Chapter 14

Dressed in black skintight sleeveless shirt and matching trousers, Harry stretched his body as he readied himself.

In front of him stood perhaps the most challenging opponent he'd ever faced, bar Ares: The Black Widow herself.

Natalia Romanoff

Age: 22

Level: 28

Health: 300/300

Stamina: 260/260

Stats

Strength: 22

Speed: 32

Dexterity: 39

Vitality: 30

Endurance: 26

Intelligence: 27

Wisdom: 28

Two of her stats were above 30, and all the rest in their twenties. That in itself would've pushed Harry to be more cautious, but her stats weren't what truly made her such a challenging opponent.

It was her skills.

Natalia "Natasha" Romanoff was one of most skilled fighters that he'd ever witnessed. He genuinely did not know who was better between Ares, Winter Soldier, and her. Surprising though it may come as, but he would put his bet on the Widow. The only reason the other two would win was due to their Super-Soldier status.

The redhead also surpassed him in armed Combat by a sizable margin but with his own growing skills he could atleast hold on when using knifes or batons.

Armed Combat (Lvl 70)

A good thing about his skills was that he didn't need any special training to be competent with other weapons. For instance, baton was something he had little to no training with. But they still counted in 'Armed Combat', and thus his knowledge of the weapon adjusted accordingly

He'd also progressed in Unarmed Combat of course, but it simply wasn't enough to close the gap between them on their lonesome. Without his own enhanced stats, he doubted he'd be able to match her.

Unarmed Combat (Lvl 59)

That wasn't to say he lost any of these spars of course. Actually, their scorecard was 3-0, with Natasha not managing to clinch a single victory.

He may be less skilled and experienced, but his stats simply surpassed hers by a landslide.

So while he may be cautious, he was also extremely confident in his 4th consecutive victory.

"You ready kid?" The redhead smirked, rolling her arms and bending over...unprofessionally.

Her skintight dress almost seemed to burst around her spectacular chest when she made a show of yawning backwards, and Harry had to remind himself of the analysis his mind just did over his dangerous opponent.

Unfortunately, while he was confident in his victory, he wasn't as confident in keeping his eyes off of her... incredibly alluring figure.

'Focus, Harry!'

This was another reason that he counted the woman as such a big threat and danger. Just one time he had slipped up in his cool and calm facade in front of her, and now she always tried to make him repeat his mistake.

Trying to fluster him seemed to have become her new hobby, and her method of achieving that was by intentionally flaunting her... womanly charms.

Manipulative spider.

'Could this be another form of magic?' He wondered absently. 'Perhaps a lesser version of Imperius that affects mind?'

Perhaps puberty was actually a brand of dark magic that the females of this planet cast on men.

Very possible.

"I'm ready." He finally answered, taking a deep breath while activating the solution to all of these problems.

[Gamer's Mind: Activated]

Complete calmness overtook his mind the next second, and logic reigned supreme. Natasha seemed to notice the change however, and a displeased frown suddenly appeared on her face.

"No, that won't do. Drop it." She ordered, now standing stern and straight.

Harry tilted his head, confused. "What?"

"This..." Her hand made a circling motion towards his face. "Facade. The deadness. It's almost like someone pressed a switch, taking away everything that makes you human. Drop it... whatever you're doing."

His mind dissected her words, pondering upon the implications.

It was clear the woman was talking about Gamer's Mind. However, he hadn't known that the change was so... visible. Could it be a threat in the future? Perhaps, but nothing immediately came to his mind. Even if someone discovers his ability, what can they possibly do about it?

And as for her orders to deactivate the ability...

"No." He replied simply.

Why would he deactivate one of his biggest assets in battle? Foolishness.

Natasha frowned, her hands coming to rest on her waist as she stared down at him. "And why not? You don't have to lock away your feelings everytime you fight. Why not just let go and enjoy?"

A flicker of amusement broke through him at hearing such illogical words. This wasn't the first time the redhead had tried to make him do something that he considered a waste of time, but it was definitely the first in the middle of a fight.

"That is impractical." He replied, letting his amusement colour his tone. "Highly impractical. A battle is not meant to be enjoyed, and emotions have no place on a battlefield."

The redhead's frown intensified, looking to be seriously thinking on his words. "Really? So you consider emotions to be a burden? Do you wish to be some unfeeling monster?"

"Of course not." Harry frowned. "Emotions are to be treasured. But they are also a luxury. A luxury that cannot be afford in battle."

"But this is not a battle." She insisted. "This is just a friendly spar that you are meant to enjoy. And you can't do that if you bundle up your feelings like this."

This time he actually gave her words some consideration.

