Chapter 84 - Part 5

  Arc 7 - Ch 1: Opening M

  Date: Monday, August 29, 2011.

  Location: SHIELD Facility, Times Square, Manhattan, New York

  Steve Rogers stepped baside the building. Logan was at his side, ready to help the man out of time adjust to this strange new world. Rogers' blue eyes were clouded with uainty as he still struggled to accept the reality that everyone and everything he had onown was gone. As the two men receded into the building, Director Nick Fury turned his sole eye on Tyson.

  "So, you want to apply for the position of Captain America?" He asked, a hint of wry skepticism fv his words. "What are you pnning to do with the shield? You've already got an unbreakable skeleton and a healing factor."

  "Yeah, but that shield is pretty damn cool," he replied easily. "And wouldn't it be dope to have a bck Captain America?"

  Fury snorted, shaking his head. "Maybe one day, kid."

  Tyson chuckled in response, but as the ughter faded, his expression shifted, growing serious. A shadow fell across his features, and when he spoke again, his voice was low and urgent.

  "I've got a serious problem, Director."

  Fury's eye focused ily on the young mutant standing before him. Tyson had been with SHIELD for months now and had very rarely asked anything of the Director. Clearly, the kid had built up enough credit to e to Fury for a favor, and Fury could tell by the set of Tyson's jaw that it was important.

  "Talk to me," Fury ahough his tone remained open, ready to listen.

  "Mago, the leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants, is ing for me agaiargeted me previously before you found me. I have reason to believe he intends to try capturing me once more."

  Fury's expression hardeactical sarios were already running through his mind. "What are we up against?"

  Tyson shook his head. "Nothing even your best could withstand. At a minimum, a metal maniputor, a shapeshifter, a super soldier, a pyrokiid likely a speedster and telekiic as well."

  Fury whistled low in appreciation. "He's pulling out the big guns."

  "His pn is simple," Tyson said tightly. "Take me, use me in a mae to forcibly mutate every human in a city."

  Fury's eye widened in surprise before narrowing in thought. "If you know all this, I'm guessing you have a terpn."

  "I do. But if I fail and he captures me..." He trailed off, his voice heavy with implication. "Mutant hatred rises. And you've got a new city full of unwilling verted mutants."

  Fury's eye narrowed, his voice l to match the gravity of the situation. "What are you proposing?"

  "I have a pn to fight Mago, but I need a tingency." He paused, sidering his words carefully. "Do you have a tracker you i into me? Something you home in on if I'm captured?"

  Fury's tactical mind raced through the possibilities, calg risks. "Or we could relocate you," he suggested carefully, keeping his tone measured. "Get you out of the city, maybe out of the try."

  But Tyson was already shaking his head. "It'll just dey the iable," he insisted. "It's been a year, and he hasn't stopped hunting me. He'll keep ing."

  With a resigned sigh, Fury nodded, rubbing at his temples. "Alright. A subdermal tracker. We do that." He pulled out a tablet, fiapping swiftly over the s. "Anything else?"

  "If I 't stop him, use the tracker." he said finally, voice low and grave, "instead of letting him turn a city into mutants... bomb wherever I am. Kill us both. Maybe my healing factor will let me survive."

  "You're askio kill you," he said slowly.

  Tyson nodded, his face set in hard, grim lines. Determination shone in his eyes, though his jaw was tight with tension. "If it es to that, it might be the only way to stop him," he said solemnly.

  Providing a subdermal tracker was ohing, but having a powerful bomb taining allic elements? That would take some doing. But he knew his team to the task. "We'll make it happen," Fury said, "But Tyson, I need you to uand the gravity of what you're asking here. If we do this, if we pnt that tracker in you, and it es down to it out there, we won't hesitate. We'll take the shot without a sed thought."

  Tyson swallowed hard. He knew with cold certainty that Mago was ing for him. Unless Mago had improved his mae, he would not only for ey's popution into mutants but also kill every man, woman, and child in that city.

