Chapter Text
*This takes place shortly after the movie*
Part 1
A couple of days after announcing the 'New Avengers' to the public, Valentina could finnaly take a breath from the chaos of it all. She had been let off the hook by the Congressman and was skillfully able to shove under the rug all the incriminating evidence of her company OXE. As a bonus, the public seemed to be happy to have survived yet another supervillain. A happy public meant no more trouble. Her plan (although altered) seemed to be working well.
Sure, the New Avengers hated her guts but they will eventually get over it. Valentina had already shrugged off Yelena's threat. "We own you now", Valentina scoffs, yeah sure. She wasn't scared of them, they couldn't do her any harm. She hired them. She was the one who made them into heroes (despite being completely pathetic). Isnt that what they wanted? The glory? Yelena said it herself, she wanted to take on a more public role. Well... There you have it.
Valentina's only true anxiety was Robert. He was the biggest threat of them all. He was unstable, incredibly dangerous and not to mention unpredictable. Thankfully, he seemed to have calmed down and, after almost destroying New York, he seemed to have forgotten everything that happened prior. That meant thay Valentina didn't have much to worry about. Project Sentry wasn't a complete disaster after all.
...
Currently, it was 2am and Valentina was flying over the U.S inside her private jet. Calmly, she sipped on some coffee. The plan was to fly to Oregon. Leaving the New Avengers in New York, she told them she needed to attend a high profile charity event (to upkeep her public profile). Obviously, this was an excuse to go and inspect one of her old OXE secret labs before it was going to be destroyed by 'accident'. Mel, her secretary and assistant was also on board and sat on the jet's white leather seats across from Valentina. She was glad Mel had come back to her senses after almost betraying her. She made excellent coffee after all.
With a bored curiosity, Valentina looked out of the jet's window. It was dark and stormy outside, the true definition of miserable. The clouds were saturated with grey matter and looked as if they were about to explode. The rain slammed against the outside of the jet. Some turbulence shook the jet every so and then. Only a couple of hours and Valentina would be at her destination. Mel worked to keep her updated on every inside movements of her company. Mel's voice occupied the otherwise quiet vehicle. Suddenly, Mel stopped speaking and trailed off with a grumble of "what?".
Valentina caught the sudden lack of her assistant's speaking and lifted her eyes toward Mel. Mel had a confused wrinkle between her eyebrow and her fingers hovered unsurely over the ipad.
"What is it, Mel?" Valentina asked demandingly.
Mel spoke with a clear undertone of... panic? "uhm, well... Do you remember the secrets base in Utah? The one where Mr Reynolds was found together with-"
"Yes. I know which one. Get to the point." Valentina ushered impatiently.
"The few functional cameras remaining picked up some odd sounds from inside that base." Mel replied, her eyes scanning over the ipad.
Valentina listened to Mel with anticipation. However, Valentina quickly showed her disappointment as she sighed.
"So what? Its probably just some scavenger thinking they'll find something worth money. Send some agents if they continue and have them arrested for trespassing private property. Regardless, we destroyed everything in the incinerator, no? So we dont run any risks." Valentina said, dismissevley.
"Yes, of course... But the noise comes from inside the incinerator room. " Mel says hesitantly.
"Shouldn't that room be sealed?" Valentina asks.
"It is. Its completely sealed there is no sign of any breaking in" Mel replies, typing something on the ipad.
That seems to catch Valentina's interest. Having noticed this, Mel asks
"Would you like me to play you the recording?".
Valentina nods. Mel hands the ipad to Valentina and the clip starts rolling. Its a rather dim view of one of the big metal panel doors to the incinerator. For the first few seconds the camera doesn't pick ip any unsual noise, just its own humm of electricity and typical white noise. Then, suddenly, a distinctly human voice cuts through the silence. It comes from behind the door, its muffled and slightly unclear but its undeniably the sound of a raw and desperate cry. The wailing continues for another 2 minutes before stopping, making the building fall back into its silence. The clip ends.
Valentina's attitude has shifted. She replays the clip and listens carefully.
"When was this recording captured?" Valentina asked, now she wore a similarly confused expression to Mel. She hands over the ipad back to Mel.
"2 days ago. It started the day after The Void's attack. And it hasn't stopped -"
"It hasn't stopped?" Valentina cuts in.
"The crying gets picked up by the cameras every couple of hours. The latest occured 3 hours ago." Mel quickly replies.
"You mean to tell me there is something inside my incenerator? Something alive?" Valentina's eyes narrowing skpetically. "How did it get in there?" she asks.
Mel shrugs. "Uhm- I'm looking through past footage but it doesn't seem like there was any sign of any type of break in. The only reasonable answer is that whatever is inside must have already been inside before the incinerator started."
"You're telling me that *it* was in the incinerator before it was all incinerated... And survived?" Valentina asks carefully, a slow realization creepy into her.
"I mean- I can't confirm for sure-" Mel mutters.
"Wait." Valentina says, her eyes wide. "If Robert was in the incinerator too before, then is it possible that someone else was in it too? Check the files of all the subjects in Project Sentry now."
Mel nods. She rapidly typed on her ipad, her eyes flicking through numerous paragraphs.
"Nothing is turning up- all the subject from Project Sentry were declared dead, there is no way-" Mel trails off.
"So was Robert before he had his second coming!" Valentina pinches the bridge of her nose and exhaled loudly.
"Can't you do some sort of voice match with the audio of the recording?" She asks.
"It's impossible. The audio is too distorted and far away. I dont think the results would be accurate" says Mel, working furiously on her ipad.
"Alright then... Send some agents down to assess what the situation is like, preferably non-lethal for now. If there is someone inside worth my time then I will request that they gets moved to New York for clearer observation.
Mel nods "Yes, right away."
Silence settles again. Only the sound of distant stormy rumbles and electricity creak across the jet.
"You know what this means?" Valentina suddenly says.
"Uh.. What?" Mel asks, a little lost.
"We might have another super human in our hands. One nobody knows the existence of. Not even the 'brute' Avengers. If the situation is like I think it is, then we might have a huge opportunity in our hands. Project Sentry may not have been a total failure." Valentina says with a sort of grim excitement that Mel doesn't particularly like the sound of.