The change that came over me was instant. My bones and muscles became gelatinous in shape, brown skin became an inky black, with green lines shooting across me, my clothes shifted to my stomach, then turned pure white, and the Omnitrix symbol appeared on my chest. I felt my eyes become a single optic as my cells changed, going from human, to almost mechanical in nature. I reached forward with a four-fingered hand towards War Machine as I, for the first time in months, I yelled out an alien's name I never had.
"Upgrade!"
Creel, surprised by my attack, tried to press harder. The armor on Rhodey's back was buckling.
So my hands grabbed Rhodey's shoulders, then flattened out and began to flow across the black armor's cold metal. My nano-organic cells began to sink into the War Machine. I looked at Creel and fired a single beam of green light from my single eye, pushing him back with the laser blast. Creel stepped back in pain, and I focused on Rhodey.
My body joined to his armor. The experience was... weird. Not like putting on clothes. More like... injecting extra bone and muscle mass inside of me. I entered the War Machine, and Rhodey's mask snapped down. The entire suit's color scheme changed to black with green circuit stripes. I felt the arc reactor flood me with more power than I could ever believe, and made that power more efficient in turn. Every single aspect of the suit jumped up by a degree that seemed impossible and I felt I could do even more if I wanted to, as if I could mold and alter the suit as easily as someone does clay. Rhodey/I stared at the hud as he/I looked around.
"What just happened!?" Rhodey asked, both with his words and his thoughts.
"It was me," I answered in kind from within... as his suit. "I... gave you an upgrade."
We stood up. The arc reactor in our chest whined to life, the symbol of the Omnitrix glowing in that spot. Any damage left by Creel had disappeared, leaving pristine black and green metal in its place.
"This feels..." Rhodey trailed off, awed.
"Yeah, I know right?"
We turned to look at Creel, who stared back at us. The man rose up, rushing towards us. We raised our hands and a green flow flashing from our palms. When we fired, a green repulsor beam the size of a truck seemed to turn the world in front of us into emerald light. Only a quick adaptation on my part prevented Creel from being vaporized, making it so the center of the attack was concussive, and the outer edges were vaporizing. The massive green blast still smashed into Creel, throwing him screaming out the window like a ragdoll. The blast also destroyed the front of the bridge, leaving smoking ruin in its wake in the shape of a massive hole burned by the repulsor blast. Molten steel dripped from the ceiling in the silence that followed.
"...Holy shit," Rhodey/I said. The accelerated reality of our HUD helpfully showed us that the temperature of the air had reached almost 49 degrees Celsius.
At that point, I remembered the self-destruct. "One sec, Rhodey!" I separated from him, leaving him to stagger as his armor returned to its normal state.
"Oh, that just feels weird," Rhodey said as I flowed over to the console.
Moving as Upgrade was strange. I'd imagined it would feel like Goop did, but Goop felt like... like what being water would feel like. Fluid, and constantly shifting. Moving as Upgrade felt strangely as though I was still human, just able to feel every one of my cells at once. As though I could look at my human hand, and know that I could collapse it into formlessness. It was hard to describe.
I looked at the console for a moment, plenty of time left. I put my hands against the console and pressed into it, then through it.
My consciousness stretched. First, the console. Then the room, my cells merging with floors, the ceiling, all the way to the windows I'd blown out with Rhodey, repairing the damage to create holoscreens that showed the outside.
"Whoa," Rhodey said, looking around the black and green patterned room.
I wasn't done yet. I extended my body and consciousness into the command tower. I merged with catwalks and railings, became one with computers, did the cybernetic equivalent of a wave towards Jarvis and X as they 'watched' me work. I extended onto the flight deck, turning the concrete into metal, slipped over the anti-aircraft weapons and repairing the ones I'd destroyed.
My cells invaded deeper into the ship. I went through weapons systems and made them railguns or laser emitters on a whim, I entered into the engines and upgraded them, I even entered the cafeteria and bedrooms of the ship. All the way to the clear glass dome in the belly of the ship, infecting the whole of that space. My last stop was Jury Rigg's creation in the main power room. It was by far the most advanced object on the ship, light years ahead of anything else. Sorry Rhodey, your armor is still cool as shit though. I integrated Jury Rigg's machine into myself.
Soon, I was done. I had become the Insight Helicarrier, and it had been upgraded. I felt my form glow black and green and looked out with eyes made of the sensors and cameras of the ship. And so much more. Zola's algorithm was now as much a part of me as my DNA. I now understood the world in a way I had never comprehended as a human, almost a technological version of Swampfire's connection with plant-life. With a thought, a person's life was bared to me. As Rhodey stood inside of me, looking out in awe at the glowing flight deck that was a part of me, I got a series of reports on him. From his family history, his interactions with the media, psychological and medical files, camera footage of him in various bases and within Stark Industries facilities, even some stuff on social media of Tony filming Rhodey with strippers Tony had hired to 'loosen' his friend up. I got every bit of a picture that could be painted on Rhodey.
I turned it off seconds later, no one needs to know so much about a person. Instead, I focused on the self-destruct, which was actually rather brilliant. Once the captain activated it, the software disconnected, letting the rest go completely on its own. Of course, now that the arc reactor and repulsor technology was a part of my body, I shut it down. It felt a lot like swallowing back a cough, oddly enough.
"Okay, we're good," I said through the ship's speakers. Then, within myself, I 'looked' at X and Jarvis. "I assume you made it so the other captains are locked out from doing the same thing?"
"Indeed," Jarvis said. "We've also reinstalled the failsafe systems." To my perception, he looked like a floating orange orb of light, with striations bouncing back and forth. It was then that I realized something about Jarvis. He may have started out as a Natural Language UI, in fact, I could read the bits of code that indicated that, but now he was so much more. I'd assumed he was a VI, hell Tony never even corrected me otherwise. But Jarvis was a full AI now, or as close as existed. Which made me turn to X.
"Sir, this is..." X seemed speechless as he stared at me within the world of software. He was, appropriately, shaped like me, if I was made of blue light, and he... oh no.
"X," I said softly as our software interacted. "Do you feel different?"
He didn't speak, he didn't have too. Jarvis said nothing, having clearly noticed what I had.
"Okay," I said slowly, pulling my surprise back with a final thought of how bullshit Jury Rigg was. "We'll figure it out. For now, are the other helicarriers safe now?"
"As I said, all fail-safes are in place, and any attempts otherwise have been locked out," Jarvis said. "We'll monitor the situation to prevent anything else."
"Then it's time for me to take this baby for a spin," I said excitedly. Upgrade wanted to play.
"Mr. Schahed," Jarvis said, X still silent. "Isn't that really far too much power to bring into the battlefield?"
