London - Camelot SHIELD Base (11/20/97)

[Hollywood Heidi]

Camelot SHIELD Base

Camelot is a newly built SHIELD base to act as the HQ for London. It is situated beneath Covent Garden and is adjacent to the Underground station there. It's main purposes are communication, R&D and to assist with SHIELD agents in the field throughout Europe.

[wesleybucks]

The elevator moaned and churned it’s gears as it descended into darkness. The noise of busy Covent Gardens was soon left behind along with the grey morning sky. Nick sipped miserably at his hot chocolate from a Styrofoam cup. He couldn’t wait to get the hell out of the UK with its grim weather and insistence on providing inadequate cups for his morning hot chocolate. There wasn’t even any milk in it. No wonder everyone in this country seemed to have a permanent scowl on their face. The elevator finally came to a halt, jerking itself into place and almost causing Nick to lose his balance. How could it already be faulty? It had only been constructed 8 months ago. The metal doors slid open to reveal the hub of SHIELD’s London headquarters, currently named Camelot. He had been assigned to oversee it’s final stages of construction by the Director himself. Apparently it was a situation that required an experienced eye. Nick absentmindedly scratched his eyepatch. He’d been wearing it for almost two years and still was not used to it’s presence on his face. Rumors had spread like wildfire regarding it’s origin. Some people claimed the KGB had captured him and tortured him for information that he refused to give. Others believed he had fallen in love with a double agent who had stabbed him when he betrayed her. Some reports even mentioned shape shifting aliens but of course, who would believe something like that?


Nick made his way through the hub, nodding every now and then to folks that wished him a good morning. A radio playing on someone's desk informed him that it was the Queen of England's Golden Wedding Anniversary. An American through and through, Nick had very little interest in the monarchy and kept moving through the office. He’d been told that the foundations for Camelot had been a section of the London Underground that hadn’t been in use since WW2. He could believe it. For a base that had only been open for business for a handful of weeks, it looked…rustic. Stone and brick as far as the eye could see. That of course was eye, singular.


This was the first base of operations in London for SHIELD. In the past, the closest base had been the Isle of Man. A strange place. Nick had only been there once and had vowed never to return. Now that the London branch was open, it was staffed mainly by recruits from all over Europe with some American senior management from SHIELD bases that had been established for some time. MI5 had also loaned them agents and resources. Their liaison, Henry Carlton, was the current bane in Nick’s life. His upper lip was so stiff Nick wouldn’t be shocked to find it was made from concrete. The man had a stick so far up his ass that his moustache could easily be mistaken for leaves. Nick turned a corner and opened the door to his cupboard of an office to see Henry standing there. Goddamit.


“Nice of you to join us Nicholas…”


“It’s Fury. Agent Fury if you really want to impress me.”


Henry’s thick eyebrows drew together in a frown. However, before he could answer, he was interrupted. There were two others in the room. One was an elderly man, Nick guessed mid to late 70s, who was wearing a pale blue suit from which poked out a pair of wrinkly, mole ridden hands that clutched tightly onto a cigar and a file of papers. He had seen him before at past meetings with British Intelligence. He seemed to be a man of some importance. Gregory? Geoffrey maybe?


The other person in the room as a woman with jet black hair which matched her pant suit and blouse. Her dark eyes followed Nick into the room with a certain curiosity. It was the elderly man however that interrupted.


“Please gentlemen, we really don’t have the time for you two to have yet another pissing contest. I’ve set up this meeting to discuss an issue of grave importance that requires all three of your talents.”


The man paused to stick the cigar between his teeth. He laid out the file on Nick’s desk, splaying out several pages. Everyone in the room gathered around to look upon the contents. The man coughed and spluttered out some smoke before continuing.


