[Lockhart's POV]
I sat in the cold, sterile room, my wrists shackled to the metallic table in front of me. The Helicarrier was as austere as it was legendary. The hum of its powerful engines vibrated through the floor, a constant reminder that I was miles above the earth, far removed from my usual playground of magic.
I never wanted to come to these universes like marvel or DC. They are way too dangerous for the current me. The people of these universes are way too accustomed to face world-destroyer level beings.
The door slid open with a hiss, and I didn't need to turn to know who had arrived. I had been here long enough to recognize the scent of gun oil, leather, and absolute authority. Nick Fury. Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., the one-eyed enigma who ran this floating fortress.
Alongside him, silent but deadly, was Natasha Romanoff—Black Widow herself. The world's most dangerous woman, and I wasn't being hyperbolic. To most, she was a ghost, slipping through the cracks of history, leaving bodies and secrets in her wake.
"Lockhart," Fury's voice was as cold and direct as the muzzle of a gun. He took a seat across from me, his one good eye pinning me with a gaze sharp enough to make lesser men squirm.
I already introduced myself to them during Fury's last visit along with explaining that teleporting to their halicarrier was a total accident. Yet I'm still here.I tried to know what happened to the Basilisk but they refused to tell me anything about it.
"Director Fury," I responded with my best disarming smile. "And the Black Widow herself. I'm truly honored to have such illustrious company."
Romanoff's eyes barely flickered at my words. She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, every inch the coiled predator she was. "Cut the crap, Lockhart. We're not here to play games."
"Games?" I chuckled, leaning back as much as my restraints allowed. "I'd hardly call revealing the truth about my identity a game. But I suppose it's hard to differentiate heroes from villains in a world as… polarized as this one."
Fury's eyebrow twitched. "Polarized? Try me."
I took a deep breath, savoring the moment. They thought they had me. They thought I was trapped—out of my element, in their domain. But I had always known that a moment like this would eventually come, me once again becoming just a human.
"As I have already told you, Director Fury," I began, my tone conversational, "I'm not from around here. You like to divide things so neatly, don't you? Heroes on one side, villains on the other. People like you, you need to control everything. But you don't understand—there are no clean lines between good and evil, hero and villain. Not when you travel across timelines and multiverses as I have."
"Right now, you're just a criminal who got caught unless proven otherwise," Fury said flatly. "Let's not make this more than it is."
"Is that what you think? just a criminal" I grinned. "What if I told you I know all of your secrets? Not just yours, Director, but the secrets of your precious Avengers, your young protégé Spider-Man, and all the rest? Their private lives, their identities, even their weaknesses?"
Fury's posture didn't change, but I saw a flicker in his expression—barely a twitch, but enough for me to know I had his attention.
"Bullshit," Romanoff said coldly.
"Oh, is it?" I raised my eyebrows and looked directly into her eyes, holding the gaze of the Black Widow without flinching. "Let's start with you, Natasha."
Her expression remained impassive, but I saw her eyes sharpen a predator-sensing movement.
"Born Natalia Alianovna Romanova, raised in the Red Room, an orphan trained to be a master assassin. But you already know all of that, don't you? That's not what bothers you. What really gets under your skin is the little things… like the smell of your mother's perfume when you were too young to understand what abandonment meant. How it still lingers in your mind every time you close your eyes at night."
I leaned forward, as much as the restraints allowed, my voice softening. "You've killed more people than you can remember, but the face that haunts you most is that of a little girl you murdered on a mission in Budapest, isn't it? You've always wondered what would have happened to her if you hadn't done it. Would she have become someone like you, another weapon of Drekov? Or maybe just…an innocent child that would have disappeared into the crowds like so many others. It keeps you up at night, doesn't it?"
The silence that followed was thick enough to cut. Romanoff's face betrayed nothing, but the tension in her shoulders said everything I needed to know. I could practically feel the violence radiating off her in waves, but she remained still. Controlled. Calculating.
I didn't fear her. Not here. Not now.
Fury broke the silence first. "You've been doing your homework, Lockhart. I'll give you that. But we've got files on Romanoff, too. So what?"
