Chapter 242: Black Widow: I'm Doomed! I Told You So!

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"Sending Fury to scold Thanos would be more reliable." T'Challa asked Nick Fury, "Do you still keep up with the daily scolding of Thanos?

"Of course." Nick Fury said, "It's not just daily scolding. I scold whenever I have the time."

Besides Thanos, the only one who managed to obtain the Soul Stone was Clint Barton. After the video showed Thanos sacrificing Gamora to obtain the Soul Stone, the next scenes featured Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff.

The two of them were on a spaceship flying towards Vormir, and on the spaceship, they had no idea what price they would have to pay for this endeavor.

"If not for this situation, this would have been great." Clint Barton stood on the spaceship, gazing at Vormir.

Soon, just like Thanos had done before, the two arrived at that mountain.

"I bet the raccoon doesn't need to climb the mountain." Walking between the mountains, Natasha Romanoff said.

"Strictly speaking, he's not a raccoon." Clint Barton said.

"Whatever, he eats trash anyway." Natasha Romanoff said.

"Welcome." Suddenly, a voice came from behind.

The "elite assassins" quickly reacted. Clint Barton brandished a dagger, while Natasha Romanoff drew her pistol. They both vigilantly looked towards the source of the sound.

"Natasha, daughter of Ivan. Clint, son of Edith." Red Skull floated in the air again.

"Who are you?" Natasha Romanoff asked.

"Consider me a guide, leading you and everyone else searching for the Soul Stone." Red Skull said.

"Tell us where the Stone is, and we'll go find it immediately." Natasha Romanoff said.

"My dear, if it were that simple." Red Skull walked over and brought them to the edge of a cliff, "What you're looking for is right in front of you, and what you fear is also there."

"The Stone is down there." Natasha Romanoff looked down the cliff.

"It can only be given to one person, and the other..." Red Skull, with an expressionless face, stated the condition to obtain the Soul Stone, "To get the Soul Stone, you must lose something you love. An eternal exchange, using one soul to trade for another."

"This could all be his fabrication." Clint Barton didn't believe Red Skull, or rather, he didn't want to believe.

"No, I don't think so." Natasha Romanoff expressed a different view.

"Why? Just because he knew your father's name?" Clint Barton asked.

"I didn't even know it." Natasha Romanoff sat down and said, "Thanos took the Soul Stone and left here, but he didn't take his daughter. That's not a coincidence."

"Indeed." Clint Barton said.

"At any cost." Natasha Romanoff stood up, walked to Clint Barton's side, and looked at him, "If we can't get the Soul Stone, billions won't be able to come back to life."

"Yeah." Clint Barton nodded, "I think we all know who should make the sacrifice."

"I think so." Natasha Romanoff said.

"Well." Seeing this, Loki grinned, "The grand show is about to begin! These two seem close, but I'm sure when life and death are on the line, they'll do whatever it takes to make the other die."

"Loki, you're probably going to be disappointed." Clint Barton shook his head, "Just death is enough to threaten me and make me betray my principles, but you're underestimating me."

"Let's see, you really put on quite a righteous façade." Loki said, "I bet you'll turn red when you're doing everything you can to get that beautiful assassin to die."

"Loki, the scene you're expecting won't happen." Natasha Romanoff also said, "Clint won't harm me."

"Oh, really?" Loki said, "Let's wait and see."

"I'm starting to think that we don't see eye to eye." In the scene, Clint Barton held Natasha Romanoff's hand.

"For the past five years, I've been striving for one thing." Natasha Romanoff said, "It's this moment, everything for this moment, to bring everyone back to life."

"No, don't pretend to be noble now." Clint Barton said.

"Do you think I want to do this?" Natasha Romanoff said, "I'm trying to save your life, you fool."

"But I don't want you to save me, okay?" Clint Barton said, "Natasha, you know what I've done, you know what kind of person I've become."

"I won't judge a person by their worst mistakes." Natasha Romanoff said.

"Maybe you should." Clint Barton said.

"You never did." Natasha Romanoff said.

