Calculations -for doom-

[Black Widow]

Natalia Romanova had an assignment, she had very little packing, she had… a burka. She sat in a bathroom stall in the Latverian International Airport in Doomstadt (Air Latveria's motto: "Our Stewardesses All Have Ion Blasters Secreted On Their Persons. Sit Down. Shut Up. Enjoy the Complimentary Bag of Peanuts.") and looked the formless, shapeless, heavy thing up and down. It was like a potato sack. A burlap sack with sleeves, and a heavy scarf to go with it. She had on her uniform, street clothes tucked into an unadorned bag that hung from a hook on the stall door. They would be left here in this stall. Her shoes were plain boots, flat, laced up the front and not matching the sleek black bullet-proof polymer that made up her uniform. She had sedatives and explosives tucked on her person, there were capped razorblades tucked in her mouth, a last resort should she be imprisoned. Taking something of a deep breath she slipped on the burka, letting it fall over her head and cover her form.

She no longer looked the super-spy, the super soldier. She looked like a beautiful, though generally uninteresting, Latverian commoner. She reached into the pocket of the burka and came up with her papers, she tucked them back in and wound the scarf around her head, flicked on dark sunglasses against the bright midday sun that would greet her when she left this place. She stepped out; the bag left behind, and glanced at herself in the mirror over the sink. She sighed, she could even make a burka look good. Well, it was what she did, she made her way out of the airport, stopped once, the papers getting her through. Dr. Amalia Kelmec, with a doctorate in Theoretical Physics and a heavy amount of American schooling under her belt, was not stopped by security, the weaponry she carried under her burka went undetected, she moved through the country without difficulty.

A taxi was hailed on the sunny street, she was driven to Castle Doom, seat of all government in this backward country, where she stepped out, walked up to the front guards and held up her hands. The databases weren’t kidding, the robots probably outnumbered the people in this place. Natalia shook her head slightly, pocketed her sunglasses, and held up her hands when approached. “I’m here from SHIELD, to see your leader, Dr. Von Doom. Let me in or my death will cause an international incident.” Her voice didn’t waver, she spoke perfect Latverian. Disarmed (Mostly, they missed her razors), still wearing the burka, she was escorted with hands tied back to a perfectly ornate throne room. On her knees now, half in a bow, she held her head up, unlikely to stop playing the proud woman for even a second. She took the whole room in with hawk-like intensity. So the Black Widow waited to turn traitor, and offer her services to the Latverian government.

[Victor Von Doom]

Doom sat in his throne, it seemed that it was all he had been doing these past few days while he waited to tie up the loose ends of his plans, and he was begining to become weary of his mighty throne, but Doom was a man of endless patience, or thats how he saw himself at least. His eyes shut, uniterested in what was happening at that moment, until he had recieved very interesting news.

He opend his eyes, looking down at none other then Black Widow. He had to admit, she was a brave one, and her refusal to bow her head even in the mighty presence of Doom was amusing to the Lord of Latveria. He waved off his Doombots, not afraid that Black Widow would attempt something, she was anything but stupid.

[green]"What an interesting suprise. What exactly does Shield wish to accomplish by sending you here?"[/green] Even the proud and intelligent Doom had to admit that he couldn't fathom a reason for Shield to send her here, but he had a theory for why she was in his presence at this very moment, and it was a theory that entertained him very much indeed.

[Black Widow]

Natalia smiled slightly, it was a cold smile, as if she might sprout fangs at any moment and fly at someone. “SHIELD expects to accomplish nothing, SHIELD does not know I am here.” She kept her head thrown back, she could appear the queen even if she was in these oppressive rags. Her hands were bound tightly behind her back, the steel cuffs too tight and with too little give. She had the feeling thy might be adamantium, but also had the feeling it would look suspicious to try to break them to see, she clenched and unclenched her fists loosely behind her back.

“SHIELD has failed to block the War Crime proceedings from reaching me.” She began, the beginning of a cover-story that she had worked very hard at, to the point where she had been called in front of a tribunal. “If I stay there I will likely be called forth, removed from SHIELD, and deported back to my own country, where I will be reprogrammed, or executed, by the GRU.” Ah, the GRU, they weren’t the KGB, they were somehow much scarier, and now they were in charge of the program that had once spawned her. It was a likely scenario, perfectly rational.

She bit back what might have been an intense rage, her green eyes flashing, “My own country will likely have me killed, my new country will have me deported there. You must see my dilemma.” The anger passed away, she lowered her head, slightly, shook it. “I had to risk coming here, you are the only one who can protect me from either one of them.” Now she did bow her head, completely, her voice lowered, she was beyond an actress, “I would throw myself on the mercy of the Latverian government, and ask for asylum in your country, sir.”

