#alexei shostakov red guardian

[firelance2361]

What If...Black Widow Left Her World Behind?

Here's another What If...? Crossover Idea I've been working on for a while, based on a few corners of the MCU's past.

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In this universe, Ver's fellow Starforce compatriots intercepted the Skrull Command ship before Talos had the chance to use their mind-scanning device on her, allowing her to escape as a massive dogfight ensued between the two battle cruisers.

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During the ensuing spacefight, a rogue Skrull craft was shot down went off course, crash-landing on C-53 in Mount Vernon, Ohio, landing near the homestead of a young Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova.

Upon hearing the crash in their backyard, the two of them ran outside to see what the commotion was, where they found the Skrull Ship laying in their backyard. The two sisters slowly approached the vehicles, only to hide behind the remains of their swingset as the injured Skrull pilot stumbled out of the vehicle, collapsing on the ground a few feet from the craft.

As Nat attempted to examine the unconscious warrior in front of them, a curious Yelena ran over to the Skrull ship, climbing into the cockpit and messing around with the buttons. Nat ran over to the craft, trying to get Yelena out of the pod, only to fall inside of it herself as Yelena accidentally activated the craft, sending the pod flying off into the space with the two of them inside it.

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Nat and Yelena flew off in the spacecraft for moments, only to be caught in a Tractor Beam by The Helion, who took the craft with them as they returned to Hala, assuming they caught a Skrull survivor.

As Starforce prepared to take on the Skrull combatants, Vers opened the pod, finding Nat and Yelena still inside of it. As the two sisters emerged from the pod, Nat grabbed on of Att-Lass's guns, trying to defend herself and Yelena from danger. The rest of Starforce readies themselves, believing the two of them were Skrulls, until Vers stepped in, telling them to stand down until they knew for sure they were Skrulls.

Vers then slowly approached Nat, telling her that they were friendly, and that they wouldn't hurt her or Yelena. Feeling some sense of sincerity in Vers, Nat relinquished her weapon, putting her trust in Vers.

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After interrogating the two of them and learning of their past within the Red Room, the crew determines the sisters are human, but divided on what to do with them. Some of Starforce including Yon-Rogg believe they should return them to C-53.

Vers, on the other hand, objects to the idea, saying that if they do then the so-called "Red Room" will turn them into agents of infiltration and destruction like the Skrulls. She then volunteers to look after the girls herself, a decision everyone is reluctant to accept, but Vers vehemently stands her ground, feeling sympathy for them. Everyone eventually caves, but Yon-Rogg warns her to keep a close eye on them.

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In the following two and half years after taking them in, Vers does her best to help Nat and Yelena adjust to their new environment, becoming a mother of sorts to them.

- Nat and Yelena are given Kree blood transfusions and new codes to help them identify themselves.

- Nat is enrolled in the Kree Combat Academy, raising quickly to the top of her class as the top student.

- Yelena finds comfort in her new cosmic lifestyle from Hala, learning about all the different planets and worlds outside of Earth. She also becomes intrigued by Vers' powers, finding her bioluminescent abiilities astounding.

- Vers still suffers from the effects of the Skrull mind-reading device, continuing to ponder about the pieces of her past, trying to put them together with any help from the girls she can get.

- The search for the Skrulls and their "superweapon" continues, but without any leads from Vers, Talos and the remaining Skrulls have retreated into the further corners of the galaxy.

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One day, after picking Nat and Yelena up from class, Vers surprises the girls with a trip to on of the Kree colonies as part of an escort mission on Planet M-67. During the trip, however, the escort gets ambushed by a strange assassin who bombs part of colony, causing a panic.

As Vers moves to protect the ambassador, she then notices the masked assassin approaching from behind Nat and Yelena in the crowd, immediately blasting her before she can grab them. Vers takes the girls and moves through the streets of the Colony, attempting to evade the assassin. However, the trio gets cut off as the assassin lands directly in front of them, engaging Vers in combat.

Vers attempt to use her powers to take down the assassin, only to discover she has the same powers as her. The fight thankfully manages to end when Nat shoots the assassin with a Kree pistol, incapacitating her.

Vers unmasks the assassin, and she, Nat, and Yelena are shocked to discover that it is not only human, but also a brainwashed Black Widow agent. Everyone of them is stunned at the sight, when they suddenly see a strange label on her bracelets' display screen, with the words "Icepick Protocol" on display in Russian.

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The Widow was taken to the Kree Supreme Intelligence, where they quickly removed the mental barriers keeping her from telling them her information. After coming to, Yon-Rogg ordered her to start giving them information as to why they were on M-67.

