Chapter 9
“Okay, the pulse barrage and repulsor rays in this baby are locked and loaded,” Tony announces, finishing his examination of Anthony’s Iron Man suit he had lent him. “The beams fire in the top petawatt region, so if you need me to use them, I’ll have to do it from outs—”
“Tony,” Natasha interrupts gently, her eyes closed. “You don’t have to worry about it. Just make sure you’ve got enough power to fly back to New York.”
Coulson had been kind enough to provide them with a plane ride to Manila, but not much else. They had to locate Natalia the Black Widow on their own, kill her themselves, and get back to New York without being seen, all in less than two weeks.
Natasha knows both she and Tony have done more in less time. Unfortunately, she knows Natalia has, also.
“Sorry, Nat, you’re speaking to the man who literally died to save the world,” Tony chirps good-naturedly, stretching his arms. “Your little self-sacrificing bit here isn’t going to work. I’m helping you on this. I’m not leaving you.”
“Tony, she’s one of the world’s most dangerous operatives,” Natasha deadpans. “She’s killed more people than you’ve met. She’s ruthless; she’s the Black Widow.”
“And I’m Iron Man,” Tony responds, shrugging. “We’ve all got cute nicknames. Look, I’ll have the suit ready to go in two seconds if I need it. You’ve seen the nanotech.”
“You’re going to need it,” Natasha warns him. She knows there’s no arguing with Tony once he’s made up his mind about something. “And you better make it faster than two seconds. She could kill you in half that time if she wants to.”
Natasha takes a deep breath. It’s strange, talking about her alternate self. She’d tried for so long to kill the monster inside of her who would kill anyone without a second thought, and now she has to kill the actual monster. She isn’t sure what to expect. She had been nearly unmatched by everyone when she was just a teenager; this Natalia, who has been operating for much longer and forced to hide even more due to Ultron, would most likely be on an entirely different level.
“Let’s try this thing out then,” Tony sighs. He slips on the jacket and tugs on one of the buttons. Immediately, the material begins stretching, expanding until the Iron Man armor completely covers Tony’s body, the only visible part of him being his face.
“Hello, sir. I hope this suit accommodates you accordingly,” the AI voice says from inside. Natasha and Tony both look at each other in surprise. The voice is familiar, friendly, and distinctly British and male.
“Jarvis?” Tony whispers, his eyes shining.
“Yes, sir?” the voice replies back amicably. “Mr. Stark informed me you would be utilizing this suit for the duration of this mission. Is there anything you need at the moment?”
Tony manages to emit a shocked, breathy laugh, before blinking and shaking his head slightly. “Uh, no, no. It’s just…good to hear your voice. You get along with Ultron, I’m guessing?”
“We collaborate at the discretion of Mr. Stark occasionally. Captain Rogers was adamant when Ultron was first being created and implemented that he stay away from my systems and consciousness. For why, I know not.”
Natasha ducks her head so Tony can’t see her smile. She’d felt an indescribable barrier between herself and Steve at his house; she isn’t sure if it’s due to the fact that he’s now an old man or that he got to come back from the Quantum Realm and she didn’t or that he voluntarily left their reality, but she knows it was there. She knows Steve would be different after spending a lifetime in a different reality and having some control over its events, but also knowing that he stopped the world’s most powerful peace-keeping initiative to protect Jarvis lets her know he maybe didn’t change as much as she thought he did.
Natasha studies the files again that SHIELD provided them on the Black Widow. Natalia Romanova had last been spotted by an undercover SHIELD agent in the Philippines, near the Russian Embassy in Manila. Their closest guess as to why she is there is to tamper with the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
“Tony, can you get me a list of all the people that will be at the APEC meeting tomorrow?” Natasha asks.
Tony taps on the Iron Man suit, and it begins breaking down until he’s back to wearing his normal clothes. “Can I—I’m offended you even have to ask, Romanoff. It’ll just take me a minute.”
While he fiddles with a tablet he had brought along, Natasha peeks out the window of their small hotel room. It’s late, nearly midnight, yet the streets below are still crowded with civilians milling around. Natasha finds this advantageous for them to keep their heads down and blend in.
It could also be disadvantageous for innocent deaths. The Black Widow doesn’t care who she kills.
“Okay, I hacked into the embassy system. Looking for anyone specifically?” Tony asks a minute later.
