"Who are you people?" Jill's expression remained vigilant as she faced the well-dressed young man with a gentle smile and his armed entourage.
"We're from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. I'm Coulson, and we're here to help you." Hearing this introduction, Daniel Davis took a closer look at the man. If he hadn't introduced himself, Daniel wouldn't have recognized this as Agent Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D.
"The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division?" Jill frowned. The name sounded impressive, encompassing defense, offense, and logistics, but it was the first time she'd heard of such an organization.
This wasn't due to Jill's ignorance. Before superheroes became publicly known, S.H.I.E.L.D. operated very discreetly. Most people, except for a select few, had no idea what the organization did.
Of course, S.H.I.E.L.D. was still officially known by its full name. Daniel hadn't paid much attention to it before.
"Can we discuss this somewhere safer?" Seeing Jill's skepticism, Coulson understood but didn't offer any explanation. Some things were simply not explainable at the moment.
"There are some children in the basement." Considering the current state of Raccoon City, Jill agreed to leave.
As for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, Jill assumed it was similar to the FBI or CIA.
Every country has numerous agencies, and unless one specializes in researching them, even insiders can't know them all, especially such a seemingly covert organization.
"Children, understood." Coulson ordered his team to assist immediately.
"Kid, these aren't toys for you to play with." Before boarding the plane, Coulson confiscated all of Daniel's weapons, including the military knives.
Coulson found it odd that the boy had so many bullets. Besides two pistols and two military knives, Daniel's leg pouches, waist pouches, and chest pockets were filled with magazines.
Seeing Coulson's surprised expression, Daniel turned away silently. He couldn't exactly explain that it was an aftereffect of playing Resident Evil—running out of bullets at a critical moment was the worst.
"Prepare for the children." Once everyone was on board, Coulson contacted the base via radio.
From the plane's window, Daniel saw the full extent of Raccoon City's devastation—a sea of fire and smoke.
Numerous helicopters and a few Quinjet fighters patrolled the skies, while S.H.I.E.L.D.'s special action teams advanced on the ground.
Compared to Umbrella's squads and military special forces struggling in battle, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s teams were unstoppable.
This was due to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s superior weaponry and equipment.
The zombie dinosaur that had caused heavy casualties was vaporized by a single energy beam.
Many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on the ground wielded energy weapons.
This wasn't some movie or TV show where powerful equipment went unused. Nick Fury was a pragmatist.
During World War II, under Captain America's leadership, the Howling Commandos defeated HYDRA, and most of HYDRA's advanced weapons were confiscated by the Strategic Scientific Reserve, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s precursor.
HYDRA had energy weapons as far back as WWII, and their technology had only advanced since then.
The formation of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division was largely due to these energy weapons. After the war, these spoils of war became highly coveted.
Such dangerous weapons couldn't be distributed randomly. Thus, the big five powers decided to form a joint organization to guard these weapons.
Nick Fury was practical. Although S.H.I.E.L.D.'s regulations prohibited the casual use of these weapons, the situation in Raccoon City warranted their deployment.
"Die, monster." In Umbrella's underground lab beneath the Raccoon City Police Department, Barton coldly remarked as he watched the mutated William fall into a massive furnace due to an arrow explosion.
"Natasha, how's it going on your end?" Barton asked through his earpiece.
"I'm busy. Call back later." Hearing the sounds of fighting through the earpiece, Barton was surprised. He knew Natasha well—she was one of the top agents. He hadn't expected her to encounter such a tough opponent here.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. I thought you were dead, yet here you are, joining them. What a name." Ada Wong smirked as she forced Natasha back and shook her head.
"Ada Wong, I didn't expect to see you here. Hand over the virus. You know the consequences." Both being top figures in their circles, they had heard of each other despite never meeting.
"This? Sorry, but you don't get to decide." Ada Wong prepared to leave with the G-virus, but Black Widow wouldn't give her the chance. Seizing the moment Ada retreated, Natasha attacked again.
Ada didn't engage this time, instead speeding up her retreat. She drew her grappling gun, firing it at the upper stairs and swiftly ascending.
"Barton, it's Ada Wong. She escaped with the virus, heading to sector C3." Watching Ada, Natasha immediately reported.
"Got it."
"Don't shoot, I'm a cop reporting for duty." Leon and Claire, having just entered Raccoon City, were surrounded by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Seeing their weapons, Leon quickly dropped his handgun.
Leon and Claire had good timing, arriving after S.H.I.E.L.D. had intervened.
