After bringing him to the tower and locking him in a soundproofed cell, Nat attempted to interrogate him several times. You would create a silence around him and Nat would write questions on a piece of paper for him to answer, but he never deigned to answer them. Throughout each questioning, he would stare blankly. Not at Nat, but at you. Even when Nat waved her hands in front of his face, his empty eyes never left yours. The word creepy didn't even begin to describe this guy.
Through facial recognition software, Dr. Banner had been able to figure out that the man was named Harvey Galloway and that had been reported as missing several months ago from a small town in Pennsylvania. The only family that they could find was his wife, a woman named Joann, who Steve goes to talk to. He explains her husband's situation to her and after quite a few adamant exclamations that he would never do such a thing and that her husband wasn't a mutant, she asks to see him. Steve flies her back to the tower in the Quinn jet and when she sees her husband through the 2-way mirror of his room, she breaks down crying.
"That isn't him! That can't be him," she sobs. Eventually, Steve is able to calm her down.
"What do you mean, that isn't him?," you ask.
"It just isn't," she sniffles, "You know how the eyes are the window to the soul? Well, those aren't my husband's eyes. They're the same color and shape, but they're not his."
Thor, who has accompanied Steve and you down to the holding cell, nods. He recalls how your eyes had changed drastically between when you were under the chip's control and when his lightning had made it malfunction, freeing you.
Joann sniffles again as she looks back at her husband. "It's almost as if he's been possessed."
That simply statement makes everything immediately click.
"Steve, can I talk to you for a minute?," you ask as you move to the hallway outside the viewing room.
Steve follows you and, sensing that you have an idea, waits for you to get your thoughts in order.
"Okay, so you know how Joann just said that it's like he's possessed?," Steve nods, "That got me thinking, what if he's being controlled by a chip like I was?" Steve nods ponderingly.
"It would make sense. He became a mutant after he disappeared and is taking part in crimes that the person closest to him is convinced he would never commit. That might also explain why he keeps staring at you. Hydra probably has a bounty on your head. Hmm… How about we ask his wife for permission to give him an x-ray? That way, we'll know for sure." You nod and follow Steve back into the room.
A few hours later, Steve assembles everyone in the common room after getting Joann settled in a hotel down the street. Once everyone has settled into a seat, he begins explaining your discoveries.
"After Joann arrived and saw her husband, she said something that _ drew to my attention. We had a hunch that Harvey might not be acting under his own direction, so we ran a few scans and found that he has a chip identical in design to _'s embedded in his brain. We have already explained his situation to Joann and she has given us permission to transport him to a hospital and have them perform the same operation that they performed on _. Once he has recovered, this could be a great opportunity to get even more information on Project Evolve."
Everyone nods in agreement. Who knows? Harvey might provide you with some information on Abyss's or even Dr. Hollow's whereabouts. Just the thought of them alone makes your blood boil. You have hated Dr. Hollow ever since he stole you off the streets, stripped you of your freedom, and forced you to kill, but despite all of that, your rage towards him does not compare in the slightest to what you feel for Abyss. By hurting your friends, she has incited a wrath so furious, so powerful, that if she ever slips up and comes into your clutches again, she won't come out alive.
A few days later, you and Nat go to visit a recuperating Harvey, who has been moved back to the tower. All the others have gone to fight a rampaging villain (Steve said something about a Captain Communism? You really don't know) a few blocks away. You enter Harvey's room to find him reading a book with his wife in a chair next to his bed, working on a crossword puzzle.
"Hello, Mr. Galloway, how are you feeling?" Nat asks.
"Fine, thank you, now that that god forsaken chip is gone," he turns to you with a look of gratitude, "Thank you for stopping me and bringing me here. It… it means a lot to me and my wife."
"It was my pleasure," you reply.
"Mrs. Galloway, could we have a few minutes alone with your husband?," Nat asks. Joann nods, gives her husband a quick kiss, and exits the room.
"Mr. Galloway-"
"Please, call me Harvey."
"Okay… Harvey, we'd like to ask you a few questions about your time in Project Evolve and the heist that Hydra forced you to pull."
"Sure, anything that I can do to help. What would you like to know?"
"There's actually something that I'd like to ask," you cut in, "Why did they have you send Tony out to attack the cops and not the cops themselves that they were sending in?"
