[General Point of View]
Avengers Compound
The common room was spacious and luxurious.
Massive screens, Stark Industries technology, and direct connections to multiple government agencies filled the space.
A large television was on, broadcasting live reports from Midtown Manhattan.
The fight with the Lizard.
The appearance of Spider-Woman.
And then… a boy in a brown tunic with a lightsaber. Performing maneuvers impossible for a normal human. His stern gaze, and above all, his statements.
"Rewind that," said Steve Rogers, arms crossed.
The AI replayed the segment.
On the screen, the young man's voice rang out again, clear and direct:
—My name is Anakin Skywalker. I am a Jedi, a protector of peace in the galaxy. I have acted with diplomacy, and I have saved lives here.
The footage showed him standing amid police patrol cars. Helicopters circled overhead. Weapons were aimed at him. And he spoke calmly, though frustration was evident in his tone.
—I want to speak with whoever is in charge… of this city. Or this planet.
"Has anyone ever heard that term before? Jedi?" Steve asked.
"It does not appear in any known terrestrial records. Neither in ancient cultures nor in post-New York intergalactic contact logs," Vision replied in his calm tone, hands clasped behind his back.
"An extraterrestrial?" Natasha Romanoff asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It is possible," Vision nodded.
The footage shifted to the exact moment Anakin turned, visibly frustrated, his expression tense.
—Threat? —he repeated aloud, turning his head toward the officer. —Seriously? Are you deaf? Didn't I just tell you I'm a Jedi?
The video continued, showing Anakin stepping forward, arms spread in exasperation.
—Look, I have a kriffing plasma sword. I'm a Jedi! Well… a Padawan. But that's not the point.
—On your planet, is everyone this uncivilized, or is it just a local tradition in this city? Do you want to escalate this into an interplanetary conflict?! Huh?! Is that what you want?!
Wanda, arms crossed, studied the frozen frame of Anakin pointing at his saber, visibly frustrated. "He looks human, but his behavior, his laser weapon, and his power don't fully align."
Vision added calmly, "He could be an extraterrestrial with humanoid biology. This is common in certain parallel evolutionary models. The possibility of species resembling humans is not negligible, especially considering the vastness of the universe. In other words: he could indeed be from another planet, and still look like one of us, like the Asgardians."
Natasha crossed her arms thoughtfully. "These days, it's not unusual for teenagers with superpowers to show up. Normal isn't what it used to be."
She turned to Steve. "It's not that far-fetched to think the kid is just another human with unusual abilities, someone with an altered mental state who built himself an entire fantasy about being a defender of the galaxy…"
Steve looked at her silently for a few seconds. Then, brow slightly furrowed, he asked, "Are you saying you think, he made it all up? That he's a delusional kid with a distorted perception of reality?"
"I'm saying it's a possibility," Natasha shrugged.
Vision stepped forward this time, moving toward the center of the room. "His tone did not sound false. His statements about the Jedi and being a protector of the galaxy were delivered with structured cognition and conviction. Too coherent for a simple delusion. It did not appear rehearsed. He believed every word."
Natasha kept her gaze fixed on the frozen image of Anakin, eyes narrowed. "Exactly. That's how delusional people are. They believe it completely."
Until Steve, still with arms crossed and brow furrowed, spoke again.
"Maybe. I won't rule it out. But I don't think so."
Everyone looked at him.
"We've seen kids with newly developed powers before. Most of them show erratic movements, unfocused eyes, unstable breathing. But this kid, Anakin, no. His posture is steady. He handled that sword with precision and efficiency. His reflexes are extraordinary. And most importantly, he took down the Lizard in under five minutes. That's not a disoriented kid. That's someone who received systematic training."
Wanda nodded slowly. Even she had struggled to control her powers in the past. Even now, she didn't always have perfect control.
Natasha lowered her head slightly in agreement. "Yeah, he looks like he was trained from childhood."
Vision stepped forward again, hands clasped behind his back.
"I would like to add a point of comparison. Spider-Woman. Recently active vigilante. She possesses enhanced strength, agility, and reflexes. She is also young. Her combat style is chaotic, emotional, and improvisational. Clearly talented, but still developing. She is not comparable, in precision or efficiency, to what Anakin demonstrated against the Lizard."
"Age?" Steve asked.
"Based on height, physical development, vocal tone, and facial features, I estimate Anakin to be between seventeen and eighteen years old. Which would imply that, if his training is real, it began at a very young age, and was extremely rigorous," Vision replied in his usual precise, neutral tone.
Steve crossed his arms again. "Then if he's crazy… he's the most disciplined, focused, and efficient one we've ever seen."
No one contradicted him.
The silence lasted only long enough for Vision to project several clips of the confrontation between the Lizard, Spider-Woman, and then Anakin's intervention.
"Would you like a conservative estimate of his power level?" Vision asked, without waiting for approval. "I made one regardless."
The footage slowed. On a side screen, graphs appeared, pressure, temperature, structural vibration, force projection.
"This moment," Vision said, pointing to the exact frame where Anakin slams the Lizard into the pavement, "occurred 0.4 seconds after he extended his hand."
