Chapter Text
Yelena liked yellow. It was, and always has been, her favorite color, but sadly, yellow isn’t a good color for a spy. But she got her fix through other methods. Yellow highlighters, yellow sunflowers from the market, and yellow duck plushies littered her floor.
Which is why she chose a lovely yellow dress shirt for her first solo interview. Val taps her finger, humming with disappointment, “It’s just not working. I really think you should go in the royal blue one.”
“It’s a podcast, I’m not going to be seen.”
“It’s not about being seen, it’s about making a good impression on this guy.” Val snaps her fingers as a half-dozen assistants crowd around Yelena to redo her makeover. Val steps up and looks over Yelena’s makeup. “There’s still that damn bruise. Emma, make sure that awful thing is covered.”
Yelena is pulled into a chair as powder floods her face. “Next time, I’ll be sure to ask the bad guys to avoid the face when I’m in a firefight.”
“Or maybe don’t go on a mission without my say-so.” Val scoffs as she types on her phone. “There, you have all the questions this Brock guy is planning on asking you.”
Yelena lets the make-up artist touch up her blue eyeshadow. “Someone needed our help. That’s what Avengers do, Val.” Yelena glances at her phone. “Plus, it’s weird that a toy company had a hostage. I think there’s something more going on.” Yelena pulls away from the make-up chair to follow Val, “Look, Hem Arm didn’t exist until after the blip, and this tiny start-up went international in a month. There’s a factory in Queens-”
Val stiffens up. She slams down a glass against the bar table, “Drop it, Yelena. It’s just a toy company. You asked to have a public face, and those don’t target random toy companies aloud. You’re not in the shadows anymore; everything you all say and do affects many people. Which is why everything is thought through very carefully.”
Yelena steps back with an exhale. Something wasn’t right with this company, and taking down an evil corporation would help our image. Val would jump at a golden opportunity like that just for positive publicity…so why isn’t she? Yelena smiles perfectly, with the right amount of teeth and sharp cheeks. “Ok, consider it dropped.”
Val turns around, with an equally fake smile on her face, “Thank you. Now, I’m also going to send you some past episodes of ‘The Brock-ast’ for research. This studio is about an hour by subway, so you'd better get a move on.” Val shifts her weight when tapping on her phone, “I’d escort you, but I have to see whatever Bucky’s whining about now.”
Yelena steps over to the elevator. “You know that you don't have to be a two-faced bitch all the time, right? I hear empathy is good for your skin.” Yelena steps into the elevator, drinking in Val’s shocked face.
Val shakes her head, “Cute. Remember, performance perfection.” Val flips Yelena the bird as the doors close.
Yelena exhales. It’s a minor miracle that Val cleared Yelena from PR training. Then again, Yelena wanted to take some pressure off of Bucky and Peter. Both have other things going on; the least Yelena could do is take off a few eyeballs so they can breathe.
Still, something was off, and what Val didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. Now, Yelena just needs a good cover for spying on the factory in Queens. Just as Yelena is about to text Bucky for help, the elevator doors slide open as Peter walks in.
Peter leans against the wall when pulling on a sock, “Can’t be late.” He rapidly presses the ground-floor button until sparks fly. “Come on, come on.”
“Why don’t you just swing over to NYU?”
Peter jumps half a foot.
Yelena shrugs, “You have a spider-sense, did you really not know I was here?”
Peter huffs out a breath, “I’m sorry if I’m kinda out of it after being stuck in medical forever.”
It was only the weekend. Peter ties his shoe as the elevator descends once more. Peter is half-dressed in that weird black jumpsuit as he tightens a belt around his waist. Yelena stares until an idea pops into her head. Peter is from Queens, and the Hem Arm factory is there. A sneaky little spider could be all I need to spy without tipping Val off. Yelena rocks on her toes, “I’m sure you’re itching to get out and stretch.” Yelena wants to lead right into asking, but the camera in the corner persuades her not to. Val might not be paranoid enough to be stalking them all the time, but Yelena doesn't want to tempt fate.
So Yelena switches gears, “How are you? Ya know, with the mission and the voice grilling you about Tony?”
