3 Saving Howard and Maria

And so they started training in the woods, reporting back to the Field office every now and then. Phil kept a lookout for the names Nick specified, only to find nothing. Nick continued paying attention to the world through S.H.I.E.L.D connections.

He also investigated S.H.I.E.L.D from the inside, visiting the Base every now and then. He went through all the files he could under the guise of looking for information for his missions.

He solidified his knowledge of S.H.I.E.L.D, confirming that Peggy Carter was out of operations, but Howard Stark was still operational, although very old. Howard was 73 years old while Tony was 20 at the moment.

Nick was speechless… He was only 30 himself.

As he continued digging into S.H.I.E.L.D, a year passed.

December 16th 1991, Long Island

Nick was sitting in a car, smoking as he waited. He was already on the road in his memory. He only needed to wait for everyone to show up. He had already taught Coulson the Gunfighting technique and claimed the Infinity Serum.

This serum was from the comics and could extend the lifespan of the average person as well as keeping their appearance.

This was very useful… Especially because in the Comics Black Widow was around 80 years old in the modern day, but she had been taking the Infinity Serum for the whole time, maintaining the appearance of a 20 year old woman.

At any rate, it was useful enough.

Nick was looking at the road as a car passed by followed by a motorcycle. He nodded and drove out, turning on his lights, pointing out the window and shooting at Bucky, who shot at Howard.

Bucky was startled and Howard swerved, hitting a tree.

Nick followed Bucky, who turned around, shooting at the car. Nick sneered at him and shot out his tires, sending Bucky flying off the bike. Nick drove the car as Bucky got up, running him over and sending him flying into the air.

He got out and walked over to Bucky, shooting out his kneecaps as Bucky screamed in pain. Nick smiled, looking down at him as he said "Hail Hydra for real!" Bucky looked at him in surprise and confusion, Nick looked at him and said "Don't worry about it soldier." as he took out a taser, blasting Bucky with all the volts.

Bucky shook like an epileptic on the ground as Nick watched, exhaling a cloud of smoke before stepping on his cigarette, twisting his foot on the cigarette butt. After Bucky passed out, Nick nodded and shot the camera in the distance, walking over to Howard and Maria's car.

He opened the trunk and looked at the Super Soldier Serum briefcase. He nodded to himself, taking the briefcase before walking to the driver seat.

Howard was dazed and mumbled, "Please… my wife…" Nick looked at him and pinched his face, "Wake up, Mr. Stark." Howard looked up and said in surprise, "Fury?!" Nick nodded and dragged him out of the car, propping him up as he said "The very same." before walking over to the passenger side, helping Maria out.

She looked dazed, but otherwise fine.

Nick made sure she wasn't dead and said "Mr. Stark, make your way to my car, we need to talk." Howard stumbled and Nick sighed, muttering "Damn old people…" as he helped Maria to his car, sitting her in the backseat.

He walked back and helped Howard to the car, sitting him in the backseat as well, tossing him the briefcase. He closed the door and returned to Bucky, he paused for a moment before tasing him again.

After Bucky convulsed into a coma, Nick nodded and dragged him to his car, tossing a grenade into Howard's car as he left. He put Bucky in the passenger seat and got in the car, driving off.

Howard held his head in the back seat, still dazed as Nick drove out from the secluded road. Howard looked to the front and squinted at Bucky, saying "Barnes?" Nick looked in the rear view mirror, saying "The very same, Mr. Stark. Well, I guess you can call him HYDRA's number 1 dog now. The Winter Soldier."

Howard was dumbfounded and shook his head, replying "Impossible, Sergeant Barnes was Steve's best friend, even if he left the army he wouldn't turn to HYDRA, unless…" he looked at Bucky and sighed.

Nick nodded, glancing at Bucky on the side, "That's right, unless he was brainwashed by HYDRA. That metal arm is courtesy of your good friend Arnim Zola too! Would you like to meet him?" Howard was confused and looked at Nick, saying in shock, "You don't mean?!"

Nick sighed and looked at the road, driving with one hand as he lit a cigarette with the other, "Operation Paperclip is a smart move, recruiting talents from enemy forces can definitely push progress in our own forces, but the real danger is inviting a wolf into your own house. Are you familiar with the story of the farmer and the snake?"

Howard waved and nodded, "Spare me, Fury. I get it." he frowned, "Is it bad?" Nick curled his lips and replied, "Might as well call it HYDRA's S.H.I.E.L.D" Howard frowned, "Who else knows?" Nick fell silent and Howard looked at him in shock, "You're the only one?! You want to go commando on a whole organization of HYDRA agents?!"

Nick's face was cold enough, "It's not that I want to, but I have to. I recruited 2 recruits myself and one of them is already a snake. I don't have a lot of people in my corner right now." Howard held his forehead and frowned slightly.

Nick added, "This isn't about just S.H.I.E.L.D anymore, Stark. Governors, World Security Council… Hey, maybe even the current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D…" Nick's eyes flashed coldly, definitely the current Director, because it was Pierce!

Howard's face was grim, Nick added, "So you and I seem to have a common enemy, Stark. How about working together?" Howard turned to the rear-view mirror, making eye contact with Nick before asking "How so?"

Nick curled his lips, "HYDRA is crawling all over S.H.I.E.L.D resulting in your unfortunate accident tonight. We can really make it so that you're dead in the eyes of the public, but I want to keep Bucky for my own use. We have a Winter Soldier, why give him back? I need your expertise to turn the tide."

Howard looked at him and Nick continued, "We can start with Bucky. Is it possible to reverse his brainwashing and cure him?" Howard thought for a moment before saying, "I'd have to take a closer look at him, but I don't have any tech and I can't get back to my lab…"

Nick took out his flip phone and called Coulson, "Phil, is it done?" Phil replied, "Yeah, Boss. All done. Off the books." Nick nodded and replied, "I'll be there in the morning, don't let anyone find out about this. It's extremely important." Phil confirmed, "No problem, Boss."

Nick hung up and continued driving, "I have a place for you, unfortunately, you'll have to stay dead for the time being." Howard nodded, "Not a problem." Nick took out a notebook, writing down on it before handing it to Howard as he said, "I got help from a reliable source, here." Howard took the notebook and looked strange as he opened it.

His eyes widened as he read the contents, "Improved Super Soldier Serum?! Recovery Solution? Infinity Serum?!" He looked at Nick, asking quickly, "Who is this Source?!" Nick pointed up and Howard was shocked!

Aliens!

Wow!

Nick added, "This source should be returning in 4-5 years." Howard's hands trembled and he looked at the notes in the notebook with relish as Nick drove off, taking out a taser and tasing Bucky again.