Faced with Stark, Black Widow's explanation was feeble, but an explanation was still better than none.
Cases like Dr. Ethan's could still be explained, but what had happened between Black Widow and Howard Stark could not.
Egged on by the Pentagon, the news media let their imaginations run wild, publishing all sorts of irresponsible reports. Tabloid rumors like Captain America being Stark's father and Black Widow being Stark's mother spread everywhere.
Rumors stopped with the wise, but there were very few wise people these days. Black Widow had no way to explain herself. What was she supposed to say—that she had undergone surgery in the Red Room and had lost the ability to bear children eighty years ago?
Before the tidal wave of media coverage and online chatter, she simply could not explain herself.
Influenced by those rumors, the relationship between the group had become unbearably awkward. None of them even knew how to work together anymore.
Daisy held an exceptionally detached position. Thanks to the threat of nuclear bombs, no one dared smear her name.
She spoke up at the right moment to smooth things over for Black Widow.
"Times are moving forward. Back then, it was hard to say whether what we did was right or wrong. Americans were once enemies with Germans, but haven't they now returned to being as close as brothers? German immigrants have always ranked at the top in numbers in the United States. The rights and wrongs of those years have now been selectively forgotten by every country, haven't they, Steve?"
Seeing Captain America remain silent, she hurriedly pulled him into the conversation.
Captain America was still brooding over the fact that his good brother, Winter Soldier, had killed Stark's parents. Compared to that, Black Widow kidnapping Dr. Ethan was nothing at all!