After dropping Kitty off at the school, I drove straight to my house. Tonight I'm going to destroy another of Hammerhead's bases, or more like expose, and get the cops involved as always. So, I changed back into my night work clothes, all back, and a hoodie jacket. Then I took the mask from the drawer and went to the garage.

I locked the rented car in the garage and took my old sedan out.

I made my way to Hammerhead's next safe house. It was another one of his minor operations, a place where he kept his more questionable assets and ran side deals. Normally, I could dismantle it with ease—slip in, use mind control, and leave without so much as a scratch on me. But lately, things have gotten boring. Where's the excitement in pressing a button, so to speak? I wanted more than that. I wanted the challenge.

So, tonight, I'm gonna try something different and give myself a handicap. Only use ice and phasing power as long as possible.

I parked a few blocks away, taking care to avoid any surveillance cameras as I approached the warehouse. Around the corner of an alley, I stopped and scanned the area. The building was big and there were a few cars parked outside around the gate. Then there were a couple of men walking around the place, trying to act like regular civilians, but they couldn't fool me. Those tattoos on their arms are a dead giveaway.

Alright, time to move.

Sticking to the shadows, I phased through the side wall, slipping inside without a sound. The cool air of the warehouse hit me, along with the dim glow of overhead lights that flickered every now and then. Dang! Why the fuck is it so cold here? On the far end of the place, there was a giant freezer. A couple of thugs were going in and out, carrying boxes. Hmmm... A freezer of that size... Are they perhaps keeping organs or something like that? Or dead bodies? Whatever it is, it can't be good.

A couple of goons stood guard near the main door, but they were more interested in their phones than watching for intruders. Amateurs. I moved past them easily, staying out of sight.

I decided to check the upstairs and get a perfect idea of what I was dealing with here. I avoided the cameras and guards. This part was easy—just phasing through walls or objects whenever I needed to dodge something. But as I rounded a corner, I heard something that made me stop in my tracks.

Voices. Angry, low, and filled with menace.

I moved closer, staying in the shadows. There, in the middle of the room, I saw two of Hammerhead's men. They were standing near a woman tied to a chair, her face bruised and bloodied. Yet, she wasn't broken, and neither did she look like she was in pain. The goons were laughing, taunting her as they took turns throwing punches.

"Is this your best? I guess, you guys take steroids to buff up. Your power doesn't match your body," she said after spitting a mouthful of blood.

One of the goons punched her again, this time in the stomach, making her cough and spit out blood. "Shut up, bitch." The chair fell back with her. She groaned in pain, struggling against the ropes that kept her bound.

The other one with a bald head kicked her stomach and spat on her face. "Yeah, shut up bitch! We're gonna take our sweet time torturing you and then when you are broken, we are gonna enjoy the hell out of your body."

Ah! Those retards. She was aiming for that. That chair was old so that fall with her sitting on it broke the chair and made it easier for her to break free from the ropes. And she did.

As soon as the baldy bent down to pick her up, the girl grabbed his head and smashed it on the ground. Then she easily broke the chair legs, flipping up like an acrobat on her feet, and hit the other one with the sharp end of the chair leg. He howled in pain as the broken chair leg hit his eye. She took advantage of that opening and rushed in.

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A hard kick on his left knee broke it with a crunch.

"Gaaah!!"

She ran around and jumped on his back, choking his throat with a strong grip. "What's that about your sweet time now?"

The bald guy was about to get up and rush at her, but she saw him and hit the guy she was holding on his head with her elbow. Blood sprayed out of his nose and eyes. Dang! Just how hard did she hit him? He fell down, unconscious.

With the first guy unconscious, she turned to the baldy.

"You should have called your boss here and could have saved yourself," She said while cracking her fingers before picking up a knife from the unconscious man's belt. She moved towards him with a murderous glint in her eyes.

"ARGGG! BITCH!" The baldy rushed to his right. There was a table on his right and on it was a gun.

However, the girl was faster. She rushed in and slammed the knife on the baldy's feet then delivered an uppercut to his chin.

The baldy fell on his back, but before he could get up, she grabbed him by the collar and punched him again. "Now, I'm gonna enjoy torturing you."

I was dumbfounded. That girl beat up that baldy to a pulp. Blood was all over the floor around him. Finally, she stood up with a sigh and walked to the table. She picked up the gun and sat on the table.

"Now, where is this weapon deal taking place, and when? I'll give you three chances," She said pointing the gun at him.

"Fuck you! Bitch! You think you can get out of here? With all that commotion, the guards will be here soon." The baldy coughed out blood. His face was beaten so much that he couldn't even open his eyes.

Bang! She shot the baldy on his butt. "Wrong answer."

"Arrrrggg!" The baldy screamed in pain. "You crazy bitch!"

"Two more chances. If I don't get the answers I need, I'll start shooting your family jewels one by one. So, try to answer me, or else you're going to become a eunuch," She said with a smirk. She was clearly enjoying the situation and I couldn't help but read her mind.

Natasha Romanov! The Black Widow. No wonder she took them down so easily. From what I can read from her recent memories, she was tracking down some kind of alien technology that Hydra dug out of somewhere on Fury's order. Now, Hammerhead stole that shipment when the Hydra was transporting it. And here she was, tracking Hammerhead's footprints. Her mission was to track down the shipment at any cost before Hydra could track it.

I could hear footsteps coming up. From what I could sense, there were around twenty of them. This is bad. No matter how good she was, there was no way she could fight all of them alone with just that handgun, not to mention she was kinda beaten up. But then again, she got a genetically enhanced body. Or, that glass window... Ah, of course, she's gonna jump out. There was a dumpster just below that window.

"Who the heck are you?" The baldy tried to buy more time.

She didn't answer and instead fired another shot at him, this time on his left leg. "AAAAAAAAAAA!" The baldy screamed in pain.

"Wrong answer," Natasha smirked as she shot twice at the glass window, shattering it. "Final chance."

Wait! I could sense someone standing right below her on the ground floor and he got a freaking RPG launcher. Shit! He pulled the trigger.

I really didn't want to use this power. I haven't mastered it properly. Tsk. But... Oh, well. I used super speed to get down, grabbed Natasha and took her up in my arms, then ran out of the building.

Booom!! An explosion rocked the second floor followed by multiple more explosions. The entire warehouse was exploding.

The shockwaves and heatwaves threw us back on the ground as I raised an ice dome around us.

Burning goons running out of the warehouse yelling, "AHAHAHAHAH! HAIL HYDRA! AHAHAHAHAH." Then those guys who were patrolling outside began to rush into the fire yelling the same thing, "HAIL HYDRA!"

Hydra's suicide bombers.

Five more cars are approaching our location from one end of the road while cops are coming from the opposite side.

I removed the ice barrier and my ears were ringing.

"You want to deal with them or come with me?" I asked her as she stood up with a groan.

She was looking at the police and the Hydra agents when the explosions and fire stopped.

"How did you... Nevermind. Thanks for saving me. Now, get out of here," Natasha looked at me, her gaze hard and stern.

"Bronx. 32 Avenue, 8th floor. That's where they are keeping the tech..." I told her what I found out from that baldy's mind.

Those Hydra freaks began to shoot and so were the cops.

"You owe me one... Well, two actually," I quickly picked her up in my arms and ran out of that area with super speed. I couldn't let her get caught up in that mess. After getting out of the danger. I let her down.

As I was about to run away...

"Stop! Who are you?" Natasha caught hold of my arm.

"I'll tell you next time we meet. Till then, try not to die," I yanked my hand away and ran away.