Lent Day 10 - Out of Time Marvel Story

This is an original story that does not spin off of any movie or comic in particular. It does owe its existence to themes presented in Avengers: Endgame, What If…, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It would probably be set after Captain America: Winter Soldier but before Avengers: Age of Ultron. 

Chapter One

2014
Dresden, Germany

The small squad advanced towards the sprawling facility on the banks of the Elbe river. Their inflatable Kodiak bobbed silently awaiting their return. In the aftermath of the downfall of S.H.I.E.L.D., most of The Avengers were scouring the globe to unearth and destroy HYDRA bases and facilities. That search had led the squad here. Dresden had once been a proud city that had been burned to the ground during WWII by UK and US bombers. Then it struggled under the iron fist of the Soviet Union - like most of Eastern Europe did. When allowed to rebuild, the city had emerged as a shiny new center of innovation, culture, and industry. Destruction due to the ravages of WWII and rebirth was something that resonated with Steve Rogers. He appreciated the resiliency of the citizens of the city, their determination to birth something new and incredible out of the ashes. He also hated that a cancerous tumor had burrowed itself into Dresden - completely unknown to its residents. The expansive squat building housed a HYDRA warehouse full of armaments and scientific innovations. Its location on the river made transportation easy. On the wall, it claimed to be eisenbeschlagen von deutsch - Iron Clad of Germany. A producer of reliable cookware. However, according the intel received from previous HYDRA raids, the facility was cooking up much more nefarious items.

Rogers led a group of four elite loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers through the shadows in the loading zone at the back of the complex. They had determined that it was best to breach the facility through the rear - the need for the building to be open for loading and unloading necessitated a reduction of security measures. The men reached their targeted loading bay. A figure materialized out of the darkness next to Captain Rogers. The quartet of soldiers tensed and aimed their guns at the newcomer before recognition hit them. 

“Boys, Cap … I scouted the facility. It looks like we have access to their security system through the tablet,” the woman brought a StarkPad up from by her hip. The screen shone with the schematics of the bulky complex. “Whatever trick the boys in tech came up with worked.”

“Thanks, Natasha,” Steve acknowledged the agent by his side. The now sextet continued their deliberate creep towards the gaping loading bay doors. “You really need to stop just popping up like that, you know,” Captain America reminded Romanov in a low voice. “You don’t want to get plugged by one of your own team.”

“Why, Steve,” Black Widow replied with a smirk. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you’re worried about me.”

“I’m worried about my team,” he answered, attempting to remain stoic. The facade finally cracked, though. “But, yes, I do worry about you. You don’t have the same … protections … as some of us. But you still keep putting yourself in the same type of danger.”

The team had entered the facility and were working their way through hallways, observing the signs on doors and hallways. Widow shrugged in response to Steve’s comments, “I’ve survived a lot, Cap. I don’t see myself getting offed by Jimmy back there.”

“That’s kind of cavalier way to see things,” Steve mused. 

“Almost as cavalier as volunteering for an experimental serum,” Natasha countered. 

Steve paused for a moment, taking in the comment. A smile crept onto his lips. “Fair enough.” The group continued to move silently through the complex, consulting the StarkPad as they went - shutting off cameras and alarms in advance of their arrival and then turning them back on after they went by. They soon reached one of their highlighted targets. It had been identified by several HYDRA prisoners as a large storehouse of experimental technology and weapons. The team had been sent to this facility to assess the truth of that assertion.  If it did end up being what had been claimed, they were to retrieve as much data as possible before blowing the storehouse to dust. 

“Let me disable this door alarm,” Natasha commented, going to work on the panel with the instructions on her tablet. The remaining team members kept their eyes peeled for movement in the hallways. 

Several minutes passed, but Romanov was still working on the door. “You gonna get that open any time soon,” Rogers breathed to the woman. 

“It should have already popped,” Natasha answered, frustration slipping into her usually calm demeanor. “I’m trying one more thing.” After a complicated series of movements and keystrokes, the panel blinked from red to green. “Finally…” 

They pulled the door open and all hell broke loose. 

Claxons wailed overhead. Red strobe lights flashed. It felt like the entire complex was having a seizure. “Whathappened?” Steve asked.

“I have no idea,” Natasha bit back. “Maybe they updated their system.” 

“We didn’t come this far to walk out empty handed,” Rogers announced. “Widow, get in there and get as much information as you can out of their system. Then blow it to hell. We’ll go deal with the new arrivals.” Natasha nodded and entered the room before Steve grasped her arm. “Be careful,” he pled. 

