Fic: [Marvel] The Initiative 2028
Title: Initiative 2028 New Team
Series: Marvel
Type: Divergence
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4224505/18/
There were times when President Valera Richards waned to track down some of her predecessors in the Presidency and have them shot. She had thought she was aware of the cynical dirty dealing, black ops and black budget projects that the government run, but actually ascending to the Presidency had opened her eyes to untold amounts of filth.
Ezekiel Stane and Valera were in the hidden military facility not far from Area 51, a research and development base for advanced military technology. It had existed since the 50's, but had been repurposed not long after Iron Man first debuted. The federal government wanted it's own Iron Man armor, and had assigned the people here to build it.
It didn't go well.
"So, why are we here again?" Ezekiel asked impatiently.
Valera gave him a frown, but he just ignored it. They reached the lift as she said, "You're a expert on cyborgs and armor technology. The project here does both."
"Oh?" Ezekiel smiled. "I read the files... mostly," he admitted.
Valera fought down the urge to grind her teeth. "Hammer Industries, Cordco and several other defense contractors worked to try to replicate Stark's technology. This became more urgent when the Russians deployed powered armor too." she explained as they took the elevator down into the base.
"A classic arms race," Ezekiel agreed.
"Sadly Stark had managed to make a major leap ahead in technology, and they couldn't catch up. Worse, more than one of the tests nearly killed the pilots," Valera said grimly.
"I saw footage," Ezekiel agreed, "it'd be funny if it weren't so tragic."
As they talked they left the elevator, having arrived at one of the lowest points of the base. After passing through checkpoints they went into a sophisticated medical wing, eventually reaching a chamber with a cryogenic storage tube. Within it floated a woman, or at least what was left of her. The main part of her torso, one arm and the head were there, the rest of her body just... gone. And her body was covered in cybernetics, apparently intended to hook her into machines.
Ezekiel circled the tube, his face disapproving. "This is butchery," he muttered, frowning.
Valera wasn't sure if he was talking about the crude cybernetic surgery or the injuries to the woman, and wasn't sure she wanted to know. "This is Lt. Erica James, the test pilot on what the scientists called 'Widowmaker.' It was one of their first functioning prototypes, but something went wrong," she said.
"The power system blew," Ezekiel guessed, "whatever system they could kludge together to take the place of the ARC reactor."
"Exactly," Valera nodded.
Valera didn't mention some of the darker details. The contractors involved had been terrified of losing their funding over the accident, so they hushed it up. Worse, they didn't get Lt. James to proper medical help, keeping her condition a secret and using resources at the base to keep her alive. Eventually they built cyborg parts for her out of their technology, and tried to pass her off as a intentional creation of the project.
Now called Warbride, the fused Lt. James and her armor still barely matched early Iron Man suits, and funding was cut. Worse, someone high up in army brass buried the whole project, including poor Lt. James too, leaving her to rot in cryogenic suspension.
"So, what do you want to do with her?" Ezekiel asked thoughtfully.
"You're my expert on cybernetics and armor technology," Valera said calmly, "I want her rebuilt, ideally with a body that can pass as human."
"And the armor?" Ezekiel asked.
"I want a new suit built for her," Valera said as she studied the sleeping woman, "something like the Iron Patriot, but state of the art."
Ezekiel looked at the president thoughtfully as he asked, "You have plans for her?"
"I always have plans," Valera shrugged.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Daken Akihiro felt decidedly odd entering the Oval Office of the White House long with several guards. This was not how his missions usually ended, instead he was usually debriefed by Henry Gyrich and sent on his way back to the base in Dreamland. There was always a level of plausable deniability between him and the government, which meeting the President would blow out of the water.
President Valera Richards smiled as he came in, the attractive blond getting up as she said, "Mr Akihiro, it's nice to meet you at last."
Daken noticed how tense the guards were and hid a smile. They had to be having fits, letting someone with his reputation near the President. Interestingly he couldn't scent any ill-will off her, which surprised him a bit. "Madam President," he nodded, "it's an honor."
