Chapter Text
“So he is dangerous,” the councilwoman said.
“Anyone can be dangerous, councilor,” Fury said.
“Shield doesn’t consider drunk drivers dangerous, director.”
“It’s easy to think that, until you’re on the other side of that car.”
“He’s a lot stronger than a car, Director. And your report says that he has no intention of staying idle.”
Director Nick Fury sighed. The words ‘I am Iron Man’ had the world in a storm, Shield more than most, even if they tried to pretend other wise. It was a double edged sword, in Fury’s estimation. On one hand, the world was slowly filling up with people too strong for Shield to contain. On the other, a few of those people had benevolent intentions at least.
With Stark’s press conference stirring anything up, Shield was suddenly swarming like ants trying to re-evaluate everyone on its list of potential threats. Even Agents Barton and Romanov were off assignment for a short time and interviewed up and down before they were allowed to return. Fury had barely managed to stop an order to try and imprison Dr. Banner.
Now he had to try and stop them from going after Tony Stark himself.
“He’s too public now. Going after him will end up doing as much or even more damage as angering the Hulk,” Fury pointed out.
“There are ways to deal with him that are less… destructive.”
“Assassination,” Fury said, blandly, “You want to assassinate him just because you’re worried.”
“We have no idea that he’s going to do or how much more powerful that suit of his will get. He could reach beyond what we can handle.”
“Not if we prepare properly.”
She gave him a look. A look that said all too clearly ‘you’re planning something you don’t think we’re going to like’. Well it was true.
“A long time ago I proposed something,” he began.
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Link looked up at the surface of the water. Three days he’d been down in the sea without coming up to the surface. He’d been longer, but it was much more tiring to live down here. For one thing, it was nearly impossible to eat. The item he’d only barley rescued from the Curse of Decay months ago had turned out to be a Water Dragon’s Scale. With it on him, his lungs could pull the oxygen from water as easily as air as well as protected him from the water pressure, but it didn’t solve every problem with trying to explore underwater.
Again, trying to eat was a problem. He might be able to go a week with only one good rest and six square meals, but when he could get neither the time until he had to go back to the surface was drastically reduced. The other was how slow he moved. He had two options when in the water: swimming or walking on the bottom. Both presented problems.
Swimming was faster, technically. It made him tired and hungry a good deal faster though, and there were dangers to just free swimming in the Mediterranean. Walking way much, much slower. Even though the Scale protected him from the water pressure, it didn’t stop the much greater density of the water at the bottom, so walking through it was slow, if less tiring overall. Plus there was the matter of how he stayed on the bottom.
His memories called them Iron Boots, though they certainly weren’t iron, Hylian Steel more than likely. An odd and rare metal originally crafted by the Thunder Dragon, Lanayru, for an indestructible shield. Over the years Hylians had figured out how to make it. Though Link had never been a blacksmith to his memories, he knew it was an alloy of some kind. At any rate, they were far far heavier than iron would’ve been, and slowed his progress underwater a little more.
Which, of course, meant that he couldn’t really find a way to get to where he needed to go. That directional sense of his was clearly pointed to a certain point at the bottom of the Mediterranean, but he couldn’t find the way down to it without already being at his limit when he got there. Well, short of hiring a boat to direct him to the place he needed, tell them to head on home, and dive down to the bottom of the sea never to return, but he was trying not to attract more attention than he already had.
Link sighed and bent over to remove his Iron Boots and swim back to shore to eat and get some rest, if he couldn’t think of something soon, he’d have to hire someone anyway. The first thing he’d done after discovering his latest ability was to check on the Curse of Decay, and had found it completely dead. Trapped inside a single huge boulder at the bottom of the ocean, it had had nowhere to go and nothing to consume. It had pulled all the energy it could from its surroundings, but it couldn’t consume water and sand was too loose. It was already broken up, nothing for the Curse to continue on.
Reaching the surface and swimming back to shore was a quick matter. He’d only been down there to practice underwater swordplay this time and think about the problem of how to continue, so he hadn’t traveled far.
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“He’s back again, what do you think he’s looking for?” Agent Grady asked.
