Fury and his team sat together in a secure office within the facility. They had made the decision to stop monitoring the video feed coming from Peni's camera because Adam had departed from her side and was no longer in view.
"We now know that for some unknown reason Adam seems to genuinely care about Peni and appears willing to listen to what she has to say," Fury said, his voice carrying the weight of this discovery.
The others seated around the table nodded in acknowledgment of this observation.
"It also seems that he becomes particularly interested and engaged whenever children are mentioned in conversation. From my personal experiences as both a father and a husband, I can say with reasonable certainty that he harbors a deep wish for a family of his own," Clint said thoughtfully.
Fury nodded slowly in agreement and rubbed his chin as he considered the implications.
"We're going to have to make sure we keep him happy and satisfied with the current arrangement, since if he isn't content with how things are going, he will most likely go down that destructive path we're all concerned about," Fury said with evident concern.
The others nodded in understanding of the gravity of the situation. They all knew that Adam had a deep-seated hatred for the government and its institutions. They absolutely didn't want to make an enemy out of someone with his capabilities.
From what intelligence they had managed to gather so far, he possessed the physical power equivalent to lifting 5 tons, but they couldn't be entirely too sure of this assessment since he had never actually used his full strength in any situation they had observed.
They had even managed to obtain his biological samples from the facility where he had been held, and through analysis they knew that he possessed a dormant power that could potentially be awakened under the right circumstances.
With Adam
He arrived back at the warehouse where he had been staying and had carefully packed all the wallets he had taken from the thugs who had attempted to rob him earlier.
As he planned to walk out of the building, a person suddenly walked up to him and blocked his path. It was Agent Romanoff. He paused in his tracks, having never seen her before this moment.
"Don't worry, I'm with Clint and Fury," she reassured him calmly, hoping to ease any concerns.
His facial expression remained completely neutral and unreadable. She sighed inwardly, knowing full well it would be challenging to have any kind of productive conversation with him.
"Are you in need of money?" She asked directly, getting straight to the point.
This question caught his interest immediately as he began to pay close attention to her next words. She smiled inwardly at this small victory.
"I can give you a job with substantial compensation," she said.
Fury, who was back at the Shield headquarters, listened and watched the interaction attentively using the camera and communication devices that Romanoff was wearing.
"What exactly is this job you're offering and how much money will I get for doing it?" He asked with evident curiosity.
"Offer him a hundred thousand dollars a month," Fury instructed through the communication device.
"100k a month," she said with a warm smile spreading across her face.
His eyes narrowed with suspicion. He didn't know how much that amount was actually worth in practical terms.
"Is that a lot of money?" He asked plainly.
She smiled again, knowing that she now had the upper hand in the negotiation.
"Of course it is. Normal families don't even make 100k in an entire year, and you'll be making that amount in just a single month," she explained carefully.
Not sensing any deception in her words or demeanor, he moved on to the next subject of concern.
"What exactly do I have to do to earn this money?" He asked.
"When the world is in serious danger and facing significant threats, we'll call upon you for help and assistance," she said.
He paused for a long moment at her words, processing what she was asking. They were essentially asking him to protect the world from various threats. But he felt like something was wrong with this arrangement.
"Do you work for the government?" He asked coldly, his tone dropping several degrees.
He didn't like the government or anything associated with it. If she did work for the government, he would kill her right here and now without hesitation.
His eyes practically stared deep into her soul at this point, boring into her with intensity. Though she could feel his enormous and overwhelming killing intent radiating from him, she remained outwardly calm and composed.
"I work for Shield, not the government directly." She said calmly and clearly.
Even after her words were spoken, the place remained completely silent for what felt like an eternity. Fury on the other side of the communication link sweatdropped slightly with anxiety. If this recruitment attempt didn't work out successfully, he might lose a good and capable agent.
"Fine, I'll accept your offer. But where's the money you promised?" He asked.
She sighed in relief that he had agreed, and the smile returned to her face as she reached into her jacket and took out a phone, extending it toward him.
"This is a phone, and in here there is an app installed where we will send you money directly to your account. And also," she added as she handed him a wallet as well, "this wallet has an identification card and credit cards for you to buy things you need," she explained thoroughly.
He took both of the items she offered and simply nodded in acknowledgment without saying anything.
"When will I be called upon for this job?" He asked.
