Tony and Thomas were working in the billionaire's lab. The superhero was completing the construction of a new armor entirely made of nanotechnology, while the SHIELD agent was set up on a table a little further away and was finishing composing a new webfluids formula. The summer heat was slowly making its way into the Tower, but FRIDAY kept the Avengers's base cool.
From time to time, the adult watched the young boy assemble the various chemical elements with perfect precision. It was immediately apparent that Thomas had been doing these experiments for a long time and that every move he made was meticulously adjusted. Whether it was to create synthetic webs or sophisticated inventions, the boy's genius was no longer to be proven. The billionaire even shown him some damaged gauntlets during a mission and asked him if he knew what to do to repair them. Not only did his intern answer correctly, but he also knew how to improve them so that they would be easier to control in flight while still being able to launch fast and powerful blasts in fights. As always, Tony was impressed with the teenager, and he didn't hesitate to congratulate him when he had the opportunity. A smile appeared on the engineer's lips as he saw that his apprentice now felt completely at ease with him and no longer hid his joy when he was immersed in mechanics.
However, despite the calm in the workshop, Tony's mind wasn't really quiet... He'd seen Thomas taking a children's Iron Man helmet in his hands when they were at the Manhattan Mall. He'd seen the mutant's sad look when he contemplated the red object. It lasted only a few seconds, but Tony had clearly seen his intern's mask dissipate to reveal emotions that he seemed to only keep to himself. The parallel between him and the kid became even more obvious to him, and he didn't like it at all.
Several minutes went by, when a thought suddenly came back at the genius's mind.
"Tell me, Tom."
"Yes, Mr. Stark ?" Thomas had just finished his new webfluids cartridges and turned to see his mentor.
"When you came to the Tower, you told us you were sixteen years old, right ?"
"Yes."
"However, I don't think you told us when was your birthday."
Thomas was confused, but then his eyes widened when he realized what Tony was talking about. He had almost forgotten that it was the beginning of August and that he would soon turn seventeen. The teenager had lost interest in his birthday since his imprisonment at HYDRA because he never knew if he would live long enough to grow up. This was especially true during the three years he secretly worked with the SHIELD to plan the fall of the criminal organization, where the only way to know if he had earned a year was by looking at the date on his phone's screen. This event that was so special to him as a child had now lost all its magic.
The boy let the silence settle in the lab, then he finally let out a small sigh.
"My birthday is in August 10th."
"Oh, that's not so long away !"
"Yeah... But to be honest, I almost forgot about it." Thomas finished his sentence with a whisper.
"Seriously ?" Tony said with a dubious look on his face. "Why ?"
Thomas felt his heart skip a beat. He didn't expect his mentor to hear his words. His usually impassive face had now a troubled expression that he couldn't hide from Tony. The mutant lowered his head slightly forward, hiding a part of his face with his bangs, then he looked away, holding his left wrist with his hand so that it wouldn't shake. He was scared to talk about why he tended to consider his birthday a "normal" day. How could he tell the man he admired the most in the world that the month of his birth was the catalyst for the worst memories of his life ? How could he say that he didn't want to celebrate this special day with flying colors because it preceded a tragic event that derailed his destiny ? It was impossible... He was afraid of having another panic attack, like the ones he used to have in front of his friends and his former boss a year ago.
The agent of SHIELD started clenching his fist in anxiety. Suddenly, he felt hands resting on his shoulders. He hadn't heard his mentor approaching him. Thomas straightened his head, surprised, although his hair still covered his face.
"Hey..." Tony's voice was reassuring, just like the grip of his hands. "Look at me, kid."
Thomas hesitated for a few seconds, then he decided to look at Tony. The brown eyes of his childhood hero immediately soothed him.
"You don't have to answer that question if you don't want to. But know that whatever's on your mind, you can tell me."
"... Really ?"The young boy asked as he came to his senses.
"Yes." Tony affirmed in a sincere tone, then he paused. "I don't know what happened to you in the past, and you certainly have your reasons for not telling it. But if you need to put into words how you feel, then I will listen to you. Whatever it is, I won't judge you. You are my mentee and I will do everything to help you because I care about you and I want you to be happy."
