章 104: Spy Games Ch. 25
Mark and every hybrid that Hydra had created with that original offering of my blood were dead. And yet, they couldn't be further down my list of priorities right now. Perhaps that was inconsiderate, perhaps it was callous and cold… but really, they were always living on borrowed time. Immortal they might have been, but they were all still originally Hydra, at the end of the day.
Perhaps my lack of care came from being fairly certain I already knew who'd given the order. I was only 'fairly certain' rather than absolutely certain because I had yet to use the Mind Stone to confirm it. I could have, if I wanted to, immediately discerned who had killed Mark and his fellows, and who it was that was so obviously plotting against me.
But where would the fun in that be? This was the most interesting thing to happen in a while, as far as I was concerned. And frankly, Mark and the other Hydra hybrids were always bit players. They were pawns, and they'd been swept from the board like pawns too. Of course, when Darcy had thrown herself into my chest for a good cry, I hadn't refused HER that. The immortal young woman had been quite distraught over losing so many friends, it seemed.
I'd comforted her for a little bit, but of course, the world moved on… and it seemed that the world was indeed moving on swiftly, almost certainly as a result of those who had decided to set themselves against me as my enemies.
"The Avengers Accords are necessary. SHIELD and the Avengers have operated globally out of America for quite some time now, under the control of the World Security Council. And where has that gotten us? The destruction in New York. The infiltration of SHIELD by Hydra. If not for certain individuals, terrorists would be in control of large swathes of our world right now. The United Nations must have oversight."
I sit in the back of the large auditorium as the man, some official from some country, stands at the podium and speaks. The auditorium is crowded with more individuals like him… and some individuals like me. A lot of the original Avengers are here right now. In fact, the only one who isn't is Thor. No clue where the big guy is, but he's absent, mostly because we didn't bother contacting him.
Everyone else, from Bruce and Tony, to Steve and Natasha, and finally yours truly, are in attendance. Oh! Clint isn't there either. I always forget about Barton, truth be told. But then, he's out of the game. Got a family, got a farm. He doesn't need to be here, won't be one of those signing these… Accords.
… The movie Captain America: Civil War had been announced a year before I'd woken up as a baby with the Mikaelson, in my past life. I didn't really know anything about it, anymore then I did about Doctor Strange. There hadn't been a trailer before my… departure from my original world. That said, given the schism I remember witnessing in the Age of Ultron movie, the one I'd completely shanghaied at this point, I could imagine what a Civil War in the Marvel Cinematic Universe might look like.
And yet, I'd pretty much derailed that, hadn't I? Tony and Steve might not be best friends or anything like that, but they were on speaking terms. Of course, they still had their separate camps. Steve had Peggy and Bucky, while Tony had Pepper and Rhodey. The latter of whom was here in his capacity as War Machine, but also was a hybrid in his own right it seemed, turned by Tony after things had worked out so well with Pepper.
Funnily enough, I had a sinking suspicion that even now, no one had told Tony how his parents had died. It seemed ridiculous, all things considered… Peggy was supposed to be Tony's godmother, for fuck's sake. But I could see it, even without the Mind Stone. I could see it in every glance that both Steve AND Bucky levered Tony's way, when the other man wasn't looking. Peggy might not even know yet actually. Perhaps Steve had convinced Bucky to keep it a secret?
It mattered little, in the end. Bucky was mind controlled when he murdered the Starks. It wasn't him; it was the Winter Soldier. Would that matter to Tony? I gave it a fifty-fifty, in the end. It was a coin toss whether Tony would be able to swallow such an ugly pill, or whether it would set him off. Of course, the knowledge that it had been kept from him would probably hurt quite a lot.
Not that any of that was really relevant, right now. The previous politician had finished up his speech, ending on a bit about how the Avengers and all of our actions needed to be regulated, needed to have oversight. How we couldn't be allowed to continue on as we were, and that was why the Accords were needed.
Everyone else who spoke… it was more of the same. And truth be told, I could read between the lines, and see the lines that they were all being fed from the shadows. No one came out and directly said it. This was a public UN meeting, after all, and information about hybrids was not necessarily public knowledge. Most people didn't know that I could literally confer immortality with my blood, or that said immortality could then be conferred by anyone I turned.
