Chapter 29: The Maximoff Problem
The encrypted transmission came through at 2:47 AM.
Justin jerked awake, his regeneration factor already healing the stiffness from falling asleep at his desk. The holographic display pulsed with priority alerts—AEGIS had intercepted something significant.
"Sir," AEGIS said, urgency cutting through the usual dry tone. "HYDRA communications detected. Subject: Human experimentation program in Sokovia. Keywords: 'volunteers,' 'gift-granting,' 'scepter-based enhancement.'"
Justin's blood went cold.
"Show me everything."
The data cascaded across his screen. Baron Strucker's facility. Experimental protocols. And two names that made his chest tighten: Pietro Maximoff. Wanda Maximoff.
It was happening. Right now. The twins were volunteering for HYDRA's experiments, driven by rage against Stark Industries, desperate for power to change their world.
And Justin knew—knew—that most subjects died screaming. That the Mind Stone's energy burned through human consciousness like acid through paper. That Pietro and Wanda would survive only because of some cosmic quirk that made them compatible with power that killed everyone else.
"AEGIS, confirm timeline. When do the experiments begin?"
"Estimated commencement: Three to five days. Subject recruitment is in final stages."
Three to five days to decide whether to save two children or let them suffer for the greater good.
Justin's hands clenched. The void marks on his arms pulsed with his racing heartbeat.
"I could stop this. Ghost Network assets in Eastern Europe. ARES Division. We hit the facility before the experiments start, extract the twins, give them normal lives. No trauma. No powers. No becoming weapons."
His Scientific Intuition provided the counterargument instantly: Without their powers, the Maximoffs wouldn't join the Avengers. Wouldn't be there for Ultron. Wouldn't help in Sokovia. Wouldn't—
"Wouldn't matter," Justin whispered. "They're children. I should save them."
"Sir?"
"Nothing. Get me everything. Facility layouts. Security protocols. Personnel rosters. I need options."
By dawn, Justin had compiled a complete intelligence package.
Strucker's facility was a fortress—underground bunker, enhanced security, HYDRA operatives who'd shoot first and never bother with questions. The experiments used Loki's scepter, which Justin knew contained the Mind Stone though no one else did.
Attempting extraction before enhancement meant fighting through HYDRA's forces, risking the twins in crossfire, and potentially alerting Strucker to move operations somewhere Justin couldn't track.
Attempting extraction after enhancement meant... letting it happen. Letting children suffer experimentation that would kill dozens of other subjects. Standing by while their minds were torn apart and rebuilt by cosmic energy.
He was still wrestling with it when Natasha found him in his office at noon.
"You look terrible," she said.
"HYDRA's experimenting on children. Sokovia facility. Two volunteers—twins. Most subjects will die. These two might survive, but the process will be..." He trailed off.
"Traumatic," Natasha finished. Her voice was carefully neutral. "And you're trying to decide whether to intervene."
"Their powers will be critical in future conflicts. If I rescue them now, if I prevent the enhancement—"
"Then two children don't suffer experimentation." Natasha's voice sharpened. "Justin, you're talking about letting kids be tortured because you think their suffering serves future purpose. That's exactly the logic Red Room used."
Justin flinched like she'd hit him. "You're right. God, you're right. But—"
"But what?"
"But I also know that if I interfere wrong, HYDRA might kill them. Or experiment differently in ways that leave them dead or insane. Or move operations somewhere I can't find." Justin rubbed his face. "My foreknowledge is imperfect. I know broad strokes, not every detail. What if I save them now and doom millions later because they weren't there when they were needed?"
It was the trolley problem writ large. Save two children now, or let them suffer so they could save thousands later. Prevent trauma, or allow it because the trauma created heroes.
Natasha sat down across from him. "Tell me their names."
"Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. Twins. Lost their parents to a Stark Industries missile years ago. They're volunteering because they want power to change things. To matter."
"How old?"
Justin's Scientific Intuition provided the calculation. "Twenty-five. Twenty-six next month."
"Not children, then. Adults making their own choice."
"Adults who don't know most volunteers die screaming. Who don't understand they're being manipulated by HYDRA." Justin's voice cracked. "They're choosing based on incomplete information."