"And how much force did he apply exactly?" Steve asked.
"There is no direct measurement. However, based on fracture patterns, crater depth, and the rebound displacement of the target's body, the most conservative estimate suggests pressure equivalent to between eight and ten tons, applied vertically with millimetric precision. Additionally, he did so with a simple gesture, without altering his breathing or posture. This indicates total mastery of the ability… and possibly higher limits he has not yet displayed," Vision explained.
"He did that with his mind? Telekinetic powers or something?" Natasha asked.
"I cannot confirm. There was no physical contact. No acoustic shockwave. No recorded electromagnetic field fluctuation. Yet kinetic energy was transferred. That implies a force of unknown origin, directed with complete control."
"And the weapons?" Wanda asked.
Vision switched the clip. The moment replayed: officers aiming, Anakin stepping forward, a bullet slicing through the air as he barely tilted his head to avoid it. Then, in an instant, every weapon was ripped from the officers' hands and lifted into the air around him.
"Magnetism?" Steve asked.
"There was no electrical disruption in nearby devices. No electromagnetic interference in police radios. It is something else," Vision replied, shaking his head slightly.
Steve remained silent for a moment. Then he said, "And he saved the civilians before the Lizard crashed into the McDonald's wall, right?"
"I accessed the internal security cameras from the establishment where the initial incident occurred. Audio quality is limited, but sufficient," Vision said.
The screens shifted to internal McDonald's security footage. The front counter was visible. A young woman behind it. Anakin standing in front of her.
The audio quality was mediocre, but the conversation was clear.
—…That'll be 9.47.
—Excuse me?
—Nine dollars and forty-seven cents.
—Oh. No, no. You see, I'm a Padawan of the Jedi Order. Defender of peace in the galaxy. Look, this is my lightsaber.
—Uh-huh. Is that like part of a convention or something?
—No. It's my official rank.
—Your official rank doesn't pay for the combo. Are you paying or not?
—…May I speak to the supervisor?
"There," Wanda murmured.
"There what?" Natasha asked.
"He didn't invent the 'protector of the galaxy' thing when the police surrounded him. He was already saying it before. Like it's genuinely part of his identity," Wanda replied.
Steve rubbed his chin. "And the term Padawan? Is it a military rank? A spiritual title? Something like a cadet?"
"Based on observable context, it appears to mean apprentice," Vision answered. "He clarified this himself in front of the police. Which implies that if he is telling the truth, there are more like him. A structured organization with masters and their apprentices."
"Perfect. So not only do we have a teenager with superpowers and a plasma sword, but he's the equivalent of an armed cadet from an unknown galactic force," Natasha said with a grimace.
Steve tilted his head, arms crossed, a faint smile forming. "Oh? So now you believe he's extraterrestrial?"
Natasha exhaled through her nose and glanced sideways at him. "Yeah. You convinced me. And it wouldn't be that far-fetched if you think about it. A few years ago we fought Loki, an Asgardian god. An alien invasion in the middle of Manhattan. Hulk literally left the planet."
"A defender of the galaxy who can't afford a McDonald's combo," Wanda commented, amused by the situation.
"Look. He registered the Lizard's trajectory in a fraction of a second before impact. He acted preemptively. He released a directed wave at the civilians to move them from the exact impact zone seconds before the Lizard broke through. If he hadn't, at least three people would have died from blunt-force trauma," Vision continued, resuming the McDonald's footage.
The video played on. The camera shook violently as the Lizard crashed through the wall. The displaced bodies were shown, saved by mere seconds.
"His precision is admirable, I have to say… Not a single injured civilian. Not a single table overturned outside the intended radius," Natasha commented.
"Spider-Woman's action was risky. She failed to control her force and could have caused a tragedy through collateral damage," Steve said more seriously.
"Yeah. She has good intentions, but she's inexperienced. She reacted to defend herself, but she didn't think about what was behind the target," Natasha added.
Vision continued, "There was no vector correction in her strike. No angular adjustment. She delivered the blow and allowed mass and velocity to determine the outcome. Had the Lizard fallen without Anakin's intervention, three civilians would have died and several others injured."
Natasha frowned, her tone serious now. "We like the kid. But this… this was a warning."
The Avengers knew exactly who Spider-Woman was, no matter how much the young vigilante insisted on hiding behind her mask. With Vision's analytical capabilities and Stark's advanced surveillance systems, her true identity had been uncovered long ago.
Until now, they had allowed her to operate in the shadows. A local vigilante. Agile, brave, well-intentioned. While they dealt with global threats, Spider-Woman protected neighborhoods, helped civilians, and handled minor incidents.
A hero, in essence.
But this incident was different.
Because no matter how strong, fast, or courageous she was, she lacked control.
And for the first time, her inexperience had put real lives at risk.
Just then, the silence in the room was interrupted by the base's communication channel.
"This is Sam. I'm coming in. Bringing our… guest," his voice echoed over the speakers, measured, as if he wasn't entirely sure what word to use.
...
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