Black Widow: Red Vengeance (A Marvel YA Novel)

by Margaret Stohl

  The man looked at her. Very funny.

  “Natasha?” Coulson was buzzing in her ear again.

  “Don’t ask.” Natasha tossed the wallet back to Vladimir. “You don’t want to know, Phil. I sort of hijacked a plane. It’s fine. It was just a little one—”

  “Natasha!”

  “Let me rephrase.” She adjusted her earpiece. “I took a short-term volunteer position as the personal pilot of a billionaire entrepreneur headed from Moscow to New York City.” She raised an eyebrow at Vlad. He shrugged. It was almost true. “And he’s going to fire me as soon as we touch down at the Triskelion.”

  The man nodded. That was definitely true.

  Natasha tapped her Cuff and pulled out her earpiece.

  She didn’t have the capacity to talk about it anymore. Not when she was the one who was going to have to make the call on when to take out Rockefeller Center to contain the Faithful before they spread to other cities, taking other lives. As if that made her some kind of hero.

  She felt like a fool. How had her instincts betrayed her so badly? How had she not seen it coming? How had she not known?

  Known what, exactly?

  But she knew the answer, whether or not she wanted to admit it. She’d known it since that day in Rio.

  That they were coming for me.

  That she was.

  For a moment, Natasha felt herself slipping out of the machine focus of combat mode. She cross-examined herself as she studied first the East River in front of her, then the Triskelion landing strip.

  She scanned up and down her mind for any detail she could recall about one person in particular—the one who was about to turn the city into a hellhole.

  But how could anyone have known that?

  That Ivan had raised Helen Samuels, someone so powerful—and so ruthless—

  And that some of my best old dead enemies may not be as good or as old or as dead as I thought….

  For the first time, she wondered if the day wasn’t about faith, but about pride. Natasha had stupidly believed she was in control of her destiny, when really her fate—and her future—was just a tragic web spun by the deadliest of friends and the deadliest of assassins, all along.

  From the Red Room to Ivan to Alexei to Clint to Fury to Yelena to Tony to Cap to Bruce to S.H.I.E.L.D. to Coulson to Ava and back again to Alexei.

  And then to me. To this day. To now.

  She had thought she had lost everything already—and yet here she was, preparing to lose again.

  As the wheels touched down, she made up her mind.

  Helen Samuels was going down, no matter who or what it cost.

  No matter what her connection was to Yelena Belova.

  More likely, because of it.

  S.H.I.E.L.D. EYES ONLY

  CLEARANCE LEVEL X

  SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES & INDIVIDUALS (SCI) INVESTIGATION

  AGENT IN COMMAND (AIC): PHILLIP COULSON

  RE: AGENT NATASHA ROMANOFF A.K.A. BLACK WIDOW

  A.K.A. NATASHA ROMANOVA

  AAA HEARING TRANSCRIPT

  CC: DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, SCI INQUIRY

  ** FILE COPY **

  [EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OBTAINED BY S.H.I.E.L.D. / RECOUNTED BY CRUZ, DANTE—SEE ROMANOFF, ALEXEI / TRANSCRIPTED PER AAA PROTOCOLS / COULSON, P.]

  So Helen, Ellie, whoever the crazy person is, she stabs Sana in the stomach with this needle from one of those glass vials with the black Faith inside. And I’m freaking out, because that was about to be me, but also because it ended up being Sana. And I’m only still standing there because Sana’s just jumped Helen and these burly zombie guards to help me get free. Only now I realize Helen’s gone.

  I’m yelling, and Sana just curls up on the floor in a ball. I see her eyes roll back into her head, and then all I can see is the whites. And this greenish-whitish foam starts to bubble from her lips and, like, ooze out of her ears. I’m screaming and shaking her and asking if she can still hear me—and then she starts to kind of moan—and her whole body starts to shake, like she’s having a seizure. Then I say all this stupid stuff to her, like how she can fight it, and that I know she’s strong enough.

  Then I just shut up, because I can see she’s changing, like, transforming.

  And that’s when everything gets off-the-hook crazy.

  STARK HOLIDAY PARADE

  OF HEROES ROUTE

  THE GREAT CITY OF NEW YORK

  Ava and Tony ran through Rockefeller Center. The snow was thick and the crowd was thicker, on and off the street. They edged past the giant holiday tree, slipping and darting through the crush of humanity.