Natasha nods. “Highlight anyone who hasn’t been there previously. There’s a reason she chose this year’s meeting. Cross that list with those coming from countries who have any upcoming deals with Russia or disputes, private or public.”
“Alright, this will just take a second,” Tony tells her, typing. He looks up at her. “What’s the game plan?”
“We’ll sneak into the embassy early before any representatives arrive, around four or five in the morning,” Natasha decides after pondering. “I’ll find some position to act as so no one pays me much attention. You stay outside, so you can see the heat signatures, and only enter the building if necessary. There might be a bomb. I can’t say for sure until I figure out her game plan.”
Tony nods cautiously. “Okay. But…chances are there won’t be one, right? I mean, if she blows up the building, she dies too. I don’t see why she would take on a mission she knows she’s going to die on.”
Natasha holds his gaze, not showing any emotion.
You are made of marble.
Tony clears his throat. “Oh. Well, never mind, then. Okay. So we just have to look out for you…well, you, and any potential bombs and the like. That’s not too bad. She’s not going to have anyone with her?”
Natasha remembers long brown hair, a metal arm, and freezing.
She gives Tony a calculated smile. “No, I don’t think she is.”
~
Tony yawns for the tenth time in half an hour, stretching his arms. “You know, I think this is the earliest I’ve ever been up on this side of the world. Pep and I came to the Philippines for our honeymoon, you know, gorgeous place on Boracay—”
“You literally called us while you were there to brag,” Natasha cuts in. She continues walking at a brisk pace, keeping her footsteps quiet. “You have the stuff?”
Tony pats his pocket affirmatively. “Ipepac extract, mixed with methylparaben and sugar,” he tells her. “Just a small dose and the sweet little assistant from Ottawa will be occupied the rest of the morning throwing up.”
“Lovely,” Natasha mutters. The plan is for Tony to slip the Canadian Prime Minister’s assistant just enough of the extract to make her go back to the hotel, which will provide an opening for Natasha to act as her replacement and be granted access without any suspicion directed toward her.
Tony tugs on Natasha’s light brunette wig, accidentally pulling out a few follicles of the cheap hairpiece. “Oops, sorry. You know, I gotta say, the red is still my favorite.”
Natasha grins. Red is her favorite too, but no one except Clint knows that. It’s her natural hair color, something that makes her feel less like a weapon and more like a person.
It’s still early, so most of the world leaders haven’t arrived yet, but their assistants and the building staff have already. Natasha locates the Canadian Prime Minister’s assistant and silently signals to Tony, who’s dressed as a waiter, to make his move. He puts some of the Ipepac extract into a cup of water and walks over to the assistant, who graciously accepts it and takes a long swig.
A few minutes later, she’s scurrying down a hallway, presumably to find the nearest trash can.
Natasha nods to Tony, who turns to exit the building. The plan is for him to use the stealth mode in the Iron Man suit and stay outside to get an aerial view of the building and anyone entering or leaving, and provide Natasha with heat signatures on the interior of the building.
They’d deduced that a major difference at this year’s APEC meeting is that Wakanda joined the forum the previous year, and it would be the African country’s first appearance at a meeting. Because King T’Chaka still hadn’t opened Wakanda to the rest of the world, Wakanda was still obligated to participate in inter-governmental conferences by Ultron to ensure that other countries knew what was going on there at least.
When the Canadian Prime Minister arrives, Natasha swiftly explains that his original assistant became ill and that she is his replacement for the day. She asks if there’s anything she can get him before the forum begins, construing her words in a way that guarantee he’ll say yes.
“Um, I guess I could use a water. Thanks, dear,” he says, and Natasha smirks to herself.
She uses the task of retrieving a water bottle as an excuse to climb two flights of stairs to a secluded hallway. She taps on her comm unit, discreetly hidden behind her ear.
“Got anything for me, Stark?” she asks quietly.
“Just over two hundred people in the building as of right now,” Tony answers. “I’m not getting a pinpoint location for…what do we want to call her, exactly? It could get a little messy since you’re both the Black Widow, technically—”
“Natalia,” Natasha answers. “Let me know if you see anything. Stay sharp.”
“Roger that.”
Natasha sighs, leaning against the wall for a second.
