Uprising
Elena and her friends Maria and Leticia gathered at Maria’s bachelorette party and watched a magician perform a magic trick.
“Now you see it.” the magician said, holding out the drink umbrella from Leticia’s drink. He closed his hand around it and then opened it, revealing it was gone. “Now you don't.” Maria and Leticia gasped and laughed as he pulled it out from behind Leticia’s ear
“How did you do that?” Leticia asked.
“I was born with a gift.” the magician smirked.
“Well, can you magically turn Elena's clothes into a pretty dress?” Maria laughed.
“How long have you known me?” Elena scoffed.
“I know.” Maria chuckled.
“10 years.” Elena said. “When have you seen me wearing a dress?”
“I know.” Maria nodded. “Never. I just thought LA would liven up your fashion sense.” Elena rolled her eyes at this. “You do know you have to wear a bridesmaid's dress at the wedding.” Maria added.
“I know, I know.” Elena sighed as she heard her phone ringing. It was Mack. She didn’t answer, figuring she’d call him back later.
“Somebody sexy?” Maria asked in Spanish.
“He's just a friend I work with.” Elena shrugged.
“The kind of friend you'll be bringing to the wedding?” Maria teased.
“Possibly.” Elena smirked. “You never know.”
“Well call him back!” Maria insisted. “Invite him!”
“Fine fine.” Elena sighed. She dialed Mack back and he picked up immediately.
“Yo-Yo?” Mack said.
“Hey Mack.” Elena smiled. “Sorry I’m at my friend’s bachelorette party.”
“Oh nice how’s that goin’?” Mack asked.
“Elena wants you to come to the wedding!” Maria shouted into the phone.
“Maria!” Elena scolded.
“Did your friend just ask me to be your date to a wedding?” Mack chuckled.
“She did yes.” Elena sighed. “You don’t have to come if you don’t-”
“I’m down when is it?” Mack asked.
“Oh.” Elena hadn’t expected that reaction but she certainly wasn’t gonna tell him not to come. “It’s in a couple weeks. I’ll send you the details tomorrow.”
“Alright.” Mack replied. “See you the-” Suddenly Elena’s phone shorted out. The lights in the building all turned off. It was a blackout. Then they saw a helicopter fall out of the sky.
---
“Do we have your attention now?” the man in the silver watchdog mask demanded. “The blackout in Miami was just the first. We will continue to attack you, city by city, hour by hour unless the governments of the world give us the names of all the inhumans. We are the Watchdogs. You will obey.”
---
“The broadcast was untraceable.” Fitz stated as he and Coulson followed Mace through the hall. “It's quite sophisticated, really.
“What exactly could do something like this?” Mace asked.
“With the scale of the blackout and the fact that helicopters were reported falling out of the sky the blackouts were most likely caused by an extremely powerful EMP device.” Fitz answered.
“Given Blake’s history with SHIELD it wouldn’t surprise me if he was able to get his hands on something like that.” Coulson stated. “It’s probably not the only one he’s got.”
“So the threat was credible? They could black out more cities?” Mace asked.
“I’m guessing so yeah.” Coulson nodded.
“Alight.” Mace sighed. “Given what’s at stake here, Coulson I want you and your A-Team on this. Get to Miami and shut this down. I’ll have Kara Donnie and Lincoln work on follow up on a lead on Blake.”
“What lead is that?” Coulson asked.
“When we were sifting through the data recovered from the Watchdog base we found out who one of their targets is.” Mace explained. “Apparently Agent Blake still has an axe to grind with Mike Peterson.”
---
“Remind me why we’re taking the Short Bus to Miami?” Daisy asked as she and Ward packed their gear into the back of the van. “We haven’t used this thing since we were tracking Akela Amador.”
“Fitz said it would be protected from any EMP interference since it’s pre-1980 and doesn’t have any electronics.” Ward answered. “Does make me miss the Bus though.”
“Don’t tell Coulson I said this but I liked the Bus better.” Daisy said. “That plane felt more like home.”
“I agree.” Ward chuckled. “I think this is the first mission that’s just the original team since the arctic.”
“I think you might be right.” Daisy smiled. As they finished packing up their gear, Coulson, May, Fitz, and Simmons arrived.
“Alright everyone knows the op.” Coulson stated. “We’ll land the Zephyr outside Miami and drive the Short Bus to the city. Mack called me a earlier saying he was on the phone with Yo-Yo when the EMP went off. Skye do what you can to figure out where she is. Once in the city, we track down the EMP and Yo-Yo. FitzSimmon’ll shut it down while the rest of us handle the Watchdogs. Any questions?” Daisy raised her hand.
“You called me Skye by accident.” Daisy chuckled.
“Right sorry.” Coulson said sheepishly. “This just reminds me of when we were on the Bus. Not gonna pretend it doesn’t make me a bit nostalgic.”
“Well we are driving the Short Bus so it’s to be expected.” Fitz shrugged.
---
Mace eyed the TV with a look of disdain as he watched Nadeer give an interview on the attack. She was claiming that in the face of this terrorist attack, SHIELD had done nothing as now three cities had suffered blackouts.