  That’s so strange, Ava thought. Natasha and I even talked about going to see the tree this year. I never imagined I’d be seeing it like this.

  I wonder if it will still be here tomorrow.

  If any of this will be.

  Now Tony was shouting into his earpiece, reading numbers off the sophisticated computer Ava knew only looked like a wristwatch. “Coulson, we’re not even there and we’re hitting an INES rating of four or five. We need to widen the exclusion zone, do you copy?” He looked at his wrist. “I’d say—twenty clicks.”

  Ava slid in her own earpiece, just in time to hear Coulson’s voice crackle. “You realize twenty kilometers means all of Manhattan?”

  “And we may be talking about more than that if we don’t take the source down,” Tony said. “We know the balloons are bad news, but we can’t start a stampede.”

  “What’s the play?” Coulson asked.

  Ava looked at Tony. “We’re making it up as we go.”

  “Yeah, well, pop the giant weaponized balloon heroes isn’t exactly one from the playbook,” Tony said.

  “Just find your friend Helen and take her out before she can trigger dispersal,” Coulson said. “Helen or this Alpha or whoever is calling the shots.”

  “On it. At least the high radiation means we’re getting close,” Tony said. “And Romanoff says there’s only one Alpha.”

  “Coulson—” Ava tapped her own ear, cutting in. “Is she back yet?”

  Ava could feel something stirring in her mind. If Natasha wasn’t here, she had to be near.

  “She just landed—gearing up and heading your way now,” Coulson said. “Should be online in five.”

  Tony looked grim. “Tell her to put on a MOP suit. If things don’t go our way, we’re going to have to light the place up. Unless S.H.I.E.L.D. can find a way to cure a whole city full of Barrys. And by S.H.I.E.L.D. I mean me—but even I’m not that fast.”

  “Copy that.” Coulson’s voice was bleak.

  Tony pulled out his earpiece and looked at Ava, shaking his head. “The parade route begins up ahead.” He pointed. “We’ll never make it. The crowd isn’t even moving. This is crazy. I’ve got to get in a suit.”

  “I’ll keep going.” Ava nodded.

  “You sure?” He looked uncertain, but she knew they had no choice. “Coulson’s got the perimeter, and Danvers is probably already on overwatch.”

  “Probably?”

  “Hopefully?” He looked at her. “Be careful. And stay away from any giant balloon heroes. Or, you know, any of my interns.”

  “Got it,” she said, pocketing her earpiece.

  When she looked up again, he was gone.

  S.H.I.E.L.D. EYES ONLY

  CLEARANCE LEVEL X

  SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES & INDIVIDUALS (SCI) INVESTIGATION

  AGENT IN COMMAND (AIC): PHILLIP COULSON

  RE: AGENT NATASHA ROMANOFF A.K.A. BLACK WIDOW

  A.K.A. NATASHA ROMANOVA

  AAA HEARING TRANSCRIPT

  CC: DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, SCI INQUIRY

  ** FILE COPY **

  [EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OBTAINED BY S.H.I.E.L.D. / RECOUNTED BY CRUZ, DANTE—SEE ROMANOFF, ALEXEI / TRANSCRIBED PER AAA PROTOCOLS / COULSON, P.]

  As I watch, I see the black stuff, the Faith, it starts coming to the surface of Sana’s skin, all over. It’s shining like salt crystals or something. I realize I smell so
mething burning, and then I see it’s my own hand.

  It’s hot from touching her skin, like she’s on fire.

  Then I hear noise coming from down below, and I realize the three balloon floats are all gone, and the parade must be starting. And the Faith, it’s inside them, three of them, and I don’t know how to stop any of it, or even when it’s going off.

  That’s when Ava finds us—only when I look at her, I see it’s Helen that she’s found—and I see those crazy blue lightsabers flashing. I want to go help her, but I can’t leave Sana, and I know Ava wouldn’t want me to.

  So all I can do is watch.

  STARK HOLIDAY PARADE OF HEROES,

  PARADE WAREHOUSE,

  THE GREAT CITY OF NEW YORK

  “What have you done to Sana?” Ava had her back to Dante, but he didn’t need to see her face. He could hear it in her voice.