Thomas was shocked. For a moment, he felt as if he saw his father Richard in front of him again, with his gentle look that always managed to calm him down when he felt sad. In spite of his work and the many sleepless nights he had to do because of it, the scientist still took his time to be there for his son and to love him like any parent. His Uncle Ben was also like that for the short time they spent together. The mutant was aware that his father figures and Tony were completely different people, both in personalities and ways of life, but they shared the same warmth and sense of security that the young boy felt with them.
The mutant then felt something running down his cheek. He was surprised to find that it was a tear. He didn't remember crying since the night he miraculously reunited with his friends from the orphanage. Thomas didn't know what to say for many seconds, and after wondering what to do, he finally sighed and put his head against Tony's chest. The billionaire was surprised by this unexpected gesture, but he didn't move.
There was a floating moment, and then...
"My family died five days after my birthday." Thomas confessed in a low voice, but loud enough for his mentor to hear him.
Tony was breathless when he heard this sentence.
"I was eight years old. I fell sick at that time… My parents, uncle and aunt had stayed home to take care of me." The mutant continued without raising his head, fearing that his courage would vanish. "I thought it would be just like any other day. Then I heard gunshots and screams below my room. I miraculously managed to escape the danger, but..."Thomas tried to ignore his knotted stomach as best as he could."My family was murdered. My father, my mother, Ben and May... They were all killed. I was so shocked after being taken to the hospital that I couldn't even attend their funeral."
The billionaire was baffled. No sound came out of his mouth.
I suspected that the kid must've had a difficult past, but I had no idea it could be such a tragedy. Tony thought, feeling a bitter taste spreading down his throat. Losing his family at such a young age... I can't even imagine the pain he must have felt when the doctors and police told him he had been orphaned.
All of a sudden, Thomas's atypical behavior became all clear for the superhero : all those times his gaze was lost in the void, all those times he disappeared like a ghost when no one paid attention to him, his exceptional maturity, his laconic way of speaking... All of these were coping mechanisms caused by this trauma. And judging by his gestures and the tone of his voice, the teenager never spoke about this to anyone and probably never had the opportunity to verbalize what was on his mind.
Tony bit his lower lip… He blamed himself for not having this discussion earlier. Despite his doubts and the difficulty he had in speaking about his own torments, he should have encouraged the kid to open up to him. However, he didn't intend to act like his father who looked away from his son because he didn't behave the way he wanted, forcing him to internalize his discomfort behind a role of a prideful and confident genius... The billionaire never had anyone to tell him it was okay to be sad, to have hesitations and to talk about his problems if he needed it, and he refuse to let his mentee know that suffering.
The man then gently hugged the teenager. The mutant was caught off guard by this action. He expected every possible reaction from his mentor, but not this one.
"Mr. Stark... ?"
Tony stayed silent, and tenderly stroked the boy's hair with his right hand.
"Does anyone else know about this story besides me ?" The superhero asked cautiously.
"... No."
The billionaire didn't answer and tightened his embrace. Tony cursed the bad stars that seemed to be raining down on the poor mutant, who by a cruel coincidence made him experience the same hardships that he had gone through : mourning, self-withdrawal, fear of being hurt and seeing his loved ones going away from him... However, unlike him who almost destroyed himself because of his recklessness and tumultuous behavior, Thomas hadn't chosen the path of arrogance or grudge. His heart had remained good and still had kindness and empathy for others, but at the cost of being mute out of survival instinct. If his mentee had been able to reveal something so heavy to him, it meant that he was beginning to drop his impassive mask to show himself as he really was : a boy who felt deeply alone and was looking for some semblance of normality in his life.
Tony suddenly heard deep breaths, almost imperceptible to the ear if he wasn't so close. He looked at his intern resting against his chest, hiding his face, but he quickly understood that Thomas was holding back from crying.
"Let it all out, kid. If you want to cry, you can." Tony whispered.
That's all it took for Thomas to wrap his arms around his idol and grab the back of his shirt tightly, as if he was afraid he was going away. He let out a few muffled sobs, while Tony continued to caress his head and whisper comforting words to him.
"Shhh... It's all right, Thomas. I'm right here."
