AUTHOR'S NOTE: The only reason this is longer than the other prologues is because a lot more happens in this chapter than in the others.
Enjoy: The final prologue!
Nick Fury sat in a maximum security brig, waiting for his latest prisoner to arrive.
He had personally requested the room be renovated to fit the following standards:
No windows, no bars, and a door that locks only from the outside. All necessary precautions for the incoming fugitive.
And in she came:
Natalia Romanov. 25 years old. Her codename was "Black Widow," because she stung just as deadly as her namesake when she assassinated her targets for Russian terrorists, who had kidnapped her as a child and trained her to be extremely hardcore.
As she was known for being resourceful, she had to wear special shock cuffs that would shock her if she tried to make a break for it.
As she was escorted into the cell by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Fury stood up, nodded to his men, and stepped out with them.
Soon, Natalia was left alone in the cell still wearing her cuffs, with nothing but a table, a chair, and a bed.
She took the bed apart, piece by piece, and gathered up all of the screws.
Then, she took two of them and carved one of them into a crude skeleton key.
Natalia stuck the key into her cuffs. Immediately, a shock was unleashed at full fury.
Before the electricity could get to her, she threw herself at the metal door, conducting an electrical surge through the door to the access panel next to it.
The panel short-circuited, and the door opened. And, to make things even better for her, the cuffs' residual energy supply was depleted. And unlocked.
Natalia had broken out of a maximum security S.H.I.E.L.D. prison cell in less than ten minutes. Longer than usual.
She would've probably made it out of the base if she hadn't noticed the archer standing right behind her.
She never saw him. Only felt the knockout gas from his arrow pelt her into unconsciousness.
When Natalia returned to consciousness, she wasn't in a cell. Rather, she was in an office, sitting in a chair in front of a desk.
Sitting at the desk was Nick Fury, holding a gun. "I knew you'd escape that cell. It proves exactly what I've always thought about you."
"Which is?"
"That you'd be a potential member for my Shadow Team."
"One of those black ops teams you run, I suppose?" Natalia inquired.
Fury nodded. "Correct. It was specially founded to deal with metahuman or extraterrestrial problems. It's called the Ultimates by some of the members."
"Let me guess: You want me to join the Ultimates."
"Correct. In return, you get airbrushed out of the picture, severing any terrorist connections you might have. You'll also get a full pardon."
Natalia put on a quizzical expression. "That's two things I'm getting. You're only getting one."
"Well, you joining the Ultimates is good enough."
"Better idea. You put me into the A.V.E.N.G.E.R.S."
Fury nearly fell out of his chair. "Where did you learn about that?"
"Before you botched my assassination attempt on Colonel Coulson, I hacked into your database and found your file on it and some other interesting stuff. What's Project: Gauntlet?"
Fury knew when someone had him over a barrel. "...Fine. You can join the A.V.E.N.G.E.R.S. on one condition. You spend some time with the Ultimates first."
"Okay with me." Natalia smirked. She knew she'd bought herself a Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Card.
Fury pressed a button on his desk. The archer from before stepped into the room. "Black Widow, this is Clint Barton, alias Hawkeye. He'll be your partner, and keep an eye on you in the meantime."
The two assassins shook hands, while Fury received a call on his private line. "What is it?"
It was one of his head scientists, Bruce Banner. "We've scanned the entire crash site of the hydrogen missile the Nazis tried to launch in 1945 for the remains."
"And...?"
"We found him, sir."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'll give a cyber-cookie to anyone who can guess who "he" is.
Captain America. Iron Man. Thor. Black Widow. Hawkeye.
The pieces are almost all in play...
Marvel Rewrite: Avengers Ch. 1... coming out on May 4, 2012.
R & R!