Over the two months since I had taken my first case, I had managed to put away a tidy little sum for a rainy day after paying my bills; Consolidated Edison, Time Warner Cable, Verizon Wireless, too many credit cards and Manhattan Mini Storage just to name a few. And not to mention the monthly maintenance fee on my Upper West Side condo. My monthly stipend check as a reserve Avenger only went so far, as did the stocks and futures that William had invested in. Together however, with the fees I charged to help people with uncommon problems was at least keeping me in the dull gray.

I wonder if this was what William had intended when he first set up Widow’s Peak Enterprises. I hope so…

And I have to admit that it’s somewhat nice not having to go toe to toe with the up and coming super-villain of the week; the young buck looking to make a name for himself, or the old- and repeatedly defeated- timer trying to make a respectable comeback. It hasn’t all been a bed of roses however.

There was a spousal abuse case that ended nastily. A brother hired me to investigate his sister whom he thought was getting battered by her domineering husband. She was, as it turns out, but she was also happy with the regular beatings she was receiving, craving them in fact and actually orgasming as she was battered. There was little that I could do, as the woman would not press charges against her husband. Little except to get a bit of payback on the husband for the brother. I left him with two broken hands.

Another case was like my first; a missing girl, though this one was a child. I was very lucky to find her in a round about way in the hands of a cult that dressed in leopard skins and was about to sacrifice her to their ‘celestial master’. I am lucky that I have no qualms about killing those that deserve it either.

But there are perks as well. Case in point, I am currently playing bodyguard to one of the Indian ambassadors to the United Nations at a formal function being held in the Hellfire Club hosted by Harry Leland himself. Praia Radii had felt she needed protection of a sort, as the guest list at any Hellfire Club party was always questionable. Heads of industry and leaders of state were always mingling with known mutants and potential terrorists, not to mention the government ties that were linked to Sebastian Shaw (may he burn in Hell), and Leland himself.

I was dressed in Prada, a flowing, silken black gown and heels that Praia had all but demanded I wear, accentuated in silver bangles and fine chains with my hair done up in a stylish swirl that was all the current rage. It had been awhile since I got to play dress up, so I was not too argumentative, and I truly doubted that anything would happen at the function as security would be tight, so I agreed to the flattering, if not encumbering ensemble.

I have been known to be wrong of course, on occasion…

I was face to face with a handsome enough man who looked vaguely familiar. Average enough with his chiseled features and wavy brown hair, a winning smile and what looked to be an equally winning physique under his Phillips tailored suit. I raised an eyebrow as I sipped my champagne, glancing at Praia who seemed in a heated debate with an African ambassador near the buffet table. Nothing untoward there, so I addressed my current admirer.

“Do I know you?” I said, cutting to the chase. I was not here to get ‘picked up’, nor to socialize, really. At least not too much.

“Well, you’d probably recognize me better with my full armor on and my funky purple helmet,” he replied with a dazzling, if not devilish grin. He swirled a bit of brandy in a snifter, obviously toying with me.

“Paladin,” I finally said remembering Janet Van Dyne’s log in the Avengers’ files. A mercenary by title, but truly not so different from myself at the moment. Last time I downloaded the Avengers’ updates I’d learned he had had some trouble at the Vault with Arcade. That was awhile ago though.

“Very good,” he said, still grinning. “Guess Jan’s not quite as close-mouthed as I’d hoped she would be.”

I shrugged. “Janet Van Dyne is above reproach when it comes to confidentiality. She does however take duty responsibly. She worked up a generic profile image in the Avengers Database. Your secrets are safe enough, but with your image in mind, it might just save you an unnecessary beating somewhere down the line.” He laughed at that and swirled his brandy again.

“You working, or a guest?” he asked. I noticed his gaze roving the crowd and I knew that he was here on business.

“Working.” I nodded towards Praia, who was gesticulating wildly in the face of the ambassador. Whatever they were discussing was drawing attention.

“Hot,” Paladin said, and I had to admit that he was right. Praia was dressed in a white gown that left her left shoulder bare and clung to her like a second skin. Set against her dark skin and hair she was a striking, beautiful contrast given motion and full of life. Her long black hair was done up not too differently from mine, but the only other adornment she wore was a sparkling red stone that hugged her throat on a short leather thong and a silver ankle chain. Definitely hot- though I did not go that way.

