43 Chapter 43: Meeting the Black Widow

"Aww man, the stock price is down again! Damn that Stark!" Domingo complained while reading his newspaper. A friend suggested he buys some stock in it when the genius playboy is missing. 

He gets some profit when news comes out that the playboy is back, but that bastard shuts down the number one department in his company, making the stock price drop drastically.

"Don't worry about it man, just hold it for about …a month, even he couldn't stand to bleed this much. I'm sure he'll come out with something new." Kai tries to comfort his friend. "Just hold it for now. Trust me"

"I'll trust you for now. How far do you think it's gonna go?" 

"More than 50 points." 

Domingo sighs at this. He wants to complain more, but he knows Kai has a lot more stock riding than him. 

"Luckily I got into some other stock that already gives me profit. So it doesn't matter much", he thought in his heart. He's been following Kai in the stock market where his savings and assets have grown explosively. This was his first real loss, but it didn't matter much. 

Kai comes to Domingo's restaurant to get lunch. It couldn't be counted as lunch anymore when he came, early dinner maybe. He's been too busy with the clinic recently because of some gang unrest.

"Here, your crab burger." Domingo passes a paper bag to Kai. "2 large K.P as usual, with a side of fries, no soda"

Satisfied, he asks "The new branch will be open soon, right?" He got a Krabby patty recipe from the trading site and he gave it to his friend a few months ago. Now, Domingo's restaurant is very popular among New Yorkers, even got interviewed by some news channels. 

"Yes, at Queens. " Domingo is grateful for that. He was just an owner of a crappy restaurant before he met him. Now his life has been turned upside down. 

He tried to force Kai to take some of the restaurant shares as a thank you, but Kai adamantly rejected them." If you get the money, just donate it to some orphanage or sponsor some poor kids " This is what Kai said to him at the time.

Kai said goodbye to the now bald brother, which made him 2 times scarier than before, then he returned to the clinic. He continues his work as usual. 

There are a lot of patients today. Some just come to bother him while wearing a very low-cut dress, heavy makeup, and so on, trying to seduce him."Doctor, my chest feels a little weird" said a 30-years old still pretty housewife while opening her clothes.  But he treated all the clients professionally. He throws her away after doing only a medical checkup on her. 

"Let's see, some of your ribs are fractured, and your eyes.." In front of him is a young boy aged 11. The boy has great trauma all over his body, showing signs of abuse. Next to the boy is his mother, who also shows signs of being abused. He tries to offer his help, but the mother rejects him. 

"He'll change, I swear!! Don't do anything doctor, please!" The woman is begging for her husband so that Kai won't report her situation to the police. She grabs her son and rushes away from the clinic after Kai has finished treating him.

"Seems serious, but it's a daily routine in Hell's kitchen " His eyes the road the woman took, revealing a slightly ruthless glint only for a second before it turns to normal. Cases of domestic abuse are rising. The economy is trying for the people right now. In 2008, not only the Stark industry was hit hard, but also the real estate market. With people's lives getting harder, this situation becomes a normal occurrence.

Putting the matter to the back of his mind, he continued the clinic normally. Until there is an unusual client who comes in when it's almost closing time at the store. 

A woman with scarlet hair and a beautiful face walks in. She is wearing a white t-shirt and a jean bottom, and she is carrying a folded brown jacket in her arm. He assumed she took it off before coming into the consulting room. After all, the clinic is quite warm compared to the early autumn breeze outside. 

"Miss… Natalie Rushman, so what do you come in for today?" He flips the record of his new patients. He already knows who she is when she walks in, but he still needs to give her a checkup. It is in his oath as a doctor.

"Cough and light fever," Natasha answered. "So far the clinic seems just like a normal clinic. Did Coulson mess with me?" She thought while observing the surroundings. Coulson told her before, that the doctor is skillful at fighting. Of course, Phil didn't tell her about Kai fighting the vampires, as the matter is highly confidential.

Natasha is vigilant, but her face didn't change one bit. She looks like a normal woman going to a clinic for a checkup. Kai did her examination normally. Taking her temperature, asking about her symptoms, checking her breathing using a stethoscope, all normal stuff. 

" You don't have much of a fever, and your throat is not swollen, do you still need medication for this?" Kai said. 

She asked for the meds, to which he complied. While he is finishing up, he asks her who is getting ready to leave. "Do you want a paper slip to get out of work tomorrow? I don't think an agent could get out using normal slip, but give it a shot." 

The atmosphere became silent. Natasha is dumbfounded as to how she got caught, but before she could do anything to cover up, Coulson walks into the consultation room. 

