First, the legal stuff, I do not own Marvel. No money changed hands in the making of this story. It's just for fun.
This idea came to me while I was working on another story and I just had to give in and write it. It is definitely A.U. We begin almost six months after Winter Soldier and completely ignore canon from that point forward. Inflection point is defined as a turning point where a significant change occurs that will either be very positive or very negative within an organization. Hope you enjoy the ride.
Somewhere off the coast of Italy
Nick Fury was enjoying a beer on the deck of his houseboat watching the sunset when his phone rang. Since only two people on the planet had his number and both knew better than to interrupt his retirement unless there was a real emergency, he answered on the first ring.
"This better be good," he said shortly.
"Sorry to bother you, director, but I think you're going to want to see what my team brought back from their last mission," Phil Coulson replied.
"I'm retired, Coulson. You're the director now. If the fate of the planet isn't at state-"
"It's an 0-8-4, sir."
"You know the protocol for an 0-8-4. Destroy it."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before Phil spoke again. "It's an 0-8-4 very similar to one Shield found several years ago sir. You remember Sky, um, Mary Sue Poots?"
"The hacker you gave a chance?" Fury asked. "Is this another inhuman?"
"Not exactly, sir. It's a baby, a very special baby." Phil paused before continuing, "We found an old Hydra lab. This baby, sir, we think it was created there."
"Created, as in some type of clone?"
"No sir, invitro. We know what happened to the missing samples. They were growing their own super soldier."
"Coulson, are you trying to tell me Hydra managed to get a hold of the genetic material of two Avengers and grow a fetus to term in the six months since Shield fell? That isn't possible."
"They had the samples longer than six months, sir. The child is almost three years old sir. They must have taken the samples almost immediately after we took Captain America's." Coulson paused long enough for Fury to process the information. "Under the circumstances, destroying it might not be such a good idea, and the handling of Mary Sue Potts didn't exactly work out very well. What do you want us to do, sir?"
"Send me your coordinates and wait for me. I'll be there in 3 days. No one outside of your team is to know the true identity of this child. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir," Phil replied, "we'll take good care of her."
Buenos Aires, Argentina
36 hours later
Natasha Romanoff picked up her phone and smiled. It was Steve. "It's so cold in Moscow. Can't believe you grew up in this mess."
She quickly replied. "Oh, Rogers you've been colder. Suck it up. How's the search going?"
"One dead end after another."
"I'm sorry. Even with the intel I was able to procure, it was going to be a long shot."
"Yeah, have you talked to Tony? This Mandarin thing really shook him up."
"Yesterday. I told him I would think about it. How about you? Are you going to join him?"
"I'm seriously considering it. Bucky doesn't seem to want to be found, but I don't think I can just stop looking. I'm really not sure what I should do. I'll probably stay here a little longer, but you should really go. They need you to keep them on their toes, and," he paused, "I have Sam with me, but you're on your own."
"Don't stress over it, Rogers. I can take care of myself," Natasha laughed. "But, I wouldn't mind being part of something again. Clint told Stark he would be around when he was needed, Banner has already moved in, and Thor's back on the planet so I guess we'll see if he turns up."
"It'll never be boring. That's for sure."
"No, not much chance of that. Speaking of boring, are you bored with the single life yet? Maria works for Stark now. I know she'd say yes."
"Don't even start, Romanoff. Weekly phone calls with my favorite red headed Avenger are enough interactions with the opposite sex for me."
Natasha laughed. "If phone calls with me are all the action you're getting, we are doing these phone calls all wrong, Rogers," she teased. Steve groaned an exasperated groan on the other end of the line just as Natasha's door bell rang. "I've got to go, Steve. Someone's at the door."
After Steve said goodbye, Natasha opened the door to her condo fully expecting to see the neighbor boy coming to ask if she had any chores for him. She liked Carlos. He reminded her a little of Cooper, so she always tried to have a little job or two for him and he knew exactly where she kept the good candy.
Natasha, however, was not expecting to see Nick Fury. She didn't say a word as she looked at her former mentor. Nick broke the silence. "Romanoff, something's come up."
Natasha opened the door further to let him enter then motioned for him to have a seat. "I'd ask how you found me, but I have a feeling you never lost me," shy said wryly. "What's the mission, Fury?"
Nick cleared his throat. "This is actually a personal call, Romanoff. I have something to run past you. No one knows I'm here, and no one will know this conversation every took place unless you decide you're interested."
"I thought you said it wasn't a mission," Natasha replied, raising an eyebrow.
"It's not, but I have some information that concerns you. I know your past better than probably anyone but Barton-what the Red Room did to you, what they made you do. I almost feel like a proud father seeing how far you've come. You and Rogers did really good work in D.C. I know it wasn't easy taking down Shield, cleaning up the Hydra mess I was too arrogant to see. That was my mistake, Romanoff. I am sorry I didn't see it sooner."
"This isn't like you, Fury. Are you getting sentimental in your old age?" Natasha teased, trying to erase some of the somberness in his tone.
"Maybe," Nick replied, "but I felt like I needed to apologize to you for that and for something else that has just been brought to my attention.
In my quest to protect the planet from threats unknown, I failed to see that the biggest threats were in my own backyard. Because of my hubris, Hydra was able to form a stronghold in Shield. They were able to grow unencumbered, even benefitting from the technological advances and sensitive information I thought I was protecting."
"Fury, I know all of this. I'm the one who spilled all of the secrets on the internet."
"Yes, you did. Unfortunately, there were some samples under lock and key that conveniently disappeared long before you and Rogers staged your coo, samples I thought I was protecting. It was never my intention for those samples to be used, at least, not like this."
"Samples? Is that what you need me to retrieve? What kind of samples?"
Fury looked Natasha in the eye. "Biological samples, Romanoff. But, retrieval isn't necessary. Shield has been reformed in the shadows. I put someone in charge who won't make the mistakes I made. He's a very good man, and his team has already recovered what was left to be recovered."
"Then, why are we having this conversation?"
"Because one of the samples is one I personally acquired shortly after Barton brought you in. You were an incredible asset by that point, well on your way to being an agent and high on my list of potentials for the Avengers' Initiative. When agents recovered this sample while busting up a Red Room facility you personally gave up, I made the decision to save this sample in case you ever decided to try to have a normal life."
"What was the sample?" Natasha asked, not daring to hope it could possibly be what first came to mind.
"An egg, Romanoff, a lone egg, harvested from you before graduation. I should have told you, but I didn't see any sign that it would matter much to you. You were all about your ledger."
"What the-" Natasha began before looking away from him. She took a moment to compose herself. "And, it's been retrieved? Was it properly stored? Could it still be viable?"
"Retrieved in a manner of speaking, Romanoff. They were attempting to create the perfect soldier. With your serum, any child you had could have tremendous potential."
"But, you have the sample now?"
"Shield has the product that came from that sample."
"Product?" Natasha whispered, feeling suddenly ill.
Fury nodded. "She's almost three years old. Her current classification is as an 0-8-4 due to the possible effects the serum may have on her as she grows."
"She," Natasha whispered softly. "I have a daughter."
"You do. I came to you with this information first. It is your decision whether you want to take this on or not. If you aren't interested, I will contact her biological father or make arrangements for her to be taken care of and protected."
"I do," Natasha replied with a lot more confidence than she felt. "Of course, I do."
Fury smiled slightly. "I had a feeling you would say that. There's something else you need to know. They stole her father's sample from the same lab." Natasha raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. "Rogers super soldier serum also runs through her veins."