Sins of the Father

[NATASHA ROMANOFF]

It has been more than five years since she had spoken to or seen the person she was meeting. Even from before the Battle of New York but just after she helped Stark with his Justin Hammer and Ivan Vanko problem back in 2010. Yes, it has been more than five years and Natasha was bracing herself for the scolding and yelling the person was going to give her just because... that was how he rolled. Isaiah Ross became an acquaintance of the Black Widow by accident, back in 1993 when she left Department X for good and struck alone. She was doing odd freelance jobs back then, mainly trying to atone for her many sins as the KGB's most deadly assassin and trying – but not succeeding – to leave her past behind. It was during one of those odd jobs that she met a then scrawny, lankly twenty-four year old lawyer who was way over his head. Isaiah, you see, used to be the lawyer for a very powerful and dangerous mob family in the city and the idiot decided to collaborate with law enforcement as a confidential informer. Little did he know that the mob family had their own contacts in law enforcement and he was made almost as soon as he started.

Natasha was on an unrelated mission when she came across a group of goons that were going to put a major hurt on Isaiah and make him a permanent citizen of the bottom of the Hudson River. Usually, Natasha would not have intervene, it was not her mission and besides, if they were going to whack him it was probably for a good reason, or so she thought. But she actually took pity on the foolish young Isaiah. He looked so skinny and fragile! So, against her better judgment, she intervened. They were petty, dime a dozen thugs, she didn't even break a sweat. But what she got for her troubles was that now the mob family had to be taken out, because she could not afford leaving them to plot and try to get to her. It was going to be a nuisance and Natasha was already trying to stay two steps ahead of Leviathan, the group that formed from Department X after the fall of the Soviet Union, and from SHIELD, which were starting to take notice of her activities as a solo act. She didn't need any more complications in her life. So with Isaiah's information, she took down the mobsters, which is up to this day her most hated mission, because it was – in her eyes – pointless. Vigilante shit was not her thing and she hated it. But whatever.

After she saved Isaiah's anorexic ass, she could not get him to just leave her alone. He wanted to repay his debt to her and, much to her dismay, he believed his debt was for life. So he offered to help her in whatever she needed. Natasha didn't need a roody pooh candy-ass like Isaiah to help her with anything, but apparently he was not going to be deterred, short of her finishing what the goons started and shoot him in the face! So she decided that he could put his lawyer's skills to good use on her behalf. Thus, that young man back in 1993 became her lawyer. Mostly, he found her missions during her time as a freelancer and set up and managed a fund where she could channel the payments from those missions. But Natasha never kept a dime of what she made. She didn't need to, because during her long decades with Department X, Natasha didn't stay idle. She set up several phantom accounts for her use, as well as safe-houses all over the world, preparing for the time when she would severe all ties with the Soviet Union. So instead, using Isaiah's impressive skill at masking money through dummy accounts, she gave the money she made during those freelance missions to the families of the people she had hurt over the decades. Her way to atone for her sins. Of course, it was never known that the money was coming from her, thanks again to Isaiah's unbelievable skills of hiding the source of the money, thanks to his years as a mob lawyer.

That young, scrawny man was now a still scrawny man in his late forties. Obviously, Isaiah knew about Natasha's enhancements, because if not it would have been quite weird that she have not aged a day since he met her twenty-four years before. As said, they haven't spoken in five years, but she needed him now. So she called him and after enduring a litany of him scolding her to no end for... hell... everything, she managed to ask for a favor. She wanted him to find out about Jack Dolci's father, especially where he was and what he was doing. It was merely curiosity on her part, but also it was pragmatic: Jack was now a Secret Avengers and she needed to do a background check on him, which she did not do when she recruited him and that was very unlike her, but at the same time she had a lot on her plate to just go around on a fact check mission, so who better than her buddy Isaiah, who seemed to have a pulse on everything seedy happening all over the world.

She found him sitting on a bench in Central Park, feeding pigeons because... yeah, he did that for some reason she never understood. Natasha had to smile when she saw him, as she remembered their past together. She was wearing a black wig to disguise her now highly recognizable red hair and some trendy 'millenial' clothes, which she hated it. She was old school and this whole 'millenial' crap got on her nerve, but whatever. Beggars could not be choosers. She was also wearing shades, in case the WSC used face recognition software on her, as she was sure they would. “Hey long, tall, and ugly.” She said as a way of greeting. Isaiah didn't even look at her. “Oh, how good of you to finally show your stupid face. Five years, Nat! Five years and the first I heard from you, you are asking for a favor. You got some nerve.” He said in that fake Italian accent of his even though Isaiah was as much an Italian as Natasha was Australian... which meant, not at all.

“You missed me, admit it.” She said with a smile as she sat beside him.

“Yeah, like I would miss an open heart surgery.” He replied, not having any of her charm.

“I've been busy, Isaiah. That is why I haven't contacted you sooner.”

“Yeah, sure. And now your ass is tagged by the U.N. and the World Security Council. And on their top ten list, to boot.”

“Pfft. I'll let you know that I am the number one person on the list, so show some respect. But enough chit chat, did you find what I asked for?”

He looked at her with a hint of wounded pride. “Of course I did, idiot! In fact I should feel insulted by being asked to do something so easy as to find out some old geezer. I have better things to do with my time. Oh and by the way, get your damn cat back!”

“Liloh? How is my sweetie-pie!?” Liloh was a straight and quite mean cat Natasha found five years earlier on the streets. She fed him once and that was a mistake, as the cat lashed on her like white on rice. Thus, she took the damn cat with her, but because her work in SHIELD kept her from having any normal life, she tasked Isaiah to feed him and... well... she stopped contact with Ross for five years, so poor Isaiah got stuck with Liloh.

“He drives me insane. Reminds me of you and how YOU do the same. So please get him off my hands. Here...” He handed her a portable drive. “That Hoyt dude died a couple of weeks ago. In there is everything from his finances to his personal life and what he has done for the past ten or so years. Apparently he left a will and testament to some bozo named Jack something or other, but the lawyers can't seem to find the fool.”

“See, that is why I love you, Isaiah. You never disappoint... okay, you do... I mean, look at you! You look like shit. Are you using that ecliptic exercise machine I stole for you?”

“You're welcome. And hell no! That machine gives me vertigo.” He said with a grunt but then his voice softened. “How have you been coping with all the things happening?”

