Once, Black Widow was a title reserved for one person alone—the strongest survivor selected from the brutal Red Room training system. That person was Natasha Romanoff. But when Natasha and Clint Barton destroyed the Red Room and its leader, Dreykov, everything changed. Dreykov, presumed dead, orchestrated a comeback. He took what had been a secretive but known organization and forced it entirely underground.
Natasha's actions inadvertently made the Red Room even more elusive. Even S.H.I.E.L.D., with its vast intelligence network, remained unaware of its continued existence. Before meeting Hong Fei, Natasha genuinely believed the Red Room had vanished from the world. Yet, who could she blame for this turn of events?
She had done everything within her power, even at great personal cost. To ensure Dreykov's death, she orchestrated a plan that became the greatest psychological trauma of her life. She needed to confirm his presence in the building without alerting anyone. To achieve this, she used Dreykov's daughter, an innocent girl, as confirmation.
Once certain, Natasha gave the order to detonate the bomb. The explosion obliterated the building—and the girl with it. The guilt haunted her. But if anyone was to blame, it was Dreykov himself. The cunning old snake survived, and so did his daughter, Antonia. Though severely burned and disfigured, Antonia lived—only to be transformed into Taskmaster, a killing machine controlled by a chip implanted by her father.
Emotional villains are not uncommon, but Dreykov was something else entirely. He discarded emotion entirely, becoming a villain in its purest form. His ruthlessness was unmatched.
After the Red Room went underground, the title of Black Widow ceased to belong to a single individual. It became a collective name for a group of elite female agents. While none may match Natasha's prowess, they remain the most formidable and terrifying agents in the world.
Yelena Belova, Natasha's sister in spirit if not by blood, stands among the most exceptional Black Widows in the current Red Room. Finding Natasha was ultimately about finding Yelena, and finding Yelena was about locating the scattered Black Widows across the globe—and the aerial base that had remained hidden for years.
The helicopter soared over snow-covered mountains and plains, eventually landing in a lush, green landscape. Soon, a solitary house against the forest came into view. The woman outside feeding pigs noticed the helicopter immediately. She held a tactical tablet, her gaze fixed on the approaching aircraft.
"Is that Melina?" Hong Fei asked.
Natasha nodded. "Yes."
Alexei grinned. "That's her. After all these years, she's still as beautiful and alluring as ever."
Hong Fei silently walked to the hatch and leaped down in one fluid motion. Outside the house, Melina turned and bolted toward the room. Hong Fei accelerated suddenly, the air cracking with the force of his movement. A dark shadow streaked through the air, landing in front of Melina in an instant.
"Lady, if you don't want your hand, I can help you cut it off."
Melina's fingers froze mid-reach toward the tablet, then withdrew. Hong Fei plucked it from her grasp, studying her face—slightly weathered but still striking. "Wait," he said with a faint smile. "You might be thrilled to see who's on that helicopter." When the aircraft touched down and Alexei and Natasha emerged, Melina's shock was palpable.
Her face betrayed nothing, not even the faintest flicker in her eyes. She was a master of composure, far more suited to espionage than academia. This was the same Melina who, years ago, had posed as Alexei's wife in Ohio, raising their two adopted daughters, Natasha and Yelena, in a fabricated family.
The group moved inside, their actions casual yet deliberate. Melina set down her gun and headed to the kitchen. Natasha found a corner and settled in, while Alexei made a beeline for the bathroom. No one spoke, but their movements suggested a return to familiar territory.
Hong Fei found the scene both odd and oddly fitting. Three years of pretending to be a family had left its mark. Alexei, for all his bluster, genuinely cared for his "family," though his priorities were skewed. He took pride in Natasha becoming the strongest Black Widow and Yelena the most feared child assassin, but he never paused to consider what they truly wanted. His pride was a blindfold, obscuring their desires beneath his own ambitions.
Melina, the scientist and equally skilled Agent, had a subtler connection with her daughters, buried beneath layers of restraint. Natasha, the emotionless killing machine, now a top S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, was equally adept at masking her feelings. And Yelena, still missing, rounded out this family of extraordinary individuals—none of them normal, none of them ordinary.
Moments later, Melina emerged with a table laden with food. Natasha gestured for Hong Fei to join them at the table. Just then, Alexei strode out of the bathroom, clad in his Red Guardian uniform—a red-and-white homage to Captain America. The suit clung tightly, particularly around his midsection, giving him the appearance of a man carrying a watermelon.
"How do I look?" Alexei puffed out his chest, radiating pride. "Still fits like a glove, still handsome!"
Melina raised an eyebrow. "I haven't washed that suit in years."
"It smells fresh," Alexei insisted, sniffing his sleeve for emphasis. Hong Fei kept his eyes on his plate, afraid one more glance would unleash an inappropriate laugh.