The teenager couldn't stop the tears that flooded his face, and his breathing became irregular. He had long accepted that his family is dead and would never come back to him. How could it be otherwise when he saw with his own eyes the inert bodies of his parents, his uncle and aunt, riddled with bullets and stained with blood before they turned to ashes in a fire ? These images was etched in his memory, as vivid as a burn on the skin. Thomas had mourned them in silence, tucked away in his room at the orphanage, far from the gaze of others. However, it was the first time in more than nine years that he admitted out loud that his family was no longer there anymore... He had taken care to bury his past deep in his soul so as not to prevent it from moving forward, and now it reappeared like a geyser and filled his heart with grief.
Once he was calm again, Thomas walked away from Tony and wiped his red cheeks with the palm of his hand with an embarrassed look.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark... I didn't mean to get carried away like that."
"That's all right." The billionaire continued to patted Thomas's head. "It's totally normal to cry when you're upset."
The boy silently nodded. He felt his pendant warming up against his skin, even more than usual, as a sign of congratulations for listening his conscience and letting his emotions speak. Thomas then gently raised his head to look at his mentor, and saw that his eyes were still warm. Even after he knew the truth about what happened to his family, he looked at him with neither fear nor pity. He just smiled at him and made sure he was okay. The mutant's body relaxed completely, as if a giant weight had just evaporated from his shoulders, and he let out a sigh of relief.
"Feeling better ?" Tony asked.
"Yeah... Still a little shaken up, but I'm okay."
"That's good." He stopped for a few moments, his face looking thoughtful. Now that his mind was clearer, he realized that even though he was able to help his intern come out of his shell, his words, which he thought were harmless, had certainly hurt him. "I'm sorry to make you remember such painful memories."
"No, it's not your fault Mr. Stark. You didn't know about that."
This time it was the boy's turn to pause.
"... I... I wasn't trying to forget my past by choosing not to talk about it. I know that what happened to me before can't be erased, and that I shouldn't stay locked up in it. I just..."
"You were afraid of being rejected, right ?" Tony replied blankly.
Thomas quickly raised his head, his eyes wide open.
"I knew that feeling... I spent part of my childhood in my father's shadow, under the weight of his changing moods and his addiction to alcohol. There were days when he was completely indifferent to those around him, and other days when he could get really angry. No matter what I did, it was never enough for him, and he would never stop scolding me if I didn't behave like a member of the Starks. Let's say that I didn't grow up in a very healthy environment. And the sudden death of my parents didn't help at all... I had to wear a strong man's mask with a heart of steel so I wouldn't sink. It followed me into adulthood and even after I became Iron Man, to the point where I almost self-destructed more than once and lost the people who were precious to me because of my impulsiveness and selfishness... All because I didn't have the guts to admit my weaknesses when I needed it the most."
The billionaire clenched his fists during his talking. Even though he had learned to externalize his experiences with the help of many specialists, remembering the worst aspects of himself and his life never get easier. However, if Thomas had the strength to reveal his past to him, he wanted to do the same for him, especially if it meant that the kid wouldn't make the same mistakes he made. He then put his hands on the spider boy's shoulders, staring at him with a serious and determined look.
"I know how you feel, kid. I, too, had to grow up faster than I wanted and repress my emotions to survive, and it took me a long time to realize that it hurt me more than anything else. But you found the courage to come out of your silence and tell me what was weighing on your heart without having to reach a point of no return."
Tony took him in his arms again.
"You are very brave, Thomas. Maybe even braver than the Avengers. You support us on the sidelines on every mission from the Tower, you train very hard to be able to help others, you don't judge any of us despite the heavy crosses we carry with us... You are the kindest and most courageous boy I know. I love the time I spend with you, and everyone feels the same way. You're not alone anymore, kid... Your friends, Mr. Owen, the Avengers... We're all here for you. I'm here for you, Tom, and I'll do everything to protect you and save you. Whatever it takes."
