Strange felt something pressing against his waist and abdomen. The female agent had already, at some point, circled behind him, one hand wrapping around his neck and her chin resting on his shoulder.
"Where is the secret command?"
Strange grabbed Natasha's hand with one of his and, turning to look at her, said, "Is this very important to you?"
"I've been on his trail for a month!" Natasha's tone became increasingly unfriendly.
Strange had no doubt the muzzle would leave a bruise on his waist, but he still responded calmly, "First tell me who Hydra is, maybe they're my enemy too."
Natasha's arm stiffened, and she said, "You must be feigning ignorance. If you didn't have some understanding of them, how could you always be so accurate?"
"I might indeed have crossed paths with them, but it was only an accident. Where were you six years ago?"
"What's that got to do with you?"
"Six years ago, the boss of the Manhattan Area was taken out. Do you know who did it?"
Natasha furrowed her brows, but Strange continued, "It seems your security clearance isn't high enough, or someone has erased the traces. Either way, you'll eventually run into him."
"It looks like it's going to be a big trouble." Natasha said thoughtfully, "Is there anything that might remind me, sir?"
Natasha was just being polite, which Strange knew very well. Now, her mind was full of the Hydra she had been chasing for over a month and the secret command currently in Strange's possession.
"They don't trust you," Strange said. "Even though you've come here from the Soviet Union more than a decade ago, you've never been able to enter the inner circle. Not to mention becoming the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. like Pierce, you can't even touch the power core of those departments."
Natasha's face turned cold, and she stared fixedly at Strange and said, "Who exactly are you?"
"If I say I'm a time traveler, you definitely won't believe me, but I'm afraid what comes next is something you're even less likely to believe."
"What is it?"
"Someday in the future, someone will convince the whole world that he can resurrect the Soviet Union and even communize the entire world by his own power. What do you think the world would look like then?"
"You're talking nonsense," Natasha said with a frown. "The Soviet Union has long been disbanded. Are you some sort of caveman who has lived for millions of years?"
"Yes, but that doesn't mean he's truly dead, and you know best whether he is actually dead."
Natasha wavered slightly, but still looked at Strange suspiciously. She released her hold, sat opposite him, ordered a drink, then said, "You'd better provide some convincing evidence..."
Strange smiled, took something out of his pocket, and Natasha slowly widened her eyes. What lay in the palm of Strange's hand was a Red Flag Badge.
"Shiller, in order to make the US Government believe that he had truly communized the whole world, put a badge in almost every superhero's bag, Stark being the only exception, of course. Strange got one too."
"How could you possibly have this?" Natasha took the Red Flag Medal, looked it over carefully, and noticed that the year of issue and the name were clearly embossed on it.
"This can indeed be forged, but without seeing the real thing or fully understanding the manufacturing process, it's impossible to make something so similar."
"This is fake," Strange admitted readily, and said, "But you know, someone who can forge something like this can't be completely unrelated to the Soviet Union. What I can tell you is, he has a real one."
"What's his name?"
"I can't tell you that."
"He is that person from the future you were talking about... No, this is too insane. Whatever he does, he can't make the whole world believe he can resurrect the Soviet Union, it's not possible."
"Do you know Professor X?"
Natasha's eyes slowly widened, obviously, even in this era, the leaders of the mutants were still renowned.
"He had everyone believe that he had the power to instantaneously brainwash the entire world and that he was a staunch Soviet loyalist from the old days."
"You said he made everyone believe, which just proves he's not one," Natasha seized on the key point. "Then why would he do that?"
"It might relate to the political situation, but it might not be for someone in particular," Strange said, lowering his eyelids. "For someone who seems to betray but is actually trying to escape the true traitor's stronghold."
Natasha's eyes fixed on him as if, should Strange dare speak any more of such heresy, she would put a bullet in his head.
"I know you want to argue that your ties to that side are long gone and you're only focused on gaining your position within S.H.I.E.L.D., but you know what's really going on."
"It's absurd," Natasha declared. "You mean, a man with such means has convinced the whole world he can resurrect the Soviet Union just for my position? Are you writing some absurd, juvenile romance novel?"
"You know it's anything but for love," Strange said with a smile. "You too are a Soviet old-timer. You know best if there's anyone else like you in the world, and what they're truly thinking."