“Aww... you like me... you really, really like me!” She teased him but then turned serious. “It has been... interesting, to say the least.”

“Did you do the things they claim you did? Don't lie to me, you stupid idiot. You know is futile.”

“The Triskellion thing and the Helicarriers? Yeah... but I didn't do it alone, although I would have loved to take the whole credit.”

“And the rest?”

She shrugged her shoulders. Many of the things pinned on her were not done by her, but that was par for the course with Natasha. Malick was Kasandra and Pierce was Nick, for example. But whatever. “Thank you for this. I might need you from time to time and I will get Liloh, I promise.” She stood up and leaned over, giving her old friend a kiss on the cheek and then walked away. She took her cellphone out and texted Jack to meet her at the safe-house, although she was not sure how he would take the news she had.

@jackdolci

[Deleted]

How come Wild Card now had to clean up other masked heroes messes now!? That's what the young hero was thinking as he sped down New York's busy streets toward the largest bank in Manhattan. Jack had been just hanging out in his loft apartment watching the food channel when his police scanner that he kept in his bedroom began to go off like crazy.  As Jack dressed in his Wild Card gear he listened to the police scanner say that one Herman Schultz aka The Shocker was robbing the biggest bank in Manhattan and that people were still trapped inside.

Once WC was ready, he used one of his suits built in grapples to shoot himself through his apartment's open skylight. He then lowered himself down to a nearby alley where he hid his motorcycle and then took off for the bank. It didn't take long for WC to catch up and quickly pass the approaching squad cars to reach the bank first. The young masked hero parked his bike in the Alley next to the bank and quickly grappled to the roof entrance in hopes of of getting the drop on the shocker. WC quickly entered through the vent system and headed toward the main room. As he did he noticed through the vent grates that the hostages had been corralled near the now empty vault. He would have to find a way to keep them safe. As he reached the opening to the Teller room he couldn't help but smile under his mask.

"Time to make an entrance."

Wild Card smiled and knocked the grate out from under him, quickly curling his body until he got closer to the floor, uncurling it for the landing causing the Shocker to turn around in surprise. WC just grinned and put his hands to his hips.

"Ya know Herman, if ya needed to make a withdraw you could just use an ATM like the rest of us."

Being called by his first named caused the Shocker to clench his fists and growl a low angry growl. He then aimed both of his arms toward WC and blasted a hard vibration blast toward him. In response, WC quickly jumped over a chair and picked it up to throw in the way of the blast to take the hit. His plan worked bu the young hero was still shock backward a bit about two feet.

"The name is Shocker old son! It's dangerous to make a dangerous man look foolish!"

WC just grinned and unclipped his two halves of his staff and hooked them together. He then chuckled and ran toward the Shocker without fear. He had to Keep Shockers attention away from his hostages. As WC got close he used his staff to povault over Shocker to get behind him. As he landed he used one of his suits grapples to latch onto the Shocker's mask, yanking it off. Shocker however had better reflexes then WC gave him credit for, quickly turning around and blasting his attacker  sending him flying through a desk but luckily WC's suit was well armored but that didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell.

"The bug couldn't even bother to show up himself this time huh? Was the welp to afraid?"

As Shocker got busy talking, WC quickly jumped to his feet as his foe took aim at him to try and finish the young hero off. The Shocker then grinned.

"Any last words punk?"

Wild Card just grinned and held up his arms as if he was going to surrender. He then aimed both of his arms at the Vent system above the shocker, shooting both hooks into two separate sections.

"Just two, I win!"

Wild Card then yanked his grapples as hard as he could causing the the sections of the vent system and parts of the ceiling to come crashing down toward The Shocker. The bad guy tried to use his shock gloves to take the weight but it proved to much for him to handle and so the weight fell down on top of him knocking him out. Now that the fight was over, Wild Card then quickly dug out of the Shocker. He then removed the mans gauntlets. He then pulled out a couple of his capture cards from his utility belt and used them to wrap up Shocker tight. WC then grabbed his staff and unhooked it and returned the two parts back to his belt just as the police barged in demanding he hold his hands up.

"Sorry, not my style. The real bad guy is all packaged up for ya, the money is still here and the hostages are hiding in the vault. As for me, I'm so out of here."

Wild Card then pulled out a smoke pellet and threw it to the ground causing it to explode. He then launched his grapple through a nearby window and let it blast him out of the building. He then quickly hopped on his bike and took off before the cops could get their act together. Once he was a few blocks away, WC dismounted his bike and quickly changed back into his street clothes of a gray t-shirt, grey cargo pants, and boots. He then stuffed his suit into his brown backpack. He then opened up the secret compartment of his bike and put the bike inside.

Once he was back on his bike, he pulled his cellphone out from his cargo pants pocket to see that Nat had texted him. She wanted him to stop by her safe house again, probably to give him another busy time assignment. Jack knew he couldn't say no however and so he texted her back saying he'd be right there, stuffed his phone back into his pocket and started driving. It didn't take long for the young man to reach the rather nice safe house. Once he parked his bike out front he walked up to the door and knocked with a sigh.

"It's Jack, can I come in?"

NATASHA ROMANOFF

[NATASHA ROMANOFF]

After her meeting with Isaiah, Natasha arrived at the another of her safe-house and looked at the USB drive her former lawyer gave her, containing the information about Jack's dad. Ever since the Battle of the Triskellion, Black Widow have been changing safe-house on a regular basis as a way to keep HYDRA off her scent, although she stayed the longer in the one she used to called the 'Widow's Ranch' until it was compromised by a visit from a former SHIELD agent. Now, since the Hellfire Club building raid, she has not stayed in the same safe-house for longer than a week, alternating between the many she had set up through the decades. This one was not an actual house, but rather a penthouse – and a posh one at that – in Manhattan which she bought using yet another of her many alias back in the 1980s. It was back when she was pretending to be an aide for a Soviet diplomat back in the day and after leaving Department X in the 90s, she decided to keep it.

She plugged the USB drive into her laptop and read the information provided by Isaiah concerning Jack and his dad. There was not a lot to go by, but it seemed all Jack told her checked out. She wondered what would she have done if Jack had been lying to her, but it was a relieve to see that he didn't lie, he was who he claimed he was. She should have done this vetting process from the beginning but when she recruited him to the Secret Avengers, she was neck deep in other preoccupations. Better late than never, she supposed. Now she needed to be extra careful concerning who joined the Secret Avengers, especially when the existence of the group was all but certain to be leaked to the press and the WSC by Emma Frost and her group. She had no doubt about that, not after that failed raid.

