章 60: Chapter 60: Shield Redux
A/N: A look into the SHIELD side of things.
-x-X-x-
To say Agent Thirteen, aka Sharon Carter, was frustrated… honestly didn't even begin to cover it. At first, she'd been happy to accept this assignment. Not that she had much of a choice of course, but when she first heard about 'Penny' Carter from Director Fury, Sharon had been wholly on board with finding out exactly what the fuck was going on.
Why had Tony fucking Stark made a robot replica of her great-aunt? Why was he parading her around as his goddamn secretary? And where the fuck did he think he got off pulling bullshit like that?!
She didn't care that he'd saved New York City from Nuclear Armageddon. She didn't care that the Iron Legion, which had been instrumental in fighting off Loki's alien army, were only possible because of Stark's genius intellect. She didn't care that he was apparently a family man now, with a wife and kid. She knew that was bullshit anyways. What she cared about was her great-aunt's memory being abused by some rich billionaire just to get his fucking rocks off.
No one had told the actual Peggy Carter, of course. Safe in her room, all information about 'Penny' Carter had been kept from the old woman. Sharon's great-aunt was ninety-one years old at this point, going on ninety-two. She didn't need to know what sort of sick and twisted shit that her godson got up to with her likeness.
Unfortunately, while Sharon had been happy with her initial mission parameters, that being to make contact with 'Penny' Carter while also engaging in general snooping around under the guise of being Stark Industries' new SHIELD Liaison… things had changed dramatically since she'd first been assigned the role. Originally, Sharon had had a lot of leeway in how she could carry out her assignment. Director Fury had been happy to give her plenty of wiggle room with this mission.
… That had all changed when Tony Stark had become a member of the World Security Council. A decision that still didn't make much sense to Sharon. The World Security Council positions were political appointments and last she checked, Tony Stark wasn't a politician, no matter how rich he was, no matter how many keys of the city he'd been given.
Unfortunately, that didn't seem to matter. Fury wasn't happy about it either, but apparently it was out of their hands. Locked in, so to speak. Tony Stark was a member of the WSC now and there was nothing any of them could do about it. Which… changed things. Dramatically, even. Because now Tony wasn't just a contractor working under the World Security Council along with SHIELD to protect the world. Now he was a member of the very committee that provided oversight for everything SHIELD did.
He had effectively gone from someone that SHIELD needed to keep an eye on… to her boss' boss overnight. Really, he didn't even technically need a SHIELD Liaison anymore. As a member of the WSC, he could call up Fury himself and demand reports on this or that whenever he wanted and there was nothing the Director could do to stop him.
The fact that he'd kept Agent Thirteen in her position as his SHIELD Liaison instead of dismissing her… had given Director Fury ideas, unfortunately. While they were technically no longer allowed to order her to spy on Tony Stark officially, they had still talked with her 'off the books' so to speak.
Unofficially, she was still supposed to dig as deep as she could and find any information possible on Stark's misdeeds. And unofficially, it was now suggested that she should consider using her… feminine wiles to make it happen.
It turned Sharon's stomach, really. But in a sick and twisted way, Fury's logic made sense. After all, why would Stark keep her around? Why would he keep a liaison he didn't need anymore? Only one thing came to mind… he wanted to bed her. The Director was confident that he and Pepper had seduced and bedded Agent Romanoff before her heroic sacrifice in the Battle of New York. He was equally confident that Tony had made his 'Peggy Bot' in order to fuck her too whenever he liked.
And so of course, even if he didn't know who Agent Thirteen really was (though Fury cautioned her that he almost certainly did), she was still hot enough to draw his eye. And so now what had once been a much more tolerable mission had become rather intolerable. Not just because Sharon now had to find a way to use Tony Stark's horndog sensibilities against him and creep into both his confidences and his bed, but also… because she had yet to even speak with the man more than once face to face!
Despite literally working out of Stark Tower, Sharon hadn't gotten much of a chance to interact with Stark at all. To the extent that she was beginning to think Fury was wrong and Tony was just fucking with them. She'd even been walking around in her all-white SHIELD uniform for the last couple of weeks, knowing just how well it hugged her curves and drew the eye to her body, just expecting Stark to show up and make a pass at her at any moment. But… nothing.
