Hidden in the Shadow of Omega
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- September 21, 2012
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So, first one for all's ya'll, half of the Ranma x Marvel Movie-verse fic that I've got written so far.
- Quote:
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I am Uatu, The Watcher. I have been charged with observing your world since before Humanity reigned as the dominant species. I have watched your greatest explorers, become your greatest heroes. I have watched you turn accident, into triumph. I have watched selfless acts, define a lifetime. I have seen the flash of genius, define the future. I have watched Legends born, and return when most needed. I have watched adversity, turn into purpose. Over and over again, I have watched all of this, and so much more.
Now, I shall grant you this, a chance to see what I have seen, to watch a story yet untold unfold before you as it did for me.
Nick Fury cursed his position, not for the first nor last time, as he fought to keep from palming his face. When he had been offered the position, they had never mentioned the fact that he would have to deal with high blood pressure or problem child billionaires. And speaking of...
"Can you repeat that again Agent Romanoff?" he asked, hoping that he had misheard her.
"Stark's party exploded. Literally. I might have underestimated the extent of his lack of self-restraint," the Russian-born spy stated somewhat embarrassedly. She briefly debated on telling Fury about the advice she had given, which in hindsight probably contributed to Another piece of the evening's events came to her and she added," And Colonel Rhodes left with one of Stark's suits."
"What!" he roared as several of the newer agents stationed to the bridge flinched. " After all the shit I went through to keep the President and the military from making it illegal for Stark to keep his suits, and he lets one just walk out of his house? I swear, if he wasn't so useful... Is your cover intact at least?"
"At the moment it's still solid. Sir, with all due respect, I believe backup to keep a better watch on Stark would be a good idea."
Fury took in a calming breath and nodded thoughtfully. "Alright, any agent in particular?"
"Agents, sir. I think this would be a perfect opportunity to give Stark a little taste of his own medicine." The Director raised a brow at the thinly veiled amusement in his agent's normally cool voice.
"Oh?" he asked curiously. "Just who do you have in mind?"
"The Saotomes sir."
"..."
"Sir?"
"Congratulations, you've earned yourself a raise. I'll see you within the hour."
"Yes sir," Natasha replied crisply before cutting the connection. The Director stared around at the agents filling the bridge of the Helicarrier before tapping the broadcast button on his terminal.
"Listen up people, what is about to happen next is never to be repeated, never discussed, and should be forgotten quickly."
The agents looked at each other in confusion before the most disturbing sound they had ever heard filled their ears.
Director Nick "No-nonsense" Fury, was laughing. It wasn't even a chuckle or amused yet quiet laugh, but full out roars of boisterous amusement. The few agents that knew Fury, one particular Agent Coulson among them, couldn't help but wonder what poor sucker was about to have his world sideswiped by a tank.
And in the middle of his drunken slumber, Tony Stark shivered.
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Several Years Earlier:
The moment Ranma stepped into his mother's newly refurbished home, finally completely repaired after the absolute disaster that had been his 'wedding', he felt a chill run down his spine. Even that was understating the depth of the bad feeling he had. It was more like a Yuki-Onna had found his bones and decided to use them for a xylophone.
"M-mom?" he called out as he slipped off his shoes.
"I'm watching the TV dear." Ranma blinked in surprise. Of all the things he had might have expected from his mother, he had never imagined her to say anything so... normal. He had half-expected her to immediately start on about his 'manliness' or his fiancees or something.
But then again, he thought with a wry grin, when has anything in my life gone how I expected it to.
He shrugged his school bag off his shoulder and let it drop onto the floor as he walked over to the living room. He grinned as he flipped over the back of the couch and landed next to his mother, who gave him an amused grin, before turning to see what she was watching. Once again he found himself surprised as a shaky black and white film of what appeared to be ninjas fighting against Western soldiers ran across the screen.
The camera swerved off to the side and focused on a large man in an American military uniform with a bowler, obviously the leader of the Western forces, rallying his men around him while punching and throwing any ninja that got too close. Ranma couldn't help but wince as the man briefly changed tactics and smashed a leaping ninja in the crotch with his fist. Nodoka gently nudged Ranma in the side before pointing towards the man on the screen.
"I always thought it such a shame that Father never lived long enough to meet you," she said quietly, her words so soft that Ranma nearly missed them. When he actually realized what she had just said, his head whipped back and forth from the TV to his mother so quickly that is was a miracle he didn't get whiplash. Oblivious to her son's distress, Nodoka continued with a gentle smile, "You two are so much alike that it amazes me sometimes."
