Chapter 13: Chapter 13
Harry sat in front of a full length mirror, staring at his reflection in admiration.
Vanity had always been strange to him, what with him simply not seeing any practical use in caring about one's looks. But that seemed to have changed in the past few months, as he found himself being more... appreciative, for some of his physical features.
He stood just above 5 feets tall now, with wide shoulders hinting at the hidden muscles underneath. His sharp cheekbones and angular face had often been described as 'Angelic' by most of the females in Shield, with the lightening bolt scar giving him a more striking edge. While his hair sometimes caused him some trouble, their smooth pitch black texture made them worth the extra care.
But the most striking feature that everyone always commented on, were his eyes. The green emerald eyes that twinkled like gems under the sunlight.
"I'm wasting time again." He muttered, shaking his head as he got up.
It was the third time this month that he'd caught himself adjusting his hair or looking for any imperfections in his appearance. Sometimes he feared he was growing narcissistic. Since when had he given so such thought about his own looks?
Narcissism was the logical conclusion, even though he knew very little about it.
But try though he might, he simply couldn't force himself to change. Unless he activated the gamer's mind, that is.
Which he won't do, unless it was a combat situation. The warmth of positive emotions has become an almost second-nature for him, something he placed high value in. Though he hadn't felt any heightened emotions since the day he completed that Gulag mission.
The past half year had been the smoothest period of time harry could ever remember in his life. The basic needs that he had to take care of on his own were no longer a concern here. He had a place to call his own, a comfy bed to sleep, and ate the best food New York had to offer every day.
To keep improving his skills level, the shield training facilities were available to him. And they were, in one word, Awesome. Better than anything Hydra had. From shooting practice to unarmed combat to stealth training... everything was available when Captain Ares himself testified for him.
Then there were the missions. The Gulag mission had netted him some sweet profits, not just from his system, but also from Shield. He was now given the pay of a Lvl 6 Agent, while exercising a Lvl 5 authority in the organisation.
For a month, he'd kept a low profile after completing that mission, before going back to normal and making sure to complete 1 mission per month. While none had been anywhere as profiting as hitting the Gulag, he'd still managed to level up multiple times when combined with his daily quests.
Harry Potter
Age: 10
Race: Wizard
Level: 34
Mana: 600/600
Health: 450/450
Stamina: 400/400
Stats
Strength: 36 (9)
Speed: 37 (9)
Dexterity: 37 (9)
Vitality: 36 (9)
Endurance: 31 (9)
Intelligence: 51 (9)
Wisdom: 40 (9)
Points: 4
Unfortunately, with his increase in power came a decrease in rewards. Killing normal humans gave him even less Xp than his daily quests now. And the 6 missions that he'd completed, netted him a total of 2000 Xp, which was...less than satisfactory, considering these were the highest risk missions out of all available.
But while they may be high risk for others, for him they were barely worth a trouble.
So nowadays he simply completed his daily quests and leveled up his skills by fighting more skilled opponents... mainly Ares.
His relationship with the Captain had...changed, for the lack of better term.
He still remembered that day, when he witnessed the wrath of Ares for the first time. The fact that his beloved Shield was compromised had seemed to hit the man something fierce. Though when the idea that it may be Hydra who'd wormed its way inside had popped up, even Harry had become extra cautious, and began counting his days since then.
The plus point of this however, was that Ares believed the Gulag was a trap for Harry specifically, so he'd seemed to have taken it upon himself to keep Harry safe and sound from anything, even shielding him from the higher ups, some Alexander pierce, who'd wanted to interrogate him.
As for Kara...well, the woman was now a level 6 Shield agent, and was getting paid as much as him.
They still shared a home of course, and were much more comfortable around each other than ever. But Harry had noticed a rising problem recently... Sometimes, when his guard was down, he would find his eyes lingering upon her, noting her beauty, and the more... feminine features.
Thankfully he was no longer completely ignorant about it. And some of the credit went to the male trainees, who had taught him a lot about female anatomy, but most of the credit went to the 'internet'.