Enjoy a battle...had he ever enjoyed a battle? He didn't believe so. He was simply taught to finish any fight as fast and efficiently as possible.

But then again, he never had to participate in any of these friendly spars either.

So, should he do it? Actually fight without the support of Gamer's Mind? The entire notion seemed ridiculously illogical, but wasn't he trying to enjoy his life? So why not try new things?

'Why am I even following Hydra's laws anyway? I'm free of them. I can do whatever I want. And enjoying a fight seems to be the type of thing they'd actually hate. More the reason to do it.'

The last bit seemed a little... impractical. To do something simply as a fuck you to Hydra. It served no point except for personal satisfaction.

Then again, that should be enough of a reason to do something.

[Gamer's Mind: Deactivated]

"Very well." He felt a tiny smirk forming on his face. "Have it your way then."

"Finally." Natasha shot him a smile that looked more geniune, and beautiful, than anything he'd ever seen on the assassin's face.

And then the redhead shot off, giving him no time to marvel upon her beauty. There was no preamble, no warning. She charged at him without hesitation, closing their distance quickly.

Startled though he may have been at first, Harry was more than ready when she finally arrived.

She came in with a sweeping kick while trying to limit his movements using her larger body. He avoided her leg with a simple step-over but she didn't give him any time to counterattack, keeping the initiative.

And then started an intense exchange as he was forced to dodge her next flurry of strikes and punches with precise movements and blocks.

Another thing that made her such a tricky opponent was her ability to seemlessly use multiple forms of martial arts while fighting. The redhead assassin was incredibly proficient in Krav Maga, sambo, hapkido, and different styles of wrestling. She was also able to mix in multiple forms of kung fu, wing chun, and Taekwondo whenever she wanted.

This was why she could cause trouble for even a Super-Soldier. She was simply too unpredictable, even using her skills in acrobatics to take down larger opponents, using her superior dexterity to great effects.

Unfortunately, two things worked against her when facing Harry. One, just like armed Combat, his lvl 59 Unarmed Combat also made him proficient in every single unarmed style of combat. So while he may not be as skilled as her, he could still hold his own using superior speed and strength.

Second, his small stature actually worked against her here. Natasha was just so used to fighting larger opponents that facing someone half-a-foot shorter than her made most of her acrobatics simply redundant.

So she was left facing a much stronger and faster opponent, who was dexterous and slick enough to slip through her techniques and get inside her guard every single time.

So it didn't surprise either of them when Harry was eventually able to slide inside the whirlwind of kicks and punches, and deliver a nasty open-palmed strike to her stomach.

That single attack almost entirely settled the match, making the redhead double over with a gasp and quickly back away. Smelling blood, Harry gave chase, his smirk firmly on place as his victory came closer.

In a shocking move however, his stumbling opponent suddenly stopped backing away and shot forward like a mantis, catching him slightly off-guard.

But Harry was just too fast and dexterous to fall for such a simple tactic. His hands came forth to block any strikes, but Natasha seemed to ignore them, latching onto his arm with a tight grasp.

She twisted his arms, her fingers digging into his armpits as she tried to pull his entire body off of the floor. But bigger than him she may be, she wasn't stronger. He dug his feets into the floor, bending down slightly to stay rooted to the ground.

Knowing the futility of her task, she quickly changed tactics and tried maneuvering his arms into a head lock, but he wasn't willing to stay idle. His other hand curled up in a fist and landed a heavy punch to her waist.

She grunted but didn't loosen, managing to twist his hand up behind him. He was very aware of how risky his position may get if she was able to get a head or body lock on him. The redhead could easily use his own strength against him should he let her.

So he did the only thing he could. Drag them both to the ground.

Eventually they both ended up wrestling and jostling on the floor, each trying to get the upper hand.

She was more skilled and knowledgeable, but he was more stronger, slippery, and dexterous. In the end the match was concluded when their final position ended up with Natasha locking her legs around his waist, while his hands gripped upon her hips.

She stopped struggling the movement he picked her cleanly off the ground, her legs still locked around his waist, and brought her down to the ground with brutal force. He stopped just half-a-feet from letting her back touch the floor.

They both knew, had he continued, he could've easily broken her back.

"I win." Harry declared, barely out of breath. "For the fourth consecutive time."

And he even followed the rule of no magic. Though as a point to her, she didn't use her batons or widow's bite either.

"Are you sure about that?" She asked, looking not at all defeated as a seductive smirk formed on her face.

He frowned, confused...before he felt it. Her hips suddenly started grinding against his groin, and her heels dug into the small of his back, bringing them closer.