She heard Jack arrive. “Come in.” She said and once he appeared, she waited no time. “It is not my style to sugar-coat things, so I am going to jump right into it. Catch” She said and threw the USB drive to him. “I had a friend check on you and your story. It panned out. In that drive there is everything he could find about your dad Hoyt. He is dead, by the way.” She said without any sensibility preamble. In her experience, bad news were best told quickly and straight to the point. “Apparently he had a will and testament and you are named as the sole recipient. Not that he left you a lot, he was kinda a deadbeat. You can check the info for yourself on that laptop.” She added and headed for the kitchen to get herself a drink of water.

@jackdolci

[Deleted]

A grenade going off in his chest. That's what Natasha's words felt like as they came out of her mouth. As she threw the USB drive to him, he caught it with a loose left hand and then just gazed at it. As he did, the young hero's hands began to shake and his wide shocked eyes began to stream silent tears without him not noticing. The drive in his hand felt as if it weighed over 100 pounds and was squeezing his heart to where it might explode. After a few moments, Jack just looked up at Natasha unaware that his cheeks were soaked with tears.

"I see.

Those were the only two words that he could manage to come out of his mouth as he walked over to the computer that was sitting on the table. As Jack sat down he just silently plugged in the drive. The young hero was dead silent, not even his breathing could be heard as he watched the files load up but one look in his bright green eyes showed that behind the silence he was cursing,screaming and emotionally breaking down the more the news sat. Once the files booted up, Jack saw that there were three files to be opened. He saw a Cause of death medical report file, a last will and testament file and a personal note addressed to his son. As he scrolled over the files, Jack decided to read the medical report first.

Jack clicked the file open causing the page to spring up. Jack silently scanned the file until he reached the cause of death. That was when the young man's already fragile mental state snapped like a rubber band that had been stretched just one to many times. Jack just started laughing like a mad man, a laugh he had never unleashed before.

"That's just rich! He leaves us without a word and my mother gets cancer and without his money I can't save her! Guess how the bastard died!? He died of the same cancer my mom did! The same sickness took them both from me!"

Jack's unhinged laughter soon broke down into hard uncontrollable sobbing as the true reality sunk in. He was now truly an orphan. Not only had he lost his mother but now his father was gone as well. He was alone in the world without any family. It took a few minutes but Jack managed to get himself to stop crying so he could wipe his eyes. He then closed the document and did his best to take a few deep breaths. Once his nerves were settled, Jack opened up the Will document next to read it's contents. Natasha was right in the fact that his father truly was a dead beat. He truly didn't leave him much. Among the list of things left to him was one scrapbook of pictures, one acoustic guitar that had been gifted to him by Kimberly Dolci and finally one phantom of the opera Broadway musical figurine. Seeing the list of objects managed to make Jack smile the smallest of smiles.

"She really did have an impact on him after all."

Once Jack was done with the will,  he closed the document and let the mouse hover over the personal letter addressed to him, afraid to click it. He was so afraid in fact that he had to scoot the chair back and run his hands down his face. He then looked over to Natasha, his eyes frantic and showing the broken heart deep within Jack's being.

"Natasha, do you happen to have a printer and maybe an envelop? I don't think I am ready to read my fathers note to me just yet but it doesn't feel right to just throw it away ya know? I wanna just hold onto it until I'm ready. The will says I have to go pick up his stuff at the court house nearby. Is it okay if I go pick it up and bring it back here? I..don't trust myself to be alone right now."

Jack's face as he looked at his team leader and friend was stoic as it often was when he was Wild Card but his eyes showed something new. They were filled with a longing to be away from his loneliness. Normally Jack when upset to this agree would go to his underground base in the harbor and let the pain festure but now that he had his gear, he was afraid that today of all days he would cross the line and finally take a criminal's life.

"Please Natasha.."

NATASHA ROMANOFF

[NATASHA ROMANOFF]

Picking a bottle of water, she leaned against the kitchen counter and just watched Jack's reaction to the news, staring at him with those cold, dead green eyes of hers. Truth be told, she felt a bit sorry for what he must have been going through, but the closest Natasha had for a reference point was when Ivan Petrovich died and she didn't feel any sadness when it happened... at least not right away. In reality, she didn't feel anything. Decades later, she still remembered the day he died and during the many 'Hours of the Wolf' – those moments early at dawn, everyday, when she woke up and memories of everything she has seen and done came to torment her – she remembered how she saw him as a surrogate father. But Natasha had no relatives, she never had. Her earliest memories of herself was as an eleven years old street urchin on the streets of Leningrad, pick-pocketing unsuspecting people to survive... and then Ivan found her and took her to Department X. So, in a sense, Natasha was not an empathetic person.

She knew how Hoyt died, as she had read the files. She agreed that it was a bit of poetic justice: dying from the same illness he himself denied to help Jack and his mother with. Black Widow was also aware that for all his misplaced bravado and over-eagerness, Jack was just a pup and a emotional one at that. She could clearly see how much the only person that was there for him – his mother – meant to him. In a way, she envied the young man. She had never experienced that kind of bond with anyone, much less a mother. During the 1990s, she did traveled to Leningrad, trying to find out about her parents. The trail took on a wild goose chase all across that country, from Leningrad – now called Petrogad – to Kiev to Stalingrad – now called Volgograd. She... the greatest intelligence agent the world has ever seen... couldn't find anything. Not even with Isaiah helping her, not even later, when she had all of SHIELD's massive resources at her disposal. It was as if her parents never existed. Not that she cared... she never knew them anyway.

Another reason to dislike this Hoyt dude was the fact that he seemed to be a Phantom of the Opera fan, by the look of the figurine he left for Jack. Ugh! Natasha hated musicals, especially anything written by Andrew Lloyd Weber! She hated them with a vengeance! And who in the hell bought Broadway action figures?! By the way, what was the deal with Thor and Tony having their own action figures made for them after the Battle of New York and there was none for her?! She was there too, you know?! Was it because she was a woman? Of course it was! Misogynistic pigs! She shook her head to clear it because thinking on how much everyone disrespected her contributions to the Avengers made her grow mad and it might make her go to Stark Tower and kick Tony and the others in their nuts!

