Soon, we were all dressed in our costumes, Rhodey joining us with Tony. Fury waited until we were all suited up before walking towards the conference room.
I felt pretty badass walking through the halls with the group. There's an energy when you walk with superheroes like that all in costume, something I imagined groups of cosplayers felt something close to. We went in a sort of lose triangle formation. Iron Man and Captain America behind Fury on his right and left sides, respectively. Falcon was behind Captain America, War Machine behind Iron Man. Bringing up the rear was Black Widow and Hawkeye, with Dial, me, in-between them.
It hadn't been as clear as right then that I was a superhero now. Dial. It had just been a random codename. Even my fights, as desperate as they had been at times, just felt like fights. Why would the scale change my feelings on it? But now, walking among the greats, having SHIELD agents and personnel watch us as we walked by, their eyes filled with awe... it was pretty cool, but also-
“This is so weird,” Sam noted to me as I walked closer to him.
“I know,” I replied. “I mean, it's also kinda awesome, but...”
My fellow newbie and I shared a glance and nodded when we saw we understood the same thing. It was cool, but it was also kind of alienating. Ironically so, considering the Omnitrix.
We walked like that until we reached our destination, another conference room. This one was bigger than the last by a wide margin. And it was full of people and cameras, all surrounding a massive table in the center of the room. I took them all in, trying to remember who was who.
The World Security Council, all of them sans Gideon Malick, who had gone into hiding when he'd been revealed to be HYDRA, and Alexander Pierce who was now imprisoned. Four of them, Singh, Rockwell, Hawley, and Yen, gave Natasha and Clint grateful nods, presumably for the two saving those members lives.
Phil Coulson, Victoria Hand, Richard Gonzales, Tomas Calderon, and Jennifer Weaver sat in a line. They all seemed friendly enough.
There were also several holographic screens around the table. One had Maria Hill, clearly broadcasting and watching from the Triskelion. Another showed Matthew Ellis, President of the United States, an older man with graying brown hair and piercing blue eyes. The other screens also showed world leaders from other countries. England, Russia, France, China, Japan, Egypt, India, Pakistan, the whole UN was there. Fury circled around to the head of the table, the seat left open for him, and we followed. Two other seats were open next to it, and Steve and Tony took those. There was a bit of nervousness in the room when Tony's seat let out a few creaks of protest under the weight of his armor, but it held. The rest of us stood behind them facing the rest of the room. I blinked when I realized that the way we had entered had me standing directly behind Nick, Natasha and Rhodey on my right, Clint and Sam on my left. I crossed my arms and tried to look professional.
Coulson was looking at Steve and Tony apologetically. Steve kind of smiled sadly, while Tony let the impassive look of his helmet speak for itself. The Council sitting on the other side of the table eyed us. The whole room stilled.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Fury said simply. “I'm not going to sugarcoat this. We are at war. At war with an enemy that has been hiding within our ranks like a parasite, chewing away at us. They were our friends, our fellow soldiers, even our leaders,” Rockwell nodded firmly, scowling at the thought of Malick and Pierce, or so I guessed. “HYDRA. An old enemy, one we'd thought beaten. They tried to use helicarriers like the very one we are all standing on to finally take control of the world,” I suddenly realized why Fury had chosen to use one of the helicarriers for this meeting. “Luckily, with the help of many of you, SHIELD has stopped them, and now we have them on the run. HYDRA isn't finished though, make no mistake. Despite the Hercules app, despite agents, military, and law enforcement all over the world hunting them down, HYDRA is fighting back. They're desperate. And desperate people tend to reach for weapons they would never use otherwise,” Fury held up a hand when several of his captivated audience began to speak. “I won't mince words either. While we may be holding up well, SHIELD is in shambles. Not just that, but HYDRA had its people everywhere. I've had reports of government officials, computer technicians, CEO's, and even a coffee barista with easy access to a Russian diplomat's daughter, all found out and arrested. We can't simply move on from this. SHIELD and HYDRA are teetering on the brink. I say we get ourselves together before they can.”
“What exactly are you proposing?” Councilperson Hawley asked seriously.
“I agree,” a person from one of the screens, the Russian president, said. “What is it you want, Fury?”
“Oh, it's not just me,” Fury looked over at Steve.