In a newly established base outside Raccoon City, Daniel, after a series of checks, was finally released.
As he exited, he saw Sherry being escorted by a stern-looking female agent. Daniel approached but was blocked by two agents.
"Sherry! Sherry!" Daniel called out loudly.
Hearing him, Sherry turned, recognized Daniel, and, after a nod from the agent, ran towards him.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but my parents..." Mentioning her parents, Sherry burst into tears, clinging to Daniel. The lab experience had been a nightmare, and she had been holding it in. Seeing a familiar face, she couldn't suppress her emotions any longer.
"Time to go." Soon, the stern female agent approached and spoke coldly.
"May, let them stay a bit longer." Before Daniel could speak, Coulson appeared.
"The Director is waiting." The agent remained as cold as ever.
"Melinda May, huh? Is this what she's like now?" Daniel thought, "Where are you taking her?"
"That's not for you to know."
"No wonder they call her 'The Cavalry'." Daniel muttered under his breath.
"Don't worry, she's just going for a checkup. It's for her own good. You'll have plenty of chances to meet again." Coulson reassured with a gentle smile.
"Humph." May snorted, clearly disdainful of Coulson's attitude.
"Joining S.H.I.E.L.D.? That might be good for her." Watching Sherry leave with May, Daniel mused.
Joining S.H.I.E.L.D. was better than joining the FBI as in the original story. Under May's supervision, Sherry would likely undergo fewer experiments.
May was cold but had a warm heart. The current her was different from her future self because she hadn't yet experienced the events that would change her.
"Hey kid, interested in joining us? Then you could see her often." Just as Daniel was about to leave, Coulson called out.
"Huh?" Coulson's offer stunned Daniel.
"I asked around about you. We have a place where you can study." Coulson continued, possibly intrigued by the amount of ammo Daniel had carried, prompting him to inquire about him with Jill, Rebecca, and the orphanage staff.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy?" Daniel instantly thought of the academy, where agents like Fitz and Simmons came from.
"Consider it. You might want to talk to Rebecca. She agreed to join us." Coulson added.
"Rebecca joined S.H.I.E.L.D.? Well, this changes everything."
___________________
Read Ahead
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"Join S.H.I.E.L.D.? No way. I'd either end up as Hydra or a corpse." Watching Coulson leave, Daniel Davis shook his head in resignation.
He knew all too well what went on inside S.H.I.E.L.D., especially the field operations division Coulson wanted him to join. It was a Hydra hotbed. Among the various departments in S.H.I.E.L.D., the field ops team had the highest number of Hydra infiltrators, with loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agents being a rare minority. Hydra avoided fully populating the team with their agents to minimize the risk of exposure. Otherwise, the entire field ops could easily have been a Hydra unit.
Other departments within S.H.I.E.L.D. were comparatively safer.
Had Coulson offered him a position in the tech division, Daniel might have considered it. The tech division had the fewest Hydra agents and generally didn't involve field missions, making it a safer choice.
Moreover, this division provided opportunities to access the Tesseract, the Space Stone, which fascinated Daniel. He was curious about whether his Op-Op Fruit abilities would work on the Space Stone.
The Infinity Stones' immense power was evident from the transformations of ordinary people into beings on par with Thor, as seen with Captain Marvel and Scarlet Witch.
"Thinking about that is a bit premature." Daniel dismissed his thoughts about the Infinity Stones. For now, they were far beyond his reach.
"Recruiting Rebecca into S.H.I.E.L.D., I wonder if they also recruited Jill, Chris, and Leon. If Chris and Leon joined S.H.I.E.L.D., that would be interesting." Daniel chuckled at the thought.
Chris and Leon would likely join the field ops team, which would be a nightmare for Alexander Pierce. Chris was notorious for his lethal impact on his own teams. If Chris took on more missions, he might decimate S.H.I.E.L.D.'s field ops team, causing Pierce to panic and potentially expose himself prematurely.
As for Leon, the vehicle destroyer, Pierce's Insight Helicarriers might self-destruct if Leon so much as touched them.
"That could really happen. Too bad I'm not a high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. official; otherwise, I'd definitely recruit them."
Boom.
Daniel's thoughts were interrupted by a loud explosion. Turning, he saw a massive mushroom cloud rising above the mountains.
"A nuclear blast? That was quick." The sight of the mushroom cloud made it clear.
The devastation in Raccoon City and the transmission of virus-related information to the authorities had swiftly led to the decision to nuke the city.
The explosion drew everyone's attention at the temporary base. Many survivors, seeing the mushroom cloud, began to cry, mourning the loss of their home and loved ones.