“Sure...” She said when he asked for a printer and produced a slick and small one from a computer desk in the far corner of the living room. It was almost as thin as the laptop. Those printers were used by SHIELD operatives in the field when they needed hard copies of computer documents during information raid missions. She of course stole a lot of things from the Triskellion right after the battle. The Nano-mask, the printer, some other cool devices. She knew that she would never be a SHIELD agent again so why not take advantage by taking everything she could get her hands on. Nick didn't like it and bitched and complained to her about it on their helicopter ride after the destruction of the Helicarriers and the Triskellion, but screw him... he wasn't SHIELD anymore either. And possession was nine tenth of the law. But when he asked if she could go to him to pick up the stuff, she hesitated. Did Jack realize that she was a fugitive of the U.N., the WSC and basically every intelligence agency in the world was gunning for her perfect and well rounded ass?

Still, she liked Jack and wished to help him, even with his over-eagerness and his desire to be Punisher 2.0... ugh! How much Natasha hated Frank Castle! The idiot made a mistake of pulling a gun on her and she had a great satisfaction in beating the crap out of him for that. She would have whacked him too if it wasn't for that goody two shoes Daredevil begging her not to. Fool! Natasha didn't like a lot of people, many former SHIELD agents could testify to that... well, at least the ones still alive. Victoria Hand hated her guts and the feeling was mutual, Grant Ward was a dead man walking although he didn't know it yet, but Natasha swore she was going to pull a bullet in his scrofulous head. Carol Danver... bimbo and good riddance to bad rubbish, Melinda May... Black Widow wannabe, John Garreth... dirty old man with bad teeth, they all hated her and she hated them all in return. Anyway, although Jack liked to be all vigilante and shit like that, Natasha actually was fond of him, the same way she was fond of Spiderman and Kitty. The younglings of the Secret Avengers.

“Fine.” She finally answered and then walked to a secret closest, opened it and took out the Nano-mask system, or as she called it, the Widow's Shell because Natasha liked to name everything she had after herself. It made her feel special. The Widow's Shell was a holographic layer that could hide facial features by creating a hologram of another face. She used this device during the Battle of the Triskellion and afterwards she kept it. She put the nano-mask on and stuffed the small energy pack on the back of her jeans. “This shit has been acting up a lot... if it fails on me and I have to fight my way out of it, I am soooo going to beat your ass.” She said, in a way joking, to try and light Jack's mood a bit. “Here it goes.” She turned the Widow's Shell on and all of the sudden her face changed, making her look like a gorgeous woman with hazel eyes that replaced her dead, cold green ones. She picked up a brunette wig and put it on looking herself in the mirror. “Dude, I am hot no matter what disguise I use... it is a gift. Let's go.” She smiled, but it wasn't Natasha's smile, it was someone else's.

@jackdolci

[Deleted]

As Natasha pointed toward the printer, Jack just stood up from his chair and silently walked over to it and picked it. As he carried it over to the laptop he watched Natasha put on her Holographic face and wig from out of the corner of his eye. When he made his way back to the computer he plugged in the printer and quickly printed out the letter. Once it was finished printing, Jack folded it in half and slipped it into his pants pocket without reading it. Once that was done, Jack just crossed his arms as Natasha explained her mask was acting up and that if they had to fight their way out of a situation she would beat his ass. This just made Jack roll his eyes.

"That won't happen. We'll take my bike."

Jack then went silent as Natasha said that it didn't matter what disguise she wore as if to say she would be sexy no matter what. This just caused Jack to roll his eyes at the now Brunette Natasha as he walked out of the door to his motorcycle which had a white visor helmet sitting on the back. Jack just picked the helmet up and tossed it to Natasha before climbing onto his bike.

"I only have one helmet. You should use it, don't want the wind messing with your mask."

As he waited for Natasha to hop on the bike, Jack just leaned over the front a bit. It was true that Natasha made a good brunette but even in his darkest moments there was a certain brunette who just thinking about brought a smile to the young heroes face. It wasn't long until Jack realized that he was probably grinning to himself like an idiot and so he tried to regain his stoic expressionless face.

"Sorry to disappoint you Natasha but there is only one Brunette I fancy."

(OOC: I wasn't sure how far I should have Jack go in this post cause I didn't wanna power play ect.)

bike


NATASHA ROMANOFF

[NATASHA ROMANOFF]

"I only have one helmet. You should use it, don't want the wind messing with your mask."

She shook her head. “Nah, I rather not have a helmet on. It would be even worst for the Widow's Shell if I wear one, so go ahead.” She said. The damn Shell was a piece of crap! She was sure it had to do with the energy cell that activated it, but she hasn't been able to work on it because... well... she haven't had a lot of time for a while now. The last time she used the Nanomask technology was two years ago, when she was at that R.A.G.E. Fundraiser. The damn thing happened to die on her right in front of Kasandra and Strucker and all hell broke loose. She almost died that day. Kasandra messed her up good and if it wasn't for Steve and especially James, she would have bled to death. The only time the damn thing worked was when she used it to infiltrate the Triskellion and crash Alexander Pierce's Insight Launching party, but then again, she used it for a short time back then.

Ugh! She hated having to sit in the back of a bike instead of her riding it, but couldn't be helped. Eventually she might try to steal it, as she has been planning to steal J.A.R.V.I.S. from Stark and she even tried to steal Mjolnir from Thor when he was sleeping, but the damn hammer didn't budge. Stupid hammer! She also wanted to steal Captain America's underwear and put on sale on E-bay just for shits and giggles. Natasha was a kleptomaniac, that she knew and didn't care. It reminded her of her days back in the Soviet Union when she was a street urchin, before she was found by Ivan Petrovich and her whole life changed forever. So, resigned, she hopped on Jack's bike and grew impatient. “Go on, get us there.” She ordered and then had to laugh at Jack's words.

"Sorry to disappoint you Natasha but there is only one Brunette I fancy."

She really had a kick at that! Laughing for a bit, she then took a deep breath to stifle more laughter and then raised an eyebrow, amused. “Oh really? Funny, because I remember that a few months back there was a certain young hero slobbering and trying his darnest to make me show him my boobs... let me think... hmm... Mardi Gras, wasn't it? Didn't that same young hero try the same with Rogue as well? Did he?” She said and laughed again. She couldn't help it. It was so silly what he just said that she had to because... of course she would. This was Natasha Romanoff, she had Eidetic Memory and she remembered everything. “And you make it sound as if I was going to actually be disappointed... come now, Jack. Good for you that yet another one caught your fancy, but you are laying it thick.” She added and shook her head. Men were so funny.

