Chapter 66

  Arc 5 - Ch 19: Maniputions

  Date: Saturday, June 4, 2011.

  Location: Greyburn College, Harlem, New York

  The throbbi of the helicopter's rotors sliced through the humid summer air as General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross led the the loading ramp, his craggy features set in a scowl. His daughter Betty's hair blew wildly around her face as she followed close behind.

  A pair of soldiers fhe stretcher bearing a strapped-down Bruce Banner.

  The helicopter climbed skyward, leaving Greyburn College dwindling below.

  Bruce Banner and his stretcher simply vanished.

  One moment he was there, and the he space y bare. Shock rippled through the passengers, soldiers exging bewildered looks while Betty frantically sed the . General Ross's expression shifted from surprise to ao frustration.

  Before anyone could react further, the radio on Ross' belt crackled to life. "General, we have a situation," a tense voice reported. "The Hulk is loose."

  Ross snatched up the ha without hesitation, barking orders ione of and that was sed nature to him. "On my ilot, return to the campus immediately."

  At Ross’ and, the pilot bahe helicopter into a sharp oy, torquing back treyburn and the rapidly unfolding crisis below.

  The situation in New York City was rapidly spiraling out of trol. From the fines of the military heliceneral Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross watched the live video feed with grave focus, trag the rampaging monster's every move. The images streamed directly from one of his armored Humvees patrolling the area, Ross a real-time view of the chaos unfolding below. On the ss before him, the enormous creature was smashing through buildings and vehicles leaving crushed metal and rubble in its wake. Ross listened ily to the tinuous radio reports from his troops on the ground, who desperately tried to taiuation even as they were forced into hasty retreats from the creature's overwhelming strength. The tension ihe helicopter alpable as everyone aboard withe horrific destru.

  The crisis reached a fever pitch when the monstrous being seized a yellow taxi cab overhead with both hands, clearly intending to use it as a bludgeon against the retreating Humvee. The video feed zoomed in on the creature's face, allowing Ross to finally see it in nightmarish detail. In that instant, a shock nition jolted through the general.

  This was not the Hulk as he had expected, but Emil Blonsky, hideously transformed into aion of his former self.

  Ross's rugged expression shifted from stern and to dismayed surprise as the realization sank in. "My God," he uttered under his breath. "What have you doo yourself, Blonsky?"

  The soldier Ross had recruited to bee the super soldier had been transformed into an Abomination. The general grappled with the s reality that the situation had spiraled far beyond his expectations or trol. His attention remained riveted to the bank of monitors, bearing wito Blonsky poised to crush the soldiers beh the taxi he wielded as a on. He refused to look away as the lives of several men under his and were about to be killed as a sequence of his as.

  Just as utter disaster seemed iable, a new figure appeared within the video feed. tirely in a bck skintight outfit with a distinctive half-fox mask obsg his face, this mysterious individual fronted Blonsky with astonishing bravery.

  The newer extended both arms upward desperately attempting to halt the taxi's dest upon the helpless soldiers.

  Caught off guard by this ued intervention, Ross instinctively reached for the two-way radio at his belt. "Identify that man, now!" he barked, his gravelly voice tinged with surprise and urgency.

  A soldier the camera feed from just behind Ross responded with a distinctive New York at. "That's Mirage, sir. He's one of the local heroes."

  "Local heroes?" Ross repeated to himself in a hushed whisper, his craggy brow furrowing in perplexion. Then he recalled the Senate hearing earlier in the week. He'd been forced to answer some unfortable questions afterward, and they all stemmed from the testimony of a so-called 'hero'.

  As he tio observe the monitor, he witnessed Mirage struggling valiantly against Blonsky's overwhelming physical might. Despite Mirage's evident superhuman strength, he was slowly being overpowered by the monstrous Blonsky, forced down onto one knee by the strain of holding up the taxi as this amalgamation of supersoldier and Hulk, this Abomination, forced it down on him.

  The stand-off reached a sudden turning point when Blonsky uedly released his grip oaxi, leaving its full weight in Mirage's hands. Then Blonsky leaped away, vanishing from the camera's view. Now bearing the taxi's weight alone, Mirage carefully lowered the vehicle to the ground. His attention turo the soldiers who had been Blonsky's targets. In a andi calm tone, Mirage instructed the soldiers to evacuate. They retreated from the viity, leaving the situation in Mirage's hands.

  Having secured the soldiers' and civilians' safety, Mirage prepared to front Blonsky again. With determirides, he left the camera's view, disappearing from Ross's sight.

  General Ross was left reeliraordinary individuals wielding unbelievable powers had emerged, operatiirely outside the bounds of traditional authority. There was Bruce Baransformed into an unstoppable force of brute strength when ehen there was the illusionist Mirage, able to fuse the senses and twist perception to his will. And Tony Stark, an egotric pyboy, now s through the skies encased in a meical suit that made the military's ons seem antiquated in parison. How could the gover hope to tain these maverick powerhouses? Ross had tried to fight fire with fire by creating a new super soldier in Blonsky. But that had proved disastrous. Now there was another loose on for Ross to tend with. As the general brooded, the full weight of this new ndscape settled upon his shoulders. He saw how utterly unprepared the establishment was for this kind of adversary. They obeyed no rules and bowed to no authority. And their capabilities far exceeded anything the military could bring to bear. Ross stared grimly at the s, pting his move. Recruiting enhanced individuals to the gover's cause seemed the only viable path forward. But could such powerful beings ever truly be trolled?

  The helicopter's nding struts had barely touched the ground when General Ross's gaze fixed upon a nightmarish sight. With ah-shaking leap, the Abominatiouro wreak havo the Greyburn College campus once mrasping a pact car high overhead.

  Without hesitation, General Ross seized the helicopter's radio. "All units, open fire!" he bellowed.

  Answering the general's and, a relentless hail of bullets engulfed the Abomination. Just as the creature released its metallic projectile, the cacophony of gunfire filled the air. However, the Abomination's armored hide shrugged off the barrage, impervious to the pierg rounds.

  Agent Natasha Romanoff shouted over the gunfire, "Hold your fire!" Her sharp voice pierced the chaos, bringing an immediate cease to the barrage. The smoking barrels fell silent as the soldiers awaited new orders.

  General Ross grabbed his radio to termand Agent Romanoff's order. However, he paused, watg as she took a bold, risky approach towards the monstrous Abomination. He chose to give Romanoff's strategy a ce.

  Keying his radio, he issued a new and. "All units, hold fire," Ross instructed, aowledging the SHIELD agent's order. The general observed ily as Natasha spoke to the hulki. She was careful and deliberate in her approach, her words seeming to have a calming effe the creature. Gradually, the monstrous form of the Abomination began to shrink before their eyes.

  As the beast's size reduced, it revealed not Emil Blonsky as Ross had expected, but a brown-skinned man wearing only the tattered remnants of bck spandex pants. Ross deduced the man's identity after the astonishing transformation and from the e remnants. This must be the local hero, Mirage, whom Ross had seen on the monitor.

