Chapter 20: Combat Catalyst
[Night – SHIELD Safehouse – Year 1 of Simulation]
The familiar, unsettling sensation of transmigration washed over Adam. He came to in a SHIELD safehouse, a sterile, minimalist room with a single cot and a console. The scent of coffee and antiseptic filled the air. A woman, all sharp angles and colder-than-ice intensity, stood over him. Natasha Romanoff. Adam's heart skipped a beat. This was it. The big leagues. The training session with one of the greatest assassins in the world. He was Jack Riley now. The mission was combat mastery.
[SYSTEM: Simulation Initiated: Jack Riley. Focus: Combat Mastery.]
"You're late," Natasha said, her voice low and edged with a subtle threat. "The coffee's getting cold."
Adam pushed himself up, his limbs feeling foreign and yet powerful. She's even more intimidating in person, he thought, a faint grin tugging at the corner of his lips. "Late? I was just giving you a head start. Wouldn't want you to feel bad when I out-spar you on the first try, would we?"
Natasha's gaze was unreadable, but a faint, almost imperceptible twitch at the corner of her mouth gave her away. She's amused. Good. "You talk too much, Riley," she said. "Talk gets you killed. Now get your gear. We're going on a recon mission. And try to keep up."
"Keep up?" Adam scoffed, slipping into his new role with ease. "I'll be waiting for you at the finish line, Romanoff. Don't get lost."
The mission was simple, a textbook recon operation at a remote HYDRA outpost. But Adam's system, ever the harbinger of chaos, had other plans.
[SYSTEM: Threat Level: Critical. Recommended Action: Engage.]
"What's the problem, Riley?" Natasha's voice crackled over the comms. "Your plan seems to have hit a snag."
The snag came in the form of a dozen HYDRA operatives, all armed and ready, who sprang from the shadows of the rocky terrain. The simple recon mission had turned into a full-scale battle. Adam's new skills kicked in, a raw, almost violent torrent of knowledge. He moved like a ghost, a blur of motion and raw power. He didn't just fight; he danced, weaving through a flurry of punches and kicks, his movements a chaotic symphony of defiance. He took out two operatives with a single, well-placed kick, another with a brutal elbow strike to the jaw.
"I think they found us, Natasha!" he yelled into his comm, a manic grin on his face. "Looks like the recon turned into a party!"
Natasha, meanwhile, was a deadly ballet of grace and lethality, her movements precise and efficient. She was a silent killer, a ghost in the shadows. He was a hurricane. A perfect, chaotic team.
"Control yourself, Riley!" she snapped back. "We're not here to start a war."
"Too late!" Adam yelled, ducking under a punch and using the momentum to spin around and deliver a brutal uppercut. "The party's already started!"
They fought their way to the main comms building, a small, fortified structure at the heart of the outpost. Adam used a downed operative's rifle to smash the door in, a primal, violent act that surprised even him. He was no longer the sarcastic kid from Hell's Kitchen. He was Jack Riley, a weapon in human form. The fight was a blur of adrenaline, a rush of pure, unadulterated power.
When it was over, they stood in the silent, ruined outpost, their chests heaving, their clothes torn and smeared with dirt. The comms building was in shambles, the data wiped, the enemy defeated.
"You're an idiot, Riley," Natasha said, her voice still rough with exhaustion. "You could have gotten us both killed." But the faint twitch at the corner of her lips was back. She was impressed.
Adam shrugged, a boyish grin on his face. "Maybe. But we got the job done, didn't we? And besides, you looked like you were having fun."
[SYSTEM: Progress: Advanced Combat Skills (20% Mastery). New Mission: Infiltrate a High-Value Target.]
Natasha didn't answer. She just walked away, towards the Quinjet they had left in a hidden clearing. Adam followed, a genuine sense of accomplishment settling in his heart. He was getting stronger. The pranks were fun, but this... this was what he was here for. He was a vigilante now, a force to be reckoned with. And his journey to the Avengers had just begun. He could feel it. The void, the pranks, the missions—it was all leading him there. He was coming home.
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