[Victor Von Doom]

Doom watched in amusement as the Black Widow kneeled there, recounting to him her story. The War Crimes had been traced back to her, she would be soon stripped of her status in shield, and most likely executed in her home country, and Black Widow expressed that she very much did not wish to experiance any of this, even going as far as to come here to find peace in Doom's safety. He pondered his options for a few moments, her knowledge would be useful, even if he doubted the truthfulness behind her words, she would still be an interesting tool to wield.

She even bowed her head down in recognition to Doom's power, and he could not help himself from taking pity on the poor creature. He rised from his throne and walked towards Black Widow, the sounds of his metallic footsteps echoing off the walls of his throne room. He stopped just before Black Widow, mentally commanding his robots to unchain her wrists. He looked down at woman, he had made his descion.

[green]"And my protection you shall have. As long as you stay under my wing, you will not be harmed by any, this I promise to you."[/green] His word may not seem like much to some, but Doom was a man of his word, even if he had been forced to break it in past situations, he tried to keep that ideal alive whenever he could.

[Black Widow]

She kept her head down, perfectly aware that he was standing over her, aware and rather frightened. What if something had leaked? What if he knew her true intentions and was simply playing along until… And then the handcuffs snapped loose, a flood of relief swept through her and the tension in her mind eased. Things were going smoothly, she had offered nothing but her story and been accepted. She was very pleased about it. She remained kneeling, a few strands of auburn hair slipped from under the headscarf, she brought her heads in front of her and clasped them tightly.

“Thank you.” She said it simply, feeling that there was no other way to convey such a profound gratitude as one might feel in the described situation. “If there is anything I can do for you in return you have only to ask, I am at your service.” She wanted to stand very badly, to meet his eye, but she had to affect the fall from grace, complete the image of a woman in deep gratitude. No matter how much it annoyed her, she had to do it.

[Victor Von Doom]

Doom watched as the Widow put her hands infront of her face, conveying her deep gratitude for what Doom had done for her. Doom was good at reading people, and attempts for others to infiltrate him a fashion similar to this had been foiled many, many times, but either the Black Widow was telling the complete truth, or she was one of the best actress's Doom had ever encountered. Doom motioned for her to stand up, vocalizing the command by saying [green]"Rise."[/green]

Once she had stood up, he looked at her straight in the eyes, and in her eyes he could see no lies, but that didn't remove his doubt, the Black Widow had been a double agent many times, and he could not simply trust that things were as they appeared. [green]"I assume that you already know that if you have been lieing to me, and you are indeed here on behalf of Shield, then I will subject you to a very horrible death."[/green]

[Black Widow]

Natalia stood, gracefully, her hands held loosely at her sides, her demeanor open but her head held up at a solid, almost haughty angle. She kept her eyes level as well, she didn’t blink or flinch at his gaze, she didn’t break eye contact until he delivered his threat. A brief smile flickered on her lips, a smile of true and legitimate humor rather than her previously icy look. She nodded once, returning her eyes to meet his behind the mask, wondering (Not for the first time) if the mask was more for intimidation or actually a necessity. It was certainly a near gruesome sort of artifact.

“I assure you, sir, I have been in your country many times, nothing could convince me to come so blatantly and openly into your castle were I not telling the truth.” It was at least partially the truth, if she weren’t confident of her abilities she would have never given the assignment a second look over, but some things were necessary and someone had to do them. She wondered how long it would take her to get at what she wanted, she didn’t fancy spending much time in this place, it was bound to make anyone edgy. “Will I be permitted to have my weapons back?” She inquired, her belt of explosives had been taken, all her knives, and her bracers had been taken before she entered, she wanted them back.

[Victor Von Doom]

Doom was slightly impressed, the woman showed no signs of fear, she didn't even flinch at the full force of his gaze, and this amused him. It would be interesting having her around. With his mask on, the only feature of his face that one could see were his eyes, and a small area of skin around his eyes, but the rest of his face remained a mystery to all but himself and his Doombots, and that was the way Doom intended on keeping it.

Even with the Black Widow's promise that she was not a double Agent, Doom refused to trust her, he trusted no one but himself, and that was how he managed to keep himself alive all of this time, for him, to trust was to give one an oppertunity to strike, to trust was to show weakness. [green]"You may have your weapons."[/green] One may have believed that allowing Black Widow to have her weapons was a stupid descion, but Doom did not made stupid descions, he simply knew that even with weapons, the possibility of her being able to kill him was less then zero.