And yet, the language that the politicians were using… oh, it made me all the more tempted to take a peek inside of some of their heads, to find out who was pulling their strings. These Avengers Accords certainly looked reasonable on the surface… but in truth, they were an attempt at slipping a set of shackles onto what the UN and the people in power considered a rampaging beast… or perhaps an alien infection.
Namely, me. That was what I got from this little meeting. Someone had poisoned the United Nations against me. Someone had poisoned the world's leaders against me. They'd spent a long time doing it too, I imagined. When did it start… when I was away in space? Probably before even that. Was it after the events at the Triskelion, perhaps?
In the end, it mattered not when they began, so much as the fact that they had. These Avengers Accords wouldn't just subject the Avengers to UN oversight and regulations, there were a dozen provisions in there that kept enhanced individuals such as myself from conferring future enhancements to others. It would technically affect anyone that had such abilities, that could share their powers. It might even be used to stop say Tony Stark from giving out anymore suits of his armor to individuals he liked, like he'd done with Rhodey.
But for the moment at least, those provisions were targeted at me, an attempt to make the turning of any more humans into hybrids not just a crime, but quite the severe one. The penalties for doing so even went so far as expulsion from Earth for individuals not native to the planet, which both amused and irritated me.
Technically I WAS native to Earth, after all. Just not this one. I may have gotten over my fear of Space, mostly thanks to magic space rocks, but that didn't give them the right to kick me off the planet. Frankly, the UN was overstepping massively. They didn't have the ability to enforce their own rules, and ultimately, might made right. With three Infinity Stones under my belt, all of the military might on Planet Earth combined couldn't make me do what they wanted me to do.
Part of me wished I'd brought Boudicca with me after all, just to have some arm candy for this particular affair. Part of me wished I hadn't sent Nebula back into space with the somewhat vague task of looking after her sister and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Natasha hadn't sat next to me, though I'd noted she hadn't bothered sitting with Steve or Tony's two camps either. Was the vivacious red head and mother of my only child in this universe plotting against me?
I was half-tempted to check, but once again… I was having too much fun playing the game, at the moment. Though this whole meeting was getting more than a little tiresome. Furrowing my brow, I considered the occupants of the large room for a moment, trying to see if there was anyone to mess with that couldn't possibly be involved with my enemies.
Eventually, my eyes alight upon a young African woman, sat on the far side of the auditorium, also in the back of the room, but opposite from me. She's not paying any attention to the current speaker at the podium. Rather, instead she looks to be fiddling with a tablet of some sorts. Curious and looking for a distraction, I reach out to her mind and learn quite a bit in a single instant.
Her name is Shuri, and she's the Princess of Wakanda. Not the Crown Princess… no, that title goes to her brother T'Challa, Crown Prince of Wakanda. According to Shuri's thoughts, T'Challa was the one supposed to be stuck on this boring trip with their father, T'Chaka, King of Wakanda. Instead, they'd apparently gotten a tip off regarding Ulysses Klaue… the man who Ultron would have gotten his Vibranium from in the original timeline.
Huh, an interesting divergence resulting in my presence and actions, I suppose. But also… man, the people of Wakanda were living a lie, weren't they? Or at least, they were presenting a lie to the rest of the world. On the global stage, Wakanda had a place in the UN, but were commonly seen as little more than another African Country… which was to say, not as 'good' as the 'developed world'… meaning most countries not on the war-torn continent of Africa.
But the truth was there for me to pluck out of Shuri's mind, plain as day. Her upbringing, their technology, their everything… the Wakandans were the most advanced nation in the world, so far ahead of even countries like the United States or China or any other major 'super power' that it was kind of laughable.
Going off of my four thousand years of history on my own Earth, there were some ways that Wakanda was even more advanced then we'd been… and a lot of ways they weren't. Even still, we hadn't had a massive stockpile of Vibranium on my Earth. The incredible metal had very clearly been a huge game changer for the Wakandans.
Right now, Shuri was bored out of her mind… which was why I was watching her hack the UN's secure databases through her eyes. The tablet in her hand was allowing her access, and she was having her fun taking a look through some of the United Nation's secrets. And even that was so very clearly boring the young woman. Grinning a little, I can't help but reach out to her.