Her rest is short-lived when she hears the click of someone’s footsteps nearing her. She tenses, gripping her gun in her hand. She’s in a restricted area of the building; no one should be here, including herself. It could just be a worker who saw her who’s come to tell her she’s not allowed up here.
Or it could be someone else.
“Привет, черная вдова.” Hello, Black Widow.
Natasha internally groans. She hates being right sometimes.
“I thought only one could hold that title,” Natasha replies coolly in English, loosening her grip on the gun. She doesn’t want to appear as a threat just yet. “Are you not the Black Widow?”
Natasha turns to face the newcomer. Harsh years of spy training are the only reason she doesn’t flinch when she sees Natalia – it’s like looking into the worst distorted mirror she’s ever seen. Natalia looks just like her, yet every feature of hers is different in some way; her frame thinner, her posture stiffer, her mouth angrier, her eyes older. Her hair is dyed a dark shade of black, so deep it almost looks blue in the light. It hasn’t been red for a long time.
Natalia cocks her head. “Only one on Earth,” she agrees in English, a slight Russian accent audible. Natasha knows this is on purpose; Madame B made sure they perfected every possible accent before they were thirteen. “But you are not from this Earth, no?”
She doesn’t seem surprised at all to see Natasha. Natasha isn’t sure if that’s because someone with SHIELD leaked that she and Tony were here, or if Natalia’s training is so ingrain that she’s incapable of showing the slightest bit of emotion. Natasha isn’t sure which is worse.
“Who wants to know?” Natasha responds. “Don’t tell me Hydra’s still got moles in SHIELD. I once used the Bites on myself to help get them out.”
Natalia regards her curiously for a minute while applying bright red lipstick, as if to see if her question is serious. When she’s apparently convinced that it is, she chuckles. “Oh, my dear. You are quite mistaken. Hydra did not send me here. I do not go anywhere I do not wish to go.”
“That’s a lie and we both know it,” Natasha replies. Their conversation is quick, with barely any pause between the two women’s responses. Natasha feels like she’s performing a dance where she can only rely on muscle memory because she has no time to think about her next move. “I was sent plenty of places I didn’t want to go.”
“That is why we are different,” Natalia bites back, squaring her shoulders. “You are a subordinate. I am an equal.” She discretely flexes her muscles, but they have the same body; Natasha knows the signs of an impending attack. Natalia is about to begin fighting her.
“We’ll see about that,” Natasha says, and swings first.
Natasha and Natalia engage in a fight that Natalia could almost describe as balletic. There are no harsh, loud hits or tackles; just fast punches, agile leg swings around necks, and calculated pushes and kicks.
Natalia has managed to destroy Natasha’s comm unit and get her in a chokehold when Natasha balls her hand into a fist and punches backward, utilizing her Sovereign strength onto her doppelganger. Natalia rips off Natasha’s wig as she’s thrown backwards through the hole, leaving a gaping hole in it.
Natasha exhales heavily. She brushes her red hair out of her face and jogs over to the hole in the wall, expecting to see Natalia sprawled out in the room behind it, but she’s not there.
Natasha swears. She taps her comm unit, but it merely produces static. Natasha swears again. She climbs through the hole and into the empty conference room on the other side of the wall. She studies the room before noticing the air vent in the ceiling which is slightly loose. She hops up onto the table and uses her grappling hook to remove the vent cover before launching herself up into the vents.
A few brown strands of hair from the cheap wig Natasha had been wearing act as Natasha’s navigation guide. She follows the hair and the dust patterns to follow Natalia’s path until she hears her voice from a room below the vents.
Natasha presses her ear to the vent. Natalia is talking to…
Tony. Shit.
“You know, I have to hand it to you, I did not think you would’ve had the balls to use nitroglycerin,” he rambles. Through the vent, Natasha can see he’s wearing the Iron Man suit and fiddling with a bomb, trying to quickly dismantle it. “This thing could’ve gone off with barely any stimulus if I hadn’t found it.”
“That was the point,” Natalia growls from somewhere out of Natasha’s sight. Natasha hears the click of a gun and knows it’s aimed at Tony. “Stop right now or I put a bullet through your brain.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Tony quips. “You shoot me, and I won’t be able to tell you where the Winter Soldier is.”
