BOO! Gotcha didn't I. Bet most of you regular readers were thinking "Wait, it's not 7pm, this shouldn't be an actual chapter update"! Surprise! After reading the amount of heartbreaking comments at my scam chapter yesterday and seeing the amount of cookies that I've been getting, I decided that you guys deserve to be treated to a bonus chapter today :D So here it is, C13 - Report, Agent Romanoff! Hope you enjoy!
E/d note: This is a combination of both Chapter 13 and Chapter 14 of the MTL! I realized how annoyed I was at how redundant most of the content of the two MTL chapters are, so in cases like these, where I don't find it beneficial to prolong the chapters for the story to continue, I will be combining chapters in the interest of saving time! Hope everyone will be okay with this! Of course, at the end of the chapter I will include what were the changes that I have made :D
'Inner dialogue/thoughts'
"Normal dialogue"
[System]
[Diary entries]
(Word count: 1,655)
~ With Fury, in SHIELD Headquarters ~
Fury was currently in his office reviewing the report sent in by the teams tasked to monitor Tony Stark. As he was reading the report, he received an incoming call on his private line, known only to few. Looking at the caller ID, fury thought to himself, 'It seems she has made first contact.' Setting aside the report, Fury pressed the button under the desk to ensure total privacy. Once he was satisfied, he answered the call.
"Agent Romanoff, if you're calling me this early into your mission then you'd better be damn well sure that it's to report some good news." Announced Fury.
"Wouldn't dream of doing otherwise sir. Are we secure?" Natasha enquired, to which she received a humourless reply, "You think I'd be answering this call if we weren't? Now, report."
"Reporting. Based on the mission parameters. I have successfully completed the initial stages of the mission." Natasha began. "On arrival to the location, I had noticed a priority target exiting the premises. The personal assistant of Tony Stark, Virginia Potts. It would seem that she is a frequent customer to the café as I had observed the café manager escorting Ms Potts out of the café, at which point Ms Potts had given the manager a hug just before she left."
Hearing the beginning of the report, Fury was not surprised. From the diary entry, it was confirmed by Luke that he had moved to Los Angeles in order to get closer to Tony. Fury surmised that being members of the Avengers in the parallel world, it is likely that Luke and Tony were friends, if not work colleagues. In that case, Luke is either here to reconnect, or to establish a relationship with Tony in order to get Tony's help. For what purpose, Fury did not know.
Continuing her report, "Walking into the café, I noticed that the place was buzzing with activity. But even while that was so, I was still met with a homely and warm atmosphere instead of what was to be expected from a busy café." Recalling a crucial detail, Natasha resumed, "Sir, from what I could gather from my first interaction with the target, I believe that the contents of the diary are true and that the target is unaware of our knowledge yet was aware of our presence."
"When the target first laid eyes on me, I initially noticed a flash of shock, recognition and finally nostalgia in the looks of his eyes. However, during our conversation, I had noticed a deeper emotion that he had tried to hide, sorrow. This final emotion had led me to confirm my theory. If the diary is true, it is easy to guess why these emotions had appeared. Shock at seeing that I have appeared suddenly, recognition and nostalgia at seeing a familiar face, and lastly sorrow in seeing someone who had died before the target's own time had come." Natasha concluded.
Picking up on her final statement, Fury asked. "So, you believe that it was you?"
"It had to be. It appears that I one of the ones who died before the world met its end," Natasha remarked, her voice tinged with a mix of sorrow and resignation.
Undeterred, Fury pressed on. "What else did you find out?"
Taking a moment to gather herself, Natasha carried on her report, "From my initial assessment, the target may be a natural leader. To supplement my claim, from the attitude of the employees and of the atmosphere of the café in general, I can conclude that he exudes charisma and possesses an innate ability to make those around him feel welcome and valued. Despite his position as the owner, he fosters a sense of familial bond among his employees, creating a supportive environment within the café. However, due to this, I believe it may also hinder his ability to be a necessary leader."
"In our line of work, we know just how deep the secrets go. As the target was a previous SHIELD agent in his world, we can assume that he has seen just how ugly the world truly is. He has the capacity to separate his kinder side from the more demanding aspects of our line of work. However, I surmise that he would be unable to order his subordinates to do the same."
"Furthermore, it is possible that the target has had the same training, if not higher, than that of myself and Clint. It was brought to my attention by one of the staff that the target would often be found in a specific location within the café as it had "the best view". When I observed that location, I saw that that was indeed true. It was the perfect location to be in, in the event of an emergency within the café or outside the café, without being hindered by any obstacles surrounding him should he need to make a quick response. The location also provided a line of sight to the areas within the café, and a large view of the area outside."
"Furthermore, during my interview with the target, I had noticed how his eyes, while trained on me, were discreetly observing his surroundings. I believe he may not lose to myself or to Clint should it come down to it. In fact, I'd wager that he would be able to hold himself just fine against both myself and Clint together. And the way he carried himself as he interacted with his surroundings showed a hint of nonchalance and confidence in his abilities."
"All things considered sir, my initial assessment would be that he would not pose a security threat for us. It would be in our interest not to antagonize him, especially considering that there is the possibility that he may still hold some lingering attachments to familiar faces like myself and Clint. That being said this still brings up the issue that we have highlighted. If this is all true, then his mental state could very well be fragile. I will need more time to assess this possibility before I can provide any confirmation sir." Natasha finally concluded her full report.
Taking a moment to analyse and weigh his options, Fury gave his order. "Very well, continue to monitor him. While on the surface it would be easy to trust and believe in the diary, and subsequently in Mr Sullivan, my gut is telling me that there is something more to him. Something he is not showing. Agent Romanoff, exercising extreme caution, I want him tested on his sense of morality and to see if he is hiding any secrets, and I wanted it done yesterday." Fury believed in his gut. He did not know what was wrong, but taking a blind shot at checking Luke's morality compass was a good start. Maybe they would be able to find out more about Luke before proceeding to the second phase of the mission.
- End of Chapter 13-
(Report is in reference to mission given in C07)
E/d note: First of all, what the flying f*ck was the original author smoking in the MTL? HE JUST PULLED OUT A BUNCH OF BS THINGS ABOUT THE MC OUT OF HIS ASS???? The MTL had in no way talked about most of the things that Natasha had reported to Fury in the MTL, and yet reading through the two chapters, I found myself going back and forth the MTL chapters just to find out where the f*ck in the MTL it mentioned those things. Like for example, the MTL stated and I QUOTE "I could detect a faint hint of anxiety and exhaustion in his eyes" BITCH PLEASE >:* !!! SINCE WHEN DID THIS INTERACTION EVEN TAKE PLACE????? >< The only thing I pulled out my ass was the "discretely observing the surrounding" thing because I don't recall writing about that in previous chapters xD But the MTL just had way too many instances of that happening that I just couldn't bring myself to use those two chapters. So, here's the combined chapter of 13 and 14 of the MTL, re-written to AT LEAST have some coherence with the story and what HAS ACTUALLY happened! I hope you enjoy it because I certainly did not enjoy losing the brain cells required to get past those chapters!
You can support me on p@treon.com/The_Editor982 . Advanced chapters on April tier will be finished before today's 7pm webnovel update and I will start working on Black Widow tier, in the hopes of getting it done by today as well!
Next time in C14 - Dangers of the Simulation! Luke kidnapped?!
'For now, I need to spend more time to get this hidden feeling under control. Unless Wanda suddenly appears in front of me within the next few weeks, everything should be manageable.' Luke concluded, unknowingly raising red flags.