@jackdolci

NOTE: Jazzy, this is your thread, I am just following your lead, so push whatever story it is you want for it.

[Deleted]

Jack just growled under his breath gruffly as Nat not only said she didn't need the helmet but also proceeded to mention the whole marti-gras indecent and then proceed to say that he was laying on his feelings a bit thick. The young hero just decided to ignore the rather increasingly annoying woman as she ordered him to get us to the court house. Jack just slipped his helmet on and then started the bike and with one pump of the throttle took off.

"This is different, she is different. That was then, this is now. If you are going to do nothing but make fun and laugh you can just not talk. I am in no mood for it today Natasha."

As Jack drove down the road, his body tensed up with each punch of the throttle, it was obvious that he held his own life as low consequence and that he was happy risking it. He no longer had any blood ties to the world and even though he wouldn't say it out loud, part of Jack Dolci had died along with both of his parents leaving less of his civilian frame of mind and more of the stoic,quiet and rather vengeful Wild Card behind. Jack just drove in silence up until he had to stop at a stop light right in front of the bank that Shocker had tried to rob earlier that day.

"I was just at that bank earlier today. One Herman Schultz aka the shocker tried to rob it as well as take hostages. I stopped him without a single loss of life. Is the incapability to shut up like a thing with spidey's rouges? I swear it was "bug this" and "bug that". I wanted to punch out his teeth just to shut him up. The police even tried arresting Wild Card, even after he gift wrapped the country bumkin for them."

Once the light turned green, Jack hit the gas once more going silent except for a small sigh. He was beginning to get a stress headache and a muscle ache from being so tense. He was beginning to wish, even though she was being rather irritating, Natasha would give him a neck rub or something but the young hero knew she wasn't that nice or caring towards possibly anyway. As Jack pulled into the parking lot of the court house, he cut off his bike and looked back at Natasha.

"Despite my bad mood, thank you for coming with me."

With that said, Jack got off his bike and removed his helmet, choosing to leave it sitting on his bike. He then walked up to and through the court house doors and up to the secritary who was a rather attractive blonde with her hair tied back in a pony tail and black framed glasses. When she asked what she could do for him, Jack put on a fake performers smile like he had done 1000 times before.

"Yes, I'm looking for the office where I claim enharitence and settle matters of a will?"

Jack's fake smile must have made the blonde quite flustered because she seemed to blush as red as an apple as she explained that he just had to go down the next hallway, take a left,a right and go three doors down. When she was finished explaining, Jack turned to walk away just to have his hand quickly grabbed causing him to look back. The young girl when gazed upon let go of his hand and began to stutter a bit. Once she had herself under control, she asked Jack if he was that famous bass player that played outside the now famous Hal's pizza and at all the local parks for charities. Jack just nodded.

"Yea that's me. Are you a fan?"

The girl just nodded feaverishly and quickly asked for an autograph because she was a big fan. Jack just kept up his performance for the young girls sake. He quickly looked down at her name badge which read Amelia and then looked back up at her.

"I'll gladly sign one for you on the way out. You have been a big help."

Jack then turned away and quickly began walking away down the hall, slowing down a bit as he took the correct turns but stopping just down the hall from the door he needed to be at. He let his smile fade, since he no longer had to fake it, though he could hear high pitched giggling from the desk behind him.

"You coming Nat?"


NATASHA ROMANOFF

[NATASHA ROMANOFF]

She really barked out laughing. Jack surely needed a few pointers on how women really think. “First off, telling a woman that she can't talk is so 1930s, believe me, I lived through those years. Sure way to get yourself scolded by whoever this new 'brunette' is.” She said, still chuckling. She had no idea who the woman was but she believed that if the woman was intelligent, she would probably would not stand for the bit of cheesiness that Jack was demonstrating. Not many women – hell, not many people – like clinginess. Times have changed. Before, women had to have a husband or a boyfriend because society basically demanded it. If they didn't there was something wrong with them. Not anymore. A woman or a man could be quite happy just being alone and doing whatever they wished with whoever they wished without the need to explain themselves to anyone. “Second, it's not gonna happen, your mood notwithstanding. You asked me to come, then you'll have to put up with it.” She added in her deadpan and nonchalant voice.

She scoffed again at the mention of Schultz. Didn't she told him to stop wasting time with two a dime petty thugs? But whatever. “Wow, Shocker. You don't say?” She replied and half-listened to the rest as her attention was drawn more to the CCTV cameras they were passing as they head to court house or wherever it was they were heading to. The Widow's Shell could, in theory, fool any face recognition software that might be used to track her down from CCTV footage, but the operative words in that sentence were 'in theory'. She was not sure how advanced the software has become since her time in SHIELD. And all she was carrying with her was one gun, not the Widow's Bites nor any of her other stuff, so if something did arise, she would have to fight her way out of the mess probably naked and probably dragging Jack's ass all the while. Not an ideal situation. But whatever... she would cross that bridge when she got there.

So she followed him and leaned against a wall, her arms crossed over her chest as he talked to the attendant. As unhinged as Natasha has become since the events of the Triskellion, she was still the Black Widow and all the tons of experience that name brought with it. She was observing everything, memorizing everything from the different escape routes to the chokepoints and the way the security was arranged in the building. That was something that she did even when she didn't mean to do it. It was in her blood. Everything could be a threat. Everyone could be a foe. So she barely heard anything the assistant and Jack were saying. But she couldn't help doing one thing. “Stop flirting or I tell your new girlfriend.” She said and then stared at the assistant. “I'm his grandma. I know, I look hot for my age. Probably all the fiber I consume. You should try it, it does wonders for your constipation.” She said and then grabbed Jack by the arm. “Now, get a move on, sonny boy, we don't have all day and I need to take advantage of the seniors discount in the theater. I am dying to use my new AARP card.” She said smirking at the assistant and dragged Jack away. “Here we are. What are you waiting for?” She asked as they stood in front of a closed door.

