If this really was Zod Hess's doing, then things were going to get troublesome.
Nick Fury very much hoped it wasn't—but regardless, he still activated Natasha, who had already infiltrated Blade Tech Industries under the identity of a senior executive assistant.
After receiving the mission, Natasha—operating under the alias Natalie—felt an odd mix of pressure and excitement.
This is way too challenging… I haven't even climbed to a key position yet, and I'm already supposed to investigate the boss's secrets?
Black Widow, Natasha—full name Natalia Alianovna Romanova, commonly shortened to Natalia Romanova.
Born in 1928 in Stalingrad of the former Soviet Union, she had been trained as an agent from childhood. After undergoing bodily enhancements by the Soviet government, her aging was greatly slowed, her immune system strengthened, and her resistance to physical trauma vastly improved. Combined with years of intense physical and psychological conditioning, she had become a deadly weapon in human form—like a venomous spider, earning the codename Black Widow.
Later, she betrayed the Soviet intelligence organization known as the Red Room and joined the Avengers. In terms of age, she was only eight years younger than Captain America.
1928 to the year 2000—the dawn of the new millennium. One could easily imagine just how old Black Widow really was.
According to the comics' canon, Black Widow had once been romantically involved with the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes—and yes, they had slept together—back when they were both in the Soviet Union. Their relationship, however, was not permitted by the state. Natasha was ordered to break up with Bucky and marry test pilot Alexei Shostakov.
Although the marriage was arranged by her superiors, Natasha genuinely fell in love with Alexei. Not long after, she received official notice that Alexei had died in a rocket test accident. Devastated, she threw herself back into her work.
From that point on, Natasha truly became the "Black Widow," undertaking missions to infiltrate Western high society, seducing scientists and engineers with her looks, turning them and making them serve the Soviet Union…
Carefully, Natasha approached a restricted area within the company—one that even her direct superior, Uld, lacked the clearance to access. She reasoned that if Blade Tech Industries truly had secrets, they would be hidden here. And if Tony Stark's kidnapping really had been orchestrated by Zod Hess, then Stark himself might very well be in this area.
What she didn't know was that the moment she drew close, the Black Queen had already detected her.
The Black Queen immediately notified Zod. Slightly surprised, Zod switched to a pinhole camera feed and saw Black Widow on-screen.
A very beautiful woman.
But since this Black Widow didn't look like Scarlett Johansson, Zod didn't recognize her at all.
"A female agent?" he murmured, interest piqued.
He watched with amusement, curious to see how this attractive operative would deal with the security measures he had put in place.
A door made of fifty-millimeter-thick sub-Kryptonium left Black Widow completely stumped. With insufficient intelligence, she didn't even know how to begin opening it.
She concluded it must be some form of advanced technology beyond her understanding. After all, the entire world now acknowledged Zod Hess as the only true genius of the century. Blade Tech Industries had become the dream destination for countless researchers—a status once exclusive to Stark Industries.
Black Widow took out a miniature camera and began recording meticulously, capturing every detail without missing a corner. Perhaps SHIELD's scientists could analyze the footage later and figure out how to open the door.
She had no idea that beyond the door lay a laser corridor.
Unless she was possessed by Alice herself—or blessed with a protagonist's plot armor—she would be dead without ever knowing how it happened.
Zod wasn't in a hurry. After withdrawing his attention, he returned to his own research.
Mechanical Soldiers.
These were combat units once used by Krypton to support Kryptonian warriors. Even though Kryptonians weren't fewer in number than humans, ruling over tens of thousands of worlds still stretched their population thin. Thus, mechanical soldiers were developed to assist with conquest, governance, and control.
Controlled by powerful artificial intelligence, these units possessed formidable management and support capabilities. Since Zod had already created the Black Queen, a high-level AI, there was no reason to skip over mechanical soldiers.
Due to technological limitations, however, the mechanical soldiers Zod produced could only be described as passable.
Each unit was equipped with four multi-barrel machine guns. A 75mm recoilless cannon was mounted on its shoulders. The lower body consisted of six mechanical legs, allowing it to adapt to combat in virtually any environment.
On Krypton, these soldiers were powered by miniature hydrogen energy cells. Now, Zod had a better option—the Zod Element Spark Reactor. A single unit could supply a mechanical soldier with all the energy it would ever need until decommissioning, and the immense power output allowed them to move and strike like agile steel spiders.
Their outer armor was layered with sub-Kryptonium to enhance defense. A-grade Kryptonium was far too expensive, so it wasn't used on these units.
Zod built mechanical soldiers primarily to deal with the Chitauri and Thanos's Black Order. The War Machines sold to Earth's nations were heavily nerfed versions—still enough to give countries a means of self-defense, so they wouldn't be utterly helpless when real threats arrived.
As for Tony Stark… he was simply unlucky.
Zod hadn't actually handed him over to the Ten Rings—there was concern things might spiral out of control—so he had people pose as Middle Eastern terrorists instead.
"He wants you to build War Machines for him," said an elderly white man named Raufi, who had taken over Yinsen's role, speaking to Tony Stark. "Once you're done, he'll set you free."
Tony Stark stared at the boastful terrorist in front of him.
"He won't," Tony said flatly.
Tony Stark knew that perfectly well. At the same time, he couldn't help but curse his own terrible luck.
If you want War Machines, go kidnap Zod Hess! Mine's an Iron Suit!
Then again… why hadn't Zod Hess been kidnapped?
Tony knew the answer all too well.
Zod Hess lived cleanly. He didn't fool around with cover-model starlets or sneak off to hotels for debauchery like Tony did. He practically lived in his lab. Tony used to think Zod didn't know how to enjoy life.
Now?
Now Tony thought Zod probably had incredible foresight.
At the same time, Tony noticed something disturbing inside the terrorists' base—large quantities of Stark Industries weapons.
What's going on?Why are Stark Industries weapons in the hands of terrorists?
Tony's emotions were complicated. He knew there had to be a traitor inside Stark Industries—and not a low-ranking one, either.
For now, though, he hadn't suspected Obadiah. After all, Obadiah had been attacked himself, losing an arm and a leg. And with Tony now kidnapped by terrorists, who knew how chaotic Stark Industries had become?
Stark Industries was in chaos.
Because Tony Stark's disappearance wasn't Obadiah's doing.
He hadn't even considered it yet. More importantly—Iron Suits still required Tony to produce.
After all, up to this point…
Only one Iron Suit had ever been built.
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