"Yeah... but I can't just possess a helicarrier and not use it," I stated as matter of fact.
Jarvis let out a long-suffering sigh.
"Uh, Dial?" I focused on my bridge when Rhodey spoke. "I think Creel is getting up."
"And I rather imagine it would be overkill to turn the helicarrier weapons against him," Jarvis stated.
"Fiiiiiinnne," I rolled my eyes. With a bit of disappointment, I released myself from the ship, becoming Upgrade once more, then joined with War Machine again. "Okay. Let's take him out."
"I'm down with that," Rhodey said. Together we flew out of the hole that had was back in the bridge.
In the broken remains of a Quinjet lay Creel. We floated over him as he rose out of it, glaring at us. He was now made of the same material as Quinjet, which he grabbed a piece of and tossed at us like a giant shuriken. The minigun on our shoulder aimed at the wing and started shooting with impossible speed, destroying it with a hail of lasers rather than the bullets it once fired.
"Should have let me go!" Creel shouted. He grabbed another piece and threw it, only for us to catch it with smooth ease the armor hadn't been capable of before.
"You know, I still sympathize with this guy, but..." Rhodey said both with words and thoughts. His fingers twitched, only for him to stop when he realized how easily he was crushing the wing in his grip.
"Yeah, let's finish him for his own good," I agreed.
We cocked our arm back and threw the piece of Quinjet back. It hit Creel with incredible force, sending him flying across the top of the flight deck, going through another Quinjet and sending flames up into the air in his wake. Newly created ports opened on our back, and the incredible power of the arc reactor flared from the new and upgraded repulsors I'd created. Moving as one, we flew towards Creel. Rhodey activated his HUD and read the material Creel was made of through the accelerated simulation program. Quickly, I scanned the material with Rhodey, and together we searched on the internet and discovered the tensile strength and the various weaknesses it had, our minds working in tandem to plan our next step. By the time we flew past him and came to a stop, we had a plan, albeit a very simple one. Watching him fly towards us, Rhodey and I came to a conclusion on how much force was needed to defeat Creel. By the time he was about to reach us, our right arm was punching forwards. Our forearm became a cannon, a mimicry based on my love of Megaman, and we blasted him with a wave of sonic, laser, and repulsor energy. Each part of the blast was keyed to fire a specific amount of energy, made to overwhelm Creel without killing him. The blast hit Creel mid-flight, canceling his forward motion and dropping him to the ground where he began turning back to his original state.
"About time," Rhodey said at the unconscious form of the super-human. "Now what?"
"I make an entrance," I told him, separating from his body and joining with the helicarrier once more. As the floor under Rhodey became me, he looked around.
"Couldn't you have just shot Creel as a giant damn ship?"
"Some things are personal... and Jarvis told me not to," I admitted through the helicarriers speakers, knocking out any HYDRA personnel within me with some newly constructed security measures, like taser guns popping out of the walls. "Plus, I'm a firm believer that War Machine combining with Upgrade is cool as shit."
"Hell yeah, it is. Kinda weird you became my armor though... I just know Tony is going to make jokes about this later," Rhodey said a little disgruntled, watching as the floor under Creel opened up to pull him into me. A series of slides brought him to the brig, along with all the HYDRA soldiers I'd knocked out within my halls and rooms. Once I was done, I focused on my next task, checking out the situation up top.
Then I pointed my guns up at the ceiling and started shooting at 'low' power.
Natasha Romanov/Black Widow
Natasha was wearing her black outfit, having discarded her disguise for the easier to move in clothes. Clint had done the same, wearing his purple long coat and quiver.
Together the two had joined Sharon Carter and her group and were now cleaning out the rest of the Triskelion.
"So you should just give him a chance," Natasha said as she strode confidently next to Sharon, holding her pistols up and watching for any threats as X and Jarvis calmly informed her of what was happening at their destination.
"Is this really the time to talk about this?" Sharon gave Natasha a look. She'd put on a bulletproof vest now, looking strangely petite in the over-sized body armor while carrying a massive assault rifle.
"Always time for romance," Clint said, his bow held at the ready. "Seriously, I worry about Steve."
"I really don't think he's my type," Sharon admitted, ignoring the chuckles of the agents behind her.
Natasha and Clint gave her a stunned look.
"Are you kidding? Have you seen Steve?" Clint asked, shocked. "The man is built like a demi-god! I mean that literally, Thor is one of my best friends and those two could be brothers."
"Looks aside, he's got that 'aw shucks' nice guy thing going on," Natasha added. "He's sweet."
They came to a door and stopped outside, taking positions next to it. After a shared nod, Natasha and Clint kicked it open. Inside was a room full of cubicles, like something one would see in any office in North America, with a massive window was on the other side of the room that displayed the crystal mountain outside. The soldiers inside would have looked out of place in any office setting, however. They were setting up blocks of C-4 in the middle of the room, apparently under orders to cause as much destruction as they could. Natasha had to admire how many standing orders HYDRA had prepared, which didn't change the fact they were still aggravating.
HYDRA soldiers began to fire at them, killing one of the SHIELD agents. Natasha rolled behind a cubicle, then rose up and shot two men in the head. Clint fired an arrow in the center of the group. When it hit, it released a brief EMP burst, deactivating the detonators in the hands of the soldiers before they could blow the C-4. He fired another shot that pierced a soldiers throat before ducking when bullets were sent his way.
Sharon fired her assault rifle for a moment, killing one soldier and sending another one to duck away. While the cubicles were terrible for cover, being easy to shoot through, they were perfect for concealment.
"Something kind of nice about this!" Natasha yelled, leaping forward to punch a man in the throat, kick him to the floor, and drop a knee into his chest, firing her pistol again at the other soldiers while a SHIELD agent next to her shot the man she was holding down.
"Really?" Clint asked loudly, firing an explosive arrow to cut off three men trying to run away, then shooting one of them in the thigh, leaving him to quickly bleed out. "I guess I can see it."
"Are you crazy!?" Sharon asked, leaning out of cover, trying not to think about the fact she had never bantered during a fight before. "What is nice about this!? We're killing former SHIELD! Hell, I know that guy!"
She followed her statement by shooting 'that guy' in the chest, hitting his shoulder instead when he ducked aside.
"Yeah, but at least it's just normal people in this fight," Natasha said, catching a grenade out of the air and tossing it back to explode. "Nothing crazy, just-"
BOOM!
Outside the window behind the HYDRA soldiers, a portion of the crystal mountain disappeared in a blaze of green light and sound. The entire building shook, and some of the windows cracked. Everyone in the room stopped, looking outside. Dust fell from the sky above, a shiny blue-green one reminiscent of something from fairy tales. It took a moment for Natasha to realize the dust was the remains of the crystal that had been destroyed.
