"I have survived"
The next morning, Artoria left the room with dark circles under her eyes that should not have been possible on her face.
She was tired, not physically but mentally. Morgan did not do anything that night, nothing too excessive; at least she reveled in Artoria's panic with every move she made.
She invaded her bed and pretended to be asleep while Artoria, still awake, recited the digits of pi in despair.
Morgan was not content with simply invading Artoria's bed, of course not. She wanted Artoria to feel such desperation that she could not take it anymore. She wanted to break down the defenses of the stoic king of knights. She embraced her, making sure to stay as close as possible. She herself made daring movements under the covers disguised as involuntary movements that strained her will. At some point, she stopped pretending to be asleep and began whispering things in Artoria's ear, many of them not suitable for minors. And what almost broke Artoria was Morgan's playful bite on her neck and the kiss on her ear.
It was a critical blow that almost defeated her, but she survived, raising her defenses stronger than ever and enduring throughout the night until morning.
Morgan, unlike Artoria, was radiant. She toyed with Artoria as she pleased all night and was satisfied. She enjoyed watching the person who was once known for never flinching, even when facing a giant dragon, finally flinch before her. It was a rewarding experience for her.
"Okay, do not just stand there, little sister, we have to work."
Morgan commented, walking away from the scene, leaving behind a mentally exhausted Artoria without showing any compassion whatsoever.
"Alright Artoria, pull yourself together. You are a gentleman, not a beast."
Artoria told herself, resuming her walk to her post. She knew they would be like this for several years and worrying too much would eventually make it better to focus on work and ensure that the impulses born from her masculine soul did not win the battle for control at night.
Artoria's job was not difficult; as long as she was not assigned a mission, she would be fully occupied with training recruits. The base was not just a scientific reserve; it also served as a training base for newly enlisted soldiers in Luciana. Artoria was in charge of these young men.
The fighting techniques she would teach were not advanced, just methods of defense in confined spaces for trench warfare and methods of concealment for missions in very open areas. Fairly basic things for ground troops.
Thus passed the first few days.
"Do not just push. Use your opponent's legs. He will be just as desperate as you are to attack."
Artoria commanded in a calm but resonant voice as she grabbed her opponent's machine gun, pushing him away and causing him to lose control of his momentum while she lifted him with her foot while he was still unstable.
"Track"
The man fell flat on his chest, and before he could recover, Artoria pressed his back and head with her knee and hand respectively, superficially planting a knife at the top of his neck.
"It might be easier to end it with a single well aimed shot, but while the clash is raging on the front lines, you cannot waste bullets. Respond quickly and decisively, but with a cool head. Attack, counterattack, defend, advance, and keep your life alive in the process. That is all."
Advised Artoria as she rose from under the man, helping him in the process.
"Are you alright, soldier"
Artoria asked in her usual indifferent tone, but with a hint of concern. Artoria had always been careful to contain her strength; it was obvious that if she did not, she would easily kill a reserve soldier in every training session. But she still knew she had not gone too far, since even while holding back, she could break anyone's bones in training, especially the soldier standing in front of her.
"Yes yes I am fine, I just… I felt like a cargo truck was pressing me against the ground."
Recruit Steve Rogers complained, clearly in pain.
He knew it was not appropriate to comment on a woman's weight, but he really felt that way. Luckily, Artoria did not care about that kind of thing.
She was more worried about whether she had left an internal wound on this future Captain America who was now so thin he looked like the wind could carry him away.
Corporal Rogers joined in the first month that Artoria began her duties as a combat instructor, and she discreetly kept an eye on him during that time.
Her reason was because she was worried that her presence would change some things related to Captain America's background and development; as a result, Artoria's only concern was not to kill him by accident.
"I like your initiative kid, but I am worried about accidentally killing you every time you volunteer for the demonstration during training."
Artoria said, somewhat weary of this.
