Chapter 603 - Sturdy Neck

The dinner table was set and everyone began their meals. With Mary being super busy for the rest of the day, it was up to Natasha to pick up takeouts from different places to cater to the needs of her family. "Hey," Nik complained, "This is Thai," he glared towards Nat, "I ordered Mexican."

"You should have gotten it yourself." Sitting across Nik, Nat crossed her legs and smirked while eating with chopsticks. "Oh, sorry, I was busy saving the day!" Nik scoffed as Mary smiled, "About that, I just reached when everything was almost over." Her words made Ann take out her phone and hurriedly type in before showing the screen to Nik, revealing a picture of an unconscious man covered in slimy purple gunk. "This was you when you took a break from the assignments?"

'Considering we even completed our assignments,' Nik kept his thoughts to himself. It still bothered him that he couldn't complete all his assignments in a single day. It was an extremely stupid thing to be bothered with but it still did. "Yep," nodding and eating the food slightly reluctantly, he pointed out, "And much thanks I get. I mean it Nat, next time I pick food, I am getting you... Spicy Curry."

"I love spicy food," The redheaded aunt shrugged while Nik smiled, "Oh, I meant what comes after that. Spicy Curry and milk. Let's see your stomach holding onto that."

"I could always avoid drinking milk until later," Natasha suggested.

"You would do that, wouldn't you," Nik smiled and looked at Mary, "That reminds me, did you know that I and Nat had a heart to heart where she even told me a lot that you didn't know about? She could be spying at us with those skills and we wouldn't even know about it—"

"Fine, I get it!" cutting Nik off, Natasha looked at Ann with an inquisitive look, "And didn't you have your dance practice today?"

"Oh... yeah, I am not telling what we did for the evening," shaking her head, she began eating her food silently while Natasha blanked out for a moment. "Hey, I thought I was the cool aunt you could share stuff that you wouldn't feel doing with Mary," Nat whined, trying to persuade the girl into letting her on the secret that she was keeping for herself while Mary dreaded the sentence she already knew Ann would speak.

"There's not many things I don't share with mum... underpants, the most obvious."

Secretly knowing the underlying meaning of her words, Natasha almost choked while Nik smirked. Gwen's secret wasn't theirs to expose and while Ann didn't even try to pretend that everything was fine, her absolute refusal was, in fact, refreshing. After a brief period of silence, Mary inquired, "How's Junior doing? I still can't thank you enough for hooking him up in Stark Industries."

"Please," Natasha shrugged, "It was not a big deal and Junior still needs to study for a proper job."

"I just had to blow a kiss towards the foreman and there you go, Brandon hired!"

"That's kind of trashy, if you ask me," Nik jabbed while focusing on his food.

"Nik," Mary softly nudged Nik's shoulders and glared at him. It did sound trashy but there was no need to grill Nat for that. "Don't worry Nat," Mary smiled comfortingly, "You were trashy for a good cause."

"Hey!" Natasha scoffed in anger, making Anna snicker mischievously. She loved the fact that despite her aunt's skills, the woman still acted in an immature manner. After hearing all the possible deeds Mary could even explain about Natasha, it was more than obvious that Ann had greater expectations. Maybe a few scars on the face, a bulkier body... but as it turns out, Natasha wasn't any of it. In fact, she was a 'perfect' role model for the promiscuous family.

"Don't be mad, we are just making fun of you since you have been so... frequent to our apartment," Mary coughed as Natasha's expression turned even uglier, making her chew on her food loudly. "Maybe you all need to get your own dinners from now on."

"If you aren't always free, we would," Nik continued, "And before you say— ooh, I have a job! I am looking into someone— know that Anna defeated a boss five times within an hour and I completed seven assignments."

"And they compare to espionage... how?" Natasha placed her takeout container on the table and crossed her arms.

"For one, you don't need to spy on others when you get a mind-controlling ability. It makes things super easy. Secondly, video games and writing assignments the way I did requires a lot of dexterity. I believe I don't need to say anything more in our defense."

