blckwidws-archive

[blckwidws-archive]

@destroyrofworlds​​

It’s been many years since Natasha Romanoff gave a flying fuck about S.H.I.E.L.D. The entity was something to watch and be wary of, but never heed. In the past, it’s mostly signaled nothing but trouble. That’s not to say it’s always been corrupted. There’s been good years as well as the bad. Natasha wouldn’t have ever worked with them if she thought they were entirely irredeemable. Her pessimism has just gotten worse after not one but two iterations of Pleasant Hill.

Daisy Johnson taking over is supposed to usher in a new age. That’s a lot of pressure to put on one person, but if things don’t change under Johnson then the odds are that they never will. Even though she won’t contract with the agency again, Natasha has no issue being a circumstantial ally with them while Daisy gets herself established. It’s a huge undertaking, and it’s not as if the rest of the world stops so one can get their feet under them. The world keeps spinning and buildings keep exploding. Daisy’s job will be far from easy.

Natasha’s not actually making a house call to talk business, though. At least, not exclusively. The Widow sees the Nuhuman as a friend at this point, and that’s a high title to have in Natasha’s book. She stands with her back leaning against the counter, a glass of whiskey resting beside her. The coolness has left a puddle around it as water drips down the glass.

“I wanted to check in on you and Rosalind, both because of the spell being undone and the explosion. How are you holding up?” She wants to ask how S.H.I.E.L.D. is looking into the Avengers Mansion tragedy, but bites her tongue for now. “I’ve never been more glad to not be invited to a party.” 

A lie. Natasha had been invited. She had just refused as it was an Avengers meeting and she didn’t want to be an Avenger right now.

[blckwidws-archive]

@barneswinters​

At this point, it almost seems appropriate to describe the relationship of Natasha and the Bucky Barnes of Earth-199999 as one that thrives in conflict. When they came together during Pleasant Hill, it had been out of necessity. Natasha was a dog with a scent and Bucky had a stake in the fate of the townspeople. Along with the small team she had compiled of her San Fransisco associates and Daisy Johnson, they had worked well together. Their relationship doesn’t rival the one she has with her James Barnes, but it’s good all the same. Natasha isn’t looking to cut another James sized hole in her life. 

Instead, she meets with this other Bucky under the cover of night. It’s a bit on the nose for an assassin to meet in the shadows, but Natasha’s had too many sleepless nights to give a damn about irony. Instead, she tucks her hands into the black leather pockets of her coat. “I need the fresh air,” she explains. Without thinking is, Natasha rolls her left shoulder back and flexes the fingers. It’s been a while since her once severed arm was returned to her body, but the unconscious tic remains. 

“As a rule of thumb, I’ve never classified you and I as lucky ones.” That’s what they are, though. They avoided the carnage that was the Avengers Mansion explosion. “But one of my best friends died, and I’m worried about him. I think you’re in the same boat. Once again, we have something in common.”

[blckwidws-archive]

mechanizedstark​:

“Those mutants sure know what they’re doing— I haven’t felt this good in years. Apparently all a guy’s gotta do to feel better is die. Who knew?”

“Right.” Natasha’s incredibly glad that her friend isn’t dead. That goes without being said. That doesn’t mean she’s happy, though. As someone who wasn’t at the meeting, Natasha knows she dodged giant fiery bullet. If she had died, that would be it. Natasha’s lived enough. There’s no reason in her mind for resurrection. With how everything went down, it doesn’t seem like she would have been given a choice. “I don’t like how it went down, Tony. Any of it. As glad as I am that you’re back, we have a lot to look into.”

[blckwidws-archive]

falsecap​:

“you know you’ll be surprised to know that our relationship so far has been strictly professional,” he shrugs, folding his arms. 

“I’m the furthest thing from surprised by that news.”

[blckwidws-archive]

lhunter​:

“i don’t exactly love how this is being handled, but i suppose i’ve just gotta be happy we’ve got bobbi back. no matter the cost.”

“Trusting Ripley Ryan to fix everyone’s memories was a gamble, but it paid off.” Sometimes big risks are necessary. Natasha has nerves of steel, but even she had been feeling uneasy about the entire thing. “Now we deal with explosion fallout.” 