Natasha freezes. She’d been about to kick in the vent and fall down into the room. Why the hell would Tony mention Barnes? She’d never told anyone except Clint that she and the Winter Soldier used to love each other. It had been in her file when she’d come to SHIELD that the Black Widow and Winter Soldier had been associates during the Cold War, but Natasha had made sure to wipe that information the week she’d started working for SHIELD.
Unless Tony hacked it, which he probably had. But why had he kept it a secret all these years that he knew Natasha had known Barnes before?
Coulson, you know Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me.
Natasha steadies her breathing. She can’t afford to lose her trust in Tony now. He probably has some explanation for it.
Natalia seems to feel the same way.
“What do you know about him?” she demands, her voice slightly wavering. Her Russian accent lilts her words slightly, hinting that she’s more affected by Tony’s words than she wants to be. “Why would you bring him up?”
“You won’t find out if you kill me,” Tony answers. Natasha can see that he’s done fiddling with the bomb, which means it’s disarmed, and now he’s just biding his time, most likely waiting for her.
“I haven’t seen the Soldier in nearly four years,” Natalia says lowly. “I do not know if he is dead or alive.”
“I find that interesting. You’re the best spy in the world, and you can’t even figure out if someone’s alive?”
Natasha hears a rustling, indicating that Natalia has put the gun down. Even when she was in the Red Room, Natasha never would have made that mistake. In this reality, whatever had happened between Natalia and Barnes, it was definitely salient.
Natasha takes advantage of Natalia’s mistake; there can only be one winner here. She kicks through the vent, landing in a crouch position on the floor, and charges at Natalia, who doesn’t look entirely surprised to see her. The two women wrestle around for a minute, and Natasha lands a couple of solid punches to Natalia’s abdomen, which are enough to leave her laying on the ground, groaning in pain.
Natasha grabs Natalia’s guns and fires two shots directly into her stomach, ensuring she won’t be getting up anytime soon. Beside them, Tony holds out his hand, ready to blast the doppelganger if need be.
“Were you here to kill King T’Chaka?” Natasha asks her. She doesn’t take pity on anyone, not even the dying. “You were going to blow up this whole building for one man?”
“Wakanda has been sending spies to assist in the hunt for Hydra,” Natalia spits, blood trickling out of her mouth. She doesn’t show weakness, even when dying. “A third world country that provides shepherds and textiles wastes the last of their vibranium to kill Hydra. The leader that decides that is no leader at all.”
Natasha smirks. So T’Chaka had figured out a way to still be involved with world politics while also keeping his country hidden. Natasha almost wishes she had gotten to know him better when he was still alive in her reality.
Blood is pouring out onto the carpeted floor from Natalia’s stomach, and the life is quickly draining from her eyes. Natasha kneels beside her. “ты умрешь даром,” she says matter-of-factly. You are going to die for nothing.
“ничто не вечно,” Natalia replies. Nothing lasts forever.
Natalia’s pale hand reaches up to cradle Natasha’s head. She leans forward and kisses Natasha’s lips softly before laying down on the carpet in her own puddle of blood. She closes her eyes, takes a shuddering breath, and doesn’t move again.
After a moment, the gold plate on the Iron Man helmet retracts so Natasha can see Tony’s face. “You know,” he says, “if it weren’t for the fact that that’s your literal evil doppelganger and you didn’t just kill her, that could’ve been hot for a minute.”
Natasha prepares a sarcastic reply, but she finds that she’s lost her voice. She opens her mouth to speak but nothing comes out. Her eyes meet Tony’s, slightly panicked, before her legs crumble beneath her, and she falls to the ground, unable to move.
Tony immediately rushes forward, kneeling beside her. “Nat? Nat! What’s wrong? JARVIS, give me her vitals, now!”
“It appears Ms. Romanoff is suffering from tetrodotoxin poisoning,” JARVIS supplies. “The toxin is commonly found in the organs of certain fish species. It causes nerve interference between the brain and body, and paralysis is a common side effect. If untreated, within six hours, the lungs will be unable to expand or retract, and death is imminent.”
“Where the hell did she get it from?” Tony shouts, panicking. He checks Natasha’s pulse; it’s much slower than normal. “We ate the same things!”
“There appears to be a high level of tetrodotoxin located in the lipstick tube in Ms. Romanova’s pocket,” JARVIS answers. “There is no known antidote for tetrodotoxin poisoning. Had Ms. Romanova not been shot, she would have died within the next couple of hours as it appears she had been exposed to the neurotoxin as well.”
