Chapter 217: Sister-in-law?

Yelena put the plate on the side and answered the call. Natasha’s face filled the screen. Her sister seemed to be in one of those rooms with grey walls and practically no lighting. Not a touch of makeup could be found on Natasha’s face, and her striking red hair had been scraped back in a messy way. The shadows beneath her eyes were deep like she hasn’t had a quality sleep for weeks. It was, without any exaggeration, the worst Yelena had seen her look since the day she signed on with SHIELD.

“Good morning, Natasha.” Yelena tilted the phone, looking into Natasha’s eyes. “You look terrible. What’s going on?”

She didn’t bother with a gentle opening, she never did with Natasha or any other Widow.

Natasha shrugged. “Just been busy lately. Stopping alien invasions, billionaires scheming world domination, fighting my own demons in between. You know. The usual.”

Yelena couldn’t stop herself from snorting. “Braggart.”

Natasha laughed it off. “You could also brag about those puffy cheeks, by the way. My God, Yelena, you are putting on pounds these days.”

Yelena poked at her own cheek. “This is what eating potatoes does to a lady. It makes you healthy. S.H.I.E.L.D’s cafeteria is pathetic because it has made you thinner. Who’re you dieting for?”

“Yelena, you’re doing it again. It’s SHIELD, not S.H.I.E.L.D., you don’t have to say it in letters,” Natasha said with a groan, ignoring her question. “And no, you’re not fine. I wouldn’t be surprised if you had to visit a doc soon.”

Yelena’s smile crumbled as she realized Natasha’s odd behavior might have been a signal all along. The first sign was Natasha’s weary face, which could be ignored after the alien invasion recently. The second was the SUV surveilling her. The most obvious one was Natasha’s jabs. Natasha had never insulted Yelena’s appearance without laughing about it—a real laugh. Whatever Natasha was currently didn’t match with her eyes. It was a fake laugh. Everything about her current self seemed manufactured.

‘What is she trying to convey?’

Natasha Romanoff was arguably one of the strongest on this planet, and somebody had her under surveillance and her movements restricted. There could only be one reason for Natasha to submit instead of burning everything down.

They, the Widows, were being used to threaten Natasha.

Natasha showed a smile, warm and friendly, except there was still no movement from the muscles around her eyes. “What’s the matter, Yelena? Reminiscing on the cheesy pizza you devoured last night?”

The fake cheerfulness coming back at her through the screen only strengthened her doubts. Natasha faked her appearances to the world but never around her fellow Widows.

“I was thinking about what to get you as a gift. You have been doing a very good job of protecting New York.”

Natasha chuckled. “The best for me right now… when I bring my boyfriend home, don’t freak out and bite him. Or should I be calling him my groom like everyone else?”

Yelena’s expression stayed calm as she dissected the hidden meaning in Natasha’s words. Natasha’s groom, whom the world knew as Skullfire, would visit her soon.

‘I shouldn’t bite him, meaning I can trust him.’

Yelena gave a small nod. “Fine, I won’t. But you make sure he doesn’t say anything about my Russian accent. Or I’ll beat the crap out of him.”

“You’ll love him, Yelena. He’s a real ladies’ man.”

“Oh, wonderful,” Yelana said with a smile. “He is a nutjob, fresh out of a psychic ward. I should’ve expected that. No one normally tries to date a Widow, much less theBlack Widow. That is a death wish dressed as a redhead bombshell.”

“Get out of here,” Natasha said playfully but Yelena understood the hidden meaning. Get out. Leave the apartment with Skullfire. “I have to go now, Lena. Duty calls. I’ll try to swing by next week.”

“Off you go, then, workaholic.”

The call ended, and Natasha’s face disappeared from the screen. Yelena stood alone on her balcony, feeling the cold wind stroking her hair.

“I have to tell Melina.”

Melina Vostokoff was the only other person on this earth Yelena trusted without conditions. Tapping into a normal phone was a joke for S.H.I.E.L.D., and they were certainly keeping an eye on her line. The SUV outside was an example.

She stowed the plate in the kitchen and moved to the bedroom, dragging a sturdy briefcase out from the back of her cupboard. The shell was sturdy enough to survive a few explosions.

“What was the password again?”

Yelena laughed and quickly wheeled the nine numbers on the briefcase and snapped the latches. The contents weren’t some precious treasures or a million bucks. No, it was just a rugged handheld radio with end-to-end encryption, so nobody could eavesdrop on their conversation. A worthless object in the eyes of anyone but a lifeline for the Widows—it was their last comm line away from S.H.I.E.L.D. and practically the whole world. She hadn’t thought it would ever be used after Natasha became a top agent.

“It should still work, right?” She took the walkie talkie and powered it up, which it fortunately did. She pressed the push-to-talk button. “Yelena to Melina, are you listening?”

There was silence for a few seconds before a reply came through. “Yelena?”

