Before leaving Kamar-Taj for Ling's Legendary Laundromat, I stopped by the archives to grab a book on the mirror dimension.
In all honesty I could've grabbed it earlier, it was quite useful, and I really hadn't needed it in-so-far. Since I already have my own dimension that did most of the same things, just better, and without the chance of other people being around to warp a skyscraper at me. As for potentially reducing damage to public property? I'm not the one paying, and all the public property I've damaged have been side-walks and a Quinjet, and I didn't even destroy the Quinjet.
But with the upcoming Kaecillius debacle, who has been missing since before I even joined, I thought it prudent to prepare.
There was a short moment where I debated just killing the guy beforehand, or trying to change his world views before he went all psycho.
…but that was a slippery slope, I'd be villainizing people who I assumed would be 'evil'.
But as I've come to learn this isn't the MCU I knew, there were a lot of similarities sure, but at the end of the day it wasn't. I could prep for this to come, with wider knowledge of the cosmic shenanigans, if anything I had great context of it all. Not to mention the butterfly effect.
And I know for a fact Tao would grill me alive if I went ahead and killed/detained another Sorcerer without proof of Dormamu's influence—I mean, she knows, she very much sees her death—yet she just went ahead and died.
I have such a foolish Master.
Was I being over-confident? I could probably end his life in the blink of an eye, I was preparing for a Mad Titan, a petty sorcerer was peanuts in comparison.
I guess we'll have to see.
—
The S.W.O.R.D facility was surprisingly bustling with activity. I saw a whole lot of familiar faces—ex-widows turned soon-to-be agents filled the halls. Some carried data pads to and fro while others were throwing hands in the training gyms.
Each and everyone of them took a second to come and say hi. It was an odd feeling to say the least, to find the hallways filled with scents of lilacs and caffeine-like excitement.
The moment I stepped into the briefing room I knew I was about to be lambasted in one way or another.
Johnson was leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed, head tucked lazily into his chest.
Nat & Yelena sat on a couch with their heads hung low, though Yelena looked more angry and the sour look Nat had, while Fury and Hill stared daggers at me the second they caught sight of me.
I quirked a brow, feeling the unease lingering in the room.
"Howdy folks…?" I said tentatively as I sat on a lone crouch, suspiciously placed across from everyone in the room.
"So when were you going to tell us about the extent of your abilities?" Fury said, coming out swinging the moment I sat down.
I quirked another brow, a wry smile on my lips. I glanced over to Nat, who mouthed the word sorry to me.
Ah… I see. Well that's disappointing.
In a way, I should be angry—though the extent of my secrets she revealed was currently unclear—it seems Nat had to report some of my actions to Fury.
This wasn't really a surprise to me, if it wasn't her then I'm sure an ex-widow would've let it slip. Not out of malice or anything, since I didn't feel a smidgen of such a thing on the way here, but unintentionally.
And to be clear, I kinda asked for this, bringing an entire fleet of ex-assassins into my base meant that at some point it's existence was going to be leaked in one form or another, I just didn't expect Nat to be the one to throw me under the metaphorical bus.
Though Fury wouldn't be able to get in even if he used a nuke at this point.
And I'm literally already moving out.
I gave the one-eyed pirate a disarming smile.
"What're you talking about specifically?" I asked, my tone casual.
Fury scoffed, "The fact you can teleport? How you got your hands on a motherfucking Quinjet? Maybe your secret little hideout? And/or your so called shadow organization you're planning to start?"
Oh wow, more than I anticipated.
I sighed, causing the man to furrow his brows at me.
My smile dropped slightly, a lazy hand waving through the air, "And?"
Fury scoffed, "And? I should have you arrested for sheer stupidity—"
"Fury!" Nat hissed at him.
Yet the man didn't get the opportunity to reply to her interruption.
A wave of pure, unadulterated Force swept over the room. The air itself vibrating, tables shaking, lights above flickering.
Fury suddenly gasped for air, Hill & Johnson moved for their sidearms only to find their bodies frozen in place, held tight by an unseen hand. Nat & Yelena were free from my hold, yet the sudden shift in atmosphere had them likewise freeze.
"Fury." I said coldly. Forcing him to look at me with his lone eye. The veins on his bald ass head pulsed, his neck muscles trying desperately to break free from my Force hold.
