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[i][@Gowi] and [@Sep] present you with: Ant-Man, Earths Smallest Avenger![/i]


Agent Laskov tried to ignore the quips and remarks on the trip back. It wasn’t the easiest task ever and she had to admit, she found it hard to refuse knocking him out. Though she did, somehow. Thankfully it wasn’t the longest drive, there had been some questions on the building of S.H.I.E.L.D's main base, the Triskelion, within driving distance of New York but all the old work done to Camp Lehigh was too good to pass up on. Some of the older buildings like the armory and garage still stood, with a large industrial looking building sitting behind it. Most the extensive work was naturally done underground however, just to keep the true scale of it secret.

She turned back to look at Pym as they neared the looming cylindrical main building, centered between two long curving arms that turned in an almost hugging gesture to the old campsite. Before they got there however, they reached a flag in the middle of a roundabout. Behind this flag stood a statue of Steve Rogers, the original Captain America. 

“We’re almost there now Mr. Pym. Captain America will meet with you as soon as you’re checked into the facility so if you have any questions before meeting the Captain I suggest you get them off your chest now.”

Hank’s quips seemed to go on stand-by mode when the agent mentioned Captain America. It was hard to realize that he’d be in the same room with someone who carried that mantle and Hank had some experience knowing stuff about legacies. He crossed his arms as he looked to Agent Laskov and thought for a moment about what he’d exactly say here.

“Well, it’s Captain America for one.” 

His eyes drifted from building to building.

“I don’t even know what questions to ask, outside of the big ones that are classified. Hell, I don’t know why you guys are pulling me out here either. You said that was classified too. All I know is that it is about Ant-Man.” 

Laskov nodded. 

“So, I guess we get this over with and find out what you guys need to talk to me about beyond what you are ‘allowed’ to tell me. I guess I should ask one thing though.”

“What?”

“I’m hungry. So if you can be a good gofer when I’m talking to Captain America and grab me a slice of pizza that’d be wonderful.”

Laskov rolled her eyes.

“Well you know what, the Captain is planning on meeting you in the officer’s mess. So he must know it’s lunch time. So you’re in luck.” She turned to face forward in time for them to pull up to the large door structure. She walked out of the door and waited for Pym to hop out of the car.

The entire massive entryway was made of glass, and just inside was the black eagle to symbolize S.H.I.E.L.D. Though it wasn’t visible at this distance the entire statue was a plaque with roughly the top half of it containing the names of the fallen or the lost in the history of S.H.I.E.L.D. While they weren’t officially members of S.H.I.E.L.D, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes were atop that list.

As Pym left the vehicle another female agent, this time a blonde, walked up. 

“Agent Carter. A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Pym.” She offered her  hand. 

“If you’d like to come with me, we’ll get you signed in and to the Captain as soon as possible.”

Hank Pym was admittedly very nervous despite whatever it appeared on the surface. As he exchanged hands and respect with another agent of the quasi-federal agency he began to get the depth of the circumstances he was here. This wasn’t for role call or consequences of vigilantism. He wouldn’t be here if it was so simple as that. He had to wonder what scenario called for this though since he wasn’t exactly the highest profile hero in New York or even the United States. 

“How can I refuse? Lead the way.” He chuckled, responding to Agent Carter as he shuffled his hands in his pockets. 

She turned leading them into the main atrium. “Well, I am sure you could refuse by changing to… what was it again? The size of an insect?” She shook her head slightly. Some of the things they learned about some people were just weird… Though apparently this was one of the more legit theories to be walked through the front door so to speak, with the fact apparently there had previously been an Agent who had held the mantle of Ant-Man.

She first walked him up to a [i]reception[/i] type area where his fingerprints were taken and he was given a biometric tag to keep track of him and ensure that he could access any area of the facility he had permission to enter, and keep him out any he didn’t have authorization for. It wasn’t until the elevator that Sharon properly spoke again.

“I’m glad you decided to come Mr. Pym, and I’m sure the Captain will feel that way too. I’ve had the privilege of helping oversee this project and I must say, from what we know you’re an excellent fit.”

“Didn’t have much of a choice.” Hank commented as he carefully looked at every bit of the federal facility that he could analyze. Didn’t hurt to be cautious, after all.

