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***
After finishing my business, I arrived at the military base where I was immediately transferred to a quinjet and sent towards the ocean. The flight was smooth and according to the pilot we should be arriving in half an hour. While I had some free time I decided to look at the tablet I had been given when I entered the quinjet. Having entered my personal number and authorised, I immediately saw a dozen folders with new information unlocked for me. There were stories about the terrorist attack and about Loki and Thor. Of course, not much was said about the cube. Only that it was a powerful thing, which had levelled one of the Shield bases to the ground and in the long run could destroy a small town or the whole continent. There wasn't much about Thor, not because of Fury's secrecy, but because of the scarcity of data. About Loki there was data only about the presumed physical strength at the level of Thor, possession of an energy staff with a long-range function and a set of daggers. Not much. Further there were already data on the initiative "Avengers" and I would be now very surprised by my candidacy among the heroes of the land if my father had not warned me about my voluntary-coercive inclusion in the team immediately after the end of the meeting AMP. Project Avengers was the only one of Fury's cases where Alexander couldn't stick his hands in. It was still possible to get a loyal and relatively strong super, but not a completely clean one for a spy organisation like the Shield. And the appearance of my candidacy among Fury's menagerie, as my father affectionately called him, was in the hands of the entire Hydra top brass. So when Alexander and Gideon heard about this opportunity, they used everything they could to get me approved to join the team.
***
When I got to Helicairr and came up for air, I was amazed. If in the cinema you are surprised by the size of this flying fortress, but soon you start to take it for granted, standing here in reality and realising the size of this creation you fall into awe. That's why when I went outside I immediately began to look around and to calculate in my mind what this machine flies on.
When I finished looking around, I noticed a girl with red hair looking at me expectantly with a slight smile.
-I had the same feeling the first time. - As I got closer, Romanoff said.
-Hello, Agent Romanoff. -Hello. As I understand we have nothing yet and you can be my guide? - Giving Natasha's phrase a slight smile, Pierce asked.
-I think I have an hour of free time. - Showing her duty smile the spy headed inside the Helicarrier.
-Say, has the captain arrived yet? - Ryan asked.
-Yes, are you a fan of his? - Natasha asked Pierce, giving him a strange look in which Rain saw the devils.-No, but as a kid I watched a lot of historical films about him and my father even brought me less processed material showing the horrors of war and the first and only super-soldier of his country. Just interesting to see a man of such high standards and with such an amusing psychological trauma. - With a sad smile recalling the not-so-right moments of his childhood Pierce said.
-Trauma? What do you mean? - Romanoff asked interestedly as she continued to lead Ryan down the heliker.
-Well, in the films it wasn't shown in much detail or even noticeable, but comparing all the records for the years in which Captain America was involved I noticed one oddity. In all that time, the captain himself never killed a single Kraut or enemy. All of his enemies were killed by partially circumstantial things. A grenade caught and sent back, being thrown under a tank, severe collision damage, falling from a great height, and so on. Not a single enemy Steve Rogers has not killed with his own hands. Shouldn't having the ability to tear a man in half just by his own strength have broken an enemy's neck at least once? Or shredded a Nazi? No, the captain chose the path of defence and I understand that it was imposed by his career as a showman, but later he could have switched to more effective weapons. I believe that the captain just couldn't fully understand the war and his psyche didn't go through the same as other soldiers. Any green rookie has a moment where they realise the simple truth of "it's either you or you're out". Rogers, on the other hand, never had that moment. He went to war as a superhuman and this allowed him to lose the understanding of the horrors of war that everyone else had. He ran at the speed of a motorbike, his shield allowed him to withstand Hydra's beam weapons, and his strength was enough to scatter enemy soldiers like pillows. - Pierce voiced his childhood thought.
-You sound like an experienced military man. - Natasha noticed the inconsistency of knowledge and age.
-It's just that I was trained by a military man for years. He hammered such knowledge into my head... and then he hammered that head into the floor of the hall. - Pierce replied with a wry smile.
-So you consider the captain lucky not to have faced the horrors of war? - Romanof asked with interest.
-He was lucky not to know the dirt of such human meat-grinders to the end, but I don't call him lucky. Although if you consider that the appearance of this "god" saved him from the unenviable fate of the army's mascot, perhaps luck was also part of his superpowers.
-Mascot?
