Two months have passed, it's the middle of March and the weather has started to get warmer. James, still dressed in clothes more suitable for winter, was currently doing an inspection in his newly established Academy.
Barthomeloi Academy of Natural Science, a school established to teach from primary up to tertiary education.
The whole campus is nothing more than a tall skyscraper in New York. The school building was striking as it was built with gothic style architecture. Interestingly, the sudden appearance of this structure did not really trouble any of the residents, politicians…
No one seems to care about this new structure-
Save for a few eyes staring at it from a nearby café.
"American construction is amazing, to think they'd be able to build a skyscraper in under two months"
A red haired woman sighed as she squinted her eyes, staring at what was the skyscraper owned by James Barthomeloi. Despite its rapid construction and uncanny appearance, few bothered to even look up at the new tower decorating the New York skyline.
"Rhongomyniad… wonder what that means?"
She asked the man seated before her, a blonde man with a lax look on his face. He wore a pair of shades and was heavily invested in the newspaper before him. Though, upon hearing the question directed at him, he lowered the paper and gave the red haired woman a curious look as he asked.
"It's not Latin?"
"Nope"
"Then how's the research on history and mythology going?"
"Zero hits"
The two paused, they gave each other a look before shaking their heads.
"It should have a meaning, few people spend billions for a joke"
The man said as he took a sip of his coffee, his gaze never leaving the paper.
"Apparently, James Barthomeloi is quite a charismatic character who is deeply invested into mythology and history. He established this academy in hopes of attracting geniuses who do not have much… apparently this whole academy of his would be a free private school that only accepts students through invitation"
The red head explained, her words carrying a hint of envy as she went over the information she had off James Barthomeloi and the newly established academy.
"Jealous?"
The blonde man asked, his tone carrying a teasing tone as he flashed a playful smirk.
"Kinda"
Playing along, the woman answered, her expression showing a dreamy and fanciful look-
Seeing her act, the man shook his head before turning his gaze towards the tower as he spoke-
"Well don't be, billions were spent for what? Charity? Are you naive enough to believe that?"
The woman took a sip of her own coffee, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes as she placed her cup back onto the table. Playing with a coin imprinted with an unknown insignia, the woman spent a few seconds lost in thought before she clenched her fist-
"I'm not dumb, but what about the millions who just accepted that?"
Hearing her words, the man did not know how to respond, he recalled the reason why they were currently staking out at a cafe near the Rhongomyniad tower.
"It is still unknown what channels James Barthomeloi had used, but… at least for now, all his actions, businesses and even this tower- no, all three of the towers he built in the past months had passed, even the inspections that usually take months were all done in a day…"
As he spoke, the man couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
"Clint… I think this goes above and beyond what we could do…"
The red haired woman gave the man, Barton, a helpless look as she did not really know how to proceed from here on out.
"Natasha… haaa~ sorry about this, but given the situation, we could only do our best"
The two could not really do anything but sigh helplessly at this moment.
It did not take them an hour to notice the problems that revolved around the man named James Barthomeloi. All his records are clean, at least if one takes them at face value.
All had been approved and reviewed but closer inspection would make one quickly notice the numerous inconsistencies about him.
His inheritance that was valued at millions was capable of giving him the power to move billions.
The reason for his stay in New York was for studying but he never enrolled, hell, he built his own school.
There were a dozen more problems about James' identity alone, much less the actions he had taken ever since he came under the radar of SHIELD.
Yes, these two individuals were members of SHIELD, specifically, two agents who many would be familiar with.
The blonde man with glasses is Hawkeye, while the female redhead is the infamous Black Widow.
Interestingly, Black Widow had just come under the employ of SHIELD. She and Hawkeye had just returned from Europe when they were given a special mission handed to them by Nick Fury, the director of SHIELD himself.
The mission was nothing more than an investigation but, when the two agents read the mission details they felt something amiss.
