Son of the Storm

Power and Preparation

Lucius glanced up at Baron Von Strucker as he strode in, looking thunderous. A tad ironic, Lucius thought, considering their enemy. "Ah, Wolfgang," he said calmly. "How pleasant to see you."

Von Strucker wasted no time on pleasantries. "We have been discovered, Lucius."

"Really, Wolfgang?" Lucius asked dryly. "I hadn't noticed. I mean, the constant probing attempts on my wards, the quiet disappearances of five of the dimmer Death Eaters and the fact that the Soldier has been working overtime to make sure the rest don't die through sheer foolishness hadn't given me even the slightest hint."

"Your servant has ruined everything!" Von Strucker snarled.

Lucius gave him a cold look. "Gravemoss is not my servant, Baron," he said, dropping the pleasant tone. "He was my ally. Now, since I know what he truly is, he is my pet monster. I merely now have to make sure I keep a tight grip on his leash." He sighed. "True, his excesses have attracted the attention of many I would rather have avoided," he admitted. "And while those excesses were unforeseen, I should perhaps have examined his civilised façade more carefully."

"And your mistake threatens to destroy the work of years, Lucius, years," Von Strucker growled. "Do you know how long it took to rebuild HYDRA into something resembling the force it ought to be? Decades! All wasted! Because of you!" He shoved his gauntleted right arm at Lucius' face, only stopping just short of touching him. The Satan Claw was a quasi-mystical artefact, gifted to HYDRA by Baron Blood. It had many properties, including the granting of superhuman strength to the wearer, and the ability to absorb lifeforce from its victims on physical contact. It was a fearsome weapon.

Yet Lucius didn't even blink.

"Get that blasted claw out of my face, Baron, it doesn't frighten me. And nor do Zemo and Zola if you think to threaten me with them," he said irritably. "And you forget: aside from the Soldier and some dull witted minions, you have done little to further our cause, indeed, you have exposed it."

Before Von Strucker could marshal a coherent response, Lucius continued, tone gaining a bite edge of anger. Gone was the polite and cultured – to his allies, equals and master – Lord Malfoy, the civilised man with the long hair, stylish finery and more money than more than a few gods.

Here was the Death Eater spymaster, the man who had brokered deals with devils in the living rooms of the rich and powerful, greased palms at parties and ordered the deaths of his enemies over drinks and nibbles, even taking the field himself when it became necessary.

This was the man who had matched wits with Nicholas Fury himself when both were in their prime and though the Light might like to forget it, had been winning. Only the unexpected survival of Harry Potter had prevented him from standing as Voldemort's right hand in the steady ascension to de facto rule of all Britain, magical and non-magical, that Voldemort had been undertaking. Admittedly, Voldemort himself had been a blunt instrument at times, but he could be clever, and where he was not willing to be clever, his right hand had been more than adept at coaxing him onto the right path.

This, in short, was not a man to be trifled with.

"Yes, Gravemoss was and remains dangerously unstable. I made the mistake of assuming he would think like me, and destroy MI6 by stopping the hearts of all within or a magical contagion, something like that. I was wrong," Lucius admitted. "Yet Gravemoss succeeded in his objectives, in some ways, better than I could have imagined. One of his creations, just one, succeeded in gravely wounding Loki himself."

He paused to let that sink in.

"The Avenger who the rest were formed to stop, the God of Magic and constructor of Hogwarts himself, was wounded, and sent running to Asgard." He stood and gave Von Strucker a cold look, advancing on him now. "My mistake has paid the dividend of having our enemies tremble in fear. Now they look into the shadows and shiver at what might come for them. And most crucially, it did not give either of us away. Our enemies would have had nothing to chase but monsters and mysteries. Yours, on the other hand, has let one of our most dangerous foes escape and report to his master, revealed your involvement and by extension, mine as well. It has given our enemies a target to aim at and rally against, and given us no benefit in return. Indeed, our allies drop like flies and our funding is, at least, delayed."