A Widow's World (P)

Bumblebeee

A Total Poser
Original poster
LURKER MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
  1. Looking for partners
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
  2. One post per day
  3. Multiple posts per week
Writing Levels
  1. Adept
  2. Advanced
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Female
  2. Nonbinary
Genres
Fantasy, Modern, Superhero fiction
“If you make me ask again, I will not be quite so nice.” Beakers shattered against the floor, swept aside as a woman in a bloodied lab coat scrambled to get her footing. Her hands pushed past broken glass and papers, searching for something. Katerina quickened her approach, holstering her gun at her hip and flicked her wrist. The scrape of metal against metal hissed as four tiny blades snapped into place along the knuckles of her gloves. Close combat, the thoughts that she didn’t quite think of as her own instructed, would be more advantageous with claws. Ironic, that the woman that fashioned these gloves for Katerina would be one of the many that met their end because of them. They had once been close, but when Katerina looked at her now, she just saw an objective. “Now,” Katerina’s English was perfect, albeit accented with the thick ‘r’s and rhythmic grumble of a Russian speaker. “Will you comply?”

“Will you?” Finish her. Katerina sprung into action, slashing as her adversary ducked down, arms wrapped around Katerina’s midriff and pushing them both against the wall. Katerina slashed downward, and heard the other woman cry out as four stripes of red blood bloomed across her back. As the two grappled, the door to their right opened and a warning shout pulled her attention. The voice was familiar, not that it mattered. Katerina alone had been charged with this mission and all unexpected combatants were to be treated as the enemy. Katerina lifted her hand to fling a small circular disk, a widow’s bite, with alarming accuracy at the stranger’s gun arm. Female, red hair, SHIELD logo, Widow’s Hourglass, unknown alliances, unknown equipment and threat level. Highest rate of success suggests completing objectives and fleeing before she recovers. “Shit- just stay still for two seconds-” She turned her focus back to the woman in the lab coat as her back hit the wall again and with a grunt threw her upper body forward. She ended up toppling both herself and the lab coat over each other into the aisle between lab stations. Katerina felt a prick at her neck as they fell. She clawed at the syringe and the hand holding it, but the lab coat was faster, pressing down on the plunger and then pulling it free. “Wake up Romanova!”

Katerina felt her body go light and tingly for a moment. The world swam. Her brain felt like it was being burned from the inside. Her vision colored everything in shades of red and then… Then everything was clearer. The urgency that drove her was gone, and for the first time in nearly eight years her mind felt empty. The red faded from her pale blue eyes as she shook her head, some dark curls falling free from her ponytail at the violent gesture.

“Okay? You with me?” The voice startled her. Katerina felt herself release the hold she had taken around her objective’s neck and pulled back. Katerina blinked down at the woman in the lab coat and tilted her head to the side, taking in the pin straight black hair and the scar on her forehead that Katerina herself had given to the woman many years ago. Nikita? “Oh, thank god that didn’t kill you.” The click of a gun’s safety came from the doorway, reminding both women they had more issues to deal with. Nikita’s mind was clearer so she moved first. “Deal with that, alright?”

Using her legs and arms both for power, Nikita shoved Katerina into the doorway and the lurking SHIELD agent. Just like that, Katerina felt herself passed off from one grapple into another… Or, well, calling it a fight would have been too generous. The SHIELD agent with the bright red hair had her arm around Katerina’s neck in a chokehold before she had a chance to get her feet back under herself. It only took a few moments of struggle to realize she wasn’t going to get out of this the easy way. She managed to get a hand between her throat and the SHIELD agent’s arm but that was the least of her worries. As her free hand, the bracelets on her wrists lighting up red, pressed against smooth skin- perhaps a face, but more likely a neck, she felt the rough push of a gun into her back. From this range that wasn’t something she would walk away from if the agent decided to pull the trigger.

“Easy there, Red…” Katia pressed back against the arm to give herself room to talk. “Looks like we’re at an impasse. See, from that angle, I’m guessing you’d hit my lower intestines and I’d bleed out in minutes. Seems pretty good for you at first glance, but counter argument, I’ve got about 3,000 volts charged up in these bracelets of mine ready to discharge into your neck at close range.” She twitched her clenched fist and heard the warning crackle of electricity in her bracelets, just to prove a point. Some people weren’t quite smart enough to believe her when she threatened them and frankly Katerina wouldn’t have blamed them. This equipment was unique to Red Room and most people who knew about it were either Red Room girls or dead, so it wasn’t exactly well known. “So, we can either do an old school shoot out and see who shoots first or we can put these down and both walk away. I’ll even give you first go at the other widow- that’s what you’re here for, right?”

She hadn’t gotten the chance to look, but Katerina was sure Nikita had already fled out of the room and was on her way to an escape vehicle of some sorts. In no time she would be gone to the wind and SHIELD would have lost whatever it was that they were looking for. Katerina wasn’t concerned- well, wasn’t concerned for anyone except herself.

“Clock’s ticking- might still make it if you go now. So, what will it be?”

@mi casa I figured I'd get her all wrapped up with Nat- hope that's alright! And since this is a good few years before Black Widow I figured maybe they aren't quite advanced enough with the anti-mind control for it to be in gas form? So I made it a shot and added in an old easter egg side character to give it to Katia :)
 
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