Peter stomps his foot down as the elevator rattles a bit, “Screw that guy. I mean, it sucks. I want to do right by Mr. Stark, I really do. But with Val calling us the ‘Legacies,’ it feels like everyone’s expecting me to be the next Iron Man. It’s like, I’m invisible.”
Yelena is sure to put as much obvious sarcasm into her tone when saying. “Well, you did ask a wizard to help everyone forget about you.” She wants to continue with, ‘But I get it. I’m not Natasha,’ but Peter cuts her off.
“Hey, screw you too.” He said darkly.
She raises her hands. Ok, way more touchy than expected. It’s weird, though, apart from Peter’s first days on the team, he’s never been openly hostile to them. Or at least not this aggressive in tone. But maybe Yelena just misjudged her and Peter’s closeness. She makes a note to avoid the Tony topic if she still wants his help. Yelena watches him bounce around, and the black suit retreats away from the edge of his clothes. “What are you wearing anyway?”
“Shirt and jeans?”
“No, Genius. Your suit.”
Peter pales a little bit, “It was at the lab. I think it’s some kind of smart nanotech. It’s comfy.” His eyes dart away while grabbing a shoe from his backpack. “Responsive to my movements.”
“Must have missed it. When did you even change into it?”
“What’s with all the questions, Yelena?” Peter slings his bag over his shoulder. “Do you want it?” He hisses with the world’s tiniest eye roll.
In mock offense, Yelena holds her hand up, “Whoa, chill, man. Didn’t know it was that personal.”
“It’s not.” Peter pinches the bridge of his nose, “I’m sorry. Not sure what got into me.” He takes a deep breath as the elevator settles before opening to the ground floor.
“It’s ok. Just know that I’m on your side.” She follows him out to the lobby.
Peter shrugs as they pass a pair of OXE interns, “Thanks. I’m sorry. Must’ve been cooped up inside too long.” Peter opens the door for her as they head to the Subway.
Yelena waits until they’re long out of view of the tower’s cameras. She grabs his arm, “Do you really wanna stretch your legs? You know that logo we kept seeing on the base?”
“The Hem Arm one? What’s up with that?”
“I’m not sure yet, but Val gets weird whenever we bring it up. There’s a factory in Queens I want to investigate and keep an eye on, quietly.”
Peter smiles as they push through busy New Yorkers, “I’ve got a box of old cameras from Mr. Stark. I could set up an isolated mainframe if you don’t want Val snooping. Would that be quiet enough?”
“Perfect. I’d still need help setting up the cameras without getting caught.”
Peter bounces as he gets an idea, “We could say that you’re helping me on a patrol. And ya know, you’re still new to the city and I could show you the best sandwich shop in New York.”
“You are a genius.” Yelena lets go as NYU and the Bronx are on opposite sides of the city, “And Bucky says the best sandwich shop is in Brooklyn.”
Peter chuckles while waving goodbye. She watches as Peter’s black shirt ripples when passing a street musician. Something’s off with Peter. Maybe Yelena needs to keep her eye on her youngest teammate, too.
~~~
Yelena watches the city pass her through the subway window. Her brief cross-city trip has taught her two things. First, Val signed her up for an anti-superhero podcast. Knowing Val, she may think any press is good press. The flashcards of easy questions are totally pointless outside of being confetti Yelena plans to prank Bucky with at some point.
Eddie Brock’s voice brims with a steady passion. It’s airy but overly eager. The best comparison Yelena could give would be that he sounds like a salesman who’s off the clock but still stuck in the mindset. The second thing Yelena’s hour-and-change subway trip taught her was how much she misses Natasha. Even if her sister’s voice was being misinterpreted, hearing Natasha filled Yelena with equal parts joy and sorrow.
“As I said on Capitol Hill, the Avengers are the best qualified to defend the world.”
The recording of Natasha was alive in Yelena’s ear. Full of smooth and controlled tones.
Which is in contrast to a younger Eddie's arrogant voice.
“Right, but that was before the Almighty Iron Man made Ultron, who tried to kill us via the way of the dinosaurs. If only there was something to have kept you in check. A shield for us. But these superheroes think they know what’s best for us. Here’s another clip from Miss RoMeNoFf last year.”