  With the immediate threat of the Abomination apparently under trol, General Ross made his way towards Mirage and Romanoff. As he hem, Ross's mind filled with questions about the events he had just witnessed.

  Closing in on the pair, Ross's demeanor was one of authority and urgency. Without preamble, he directed his question squarely at Agent Romanoff. "Where's Bruce Banner?"

  Mirage interjected, "Way to ruin the moment." Though his ent was light-hearted, General Ross was in no mood for levity after the harrowis. Disregarding Mirage's quip, Ross fixed his steely gaze on Natasha, his eyes b into hers as he awaited her response.

  Matg Ross's iy with her own unfppable poise, Natasha replied smoothly, "Last I checked, he was in a taxi heading downtown." Her response was as equally cheeky as Mirage's and did little to alleviate the general's growing frustration.

  "Ha ha, very funny," Ross retorted, his voice dripping with dry sarcasm. His tohen turned deadly serious as he issued a stern warning to the uurbed agent, "If you don't turn over Banner, we're going to have a problem."

  Unfazed by the threat, Natasha responded coolly, "I don't have Banner. If you have a problem, take it up with my boss."

  Her curt response made it clear that any issues arising from Banner's absence were beyond her pay grade. Natasha's defiance forced a teandoff between military authority and the autonomy of SHIELD operations creating a situation not easily or quickly resolved.

  Turning his attention to the ed figure beside her, General Ross addressed him directly, his eyes narrowing. "You must be the Mirage. I have half a mind to arrest you for interfering in a military operation."

  Natasha, quick to defend her ally, interjected sharply, "Do you want to go down that road, arresting another division's agent? And one who was assisting you? You think going after us for losing Banner would cause a shitstorm, it's got nothing on going after a valuable active agent in the field."

  The defiant Mirage chimed in, "You should be thanking me. I saved your soldiers, took down your little experiment, and brought him back for you."

  Ross's steely gaze shifted to the car that Tyson had carried back. Inside y Blonsky, unscious and transformed bato his human form. Still grappling with the rapidly gis, Ross asked with a hint of suspi in his gruff voice, "Is this arick? Like the one you pulled with Banner in my helicopter?"

  "Nope. All real this time. You're wele," Tyson resporaightforwardly, his casual tone emphasizing the genuineness of his as.

  As General Ross finished his assessment of Blonsky, his pierg eyes shifted back to Tyson. For a brief moment, when Ross met Tyson's mismatched eyes, his own gzed over.

  The bustling college campus faded away, repced by the opulent surroundings of the Oval Office. The sudden shift in his enviro left him momentarily stunned, his mind struggling to catch up with what his eyes were seeing. The iic presidential seal on the plush carpet beh his feet seemed to mock his fusion. Ross found himself standing before the imposing desk of the President of the Uates. The weight of the situatioled on his shoulders as he straightened his posture, years of military discipline kig ie his bewilderment. The President sat behind the desk, his presenanding resped attention. Ross's eyes were drawn to the man's face, and he found himself staring into a pair of mismatched eyes; one green, one blue. The unusual feature struck a chord of familiarity in Ross's mind, but he couldn't quite pce why.

  "General Ross," the President's voice was firm and authoritative.

  "What did you give Blonsky?" Tyson asked bluntly.

  "An early version of the Super Soldier serum that was abandoned in ste," he admitted.

  Tyson pressed forward with his interrogation, his mismatched eyes b into the General with an iy that broke aanatasha observed the exge with a growing sense of uhis was a side of Tyson she had not seen before. She had already uncovered the truth of Ross's involvement with Blonsky and the experimental serum. But to see Tyson uhe man so effortlessly was ued.

  Tyson probed deeper. "How did you get access to the Super Soldier serum?"

  "After the death of William Stryker, I was named head of the ons Plus program," Ross responded, his eyes unfocused, as if the words were being pulled from him against his will.

  Natasha's brow furrowed. This was new information, hinting at the extent of Ross's cssified activities. Once again, Tyson had cut to the heart of the matter with surgical precisiorag intel even she did not possess.

  "Is there any more Super Soldier Serum, and where is it kept?" Tyson tinued, focused and uing.

  "Yes, there's more in ste at Camp Lehigh," Ross admitted tonelessly, too far uyson's influeo notice he illis.

  Tyson frowned, dissatisfied with the intelligence he had gathered. "You should handle Blonsky and make sure he's tained," he directed calmly. "Don't worry about Mirage, fet what he looked like ae any recs of his face. Cooperate with any SHIELD agents for the up operation." Ross blinked sluggishly as he processed Tyson's orders.

  Natasha looked on with guarded eyes. She had observed the exge between Ross and Tyson with a plex mix of emotions pying across her features. She remained silent at first, though her look spoke volumes. Seeing Tyson effortlessly extraformation and seemingly exert influence over the general troubled her. It revealed aent of his powers she hadn't fully grasped until now, raising uneasy questions.

  Notig her expression, Tyson sensed Natasha's . His interrogation of Ross had demonstrated the true depth of his persuasive abilities.

  As the SHIELD agents secured the area, Tyson strode purposefully towards one of the rge coolers they were using to transport vials of Banner's irradiated blood. He grabbed the handle and hoisted the heavy tainer over his shoulder, then made his way to the mangled remains of the bck sedan he had carried while in his own transformed state. The vehicle y crumpled like a crushed aluminum , its windows shattered and frame ed beyond repair. He reached the trunk and with a snikt, his adamantium cws extended from his fiips, and he sliced through the trunk's meism. It popped open with a groan, revealing the gruesome tents that Tyson sought.

  The severed heart of the Abomination.

  He'd violently torn the an from the beast's chest with his cws. He stared at the an, still oozing vile fluids, a trophy from his hard-won victory over Blonsky's monstrosity. Without hesitation, Tyson grabbed the heart and dropped it into the cooler beside the vials of Banner's blood, sealing both spes for ter study and use. His eyes glinted knowingly as he tched the tainer shut.

  Overseeing the rest of the SHIELD agents handling the aftermath, Natasha and Tyson watched Dr. Sterns, unscious and bandaged, being carefully loaded onto a stretcher and into a van.

  Breaking the sileween them, Natasha turo Tyson, her voice tinged with unease. "I didn’t know you could do that."

  Tyso out a relut, regretful sigh. "I try not to," he admitted, aowledging the plexity and moral implications of his ability to extraformation and influehers.

  After a moment, Natasha broached a more personal, vulnerable subject. "Have you ever dohat to me?" she asked uainly.

  "Oyson admitted.

  Natasha's rea was immediate, her features creasing in dismay as she processed this viotion of trust. Though Tyson's fession had been straightforward, his disfort was evident iight set of his jaw and the regret that clouded his eyes. She said nothing, but her look of betrayal spoke volumes. Tyson's abilities, while invaluable in the field, had now cast a shadow over their retionship, sowing doubt and raising thorny questions about sent and trust.

