In the process of reconstruction, many criminal activities gradually returned to the shadow. It was through loss that people finally understood what was precious! Acceptability and tolerance got better, and discrimination against race was rarely seen these days.
Because the population on Earth was reduced by half, almost all aspect of life has been enhanced, leaving manpower as the only problem. After so many people that survived understood how hard it was to live, they started doing meaningful things for the sake of a better future.
Perhaps, it could be regarded as the silver lining of the catastrophe.
. . . . . . . .
Natasha kept regular contact with Carol, Rockets, Rhodes, and Wakanda at the Avengers Base.
“Well, we’ve boarded a suspicious ship that constantly goes in and out of Sakaar, but unfortunately, it was just a junk ship! So, thank you for providing such valuable information!” Rockets said sarcastically. He was as rude as ever, but everyone was accustomed to it now.
“You are very welcome! I will keep sending you the latest information as you are the closest person to the sector Grandmaster was last seen!” Carol said unamusedly.
“Yeah, thanks! Because of that, we smelled like garbage right now!” Rocket said with a frown on his face.
“Are you sure it’s not your own smell?” Carol said teasingly.
“Hey, I always take my bath, woman!” Rocket said annoyedly.
“Who can tell me about that vibration in the south of India?” Natasha said as she interrupted the banter.
“That is just an Earth Crust Movement of the African Plate.” Okoye said casually.
“Are there any visual records? How did you manage it?” Natasha asked.
“Natasha, it is a natural phenomenon! We don’t manage it. No one could handle it honestly.” Okoye said casually.
“Fair enough. Carol, are you returning to Earth next month?” Natasha said as she turned her attention to Carol.
“No, I don’t think I would,” Carol said with a sombre look on her face.
“Why? Don’t you want to style your hair again?” Rocket said teasingly.
“Hey, furball! I oversee a vast area! There are at least a few thousand planets with a bunch of lives in it that also share the same experience with Earth!” Carol said annoyedly.
“Alright! You are right!” Rocket said as he didn’t feel like arguing since Carol was already annoyed. But he already knew that Carol wasn’t really needed on Earth anyway. The other planet was having a harder time compared to what happened on Earth.
“Well, with that said, I will be off the grid for a while!” Carol said with a tired sigh.
“That’s alright. Just know that the base will remain open for communication. So, if something goes wrong or you get any information, remember to contact me.” Natasha said with a smile on her face. She sat back on her chair as the communication line turned off while looking at her untouched sandwich.
At the same time, she noticed that one of the communication channels was still open, and it was Rhodey who was still watching her expectantly.
“You’re still here?” Natasha asked curiously.
“It’s Mexico! The police found a house full of corpses. It should be a group of cartel people, but they don’t seem to have much time to fight back!” Rhodey said with a frown on his face.
“Well, did Dio or Barton say anything about it?” Natasha asked curiously.
“It was too clean to be Barton’s doing! If it were Dio, he would blow the house up into the sky! In fact, Dio doesn’t seem to leave the body he killed left for anyone to notice.” Rhodey said helplessly. He understood why Barton and Dio went that far, but as a soldier who upheld justice, Rhodey couldn’t agree with they did.
In fact, Steve also advised Dio to stop, but it just fell into deaf ears from the looks of it.
“So, what do you think we should do?” Natasha curiously asked while biting her lips. Dio and Barton have been off the grid for quite a long time. It wouldn’t be easy to find them as they were an expert in hiding, but it certainly wouldn’t be impossible.
“What they did in the past two years has many effects that touched the sensitive nerve of many people! It might be great for the time that the world was still in chaos as the government didn’t have sufficient means to stop them, but now that everything was steadily back to normal, they’re bound to draw some attention!” Rhodey said agitatedly.
“Did you refer to the United Nations?” Natasha asked curiously.
“At this moment, all I can say is that if dangerous people like Dio and Barton keep doing what they did, many countries would be forced to take an extreme measure!” Rhodey said with a sigh. He felt helpless as he couldn’t do anything to stop the world from going into a suicide mission. Dio would be untouchable, and no country would be able to apprehend him no matter what they did. As for Barton, he would hide and make sure that anyone going after him would pay a high price!
Yet, Rhodey also understood that countries around the world had to make sure that their law was untainted. They had to give the utmost effort to uphold the law! If Dio and Barton still insisted on doing things their way at a time like this, it would be a huge blow to the government’s prestige to maintain the law!
So, whether it was just a rumour or a threat, Dio and Barton ought to stop! Their action has little to no benefit in the current time of the world! Meanwhile, Natasha knew what Rhodey was saying, but she was more helpless than Rhodey was! She couldn’t antagonize Barton and Dio, but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to persuade both of them to stop either!
“I see. I will try to get in touch with Dio as soon as possible. As for Barton, can you help me pinpoint his position right now?” Natasha said with a sigh as she finally chose to do what she could to help both parties.
“Okay, I will let you know as soon as I get the information!” Rhodey said hesitantly.
“Okay, inform me again soon,” Natasha said as Rhodey’s projection finally disappeared. She closed her eyes tiredly, and God knew why she persisted for over two years, maintaining the Avengers! Black Widow, who used to be decisive, calm, and collected, seemed lost at the time!
Now Natasha was left with an unusual feeling of sensitivity, vulnerability, stress, and exhaustion!