Rather than being put on the spot, Steve was ready. “We've all come to a decision. Many of us agree, that SHIELD, as it was, can no longer stand. We can't simply put it together again. SHIELD... it's done. And something new has to take its place.”
The room exploded. Coulson stared at Steve and Fury as though they had broken his heart. Hand was shouting at Fury, before turning on Rockwell. President Ellis was trying to speak, but he was drowned out by the Chinese President shouting in his language as Jarvis provided subtitles. The various SHIELD agents around the room shared in the shouting.
Fury raised a hand. I pressed down on the Omnitrix. I grew up several feet, grey fur sprouted across me, muscles rose across my form, my fingers became claws, and my mouth became a muzzle.
“Blitzwolfer! ▅▂▃▄▄▅▅▂▂▃▅▂▃▅▃▃▄▄▅!”
It was hard to control a howl like mine to just be pure noise, rather than destroying the room but I managed to keep my long cry in control. When I was done, there were a lot of people staring in shock, but no one, not even Fury and those close to me, was deaf. I glared around the room for a moment as Steve began to speak again.
“This is necessary,” he said softly. “SHIELD was compromised in a way no intelligence apparatus ever has before. We have resources, people, and allies... but we need to rebuild. Not just to fight HYDRA either.”
“What are you going to do,” Tony said, drawing attention. “The next time someone as smart as me shows up, and one of the Avengers can't stop him?”
“Or if the next guy who gets a watch like mine,” I added. “Isn't as nice?”
“What will happen,” Fury asked, leaning forward into to rest his chin on his knuckles, his one eye panning around the room. “When someone like Loki shows up again, and Thor isn't around to stop him... But more than that. Who will protect those who suddenly find themselves with gifts they can't understand?”
“What do you mean?” Tomas asked, confused.
“The world is becoming full of people like us,” Steve said. “People with gifts, whether exceptional intelligence, talent in combat, aliens like Thor, or those who have been given gifts due to circumstance beyond their control, like Banner.”
“You want to protect people like that?” One of the leaders said in disgust. “Or like that... damned wolf?”
I held back a growl.
“People,” Natasha said, drawing the room to her. “That's the keyword. They're people. We're not saying we don't arrest people who do wrong. But we need to do more than just catalog people with abilities and tell them to sit tight and do nothing. We need to protect them from those who would do them harm, who would exploit them.”
“People like Bucky Barnes,” Tony said, surprising me. He didn't look around when those of us who knew the deeper implications of his words stared at him. He simply let that enigmatic mask keep him hidden.
“Or Carl Creel,” I added. “People like me. We know HYDRA can brainwash people, that Loki has done it.”
“Not just him,” Coulson said. “An Asgardian named Lorelei appeared on Earth a while back. We managed to stop her, but if she managed to control someone with powers...”
“Isn't that more of a reason to just stop people like that?” the Russian president asked. “Prevent them becoming a risk?”
“Not when that person is innocent,” Clint said. “We don't believe people should be punished for the crime of being different. Some of these people just want normal lives. Some come from tough situations, or will want to protect others.”
“We need to be more than just the wall between the world we think of as normal and the world we think of as weird,” Steve leaned forward. “That line doesn't exist anymore. It hasn't existed since I stood in New York City fighting alongside a Norse god and a man in a power suit against aliens coming out of a portal. The world is not normal, but we can still protect it. Keep the innocent safe, no matter where they come from.”
Now it was my turn. I leaned forward, over Fury. Everyone looked at me, the werewolf standing massively as my eyes glared at the audience. “And if HYDRA, if aliens or even gods come here again, trying to exploit, rule, or kill us, then wewill stop them. Earth will be defended, and all of our people as well.”
“This isn't a threat,” Fury clarified, not worrying about the wolf who was looming above him. “But we are telling you what we believe we need to do. Together, we can protect this world. But SHIELD needs to be rebuilt to do it. With all the damage HYDRA has done to us...”
I looked around. We'd aimed for drama, for shock and awe to convince the room we were right. From the looks of it, it worked. Some people were still not on board. Coulson still looked as though we'd killed his puppy, though Fury had told us he had some ideas about that.
