Natasha Romanov was not someone who believed in love; if she did something for someone it was because she owed them a debt, nothing more and nothing less. She'd said it so many times that she believed it. It had been hammered into her since she was five years old when she first began her training as a Soviet and over the years she had never seen anything or met anyone that had caused her to question that belief, not even when Clint Barton had chosen to spare her life; she owed him a debt but that was all. So when Director Fury had sent her to Smallville Kansas to see if she could find anyone to help with what he called the 'Avengers Initiative' she saw no reason to think that her beliefs would be shaken. However, she never factored in a meeting with Clark Kent.

She had heard about Smallville's 'meteor freaks' a term that had stemmed from the people who had gained powers from the meteor shower fifteen years earlier. She read that the power apparently drove most of them insane, but after hearing about a second meteor shower striking the town two days , Fury had sent her to see if people had developed abilities a second time, and try and find out if they could control the power they had been given. When she had looked over the incident reports for all the events involving those affected by the meteor shower, one name had shown up again and again; Clark Kent. Wondering if Kent just happened to be lucky or if he had gifts of his own, was what caused her to be outside of the Kent residence to days after the meteor shower wearing jeans and a black blouse with a gun strapped to her thigh. She had decided against wearing her typical outfit since she didn't want to scare Clark off. She knew how most people reacted to the government showing up on their doorstep, and she didn't want Clark to immediately distrust her just because of her appearance. She knocked on the door and it was answered by a boy in his late teens with black hair and blue eyes. For some reason she just stood there for a minute looking at him, and it was as if her brain had ceased to work.

Clark opened the door to tell whoever it was to leave; their town had just been hit by a second meteor shower and he blamed himself, believing the creation of his fortress in the arctic to be responsible. As such, he was in no mood to talk to anyone. He opened the door and found himself looking at a woman in her early twenties with shoulder-length red hair and a very attractive body. However, it wasn't any of these attributes that caused the dismissal that had begun to form in his throat. No, it was the eyes, emerald-green eyes that looked as if they had seen a lifetime of challenge and struggle. Even though Clark was only eighteen he had seen more in his young life than most people ever would even if they lived ten lifetimes. In the red-heads eyes he saw a kindred spirit of sorts, realizing that she too had seen more than most people ever did or would. They just looked at each other for a moment until Clark finally broke the silence.

"Can I help you?"

Whatever Natasha was going to say seemed to slip from her mind; her training told her to stick to the story she had planned to give him, but after looking into his eyes, eyes that so much like her own had seen too much in too short a time, she found she couldn't do that. Something, some sort of unfamiliar instinct told her to tell him the truth.

"Clark Kent?"

"Yes"

"I'm Agent Natasha Romanov, a representative of S.H.I.E.L.D. can I have a moment of your time?"

Clark hesitated, his parent's warnings about people from the government ringing in his ears. However, something told him he could trust the woman in front of him. She could've lied about who she was but instead she had been honest about who she was and so Clark decided to hear her out.

"Alright Agent Romanov "he said, walking out of the house and walking towards the barn.

"What can you tell me about the last meteor shower?" she asked and Clark's shoulders slumped slightly; he knew it was his fault just as the first one was, and both times there was nothing he could do to prevent them. If Natasha noticed his mood change she didn't comment. However, before he had a chance to reply, a male and a female in what could only be described as black armor appeared in front of them.

"So you are Kal-El" the man said, spatting out Clark's Kryptonian name as if it were a curse. "Prepare to die"

"Run!" Clark yelled to Natasha just as the man and woman rushed him. Natasha watched as Clark and the two newcomers began exchanging a series of blows so fast that she could barely follow. She acknowledged Clark's powers but he couldn't match the two newcomers, who had both superior numbers and skill on their side. The female caught Clark in the jaw, knocking him back and Natasha could see the blood on his face. The newcomers continued their assault on Clark, punching every part of him they could reach. Unable to hold up against the constant attack, the young Kryptonian fell to his knees, feeling weaker than he ever had before.

"Now you die spawn of Jor-El" the woman said, leering at him. Clark glared at the two of them and Natasha couldn't help but be impressed at his obvious courage in the face of death, but she wasn't about to stand there and let him be killed. Pulling out the gun strapped to her thigh, she fired hitting the male straight between the eyes. He laughed as he looked at her, and the two attackers walked slowly over to her, continuing to laugh as the bullets she struck them with seemed to have no effect. However, just as they were about to reach her, the two of them screamed as they were burned by fire from Clark's eyes. They fell to the floor and Clark walked over to them, punching them both in the face and knocking them unconscious.

"Thank you Agent Romanov, I owe you one"

"First of all, call me Natasha. Secondly, I'm calling in that debt. After I call a team to lock these two up, I'd like you to come with me to New York. We need to talk about the Avenger's Initiative"

Clark nodded, but as Natasha turned away to call the containment team, she wondered if she was really only getting Clark to come to New York because he owed her a debt. When she saw him on his knees with the threat of death looming over him, she felt something she had never felt before: fear for someone else's life. She couldn't worry about that now however because as soon as she'd finished calling the containment team, Colson had called saying Barton had been compromised.

"Damn"

"What's wrong?" Clark asked coming over to her.

Knowing that when they discussed the Avenger's Initiative he would know about Barton anyway she told him what Colson had told her.

"I think I may have a solution for that problem, just let me make a call"

Five minutes after receiving his friend's call, Oliver Queen called his pilot.

"Stan, get the jet ready. We're going to New York"

A/N: I hope you guys liked the first chapter! This is just something I had floating around in my head! Clark is nineteen in this and he obviously already knows Oliver! Please review as they help me keep writing and the next chapter will be up by Friday!