As part of this quiet night, the Avengers were on an extended break- the week prior, Thanos had come to Earth to take it over before he began his latest attempts at seizing control of the multiverse. While the Avengers were able to beat him, the fight had weakened him considerably, but Thanos had dropped a most precious cargo- the Infinity Gauntlet and all of the Gems, minus the Gem of Power, which had been cast away by magic the year prior when a sorcerer foe of John Constantine and Zatanna got a hold of it... and promptly lost it when John made him use the Gem's power by accident to send it to the deepest regions of space.
Regardless, the Gems were locked away in the deepest bowels of Avengers Tower, and as an added precaution in the event the Gems corrupted any of the Avengers, Iron Man had enhanced many of the security measures around the vault, confident that it would at least distract intruders long enough for the team to respond.
Despite all of that, Natasha Romanov, the Black Widow, was hesitant. The stories of the Gems corrupting even the bravest and most courageous of heroes had spread across the Galaxy, alongside the tales telling that whomever wielding one of the Gems had near infinite power. It was less about the Power, she argued to herself mentally as she crept through the darkened corridors leading to the vault, but practicality- she had experience with mental blocks, she had a good chance of being able to resist the Gems long enough to use their powers to eliminate them for good.
As she approached the container the Gems had been sealed in, in part because the security measures were getting heavier and heavier, Natasha's concentration was firmly on bypassing or sneaking past the defense systems- not too hard, since she helped make them, but most of them were made by Tony without her expertise, so she was on guard. As such, she didn't hear the subtle, corrupting whispers within her mind- use the Gems and you can rule this world as Empress. Use them, and the multiverse will bow to no one else for Eternity.
Finally, Natasha reached the Gems. She swallowed as she looked at them, the whispers now as clear as day in her mind... and she didn't care. Casting aside her doubts, Widow reached for the gems and-
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