My Star Spangled Invisi-Gal [MCU/Dispatch]

[Zetakille]

Oh that's a downright EVIL way to give SDN Corporate their just desserts. Completely deserved and satisfying.

Edit: Also, Tony is going to have an absolute LAUGH when he hears about Robert and then make a toast to his success and Robert effectively saying "fuck corporate, I'm going to improve the world".

 

[Simonbob]

I have to admit, "Take the deal, violate the deal so I don't get the money, but I'll be out of the dimention, so what do I care?" isn't what I expected, but it's pretty dammed funny!

 

[cliffc999]

I have to admit, "Take the deal, violate the deal so I don't get the money, but I'll be out of the dimention, so what do I care?" isn't what I expected, but it's pretty dammed funny!

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It's even more funny when you find out that Courtney is going to be far richer in the MCU than she could ever dream of being by taking the SDN settlement, because the bionic tech in her lungs is worth a fucking fortune to the medical industry - and Tony is entirely capable of reverse-engineering it, and will give her the royalties on it.

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for Journey
Cheers!

 

[KaitouPrism12]

Thank you for writing this and the journey you gave us. Hope you have a great day!

 

[cliffc999]

Don't worry, there's a few more chapters yet. But yeah, we're moving into the wrap-up phase.

 

[The Unicorn]

@cliffc999 Very nice, even if oddly disappointing, although I expect I'd feel that regardless of how you chose to end the story.
I do note with interest that "what I have said is not a lie" is very different from "what I have said is the truth", which makes me wonder what the Ancient one is actually planning.

I really liked the lawyer scene but the line about Payne's contingency fee bugs me, for two reasons.
First - Why would they hire a lawyer to work on contingency fee when they have the 2 million reward to fund the legal battle?
Second - while I can see the SDN lawyer being as moronic as depicted, Payne reacting with amusement instead of anger to their blatant attempt to convince him to act against both his clients best interest and their instructions. I'm not sure if that is a criminal offense or not(offering a bribe? doesn't seem to quite fit), but it's definitely a gross violation of professional ethics.
On the other hand, while writing this it occurred to me Payne might simply be a good enough actor to fake amusement while he starts composing his report to the ethics committee, or actually be amused at how they keep digging their hole deeper...

 

[deathzealotzero]

So, when I read this over at Spacebattles I really didn't what happened with the whole SDN Legal Scene and how they are pretty much SOL. Now reading the comments here, I guess that pretty much SDN tried to keep everything hush-hush by giving them a very large amount of money to shut up about what they tried to do and enforced it with a NDA. However, since Courtney is going to be leaving for the Marvel Verse with Steve, she ended up spilling the beans anyway, pretty much bringing down the whole SDN's corporate leadership as a result. Did I get that correct?

 

[The Unicorn]

So, when I read this over at Spacebattles I really didn't what happened with the whole SDN Legal Scene and how they are pretty much SOL. Now reading the comments here, I guess that pretty much SDN tried to keep everything hush-hush by giving them a very large amount of money to shut up about what they tried to do and enforced it with a NDA. However, since Courtney is going to be leaving for the Marvel Verse with Steve, she ended up spilling the beans anyway, pretty much bringing down the whole SDN's corporate leadership as a result. Did I get that correct?

Click to shrink...

Pretty close, but the only reason Courtney even considered accepting was that they were going to have to leave so couldn't drag SDN through the full, public court process. Her original plan was "Crucify 'em with dull nails, then skin and salt the hide." and the only reason they looked at the settlment offer was that their lawyer was required to present it to them before he could report it was rejected.
Given they were leaving they couldn't drag out the process so tricked SDN to sign a confession thinking the money would keep it private when Courtney never cared about the money in the first place.

 

[cliffc999]

First - Why would they hire a lawyer to work on contingency fee when they have the 2 million reward to fund the legal battle?

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Because he wouldn't work for less, and they considered his price worth paying to get the best lawyer available.

Second - while I can see the SDN lawyer being as moronic as depicted, Payne reacting with amusement instead of anger to their blatant attempt to convince him to act against both his clients best interest and their instructions. I'm not sure if that is a criminal offense or not(offering a bribe? doesn't seem to quite fit), but it's definitely a gross violation of professional ethics.

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The people he's talking to are already going to be mind blowingly ruined both professionally, financially, and criminally, why shouldn't he laugh at their desperation?

Also note that the only thing they asked him to do was 'please convince your client that they really want the thirty million dollars instead of our public humiliation', which is not actually illegal or unethical to ask for.

or actually be amused at how they keep digging their hole deeper...

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That latter one.

 

[The Unicorn]

Because he wouldn't work for less, and they considered his price worth paying to get the best lawyer available.

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My point was, if they establish their goal of making SDN hurt rather than getting as much money as they could from them, they could end up not getting paid much (relatively speaking)

That latter one.

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[cliffc999]

My point was, if they establish their goal of making SDN hurt rather than getting as much money as they could from them, they could end up not getting paid much (relatively speaking)

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Note that if the corporation is offering $30 million as an out-of-court settlement, that means they're expecting the punitive damages that a jury would award to be MUCH higher than $30 million. Maybe even a full order of magnitude higher.

If Steve and Courtney had not had to return to the MCU and could have stuck around for the full trial phase, Mr. Payne was standing to make an absolute bundle.

(And note that even in the 'we're tapping out right away', he outlines exactly how he can make an absolute bundle - because SDN's public confession in this case means that the class action lawsuit he can file on behalf of all their other screwed employees will make him 'sued the tobacco companies' lawyer money.)

 

[The Unicorn]

Also note that the only thing they asked him to do was 'please convince your client that they really want the thirty million dollars instead of our public humiliation', which is not actually illegal or unethical to ask for.

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The line I was referring to was

"Payne!" Legal sputtered. "You were working on contingent fee! You're losing out-!"

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Which seems to be a request for Payne to pressure his client to agree based on Payne's financial interest. That is extremely unethical and possibly illegal.

If Steve and Courtney had not had to return to the MCU and could have stuck around for the full trial phase, Mr. Payne was standing to make an absolute bundle.

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Fair enough, and I suppose even if they were pushing to maximize pain and humiliation for SDN rather than financial damages he'd still be making a lot more than Courtney could pay him.

(And note that even in the 'we're tapping out right away', he outlines exactly how he can make an absolute bundle - because SDN's public confession in this case means that the class action lawsuit he can file on behalf of all their other screwed employees will make him 'sured the tobacco companies' lawyer money.)

Click to shrink...

Sure, but that's no reason not to make a second bundle Although thinking about it it really was either or - if he'd been working Courtney's case by the time he'd been free to work on building the class action suit there'd be a a bounch of other lawyers handling it, since the case is shut and he's the one with all the information he's perfectly positioned to be the lead on the class action suit.

 

[cliffc999]

Which seems to be a request for Payne to pressure his client to agree based on Payne's financial interest. That is extremely unethical and possibly illegal.

