Natasha Romanoff

A/N: Just a reminder, new chapter here officially means new chapter over on the P atreon now, where my patrons are currently voting on the future direction of this story!

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Set after the Natasha POV in Chapter 30

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"Nat!"

"Toni!"

Both women are all smiles, as they move to meet each other. Natasha doesn't rebuke the dark-haired technopath when Toni walks right up to her and grabs her by the face, lip locking her right then and there. Instead, the red headed super spy places her hands on the inventory's hips and kisses her right back, the two of them making out for several long moments before Toni pulls back with a sigh.

"It IS you…"

Natasha Romanoff just raises an eyebrow at that, even as they pull apart to regard one another for a long moment.

"Please tell me that the genius Toni Stark is not basing the veracity of my revival and resurrection off of a kiss of all things."

For a beat, Toni plays up the act, looking like a deer caught in headlights. Then, like the flick of a light switch she's suddenly grinning slyly and chuckling as she shakes her head with a shrug.

"No. Been scanning you since you showed up. You are Natasha Romanoff… or so close to the real deal that it doesn't really matter even if you are a fake. There's some unusual contaminants of course, but that's actually helping your case, seeing as they're mostly the same contaminants Clint brought back with him when HE returned from Vormir… plus a little extra."

Blinking at that, Natasha slowly nods, before smiling softly.

"Heh, never change, Toni."

For a moment, the beautiful billionaire genius blushes. Then, she grins and gives Natasha a wink.

"Let's walk and talk, shall we?"

"Sure."

They walk, though Toni does most of the talking. That's not much of a surprise though, to be honest. Natasha has always been a good listener. Even way back when, at the start. Their relationship had been rocky in the beginning. She HAD infiltrated Toni's company on behalf of SHIELD, after all. And in the course of discharging her duties as 'Natalie Rushman', she'd allowed Toni and Pepper to seduce her into a threesome, them thinking they were taking the uptight yet beautiful former model from legal.

It wasn't surprising that they'd felt a little betrayed when they found out she was a super spy specifically trained for seduction and assassination. It also wasn't surprising that they'd kept inviting her back to their bed on a semi-infrequent basis all the way until 2012, when Loki had attacked. From there on, Natasha and Toni had been fuck buddies whenever the mood struck, but never truly put a name to any of what they had. They were friends with benefits yes, but when the chips were down, sometimes Natasha had to make decisions that would hurt Toni.

Luckily, Toni had Pepper for the actual relationship stuff, because Natasha wasn't exactly what one would call a 'stable' significant other. Still, setting aside their… relationship status over the course of the years they'd known one another, Natasha was glad to see the technopath again. Glad to be back, even. But also… flabbergasted.

As they reach Toni's lab, the inventor letting Natasha in and finally letting up on the ceaseless prattling, Natasha walks inside a few steps, looking around… and then turns to pin Toni with her gaze.

"… I'm pretty sure I died, Toni. Like full died. Especially given the months that have passed since Clint and I went to Vormir. I know Time Travel is a thing, but…"

Natasha trails off. She's usually more composed than this, but it's still hard for even her to grasp. That she died. That she came back. She'd made the play. She'd sacrificed herself so Clint could go home to his family. Not only that, so he could HAVE a family again. They'd needed that stone to bring everyone back. Everyone that had been lost.

So then… why was SHE back? It simply didn't make sense to her, even now.

"You did die, Nat."

Toni's quiet voice snaps Natasha out of her own internal thoughts. She looks over to see the technopath fiddling with a computer. Toni's hands touch the digital interface even though they don't really need to. She CAN do it all with her mind, Natasha knows that… but she also knows that Toni gets antsy if she doesn't have something to occupy her hands with. Be that tits… or electronics.

Quirking the corner of her mouth up in a macabre smirk, Natasha cocks one hip out and chuckles softly.

"You sound very sure."

Toni nods… and swipes, showing Natasha a screen right in front of her face… that details her death in cold, clinical data, all of the scans picked up from her suit on Vormir.

"Even if I didn't trust Clint's eyes… and that's a big if, you and I both know that… the data is all here. You died, were dead for months, and then… suddenly weren't. You came back, Nat. Pure resurrection from the dead, full stop."