[Black Widow]

Natalia smiled, bent at the waist, and offered a very slight bow. “I had heard that you could be a gracious ruler, Dr. Von Doom, but I did not know how gracious.” She returned her steady gaze to his and raised her arms so her hands were clasped at her stomach. They had the look as though clasping them were stopping them from shaking, as if she were swallowing some great horror in order to remain her solid, calm self.

“I shall give you no reason to doubt my word, I am not here for anyone but myself and your kindness has meant everything to me.” She had read every file on this man, and she knew how he valued the spoken promise. There was a very good chance he would not break his promise to protect her, unless she gave him honest reason not to. He might not trust her, but there was a good chance he would not act on this mistrust, and she would be safe, for the time being.

[Victor Von Doom]

Doom nodded his head as the Widow complimented on how gracious of a ruler he was, but that was not a trait that most learned of, only his beloved Latveria knew of his kindness. Everyone else just seemed to assume that he was some ruthless tyrant, but under his rule Latveria has grown to a level of wealth and safety that no other ruler could have brought it. He watched as she wrapped her arms around herself, as if attempting to prevent herself from shaking, out of fear or gratefulness he could not tell, but if he had to pick on of the two, he would have to pick the former.

He listened to her words as she reassured him that she would not be attempting anything, and Doom knew that if she were to do so, it would not be anything that would be noticeable at first, regardless of the Black Widow's combative skill, Doom knew that she lacked any real power, and power is exactly what was required to battle the Lord of Latveria, the only thing she could do would be to leak information on his plans, but Doom believed that he made it nigh impossible to do such a thing. [green]"I do not doubt your words."[/green] Of course, Doom was a master of lieing as well, it was quite easy for him to do so.

[green]"You will be staying in the castle, with a room of your own. Of course I will not restrict you to this room, you will be free to wander around Latveria and indulge in its pleasures as you wish, I have no wish of keeping you as though you were a prisoner."[/green]

[Black Widow]

“I’ve been to your country many times, the indulgences wore thin some time ago.” She smiled, half joking, but wrapped her arms around herself all the same. She wore the posture easily, that of a stern woman attempting to hide nerves, a woman who was being hunted. There were many things one could say about Natalia Romanova, but the one that struck typically was that she was very good at what she did. She was a master of her craft, she hadn’t become a level 10 SHIELD agent just because of her pretty face, after all.

She lowered her arms once more, gave a flickering smile, and glanced back at the robots who surrounded her. One had brought her weapons, her belt, her knives, her bracers. The bracers she snapped on, revealing the sleek black uniform she wore concealed beneath the rough brown burka. She wrapped the belt around one hand and bent down, slipped the knives back into her boots. “I did not bring much, you understand if I did not think I would get this far.” She picked at the drab garment with one hand, “Though if this is what your women wear I shall need very little, I think.” She tucked the loose strands of hair back beneath her head scarf and glanced around at the throne room.

“If that is all then I will get out of your hair, so to speak.” She gave a short bow, “And the offer stands, anything that I may do for you, in return for this service, you have only to ask.”

[Victor Von Doom]

Doom knew of his countries limited selection of activites, but his people were pleased with what they had, it had proven to be much more then they had ever had since before Doom took it over, and it was enough for them, thus it was enough for Doom. He would consider adding more methods of entertainment if they ever needed it, but for now his people were content.

Doom had been considering just what he could use the Black Widow for, and the obvious answer was to obtain all the knowledge she had on Shield, although Doom doubted that she would very much that proved to be any use, Shield liked to keep its agents in the dark, even high ranking ones such as the Widow. Doom turned around and walked to his throne, taking his seat there and looking back at the Black Widow. [green]"I will be taking you up on that offer. You will be telling me everything you know about Shield that could prove to be any use, and I may call on you for more then that, for I have grown weary of the company of none other then my Doombots."[/green]

Doom waved his hand, [green]"You may leave now if you wish."[/green]

[Black Widow]

Natalia briefly wondered what he might find useful, and then considered how she could alter and mask that knowledge enough to keep it safe. She wondered how much he already knew, or even how much he thought she knew. “Everything that will interest you, that I am aware of, will be yours. When you wish to speak to me you have only to call, I won’t be leaving the castle.” She smiled slightly, bowed briefly, and turned to follow one of the abominable robots. The Black Widow had a good deal to think about and, more than that, she needed to close her eyes. The time difference was wreaking very real havoc on her mind.