  "I uand," Tyson said finally, "It's a risk I'm willing to take. Plus, there's a fair shot that with my healing, I'll survive"

  Fury studied him for a long moment before replying. "We'll do everything in our power to make sure it doesn't e to that," he said solemnly, "But if it does... we'll be ready." Relief flickered across Tyson's features, and the tight set of his shoulders rexed ever so slightly. Fury held up a hand, cutting off his words. "It's what we do," he said simply, "We make the hard choices, the ones no one else or will make. It's our duty."

  Tyson's expression was somber. "There's one more thing," he said, his voice hesitant.

  Fury curiously asked, "What is it?"

  When Tyson spoke, his voice was tentative, almost apologetic. "I know this might not be possible. But I o ask… I know she's undercover, but would it be possible to talk with Nat?"

  Fury's expression softened infinitesimally as he uood. "Agent Romanoff's deep undercover," he rumbled, his tone low and grave. "It's not easy to get in touch with her without promising her mission."

  Tyson's shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly. "I uand," he said heavily, disappoi dragging at his words. "I just... I wao talk to her o time. In case..." He trailed off, uo voice the thought aloud. But Fury uood all too well, better than most.

  Fury's smile transformed his normally intimidating tenance. "You speak Russian... right?" he asked in a tohat was almost pyful.

  — Rogue Redemption —

  Natasha sat alone in the fading afternoon light of her spartan Moscoartment. Shadows stretched across the single small bedroom as the sun sank below the horizon. She had lived in this nondescript Soviet-era apartment building for months now, embedded covertly on a mission for SHIELD. The living space tained only the bare essentials. A tiny kitette occupied one er, furnished with a miniature refrigerator and dated two-burove. The bedroom had a lowin bed pushed against one wall and a single wooden dresser on the opposite side. The only decor was a small potted ping on the windowsill, a spsh of green iherwise colorless studio.

  Natasha had just returned from a long day of surveilnce. She had showered and put on simple bck leggings and a tank top, tying her fiery red hair in a messy bun to keep it from getti.

  Suddenly, her cell ph, shrill in the silence. Frowning, Natasha did nhe number on the s. She hesitated briefly before answering, her voice cautious. "Hello?"

  The voice responding in Russian was unmistakable.

  It was Tyson.

  Warmth blossomed in her chest at the sound.

  "Are you alone?" he asked. "The line is secure."

  "I'm alone," she firmed, her chest tightening with foreboding. Gripping the tertop edge, her knuckles bnched white. "I wasn't expeg to hear from you. How are you doing?" She asked non-specifically. There were bugs in her apartment. Nothing sophisticated enough to pick up Tyson's end of the versation, but if she said too much, she'd blow her cover.

  Tyson's sigh came through the speaker, den with weariness. "It's not looking good," he said. "Mago is ing for me. Felicia was repced by the shapeshifter Mystique. I don't know where the real Felicia is now. I think Mago will attack tonight."

  Frowning, Natasha tightened her grip on the tertop until the solid stone sb creaked under her fingers. "If I leave now..."

  But before she fihe thought, Tyson interrupted, "No. You know the deal. We stick to the pn. I've been preparing for this."

  A heavy siletled over the line, filled with words left unsaid. Natasha felt a lump form ihroat as a sudden swell of emotion threateo overwhelm her posure.

  After a moment, Tyson softened his voice. "I just wao talk to you, to hear your voice, in case..." He trailed off, but Natasha uood the implication.

  In case he didn't make it through the night.

  Natasha's eyes stung with uears. "There's so much I want to say, but…" she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. She wished she could tell him so many things, but she held back, keenly aware of the listening devices likely hidden throughout her apartment.

  "Who knows who might be listening in your apartment," Tyson finished for her, uanding.

  "Yeah," Natasha replied.

  "Then I'll do all the talking," he said. "I miss you. The suite feels more like a home than ever now. Jubilee and Jean are living there with me. I missed my first css this m because of... something I'm sure you'll hear about soon if you haven't already."

  A loear slid down Natasha's cheek as she listeo Tyson ramble on. She wished she could see his fad read the emotions in his eyes, but for now, his voice would have to be enough.

