Chapter 57 57: Not a Villain, Not a Hero

— — — — — — About ten minutes later, in the deepest part of an alley at the end of the street The woman, now backed into a corner by Gwen, glared at her as she spoke. She had been completely overpowered. Her fighting style—skilled enough to drop a 200+ pound brute (90+ kg brute) with technique alone—hadn't even made Gwen blink. Even a sneak attack with a bullet had been effortlessly caught between Gwen's fingers. She figured even that WWII-era Captain America would probably eat a couple slaps before managing to react to this strange figure in a black, white, and pink spider-patterned suit. ... "Shouldn't I be the one asking the questions?" Gwen said coolly. "You might wanna drop the disguise. It's good, sure—but something still feels off to me." She fired a web that stuck to the woman's head, yanking off a blonde wig along with a lifelike mask of a middle-aged Slavic woman. What appeared underneath was long burgundy-red hair and a dangerously beautiful face that leaned into seductive territory. "Huh?" The moment Gwen got a good look at her face, something clicked. Her eyes drifted down to the woman's wrist-mounted device. This device had launched bullets, mini-bombs, tear gas orbs, some kind of tipped dart, and a high-voltage electric shock in their fight. Gwen didn't think much of it—until now. With that red hair, that dangerously hot face, and that curvy body barely concealed under the trench coat. It all added up. "Black Widow—Natasha Romanoff?" Gwen asked cautiously. "So that's how it is..." The red-haired woman—Natasha Romanoff—fell silent for a second, then gave a soft, almost resigned smile. "Didn't expect them to be able to make monsters like you less than two years after I escaped. What now, are you here to take my Black Widow title?" Gwen felt something was off. "Huh? Wait—them? Hold on. Are you saying you're not part of S.H.I.E.L.D.?" "S.H.I.E.L.D.? What's that?" "...Okay yeah, we definitely need to talk." Shooting out several strands of web, Gwen wrapped her up tightly and carried her back to the clock tower that overlooked the city. They talked for nearly an hour. After the conversation, Gwen opened the chat group to report what she'd learned—though she'd turned off the live feed out of respect once she'd realized this was that Natasha. — — — 『Ghost Spider: I've confirmed it. She's someone I heard about back when I was still on Earth-65—a superhero, but not exactly the same.』 『Lady Avalon: So a parallel version?』 『Ghost Spider: Yep.』 『Ghost Spider: In both worlds, Natasha came out of the Red Room—a secret Soviet-Russian program that trained young girls to become elite spies and assassins known as Black Widows. 』 『Ghost Spider: Both versions were genetically enhanced and trained to be the best of the best. They both carried the codename "Black Widow."』 『Ghost Spider: The difference? The one I knew was born in 1928. This version was born in 1984.』 『Ghost Spider: She managed to resist the Red Room's mental conditioning thanks to her insane willpower and acting skills. She made it through their final trial, and on her first mission—she defected.』 『Ghost Spider: She escaped to this country, Sokovia, where the Red Room's reach couldn't follow her, and started a new life.』 『Ordinary Human: So what's your plan for her?』 『Ghost Spider: Uh... I do have an idea, but I wanted to run it by you all first.』 『Catwoman: Spill it.』 『Ghost Spider: According to Natasha, the Red Room is still active. I was thinking... if I take it down, would that count as completing a major "event"?』 『Ghost Spider: Oh, and I forgot to mention—the Red Room now ended up in the hands of a woman known as Madam B. She turned it into a full-blown assassin factory.』 『Ghost Spider: They collect abandoned baby girls from around the world, put them through brutal physical training, mind control, and biotech enhancements, turning them into assassins or spies. If a baby shows potential—like Natasha did—they'll buy her or just straight-up kill her parents and take her.』 『Catwoman: You don't even need to explain all that. Just say, "I'm going after the Red Room—who's in?" and I'm there.』 『Catwoman: I mean, any organization with that kind of reach is already sketchy as hell.』 『Catwoman: Actually, you may not have realized this—or maybe you're avoiding it—but...』 『Catwoman: No one in this group is what you'd call a good person.』 Gwen paused, thinking about everyone in the group. There was Miss Merlin—always kind, but capable of being cold and ruthless when needed. Hancock, born in the warlike Amazon Lily and dreamed of becoming the Kuja Pirates' captain and the Empress of Amazon Lily. And of course, Selina—world-famous jewel thief before she joined the chat. 『Earth's Cancer: Wait wait wait—how am I getting lumped in here too?! Just because I occasionally exploit game mechanics or glitch the rules a little, that doesn't mean I'm not a good guy! (Not Accepting This.jpg) 』 『Lady Avalon: You sure you only do that occasionally, and only in games? (Suspicious Artoria.jpg)』 『Earth's Cancer: Ahem...』 『Catwoman: Honestly, you trying to defend yourself is even less convincing than Bruce Wayne claiming he's not a playboy. But hey, I've met the guy in real life—he's not half bad.』 『Ordinary Human: Let's not make it too dramatic. I'm not a villain, not a hero. Just someone in the middle—where you can do good when you feel like it—is fine. No pressure.』 『Catwoman: I like that answer. (Nods.jpg)』 『Ghost Spider: ...Alright. I'll go talk to Natasha about her leading the way.』 『Hellish Blizzard: Wait—are you really ready for this?』 『Ghost Spider: Do I need to be? According to Natasha, their biotech's pinnacle is basically her level—and I could mop the floor with her. So I should be fine and—』 『Ghost Spider: Oh. I see what you mean now.』 Gwen went quiet. She thought about the word "kill." Sure, she'd taken out plenty of zombified husks during that survival mission, but those weren't people anymore. If it were real, breathing humans... Her eyes drifted to Natasha, still tied up in webs. Suddenly, Gwen had an idea. "Have you ever killed someone?" "...??" Natasha blinked, a little confused—but nodded anyway. She thought about lying, but there was no way this girl would've believed her. "I'm planning to take down the Red Room with a few friends," Gwen said. "Would you be willing to lead us there? And if we run into someone like Madam B... could you handle her?" Natasha frowned slightly. Judging from the last question, she felt like she understood what Gwen was really asking. That Gwen wanted her to be the one to end it. The one who kills. But with a personal grudge already against the Red Room... Natasha agreed without hesitation. . . .