“Who knows man, maybe Atlantis,” answered Agent Cambell.
Those two had gotten less… wary of Link after he’d saved them from the explosion the lava monster had caused. Far too relaxed, in Hill’s estimation. The boy had saved their lives, true, but his real motivations and exact limits were still complete unknowns. Still, the Atlantis joke was funny, but Hill never let such things show on her face.
“You think there’s a prestructure down there, and he’s looking for it?” Grady asked.
“Really? He’s been taking dives into the sea for three months and you just now thought of that?” Cambell said mockingly.
“Not just now, but like, if he doesn’t know where it is, how does he know that there is one? The theory has some holes, that’s why I didn’t bring it up,” he said, defensively.
It was certainly one problem in the long list of problems and questions surrounding Link. It spoke volumes that no one had been surprised when he’d just decided one day to walk right into the sea and prove he could breathe underwater, or maybe just hold his breath for up to four days.
“Why couldn’t be breathe underwater before?” Cambell asked.
The question startled Hill, “What?”
“Well, if he could always breathe underwater, why take such roundabout routes to the places he’s been?”
Hill considered, “Why doesn’t he ever stay longer than four days? If he’s looking for something, a prestructure or anything else, why not stay down there until he’s found it?”
“Food,” Grady said.
Hill looked at him, “What?”
Grady looked at them like they were stupid, “Every time he comes out he goes directly to a restaurant. He can’t stay longer because that’s when he gets hungry. It’s pretty hard to eat underwater.”
“That still doesn’t explain why he couldn’t go underwater before,” Cambell asked, though she sounded as miffed as Hill felt that he’d understood that so easily compared to them.
That gave him pause, “I’m… not certain about this one but… ever seen Indiana Jones?”
“What about it?” they asked in unison.
“Well, I’m not suggesting that he’d having to deal with traps or anything but… he must be the first person to enter a prestructure in… millions of years? Maybe he’s picking up these crazy powers as he goes? Learning magic or getting items? Weren’t there several empty chests in the Valley of Kings?”
“You think he’s just… picking up powers as he goes?” Hill asked.
“It fits the facts a bit better than the other theories, though it doesn’t account for everything we’ve seen.” Cambell pointed out.
Hill nodded, “Ok, I’ll add the idea to the list. It might mean he’ll get more difficult to confront if he ever presents a problem.”
The other two didn’t seem that happy with her assessment of the theory, which was odd, considering she’d agreed that it was a possibility.
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In the end, Link hired a boat. He was getting tired of waiting around for some genius idea to come to him, or some perfect set of circumstances to appear. Whatever oddness the ship’s captain would see, it was nothing his ever-present stalkers hadn’t seen before. And though the man would tell odd tales, most would write them off.
The captain had been paid well, of course. A little extra for silence about what Link was going to do, that he wouldn’t really get but would hopefully limit the spreading of tales to the next night at the pub. Link wasn’t too happy with the way this would look, as it would inevitably be seen as a suicide, but he couldn’t really tell the man anything else.
“Slow down please” he said to the captain, “We’re getting close.”
“Close to what? How do you tell? As far as I do see, you’re do no be using any instruments,” the elderly man asked, though he did slow down as requested.
“There’s a ruin of some kind down there,” Link said, truthfully, “And it’s calling to me.”
“Fine, do no tell me, no one do be list’nin' to the old captain anyway.”
Link smiled, “If you’d told me there was a storm today and it would be a bad idea to come out, I would listen. But I’m the one who knows our heading, and unfortunately I don’t have coordinates for you. Just a sense of what direction and how far.
“You do be an odd one, kid. You do no even have any divin' gear, what you gonna do when we get to this ruin?”
Link considered how to answer for a moment, but eventually said: “There’s always a way forward, and always a way out.”
“That do be some optimistic thinkin', lad. But, I suppose you do no be livin' long on the sea if you do give up easily. Whoever told you that do probably be a wise man.”
Link shook his head, “That’s just experience talking, captain. I’ve seen enough to come to that conclusion myself.”
