Chapter 9
A peak into the past:
Harry Potter was in a neighborhood known as Little Whinging. He had been walking around for hours looking for the house he used to live in with his relatives. He couldn't remember exactly where no matter how hard he tried. The damage to his temporal lobe was extensive. He could already feel gaps in his memories. The only thing he was certain of was that he knew he lived in Little Whinging. He knew that he was suffering but he wanted answers first. He wanted to know how he did what he did. He wanted to know how he had caused the explosion. His relatives had answers. Of that, he was sure. He still remembered the names they used to call him. Freak, Monster and so on.
His instructors had told him that freedom had a price and after paying it they could be free. So, he did what was required of him. He did what they told him to do like a dog, never questioning his master. Don't go here, go there. Don't do this, do that. All his life, he only wanted one thing, to be free. But he was naïve, you could never walk away from The Program. Not with your life intact.
Now that he was finally free, he didn't know what to do with his newfound freedom. He had been too dependent on his instructors, but that was their point. They had conditioned him early in his age to depend on them.
After escaping from the facility, he had nowhere to go. He had been roaming around stealing food and money to survive. It was difficult to procure different identities to make sure no one was following him. Getting into the systems was easy enough but communication was proving to be difficult for him. Half the time, he couldn't remember the words to speak and his stuttering was making it difficult for people to understand him.
He suddenly stopped when he arrived at a familiar looking house. He knew this house but he didn't know if this was the house of his disgusting relatives or not. It could be a house he may have spent a night in after the Dursleys went out without him and left him in someone else's care. His theories went out the window when he saw a fat man through the window, watching T.V. It was Vernon Dursley. Yes, he was at the right place. He went to the front door and knocked repeatedly. After some muffled muttering and profanities, the door opened.
Vernon Dursley was a fat man when he last saw him but now, he was at another level. He could see that it was difficult for him to walk the floor was creaking because of his weight. When he realized who Harry was, his face went through various shades of purple. He was an open book to him. Anger, he could clearly see on his face but there was something else too. It was fear. Before the obese man could react, he side stepped him and went inside.
Inside, he could see his aunt in the living room watching T.V with her kid. He remembered her name, Petunia. But, for the life of him, he couldn't remember the boy's name. It seemed that Petunia's body was opposite to Vernon's. She was thin as a stick with no ounce of muscles on her body. Her neck as long as a giraffe. Her son, it seemed, took after his father judging by his size.
"Vernon, who is it?" she asked loudly without taking her eyes off the screen. It was a comedy show she was watching but he didn't know which one. Unfortunately, his knowledge of pop culture was quite limited which he would have to rectify in the future. He needed to know all he could of the world he was currently in, to survive.
It seemed Vernon came out of his stupor when he yelled, "Boy….." His voice was as unpleasant as before. The loud footsteps could be heard behind him but Harry didn't let him get near. Instead, he turned around and kicked him in his groins.
Vernon's pained yell was enough to make the Aunt and Nephew turn around. Petunia was about to yell at him but stopped when she saw who it was and turned pale. It seemed the Boy didn't recognize him because he shouted with a shrill voice: "Who are you?" Harry ignored the two of them and turned back to the obese man who was moaning and whimpering on the floor.
"Get up." He told him in a cold voice. Vernon was in a lot of pain and didn't seem to notice him. Harry was already getting impatient with him. Ever since after waking up from the coma, his emotions were running wild. He took out the gun from his holster and pointed it at him.
"If you don't…. hmmmm…..walk to the sofa….. in the next ten seconds, I'm gonna ….I'm gonna kill your kid in front of you." It seemed the threat was enough to break him out of his daze. He got up shakily from the ground and went to sit at the sofa.
Harry gritted his teeth in frustration. His lack of verbal skills made him feel weak and vulnerable. He hadn't seen Barr's body under the rubble but he was sure he was dead. So that made him feel a little bit better. He saw the adults looking at him in fear, even the fat kid was afraid now. He glanced warily at the gun and went back to looking him fearfully. Suddenly, he smelled a stench permeating the air and saw that the boy had soiled himself.