From the hole that had appeared in the center of the mountain, rose a helicarrier. The HYDRA soldiers cheered. Natasha shared a look with horror with Clint, worried that the impossible had happened. That one of the helicarriers had been able to somehow blast it's way free.
Then they looked closer. It shone a bright black, with circuits of green. Its weapons looked different, very futuristic, with sections of green script shifting along them. And on the side, was an enormous emblem. The Omnitrix.
"This is Dial," a familiar voice boomed. "I have control of War Machine Helicarrier 01. Stand down, all HYDRA forces."
In a display of power, the guns on the bottom of the ship twirled towards the bridge where the ground vehicles were being brought in.
"Yep," Sharon said in shock. "Normal."
Sam Wilson/Falcon
Sam flew next to Iron Man, diving towards the convoy of vehicles on the ground with the other flier. A gunship fired bullets at Sam, forcing him to veer off slightly before the gunship was hit by a repulsor beam. "A lot easier to do this when your wingman can shoot lasers."
"They're not-" Iron Man sighed. "Whatever, I'll give you some upgrades when this is over so you can shoot something more useful than those pea-shooters while flying. For now... holy shit."
Iron Man stopped to stare in the distance, floating in the air. Sam turned to look, then twisted in the air to hover. "Damn."
"This is Dial," a familiar voice boomed from the speakers of the ship. "I have control of War Machine Helicarrier 01. Stand down, all HYDRA forces."
The guns on the ship turned, pointing at the bridge Falcon and Iron Man were defending. Then they fired. For a moment, the ship seemed to glow like a green sun before a wave of power hit the bridge. Pinpoint fire slammed into the sonic cannons on the vehicles, the guns on top of the Humvees, and the weapons on the gunships. The soldiers were hit by concussive blasts, breaking ribs as impossible shots curved to smash into their chests, no matter where they tried to hide. The tanks brought in were hit hardest, torn to pieces as bullets covered in energy sliced through the treads, the main cannon, and the engine block. Some shots slammed into the bridge, tearing massive craters that sent men flying into the air to get hit once more before falling, groaning, to the bridge.
In an instant, the entire convoy was left shattered.
"Damn... maybe you should open with that next time, Dial," Sam said in shock.
"There wasn't a way for me to do this until a couple minutes ago," Dial said over the comms. "Hold on," more lasers fired into the distance. "A fleet of Quinjets were headed over here, I just took them out. They'll have to land in a bit. So, yeah, the Omnitrix just gave me this power."
"I'm going to study the shit out of that watch," Iron Man added floating upwards.
"We're not done yet," Fury said over the comms. "I've got reports that HYDRA around the world is scrambling. Someone is communicating despite our efforts. We need to convene our next move. Take in the rest of HYDRA in the area. Dial, if you stop doing... whatever you're doing, can we still use that helicarrier?"
"Yes, though the windows are still blown out. Plus it'll be a normal Insight helicarrier."
"Just a normal advanced version of the most powerful aircraft in the world then. I can work with that. We got two helicarriers to work with that. Maria, you're in charge of the Triskelion. It's time we get everyone together."
Mahmoud Schahed/Dial
It was weird. I'd expected there to be some big climatic finish to the fight. One of us having a big fight to the death in an exploding building or something. Instead, we just had more work to do. HYDRA soldiers to arrest and put in cells, people to speak to, assets to reposition, medical supplies and ammunition to pass out. Stuff I'd known were part of superheroics, but never really thought of. First, I had to help a friend with a personal matter.
"Okay, get him in here," I said to Steve as we walked through the hallways of the helicarrier I'd stolen. The ship was in flight, headed to stop an attack that was still happening. There were four of us. I was back in human form, my gun and knife back in their holsters and my watch set to Diamondhead in case of surprises. Steve's helmet was off his shield on his back, with Tony armorless at his side. Steve had Bucky in massive cuffs similar to the ones Steve and I had been put in... yesterday? Damn. Anyways, the Winter Soldier was looking angrily around as Steve gently led him along, his gaze especially hard towards Tony, who only returned a smug grin every time they met eyes. I opened a steel door and waved the three inside, following them after.
"Okay, made these special for you and Creel," I waved at the room in front of us. "Well, SHIELD had them for field imprisonment, I just put in here with some of the stuff Tony and I made."
It had been a cafeteria once, though thankfully the helicarrier was way too new for any of the interesting smells of an older dining area would have to settle in. I'd removed a lot of the tables, replacing them with two large boxes in the middle of the place. They were massive steel things the size of cells on the inside, the interiors made of square plush foam similar to a mental institution's padded cells. One held Creel, who turned and looked at us as we entered. He was sitting in a He had a screen in front of him playing a winding series of lights. He quickly turned to look at it, ignoring us in favor of focusing on the screen. The other cell had a chair with some screens around it, some arms set to wrap around a person's head.
As soon as Bucky saw it, he flipped out. He spun to attack Tony with a kick, only for Steve to block it on his arm.
"Whoa!" Tony yelled, backing away. "Steve, your friend is still an asshole!"
"Bucky, it's not what you think!" Steve yelled.
"You're not putting me in there!" Bucky shouted.
"Diamondhead!" As soon as I transformed, I grabbed Bucky by the shoulders, pulling him close. Since his arms were bound behind him, his only option was to kick. His foot bounced off my groin, leaving me glad I wasn't a human for a moment. "Creel!" I yelled out. "Tell him!"
"They're not brainwashing, Barnes!" Creel yelled out. "They're curing us!"
I pulled Bucky into my arms. He roared, trying to escape my grasp. Even with Diamondhead's strength and Bucky's restraints, he still gave me a hell of a fight.
"Buck!" Steve stepped forward. "I promise, we aren't going to hurt you!" Bucky stared at him with wild eyes. "You know me... I'd never hurt you. We're going to get rid of what Zola, what HYDRA did. Please... calm down."
Bucky looked over at Creel. The tall bald man nodded. "I... I don't have to comply. I still want to, but I don't believe my compliance will be rewarded."
That meant something to the Winter Soldier. He calmed down in my arms. Tony and Steve stared at him as his breathing relaxed. When I was sure he wasn't going to attack, I released him but stayed Diamondhead.
"When Zola created his brainwashing methods," I explained. "He wanted a way to counter it. Selfish bastard wanted it in case one of his rivals tried to do it to him. But with it... we can cure you. It'll take time, but you'll be restored. Tony and I even improved it."
Bucky stared at the device in his soon to be cell as though it were the devil. But when Steve gently guided him towards it, he complied.
Tony shook his head, looking over at me. "Hell of a pair."
