Place: Brooklyn, New York – Green Family Apartment –
Friday, 8:00 am
Max sat at the kitchen table, his suit jacket draped over the chair. Schematics and notes scattered before him. He rubbed his temples, exhaustion and frustration weighing heavy in his eyes.
Emily entered, raising an eyebrow at his disheveled state.
Emily:
"Max, you're a mess this morning. What happened at Stark?"
Max:
"Fired. Tony said my project was too dangerous—called me reckless. Like I'm some mad scientist playing with fire."
Emily sighed, folding her arms.
Emily:
"You're not broke, Max. But I can see this is tearing you up."
Just then, Riley came in, her Midtown High jacket on, backpack slung over one shoulder.
Riley:
"Dad? You look like you didn't sleep."
Max gave a tired smile.
Max:
"Feels like I didn't."
Evelyn bounced in behind her sister, clutching her favorite stuffed animal.
Evelyn:
"Daddy, can we go to the park later?"
Max's face softened at the sight of his youngest.
Max:
"Absolutely, pumpkin. First thing after I clear my head."
Emily sat beside him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Max:
"I love you both." He patted Evelyn's head gently.
He looked up to Riley.
"Go on, you'll be late for school."
Riley nodded, opening the door. She waved back.
Riley:
"Bye Mom, Dad. See you!"
Both smiled warmly.
Emily:
"Look at her... all grown up."
Max:
"Yeah." He sighed deeply.
Emily scooted closer, resting her head on his shoulder, hand on his thigh, eyes filled with worry.
Emily:
"Honey," she whispered softly, "Max? Look at me." She gently lifted his chin.
"Max, everything will be fine. Don't stress over Stark firing you." Her eyes brimmed with concern and hurt.
Max met her gaze, sighing.
Max:
"I don't know, Emily."
Emily:
"Be normal, Max... please." Her voice gentle but urgent.
"I'm here." She hugged him tightly.
Her face buried in his shoulder.
"I hate seeing you like this."
Max:
"I know, honey." He stroked her hair gently.
"I'll be fine. I promise." He wrapped his arm around her.
Emily gasped softly, leaning deeper into him. She looked up, eyes full of care.
Emily:
"I love you, honey. But you really need to rest right now."
Max nodded, savoring this intimate, consoling moment with his beloved wife.
Max:
"I love you too, honey." A smile spread across his face.
Brooklyn, New York – Green Family Apartment – Home Lab –
Friday, 3:00 PM
Max awoke groggily, the lingering weight of exhaustion pressing down on him. Five hours of sleep hadn't been enough to clear his mind or ease his frustration. He rubbed his face, sighed deeply, then stood and stretched.
The house was quiet except for the faint hum of electronics in the adjacent room. He walked down the hall to his private lab—his sanctuary and prison all at once.
Inside, the dim glow of monitors illuminated scattered papers, open notebooks filled with sketches and formulas, and a carefully sealed case containing vials and samples.
Max's eyes locked on the vial he prized most: Steve Rogers' blood.
His hands trembled slightly as he picked it up, placing a few drops under the microscope. The familiar scent of antiseptic mingled with the stale air of old books and soldering fumes.
Hours passed as Max became lost in the swirling microscopic world, adjusting lenses, running digital simulations, cross-referencing biophysical data, muttering equations under his breath.
Then, with a sudden sharp inhale, he felt it—the breakthrough.
The formula lay clear before him, encoded in the patterns of the blood's unique molecular structure: a way to replicate the Super Soldier Serum.
His heart pounded. The dream he'd held onto for so long was suddenly within reach.
Max leaned back, his mind racing with visions of a Captain America clone—a perfect soldier, a weapon against threats too great for ordinary men.
But fate had other plans. So did Tony Stark predict.
MEANWHILE...
On a Rooftop – 200 meters away
Hidden in the shadows, Natasha Romanoff crouching, her black tactical suit blending. Her eyes, sharp and calculating, framed by the sniper's scope, zeroed in on the target: the vial resting on Max's lab table.
Her finger curled around the trigger.
A single shot rang out—sharp and precise.
Inside the lab
The bullet shattered the window glass with a loud crash, sending shards flying.
The vial tipped. Blood spilled across the floor in slow motion, pooling uselessly on the cold tiles.
Max's eyes widened in horror, but before he could react, a voice crackled through the comm-link.
Natasha:
"It's done." Her tone was icy calm, the faintest hint of satisfaction underneath
Flashback:
Stark Industries – Tony Stark's Office – Earlier that day
Friday, 6:12 am
Tony hovered mid-air in his Iron Man suit, the skyline of New York sprawling beneath him.
His comm-link buzzed.
