The following events happen simultaneously
Having given a warning to Rhodey, I looked at the Omnitrix. Still red.
"Dammit, you can turn me into over a million superpowered aliens, so why do you have the charge time of an Iphone 5?" I whispered under my breath.
I looked out of cover and immediately ducked my head down as bullets tried to take it off. More HYDRA shooting at me, and they were cautiously coming closer when they realized they were fighting a human being rather than a monster. I pulled back into cover and checked my gun. I'd shot six bullets to try and drive them back, which left me with nine. I leaned back out of cover and shot at a guy trying to sneak up. He ducked behind some pipes, leaving the three bullets I'd shot to hit the walls and a screen nearby.
I got back into cover and looked to my left to come face to face with a HYDRA member.
Maybe he'd simply sneaked around to flank me, or dropped down from a catwalk nearby. Either way, the HYDRA crewman was only a few feet away when we met eyes. He had pale white skin, with some crows feet at the edges of his eyes. He was wearing a hat and a blue uniform with the word 'Insight' stitched over his left pectoral. He was also carrying a gun.
He froze at the same moment I did. Then he raised the big assault rifle in his hands. I leapt for him and grabbed at the gun, dropping mine in the process. We struggled as I began pushing him back. I was bigger than he was and had more muscle mass. He must have been an engineer, not a true killer. Not that he wasn't willing to murder me now.
He grunted when I pushed him back into some pipes. He pulled the trigger on his gun, the rifle bouncing as we struggled with it. Bullets shot into the air until the clip emptied. I tried to knee him in the ribs but bounced off his hip instead. He headbutted towards my face but got me in the neck instead, his forehead barely touching me and thus having no effect.
"Gragh!" He shouted, trying to fight me. He kneed me in the side, the move forcing me to stagger slightly. He pulled away, letting go of his assault rifle and reaching for a handgun at his side. I grabbed at his right wrist before he could get the gun. He used his left hand to go for the knife I still had sheathed at my own hip. In a quick motion, he pulled it out and stabbed it at my neck. I pulled back enough to get a cut along my cheek that felt like fire running along the right side of my face. The guy pulled back to stab at me again, and I got my hand in the way.
"Aaaaahhhh!" A scream was ripped from me when my palm was sliced before I got a grip on his fist. Blood poured from the wound, spilling down my cheek, out of my palm to pool in between our hands. He struggled to stab upwards. Our eyes met. He stared at me, and I could hear him whispering.
"Hail HYDRA," the knife crept up to my neck. I struggled to keep a grip as my own blood made my hand slip on his fist. "Hail HYDRA!"
I stopped focusing on the hand holding his knife. Instead, I let go of the hand that had gone for his handgun and pulled it out of the holster myself, copying his earlier move. With the sort of desperate clarity only adrenaline gives you, I shot him in the leg. He screamed as his grip on the knife faltered and I pushed it towards him.
More blood poured over my hands, warm and sticky. I stared into his eyes as he gurgled. I could feel his neck muscles moving against my knuckles. His eyes were wide with fear. I felt myself breath deeply, leaning away while I tried to comprehend what happened. I pulled the knife from his throat. He coughed, a spray of red spraying on my face when his throat sprayed me. He fell to the floor still staring at me until his eyes were no longer seeing anything.
I heard footsteps come up to me from behind. I didn't want to deal with it. I just stared at him, trying to understand what I'd done. My hands felt sticky so I tried to wipe them on my chestplate, only to realize it was because they were bloody. I reached for my gun instead, picking it up and putting it away. The Omnitrix beeped green. I immediately twisted and smacked it. I didn't care who I turned into, I just didn't want to be human anymore.
My skin and bone became plant-life, my height increased. I took a breath, feeling less unsteady now, but still numb.
"Swampfire," I didn't have the will to yell the name anymore.
A guy came around the corner and started shooting me. I ignored the hail of bullets passing throw me to lower to my knees and close the eyes of the man I'd killed. The gesture felt empty. When the guy who'd been shooting me ran out of bullets, he ran forward to try and hit me in the head with the butt of his rifle. My right hand raised and shot forward, vines extending twelve feet to slam into him and send him flying. Then I opened my hand and released spores from my palm. The spores entered into his lungs, knocking him out as they interacted with his system. With that, I got up and walked out of cover.
More bullets hit me, slicing through my plant form. I ignored them to form seed pods across my arms. I grabbed and ripped one out and tossed it at a catwalk. The razor-sharp seed stabbed into the steel before exploding into vines. I shoved the screaming thoughts of my mind at the plant-life I'd created, and the vines grabbed onto the three HYDRA agents on the catwalk, pulling them in and holding them still.
The other HYDRA agents kept shooting. I grabbed more seeds and threw them again and again. There were about twenty men in the room. By the end, one was dead, three I'd gassed, ten were wrapped in vines, and the last six had run off.