Thomas was speechless. His body was as motionless as a statue, and the words of his mentor echoed in his ears... Since the four years he spent in hell alongside the world's worst criminals, the agent of SHIELD thought he would no longer expect anything from fate : he was turned into a nameless child soldier by the monsters who killed his family, obtained spider powers without asking for them, and owed his survival only by his perseverance driven by revenge. After suffering so many misfortunes, he had finally convinced himself that he could never regain the happiness he had known as "Peter Parker", that having people by his side again was closer to a wish whispered in a dream. And yet... Tony Stark, the man he has always admired since childhood, who took him under his wing and helped him improve his skills, the hero who saved him from death on that tragic night, told him that he was brave. That he was a good person, that he was part of the Avengers and that he cared about him. Never in his life would Thomas have imagined that he meant so much to such extraordinary people as the Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
Tears began to fall again on the boy's cheeks, but this time more sporadically. He hugged Tony with less firmness, overwhelmed by the emotion of feeling understood and recognized as a human by his guardians.
Silence thus reigned in the workshop. No noise broke the soothing atmosphere that had formed like a protective bubble around the two men. And after some time, Tony touched the thread of the pendant of his intern with his fingertips. It was thin and smooth, although it looked stronger than a normal black cord necklace. The billionaire remembered Pepper telling him that a crystal was attached to the end of the thread, and that it was the only fragment Thomas had left from his former life before the orphanage. Fearing that he accidentally damaged it because of his ARC reactor, Tony walked away from the teenager.
"Oops, sorry kid. I just felt you had a pendant on you. I hope I didn't break it..." Tony apologized promptly.
"No, it's all right, Mr. Stark !" Thomas pulled up the black cord and pulled the gem out of his shirt. "This crystal is very strong. I fell with it several times and it never broke."
"Phew... Thanks god."
Tony then looked at the crystal that lay between the hands of his mentee : it was transparent and pure white, as if the wear of time had no impact on it, and appeared to be composed of two distinct parts, with at its top a sanded sphere resembling a pearl and a rhombus with an end longer than the corners. He deduced that the stone was probably forged by someone, but the style of the pendant didn't resemble a classic handcrafted model.
Suddenly, without understanding why, the sight of this crystal made him feel like he had already seen it... The reminiscences of that distant fire came back to his mind, like the flame of a match, and he saw again the scarlet fire rising up in the night, in a place that seemed strangely familiar to him this time. He couldn't describe where it was, but he was sure it was in one of New York's borough. However, outside of this nightmarish environment suffocated by heat and smoke, one detail caught his attention... The shadow that the genius saw through the glow of the blaze gradually became more distinguishable, more concrete, until it finally took the form of a child, barely ten years old. And around the little being's neck shone something bright, illuminated by the fire...
But as the questions followed one another in Tony's mind as the fragments of memories came together, the thread of his thought was cut by FRIDAY's voice.
"Sir, an emergency call has just been sent to all the Avengers. Captain Rogers requests an immediate meeting."
"Tss... He always chooses his moment." The billionaire sighed. "I'll have to go, Thomas. Do you think you can stay here alone ?"
"Yes, don't worry. I feel better. You can go, Mr. Stark."
Tony didn't move for a few seconds, then he finally nodded when he saw that the teenager had indeed recovered from his tears. He walked to the elevator and let FRIDAY guide him to a conference room in the Tower. When he arrived there, he saw all the members of the team gathered around the table. With the serious eyes of Captain America, White Wolf and Black Widow, there was now no doubt that this was going to be an important mission. Once everyone was present, Natasha spoke up.
"Some agents of SHIELD have been subject to cyberattacks during the past week. Several sites were targeted, ranging from security system's sabotage to theft and data corruption's attempts, but the majority of them failed due to the quick intervention of members of the organization."
"Cyberattacks ? Could it be the work of a hacker ?" Rhodey asked.
"Not one, but a group. The SHIELD's database protection protocol was reinforced two years ago, so if just one of them were to be hacked by any means, all the others would be locked down automatically. However, several attacks took place at the same time on two or three different bases."
"In other words, even if a criminal had software that could hack into several systems at once, he would have been immediately stopped as soon as one of the databases had the slightest anomaly. It would therefore need the help of several people to deactivate this protection protocol so that a large-scale cyberattack could be possible."