"Whenever your help is necessary for us, maybe it will be in a few days or it could even be months from now," she said.
He nodded again in understanding and walked out of the warehouse, leaving her standing behind alone.
"Good job, Agent Romanoff. That went better than expected," Fury said through the communication device.
"I was surprised that my beauty and charm didn't seem to have any effect on him whatsoever," she said jokingly in an attempt to ease her nerves after the tense encounter.
In Strange's Home
He shifted restlessly in his bed, his body drenched in sweat that soaked through the sheets beneath him. His breathing came in heavy, labored gasps as he tossed and turned. Voices echoed persistently in his mind, refusing to let him rest.
"Save earth, send him away, don't let her die," these cryptic words repeated over and over again in his consciousness, growing louder with each repetition.
He then suddenly jolted awake with a start and looked frantically around the darkened room. His bed was completely saturated with sweat, the fabric clinging uncomfortably to his skin. He didn't understand why, but he had been experiencing these visions repeatedly, and each one terrified him more deeply than the last.
A terrifying beast that devoured everything in its path, an unstoppable force that couldn't be contained or defeated by any means.
"What are you and why do these images keep appearing to me?" He asked to no one in particular, his voice trembling slightly in the empty room.
Meanwhile, with Adam, he made his way back to Peni's home and entered through the front door without bothering to knock first. Carrying the sack that was constructed out of webbing material, he unceremoniously dropped it down in front of May and Peni with a heavy thud.
"What is this?" May asked with a confused expression on her face, staring down at the strange bundle.
He reached down and tore open the sack without ceremony, and immediately wallets began to tumble out and fall onto the floor. Both Peni and May's eyes widened simultaneously in shock and surprise. Slowly but surely, May's expression became much more serious and concerned.
"Where did you get all of this?" She asked him directly, her tone demanding an honest answer.
"There were some people that attempted to rob me on the street, so I decided to take their wallets instead as payment for their trouble," he explained matter-of-factly. May blinked several times in succession as she processed this information, but then she let out a resigned sigh, knowing in her heart that the boy standing in front of her wasn't actually a thief by nature.
She slowly stood up from where she had been sitting.
"Anyways, what's your name?" She asked him with genuine curiosity.
"Adam," he answered simply and directly without elaboration.
"Do you have any family members or relatives?" She asked with growing concern.
He shook his head slowly from side to side in the negative. She pursed her lips together tightly in response to this revelation.
"Sigh, where do you live currently?" She asked him gently, her maternal instincts beginning to kick in.
"I live in an abandoned warehouse, located a bit away from here," he answered honestly and straightforwardly.
Her eyes widened dramatically in shock and surprise, and she couldn't help but feel a little sad and sympathetic for the boy standing before her. Turning her attention to Peni momentarily, she let out another heavy sigh.
"How much do you love Peni?" She asked him directly, getting straight to the heart of the matter.
Love? He didn't really know or understand what that meant. He just knew instinctively that for some mysterious reason he absolutely had to protect her at all costs. But then suddenly, memories began to appear and surface in his mind, unbidden and unexpected.
He didn't know why these memories were coming to him now, but somehow he knew deep down what she meant to him and what lengths he would go to for her sake.
"She's everything to me," he said with a rare note of softness in his voice, "I'll kill anyone who tries to hurt her in any way," he declared with such absolute conviction and certainty that both Peni and May believed him completely without question.
Peni on the other hand was thoroughly confused by his declaration. Why would he say something like that about her? They had only known each other for a few short days at most.
But despite her confusion, she felt quite happy and warm inside that someone would say something like that about her with such sincerity. May nodded her head slowly in acceptance of his words. Though Adam's declaration sounded extreme and perhaps even violent, she felt deep down that it was actually better that way. Since the world they lived in was dangerous and unpredictable, it was definitely better to have a man in your life that would be willing to kill for you if necessary.
"Well, since you don't currently have a proper home to live in, I'll let you stay here with us under this roof, but—" she pointed firmly to both of them with emphasis, "Nothing too far or inappropriate until you're both old enough and of legal age, understand?" She said with a stern maternal tone.
Adam nodded his head seriously in understanding and agreement, while Peni simply blushed a deep shade of red and stayed completely silent, unable to formulate any response.