Steve was an exemplary soldier, as expected, with an unwavering sense of duty and the courage worthy of a hero. If it were not for the fact that he was not very physically capable, he would already be a warrior of great worth.
"Go to the infirmary. If I did not break a rib or burst a lung, come back."
Ordered Artoria without hesitation.
This might seem like excessive concern, but when it came to Artoria, no one would comment on it, as that could very well be the case.
In the first few days after Artoria introduced herself to the recruits, a good number of them tried to challenge her authority, treating her as less because she was a woman. It was when a group of these soldiers tried to cross the line that everything changed.
They were rushed to the emergency room. The joke backfired spectacularly, leaving them with injuries worse than they could have sustained on the battlefield. Things did not go any better in the infirmary, as Morgan was there and did not take kindly to those who messed with what was hers.
No one questioned Artoria anymore; from then on it would make no sense to die before going to war.
Steve did not think it was that bad, but it was anyway because the possibility was not zero, at least when it came to Artoria.
The others ignored him and continued the exercises of the signal. Artoria alone watched them stoically until a certain man with an eye patch called her over.
"Miss Artoria, you are being called to Mr Phillips office."
Fury conveyed it with seriousness.
Artoria knew what was going on. Her period of inactivity was over; she spent a whole month as an assistant while senior management debated whether or not she was a Hydra spy. The same with Morgan; it was not as if they could be blamed. Hydra already had a long history of infiltrating very convincing spies into the Allied ranks; they could not take any chances.
Now they had finally determined that neither Artoria nor Morgan were Hydra agents, and they could finally begin the real work.
Back in Chester's office, the man greeted her warmly, looking a little excited.
"Welcome Miss Artoria. I am sorry to have kept you so long. Our security policies do not allow us to take risks; I suppose you have noticed."
Colonel Phillips remarked, inviting Artoria to sit down. She nodded understandingly; she would not complain about this kind of concern, after all, the situation demanded it.
"It is quite difficult to evade infiltration attempts. We cannot launch frontal assaults without taking risks, even with STARK's advanced weapons technology. Our field agents are more like spies infiltrating Hydra bases and their allies; a frontal approach would only kill them immediately. But in your case Miss Artoria, I do not think I need to worry about that."
Chester commented, passing a report to Artoria.
"Mmm Canada"
Commented Artoria with bewilderment.
The papers indicated that she would be sent to an uncharted reserve in the snowy mountains of Canada. The part that says private reserve is a euphemism for Hydra base. Artoria did not mind being sent to Canada; she was just puzzled to learn that there was a Hydra base there. The papers also said that she would work in conjunction with the Canadian army under the British flag.
The word Canada brought back memories for Artoria of a certain pair of well known heroes who were born there.
"I understand. When will I be deployed"
Artoria asked without thinking much more. What would be, would be. She had no qualms about leaving for a while. Her only concern was leaving Morgan alone, but with the time they had spent together, Artoria trusted her enough to believe that she would not cause any problems in her absence.
"Three days. A logistics cargo plane will pick you up first thing in the morning. As it is an emergency mission, it is best to be as quick as possible."
Chester replied, to which Artoria nodded and left the place. She had to go to the main laboratory, which was separate from the main base hidden underground, and tell Morgan that she was going on a mission.
It did not really matter if she left without saying anything, but seeing how attached she had been to her the last month, she did not think she would take it well if she did that now.
"Morgan, we could..." Baan
Artoria had only entered the testing room where she had been told Morgan was, only to be greeted with a bullet to the head. She could have easily dodged the bullet; it was coming so slowly in her eyes that she could have even held it between her fingers.
But she did not; she already knew who it was and it suited her to play along.
"Wow, the increased power made the impact quite echo. Let us try this time without the lock."
Morgan commented while holding the criminal weapon, which resembled an automatic rifle but was larger, while she was still pointing it at her. Howard Stark was beside her, staring wide eyed at the two sisters as if he were seeing a ghost.