-Well, like some cereal rodent persuading you from the screen in the morning to buy his chocolate death in the form of pads, balls and stars. We have the Captain as a living star, which wouldn't be a bad thing to use to campaign and raise people's opinion of him. Especially after the Abomination, the military needs the right mascot. And if the choice is between the risk of losing such a valuable figure on missions or removing a bunch of propaganda they will immediately choose the latter. The Captain has gained enough clout over the decades to hide behind the halo of his support and the sudden resurgence of the green problem that has ravaged Queens.
-You know, your view of America's hero from that perspective is quite interesting. What about the rest of the initiative? - Looking at Ryan with interest, Natasha asked.
-Stark is poorly controlled and often behaves rashly out of emotion, but his intelligence and talent as an engineer are invaluable to the Shield. Although if we're being honest, I think he's a perfect fit for the team.
-Why is that? -With a smile that faded for a moment, the spy asked.
-The look.
-The look?
-Yes, the look. Stark came back from Afghanistan a different man. And I'm not talking about his desire to be a superhero. He started looking at his surroundings and reevaluating his life. Sure, he still throws parties, but as someone who's been to a couple of them, I can safely say that in those moments, he's just playing the old him. I'd say he's clinging to the remnants of his former life, which allowed him not to worry about anything or anyone. The Stark of today has a linchpin, and given the recent events in his life, I'd say that linchpin is very strong.
-Then what about Banner.
-Queens has shown that the Hulk is not so crazy and he's certainly not the animal that Ross tried to make him out to be. I'd say choosing him for the initiative is risky, but it has a logical basis. Miss Romanoff, have you seen the footage of the clash between the Hulk and Ross's men outside the institute? - Looking at Natasha, Ryan asked.
-No, they were deleted from the internet too quickly, and I didn't look for them in the shield databases.
-That means you haven't seen Ross's people at work. He did everything he could to piss off the Hulk. And his top soldier, who later became the second green giant, spent a whole minute pissing off the Hulk to make him attack.
-Are you trying to say that Ross was behind all the Hulk incidents?
-You're getting the wrong gist of what I'm saying, Miss Romanoff. It's not what Ross did that matters, it's that it took the soldier a MINUTE to provoke the Hulk to retaliate. Isn't that proof of the green giant's calmer nature.
-You do have an interesting perspective. What about us? - Looking Pierce in the eye, Natasha asked.
-We? -You and I are a chain around the neck for all these extraordinary individuals. Controlled people in a team of completely uncontrolled individuals. We're what brought this initiative to this hearing in the first place. A little island of balance, sleeping spies, guides. I've got a lot more analogies, but you already knew the gist of it. We must keep them in check and prevent the situation from spiralling out of control. - With a calm expression on his face, Raine voiced the truth.
-What's true is true. Well, that's the end of our excursion, and the only thing left unshown is the bridge, but we'll be called to it in time. For now, you can meet the captain in person. - Leading Pierce into the conference room, Romanoff said.
-Captain, I've brought you a new recruit. - Said Natasha nodding to Rogers and sitting down on the couch in the corner of the room.
-Pierce. - Captain America greeted me.
-Captain.
-How old are you? - Frowning, shaking Raina's hand, Steve asked.
-Eighteen. - Pierce answered calmly.
-Fury's staffing is so bad that he sends kids to fight. - Rogers said unhappily.
-Captain you've seen fragments of Pierce's missions and he's qualified for this assignment. - Romanoff tried to quiet the conflict.
-That doesn't change anything. - Still frowning Rogers said.
-Captain I would ask you not to mix your personal opinion with the tactical planning of analysts. If I'm here, then my presence will be necessary. And if memory serves, you've been trying to get into the war since you were 16? Being five foot six and a cap and being much younger than me you were quite persistent in forging your military records and trying again and again. - Pierce replied heatedly.
-That was wartime. - Steve replied grudgingly.
-And now it isn't? I remind you that we have an aggressive god roaming the planet with a bomb that could wipe a couple of continents to dust. Sounds to me like a time of war to me. - Taking control of his emotions, Pierce finished calmly.
The awkward silence, formed after Pierce's words, was broken by a voice from the loudspeakers announcing Loki's whereabouts. After listening to the message, the rest of the team went up to the quinjet and headed for Stuttgart, Germany.
***
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