“These files contain information that our agents have gathered from several operations that have taken place in Croatia, Romania and Egypt. An ex-MI6 demolitions specialist named Lancaster Sneed went missing back in ’93 during an infiltration mission in Cairo. Most of his unit were killed in an explosion whilst attempting to kidnap the leader of a terrorist cell. Sneed was assumed dead and that was the end of that. However, back in March of this year, Sneed reared his head again. It appears, and we have no idea how, but he has become the leader of said terrorist cell and was raining havoc upon several Croatian cities. Since he went dark, Sneed has somehow gained some unique and supernatural abilities. He can create and manipulate electricity and use it to an extraordinary effect.”


He pointed at several photos in the file. One was of a large train station that appeared to be being struck by several lightning bolts. The other was of a large building that almost looked like a palace, completely ablaze and with one half in ruins.


“Each of you have some experience dealing with beings that display such powers…”


At that moment, Henry interrupted, slamming his hands onto the desk. The newton’s cradle Nick kept there shook violently. Nick raised an eyebrow. He'd remember that.


“Well I swear by Queen and Country that we shall not stand for it. Point us at the bally creature and we’ll be more than happy to take him down.”


“Thank you Mr Carlton but that will not be necessary. We already have him.”


Both Nick and the woman standing next to him smiled at the deflated look on Henry’s face. The old man continued.


“He is on route to this facility as we speak and will be here at 1300 hours where our tech boys will start an analysis. I need you three to oversee everything and should the need arise…well, how did you put it Mr Carlton? Put him down.”


At that, the man took several more puffs of his cigar and gestured to the woman standing to the side, smiling to herself.


“This is Ms Kymberly Taylor, British Intelligence. She was essential during the incident with Dolly the Sheep last year and the following attacks in Lisburn. Henry Carlton here is the man that famously managed to stop Mr Tornado from destroying Buckingham Palace in ’94. And of course, Nicholas Fury is the man on loan from SHIELD US that was a key part of halting the Kree bombings back in ’95. Now, get to work.”


The man then waddled out of the office, calling back to them as he went.


“A team will be along at 1700 to collect Sneed and take him elsewhere for his interrogation. I trust you’ll manage the situation until then? Good morning.”


With that, he was gone and Nick was left alone in his small, now smoky office with a stranger and an asshole.

[wesleybucks]

Kymberly, Henry and Fury were standing in a line at the intake point. In silence. Henry was deeply concentrating on his Motorola and cursing under his breath when he lost his many games of snake. Why Henry even had the phone down here was beyond Fury. Could he even get single this far below ground? Fury turned to Kymberly who casually smiled at him.


“What do you think we can expect from Sneed? Have you faced anyone with energy projection before?”


Fury smiled to himself at the question as he thought of Danvers.


“Not anything like Sneed. I think the most dangerous thing he’ll have to offer is how personal he’s going to find this. He has connections to these people. He wont be happy.”


Kymberly looked back to the closed elevator doors in front of them and nodded in silent agreement. Fury checked his wristwatch. They were two minutes late. That was enough to make him nervous. He turned to face the 12 soldiers behind them armed with rifles. As his mouth opened to make some sarcastic remark about time keeping, the elevator doors slid open with a pinging sound. Surrounded by more armed soldiers, there was Sneed. He was a thin man. Painfully thin. He had a receding hairline that seemed to be fleeing his sallow and pale face and was wearing the usual prisoner garb of an orange jumpsuit. His hands were handcuffed behind his back and he was wearing oversized gloves that almost resembled oven mitts. Fury assumed they were there to prevent him using his abilities. Sneed glanced at Kymberly as he was led past them. He had the look of a forlorn beagle.
If you didn't know about the destruction he'd caused and the lives he'd taken, you could've almost felt sorry for him.

The small army that had seemingly assembled now escorted Sneed through the facility and to the cells. The cells had four walls of thick, solid concrete and one of steel that had the doors built into them with a port hole. The cells were relatively simple and uninviting. No windows and the only light source was when the port hole in the door was opened. There was a stone bed jutting out of the wall and a bucket. It was not a place anyone would want to find themselves. Sneed was dropped inside and the door slammed shut behind him. The soldiers dissipated until all that remained were two that guarded the cell door. Fury, Kymberly and Henry stood before them. Kymberly glanced at Fury with the hint of a smile.

