The Wrong God [Book 2] *Completed*

Seven

Fury visits me the next day and tries to interrogate the information out of me, but I can't give it to him as easily as that.

It appears he still hasn't figured that the 'warm light for all mankind to share' I referenced was Stark Tower, the home of the arc reactor - an energy source so powerful it is almost an Infinity stone in itself. I can only hope someone with greater intellect such as Stark himself will figure it out before Barton is scheduled to unleash the Hulk and free me.

The longer I stay in this tank, the more impatient I get. These heroes seem to have taken for granted whatever Thor has told them of me, so none of them have felt it worth their while to question me themselves, which I find disappointing. If they were only to make the effort to come down, I would make the effort to tell them my plan.

It is not until the second day that someone appears. As I pace around inside my cell, I hardly hear her come up behind me. But then, that is what she was trained to do. I had hoped it would her who would come, for her to question me in the manipulative way she is infamous for, it will not be so hard to tell her the truth.

"There's not many people that can sneak up on me," I say, turning to look at her.

"But you figured I'd come," she replies.

"After," I agree. "After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend, as a balm. And I would cooperate."

There, I have just informed her of my intention to answer any and all of her questions. But she seems oblivious.

"I wanna know what you've done to Agent Barton."

"I'd say I've expanded his mind." That is not untrue. The stone has a different effect on each it touches. The mind stone can be used to control, but most effectively it can be used to unlock a new level of understanding.

"And once you've won? Once you're king of the mountain. What happens to his mind?"

It will snap back to how it was before. But I can sense something in her concern for the man. "Is this love, Agent Romanoff?"

"Love is for children. I owe him a debt."

Admiration then. Doubtless she knows he has a wife and children. I sit down on the bench seat at the back of my cell, and gesture for her to continue. "Tell me."

She takes a seat on the chair outside the cell and begins. "Before I worked for SHIELD, I uh...well, I made a name for myself. I have a very specific skillset. I didn't care who I used it for, or on. I got on SHIELD's radar in a bad way. Agent Barton was sent to kill me, he made a different call."

I know this story already. The Black Widow trained to kill since before she could walk. "And what will you do if I vow to spare him?"

"Not let you out."

I laugh. In a way, she will. She will run back to Fury and tell him my plan, the scepter they are studying so thoroughly will work to boost their anger until Banner is at breaking point, then Barton will arrive and attempt to blow the base up, unleashing the Hulk. In the chaos, Barton will become free from my hold, and I can escape.

"Ah, no," I say. "But I like this. Your world in the balance, and you bargain for one man?"

"Regimes fall every day. I tend not to weep over that, I'm Russian ... or was."

"What is it you want?"

"It's really not that complicated," she replies. "I've got red in my ledger, I'd like to wipe it out."

"Can you?" I ask, intrigued. "Can you wipe out that much red?" Is it possible that I will ever be able to recompense for the suffering I've caused under Thanos? "Drakov's daughter? São Paulo? The hospital fire? Barton told me everything." That part isn't true. I did my research before coming here, working out the chess pieces that will win me this war. "Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything?" I stand, the anger and impatience which has been building up over the last few days as everyone ignores my hints gets the better of me. "This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer - PATHETIC! You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are a part of you, and they will never go away!" I slam my hand against the glass wall, and Agent Romanoff flinches. "I won't touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you! Slowly. Intimately. In every way he knows you fear! And when he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I'll split his skull! This is my bargain, you mewling quim!"

Romanoff turns and walks away. "You're a monster," she says quietly.

Here we go. I let out a laugh of joy. "No, you brought the monster."

She turns back, composed. "So, Banner... that's your play."

"What?" I say, slightly taken aback at how quickly she grasped that. Oh, she's good. I like her. At last the wheels are in motion.

She spins back around, speaking to the others on her earpiece as she walks towards the exit. "Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way. Send Thor as well." I smile in satisfaction. All of our heroes in the lab with the scepter? I couldn't have asked for anything better. She turns back to me before exiting. "Thank you for your cooperation."

No, thank you.