---

---

---

Prior to the Brotherhood breaking into the Triskelion and destroying the Gifted Index, as well as taking the biological weapon S.H.I.E.L.D. was designing as a nuclear deterrent to mutants, Director Fury had already been pondering the so called mutant question. Only it wasn't just mutants these days - there were inhumans and mutates, those who studied magic and witchcraft, gods who came from living legend, aliens, and even highly weaponized suits of armor made by people with uncontrollable personalities. Each day, his job seemed to get a little bit harder to protect the world and live up to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founding ideals.

"Explain that again in English, this time, doctor. Not scientific mumbo jumbo," Fury requested, getting up from his seat and walking over to the floor to ceiling window. He had a stunning view of the ocean from his office at the Hub, one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s facilities.

"As you know, Director Fury, my background is in studying mutant genetics," Dr. Jiāng explained. He had worked for the private sector up in Canada before S.H.I.E.L.D. made him a better offer. "Before you continue, I think this plan is already dumb. Too much expository writing for my taste," Agent Kennedy, called Jim by his friends, interjected.

Dr. Jiāng paused, while Fury didn't react, as if Jim hadn't cut in at all. "...At any rate, you're approaching the problem from the wrong angle. The Avengers and the X-Men...They both have their own agendas, Director Fury. If you authorize Phase Three, we can give our own people - those who we know will fight for the greater good - abilities."

Fury paused for a moment, before he turned his attention to Jim. "Agent Kennedy, you've been a real rock here at S.H.I.E.L.D. I'd like to know your thoughts on Phase Three - compulsive experimentation on our soldiers to make them into superheroes, like Captain fucking America...It's not without precedent."

Jim sighed, his thoughts flickering back to when he had been deployed. Radiation had both ended and saved his life. "With all due respect, Fury, you've already made up your mind. I could say that I think it's inhumane, that it's cruel, that you're playing god...Or maybe I'll make some point about how this isn't something you can undo, green lighting this type of research...You can't put the genie back in the bottle after something like this."

Fury nodded, falling silent for a moment. "You're right. Doctor, proceed with Phase Three. Agent Kennedy will assist you in monitoring the recruits post transition." Fury moved to the elevator, before he looked back at the table. "Oh, and Agent Kennedy, I don't play god. He plays me."

---

---

Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury had just returned to his office after a particularly aggravating meeting. Even with only one good eye, he had found it hard not to roll his eyes at the frantic inquiries. After O.M.E.N. was shut down, S.H.I.E.L.D. had seen a large increase in funding and resources - but also in situations they needed to monitor and address. He had had to pull in a majority of their reserve agents to active duty, just to be able to ensure his organization wasn't spread thin. There was no point in being a shield for all mankind if they couldn't protect anyone.

There was a gust of wind, entering the room. Standing there, leaning against the wall, was the one and only Pietro Maximoff. He was pissed off, that much was obvious, just from the look on his face. Pietro was glaring at Fury, and he wasn't even trying to hide his anger. "Hello there Fury," he said through clenched teeth.

Fury didn't need to turn and look to see who it was. He moved his hand to his side, subtly switching the rounds on his gun from bullets to inhibitor darts. It was something he'd had a scientist draw up for him after the entire fiasco against the Brotherhood of Mutants - and he was glad he made the call. "Mr. Maximoff - to what do I owe the displeasure?"

"I'm guessing you already know why," Pietro said, before he raced over, and getting the gun away from Fury. "I've been running from assholes like you since I was 12, how dumb do you think I am. Now... Why did you call Guin in," he said, lifting Fury up by the collar.

"I don't answer to you, Quicksilver," Fury said calmly. "What I do with my agents is none of your concern, got it? I trust you can find your way out," he added coldly. "Guessing you're the one that caused all of our security systems to crash, huh?" Fury rolled his one good eye at Pietro. He doubted the speedster would want to mess up his record after S.H.I.E.L.D. had wiped it clean in exchange for his assistance defeating the Brotherhood.

"Yeah, Guin is my concern because unlike every other idiot in here I know what SHIELD really is about, and you don't care about the agents, just the job. So either you cut ties with her, because she is a part of the X-Men and has obligations to them and is surrounded by people who actually care about her, or I keep pounding on you until you do," Pietro said before he punched Fury in the face, hard.

Fury's nose snapped and began to bleed, but the decorated S.H.I.E.L.D. director hardly even blinked an eye. It wasn't the first time someone had questioned his decisions with physical force and he doubted it'd be the last. "Agent Stark is a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. and can be called in whenever I damn well please," Fury shot back. "Punching me isn't going to change that, Quicksilver. And do you really want this going on your rap sheet? Because I can throw you in a hole and then throw away the hole, kid."

"You're just pissed off because the X-Men decided to stop doing all of the dirty work for you, you owe us for saving the world and taking out your biggest problem. Taking away one of our members just because you feel like it is not the best way to keep making friends," Pietro said, punching him again.

He started seeing double, staring into the face of an incredibly vexed and irritated speedster. "Didn't go into this business to make friends," Fury told him. Blood was trickling down his face and he was in immense pain, but he didn't show it. He couldn't help but be slightly disappointed in the other agents in the building, as no one else had even noticed that Maximoff had breached their security yet as far as he could tell.

"Now, Guin doesn't work for you you son of a bitch, she's with a team that actually cares, so you just stay the hell away, and everything will be fine," he said, punching him again.

Getting punched at super speed in the face repeatedly was no easy task. Fury gritted his teeth, trying his best to focus on the blurred images in front of him. "Fine," Fury muttered, clearly irritated that he had no other options. "Take my best engineer."

"Thank you for your time Director, this has been a nice chat," Pietro said, letting him go and watching him drop to the ground.

---

---

In a quiet room, where shadows dance across the wall, a lone figure typed away at a computer screen. His identity was concealed, as well as those of his correspondents. But does it really matter who they were? They could be anywhere - and they could be anyone. They were nothing more than faceless cogs in the organization that was HYDRA, committed to the ideals of blood purity and advancement of the Aryan race. S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain America may rest easy, thinking that their old foe was defeated - but it's always just a matter of time before HYDRA pops up again.

M: WHAT IS THE TIMEFRAME ON PHASE THREE COMPLETION?

The figure paused, tapping his hand twice on the table as their eyes glanced at the files they had been examining. Rivera, Emilia-Marie...Hale, Arcturus...Bautista, Niah... His eyes went back to the computer screen before he typed in his reply quickly.

T: TOMORROW.

M: DID OUR CHILD SURVIVE?

T: SHE DID.

M: HOW MANY CASUALTIES?

