Natasha was at home watching the news, the murder case had also caught her attention even though she hadn't gone to investigate.

"Mummy, where's daddy? Why hasn't he come back yet?" Alice asked, wearing an unhappy expression, which was unusual for her.

"I already told you that daddy went to do something important and will be back soon," Ana said, looking at the three girls who clearly were not happy about their father's absence.

"Look how spoiled they are, I never even met my father," Ophelia whispered to Natasha.

"Me neither," Natasha said, chuckling quietly.

"Probably the only one was Carol," Ophelia shrugged.

Emma was particularly sad because for some reason she couldn't see when her father would return.

"Behave, just because your father is not here for a while doesn't mean you have to make those faces," Ana said, looking at them sternly.

The three little ones just pouted sadly, their father had never been away from them for too long.

"What if today I let you play a little later?" Ana suggested, softening her expression and drawing the three of them into her embrace.

"Fine," Ivy said reluctantly.

"You girls," Ana said, laughing slightly.

"Tonight let's all sleep together, how about we watch a movie?" Ana proposed, trying to cheer them up.

"Yes, let's do it, maybe while we're watching the movie, daddy will come," Carol said, coming up behind Ana, trying to help.

The three little ones showed a better expression as they nodded slightly.

...

The next day.

Natasha woke up with a soft yawn before looking to her right in bed.

Since Damian wasn't there, all four of them slept with the three little ones, who got distracted and before they knew it, had fallen asleep.

Natasha just hoped that Damian would return that same day, or these little ones would rebel.

After getting dressed, having breakfast, and freshening up, Natasha got into her car and drove out of the house. When she reached the exit, she looked both ways to make sure no vehicle was coming.

Suddenly, she saw Maria looking at her with a smile.

"Maria? What are you doing out here?" Natasha asked, confused to see her.

"I don't have much time, and if I stopped, they would surely keep me for a while," Maria said, chuckling.

"Do you need something from me?" Natasha asked, looking at Maria.

"Yes, what would happen if I showed these photos to Damian?" Maria asked, showing her some pictures where Natasha and Steve were entering her apartment. The photos were taken from an angle where Clint wasn't visible.

"He'd probably comment on how beautiful I look," Natasha said, teasing.

Maria laughed at Natasha's response before getting to the real issue.

"Who is he?" Maria asked, pointing to Steve in the photo.

"He's Captain America, yes, the same one. For reasons unknown to me, when he fell into the ice, his body froze and remained intact for 70 years," Natasha said, smiling at the surprise on Maria's face.

"I see, that explains some things," Maria said, nodding after her surprise as she looked at the photo.

"Don't tell me he got into trouble," Natasha said, laughing.

"Something like that. You can ask him about it," Maria said, seeing Natasha's inquisitive look.

"Thanks for letting me know. See you," Maria said, bidding Natasha farewell with a kiss on the cheek before quickly getting into her car and driving away.

"How annoying," Natasha muttered, guessing that she would have to figure things out with Steve.

It was really funny, it seems that Captain America is just as they describe him, a spirit full of heroism that can't stay still if there's a problem. Or perhaps, in the words of the higher-ups, a meddling hero.

Natasha drove for several minutes until she arrived in front of Steve's apartment.

She quickly took out her phone and dialed him.

"Hello?" Steve asked with uncertainty on the phone.

"I'm waiting for you downstairs," Natasha said, laughing slightly at his voice as if he didn't believe someone would answer.

"Alright... I'll be down in a second," Steve said a bit surprised before putting the phone in his pocket and starting to descend.

Natasha burst into laughter at the sound of Steve's footsteps coming down the stairs, clearly forgetting to hang up.

"Hello," Steve said with a polite smile.

"Come up, by the way, you forgot to hang up your phone," Natasha said.

Steve was a bit surprised before taking out his phone and seeing that the call was indeed still active. Looking at the buttons, he pressed the red one before the call stopped.

"My apologies," Steve said, somewhat embarrassed.

