4 Training a team

A while later

They arrived at a deserted Lighthouse.

Nick got out and Phil walked over, Nick pointed at Bucky in the passenger seat, saying "Grab him and bring him inside. If he moves, tase him unconscious." Phil nodded and dragged Bucky out of the car into the lab as Howard helped Maria out of the car.

Nick brought them inside to see a lab, all of the technology was state of the art for the time. Howard looked around and smiled wryly, "Outdated tech." Nick shrugged, "We have to work under the radar for the time being. You'll have to rely on yourself to build the lab back up again, if I get caught contacting a ghost then it won't be long before I'm clawing at a coffin lid."

Howard snorted and looked at him before walking around the lab, checking everything as Maria sat on the side. Nick looked at her and smiled, "Sorry, Mrs. Stark." Maria sighed and shook her head, "It's fine. You saved our lives, I'm grateful. I wish I could see my boy one last time."

Nick smiled and nodded, "In the future. The less people that know you're both alive right now, the better. Also, maybe this is what's best for him? A wake up call you could say." Maria thought about her unruly son and smiled lovingly.

Nick shook his head with a smile and walked out, turning cold, "Coulson." Phil looked over and came to him, asking "Boss?" Nick looked at him and said "All the financing and connections for resources are set?" Phil nodded and replied, "I already set everything up and handed the details to Mr Stark." Nick nodded and said "Alright, good…" he narrowed his eyes before walking back inside, saying "Stark, I have a question for you."

Howard looked over and Nick asked, "If you can reverse engineer Barnes' Brainwashing, can you improve it?" Howard thought for a moment before replying "It depends how bad it is, but theoretically, sure. Why?" Nick frowned slightly and replied, "I happen to know some HYDRA agents that I'm reluctant to let go."

Howard nodded and said "Well, I could cook something up." he sighed and added, "Why didn't I think of that? If we had done that in the first place, we wouldn't be having these problems now." Nick nodded and said "Well, I'll wait for your good news." as he pointed at Bucky, who was locked in a chair, covered in handcuffs and chains while in a cage surrounded by a fiberglass box.

Howard smiled and nodded as he started working.

Nick left and sat on the hood of his car, holding a notebook.

He tapped on the notebook with his pen, frowning slightly as he thought about his next moves. He had to start recruiting people to his side, by the time Howard reverse engineered the Brainwashing process and improved it, he at least wanted a team.

From what he gathered, Maria Hill was around 9 years old right now, so she wasn't eligible, however Sharon Carter was. There was also Melinda May, Clint Barton, and a few others. Nick didn't recruit Bruce Banner for now, he was waiting for him to become the Hulk.

Afterwards, he would make contact with him and drag him under his banner. As for the moment, Nick didn't have much interest in him. Mainly because he was aware of how these situations go. Most likely they were on a set path and Banner would become the Hulk eventually. Nick would rather have Banner become the Hulk somewhere else, not anywhere that could hurt his people.

The real trouble was convincing him to join.

Nick would have to be lightning quick and contact Banner immediately after his transformation.

As for the other candidates… Nick looked at the name on his notebook and tapped next to it a few times, thinking about whether he really wanted to recruit this man…

Helmut Zemo.

Of course, he knew that Zemo was dangerous, but he wasn't a part of HYDRA… At least, this Zemo wasn't. Other Zemos were, however the one in the films was not. Nick decided to keep him on the backburner for now until he could have more control over him. The last thing he wanted was a wild dog pretending to be docile.

He called over Phil and told him, "Get in touch with Sharon Carter, Melinda May, Clint Barton…" after naming a few more names, he added, "John Garrett, kill him." Phil was stunned and Nick sighed, "He's a HYDRA agent now…" he looked down and grit his teeth angrily.

Phil was startled and sighed sadly, shaking his head as he said "Yes, Boss…" Nick grinded his teeth and added, "Make it look like an accident Phil…" he looked up at Phil and sighed sadly, "But just give him a quick death."

Phil was touched and nodded seriously, "I will, Boss." as he left quickly. His boss really cared about his subordinates, even if they defected… What a great boss!

After Coulson left, Nick returned to normal, just a cold face. He muttered to himself, "After taking care of Garrett, I can start building my own Squad. Tie up a few loose ends before getting Rumlow here… 17 years later, Romanoff will come to S.H.I.E.L.D… By that time, I'll need to have enough power and resources to swallow up the Red Room."

He thought for a moment, maybe he should get Peggy on board…

He closed his notebook, that would be something for another day.

Nick continued his missions for S.H.I.E.L.D while Phil was out recruiting.

A few months later, Phil came back with a group of people.

Nick looked at them all and nodded, saying "Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D, I'm Nick Fury. I'll be your direct superior for the remaining future. Is that understood?" the group nodded and Nick scanned them all before nodding to himself.

He looked at the 16 year old Clint Barton and said to the rest, "Alright, we'll start training today. I'll teach you the skills you need and Phil will be your sparring partner." Phil nodded and stood by the side.

The group was only 5 people and Clint asked, "What kind of skills?" Nick took out a gun before firing and holstering it as he said "Those kinds." they all looked around, not seeing anything, Phil pointed behind a tree on the side and everyone looked around before being dumbfounded.

Clint's eyes lit up and Sharon said in shock, "You curved the bullet around the tree!? Wow!" Nick nodded and said coldly, "Enough gawking. We're starting right now." everyone nodded seriously and started training.

As the time continued passing, Nick continued getting updates from Howard.

In 1992, Nick heard of Klaue's attack on Wakanda.

In 1993, Nick sent Phil along with the trained group to capture Klaue and steal all his Vibranium, acting as Pirates.

In 1994, the group came back just as Howard cracked the brainwashing code in Bucky's brain. He improved the method and constructed a device to brainwash people.

Nick handed over all the Vibranium the group took from Klaue to Howard while looking at Bucky, who had been cleared of his brainwashing by Howard. The process was simple, but painful.

Mainly using a new form of the Super Soldier Serum and the Recovery Liquid from the Fraternity to heal his brain after reverse brainwashing him.