"Blame HYDRA," I replied. "We need to take those assholes out."
Several people entered the cafeteria, SHIELD personnel with degrees I couldn't pronounce came in. Steve gently strapped Bucky down, whispering gently to him. Once Bucky was completely set in his seat, the scientists went inside.
"Well, time to clean the crazy Russian super-assassins brain," Tony said flippantly. "You know, I still think we should give him some improvements. I could make him as smart as me. Well, maybe a little less than half, but still."
"I think he'll be fine with just being himself," I looked at Tony. "I gotta go. You gonna be okay here?"
Tony hesitated. He stared at Bucky for a moment, and I saw his fists clench. He looked at Steve, then lifted his eyes towards my bright yellow ones. After a moment, he sighed.
"He killed my parents. And I know, it wasn't his fault... But it still bothers me," Tony shook his head. "The only two things that are going to push me through this is that Steve wants his friend back, and Natasha promised to help me track down the asshole who gave the order."
I nodded. Tony didn't notice, simply walking forward to enter the cell.
"Hey," A certain bald superhuman said. I looked over at Creel. He was leaning against his door, his face pressed against the window. "How will I know when this is done?"
I walked over to be face to face with him, returning to my human form with a tap on the Omnitrix. "When you can hear words like 'comply' and 'reward' without feeling pleasure, happiness, or need."
Creel winced, staring at me. "And then what? You let me go?"
"Not up to me, Creel," I admitted. "If it was my choice, I'd probably just let you go... well, not before letting Rath have another go with you."
"Give it a shot," Creel challenged.
For a moment, we glared at each other. Funny. I'd never had a rivalry with anyone before.
"But right now, we're trying to counter HYDRA with all we've got. They're attacking the SHIELD academy, so we'll start there. Once we've had time to sit down... we'll see."
Creel didn't seem satisfied with that. He stared at me for a bit longer, then turned and walked to sit at his chair again, staring at the TV with intensity as lights played across his face.
I looked at him a moment longer, then at the cell next door, where a metallic headband was being placed on Bucky's forehead. I sighed and left the room.
"How are our two brainwashed assassins doing?" Fury asked as I entered the bridge.
"Hey, I take offense to that," While Clint tried to say it jokingly, he ended up more morose towards the end of his sentence. Natasha noticed, giving him a sad smile, and he returned it with a chagrined nod.
"They're ok," I said. "It'll take time before we can say they're free of their conditioning. But for now, they're on their way. I just wish we didn't have to do it on the move."
"Its the only choice we have," Fury looked around.
The bridge had been totally repaired by my Jury Rigg form, as it turned out Upgrade didn't return items to undamaged states, something War Machine's armor also showed. As Jury Rigg I'd altered the area at the front of the room where Rhodey and I had blown Creel out of with a big steel wall that projected a holographic image of the outside. It also worked as a main control for the ship, allowing Fury to pilot it with his eye alone.
The room was full of SHIELD agents working at the consoles. X's device was plugged into a wall nearby. I walked by and gave X an affectionate pat.
"Okay, when do we deploy?" I asked Fury, sitting next to Natasha.
He scoffed. "Yeah, I'm still not sure I should deploy you."
"Are you just saying that out of habit by now?" I asked.
"Paranoia has kept me alive so far," Fury admitted. "But yeah, let's get this done. Natasha, you, Dial and War Machine will go to one academy. Clint, you go to the other with Falcon, and some of the Quinjet pilots. I'll stay here with Steve and Tony in the meantime. Meanwhile, the helicarrier Sharon and the Council are on will head to the rendezvous."
"Should Sharon really be in charge of a helicarrier?" Natasha asked curiously.
Fury smiled. "I trust her. And her name, despite her wishes otherwise, has a history. You all head out in five. For now, I believe you have something to talk about with him," He nodded towards me.
I groaned in annoyance. "Oh come on, is five minutes enough for interrogation?"
"No," Natasha stood up and waved for me to follow. "But I promise, it's not an interrogation. I just want to talk."
Still feeling hesitant, I rose up, looking back at Clint. I expected a smirk, but instead, he nodded silently, his face carefully neutral. Well, that didn't bode well.
Natasha lead me into a side room, someplace filled with lights and levers that Jury Rigg would have loved to tear apart. The space was narrow, barely big enough for us both. I raised my eyes as Natasha turned around.
"You know, if you wanted to get me alone while you're wearing a leather outfit, asking help from Fury to do it just makes it weird," I said, trying to seem casual.
Natasha, way more of an expert at the game of talking out of your ass while being super-cool, raised an eyebrow. "That's not why you're here."
I didn't say anything.
"Your hands," Natasha said. I looked down at them. "They're shaking. Not often. But every once in a while."
"..."
"And then there's the Omnitrix. You keep looking for reasons to change. Used to be only when you needed it. But now..."
I leaned against the wall and sat down, pressing my back against the levers and lights on the cold steel behind me. My legs were squeezed in by the tight space. Natasha sat down next to me.
"I found the body," she said. "Down below. Stabbed in the throat, with footprints of a human and Swampfire next to it."
"Yeah," I said softly. "I changed into him right after."
She nodded. "How do you feel?"
"...I don't know," I admitted. "I... I know that I had to do it. It was him or me. But I thought any kill I did it would be me shooting a guy with Feedback, or shooting a crystal as Diamondhead or... Nothing that personal. Not as me. Not while looking into his eyes."
Natasha didn't speak.
"So... you've killed people. I mean, I know I had to do it, and it helps to remind myself of that, but... Any idea what I should do? Should I try to get over it so I can process it easier next time? Or just..." I trailed off, not saying anything else.
"I'm not the person to tell people what their morals should be," Natasha admitted. "Hell, ask Steve and Tony and they'll tell you the exact opposite."
"I don't care," I said. "I'll talk to them later. Right now I have you."
"Poor you," Natasha teased. After a bit of silence, she tapped my knee. "Look. Everyone processes this differently. Talking helps some people. Some are just born for it. Others never get over it. And some can take it and keep doing it when it's necessary. You won't know which you are until you find yourself in the moment again. Killing isn't something we all should reach for. But when it's necessary... You might have to again."
I nodded slowly. Not accepting it. But this was the real rule. I might have to kill again. If I wanted to survive. For some reason, that helped. Knowing I'd only done it when I needed to, that I would only do it if I had to... having someone else say it helped.
"For now, stick by me. I'll protect you," Natasha said with a smirk.
I chuckled. "Don't I have the watch with the uber-powerful aliens on it?"
"Yeah well," Natasha rose up, helping me as well. "Somehow, I feel like you still need protection. Now come on. We have a mission to do."
I smiled down at her. "Yes, ma'am."
