I piloted the Defiant towards the facility we'd be attacking. I felt a bit of tension. While this place wasn't going to be an insane risk to attack, it was also important. According to what we knew, HYDRA was using it as a necessary hub for refueling and resupplying. Davida's team had managed to sneak us a photo, which had been analyzed by BRIDGE personnel and was used to find the location. From there, Jarvis and X started analyzing it. We knew as much about the base as one could without actually living there.
“How's your movie watching going?” I asked the empty air.
“I'm enjoying it, sir,” X said over my comms. “I quite liked The Animatrix.”
“I wondered what you would think of it,” I said with a smile. “Especially of the Matrix as a whole.”
“I preferred the Ghost in the Shell manga and anime. But I still enjoyed them overall.”
“Any idea what you want to watch next?” I asked.
“Actually, I believe I'll take a break from movies for a week, sir. I'll be putting more time into literature and manga.”
Before I could respond, Bucky poked his head into the cockpit. He looked at me, then moved into the copilot's seat. I waited for him to speak. Bucky was doing well all things considered. When he was around Steve, he joked around, made fun of his friend, laughed. But he was still a former assassin working for redemption. So I waited as he thought of what he wanted to say.
“...You might end up killing again. Are you prepared for that?”
I thought of what to say to that. I no longer had the same bravado I had the last time. I'd spent time thinking about what I'd done, and every mission after I'd done what I could to stop myself from killing anyone.
But my role this time called for me to do serious damage. The Hulk and Dial, going in and smashing anyone in our way. People would likely die, in the same that even though everyone enjoyed giant monster fights, there was still the fridge logic of the thousands of people dying in the midst of the Kaiju fighting.
“I'm prepared as I can be,” I said at last. “I don't want to, and I'll try not to, but... I think the Graveyard got rid of any sympathy I have for HYDRA.”
The Graveyard. Where they tortured, tested, and experimented on 'failures' of HYDRA experiments going back decades, with the numbers going into the thousands. Considering how many people go missing worldwide, there may have been more. And when they were done, well... the Wendigo had to eat. The files I'd seen of what they had done would haunt me forever. HYDRA certainly did their Nazi roots proud.
I wasn't going to be the sort of person in love with carnage and killing. But the thought of HYDRA dying at my hands no longer made me reflect on a knife piercing through flesh. Instead, I thought of victims on hospital beds in a BRIDGE facility, crying as their painful prosthetic and animal limbs were being gently removed.
Bucky patted me on the shoulder awkwardly. “That's good. I mean, you shouldn't start to like it or anything, but, um...” he stopped and gave me the helpless look of a man used to all the moral sides of killing trying to figure out how to word them.
I smiled a bit at how hard he was trying to help a naive superhero like me. “Okay, so you know the plan?”
Professional Bucky came back in an instant. “Drop Hulk and you from above, War Machine and Defiant taking out any escaping aircraft. I'll go in with the hard drive, sneak into the facility while everyone focuses on you, insert the hard drive, defend it for as long as it takes for the virus to finish while Hulk and you destroy and engage enemy vehicles, personnel, and heavy weapons. Once done, rendezvous with the other team and see about our next target.”
It was actually chilling to hear Bucky bring out the assassin in him. I nodded. “Yep. Should be fun. Specially since they've got nothing but tanks and gunships. Small time stuff.”
“The worlds really changed when that kind of firepower is considered 'small time,'” Bucky noted.
“Cavemen probably had the same complaint once,” I joked. “Besides, Steve, Clint, and Hartley are still representing how strong the old school weapons can be in the right hands.”
Bucky frowned. “Yeah. Plus there are still assassins who use katanas and such. Guess a good knife will never really go out of style.”
“Katanas...” I said thoughtfully. The Hand, maybe?
Before I could consider that, the console in front of me began to beep, showing the location ahead. We were flying over forests, heading to a valley where the Air Force had nestled their base into. I don't know why it had been shut down, as the files I'd read hadn't focused on history as much as assets and targets, but it was now HYDRA owned.