Harry ignored the boy again and turned to the thin woman. "What is my….. What is my….. What is my name?" He, honestly, did not know what his name was. In the first years of his life, he was called freak and other profanities and, in The Program, he was called by letters and numbers.
Petunia looked at him, confused and fearful and told him, "Harry Ares Potter." Harry Ares Potter was a peculiar name. Yes, Harry was quite a common name but his middle and last name were uncommon. Ares was the God of War in the Greek mythology and Potter, he didn't know.
"What do you know of my….my…What do you know of my…..?" He gripped the gun tight in frustration. He couldn't remember the word.
"Parents?" she asked him unsurely looking at him like he was a wild animal.
"What do you know of my Parents?" He repeated.
"Your mother, Lily, was my sister. She and your father, James Potter, both used to be in the same class. Right after school, they both married and had you."
Harry could tell she was telling the truth, not the whole truth but the truth nonetheless. His thoughts went to what she had told him. 'Why marry at such a young age?' he mused.
"How did…..uh…How did they….die?" he asked her. Honestly, he didn't have any emotional attachment to them. Perhaps, it was because he doesn't remember them.
"Car accident." She said quickly. Too quick. He narrowed his eyes at her. That was a lie. He loaded the gun in a dramatic way and aimed it at her kid.
"You know, my earlier …hmmmm….my earlier statement still stands. I am gonna kill your kid." He heard the boy whimper and Vernon looking terrified. "Let's do this again, shall we? How did they die?"
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you everything but please don't hurt my Dudders." She said in a high-pitched voice. Dudders, that was an unusual name. But then he realized that it must be a nickname. A horrible one at that.
Harry gestured for her to continue. "Your Parents were freaks, okay!" she yelled. "They were unnatural. When Lily was 11 years old, a teacher came to our house and told her that she was a w…witch. The teacher told her that she was m...magical. After that she disappeared off to that — that school — and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was — a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family." It seemed she had been harboring deep resentment for her sister because she wasn't stopping her rant anytime soon. Harry was okay with. The more she spoke, the more he will know. "Then she met that Potter boy at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as — as— abnormal — and then, if you please, she went and disappeared again leaving you at our doorsteps."
Harry took in what she just said. So he was a…. witch. No, Witch was for females. Wizard. He still didn't completely believe her. Wizard, witches, magic it was not something he ever believed in. He was a man of science and, as far as he knew, magic's existence hasn't been proven yet. He also found out that there was a school for magic and his parents had went there. Maybe, the thing he did at the facility was magic but if that type of explosion could be caused by a wizard why hadn't they been discovered yet? It would be impossible to hide that kind of powers.
"You said disappeared, …..not…dead." He asked her suddenly. His parents weren't dead. He could already tell that by her terrified expression, realizing her slip of tongue.
She sighed in defeat and told him. "In the basket you arrived, there was a letter in it, explaining…" he cut her off and demanded the letter that had arrived with him.
"I got rid of it as soon as I read it." She lied. Harry lost his patience and shot Vernon's legs instead of 'Dudders'. No matter how cruel he may be he couldn't shoot a defenseless kid. Vernon's pained yells echoed around the house but he ignored it.
"Vernon!" She tried to go check on him but he stopped her by pointing the gun at her. "You monster! I should never have let you stay in my house. I should have thrown you out the first time I laid my eyes on you. I knew you were nothing but an abnormal creature who should be put down. Now, you go shoot Vernon who fed you, clothed you when your own parents didn't want you. You thankless Freak!" she took a deep breath.
Harry wasn't perturbed by her tirade and asked her for the letter again.
"Fine, I'll bring it." She snapped. She went to the kitchen, but not before glancing worriedly at her husband and son, and came back with a letter.
The letter looked strange for a lack of better words. It had a symbol on it, like a coat of arms. It was a strange lion-like animal on it roaring. He opened the letter and it read:
Dear Petunia,
I hope you and your family are well. How is Vernon? I heard that he got a job in a new company. And how is Dudley? I am sorry I haven't been able to visit and see him.
The reason for that is there was a war in our world. A dark lord known as Voldemort was leading Death Eaters, his followers, to take over the Wizarding World. James and I had been fighting him alongside our friends. After having the twins, we had to hide to protect them. It was a difficult year. I know I'm rambling but I couldn't help it.