Bored, Princess?
Shuri startles badly, and it's only because she does so that I finally clock her bodyguard. While what I've seen in Shuri's mind speaks of red and gold armors and high tech spears, her father had apparently decided to go low-key for this meeting… and sent the vast majority of the Dora Milaje to support his son on T'Challa's quest for vengeance besides.
As such, Shuri's bodyguard, an older woman named Ayo, is dressed in dark clothes, the only sign of her true status the large gold hoop earrings in her ears. At Shuri's flinching, she immediately moves to the Princess' side, but is just as quickly waved away. A moment later.
Who is this?
I smile wider, pleased with Shuri's intelligence as she rapidly comes to the conclusion that she's being contacted mentally, and thus must respond mentally. Happy to reward her for being correct, I answer.
A friend, perhaps. Or perhaps not. You are an incredibly interesting individual, Shuri of Wakanda. I like interesting individuals.
There's fear in her thoughts now, though she does quite the excellent job of hiding it outwardly. Still, I can see that Shuri has also come to the conclusion that if I'm speaking directly into her mind, then I'm likely looking directly into her mind as well. Ah, the girl is a veritable genius, likely on the same level as Tony Stark. But she's young and has so much more room to grow as well.
Just this much interaction is going to keep her up for many sleepless nights into the future though, I can already tell. So, to avoid terrifying the girl too much, I try to end things on a high note, while also trying something… new.
I won't continue to bother you, Princess. Know this, however. If you require assistance, if you have need of a friend in dire times… you may call on me, and I will answer.
As I begin to pull back, I leave just a sliver of my awareness touching her mind. If I wanted to, I could quite literally use the Mind Stone in conjunction with the Power Stone to cover the entire Earth. Tagging one Princess' mind won't tax me too much, and I can easily shunt her thoughts to the background. Of course, for the moment I listen to her response, even as she tries her best to be surreptitious about looking around.
W-Wait! I have questions! Hello? Answer me, damn it! I am calling on you! Speak with me, tell me what you know!
She really is a curious young thing… but I did say 'dire times'. To be fair, those may never show up… but knowing what I now know about Wakanda, how can they not? This is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I'd derailed an awful fucking lot at this point, but I'd put good money on Wakanda having enemies beyond just Ulysses Klaue… and Klaue himself was no push over, given he still had a supply of Vibranium at his disposal that Ultron hadn't ever made use of.
For now, I ignore Shuri's repeated calls for me to continue 'talking' with her, even if it is tempting. Luckily, I am not tempted to re-engage for long, because the meeting is finally coming to a close, and everyone is leaving. Seeing as the Avengers are all scheduled to meet together for something like a briefing or discussion or what have you, I head that way, along with all of the other hybrids and powered individuals who attended the public UN hearing.
This conversation, which was more private and thus didn't have to be quite so polite, was bound to be FAR more interesting. Frankly, I couldn't wait.
-x-X-x-
"I already told the United States Government that they weren't getting my toys. I might loan a suit out to Rhodey, but that's because he's my friend. If the UN thinks they can shove this down our throats, I say they have another thing coming."
I smile slightly at Tony's brash language. Rhodey grimaces, probably because he's torn between his friendship with Tony, and his loyalty to the US military. He likely considers the UN to just be an extension of that, making them just as worthy of his respect and even his obedience. Pepper, meanwhile, purses her lips at Tony's way of speaking, but nods in clear agreement with what he's saying. As Stark Industries' CEO and Tony's significant other, it doesn't surprise me that that's the way she falls.
Of course, there are the others.
"Tony… we need this oversight. We need to be kept in check. Look at what's happened, these past few years since New York. Things have gotten… crazy. People like us… we could take over countries if we wanted to. And eventually people like us, but with less morals than us, will show up and they'll do damage we can't just ignore."
Steve Rogers sounds so passionate in his language. Which I admit, is somewhat shocking. I may not know what the original plot of Captain America Civil War was supposed to be, but I'd watched Winter Soldier and Iron Man 3 and Age of Ultron. If you'd asked me, I would have said that Tony would be the one in favor of the UN oversight, while Steve would have been against.