Alexei took his seat, glancing around the table at Melina, Natasha, and Hong Fei. His lips curled into a grin, revealing two missing teeth. "We should count as a family now—"
Hong Fei stood abruptly, plate in hand, and moved to the side of the room. "Fine," he said. "Now we're a family. Decades later, here we are, sharing a meal."
"This is a scene I never dared to dream of while in prison," Alexei began, his voice tinged with nostalgia.
Natasha cut in bluntly. "It's not that you didn't dare to dream it. You wouldn't dream it. And did you notice we're missing someone?"
Alexei nodded. "Yelena. Of course I remember. My precious little daughter. I heard about her even in prison—the most terrifying child assassin in history!"
Natasha's head snapped toward Melina. "Where's Yelena?"
Melina had been staring at her plate, absentmindedly pushing food around with her fork. She glanced up with a frown. "I don't know where she is."
"And the Red Room?" Natasha pressed.
Melina's fork stilled. She said nothing.
The sudden clatter of china made them all jump. Hong Fei slammed an empty plate onto the table, followed by two pistols. His voice cut through the tension. "Enough of this cozy family reunion. I ask questions. You answer. One of you, or all of you."
He fixed Melina with a stare. "Your research uses pheromones to control living beings. Their actions. Their thoughts. Correct?"
Melina's eyebrow twitched. Natasha shot her a questioning look. When silence stretched for two seconds, Hong Fei raised his gun.
Natasha leapt to her feet. "Wait. Let me handle this."
She turned to Melina, her voice low and urgent. "Is it true?"
Melina hesitated only briefly before nodding. "Yes."
"You're still working for the Red Room," Natasha said. "Tell me where it is."
Melina shook her head. "You can't defeat someone who controls thoughts. You don't know what we achieved in the United States at our peak. Neither do you, Alexei."
She stood and retrieved her tablet. A few taps on the screen, and she called out, "Come in."
The door clicked open. They turned as one.
A pig walked in. An actual pig, spotted and pink. It trotted over to Melina, sat like a dog, and gazed up at her obediently.
Natasha blinked. "Did that pig just open the door?"
"Yes," Melina said. She picked up a piece of food and fed it to the pig. "Good boy, Alexei. So obedient!"
Alexei stared. "You named a pig after me?"
"I think it fits," Melina said. "It can sit like a dog. And it can do far more impressive things."
She swiped her tablet. "Stop breathing."
The pig stiffened. Its breathing ceased instantly.
Three gunshots shattered the ceiling. Dust rained down. Alexei looked at his food, now coated in grime, and set his spoon aside.
Hong Fei broke the silence. "Interesting. Science class is over. I don't care about this. I want three things." He ticked them off on his fingers. "First, the pheromone's components and how to neutralize it. Second, the Black Widow tracking chip design or other ways to locate them. Third, the Red Room's location. Can you tell me?"
Melina met the barrel of his gun without flinching. Beside her, Alexei and Natasha exchanged anxious glances. Alexei kept signaling Natasha with his eyes, but she stayed frozen. She knew any move would be futile.
Softly, she said to Melina, "Yelena's still in the Red Room."
Melina was silent for a long moment. Finally, she said, "Fine."
"Good," Hong Fei said. "Pack your things. You're coming with me."
"I can't leave. The Red Room will know."
"Natasha stays in your place," Hong Fei said without hesitation. Natasha nodded.
A moment later, Melina and Alexei were packing their things in the room, while Hong Fei and Natasha waited outside.
Suddenly, Hong Fei asked, "Do you want to have a child?"
Natasha gave a faint smile. "You might not know, but the Red Room thoughtfully provides free hysterectomies for all its members."
Hong Fei shrugged. "If one's cut out, just grow it back."
She chuckled dryly. "What, you think it's like planting a tree?"
Natasha shook her head in disbelief. "I'm serious. You know about my lab—we're working on something called the 'Regeneration Cradle.' If everything goes according to plan... there might actually be a shot at this."
Hong Fei remembered the films. He couldn't say whether Natasha had ever considered the implications after the Cradle succeeded, but the world in those stories had changed at breakneck speed. Maybe she hadn't thought it through—but right now, the idea sent a jolt of possibility through him.
If the experiment worked on Natasha, the Regeneration Cradle wouldn't just heal her. It would flood Hong Fei with invaluable data, not to mention physical upgrades. The potential was too good to pass up. "Well?" he pressed, unable to hide his excitement. "You in, when the time comes?"
Seeing Hong Fei asking again, she rarely turned her head away. Her gaze drifted to the window, unfocused, and when she finally spoke, her voice had gone oddly quiet. "That... maybe we could try?" Hong Fei blinked. He'd just asked her to be a lab rat, so why was she turning red like a damn teapot?