“We shouldn’t be surprised given who’s leading them.” Nadeer stated. “Afterall if Donold Rupert is to be believed, Jeffrey Mace isn’t the hero he claims to be.” Mace felt a pang of shame at this. Though he hated to admit it, Nadeer was right. He hadn’t known the woman had been there. He picked up the phone and called the news station Nadeer was being interviewed on.
“We are receiving a call from Director Mace.” the interviewer said. “Director Mace do you have anything to say in regards to these attacks?”
“Yes I do.” Mace nodded. “As I’ve said before it is SHIELD’s policy not to comment on ongoing operations which is why we haven’t come out with an official statement yet. We’ve been more focused on responding to these attacks than worrying about PR.”
“So SHIELD is taking action?” the interviewer asked.
“We are yes.” Mace confirmed. “I assure you that Senator Nadeer’s assertions that SHIELD is sitting idly by while these terrorists, who incidentally share Senator Nadeer’s stance on the inhumans, continue to black out cities are false.”
“Director are you insinuating that I have something to do with these attacks?” Nadeer demanded.
“No of course not.” Mace replied. “I’m merely stating a fact. The Watchdogs share your anti-inhuman stance. I think it’s important for the American people to know who they’re supporting and who supports the same ideology.”
“That is a very good point.” Nadeer nodded with a false grin on her face. “And do your supporters know who they’re supporting? How they support a liar and a fraud?”
“If you’re referring to these allegations from Rupert and Bertrum, I can assure you they’re false.” Mace replied. “I don’t address lies. I’m not going to acknowledge false claims and give them more merit by doing so. Now if you’ll excuse me, I should be getting back to dealing with this crisis.” Before anyone else could say anything, Mace hung up.
---
Kara, Lincoln, and Donnie arrived at Mike’s safehouse and knocked on the door. It was located in Baltimore, Maryland which thankfully hadn’t been hit yet. He was wearing his upgraded armor that was cloaked to look like civilian clothes.
“I remember you.” Mike said to Lincoln. “Been a while. And you’re the girl that was with Ward.” He turned his gaze to Kara when he said this. “Kara right?”
“Yeah.” Kara nodded. “I work for SHIELD now.”
“Nice.” Mike replied. “What brings you here?”
“We believe former SHIELD Agent Felix Blake is coming after you.” Kara answered. “I’m sure you know about the Watchdogs.” Mike nodded. “He’s leading them. We got some intel from one of their bases that you were one of their targets.”
“We need to get you outta here before the Watchdogs EMP Baltimore.” Lincoln stated.
“Alright.” Mike nodded. Suddenly Donnie’s face went white.
“What’s up?” Kara asked.
“What if we just played into their hands?” Donnie said. “What if all this was just some elaborate ploy to lead them to Mike? The EMPs’ll shut his hardware down and Blake knows we know Mike’s a target.”
“Oh shit.” Kara’s eyebrows shot up. “We need to go now.” Suddenly there was a pulse and all the electronics shorted out. Mike groaned in pain as his eye, leg, and arm shorted out, causing him to lose balance and fall over onto the floor. Lincoln helped him to his feet and moved him over to the couch. Donnie looked out the window and saw a small army of Watchdogs pulling up.
“Please tell me you grabbed Lash’s powers.” Lincoln sighed.
“Yeah I figured we might need a quick exit.” Kara answered. She held out her hand to create a portal. But before she could, there was an explosion at the door, knocking all of them down. Disoriented, Lincoln lay leaned against the wall. He wiped the dust from his eyes and saw Kara and Donnie were unconscious. Mike lay on his stomach and looked up to see the Watchdogs storming the room. Lincoln tried to fire off a bolt of electricity but a small familiar looking sphere was launched into the center of the room. Blue lights emerged and began to fill the room.
“Not again…” Lincoln groaned as he and Mike were knocked out.
---
“FitzSimmons, any luck tracing the EMP’s location?” Coulson asked as the team drove towards the blackout zone.
“Not yet.” Simmons answered.
“I think we need to be just a little bit closer in order to track the device.” Fitz said.
“Daisy any luck on Yo-Yo?” Coulson asked.
“Since the call was only active for like a minute I can’t use that to do a trace.” Daisy sighed. “But Mack said Yo-Yo was at a bachelorette party so I’m checking reservations to see if I can find where her’s is happening.” She scrolled on her computer for a few more seconds. “Got it. She’s in a hotel on 17th street.” Suddenly her computer started sparking and it shut down.
“Not a moment too soon I guess.” May sighed. “Fitz, Simmons, any chance you guys got a hit on the EMP’s location?”
“Nope.” Simmons groaned. “Apparently we need to be inside the blackout zone to be in close enough proximity to trace it.”
“That’s not even the worst part.” Fitz grumbled.
“What’s the worst part?” Ward asked.
“It wasn’t a second pulse.” Fitz explained. “It’s an ongoing series of them which means it’s a continuous pulse EMP which is extremely advanced which means none of our tech is gonna work.”
