Spider-man: Christmas with Two Hawks

Black Widow's Sister

The apartment was silent for a few seconds while the two vigilantes just stared at the assassin who had been unconscious a moment ago.

Kate was freaking out. How long was she awake? How did they not notice? Could she also escape her rather impressive bindings? Did she have to call Clint?

Spidey didn't seem to be as startled as the rookie. He rolled out of his hammock, dropping to the floor with no trouble, and practically marched towards their prisoner.

"Who sent you?" he demanded, the strong tone of his voice sending a shiver down Kate's spine. The assassin appeared to have been taken by surprise by the sudden change in Spider-Man's demeanour but refused to show any sign of intimidation and kept her face neutral.

When silence was the only response he got, Peter tried again, "You have no leverage here. We've removed all your gadgets and these webs have a higher tensile strength than steel. You're our prisoner and even if you manage to escape, I'll find you before you can disappear. So play nice and answer our questions, starting with, who sent you?"

The assassin cocked her head to the side. She then asked in a Russian accent, "Aren't you supposed to be the friendly neighbour Spiderman or something like that? Since when are you this aggressive?"

Peter was surprised by the question and took a step back. He should have predicted that he wouldn't be able to intimidate a trained Black Widow but that reaction was just hurtful. She didn't even get his name right. Forgot the hyphen and everything.

Seeing that her friend wasn't getting anywhere with his strategy, Kate decided to cut in, "We just want to know who you are and why you attacked us. That's it."

The assassin seemed to mull it over. Peter did not doubt that she was assisting her options, trying to come up with a plan to escape. Maybe even using what limited mobility she had to check if she had any hidden gear on her that she could use. Peter was confident that wasn't the case.

"Yeah, no. I ain't telling."

She said in a tone that poked Peter the wrong way. As if it was a schoolyard secret that he wasn't in on. To be fair to the Black Widow, he would have probably answered in the same way if he was in her position.

Spidey sighed as he thought back to the fight on the rooftop. How this assassin fought and how she interacted with the other fighters. Peter may not be an expert detective or a battle strategist but he watch enough spy movies to know how these people worked.

"You attacked Kate and Clint while I was gone, which immediately eliminates me from your list of potential targets. You also aren't working with the Tracksuits because Maya and Scorpion have no idea who you are. So Kate also isn't your target since the only reason someone else would try to kill Kate is because she is the daughter of a rich CEO, in which case they wouldn't hire a Black Widow. With all that in mind, I think I should reword my question. Who hired you to kill Clint Barton?"

An ironic twist about spies and assassins. They try to be so efficient that the path to their goal becomes stupidly easy to spot.

This assassin did not expect for a random vigilante to read her so clearly. Kate whistled, impressed by Spidey's demonstration of his intellect. Just another thing about him to admire.

After a few moments of silence, Spidey continued talking,  "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Hawkeye will be back here soon enough, and I'm confident he can convince you to share. He has a lot of experience dealing with brats like you."

The Black Widow glared into the lenses do his mask, refusing to show she was intimidated or admit she was stuck. When she had seen him on the roof with her target, she had waited until he left before attacking. She hadn't expected the two outliers to show or for Spider-Man to return and be able to incapacitate her as quickly as he did.