Beneath the Surface
The location was invisible from above — a decommissioned underground silo, repurposed years ago by Tony Stark during one of his bouts of constructive paranoia.
Buried beneath layers of rock, old satellite cabling, titanium blast doors, and rotating field jammers protected it from all forms of detection.
Kurama was the first to enter the makeshift meeting room, his massive silhouette casting a long shadow on the raw concrete wall. He sat down without ceremony, his tail swaying slowly behind him.
"Well," he grunted, "we dodged death, survived erasure, and gave a demon some peace. What's the next miracle we're aiming for?"
Naruto followed him in, trailed by Natasha and Tony. Natasha's eyes swept over the surveillance devices — not out of fear, but habit. The former spy didn't like blind spots.
"The next miracle," she said, placing a holographic tablet on the table, "would be staying alive while outmaneuvering Maria Hill."
Tony sat across from her, sliding on his connected glasses.
"Hill's brilliant. Paranoid. Predictable, sometimes. But she has the network, the drones, and Fury's eyes. She won't fall for the same trick twice."
Kurama growled low.
"Then we don't trick her. We lead her to trick herself."
Silence followed.
Natasha tilted her head slightly.
"What are you suggesting, Kurama?"
The fox closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them slowly.
"Hill doesn't doubt. She assesses. She calculates. So, we give her what she wants to see — a threat. A false danger she thinks she can contain. And while she's distracted... we do what needs to be done."
Tony nodded, intrigued.
"A diversion. A cover operation."
Naruto stepped forward.
"More than a diversion. A double veil. Hill has to believe we're walking one path... so she can monitor it — while we take another, completely invisible."
Natasha unlocked one of the holographic projectors. A map of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s communication network appeared, displaying multiple secured entry points, drone routes, and communication nodes.
"We'll need three things," she said. "An escape point. A believable decoy. And a mission so important in her eyes, she won't be able to ignore it."
Kurama fixed his gaze on one of the tactical nodes on the map.
"That depot. Hill stores all the prototypes she deems too unstable to deploy. Everything she doesn't understand… but refuses to destroy."
"What if we make her think we're going after them?" Tony offered.
Natasha smiled — cold, calculated.
"No. We make her believe we're going to destroy them. That Naruto and I, deemed unstable, have decided to neutralize S.H.I.E.L.D. at its source."
Kurama grunted in approval.
"Crazy enough for her to buy it. Dangerous enough to draw her full attention."
Naruto inhaled deeply.
"Meanwhile, we infiltrate the main HQ through the old decommissioned telecom station. Tony — can you bring it back online?"
"In my sleep," he replied. "With a portable generator and two relay drones."
"Perfect," Natasha concluded. "Now we need to assign roles. Every move must be perfectly synchronized. Hill can't suspect that she's the real target."
Kurama grinned — a wide, predatory smile.
"Then let's dance, humans. And this time... I'll lead."
The projector light flickered slightly, casting their silhouettes across the cold concrete walls.
Four figures.
Four minds.
One plan.
And in the shadows — the beginning of the end for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s absolute control.