The change that came over me was instant. My bones and muscles became gelatinous in shape, brown skin became an inky black, with green lines shooting across me, my clothes shifted to my stomach, then turned pure white, and the Omnitrix symbol appeared on my chest. I felt my eyes become a single optic as my cells changed, going from human, to almost mechanical in nature. I reached forward with a four-fingered hand towards War Machine as I, for the first time in months, I yelled out an alien's name I never had.
"Upgrade!"
Creel, surprised by my attack, tried to press harder. The armor on Rhodey's back was buckling.
So my hands grabbed Rhodey's shoulders, then flattened out and began to flow across the black armor's cold metal. My nano-organic cells began to sink into the War Machine. I looked at Creel and fired a single beam of green light from my single eye, pushing him back with the laser blast. Creel stepped back in pain, and I focused on Rhodey.
My body joined to his armor. The experience was... weird. Not like putting on clothes. More like... injecting extra bone and muscle mass inside of me. I entered the War Machine, and Rhodey's mask snapped down. The entire suit's color scheme changed to black with green circuit stripes. I felt the arc reactor flood me with more power than I could ever believe, and made that power more efficient in turn. Every single aspect of the suit jumped up by a degree that seemed impossible and I felt I could do even more if I wanted to, as if I could mold and alter the suit as easily as someone does clay. Rhodey/I stared at the hud as he/I looked around.
"What just happened!?" Rhodey asked, both with his words and his thoughts.
"It was me," I answered in kind from within... as his suit. "I... gave you an upgrade."
We stood up. The arc reactor in our chest whined to life, the symbol of the Omnitrix glowing in that spot. Any damage left by Creel had disappeared, leaving pristine black and green metal in its place.
"This feels..." Rhodey trailed off, awed.
"Yeah, I know right?"
We turned to look at Creel, who stared back at us. The man rose up, rushing towards us. We raised our hands and a green flow flashing from our palms. When we fired, a green repulsor beam the size of a truck seemed to turn the world in front of us into emerald light. Only a quick adaptation on my part prevented Creel from being vaporized, making it so the center of the attack was concussive, and the outer edges were vaporizing. The massive green blast still smashed into Creel, throwing him screaming out the window like a ragdoll. The blast also destroyed the front of the bridge, leaving smoking ruin in its wake in the shape of a massive hole burned by the repulsor blast. Molten steel dripped from the ceiling in the silence that followed.
"...Holy shit," Rhodey/I said. The accelerated reality of our HUD helpfully showed us that the temperature of the air had reached almost 49 degrees Celsius.
At that point, I remembered the self-destruct. "One sec, Rhodey!" I separated from him, leaving him to stagger as his armor returned to its normal state.
"Oh, that just feels weird," Rhodey said as I flowed over to the console.
Moving as Upgrade was strange. I'd imagined it would feel like Goop did, but Goop felt like... like what being water would feel like. Fluid, and constantly shifting. Moving as Upgrade felt strangely as though I was still human, just able to feel every one of my cells at once. As though I could look at my human hand, and know that I could collapse it into formlessness. It was hard to describe.
I looked at the console for a moment, plenty of time left. I put my hands against the console and pressed into it, then through it.
My consciousness stretched. First, the console. Then the room, my cells merging with floors, the ceiling, all the way to the windows I'd blown out with Rhodey, repairing the damage to create holoscreens that showed the outside.
"Whoa," Rhodey said, looking around the black and green patterned room.
I wasn't done yet. I extended my body and consciousness into the command tower. I merged with catwalks and railings, became one with computers, did the cybernetic equivalent of a wave towards Jarvis and X as they 'watched' me work. I extended onto the flight deck, turning the concrete into metal, slipped over the anti-aircraft weapons and repairing the ones I'd destroyed.
My cells invaded deeper into the ship. I went through weapons systems and made them railguns or laser emitters on a whim, I entered into the engines and upgraded them, I even entered the cafeteria and bedrooms of the ship. All the way to the clear glass dome in the belly of the ship, infecting the whole of that space. My last stop was Jury Rigg's creation in the main power room. It was by far the most advanced object on the ship, light years ahead of anything else. Sorry Rhodey, your armor is still cool as shit though. I integrated Jury Rigg's machine into myself.
Soon, I was done. I had become the Insight Helicarrier, and it had been upgraded. I felt my form glow black and green and looked out with eyes made of the sensors and cameras of the ship. And so much more. Zola's algorithm was now as much a part of me as my DNA. I now understood the world in a way I had never comprehended as a human, almost a technological version of Swampfire's connection with plant-life. With a thought, a person's life was bared to me. As Rhodey stood inside of me, looking out in awe at the glowing flight deck that was a part of me, I got a series of reports on him. From his family history, his interactions with the media, psychological and medical files, camera footage of him in various bases and within Stark Industries facilities, even some stuff on social media of Tony filming Rhodey with strippers Tony had hired to 'loosen' his friend up. I got every bit of a picture that could be painted on Rhodey.
I turned it off seconds later, no one needs to know so much about a person. Instead, I focused on the self-destruct, which was actually rather brilliant. Once the captain activated it, the software disconnected, letting the rest go completely on its own. Of course, now that the arc reactor and repulsor technology was a part of my body, I shut it down. It felt a lot like swallowing back a cough, oddly enough.
"Okay, we're good," I said through the ship's speakers. Then, within myself, I 'looked' at X and Jarvis. "I assume you made it so the other captains are locked out from doing the same thing?"
"Indeed," Jarvis said. "We've also reinstalled the failsafe systems." To my perception, he looked like a floating orange orb of light, with striations bouncing back and forth. It was then that I realized something about Jarvis. He may have started out as a Natural Language UI, in fact, I could read the bits of code that indicated that, but now he was so much more. I'd assumed he was a VI, hell Tony never even corrected me otherwise. But Jarvis was a full AI now, or as close as existed. Which made me turn to X.
"Sir, this is..." X seemed speechless as he stared at me within the world of software. He was, appropriately, shaped like me, if I was made of blue light, and he... oh no.
"X," I said softly as our software interacted. "Do you feel different?"
He didn't speak, he didn't have too. Jarvis said nothing, having clearly noticed what I had.
"Okay," I said slowly, pulling my surprise back with a final thought of how bullshit Jury Rigg was. "We'll figure it out. For now, are the other helicarriers safe now?"
"As I said, all fail-safes are in place, and any attempts otherwise have been locked out," Jarvis said. "We'll monitor the situation to prevent anything else."
"Then it's time for me to take this baby for a spin," I said excitedly. Upgrade wanted to play.
"Mr. Schahed," Jarvis said, X still silent. "Isn't that really far too much power to bring into the battlefield?"
