Chapter 105: S.H.I.E.L.D OF TODAY

Sharon Carter had been heavily undercover, infiltrating a terrorist cell out of the Caribbean. Their usual modus operandi became apparent once she entered their inner circle.

Her limousine had come to a halt near the gala's entrance. Her driver assisted her out.

"Your coat, mam." She handed her coat to the coat checker and accepted her receipt.

She observed the spacious room, having arrived fashionably late, a caricature of her disguise she had painstakingly crafted, a self-consumed heiress and apparent sympathizer to today's extreme right-winged ideologies that all in attendance lauded.

She had learned about THEM. Originally thought to be one of the hundreds of secret organizations dedicated to one form of world domination or another, but that was a ruse. The only reason they were discovered was because of a lower agent in New York's meticulous pursuit of enhanced individuals that led them to a secret group with many roots that had been manufacturing a potent drug that granted temporary powers or boosts to mutant-kind.

Sharon learned their name was the Secret Empire. They operated across the globe and were even suspected of assisting The Hand, masquerading as HYDRA. She scoffed at their arrogance. Had they not destroyed and defeated them in the last war, HYDRA would have come for them, no doubt.

Secret Empire would have drawn the attention of a steel gray-eyed vigilante.

The Secret Empire began as a branch of THEM (itself a subsidiary of Hydra), with its original purpose being to divert the attention of authorities such as S.H.I.E.L.D.

Though he had extensive knowledge of events, he needed to figure out what would come to be.

The Secret Empire was a front for THEM, the central committee Baron von Strucker set up to direct operations of two Hydra's subsidiaries: Advanced Idea Mechanics.

A.I.M. was already under Cole's scrutinizing gaze. He had altered events knowingly by headhunting prominent figures who would come under their sway. The other organization under THEM was the Secret Empire.

"Agent 13, your safety is paramount if you sense your identity being compromised. Abort, we were prepared to go in with force, which is needed."

"I can't let them sell Inferno 42, but I understand, and thank you for being there, sir."

Coulson didn't reply their feelings were mutual. Both knew and trusted the other, each hand-picked by the colonel, Coulson, because of his nonmilitary mindset. Her, well, for her pedigree, she came from a long line of Carters, supposedly dating back to the organization's inception.

"Target spotted." She sub vocalized, her comms hidden inside her diamond earrings.

She strolled over, meeting the gazes of the gala attendees, who were all wealthy businessmen and women from around the world.

Sharon was born in Richmond, Virginia, the daughter of two wealthy Virginians, Harrison, and Amanda Carter.

She grew up hearing stories about her Aunt (Margaret "Peggy" Carter), a freedom fighter with the French Resistance during World War II.

Inspired by her Aunt's adventures, Sharon joined the international security agency S.H.I.E.L.D. and was assigned the code name Agent 13.

Sharon or Agent 13 used the honeypot technique and drew the seller into a secluded room. She injected him with a paralyzing agent and secured the location, known agents, and manufacturers; thankfully, there wasn't one; the organization that masqueraded as the defunct cold war Nazi secret society had somehow unearthed a cold war base that had the destructive weapon compound in its vault amongst other nasty things.

As in her profession, there was a need to kill. The man was a known terrorist wanted by Interpol and C.I.A.

The enzyme in the agent arrested his heart, and he died reasonably peacefully.

Agent 13 secured the room and exited the party after another team secured the compound.

On her way back to the airport, tired from a month-long operation, she got a call from Colonel Nick Fury.

Her hand drooped to her sides as she continuously recalled his words.

'Captain America has been found. Yes, Steve Rogers, he asked for your Aunt, but she's not ready to meet him. I'm sorry to request this, but can you see him? He knows you're not her, but you may have the potential to help him. He's a man out of his time, and please, if you can give Peggy my regards, our last conversation could have been better.'

Steve Rogers was her aunt's true love, and his disappearance and subsequent funeral changed her fundamentally.

And there was the fact that she had married and had children after long years of trying to find his resting place only to narrowly miss it and discover that he had kept his youth and was seeking her out as soon as he woke.

The car came to a halt. She had made it to the small airport in Haiti, having departed the Dominican Republic after the mission.

She headed to the helicopter that would take her to another island and, later, back to the States. She pulled out her phone and called Aunt Peggy.

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Back in the States.

Nick Fury hung up the phone.

Phil Coulson said. "Is she on board? Having Captain America leading the Avenger initiative is ideal."

Fury replied. "I hope so. Bringing her on board before the joint chiefs will get me in trouble, but I can't see how he still owes the country."

Maria nodded. "Tony Stark is brilliant, but his psychological assessment deterred him from a leadership role. Is he still on the added support?"