Click to shrink...

It's skeevy as fuck but technically not illegal, which is exactly the airspace that a corporation's 'not getting us sued' lawyer lives in full-time.

 

[The Unicorn]

It's skeevy as fuck but technically not illegal, which is exactly the airspace that a corporation's 'not getting us sued' lawyer lives in full-time.

Click to shrink...

I can see it not being illegal, but it's definitely enough to at the very least get them an "invitation" to defend themselves to the ethics committee or get disbarred.

 

[cliffc999]

Earth-MCU
Insight Day: D Minus 41

"Intruder alert-!" the smooth mechanical voice announced, before immediately interrupting itself and continuing in a slightly stunned tone of voice. "Captain Rogers. I think I speak for all of us when I say that it is most unexpected but also most gratifying to see you again."

Steve and Courtney both landed lightly on the floor of the penthouse suite as the portal behind them closed, each of them dressed in neat civilian clothing and holding a duffel bag. "JARVIS?" Steve greeted the voice. "We're in New York, then?"

"Correct, Captain." JARVIS answered. "You are in the living room of the master suite of Stark Tower, and it is 9:34 am on January 7th​, 2014. You have been missing and presumed dead for sixty-five days."

"Well, that certainly beats seventy years." Steve answered amusedly. "Courtney, this is JARVIS, the artificial intelligence built by my friend Tony Stark. JARVIS, this is Courtney Jane Doe, she's a very good friend of mine."

"Welcome to Stark Tower, Miss Doe." JARVIS greeted her amiably. "Protocol requires that I obtain the permission of either Mister Stark or Miss Potts before inviting you to stay, but I can certainly offer you the hospitality of a visit while-"

"Holy shit, it is you." Steve and Courtney both turned to see Tony standing in the doorway of the master bedroom nearby. The haggard-looking man was dressed in a bathrobe that was half-open enough to reveal bandages still wrapped around his chest, and he was pale and slightly unsteady on his feet. "I thought the pain meds were making me hallucinate. JARVIS, I'm not hallucinating am I?"

"No Sir, you are not hallucinating. Captain Rogers is physically present, and arrived in the Tower by what appeared to be an unknown variety of controllable wormhole approximately two minutes ago." JARVIS replied.

"You're back." Tony stepped forward and drew the stunned Steve into a hug as he manfully struggled not to cry. "You're really really back. We thought that wormhole vaporized you, man. But you were just stuck somewhere over the rainbow, then?"

"Alternate Earth. Different history, different people. It's a long story, but for right now… it's good to see you, Tony."

"Good to see you too." Tony choked out. "Fuck, when we thought you were gone I just completely crashed the hell out. Never do that to me again. Please."

"Are you okay?" Steve asked him. "You look like you just walked out of the hospital."

"Kinda just did." Tony agreed. "Had a thing with some terrorists a little while ago. They blew up my Malibu house, almost killed me, left me needing heart surgery - it was some serious déjà vu all over again. Really sucked, but me and Rhodey eventually wrapped up all that shit. And at least the latest round of repairs finally let me get the Arc Reactor out. I tossed it somewhere." He thumped his chest.

"I think I found it, actually." Steve drew the Arc Reactor out of his pocket. "The person who helped me get back here brought it with them to prove that they were really from here."

"Huh." Tony glanced incuriously at the reactor and then tossed it onto the nearby coffee table. "Weird. Anyway, I-" Tony stopped and blinked several times, then looked to the side, then blinked again. "Uh, Cap? Who's she?" he pointed at Courtney, who he'd only just noticed was standing there.

"Tony, this is my girlfriend Courtney. I met her over there, and she came back with me." Steve said proudly.

"Girlfriend?" Tony blinked in shock. "Um, did you mean 'friend who happens to genetically possess a double X chromosome', or did you mean-?"

"He means that I'm the girl he's fucking on the regular." Courtney replied amusedly.

Tony stopped dead and then burst out in wheezing, helpless laughter. "Oh my God don't do that! I literally just had a heart transplant, I'm gonna need some more recovery time before it can take that kind of strain!" He looked back at Steve. "Are all the girls on her home planet like her? Because if they are, I'm gonna need to see if I can figure out how to wormhole back there-"

"And why would you need to do that?" an amused female voice broke in, and Tony gave a guilty flinch. The beautiful redheaded woman entering the master suite from the elevator smiled at everyone. "Welcome to Stark Tower, and please make yourself at home." she greeted Courtney. "And Steve-" Pepper Potts drew up in front of him and smiled tremulously, keeping her composure only with a visible effort. "There… really aren't words adequate to describe how I'm feeling – how we're all feeling – right now, but I'm sure you already know. Welcome home."

"Thank you, Pepper." Steve smiled back at her. "Courtney Jane Doe, meet Tony Stark and his girlfriend, Pepper Potts. Guys, this is Courtney."

"You journeyed to another planet entirely to stay with the one you fell in love with." Pepper greeted Courtney in awe. "You must be a remarkable person. The only other person I know who's done anything like that is literally a god."

"He's the remarkable one." Courtney nodded towards Steve. "I'm just a girl, really." She continued embarrassedly. "Are you sure it's okay if we stay here? I mean, do you have room-?"

"I am the single richest person in human history." Tony stated matter-of-factly, and Courtney gasped in shock. "And right now we're standing on top of the skyscraper that I built and own. There's a whole suite downstairs I keep for Steve that he almost never uses, just like the ones I keep for the rest of the team. And you mentioned that you guys were already at the co-habiting stage so sure, move on in."

"Thanks, Tony." Steve agreed. "I was hoping you could help Courtney set up something, in fact. Not that SHIELD couldn't do her paperwork to move here, but-"

"Fury is a lot less likely to try and dick her around on the terms if old one-eye knows that I'm lurking in the background ready to put in a competitive bid." Tony nodded vigorously. "Because there are a lot of people who are going to immediately leap to the conclusion that she's a potential handle on you that they can crank, and some of them are the people who signed your paychecks." Tony blinked. "JARVIS? Counter-surveillance status on the penthouse?"

"Counter-surveillance was increased to maximum as soon as I detected anomalous phenomena and Captain Rogers' arrival on my own initiative, Sir." JARVIS answered him. "I… calculated that you would wish privacy on this matter until you could release the information on your own terms."

"And you calculated correctly, just like you always do." Tony thanked JARVIS. "Seriously, Cap, you're dead right now. You had the big funeral at Arlington and everything. The President gave a speech-"

"The President?" Courtney mouthed incredulously.

"-and everybody was there. I had front-row seats." Tony continued heedlessly. "Which that plus what JARVIS just said means that until after we actually pick up a phone and tell someone that you're back… nobody knows that you're back." He looked at Steve. "If you want, you can leave here with a completely new identity for both you and her. I hack some databases, slide you a few million bucks on the down-low to set yourselves up with… and you get a new life. You could settle down with your girl, find yourself some peace and happiness. Stop having to jump on Fury's string all the damn time." Tony smiled at Steve. "Honestly, one of the biggest regrets I had when I thought you were dead is that I didn't offer you a life-line out of that spook shit earlier. Because I really didn't think that you were happy there. Were you?"

