Chapter 20 - Fake

(AN: There's about a two-week time skip here just to progress the story without having to include minor repetitive actions.)

3rd POV Triskelion

Tossing the newspaper in his hands onto a rapidly growing pile of related documents, Nick Fury silently contemplated how such a big change in the world had been hidden from him. Looking back at the newspapers front cover which showed a beautiful blonde woman in glasses wearing a lab coat smiling at the camera while standing on an elevated platform just outside of the Oscorp building. However, the photo paled in comparison to the headline under it "Dr. Angela Ziegler invents new pain killers that work 50% better than competitors and are made at only a third of the cost!"

A complete revolution in one of the most profitable and expensive sectors of healthcare globally and the first time Nick had heard about it was last night when the first article was published and got pinned at level 8 importance by their systems. Such an oversight normally would have sent Nick onto a rampage. Change needed to be controlled or else the delicate balance SHIELD is maintaining would break. 'Angela Ziegler' repeating the now household name in his head while glaring at the picture Nick looked down at another report by an agent, he had sent to make contact with Ziegler once he got wind of her gene serum.

Mission Assignment #39S24

Assigned personnel: Agent Cat Grant.

Emergency assistance: Agent Coulson and Agent Barton

Mission details: Make contact with Dr. Angela Ziegler. Evaluate her threat level and the threat of her gene serum.

Initial psyche summary: Upon first contact Dr. Ziegler has shown herself to be a very bright and compassionate doctor. With a strong dedication to helping people from all levels of society, she doesn't accept and greatly pushes back against attempts by the military to privatize her serum for their use only. Dr. Ziegler could become a very valuable asset of SHIELD if approached in the right way. While not showing anything openly, I believe that she possesses a strong opinion when concerning major organizations. See page 51 for detailed conversations pertaining to thoughts on the industry as a whole. Attempts at infiltrating her lab have resulted in failure. Consequent attempts have seen Mutant's stationed by Norman. Requesting further instructions before proceeding.

Project summary: Norman is under immense pressure from the military. If he doesn't deliver his serum soon it is likely they will withdraw all support (suspected impact on pg. 47 paragraph 3). Dr. Ziegler is seemingly working nonstop to incorporate her serum into the Goblin serum to erase the phycological effects of the serum (pg.49 for further details) rarely taking breaks longer than 30 minutes and constantly staying overnight at Oscorp (possibly against her will but no such signs upon daily contact). Conversations with the Doctor reveal that she is close to completing her goal but seems to be leaving Oscorp less and less as time passes.

Nothing further to report at this time

'Nothing further to report at this time.' Every time he saw that last line Nick seriously contemplated strangling Agent Cat. If she wasn't SHIELD's only personal connection with the Doctor, he probably would have. As it stands, she's too valuable to get rid of or replace especially after this cluster fuck of an announcement. Judging by Norman's sour expression in other pictures it's clear he hadn't expected that announcement either so this secondary project must have been started sometime during her production of the perfected goblin serum. Best guess would place it around the time she started to stop leaving Oscorp but she could have been working on this for months and only rushed to produce it before finishing the perfected Goblin serum.

'The question is why? Why chose to unveil this now. What is she gaining. It's impossible to tell right now.' Going by the agents notes, it could be an attempt to draw attention to herself in case the Military or Norman try to step out of line but if she can do something like this it shouldn't be a problem to fix the Goblin serum. SHIELD's own scientists were steadily making a perfect version and were progressing to animal testing on the new version all without the help of the original creators. 'Is she delaying its production on purpose?'

Considering all the evidence it's a likely possibility but again the question of interest pops up. What is there to gain by making it obvious that you're deliberately slowing your progress concerning the most important deal in the company's history. Especially considering she was a recent hire. Although it's impossible for Oscorp to get rid of her now. 'Is she taking a shot at CEO?' The question popped into Nick's head as he sat there thinking over everything they'd found. Sitting up straighter as the thought he shuffled through the documents in front of him and pulled up a sketch he had made roughly detailing the timeline from when Angela Ziegler entered SHIELD's radar to yesterday's announcement.