"Even SHIELD agents are affected by this brainwashing-"
Natasha commented, her gaze sharpening as she stared at a young man who just exited the Rhongomyniad tower causing her to halt her words as she quickly said-
"He's out"
Hearing her words, Clint discreetly turned his eyes towards the entrance of the tower spotting the familiar white haired young man.
"Let's go"
With that, the two agents quickly paid for their meal and left the cafe.
James had just finished the inspection when he spotted two figures rapidly moving as he left the Rhongomyniad Tower.
'Oh? Is that "THE" Black Widow?'
Seeing the familiar head of bright crimson hair, James felt a certain excitement as he observed her.
'I expected her to look like Scarlet but she's slimmer, taller and those curves… deadlier"
The appearance of Black Widow was unlike the one many are familiar with from the MCU, the appearance she had now was a lot more R18, and that was not based on her clothing.
'The air about her is more sultry, her actions… they lack grace but carry a deep eroticism, yet behind them is a deadly blade… truly, the essence of a Black Widow'
James quickly analyzed the abilities and capabilities that Natasha Romanov had, he did not even take a minute to realize the difference she had with her MCU counterpart.
Although faint, he could still clarify the image and memories he had of that life.
'Well, considering Iron Man 2, Avengers and all the other MCU movies are all PG-13… making her TOO sensual may have caused some problems…'
But James did not only focus on Black Widow, he also analyzed Hawkeye.
'Blonde with glasses… '
Unfamiliar with him, James was unable to find anything about Clint Barton that could match the one he could recall. Though he did note that Clint Barton's actions resembled a certain "hardworking young man".
'Splendid… Shirou would have a fun playing with him'
Recalling the man with white hair and dark skin, James could not help but imagine the scene of the two duking it out.
'A battle of archers huh?'
His playful thoughts had made James pause long enough for Black to walk up to him and ask-
"Should we do something about them My Lord?"
"Why? Do you think I didn't know about them?"
James words made Black pause, his expression did not break as he shifted the topic-
"The car is ready for you, any more delays and we may find ourselves working overtime"
Hearing the words spoken by Black, James shook his head as he waved his hands dismissively responding to his butler.
"That's your problem"
Black did not show any reaction to this and simply watched James enter the car. As James entered, Black quickly followed him in as he sat in the front passenger seat.
A distance away from them, Clint and Natasha entered a black SUV, Clint took the front passenger's seat and Natasha sat at the back.
On the driver's seat sat a woman with bright blonde hair.
"He was having a good long look at your ass you know"
The blonde woman teased Natasha as she started the car and started following the sedan James had boarded.
"Barbara, are you sure he was looking at my ass?"
Natasha asked dismissively, she knew full well that the man James Barthomeloi was not simple. Reports state that he was just as much of a playboy as Tony Stark but the only individuals he was seen exiting hotels and his home with were three different women.
Based on records, all three women were his secretaries and even if the reports of them having sexual relations were true-
"His circle is very tight"
James Barthomeloi was never seen with strangers, unlike Tony Stark who would be spotted with any woman who could be called "sexy and beautiful", James was only spotted with "beautiful women close to him".
Initially, Natasha bland to use the honeypot strategy to investigate but after a failed meeting with James, she decided against it.
"His butler is quite sharp, James himself… he's an enigma"
Natasha said those were the same words she used in her report.
After the failed encounter, she quickly disappeared and avoided James and his butler.
Until today, she can't shake off the fear she felt when the butler named "Black", had stared at her with a smile. Even James who made an expression like a typical playboy gave her a fright.
At that time, James was caressing her ass and taking liberties with her body. She tried to facilitate a chance encounter with him at a club, but she found herself trapped, his actions were forceful as he tried to "feel her up". His hands danced around her body in an extremely inappropriate manner.
It was at the point that she could have easily sued him for sexual harassment but-
Natasha, the infamous Black Widow, did not feel an ounce of disgust as he was rubbing his hands all over her.