"Yeah... but I can't just possess a helicarrier and not use it," I stated as matter of fact.
Jarvis let out a long-suffering sigh.
"Uh, Dial?" I focused on my bridge when Rhodey spoke. "I think Creel is getting up."
"And I rather imagine it would be overkill to turn the helicarrier weapons against him," Jarvis stated.
"Fiiiiiinnne," I rolled my eyes. With a bit of disappointment, I released myself from the ship, becoming Upgrade once more, then joined with War Machine again. "Okay. Let's take him out."
"I'm down with that," Rhodey said. Together we flew out of the hole that had was back in the bridge.
In the broken remains of a Quinjet lay Creel. We floated over him as he rose out of it, glaring at us. He was now made of the same material as Quinjet, which he grabbed a piece of and tossed at us like a giant shuriken. The minigun on our shoulder aimed at the wing and started shooting with impossible speed, destroying it with a hail of lasers rather than the bullets it once fired.
"Should have let me go!" Creel shouted. He grabbed another piece and threw it, only for us to catch it with smooth ease the armor hadn't been capable of before.
"You know, I still sympathize with this guy, but..." Rhodey said both with words and thoughts. His fingers twitched, only for him to stop when he realized how easily he was crushing the wing in his grip.
"Yeah, let's finish him for his own good," I agreed.
We cocked our arm back and threw the piece of Quinjet back. It hit Creel with incredible force, sending him flying across the top of the flight deck, going through another Quinjet and sending flames up into the air in his wake. Newly created ports opened on our back, and the incredible power of the arc reactor flared from the new and upgraded repulsors I'd created. Moving as one, we flew towards Creel. Rhodey activated his HUD and read the material Creel was made of through the accelerated simulation program. Quickly, I scanned the material with Rhodey, and together we searched on the internet and discovered the tensile strength and the various weaknesses it had, our minds working in tandem to plan our next step. By the time we flew past him and came to a stop, we had a plan, albeit a very simple one. Watching him fly towards us, Rhodey and I came to a conclusion on how much force was needed to defeat Creel. By the time he was about to reach us, our right arm was punching forwards. Our forearm became a cannon, a mimicry based on my love of Megaman, and we blasted him with a wave of sonic, laser, and repulsor energy. Each part of the blast was keyed to fire a specific amount of energy, made to overwhelm Creel without killing him. The blast hit Creel mid-flight, canceling his forward motion and dropping him to the ground where he began turning back to his original state.
"About time," Rhodey said at the unconscious form of the super-human. "Now what?"
"I make an entrance," I told him, separating from his body and joining with the helicarrier once more. As the floor under Rhodey became me, he looked around.
"Couldn't you have just shot Creel as a giant damn ship?"
"Some things are personal... and Jarvis told me not to," I admitted through the helicarriers speakers, knocking out any HYDRA personnel within me with some newly constructed security measures, like taser guns popping out of the walls. "Plus, I'm a firm believer that War Machine combining with Upgrade is cool as shit."
"Hell yeah, it is. Kinda weird you became my armor though... I just know Tony is going to make jokes about this later," Rhodey said a little disgruntled, watching as the floor under Creel opened up to pull him into me. A series of slides brought him to the brig, along with all the HYDRA soldiers I'd knocked out within my halls and rooms. Once I was done, I focused on my next task, checking out the situation up top.
Then I pointed my guns up at the ceiling and started shooting at 'low' power.
Natasha Romanov/Black Widow
Natasha was wearing her black outfit, having discarded her disguise for the easier to move in clothes. Clint had done the same, wearing his purple long coat and quiver.
Together the two had joined Sharon Carter and her group and were now cleaning out the rest of the Triskelion.
"So you should just give him a chance," Natasha said as she strode confidently next to Sharon, holding her pistols up and watching for any threats as X and Jarvis calmly informed her of what was happening at their destination.
"Is this really the time to talk about this?" Sharon gave Natasha a look. She'd put on a bulletproof vest now, looking strangely petite in the over-sized body armor while carrying a massive assault rifle.
"Always time for romance," Clint said, his bow held at the ready. "Seriously, I worry about Steve."
"I really don't think he's my type," Sharon admitted, ignoring the chuckles of the agents behind her.
Natasha and Clint gave her a stunned look.
"Are you kidding? Have you seen Steve?" Clint asked, shocked. "The man is built like a demi-god! I mean that literally, Thor is one of my best friends and those two could be brothers."
"Looks aside, he's got that 'aw shucks' nice guy thing going on," Natasha added. "He's sweet."
They came to a door and stopped outside, taking positions next to it. After a shared nod, Natasha and Clint kicked it open. Inside was a room full of cubicles, like something one would see in any office in North America, with a massive window was on the other side of the room that displayed the crystal mountain outside. The soldiers inside would have looked out of place in any office setting, however. They were setting up blocks of C-4 in the middle of the room, apparently under orders to cause as much destruction as they could. Natasha had to admire how many standing orders HYDRA had prepared, which didn't change the fact they were still aggravating.
HYDRA soldiers began to fire at them, killing one of the SHIELD agents. Natasha rolled behind a cubicle, then rose up and shot two men in the head. Clint fired an arrow in the center of the group. When it hit, it released a brief EMP burst, deactivating the detonators in the hands of the soldiers before they could blow the C-4. He fired another shot that pierced a soldiers throat before ducking when bullets were sent his way.
Sharon fired her assault rifle for a moment, killing one soldier and sending another one to duck away. While the cubicles were terrible for cover, being easy to shoot through, they were perfect for concealment.
"Something kind of nice about this!" Natasha yelled, leaping forward to punch a man in the throat, kick him to the floor, and drop a knee into his chest, firing her pistol again at the other soldiers while a SHIELD agent next to her shot the man she was holding down.
"Really?" Clint asked loudly, firing an explosive arrow to cut off three men trying to run away, then shooting one of them in the thigh, leaving him to quickly bleed out. "I guess I can see it."
"Are you crazy!?" Sharon asked, leaning out of cover, trying not to think about the fact she had never bantered during a fight before. "What is nice about this!? We're killing former SHIELD! Hell, I know that guy!"
She followed her statement by shooting 'that guy' in the chest, hitting his shoulder instead when he ducked aside.
"Yeah, but at least it's just normal people in this fight," Natasha said, catching a grenade out of the air and tossing it back to explode. "Nothing crazy, just-"
BOOM!
Outside the window behind the HYDRA soldiers, a portion of the crystal mountain disappeared in a blaze of green light and sound. The entire building shook, and some of the windows cracked. Everyone in the room stopped, looking outside. Dust fell from the sky above, a shiny blue-green one reminiscent of something from fairy tales. It took a moment for Natasha to realize the dust was the remains of the crystal that had been destroyed.