  In strained silehey tioward the waiting SHIELD forces, the atmosphere between them now crag with uainty. Upoering the van, its nondescript interior some privaatasha subtly waved away the agent who moved to join them, presumably to stand guard over the secured coolers taining Dr. Banner's blood samples. With a nod, the agent took a seat up front. The back was separated by a wall, leaving Natasha and Tyson alo for the muffled hum of the engine and the indistinct sounds of activity outside.

  Natasha's expression was etched with unease. After a long moment, she broke the tense silence, swallowing hard before asking in a low voice, "When?"

  Tyson uood the gravity of her simple question. "Months ago," he fessed heavily, "when you were undercover posing as my teacher. After the basketball game with Peter. I... I influenced you to foe and my abilities rather than his." Shame weighed heavily upon him at his admission.

  Natasha's mind reeled, transported back to that day on the basketball court. She vividly recalled watg Peter Parker py. And she remembered how he had uedly bested Fsh and Tyson. With Tyson's fession id bare, the realization dawned on her. Peter had exhibited superhuman abilities during that game, abilities she had somehow ig the time. Her attention had been diverted from the young man's feats, focused instead on Tyson.

  A tumult of emotions roiled within Natasha as uanding took hold. She uood Tyson's motivation in using his powers of influence over her. He had maniputed her focus to protect his friend, to shield Peter's secrets. In the text of safeguarding a rade, she could almost five Tyson's use of his abilities. His desire to guard Peter spoke of loyalty and protectiveness, virtues that Natasha esteemed highly herself. Yet this raised a torrent of other questions, the most pressing being how Tyson had known she might take an i ier's special abilities.

  Seeking crity, she probed further, "If at that point you ko divert my attention from Parker, you must have already made me. When did you first realize I was watg you?" Her tone held no accusation, only an io uhe timeline.

  Tyson bowed his head slightly, knowing the y of hoy at this moment. "Pretty much from the start," he admitted. Natasha's eyes widened in disbelief, pelling Tyson to eborate further. "After I stole all that gold, you showed up at my school posing as a student teacher. But even on that first day of dodgeball, your skills gave you away. Besides, the PE teachers all adore Fsh, yet you shut him down immediately. You paid too much attention to me and favored me. No offense, but you're too old to be a student teacher. "

  Natasha's expression remained dubious. "That seems a stretch," she remarked.

  Tyso her gaze early. "Have you seen yourself? When I say you're too old to be a student teacher, I mean it's obvious upon looking at you. There's no reason for someone like you to go back to school. You could easily be a model, a trophy wife. There's no world where you're a middle-ine, sieacher. You'd have been snatched up in no time. It just doesn't add up."

  Natasha sidered his words, her features softening slightly as she turned over his logi her mind. "Fttery won't get you out of this," she replied, steering the versation back to the matter at hand.

  Their discussion, like so many from earlier in their retionship, had bee a delicate dance of truths aions. Tyson did not reveal how he had used his meta-knowledge to immediately identify Natasha. He had to make his expnation pusible through observational skills and strategic thinking alone.

  Natasha added, "I uand that you were trying to protect your friend, Peter, Spider-Man," aowledging Tyson's iions

  Tyson, taken aback by her revetion, wore an expression of surprise and blurted out, "You knew?"

  Natasha, satisfied at still being able to surprise him, responded, "We were you on Thanksgiving."

  Tyson's mind raced back to Thanksgiving. He recalled how Peter hadn't e to the door but had instead arrived on the baly. Tyson hadn't brought it up at the time, careful not to jeopardize Peter's cover. He remembered how, after dinner, Peter had left the suite by jumping off the baly. Realization dawned on Tyson, atered under his breath, "Well, shit."

  "Now that that's in the open. How I believe you? How do I know you haven’t been maniputih your powers this whole time?" she asked, ying bare the fragile foundations of trust upon which their retionship had been built.

  Tysohe full weight of her gaze upon him, demanding an answer. He chose his words carefully, knowing they carried sequences far beyond this versation. "You're right. I 't prove I haven't maniputed you," he began somberly. "My illusions are indistinguishable from reality, so you 't rely on your seo dis the truth."

  "My influence is subtle, fleeting. To sustain it requires stant reinfort from me. We've spent a lot of time together, but there were gaps; two months between the Green Goblin i and the House of M opening, then awo before Stark's party. Any manipution would have faded iween." Tyson expined, hoping to provide some reassurance. He held her gaze, regret etched across his face. "I know how much it took for you to trust me. And I know how betrayed you must feel now. You have every right to doubt me. All I offer is my word that I've never maniputed your mind. I'm sorry I kept this from you. Your trust means everything to me."

  Tyson reached out as if to take her hand, the his own fallback, uain. He had revealed the extent of his powers, but the future remained unwritten. Now it to Natasha to decide if she could accept the truth and allow their retionship to move forward, or if this was a betrayal too far.

  Natasha's sharp gaze remained fixed on Tyson as she processed his admission. His apology had rung sincere and remorseful as he aowledged the fragile trust betweehat his powers had strained. For her, trust did not blossom easily. Her life had ingrained vigind wariness, and Tyson's fession had raked old wounds. His words were an olive branch. He had id himself bare before her, revealing the extent of his powers and their influence, both iional and not. It was a vulnerability that left him open, awaiting her judgment.

  She sorted through his expnation, weighing it against her knowledge of the man before her. Years of training with SHIELD aime in the Red Room had honed her skills at reading people and situations, analyzing motives, and seeking truth beh the facade. This betrayal was not a tactical situation, however; it cut far deeper. Trust, once broken, was not easily restored, especially in their world. Tyson's powers and their implications had raised old ghosts, and she wrestled with what fiveness would mean in this text. It would not be merely accepting his words and overlooking past as. Tive him, she would have to willingly make herself vulnerable, g him power and trusting that he would not abuse it. Their retionship would rely on his self-restraint and his promise to never influence her mind without sent. It was a delicate bance requiring utmost iy. As she deliberated, Natasha realized the choice before her was not simply whether to move past betrayal, but whether to open herself to the possibility of trust once more.

  Natasha took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She khis versation would set the tone for their retionship going forward. Choosing her words carefully, she began. "I uand that you inteo protect Peter, even if your methods were questionable." She paused, letting her words sink in. Tyson's shoulders tensed almost imperceptibly as he absorbed the gravity of her statement.

  "I am guilty of deceiving you whe, and even after I revealed myself as a SHIELD agent, there were times when I observed you aed on you, so I'm not beyond reproach myself. I am willing to move past this betrayal, but only under certain ditions." Her voice was firm but not unkind. "Going forward there be no more secrets between us, no more manipution. If we are to work together, to be together, trust is noiable." Natasha's eyes fshed with resolve, undersg her seriousness. "You o respect my autonomy, Tyson. Your abilities are extraordinary and with them es expectations. I ot afford to stantly sed guess our iions, w if I'm being influenced against my will."

  Her tone softehen, aowledging the plexity of Tyson's situation. "I know it's not easy having such power and stantly having to restrain yourself. But that is the reality we live in. Our as have sequences, often far-reag ones."

