New York, Avengers Tower.
Although it was currently called Avengers Tower, it wasn't the original Stark Tower.
That building was wrecked by the Dark Elf spaceship during the Second Battle of New York—smashed far worse than the broken glass and fallen signage of the first battle.
Rebuilding it would take time.
The current "Avengers Tower" was actually a new property Tony bought on the outskirts of New York.
It was conveniently located near a SHIELD branch base, making communication easy.
Because of this proximity, Nick Fury decided to detain most of the recently captured otherworld invaders at this branch base.
Well, not all of them, but most. Fury kept the few "high-value" ones elsewhere, but the rest were here.
His logic was: The Avengers are right next door. If anyone breaks out, they can just re-arrest them.
However, even Nick Fury probably didn't expect his casual remark to become a prophecy.
10 minutes ago.
Since Steve had informed Fury that Stark planned to interrogate some otherworld criminals with him (and Fury agreed), Steve decided to head to the SHIELD base early.
Harry Osborn, being a teenager eager for hero work, had been hanging around the Avengers lately. Plus, as the host of Venom (an "involved party"), he naturally tagged along to see the otherworlders.
Spider-Gwen, being an otherworlder herself, was brought along as a "reference."
Natasha was there as the SHIELD representative/babysitter.
Dr. Banner, seeing everyone else go, figured staying alone in the tower was boring, so he joined the field trip to hear some multiverse stories.
So, except for Hawkeye (who wasn't in New York) and Tony (who was en route), five members of the Avengers team ended up visiting the SHIELD base together.
However, as they waited for Tony...
Natasha, the most perceptive of the group, noticed something off about the base today.
The faces were familiar, but there were fewer people than usual.
And the ones walking around were mostly field agents from combat units.
The logistics and admin staff, who usually populated the base, were scarce.
Alerted, Natasha coughed lightly to get her teammates' attention.
Then, she gave them a look.
However...
Dr. Banner turned his head and stared at her blankly, waiting for her to speak.
Harry, looking around the SHIELD base like a curious puppy, didn't even notice the cough. He was chatting excitedly with Venom on his shoulder.
Gwen noticed. She leaned in, concerned.
"Natasha, are you feeling unwell? I have cold medicine in my bag. Want me to mix some for you?"
She started rummaging through her pink backpack.
Only Steve, whose nerves had been on edge for days, frowned slightly after seeing Natasha's expression.
He nodded imperceptibly and glanced toward the reception desk, signaling Natasha to look.
What he saw was concerning. The beautiful receptionist usually stationed there was gone.
Standing at the desk now were two burly men in full tactical gear.
After a quick eye contact exchange with Steve, Natasha ignored the three clueless teammates. She put on her signature "Black Widow" business smile and sauntered toward the reception desk with a sway in her hips.
But before she even got close, she sensed the two field agents behind the desk tense up.
One of them subtly moved his hand toward the holster at his waist.
Steve, watching from his seat, noticed that the moment Natasha stood up, the "busy" agents around them all paused for a split second. Their rhythm broke.
For an instant, the entire lobby seemed to freeze.
"Hi~ Handsome~ Where's Sophie Marceau? She told me yesterday her new eyeshadow wasn't working out. Since I'm here, I brought my usual brand for her to try."
Natasha spoke loudly, her voice echoing in the spacious lobby.
Her words seemed to unfreeze the atmosphere.
The agents who had paused suddenly "remembered" they had work to do and started moving again.
The "receptionist" who had reached for his gun scratched his butt instead, smiling awkwardly at Natasha.
"Uh, Sophie... she's taking a break."
"Well, I'll just leave the eyeshadow here. Tell her I stopped by."
As Natasha spoke, she reached into her waist pouch, acting like she was retrieving makeup.
But the next moment...
She whipped her hand out, flinging two button-shaped Widow's Bites.
Zzzzt!
They hit the two men instantly. Electrical arcs flashed, and the men who had been smiling awkwardly convulsed and collapsed.
The scene stunned everyone present.
But Natasha's strike was like flipping a switch. The entire SHIELD base erupted into chaos.
The agents pretending to work pulled out guns from backpacks, from under planters, from everywhere.
But Steve, who had been on high alert, was faster than them all.
He was already gripping his shield. He rolled out of his seat instantly.
Throwing the vibranium shield to knock down three agents, he roared at Banner.
"BANNER! DON'T TRANSFORM!! GET THE KIDS OUT OF HERE!"
Actually, Dr. Banner hadn't even processed what was happening.
But he didn't need to react consciously.
A bullet from an unseen shooter hit the bewildered doctor.
Banner looked down at his bleeding chest in disbelief.
What followed was a terrifying roar that shook the heavens.
"ROAAAAAR——————"