At least she'd managed to finally get Stark's AI to give her access to a few more floors. She'd frankly been badgering him about it for a while, and only now was she able to ascend the Tower further than the employees on the lower floors.
Indeed, she was actually exploring a residential floor that had apparently housed some of Tony's friends for the past few months right now. Well aware that JARVIS was keeping an eye on her, Sharon was merely looking around rather than actually turning the place over. While at the same time, she found herself wondering what sort of rich scumbags Tony Stark would house for any given amount of-
"What are you wearing?"
Jolted from her thoughts, Sharon whips around and finds herself staring not at Tony Stark… but at the thing that had become her secondary objective ever since his appointment to the WSC. 'Penny' Carter stands there in form-fitting workout clothes that leave Sharon staring just a little bit at her visible definition and toned physique. Why the fuck had Tony Stark made his robot of her great-aunt into such a muscle mommy?
No, more than that… what was the bot even doing here dressed like that? Raising an eyebrow, Sharon crosses her arms over her chest. She definitely doesn't feel at all inadequate in the face of the Peggy Bot's… assets. They were clearly all dramatically out of proportion because Tony Stark was a bastard anyways after all.
"I could ask you the same thing."
'Penny' raises an eyebrow and looks around the floor.
"… I just got done with my workout and I was aware that this floor was empty. I did stay on it for a time, after all."
God, that turns Sharon's stomach even worse. Was the android implying that she'd been forced to stay here while Tony's friends were staying here? That he'd loaned her great-aunt's likeness out as some sort of… party favor? But also, the first part didn't even make sense. Why would a robot need to work out? Not that Sharon could see any sweat on the other woman. Sure, she looked a little dirty, like she might have been doing some heavy lifting, but she saw not a single bead of glistening sweat on the robot's multiple visible muscles.
"… Can I help you with something, Agent Thirteen?"
Ugh, Sharon was going to be sick… but she knew how she had to play this. Giving Peggy a bright and sunny smile, she uncrosses her arms and spreads her hands apart.
"Maybe some advice?"
'Penny' tilts her head to the side.
"Sure. Keep your nose out of other people's business, Agent."
Wow. That was caustic for a robot that Tony had supposedly designed to be his secretary slash sex toy.
"Hey now… don't be like that. I just want to get to know Mr. Stark better. I think he and my predecessor had an arrangement of sorts… one that I wouldn't mind continuing. You'll let him know for me, won't you? I know that my position as SHIELD Liaison is sort of redundant since he became a member of the World Security Council. But if he wants to keep me around anyways, I'm happy to be… flexible."
By the time Sharon is done talking, she's walked right up to the android lookalike of her great-aunt. Surely this 'Penny' is designed to snatch up any woman who expresses sexual interest in her boss and bring them right to him, right? After all, what else would an android secretary slash sex bot be programmed to do?
Except, only belatedly does Sharon realize the longer she'd been talking, the more the other woman's face had been scrunching up… in disgust. By the time she's done, 'Penny' looks just about done with her as well.
"… Mr. Stark will not be needing anything from you other than to do your job as SHIELD Liaison, Agent Thirteen. I'm going to find another floor with a different shower, I think."
Sharon is so flabbergasted by that answer that she actually lets the damn robot retreat! She just stands there frozen until the elevator doors close on 'Penny', wondering how the fuck this became her life. She might not be Natasha Romanoff levels of pretty, but Sharon is confident that she still pulls off her white leather catsuit just as well as the former Black Widow pulled off the black.
… So how the FUCK is she striking out this bad?! Sharon honestly wants to scream, but knowing that JARVIS is likely still watching, she swallows her rage and anger and plasters a bright smile on her face as she looks up at the ceiling.
"I don't suppose you could put in a kind word for me with your boss, JARVIS?"
A moment of silence passes before a dry British voice answers her.
"I believe Sir has enough on his plate at the moment, Agent Thirteen. And from the sound of things, you would be quite the handful."
