Ch.5

Fury was apposed to it, but when I explained that my best and brightest assassins and warriors would be serving him loyally with magic and technology beyond Shield's current capabilities, he considered it. I told him that if he can convince them to stay once their work is done then he can keep them as agents because Shield's goals and the Ten Rings aren't dissimilar. I sweetened the pot telling him of the captured Kree ships and my scientists working to reverse engineer a fleet of earth based ships. I told him that if they succeed I'd be willing to share the knowledge and technology with him so long as Hydra is eradicated once and for all.

He agreed and I shook hands with him before telling him coldly. "If for whatever reason you get my people killed because of negligence or simply to get them out of the way, I will come for you personally and there's no place in the multiverse I cannot find you and skin you alive."

He grimaced and agreed before I released his hand, handing him their files. "They're excellent and loyal to protecting this world at all costs. Test them yourself and find out, just try not to force them to reveal their powers. The last thing I want to do is eradicate Shield and Hydra alike to get rid of those that would experiment on my people. Let them start from the bottom and prove themselves so that Hydra doesn't suspect a thing."

He looked over their thick files which had absolutely everything about them in there including their ties to the outside world and the fact that three of them were my lovers temporarily. I took out a box and a thick book, passing them to him. "Inside the box is a robotic eye that will give you all forms of visions from microscopic to thermal, X-ray and scope. Use it or don't, you'll be able to WiFi it and encrypt it with your own passcode if you so desire. You'll find beyond the basic functions that it has a weapons scanner capability. Beyond that it's just a simple gift, no strings."

I tapped the book. "Everything about my life that I can remember including my name. It's been a very long two and a half million years and most of my life before I came here was forgotten. Treat this with care because it's my personal journal of a sort and I will want it back."

He nodded and I made a portal to his home where I'd taken him from. I told him to destroy the special parts of the files in red once he memorized them to keep Hydra from ever finding them. He slowly agreed and left, thanking me for the eye. I shrugged and told him k got it from an alien world called Xandar of the Nova Empire in another galaxy.

I smirked saying I'd tell him more about it over drinks the next time he drops in. He cursed like a sailor while the portal snapped shut and I went back to work. Soon five years passed by in the blink of an eye. Maya Hanson, the inventor of Extremis, ended up working for TR Industries while Harold Meachum was arrested for faking his own death and blowing up the Rand's plane.

Evidence came to light and Rand Enterprises took a massive hit while TR Industries scooped it up under a shell holdings corporation. It expanded a great deal of influence and reach which resulted in TR Industries buying out Pym Tech. Hank Pym refused to give up his Pym particles and yet all rights to the invention was owned by Pym Tech which resulted in one of my men retrieving some of said particles from him.

From there it was sent to the lab while Hank tried to sue and even tried to break in with his Antman suit only to fail. The shield generated around the building zapped his ass back into full size and fried his suit which was scanned just before and just after said incident. He ended up escorted kicking and screaming off the premises about his life's work being stolen. I told him it was bought and paid for legally and the fact that he didn't turn it over immediately was grounds for arrest.

I told him that he should move on and play hero elsewhere because we weren't thieves and he was well compensated for both the company and his technology when the company was bought. He said he didn't have a choice and I shrugged saying he shouldn't have opened his company up to the stock market then because that was his choice along with signing the rights to his parents to the company years ago so he could found it. He was spitting mad, but I simply wasn't interested in him or his anger.

That was pretty much the most excitement that happened in the last five years because since then he'd only been turned away at the door each time his suit was deep fried by the forcefield. Even when he got in, the moment he was away from someone he was deep fried and tossed out. Sadly all the equipment and Pym particles weren't even on the premises anymore.

All of it had been taken via portal to the labs across the world for study. The only thing in the building at this point was just security and an old shield generator in the basement. I left it to security and eventually they just kept calling the cops to pip the old stubborn bastard up. Meanwhile my attention was focused on Tony Stark as he went missing.

Bruce Banner was off elsewhere so my sole attention was on the terrorist organization calling themselves the Ten Rings and Tony Stark who was captured. Two months in, my Ten Rings found and killed all the terrorists across the Middle East that dared use our name. I stayed in the shadows as Tony Stark and Yensen were found and released with his suit in pieces.

It drove conspiracy theorists nuts as the military found all the Ten Rings camps burning with piles of their dead and a book that survived it all in Yensen's hands. The book was the true history of the Ten Rings, our enemies, ties to the world and creed. Yensen simply told them with Tony that a tall man in a black full body suit and glowing rings on his arms freed them when all the screams and dying stopped. They told the world that all the Stark Tech weapons were burning and a female in a suit appeared out of nowhere and gave them the book.

Tony openly thanked the real Ten Rings on National television, telling the world that the terrorists were falsely using an ancient organization's name for prestige and it backfired when they were slaughtered by said organization. The reporters asked if he was afraid to give the real Ten Rings too much credit because they could be worse. He told them that the real Ten Rings is nothing like that.

He held up the book and told them they were Old Testament wrath of God types who defended the world regardless of nation from outside threats or anything that could destroy it. He told them Stark Industries would be releasing the book immediately for mass production and give away so the world can know what it is they do. He put the book down and thanked the Ten Rings once more.

Yensen went back to Iraq and to his home in Gulmira. He told the news reporters before he left that the fake Ten Rings was dead or would be soon so the war was over for him.

I turned off the tv and turned to Shao-Lo in my office and he reported closing a rift in New Orleans off the coast that was opened by a Roxxon industries oil rigging which was really just a cleverly hidden lab. He told me of the dimensions the rifts went to and that a few beings came through while two kids were caught up in it. He said Tandy Bowen lost her father and her mother was a pill addict so he planned to have Tandy sent into the system to adopt and protect because have had power.

He then explained how Tyrone Johnson was affected and had powers as well so he would send someone to keep an eye on and protect him. He explained that Tyrone's brother was killed by a dirty cop so he'd be handling that with legal matters and proof. Add to that other reports he had for me and we spent the better part of the day making sure things were ready for what was to come.

A few days later Tony Stark came to my office in LA asking to speak with me. The moment he sat down, he said he knew me and remembered everything. I told him that he should be careful about whom he tells that to. He waved me off saying it wasn't important because he knew I was the one that saved him.

I sighed and nodded slowly. "Perhaps, but I should caution you from saying such things outside this room. What we do, we do to protect the world and as such we can never be known by the public."

He went to speak and I held up a hand rubbing my temples. "We don't fear public scrutiny, we simply don't care about such things. The real issue is that we fear those who hide in the shadows like us will use the public to hinder our fight to protect this world. Now, you no doubt have questions and I have some free time so follow me."

I stood and headed to my private elevator where we went down to research and development. I answered a lot of Tony's questions along the way and when we reached the lab, I told him of my friendship with his father.