From the hole that had appeared in the center of the mountain, rose a helicarrier. The HYDRA soldiers cheered. Natasha shared a look with horror with Clint, worried that the impossible had happened. That one of the helicarriers had been able to somehow blast it's way free.
Then they looked closer. It shone a bright black, with circuits of green. Its weapons looked different, very futuristic, with sections of green script shifting along them. And on the side, was an enormous emblem. The Omnitrix.
"This is Dial," a familiar voice boomed. "I have control of War Machine Helicarrier 01. Stand down, all HYDRA forces."
In a display of power, the guns on the bottom of the ship twirled towards the bridge where the ground vehicles were being brought in.
"Yep," Sharon said in shock. "Normal."
Sam Wilson/Falcon
Sam flew next to Iron Man, diving towards the convoy of vehicles on the ground with the other flier. A gunship fired bullets at Sam, forcing him to veer off slightly before the gunship was hit by a repulsor beam. "A lot easier to do this when your wingman can shoot lasers."
"They're not-" Iron Man sighed. "Whatever, I'll give you some upgrades when this is over so you can shoot something more useful than those pea-shooters while flying. For now... holy shit."
Iron Man stopped to stare in the distance, floating in the air. Sam turned to look, then twisted in the air to hover. "Damn."
"This is Dial," a familiar voice boomed from the speakers of the ship. "I have control of War Machine Helicarrier 01. Stand down, all HYDRA forces."
The guns on the ship turned, pointing at the bridge Falcon and Iron Man were defending. Then they fired. For a moment, the ship seemed to glow like a green sun before a wave of power hit the bridge. Pinpoint fire slammed into the sonic cannons on the vehicles, the guns on top of the Humvees, and the weapons on the gunships. The soldiers were hit by concussive blasts, breaking ribs as impossible shots curved to smash into their chests, no matter where they tried to hide. The tanks brought in were hit hardest, torn to pieces as bullets covered in energy sliced through the treads, the main cannon, and the engine block. Some shots slammed into the bridge, tearing massive craters that sent men flying into the air to get hit once more before falling, groaning, to the bridge.
In an instant, the entire convoy was left shattered.
"Damn... maybe you should open with that next time, Dial," Sam said in shock.
"There wasn't a way for me to do this until a couple minutes ago," Dial said over the comms. "Hold on," more lasers fired into the distance. "A fleet of Quinjets were headed over here, I just took them out. They'll have to land in a bit. So, yeah, the Omnitrix just gave me this power."
"I'm going to study the shit out of that watch," Iron Man added floating upwards.
"We're not done yet," Fury said over the comms. "I've got reports that HYDRA around the world is scrambling. Someone is communicating despite our efforts. We need to convene our next move. Take in the rest of HYDRA in the area. Dial, if you stop doing... whatever you're doing, can we still use that helicarrier?"
"Yes, though the windows are still blown out. Plus it'll be a normal Insight helicarrier."
"Just a normal advanced version of the most powerful aircraft in the world then. I can work with that. We got two helicarriers to work with that. Maria, you're in charge of the Triskelion. It's time we get everyone together."
Mahmoud Schahed/Dial
It was weird. I'd expected there to be some big climatic finish to the fight. One of us having a big fight to the death in an exploding building or something. Instead, we just had more work to do. HYDRA soldiers to arrest and put in cells, people to speak to, assets to reposition, medical supplies and ammunition to pass out. Stuff I'd known were part of superheroics, but never really thought of. First, I had to help a friend with a personal matter.
"Okay, get him in here," I said to Steve as we walked through the hallways of the helicarrier I'd stolen. The ship was in flight, headed to stop an attack that was still happening. There were four of us. I was back in human form, my gun and knife back in their holsters and my watch set to Diamondhead in case of surprises. Steve's helmet was off his shield on his back, with Tony armorless at his side. Steve had Bucky in massive cuffs similar to the ones Steve and I had been put in... yesterday? Damn. Anyways, the Winter Soldier was looking angrily around as Steve gently led him along, his gaze especially hard towards Tony, who only returned a smug grin every time they met eyes. I opened a steel door and waved the three inside, following them after.
"Okay, made these special for you and Creel," I waved at the room in front of us. "Well, SHIELD had them for field imprisonment, I just put in here with some of the stuff Tony and I made."
It had been a cafeteria once, though thankfully the helicarrier was way too new for any of the interesting smells of an older dining area would have to settle in. I'd removed a lot of the tables, replacing them with two large boxes in the middle of the place. They were massive steel things the size of cells on the inside, the interiors made of square plush foam similar to a mental institution's padded cells. One held Creel, who turned and looked at us as we entered. He was sitting in a He had a screen in front of him playing a winding series of lights. He quickly turned to look at it, ignoring us in favor of focusing on the screen. The other cell had a chair with some screens around it, some arms set to wrap around a person's head.
As soon as Bucky saw it, he flipped out. He spun to attack Tony with a kick, only for Steve to block it on his arm.
"Whoa!" Tony yelled, backing away. "Steve, your friend is still an asshole!"
"Bucky, it's not what you think!" Steve yelled.
"You're not putting me in there!" Bucky shouted.
"Diamondhead!" As soon as I transformed, I grabbed Bucky by the shoulders, pulling him close. Since his arms were bound behind him, his only option was to kick. His foot bounced off my groin, leaving me glad I wasn't a human for a moment. "Creel!" I yelled out. "Tell him!"
"They're not brainwashing, Barnes!" Creel yelled out. "They're curing us!"
I pulled Bucky into my arms. He roared, trying to escape my grasp. Even with Diamondhead's strength and Bucky's restraints, he still gave me a hell of a fight.
"Buck!" Steve stepped forward. "I promise, we aren't going to hurt you!" Bucky stared at him with wild eyes. "You know me... I'd never hurt you. We're going to get rid of what Zola, what HYDRA did. Please... calm down."
Bucky looked over at Creel. The tall bald man nodded. "I... I don't have to comply. I still want to, but I don't believe my compliance will be rewarded."
That meant something to the Winter Soldier. He calmed down in my arms. Tony and Steve stared at him as his breathing relaxed. When I was sure he wasn't going to attack, I released him but stayed Diamondhead.
"When Zola created his brainwashing methods," I explained. "He wanted a way to counter it. Selfish bastard wanted it in case one of his rivals tried to do it to him. But with it... we can cure you. It'll take time, but you'll be restored. Tony and I even improved it."
Bucky stared at the device in his soon to be cell as though it were the devil. But when Steve gently guided him towards it, he complied.
Tony shook his head, looking over at me. "Hell of a pair."