  Rage.

  And now he saw the answer in Helen Samuels’s eyes.

  Fear.

  It only flashed there for a second, but he recognized it instantly. And it was enough to draw one conclusion: this wasn’t going to end well.

  “You’re too late,” Helen jeered. “The Red Widow and the Black Widow. Late again.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Ava said, keeping her luminous blades between them. Dante watched as the energy seemed to ripple from the center of her chest to the farthest tip of her blades.

  Incredible.

  “You and I are still here, Elena. It can’t be much of a party without us, can it?”

  Helen smiled. “I hate to pop your balloon, friend, but this sort of party can. In fact, it might be even better. Especially without you—”

  She grabbed a syringe from the top of a nearby crate and swung it at Ava.

  Ava dodged the needle, striking back.

  The blue light flashed and the blade cut through the air between them with a loud whoosh. Dante felt himself holding his breath.

  Come on, Ava—

  He watched with awe. This wasn’t the Ava he knew. It was the Ava from the subway—the Red Widow. She was…baller, he thought, as Ava moved in on Helen.

  Helen shrugged—then dove at her again, stumbling closer.

  Ava’s second blade flew through the still air.

  Swoosh, swoosh—

  Helen dodged the blows, then straightened.

  “This is getting dull. Do you want me to tell you a story, Ava Anatalya Orlova? An old Russian story? About Yelena Belova and Natasha Romanova?” She pronounced Natasha’s name the Russian way. “The real Widows?”

  “Why not? I love a good story,” Ava said.

  “Then let me tell you this one: Once upon a time, whatever you thought you knew about your precious Black Widow was a lie. Whatever bond you imagined you had with her, it was weak.”

  “Is this where Baba Yaga comes in?” Ava mocked, swinging her blade at the mention of the infamous Russian witch.

  “In a way. Let me tell you how this story always ends. You, Ava Anatalya Orlova—not she—you sacrifice everything—the people you love—your soul mate, your best friend, your family? And she, Natasha Romanova, crawls away to spread her poison somewhere else in her web.”

  Ava moved both blades in front of her now. “You know what? I lied.”

  Helen raised an eyebrow.

  “I’m not really a story person.”

  And with that, Ava hurled her short blade at Helen’s face. As Helen ducked, Ava attacked with her long blade.

  The warehouse exploded in blinding blue light—and when it faded, Helen Samuels lay sprawled on her face on the floor, cowering beneath raised hands.

  Ava lifted her electric blades higher. “Where’s your army of Faithful now, Elena Somodorova? Not much of an Alpha, are you?”

  Helen dropped her hands. “Do it. I dare you. That’s what a Widow would do, isn’t it? A real one? What Natasha did to my family?”

  Ava hesitated as Dante watched.

  The deathblow, he thought. Didn’t she deserve it? Ridding the earth of Helen Samuels would be a public service, wouldn’t it?

  Ava’s eyes narrowed.

  Helen sneered. “Well?”

  Dante shook his head. “It’s your call. She’s the Alpha, right?”

  “Am I?” Helen smiled.

  And with that, Ava dropped the blades and punched Helen in the jaw as hard as she could.

  Dante watched, relieved as Helen slumped motionless to the floor. He looked at Ava questioningly.

  “I have enough ghosts in my life already,” Ava said.

  Dante said nothing. He got the feeling Ava wasn’t talking to him anyway.

  Ava ran to her friend’s side. A moment later she was cradling her head. With blue electricity still crackling along Ava’s torso, the heat from Sana’s body didn’t seem to bother Ava.

  Sana didn’t respond, except to keep rocking back and forth as she had been for minutes now.

  Ava turned to Dante next to her, her eyes dark. “What is this?”

  “Pure Faith,” he said. “Or something like that. That’s what Helen called it, anyways. Before she stabbed Sana with it.” He looked over to where Helen now lay on the floor. “Is she—?”

  Ava shook her head. “No. She’s just out cold. I had to get her to stop talking. We have a city to save.”

  But it was hard to even think about anything but Sana as she wailed, rolling to one side. Ava held her as she thrashed back and forth, coughing up what looked like black blood.

