Obligatory Disclaimer : I do not own anything (except maybe OC characters) all characters, places, worlds, universes…etc mentioned here belong to their respective owners and/or companies.

This is purely a work of fiction. Not meant to offend or incite, but to entertain and (maybe) inspire.

A GAME WITH SERIOUS RULES

S.H.I.E.L.D HQ,

New York.

Director Fury was a calm man, fearless even. With the position he held, it was an essential trait to possess. But once in a while, things came along that loved to try his good patience and see how far they could push him. The World Security Council was one of such things and this week wasn’t making things better.

An alien war machine had landed in Puente Antiguo —a small town in New Mexico. Just some days after another alien claiming to be a god had crash landed on earth and was intercepted by S.H.I.E.L.D. The Asgardian war machine and the god proceeded to duke it out in that small town, leveling it in the process and racking up a score of bodies.

The agents would’ve loved to hold someone accountable, but who was going to stop a god that destroyed an alien super weapon so advanced it made earth’s best tech look like the tools of cavemen? No one, that’s who, unless they wanted to start a war with a whole race of warrior gods. Who would eagerly come to the rescue of their prince. But Fury turned that around and instead formed an alliance, albeit one somewhat reliant on Jane Foster’s relationship with the god—hopefully that wouldn’t be the case in coming times.

Well, at least we’ve got Stark and Hammer Tech. Fury consoled, rubbing his brow. And the man is catching up. Director Fury not only appreciated the enthusiasm Justin Hammer had when it came to making tech that would level the playing field, he appreciated the efforts the man was making to advance the civilization level of the human race at large, and the fact that it seemed to have ignited a competitive spark in Tony Stark. That was all good and great but it didn’t mean that Hammer was fully trusted.

It was obvious that Hammer was involved in augmentation projects of some kind. The agents had taken stealth scans and photos of his recent physique and cross referenced it with scans of his past structure, unless the man was born to be an athlete and spent every waking moment of his in a gym, it was obvious that there was something more involved.

That was information Fury refused to bring to the Council’s notice. If they learned of it, they would rage and most likely reach a stupid decision like using force or other violent means, and when they’d inevitably fail. Hammer would become an enemy. One the world could not afford to make.

So the question was, was Justin Hammer working with other agencies, or was the man figuring it all out on his own? Fury had the hunch that Justin was indeed running his own augmentations, without outside help.

What wouldn’t Fury give to have that man’s mind working for him. But the thing with geniuses is; they were erratic and more times than not, unpredictable and highly dangerous. In his world, one unpredictable action could spell disaster for the entire world; Fury couldn’t take that risk unless he absolutely had to. Talking about the man himself, he was currently ghost. Fury, nor his agents hadn’t an idea where Justin Hammer was, and that alone was another major problem that needed solving—more shit on his plate, enough to make it tip over.

So with all these seemingly insurmountable issues at hand, why was Fury smiling when the shadowed figures of the World Security Council appeared on the holo-projectors?

"Director Fury, we understand that you have an important matter you’d like to discuss?”

“Yes, I do,” Fury said, clicking on the soft screen of his computer to upload the prepared files. “I am sending you a prospectus for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s new budgetary allocations. You’ll see that it substantially increases funding for the agency, expands jurisdiction for my agents, and augments my strategic authority”

“You are asking for much, Director Fury. Has there been any significant progress with the Tesseract?”

Tapping his chin, as though in deep thought, the director replied. “Umm…nope.”

“Reigniting the Tesseract has and will remain your primary objective as director of S.H.I.E.L.D, yet you have made no headway.”

“Please enlighten us. What have you accomplished as of late that would merit compensation of the magnitude of your request?”

“You might say I’m asking for the world. But it’s been such a busy month…” Director Fury, tapped on his phone to bring its projector live, colorful images occupied the center of the meeting room. The Director pointed to the one that displayed an element “We managed to save Tony Stark’s life, and with our guidance, he managed to finish his father’s work. Which as you can see resulted in the creation of a new element, which might prove to be essential in reigniting the Tesseract.”

He pointed at another, this one showing the flying visage of a man holding a hammer and the mutilated, metallic remains of giant silver humanoid “We formed an alliance with an extraterrestrial Thor and recovered the Asgardian weaponized armor, which if I’m not mistaken comes from the same realm as the Tesseract. Another recent ally, Dr Selvig, tells me we can learn more about the Tesseract from the armor and vice versa.”