“Wait doesn’t that include…” Daisy started.
“Yep.” Coulson sighed, pulling the Short Bus over. His hand was latched tightly around the steering wheel. Ward leaned over and started prying Coulson’s fingers off.
“I don’t think I’ve heard that story.” Ward said as he climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Short version? Mack chopped it off.” Coulson replied.
“Damn.” Ward murmured. “So whadda we do if we can’t trace the EMP?”
“Well we can’t just sit here and do nothing.” Daisy sighed. “We could go find Yo-Yo and make sure the Watchdogs aren’t going after her.”
“A white van driving through a blacked out city isn’t exactly subtle.” May said. “It’s possible we could end up leading them right to her. And if we can’t use our tech that puts us at a disadvantage. I’ll go, make sure they haven’t gotten to her, and we’ll meet you back here.”
---
Radcliffe strolled through the town to a nearby coffee shop where he was greeted by a young blonde woman. She took his order and in twenty minutes he had his coffee. He took a drink and it tasted perfect.
“This is incredible.” Radcliffe grinned. “It’s so lifelike. A whole town. It looks, feels, even smells and tastes real.” He put the coffee down and removed the headset, once more in the lab with Lucy and Aida.
“That’s incredible.” Lucy beamed. “So there were no glitches? Everyone acted how they should?”
“Yes the people were all incredibly lifelike.” Radcliffe nodded. “If I hadn’t created the Framework I’d be sure this was a real town. Aida my dear your work with the Darkhold has been instrumental in getting us here.”
“Happy to assist Doctor Radcliffe.” Aida smiled.
“I guess the next step would be expanding it.” Lucy said. “Perhaps seeing if it can replicate people we know.”
“Yes that would be ideal.” Radcliffe nodded. “I mean if this is meant to be a virtual reality then we want people to be able to interact with the people we know. As for the training capabilities we need to make sure the Framework versions are of the same caliber of skill as the real person.”
---
Ward, Daisy, and Coulson watched as Fitz and Simmons discussed an alternative method of tracking the EMP device.
“That’s brilliant.” Fitz said suddenly.
“You got an idea?” Daisy asked.
“I think so.” Simmons nodded. “Ward where’s your pack?”
“In the passenger seat.” Ward answered.
“Did you bring compasses?” Fitz asked.
“Of course why?” Ward frowned. Ward always liked to make sure he had some survival gear in his pack in the event they needed it.
“The EMP releases a pulse every two seconds. And for that one moment, it becomes magnetic north, causing your needles to move a few degrees in that direction.” Fitz explained.
“Based on how much they move each time, we should be able to triangulate the source of the EMP or at least get a general idea.” Simmons said.
“You sure this’ll work?” Daisy asked as Fitz and Simmons passed out the compasses.
“No but we don’t really have many options so…” Fitz shrugged, crossing his fingers for Daisy to see. Using the compasses, they managed to triangulate the location of the EMP just as May arrived with Elena.
“May good you’re here.” Coulson greeted. “Fitzsimmons managed to pin down the location of the EMP.”
“Fantastic.” Elena grinned. “Let’s go kick their asses.” The team drove to the location and made their way inside. They noted a lot of soldiers armed to the teeth inside.
“What’s the plan?” Ward asked.
“If we can access the EMP system we may be able to shut down all the EMPs from here and restore power to all the blacked out cites and any tech that was shorted out.” Fitz stated. “But it’ll take a moment so you guys need to keep the Watchdogs distracted.”
“That we can do.” Daisy grinned. She kicked down the door and blasted two of the Watchdogs with her powers. Ward did the same while Elena stole their guns and handed them to Coulson and May. Once the Watchdogs were dispatched, Fitz and Simmons were able to launch a virus into the EMP systems and shut them all down.
“And let there be light.” Fitz quipped as the lights came back on.
“Nice work Agent Fitz.” Coulson praised. “You as well Simmons.”
“How’s the hand Phil?” Daisy grinned.
“You know I think I’m able to use it again.” Coulson smirked.
---
Mike awoke with a start as his leg, eye, and arm came back online. Kara, Donnie, and Lincoln were all still unconscious as they were transported out of Baltimore. He briefly considered breaking them out but realized they had an opportunity. He began transmitting to SHIELD so they could track their location.
---
Elena returned to the hotel where her friends were waiting. They’d been a bit concerned when she’d left but she’d assured them she’d be fine. She entered the hotel room and was met with a rather unwelcome sight: three female assassins and a man in a skull mask.
“Elena Rodrieguez.” the man drawled.
“Who are you?!” Elena demanded. “Where are my friends?!”
“I’m having them escorted back to my plane.” the man answered. “I’ll have them reeducated at my facility so they can join the Black Widows. Nothing so crude as what Hydra did. Don’t worry. You’ll join them soon.” Before Elena could react, the man drew an icer and shot Elena in the head. As they dragged her out of the room, they realized that she’d sent out a distress signal from her phone. Taking it from her hand, the man crushed it and tossed it aside.