“I think duty is calling,” I said as I set the champagne aside. I saw Leland waddling towards the discussion that was growing in volume, along with a woman that had to be Tessa, another member of the Hellfire Club’s Inner Circle. Hopefully he was going to play peacemaker, but of course I couldn’t take the chance at something happening. “Talk with you later, hopefully,” I said as I started to make my way through the crowd of gawkers and eavesdroppers. There was so much money pressed into the room you could almost smell it.

I was halfway there when I saw the three Asian men pushing through the crowd from the other direction. Chinese, I thought, but it was hard to tell as they were dressed in dark Armani head to toe and wearing black, rap around shades. The Men in Black look was so gauche. How I had missed them on my initial sweep I have no idea. Maybe they just arrived, but they were definitely en route to Praia, looking edgy and scanning the crowd.

“Please…” I heard Leland say as I approached, trying to placate the situation making lowering gestures with his pudgy hands. He was sweating in his own 18th Century garb that had probably set him back a few thousand tailored to his bulk, big drops rolling down his flushed, cherub cheeks as he forced a smile. “This is a party. No reason for anger. Relax… Enjoy.”

“There is no problem,” the African ambassador said. “We are merely discussing a trade agreement that this… woman’s country has decided to alter.” The dark-skinned man seemed annoyed, trying to be diplomatic but obviously agitated by Praia’s more outspoken stance.

“Pig!” Praia spat, literally, a glob spattering the man’s Gucci loafers. “Your misbegotten country holds back expected exports driving our finances in turmoil while we await customs clearance, and you blame me? Were I in charge I would sever all ties and boycott all commodities from your backwards nation!”

I saw Tessa glance up and around at that point, the Hellfire Club’s current Black Queen I assumed by her skimpy leather garb; corset, high boots and cloak, suddenly on the alert, sensing danger. I saw two of the three Asians dipping hands into their coats, moving more swiftly in the confusion, the third drawing a blade at his waist; a Gim sword by the look.

“Dammit!” I cursed sprinting forward and shoving people aside.

I watched in horror as the blade sliced easily through Leland’s expensive costume and well into his robust body. Blood followed the course of the blade, spattering the hardwood oak floor as Leland yowled, clutching at the wound as he staggered backwards. He hit the floor like a sack of wet cement, moaning, blood quickly pooling beneath him.

I pushed aside the Secretary of State receiving a startled ‘bitch’ even as one of the gun-toting Orientals drew and fired. I saw Tessa grab her throat and immediately collapse to the floor. There was no blast of gunfire, and I saw no ‘silencer’ on the small, Glock shaped gun, then saw the dart protruding from Tessa’s throat. Not assassins then- at least I hoped not as I pressed my hands to Kissinger’s broad back and cart-wheeled into the fray…

My four-inch heel slammed into the second gunman’s nose and I felt the satisfying crunch of bone as blood gushed from his nostrils. He shambled backwards even as I landed, staggering myself in the near stilettos. I kicked off the shoes and rose to a defensive crouch even as the man hit the floor with a thud.

The Asian with the Gim sword whipped it about in a dazzling display as he stepped up to my threat, grinning all the while. He was distracting me, and I knew that the second gunman would be going for the prize; Praia or the African ambassador. I had no idea.

The Gim was the Chinese equivalent of the Japanese katana; a blade to be respected in the hands of a master swordsman, which this man appeared to be. I was wishing that I had my Widow’s Bite and Line bracelets, if for no other reason than to act as bracers against the blade. I would have to be very careful.

The man stepped up, feinting with a high slash that quickly whipped about into a mid-section thrust. I barely blocked, deflecting the sword to my left as he spun past, raising the sword to a defensive pose. The crowd started screaming and pressing towards the exits at that point, finally realizing that there was an attack going on.

I heard a rattle of guns being locked and loaded as members of the Secret Service, bodyguards and various military went on alert. Little late, boys, I thought as I raised an arm to block a sword thrust off to the side. I winced as the swordsman flicked the blade and sliced a thin line across my forearm.