Oh! I never told you about my babies. Harry Ares Potter and Andrew James Potter. They are so cute. You must see them.
Harry, my oldest, looks like his late grandmother, Dorea Potter. But his eyes are like mine, though. He is a quite child and doesn't play much with anyone his age. He prefers to stay alone, I think.
Andrew, my youngest, looks so much like James. But his hair are like mine red. He is also so intelligent. You know, he called me Momma today. It was his first word ever. Last night, he summoned his teddy bear across the room by using magic. You may not know it but one-year olds doing accidental magic is quite uncommon. Even Professor Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard in the world, couldn't do that at this age. So, I asked a healer to check Andrew's magical core and it's true. Once he grows up, he will become quite powerful.
I know you must be confused with why Harry had been left on your doorstep. Let me explain. A week ago, Voldemort found out our hiding and came to kill us and our sons. You may not know it but there was a prophecy which said that one of my sons will defeat Voldemort and that's why we had to hide. He wanted to kill my sons before they could be a threat.
He came in the middle of the night when I and James were not home. He killed my parents-in-law and tried to kill my babies but Andrew stopped him and Voldemort is dead for now. Professor Dumbledore believes that he isn't for some reason and I'm inclined to agree with him. He says that The Dark Lord had done some rituals to grant him immortality. James is mourning the deaths of his parents and I have just returned from the funeral to write you this letter.
After that night, Andrew has become quite famous in our world because he is the first person to survive a killing curse. No one has ever survived the killing curse except my baby boy. Oh! he also protected his older brother from Voldemort.
People now call Andrew The-Boy-Who-Lived and some people also call him The Chosen One.
We couldn't keep Harry because of Andrew's fame. Ever since the attack, half the wizarding world worships Andrew and the other half wants to kill him. I cannot guarantee Andrew's safety because of that but what I can do is that I can keep Harry safe. If he can grow away from Andrew's fame, he might have a normal childhood. And you are the only person I trust to keep him safe and raise him as a normal child until he is 11 years old. I know that I'm asking a lot but I know you would help me in this.
Yours,
Lily
There were many peculiarities in the letter with many questions. 'Dudders' actual name was Dudley. Who was Voldemort? How did a civil war of enhanced people stay unnoticed by everyone? Who are Death Eaters? He didn't know he had a twin. And it seemed that the letter was more focused on his twin than him. She had described Andrew in great detail but not him. His mother talked of him like an afterthought. Who was Albus Dumbledore? Was the explosion in the facility caused by accidental magic? What is a magical core? Magicals have a healer. He wanted to know if they would be able to help him. His parents were in a resistance group to fight this Dark Lord Voldemort. He was attacked by him and was saved apparently by of his brother. The Dark Lord Voldemort is immortal. How was that possible? Yes, Science could make a person immortal but that was just a theory at this point. Maybe, his cells had stopped aging. He may have rapid healing powers. Also, what is a ritual? He also had Grandparents who were now dead. Apparently, his twin was quite famous in the world. But he had never heard of him. Also, he was left at the doorsteps of the Dursleys because of his own safety which sounded like a bullshit. His parents never came in-person to explain the situation to his relatives. She had sugar coated her words but it seemed like his parents had abandoned him. What he had read so far didn't show his parents in a good light.
Harry glanced at Petunia who was fussing over Vernon's injury. It was a flesh wound and he had shot him at the place where he would recover without a hitch.
"Has anyone ever come….. inquiring…. about me?" he asked her.
"No, that's why we got rid of you and no one came after." She told him hesitantly expecting him to react. He didn't.
"Who did you sell me to?" he asked her in a cold voice.
"It was a man named Barr. I don't know his first name. He came at our door and made us an offer. He had heard about you from the neighbors and he only came because he knew that we didn't want you. He said that we could get rid of you and he would give us 10,000 pounds in return." She said fearfully expecting him to shoot her.
Harry changed the topic. He didn't want to dwell on his past. "What else do you know about…What else do you know about…uh…?" He clenched his fist in frustration.
"About Barr? He was wearing a black…."
"No, about the …uh…..about….."
"Your Parents?"
"No, The magicians." He couldn't remember the exact word.