Fury nodded. "He has made it known that he comes with the suit. No Tony no Iron Man."

"He gave the Navy a suit, though; you sure he was against it to spite you, sir."

"It's keyed to his best friend; anyone else, it will just brick itself," Fury said.

Coulson and Maria chuckled, sure the foremost spy had tested those features.

"He's abrasive and self-indulgent; having him in a leadership role would have been violative. Steve Rogers's discovery came at the opportune time."

"That's if the United States Military doesn't try to reacquire him from us," the female spy interjected.

"He's a super soldier funded by the military Colonel Fury. A member of your old unit at that."

"A war that he fought and was honestly instrumental in winning for us. HYDRA's utter destruction is the reason we're all here. If they succeeded in their mission, the world would have been different.

There were three sides, diverging opinions, but one thing they agreed on was that having him on board was paramount, and who were they to keep the man from the one thing he wanted?

Maria Hill's hand hovered over her ear, a sign of an urgent update. The two men quieted down, waiting for what caused her to be personally notified.

Maria stood, walked around the desk, and unceremoniously pushed the director from the desk to give her access. Fury, in his chair, rolled across the ground. A questioning look crossed his face, his one eye looking at her askance.

She knowingly activated its functions, and the blinds sealed, darkening the room as LCD screens rotated from what looked like normal paintings.

Phil and Fury exchanged glances before Maria started updating them.

Fury fumed, comically forgetting the issue with Steve Rogers.

"We are receiving reports of an incursion event happening at our southern border."

"How are we just not hearing about this?" The spymaster asked.

Assistant Director Coulson gulped, and he looked toward Maria.

"It seems the X-men had-." She paused at the satellite footage, and ground images began to flow in.

"Sir, we have an unknown United States paramilitary contractor spearheading the mission. X-men and this group came into conflict. Were reporting multiple enhanced and/or mutants on the ground, advanced weaponry, and tactical expertise."

"Who authorized this," Coulson asked the question that hung between them.

"Mexican government. The company name is Armacham Technology Corporation, run by Jeremy York?"

"York?"

"York Enterprise has contracts with D.O.D. (Department of Defense), and with SHIELD. Jeremy is the son of the murdered C.E.O."

"Wasn't that case being investigated by us years ago? What came of the investigation?"

"Deemed closed."

Fury's single eye bore into them, and he stood and went and poured a drink. He took it in one go and poured a second before retaking his seat.

"Who?" He asked dryly.

"I'm also seeing that the case was deemed closed by a council member."

Coulson said. "Wasn't his death suspected to be done by an Enhanced individual or group?"

Fury nodded. He had started the investigation, not personally; he was busy after all, but his people should have thoroughly investigated it.

Someone was tampering with his authority, and the only people who could accomplish that were the people in the room with him, whom he trusted, and the Senators on the security council.

Maria continued, " The Jeremy York file has been opened and updated numerous times. He's a sophomore at Midtown High and a possible mutant but hasn't shown any powers yet."

Maria's eyes squinted as she read silently, appraising them with paraphrased points of interest.

"He's suspected of supplying a known Vigilante, Red Hood, with unauthorized technology. One of the new initiates in the Avenger Student program was also a close confidant of his and a known operative of Red Hood.

The room grew silent, and the super spies connected dots that their agents either missed or didn't see.

Coulson looked concerned as he appraised the boy numerous times. Was Misty possibly spot on?

"Is there a possibility that Jeremy York is Red Hood?"

Maria had read more of the dossier. "Red Hood is suspected to be a shape-shifter, so there is the possibility of that.

"His armor had undergone numerous changes over the months he's been active."

"Which can hide his mutant powers so people think he's using tech."

The three continued to talk, focusing heavily on A.T.C., their lack of clearance, and the glaring issue of how they could handle a dangerous parasitic life form.

First, contact the Howling Commandos and get them in the area. It's time to talk with Jeremy York.

"Cline and Natasha are already in the city. We can set them on it. How hard do you want them to go with this?"

"If he's Red Hood, a mutant, contact Charles Xavier and see what he can tell us, but tell them to bring him in for questioning. Whose the agent in the school?"

Coulson found the agent's name, and Fury contemplated.

"Get him on board. Maybe he knows something not in the dossier."

Fury and the others stood.

"We have a serious issue here. An incursion falls under SHIELD. Get ahold of the Mexican ambassador attached to the security council." ordered the director, each world a growling rumbled of finality.

Coulson nodded and placed the call; Maria took her leave.

Fury reached the ground floor, his steps measured as his mind whirled with suspicion. His earlier discovery had unearthed glaring cover-ups, and someone on the council wanted the York issue closed.