  Natasha slid closer to Tyson, her voice ge unwavering. "I want to believe in you. I've seen glimpses of the man you be. Brave, loyal, willing to do what's right eve's hard. That's the Tyson I choose to see and the one I now choose to trust." Natasha's voice mingled with resolve and hope as she cluded, "So let us start again, with hoy and respeing the foundatioween us."

  She searched Tyson's face, looking for any sign that he grasped the significe of this sed ce she exteo him. His response would reveal whether her trust was mispced or justified.

  Tyson initially hung his head low in refle. Gradually he began to nod, the subtle movement veying more than simple agreement. Sensing there might be more beh the surface, somethi unrevealed, Natasha observed him closely. His acceptance of her terms seemed to carry additional weight and meaning.

  As Tyson lifted his head, his eyes betrayed the depth of feeling this moment held for him. He met Natasha's gaze directly, vulnerability tingeing his voice as he asked, "Are you sure?"

  "I'm sure. I trust you," Natasha affirmed sincerely. "s between us from now on."

  Tyson nodded, accepting both her trust and the ce to start again.

  He posed himself before speaking again. "Then there's something I o show you," he said with such gravity that Natasha khis moment was a turning point in their retionship.

  Tyson rapped his knuckles on the divider separating them from the front of the SHIELD van. Sliding open the small window, he instructed the driver, "Take us to House of M."

  The driver's gaze shifted to Natasha, his eyes questioning as he sought her approval. "Ma'am?" he asked respectfully, requiring permission from the highest-ranking agent before altering their course.

  Natasha paused, sidering Tyson's request. She could sehis art of the new openness and hoy they had just pledged to one arusting Tyson's judgment and aowledging the significe, she replied decisively, "Do it."

  Her response demonstrated her willio support him fully in whatever he o share.

  Tyson offered the driver a brief word of thanks before closing the small window, turning his full focus back to Natasha. He pted how best to vey what o be said.

  "May I use an illusion to expin?" he asked, seeking her sent for what he was about to do. "I'll have to take you deep into an illusion. It will be more like a psychik than any illusion I've created previously. What I'm trusting you with are things no one else know. You'll be able to respond, but it will all be in your mind. You won't be able to speak aloud for the duration of the illusion. Only a psionic proje of your voice will e through. You'll o pce as much trust in me as I'm about to p you."

  Natasha nodded, ner to the y of secrecy. Tyson gazed deeply into her eyes. She felt lost in the blue. Like sky and o blended until she could not dis up from down, and then she saw the green, it was like a grassnd below the endless sky.

  Suddenly, she was ba the van. It appeared nothing had ged until Tyson projected a vivid image. The illusioed a fierce battle above the Broween the demon and a fly mutant wearing a distinctive helmet. Tyson studied Natasha to ensure she was following the se. "Are you familiar with this i?" he inquired.

  The dramatic proje tio unfold, illustrating the iy and scale of the csh. Natasha's eyes remained fixed on the illusion as she aowledged, "It's one of the events SHIELD cataloged and rediscovered when we realized mutants were real," she replied.

  Tyson eborated on the illusory details before them. "This is Mago. He is a powerful mutant who has hunted me. He manipute magic fields and trol metals," Tyson narrated while pointing out the key figure. He then zoomed in on the false Azazel. "Your records may indicate this is Azazel, a demon or demonic-looking mutant... but it is not," Tyson crified. As he spoke, he shifted the illusion to reflect the truth. "It is me. At the time, I had temporarily absorbed two additional powers. One from a shapeshifter and one from an exceptionally powerful telepath."

  Natasha listened ily as Tyson expined. "Okay, I'm following so far."

  Tyson allowed the illusion around them to dissipate. "The fight and everything else isn't important," he stated, direg the narrative to the crucial point. "What was important was that I had temporarily absorbed the powers of one of the world's stroelepaths. I've also previously absorbed the actual Azazel, who had millennia of knowledge and experience. And you already know about Sabertooth's turies." Tyson tapped his head. "I have lifetimes upon lifetimes within my head. From this world, and others."

  He said cryptically, "And I saw a future."

  Once more, Tyson jured an illusion, this time dispying the se of Nat sparring with Happy Hogan in the boxing ring from a ferior. Natasha's eyes flickered with reition as she took in the se. "Yeah, that was just the other day," she firmed.

  Tyson shook his head. "This was the first time I saw you... in the vision I had," he revealed, his words suggesting the memories of his past life had been part of something preitive he had witnessed.

  "Think about it," Tyson tinued ily, "I was here in New York when this happened." Realization dawned on Natasha's face as she grasped the implications of his statement.

  "That's how I reized you immediately the moment I stepped into the gym css. I knew who you were before we eve."

  Natasha sought to uand the full extent of Tysoraordinary cims. "You're saying you saw the future."

  Tyson shook his head, correg her statement. "No. I saw 'A' future. A version of events yet to e. Most of what I witnessed in the vision has now e to pass, but some details have shifted and ged."

  Natasha looked at him skeptically, not fully vinced. "Like what?" she asked, desiring to prehend the limits and implications of Tyson's supposed vision.

  In respoyson jured another illusion, immersing Natasha in the vivid se. This time, the illusioed the frontation atop the Queensbore. "Part of the challenge is I don't kly whes will take pce, only that they do," Tyson expined, providing text before Natasha withe visios.

  As Natasha watched raptly, the illusioed Spider-Man locked in flict with the Green Goblin. In this version of the csh, the vilin simultaneously dropped the red-haired girl Mary Jane and the cable car. Reag on instinct, Spider-Man dove after Mary Jao save her, catg her in a breathtaking move. He then swung uhe bridge to grab the falling cable car. The se culminated with the Green Goblin's shog death, a stark ending to the fraught enter.

  Processing the vivid details, Natasha remarked, "I see, so your interference saved the Goblin's life."

  Tyson nodded in firmation. Then, to underscore the mutability of the future he had foreseen, he shifted the illusion once more. This time, it depicted Kraven the Hunter. "That's not the important part," Tyson said gravely. "Kraven wasn't part of the vision at all."

  "Over the months I've e to realize one important fact." He paused before expining the crucial detail.

  "It seems the more I strive to reshape the future glimpsed in my vision, the more adamantly the universe pushes back against my interfereyson revealed the frustrating clusion.

  Natasha asked, "You think… the universe… is fighting against you specifically?"

  Tyson ughed, "When you say it like that, it makes me sound crazy. But let me show you."

  To illustrate this perplexing phenomenon, Tyson jured another illusioing the battle at the Xavier Institute. Natasha watched raptly as soldiers ihe mansion. This was different than the recs she'd seen.

  Then Tyson showed the version of events after his interference. Before Natasha's eyes, he teleported around the embattled campus, using telekinesis to dismantle aroy the invading forces. His as showcased the remarkable extent of his capabilities. However, the se took a dramatic turn. Tysoraordinary powers abruptly evaporated. He was fronted by a cadre of identical psychics, fnked by a mutant wielding writhiacles. The odds were overwhelmingly stacked against Tyson now. Natasha watched as this group ultimately captured Tyson. These were the events she'd seen pyed out in the recs of the event. His first illusion vividly demonstrated Tyson's point.

