A Month Later
Elias POV
I sat in my F-150 at a red light on 8th Street, a couple of blocks from ESU's campus, waiting for the light to turn green. The past month had been peaceful for Wanda and me. Despite my vigilance, nothing significant had happened, other than Wanda's father coming over.
Wasn't that an interesting experience...
Still, it was a good time for me to unwind and relax. It had been a rollercoaster of events—Afghanistan, the damned Frost mess, and the Hulk—one after another. I used this opportunity to gather my thoughts and reconnect with Aunt Carmen. Things had returned to normal; she had even invited me for Thanksgiving. Even though I didn't know her personally, I had the memories of this body.
I felt a certain responsibility towards her, but for now, she was doing fine with her boyfriend, and I intended to ensure that continued.
The world had moved on from the initial shock of monsters existing and had normalized quite quickly. I used this month to stabilize my body and upgrades. My supersoldier-cum-Spartan mesh of upgrades had settled in perfectly, and I'd gained a little more mass and height to the point where I worried I'd have to change my entire wardrobe. The only reason I was able to hide such changes was the multiple large hoodies I owned, something Wanda had pointed out.
Apparently, my pants were getting a little too tight and "voluptuous." She told me we were going shopping today after I picked her up from classes. Not that I minded. Despite being dropped into the Marvel universe, it wasn't as bad as, say, Warhammer or something equivalent, and if you wanted, you could truly live your life to the fullest.
Which I intended to do...
Wanda, for her part, had taken to being a student like a fish to water. She had even dragged me to some parties hosted by her new friends, which, in her words, was "retribution for selling her out to her father." I smirked at the memory of her uncoordinated dancing.
The Scarlet Witch was extremely bad at dancing... having no sense of rhythm, her attempts at copying others were adorable.
Afterward, she had begged off future parties, embarrassed, claiming she didn't like them. It was still nice spending time with her. I wasn't stupid; I knew I was interested in the gorgeous redhead, and by how she sometimes walked around back home in a large T-shirt and panties, bending over in an obvious, teasing way, I could reasonably guess she felt the same.
Dating Wanda wasn't something I was against. She was a young, kind, and in her own way, caring woman. She had her rough edges, but I could see myself falling hard for her, despite certain inherent risks. A darker, more selfish reason that occasionally surfaced was the fact that Wanda was one of the stronger beings out there.
I knew that some versions of her had held the multiverse hostage for imaginary children she'd had with a robot. I liked to think I could do better.
The light turned green.
I pulled forward into traffic and cut toward campus. After driving calmly for a couple of blocks, I had to brake hard as someone swung into my lane without looking.
"...Idiot," I muttered.
The truck dipped, and a stack of books on the passenger seat slid off, slapping against the floor mats.I cursed again and eased the truck. Hopefully, the books were fine; after all, Wanda had checked them out at my request. They were mostly biology books dealing with the brain and intelligence, with some touching on topics like hard substances and metals.
This was all for something I'd been working on for the past month: my exosuit. It could now cover most of my body, leaving only certain non-essential parts exposed. However, it had a major problem: I had to control it manually all the time. The exo-substance rippled on the back of my hands, matching my skin color, then settled. Still, it felt good; I now had a solid, versatile weapon that could keep up with my superhuman physique.
I let it thicken over my dominant hand on the wheel absentmindedly. A matte black glove, yet not a glove, formed. I smirked, knowing I could turn this into a ridiculously sharp weapon with a single thought.
This was why I had been researching ways to safely give it some form of intelligence—maybe like a dumb dog, or similar—but under no circumstances did I want something fully sentient.
I knew the kind of horror the Sith created...
It was fine for now, but I needed it to be better and stronger, perhaps even mimicking the atomic structures of some of the toughest materials for hardness and sharpness. With the Codex, I could cheat physics if I had to. I just didn't want to do it blindly.
My eyes caught the voucher on the dash for a free car wash. Glancing at my watch, I realized I had 30 minutes to pick up Wanda. The wash was en route to the pickup spot and very close to it.
"Let's get a wash," I muttered, eyeing my filthy truck. Without much thought, I pulled into a popular car wash, handing the voucher slip to the attendant. He took it without interest, waving me into the tunnel. The facilities seemed fine; I shifted into neutral, letting the track pull my F-150 forward.
Water and solvents gushed from the sprayers, foaming the exterior as giant brushes and rollers went to work. I watched the soap roll down the windows, leaning back into my seat, relaxing.
Then, everything slowly stopped as the lights cut out. The only illumination available was the yellow emergency light at the side of the tunnel.
"Something's wrong," my instincts blared.
My mind overclocked as I took in my surroundings from inside the truck. I heard footsteps approach the passenger side. An older woman with faint Asian features and dark hair pulled up, wearing subtle tactical clothes. I could see the impression of a gun inside her jacket.
"Well, it's not paranoia if they're out to get you," I thought, tensing my body, ready to react to anything.
She knocked on the glass, signing for me to open the door. What she was doing was highly illegal, but I realized resisting wouldn't help me. I stared hard at the woman, then popped the lock. If things went bad, I could take the woman and the truck apart on the way out.