"Wizards."
"The Wizards. Yes." He repeated the word. She told him everything she knew which wasn't much.
"Alright, th-this is what's going to happen…."
Present:
Harry winced in pain. His body was laden with bruises, cuts and burns. His arms had long since gone numb from being suspended over his head for so long and he couldn't even feel his fingers anymore. Pain was something he had been familiar his entire life. He got used to it, but that didn't mean he liked it. He understood that in every stage of life, pain was essential to survive.
At the moment, he was terrified, not of Sauer but of what she could do to him. He had already been broken once by Barr and he didn't know if he would be able to fully recover this time. But at the same time, he knew Sauer wasn't capable of that. She was an amateur compared to other people he had been interrogated from and he wasn't one to easily break.
His body was covered in sweat and blood from various cuts done by knives. The burns done by electrocution and bruises from various tools for physical beating. He wasn't as injured as he looked like though, or maybe he was just used to it. His head was dropped down on his chest with him panting heavily like he had just ran a marathon.
After exhausting herself from playing with knives and tasers, she had reverted back to punches and kicks. It seemed like she was getting frustrated with him for not reacting like how she was expecting him to. Good. When frustrated, she would make mistakes. She had been expecting him to scream and beg for forgiveness but he didn't give her the satisfaction, yet.
In front of him was Romanoff, dangling from the chains like him. Her bare torso was glistening with sweat and blood. She wasn't as injured as him, though. Much of Sauer's attention was focused on him because of their last encounter. Romanoff had stayed quiet after Sauer had told her that she would punish him for every word she uttered. She talked a lot before it, frustrating Sauer to no end. He knew Romanoff was restraining herself not because of any concern towards him but because he was valuable and he wouldn't be of any use to her if he was dead. She seemed exhausted but her eyes were alert. It seemed, like him, she was playing along, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
"You know with all that super-strength, I thought you would pack a punch but you still hit like a girl, which of course you are. Not that I have anything against girls.…cough…. cough…I like girls but not in a creepy way…" he was rewarded with a punch to his face. This time without any holding back.
"How did you know about the super serum?" she asked him threateningly with a heavy tone of surprise in her voice.
"I didn't but now I do." He laughed like a mad man and he saw from the corner of his that her body was shaking in anger. That was too easy.
"I have a theory and correct me if I'm wrong." She was visibly restraining herself and took a breath to calm down.
"Go on, I haven't had a good laugh for a while." She told him, her voice full of sarcasm. But he knew that she genuinely wanted to know what he had come up with.
"From the start, you have been working with Newton in your grand plan of, as you put it, World Annihilation. When I …cough…dosed you with poison, you survived because of your enhanced metabolism. The super-serum was developed by Alexander Newton but it wasn't as efficient as Abraham Erskine's, so he never gave it to the military. After Alexander passed away, you offered a proposition to Charles Newton, the CEO of Blastac."
"And what proposition would that be?" Sauer asked him, her body stiff as a rod.
"You gave him an unknown object you found in Göbekli Tepe, an ancient religious temple, in Turkey which dates back to 10,000BC. You knew that the object was powerful but you didn't have the expertise to know how powerful, so you came to Newton. In return, he offered you the serum." He smirked knowing he got her there.
"How do you know about PROJECT AVALON?" she screamed in a high-pitched voice.
"You left files about it in the lab. Newton found that it was an immeasurable energy source. During the last few years, he had been trying to weaponize it and now he was successful. He created a bomb big enough to swallow a continent."
"Oh, yes." She exclaimed. "Today is the launch of the missile. Today, the world as you know it will cease to exist."
"What I don't know is how you found us?" he looked at Romanoff who was listening to their conversation. She knew that he was distracting Sauer.
Sauer looked like she was restraining herself not to answer his question but he knew she would answer him because of her arrogance. "Well, I can answer your one question. It's not like you would be able to do anything about it. You think you're here because you wanted to be here. No, you're here because I wanted you to be here." She smirked.
"I knew that Hale was being monitored by S.H.I.E.L.D, so I approached him and I also used my previous id's for you to track me here. You thought that you were the one who was in control but you never had any to begin with." Hale was the politician who had transferred the funds.