  His efforts to reshape the events led to unforeseen, formidable plications.

  Natasha leaned back, taking a moment to process everything Tyson had revealed. She looked at him ily and asked, "Alright then. What ged today?"

  Tyson reflected on the day's events, relutly admitting, "Not much ged. I was able to save a few soldiers' lives, and that was the extent of it. Whether or not Banner will be at House of M when we arrive remains to be seen. In the vision I had, he was in the wind."

  To further illustrate his point, Tyson jured another illusion for Natasha's be, repying the se of Banner being whisked away by helicopter. The vision tinued, showing Banner's eventual return and transformation into the Hulk to protect General Ross's daughter from the Abomination. It was this sequence of events, triggered by Banner's anger-fueled metamorphosis, that Tyson's vision had foretold.

  Tyson also recreated his frontation with the Abomination for Natasha. Though his intervention had altered the course of the battle, the oute remained rgely unged.

  Taking a moment to process everything Tyson had revealed, Natasha studied him ily. "So despite your interferehe result was more or less the same. Because of that simirity, you believe the universe didn't push bad make ges?" she asked.

  Tyson nodded in agreement. "That seems to be the case. The less I deviate from the inal vision, the smaller the repercussions," he suggested.

  Just then, the van rolled to a stop, having reached its destination. Curious about what Tyson had in mind by bringing them here, Natasha asked, "Is the only reason we've e to House of M to che Banner?"

  Tyson grabbed the cooler with Banner's blood and the Abomination's heart. Stepping out of the van, the pair went inside as Tyson expined his reasoning. "House of M shouldn't eve acc to the vision I was giveher this por I were part of what I saw initially. I never saw myself in the visions, as if I don't or should."

  Natasha offered an alternate perspective. "Perhaps you did not see yourself in the visions because, as the one receiving the visions, you existed outside of the events being shown," she suggested.

  "I hadn't thought of it that way, but it's as good an expnation as any," Tyson admitted after a moment, appreciating the new angle she had brought to their discussion, and how it had framed his meta-knowledge in a way that made seo her.

  Tyson circled back to Natasha's question, "As for why we're here. Let me first ask, what happeo Ivan Vanko?"

  Natasha's response was matter-of-fact. "He detonated himself and all of the Hammer drones in a suicidal explosion." Her at detailed the climacticlusion of Vanko's vea against Tony Stark.

  Tyson shook his head, providing a crucial detail. "Minus my intervention, that was what would have happened, acc to the vision."

  Leading Natasha further down the hall, they stopped in front of a door aered into the modern boratory. Two men were fully engrossed in their work within the b. One was ily focused on a workbench along the far wall, while the other sat surrounded by an array of meical pos at a puterized workstation.

  As they ehe room, Tysoioned, "I'm casting an illusion over us so they won't notice our presehis allowed the pair to observe the men at work without interrupting or alerting them to the visitors in their midst.

  Guiding Natasha into the modern boratory, Tysht her attention to the man w at the far workbench. As Natasha drew nearer, she reized the focused stist as Ivan Vanko. His appearance was er and more kempt than she recalled, but there was no mistaking the man's identity.

  Natasha turo Tyson, astonishmeched on her face. "Is this real?" she whispered. The presence of Vanko, thought to be deceased, raised arming questions in Natasha's mind.

  "Yes," Tyson firmed simply. With a subtle hand motion, he cast an illusion that allowed Natasha to withe divergence of events. The illusion shifted, showing Tony Stark and James Rhodes battling Vanko's onized drones and then Vanko himself. Tyson then showed his interference. Rather than allowing Vanko to die, Tyson appeared before Vanko as he nded, ensnaring him with his power. In this version, Tony and Rhodes prevailed while Vanko survived.

  Natasha's sharp eyes studied Vanko toiling obliviously at his workbench. Something still did not make sense. If Vanko lived, why was he here w in Tyson's b?

  Notig her fusion, Tyson expined further. "Vanko's mind oisoned by vengeance against Stark for his father's ruin," he expined. "So I gave him a mental push with my abilities, redireg his passions. Now instead of harm, he strives to help."

  Natasha nodded slowly as Tyson's words sank in, the pieces ing together. She gestured to the sea in a silent request for an expnation of this unknown person's identity and purpose here.

  A moment ter, an illusion sprang up in front of Natasha. The Lizard. She watched as the se shifted, dispying what would have transpired had Tyson not intervened. It was a grim sario. The Lizard infiltrated Oscorp and po release an aerosolized version of his formu across New York City, transf tless i citizens into savage reptilian monsters. During the ensuing chaos, Spider-Man was shot by an NYPD officer, and tragically, Captain Gee Stacy, father of Peter Parker's girlfriend Gwen Stacy, died.

  Tyson expined in a low voice, "I stopped the Lizard before he could enact his pn. Afterward, I relocated Dr. ors and his b to the House of M, where he could tinue his work safely under my supervision." He tinued, "I've guided ors to perfect his regeive formu while eliminating the severe side effects. He retains his human intellect but access the Lizard's powers when needed."

  Natasha absorbed this new information, turning over the ethical implications of Tyson's as. On the one hand, he had used his abilities to steer events and individuals away from destructive paths. Vanko and ors had been redirected from pursuing vengeance or harm. Oher hand, she couldn't help but sider the sequences of such heavy-handed manipution, however well-iioned. Where did one draw the line?

  Tyson ined his head, as though readihoughts. "e on," he said, leading her from the b. They ehe executive lounge where Tyson moved behind the bar. He extracted an expetle of Natasha's favorite red wine and poured some into a gss, it to her. "It's the real vintage, not a jured illusion," he assured her with a faint smile.

  Natasha accepted the gss, her emerald eyes clouded with ption as she gave voice to her iurmarding Tyson's as. "On the surface, it seems you're helping people," she began carefully, "But in truth, you're trolling them. I'm torween admiring your entions and being deeply troubled by the methods. I 't decide if I should appud you for averting disasters or n you for maniputing the course of people's lives." The ethical quandary was evident in her voice.

  Tyso out a mirthless chuckle, aowledging the gravity of her words. "Holy, I've thought the same thing."

  Natasha then articuted the crux of her unease. "Believing you know what's best for someone is ohing," she cautioned, her pierg eyes fshing. "But f them down that path, regardless of their wishes, borders on megalomania. And I put a bullet through someoonight for precisely that."

  "I have two critical questions for you," she said, pausing to swirl the crimson liquid, the deliberate motion undersg the import of what she was about to ask.

  Natasha's first question cut to the heart of the matter, her eyes b into Tyson's with ser-like iy. "How do you know your vision was real? If it wasn't pletely accurate, how you be certain it wasn't a fluke or that you yourself weren't maniputed by one of the more powerful psyches you absorbed?" Her question reflected a fual uainty regarding the true nature of Tyson's vision and its credibility. She then posed her sed question, ohat probed Tyson's motivations. "And why save them at all? What's the point? Green Goblin sychopath. The world robably better off without him. So why interveo rescue Vanko and the Lizard?"