One for shooting her sister without hesitation twice, and the other for withstanding the impact of a bullet with the power of a ballistic cannon that had developed head on.
"Sister, do not use me as your test dummy; you will not get the result you are looking for."
"How awful, it would be nice if this managed to blow a hole in your head."
"...."
Howard watched this strange duo of sisters joking about the possible murder of each other as if it were an everyday occurrence.
Howard worked with Morgan for a whole month and had some understanding of the woman's character.
Cold, methodical, cruel, and sadistic, with no interest in anything except her work. Several times the guy used his great charisma to break through the mask of indifference she always showed, but there was no progress. Only when she was with her sister did she show anything resembling happiness, something he never saw her have.
Those two sisters had a strange dynamic, but they cared for each other. It was a twisted love, but it was love nonetheless.
"So what does she want from me, my little sister?"
Morgan asked, ignoring the bewildered Stark and focusing her attention on Artoria, not caring about the fact that she had shot her with the equivalent of a miniature gunner.
Artoria did not dwell on what had happened; it was pointless. She simply told her that she had a mission and was leaving for a while.
"Hmm, so you have already started working. I was wondering why they suddenly asked for my active participation in perfecting the serum instead of continuing to act as a lab assistant. It is curious how these people take so long to trust, but I do not blame them; I would not trust someone like me either."
Morgan argued, complaining aloud, but she did not really care. In the past, she herself had spent a lot of time in seclusion, doing practically nothing, only surfacing on rare occasions. She almost did not care much about acting foolishly for long periods of time. After all, she was not a doctor out of self interest, but out of a desire to be close to what belonged to her.
"Worrying about you is stupid, so I will just say do not try to play the knight when nobody needs it."
Morgan told her in an indifferent tone, but that was the closest she could get to saying be careful without hurting her pride.
Not long after, Artoria was flying over the high mountains of Canada near the forward camp where her mission team was stationed. She was no longer wearing the normal British army uniform but a tactical combat uniform with pieces of armor that resembled those of the cavalry, prioritizing agility over protection, something she did not really need. Over it, she wore the cloak and hood of Grey's attire.
She looked like an Assassin's Creed assassin, but with darker tones.
She wasted no time, telling the pilot she would just jump out, and before he could argue, she had already left the plane in mid air.
She fell in freefall like a meteorite entering the atmosphere, crashing into a wooded area, and to avoid worrying the team on the plane, she quickly reported that she was safe using the communicator created by Stark.
She had already memorized the map of the terrain and moved through the forest until she reached the camp.
She arrived without much trouble, routinely inspecting her attendants.
Artoria was also well known in Canada, which helped her make a good first impression.
She introduced herself to the team politely until she saw someone she did not expect to see in that situation.
"These two are the main vanguard for the mission: James Howlett and John Howlett, superhuman and highly capable soldiers."
The squadron captain introduced the two unique looking men.
"It is a pleasure to be with both of you at the front, so I appreciate your care."
Artoria greeted politely and with her usual indifference, but inside she was bewildered.
Those were Wolverine and Sabretooth.
She recognized those two not by their names, since it was the first time she had heard them, but because they were easily recognizable.
The bestial feeling those two gave off made them seem more like animals than humans. Wolverine's short stature, often mentioned in the comics, and his savage posture, similar to that of a wolf on the prowl, lent credence to this, and Sabretooth was even more bestial than his brother. Long, disheveled hair, five pairs of claws that he did not hide on his hands, and the constant growling he let out. They both smelled like wet dog.
They both looked at Artoria cautiously, but not fearfully, analyzing dangerous prey. Their instincts told them that messing with the woman before them would not end well.
"Yes... it is a pleasure."
James took the initiative and greeted Artoria by taking her hand. It was quite a strange scene. A very beautiful woman, over six feet four inches, bending slightly to greet a strapping man no more than five feet three. If the people around them did not have some self control, they would be rolling on the floor laughing.