With just that one sentence, Natasha clenched her fists so tightly that her glass of wine almost shattered. She finally dropped the pretense of being the glamorous female agent and savagely gulped down her drink, saying, "It's been too long since we supported each other, willing to give our lives for our shared beliefs and each other's existence."
"Do you think you're the only one who hasn't forgotten that era?"
"Of course not," Natasha's lips now devoid of color as she spoke with a certain self-abandonment, "If you're someone sent to test my loyalty or to pry information from me, I don't care anymore, because the CIA or even the Federal Bureau of Investigation know better than I do how many such people there are in the world."
"There are still many like me in the world, waiting in the darkness for that day to come, and it eventually will come, which is why you're afraid, anxious, and aggressive."
"You exclude me out of deep fear because you've suffered greatly before, even lost lives completely. You know that if there's one, there will be countless others."
"They're not scared enough yet," Strange said with a hint of schadenfreude, "When they even begin to consider using you, that's when you'll know how terrified they really are."
Natasha laughed as if she'd heard the biggest joke in the world, "Use me? Don't joke, they're terrified of me."
"But they'll still be afraid of other things," Strange said lightly, "They are the soft Yankees you speak of, willing to use one knife to fend off another that could kill them."
Seeing his certainty, Natasha was a little unsure, "Really? Would there come a day when they use a former Soviet Union agent? Are they mad?"
"They've been mad for a while, just hiding their madness under gleaming cloaks. And when the grandeur fades away, a terrible hunger will drive them to disregard everything, eventually putting the noose around their own necks."
"Let's talk about that person," Natasha said, "At least you have to tell me what's really going on between us two."
"There's nothing between you two, at least not now. And if you want there to be something, you'll have to do as I say," he replied.
"What do you want me to do for you?"
"It's not for me, but for you. You have to move him. He has to be willing to do this for you, or at least see it as part of the reason."
After thinking for a moment, Strange continued, "It won't be easy to make him believe you're a person of faith, because in a way, he actually has the ability to read minds. But if you truly have faith in your heart, you won't need to pretend; you just have to get him to notice you."
Natasha narrowed her eyes.
"I'm not telling you to sell your body; in fact, that approach is unlikely to succeed. He's someone... I can't say he's indifferent to women, but women who get too close to him usually don't end well. Maybe you'll be the same, so better be prepared."
"What's the worst that could happen? Will I die?"
"You might wish for death but not find it."
"I like that." Natasha chuckled, then said, "It seems you have some skills that can capture his attention, which you'll have to teach me. This round's on me."
"Generous lady," Strange said as he pulled out the little piece of paper from his pocket, "To show my sincerity, I'll give this to you first. But I'd advise you not to think of handing this thing over to anyone, unless it's Nick Fury."
"The bald black guy?" Natasha raised an eyebrow slightly, "He isn't very useful, despite being close with Pierce, he's still not finding any breakthrough opportunities. Do you think he has a future?"
"He has a great future. You'll understand after you've dealt with him for a while. For S.H.I.E.L.D., only his approach works."
Natasha pondered for a moment, tucked the paper into her palm, and cast a flirtatious glance at Strange, whose expression remained unchanged as he spoke.
"You're a good agent and a beautiful woman. Your approach works on most people, but he's not most people."
"Then what kind of person is he?"
"He's a born kidnapper, so you just need to act the hostage."
The next morning, Strange woke up on the bed of his residence, but instead of going straight to class, he took out a radio he had bought the night before and pressed his hand against it, wrapping it in magical energy.
"Hello? Hello? Dormammu, are you there? Hello??"
There was a burst of static, and Strange shouted at the radio, "Wake up! Dormammu! Wake up!!!"
There was a roar from the radio, and then Strange said, "It's me, Supreme Magician!"
A voice suddenly rose from the other end.
But it seemed to have risen too early, pausing for a long time before realizing, a small shadow emerged from the radio, sizing up Strange.
Strange slapped his hand and said, "Don't play those tricks with me, time isn't linear where you are. You know who I am. Don't tell my teacher, I've got serious business for you."
Dormammu made a slightly disgusted face, but seemed to nod in agreement, probably because Strange had done him some favor before.
"Do me a favor, and I'll send you a big gift back in return," Strange said. "Find out where the Asgardian expedition fleet is, especially the squad led by Thor, where they are now."