@jackdolci

[Deleted]

Jack couldn't help but roll his eyes as Natasha walked up to both him and the receptionist and began to shoot off her mouth, saying things like she was his grandmother and then going on to talk about a fake skin care plan and generally act like an old lady causing him just to sigh and the young girl to giggle as the musician was pulled off toward the office door. As he was being dragged, Jack just pulled himself away from Natasha giving her a playful pout.

"You're not the only one who has a reputation to uphold you know. WC may not like the spotlight but I make it a point to put on a show as Jack Dolci. Mild Mannered alter ego my ass, If I'm gonna hide in plain sight then I'm gonna have fun with it and besides, no woman can compare to who I have my eye on."

As they reached the office door and Natasha asked him if he was ready, the young hero just nodded and walked inside causing an older woman with blonde and grey hair who was wearing a business suit and pants to stand up quickly and press her hands together with a rather..unsettling smile as she stood in front of a large window.

"Ah, You must be the young Jack Dolci I have heard so much about. Your father Holt was my client before his unfortunate passing. I was very sad to hear he had died."

As Jack examined the older woman, who's named seemed to be Amber Nicoles if her name plate was to be belived, he couldn't help but feel uneasy and so he just stood behind the small chair in front of her desk.

"I would rather stand thanks. My lady friend and I don't plan on being here too long."

Amber seemed to take Jack's stand offish attitude in stride, just nodding and stealing a quick glance to the in disguise Natasha before continuing.

"That's perfectly fine as well. Might I say before we get started, both your father and I are rather impressed with what you have made of yourself. When he would come in to discuss legal matters while dealing with his cancer, he would bring in newspapers which had articles about your park performances and your work place where the famous "Pizza Baking Bassist" played."

The more the woman spoke, the more uneasy Jack became. The way she looked at him with her steel like blue eyes made him feel a bit emotionally sick as if she was pumping him with some kind of drug that was making sick causing him to sweat a bit. Seeing this, the woman seemed to smile as she pulled out a box containing the musical figurine, photo album and the guitar and sat it on her desk. She then stood up and walked toward Jack, her eyes taking a more reptilian look to them.

"Believe it or not Jack, I knew your father back in high school along with your mother..Your dear father seemed to have forgotten me though! I was after his affection but it seems young musical Kimmy won out. It seems I won in the end though because what they didn't know was I'm a mutant like the ones you and your work seem to be so fond of!"

The girl then reached out to try and touch Jack but he quickly moved away as she continued to speak.

"Don't you find it strange that both of your parents died of the exact same cause? That was me, both your mother and father. You see young Jack, that's my gift! I am able to plant the seeds of sickness in others by sacrificing some of my own life force. I go by the name Plague. I couldn't have your father and now nobody can! Lucky for your female friend I can only focus on one person at a time and she's not important.

Jack could feel nothing but anger behind the sickness he was feeling as the information sunk it. Due to the woman focusing so hard on him however, he felt like he was gonna hurl. All he could managed to do was look bat at Natasha.

"Natasha..Window!"

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(PLOT TWIST DUN DUN DUN! PS. if this is to far out of left field, pm me and let me know and I'll change it.)

[NATASHA ROMANOFF]

“...no woman can compare to who I have my eye on."

The last part of his statement made Natasha just stare at him. She didn't even laugh as she usually did, but just stared at him with a kind of 'seriously?' look on her eyes. That was the most cliched thing to say. It was one thing to fancy someone and even fall in love with that someone, but there was another thing to completely shatter reality or act so corny. Especially when people were wishy-washy about things. Today something might feel or be seen as the most perfect thing that have ever existed and then tomorrow that opinion changes when another shinny new thing comes along. It was human nature. To say something like that was one thing – people love to say things like that just to make themselves feel good – but it was a completely different thing when reality hits.

Natasha knew plenty of men and women that had what they considered 'someone who had no equal', until a better one came along, then that new one becomes the new 'someone who had no equal'. “Dude, you really need a few pointers on what make women tick. Stuff like that might have worked back in the 1950s, all very 'Casablanca', but today... women are smarter and more assertive than that.” And she knew, she lived through that era. “You could be loyal to a person, that is a very commendable trait, but laying it so thick comes across as silly. Looking or admiring other people is natural and everyone, yes, including myself, have someone that they could be compared to. You seem to forget that I have seen you trying your moves on quite a few 'no one can compare to them' women before.” And this time she did chuckle. Men...

They entered the room and immediately her Widow's senses began to tingle. Why not? Why did Spiderman be the only one with tingling senses? She can have tingling senses too if she wanted to! Whatever! Anyway, something was odd and it wasn't due to any super ability or anything... in her case it was the many decades of experience on the field. There were signs all over the place: The woman before them smiled way too much, especially when she was supposed to be just a government bureaucrat. Also, the way she said she was very sad but nothing about her conveyed sadness at all. Natasha moved to a corner and leaned against a wall, her arms crossed over her plentiful chest but already on the ready to draw her gun if necessary. At this junction of the Black Widow's life, she was more 'shoot first and forget asking questions, then shoot again just in case' mode. When the women glanced at her, Natasha just kept her cold eyes on her. Subtlety, she began to examine the room. There was nothing that screamed 'ambush' on it, so it was not as if there were a chance of SHIELD or HYDRA to pop up and try to take her down. No. The atmosphere was different. Yep... something was not right.

She notice Jack sweating, especially when they were in an air conditioned room and it was far from warm. After that, everything was a blur...

When Jack shouted to Nat about the window, she ignored it. She just grabbed Jack by the arm and pulled him to her, placing him behind her. Natasha's physiology, thanks to the Erksine Formula, could withstand illness and other malaise. In essence, she could not get sick. Hence whatever the hell the woman was trying to do – and whatever the hell she did to Jack's parents – would not work with the sexy redhead bombshell... even though... eh... she was a brunette on this occasion but that was splitting hairs. See what she did there? Splitting hairs? Get it? Whatever. As she placed Jack behind her, she drew her gun out and shot the woman in the leg. Usually she would have shoot her in the head and let it be done with, but she believed that Jack wanted answers and killing the woman would make that a tad difficult.