James tried to be polite, but it was obvious it was not his strong suit. He wanted to test Artoria's strength by shaking her hand, but he could not find the courage. He only offered a formal greeting, and they parted. It seemed he was affected by Artoria's fairy blessing, which had the ability to pacify beasts to a certain extent.
John said nothing. He just sighed in annoyance and went on with what he was doing. He did not bother to acknowledge Artoria, nor did he plan to. If she was not prey, he was not interested. He was the kind of man who only followed his desires, regardless of the opinions of others, especially not with an animal, much less with a man.
James just grunted in discomfort. He really did have a better temper than his brother.
Leaving the introductions aside, they had to work. Hydra's base was located inside a sunken canyon surrounded by mountains, camouflaged among the white snow and fallen trees.
According to James, they only found the base because one of his potential experiments fled to a nearby town where he was rescued by the inhabitants, but Hydra agents found the place and, to eliminate any witnesses, destroyed and killed all the inhabitants, including the fugitive.
They burned the houses and cleaned the scene without leaving a trace, but those agents didn't count on the fact that they left behind a scent trail that was detected by James and John, who were on the advance team that arrived as rescue reinforcements and led them to the Hydra base.
"Those idiots were too confident, thinking no one would find them out."
James commented sarcastically that he and his brother had managed to track down the agents during the search, leading them directly to the base. At first, they thought it was just a Nazi outpost, so they didn't take it seriously. James wanted to report the discovery, but his brother John rushed forward without a second thought, which led James to accompany him.
It didn't take long for them to realize it wasn't a normal base when they were riddled with bullets by automated turrets that fired laser beams instead of bullets.
They escaped almost unharmed thanks to their regenerative abilities, but the rest of their team were not so lucky.
"That means they are now aware that they have been discovered."
Artoria commented, raising an eyebrow in a grimace of disapproval.
Not only were they reckless enough to raid a potential Hydra base, but they also alerted the enemy that they had been discovered, risking the other side reinforcing their defenses.
"Well....uss"
James apologized half heartedly; he didn't really take these things seriously. It wasn't his first war, and he'd lived for quite some time. He didn't take the consequences of his actions very seriously; after all, killing him was difficult.
"Okay, let's move towards the goal. Let's prepare an action plan once we see the situation."
Artoria ordered the team to mobilize; no one questioned it. After all, she had been assigned as the leader of the operation.
They moved on modified motorcycles, designed to navigate snow and rough terrain, courtesy of Stark. They reached a good distance from Hydra's hunt and, as expected, reinforced security.
Not only was it larger than what was shown in the report submitted to Artoria, but there were also sentries and watchtowers. The automatic laser turrets mentioned by James were different from those he described; they were larger and seemed to have a greater range.
All these changes took place over a period of two weeks; from the time the first photo was taken, it was no longer a base but a fortress.
"How were they able to do all this in such a short time, and why the hell didn't they just move the base instead?"
James complained when he saw how the once simple base now resembled a maximum security prison.
Artoria also found it strange; if they had the resources to fortify a base in the middle of the snow, then it would be easier to mobilize it.
"Something wasn't right."
Artoria remarked to herself and began to look more closely, not only with the eyes of fairies but also with the eyes that could see beyond any surface, the divine eyes of a goddess.
If they preferred to reinforce security instead of moving the base, then it meant they couldn't move it.
Artoria had been able to feel the flow of magic constantly moving around her for some time, but she didn't pay attention to it at first until she remembered something.
Hydra not only researched alien technology and biological enhancements, but also magic. They didn't just learn magic; they performed rituals, experimented with ancient artifacts, and made deals with demons. These weren't normal approaches to magic; they were literal leaps into a world beyond their capabilities, with the intention of reaping all the benefits.
A dangerous mindset that disregards the consequences.
Then I looked closely and noticed enormous flows of magic running through the air and the earth to the deepest depths, with the base of Hydra as its center.