"Are you for real?" Natasha inquired with a blank look, "You are not a professional until you—"

"There you go again, excuses," Nik grinned with a warm expression, "Seriously, now it feels like you are overcompensating. A spy should probably have control over their emotions, right?" Nik inquired as Natasha smiled, "Come at me! I dare you. You are a superhuman, right? Say, Mary, can I take Nik to the rooftop and give him a deserving exercise?"

Now put on a spot since Mary really wished her urges itched right after the dinner. With Nik's ability to clean the entirety of the house in a few breaths, there was really nothing else to do after dinner. "I suppose... it could be good for the both of you," Mary conceded under Natasha's blazing gaze as Nik shrugged and stated openly, "Don't blame me for the beat down of your life. Anna, you'll record us, right?"

"Yep!" Ann grinned as the family of two, Nik, and Natasha ate their dinner at an even greater speed and made their way to the rooftop after cleaning the table.

"Did you know? I have trained Ava and now, I am even training Cindy. I am a master martial artist and grappler so you better watch out!" Nat exclaimed as she stretched her arms, openly distracting Nik and Ann with her packed bosom. The black-shirt with the top 2 buttons unbuckled did make matters worse as Mary looked at her so-called 'comrade' and directed Nik, "Yeah, don't go easy on her at all."

"Huh?" Looking back at Mary and seeing her expression, Nik nodded thoughtfully and smiled, "Got ya!"

"He wouldn't even be able to touch me!" Natasha grinned as Nik sighed. "Trash talks are for the incapable, and the overly capable. It's a good thing that we both fit the bill, you being the former and me being the latter," scratching the back of his head, Nik seemed to have realized the source of Natasha's confidence. "Wait, you said that you are training Cindy, right?"

"Yea? What about it? Want some for yourself, too?" She inquired with a curious smile as Nik huffed, "Oh, I definitely want some... but are you comparing Cindy's physical parameters to mine?"

"You both were bitten by the same spider, right?" She inquired.

"Oh, you deluded soul," Nik shook his head and began walking towards Natasha akin casual stroll. His body defenseless, his posture unfit for battle or even a spar, and his smug twist of lips dictating the thoughts running in his mind.

"You do you," Natasha muttered, a little disappointed that every newbie with superpowers always turned out to smug sons of bitches but what could she do about it? Students didn't know how much of the world still revolved around the cruelty of nature. Her thoughts however came to a sudden stop when Nik seemingly 'transitioned' right in front of her. His index already poking the tip of her nose as goosebumps rose all over Natasha's body, "Peek-a-boo~!" Nik chimed as Natasha's body prepared to punch without any inhibition only for Nik to sweep Nat's legs and making her body impact against the ground. Her punch now reached out only for it to tap on Nik's foot. Well, her punch should have been more impactful but now her own knuckle hurt like hell.

However, she couldn't exclaim in pain or even grunt slightly. Her gaze still held by Nik's violet orbs while her brain processing what just happened. Nik was apparently faster than her, had the street smarts to make her kiss the ground in her moment of stupor, and his body was harder than she had expected. It was, as they say, you never know until the first punch.

"Now what? Should I take over your training regime and pick Cindy as my student?" Nik inquired while stretching his arm to help Natasha up. "You..." She opened up, unsure of what she wanted to say. "You, what? Handsome stud? I'll always take that as a compliment... even when another handsome stud says that... oh, and I was just joking about training Cindy. I don't train people anymore... not for fights anyway," he smirked as he gripped on Natasha's hand and pulled her up.

"Did you get it?" Nik inquired while looking back as Ann replayed the video on her phone before shaking her head, "The slo-mo barely captured you... you were too fast this time around!" She groaned while Mary was as surprised as ever. She truly expected a form of the spar that would use more battle techniques than power but... 'Woah...' she thought internally, now sure that she should wear her old uniform for the night. The Spy Mama needed her sugar more than ever.

'He's... open!' With Natasha's body moving on its own, her waist twisting, and her leg raising to reach the back of his neck, Natasha landed a perfect side kick, and then came the nerve-wracking pain that made her collapse on her knees with a loud groan, "My foot!"