“I always am,” Natasha replied with a grin. “Keep in touch,” she said as she tapped her earpiece. Then she ducked into the room. 

The five soldiers evaluated the situation from the hall. They could hear loud footsteps running in the hallway above them. Doors slammed in the distance. It appeared that a force was approaching from all sides. “Well, boys, time to earn our stripes,” Cap announced.  His four squad mates made their weapons ready. Rogers pulled his shield out from its holster on his back and began to run towards the footfalls heading their way. 

Inside of the cavernous room, Natasha Romanov evaluated her situation. The space was jammed full of weaponry, vehicles, and technology - both foreign and familiar. As she maneuvered through the room, she scattered charges at different places. On a jeep in one area. On a weight bearing column in another. In a pile of shiny weapons that looked like some sort of high-tech rifle. She finally reached the center of the room where a nerve center rose up several feet above the rest of the organized chaos. A bank of computers lined desks that faced out into the large space around the platform. Most of the units were dark, but one still glowed in the low light. Widow consulted her StarkPad to find a password to get into the computer. She typed out a string of letters, numbers, and symbols. The computer whirred and blinked to life. She sat on the chair and rolled close against the desk. Reaching into a pouch on her uniform, she pulled out a thick black dongle that she connected to the unit in front of her. It was a flash drive that had been developed by S.H.I.E.L.D. R&D that contained software to dig into a targeted computer system and copy everything - meaning that the agent didn’t have to put themselves in danger to babysit the process. Once Natasha noted that the program was running as intended, she rose from her seat and continued her examination of the massive room. Instead of the vehicles that had been housed on the left side of the facility, the right side featured a wide array of weapons - rockets, high caliber guns, explosives of all sizes. Natasha tossed a few more charges into that area before something caught her eye. 

It was hard to see at first due to its shear size. Situated in front of the platform of computers, a giant metal ring rose up from the floor and reached almost to the ceiling. The diameter of the ring had to be at least twenty feet. The gaping hole in the circle was aligned with the platform. It was easy to miss from at the desk because there was just a huge gaping circle if someone looked towards it. From the side, the metal ring was just a few inches thick. Natasha stepped close to the object and leaned her head back to see to the top. She walked around and through it but couldn’t figure out what it was she was seeing. It just looked like a huge silver ring. She tapped on the metal. It quivered under her touch. Vibranium?, she thought to herself. How did HYDRA get ahold of so much of the precious metal to create something this huge? And what was it for? As the ring approached the floor, there were panels attached to it that seemed to connect to the computers. Her exploration of the item was disrupted by the sound of a battle raging outside of the room. 

Gunfire echoed in the hall outside of the warehouse where she was situated. She tapped on her earpiece. “Uh, Cap? What’s going on?”

“We encountered some guys who weren’t happy with our infiltration, apparently,” the voice crackled back. “They are quite serious about ending our snooping.”

Just then an explosion shook the walls. “Um, so I’ve placed some charges in here. Kind of nervous that those fireworks may trigger them.”

“I’ll pass along your displeasure,” Rogers answered. Natasha grinned and went back to the computers to check on the progress of her device.  “Any idea how much more time you need?”

“It says about five minutes,” Widow answered. 

“Okay, we can hold out that long,” Steve replied. “Just be ready to haul ass once you’re done.”

“Will do,” Natasha nodded to herself. Another explosion shook the facility and some rubble fell from the ceiling.  “I hope these charges hold on that long,” she muttered to herself. 

A strange glow from the direction of the giant ring grabbed Natasha’s attention. “What the…?” She crept back over toward the object. Some of the rubble from the ceiling had fallen onto the ring and the panels near it. They had blinked to life from the impact. Romanov wandered over to them to take a look. She didn’t understand anything that she saw. It looked like a representation of the solar system … or galaxy.  It didn’t match anything that she had learned about space, though. There were multiple sets of orbs and trajectories. The whole map kept moving, bringing new systems into view. The ring had started to hum as the blue glow intensified. “Don’t like that,” she announced to nobody in particular as she turned to walk back to the computers. The timer now was down to two minutes. More explosions shook the facility. She activated her earpiece again. “Are they not aware there only five of you?” 

“I don’t think they got that memo,” Rogers replied. 

“What are they firing at you?” Natasha asked.

“I’m not sure.” Cap answered. “I haven’t asked.” He paused and Natasha could hear his shield whiz and clang. “Theylook like some kind of silver rifle. Some of them have … RPGs I guess.” 

“Yeah, there are a bunch of those in here,” Widow confirmed.

“Super,” Steve said. “Maybe we can borrow some. That data gonna be done soon?” 

