FAN-FIC: MCU News At Seven

WE OPEN IN A NEWSROOM LOOKING AT THE PRESENTERS, A LATE-FORTY SOMETHING MAN WITH SLICKED BLACK HAIR AND A PETITE BLOND WOMAN IN HER MID-TWENTIES. THEY BOTH TURN TO THE CAMERA AND SMILE AS THE NEWS THEME PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND. THE MUSIC ABRUPTLY STOPS AND THEY BEGIN SPEAKING.
SALLY
Good morning and welcome to BBC news at 7. I'm Sally.

RICHARD
And I'm Richard. Today's top stories.

Relevant images appear on a screen in the background as Sally and Richard mention the news stories.

SALLY
A HYDRA attack in San Fransisco has left 45 dead, as President Ellis announces new counter-terrorism measures in an attempt to tackle the Neo-Nazi group.

RICHARD
In the wake of allegations of blackamil and corruption, Darren Cross speaks out on his controversial takeover of Pym Technological Enterprises.

SALLY
There's been a spate of violence in Wakanda over rights to drill the secluded African nation's vast reserves of oil.

RICHARD
And billionaire ex-superhero Tony Stark has opened a training centre for potential future Avengers.

The BBC news intro plays before cutting back to Richard and Sally in the studio.

SALLY
Last night a group of HYDRA militants carried out an attack on an American football stadium that has killed 45 and injured 207.

Phone video footage of the attack plays over Sally's narration. We see five men in green carrying machine guns enter

SALLY
At approximately 6:34 pm, five armed HYDRA militants broke into the stadium and began opening fire on the spectators. The stadium was hosting a high-profile game between the Denver Broncos and the Chicago Bears when the attack took place.

RICHARD
The five attackers were detained by police but killed themselves after ingesting cyanide capsules hidden inside false teeth. Witnesses to the scene describe the event.

We see a balding overweight man in a yellow sweater talking to a reporter. He seems distracted and jumpy.

FRANK
It was about a quarter of he way through the game. They broke down the doors and just started shooting everywhere. People were screaming and running and they kept on shouting 'Hail HYDRA!'..... (he whimpers)... It was horrifying.

We cut back to Sally and Richard.

SALLY
In the wake of the attack, President Ellis has made the following address.

We cut to a shot of President Ellis standing at a podium, flanked by White House flags.

PRESIDENT ELIIS
Ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you as shocked as you are at the horrific events in San Fransisco. I understand many of you are frightened, and scared. But I assure you, this government is doing everything in its power to protect innocents from the forces of HYDRA. We cannot under any circumstances let these terrorists win!

We cut back to Richard and Sally.  The screen behind them changes to show a picture of Darren Cross.

RICHARD
Billionaire entrepreneur Darren Cross has been at the centre of allegations of corrpution and bribery over his shock takeover of Pym Technological Enterprises.

The screen shows pictures of Hank Pym walking out of an office building being mobbed by the press.

RICHARD
Among the many ripple effects of this takeover was the expulsion of Henry Pym from the company that he founded. Pym has since publicly condemned Cross, saying 'Darren Cross is a liar, a thief and a backstabber who betrayed any and all trust I had in him for the sake of advancing his own career. He's took everything I spent decades working for and kicked me out of my own company. He has no place in charge of any company, least of all mine.'

SALLY
We have Mr Cross with us here in the studio. Mr Cross, what would be your response to these allegations?

Cross sits on the edge of the sofa, carrying a naturally calm and businesslike aura. He appears to be in his early forties, mostly bald with a crop of short hair above his ears.

DARREN CROSS
Thank you Sally. If you ask me, the only liar here is Hank Pym. He has spent years running the company like a dictatorship, expecting everyone to put themselves on the chopping block for the sake of boosting his own ego. There was a time when Hank Pym was one of he greatest scientific genuises on the planet. But that genius died with janet Van Dyne. Since then, the company has just become one big vanity project. Somebody had to step in before he killed the company for good.

RICHARD
Do you have anything to say regarding the accustaions of corruption and bribery surrounding the takeover?

DARREN CROSS
I assure you, the only thing I have promised anybody is a future for the company and their careers. Pym would have you believe I'm some Machiavellian moustache-twirler, when all I did was step in to rescue PymTech from his ego.

SALLY
What about the Ant-Man technology?

DARREN CROSS
The technology behind the Ant-Man suit will stay the property of Cross Technological Enterprises. Pym does not have the right to hold it hostage, as he has done for decades.

RICHARD
Thank you for joining us today, Mr Cross. (The camera cuts back to Sally and Richard as Cross exits the studio.) There's been an outbreak of violence in the reclusive African nation of Wakanda over disputed drilling rights for the country's large oil supplies.

The screen shows footage of battles in a desert landscape and flaming buildings.

SALLY
Video footage shows groups of armed gunmen fighting in areas known to have rich oil deposits. Wakanda is well known for its secrecy, having only revealed its existence in the mid-60s. Its government maintains that all drilling operations in the country are illegal.

We see a Wakandan official, a tall, imposing scarred man with a heavy African accent addressing the United Nations.

T'CHAKA
The government of Wakanda has made it quite clear that no-one has been allowed access to the oil reserves within our nation. These operations are highly illegal and will only end in harm.

We cut back to the studio.

RICHARD
And finally, billionaire inventor Tony Stark has opened a training centre for potential future Avengers.

We see footage of several candidates running and performing training exercises.

SALLY
The newly founded Avengers Academy aims to recruit young people with special abilities and train them to one day be members of the superhero team. The ex-Avenger had this to say.

We see Tony Stark, mobbed by reporters, giving an interview.

TONY STARK
The academy's one and only purpose is to create the next generation of heroes to fight the next generation of threats. These young people are some of our best and brightest, and the day will come when they will become Avengers, and defend the Earth just like we have done.

We cut back to Sally and Richard.

SALLY
That's all from us on the news desk. I've ben Sally.

RICHARD
And I've been Richard. Thank you for watch-

Suddenly, the camera grows fuzzy, and fills with static. It eventually settles, showing us a picture of a skull with many tentacles sticking out of it. The symbol of HYDRA. Baron Von Strucker speaks.

BARON VON STRUCKER
Ladies. Gentlemen. Children. Sheep. People of the world. My name is Wolfgang Von Strucker. It's an honour to have your unwavering attention at last. I have a message to deliver.

We see clips of Nazi soldiers marching, Red Skull, terrorist bombings, politicians speaking and several HYDRA banners.

BARON VON STRUCKER
I have been called many times in my long life. Some people have called me a terrorist. A warmonger. A zealot. I consider myself a messiah- humanity's final saving grace.

We see footage of the HYDRA attack in San Fran.

BARON VON STRUCKER
Last night, on my orders, HYDRA attacked a football stadium. Truly, I am sorry for the lives that have been lost. But this was a necessary act.

We see another clip show- seeing protest marches, assassinations, terrorist attacks, satellites watching, nuclear bomb tests and more.

BARON VON STRUCKER
HYDRA was founded on the central belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own protection. A message that rings truer every day. You may see us as terrorists, but in truth we are your saviours- those who seek to restore order in a chaotic, violent world.

We see footage of WW2 soldiers fighting HYDRA forces.

BARON VON STRUCKER
There have always been those who seek to prevent the rise of order, those who thrive off chaos. But those people could never possibly understand our true purpose. Your resistance is useless. Cut off one head, and two more shall spring up in its place. Hail HYDRA!

The screen cuts to black.