Returning to look at the fallen opponent, Nik inquired with a strange look, "Are you stupid or something, really? It didn't hurt the first time why would you think it would work on the second one?" His question only served to increase the frustration felt by Natasha as he glared with a snarl. "You lost... and hey, you were right, I feel lighter already," snapping his finger and covering Natasha with a bubble of pure space, he continued, "Since you can't walk and would probably hop like a... well, I am not calling you a one-legged bunny. Consider this a special treatment." At his manipulation, the bubble floated and pulled Nat from the ground, making her hover mid-air.

---

Wilson Fisk sat on his dining table. Alone. The white jeweled table spoke of luxuries that could only be gathered after stomping on the stomach of thousands, metaphorically. In some cases, literally. The so-called Devil of the Hell's Kitchen had been a major pain in his operations for months now and with the recent team-up with the infamous gunman— Captain America— Fisk found him reaching an impasse which could be conquered by having the heads of both of them crushed. "Purple fell..." he spoke to himself. "He didn't have much hope either way. He lost to Daredevil once but... the man turned normal. In front of him, on a laptop, played the video feedback of the pure-white monstrosity that destroyed his men and reduced Purple Man to a slimy mess. However, the video feedback turned static when the 'flesh' over the head of the monster wriggled, possibly showing the man's true face.

Comparing the video with the destruction caused by Venom in San Francisco, Wilson Fisk fell into deep thought. It wasn't easy. Trying to put the white monster and the Venom against each other. While the identity of the Venom wasn't a secret, it was the capabilities of the monster that made him so dangerous and with the discoverer of the monsters— Carlton— dead, his head lobbed off clean, and the research data missing, apparently, due to someone named White Tiger's and Vanish's interference, according to Black Cat, Wilson simply did not have enough data to understand about these monsters.

He continued to watch every footage he had on Venom. His large body scrunched down in a strange manner but that didn't matter to him. His body, his mind, his men, and his money were just a tool to accomplish his aim of dominating the city.

At this moment, a knock from the door interrupted his thoughts. To try and recruit the white monster by enticing him or coerce Eddie Brock into doing his wishes. There were plenty of methods to coerce Eddie, in fact.

"Come in," he grunted, making a well-groomed youth in the prime of his life enter. "How's the development of the serum taking place?" Wilson inquired as the man finally stopped three feet away from his boss and replied while adjusting his glasses, "Dr. Connors has been the most cooperative and the method of stabilizing the serum's side effects are taking longer than we thought."

"Hmm, no need to push him. Secrecy of the matter is our priority. With Tony Stark now growing more active by the day and more of our street sellers getting discouraged by that Powerman— Luke Cage— we need to bide our time carefully."

Luke had an even greater effect on the city after his return. Not only he would take part in the street activities quite openly, with his reputation as a known mobster turned into a hero, but he also brought out many youths from the life of crime. Needless to say, the current growth of the vigilantes had now become an eyesore not only to Wilson Fisk but also to major enterprises that were a front for the 'big ' guys. One of them, Madam Gao, now dead due to the very same Hero going by the name of Vanish.

"Is Felicia sent on her task?" Wilson inquired.

"Yes, sir. Ms. Hardy is on her way to Britain as we speak."

"And what about the sorcerer?"

"He remains in his dwellings, sir. His words suggested his need to be uninterrupted for a brief period of time. Naturally, the man has a varied sense of time than us so it might be a few months."

"And? Is there something else?" Wilson inquired.

"Sir... our Queens department is taken out. A man claiming to be Iron Fist is now sniffing our tails."

Sighing deeply, Wilson nodded.

"Send me the information. I will take a look. And persuade Mr. Brock. I want him to meet me in three days."

"Naturally, sir," The man nodded and left calmly.

***

A/N: A/N: sorry for such a poor performance this week. I had another one of the blocks regarding Ehg but reading stuff about Angela and Hela kinda got things going for me. So, you can expect quick and lengthy updates from now on.