"That's right, Tony." Steve answered. "But what caught our attention was that these attacks took place over a short period of days before coming to a complete halt. Obviously, the culprits were not trying to steal all the data from the sites, but some specific informations."
"Me and Natasha investigated the case, in order to track down the perpetrators." Bucky continued.
"And who are they ?" Vision asked.
"... HYDRA."
There was a silence. A long, heavy silence, as the eyes of the Avengers - with the exception of the two super-soldiers and the spy - widened in shock. The horror ran across Pietro and Wanda's faces, so much so that the witch took her brother's hand to keep control of her emotions, a gesture that the runner immediately reciprocated.
"Wait... I thought HYDRA had been dismantled." Bruce finally said after coming to his senses. "Nick Fury told us that all the bases of the criminal organization were destroyed, and that nobody survived the explosions."
"It's true, HYDRA's bases have been completely wiped off the map. We have seen the damage with our own eyes. However, it's not impossible that some members may have escaped the blasts by infiltrating the population long before this incident."
"In other words, moles."Clint concludes.
Bucky nodded.
"Only an organized group like HYDRA is capable of understanding and circumventing the SHIELD's defense mechanisms." Said Natasha. "Especially since they are the only ones who know the agency exists. If they have taken the trouble to attack head-on, it's because they are probably looking for something to repeat their crimes... Or for another purpose."
"In any case, even if they are only a handful of spies now, they remain a threat that we must stop at all costs." Steve answered solemnly.
"Tch... And I thought we were rid of those bastards. Damn it !" Quicksilver spit in anger.
"Language."
"And you know where they are ?" Sam asked.
"I was able to decipher the source of the viruses they sent to infect the databases, and they led to a hideout in Colorado."
"Then let's go make them wish they'd never come out of their hole." Tony exhalted.
"Good. Let's all get ready for this mission ! See you at the Quinjet in 15 minutes !"
Without further ado, the Avengers left to put their costumes and equip their weapons. Tony quickly returned to the lab to suit up Mark XLIX, the most advanced and powerful suit he had just completed. Thomas, who was taking notes on his phone, saw his mentor change into Iron Man. The latter felt the look of his mentee on him and anticipated his question by answering :
"Cyberattacks by a group of criminals have recently hit the SHIELD. Natasha was able to detect their hideout in Colorado, and that's where we're going to dig them up."
"Hackers, huh... They must be pretty oblivious. And you know who they are ?"
Tony was silent. He didn't want to scare Thomas about the possibility that it might be HYDRA, because he didn't know how the teenager would react to this information when he had just recovered from his previous confession. But on the other hand, lying to him would not be the best choice to make. So the billionaire decided to reveal only a part of the truth.
"No, and that's why we have to stop them as soon as possible. Besides, it would be better for you to stay out of this mission, kid."
"Huh ? Why ?" Thomas was surprised by this sudden decision. He had no problem supporting them from afar during dangerous missions.
"Because we don't know anything about the identity and purpose of these criminals. If they managed to override the SHIELD's supposedly impenetrable defenses, then they must have a weapon superior to human technology."
"... Alien tech !"
"That's right. Even if we have vague knowledge about their use, they remain unstable and unpredictable. If they do possess this kind of weaponry, the mission may be more difficult than expected. There is even a chance that the location Natasha found might be a trap."Tony approached Thomas and put his hands on his shoulders."That's why it's best that you limit your contact with us this time. If they ever find out that we have an outside support, you may find yourself in danger. We have dealt with this type of confrontation before, so we will know how to fight in that case."
Thomas looked Tony straight in the eye while thinking of his words... He was right. Alien tech is not to be taken lightly. The Battle of New York had shown the full extent of their dangerousness in front of the whole world. He knew himself how much his spy arsenal had gained in power and resistance thanks to these materials from space. And if these hackers possess an equipment similar to his, then the threat of having his identity discovered becomes all the more real. Moreover, during these battles, the surrounding chaos can quickly take cataclysmic turns. His intervention could be more of a nuisance than anything else.
The young boy couldn't help but worry about not being able to communicate with his guardians for an indefinite period of time, but he was aware that this was the best solution for him. He looked down and whispered in a low voice :
"Please, be careful."
"Don't worry. We will come back soon, I promise."
