Reality in Motion

marina

Before SHIELD, it was just him and his computers in his bedroom. Spending his days taking down shady corporations and hedge funds, Dawson was anything but a modern day Robin Hood. All he was trying to do was fill his own bank account through directly stealing funds or taking information and selling it to a third party - watching others crash and burn was an added bonus. Thinking of what he did almost like a video game, he kept trying to reach new levels. Which meant treading in dangerous waters whenever he attacked networks belonging to different governments around the world. Of course, that's what landed him in SHIELD's hands, but that was beside the point.

Before Q, there was Marina. Known as Override, she was Dawson's biggest competition in the world he played in. Always trying to be one step ahead of him, their relationship began when he found that she had hit a certain company's network before he had - draining them of the money and information he so desperately wanted. Focusing all of his energy on finding her became a personal vendetta for him. Never before had someone been able to slip past him and get ahead at the same time. And he had to admit, she was hard to track down. Smart and knowing how to keep her tracks covered, she managed to evade him for a few days before he found her. Promptly stealing back what wasn't his to begin with started an all out digital war between them. Thus a beautiful frenemy-ship was born.

Over the years that passed, they became as close as two could from opposite sides of the world. Mostly out of spite, partly because they both lived by the code of keeping enemies closer than friends. Always trying to outsmart the other and get ahead, taking down certain domestic and international networks faster than the other and upping the stakes at every possible moment, it became a game between the two hackers to keep things interesting. Keystroke patterns were recognized, dummy IP addresses were familiar and there were always little sardonic messages hidden in whatever code that was left behind that only the other would see.

Besides the unspoken game they played, they would swap stories with each other. Sometimes even giving each other advice when it was unrelated to anything that could be detrimental to the other. No need to know about their weaknesses that could be used against them, right? If it wasn't for the constant one-upping and take-downs, the two could be considered friends in any other world.

But suddenly, Dawson disappeared. There was no sign of him - even when the news broke about Pym Technologies' newest attempt in their effort to spearhead the advancement in fields of nanotechnology, human enhancements, and molecular and atomic studies; just thinking about getting her hands on that information made dollar signs dance in her head so she figured Dawson would be all over it. But he wasn't. There was no sign of his keystroke pattern or any sarcastic messages in leftover code - not even any traps that were set. He had disappeared off the grid. Which worried her; if they got him, it would only be a matter of time until they got her.

Of course, she had tried to find him. Finding things that had mysteriously "disappeared" from the internet was one of her best skills. Nothing was ever really deleted from the internet, no matter how hard people tried to hide it or get rid of it.

Plus, he was an actual person with a social security number and unique fingerprint to match. She had seen his face, knew what he looked like. He existed in the world - Marina just needed to find him.

It proved much harder than she expected it to be. Whatever had happened him, whoever had gotten to him, made sure he was completely untraceable. Not to mention, he had taken precautions even before going cold. Never really venturing outside of his house, but when he did, he paid for things in cash and had made sure security cameras and streetlight cameras were never able to connect him to his information - securing his identity and safety in the world much more than any security company boasted they could. Paranoia colored every one of his actions, but it was still a smart move. Yet also a terrible one for someone who was actively trying to find him to make sure he was still alive.