“Yeah, less than a minute.” She looked around the room to plan her exit. Once the drive was finished, she would grab it and run to the door at the opposite end from where she entered, grabbing a couple of weapons on the way. She glanced up at the ring, which was now whirring louder. She couldn’t be sure, but the empty space in the middle had a sheen to it now, almost like it was covered by a film of some kind. “Getting a little creeped out here,” she whispered to herself. “Comeon…” She stared at the computer, willing the disk to move faster. It finally flashed that it was ready to eject. She grabbed it and turned to race down the stairs.  Before she could, though. A massive explosion rocked the hallway outside of the room. The wall shook in response. Various tools and weapons fell off the wall and onto the pile on the workstation below, She stared in a mix of amusement and horror as a hammer descended directly onto one of her charges.  “Ahhhh, shit…” There was nothing she could do to avoid the inevitable, so she tried to put something in between her and the impending blast. She clambered up onto the desk top with the intention of jumping down off the platform to the space in between it and the glowing ring. As she leapt down, the concussive blast from her charges ignited the weapons beneath it, which blew her further through the air than she intended. She felt herself fly through the filmy skin in the middle of the ring and then slam into the giant roll-up metal door on the other side. 

Her head spun as she opened her eyes and tried to survey the scene around her.  The platform of desks and computers was decimated. Where there had been a wall leading into the hallway there was now a jagged hole. Both ends of the room seemed intact - for now. Her charges there could blow at any moment, and she didn’t want to be in the room when they went. She pushed herself up to her feet and staggered towards the gashed wall. Dust and smoke made it virtually impossible to see. She activated her Widow’s Bites on her wrists, so she would be ready in case she encountered trouble. She stepped out into the hall. Lights still flashed, and alarms still wailed. She couldn’t hear much over the ringing in her ears, but she surmised that the battle was taking place around the corner from her location. She wobbled and stumbled along the ruined hallway. The goal was to put as much distance between her and the big boom that was coming, while also getting into the vicinity of her team. She had not made it far when the world behind her was ripped apart. Natasha knew there would not be much left of HYDRA’s warehouse of nightmares. Even as the blast flung her down the hall and into a wall, she grinned at the thought. Landing in a heap, she wondered how many bones had been broken and how long she would be sidelined. Strange thoughts swirled through her muddled head. Clint will probably be pissed that he missed this. The blackness began to collapse her vision. Before she passed out, though, she saw a sturdy figure approaching her.  The light reflected off the shield. “Oh Cap,” she exclaimed. “I’m so glad to see you. I got the drive. Then I blew it all to hell.” She laughed and coughed up some blood. Then she let the darkness envelop her. 

Chapter Two

Natasha slipped in and out of consciousness with only hazy recollection of what was going on around her. She had noticed she was in a hospital bed. Medical and S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel entered and departed her room. There was a vague knowledge of conversations being had around her. The room would grow dark and light and dark again and light again. She lost count of how many cycles had occurred. Finally, she blinked her eyes open and they remained open. Through a fog, she took in her surroundings. Typical hospital bed. Medical equipment hooked up to her. Windows. Shades. A chair. With a tall bald black man in a black coat sitting in it. Fury.

“You gave us quite a scare, Miss Romanov,” the man commented. “We weren’t sure you were coming back.”

“Scared myself, sir,” Natasha replied with a croaky voice. 

“Water’s on the table,” Fury observed. The woman reached over and took her cup, sipping and grimacing as she swallowed. “I know you hate being out of commission, but the doctors thought it was the best option.”

Natasha looked down at the bed. Most of her body was covered with a sheet. She felt the pain radiating throughout her torso and legs. Her right arm was heavily bandaged as it rested across her stomach. “Who am I to argue with them?” Widow groaned as she dropped her head back onto the pillow.

“You sure you’re okay?” Fury inquired. “You always argue with doctors.”

“True,” was all the woman answered. The pain was quite brutal, sapping her small amount of strength. “How long have I been out.”

“Three days,” the man responded.

“Wow. Almost biblical,” she chuckled at her joke, wincing at the shot of pain through her ribs. “The rest of the team?” 

“They’re alive.”

Natasha barely nodded, the pain making more than that impossible. “Did you get the drive?”

“We did.” Fury stood up from his chair. “We’ll talk about it once you’ve recovered a bit more.” He then nodded off to Romanov’s left. Natasha barely even noticed the nurse by her side until she felt herself floating off into darkness again.

Natasha blinked her eyes open, feeling clear-minded for the first time in longer than she wanted to admit. She actually was able to turn her head without pain. Looking around her room, she again saw Fury sitting in the same chair. “Don’tyou have other places to be, sir?” She scooted herself into more of a sitting position. 

