Black Widow: The Clown Queen Up until a few seconds ago the Black Widow had enjoyed her usual success as she infiltrated the lair of a suspected bioterrorist. Then a flash bang grenade had gone off at her feet. She turned away in the nick of time to escape the full brilliance of its explosion. But she did not escape its effect entirely. With her sight temporarily blinded, her ears became her eyes. She had vowed never to be defeated in the dark again after a humiliating beatdown by Snapdragon. That vow was about to broken as deafening circus music suddenly wailed out. Now she could neither see or hear. There was no panic on her behalf. She coolly tried to imagine her surroundings. She had just vaulted down to an outdoor balcony. It seemed too obvious that someone would emerge out of the door she had been about to enter. The grenade had fallen. It wasn't tossed or rolled. Just as she tried to navigate to where the sliding door was located, a hard punch to her gut surprised her, knocking the wind out of her. She staggered back and squinted fiercely. A feminine shape and bright colors came briefly into focus. The unmistakable outlandish attire of Harley Quinn made her identification obvious. Knowing her enemy provided Natasha Romanoff with no relief. As soon as the first punch connected, another followed, then another. The blows shifted to her head, which was buffeted back and forth as her face ate hit after hit. No quarter was given for her to recover her senses. Most of her efforts went to the intense strain at fighting the urge to black out. She heard something being whispered in her ear. She lacked the coherency to understand what was said. A second later she felt arms locking a sleeper hold tightly around her head and neck. She almost succeeded in flipping Harley over her shoulders, but the Clown Queen of Mayhem countered with a knee to the base of her spine. Instinctively she tried another reversal as she pushed herself backwards in another attempt to dislodge Harley's grip. Harley simply responded by pulling them both backwards. She landed on her back in a controlled fall. She used her leverage to increase the pressure of her sleeper hold. Natasha felt her limbs go slack as her consciousness faded. She tried to push herself off the floor, but her legs were rubbery. Harley smiled, leaning further back as she ratcheted up the tenacity of her grip. She dug the heel of her left boot into the Widow's crotch. Natasha moaned while her eyes began to roll back into her head. Harley just grinned madly, now feeling completely assured of another victory against the Black Widow.