A few days later
Adam sat comfortably in the living room, his eyes glued to the television screen as he watched yet another Korean drama, paying extremely close attention as the handsome male lead pinned the beautiful female lead against the wall and then leaned in to gently kiss her lips.
His eyes widened noticeably in fascination and he unconsciously moved his finger up to touch his own lips thoughtfully. He had watched multiple episodes of these romantic dramas over the past few days and had found himself wondering repeatedly why the characters kissed each other so frequently throughout the show.
"It's time for school," Peni called out to him from the hallway.
Adam immediately stood up from his comfortable position and headed towards the front door where Peni was already waiting patiently for him.
"Are you watching that Korean drama again?" She asked him with a knowing tone in her voice.
He nodded affirmatively in response. She shook her head slowly in disbelief and mild exasperation.
"You really have to stop watching so much television. You need to focus on your studies instead," she admonished him gently.
He just nodded again in acknowledgment. This exact conversation had happened multiple times already, but somehow he had reverted right back to watching Korean dramas each and every time without fail.
Sighing in resignation, they walked together side by side toward school. As they were walking along the sidewalk, a girl suddenly appeared and joined them from a side street.
"Peni, Adam," she called out to them cheerfully.
They both turned toward her simultaneously. It was Michelle Jones, or MJ as everyone called her. Adam listened quietly and attentively as the two girls caught up with each other enthusiastically. Michelle had been away visiting her grandparents in another state and had just returned home yesterday evening.
She and Peni were very best friends who had known each other for years. Adam didn't really care much about their conversation, but he did notice that she was monopolizing and taking up a significant amount of Peni's time and attention.
Eventually the three of them reached the designated bus stop and stood there waiting patiently for the bus to arrive.
"Are you absolutely sure you two aren't in a relationship together?" MJ asked with a teasing smirk, looking between the two of them knowingly.
"MJ, stop it right now," Peni whispered quietly under her breath, blushing profusely with embarrassment.
MJ smirked even more widely to herself, clearly enjoying Peni's discomfort. From what she could observe and tell, they definitely liked each other romantically. For Peni, her emotional reaction was completely obvious and easy to read. Though it was considerably harder to figure out definitively if Adam actually loved Peni in return. She had eventually connected all the dots after carefully realizing that he only ever smiled genuinely when he was around Peni and didn't seem to like talking or interacting with other people at all.
Even right now at this very moment, they barely talked with each other verbally. The school bus finally arrived and came to a complete stop in front of them. They entered the bus one by one in succession and found their seats.
Adam and Peni sat down next to each other in their usual spot, while MJ deliberately sat in the front seat to give them some space. The two girls continued their animated conversation as Adam took out his phone from his pocket, immediately seeing a new message notification on the screen.
He carefully read the message displayed on his phone and immediately furrowed his brows together in concern.
—urgent mission: arrive at the warehouse located on xxxx street within exactly 5 minutes—
"I have to go right now," he said abruptly and stood up quickly from his seat, making his way off the bus before Peni could say anything in response or ask any questions.
He then immediately began to run at full speed and expertly parkoured his way onto the nearby roofs of buildings before jumping athletically from roof to roof in order to reach the designated warehouse location as quickly as possible.
Though it had been only a few short days since he had officially gotten this particular job with Shield, he felt strongly that it was the right and honorable thing to do since he had already been paid a substantial amount of money in advance.
After arriving at the specified location, he immediately saw a helicopter waiting for him with its rotors already spinning. Seeing that it was Fury himself inside piloting the aircraft, he quickly got on board the helicopter without hesitation.
Fury didn't bother to explain anything about the mission and immediately began to fly the helicopter toward the designated location with practiced skill. After traveling through the air for quite a while, they eventually landed directly on top of the famous Stark Tower building.
They both got off the helicopter and Adam followed along behind him obediently. Adam didn't really care about asking questions regarding their destination since he genuinely didn't really care about the details.
Eventually they reached a specific room where the door automatically opened with a mechanical hiss, revealing that multiple people were already inside waiting for them.
Adam carefully inspected and analyzed each one of them with his enhanced senses. Multiple individuals in the room felt relatively weak to his perception, but some of them definitely had a distinctly strong scent that indicated power.
Clint Barton, Tony Stark, and Natasha Romanoff all smelled relatively normal to him. Though they were undoubtedly strong and capable fighters, they weren't quite up to his personal expectations or standards.