" How did you know, Kai? " Phil asks him after getting his text. Natasha is also curious about it. Kai shrugged his shoulders and said." I didn't, I made a gamble for it, if I text and you come in, then she is an agent. If not, then maybe a spy". 

Natasha cuts in "Even if you gamble about it, I don't think you could know about me? Did Coulson tell you before this? Did you two plan it out?". She didn't believe it, there was nothing wrong with her behavior. So how could he know? 

"Amuse me please," Phil said, ignoring the accusation. He enjoys it when Kai shows off his observation like he did multiple times when they drink together. Kai sighs and explains himself. "Well for starters, you use fake documents. It didn't matter much to me as a lot of people here used such things for medical attention. "

"When you walk into the room, you quickly scan for possible exits, it's a thing only trained people would do." 

"Your body tenses up a bit when I'm behind you, signaling that you have some of my information, or maybe someone tells you about me. And it's also a sign for agents as they didn't want any unknown variable gone from their eyes" 

" I guess you're looking for possible weapons, as your eyes keep shifting to my tools. That's it" He didn't say his last sentence that is " I already known who the Black Widow is. I am a fan"

Natasha asked again, not satisfied. She is trained by the red room and is the top assassin there, it's not possible he sees that many clues. " How do you know I'm Coulson's agent then?" 

"I told you, I didn't. I texted him if you're his agent, then he will come in. If not, then he'll text me back asking what is going on. When he enters, I know at the moment." 

Phil nodded, even when he knew he was being played by Kai. "How are you sure I'll come in?" He's also curious about it. 

"If you are out there and you didn't, do you think I'll give you my drinks later?" Kai is finishing up his work. 

Phil is a bit embarrassed when he is seen right through. He knows Kai holds a grudge, so he comes to the clinic after some hesitation. "After all, this isn't a mission she needs to complete. "

Kai turns to Natasha," Newbie, you are joining us. Help me grab a bag from the reception, I'm gonna clean up and close the clinic". He gave an order instead of a request. 

Natasha wants to reject them at first, but then she becomes curious about the doctor. She thought " I didn't fail entirely. He didn't know that I'm an assassin right?" It's hard to admit, but her ego is bruised a little bit. 

"Too bad about the break," Phil said grinning. He and Natasha got kicked out of the room as Kai wanted to sanitize it. "I didn't fail, instead you made me fail. So it didn't count", Natasha retaliates back. 

Kai goes back home while being followed by the duo. He just lets Natasha carry the bag, and treats her like a complete intern. Phil was very amused by this. 

"There's someone in this world that treats the notorious Black Widow like a newbie." He couldn't hold in his chuckle at times. Natasha would glare at him every time he slips. 

On their way, a white cat strolls toward Kai. He pets the cat and says " Go play". The cat meows and runs to the alley. The duo didn't think much of his action. They reached his home after 5 minutes of walking.

"Skye, are you still up?"Kai said loudly after entering the house. But there's no reply. He turned to Natasha and said" She's already asleep… I think. Just put the bag in front of the room. " 

" What is it? ", she then checks the bag with Kai's permission, only to find a cute stuffed dragon inside. It's a dragon from the movie 'How to train your dragon'.

" Did your daughter ask for this? " she asks. She thought that he might have a little daughter. Never would she have thought she's 17 years old this year. 

"She didn't ask though, it's just a present,". It's a prop to tease his kid. She cried while watching the movie with him, so he didn't let this opportunity go. 

Natasha changed her initial impression of Kai a little bit and added a loving father to the list. Phil has a weird expression though as he already met Skye a few times. It seems like that kid's misery is still ongoing. 

At the house, there's a glass door trophy cabinet filled with outstanding achievement certificates and trophies from various competitions that Skye has won. It's not that she is vying for the prizes, but because Kai urges her to do her best. " If you win the XX championship, then I will let go of the jello punishment for a week." He said to motivate her. As a result, the cabinet is filled.

There's also another cabinet for watches. "Hey, you got some new ones." Phil is opening the cabinet door and changes his watch to one of the displayed watches. 

Natasha is a little shocked at Phil's shameless behavior. The other party notices it and says "Don't get me wrong, he asks me to do this. If by any chance I ask for his permission again, then I will be banned."

Kai is restoring old watches in his spare time. His hobby can improve his hand coordination and process in dealing with delicate procedures. It is great training for a doctor. He ends up with a lot of these watches, so he's been giving them away. Domingo, Lana, Nina, and Skye all have at least one.

Already finished changing his clothes and cleaning up, Kai spoke from behind the duo, shocking them as his footprint had no sound. "Good eyes Phil." What the agent picked is a 1985 Rolex, Submariner Date model. It can be sold at 20,000 dollars for a used one.  "Newbie, you pick one too", he said ignoring the battle pose the duo currently has.