"G-grandfather?" he burbled out incredulously. He paused for a moment, frowning in thought. "I never knew grandfather was a gaijin."
Nodoka turned and gave Ranma a look, stating dryly, "Oh and I suppose that hair like ours is quite common now, isn't it?"
Ranma blushed and shrunk inwards as he mumbled a quiet, "Right," to his mother. Nodoka simply watched him for a moment before the smile slowly faded from her face.
"I remember how Father would come and tell me stories every night. Unlike most of the Americans, he never held what our country did against us." Nodoka chuckled and shook her head slightly. " He always tried to tell me stories about Europe instead, and when I could get him to tell me some about when he was fighting us, he'd always try to lie and pretend that he hadn't been nearly as involved, that things hadn't been nearly so bad."
She sighed and leaned back, letting her head rest against the back of the sofa as she stared up at the ceiling. Ranma stayed quiet, unused to the serious and introspective side his mother was showing him. "I still remember those stories, even after all these years. My favorites were the ones where he'd face down incredible odds with his Captain beside him. Such manly tales."
"He sounds pretty awesome," Ranma said quietly. Nodoka turned and gave him a warm smile.
"He was. And he would have been so proud of how manly his grandson is."
The two let the conversation lapse into silence as they watched the recording on the tv play out. Ranma stared at the men on the screen and wished, not for the first nor last time, that Genma had never taken him away from his family. He could barely remember what his mother was like back then even after spending so much time with her since returning. He looked at the far-away look in his mother's eyes and felt his heart clench, knowing that she had better memories of his youth and grandfather than he ever would.
Eventually the tape reached its end and the screen turned black, leaving the two Saotomes to sit with their thoughts for a little while longer.
"Ranma, " Nodoka began finally, " I want to know something, and I wish for you to answer me truthfully. Do you love Akane? Enough to want to spend the rest of your lives together?"
Ranma stared beyond the wall as he leaned forwards and rested his arms on his knees. "I... I don't know," he answered after a few minutes of thought. " I know I care for her, a lot, and that I want to see her happy, but... I don't think I can do that for her. We might love each other, but is it really love when your happier that the other person is gone?"
Nodoka nodded sadly. "I understand. Perhaps more than you would know," she added with a half-grin. "In any case, I think it would be best if you left Nerima, at least for a little while."
"What!"
"A break would do both you and Akane a world of good, and perhaps it might salve the wounds of your relationship." Nodoka said while Ranma stared at her incredulously. Her smile faded as she turned back to the blank tv. "Truly though, your relationship is the least of my worries. I know you have not told all that happened while you were in China, but you have upset a great number of people, and caught the eyes of many who I had hoped would never cross paths with my family."
Ranma let some of his normal bravado slip through as he smirked at his mother. "Oh please, I can take any of them, easy. How bad could they be?"
"One is a sorcerer, scientist, and ruler of a small nation that is willing and able to use nuclear weapons to get what he wants. Only he doesn't most of the time because he is able to cause more damage himself. And that is just one of the many who are now aware of you and what you can do."
The bravado drained away almost as quickly as the blood in Ranma's face as he realized the inescapable conclusion to such a battle between himself and such a person so unconcerned with collateral damage. At their worst, Ranma, Ryoga, Mousse and the others only caused easily repaired damages; some broken fences, occasional dented walls and cracked windows, and the rare car that had it's roof bent in. It was child's play to avoid to doing more damage, and that thought struck Ranma hard.
Children playing. That's what his fights were. Tantrums and classroom brawls between teenagers, albeit far stronger than normal yet still, teenagers. After Jusendo though, he wasn't a child anymore, he couldn't be. He'd stepped into a whole new league, one that he was completely unprepared for, where the stakes were so much higher, and costs of failure so much greater. What stunned him the most was that it was his mother who was pointing it out to him.
"So what do I do?" he asked, his voice trembling only slightly. He grit his teeth and inhaled deeply before continuing, his voice even and controlled. "I don't have anywhere to go that someone won't find me, and I can't stay here and put the Tendo's at risk, anymore than I already have. Unless you have some kind of idea?"
Nodoka's eyes drifted over to the emblem of an eagle within a circle that adorned the case from which she had retrieved her father's tapes. "I might have one or two..."
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"Excuse me sir, but there's someone that wants a meeting with you."
Nick Fury cocked the brow above his missing eye as he regarded the nervous looking agent. "So, book one of the conference rooms and set up a time for a video chat." The director waved at the agent dismissively as he turned back to study some of the proposed plans for a new headquarters.