  "Speaking of Jubilee," Tyson tinued, "things went well between us. I took your advice, aalked things out. She still calls you my hot teacher." He paused, and Natasha could hear the amusement in his voice. "But graduation night took a turn for the weird. I found someoo teach me magid Jubilee's a vampire now. And I trapped a demon god's spirit inside my ented dagger... don't ask."

  Natasha had to stifle a ugh. Trust Tyson to get caught up in such a mess. His rambling words betrayed his nerves despite the lighthearted tone. She blinked back the tears that threateo spill, fog instead on the ce of his voice.

  "Oh yeah, vampires are real," he went on rapidly. "There's a vampire hunter named Bde. Bck guy, ft top haircut, wears sungsses and lots of leather. You'd probably get along. He's in Moscow hunting them right now. If you e across him, drop my name." he paused for a sed to sider before requesting, "And if you see anyone really pale, with no hair, whose mouth opens wider than it should… Run. Don't try to fight them. I 't expin. Just trust me."

  "I do," Natasha replied instantly, fiercely. "And I will." She trusted him with her life.

  Tyson said with finality, "I love you."

  Natasha felt a sudden rush of warmth spreading through her chest at Tyson's heartfelt words. She refused to let her voice crack as she answered.

  "I know."

  Tyson snorted in amusement. "Okay, Han. I see how it is."

  "I 't believe I slept with that big of a nerd," he said, throwing Natasha's own lighthearted words back at her.

  And then the li dead.

  Natasha stood there for a long moment, the phoill pressing to her ear. A sense of emptiness and loss threateo overwhelm her. She had grown to care for this maheir time together, and now he was gone, maybe forever. Squeezing her eyes shut against the pain, she slowly lowered the phone from her ear. Her hand tightened on the tertop until the unyielding stone cracked and crumbled into ks under her strength. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she straightened her shoulders and hardened her resolve. She would carry on as she always had. Her duty came before her personal feelings, no matter the cost. Her life was defined by secred fraught with dahough the work isoted her from the st few she held dear, it remained her calling.

  She and Tyson had agreed that she o stay on her path.

  So she would tinue walking it, even if it led to the future he told her about. Though now her death from falling off a cliff seemed… ughably impossible. But if it came to that, she would let it happen.

  With that silent vow, Natasha straightened her posture. Out there, she kyson had his own battle to fight. She would do whatever was necessary to safeguard the world. Her itment to their cause was absolute.

  Tyson's face grew somber as he hahe cell phone back to Fury. A thick swell of emotion stricted his voice as he said, "Thank you for that, sir. It meant a lot to speak with her, just in case..." He trailed off, the unspoken words hanging heavily between them. Fury gave a curt nod.

  Deputy Direaria Hill stepped forward briskly, holding a device resembling a high-tech tattoo gun. "Hold out your arm," she instructed.

  Tyson plied, rolling up his sleeve to expose his forearm. He barely flinched as the needle pierced his skin, iing a tiny subdermal transmitter just beh the surface.

  "You'll feel a slight pinch," Hill warned, a moment too te.

  As she worked, Fury expined, "It's a microtransmitter. If you're captured and taken somewhere, we'll know about it. We'll monitor your progress over the several days."

  "Uood, sir."

  Tyson watched with resignation as a small, metallic shape wriggled uhe skin of his forearm. With a wet popping sound, the subdermal transmitter ejected itself from his flesh.

  "Healing factor," he expined simply, plug the micro transmitter from where it had fallen. "Thought that might happen. My body treats anything fn like an iion, pushing it back out. But if I swallow it..." He popped the tiny meism into his mouth with a grimace. It tasted of metal and salt. "It'll have to pass through my whole digestive tract. It should still transmit for the wenty-four hours before it... passes."

  Deputy Direaria Hill arched an eyebrow. "That's not how those devices are meant to be utilized," she ented dryly, too te.

  Tyson shrugged. The transmitter would serve its purpose for the night.

  Fury studied the young mutant with something akin to respect. "Agent Mirage," he said, the ame rolling off his toh a hint of amusement. "Seems you always find yourself chest-deep in weird shit."

