Volume 1: The K.G.B. Years
Issue 1: The early years
The night was filled with smoke and raging fires that polluted the air. Sounds of echoing gunfire filled the devastating atmosphere. Hatred screams and cries of pain could be heard within a mile of the land. The attack happened so quickly that most of the Stalingrad forces decimated in a matter of hours. With every bomb being thrown and gun shot at them, the enemy was able to infiltrate into Stalingrad's bases and destroy it from within. It was likely that the enemy will win the war.
Natalia Alianovana Romanova was lying under an abandoned car when the attack began. The seven year- old girl trembled in fear. Every blast came with a new terror, working its way throughout her body. She would've stayed there, feeling some sense of security, if not for hearing the approaching footsteps.
All Natalia could do was clutch her mouth to hide her loud, quivering breathing. The footsteps drew near to the side of the car. She began to wonder if they could hear her thumping heart. Natalia watched as four booted feet moved their way to the front of the car and stopped.
The shaky girl thought quickly. She needed to leave the area. Natalia shifted her head to the left and saw an empty alley. She suddenly noticed an open door. She knew what she had to do.
Natalia silently slid herself backwards. Each movement was always stopped by her having to look up. Natalia forced her breathing to be steady and soundless as well as her body. After a few, agonizing minutes she had reached the end of the car.
Natalia glanced up again. The two soldiers were thankfully still there. Still on her stomach, she continued to slither herself to the left of the car. She came to a halt once she started to hear one of the men speak.
"I've just received order to head back to base." said soldier 1.
"Affirmative." soldier 2 responded.
Through the broken window, Natalia could see the soldiers started to turn. Sheer panic flowed through her veins. The next seconds must have been a blur because she felt herself sprinting to the alley. Gunfire began. Natasha instinctively ducked towards the ground as she ran. Once she reached the door, she jumped through it, shutting the door behind her.
The room was an abandoned living room. Natalia locked the door and turned to see a blue couch by the door. She quickly went around it and pushed the couch in front of the door. Natalia then ran up a stairs, into a room in which she hid under a bed.
Natalia could hear the banging on the door. It continued before it became gunshots. She could hear the door weaken. Finally the wooden door gave in with a hard pounce.
"Come out little girl." soldier 2 sneered with a hint of mockery.
Natalia felt burning tears run down her cheeks. She could feel her face turning red as she tried to contain her scream. She knew that she only had a few minutes to live.
Natalia heard the pair of soldiers strike random items and furniture downstairs. Vile laughter of the soldiers filled the whole house. She heard them kick down another door, possibly the closet, and shoot into it. That's when she heard her death sentence.
"How about upstairs?" asked soldier 1.
Soldier 2 gave an evil giggle. Natalia could hear each stomp, making its way towards her. She saw those booted feet walk throughout the room. He took dramatic steps to the closet which was opposite of the bed. Soldier 2 opened it slowly.
"Are you in here?" he asked softly.
He walked into the closet. It took seconds before he came out to respond to his partner's hysterical voice.
"Nathan! There's a fire! It's coming from the stove!"
"What! Why didn't you notice it before!" soldier 2 shouted as he made his way downstairs.
"I don't know! I just noticed a-" Natalia heard Soldier 1 say until his voice had exited the house.
Natalia quickly slid out from the bed. She could smell the strong scent of smoke. After inhaling a deep breath of smoky air, Natalia walk towards the staircase. She fixed her eyes downstairs and saw that the whole level engulfed in dancing flames.
Natalia screamed while running upstairs. She shut the door and continued to cry for help. She even made her way to the window and banged on it. She turned to see cloudy smoke come upstairs into her room. Natalia then noticed smoke enter through a vent on the ceiling. She screamed again and ran to a corner of the room. While holding her shirt above her nose, she cried before the smoke overwhelmed her and she blacked out. The last thing she saw was a blonde-hair man hovering over her.
"Ah!" Natalia gasped. She glanced around the brightly-lit room that wretched of blood and dirt. Just like her, people were in white beds with bandages wrapped around them. Men and women wearing hats with a red Russian sign walked around the room, checking on the people on the beds. Natalia realized that she was in a hospital.
She looked to her left and suddenly met the ice-blue eyes of a blonde hair man, the same man she saw when she blacked out. Natalia was able to take in every detail of the man's face. From his masculine jaws to his bandaged cheeks and to his blonde hair covered in dirt, he had a face of war. Natalia assumed he was a soldier-wait, a soldier! Panic aroused in Natalia. The man must have noticed because his welcoming expression turned into alarm.
"Wait, wait. I'm not here to hurt you. The other soldiers you saw were someone else. They are the enemy. Don't worry; you are in safe hands now."
He said that final statement with such niceness that it put Natalia at ease. But she still had her doubts.
"I heard gunshots and screaming coming from where you were at. I made my way over to the noise and saw you being chased by the two soldiers. They must have seen a fire and ran out. I was able to make my way to you before the fire reached upstairs." he said in a strong Russian accent.