I smiled wider. "Ah, Nick, you're missing the point. It's not that I know this because I read it somewhere. I know this because I lived it. In another timeline, Natasha told me herself. In another life, another world, we had this very conversation. Only, in that version, I wasn't your prisoner. I was an ally."
"Still sounds like a steaming pile of horse shit," Fury replied, though there was no mistaking the curiosity in his voice. I had him.
"Let's continue then, shall we?" I shifted in my chair, easing into the rhythm of the performance. "Take Peter Parker, for example. Or rather, Spider-Man, though I suppose you knew that already."
I watched as Fury's jaw tightened just slightly. Gotcha.
"Your young hero, swinging around New York like he doesn't have a care in the world, all the while hiding from his Aunt May and the friends he holds so dear. But in another timeline, Peter confided in me—because I saved his life. We fought side by side. He told me about his first time donning the mask, how he almost gave up the suit after the death of his uncle, and how, no matter how many times he saves someone, he can never shake the feeling that it wasn't enough."
I let the silence stretch for a moment, watching their reactions. Fury's poker face was excellent, but even he couldn't entirely hide the tightness in his jaw. As for Romanoff… well, she was a tougher nut to crack, but the lack of immediate denial told me I was getting under her skin.
"Shall I continue?" I asked. "Perhaps Tony Stark next? No, wait—let's talk about Steve Rogers."
I smiled knowingly. "Ah, yes. Good ol' Captain America. But the truth is, the man behind the shield—Steve Rogers—has secrets just like the rest of you. In more than one world, he shared his doubts with me. The man out of time, constantly asking himself if he's more relic than hero. Wondering if the world he sacrificed so much for even exists anymore… or if it was just a dream he woke up from far too late."
I leaned back, the confidence in my tone unwavering. "I know every version of your stories. Every world. Every timeline. Why? Because I've traveled them. I've lived them. And in many of those timelines, we aren't enemies. In fact, I've helped you avert world-ending disasters on more occasions than I care to count."
Fury's calm demeanor finally cracked, just slightly. "You expect us to believe you're some kind of multiverse-hopping, time-traveling hero?"
I laughed. "That's hardly the case. I wield the Second True Magic, Director. I travel across dimensions as easily as your Spider-Man swings between skyscrapers. Do you think locking me up in this little room is the end of it? "
Black Widow's eyes flicked to Fury, then back to me. She shifted ever so slightly, and I could feel the threat radiating from her. But there was hesitation now. Doubt. She wasn't sure what to believe anymore.
"You think because you know a few names and stories that we'll buy into this multiverse crap?" she asked, her voice low and dangerous. "You're still in our custody, Lockhart. All the talk in the world won't change that."
"Oh, Natasha, dear," I said softly. "It's not the names and stories of past that matter. It's the fact that I know the future."
Fury's gaze hardened.
I smiled. The game was in full swing now, and I had them exactly where I wanted. "I want the same thing you do, Nick. To save this world from an enemy it isn't prepared for. A multiverse threat that makes Thanos look like a common petty thief. I've seen it. Right now it's asleep. But if you keep me here, helpless, when it comes… well, this version of Earth won't stand a chance."
There was a pause. Fury and Romanoff exchanged a look, a silent communication that spoke volumes. They were considering it. The idea that maybe, just maybe, I wasn't lying. Because in their world—where aliens invaded New York, where Norse gods fell from the sky—stranger things had happened.
Romanoff leaned forward, her eyes still cold, but her voice held a hint of curiosity. "What exactly are we up against?"
Ah, the hook was in. I could almost taste victory.
"No, not like this. Release me and then we'll talk."
Silence stretched between us. They had no way of knowing whether I was telling the truth, but the seeds of doubt were planted.
Fury stood abruptly. "You've given us a lot to think about, Lockhart. We'll be in touch."
I grinned as he and Romanoff turned to leave the room. "Oh, and Nick?" I called after him, my voice dripping with false cheer. "Don't take too long to make a decision. Time is…a brisk wind, after all."
The door closed behind them, leaving me alone once more. But I didn't mind. I knew I had just taken the first step in turning this imprisonment into an opportunity.
[Author's note:- currently the MC is in the Marvel Universe. more specifically the animated series of Ultimate Spiderman and Avengers Assemble]