“Believe me, I wish S.H.I.E.L.D. was everything we needed, but they weren’t. Sure, there were many, many good people there, but there were a lot of corrupt people leading the charge.”
Natasha’s voice is so practiced and calm. But this isn’t very convincing; it’s a little more like Brock has a conclusion he settled on.
Natasha said, “If you don’t have any more questions for me, then I think I should get going. There are a few fires I need to put out.”
Eddie lightly chuckled, “A few fires that I believe they, yes they as in the Avengers, manufacture. Consider this: what threat first brought these ‘heroes’ together? Loki of Asgard. The same Asgard that Thor came from. Now, what sounds more believable, that this Loki just had an army of aliens and the Avengers defeated him by getting lucky, or that Thor and the other Avengers set this up so that we would trust them? And that’s just Thor. All of them have ‘threats’ in their pasts that could suddenly ‘resurface’ very conveniently."
Yelena’s train grinds to a halt at her station as she stands up. Yelena looks at the info of this podcast; this happened fairly early in Brock’s career. Which makes sense with far reach this line of thinking is. Then again, if someone wasn’t fully paying attention or had this as background noise, it could be fairly convincing.
Eddie continued, “Now this info does have roots in the SHIELD leak that Black Widow did a few weeks ago. But I’d encourage you to check out the link in the description for yourself. But User: PaleLittleSpider3 laid out a compelling idea about what the next Avengers threat will be. In 2012, we had Loki, so Thor, like we already discussed. In 2014, Hydra reappeared after decades of absence, so Captain America. This year, we get Ultron, a sociopathic AI made by Tony Stark. In 2017, I believe that the Red Room will be a threat.”
Yelena waits at a crosswalk. A glance at the podcast's history shows sporadic dates, but a more focused effort for the last seven months. It’s mostly reactions and commentaries, no live interviews. Compared to what it was a decade ago, the Brock-ast is a touch more popular, but nothing to make waves. Val’s probably having me start small before moving to more influential podcasters. Or she’s sticking me with a side project so that I don’t investigate Hem Arm.
“For those who don’t know, the Red Room is slash was an infamous KGB assassin and spy program from the dying breath of the USSR. Which Natasha Romenoff was a part of before her time as an Avenger. Palelittlespider also provided recent evidence of other Red Room operatives in assassinations around the world. But that’s gonna have to be for next episode." The recording of Eddie starts his outro as the cross light switches.
It’s such bullshit. It’s believable-sounding bullshit that is the problem. Yelena tucks her phone away. Eddie is a very convincing speaker, even if he takes some leaps in logic. But this was years ago; hopefully, he’s gotten better, but Yelena doesn't have time to comb through his newer episodes. She walks past a cafe into a suburban street, Yelena’s stomach squeezes like she’s anticipating a punch that won’t come.
Maybe it’s not too late to back out. I could always email Brock that I had a mission or the data to sift through from the black site. But then again, that’s delaying the inevitable.
Yelena exhales when standing outside of a three-story red-bricked building. She presses the doorbell, fighting off the urge to hide around the corner.
Get a grip, I’m an international super spy and an Avenger. I can do this. Perfect Performance, be who they want to see you as.
The door opens to the equally bright smile and golden blonde hair of Eddie Brock. “Miss Belove, come on in.” Eddie leads her into what’s half an apartment and half a sound studio. The apartment is cramped even by New York apartment standards. The TV rests on top of a washing machine, the couch has several mismatched cushions, and there’s a black leather jacket hanging off a broken lamp. But the sound studio half is pristine with insulated walls and a smooth wooden finish. Eddie stands behind a small kitchenette. “Can I get you anything to drink?” Eddie also didn’t match what she was expecting. The six and a half, muscular titan crouched over just to look in his fridge.
Yelena smiles, “Vodka.” She said with her strongest Russian inflection.
“I uh…got cider…hang on-”
“I’m kidding, I’m actually seven months sober.” Yelena wanders further into the apartment. She spots at least three piles of messes tucked haphazardly in various corners.
“Hey, good for you. Water ok?”
