The man smiled with thin amusement.
"My subordinates were impatient," he said. "Some of their brothers didn't walk back. Others didn't come back at all. And we have no idea where they ended up."
He looked at Natasha for the first time, licking his lips.
"And I see you're not alone."
Natasha met his gaze.
Cold. Professional.
"Is this a social gathering?" she asked. "Because we didn't bring a gift."
A few men laughed.
The leader raised his hand, and the sound died instantly.
"No," he said. "This is an execution."
He took a step toward Eric.
"My men say you moved very fast," he continued. "Too fast. Like magic."
Eric sighed.
"They always exaggerate."
The man shook his head slowly.
"I don't."
He snapped his fingers.
Safeties clicked off all at once.
Natasha tensed every muscle. Calculated angles. Cover. Escape routes.
Fifty against two.
This wasn't a fight. It was a scheduled killing.
"Eric," she said without looking at him. "When I say 'now,' you run."
Eric smiled faintly.
"Don't worry."
Natasha turned to him for the first time, real alarm flashing in her eyes.
"Eric—"
"Trust me," he said quietly. "Just… don't get too close."
The leader raised his hand.
"Last chance," he said. "You kneel, end it yourself, and maybe we let your family keep breathing peacefully."
Eric looked up. His green eyes were steady.
"You made one mistake," he replied.
The leader frowned.
"What?"
"I don't beg for my life from parasites like you."
Eric stepped forward.
And the night couldn't keep up.
Natasha felt the change before she saw it.
Air tore past her with a yellow flash.
Eric turned his head just enough to look at her.
There was no panic on his face.
Only… resignation.
"I'm sorry," he said with a stiff, almost apologetic smile. "I would've liked to stay under the radar a little longer."
Eric had always known SHIELD would notice him sooner or later. He had never planned to hide forever, much less stay powerless.
Natasha didn't answer.
Because in that instant, she saw something impossible.
Eric broke apart into particles of light.
Absolute precision.
His body became brilliance.
A clean, cutting yellow that turned every movement into a blazing trail.
A blink.
The first group fell before their brains could process the sound of their own gunfire.
Natasha used the opening to slide behind a dumpster, but she didn't look away for a second.
Eric reappeared in front of another cluster and extended a finger.
A thin, compressed beam tore through the air in a straight line.
BOOM.
A compact explosion hit them from behind, so hot their backs were scorched.
Ten men went down at once, critically injured.
Eric held back with everything he had to keep from destroying the surroundings.
This power was overwhelming. Something dark inside him screamed every time he used it.
Destroy.
Destroy everything.
But he still kept control. Barely.
"What—what is that?!" someone managed to scream.
Eric didn't stop.
He was everywhere.
His body ricocheted, fragmented, turned intangible as bullets passed through him.
Kicks at impossible speed. Blows that shattered bone.
Surgical disarms. Weapons dropping like useless toys.
Natasha stood frozen, disbelief written across her face.
She had never seen anything like this.
All she could perceive was a violent brilliance flickering every fraction of a second, leaving two or three bodies groaning on the ground.
Strike to the neck.
Strike to the head.
Strike to the chest.
The impeccably dressed leader tried to retreat.
Mistake.
Eric shattered into light in front of him, then solidified again, the glow fading around his silhouette like obedient embers.
He wasn't worried about revealing himself to these men. He knew SHIELD would deal with them afterward.
"I told you," he said calmly, "if you came back… it wouldn't go well for you."
The man opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Fear stole his voice.
Eric touched his forehead with two fingers.
A small flash.
The leader dropped to his knees… then collapsed sideways, unconscious, his immaculate suit now stained and ruined.
Silence.
Fifty men.
All on the ground.
The light around Eric faded.
He was just… Eric again.
He exhaled deeply, ran a hand through his hair, like someone who'd just sprinted to catch a train.
"They always exaggerate," he muttered with faint amusement, looking at the bodies writhing in pain.
He turned.
Natasha was still in cover.
Frozen.
"That…" she said at last, her voice barely audible, "is not normal."
Eric tilted his head.
"No."
"It's not technology."
"No."
"Not human training either."
Eric met her eyes.
"Give up. You'll never reach the right conclusion."
Eric was betting on one thing: Natasha would never guess that all of this power came from a bitter-tasting fruit.
Natasha swallowed.
She had seen anomalies in her years with SHIELD.
But this.…
This was immense power, completely obedient to a single will.
"Who are you?" she asked carefully. "Are you even human?"
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