Chapter 7

Breaking Boundaries

My eyes fluttered open to greet the dull room around me once again. For the last three days this place has been my, for the lack of a better word, prison. The locked and bolted doors along with the shatterproof window were the tell tale signs that these humans didn't treat me like a mere visitor, but as a threat. The fact there was only a couple of things in the room and the bed bolted to floor were the signs that I was a big threat, an intergalactic threat. In order to become a major threat, someone must fear you. And let's just say, everyone fears me.

I'm not the type to wager battles or set out on missions of conquest. I stick to the shadows, plot and scheme, and seek to destroy from the inside to the out. Like a virus. Only in my case, the virus is fear. Fear is the most deadly and lethal weapon there is.

Most villains aim to control land, people and wealth. They completely forget about utilizing fear. While land, people, and wealth become scarce after years of battling over it, fear will never. It's a resource as common as water in the ocean, sand in the desert, and clouds in the sky. The only problem is, you need the brains to create the fear and tap into it like a tick sucks the blood out of its host.

I have the intellect to make use of the power as vast as fear. I've schemed and plotted for years to perfect my plans down to the most irrelevant seeming details. As a result, I am the foundation of a network of fear. This system could cripple the burliest of men or the wittiest of savants. A mother fears that I will come in the middle of the night and steal her children. A president fears that I will cause mayhem with his authority or even take it. Whatever their darkest and deepest fear may be, I can hack into it and then use it to manipulate their lives. I have the ability to subjugate the entire universe using only the fear of those residing there, but of course it will take time. Time is something I have.

I didn't seek to be the ruler of an empire, but it looks as though I am. All I wanted was to be feared. Without my demand, many planets and realms surrendered to me and called themselves part of an empire that was supposedly under my rule. They never realized that there wasn't an empire under my rule, just the one they dreamed up. Not wanting to pass up on this offer, I went along with it. In return for them calling me their master, I call them my puny ignorant wimpy subjects. For short, I call them Defeatists, which sums up what they really are. They are all people who are not willing to fight for their life, liberty, freedom, and justice.

After my failure in Jotunheim to retrieve the Casket of a Thousand Winters, I worry that the masses will look at my failure as a weakness. Nobody in their right mind would ever fear someone with a weakness, at least not as much as they would for someone lacking evident weakness. How could I have been so thoughtless? If I had done my research in the first place, I would have discovered that Asgard had the Casket. If I had gone to Asgard, everything would have gone to plan and I wouldn't be in this predicament. I can just imagine what media headlines have been plastered all over the universe. "Nero's Big Slip Up!" "Mysterious Nero Forced into Negotiations!" "Nero: Powerful or Fool?"

At least my situation on Earth was improving ever so slightly. After two days of rest, my body was fully healed and my energy restored. A gurgling grumble came from my stomach, reminding me of the emptiness that was there. Maybe I'll even get some food for saving their world from demise.

The sound of clicking heals snapped me out of my little reflective session. The sound continued getting closer and closer. I pulled myself into a sitting position to try to get a better view. To my surprise, it wasn't Director Fury standing outside of the window, but the redhead I had seen when I first arrived. Her shorter hair whipped around as she looked over her shoulder and the back. She was biting her lower lip and looking down at something that I couldn't quite make out. She hesitated before pulling a card off from her neck and using it to open the hidden entrance.

She walked in briskly with her sight trained toward the ground. I gave her an intimidating stare, just to remind her who's the superior. She went to the side of the room and picked up a grey metal chair. She then continued to approach me and set the chair down at my bedside. It looked as if she wanted a conversation instead of just demanding answers from me. If that was the case, then I would possibly consider playing nice.

She took a seat and placed what she had brought in on her lap. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath to compose herself.

"Hello Nero. I'm not here to pester you, I just want to give you my sincere thanks," she began weakly; her voice grew with strength as she continued.

Why was she thanking me after I just almost destroyed their world with the moon? I thought they would be angry. It was an accident, but it still happened and would have had severe consequences if I had not decided to help. I don't speak, but I nod, still unsure of what to make of this situation.

"I don't mean to be rude, but why did you save us?" she asked me. I could just imagine how that question ate at her day and night; not leaving until she mustered the courage to face me. Her attitude toward me was much more likable that the Director's, but it didn't seem she would normally act like this. Just by how she was acting, I could tell she was trying her best not to be demanding and hostile with me. Her eyes sparked with tension and her hands were straining to form protective or aggressive fists. She was a fighter by nature, not anything like one of my Defeatists from my 'empire'. Just for that, I decided she would get the truth straight out and not one of my twisted ones.

"This may seem like a lie coming from someone like me, but I swear to you that it is the truth," I told her. Her dark eyes looked at me, begging me to continue. "I only kill those who deserve death as punishment for their sins. I try my hardest to avoid killing the innocent. The faces of the innocent I accidentally killed haunt me in my sleep and torture me to no end." I paused to let my word sink in. "I had no reason to exterminate an entire planet of innocent beings."

"To be honest, I never knew that bad guys had hearts too," she said, looking off into the distance. She quickly noticed her mistake. "Not that you are a bad guy or anything," she said quickly, her cheeks glowing bright red.
"We can be honest and just accept the truth that I am a bad guy. No harm done with that," I said to her. I added a smile to reassure her that her last comment didn't anger me in the least.

Her expression loosened and shoulders relaxed. "I brought you something to wear," she said to me. She extended her arm and handed to me some clothes. So that was what she was carrying. "I'm sure you're just itching to get out of those hospital gowns." She read the desperate expression on my face and added, "Don't worry, I won't look."

I slid out of the bed and peeled off the gown. The cool air on my bare skin was so refreshing. I unfolded the bundle to find a black suit matching the one she was wearing. There was a zipper in the back already unzipped. I slid my long legs into the cool leather material and then my arms. I reached around with slender arms and pulled up the zipper. I looked down to see that the black suit clung tight to my body, exposing my slim torso and curves. The sleeves only came down to just past my elbows and the leg portion only down to mid-calf. This was not made for someone with my height, but at least I was in real clothes now.

"You can look now," I said to her. She opened her eyes and stood up. Her jaw dropped when she saw me towering over her. She was quick to recover from her shock.

"I wasn't expecting for you to be that tall. We can get you into something more your size soon," she said. "Let's go get you something to eat. You must be starved!" she said, smiling. It didn't seem like she smiled very often, but she had the most beautiful smile. She started towards the door and beckoned me to follow. I did, a little wobbly at first, but not too bad for someone who hadn't walked in three days. "By the way, I'm Agent Romanova, but you can call me Natasha."

I looked at the shorter redhead walking in front of me and smiled. "Very nice to meet you, Natasha." I really liked her and she seemed to be my type of person. She might end up becoming my first friend, but I don't want to get my hopes up. Not many people want to be friend with a villain like me. I shrugged the thought off and continued following her. I couldn't wait to get some food in me!

A/N: I hope you liked it! Please don't be afraid to review! I would love to know how I'm doing. Also, I was wondering if you guys could see an improvement in my writing!

The poll was about who would be nice and possibly friends with Nero first. So thanks to the people who took it!

Till next time,

- Pandora