It was one thing to believe it, another to know it. Mouth suddenly very dry, Natasha licks her lips as she stares at the screen for a long moment.

"… Damn."

"I know, right? Was there anything on the other side? Any afterlife?"

Toni's tone is slightly joking, slightly conversational, slightly curious. Natasha just shakes her head.

"Not that I saw… thankfully. It was like no time at all had passed for me, like I was out one moment and aware the next. Probably for the best, all things considered."

Toni rolls her eyes at that but doesn't try to claim Natasha would have gone to Heaven if there was one. They both knew that no matter how much good Natasha might have been able to do over the years, she still had an awful lot of red in her ledger. Always would. For a moment, silence falls over the lab. Then, Toni twitches suddenly, as if prodded by something… or rather someone.

"We have a theory, you know. Friday and I."

Natasha blinks at that, as an electronic feminine voice comes from overhead.

"Yes, Ms. Romanoff. Toni and I have been discussing it ever since your miraculous recovery."

Moving around to another station, Toni gives Natasha a glance and a smirk.

"Remember what I said earlier? About how you had everything Clint did when he came back to Vormir PLUS a little extra?"

She did remember. She'd noted it, of course, but chosen not to bring it up at the time. Now, Natasha just raises an eyebrow at Toni, and gestures for her to get on with it. In response, the technopath pouts.

"You're no fun~ Well, we recognize that little extra, at this point. Hard not to, after everything. You, my dear Nat, have got some Infinity Stone mojo clinging to you."

That sends a jolt through Natasha's body. She looks down at herself, as if half-expecting to see one of those galaxy-ending stones in her hand, or something. But no, there's nothing. Nothing visible to the human eye, of course.

"I… what does that mean?"

"Well, Nat, after all was said and done, when we reversed the Snap and sent Thanos packing one final time, Steve took the Stones back where they belonged, before going to get his own happy ending. Necessary and what not, according to what Bruce got out of the Ancient One when he went to pick up the Time Stone."

Shrugging, Toni continues to ramble on. Though of course, The Stark's rambling is chockful of actually interesting knowledge, compared to your average human being's rambling.

"The thing is, when Steve went on his final journey through time, that should have been the end of it, right? Our Stones were destroyed by our Thanos before we offed him. Removed from existence. So… once Steve put the Stones back, there should have been no more sign of them."

Natasha slowly nods, following so far. Toni just smirks… and shakes her head.

"Wrong. There have been a few surges of Infinity Stone energy, these past few months. You were just one of them. Despite all evidence to the contrary, the Stones are still active in our neck of the woods."

Frowning, Natasha steps forward, now more than curious… she's concerned.

"How? Is someone wielding them? Controlling them?"

Toni looks a little surprised at that, before smiling to cover it up.

"You're as quick as ever, Natasha. Quicker even than me. But then, maybe this is a blind spot for me…"

Before Natasha can ask what that means, Friday's voice comes from overhead again.

"We do not think he's doing it consciously. Rather, we believe the Stones have forged a bond with their current… user without his knowledge. They're acting on his impulses and desires. Luckily, so far, those have all been quite heroic."

Glancing from the ceiling back to Toni, Natasha blinks at the drawn look on the technopath's face. After a long moment, Toni sighs and runs a hand down her face.

"It's Peter, Nat. The Spider-Kid I brought to Germany? He's the one who snapped Thanos' armies and the big Purple Thumb himself away. Somehow, he survived the backlash of using the Stones without a scratch, despite it pulping both Thanos and Hulk's arms when they did it. And now… now they've got some sort of hold on him."

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Back in the present day with Peter at the end of Chapter 41

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Gwen Stacey, Natasha Romanoff, Jane Foster. Three situations… but one felt like it could very well be much more dire than the others. Specifically, Natasha Romanoff had died and come back to life. She would undoubtedly be the most confused and discombobulated by all of this, while Gwen and Jane were no doubt doing… if not fine, at least tolerable in their own individual situations. Or so he assumed.

Natasha though… he had a responsibility to her, given he'd resurrected the Black Widow from death. Finding her would have been an issue he supposed and might have turned him towards one of the other options… if not for the resources at his disposal.