“Not at the moment,” he replied. “I was hoping we could discuss the mission.”

Straightening herself up further on her pillows, Natasha nodded. “Yes sir. I’m sure Cap and the team already have been debriefed.”

“They have,” Fury stiffly nodded. “I want to hear your take.”  He paused and reached into his jacket. “Thoroughness and all.” He pulled out a digital recorder and set it on the rolling table in front of him. Natasha thought it was odd; she knew that the room they were in was wired for sound if it was a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. The lingering fogginess didn’t allow her to dwell too much upon it, though. “Start when you’re ready,” Fury prompted.

“Well, we beached the raft behind the facility on the river. Captain Rogers took the rest of the team with him and skirted around the building to the left. I made my way to the electrical system. I connected our little contraption to the security system and verified that it was feeding through to my StarkPad. Then I met up with the team. We entered the facility and worked our way to the research … weapons … area.”

“Did you encounter any opposition?”

“No, sir,” Romanov thought, trying to make sure she remembered the details correctly.  “Right when we breached the target area, the alarms and sirens went off. Cap and the team went to deal with the guards. I went into the room to deal with … well … whatever we found there.”

“What did you find?” Fury leaned forward in his chair. It was hard to see, but there was definite interest in this part of the debriefing.

Natasha went on to describe the facility: vehicles on one third, heavy weaponry on the far third, and small arms with repair and testing locations in the middle. “The dead center of the room there was a platform that was raised up about two meters. There were six workstations with computers on the platform. They were all facing the back wall.  That wall led into the large loading sector - there were rollup doors all along it. But in the center, lined up with the platform, was a tall … ring…”

“A ring?” Fury’s brow furrowed as he asked.

“For lack of a better term, yeah,” Natasha answered. “It was about six meters tall. It appeared to be made of vibranium.”

“Are you sure about that?” Fury interrupted.

“No, but it looked like the vibranium we have encountered before. It was different than adamantium. That is usually not as malleable or versatile. I’m not sure where HYDRA got that much vibranium, but … It was very shiny with a bit of blue glimmer to it. It was only a few inches thick. All polished. And it was hooked up to panels at its base - which seemed to be synced with the workstation computers.”

“What were on the panels?”

“I don’t know,” Natasha confessed. “They weren’t even on until some … ceiling fell on them and activated them.  I had already started the drive cloning when I went to investigate the … ring thing.  So one of the computers was up and running.  It seemed to be communicating with the panel - at least from the fact that the screen was moving around.”

“What did it show?”

“It looked like …. “ Natasha rubbed her eyes and forehead. She was getting a headache and felt fatigue crushing her. She tried to pull the memories back out. “Star charts? Like solar systems or something? They kept flipping by like a slide show. Each one was slightly different than the one before, but …”

“Different how?” Fury kept his one good eye trained on his agent. His face reflected his usual intensity, but there was something else there that Natasha couldn’t put her finger on. Was it … curiosity? … doubt? … fear? 

“The shading on a planet would be different. There were numbers in the top right corner that kept changing with each screen change. 616 was one. 522, 238, One was longer … 86315 I think.” Natasha studied Fury before she added. “I’msure there were more, but I didn’t catch them. I have no idea what they mean.”

Fury nodded, deep in thought and staring at the floor. He looked back to Natasha. “What next?”

“Well, all hell was breaking loose upstairs and in the halls. I’m sure that Captain Rogers and the team have told you more about that.” She paused with a questioning look on her face. Fury just met her eyes and said nothing. “Um … the explosions were causing some structural issues. Pieces of the roof were falling. I had placed charges all around. We couldn’t leave that kind of weaponry in place for some remnant of HYDRA to use. The ring had started … glowing?  The drive finished and I grabbed it. The giant space in the middle had changed - it was more opaque … milky? The wall next to the hallway blew in, which triggered those charges. I was trying to get the platform in between me and that explosion when it went off. I think it blew me against the doors or something. I got up and staggered out into the hallway because that whole room was going to go up in a matter of minutes. I tried to figure out where to meet up with Steve, but he appeared at the end of the hall. I met up with him and then everything went dark.”