This time he enlarged an image of a demolished city section, within which the outstanding green figure of a bleeding Hulk stood above the defeated form of the Abomination. “After that I ran interference to keep that halfwit Ross from destroying New York city with his enhanced psycho-soldier and succeeded in keeping tabs on Banner without his notice. I’d hate to speculate how a man like Ross got his hands on classified intelligence that led to that horrifying incident.”

“Director Fury--”

“Oh, and meanwhile I’ve kept a small team on the hunt for Steve Rogers, which I know might be perceived as disobeying orders. I just thought it might be handy to have access to the only human being on this planet that has had any direct contact and experience with the Tesseract.” Fury spoke, leaning back on his chair as a video footage of S.H.I.E.L.D operatives extensively searched the icy arctic tundra.

“Anyway, that’s what I’ve been up to. I’ve done some thinking, in doing so I’ve realized that the world is changing. Getting exponentially more dangerous. One thing I know for sure; nobody is better suited to protect this world better than me and my people. All we need are the means to do what we do best.” He finished.

“…”

“We have reviewed your prospectus.”

“You will have all that you require by month’s end.”

The holograms collapsed with the switching off of the projectors. Fury basked in the silence for moments more before speaking up. “You must be my lucky charm, Romanoff.”

“You think?” asked the agent behind the opaque screen shielding.

“I’ve made that call a dozen times and this was the first time they really listened”

“That was good work boss.” She replied.

“I just hope it's enough--” Bzzzt! Bzzzt! He picked up the phone that interrupted his speech, noting that the caller was Agent Coulson.

“Sir.”

“Yes, Coulson.” Nick Fury could hear the stifled excitement the voice behind the mic held.

“We found Steve Rogers”

“Good job Agent Coulson.” Fury smiled so wide his cheeks ached. “I’ll be there soon, I just have one more errand to run.” He said, ending the call to dial another number.

“Barton.”

“At your service, Boss.”

“I need you on guard duty at the Pegasus base”

“Any persons of interest?”

“Keep tabs on Dr Selvig for me, his colleagues say he’s been acting strange.”

“On it”

“Barton, you’ll be guarding the most important object in S.H.I.E.L.D possession. Keep your eyes peeled agent”

“Sir, yes sir”

Kamar Taj.

Kathmandu, Nepal.

The ancient one sat with her legs crossed attuning her spirit to the mystical frequencies. Her mind sailed past the serene magi-psychic waves, breaching the dimensional walls of different realms and realities. She communicated with the auras, danced with the sigils, spoke with the runes, strengthening her connection to the dimension and beings that granted her the immense powers she wielded.

The sleeping wizard would awaken soon, and the competition would begin. She had to prepare herself as her role–earth’s sorcerer supreme–demanded. It was but a tiny click in the magical energy field, almost negligible amidst the greater sense of things, but with magic the often negligible were the most important. Her spirit exited the astral plane to rest within her body.

When the ancient one opened her eyes, she was almost shocked. Feeling the energy of the Vishanti sustain a thin parchment that hovered before her. For the Vishanti to go such lengths to reach out to her must mean that the message was of utmost urgency and importance. Why they couldn’t show themselves before her was a reason she had not the urge to entertain—no one but the great entities themselves understood the reason why they did things the way they did.

She grabbed the parchment, feeling it suffused with the potent energy of the Vishanti. Her eyes landed on the text within, which read; Cooperate with him. It will benefit your realm. Ok Boomer. With love, from Agamotto (-o-/).

The ancient one had to rub her eyes and check her spirit to see if she had seen wrong, or was perhaps hallucinating from the effect of the herbal tea. Once again, she read the parchment, confirmed what it said, and confirmed that it truly was from the Vishanti.

“Are you serious?” Of course she knew who the ‘Him’ referred to. But since when had the Vishanti, no, Agamotto resorted to such playful antics to communicate? Why did they even know who Hammer was?

She watched the parchment diffuse into light particles, which contained answers to her many questions. “I am beginning to hate that man.” She sighed as understanding dawned on her. Watching the fading light form the out time of a thumbs-up gesture. “Asshole” She found herself muttering unconsciously.