Seven Devils // Natasha Romanoff

Part 14 - Dreykov's Final Secret

His eyes go wide as we fire our guns at the same time; however, neither of us are aiming to kill.  My bullet grazes his shoulder while Natasha's hits his left forearm, and he gasps as he clutches his injured arm.  "How the hell-"

I place my gun back in my belt while Natasha does the same.  "I'm immune to mind control, asshole."

I turn back to Natasha just as she wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me into her.  I settle an arm around her neck as our lips meet, each of us having missed the other more than imaginable.  As I take her face in my free hand, she breaks from me for just a second.  "You don't understand how worried I was when Melina told us that Dreykov caught you.  I was beyond scared to death-"

"It's okay," I whisper, giving her a short and simple kiss.  "We're okay."

We smile at each other as I release her; however, she still keeps her arm around my waist.  Our smiles turn condescending as we divert our attention to Dreykov, who is currently staring at us in shock while holding his bleeding arm.  "I- I can not even begin to comprehend-"

I walk towards his desk, Natasha walking in sync with me so she doesn't release me. I lean towards him as I mock, "Dreykov, I'd like to thank you; if you hadn't sent me to kill Natasha, I never would've met the most fantastic woman in my life. I am genuinely appreciative."

He narrows his eyes. "The both of you would be nothing without me. I recruited you, I made you who you are, and I even was kind enough to give you a home which you both betrayed!"

"No, Dreykov," I state. "You are nothing to us."

"Well, will be," Natasha corrects, raising her gun again. "It's about time for you to suffer for all that you've done to us-"

The door slams open, and before I can see who it is, Natasha gasps in pain as the red of a Widow's bite sparks over her body.

I quickly catch her as I raise my gun in the direction of the door to be met by none other than the Taskmaster. A gun cocks to my left, and I see Dreykov raising his gun out of the corner of my eye. "Stand down, Vallonia," he warns. "Or else you and Natasha are both getting a bullet to the brain."

I look between him and the Taskmaster, weighing my options. Realizing I'm screwed if I don't stand down, I slowly lower my gun. Natasha shakes herself out of her daze from the Widow's bite and I help her up, cautiously watching Dreykov and the Taskmaster the whole time.

"Now, I have something that I'm very proud of," Dreykov states, walking over to the Taskmaster. "This is something that I have experimented with for quite some time now; creating a Widow who is unbeatable. She is basically a computer algorithm that analyzes a person's fight pattern and knows exactly how to defeat them."

"She's a human being," I argue. "Who is being entirely mind-controlled by you."

He shrugs. "Nevertheless, it is quite an extraordinary feat."

"Let her go, Dreykov," Natasha speaks up.

He smirks, now settling one of his hands on her shoulder. "Wouldn't you like to see who she is?"

Natasha and I stare at him silently, both obviously wanting to see.

He watches us amusedly as he begins to walk around to the other side of the Taskmaster. "After Budapest, I told everyone that I was the sole survivor of the explosion; however, I lied. There was one other survivor. She was on the brink of death, her entire body and face covered in burn wounds. However, the recovery team was able to save her and bring her back here where she healed. I inserted a chip into her head to give me complete control over her, and I placed everyone involved in the project under my mind control so they couldn't expose her identity - of course, besides Melina because we had a deal and she never knew the identity of the girl."