Their eyes went back to the files. Smith, Maria had been a close call. Sparks, Theresa had a near death experience, with the SHIELD physician on call, Chloe Ridgeway, just barely managing to revive her. Kelley, Teig had been pronounced dead, until he revived miraculously a few minutes later, likely as some sort of delayed reaction. Dr. Jiāng was the only one that really understood why that had happened.

T: EIGHT. SO FAR.

M: HOW MANY ARE NOT PURE?

Smith, Maria... The Jew. They hadn't been able to make a move against her yet. Novikova, Dominika... The Russian - she would need to be taken care of. Few realized that the Soviets had been targets of the Nazis as well. And HYDRA had began as the Nazi deep science division. Hale, Arcturus... He was one of the few they had determined to be homosexual. But with conversion therapy, that could be corrected. Bautista, Niah... Rivera, Emilia-Marie... The figure sighed slightly. This was going to be a lot of work - so much sexual deviance.

T: FIVE. THREE CAN BE CORRECTED.

M: GET RID OF THE WASTE. KEEP THE BLOOD PURE.

M: HAIL HYDRA.

"Hail HYDRA," the figure whispered, before they heard footsteps coming down the hallway and they shut the computer closed, plunging the room into complete darkness.

---

---

The experiment had been a grueling and difficult process, with only a ten percent success rate. Roughly half of those who underwent the experiment had died in the process, with the remaining forty percent emerging with no new abilities. Had it not been for the effort of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best physicians, they would have died as well. And the rest? They had emerged with new powers and abilities, increasing the world's population of enhanced individuals fighting for good.

The procedure was a three step process. The first step was the simplest: exposure to Terrigen Mist. If the subject was inhuman, exposure to this mist would cause them to form a rocky cocoon like structure, as their latent inhuman DNA would become expressed and cause them to manifest abilities, after which, they would emerge a changed person. If they were not inhuman, the mist would have no effect.

The next process was a serum designed to active a latent X-gene - a chemical cocktail triggered by adrenaline and stress that would activate both the primary and secondary mutations. If there was no sign of any change after a week of the increased adrenaline and stress, the process was considered a failure and the individual was advanced to step three. If successful, their mutation would manifest instead.

The final step was designed to ensure that the subject gained abilities, through a special mixture of gamma radiation and an extraterrestrial power source. Intense exposure to this unique combination would force an unnatural mutation in the subject's DNA, causing them to become a mutate. If after two weeks there was no change, and especially if the subject demonstrated hair loss, they would be removed from the experiment.

The survivors of the experiment, called Phase Three, had been kept for observation for the past few days. It had been touch-and-go health wise, but the physicians had finally cleared them to wake up from the medically induced comas, albeit a bit wary as to how they would behave. Director Fury had a lot of hope for them, even recruiting the best trainer of the newly enhanced that he knew - Agent Kennedy, who would serve as their senior supervising officer. He was hopeful that Agent Reed would be an asset as well, given how closely she worked with the X-Men in the past.

Super powers were the next arms race - and he had no intention of having S.H.I.E.L.D. be left in the dust. To protect and save the world, they needed the weapons in order to face the new challenges coming onto the horizon.

---

---

---

Novikova didn't open her eyes, just listening as she heard three sets of footsteps come into the lab. Two were the even and steady pace that S.H.I.E.L.D. officials tended to keep - whereas the third was more random and sporadic. She could see dimly through her eyelids that the room was flooded with light, so it must have been morning. But every muscle in her body felt stiff and worn, as she slowly sat up and opened her eyes, staring directly at Agent Ridgeway, S.H.I.E.L.D. Physician.

Novikova's vision clouded for a moment, as she caught a glimpse of Agent Ridgeway - only her scrubs had been replaced with a prison jumpsuit and her eyes were red as she vomited into a toilet. Novikova's head started to pound as she found she couldn't look away from Ridgeway, with more and more information flooding her senses - there was Ridgeway again, lying on the pavement filled with bullets - and Ridgeway again, doing crack underneath a freeway overpass. It only stopped once Ridgeway went out of her line of sight and Novikova let out a gasp, shutting her eyes tightly.

"Rise and shine, agents," Fury called out. He was standing at the end of the line of beds, having glanced at a few medical charts along the way. "Congratulations. You sons of bitches are the toughest agents we have here - you survived Phase Three." He let his words hang in the air for a moment. "But that was the easy part. Now, you have to train and learn how to use your powers, in order to protect the world. Agent Fitz is going to be here shortly with a simulation device built by him and Agent Stark, which we call the Framework. You'll be put in a practice mission, in order to let you use your powers without worrying about killing the wrong people."

Jim sighed. He was trying his best not to hit his forehead against his hand, but he was their Senior Supervising Officer - and his co-worker? Lying on a bed like the rest of them, probably freaking out and unaware of her own strength. "...Don't stress out too much, okay? We'll have a good time, get some ice cream, play some games...And you know, maybe save some people in the process. Just a normal day in the life of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."

---

---

---

Z was nine. She was no longer the sickly child she'd once been. But that didn't matter now. It didn't matter, because her parents weren't there to rejoice in their child's health.

The small girl stood stoically in front of the pair of graves. And although she was not alone there, she felt like the only person in the universe at the moment. She couldn't feel the arm of the other girl next to her, clutching her waist in a desperate childish attempt at support. Nor the two adult hands lain on each of her shoulders. Her parents were dead! They'd told her they were among the victims of the terrorist bombings of the London Underground. She had a vague idea of what terrorists were. She understood the concept fine enough. She just couldn't understand why people would want to be this cruel to strangers. Z knew well enough she was way too little to comprehend it all right now. She knew one thing though. A great evil had occurred on the day her parents died and she would not stand for that! She would give it her all to prevent a thing like that ever happening again.

As little Zoya stood calm in front of the graves of her parents, supported by her guardians and their daughter, a new emotion was given life within her. For a fraction of a second it gripped the entire being of the girl and her hands clenched into fists. And just as the feeling had emerged, it was gone. Or rather, it had simply released its hold over Z. Settling deep, deep, deep within the psyche of the small child. Waiting. Growing. Preparing.

---

Z snapped awake with a gasp. The recurring dream of her standing in front of her parents' graves was a constant in her life that never left and never failed to dim the light of that particular day. People often mistook her innate calmness for coldness or even worse, apathy. When in fact, the death of her parents had wounded her deeply, leaving her scarred for life, but also spurring her determination to prevent something like that ever happening to anyone else.

