"Justice, like lightning, ever should appear to few men's ruin, but to all men's fear."
In 1982, Baron Zemo was building up political and personal power, when he drew up his final plan for world domination and the elimination of S.H.I.E.L.D and it's heroes. He would bring together super-villains as a team in order to achieve his goal of world control. This plan, however, was thwarted by Nick Fury and his agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Though, the idea of reforming supervillains in the conquest of a greater goal stuck in Fury's mind. He took the idea to the planning stages and eventually gathered enough Villains through blackmail, bribery, or numerous other methods in order to perform the tasks that other superhero groups such as the Avengers, or the Annhiliators, could not do for fear of social outcry or a massive downturn in the heroes approval ratings. These new 'heroes' would participate in Espionage, Wetwork, Anti-Terrorist, and numerous Black Bag Operations. This group would have to remain underground, however. The public was not to know of their existence, and so they were housed within an advanced Submarine - originally designed by Howard Stark and later begrudgingly redesigned by his son, Tony Stark, which remains constantly underwater or in a secure holding bay. From this location, the Thunderbolt Strike Team are able to plan and prepare for oncoming missions.
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The scent of the sea-salt air permeated Daniel Rand's senses, coupled with the roar of a stream of foul watery sewage pouring into the Gulf of Mexico. He felt a burning sensation in his eyes, causing him to cringe due to the unanticipated sunlight, which then quickly dissipated. Daniel untied his mask, taking it off and placing it in one of his pouches, before he leaped from the sewer pipe, twisting his body in such a way so he wouldn't land in the filthy patch of water below. Having been informed by Nick Fury that the Submarine was located deep in the Gulf, finding the submersible was obviously the Strike Team's first test.
Daniel peered down into the infinite blue, his enhanced senses spotting the blurry silhouette of the Submarine laying far below like an ancient sleeping leviathan. Having seen no alternative, Daniel realised he would have to swim his way down without any SCUBA gear. Shouldn't be too hard for the Iron Fist of K'un-Lun. Plunging headfirst in the water, Daniel kicked straight down towards the submarine, disregarding the burning of sea-salt, searching for warmer waters. Finally he detected the lukewarm metal of the submarine's hatch, his hands brushing against it until he felt a sharp pain on his finger, the submarine's security system puncturing it to scan his blood. He hoped to himself that there was no hungry sharks in the area.
With the hatch unlocked and his identity confirmed, Daniel swam into the sealed airlock, followed by gallons of rapid saltwater. Daniel closed the hatch firmly, stopping any more water from rushing in the cramped room. Before he could be overwhelmed entirely, the water drained away almost at once, but before he could move on into the next room, a blast of hot air unexpectedly filled the area, the heat immediately drying him.
Daniel Rand made his way down the ladder, eventually coming down into a dim corridor. Daniel took a deep breath as he felt the intense warmth of his Chi spreading downwards from his arm to his hand. Suddenly the entirety of his fist burst into a yellow 'flame', illuminating the dark metal walls surrounding him. Having just went through the sewers of Mexico, his eyes had already adjusted, but he still activated his Chi, not for illumination, but rather as a precaution. "Nice Night-light." announced the blonde, female S.H.I.E.L.D agent, who was waiting for Danny at the end of the corridor. "You probably want to put that out by the way, there's no smoking allowed on board." she continued "It's not actual fire, you know." Danny replied as he followed her advice, snuffing out the yellow energy, leaving them in darkness once again. "Tell that to the Captain." she said with a sly smile, almost as if it was an inside joke among the crew, as they descended down into Control.
"You're the first one here, by the way." she stated, her voicing echoing up and down the small, metallic staircase. "We assumed the others would have already rendezvoused here by now." she went on. Danny detected a small hint of disappointment in her voice, as if she was almost excited for what was about to happen. "Why, Agent. You almost sound dismayed." he declared. "No, it's not that." she laughed "It's the whole supply crate thing, you know." Daniel expressed his confusion as the Agent spoke again "Actually, never mind, you'll find out later, Mr. Rand."
Walking in the cramped, busy Control Room, Daniel scanned the various S.H.I.E.L.D agents at their consoles, expertly running the submerged 7800 ton Submarine, that himself and the rest of the Thunderbolts will come to call their home. "Captain Corbett." saluted the Agent, addressing the tall, middle aged man at the helm. Captain Corbett ordered her to be at ease as he eyed Danny. "Thank you, Agent Morse. You may go now" he instructed with a smile.
"Hey, wait. Do I know you?" asked Danny as Agent Morse took her leave to attend her other duties.
"Unless you unironically dress in purple and shoot arrows, then no." she stated with a simper before leaving the Control Room. Daniel couldn't help the small smirk that formed on his face at the woman's cheek. Turning around, he purposely left the control room, getting directions from a passing engineer as to the location and number of his cabin. It only took a few seconds to find it; all of the rooms looked the same, other than the large, emblazoned numbers on the doors. His Number was 1-A. He entered the room, sitting down and untying the bandages wrapped around his hands. Daniel was about to began meditation in preparation for whatever was coming their way, when he was cut off by a mechanical voice, coming through the speakers.
"Briefing in 30 minutes. I repeat, Briefing in 30 minutes."
