Pierce smiled at the thought. "Nick Fury brought Captain America into S.H.I.E.L.D. Phil Coulson was placed outside and formed an independent unit. I don't know how much they know—but they're threats. We can't eliminate them directly. That would leave traces. Project Insight cannot fail."
"I understand."
Sitwell left.
Pierce stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out over the lake beyond the HQ. Beneath the massive steel gate below lay Hydra's future.
"Hail Hydra!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
James was fully armed in standard commando gear—but he'd given up some non-essential equipment in order to carry as much ammunition as possible. Everything was strapped directly onto his body instead of being stored in his internal space. That capability must remain known to as few people as possible, especially people from HYDRA.
After disembarking, he would take a Quinjet out to sea, transfer to a submarine, surface near the coast, link up with the support personnel, and then drive to the target location.
The journey took a long long tiring time—nothing like the neat time jumps in action movies. It took James more than ten hours just to reach the area, and the mission had to be completed within twenty-four hours, which means only 14 hours left. There wasn't much margin for error.
He knew there was more to this mission than it appeared on the surface, but he was confident. This was exactly the kind of situation his training had been preparing him for.
Phil Coulson walked with James to the side of the Quinjet.
"Be careful," Coulson said. "If something goes wrong, the extraction team may not be in position."
"Don't worry," James replied. "As long as I make it back to the shoreline, I can enter the water. Using the armor underwater isn't a problem. And I have the Space Stone. My margin for error is… non-existent unless mutants are involved."
He patted Coulson on the shoulder and boarded the jet.
Fitz paced back and forth in the aircraft's lab. Simmons' gaze followed him out of sheer boredom.
"Can you stop?" she finally said. "You're making me dizzy."
"No, I can't," Fitz snapped. "This should've been a team mission. Why did James go alone?"
Coulson didn't hide anything from them.
"James is… not like us," she said calmly. "This kind of mission is simple for him, and he has abilities we don't fully understand. He won't be in danger."
Simmons tried to reassure Fitz while Skye rolled her eyes.
"Hasn't my training been going well lately?" Fitz protested. "Why can't I go on the mission? What's the point of all this training?"
Fitz was timid and inexperienced—but also kind, and capable of bravery.
Was that a contradiction? Not really. Some timid people erupted with courage when it mattered most. Fitz had that potential.
Skye suddenly spoke up. "If you're worried… I can help."
Fitz and Simmons turned to her. "How?"
"I'll design a USB drive," Skye said. "You plug it into a dashboard, which lets me access the database, and we find out what James is really walking into."
The two rookies hesitated. They were technicians, not field operatives. So discipline wasn't yet second nature which led them to even think on whether they should access that help.
Skye saw the temptation and pressed further.
At that moment, James was resting inside the jet, communicating quietly with Cortana.
"Cortana," he asked, "how much energy would it take to open a short-range spatial portal?"
[ Based on your recent training, you're close to the minimum threshold, ] she replied. [ However, activating it aboard the aircraft is not advisable. During your last session, you maintained stable output at fifty-five percent of armor capacity. Spatial distortion requires approximately sixty percent. ]
"Ok," James said. "We'll try it when the time comes. The mission area would have low population density, but I'm concerned about satellite surveillance."
[ No need to worry. I've mapped the terrain. Dense jungle coverage is available. Once you enter the experimental area, you can disappear entirely from line-of-sight tracking. ] She paused. [ However, time is limited. You'll need to be decisive. ]
"No worries."
James closed his eyes and rested.
The jet met the submarine in open waters outside South Ossetia. James descended the rope ladder through the rear hatch and entered the vessel.
The submarine submerged and moved toward coastal waters.
It was James's first time aboard something like this, but his enhanced physique kept discomfort at bay. He waited quietly for the moment to surface.
Back at headquarters, Fitz and Simmons searched for a discreet dashboard. Each had a stun gun and a USB drive tucked away, but neither had much real experience.
Sitwell spotted them almost immediately.
"Hey you two," he called out. "What are you doing?"
As to how total newbs to sneaking would react when they get caught? they panicked.
Moments later, Simmons fired the stun gun at Sitwell as a distraction. While Fitz held the USB and sneakily jammed it to the console, and they bolted. Skye told them to find Melinda while she slipped away to prepare the intrusion. With Fitz's help, the metal ring on her hand was temporarily blocked.
James finally reached land.
The contact handed him a Jeep.
A convertible Jeep Wrangler.
James didn't even have the energy to complain. In freezing weather, no less.
They drove east. When they reached a forested area, James veered off the road and into the jungle, stopping beneath a dense canopy. Night was falling, but the foliage remained thick despite the cold.
He summoned the Space Stone and took a deep breath, recalling his training.
A blue beam of light burst forward, striking the air ahead of him.
Space rippled, swelling like a disturbed surface of water.
[ Slightly increase the output, ] Cortana advised.
James inhaled again and exerted more energy from the stone.
Space tore open.
A massive circular portal formed, revealing an empty expanse beyond.
[ Move quickly, ] Cortana warned.
James didn't hesitate. He sprinted forward. The portal collapsed behind him.
The next instant, he emerged elsewhere.
[ Activate the locator, ] Cortana said.
James did—then shut it off immediately.
"Fifty kilometer jump," he said in disbelief.
[ Indeed. The spatial jump was successful. You're now approximately thirty kilometers from the target. We can safely attempt another jump. Focus on the sensation like before. ]
James felt a surge of confidence—but also caution. The Space Stone's output was stronger than expected. He'd only increased power slightly, yet the jump had carried him far beyond what he intended.