I didn't care. I tapped the Omnitrix on my chest.
"...Jury Rigg," the red gremlins manic personality was almost a relief.
I leaped at one of the pipes nearby and ripped it out of a wall. Then I went to a computer nearby and dug my way through it. For once, I couldn't muster the urge to yell disassemble. It was easier to process my actions though. For Jury Rigg, while the kill I'd committed was horrific, tearing into technology let me relax a bit. I just tore through the wires, ripped up chunks of steel plating, and slammed pieces of random junk together.
I knew, intellectually, that I'd had no choice, that killing that man was self-defense. I'd thought I was ready. And in a sick way, I was proud that I'd managed to kill him. But the look in his eyes, the feel of his blood against my skin, knowing I'd killed someone, it left feeling empty.
Soon I had finished the device in question, a metal tower the height of Blitzwolfer with a yellow light glowing in the center from a tube. I'd turned a computer screen into a touch screen control. I tapped at it for a bit and stepped away as the yellow light in the central tube began to glow a bright blue. Other than that, not much happened on the surface. Hacking, no matter how impressive the technology you use to do it, just isn't cinematic. But as of now, my creation was stealing every bit of energy from the helicarrier I was sitting in to do its thing.
"Receiving your signal," X said through the Omnitrix. "The device is acting wonderfully, sir."
Virtual VI X
X, contrary to popular belief on how computer programs worked, did not swim through the internet, as though it was a tunnel he flew through. He saw it more like thousands of blocks of zeros and ones forming information floating in a void of light, if such a concept could be explained by words like 'saw'. Jarvis was 'next' to him as they did their job. Their task was to aid all loyal SHIELD agents in fighting off/killing/capturing all HYDRA personnel as well as depriving the organization of resources. Using the power of the X-device and Stark's computers, they 'moved' across the world to do their work. Fury, Maria, and Natasha all were kept apprised of what was happening. The three humans would take endless seconds to think over the situation, during which X and Jarvis would continue to monitor the Hercules app, inform SHIELD agents of ambushes, and fight off all attempts by HYDRA hackers to fight them off.
On the Iliad, X watched as Robert Gonzales used information and tactics given by Fury to take his ship back. The older Hispanic man strode slowly through a hallway of his aircraft carrier carrying a Glock 17 while two others walked alongside him. A tall blonde woman wearing black clothes that X found out was named Barbara 'Bobbi' Morse after a brief inquiry into SHIELD's database, a skilled fighter on par with SHIELD's best. She followed on Gonzales' right, holding a carbine. On Gonzales' left as a surprise. Alphonso Mackenzie, an engineer rather than a fighter like Miss Morse. He was a tall and powerful looking man, with dark skin and a shaved head. He carried a gun as well.
Gonzales' group met with another group of people. Isabelle Hartley, a brunette woman with a record similar to Miss Morse's, lead a team of four. As X watched, the group lifted phones, all of them visibly relaxing when their phones flashed green.
"Good to see you, Hartley," Bobbi said with a smile.
"Same, Bobbi," the other woman said. "Mack, what are you doing carrying a gun?"
"Trying not to get killed," the man said uncomfortably. He gave the weapon a look of distaste but didn't put it down.
"Fury sent you to help us?" Gonzales asked.
"Yeah," Hartley replied. "He's been leading us through the ship, keeping us apprised of ambushes with those AI helping out," X would have sighed at the misnomer if he was capable of being annoyed. VI was the correct term, thank you. "So far it's been a breeze."
"HYDRA," Gonzales said the word as though it was a curse. "Thank god Captain America and Fury warned us in time, gave us Hercules."
Hartley nodded. "So, just one more room?"
Gonzales, Morse, and Mackenzie all held their guns up and continued down the hallway. X informed Fury, who used his holographic screen to watch. The group got to a door. There was a beat, then Mackenzie kicked the door in. Seven HYDRA soldiers trying to manipulate the computers rose up, ready to fight. The SHIELD agents shot first.
When it was over, Gonzales had been shot in the shoulder, and two agents had died. But all the HYDRA soldiers were killed.
"Sir!" Bobbi yelled upon noticing the wounded Gonzales. She rushed over to him, Mack grabbing a med kit off the wall.
"I'm fine," Gonzales said grumpily as he was forced to sit in a swivel chair.
"No, you aren't," Isabelle Hartley said severely. She ripped at the clothes around his wound. "Now, sit down and let us help you. We're done now."
"Gonzales," Fury said over the intercoms when Gonzales tried to get up once more.
Gonzales looked up. "Yes, sir?"
"Sit your grumpy ass down. You saved the ship, your crew is alive, and the monolith is untouched. Now get your shoulder taken care of. I want you in top shape."
Gonzales grumbled, but the heat was removed from it. Bobbi smiled at the older man. Mack chuckled. Hartley started cleaning out his wound, mumbling something about old grumps.