I heard an odd jolt, like an electrical discharge and saw the second gunman hit the floor, convulsing like a fish out of water. Looking up I saw Paladin, gun in hand standing between Praia and the swordsman, who was concentrating on me. He nodded, which I took to mean that he had my back. Good!

The swordsman slashed again, a wide arching sweep that would hopefully drive me back, but actually left him wide open for a split second. I ducked the cut, stepping in and spinning on my right foot and driving an elbow squarely into his sternum. I was rewarded to see his eyes grow wide as I basically gave him a ‘heart punch’ that would disrupt his heartbeat, stunning him long enough to take advantage of the situation. I did of course, ramming my palm into the bridge of his nose and actually lifting him off of the floor with the impact as I thrust upwards. He flew up and back and landed hard onto the polished oak floor, his sword clattering off to the side and out of reach.

I breathed a sigh of relief, watching the swordsman for any sign that he was still active, but he was out like the proverbial light. I glanced at Paladin just as he screamed and electrical sparks flared from behind him. He dropped to the floor as people screamed again and started to swarm towards the exits in the opposite direction.

The crowd parted and standing over Paladin I saw a man in golden armor overrun with wiring, his hand crackling with electrical energy as he clicked a helmet in place over his head. “Not taking any chances with you, Madame Widow,” he said, his English accent hollow and amplified by the exo-skeleton he wore. I wracked my brain trying to recall him, sure that he was in both S.H.I.E.L.D. files, Avengers and Interpol as well. An assassin and thug, martial artist with an enhanced suit of armor that could deliver killing jolts of static electricity... Shockwave! Wonderful…

“You know we can avoid all this,” he said reaching out and grabbing Praia’s wrist even as I stepped forward. Why she had not run for cover I have no idea, but her dark eyes were wide with fear now as she clutched at the jewel at her neck. He drew her in close, wrapping an arm about her throat while his electrically discharging hand eased towards her temple. “I don’t want to kill her, but I will. Let me get what I came for and I’ll leave peacefully.”

“You know I can’t do that,” I said standing straight and trying to look non-threatening. “Don’t!” I cried out as one of the Treasury agents brought his gun to bear. I knew the bullet wouldn’t make a dent in Shockwave’s armor. He of course glanced back and I took a few shuffled steps forward. I heard Leland groan.

Shockwave turned back to me and shrugged. “Your call, Black Widow.”

I winced as the room before me glared white and I smelled charred flesh blinking away the sudden spots dancing in my vision. I heard a body hit the floor and gunfire as I crouched. Something burned as it creased my cheek.

I shook my head and saw Praia lying on the floor. Her eyes were fluttering, her body bucking as electrical discharge coursed over her smooth, dark skin. I saw Shockwave shoving for the exit, slamming his high-voltage palm into anyone that stood in his path. Screams of pain and fright erupted in his wake. His left hand clutched something that was giving off a red glow. Praia’s necklace?

I charged forward. No way was this happening on my watch. Shockwave was not discriminating in his bid to escape however. Anyone that came close got a jolt that sent them sprawling to the floor as he ran for the huge double doors that led to 5th Avenue. I cursed the gown that hampered my movements as he slammed out the doors.

I pushed through just seconds after, leaping onto the sidewalk of what was once Millionaire’s Mile, now Embassy Row. Just a few blocks downtown was Avengers Mansion; more help than I could imagine if I had my ID/Calling Card on me. It was checked in my clutch however, along with my Beretta and my bracers. I was on my own…

I saw Shockwave already across the street and leaping the wall to disappear into Central Park. If he got too much of a lead in there, in the trees I would never find him. I dashed out into the stalled traffic of 5th Avenue, ignoring the blare of horns and squeal of brakes as I ran for the far side of the street. I was more than a little surprised when Shockwave came flying back over the wall.

He landed almost at my bare feet; my silken hose ruined. He moaned, his head rocking back and forth in a daze. I jumped up and landed a knee onto his face that cracked his visor and sent him to La-La Land with the impact. I noted that he no longer held Praia’s necklace as his energy sputtered and died.

I looked up and saw another vaguely familiar face peering over the Central Park wall. Handsome enough, but grim, long black hair framing a dark yellow visage, the hair pulled back by a blue headband. But as quickly as I saw it, it flitted away, lost beyond the wall in the tree-lined shadows.

