Chapter 46) – Harlem Shake

"So, you said this place was called the Triskelion?"

Stepping out of the Quinjet that Nat had flown us back on, we both took in the sight of the 'HQ' that the vixen had mentioned.

The Triskelion, as it was named, was located on the Little Island patch of land situated in the Potomac River, Washington D.C. - right next to another small landmass known as Theodore Roosevelt Island.

The main body of the building was a cylindrical tower that had over 20 floors.

We later found out that it was one of the tallest buildings in D.C. as there was a law previously that limited building height and was changed to accommodate the S.H.I.E.L.D. building.

Extending out from the main cylinder, along the ground with only a handful of floors, was the rest of the building which further served to extend the floorplan of the headquarters.

Every part of the connected site that wasn't made from glass was a shade of stone white or grey, and enhanced the visibility of the buildings.

Mara seemed to know of the building, since I couldn't feel any surprise in her emotions, but as it was all new to me I couldn't help but ask, "Is there a reason it is so… obvious? I thought S.H.I.E.L.D. was a secret organisation?"

Stepping up alongside us, Nat answered, "We're hiding in plain sight. Besides, who said this is the only base of operations we have? The general public has no idea who or what we are, and as far as they're aware we're just a branch of government. Let's get inside. We need to meet up with Coulson and the Director for the briefing, that includes you as well May."

Taking the lead, Nat headed towards the cylindrical tower like she had undoubtably done many times before.

Making sure not to get left behind, Mara and May followed suit while I made sure to absorb my head back into my host's body to not potentially freak anybody out - as much as I enjoyed when that did happen.

The lobby of the Triskelion was a wide-open space with a single statue in the centre of the floor plan. Said statue consisted of a simplified, flat, silver eagle and was evidently a variation on the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem.

Not allowing us to look around at the very modern looking building, Nat continued walking and Mara had to do a little skip to catch up.

Still looking straight ahead, the woman in charge spoke back to my host, "You'll get a tour of the place soon, but this briefing is really urgent. Trust me, you'll see enough of these stone walls that you get sick of them."

Copying the vixen and looking ahead to where she was walking, Mara replied, "You're probably right, but it doesn't make the first time we're seeing it any less interesting."

As the women entered a nearby lift, and Nat pressed the floor button, May notified my host, "After the briefing, I will give you a tour of the place Mara. The head chef accepted your request with more enthusiasm than expected and asked if it would be possible to meet you."

With the lift ascending, my host naturally agreed to our handler's plan, "No problem. They accepted my request, so it's only fair I accept theirs."

The remaining short ascent to the necessary floor for the briefing passed in relative silence - except for the soft, relaxing, music that came through the speakers.

Once the lift stopped with a 'ding', the doors opened to reveal the top-most floor in the cylindrical main tower.

The top floor was similar to the lobby in that the entire room was completely open plan with very little in terms of any actual equipment in the room.

The entire back and side walls of the room were glass panes to give a clear view of the outside world as well as allow as much light as possible to enter.

Even with the light from the outside, the entire ceiling was square light panels to further brighten the room.

In direct opposition to the ceiling, the floor was covered with dark grey marble tiles.

Although there was very little equipment, it didn't mean that there was none.

Near the small room that separated the lift, and the main chamber, was a pane of glass that stretched from ceiling-to-floor and would be used as a screen to display information which related to our briefing.

Additionally, there were 4 chairs evenly spaced and facing the display, clearly meant for regular highest-level executives.

Within the open space of the room was the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury, and another person that we hadn't met before.

Stepping into the main space, Nat spoke to get the attention of the men awaiting us, "Apologies about the delay, they both passed with flying colours."

Ending his conversation with the other man present, Fury turned to face us to respond, "Good. Mara, El, nice to see you again although I had hoped to do so under better circumstances. This is Alexander Pierce, Secretary of the World Security Council. They're the ones that S.H.I.E.L.D. reports to, the top of the proverbial pyramid."

Taking a single step towards us, Alexander held out his hand for the well-known gesture and Mara naturally accepted it, "My friends call me either Mr. Secretary or Pierce, so you can use whichever you prefer. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Would I be able to introduce myself to Elysium as well please?"

Creating a head and a replica of my host's hand, I shook the man's hand once he had released Mara's, "Your form is indeed a little unsettling, but I would ask you stay visible for the briefing. Not only will it help me adapt to your appearance, but you also shouldn't have to hide yourself from others. Everyone should feel welcomed at S.H.I.E.L.D."

Releasing the man's hand, I replied, "Understood. Thank you, Mr. Secretary."

With our introduction over, the secretary addressed May, "Good to see you again Melinda. Glad to see you're out of the offices and back in-"

Cutting off the man, May interjected, "I'm not back in the field. My role is as Mara and El's hander. Nothing more, nothing less."

Slightly disappointed at her correction, Pierce immediately looked on the bright side of things, "Well either way, it is better to have you somewhat involved in field work than sat behind some desk. Even if that is only training the next generation."