“Most people do become more cynical as they get older and you do be still a kid. Give it time, you will be doubin' yourself on this eventually.”
“Some people live more in twenty years than other do in eighty. It’s not the time that matters, it’s the person.”
“More sixteen-year-old experiences talking, lad?”
Link laughed, “Nope, that one was Doctor Who.”
The captain laughed, but Link had to signal to stop the boat, he could feel he was right on top of his destination.
“What’s the way forward this time?” the captain asked.
“Down,” Link said, standing on the side of the boat and pulling out the Iron Boots.
The captain saw the boots and looked confused, but he nodded, “And how are you goin' to get back up to me? There do be no way you can survive down there, especially not with how fast those will drag you down.”
“I won’t be coming back up for a while captain. I suggest you head home and forget me. I’ll find some way home. My people have a way of coming through for me or, at least, Fate or… something. Anyway I always find what I need to keep going.”
“Wait kid, you do no be thinkin’-“
Link ignored him and dropped into the water, letting the Iron Boots drag him down to his destination, letting his dragon scale protect him from the perils of the sea.
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“Why do you think I have you on this detail?” The director asked.
“I’m not sure, sir,” Agent Hill answered, truthfully.
“Because you need to learn to look at bigger pictures. You’re good in a crisis, you react quickly and effectively, but you rarely see beyond the moment,” he explained.
They were on a call, Hill had turned in her latest report, where she’d explained again why she thought Shield needed to make its mind up regarding Link, along with notifying that he’d just gone and dived into the middle of the Mediterranean with no known destination or goal.
Link had commissioned a boat, which was by far the most reckless thing he’d done since they’d started following him over half a year ago. Fortunately the old captain had decided he’d accidentally brought a crazy kid, who somehow thought he’d survive the sea. When Link hadn’t come back up, the man had poured one out for him (apparently he’d made an impression) and went back home.
Hill knew better. The kid could lift a column of ice and lava that must’ve weighed over 200 tons, survive the heat of an active volcano apparently unaided, and run faster than any sprinting man for hours. If the kid decided to hop in the middle of the Mediterranean for a week or so, he could. The rules didn’t apply to him, and Hill was getting tired of feeling like she was the only person who got past being awed and looked at the risk.
She refocused on the conversation at hand, she had to impress the danger. Then, suddenly, her mind registered what Director Fury had said. She had been placed her to learn how to look at the big picture. She reexamined the months she’d spent trailing Link. He was powerful, which translated as dangerous in Shield’s eyes, but where had he directed that power?
He’d killed huge scorpions back in the Valley of Kings. He’d presumably fought those… hooded things back on Stromboli and he’d fought and killed that lava monster. So far, that was i t. That they knew about. There was nothing Hill could learn from all that.
Think bigger. Shield didn’t know a thing about Link’s motives. So… Shield’s needs? Even assuming Link was entering prestructures at every stop Shield would have a nearly impossibly hard time following him. Then it clicked.
“The Avengers Initiative,” she said aloud, and Fury nodded.
“I need you to evaluate him differently going forward, agent. How likely is he to react calmly to being approached, how likely is he to be willing to help. How likely is he to be an ally.
“Yes sir,” Hill said.
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Giovanni’s ship rocked as the next large wave smashed into it, but he held her steady. For the umpteenth time he cursed himself for a fool for heading out in this storm. It was just… it all made sense, and no sense at all.
That kid had been so certain, and he’d been no fool. A little optimistic but no fool. Yet he’d said there were ruins at the bottom of the sea, and hopped in the water, wearing metal shoes, with zero thought for the certain death that would mean for anyone.
Giovanni had been confused beyond belief, but he’d seem one or two mysteries he knew he’d never get the answer to. He’d been willing to write it off and live his life. Then those people had showed up looking for the kid. Normally he’d have told them it wasn’t their business… but the kid had to be dead. He’d told them the story.
“He jumped into the sea with metal boots on, after leading you to a specific place?” the man had asked.
“That’s right sir, I’m sorry. I do no know what he be thinking but… I’m sorry. If I did known I wouldn’t have taken him.”