“A fit for what, exactly? The other agent couldn’t really give me a straight answer.”

“That’s the question, some call it the [i]Avengers Initiative[/i], which is my personal favourite, others call it a response team and the more fanboyish amongst us are calling it a group of [i]Earth's Mightiest Heroes[/i]” She shrugged.

“Really, I’m just the Captain's aide. My job is to review potential applicants and help members of the team get used to being on the team. Really think of me like a personal assistant to the team.” 

“So it’s a job interview. Heh.”

The elevator dinged and the door opened, she then indicated down the corridor as she lead them down the corridor and into one of the first doors on the left. Opening the door, Agent Carter leaned in before Hank was at the door and then turned to stand at the side of the door in a defensive position. 

“The Captain will see you now.” She smirked at the comment.

“Well, here goes nothing.” Hank muttered under his breath as he stepped forward, deciding it was time to get this over with. 

There was some silver lining to all of this, as he remembered what the other agent had said previously about this meeting be in the equivalent of a military cafeteria and him getting a meal out of it. His budget in the current week had kind of gone to the dogs and all he had back at his apartment was what was left of a two-day old pizza and two cans of some dollar store brand soda; not exactly a great meal for someone who exerted as much energy as he did.

“I heard there was lunch!” Hank exclaimed as he walked in the mess hall.

Sam Wilson sat at the back of the small hall, the shield was off to the side leaning against the wall and the red white and blue uniform wasn’t currently being worn. Instead he was wearing a more grey style jumpsuit/flight suit with clips and straps all likely related to the flight pack. Sitting on front of him were two pizza boxes.

Wilson pointed at one of them. “There you go Hank, one pizza. Freshly made in one of the best joints in New York. If that’s not acceptable, I’m sure there’s something in the base you’d like to eat.”

“I didn’t know Captain America was psychic.”

Wilson chuckled as he used his left leg to kick out the chair opposite him. “I’m afraid not. You can thank your file for me knowing you like pizza. I tell you those case officers really don’t leave anything out.”

Hank smirked as he took the seat. Hank liked a lot of things beyond pizza, but this was a good start to this interview for… what did the agent call it? The Avengers? That didn’t sound wrong, but what were they exactly avenging in the first place? What a dumb name. He really hoped they had a better name than that, but he supposed it wasn’t the worst name they could think of.

“So how much do they have on me? I’ve done some naughty stuff, I’ll tell you.”

Wilson shrugged and pushed Hank’s file forward. “Take a look if you really want. Though I’m not really interested in any of the naughty stuff you’ve been up to. I just care that you’ve done some heroic stuff, have skills and have the tech. Any questions?”

“So what are we avenging?” Hank casually commented as he slid his file and opened it with his left hand as he reached for a slice of pizza with his right. 

“Okay, I’ll admit. The name is a work in progress. Don’t ask me where Fury got the Avengers from. It sounds overly dramatic, I’m trying to push for Defenders or something like that personally.” 

He shrugged as he took a bite of his own pizza. “Basically as there are more and more super powered people appearing all over the globe, the more and more powerful the bad guys seem to be becoming.”

He hit a TV remote with his other hand, showing some screens from his recent adventure to the savage land. “A single man or woman isn’t really enough to stand in their way, a team of people however… working together as a single unit. Well that, that’ll do the job.”

Hank swallowed his bite of the pizza, “So you’re asking me to join the army? This feels like a bad hollywood movie, Cap; dashing rogue down on his luck gets enlisted by the government to take down some big bad guys? This is basically Lockout but instead of the prison being in space it’s… in wherever this place is. Critics give it a thumbs down.”

Wilson just sighed. “You want out, there’s the do—” 

Hank cut SHIELD’s top ‘superhero’ off right there, not letting him finish his dissatisfied “Well, there’s the door.” remark. “Hold on, Cap. I didn’t say no. I happen to like Lockout. Critic’s have no idea what they are talking about.”

“They rarely do, you should have seen all the critics and fans losing their minds when they made Captain America a black guy. The internet went crazy.” He picked up another slice, eying it up before taking another bite out of it. 

