Chapter 45: CH-45. What punch?
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However, Natasha's greeting received no response from Yelena.
Natasha was confused. Yelena had to recognize her.
"Melina, what happened to Yelena?"
Melina explained, "The mind control serum has become more sophisticated. They're like machines, fully aware but unable to react."
"You will become like this, too."
Natasha's determination to save Yelena and all the Black Widows strengthened.
She couldn't do it alone, so she put her trust in Jaxon and the others.
Natasha surrendered, allowing Yelena to disarm her and take her into custody.
Then Natasha was put on a jet, bound for the Red Room's hidden base.
This airborne fortress was extremely well-hidden. It had taken SHIELD a long time to locate it, but they dared not act hastily.
A misstep could lead to war.
The ideal plan was to deal with Dreykov and seize control of the base.
Escorted by Yelena and Melina, Natasha was brought to Dreykov's office.
Seeing Natasha in custody brought Dreykov great satisfaction.
"My Natasha, you've come back."
Natasha remained calm, "I returned to complete the mission I failed last time."
Dreykov glanced at Yelena and Antonia, his master imitator, and felt secure.
Even if Natasha was with SHIELD, so what?
Would SHIELD dare to infiltrate his domain?
"Mission?"
Dreykov's voice grew cold.
He stepped up to the Taskmaster and whispered, "Show her a warm welcome."
The Taskmaster removed her helmet, revealing her scarred face.
Natasha recognized her immediately: Dreykov's daughter, Antonia.
Her own past actions had caused this.
Though Antonia survived the blast, the scars left a haunting impression.
Her eyes, devoid of emotion, were like those of a machine, just like Yelena's.
Seeing Antonia's damaged face, Natasha felt an overwhelming sense of guilt.
If there had been another way, she would have taken it.
"When the explosion happened, it nearly killed Antonia. I had to implant a chip in her neck."
"Look at her."
"Do you feel bad looking at her?"
"I do."
Natasha was indeed upset but remained focused.
She knew her responsibility and accepted it.
But to prevent further harm, she had to stay strong and end Dreykov.
"Can she hear me?"
"What? Do you want to apologize? To feel better?"
"You should have thought about this before."
Natasha had thought about it, and she regretted it deeply.
But now wasn't the time for remorse.
Watching Natasha, head lowered in regret, Dreykov felt victorious.
"And Yelena, too. She's brilliant. I'm looking forward to seeing what you two will go through together."
Suddenly, Natasha composed herself.
"Dreykov, I have a friend who wants to ask you a question. Can you stop a bullet?"
"What?"
Natasha answered calmly, "I don't think so."
"Too bad… you won't stop his punch either."
"What punch?"
As Dreykov looked bewildered, several figures appeared suddenly before him.
A massive fist landed on Dreykov's face.
"The Iron Fist of Justice!"
Jaxon appeared out of nowhere and punched Dreykov, knocking him unconscious.
In reality, if Jaxon had used even 0.01% more of his strength, he would've blown Dreykov's head clean off.
But Jaxon held back.
Excessive force would be unwise.
Luckily, his mental discipline allowed him precise control.
Otherwise, Gwen and the others would have collapsed long ago.
Jaxon didn't stop after the punch.
Instead, he used his symbiote suit to produce spider-like webs, binding Dreykov and taking his ring in the process.
"This ring is the key Dreykov uses to access his computer."
Jaxon tossed the ring to Natasha, "Go control the system, call back all the Black Widows, and use the antidote to free them from control."
Peter and Gwen restrained Taskmaster and Yelena, preventing them from taking action.
Tony surveyed the scene, "So, none of this had anything to do with me, huh?"
Dreykov came to, recognizing the faces before him.
Iron Man, Spider-Man, Black Spiderman, and Ghost Spider.
Recently, these individuals had taken down Kingpin.
He never expected them to come for him.
And they appeared so suddenly.
Naturally, he didn't want to accept defeat.
But what could he do? He was already captured.
The Black Widows couldn't reach him, let alone save him.
Even his ring was gone. Everything he had built was collapsing.
Under Natasha's control, the Black Widows were summoned back.
The next task was to release them from mind control.
Since Melina had helped create the mind control serum, she could now reverse it.
As Natasha handled things, Melina brought in the antidote.
Soon, Yelena and Antonia regained their freedom.
Although they remembered what had happened, the two were unable to control themselves.
This feeling made Yelena very unhappy.
She recovered and looked at Melina in front of her, unable to hold back.
"Mom?"
Melina felt a little reluctant but still chose not to agree.
"I'm not your mother."
Jaxon watched this scene with great interest, wondering what would happen next.
However, Yelena was no longer the crybaby little girl she used to be.
After going through so much, Yelena had grown a lot and become much stronger.
Of course, the most important point was that she was also very beautiful.
Not as tough as in the movies, but much more aligned with a natural aesthetic.
Youthful beauty was just appearance, but the real Yelena was an excellent agent and an outstanding Black Widow.
"Natasha."
Natasha, who was busy, was thrilled to see Yelena.
"I really want to catch up with you, but now isn't the time. You and Melina can go rescue more Black Widows first."
Yelena nodded, "Okay."
As for Antonia in front of them, she had regained consciousness and knew that she had become like this because of Natasha.
The anger and pain in her heart made Antonia want revenge on Natasha.
However, she was restrained and unable to move.
Natasha also noticed Antonia's hateful look and paused what she was doing.
"Tony, I'll leave this to you. I have other things to take care of."
Natasha approached Antonia, full of guilt.
Although what had happened wasn't Natasha's intention, she had done it.
Now, she had to face it all.
"I know—nothing I say will help."
"Because it was my plan, and I did it."
"I wanted to kill Dreykov and used you to make sure he was there."
"It's my fault."
"I've replayed that moment countless times and regretted it."
"Now, I think I can do something for you."
Natasha came to Jaxon with tears in her eyes.
"Jaxon, I know you have a way."
"Please help me."
Jaxon was a little amused and helpless. It turned out Natasha had set her sights on him.
The Water of Life could indeed heal Antonia, but Jaxon was a little reluctant.
This thing was very expensive.
Gwen, Mary Jane, Betty, Bella, May, Pepper, and Vanessa—Jaxon had used seven drops and now had only three left.
As an agent, Natasha was skilled at gathering intelligence and understanding details.
It was natural for her to infer that Jaxon had played a role in this.
Especially considering May and Bella, who had both came close to death.
Jaxon had used some method to save them and even made them younger and more beautiful.
With these pieces of information and clues, Natasha was certain that Jaxon must have a way to treat Antonia.
"You know, this stuff is expensive."