In the aftermath of the initial chaos, survivors gathered to demand answers from the government.
This incident clearly wasn't normal. Survivors had seen zombies with their own eyes, and some had witnessed their loved ones turning into zombies.
"A nuclear plant meltdown caused the anomaly." The official explanation came quickly, nearly making Daniel laugh.
Even the nuclear explosion was attributed to the nuclear plant. The general public wouldn't know it was actually a government-initiated nuclear strike.
Umbrella Corporation had built a nuclear plant on the outskirts of Raccoon City, initially a benefit for residents due to lower electricity costs. Now, it was the scapegoat.
Comparing a city destroyed by a bioweapon virus to one destroyed by a nuclear meltdown, the latter was more palatable for the public. The government wouldn't reveal the truth, as it could lead to massive repercussions, potentially toppling the administration.
This explanation was bolstered by the precedent of the Chernobyl disaster, which also involved rumors of mutated creatures.
In the original timeline, even the president who attempted to reveal the truth about Raccoon City was assassinated, leading to another bioweapon outbreak.
"Rebecca, are you joining S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Daniel asked directly upon seeing Rebecca again. His use of "S.H.I.E.L.D." wasn't a slip; the acronym had been in use internally for years.
The full name, Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, was the official designation, but "S.H.I.E.L.D." was the much shorter and more convenient internal term. Efforts to officially rename the organization to S.H.I.E.L.D. had been stalled due to bureaucratic complications, requiring unanimous agreement from the founding nations.
"Yes, and you? Coulson must have spoken to you too," Rebecca replied.
"I'm not interested in becoming an agent," Daniel said.
"Neither am I," Rebecca laughed.
Rebecca hadn't initially planned to join S.H.I.E.L.D., but Coulson's offer was too tempting. She had joined S.T.A.R.S. to gain experience and never intended to stay long. As a genius, especially in biology, Rebecca preferred working in a lab.
No organization on Earth could match S.H.I.E.L.D.'s advanced equipment and generous funding. For a young scientist, joining another research institute would mean years of waiting for recognition. In S.H.I.E.L.D., she could immediately become a lead researcher, focusing on bioweapons recovered from Umbrella.
Given S.H.I.E.L.D.'s origins in the Strategic Scientific Reserve, Rebecca couldn't resist the offer.
Had Daniel not known the truth about S.H.I.E.L.D., he might have been swayed by Coulson's generous terms. Coulson had a knack for persuasion, maintaining good relationships with the Avengers for a reason.
In Daniel's view, Coulson would have been a fitting successor to Captain America if he hadn't died.
"Refusing Coulson means my next steps are uncertain." The destruction of Raccoon City meant the orphanage survivors would be dispersed.
Other city orphanages wouldn't match the quality of Umbrella's.
"I should have taken some money when I had the chance." Daniel muttered, looking toward Raccoon City. He had been too focused on survival to think about such things.
As the temporary base lifted restrictions, news of Raccoon City's fate spread worldwide, attracting swarms of journalists.
While mainstream media lamented the disaster, some reported the truth.
However, the truth was quickly buried under expert commentary and various rumors, including theories of alien invasions and experiments.
Umbrella Corporation became a defendant in the Supreme Court, blamed for the nuclear plant disaster. As the plant's builder, Umbrella had to take responsibility.
This wasn't Umbrella's only accusation. Some sought to expose the bioweapon research behind Raccoon City's destruction. Umbrella's stock plummeted.
With most evidence vaporized in the nuclear blast, survivors' testimonies alone couldn't prove Umbrella's bioweapon research. Umbrella's formidable legal team ensured that the bioweapon lawsuit failed for lack of evidence, abetted by the government's cover-up.
However, Umbrella admitted to possible mismanagement of the nuclear plant and offered compensation. Most survivors accepted the money, swayed by the lure of cash.
In such a scenario, the few who continued to protest had little impact.
Daniel could have received a substantial sum, enough for a top-tier education. But unexpectedly, an uncle appeared, claiming guardianship and the compensation money.
Daniel had no memory of this uncle, but government officials verified his identity.
The uncle arrived with a personal lawyer, securing twice the compensation. However, it seemed Daniel wouldn't see any of it.
"Interesting. Let's see what you're up to," Daniel thought, watching silently. The uncle lived in New York.
Without this uncle, Daniel would have likely stayed in Colorado. Now, he had a chance to go to New York.
___________________
Read Ahead
P@treon.com/Mutter
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