“I guess the whole thing does seem like a bad movie. I guess that’s what makes it interesting, where else are you going to make a global difference, get to punch bad guys and use… whatever concoction it is what lets you shrink to the size of an insect.”

“Science. Science let’s me do that.”

“Science is underrated these days, it gives me wings and what little actual super human abilities that I have.” Wilson shrugged. “Does this mean you’re onboard?”

“Ever since I took this mantle up, I’ve been realizing what I can do with it. When I was travelling all over Europe when I was a little younger I saw lots of oppression and other issues that something like this could’ve helped.”

Hank smirked as he looked to the soldier in front of him. “I want to help people. Call it a trial run, but I’d like to see what helping people with Captain America looks like in person.”

“I think the only difference is, when you’re with me you get to see someone flying around throwing a shield.” He pointed over to the shield, probably one of the most famous objects when thinking about America. “It’s a nice shield, though you have your own little hat tricks of course.” 

Wilson pushed over a card, Hanks basic details already on it. “ID card. Lets us know where you are if you have it on you. Means of communication and can also relay a pretty handy looking map.” He tapped his own ear piece as he stood up, walking over to the shield and picking it up.

“I got one more port of call to make, you need anything before I go?”

Hank chuckled. “How about some intel on my soon-to-be teammates? And some soda, I’m thirsty.”

Wilson pulled a coin out of his pocket and tossed it over to Hank. “Use one of the machines to get your drink, as in terms of your team mates.” Wilson shrugged as he started walking towards the door.

“We have one possible god, one god, one being who is essentially a god, a super soldier, a girl who can travel between dimensions and take a hell of a punch and we have a tech advisor who's a billionaire and pisses me off. For a full briefing, please see Agent Laskov or Agent Carter. Either will get you situated anyway, I’ll be back shortly.”

“Got it.” Hank nodded as he did exactly that— the soda first, of course.

After he had some cold sugar water in his system, Hank peaked his head out of the mess hall’s doorway looking for Agent Carter; as she had separated from him at the door before he had met Captain America. 

“Agent, can I have a minute?” He called out as he noticed her still standing at position. 


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[i][@Bright_Ops] and [@Sep] present you with: Villain or Hero?[/i]



The trip to what appeared to be the mobile, flying headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D had been surprisingly relaxing for Loki; It gave him some time to sit down, lean back and relax after such an emotionally stressful morning. He had already made up his mind that he was going to have to check up on Tony sooner rather than later in order to see how well he was healing up after his first direct encounter with an Asgardian, but there were some matters that needed to be taken care of first.

The first of which required him to be sitting in a chair in a waiting room, tapping his fingers against his legs as he waited to meet with the man in charge of SHIELD that went by the name Fury. One way or another, this was going to be an interesting conversation.  

Fury walked in without even glancing at the God, slapping a file on the table in the middle of the [i]waiting[/i] room. It was more of a lock box, as tight as they could possibly make it at the flip of a switch. One of the few things they still managed to buy out of Stark Tech without getting grief for the whole “No weapons” thing. He then sat down opposite the so called God. “That’s everything we have on you.”

He let Loki sit at the table and pick up the file. “If you can’t tell, that’s not a lot. We’re the world's top most spy agency, I can get a bigger file on some randomer who owns a cabin in the middle of nowhere near a small town.” He slapped down another file on the middle of the table. “Then, a couple of days after we learn you exist, you move the Hulk to Australia, fight Giant Snakes and save Tony Starks life from a woman with a serious grudge who says she needs to protect the world from you. So, why don’t you explain.” It wasn’t a request.


Loki didn’t even flinch as the flip was slapped down and whom he could assume was Fury (Unless they decided to send in a body double for security reasons) before the two of them sat down to talk. More out of curiosity than anything else, Loki accepted the file that SHIELD had on him before flicking through the pages in order to see what he had actually given away. 

Turned out, not that much. Most of it seemed to be due to his recent activities, but there did seem to be some situations in which they seemed to suspect he had been apart of in hindsight but couldn’t actually prove… Removing two of the sheets, he placed them aside as he explained “As much as I would love to take the credit for these two, they had nothing to do with me. The rest seems good though.” Okay, maybe taunting the spy agency might not have been the best of ideas, but after the day he had been having Loki needed something to make himself smile.