Tony hugged the spider boy briefly to reassure him, then left to join his companions on the Tower's roof. In the meantime, he ordered FRIDAY to give Thomas manual access to the controls of the compound so that he didn't remain locked in the huge building - in addition to protecting the teenager, of course. The billionaire didn't want to take any risk with any kind of weapons their enemies have, and he refused to turn the security of the Avengers base into a prison in which his intern couldn't get out.
And while the Quinjet flew in the sky, a shadow lurking at the foot of the Tower goes away...
The afternoon faded in Manhattan.
Thomas was lying on the sofa in the living room, his eyes haggard. He had his headphones on, and his MP3 played Higurashi's music. For a day where he was free to do whatever he wanted, the mutant hadn't done much in the end : he sent his reports to the SHIELD, finished his ongoing game of Luigi's Mansion and chatted with his friends by messages during their breaks. But other than that ? Nothing else.
It wasn't the first time he'd been alone in the Tower, and he knew how to entertain himself when no one was around. The place was full of different rooms in which he could move around as he liked, and he never felt cramped. On the contrary, this building was so big that he didn't know where to look. Everything was done so that the Avengers could live a peaceful life and relax within the complex, outside of training and fighting. It was like a small town inside the Big Apple. Nothing so surprising when said Tower is the work of a billionaire playboy philanthropist genius.
However, despite the beautiful colors that were painted through the window, Thomas had a hard time being totally relaxed. Cyberattacks against the SHIELD, a remote location leading to a secret hideout, criminals with technologies difficult to control... All of these seemed far from being a coincidence. If the culprits specifically attacked the secret society and not another global intelligence agency, it may be because the SHIELD have unique informations that only they had access to. Since they specialized in tracking down high-powered beings and repatriating alien weapons, it isn't difficult to imagine that the criminals wanted to appropriate as much of alien arsenals as possible to cause damage or sell it to the highest bidder. In fact, Tony had mentioned to him that Chitauri debris were stored in a vault in the Tower.
Those details continued to run through the mutant's mind for long minutes, until he finally returned to his room to put his uniform and spy arsenal. He had a bad feeling. His instinct was always helpful, and if it was so persistent, there must have been a reason. He had to know for sure.
Thomas took his phone out of his pocket and displayed blue holograms that showed the recording of the cameras of the complex. The young boy looked carefully at all the screens, especially around the entrances and important rooms such as laboratories or armories. Everything seemed normal on the upper floors : the roof was deserted and there was only him in the private quarters of the Avengers. All other rooms were empty. The teenager then gradually descended the levels, his senses on edge over the slightest difference or suspicious noise... And then he noticed that the screen that was supposed to show the underground garage was blurred. The camera was off.
"FRIDAY, there's a problem with the basement's camera. Do you know what it could be ?"
"I don't know. I just detected some anomalies in my protocols. My system seems to have been weakened by something, and I can't contact the Avengers." The AI responded.
Thomas felt his fingers tightening under anxiety.
Fearing the worst, the agent of SHIELD turned off his phone and typed a command on a screen projected by his optimized handwrists that allowed him to detect the presence of non-human energy inside the Tower, no matter how thin, in the same way as thermal vision. The results were displayed on an orange hologram : the Chitauri debris radiated into the vault... As well as emitters and assault rifles emanating a fainter glow in the corridors of the building, held by seven men in black uniforms and wearing gas masks on their faces.
Oh shit.
No more doubts : it was a trap. The criminals who caused the cyberattacks at the SHIELD made sure the Avengers were sent away from their base so they could get in with alien tech, the only one capable of thwarting Tony Stark's creations. They didn't even bother to pretend to be discreet, and wandered through the various empty floors without any pressure.
Thomas's mind started to think fast... He was alone in the Tower, unable to call for help and facing heavily armed intruders. The agent of SHIELD didn't know what kind of modifications they had made to their rifles, making them difficult to approach, although they didn't seem to have enough alien energy to destroy entire walls. They also had bulletproof vests and eye and nose protection, thus preventing him from using his revolver or narcoleptic gases. Whatever these bandits wanted, they had well prepared themselves for their misdeed. However, Thomas had more than one card up his sleeve... He was the Avengers's apprentice, and he had trained very hard with them relentlessly to counter any kind of enemy. Especially since he was a former spy with spider powers : discretion and cunning were his specialties. It was thanks to this that he was able to survive three years without ever being unmasked by his jailers.
