In a large and modern office with a wall adorned with screens depicting real-time data of sorts, a large, ergonomic desk with a holographic interface dominated the space, surrounded by comfortable seating.
Blessed by the refreshing sunlight entering through a wall of glass on the furthest wall to the door, a black-haired man sat before the desk, swiping his fingers over the holograms every so often.
But perhaps the most notable feature about him was the glowing circle that illuminated through his shirt he didn't seem to acknowledge as if it were normal.
It wasn't long until the black-haired man stroked his neat goatee, running his fingers through his slick black hair and leaning back with a heavy exhalation.
"What a week it's been," Tony mumbled, staring at the ceiling as he took another sip of the dark orange liquid in the small cup.
"But sir, the week hasn't even ended yet." A wise voice rang through the office.
"Exactly."
"What specifically has you so stressed? The hacker still at large or the destroyed Helicarrier." Jarvis asked, seeming as though he was trying to be consoling but wasn't doing the best job.
"Both," Tony answered simply, deep in thought.
It had been three days since the Helicarrier failed.
Since then, his investigation of the mysterious hacker was cut short as Tony turned his focus to this problem.
'We lost a Hydra member.'
Tony groaned as he remembered how hard it was to find each mole in SHIELD, just for them to die so suddenly.
"Have they found what was stolen, if anything was?"
Tony asked, knowing if something was missing, it could indicate this was a planned operation and not just an accident.
"No, sir. SHIELD is still fishing everything out of the river, including the Helicarrier. It could take at least a week before they can confirm whether every single item is accounted for or not."
Jarvis confirmed, causing Tony to snap.
"Jeez, how about something simple, like what took down the bloody thing."
He stood waving his cup as his whisky threatened to spill.
"It's still unclear. I suspect engine failure, but the chances of this all being an accident are highly unlikely."
Tony stood before the large window as he looked down at the city with a plain expression.
He already knew all this and was simply taking out his frustration with words.
However, there was one thing he left to Jarvis which he was interested in.
"And what of our hacker?"
Jarvis was responsible for repairing the damage caused by the hacker, and while he was busy with this, he was also trying to find what exactly the hacker was after.
The result?
"It seems he wasn't after anything specifically. Though he did loom over these files for a long time."
A list appeared on one of the many screens beside the image of a boy with unkempt black hair, green eyes and a scar running up his jaw from his torso.
"Abandoned projects, Mutants, X-Men, Current members of the Avengers…" Tony mumbled to himself as he skimmed over the list.
"I can now confirm this boy here is an A.I. He has no records of ever being born, nor did facial recognition pick anything up. To put it simply, he doesn't exist."
However, though Tony did hear this, his mind was absent elsewhere as he stared at one word on the list.
"S.H.I.E.L.D," Tony mumbled, a thought occurring to him as he looked away.
"Jarvis, what are the chances this same hacker was the one responsible for the Helicarrier?"
Coincidences were rare in Tony's line of work.
Therefore, he always reminded himself to keep all possibilities in consideration, no matter how ridiculous they were.
But this specific possibility seemed more than plausible to him.
He still remembered the hacker, his mind dozing off to the events of that day every once in a while.
From the fact, he used topics as a shortcut to different files while hacking to what happened in the alley with the map…
Tony prided himself on never making the same mistake twice, but he still made mistakes.
He was still a human, he could rarely adapt to things in a split second.
But this hacker was different.
'He could do exactly that. Adapt, learn and grow. It almost seems inhumane.'
But he knew this was wrong. It was just something he was no longer privy to after coming so far.
'I remember it when I first started all this.'
Potential paired with terrifying…Genius.
"About 47.4%, Sir. Considering it happened on the same day and the hacker most likely knew it was that time of the month, it's possible."
"However, his purpose for hacking the Tower was information. What could his objective be this time?"
Jarvis asked, causing Tony to think as he stared into blank air, mumbling, "I don't know." he downed the last bit of whisky.
"Jarvis, run a mental scan just in case this is another one of Wanda's nightmares again." Tony sighed as he rubbed his forehead.
'Let's not have her hearing me say that. She's too unpredictable with her mental state the way it is now.'
Tony took back his words as a shiver ran down his spine while thinking of what Wanda was capable of.
But not before Jarvis computed the words.
"Are you sure, Sir? If this was an Illusion, wouldn't I just tell you it isn't?"
"It was sarcasm, Jarvis. Hasn't that modern-day banter Wikipedia page I told you to read helped your humour?" Tony rolled his eyes.
"Not as much as I thought, sir. But if you ever feel the need to imply any frivolous antics with an individual's mother, I'll be sure to deliver a well-timed "Oh, snap. What a savage."."
Tony was lost for words, dumbfounded as he let out his intrusive thoughts.
"Jarvis…shut up."
***
In the middle of a bustling city, a police precinct lay.
With its front entrance wide open, a dozen individuals could be seen sitting in the seating areas.
A bored officer with his eyes half shut sat at the front desk before the entrance.
He looked around his desk as he yawned, checking his cup and seeing he'd long finished his coffee.
While he looked for a colleague to cover for him while he went to get some more, a figure with a long, bronze trench coat walked in.
The figure wore a hoodie under the coat, the hood over his face as he kept his head lowered.