Except, that would be wrong, wouldn't it? Because in the end, I'd changed things far too much from the original timeline. Steve had tried his little speech in Winter Soldier, only for me to hand his ass to him and ultimately give him back Peggy and Bucky at the same time, offering some much needed stability. Meanwhile, Tony's PTSD had led him to my blood, which had in turn led him to destroying the helicopters that had come after him at his Malibu residence.
He hadn't gotten the ass whooping that would have propelled him towards creating Ultron alongside Bruce. He hadn't gotten a chance to study the Mind Stone either. It seemed that as things stood now, Tony was still very much the individualist, while Steve had been convinced of the importance of these Accords by whoever it was who was holding his leash at this point. Was it Peggy? Was it Coulson? Or was it, as I expected, Fury operating from the shadows?
"Then we'll stop them, Steve. Like we always have. We all stopped Loki together, didn't we? I beat Killian and his little human bombs. You lot and Vali stopped the Hydra infestation in SHIELD. Vali and Thor stopped whatever the fuck that was over in Greenwich. We cut the Hydra infestation out at the root, did we not?"
I don't miss the way Steve winces at the word 'infestation' and glances over at me. Poor guy, they never did really train him in the art of espionage, did they? Peggy and Bucky might as well be blank slates, but Steve is an open book right now. Stepping forward, Peggy takes over from Steve. Probably a good idea, she might be de-aged, but she's still Tony's godmother. A natural bridge between his and Steve's camps, at the end of the day.
"No one is denying that we're the good guys, Tony. That doesn't mean we can do whatever we want though, whenever we want. You all came together to beat Loki in the Battle of New York at the behest of SHIELD, a government agency. With Killian, it could be argued that it was self-defense on your part… but you still should have reported him, rather than going after him on your own. Likewise, Vali should have reported Hydra's infestation of SHIELD earlier."
Peggy pauses and glances my way, as if half-expecting me to jump in. I just smile blandly as several of the others look at me too. I haven't actually said a word since we all entered the room. I'm just watching, for now. After about half a beat, the de-aged femme fatale continues on, pressing her ruby red lips together tightly as she does so.
"Greenwich… Greenwich was another incident that could have been contained better if dealt with through the proper channels. And our systematic dismantling of the Hydra bases last year was a joint effort between the Avengers and SHIELD. There's always been oversight, Tony… and where there hasn't been, it should have existed all the same. This is just making sure that we're held accountable for our actions."
By the time she's done talking, I have to admit that I'm beginning to regret saving SHIELD as much as I did. If only because of just how many times I had to hear her say it in that whole monologue. From what little I recall of Agents of SHIELD; Coulson was always supposed to survive and go on to lead a small group or something. But he hadn't just survived thanks to me, he'd outright thrived, and in the aftermath of the events at the Triskelion, had become Director of SHIELD.
Which would be all well and good, if Fury weren't still so very clearly leading the agency from the shadows. I was well passed suspecting that my sire bonds with Coulson, Peggy, and Bucky had been broken, and at this point considered it practically confirmed. Not that I was surprised by that or anything. Fury was a sharp man, at the end of the day.
"… Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter for me. I'm out."
Natasha suddenly speaking up from off to the side draws every eye in the room to her. I lift a single eyebrow at her words, but with just a second to think about it, I have to admit that it makes perfect sense for this version of Natasha to get out of the game now. Steve, on the other hand, looks positively wounded.
"Nat? What's brought this on?"
They HAD worked together quite closely, before everything that had happened at the Triskelion. Natasha still gives Steve an arched brow as she crosses her arms over her chest.
"I would think that obvious. I'm a mother now. I have a higher responsibility then saving the world, and that's raising my daughter."
"… Damn straight."
Natasha flashes Tony a look at his murmured show of support, and the genius just grins and holds up his hands in surrender. Letting her gaze slowly float across the room, not even pausing as it goes passed me, Natasha waits a beat for continuing on.
"I wasn't supposed to be able to have children. The Red Room made sure of that. I expected this to be my life, my whole life, and nothing more. But now I have that something more, and I'm going to grab onto it tight, with both hands. My daughter is the only variable that matters to me here. I won't be signing the Accords because they don't apply to me. Not anymore."
