If not for Richard, they would never have known of each other's existence, let alone stood face to face as they did now.
As Natasha and Scarlett regarded each other with complex expressions, Richard spoke. "There's no need for introductions. You both know yourselves quite well."
"Before you fight, Natasha, I should warn you that Scarlett is now a superhuman with physical attributes and reaction abilities far beyond ordinary people. This fight was never meant to be fair from the beginning."
"To avoid a completely one-sided match, Scarlett, try not to use your powers for now. Keep your strength and speed at normal human levels. Otherwise, this fight would be meaningless."
After hearing Richard's words, Scarlett nodded calmly. Natasha, however, showed surprise. Though she knew she'd be fighting her counterpart from another universe, Richard hadn't mentioned yesterday that Scarlett had become superhuman.
Are these powers similar to mutant abilities? Or was she injected with something like the super soldier serum that enhanced Rogers? Or did Richard somehow transfer his own powers to her?
Several theories flashed through Natasha's mind. Though curious about how her alternate self had been transformed, she focused on the immediate situation.
"She's been transformed into a superhuman by you, which means you knew from the start I couldn't win," Natasha observed. "Why have me fight her at all?"
Richard smiled in response. "No special reason. I simply want to see you two fight each other once. If you can push Scarlett to use her powers—force her to exceed normal human limits—you win. Besides, win or lose, I'll keep my promise to help you."
Natasha said nothing more. She immediately assumed a fighting stance, prepared to engage Scarlett at any moment.
Seeing her serious expression, Richard teleported more than ten meters away. There was no need for him to referee or announce the start. As soon as he vanished, Natasha and Scarlett rushed toward each other simultaneously.
When they met, they immediately displayed their superb close combat skills, trading blows with fists and feet in a dazzling display of technique. There was something uniquely compelling about watching two beautiful women engaged in close combat—especially when they shared identical appearances and physiques.
Since both were top spies trained in the "Red Room," they recognized each other's moves instinctively. They were intimately familiar with their own habits and tendencies, which resulted in a stalemate where neither could gain the upper hand. Of course, this equilibrium existed only because Scarlett was suppressing her enhanced abilities. Otherwise, even with Natasha's knowledge of her patterns, Scarlett could have overwhelmed her with superior strength and speed.
Time passed steadily. Before long, five minutes had elapsed. Though not a particularly long duration, five minutes of high-intensity combat had consumed considerable stamina for Natasha, whose physique only marginally exceeded that of ordinary humans. In contrast, Scarlett showed no signs of exertion—no flushed face, heavy breathing, or even perspiration.
Even without using her powers and keeping her capabilities at normal human levels, Scarlett maintained a significant advantage. Her physical strength alone gave her an edge, not to mention her enhanced reaction speed and resistance to injury. Had she not deliberately held back, the fight would have ended much sooner, even with her strength and speed suppressed.
Recognizing she couldn't sustain a prolonged battle, Natasha quickly changed tactics, deploying various gadgets she carried. Seeing this shift, Scarlett also began using her equipment. The battle resumed with renewed intensity.
Compared to their earlier close combat, the aesthetic quality diminished somewhat when they started using gadgets. Nevertheless, compared to ordinary fighting, the spectacle remained impressive.
Another six or seven minutes passed. When Natasha had depleted all her disposable equipment, leaving only the "Widow's Sting" on her wrists, Richard's voice rang out.
"Okay, let's stop here. This match is a draw."
At his command, both women halted immediately. Though she'd known from the beginning this wasn't a life-or-death confrontation, Natasha had still committed her full skill to the encounter. Consequently, she'd expended nearly half her physical reserves in just over ten minutes of combat. While not completely exhausted, her chest heaved noticeably as she caught her breath.
"Do you need me to escort you back?" Richard asked her.
"No, I can manage on my own," Natasha replied quickly.
"Very well. We'll go first," Richard said. He approached Scarlett, slipped his arm around her slender waist, and initiated teleportation. In an instant, they vanished from Natasha's sight, reappearing in Scarlett's quarters.
"There's nothing else for now," he told Scarlett. "Just continue adapting to your new abilities. If you have any questions, you can always come to me."
"Mmhmm," Scarlett nodded.
After her acknowledgment, Richard teleported again, this time to his study. Settling behind his desk, he said, "Tifa, access the surveillance footage from the training ground and replay Natasha and Scarlett's battle."
"Right away, sir!" Tifa's voice responded immediately.
A moment later, a holographic projection materialized before him, displaying the combat sequence between the two women. After watching the footage several times, he continued, "Record and catalog all techniques they employed."
"No problem, sir," Tifa confirmed.
After a moment's consideration, Richard added, "Access my private server and analyze all information regarding Compound V and the metahuman transformation experimental data. Identify any potential optimizations."
