----
"Ugh…"
Natasha groaned as she stirred awake, her head throbbing. She found herself lying in the middle of nowhere some abandoned patch of land on the outskirts of the city.
"I actually let a normal guy knock me out? What the hell was that strength?"
She frowned in disbelief. His physical power had felt… wrong. It was on par with Captain Rogers, maybe even more intense.
"No… that can't be."
She flexed her wrists experimentally. They'd been broken she remembered it clearly. But now? Completely intact. Not even a bruise.
Then she spotted a folded slip of paper near her.
"(Here's a little gift. For the time being, you're practically unkillable. Enjoy.
If Fury finds out you're nearly immortal… well, let's just say I'm dying to see what he does. Can't wait! :)"
The smirking face doodled at the bottom was somehow even more insulting than the message itself.
As Natasha processed the note, a deafening roar overhead broke the silence.
Boom!
A figure smashed down from the sky in a burst of smoke and dust, carving a shallow crater in the ground. Sunlight caught gleaming armour.
"Natasha? What the hell happened?"
Tony Stark's helmet retracted, revealing his concerned face.
"I… Tony, I—"
She hesitated, recalling the note. And more importantly, everything she'd been through working under Nick Fury. If what that psycho said was true, if she really was near-immortal, then Fury wouldn't just leave it alone.
Routine medical exams would turn into full-on invasive surveillance. She'd be studied. Monitored. Controlled.
"I'm fine," she said quickly.
Tony raised an eyebrow. Friday's scan had already picked up traces of sedatives, ether, and several unknown chemical compounds in her bloodstream.
"You sure? Your vitals are all over the place."
Natasha forced a smile. "Yeah. Got caught up in something weird. It's over now. Classified mission."
"Right…" Tony didn't push it.
"Talk to Rogers for me, would you? We need to move forward with the Superhuman Registration Act. It's for everyone's safety."
His mask snapped shut, and in a blast of jet fire, he was gone.
Natasha stared into the sky.
"That bastard…" she muttered.
---
Back in Queens, New York…
Nolan and Klaue had relocated again after the S.H.I.E.L.D. incident. With his experiments complete and his Phoenix Serum functional, if unstable, it was time to lay low.
The two men sat across from each other in a cramped, rundown apartment.
Klaue exhaled deeply. "Just when I was starting to enjoy the good life again, we're on the move. By the way… Did you actually inject her with Phoenix Serum? Why?"
"For fun," Nolan said with a shrug.
Klaue stared. "You realize that serum is worth fifty grand a vial? You handed her a bottle for laughs?"
Nolan just smiled enigmatically. He knew what the outcome would be. Natasha would start experiencing changes maybe subtle at first, but eventually, Fury would notice. And when he did… chaos.
If Natasha chose to stay loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D., fine. Let her suffer under Fury's paranoia and constant surveillance. If she didn't? Even better.
Either way, she'd become a time bomb.
"She's a walking distraction now," Nolan said. "Even if she figures out something's wrong, finding someone who can fix it? That's a short list."
"Whatever, man." Klaue waved him off. "Your madness, your rules. Anyway, I bought up most of Oscorp's shares like you said. I own 21% now. The transfer paperwork just came in and needs your signature."
"Any trouble?" Nolan asked.
"Used cutouts. Nobody knows it was me. And the company's stock is tanking IRS, EPA, and probably some angry gods are all knocking on their door."
"Anyone else buying?"
"Yeah, two other whales are scooping up stock fast."
"Norman Osborn, probably," Nolan muttered. "Trying to buy back control."
"Most likely," Klaue smirked. "Oh, and about the Phoenix Serum, we found a buyer. Pretty shady crowd, though."
"Let me guess radicals from the Middle East?"
"Clinton Avenue, actually. Domestic nutjobs who love blowing themselves up. They're thrilled about the idea of dying twice."
"Sell it."
"Done."
Klaue leaned in again. "We're also making progress on blaming everything on Golden Panther. The intel Natasha took? All the info you fed us. Is any of it true?"
"Of course it's true."
"Then… you think Iron Man and Cap can still be friends after this?"
"They won't know," Nolan said simply.
The intel Natasha had stolen and deliberately planted contained one explosive truth: the real reason the Starks were murdered.
Klaue exhaled slowly. "You're really trying to split the Avengers?"
"If they're united, I don't stand a chance, Currently but If they're divided…" Nolan glanced out the window. "That's when I move."
Klaue pointed downward. "That detective agency see it?"
Nolan followed his gaze. It was a small office space tucked between two laundromats.
"Alias Investigations. Jessica Jones works there."
"She's still in that post-traumatic slump?"
"Drinks all day. Barely works. You want to make a move?"
"Not yet," Nolan replied. "She's volatile. Strong, but unstable. If she flies off, she'll be hard to catch. Better to wait."
Jessica had once been a bright-eyed vigilante. But after what the Purple Man did to her body and mind alike she fell into a deep pit of despair.
Her strength was formidable. But her trauma made her unpredictable.
Klaue let out another long sigh. "Man, running with you is like a roller coaster. First Hydra, then S.H.I.E.L.D., and now you're pissing off every super in New York…"
"Speaking of which," Klaue added, "what about Logan? You keep him on ice?"
"For now. Keep extracting what we need for the serum. He's not going anywhere."
Nolan's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Once we perfect Phoenix Serum 2.0… the game changes."
----
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