The Legacy of a Hero
Chapter Twenty-Seven
As soon as Black Widow saw the electricity blink out, she yanked the skylight up and the metal frame swung open, the glass in it's panes shattering as it connected with the roof on the other side. She and Robin jumped down into the confusion, and she was grateful again for his generous gift when he used smoke bombs to give them more cover. With her goggles switching automatically to night vision, she could see Robin darting between the villains who were twice his size, his attacks quick and precise.
Widow immediately darted for the metal table to free Spiderman, scanning the sides for any kind of button or lever which would unlock the cuffs. She could hear Robin cackling as he danced between opponents and their corresponding grunts of pain or anger.
"C'mon, how do you open this thing?" She growled, yanking on the locks in frustration but the metal didn't budge despite pulling on it with her full weight. "The hell man?"
"Adamantium," Spiderman moaned, finally seeming to come around. "Too much for even us to break."
"Where's the unlock button?" Widow asked, leaning closer so she could hear him better.
"It's -" He started, when she felt her spider-sense jolt to life.
Widow launched herself to the side just as one of Doc Ock's tentacles slammed into the concrete where she'd been standing, making a crater the size of a manhole cover. Widow turned the side cartwheel into a twist flip, landing so she was facing the scientist. "You have a terrible bedside manner," she quipped, glaring at the man.
Doctor Octopus smiled nastily, "I'm afraid my patient is in no condition to be moved at this time. I will have to escort you from the premises."
Two of his arms shot towards her, forcing her to backflip onto some wooden crates that were stacked to the side. Unfortunately, her new perch was quickly smashed by the mechanical arms chasing her, and she shot a web to the ceiling to avoid tumbling to the floor. From her new perspective she could see that Robin had hit Hydroman with some kind of chemical agent, turning his body into an immovable statue, and now the Boy Wonder was playing a very dangerous game of tag with Rhino. Wait, that's only three. Where's-?
She didn't have time to wonder where Mysterio had disappeared to, because Doctor Octopus was trying his hardest to pin her to the ceiling. She dodged his arms as they punched through the metal roof, moving her farther and farther away from Spiderman and Robin. He's trying to isolate me, she realized, jumping to a concrete column that supported the roof.
Suddenly the column she'd landed on morphed before her eyes into a pillar of ice. "Wait, what?" She looked around the warehouse, only it wasn't a warehouse anymore. She was stranded in an icy tundra. Thick snow swirled around her in the howling wind. "Robin!" She called as she dropped into the snow. "Spiderman!"
I don't understand, did I walk into a portal? Is that what they were hiding in this warehouse? No, wait, Widow kicked at the snow around her feet and it sprayed out in a fine powder. It's not cold! I should be freezing. So… Mysterio! It's one of his illusions.
Despite her spider-sense warning her, she couldn't dodge fast enough this time and she was suddenly seized from behind by one of Doc Ock's mechanical arms. Suddenly the snowstorm was gone and she was back in the warehouse. Doctor Octopus lifted her off her feet, wrapping tightly around her torso and trapping her arms. "Let. Me. Go!" She wheezed as his grip tightened. Her still healing ribs protested against the pressure being placed on them but she couldn't even move her wrist enough to flick out a webline.
"Thank you for your assistance, Mysterio," Doctor Octopus said smiling as the illusionist scooped up his toy from the floor.
"My pleasure," Mysterio replied.
Widow looked around desperately, hoping that Robin had gotten Spiderman freed. She was disappointed to see that Rhino had the Boy Wonder held tightly to his massive chest, and despite his struggles it didn't look like her friend could budge an inch.
"We'd heard that our compatriots were captured by Spiderman and an assistant," Mysterio continued, pressing a button on the main console which raised Spiderman's table vertically.
It must be run on hydraulics and not electricity, or they have a backup generator we didn't know about, Black Widow thought absently, even as most of her concentration went to trying to pull in enough air to stay conscious.
"But imagine our surprise," Doc Ock added, pulling her to eye level with him. "When we saw a viral video of a younger spider-themed hero."
"She's as dumb as the original too," Rhino added with a laugh.
"Indeed. Capturing Spiderman with my illusions was just as easy," Mysterio boasted.
"Careful, too much hot air in that balloon head of yours and it might pop," Spiderman quipped, more alert now than he'd been before.
Mysterio responded by punching Spiderman in the gut, leaving the web crawler winded. "I grow tired of this insect. Let's be rid of these heroes so we can finally finish the job."
"I don't get it," Widow couldn't help asking despite the toll it was taking on her lungs. "You kidnap Iris, get her killed by accident and muscle in on the Chen's territory for, what? What's the point?"
"Power, dear girl. Power and money," Doctor Octopus said, as if it was the simplest answer in the world.
