Chapter 65 65: 65
"Huh! What are you talking about? Aren't you watching too many movies now a days, kid?" Natasha tried to joke just like any normal person would given the situation of cover being blown.
"Don't act coy with me.. I know your types. If you are someone who is here to raise some troubles I will kill you right here and the world wouldn't even know about it." Haku threatened and this time, even Natasha could feel the sheer coldness in his eyes. Haku's fingers moved and ice needles appeared.
Natasha knew that this guy was serious.
"You are quite the observing one, Fury had warned me of that but didn't expect someone who is so younger than me to be so knowledgeable about skills of an assassin." Natasha and this time she changed her demeanor.
By the mention of the name Fury, Haku realized what she was representing. A government agent.
"Why are you here? Didn't I tell him to stay away from us."
"You can't fault us to be cautious about you. You could easily be national or even a worldwide threat with the ability that you have shown." Natasha said.
"And so can Tony." Haku said. "I don't care what your government or your agency thinks, nor do I give my two cents to. If you are here to observe, you are free to. But if you move or even attempt to do anything that is harmful for Pepper or Tony, no amount of security can stop me from coming after you." Haku wanted to be violent here and just send her away, but Rei had warned him not to cause unnecessary deaths or violence, until absolutely required.
"Noted."
"Hey what are you guys talking about?" Pepper saw that these two were talking in a very low volume, so got curious.
"Nothing. I was curious where she did her schooling, since I too will join one soon." Haku said innocently, giving his iconic good smile.
"Oh yeah.. Have you decided on the school?" Pepper remembered that Haku would soon be interviewed by psychologist which is associated to some of the prestigious schools here. Tony meanwhile could only sigh.
The adoption process was finally over and he had lost. Thankfully Pepper got the child and was now officially his guardian. Haku's name had now changed to Haku Potts officially. Though he would love to have Momochi as his surname, he didn't want anything bad to happen to his mentor or Pepper if the full name of Zabuza ever came out.
It was very long shot, but Haku was being cautious. And just like the canon everything happened the same. Tony was getting increasingly paranoid about his arc reactor and was really thinking of making that call.
But he wasn't happy with the failure and refused to just give up and in order to blow some steam he went to Monaco.
The atmosphere was unlike anything Haku had ever seen before. Thousands of people. Luxury everywhere. Wealth displayed openly without fear. Massive yachts lined the harbor while spectators filled every available seat. It was extravagant to an absurd degree and honestly very fitting for Tony Stark.
And as expected, he vanished out of nowhere when the race was about to start. He took over. The race itself started normally, while the others were stressed. Even Natasha didn't find it logical enough to just bail out and drive. And how the hell did this guy know about formula 1 driving. Weren't those made specifically for drivers and customized accordingly?
But Natasha couldn't think so deep because problem came knocking. A man started walking down the race course and proceeded to give a display. The first car just got destroyed and Tony was next in line.
Tony's expression immediately changed from amusement to shock as a man carrying electrified whips casually walked onto the track.
Ivan Vanko.
The whips lashed outward. The audience erupted into panic. Meanwhile Pepper had already stood up.
"Oh my God."
Natasha narrowed her eyes. She looked at Haku and this guy didn't seem to be fazed at all. What was going on? Wasn't he in that black and white suit? With ice ability powers and immense speed? Why was he not moving to save Stark? Weren't they friends and supposed bodyguard?
Meanwhile Vanko's whips carved through concrete and metal with terrifying ease. Each strike left destruction behind and every second Tony remained exposed increased the chance of him being cut in half.
"Suitcase! Suitcase! NOW!" That was all Tony could speak over comms.
Meanwhile Vanko prepared another strike. The whips descended but then ice suddenly appeared.
CRACK.
The attack stopped mid-motion. A layer of ice had frozen part of the whip itself. Several meters away stood Haku. The crowd went nuts who got to witness this. Most of them had left and those who were left were busy filming what was happening and they were watching a "woman" standing in in a full black with black outline suit.
Vanko felt angry for being stopped and also a bit surprised that another person had tried to stop him. So he immediately attacked. The second whip lashed toward Haku's neck.
Only for Haku to vanish. The spectators couldn't even follow the movement. Vanko's instincts screamed and turned immediately.
Several senbon struck his arm. Not enough to seriously injure him but enough to stop his arm movement. That was the downside of not having a full body armor against Haku. Those needles travelled way too fast to even dodge. And Haku wasn't done, as he threw the suitcase armor to Tony.
"OH THANK GOD."
The Mark V deployment began. Metal unfolded around his body and armor locked into place. But honestly, at that point it was useless because after Haku threw away the armor, he proceeded to throw needles at the other arm, and made in immobilized.
"Eh! Was the armor even needed?" Tony asked seeing the hands of man. He had always known how precise those needles were. Haku could make anyone useless in seconds.
"One surprise is enough for a day."
Meanwhile, Vanko started laughing and spewed how he won, and Tony just looked at him and proceeded to free the arc reactor from his chest. By that time, the police had arrived. Haku looked at Vanko and knew that this wasn't over and there would be a follow up.
As Vanko was being taken away, Haku silently threw a tracker that he had asked Tony to built before. Nobody noticed it, but Tony did and refused to say anything. This guy was an assassin, what more could be expected.
One of the police approached Haku for questioning but he vanished before the man in uniform could even opened his mouth. He looked at Tony, only for him to turn his head and whistle under his mask as if he didn't see anything.
Meanwhile, the water clone near Natasha had moved and she too followed him. Pepper and Happy had already gone to meet Tony after telling Haku to stay put. The clone of Haku didn't mind that Natasha was following him, and what Natasha saw next made Natasha remember the rest of her life.
Haku appeared in full suit on an empty toilet and in there the clone of Haku turned to water and fell apart while Haku removed his suit within a minute. Natasha just looked at that sequence with round eyes as she couldn't believe it.
Wasn't it ice manipulation? How come now it was water manipulation and even make a body out of water? What the hell was going on?
"Saw enough?" Haku asked.
"I saw.. I am working on the part of belief.." Natasha said.
"This is a basic water clone. Don't think too much about it." Haku said. Natasha was speechless for a minute. This was basic? Than what the hell was advanced? Multiple number of clones? [A/N : Girl, you haven't met Naruto yet]
"Why are you telling me this?" Natasha asked at the end as they were leaving the whole toilet.
"So that you stop poking nose and leave us alone." Haku said as a matter of fact.
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A few days later everyone was back in America and, outwardly, everything looked normal. Ivan Vanko had been extradited from Monaco and was now under heavy federal custody. The media celebrated it as another victory for law enforcement while Tony openly mocked the man during interviews. Pepper was trying to keep Stark Industries from catching fire every five minutes.
Tony had claimed that his technology couldn't be replicated, but now the media found a guy who replicated his arc reactor.
The problem was that Haku never trusted easy victories.
That was why the moment news broke that Ivan Vanko had supposedly died during a transport accident, Haku immediately stopped reading.
The report claimed that the prison convoy transporting Vanko had been attacked, resulting in a massive explosion. Several officers were injured. Vanko's body was supposedly destroyed in the blast.
Haku opened his tracker and saw the person moving. He didn't say a word and just walked out.
A few hours later Haku found himself standing outside one of Justin Hammer's private facilities. The building was heavily guarded. Cameras covered every angle. Armed security patrolled the perimeter.
And inside was the signal.
"...Subtle." Haku muttered.
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