Natasha wants to respond, but her limbs feel too heavy. She wants to assure Tony that she can still think, and that everything is going to be okay, but she isn’t sure that everything actually will be. She attempts to give Tony a reassuring expression; he’s one of the smartest people she’s ever met. He can figure something out.
If he can’t…well, at least she was given a second shot.
She lets her eyelids flutter closed.
~
“You know, normally I’d feel bad about you cooking for me, but after that workout, you definitely owe us,” Rhodey sighs, taking a bite of the salmon Steve had prepared. “They didn’t even have us go this hard for BMT.”
“My BMT definitely wasn’t this intense,” Sam agrees, shaking his head. He sips his water. “All that workout and you can’t even get me any ice cubes, Cap? What kind of program are you running here?”
“Steve already almost burned the compound down using the oven. I’d hate to see him try and use the ice dispenser,” Natasha quips, entering the kitchen. She stretches her arms before sitting next to Rhodey at the table.
She and Steve have been working with him, Sam, Wanda, and Vision for almost a month now after battling Ultron in Sokovia. She wishes she could say it’s going well whenever Clint or Tony call to check in on them, but she can’t. Vision is physically the most capable of their newest members, but still has trouble recognizing sarcasm and common slang words, which makes it difficult to communicate and imagine basic training scenarios with him. Wanda still has trust issues – whether with the team or herself, Natasha still is figuring out, but whichever it is, it’s making the witch clearly hold back in her abilities. Rhodey is gone more often than not for Air Force business, so when he is there, he’s never up to speed on specific runs they’ve been practicing. Sam sometimes seems like he’s the only one who actually wants to be there in terms of enthusiasm, but when it comes to more dangerous practices or missions, he’s the first one to volunteer Vision or Wanda to make the first move.
“Keep complaining about my cooking and you guys can make your own dinner tomorrow,” Steve says good-naturedly, carrying another dish in. “Some potatoes, if you guys want it.”
Wanda puts a few of the miniature potatoes on her plate and takes a bite. Immediately, she begins coughing, covering her mouth with a napkin. Vision pats her on the back as the coughing subsides.
“That bad?” Steve asks, grimacing.
“It…is not bad. I just lost my breath for a moment,” Wanda assures him, but lying isn’t one of her strong suits.
Natasha gives Steve a sympathetic smile. He chuckles back at her and holds up his cell phone. “Okay, okay, I’m a horrible cook, I know. I would like to point out that this would’ve been considered fine dining back in the ’20’s. Who wants pizza?”
“Make it stuffed crust!” Sam calls, standing and gathering everyone’s plates. “I’m guessing I can go ahead and just throw all this in the garbage disposal? I think you’re the only one who’d eat it, Cap.” He walks across the large kitchen to begin washing the dishes.
“Go ahead,” Steve sighs, but there’s a smile pulling at his lips. He stands and walks out of the kitchen to place an order for pizza delivery.
“Well, if we have to wait for the pizza, I’m going to take a quick shower,” Rhodey informs them. He salutes and jogs out of the kitchen.
Steve’s voice calls out from the living room. “Guys, they’re asking for a card number. I don’t have a card. Can anyone call Tony?”
“You do have a card, Captain,” Vision calls back. He floats up and through the kitchen wall, disappearing to go help Steve.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that,” Natasha muses.
Wanda gives her a reticent smile. Natasha knows the young witch is afraid that she hates her for messing with her mind, no matter how many times Natasha has assured her it’s in the past.
“I told him he should try and only use doors from now on,” Wanda says. “I did not think it was possible, given his nature, but he just seems out of his element sometimes and forgets.”
“He’s not the only one,” Natasha responds pointedly.
Wanda looks down at her lap, her long hair hiding her face. “I do not feel out of my element. I know I am. I was not made to be part of a team like this.”
“No one is,” Natasha tells her, a soft smile on her face. “Clint was supposed to kill me on a mission. We were enemies. But instead he brought me in, and…” Natasha shrugs her shoulders, motioning to the air. “Now I help Captain America lead his team. Who would’ve guessed?”
Wanda shakes her head, looking at Natasha with wide eyes. “You must give yourself more credit, Natasha. This team is yours as much as his, if not more. He cares about keeping us safe. You care about keeping us together.”