As Zoya shook off the last tendrils of the nightmare she began to take stock of her surroundings. She was in the medical ward. That's right. The experiment! Z looked around. Not even a dozen people lay in beds like her. So few survived!?! Z looked down her body, turning her hands palms up and down and then she ran them over her hospital gown clad figure. She didn't feel different. And there were no obvious physical mutations. Then why was she here? Before her inner monolog had a chance to continue Director Fury entered the room, accompanied by two other individuals, and greeted the survivors with his usual bedside manner.

Tony Stark, Agent Fitz, Framework... Wha... Z's mind raced as Director Fury inundated them with information. Her focus shifted on Agent Kennedy, lying on a bed like her and the others, trying to diffuse Fury's usual I-don't-have-time-to-coddle-agents attitude with a few words of encouragement. Z looked around the room, uncertainty and confusion whirring in her brain as she surveyed the beds occupied by other agents. Some still asleep, some awake, others just now awaking. And then all of a sudden the world went still. The noise vanished. All that remained was clarity! Her fists clenched and she stared at the Director with grim determination, a cold fire burning in her eyes.

---

---

Teig's eyes were trained on the iron sights of his MP5 as he knelt next to the tall metal door. He turned to look over his shoulder, giving a signal with his hand to tell one of the younger operatives to move to the door and plant the breaching charge. He steadied his breathing behind the dark black gas mask, pulling the hood up over his ginger hair and checking his magazine one last time before the almost deafening noise of the door being busted down signaled the group to move in.

Teig rolled behind cover, popping up to dispatch 3 of the 6 enemy combatants with precision before the last aimed his rifle straight at Teig, held his finger over the trigger and-

The alarm sounded. The drill was over, cut off unusually early even if Teig was about to get a rubber bullet to the dome. He chuckled to himself, standing up to his full height before helping a few of the 'dead' operatives up and slinging his gun over his shoulder. His commanding officer stood in the door staring directly at Teig and pointing his thumb towards his office. Great. He was probably in trouble for something minor as per usual.

To his surprise when he entered the office he was greeted by a rather dapper suited America, holding out his hand and smiling at him like some sort of used car salesman. Teig sheepishly shook the mans hand, taking a seat opposite his commanding officer.
"Kelley, this here's a representative of S.H.I.E.L.D. they're looking for new field operatives and I put your name forward." He explained bluntly. Teig was slightly taken aback having to process the information for a second or two before the agent continued.
"You'd make a fine agent from what I've heard from your CO, Teig. The academy should be no problem - other than the history of S.H.I.E.L.D. of course, but that knocks everyone back a peg or two."
Teig stared into space for a second, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he thought. He hadn't even said a word yet and he was already imagining himself as some sort of super spy.
"Kelley, I really think your time would be better spent with our friends across the pond. You're a fine soldier, but opportunities like this don't come along every day. You'd be wise to take this one."

Teig looked up, fire in his eyes and said one word.
"Sure."

---

---

Location: Sci-Tech Building 4 - Phase Three HQ: Medical Ward
Skills Unknown

---

---

Teig had been awake for a few hours now. Staring blankly up at the ceiling half in deep thought and half in disbelief. A few years ago the biggest decision of his life was whether or not to stay with the SAS or join SHIELD. Now he'd been through hell and back getting superpowers. He didn't feel too different, a bit sore here or there, but not different.

He cracked his knuckles, a bad habit, but it was comforting in a way. Right now the most pressing thing on his mind wasn't what power he had, or even if he had one, but what his mother would think of the whole situation. I mean for gods sake, she was proud of him for joining the SAS and prouder for SHIELD, but this? She'd either be even prouder or think he was some sort of affront to god. He should've probably thought about that before accepting. He felt a chill go up his spine best not to think of that now.

His head snapped to the door as Fury walked in. He let himself smile a little as Fury complimented him and the rest of the agents on their toughness. He propped himself up against the bed as their first 'objective' was explained to them. A training mission, probably best for the group, but Teig had hoped for more training with whatever his power was. Even if it was only a simulation, he'd feel pretty embarrassed for messing up.
"What's the objective of the mission, sir?" He asked succinctly, he was still pretty nervous about the whole situation, and having the director of SHIELD giving you a mission, training or not, was quite daunting.

Niah’s mouth was dry. She couldn’t taste anything, which she was thankful for. It probably tasted god awful. Her ears were pounding as if a dozen heartbeats were right next to her head. What drugs had they been given? Three distinct footsteps broke up the pounding. Then Director Fury was speaking, it was loud in Niah’s ears as if he was screaming. She shook her head and covered her ears as she sat up opening her eyes. The pounding stopped and her mouth filled with the lack of brushing taste. Ick.

The experiment was a success, for her. What would her power be though? She looked around the room checking faces for other survivors. Relief washed over her as she recognized several, Z and Arc were both there, and Maria and Sparky. It was quickly followed by worry. Where was Antoine? Had he died? Niah's heart wrenched. They had known it was a real possibility. She hoped that he was alive, but none of the experiments had taken. She would ask later. There was so few of them. Of course, Tinely survived, ugh. At least Niah had friends who had made it through.

The Director was speaking of a simulation. Worry crossed Niah’s face. She wasn’t operations. Niah was certain that the simulation would take that into account. She knew of Agent Fitz, he was something of a hero at Sci-Tech. She let the worry go and slid slowly off the bed. Her legs were unsteady for a moment and she used the bed to keep herself from falling.

"Yes, sir.” She hoped the simulation would be able to discover what her power was, and that they would do a good job at it. It wasn’t a real mission, but it was vital nonetheless. One of the operation guys she had seen, but never really met asked what she had been thinking.

---

---

Cassandra heard the door open, as she slowly opened up her eyes her vision was very blurry she couldn't really even see anything at the moment. She started to blink several more times until finally her vision started to clear up, looking around at those in the beds next to hers. Seeing the fresh set of new agents starting to come to as well, which was good, Cass did know what she was getting herself into she had very mixed feelings about Phase Three. She knew that groups like the X-Men who she had worked very closely with over the last year and a half as well as the Avengers could only do so much to protect the world. It was sad for her to leave the X-Men and she knew that Marygold didn't approve of it either, and she had a sinking feeling that she wouldn't be very welcomed in the mansion anytime soon.

Her attention turned towards Agent Kennedy and gave him a slight smile towards him, as she slowly sat up and then stared at Director Fury as he congratulated them on surviving the experiment. She was very curious what she came out as well as what her new powers were, her younger sister was a mutant and working with the X-Men currently. Cassandra stared at the IV that was in her arm, she wasn't sure how long she had been out while everything had happened.