I looked down at Shockwave, ignoring the blare of horns as we were blocking 5th Avenue. Blood was oozing from his shattered nose from my knee, but there was also a solid dent in his chest plate. I imagined that he was having a hard time breathing. Oddly, I did not care…

Epilogue 1:

Praia was dead…

When I returned to what was left of the party I saw residentially employed EMTs attending to Leland and Tessa. Another was doing CPR on Praia’s unmoving form. I saw Paladin standing over the body looking… confused? I looked at the… corpse.

Her skin was fading gray and withering, her body suddenly shriveled to a portion of what it was just minutes before. The hair was wispy and white, falling away as I watched the body degenerate, fading and crumbling before my eyes.

It was as though she was aging- had aged. Death was claiming her, though it seemed after so long. The EMT’s hands finally shoved through her desiccated ribcage and he hacked and vomited to the side.

Not so far away Leland was being treated. Tessa stepped up and looked at the body with a frown, a white square of gauze taped to her neck.

“I sensed something about her,” she said, looking at me. “I couldn’t discern what. Now I know.”

“What do you mean?” Paladin asked, standing beside her and looking her up and down.

“She wore a Bloodstone,” Tessa said as though that explained everything. “Immortal… Enhanced strength, psyche… I wonder how she got it.” Tessa pursed her lips.

“Not so immortal,” Paladin said.

“Obviously she was long lived.” Tessa glanced at me, raising her eyebrow for confirmation.

“I had no idea,” I said. “I was playing bodyguard.” And not feeling proud of the job I had done. I had failed.

“Playing…” Tessa glanced at Leland bein placed on a gurney with much effort. Police were swarming the room now. “The assassin?”

“He’s down, but the jewel… the Bloodstone got taken. Another player.” Tessa smiled.

“I pity you, Widow,” she said with a sigh, looking to a man approaching dressed in a trim, slate gray that played off his thick, golden mane of hair. Clay Quartermain of S.H.I.E.L.D., his perpetual smile barely faltering as he held up a ring.

“The three Chinese were all wearing these, Widow,” he said as he showed me a gold-banded ring with an embossed head; a yellow claw on obsidian. “The Yellow Claw,” he said. “Fury’s gonna want a report.” He eyed me, Paladin and Tessa with that ‘don’t leave town’ look in his eye.

“I’ll give it,” I said, looking down at Praia- what was left of her. I had failed. She had hired me and I had been lax, and now she was dead. Of course I took it personal.

“Shockwave doesn’t work for the Yellow Claw,” Paladin said and we all looked at him. He actually looked embarrassed to be the center of attention. Behind him I saw Secret Service, S.H.I.E.L.D., NYPD, and how many other agencies jockeying for position. S.H.I.E.L.D. Forensics already had the crime scene- Praia’s remains cordoned off. For all the good it would do. As I recalled the Hellfire Club- building and grounds- were considered sovereign. Whatever happened in Hell, stayed in Hell. “Just sayin’.”

“Who does he work for?” I asked, knowing that I had a long night ahead of me at Avengers Mansion pouring over files that read like science papers and law books. Thank you Steve and Vision.

“The Devil Doctor…” Paladin said sounding almost defeated. “Fu Manchu.”

And then it hit me who the other face had been on the other side of the park’s wall. We had met once a few years back when Viper had screwed me royally and Spider-Man had come to my rescue, along with Fury. Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu!

Wonderful…

Epilogue 2:
Whidbey Island;
Oak Harbor, Washington…

James Woo flicked his Zippo and puffed a cigarette to life as he stared at the tiny desecrated body sprawled on the cold, hard ground before him. Not so far away the waves pounded on the shore, breaking and rolling almost seductively, a never-ending serenity that brought peace of mind. He flicked his Zippo closed and pocketed it as blue smoke roiled about his face.

The body was flayed almost head to toe, the skin stripped away leaving a naked, red… thing behind. The chest had been cracked wide, ribs shattered in the effort with abandon. The heart was missing from the empty cavity.

“Not a pretty sight, eh Jimmy?”