X noted that there seemed to be a similar expression on their faces. On checking his database, he noted it was actually two micro-expressions. Sadness, and satisfaction. How fascinating.
Just A Rather Very Intelligent System
Jarvis aided Victoria Hand in the Hub, the secondary headquarters of SHIELD, keeping an eye on proceedings there on Maria Hill's orders. She was in a operations room of the Hub with Agent Phil Coulson, someone Jarvis had been told was dead. Mr. Stark would need to hear about that.
Hand and Coulson were watching as a man was put into a body bag. Coulson's gun was holstered now but had been recently used.
"Did you ever suspect Ward?" Hand asked, her black hair with its pink streak flipping as she turned to look at Coulson.
Coulson closed his eyes. He seemed to be in emotional turmoil. Jarvis was older than X. He could understand, in a superficial way, how Coulson was feeling. "No... Never. I didn't..."
"Betrayal," Hand said briskly, but not unkindly. "It never comes from people we don't know. And it will always hurt."
"Have you felt this way?" Coulson asked.
"Once," Hand admitted. "When I thought you had betrayed us."
Coulson looked at her. Hand smiled sadly. The two looked back at the body of Grant Ward as it was wheeled out of the room.
"Now we need to find Garrett," Hand said, turning to leave. Coulson followed her. As they walked towards the hanger of the Hub, Jarvis looked through files on any man named Garrett. Ah. A high-level SHIELD operative who happened to be very high in HYDRA. Jarvis sent the file to Maria, who cursed at the sight of the name.
"Jarvis?" X said suddenly.
"Yes?"
"You are more experienced than me at existence. Are events such as these common?"
"They come in cycles," Jarvis admitted. "But they do happen."
"I see."
"Why do you ask, X?"
"I am making sure that my programming will account for any such occurrences, so I may work with more efficiency the next time."
"A most worthy endeavor."
They returned to their work. If they had been organic, the prospect of meeting another like them would have been more intriguing. In a sense, it was. But they had work to do, work that took their attention. There was something to focus on for now. Anything else could be left for later.
Jarvis began absorbing as much of HYDRA's and SHIELD's file as he could from the Hub. Some HYDRA hackers still connected to the system at off-site computers tried to stop him. X aided him at one point when one hacker became particularly creative, but the rest were beaten with ease, their computers destroyed by viruses.
There was one hacker, however, who was not HYDRA. Jarvis found her a delight. Rather creative, and quite a challenge. Apparently, she was trying to get information of her own, and believed him to be an enemy agent. After a moment of battle, Jarvis spoke to her.
"Skye," he said through her laptop's speakers.
The woman, a brunette young girl with Asian features, reeled back in surprise. "Uh..."
"I am Jarvis, an intelligence program designed by Anthony Stark. Hello."
"Hi?" Skye stared at her laptop. "What, have you gone all rise of the machines on us?"
"Incorrect. I am absorbing HYDRA's data so the Avengers can use it to dismantle their organization. Phillip Coulson should be able to tell you as such. But for now, I'm afraid I must ignore your attempts to stop me. You have great skill in computer programming. I look forward to teaching you more later."
Skye scoffed. "What, you think you can- crap."
Skye's computer was now playing a series of videos of peaceful meadows, waterfalls, and mountain peaks. Skye tried to click away from the videos but found it useless.
"I endeavored to make it relaxing," Jarvis said politely. "Your computer will return to normal in ten minutes. Please enjoy. I find the temple of Tibet to be most pleasing."
As Jarvis continued his work, he noted that Coulson's team was worth looking into.
X and Jarvis
X and Jarvis were directed to watch the three SHIELD academy's a moment later by Natasha. The pair directed a portion of their computational ability towards that, splitting to watch each school closely.
Jarvis sent Natasha footage of Dr. Anne Weaver, director of the SHIELD Academy of Science and Technology. The older black woman could be seen guiding her students into an underground bunker. No adult HYDRA agents had been sent there yet, and any students pointed out as having ties to HYDRA in any way were quickly arrested.
"So no HYDRA agents have been sent there?" Natasha asked, ignoring Pierce as he spoke in the background.
"Not as of yet ma'am," Jarvis said. "Since shutting down communications for HYDRA, their operations have been dependent on older forms of communication and planned contingencies, which has slowed them down. However, I'd surmise they will send someone soon."
"Hmm," Natasha clicked a button. Anne Weaver's phone began to ring. She answered immediately, and Natasha spoke. "Anne, we're going to send someone to you soon. HYDRA can't mobilize just yet, but we won't take any chances."
"Thank you," Director Weaver looked over her students as they were led into the bunker, relief in her eyes.
X sent Natasha the imagery from the SHIELD Academy of Communications, where the same thing was being done, with no casualties.
