Logs:Taking Initiative

Taking Initiative
Dramatis Personae Fury, Steve
In Absentia	2021-01-11 "Recent extraordinary events have highlighted the ways that S.H.I.E.L.D. may not always be nimble enough on an organizational level to deal with unprecedented and rapidly changing emergencies like a goddamned motherfucking hole in space-time."
Location <NYC> SHIELD HQ - Fitness Center - Times Square
The fitness center is an extensive complex adjoining medical, and all agents -- not just just those in Operations -- are encouraged to make use of it. There's an honestly over-stocked weight room, an entire room full of aerobic workout machines, not one but two pools -- one for exercise and the other for aquatherapy -- a few indoor ball courts, and several open studios for various kinds of martial arts. The one in which Steve is wrapping up his morning workout is set up as a boxing gym, but there's no one else here at this hour. He's dressed in a sleeveless gray athletic shirt, black athletic, blue and white sneakers, and even though he ran all the way here from Harlem at what for most humans would be a dead sprint, he has not broken a sweat nor is he breathing hard. He's been pounding away at a heavy, reinforced punching bag that S&T put together specially for him. It can usually take several sessions before needing repairs, assuming none of the hardware bolting it to the ceiling gives out. There wasn't anyone else here. The door opens to admit one Director Nicholas J. Fury, already looking bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and belligerent, though he isn't dressed for boxing. He's wearing his usual black dress shirt and black slacks under a dramatic long black coat that billows around him as he walks, and he carries an actual manilla folder under one arm. He stops a respectful distance from Steve and his punching back, watching speculatively. "Can we talk for a minute, Cap?" Steve's posture tenses when the door opens and does not relax when he sees who it is, the dart of his ice blue eyes sharp. He continues his relentless assault on his target, though, until Fury speaks. Then stops, puts out his left hand to steady the bag as it swings toward him. "I was about to say I'm not on the clock yet, but you don't pay me by the hour, so..." His shrug is noncommittal, but he does wander over towards Fury. He starts to unwind the careful, extensive wrapping around his right hand, but then stops. Drops both hands to his sides. "What can I do for you, Sir?" "If you want a time card, I'm sure it can be arranged." Fury's eye tracks Steve's hands momentarily before flicking up to his face. "Recent extraordinary events have highlighted the ways that S.H.I.E.L.D. may not always be nimble enough on an organizational level to deal with unprecedented and rapidly changing emergencies like a goddamned motherfucking hole in space-time." He holds the folder out for Steve, its unassuming tab bearing a rather grandiose title: "Avengers Initiative". Whether the man accepts it or not, he continues, "Now, this is just a brief overview. I'll have thorough documentation in your inbox by the time you're --" Fury's mouth twists wryly. "-- on the clock, and I can have a hardcopy sent over if you prefer." "You know, it may be surreal, but I think I'll stick with getting paid whether or not I actually come in." Steve arches a thick blond eyebrow at Fury and accepts the folder. His eyes skim over the first page inside once he flips it open, a furrow developing slowly between his eyes. "So, what is this, a sort of...more permanent version of my rift response team?" Fury crosses his arms once his hand is free, keenly watching Steve's expression as he reads. "I guess you could say it's something like that -- at least to begin with." His head inclines. "I want to leave some of the operational particulars up to you and the team. In there you'll find a list candidates we had in mind, but I want you to have the final say on who to recruit." Both of Steve's brows hike up when he reaches the list of candidates. "Some of these folks were already --" He breaks off, staring down at the name 'Anthony Stark'. Presses his lips together. Swallows hard. "What exactly are the qualifications for joining a team that exists expressly to save the world? Not knowing what to expect is kind of built into that mission." His frown deepens. "And would we answer to you -- to someone else in S.H.I.E.L.D.? To the World Security Council?" "I think we're looking less for specific qualifications than extreme competence useful against acute existential threats, an unshakable determination to fight for this world's future, and most importantly the ability to work with other similarly ludicrous motherfuckers." Fury shrugs, gesturing expansively at the folder. "S.H.I.E.L.D. will support you with materiel, personnel, and intelligence, but I want the Avengers to have as much autonomy as the Council will allow. I'll fight them tooth and nail for it." A kind of stillness settles over his posture -- as if a lifetime of military service simply will not permit him the slump his body wants. "There'll be a lot of figuring-out to do, but we need this to happen, Cap." Something in Fury's words or body language makes Steve look up, his expression still neutral and pensive but his eyes faintly startled. "Need," he echoes, just a touch skeptical. "Can't argue we need more ways to address potentially world-ending catastrophes. I suppose how is one of those things that need figuring out." His eyes flick down to the paper, then back up to Fury appraisingly. "You're handing me a lot of power here, Colonel." "We're not looking to assemble one team and solve all the world's problems," Fury points out. "There'll be emergencies well-suited to the Avengers' scope and others that aren't." His gaze softens for a rare, fleeting moment. "I can't imagine untangling those lines will be easy, but you'll have help -- from your own people." At this last not-exactly-question, Fury huffs a breath that might be a laugh coming from a man less gruff. "I am." As he starts turning to go, it seems for a moment he might not elaborate, but then, "There's no one else I'd trust with it."