The only ones that actually met his internal criteria were Steve Rogers, who just barely passed his assessment. The last two individuals were Bruce Banner and Thor Odinson, both of whom had an incredibly powerful scent emanating from them.
Looking directly at these two particular individuals, he gulped audibly and involuntarily. The primal instincts deep within his body were screaming at him insistently, telling him to hunt them down. But he consciously decided to restrain these dangerous impulses for now, at least temporarily.
"Whose kid is this supposed to be?" Stark asked with obvious skepticism in his voice.
The other assembled Avengers wanted to know the answer as well, except for Clint and Natasha who had already met him previously during other operations.
"This is the newest member of the Avengers team. Though he is only 14 years old chronologically, he is extremely dangerous and incredibly powerful in combat situations," Fury explained to the assembled group.
"A kid? What exactly are you thinking by bringing a child into this?" Steve asked him with clear concern and disapproval in his tone.
Steve had always possessed a strong moral compass throughout his entire life and absolutely did not want to involve innocent kids in this particular problem or any dangerous situations.
"I don't see what's wrong with this decision. He feels genuinely strong to my senses," Thor said thoughtfully while looking directly at Adam and trying to figure him out more completely.
The normally loud and somewhat obnoxious Norse hero was suddenly turning completely serious in demeanor. He didn't know exactly why, but he instinctively felt a sense of real danger emanating from Adam that he couldn't quite explain.
"What is your name, great warrior?" Thor asked with genuine respect and interest.
"I am called Adam," he said calmly and evenly without any emotion.
The others in the room collectively sighed in resignation and proceeded to introduce themselves one by one. They all knew from experience that Thor wouldn't acknowledge or show respect to just anyone without good reason.
"Hey there Adam, my name is Steve Rogers," he said with a friendly smile as he reached out and shook Adam's hand firmly.
"My name is Bruce Banner," Bruce said with a soft, somewhat nervous smile on his face.
Tony Stark stood off to the side with his characteristic smirk plastered across his face.
"You must definitely know who I am, right?" He asked Adam with obvious smugness stretched prominently across his features.
"I don't know who you are," Adam said calmly without changing his neutral expression in the slightest.
Stark fell completely silent for a moment, not quite comprehending how someone wouldn't immediately recognize him and know his identity.
"I'm the billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and owner of this very building that you're currently standing in right now. Does that ring any bells for you?" He asked again with slight desperation creeping into his voice.
Adam's face remained completely stoic and unmoved by this information.
"This is honestly the first time I've ever heard of you or your name," he said calmly and truthfully.
Stark fell into stunned silence as his body visibly slumped in defeat. The assembled Avengers smirked quietly to themselves at Stark's obvious discomfort.
"What were you raised under a rock somewhere?" He muttered quietly to himself, still trying to process this unexpected rejection.
As the team began to seriously plan and strategize about how to effectively fight against Ultron, Adam found himself mysteriously attracted to a particular hammer resting on the conference table. He walked towards it quietly and deliberately.
The Avengers in the room noticed his movement and peeked at him curiously. The legendary hammer hummed with energy and shook slightly with each deliberate step that Adam took closer to it.
Adam didn't know exactly why, but he felt an overwhelming sense of hunger growing inside him. He gulped audibly and reached out to attempt to grab the powerful weapon, but then suddenly it flew away from his grasp.
The mystical weapon flew directly to Thor's side in an instant. The others turned to look at Thor questioningly, wondering why he had summoned it. He quickly put both his hands up in clear denial of any involvement.
"I didn't do that intentionally," he said with genuine confusion in his voice.
Adam on the other hand kept hearing strange and persistent voices echoing loudly in his head. He walked forwards with determination and this time actually managed to grab hold of the handle successfully.
Feeling that the weapon was actively attempting to escape from his grip, his eyes suddenly turned a bright, glowing red. He began to drool slightly and moved the weapon gradually closer to his open mouth. He opened his mouth wide and was fully planning to take a substantial bite out of it, but Thor had already realized exactly what was happening and what Adam intended to do.
He immediately dashed forward at incredible speed toward Adam and grabbed his precious weapon firmly, yanking it away forcefully from Adam's grasp.
"What exactly were you planning to do with Mjolnir?" He asked with clear concern and confusion in his questioning tone.