'She interviewed the day after the military cut Norman's time frame in half --The stuck-up pricks – and was hired immediately no questions asked then given a top-of-the-line laboratory and unlimited access to funding. Obviously, she had shown Norman at least part of her gene serum. Just enough to make her irresistible as an asset but not enough to where Norman would make any progress without her. Now as the deadline draws closer, she releases something revolutionary elevating her to the top of the medical industry while also provoking Norman with the fact that she hadn't been dedicating her time like he had thought she was.

Norman won't even be able to do anything about it either. Oscorp may be his company, but his entire board will side with Ziegler if it comes down to it. As sneaky as Norman was Nick refused to believe that at least half of his board wasn't already aware of his and Harry's disease. The more he thought about it the more likely it seemed that Ziegler's goal was to overtake Norman and lead Oscorp. But something in his gut told him that isn't what Ziegler was after. Nick's gut very rarely had led him astray, so he looked back down at his files and tried to consider everything from Ziegler's perspective. But no matter what he tried he couldn't find any other motive she could have.

{Knock Knock Knock}

"Sir it's Agent Hill. I've got an urgent report from forensics Regarding Dr. Ziegler." Trying not to let out a groan at the thought of more files he'd have to read Nick quickly double checked it was Hill outside through his hidden cameras. Running her body through roughly 100 of the best scanners available, looking for any signs that she wasn't who she said she was. Seeing nothing wrong he clicked another button on his desk to unlock the door before using his comm to summon Hill inside. Watching as she walked in Nick took solace in the small size of the file, at least until he saw the title.

Background report: #142356 Dr. Angela Ziegler. A feeling of unease spread through Fury as he looked down at a much thicker file on his desk in front of him with the same title. Arriving in front of his deck Nick's unease grew as Hill placed the report on his desk and then took a step back, remaining silent. The message was clear, they wouldn't be able to have an effective conversation if he wasn't aware of all the details. Looking down Nick opened the report and froze immediately at the first sentence

Note: the information below is all known true information regarding Angela Ziegler. True information, meaning every file on his desk is potentially useless. Taking a longer breath then he meant to Nick continued downwards.

Initial summary: Angela Ziegler is not documented in any hospital in the world. Her real-world presence up till college is built upon the life of the deceased Angela Stinger who died in a bus accident along with the rest of her class. The online and physical records have been tampered with to show one survivor of the attack but upon speaking to the retired workers who were responsible none of them say anything to point out a survivor. Angela Ziegler's online presence is extremely through its likely she is well acquainted with a skilled hacker of at least level 4 (pg. 13 for potential partners) but no traces of her can be found anywhere.

Flabbergasted at what he had just read Nick quickly reread it to make sure he wasn't seeing things before his anger that had been shimmering under the surface finally exploded. "Who wrote this first report?! What kind of idiots do we have teaching our academy graduates? THIS INFORMATION CHANGES THINGS COMPLETELY!!! We assumed that Ziegler was at Oscorp to gain backing in the medical world but if this is true than not only does she have ties with a WORLD-class hacker but also the money to employee their services to make up her whole life. She wouldn't have been able to hide herself so well if she was working alone, she must have accomplices." Falling back against his chair Nick took a deep breath to try and calm himself down.

'This doesn't change the heart of the matter. We still have no idea what Ziegler and any of her accomplices hope to achieve by destabilizing Oscorp.' Sighing in frustration at the fact that he had more questions than he had answers, Nick quickly thought through his options before standing up and addressing Hill. "Call Norman Osborn. Tell him will get him an extra 2 months with the military if he allows us to place an assistant next to Ziegler."

Raising her eyebrows slightly but showing no other outward reaction Marie slowly thought over her response before expressing her doubts "Isn't that a little fast sir? It's likely if Ziegler's background is criminal then she'll be on the lookout for assassins and other people who want her formula."

"It's fine in fact that caution will work for our benefit after all no criminals will ever be able to see through "Her" act. And while she way be fighting for control right now Norman is still in charge, and she can't overstep certain boundaries without risking losing all the support she just gained in the company."