"You can be a real dumb motherfucker at times you know that?" I couldn't help but chuckle out.
"If I've been hiding the ability to teleport, in what world do you think you'd ever have the chance of arresting me? I think you've realized you have no clue who I am, the extent of my abilities—only that we share a common goal."
I released the morons from my Force hold, Fury's head snapping over to Hill. "Hill DON'T!" He commanded yet it did nothing.
Agent Hill drew her side-arm and fired at me, unloading a barrage of shots that sliced the tension in the room with ear-scraping bangs.
I gave her a stupid, unamused look, not even gesturing towards the bullets as they all froze mid-flight.
"Are you a dumbass too?" I asked, turning the bullets back towards her. I let them fly, whistling through the air only to stop a kissing distance away from her skull. Hill's eyes went wide as saucers, her throat clenched as she stared down what would've been certain death.
Fury let out a relived sigh, turning back towards me with newfound trepidation.
"I said SHOULD have you arrested you goddamn moron!"
I scoffed at him, "I won't play your games Fury, but please, fuck around and find out."
The man massaged his temples, Johnson stirred in the back, hesitant but giving me a bemused stared.
Nat made to stand, yet I reached out and shoved her back into the couch, which made her look at me in confusion.
"So what? What now Fury?" I asked, not sparing her a glance.
Fury let out a resigned sigh, "What now? Now, you have a mission to do." He said, trying to steer the conversation away from the tension in the room.
I smirked, "Uh huh, sure, but to be clear—this is my last."
Johnson was surprisingly the one to speak up, "Your last? You quitting kid? Tucking tail and leaving because we caught you red-handed?"
"Caught me red-handed? More like I finally let you see my hands and the first thing you thought about was taking a nibble at my fingers." I retorted dismissively.
Fury raised a hand, ushering his agent into silence. "You want to quit?"
"Are you going to stop me?"
Fury shook his head, "I somehow doubt you'd let me."
"Smart."
Fury groaned, taking a glance and seeing Nat's furious gaze. "So, what's the name of this little group you're creating, that company you decided to start?"
I nodded, unsurprised that he knew of— "The F.O.R.C.E Company, we're a tech company among other things—I actually wanted to partner with you, but now? I'm having doubts about your sincerity?"
"Sincerity? I'm the most sincere motherfucker in this room, don't forget I gave you a job. Tell me, what sort of bullshit does F.O.R.C.E stand for?"
"Fucking Outrageously Rapid Cosmic Enforcement."
Fury stared at me like I was a pile of rocks, "That might be the dumbest shit I've heard all year—Johnson?"
Johnson scoffed, "Three hairless monkeys with two sticks—and a rock— could've come up with something better, and they would've had to share the rock."
I waved my hand, "Yeah, well it's being workshopped, but the good news is that we share the same goal."
Fury narrowed his one eye at me, "And what might that be?"
"The protection of Earth from any fool dumb enough to fuck around and find out."
Fury smirked, "Maybe we can do business after all."
I clapped my hands together, ending the debacle. The bullets hovering before Agent Hill falling to the floor like their strings were cut. "Lovely, my people will be in touch—now, can we get going? I hear Clint has a bad back and the prison has rather stiff cushions."
—
I didn't really intend on burning bridges with Fury, and if anything the man was just doing his job. I could respect him in that way, but it didn't mean I was going to let him walk over me.
I was his agent, that much was true, but like Tao told me long ago, I was her disciple first and foremost, and no Master of the Mystic Arts should feel threatened by a pirate.
Really it was Nat who I should be pissed at, and I was.
I think there's a degree of miscommunication here, since we're technically both part of S.W.O.R.D she probably felt that it wasn't too crazy to talk about my capabilities, though I doubt she didn't know Fury would try and threaten me over it.
Or that I'd react by smothering them with the Force, or hold Agent Hill's life in the palm of my hand.
The only person really confused about the whole thing was Yelena, who quickly sought me out after the mission brief.
"Riven." She whispered, following me into the armory.
I spun, reaching out with the Force and puling her into my arms.
Yelena's yelp quickly turned into a smirk as she wrapped me in a tight hug.
"Does this mean I won't be seeing you at work anymore?"
I chuckled, "Sorry, we could've been great co-workers too."
She groaned, "Uggh—I just got here! We haven't even had the chance to sneak away—" She started before stopping herself with a flush of red.