Woo looked to Nicholas Fury, dressed in a tight gray suit and huddling in a black woolen overcoat against the chill coming in off of Puget Sound. His telltale cigar sat at the corner of his mouth, the stub unlit and grinding in his teeth. His one good eye sparkled in the fading light of sunset.

“No,” Woo responded. He glanced to the carcasses of the giant spiders that had attacked when the S.H.I.E.L.D. strike force had assaulted the ritual. Thirteen dead cultists lay scattered about the beach, S.H.I.E.L.D. Maintenance combing the crime scene, bagging the bodies. He glanced at the naked little girl tied to the rock, the improvised alter stone, her eyes locked wide, glaring in terror, the dagger still imbedded in her empty chest.

This was the third such display that they had found in the months that he had been assigned to the West Coast of America. A dead and sacrificed virgin child- two blacks and this one Asian. Zealous cultists willing to die for whatever mad goal they followed. Gigantic insects…

Jimmy Woo shuddered at the implications.

“Gotta figure he’s back,” Fury said, finally lighting the stub of his cigar. The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. shook his head as he puffed the butt to life, frowning. “But why? What the hell is all this?”

“He’s insane,” Woo said, turning from the carnage and death to look out over the placating waves. “The mind and motivations of the Yellow Claw are far beyond our perceptions. We shall learn in time. For now we must struggle to stay his hand as best we can.”

“Well, thanks for volunteering, Jimmy,” Fury said flicking ash. “Kind’a hopin’ you would.”

“But I didn’t…” Fury raised a hand.

“I need you here, James. If the Claw’s back in town, well, there ain’t nobody better ta’ head up the team ta’ take him down.”

Jimmy Woo stared at Colonel Nicolas Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a long moment then finally nodded.

“I’ll do it.”

He took a long drag from his cigarette, then flicked the butt into the surf…

Epilogue 3:

Shang-Chi stepped into the safe house and dropped the glistening crystalline shard on the table. He stared at the others; Reston at the radio, Tarr at the computer, Leiko Wu watching the television. “I was successful,” he said closing the door behind him.

“Bloody good!” Clive Reston said as he scooped up the Bloodstone, dangling it from its broken leather thong. Tarr looked away from the computer, his eyes ablaze as the stone dazzled red. Leiko Wu seemed unmoved as she surfed the channels on the cable guide. American television was addictive.

“This’ll give your old pa a bit o’ pause,” Reston said as he eyed the Bloodstone.

“I do not understand why,” Shang-Chi said, staring at the shard of the Hellfire Helix. “My father… my sister… both are immortal. I see no reason to crave this alien gemstone.”

“It does other things, Shang,” Black Jack Tarr added as he shifted from page to page on the Internet. Shang-Chi saw the West Coast Avengers Homepage briefly, before Tarr started his hack. “Nasty things, if the holder knows what he’s doing. Figure your Dad does, or has someone in his employ.”

“All good things…”

Shang-Chi looked at Leiko Wu as she raised her legs to the coffee table and crossed her ankles, flipping through the television channels. She was beautiful, but beyond his touch. Reston had seen to that again.

“The Bloodstone shards bring all good things to those who seek them,” she said as she paused on HSN. “Long life… Prosperity… End of opposition.” She shifted her legs and continued channel surfing.

“Ulysses Bloodstone might beg to differ,” Tarr added with a misplaced chuckle. Shang-Chi did not see the humor. A woman had died tonight.

“He can beg all he wants,” Reston said, sealing the gemstone in a glass vial, twisting the lid. “Dead is dead. His daughter is surrounded by Avengers. No worries there. Tarr… the next shard?”

“Another in Manhattan actually,” Black Jack Tarr said as he worked the Search program. Next closest is in Ontario.”

“Manhattan then,” Reston said as he keyed in the coordinates that Tarr fed him. He glanced at Shang-Chi. “You good to go, son?”

“Let us end this. My father must be stopped.”

Shang-Chi ignored the accompanying banter of his fellow members of MI-6. He wondered at the Black Widow’s involvement. He was certain that it was she that had come running out of the Hellfire Club when he had rendered Shockwave unconscious. She was a valuable ally- or formidable foe he had learned first hand. He hoped that he would not be forced to fight her. He had his doubts…

There were always doubts…

Read now and read often…

Curt