It wasn't just any invocation; they were trying to call forth something powerful and ancient, something they couldn't control.
"We need to hurry"
Artoria said, getting up from the ground with a face so serious it was almost frightening.
"Huh? Wait, wait, wait, how are we supposed to go in there? I know you're strong, there's no one in the army who doesn't know that, but even you would have a hard time if you charged head on into that."
James argued, pointing to the main gate of the first wall of the fortified base. The gate alone was an anti tank defense, no matter how physically strong Artoria was; it would be difficult to breach it, or so James thought.
"Don't worry, I can't just wave a sword in my hands."
Artoria responded by gathering particles of golden light that spiraled around her hand, leaving the future Wolverine bewildered.
Artoria could easily break through the defenses with sheer physical strength, but that would alert the enemy, giving them time to prepare and surround the team.
Artoria would be fine, but the others aren't. Besides, the faster Hydra intervenes and stops what they're trying to do, the better.
"Tell everyone to get ready"
Artoria ordered a bewildered James, who quickly composed himself and did as he was asked. He didn't know what those lights in Artoria's hand were, nor what he was trying to do, but the sense of danger emanating from that sliver of power already made him aware of the magnitude of the destruction it would unleash.
With everything ready, Artoria extended her hands forward, pointing to the main door that was in front of the entrance to the innermost part of the base.
The small, star like lights spun rapidly around Artoria's finger, forming a spiral. It spun for a moment longer until it fired without a sound, without any warning, just a comet like flash streaking across the sky.
"BOOOON!"
The light intensified, then a thunderous sound echoed through the mountains, followed by alarm sounds.
"...shit"
James, seeing the result with wide, surprised eyes, said, "I'm speaking."
The light dimmed, and what appeared next left them breathless.
A path created as if a train, traveling at high speed, were to crash head on into a wall and not stop until it broke through all the barriers, without detours, always straight ahead.
The door disappeared, leaving a clear path to the innermost part of the base.
"Don't get distracted, run!"
I order Artoria to run forward without repeating a second time; they must not give the enemy time to organize.
".....!You heard them, move forward!"
They were in shock for a while until they remembered their position and quickly ran after Artoria.
During the journey they encountered fierce resistance from guards who reacted quickly, firing fervently at the invaders, while others rushed at them in an attempt to halt their advance; all were repelled.
The savage combination of John and James could deal with anyone who tried to get close; they moved fast and killed with such brutality that there was no need to confirm whether the attacker was alive or not.
James, although his bone claws seemed fragile, were actually very strong and sharp, tearing the enemy apart with great ease, and John jumped from enemy to enemy, tearing necks with his beastly claws, even biting them in soft areas of the body, detaching their flesh.
The others, ordinary people but elite soldiers, were firing indiscriminately, creating enemy casualties at a distance and forcing them to retreat further.
When they finally reached the entrance of the base, Artoria stayed at the gate waiting for everyone to enter. When everyone was inside, Artoria fearlessly faced the pursuers. He raised his hand again, but the golden energy from the previous attack didn't appear. Instead, there was the texture of a sinking plastic fabric that extended into the air and grew larger as Artoria lowered his hand.
And then
"BAAN!"
Another loud crash, but not from an explosion, rather from hundreds of bodies being crushed against the ground as if an invisible wall of several tons had fallen from the sky upon their heads, leaving only an unrecognizable pool of blood in its place.
This is the gravity control ability of one of the versions of Artoria Mysterious Heroine XX Alter, an ability whose only disadvantage is not being able to change your body weight.
It's a stupid restriction for such a powerful ability, but Artoria wouldn't complain; if something is convenient, it's best to keep it convenient.
With everything finished, Artoria entered the base, looking at her team who were staring at her strangely until James said
"I can't imagine what else you can do with those hands."
That eased the tension in the room, with the others chuckling discreetly. Artoria just smiled in response and continued with the mission.