"There are limitations to my powers. For example, I can't make someone kill themselves if they don't want to, their sense of self-preservation is too strong. That secretary in the vault, when I searched her, I had found medication for depression, so I knew that ordering her to… to hold a gun to her head would work," he pauses and takes a shaky breath, collecting himself before continuing, "I also couldn't make those police officers attack their comrades, especially since they'd only heard my voice over the loudspeaker and not in person. Iron Man, on the other hand, he had heard my voice and didn't have as strong a connection with the officers, so he was susceptible."
"But Tony didn't hesitate in fighting us when we arrived, and we're his friends."
"Once my powers get their hook in someone, that person can't stop. Once I had told him to… to kill anyone outside that was a threat, he had to keep going until he finished. I am so, so-"
"You don't have to apologize, Harvey," you interrupt, "I was once a part of Project Evolve as well. The Avengers managed to defeat me and get me out, but I still remember what it was like. None of what you did while you were under their control was your fault." He nods, not looking entirely convinced.
"Harvey, we need you to tell us as much as you can about your time with Hydra," Nat requests.
Harvey nods and begins recounting everything that he can remember about his base, where his superiors were at certain times, where guards were stationed and when they rotated shifts, who reported to who, and so on.
"Jarvis, did you get all of that?" Nat asks.
"I did and I have created a virtual map of Mr. Galloway's former base. Would you like to view it now or when Mr. Stark and the others return?"
"We can look at it later. Thanks, Jarvis."
"The pleasure is all mine."
"I think that's all we needed, Harvey. Thank you for your cooperation. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," Nat gets up and you begin to follow her towards the door.
"Actually there is one thing," Nat and you turn back to look at Harvey, "I've been in Hydra's control for months and the doctors told me yesterday that I'm well enough to go home. I'd like to see my house again and return to life as normal with my wife. Well, as normal as life can get when you're a mutant."
Nat nods. "I'll have to discuss it with Captain Rodgers, but I don't see why not. We can get you back home by tonight."
You follow Nat out the door and find Joann a few doors down the hall. After telling her that you're finished, she thanks you and returns to her husband's room.
"It'll be a bit dangerous for them to return home, don't you think?," you ask Nat as you hear the door to Harvey's room click shut.
"Yeah, that's why we're going to have someone go with them."
"For how long? Hydra will never stop chasing them. He's an asset and a security breach, just like me. Probably the only reason that they haven't come after me again is that I'm surrounded by Avengers 24/7. It'll be suicide for them to leave."
"Well, we can't keep them prisoner here. If he wants to go home, I say let's allow them to go home, at least until we have something else figured out."
Steve and the others make it back to the tower a few hours later. Tony and Clint, of course, are teasing Steve mercilessly when they arrive.
"Dude, you socked Hitler in the jaw more times than I can count and fought entire armies of Nazis, and yet you had trouble taking down a single little powered communist? That's just sad," Clint says with a smirk.
"Hey, that guy had a tight grip. And besides, I didn't see you helping, Barton."
"Hey, don't pick on Mockingjay," says Tony, coming to the rescue of his partner in crime, "He couldn't get an arrow in edgewise around these things," he pokes Steve's bicep, "How do you even get these things to be so big? I mean, it can't all be my dad's formula. What do you use, power shakes, lead weights, camel steroids?"
"You're just jealous, Stark," you quip as they enter the room. Tony purses his lips and hums thoughtfully.
"Umm…. Nope, don't think I am," he grins.
"I'm surrounded by children," Nat sighs, "Steve, we need to talk to you about Harvey's situation. The doctors have cleared him to go home, but we all know that that isn't going to be the safest course of action. We can't keep them here, so I was thinking that we could send someone with them, at least until we can figure out a solution that won't get them killed."
Steve nods. "We can send them home right now, even. Jarvis, please bring the Quinn jet up to the roof. Thor, I'm going to send you with them. We'll try to figure out another situation as quickly as we can. I'm thinking that I might be able to call in some favors and get them into the witness protection program, but we might have to come up with something else."
"It would be my pleasure to accompany them and guard them against Hydra's minions. I will contact you if any have the stupidity to stage an attack."
Steve nods, still a bit worried, but confidant in Thor's capability.
"I'll go and get Mr. and Mrs. Galloway and tell them that we can take them home as soon as the jet gets here."
A few minutes later, Mr. Galloway has changed out of his hospital gown into some clothes that his wife brought and Jarvis had announced that the jet has arrived and is landing on the roof. Thor leads the couple up to the roof and after a minute or two, you can see the jet take off and fly into the distance from the common room window.
By this time, the sun has set and you're barely beating sleep back. You yawn widely, popping your jaw.
