Chapter 28: Project Insight

(The TRISKELION - S.H.I.E.L.D Headquarters)

Cap had walked into to Fury's office and Cap and Fury were having a heated conversation about the most recent mission on the Lemurian Star.

"You just can't stop yourself from lying can you?!?!" Cap said angrily.

"I didn't lie. Agents Romanoff and Grey had a different mission than yours." Fury replied.

"And you didn't feel obliged to share?" Cap fired back.

"I'm not "obliged" to do anything." Fury said annoyed.

"Those hostages could have died Nick." Cap argued.

"That's why I put my best agents and the worlds greatest soldier to keep that from happening." Fury snapped.

"Soldiers put their trust in each other, that's what makes it an Army, not just a bunch of guys shooting guns." Cap said.

"Last time I trusted someone I lost an eye." Fury said back.

If Seth/Luke had been in the room when Fury said that he would've almost laughed hard enough to pass out because he knew he lost his eye to a Cat. Well, a flurken, but it had nothing to do with trusting someone.

"Look, I didn't want you doing anything you weren't comfortable with, Agents Romanoff and Grey are comfortable with anything, not to mention they are two of my best agents." Fury said as he sighed.

"I can't lead a mission, when the people I'm leading have missions of their own. We got lucky this time, who knows if we'll get lucky a second time." Cap argued.

"It's called compartmentalization. no one spills the secrets because no one knows them all." Fury said trying to get Cap to understand.

"Except you." Cap said smugly.

(And the MC. At least the secrets that are shown in the movies.)

Fury got up and sighed heavily. "You're wrong about me, I do share. I'm nice like that."

Fury then asked Cap to follow him as he went into an elevator.

"Insight bay."

{Captain Rogers does not have clearance for Project Insight.}

"Director override Fury, Nicholas, J." Fury said to the computer.

{Confirmed.}

The elevator then started to head down as Fury and Cap started to talk.

"I remember they used to play music." Cap said as they went down on the elevator silently.

Fury laughed and then told Cap a story about his grandfather who operated an elevator for most of his life and how he eventually had to carry a .22 Magnum for protection so he didn't get mugged.

"Yeah, my grandad loved people. He just didn't trust them very much." Fury said after finishing his story and the elevator stopped.

Cap looked out and he saw what he could only describe as multiple helicarriers and looked on in awe.

"Yeah I know. They're a little bigger than a .22." Fury said as he saw Cap's face.

"This is Project Insight. Three next-generation helicarriers synced to a network of targeting satellites." Fury explained as he and Cap walked by the carriers.

"Launched from the Lemurian Star." Cal said as he put two and two together from the last mission and what Fury had Nat and Luke do.

"Once we get them in the air they never need to come down. Continuous suborbital flight courtesy of our new repulsor engines." Fury said gesturing toward the helicarrier's engines.

"Stark?" Cap asked.

"Him as well as McCauley Tech. McCauley agreed to become one of our suppliers for advanced technology provided we keep him in the loop of what we plan to do with it and his technology is not allowed to be used as weapons without his say so otherwise he recalls all the technology and sues us." Fury said with slight irritation at the later part of his words.

"He sure seemed to have thought ahead." Cap said refering to the CEO of McCauley Tech.

"That he did. But the benefits very easily outweigh the problems that arise from it and we did eventually get approval for many weapons to be used, but they are all non-lethal." Fury said, the irritation fading from his voice especially after he remembered the upgrades he got for his car.

"Stark agreed after he got an in depth look at our turbines last time and knew that if it weren't for Apex's timely response, he could've been put in a very unbeneficial situation." Fury continued putting his upset thoughts about the difficult to deal with CEO he had encountered.

Fury and Cap stood in front of one of the carriers looking at the immense weaponry. "These new long range high-precision guns can eliminate 1,000 hostiles a minute. The satellites can read a terrorists DNA before he sets foot outside his spider hole. We're gonna neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen." Fury said proudly while turning to look at Cap.

"Thought the punishment came after the crime?" Cap asked.

"We can't afford to wait that long." Fury said seriously.

"Who's we?" Cap asked.

"After New York, I convinced the World Security Council that we needed a quantum surge in threat analysis. For once we're way ahead of the curve." Fury replied.

"By holding a gun to everyone on earth and calling it protection." Cap said sternly.

"Y'know I read those SSR files. "Greatest Generation? You guys did some nasty stuff." Fury said clearly egging Cap on.

"Yeah, we compromised. Sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well, but we did it so people could be free." Cap replied with conviction.

"This isn't freedom. This is fear." Cap said gesturing to the helicarriers.

"S.H.I.E.L.D takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be. And it's getting well past the time for you to get with that program, Cap." Fury argued.

"Don't hold your breath." Cap said with finality as he walked away.

After Cap left, Luke flew down from the shadowed balcony behind Fury.

"Sir, I don't think Cap is going to see eye-to-eye with us on this issue." Luke said.

"I'm afraid you might be right about that Agent Grey." Fury said back.

"Now, I already recieved Romanoff's copy of the Intel from the Lemurian Star, where's yours?" Fury asked.

"Right here sir. I added an override code seperate from your own in the event something happens and a security code for gaining back-door access. I also installed biometric security so it can only be opened by myself and you sir." Luke responded while handing Fury a completely black drive with a fingerprint lock on it.

"Very well done Agent Grey, as usual. Keep this up and I may have to promote you. You already have a clearance just above Cap and access to this project through my override to hide your involvement from the rest. I needed someone like you after I lost Coulson and I'm glad that you are able to step up in that role. You are also one of the few who share my cautious nature." Fury said with some praise and some light humor at the end.

"Of course sir." Luke said simply.

"Okay, you're free to go. Meet me at my office at 0300 hours tomorrow morning, I should have news about the drive by then." Fury ordered.

"Yes sir." Luke answered as he walked off and headed toward the elevator.

As Seth/Luke was in the elevator he laughed to himself as his plan was coming along nicely. He even got his main persona to be involved with S.H.I.E.L.D in a good way and used the info that his "man on the inside" gave him, to his advantage. He had also decided that two deaths that could have been avoided (technically only one true death as Coulson comes back) were enough and now he will do whatever he wants and say screw the consequences. As He thought about it, he realized that TOAA had made this an AU with his entrance and was 99.999% sure that he had expected him to make a lot of changes and if something really bad did happen then he would just leave it to TOAA.

________________________________________

(Random All White Room)

TOAA was sitting in his chair and watching a video screen of the events in the world he sent the soul to.

"That little punk. Hmph. I suppose he isn't wrong though. If he really were to mess up the timeline that bad I'd intervene if no other reason than to satiate my boredom and see if I can find out what being was controlling that soul and making him eventually meet me."

TOAA then turned back to the screen as he knew something interesting was going to happen soon.