"No, I wasn't." Steve agreed matter-of-factly. "Unfortunately, retiring is not an option for me right now." Steve exhaled. "How I got back was with the help of a sorceress from here, she called herself 'The Ancient One'. She said she knew Thor at least a little, so I'll double-check about her with him next time I talk to him. But she told me that I had to come back here, because whatever was behind the Chitauri? We were right, they're coming for a rematch. She didn't know exactly when or who, but it sounded like it's going to be bad, Tony. Bad enough that it'll need every Avenger all pulling together again and at the top of our game. Bad enough that I won't get to sit it out, no matter how much I might want to."

"We were already talking about maybe getting the band back together when we met up at your funeral." Tony nodded soberly. "Nothing's come of it yet, we've all had other shit on our plate recently and the threat board's been mostly clear except for local stuff-" He thumped his chest again. "But yeah, if you're up for being officially alive again then we definitely need to have another team meeting about all that stuff you just said. You want me to ping all the guys first and we have a huddle here, and then we only get around to telling Fury you're alive a few days after we've done that?"

"Sounds good to me." Steve agreed. "And Tony… thank you. Even if I couldn't accept it, that's still one of the kindest things anybody's ever offered to do for me."

"Any time." Tony agreed. "JARVIS? Tell the Avengers- shit, get together with Pepper first and come up with some kind of story that gets them all here soonest and not expecting horrible shit, but which doesn't tip Fury off too much. She'll know what to say. Then call the team meeting. Pep, what else do we need to be doing right now?"

"I go talk to Legal about a hypothetical case involving a dimensional refugee/immigrant and what would be the way to start setting that up, and you ask our houseguests if they need anything to eat." Pepper said calmly. "Then we can show them their suite after early brunch."

"There's something else." Steve suddenly remembered. "Tony, Courtney has a cybernetic implant in her lung. A bad guy promised her a cure for her asthma, then turned the implant off when she wouldn't work for him. The techs back where she's from couldn't do anything with it-"

"Asthma, huh?" Tony interrupted. "I'm kinda on medical restriction from doing lab stuff for at least another week, but yeah, as soon as I can I'll definitely have a look at it. An asthma cure would help tons of people, and if this bad guy solved the general implantation problem for something as sensitive as lung tissue then that by itself has implications- hell, the patent rights could potentially be worth hundreds of millions if the anti-rejection factor I'm hypothesizing turns out to be valid, and as this would be relic tech she'd brought to our Earth she'd have the discovery rights on it-" He stopped his own torrent of mad science with an effort. "And I get it, if this was originally bad guy tech then somebody needs to make sure it doesn't have nasty surprises lurking in it to jump out and hurt your girl later, and I can definitely do something about that. We had, uh, our own bad experience with that kind of thing recently."

Steve took in Pepper's pale face and drawn expression and rapidly worked out just what Tony had meant. "Are any of these terrorists you went around with recently still left, and would you like some help fixing that situation if they are?" he asked Tony firmly.

"Oh, we clean sweeped." Tony said proudly. "But thanks for offering."

"Hold up." Courtney stopped everyone, and turned to Steve. "The President gave the eulogy at your funeral. Your hero team apparently didn't just fight in an alien invasion but was the entire fight against the alien invasion and does all the big strategy for the rematch. Your power-armor friend you mentioned isn't just a rich guy but is the richest guy. And alphabet agency directors personally want to mess with your life, and-" She looked Steve penetratingly. "You summed up your whole life story for me already, but I'm starting to think you might have just been a tiny bit modest about the details. Steve, exactly how famous are you here, really?"

"Um-" Steve began to stammer, and Tony's laughter cut him off.

"JARVIS?" Tony grinned ear to ear. "I think Courtney needs the multi-media presentation on the old Living Legend here. Put together an executive summary and send it to…" he looked around and grunted in relief at spotting something on a nearby table. "Here, use this tablet." He handed it to Courtney. "Oh, and make sure to use the right opening credits music!"

"Tony, no." Steve moaned softly. "Please."

"Opening credits mus-?" Courtney puzzled, and then looked down at the Youtube video that had just opened up and started playing on the tablet and stopped dead at the sight. Steve gave Tony a mock death glare as a very familiar opening flourish of trumpets began to sound from the speakers and his least favorite song in the entire world began playing.

Who's strong and brave,
Here to save the American wayyyyy?

"Why did I miss this again?" Steve sighed quietly, as Courtney began to grin ear to ear before choking helplessly with laughter.

Who vows to fight like a man
For what's right, night and dayyyyy?
Who will campaign door-to-door for America?
Carry the flag shore-to-shore for America

Pepper laid a commiserating hand on Steve's shoulder at their mutual inability to stop the Tony train once it had lost its brakes, and then gave Tony her own icy stare that bounced right off his mirth as if from a force field.

From Hoboken to Spokane
The Star Spangled Man with a Plan!

* * * * *​

Earth-MCU
Insight Day: D Minus 40

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today-" Tony began smugly.

"Tony." Pepper cut him off firmly but affectionately, before she turned to the Avengers all sitting in the master suite's living room. "First off, thank you all for coming so promptly, especially when I had to be a little vague about exactly why we were calling this meeting because we didn't want any of the many people-"

"Fury." Tony coughed loudly.

"-who eavesdrop on our communications sometimes to know about this just yet." Pepper continued. "Thor, where's Jane?"

"She had to remain behind with Dr. Solveig. Her researches are at an important juncture." Thor nodded.

"Well, I'm sorry she'll have missed this." Pepper's beaming smile finally broke loose from where she'd been restraining it the entire time. "Because we have very, very good news. Just yesterday we safely recovered someone that we'd all been missing and had thought was dead."

Natasha's eyes widened and Clint rapidly began to look around, as Bruce and Thor were just starting to straighten up in realization.

Tony wiped tears out of his eyes and grinned more wildly than all the rest. "Yeah, you're right." Tony nodded. "Cap pulled off the 'everybody thinks I'm dead but here I am' thing again."

Steve Rogers, dressed casually in jeans and a collared shirt, stepped out of the nearby bedroom door and only barely kept a straight face himself as he stepped out to greet his friends. "Hello, everyone. I'm sorry I gave you all such a fright, but it really wasn't anything I'd planned on."

"Steve." Natasha said softly, wonderingly, before immediately turning to look intently at Tony. "Are you sure it's actually him?"

Steve broke out in soft laughter. "Never change, Natasha."

"Yeah, we tested everything from DNA on up." Tony nodded back at her vigorously. "Definitely the 100% original Capuccino, accept no substitute flavors."

