Book One of the Shadows Series: Shadow of Redemption

Adjustments and Aftermath

The Avengers' briefing room was bathed in the soft blue glow of holographic projections. Sam, Clint, and Bucky stood at the head of the table, a palpable tension in the air as the rest of the team gathered around. Yelena, Sera, Peter Parker, Kamala Khan, and Kate Bishop took their seats, their faces set with a mix of determination and apprehension. At the other end of the room, Stephen Strange, Shuri, and Bruce Banner (who had just got there and was updating on Sera) were hunched over a series of monitors, deep in the process of decrypting the hard drive they'd recovered.

Sam cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. "Alright, everyone, listen up. We've been working around the clock to piece together what we can about HYDRA's Shadow Operatives program and have started looking into any other things that they could be up to. We have managed to gather some intel, but it's still pretty fragmented."

Clint stepped forward, tapping a few buttons on the holographic projector. Images of documents, photos, and blueprints flickered to life. "From what we can tell, HYDRA had multiple projects running under the Shadow Operatives umbrella. Seraphina was part of one of their most insidious experiments, aimed at creating child agents with powers and who have great potential."

Bucky's jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing. "What exactly did they do to her?" Sam exchanged a grim look with Clint before continuing. "HYDRA used the Mind Stone to manipulate and enhance Sera's brain. But, they detected her powers when she was only two after her father brought the Stone to their house. When she was four, her parents handed her and her little sister, Evangaline, over to HYDRA to test them. The Mind Stone gave Sera the ability to mimic other people's powers, making her potentially one of the most dangerous operatives they had."

Sera shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her gaze fixed on the floor. She tensed when she heard her sister's name. Peter leaned forward, his brow furrowed. "So, she can just... copy anyone's abilities?"

"Yes," Clint replied. "But it's more than that. She doesn't just copy them; she can surpass them. It's like she's a mirror, but a better version of whatever she's reflecting."

A murmur ran through the room as the gravity of the situation sank in. At the monitors, Strange and Shuri had taken a break, allowing Banner's fresh set of eyes to continue their work, his fingers flying over the keyboards.

"Hey guys, any luck with the hard drive?" Sam called out. Shuri looked up, her eyes gleaming with excitement and concern. "We've managed to decrypt a significant portion of it. It seems that the video the three saw at first was like a passcode of some sort. It's doing this really annoying thing where whenever we try to pull something up, it tries to block us. But we're getting past it. There are files here detailing the extent of HYDRA's experiments on the children they used. It's...terrifying," she said the last part with a quiver in her voice. Sera tried to block some of it out. She still had some time before 9. She felt like every second had to be cherished before that time.

Strange nodded, his expression serious. "They didn't just give her powers; they rewired her brain. Altered her memories, implanted false ones. They made her believe things that weren't true to control her." Sera's breath caught in her throat and she kept hearing Adelstein's words on repeat.

Shuri glanced at Strange before answering. "For one, they made her believe the Avengers killed her family when her parents actually gave them to HYDRA, as we know now. But there are likely other manipulations we haven't uncovered yet." A silence fell over the room, heavy with the weight of this revelation. Bucky's fists clenched at his sides. "So, everything she knows, everything she remembers... it's all a lie?"

"Not everything," Strange said gently. "But enough to make her doubt what's real and what's not." Sera felt a wave of nausea wash over her. The room seemed to spin, and she gripped the edge of the table to steady herself. "So, what now?" she whispered. "We keep digging," Sam said firmly. "We find out everything we can about HYDRA's experiments and figure out how to undo the damage they've done. In the meantime, we train, we prepare, and we stay vigilant."