Chapter 29: S.H.E.I.L.D(chapter 29)
prevousy in chapter 28
Henry moved in, his body a blur of motion. He reached into his coat and pulled out the specialized syringes he had prepared. As the veteran struggled against the encroaching cold, Henry struck with one of the syringes, plunging it into the veteran's neck. The syringe pierced the skin, the needle extracting the volatile Extremis rich blood in his bloodstream.
The veteran roared in pain and fury, his body beginning to thaw as his internal heat fought back against the freezing bomb. He swung a fist at Henry, the enhanced strength behind it capable of shattering bones. But Henry was ready. He ducked under the blow, his movements enhanced by the Strength Tonic. He retaliated with a swift kick to the veteran's knee, causing him to stagger.
Henry then delivered a series of blows, each one aimed at disabling the veteran's movements. Another syringe found its mark, drawing more Extremis from the man's body. With a final, desperate effort, the veteran's body began to glow with a fiery intensity, his last attempt to use the Extremis to his advantage. But Henry, fueled by the Flameheart Brew, was immune to the heat, somewhar. He moved in close, his own body radiating heat from the potion. He grabbed the veteran by the throat, forcing the last syringe into his arm.
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Chapter 29
The veteran's body convulsed, the Extremis rich blood being forcibly extracted. His strength ebbed away, the fiery glow dimming as his body returned to normal. With a final, shuddering breath, he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Henry stood over the fallen man, breathing heavily but victorious. He looked at the syringes, now filled with the volatile substance that had given the veteran his power. Carefully, he placed them into a secure container, ensuring they wouldn't be damaged. "Mission accomplished, all that is left is to track down that woman and it everything should be fine and dandy" he muttered to himself, adjusting his plague doctor's mask. He glanced down at the veteran, now powerless. With the Extremis securely extracted, Henry then turned around and left.
-scene change-
High up in the sky, a large plane could be seen. The plane was the same as the one that the President of the US travels with. Inside the plane were many facilities, such as high-tech labs, computers for surveillance, a training room, and, of course, living rooms. In one of those rooms, a debriefing room, were six people: three men and three women. One of the men wore a dark suit and seemed to be in his 50s, a white male. Another was a nerdy-looking man wearing a lab coat, and lastly, there was a well-built man, tall with muscles, who seemed broody. On the women's side, there was an Asian woman, Chinese in her 40s, sporting the same seriousness as the well-built man. There was another woman with the same nerdy look as the nerdy man, and lastly, a young woman in her 20s with brown hair and black eyes, who seemed to be on her.
"Wow, this guy has the same social media presence as Ward, which is impressive in its own right," she said, giving the well-built man a side-eye as he groaned. "Sky, what else can you tell me about our subject, something we don't know?" said the man wearing a suit in his 50s with the receding hairline as he pointed to the high-tech monitor behind them, displaying images of Henry. Some were young photos of him; most of them were mugshots. Another was a CCTV camera image of him at the Stark Expo, and lastly, there was an image of him wearing his plague doctor costume. "Well, our subject here is, well, he was nothing before a couple of months ago—a drug addict with no parents, no friends, no foster home," she paused at the last part of her sentence, which caused her to frown.
"*CAUGHT* until he was caught trying to steal a Hammer droid. One of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents tried to capture him, but he killed the agent," she said, only for Ward to interrupt, "Which does not make sense—how could someone with no prior training, a drug addict, even take out one of our agents?" The nerdy-looking man added, "Is no one going to mention how he is able to drag a Hammer droid? Those weigh like a ton," he scoffed as the older woman showed an image of Henry taking a sip of liquid from a bottle before she spoke, "We believe that he is taking a drug to enhance his strength." The man in the suit added, "A drug which he manufactured on his own," which caught the team's attention. "So he can make steroids? I don't understand why we have to have a meeting about him unless there is something we don't know yet," said the nerdy-looking woman as the older woman replied,
"Henry isn't just a drug addict anymore. For some unknown reason, a couple of months ago, he was able to drag a Hammer droid, kill one of our agents, and survive having his van thrown off a cliff," which earned a hiss from Sky as they all looked at her. "What? As a fellow van owner, I feel his pain," she said, like she did nothing wrong. "Can you stop sympathizing with criminals?" Ward grunted. "Enough. We decided to search the wreckage of his van, but he was faster. Somehow, he was able to get out and retrieve the Hammer droid before we could. After our chemists searched his van, we found several broken vials with unknown liquid. We analyzed them. They were regular drinks made from regular vegetables and plants, but somehow, they were more powerful than they should be. I actually met him three times, and he is not someone to be underestimated. He might be inexperienced now, but that doesn't mean he will remain the same," she paused as the nerdy-looking man and woman analyzed the data on the laptop they were holding.
"This is impossible, right, Fitz?" asked the nerdy-looking woman as the man, Fitz, laughed. "Fascinating, how did he achieve this? There was no additive, no catalyst, nothing. Can you believe it, Jemma?" He stopped to look at the older man as he said, "Come on, sir, we need to get our hands on one of these." The older man sighed as he looked at the Asian woman, who continued, "After finding out, we started to look through his history, purchase history, then we found that he was purchasing plants—regular plants, beetroot, ginseng, nothing else." That is when Sky suddenly said,
"I know, he can somehow enhance the properties of substances?" Ward then said, "Come on, not another one of your theories," but the older man and woman gave him a shrug as the woman said, "Well, Sky might actually be right." The man then said, "Which is why we need Henry on our side." This immediately elicited a dissatisfied look from Ward, who said, "Seriously, he killed one of our own," but the older man said, "That is enough, this isn't my decision." The older man continued, "Henry might be unstable at the moment, but I would rather have him in our custody than in another organization's hands, like, let's say, Centipede," which shut them up as they then left.
-scene change-
The bustling streets of New York City hummed with life on this sunny day. Countless people hurried along, their footsteps echoing against the pavement as they went about their daily tasks. The aroma of food wafted from nearby food carts, mixing with the sounds of car horns and chatter to create a vibrant atmosphere. The particular restaurant on the corner seemed to be quite popular, with people of all classes dining al fresco, enjoying the warmth of the sun.
Surprisingly, amidst the crowd sat Henry, dressed in a regular white shirt and blue jeans, with somewhat odd-shaped black sunglasses. He sipped from a cup he had brought himself, glancing at his phone with a puzzled expression. "Hmm, magic is actually real," he murmured to himself, engrossed in the feed from Recon Drone 7. The dark video footage showed a figure in a robe with strange, bright blue symbols on their hand. "Or it could be superpower?" Henry pondered aloud, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Either way, Kai is coming along nicely. Gosh, they grow up fast."
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A/N: Well, another chapter. And yeah, if people did get one of his potions, they would not be able to replicate it with the same effects, which leads to the conclusion that Henry can enhance substances, which isn't far from the truth.
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