Stage Right: A Face Without A Heart
December 6, 2016
The Black Widow, who was also designated Natasha Romanoff and Natalie Rushman and Natalia Petrovich and Nicky Roman and Naomi Peters and Nadia Petrov and Natacha Ivanovich and Stephanie Ewers – an outlier but verified – and so many others Bnillim had stopped noting them, had left the Witch of Scarlet, who was also designated Wanda Maximoff – which seemed brief in comparison, in the city of Ottawa.
Bnillim had been faced with a difficult decision to follow one female or the other. Natasha – it seemed to be the name she preferred – was more skilled in evasion, but also seemed more knowledgeable in the politics and power struggles of the world of Earth. Wanda dwelt with several other individuals identified as Avengers, but Bnillim found her dead hair cells disconcerting. In the end, the matter was decided by Natasha, as she disappeared without Bnillim’s notice. The Captain of America arrived soon after and the others berated him for social interaction with an unknown entity designated Darcy Lewis.
The Captain was their leader, and it seemed that the disagreement between himself and Tony Stark had been mended by Darcy Lewis. Bnillim determined that she must be a formidable hero as well, to have stood between the two men and forced reason. The others, Sam Wilson who was the Falcon and Clinton Francis Barton who was Hawkeye and James Bucky Buck Buchanan Barnes who was the Winter Soldier and the Soldier and Sergeant and sometimes it seemed no one at all, conferred with the Captain on their future. Bnillim watched from the trees that surrounded the property, both surprised and impressed with how difficult it was to remain hidden from the eyes of Clinton Francis and the ears of the Captain and his Sergeant.
The immature humans were a conundrum as well. They were unskilled in martial forms or mechanics and displayed only partially-developed defense construction abilities, but they had nearly discovered Bnillim’s location more than once. Girl Lila Jelly Bean and Boy Cooper Coop Butthead were strangely observant. The infantile Nathaniel, whose gender was undetermined, seemed to unerringly gaze at Bnillim.
It was with relief that Bnillim could follow the Captain away from the city called Ottawa and to the dominion of Tony Stark. The mass of humanity, with a variety of cultures and appearances, in newer York made hiding in proximity easier. And publicly accessible computer terminals were more prevalent. Outside of the tower citadel Bnillim learned more of the Avengers and their enemy HYDRA. The Avengers had experience dealing with Stones as well, and had nearly fallen prey to the darker impulses of creation and destruction, but had overcome. With each new fact, Bnillim became more certain that the Avengers were the allies that would be needed to free the Shard from HYDRA.
It only remained to discover the best way they should be approached, and how to convince them there was a common enemy, and to do so in a way that would not alert HYDRA to Bnillim’s intent. The Vision would need to be considered closely. Both man and machine but soul unknown.
And the hero Darcy Lewis had still not been identified. Bnillim hoped to secure her assistance.