Agent Romanoff(chapter 21)

prevously in chapter 20

Henry then stopped running as he approached the crushed carriage before actually teleporting with the carriage into his first hideout by touching it. Inside his first hideout, he madly laughed, "Hhhhhhhhhh, fucking aliens are real, gods are real, so are superpowered people. Finally, this world is awakening," he laughed to himself madly as he removed the charred aliens off the carriage. He said out loud, "So definitely anti-gravity technology. With this technology, not only would I be able to progress by leaps and bounds with my technology, I could even start on my own golem like the Asgardian Destroyer." Just the potential that this new technology represented had Henry salivating, so he had to get greedy. "I need more. I was hesitant with the Destroyer golem, losing out on some valuable technology, but this is an invasion. The government and heroes would be too busy tackling the invaders that they won't have time for me," he pondered.

He then teleported back into the battlefield carelessly, nearly paying the price as a large chunk of the skyscraper behind him was blown to bits, raining down concrete. With the speed potion, he was able to quickly get out of the splash zone as he saw dozens of the aliens, who were techno-organic, with insect-like mouths. They wielded weapons ranging from rifles to spears that shoot plasma. They were laying on the floor. Henry then picked up some of the weapons and teleported away. "Loot, such great loot," Henry continued to collect the weapons of the Chitauri soldiers and even their corpses, as he happily sang a tune. However, his happiness was short-lived as he heard the sound of guns clicking. Turning around, he saw someone he didn't expect to see again.

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Chapter 21

"We really need to stop doing this," he said with a smile. He wasn't using his costume on purpose as he didn't actually want the Alchemist on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar, not yet at least, but Henry was on their radar already, so he didn't mind if they saw him stealing another technology. "Agent Romanoff," Henry said as the person pointing the gun at him was a woman wearing a black suit with a red hourglass symbol on her chest. She had ginger red hair. This woman was the same woman he saw at the Stark Expo when he first stole the Hammer droid.

"Put your hands where I can see them," Agent Romanoff said in her usual emotionless voice. As you can guess, this wasn't the first time Henry and she met. She was the reason why S.H.I.E.L.D. was after him, and Henry never forgot. She also remembered him because he was stealing Hammer droids and because he killed one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents after she told them to take care of him. Of course that was not their first meeting, he also met again when he was being chased by shield after he fled.

"I can't, my hands are full," he said as he was holding two Chitauri rifles.

"I am not going to repeat myself. Put the weapons down and put your hands up, slowly," she commanded as she tightened the grip on her gun.

"I can't do that, Ms. Romanoff," he said with a smile. Although he wished he could shoot her dead, she was deadly. She was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best, if not the best, she would kill him faster than he could attack.

The first thing she did was lunge at him with inhuman speed. Even with his boost provided by the speed potions, Henry could barely react to her. Even then, he still got kneed in the chest, knocking the wind out of his lungs as he tumbled and hit the ground, gasping for breath. He tried to get up, only for Romanoff to lunge at him again, this time wrapping her legs around his head before she spun forward towards the ground, flipping him over. Before Henry could react, she got on top of him, placing her leg on his neck, constricting his airflow while she sat on his chest.

"You are going—" Before she could continue, a Chitauri carriage flew over them, firing dozens of shots at both of them, forcing Agent Romanoff to get off Henry as she turned for cover. Henry, who had regained his ability to breathe, also ran for cover.

Henry, with his speed boost activated, jumped over the car before taking cover. That's when Agent Romanoff also jumped over the car to take cover, and the two of them came face to face. She was about to say something as the Chitauri carriage came back for a second round, forcing her to grunt, "Count yourself lucky." Henry then smiled before they both started to shoot at the Chitauri carriages. Of course, Agent Romanoff was a better marksman than Henry; it wasn't even close. When Henry started missing shots, even though he was holding a plasma rifle, while Agent Romanoff had to reload every time, it annoyed her. She yelled, "Alright, hand me the rifle!"

Henry scoffed, "Right, and then you can shoot me in the head," he said sarcastically as he continued to shoot, hitting the underside of the carriage.

"Then stop missing!" Romanoff retorted as Henry turned towards her.

"Maybe if I was an agent that had the entire government in their pocket, I would know how to shoot better," he yelled sarcastically. They were suddenly hit with a large plasma shot from the literal space whale, sending them flying before they both hit a destroyed wall. Agent Romanoff got up faster than Henry, so she lunged toward his rifle, grabbing it before she turned toward where Henry was. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a rainbow-colored light which then disappeared. When she turned around, Henry was nowhere to be seen. "Shit," she cursed as more Chitauri soldiers appeared, surrounding her. She touched her ear where her coms was. "Romanoff to Avengers, I need backup." Just as she finished speaking, a blue and red shield hit several of the Chitauri in a circular motion before boomeranging back to its sender, a man wearing the American flag as a suit.

-scene change-

Meanwhile, in his first hideout, Henry, bleeding from the side of his head, leaned against the cave wall as he coughed. "Fuck that shit," he cursed out loud as he got up. "I shouldn't have gotten greedy and gone back," he thought to himself. But looking at the Chitauri vehicle he stole, he then popped a small potion in a test tube before removing some of his destroyed clothes. "Lesson learned, but first I need to sort out these new materials, stock up on potions, and also, I need a way to know what is going on around the world. I need eyes everywhere, and i mean everywhere" he sighed to himself as he got to work setting the Chitauri technology aside, then stocking up on potions by making them. He fed his plants in both hideouts using Bifrost stone, which was already at a very high deterioration rate.

After sorting out his plants, Henry then started to dismantle the Chitauri carriage. He removed the frame fast, then the electronics, before finally arriving at the engine that powered the whole thing. Unlike turbine engines or other forms of engines, this one was compact, very compact, and the weight it could carry was impressive. He was very interested in it. As he wrapped his neck where Natasha Romanoff had her knees on, he thought, "Damn, she was tough, took me out in just a couple of seconds." However, instead of being pissed at her and how quickly she took him out, Henry had more of a grudge with himself. "I should learn martial arts, and fast. I also need to hurry up with Project Hercules," urging himself, Henry continued to study the Chitauri engine.

After his study, he went to his second hideout where he saw five plants that were being especially taken care of. One of them was ginseng, which was still growing. Even though it was still growing, it was a 3rd-grade plant.

[Name: Primeval Ginseng]

[Grade: 3rd]

[Description: This exceptional ginseng, still in its prime and growing, emanates a faint aura of vitality. Its roots delve deep into fertile soil, absorbing nutrients from the earth. Though mundane in appearance, its potency lies in its purity and vitality.]

[Effects: +43% increase in vitality, +32% boost to the immune system, +27% enhancement in cognitive function]

[Deterioration-Rate: 0%]

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A/N Well, that was a lot. I kind of forgot that this chapter kick-starts the idea of the alchemist army. Yes, an army, but not of humans, of course. Maybe homunculi. The point is, things will change, so hopefully, you guys like it. And no, this isn't going to be the last time he sees Agent Romanoff or Thor. Trust me, I have plans for their DNA, so he will get them once he is strong enough, which will be in a couple of chapters. I'm thinking of pulling a page from Mister Sinister's book.