“X, take over,” I said, rising up and moving into the back.
“Of course, sir,” X replied.
In the back, Rhodey and Bruce looked up at us. Bruce was wearing what looked like a purple skintight suit with some boots and armor over the chest and back, newly made yesterday, and was working on the War Machine suit with Rhodey, who was wearing his Air Force uniform despite technically now being a BRIDGE officer.
“How's she running?” I asked the pair.
“Like a dream,” Rhodey tapped the arms on the War Machine and watched as the right sprouted it's sonic cannon while the left sprouted a sword. He tapped them again and they pulled back into the armor. “At least until Tony finishes making the next one along with his armor.”
“We're almost there, by the way,” I said to Bruce. “You both ready?”
Bruce closed his eyes, breathing deeply, then opened them. “I think so... I thought about what you said, about using my anger while also keeping calm. Hopefully, we'll both be able to do that.”
“All right then,” I walked to the back, where the door began to lower as we flew through the air, Bruce following me. The base was below us by a few thousand feet, shadowed by the forested mountains around it. Hangers, tanks, Quinjets, and gunships could be seen from the air. There were some surface-to-air missile defense systems that weren't able to detect the Defiant. I could also see some giant tanker planes, the kind used to refuel aircraft in mid-flight. I pointed at one of them.
“I take the left, you take the right!?” I yelled over the wind rushing past us.
“Sounds good!” Bruce yelled back.
With that, I tapped my chest, my armor sprouting over my form and covering my head with my black helmet. Then I activated the Omnitrix, flipped through the menu for a bit until I got to the big guy. Then I jumped out of the floating Quinjet from thousands of feet in the air, Bruce joining me seconds later.
“Going hero!” I cried out as loudly as I possibly could as we fell together.
I pressed down the dial and changed as Bruce shifted, both of us gaining hundreds of pounds of muscle in an instant, Bruce's new armor growing along with him.
“Four Arms!” I yelled out happily.
Hulk gave me a thoughtful look as we fell before yelling as well. “HULK!”
I laughed at the idea of him copying me, and together we fell feet first into a pair of gasoline filled tanker planes, smashing through gray steel with a crack of metal shattering under our speed and weight. The smell of fuel filled the air, pouring across the pavement, covering the both of us in the stuff. I bent metal out of the way to exit the tanker, blinking fuel out of my eyes in time to see a HYDRA soldier in a black uniform staring at me.
“I'm here to speak to the manager?” I said with a grin.
She yelled out, raising her handgun and shooting me between the four eyes.
“Rude,” I grunted in annoyance, stepping out of the tanker and 'gently' tapping her in the head, sending her flying a good distance and rolling onto the ground. “Hulk! You okay!?”
The tanker plane next to mine split apart and a wet Hulk came tearing his way out. He landed next to me, looking up at me with a grimace.
“Tastes bad...”
“Well yeah buddy, it's fuel.”
The sound of tank treads rolling on pavement brought our attention towards the tarmac, where several tons of metal rolled towards us. Three tanks pointed their turrets at us, with several soldiers pointing their guns.
Hulk and I shared a look. Then we looked over at the tanks, me flashing my fangs. “They seem pretty brave. How about we give them a round of applause?”
Hulk grinned.
Together, we pulled our arms back.
“THUNDER-” I yelled.
“-CLAP!!!” Hulk cried out.
We slammed out palms together, and a hurricane burst out in front of us, sending the planes we'd smashed into flying to the sides. The powerful wind hit the soldiers and sent them flying as bullets scattered in the air from accidental trigger pulls, dozens of men flying.
The tanks were less affected, only get pushed back a bit.
So Hulk leaped on top of one, his eyes vaguely glowing green. “HULK SMASH PUNY TANK!!!”
Steel tore under green hands as he grabbed underneath the turret and pulled upwards, ripping the whole thing off the tank. Bullets bounced off Hulk's armor and skin as he jammed his fingers into the tank, tearing it in half before tossing them aside.
