Chapter 5: Beware the Widow's Bite
It was a star-studded night at Gorgon castle in Japan. A lavish party was being held as guests arrived in droves. Each one arriving in fancy cars and wearing extravagant suits and dresses. Inside, there was a mass amount of mingling, gossip and trading small talk as they enjoyed the complimentary sake and horderves.
Outside, the latest car pulled up towards the entrance, coming to a stop as the valet opened the door, allowing a woman's bare leg to step out, only for the rest of the woman to step out. She was dressed in a long, sleeveless black dress with a slit that nearly reached her hip. A white fur shawl covered her shoulders as she gave the valet a small nod, sling a purse onto her shoulder and tucking a strand of fiery red hair behind her ear.
Take care of it, she told him in Japanese. It's a classic.
The valet nodded in response, prompting the woman to make her way towards the front door.
Your invitation, miss, the doorman requested.
Without a word, the woman reached into her purse, pulling out the invitation and handing it to him. He glanced over it, then handed it back to her.
"Welcome to Gorgon castle."
She gave a small smile and a wink before walking into the castle. As she entered, she adjusted that same strand of hair again, simultaneously turning on an earpiece she'd hidden in her ear.
"Alright, I'm in," she whispered, her lips barely moving as she spoke. "Anyone care to tell me what I'm looking for?"
"Recent intel has suggested that Gorgon has ties to HYDRA, and that he's meeting with a promising new partner at this party tonight."
"Do we have any idea as to who this 'partner' might be?"
"Unsure, but we believe they have ties to various criminal enterprises worldwide. Supplying HYDRA with more resources than they'd know what to do with."
"Meaning more trouble for us in the long run. Alright, I'm gonna shadow Gorgon and see if he'll lead me to whoever his new buddy is."
As she signed off, she mingled her way through the party, snagging a glass of sake to appear inconspicuou as she worked to find Gorgon. After a bit maneuvering through the crowd of people, she noted a man with long black hair standing apart from the crowd. Her research into her target made it quite clear that this was the man she was sent to investigate. After snagging another glass, she made her way over to him in an attempt to learn something new.
"Sake for the man of the hour?" she offered, causing Gorgon to turn around.
"I am afraid I have little time for such indulgences," he responded, taking the glass and placing it on a passing tray.
"To not enjoy oneself at their own party. Truly sad."
"Under normal circumstances, perhaps. Tonight, however, I am expecting some very important customers, and I would hate to keep them waiting."
"Of course," the woman replied as Gorgon walked off.
Once he was out of view, she quickly downed her drink and carefully followed after, doing her best to keep out of sight. She quickly leaned against a column in the room before peering around the corner, seeing Gorgon walking up to a middle aged Japanese man that seemed more than a little impatient.
"Nobu, welcome," Gorgon greeted. "I trust you've found everything to your liking."
"Your home is suitable for festivities, I will concede, Nobu replied before leaning in, speaking in English. "But I was promised to see what HYDRA is capable of."
"You had only to ask," Gorgon replied in a similar dialect before ushering him away. "Right this way."
The two walked away from the party, the woman from before carefully trailing after them to see where they were heading.
"I got eyes on the prize," she reported into her ear piece. "They're bailing on the party. I'm gonna go see where they're heading."
"Roger that. Stay sharp. We don't know what we're dealing with here."
"Yeah, but that's part of the fun."
She then set her glass aside and continued following after them. As the two walked down the hall, they veered off into a room filled with Japanese paintings, sculptures, and other such artwork. Gorgon went over to a small vase that was sitting on a podium. He placed a hand on it before moving it slightly to the side. This caused one of the paintings on the wall to rise up, revealing a secret elevator inside.
"Very… theatrical," Nobu noted.
"HYDRA has always always had a great sense of pride in its work" Gorgon replied as the two stepped inside.
"A trait that does not lend itself well to my own organization."
"Nor will it need to for what we have planned."
As the two continued to talk, the painting slid back into place as the elevator went down. Once they were gone, the woman stepped inside, noting the painting on the wall, right where it was when Gorgon and Nobu entered, as if it had never moved at all.
"And Barton said it'd be behind a bookcase," she remarked.
She leaned against the painting, checking for the sounds of motors controlling the elevator's descent. When she was sure it was clear, she went back over to the vase, moving it like Gorgon had earlier. This allowed the painting to rise up and unveil the elevator once again. She quickly slipped inside, immediately losing her high heels as the painting closed up and the car went down. She then ditched the shawl and reached into her purse, revealing two large yellow wrist devices. She quickly slipped them on before tossing the purse aside. Finally, she tore off the skirt at the knees, allowing for easier mobility of the legs.
"Good thing this wasn't a rental," she remarked. "Now, let's see what HYDRA's got in its basement."
Finally, the car reached its destination. The door slid open and she wasted no time leaving it. She then made her way through an underground hallway, eventually seeing it lead out into a hidden laboratory, It was full of scientists working on new kinds of weapons and technology. The woman could hardly believe her eyes.
"Remember how our intel said that HYDRA wasn't a major threat?" she whispered into her earpiece.
"Yeah?"
"Our intel was wrong. Dead. Wrong."
She slipped through the cave, her bare feet padding on the cold floor as she silently did some recon. She slowly poked her head around a corner to see an empty computer terminal. She decided to take the opportunity to sneak over.
"What are you up to, Gorgon?"
She made her way over to the terminal and started trying to hack inside. It took a few minutes, but eventually, she was able to get in. She smirked, then cracked her knuckles as she skimmed through the files.
"Let's see what we've got."
As expected, she found several blueprints for different weapons, chemical compounds for gas, and even studies on germ warfare. However, one file caught her eye, one that made her jaw drop.