Before May could counter – most likely to say she was only training us and not the next generation – Coulson walked out of the lift and entered the room, "Sorry I'm late. I was held up in Tahiti."

Without even thinking, Mara reflectively answered, "We've heard it's a magical place."

Coulson nodded his head in response and affirmed, "That it is. Did you hear that from your new godly friends?"

Realising she had said something instinctively, Mara went along with the suggestion, "Yeah, we'll tell you all about our adventure after the briefing and our tour if you want?"

Sliding back into the conversation, Fury stated, "Apologies Mara, but you'll have to tell us about it before the tour – while everyone is gathered – if that's okay with you? If it weren't for the pressing matters, we would have had you debrief us first, but these are the circumstance's we find ourselves in."

Not seeing any issue with the order of things, Mara was more than willing to agree, "Sure thing. Are we waiting on anyone else, or are we able to start the brief now? My curiosity from all the secrecy and importance is killing me."

Listening to my host, I couldn't help but shake my head in acceptance before everyone's attention was drawn to two of the four empty seats in the room.

Ascending from the floor were circular glass tubes that encapsulated each chair.

As the tubes made their way up, it became apparent that they functioned as a type of holographic projection and slowly two people were displayed on them.

Sat on the left was a 50, or so, year old looking woman with blonde hair in a bob-cut that stopped just below her chin. She had pale ivory skin, blue eyes and was wearing a standard office style dress that matched her eyes with thick pearls linked together around her neck to form a necklace.

To her right was a man who also appeared to be in his 50's. He had thin, mostly grey hair that still had some patches of its original black, hazel brown eyes and wore a classic black business suit with a matching black tie.

With the newcomers present, Pierce introduced them, "To your left is Pamela Hawley, and the right is Gideon Malick. They make up half of the World Security Council. Unfortunately, the other 2 members can't make it due to a United Nations meeting, but they'll be briefed separately."

Since they had been introduced to us, Pierce introduced us to them next, "You already know everyone else, but this is Mara and Elysium. As I'm sure you've already read from their file, they are a gifted pair who we hope to be our top agents in the near future."

Both councillors nodded in acknowledgement at us, and Gideon commented, "Pleasure to finally meet you two. It's nice to know we have our own gifted to benefit us in a situation like this."

Not stalling any longer, Pierce activated the glass display screen, "Five days ago scientist Bruce Banner arrived in New York City. That same day, he was captured by the military and his blood was injected into one Emil Blonsky. Banner's blood mutated Blonsky and transformed him into a variation of Banner's own monstrous form."

Clicking a button on his remote, Pierce added in snippets of news articles and muted interviews as he continued, "Banner's transformed state has been dubbed Hulk by various reporters and military personnel which we believe originated from 2 students that were in the news shortly after the incident at Culvers University."

Looking directly at us, Pierce stated, "The Culvers University incident occurred at the same time as your battle with the Destroyer, but the short story is that the military and the Hulk had a fight. The Hulk won, and fled the scene. I don't want to steer too far off course, so if you want to know more you will have to read the mission report later through Melinda or Phil."

Simply nodding at the secretary to show our understanding, he changed the display again and continued, "When Blonsky lost control of his new monstrous form, Banner was released by the military in an attempt to stop him. The Hulk successfully defeated Blonski and proceeded to flee the scene - the same MO as the University incident. Unfortunately, their battle destroyed a rather large section of Harlem where clean-up and reconstruction is currently underway. The current injury and death toll is unconfirmed, but from rough estimates there are minimal civilian or military deaths. Fortunately, it seems that the majority of the human damage is indirect injuries."

Gideon chose that moment to cut into the explanation, "Blonsky is a decorated war hero and shouldn't be blamed for the incident when he was simply defending himself from the Hulk abomination. The council have already decided that Blonsky should be drafted for the initiative."

Stepping into the conversation, Fury countered, "With all due respect councilman, Blonsky is violent and unpredictable. Frankly, he's the abomination out of the two. The Hulk has only caused an incident when provoked and agent Romanoff's report clearly states that Blonsky initiated the havoc that was caused-"

Cutting off Fury, Pamela interrupted, "The council have made their decision Director. Someone is to liaise with Thaddeus Ross and organise Blonsky's release from imprisonment."

Shaking his head and noticeably biting his tongue, the Director didn't put up a fight, "Very well. I'll have someone do that."

Bobbing her head once, Pamela commented, "Good. Mr. Secretary, please continue."

Doing as instructed, Pierce resumed his brief, "Thank you councilwoman. The other aspect of the incident was what agent Romanoff discovered during her mission. Agent Romanoff discovered a mutated Samuel Sterns, the man suspected to have injected Blonsky with Banner's blood, unconscious in his laboratory. It is currently uncertain what exactly happened to the biologist, but we suspect it has something to do with Banner's blood as there was an open wound on his head. Miss Romanoff, would you mind?"

