During Operation Validate, Natasha was instructed by SHIELD director Nick Fury to exchange physcial appearances with Yelena Belova. Yelena struggled to maintain her identity while Natasha managed to manipulate Stalyenko into revealing his plot to steal nuclear weapons hidden in Hudson river during the Cold War. Yelena tried to defend her superior but Natasha demonstrted that Stalyenko viewed Belova as expendable. The Black Widows brought Stalyenko down but Yelena betrayed Natasha in the end in order to avoid further manipulation by SHIELD.