She told them she'd been sent by General Dreykov of the Red Room to retrieve Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova for him, and given cosmic-level enhancements to make her more powerful for intergalactic field-work. Before Vers could ask how many of them there were, the Widow then broke free of her restraints, killing herself before they could get any more answers.

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After hearing this, Vers attempted to persuade the Supreme Intelligence to let her go to C-53 to confront Dreykov, believing this is somehow connected to her strange memory lapses. The Intelligence refused, forcing Vers to take drastic action to protect her adopted daughters, deciding to sneak her off the planet herself to take down Dreykov.

As she was exiting Hala in her ship The Hoopty, Vers was soon surprised to find Nat and Yelena stowed away in the cargo hold. Despite some initial arguing, Vers eventually caved, allowing them to tag along under the belief that Dreykov would just send more enhanced Widows to Hala to take them again.

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After a while Vers, Nat, and Yelena finally arrive at C-53 to find some answers to the Icepick Protocol. Natasha uses her knowledge of the Red Room to determine that either Melina Vostakoff or Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian may be the best key to determining the source of the Icepick Protocol, since both were Dreykov's right hand lieutenants.

After managing to hack into the World Wide Web, they soon find that Alexei was incarcerated in the Seventh Circle Prison in Russia, so they covertly travel to the prison, managing to break Alexei out without being detected. Alexei, although overjoyed to see Nat and Yelena was met with a cold reception from both children.

Vers gets right to the point, asking Alexei about the Icepick Protocol, to which he explains that when Natasha and Yelena disappeared in '95, Dreykov called both him and Melina back as their cover for the infiltration of the North Institute was soon blown.

However, thanks to their moles inside of S.H.I.E.L.D. they were able to find out from the deceased Skrull of the existence of a Power Core belonging to Wendy Lawson, one that could give it's user powers similar to Vers. Thus, he began what he called the Icepick Protocol, sending out Superpowered Widows to spread Dreykov's will across the galaxy.

When Melina and Alexei tried to stop him, Alexei was imprisoned while Melina was forced to become his chief scientist for the project. Vers correctly determines that the Power Core must be the same Skrull Superweapon the Kree have been searching for.

Natasha then asks how Dreykov found the Core, to which Alexei says the mole found a Black Box with the coordinates to the Core included. Vers then tells them to take them there, to which he agrees, happy to have one more family adventure with Nat and Yelena however, none of them are in a happy mood about the situation.

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The group began their journey to the Red Room's new base of operations, The Bolshevik. Vers piloted The Hoopty into the base, surprised to find it is a former Kree Battle Cruiser. After successfully docking and infiltrating the base, the group moved quickly and quietly to where Dreykov's office was located, finding the Tesseract located within the room. They also find hidden inside the walls' airducts none other than Goose the Flerken, whom Yelena takes an immediately liking to.

Their attempts to take it are halted by none other than Melina Vostakoff, who holds Alexei at gunpoint demanding to know what they are doing there; Natasha stops Melina from opening fire, telling her they just came for the Tesseract. Vers then recognizes Melina as Nat and Yelena's adoptive mother, marking the moment as an awkward family reunion before asking Melina how Dreykov got a hold of a Kree Battle Cruiser. It's only when Melina closely examines Vers voice that she recognizes her as the woman from the Black Box.

Confused, they all then gathered at the nearby computer to listen to the Black Box Dreykov found, with Melina revealed they found it during the widespread search for Nat and Yelena. Listening to the events that transpired eight years ago with Vers and Mar-Vell. After hearing what was on the recording, Vers reclaimed her memories as Carol Danvers, learning that Yon-Rogg killed Mar-Vell and took her to Hala.

Most everyone is taken aback by the truth about the Kree using Carol her as a weapon. Alexei attempts to lighten the situation, only Nat to shut him up and scold Alexei and Melina, calling them cowards. Melina's attempts to justify herself only set off Carol, calling them out for even letting the possibility of Nat and Yelena going back to the Red Room even pass by in their heads, and for what's worse, fabricating their entire family as lie to serve a twisted madman.

Melina then pointed out that Vers never even bothered to take Nat and Yelena back home to Earth, to which Carol explains she did that to keep them away from the life of danger that her and Alexei would have put them in had she brought them back. Vers then asked what the Red Room would do to the girls when they returned, to which Melina and Alexei gives only silence, but it was an answer enough for her.

The group's argument is interrupted as the lights go out, with the other Superpowered Widows bursting in and subduing everyone inside the room, rendering everyone unconscious.