“It actually worked.” Yelena blinked in surprise. “Melina, do you always keep this thing on you? Like is it tucked inside your bra all day?”

Such a sacrifice wouldn’t be beyond the mother figure of all Widows.

“Not the time for your jokes,” Melina said in a strict voice. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“So…”

She laid out her perspective like she had been taught to deliver a field report in the Red Room.

“I could be wrong here.”

Her social interpretation was not the best and that fact remained even when the person in question was her own sister. “Ah, damn it. Let’s prepare in any case. My hands have been itching for a fight.”

“Why don’t you fight those monsters your sister does?”

Yelena chuckled. “I do not have a death wish.”

She knew her limits; she was training to break through them for weeks, but she hasn’t had any success yet.

“Get the gun, Yelena. Just in case.”

Yelena nodded and opened the sealed container in the briefcase to withdraw a customized version of Makarov PM.

“Old friend,” she whispered, tucking the gun in her backpocket and shutting the briefcase. She made her way to the living room, stopping at the threshold. If she had a plate in her hand, it would have dropped from sheer shock value.

“When will he show up?” Melina’s voice flew past Yelena’s ears. “Could he possibly—”

“Why do I need to? I’m already here.”

Years of training were the only reason Yelena didn’t jump. The couch wasn’t empty anymore. Sitting there like he owned everything in this apartment was a figure that had been trending across every news channel. However, every photograph and every footage had failed to prepare her for the reality of him. A burning skull, casting blue pale-golden light across her living room. This was an entity that had crawled out of someone’s nightmares.

“Skullfire…”

He slightly tilted his head, his flames flickering brighter. “Sister-in-law, Mother-in-law, I hope you weren’t offended by my little prank.”

Yelena’s eyebrows flew up. “Too soon to call us that. Way too soon. We hadn’t even had dinner together.”

She was on edge. How could she not be? The man before her was believed to have godly powers. One careless flick of his head might send her straight to heaven or hell or whichever realm the paperwork said Widows were destined for.

The sole reason she wasn’t reaching for the firearm tucked in her backpocket was the fact that Natasha trusted him. Natasha had explicitly told her not to freak out and bite him.

“We’ll let your sister make that decision,” Skullfire said in a friendly voice that was at odds with his demonic appearance. “In the meantime, why not visit my place?”

“Skullfire.” Melina’s voice crackled out of the radio in Yelena’s hand. “Do you know the conflict between Natasha and SHIELD?”

Yelena sank into the chair next to the couch, looking utterly relaxed despite her turbulent heart. “Yeah, you must have an explanation for why SHIELD is threatening Natasha.”

“We’ll get to that in a second. First, I have to compliment my sister-in-law. You catching Natasha’s message made my job so much easier.”

Despite the precarious situation, Skullfire’s tone remained easy. If it was a random nobody or even a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, she would’ve put them in their place. Skullfire, however, would whoop her ass. The Red Room hadn’t prepared her to fight a god.

“Mother-in-law,” Skullfire said, looking at the handheld radio. “Can you inform your Widows to come along with my friends who will shortly be knocking on their doors?”

“SHIELD has all of us under surveillance?” Melina asked in a calm voice. “Are they that desperate to control Natasha?”

“Don’t worry about them. Just pass the message and we’ll safely evacuate your people.”

“I hope Natasha didn’t put her trust in the wrong man.”

Skullfire let out a small laugh. “Mother-in-law, you won’t find a better team in this world. I can guarantee you.”

He sounded so arrogant that Yelena wanted to punch him. At the same time, it relieved her. This situation could be easily solved if the man, the myth, the legend himself felt so confident. Natasha wouldn’t entrust such an important task to him if he wasn’t competent.

“Very well,” Melina said. “Tell you friends to introduce themselves as Yelena’s friend.”

“Understood.” He made a call through his own handheld radio. “There’s been a development.”

“Daddy! Sharon doesn’t love you anymore!”

A squeaky voice exploded through the speaker. Yelena watched him go stiff like he had been frozen in time. She realized that the voice probably belonged to Skullfire’s daughter, which left Yelena even more confused. Why would Natasha become the bride of a married man? Something wasn’t right here. What are the odds he was a single dad?

‘Do I even need to be worried? It’s Natasha we’re talking about.’

In any case, she had to get to the truth—that was the only way to ensure Natasha didn’t get her heart broken. It wasn’t a very pleasant experience.

“Girl, shush, this is important business,” an older, refined voice spoke whom Yelena immediately recognized as belonging to Skullfire’s “public relations manager” Emma Frost. “Now, what’s the matter, honey?”

Skullfire glanced toward Yelena and relayed the arrangement he had just made with Melina.

“Well done, Darling,” Emma Frost said. “I’ll relay the info to everyone.”

“Alright.” Skullfire put his handheld radio away. “Now we wait.”