I grabbed another tank and lifted it high, laughing at the feeling of power as I lifted over 60 tons with all the stress of lifting a small rock. In the distance, I saw a gunship try to rise into the air, only for a black dot to fly in and blow it apart with repulsor beam. With a roar, I threw the tank in my hands at another then leaped for a Quinjet nearby.
The Quinjet had been about to lift off when I slammed into it, bringing it down to slam into the tarmac. The pilots inside stared up at my grinning face in horror.
“You guys aren't cleared for flight!”
I used my bottom two hands to dig handholds into the Quinjet and climb up the thing, getting to the wings. “Raaugh!” My upper arms swung into the wings on either side, steel, and electronics buckling under my fists. I unleashed punches like rain, tearing the wings off and leaving the Quinjet to spin into the ground.
Suddenly a shell slammed into the Quinjet's cockpit, sending me flying. I landed and rolled to my feet looking at the Quinjet I'd brought down. The cockpit had been blown out, leaving the pilots dead. A bloody hand was raised in the air, still dripping.
I spun to look at the tank that had fired at me, which turned its turret to face me, then fired.
Apparently, my reflexes were fast as hell. I caught the shell out of the air with my right upper arm, leaning back to withstand the force of the shot before stopping, standing to glare at the tank.
“You HYDRA punks have no loyalty, huh?” I squeezed down on the shell, ignoring as it exploded in my hand and sent a shockwave outwards. “Fine. I already knew you were assholes anyway.”
I leaped over to the tank, dodging the next shot it fired, and landed on it with a four-fisted punch that dented the front inwards as though a meteor had hit it. In the background, I could hear Hulk roaring as I tore into the tank in front of me. A Humvee flew by, followed by Hulk jumping to slam into a fighter jet and destroy. I roared in return, the two of us began the task of tearing the base apart. As we did, the Defiant flew in under cloak to drop a World War 2 vet where he could do the most damage.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
------
Matt Murdock/The Man in Blackmail
In a diner in Hell's Kitchen, Matt Murdock listened with a smile as his friend spoke.
“I can't believe you're still considering saying no!” Foggy said, his voice incredulous. “I mean, we will get to work with superheroes! They're going to pay us millions to do what we said what we'd do!”
Matt chuckled. “Well, yeah, it is very tempting, Foggy.”
“Tempting? I still have funny feelings in my pants thinking about the money they offered.”
Matt snorted in laughter, water spilling down his nose. Foggy grinned at the reaction of his friend before sobering, the sounds of his muscles shifting giving Matt an image of the reactions. “Seriously, Matt, what's wrong?”
“...” Matt thought about that for a moment.
In truth, the idea was exciting, for many reasons. Money to do nothing but work in Hell's Kitchen like they wanted, enough that they could take pro bono cases even. Money he could use to fund his 'other job.'
But the whole thing was too suspicious in a lot of ways. How did Mahmoud Schahed, the man who went by 'Dial', know about them? More importantly, how did Mahmoud know about his other identity?
Because he did. Everything about the deal screamed it, from how they'd been messaged out of the blue, the way Mahmoud's heartbeat had sped up as though he recognized him when he saw him, to the sheer amount of money being offered to two rookie lawyers with no cases of their own. He had no idea how he knew, considering 'blind' was enough to stave off suspicion, but he did. Was the deal Mahmoud's way of controlling him somehow? Bringing him into BRIDGE? Everyone knew that organization was taking in superhumans, and rumors on the internet said they were training them, with some conspiracy theorists claiming BRIDGE was building an army...
Matt couldn't 'see' everything about the deal... But part of him, his instincts, screamed to accept. Didn't mean he shouldn't be smart about this in case they were wrong.
“How about this?” Matt said at last. “Let me meet him on my own? I want to talk to him, find out what he's about.”
“Pff,” Foggy waved a hand dismissively, the air shifting with the movement to press against Matt's skin. “I bet you just want to get an autograph from Captain America, don't you?”