  Dante looked out at the street. “The balloons are rigged. I don’t know how or when they will blow, I just know we have to get rid of them, cut them loose somehow, keep them from detonating. Especially if Helen’s not the Alpha…”

  “How many?” Ava asked, smoothing a loose curl from Sana’s forehead. “Faith balloons?”

  “They aren’t all weaponized. It’s only three of them,” Dante said.

  “Let me guess. The Black Widow?”

  “And Iron Man and Captain Marvel,” Dante said. “Helen Samuels has kind of a twisted sense of humor.”

  “We can’t leave Sana,” Ava said. “If you think you can handle her, I’ll go after the balloons while you call an ambulance.”

  “Really?” Dante looked at Sana uncertainly. “Even if S.H.I.E.L.D. let us, what kind of hospital do you think we can take someone who looks like—”

  “Like my friend?” Ava asked, forcefully.

  That’s some powerful denial, Dante thought.

  Before Dante could answer, a red, gold, and blue blur streaked down from the sky with a wave, pulling up to hover and then land just inside the warehouse doors.

  Carol Danvers stood firmly planted back on the earth, her hands on her hips. “I’ve got your six, guys. I can take it from here. You’ve done enough.”

  Ava looked relieved. “Is that you, Captain Marvel?” She’d never seen her in person, in her full regalia.

  Carol smiled. “Well, it’s not Iron Man. I mean, do I look like I need a freaking suit?”

  “Copy that, kid. Air support is within five.” Iron Man saluted, landing next to Captain Marvel. “And bite me, Danvers. Suits rule.”

  They turned back to Ava and Dante—and Sana.

  “That thing’s Sana?” Iron Man’s face slid up to reveal Tony. “Sheesh. We better hurry up with those balloons.”

  “Stop,” Ava said. “That thing is still my best friend. And she’ll be fine. She’s not the problem.”

  But Dante knew Tony had a point. There was nothing in the creature that reminded him of their former friend—or at least very little. No matter how badly Ava refused to admit it.

  The Faith had overtaken Sana’s entire human form, from the look of it—and the result looked like nothing Dante had ever seen before—though it was still eerily familiar.

  Faith. That thing is pure Faith.

  The drug we’ve been chasing—it’s right here, and it’s alive. I can feel it, somehow.

  And it’s hurting Sana.

  Swirling clouds of bla
ck emanated from her nostrils, spiraling down around her torn clothing. Her fingers had stretched and curled into something that looked more like enormous claws.

  Her skin glittered with gray crystals, rippling across her body, shining like the mysterious compound. As Dante watched, the crystals shifted into drifts of Faith that formed and re-formed, hardening in some places only to suddenly give way in others.

  Sana—the thing that Sana had become—was huge and solid. From the look of it, maybe almost three meters, taller than the average person. Her face, if you could still call it that, now reflected only the basic features of a human face—two eyes, a mouth, some kind of nose.

  Then the Not-Sana opened her mouth—its mouth—and screamed.

  “We’ve got to get her out of here,” Ava said.

  “And take her where?” Dante asked.

  Captain Marvel shook her head. “We can’t let civilians near her, not now. Whatever’s going on, your friend isn’t in control of herself.”

  Now the Not-Sana threw herself against the corrugated steel wall, screaming. Strangely, Dante found he had to fight the urge to scream back. Why is that?

  Carol and Tony and Ava stared, almost in disbelief.

  “We’ll get her back to the Triskelion. I’ll radio ahead to Coulson and tell him to get a unit ready,” Tony finally said.

  “He has a room that can hold her?” Ava frowned.

  “Oh yeah.” Tony nodded. “Believe me, this isn’t Phil’s first does-he-have-a-room-that-can-hold-her rodeo.”

  Captain Marvel looked at Ava. “Can you guys just keep Sana here while we get rid of the Faith threat? Then we’ll bring her home?”

  The Not-Sana hurled herself against the steel girders holding up the structure again and again, until the whole warehouse felt like it was going to collapse. Dante felt his own head start to pound.

  Ava nodded. “I don’t think she’d hurt us. I don’t think she’d hurt anyone. Not if she can help it.”

  “That’s not what I’m worried about,” Dante said. “It’s just the chaos. I mean, bullets are going to start flying and innocent people are going to get hurt.”