[blckwidws-archive]

lhunter​:

“well, i don’t know how productive it is to look to the future when you’re not quite making bloody progress in the present!”

The silence stretches between them. “Are you done?” The words are coupled with the uptick of a brow. “Go on. Tell me how you really feel.”

[blckwidws-archive]

coulsonbot​:

“I didn’t either. But I made it happen by sheer force of will.” He did his best to keep a straight face, even though he was talking to another version of a dead Avenger he once knew. Coulson regretted not being able to talk to Natasha or Tony more before they sacrificed themselves. “Pretty up to date— I have my ways. I can’t say I’m looking to get back into the action, but I’ve seen my fair share of bad situations. If there is anything I can do to help, I’m happy to do it.”

“Good on you, then. Not many of us make it out to the other side.” What they did was addicting to an extent. No one could devote their lives to nearly dying without getting hooked on the danger at least a little. Natasha knows she’ll never retire. She wasn’t raised to quit and quite literally doesn’t know how. “If you have any active S.H.I.E.L.D. contacts, it wouldn’t be a bad time to tap them. Someone blew up the Avengers Mansion the other day, and I know the agency is looking into it.”

[blckwidws-archive]

kitchensdevil​:

“If it makes you feel any better, I can’t see your face.” The comment was followed by a quiet, self-deprecating chuckle as he lifted his head back up in her direction and tilted it to the side. “I never met my Natasha, anyways.”

“You know— it does. Just a little, though.” Natasha has no interest in trying to be the woman everyone lost. She is self-assured in herself in a way that takes time and effort. If Natasha had to guess, she’d wager that the other Natasha likely would have felt the same. “I wouldn’t be able to tell you what you’re missing. She seemed pretty popular.”

[blckwidws-archive]

falsecap​:

“is that a threat, or a warning?” he jokes, raising an eyebrow. he’s only gotten to know the other woman briefly, but what he knows of her so far is enough to leave him wary.

“Neither. Both. How about this: you can pick.”

[blckwidws-archive]

wizardstrange​:

Talks of a meeting weren’t promising, considering Stephen’s reality still didn’t have a set Avengers roster. Not one that everyone could seem to agree on, at least. He was mostly indifferent to the logistics of who their team consisted of, but the prospect of war on the horizon scared him. Especially war with the mutants. It was beyond frustrating, to feel like they’d done what they could back there in that town only for it to blow up in their faces. “I’ve heard. I’ve wishfully been hoping that it wasn’t true.”

Natasha’s not an active Avenger, but she’s here all the same in their name. It’s her years of service that give her a right to speak. The team’s about to switch rosters in what’s turning out to be terrible timing, and everyone is a little scattered as a result. “Wishing isn’t going to solve anything.” She’s never been one to do so. “Then again, it doesn’t seem that anything is going to solve this. Maybe wishing isn’t half bad.”

[blckwidws-archive]

spectormcrc​:

“Frenchie, yeah.” Marc wasn’t sure if he could ever repay his friend for going into that town for him. Greer too. There was a chance they both would have been warped themselves, but they took the risk anyways. “Khonshu hasn’t told me much about how he did it, but he did.”

“Duchamp.” Jean-Paul, if she’s correct. Natasha usually is. “You’re lucky to have such a good friend.” Natasha has some who would do the same for her, and she doesn’t take that lightly. Loyalty — true loyalty — is hard to find. “Whatever he did isn’t going to be relevant to us now. We’re going to have to keep looking at other options since Khonshu was never a viable one.”

[blckwidws-archive]

mechanizedstark​:

“Finding Ripley Ryan would make me feel a whole lot better, but I’m not betting on that.” He sighed, shoulders falling dramatically as he did. “Why do I have a terrible feeling that this isn’t going to end well for anyone?”

“We’ve got people attempting that, but it’s like she up and vanished. Wherever she is, she doesn’t want to be found. I hate to say it, but I almost don’t blame her.” Almost. Natasha scoffs. “Because it’s not. I mean, I can’t imagine it well. I’ve known you long enough, Tony, that we can ignore the bullshit and pretenses. It’s bad. Really bad.”