Matt chuckled. “I'm, uh, actually partial to Black Widow myself.”
“Of course you are because Matt Murdock can always spot the hottest girl in the room, even if he hasn't met her,” Foggy's eyes made the subtle sound that indicated a roll. “I bet you'd somehow end up dating her, too.”
“Foggy...”
“Oh don't you dare,” Foggy said, his voice mock-angry. “Matt Murdock and Natasha Romanov. Sounds like a match made in heaven.”
Matt laughed, rubbing his head. Foggy became serious once more.
“Be careful, Matt. I might want this deal, but you're right. This came out of nowhere. As much as I like the idea of working with superheroes, we might end up suing supervillains too. Which isn't exactly something law school trained us for,” Foggy smiled again. “More defending them actually... But if we have to say no, I'll support you. No matter how many superheroes tell otherwise.”
The blind lawyer from Hell's Kitchen focused on his friend for a moment. That was the thing about Foggy. Happy-go-lucky on the outside, the sort of person people thought of as soft. Then you backed him into a corner, and his humor became pointed, the steel beneath his softness revealed. There was a reason Marci Stahl found him so attractive after all.
“I'll be careful... Foggy Bear,” Matt teased.
Foggy raised his eyes to the sky. “Ugh! Will you never let me live that down?”
Matt grinned. “Not until Marci does.”
Foggy threw a sugar packet at his friend, Matt letting it him and pretending to be surprised while still smiling.
------
Agent Phil Coulson
Phil had an impression of Tony, one built up over long study and direct conversation. That impression was simple. 'Surprisingly complicated.' One would assume that was a vague description, but it was true.
People assumed, even with his relatively new status as a superhero, that Tony was a childish playboy. Childish? Sure, when he was relaxed. He'd snark, joke, pout, and act like a billionaire's kid. Until he no longer liked you. Suddenly his sarcastic comments and jokes became pointed, tearing people apart as they gaped. He wouldn't pout, but frown as he absorbed the information around him, and came up with a way to tear one apart. And those billions, in the end, hadn't been made by his father, no matter who claimed otherwise. His father may have given him incredible resources, but Tony's brilliance had brought Stark Industries to the incredible heights it stood at now. Anyone who assumed otherwise soon had that genius aimed at them.
And in the end, Tony was a killer. Not in the way Natasha or Bucky were. But he'd killed in combat, killed for the sake of others, killed out of rage. Push him far enough and others would find that out as well.
Tony was a mixture of things. Mature, childish, dangerous, genius, reckless, all of that somehow flowed in one man.
Which meant that when Tony ended up insisting he be in the same car as Phil, he wasn't that surprised.
In dark hours of the morning before the sun would rise, Tony sat in the passenger seat while the two waited in the park near the trail Audrey was known to run on.
“When was the last time you saw her?” Tony asked quietly.
“...About a week before I died, maybe?” Phil admitted. “She was preparing for a show, I think.”
“She misses you, you know that?” Tony said quietly.
“I know, Tony, I just... it'll hurt her. Even though I didn't have a choice, the fact I took so long to make contact afterward,” Phil sighed, his hands tightening on the steering wheel as he thought of Audrey.
“If it helps, I'm going to tell her anyways,” Tony shrugged at the glare he got. “What? You don't want the push?”
“You're a terrible therapist,” Phil decided.
“Bruce isn't any better,” Tony noted. They sat in silence for a while longer, watching the trail. “...What was it like? Dying. I mean, I've come close a couple of times. Had my heart stop, you know, but, uh... nothing real.”
“I don't really know. I don't remember anything about what happened after that... Fury told me I was the one who actually worked on the project, that I was the one who had it shut down... I still don't know if I can forgive him or May for that.”
“The scary one?” Tony asked.
A small smile appeared and died on Phil's face. “That's her. She apparently built my team to monitor me. To make sure I didn't go insane, all while she kept an eye on me. May lied to me. Even if it was for my own good, I don't know how to trust her.”