"How did you make it through the fire?" Natalia asked. She realized those were the first words she has spoken all day.
The man pointed to a long, burnt coat on the table next to her bed.
"With that." he smiled.
"Oh."
They sat there for a minute before Natalia responded again.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome;" the man said thankfully, "O couldn't let me leave you in there. As a matter fact, it took me a lot of persuading to bring you into the hospital. Only wounded soldiers are allowed in here."
Natalia looked around the hospital again and realized that the wounded was soldiers. She felt special inside. This was the first time someone had actually showed interest in her.
"Oh, that looks nasty." The man reached and brushed Natalia red-auburn hair away from her eyes, revealing a bloody gash. He took a Band-Aid and ointment from the table. While applying the medicine onto her cut he cautiously asked, "Do you know where your parents are?"
Natalia hesitated. She felt that same uncomfortable feeling she gets whenever someone asks that question. But for some reason, she felt safe in replying.
"I don't have any."
The man stopped for a moment, as if to think about something, but continued afterwards.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's fine."
He patched the bandage over her gash.
"There. All better now;" he sat back into his chair, "Do you have a name?"
"The people at the orphan house called me Natalia Alianovana Romanova."
"Hmm, Natalia." He said in a thoughtful way.
"Yeah. That's my name."
"Do you mind if I call you Natasha?"
Natalia wondered why the man asked that question. Perhaps he said to make a conversation or something different. She would never know. She thought it over and astonishingly the name stuck.
Natalia smiled. "Sure, why not."
"Good 'cause I was going to call you that anyway." he said jokefully.
"What is your name?" Natalia felt comfortable enough to continue to continue talking.
"Ivan Petrovitch Bezukhov."
"That's a nice name."
"Why thank you." Ivan did a graceful, yet silly bow. Natalia, or Natasha, couldn't stop herself from giggling.
A dark-haired man came up behind Ivan and whispered something into his ear, which made his face turn hard.
"Yes sir." Ivan responded.
Natasha could sense something was wrong. She thought it might possibly have to deal with her. Ivan turned from the man and faced Natasha with a sentimental expression, but it had a sense of urgency.
"I have to leave Natasha, but I promise to return." He kissed the top of her forehead.
"Can I come?"
"No, you can't. Just stay put."
Natasha watched as Ivan and the dark-haired man rushed off through a door to the right of her bed. She felt a longing to go through that door because she knew that Ivan was the only person that could give her security. She wanted him by her side.
She glanced around the room. Except for the two army guards that blocked the door that Ivan used, everybody else was either in a bed or nursing the wounded. She suddenly thought of a terrific plan.
Quietly, she slid off the bed. Natasha then made her way to the guards.
"Excuse me. Do you know where the bathroom is?" Natasha asked in the sweetest voice possible. The two guards looked at each other. Then with a nod they looked back at her.
"Um, right this way miss." one guard answered.
"Hurry up Sasha. Boss doesn't want us off duty." said the other guard.
"I will."
The guard named Sasha opened the door behind him with a keycard that was attached to his belt. Natasha made note of it. The guard let her enter through the door first. She followed David, walking through the hallways, turning when he turned, until they reached a door with a sign that women's bathroom in Russian.
"Here we are." Sasha said.
Natasha walked to the front of the door. Under the door, she managed to see that the bathroom was dark. She smiled to herself.
Natasha turned to so quickly that the guard was startled. She leaped forward, hooking her arms around his waist, and began to do what seems to be a fake shiver. With a frightened look, she looked up at the man.
"Mister, I-I'm afraid of the dark. Could y-you check to see if the lights are on?"
David looked so dumbfounded that she thought that he discovered that she was faking. But David smiled afterwards.
"Okay miss." the guard said while patting her head.
That's when she silently grabbed the keycard from his belt while she slid her arms off his waist. She crossed her arms behind her back innocently and backed away to let David walk forward. Behind him, she slipped the card into her pants' pocket.
He reached the door and pushed it open. Natasha followed after him into the bathroom. He switched on the light which allowed Natasha to see the long row of sinks on her left and rows of stalls on her right.
"There you go. Go on and do your business. I'll be outside the door waiting for you." David said. Natasha nodded in response.
Once he left the bathroom, Natasha walked towards the door and locked it without a sound being made. She turned around and looked above her. She scanned the ceiling until she saw what she was looking for, a vent.
Quickly, she walked over to the last stall and opened the door. Standing on the stall, Natasha reached to grab the vent and tugged at it. It was locked. Natasha then noticed a loose screw at the bottom right-hand corner. She pulled the vent from that corner with all the strength she could muster. Her strength only opened the top-right-corner. That was good enough for a 4'0 feet girl. While standing on the handicap bar, she scrambled up into the vent.
Natasha was now crawling through the vents. It was fairly cool in there. She made a left at an intersection until she peered over a vent. David was still standing by the door. She suddenly saw him turn around and knock on the door.
"Um, miss are you done in there?"
No answer. Natasha gulped in nervousness, hoping he doesn't recognize that she was gone.
