Winter Soldier and Black Widow

Karl family estate, outskirts of New York.

"Don’t let go! Hold him down!"

Under the trembling gazes of the children in the second-floor corridor, the spacious first-floor hall was loud and chaotic as a fierce battle to subdue a trapped beast unfolded.

Four or five elite bodyguards in suits and sunglasses, clutching snapped military-grade ropes, were sent flying from the center of the fight. They rolled across the floor, crying out in pain.

"Ordinary ropes can’t hold him! Get someone to bring chains!"

Logan’s face was flushed as he locked Bucky’s powerful arms from behind with his extended bone claws. Bucky, his hair disheveled, struggled and roared like a wild beast gone out of control.

Under the strain of their contest, the ornate floor beneath their feet was nearly cracking apart.

"I can’t hold on much longer!" Logan warned. Bucky swung his powered Mechanical Left Arm down against the floor, then used brute strength to hurl Logan forward.

"I’ve got him!" Natasha, her vivid red hair blazing, lunged forward in time. Dragging a ten-meter iron chain behind her, she swiftly looped it around Bucky’s neck.

Bucky moved to attack, but Natasha nimbly evaded him, circling around him several times and winding the chain around his waist and neck.

Finally, Natasha, dressed in a long gown, knelt atop Bucky’s broad back and yanked hard on both ends of the chain. The tightening links rattled and clanked.

Natasha said in a low voice, "Bucky, remember who you are! Don’t let those false memories corrupt your mind!"

Bucky ignored her completely. His eyes were hollow and cold, and as he pulled with all his strength, the chain in Natasha’s hands slowly began to slip free.

"Move!" The chain was about to snap apart. Logan gave a low roar and suddenly charged at Bucky, while Natasha reacted by leaping away.

The next instant, Bucky, still wrapped in chains, was violently rammed away by Logan. He flew several meters, crashed through the building’s front entrance, and tumbled down the stone steps onto the estate lawn.

Bucky rose in mechanical silence, tearing off the chains around him as he moved to leave the estate alone.

"We can’t let him leave in that state." Logan and Natasha exchanged a glance and were about to pursue him when they suddenly saw the chains around Bucky rise swiftly into the air.

Clatter—

The chains became like living serpents, autonomously coiling around Bucky’s limbs and binding him fast. At last, both ends of the chains tightened and pierced into the nearby grass.

Natasha, who had stepped out from the hall, looked up in astonishment. The stretch limousine that had gone out to purchase supplies had returned and stopped in the courtyard. Lucy, the mistress of the estate, and Yutong, its second fighter, had just stepped out of the car.

Yutong slightly raised her fair little hand, her silver eyes fixed on the out-of-control Bucky. Clearly, she had used telekinesis to control the chains in time.

"Nicely done." Logan let out a relieved breath. He finally understood why Kyle had told Yutong to keep watch over Bucky—without causing excessive harm, only telekinesis geared toward control could effectively restrict his movements.

"What do we do now? Keep him trapped like this?"

The people of the estate were troubled over Bucky’s rampage when sparks suddenly lit up at the front entrance. They spun brilliantly into a circular portal large enough for a person to pass through, and Kyle, dressed in a black combat suit, stepped out.

"Kyle?" "Boss." "Patriarch…" "Chief!"

Different forms of address rang out one after another throughout the estate. The young man who had returned was undoubtedly the foundation and pillar of the Karl family.

"Boss, how did you get back?" Logan asked on behalf of everyone present. The miraculous portal behind Kyle was gradually fading, and through it they could vaguely see a rooftop among New York’s skyscrapers, along with faint, fragmented city noise from the other side.

"This is magic. I’ll explain it to you later." Kyle looked around, then frowned slightly as he saw Bucky bound by chains before the entrance. "He lost control?"

Logan nodded. The first floor of the estate was covered in severe damage left by the Winter Soldier’s rampage. There was no need to say how intense the fight had been.

Kyle looked at the bound Bucky and raised the hand wearing the Sling Ring. As he continued making circular motions, a spinning ring of sparks expanded from the lawn beneath Bucky’s feet.

"Yutong, release him."

"Okay." Yutong loosened both ends of the chain with her telekinesis. Before Bucky could struggle or take half a step, he dropped through the portal with a thud, and the ring of sparks vanished with him.

Everyone present blinked, unable to tell what Kyle had done.

"Let him get some fresh air and clear his head." After saying that, Kyle looked toward Natasha, considering how he should arrange things for her.

Natasha could not help backing away several steps. Even a top agent was like a little lamb before the young man in front of her. But she quickly came to her senses and stopped. After all, no one had forced her—she had willingly come to join him.

"Half an hour from now, there’ll be a family meeting in the second-floor hall. I have something to tell all of you."

As Kyle spoke, he opened another portal. On the other side was the master conference room on the second floor of the estate.

"Natasha, come with me." Kyle stepped into the portal, and Natasha obediently followed behind him, leaving behind Karl family members full of admiration and awe.

It had to be said, with Magic-Portals, not only did they save a great deal of travel time, they also looked far more impressive.

A mage’s exclusive method of transportation—aside from the shorter distance and smaller entrance—was no less spectacular than making an entrance via the Bifrost.

Inside the master conference hall on the second floor.

Kyle sat in an office chair, lightly tapping his fingers against the desk as he got straight to the point. "I don’t completely trust you. You betrayed the Red Room. If an even stronger force pressures you someday, it’s very possible that you’ll turn on me as well."

"Then why did you save me?" Natasha lightly bit her lower lip and calmly sat down on the sofa. She had been used and abandoned too many times; she had long grown accustomed to the feeling of not being trusted.

She was far from the helpless, fragile girl she appeared to be. She was a true Black Widow.

Her nature, her memories, and even those shameful experiences from her past—once they had been stained, it was difficult to ever become clean again.

"Because you still have value to me. And as long as you remain on Earth, you cannot escape the Karl family’s pursuit if you betray me."

Kyle spoke with confidence, and Natasha believed him without question.

Kyle continued, "For the next two months, you must remain at the estate and cannot leave even one step. Come see me once every three days for half an hour."

"Ah, why?" Natasha blinked her beautiful eyes strangely as an inexplicable sense of anticipation rose within her.

If Kyle had taken a liking to her, she wouldn’t have minded…

"After two months, I’ll recommend you to Nick Fury. You’ll take a position in the newly established S.H.I.E.L.D. Whether you can earn recognition from my family’s forces and wash away the stains on yourself will depend entirely on your performance."

Kyle interrupted Natasha’s speculation and fantasy, making the arrangements in an even tone.

There should be another chapter later tonight.

This author wasn’t the explosive type, but the enduring type. There would be no shortage of daily updates during Golden Week or throughout this month.

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