Now for the difficult part. She knew that people heard the shot and it was a matter of time before security guards, cops and even SHIELD would arrive on the scene like Thor's hammer. Damn Jack! She told him! She told him she was in no mood to start running from HYDRA or SHIELD! She so wanted to take out her anger on the mutant that attacked him, but again... Jack might want answers and unless he could talk to the dead, she dying would not work. She locked the door and pushed a heavy desk against it. That would hold anyone for a short time... and by short, she meant short. “Lady, you screwed up. Your little hocus pocus shit don't work on me because... I mean, look at me! I am built like a sexy tank. Although I can't compare to another brunette, or so I am told. Isn't that cheesy? Men, I tell you... ain't them silly? You of all people have to agree, right?” She said in that always insolent voice of hers because... of course she would! She pointed the gun at the woman's head and removed her wig and the Widow's Shell. There was no point anymore for the disguise. Damn it Jack! “So try anything else and you will be joining his parents in the afterlife.” She kept Jack behind her and then spoke to him over her shoulder. “If you want to ask her something, now is your chance, because in about... oh... nine minutes this place is going to be crawling with men and women with guns. Oh and by the way, congratulation Pizza Bassist guy or whatever... you are now a fugitive. Good job.” She said and rolled her eyes. Great... just great...

@jackdolci

[Deleted]

A yank,a gunshot and a scream. Those were the three things that seemed to set the final act in motion. As Natasha began to lecture the evil mutant Plague about how she had screwed up and then began to talk about her own body being a tank his mind began to clear. What ever she was doing to him had began to fade as she lost focus. As Nat told him to go ahead and ask his questions because they had a limited time, Jack just stood up and walked toward Amber who looked a bit panicked.

"We have more time then that. She fell into her own trap, these offices have built in recorders in the desk because of legal reasons and knowing how showy this bitch is, she forgot to turn hers off. Am I right Amber?"

As Amber rushed toward her desk drawer where the recorder was installed, Jack quickly broke into a run and leaped over the desk and kicked the woman in the face knocking her back with a broken nose. Once she was flat on her back, Jack stood over her with a fire in his eyes. He was finally staring down the person who had set his story in motion. To add insult to the woman's injury, Jack took both of his feet and stomped as hard as he could on both of the woman's hands crushing them with a sickening crunch. He then grabbed her by her top and picked her up and looked her in her tear filled eyes.

"Let's see you focus on your sickening power with a bullet in the leg and two shattered hands. I don't care what twisted reason you have for killing my family. I don't care if it was jealousy or lust or just because you wanted too. All I care about right here and right now is that you pay. Lucky for me you just confessed to two counts of murder and lucky for you that my mother didn't raise a killer!"

Jack then slammed Amber's head against the flat part of her desk knocking her out. He then reached into the desk drawer with the recorder machine and popped out the tape for the meeting. To finish things off he grabbed Amber's desk chair and rolled it over to the corner of the room where the servailence  camera was and stood on it. He then popped out the disk for the video that had been recording and hopped down.

"I can handle things here. If you aren't here then it will look like self defense and that she set a trap for me to finish off a triple killing. Just leave me your gun so it looks like I'm the one who shot her. I'll give the cops the tape to her confessing and she'll go away hopefully forever and they will count this as a citizen's arrest. To the police I'm just a feeble handicapped orphan."

Jack then took the video disk and snapped it in half and slipped it into his pocket before looking on the wall at the clock with a happy sigh before tossing Natasha his keys before grabbing the box of his now new things.

"You aren't keeping my bike and I expect the tank to be filled up."

Jack then walked out of the office and toward the secretaries desk where the young girl was hiding and shaking. Jack peeked over and smiled.

"It's okay, it's over. Your boss attacked us. Apparently she's wanted for murder and I accidently caught her. I have the confession right here."

Jack then held up the tape with a smile causing the girl to squeal with excitement as the police sirins got closer.

[NATASHA ROMANOFF]

“Lucky for me you just confessed to two counts of murder and lucky for you that my mother didn't raise a killer!"

Natasha watched all this with amused eyes. Maybe mama Dolci didn't raise a killer, but what he did in a way was even worst. It was kind of sadistic. Natasha would have just shoot her and get it over with. She never understood the whole concept of... sure... do not kill the bad guys but maim them so bad that they would be crippled forever. Somehow that was fine, but just putting them out of their misery was bad... weird world. Natasha never had shown sadism. As said, she would just shoot her enemies in the head, quick and painless, and be done with it. But purposely going for maiming someone... not really. She had, of course, but mostly in a fight when she had no other choices, but when in need to choose between breaking someone's bones or just shoot them in the face, she always went for the latter. This was all very amusing, but the fact remained that soon they were going to be trapped and that this was exactly what she wanted to avoid. She sighed and continued to listen to Jack until he revealed his 'plan'.

“Right... and pray tell me how are you going to explain carrying an unregistered gun into a government building, huh?” The redhead asked sardonically when Jack explained. She presented the gun – one of her pride and joy – to him with an insolent look. “Son, first this is a custom made Sig Sauer with a modified trigger and a reinforced barrel. The trigger itself is very hard to pull because I modified the crap out of it in order to not break it when I shoot. In essence, I doubt you or them could pull it easily, much less shoot with any accuracy with it.” She also showed him that there was no number on the barrel and that the gun was heavier than a normal gun. “They don't make or sell these puppies in any 'Mom's and Pop's Gun Store'. Second, there are only two guns like this one and I am not about to lose this one. Third, even though it is unregistered because, of course it is, this gun could be trace back to me because... hello!... you seem to forget that footage you have in your hands. It shows not only me shooting her, but also me removing the Widow's Shell. Yeah... Not a great plan.” Self defense or not, once they determined that the gun basically was one of the kind and unregistered, Jack was going to share a cell with the virus woman or whatever the hell her name was. Once again Natasha realized that for all his goodness of heart, his good intentions, and his skills, Jack was still a very naive young man.

She pulled him to the window and then continued. “Even if... and it is a massively big IF... you manage to convince them to not throw your ass on a dungeon, once SHIELD – and by default HYDRA – sees me in that footage, they are going to put two and two together and they will hold you for a very deliciously painful interrogation. Frankly, I can't afford that.” Jack knew enough information about the Secret Avengers and some of their plans. She really could not afford him being interrogated. No matter how much he would like to act the tough hero, no one could hold on for forever. He would crack and that was not something she was going to risk. But then he walked to the reception area and Natasha had to sigh and count to ten, trying very hard to control her anger at the whole 'hero' and 'fangirling' crap! Analyzing the situation, she moved to the unconscious body of Virus or Plague or whatever and tied her up with a phone cord, then went outside and pointed her gun at the receptionist and others in the room. Remember, she no longer was wearing the Widow's Shell, so everyone would see a redhead woman coming out of the room and most probably recognize her for who she was. Great... just great!