"Everyone chooses based on incomplete information. That's called life." Natasha leaned forward. "You can't save everyone from bad choices, Justin. You can only try to minimize damage."
"So what do I do?"
Natasha was quiet for a long moment. "What do your instincts say?"
Justin thought about it. About timeline stability. About butterfly effects. About two people who would become Avengers if he let them suffer, or might become nothing if he intervened wrong.
"Compromise," he said slowly. "I don't prevent the enhancement. But I position assets for immediate extraction after they survive. Before HYDRA fully indoctrinates them. Before they become Ultron's pawns."
"That still means letting them suffer."
"I know." The words tasted like ash. "But it's the best terrible option I have."
Natasha studied him. "You hate this."
"I hate all of it. I hate knowing what's coming and being unable to stop it. I hate making choices where every option causes pain. I hate—" His voice broke. "—I hate becoming the kind of person who lets bad things happen because stopping them might cause worse things."
"Then you're still human." Natasha took his hand. "Monsters don't agonize over their choices. They just act. You're not a monster, Justin. You're just someone in an impossible situation trying to do the least harm."
"Is that enough?"
"It has to be."
Justin spent the next two days positioning assets.
Ghost Network operatives in Sokovia. Surveillance on Strucker's facility. Extraction teams on standby. Medical personnel prepared for powered individuals with unknown trauma. AEGIS tracking every communication in and out of the bunker.
When the experiments began, Justin would know. When the Maximoffs survived—if they survived—he'd be ready to extract them before HYDRA could exploit them.
It was the best plan he could make. It still felt like failure.
The night before the scheduled experiments, Justin couldn't sleep. He lay in bed staring at the ceiling, Natasha breathing softly beside him, and his mind conjured scenarios.
What if the Maximoffs died despite his knowledge they should survive? What if his interference changed outcomes? What if extraction failed and they remained HYDRA's weapons?
What if he was making the wrong choice?
Eventually, exhaustion pulled him under.
And he dreamed.
In the dream, Justin stood in Sokovia rubble.
Two children—not adults, children, maybe ten years old—huddled beside an unexploded Stark Industries missile. Their eyes were wide with terror. Their parents lay dead nearby.
Justin reached out. He could save them. Could pull them to safety. Could prevent everything that came after—the rage, the volunteering, the experiments.
But a voice whispered from the void: "If you save them, they won't become what they need to be. The future requires their pain. Their transformation. Their power."
"That's monstrous," Justin said.
"Yes," the void agreed. "But monsters are what saves the world when heroes aren't enough."
Justin stood frozen, hand extended, watching the children's terror. The missile ticked. The moment stretched.
And Justin chose.
He stepped back. Let the moment play out. Let the trauma happen because the future needed it to.
The children's eyes found his. Accusatory. Betrayed.
"You could have saved us," they whispered. "You chose not to."
"I'm sorry," Justin said. "I'm so sorry."
But sorry didn't change anything.
Justin woke gasping, Natasha immediately alert beside him.
"Nightmare?" she asked.
"Memory. Vision. I don't know." Justin pressed his palms against his eyes. "I dreamed about letting children suffer because the future needed their rage."
"The Maximoffs?"
"Yes."
Natasha pulled him close. "You're doing what you think is right. That's all anyone can do."
"What if 'right' still damns me?"
"Then you'll be damned. But you won't be alone." She kissed his temple. "Whatever happens, whatever choices you make, I'm here. Even if those choices are terrible."
Justin clung to her, feeling the weight of decisions that couldn't be unmade, consequences that couldn't be avoided, and the slow corruption of power eating through his soul one percentage point at a time.
Outside, dawn was breaking. In Sokovia, two adults would soon volunteer for experiments that would kill most subjects. Would suffer agony Justin could prevent but chose not to.
For the greater good. For the timeline. For future battles that required their specific powers.
All reasonable justifications.
None of them made Justin feel less like a monster.
But he'd made his choice. Set his assets in motion. And now all he could do was wait and pray that when the Maximoffs emerged—traumatized, powered, dangerous—he'd be ready to offer them something better than HYDRA's lies.
Something like redemption.
Even if he wasn't sure he deserved it himself.
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