"You're so annoying, you know that?" Clint Barton said.

Natasha Romanoff nodded.

"Alright, you win." Clint Barton smiled at Natasha Romanoff, then suddenly made his move, knocking her to the ground, "Tell my family I love them."

"Tell them yourself." Natasha Romanoff quickly turned the tables and flipped Clint Barton over, attaching a small device to him. She then sprinted towards the edge of the cliff.

Clint Barton quickly got up, swiftly drew his bow and fired an arrow.

Of course, he wasn't shooting at Natasha Romanoff; he was aiming behind her. With a loud bang, the arrow exploded, creating a shockwave that sent Natasha Romanoff's figure tumbling over the edge of the cliff.

Clint Barton tossed aside his bow and arrow, then sprinted towards the cliff and leaped off.

But at that very moment, Natasha Romanoff also jumped. In mid-air, she caught Clint Barton.

Swoosh! She quickly secured one end of a rope around Clint Barton's waist, then reached out, firing the other end of the rope into the cliff face. Clint Barton was left hanging there.

"Damn it." Clint Barton held onto Natasha Romanoff's hand, trying to pull her up, but his position made it difficult to exert force. He tried several times, but without success.

"Let go." Natasha Romanoff looked at Clint Barton and said.

"No, please don't do this." Clint Barton pleaded.

"It's okay." Natasha Romanoff suddenly kicked against the cliff wall, freeing herself from Clint Barton's grip, and then she fell.

"Loki, will they go to any lengths to make the other die?" Nick Fury couldn't help but call Loki out.

"I indeed didn't expect this." Loki glanced at Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff.

Not only Loki, but many present hadn't expected these two to go to such lengths for each other.

Of course, nobody thought like Loki did, that Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff would let the other die to save themselves. However, this scene of both of them struggling to sacrifice themselves for the other was beyond their expectations.

Boom! Natasha Romanoff fell down.

She lay on the stones below, a pool of blood seeping from her body.

Just like Gamora being thrown down by Thanos.

Splash!

Clint Barton sat up from the water.

Just a moment ago, he was hanging from the cliff, but he didn't know how he suddenly ended up in the water below the cliff.

But that wasn't important. What was important was that, when he opened his right palm, a gem emitting a yellow light lay quietly there.

The Soul Stone was finally obtained.

The scene darkened, and the video ended at this point.

"No wonder Natasha didn't show up at my funeral. She really sacrificed herself." Tony Stark spoke up.

"Because she died for the Soul Stone, not when Thanos snapped his fingers. So when we used the Infinity Stones to bring everyone back, we couldn't bring her back." Steve Rogers said.

"It's not necessarily true, is it?" Stephen Strange said, "Isn't it a bit too early to draw this conclusion? Maybe Natasha did come back. The reason she wasn't at Tony's funeral could be due to something else."

"I think Captain has a point." Bruce Banner said, "Just like that Red Skull said, the sacrifice for the Soul Stone is eternal. 'Eternal' means that Natasha's soul won't return."

[Start of the Fourth Question. Please watch the video first.]

The scene begins with Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne in their pajamas walking into a sophisticated laboratory. Giant ants are meticulously assembling the lab components.

"Hank, I just wanted..." Scott Lang began to explain as he saw Hank Pym approaching.

"Save it." Hank Pym interrupted him and turned to Hope van Dyne, "Can we start?"

"Yes." Hope van Dyne replied to her father first, then turned to Scott Lang, "So, while you were chilling at home, we built this. It's a tunnel, leading to the quantum realm, to find my mom. We believe she might still be there, we just don't know where."

"What?" Scott Lang was initially bewildered by the information.

"If we can pinpoint my mom's exact location, I can pilot the cockpit to rescue her." Hope van Dyne explained.

"You built all this, and you're not even sure if she's alive?" Scott Lang asked.

"That's an assumption." Hank Pym chimed in as he walked, "We activated the tunnel for the first time last night, but it overloaded, so we shut it down. But in that instant, the gateway to the quantum realm opened."

