It was purely out of necessity that she had learnt English, if she could have forsaken studying the language she would have whole heartedly; but the English tongue was so widely spoken that it would have been foolish not to learn it. Its alphabet was Latin, which contrasted greatly to the Cyrillic script of her native Bulgarian and the other 49 dialects that used said alphabet; she had however kindly dedicated time to the Russian speech, a language that she spoke and read fluently. But English on the other had frustrated her greatly, she was entirely certain that the English word order was backwards and it aggravated her that words that looked exactly the same had entirely different meanings. Yet, she still found time and patience (that she didn't know she possessed) to learn the Latin alphabet and practice the blasted language.
Unfortunately, it was only due to her knowledge of the language that she found herself having to communicate and, after much deliberation, house the infamous Tony Stark. It was after her meeting with the egotistical billionaire that she swore to herself that she would never learn another language again, no matter how widely spoken it was; if only to avoid having to talk with others similar to Stark. Her English was clumsy and her Bulgarian accent was very traceable as she pronounced the foreign words, but Stark's Bulgarian was non-existent.
She did however like to think that she had saved the playboy's life, if it weren't for her he may have ended up wandering Bulgaria in search of salvation, he might have even walked over the border to Turkey or perhaps Greece, depending on which way he walked. Nonetheless, she half regretted dragging a battered Tony Stark aka Iron Man back to her house after he had crash landed in the field in front of her house; following a very sporadic and entertaining flight from the horizon to the ground. Following his stay at her home she decided that she completely regretted saving him, he and his team returned to the USA and he promptly told Director Fury of her location. If he was hoping she would join S.H.I.E.L.D he had been sorely disappointed. As a Doctorate student of Mechanical Engineering she had assisted Tony in fixing his suit and it seemed that he was impressed by skill. He had spent close to three weeks in Bulgaria with her by which point she was completely frustrated by his arrogance and her secret had been revealed.
"I do not exactly know how many times I have had to tell you that I do not vont to join your Government Circus group. Tony had no right to disclose my location and he had no right to tell you vhat I am capable of. His ego must take up so much of his brain capacity that he does not remember that I did not vont to be involved in anymore American issues." The young Bulgarian raised a glass of whiskey to her lips taking a long swig of the liquid. She wasn't prone to drinking alcohol, much less whiskey, but after seeing the S.H.I.E.L.D van outside her house she had grabbed the bottle (that Tony had left) and filled her glass knowing that she would need its bitter taste to allow her to survive the imminent conversation.
The dark skinned man sat at her kitchen table had his one eye fixed on the young woman that was leaning against the kitchen counter.
"This is not an just American matter Miss Chekhov, if the seeds of Hydra spread then the entirety of the World will be at risk. This is a worldwide issue."
"Then talk to the UN. I am no agent Director Fury, I am a Doctorate student of Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Varna. You cannot expect me to go undercover vithin Hydra, I am not trained to deal vith such a situation." She slammed her glass on the table.
"You and I both know that that is not true Miss Chekhov, you are capable of far more than you let on. Living with naught but your brother since childhood has not just provided you the chance to expand your mind but also to take control of a power that manifested when you were younger."
The constant visits from S.H.I.E.L.D had worn her down, it seemed they would never halt their consistent attempts at persuading her to join them, she was fed up thus her quick decision ensued.
"If I consider your offer, I use my powers vhen I decide to. I will not be dictated by S.H.I.E.L.D as to when I use my "gifts'."
Nick Fury slid a thick file across the table, "You will be keeping an eye on a Hydra asset known as the Winter Soldier, he possess a metal cybernetic arm, I assume you are well versed in cybernetics. Through your access to him you will feed us information from Hydra, none of our current undercover agents have gained close enough access to him."
She flicked through the folder focusing only on the photographs of other undercover S.H.I.E.L.D agents and the Winter Soldier himself. Her English was good but reading and writing in the language was not her strong suit, she decided to read the actual files at a later date, as she would need far more concentration, time and patience.
Metal footsteps broke the silence; Iron Man strode through her open kitchen door.
"Raya, long time no see."
"Not long enough Stark. Still having trouble with landing I see." Raya gestured to the long scratch that Tony's Iron Man suit was currently sporting.
Raya poured a second glass of whiskey and handed it to Tony.
"Vhot are you doing here old man?" She smirked.
"Providing you with information that the Director has strangely neglected to tell you. You are getting forgetful in your old age Fury." Raya didn't miss the glare Tony sent the Director.
Since their first meeting he had developed a soft spot for her, she was like the younger sister he never had. She in return saw him as an opposite of her true older brother who was far sterner than Tony and was greatly invested in his studies; it was from him that she had gained her love of mechanical engineering.
"The Winter Soldier was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D last year, many of his lost memories were returned to him, however his true identity of James Barnes was hidden from all but the highest members of S.H.I.E.L.D." Tony began to explain.
"None of the Avengers were supposed to know either, but it seems that nothing can be hidden from Stark." Fury shot a deadly glare at the billionaire. "Even Rogers is unaware of his friends survival as we feared that it may compromise Barnes' position in Hydra."
"Barnes' mind however is still unstable, especially with the threat of mind-wipes. Yet, it seems that luckily they have only been keeping him on ice, and have not yet turned to memory wiping." Fury continued.
"Barnes has obviously been doing a very convincing job at being a mind dead assassin." Tony weighed in.
"However, it is only a matter of time before Hydra carry out a routine mind-wipe, it will be your job to prevent him from losing his memories by injecting him with a serum, just before the procedure, that will counteract it. You will also be providing us with the necessary intel needed from inside Hydra." Fury proceeded.
"Basically, keep us connected to Barnes and Barnes connected to us." Tony, yet again, helpfully weighed in.
"How exactly are you expecting to get me inside?"
Tony smirked before continuing, "A mechanic position has recently opened up inside Hydra."
"By that you mean?"
"One of the previous mechanics is in a S.H.I.E.L.D holding cell, although Hydra believe him to be dead."
Fury proceeded looking slightly irate after being consistently interrupted, "Our undercover agents have been feeding information about you into Hydra, so they will be expecting you."
"Vait a minute. I had no choice in doing this did I."
"Not really, no."
"You owe me big time Fury." She scowled. "I always knew I hated you."
"Glad we've gotten that out of the way. You can tear his heart out after you have completed this mission." Stark grinned.
"Good to know. How long will this mission take?"
"We're not entirely sure." Raya rolled her eyes, it was very unlike Fury not to know exactly how long he would like a mission to take. "Your brother will believe that you have been kidnapped. Now, the agents who will be escorting you to Hydra are all undercover S.H.I.E.L.D agents."
"So this is just for appearances, should anybody be watching." Iron Man smiled innocently.
"Vhat is just for appeara-" A sack was thrown over her head and she was marched, or more accurately, dragged out of her house by two agents.
"TONY!" She screeched over her shoulder. "You had better look after my cat."