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When Carol awakens, she finds herself restrained with Dreykov standing over her. She attempts to blast him with his powers, only to find her power unresponsive. Dreykov then remarks at her incredible abilities, and how thanks to her and the Kree's technology, he was able to utilize their little inhibitors to his own benefit to control his Widows.

Carol calls out Dreykov for his actions and twisted methods, especially for endangering young children like Nat and Yelena. He shrugs it aside, monologuing about how he owns the world, and now thanks to Carol's potential, he will own far more.

Using his ring to access the information in the ship's computer, Dreykov shows Carol that thanks to Mar-Vell's work on the Tesseract, he has agents across dozens of cities across hundreds of planets. With the Icepick Protocol, he will spread his Superpowered Widows into his new Soviet Union across the universe.

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Elsewhere, Nat and Yelena awaken in a cell next to Alexei and Melina, both of them concerned for their safety, but nether girls were in the mood to talk. After collecting himself, Alexei proceeded to apologize for his misdeeds as a father and ask for her forgiveness. Yelena then expressed her anger towards him and Melina for not only lying to her about the Red Room but also the fact that she would have just handed them over to Dreykov when their mission was over like they never even mattered.

She laments that the hardest day of her life on Hala was the day the Natasha had to tell Vers the truth so that the Kree would believe they weren't Skrulls, which meant telling Yelena that not only was the only good part of her life was a lie, but that when it was over they would have been sent back to the Red Room to becomes killers and assassins, a life that neither she or Natasha never chose nor wanted.

Despite denying it at first, Melina realizes the true damage of what she actually did to her daughters, and realizes why they stayed with Carol. Having a change of heart, Melina realizes that she always worried that either Nat or Yelena would have caused them to fail the mission, but now she sees that if the girls was happier with Carol, then the only real failure was her and Alexei.

Natasha asks if they will really help them end this for good, to which Melina says they will or die trying. Unexpectedly, the cell door opened and when she asks why, Romanoff revealed she swiped one of the keys from Dreykov's desk during their infiltration. After managing to subdue one of the guards, they free Goose from imprisonment and reclaim Alexei's old Red Guardian gear, before making their way to free Carol from Dreykov.

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Back in his office, Dreykov sees the family moving through the halls, activating the Icepick Protocol once more and ordering his Widows to apprehend them. As he watches, Carol then gets an idea, beginning to mock Dreykov for how pathetic he is, goading him into punching her repeatedly as she continued to antagonize him. After Dreykov kicks her in to the nearby wall, the resounding impact causes her photon inhibitor to be crushed.

With everything she needed from Dreykov revealed, Carol smiled, however, confusing Dreykov as she thanked him for giving her the information she needed. She then blasted Dreykov into the nearby wall. Before she could kill Dreykov, she was stopped by the other Superpowered Widows as he escaped through the The Bolshevik's halls.

Danvers then attempted to release a powerful pulse, knocking them all away, but the other Superpowered Widows matched her power levels beat for beat, swarming her and overwhelming her with their power. Thankfully, the onslaught is stopped when the Widows are flail them about by a set of tentacles, knocking them all out and freeing Carol from the swarm.

After reuniting with Nat and Yelena, she tells Melina that they need to land the ship as soon as possible. Melina tells her that Dreykov protected The Bolshevik's controls with his ring, only for Carol to reveal she swiped it during her interrogation, using it to hack inside the ship's mainframe, redirecting the coordinates to land on a safe spot on Earth.

Melina then says Dreykov will attempt to thwart them by taking out the engines, so Carol tells Nat and Yelena to take Goose and the Tesseract and get to the nearest dropship and get off the station while the rest of them handle the engines. As Melina tries to warn them that the Tesseract is too dangerous for anyone other than Vers to hold bare-handed, Goose suddenly swallowed it, much to their shock. Nat and Yelena gives all three of the adults a big group hug before running off to the escape pods, as Carol, Melina, and Alexei make their way to the engine to stop Dreykov.

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A furious battle then erupted inside The Bolshevik for control of the Tesseract. During their escape from the base, Nat, Yelena, and Goose find the imprisoned Skrulls Mar-Vell sheltered during her time here. Despite being hesitant at first, Nat and Yelena ultimately decides to free them, believing they shouldn't have to suffer from the Kree or the Red Room anymore.

The freed Skrulls manage to provide a big enough distraction for them and Nat, Goose, and Yelena to get to the escape pods. However, just as they get to the pod, one of the widows shoots the pod and cuts off their escape, recapturing the girls and dragging them to the hangar bay.