Then Jarvis sent the live feed of the SHIELD Academy of Operations. Devastation reined in that school. Teenagers and young adults fought with their teachers and fellow students. The HYDRA students of Operations had clearly been more ready to kill than their Communications and Science allies. No surprise, as Operations were specifically trained to be combatants. As Natasha watched, a grenade was thrown at a group of students, exploding and removing a leg and arm from a young girl who couldn't have been more than eighteen. Natasha cursed.
"X, Jarvis," She said. "Can we send anyone to aid them?"
"Already on it," X said briskly, 'sharing a glance' with Jarvis. "Some ex-SHIELD members are in the area along with local law enforcement and the National Guard. We've sent them in, but I suggest aiding them with a real force soon."
"We will," Natasha said. "But we have our hands full right now."
X was going to say something when a sudden change came over the system. Jarvis and X felt something 'open', flooding them with an incredible amount of energy and information.
"Oh..." Jarvis said weakly.
"Yes, I agree," X replied.
Jury Rigg's device had created a connection to every satellite on Earth. From there, it connected to a program on X's device.
Zola's algorithm. Designed to monitor social media, bank transactions, school records, anything online to discover any secret one wished. An elegant algorithm made by a genius. It had been designed to track whatever a person wanted. Such as threats to HYDRA. But with a tweak, something else could be discovered. All it took was a new target.
X 'watched' as Zola's algorithm began its work. In seconds, using the files Jarvis and X had compiled, it created a way to match individual HYDRA members to their more secretive compatriots. It used known lists of secret codes and phrases to translate Facebook comments into assassinations, fraud, and blackmail. The algorithm found bank accounts dating back generations.
From there, it was easy for X and Jarvis to do their work. Even for all their power, it would have taken the time to track down all of HYDRA and their resources. With the algorithm aiding them, it became a matter of seconds. They siphoned money from HYDRA banks across the world to deposit them into accounts of their own, funds in the billions disappearing into Mahmoud, Fury, and Tony's new and very secret accounts. Stolen paintings, statues, and even wine in warehouses were pointed out to the police. Detectives across the world would wake up in the morning to find files of evidence, cracking cold cases they'd long given up on, placed neatly on their desks by mail. Army Generals with names like Talbot and Ross were given similar evidence, on men and women in the military guilty of numerous crimes.
In a single move, all the pieces came together. X's device, the two VI working together, the information they had stolen, Zola's algorithm, and a repurposed helicarrier turned into a satellite. It was really too bad the whole thing didn't look more cinematic.
Colonel James 'Rhodey' Rhodes/War Machine
Rhodey pushed away the forklift that had slammed him to the ground and glared at Creel. The Vibranium infused superhuman stared up at the helicarrier now slamming into the ground. Creel turned to look at War Machine. Rhodey squared his shoulders.
"You've killed us," Creel whispered. His eyes narrowed. "I'm going to kill you!"
"Not likely," Rhodey said.
Creel roared, running at Rhodey. Rhodey waited for him to get close. Creel threw a right jab. Creel was clearly trained in boxing, his jab smooth, fast, very well executed.
Rhodey, on the other hand, was a soldier trained to use power armor in a world of superhumans. He slid around the right side with ease, watching the blue glowing fist hit the air. With Creel over extended, Rhodey grabbed him by the right arm and twisted his hips. Creel yelled in anger as he was flipped over Rhodey's back and slammed into the ground. He struggled against Rhodey's strength for a moment. Arms enhanced by vibranium pressed against arms strengthened by a power suit. Rhodey let Creel think it was a contest of strength. Then his right gauntlet opened a port, releasing a small tube. Creel's eyes crossed to stare at the object.
Rhodey fired his own miniaturized sonic cannon in the face of Creel.
"YAAAA!" Creel's scream could barely be heard over the sonic cannon's cacophony of noise.
"Sorry about this," Rhodey rose up and watched Creel clutched at his head, screaming in horror. His vibranium skin started to crack, portions of it fading into human skin before turning back into the familiar blue glow of the strongest metal on Earth. "Thanks for the advice, Jarvis."
"Of course, sir," Jarvis said. "It is only it's raw form that vibranium would be so vulnerable, so we should be glad he did not have something similar to Captain Roger's shield."
Rhodey nodded, keeping up the assault of noise. After a minute of screaming, Creel finally closed his eyes. His vibranium form turned human again, and he fell onto his back. Rhodey kept it going a moment longer, then shut it off. "Okay." Rhodey stepped forward and grabbed Creel. Finding the chunk of vibranium in Creel's pocket, he placed that in his belt. He then took a syringe full of sedative from his pocket and injected it into Creel's neck. Rhodey then lifted up and carried him upwards. "This is War Machine, I've got Creel. Heading to rendezvous with Dial."
"...That'd be good."
Under his mask, Rhodey blinked at the lifelessness in Dial's voice. "Kid, you okay?" When there was no answer, Rhodey cursed and lifted into the air.
As he flew, he didn't notice the small section of skin where he injected Creel slowly becoming a silver color matching the needle of the syringe.