"What was the first question you asked me?" Clint nodded at Steve, a slight smile at his face.

"I asked if you knew how to fly one of those jets." Steve acknowledged their original meeting onboard the Helicarrier, immediately after Clint had been freed from Loki's mind control. "And the next question I asked was if you had a suit."

Clint's thin smile broke out into a beaming one at the further confirmation. "It's really you." He stepped forward to shake Steve's hand. "You gotta stop doing this whole 'heroic return from death' thing, Captain. The gag will only get stale if you overwork it." Steve laughed out loud at Clint's cheerful sarcasm.

"We must celebrate!" Thor boomed out joyously, stepping forward to clasp Steve by the shoulders and shake him gently. "We had all thought you dead, Steven! Even far-sighted Heimdall could discover no trace of you, nor the most vigorous explorations of the wormhole's possible course via the Bifrost. You must lay out a feast, Tony, one fit for the occasion!"

"The caterers are already standing by, big guy." Tony gave Thor a thumbs-up. "Soon enough we'll have to let Cap check back in, but right now the only people who know he's back are all standing in my penthouse. So tonight's just for the team."

"Welcome back, Steve." Bruce Banner nodded at him quietly, before chuckling. "And now I can finally stop apologizing for not being able to make your funeral."

Natasha finally broke loose from her shock and finished regaining control of her expressions enough to step forward and just barely avoid grabbing Steve by his forearms. "Welcome back." she forced out. "Steve, I'm so sorry that I wasn't with you on that mission. If I had been, then maybe-"

"Natasha." Steve reassured the upset woman. "It's okay. It's really okay. What happened wasn't your fault. And honestly, I would not have given that wormhole trip up for anything."

"Which segues right into the even better part of this whole thing!" Tony said eagerly. "You guys are gonna flip when you see this!" Tony looked around and saw nothing. "Hey! Where are you? You're missing your cue!"

"Uh, hi?" a shy female voice broke into everyone's awareness, as they all turned to see a strange young woman with short black hair and olive skin standing silhouetted against the one-way panoramic windows of the penthouse.

"How did you get over there without me seeing you?" Natasha went taut and her hand almost reached for her weapon, before she caught up to her reflexes and realized that clearly this person wasn't an intruder.

"Yeah." Clint agreed, his own posture relaxing from a ready stance. "I have really good peripheral vision, and there's no way you would have been able to reach where you're standing from any of the nearby cover without being in my field of view at least once. Even Nat's not that sneaky."

Courtney answered the question by turning invisible and then immediately rematerializing.

"… okay, I'm a little jealous." Natasha immediately admitted. "Seriously, so useful a power."

"You are not merely a new prospect for the team that Stark discovered. You returned with Steven, from the world that had been sent to." Thor reasoned wisely. "That is why you are also being introduced to us at this time, instead of later."

"Yeah." Courtney nodded nervously. "Um, it's very nice to meet you-"

"Hey." Steve said warmly, stepping up alongside her and laying a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "There's no need to be shy. Everybody will like you."

Four people immediately took in the significance of Steve's facial expression and body language, which they had never seen him use before with any woman – not Natasha, not Pepper, not anyone.

"Damn." Clint said knowingly, before turning to face a gleeful Tony. "So Steve returning from an alien planet he got randomly wormholed to really was only the second-biggest surprise you had for us."

"It kinda is." Steve agreed proudly. "Everyone, this is Courtney Jane Doe – yes, that actually is her real name – and yes, she's my girlfriend. Courtney, these are-"

"People who hope that Steve's warned you what kind of madhouse you're about to step into." Bruce interrupted sympathetically. "Seriously, Steve Rogers returns from being lost on another world, and a mystery woman comes back with him to become the official Star-Spangled Girlfriend? You're going to be a media frenzy."

"Please don't remind me." Courtney shook his head. "Tony and Pepper have already been trying to prepare me for what kind of a circus this is going to be, but-"

"But the truly important thing here is not the chattering of malicious gossips or the curiosity of idle masses." Thor said gravely as he came to his feet. The massive and imposing frame of the God of Thunder cast a shadow over her as he stepped forward, and Courtney almost stepped back before Thor surprised her by kneeling down enough to bring his head level with her own. "I am presuming that the manner of your return here with my shield-brother does not allow for regular travel back to your home?"

"The sorceress- she said it was a one-way trip, yes." Courtney acknowledged.

Thor beamed at her with approval. "Then clearly your love for Steven is genuine and heartfelt. To leave your home behind forever to remain with they whom you love is a great sacrifice indeed, and proves beyond doubt that you have a great and worthy heart." Thor nodded to her respectfully as he stood up. "I am Thor Odinson, Prince of Asgard, and I too once faced the choice you did – and not even to such great extent as yours, for I at least can return to visit my home with sufficient effort while you are denied even that much. That a man such as Steven Rogers would choose you to share his life with is already testimonial enough to prove the good character and strength of spirit of any woman, but to see such a valorous and loving deed done with my own eyes is a remarkable thing indeed. Be welcome to Midgard, beloved of my shield-brother, and know that my arm will strike down any foe in your defense as readily as Steven's own."

"That's not true." Courtney denied immediately. "My, uh, good character and spirit thing. I mean, maybe I'm not horrible, but-" She shook her head. "Let's just get it out right away. I was a thief and a criminal."

"Was." Steve stated firmly.

Natasha stepped forward and gave Courtney a gentle smile. "We don't all have uncheckered pasts either. And nothing you said contradicts a single thing that Thor just said."

"Courtney doesn't like talking about herself, so I just want to get out that she'd already given up her whole life of crime thing before I even got there." Steve said. "I just helped her get clear of some of the lingering consequences of it."

"So you're ahead of me then." Natasha acknowledged. "Has Steve mentioned anything to you about my past?"

"If you're the woman he partnered with who used to, um, assassinate people? Then yes." Courtney replied nervously.

"I didn't even begin to change my ways until after Clint reached out a hand to me." Natasha reassured Courtney. "I wasn't even really able to conceive that I could change. But eventually I did, and they still accepted me despite all that. So don't ever feel that you need to apologize for being you."

"And if you ever need to talk to someone about how it feels to have red in your ledger that you still want to wipe out? Come to either of us, we'll understand." Clint nodded, and then stepped forward to introduce himself. "Clint Barton, and she's Natasha Romanov."

"Dr. Bruce Banner." the shy scientist nodded to her.

"If he's the god, and you're the two operatives, then you're the… one that transforms?" Courtney asked diffidently, and Bruce exhaled heavily and nodded.

"That's me. Don't ask to see it, though. This is a little bit of a confined space to bring out the Other Guy." Bruce joked nervously.

"I'm sorry if I stepped on a landmine." Courtney acknowledged his tension. "Steve's talked all about you, of course, but-" she trailed off.

"But there'll be plenty of time for everybody to get to know everybody." Pepper broke in gently.