"You wanna talk to Sneed first or shall I?"

"Neither of you will be talking to Sneed."

Fury and Kymberly turned to Henry who was giving them one of his best indignant glares before he continued to berate his peers.

"All we have to do is to make sure that nobody frees him. That's it. No confrontations. No chance for anyone to explain their 'evil' plan. Nothing. Got it?"

Kymberly rolled her eyes and gave him a "Whatever" in return. Fury continued to stare back at Henry for several more moments, scratched his chin, gave a sniff and then stepped forwards to the cell door. As Henry tried to splutter some form of protest behind him, Fury gave the guards a nod. They entered a code onto a keypad behind them and the door hissed open. Fury, closely followed by Kymberly, stepped into the cell.

Sneed was sat cross-legged on the floor. His hands were still cuffed and in the gloves. He looked up to them with large, sad eyes full of despair. Fury did not feel even a hint of sympathy. Kymberly sat down on the uncomfortable bed whilst Fury remained standing. Henry clearly had not wanted to enter the cell as the guards sealed the door shut again. Fury squatted down to match Sneed's height and stared directly at him, their faces inches apart.

"You've caused a great deal of trouble for a great many people Mr Sneed."

"My name...is Shockwave."

Sneed had responded with barely a whisper.

"You'll have to speak up Mr Sneed. Explain yourself."

"I said, my name. Is. Shockwave."

"Oh I apologise Mr SHOCKWAVE. I didn't realise I was speaking to a Superhero. Is your butler coming with your suit? Is Flash Gordon coming to help you? Perhaps you even have Captain America waiting in the wings."

Fury gave Kymberly a grin and rolled his eye. She did not return his smile. Instead, her jaw was clenched tightly shut. Her pistol aimed at Fury's face. Fury slowly stood up straight, his hands raised in the air.

"Agent Taylor, put the gun away. There's no need to..."

"I'm not a superhero puny man."

Sneed was now smiling up at Fury, still sat on the ground. Sparks were now flying from beneath the gloves. One crackled outwards and snapped the handcuffs in half.

"In fact, I'd say I was quite the opposite."

A burst of crackling energy ripped apart the gloves and hurtled forwards. It slammed into Fury and lifted him off the ground. He slammed into the cell door with a thud. Winded, Fury slid to the ground trying to catch his breath. The door was hauled open and the two guards charged in, rifles drawn. Two gunshots. Just two. The guards collapsed beside Fury with bullet holes in their foreheads. Kymberly's gun was still smoking as she stepped over Fury with Sneed in tow.

"Wait. Agent...Taylor...stop"

Fury wheezed after them. More gunshots rang out. Fury could hear Henry shouting but couldn't make out the words. Hauling himself to his feet and drawing his gun, Fury took several deep breaths. He could feel that his chest would have some impressive bruises but it wasn't the time to worry about that. Fury ran out of the cell and followed the sound of gunfire. He turned into another hallway. The lights were flickering and the ceiling panels were dotted all over the floor along with several bodies. Shit.

Fury rain into the hub to see a warzone. Soldiers were at the far end of the room near to the elevator. They were all armed with assault rifles and sending bullets ripping through the air. Office staff were screaming under their desks. The alarm bells were now ringing to a deafening degree. Kymberly was behind a pillar, now holding a much larger gun that was firing what appeared to be bolts of green plasma across the room. Sneed was in the center and was a sight to behold. Electricity was ricocheting all around him and waves of almost translucent energy were stopping bullets in midair. The metal desk chairs were starting to rise from the floor and Fury could feel the hair on his arms standing to attention. Sneed was laughing and saying something but it was being lost over the alarms. Sneed extended his arms at the soldiers and a literal bolt of lightning roared forth. The sound was deafening and the light was blinding. Fury reeled back from the room holding his eye for a couple of seconds before looking back. The alarm had stopped. The soldiers were gone. Whether they had fled or been atomized, Fury didn't know. All he could see was Kymberly and Sneed sprinting through the hub. He stepped into the room, gun aimed and opened his mouth to shout.