"Blame HYDRA," I replied. "We need to take those assholes out."
Several people entered the cafeteria, SHIELD personnel with degrees I couldn't pronounce came in. Steve gently strapped Bucky down, whispering gently to him. Once Bucky was completely set in his seat, the scientists went inside.
"Well, time to clean the crazy Russian super-assassins brain," Tony said flippantly. "You know, I still think we should give him some improvements. I could make him as smart as me. Well, maybe a little less than half, but still."
"I think he'll be fine with just being himself," I looked at Tony. "I gotta go. You gonna be okay here?"
Tony hesitated. He stared at Bucky for a moment, and I saw his fists clench. He looked at Steve, then lifted his eyes towards my bright yellow ones. After a moment, he sighed.
"He killed my parents. And I know, it wasn't his fault... But it still bothers me," Tony shook his head. "The only two things that are going to push me through this is that Steve wants his friend back, and Natasha promised to help me track down the asshole who gave the order."
I nodded. Tony didn't notice, simply walking forward to enter the cell.
"Hey," A certain bald superhuman said. I looked over at Creel. He was leaning against his door, his face pressed against the window. "How will I know when this is done?"
I walked over to be face to face with him, returning to my human form with a tap on the Omnitrix. "When you can hear words like 'comply' and 'reward' without feeling pleasure, happiness, or need."
Creel winced, staring at me. "And then what? You let me go?"
"Not up to me, Creel," I admitted. "If it was my choice, I'd probably just let you go... well, not before letting Rath have another go with you."
"Give it a shot," Creel challenged.
For a moment, we glared at each other. Funny. I'd never had a rivalry with anyone before.
"But right now, we're trying to counter HYDRA with all we've got. They're attacking the SHIELD academy, so we'll start there. Once we've had time to sit down... we'll see."
Creel didn't seem satisfied with that. He stared at me for a bit longer, then turned and walked to sit at his chair again, staring at the TV with intensity as lights played across his face.
I looked at him a moment longer, then at the cell next door, where a metallic headband was being placed on Bucky's forehead. I sighed and left the room.
"How are our two brainwashed assassins doing?" Fury asked as I entered the bridge.
"Hey, I take offense to that," While Clint tried to say it jokingly, he ended up more morose towards the end of his sentence. Natasha noticed, giving him a sad smile, and he returned it with a chagrined nod.
"They're ok," I said. "It'll take time before we can say they're free of their conditioning. But for now, they're on their way. I just wish we didn't have to do it on the move."
"Its the only choice we have," Fury looked around.
The bridge had been totally repaired by my Jury Rigg form, as it turned out Upgrade didn't return items to undamaged states, something War Machine's armor also showed. As Jury Rigg I'd altered the area at the front of the room where Rhodey and I had blown Creel out of with a big steel wall that projected a holographic image of the outside. It also worked as a main control for the ship, allowing Fury to pilot it with his eye alone.
The room was full of SHIELD agents working at the consoles. X's device was plugged into a wall nearby. I walked by and gave X an affectionate pat.
"Okay, when do we deploy?" I asked Fury, sitting next to Natasha.
He scoffed. "Yeah, I'm still not sure I should deploy you."
"Are you just saying that out of habit by now?" I asked.
"Paranoia has kept me alive so far," Fury admitted. "But yeah, let's get this done. Natasha, you, Dial and War Machine will go to one academy. Clint, you go to the other with Falcon, and some of the Quinjet pilots. I'll stay here with Steve and Tony in the meantime. Meanwhile, the helicarrier Sharon and the Council are on will head to the rendezvous."
"Should Sharon really be in charge of a helicarrier?" Natasha asked curiously.
Fury smiled. "I trust her. And her name, despite her wishes otherwise, has a history. You all head out in five. For now, I believe you have something to talk about with him," He nodded towards me.
I groaned in annoyance. "Oh come on, is five minutes enough for interrogation?"
"No," Natasha stood up and waved for me to follow. "But I promise, it's not an interrogation. I just want to talk."
Still feeling hesitant, I rose up, looking back at Clint. I expected a smirk, but instead, he nodded silently, his face carefully neutral. Well, that didn't bode well.
Natasha lead me into a side room, someplace filled with lights and levers that Jury Rigg would have loved to tear apart. The space was narrow, barely big enough for us both. I raised my eyes as Natasha turned around.
"You know, if you wanted to get me alone while you're wearing a leather outfit, asking help from Fury to do it just makes it weird," I said, trying to seem casual.
Natasha, way more of an expert at the game of talking out of your ass while being super-cool, raised an eyebrow. "That's not why you're here."
I didn't say anything.
"Your hands," Natasha said. I looked down at them. "They're shaking. Not often. But every once in a while."
"..."
"And then there's the Omnitrix. You keep looking for reasons to change. Used to be only when you needed it. But now..."
I leaned against the wall and sat down, pressing my back against the levers and lights on the cold steel behind me. My legs were squeezed in by the tight space. Natasha sat down next to me.
"I found the body," she said. "Down below. Stabbed in the throat, with footprints of a human and Swampfire next to it."
"Yeah," I said softly. "I changed into him right after."
She nodded. "How do you feel?"
"...I don't know," I admitted. "I... I know that I had to do it. It was him or me. But I thought any kill I did it would be me shooting a guy with Feedback, or shooting a crystal as Diamondhead or... Nothing that personal. Not as me. Not while looking into his eyes."
Natasha didn't speak.
"So... you've killed people. I mean, I know I had to do it, and it helps to remind myself of that, but... Any idea what I should do? Should I try to get over it so I can process it easier next time? Or just..." I trailed off, not saying anything else.
"I'm not the person to tell people what their morals should be," Natasha admitted. "Hell, ask Steve and Tony and they'll tell you the exact opposite."
"I don't care," I said. "I'll talk to them later. Right now I have you."
"Poor you," Natasha teased. After a bit of silence, she tapped my knee. "Look. Everyone processes this differently. Talking helps some people. Some are just born for it. Others never get over it. And some can take it and keep doing it when it's necessary. You won't know which you are until you find yourself in the moment again. Killing isn't something we all should reach for. But when it's necessary... You might have to again."
I nodded slowly. Not accepting it. But this was the real rule. I might have to kill again. If I wanted to survive. For some reason, that helped. Knowing I'd only done it when I needed to, that I would only do it if I had to... having someone else say it helped.
"For now, stick by me. I'll protect you," Natasha said with a smirk.
I chuckled. "Don't I have the watch with the uber-powerful aliens on it?"
"Yeah well," Natasha rose up, helping me as well. "Somehow, I feel like you still need protection. Now come on. We have a mission to do."
I smiled down at her. "Yes, ma'am."
