Chapter 16

"So, just how many martial styles do you know?"

"..."

"Come on … don't be a sore loser."

"And what if I am? Actually, who wouldn't be one when their opponent is a complete and utter cheater?"

"What!? a cheater?! That is non-definitely not true, more like an opportunist, I would personally say."

"Of course you would."

"Ok, look … I will be a, uhm, what's the word I'm looking for … Aha! merciful, I'll be a merciful winner, and scrap that awful, just horrible week of basically slavery..."

"Just tell me the catch." she said, her eyes lighting up.

"... I was getting there, ahem, in exchange … you demonstrate to me all of your most potent and useful combat skills."

"So, you just want to continue sparring with me?"

"No! There is no need to, you can just use a dummy, or somebody else really."

{Wait, so you just want to watch someone else spar with her? Couldn't you just use the countless hours of video information stuck inside your brain then?}

'Do I look like I have ten years of sorting the good and useful arts from the shitty ones? Because I already started and let me tell you, 96% are crap of the highest magnitude.'

{But still, why not spar? I know that remembering everything is useful and all, but even you can't perfect a move from just observing it.}

'... I just really don't want to get my ass kicked, ok? I cannot imagine how ashamed or furious she is right now, sparring with her, without phasing through her attacks, would just lead to pain and misery.'

{*sigh* … you really are a baby.}

'I mean, you're not technically wrong, but still, rude.'

"Wait, so no sparring or any kind of dueling at all."

"None whatsoever."

"Huh, then I have a solution that will save time for both of us … actually, it will save my time, I honestly have no clue on how you will fare, seeing that you haven't moved a single muscle since our "spar" started..." she said, exaggeratedly using her fingers to gesture quotation marks … I wonder why?

The Black Widow then gestured me to follow her to a room full of different archives, and from one of them she took out a little white rectangular box, which started scanning her face the moment she put her hand on it.

'That's cool and all, pretty impressive technology actually, but … why is that one eyed freak silently sitting in a corner?'

{… Maybe he has a fetish for unilluminated secluded spots?}

'Really? That's all you got?'

{Or he just loves using seductive russian redheads to lure little kids into pitch black, soundproof rooms, so that he could make them scream and talk for hours on hours in all sorts of various, non-kid friendly ways.}

'Ok, that was better … your mastery of degrading people over their most inconspicuous actions is really good … I'm kind of jealous.'

{Oh, you're making me blush … but now for real, be careful and chose your words wisely, I have a weird feeling that he can make our relatively peaceful time so far, not so peaceful anymore.}

"Agent Barton told me of a bizarre and monstrously strong anomaly, yet all I see now is a little prepubescent boy … so explain to me, how exactly does that add up?" asked the one and only Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, Nicholas Joseph Fury, still sitting one leg over the other in a really comfortable looking position.

"You know, it's really instinctual actually, I just think of becoming either one, and it just happens." replied Victor, not even turning around, but instead looking around curiously as if he didn't know the room inside out already.

"Just like that?"

"Yeah, just like that … so, uhm, where is the candy? I assume that the white van should be somewhere outside, but really? What kind of child kidnapper doesn't show up with candy?" said Victor, this time actually turning around and looking incredulously at the Director's one working eyeball.

"Huh? And what does the term "candy" equate to you? The cold cadavers of little children, perhaps?"

...

'... They found out, they … they fucking found out.'

{But still, interestingly, they haven't attacked … yet.}

'Of course they haven't, Natasha only has a gun in her hand, and she knows for certain that bullets can only phase through me … it's either that they are scared, but that's not likely, or …'

{They are stalling for time, waiting for reinforcements …}

In an instant, the atmosphere changed, and my instincts manifested themselves all over my body, without my will.

My hands sprouted claws, sharper than the thinnest razor, thanks to the vibranium.

My eyes changed to their more predatorial form, any and all feeling or expression leaving my young face. Other areas started to change as well, like the spikes growing out of my elbows, but the most striking change was, in my opinion, my voice, no longer that of an adorable little boy, but that of an experienced killer taking its place.

"Not really … young humans are more of a meal then a treat, although, they are incredibly lacking."

Suddenly, the white corner which stood behind me was splattered in a crimson avalanche of blood and brain matter, the head of a camouflaged, and let's face it, unlucky agent being penetrated by one of my four invisible appendages, which began to from in the middle of my back whilst I was expressing my distaste for young homo sapiens.

And the other three quickly got to work as well. One wrapped around Romanoff and lifted her of the ground, the sharp edge of the most precious metal on earth quietly pressing on her neck, promising certain and absolute death, if need came to be.

The other one pulled a chair towards me, noticeably lager than Fury's, on which I sat down in a way that would make me appear taller, thus more intimidating and dominant, for those are great traits to have in any confrontation and negotiations, especially the "negotiation" we are about to have right now.

And lastly, the third one had the most important job, of … uhm, flipping the light switch … nothing cool came to my mind with this one, ok?

"Pretty rude, having that guy point a firearm at the back of my head Nicholas, that's not a way to treat guests, especially those like me, who wouldn't go out of their way to harm the priceless soul of a human being ... well, maybe in exceptional and rare situations, of course."

I mimicked his position, relaxing my body, and asked the big question, my unyielding gaze still fixated on his whole being.

"Now, please tell me in great detail, for I am most interested ... how the fuck did you find out?"