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During the ensuing fight through the base, the parents ran through dozens of Widow soldiers, finally making it to The Bolshevik's engines, managing to defuse a rogue bomb and using Alexei's shield to trap the blast, preventing the engines from being destroyed.

However, the victory is short lived as they hear Dreykov over the radio, telling his troops to bring Nat and Yelena to the hangar. Just as they were about to make their move to the hangar, they were cut off by a squadron of Superpowered Widows. Carol tells Alexei and Melina to get the girls, and they run off as she holds off the squadron, finding herself evenly matched by the troops. She fights them off to the bone, determined not to let them win.

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Dreykov finally arrives to The Bolshevik's hangar where Nat and Yelena were dragged to, telling his troops to bring them aboard the dropship. Before they could however, a spray of Widow bites incapacitate them and the vehicle as Alexei and Melina have arrived.

Dreykov then grabbed the girls and used them a human shield, holding his blaster to their heads. Nat whispered for Yelena to stay calm, saying they would be okay. He told Alexei and Melina to drop their weapons, threatening their daughters lives. Yelena, still in Dreykov's grasp, manages to flash and slip Natasha a stolen tool she took from the fallen Widow guard.

Understanding her signal, Nat signaled for Alexei and Melina to be ready to fire as they steadied their ground. Nat stabbed the tool into Dreykov's arm, grabbing and pulling Yelena away as Alexei threw his shield into him, knocking him back into the vehicle; Melina then followed up on that by shooting Dreykov in the leg and stomach, crippling him.

As Dreykov collapsed to the ground, the girls ran to them, hugging them both. Dreykov attempted to pull a gun on the family, only to be blasted back into the hangar wall by a photon blast. The group turns to see a weary and battle damaged Carol and Goose stumbling into the room, with the girls embracing them. After the hug, Carol then walks over to the bloodied and defeated Dreykov, kneeling down and telling him that his empire is over, and that after all that talk of being powerful, here he'll die as a pitiful and pathetic monster. With his dying breath, Dreykov tells Carol that if he can't have his Widows, no one can.

Carol then realizes what he means, but not before an explosion occurs, caused by a backup bomb linked to Dreykov's heart. The engine erupts, sending The Bolshevik crashing down towards Earth as it's pulled down into the atmosphere. The Hangar bay also bursts, trapping Melina and Alexei under some debris, leaving them helpless as the atmospheric vacuum sucks Carol, Nat and Yelena outside as the emergency doors close behind them.

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As they were falling at a fast pace, Carol managed to glide over and catch both Nat and Yelena, holding the girls close to herself as they prepared for the end. During the fall, Carol apologized for everything that happened to them and her failure to break them free of their past, all her efforts amounted to nothing.

Despite being scared, Nat told Carol that it wasn't her fault, reassuring and admitting to her and Yelena that their family was real to her, no matter what. As they embraced each other, prepared for the end, Carol then began to focus herself and her power to protect their family. Suddenly the trio stopped falling as they opened their eyes, shocked to find themselves is floating in midair. Everyone is shocked and excited by Carol's new ability to fly, relieved they are saved.

Carol and the girls then took a moment to enjoy the fact that she could now fly, letting out loud cries of joy, only for their cheers to halt when Yelena sees the ship about to crash. Determined, Danvers then flew them safely to the nearby ground before flying back up to land The Bolshevik. Flying up to the underside of the ship, Carol braces herself and slows The Bolshevik's descent to the ground, steering their ship towards a safe landing space as it crashes down onto Earth's surface.

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Carol then manages to open the ships' hangar doors, finding Alexei, Melina, and Goose wearied but alive. She manages to free them and bring them outside where Nat and Yelena embrace all three parents with a big hug. That's when the Carol gets a call from Yon-Rogg again, demanding for her to explain what has happened on C-53. Now with the full truth in hand, Carol swears off Yon-Rogg, breaking her comm in half.

The battle being over, the groups scours the remains of The Bolshevik, finding The Hoopty still intact and functional. As she fixes up the ship, Carol tells the girls that she has a lot of things left to do, telling them that after she frees the other Widows, she's going to Hala to end the Kree-Skrull War for good, and then says if any of them want to come with her, there's always room.

Despite not wanting to let Nat and Yelena go, Alexei and Melina fully realize that the girls will likely never be safe on Earth with Dreykov's associates still out and about. Understanding that Carol may be better equipped and better suited to look after the girls Alexei and Melina bid farewell to their children as they leave them in the care of Carol.

