Spy Games Ch. 6

A few days after the battle of Puente Antiguo

(SHIELD Base, location unknown)

"I've read the report but I want to hear your honest opinion. You're recommending our resident alien for unsupervised missions. Considering everything that was revealed over the course of this mission, I have to wonder if that's really a wise course of action."

"I believe what was revealed over the course of the mission makes him more than ready sir. And given what he went through in a battle that probably saved the lives of every SHIELD agent on base including mine, I believe we can afford to start trusting him. That's why I'm recommending him for Level Six, and yes that means I believe we should send him on unsupervised missions."

"I can see why we wouldn't want to waste his unique abilities on Level 5, but sending him out to do our dirty work… well I suppose part of me just doesn't want other agencies finding out we have what amounts to a damn vampire on the payroll."

"He'll dial it back if we tell him to Director. No fangs, no drinking from enemies or anyone else. So far he's seemed perfectly capable of sustaining himself with blood bags. All he'll be is another masked soldier of fortune moving around the world dealing with… issues."

"You're recommending a mask? Are we considering Agent Masters for the Avengers Initiative now?"

"Not at all sir, I wouldn't consider him Avenger material even at the best I've seen from him. Not unless we get truly desperate. No, I'm recommending not just the mask, but complete separation from SHIELD. I'm recommending the Agent for missions no normal human could do. Missions that are critical to the defense of SHIELD and of Earth."

"… And if we have to, we can disavow knowledge of any… unnatural beings working for us? The information we already have on him will have to be made Alpha level for this to work. There are already rumors about what happened at Puente Antiguo. Mostly focused on Thor and the Destroyer that attacked you, but I don't expect our agent's involvement and what he's capable of to stay secret for long."

"Exactly, which is why burying it now will allow us to use him to the full extent of his capabilities and hide his existence for a while longer."

"I suppose you're right. This all hinges on his approval though. He's not a normal agent as you well know. If he's not interested in becoming the black ops of black ops, he has the Council to back him and stop me from doing anything about it."

"Oh, I can't help but think he'll bite. It'll all be in how we phrase it."

XxScenebreakxX

Several Months After Thor

(Sochi, SHIELD Safehouse)

Of course I had been interested in the idea. A chance to get out and stretch my legs away from the constant supervision of Agent Coulson? Perfect! My allegiance to Hydra was already a secret held by their highest ranking members. It would seem my allegiance to SHIELD would be the same way. All they asked was that I keep from revealing the more vampiric aspects of my nature. I didn't of course, but what's a little nibble here and there on a target that's going to die anyways?

I was given resources as well as what I could only call a super suit. Form fitting and made of some combination of comfortable yet incredibly durable materials, the outfit covered me from head to toe. It could supposedly withstand knife strikes and possibly some small weapons fire, but anything larger than a pistol would probably penetrate.

I never got shot, so it didn't really come up as a problem. Ontop of the full body suit came the hood and the mask. The mask fit onto my face beautifully, covering everything from my hairline down to just under my chin. Of course, it had better fit, I'd had to sit through hours of them making molds to get the mask just right.

Altogether, I looked like a kickass ninja. I certainly wasn't complaining. And so I became SHIELD's dagger in the dark, dealing with threat after threat that might have turned into something the Earth wasn't ready to face. It was months of assassinations and data retrieval before I finally got something that at least closely resembled the timeline that I knew.

A call had me coming here, to Russia, to meet up once more with Coulson. He stood across from me now in a secure SHIELD safehouse, eyeing my get up with a strange look in his eye. I cocked my head to the side and broke the silence, "Well Phil? Why am I here?"

"… You've been making quite a name for yourself in the past few months. They're calling you Blur now I hear."

I chuckle at that, the sound coming out distorted because of the mask, "Well, when you masquerade as a Soldier of Fortune, you start to seem suspicious if you never take any of the jobs that people offer you. I had the free time, so I did some freelance work on the sides. Pulled a few hearts out of a few chests. I always did my homework, so I know they weren't people important to us. As for the title, I figure Blur is an identity we can kill off whenever we need to. Not like anyone alive has ever gotten a good look at me as it is."

Blur was the name I'd been saddled with after my few months of pretending to be a mercenary. I moved fast after all, too fast to be normal, to be human. Combine that with my ability to hear and smell better than any human ever could, and I didn't exactly leave many witnesses to my work. The most any survivors ever saw was a blur before I was gone. I wasn't too attached though, I'd probably be more than happy to discard the moniker when the time came.

Coulson grimaces but nods, "The Director already decided that your reasoning was sound. But this mission will be a bit different from what you've been up to of late. This is a retrieval mission only. One of our Agents broke contact and our job is to find her and support her."

I can't help but tilt my head at that, "Her? Who is this Agent? One of the good ones I hope, to rate my assistance on a task that's a bit more delicate than usual."

Coulson just looks at me for a long moment before nodding and continuing the briefing, "I don't believe you've met her but Agent Romanoff is one of our best. I want to remind you, you're under my command again for this one. That means you follow my orders."