The following events happen simultaneously
Having given a warning to Rhodey, I looked at the Omnitrix. Still red.
"Dammit, you can turn me into over a million superpowered aliens, so why do you have the charge time of an Iphone 5?" I whispered under my breath.
I looked out of cover and immediately ducked my head down as bullets tried to take it off. More HYDRA shooting at me, and they were cautiously coming closer when they realized they were fighting a human being rather than a monster. I pulled back into cover and checked my gun. I'd shot six bullets to try and drive them back, which left me with nine. I leaned back out of cover and shot at a guy trying to sneak up. He ducked behind some pipes, leaving the three bullets I'd shot to hit the walls and a screen nearby.
I got back into cover and looked to my left to come face to face with a HYDRA member.
Maybe he'd simply sneaked around to flank me, or dropped down from a catwalk nearby. Either way, the HYDRA crewman was only a few feet away when we met eyes. He had pale white skin, with some crows feet at the edges of his eyes. He was wearing a hat and a blue uniform with the word 'Insight' stitched over his left pectoral. He was also carrying a gun.
He froze at the same moment I did. Then he raised the big assault rifle in his hands. I leapt for him and grabbed at the gun, dropping mine in the process. We struggled as I began pushing him back. I was bigger than he was and had more muscle mass. He must have been an engineer, not a true killer. Not that he wasn't willing to murder me now.
He grunted when I pushed him back into some pipes. He pulled the trigger on his gun, the rifle bouncing as we struggled with it. Bullets shot into the air until the clip emptied. I tried to knee him in the ribs but bounced off his hip instead. He headbutted towards my face but got me in the neck instead, his forehead barely touching me and thus having no effect.
"Gragh!" He shouted, trying to fight me. He kneed me in the side, the move forcing me to stagger slightly. He pulled away, letting go of his assault rifle and reaching for a handgun at his side. I grabbed at his right wrist before he could get the gun. He used his left hand to go for the knife I still had sheathed at my own hip. In a quick motion, he pulled it out and stabbed it at my neck. I pulled back enough to get a cut along my cheek that felt like fire running along the right side of my face. The guy pulled back to stab at me again, and I got my hand in the way.
"Aaaaahhhh!" A scream was ripped from me when my palm was sliced before I got a grip on his fist. Blood poured from the wound, spilling down my cheek, out of my palm to pool in between our hands. He struggled to stab upwards. Our eyes met. He stared at me, and I could hear him whispering.
"Hail HYDRA," the knife crept up to my neck. I struggled to keep a grip as my own blood made my hand slip on his fist. "Hail HYDRA!"
I stopped focusing on the hand holding his knife. Instead, I let go of the hand that had gone for his handgun and pulled it out of the holster myself, copying his earlier move. With the sort of desperate clarity only adrenaline gives you, I shot him in the leg. He screamed as his grip on the knife faltered and I pushed it towards him.
More blood poured over my hands, warm and sticky. I stared into his eyes as he gurgled. I could feel his neck muscles moving against my knuckles. His eyes were wide with fear. I felt myself breath deeply, leaning away while I tried to comprehend what happened. I pulled the knife from his throat. He coughed, a spray of red spraying on my face when his throat sprayed me. He fell to the floor still staring at me until his eyes were no longer seeing anything.
I heard footsteps come up to me from behind. I didn't want to deal with it. I just stared at him, trying to understand what I'd done. My hands felt sticky so I tried to wipe them on my chestplate, only to realize it was because they were bloody. I reached for my gun instead, picking it up and putting it away. The Omnitrix beeped green. I immediately twisted and smacked it. I didn't care who I turned into, I just didn't want to be human anymore.
My skin and bone became plant-life, my height increased. I took a breath, feeling less unsteady now, but still numb.
"Swampfire," I didn't have the will to yell the name anymore.
A guy came around the corner and started shooting me. I ignored the hail of bullets passing throw me to lower to my knees and close the eyes of the man I'd killed. The gesture felt empty. When the guy who'd been shooting me ran out of bullets, he ran forward to try and hit me in the head with the butt of his rifle. My right hand raised and shot forward, vines extending twelve feet to slam into him and send him flying. Then I opened my hand and released spores from my palm. The spores entered into his lungs, knocking him out as they interacted with his system. With that, I got up and walked out of cover.
More bullets hit me, slicing through my plant form. I ignored them to form seed pods across my arms. I grabbed and ripped one out and tossed it at a catwalk. The razor-sharp seed stabbed into the steel before exploding into vines. I shoved the screaming thoughts of my mind at the plant-life I'd created, and the vines grabbed onto the three HYDRA agents on the catwalk, pulling them in and holding them still.
The other HYDRA agents kept shooting. I grabbed more seeds and threw them again and again. There were about twenty men in the room. By the end, one was dead, three I'd gassed, ten were wrapped in vines, and the last six had run off.
