"Natasha, there's a mission I need you to carry out." Nick Fury's voice crackled through Black Widow Natasha Romanoff's private line.
"Nick, you know I'm on vacation right now. I'm not a machine." Natasha's voice was languid over the phone.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but a highly dangerous individual has specifically requested you," Nick Fury replied, a hint of frustration in his tone.
"Oh? Tell me more." Natasha's curiosity piqued.
"There's a situation in Hell's Kitchen. A drug dealer killed his boss and casually took out his partner," Nick Fury began, only to be cut off.
"Director Fury, shouldn't the Police handle this, not S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Natasha interjected.
"Let me finish," Nick responded, a trace of exasperation in his voice.
"This individual not only killed his boss and partner but also eliminated more than twenty drug kingpins within a week. They all had bodyguards, yet this person managed to take them down. We have reason to believe there's an 80% chance this person is superpowered," Nick Fury explained solemnly.
"A superpowered individual?" Natasha understood why Nick needed her.
"Exactly. Despite the killings, the victims were all notorious criminals. If possible, I want you to persuade him to join S.H.I.E.L.D. That plan needs to be set in motion," Nick instructed, hinting at a larger strategy.
"I'll take care of it," Natasha agreed, stretching as she rose from her beach chair, heading into the hotel to change into her typical tight-fitting suit.
Outside a rundown factory in Hell's Kitchen, over twenty police cars were gathered, officers armed and ready. A police officer shouted through a megaphone, "Johnson, you're surrounded. Surrender and release the hostages. You can't escape."
"Shut up! Is Natasha here yet?! You have half an hour. If she doesn't arrive, I'll kill one hostage every ten minutes," came a frantic voice from within, not quite matching the profile of a cold-blooded killer.
The police exchanged nervous glances. They had no clue who Black Widow was and could only relay the demand to their superiors.
"Director, what now?" a young officer asked the police chief.
"I don't know! Just keep urging them," the chief replied, feeling the weight of the situation. They didn't want to provoke the suspect, especially since bullets might not stop him.
"Ma'am, you can't go in there; it's too dangerous," a police officer warned as Natasha approached.
"Let me introduce myself: I'm Natasha Romanoff. It's me he's looking for," Natasha replied with a confident smile, bypassing the police blockade.
Inside, Ethan Walker watched as the graceful Natasha approached, excitement building. Finally, he could switch hosts to someone more compelling than a rough drug dealer.
Ethan, a transmigrator, had suddenly found himself in an unfamiliar world. His new existence as a puddle of liquid was bewildering until he realized he had become Venom. Unlike the original, his abilities were even more potent, allowing him to replicate and enhance genes.
After drifting through outer space, he'd hitched a ride back to Earth on a spacecraft, immediately possessing the nearest person—a drug-addicted thug. Using this host, Ethan quickly learned he was in the Marvel Universe, specifically the movie universe, as evidenced by Tony Stark's familiar face.
In the months that followed, Ethan used his host to eliminate several crime lords, earning the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. Now, he had his sights set on a new host: the formidable Natasha Romanoff.
As Natasha entered the factory, she noticed Johnson's anxious demeanor and instinctively reached for her pistol. She suspected he had summoned her for nefarious reasons, but she was determined to handle the situation.
Meanwhile, Johnson, desperate to be free of his symbiotic host, followed Ethan's instructions: "Tell her to drop the gun."
"Drop your weapon!" Johnson shouted, pointing a gun at Natasha.