Arc Six. Chapter One Hundred Seventy-Six. War Widow

Captain America had hitched a ride with Natasha and Fury up to the last Helicarrier and they were busy fighting their way through the corridors. Natasha got a nod from Flash as she became Widow, but both Fury and Steve stared at her as the black symbskin assimilated her own web pistols. She neglected the shoulder cannons though, preferring instead custom-built web launchers based on the Goblin wrist launchers Norman had used.

With the swapping of symbiotes, Natasha could make small charged bolts of webbing, which she liked to call her Widows bite, and as she stunned targets Fury or Webb followed and made sure they were dead.

They had two targets. Cap and Webb were heading to the gun control room, to shut down the carrier's main weapons system while Widow and Fury headed to the control centre. Even if one team failed the other could pick up the slack and stop the carrier from firing.

This would be a thankless mission. Nobody on board would be friendly and anyone who said otherwise was lying. Fury doubted that Hydra would place anyone without a one hundred per cent guaranteed proven loyalty abroad such an important piece of their plan and as they left Pierce to staff the triskelion, all it did was make their jobs easier.

Blue energy flared down the corridors, and Fury and Natasha killed their way up the corridors. Even barricades provided no obstacle and Widow sheathed herself in light reflective camouflage and crept up the walls and dropped down on them.

Fury was glad for once the woman was on his side, but as she watched her dance and kill he figured that even then it was now Venom's side. She had switched loyalties. As long as Parker played ball things would be fine, as he fired a round into the back of the head of a stunned agent, he knew he would have to suffer him stealing all his good agents. He hadn't failed to notice the small grin Sharon gave him, or the disproving glare from Maria either, although she was harder, as she looked at everyone like that.

Fury knew Natasha wasn't exactly a good fit with Shield, and if he was honest once Hydra showed up she probably would have been at the top of his list for agents who defected, so at least Parker had his uses there. What Fury wasn't looking forward to what was waiting for them in the control room. So far they had encountered low skill soldiers. Sure they had the Hydra pulse weapons that he had Osborn develop but that was it. Natasha was taking them apart with apparent ease and it didn't sit right with Fury. More was coming, War Machine could be the least of their problems if Flash or Octavious decided to switch sides.

As they approached the last door with no apparent resistance, Nick knew it was a trap. As Natasha crouched down at the side, pistol ready Fury took the other and feeling the handle sprang it open. Widow rolled into the room and at once lifted her gun.

"So good of you to join us, Nicholas and friend." Jasper Sitwell had a gun pointed at the head of Coulson, and other similarly armed agents had Maria Hill and Sharon Carter, bound and kneeling, with pistols to their heads.

"With Director Pierce dead, I was given authority to take over the plan. Of course, I'm not stupid enough to draw attention to myself and careful enough to make sure your friends here was actually dead before moving on with stage two. Now director, the guns. Please. I won't ask twice." and he pulled the hammer back on the pistol to emphasise his point.

Fury hesitated but held up his hands, letting the gun slip over his thumb. An agent, dressed in the black body armour stepped forwards while another kept a rifle trained on the pair, taking their guns they motioned to them to join the group and as they knelt they were zip-tied and bound like the rest.

"You know, for a moment there I thought you were going to actually let me kill them." There was a moment where he pressed the gun to the back of Clint's head and pursed his lips, "But I also have orders not to. You see, you are now a wanted man Direc, ah, Ex-Director Fury. Murdering poor Alexander to further your own goals. The creation of a supergroup with orders to take over Shield by any means necessary. Very devious Nicholas, and please, miss, remove the mask, there will be no second chances."

Widow grabbed the front of her face and pulled backwards, letting the symbskin slide back, "Ah, Ms Romanov, so glad of you to join us. Pity, I would have preferred you to be more sympathetic to our cause, with your roots but oh well. Just another nail in Nicholas's coffin, Imagine hiring a Russian spy to work in his intelligence agency and then using her to trap a teenager. Even I feel a little sick, Nicholas." Pointing the gun at Sharon, he fired once and a dot of dark red appeared on her forehead. A look of shock crossed Fury's face as the agent slumped forward, blood pooling around her head. "And killing the niece of Peggy Carter as well, tut-tut," before he turned the pistol and fired at Natasha as well. The bullet struck her on the forehead and her eyes widened as she slumped forwards.

"You should not have done that," Nick spat at Sitwell, who was grinning as smoke drifted lazily from the gun's barrel.

Natasha's body twitched, and the black uniform she was wearing bubbled and writhed on her back. "Like I said,'' and before he could finish the black uniform sprang up, spinning in a writhing mass of tendrils and blades, it spun around the room, landing on each black-clad agent in turn, slicing and stabbing with blades and talons, screeching and roaring in anger. In the large room, there was no way for any of the Hydra agents to fire their energy weapons without hitting a control panel and bullets flew as they tried to stop the creature.

