Chapter 15 – A Claw's End

[A/N: A few of you have asked me about when the action starts in this story and the slice of life is reduced a bit. Well, just let me say that the pace of my stories is something I decide with my gut and I don't like being rushed. Still, I get that this is a MCU FF and you want someone get his a*ss handed to himself by the MC, so here is an unscheduled chapter, where you get exactly that...

Also, a reminder for any other story I might write, please don't try and rush me, as that leaves a bad taste in my mouth and I get very annoyed by it. Accordingly my replies to such comments won't be nice at all.

Anyway... Like always, enjoy the story!]

[2011 – January]

After docking our vessel at Durban and bribing the security to take extra good care of the ship, we rented a transporter and drove along the coast for two hours, finally reaching the Salvage Yard.

SILVER had already found Klaue through the net. There was no security system without an AI that could keep her out and even ones with their own AI would have a hard time. I had designed her specifically to infiltrate and breach into every possible databank and the only thing keeping her from reaching her full potential was the hardware available. It was something I already had a plan for, but this would require some time.

We parked the car a bit offside and approached the ship Klaue was located on on foot. When we were only a few dozen meters away from the ship and the guards had already spotted us, I addressed SILVER.

"SILVER cut all communications and access Klaue's accounts. Transfer all his funds to our account. Also see if you can find any type of scientific data or projects in his files. Copy them and delete the originals, leave nothing behind."

"Yes, father.", came her short reply.

"Have you found him Wanda?", I asked, wrapping my arms around her waist and preparing to enter my Superspeed.

"Yes. I will show you.", Wanda answered, sending me mental directions and images.

A moment later, we both vanished in front of the guards eyes, reappearing a moment later in a dimly lit office. I recognized Ulysses Klaue standing up from his chair, his handgun aimed at us. He didn't waste time with any questions and directly pulled the trigger.

Sadly for him that wouldn't work against us. Wanda had already pulled up a telekinetic armor around her at my mental prompt, while I had summoned a dagger from my bracelet.

I cut the first bullet directly in half, along with the gun barrel. The blade of my dagger had a fine glowing blue line at the edge, while my hand also pulsed in a dim blue glow.

This was another characteristic of my 'growing' weapon, as it adapted to my powers. In this case that meant that I could channel the heat and fire generated by Extremis through my weapons, making them incredible sharp. It also functioned like a focus point, where instead of letting my flames spread out, it contained them.

I followed up with a light kick to his chest, feeling a few of his ribs crack as he was hurled back into his chair.

"Who are- cough, ugh... -!?... What do two Enhanced want with me?! Ugh.", Klaue asked grunting in pain. He didn't show his anger at being attacked, nor any fear. I could only see cunning and cruelty shining in his eyes.

I didn't bother answering him, instead I asked SILVER in a calm tone.

"Is it done, SILVER?"

"Yes, father. Your new account balance amounts to 72.743.043 dollar. The files have also been copied and the systems cleared.", SILVER's voice sounded out from Klaue's own computers, while her figure appeared on the screen.

"So you came here to rob me?", Klaue stated, a frosty look on his face, after hearing SILVER's words.

"No, I came here for the Vibranium. Robbing you is just a convenience.", I finally answered him.

The look of shock and realisation crossing his face, showed that he knew exactly what I was talking about. I could hear his men approach rapidly, as could Klaue, but I cut off his hope for help with my next words.

"Can you handle them Wanda?", I asked, not taking my eyes off Klaue.

"I can.", she simply answered, while stepping into the hallway.

Soon, shots were heard along with cries of pain and the unmistakeable sound of violence and death. Of course I could have killed all these guards in a second, but Wanda needed the combat experience. And even though I was worried, I knew that she was more than capable of handling a few dozen normal humans.

She could also call for my help at any time through our mental connection.

"Now, you will show me where you hid the Vibranium.", I stated in a calm tone, not even trying to intimidate the arms dealer with threats or such.

"What if I don't?", he asked back, a dark look on his face, as he could hear his men's screams echoing through the hallway.

"SILVER can you find the Vibranium?", I asked instead of replying to him.

"Calculating... I have found an irregularity in the ship's electrical grid, suggesting a hidden compartment on the starboard side of the ship, near the center of the vessel.", SILVER's replied, reliable as always.

"Well, it seems I don't need you anymore.", I told Klaue.

His eyes widened for a moment and he tried to open his mouth, probably knowing what was going to happen next.

But I didn't want to hear his plea for his life, or whatever else he may have said.

Directly engaging my Speed-Mode, I summoned my spear - the edge glowing in a fiery-blue colour.

A swift swing later and Ulysses Klaue had lost his head – the wound seared shut, not even single drop of blood spilled.

…

As Wanda stepped out of the office and into the hallway to deal with Klaue's men, she knew why her brother wanted her to take care of them, even when he could decimate them in seconds.

It wasn't truly about experiencing battle, well at least not solely. He wanted her to get used to unleashing violence and death on others, so she wouldn't hestitate in a fight in the future.

As she saw the armed men rounding around the corner and heard them shout something at her, she had already employed her barriers to shield herself from their firearms, which began firing at her only a moment later.

Wanda took a deep breath and readied her energy for an offensive strike. And as she did so her brother's words from roughly a year ago rang in her head. It was a few weeks after he had attacked that drugdealer and killed the whole gang. At that time she had asked him out of curiosity and confusion.

…

"Pietro, why did you kill them all? Couldn't you just as easily have knocked them unconcious?"

"You are right, I could have."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because that would have been mercy on my part."

"And that is something bad?"

"Mercy is a privilege of the powerful, Wanda. And I am not powerful."

"You're not powerful?! What kind of power are you speaking about then?"

"Absolute power."

…

She hadn't understood what he meant at that time, not really anyway. But he had explained her that those who grant mercy to their enemies without possessing absolute power, are just inviting disaster for themselves.

He said, that if one didn't have the resolve to end a fight once and for all, than one shouldn't start a fight in the first place. That it would only create a cycle of endless conflict.

And as she found herself facing off against the henchmen of a black market arms dealer – a merchant of death – she finally understood a bit of what he told her so many months ago.

These people enabled war and death around the world by giving weapons to those who paid enough. They didn't care about the innocent lives their weapons would take – about all the families they destroyed. All they cared about was wealth.

Pietro wasn't a saint. He was no hero either. He had killed for wealth himself, and killed again and again when facing off againts the pirates they had encountered. But he would never conciously harm an innocent. He acted with a code, a bottomline.

These people didn't.

"Mercy is a privilege of the powerful.", she whispered to herself, resolve burning in her eyes.

And then she unleashed her deadly force on all those standing in her way.

She didn't bother with knocking them out with a push of telekinetic force, nor burrying them under objects.

Instead she chose a more efficient and lethal method – directly breaking their necks with her telekinesis. And as she walked through the hallways of the vessel, she handled all those standing in her way like that.

Only sparing those, whose minds showed her their innocence: simple workers, who just did this to feed their families. She left them unharmed, just manipulating them to leave and go back home.

The moment she felt no other living soul in the ship besides herself and her brother, she felt the adrenalin in her system wear off slowly. That's is when the shock set in and she started to tremble.

Even knowing, that what she had done had been the right thing to do, she couldn't help it. Taking a life herself for the first time, no matter if was the life of a criminal or not, left her with an awful feeling and made her feel conflicted.

Fortunantely the moment her brother embraced her from behind, before picking her up and speeding back to the car with her, she felt a bit more grounded. His warmth and presence, made her fall into a peaceful sleep. Resting her exhausted mind from the tension of the battle.