“To answer your questions, I will start from the start.” Taking a small breath, Loki closed and put down the file so that he could turn all of his attention towards Fury. “Before the showdown at the docks in New York, I had actually been trailing the Hulk myself for a while, prepared to step in if the situation called for it. Do you know what I saw? I was something that was trying to escape a highly populated area with a minimum of fuss. The only times he fought was when someone rather foolishly started to shoot at him. It was only once General Ross blocked off the quick escape and forced a confrontation that the situation completely went to the Nether. As to why I moved him to Australia… quite simply, I took him somewhere that was free of people.”

“The Giant Snakes were a present offered up by an old ally of mine who disliked the fact that the last time we worked together I didn’t hold up to my end of the bargain. Honestly, the fact that she actually survived that betrayal in the first place surprises me but alas it is merely yet another regret I bare from a time long past.” Loki’s shoulders actually slumped a little as he confessed to this. Almost as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

“In truth… I would rather not talk about the events that Tarene no doubt mentioned. But alas, my discomfort about what happened is the least of the punishments that I must deal with for what I did. Consumed by hatred, pride and madness, I led a genocidal war against the people of Asgard. While there were faults and betrayals committed by both sides, in hindsight I can see that I went to far. To many innocent people were caught up in it. Tarene was one of them and was obsessed with vengeance against me. I don’t blame her… and I am glad that she proved she was better than I had been when she listened to reason and stopped before she killed Tony.”

Taking a moment of silence, Loki asked “How are Tarene and Tony doing?”        

“Thor, Tarene…. whatever she is called has went off grid. We’re currently trying to track her down so we can bring her in for questioning. Tony is doing much better now he enlisted Agent Parrington to skip the entire healing process. Also I’ll be honest, I don’t give a damn what you’ve done out there. I care what you plan on doing.” He leaned back in his chair, a bid to remove a bit of the intensity of the discussion. “It’s a vulnerable world out there. Beings like the Hulk, and I heard what you said about him but that’s a discussion for another time since we’ve now lost him somewhere in Canada. Then you have people who can throw hammers that can tear through metal or people as technologically advanced as Doctor Victor Von Doom who control their own country.”

He pushed a file into the middle of the desk. “If you want something really crazy read that. We have someone who can fly, is virtually invincible, super strong and has laser vision. Glad he’s on our side, because not long ago he faced off a telepathic pterodactyl with Captain America. Though I suppose this isn’t that dramatic for a god, but it’s dramatic for us. What I need to know is if you want to make a damn difference in this world.”

Loki actually had to raise his eyebrow a little at the list of powers that Fury had listed off. True, virtual invincibility and super strength were fairly common but laser vision? That was a new one. Taking the file and opening it up, he started to read through it carefully. “You don’t have to tell me how vulnerable the world is Fury. I know for a fact how easy it is for things to go bad. I’ve seen both world wars… I would rather avoid seeing a third.”

“So what exactly do you want from me?”    

Fury hated to admit it, he actually kinda liked this guy. “That’s what we all want to avoid, and exactly what S.H.I.E.L.D is all about, about meeting all the people who can’t be matched or controlled under wraps. Now, this isn’t my most popular idea with the World Security Council but I’ve got the green light to go ahead with it.” He slid forward another file. “With training, preparation and a little time of being on the side I’d ask for you to join a new initiative we’re starting here at S.H.I.E.L.D. One where we gather some of the most powerful people on the planet, all intent on doing good. Put them together in a team and make them Earths Mightiest Heroes.” A screen behind him lit up, showing Captain America in several news “action” shots.

“Being around for both World Wars you probably know about Captain America, and the original one at that. Not just the latest incarnation. He’s always been a simple for peace and freedom the world over, though as you probably know such a symbol can’t combat everything. We want this team to do the same job as the mantle of Captain America has always done. Give the world some peace of mind, in knowing that there’s a group of individuals ready to take on any threat they might face. I guess the simple question is, will we need to try and trail you to make sure you aren’t going to end up being a threat or are you willing to make a difference?”