After gifting Natasha with his old shield as a memento, Alexei finally gives Natasha and Yelena an apology for everything, telling them that they would be all right, and that they would be there to take care of each other. After the girls bid them goodbye and board The Hoopty with Goose, Carol assures them that she will take care of them as best as they can, to which Melina replies that she will do all she can to handle the surviving Skrulls and dismantle Dreykov's operations Earthside.

Before leaving, Carol gives them a note with Maria Rambeau's contact information, instructing them to let her know she'll be back as soon as possible. Alexei and Melina then watch as The Hoopty leaves the planet for space once more as the pair was left by themselves amidst the rubble as the local authority arrives and surrounds the pair.

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20 years after these events, Carol, Nat, Yelena attend the funeral for Maria Rambeau, giving condolences to Monica for her loss. Before they left, Monica told Nat and Yelena that if they wanted to put their skills to use, S.W.O.R.D. would be more than accepting for them. Nat tells them they'll consider it, walking back to their ship with Goose in tow.

As Carol sees the two of them getting along, Monica comments on how well she raised them; Carol simply replies that she can't get all the credit, since despite their rough past, Alexei and Melina deserve some as well for helping save their lives. After giving Monica her condolences again, she boards The Hoopty with the girls, heading off to embark on another cosmic adventure.

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Sorry if the lengthy bio, but I thought it would be a both interesting crossover concept for a future What If..? scenario to examine how these two different parts of the MCU's past would interact.

IDK, let me know what you guys think! Hope you like it!

[avengerscompound]

Bucky Barnes and Alexei Shostakov What If...? Season 3 Trailer

[buckys-baby-boy]

Thunderbolts* textposts

yelena, you are the prettiest

[giadin-a]

THUNDERBOLTS*

I await their meeting anxiously

[karadanverss]

There are bad guys...

and there are worse guys. (x)

[captainpikeachu]

alexei on a road trip with his three kids lol

John is facepalming and Ava is looking to him in understanding

Yelena is just slowly dying inside

truly iconic 10/10

[scruffylookingpiratecaptain]

I don’t care what anyone says, the lineup for Thunderbolts* is so fucking fun. I can’t wait to see all these idiots together.

And Bob

Can’t forget Bob

[lizzieblopaz24]

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

The Thunderbolts movie poster was bugging me because it felt so familiar for some reason. Just now, I realized what it reminded me of:

[burningfudge]

natasha's 616 canon relationships

1. alexei shostakov - -1000/10

he sucks. the end.

2. matt murdock - 3/10

i love matt but he was sooo toxic for nat. they're a hot couple but matt treats natasha so poorly that i can't get behind the ship. he's such a dumbass fool because he thinks BLACK WIDOW can't handle herself in a fight. what he did expect her to do?? sit at home and do nothing? it's good nat dumped his ass because he deserved it.

3. james grey (aka fake james) - 4/10

he was...okay? sweet husband, but i disliked his role in the story. very bland. him being named after bucky cracked me up though

4. nikolai - 6/10

we don't know much about him, but their story was tragic. +1 for not being toxic

5. clint barton - 8/10

clint instantly fell in love with natasha after meeting her and while she was using him to attack tony. there's obviously a ton of love between them but they never worked out. they were cute together but i think they're better off as friends

6. bucky barnes - 100000/10

ajsjskakal bucky, ily you're amazing. he literally worships the ground she walks on, knows she can take care of herself (*cough*unlike mr matt murdock*cough*), respects her and her autonomy, and he's hopelessly in love with her. it's precisely because he knows that she doesn't belong to anyone, means that he understands her the best. bucky and natasha never had problems when they were together, it was always external factors that tore them apart. they're one of the most tragic love stories in the marvel universe and one of the best couples for a reason.

(PS - ivan wishes he was on this list, the fucking creep)

[lanasgirlfr]

they gonna have a battle off who's more mentally ill

[avengerscompound]

Bucky Barnes

What if...? Season 3 Teaser

[wntrsnat]

You know what I am utterly weirded out by to this day?

The fact that MCU turned Natasha’s 616 ex husband into her FATHER FIGURE.

They could’ve used any other character or just changed the name for the love of god what the fuck was that.

If you haven’t guessed by now, I mean Alexei/Red Guardian.

[weregonnabecoolbeans]

It is going to be very weird and interesting to see bucky without his emotional support captain americas

[insomniacirl]

Sometimes you've just got to watch Black Widow and listen to American Pie and sob because they were sisters.

[guardianjameslight]

Simple Coincidence? Or intentional reference?