[14] A Considerate Turn of Hearts

Chapter 14: A Considerate Turn of Hearts

—

Enrique regretted wishing to get caught on camera earlier. Now that he was indeed caught by the reporting helicopter's camera, dodging questions about what happened to Electro might be tricky once this incident was over. Sure, Enrique wasn't obliged to answer the public, but things changed if SHIELD decided to get involved. Something told him they would sooner rather than later.

'No, it's not important as long as Anna gets this power boost,' Enrique concluded while flying down to where Rogue was still helping the students evacuate.

It had been nearly 15 minutes, and most of the students had been rescued. Only a few people remained inside the school. With Electro gone, the police could handle the rest. Anna wasn't needed here anymore.

As he lowered his flight, everyone nearby stopped to look at him. Their eyes were filled with awe, gratitude, and a bit of envy, especially from the kids.

"That's enough, Rogue," Enrique called out, making Rogue turn to find him floating above her. "The enemy's been dealt with. I believe the police can manage the civilians now."

He turned to the nearby police officers who had arrived. "That's not a problem, is it, officers?"

"Uh—no, no, of course not," a large officer with a sergeant's badge quickly shook his head. "The New York Police Department is already very grateful to you and your… sidekick here, for the help provided. We will take care of the rest. Please, don't mind leaving if you are busy."

An officer of lower rank whispered something about if this was okay to do without higher approval, prompting Enrique to decide it was time to leave quickly. He nodded at the sergeant. "Thanks. We are in a bit of a hurry."

He descended to grab Anna by her waist, who wore a troubled expression.

"But, Supernova, we can still—"

"No. We have to be quick. Otherwise, Electro may wake up and flee," Enrique whispered in her ear.

****

Max "Electro" Dallon hadn't regained consciousness and hadn't fled from the forest-like area in Highland Park where Enrique had tied him up. The beating and short-circuiting Electro had endured were too much for him to shake off.

"So… what's up?" Anna asked, sounding rightfully confused. "Why haven't you handed him to the authorities yet?"

Enrique chuckled as he and Anna walked closer to the restrained villain. "I have a better plan." He crouched beside Electro and poked his forehead, making electricity flicker around it. "I can harness his energy as my own if he cooperates or is in a state where he can't resist. That means if I have him in my arm's reach, I'll be tons of times more powerful."

Enrique's electricity generation wasn't limitless, unlike Electro's. He spent his own energy to create electricity, which could be very tiring even for his body's Super Stamina. Additionally, he had a limit on how much voltage he could produce, enough that a newly awakened Electro could match and even somewhat overpower it.

In the end, he was just the Avatar of an Egyptian Goddess, powerful mainly because of her witch-powers rather than her Sky ones. Although he had earned mostly clean wins against his enemies, he still had many limitations.

"The problem is, I can't keep him around me. He's narrow-minded and already somewhat mentally broken after gaining his powers," Enrique explained further, looking up at Anna. "Sure, I could probably fix him up if I spent a few months on it, but why do that when I have you?"

Enrique stood up and walked over to Anna, who still looked confused. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Listen, Anna. I have some knowledge of your type of powers. You might be confused since your power absorption is temporary, but trust me, you can do this. If you touch him long enough, if you absorb his powers enough, you will gain his powers permanently."

"...?!"

"In that scenario, not only will you be more helpful to me, but you'll also be stronger on your own. You'll have your own fighting power instead of borrowing Ava's every time. You get it?"

Anna's eyes widened as she finally understood his point. She had never touched a person long enough—she was scared—so she didn't know this yet. The problem was that Electro might die if she absorbed his powers fully. In the comics, Anna stole Captain Marvel's powers, causing her to fall into a long coma, although she slowly regained her power after waking up. Electro wasn't as strong as Captain Marvel, so he would most likely die if Anna absorbed his powers fully.

