Chapter 18: C17 - Life of the Avengers in another world!
SPECIAL NOTE: I WANT TO GIVE A SPECIAL SHOUTOUT TO PATREON USER "KATL-Chief" FOR SUPPORTING ME AS THE SECOND MEMBER OF THE "LUKE SULLIVAN" TIER! KEEP A LOOKOUT FOR HIS PART IN THE SERIES HAPPENING IN C23 AND C24!
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'Inner dialogue/thoughts'
"Normal dialogue"
[System]
[Diary entries]
(Word count: 1,501)
~ With Natasha ~
[When the Avengers was first being formed, only Natasha and Clint were recommended to join the team. However, Natasha had seen something within me and had made a request to Fury to allow me to join as well. I'm not sure what she told Fury, but the next time I saw my old boss, he had gazed at me before saying to Natasha, "He's your responsibility now". I was confused at what he meant by that, and it did not help that Natasha had chosen not to tell me anything in detail and just said that I was joining a new team along with Clint and herself.]
[As if written by Destiny itself, during my time as an Avenger, we had faced multiple enemies, both as a team and as individuals. As a team, we had the likes of Loki during the invasion, and Ultron. As individuals, Steve had been fighting against the Winter Soldier and Hydra. From what I recalled, the Winter Soldier was an agent of Hydra with a metallic arm and strength close to Captain America. Tony had the Iron Monger, Whiplash, and Extremis as his enemies. Thor couldn't escape from the clutches of his family, whether it was Loki or Hela. Dr Strange, however, had the most difficult and vast of enemies. As the Sorcerer Supreme, he was responsible for the protection of the Earth against those who seek it with malicious intent from other realms.]
Reading about the different enemies that the members of the Avengers had faced, Natasha was analysing and piecing the pieces together for her report to Fury, unaware that Fury was already doing so himself. She was certain that Fury would be delighted to know that the 'Steve' mentioned had an almost 100% possibility of being The Captain America himself, Steve Rogers.
[Even Natasha herself had the Red Room.]
'Red Room?' Natasha thought. 'That's impossible, Clint and I had personally destroyed that place and shut down the program. Unless it wasn't the only one like I was led to believe…' Reading about the Red Room had only brought unpleasant memories to Natasha. She had believed that the Red Room had been once and for all destroyed by her, but she never expected to truth to be this different. She would have to inform Fury of this. She would not let anyone else go through what she had gone through.
[Each and every one of us had viewed the Avengers sort of as a second family. We lived together, fought together, won together, and even grieved together. When Pietro died and Bruce went missing after we defeated Ultron. Everyone had been there for each other, supporting Wanda through her grief and Natasha through her anxiety and depression.]
'Wait. Me? Pietro was the brother of Wanda, so I can understand that. But me? Why was I in experiencing anxiety and depression? Was it this Bruce?' Natasha thought, confused.
[Wanda had lost her brother, while Natasha, she had lost a member of her newfound family.]
'Family. . . That's right, in his earlier entries, He had talked about me seeing the Avengers as a new family. It's been something I've always wanted ever since the Red Room. Natasha. . .' Thinking of her other self, Natasha could only feel empathy as while she had not yet met this new family, she did know of her deep desire and longing for one. The other Natasha had likely felt anxiety for Bruce due his unknown status and location, while also feeling depressed for losing a member of the family, albeit unknown whether he was alive or dead.
~ With Fury ~
There were only a few moments in Fury's life where he had felt excitement, with one of the most notable one being when he had received a report that the construction progress on Project Insight was close to completion. And now, he had just learnt that the 'Steve' in the Avengers could very likely be Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America, the First Avenger. This was a tried-and-true leader, embodying the essence of what it meant to be a protector and a hero. The perfect candidate to be the leader of the Avengers. A legend that lived up to his name! If Luke had mentioned him being alive in this parallel world, then the chances of him being alive in this world would be there too!
'But how? He should be dead by now, frozen in ice-' As if realizing a crucial detail, Fury couldn't help but get even more excited, 'Frozen in Ice. We had never truly understood the effects of the Super Soldier Serum created. Could it be possible that under the effects of the serum, Steve Roger's body is able to withstand the freezing cold temperature, inducing him into a cryo-sleep?' Fury thought. It did not seem impossible for a scenario like this to happen.
[And it only got worse. While the Avengers had meant well, collateral damage was unavoidable. And while Tony had been the financial rock and Fury the political wall for the Avengers, there were still powers in higher ranks, with higher authority than Fury, that wanted nothing more than to use the Avengers for their own needs. They only needed a single excuse to pounce, a single mishap where the damages were too great, and the lives of innocents lost. And they had. The Sokovia Accords. This marked the beginning of the Civil War among ourselves.]
'Motherf*cker. The hell you mean about a higher authority. Do you realize how much time I've put into the concept of the Avengers? Writing in the diary about authority. You know I have the authority to put your ass in a cell. If you think I would let anyone mess around with my initiative, then you have another thing coming your way. So don't go thinking that those fools in a higher place will walk over me easily.' Fury thought to himself, as if talking to Luke personally when he read the entry. 'Talking to me about authority. . .' He ended with a shake to his head, disbelief evident on his face.
[And then came the blip. The very event that led to Tony marrying Pepper, and Morgan being born, had also been the same event that had erased half of all the lives throughout the universe. The Avengers had experienced our first truly devastating defeat, and the consequences were too great.]
[In the aftermath, Tony had chosen to take his family into seclusion, Thor was never the same man after being the last of his true family, and even Steve had opened up a spiritual mutual aid club, trying his best to help others through this period of loss. Everyone had given up, everyone except Natasha. She was the only one left who had truly never stopped giving up trying to find a way to bring the others back. She had found a family, a home she could call her own. And she was not willing to give that up!]
[At the end of it all, Natasha had succeeded! She had brought everyone back! But the one who had loved this family the most, never did. Natasha had died.]
- End of Chapter -
Next time in C18 - She gave her Life, so that her Family could live theirs!
Natasha wore a bittersweet smile, a silent acknowledgment to herself. 'I see, it was just as I had concluded. I had thought it would be so after seeing Luke's reaction towards me earlier, but to hear a confirmation from himself, it truly makes reality sinks in.'
E/d Note: In the earlier half of the MTL chapter 18, Natasha was having fantasies of being someone important in Su Che's heart. The direction that the MTL was going for SEEMED to be like that of a secret/hidden romantic interest aside from Wanda. It was really awkward and cringe reading Natasha Romanoff, THE BLACK WIDOW, fawning over and acting all girly about a guy. So, I just removed that whole plotline. As I had done with Wanda, I will be officially deviating with Natasha, instead of whatever love story between Wanda and Su Che (MTL version of my Luke), I will be having Natasha act as the Mentor and Older sister figure to Luke.
Project Insight is the Helicarriers btw guys. Thanks for letting me know in the comments! I've already made the changes.
I just really loved the cameo scene Fury made when he reprimanded Coulson, so I had to find a way to slide it in as realistically as possible xD
As always, thanks for reading! And if you've enjoyed, maybe some cookies (power stones) for me are in order :D?
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