Natasha Romanoff folded her arms and glowered at Red Pole. Currently two of his soldiers were unconscious, a third was sporting a broken arm, and the fourth cradled his broken nose in his hands as blood gushed onto the floor of the warehouse. Their mistake had been trying to force the Black Widow back into the electrifying manacles. She was not keen to co-operate.
'You... you helped her escape... you...' The Triad exploded.
'If you have lost the little S.H.I.E.L.D agent I hardly see how I can be blamed. For one thing I was here with you?' She stated coolly.
'Barton! Barton... he's responsible...' Little globules of spittle formed at the corners of his mouth. 'You're working together...'
'Excuse me, but part of our arrangement was that you release the girl and my debt to Barton be repaid. As far as I was concerned I was here in good faith. You believe Barton simply walked in here and spirited Foster away?'
'I don't know how he did it, but I know he did!' Red bellowed. 'You will help me exact my revenge on him.'
'I'm sorry, but you have reneged on your part of the bargain. My debt remains unpaid and while there is red on my ledger I am still encumbered.' Natasha responded.
'The girl is gone, your debt it repaid.' The Triad said dismissively.
'You say that she is gone. How do I know that you haven't simply disposed of her?'
'Are you saying you are refusing to work for me?' He spat.
'That does seem to be the case yes.'
The bloodshot eyes narrowed. 'You think Barton will come back and save you? Do you not think it odd that he took the girl but left you here?'
Natasha allowed her face to show a small amount of doubt.
'Ahhh you see my dear Agent Romanoff. The great Hawkeye has deserted you to your fate.' Red crowed. 'He has chosen her instead of you.'
Biting her lip and looking down as if she was trying to hold back emotion Natasha sincerely hoped that Barton wasn't listening to this. Great Hawkeye indeed. His ego would be so over inflated he would be impossible!
'Sense would dictate that I am the better option.' Red said in a wheedling tone. 'Barton may be prettier but I have all the aces.'
Conflict was written all over Natasha's face. 'I don't know...' She said uncertainly.
'Let me show you something that will help you decide.' He said, his broken face forcing a smile. Walking to the wall Red pulled a switch. Immediately the floor began to retract revealing steps stretching across the entire space. As more steps were revealed, Natasha stepped forward to see better. The moving floor stopped. In the concealed basement stood row after row of mechanical men. The Widow's eyes widened in surprise.
'Aren't they beautiful?' Red said proudly. 'I base them on the terracotta warriors from my home, but these have one additional feature.'
In his hand the Triad held a remote device. Pressing a button, the entire army stood to attention in a synchronised clatter of metal feet. Another button and the creatures began to ascend the staircase in formation turning left or right as they reached the top before reforming their lines on the remaining floor. Up close the warriors must have been seven feet tall. Taking a revolver from a soldier, Red Pole fired at a creature from close range. The bullets merely ricochet away leaving no marks at all.
Cackling in glee Red turned to the Black Widow. 'You are now left with two choices Agent Romanoff. Now that you have seen my creations you can reconsider my offer and join me in destroying Barton... or you can die.'
The Black Widow was beginning to wish she had chosen to reconsider. The metal army was slow and clumsy but what they lacked in speed and finesse they made up for in relentless determination to remove her from the face of the earth. Even the voltage from her widow makers did nothing to deter them.
From his vantage point behind a shatterproof door Red Pole laughed as he watched his creatures surround the Russian. One of his own soldiers who regained consciousness too late to run to safety had already succumbed to the metal beasts. It was only Natasha's speed and agility which was keeping her alive, but there were too many of them and they were closing in.
As the wall of metal advanced towards her, Natasha looked for a way out. Taking a run at the wall she managed to gain purchase and avoid the flailing metal arms. Leaping into the air she somersaulted over the warrior's head, rolling to a stop at the edge of the stairs. Watching for her next opening, she did not see the renagade metal warrior ascending the stairs behind her. Before she could react the Gollum had her in its vice like grip and was beginning to squeeze. No matter how much she struggled she couldn't wiggle loose. She could feel her ribs starting to crack and the air being forced from her lungs.
'Don't move Tash!'
Raising her head, Natasha could see Barton standing in the rafters. He had a steel tipped arrow pointed directly at her. Despite the pain, she tried to keep as absolutely still as possible. Releasing the missile, it flew through the air and, missing her head by millimetres, embedded itself in the warrior's chest. The creature staggered backwards with the sheer force of impact and released its grip allowing Natasha to roll sideways out of range. Trying to grab at the arrow, the gollum looked at the red flashing arrow tip almost quizzically until eventually the pulsating stopped and the arrow head exploded taking the creature's chest apart and it's head clean from it's body.
The other warriors were congregating around Natasha who was struggling to regain her breath. Barton threw a rope down to her. Holding her damaged ribs in one hand and wrapping the rope around her torso and other hand, she nodded to her partner. Attached to the other end of the rope Clint launched himself from the rafter. The rope had been slung over a beam. With his weight on the one side he was able to launch Natasha into the roof space and out of harms way. The creatures turned as their prey disappeared upwards just as Barton flew across the room. His feet hit the first warrior squarely in the chest. It wobbled precariously before falling over backwards.
Red pole could be heard shouting 'No... No... No...' As he frantically pressed buttons.
The creatures had been focussed around the Widow and now found themselves precariously close to each other. As the first warrior toppled it landed against its neighbour who, with the additional weight, also overbalanced. The domino effect was soon increasing as the warriors landed on top of each other leaving them floundering and pinned to the ground.
Completing his arc, Clint caught the beam on the upwards swing. Tripping across the rafters he reached Natasha who was trying to catch her breath.
'You ok?' He asked.
She nodded still breathless.
'Time I had a word with out friend.' Clint said gravely, clicking out his bow and selecting an arrow. He turned to where Red Pole had been standing but the enforcer was no-where to be seen.