Loki nodded his head. He had recalled some of the exploits of the original Captain America and he had to admit that the man had intrigued him back then. He suspect that Thor would have charged in and tried to punch Captain America in the face in order to see if the man would be a good fight; Loki wasn’t that stupid, but he would have been lying if he said that he hadn’t been interested in seeing how well the superhuman would have done against someone from Asgard. Just more proof that the mortals of Midguard had always had the potential for great things when they were given the chance. 

Still, as he listened to Fury’s plan he couldn’t help but think about it. There were some merits to it without doubt, but there were some concerns that he felt the need to raise. “Two things before I say anything one way or the other. The first is a matter of jurisdiction; What can and can’t we do as ‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ and who are we accountable to if something goes wrong?”

“The second is a matter of publicity. I am...uncomfortable with the idea that a powerful team of extraordinary individuals dedicated to preserving peace and keeping any major threat to the planet at bay would be common knowledge. In part it is a matter of escalation but it also has to with the fact that if the bad guys in question know that we exist, they can start accounting for us within their plans. After all once you know that the security measure is there you can start trying to find weaknesses or blind spots that you can take advantage of in order to defeat it.”
        

Fury just nodded. “Anything within the law, you obviously can’t break it. We’re also accountable to the World Council. The World council has representatives from all over the world on it. We have our own organisation in place to repair any damage done while fighting.” The second question was a bit more complicated. 

“It’s inevitable in our line of work that the bad guys are going to find out about you, unless you plan on killing them all and I won’t stand for that. What we can do is stop you becoming from public knowledge. While we do have a symbol, like Captain America. I plan to try and keep the rest of the team on the down low as much as possible. Not to mention countless back up choices in terms of replacements. I’m not going to lie, it’s not a flawless plan. You join, you have ideas. You’ve got the experience. I’ll listen to you.”

Loki shrugged a little in return. “There are workarounds I can use to make things a lot more interesting for the bad guys when it comes time to discuss what actually happened afterwards. You make a fair argument and since this is going to be going ahead if I join or not I might as well join and be apart of it. I do ask for three things but they should be easy enough to work out.”

“Firstly, do you know where Tony Stark is currently? I would like to check up on how he is doing personally.” It was a simple enough request; Sure Tony had gotten magically healed from the sounds of it but it was worth making sure he alright anyway. 

“The second one might be a bit harder because while I know you have a great deal of influence I suspect you can’t just clap your hands and make this happen, but I want the person in the US military in charge of pursuing the Hulk removed from the project. I believe his name is Ross from what Bruce has let slip. I don’t know the whole story between the two, but from what I’ve seen it’s easy to tell that there is something personal going on there and if what happened in New York is any indication leaving Ross in charge is just going to get people killed.”

Giving his second request time to settle, Loki pushed forwards with the third, more light hearted condition. “Lastly, I would like to discuss the possibility to Shield working out an arrangement with one Bruce Banner. Nothing too fancy, maybe just setting him up somewhere isolated where he can be comfortable and have access to the equipment he needs to research pretty much whatever he wants to in his own time with the odd supply drop to make sure he is all set up. In return Shield gains access to his scientific abilities and directly benefit from the results of his personal projects. Of course the exact details would have to be between you and him but I am more then happy to be the middleman here.” 

Wasn’t often terms were dictated to Fury. He forgot how much he hated it. “Stark is wherever Stark goes. I heard that he was taking the shortcut in order to heal so he’s probably getting ready to leave the facility. I’ll have his craft put on hold so that you can go catch him.” He looked down as he typed something into his tablet.

“In terms of Ross and Doctor Banner, that’s something I don’t have the power to do. Your best bet there, is proving yourself and taking your case to the Chief of Staff or even the President of the United States in order to be the one to take Hulk in and what happens with him once we’ve managed to locate him. Ross will follow orders, so will I. In terms of your third request I’m not above putting a good mind to use but I can’t do it unless he gets a pardon from the President. Again, that is something you will need to work on.” He handed Loki a card.

“We’re using these as a means of identification and communication. Just tell it when you’re ready and it’ll relay the coordinates to the facility where we’re going to be basing the team out of. Any final questions?”