"Don't worry, you're still getting used to it," Natasha said, laughing slightly before starting to drive towards the SHIELD offices.

"By the way, you should know that all the streets have cameras, and anyone passing by will be seen," Natasha said with a slight smile before letting out a soft laugh at how Steve's expression froze.

"They found out?" Steve asked, laughing awkwardly.

"That's right, you didn't even try to hide. Next time you want to do something sneaky, make sure to stay away from the cameras," Natasha joked.

"I'll talk to Fury about that... there's an alien killing people," Steve hesitated for a moment whether he should tell Natasha.

"Hmm," Natasha hummed.

"SWORD is an organization that deals with those matters. When they saw me with you, a friend contacted me to find out about it," Natasha said, informing him.

"I see," Steve said, nodding.

"Was it strong?" Natasha asked curiously.

"Yes, it wasn't weaker than me," Steve said seriously.

"Plus, it had very advanced weaponry and technology. He let me go, or maybe I would have died in that alley," Steve said sincerely.

"Hmm, how interesting," Natasha said, genuinely intrigued by the prospect of a good battle.

Steve looked in surprise at Natasha's interest. He supposed she wasn't as normal as he thought, at least not within the expectations of an agent.

After several minutes, they quickly arrived at SHIELD, and Natasha got out of the car along with Steve.

Both walked through the hallways to Fury's office, attracting a lot of attention.

"Why does everyone seem to be staring at us?" Steve asked.

"You're the new celebrity of SHIELD, the famous super soldier who survived being frozen for 70 years. Those kinds of rumors spread everywhere," Natasha said before laughing at Steve's expression. She was starting to understand his personality a bit.

"I see," Steve said with a slight discomfort on his face, even if he was already somewhat used to it.

They both arrived at Fury's office before knocking on the door.

Fury's voice from inside quickly told them to come in, so both entered.

"I must say, I didn't expect to see you so soon, Captain Rogers," Fury said, looking up and seeing Steve.

"Well... I had a little problem and I need my equipment," Steve said seriously.

"Your equipment? What do you mean exactly?" Fury asked, puzzled.

"My shield and my suit," Steve said.

"Oh, I see. Why do you need them?" Fury asked, a little confused.

Now it was Steve's turn to be puzzled. He thought Fury was already informed about everything. He couldn't help but glance at Natasha and seriously wonder who she was that she had information even Fury didn't have.

Natasha laughed lightly at their two confused faces.

"SWORD is chasing an alien, and Steve had contact with it by chance," Natasha said without revealing that Steve went to seek it out, making him feel a little embarrassed.

"What?!" Fury asked, raising his voice a bit while his brow furrowed deeply.

"Maria," Fury muttered, annoyed.

"Take him to get his things, although with the suit there's not much that can be done since it wasn't in good condition. Natasha will give you something better," Fury said, getting up and indicating to both of them that they can leave.

Natasha gave Steve a pat on the shoulder, signaling him to go. Fury was truly furious.

Natasha couldn't help but laugh lightly at the thought, earning her a chilling look from Fury.

Walking down the hallway, Steve couldn't help but look at Natasha.

"What happened back there?" Steve asked.

"Fury and Maria, the director of SWORD, are... let's say, not getting along," Natasha said, laughing lightly.

"Isn't that a bit irresponsible?" Steve asked, furrowing his brow as he thought about how that could lead to deaths.

"Hm, more or less. Technically, extraterrestrial matters don't fall under SHIELD's jurisdiction, so SWORD isn't obligated to share information with SHIELD," Natasha said, shrugging.

"I see," Steve said, nodding, thinking there was more to the whole situation.

"And here we are," Natasha said, arriving at a door. She quickly scanned her fingerprint before entering with Steve.

"This will be your room at SHIELD. Fury was hoping you could take several months of vacation, but it seems heroism waits for no one," Natasha joked.

Steve approached his shield, which was hanging on the wall, and touched it, feeling its unique texture.

"Do you want me to leave so you can have a moment?" Natasha said.