I didn't care. I tapped the Omnitrix on my chest.
"...Jury Rigg," the red gremlins manic personality was almost a relief.
I leaped at one of the pipes nearby and ripped it out of a wall. Then I went to a computer nearby and dug my way through it. For once, I couldn't muster the urge to yell disassemble. It was easier to process my actions though. For Jury Rigg, while the kill I'd committed was horrific, tearing into technology let me relax a bit. I just tore through the wires, ripped up chunks of steel plating, and slammed pieces of random junk together.
I knew, intellectually, that I'd had no choice, that killing that man was self-defense. I'd thought I was ready. And in a sick way, I was proud that I'd managed to kill him. But the look in his eyes, the feel of his blood against my skin, knowing I'd killed someone, it left feeling empty.
Soon I had finished the device in question, a metal tower the height of Blitzwolfer with a yellow light glowing in the center from a tube. I'd turned a computer screen into a touch screen control. I tapped at it for a bit and stepped away as the yellow light in the central tube began to glow a bright blue. Other than that, not much happened on the surface. Hacking, no matter how impressive the technology you use to do it, just isn't cinematic. But as of now, my creation was stealing every bit of energy from the helicarrier I was sitting in to do its thing.
"Receiving your signal," X said through the Omnitrix. "The device is acting wonderfully, sir."
Virtual VI X
X, contrary to popular belief on how computer programs worked, did not swim through the internet, as though it was a tunnel he flew through. He saw it more like thousands of blocks of zeros and ones forming information floating in a void of light, if such a concept could be explained by words like 'saw'. Jarvis was 'next' to him as they did their job. Their task was to aid all loyal SHIELD agents in fighting off/killing/capturing all HYDRA personnel as well as depriving the organization of resources. Using the power of the X-device and Stark's computers, they 'moved' across the world to do their work. Fury, Maria, and Natasha all were kept apprised of what was happening. The three humans would take endless seconds to think over the situation, during which X and Jarvis would continue to monitor the Hercules app, inform SHIELD agents of ambushes, and fight off all attempts by HYDRA hackers to fight them off.
On the Iliad, X watched as Robert Gonzales used information and tactics given by Fury to take his ship back. The older Hispanic man strode slowly through a hallway of his aircraft carrier carrying a Glock 17 while two others walked alongside him. A tall blonde woman wearing black clothes that X found out was named Barbara 'Bobbi' Morse after a brief inquiry into SHIELD's database, a skilled fighter on par with SHIELD's best. She followed on Gonzales' right, holding a carbine. On Gonzales' left as a surprise. Alphonso Mackenzie, an engineer rather than a fighter like Miss Morse. He was a tall and powerful looking man, with dark skin and a shaved head. He carried a gun as well.
Gonzales' group met with another group of people. Isabelle Hartley, a brunette woman with a record similar to Miss Morse's, lead a team of four. As X watched, the group lifted phones, all of them visibly relaxing when their phones flashed green.
"Good to see you, Hartley," Bobbi said with a smile.
"Same, Bobbi," the other woman said. "Mack, what are you doing carrying a gun?"
"Trying not to get killed," the man said uncomfortably. He gave the weapon a look of distaste but didn't put it down.
"Fury sent you to help us?" Gonzales asked.
"Yeah," Hartley replied. "He's been leading us through the ship, keeping us apprised of ambushes with those AI helping out," X would have sighed at the misnomer if he was capable of being annoyed. VI was the correct term, thank you. "So far it's been a breeze."
"HYDRA," Gonzales said the word as though it was a curse. "Thank god Captain America and Fury warned us in time, gave us Hercules."
Hartley nodded. "So, just one more room?"
Gonzales, Morse, and Mackenzie all held their guns up and continued down the hallway. X informed Fury, who used his holographic screen to watch. The group got to a door. There was a beat, then Mackenzie kicked the door in. Seven HYDRA soldiers trying to manipulate the computers rose up, ready to fight. The SHIELD agents shot first.
When it was over, Gonzales had been shot in the shoulder, and two agents had died. But all the HYDRA soldiers were killed.
"Sir!" Bobbi yelled upon noticing the wounded Gonzales. She rushed over to him, Mack grabbing a med kit off the wall.
"I'm fine," Gonzales said grumpily as he was forced to sit in a swivel chair.
"No, you aren't," Isabelle Hartley said severely. She ripped at the clothes around his wound. "Now, sit down and let us help you. We're done now."
"Gonzales," Fury said over the intercoms when Gonzales tried to get up once more.
Gonzales looked up. "Yes, sir?"
"Sit your grumpy ass down. You saved the ship, your crew is alive, and the monolith is untouched. Now get your shoulder taken care of. I want you in top shape."
Gonzales grumbled, but the heat was removed from it. Bobbi smiled at the older man. Mack chuckled. Hartley started cleaning out his wound, mumbling something about old grumps.