But Enrique didn't feel bad about it. He wouldn't justify his actions by saying Electro was destined to be a villain or something idiotic like that. He simply couldn't care for strangers.

"..."

Yet, Anna Marie hesitated.

"What's wrong? What are we waiting for?" Enrique frowned at her. "Anna?"

"Can… Can I not do that?" Anna bit her lip and looked away, her shoulders shifting uncomfortably under his grip.

Enrique's frown deepened.

****

Anna Marie felt uncomfortable and ungrateful under his confused gaze. Her eyes couldn't meet his, not even for a moment. 

"I… I just…" Anna stuttered. It's not that she was suddenly oozing with morality and didn't want to potentially kill this man, although that was somewhat part of the reason too, the real reason was something else entirely. She didn't know what to say.

"Stop stuttering. I'm not going to eat you." Enrique sighed and gently released her shoulders. He rubbed his brows with his fingers. "Tell me truthfully, is it because of what you saw yesterday at the gym?" he asked, a bit annoyed. It seemed he didn't consider the blockage of morality part here, and rather went there instead. "I already told you, Anna. You and I aren't a couple."

"...." Anna's eyes trembled. She bit her lip harder, then looked back up. "It's not about that."

"Then what?"

"I… I don't want to permanently steal this guy's powers." Anna said, nudging her chin at the unconscious Electro. "Just look at him. His skin is blue, and the rope binding him has burned off a little, even when he's unconscious. It must be because of the electricity from his body. I saw his body brighter when he was conscious, so that means he probably couldn't touch anything while awake. Most things just melt or break."

"...."

She looked back up at Enrique, her eyes teary. "I don't care about the blue skin. If I could help you, then it's not a big sacrifice. But… Enrique, I already can't touch any living beings. I'm not ready to lose my ability to touch inanimate objects too."

Enrique's frown melted away. Anna could feel tears trailing down her cheeks, but she couldn't care about it. She just stared at him, her eyes burning with tears.

"I see. Sorry." Enrique's expression grew gentle. He walked over and brought her into a hug. "I'm sorry. I didn't think that far." his hand ruffled her hair, his lips brushing against her forehead.

"...."

Anna became speechless. She hadn't expected this reaction. She thought he might force her to do it or at least look at her disapprovingly before leaving, maybe even tell her some harsh words. But this? This reminded her how gentle he truly was, despite his infidelity.

"Really, I apologize. I must come off as such a bastard, justifiably so. You poor little thing." He kissed her head. "If you have any curse you want to yell at me, feel free to start anytime."

"...."

She felt his arms gently patting her back, lovingly embracing her, pulling her closer to his chest. Anna's feelings twisted as she felt her stomach flutter with butterflies. She hugged him back and broke out in tears.

…Seriously, Anna, you dummy, Anna cursed herself. To think she blamed him just because he liked to play around a little… A man like him didn't deserve to be cursed. Never. How could she ever repay such a kind man?

****

Unlike his usual self, Enrique wasn't saying these things with the intention of manipulation. He genuinely felt bad for not considering how Anna must feel. Actually, he hadn't even thought of the problem of touch at all.

What a pity. Truthfully, it's not as if Electro's power isn't controllable. If I take what I remember from Spider-Man: No Way Home as canon, Enrique thought, Electro could control his powers enough in that movie to turn on a television with a mental command, enough to not burn everything that comes into contact with his skin. His skin color was normal too.

He stopped himself from thinking. These were just excuses, he admitted. To reach that level of control, months—if not years—of practice was needed. This fragile little girl wasn't ready for that. She was in a mentally low spot right now.

There wasn't any real reason to be mad at her. She had a point, and even from his perspective, she felt so weak and pitiful. It's not as if he hated Anna, there was no need to torture her with such a task. Quite the contrary, actually. She was sweet, likable, and cute too. So he couldn't be mad at her.

Lastly, it's not as if not having a battery by his side would hamper his job that much. Sure, having that power would make his job easier, but it was negligible. It wasn't enough to force this frail little girl into something she didn't want.