"Thank you, Natasha, for vouching for me," Steve said, smiling at Natasha. Perhaps if it weren't for Natasha showing up by his side, he might have been arrested for questioning about the alien.

"Don't worry, we'll be partners in the future," Natasha said, smiling at him.

"See you," Natasha said, bidding farewell before leaving for her own place.

...

Fury was alone in his office and walked slowly from one end to the other before finally sitting down and pulling out his phone.

He quickly dialed Maria and waited for her to answer.

"Hello?" Maria's voice came through, feigning confusion.

"Maria," Fury said with a flat voice.

"Who's this?" Maria asked.

"Maria... why didn't you inform me there was an alien on the loose killing people?" Fury said, massaging his forehead with an annoyed tone.

"I think that's none of SHIELD's business. Besides, who are you to lecture me about hiding things?" Maria asked, also with an irritated voice.

"Maria, I've already told you that Thor's case is different. He's not an enemy," Fury sighed.

"And what about the Skrulls you have as spies?" Maria asked out of nowhere.

Fury fell silent for several seconds without responding.

"Silence? I'm sure you haven't told Carol that the Skrulls she left on a distant planet to live peacefully are now doing your dirty work," Maria said.

"You're playing with fire," Maria said before ending the call.

Fury looked at the phone in his hand before setting it aside and sighing as he leaned his head against the backrest.

That was one of his dark secrets. He didn't think anyone would find out. Now he can't help but wonder if the Skrulls' transformation is so perfect.

The Skrulls were their main line of intelligence; it was really hard to give them up.

Fury had stopped trusting Maria so much when he saw her changes, her red eyes and apparent lack of aging made Fury a little paranoid.

Over the years, Fury had come to the conclusion that Damian is a vampire. When he first had that idea, he dismissed it as absurd for several years. But as time went on and he connected many dots, he couldn't deny that it was a strong possibility.

Maria is likely a vampire too, so as someone of a different species, he can't expect her to do everything for humans. Especially a species that sees humans as their prey. He had traced traces of several blood companies that had significant contact with Madripoor.

The only thing that comforts him is that Carol is still the same. He still holds hope for the golden heroine who made a great impression on him when he was young.

...

Damian was floating in space with his eyes closed. If someone were nearby, they would only see a faint silhouette, as the large amount of magic energy around him distorted space, giving a blurry image.

Finally, he opened his intense red eyes, which seemed to reflect a magical circle for a brief moment before returning to normal.

Damian frowned because he felt really lost in the current day and time.

Looking inside himself, he saw four magical circles rotating one behind the other. Occasionally, small blue rays appeared, bouncing between the magical circles. This was simply excess magic going out of his control.

His magical circles seemed to have changed, and his first magical circle was sending magic to the second one. The second one increased the power of the magic before passing it on to the third, and so on, while the spell's power increased.

And this wasn't strange, as his magic energy, which he always thought of as nearly limitless, had decreased, but his power had increased significantly.

He felt much heavier to move, which reminded him of his control over magic when he first woke up.

According to his magical system, the fourth-level magical circle unlocked the ability to manipulate space at will. Each time the magical circles increased in size, they required more runes and an ability to withstand more magic to accomplish more difficult things.

Damian extended his hand, and only his fourth magical circle appeared, which was now the size of a truck tire, and generated a fireball. It had become a sort of tradition for him to create a fireball every time he improved, to compare the differences in power.

This time was really different, as a blue fireball the size of a small house appeared.

Damian watched in amazement as the fireball flew a great distance before gradually extinguishing.

Not only had the size increased significantly, but the flame's temperature was much higher than before.

Damian chuckled to himself; it felt truly satisfying to become stronger. It's a pity he was born with so much power. He doesn't often feel this sensation.

Looking at his magical circle one last time, he thought about the size it would ultimately reach. It would be annoying if his magical circle ended up covering himself.

As if reacting to his unconscious desires, the magical circle started to shrink until it reached the size of his third magical circle.

Damian smiled slightly before returning the circle to its normal size. It was still fine, but he didn't think the next one could handle it in a normal size.

----

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