"Take a seat," Valera waved to a chair, "we have a lot to talk about, Mr. Akihiro."
Daken raised his eyebrows slightly as he sat down across from her and said, "You can call me Daken if you wish, ma'am."
"I'm well aware of what Daken means," Valera answered frankly.
That didn't surprise Daken, though he was faintly impressed that she or her assistant had done the research. "It's fine," Daken waved that off, "I've had the name long enough to get used to it."
"Fair enough," Valera agreed. She looked at him thoughtfully as she asked, "Why do you think I asked to see you?"
"I assumed fall out from the failed mission to Madripoor," Daken shrugged, "thought I suppose you could have Gyrich quietly sanction me for that." He noted Valera's calm reaction to that, and filed it away. Clearly the young woman knew what her minion was doing in her name. Interesting.
"You shut down the Weapon X operation there, which was your primary goal," Valera said as she met his eyes. "Besides, I've done my research on you, and I felt pretty certain which way you'd jump."
Daken could control his reactions pretty well, so he didn't even flinch at that comment. 'Does she know I destroyed the Weapon X data?' he wondered. "That's good," he said, "because there's days I don't even know which way I'd jump."
"Fair enough," Valera nodded. She sat back, "You were a part of Norman Osborn's Avengers."
"Not one of my better decision," Daken said casually, "but the pizza was good."
Valera bit back a chuckle. "I have, up until recently, not wanted to form my own team of Avengers," she said, admitting, "that may have been a mistake."
"Because of Stark and Rogers being free?" Daken asked, "Or are you concerned with your team being tainted by what Osborn did?"
"Bit of both," Valera admitted, "if I found a team, both of them can publically declare my Avengers aren't legitimate. And the last government formed Avengers didn't end well."
"But now you're considering doing it," Daken said, "and I assume I'm involved?"
"Yes, in fact I'd like you to be second in command," Valera said calmly.
THAT startled Daken a bit, though he recovered fast. "That would seem like a very poor decision, considering my past," he said honestly.
"Yes and no," Valera said. "Yes, you did bad things before you faked your death and dropped off the grid," she said, sounding FAR too knowledgable for Daken's comfort, "but since then, you've made a serious effort to play on the side of the angels."
"Does working for you count as being on the side of the angels?" Daken drawled.
"Not really," Valera surprised him again with her self-honesty, "I know I'm doing things that are morally questionable, and as they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions."
"Damn right," Daken agreed. He studied her thoughtfully, "You're not going to use the same sort of nuts Osborn used?"
"Thankfully, no," Valerta said, "I have a former Airforce officer to be my Iron Patriot, Ms America has agreed to join, and I have people scouting possibilities."
"Good," Daken nodded, "but you're still going to have some backlash calling your group Avengers." He paused as a idea occurred to him, "Do you have a list of team names for the Initiative? I wanna check something."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
A few weeks later and Valera Richards prepared for the press conference. Well, more like debut. It had taken that time to gather the recruits they needed, and to tweak the vision of the team Valera had. She was impressed by how... enthusiastic Daken had been in shaping the team, though she was wary of him manipulating her. But his suggestion had been good, and it side-stepped some of the problems she envisioned with adopting the Avengers name.
There were also issues with her 'inner circle' to deal with. While Ezekiel was behind the idea, Gyrich felt she was usurping some of his power, and Valera had to step on him firmly. Kristof was also unimpressed, but wasn't actively opposing her. And of course Phoebe was playing both side to her maximum advantage.
'As usual,' Valera sighed. As useful as her allies were at times, she was beginning to think she was going to have to take steps.
Jessica Hudson hurried up to Valera, the older redhead looking slightly tired from her efforts the last few days. "The team is read and the reports are waiting," she said.
"Thank you," Valera said with a smile, "has Molly Hayes been out there entertaining them?"
"She's charming as ever," Jessica agreed.
The two women headed up to the stage, pausing only to talk to a few of the assembled heroes. Daken looked faintly uncomfortable in the brown and tan Wolverine uniform, but he was managing, Miss America was as cheery as ever, smiling as she helped ready her teammates for the media.