Councilperson Rockwell leaned forward. “I think, we might need to talk about this for a moment longer. But personally, I agree,” he ignored the looks some in the room gave him. “I assume you have a proposal.”
Fury leaned back in his chair. “X. Show 'em what we got.”
“Of course sir,” the former VI said. Holographs appeared in front of all the people around the table, and I could see dignitaries on the screens around us being given tablets by their assistants.
“What you see there are just the bare bones of what I've written up,” Fury said simply.
“Wait, is this real?” President Ellis said, looking up from his tablet. “You're stepping down as Director?”
Everyone looked at Fury. He smiled a very sour and sad smile. “Of course I am. No matter what happens, I will be the one who is blamed for this.”
“That's not true,” Hand said, her eyes soft behind her glasses. “None of us realized or suspected anything for years.”
“It doesn't matter,” Fury said confidently. “I was head of SHIELD when it was revealed that HYDRA infiltrated. And that's okay. I don't mind stepping down for someone new to take the reins and I will not let my predecessors be blamed for this. I will step down,” he smirked. “Plus, I like the idea of history knowing me as the last Director of SHIELD. Holds weight.”
Fury wasn't telling the whole story, of course. Just because he wouldn't be in charge didn't mean he was planning to stay out of the fight. But none of those he'd confided in said a word, me included. It was all part of the plan.
“Then who will replace you?” the British Prime Minister asked.
“That's what we'll decide,” Fury said. “I have a list of candidates. But first, before I step down, let's figure out the new rules, shall we?”
I held back a groan when I realized I'd have to stand for a while they spoke. Still, we were on our way.
------
January 13th, 2014
Later, the meeting was still going on. And by later, I meant I had left at around 2:00 am as it continued to take a nap, only to wake up about four hours later to find they were still talking. With nothing to do, I took a shower, pulled my hair back, put on my super-suit, and went to one of the mess halls. The carrier had two, one of which was still being used as a makeshift brig for Creel and Bucky, since they're special needs meant the actual brig wouldn't cut it. Davida had been put in there with them. Later I'd have to see about possibly fixing it so the brig could hold superhumans, but I decided to just go to get some food in me.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
When I stepped into the room, everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at me. I blinked at the sudden attention and waved. “How's it going?”
A SHIELD agent waved back weakly.
I went to join the line for food. After a moment, people stopped looking at me, though glances were still thrown at me, especially at the Omnitrix. The line moved very quickly, people simply grabbing the various breakfast foods as fast as they could from the buffet style set up. Feeling a bit ravenous, I grabbed a bagel, a doughnut, some eggs, and, feeling a bit nostalgic, was happy to see someone had made smoothies, of which I grabbed a strawberry one.
I went to an empty table and sat down, eating quickly. Once finished, I grabbed another plate, then sat down to continue.
“Damn,” someone said as they sat to join me. “You can sure put it away, can't you?”
I looked up to see Sam and gave him a grin around a mouthful of turkey bacon. “I haven't eaten in a while dude.”
“Same,” Sam said, wearing his costume just like me. He swiped my doughnut and chuckled at the glare I gave him for it. “Been a wild couple of days, huh?”
“That's putting it lightly,” I admitted. “Kinda weird not needing to run anywhere for a bit.”
Sam smirked at that. We ate in silence for a bit, ignoring the looks we got dressed in our costumes, Sam with his jetpack and me with my Omnitrix. In fact...
“You don't have any clothes here, either?” I asked Sam.
He nodded. “Yeah. And the SHIELD stuff they had just doesn't feel right somehow, with everything that's going on.”
That was true. Somehow, with all the discussion on what to do next, wearing SHIELD clothing felt weird.
“Um, excuse me?” Sam and I looked up to see Fitz and Simmons looking at us. The British duo was standing with trays of their own, both smiling nervously. Simmons, the one who had spoken, waved at the empty table. “Um, I'm Jemma Simmons, I work with Agent Coulson.”
“I'm Leo Fitz, and uh, I work with her,” Fitz said nervously. “Well, I mean, we both work for Agent Coulson, we just- Do you mind if we sit with you?”
“Sure, no problem,” I said. “If Sam doesn't mind.”
“Go for it,” Sam said.
Grinning eagerly, Fitz-Simmons sat down, Fitz next to me, Simmons next to Sam. Sam and I continued to eat. When we realized they weren't eating, we looked at the pair.