  Tyson paused, gathering his thoughts before responding to Natasha's probing questions. "Looking at the smaller picture," he began, "ors was motivated by entions. He wao fix his physical handicap and more broadly, he wao use that to help humanity, but stumbled in his methods. Simirly, Vanko mao engineer a suit to challeark's despite access to limited resources. And once he had access to Hammer's resources, his suit rivaled both Iron Man and War Mae." he expined, eborating on both men's potential that warranted a sed ce at life.

  "But first, let me address your initial skepticism," Tyson tinued. "As for the validity of foreseeing future events..." He trailed off, waving his hand in a motion. At his and, the air shimmered, juring an illusion of an object familiar to Natasha.

  The Tesseract.

  It appeared as a luminous blue cube, about a foot in diameter. Strange energy pulsated within its crystallihs, hinting at the immense power tained within its geometri. Natasha's eyes widened almost imperceptibly as the artifact hovered before her.

  "How could you know about this?" she asked bluntly, uo mask her surprise. Her terse rea affirmed the sheer improbability of Tyson possessing knowledge of such a highly cssified and dangerous objeatasha's expression shifted, her eyes narrowing in suspi as she muttered under her breath, "I may be promised. You could've extracted this intel from my mind unknowingly." Her statement reflected a growing uhat Tyson's abilities may have iently gleaned such sensitive information from her or others within SHIELD.

  Sensing Natasha's dest into doubt, Tysoly interjected, "Before you go down that rabbit hole, let me expin further."

  With a wave of his hand, the illusion shifted. The Tesseract's shell melted away, exposing a radiant blue gemsto its climmering with ic light. "What you don't know is that the Tesseract is merely a tainer. Inside lies an objeown as an Infinity Stone. Particurly, the Space Stone."

  Tyson paused, allowing his words to sink in before tinuing his at. His expression grew solemn as he went on to expin the broader text. "There are six of these stones scattered throughout the universe, each holding near unlimited power. They are remnants from the creation of existeself." He methodically listed them one by one. "Space. Time. Mind. Power. Reality. Soul."

  With a wave of his hand, the green Time Stone glowed brighter, drawing Natasha's focus. "The Time Stone is also here oh," Tyson added pointedly.

  The illusion before them shifted, revealing a t, imposing figure with purplish-blue skiched with deep lines. He had a broad, muscur build and stood with a anding presehat exuded power. His ornate armor was bal and intimidating, instantly marking him as a queror.

  "This is the Mad Titan, Thanos," Tyson said, his tone growing more ominous. "A powerful tyrant who will stop at nothing to aplish his twisted goal... colleg all the Infinity Stones." Tyson expined, "With the stohanos gains the ability to wipe out half of all life with a snap of his fingers."

  The illusion shifted agaiing ses of unimaginable global catastrophe. Natasha looked on in dismay as people across Earth turo dust. She even saw t Bart out in anguish, his family cimed among the tless victims. There was no way Tyson should know about Barton's family, they'd hardly had any tact.

  "That's it? That 't be how it ends," Natasha excimed, shaken by the potential future Tyson had revealed. As someone who had stared down tless threats in her life, the idea of such a definitive and catastrophid was uable to her. This was a call to a, a challeo somehow alter the course of the future she had just withere had to be a way to prevent the Mad Titan from succeeding. She would not accept this bleak oute as the final clusion.

  A sad smile pyed on Tyson's lips as he spoke reassuringly. "Of course not. The good guys win in the end," he said. He eborated, "Tony Stark figures out the secret of time travel. He builds a mae that allows a group to journey into the past, colleg all six Infinity Stones from various points, and undoing Thanos's snap."

  Natasha studied Tyson closely, notig he seemed sad despite the happy ending he had just described. fused and ed by his emotional response, she asked, "If there's a victory over Thanos, why does your face say we lost?"

  Natasha gently reminded, "s between us," invoking their earlier promise of plete transparency.

  In respoyson shifted the illusion surrounding them. The louransformed into a vivid alien ndscape under a burnt e sky. Natasha saw herself alongside t Barton, both dressed in matg uniforms. Tyson's voice, heavy with emotion, narrated the se that was unfolding.

  "You and t are chosen for the mission to retrieve the Soul Stone. But the Soul Stone demands a terrible pri exge..." He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "Sacrifig the life of someone you love."

  The implication nded like a physical blow, f the air from Natasha's lungs. Either she or t would have to die so this mission could succeed.

  Natasha watched with building dread as the illusion tinued, depig a heartbreaking se atop the craggy cliffs. She saw herself and t locked in a desperate, life-or-death struggle, each trying with all their strength to prevent the other from making the ultimate sacrifice.

  As the se pyed out, Tyson provided mournful narration, his voin and heavy. "I've said before that I know there's more to you than what you choose to show me. Because I truly do know." He paused, allowing the devastati of the moment to fully permeate Natasha's senses.

  "All that red you believe is in your ledger gets wiped when you give your life to save half the universe." Tyson's words aowledged Natasha's tireless efforts to atone for past misdeeds, and the sheer magnitude of her sacrifice.

  The illusion reached its tragiclusion as Natasha fell to her death amid the rocky cliffs.

  "I admire you more than any person I've ever met. Even before we first spoke, I admired you." Tyson's voice swelled with heartfelt resped admiration. "What you've overe, who you are, the good you've done... you are brave and good, and worthy of everything."

  Tyson's fession emerged raw afelt. "Over time, I've e to know and care for you deeply," he admitted, voice crag. He paused, struggling to steady his trembling words. "You are precious to me, Natasha. I don't want to lose you."

  Natasha absorbed the swell of emotions as she witnessed her potential fate. Though pierced by pain at the sight of her death, Tyson's words ed her like a warm b. His ued fession touched something deep inside, a vulnerability rarely permitted light.

  "Do you believe me? Will you help me save half the universe and yourself along the way? y yourself to trust me?" His pleading words hung heavy between them, yered with naked earness.

  Natasha had no glib reply, no quip or evasion. Wordlessly, she stepped fently pressing a gloved hand to his chest. Her answer, when it came, was far more profound than any words could vey.

  Natasha kissed him.

  With that simple press of her lips, she aowledged their bond and itted herself fully to the mission. In that kiss, Tyson knew Natasha pletely. She lowered every defense, allowing him to see the soft, vulnerable core she bared for no other. Natasha chose him unequivocally, opening herself to the possibility of a shared future.

  She was recruited into the KGB's Red Roram at a young age. They molded her into a formidable operative, skilled in bat, espionage, and manipution. It was in the Red Room where she met Yelena Belova, who became a sister to her, and Alexei Shostakov, the Red Guardian, a father figure of sorts. Duriime in the Red Room, she was subjected to intense and brutal training. She excelled in every aspect, and quickly rose to prominence as the most adept trainee. Her skills were hoo near perfe, turning her into an unparalleled spy and assassin. Her reputation as 'the' Bck Widow grew, making her one of the world's most feared and respected operatives. However, her life took a signifit turn when she entered t Barton, a of SHIELD. t was sent to eliminate her but instead saw potential in her abilities and character. He offered her a ce for redemption and a new path. Her recruitment into SHIELD began a neter in her life. Under Nick Fury and with the support of t Barton, she started to use her skills freater cause. She became an integral part of SHIELD, embarking on numerous missions that took her across the globe. Her expertise in espionage, bat, and intelligehering made her an invaluable asset to the anization.

