Chapter 88: Spy Games Ch. 9
Iron Man 3
(Madrid, Spain)
I'm in a high rise condo overlooking a wonderful view as I lounge on the couch. My newest lady friend is asleep in the bedroom behind me after a very trying night so I'm just channel surfing, trying to decide how to spend my day today when I happen to come across a news channel with breaking news that's actually of interest to me for once.
I tune out the anchors voice and read the words on the screen, "Stark Malibu Home attacked, Attackers Thwarted in under a minute."
I blink at that, thwarted? Tony nearly died in canon. Had I changed this somehow? Too impatient to digest news this way I flip over to the internet google this shit and began to read. Then, I youtubed it and watched the attack on the official Stark channel, a video that had already garnered over two hundred million views in the last two days apparently.
I watch in high definition as the attack choppers race towards the house, one firing off an early rocket. And then I watch as Tony Stark comes flying out of the House wearing nothing but his repulsor boots, grabs the rocket with his bare hands, and flings it at the chopper that fired it.
They have no time to react, and the explosion rocks the other chopper from its own course, giving Tony time to speed towards it and fire the repulsors on the bottom of his boots directly into the cockpit glass at full power. It goes down into the ocean without another peep.
At some point during watching this, I'd begun grinning. I suppose I should have been angry. But all I could think was how absolutely badass that whole thing looked, and really, I couldn't be mad about this. I was more curious than anything. Reading further showed that the internet and the media believed Tony Stark had somehow recreated the famous Super Soldier serum that made Steve Rogers who he was today. It didn't look as if Tony had shown enough for anyone to connect his new abilities to me.
Smiling, I pull out my phone and make a call. Moments later the line is picked up and Tony's voice comes over, "Vali! Just the alien I wanted to talk to."
I'm actually even more surprised, I'd been rather expecting Tony to ignore my calls and force me to end my vacation and head back to America to find him face to face, "Tony… I just watched the assault on your Malibu home. An inspiring feat of heroics."
"Yeah, I took some of your blood and killed myself. You were right, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. I've never felt better and now I've got immortality to look forward to. That's not important right now. What else does your blood do that you haven't told us Vali?"
I raise an eyebrow at the outright bluntness. Tony's emotions are clearly amplified right now, but I'm surprised that he sounds angry at me, especially after everything worked out so well… unless… "You turned Pepper, didn't you Tony?"
"Of course I fucking did! I love her and I'm not going to experience immortality alone just because you seem to enjoy it that way! Now, what the hell is wrong with her? Does the change react differently in women?"
I smile now that I fully understand what happened. Tony got ahold of my blood and used it on himself to gain immortality, probably because of the PTSD I remember he was supposed to have after the Battle for New York. Then, after he'd decided it was amazing and great being like me, he'd further experimented by using his own blood on Pepper. That meant only one thing, "It's called a sire bond Tony."
"A sire bond… Vali are we vampires? Have you been fucking with SHIELD and the rest of us this entire time?"
I roll my eyes at that, "Tony, do you burn in the sun? No? Then you aren't a vampire. That said, your vampires are clearly based on some aspects of my species, with added weaknesses so humans could feel like they had a chance. In essence, I am your sire, and you are Pepper's. What Pepper is feeling for you now is a combination of gratitude for the gift you've given her, combined with the love she already felt for you, multiplied by a hundred."
He's silent, so I placate him, not wanting him to start searching for a way to break sire bonds this early, "It should not be permanent. Give her time to adjust to everything. Don't command her to do anything, don't even suggest things. Learn to ask what she wants, and she'll tell you her own mind instead of just trying to make you happy. Maybe this will make you a better person Tony, because if you can't change to help her, you'll have a sycophant instead of a partner for the rest of your days."
"… Alright. Fine, good to know. Well I'd say it was nice talking to you, but it wasn't. Goodby-."
I cut him off there, "Not so fast Tony, I have more information for you. Now that you're practically family, I figure I should let you know everything I do about the Mandarin."