Enrique kept patting her hair as she sobbed on his chest. Eventually, she stopped, and only soft muffles were heard.

"There, there, calm down now. Remember, if you don't like doing something I tell you to do, you can always tell me outright. This isn't Beauty and the Beast, and I'm not a monster in human skin. I'm not going to force you into anything." she kissed her head.

Anna sobbed, her arms around his neck. "Enm…"

"Come on, let's return home."

It wasn't business as usual today. He supposed, after dying for being too big of a prick in his last time, he should be a bit less than that in this life. At least toward his loved ones.

****

He's too kind to me. Anna didn't know if she deserved that—not after how she forgot about him just a week after entering Xavier's. Not after how she dared to feel betrayed yesterday even after he explained that they weren't dating, so he could and should sleep with other girls. Not after misunderstanding and assuming his next actions, only to be proven utterly wrong.

Anna wished she could keep hugging him like this a bit longer, but at the same time, she questioned if someone like her deserved this man's caring embrace. He might have some questionable qualities, but they were negligible in comparison to his good qualities. 

She drew her face back, quickly wiping her tears away, and looked up at him with an apologetic expression.

"I'm sorry, really…"

"Don't be. I should be sorry."

Enrique replied casually as he walked over to Electro to pick him up with one arm.

"...What about him? What are you going to do to him?" Anna asked, ashamed that she couldn't do the one job she had—to absorb power—and because of that, Enrique would probably have to deal with unnecessary hassle.

She really wondered what they were going to do with him, though. He wasn't a normal criminal, would dropping him at the Police Station be enough? Or was there some secret hero stuff in such a scenario that her newbie self didn't know about?

"Grab my other arm tightly." Enrique ignored her question and said. Anna did just that without protest. "Also, there's a chance we might come across men in black outside our villa. Don't freak out, alright?"

Anna looked curious but nodded rather than asking, not trusting her voice to not break. It made her quite anxious though hearing him talk about 'men in black' like that. He had mentioned them last time too, were they really a thing? The situation seemed more troublesome than it should have been, she hoped nothing would go wrong.

Enrique took off to the air with her in one arm, and an unconscious Electro in the other.

A minute into the flight, Anna's eyes widened as she indeed found men in black standing outside their villa, rows of black cars parked to the side. Soon, she would learn that because she failed to do the only job she had, Enrique had to deal with a potentially lethal, super-secret organization named S.H.I.E.L.D.

She couldn't be more ashamed.

X-x-X

Agent Phil Coulson stood in front of a sleek, black Chevy Suburban, flanked by six more cars of the same make. He wore his classic black suit and sunglasses, exuding an air of discipline. Under the moonlight, he waited for Enrique Nova outside the villa that SHIELD had reported as his residence.

Director Fury had initially ordered that Enrique Nova not be contacted until more information was gathered about him. However, the rule needed to be broken due to the recent incident involving a super-powered individual attacking a high school and being defeated by "Supernova." SHIELD wanted to take the blue-skinned criminal into custody, necessitating contact with Enrique.

Agent Coulson's mission was to take the publicly dubbed "Electro" away from Supernova and engage in a conversation to learn more about him. As he waited, he noticed a white figure flying towards him. It was Supernova, carrying his sidekick and the villain on either arm.

Seeing Coulson, the superhero slowed his flight and landed in front of the black cars parked outside his house.

"Good evening, Mr. Nova," Agent Coulson greeted with a smile.

"It's nighttime, Mr. Coulson. Regardless, how can I help you today?" Supernova replied, casually dropping his sidekick to her feet.

Agent Coulson frowned. How did this man know his name?

"Ah. Sir, have we met before?"

"If it's about your name, I saw it on your ID card," the superhero explained as if reading Coulson's mind.

However, Coulson's ID card was inside his inner breast pocket, not visible to anyone.