"Project Rebirth?" she asked aloud. "What on…"
"As you can see, HYDRA has amassed quite the empire for itself," Gorgon boasted, getting the woman's attention.
Thinking fast, she pulled out a flashdrive from her wrist gauntlet and plugged it into the computer before taking off. She managed to leap onto a nearby pipe and flip herself up onto a ledge just as Gorgon and Nobu walked up.
"From advanced weapons, to devastating war machines, and soldier augmentations, HYDRA is converting itself into a super power the likes of which the world has never before seen."
"Impressive," Nobu commented, looking around the room. "Though it does not explain why you have sought us out?"
"Our activities as of late have brought some… irritating attention to us. Your organization however, as you mentioned before, brings a certain level of discretion. By working together, you could place agents with HYDRA grade weaponry in any part of the globe. And in turn, HYDRA would give you weaponry the likes of which would reduce your enemies to dust."
"The Hand has survived for centuries without your… toys," Nobu remarked, picking up a nearby weapon. "Why should we consider it now?"
"The world is ever evolving. If we are to survive, we must evolve as well. That includes using the best and most powerful resources available. Resources… like ours."
Nobu considered this, placing the weapon back on the table as he walked across the room. He looked around at the facilities, taking note of the facility and its workers.
"You have promised much, and you do boast quite the facility," Nobu noted. "You do seem to be lacking in one key area, however."
"And what might that be?" Gorgon asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"...security."
Nobu then suddenly slung his arm, a knife sailing out and heading straight for the woman's head. Having no choice, she leapt from her perch, avoiding the knife and rolling on the ground. As she got back up, she looked around to see several HYDRA soldiers quickly drawing their weapons and aiming them right at her.
"Uh… hi," she greeted. "I don't suppose one of you gentlemen could tell me where the powder room is."
"... kill her," Gorgon ordered.
The soldiers opened fire on her, prompting the woman to leap onto a table, kicking a soldier in the face before jumping off and turning the table over to find some cover. She hit behind the table, allowing the soldiers to fire at instead of her. Bracing herself against the table, she flipped around and aimed one of her gauntlets at some of the soldiers, firing blasts that nailed several soldiers in the chest, taking them out in rapid succession. She then grabbed one of the table legs and kicked it off, leaping over the table and rolling towards a soldier. She swung the leg at the soldier's face, taking him out.
She then threw the leg at another soldier, nailing him in the head and knocking him to the ground. Not missing a beat, she knelt down and kicked a third soldier's legs out from under him, knocking him to the ground as well. She then got up and spun around and kneed another soldier in the stomach, causing him to keel over in pain. She then placed her hands on his back and used him to spring forward towards another soldier. She managed to wrap her legs around his neck and leaned back, causing him to fall to the ground as she took a crouching stance.
"Enough!" Nobu declared, stepping forward. "I will deal with this nuisance myself."
The soldiers all backed off as the woman got back up, staring the man down.
"Well, this just got interesting," she remarked as Nobu removed his suit jacket.
"And who are you?" Nobu inquired. "One that would so cavalierly challenge the might of not only HYDRA, but the Hand."
"Well the invite was for Miss Rushman. But I prefer Natasha."
"Natasha…" Gorgon recognized. "Romanoff. Ah yes, the infamous Black Widow."
"Infamous is… a little strong, don't you think?"
"Perhaps," Nobu commented, beginning to circle her. "But no matter how renowned your skills are… you are no match for me."
"We'll see."
She rushed towards Nobu, who quickly blocked and deflected her attacks as quickly as she delivered them. She then crouched down and kicked his legs out from under him, only for him to land on his hands and spring back to his feet. Natasha decided not to dwell on it and instead tried kicking him in the head, only for him to catch her foot and spin it so she would fall to the ground. She shook off the blow before rolling out of the way of a kick being delivered by Nobu, getting to one knee and looking up at him. She got back up and tried to strike him with her elbow, but he quickly blocked it. He attempted to strike at her head, but she easily ducked under it before striking him in the face, causing him to stumble back.
"Formidable enough for you?" she taunted.
Nobu managed to stabilize himself, grabbing his jaw before turning back towards Natasha. He just gave a look that made Natasha feel nervous for some reason. He then rushed forward, unleashing a barrage of attacks towards her that she was barely able to keep up with. She managed to block and deflect the blows, but his speed was ever increasing. Eventually, he managed to grab one of her fists and quickly kicked her in the stomach, causing her to keel over. He tried to bring an elbow down on the back of her head, but she maneuvered out of the way so her back was to him, allowing her to flip him over her shoulder.
He landed on the ground, quickly spinning around and swiping his feet at her, forcing her to leap backwards. Nobu then rolled away, gaining a greater distance before turning towards her, drawing several knives and throwing them one after the other. She quickly rolled out of the way, trying to dodge as many of them as possible. She managed to avoid all but the last one, scraping her across the arm and causing her to wince in pain. She looked back towards Nobu, seeing him pull out a blade from his pocket, before letting a chain that was attached to it drop to the ground. He grabbed the chain in his other hand and spun it overhead, staring down Natasha.
"If you have any last words, now would be the time," Nobu told her.
Natasha steeled herself as she stood back up, casually brushing her hair back while silently activating her earpiece.
"Budapest." she whispered before rushing back into battle.
...
So mostly cosmetic stuff on this one. Mostly correcting a bit of an error I made with Gorgon in the original. There I made him German whereas in the comics, he's Japanese. Oops.
Well here, not only is it fixed, but I managed to introduce Nobu and the Hand, which will play a role later down the line. So, yay for me.
Black Widow
Voice Actor: Scarlet Johansson
Appearance: MCU