Tony:
"FRIDAY, status on the A.C.S.D machine? Has it been fully destroyed?"
FRIDAY:
"Scanning complete. The machine has been rendered inoperative, sir."
Tony frowned.
Suddenly, a lab technician's feed popped up on his HUD.
Lab Crew:
"Sir, the machine is destroyed as requested. However, Captain Rogers' blood sample is unaccounted for—it's missing."
Tony's jaw tightened. "Friday" His voice commanding but still polite.
"Yes Mr Stark?"
"Put Romanoff on the line" his voice calm and collective.
Friday: "Affirmative, Dialing Romanoff"
After 10 seconds of ringing.... Romanoff answers the call.
"What? You don't usually pick up, now calling me? What's your catch?"
"Natasha, sweetie, can you take care of cap for me? Don't want Cap's blood falling into the wrong hands." Tony sends her all the Information.
"You want me to clean up your little mess?" Her voice Playful.
"You know me so well Romanoff don't you?" he smirked.
Natasha's voice came through with a teasing chuckle.
Natasha:
" You really thought you could keep secrets from me, Stark? Your currently busy redirecting a missile from New York. Aren't you" a smirk crosses her face.
Tony flys over to the missile griping his arms beneath it, Redirecting it towards the sky. As it flew further and it blasted. "And that does it, Hahah..."
Tony:
"Okay wrap it up Romanoff, enough fun for today. Times up." he smirks.
Back to Rooftop
Natasha slipped away to a nearby rooftop 200 meters above the lab, finding the perfect vantage point. The wind was cool, and the city buzzed faintly below.
She lined up her shot, timing it to perfection. "Breath Romanoff" she said to herself, steadying her breath.
"There we go" her eye concentrated at the vial, adjusting the gun for the best angle.
Her calm breath synchronized with the rhythm of the city as she fired again—ensuring no chance remained for Max to recover the blood.
Inside the lab
Max stared at the shattered vial in disbelief, his dreams dissolving with the blood spilled on the floor.
He dropped to his knees, fists clenched.
"Damn you Stark" He strikes his hand on the ground just above the spilled vial.
"Just as you asked" says Romanoff.
Absolutely. Here's the continuation—diving deeper into Max's breaking point, and how this moment shifts his path:
Brooklyn – Green Family Apartment – Home Lab – 5:30 PM
Max knelt in the mess of shattered glass and red serum, his eyes fixated on the blood trickling into the floor's grooves. His fists trembled—rage and disbelief consuming every corner of his mind.
Everything. Gone.
His breakthrough. His proof. His purpose.
Max:
"No… no, no, no!"
He slammed his fists on the ground, the echo thudding against the cold metal walls. The monitors flickered in the background, a silent reminder of how close he'd come.
His mind raced. "DAMN IT" he cussed.
"How did they know? How did Stark know I had the blood?" He Grabs his chin and started Pondering. He rose slowly, like a man crawling out of a grave. His hands smeared with red, his expression distant… empty.
But behind his eyes—something was building.
Not grief.
Not guilt.
Something darker. Sharper. A plan.
Her wife thuds the door open and rushes towards him, hugging him tighly from behind. She
"MAX STOP THIS PLEASE." she cried out loud. Hugging him more tightly. "I HEARD THE SHOTT MAX" tears streaming down her face.
Max grips her arms around him tighter. Hurting from what his actions make his loved ones suffer. He turns around and hugs her himself.
I..Im sorry my dear." A tear escapes his eye, he tightens the hug.
Emily:
"I WAS SOO SCARED MAX!! I THOUGHT YOU...YOU..you got shot." She cries more just of thinking it, as she buried her face into his chest.
Max:
"There, there stop crying I'm okay.. I love you." Hurting at the sight of her like this, his hand soothing Emily's Back. "It's okay, everything is okay.. I'm Okay honey stop crying."
After a couple of minutes she calmed down. As she pulled away enough to see Max, her eyes locked to his, like she was scared.. scared of losing her love. Scared of losing her children's father.
Emily:
"Please Max.. Stay with us we All need you. I need you, Evelyn & Riley needs you. We love you.. So please don't risk your life. Think about us Max. About me.. Please stop Max."
She was begging Max, Just to leave it all for her, for their children.. Max strokes her hair with utmost care. Gentle as if he was touching a flower, he wiped her tears slowly .
"Okay I promise. I won't leave ever you guys on your own." But in Max's heart he was still going to Repay Stark for what he did. The hatred inside him burned like fuel, just to ignite his insides more. And this incident just fueled his hated for Tony Stark himself. He fired him humiliated him and his Creation, and made her wife cry. His fuel just burned up like nothing before.
To be continued..