"Hello?" He reached to open the door and realized that it was locked. He reached towards his belt but his keycard was gone. He cursed under his breath. With an angry turn, he stomped over to the place where she came from.
Natasha pounded on the vent with her legs, eventually dropping from the vent and onto the ground. With her legs aching with every step, she ran down the hall, opposite of the bathroom. She checked every window on the door, hoping to find Ivan. After a few turns, Natasha looked into a door and finally saw Ivan. His face was flushed with anger. Natasha could tell that he was yelling at two men, a balding old man and another man with brown hair and had an eye patch over his right eye. She tried to open the door but it was locked. She took out the keycard she stole. Natasha was about to slide it until the two guards she saw earlier arrived at the other end of the hallway.
"There she is!" David yelled.
They ran towards her. Natasha was able to slide the keycard, push open the door, and make her way over to Ivan before they caught up to her.
"What's going on here?" the balding man yelled out loud.
"Commissar Bruskin! That little girl tricked us! She broke into a vent and stole my keycard!" David yelled. He was angry with a hint of embarrassment.
Natasha peered behind Ivan's leg and looked up at him. She expected scolding but the whole room was filled with laughter.
"Wow! A little girl did this to you!" Commissar Bruskin laughed. Natasha could've sworn she saw a tear form at the corner of his eye.
The two guards, especially David, were now extremely embarrassed. David made his way to Natasha, holding out his hand. Natasha gave him his keycard. The two guards then made their way out of the room.
Ivan turned to Natasha, still giggling.
"You actually did that? Why did you do it?"
"I wanted to come with you. I didn't want to be by myself."
The brown haired man with the eye patch walked over to Natasha and squatted down, looking at her.
"Looks like we have a spy in our hands!" he said out loud.
"Though you said I had to send her away." Ivan mumbled under his breath. Natasha knew they were talking about her!
"Yeah," the man said, obviously overhearing Ivan, "But not until I knew what she was capable of."
"Nick-"Bruskin started.
The man named Nick held up his hand. He got up and walked over to Commissar Bruskin.
"I know good potential when I see it and this girl has it." Nick said agitated.
"What are you suggesting Fury, that we sign her up for K.G.B. and possibly S.H.I.E.L.D?" Ivan asked.
Nick Fury smiled. "That's exactly what I'm suggesting."
Commissar Bruskin thought for a moment. "Well this is an option we could consider. But it's up to Ivan, since he is her guardian now."
Ivan and Natasha yelled out a "What!" to that statement. Natasha then looked up.
"Are you adopting me?" Natasha asked.
"I-I don't know." he said to her and himself.
"That's a good idea. Ivan could watch after her-" Nick Fury started, "Wait, what is your name."
"Natasha Alianovana Romanova." Natasha answered. Ivan smiled at the name.
"Yeah, Ivan could watch after Natasha until she is of age to sign up for the K.G.B. and possibly S.H.I.E.L.D." Nick Fury finished.
"What is S.H.I.E.L.D?" Natasha asked.
"S.H.I.E.L.D? That's a government agency that works to keep the world safe. You are talking to the director himself, Nick Fury." Ivan stated.
"Then who is he?" Natasha pointed at Commissar Bruskin.
"Oh, Commissar Bruskin. He is the commander of the Russian army and is head of the K.G.B. "
"Oh."
"So," Nick Fury interrupted, changing the subject, "Do you accept the offer, Natasha."
Natasha looked at the three men staring at her. She had a feeling this offer would never appear again. It seemed kind of crazy that they would try to train seven year-old girl to be a spy. But if they had enough confidence in her, that was good enough. So she answered that life-changing question with a,
"Yes."
"Good. Ivan, are you up to being her guardian until she is of age." Nick Fury asked.
"Of course." Ivan smiled while rubbing his hand through her hair.
"Marvelous! Natasha, I will be keeping an eye on you. Commissar Bruskin would do so as well until you're ready. You would be trained throughout your youth to get ready. Don't worry though, you'll do fine. Hope you enjoy." Nick Fury said.
"Okay."
Commissar Bruskin smiled at her. "You have a bright future ahead of you."
"Where do we need to go?" Ivan asked.
"I've set up a temporary house for you and Natasha to stay until the war is over. They have a truck waiting outside for you guys."
"Yes sir." Ivan responded.
"Okay then! I'll you two later. Farewell and I hope we meet again Natasha."
As they were heading towards the door, Nick grabbed Ivan's arm whispered into his ear.
"Watch over her."
"Yes, sir." Ivan felt slight discomfort, but ignored it.
They were walking in the hallways when Ivan started to speak.
"So how did you find me again?"
Natasha smiled to herself. "I faked I had to use the bathroom, stole the guard's keycard, climbed a vent, dropped out of it, and ran through the hallways, looking into each door until I found you."
Ivan laughed at the mouthful. "Wow! You are a sneaky one aren't you?"
Ivan grabbed her hand while still laughing and walked with her out of the hospital. They continued to walk outside into the breezy night and into their new future. This was a start of her new life.
End of Issue 1