If I move on, who does this?
“Are those not the same thing?” Natasha asks, curious about Wanda’s opinion. She has her own thoughts about it, of course, but part of her training with Wanda has been to get her to open up more.
“They should be,” Wanda says after some thought. “But look at me and Pietro. We were not safe with Strucker, but we were together. Now I am safe, but we are not together.” She pauses for a moment after seeing Natasha’s pained expression and leans forward to grasp Natasha’s wrist. “Bunătate, no, Natasha, that’s not what I meant. That came out wrong. You are more confident in us than Steve is. You believe we will be safe if we are together. He believes we will be safe only under certain circumstances. But you are both great leaders and important members of the Avengers. I am lucky to have you to learn from.”
Natasha rests her hand on top of Wanda’s. “Thank you.” She’s surprised that she’s touched by a conversation with someone she’s known for just over a month. She decides to lighten the serious mood. “So, do I need to duke it out with Steve for supreme leadership of the Avengers?”
Wanda laughs. “No,” she sighs, and then her expression sobers. “You need to—”
~
“—wake up. Come on, Nat, wake up.”
Natasha’s eyes snap open. She does a quick self-assessment of herself without moving. She has a slight headache, but she doesn’t seem to have any serious head or brain injury. Her muscles all feel light, like the time she and Yelena snuck out when Madame B was sick to smoke marijuana for the first time. In other words, she feels a hell of a lot better than she did when she fell to the ground next to Natalia.
Natasha tries to sit up. Tony rushes forward and rests his hand on her back, helping her into an upright position. “Oh, thank God. How are you feeling? Do you remember what happened?”
“I killed her,” Natasha says. She has cottonmouth, but she’s dealt with worse before. She looks around; they’re back in their hotel room. “How did you get us out of the embassy? What did you do with the body? W—”
“Slow down, Bugs Bunny, I can barely understand you,” Tony says. He grabs a glass of water off the bedside table and lets her take a small sip before he answers. “No one saw us, so you can relax. And for how we got here…” He gestures behind him.
Natasha follows his movement. Loki emerges from the bathroom, wearing a dark gray hooded sweatshirt. He stops in his tracks when he notices she’s staring at him, looking surprised, but covers it up with a grin. “Agent Romanoff. How nice of you to join the land of the living. I’ll take my payment for the transport of this reality’s Natasha properly at your earliest convenience.”
“You…called him?” Natasha asks Tony, too surprised to be able to imagine a witty comeback at the moment. She didn't even get a chance to ask Tony how he knew to mention the Winter Soldier to Natalia, but now there's more pressing issues.
“I was going to call Steve, but he’s, you know, locked up at the moment. Then I called Gamora, and—”
“She doesn’t have the ability to be in two places at once,” Loki interjects, sitting opposite them on the other bed. “But alas, I do. As far as the other Stark and SHIELD are concerned, Thor is still answering mind-numbingly boring questions with Gamora, and I came to your rescue.”
“I thought your illusions weren’t tangible,” Natasha tells him.
Loki smirks. “I had many years without anyone nagging me to practice my magic. The Sovereign couldn’t monitor what they didn’t know was happening.”
Reassured that Natasha is alright, Tony squeezes her shoulder affectionately before standing and grabbing his tablet. “Okay, so Natalia’s body was successfully shipped to Wakanda. Apparently T’Chaka wanted to see the woman who tried to have him murdered, and SHIELD approved. So, we’ll be good to go back, and Steve can get out of j—”
“Wait,” Natasha croaks. Her mind is spinning. “How long was I out for? The APEC meeting is over already? The body was shipped already?”
Tony and Loki share a look, and if Natasha weren’t feeling like shit, she would shudder. Seeing Tony and the god of mischief share anything was something she never wanted to see and never thought she would.
“Nat, you were out for over twelve hours. It’s the next day already; you killed Natalia yesterday,” Tony answers quietly. “On top of you being touch and go for about three hours. I guess the Sovereign DNA can make you stronger and faster but can’t protect against neurotoxins.”
“The Sovereign aren’t affected by toxins the way humans are. They don’t have to account for that,” Loki says defensively.
“Whatever,” Tony mutters. He points to Natasha. “I know you’ve got to be hungry. What are you craving? I’ll run out and get something really quick.”
