109 Delayed summoning -105

[Four weeks after Stark's kidnapping]

[SITE-009]

With more than a month into Stark's little holiday, Alex was looking over the report about what the poor man was going through inside his little cave.

It had been one heck of a rush job to not just send a man in but also ensure the man could transmit information back without being found out by Stark or the terrorists, as even Wenwu didn't have any control over that splinter cell of his.

Stark being the bigger challenge of the two, that man might be annoying to deal with, but scarily smart. Thankfully, it just so happened that the Marvel universe had the answer to this particular problem.

A little-known Hydra project known as Deathlok was a nifty little thing about stuffing people full of cybernetic enhancements, including an eye able to record and transmit information.

With that, all someone had to do was look at something, and they could then show whatever they saw to the people watching the show. They were even able to reserve instructions.

Now, getting their hands on the project and getting an eye inside the agent and then him inside the cave, all before Stark himself ended up there, was anything but easy. The time for all that was simply not nearly enough, yet they had managed it with almost a day to spare.

Truly, the Foundation didn't know the concept of moderation; they always went above and beyond the mission.

This did allow Alex to get a first hand view of the hardships Tony went through inside that cave. He was sure that footage would be able to humble Stark should he ever get too arrogant again.

It also allowed the Foundation to get a look at Stark's work on both the first generation Arc reactor and his very first prototype Ironman armor. Which really wasn't a pretty sight, the only impressive thing about it was the fact that he made it in a cave with scrap and in secret.

Still. Alex had to send instructions to his man on the inside to ensure that Tony didn't end up with massive holes for eyes in the mask. He wouldn't want Tony to burn to death. Having seen the movie, he was well aware that Tony should have died thanks to those holes and gaps.

Since this wasn't a movie, Alex didn't want to leave things up to chance and movie magic if he could help it. That's why he sent in someone to ensure that Tony wouldn't die from infection from that giant hole in his chest.

Well, for now, everything did seem like it would work out, so hopefully, he would be able to make his escape in time, and the world would enter the age of superheroes.

"I guess there is nothing stopping me from just getting the summon out of the way this month. There are no particular things that need my attention. Alright, system, please… Wait a minute." Alex was just about to summon another object when he realized something.

This would be the twelfth monthly summoning he would be doing, which meant that it would be the one-year mark of his appearance into this new world.

Given that he had gotten some big surprises at the three and six months. The chance of something happening this time was very high indeed. Which meant that he would have to prepare a bit longer before going through with the summoning.

"Damn it, I have been so busy lately that I totally forgot about this. With no preparations, I will have to push the summing back into later this month, which can put everything off balance for the future."

Alex couldn't help but be both annoyed and angry with himself for forgetting something this important. He had been too busy with distractions from the Marvel universe. Playing around with Rogers and working on recruiting Natasha.

He felt himself beginning to slip, making mistakes where he shouldn't. First, he had somehow gotten the timeline of the Marvel universe wrong, and now, he was forgetting this as well.

"One month, need to be ready in less than one month." He muttered to himself as he threw himself into his work. Trying to figure out how to best prepare for the unknown dangers his system might throw his way.

------------------

[27 days after Stark's kidnapping]

Natasha always expected to be sent back to Shield every time she was called upon. She didn't really want to go back. Not after learning what she now knew. She owed much to Shield, even more so to Clint.

She didn't want to lie to them. To pretend that everything was fine, to to let Clint know that he was working for Hydra half of the time. She could deal with not telling him right now because she wasn't allowed to contact anyone.

Once she was allowed to see him again, she wasn't sure she would be able to resist telling him. She didn't want to repay their kindness with lies and secrets. Rather, she just never returned, if anything, just a simple message to Clint to let her know she was okay.

The Foundation was the people who lived and died in the shadows, the unsung heroes who worked behind the scenes to keep everyone safe; it was a role that fit so perfectly with her. She wouldn't mind disappearing away from the light and living and working in the shadows.

Yet, it properly wouldn't end up being that simple.

"Romanoff, it seems we will be working together far sooner than either of us expected." Graves greeted her as soon as she left her room.

"I didn't expect to be reassigned so quickly," Natasha admitted, her tone even but her eyes searching Graves for any hint of the broader implications of this sudden call to action. "What's the situation?"

Graves didn't answer but instead motioned for her to follow him as he started walking. "Much the same as last time, an object has been located; we will go and take a look to help you learn more."

Natasha figured it would be another test like last time. So she made sure to pay extra attention to everything around her, though mostly on Graves since he was her best source of information.

…

"Any chance you will tell me about this mission?" Natasha finally decided to ask after Graves had been quiet for the entire trip so far.

