102 CHAPTER 102 - A PLAY OF HANDS
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While the entire world woke up to a pleasant uproar with the announcement of a medical breakthrough brought about by a geneticist named Dr. Sarah Kinney who perfected the cure for stage 3 cancer and 70% chance of curing a stage 4 cancer growth, Vision was putting another plan in motion after releasing Magneto back into the world.
"You sure that's a good idea? Society is better off with him being locked behind bars." Tony said after being told of Vision's intended actions.
"That's if he shows himself as a terrorist." Vision said.
They were in Tony's building alongside Pietro and Peter after Tony just gave a speech addressing the latest discovery.
Tony looked at Vision and voiced out the expression on his face. "You really believe that?"
"The math says he won't go back to terrorism."
"Humans aren't composed of 0s and 1s, Vision. We are all sorts of special when it comes to breaking down written rules and natural conventions."
Tony freely gave his reasons why he preferred Magneto in a mutant dampening cell regardless of him being Pietro's and Wanda's biological father. "Why do you even want him out in the first place?"
"Magneto as an allied force is highly beneficial to have regardless of what front you look at it from. I need him in a position of tangible power since he'll be able to do more for mutants that way."
Tony was privy to what Vision needed Magneto for and while he was against the person used for it, he wasn't against the cause. "Say, what if he goes back to being a terrorist?" But he just had to ask.
Vision simply answered calmly. "Then he goes back to his cell. You need to give people freedom to let them do what they want. I know what he wants, and I'm giving him that freedom to do so."
In the other room, Pietro was going through some of the gadgets Tony had lying around while Peter was geeking out as he saw all the technological marvel Tony had in his workspace.
"This place is so stoked. Is that an ARI-energy compressor?" He wondered as he saw something that should have been the size of a vending machine in a compatible size of a football.
"Can you keep it down for a minute, kid?" Pietro asked as he scrolled through an interface with the assistance of FRIDAY to find a good gadget he could add to his suit.
"I'm sorry." Peter hastily apologized and his eyes widened as he saw what Pietro was doing. He silently scooted over and watched Pietro going through cosmetic changes.
"Yes?"
"Oh, uh, it's just that I think that the dark blue theme with the silver blue for the motif looks better." He hurriedly answered. He was in a room together with a superhero, with two other superheroes a few feet away from them.
Nothing could top this!
"You think? I wanted to check out another change, maybe red with a smaller lighting motif or black with golden aesthetics." Pietro looked at the four alternate choices he made and true to Peter's words, his normal color scheme was the best.
"Peter, right?" The boy nodded. "I heard you got bit by a radioactive spider. How does it feel living as a human spider?"
"Well, I don't go around laying eggs and making nests of webs so other than being a superhuman, I'd say it's pretty normal." Peter said.
Pietro was a little disappointed by the answer, having expected something like an damp underground base with gigantic webs spun across it and an army of the little creepy crawlers walking around.
"How does it feel being an Avenger?" Peter asked curiously.
"Normal, I guess. Although a little bit special, it's not that much different from everybody else. It's just that I can switch between being Pietro and Quicksilver at the drop of a hat. It's just the same way you switch between nerdy Peter and Spider-Man whenever you want."
"I see."
"You got nothing to worry about, Pete. You're just 14 and you are a bona-fide superhero. No one in the Avengers can brag about that… oh, I think Laura got you beat there." Pietro said before remembering the 13 years old girl he considered his little sister.
"I see, thanks." Peter accepted Pietro's encouragement with swell. "And I just recently turned 15."
"Pietro, we have a situation." Vision's voice came in through the speakers in the room and when Peter turned, all he saw was a blur and a spinning chair.
He walked to the other room where Tony, Pietro and Vision were. He had gotten over whatever he felt towards Vision a while back after accepting the fact that even though it wasn't something he'd do, the other members of the Avengers weren't the sort to hold back on the trigger when it needed to be fired, even if it was to kill someone. Tony Stark, his idol, included.
"So this uber strong guy has a bunch of clones of himself and experiments on mutants? Why can't bad guys find something else to do other than experiments and a boner for world domination?" Was Pietro's genuinely curious question after Vision gave him an update of their next target. Some Nathaniel Essex guy.
"Beats me. Even with my vast library of information, I still can't give you a concrete and better sounding answer." Vision said before turning to Peter who just entered the room.
He gave Peter a contemplating look and turned to Tony who shook his head. "You can't just take him out to the field like that, Vision. Let him stick to criminals with guns and the few rotations of super powered bad guys he gets once in a while." He said, not wanting Vision to bring a 14 year old boy, recently turned 15, to fight Essex.
Peter, though he felt a little bit conflicted, said nothing and let the adults make their decision. Even if he was a hero in his part of the city, Tony and Vision, especially Tony, was responsible for his well being when it comes to being an Avenger.
"I just want to see how he fights and reacts when surrounded by danger. You deliberately forget he could wipe the floor with Cap, Sam and Natasha not too long ago. Maybe he still can, and besides I'll be there."
There was actually nothing Tony could do if Peter wanted to go and like Vision said, the kid was already a capable hero on his own. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't go because he needed to be here for a couple more presses since he was the face of Stark Industries and the Expo.
"Hey Natasha, you busy? Yeah, I just got a ping of Essex's real body. Oh? What of Steve and Sam? Okay, no worries." Vision made a quick call to the Overwatch and got Natasha and Davis to tag along.
The both of them were beamed to Tony's building where they joined Vision, along with Peter and Pietro, before Vision beamed them to Essex's hideout.
°°°°°°°°
[The Hellfire Club]
Selene sat alone at a round table as she sipped from her glass of red exotic wine, slowly savoring the taste and mulling over her clash with Alexander Simons, aka Vision.
The sound of footsteps disrupted her immersive thoughts but she ignored the person's presence and continued in her thoughts until the person broke the silence.
"I didn't think you'd leave a member of the Avengers alive, even after he attacked you."
She chuckled and then turned to look at Sebastian Shaw with a lopsided smile that didn't relate anything positive. "You are nowhere old enough to spin your words over me, Shaw."
Shaw only smiled lightly, not showing any other expression despite being called out. "Nothing of such nature. I'm just curious why you left him alive when you could have taken the chance to deal a hard strike by killing two of their stronger members." He fluently lied through his teeth, not caring in the slightest that the woman in front of him could likely read him like a book.
Manipulation was something that had melded with every fiber of his being so expecting something different from him was a very foolish thought as far as he was concerned.
"Hmm~", She swirled the glass in her hand and brought it to her lips but didn't take a sip, only staring at the bloody contents inside it. "The Avengers aren't as weak as you think, and not so easily controlled either. As for why I refrained from killing him, other than spoiling my plans, I knew he could escape either way and I'm not about to charge crazily at him for his head after just meeting him."
Even though he didn't like her answer one bit, he didn't let it show on his face and nodded in understanding.
"So how do you want to go about dealing with the Avengers?" He probed once again.
"There is a reason why patience is a virtue possessed by those morally good and bad alike, Sebastian Shaw." She said with the same unnerving smile on her face.
"Well, it was a nice chat but I'm afraid I'll have to cut it short for an engagement that I can't miss. Have a good day, Selene." He said as he got up, then left.
No matter how many times he's been subjected to it, the way it felt as if she could dissect him and see through all his facades unsettled him greatly, much more than he was comfortable accepting.