...So, X-ray vision too? Coulson thought. Noted.

****

"Aha, Mr. Nova. I should have expected that," Phil said with a smile.

Enrique smiled back. Feeding them false information was both fun and made him appear more dangerous. It was better to come off as a formidable figure than a lucky one.

"As for your question, Mr. Nova," Coulson continued, unaware he was being trolled, "you can help me by allowing me to deliver this criminal to where he belongs. I assure you, putting him in jail would be far less effective than if you let us handle it."

"By 'us,' you mean…?"

"Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division. SHIELD, for short," Coulson explained. "We are an extra-government organization that deals with unusual situations the world faces."

"Aha, SHIELD. I've heard about you guys," Enrique said, feigning realization. "Alright. Here you go, take him."

Coulson seemed a bit surprised. Perhaps he didn't expect Enrique to hand over Electro so easily. But really, Enrique had no reason to keep Electro. It was bothersome. The moment Electro woke up, he'd start wreaking havoc. Enrique could beat him up again but not control him for good. It was better to just give him up.

"For a price, of course," Enrique added, pulling his hand back just as two agents wearing rubber gloves were about to grab Electro. "Send me 500k to my bank account. I'm sure a free electricity factory would pay more than that."

Coulson's trained polite smile wavered a bit.

"What? I'm a hero, sure, but that doesn't mean I don't need to eat or anything. I actually need to eat roughly ten times more than a normal person. It's a cost for my powers. I need that money." Enrique spouted another lie, this time providing false information that could be seen as a weakness—if it were true. "Besides, you guys are government people. Sucking some money off you is karma."

Coulson stayed silent, incredulous.

"Be quick. Otherwise, I'll sell this guy to Stark. I'm sure he'll be fascinated by a living arc reactor," Enrique threatened, stepping back with a baffled Anna to give Coulson some space.

****

Well that would piss Fury off. Can't help it. Enrique waited for the agent to finish discussing this with his superiors, while chatting with Anna while ruffling her hair.

After about five minutes of Coulson talking on his phone, he regained his trained smile and approached Enrique.

"Sorry for the delay. Please check your email," he said.

Enrique pulled out his phone and checked his email. "Is the amount right?" Coulson asked a while later.

"Just right," Enrique nodded. "Though to be fair, I didn't expect you guys to actually do it. I was just joking about selling him to Stark. I would have handed him over to you in five minutes."

He really would have. It wasn't a lie. It was bothersome to go through all the process of meeting Tony Stark and then pitching him about Electro.

Though Coulson kept a polite smile on his lips, he seemed more than a bit amused. Enrique wasn't sure if his words were the reason for his amusement or if it was the muffled curses coming from the earpiece tucked into Coulson's right ear—the voice sounding distinctly like Samuel L. Jackson.

"Anything else you need? This superhero job is tiring. I want to sleep already," Enrique asked while patting Anna's head as she rested on his shoulder.

She was already dozing off. This incident had been an emotional rollercoaster for her, so she seriously needed some sleep too.

"Nothing else, no," Agent Coulson said, shaking his head. "Thanks for doing business with us, Mr. Nova. SHIELD might contact you later to keep in touch. Goodnight and goodbye."

With that, Agent Phil Coulson entered his car and drove off, followed by the other vehicles.

Anna rubbed her eyes as she watched the cars leave. "You sure this won't cause any trouble?"

"Not really. This organization won't last long, anyway. Let's say a year and a half from now," Enrique reassured her as she hugged him, muttering an apology for getting him into possible trouble even though he didn't mind.

"Enough of this. Let's go inside. Ava and Greer must be worried. I just hope they didn't run off seeing these suspicious cars," Enrique finished, kissing her head.

Then, they both walked into their villa.

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Author Note: Like I said in Eternal Samsara, I'm going through exams, that's why I couldn't upload for two days 😕 anyways hope you enjoyed this chapter.