CHAPTER 77

Definitely I had to kill Stryker.

Steve was okay with it, dude was a soldier. His entire life was about killing racist enemies so there was no objection there.

Bucky… was Bucky. His face was impassive, making him seem like he didn't care what happened to the dude… which he didn't.

Hell, Fury didn't care about whether the guy lived or died. His only care was the weapon prospects they would have had if he was taken into S.H.I.E.L.D but a reminder from me about the council and he was lost for words for a minute.

There was nothing stopping the council from playing 'King of the castle' now that Pierce was gone, and all they needed was an order to Fury and they'd have Stryker relocated since some of them were his benefactors. 

While Fury was fighting a cold war with the council, he still couldn't directly disobey a direct order, backed up by votes, from the council. Doing that would just flip back whatever advantage he had and then find himself inside a black site or dead. 

Although he was still sullen about what I said, he was at least smart enough not to argue over a dead man. 

With Stryker gone, I didn't have to worry about the Sentinels because unlike Days of Future Past, it was not a government approved program but rather one based on illegal dealings. And due to the fuck up in Russia, there was no way the metahuman community wouldn't fight back if such a thing was revealed to the public. 

Russia had been a hotspot for riots and metahuman protest after the Sentinel Massacre, such that some mutant friendly countries started name-calling them because of the barbaric acts that was performed on Russian soil which most of the higher-ups were privy to. There would have been no way such an army of racial-killing robots would have been made if at least someone of vast authority didn't give them the go ahead or shielded them. 

With all this I should have been able to rest but unfortunately I still had to keep an eye out on things. 

First of all was the Phoenix who I was still keeping a flimsy hope of it not coming to pass. But hopefully I had nothing to do with it. 

Second of all was Dr. Doom. 

I honestly didn't know where to start with this guy. For all I could tell, Doom currently had his sights on me and the Phoenix but which had his most priority was something that I would like to know. 

With this being the Marvel-verse, all it would take is just a few days to a few months before he would attain unbelievable power. An herb here, a stone there, a relic down below or a weapon up up above. It was just that simple. 

I mean, look at Thanos in the Infinity War movie. All it took Thanos was just two days to go from an everyday-but-slightly-stronger Eternal to a Universal being capable of matching the likes of Galactus. So yes, it is very well within my right to be worried about what Doom was doing. 

Maybe I should just go learn magic? I had been putting off this thought for a while now because… Well because I didn't want to. I knew what I was, an outsider. And given the mysteriousness of the Ancient One, whoever they were in this universe, I wouldn't be too surprised if they already know of my life… and death. So yes, the reason I haven't gone to the Sanctum Sanctorum was because I haven't yet seen the need but my present options were very limited and I didn't have the luxury I once had in choosing my power path. 

While the Masters of the Mystic Arts of the Sanctum weren't that strong… like really that strong, heck most of them were no different from a normal humie, but what set them vastly apart was the versatility that magic and the arts gave to them. From a normal neurosurgeon with broken hands to being capable of standing up against universal entities. 

Magic really earned its place as the most versatile of powers. 

Okay that's it! Add learning magic to the to-do list. 

With plans for my weapons and learning magic added to the list, I left my smithy. 

… 

"You are doing that thing where you are thinking too much." A glass was placed in front of me but I didn't raise my head at the redhead who did it. 

This was one of the few places where I could unwind and just watch normal humans going about their day only thinking of the next payday. 

Ignorance truly was bliss. 

If they knew what kind of powers laid aground on this blue planet and the threats that laid outside of it then I doubt they'd be this carefree. Even if I told them that half of the population would be wiped out in 15 years, I doubt they'd take me seriously. Though they'd laugh – that's for sure. 

"You are doing it again." The same familiar voice brought me out of my musings and this time I finally decided to humor her by picking up my drink and gulping down the whole thing and waited for a refill. 

Natasha just gave me her trademark sultry smile and refilled my glass. 

"Remind me again why you are still working at a bar?" It really did baffle me for a bit since I was sure she could definitely pull off working at almost anywhere except maybe some high-leveled establishments. 

"What can I say? Free drinks or just waiting for someone to buy me one." She said it in such a low voice that the dude next to me stilled on his stool and I could catch his subtle, not really, glances at Natasha as she leaned towards me. 

"I would say you already have much of those every single day." I said as I sipped from my refill. I wasn't actively trying to resist whatever Natasha had going on since all of our talks always had a flirty atmosphere but I just wasn't feeling it. I was sure 99% of men would fall or get interested since she was one hell of a conversationist, even I would if it were the me from two years ago and further. But it was just a lack of interest. Not in her, but just about anyone. I didn't feel like I was ready for a relationship with all the shit I had going on and I'd have to get a somewhat stable life before I was ready to put myself out there. 

"True. But most aren't impressive." She said as she served a customer. 

"Then why don't you try stop being picky?" I always enjoyed this type of back and forth we had. I didn't know what really was the reason. Whether it was because she was that good at talking or that she was the first… friend? I didn't know what our relationship was but she was the first female I could have such pointless talk with. Ororo and I had talked a few times and while I could call her a friend, our conversation wasn't really about how unimpressive the guys trying to hit on her were. Ours would most times settle around certain topics and while I definitely could talk to Ororo about a lot of things, it was not like I could meet with her in a bar almost everyday. 