Silence filled the room for a few moments. Natasha reached for her water, taking a gulp of it. Her mouth felt like it was filled with cotton, and her head was throbbing. Something kept itching at the back of her mind. Something seemed … off. Fury was off.  He was always brusque, even to his favored agents. But he was far more cold and disconnected than normal. It felt more like an interrogation than a debriefing. She got more uncomfortable - not sure if it was due to being helpless in a hospital or being in danger. Her training began to kick in, and her brain reverted to survival mode. She began taking in her surroundings, looking for a means to escape if need be.  “I recognize that look, Miss Romanov. You don’t need to be alarmed. You’re perfectly safe here.” Fury now was watching her, still relatively relaxed in the chair. He hadn’t hit the point of high alert. But Natasha knew for certain that a team of armed guards would burst through the door with just a signal from Fury. .

“Why do I have a hard time believing you, sir?” Natasha’s voice took on a more dangerous lilt. The weariness she was experiencing had dissipated, driven out by adrenaline from her flight or flight response.

“Probably because I have a hard time believing you,” Fury said with conviction. 

“Why’s that, sir?” Natasha tried to keep the fear and confusion tapped down. She had no chance in her condition to take on Fury and whatever soldiers he had at the ready. She had to stay alert and look for an opening. Keeping Fury talking was a good place to start. But she was confused as to why he said he didn’t believe her. She didn’t know what she had missed. 

“Well,” Fury began, leaning back in the chair. “There are three major problems with your story.” 

“Can you enlighten me on what they are?” Natasha challenged.

“First … you keep talking about this being a HYDRA facility.”

“Yes, their symbols were all over the place,” Widow explained. “Not very covert. I guess it was past the point for subterfuge.”

“HYDRA doesn't exist,” Fury plainly announced. 

That caused Natasha’s face to contort in confusion. Fury knew about HYDRA.  He was there for the big reveal - barely. He had almost died at their hands. “What are you talking about, sir? You know they were embedded in S.H.I.E.L.D.. We … we went through that together.” Her mind was spinning, trying to make sure that her Red Room training wasn’t messing with her reality.

“No, it was eradicated in 1945,” Fury replied. “We hunted down every leader, every scientist, and took them out.”

“But … Zola … “ Widow began.

“Zola was shot along with the others.” Fury’s face never wavered. He was prepared for this; he expected this and was confident of his information. “It was all documented. HYDRA was erased from existence. That was not a HYDRA facility.”  

“Then … “ Natasha felt ill, trying to wrap her mind around the situation. 

“However, what it WAS was an East German facility housing a large amount of Soviet technology.”  Natasha’s eyes went wide. “So you can probably see our confusion on this first point. Us, finding a former Soviet agent, in a Soviet facility that we were infiltrating secretly.”

“The Soviet Union dissolved in 1991,” Natasha mumbled to herself. “Germany reunified…”

“No, Miss Romanov, it didn’t,” Fury snapped. “It is alive and well and is our number one threat at all times.”

Black Widow sunk into her pillow, feeling the crushing weight of the news overwhelming her. She had no idea what was happening. She felt like when she was being deprogrammed from the Red Room’s hold on her. False memories. False experiences. She didn’t know what was real. 

“I’m sorry this is unsettling for you,” Fury offered. “It is unsettling for us, as well.”  He paused and then continued, “The second problem with your story - as if the first wasn’t enough - is how you keep referring to Captain … Rogers?  Steve.”

Natasha pulled herself back into the present. “Yes. Captain America. Steve Rogers. OUR friend. Who saved your life and mine. The super soldier.” Her tone was acerbic. She felt like a cornered animal. 

“Oh, I know the super solider. The Captain.” Fury replied. He raised his hand and gestured to the window. “But you were saved by Captain Carter here.” The door opened and Natasha gasped. A tall beautiful impressive brunette walked in. She was clothed in an outfit that looked similar to Captain America’s, but with some different elements. No stars. A criss cross of red and white ran across her chest. She held her shield, which had a Union Jack embossed on it instead of circles and a star. 

“Carter …. Peggy Carter … “ Natasha whispered, feeling completely unraveled at the sight of this person. “She founded S.H.I.E.L.D..”

“No, she didn’t. James Buchanan Barnes founded S.H.I.E.L.D..” Fury countered. “Peggy Carter got the Super Soldier serum and became Lady Liberty. She was lost for decades. We recovered her a few years back, and she became Captain Carter.” He looked at both women, Fury pointed at the brunette. “SHE is who saved you.”  Natasha’s mind was on the verge of snapping. “Which brings us to the final problem, Natasha Romanov.  The Black Widow. Product of the Red Room turned S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.” Natasha couldn’t bring herself to hear whatever came next. Part of her didn’t care. She had almost accepted that this was all a dream or a Red Room implanted memory. Fury leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees and delivering a pointed gaze at Natasha.  “How did you … get into an East German facility … at the same time we were infiltrating it .. when you are dead?”