Iron Man #6

Why is Natasha Romanoff, A.K.A. Black Widow, turning to Tony Stark for help? The Avengers may have gotten themselves in too deep- but with what?

Iron Man travels to the Barrier Reef, Australia. He is worried about his assignment and his employer, because they seem to know that Tony Stark is Iron Man. As Tony surfaces from underwater, he prepares his weapons to counterattack if attacked. But he is rather surprised to see Natasha Romanoff a.k.a. Black Widow sitting on a yacht, waiting for him. As Tony comes down, he asks about his job. Widow tells that she is setting a trap for someone, and Tony will be acting as bait.

Later, as they talk about the surreal beauty of Australia, Tony brings up the question of his job again. Natasha hands him a list of scientists’ names and photos, telling him that all of them have been kidnapped most mysteriously. S.H.I.E.L.D. has asked her to take the assignment. As Tony himself is a brilliant electronics engineer, he has to get kidnapped. That will lead them to the culprit. Only that Tony has to leave behind his armor, for he must be completely defenseless when being kidnapped. Tony accepts.

Elsewhere, in the Stark Solutions building, Happy still continues to flirt with Dorleen. He has no qualms about her entrance to Tony’s firewalled office. When he and Pepper are busy talking, Dorleen secretly plants a wireless microphone, bugging the office.

A week later, Tony is doing everything he can to expose himself to kidnappers, like going to parties, talk-shows, government offices, etc. This evening, he is dancing with Natasha at an opera in Sydney. They recount their earlier days, when suddenly Natasha senses danger. She alerts Tony to the presence of an assassin named Hauptmann and tells him to flee, should the need arise. Then she confronts Hauptmann. Tony flees, but is chloroformed and kidnapped within seconds.

Hauptmann wastes no time in idle talk. He engages her directly, attacking her with an electrically charged glove. Natasha tricks him into falling into the water and he electrocutes himself. Natasha searches for Tony but fails to find him. She knows that the first part of their mission has succeeded.

Hours later, Tony awakens inside a camouflaged facility. All he sees is a bleak desert of rock and sand. Soon, he is greeted by a lady named Araoha Tepania. She gives him a tour of the facility, showing him the kidnapped scientists working away with electronic components. Tony asks her about her employer, but she says nothing. He threatens her that Iron Man will come looking for him, but she laughs, saying that she is aware of his alliance with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Black Widow. She has taken care to make Tony untraceable. She tells Tony that he will start working the next day.

Five days later, as Tony talks with fellow scientists, he is told that escape is almost impossible. So Tony disguises a distress beacon as a functioning part of a machine and gives it to the guards to check. The guards get on with it.

Back at Sydney, Black Widow gets Tony’s signal and get ready for action.

Tony and the other scientists are eating inside the canteen, when suddenly an alarm sounds. Tony knocks out a guard and disarms him. He goes towards the centre of action. Soon, he spots Black Widow fighting the guards by herself. She mops the floor with the guards. But suddenly, Araoha Tepania makes her entrance. She changes into a giant lizard and introduces herself as Tuatara.

Black Widow signals Tony to pick up the case containing his armor and engages Tuatara. Tony puts on his armor and joins the fight. Black Widow sees to the guards, preventing them from escaping. Tuatara isn’t affected by Tony’s repulsors. So Tony fires a tight-band sonic beam. It momentarily stuns Tuatara, but it is nearly not enough. In the midst of the fray, S.H.I.E.L.D. choppers make their entrance. Tuatara weighs her options and flees underground.

Later, Tony and Natasha enjoy a peaceful supper. Tony says that Tuatara managed to block them from seeking out her employer. Natasha says that she will stay on the mystery man’s trail. Tony repeats her statement, saying that he too will.