BEGOTTEN
Prologue
Natasha Romanoff walked purposefully down the streets of New York City. Tiny shards of glass were further crushed beneath her high-heeled boots. It had been only a few days since Thor and Loki had returned to Asgard, and Manhattan was in ruins. The Avengers, as they were now known, had officially disbanded, though they all stayed around, using the damaged Stark Tower as their new headquarters. Though the danger had passed, there was a major cleanup job ahead of them.
Most officials saw the Avengers as public nuisances. In order to get some good publicity, Agent Nick Fury had informed the team that they would be assisting with the clean up as much as they were able. All, that is, except for one.
After giving this order, Fury had pulled the Black Widow aside. He'd leaned in close and whispered a different set of orders into her ear. No one watching would notice the slight narrowing of her eyes as Fury pulled away. But the expression soon softened into her poker face.
"Why don't you have to stay and sweep up broken glass like the rest of us?" Tony Stark complained, approaching her on the abandoned street. Tasha turned around to see him standing with Clint Barton. They were both dressed in ratty streetclothes, armed with rubber glove, brooms, and garbage bags. The site of the infamously spoiled Tony Stark equipped with such was almost comical.
"The Black Widow has been given other orders." Clint explained. One of the corners of Natasha's mouth twitched upward in a half-smile.
As Tony opened his mouth to argue, Natasha cut him off, "I have other, more sensitive issues to attend to."
"Right, you go off on your super spy adventure and leave the rest of us here to rot in debris." Tony wrinkled his nose, looking hopelessly across Manhattan's obliterated skyline.
"Well, you have a big job ahead of you." Natasha clapped his shoulder and gave the billionaire a smug grin, "I'd get started if I were you."
She didn't stop driving until she reached Boston, quite some time later. Natasha put the nondescript black SUV in park outside of a small townhouse. Even though the sun was setting, she covered her face with a pair of large black sunglasses. She pulled a black scarf to cover her fiery red hair. When she was sure that she wouldn't be accidentally recognized from a distance, she got out of the car into the gathering twilight.
The townhouse was simple, bare-bricked, with peeling green shutters and a wrought-iron fence separating its small front yard from the sidewalk. Natasha walked up to it without hesitation and pushed through the squeaking gate, closing it firmly behind her. Quietly, she made her way to the front stoop and knocked on the dark green door. She listened intensely but heard no movement from inside the house. Impatiently, she rang the doorbell and waited again. Feeling a knot grow in the pit of her stomach, the spy stood on her tiptoes, reaching above the doorframe and plucking the spare key from its hiding place. She inserted the key in the lock and turned. The door swung open easily, revealing the eerily dark front hall.
With a growing feeling of dread, she stepped inside and listened. After a breathless moment, she could safely conclude that the house was empty. This was unexpected. She quickly swept through the rooms, seeing no sign of a struggle. No overturned tables, no shattered picture frames. Suspiciously, she found the kitchen empty. No food in the fridge or the cupboards. She shied away from a dark thought as she slammed the cupboard she'd been inspecting shut. The BANG! echoed throughout the house.
Her feet carried her to one of the two bedrooms. It was small, covered in Captain America memorabilia. With a melancholy smile, she moved further into the room. It was bit messier than the others, but that was to be expected. A pair of small shoes laid haphazardly next to a toddler's bed. A Captain America action figure was facedown on the covers, which were pulled up and orderly. Numbly, she picked up the worn action figure and clutched it tightly. This was the room of a child. But the child was nowhere to be found.
Trying to quell her panic, Natasha left the room and closed the door behind her with forced calmness. She noticed that her hands (one still gripping the Captain America action figure) were shaking as she took out her cell phone and pressed one of the numbers on speed dial. It rang only twice before there was an answer.
"Nat?" Clint's confused voice came through the phone.
"Hey, have you heard from Barney lately?" She asked tightly.
"No, why?" He asked. When Natasha didn't respond, Clint added seriously, "Why? What's wrong?"
"He's gone." Natasha snapped, "Barney's gone, and so is Nathan."
"What?"
"I'm saying that your brother is missing, and our son is with him."
Hi! I just wanted to let you know that this is just the prologue and the chapters (about 8 or so) will be longer.
Enjoy!