I nod my head amicably as he can't see the grin on my covered face, "Of course sir. Have I ever not?"

He doesn't deign to answer that, we both know what he means. After a moment of silence he beckons with his fingers, "Let's go. We have a tentative last known location and I want our Agent located and secured by nightfall."

XxScenebreakxX

Several Months After Thor

(Sochi, Sport Hall)

When we arrived at the location Coulson had somehow managed to magic up, it was to find Natasha face down in ice cold water in the center of a broken hockey rink. Before Phil could do more than widen his eyes and take a step towards her body, I was in the water and hauling her out. It took only a moment for Phil to adjust to the suddenness of my actions and then he was at my side, looking her over.

I told him what I'd already discovered, "She's got the early stages of hypothermia, and she's not breathing. I can give her my blood now sir and it will heal her, but any later and she'll be too gone… she'll resurrect."

He doesn't even pause, "Do it now."

I nod and pull one of my gloves off to bite into the flesh between my thumb and index finger, before pressing it to Romanoff's lips. It seeps through and a moment later coloring is returning to her face and the water in her lungs is expelled forcibly by my blood's aggressive healing properties. Her eyes snap open even as I hear the faintest shuffling sound. I look at Coulson, "Sir, someone was watching us… I can still catch up to them."

Coulson nods again and gives a single order, "Bring them to me alive."

I grin ferally beneath my mask and flash away from the two SHIELD agents to chase after the human who was now fleeing with all the possible haste they could muster. I had to admit, they were good, but while there were humans who could probably kill normal vampires on their best days, there were no humans who could outrun me even on my worst.

Catching up to the little spy, I appeared in front of them and grabbed them by the arm and the throat, stopping all forward motion and just barely refraining from snapping their neck from the force that they ran into my palm with. Credit where credit is due, a moment later my new captive was firing round after round at point blank range into my chest.

I reached up and broke the petite wrist of the hand holding said gun, forcing a beautiful cry of pain from my quarry even as I caught the gun and held it to the forehead of the masked figure before me. They immediately froze, and beneath my own mask I smiled, "That's good. I've been told not to kill you, but I can break the rest of your bones and carry you back if need be."

Of course the immediate response to that was an attempted knee to my groin. I let it slam into the bullet proof cup I'd made part of my outfit months ago. Yeah, I could heal any injury including down there, but that didn't mean I wanted to. Letting out a put upon sigh, I spun my quarry around and applied a chokehold that left them unconscious within a few seconds.

As I carried them back, I checked and discovered my suspicions were correct and I was dealing with a woman. Truly disappointing that SHIELD was actually overseeing this mission for the first time in months. The fun I could have had with her, the negotiations alone would have been phenomenal… but alas, it was not meant to be.

I arrived with no other complications to find Phil and Natasha arguing heatedly. Natasha practically jumped out of her skin when I appeared in a burst of speed before them both, laying my prisoner out on the ground with her hood removed. The face seemed to shock the Black Widow even more and she stared down at it actually gaping for a long moment before she picked up on our superior's complete lack of surprise and looked to him.

"You hired the Blur to help track me down? Seriously?"

Coulson actually looks a bit amused at that, but doesn't answer her, instead asking a question of his own, "Who is she Natasha?"

That draws her attention away from me and she looks almost self-conscious, "She called herself Sofia. She wants to assume the Black Widow title."

I can't help chuckling at that, causing the current Black Widow to glance over at me as I speak up, "Fans in this line of work are always crazy and always a liability. You really should have killed her the moment she expressed admiration for your work."

That got a grimace, but whatever Natasha might have said was lost as the woman at our feet began to stir. Coulson pulls out some fancy restraints and before she can really get herself together her arms and legs are bound. She curses up a storm but Phil ignores her in favor of looking at Natasha, "We will talk about your comm silence later. For now, guard the prisoner."

Then he turns towards me and steps forward, pulling an envelope from his jacket and holding it out to me. I take it, even as he speaks directly to me, his eyes boring into my mask, "Your assistance was appreciated in this manner, but don't expect any more calls from SHIELD in the future. We have no more use for your… talents."

I raise an eyebrow beneath my mask as I step back. Now that was a code I wasn't expecting to hear so soon. Still, appearances must be kept and this scene had to be played out. Continuing to step back I chuckle darkly, "SHIELD and everyone else will always have a use for my talents. Next time you call, it better be for something exciting."

I turned to begin to walk away, and got a few yards before the package in my hands exploded. I let the force of the blast propel me to the ground, and pretended to lay there knocked out as Phil approached, took out a gun, and unloaded five rounds into my head.

"I can guarantee we won't be calling you again."

With that absolutely amazing one liner, he leaned down and pretended to check my pulse before standing and moving to the two shocked women. I listened in as he spoke to Natasha, probably while staring down at the bound Sofia, "Agent Romanoff, do you believe this… Sofia is a possible asset, as you turned out to be? Or is she a threat?"

