Taskmaster

The moment Andrew finished speaking, the Illusion Realm completely collapsed. Natasha returned to reality, looking utterly bewildered. Had everything that just happened been real? Why had it been so fast? It had not even taken a minute from start to finish.

"Though I have no idea what this Demon King wants, his efficiency is seriously impressive. If S.H.I.E.L.D. had this kind of efficiency, Earth would have achieved total peace ages ago."

Natasha grumbled. Although the other party's origins were unknown, his method was undoubtedly correct. The only concern was whether he had some sort of scheme.

"Even if he does, I still have to find Drakov. I have to kill him and save Antonia and Yelena. Besides, S.H.I.E.L.D. will always stand behind me."

Natasha made up her mind and headed alone to Russia to rescue her foster father—her foster parents had been spies who adopted her and Yelena to complete a mission.

Red Guardian had been imprisoned for too many years and had become somewhat unhinged. Fortunately, he still remembered where Natasha's foster mother, Melina, was.

Melina had long been dissatisfied with Drakov, and she decided to join forces with Natasha against him. The first step of their plan was for Melina to pretend to betray them, allowing Drakov to send people to capture Natasha and Red Guardian.

Next, they boarded a fighter jet and returned to Drakov's lair. Only then did Natasha finally understand why no one had discovered Drakov—his base was in the sky, a massive Sky Fortress.

"What is wrong with people in this world? They dare build fortresses in the sky without even a Defensive Shield. Drakov is like that, and so is S.H.I.E.L.D."

Andrew mocked as he continued monitoring Natasha with magic. Natasha had not disappointed him and had successfully found Drakov's lair.

Actually, if Andrew had been willing to put in the effort, he could have found Drakov's lair himself. But he had not done so for a simple reason: his time was meant for enjoyment.

Was Gwen not alluring enough, or was Susan not gentle enough? When someone could do the work for him, why should he do it himself?

"Time to harvest."

Andrew did not waste any time. He pulled the consciousness of every Black Widow in the fortress, aside from Natasha, into the Illusion Realm. There were over two hundred of them—this was not the total number of Black Widows, as many were hidden across the globe gathering intelligence.

Andrew floated in the air and said loftily, "Give me your souls and serve me. I will help you break free of Drakov's control and grant you the chance to take revenge."

This contract was far harsher than the ones Andrew usually used. Once signed, the Black Widows' souls would be entirely under Andrew's control. If he wanted them to live, they would live; if he wanted them to die, they would die.

Though the terms were harsh, every woman, including Yelena and Taskmaster, pressed down her handprint without hesitation. Drakov had controlled them with drugs for years, making their lives worse than death.

"You will become my Black Widows. You will fight for me and collect souls for me."

Andrew nodded in satisfaction. "Do not worry. I have always treated my own people well. In a year, I will restore your bodies and make you whole women again."

"Restore our bodies?"

Every woman's eyes lit up. Drakov was a beast. To make the Black Widows better at carrying out missions, he had removed their reproductive systems entirely. That was to say, every Black Widow was an incomplete woman incapable of bearing children.

"Also, as long as you perform well, there will be other rewards."

Andrew said, "For example, eternal youth, a longer lifespan, extraordinary power, and so on."

The more they listened, the brighter their eyes became. A black-haired woman knelt and shouted, "I am willing to serve you, Lord Demon King."

"What a suck-up."

Yelena curled her lip, then knelt as well. Along with the other women who had knelt, she shouted in unison, "I am willing to serve you, Lord Demon King."

"Very good. Now, go take your revenge. My magic will help free you from the drugs' control."

Andrew laughed loudly. "Oh, right. Remember to get the Master Control Key from Drakov. I want every Black Widow except that improper one."

Inside the control room, Drakov looked at Natasha, who was disguised as Melina, and sneered. "Natasha, you are my most successful creation. How could I possibly fail to recognize you?"

Natasha tore off her mask and said through gritted teeth, "Drakov, your time has come. This time, I will not make the same mistake as before."

"I am standing right in front of you. Can you kill me?"

Drakov motioned for the armored Taskmaster beside him not to move and smiled. Taskmaster was his daughter, Antonia. After she was injured in the explosion years ago, Drakov implanted a Chip in her body and turned her into the half-human, half-machine Taskmaster.

Taskmaster could mimic anyone's movements, including Hawkeye's and Steve Rogers's.

Natasha tried to attack Drakov, but her fist simply could not come down on him. Drakov said smugly, "Every Black Widow has been injected with a Pheromone Lock. As long as they smell my scent, they cannot attack me."

"Poor Natasha. I could not touch you while you were in S.H.I.E.L.D., but now you have delivered yourself right into my hands. I will use you to secretly control S.H.I.E.L.D. Then this world will belong entirely to me."

Drakov was immensely pleased with himself. At that moment, Natasha suddenly lowered her head and slammed her nose hard against the table with a heavy bang.

Then Natasha, blood pouring from her nose, raised her head and said triumphantly, "Did you think I did not know about the pheromones..."

Before Natasha could finish, Taskmaster suddenly punched Drakov in the side of the face. Drakov screamed as he flew backward, two bloodstained teeth spinning through the air.

That was not all. Taskmaster drew the long blade from her back and drove it through Drakov's arm, pinning it to the deck. Drakov let out a shrill scream and convulsed continuously on the floor.

"Father, thank you for taking such good care of me all these years. We will repay you properly."

Taskmaster spoke coldly. At the same time, screams and gunfire erupted outside as the Black Widows made their move.

Natasha was dumbfounded. What was going on? And had she broken her nose for nothing?

Drakov asked in alarm, "Antonia, how did you break free from the drugs' control?"

Taskmaster said, "Someone helped me. I recovered the moment Natasha came in."

"Then why did you wait until I broke my nose before making your move?"

Natasha was deeply dissatisfied. Breaking her nose hurt like hell, okay?

Taskmaster glanced at Natasha without answering. Are we that close? Besides, I did it on purpose. Got a problem with that?

Natasha was a little embarrassed. She apologized, "I am sorry about what happened back then, but I had no choice. Only with you there could I confirm that he really was Drakov."

Taskmaster ignored Natasha. She searched Drakov and found the key, then inserted it into the control console. Next, she skillfully operated the system, making the Black Widows' battle proceed even more smoothly.

Taskmaster had always been by Drakov's side whenever he operated the system. With Taskmaster's talent, controlling it posed no difficulty at all.