She winced slightly as she pulled it out, rubbing her arm slightly as she listened more to Director Fury. Cassandra gave Chloe a slight nod and smile as well, she had obviously heard of Agent Fitz and seen him around a few times in the past she was curious what Guin and him had been working on she didn't know of the Framework either which was something new to her. "It would be a lot more fun if we had some beer to celebrate." Cassandra said towards Agent Kennedy and gave him a slight smirk.

---

---

---

---

Maria groaned loudly as she heard the door open, looking around at her fellow cadets as they all seemed to slowly come to as well, her head felt like it was being beat against a sharp rock. "Could you be a little more louder sir." Maria said towards Director Fury, as she blinked a few more times as she started to get her vision more cleared up now. She stared over towards the others, and then saw Dominika and smiled towards her. "Good morning sleeping beauty." Maria said towards her as she slowly started to pull herself up into a sitting position, looking down at her medical gown. She felt really uncomfortable wearing it in front of others, her attention turned towards Agent Kennedy as he spoke.

She was liking the guy already, and he seemed to be pretty approachable and gave him a slight thumbs up, everywhere felt very achy and she wasn't sure how well she will do in their little simulation that they apparently already have set up for them. Maria was very curious as to who got what powers as well as her own to. She was certainly very eager to get everything underway and was excited to actually being a fully fledged SHIELD Agent as well. One of the reasons she wanted to join up was because she wanted to be able to protect her family and friends, and thought that this was the best way to do it.

---

---

---

Three Months Ago

"Tinley, sweetie..."

Tinley scoffed over the phone. "Forget it, father. I'm sorry I asked." She could hear his breath over the phone, as if he was trying to think of what to say. She heard it all before. Her father had never been supportive of her decisions and goals. This was no different. "I mean what do you expect from me darling? You had such a bright future ahead of you." Tinley fought off the urge to scoff again. Future? What future? "You mean a future with your company? A future where I get by based on being the boss' daughter?" Her father sighed, "You know I did not mean that. You are smart. Determined. Any company would be happy to have you. Your mother..."

Tinley cut him off immediately. "Leave her out of this. She has always been supportive of dreams." She let the intensity of the statement linger before she continued. "How is she?" Her father held a moment, as well. "She's doing better." Which was code for "she hasn't got much time left." As if Tinley didn't feel guilty enough being across the ocean from them, her father loved to bring it up every so often. "I just don't trust SHIELD. There is no information about them anywhere." "That's why I like them."

Her father could sense a losing battle. "Do what you must, but always know I have a place for you should you decide to stop." However, Tinley knew there would be no stopping. She was here for a reason. "Not likely."

---

---

---

Tinley heard the voices and she wanted them all to stop. Her head pounded with each revirb. She opened her eyes a bit, letting the blurriness subside before she sat up in the bed she was in. She looked around to see others in the room with her. Some she recognized, others she did not.

Before she could escape from whatever this hellhole was, Fury walked in. It seemed the lucky few that were here had survived Phase Three. She had volunteered for this, knowing the risks and rewards. It was an interesting process; one she is sure she will recall eventually. As it stood, she barely remembered what happened.

But she was here. She was alive. And she wanted to be anywhere else. The others seemed cheerful and she wanted to drive a nail through their skulls. "Can we just get on with it?"

---

---

---

Arcturus' eyes fluttered open, shaking away a vague but no less unsettling dream. Here, the signs on the wall were in English, and in the sterile ward he could hear the quiet sounds of people––the other patients––waking up. Reliving his childhood in any great depth would not be on the agenda today, thank god. He was not in his family home, and he had not returned in years. The staff were not talking behind his back in hushed tones, and he didn't have to imagine friends to talk to.

Someone had been whispering in his dream, just out of earshot.

Recollection as to where he was and why he was here came quickly enough. So he was still alive. That was something to be pleased about, and he couldn't muster up his usual ironic, millennial response of 'damn, that's unfortunate'. Relief flooded in down to his fingertips, which he flexed experimentally before pushing himself up into a sitting position. The whispers from the dream were still here. Some of them were louder now, so loud that he couldn't bear to listen to them, and he instinctively cringed away from the source.

They quieted after that, but they lingered on the edge of his hearing (was there an edge to one's hearing?) like the aura before a migraine. Oh god, Arcturus thought, is this schizophrenia? He was at the correct age of onset for most cases, he knew, from numerous down-the-rabbit-hole nights exploring the wonders of Wikipedia entries. Maybe instead of a power, he had been given a disorder.

Whatever the voices were, he could stem the tide for now. Perhaps it was just a side-effect of the coma. Some of his fellow cadets, rousing in their own beds, looked to be in an equally dazed condition. Arc caught Niah's eye and shot her a thumbs up.

As the director, and later the agent, spoke, Arc stared at a blank spot on the wall in their general direction, a trick he learned back in university when he zoned out to think of other things. In this case, he wondered if they knew what their powers would be. Surely there would be tests for that sort of thing that could have been performed while they were out. Was it only the new agents going in blind, or were their supervisors also in the dark?

Arcturus swung his legs over the edge of the bed and smoothed down the front of his hospital gown, which he just realised he was been wearing. Stylish. As someone who tended towards the never-nude side of the spectrum, it left him deeply uncomfortable –– not that he'd let it show on his face. "I suppose it would be optimistic of me to hope that the ice cream and games come before the practice mission."

---

---

---

---

---

Theresa did not feel the best when she woke up. Her throat was sore, but she felt like she probably could still talk. She was still surprised that she had survived the experiment at all, since from what she knew, a lot of people tended to die from it or something like that. She still didn't even know why she did this, she was just an engineer, not exactly a field agent or something, she just messed with machinery and electronics. This whole thing was still unclear to her, but it was supposed to unlock powers or something, she wasn't too sure what exactly.

Listening to Fury's words, she just nodded along with it. This all made sense, getting sent on a training mission to learn what they could do. They didn't really know what they could do, what their new found abilities were, so it made so much sense. "Yes sir, this should be fun," she said softly, not really looking over at the others around her. She knew only a few of them, not everyone, so she might as well be in a room of full of strangers or something.

---

---

---

Tracey was in her home in Las Vegas, when she heard a knock on her door. She was a little hesitant to answer it, she still didn't trust too many people in this city. However, she figured that she might as well, give whoever it was the benefit of the doubt as she got up from where she had been sitting and walked over, opening the door, and seeing someone that she had thought long dead. Jim stood on the doorstep, just grinning as he saw his sister for the first time in several years. Between two tours and joining S.H.I.E.L.D., it'd been a while since he saw his only living family. "You got bangs, sis...They look good," he greeted softly. "...And if you're wondering, none of the world religions got it right. The afterlife was bought out by Chuck E. Cheese's, so it's all animatronics now..."