The new Iron Patriot was standing off to the side, her faceplate up as the brown haired woman stood off to the side a bit. Commander Erica James of the US Air Force looked like she had recovered from the shock of being frozen for nearly a decade, or possibly she was hiding it under military reserve. Either way Valera had a psychiatrist seeing her, and she was fairly confident in the woman's stability.
"Commander," Valera smiled up at her, "ready for your debut?"
"Ready and able, ma'am," Erica nodded. "And... thank you. Recieving my back-pay and a promotion, along with everything else..."
"Glad to help," Valera said honestly.
As Valera reached the podium the crowd of reporters murmured, then quieted down when they realized she was about to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, there has been a rumor that I am going to announce the formation of a new Avengers team," she said. As excited whispers started she continued, "That rumor is false."
Maya Hawk waved her arm, "But Initiative agents appear to be recruiting powerful heroes in the United States. Can you comment on this?"
"Miss Hawk, how's the talk show?" Valera smiled at the interrupting woman, knowing it had been cancelled. Maya flushed with embarassment as Valera continued, "To be honest, I have come to the conclusion that the Avengers as a concept are rather outdated."
As the news media looked on Valera continued, "I mean, look at the name: Avengers. What they do, in essence, is avenge crimes committed. They're reactive, only coming in after a crisis has begun to hopefully try to contain the damage. That's not what the world needs, now."
The curtain concealing the back of the stage came down on cue, revealing the heroes behind it. The Iron Patriot, Wolverine, Miss America, Spider Woman, Lady Thor, A-Bomb and Nightkawk stood ready, posing as cameras flashed.
"What America needs," Valera smiled, "is the Defenders!"
To be continued...
Notes: I suppose you could call them 'Dark Defenders' if you like. Heh. My original plan was to have Valera launch a Avengers team, but after some thought I decided that wasn't really in character for her. And the canon Defenders have had a long time rivalry with the Avengers which makes a interesting symbolism. The armored heroine is an idea I had for a Iron Man character, but I couldn't figure out how to work her in a existing story.
Series: Marvel
Type: Divergence
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4224505/18/
There were times when President Valera Richards waned to track down some of her predecessors in the Presidency and have them shot. She had thought she was aware of the cynical dirty dealing, black ops and black budget projects that the government run, but actually ascending to the Presidency had opened her eyes to untold amounts of filth.
Ezekiel Stane and Valera were in the hidden military facility not far from Area 51, a research and development base for advanced military technology. It had existed since the 50's, but had been repurposed not long after Iron Man first debuted. The federal government wanted it's own Iron Man armor, and had assigned the people here to build it.
It didn't go well.
"So, why are we here again?" Ezekiel asked impatiently.
Valera gave him a frown, but he just ignored it. They reached the lift as she said, "You're a expert on cyborgs and armor technology. The project here does both."
"Oh?" Ezekiel smiled. "I read the files... mostly," he admitted.
Valera fought down the urge to grind her teeth. "Hammer Industries, Cordco and several other defense contractors worked to try to replicate Stark's technology. This became more urgent when the Russians deployed powered armor too." she explained as they took the elevator down into the base.
"A classic arms race," Ezekiel agreed.
"Sadly Stark had managed to make a major leap ahead in technology, and they couldn't catch up. Worse, more than one of the tests nearly killed the pilots," Valera said grimly.
"I saw footage," Ezekiel agreed, "it'd be funny if it weren't so tragic."
As they talked they left the elevator, having arrived at one of the lowest points of the base. After passing through checkpoints they went into a sophisticated medical wing, eventually reaching a chamber with a cryogenic storage tube. Within it floated a woman, or at least what was left of her. The main part of her torso, one arm and the head were there, the rest of her body just... gone. And her body was covered in cybernetics, apparently intended to hook her into machines.
Ezekiel circled the tube, his face disapproving. "This is butchery," he muttered, frowning.