"Wait what? How do you know anything about that?"
Chuckling, I shake my head even though he can't see it, "Now now Tony, I'm not going to tell you that. What's important is that I can point you in the right direction, if you just let me know where you ended up getting my blood. I hadn't had a chance to hand you any personally yet."
"I'm not the kind to wait around for gifts anyways, I think you know that. I got it from SHIELD. They've been trying and failing to clone it for obvious reasons, but it doesn't seem like human tech is up to the task quite yet, as any cloned blood is inert. Still, they had a bit of the original stuff left. "
"It wasn't hard to get my hands on it, though they might get upset when they find out what I used it for. So tell me, what do you know about this terrorist thing Vali? I've got a friend hurt because of them, and I'd like to indulge in a little bit of payback."
I smile and give him what he wants. Not like I have any plans involving the events he's caught up in, "The Mandarin is a cover up Tony. Your true enemy is a company called AIM, stands for Advanced Idea Mechanics. It's led by a man you snubbed a long time ago named Aldrich Killian. He's covering up the accidents his company is having in developing a new super soldier serum called Extremis. It allows for instant regeneration, but when its destabilized it causes the user to explode, taking out everything around them."
"… That actually explains some things. Fine. Thanks for the information Vali."
I can sense he's getting ready to hang up here so I throw out one more piece of advice, "Don't go off half-cocked here Tony. You may be immortal now, but you aren't invincible. If you let Extremis blow up in your face you will be vaporized and you will not come back from that. Good luck."
And then I hang up, because of course I get the last word. A moment later I start another call. They pick up after a few seconds, "Who is this?"
I smile, "Director Fury. I think you knew this was coming. Is this call secure?"
A pause in which I assume he makes sure it is in fact secure, before he replies, "Ah, of course, what can I do for Valiant, Hero of New York?"
My smile morphs to a frown at that. As always, he knows exactly how to needle me, "Please don't Nick. I'd like to think we're on a first name basis, what with you playing god with my blood yeah?"
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."
Scoffing, I roll my eyes at that, my tone a bit caustic now, "So you didn't expect Tony to use my blood to become immortal when you gave it to him for 'research purposes'? I'm not an idiot Nick. Let me guess, the Council expressly forbid any experimentation on the Avengers they had control of, so you went with the consultant that you could blame for his own recklessness."
Instead of responding to my accusations, Fury changes tact, "Coulson has stopped asking after you. The Council doesn't want him on anything as high level as before, so I'm going to be setting him up with a small team to deal with small problems. Your blood doesn't just change bodies Vali. Or do you think I don't know what Stark is dealing with concerning Ms. Potts right now?"
"Oh come on, now you're blaming me for both your and his mistakes? You gave him my blood Nick. After I told you why Phil was feeling the way he did. Pepper should get better if Tony doesn't influence the bond, but my people mate for life. Something you might have known if you'd simply asked."
"Right… your people. I've been wondering for a while now what sort of alien converts other species into more of its own kind like you can. You've set yourself up as a hero of this world, but I can't help but think you might be just as bad as the Chitauri, in a more subtle way. SHIELD will be watching you, Valiant."
The way he says Valiant is like he's spitting out a curse, and it actually has me gritting my teeth a bit. I've done nothing but help this man since I joined SHIELD, and this is how he repays me. It seems Fury is better at pushing my buttons then even Tony at this point.
Talking carefully to hide the anger in my voice, I respond, "I'm going to hang up now Nick, before you make me end my vacation early and come back to America to do something I'll regret. Watch me as much as you want Director Fury. Let's be honest here. Watching is all you can do."
I hiss out the last sentence and then hang up the phone, tossing it onto the couch with a growl and standing up. After a moment I head to the bedroom, the desire to improve my mood and maybe feast a little at the forefront of my mind.