He glanced down as his waist was being squeezed between her thighs, and a sudden hotness assaulted him out of nowhere, lighting his entire groin on fire. His heart was beating heavily in his ears while his eyes ravaged the female form beneath him with a sudden impulsive need.

"What are you doin–?" He started asking, bewildered at the reaction of his body.

He didn't get to finish though cause Natasha suddenly moved her legs back and kicked hard against his stomach, pushing herself back and using the momentum to roll onto her feet.

She gave absolutely no time for him to react, coming back in to land another kick to his chest.

[Gamer's Mind: Activated]

Clearity returned in Harry's mind, drowning his confusion and arousal into calmness and logic, and he reacted instantly.

He stepped back slightly to cushion the kick, knowing there was no dodging the attack. It still impacted with solid force, but the cushioning allowed him to catch the offending leg with both of his hands successfully.

She tried to use his hold as a leverage to twist in the air and land a flying kick but ended up with both of her legs getting trapped beneath his arms.

"Oh, fuck." She muttered, her face bleaching with growing horror, before he tugged her entire body off the floor like a sack of potatoes and reintroduced her face to the ground with terrifying force.

She had just enough time to bring her arms up to shield herself before she was slammed down with a thud.

"Now I win." He declared again, his eyes scanning her plump behind for just a second as she lay there ass-up, face down, before dismissing it entirely.

Her response was just a groan of pain as she rolled over to her back with considerable effort.

"Oww ow ow ow ow!" She howled, clutching onto her hand tenderly. "I think my hand's broken. Damnit. Did you have to use that much force?"

"Indeed." He nodded seriously. "Your breach of rules meant that you cannot be trusted to lay down unless completely defeated. And thus I delivered."

She stilled suddenly, before twisting over to look at him with a frown that grew in intensity as their eyes met. "Ah, I see. So you're back at your inhuman self again. Could've sworn I finally succeeded...I guess that was too much to hope for."

Harry shook his head. "If anything, you simply confirmed that I shouldn't drop my guard down even for a, as you put it, 'friendly spar'."

"That's not what you should–!" She started harshly before taking a deep breath, suddenly losing strength. "Did you atleast enjoy the fight?"

He tilted his head, pondering upon the question.

Did he enjoy himself? There were definitely moments where he found himself smiling or smirking in between the fight. Especially when he thought he was winning. Which meant that he definitely gained some satisfaction and happiness from the fight.

The question was, does satisfaction and happiness equate to enjoyment?

He nodded slowly, his mind reaching a conclusion. "I believe I did..."

But does enjoying a fight excuse his lapse in judgement?

"...But not enough to continue fighting with my emotions active."

Of course not.

Natasha sighed, turning away. "I guess I'll have to keep trying."

Harry frowned, before dismissing her words. "Do as you please."

"...told you this was a bad idea!"

Multiple voices came from beside them, and he turned to see two men quickly approaching their position. While a third person, a young girl of 18 or 19, slowly made her way out of the training room, though not before giving him one last nervous glance.

He knew both the men of course. Ares, he spent the most time with beside Kara, and perhaps Melinda before she got married. And that was saying something considering the man only had free time when he was finished with his duties as the director.

The other man, he knew to be the legendary Hawkeye.

'Observe'

Clint Barton

Age: 29

Level: 22

Health: 200/200

Stamina: 160/160

Stats

Strength: 20

Speed: 22

Dexterity: 30

Vitality: 20

Endurance: 16

Intelligence: 21

Wisdom: 25

His stats may not look anything special, bar for his dexterity, but Harry knew more than enough about him to know where his true strengths lied.

Suffice it to say, he wouldn't underestimate the Hawkeye.

"Harry." Ares greeted him with a calm nod, quite unlike Hawkeye who sped towards Natasha with a worried but stern gait.

The redhead however, waved him off before he could say anything. "I know, I know. Just...let it go for now, please? I think I broke my hand."

Harry's attention was focused on Ares however. He had news to deliver.

"I've selected where I wish to move." He announced to the man without hesitation.

Truly, why did he feel so reluctant to rely his decision for the past few days? It made no logical sense in delaying the inevitable.

"Tomorrow shall mark the end of our one year active contract. I shall follow the remaining part to the letter, but I will not be staying in this country for any longer."

The man looked crestfallen, but nodded nonetheless. "I had hoped but...I understand. When will you leave?"

"Tomorrow itself."

Ares sighed. "Well...allow me to arrange–"

"That will not be necessary, Captain." He interrupted the man. "I have made my own arrangements."

He did not want Shield to know where he'll be moving next. He still hadn't decided if he even wished to keep contact with the organisation after he collected his payment afterall.

But he will need to decide soon. Very soon.