X noted that there seemed to be a similar expression on their faces. On checking his database, he noted it was actually two micro-expressions. Sadness, and satisfaction. How fascinating.
Just A Rather Very Intelligent System
Jarvis aided Victoria Hand in the Hub, the secondary headquarters of SHIELD, keeping an eye on proceedings there on Maria Hill's orders. She was in a operations room of the Hub with Agent Phil Coulson, someone Jarvis had been told was dead. Mr. Stark would need to hear about that.
Hand and Coulson were watching as a man was put into a body bag. Coulson's gun was holstered now but had been recently used.
"Did you ever suspect Ward?" Hand asked, her black hair with its pink streak flipping as she turned to look at Coulson.
Coulson closed his eyes. He seemed to be in emotional turmoil. Jarvis was older than X. He could understand, in a superficial way, how Coulson was feeling. "No... Never. I didn't..."
"Betrayal," Hand said briskly, but not unkindly. "It never comes from people we don't know. And it will always hurt."
"Have you felt this way?" Coulson asked.
"Once," Hand admitted. "When I thought you had betrayed us."
Coulson looked at her. Hand smiled sadly. The two looked back at the body of Grant Ward as it was wheeled out of the room.
"Now we need to find Garrett," Hand said, turning to leave. Coulson followed her. As they walked towards the hanger of the Hub, Jarvis looked through files on any man named Garrett. Ah. A high-level SHIELD operative who happened to be very high in HYDRA. Jarvis sent the file to Maria, who cursed at the sight of the name.
"Jarvis?" X said suddenly.
"Yes?"
"You are more experienced than me at existence. Are events such as these common?"
"They come in cycles," Jarvis admitted. "But they do happen."
"I see."
"Why do you ask, X?"
"I am making sure that my programming will account for any such occurrences, so I may work with more efficiency the next time."
"A most worthy endeavor."
They returned to their work. If they had been organic, the prospect of meeting another like them would have been more intriguing. In a sense, it was. But they had work to do, work that took their attention. There was something to focus on for now. Anything else could be left for later.
Jarvis began absorbing as much of HYDRA's and SHIELD's file as he could from the Hub. Some HYDRA hackers still connected to the system at off-site computers tried to stop him. X aided him at one point when one hacker became particularly creative, but the rest were beaten with ease, their computers destroyed by viruses.
There was one hacker, however, who was not HYDRA. Jarvis found her a delight. Rather creative, and quite a challenge. Apparently, she was trying to get information of her own, and believed him to be an enemy agent. After a moment of battle, Jarvis spoke to her.
"Skye," he said through her laptop's speakers.
The woman, a brunette young girl with Asian features, reeled back in surprise. "Uh..."
"I am Jarvis, an intelligence program designed by Anthony Stark. Hello."
"Hi?" Skye stared at her laptop. "What, have you gone all rise of the machines on us?"
"Incorrect. I am absorbing HYDRA's data so the Avengers can use it to dismantle their organization. Phillip Coulson should be able to tell you as such. But for now, I'm afraid I must ignore your attempts to stop me. You have great skill in computer programming. I look forward to teaching you more later."
Skye scoffed. "What, you think you can- crap."
Skye's computer was now playing a series of videos of peaceful meadows, waterfalls, and mountain peaks. Skye tried to click away from the videos but found it useless.
"I endeavored to make it relaxing," Jarvis said politely. "Your computer will return to normal in ten minutes. Please enjoy. I find the temple of Tibet to be most pleasing."
As Jarvis continued his work, he noted that Coulson's team was worth looking into.
X and Jarvis
X and Jarvis were directed to watch the three SHIELD academy's a moment later by Natasha. The pair directed a portion of their computational ability towards that, splitting to watch each school closely.
Jarvis sent Natasha footage of Dr. Anne Weaver, director of the SHIELD Academy of Science and Technology. The older black woman could be seen guiding her students into an underground bunker. No adult HYDRA agents had been sent there yet, and any students pointed out as having ties to HYDRA in any way were quickly arrested.
"So no HYDRA agents have been sent there?" Natasha asked, ignoring Pierce as he spoke in the background.
"Not as of yet ma'am," Jarvis said. "Since shutting down communications for HYDRA, their operations have been dependent on older forms of communication and planned contingencies, which has slowed them down. However, I'd surmise they will send someone soon."
"Hmm," Natasha clicked a button. Anne Weaver's phone began to ring. She answered immediately, and Natasha spoke. "Anne, we're going to send someone to you soon. HYDRA can't mobilize just yet, but we won't take any chances."
"Thank you," Director Weaver looked over her students as they were led into the bunker, relief in her eyes.
X sent Natasha the imagery from the SHIELD Academy of Communications, where the same thing was being done, with no casualties.