Slipping into the Iron Spider Suit, Peter wastes no time in contacting Friday.

"Hey Fri? You there?"

The answer, even to his enhanced perception, appears immediate.

"Yes Peter, always."

Peter on the other hand, can't help hesitating for a moment, a light grimace spreading across his face.

"I, uh… have reason to believe that Natasha Romanoff is alive again, Friday. And somewhere in New York. Can you run a scan for me? Try to find her? I just want to make sure she's alright."

"There will be no need for that, Peter."

Blinking, Peter furrows his brow beneath his mask. Wait, did Friday not believe him? Did she think he was crazy, or something?

"Fri, I'm serious, she's back and-!"

"I do not disbelieve you, Peter. There will be no need, because Ms. Romanoff has already escorted herself to Stark Tower, and has been staying here for the last day. She and the Creator have already spoken. She's been given a floor to herself, to begin her recovery."

Oh. Peter just stares off into the distance for a moment. Of course. He didn't know what he was expecting. For Natasha to be disoriented and groggy, maybe? For her to be spit out somewhere in New York, where the lawless elements of the city might try to take advantage of her? This was the Black Widow they were talking about. She wasn't anyone's victim. She wasn't any predator's prey.

"W-Well… that's uh, good. Really good. I'm glad to hear that."

If Natasha was at Stark Tower, then she was fine, probably. He could move on to one of the other two and-

"Ms. Romanoff is asking if you would be available to meet, Peter. She's currently all alone in the Tower and would like to speak with you personally."

Peter's eyes widen at that.

"M-Me?! Why me?!"

Friday's response is amused… and ever so slightly pitying.

"Peter. Natasha was an original Avenger. She's been going through the files the Creator has on the final fight against Thanos all morning long, and given her status, she has considerable access. Why wouldn't she want to meet the man who made her sacrifice worthwhile?"

Mouth opening and closing for a second, Peter blushes and hangs his head sheepishly. R-Right. O-Of course.

"… Does she know we're talking right now?"

"Yes, Peter. Should I not have told her I was in open communication with you?"

Peter sighs. Friday's voice is downright innocent… but that alone tells him all he needs to know.

"Okay, Friday. I'll head on over to the Tower."

"I shall inform Ms. Romanoff that you will be joining her shortly."

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When he arrives, it's not through the front door. In his Spider Suit, he has… several other options, and he takes the one that will provide him with the swiftest route to Natasha's floor of the Tower. Soon arriving, Peter moves into the living room to wait… and does not have to wait long. Stepping out of a room down the hall, Natasha saunters out… and Peter can't help but stare.

She looks good, of course. She always has. Long curly red hair, an unchanging and supremely beautiful face. Was it wrong that Peter had had a crush on her since the Battle for New York? Was it wrong that he and many, MANY other guys had taken one look at the gorgeous femme fatale fighting alongside Gods and Hulks and fallen in love?

Well, he supposed not, in a universe like this one. And perhaps that very same universe was conspiring to make him make a fool of himself, because right now Natasha is wearing one of her signature catsuits, the full body leather uniform holding her extremely gorgeous figure in all the right ways, the zipper on the front pulled down to mid-chest to give a tantalizing glimpse of skin.

She's not just beautiful, she's gorgeous… and of course, she knows it too as she arrives in front of him, reaches out, and taps the underside of his chin with a salacious grin.

"My eyes are up here, Peter."

Flushing, Peter makes sure HIS eyes don't go further than Natasha's mouth again, as he tries to maintain eye contact with the beautiful older woman. She doesn't show it… her age, that is. But then, from what he understood, while she wasn't technically a super soldier, the procedures that had been done on her while she still worked for the KGB had ensured her youthful looks would last longer than any normal woman's would.

"S-Sorry, uh, Ms. Romanoff. I-!"

"No need to apologize, Peter. I don't mind you looking… wouldn't mind you touching either. After all, I have a lot to thank you for, don't I?"

"Um… what… what do you mean?"

Natasha's eyes are knowing, as she stares at him expectantly. In that moment… Peter feels very, VERY seen. And not necessarily in a good way either. But… was it truly a bad way, at the same time? Would it truly be a bad thing… to come clean?

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