcs of purple lighting that sparked along his mech.

{A/n: Different Zeru Image Here -->}

This time though, instead of dodging the attack, he decided to focus primarily on offense as he sent a large bolt of purple lightning in my direction.

"Better," I stated simply as I didn't even move to dodge the attack, instead, a bright crimson began to emit from the markings along my arms as a dark metallic liquid quickly began to seep from my skin. The liquid envelops me, forming plates of dark metal that cling to my skin seamlessly and form hard armor plating across my entire frame, protecting me just in time as I took the attack straight on.

*Zap!*

My armored torso absorbed the electrical charge, deflecting it harmlessly outward and leaving no trace behind except for a brief intense flash of light.

Zeru watched as his attack bounced off of my hardened surface and dissipated completely, unable to penetrate or damage my suit whatsoever. Shaking his head disbelievingly after watching how fast I formed my armor.

He let out a tired sigh before mustering all his remaining stamina for one last attempt at victory, unleashing a barrage of rapid punches aimed squarely toward my head. But despite his Mechsuit giving him superhuman speed and reflexes, he couldn't move quick enough as I dodged left and right smoothly, avoiding all attacks thrown my way.

Seeing that his attacks weren't connecting with me, I could tell that Zeru was beginning to panic inside his suit as he suddenly tried to back away from me to give himself time to recover and think things through properly.

But unfortunately for him, I wasn't quite so inexperienced to let such an opportunity slip by unnoticed. Before Zeru could fully withdraw, I grabbed hold of the edge of his shoulder plate with my bare hands and yanked him toward me violently, before slamming a powerful elbow into his helmet, dazing him temporarily as his heavy suit began to tilt precariously sideways.

Taking further advantage of this opening, I slammed my fist forcefully into the chest plate of his mech, sending vibrations coursing throughout its structure as the metal casings cracked under the immense power.

The blow sent Zeru sprawling backward, before crashing hard into the wall of the training room. Groaning quietly in discomfort as he tried unsuccessfully to regain his footing, he looked up at me and I could sense his incredulous glare through his helmet.

"You're...too much for me," He breathed softly as the metal of his Mechsuit liquified off of him, allowing him to wipe the heavy sweat from his brow and stretch himself gingerly to loosen his stiff muscles. "Too damn good."

I smiled confidently as I locked eyes with him.

"Of course I am. The point of this training isn't winning, it's improving yourself. Your powers have so much versatility that you should have been able to at least evade some of those blows, your problem is that you overthink things so much that you get caught up thinking about countermeasures while not focusing enough on actually attacking. Stop letting your thoughts bog you down. " I told him evenly, making sure not to sound condescending while speaking in an instructional manner.

A smirk crossed Zeru's mouth at first glance, clearly pleased that he'd received such constructive criticism.

Nodding silently at my wise statement, Zeru took a moment to catch his breath as I looked around at the surrounding area, searching for our other training partner who was hiding somewhere nearby, observing everything that went on carefully while concealing herself inconspicuously with her invisibility.

"You know, the flaw with invisibility is its inability to hide sound waves as well," I commented casually as I suddenly rushed towards a specific spot inside the training room.

Without warning, I slammed my fist forcefully at the location as Ava's figure swiftly faded into existence standing directly in the spot I was aiming for.

Reacting quickly, Ava turned intangible as my punch passed cleanly through her, creating an audible thud reverberating through the walls as the impact shook the room slightly.

"Were you trying to kill me? " She complained as she rolled over slightly and stared at me accusingly. "That blow would've killed most people outright." She added defensively.

"But you reacted quickly, obviously aware of the danger and able to avoid such a fatal blow easily because of your incredible skill." I pointed out cheerfully, grinning broadly as I saw the serious expression melt from her features. Her cheeks reddening slightly under my praise.

Ava nodded politely in response and cleared her throat nervously, attempting to recover some dignity amid her slight embarrassment.

"But you've gotten too used to fighting against regular humans who never presented a challenge," I explained as I dismissed my armor and reached out to touch her shoulder lightly, helping her stand upright once more. "Your powers rely on you're concentration, meaning if you want to improve, you have to learn how to use them instinctually like second nature. If you can learn to react instinctively and shift between your intangible and invisible forms intuitively, or better yet learn how to use them simultaneously, you'll be unstoppable."

Her gaze softened somewhat, seeing both confidence and understanding radiating from me as she listened intently to every word spoken by myself. A smile crossed her lips as she felt assured of my words.

"Well then," She spoke proudly as she stood up and brushed imaginary dust particles from her clothes. "Let's stop talking theory and start practicing already!"

Ava stated eagerly, as she moved over to help little Zeru rise painfully and unsteadily up off the floor. Then together, the two stepped toward me as they both readied themselves to continue our training session anew. Their determination was clear in their postures as they prepared mentally for whatever challenges lay ahead.

*Ringgg! Ringgg!*

An incessant ringing sound distracted us momentarily, as I reached down and pulled my cell phone from my pocket, and looked at the screen curiously. The caller ID displayed 'Unknown' which was a clear sign that it was a work-related call.