Fitz was staring at Sam's wingpack and Simmons was staring at my Omnitrix. When they realized they'd been caught, Simmons laughed nervously.
“I'm so sorry,” she said. “It's just your weapons are so fascinating!”
“Yes, I was researching your wingpack,” Fitz said excitedly. “And I noticed that you could increase the rigidity flexibility ratio by changing the material to carbon fiber!”
“Yeah, Tony said something about that,” Sam said, apparently not knowing what to do about Fitz's enthusiasm.
“Tony Stark said that?” Fitz asked excitedly, turning to Simmons. “Did you hear that?”
“Yes, yes, you said the same thing another genius did,” Simmons said dismissively, but with a very fond smile that Fitz returned. “But that,” she pointed at the Omnitrix. “What is it? How does it work?”
I looked at the Omnitrix, then at Fitz and Sam. Sam shrugged. “Hey, I'm curious too, man.”
Fitz nodded in agreement.
“Well, all right,” I swiped my doughnut back from Sam and took a bite. Swallowing that, I was about to speak when Simmons interrupted me when she saw more people walk into the room.
“Wait,” she said excitedly. “Skye, Trip! Over here!”
Sam and Fitz looked over as well. The pair walked over to join us. Trip had a wide smile on his face as he sat, Skye looking less excited.
“Look at you two, sitting with real Avengers now.”
“More reserve Avengers,” I admitted, Sam nodding.
“Still pretty cool,” Skye said.
“He... what is your name?” Simmons asked me. “I mean, I know they call you Dial, but...”
At her leading pause, I answered. “It's Mahmoud.”
“Yes,” Simmons said. “He was going to tell us about the watch!”
“Omnitrix,” Sam corrected for me. “He's really specific about that.”
“Wait,” Skye asked. “You're the guy who made that giant diamond at the Triskelion?” when I nodded, she looked at Sam. “What was it like flying through that thing?”
“Whoa, wait!” Simmons said hurriedly. “I want to hear about the watch first.”
I looked at Sam. He smirked at the lost look on my face. “You first, man.”
Sighing, I put down my food and held out the watch. “Okay. First off, I don't know who gave this to me or why,” I mean, I knew who, but explaining Professor Paradox's dickery was too much trouble.
“Oh...” Simmons seemed disappointed.
“But the watch imprinted its history into me,” I said, Fitz-Simmons seeming to perk up at that. “So I know who created it. Azmuth, an alien scientist.”
“Was he a famous weapon designer?” Fitz asked.
“...Not intentionally,” I leaned back and sighed sadly. “So, look. Azmuth was... well, he was brilliant. Smarter than any person in three galaxies, and more creative to boot. While his whole species, the Galvan people, were naturally more intelligent than almost any other species, he had this spark that none of the rest could match. But he had something even better than that. He was in love.”
Simmons, who had been listening avidly, suddenly smiled softly at that. Fitz looked over at her and smiled as well.
“The girl he loved was a scientist as well, a woman named Zennith, and someone he cared for deeply. One day, he went out on a date with her, and they saw the planets align in the skies above. When they aligned, Azmuth was inspired. 'What if,' he thought to himself, 'I created a weapon that could tap into the fundamental forces of the universe. A weapon powered by existence itself.' The thought consumed him, and he spent all of his time creating it.”
“And that's when he created the Omnitrix?” Fitz asked.
“No,” I answered. “He created Ascalon, a sword.”
“What?” Trip asked, confused. “All that build up for a sword?”
“Elegant, isn't it,” I asked. “All the power of the universe, in something so small. Zennith tried to warn him as he created it, but he ignored her, obsessed with creating his masterpiece. So, she left. And he never noticed.”
Simmons seemed crestfallen while Fitz was thoughtful.
“Azmuth finished Ascalon, and a warrior stole the weapon, hoping to use it to stop an eons-long civil war between the many factions on his homeworld. And when Azmuth saw the destruction of that world, saw how his creation turned a planet into an asteroid field with a single swing, he was devastated. Only then, did he realize what he had done, that he had sacrificed Zennith for nothing.”