“Where… where did you take him?” The woman asked.
She was pretty, blond. You didn’t see a lot of blond girls save tourists, and most tourists didn’t come out here. He’d never married, figured that would happen sooner or later and that he should have fun with a few people first while he was still young. Then suddenly he’d been an old ship’s captain and single. Funny how that had worked.
“I recorded the coordinates, not that it do you much good. That part be deep.”
The people had wanted them anyway. But the interesting part had been just after when he’d said: “I do no know what you do be wanted with these, he do be dead, unless you be payin' respects?”
“Don’t worry sir, we just wanna see what he found,” the man had said.
And that was what had prompted Giovanni to come out her despite the storm today. That had happened days ago, but it had stuck in his mind all that time. Never once did they agree with him that the kid had to be dead. And they’d known him. Everything lined up: the kid’s attitude and those people’s dodging around the word.
The world seemed to be telling Giovanni that kid was alive, when everything the world have ever taught him before told him the kid should be dead, drowned and crushed by the water pressure. A lightning bolt flashing overhead reminded him that world also wanted him dead. A storm out here was not the place for his tiny ship. He was nearing his destination, but the waves were getting stronger, taller.
“It do be just a litter further ol’ girl!” he yelled, prayed really, “Hold together!”
There was something in the water. He thought it was broken wood, was there someone else out here in this? He strained his eyes against the darkness, fortunately age had not attacked them yet, but it was still pitch black anywhere his ship’s light did not directly shine. There was a thump on the side of the ship and Giovanni looked but saw nothing. There was a huge wave coming, it would capsize him for sure!
A shape blasted out of the water just in front of him! It wasn’t in the light but it looked like a dolphin with the way it’s arched and dove back in. It broke the surface again between the wave and Giovanni only this time it was clearly a man’s shape. There was a brilliant green light and the wave broke! The whole thing collapsed down, covering the massive hole in the wave than had been there less than a second!
The man’s form fell back into the sea, but a moment later he saw it jumping like a dolphin again out of the water and right onto his ship. It was the kid himself. Sitting on both knees, soaked to the bone, wearing a sword and shield on his back, and bleeding from his right shoulder as he was: there could be no doubt.
“You bein' all right, lad!?” Giovanni yelled.
“Yeah! Let’s get back to shore!”
Giovanni yelled affirmation, there would be time for explanations later, and turned the ship around.
“Was someone else out here!?” the kid asked.
“I do no be knowin', but there do be broke wood floatin’ out here!”
The kid nodded and started staring out into the storm, looking for signs of life, no doubt.
“Can you be brakin' anymore waves like that last one!?” Giovanni yelled, spotting another giant. Seriously, was this a hurricane?
The kid turned, saw the massive wave coming at them, and pulled an odd kind of wand from seemingly nowhere. The thing had two long leaves stretching out to either side from the tip. The kid waited for what he must have known to be the right moment and directed a massive and destructive blast of glowing green wind right at the wave. It broke again, but differently, and this time a smaller wave actually propelled the ship forwards some more.
They still had hours to go, but the storm wasn’t moving in the same direction as them. At one point the kid dived off the side again and dragged aboard a half-drowned man he’d spotted somehow. The kid broke a few more waves with that magic of his (when he thought about it it really was the only way to make sense of his surviving this long), but eventually the storm left them, raging along a different path.
Giovanni sat down, finally able to take his hands of the wheel briefly.
The kid came over and held out a hand, “My name’s Link, Captain.”
Giovanni took it, “Giovanni.”
“How’d you know?”
“I did no know nothin', but something did be buggin’ me about it all. You were so certain and those guys askin’ not seemin’ like they did be thinkin’ you dead, I did decide to be out here before I did remember the storm.”
Link nodded, “Fate, remember? Things work out. There stuff I gotta do, so I can’t die out here. There’s always a way provided, so long as you look for it and grab it.”
“I do lad, that I do,” he said tiredly, then he asked: “I do no suppose you can be teachin’ me any of that magic?”
The kid, Link, laughed and Giovanni laughed with him.