"Well, I would sir, except she's waiting outside right now." Fury's head shot up in surprise.
"What do you mean, "outside"?"
"I mean she's right in front of the agent stationed in front of the Lift sir. And if Agent Jackson's words were anything to by, she is holding him in a rather uncomfortable position."
The Director felt his eye widen further as he rubbed at his jaw in thought.
"Bring her down, and make sure she's escorted by at least a full squad. And get Barton on the phone and tell him to follow them from a discreet distance. I want her dropped like a sack of anvils if she so much as sneezes aggressively, understand?"
"Yes sir, understood."
The agent scuttled away quickly, already grabbing his phone and dialing the necessary numbers. Fury turned and made his way to one of the facility's meeting rooms, his mind spinning as he tried to unravel the mystery that had just dumped itself on his lap. A quiet beeping brought his attention to his own communicator, where all the available files as to the identity of his guest had finished downloading.
He perused them with mild disinterest; nothing within was of any note, the woman was to all appearances a simple Japanese housewife, except for the fact that she had managed to track down SHIELD's headquarters and hold one of it's trained and alert operatives hostage. His eye grew slightly wider as he finally got to the section on her relatives.
"Well now," he muttered to himself. "Isn't this interesting."
He wouldn't have been too surprised to find out that one of the Captain's old squad member's had decided to settle down in one of the countries he had visited, but for his kid to come back to his home country after so many years certainly threw him for a loop. It did go a way to explaining how she had managed to track them down as well; SHIELD headquarters was still connected to the same front buildings and exits that it had back in the forties and fifties, and Fury would have put it past the Captain to have told his men where to find SHIELD if they needed to.
He set his phone down on the table in the meeting room he had chosen and took a seat so that he could face the door. A minute passed, then two, which quickly became five and then ten, until the door opened and in strode his guest. Who was noticeably missing her guards, causing Fury's eyebrows to rise as she pulled out her own seat across from him.
"Mrs. Saotome," he said flatly. "What can SHIELD do for you today?"
The redhead smirked at him — smirked at him — and withdrew a couple files from her sleeves that she set on the table. "Actually Director, I believe the question you should be asking, is what can I do for SHIELD?" Fury felt his eye begin to twitch as her smirk grew wider. " Now, where to begin..."
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The Director of SHIELD had been chosen for many reasons, chief among them; the ability to not let the strange and unusual disturb him. That ability had been sorely tested by his newest pair of agents. He couldn't let them walk out after the elder Saotome had explained how she had come by the knowledge of SHIELD — his predecessor having failed to include any mention of an agent stationed in Japan — as well as everything she and her son could offer him.
If he was honest with himself, the offer had been almost too good to be true, and certainly one he wouldn't — couldn't — refuse.
Tapping his finger against the table he offered the woman across from him a considering look. "Alright, say I accept your offer, just how are you gonna get your kid to go along with it?"
"I'm sure I can think of a few ways to... persuade him," she replied with a glint in her eyes. "If all else fails I can also promise him that you might have a cure for his... condition."
Fury nodded as he looked at the files the woman handed him upon sitting down. He narrowed his eyes as he reread the section on her son's curse. Something about it was ringing all sorts of little bells at the back of his mind, but he couldn't for the life of him understand why. He could certainly see the possible advantages of such a thing, as well as the disadvantages and the social stigmata bundled together with it, but there was no possible way he could cure it. A shape-shifting agent would be a godsend for some of his jobs, just like that one that used to work for the Canadians back...
The Director's eyes widened momentarily as his mind suddenly made the connections it had been straining to reach. "Mrs. Saotome, I think I may have something that can solve several problems for both of us. Tell your son that we might have a way to offer him some control over that condition of his if he signs on with us.
Finally alone, Fury pulled his phone from his pocket and quickly entered in his password before scrolling through his contact list.
"Coulson, get on the horn with Department K, I want them to send over all their files and data from 'that' project. Make sure they include everything concerning Wilson and Carlysle." Fury paused as Coulson responded. "Good, and see if you can't track down a Dr. Robert Windsor. Tell him that we might have found a viable subject for Project M.I.T.H.R.I.L."
Fury grinned as he put down his phone. Leaning forwards, he rested his elbows on the table before folding his hands in front of his mouth. If the Council ever found out what he had just arranged, they would have fired him faster than he could tell them to screw themselves. As far as the would be concerned, he would simply have hired two new agents for the organization. Two agents that, if necessary, could handle the worse that might come S.H.I.E.L.D.'s way. Somehow, the future looked a tiny bit brighter.
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