Internet was the most fascinating subject for him behind magic. It directly gave access to any type of information he wanted. Anything he wished to know? Internet will set him up. Anything he wished to learn? Just do a quick Google. How could there be jobless people in this world, he would never understand. The internet literally gave any being the means to be successful.
And Harry took full advantage of it. The first thing he did was, of course, clear up the reason for his distraction around kara, and the internet provided with an answer: Attraction.
More specifically, Sexual attraction. Harry wasn't ignorant about sex, having assassinated people in the midst of it...but actually doing it himself? Nope. Never in his wildest dreams could he ever imagine having sex. It had always seemed like a pointless endeavour to mate without the purpose of producing a child. He blamed the puberty for this... absurd growth.
The worst part? His super soldier serum seemed to be increasing the urges even more. Times like this had almost made Harry activate gamer's mind forever. Getting distracted was possibly the worst thing that could ever happen to an assassin. Or to any fighter, for that matter.
Still, he coped with it for now. He didn't want to become completely dependent on Gamer's Mind afterall. What would the point of his freedom be then?
Another thing he'd been browsing the internet was for a location. Specifically, where exactly was 'Little Whinging, Surrey'? It was the only thing he remembered about his old home.
And the internet, once again, provided the answer, pointing him at England. He had tried the find some other Little Whingings in neighbouring countries to USA, but no such luck. It seems he really was from another continent altogether.
Now the question was, how will he break it to Kara and others that he will be moving to another whole continent soon? While he didn't necessarily care a lot about leaving this all behind, he knew Kara would throw a massive temper tantrum. Plus, Steve would be disappointed as well.
Harry sighed. 'What a chore.'
Apart from this, he'd also taken to cooking. Kara was a shit cook, and if Harry wanted something specific, different from whatever Shield was serving, he'd either have to make it himself or order from a takeout.
Thankfully his system rewarded his interest with a bunch of levels, and the internet provided the means to improve.
Cooking (Lvl 28)
He wasn't at a professional level, but he was definitely a good amateur cook.
Sighing, Harry finally turned around from the mirror, done with his usual session of time wasting.
Whenever he felt himself growing moody, he'd hit the training facility to cool off. That was one place that provided absolute comfort to Harry.
He'd be sad to leave it when the time comes. Things like this made him question his decision to leave, but he knew it was just a matter of time. America was too wild and unsafe for him to live in comfort.
And he had some unfinished business in England which he would like to take care of. He really really hoped the Dursleys were alive.
---------------------------------
"Is she at it again?" Agent Barton asked as he entered through the doors, a heavy frown gracing his face.
The people present in the room had to hide their amusement, especially Ava Starr who was holding back her snickers.
4 people were currently gathered together– Agent Barton, Agent Coulson, Director Rogers, and a young Initiate called Ava Starr, aka The Ghost. They were all looking down at the two fighters getting ready for a bout of unarmed combat.
"I doubt she'll stop now, even if I command her to." The Director of Shield replied with a smug smirk, amusing everyone but Barton himself.
Especially Ava though, who finally let her own lips twist up. It never failed to amuse the girl, seeing a legend like Hawkeye complaining like a child.
The training facility that they were occupying was an enormously long space, divided in multiple sections, starting with a sparing room and ending with a shooting range. There was also a hidden observation deck, which they all currently stood in, meant to keep an eye on Shield operatives.
Their attention was down at the sparring room, where Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, got ready to take on Agent Dursley, also known as Mystique Soldier.
While a normal sight for others, this was actually the first time Ava was going to see the Mystique Soldier fight, and she was quite curious for it.
The girl had seen Black Widow in action, and knew that the people that had any hope to challenge her could be counted with a single hand.
She also knew that a few people counted the Mystique Soldier to be one of them, though the 19 year old never quite believed them.
"I don't get what she sees in him." Agent Barton grouched from the side again, folding his hands irritatedly.
"The same thing you saw in her, I'd wager." Agent Coulson replied, the barest hints of smile giving away his amusement.
Ava finally let out a chuckle as the grouchy Agent shot Coulson an irritated glare.
