Natasha began cautiously moving in the direction where she saw the man with the silver arm.

Her suit was already fully deployed, completely covering her body.

while her suit scanned the surroundings, she suddenly detected movement several meters away. She crouched down and approached, seeing the man coming in the direction where she left the scientist.

Now that she was closer, she realized the man had no expression as if he were a machine.

Natasha quickly jumped from one branch to another silently, thanks to her suit, before standing on a branch and looking down.

After waiting a few seconds, she saw the man passing underneath. With a slight smile, she jumped towards him, wrapping her legs around his neck before starting to hit him in the face.

The man was stunned by the sudden weight on his shoulders and the brutal blows to his face. Nevertheless, he quickly reacted and used his metallic arm to remove the person from his shoulders.

Natasha felt that she would break his neck if she didn't let go, so she released her grip and fell in front of him.

Natasha saw that the man wanted to retrieve his weapon, so she lunged at him with a knee strike.

The man with the metallic arm quickly dodged to the side before delivering a punch to Natasha's head.

Natasha slightly ducked before striking him in the face, sending him to the ground.

The man quickly rolled on the ground before standing up again.

Even in his state, he couldn't help but notice the incredible strength of her punches. It reminded him of someone who had also hit him like that, but for some reason, he couldn't remember.

"Are you not going to tell me who you are?" Natasha asked, only to receive an empty look.

The man remained silent before pulling out a knife.

"As you wish," Natasha shrugged before launching herself at him again.

Natasha blocked several attempts to stab her with her wrist while responding with her own blows.

The man was also skilful and blocked his blows while maintaining a stalemate.

Natasha feinted to block a blow before letting it go through and redirecting it behind the man's back before draping her other arm around his neck.

Natasha was suddenly sent flying before crashing into a tree.

She had underestimated the strength of the metallic arm.

Deciding to finish this quickly, Natasha attacked wildly, abandoning defense altogether.

Throwing herself back into the fray, in an instant she dodged a blow before locking up from below, trapping his metal arm and neck.

She quickly used her leg to knock him to the ground with her on top of him.

The man fell to the ground and quickly tried to hit Natasha with his normal arm.

Natasha collapsed and fell to the ground with him on top of her and trying to hit her, however Natasha did not let go of his metal arm and as she held him she wrapped her legs around his neck while pressing his face against her metal shoulder.

For the first time, Natasha saw a look of pain on his face as he was pressed against his robotic arm.

The man quickly tried to separate Natasha's legs from his neck as he tried to stand up.

Natasha seized that opportunity to twist her body and push, causing him to crash onto the ground face down.

Natasha quickly took advantage and sat on his neck while his arm remained twisted in front of her.

The man was left face down with Natasha's leg around his neck while his arm was held back by Natasha.

Natasha maintained that position as she began pulling his arm, making the man emit a scream of pain.

"So, you can talk," Natasha said, looking down at him.

The man had his face pressed against the ground, but with one of his eyes, he could still see the woman in that strange suit.

Natasha noticed that the man only looked at her silently, with no intention of giving up despite the increasing pressure on his arm.

Natasha narrowed her eyes at the man's silence. Before pulling with all her might, as she had her other leg holding his arm, she levered it up and pulled his forearm off.

The man let out a loud cry of pain as he felt his forearm being ripped from his arm before he lost consciousness.

Natasha looked at the forearm in her hands before sighing and tossing it aside. She took out her phone and dialed a number.

"Romanoff? How is the scientist?" Fury asked.

"Director, we were attacked by a man with a metallic arm. I subdued him, and the scientist is safe," Natasha went straight to the point.

"Metallic arm," Fury murmured, sighing.

"Sir, there's something suspicious about this. I think we might have a mole," Natasha said seriously.

Her route was only known by SHIELD.

"I'll take care of it," Fury said, nodding.

"Good," Natasha said as she looked suspiciously at the unconscious man. There was something strange about this, and she was going to find out.

Natasha tied the man's only hand to her feet before hoisting him onto her shoulders and walking towards the tree where she left the scientist.

"Come down, it's all over. We can go," Natasha shouted at the tree where the scientist was.

The scientist clumsily started descending while muttering curses.

Natasha ignored him and pulled him towards the car.

She quickly took out her tools, changed the tire, and started the car.

Natasha drove to the extraction point before getting out of the car while holding onto the man with the metallic arm.

"Agent Romanoff, we'll take care of him from here," one of the agents said, extending his hand.

Natasha moved her hand, avoiding the agent, while looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"With whose authority?" Natasha asked with a slight smile.

"Secretary Pierce's," the agent said, still smiling.

''Sure, plus why didn't I get backup even though I asked for it? it doesn't even look like they intended to go,'' Natasha said, smiling terrifyingly as she looked at the officer.

''We're not getting any distress signals, it must be a jamming problem,'' said the man acting surprised.

Natasha approached with the man over her shoulder as if to hand him over before striking hard at the officer's abdomen causing him to fall to the ground coughing.

"All right, it's all yours, next time make sure you check if the comms are working," said Natasha, she already had someone to investigate.

Natasha handed over the two individuals before boarding a small military plane that would take her back.

Stretching in her seat, Natasha leaned back and gradually fell asleep.

Natasha didn't know how much time had passed, but she woke up to a strong gust of wind.

She opened her eyes to see the pilot parachuting in an air suit.

Natasha couldn't help but be in a state of shock before running towards the cockpit and taking control.

She quickly realized that there was no fuel left, and they were flying too high, higher than this type of plane should.

Then Natasha knew they wanted to silence her, now she was more certain than ever that Pierce was the traitor, she just wasn't sure of the reason. He's already one of the most powerful men in the world.

At that moment, the back of the plane exploded, causing the aircraft to plummet as it lost the tail fins that kept it level.