"B-B-But how? You died years ago!" she responded, before she pulled him into her arms for a tight hug. Her brother, her twin brother that she had been told had died several years before was standing in front of her. Tracey had hugged him to make sure that he was really there, and not just a figment of her imagination. "H-H-How are you here?" she said, before she stepped out of the way to let him in, and shut the door behind him.

He shook his head, spotting Tracey's couch and sitting down on it, making room for her to sit next to him. "I didn't die, Tracey...But I was supposed to," he explained quietly. "It was a covert op in Eastern Europe...I can't tell you too much, but I don't care anymore. I was hit with some weird experimental weapon - the nerds later explained to me it contained what they liked to call Isotope E...It made me...different..." He stared at his hand, before it turned to stone and he held it out to his sister gently.

"Wow... How is that even possible? And I don't care, I'm just glad you are alright," she said, though she had a few tears in her eyes as she took his hand in hers, looking at the stone. It was strange, but she doubted it would be the weirdest thing she'd see in her lifetime, but still. Seeing her brother back from the dead was getting to her, and she didn't know what else to really say about it.

Jim just shook his head. He still didn't understand the science behind it. All he knew was that he went into that mission human and when his body was dragged out, on the edge of death, he had become something else. "I wanted you to know the truth, Trace," he said, his hand turning back to normal as he pulled his sister in and kissed her forehead. "The world isn't safe for people like me...But I'm gonna change that. I'm gonna take care of the world, just like I always took care of you..."

"Ok, I understand... But what exactly do you mean by that? What are you going to do? I don't want to lose you again..." she said softly, "I don't know what I'd do, if I was told twice in my lifetime that you had died or something..."

"I work for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division now...We're working on the name..." Jim answered. He then hesitated. "I'm not supposed to be here now, but....Screw them, Trace. I'll come and see you this day every year, alright? Just the two of us...Just like old times...And relax, it's hard to kill someone who can do this," Jim said almost cockily, turning his entire body into rock. "Thinking my superhero name could be the Boulder or something..."

Tracey let out a small laugh, she was smiling. "Alright, whatever you say," she said, looking at his body that was entirely made of rock. It was a little weird to see him like that, but she figured she could get used to it, he was her brother after all, and she'd always love him. "And I don't think you need a superhero name... Though it would be nice to see you once a year at least... So I know you're still around at least and haven't forgotten about me."

"How could I possibly forget about my dorky little sister?" Jim asked with a laugh.

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Novikova smirked, hearing Maria's voice. It was a greeting she was not entirely unaccustomed to hearing. They weren't romantically involved...but they were involved, so to speak. She turned her head in Maria's direction, opening her eyes only to have her senses flooded with information again. There was Maria, kissing a corpse. Maria, screaming as she ran from what looked like an army of the undead. And in the split second before Novikova managed to tear her gaze away, she saw Maria patrolling a dark facility with Clint Barton, better known by his codename, Hawkeye.

"Good to know I've still got my looks," Novikova joked to Maria quietly. "Sanity...Jury's still out on that one," she then said bluntly. She had been placed in the bed next to Maria, which was fortunate as it allowed her to keep her voice down. Fury didn't let on if he had heard them or not.

"Maybe if you weren't busy flirting with Agent Novikova, you wouldn't need me to raise my voice," Fury warned, leaning over to speak directly into Maria's ear, loud enough to make her jump. He then rose back to his full height and chuckled at the ones getting out of bed. "Just where do you think you're going, agents? Sit your asses down, Agent Fitz is coming to us - unless you also share Agent Smith's hearing problem, in which I'll gladly go buy stock in Miracle-Ear as it'd be an epidemic."

Agent Ridgeway was going around the room, removing the I.V.'s one by one. Given Emilia's expressed discomfort, she took hers out first. She paused when she got to Cassandra's, seeing that the plastic catheter in the vein had snapped. She took a breath, grateful that they had foreseen this type of scenario coming into play. The plastic the catheters was made from had been designed by S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists to degrade harmlessly if trapped inside the body in such a manner. Still, she didn't feel like fielding off questions from the scientifically illiterate agents present and so she glanced to both sides, before she quietly moved onto the next patient as if nothing was wrong.

Jim laughed, only to get a stern warning glare from Fury. But given how long he had been working for S.H.I.E.L.D. - over a decade now - Jim wasn't afraid at all. In fact, when he heard Cass request a beer, he gave her a wink. "Anything for you, dear," Jim teased. "And I did lobby for the ice cream and games first, but no dice." He then made a bit of a face, motioning towards an increasingly angry looking Fury. As everyone started to become more aware and alert, Fury's extensive and recent injuries would come into view.

Novikova snorted, finding herself quickly charmed by Jim's ways as well. She took a glance at him, only for her vision to almost fade or duplicate - she wasn't sure which was better - before she saw Jim hugging a young boy with scruffy hair. The kid had a genetics textbook in his hands that looked well worn. "Mission objective is as follows," Fury explained, just nodding at Theresa. "This simulated mission is based on one that Agent Reed knows well - as she lived it. However, we've made some modifications...At any rate, the Brotherhood of Mutants has obtained the means to release a virus on a civilian population that selectively targets anyone that isn't a mutant. They've taken the X-Men, an all mutant team, hostage. Your objective is to retrieve the virus, destroy the Brotherhood's means of producing more, and rescue the hostages. All of these are top priority - understood?"

Fitz-Simmons, easily the two brightest minds currently at S.H.I.E.L.D., walked into the room soon after. "He only gives that speech on special occasions," Simmons mused, giving Emilia a kind smile. Agent Fitz nodded in agreement. He was pulling a cart behind him, on which there were dozens of sleek black helmets. The pair split up, passing out a helmet to each agent, aside from Chloe, Fury, and Jim.

"Once you put the helmet on, it'll send you into the Framework," Fitz explained, his voice thick with a Scottish accent. "If there's any bugs, blame freaking Quicksilver...He smashed the finalized models a week ago and Agent Stark is off playing X-Men, so I was up twenty four seven for days finishing the coding....again."

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Cassandra looked among the other freshly new agents most of them seemed to be pretty damn eager to get things started, she turned her gaze towards Jim and gave him a slight smile. "Your buying me a round after all this then." She said towards him, as Fury stepped over towards Maria and leaned in very closely before raising his voice right there. She wasn't sure if that was necessary or not, but Cassandra knew that Fury was pretty much a hard ass all of the time, and all nonsense and work as well. She watched as her cousin moved over and started to remove the IV's out of everyone's arms. Until she came to her, and looked down at the needle was still deep inside her skin she couldn't dig in and get it out. Cassandra simply just chucked it off as a faulty one, knowing that it was something SHIELD made it would most likely degrade over time and be harmless to her and she trusted Chloe's judgment as well.