“Yeah.” She looked at the walls that had no decoration. Eddie hands her a glass as he sips on a protein shake. Though if he has any more protein, his muscles might explode. Yelena taps on the glass, “So when do we start?”
Eddie drains his shake and tosses it into an overflowing trash bin. “That eager to get the first solo interview over with?”
“Am I that obvious?”
“A little.” Eddie leans against the wall. “Listen, I wanna set the record straight. I’m sure that Mrs. De Fontaine sent you an old podcast of mine…and that was also when I was an extreme dumbass.”
Yelena rocks her head, “I sorta did get the impression, yeah. But you don’t seem like one now. What changed?”
“Prison.” Eddie inhales deeply, “I uh…was caught wiretapping the Commissioner's office. Did two years in the back half of the blip and then six months of probation. I’m just lucky that Jameson’s my second uncle, so he was willing to get me a job until I’m on my feet again.” Eddie’s head leans so he looks down, “Which is why I think the podcast is going to work this time.”
Yelena folds her arms as she realizes she should have done more homework than just one old podcast. “I know it’s hard for ex-cons to get a job, but trying to be a famous podcaster is a much longer shot. Why take the chance?”
Eddie chuckles, “It’s not about being popular; this is something for me. The Brockast is something I made, I’m in control of, and a way for me to start over. Like, I made this horrible mistake, but I don’t want the worst moment of my life to define me, ya know?”
Yelena knows exactly. It’s why she finished off the Red Room, why she wanted a more public role, why she’s trying to be an Avenger. “I actually do.” Maybe Eddie has changed.
Eddie looks over, “Well, now that confession is off the air, let’s actually do that interview.” He leads her over to the studio half, which has a decent leather couch with mic stands on either armrest. There’s a coffee table with a TV on top with a statistics screen. Zero viewers at the moment. Eddie adjusts the mics, “How this is gonna work is we’ll do a live cut, post it, and then my editor Cletus and I will take the highlights and put them into a recap to get more engagement…hopefully.”
“Sounds fine.” Yelena fights to keep the butterflies in her stomach from spilling out. She takes a seat, sinking further than she expected.
Eddie closes the door, flicks on the light, and hovers over a camera, “And we’re live in three, two, and one.” He presses the button, and it's like a switch flipped inside of him. Instead of the softer and more honest tone, Eddie sounds like an influencer…which, yes, he technically is, but it’s how he speaks. Crisper and more engaged, and if Yelena could judge, a bit lifeless. “Welcome back to the Brock-ast revival party. I’m so excited to be back, and I’ve got an extremely special guest. Yes, that’s right, I have a guest, so if you’re here live, please welcome Yelena Belova, A.K.A. the New Black Widow on the New Avengers."
There’s an applause sound effect that catches Yelena off guard. She glances over to see a tiny one-by-two-foot alcove where a red-headed twig of a man sits with cheap sound equipment.
Yelena smiles, reaching up to speak into the mic, “Glad to be here, Mr. Brock.”
“Oh, please, Mr. Brock is my father. Call me Eddie.”
“Well, then call me Yelena.”
“Thank ‘Lena,” Eddie pulls out a clipboard, “So I’ve gotta ask, what’s your story?”
“My story?”
“Yeah. To a lot of us normal folk, it seems like unstable loners came together and were branded as our new protectors. Why do you stay?”
Other than Val making sure we’d get no other possible job. Yelena keeps her sarcasm bottled up, “For me, it’s a couple of reasons that fold in together." Yelena glances at the TV screen, twelve viewers have popped up, “I grew up in the Red Room, so I was groomed for violence, but it also came with extreme loneliness. For a while, I had a family, but they were taken away. After I got out of the Red Room, I felt aimless. I spent a lot of time trying to find fulfillment, and it ended up finding me.” The truth was flowing out of Yelena. Her team will definitely make fun of the interview, but she hoped they’d also hear her sincerity, “The New Avengers aren't perfect, but we’re definitely like family.”
Eddie nods with a soft hum, “That definitely sounds like a side the media hasn’t explored yet. Why do you think that is?”
These weren’t the soft or easy questions Yelena was prepped with, but she didn’t mind. These were questions with a purpose and felt more like a genuine conversation. Still, that doesn't mean she can be fully honest, “I don’t know for sure, but I feel like our pasts are more … colorful, dramatic, whichever, compared to the original Avengers, and our pasts become a sticking point for many.”