"DON'T MOVE."

Fury looked to see who else had called out instead. Henry had emerged from beneath a desk and was holding a glowing yellow rifle. Sneed and Kymberly both stopped and turned to him smiling.

"You're a brave man to stand up to me. That or a fool. But then I suppose, does it really m..."

Before Sneed could finish, Henry fired. A bolt of neon yellow smothered Sneed who began writhing in agony. Everyone in the room, including Henry, seemed surprised it had worked. Henry spotted Fury standing at the far end of the room and gave him a thumbs up. That was when Kymberly shot Henry in the chest. Henry was flung backwards, crashing over a desk and onto the ground. The yellow rifle clattered to the floor and Sneed was freed from it's beam.

"MOVE!"

Sneed's screech to Kymberly seemed to work as they both fled. Fury fired two shots, both missing them as they left the hub, sprinting towards the elevator. Fury ran across the room and to Henry's side. Fury knelt beside him and lifted his head. Henry spluttered in pain. A large puddle of blood was already around Henry on the floor. His shirt was soaked. Henry looked up to Fury, fear in his eyes.

"I...I think I've been shot. I'm...I'm sorry..."

And with that he died. It had all happened so quickly Fury hadn't even been able to comfort him. That was it. He was dead. Fury silently bid the man farewell then was on his feet running from the room. Fury reached the elevators as the door was pinging open. Fury fired four shots at the pair standing ready to enter. The waves of energy around Sneed caught the bullets. Sneed spat in rage and fired the bullets back. Fury hit the ground. Three of the bullets missed and tore into the brick wall behind him. One however sliced across his upper right arm, tearing through jacket and skin. Fury instinctively covered the wound with his hand as it started to bleed. Sneed took hold of a control panel beside the elevator and shouted out to Fury.

"This foul place you have constructed shall be your tomb. Think on your sins."

Energy rippled into the panel and every light in the base immediately flickered out. The only one that remained was the one in the elevator that Kymberly and Sneed were now inside. Sneed had somehow isolated the elevator's power but cut everything else. Sneed threw Fury a toothy grin before the elevator doors slid shut and the base was consumed in darkness.

[wesleybucks]

Small, distant fires were burning in various locations in the underground base. They were the only sources of light as Fury leaned hard against the wall to help himself stand and could see the scenes of chaos and destruction before him. Bodies littered the ground and there were cries of pain and anguish from all sides. Fury stumbled his way over to the closed elevator doors, shaking his head slightly to rid himself of the ringing in his ears. Slamming his thumb on various buttons on the elevator's panel, the doors refused to respond and remained shut tight. Dammit. The only element of luck on their side was that Sneed had blasted power from the base. Despite this meaning they were essentially sealed in with no power and a dwindling air supply, the elevator would be running on emergency power. It would be taking them much longer than usual to reach the surface.

Fury turned into the central hub and hopped over some toppled desks with cracked computer screens. His chest hurt as he landed. So much so he had to grab it and pause for a second. That energy blast Sneed had hit him with was powerful. Far too powerful. They had been woefully unprepared for what Sneed's capabilities were.