"Go on and get some shut-eye," Steve says with a kind smile, addressing the rest of the Avengers as well, "Tony and I are going to stay up researching a solution for Harvey's situation. We'll call you if we need any of you to help."
You roll your eyes, knowing that Steve would never wake any of you up for something as trivial as research, even if it is important research. You shuffle to your room and quickly change into a large t-shirt (they had removed the camera in your room a while ago to give you more privacy, so you don't have to worry about Tony looking in on you for kicks) before falling into your bed and a dreamless sleep.
Somewhere around midnight, your sleep is interrupted by Jarvis.
"I regret having to wake you, Miss _, but something has happened at the Galloway residence. Captain Rodgers is requesting for everyone to suit up and rendezvous with him on the roof."
You rub the sleep from your eyes and hastily get dressed in your usual jeans and t-shirt.
"Man, I really need a proper suit," you mumble to your rumpled reflection in the bathroom mirror.
Within minutes, you arrive at the roof to find Steve and the others standing in front of the Quinn jet. Steve, with his shield strapped to his back and a grim expression occupying his face, begins to explain why he woke you up at such an ungodly hour.
"There's been an explosion at Mr. and Mrs. Galloway's home. Jarvis was monitoring local traffic cameras at the time and alerted me immediately, so we will probably arrive just after the emergency services. I'll continue to brief you on the journey there," you all climb into the Quinn jet, which takes off and starts heading south.
"When we arrive on the scene, do not impede the local authorities, but I want all of you to help shift the rubble and search for survivors. _, I want you to scan it, see if anyone is breathing and where. If not, we'll start searching for… for the bodies," Steve clears his throat, regaining his composure, "Tony, you're suit will help with any heavy lifting. Bruce, we won't need the Hulk for this one, so I'm putting you in charge of explaining the situation to the police. Don't mention Project Evolve, but do explain how Hydra was after the residents of the house. Nat and Clint, you'll help with searching for survivors as well. I want you all to understand, Harvey and Joann probably didn't make it. They were human and therefore fragile, especially in the condition that Harvey was in. I also want to point out that while Thor is incredibly powerful, he is not immortal. I want you all to prepare yourselves for a worst case scenario."
Your shoulders sag, feeling the weight of the situation and of the possibility that Steve has just laid out in front of you.
"Hey, Dorito, don't read the eulogy yet," Clint says, "Thor can take care of himself. I'm sure he's just fine." No once looks convinced. Hell, even Clint doesn't seem convinced.
When the jet touches down just outside the circle of flashing red, blue, and white lights on the suburban street, everyone immediately gets to work. Bruce goes over to the police and begins to explain the situation while everyone else follows you towards the pile of rubble that had once been a home. Steve clears the wreckage of police and firemen, making sure that you won't have any distractions. Once everyone is out, you begin searching. It takes only a minute to locate Thor on the outskirts of the pile, his heartbeat coming from under four feet of support beams, pipes, and disintegrated plaster. To your sadness, Harvey's and Joann's are nowhere to be found. Either Hydra took them, or there just aren't any heartbeats to hear.
Your fellow Avengers help you to dig Thor out first while the officers and firefighters go back to searching for the other bodies. His breathing is shallow and he's unconscious, but you don't see anything broken or bleeding, so he'll live. Tony carries him over to the EMTs while the rest of you, even Dr. Banner, help to search for Harvey and Joann. One of the fire fighters tries to get Bruce to leave, bet he isn't having any of it.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave the scene. We don't want you getting hurt."
"Kid, I've been in more life-or-death battles than you will in your entire lifetime, even if you do fight giant, blazing infernos for a living. I think that I can handle myself."
After half an hour of searching, Clint finds Mr. and Mrs. Galloway under the twisted frame of their bed. Clint carefully lifts Harvey's body as you take Joann's and you both carefully maneuver through the collapsed walls to the sidewalk, where you gently lay them in the body bags that the police have set out. A group of officers zip the bags closed over the slack, lifeless faces of the man you had only just saved a few days ago and his wife, before loading them into an ambulance to be taken to the morgue.
You follow Clint to rejoin the others and a newly-conscious Thor.
"I am sorry, my friends. It is my fault that Lady Galloway and her husband are dead. If I had only been more vigilant…"
"It not your fault, Thor," you assure him, "You did your best."
"Don't worry, Hydra will pay," Steve looks ready to take down a thousand Hydra agents right then and there. "They're going to be sorry that they ever laid a finger on the Galloways."
My thoughts exactly.