"...Hello?" I greeted coolly when the line picked up immediately afterward. My tone sounded professional but also annoyed at being disturbed mid-training.

There was silence on the end of the receiver for a second, before a familiar voice came through loud and clear.

"Hey, Brock," Steve said cheerily from the other side of the line. "We need you to come in, Fury has a new assignment lined up for us. Natasha and I are already on our way to headquarters."

In the past year, Steve had become the main liaison officer responsible for coordinating team logistics among the S.T.R.I.K.E team and S.H.E.I.L.D field agents. As such, he often called me whenever we had a new mission coming.

"Alright, see you there," I responded calmly, hanging up without saying goodbye. Glancing back up, I saw Ava and Zeru staring at me curiously.

"New job?"Zeru questioned mildly as he scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"Yeah," I confirmed shortly, shaking my head as I put my phone back into my pocket. "Don't know what kind of assignment yet though."

"Think you'll need backup?" Ava inquired slyly, and I gave her a skeptical stare in return.

She merely shrugged nonchalantly in reply, prompting me to shake my head amusingly as I moved toward the exit door leading outside.

"You two keep working. I want to see some progress when I get back." I instructed sternly, giving them a slight wave before exiting the warehouse entirely.

***********

New York City

S.H.I.E.L.D Headquarters, Conference Room

"The target is a S.H.I.E.L.D mobile satellite launch platform called the Lemurian Star. Its last reported position came from a location within the Indian Ocean," Agent Hill informed everyone seated around the table solemnly. "They were sending up their last payload when a gang of Algerian pirates boarded the ship and took the crew hostage."

I sat forward attentively, listening closely as Maria Hill went through each detail concerning the situation. A vague, familiar sensation stirred deep inside my gut as I recalled having seen something similar to this exact scenario.

"We have any leads on who's running this pirate gang?" Steve asked, his attention focused solely on the task at hand.

Maria nodded as she switched the holo screen above the conference room display to show images of several men dressed in black fatigues and brandishing assault rifles, holding hostages against the hull of the vessel itself as armed guards patrolled the deck below them menacingly.

"We've been able to identify the leader, Georges Batroc. Ex-DGSE, Action Division. He's at the top of Interpol's Red Notice. Before the French demobilized him, he had thirty-six confirmed kills under his belt, a number that has probably grown larger since he left the agency." She replied grimly. "This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties, so approach cautiously..."

"Have the pirates demanded ransom money for releasing the captives?" Natasha interjected from beside me.

"They're asking for a billion and a half," Coulson answered flatly.

Natasha whistled softly at hearing that number.

"What about the hostages? Any info on whether or not they're even still alive?' Steve asked seriously, as worry etched deeply onto his face.

"Yes. Luckily there were only a handful of crewmembers aboard at the time. Plus a few S.H.I.E.L.D techs and one officer, Agent Jasper Sitwell," Maria inform him. "Our intel suggests that they are currently confined to the galley of the ship, where they cannot escape or cause trouble until negotiations conclude successfully."

Steve sighed heavily upon receiving these details, while I tilted my head in confusion upon hearing that Sitwell was aboard the ship as well.

'What the hell is going on?' I questioned internally, as I raked my brain for the reason why I was getting the feeling that I'd seen this setup somewhere before.

"Alright let's go over the plane of action," Maria Hill stated as she pulled up the blueprints of the ship.

She went over exactly what needed doing, step by painstaking step, regarding boarding procedures and securing all available exits. But I just tuned her out as I finally remembered exactly why this whole thing seemed so familiar...

A small grin spread across my features despite myself, as memories flooded back into my mind.

"Any questions?" She queried after finishing her briefing and looking expectantly at the assembled group.

Seeing that no one else seemed inclined to speak up, Agent Hill turned off the holo-projector and stood tall behind the large mahogany table, "Alright, suit up and assemble your teams accordingly. Wheels up in twenty."

With that, she left the room leaving us alone to plan our next move.

Steve and Natasha quickly went to gather their respective equipment, as I headed for the elevator to take me down to the S.T.I.K.E team barracks.

Stepping into the elevator, I waited as the doors closed quietly shut before activating the hidden comlink on my wrist that Zeru made for me, and tapped the elevator button for the right level.

Not trusting that there weren't any ears listening in, I decided instead to send a private text to my team rather than risk someone overhearing me conversing aloud.

<Get ready.> I typed cryptically, <Our window of freedom is opening.>

As expected, I heard back instantly.

<Understood. We're at the ready.>

As I read the message, the elevator arrived at my level and, stepping out of the car, I strode energetically out into the hallway beyond. A slight, savage grin spread slowly across my features, as excitement for the upcoming mission began building within my chest.

"A path to freedom awaits those willing enough to seize it," I mutter to myself darkly, as my steps quickened pace along the corridor.

************

A/n: Hey guys, so what do you think is going on? What did Brock remember? What is he planning? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far, and as always, thanks for reading!

If you like my work and want to support it, check out my P.A.T.R.E.O.N: /Swarthy, where you can read early chapters or P.A.Y.P.A.L.me: /xSwarthyx anything is appreciated.