He had originally planned to perform these analyses himself, but with Tifa available, he could delegate these tasks. Though Tifa lacked human intuition and creativity, her computing power far exceeded human capability. Even with his Superboy-Prime template, Richard couldn't match Tifa's data processing abilities. Analysis and computation were Tifa's core strengths—the fundamental advantage of artificial intelligence.
"Certainly, sir. Is there anything else I can assist with?" Tifa inquired.
After brief consideration, Richard replied, "I'll provide you with a new voice profile. Replace your current voice accordingly." Since he had already given Tifa her name and image, her voice couldn't remain unchanged. Though he could only reconstruct Tifa's voice from memory, this presented no significant challenge.
"Understood, sir," Tifa acknowledged.
Time passed quickly. Three days elapsed before they knew it.
On a grassland more than ten kilometers from Silver City, three peculiar spacecraft were parked—each thirty to forty meters long, with strange configurations and somewhat shabby appearances. Dozens of aliens of various shapes knelt before the vessels.
These were the Grandmaster's agents—interstellar mercenaries sent to Earth to capture potential gladiators, with Hulk as their primary target.
"What do you plan to do with them?" Natasha asked Richard, observing the aliens who had forced her and Banner to flee S.H.I.E.L.D. and live as fugitives.
"What else? Kill them, of course," Richard replied casually while using telepathy to probe their memories. Though he already knew they were mercenaries hired by the Grandmaster, certain information in their minds intrigued him—particularly spacecraft operation procedures.
After hearing his response, Banner, standing beside Natasha, asked cautiously, "Won't killing them cause problems?"
"What problems could there be? They're merely mercenaries. If they die, their employer—the Grandmaster—will simply assume they failed," Richard explained. "However, since Hulk has caught the Grandmaster's attention, he won't abandon his pursuit easily. This means he'll likely hire others to continue the hunt."
Banner's expression darkened at this revelation. Though unfamiliar with the Grandmaster, he understood one thing clearly: whoever came next would be more formidable than these mercenaries. For Richard, this might not pose a significant threat, but for Banner, it represented a serious problem. These aliens had already forced him and Natasha to abandon S.H.I.E.L.D. and live on the run. If the Grandmaster sent stronger agents, they might not even have a chance to escape.
As Banner prepared to speak again, Richard frowned slightly. While reading the memories of a red-skinned alien with a crayfish-like head, he discovered unexpected information. Though these mercenaries had come to Earth specifically for Hulk, they had captured additional subjects to maximize their expedition's value—namely, Wolverine and Sabretooth.
Upon discovering this, Richard immediately suspended his memory probing and teleported directly into the spacecraft where Wolverine and Sabretooth were held. He materialized before their hibernation chambers, observing both men lying unconscious within. Without hesitation, he approached the control panel—covered in alien symbols—and began operating it.
Soon after, the coffin-like chambers slowly opened. Within seconds, Wolverine and Sabretooth, both possessing accelerated healing abilities, opened their eyes and burst from their confinement like feral beasts. Whether due to disorientation or memories of their capture, they instinctively lunged toward Richard with perfect coordination.
Matter Manipulation!
As they sprang from the chambers, Richard utilized his matter manipulation ability, freezing them mid-air.
"Wake up. It's me," he said calmly.
Upon hearing his voice, the rage in their expressions gradually subsided, replaced by confusion.
Before they could speak, Richard explained, "I didn't come specifically to rescue you. In fact, I didn't even know you'd been captured. Their primary objective was Hulk—you two were incidental. Banner requested my help, so I intervened against these aliens."
Though his explanation might have seemed discouraging to Wolverine and Sabretooth, Richard prioritized conveying the complete situation efficiently.
After processing his words, Wolverine and Sabretooth exchanged glances. Finally, Wolverine said, "Regardless, you saved us both. Thanks."
"You're welcome," Richard replied. "If there's anything to discuss, let's continue at Silver City."
With that, he teleported back to Banner and Natasha, resuming his memory probing of the aliens. After completing his examination, he summoned hellfire, reducing them to ashes.
Meanwhile, Wolverine and Sabretooth descended from the spacecraft, approaching the group. "Let's head back," Richard instructed.
"What about these three spaceships? Are we just leaving them here?" Banner asked, puzzled.
"Others will handle this matter. I'm the mayor of Silver City, after all. If I had to do everything personally, that would be excessive."
With that, Richard walked toward a vibranium aircraft parked several dozen meters away. Like Silver City itself, he had modified Wakanda's vibranium fighter to suit his preferences. Due to time constraints, only the exterior and interior had been transformed; the operating system and weapons remained unchanged, apart from converting Wakandan text to English.
Seeing Richard approach the sleek, silver-white aircraft—redesigned with more conventional human aesthetics—Natasha, Banner, Wolverine, and Sabretooth quickly followed.
Minutes later, the vibranium fighter soared toward the palace of Silver City. As they flew, five transport planes launched from Silver City, heading toward the three abandoned alien spacecraft.
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