"I'm very hungry," Adam said simply and directly, as if this explained everything.
He genuinely hadn't eaten anything particularly good or substantial in quite a while and he was desperately hungry for something powerful. He aggressively bared his sharp fangs in clear aggression as he began to walk menacingly towards Thor with predatory intent.
The Avengers immediately got into their practiced fighting stances, genuinely surprised at this sudden and unexpected turn of events.
"Adam," Fury called out firmly and authoritatively.
Adam slowly turned his attention to Fury with visible confusion on his features.
"What do you want from me?" He asked coldly, his tone dropping several degrees in temperature.
Fury began to sweat slightly, having anticipated that something exactly like this dangerous situation might potentially occur, so he had wisely made some careful preparations in advance.
He reached down and took out his briefcase and threw it directly to Adam without hesitation. Looking confused and uncertain, Adam slowly and carefully opened the briefcase to see what was inside.
To everyone else's considerable surprise and shock, it contained two complete pairs of arms. But they clearly didn't look human in origin or appearance. It was specifically a pair of Kree arms that Fury had acquired. Fury had previously traversed through space on various missions and had collected many different alien body parts during his travels.
These specimens had been previously used exclusively as scientific research tools and materials, but they were now being repurposed and used to satisfy Adam's overwhelming and dangerous hunger.
Adam leaned down and sniffed the alien arms carefully, and upon smelling that they possessed some interesting abilities contained within them, he immediately grabbed both of the arms eagerly as the briefcase clattered to the floor.
The assembled Avengers watched in horrified fascination as he began to eagerly eat and brutally rip apart the alien arms with his bare hands and teeth. Tony Stark dropped his expensive glass tumbler in shock as he watched a teenage boy enthusiastically devour an alien arm right in front of him.
"What the actual fuck," he cursed loudly in disbelief.
They all turned to look at Fury, clearly wanting and demanding a proper explanation for what they were witnessing. Fury nodded in acknowledgment and proceeded to give each of them a detailed file folder. Except for Clint and Natasha who already knew the full situation and had been briefed previously.
They each took their respective file folder and began to carefully read through each page of information contained within. Upon seeing detailed documentation of what the government had done to create Adam, their eyes widened in absolute disgust and moral outrage, but upon seeing the graphic pictures of Adam eating people alive during his escape, they grimaced and recoiled visibly.
"I-is he mentally stable?" Bruce asked with genuine fear and concern in his trembling voice.
Fury nodded his head slowly and deliberately.
"As of right now, yes he appears to be," he said carefully.
"What do you mean 'as of now'!?" Bruce shouted loudly in alarm. But then he quickly lowered his voice significantly, remembering that there was an extremely dangerous person standing right next to him who could hear everything. "Will he actually try to eat us?" Stark asked the question that all the others desperately wanted to know the answer to.
Fury rubbed his chin thoughtfully and looked carefully at all of them gathered in the room.
"You're completely safe, Stark," he said matter-of-factly. "But Steve, Bruce, and Thor might be an entirely different story altogether," he explained gravely.
The three named individuals peeked nervously over at Adam, who was currently staring directly at them intently while continuing to bite into and chew the alien arm.
"Why would he specifically want to eat us?" Steve asked with understandable concern.
"He's actively looking for and seeking out people with powerful abilities or exceptional physical abilities. He possesses the unique and terrifying ability to permanently take someone's powers and abilities through the act of eating them," Fury explained in detail.
The other three individuals looked absolutely shocked by this revelation. Thor's eyes widened dramatically in alarm and concern.
"He can actually do that?" He asked again for confirmation, wanting to make sure he had heard correctly.
Fury nodded gravely in confirmation.
"He's extremely dangerous and potentially uncontrollable, but I do have a specific countermeasure prepared," Fury said cryptically.
"What exactly is that countermeasure?" Bruce asked nervously.
"You'll know and find out in the future when the time is right," he said mysteriously.
Stark standing off to the side was genuinely glad and relieved that he hadn't been born with natural superpowers. Meanwhile, Bruce was clearly the most afraid and anxious of everyone present. He was just a regular, ordinary guy when it came down to it. Even with the Hulk's incredible power residing within him, he would probably still get a significant chunk of his flesh violently bitten off before he could even do anything to defend himself or transform.