Okay, no seriously… what the fuck had she done to deserve that level of sass? Sharon could hardly believe that she was being gatekept from Tony motherfucking Stark by his damn robots. And the worst part was, she still didn't fully know if it was because he told them to hold her off, or if they were holding her off without his knowledge either to protect him from her… or her from him.
Huffing, Sharon heads for the elevator as well, more than a little disgruntled. Frankly, with how badly this is all going, she almost wishes she could trade places with Agent Coulson. Sure, he might not be in the Director's good graces right now, but at least he was out there leading a field team and DOING something with his time…
-x-X-x-
Phil Coulson was not usually prone to suicidal ideation, nor particularly strong emotions. But he had to admit, part of him was… more than a little upset that Tony Stark had saved his life. Yes, he'd been dying. Yes, there was probably no hope for him other than Stark's miracle drug. And yes, he'd even been given a clean bill of health by SHIELD's top doctors.
Whatever Stark had done to him hadn't even lasted long enough for SHIELD to get data on it. Though to be fair, that was at least partially because they'd needed all hands on deck for the literal alien invasion that had happened shortly after Loki's escape. Phil hadn't been able to report into medical until after the Chitauri had been defeated.
Unfortunately, that was just one more thing that had led to his current situation. That being Phil Coulson no longer having the trust of Nick Fury. In all honestly, Coulson wished that he could call the SHIELD Director paranoid… but he also couldn't blame Fury for this decision. Tony Stark had gone out of his way to heal Phil from a fatal wound after doing a number of very questionable things, not least of which was parading what Fury believed was an android in Peggy Carter's youthful appearance around on the Helicarrier's bridge.
Phil knew he wasn't compromised, of course. He knew he wasn't in Stark's pocket. But between Stark saving New York City and becoming the big damn hero, and also being appointed to the World Security Council… it didn't really matter anymore, did it? Fury felt cornered. And at this point, he seemed to believe that the only person he could truly trust not to be Tony Stark's stooge was Maria Hill.
Was it frustrating? Of course it was. But Coulson had no way of proving to his paranoid superior that he was as loyal to the Director's vision for SHIELD as ever. There was nothing to be done save for continuing to do his job to the utmost of his abilities.
… To be fair, one could argue that it wasn't like he'd been demoted or anything. He was still Level Eight. He was also still a Field Agent, and actually, he had MORE control over his work than ever before. Fury had effectively given him free reign in not only picking his new team, but also in picking his assignments. It's like he'd told Agent Melinda May when he'd recruited her for his team. They were running themselves now. Picking the ops, making the calls. No red tape.
And yet… that was just more evidence of Fury's lack of trust in him. He'd been cut loose. Fury wasn't going to just forcibly retire him or anything like that… he was still trustworthy enough to help protect the world, still useful enough to be given his own team and the leeway to seek out his own missions. However, he was no longer personally trusted by the SHIELD Director like he was before.
Part of Phil wondered if that was Tony's plan all along. He wondered if Stark had only saved his life to isolate Fury further, to make the Director of SHIELD even more convinced that he couldn't trust anyone. Not even those closest to him. Or perhaps ESPECIALLY those closest to him.
In the end, there was nothing to be done but carry on. Coulson's new team wasn't bad. Agent May and Agent Ward, as well as Doctors Leopold Fitz and Gemma Simmons. A good solid squad of five with him included in the numbers. A strong team.
And they even had their first mission too. A Rising Tide member known as Skye had posted a video of a man SHIELD was currently trying to track down named Michael Peterson. She'd turned out to be a young woman who seemed largely harmless aside from her 'hacktivist' activities. They'd picked Skye up all the same and now it was time for Phil to decide how to best interrogate her.
… He might not have Fury's trust or ear anymore, but that wasn't going to stop Agent Coulson from doing his job. He'd sworn an oath, to be humanity's last line of defense, to be their shield. And he wasn't going to fail them now.
-x-X-x-
A/N: Poor Sharon is in over her head and poor Coulson is being held at arm's length by his boss.
The more things change, the more they stay the same it would seem~.
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