I have a new fanfic, Lords & Towers, read it if you're interested.
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At a S.H.I.E.L.D. base, Nick Fury silently observed Leonardo's latest painting while listening to Hill's analysis.
The image showed Gwen on the back of a jet rising into storm clouds, as if trying to touch the sky.
The sky was a dense ocean of black clouds, charged with lightning, some already lit by the electricity that signaled the imminent storm. On her back, secured with webs, Gwen carried the disperser stolen from Oscorp.
S.H.I.E.L.D. knew perfectly well that she was the thief, and that she was probably acting under Leonardo's orders. They did nothing to retrieve it; with their level of technology, a device like that was irrelevant.
On the horizon, barely visible due to the altitude, a ruined city could be seen: collapsed buildings, fires everywhere, bodies strewn about. A scene of total devastation.
Fury didn't know what had brought the world to such a state, but the vision deeply unsettled him.
And what disturbed him most was the title of the piece: "G.I V5."
They had no idea what it meant. "V5" seemed to indicate a version—perhaps of a serum, a machine, or a biological agent.
If it was a serum, it was likely contained in the disperser Gwen was carrying. But that was still just a guess. Nothing was certain.
After so many paintings that had accurately predicted future events, Fury was once again feeling that uncomfortable sensation of uncertainty.
"What do we have?" he asked, without taking his eyes off the image.
"Very little" Hill replied. "The city is unrecognizable, there are no visible enemies or clues about the context. Our best theory points to a virus. The presence of the disperser, combined with the flight altitude, suggests a massive spread."
Fury frowned. Nothing he hadn't already considered.
"And the location? Any leads?"
Hill shook her head, resigned.
"The most we can infer is that it could be somewhere in Europe or South America."
"Dig deeper. Call Natasha" Fury ordered.
Hill nodded and left. Fury, meanwhile, continued to contemplate the painting. For now, all they could do was gather more information.
Although he would have liked to have his two best agents — Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, and Clint Barton, Hawkeye — Barton was on a mission.
A few minutes later, Natasha entered the office. Fury began explaining the plan.
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~ Lithuania ~
Clint Barton was following the trail of seven scientists who had disappeared over the last few months. At first, the cases seemed isolated, but soon S.H.I.E.L.D. detected the pattern: all were experts in biology.
After weeks of investigation, he tracked down a small, remote village where they had last been seen.
Why had they disappeared? How did they get there? And what were they doing? That was what Clint had to find out.
At 1:37 a.m., the darkness was total. Dressed in a S.H.I.E.L.D. infiltration suit, with his new bow (the previous one had been destroyed by HIVE) and a quiver full of multifunctional arrows, he slipped through the trees toward his objective.
An old warehouse on the outskirts. Moonlight pierced through the branches, casting blade-like shadows. Two guards watched the outside: minimal security — a sign they weren't dealing with a powerful organization. Still, Barton was meticulous.
He took them out with stun arrows and entered. As he suspected, everything seemed abandoned. But after searching through boxes and rubble, he found a hidden door.
It had a numeric keypad. Barton removed the cover, revealing a mess of wires, and inserted a device provided by S.H.I.E.L.D. In seconds, the electronic lock was bypassed and the door opened.
A staircase led down to a medium-sized underground laboratory. In different rooms, people were connected to tubes filled with liquids of various colors.
In the main room, the seven scientists argued intensely. Their tense faces reflected frustration over the lack of progress.
Clint wasted no time. He fired a volley of stun arrows and immobilized them.
When they awoke, they didn't take long to talk.
Though now renowned scientists, they had been childhood friends. They shared a dream: to change the world with their knowledge.
Years later, disillusioned with the system, one of them reunited the group for a final gamble: to join their minds and create something revolutionary.
Aware that time was against them, the group agreed. In their desperation, they broke all ethics and began kidnapping homeless people to experiment on.
A bunch of lunatics, Clint thought. But after facing aliens and gods, a mission like this felt... almost relaxing.
He reported to S.H.I.E.L.D. It was classified as a low-level situation. A cleanup team would arrive soon.
Barton was supposed to leave... but something felt off. He sensed the case wasn't that simple.
Although he didn't fully understand the scientific data, he grasped the essentials: they were trying to use gamma energy to cure incurable diseases.
And if gamma energy was involved, he knew exactly who to call.
---
In a secluded house, Bruce Banner lived in isolation — for safety. He still feared Hulk might lose control and cause a tragedy.
However, his days had been a bit quieter lately. After years of being hunted, the military had lifted his capture order.
General Ross was the only one who voted against it, but it wasn't enough to justify continuing the pursuit of a public hero.
Even so, Bruce still wrestled with his demons.
He was sitting in his living room, holding a report: an old experiment that had attempted to eliminate Hulk. The attempt, of course, had failed.
Though he was learning to accept his "other self," he couldn't stop fearing him.
Then the phone rang.
"Barton? A pleasure. What's the occasion?"
"Dr. Banner... I wish this were a social call. But I need your help."
Bruce turned serious. He listened carefully as Clint explained the situation. Minutes later, he was on a flight to Lithuania.
The files could be sent, yes — but seeing the facility with his own eyes was different.
Bruce knew well the risks of playing with gamma radiation.
Given Barton's uneasy feeling, he knew he couldn't ignore it.
He arrived quickly. The village was eerie, almost frozen in time. Dirt roads, old houses, people dressed in old-fashioned clothes, and horses instead of cars.
Maybe three thousand inhabitants, but the place felt more haunted than inhabited.
When he reached the facility, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had already cordoned off the area. Bruce was recognized instantly. They let him through with no trouble until he met Clint.
After greeting each other, Barton led him to the lab. Luckily, everything was just as he had left it.
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+20 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)