"And then?" Scott Lang inquired.

"Five minutes later, you called and mentioned my mom." Hope van Dyne said.

"We think that when you went down there, you may have formed a connection with her." Hank Pym said.

"Hank, I would never do that." Scott Lang immediately denied, "I respect you."

"Quantum entanglement, Scott." Hank Pym corrected Scott Lang, frustrated with his lack of scientific understanding.

"We think she might have placed some sort of information in your head, hopefully a location." Hope van Dyne explained, "When we activated the tunnel, the information was triggered."

"Your mom placed information in my head?" Scott Lang found this hard to believe, "Come on, that's crazy."

"No, Scott, what's crazy is not telling us and going to Germany to fight the Avengers." Hank Pym walked up to Scott Lang, "Tell me, regarding the suit you stole, did you lie? Did you really destroy it?"

"Yes, I destroyed it." Scott Lang said, "I swear."

"I can't believe you actually destroyed my suit!" Hank Pym exclaimed, frustrated, "That suit was my life's work."

"So what should I do now?" Scott Lang was a bit confused. You were the one who fervently asked me to tell you that I destroyed the suit. Why do you now act like this? Truly a man's heart is as deep as the ocean.

"You shouldn't have stolen my suit in the first place!" Hank Pym raised his voice.

"I'm sorry, Hank. I took the suit, I'm sorry I called you last night." Scott Lang apologized in rapid succession, "I don't remember seeing Janet down there, and I wish I had. I just had a dream, playing hide and seek with a little girl."

"What?" Upon hearing this, both Hope van Dyne and Hank Pym were astonished.

"I dreamt she was playing hide and seek with a little girl." Scott Lang continued, "Cassie and I used to play that game all the time, it doesn't mean anything."

"But was it Cassie in the dream?" Hope van Dyne asked.

"No," Scott Lang said.

"Where was she hiding?" Hope van Dyne inquired.

"What?" Scott Lang didn't catch on.

"The little girl, where was she hiding?" Hope van Dyne asked, "In the wardrobe?"

"No," Scott Lang replied, "It was a big cabinet."

"That's a wardrobe," Hank Pym interjected.

"Is that what a wardrobe is?" Scott Lang was surprised.

"What color was it?" Hope van Dyne asked.

"Red," Scott Lang answered.

"Were there toy horses on top?" After exchanging a glance, both Hope van Dyne and Hank Pym asked.

"Oh my god." Scott Lang was genuinely shocked this time because in his dream, there were indeed toy horses on top of that wardrobe.

"Whenever we played, I always hid there." Hope van Dyne was excited. This was evidence enough that Scott Lang and her mother were indeed quantum entangled. Her mother was alive!

"Sounds like you didn't understand the essence of the game." Scott Lang remarked.

"She's alive." Hope van Dyne smiled.

"I knew it, I knew it!" Hank Pym was also extremely excited.

"We need to get that component." Hope van Dyne walked towards the lab, "The sooner we get the tunnel up and running, the sooner we can extract the information from his head."

"Did Burch get it?" Hank Pym asked.

"Yes, let's go." Hope van Dyne exited the building.

"Who's Burch?" Scott Lang followed along in confusion, "Wait, what's going on now?"

"Once we get the component and activate the tunnel, we can get the information. You'll be home by lunchtime." Hope van Dyne said, "We need to hurry; entanglement won't last forever."

"You owe us." Hank Pym said.

"Fine." Scott Lang gave in, but he still asked, "Can I wait inside? Because I shouldn't be out here."

Hank Pym pulled out a remote control and pressed it. The large building instantly disappeared, shrinking down to the size of a suitcase.

"Let's go." This "suitcase" had a retractable handle, and Hank Pym pulled it, placing the building onto the car.

The question appeared at this point.

[When Hope van Dyne (Wasp) went to purchase the component, who took the lab? ]

[A. Sonny Burch]

[B. Bill Foster]

[C. Ava Starr (Ghost)]

[D. Jimmy Woo]

[If you answer correctly, you will be rewarded with the "Duplication Technique" ninja technique. If you answer incorrectly, one year of lifespan will be deducted.]

