Chapter 1
Natasha Romanoff stands in the garden of a mansion, dressed elegantly. The mansion belongs to Robert Walker, the CEO of a major technology company. It's a company party organized by him to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of his company. Natasha's mission: find an ex-Hydra agent, responsible for several robberies at high-tech and computer companies. The thing is, he didn't carry out the robberies himself, but he hypnotized people and used them to commit robberies. The hypnotized people were captured by the police, but by then the pieces of technology were already in the possession of the Hydra agent, out of reach of the police. The victims did not remember anything of what happened once they woke up. All the victims had visited a hypnosis show, but the agent had made them forget which show to maintain the cover.
Natasha had been visiting all the hypnosis shows lately, but none of the hypnotists had turned out to be the agent, as none of the volunteers had subsequently committed any robberies. Natasha finds herself at this party after learning that there was going to be a hypnosis show, and that Robert's company had prototypes of high-tech weapons that could be targets for Hydra.
The guests all sit down in front of an improvised stage. The hypnotist, who calls himself Doctor Faustus, makes his presentation and begins to look for volunteers. He notices a 22-year-old brunette, Laura Walker, the CEO's youngest daughter, a college student. She walks up on stage to the applause of the audience. Doctor Faustus stands in front of her and holds a pocket watch in front of her eyes. Natasha doesn't know it, but that pocket watch was enhanced with the Mind Stone in Sokovia and could hypnotize anyone in seconds by sending small hypnotic waves at the chosen victim.
Doctor Faustus begins his induction by moving the watch in front of Laura's eyes.
First hypnotic wave reaches her mind. Laura's pupils narrow, as she stares into space.
Second hypnotic wave. She begins to extend her arms as if she were a zombie.
Third hypnotic wave. Laura with her arms fully extended says in a monotone voice: "I am ready to obey your orders.
The hypnotist first makes her cluck like a chicken. Then he orders her to perform some gymnastics movements. Finally, he orders Laura to become completely rigid as a board and places her lying on two chairs.
The hypnotist needs another volunteer and notices another brunette girl similar to Laura although a little older. She is Claire Walker, 24 years old, Laura's older sister and also in college although she was about to graduate. She goes up, but when Faustus places the pocket watch in front of her eyes, she says that this is a waste of time, turns around and leaves... but before she gets off the stage the first hypnotic wave reaches her mind causing her to remain completely still at the same time as her pupils shrink.
When the second hypnotic wave reaches her she extends her arms like a zombie and walks back to stand in front of Doctor Faustus.
With the third hypnotic wave, she says, "I am ready to obey your commands."
Faustus orders her to become rigid as a board and places her lying on two chairs, like Laura.
After this, Doctor Faustus places a rope suspended between two trapezes at a great height and orders Laura and Claire to sleepwalk on that rope. The audience is astonished to see that the two hypnotized girls do not fall.
Doctor Faustus orders them to do the same thing, only this time they cross the rope riding unicycles. When they do it with absolute ease, the audience applauds.
Finally, Faustus orders the girls to walk to their seats in the audience, sit down, count to ten, and wake up with no memory of what happened. What the audience does not see is that while he says this, he whispers in their ears that every time he says the phrase: "Remember the pocket watch" they will go back into trance
The girls do this and wake up. Natasha, who had been watching the show attentively, decided that she had to keep an eye on Doctor Faustus, because he seemed to her to be a hypnotist unlike any she had been investigating.