She pulled Jack and wrapped her arms around his neck, pointing the gun. “This is a kidnapping. I am kidnapping his bass playing ass and taking all his valuables, which frankly are not much but whatever... beggars can't be choosers. I'm also making him my personal slave and force him to do my nails and wash my undies every day.” She sure as hell was hammering up but Natasha loved to act the villain. In movies they seemed to have the most fun. “Everyone on the floor NOW or I start ventilating some asses! I already shoot that hot and sexy brunette that arrived with him. A pity, she was gorgeous.” Of course she would say that. Anyway, Natasha then took the disk from Jack hands and placed it on the floor beside the 'fangirling' receptionist. “He didn't catch crap. I shot your boss because she was looking at me the wrong way. I will start shooting all of you and whathavenot if you don't do what I said.” She was trying to pin the whole thing on herself and spare Jack. The video will show that she was the one who shot Plague, but Jack should have turned the camera off before he went all Rambo on the woman's hands... Amateurs! Still, she hoped the attention would fall on her and maybe Jack was not implicated. She really did not want him to live the life of a fugitive and he already was in trouble enough just by being associated to her. Still, she was not sure it would work, but she was out of other ideas.

The receptionist took the disk and looked up. “Who are you?”

Who... who... who was HER? How dare this bimbo! Natasha oughta shoot her just for that! But of course, everyone was all about Steve and Tony and Thor and even Clint... CLINT! But sure, forget the woman in the team! “It doesn't matter who I am!” She barked, sounding very WWE... which she was sure would make Peter Parker proud, as he seemed to be a big fan of wrestling... or 'wrasslin' as some Americans seemed to pronounce it. Then she dragged Jack with her. “Come, loverboy, you and I shall take a nice trip.” Damn you, Jack! What is it with your desire too look very heroic? You think that just saying 'it was self defense' and have fangirl fools swooning would protect you from the shit coming down? Amateurs! She thought and basically said to him with her eyes, angry as all hell, no longer in the mood for games. This was not going to play out well, she knew it.

@jackdolci

NOTE: Sorry for too much dialogue. 

[Deleted]

Jack couldn't help but groan with anger and frustration as Natasha began to list off the mistakes that he had made during his attempt to get justice for his family. Once she was finished, all Jack could think about was that the woman who made him an orphan was going to walk free and clear with just a hospital visit! This pissed Jack off even more then what was about to happen next. It wasn't long until Natasha entered the room and began waving her gun around and started acting like a movie bad guy as she pulled him close.

Jack just listened silently as Natasha hammed things up, threatening people and framing things as a kidnapping saying that he was gonna be her slave and some such. Once she forced him outside and toward his bike, Jack hooked his new belongings onto the back using bungy cables like he often did pizza's when he did deliveries. He then grabbed his keys and got onto his bike, growling with frustration. As he revved up his bike, he just let out a loud scream.

"I wish I was like you right now Natasha. I wish I was capable of taking a life without a thought. I wish I could have crushed her wind pipe under my boot. She deserves it and now she's gonna get off scott free. Oh my none existent god!"

Once Natasha had time to get on the bike, Jack took off at top speed down the road. It wouldn't be long until the police were called in to begin chasing them. As he drove, a few tears of frustration made his eyes water.

"They'll be after you soon. Want me to find a secluded place to gear up? What's the call?"


(sorry it's so short)

[NATASHA ROMANOFF]

After the performance, they reached the motorcycle and she could see that Jack was frustrated. She listened to him as they took off and then, with that cold voice of hers, she spoke. “No you don't. You should never want to be like me. I was conditioned to be how I am and it is not a nice place. Once you cross the threshold, there is not turning back.” She said to him. She remembered the first time she was ordered by Department X to take a life. It was during a training session when she was just a teenager. She had a sparring match with another candidate for the Black Widow Program and after defeating her easily, the instructor ordered Natalya – her real name – to finish her off... and she did, without even blinking. She became the Black Widow because she defeated every other candidate for the position. Then there was the war and all the atrocities she witnessed during those five years of conflict.

There was a lot of red in her ledger. Her bill was ever growing and she was not sure how she would ever be able to pay it...

“She is not getting off. The video of her using her powers on us and what she said is there. I tied her up and placed a note warning the officers to handle with care, because of her abilities. That should be enough. Although, if you wished me to put a bullet in her head, I would have done so.” She said so nonchalantly that even to herself it sounded cold. But then she remembered something he did. “By the way... you were not seeking justice, you were sadistic. That is not a trait you should cultivate. For all your talk about not taking a life, at least a bullet in the head is quick and painless... you were out to hurt and maim...” She scolded him. The one thing that allowed Natasha to like Jack was his innocent, almost naive outlook in life. The last thing she wanted was for him to turn into a psychopath. That would be detrimental to the mission and Natasha would not allow it. Violence sometimes was needed, but what he did border on sadism.

"They'll be after you soon. Want me to find a secluded place to gear up? What's the call?"

She actually scoffed at that. “Dude, they have been after me for two and a half years now. I'll be fine.” She said, meaning it. Ever since the Battle of the Triskellion she had been on the run, being shot at, almost killed by Loki twice, almost killed by Kasandra, destroying not only a Quinjet that got uppity with her, but also blowing up the eight floor of SHIELD HQ and wanted for everything that happened, whether she had done it or not. She did hope, though, that the whole 'kidnapping' thing worked and they focus on her and not on Jack. It could happen. She did enter posing as someone else and then revealed herself. There was the problem of the video but she knew how to deal with that. Once she get back to the safehouse she would hack into the records and see if she could alter the video to delete parts of it, mostly the parts that incriminated Jack. That way he could continue to live his secret identity without fear of also becoming a fugitive just like herself and Steve were. The one good thing, though, was that he was not involved in the Hellfire Club raid, so at the very least he was not associated with those who did carry it out.

“The call is for you to lay low and see where all this will lead. Do not go and be all Wildcard and shit! Let me see if I can alter their records to pull any focus on you to me.” She said and sighed. “Go to Safehouse Alpha.” She ordered. Safehouse Alpha was the prime hideout she had and her favorite... her Widow's Ranch as she called it. She could not wait to see her cow again!

@jackdolci