[She was the one who recruited me into the original Avengers.]
[Like every superhero, in each of our stories, there are one or more villains.]
[Steve fought Bucky and HYDRA; Tony Stark faced Iron Monger, Whiplash, and the fake Ten Rings…]
[Thor could never escape the shadow of his family—whether it was Loki or Hela.]
[Doctor Strange led the Masters of the Mystic Arts to protect Earth from dimensional invaders.]
[Natasha Romanoff and I were no exception. Her enemy was the Red Room; mine was the Balrog—a being that absorbed energy from the Infinity Stones and made it his own.]
Well… made up.
But every superhero needs an enemy, right?
Su Che had to invent one for himself—it made sense!
Otherwise, how could he prove his value as a "superhero"?
"The Balrog?"
Natasha Romanoff, sitting in her car, pondered the name carefully.
She'd never heard of a villain with that moniker.
But she didn't dwell on it—she was more interested in reading on.
She had expected Su Che to write about her after their meeting…
But she hadn't anticipated how important she seemed in his eyes.
Hmm… why do I feel a faint thrill?
And that flicker in his eyes when he saw her—brief but unmistakable—
hadn't just been the joy of reuniting with an old friend.
It felt deeper.
Tsk. This is getting more and more interesting.
But according to the diary, the Red Room was still active?
Hadn't she and Hawkeye blown it up?
Was it a fake?
Shaking her head, Natasha continued reading.
[If initially the Avengers were just a superhero team formed to unite powered individuals and save Earth…]
[Over time, after living and dying together through countless battles, we gradually became a family.]
[Though there were disagreements—even a civil war sparked by that damned Accord—]
[none of us were ever truly willing to hurt each other.]
[During that time, Tony, who'd been kept in the dark, suffered the most inwardly.]
[And Natasha Romanoff and I… we suffered the most externally.]
[It was as if we'd finally found a family worth cherishing, only to watch it tear itself apart in an instant.]
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters
"A civil war within the Avengers… caused by an Accord?"
Nick Fury frowned.
What kind of agreement could fracture a team of superheroes like that?
And what was this about "keeping Tony in the dark"?
Then there was Steve—that Steve?
His enemies were Bucky and HYDRA?
Those clues pointed to only one name…
Nick Fury sat up straight, a faint tremble running through him.
Steve Rogers.
One of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founders, Howard Stark's best friend, and the love of Peggy Carter's life.
A legendary hero, preserved in memory and monument—but gone.
Yet here was a hint that he might still be… accessible.
Fury took a long breath, steadying himself.
He'd have to send a team to reinvestigate the crash site of Captain America's plane—
immediately.
A living Steve Rogers was far more valuable than a dead legend.
He read on.
[Later, after the Thanos Snap… half of all life in the universe vanished.]
[Everyone lost hope. Tony retired with his family; Thor became a drunk;]
[Steve resigned himself to leading a support group, doing what little he could.]
[What I remember most is Natasha Romanoff eating a sandwich in tears,]
[telling Steve that if he tried to talk her out of her mission, she'd throw it in his face.]
[Yes, everyone gave up… but not Natasha.]
[She stood alone in the empty Avengers headquarters, stubbornly searching for a way to bring everyone back.]
[She said it was her home. Others could quit—but she couldn't.]
[After struggling for so long, she'd finally found a family, and she refused to lose it.]
[She said she would bring every single one of them back… no matter the cost.]
[And in the end… she did. We succeeded.]
[But the one who loved this family the most… never made it back home.]