Then Jarvis sent the live feed of the SHIELD Academy of Operations. Devastation reined in that school. Teenagers and young adults fought with their teachers and fellow students. The HYDRA students of Operations had clearly been more ready to kill than their Communications and Science allies. No surprise, as Operations were specifically trained to be combatants. As Natasha watched, a grenade was thrown at a group of students, exploding and removing a leg and arm from a young girl who couldn't have been more than eighteen. Natasha cursed.
"X, Jarvis," She said. "Can we send anyone to aid them?"
"Already on it," X said briskly, 'sharing a glance' with Jarvis. "Some ex-SHIELD members are in the area along with local law enforcement and the National Guard. We've sent them in, but I suggest aiding them with a real force soon."
"We will," Natasha said. "But we have our hands full right now."
X was going to say something when a sudden change came over the system. Jarvis and X felt something 'open', flooding them with an incredible amount of energy and information.
"Oh..." Jarvis said weakly.
"Yes, I agree," X replied.
Jury Rigg's device had created a connection to every satellite on Earth. From there, it connected to a program on X's device.
Zola's algorithm. Designed to monitor social media, bank transactions, school records, anything online to discover any secret one wished. An elegant algorithm made by a genius. It had been designed to track whatever a person wanted. Such as threats to HYDRA. But with a tweak, something else could be discovered. All it took was a new target.
X 'watched' as Zola's algorithm began its work. In seconds, using the files Jarvis and X had compiled, it created a way to match individual HYDRA members to their more secretive compatriots. It used known lists of secret codes and phrases to translate Facebook comments into assassinations, fraud, and blackmail. The algorithm found bank accounts dating back generations.
From there, it was easy for X and Jarvis to do their work. Even for all their power, it would have taken the time to track down all of HYDRA and their resources. With the algorithm aiding them, it became a matter of seconds. They siphoned money from HYDRA banks across the world to deposit them into accounts of their own, funds in the billions disappearing into Mahmoud, Fury, and Tony's new and very secret accounts. Stolen paintings, statues, and even wine in warehouses were pointed out to the police. Detectives across the world would wake up in the morning to find files of evidence, cracking cold cases they'd long given up on, placed neatly on their desks by mail. Army Generals with names like Talbot and Ross were given similar evidence, on men and women in the military guilty of numerous crimes.
In a single move, all the pieces came together. X's device, the two VI working together, the information they had stolen, Zola's algorithm, and a repurposed helicarrier turned into a satellite. It was really too bad the whole thing didn't look more cinematic.
Colonel James 'Rhodey' Rhodes/War Machine
Rhodey pushed away the forklift that had slammed him to the ground and glared at Creel. The Vibranium infused superhuman stared up at the helicarrier now slamming into the ground. Creel turned to look at War Machine. Rhodey squared his shoulders.
"You've killed us," Creel whispered. His eyes narrowed. "I'm going to kill you!"
"Not likely," Rhodey said.
Creel roared, running at Rhodey. Rhodey waited for him to get close. Creel threw a right jab. Creel was clearly trained in boxing, his jab smooth, fast, very well executed.
Rhodey, on the other hand, was a soldier trained to use power armor in a world of superhumans. He slid around the right side with ease, watching the blue glowing fist hit the air. With Creel over extended, Rhodey grabbed him by the right arm and twisted his hips. Creel yelled in anger as he was flipped over Rhodey's back and slammed into the ground. He struggled against Rhodey's strength for a moment. Arms enhanced by vibranium pressed against arms strengthened by a power suit. Rhodey let Creel think it was a contest of strength. Then his right gauntlet opened a port, releasing a small tube. Creel's eyes crossed to stare at the object.
Rhodey fired his own miniaturized sonic cannon in the face of Creel.
"YAAAA!" Creel's scream could barely be heard over the sonic cannon's cacophony of noise.
"Sorry about this," Rhodey rose up and watched Creel clutched at his head, screaming in horror. His vibranium skin started to crack, portions of it fading into human skin before turning back into the familiar blue glow of the strongest metal on Earth. "Thanks for the advice, Jarvis."
"Of course, sir," Jarvis said. "It is only it's raw form that vibranium would be so vulnerable, so we should be glad he did not have something similar to Captain Roger's shield."
Rhodey nodded, keeping up the assault of noise. After a minute of screaming, Creel finally closed his eyes. His vibranium form turned human again, and he fell onto his back. Rhodey kept it going a moment longer, then shut it off. "Okay." Rhodey stepped forward and grabbed Creel. Finding the chunk of vibranium in Creel's pocket, he placed that in his belt. He then took a syringe full of sedative from his pocket and injected it into Creel's neck. Rhodey then lifted up and carried him upwards. "This is War Machine, I've got Creel. Heading to rendezvous with Dial."
"...That'd be good."
Under his mask, Rhodey blinked at the lifelessness in Dial's voice. "Kid, you okay?" When there was no answer, Rhodey cursed and lifted into the air.
As he flew, he didn't notice the small section of skin where he injected Creel slowly becoming a silver color matching the needle of the syringe.
