I do not own any of this.

Isabella crept inside the door, her heart pounding madly. It was strange, although she had no reason to be scared today, she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy, as though something was about to happen. Maybe all the time she had spent hiding had made her uneasy but she couldn't help it.

The floorboard creaked beneath her feet as though they were warning her to go no further. But why should she listen. Why wouldn't this day be the same as the other 365 days that she had been hiding out here? Her sister, Natasha, wouldn't have been scared. She had always been the confident one and Isabella was envious of that. She always wished she had been strong enough to break free earlier from the red room's power like her sister had been. Then, they could have gone together. The secret Russian Power (SRP) that had manipulated and brainwashed people in the past such as the two Romanoff sisters was certainly one such power that she hoped never to be helpless to again.

The house that she had stayed in had been the perfect cover once she had escaped. It was in a ruined state so no-one would know that anyone would have been living there. She opened the door to the living room, half expecting the Red Room scientists to be there waiting for her, with orders to escort her back to her example of torture, but there was no one there that they could see. The room was deserted, just as it had been the other 356 days she had been waiting there for. There was no furniture, so she sat down on the floor and just waited, once more for something interesting to happen.

Suddenly, she felt a prickling sensation at the back of her neck. When she was just a small child, before any of the bad stuff had happened, Tasha had always said that her instincts were incredible. She could tell when a joke had been played on her or when a teddy bear had put out of place, so this prickly feeling was something to be worried about.

No sooner had this thought crossed her mind, than she had jumped to her feet and glanced around. In the corner of the room hidden among all the shadows, a man was crouched on the ground. I stared right at this figure, and he stared back at me
"I can see you, you know" Isabella said into the darkness when he didn't move. The man hesitated slightly before he stood up too. "Who are you" She called out to him. Now that he wasn't hidden in the shadows, he could see him a little more, and the logo on his chest informed Isabella that he was not one of the SRP's control, although the bow over his back showed that he was still one to watch

"My name is Clint Barton. I'm here looking for the Secret Russian Power department. You don't know where it is do you?" Isabella looked a little taken aback at how much he had revealed to her first off, but obviously he trusted her. That was another thing she had always been able to do and one of the reasons why the red room department had been so keen on recruiting her – people couldn't help but trust her. "Who are you anyway?" he finished

"Isabella, Isabella Romanoff," she replied cautiously for she didn't often give her name to strangers. "And…. And I can take you there" she continued cautiously
"Thanks," Clint replied as they stepped outside the house and into the woods. They walked in silence, as though each person was still cautious of the other.

"Romanoff?" Clint repeated after a while, "You don't know anyone called Natasha perchance" he said offhandedly, as though it had been weighing on his mind for a time.
"That's my sister's name, but I doubt you mean her?" Isabella replied
"Oh," Clint may not have said it out loud, but inside, he felt that there was way too many similarities between Natasha and Isabella for it to be a coincidence that it was her sister's name. You see, Clint didn't know anyone bar Natasha who was able to seek him out when he was hiding in the shadows.

Before long, Isabella stepped out of the woods and into a clearing where a huge warehouse towered above all others.
"There you go," she said, "SRP headquarters' and home to the Red Room institution" She hesitated slightly before continuing, "I don't normally like to go this close."
"Thanks" Clint replied gratefully, "Now then," he mumbled to himself, "time to tear it to pieces"
"Your blowing it up," Isabella exclaimed as she overheard his mumbles, "lucky." Clint turned to look at her, eyebrows raised as though wanted to hear more.
"I have a grudge against them" Isabella answered his unspoken question. Clint didn't reply straight away, as though he were waiting for her to elaborate but when she didn't, he continued.
"Yeah, The people I work for feel the need for the practises that occur here to end"
"The Red Room department you mean?"
"Yeah… come with me if you have a grudge. I have explosives with me and you can do the honours" Isabella grinned evilly and together they snuck into the building.