He saw from the corner of his eyes that Romanoff was reaching for the knife placed on the table with her foot.
"How did you find us in the safehouse?" He asked her curiously.
"Ah yes that was ingenious of me. You see, I have a friend in the airport security in Heathrow. He had tagged your luggage with a tracker but unfortunately it was destroyed in the explosion." She shook her head with a disappointed sigh.
So that was how she had found them. He was berating himself for not checking their luggage. He saw that Romanoff had acquired the knife and was trying to get her wrist out of the chain. Anytime now.
"I'm impressed. I did not think you had two brain cells to rub together." She hit him again but this time in the stomach knocking the wind out of him. Romanoff was free from the chains now and was advancing towards Sauer from her back.
"I have to say, it was terrible to see you again and hope that you burn in hell." He said when Romanoff got behind her.
"What…." She didn't get to say anything else because the next thing she knew was a knife sticking out her throat.
Romanoff was looking at him like she always did, with a concealed disdain but there was something else in her eyes. But he had no idea what it was. Honestly, he shouldn't have acted so openly. Yes, he did what he did to distract Sauer but he shouldn't have.
Despite the many injuries on her torso, she walked with grace showing no pain. Now, that he saw her more closely, he realized that she was more injured than he previously thought. There were many cuts across her stomach bleeding profusely with burn marks all over her naked torso. Her lips were split from the punches she had received for 'misbehaving'. Her hair and body were wet from sweat.
She freed him from the bonds, none too gently causing angry marks over his arm. His arm was still numb, so he didn't feel much. As soon as he got freed, it seemed his leg forgot how to function properly because of the many electrocutions. He was about to fall face first on the ground but two hands steadied him. Her grip was strong and her fingers were digging on his injured shoulders. He winced for the effect. He had long since learned how not to show that he was feeling pain but she didn't know that.
She was looking at him dispassionately with her face set in stone. Her eyes as cold as ever. He could feel her breath tingling on his neck and he resisted the urge to shiver. She was so close to him that he could hear her rapid heartbeat because of the pain and physical toll on her body. Her naked breast were pushing on his back. He knew she was doing it deliberately but he didn't react. Her pride had been wounded when he had rejected her before. So, she was trying to get back at him. At least, that was his theory.
"Th…thank you." He said and steadied himself. She was watching his reaction but he was too tired to blush and act flustered. Being undercover for years and the recent sleepless nights were taking a toll on his mind. And also, his mind was fuzzy from something. It wasn't from pain, though. He tried to clear his mind but it was proving to be useless.
Harry heard a creak and saw the door opening. He knew it must be a guard who checked on them occasionally from time to time. Before he could react, Romanoff had thrown the knife which embedded on the guard's chest, piercing his heart.
"We're stopping the launch." Romanoff told him without bothering to ask if he was with her or not. He stayed quiet.
"We should keep moving. They'll know soon we're on the loose." She said and began to undress Sauer to take her clothes. He also went to the guard to do the same. There was a rip on the chest because of the knife but it was better than nothing.
After dressing up, he put on the guard's cap and took his keycard and sidearm as well. The cap wasn't the best form of concealment but it there was nothing he could do.
He saw Romanoff was done as well and they both exited the room.
The duo were currently walking through the corridors on the last floor of the building. The last floor housed various labs for sensitive and dangerous experiments. This was the zone where most of the employees were not allowed unless they were specifically cleared by the CEO and luckily, the keycard he had took from the dead guard had high level clearance.
Romanoff was posing as an intruder, who had been caught by a guard, meaning him. They didn't have much of a firepower with them but Romanoff was a good fighter and by what he had seen so far, the guards were amateurs, so he wasn't worried. The only reason they had been caught before was because they knew they were coming.
Harry glanced at Romanoff who looked tense. He didn't know If she was doing it deliberately for her cover, or she was really worried. Of all the Avengers, she was the most complicated member of the team. He had profiled all of them in case they acted against him in the recent future which he knew they would. He knew her powers but didn't know her ticks.