She slid into the passenger seat casually, seemingly without a worry.
"This is all quite strange," I said, waving a hand at the dim car wash. "Who might you be?"
She pushed some fallen books aside with the side of her boot, getting comfortable.
"I'm Agent Melinda May. Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Calderon."
"...Nice to meet me, huh?"
She knew who I was, and she was from S.H.I.E.L.D. That meant she knew what I was capable of, yet she still looked entirely at ease sitting within arm's reach of someone who could hurt her.
"I'd like to have a conversation," she said. "My organization has a proposition for you."
This was a power play, I realized.
"You know, normal people send an email," I said. "Then they ask in a café. All this"—I tipped my chin at the dead tunnel—"seems pretty illegal. I'm on a clock. How about you get out of my truck, and we set another time."
She glanced at her watch.
"I'm sure Miss Maximoff can wait a while. It won't be long."
My hands tightened on the wheel as the rim and the leather started to give under my squeeze.
Was that a threat? Or was she profiling me—poking to see what I did?
"You're quite brave," I said.
She smiled blandly. "Bravery is quite subjective."
Her eyes flicked to the slowly deforming steering wheel, then she spoke softer, as if trying to pacify me.
"I don't want any trouble. Neither you nor Miss Maximoff is in any trouble. We just want a conversation."
I scoffed, irritated at how neatly they had boxed me in. I was not going to let them pick the ground.
"I'm thirsty," I said. "I'm driving to a café, and you're going to offer to buy me a coffee."
We stared at each other before she stepped back, figuratively, and Braxend touched the hidden comms in her ear.
"Wash is a go. Green."
The wash started as if there was nothing wrong. The track pulled us the rest of the way through. When the rollers lifted, I pulled out a little too hard and pointed the truck toward a café Wanda and I had already visited. It might be a little close to campus and filled with foot traffic, but that was my
intention.
I parked at the curb, and got out after killing the engine. I rose to my full height and kept her at the edge of my vision as she came around the hood.
She barely reached my lower chest.
I fished out my phone and dialed Wanda. She picked up almost immediately.
"Are you already here? Wait a mom—"
"Wanda. I'm going to be late. A colleague wants to talk, so stay on campus. I'll call you later."
She stayed silent, knowing what the code words meant.
"I'm fine, I've got to go now," I said, cutting the call before she could say anything again.
The street was filled with a lot of foot traffic, yet strangely, the café seemed to be bare except for a few customers. I looked down and gave the woman standing in front of me a look.
"After you, Melinda."
"Thank you."
We took a quiet table with four seats by the window. She sat across from me and quickly flagged the waitress.
"What do you want?" May asked.
"Anything."
I had to suppress another flare of irritation as she ordered my go-to. This was getting creepy.
We waited for our order as I calmed down and analyzed the situation rationally. This was actually not a bad situation. Despite the fact that SHIELD had been infiltrated by Hydra, I could use them, at least on an institutional level, and I knew the people I could trust there. Despite my fading irritation at the woman sitting in front of me and the agents probably in plain clothes surrounding the café, I knew I could trust her to a certain point; she was not a Hydra plant. I just had to be careful and not get too entangled.
The order arrived and I took it, giving my thanks, and took a sip.
It was good.
May slid a small tablet across the table.
"Have a look."
I did so slowly, suppressing a wry smile. Everything, from my early career education to my stint in the army in Afghanistan, the Starks' retrieval—everything was neatly laid out.
Scrolling down, I lifted my eyes to the woman, who was calmly drinking her coffee. I clicked on a video on the tablet, and it played a bodycam recording. In it, I could see the Hulk jump inside a crumbling building and me punching him, making him stagger. I closed it before it could play the rest and pushed the tablet back.
"You still haven't told me what you and your organization actually do."
She took the tablet, one eyebrow raised. "My apologies. I assumed you knew."
"No, I don't," I lied dryly.
There had been no mention of my "adventure" in the Frost mansion, but I had a sinking suspicion that they knew about it and my meeting with Xavier and his group. She gave me the standard speech anyway on what S.H.I.E.L.D. was and how important they were.
I finished my drink and set the cup down.
"What do you want with me?"
"We'd like you to work for us, Mr. Calderon. I'm simply here for recruitment."
Multiple thoughts went through my head as I weighed the pros and cons. Before I could respond, my eyes caught a vibrant head of hair.
Wanda.
She shoved the door open, found me immediately, and came straight over. The tension in her shoulders dropped, seeing there was no immediate danger. Her hair was a mess, and she was panting hard, drenched in sweat.
She had run over, I thought.
I felt warmth and irritation at the same time. I had not wanted her here. A single bullet could end her life if things went south. I didn't think it would, but I had hoped she would have stayed on campus until I called her.
She sat down next to me anyway while May maintained a friendly smile.
"How did you find me?" I asked her.
"...I just did," she said while catching her breath.
"Ms. Maximoff, my name is Melinda May." May's tone did not change. "It's good you could join us. It saves us the time of reaching out."
They wanted both of us...