"3 days ago, an unknown ship entered into the 169 exclusionary zone; it failed to respond to all attempts to communicate, so agents were sent for a boarding mission. They found the skip empty, and those who entered into the hull of the ship to check never returned."

Natasha's eyes narrowed slightly as Graves delivered the details. He seemed to be saying a lot, but clearly, there were a lot of things she wasn't able to understand due to a lack of knowledge about many things, such as this exclusionary zone.

"After that." Graves continued. "The ship ended up running aground, more tests were conducted, and the vessel is believed to be SCP-455, the 'cargo ship,' so access to it is being closed off as we speak, and containment measures are in place."

"So, another known object then?" Natasha asked.

"That's correct. It's a known Euclid class object." Graves said while nodding.

"So an object where we don't know everything, or it has a risk of a containment breach, though given it's a beached ship, I say we don't know much about it. Which is likely due to those entering into the hull not coming back out."

Natasha gave her bid at a theory about the nature of the object and its classification. She must have been spot on, given the look Graves gave her.

Graves offered a small, appreciative smile that briefly disrupted his usual stoic demeanor. "Exactly," he confirmed. "SCP-455 is not fully understood. The ship has a labyrinthine interior that seems to change upon each entry, making it impossible to map or predict. Previous missions have reported disorienting effects, hallucinations, and worse. The full extent of its capabilities remains undocumented because no exploration team has successfully returned intact."

Natasha processed this information, her mind racing through possible scenarios. The notion of a spatially anomalous structure was daunting but also intriguing. "So what's our angle on this, then? If it's so dangerous, why are we going in?"

"We're not going in, not into the ship itself," Graves clarified as the jet started its landing procedure. "We will mostly just be watching from the outside, check the progress of the containment, and declare the object to be contained if the containment lives up to the requirements." 

"Natasha nodded, knowing that this was just a test for her, and that if it weren't because they wanted to test her, there would not even be a need for someone like her or Graves here. Not that she was able to relax though, since he had to ensure she didn't mess up her test.

As the jet landed and they were let out, Natasha could taste the sea on her tongue before the engines turned off, and she could also hear the sea. She wasn't entirely sure where in the world they were, though she guessed it was someone in South America.

 As Natasha stepped off the jet, she adjusted her equipment and followed Graves towards a makeshift command center set up a safe distance from the coastline where SCP-455 was grounded. The air was salty, carrying the relentless roar of the ocean.

Graves pointed toward the shadow of the large, derelict cargo ship. Its rusting structure was just visible through the mist that seemed to cling persistently around it, giving the ship an almost spectral appearance. "The containment zone is under constant surveillance," he explained as they approached the bustling hub of activity where other Foundation agents were busy still working on construction.

Natasha looked closely at everything, careful not to miss anything. Aware that anything could be part of her test.

"Romanoff, you have been given permission to view the file contation to this object." Graves said as they entered into what seemed like the makeshift command center for this place and handed her a tablet.

Natasha accepted the tablet, her fingers brushing against the cool surface as she activated the screen. The detailed file on SCP-455 loaded, revealing an array of information including incident logs, previous exploration attempts, and the theoretical analyses of its anomalous properties. She scanned the contents quickly but thoroughly, absorbing the complex data that the Foundation had gathered on the cargo ship.

As she read, Natasha's mind raced to pick up as much information as possible while looking for what was the important information she would be tested on.

Graves watched her silently for a moment before speaking. "It's a challenging object. Every entry attempt gives us new data but often raises more questions than answers. Yet, every attempt is paid for with lives."

Natasha knew that was a clue and quickly looked for information about the expeditions into the object.

"The question is, why do we keep trying to send people in and find out the secrets of this object?" Graves continued and finally revealed the secrets of this text.

Natasha looked up from the tablet, her gaze piercing as she considered Graves' question. She understood the importance of her answer. "The fear of the unknown." She answered.

"The Foundation works with the unknown all the time, which is why we know why it should be feared. There could be anything inside that ship, and there could be nothing at all. The reason why it's necessary to continue to send people in is to confirm whether or not there is something dangerous in there and to prepare in case there is."

Graves nodded thoughtfully at Natasha's response, his expression acknowledging the depth of her understanding. "Precisely," he said. "The unknown is both a threat and an opportunity. If there is a threat, understanding it allows us to mitigate it. If there's knowledge to be gained, it can potentially be used to our advantage. Every piece of information we gather builds our capability to deal with other anomalies."

"You seem to understand why we do as we do when it comes to this object. Continue reading the file and then inspect the containment so far, and let me know if you think we can declare it contained." Graves continued.

Natasha gave him a firm nod. As she felt the weight of responsibility on her shoulders. This was no doubt the real test here. They might even have introduced some mistakes in their procedure here just to see if she caught them doing her inspection.

A/N

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