The first was Captain America aka Steven Grant Rogers but called Steve Rogers by his friends. He grew up suffering from numerous health problems, and upon America's entry into World War II, he was rejected from serving in the United States Army despite several attempts to enlist. Rogers ultimately volunteered for Project Rebirth, where he was the only recipient of the Super Soldier Serum developed by Abraham Erskine under the Strategic Scientific Reserve. The serum greatly enhanced Steve's small and frail 90-pound body to the peak of human physicality. After Erskine's death Rogers was relegated to performing in war bond campaigns, where he posed as a patriotic mascot under the moniker of Captain America. The serum had granted him enhanced intelligence, strength, durability and a healing factor. He also had superhuman reflexes and senses. That was on his file but he had observed Rogers on his own and saw that he was an honest person and wasn't a good liar. He had a noble spirit and was intolerant towards injustice. He always prioritized civilians' and his teammates' lives over his own. He knew several martial arts but relied heavily on boxing.
Next was Iron Man aka Anthony Edward Stark but most commonly known as Tony Stark. Tony Stark was a billionaire industrialist who had majority shares in Stark Industries which he inherited from his Father, Howard Stark. In 2010, he gave up his role of CEO and handed it over to his personal assistant and love interest, Virginia Potts. A brash but brilliant inventor, Stark was self-described as a genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist. With his great wealth and exceptional technical knowledge, Stark was one of the world's most powerful men following the deaths of his parents and enjoyed the playboy lifestyle for many years until he was kidnapped by the Ten Rings in Afghanistan, while demonstrating a fleet of Jericho missiles. With his life on the line, Stark created an armored suit which he used to escape his captors. Upon returning home, he utilized several more armors to help fight crime. Many people thought of him to be just an arrogant genius but he also cared for his friends and teammates, even if he never admitted it. He showed disdain towards any authority figure, like Nick Fury but it might be because of his relationship with his Father. He was the brains of the Avengers, along with Bruce Banner. His iron man armor was one the most advanced hardware in the world and was powered by an arc reactor. His suit was able to fly by a propulsion system. The suit's exoskeleton allowed him to have super strength and durability. He was not trained in any martial arts but was a good boxer but an untrained one.
The third member was The Hulk aka Robert Bruce Banner but known as Bruce Banner by most. Throughout his life, he had acquired several PhDs and wass renowned for his work in anti-electron collisions and gamma radiation. As someone who was highly respected for his work regarding biochemistry and nuclear physics he was commissioned by Thaddeus Ross to recreate the Super Soldier Serum which created Captain America, although Ross elected not to inform Banner what he was creating. However, when an exposure to high levels of gamma radiation went awry, the mild-mannered scientist had found that when angered, provoked or excited, he would transform into the huge, rage-fueled, nearly mindless creature known as Hulk. His powers are superhuman strength and speed. He also has a strong healing factor and enhanced durability. It would be difficult to tell who was more intelligent, Stark or him, but because of his lack of resources most of his works were uncompleted, so Harry's money was on Banner. Harry saw him to be as a mild-mannered, mysterious, shy and analytical man of science. He was compassionate and afraid of hurting someone unintentionally.
The fourth member was Thor Odinson from a planet known as Asgard but he spent most of his time on Earth. He was raised up to be a warrior who valued courage, strength and above all, loyalty. There was not much known about his childhood but Harry knew that he was a Prince. It is not known how old he is but reports suggest that he is quite old. Thor is quick to anger and acted rashly if his friends were in harms way. He is often described as brash and hot-tempered. During the incident in New Mexico, he was described by Agent Coulson as arrogant but that personality-trait seemed to have diminished over the years. He had super strength, speed and reflexes. His weapon Mjolnir was a powerful weapon as seen in the battle in New York. He can also manipulate electricity like an elemental.
Hawkeye aka Clint Francis Barton was an expert marksman and a skilled martial artist. He was a member of S.H.I.E.L.D but his priority was to remain as an Avenger. Known for his use of the bow and arrow as his primary weapon, Barton had become one of the best agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., responsible for the recruitment of Black Widow, whom he developed a strong friendship with. He had never finished high school but was deemed quite intelligent by his S.O. He had grown up in a circus where he developed his marksmanship to near perfection. Barton had made himself as one of the best assassins, tacticians, and marksmen, and had shown great loyalty and dedication to whatever his objective is, and always gets the mission done, no matter the cost. But he also never hurt an innocent willingly. He is known as an expert tactician and knows many languages such as English, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, and Japanese.