I was really getting into the story now. “So Azmuth hid Ascalon away and dedicated himself to peaceful sciences. He wanted to apologize, and he started on a creation that would show how sorry he was. Hoping that she would see how he had changed and one day she would return to him.”
“The Omnitrix,” Skye said, likely figuring out where this was going.
“It's not a weapon, not really,” I extended my hand out. “It's a tool meant for peace. Imagine. Being able to walk a mile in other species shoes. To understand them because, in a way, you are them. An ambassador who understood all people, who could stand in their defense without judgment. But that was only part of it.”
“Zennith,” Simmons took hold of my wrist, staring at the Omnitrix. “Azmuth wanted to prove he had learned his lesson. To prove he cared.”
“Romantic, right?” I said sarcastically. “Instead, Azmuth failed. He made a tool for peace, and someone saw its potential for a weapon.”
“Yeah,” Fitz said sadly. “That fits. Anytime someone just wants to advance science, someone else sees a shiny new bomb.”
“That's part of why I like the idea of SHIELD restructuring itself,” I admitted, gently pulling my wrist. “There are peaceful aliens out there. Ones like the Asgardians. Making alliances with them, furthering Azmuth's dream... I've done good work patrolling in New York City, and I want to do that later. But making the world, and possibly beyond, a better place is nice too.”
“Oh, now that's a question!” Fitz said. “Can you turn into Asgardians? Like Thor?”
“Now that would be awesome,” Skye said. “I mean, Thor is just...” Skye sighed. “So dreamy.”
“Skye,” Simmons said, sounding scandalized, a blush on her face.
“No, she's right,” I admitted. “I mean, we've all seen the pictures, and I'm comfortable enough in my sexuality to admit Thor is hot.”
We all thought about that for a moment.
“Well,” Trip said, shaking his head. “Now that you mention it, you two were in on this whole idea to rebuild SHIELD right? I mean, you were in on it from the start?”
“Well, yeah,” I said. “One of my aliens even created the Hercules app.”
Fitz and Skye seemed to become very focused on me all of a sudden. Fitz spoke first. “Is there... is there any chance that the app can make a mistake?”
“Fitz,” Skye said, sounding sad and frustrated.
“No, I mean, if it made some miscalculation, or discovered someone was not actually HYDRA, maybe?”
I was already pulling out my phone. I placed it on the table, activating the Hercules app. “Who was it you're asking about?”
“...Grant Ward,” Fitz said hesitantly.
I opened his file. “Okay, Grant Ward. Recruited by John Garrett after he was arrested for trying to kill his parents and oldest brother in a fire. HYDRA is very detailed in it's filing so...” I sighed. I'd already known what I'd find. I passed my phone over to Fitz, who looked at it desperately. He flipped through the files, one by one, ignoring the pitying look Simmons was giving him.
“Fitz,” Skye said.
“It's not true,” Fitz said, his voice wavering. “There must be something, right? Something, some proof. He didn't just die a traitor, there has to be some mistake, some reason-”
“Fitz!” Skye yelled. “Ward was a traitor, okay!? He got what he deserved!”
The cafeteria froze. Skye was breathing heavily. Fitz stared at her.
After a moment, he tossed my phone back to me and stood up, walking away very quickly. Simmons went to follow, but Trip put a hand on her shoulder.
“Give him time, girl,” he said softly.
Skye groaned, putting her face in her hands. “I shouldn't have done that.”
“Don't worry about it,” Trip said. “We're all dealing with betrayal today.”
Looking around, I could see he was right. None of the SHIELD agents surrounding us seemed confused. Just understanding.
“So uh,” I said. “Maybe we should meet up later?” I asked. “I know Tony wanted to talk to me about something? Invite Fitz along, we can all hang out.”
“Not me,” Trip said easily. “I'm meeting a friend.”
“I'll try to get Fitz to come,” Simmons said. “I know he'll be excited.”
“And I'll go too,” Skye said. “Maybe I can apologize then?”
“I don't suggest it,” Sam said. “Stuff like that... It takes time, not apologies. Maybe talk him through it, but the fact is you were right.”
“Well, maybe apologize for yelling,” Trip corrected. “But yeah. Give him time.”
“You should still come through,” I added. “We're supposed to be doing something important, apparently. Although he said we were meeting on the Bus.”