Phil is surprised inwardly. He did a great job of not letting it show in his expression. Kai only gives the watches to his close friends. " So why does he give one to her? Is he interested in her?" Ridiculous thought swirls in his mind. He changes the topic once the Black Widow picks up her watch without any extra thought in her mind. 

"Let's get to the good stuff quickly," Phil said. He didn't have much time in New York, so he didn't want to waste it. 

"Be patient will ya," Kai takes out several bottles of rare liquor he got from the trading site. There's some Eastern theme liquor, some interstellar, some made from monster plants, and so on.  

He pours out some drinks for Natasha and Phil. "Kehhhh, that's some good stuff", Phil exclaimed. Even Natasha had to admit that some good alcohol. And she is from Russia. Her standard for it is relatively high. 

"Newbie, are you gonna let me continue to call you newbie, or are you gonna tell me your real name now?" Kai said after a few drinks. The mood around the table is very comfortable now. 

"How do you know Natalie is not my real name?" she said flirtatiously. A few drinks have already lowered her initial inhibitions. After all, this is not some ordinary drink. 

"Please. No agent would use their real name in a mission." Kai said mockingly. She laughs a bit and says, "Natasha, my name is Natasha". 

"Nice to meet you Natasha", he then poured some more drink into her glass. They talked and laughed all night. " So how did you guys meet?" She asks as she is curious about the men's relationship.

" Kai helps Shield in an incident before. We owe him a favor." 

"Yeah, then he used that as an excuse to come drink any chance he gets!" Kai teasingly mocked the agent.

A little drunk, Phil shares the story of what Kai did with his favor. "A while back, when his daughter just entered school, the headmaster blamed her for a bullying case. "

"Kai walks in, Godfather style, to the headmaster's office with a full backup. He asks us to dig into the headmaster and the accuser, and it shows that the headmaster has been taking bribes to allow the other party to behave however he wants without repercussions in the school. He shooks the entire school admission upside down, sending all the guilty people to jail without delay. "

It seems like Phil wanted to play wingman for Kai, but he passed out and slammed his head on the table. Kai disdains the agent who can't handle his alcohol." Tch, too weak"

Kai and Natasha are drinking alone and are having a great time. This is all she remembered before blacking out. 

"Ughhh… my head", Natasha woke up in an unfamiliar bed. There's a moment when her past didn't catch up with her, and she blanks out, ignoring the fact that she, a trained agent, loses out to alcohol, and then becomes defenseless in a stranger's house. 

It was only for a moment before she recollected herself." What happened last night?" She is only dressed in her underwear. Her previous night's clothes are hanging on the chair next to the bed, already washed. 

She tries to find her shoes, but she only finds the left one. She looks around and it seems like a man's room. " This is Kai's room?" She puts on her clothes and walks out of the bedroom.

She walked out of the room to see Kai had already done working out. "Hey, how's your head? Any hangovers? There's some soup in the kitchen." Kai offers Natasha when she shows signs of a hangover. 

"Where Coulson, and what happened last night?". She asks in a low voice. It seems like the alcohol took a toll on her last night. Some of her memories still haven't come back."...and my shoe" 

"Hahaha, Coulson is still asleep on the sofa. And your shoe is here somewhere. You suddenly told me about your ballet move last night, and your shoe flung away." Kai is getting ready for work. He is preparing some breakfast for his guest.

Her embarrassment came hitting her like a truck when her memory came back. When she shows her skills when she slips the glass she is holding and liquor pours onto her clothes. She took it off and continued drinking in her underwear. "I thought we have had slept together last night,but still…to act that wild " she murmurs to herself.

Kai poured a bowl of hangover soup for her." There's some coffee if you want it. I need to get ready to open the clinic, so once Phil is up, make sure you guys lock the door when you leave. There's a new toothbrush I already left out and a fresh towel, so get cleaned up first before eating."

He rushes to take a shower. He is already late for work! But he swung by Skye's bedroom to wake her up to go to school.

"Ughhhhh…." There's a long groan from the living room. It seems like the noise bothers Phil, but he hasn't woken up yet. 

Natasha ignores her supervisor and tries the soup. It's very good and helps her with the hangover. Kai had made some breakfast for her and Phil. She ate it with a warm feeling in her heart, as she didn't know when was the last time someone would cook for her. Her eyes keep following the doctor when he moves around the house.

Kai rushes out of the house after packing up some lunch for Skye. He also packed up some for Coulson and Natasha as he made many sandwiches, and brought the rest to the clinic. 