The last member was Black Widow aka Natalia Alianovna Romanova but now known as Natasha Romanoff. Originally a KGB operative and dangerous assassin, Romanoff was recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D. by Clint Barton after getting on S.H.I.E.L.D's radar. Having extensive mastery in martial arts and tacticians, Black Widow became one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most efficient agents. At age 11, Romanoff was recruited by the KGB. In the Red Room Program, she endured both an education and indoctrination into the world of spy-craft. She had enhanced strength and superhuman reflexes granted by a lesser version of superhuman serum and was known as the best assassin in the world.
Romanoff's file like the others only consisted of her missions, her skills and a little bit of her past. But it was the thinnest one of all. He had profiled all the avengers on his own but she was the one he hadn't been able to figure out yet. She was also the only person who had a past like his own. They both had been manipulated and designed to be a weapon from an early age and they both had broken the chains binding them.
He was broken out of his musings when he heard a "Hey, You there." He forced himself to calm down. They both turned around and saw a guard walking towards them. He didn't appear to be hostile but he remained on guard, nonetheless.
"I caught her snooping around the corridors. Claims to be a reporter. I was told to escort her out the building." He told him in a British accent while tightening his grip on Romanoff's arm. Not hard enough to hurt her but just to make it seem that he was the one in-charge.
"Why is she not in a locker then?" He asked him, confused but not suspicious.
"Don't know how the boss man's mind works, mate but I was ordered to throw her out the tower before she wanders again." He told him flippantly but there was an edge to his tone.
He appeared to have bought the lie and was about to go on his merry way but suddenly, the alarms blared signaling a Protocol red which he had no idea what it was.
Before the guard could react in any way, Romanoff freed herself from Harry's grip and knocked out the guard by hitting him in the head. Harry had known she was good but she sometimes relied heavily on blunt force rather than nerve strikes which required precision.
Harry sighed heavily. He wasn't used to these types of operations. He often infiltrated his targets' hideouts and got the job done without anyone the wiser. That's how he had stayed under SHIELD's radar unlike Romanoff who made loud noise wherever she went. That wasn't to say she was not good. She was, but she left too many bodies and pandemonium in her wake.
Harry saw Romanoff taking the guard's weapon and moving towards the launch chamber without a backwards glance. He followed her in a more sedate pace and watched their six. The hallways were deserted so they didn't face any more hurdles on their way.
When they arrived at the chamber, the countdown had already. It seemed that they had sped up the launch after hearing of their escape. There were some scientists on the launch site doing their jobs and ensuring that the missile launch was successful. Romanoff didn't bother to introduce herself and killed everyone by open firing without mercy. He didn't even get a chance to raise his weapon. As far as they knew, these people were going to murder millions of innocent people and they didn't deserve anything else except death.
They both got closer to the site and saw numerous screens signaling radars and countdown of the launch which was in 12 minutes. Behind the glass, there was the missile. He thought the projectile would be bigger but that wasn't the case. it was a small ballistic missile in the size of a small car fitted with a powerful propulsion system. All in all, it didn't look like something that could decimate millions but he knew that looks could be deceiving.
"Can you stop it?" Romanoff asked him calmly despite the situation. But he didn't respond. He was already trying to figure out how to stop it. Nuclear bombs get their explosive energy from the splitting of atoms in materials like uranium or plutonium. And this missile was the same, as he had read from the notes he had seen in the lab before he was captured. The only difference was that this nuke gained its energy from the 0-8-4.