Natasha couldn't help but curse in her mind. They weren't leaving her any chances.

The plane spun violently as the sea approached slowly.

Natasha didn't even bother looking for a parachute; chances were there wouldn't be any. She reclined in the pilot's seat, watching the ocean drawing closer.

When she saw she was close to the sea, she unsheathed the claws on her hands before cutting through the roof, creating a hole.

Agilely, she exited and stabbed her claws into the plane's roof, climbing up to the tail section.

Natasha stood at what was left of the tail of the plane and, with a faint smile, gazed at the scenery before propelling herself sideways, separating from the plane but still falling at the same speed.

Crossing her arms and extending her body, Natasha plunged into the water, sinking several meters before resurfacing.

The plane was destroyed, and pieces flew everywhere.

Natasha couldn't help but sigh before approaching floating debris and climbing onto it. Taking out her communicator, she dialed Damian's number first.

"Honey, your wife almost got killed, they crashed a plane in the middle of the sea so I'd die," Natasha said, complaining playfully.

"Do you want me to come pick you up?" Damian asked with a soft chuckle.

"Don't laugh! Come and get me," Natasha said, pouting.

Damian didn't respond and simply appeared in front of her, looking at her with a smile as he sat next to her.

"It seems there's a problem with Secretary Pierce," Natasha said.

"In fact, he is one of the highest ranking people in HYDRA," Damian confirmed.

"HYDRA? It still exists?" Natasha asked, astonished.

"Yes, originally I didn't plan to do anything about them, but it seems a cleanup is necessary," Damian said, furrowing his brow slightly.

''Why didn't you get rid of them?'' Natasha asked curiously.

''You can't play a game without players and I have a very interesting game planned in the future'' said Damian smiling slightly.

''But don't worry, take out whoever you want, after all you know their motto,'' said Damian with a laugh.

"Leave it to me. I'll investigate everyone, and if they're from HYDRA, I'll eliminate them one by one," Natasha declared.

"Now take me home. I'll take a good bath before talking to Fury about this matter."

"As you wish," Damian said, smiling, before taking Natasha's hand and teleporting them to the bathroom.

Damian and Natasha spent a good while in the bathroom before both emerged.

Natasha changed into civilian clothes before taking a car and driving to SHIELD.

Once there, Natasha infiltrated until she reached Fury's office.

As he wasn't there at that moment, she could only wait for him while sitting on the couch and looking at the newspapers.

Sometime later, Fury arrived and initially became alarmed upon seeing her.

"Romanoff? I was told your plane disappeared," Fury said, furrowing his brow.

"Somebody tried to kill me. I was tired and took a short nap. When I woke up, my pilot jumped out of the plane before the tail exploded, causing the plane to plummet," Natasha explained.

Fury fell silent as he felt a headache coming on. Partly because there seems to be a traitor lurking within SHIELD's upper ranks and partly because he doesn't know how Damian will react to this.

"Let's investigate the matter. As for the guy you captured, let me guess, he disappeared?" Natasha mocked.

"He was supposed to be on the plane with you," Fury said, annoyed.

"I'll start investigating Pierce. I was told he ordered for him to be taken elsewhere. Even if it's a decoy, we need to make sure he's clean," Natasha suggested.

"Fine. Make sure to be careful. I don't think it's him. Pierce was the one who appointed me as Director of SHIELD," Fury remarked.

"For now, let's say you're still missing. I'll inform Barton in a few days; acting is not his strong suit," Fury said.

"Okay, I'll see what I can find," Natasha agreed before stealthily leaving Fury's office and returning home.

Natasha entered the house and headed to the refrigerator to grab a beer. She walked to the patio and sat in one of the chairs, observing her little girls playing.

Looking at Alice, she couldn't help but think about her sister. There had been no news from her for three years. She couldn't help but wonder what she was doing.

Sighing, Natasha finished her can before getting up.

She couldn't help but chuckle as she watched the girls before entering the house, changing her clothes. She would take a flight to Washington, where Secretary Pierce was overseeing.

Hours later, Natasha left the airport, took a taxi, and stayed at a hotel near Pierce's known residence.

The next day, Natasha woke up very early and surveilled Pierce's house. When she saw him leave in his car, Natasha took the opportunity to infiltrate his house.

This time, Natasha brought all sorts of advanced gadgets, so before entering the premises, she scanned everything around, avoiding detection by any security systems.

Natasha quickly infiltrated Pierce's study. After searching, she didn't find anything suspicious, so she took out a device and scanned the entire room.

She swiftly approached a window with a lamp next to it.

The detector indicated that the lamp was frequently touched. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a small button on the top. Pressing it resulted in a silent click coming from one of the paintings. If it weren't for her enhanced hearing, she wouldn't have heard it.

Approaching the painting, Natasha tried moving it in various directions until it opened like a window, revealing a numeric keypad in front of her.

Natasha quickly scanned it to detect the combination, and the device promptly displayed the most frequently used numbers. Natasha entered the combination.

After inputting the combination, a section of the wall retreated, sliding to the side.

Natasha couldn't help but be speechless at the ridiculous level of security. She was even more convinced that there was something strange about Pierce.

She had met him a couple of times, and he was always a friendly person with a smile on his face, joking with everyone.

Passing through the door, Natasha entered another office with shelves filled with documents.

Making sure nothing detected her presence, she entered and examined the documents on the shelves.

As Natasha read, she couldn't help but become increasingly surprised. Murders, thefts, kidnappings—everything was documented.

She supposed they didn't dare to put it on a computer for fear of the information being stolen.

Natasha spent several hours reviewing the documents and found several interesting names to visit later.

With a satisfied smile, Natasha left Pierce's house before heading to New York. She would start cleaning up from there.

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