Out of the throne room, down several hallways, up a twisting flight of stairs, down more hallways, she memorized each turning until they reached a heavy wooden door that led, not just to one room, but to several, the decadent series common in mediaeval castles. A politely and elegantly furnished sitting room gave way to an inviting bedroom. She pulled a beautiful china and gold bowl from a carved desk, trading it for the linked circles that made up her belt and the heavy scarf she had wrapped around her head. Her thick auburn hair fell out, framing her face, and she sat down heavily on the bed, dropping backward and kicking off the ugly laced boots to reveal bare feet and chipped red nail-polish. She set the bowl down and fell back, feet on the floor and head cushioned by what felt like a feather mattress. It was so comfortable she felt she was practically on vacation. Perhaps it wouldn’t kill her to retire to Latveria, it seemed like a quiet enough little place.

She reached into one of the deep pockets of her burka, tossing aside the false traveling papers, the sunglasses, and pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a cheap red plastic lighter. The pack was stripped of its plastic, a cigarette drawn out with even white teeth, sticking up into the air like a tower. She lit it, sucked in the first deep draw, and really considered, for the first time what she was doing. She was going to examine the defensive structures not just of the city but of the central fortress. She was going to try to steal technology from Latveria, from Castle Doom. She was going to formulate the full psychological and emotional picture of the leader of one of the least known countries on earth. Natalia Romanova was going to do all of this with absolutely no support staff, there was a very good chance her little attempt would end in imprisonment or execution, if she was captured it was very unlikely that a rescue attempt was forthcoming. All of this she considered with the cigarette moving steadily between her mouth and the ornate bowl, now an ornate ashtray, while she thought about all of this. Perhaps this was as good a time as any to consider retirement, she could get used to the nice surroundings, it was a pretty enough room.

Natalia wondered precisely how such matters of national intelligence as her knowledge of SHIELD were breached in Latverian etiquette and resolved to remember it exactly. Such raw knowledge and material often proved useful. She lay back and continued to smoke, staring at the canopy that draped the bed, doing her best not to think too hard about her task. It would only end up worrying her, and worrying never solved anything.

[Victor Von Doom]

Doom had remained in his throne as the Doombots escourted Black Widow to her new room, and he made sure that it was one of the more comfortable rooms in his castle, he treated his guests well, especially when there was the promise of possible information. In all the areas of America that Doom had information on, Shield was one of the files lacking in what he needed, and he hoped that Widow would be able to provide that, although he would not trust her information completely, he would be left with no option but to at least act on it.

After a small period of time, Doom decided that now would be a good time to converse with the Widow, he had nothing else that required his personal attention, and he had nothing else that would amuse him quite as much as the supposedly former Shield agent. A conversation with her would prove a good oppertunity to learn if her alligance really was to him now, and possibly some Shield information as well. Of course he could just send a Doombot to speak with her in place of himself and she would never know the difference, but this would be far more amusing to the Lord of Latveria.

Following down the memorized twists and turns of his great castle, he finally reached Widow's room, wasting no time in walking in to her room as if he owned the place, which infact, he very much did. He did not care for her own personal privacy, but fortunately for her, she was still decent. The door shut behind him automaticly, sounding off with a dull thud that echoed throughout the hallways. He strode over to the biggest and most comfortable chair in the room. [green]"I was wondering if you would indulge me in a conversation."[/green]

Doom almost never engaged in casual, pointless conversation, but thats what it would most likely appear to Black Widow as, but the Lord of Latveria more often then not, had a higher purpose for doing anything that he did. So the question was, is this one of thouse few occasions, or did he have an actual purpose?

[Black Widow]

Natalia jumped at the sound of a door opening, the cigarette dangling loosely from her mouth, the light reaching dangerously close to the filter. She crushed it into the bowl and moved it aside. She had nearly fallen asleep here, the time difference wreaking havoc on her body, but the door opening had given her a burst of adrenaline. That was all she needed, she could function fully on sleep deprivation for up to two weeks, this shouldn’t be a problem, and it wasn’t, not really. She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes and stood her bare feet padding on the stone floor. She briefly considered throwing on the head scarf and her shoes, but realized she simply didn’t care, it was likely a robot anyway.

Or it was actually Dr. Von Doom. She rather wished she’d at least taken the time to put on shoes, but too late for all that now. She ran her fingers through her hair, let it fall flat and waited until he had sat down to take the other chair in the room. Her legs were crossed and she sat back comfortably, arms draped over the chair, the rough brown sleeves of her garment drawn up to show the faintest hints of silver and black. She looked utterly and supremely comfortable, relaxed as much as one could be in his presence, though her eyes continued to flicker level with his, as if trying to decide what he was thinking.

“I would be happy to, however, perhaps you could clear something up for me. I have always wondered how I am supposed to address you.” It was true, she couldn’t quite figure out any proper way to do so, ‘Sir’ seemed too militant, Dr. Von Doom far too familiar. She had no honest idea how to go about it.