Then Fury spoke up once more as he started the briefing for their training mission, and met his gaze when he mentioned the very mission she had gone on with the X-Men over a year ago or so. The mission itself was very successful, however it had one causality Oshea who was killed by Sabertooth. She was lucky to actually knock him out with several Icer rounds, she looked among the other agents, Cass would be the lead on the mission since she knew it very well.

Cassandra would have to ask them their skills, and started to formulate some sort of strategy once they started. Then Agents Fits and Simmons came in rolling a cart with several VR headsets, and eyed them for a moment when they mentioned what happened to it with Quicksilver, and Guin was left to the X-Men. Cassandra reached over for the headset and set it onto her lap, and eyed the others for a moment figuring that she'd be the first to go. "I'm sure that there wont be any problems." Cassandra said towards Fits and then the others. "See you on the inside I guess." Cassandra said as she started to put it over her head.

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Maria smiled towards Dominika, she didn't really pay much attention until it was to late Fury had gotten close to her and raised his voice which made her jump. Her face turning a bright red as she awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck and eyed Fury. "Sorry sir." Maria said, she hated being embarrassed in front of just about everyone in the room. She looked over towards her roommate at the Operations Academy seeing her discomfort with needles. Maria decided to not really say anything about it as Agent Ridgeway came over towards her, and winced slightly as the IV was removed from her arm, and rubbed it slightly. Maria stared at Fury as he made another subtle jab towards her and glared slightly. She respected the man of course but hated being called out in front of everyone, but didn't say anything in fear of being reprimanded by him.

She smiled towards Jim, warming up to the guy already, he was pretty damn friendly which she liked and could see herself getting along with him. Her eyes wondered to everyone else in he room, she knew pretty much everyone else in the room pretty well and was glad that everyone else survived the experiment. Maria then listened to Fury once more as he started to brief everyone on their training mission, and eyed Agent Reed, who was their SO as well who went through the same experiment as well. So it was going to be a mission that she had personally done. [color=lightgreen"I'll follow your lead Agent Reed."[/color] Maria said towards Cassandra as Agents Fitz and Simmons came in with a large cart full of VR headsets for them to use during the training.

Maria quickly raised a hand as Cassandra went on ahead and put the headset on. "This isn't going to be some weird Sword Art Online crap where we get trapped in there, and if we die in there we die in real life stuff right?" Maria asked, when Fitz said what Quicksilver had done to the Framework which did make her a bit nervous.

Niah sat back on the bed as told. She was thankful for it, she had wanted to seem strong but holy cow she felt weak. Though she definitely did not share in any hearing loss. She smiled at Arc when he gave her the thumb up, and returned the sign. She tried to catch Z's eye without drawing attention from anyone else to give her a reassuring smile, even though her stomach was still twisting with worry about Antoine.

When Agent Ridgeway removed the needle from Niah's arm she glanced away. It wasn't that she hated needles, she was capable of using them, she just didn't care for watching it go in or out of her own skin. She did not blame Agent Rivera for her obvious discomfort.

At the sight of Agent Fitz and Agent Simmons Niah did her best to not fan-girl. Mentally, however, she squeed a little and went over what she knew of their careers. They were going to go into something Agent Fitz had coded himself! As freaked out as she was about the experience she was excited about the chance. Niah took a deep breath and put the set on and lay back down. Even with Maria's question hanging in the air.

Her head spun for a few seconds before finally settling and she took in her surroundings - A street in New York.

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As Director Fury cut his speech off to put one of the survivors on the spot for flirting or something, Z's attention shifted away from him. Suddenly panicked, she swung her head left and right and as soon as she saw Niah in one of the beds her fear subsided. Oh, thank the Goddess she survived. As soon as the thought appeared in her mind Niah's eyes found hers and Z nodded and smiled in reassurance. A hug would have been better, but the Director had told them to stay in their beds. Z focused once more on what was happening around her, the burning rage from seconds ago gone. Instead she observed the room with her usual calm demeanor and didn't even flinch when agent Ridgeway took her IV out. She listened intently at Director Fury's briefing of the simulated mission they were about to embark on.

As Fitz-Simmons rolled into the room with the Framework equipment Z tried really hard not to stare at Agent Simmons. Jemma was a gorgeous woman with brains to boot as well. And Z felt a little star-struck in her presence. Not that Fitz wasn't on equal footing. Z just couldn't help but prefer the ladies! Obviously Fitz-Simmons was a monster duo in the science circles and Z looked up to their achievements and inventions, but she was a scientist first and scientists looked for answers by asking questions.

"If I may..." Z spoke to no one in particular, but made eye contact with all senior agents and the Director. She straightened a little bit in her bed, wincing slightly as the hospital gown chaffed over her sensitive pierced nipples. I should have removed them for the experiment. Z thought. But it wasn't required and it's always such a hassle to do it. She resettled more carefully, cleared her dry throat and continued. "Since I'm here in this ward with all the rest, clearly the experiment was a success and I've been given some powers or other. But..." The explosives engineer looked herself over once again, before returning her gaze to her boss and seniors. "I don't feel any different and no powers have manifested during the short time I've been awake. Before we start this mission, could we at least learn the effects of the experiment on us? So that we have some idea as to what to expect power-wise."

Z fell silent for a few beats longer to the point it almost would appear she had finished talking. But before anyone else could interject, she added. "Also, even though I'm more than confident in Agent Fitz and Mr. Stark's capabilities... This Framework concept is a bit troubling to say the least." She paused, chuckled to herself, and added after a moment of meditation. Though on second thought. After volunteering for this experiment, which was crazy enough, I don't know why I should be worried about my mind being put in an untested virtual reality that had to be recoded overnight by one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most brilliant scientists after being trashed by Quicksilver.

Z took the offered helmet in her hands and shifted her gaze from agent Ridgeway to Director Fury, to Dr. Jiāng and finally settling on Simmons, awaiting for an answer to her question from any of them. The Director looked worse for wear. I see Quicksilver didn't just do a number on the Framework. Z thought. It would appear they were in for some turbulent times ahead.

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Tinley closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. The amount of noise was bothering her. Or it was after-effects from the project. Either way, she wanted to be over and done with this already. It seemed they would be taking a virtual mission to train. It made sense, given that they were not all combat ready.