  "It's my specialty, sir," Tyson replied, a touch of humhtening his tone.

  With a final nod to the Directors, he walked to Maki, aiting faithfully at the curb ihe idling bck sedan.

  Tyson slid into the backseat, glimpsing the time as Maki pulled smoothly out into the bustling traffic. There was just enough time to make his introductory biology css before lunch. The SHIELD building in Times Square wasn't far from Empire State Uy's main campus, which was clustered he Empire State Building itself. The lecture hall was in a stately old building on 31st Street, mere blocks from the t city ndmark.

  As they wove between honking taxis and jaywalkirians, Tyso a leaden sense of trepidatiole in his gut. Mago was ing for him. He had his pns and his tingency set. The show wouldn't be until this evening, and if he returo House of M now, it gave a rger window for the Brotherhood to attack.

  He'd attend at least one css today. He pulled out his phone aed Jubilee and Jean a location for lunch.

  For now, at least, he would live his life.

  Behind the Ses

  At the beginning of Arc 6, it was hihat Natasha was bitten by the same spider as Peter Parker. Several months ago, there owerup poll for Natasha oreon, so if you voted in that, it's no surprise. There were a few clues in Chapter 70, but they werely subtle.

  Natasha took off Gwen's belt, ing it arouhigh. She had a ceration on her leg that still oozed slowly. She pulled the belt tight, using it as a makeshift tour. Her hands stilled wen's limp form as a sharp stied ohigh. Brow furrowing, she gnced down, expeg to see a gash marring her skin or a shard of gss protruding from her leg. But there was nothing. She brushed her fingers over the spot, probing for an unseen wound, but felt only a slight bump, no tacky wetness of blood or slice of pain.

  Tyson's senses picked up on the subtle ges in Natasha's demeanor as they sat in pensive silence. A thin sheen glistened on her brow, and her fair skin had taken a pale pallor that drew his attentive eye. "You okay?" he asked, uo keep the from his voiatasha brushed aside his worry with a flippa. "Yeah, I'm just tired. I was hoping someone would've put me to bed by now," she quipped

  - The "I 't believe I slept with that big of a nerd" line was first exged between Tyson and Nat during Arc 5. It was the first time he hi his true feelings for her.

  "Well then, I'm off," he said breezily. "I'll see you when I see you." With a plex series of hand signs, Tyson swiftly transformed into a murder of crows that took flight, bursting through the open baly doors in a flurry of bck wings. Natasha watched as the flock dispersed into the m sky. She couldn't help but mumble to herself, "I 't believe I slept with that big of a nerd." Her ent was both affeate and mog. But then, suddenly, she felt the cold touch of a kunai against her ned a whisper in her ear, "I heard that." Natasha froze, caught off guard by the ued ambush. She hadn't heard, seen, or felt anyone else in the suite, but knew immediately it was Tyson. Tyson's voice yful as his whisper tickled her ear, "Sure you don't want to go a few rounds before I leave?" The question was both a challenge and an invitation, delivered with a dangerous flirtation that stirred a hint of desire within Natasha. Rec from her surprise, she replied, "Get going you goof." Tyson backed away, sheathing the kunai with a flourish. "It was worth a shot. Gone for real this time." he decred. "Miss you already, love you!" The sed illusion of Tyson called out as it dispersed into another flock of crows that took to the skies.

  - Tyson's versation with Fury about a bck Captain America is a bit meta. Speaking of which, I never specifically expined how much metaknowledge Tyson had. In my stories, I try to restrict Tyson's metaknowledge to what I knew before aches or research I do. The cutoff for the Rogue story is when I started writing. August 2022. So Tyson knows the events through most of Phase 4, excluding the stuff that hadn't e out yet, or that I didn't wattil ter.

  Known Movies: Shang-Chi, Eternals, No Way Home, Dr Strange 2, and Thor Love and Thunder.

  Known Series: WandaVision, Fal and Winter Soldier, Loki, What If S1.

  Unknown: Bck Panther 2, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, and everything Phase 5 and ter.

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