The officer quickly noticed him but didn't give it much thought as he pressed the radio on his shoulder, fiddling with it beforehand to change the channel for less menial matters while moving his lips closer and speaking
"This is O'Brian, can I get some more coffee at the desk?"
"Excuse me…"
The figure spoke, finally reaching the desk as O'Brian turned his attention to him.
"Yeah, NYPD, how can we help?"
He asked, watching the figure pull down his hood, revealing a boy with heavy dark circles under his eyes, bright green blessing his pupils as a nasty scar lay just past the bone of his jaw.
"I was responsible for the Aircraft crashing into the Hudson three days ago. It was me."
"Huh…"
O'Brian raised both eyebrows as he stared silently, the rest of the individuals in the precinct also turning to stare upon hearing it.
***
"Wait here."
In a dimly lit room with nothing more than a simple table and an uncomfortable metal chair, Ronan sat as a man left the room.
As he closed the door behind him, shutting out the little light that crept in, Ronan was left by himself.
'How long has it been? 3 hours maybe.'
Since confessing in the precinct, he'd been heavily questioned by detectives and even the FBI.
Of course, he told them the truth.
No, it wasn't exactly the full truth.
He chose to leave out his Technopathy, the Hydra member and the fact he needed something from the aircraft.
Not to mention the CCTV footage of a figure with the same trench coat and a hood over his head leaving the scene half an hour later.
Of course, he knew of the camera and did it on purpose.
But after all that, he was transported to…the sky.
'This…is SHIELD.'
Ronan thought, seeing the stylized dark 2D eagle adorned on the ground.
And he didn't even need his Technopathy to know how big this platform he was on was.
-CLANK
Ronan's attention turned to the door as he watched a female walk in.
With a sleek, form-fitting black suit, she wore a belt with red accents.
And as her dark red hair, its colour hard to distinguish in the dark, her soft lips curled into a soft smile.
"Hello, Ronan. My name's Chloe. I'm sorry I had you waiting for so long." She spoke politely, taking a seat opposite Ronan.
"It's fine," Ronan replied simply, his expression neutral as she continued, placing a small device on the table.
"Before we start, I'll need you to take this test, please."
Before he could ask what the device that almost looked similar to a blood tester for diabetics was, she continued.
"This will simply identify whether or not the X-Gene is prominent in your body."
"It's what's responsible for creating Mutants." She smiled, making sure there was no room for confusion.
Ronan stared at the device, then at her.
He said nothing as he placed his hand on the desk.
"I understand."
"Thank you." Chloe's smile widened in gratitude as she grabbed the device, placing its mouth on Ronan's finger.
-BEEP
With a click of a button, a small BEEP was heard as Ronan felt a faint prick on his finger as he watched a drop of his blood ooze out.
"That'll take a minute. If it shows red, it means you are not a Mutant and the contrary for if it shows Green." Chloe put the device aside, turning to look Ronan in the eyes.
"In the meantime, it's my understanding that you've refused to share how you knew of the Helicarrier or why you did what you did to anyone but us. Why don't you start."
Her tone was respectful and warm like a mother trying to get the truth out of her toddler without any ill intention.
Ronan breathed in as he started.
"I destroyed the Helicarrier because there was a Hydra member on board."
Silence erupted as the smile on Chloe's face remained.
"Hydra? I see. That's dangerous things you've decided to involve yourself in." Her tone never changed as she replied after a few seconds.
"I was only trying to do the right thing. I didn't mean to go as far as I did but things quickly spiralled out of control."
Chloe nodded in understanding, seeming as though she was wholeheartedly listening.
"And how exactly is it that you did what you did? And where did you learn of Hydra? A personal vendetta, perhaps."
Chloe asked, glancing at his scar.
Hearing this, Ronan decided to tell the full truth for just a second.
"Vendetta? Not really. You see, for a long time, I've searched for a…purpose. Turns out I always knew what it is I wanted to do, but it took this for me to finally realise it."
Ronan pointed at the scar that stopped at his jaw.
"That purpose was doing what's right. To start, I decided to use the only skill I had. Hacking."
Ronan lied, leaning in as he narrowed his eyes.
"I started with hacking into Stark Industries."
This time, Chloe's smile faltered as she quickly regained herself. But Ronan wasn't done.
"It's there that I learned of Hydra, the Avengers, SHIELD and you…Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow."
Chloe, or rather, Natasha's smile slowly disappeared as in a few seconds, her expression had completely changed to a cold one, eyes without even a shred of its previous compassion.
"I know what I did was wrong. I made a mistake, that's why I confessed. But you…SHIELD ought to stop playing with me."
Ronan's eyes were locked with Natasha's as neither of them showed even a hint of emotion.
But contrary to the outside, Ronan's heart was racing, his hands shaking on his lap.
But he wasn't scared.
"I learned enough of SHIELD to know you're not always the heroes. Nick Fury…"
Ronan spoke in a louder tone, his voice ringing out in the room as he made sure those on the other side could hear.
"Get out here."
And with that, the BEEP of the device rang out, showing red.
"Romanoff…"
Natasha heard a gruff and authoritative voice come from the earpiece she had hidden.
But little did they know Ronan was listening in all along.
"Withdraw."