"Seriously, guys, she's usually much feistier than this. I think you all are kinda overwhelming her." Tony added.

"Yeah, we are crowding the space a little." Clint acknowledged and everybody stepped back to let Courtney breathe. "But Steve, you have got to tell us all about it soon or the curiosity is going to kill us."

"I will, I will, I promise." Steve held up placating hands. "And for my own confession?" He looked down at Courtney. "I was this close to deciding not to come back. No, I actually did decide not to come back at first, and the only reason I'm not a complete wreck right now is Courtney's own decision to come back with me. That's how much she means to me."

"We would sorely have missed you, believing you dead, but I would not have derided you for such a choice." Thor agreed. "You have already done your duty and more, and even the doughtiest warrior eventually earns their peace."

"Unfortunately, seems like not so much in this case." Steve replied soberly. "Do you know anyone called 'the Ancient One of Kamar-Taj'?"

"I do." Thor acknowledged. "I have not spoken to her for over a century but she is the Sorcerer Supreme of Midgard, the seniormost of a secret order of mystics who act as some of your world's hidden defenders against threats from the other realms. She is the sorceress your beloved spoke of, then? The one that facilitated your return here?"

"She was." Steve said. "And she convinced me to come back when she warned me that the same threat that was behind the Chitauri is eventually coming here for a rematch. She didn't have a time frame except for 'sometime after the next several years', or much detail on the threat, but-" Steve took a deep breath. "She said that if we weren't all unified, and prepared to fight harder than we've ever done before, we were going to lose everything."

"Oh, Fury's going to love hearing that." Natasha murmured.

"So, we're officially teaming up again?" Bruce asked. "Like we were already starting to discuss while you were gone?"

"We've still got some time." Steve acknowledged. "But yeah, even if it's going to take me some time to figure out how to disentangle from SHIELD-" He nodded apologetically to Natasha and Clint.

"We get it." Clint acknowledged. "We can do the detached duty thing as needed, but we're just senior agents and you're STRIKE Ops commander. That's not a part-time job, and you're too prominent in SHIELD to really be able to take any lesser position. For you it's all or nothing."

"And while I'll give Nick a few months of notice before I resign, it's gonna be nothing." Steve gave a meaningful look at Courtney. "Kinda hard to juggle both SHIELD and a- personal life."

"Well, some people manage." Clint agreed evenly. "But yeah, it's not always possible."

"We shall speak further of war and sorrow at the proper time." Thor broke in firmly. "Today is a day of joy, and a celebration of friendships old and new."

"Truer words were never spoken." Tony agreed. "JARVIS? Tell them to bring up the good stuff, and let's get this party started!"

* * * * *​

Author's Note: And so they return to the MCU. I've went back and readjusted the 'D Minus' dates for the earlier MCU segments because I always knew how shortly before Insight I wanted Steve to arrive back here, I just didn't know exactly how long the Dispatch sergment would be taking.

That is indeed the events of Iron Man 3 that Tony had just recently gone through and is referring to. (In fact, Iron Man 3 canonically happens only five to six weeks before TWS, which is why Tony has no involvement in the events of TWS – he's still in recovery.) And Killian jamming the Extremis in Pepper is what Tony was thinking of when he hears that Steve's new girl also had a bad guy putting stuff in her, so Tony can really relate to that right now.

There will be a couple more chapters, and then we're done.

 

[Marchewmen]

Kinda sad this isn't earth mightiest heroes avengers. I watched whatever was on youtube, and damn was that show good.

Much better connection from avengers to overall marvel world, fights are super fun to see.

 

[The Unicorn]

Should be only a couple more chapters and we'll be done.

Click to shrink...

There will be a couple more chapters, and then we're done.

Click to shrink...

Hmm...I think I like this trend, you should keep it up

 

[cliffc999]

Hmm...I think I like this trend, you should keep it up

Click to shrink...

We just dropped chapter 25, and chapters 26, 27, and a post-credits stinger are yet to come. So at a 2/day update it should be finished tomorrow afternoon.

When I did this on SB it originally had only 25 chapters and the MCU return skipped over a lot of the reactions to Steve and Courtney's return/arrival because I was stuck on writing them. Then later on I actually managed to get some of them out as sidestory chapters. Then I later redid my chapters there to splice them all in-line. You're getting the final production version here.

 

[htgriffin]

"Sounds good to me." Steve agreed. "And Tony… thank you. Even if I couldn't accept it, that's still one of the kindest things anybody's ever offered to do for me."

Click to shrink...

Okay. Kept Boy of Independently Wealthy Non-Convicted Ex Thief, and now this? Man's duty keeps him away from so many retirement options.

"Oh, and make sure to use the right opening credits music!"

"Tony, no." Steve moaned softly. "Please."

Click to shrink...

Now Courtney begins to truly grasp where Steve's Thing about PR Dog&Pony shows comes from.

 

[cliffc999]

Now Courtney begins to truly grasp where Steve's Thing about PR Dog&Pony shows comes from.

Click to shrink...

As foretold in the prophecy:

"Look. I get that you like to always be the star-spangled man with a plan-" Courtney began, only to stop dead at Steve's flinch. "… another landmine?"

"Embarrassing one." Steve blushed. "It's okay, it didn't hurt. Except my dignity."

"Oh, you gotta explain this one to me." Courtney asked eagerly.

"No, I don't think I will." Steve replied politely after a distinct pause.

Click to shrink...

 

[The Unicorn]

We just dropped chapter 25, and chapters 26, 27, and a post-credits stinger are yet to come. So at a 2/day update it should be finished tomorrow afternoon.

When I did this on SB it originally had only 25 chapters and the MCU return skipped over a lot of the reactions to Steve and Courtney's return/arrival because I was stuck on writing them. Then later on I actually managed to get some of them out as sidestory chapters. Then I later redid my chapters there to splice them all in-line. You're getting the final production version here.

Click to shrink...

Yah, but the joke is that we were two chapters from the end, and after two chapters we're still two chapters from the end.

 

[cliffc999]

Earth-MCU
Insight Day: D Minus 39

"Sir? You asked me to give you a five-minute warning." Maria Hill's voice interrupted Nick Fury's concentration.

"That's right, I did." Fury wrenched his concentration away from the analyses he'd been concentrating on and looked up from his desk. "Stark still on schedule, or is he going to flake out at the last minute?"

"It's not Stark." Maria corrected him. "Barton and Romanov are the ones who requested the secure teleconference."

"I'll be damned, they finally remembered who they worked for?" Fury said ironically. "But if they're calling from the Tower then no, Stark approved the call."

"I just hope they're not calling to submit their resignations." she worried. "Sudden Avengers team reunion meeting out of nowhere? If Stark really did carry out his threat and reform the group, then they would have had to pick a side and pick it fast."