She was familiar with lust, after all she had spent her whole life trained to take advantage of it.
Aware of the reactions of men, Natasha could easily see through true lust and fake lust. But James, while he was rubbing his hands all over her, the feeling she had was not that of a man taking advantage of a woman-
"I felt like a doll… he saw me as a toy- not in a sexual way… it's hard to explain… it's like I wasn't even human in his eyes…"
Recalling that encounter made Natasha shiver, although she did not want to recall it, when Barbara tried to tease her about James staring at her ass-
"It's impossible for him to stare at my ass… maybe he found out about my identity…"
As those words left her mouth she came to a sudden realization as she suddenly spoke up in a hurry-
"STOP! DON'T FOLLOW THEM!"
Barbara upon hearing her words did not press the brakes, instead, she calmly turned a corner, ending the tail.
"What, for a Black Widow, you're quite a coward aren't you?"
Barton did not say anything, instead he was going through all the things that Natasha said-
"A trap?"
He said as he realized why Natasha made them stop.
"Just because he was staring at your ass?"
Barbara had yet to trust Natasha but Barton spoke up for her-
"James Barthomeloi won't stare at anyone needlessly, the fact that he was staring meant that he spotted us. Whether he learned of our identity is unknown but… if he realized something wrong with us then he may set us up"
When Barton explained, Barbara did not immediately refute him as she thought about it for a moment. Then she suddenly came to a realization-
"Now that I think about it… he only entered his car after he saw the two of you enter…"
As she was talking, Barbara suddenly realized something else-
'The speed of their departure, the tail…'
As the driver, Barbara always made sure that she did not directly drive behind the target. She always made sure that they were far from them yet still at a distance where they could be followed. It was a delicate balance that was hard to keep as she had to allow cars to drive in between her and the target.
But, during the chase, she recalled that she was always just a single car away from their target.
No matter how fast they drove, no matter how many cars overtake them, they were always one car apart…
Moreover, she did not even need to do anything, it just… happened.
Cold sweat covered Barbara's body as a shiver ran down her spine.
"That was dangerous"
She did not say anything about Natasha, she was only glad that she stopped following the target.
"What do we do now?"
Natasha who had finally recovered turned to Clint, during this mission, Barton had been instated as the captain. Barbara was not familiar with Natasha and Natasha was a new hire. Only Clint could be given the task of managing the two agents so he was given command.
"Let's regroup, pass on to the director all the information we have and prepare for next time…"
Hearing the familiar words coming out of Barton's mouth, the two female agents couldn't help but let out a dry chuckle.
This was the nth time Barton made that call but they knew that they couldn't do anything else.
"He's seen through all my disguises… even my real appearance is compromised"
Natasha lamented, this was not their first failed attempt at tailing James. The sole reason she was not in disguise was because all her previous identities were compromised. Now, even her true face was seen through, what else could she do?
Barton did not know what to say to Natasha as he looked to Barbara-
"Nope, if the Black Widow couldn't do anything then what do you expect me to do?"
Clint knew of Barbara's skill set, Natasha was skilled in espionage and infiltration. She could disguise herself perfectly and take advantage of her femininity to lead her targets along. She was famous for being able to control both men AND women. Yet, even she could not break through James Barthomeloi…
Barbara was not even capable of seduction, much less playing with men.
"Let me think about it"
In the end, Barton could only give up and try to figure out another way to tail and get into James Barthomeloi's circle.
Inside James' sedan, Black turned to the white haired man as he reported.
"The tail has been cut"
"Bummer~"
"..."
The two had a quick and simple exchange, Black gave James a smile while James responded with his own.
"Where do we go now?"
Changing the subject seems to be something Black was already used to as he ignored the weird atmosphere and presented James with a question.
James, upon hearing his query thought for a moment, he looked at his pocket watch checking the time. Then, he pondered for a moment before turning to Black, his expression turning bright as he said-
"Hellfire Club"