Agent Barton's dislike of Mystique Soldier wasn't unknown to the young trainee, and she knew exactly the cause behind it.
This wasn't the first time Natasha Romanoff has faced off against Harry, and neither would it be the last.
The problem didn't come from that though. It came from the fact that she was trying to attempt something that most people, who knew Mystique Soldier, thought to be impossible.
Namely, to loosen the boy up and make him have fun.
And no one in the room, save for Steve himself, believed that she could succeed.
Ava herself had only interacted with the boy a couple of times, and from what she could tell he was extremely cold and anti-social.
Normally the girl would never hold that against him, having went through a similar phase like that when her whole life was turned upside down with the death of her parents.
But the difference between them was that she hadn't refused any help. When Shield reached out to her, promising a cure for her... painful ability...she had jumped at their offer. Jumped at the chance of safety and security.
And she hasn't regretted it once. She'd found a new family in Shield, suppressing the sting from her parent's death. Captain Ares was a kind man, and she considered herself lucky to work under him.
One could only imagine how dire her situation would've been, had someone more selfish gotten ahold of her... and her abilities.
But Mystique Soldier was the exact opposite. He never initiated any conversations, and actively ignored others unless they provided him with something that worth his while.
Ava couldn't quite figure out why Agent Romanoff still stuck out for him. While Ava may make fun of Barton's irritation, she agreed the boy was a lost cause.
That didn't mean she wasn't curious to see how strong he was.
And as the two opponents turned to each other, she couldn't help but ask the others. "Who do you think will win?"
While she definitely believed Romanoff to be better of the two, she'd also heard rumours on how lethal Agent Dursley was, due to his prior training at Hydra.
The question was taken with interest by others. While Barton himself had never laid witness to the boy's skills, he knew from the showering of praises from his female partner that the boy was unnaturally skilled. Though he'd still give it to Natasha 7 out of 10 times. Atleast in hand to hand.
Coulson on the other hand, had a much more solid opinion on who will win.
"If they went all out?" In the end it was the Director who answered. "The fight wouldn't even last a minute. I'm a little concerned actually."
Barton frowned at his words, though it didn't surprise Coulson.
Ava on the other hand...was disappointed. She'd imagined the boy would've been a bit more powerful, after hearing all those legends about him.
Still, it wasn't too surprising, she thought. No matter how competent, he was still a 10 year old, facing off against one of the greatest hand to hand fighters the young girl has ever witnessed.
Though she didn't understand Captain's concern. This was just a friendly spar afterall...unless he was worried that the Black Widow might just sting her young prey?
"It'll be fine, Captain." Ava found herself dismissing the man's worries. "I'm sure miss Romanoff will go easy on him."
The Director snorted, surprising her. "I'm not worried for him. I'm concerned for Natasha."
Her eyebrows were no doubt touching her hairline as she turned to the man, scepticism clear in her eyes. "Really?"
Steve understood her reaction of course.
Natasha Romanoff was perhaps the most deadliest assassin in the world, and one of the best hand to hand fighters he'd ever seen, perhaps even better than him. And that was saying something considering the woman has just entered her twenties.
He could count on one hand the list of people who were able to last against her for more than a minute.
But impressive she may be, she was no super soldier.
And Harry wasn't just a Super Soldier or Wizard, but a complete enigma, even to Steve who'd spent the most time with him, second only to Kara. The boy's mind worked way differently than any kid he'd met. Including Romanoff.
Sometimes the boy unnerved him. The cold and calm demeanor he constantly carried...no child should be that way. Even though he felt the boy has grown a ton in this past year, it was still abnormal.
He doubted even Romanoff was this far gone from normal when they'd found her, even with her unfortunate history.
"Worry not, sir. We'll stop things from escalating." Agent Coulson assured him.
"That's what I'm afraid of." Steve muttered. "I doubt we can, if the boy goes wild."
Silence spread through the room as everyone present digested that nugget of fact.
"You mean that don't you?" Barton asked at last, looking troubled. "You really believe that. If anything, it only makes me want to stop this nonsense even more."
"It's too late now. They're starting."
Weekly Power Status
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