"To be honest, if push really did come to shove then I'd rather have them inside Stark's tent and pissin' out then be stuck out in the cold with us just pissin' into the wind." Fury sardonically mangled President Lyndon Johnson's famous quote. "They don't need to take a paycheck from us to remember which side they're on, and the idea of Stark, Thor, and Banner running loose without adult supervision is a nightmare."

"Well, we'll find out soon enough." Maria shrugged philosophically.

"Computer? Seal my office, full countersurveillance suite, hold all my other calls. Open secure teleconference line to Stark Tower and signal we're available." Fury ordered.

"Office sealed. Communications request sent." the SHIELD computer replied. "Request acknowledged. Teleconference starting."

The big wall screen flickered on to show Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov both sitting at a table in the conference room of the Avengers' quarters in Stark Tower. Fury's eyes widened at not only the relaxed body language of the two agents but also Natasha's smile – the first genuine, non-forced smile either SHIELD's Director or Deputy Director had seen from her in over two months.

"Good news, then?" Maria greeted them.

"Very good news." Clint nodded. "Sorry about the comms blackout, boss, but we needed a whole day just to process the ramifications of what we were told… and also to let the hangover wear off." He broke out in a beaming grin. "So starting from the top – somebody just became the first person in history who will need to be taken off the MIA list and restored to life twice."

Fury's mouth fell open, the first time in over a decade he'd shown that much visible shock. "You'd better not be fucking with me, Barton!" he swore viciously.

"He's back, Nick." Natasha smiled at him. "Steve's alive. And yes, we have confirmation of identity." she continued more professionally. "DNA, full biometrics, test questions, everything."

Maria exhaled heavily and blinked away tears, visibly fighting to keep control of her expression. "What happened to him? And what's his condition?"

"The wormhole sent him to an alternate timeline, apparently. A pretty distant one. He got back slightly less than two days ago with some significant help from that, uh, mystical sector that we really don't know much about. " Clint explained. "Not much names or detail available there, but Thor confirmed that whatever it was it was genuine and non-malicious."

"Two days." Fury blinked. "Stark sat on this for two days?"

"Nick, we all know that Tony doesn't trust you any further than he could throw the Triskelion without a suit." Natasha said reasonably. "He never really has. Honestly, we should count our blessings that he actually told us this soon. Knowing Tony he probably at least seriously considered helping Steve continue to fake his death and offering to fund a luxury retirement under a new ID."

"Valid." Fury conceded reluctantly. "Captain Rogers' condition?"

"Better than ever." Clint replied cheerfully. "His involuntary vacation did him a world of good."

"Which brings me to the part that's really going to flip your pancakes." Natasha said impishly. "Steve didn't return alone."

"How many?" Hill asked tautly. "And hostile or non-?"

"One, and about as friendly as it can possibly get." Clint reassured her. "It was like something out of pulp sci-fi. Hero gets cast away to a place where nobody knows him and finds a quiet life after falling in love with a local girl, then has to answer the call again anyway." He turned serious. "And we're very lucky that she agreed to come back with him, or we would not have gotten him back at all."

"We need to get this up front." Natasha said seriously. "Nick, we cannot let anyone else decide to play games with this. Not that you would, but we both know that-"

"Seriously, boss?" Clint interrupted soberly. "If you want shooting that nuke at New York to become only the second stupidest-ass decision in the history of SHIELD, then let anybody on the Council or anywhere else even suggest trying to use her as leverage against Cap. First, Steve would go completely off the reservation if that happened. It would literally be as bad an idea as kidnapping Peggy Carter from the retirement home, if not actually worse. Second, Stark would flip his shit – he's already best friends with her, not to mention his whole reaction to Steve's death and how he's overcompensating for it now. And last but definitely not least, Thor would declare war over it. Remember that he also emigrated to an entirely different planet in order to be with someone he'd fallen in love with, so he very much was impressed by Courtney doing the same thing. And it was enough for him to immediately put her in the same category he keeps Dr. Foster and Darcy Lewis. Touch her and the hammer comes down."

"What the-?" Fury goggled. "Who even is this girl?"

"She's nice." Natasha surprised the two directors. "As for more details we have a whole preliminary dossier compiled, plus she thought ahead enough to bring some paperwork from home. The short version is she's Courtney Jane Doe – yes, that's her actual name – age 27, enhanced with the power to turn invisible for short durations, and was working over in her home timeline for a private security company as a local superpowered backup to law enforcement." Natasha said. "We wrote up the rest. JARVIS? Stream it."

"Datapacket sent." JARVIS' voice broke in on the line. "Files received." SHIELD's own non-sentient computer systems acknowledged. "Malware scan negative."

The computer monitor screen on Fury's desk lit up and a couple of silent minutes passed as him and Hill speed-read through the several pages of the preliminary file.

"Well, it could definitely be worse. A lot worse." Hill nodded. "So, we need to set up a legal identity for her and a 'welcome to Earth' cultural series and otherwise leave her entirely alone?"

"The full cultural series won't be necessary, their parallel Earth appears to have been similar enough to ours that the only thing she needs is a modern history class." Natasha assured them. "And as for rations and quarters, she's already been offered the full hospitality of Stark Tower for the duration so we don't need to do anything there either. The rest is spot on."

"Is she…" Hill broke off. "Did she impress you as a… decent person? Or are we going to have a severely depressed Captain Rogers to deal with at some point?"

"Start picking out your wedding present." Natasha answered immediately. "Well maybe not quite that soon, but… no, they really are one of those almost offensively cute couples. I've never seen Steve happier or more relaxed, and if she doesn't legitimately think that he hung the moon then she's a better actress than I am. Admittedly I've only known her for less than 24 hours, but initial read is that they're for the long haul."

"Good." Hill nodded. "Not just in the sense that we won't have a psychological crisis to deal with in the near future, but he deserves to have something go right for him for once."

"He's not coming back to SHIELD, is he?" Fury said evenly, and Hill turned to him in surprise.

"Start picking out your next STRIKE Ops commander and composing your PR scripts for the Captain's retirement." Clint acknowledged. "Steve said he'd give you several months of notice, minimum, but in half a year at the outside he'll be gone. He's looking forward to family life in the future, and unlike me he doesn't want to balance it against SHIELD."

"And the Avengers?" Fury continued.

"After Steve leaves SHIELD, they'll be reforming." Natasha confirmed. "We're both invited, so we'll have to step back from full-time duty as well."

"In the event of the Avengers returning to active status, extended detached duty is already approved." Fury agreed immediately. "You're both very useful here, but the absolute last thing I want is them running loose without any points of contact."

"We understand." Clint acknowledged.

"How far has the information of Steve's return spread?" Maria asked.

"Right now, you're the only two people outside of the Stark Tower penthouse who know." Clint said. "However, that status will rapidly change. Pepper's already drawn up the press release, and unless SHIELD puts out a release first it will go live at 1600 Eastern time today. So that gives you a little more than seven hours to decide how you're going to make the initial public notification before Stark does it for you."

