"Mr. Lawson, we need to verify your identity. Can you tell me who you really are?"
Kade leaned back. "Why would I need an assessment? I'm just an unlucky traveler. Got hit by an RPG blast during the attack. Yinsen confirmed I took a direct shock wave. Short-term memory confusion after that kind of trauma isn't unusual."
"No, it isn't," Coulson agreed. "In fact, we've already had specialists review your initial intake interview. Their conclusion was that you weren't lying when you provided your identity. That's the only reason you're sitting here talking to me instead of sitting in a cell."
That worked out, Kade thought. He'd given his real name on impulse, half-hoping it would match something in this world's records. The fact that it passed expert scrutiny was an accidental bonus. He genuinely believed the name was his, because it genuinely was.
"So thanks for that, I guess," Kade said.
"However." Coulson slid several photographs across the table. "Even with memory confusion, your cognitive function appears perfectly intact. So the assessment is still necessary. Especially given what we found at the site."
Kade looked at the photos. High-resolution shots of the desert floor. Patches of smooth, dark glass where sand used to be. Vitrified ground.
"We've tested these areas," Coulson said. "All heated to over five thousand degrees Celsius in a very short period. That's what causes this kind of vitrification." Pleasant tone. Conversational. "I'd like to know what weapon produces that effect."
So that's what this was about. SHIELD dealt with the supernatural and the extraordinary. They wouldn't waste a senior agent on a random civilian with amnesia. The vitrified sand was the flag.
Kade told him about the Extremis soldier. The burning skin, the speed, the regeneration. He kept it straightforward and honest. Nothing to gain from hiding the creature's existence when Coulson would find the remains regardless.
What he hid was Blitz. Every reference to the robot was scrubbed. And the kill shot, the weapon that had vaporized the Extremis soldier, he attributed entirely to Tony.
"Mr. Stark designed an energy weapon while he was building the Arc Reactor in the cave," Kade said. "You'd have to ask him about the technical details. Engineering's not really my area."
He'd planned this from the moment he tossed the Pulse Pistol to Tony. The man had built an Arc Reactor in a cave with a hammer. An entirely new power source that would've rewritten physics textbooks. Compared to that, designing an unusual pistol was nothing. Nobody would question it.
Coulson's expression didn't change, but Kade could tell the answer tracked with whatever Tony had already said. No follow-up questions on the weapon.
At the end of the interview, Coulson pulled a wristwatch from his jacket. Silver band, analog face. Nothing remarkable.
"A small gift," Coulson said, placing it on the table. "The style's a bit dated, I'll admit. But I'd strongly recommend wearing it. It'll save you a lot of complications."
Kade understood perfectly. Tracking device. Audio monitoring. And almost certainly a remote incapacitation system, something to put him down if SHIELD decided he was a threat. Standard procedure for an unidentified person with proximity to Tony Stark.
He picked it up and strapped it to his wrist.
Coulson looked mildly surprised at how cooperative he was being. Relieved, too. He knew it was disrespectful, strapping a leash onto someone who'd helped save one of the most important men in America, but Tony's security profile made it non-negotiable.
Smile all you want, Kade thought. You just handed me the keys to your kingdom.
The moment Coulson left the room, a foreign energy quietly invaded the most advanced surveillance device SHIELD had ever manufactured.
[Tracking device detected. Mechanical integrity: 100%. Activation cost: 768 AllSpark energy. Current energy: 1000/1000.]
Kade stared at the number.
Blitz, a five-meter multi-ton combat robot, had cost 915. This wristwatch wanted 768.
The size difference was a factor of a thousand. The energy cost difference was barely 150 points. Whatever determined activation cost, it wasn't mass. It was complexity. Pound for pound, this watch packed more technology into its frame than the SUV had by orders of magnitude.
Kade didn't hesitate. This was why he'd accepted the watch. Stage 1 of the AllSpark allowed three Cybertronian units. Blitz was one. This would be two.
His only worry was personality. If this one turned out to be another Blitz, another loudmouthed impulse-driven comedy act, he might actually lose his mind.
He pushed the energy in. Invisible. Silent. No glow, no spark.
The watch didn't change on the outside. But through the AllSpark link, a new presence appeared in his mind.
"Commander, sir. Intelligence Officer Violet, reporting for duty."
The voice was female. And, more importantly, professional. Luck was on his side.
Kade blinked. Female?
Since when did robots have gender? Weren't Cybertronians supposed to reproduce asexually? He'd never seen a Transformer give birth, and he wasn't going to start imagining it now.
A dozen bizarre thoughts flickered through his mind and got dismissed just as fast. Didn't matter. What mattered was capability.
"Violet. Can you guarantee SHIELD won't detect the change?"
"Commander, please." Violet's tone was crisp, professional, faintly proud. "Not only can I maintain the watch's original functions to avoid suspicion, I can counter-infiltrate SHIELD's entire database. Everything they have will be open to you. They won't have a single secret from the Commander."
Jackpot.
SHIELD was the Marvel universe's only international intelligence organization. Backed by the most powerful governments, richest resources, most extensive spy network on the planet. If Violet could tap into that, it was practically a cheat code.
Compared to Blitz's role as frontline assault, Violet was going to be far more valuable. Before the real wars started, intelligence was worth more than firepower.
"Good. Standing assignment: filter everything passing through this watch to SHIELD. Nothing about Blitz, nothing about the AllSpark, nothing about my real capabilities gets through. Keep their feeds clean."
"Understood completely. Shall I also establish monitoring on specific individuals? I can leverage SHIELD's global intelligence network for surveillance and investigation on any target you designate."
"That's incredible. Violet, you're about a thousand times more reliable than Blitz."
"Thank you, Commander." A pause. Then, in a different register, warmer, a little theatrical: "Where the Commander's blade is pointed, there our hearts shall follow."
Kade frowned.
That line. Why did it sound so familiar? It had the cadence of something he'd heard before. A dramatic oath, the kind of thing a loyal retainer would swear in a video game or an anime. The phrasing was too specific to be original.
Wait. Is this girl a hardcore nerd?
PLZ Throw Powerstones.