Speaking of which, why the hell did they have communications and sci-tech people here too? What help could they be in the field besides being off on the sidelines? Would she have to babysit them while fighting the Brotherhood? Just great...

And to make matters worse, Zoya spoke up about the powers they would all be having and it pissed her off because she was about to ask that herself. The mere fact that the girls shared a similar brainwave bothered her to no end. So when the headsets were passed around, she took it quickly and slipped it on, if only to avoid listening to anyone else speak.

As the vision became clearer, she saw she was on a New York street. "All right. We should split up. I know some of you are competent in dangerous scenarios, while the rest are target fodder, so we get in, do the thing, get out."

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Valencia had dealt with lots of weird and unexpected things in her life. Some she enjoyed, some she loathed and others she still did to this very day. Since joining with SHIELD things been rather unique and every day was filled with it's own set of challenges to tackle and overcome. She loved it here after all. Best decision in her life to accept joining since joining the military academy. Granted joining SHIELD was the better one of the two. Being here gave her access to things that in the past she only considered distant dreams that chances were she'd never get her hands on. After all that now she had powers... well she knew she had powers after that procedure, but what kind of powers not so much. She'd get her hands on it and figure that shit out sooner or later. Now though there was yet another new thing to do.

“Virtual reality... fucking sold.” She muttered to herself once the Fury briefing was given and information was known. So they had to pass a practical exam of sorts. This on itself wasn't an unusual thing. Back in the academy she had done her fair share of life exercises, but this one was a step further. In a virtual reality they can do things that no life exercise will allow them. She was smiling like mad when she finally put on the headset without much faffing about, wanting to get in the setting as soon as possible so the show can get on the road and the fun can commence.

Inside though there was a certain blonde... Tinley!!! Val smirked amused as the other ops girl gave her ideas on how to proceed.” Not a bad plan, Tinley. But we cannot quite leave the eggheads on their own. The eggheads needs to be organized too. We should get a chain of command down, pick the proper jobs for everyone and approach the problem that way.” She proposed with a smile. Frankly she was feeling the urge to get this competition with Tinley on who can get it first, but job was a job and required to be done methodically.

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Sparky listened as Fury spoke, and she had to stop herself from laughing a little bit at what Fitz said had happened to the original models of the virtual reality sets. So, Quicksilver had been pretty busy causing problems for SHIELD it seemed, though she didn't know why too much. She nodded when Fury described the scenario when they got inside of the Framework, what it was that they were meant to accomplish, and she was about to put the headset on, when she fell in agreement with one of the other agents, about their powers.

"Yeah, you wouldn't by chance be able to tell us our powers if that information is available of course... It could be useful so we aren't taken by surprise in the simulator, and so we know how best to learn to use them, at least somewhat anyway," she said kind of quietly, after hearing what Arcturus had said about it. Knowing their powers would give them their best chances of figuring out what to do, and would definitely be the first step in learning how to use them in a combat situation.

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"I can assure you, Agent Fitz thoroughly tested the version you're using," Fury said, though he was looking at Fitz and not Nikolova. Fitz nodded, his mind flashing back to how he had tested the Framework yesterday - by running an old program for it that he and Agent Stark had always used. It was largely based off of pod racing from the Star Wars universe. And as silly as it seemed, it was a fast paced simulation with plenty of chances for violence, chaos, strategy, and adaptation - making it a shockingly good way to test the Framework.

Of course, he had been forced to stop around 3 AM by Simmons last night...So there was a chance it still had a bug or two left in the program. "Hey, don't hold Sword Art's name in vain! Kirito and Asuna show that there's hope for anyone to find love!" Jim protested, cackling. Fury pretended than he didn't hear him, while Fitz-Simmons collectively rolled their eyes at the Senior Supervising Officer. "It's not even a real anime..." Agent Ridgeway muttered under her breath.

Novikova couldn't help but roll her eyes as well. Was this really a priority? She couldn't look at someone without her mind flickering through images that didn't make any sense - she didn't know if she was seeing the past or the future or if she had just gone insane. She had resorted to looking at anything but another human being and they'd hardly been awake for more than half an hour. "I agree. We need to know what our powers are," Novikova chimed in.

Fury looked like he was trying not to laugh. He had forgotten that Agent Stark used to use a codename - it'd been a while since she had actually come into work, anyways. But hearing people confuse her with her father - it was an opportunity to be truly petty that he couldn't pass up. He was irritated with Quicksilver, anyways. ”Yes. That is correct. Quicksilver is passionately in love with Tony Stark. Please put that on social media," Fury said, hardly able to keep a straight face. "His obsession with Tony Stark is why he smashed a majority of the equipment Agent Stark had worked on."

Jim snorted. "Sir, their powers..." he reminded Fury. Fury nodded, laughing to himself. Simmons was giggling a bit as well, only for Fitz to shake his head at the director. As much as he was blunt and no nonsense, Fury had the rare moment where his personality was clashing with his urge to laugh. It resulted in an uncomfortable strained smile on Fury's face as he chuckled in random bursts.

"'Fraid I won't tell you what their powers are - they entered the simulation without asking, so they reap what they sow," Fury said coldly. Jim rolled his eyes at that, finding it a bit ridiculous. "Smith - mutant, life force and power absorption. Try not to kiss Novikova for a while. Hale - mutate, telepathy. Guess you aren't very good at it yet or you wouldn't need to ask. Rivera - inhuman, portal teleportation...And no, Agent Kennedy, not like the video game. Sparks - mutant. Flight and electricity, like your name would imply. Nikolova - mutant, with something our scientists have nicknamed tranquil fury and then concussive roar. And last, Novikova - mutant, some weird ass perception of alternate lives and realities, and then earth manipulation."

"Now, get in there and complete the mission before I ask Agent Fitz to add in some infinity stones." Fury didn't look like he was kidding, but when Novikova looked at him, her heart was filled with dread and terror at the images that flashed into her mind. Her hands were shaking as she put on the VR gear and entered the Framework, hoping what she saw wasn't any indication of who the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. really was.

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Novikova opened her eyes, finding herself on a sidewalk in New York City. It took her a second to get her bearings, but a helpfully placed sign in big sprawling letters just a block or two over said WELCOME TO MIDTOWN. She then turned, spotting Stark Tower in the distance. While some found it ugly, to Novikova it was a testament to scientific achievement and progress. It wasn't too often in this society that people even bothered to care about things other than sports.

