Much too
early Natasha woke up and felt almost more tired than in the evening. She
reached for the alarm clock and looked at it in disbelief. The night was really
already over but since she had no plans today, she simply turned around again
and pulled the blanket over her head. She was usually an early riser, but that
night just wasn't yours. When she woke up four hours later, she felt much
better. After completing her morning workout and calibrating her stingers, she
sat down in a dressing gown in front of the TV and activated the camera.
"Agent
Romanov receiving."
Shortly
afterwards, Fury appeared on the monitor and raised a brow.
"Do we
have new uniforms without being told?"
"Funny!
But imagine that I have other clothes than those I wear on missions. So, Fury.
What have you got for me," she asked slurping at her coffee.
"We
still don't have any leads from the top 10. Even if we look at the top 50, it's
not better. It's almost like all the villains disappeared overnight. We've
connected to the Justice League database, but they have no idea what's going
on."
"Tony
said something similar. He even launched a satellite into orbit to search for
the usual suspects. He calls him the Seeker. Creativity isn't necessarily his
strong suit, I think." Nodded Natasha.
"I
know. We've already hooked in. But even if this thing is practical there is
nothing on this site so far. That's why I have an assignment for you that I'm
sure you don't know. Vacation."
"Vacation?"
she apeted him.
"Yes.
Vacation. Your file says you've accumulated 301 days of leave, Natasha. And
since we don't have anything right now, you can relax a little. Surely it's
going to get nasty soon enough. And a tingling in my left eye tells me it'll be
a lot worse than ever." Fury warned her.
"Yes,
that's what we all fear. Tony and Steve assume a new group of super villains.
And Superman and the others fear the same. I don't think our two groups have
ever been more successful together. So I'm on vacation? Mhm. It's been a
while."
"Shall
I send you the current criminal files? That you' really on vacation is not to
be expected anyway mh?"
"Well,
you know me, sir. Please let me know as soon as you have something. You know
how much I hate free time." Sighing while she turned off the monitor.
"Free time. Pah. What am I supposed to do?"
After
trying to distract herself all day, she went back to bed and pulled the blanket
over her head, annoyed.
"VACATION
IS BULLSHIT!"
She cursed
just before falling asleep to get out of bed minutes later and stretch.
Horrified she looked down what a boring pajamas she was wearing. A sex bomb
like her and a stupid dress like that. After stripping that outfit, she went to
her closet. She purposefully grabbed provocative lingerie and her real clothes.
Shortly afterwards, Lady Mandarin stood in front of the mirror and grinned.
"It's
time I took care of some distraction. We don't want Shield to spot me too
soon." Breathed and set off. She knew she wouldn't have much time before
she had to give up control for the moment. But as she was on her way, she
started to rethink the situation. Maybe it wasn't so wrong not to show up so
openly at first. After all, this dog Fury would certainly send either Hill or
Romanov to find out who would be behind the coming chaos.
And chaos
would soon follow her. Lady Mandarin grinned as she left the Lotus and looked
at the skyscraper in front of her. At the top was Natasha's next secret
apartment. And there had landed another package, which she would now get. So it
was easy for her to create an appropriate distraction. When she stood in front
of the apartment, the package was already ready to be picked up. With him under
her arm she went back in a good mood. It was shortly after midnight and thus
she was a little under time pressure. While leaning against her car in the
garage and wondering who to give the package to, she went through her options.
She could just give this package to the next best weirdo, but that would be far
too simple and far too boring. No. This game only gained its spice with the
right choice of victim. She could choose one of the Avengers and grace with
this package but that would attract attention. On the other hand, there were
other interesting twists and turns.
And
suddenly she had the flash of inspiration she had been waiting for. With a
superior grin on her face, she jumped into the car and drove to Stark Tower. In
front she raised her left hand and activated the power of the ring. For all the
people around him, there was now a simple UPS messenger in his brown uniform on
the street. With his parcel under his hand, the messenger entered the tower and
thanks to the ring he was able to penetrate the controls without arousing
suspicion. As he took the elevator up, she went through all the steps again.
Satisfied, she nodded at the door in front of her and waited. When the door
opened, Pepper Pots stood in front of her and seemed extremely tired.
"Do
you know what time it is?" she asked, annoyed and cranky.
"Hey!
It's not my fault, miss! We had very precise instructions and believe me. I'd
rather be in bed now, too. If you would please sign here, we can both go back
to bed," Lady Mandarin smiled in her disguise and presented the form to
her.
"I'm
gonna kill Tony! Morning! After my sleep!" Pepper growled and rushed to
sign the package. Carelessly she threw the package on her couch and staggered
towards the bed.
"I'm
gonna kill that son of a bitch! Yes.. After a good night's sleep."