[blckwidws-archive]

kitchensdevil​:

“Good.” Matt decided on, not wanting to press it further. The last thing he wanted was any comparisons made about him and any type of variant. From what people had disclosed to him, he was surprisingly one of the more morally disciplined ones. “You have a point there. I’m sure that’s been.. rough.” Having to face all of Natasha’s loved ones while sharing her face seemed more than difficult.

“Rough to look like a beloved woman who heroically martyred herself? A bit.” It’s definitely made more people give her a second look than she wants. Natasha’s been an Avenger. She’s no stranger to the limelight. This is different, though. It’s more raw and personal, even for strangers who didn’t know that Natasha. They felt like they did and they mourn her now. “With no disrespect to the dead, it’s far from ideal.” 

[blckwidws-archive]

bcrtonhawk​:

They’d faced losses before. It was inevitable, really. But something about this one in particular sat with Clint heavier than most of the other ones. There was talks of war being thrown around, and he knew it would only get worse the longer all of those people remained slightly warped. It was times like this where he wished he had more than a bow and his wits to fight with. Fists weren’t enough. “I came home to her making floral arrangements the other day. Sometimes she won’t even respond to her own name. It’s bad, Nat.” The mention of the mutants only made that sense of helplessness deepen. “They’ve already opened that box. We’ll be lucky if we can smash some of it back in before too much damage is done.”

Natasha’s been pushed down more times than she can count. She’s been punched, shot, stabbed. Her goddamn arm has been severed from her body. None of it matters. She’s gotten back up every damn time. It’s ingrained in her, literally beat into her bones after being indoctrinated in the Red Room to be nothing less than the best fighter possible. She doesn’t give up. She won’t give up. That doesn’t mean she has any illusions about how hard this situation is going to be to unravel. “That’s what I’m hearing from all accounts.” Natasha pinches the bridge of her nose for a long minute. “We can keep an eye on Bobbi, we can keep an eye on Yelena. I’m hoping Stephen will do the same with Clea, but I’m not sure their situation. No offense, but I’m more concerned about all the criminals and convicts we can’t keep monitor as easily. Logistically, it would never work. Everyone scattered. And then we have to factor the mutants in?” Her head shakes. “When it rains, it fucking pours.”

[blckwidws-archive]

wizardstrange​:

“As far as I know, there are no known mutants in my reality.” The key word there being known. After meeting another Charles Xavier over in Earth-838, Stephen was beginning to think that their introduction would be coming sooner rather than later. “You know, if I had a drink right now I would toast it to that.”

“There has to be at least one. Maybe they’re hiding. They did that where I’m from.” It hadn’t been sustainable for Xavier’s students to remain inconspicuous forever. It had only been a matter of time before it all came to the surface. “It’s not too late for us to find one. I’m jonesing.” 

[blckwidws-archive]

spectormcrc​:

Marc’s gaze was meant to be intimidating, but it quickly fell into more pleading than anything. Even after a week of not being able to hold onto the front, he still wasn’t sure if he had the mental capacity to talk about any of it out loud. “I’m not affected by the spell they cast, if you’re worried about that.”

“Worried? No. I have enough people to worry about in that regard.” There was a hundred and fifty people in Pleasant Hill counting embedded agents. The percentage of residents was smaller but still too many people. “Your friend got you out before the spell. That was using Khonshu and Taweret, correct?”

[blckwidws-archive]

bcrtonhawk​:

“We lost, Nat.” It was the harsh reality of it all, but it was the truth. They’d failed in getting everyone out of the town safely and in one piece. No one that left the town was whole right now, save for the two with the gods. “How could Ripley just… leave? Just like that? You’d think she would have been pissed at S.H.I.E.L.D. for using her and would’ve wanted to tear it all down.”

“We did.” We lost are two painful words that Natasha wants to hear, but they’re the truth. They have lost and now have to deal with the fallout. “Ripley Ryan is a diagnosed sociopath. Assuming she’d be willing to help us is one of the many mistakes we made.” She had left without a second though, and no one had seen her since. Natasha doesn’t think that they will for a while. “How’s Bobbi?” She already knows the answer. They’re all the same. “We’re going to fix this, Clint. Fix this and stop the mutants from opening a box we can’t get closed again.”