That probably won't be true for long if the Accords go through. If the shadowy forces at work behind the scenes had their way, I highly expected they wouldn't just allow hybrids to quietly retire rather than sign the Accords. Though whether my enemies would go after Natasha and my daughter just to get to me… well, I wouldn't put it past them. I don't say that though, I simply reach out metaphysically and tag Natasha in the same way I tagged young Shuri. That way, if the mother of my child is ever in danger, I will be able to go to her and support her.
"And what about you, Vali? You've been uncharacteristically quiet."
Tony's voice cuts through my thoughts, as the room finally turns its full attention towards me, in turn demanding MY attention. Smiling ever so slightly, I hum and then shake my head, willfully misinterpreting what Tony is saying.
"Oh, I don't think Natasha wants me to follow her into retirement. I certainly have no intentions of being an absentee father… but I also know that Natasha and I don't exactly do domestic together. She prefers me in small doses at the most, and I am willing to oblige there."
To her credit, the red head doesn't blush or flush or grow flustered. As everyone glances to her for confirmation, she simply gives it, a single sharp nod that says she agrees with my words. We've had a lot of fun together, but it's not like we're going to get married or anything like that. She's not in love with me, even if I do know how to rock her world to the point that she doesn't mind my presence for a little while. And strangely enough, I find myself okay with that. Perhaps it even signals that I've grown as a person, or something.
Pfft, yeah right, fat chance of THAT.
"… Yeah, not what I meant and I'm fairly sure you know it. Are you just fine with this then, Vali? Thor's off-world at the moment, so you're basically our only space alien. And you're cool with putting yourself under the control of the United Nations like this?"
Lifting both eyebrows, I give a half shrug as I sprawl across the couch I'm sat on, spreading my arms wide along the back of the piece of furniture.
"I did with SHIELD. And sure, that didn't turn out too great, but we handled it well enough, didn't we? I'm sure that the United Nations can possibly be as corrupt as SHIELD and the WSC turned out to be, right?"
My bright tone is so clearly mocking that I'm not surprised everyone in the room gets it. Steve and his camp look annoyed, while Tony looks delighted. Until I continue in a more serious, more subdued tone.
"Really though, I'm fine with it. In fact, I think Ms. Carter is right. These Avengers Accords… they're to keep the little man safe, right? And isn't that why we all do what we do in the first place?"
Now both Steve and Tony are frowning at me, though clearly for two different reasons. Crossing his arms over his chest, Tony shakes his head at me.
"I think you're giving the people that make up the UN too much credit here, Vali. And I think you're being a little too idealistic as well. The countries that are pushing these Accords… they have agendas, don't think they don't. And those agendas probably won't align with our beliefs and morals, not all the time. I'm not going to become some two-bit dictator's lap dog."
Before Steve or his camp can respond to that, I wag a hand in the air dismissively.
"Of course not, Tony. But then, that's exactly why we should hop on board now. All of this is still in flux, right? Which means it's the perfect time for us to get involved and make sure that we have a say in how this oversight and these regulations are handled. We've got an amazing track record when it comes to saving the world… the UN would have to be made up of complete idiots to not see that we deserve to have a say in our own oversight and regulation. Right?"
This time, the look that both Tony and Steve give me is bordering on incredulous. Though once again, for quite different reasons. But even as the spirited debate around the Avengers Accords continues because that certainly wasn't going to be the final word on the matter, I happily sink back into the background, smiling blandly once more.
It was kind of fun, playing this game of politics, knowing that I was being assailed in a new arena, even if it was all political intrigue and theater. It was also perhaps just a tad pointless… but I'd sent Boudicca off to clean house. She wasn't going to destroy the Order of the Mystic Arts that she'd been the leader of for a few centuries, but she was going to remove certain individuals from within it that were a threat to both me and here.
While she was dealing with that, I figured I'd deal with this. I had a plan for my next move already in fact, and it should only take a week or so to implement. I was curious to see what the reaction from my shadowy enemies would be. If they wanted to play games, then sure, we could play games. Even if they were so hopelessly outmatched it wasn't even funny.
They could play this like a game of chess all they wanted, removing my pawns from the board, trying to back me into the corner. But if they thought they had any chance against me really, they had another thing coming…
-x-X-x-
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