To no avail, Widow ran amok, leaping from person to person twisting and tearing at them like an angry mass of fury and hatred. Only Sitwell remained, sitting on the floor in a corner the gun pointing at the mass as it flopped onto the floor and began to move towards him,

"Stay away," he shouted and fired into the mass. As a face appeared, it spat the bullets out and approached, letting small tendrils latch onto his foot. As he screamed and tried to kick Widow away, she latched on more and began to crawl her way up his leg. He pulled at the symbiote but she was too strong, prising his hands free as she assimilated herself onto him, his face was stuck in a rictus scream as she wrapped herself around his head and squeezed, blood pouring from his eyes and mouth as his skull was compressed. Wailing in tortured agony, the group watched as a huge tendril spike its way into his forehead and as the blood pooled down his face Widow hissed at them

"peesh, shaave, peesh"

Maria sobbed as the creature begged them to save Natasha, and she cradled Sharon, shaking as she closed her eyes, but Fury shook his head. "If you can't then I'm sorry but we can't," and the creature screeched in agony,

"Shave shave shave shave,"

Maria shook her head, "we can't, you need a doctor." Widow screeched at her and the bloody corpse of Sitwell marched over to the control panel and began to pour the black symbiote into its terminal.

"What, what is it doing?" she asked, but Fury shrugged,

"Do I look like an expert on alien goop, Hill?" and she just scowled at him.

The Helicarrier shuddered and a few systems powered down, "What the hell?" and Fury lept over the dead bodies and began to cut his agents free, grabbing a knife from the vest of a dead body.

"Hill, you worked these systems, what's happened?" and as she wiped the tears from her eyes she stood and leaned over to check, typing in a few commands. She paused to stare at her shaking hands, stained with the blood of her friend but she clenched her fists and began to access systems again.

"Uh, whatever it is doing it's draining power, we're going down, not fatal down but still down. Good news though, weapon systems are offline." The group covered their faces as the War Machine crashed through the armoured glass of the cockpit. Even though he knew it was pointless Fury grabbed a gun and pointed it at Brock.

Sitwell shuddered and as Widow pooled herself at the top of his head his eyes went wide one last time and she spun herself out, wrapping like a massive band around his skull and with a sickening crunch it caved and his body slumped on the ground.

Widow flopped off of him and over to Natasha, grabbing her and sliding her over to the still armour. As a tendril extruded the front slid apart and the blue-lipped body of Rumlow slid forwards and crashed on the deck, his ears blackened from exposure. Hoisting Natasha up, Widow pulled her into the armour, sealing it behind them and Fury and the rest watched as the armour powered on with a hiss and the normal white eye lights faded and became black.

"We are War Widow," came out from the speakers.

"Uh, Natasha?" Fury asked,

"This, this is weird, yes, and, uh, no. I'm fine, I'm fine," and the armour fell to one knee. "Hey, who turned out the lights?" and then the suit was silent.

"Emergency Protocols Engaged. Life Support Systems Are Now In Effect." sounded out over the speakers.

"Please Assess The Pilot For Critical Injuries."

"Warning, Critical Neurological Trauma Detected. Backup Systems Engaging."

"Neural Mapping In Progress. In Progress. Neural Mapping Complete."

"For the Safety Of The Pilot, Suspended Animation Protocols Are Now In Effect."

Even as Fury came over and tapped on the outside of the suit there was no response. As he looked over at the others, busy securing the room they shrugged. No one had any clue as to what just happened or any more of an idea that Fury did.

Fury flipped over Rumlow and he knew he was definitely dead. His eyes were already clouded over and his face was frozen in a death grimace. Just to be sure though he put one bullet in his forehead and two in his chest.

While Fury was busy, Coulson was making sure the others were just as dead as well as barricading the door. Hydra agents were dumped in front of it and he carefully moved Sharon over and covered her face with his jacket. As he looked around the room at all the death, at the people he once called his friends he knew that it was time to go on the offensive.

Hydra had managed to infiltrate and take over most of Shields systems, and if Venom hadn't have interfered, hadn't sent out a distress call, then they would all be dead right now. Hydra needed to be torn out by the roots, and as an Agent of Shield, Coulson knew that would be impossible. Fury and the rest, if they stayed together needed to go hunting, not just for Sharon, but for every agent who died today.

Maria had already begun to take control of the helicarrier and slow their descent. She cast an eye over the slumped Coulson as he ran a hand over his face and as she took a deep breath she got back to work making sure no one else in the room died. One hand shook and she clenched it into a fist. She would make them pay, even if she had to fuck that Parker kid, she would get what she needed and every one of those Hydra bastards would pay.

"Uh, and can someone get Stark in here to let me know what the hell that was. Oh and find out if Cap and Flash are okay, see if we can get in contact with the weapons control room."