"Can we get a delay on that?" Fury asked. "Even so much as a day? Because I actually would like to talk to somebody above even my pay grade before just hipshooting this."

"Tony said that you can either get a delay on the press release or you can get the last pair of your new Helicarrier engines delivered on schedule, but pick only one." Natasha said ruefully. "Sorry. He's in a mood."

"Sometimes I wish I'd never convinced him to sell me those damned things, because he's done nothing but twist my arm with them ever since." Fury muttered. "All right, tell him we'll have something out by three."

"Understood. Anything else?" Natasha asked.

"Just one question. Why isn't Rogers reporting in along with you?" Fury inquired.

"Because he's sleeping it off." Clint laughed. "Apparently they actually do make booze that can get him drunk, it's just that they only make it on Asgard."

"I see what you mean about him finally being able to relax." Fury said stolidly. "All right, that's enough to go on for now. I've got to make some calls, but as of 1500 today we go public. In the meantime, just stay there as long as they'll let you and let me know if anything else looks to go haywire. Fury out."

"Acknowledged. Barton out." And the screen blanked out.

"It finally happened." Maria chuckled. "We officially have a 'Cap's girlfriend' to deal with, and it's nobody we ever expected." She gave Nick an amused side-eye. "Disappointed to have all your attempted matchmaking fail?"

"Those ladies were entirely and genuinely self-motivated." Nick protested.

"Yes, and I'm sure it was entirely coincidental that you cycled that many young, attractive, and hero-worshipping junior female staff through Steve's agent supports and liaisons." Maria rolled her eyes. "Seriously, before the wormhole you were just about getting desperate enough to send in Agent Thirteen, weren't you?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny." Fury shook his head flatly. "What's your advice on the initial press release?"

"It's a rope that we're being sold, and Stark wants to see how we hang ourselves with it." Maria answered immediately. "So we do not mention Girlfriend America anywhere in it, even by implication. That's the test."

"What I figured." Fury nodded. "As for the rest, I was thinking we keep it barebones. And we imply that Stark's mad science helped fetch Captain Rogers back – because I am like hell going to mention the word 'magic' in anything officially written down – but we don't actually say that directly."

"I'll start composing it." Maria nodded. "But note, if I have to consult with PR staff about this then it'll be all over the building inside an hour."

"I have to conference call with the Secretary and the President to give them a heads-up." Fury said. "Computer, do we have any non-SHIELD visitors in the building at present?"

"Negative. A Department of Defense liaison will arrive for the counter-terrorism briefing at 1400 hours. That is the only scheduled outside party today." the computer answered.

"Right. Computer, immediate voice call to the Secretary and then patch that into conference call with White House Signals as soon as they get on the line." Fury ordered. "And after we finish that, I have an announcement to make."

* * * * *​

"Attention all SHIELD personnel. This is the Director." Fury's voice rang out from every interior speaker in the Triskelion. "We have just had an unscheduled but very positive event."

Heads looked up confusedly from their work all over the building. An 'unscheduled event' almost always meant a crisis announcement. An 'unscheduled but very positive' event was unheard of.

"We have just received word from Stark Tower that thanks to an unprecedented and experimental effort, under circumstances not likely to be repeated, a successful recovery mission has been completed for a senior SHIELD officer who was missing and presumed dead."

Agent Rollins stood up from his firing crouch and absent-mindedly flicked the selector switch on his assault rifle to 'safe' as him and several others on the STRIKE team paused where they were going through the indoor urban assault course to stare at each other incredulously.

"There will be a public announcement of this news at 1500 hours local time today, and any premature communication of this news outside the building before that time will be the worst – and last – idea that anyone has ever had in their SHIELD career." Fury continued.

SHIELD agents and analysts all over the building turned incredulous stares away from the nearest PA speakers towards each other, and a rumble of conversation began to build as everyone questioned each other if this really meant what they thought it did-

"But at this time I am very very pleased to announce that Captain Rogers has returned to us, safe and sound."

Brock Rumlow stood in the operations control center of SHIELD where he had been monitoring suspected terrorist installations via satellite and shook his head wonderingly from side to side. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me." he muttered to himself.

"Preliminary reports are that he is in good condition and high spirits. At present he is convalescing at Stark Tower, and we currently anticipate his return to active duty, after suitable debriefing and evaluations, within the next several weeks."

Sharon Carter sat at her desk, her face buried in her hands and heaving with sobs as the tension of over two months' worth of suppressed grief all discharged at once. She reached for a tissue and loudly and unashamedly blew her nose as she smiled through her tears.

"And in conclusion, all I can say is… God bless America. Fury out."

One heartbeat passed, and then another… and then the sound of cheers resounded through every hallway in the building.

* * * * *​

"No sir, I don't think Captain Rogers will want a whole ceremony." Secretary Alexander Pierce said into the phone as he sat at his desk in his office at the very top of the Triskelion, SHIELD's headquarters building. "We'll do a press conference, of course." He paused to listen to the caller. "He apparently had some extra-terrestrial assistance returning from where the wormhole had sent him. Unfortunately we're still a little thin on details, because Mr. Stark has been his usual eccentric self about sharing them. The Captain will be debriefed almost as soon as he's back here, of course, and I'll make sure those reports are sent right to you." He paused again. "Of course, Mr. President. And yes, it's a very good day for America that he's miraculously survived yet again."

Pierce hung up the phone and the politician's smile fell off his face as if surgically removed. He looked up at the tall, muscular man standing at attention in front of his desk.

"Sorry about the delay." Pierce nodded. "The President was in a very chatty mood, and it's not like I can put him on hold. That's the second time he's called today." The Secretary looked down briefly to check the display panel built into his desk and tapped a control. "All right, the room's secure. We can speak plainly."

"Yes sir." Brock Rumlow nodded as he relaxed to at-ease. "So, the Cap really is back then?"

"Safe and sound, from whatever alternate universe he got randomly wormholed into." Pierce nodded. "I'm sure it's a very remarkable tale."

"It's a very remarkable what the fuck is it going to take to kill that guy?" Rumlow burst out incredulously. "I'm starting to wonder if even Project Insight's going to bring enough gun if he can survive this kind of crap!"

"Let's not exaggerate." Pierce reassured his best agent. "While it certainly can't be denied that he's by far the luckiest person known to history – twice over - there's some things that no amount of luck can defend against. Particularly if you don't see them coming."

"You're right, sir." Rumlow apologized. "Sorry, I'm just a little spooked. You personally see a guy get nuclear disintegrated and then he pops up again a couple months later fresh as a daisy, it makes a man start to question the nature of his reality."

"Oh trust me, you're not alone in feeling that way." Pierce agreed. "Which is why I wanted to speak to you. We can – and will – use up several weeks giving the Captain some convalescent leave, debriefing, medical exams, et cetera, but it's not guaranteed we'll be able to continue that pace all the way up to Insight Day. Which means STRIKE will have to prepare for the possibility that you'll be deploying with him at least once more before then, which means you need to make sure every man on the team has his poker face solidly back in place and is prepared not to leak even the slightest thing. And to have all that done before Captain Rogers reports back for duty full-time."

