Heroes Assemble!

The Price Of Freedom

Walking into the Headquarters of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division was child's play for Mage. He'd considered using a simple disillusionment spell, but it wasn't perfect and it was possible for others to see a slight distortion in the air as he moved. Therefore, he'd gone to his old reliable, the one thing that had never failed him: his dad's old invisibility cloak.

It was a wait of bare moments before he was able to board a lift, slipping carefully back into a corner and keeping himself as far from the Agent who he'd followed in as possible. Hill had warned him that every lift was equipped with pressure sensitive plates in the floor, able to calculate the exact weight of the occupants of the lift, helping to determine if there were unseen infiltrators.

A simple feather-weight charm applied to himself had taken care of that.

Mage was forced to ride the lift up and down for nearly twenty minutes, inadvertently visiting every floor bar the one that he wanted in that time. Finally, though, a trio of men, all bearing the green and yellow S.T.R.I.K.E. emblem on their left shoulders entered the lift and accessed the Insight Bay.

With a smug grin, Mage followed the trio out onto the main flight deck. There were dozens of men and women about, all scurrying in different directions, intent on whatever task needed to be done to prepare for the imminent launch of the three great helicarriers.

Seeing where he needed to be, Mage twisted on the spot, apparating straight up to the flight deck of his assigned target.

"I'm in," he stated quietly into his communication device.

ooo00ooo

"You know they're going to notice the giant stylized 'A' on the tail, don't you?" Maria Hill asked.

"Relax," Tony replied. "They'll see what they expect to see – a quinjet on approach to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s main headquarters."

"Unfortunately, Stark's right," Fury called from the pilot's seat. "We're not on an attack vector, nor are we coming in at an unusual approach angle. And this is the only quinjet in existence not owned by S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Roger," Captain America replied to Mage's call, one finger touching his ear bud.

"We're coming up on the drop zone," Black Widow warned.

In response, Iron Man flipped his visor down, activating the HUD and bringing his repulsars up to 'ready' status. The four infiltrators moved closer to the ramp, Widow and Hill, pulling their guns as they did so while Cap pulled his shield from his back and slid the strap onto his arm.

"Go! Go! Go!" Fury called.

Instantly, the ramp was lowered and the four dropped out of the hovering quinjet, landing on the helipad of S.H.I.E.L.D. Operations two metres below. As their ride veered away, the four hastened towards the nearby door.

"Be ready; I've just 'knocked'," Iron Man warned.

He was not a moment too soon as the door was opened in front of them. The eyes of the techie standing in front of them widened comically at the sight of them and his hands shot up.

"Excuse us," Cap said politely but forcefully.

ooo00ooo

"We really gonna need this stuff?" Rollins asked.

S.T.R.I.K.E. Team Leader, Brock Rumlow looked pointedly around the Armory that the Team was currently in as they readied their weapons. His gaze lingered on bruises and bandages and the way more than one of them was favouring an arm or leg.