Four SHIELD agents (Grifter, Hawkeye, Mockingbird, and Black Widow) sent by General Fury encounter their doppelgangers. Are these doppelgangers HYDRA clones?

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Cash instinctively knew the Black Widow attacking him was not the Natasha Romanova that came with him from the Triskelion.

It didn’t feel right, and she was in full Widow regalia. His Natasha was in a SHIELD uniform.

It didn’t make it any less strange.

He shook off the uncanny of the moment and leaped over the Widow’s attempt to sweep his legs out from under him. Landing a few feet away, he leveled his twin handguns at her.

“I don’t wanna shoot you until I know what the hell is going on!” he shouted.

“Then you’ll go to jail never knowing,” the Widow responded as she pivoted to a crouching position.

As if that wasn’t enough of a mind blow, Mockingbird rounded the corner wearing an evening blouse and gaudy green pants that hung baggy on her athletic frame.

“What the hell? Bobbi too?” Cash said.

“Subdue now, ask questions later, Cash,” Barton said over the com.

And then Barton’s world went bright. He quickly turned away, but the damage was done. He couldn’t see, which meant he couldn’t shoot.

It’s the exact sort of thing he’d have done to an enemy.

Cash realized wasn’t talking his way out of this one. He fired two shots at the Widow. One went wide; the other slammed into her midsection. She stumbled, but her body armor sucked up the damage.

The Widow came at him with a punch that damn near took his head off. Cash rolled with it, spinning and slamming his back against the nearby container.

Mockingbird came at him with her escrima sticks. He used his guns to parry her blows.

Unfortunately, this left him open for a disarm from the Widow. One of his guns clattered away from him.

“Cash, talk to us,” his Morse called on the com.

“Little busy with Date Night Bobbi trying to kick my ass!” he replied.

On their side of the container, Morse and Romanova looked to one another, neither quite knowing what to make of Cash’s statement. He was known to joke, but combining that with Barton’s warning…

“The mission, Morse,” Romanova reminded.

On top of the container, Barton blinked his eyes rapidly. “Okay, ladies, think I’m coming back online,” he said down the com. “Now where’s that son of a bitch sniper and he better not look like me!”

He looked across the docks to the other container. Barton saw the sniper taking a bead on him. Barton fired an arrow first, nailing the guy on the shoulder. The sniper dropped his bow, buying Barton valuable time.

Barton did feel a bit guilty; it was like shooting himself in the shoulder. But better the doppelganger than him.

What the hell was going on?

Cash was feeling better, thanks to an age-old experiment that gave him regenerative abilities.

The haze that Widow’s bite had sent him into had faded. He was back in business, and not a moment too soon. The imposter Mockingbird came at him again.

“Two of you and I’m still standing?” he asked. “So much for women being equal to men!”

Mockingbird lowered her escrima. “Back off, Natasha,” she demanded. “I’m gonna get all women’s lib on this son of a bitch.”

“That’s what he wants,” the Widow warned.

Mockingbird took up a battle stance. “Then he’s gonna get two escrima shoved up his Cole Cash-looking ass!”

The Widow passed in between Cash and Bobbi. As she did, she ripped the gun from Cash’s hand. Throwing it away, she said, “At least it’ll be a fair weapon fight.”

Cash frowned beneath his bandana.

Mockingbird rushed at him. She tried to feint, but he read it correctly and didn’t fall for the bait. Instead, he clocked her with a chop to the shoulder. She stumbled back but kept coming.

Black Widow did the honorable thing: she watched, waiting for an opening.

To be continued…

Copyright Info

DC Adventures, Copyright 2011, Green Ronin Publishing; Author Steve Kenson. Now it’s Mutants and Masterminds, 3rd Edition

Advanced Player’s Manual, Copyright 2005, Green Ronin Publishing: Author Skip Williams.

Proteus Plot, Copyright 2006, Green Ronin Publishing, Author Steve Kenson.

The characters Hawkeye, Nick Fury, Mockingbird, the Black Widow, Arnim Zola, the Red Skull, HYDRA, SHIELD and Captain America are Copyright Marvel Comics

The character Grifter is Copyright DC Comics

None of the characters (or the plot, for that matter) belong to me as this is fan fiction, done for fun and as a creative exercise.