Fury reached Henry's body and searched around it until he found Henry's flip-phone. In the past, it had given Fury no end of frustration. Henry's constant habit of always having his phone by his side to play snake or read texts from his ageing mother had incensed Fury in the past but now he wished Henry was alive to be praised. Due to Henry always wanting to get messages, even when deep underground in the Camelot base, he'd requested the tech team to enhance the phone. They'd fitted it with a design called 4G, an enhanced 4G at that specifically designed for underground use. Apparently this was years if not decades ahead of it's time. It meant Fury could send a text up to the small unit of soldiers stationed above them in Covent Gardens. Fury then picked up the yellow rifle from the ground and inspected it. Henry had used it to an astonishingly successful degree against Sneed. Although Fury couldn't tell the exact details, it appeared to be a concussive energy blast with the ability to cancel out magnetic fields. Due to how well the rifle had worked, Fury decided that magnetic fields must be related to the source of Sneed's abilities.

Fury gave one final nod to his fallen colleague and returned to the elevator doors. Firing up the rifle, Fury sent a blast of neon yellow light straight ahead of him. The room was momentarily illuminated before the doors were ripped open and send crashing to the ground. Slinging the rifle over his shoulder, Fury leapt into the elevator shaft and onto the ladder on it's far side. Slamming his elbow into a small glass case, he hit the emergency recall button. The ladder then began to ascend the shaft at an increasing speed and Fury along with it.

Fury flew upwards before the ladder began to slow it's climb. The elevator was now directly above him at the ground level. Fury estimated that it could not have been there long. With gritted teeth from the pain in his chest, Fury climbed up the ladder, over the elevator and onto it's roof where he could kick the vent open and hop into the elevator itself. The doors were indeed open and Fury could see the shop it opened out into. Two soldiers lay dead on the ground, still sparking occasionally with energy. Gunfire could be heard outside of the shop in the busy centre of Covent Gardens. Fury crouched by a window and dialed a number into Henry's phone. 8 soldiers were still alive outside and were hidden behind various sources of cover, all whilst shooting at Sneed who stood right in the open, waves of energy peeling off him and smashing into the surrounding buildings. Crowds of screaming civilians were pouring out of Covent Gardens, trying to escape the scene. Fury couldn't see Kymberly but knew she must be near by. Finally, Fury heard someone answer the phone. Dr Katherine Waynesboro spoke down the phone in her usual calm and collected manner. She hadn't been a SHIELD agent for a long time but Fury knew that she was good friends with Bethany Pierce. A friendship he would need to exploit.

"Henry, I told you to only call this number when..."

"Katherine, it's me."

There was silence on the line. Sneed fired a blast wave and sent two soldiers soaring into the air.

"Nick...how...where's Henry?"

"There's no time. I need you to contact Bethany Pierce and get her to contact her father. I need an immediate drop of Class A weaponry and from the Omega vault. It needs to be dropped directly into Trafalgar Square, London."

"Nick...what are you talking about? I can't ask Bethany to tell her..."

"People are dying Katherine. It's a situation becoming impossible to contain. We're talking potential 0-8-4 but in a person displaying enhancements. This is getting to beyond even Los Angeles levels. Katherine...I need you."

There was another brief pause on the line.

"Understood. Get to Trafalgar Square and I'll get you your drop."

Fury folded the flip-phone and put it in his pocket. Glancing out the window again, he could see the bodies of another three soldiers lying still on the ground. He could now see Kymberly. She was the other side of the large square and was holding a gun to a taxi driver. The driver was opening the car door to step out. Now was the time. Fury pushed himself forwards and ran out of the shop. Swinging the yellow rifle from his shoulder and into his hands, Fury fired at Sneed. The sickly yellow beam hit Sneed and engulfed him. No longer able to hover, Sneed fell to the ground, roaring in anger. Still running towards Kymberly, Fury continued to send the yellow beam directly into a shrieking Sneed.

"YOU DARE? YOU DARE!?!"