There's a moment of silence before he gets a reply, and I imagine it's because Natasha is staring at the woman who just tried to kill her. A moment later I get to hear the verdict, "Threat sir. She's not SHIELD material."

Two more gunshots cut off a cry of denial, and then a body thumps to the ground and two sets of footsteps walk away. When I rise a few minutes later from my supposed death, it's to find Sofia dead with two bullet holes in her forehead. I just smile and strip off my armor before setting the charges I had on me to completely destroy the area and any evidence of what happened here.

Though I wasn't expecting it for another couple months, it appeared the time had come for me to retire my freelancer persona and rejoin the fold. I could only hope it would be something interesting, or I wouldn't be held accountable for what I did next. Turns out it was, they'd found Captain America, and they were taking no chances with his security. Which meant putting me on it.

XxScenebreakxX

A few months before Avengers

(SHIELD Base, Location Unknown)

"He really doesn't look like much, does he?"

Coulson directs a baleful glare my way and I just smile benignly back. I'm once again dressed in the SHIELD Agent's leather uniform, working alongside Coulson. I am apparently Level 7 now in terms of SHIELD Clearance, which I remembered being Clint and Natasha's rank as well. It seemed I was moving up in the world, not that it mattered. My Hydra connections gave me access to most SHIELD files that I may want to read, only certain things that Nick Fury himself kept a lid on were out of my reach.

Coulson and I stand at the foot of a large bed holding the comatose Captain America. I mostly made the comment because I knew how much Phil idolized him and I was enjoying needling the usually unflappable agent, who'd been acting giddy as a schoolboy since we were told that Steve had been found. Of course, Phil knew that all too well, and with a huff, chose the high road by ignoring my bait.

Steve Rogers, the first super hero this world has had. He's rather helpless at this moment. There are a number of things I could do to him right now that no one could stop, a number of terrible fates I could visit upon him. But I can't help wanting to give him at the very least a sporting chance. He'll never really have a fighting chance, not when I can make child's play of Asgardians, but he deserves to be on his feet and awake if I decide to help Hydra turn him into what they made of Bucky.

We stand in silence for a moment longer before Phil sighs, "Right, Fury's given me our next assignment. Guess we should head out."

I smirk a bit at the tone of Coulson's voice. I don't think he's ever wanted to disobey an order, reject an assignment more than he wants to right now. But this is Agent Coulson, the consummate SHIELD Agent. After a moment more of staring at the unconscious form of his childhood hero, he turns away and gets back to work. I let my gaze linger on the sleeping super soldier one more time as well, a small smirk on my face, before I follow him out.

XxScenebreakxX

Avengers

(Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility)

We had been assigned to Project PEGASUS shortly after they found Captain America, which while boring, was just fine with me. I was stuck on the surface though, as they felt that I would make a good first line of defense. Poor fools didn't even consider that the Tesseract was a gateway, but how could they went they were still thinking of it as a source of energy instead of the container for the Space Stone itself.

I was pretty sure I would completely destroy Loki at this point in time anyways, and then there would be no need for the Avengers, no Chitauri army to beat, and no floor of Stark Tower for me! I mostly wanted that floor, I definitely felt I deserved one. And if I got a chance to defile it with some lovely lady friends, all the better!

I was struck from my musings when the Tesseract finally started acting up. Still not fully suspecting what was coming, but knowing that it was becoming dangerous, the PEGASUS facility began evacuation, an evacuation I was assigned to help with. I did so gladly, letting the events below me play out even as I made sure people and equipment got to where it was meant to be.

I watched from afar as Loki escapes with the Tesseract, along with Selvig and Barton's allegiance. Ah well, whats a bit of mind control? I'm sure they would be fine, just need a bit of physical trauma to the head to knock it off.

When the dust settles, Coulson and I meet with Fury and Hill. Fury is of course… furious and scowling and I have to keep the smile off my face as he spits out orders. His first words are actually to me as soon as he sees me, "Agent Masters, you are hereby reassigned to the Avengers Initiative. You've been on the short list for a while now."

I raise an eyebrow and act surprised, but obedient as ever even as Fury hands me exactly what I want, "Yes sir!"

When he tells Phil to get Stark on board the Helicarrier by tomorrow though, I step in, "Sir, if we're reactivating the Avengers Initiative, perhaps it would be best to have Agent Coulson secure and brief Steve Rogers on the situation. You should send me to acquire Tony Stark, I think his curiosity in who I am will help us here."

It might be a bit risky here, but I make eye contact and use compulsion when I tell Fury to send me for Tony. A moment later he nods in agreement and relays those changed orders to Phil. If there's any suspicion from either of the other two agents in the room, they don't show it. Coulson for one seems ecstatic to be sent for Steve and to not have to deal with Tony, even throwing me a grateful nod once we're dismissed and exit the room.

I just smile and nod back, already heading towards a car. I have to make one stop along the way to Stark Tower, but after that… well the sky isn't really the limit anymore is it? We can go so much further.

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