"You can count on me, sir. I'll keep 'em in line." Rumlow nodded. "I also heard the Cap's got a girl now? Are we, uh, doing anything about that?"

"Absolutely. We're rolling out the bureaucratic red carpet for the young lady while smiling and staying on our very best behavior." Pierce nodded at him.

"Good." Rumlow exhaled with relief. "I was afraid that they were thinking that we should black-bag her for leverage or something, and I was already rehearsing how I was going to have to try and explain how that would not be a good idea."

"Exactly." Pierce agreed. "We're less than six weeks out from Insight and so far nobody suspects a thing. Even the recent Avengers surprise team meeting we were worrying about turns out just to have been them privately celebrating Captain Rogers' return before they notified us. Which means that the only thing we need to keep doing is nothing to raise any further alarm."

"Yeah. Plus, the more weekends off he takes to run back up to New York and spend 'em with his lady friend playing honeymoon, the less he's hanging around the office here and possibly noticing anything – which is exactly what we want happening." Rumlow agreed, and then chuckled. "Gotta admit I'm personally a little curious, though. There's barely a woman in the building who wouldn't gladly jump in bed with the Captain if he just crooked a finger at 'em – and some of them work for us! But none of them even got to first base with him, and now he comes back from another planet all shacked up? What, is she like Aphrodite or something?"

"Agent, if I could understand and predict human behavior that exactly then we wouldn't need Project Insight." Pierce chuckled. "Even the best predictive algorithms are only statistical, that's precisely why we're using as much… overcompensation… as we are."

"True enough." Rumlow grinned back. "Okay, so I get STRIKE back solidly into undercover mode and get ready to play Prince Charming if Cap ever brings his lady friend around. Anything else in the program that we need to change?"

"That reminds me." Pierce said. "Given that the Avengers are speaking to each other again, however innocently, we're going to need to take some extra care with distraction ops around Insight Day. I want as few Avengers as possible in North America, let alone in DC, when the time comes."

"Well, Stark doesn't even have a suit to wear anymore, not after the AIM thing, and while he likely intends to rebuild one eventually he's still in surgical recovery now." Rumlow analyzed. "Banner's self-isolating anyway, the only way to get him within a hundred miles of a military base – let alone here – is if he already knew Insight was going down. And Rogers and Romanov were people we were already expecting to be around the building full-time and already planned for. So the sticking point is Thor and Barton. Off the top of my head I don't know what the heck I can do about the thunder god, though."

"I'll handle Thor." Pierce nodded. "I anticipate that the government of Iceland is going to invite him and Dr. Foster to attend some ceremonies in honor of him and Asgard that week, an honor that I'm sure he'll be glad to accept. What I really wanted from you was a suggestion on how to deal with Barton."

"Well I certainly hope you don't want him whacked, because in addition to the fact that dropping his corpse would send Romanov entirely berserk we're talking about the operative that SHIELD originally sent to go shoot her here." Rumlow shook his head. "He's the actual best assassin in this entire building, even if everybody thinks it's her. Plus he's basically impossible to sneak up on. I swear to God that guy has to be enhanced, I don't care what his gene tests say." He took a deep breath. "However, he's also a full-time agent so he still takes orders. And once Project Insight is online we won't need a lot of the terrorist proxies we're using now anymore, so why not just cut one of 'em out early and hang 'em out to dry? We could use one of the Central Asian terror proxies, one of the really brutal ones. If Barton's busy running around in the mountains of Afghanistan or wherever sniping a bunch of mass murdering assholes in the head, then he's not here to potentially back up Rogers and Romanov when shit kicks loose."

"Sounds ideal." Pierce said. "Pick the one you like least, then write up an outline of how to arrange for Barton to go eliminate them at the opportune time and send it to my office."

"Yes sir." Rumlow nodded. "Anything else?"

"That'll do for now." Pierce shook his head. "Dismissed."

"Yes sir." Rumlow came to attention again and saluted. "Hail Hydra."

Pierce nodded in acknowledgement of the salute. "Hail Hydra."

* * * * *​

Author's Note: And now we get the reaction shots of their arrival from both SHIELD and HYDRA.

'Agent Thirteen' is Sharon Carter's canonical code name. Seriously, you cannot tell me Peggy's niece ended up assigned to Steve's detail in TWS by coincidence.

And honestly, given the amount of hero-worship and 'Aunt Peggy would want me to make sure he's okay' Sharon had to be carrying at first, only Nick Fury could possibly screw that setup up as hard as he did by assigning her to watch over Steve while undercover so nothing could ever happen between them due to it starting out on a basis of lies. It's the same sort of 'can you just think like a fucking normal person for once in your life?' that was behind the absurdity of Steve's original wakeup from the ice in the first place. Because while I still headcanon that Fury intended for something to happen there, he did the exact wrongest thing to actually try and make it happen. *g*

Oh well, she's missing her window in this timeline due to Courtney (not that canon also wasn't cruel to her in that regard) but at least I can still be nice to her in other ways. NGL, this one was largely an excuse to get that one camera moment of Sharon weeping with happiness in the first place. Sometimes when I'm writing fanfic, I like to imagine I'm a movie director. *g*

And we close out on a glimpse of our HYDRA villains being HYDRA, and Pierce using his brief screentime to prove that he's far smarter than Shroud will ever be. Because he is one of my very favorite MCU villains, as is Rumlow, and even if they're both headed for their fates in the events of TWS I can pay some respect first.

There will be one more chapter after that, and a post-credits stinger, and then our tale is done.

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapters
Continue on
Cheers!

 

[htgriffin]

"Well, it could definitely be worse. A lot worse." Hill nodded.

Click to shrink...

I dunno, Malevola seems a chill sort despite the worse rap sheet, although the PR side is... harder.

If you are talking Destinations... recall Empowered?

"Good." Rumlow exhaled with relief. "I was afraid that they were thinking that we should black-bag her for leverage or something, and I was already rehearsing how I was going to have to try and explain how that would not be a good idea."

Click to shrink...

Two Smart Minions. Glad to see it.

 

[cliffc999]

Two Smart Minions. Glad to see it.

Click to shrink...

MCU Rumlow is an absolutely top tier supervillain goon that any evil organization would be proud to have as one of their top soldiers. Dude is charismatic, lethal, effective, cunning, and has guts enough to not even begin to flinch from Captain America even after the other ten guys he brought to the elevator fight are all on the floor. And for all that I hate seeing Sharon take Ls, remember that we're talking about a woman who once jumped the Winter Soldier with her bare hands and was still able to leave the fight not on a stretcher and Rumlow still managed to beat her in a knife fight... when she'd brought a gun.

I mean, sure, he's an absolutely horrible person but see 'HYDRA's chief goon'. As a villain, he's great.