Taskmaster

The moment Wang Nanxuan finished speaking, the Illusion Realm completely collapsed. Natasha returned to reality with a bewildered expression. Had everything that just happened been real? Why had it been so fast? Not even a minute had passed from beginning to end.

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

Natasha complained. 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'm going to find Drakov. I'm going 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 save 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. She decided to join forces with Natasha against him, and the first step of their plan was for Melina to pretend to betray them so Drakov would send people to capture Natasha and Red Guardian.

After that, everyone boarded a fighter jet and returned to Drakov's lair. Only then did Natasha finally understand why no one had ever found him—his lair was in the sky, a massive Sky Fortress.

"What is wrong with the 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."

Wang Nanxuan grumbled. He had been using magic to monitor Natasha all along, and she had not disappointed him, successfully locating Drakov's lair.

Actually, if Wang Nanxuan had wanted to, he could have found Drakov's lair himself with a little effort. But he had not done so for a very simple reason: his time was meant for enjoyment.

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

"Time to reap the harvest."

Wang Nanxuan wasted no time. He pulled the consciousness of every Black Widow in the fortress except Natasha into the Illusion Realm. There were more than two hundred of them—this was not the Black Widows' total number, as many were hidden throughout the world gathering intelligence.

Floating in the air, Wang Nanxuan spoke from on high. "Give me your souls and serve me. I will help you escape Drakov's control and grant you the chance to take revenge."

This contract was far harsher than those Wang Nanxuan usually used. Once they signed it, the Black Widows' souls would be completely under his control. If he wanted them to live, they would live. If he wanted them to die, they would die.

Although the terms were harsh, every woman, including Yelena and Taskmaster, pressed down her handprint without hesitation. They had been controlled by Drakov's drugs for so long that life had been worse than death.

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

Wang Nanxuan nodded in satisfaction. "Don't worry. I've always treated my own people well. In a year, I'll restore your bodies and make you complete women again."

"Restore our bodies?"

All the women's eyes lit up. Drakov was a beast. To make the Black Widows better at carrying out missions, he had completely removed their reproductive systems. In other words, every Black Widow was an incomplete woman unable to bear children.

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

Wang Nanxuan said, "For example, eternal youth, extended lifespans, extraordinary power, and so on."

The more the women heard, 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. In unison with the other kneeling women, she shouted, "We are willing to serve you, Lord Demon King."

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

Wang Nanxuan laughed heartily. "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 were 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 won't make the same mistake as last time."

"I'm 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 had been injured in the explosion years ago, Drakov implanted a chip in her body and transformed her into the half-human, half-machine Taskmaster.

Taskmaster could imitate anyone's movements, such as Hawkeye's and Steve Rogers's.

Natasha tried to attack Drakov, but her fist could not come down no matter what. 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 couldn't touch you while you were in S.H.I.E.L.D., but now you've walked right into my trap. I'll use you to secretly control S.H.I.E.L.D. This world will completely belong to me."

Drakov was extremely pleased with himself. Just then, Natasha suddenly lowered her head and slammed her nose hard against the table with a loud bang.

Then Natasha, her nose streaming with blood, raised her head with a smug expression. "Did you think I didn't know about the pheromones..."

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

It was not over yet. Taskmaster drew the long blade from her back and drove it through Drakov's arm, pinning it to the deck. Drakov let out a piercing scream and convulsed nonstop on the floor.

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

Taskmaster spoke coldly. At the same time, screams and gunfire rang out from outside. The Black Widows had made their move.

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

Drakov asked in shock, "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 to make your move?"

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

Taskmaster glanced at Natasha and did not answer. Are we that close? Besides, I did it on purpose. Got a problem with that?

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

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

Whenever Drakov operated the system, Taskmaster had always been by his side. With Taskmaster's talent, controlling this system posed no difficulty at all.