“I mean, isn’t that a fair assessment? Compared to the OG Avengers, there are four times as many lethal assassins on the New Avengers. And forgive me for saying this, but the power balancing doesn't seem as even in comparison."
“I don’t follow your meaning on that last part.”
There’s a thin and devilish smile that appears on Eddie’s face, “Think of it like this. The OG Avengers had the Hulk, a very strong and mindless monster, but he could easily be kept in line by Thor or Iron Man if needed. There doesn't seem to be a similar contingency for the Void.”
“The Void?” Yelena asks cautiously. Bob’s void side has been kept under tight wraps, with only either his normal persona or the Sentry making public appearances. Why was Eddie reaching for a point like this?
“Yes. Despite what your PR team is pushing, Robert Reynolds ‘heroic’ debut was as the Void. How do we, the public, know that he won’t slip and put the whole world into a mass psychosis? My question is this: how could a team whose strongest member is a dude who can stick to walls, even fathom controlling a threat like Mr. Reynolds?"
Then Yelena’s eyes drift to the stats screen, over a thousand viewers, and the chat on the sidebar keeps asking about the Void incident. Maybe Bob’s dark side isn’t as well hidden as Valentina implied. Still, Yelena needs an answer that would reassure people, “I’m not free to speak on why or how the Void incident occurred, but have you considered that we, the team that mostly can shoot guns really well, did defeat the Void before? And that Bob has purposefully restrained himself from field work until very recently to avoid triggers.” That’s probably as much of a tip-toe answer as she could give without royally screwing everything up.
Yelena wants to ask how the New Avengers went from a dangerous group of enhanced individuals to a seemingly powerless one in the turn of a question. But she leaves it alone.
Eddie folds his hands together, “So the New Avengers haven't been restraining Mr. Reynolds. Isn’t that a little like keeping a nuke calm whilst holding it over an entire city’s heads?”
Yelena presses her lips tight like she swallowed a lemon whole.
Eddie hums, “We can circle back to that topic once there’s less red tape.” Eddie switches to a new paper. “Why ‘New Avengers’? You have to know the weight of that name. If you didn’t want to invite so much criticism, why choose a name that implies you’re replacing the mightiest heroes?”
Yelena’s stomach drops as the view count climbs to two thousand, five hundred. The chat on the sidebar moves at a rapid-fire pace. “We’re not here to replace anyone.”
"Aren't you thought? I thought you were Natasha Romanoff 2.0. You’re every bit of a Black Widow she was, and you even took her code name.”
“I’m not Natasha.” Yelena tears her eyes away from the climbing view count.
“But you’re carrying her legacy.” Eddie put his hands up, “Time - out ....I'm being too much of a hardass. I am sorry if you felt hurt. Let’s lower the temperature of this interview.”
“Thank you.” Yelena swallows her pride. She expected her first interview to be rocky, but this feels more pointed. Their conversation becomes more friendly in tone for about another hour before Eddie starts his outro.
The sound guy gives a thumbs-up once he stops the live stream.
Yelena drops her perfect presenter smile and aims a sharp glare at Eddie, “What the hell was that? Replacing my sister. I’m not doing that.”
Eddie holds his face in his hands, “Yeah, I shouldn’t have done that. I saw a lead, and it got me thinking…It’s the journalist in me.”
“Not a good reason to put me on the spot. Or imply things like Bob wants to hurt everyone.”
“Fully agreed. Look, this is fully on me, and I will fix it.” Eddie points to the red-headed sound guy, “Cletus is a genius with editing. I will take out that whole ‘Bob is the Void’ bit. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let the comments push me that far.”
Yelena wants to be angry. This was her first solo interview, and he stomped on all the wrong buttons, but this was also his first interview after a long time. “Ok. Maybe we’re both due some grace. Thank you for having me on, regardless.”
“Thank you for coming. I’ll send you the final cut of the highlights version. I’d really value your feedback.”
Yelena nods while getting up. “I look forward to it.” Yelena didn’t know if that statement was a lie or the truth.