"Hank Pym's technology is truly convenient sometimes." Stephen Strange couldn't help but speak up first, "Cars, houses, just shrink them down, carry them with you; it can't get any more convenient than that."

"Even though I knew this technology involves shrinking and enlarging, turning a whole building into a suitcase..." Pietro Maximoff shrugged, "I admit, this imagery still astonishes me."

"Me too, never thought one day we could carry a building with us." Wanda Maximoff chimed in.

"Remember the previous zombie world? It all started with Hope wanting to save her mother. I'm curious, if our Hope does the same thing in our world, could it also lead to that kind of outcome?" Thor said.

"No, it won't," Steve Rogers said, "Hank just mentioned the fight in Germany against the Avengers, which clearly refers to the Civil War. This means that this event takes place after the Civil War. Also, we know that Hope vanished when Thanos snapped his fingers. In the video, Hope is still here, so this event occurs before the snap. Based on the numerous videos we've watched, nothing significant happened during this time frame."

"However, I'm still curious about what the alternate reality Hope did while saving her mother that led to the apocalypse." Stephen Strange said, "Even if our world won't experience a zombie apocalypse, the actions of both Hopes should be quite similar."

"The video mentioned that Hope was going into the Quantum Realm to save her mother, so whatever caused the appearance of zombies, it should be related to the Quantum Realm." Bruce Banner stated.

"Later on, we time-travel back to the past, also using the Quantum Realm," Thor added, "Honestly, I'm quite curious about what the Quantum Realm is really like."

"I'm only curious about which option to choose in this question." Scott Lang remarked, "I don't recognize any of the people in the options. Should I just guess?"

"I recognize a few." Nick Fury said, "First is this Ava Starr. She used to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and not just any agent, she had special abilities."

"And you actually let her leave S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Tony Stark looked at Nick Fury with surprise.

"When Ava joined S.H.I.E.L.D., it wasn't under my jurisdiction. In fact, I hadn't taken over S.H.I.E.L.D. until after she left." Nick Fury explained, "Honestly, I haven't met her more than a few times. Most of what I know about her comes from the files."

"So, what abilities does she actually have?" Steve Rogers asked.

"To put it in simpler terms, she has the power of phasing." Nick Fury said, "When you shoot a bullet at her, her body becomes intangible, and the bullet passes right through. When she wants to hit you, her body becomes tangible, and her punch lands on your face with force."

"Sounds somewhat like Vision's body. Doesn't that power inherently make her unbeatable as long as she remains intangible?" Stephen Strange said, "No one can attack her if she's in that state?"

"It used to be the case, but I'm not so sure now. There are all sorts of people with different abilities cropping up lately. Who knows which ability might counter hers." Nick Fury said.

"Would someone like her really go and steal a lab?" Scott Lang asked.

"Speaking of that, let's talk about the connection between Ava Starr and Hank Pym." Nick Fury said, "Although Hank Pym probably has no idea Ava even exists, there's still a connection between Ava Starr's power and Hank Pym."

"I feel like I don't even need to continue listening. I'm pretty confident that Ava is the one who stole the lab." Bruce Banner said.

"Ava's father, Elias Starr, used to research the Quantum Realm together with Hank Pym. However, he was eventually expelled by Hank Pym." Nick Fury continued, "After being expelled, Elias Starr went to Argentina to conduct research on his own. Unfortunately, there was an accident during an experiment, resulting in a lab explosion. Starr and his wife died on the spot, and Ava was the sole survivor. It was that explosion that gave her the power."

"Sounds like Ava must hold a grudge against Hank." Scott Lang said, "She's going after Hank, and it doesn't seem strange to me."

"When you went to get the component, you went with the Wasp." Steve Rogers said, "Without some special abilities, I doubt anyone could snatch something from both Ant-Man and the Wasp, so this question is basically confirmed. The answer is Ava. But what about the other three options, Fury, do you know them?"

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[END OF CHAPTER]