Fury was only a few paces from the taxi when a red light began to flash on the rifle. Power low. Motherfu...
The beam fizzled out of existence. Sneed climbed back to his feet, his eyes narrow and cold. Fury dropped the rifle, drew his pistol and turned away from Sneed. The taxi driver was now out the car and Kymberly was climbing into the driver's seat. Fury slammed himself against the still open door, sending it smashing into Kymberly's right leg that was still out the car. She screamed in pain, dropping her gun onto the ground beside the car. The taxi driver ran away screaming as Sneed fired two energy blasts which sailed close by to the taxi. Fury forced Kymberly into the back of the taxi and clambered into the driver's seat. Slamming his foot on the accelerator, the taxi leapt forwards and out of Covent Garden. Looking in the rear view mirror, Fury could see Sneed was giving chase. Good. All he needed to do was to get to Trafalgar Square in one piece and hope Katherine could get him what he needed.

[wesleybucks]

"You don't understand Nick. How could you?"

Fury span the steering wheel, sending the taxi screeching into a sharp left turn. A bolt of energy ripped through the road where the car had been moments ago. Sneed was clearly still on their tail. Fury glanced into the rear view mirror to see Kymberly was now sat upright in the back of the taxi, nursing her leg and talking to him through her tears.

"Well maybe try and make me understand. Make me understand why you just helped that man murder god knows how many agents and innocent civilians?"

Fury turned the wheel hard again. This time it was to avoid a head on collision with a startled looking driver speeding towards him in a small mini cooper. Dammit. He really had to remember to drive on the left side of the road. Making yet another turn down yet another road, Fury silently prayed that he was heading the right way. Usually his sense of direction was impeccable but he couldn't deny it was a stressful situation.

"He's a complicated man Nick. He's been experimented on. Tortured. By SHIELD scientists no less."

"That's impossible. SHIELD would never do something like that."

"You're so sure? You can honestly say to me that you trust every single scientist that works for SHIELD? Nick, SHIELD hired Hydra scientists after World War Two for Christ's sake."

Slamming down the accelerator, the taxi left the ground for a brief moment as it leapt over a small roundabout. Crashing back onto the ground again, Fury couldn't help but grin at the yelp of pain that rang out from the back seat.

"That was half a century ago. Are you saying that those scientists are still alive and kicking?"

"Of course not. All I mean is, SHIELD doesn't always hire do-gooders. Look at yourself for example."

Fury flashed her another look in the mirror.

"Oh, real charming."

Another energy blast from Sneed crackled past them, this time hitting a phone box that seemed to detonate in a shower of sparks and scraps of metal. Fury turned the car once again and smiled. Dead ahead of them was Trafalgar Square. The public square stood by the busy road with it's large fountains, menacing lion statues and Nelson's Column, a 52 meter high plinth with some British Admiral on top. Nelson presumably.

"Nick please. Sneed is as much a victim here as anyone else."

"He's killed people Kymberly. There have to be consequences for that."

"Just let me talk to him. I can convince him to stand down. I've known him for years. I infiltrated Camelot just to have the chance to see him again. I love him Nick."

Nick rolled his eye. She had to be kidding. He opened his mouth to reply with some sarcastic comment when something in the sky caught his eye. A metal tube several meters long was soaring down. It was shining a bright red beam of light onto part of Trafalgar Square. The crowd of people there seemed to have spotted it too as were scattering. The tube smashed into the ground with an almighty bang. Good. Clearly Katherine had come through for him. The drop had arrived. As they closed in on the square, Fury turned back to address his passenger.

"When we get there, stay in the car. I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire. I don't want to kill Sneed but if he puts any more lives at risk, I'm not go..."

"NICK WATCH OUT!"

It felt like time slowed to almost a complete halt. Kymberly's face was frozen in a contorted scream as she pointed to the front of the taxi. Fury turned to follow her finger. An energy beam had slammed into a flashy looking red sports car with such force that it had been flipped upwards off the road. Spinning through the air, it was heading directly for them. Fury pulled the wheel as far as it could go to the left. The taxi screeched to the side. It was too late. The sports car crashed into them with sounds of scraping metal. The taxi joined the sports car in leaving the ground and turning in mid-air too. Fury was unconscious by the time the taxi had flipped for the third time.