BW:F Chapter 13

Fury has an orange cat in his lap. He strokes it like a James Bond villain without any self-awareness.

“You look pale, Agent Romanov,” he says.

“I’m fine,” Nat tells him, trying not to sound unfriendly about it. She’s back in Avengers Tower in New York, and they’ve gathered in the briefing room to do a video call with space. Steve, Bruce, Jen, Clint, and Spider-Man are all at the table. Spider-Man stands out a little in full costume. Tony knows who he is, and so do Dr. Strange and a few others. Nat could easily find out, but she sees no reason not to respect his wishes. Besides, he did OK upstate yesterday.

“Good. You were right. Hydra is definitely behind the grab on Blonsky,” Fury says.

“They weren’t being subtle about it,” Happy says grumpily. There’s a small bandage on his forehead. He leans against the wall by the door, arms folded. “No logos, but otherwise they weren’t trying to hide it.”

“Blonsky’s D-list. They probably didn’t expect us to come running. They thought they could be in and out,” Fury says. “Safe to assume they want to replicate his abilities.”

“Might not be so D-list anymore,” Bruce notes, rubbing his chin. “He’s got the same level of control as me and Jen do.”

Jen snorts disdainfully. “Cuz, you do not have the same level of control as me.” She slurps from her Starbucks cup, then pulls a piece from her muffin and throws it at him. He twitches. “See?”

“Walters,” Fury warns. Jen rolls her eyes.

“Blonsky’s reformed. He’s a victim. We need to get him back,” Steve says with his usual gravitas and confidence.

“That goes without saying, Cap. But the world is, at least for the moment, not a friendly place for Hydra. They don’t have a long list of friends, at least not in the open. Intel suggests that they’re operating out of Madripoor. I’m inclined to believe that. It’s about the only place they could be that wouldn’t rat them out to us. But Madripoor’s a big place and very opaque. We have to find them and then hit them. On the bright side, I won’t lose any sleep about making a mess there.”

“But I will,” Nat speaks up. “I have connections there that are strategically significant. We do not want to pull a Sokovia there.”

“What I’m hearing is that you want to be the tip of the spear on this one,” Fury says.

Nat shrugs. “I’m the best choice.”

Clint lets out a skeptical laugh, rapping his knuckles on the table. He snorts. “Sure.”

“You want it?” Nat asks, arching an eyebrow.

“It’s Lila’s birthday.”

“I’ll back you up,” Steve says.

“No,” Nat replies immediately. “Good looks and a shield will only take you so far in Madripoor. I’ll take Walters.” She turns to Jen. “Ace in the hole.”

Jen stops chewing. “Huh?”