Heh... They were wrong to believe that there are no guards here. I may not be a hero, but I'm a very good troublemaker. The mutant thought, a flame of challenge shining in his eyes.
The agent of SHIELD put on his mask to cover his face (and his identity), a helmet he created with Tony on his head to protect himself from possible explosions, and then opened the hatch of the air vents to go inside. He then let his senses guide him to the floor where three of the seven members of the criminal group were located. Once there, Thomas stopped to take a closer look at his opponents : big guys, one of whom was one head taller than his two accomplices, who were obviously used to hybrid weapons. That being said, they weren't as built as elite soldiers like Steve. If they found themselves disarmed, he would probably have no trouble getting rid of them. It was all a matter of timing and speed.
Thomas took out of his jacket's pocket two mini smoke bombs, no bigger than marbles and able to move on any surface. After being activated, they rolled silently to the ventilation outlet, then against the wall, and continued their way until they were close to the intruders. They released an enormous amount of white smoke, blinding the criminals, who could no longer see more than two meters in front of them.
"Argh ! What the hell is this ?!" One of the men screamed.
"Smoke ?"
"How is that possible ? I thought we disabled Iron Man's artificial intelligence !"
Thomas took advantage of the diversion to come out of hiding. He rushed towards the soldiers and immobilized them one by one on the floor and walls of the corridor with his webs. The brigands, completely disoriented by what had just happened to them, didn't have time to utter a single word that an electric shock knocked them out. The teenager started gasping with adrenaline... He grabbed his taser very tightly in his hand, afraid to let it go. The surprise effect had worked, and his stun gun still worked well despite all these years of little use.
Three out of seven. Only four left.
The mutant noticed that the smoke began to wear off. He rushed back into the air vents to search the other criminals. He quickly spotted two of them four floors above the one which three of their companions were tied up. Thomas took a new bomb out of his pocket and repeated the same procedure : he activate the object and let it roll to the criminals, except that it continued its way in front of them to take them to the ventilation outlet where he was positioned. Once in the right place, it let out its white smoke and surprised the men in black suits, allowing the teenager to fall directly on the unfortunate man just below the exit. Thomas wasted no time and used his taser to immobilize him. Suddenly, his spider sense alerted him of a danger : the second man had come to his senses faster than expected and was about to shoot him with his rifle, but the agent of SHIELD was quicker and disarmed his opponent by waltzing the weapon in the air with a kick, before hitting him in the face with a punch, knocking him out instantly.
Two left.
After tying up the soldiers with his webs, Thomas returned to hide in the air vents again. He felt rather lucky that he was "only" dealing with a group of seven people, and not an army. Had there been fifty of them, it would have been harder for him to defeat them alone. The battlefield was also in his favor : since he lived with the Avengers, he knew their base in every corner and had several ways to defend himself in case of a surprise attack. For a first close combat confrontation where he could let his powers run wild, Thomas thought he wasn't doing so badly. However, it was not over yet : he still had to stop the last two remaining enemies.
As the agent of SHIELD walked through the lower floors, he felt his senses on alert. He looked through the fence and found one of the criminals coming out of a room. Unlike his acolytes, this one seemed more experienced and with a more powerful weapon in hand, in addition to having a suit more equipped for hand-to-hand fight. Thomas was about to take another smoke bomb out of his pocket when suddenly he realized that the man in black suit had discovered his presence. He pointed the barrel of his rifle in his direction and pulled the trigger, releasing a huge explosion.
Oh fu- !
The Avengers's apprentice protected himself just in time by creating a force field around him, although the blast of the explosion caused him to move backwards. He then noticed the huge hole that had formed where he'd been just a few moments ago... If he'd reacted a hundredth of a second too late, he would certainly have been disintegrated by the beam. Drops of sweat ran down his forehead, while his breathing became shortened with the stress.
"Get out of here, whoever you are !" The bandit shouted threateningly, the weapon still pointed in the air. "I know you're there !"