I smirked leaning down to her ear, "And do what exactly, Miss Belenova~?" I whispered.
Yelena didn't bother replying, opting for a practical demonstration instead. She yanked me down, stealing my lips and sending a jolt shuddering down my spine.
Her hands crawled along my chest, clutching my neck, greedily biting my lips until pulling away with heated breaths.
"Do you really haaaave to quit?" She asked with puppy dog eyes.
I smiled at her, gently curling a strand of blonde hair over her ear. I grasped her chin with my thumb and index, shifting her head to the side and placing a deep kiss onto her reddened cheek.
"Unfortunately, but to be honest it was going to happen eventually—conflict of interests if you will—and Fury doesn't take too kindly to not knowing."
"Gaah!" She huffed, leaning into me, resting her forehead on my chest. "I'm coming over tonight, so lets finish this stupid mission—"
Our moment was interrupted by a firm cough. We both tensed, parting and turning to the intruder.
A tall, broad shouldered man stood in the doorway, his blonde hair and baby blue eyes failing to hide his embarrassment of stumbling in on us.
"Ahem… howdy?"
I couldn't help but grin at the now wanted Captain America, "You missed the brief."
Steve chuckled, "Add it to the list, right after Marvin Gaye." He stepped forwards extending a hand. "Steve Rogers."
I took it, "We've actually met, but I'm Riven Thorne." He quirked a brow at me, taking only a second to deduce what I was talking about. "Leipzig?" He asked.
I nodded, "Bingo."
"Thanks for trusting me back then, and also saving Rhodes, I don't know how I would've faced Tony if he—"
I dismissed his concerns with a wave of my hand, "Just doing my job Cap." I motioned to Yelena, who stepped forwards and shook the man's hand. "Yelena Belenova, my dad is a huge fan of yours."
Steve sighed, "You must be Alexei's daughter, Nat's sister? Yeah, we've met…" He said with a grimace.
Yelena smirked, "He attacked you?" Steve nodded, "He's enthusiastic, that's much is certain."
"More like he has a crush on you, I swear he's been talking non-stop about you since we freed him from prison." She scoffed.
Steve just gave her a wry smile, uncertain as how to respond to another super-soldier having a crush on him. "Will you two be joining us?"
We nodded, and Cap smiled, "Well, then let's not keep our friends waiting, shall we?"
—
To say that the atmosphere in the Quinjet was tense was an understatement.
Cap, Nat & Johnson sat on one side of the craft, while me and Yelena sat on the other.
Sara, our in-house alcoholic pilot felt none of it, humming to the tune of Freebird as we sliced across the ocean.
Cap, ever the the observant one couldn't help but chime in. "Did I miss something?" He asked, giving Nat a helpless look as Johnson chuckled.
Nat sighed, turning to me. "Riven I'm sorry, I didn't realize he'd be dumb enough to threaten you."
Yelena shifted in her seat, finding her seatbelts suddenly fascinating.
I tilted my head at her, feeling the regret permeating through the Force. A sour scent, like spoiled milk—rather repulsive to be honest.
"Y'know…" I said, leaning forwards and resting my elbows on my knees.
"I've never asked for a thing in return."
Nat's face soured, her eyes tearing away from me as the Force filled an even thicker scent of rusted metal, guilt perhaps.
Steve, seeing his friend in emotional turmoil placed a hand on her shoulder, a reassuring grip.
Nat gave him a small smile, taking a deep breath. "I know. Again, I'm sorry—I didn't mean for Fury to loose his shit or Hill to bloody fire at you…"
"Trust, Nat. Capital T, either you get it—or you don't. Just be thankful I'm more powerful than I am, or you would've been apologizing to my beautiful corpse."
Which, wasn't true in the slightest since a bullet to the head wouldn't kill me.
Johnson scoffed, "Did you just call yourself beautiful? Goddamn, kids these days have no sense of humility."
I chuckled at the man, shrugging in reply.
Steven cleared his throat, "Listen, whatever you two have going on save it for after the mission, we have people relying on us, and I won't let whatever you have going jeopardize our mission."
I gave the man a mock two finger salute, "Yes sir!" And the super-soldier just sighed.
Sara's bored voice chimed in from the cockpit, "Target is in visual, ETA — two minutes, get ready to rock and roll!"