Fury Returns To Work

POV Nick Fury

I had come back to work today after my appointment. I was shocked at the effectiveness of the treatment. I had my doubts going in but I will use her in the future should there ever be the need. Today I had a lot of work to get done as several major events happened.

Knock Knock

Fury: "Come in."

Coulson: "I have the reports you asked for."

Fury: "Good, give me the first report."

Coulson: "The investigation into the Music Meister has gone cold. No leads, no witnesses, nothing. The bounty on his head has reached 150 Billion Dollars. No one knows where all the items he stole went. Every agency on the planet is looking for him but still nothing."

Fury: "Close the investigation and call back the agents on the case. We will move to a more passive search. What about reaching out to Nick Valentine?"

Coulson: "We have done so and it was thanks to him that we found the last known location of the Music Meister. But the trail went cold after that."

Fury: "Very well, what's next?"

Coulson: "LexCorp has just released two items that can cure any substance addiction. They have been massively popular and it has caused the illegal drug trade to take a massive hit. Several other industries have taken hits as well."

I read the file and saw the items in question.

'Additctol and the Detox Chair. If they are as good as this report says then we should buy some.'

Fury: "What other industries were hit and how did it get approved?"

Coulson: "The Sugar industry has taken a sizeable hit. The Caffeine industry has taken a massive blow. The snack food industry has also seen a fairly sizeable loss. As for how it got approved. LexCorp didn't disclose that it would cure addictions to substances such as Caffeine and Sugar. Once those industries found out it was too late. The public was already aware and both sides of the political spectrum supported it."

Fury: "See if we can purchase a few Detox Chairs and a shipment of Addictol."

Coulson: "The Addictol can be purchased but the Detox Chair will be much harder as only LexCorp and some other companies have access to it."

Fury: "Just get what you can and we will see about future negotiations."

Coulson: "Yes sir. Next is the Krampus case."

Fury: "Oh, so the name has stuck?"

Coulson: "Yes sir. Once it was leaked many started to believe it since Santa Claus has been publicly acknowledged as real by Governments across the world. Except for the Middle East and parts of Africa."

I nod and he continues.

Coulson: "The disappearances are continuing. But it seems that now fewer criminals are disappearing from their homes. Instead, they are disappearing from prisons. Worldwide we have confirmed the disappearances of 23 Million People all of which were found to be guilty of heinous crimes. We have also found 643k People who went missing. Most of which were bodies."

Those numbers made me feel anger and sadness over such a disgusting number.

'What are those agencies doing? So many missing people is unacceptable.'

Fury: "How many prisoners are left?"

Coulson: "3 Million Worldwide. Several prisons had to shut down because they didn't have enough inmates. The public knows about the disappearances and as a result, Crime has taken a massive nosedive globally. Some studies suggest that the existence of Santa is partially responsible as well. People who were given Coal have a 73% chance of improving their lifestyles to deal with the shame and guilt. Part of this is the peer pressure that people feel when they are outed as receiving Coal for Christmas. Numerous factors have led to this but the result is the same. Crime rates globally have dropped massively."

Fury: "Then that is good news. The less crime we have to deal with the more we can focus on the bigger threats."

Coulson: "The next report I have is about Iron Man. He has continued to refuse to be a consultant or allow us anywhere near him. Besides his assistance in the Music Meister situation, he has not helped us in any other situation."

Fury: "Have we figured out why?"

Coulson: "Yes, he managed to buy some things from the black market that once belonged to us. It was Howard Starks belongings and research. When Tony found out we kept it from him he severed our connections. I have tried to resolve the issue but his demands are very steep."

I take the list of demands and I sigh at the ridiculous things he wants.

Fury: "Was this what he asked for?"

Coulson: "Yes sir. I was able to acquire 8 out of the 10 items but the last 2 are proving very difficult."

'A contract stating that Shield or its successors can't step foot on any properties he owns or rents. If we break it then we have to pay him a large fine. And the position of leader of the Avengers.'

Fury: "Sigh. If these are what he wants for compensation then give it to him. You have my approval."

Coulson: "Are you certain sir? Some of the things on the list are very expensive."

Fury: "Do it. We need Iron Man. And while the demands are steep it isn't that steep. But I want to know where he bought the items and how. We need that lead so we can hopefully get back the other things stolen."

Coulson: "Yes sir. The next file is about our investigation into Phobos. As far as we can tell there are no signs of foul play. Or extraterrestrial interference. It just seemed to have crashed into Mars far sooner than expected."

Fury: "Hmm, that is to be expected. Our space exploration is limited. Now what about the new Satellites that are in orbit?"

