C07 - Save the hero from falling!

'Inner dialogue/thoughts'

"Normal dialogue"

[System]

[Diary entries]

(Word Count: 1,450)

~ With Wanda, in an unknown HYDRA base located in Sokovia ~

Staring at the ending of the second diary entry, Wanda could not help but think to herself, 'What is going on with me? I don't even know who this person is! But, reading about his life story, I can't help but feel intrigued. Who is this person and why can I feel the sincerity in the words that he had written about me? How does he know so much about me as a person, I never told anyone about why I loved being in peach blossom forests!' Aside from that, Wanda also picked up another interesting detail, 'He also mentioned about innate abilities that are dormant within me and my brother.'

Wanda could not deny the exciting prospect of having powers. She could do so much with them! She could avenge her parents, or she could save Pietr – 'That's right. Now that I know what happens in the future, and now that I know I have a power hidden within me, I can prevent Pietro from dying! And this Luke, if he truly means what he says and sees me as the same Wanda from his world, then he will definitely help me too!'

However, thinking about taking advantage of Luke, a wave of guilt washed over Wanda. Just a few moments earlier she had been complaining that the world was unfair toward Luke. Yet here she is now, behaving no different. What Wanda had not yet realized was that she was projecting her own experiences onto Luke. Both Wanda and Pietro had been taken advantage of by the people who had promised to take care of them, and now they were suffering the consequences for it. She had been naïve to be too trusting of strangers. And so, the voices in the back of her mind were whispering to her that since she was dealt a bad hand, that others deserved to know the same pain.

But did Luke deserved being used like that? Hadn't he suffered more than herself and her brother? Wanda still had Pietro, while Luke seemed to be all alone. After a long period of sitting in silence, Wanda reflected, 'No, if I want his help, then I will need to earn it. I will not allow myself to become like those people. Even now, he doesn't owe me anything. Yet he still chooses to help me due to the kindness in his heart. I can't bring myself to do this to him. I may not be Wanda from his world, but if she can open up our secrets to him, then it might be worth it for me to at least get to know him. Whatever happens in the future, I will let my future self handle it.'

~ With Fury and Natasha, inside Fury's office within S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters ~

"Agent Romanoff, it would appear that we would need to update your mission parameters. Especially considering that our diary owner here has given us his exact location." Fury said to an absent-minded Natasha. "Agent Romanoff?" Fury questioned.

"What's that? Oh right, I guess I won't have to vet the few hundred people that I narrowed down earlier. What should my updated parameters be sir?" Natasha snapped out of her thoughts and swiftly acknowledged Fury's earlier order.

"Agent Romanoff, I can count with the fingers on my left hand for the number of times that you have been inattentive during any sort of meeting. Care to explain to me why I have just added one more?" Fury inquired, curious as to what got one of his best agent to lose focus, albeit momentarily.

After a moment, Natasha gathered her thoughts and began, "The owner of this diary, Luke, is undoubtedly a true superhero if the content of the diary is to be believed. However, I have picked up some troubling queues in his writing regarding his mental state." Not receiving a word from Fury, Natasha continued, "Sir, this is a man who had lost everything he had ever held dear, and what did fate, or destiny, or whoever, reward him for it? A chance at a second life. However, this can also be viewed as a punishment on Luke. For his failure, Luke is to live among the counterparts of those who he had failed to save, all while he alone suffers the pain and memories of the devastating defeat. Luke himself has admitted that he felt tired. This raises another serious issue that we need to address."

"And what issue could this be?" asked Fury.

"Fragility." Natasha responded. "Let us put this into perspective, we know that both you and I are holders of this diary and can read about the contents within, correct? Then who's to say that there aren't others who are also holders of the diary?" At Natasha's question, Fury's lone eye widened as he realized the issue that she was getting to.

Indeed, from the way that Luke was describing about his transmigration and life on this world over the past two months, Fury realized that Luke's mental state could be considered fragile, "That is some troubling information. Right now, he only experiences his suffering first hand again in his nightmares. Yes, he may have made the commitment to help our world, but what if he were to lose his anchor again? If Luke is unaware that his diary is in the hands of others, and if the other holders have no good intention with Luke, he could easily lose his last anchor, Wanda." It was not difficult to summarize that Wanda was the final anchor that was keeping Luke the hero that he is. 'If some unsavoury people were to take advantage of this. . .' Fury did not want to think of the consequences of such things happening.

"Agent Romanoff, your new mission parameters are as follows," Fury began as Natasha focused up, "You are to go to Los Angeles, specifically to where Luke will be at. Your mission is to analyse whether he would pose a security threat." Before Natasha could reprimand for the latter of the order, Fury held his hand up signalling that he was not finished. "Don't give me that look Agent Romanoff, you and I both understand that we would be walking on thin ice. Luke would be meeting a familiar face, and yet this familiar face would be unaware of the turmoil and thoughts of Luke. You would have to be on your A-game in order to not give away anything. While it is possible that Luke is aware that we are able to see his diary, it is the safer option to operate in a setting where we assume that he is unaware." Fury explained.

"Furthermore, should he pass initial assessment, you are to then establish a connection with Luke. Keep in mind that Luke has stated that while he would be able to trust a few that are within S.H.I.E.L.D., we should assume that the rest are compromised until proven otherwise. That means no communication with other agents regarding your time near Luke. I will pull some strings to ensure that no other agents would be in the vicinity during your mission period. Make no mistake Agent Romanoff, I do not care the kind of connection you would establish with Luke, that is for you and future Wanda to discuss. What I do care about is the condition of Luke. We must prevent a mental collapse at all costs. Meanwhile, I will start the search for the siblings Wanda and Pietro." Fury finished.

"Mission parameters received and acknowledged sir. Don't worry, I know how to play psychiatrist. I can also use this period to determine the authenticity of the contents of the diary." Replied Natasha. Natasha had wanted to use this opportunity verify whether the contents of the diary were to be believed or not. After all, a person may be able fake his words, but he should be unable to fake his expressions and the way he carries himself. Even both herself and Fury have some trouble at times to maintain their stoic demeanours. 

- End of Chapter 07 -

Editor's general note: I think that for future reference, just take it as all future chapters are different from the original MTL chapters. Once again, I found myself at a loss at how bad the MTL chapter actually was after carefully reading, and so I just re-did the whole thing. I can probably see myself doing more of this in the future too. On a different note, I finally hit 10,000 words wohoo!!!