“Kinda hypocritical of you,” Tony looked over at him. “Getting mad about a spy for lying, especially considering you not telling anyone you were alive. And you know that you would have done the same thing, Coulson.”
Phil opened his mouth, then closed it. “...Damn it.”
“What?”
“I hate when you're right about something. You act so smug.”
Tony laughed, Phil shaking his head in amusement.
“...We'll protect her, okay? No matter what this guy does.”
“...Thanks, Tony.”
------
Frank Castle/The Punisher
Frank took a moment to marvel at how things had changed in his life. Just yesterday he'd been able to spend some time with his wife and kids, to see them and have a good night's sleep in his own home. And now, he was wearing armor more advanced than anything he'd ever had, allowing him to camouflage against the trees he was currently hiding behind like that Predator movie he'd watched as a kid. Not to mention the man next to him.
“Seeing any movement?” Captain 'Fucking' America asked him, camouflaged as well. It was a bit disturbing, hearing a voice come out of a clear shape in the air that could barely be seen.
“Nothing yet, sir,” Frank said, eyeing the forest along the path.
In truth, Frank had been disappointed in Steve at first. The man was built like a bodybuilder and had an almost carefree attitude Frank hadn't ever seen in a commanding officer before. He acted more like a fellow soldier, a pretty green one at that.
Then they were out in the field, and he seemed to transform into the perfect soldier every American knew him to be. Even now, standing next to him, Frank could barely believe the 'aw shucks' nice guy from earlier was the calm military commander in the forest right now.
“Punisher,” Captain America said. “Give me your assessment. If you were HYDRA, how would you aid Marcus Daniels?”
Frank thought about that for a moment. “...I don't know. I'm not used to all this superhero stuff, sir. Darkforce, repulsors, Hulk, aliens. I just point and shoot.”
“Take my word for it soldier. It's the same as any other war. The old tactics still apply, they just get... flexible. Think of Blackout as you would any heavy unit. HYDRA's target is Audrey, so...” the World War 2 vet trailed off.
Frank looked around the forest, switching between his visual aids, going from thermal to X-ray. He thought carefully.
“...Marcus will want to intercept Audrey, so he'll have HYDRA surround her. He's unstable, so instead of knocking her out and taking her with him, he'll try to talk it out. We don't know who's leading HYDRA's forces or how involved Marcus is with HYDRA. But if they are working together...” Frank pointed to the North. “They'll surround the area with some supporting teams. This whole thing is too showy, so they're probably trying to keep this guy happy by following his lead. If it was me, I'd send in a small team to kidnap her in the middle of the night, no one the wiser. Her apartment is unguarded, has been for the past two days, with only a basic alarm. Move in with three guys, with more on overwatch, inject her with a sedative while she sleeps, move her out of the window, take her home. The fact they're being this sloppy tells me that someone powerful but sloppy is in charge. Some fuck that doesn't know what he's doing, just what he wants."
“I know the type,” Captain America said, apparently undisturbed by Castle's cold assessment of the situation.
“As it is, they'll have most of their soldiers keep the rest behind Blackout to support him while also using him as protection, the only safe move while being this sloppy. Like a tank charging across the trenches with soldiers defending it. Same with the other one.”
“Other one?” Captain America asked.
“There will be one more,” Frank said, instinct guiding him. “If they can spare it. Another enhanced to help Blackout. If HYDRA is really gathering them to fight us off, they won't just risk sending one of them on their own. Another enhanced, one they feel can back this one up enough to keep them from being captured... It's risky. Riskier than I'd want to do. But I think it's what HYDRA will do. Just a hunch, sir.”
“...Might be true. What do you think, Clint?” Captain America asked.
A shadow above them shifted in the treetops. “He could be right.”
Silence filled the air a moment longer. Frank breathed quietly, grip tightening on his BCW, then loosening again. The wind blew through the trees and Audrey Nathan began her run.