Chapter 35: The Iron Legion

A/N: The Iron Legion, otherwise known as the STRIKE Team's multi-purpose coffins, is born!

-x-X-x-

"Agent Rumlow. Are you and your men ready?"

"Yes sir!"

With Tony Stark at his side, Alexander Pierce takes a moment to gaze upon the best that SHIELD… and HYDRA, has to offer. The Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies, aka STRIKE, was a counter-terrorist Special Mission Unit within SHIELD that took care of the greatest threats to the planet. They were also, each and every one of them, loyal sons of HYDRA.

It was honestly a little funny that not only was SHIELD all but hollowed out by HYDRA infiltrators at this point, but even the vast majority of their best agents were actually HYDRA as well. The very thought made Pierce's heart swell with pride in his chest… as did the orderly lineup of the STRIKE Team, all of them currently standing at attention before him.

With Brock Rumlow, the current STRIKE Field Commander having given the proper response, Pierce looks to Stark and gestures for him to begin. In response, Tony brings out a tablet, presses a few buttons… and a moment later the dull roar of almost a dozen armored suits can be heard as the Iron Legion flies into the hangar from just out of view.

Grinning, Alexander watches as Rumlow and the others all stare at the Iron Legion with shock and undisguised avarice. Their eyes flow over the sleek silver and black of the armored suits, the armaments that are both obvious and not grabbing their attention and refusing to let go.

"At ease, gentlemen. Time to suit up."

As the members of STRIKE come out of their stances and look at the suits in wonder, Tony has the Iron Legion stomp over to each member and stand behind them before opening up in an invitation. Nobody immediately steps in, Pierce notices. To be fair, he doesn't entirely blame him. Each and every one of these men is a battle-hardened soldier, and a member of HYDRA at that. They were paranoid by default, and for good reason.

But the Secretary of the World Security Council and their Head of HYDRA has given them a direct order. And the longer they don't obey, the more annoyed he'll get. In the end, Rumlow leads the charge, as he should as team leader. Stepping up to his open suit, the Field Commander only hesitates for half a second more before stepping into it.

As it closes up around him and he doesn't immediately begin screaming like he's being crushed or killed or anything like that, the other members of the STRIKE Team move into their suits as well. Soon enough, the now fully piloted Iron Legion stands before him and Tony.

"Alright everyone, let's run some diagnostics and quick and easy tests."

As Tony immediately launches into the science side of things, Pierce just leans back and gives the genius some space, basking in his own sense of victory. They'd never found the Winter Soldier, irritatingly enough. But it didn't matter anymore. With the unveiling of the Iron Legion, the other Heads of HYDRA would be coming to Pierce on their hands and knees begging for a piece of the pie.

And to think, it was all thanks to the brilliant Tony Stark. Needless to say, HYDRA had never really considered Tony a viable candidate for recruitment, not in a million years. Even after they ordered the death of the boy's father and mother, it was abundantly clear that Tony wouldn't be very tractable. He was just too willful, too headstrong, and all around too reckless for them to risk revealing themselves to him.

There'd been talk about recruiting Stane instead, especially when HYDRA uncovered the man's plan to have Stark killed in Afghanistan. Stane seemed like he might just have the right amount of gumption to be a member of HYDRA. But in the end, when the terrorists Stane had hired to kill Tony reneged on their deal and kept him alive, HYDRA ultimately backed off and set aside the thought of recruiting Stane. He wasn't quite the man they'd thought he might be.

Fortunate thing that they had too, because the next thing anyone knew, Tony was back from Afghanistan and Stane had suffered from a heart attack and died. And now here they were, with Stark on his side, creating the next big thing that would be sure to ensure HYDRA supremacy in the decades to come.

"Alright everyone. Engage Stealth Mode and take those babies for a test flight, yeah? Just make sure to stay relatively close to base."

Pulled from his thoughts by the end of Tony's spiel, Pierce frowns for a moment as Rumlow and the rest of the STRIKE Team take Stark's words as permission and depart from the aircraft hangar. Truthfully, he would have preferred they wait for him to dismiss them personally… actually, he would have preferred Stark not try to give them orders at all.