  Tyson's life-abs abilities granted him uered access to Natasha's inner psyche, allowing him to sift through her memories aions like pages in a book. He focused on one aspect; her evolving feelings toward him.

  At first, the mate spy regarded Tyson with professional curiosity, keeping him at arm's length. To Natasha, Tyson was an unknown, his extraordinary powers making him dangerous. But over time Natasha's se shifted. She saw beyond Tyson's abilities, reizing his moral character and motivations. Her wariransformed, deepening into friendship. Within her memories, Tyson caught glimpses of vulnerability that had cut through her posure. A softness in her eyes when she looked at him, an unguarded ugh, her haily on his shoulder; subtle tells that her emotional barriers were l. He felt her protective instincts toward him that went beyond duty. Natasha ermitting herself to be vulnerable around this man, against a lifetime's ditioning. Tyson sehe growing warmth she felt for him, mingled with trust and admiration. The woman who shunional e, whose life made retionships perilous, found in Tyson someone who knew her plexities and accepted them. Their bond was more than a partnership; he was her kindred spirit.

  Sifting through Natasha's mind, Tyson uncovered the stunning truth. She had fallen in love with him. It was a quiet yet profound love, nurtured by their shared experiences and mutual uanding. A grave responsibility came with suowledge of her innermost self. Her love for him was siyson vowed to honor the privilege of her memories, treasuring the love she gifted to him.

  Tysoly withdrew from Natasha, breaking their brief yet intimate kiss. Mere seds had passed iy, though immersed in her memories, it felt as if hours had drifted by.

  Natasha's body tensed, her pierg green eyes clouded with unease. What had he glimpsed in her unfiltered thoughts aions? She averted her gaze.

  Tyson's expression remained warm. "I love you too," he said softly.

  Natasha's eyes snapped back to his, wide with surprise. His simple words aowledged her hidden feelings id bare.

  Swallowing hard, Natasha steadied herself. "So how do we save the universe?" she asked with steel ione. Her posture shifted, determinatioched i of her jaw. She would stand with him, whatever was to e.

  "You've been busy," Natasha tinued briskly, tig each point off on her fingers. "Robbing the Federal Reserve, running the most popur show iy, h stists ah."

  Her gaze bore into Tyson's mismatched eyes. "But if you know what's ing, what's your pn? What are you doing about it?"

  Tyso her pierg question with a thoughtful silence. When he finally spoke, his deep voice was measured and deliberate. "I have taken a few precautions to address impending threats." He peered at Natasha ily. "Tell me, have you heard of Trask Industries?"

  Natasha tilted her hand in a nonittal gesture.

  Tyson nodded. "They possess teology that could prove catastrophically dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands. Like a world-ending level threat. I've already assembled a team to... procure the pany." His tone made the implications clear.

  "But there is a much more immediate , given what we learned from General Ross," he tinued gravely.

  Tyson paused, gathering his thoughts before proceeding. "I suppose starting from the beginning would make this easier to expin," he said slowly, his gaze distant.

  "Let's rewind to the founding of SHIELD. America took in numerous Nazi stists, believing they could prove useful. Their crimes were exoed in exge for their expertise."

  Natasha's eyes narrowed, her red hair falling across her face as she nodded. "Operation Paperclip. German stists brought to the States, their pasts wiped ."

  "Exactly," Tyson firmed. "One of those stists, Arnim Zo, was secretly a high-ranking member of HYDRA."

  He let the words hang in the air before tinuing. "On America, he methodically began rebuilding the anization within SHIELD. itself." Tyson's mismatched eyes were troubled, highlighting the enormity of the challenge fag them.

  "HYDRA is now so intrinsically entwined within SHIELD that it will be exceedingly difficult to determirue allegiances," he said grimly. "I would have to use my abilities to the fullest to unmask their operatives with absolute certainty."

  Natasha absorbed the implications, her sharp mind rag. HYDRA's infiltration of SHIELD posed a moal threat, undermining the iy of the entire anization. Trust could no longer be afforded within their ranks.

  Tyson's at tinued, revealing further troubling yers. "The truth remains hidden from you for years to e," he said, his voice tinged with mencholy. "But when it is finally dragged into the light, the ensuing fallout causes the very colpse of SHIELD itself."

  The notion that SHIELD, the formidable anization that had shaped her life and global security, would one day crumble uled her greatly. She had devoted herself fully to their mission, and to hear of its eventual dissolution was deeply uling.

  "Along the way, you and Captain America pay a visit to Camp Lehigh," Tyso on, referring back to the location General Ross had mentioned earlier. "But retrieving the super soldier serum is not your true purpose there. Deep below the camp, you uncover something far more ued." His grave tone hi the gravity of what they would fih the surface. "In a fotten subterranean b straight out of the 1970s, you discover that Arnim Zo still lives, after a fashion," he tinued, painting a vivid se of antiquated puter equipment harb a chilli. "Through some teological sorcery, Zo transferred his sciousness into those aging puter banks. He tio advance Hydra's cause even now like a digital ghost haunting the mae."

  The notion that Zo had somehow preserved his mind digitally sent an icy chill down Natasha's spine, undersg the depths of evil Hydra would plumb to further its ambitions. She asked pointedly, "Captain America? What are you talking about? And what happeo the super soldier serum when I went to the base?" The sharp edge in her voice veyed the critical importance of that vial to their operations.

  "I know it sounds farfetched, but Captain America is going to be found sometime in the few months, frozen in Arctic ice. He survived all this time, in a sort of suspended animation," Tyson expined patiently. "As for the super soldier serum... I'm afraid I don't know for certain," he admitted with a tinge of uainty. "It wasn't part of the vision. If no orieved it before your arrival, it was likely destroyed." He added a crucial detail, "Camp Lehigh was bombed and razed during your visit there."

  Notig his specific phrasing, Natasha sought crification, "During? Not after?" Her surprise at the timing of the base's destru was evident.

  "Yes, during," Tyson firmed.

  Since she survives these events, she doesn't dwell oails.

  Natasha's sharp mind grasped the dynamics at py. "So you're worried that if we retrieve the serum now, the universe will retaliate against your as?" she cluded.

  Tyson gave a nonittal shrug, his manner veying a blend nation and acceptan the face of forces beyond his trol. "It seems that way," he aowledged gravely, his tone hinting back to the unintended sequences of his previous interferences with the timeline. "I've already entered HYDRA agents. Jasper Sitwell, a SHIELD agent I met in New Mexico, Edgar Lasbe, ard Pharmaceuticals, and Maki Matsumoto, a merary w with the Hand, a group of ninjas."