Picking up where Pierce left off, Nat explained, "Of course, sir. When I initially discovered Mr. Sterns he was indeed unconscious in his laboratory. Shortly after I had arrived, however, he woke up with some noticeable differences in his facial features. His head had turned a slight shade of green and was noticeably larger in size than a normal human head."

Accompanying Nat's words, Pierce changed what was displayed on the screen to show the deformed Samuel Sterns, "When I asked him if he was Samuel Sterns his reply was, and I quote, 'I think perhaps I once was… but now I shall become much more.' With his condition uncertain, and the fact he tried to bribe me, I proceeded to shoot him in the leg, knock him unconscious again and placed him in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody."

Trying not to laugh out loud, Mara had to cover her mouth with her hand while Gideon enquired, "And was it completely necessary to shoot the biologist in the leg prior to knocking him unconscious, agent Romanoff?"

Taking longer than was needed to think about it, Nat replied after what was at least 5 seconds of silence, "...yes."

Unable to hold her laugh in any longer, Mara had to cough in order to not embarrass herself, "Pfft- *cough* *cough*, sorry I had something tickling my throat. *Ahem*. All good."

With how the briefing had gone so far, I was still uncertain as to why we were invited along to it.

Needless to say, my curiosity got the better of me, as it seemed to increasing do around that time, "Apologies if this is out of turn, but why exactly have we been invited to this briefing? We appreciate being brought along, but none of this really applies to us, no?"

Instead of answering me, both councillors looked towards Fury which prompted him to reply on their behalf, "You're right in that this information wouldn't typically apply to you two due to the high clearance level. However, the monstrous fight has made us realise that we have no immediate deterrent or control measures. Bullets don't work, missiles don't work, no weapon we have would be able to take either of the giants down without risking massive casualties. Nothing, except potentially you two."

Punctuating Fury's explanation, Pierce clicked his remote to change the display on the screen which brought up a video of the fight between the Hulk and the Abomination.

Pointing at the battle as we watched, Fury stated, "We don't know how strong either of those two are, but the same is also applicable to the pair of you. Looking at their fight, do you think you have a chance against them? Don't feel obliged to say you can, unless you are 100 percent sure. The last thing we want is to risk yourselves on an uncertainty."

My host and I watched the entire fight a couple of times in silence, focusing on how the giants moved and fought, as well as for any comparison or a gauge on how strong they were.

The ease in which each creature could crush and throw a car around provided a general guide on the strength they were exerting, but it also wasn't clear if that was their full strength.

Feeling each other's emotions, Mara didn't need to ask what I thought as she answered, "We don't know. Just looking at that fight we would probably be able to take them down by wrapping them up and preventing them from moving, but we're not sure how hard we'd have to hit them to knock them out. There is also a possibility that we can disperse the force of their attacks with our powers, thus making their strength mute. We'd have to test to be sure, but we're fairly confident it would work, which would make the fight a lot easier even if wrapping them up wouldn't work."

Turning towards our handler, I asked her opinion since she was the combat expert, "May, how much training would we need to take them down with hand-to-hand combat? It looks like they don't use any technique whatsoever and sort of just whale on each other."

Presumably doing the exact same thing that we were when watching the recording, May instantly answered, "Not much. Regular humans wouldn't stand a chance even with technique since their strength is so overpowering, but you two also have considerable strength. Even if you're not at their level, you should be able to contend with them fairly quickly going off what we've seen so far."

Neither of our replies were a guarantee, but since we were still fairly confident in our chances, Fury was more than happy to work off that, "That is better than we had hoped. After the New Mexico debrief, and the tour of the building, you are to immediately begin combat training while we locate Dr. Banner. However, our immediate plan is not to instigate him. I repeat, DO NOT instigate."

Initially excited at the fact she would be trained to fight the Hulk, Mara visibly deflated with Fury's last sentence.

Nonetheless, the Director continued, "You are only to engage in combat should the situation get out of hand. I'll be honest, if we didn't have you we would avoid contact altogether and just monitor him for insurance in the worst case."

Weakly saluting the order, my host responded, "Aye, aye, bossman. Just don't hesitate to let us at him though. We need a good benchmark other than an alien robot."

Re-joining the conversation, Pierce spoke next, "That about covers it for the Harlem incident. Mara and Elysium, would you be able to debrief all present on your time off-world. If possible, leave out no details."

Since we already knew that we would have to recall the events over the past week, we had already decided what information not to include. An example of which was the consumption of prisoners to gain magic and the unique compulsion ability.

Directly responding to the World Security Council Secretary, I asked, "Do you have any more chairs? This could take a while if you want the in-depth version of events."

Without waiting for an answer from Pierce, Coulson took the initiative, "May and I will grab some from the floor below."

Nodding at her old friend, May set off walking towards the lift alongside him.

With the duo heading off to get the required equipment, Mara and I finalised our story one last time internally so that no parts of it could be considered suspicious or leave any possibility that there was anything we were hiding.