But what's done is done, and he's not about to take Tony to task over it and potentially ruin their relationship. Instead, plastering a smile across his face, the WSC Secretary reaches over and gives Tony a pat on his shoulder.

"Well done my boy, well done. You've truly outdone yourself this time, Tony. And thank you for taking the time to come down from New York to handle this personally. I'm sure that brand new tower of yours has you quite busy."

Giving him a broad smile and standing up a little straighter, the other man, always so starved for attention, nods sharply.

"Thank you sir. I'm glad you think so because there's a request I want to make for you. Now that the Iron Legion is operational and the STRIKE Team has their suits… I want to make a suit for Rhodey as well."

It takes Pierce a moment to place the name, at which point his eyebrows climb on his forehead.

"Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, you mean? Of the United States Air Force?"

Tony nods, looking nervous as he fidgets in place.

"Yes sir… I was hoping to use the suit as a gift to get me in closer with the United States Government… if I get your approval, I'm planning on having JARVIS set up an appointment with President Ellis himself. With your go ahead, I think that I can not only use this to forge closer ties with the President, but also put him in our back pocket entirely. Unless… President Ellis is already on board with HYDRA?"

Pierce considers whether Tony is fishing for a moment… but he's well past the point of being suspicious of Tony Stark at this point. Not when Zola vouches for him and his pet AI, and Tony has already done so much for HYDRA already. Sure, it's a little annoying that they can't get the man to part with his new female Asgardian friend, but Pierce knows that's probably because he's already fucking the alien bitch. Just how Tony is at the end of the day.

"… He's not, no. You think you can turn him?"

Tony winces at that and shakes his head.

"I'm not sure if I'm the right man for that job, sir. But do I think I can buy him? I think so, Mr. Secretary. I think putting Rhodey in a suit will give me, and therefore HYDRA, a whole lot more leverage within the United States Military."

He's probably right. In fact, he's definitely right. And yet, Pierce is still leaning towards rejecting the proposal. Especially since…

"You don't think that James Rhodes is HYDRA material, do you? It's one thing to put the STRIKE Team in the Iron Legion suits… we know they can be trusted. But if Rhodes can't be converted…"

Pierce trails off there, curious to see how Tony will respond. The other man grimaces and looks down at his tablet for a moment.

"… I know, sir. And no, I don't think he's HYDRA material, unfortunately. Part of the reason for why I want to give him the suit… is so that I can make it painless if we ever need to neutralize him, sir."

Now that gets the Secretary's attention. He searches Tony's face for any sign of deception for a long moment… but doesn't find it. Furthermore, Tony suddenly holds out his tablet.

"I… I've been working on something. Here."

Taking the tablet, Pierce begins looking over what Tony is talking about. His eyes widen further and further as they take in what they're looking at.

"This is…"

"It would all operate on an algorithm developed by Dr. Zola and JARVIS, sir."

Frowning, Pierce gives Tony a look.

"An algorithm?"

Nodding his head vigorously, Tony taps the tablet's screen.

"They're already starting to take over, sir. Algorithms that is. In ten years, the lives of every single citizen in every first world country on the planet will be run by algorithms. They'll basically be living off of them, even if they don't realize it. I'm proposing we get ahead of the pack, so to speak. Companies like Google are already starting to use algorithms to figure out how they can best monopolize their users and make the most money off of their true customers… the marketing agencies. But we… we can use it for more important things. We can use it to finally bring peace, safety, and security to the entire world."

Alexander Pierce's breath hitches at that last part. His eyes stare down at the SIX Helicarriers that Tony's plans call for. After a moment, he looks up at the younger man.

"Tony… the first Helicarrier isn't even finished yet. It'll be done in 2012. These are… I mean, the specs on these are insane."

Grinning sheepishly, Tony runs a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just perusing SHIELD files when I came across the first one. I recognized some of my dad's hands in the work, but honestly… I was just too inspired to stop myself. I call it Project Insight. I know it's probably still pretty far off… but what do you think?"