  At the mention of ninjas, Natasha raised an eyebrow skeptically. Tyson held up a hand and insisted, "No Naruto bullshit, I promise. Colleen, the woman who trained us, art of that group."

  Natasha's expression softened as memories of their interaining resurfaced.

  "Colleen was exceptionally skilled..." she murmured, trailing off.

  Tyson tinued, "Sitwell recruited me into HYDRA uhe guise of SHIELD. I'm officially part of their anization now too, I suppose." He paused, then added with a touch of pride, "But I'm pnning to infiltrate as a double agent."

  Natasha rolled her eyes at his bravado, though she had to admit, "You've done well so far, I suppose. But your power makes it easy, it's like cheating."

  Her sharp mind tury as she posed the critical question that cut to the heart of their dilemma, "If you tried to save your school, only to have extra mutants appear to fight you... then what would happen if you went after the super soldier serum now and fronted HYDRA years earlier than intended?"

  Tyson shook his head, his grave expression veying deep . "That's why I didn't mention their existence earlier. Who knows what would happen if I moved openly against them now?"

  Natasha nodded slowly, uanding the need for caution. With forces beyond prehension at work, they would have to py the long game.

  "So we leave it for now. Unless you had some pns for using the serum?"

  Her pragmatism gave him pause. Though his instincts urged him to seize the super soldier serum, if every a invited unintended sequences, perhaps ina was the wisest path, for now.

  "You make a fair point," he ceded. He csped his hands together, gazing down as he gathered his thoughts. "My vision didn't reveal anything about the serum's fate. I've had Dr. ors researg various projects, but I didn't make dires for the super soldier serum itself." He looked back up at Natasha. "But what if, in doing nothing, we enable someone else to take hold of it? I'd almost rather cim it now than risk having to tend with an army of enemy super soldiers ter."

  Natasha pursed her lips, pting their options. "Perhaps we could use an outside agent to retrieve it, someone unaffiliated with SHIELD. That way we don't draw Hydra's focus prematurely." She paused, folding her arms across her chest. "We 't at for every possibility if everything you do alters events. We just o prepare as best we for what we know is ing."

  Natasha was curiarding the potential sequences of Tyson's past interference. "Did you experieny signifit backsh when you robbed the Federal Reserve?" she asked, seeking to dis any telling patterns, to uhe nature of the universe's supposed reas to his meddling.

  Tyson's simple response of "No" indicated that the brazen a, despite its sheer magnitude, had not resulted in any diremediate ic repercussions that he could dis. But his expression remained ptive. He added, "Well, maybe... Robbing the Federal Reserve certainly drew your attention. But I'd call that a positive."

  Natasha's smile was subtle, yet hi a shared uanding. She tinued her meticulous line of questioning, i on unraveling the yers of Tyson's past exploits. "What about when you captured the spider that gave Spider-Man his powers?" she pressed. "Were there any sequences reted to that event?"

  Again Tyson replied with an unambiguous "No."

  But once more Tyson halted, taking a moment to gather his thoughts aally sift through everything that had transpired iermath. Natasha waited patiently, giving him space to reflect. "Maybe..." he finally said, a hesitant tone in his voice as he prepared to eborate.

  "In my visioer was the only oten by the spider," Tyson expined. "But before I captured it, there was anirl bitten, dy Moon. You might not remember her, but she was a student at Midtown. After the bite, her parents pulled her out of school entirely." He paused, brow furrowed. "I tried to follow up, but her mother was a dead end. As far as I could tell, the father is just pin dead. The mom did give me a lead though, which guided me to a pharmaceutical pany. That's how I learhe CEO, Edgar Lasbe, was HYDRA."

  Tyson's expression was grave. "I wasn't able to find dy after that. She was moved out of the try. I still haven't been able to follow that lead yet." He hesitated before adding with , "I'm not sure if it's a direct corretion, because dy was bitten before I captured the spider, but she wasn't part of my vision of the future."

  Natasha pressed him for more information. "What about capturing the two stists, ors and Vanko?" she asked, "Have there been any sequences from saving them, having them here?"

  "I've only had Vanko here a few days, but it's been months with ors. So far I haven't seen any major repercussions from that." Tyson's responses revealed little, painting a picture devoid of signifit ges.

  Natasha arched a slender eyebrow, unsatisfied. She tinued along the same line of questioning, gesturing around them. "And acquiring this pce? Maniputing Fisk?" she challenged, indig House of M with a wave. "That was another major py."

  prehension slowly dawned on Tyson as he followed Natasha's line of reasoning. "You're right," he said, his voice tinged with unease. "Some of my as have immediately, provoked reas, while others seemed to go unnoticed."

  Natasha's eyes fshed with satisfa, having led him to her intended clusion. She tied her observations together with one final pointed question. "So in summary. Hydra has its own Spider-Man. But I'm more ed that you stole half a billion dolrs without any apparent pushback. Acquired a valuable property and are using it to house super-stists, and are also acquiring a potentially Apocalypse-level threat created by a teology pany. So, either you're wrong and chasing ghosts since a signifit portion of your as haven't merited a rea..." She paused, holding his gaze with hers. "Or we've yet to see the fallout when the universe corrects itself to at for the ripples caused by the House of M."

  Her words hung heavy between them, profound in their implication although Tyson had not yet faced direct sequehe universe could still correct itself through ser ig act.

  Tyson slowly nodded, his brow furrowing as he pted her perspective. A knot of apprehension formed in his gut as he sidered what unintended results could be brewing just out of sight, sequences yet to make themselves known.

  Behind the ses

  - When I outlihe st chapter, 'The Abomination', I included a bullet point with the detailed description of the Ross stuff, followed by the bullet point "Retionship talk" ...That shit went off the rails so much that I had to make this its own chapter. This Arc was drafted as 10 chapters and grew to 20. But the chapter is the st of Arc 5!

  - Every time I write Tyson with Nat, I just want to keep going. She might be the best girl.

  - Tyson finally reveals his meta-knowledge to someoeically he revealed his knowledge of the future to Amora first, but she called BS. He specifically says "I have lifetimes upon lifetimes within my head. From this world, and others." hinting at his st previous life before ing to this Marvel universe.

  - Tyson's interpretation of the ges iimeline is based on his subjective observations, and ly what is happening. It's simply the best assumption he make from what he's experienced. As Nat pointed out, his theory is fwed.

  - Tyson revealing his metaknowledge and bringing Nat into his pns is my way as the author of signaling that Tyson isn't just along for the ride anymore. When Natasha says to leave the serum and Tyson says, he doesn't want to let it e back to bite him in the ass, bined with his moves to acquire Trask is Tyson finally taking the steps toward being active instead of reactive.

  Question for Readers

  How do you feel about Tyson revealing his meta-knowledge? And to Natasha, the super-spy of all people. I try to make each of Tyson's retionships different, have you ehe growth of his e with Nat that has been building up since Arc 4? Or do you prefer her, Illyana, or Felicia? Or do you think Tyson hasn't met the ohat's right for him yet?

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