Marvel: DNF Invades

"Oh my god… this power is a bit much."

Inside the mech, Luke's mouth hung open in shock as he stared at the massive crater below. His jaw was practically unhinged.

He hadn't expected the second-generation grenades to be this damn powerful! He had never tested them after making them.

Luke figured it had to be the magic stone powder he added.

The pit still crackled with white electric currents, and strange blue gas lingered, swirling like some eerie mist. It was clear as day that this wasn't the result of any conventional weapon.

The gas shimmered like some kind of chemical frost. Luke knew it was liquid nitrogen vaporizing, mixed with traces of demon stone residue.

And those gangsters who were shouting threats just moments ago?

Gone.

They had been vaporized in the explosion. Not even ashes left.

"You… what the hell did you do?!"

Black Widow stared at the destruction in disbelief, her voice muffled. Her ears were still ringing from the shockwave. "What kind of weapon is this? Some kind of bioweapon?"

The mech's speakers crackled to life with a similarly muffled voice: "Relax. It just looks a little dramatic…"

Luke winced inside the mech.

Damn… he had completely underestimated his own weapons. If he'd known they were this overpowered, he would've used way fewer.

At this level, just three volleys—24 grenades total—could probably sink an entire aircraft carrier.

But there was no way in hell he was admitting that.

"My weapons are totally safe. Green and eco-friendly. No radiation, no toxicity, no side effects…" Luke insisted, trying to sound convincing.

Black Widow just stared at him, speechless.

Eventually, she sighed.

Screw it. The police could deal with this mess. It was no longer her problem.

"Put me down," she said, patting the mech's back panel.

"Hold on."

The mech shot into the air, quickly flying to the rooftop of a nearby building before landing smoothly.

"Let's talk," Black Widow said, rubbing her ears, still annoyed from the deafening blast. She looked at the mech—barely 1.2 meters tall—and felt conflicted.

She had never thought such a small combat robot could carry such devastating firepower.

Those dead gangsters probably hadn't expected it either.

Otherwise, no one would have dared mess with this guy.

Who the hell was this guy? Where did he come from?

As an intelligence agent, she had a damn good memory, and she was certain she had never seen or heard of a mech with this kind of design.

The DNF and Gundam-inspired mech stood out like a sore thumb in the Marvel world. It was no surprise no one had seen anything like it before.

"What do you want to talk about?" Luke asked.

"Who are you?" Black Widow asked, crossing her arms. "I don't recall Tony Stark having a brother."

"Why a younger brother? Why not an older one?"

"Because your voice sounds young. Even though my hearing is still a little fuzzy, you sound like a kid."

"…"

Luke was speechless.

Damn, she was sharp.

"That's just your imagination," Luke said quickly. No way he was admitting anything. "My turn to ask."

Black Widow raised a brow. "What do you want to know?"

"Why are you here? What's your mission?"

By the timeline of Iron Man 2, Black Widow should be undercover at Stark Industries, working as Tony's secretary while keeping tabs on him for Nick Fury.

She shouldn't be here.

Instead of answering directly, she suddenly smiled—a dangerously charming smile.

"You seem to know a lot about me," she mused.

"Uh, a bit…" Luke coughed. "I know way more than you'd think."

"Oh?" She arched a brow, thinking for a moment before answering. "Fine. I'm here looking for someone. A person suspected of having the ability to manipulate luck—possibly a psychic. That's my mission."

"Someone who manipulates luck?" Luke blinked. That sounded oddly familiar.

"I didn't expect these gangs to suddenly start shooting each other. I thought I was exposed. I still don't know what caused all this chaos tonight. There has to be a reason for it," she said.

"You're being pretty open about your mission," Luke noted.

"The mission is already a bust." Black Widow shrugged. "My turn to ask."

"Go ahead."

"How old are you?"

"Uh…" Luke didn't expect her to be fixated on that. He thought for a second. "Can I not answer?"

Black Widow smirked. "Even if I don't know your exact age, I can tell you're young. No way you're older than some uncle in a metal suit."

Luke took a moment to mourn for Tony Stark.

Then he said, "You got that right. Not every woman is like Pepper—who clearly has a thing for older men."

Black Widow pressed her lips together, suppressing a smile.

"Are you close with Tony Stark?" she asked casually.

"It's fine, I guess. I make his lunch every day."

"Oh? Your last name Stark too?"

"As if!" Luke scoffed. "Why ask?"

"You and Tony have similar personalities. Arrogant. Cocky."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Luke said dryly.

"Alright, Agent Romanoff, don't try to dig more info out of me. Q&A is over. Nice meeting you tonight, but I've got other things to do. See you around."

"Yeah. Bye."

Luke wasn't about to stick around any longer.

His mom always said: The more beautiful a woman is, the better she is at lying.

And this woman was a pro.

She was trained for this.

Even with just a few words, Black Widow had been subtly fishing for intel the whole time.

If he kept talking, he might actually slip up.

Better to leave now.

Before taking off, he glanced around and asked, "You good getting out of here?"

"I'll be fine," Black Widow replied.

Since they were now outside the battlefield, she'd have no problem escaping.

With a burst of flames from its feet, the mech lifted off and soared into the night, heading back toward Hell's Kitchen.

Black Widow watched it disappear into the sky.

She stood there for a long moment before letting out a sigh.

She hadn't found the so-called "luck manipulator" tonight.

But she had met an "Iron Man brother."

And somehow, she knew this whole thing would get pinned on her.

Her problems were just getting bigger and bigger.

She pulled out her earpiece.

"This is Romanoff. I have an update to report."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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