What did he think? In the end, Pierce decides to be honest.

"I think it sounds incredible, Tony. This Project Insight… it's exactly what HYDRA needs. And Helicarriers with Repulsor Technology instead of wind turbines… I didn't even know you could make Repulsors this big, Tony."

Unfortunately, the genius playboy is too smart for his own good.

"… I sense a but coming along, Mr. Secretary."

Smiling apologetically, Pierce sighs and hands the tablet back to Tony.

"It's going to be a tough sell to the WSC, Tony. Obviously they don't need to know about the algorithm or the true nature of Project Insight, but even just six Helicarriers is going to be hard to sell them on. The one we've been building is already going to be a pain in the ass to hide from the rest of the world as it is."

"Surely it's necessary, sir. We had an alien masquerading as a Norse God visit our planet several months ago. If he'd been anywhere but my base, the automaton that his sister sent after him would have destroyed a lot more than it did, and probably hurt people as well. Imagine if Thor had landed in a major city like Los Angeles instead… or even New York City."

A frown spreads across Pierce's face at that. He'd watched the video of 'The Destroyer' firing its energy weapon. He imagines for a moment if the damn thing had appeared in New York and swept that beam through the bottom floor of a skyscraper. It would have been nine-eleven all over again, but worse.

Frankly, Tony doesn't need to convince Pierce. He's well aware that there are dangerous entities out there who want to turn Earth into their playground. More aware than most. And he will stop at nothing to prevent them from sinking their claws into his planet. Even still…

"… I understand where you're coming from Tony. Truly I do. It's just the rest of the World Security Council that has to be convinced. I promise I'll start working on them. Like you said, we got lucky with our last alien visit and the next might not be so happy. In the meantime though… things like the Iron Legion will help protect us if anything happens. And… your friend Rhodey in his new suit as well, I suppose."

Tony lights up, just as Pierce knew he would upon receiving approval.

"Sir? You really mean it?"

Chuckling, Alexander Pierce tilts his head to the side, giving Tony an affectionate smile.

"You have a good head on your shoulders, Tony. I know you can use this to make inroads with the US Government that HYDRA hasn't managed quite yet. If you can lockdown President Ellis, get him on your side… well, it might be even easier to convince the others on the WSC that more Helicarriers are necessary. In the meantime, your friend gets to fly again."

Left unsaid are the words 'for as long as that lasts'. Tony had already made it clear that he knew there would come a time when he would have to put James Rhodes down. It doesn't need to be said out loud again, not really. It's that unspoken sacrifice that they all have to make sometimes. For the greater good, even close friends have to die.

One day, it would be Nick Fury on the chopping block and Pierce dreaded whenever that day came. He and Nick had known each other for over thirty years now. He considered the man one of his closest friends. Unfortunately, he also knew that Fury was in no way recruitable for HYDRA.

The SHIELD Director simply wasn't compatible with many of HYDRA's ideals. He was willing to get his hands dirty, he was willing to do a lot of things and compromise plenty of his morals to get the job done… and yet, he would balk at the thought of going that final step that Pierce knew they would have to one day take.

To truly bring peace, prosperity, and order to Earth and the human race, sacrifices would have to be made. Nick Fury and James Rhodes would be two of those sacrifices.

Reaching out, Pierce offers Tony his hand and the two of them shake for a moment.

"Excellent work, Tony. Keep it up and keep me informed of how things go with the President. Hail HYDRA."

"Hail HYDRA, sir."

The rest of the World Security Council would balk at the expenditure necessary for six more Helicarriers, but having seen the specs on them, Pierce knew he had to have them. And if they were going to give Tony's algorithm some real teeth, they would need to get serious.

He'd start working on his fellow council members. And if some needed to be replaced so that they all saw reason… then so be it.

-x-X-x-

A/N: The bones of Project Insight are introduced. Pierce is impressed. If only he knew...

Next time we get to see Tony really flex his growing influence and power as he has a meeting with Rhodey and President Matthew Ellis.

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