The duo who are left in the house didn't realise that Kai has left them some present in their body. The drink last night had some strengthening effect, almost barely. Phil, who has been drinking for a while, has raised his limit of the human body from 1 to 1.30. 

Natasha is given something better, as he slips the elementary gene strengthening fluid to her. "The rest of the widows on the island are getting stronger every day. I feel bad that she is left out." 

That's why she could drink longer than Phil last night, as some energy is needed to supplement the transformation. Her body's upper limit is raised, and she is a little stronger now. Oblivious to any of that, she is drinking the soup.

Previously her strength was 1.40 times normal human, some strengthening is from the Red Room. But right now she is at it 2 times, and she didn't know it yet. Even when she did, there's no chance of her suspecting Kai. She thought it was because of the Red Room at the moment.

Skye comes out of her room groggily when Kai is going out. She saw a passed-out old man in the living room, and a beautiful lady eating breakfast. She went to the man and used her leg to wake him up. "Uncle Phil, wake up. Or you're gonna be late!" 

This is not something new for her. Phil has passed out many times in this house. She is more curious about beauty. "Hi, I'm Skye." She sits down at the table and reaches for bread. 

"Natasha. I thought you're gonna be younger." Watching the teenage girl, she feels like she had missed something.

"What makes you think that?" Skye is munching some bread dipped in the soup. If Kai is here, she will get nagged to brush her teeth first.

"Kai brought a dragon doll as a present last night, so I assumed." 

Skye got the feeling of terror when she heard that. "Damn it!", she then went to check the present. Natasha then realizes that it is a gag gift for his daughter instead. A small genuine smile appears on her face.

"What time is it?" Phil is finally up. He has to do his mission today, to get Stark's statement. So he couldn't stay long. Before he left, he said to Natasha. "You can have a break if you want. Report to the headquarters at least once a day, and come back in a week." 

Natasha is a bit confused about the loose restrictions, "You're not afraid I'll disappear?" She knows that she is still under observation.

"If you want to, I don't think I can stop you, can I? Also, here's your shoe." Coulson then gives Natasha a shoe that he found behind the sofa. 

After last night, it seems like the distance between her and Phil had greatly been reduced. Coulson decided to give her some trust, even if he'll get in trouble about it. 

"I got a lot of surprises today" Natasha then thinks about what to do on her day off, but she blanks out as this never happens to her. "What do I want to do?" In her 25 years of living, finally, she can decide on her own. A decision not to ensure her survival or her life, but to have some fun.

Side story 5.

"Go Play." 

Narrator/Protagonist: (dark and deep voice) I heard the signal. I know that I am needed.

*City background noise.* A white figure changes its color to black and disappears in the alleyway. It is watching the everyday life of the people in the city. The city of promise, that will suck down the soul of those drawn over with its lies.

N/P: Hiding in the chaos is an element. Waiting to strike like a snake. *Can't fight city Halloween by Michael Giacchino is playing.*

"Give me your money !!" A masked man with a gun is robbing a convenience store. But before he could get away, he was hit in the back of his head, falling to the ground unconscious. The store owner tries to see who had helped them, but no one is to be found.

N/P: But I'm there too. Watching. Two years of the night have turned me into a nocturnal animal. I must choose my target carefully. It's a big city. I can't be everywhere. But they don't know where I am…

The black figure is hopping from one building to the next until he arrives at the home of an abused mother and child. At that time, the abusive father is already drunk, and the pair is shivering in fear.

*Crash* The drunkard breaks down his beer bottle into a shard, trying to stab his wife as that woman brings their son to the clinic. "I have given everything to you, but you don't appreciate it. Now you're gonna die!" His speech was slurred and he couldn't think straight.

*fwoosh* a Batarang-like item is thrown into his hand. " Argh. " He checks his bleeding hand only to find a fishbone had caused it. "Who is it?" He checks the shadow around his house in fear.

N/P: Fear is a tool. They think I am hiding in the shadows. But I am the shadow. 

The black figure that is using all its four legs to jump, crashes into the wall of the house and the father. The father's eyes widen in terror. "You're.."

N/P: Who am I? I am Vengeance!!

But all the father could hear was "Nyaa NYAA NYAaa".Twas a cat. Before he could be relieved, he got an uppercut from the cat. *Dush* He flew backward. 

The mother and child's eyes widened. But the cat left the scene. Before long, a police siren is heard. The father is put into custody and the mother-child pair is giving statements to the police.

N/P: I will always be there, watching. For those who strayed from the right path. Wait for me. I will be there. 

Epilogue-

" Felicia Hardy!! where have you been?!! I've been worried sick!!" Skye lifted the white cat into her arms when the cat finally returns after two days. "Nyaaaa"