Говно... This guy almost got me. Oh well... Screw discretion. I have to attack head-on.
Thomas activated the laser function of his optimized handwrists, stood out through the hole and shot at the man in black suit, who moved to the right in surprise. The teenager used this opening to pull himself out of the vents with his webs and landed on the ground without a snag. The criminal started shooting at the boy again, his furious gaze reflected behind the lenses of his mask, but the young apprentice dodged the blasts with his spider sense and quick reflexes. After several intense minutes of thinking about the best strategy to adopt in front of an enemy with such striking power, Thomas had an idea : he made a small shield of blue photons appear on his right arm and threw it against the left wall of the corridor. The projectile bounced off opposite surfaces until it reach the soldier in the head. The man in black suit, destabilized by this trick, which he didn't expect from what seemed to him to be an anonymous agent of SHIELD, was able to avoid the shield by moving his upper body backwards. Thomas took advantage that his opponent had temporarily let his guard down to rush towards him, high kicking him in the stomach, causing him to fall on the ground several meters away.
The mutant stopped moving while he took a breath. He could feel his forehead soaking behind his bangs and his brain going numb after this confrontation.
Normally, Thomas wouldn't act on impulse, but in this situation he didn't have much choice. Since he didn't know if his force field would withstand a direct hit from the guy's hybrid assault rifle, he decided to use Captain America's technique and create a shield not as a protection, but as a weapon. He acted with nerve, just like Tony when a mission gets out of control, and it ended well for him.
The agent of SHIELD, once calmer, took out his taser and approached the soldier to stop him for good and then tie him up. Suddenly, his senses went up to eleven and his ears began to roar louder and louder, causing him tinnitus. However, no sound was audible around him. The pain was so intense that his mind went in circles, his vision fogging up with every second that passed, to the point where his legs began to tremble. Thomas could barely make any movement because his headaches hurt him horribly, so much that he inadvertently dropped his stun gun from his hands... And after a short time, the "noise" stopped and his body collapsed to the ground under the weight of what seemed to be a blow to his neck, and he lost consciousness.
Behind the stunned mutant stood another man in black suit. The leader of the group of criminals, who had a sound taser in his right hand. He was on the floor below where one of his accomplices and the Avengers's apprentice were fighting, and he decided to go and see what was going on. Seeing this masked individual undermine his plan, the bandit waited for the right moment to use his secret weapon, which he always kept with him in case something like this happened. His accomplice noticed his presence and painfully got up after the violent kick he'd just taken.
"Chief..." He murmured before gritting his teeth. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I didn't expect to face an agent of SHIELD."
"It's okay, Greg. I guess the Tower wasn't quite empty after all."
"How could this spy have been here during our assault ?" Greg wondered. "We had made arrangements so that no one could compromise our objective."
"Hmm... That's the question."
Silence fell in the corridor, while the chief watched the mysterious agent at his feet. As things stand now, the best thing would be to get rid of this intruder so that he wouldn't cause them any more problems. However, there was something in him that intrigued him... This masked person didn't look like any ordinary agent of SHIELD. To dispel his doubt, the man leaned towards the unconscious body on the ground and took off his helmet : he and Greg were surprised to discover a juvenile figure with brown hair. And as he removed the mask from his face, the chief's eyes widened as he saw the teenager's features... Before a mischievious smile appeared on his lips.
"Sir. Would that be..." The soldier said.
"Yes, there's no doubt... It's him. This dear little traitor who caused the fall of our organization."
The chief laughed sarcastically.
"We finally found you... Black Cat."
... You said Togashi ?
Sorry for the hiatus, a lot of things has happened on my life in the last few months. To make a quick summary :
I haven't lived the two lockdowns in my country very well. I wasn't in good spirits, especially since I was in my last year of studies and I had to validate it to get my diploma. As a result, all I did was work from March to September (the month when my orals were postponed) without having time to write, and October was the month when I wanted to do a Drawtober. So it wasn't until November that I was really able to start writing again.
But hey, I'm better now. I've graduated and officially finished my studies. I can continue the sequel to Lost Emotion again.
Enjoy the reading.