Valera wasn't sure if he was talking about the crude cybernetic surgery or the injuries to the woman, and wasn't sure she wanted to know. "This is Lt. Erica James, the test pilot on what the scientists called 'Widowmaker.' It was one of their first functioning prototypes, but something went wrong," she said.
"The power system blew," Ezekiel guessed, "whatever system they could kludge together to take the place of the ARC reactor."
"Exactly," Valera nodded.
Valera didn't mention some of the darker details. The contractors involved had been terrified of losing their funding over the accident, so they hushed it up. Worse, they didn't get Lt. James to proper medical help, keeping her condition a secret and using resources at the base to keep her alive. Eventually they built cyborg parts for her out of their technology, and tried to pass her off as a intentional creation of the project.
Now called Warbride, the fused Lt. James and her armor still barely matched early Iron Man suits, and funding was cut. Worse, someone high up in army brass buried the whole project, including poor Lt. James too, leaving her to rot in cryogenic suspension.
"So, what do you want to do with her?" Ezekiel asked thoughtfully.
"You're my expert on cybernetics and armor technology," Valera said calmly, "I want her rebuilt, ideally with a body that can pass as human."
"And the armor?" Ezekiel asked.
"I want a new suit built for her," Valera said as she studied the sleeping woman, "something like the Iron Patriot, but state of the art."
Ezekiel looked at the president thoughtfully as he asked, "You have plans for her?"
"I always have plans," Valera shrugged.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Daken Akihiro felt decidedly odd entering the Oval Office of the White House long with several guards. This was not how his missions usually ended, instead he was usually debriefed by Henry Gyrich and sent on his way back to the base in Dreamland. There was always a level of plausable deniability between him and the government, which meeting the President would blow out of the water.
President Valera Richards smiled as he came in, the attractive blond getting up as she said, "Mr Akihiro, it's nice to meet you at last."
Daken noticed how tense the guards were and hid a smile. They had to be having fits, letting someone with his reputation near the President. Interestingly he couldn't scent any ill-will off her, which surprised him a bit. "Madam President," he nodded, "it's an honor."
"Take a seat," Valera waved to a chair, "we have a lot to talk about, Mr. Akihiro."
Daken raised his eyebrows slightly as he sat down across from her and said, "You can call me Daken if you wish, ma'am."
"I'm well aware of what Daken means," Valera answered frankly.
That didn't surprise Daken, though he was faintly impressed that she or her assistant had done the research. "It's fine," Daken waved that off, "I've had the name long enough to get used to it."
"Fair enough," Valera agreed. She looked at him thoughtfully as she asked, "Why do you think I asked to see you?"
"I assumed fall out from the failed mission to Madripoor," Daken shrugged, "thought I suppose you could have Gyrich quietly sanction me for that." He noted Valera's calm reaction to that, and filed it away. Clearly the young woman knew what her minion was doing in her name. Interesting.
"You shut down the Weapon X operation there, which was your primary goal," Valera said as she met his eyes. "Besides, I've done my research on you, and I felt pretty certain which way you'd jump."
Daken could control his reactions pretty well, so he didn't even flinch at that comment. 'Does she know I destroyed the Weapon X data?' he wondered. "That's good," he said, "because there's days I don't even know which way I'd jump."
"Fair enough," Valera nodded. She sat back, "You were a part of Norman Osborn's Avengers."
"Not one of my better decision," Daken said casually, "but the pizza was good."
Valera bit back a chuckle. "I have, up until recently, not wanted to form my own team of Avengers," she said, admitting, "that may have been a mistake."
"Because of Stark and Rogers being free?" Daken asked, "Or are you concerned with your team being tainted by what Osborn did?"
"Bit of both," Valera admitted, "if I found a team, both of them can publically declare my Avengers aren't legitimate. And the last government formed Avengers didn't end well."
"But now you're considering doing it," Daken said, "and I assume I'm involved?"
"Yes, in fact I'd like you to be second in command," Valera said calmly.
THAT startled Daken a bit, though he recovered fast. "That would seem like a very poor decision, considering my past," he said honestly.