Natasha tells him to get two of whatever he’s having. She honestly isn’t that hungry; knowing that she killed her alternate self and had been poisoned afterward wasn’t exactly appetite-inducing.
Loki is eyeing her curiously when Tony leaves. Natasha ignores him and slowly gets out of bed, stretching her muscles as much as she can. She finishes the water in the glass Tony had given her and turns around to find Loki’s gaze still focused on her.
“Can I help you?” she asks. “You can go on and materialize back to New York or however you do this thing. We’ll figure out a way to get back.”
“I can be of service,” Loki offers. “You’re not exactly in the best condition right now. It’s costing me no extra strength to be here and also in New York with Gamora.”
Natasha frowns at him. Since when is he concerned about her well-being? “Faking an identity to book a flight is probably one of the easiest things I’ll have done in a long time. Trust me. It’ll be fun.” She and Clint used to make up the most ridiculous names and occupations for each other whenever they had to go undercover and book flights.
Loki runs a hand through his hair, looking stressed. “Natasha,” he grits out. That makes her freeze; he rarely calls her by her real first name. “You almost died. I saw your life aura leaving your body multiple times. Even if you have Sovereign DNA in you now, you still need to rest. Killing your alternate self after a fight and then being poisoned would take its toll on anyone, and continuing to act out a mission would just be stupid.”
Natasha sits back down on the bed, facing him. She’s good at reading people. All her years of experience indicate that Loki is genuinely concerned about her well-being, but she knows that can’t be correct. This is the same Loki who tried to destroy New York and then hid out on an alien planet for over a decade, all while taking advantage of and deceiving them for his own personal gain. There was no way he would actually care about how she’s doing.
A small voice in the back of her head tells her that he did use his powers to help Tony save her life. She makes a mental note to ask him later how he eradicated the poison from her system. But she figures the reason he helped save her life is that he doesn’t want her to expose him to SHIELD and Ultron and have them imprison him.
Natasha thinks back to some of the lessons Madame B taught her. She has a feeling she’ll be doing a lot of that soon since she hasn’t had time to actually process what talking to Natalia was like.
“Sometimes,” she tells Loki, “you have to continue and kill parts of yourself if you want other parts to live.”
Loki’s about to respond when he freezes. He closes his eyes for a minute before opening them and jumping up, pulling her to her feet quickly. Natasha’s head spins a bit, but she recovers quickly, grabbing her bag and shoving on her shoes without questioning what’s happening. She’s been in enough life-or-death situations to know that you always ask questions later.
Loki pulls his hood tight over his head and grabs Tony’s things while pushing her out the door. If they were friends, Natasha would actually compliment his ability to multitask; he could give Laura Barton on weekday mornings a run for her money.
They both begin running, and Loki speaks into his comm unit. “Stark, can you hear me? Meet us at the Ninoy Aquino Airport…yes, now! I’ll explain when we’re there!”
Natasha hails a cab once they reach the street. She knows where the airport is; it’s about six miles from the Russian embassy, which means it’s even less from the hotel. Normally she’d suggest just running since traffic in Manila rivals that of Times Square, but she can barely feel her legs still.
Once they’re in the backseat of a cab on the route to the airport, Natasha turns to Loki. “No bullshitting me right now. Seriously. What the hell just happened?”
Loki peers over at her from underneath his hood, which amazingly hasn’t budged from his head. Natasha had struggled to keep the baseball cap she’d swiped from a stand on the street on her head to cover her hair.
“I can see what my real form is doing at the moment,” Loki answers quietly.
“That must be a sensory overload,” Natasha observes.
“I am accustomed to it,” Loki admits. “But what I saw…something entered Earth’s atmosphere above New York. As the custom goes, one of Stark’s Iron Legion droids is going to observe it.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Natasha replies, but her gut is telling her that that’s not it, that something bad is happening. She just can’t seem to catch a damn break.
“Except I recognize the ship. It’s from Sovereign,” Loki finishes.
Oh. Shit.
Natasha stares at him, a naïve part of her hoping that it will be Al-Bedo unexpectedly having followed them, or some random civilian who got lost. But Loki’s worried expression tells her it can’t be that easy, because why would it be?
“We need to get back and prepare,” Loki says gravely. “I fear Warlock has come to Earth in search of us, and he brought Magus and the Goddess with him.”