Noah strolled towards the ring with a slow, measured gait, munching on some snacks he had swiped from the kitchen before arriving. All eyes were on him - Tony, Potts, Happy, and especially Natasha. She almost blew her cover by how intensely she was staring at him. Not that Noah was oblivious to her; he already knew who she was.
But why was Natasha so interested in him? It was because his appearance matched that of a famous mutant mercenary that Shield had been trying to acquire for the past three months. This mercenary had appeared out of nowhere and cleaned up most of the high-risk bounties worldwide.
At first, Shield had thought that he was just an above-average mutant with some skills. But after analyzing the aftermaths of some of his bounties and gathering information from their spy in the mercenary bar where Noah turned in most of his work, they discovered three things about his powers.
The science team had concluded that he possessed a hyper-intense laser attack after examining corpses left behind in the aftermath of one of his rampages. The holes in the bodies appeared to have been made by a beam from the sun itself, making him a formidable and dangerous opponent. However, what made Shield determined to acquire him were his next two powers.
He possessed The Hulk big brother-level strength, capable of bending tanks like they were made of clay and leaping high into the sky to snatch an attack helicopter with ease. He then used the helicopter to pummel any criminals in his path before using it as a weapon to smash into his intended target. And let not forget the incident where one of the top ruling crime families in Chicago suddenly vanished from the face of the earth.
The mayhem and destruction he left in his wake were comparable to a nightmarish apocalypse, transforming every location he visited into a desolate, terrifying landscape of ruin and despair.
In addition to his strength, he had the power of long-distance teleportation, unlike any other known before. Shield's spy reported that he had taken a contract for a criminal hiding deep within Russia and vanished into thin air before reappearing five minutes later with the criminal in hand.
Director Fury was horrified when he learned of this powers. He instructed all personnel involved in the operation to avoid any action that could be perceived as hostile towards the mercenary. The goal was to acquire him at any cost but never to provoke him into becoming hostile towards Shield. Any individual found to be doing so would be dealt with severely by Fury himself.
Fury knew that the consequences of angering someone with this level of power could be catastrophic. If provoked, the mercenary could teleport anywhere in the world, wreaking havoc on cities and causing widespread destruction and they will have no way to contain him!! Shield had to tread carefully and acquire him before anyone else did.
In the beginning, SHIELD had a plan to send their planted spy to approach Noah at the bar with a deal he couldn't refuse - complete amnesty for all his previous contracts, a six-figure salary, and all the perks that come with being a top SHIELD agent. All Noah had to do was sign on as a lifelong agent and undergo standard training.
However, No matter how hard the SHIELD spy tried, he couldn't get close to Noah. It was as if a strange force was at work, obscuring Noah's presence from the agent's senses. Every time Noah came into the bar, the agent's mind would wander, or he would find himself incapacitated after just one drink. It was a baffling and frustrating situation for the spy, and one that seemed almost supernatural in nature. Despite repeated attempts to make contact with Noah, the agent was unable to even catch a glimpse of him.
At first, SHIELD's higher-ups thought the agent was drunk on duty, so they brought him back for a disciplinary hearing and sent another agent instead. But the same thing happened to the new agent.
This kept happening several times and got so bad that Fury eventually filled half the bar with agents, but it all ended the same.
So after a few more attempts, Fury pulled back all the agents except one until they could find a way to bypass this curse-like scenario.
It's also worth noting that the picture SHIELD has of Noah is a computer-generated one made from the description they got from bar patrons.
So now, one of the highest priority targets for recruitment is walking in front of Natasha, and she can't stop herself from staring.
Noah, who was on his way to the ring, finished his snack and caught Natasha's gaze. She was staring at him intently, like he was some kind of animal under her microscope. Irritated by her analyzing stare, Noah snorted in disdain and unleashed some of his killing intent and pressure towards her, focusing solely on her.
Natasha immediately fell to her knees, and the room went dark for her. She tried to keep her cool, but suddenly, two large crimson eyes materialized in front of her, fixated on her. Then, a monstrous roar boomed in her mind, intensifying the already suffocating pressure around her. The beast's eyes continued to glare at her as it roared for what felt like an eternity until she heard a voice from her side.
"Nat, you okay?" asked Potts.
As if someone had flicked the light switch back on, her vision returned to normal, and she found herself being helped up by Potts.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I just tripped," Natasha replied while getting back up.
