Chapter 74 – A New Doubt
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After taking the tablet from Fury, Natasha stared vacantly at the green dot that identified Bruce's supposed location. The news of her teammate's whereabouts had piqued her interest.
"Have you managed to find out anything new about his whereabouts?"
Natasha asked, her voice calm and serene, trying to convey confidence.
"We're still not 100% sure, but I think it might be the Quinjet, but because of Stark's stealth technology I think it's pretty hard to track anything down."
Fury replied, while explaining the problems they were having trying to locate Bruce's whereabouts.
Natasha, with a somewhat shaken expression, decided not to say anything and remained silent, only nodding in understanding, indicating that she had understood the message.
"The Quinjet must have crashed near the Pacific Ocean, and it must have swum to Fiji."
Fury said, pausing briefly as he noticed Natasha's reaction.
"Don't worry, he'll send you a card."
Natasha was still silent, but trying to keep her composure at this difficult moment. She trusted Bruce and was sure that he could manage very well on his own.
"I see."
Natasha said, finally breaking the silence.
"I'll keep an eye on the communications. So, if we find out anything new about his whereabouts, I'll let you know."
Fury said, as he turned and prepared to leave; however, Natasha interrupted him, drawing his attention.
"I've had this doubt for a long time..."
After Natasha said those words, Fury stopped walking for a moment and turned to look at her.
"When you gave me that mission to go after him to try to recruit him, did you know that this could happen?"
Natasha asked as she stared at Fury with a somewhat suspicious expression, but trying not to show it.
Fury looked Agent Romanoff in the eye and began to approach her.
"When I sent you, I was sure something would happen, but you always hope for the best. When it doesn't, you have to deal with what you get, and we have a great team here."
Fury explained, with a more serious tone.
Natasha, still pondering what Fury had said, decided to remain silent for a while before saying anything.
"Even if we wanted to hope for the best, it's inevitable that things will always end up going the wrong way, even if you don't want them to after all, nothing lasts forever..."
Natasha said, with a neutral look on her face, but was interrupted by Fury.
"Exactly, Ms. Romanoff. Regardless of our actions or who ends up winning the fight or the war. In the end, it all becomes irrelevant. And do you know why?"
Fury asked, staring at Natasha.
Not understanding the question, Natasha said nothing, but waited for him to answer.
"Because in the grand scheme of things, we're just pieces in a much bigger game, a game that transcends our own lives and desires. What matters is how we choose to play while we're here, the impact we leave and the choices we make, even if everything seems doomed to failure. In the end, it's our determination and our actions that define our legacy, not our immediate results or the adversities we face. Just like our problems, they always come back, no matter what we do."
Said Fury, completing what he was saying and then walking away, leaving Natasha alone and thinking, not knowing what to do.
AT THE BACK OF THE COMPLEX
Steve, Tony and Thor were walking out of the complex while talking about what they were going to do about Vision and the mind gem. Since Thor would have to leave to look for the other infinity gems, however, they were having a problem. On the one hand, Tony was against it, but he couldn't disagree, let alone oppose it because of everything he had done, while Thor was in favor of it, because he thought: if Vision had managed to lift the Mjölnir, then not only was he worthy, but he also had a pure heart, meaning that it was more than sensible to leave the mind jewel with him, so that not only would they avoid a problem, but they would also have someone capable of protecting the jewel.
After the three of them agreed that the Mind Gem would be safer in Vision's possession, either in his hands or on his forehead, they got into another argument. Only this time, the subject was a little different, they wanted to know how Vision had managed to lift the hammer, given the fact that he is not human.
"If Vision is going to enter this competition, the rules should change."
Steve said as he walked alongside Tony.
"I totally agree with what Popsicle said, it's a new thing entering the competition."
Said Tony, half answering Steve's question, but still teasing his teammate, something typical of Tony Stark.
Steve didn't take much notice and continued walking alongside Tony.
"Exactly, Vision isn't a human, he's an artificial intelligence."
Tony, upon hearing this, didn't agree with Steve's line of reasoning, meaning that they ended up not agreeing on anything each other said.
"He's actually a machine."
Tony corrected, rebutting Steve's argument.
"But doesn't that count?"
Steve asked, his hands resting on his belt buckle.
"No, because then it wouldn't be a person lifting the hammer."
Tony replied, making small gestures with his hand as a way of denying what Steve had said.
"See, that's what I was talking about, different rules for different people."
Concluded Steve, as he turned to Tony.
Steve and Tony continued debating as they walked through the complex. The discussion about the rules for lifting the Mjölnir quickly turned into a broader debate about what really defined a person and their ability to be worthy.
"But what if we consider Vision to be a conscious life form? It may not be human, but it has intelligence, emotions... Doesn't that count for something?"
Steve asked, looking directly into Tony's eyes.
Tony pondered for a moment, scratching his chin as he reflected on Steve's words.
"Well, technically he's not alive in the biological sense. He's a machine created by Banner and me. But..."
Tony paused briefly before continuing.
"In a way, he's developed a personality of his own, he's not just a program executing commands. So, we can give him a plus."
Attention: From now on, I ask that you completely disregard all the personality and character that you know of the heroes, whether from films or comics. Because for the story to flow better, I'm going to have to make some changes, so don't complain later that such a character would never say such a thing.
RECOGNITION TO MEMBERS:
Matthew Jimenez🤝 - THANK YOU FOR ACTIVATING THE DOMAIN EXPANSION "MAHAYANA PRISON".
Julio Posas🤝 - THANK YOU FOR ACTIVATING THE DOMAIN EXPANSION "MAHAYANA PRISON".