章 190: Natasha Digging -186
[With Natasha Romanoff]
Given the difficulty of this new mission, or rather missions, as she had been given two big ones all of a sudden, Natasha decided to keep them separate for now. She had identified the mission to find the so-called Tesseract as the riskiest one, with the highest chance of her being found out. Because of this, she didn't immediately start on that mission.
Instead, she focused on the mission of finding the Skrulls. While the idea of a dangerous object being in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands wasn't pleasant, she felt that the Skrulls were by far the greatest threat and needed her immediate attention. Not that it was an easy task to find what were pretty much perfect shapeshifters.
Thankfully she had been given everything the Foundation had on them so far, even if it wasn't much. She skimmed through the documents, noting the descriptions of past encounters with the Skrulls. Reports detailed their ability to mimic not just appearance but also memories and skills.
She also understood why she was given this mission; after all, Shield, or at least Fury, had a past relationship with the Skrulls. And while the Foundation had been led to believe they had left Earth together with that Carol Danvers, Fury might have known the truth all along.
Indeed, from what Natasha knew about Fury, he would definitely love a team of shapeshifting agents, perfect for all kinds of infiltration. However, she couldn't see him allowing them to get involved in Earth politics.
The risk of something going wrong, the chaos that would unfold if they were found out, it would be catastrophic. Already now, there were some people out there believing that the elite was all lizards in disguise. They were naturally seen as crazy by many.
However, should something like what happened to the Foundation, should a high-ranking politician be ousted as a Skrull? It would become pure madness.
Those once crazy people would see it as being vindicated, and if they were right about something that crazy, why not the flat earth nonsense? Yeah, the people wouldn't know who or what to believe, and riots in the streets would be the least of everyone's worries.
And all that was not even taking into account what the Skrulls were planning in the shadows. Whatever they might be up to was nothing good if what Natasha was reading about their normal modus operandi was true.
Then, this was very likely a full-on secret invasion; she had no idea how far along it was, how close they might be. But it was indeed a chilling prospect.
This was indeed not something Fury would allow, which left the question, what was his role in all this? Was Fury even a human? Had he been replaced?
It was unlikely; if he knew about them, he would likely have taken measures to make sure they couldn't betray him, at least not to that extent, but it was still possible that he had something to do with them.
So, her first stop in this mission wasn't to explore some exotic secret facility but to dive deep into old mission records. The first point she would be exploring was all missions surrounding Fury after the events of 95.
Natasha spent hours poring over mission logs, video recordings, and debriefing transcripts. Her access to Shield.'s database was unparalleled, thanks to her skills and her covert alignment with the Foundation. As she sifted through the data, she began to notice a distinct pattern.
Before 1995, Fury's career was marked by a series of ups and downs. He was a capable agent, no doubt, but his path was fraught with obstacles and setbacks. Missions failed, leads went cold, and he often found himself at odds with higher-ups. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, his fortunes changed.
After 1995, Fury's career trajectory became remarkably smooth. Missions were successful at an unprecedented rate. Obstacles that had once seemed insurmountable were effortlessly removed. Natasha noticed that agents and officials who had been known to oppose Fury's strategies either retired, were reassigned, or met with unfortunate accidents.
The turning point appeared to be a mission in 1995, the details of which were heavily redacted. All she could gather was that it involved a major extraterrestrial event. It was after this mission that Fury's luck seemed to change dramatically.
Natasha's eyes narrowed as she reviewed the logs. There was a distinct lack of detailed reports for many of the missions Fury led post-1995. Operations that would typically have pages of documentation were summarized in a few vague sentences. It was as if someone had deliberately scrubbed the records.
Nothing could be proved; there was nothing that seemed suspicious in and of itself, but knowing what she now knew, it sure did look as if Fury had some kind of help in his raise toward his current position.
It seemed like he had eyes and ears everywhere, able to easily deal with even the most difficult missions, to know when to be and where. He went from a good agent, to the best almost overnight.
It seemed clear enough to Natasha that he must have had the Skrulls help him out in the dark. And in return, what did Fury give them?
She doubted that he would have allowed them to just start taking over the earth, to replace people left and right, so maybe instead, he helped them get new identities? It was something that wouldn't be challenging for someone in Fury's position.
And while not too useful for someone who could shapeshift and take the place of anyone, it was still something they might have wanted.
The file the Foundation provided seemed to hint that the Skrulls, after losing their home world, were looking for a new home. And while she seriously doubted Fury would offer up Earth to them, he might have been willing to allow a few.
As she delved deeper into the mission logs, she noticed more instances where Fury's operations benefitted from timely intelligence and seemingly miraculous interventions.
Fury had clearly had some kind of involvement with the Skrulls, but the real question now was what he knew about their current actions and how many were around. Not to mention the question about their ultimate goals.