Speaking of the 0-8-4, he had seen it before. Not in person but a picture of it in an old book. It was known as 'Hyacintho Luna' meaning Blue moon because of its circular shape and a blue glow. The book he had read from, was one of the many of his Grandfather's personal collections. It stated that the 'Hyacintho Luna' was one of the most powerful objects in the world. In 8000 BC, the Elves were at war with the Wizard kind. The war was waged by Wizards not for any political gains or to gain access to Elven lands but because of jealousy. Elves were known to be one of the most powerful creatures in the world just below Sorcerers, a fact that didn't sit well with them. Wizards couldn't touch Sorcerers because they were so few already but Elves were another story. Wizards had the advantage in numbers but Elves made the ground even by their powerful magic and their affinity with Elemental powers. The war lasted for decades with both sides taking heavy losses but eventually the Elves got overwhelmed by the Wizards' numbers and retreated. In their last bid of survival, they created a magical artifact for the survival of their race. It was created by the sacrifice of hundreds of elves' magical cores to make an energy source to power their wards which would hide them from Wizard kind. Before they could set up the wards, they were attacked by Wizards and the race of Elves ceased to exist from that point on. The artifact was taken by Wizards but they could never access its powers because of the lack of knowledge so it was deemed as a trophy for their victory over Elves. Over time, 'Hyacintho Luna' turned into a stuff of legends and myth and was lost in time. But now, here it was, in front of him in the nuke.
But back to the situation at hand, he could change the coordinates of the projectile and send it to the outer space but he would need the launch key for that. And he didn't have the time to hack a system this complex not with the time they had left. He glanced at the countdown. 9 minutes. Second option he had was to take out the 'Hyacintho Luna' from it and hope for the best. The latter option seemed better than the former one.
He was startled out of his thoughts by a gun shot. There was a guard at the entrance who was aiming his weapon at them but he was quickly taken down by the redhead.
"Can you stop the missile from taking off?" she asked him again but this time there was an edge in her voice and her face as cold as ever.
"Yes, I can try to…" they heard several footsteps heading towards them.
"I don't wanna know how, just do what you can to dismantle it. I'm going to hold them back as long as I can." She interrupted him and took cover behind the glass which he knew was bulletproof. The glass was fitted here because it wouldn't melt during the heat from the launch.
Harry didn't wait to be told twice and went to the launcher and got to work. The files he had read earlier were detailed and didn't suggest any security placed on the missile in case of tampering. He didn't know if it was still the case but he didn't have time to play safe. He glanced at the countdown. 6 minutes.
He climbed the ladder and began to unscrew the side lid. Inside, he could see several wirings, all of them if tampered with would make the nuke explode, killing him and many others. He avoided to touch any wire skillfully and unscrewed the second compartment which he knew contained the 0-8-4. 3 minutes.
He could hear gunshots being fired behind him but he focused on the task at hand and resisted the urge to turn around. He knew Romanoff would protect his back for now but he wasn't sure what would happen afterwards when he dismantled the nuke.
The second compartment looked like as he expected it to. But they had added an extra layer of security on the magical artifact. It seemed like there was a powerful force field in place to prevent anyone from touching it. 2 minutes.
He didn't have any time left so he coated his hand in a large amount of magic and penetrated the shield by bypassing his hand through it. The method he was using wasn't safe and the magic could make the artifact to react violently so he was relieved when he touched it and nothing happened except the disappearing of the force field. He quickly backed up from the rocket when it was about to launch without the orb in his hand. He ignored the launch. He knew the nuke was harmless now, it would most likely crash to a building harmlessly with no damage to its surrounding area and examined the orb in his hand. He realized that it looked more beautiful than the pictures he had seen.
He was interrupted by the cease of gunfire. He looked at Romanoff who looked unharmed and unwinded despite the many opponents she had taken down. Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second when she saw the orb but she regained her cool mask quickly.
"We need to go before more of the security decides to pay visit and we're taking the 0-8-4 with us." She told him with her voice level.
"Uh… yeah, right." He told her acting flustered in the presence of the glowing orb. On their way, he saw several dead bodies including Charles Newtons'. It seemed he had missed most of the action.
They both took the stairs to go down and get out the building with the orb in a briefcase he had taken from the lab.
In the lobby, he heard a guard eying them and speaking in his coms. it seemed Romanoff had noticed it too because she tensed. In a second, they were surrounded by the guards but they couldn't shoot them because of the civilians in the crossfire. Harry did the only thing he could think of and shot several rounds in air. It caused pandemonium in the lobby and the guards didn't have any time to react when the civilians rushed towards the exit, knocking them down.
Outside, Agent Romanoff got in touch with Agent Coulson from Stark's untraceable phone which she had retrieved from Sauer's dead body.