"The Kingpin has been after the Triad's slice of the city for years," Rhino explained, hardly bothered as Robin kicked backwards to try to free himself. "He was tired of his men always getting pushed out of their neighborhoods, just cause we've got powers. It was bad for business."
"It was making it very difficult to continue his work efficiently," Mysterio added.
"So you kidnapped Chen's daughter?" Robin asked, clearly disgusted.
"To gain his cooperation," Octavious said. "Unfortunately, we outsourced the work and got mediocre results. No matter, Chen is still crippled now. He and his brother will have no choice but to submit to the Kingpin."
"Mediocre results?" Widow cried, indignant. "She's dead, you assholes!"
"Quiet!" The doctor snapped, shaking his captive for good measure.
"Let them go, Otto," Spiderman growled. "They're just kids. Your fight is with me."
"Since I'm pretty sure they're the ones who cut our power," Mysterio grumbled. "They made it their fight. Besides, we can't have them going for help. The harbor is going to run red tonight."
"I wouldn't count on it," Widow said, then she and Doctor Octopus both screamed as 50,000 volts of electricity ran through them.
It was silly, really, that Heather hadn't taken the time to properly investigate all the items Coach and Mike had stuffed into her utility belt. The wire cutters had been incredibly helpful fighting Hydroman, but she hadn't given the belt much more thought other than which pocket had her cell in it since then. She had superpowers right? Did she really even need a belt of tricks? The last two days, however, had provided her with some time to think and a little clarity.
She couldn't rely only on her powers. A kitchen knife can be both a versatile tool and a deadly weapon, depending on how you handle it. Her powers were the same way. It wasn't enough to punch things hard and hope it all worked out. Coach had been trying to push that into her head over and over again while sparring, and her fight with Scorpion and Electro had only driven the point home.
So while making her way to the docks, Heather had carefully inventoried everything at her disposal and had made a few pleasant discoveries. In addition to the wire cutters, there was a bottle of liquid bandage, a roll of self adhering gauze, a lighter, a tiny switchblade, and in the biggest pocket there was a black taser.
While the villains had been monologuing, Black Widow had been pulling at her zippered compartment where the taser was nestled against her hip. It had taken all the dexterity she could muster with her arms pinned to her side, and more than once she'd been sure Doctor Octopus would figure out what she was doing and stop her. Fortunately, while strong and versatile, it was obvious that Doc Ock's prosthetic arms lacked the fine tune nerve endings of a real arm and he merely assumed she was just trying to get her arm free.
When she finally had the taser in hand, she locked eyes with Robin, who had evidently realized what she'd been doing. She could see the glint of something metallic in his own gloved hand and she chuckled inwardly. She wasn't sure what Robin was planning, but she was sure she could provide a pretty handy, if painful, distraction.
Deep breath, Heather, she thought. This isn't going to be nice. She charged her weapon, pushed the taser into Doc Ock's arm, and fired. She knew of course that with his metal arm wrapped entirely around her the electricity would shock her as well, but she'd decided that the jolt of a taser surely couldn't be as painful as Electro's shock the day before.
She was both correct and very wrong.
While she was fairly certain Electro had hit her with a much more lethal level of electricity, it didn't make this any more pleasant to experience. Her muscles spasmed as her nerve endings lit with cold fire, her brain struggling to make sense of way too much information coming in at once.
She felt herself fall to the floor as Doc Ock went limp, and she barely registered the sounds of Rhino yelling in agony as well. She'd landed awkwardly on her front, one leg splayed to the side, the arm holding the used taser tucked beneath her, and with her face smashed into the concrete it was basically impossible for her to tell what was happening.
She knew she had to get up; had to help Robin deal with Mysterio; had to get Spiderman out of here; but her muscles wouldn't respond. Her fingers twitched uselessly, her jaw clenched against the pain.
C'mon muscles, move! Robin and Spiderman need me, Widow thought, trying desperately to get moving again, knowing the taser wouldn't keep Doctor Octopus down for long either.
Suddenly, there was a fresh wave of noise that her rattled brain couldn't sort out, and a hand on her shoulder. No! I am not going down like this! With all the strength she could muster, she swung her leg up and flipped onto her back, hoping to kick her assailant in the face.
A metal gloved hand caught her leg mid swing easily, and Iron Man peered down at her. While his helmet made his expression neutral she could swear he was smirking. "Nice kick, Webby Jr. Did you have a good nap?"
AN: I'm really glad I decided not to try and split this chapter up, it would've been way too short. As it is, it's not even 2k, but I felt like that was a good stopping point for the moment. I appreciate, again, all the support you guys have been giving this story, it feeds the muse ;) It's the weirdest thing, I realized today that I did the most writing on this story between classes in college and now I write between patients at work. Maybe I write best when under pressure? Ah well. Have a great week everyone!