XxScenebreakxX
After Iron Man 3
(London, England)
I'm not usually one for night clubs, but one of the owners is a rather beautiful woman and I was offered VIP treatment if I'd come around. So here I am in the VIP section of the night club, overlooking the dance floor below and lounging with people chatting all around me. I've got the woman who invited me draping herself over me, and I'm considering getting her to show me the private office she keeps mentioning when something else happens.
Into the VIP sections walks a man in a purple suit. He's a rather handsome fellow, but who the fuck wears a purple suit? Still, he walks right in so I figure he must be invited. Then he starts throwing out orders to everyone. Perhaps this is another owner of the club, but some of the orders are a bit strange, and the way people rush to obey him is… familiar.
Of course, then his eyes light on me and widen dramatically. I raise an eyebrow as he saunters over, a wide grin growing on his face, "Well look at you! You're Valiant! One of the Avengers right?"
The owner draped over me looks at him with disdain, "Who the hell are you? Who let you in here?"
In response, he just waves a hand dismissively and says, "Go away, the men are talking."
And she does. Now I'm beginning to suspect, but I do believe it's rather confirmed when he looks back to me with that same smile and orders me, "Well stand up! Let's have a look at you."
I raise the other eyebrow and remain seated, staring at him. As I don't follow his command, his smile begins to slip from his face as he speaks again, "I said stand up."
Instead, I finally speak, "And who are you supposed to be?"
He's finally beginning to realize that whatever he has doesn't work on me. My smile grows as his fully disappears and he begins to step back, realizing he's just tried and failed to command a real life super hero to do his bidding. Now is when I finally stand, stepping forward even as he steps back, "Going somewhere? You were so interested before, I assumed you were a fan."
Glancing around at the people around us doing what he'd told them to, I look back at him and my smile turns into a wicked grin, "A fan with powers of your own I assume?"
Now that he reacts poorly to, pointing at me and yelling, "Kill him!"
As he turns to run, everyone in the immediate area looks at me and begins moving forward. I roll my eyes in false exasperation and flash over to appear between him and the exit. His eyes connect with mine, and I initiate compulsion, "You can't leave now. You haven't even told me your name."
He freezes up at the order, but everyone is still moving to try to kill me so I sigh and compel him again, "Tell them to stop."
He repeats my order and I continue as everyone freezes in place, "Now tell them to forget everything that's happened and go back to whatever they were doing before you arrived. Have them all pay no attention to us or anything we talk about."
He's once again forced to do what I say. Still smiling, I guide my new friend back to the couch as my date forgets her interest in me and goes off to do other things. Pushing him down and then sitting beside him, I stare at him with undisguised curiosity, "What's your name?"
That one isn't compelled, so he takes a moment to answer, swallowing thickly. It's clear he's never been in this sort of situation before, and any cool or swagger he may have had originally is long gone, "Kilgrave. How did you…"
He trails off but I can easily fill in the blanks, "How did I do to you what you failed to do to me? Did you think you were king of the world, top of the food chain? Kilgrave my friend, the world is a big place that just got bigger when the existence of aliens was confirmed. One of which is me let me remind you. You've clearly got some form of telepathy or mind control… but of course it's only going to work on humans. I'm a whole other matter entirely."
He's staring at me now, but actually seems to be calming down a bit, especially when I call him friend and when I explain that it's not his power failing, but just me being immune to it. Hmm, he's already losing his fear of me. I'll put it back into him if I have to. Still, it gives him the courage to speak up, "I've been following you and the other Avengers closely. You never showed the ability to do this in any of the videos I've seen you in."
That gets a bark of laughter from me, "Holy shit you really are a fan! Ah, how lovely. But come now, does this seem like the sort of ability I want humans to know I have? No no, I'm the good guy Kilgrave. I take the bad guys, and I either lock them away or put them down. I don't need to run around controlling everyone around me to feel good about myself."
I can tell instantly he's affronted by that, but I don't let him reply, grasping his shoulder firmly in hand and squeezing slightly to remind him of the strength I'm sure he's seen in the videos, "Kilgrave, consider this an intervention. We haven't known each other long, but I can already tell what your biggest problem is. You're a control freak."