She stole one last glance at Noah before looking away and thinking to herself, <" Was that an illusion?Is this another power of his we didn't know about? I have to inform Fury! ">
Tony's face held a look of confusion when he first laid eyes on Noah. However, after taking a closer look, he recognized him as the man who had healed him before. Hope replaced the confusion as Tony now believed Noah could heal his poisoned body back to normal.
Happy, on the other hand, had a wary look on his face. Noah had managed to bypass all the security and high-tech cameras in the villa, including Tony's prized AI and butler J.A.R.V.I.S. Happy was on edge, and the slightest strange move from Noah could cause him to jump at him.
Noticing Happy's tense body language and wary look, Noah smiled lightly and thought to himself, <"Good ol' Happy seems in high spirits as usual.">
Noah then turned his attention to Tony and said, "Good to see you again, Mr. Stark," while extending his hand for a handshake.
"Just call me Tony. And it's good to see you again too," Tony replied, accepting the handshake.
"Also, what took you so long? You said you would visit in a few days, but it's been almost a year already," Tony asked.
"Well, something came up, and I got tied up with some work," Noah replied.
"With what? At the time i met you, you had just arrived to the city," Tony asked, hiding the fact Noah is from outer space.
Noah waved his hand and said, "Eh, it's a long story. I'll tell you all about it some other time."
Noah's eyes shone as he scanned Tony on a cellular level. "Have you found an element replacement for that?" Noah asked, pointing towards Tony's Arc reactor in his chest.
Surprise flashed through Tony's eyes. He hadn't expected Noah to figure out that he was dying from palladium poisoning.
"No, not yet. Can you do something about it?" Tony asked, trying to be as discreet as possible.
"Unfortunately, I can't fully fix it. The only thing I can do is give you more time to find a replacement," Noah bullshitted.
In reality, he could heal Tony's poison problem with a snap of his finger.
But why would he lie to Tony, you ask?
Simple.
He didn't want Tony's development to stagger, or worse, plummet. If Noah just fixed every problem that came Tony's way, the genius billionaire would never reach the heights he reached in the movies or the comics.
Hearing that, a look of relief flashed across Tony's face. "Excellent! Want to figure out the logistics of where and what while we eat?" Tony offered.
"Sure thing. You still owe me from last time anyway," Noah responded while nodding in agreement.
"Wait a sec, didn't you empty my kitchen the other..." Tony tried to retort, but Potts' voice interrupted him.
"Tony, care to introduce us to your friend?" she said, coming closer to the ring.
Both Tony and Noah turned around to see everyone's eyes on them. "Ah, my apologies, everyone. This is Noah, a friend of mine," Tony introduced Noah to everyone and began pointing at each person and introducing them to Noah. "This is Pepper Potts, the newly appointed CEO of Stark Industries. To the left of her is our new secretary, Natasha Rushman. And the nice guy over here is Happy, my bodyguard."
Noah gazed at everyone then said, "A pleasure, to be sure," greeting everyone in the gym.
Afterward, Tony got out of the ring, followed by Noah. "Cancel everything I have today. Me and the big guy are going to my usual burger joint," Tony told Nat as he began walking towards the exit.
Nat nodded her head and began to pretend she was canceling Tony's plans on a tablet she was holding, but in truth, she was informing Fury of what happened here and where Noah and Tony were heading.
But before they could reach the exit, Happy's voice boomed in the gym. "But Tony, didn't your friend say he wants to go for a round of boxing with me?" Happy said.
Tony turned around, but Noah spoke before he could. "But, Mr. Happy, I think the result of the match is already decided," Noah said.
"What do you mean? You think I can't take you on?" said Happy, a little agitated at Noah's remarks.
Noah didn't reply. He just smiled mischievously and pointed at Happy's head guard he was wearing, then turned around and kept walking.
Happy tried to say something, but before he could, he heard a tearing sound, and the head guard dropped down, split in two from the forehead.
Happy's jaw dropped, and everyone around him had a surprised look on their faces. Tony turned around and followed after Noah while asking him, "How did you do that?"
Noah just chuckled and replied, "I just punched it really fast. That's all," and then continued walking.
(To be continued)
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[Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, i'm going to go back and play lost ark now ,i'll see you guys in the next chapter! Bye bye. A/N]