"Yes and no," Valera said. "Yes, you did bad things before you faked your death and dropped off the grid," she said, sounding FAR too knowledgable for Daken's comfort, "but since then, you've made a serious effort to play on the side of the angels."
"Does working for you count as being on the side of the angels?" Daken drawled.
"Not really," Valera surprised him again with her self-honesty, "I know I'm doing things that are morally questionable, and as they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions."
"Damn right," Daken agreed. He studied her thoughtfully, "You're not going to use the same sort of nuts Osborn used?"
"Thankfully, no," Valerta said, "I have a former Airforce officer to be my Iron Patriot, Ms America has agreed to join, and I have people scouting possibilities."
"Good," Daken nodded, "but you're still going to have some backlash calling your group Avengers." He paused as a idea occurred to him, "Do you have a list of team names for the Initiative? I wanna check something."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
A few weeks later and Valera Richards prepared for the press conference. Well, more like debut. It had taken that time to gather the recruits they needed, and to tweak the vision of the team Valera had. She was impressed by how... enthusiastic Daken had been in shaping the team, though she was wary of him manipulating her. But his suggestion had been good, and it side-stepped some of the problems she envisioned with adopting the Avengers name.
There were also issues with her 'inner circle' to deal with. While Ezekiel was behind the idea, Gyrich felt she was usurping some of his power, and Valera had to step on him firmly. Kristof was also unimpressed, but wasn't actively opposing her. And of course Phoebe was playing both side to her maximum advantage.
'As usual,' Valera sighed. As useful as her allies were at times, she was beginning to think she was going to have to take steps.
Jessica Hudson hurried up to Valera, the older redhead looking slightly tired from her efforts the last few days. "The team is read and the reports are waiting," she said.
"Thank you," Valera said with a smile, "has Molly Hayes been out there entertaining them?"
"She's charming as ever," Jessica agreed.
The two women headed up to the stage, pausing only to talk to a few of the assembled heroes. Daken looked faintly uncomfortable in the brown and tan Wolverine uniform, but he was managing, Miss America was as cheery as ever, smiling as she helped ready her teammates for the media.
The new Iron Patriot was standing off to the side, her faceplate up as the brown haired woman stood off to the side a bit. Commander Erica James of the US Air Force looked like she had recovered from the shock of being frozen for nearly a decade, or possibly she was hiding it under military reserve. Either way Valera had a psychiatrist seeing her, and she was fairly confident in the woman's stability.
"Commander," Valera smiled up at her, "ready for your debut?"
"Ready and able, ma'am," Erica nodded. "And... thank you. Recieving my back-pay and a promotion, along with everything else..."
"Glad to help," Valera said honestly.
As Valera reached the podium the crowd of reporters murmured, then quieted down when they realized she was about to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, there has been a rumor that I am going to announce the formation of a new Avengers team," she said. As excited whispers started she continued, "That rumor is false."
Maya Hawk waved her arm, "But Initiative agents appear to be recruiting powerful heroes in the United States. Can you comment on this?"
"Miss Hawk, how's the talk show?" Valera smiled at the interrupting woman, knowing it had been cancelled. Maya flushed with embarassment as Valera continued, "To be honest, I have come to the conclusion that the Avengers as a concept are rather outdated."
As the news media looked on Valera continued, "I mean, look at the name: Avengers. What they do, in essence, is avenge crimes committed. They're reactive, only coming in after a crisis has begun to hopefully try to contain the damage. That's not what the world needs, now."
The curtain concealing the back of the stage came down on cue, revealing the heroes behind it. The Iron Patriot, Wolverine, Miss America, Spider Woman, Lady Thor, A-Bomb and Nightkawk stood ready, posing as cameras flashed.
"What America needs," Valera smiled, "is the Defenders!"
To be continued...
Notes: I suppose you could call them 'Dark Defenders' if you like. Heh. My original plan was to have Valera launch a Avengers team, but after some thought I decided that wasn't really in character for her. And the canon Defenders have had a long time rivalry with the Avengers which makes a interesting symbolism. The armored heroine is an idea I had for a Iron Man character, but I couldn't figure out how to work her in a existing story.