"Tony! Tony!"
The call was dialed two or three times before finally going through. The moment Tony answered, Captain America spoke loudly into the receiver:
"Tony! What on earth are you doing?! Black Widow is under attack! Check where she is right now!"
"Captain," Tony Stark's voice sounded somewhat displeased. "I just received a piece of intel regarding the cause of my parents' deaths."
Captain America fell silent instantly, pausing for two seconds before saying:
"Tony, I'm deeply sorry to disturb you at a time like this, but our teammate is currently under attack. I need you to help me check Manhattan's traffic surveillance cameras."
"37th Avenue, heading north to south, just about to reach the intersection with 6th Avenue," Tony Stark said on the other end of the line after clicking away on a keyboard for a moment.
"Thanks," Captain America said, preparing to hang up.
"Electro isn't in Manhattan, and I'm tied up with something right now and can't step away..." Tony Stark offered a brief explanation.
"Hawkeye and I will go save her," Captain America said.
With the situation critical, both Captain America and Hawkeye were still wearing everyday civilian clothes.
They had no time to change into tactical gear either. After hanging up, they exchanged a nod and split up immediately.
A few dozen seconds later, the two gathered once again in the hall of the Avengers Mansion—one holding his shield, the other carrying a quiver on his back with a longbow in hand.
At the entrance of the estate, Jack Monroe, the second Baki, had already driven a truck over and was waiting there.
"...A truck?" Hawkeye's eyes went dark.
"Yeah, this is the only vehicle I have available," Jack Monroe smiled, looking somewhat embarrassed.
He didn't possess Black Widow's knack for somehow procuring a flashy sports car to use as a ride after kicking around Manhattan for merely half a month.
Even though he was now a globally recognized superhero, Jack Monroe still relied mostly on this truck whenever he went out.
Besides, this was the only thing his father had left him.
"No time to find a new car. Truck it is!" Hawkeye gritted his teeth, stepping forward to yank open the driver's side door. "Get out, I'll drive."
"But..." Jack Monroe hesitated for a moment; this was, after all, the legacy left by his father.
"No buts, saving a life takes priority," Captain America said.
With that, Jack Monroe hesitated no longer.
Before the door had even closed, the pickup truck's tires spun madly against the ground as it surged forward abruptly.
The Avengers Mansion was in Queens, a drive of several dozen minutes away from Manhattan.
Even if Hawkeye's driving skills could compress the time to within half an hour, it would still be too late.
Yet Tony Stark, Iron Man—the one most capable of supporting the scene at the very first moment—was investigating the cause of his parents' deaths, and Electro was not around.
None of the folks in the Defenders possessed high mobility either.
In his desperation, Captain America immediately thought of Batman, rapidly opening an encrypted communication line with him:
"Black Widow is under attack. We need backup!"
"Copy, Captain," Batman's voice remained as calm and commanding as ever.
He didn't even ask for the location of the attack or who the culprit was, yet he gave Captain America a sense of reliability far exceeding that of Tony Stark, Iron Man.
"Phew..." Captain America exhaled a breath of pent-up tension from his chest, looking at the road ahead.
Jack Monroe's truck let out a feeble roar, but limited by its power and build, while it made plenty of noise, its speed wasn't fast at all.
This left both Captain America and Hawkeye consumed with anxiety.
Yet worrying was useless; none of the three could fly, leaving them to stare helplessly at the truck's speedometer.
By the time they finally crossed the Queensboro Bridge and reached Manhattan, forty minutes had already elapsed since Black Widow sent out her distress signal.
Captain America could endure it no longer. Gripping his Vibranium shield tight, he threw open the door and leaped out, striding forward on both legs at a speed far faster than the truck.
Hawkeye and Jack Monroe, the second Baki, exchanged a glance in the truck, and Jack Monroe followed suit, opening his door and jumping out as well.
"Sigh." Hawkeye let out a sigh. He was contemplating whether to abandon Jack Monroe's sluggish truck by the roadside and hijack a motorcycle to catch up.
Right at that moment, however, Hawkeye heard a howling air current from directly above, as a shadow completely enveloped the truck.
Clint Barton, Hawkeye, felt his heart skip a beat. Swerving the steering wheel hard, he initiated an S-shaped path, yet the overhead shadow clung to them like a ghost, remaining over the truck the entire time.
Just as Hawkeye reached out to grasp his bow and arrow, the truck shuddered violently, and a loud thud echoed from the truck bed.
Before Hawkeye could react, his vision blurred, and sitting in the passenger seat was a figure clad in jet-black armor, with only his lower jaw exposed—none other than Batman.
"Where are the Captain and Jack Monroe?" Batman asked.
Unlike Ant-Man, who wore his suit almost around the clock, other superheroes more or less had daily needs for changing clothes and taking showers.
Even placing listening devices and locators on these people couldn't achieve 24/7 surveillance.
Jack Monroe's truck happened to have one, which was how Batman was able to locate them so accurately.
"I should ask you first: where's Black Widow?" Hawkeye asked in return.
"She was injured and is receiving medical treatment in the Batcave," Batman said.
"..." Hawkeye choked on his breath, the words stuck in his throat.
Lord have mercy; he, Captain America, and Jack Monroe had spent a miserable effort just driving the truck out of Queens, while Batman had already rescued the person, sent her off for treatment, and even come over to locate them.
"The Captain and Jack Monroe are currently on a hiking trip," Hawkeye said.
"Although I rescued Black Widow, I did not engage in direct contact with the perpetrator," Batman said. "By the time I arrived, the other party's whereabouts were already unknown."
"How was Natasha found?" Hawkeye asked.
"She was abandoned by the roadside."
Several hours later, at the Avengers Mansion.
Though Black Widow was injured, her life was in no danger. After receiving treatment on South Brother Island involving Wakandan Regenerative Gel, Professor Lizard, and Dr. Midnight, she was no longer in serious condition.
Currently, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain America, Jack Monroe, Werewolf by Night, Iron Man, and Batman—seven individuals in total—were seated before the fireplace in the mansion.
"We don't know who the culprit is, we don't know his motive, and we don't know where he came from," Captain America pressed one hand against the table, frowning as he said, "Everyone, do you have any clues?"
"I investigated the municipal traffic surveillance footage. Although the culprit did not hack into the surveillance network, he clearly knew the distribution of the cameras. As a result, from his appearance to his departure, he remained entirely within the blind spots of the surveillance," Iron Man said.
He had been able to pinpoint the location of Black Widow's attack at the first moment because both parties had been exposed under the cameras at that time.
"Batman, what about you?" Captain America looked toward Batman.
"I need to hear the description from the victim," Batman looked at Black Widow. "What did he say after capturing you? Do you remember the sequence of events up until you were knocked unconscious?"
This attack had come far too abruptly, organized and premeditated; expecting Batman to trace the root cause within a short timeframe was unrealistic, even with Alfred's assistance.
"The opponent is an enhanced human," Black Widow declared with certainty. "Just like the Captain, he is a fellow who was injected with Super Soldier Serum."
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