Now he's just looking at me incredulously, but I just smile and plow on, "You are! Life is about control for you. And I'm here to tell you, controlling every aspect of your existence does not fulfill you. You know I'm right. And you know why I know that? Because I've been in your shoes before. Surely, being a fan, you know my age."
He starts when he realizes I'm waiting for a response but nods sharply, "I know you claim to be four thousand years old."
I laugh at his skepticism, it's shared by much of the planet Earth, "Give or take a few hundred years, yes. Ah, but such is the curse of eternal youth. No one will ever believe you when you say you just moisturize really really well."
He scoffs but replies, "Where are you going with this?"
Still chuckling, I squeeze down on his shoulder to once again remind him who's holding the bigger stick, "Patience my friend. Where I'm going with this is quite simple. For much of my existence, for most of those four thousand years, I was in control. I ruled my world as Emperor and everything was under my control, even the rebellions against me."
He's looking at me clearly dubious, but I just plow on through, "At the end of all that time, my own daughter finally came before me with an army of my former subjects, all turned against me. She knew she could not kill me, so she set into motion a plan that would see me exiled from our world. That's how I ended up here. But as I said, I was in control. Her plan worked because I wanted it to work. I was exiled because I chose exile. Do you know why?"
He frowns, but shakes his head, causing me to smile, "Because I was bored Kilgrave. That is the downside of control, the inevitable moment of boredom you reach when nothing is unexpected and everything goes according to your plan all of the time."
I grin, "So now! I'm here on your world, and this is the first time I've exercised my control on a human. Feel free to be flattered. Yet, even without using something that I have four thousand years of experience with, I've had the time of my very long life here. Secret Spy organizations, super heroes, alien invasions… Earth is fantastic and continues to amaze me."
At the look on his face I sigh and move my hand from his shoulder to the back of his neck before leaning in and looking him right in the eyes. He tenses up, freezing in my grasp his eyes wide as he expects me to do… well I'm sure it's nothing good. But all I do is continue to talk.
"I'm telling you this Kilgrave, because I see a lot of myself in you. You're a younger reckless version of me, you think that you are the only person in the world that matters, and if you go on as you are, you will either implode gloriously, or burn out in a rather pitiful way, the victim of your own hubris. I'd much rather see you soar to ever greater heights instead of falling into the muck and ending up buried there."
I release him and pull back, and after a moment he starts breathing again, straightening his suit and looking at me with an indecipherable look, "Then what would you suggest I do, if not exercise my powers?"
Chuckling, I lean back and shrug, "Do what you will Kilgrave. I hope that every once in a while you'll take the time to experience things and people without having to control every aspect of the exchange. Of course you should keep using your power to protect and sustain yourself. But consider this my friend; if you view the entire world as your playground, you should take more time to think about the potential of each person you control before forcing them to do your bidding. What could they do, if you let them act on their own? What could they go on to do once out of your control, if you let them?"
He doesn't respond to that, looking at the very least thoughtful. We sit in silence for several minutes before he speaks up again, "So what now?"
I raise an eyebrow at him, "What now? Well you can go now I suppose. I've talked your ear off and you've successfully occupied my night. I am sufficiently amused enough to let you leave with your life and health intact, if perhaps not your dignity."
I grin and throw out one last dig, "Run along now."
He stands up and looks at me one last time before turning and leaving the way he came. I sit back and consider the entire meeting. He really did remind me of myself. For that, he got one freebie despite his attempts to control me. Next time we met, if he didn't show the correct amount of respect, I might just tear off his head and be done with it.
That thought makes me smile and I stand up to leave the club as well. While this diversion was absolutely delightful, it's time for me to locate my target. I didn't come to Europe for a real vacation after all; I came here for a very specific reason, one with a pretty face, legs to die for, and a doctorate. Jane Foster would soon guide me directly to a fragment of infinite power.
-x-X-x-
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