Coulson: "LexCorps Satellites have coverage over the entire globe. Our investigations have shown that the Music Meister sabotage was an isolated incident. Other than that we have investigated the other Satellites but so far we haven't learned anything. They haven't done anything other than orbit. No communications, no maneuvers, nothing."

Fury: "No one has claimed ownership yet?"

Coulson: "No sir. Moreover, our investigations into the flag on the Satellites have led us nowhere."

Fury: "Fine, now what have we learned about this Enclave?"

Coulson: "Only a few things. The US Government is being extremely tight-lipped about them. We have learned that they are a secret branch of the US Government and are in charge of numerous projects. The Super Mutants were created using something called the Forced Evolutionary Virus. It can turn humans into Super Soldiers that are highly resistant to damage and supposedly can make you immortal. Very little information was able to be found and that was mostly thanks to a US Major General that died shortly after telling us. We have also recovered pieces of what we know is called a Vertibird."

Fury: "Were they behind the shootdown of the 3 F-16s?"

Coulson: "We are not certain. Nor are we certain if the Hind detected was with the Enclave or not. We do know that there was a containment breach that led to the release of the Super Mutants. The Enclave cleaned the entire region extensively. Only a few files were left behind because we arrived so soon. They flew North but we lost track of them somewhere in Oregon. We have looked into the area but haven't found any signs of a base or facility in the area."

Fury: "What did the files say?"

Coulson: "They were mostly pieces of research done on FEV. As well as how we learned their name. We also learned how many subjects they had. 24 thousand. We haven't been able to ascertain who was taken as subjects as no remains were left behind. But what was left behind shows signs of high-tech weapons."

Fury: "What kind of weapons exactly."

Coulson: "We think it is likely similar to the laser weapons that the Techno Union has developed. Possibly even more powerful. Some areas were melted. Our investigations into the Techno Union to find any links have come up empty. We stopped investigating to avoid causing issues with the Techno Union."

Fury: "Good, we can't afford to lose the Techno Unions assistance at this time. As for the Enclave, we will have to be careful but otherwise, we won't do anything. If they are supported by the US Government it means it is out of our hands for now. They will slip up and when they do we will get our answers."

Coulson: "The next file is on the massacre of AIM. We were able to confirm it was the work of Team Galactic. All research and information was taken. The only survivors were those who didn't come to work that day for various reasons or were late."

Fury: "Did we investigate the employees?"

Coulson: "Yes sir. There is no evidence that any of them were involved. The reasons they were not at work varied greatly. Some had a car accident. Some were sick with the Flu. Some were stuck in traffic. Some were hungover. A few were pulled over for speeding. There were no ties to the massacre nor any evidence that they were told ahead of time to miss work."

Fury: "Do we know what they were after?"

Coulson: "Most likely was the Extremis Virus. From what little we know we can ascertain that it could heal those injected with it. Beyond that AIM was doing research into various other smaller projects."

Fury: "Do any of the employees know anything about the Extremis Virus?"

Coulson: "No, nothing beyond rumors. Most of the employees were not researchers and those that were dealt with other projects. Aldrich Killian was the main mind behind Extremis."

Fury: "Keep an eye out for any signs of AIM research resurfacing. It might lead us to Team Galactic."

Coulson: "The last file I have is about Project Liberty. The US Military has spent a fortune in funding the project. We were able to find out what it was. A massive bipedal robot that is impervious to all forms of conventional weapons. This has connections to the Bipedal Robot reported in Russia under the control of Team Galactic. If what we learned is true then this Liberty Prime will be nearly unstoppable."

I looked over the file on its possible capabilities and I had to admit it was impressive.

Fury: "The Techno Union is building it?"

Coulson: "Yes sir. With the assistance of LexCorp. It is estimated to be done by most likely mid-2009 and 2010 at the latest. With it estimated to be deployed by mid-2010."

Fury: "That's very quick."

Coulson: "Supposedly most of the research has been done and it just needed funding to build. Rio Magus had been working on it for a few years but was never able to solve the power issue until recently."

Fury: "For now watch the progress carefully. If it is as good as the files suggest then maybe we should get one of our own."

Coulson: "That was all I had sir."

Fury: "Very well, you're dismissed."

As Coulson leaves I start rethinking the value of Project Insight.

'No, Liberty Prime is not that mobile. The Helicarriers can stealthily travel across the world to deal with threats. And we can't be certain that this robot is as good as the Techno Union says it is.'

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Authors Note:

Another chapter from Fury's POV. It has been a while since I last did one of these. No Hydra response this time but most likely next time. Until next time Ciao.