She suspected an invasion, but she hoped that Fury would have taken measures to ensure that such a thing wouldn't come to pass. It was entirely possible he had, but the Skrulls had just outmanoeuvred him.
After all, no matter how great of a spy he might be, it's still possible for him to be outsmarted, especially when dealing with aliens who might think or act entirely differently from how a human might.
However, she wasn't entirely sure how she should go about trying to identify any of these Skrulls who might work for Fury. She could target those closest to him, those he trusts the most. But she was quite familiar with that circle and didn't believe they were aliens.
No, it seemed that he likely kept the Skrulls removed from him, both to ensure that they couldn't easily replace him but also to allow them to take on deep undercover missions without anyone asking where his right hand disappeared off to.
One possible approach was to expand her search, to look for others who also had a suspicious level of success. The problem she imagined with that approach was Hydra.
She was well aware that Hydra had infiltrated Shield on a large scale, and they would naturally want to ensure that those most loyal to their cause found themselves in high positions. This meant that she could look around for Skrulls but only find Hydra.
Her next move would be to contact the Foundation with her findings. She activated her secure communication device and sent a detailed report. "This is Agent Romanoff. I've uncovered evidence suggesting Director Fury has been receiving outside assistance since 1995. The nature of this assistance points to potential Skrull involvement. Requesting further instructions."
The response was swift. "Understood, Agent Romanoff. Continue your investigation and proceed with caution. Your priority is to determine the extent of Skrull infiltration and their ultimate objectives. Keep this information strictly confidential."
Natasha nodded, steeling herself for the challenges ahead. The dual nature of her mission weighed heavily on her, but she was determined to uncover the truth. She had to navigate the treacherous waters of espionage, all while keeping her true mission hidden from S.H.I.E.L.D.
---------------
[Site-009]
While Natasha was working through countless mission reports, Alexander, her superior, too, was trapped in an endless pile of paperwork. Having finally talked with Fisk, he now had new information and leads about the Black Cat, and hopefully they would soon be able to capture her.
He was far more important than just due to the fact that she knew about him being alive or the risk she posed by being able to infiltrate SITEs at her will. It was, in truth, the secret behind her powers that was the most intriguing.
Indeed, for there were no signs of other mutants around, and from the tests they had done of both her daughters, which was little more than DNA testing. They hadn't found any signs of her being inhumane.
Something that was confirmed to exist so far. Which left the question of just what she was. How and why did she possess such powers?
This was the biggest reason he wanted her found, why the Foundation wanted her found; they needed answers, answers that only she could produce.
Though other then that, he had many other tasks to deal with. For one, his anti-Hydra unit had hit a dead end, hydra, at least outside of Shield seemed to have pretty much disappeared. He still knew of dozens of facilities, but they weren't really the kind of places he would send in an armed assault.
It was mostly the kind of facilities he would rather take over then just give up. So, for now, they could live, but it did mean that his Anti-hydra unit was without a target far sooner than he had planned.
While the reports intercede that they were all starting to do better, he would still have preferred keeping their minds busy with their little war for a while longer. After all, they would likely set their eyes on the Hydra infestation within Shield now.
While Shield was indeed troublesome, he didn't wish to see it collapse just yet; he was just about to get control of it. Once O5-2 got the British seat, it wouldn't be hard to get the Russian one, meaning they would more or less hold all of Shield and Hydra in their hands.
"Direct them somewhere else, for now; I guess… towards… Yes, towards SCP-610. None can ignore that." He mused before sending out the orders.
SCP-610, the flesh that hates, had only just been located in the cold, frozen, and remote Siberia. It wasn't an easy place to get to, but at least it was nice and remote, allowing them to start trying to contain it.
Though, much to his dismay, it was already covering a rather large area, having once again swallowed up an entire town.
Thankfully, though, the Russians were always so easy to work with. Even though Putin wasn't currently in charge, only a few people, him included, had to be dealt with. This was why he preferred dictatorships to democracy, fewer people who needed to know.
Not to mention that those people also had far greater power, making it much easier to strike a deal with them and have it mean anything. It was always a headache having to ensure that a new government knew how to deal with the Foundation.
So, from the Foundation's point of view, having someone in power for a long while was, without a doubt, the best cause of action. And one of the reasons they were willing to support them if need be.
Even back in the SCP universe, Putin had been in power for many years, and with no small amount of help from the Foundation, for a while, O5-13 didn't like it; they all wished for someone favorable to them in power.
And while a tyrant he might be, he wasn't afraid to reward his friends, giving the Foundation everything they needed, including a large amount of money. The Foundation didn't care about politics, or who was in power, as long as those in power stayed on their good side.
A/N
If you want to read up to 10 chapters ahead or even get the chance to pick what SCPs get summoned, or just support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / SCPsystem
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