"But a girl's got to be focused right? Wouldn't want to be played and hurt by the wrong guy just because she let someone in you know." She threw me a quick glance over her shoulders and got on with her work. 

Yelena wasn't here yet, maybe she went out because she and Natasha ran the same shifts. 

"But you know you're gonna have to give someone a chance right?" I did a double take as I said that and looked at her to see her sporting a seductive-smug smile. Don't know what that smile was but it was definitely what was crossing through her face. She'd being leading me on with the conversation, like always. 

"I'm giving him one." She whispered and I could practically feel the gaze from the dude at my side but I ignored whatever he was trying to tell me with his eyes and just shook my head. 

It had gotten too flirty and pink for my taste so I just turned and focused on the game some people were watching. 

"So what are you doing out here?" She still didn't leave me alone even after that which made me sigh. 

"Can't a man come get a drink when he feels like it?"

"You could, but I doubt someone like you is lacking a drink at whatever cabinet you have at home." She said and refilled my glass again. "Which means you either came here to unwind or catch the atmosphere."

"Is that your way of building up a character profile? It's spotty." I scoffed. 

"Like I said. Someone like 'you'." The way she laid emphasis on the last word earned her a raised brow from me and nothing else. 

"And is there any reason why you would want to build a character profile on me?" 

She paused to look at me for a while before she answered. "Yes." It was short and concise and if I wasn't already aware of her identity and skillset, then I would have showed some type of reaction. But then again I didn't care even if she was so I just shrugged and asked nonchalantly. "What for?"

She went back to working the bar and answered but I could feel the slight pause she had before she did. "Just to be sure." I could feel her full attention on me but once again I didn't react. I didn't know what kind of game she was playing but I'd appreciate it if she kept it nonlethal. Wouldn't want to lose my second female friend. 

"You know you could always ask what you want to ask." I said. I wondered why people always like to beat around the bush when they want something. 

She stopped at that and stared at me while I kept watching the game. 

"I'm just… trying to understand you I guess." She said but even I could tell that she was unsure by what she said. 

"You are confused." 

"Excuse me?"

"You're confused." I repeated. 

"And what do you mean by that?" She asked with her arm folded under her bust. 

"It's exactly what I said – you are confused. Or putting it more apt, you don't know what to do when presented with so many options." Sure she could build profiles and investigate backgrounds but she wasn't a shrink. I could see the interest in her eyes which she didn't know was showing anytime I came to the bar, not for me obviously, but for being someone who knew who she was. And seeing as I was able to have a somewhat normal life after all the killing and all, she wanted to know how. But I doubt she knew. 

She had been raised to be an assassin, someone who could live different lives at the drop of a costume, but that was under order, under duty. She was to take the path that was most efficient when undergoing her missions that she didn't have the thought to stray or try to enjoy things herself which were not part of her directives. 

But now, not only did she not have any orders but also she was given her freedom in a day. All the choices she couldn't make or didn't think of making were presented to her at once and because she wasn't used to choosing herself, she picked up where she was most familiar with – a bar. A place to gather information and also to lower the inhibitions of targets. 

She acted subconsciously. 

These were things I had hoped someone had pointed out to me in my past life because if they did, then I was sure that I wouldn't have lived such an empty yet ephemerally fulfilling life. 

"… And you know so how?" She asked. 

"Simple. Because I was once like you. Having all the options one could ever had and I chose to be nothing. Do nothing."

"You don't look like nothing to me." She said earnestly but I couldn't help but hear it sarcastically. 

"Bet I don't. But I'll bet you that you wouldn't have hesitated to kill me if you saw me 2 years ago." I let out a mirthless chuckle. 

"What changed?"

"The world did." She was confused by that so I turned to face her. 

"I found out that I was a meta. A late blooming one. HYDRA caught me and tortured me for two years. Poisons, fire, ice, cut and gun wounds. They inflicted it all on me just to see how I healed from it. Tried brainwashing but I just blew up their base and went from there. And now here I am." I told her. What HYDRA did to me was no longer a touchy subject that I tried to run from. It was a lesson, that was all it was at this point. 

"I still don't understand. How does that help me."

"It's simple. Natasha, what do you want to do?"

She looked at me with a hurt expression as if telling me not to poke at that particular wound harder. 

"Start small. If you wanted to try cardio for the hell of it or just show off your flexibility to others, do it. For now… just wing it is what I'm trying to say. You don't need much planning at this stage. Try anything new that you didn't have the chance or option to do before. Hell, date a loser, steal some kids' candy, crash a cop's car, promote gun violence…" She burst into a fit of laughter as I said those words which also made me laugh for a while. "It's simple really. Just a small step is what you need, and if you can't find it anytime soon you can always visit me. I have two lazy bums at home who are out of time and way too old to be young despite the irony."

The grateful expression on her face was worth my day. But then… 

"Really bold there tiger. Inviting me to your house like that without even a dinner date. I'm afraid I'm not that cheap." She winked at me and sashayed off to pour some drinks. 

"Really?! I thought we were having a moment Nat?"

She turned to me with a raised brow before a real smile graced her lips this time. "Oh we were!"

"Damned redheads."

"Damned redheads." We both spoke at the same time.

Yeah, it was definitely worth it. 

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