If he wanted precision…
His control would have to improve.
Standing on the cold plain, James once again guided the Space Stone to output energy. A new spatial door opened—but he shut it almost the instant it appeared.
In that brief moment, he saw what lay on the other side.
A patrol.
Several soldiers, moving in formation. The only good thing was that their backs were turned towards the portal.
James's heart skipped from the close call.
If they'd been facing him, he would've been forced to do a sudden matrix from the hail of bullets and alert everyone of teleporting intruders.
He gulped the saliva accumulating in his mouth from the near mission failure. It was suddenly clear that he couldn't open a spatial door at will.
There was no way to know what waited on the other side. Every activation was a gamble. James had always believed this ability was overwhelmingly useful—now he understood how dangerous it really was.
"That was close," James said quietly to Cortana. "If they'd been facing me, the mission's difficulty would rise to dark souls level."
[ The risk is significant, ] Cortana replied. [ You still have thirty kilometers to cover. Walking would take time. There are eight hours left before mission failure, and less than one before full nightfall. ]
"I'll keep trying," James said after a moment. "This time I'll control the output better. I need to appear far enough outside their base."
He took a deep breath.
The space door opened again.
This time, the view was clear. There was no movement and no personnel on sight.
James stepped through.
After confirming the area was empty, he activated his locator then shut it off.
"Twenty kilometers," he said after checking. "Ten left. The direction we're going is good."
[ Will you continue using spatial jumps? ] Cortana asked.
James hesitated, then nodded. "It'd be a waste not to. I don't know when I'll get another chance to practice like this."
He frowned slightly. "But how did Loki manage it? He opened a portal directly in front of the Chitauri army. And how did he open the Tesseract on the other side when he arrived on Earth?"
[ That requires further investigation, ] Cortana said. [ Or interrogation. Based on probability analysis, the most likely explanation is that his scepter can resonate with the Space Stone. There is also a Mind Stone embedded within it. ]
"That makes sense," James muttered. "Where is the scepter right now? How did I forget that?"
[ It is currently in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. However, based on projected timeline variance, it will eventually fall into Hydra's hands. Otherwise, the twins would not emerge. ]
"Yeah that's right, the twins, Wanda and Pietro," James said. "Then we'll leave that alone for now. Let's try this again and open another door."
He focused again, carefully guiding the Space Stone's output. He had some experience now—but control was still imperfect. The energy required to open a portal was consistent, but controlling the distance and location was another matter entirely.
The Stone's energy density was too high. Even minor fluctuations translated into kilometers of error. If he overcorrected, he could end up farther from the target.
Time was against him.
Under ideal conditions, James knew he could master this in days. But now, all he could do was narrow his focus until nothing else existed.
The portal opened again.
He shut it immediately.
Wrong location.
He adjusted, steadied himself, and tried again—opening it just long enough to glimpse the other side before closing it.
This time, he saw the enemy base.
It was close.
A few hundred meters away.
But still too close for him to sneak in.
He exhaled sharply.
"Focus," he murmured.
After several slow breaths, he relaxed his grip on the energy flow and tried again.
This time, he didn't hesitate.
James stepped through and fell a foot making him land on the ground hard. "Ugh a bit too high,"
Ahead, about a thousand meters away, stood a large industrial facility. The sky hadn't fully darkened yet. He had no way of knowing whether the spatial distortions had been detected.
He activated the locator—then shut it off immediately.
Every activation caused a brief satellite ping at S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ. The window for detection was short, but James refused to take unnecessary risks. Still, he wasn't overly worried. Satellite retasking took time, and he never stayed long enough in one place to get locked on.
Inside S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, Victoria Hand was arguing with Phil Coulson.
There was no extraction team, and no forms of contingency.
Coulson had suspected as much—but that didn't dull his anger.
"I want to know why there's no retreat plan," Coulson said firmly. "My clearance is Level Eight. I have the right to know."
"I don't think it would change anything," Hand replied dismissively. "You've planned operations like this yourself. You know how these work."
"There's always a retreat plan," Coulson shot back.
"Hawkeye and Black Widow have operated without one."
"They knew in advance," Coulson said sharply. "This is James Gibson's first mission of this type, and no one briefed him. If he'd brought Fitz, they wouldn't have made it out intact. And you know exactly who James is. If something happens to him, you will answer to the Avengers."
"I don't believe the Avengers would challenge S.H.I.E.L.D. over this," Hand replied. "They operate under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s authority."
"Did Nick Fury tell you that?" Coulson snapped. "Or Maria Hill? Tony Stark built his newest comprehensive lab with James and Bruce Banner. I've seen Thor's friendship with James firsthand. Natasha Romanoff owes him her life. And when Clint Barton was mind controlled, it was James's plan that stopped a catastrophe. Do you know all of that?"
Victoria Hand froze.
If something happened to James Gibson, she would be standing alone. The Director wouldn't shield her. This mission had been approved independently.
"I trust James to succeed," Coulson continued, voice colder now. "But that doesn't excuse your mistake. I'll be reporting this to headquarters."
He turned and walked out.
His anger wasn't only about the missing extraction plan. He was also shielding Skye, Fitz, and Simmons. Their actions already crossed into criminal territory.
Invoking the Avengers wasn't just a threat—it was a warning.
This team didn't fully operate under orders of SHIELD HQ. Hydra had roots here. Even if Victoria Hand wasn't Hydra, she could be used by them. Intimidation was the safest move.
Better to make Hydra hesitate.