This time the Suprise on Marie's face was much more visible. "We're going to deploy her sir. I thought she was still recovering?"

"She was supposed to be, but she insisted that the best way for her to recover was to start working." A work ethic that Nick certainly approved of compared to some of his other agents. Coulson still had the audacity to ask for vacations. What did he think Nick was running a resort? Agents get their vacations when they enter the silver city, not before. Pushing the comm link on his desk Nick went over his options one last time before calling his newest agent to his office.

{Agent Romanoff report to my office immediately.} Looking back up at Hill Nick quickly dismissed her to go call Norman while Nick begins to sort out Natasha's new identity, she'd need extra protection to ensure she didn't get exposed in the face of a level 4 hacker.

1st POV Makenzie (During the press conference)

Standing on the roof of a nearby building with Reaper while we both watched Mercy make her announcement regarding the new pain killers, she's made I couldn't help but feel thankful for having summoned her. Public speaking was not my strong suit, and I haven't resonated well enough with the good speakers of Overwatch either so I can't rely on them to get me through it. Mercy was a god send and to think the process to unlock her had been so ridiculously easy.

(Flashback one week prior)

Leaving the Starbucks that has become the meeting location for me and the SHIELD agent sent to watch me I started my walk back to Oscorp when a distinct cry from a nearby alley caught my attention. Quickly checking my surroundings to see if I was being watched I ducked into the alley and made my way towards the cry. After a few minutes of walking, I arrived in front of a young child who was kneeling next to their mother who lay weakly on the ground. It was obvious at a glance that both were starving but the mother was in a much worse condition than her kid. She was probably giving the majority of the food she scavenged to her child instead of looking after herself. Seeing me appear the child started to panic and try to drag his mom away from me.

"it's okay child." I whispered in a soft tone that I had experience using thousands of times before on distraught children. "I can help her if you'll let me. Mommy is just a little tired and needs some food. You wouldn't want mommy to go hungry, would you?" Keeping my voice soft, I gently guided the child into allowing me to help. Seeing him nod I gave him a soft but dazzling smile as I moved slowly next to his mother to keep him from spooking. Holding my hand out I allowed the nanobots in my angel suit to flow out of my body in their yellow glow before falling on the mother before me and dispensing all the nutrients her body can currently take.

Retracting my hand afterwards I looked over at the child who had a shocked face and gave him a smile. Just as I opened my mouth to ask him to keep quiet on what he saw I felt a weird energy surround my body shotting up off the ground and looking around I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Glancing to see the kid was still in a daze, I quickly left and walked out of the alley. Putting a hand to my ear I called Reaper who was in my base while Jessica slept and prepared for her confrontation tomorrow.

"Master!" Reaper shouted joyfully over the phone "I was just about to call you. Why is there a glowing statue of that women you're always walking around as in the base suddenly?"

Glowing statue...DID I JUST UNLOCK MERCY!!? Transforming to Sombra I used a translocator stored in my base as I disappeared and reappeared in my base and looked over to the shelf Reapers statue was kept on and sure enough a Mercy statue stood proudly next to his.

Ignoring Reaper who started to jump around like an excited puppy at my sudden appearance I walked forward and activated the statue by touching it and once again felt that weird energy flow through me before an exact copy of Angela Ziegler A.K.A Mercy stood before me. This changes things I have a lot more freedom of movement now that Mercy can replace me at Oscorp. Turning to look at Reaper and Mercy, I gave them both an apologetic smile before speaking.

"Sorry but I really have to get back to Oscorp I wish I could explain things to you myself, but Reaper will have to in my place." Focusing my gaze on Reaper I continued "Give her the rundown I gave you and then you two can rest here till I get back unless Jessica wakes up earlier than expected. I'll explain your task when I get back Mercy."

Translocating again to a location near Oscorp I switched back to Mercy and entered Oscorp with a smile on my face.

Authors Note: Do you guys have any good books I can look at where the characters make a lot of public speeches. I'm not confident in my ability to write them and some of the characters in Overwatch will need to make a lot of them such as Doomfist. So if you guys have any recommendations on whose work to look at I'd appreciate it.