It's still early when you open your eyes; the sun hangs low in the sky, bathing the room in a rich orange hue. If you had to guess it was probably around eight in the morning, and you had a feeling they would be sending in someone soon to interrogate you. You knew your previous conversation with Rogers was just his way of deciding whether or not you were an immediate danger to him and his companions, now they would want information. You sit up and move to the edge of the bed, combing out your still damp tresses with your fingers. Your clothes are grimy but there's nothing you can do about it at the moment, and you've had worse. You're fiddling with the straps on your vest when there's a knock on the door. After a long pause it opens, and Steve Rogers steps inside.

"Good, you're already up. Did you sleep well?" You nod in response, "Great. I'm going to take you down to the conference room where we spoke last night. One of our agents, Natasha, is going to talk to you about your time with HYDRA. Is that okay?" God, he had to be the most polite person you'd ever met. He made an interrogation sound like a coffee date.

You rise to your feet and follow after him silently, retracing your steps from the previous night. The conference room is empty when the two of you arrive, and after you take a seat Rogers leaves; probably testing to see if you would try to take off if given a little freedom. You had no doubt someone was close by, and-you glance up, noting the miniscule security cameras-someone was definitely watching. After a few minutes Natasha Romanov strides in the room and takes the seat across from you, her attractive features blank as she looks at you.

"Black Widow," You say softly, "The legend in the flesh."

Her lips quirk up slightly at that, "Nightingale. Your reputation precedes you. Up until now we weren't sure that you actually existed." That was because no one outside of HYDRA who had ever seen you had lived, but that wasn't something you typically boasted about. "Did you kill twenty HYDRA agents before escaping from their custody yesterday afternoon?"

"Yes."

"Why?" She leans back in her chair and crosses her legs, her eyes never leaving yours.

"There were only twenty men between me and my freedom."

"Where were you planning to go?"

"No idea. Somewhere warm probably. I'm pretty over frozen tundras. I'm sure you know what I mean." Her lips twitch again.

"James Barnes recognized you. Did you know him when you both were HYDRA agents?"

"I didn't know him by that name, but yes, we have had previous contact with one another."

"During his time he underwent a memory wiping procedure along with a specific type of brainwashing to keep him compliant. Did you undergo something similar."

"Yes."

"How long have you been with HYDRA?"

"I was fourteen when they took me." You were pretty sure you were in your twenties based on your appearance, but you weren't positive of the current year. You didn't want to admit that though.

"How did you break free of the programming?"

"I wasn't wiped often. I didn't have a Steve Rogers to force their hand. The last time was probably four or five years ago. Things start to come back. The last year or so I was fully in control. I played my part until an opportunity to escape presented itself."

"And the brainwashing?"

"Still there I suppose. I assume it's the same as the Soldier's-a series of seemingly mundane Russian words. I don't know what they are." And if you did you would never tell them.

"Do you remember the things you did while you were working for HYDRA?"

"Yes." Your mouth feels dry.

"Did you at any point during your time with HYDRA attack anyone on U.S. soil?"

"Yes."

"How many?"

You pause for a moment, your stomach churning, "I don't know." The conversation continued in that fashion for what felt like hours while she dug into every aspect of your experiences; what you had done, when you had done it, any HYDRA facilities you knew the locations of, and prominent members of the organization. Most of the questions you weren't able to fully answer. You only had a vague idea of the locations of facilities, and only those you had visited, mostly within Russia. You also only knew the names of members who you worked with. What information you had though you freely gave. You had no reason to protect the organization, and if HYDRA fell it would almost guarantee your safety.

"Right," She says finally, rising to her feet. You're not sure if she believes you. "That's all for now. I'll walk you back to your room."

You wait until you hear the lock click back into place before you fall back onto the bed, your jaw clenched. You weren't proud of the things you had done, and you especially weren't proud of the things you had done for them while your mind had been your own. Talking about it made you feel physically ill-you almost wished you could've been wiped one last time before you made your bid for freedom to delay the sickening feeling you had now.

You sit up at the sound of soft footsteps outside your door, followed by an equally soft knock. What could they possibly need from you now? Had they decided your information wasn't good enough? Logic told you if they were about to arrest you they wouldn't knock first, but your body instinctively tensed for confrontation as the door swung open. On the other side is a young brunette woman, a tray of food in her hands.

"Hello," She says gently as she walks forward to set the tray on the end of the bed next to you. You can smell the food, and it smells mouth watering but you refuse to break eye contact with the woman. Until you were one hundred percent sure what was going on here you couldn't afford to show any weakness. "My name is Wanda."

Between her name and the accent something clicks, and memories come flooding back to you. "The witch right? I've seen your files. They weren't happy when they lost you."

