I have a new fanfic, Lords & Towers, read it if you're interested.
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Natasha moved through the shadows of the metallic corridors, flanked by other Black Widows. Each step brought her closer to the main hall. The silence was tense… until an alarm tore through the air.
Red lights flashed. The total isolation protocol was triggered.
In that mode, all systems locked down completely. Only one computer, hidden in the main control room, retained full access. But even that didn't last. Within seconds, the alarm ceased, the system reset, and all doors opened.
The Widows looked at each other, confused, but didn't stop. Someone in the control room was helping them. There were no traps. That was the only path to Dreykov's office.
The "office" looked more like an imperial throne room. Spacious, adorned with fake columns, mirrors, and dark marble, as if Dreykov's ego had taken physical form. In front of a huge window stood a chair that mimicked a throne.
Dreykov turned slowly.
"Natasha…" he said, his voice dripping with arrogance. "You were always the best. I knew you'd return."
"I came back to kill you. Again" Natasha replied coldly.
"That would be entertaining… but I have a better idea" he said, snapping his fingers.
From the shadows, two figures emerged.
One of them, cloaked in white, was enough to startle Natasha. It was Antonia. Dreykov's daughter. She thought she'd killed her. But her attention quickly shifted to the other figure: a blonde teenage girl, about fourteen.
Yelena.
Her adoptive sister.
For a moment, emotion surged within her. But it faded when she saw the barrel of a gun pointed at Yelena's head.
"Here's the deal" said Dreykov, wearing the smile of an executioner. "You'll fight Antonia. I've upgraded her. She's perfect now. Able to copy any combat style and adapt. If you refuse…' he slowly turned the gun, "she dies."
Natasha clenched her jaw.
"Even if I lose, you won't walk out of here alive."
"Don't worry. I have a plan" he replied confidently.
Natasha had no choice. She nodded. The other Widows respected her decision and stepped back.
Antonia stepped forward. Her tight, efficient white combat suit contrasted with the hood she pulled over her head. Then, with precise movements, she covered her face with a metallic skull mask. Taskmaster.
Natasha used the brief moment to strike first. But Taskmaster dodged with ease. She tried again. Another miss. And again.
When Taskmaster countered, Natasha was stunned: the moves were exact, a perfect copy of her own attacks. She wasn't just mimicking. She was evolving. Adapting the style, blending it with others already stored.
And with each strike, she gained the upper hand.
What began as an even match became a technical massacre. In mere minutes, Natasha collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
Silence fell. The Widows stood frozen. Dreykov smiled.
"Yelena… kill her."
The young girl nodded and approached the motionless body.
Then Dreykov felt something.
A premonition.
He ducked at the last second.
A boot sliced through the air where his head had been.
He turned—and saw the impossible: Natasha.
"What…?"
He didn't get to finish. Natasha lunged at him with a flurry of blows. Dreykov, once a formidable fighter who had trained the first Widows, no longer had the strength or speed. In seconds, he was taken down by another Natasha who appeared from behind and locked him in a chokehold.
"Are you going to kill him?" asked the second Natasha as she transformed.
Loki.
Natasha stared at him, stunned.
"Do you have a better idea?"
Loki gave a crooked smile.
"I could trap him in an eternal illusion. He'll suffer endlessly."
Natasha raised an eyebrow.
"Asgardian torture methods?"
"No" he said dryly. "I got it from a Midgardian story."
Then Loki leaned over Dreykov and placed a hand on his forehead. His expression changed.
"What is it?" Natasha asked.
"There's a bomb."
"What?"
"A gas bomb. Like the one that controlled them… but a thousand times more potent. It would destroy their minds."
"Why didn't it go off?"
"It should have exploded 41 seconds ago" Loki muttered, puzzled.
"Then what happened?"
"Natasha…" said a familiar voice from the entrance. "Did you forget there's another superhero in Russia?"
Natasha turned.
"Alexei?"
"Don't worry. You're all safe—thanks to me… the Red Guardian."
"What are you doing here?"
"I work here. Well, used to."
"And Melina?"
"She should be in the control room."
Natasha understood.
"Then she disabled the bomb and opened the doors."
Without another word, she ran to Yelena and hugged her tightly.
"Are you okay?"
Yelena didn't answer. She just held on for a long while.
Antonia stepped forward too.
"Thank you" she said, her voice filled with emotion. "My father was a monster. He experimented on me. The chip in my brain let me copy combat styles… but it also controlled me."
Loki nodded. That was why he had to get close, impersonate Natasha, and free her mind.
With Dreykov defeated, the Widows stood silent, unsure of what to do. They had been created to fight… and nothing else.
That's when Fury proposed something new: turning the Black Widows into a branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. Their infiltration and combat skills would be invaluable.
Most agreed. Some chose to start a new life.
Thus was born The Black Room, a secret division tasked with locating active Widows, freeing them from mind control, and offering them new identities.
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Weeks later, in New York, Loki returned to Jane's house for a visit. Thor welcomed him with a smile.
They talked for hours until Loki, serious, approached him.
"Brother… a true king gets involved with his people. He helps. He protects. He takes responsibility."
Thor nodded slowly.
"I've thought about that too. But humans don't accept help so easily. They'll think we're interfering."
"I know" Loki said. "That's why… I think the time has come to reveal Asgard's existence to them."
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+20 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)