"This is amazing graphic quality..." Novikova muttered under her breath, already hearing two girls from Operations start bickering with each other, as if forgetting that they had a Supervising Officer with them. She had been slightly comforted to know that she wasn't actually seeing the future or the past - just alternate lives - but she felt firmly against staring at any of her companions. From the explanation she had received from Fitz-Simmons, she was relatively certain that her powers were based on perceiving some sort of energy on the spectrum that others couldn't.

She thought for a moment. Shades. If she was lucky, they'd be able to block out the part of the spectrum she was perceiving, allowing her to see. She checked her belongings, only to find that she had exactly the possessions she had checked in when she entered the experiment. Damn. "Does anyone have any sunglasses? Photochromic or polarizing, not tinted..." Novikova asked. With the photochromic, it'd help eliminate UV light - and she was really hoping that would be the part of the spectrum she was receiving. And for polarizing, it'd deal with the orientation - so if she got lucky, whatever was triggering her abilities was horizontal, not vertical...

"Agents, you have one hour. Good luck," a male voice that sounded suspiciously like Harrison freaking Ford came from seemingly out of nowhere. It must have been the AI that Agent Fitz mentioned - S.O.L.O. Or maybe, Novikova thought to herself with an amused chuckle, they somehow decided a good use of their budget was to pay Harrison Ford to do voice overs for their training simulation program.

She then finally turned her attention to the building across the street. It was a four story building, but knowing New York City, Novikova wouldn't have been surprised if it had lower levels. Outside the front entrance was a private security outfit. As she glanced at them, she stumbled backwards holding her head, as images of the security force's lives went through her head. "...Those guards are human...I think," Novikova muttered.

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Cassandra opened her eyes once more as she looked around finding herself in a familiar street and then looked over at the sign that said 'Welcome to Midtown'. Her eyes then wondered over towards the familiar lab building, she certainly did remember it very well then she heard Agents Abercrombie and Johnson speaking up. She sighed slightly and rolled her eyes for a moment before letting out a whistle to get their attention. "I am your supervising officer here, and I have been through this very mission so i'm calling the shots. I am also rating your performances as well to Fury." Cassandra said sternly as she looked at Abercrombie in particular. "Need I remind you that I went through the Communications Academy, and I have more field and combat experience and a Computer Science graduate at MIT. And we are a team and will work as one, no one is cannon fodder. Am I clear?" Cassandra said crossing her arms over her chest as she waited for the others to come through.

Cassandra saw Kelly come in next and gave him a nod, along with Novikova and Smith, she waited for the others to come in, and once everyone did. She turned her attention towards the building and Novikova when she mentioned that the guards outside were human and nodded towards her. "Magneto had some armed guards that aren't mutants guarding the front of the building, and mostly they patrolled the upper floors." Cassandra said, before turning to the other fresh new agents, it was certainly going to be a very interesting training mission.

"This mission also will see if we all can work together, we will separate into two teams each." Cassandra said as she eyed the nine other agents before her. "Myself, Rivera, Bautista, Johnson, Novikova and Kelly one team." Cassandra said, before looking over at the remaining agents. "Abercrombie, Nikolova, Hale, Sparks, and Smith will be team two." She said as she looked back at the building before continuing her briefing. "We are facing the Brotherhood in this mission, and we are going up against Magneto his daughters Cecily Ashworth, and Wanda Maximoff, Toad, Sabertooth, Avalanche, Othello, Lizzie Roswell, and at this time Richard Laine before he joined the X-Men." Cassandra said going through the list of names that she remembered during the mission, before hearing a voice all around them. "Team One goes down to the lower levels, while team two secures the upper floors. Now does anyone have questions before we start?" Teig looked at everyone else as he listened in on Agent Reed's briefing and shook his head towards her it all seemed straight forward to him.

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Maria turned her attention towards Jim and smirked slightly towards him, she was glad that someone actually did get her little SAO reference, as she watched everyone in the room as they asked what powers that they had. Fury didn't seem to want to tell those who jumped the gun. She gave a slight shrug, more power to those who decided to stay and get to know what they had, Maria looked around at everyone else in the room. When Fury stated hers she was actually decently surprised she could think of a lot of ways to use her own, she looked at Novikova for a moment and blushed slightly. She could do much about it until she could better understand and use them, she then looked back at Fury and couldn't help but laugh.

It certainly would have made a very interesting fanfic of Quicksilver and Tony getting it on together and couldn't help but laugh slightly as she looked down at the VR headset on her lap. Maria was ready to get the mission started as she looked at everyone else, then towards the senior agents Ridgeway, Fitz, Simmons and Director Fury. "Wish us luck then." Maria said as she went to put on the VR headset over her head and leaned back down to sit.

A few seconds later Maria looked around as she noticed Stark Tower in the distance, she always did want to go there someday and actually meet the guy. Her attention turned towards everyone else as she listened in on their Supervising Officer, she approached the others as she listened and looked at the two teams and nodded. Maria knew of her powers and then started to go through the list of badguys that they will be going up against which did sound like it was going to be very difficult as well.

Niah was tempted to say something rude to Agent Abercrombie, probably something along the lines of 'you're not the boss of me', she was spared the future regret of it though when Abercrombie was interrupted by a blonde woman Niah didn't know. Then Agent Novikova was asking for sunglasses, a fantastic distraction from Abercrombie and the other woman. Niah at first didn't think she would have her sunglasses because she had been in a hospital gown only a few minutes ago, but as she realized she wasn't in that, but instead in her day clothes. She reached up and touched the top of her head where she usually kept her sunglasses, when not using them. "Try these?" She offered to Agent Novikova with a smile.

Agent Reed, who Niah had only briefly met, was giving directions. Niah was way more willing to follow her direction since she had a. lived what this simulation was based around and b. was actually their SO. Reed divided them into two groups, and while Niah was happy to not be on Abercrombie's team she wasn't placed with anyone she was close to. They only had one hour, had Reed's team accomplished this task originally in one hour? That wasn't a question to ask Reed right now. That had been Harrison Ford speaking from the sky right? Definitely not a question to ask Reed right now, that was for Fitz... later.

"How are we supposed to get past the guards?" Niah was used to going into a place after it had been cleared and collecting evidence. She had never been to an active scene before. It wasn't even something she had ever seriously trained for. Through friends, she had used a gun maybe a dozen times. She realized that there probably was a procedure for this, one she was not privy to, and she hated asking about it in front of Abercrombie who already considered her 'cannon fodder'. "Other than that, lead the way Sir...uh Ma'am." She also was really curious about group two, were they supposed to climb the building or something? Did someone in the group have the ability to fly, or teleport? That would be a neat power. What if that was one of her powers? Or what if her power was something more physical? That freaked her out, she wasn't certain she would be able to handle herself in a fight even with powers.