"Wanda," She repeats, firmer this time. She's obviously not a fan of the nickname. "Enjoy the food." The second she turns around your eyes drop to the food, you can't help it, your stomach is roaring at the sight. You can't remember the last time you'd eaten, and you sure as hell couldn't remember the last time you had been given something this appetising to eat.

It's just a simple lunch meat sandwich with a portion of chips and a small fruit salad, but it's a far cry better than anything HYDRA had ever given you. God, you couldn't even remember the last time you had seen fruit; most of your nutrition had come from supplements and protein shakes. She had also included a bottle of water and a book. You set the latter aside without looking at it, and take a sip of the water before you start on the sandwich. The sandwich feels so good in your stomach that you immediately take down the chips and fruit too. You drop the now empty tray onto the floor beside your bed.

The one thing your cell in Russia had that this one didn't was something to do. You had near constantly been on the treadmill they had given you when they didn't need you for anything. Feeling restless you pace around the room for awhile-your ankle is feeling better already, by tomorrow it wouldn't even be an issue. You finish off the bottle of water, then do some sit ups. Pace. Do some push ups. Pace a little more. Finally you pick up the book, turning it around in your hand.

You don't recognize the title or author, but that's not surprising in the least. Pop culture wasn't really in the curriculum where you had spent the majority of your life, and anything you had read before that you couldn't remember. You were reluctant to read it, worried that this was in someway a trap, but finally you crawl back onto the bed and open the book to the first page. After years and years of reading and rereading nothing but HYDRA history and propaganda, you're hooked from the first page. You read straight through the afternoon, and you finish it just as the sun begins to set. You wish it had been longer, and it had left you with questions, but it had been very enjoyable. You carefully close it and set it onto the nightstand.

You don't bother to get up this time when the door knocks-you're almost positive the footsteps belong to Wanda-and instead passively watch it swing open.

"Hi-again," Wanda closes the door behind her with her foot. She has another tray of food that somehow smells even better than the last one, and a small black bag. Once again she sets down the tray, and behind rifling through the bag. "I thought you could use-" She pulls out a bundle of fabric and sets it next to you, "A change of clothes. I'm sure you'd be much more comfortable without your gear on. I also brought a few more books, I know it can be very boring being stuck in here with nothing to do."

Your eyes flicker down to the food, then to the fabric, then back to her, a slight frown tugging down the corners of your lips. "What's the catch?"

"Catch?" Her eyes widen slightly-you had caught her off guard with your question. "Right now you're probably thinking of this as a prison cell right? I promise you that's not the case. In another day or two you'll be able to access the rest of the compound. I do not know what you'll decide to do after that, but you should really give this place a chance. We're a family here, and that's why I brought you those things-I just want you to be more comfortable."

Something nudges your leg and you glance down to where she's holding out the clothes to you. You grab it and pull it into your lap, your fingers resting in the soft fabric.

"Did you like the book?" She picks it up off your nightstand, her fingers caressing the spine.

"Yes," You reply after a moment, and she smiles in response.

"It's one of my favorites. I read a lot when I first came here. I didn't leave my room for weeks. The sequel is in there somewhere-" She gestures towards the pile she had left on your bed, and rises to her feet. "I'll let you eat. If you need anything, you can just ask F.R.I.D.A.Y.-the AI-she's wired throughout the entire compound."

You could guarantee her you wouldn't need anything, and even if you did you wouldn't ask, but you nod to be polite and she gives you one more smile before leaving. The food is some kind of chicken and rice dish, and you did into it eagerly, clearing the plate in record time. You wash it down with the bottle of water and set the tray on top of the one from lunch. Now that your appetite was once again sated you pick up the clothes and bring them to the bathroom.

You strip off your dirty clothes and let them fall to the floor. They were stiff from travel and wear, not to mention the blood and dirt that coated the fabric. You shower again, and re-dress in the clean clothes-a simple white t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants, both which fit relatively well. As you dry your hair with a towel and look at your reflection you're starting to feel like a real person again, for the first time in a very long time. Warm, clean, and full you pad barefoot across the floor and climb back into bed, pulling the blanket up around you.

You hated to admit it, especially since your choice in the matter had effectively been taken away from you, but with the Avengers was probably the best place for you to be. You hadn't given much thought towards where you would go post-escape, but you knew normal civilian life was not possible for you at this point. Espionage and assassinations were all that you knew, whether you liked it or not, and you were good at what you did. Not to mention you would never be able to stop looking over your shoulder, not as long as HYDRA was around, which brought you to the second point. Putting yourself in with the Avengers would allow you to use your questionable talents for a morally better organization while giving you the best chance of tearing apart the organization from which you had escaped with extreme prejudice.

With that in mind you resolved to play nice as long as nothing seemed off with these people-after all if they were HYDRA's number one enemies how bad could they be?