Chapter 4: No Gain

Trainees and agents jumped out of Natasha's path as she raced down the hall. Many of them had learned the hard way not to get in the way of an angry Black Widow. She punched her way down the hall and through the door to a small closet she had made her own personal space. She threw herself at the punching bag, a scream finally ripping through her clenched teeth. She poured out the frustration and guilt that had built up inside of her since they first brought the girls in. Natasha let her muscles take over, every kick and punch that she had ever committed to memory, that she had ever used to take out a target, they all steamed out of her in a passionate rage.

"Natasha." She whipped around without hesitation, about to sock the speaker in the jaw, but she stopped mid-punch when she saw who it was.

"You should know better than to sneak up on me Coulson."

"I'm more concerned with the fact that I was able to sneak up on you," said her handler, worry creasing his face.

"You weren't," muttered Natasha, spinning away from the door, "but that doesn't mean you weren't trying." She walked over and picked up a knife, casually tossing in straight into the center of her wooden target.

"You can't walk away from them, Natasha." As usual, Coulson knew exactly what was going through her head.

"Why not? It's not like they want to work with me." She held her voice deceptively steady and threw another knife at the target.

"They don't know you yet; they only know what they've been told." Coulson took a few steps closer, "and as you so wisely told Barton, that isn't their fault."

"It might not be their fault, but it is how they are," countered Natasha.

"You're the only one who can help them change Natasha. Barton can try all he wants, but-"

"They aren't going to change, Coulson! People who are raised the way those girls were, trained to be a certain way, those people never change!" Natasha's final knife collided with the target with enough force to knock it over. For a moment, only the sound of Natasha's heavy breathing filled the room. Coulson turned for the door, then paused and said,

"You know, they told that to Barton too, in the beginning." Natasha's breath cut off and she froze in place. Coulson nodded to himself and left her alone.

Clint took a moment to pull himself together after Natasha left. He mentally shook himself, then turned to face the girls. They were both working quietly with the weights, tossing them back and forth between each other in a balanced exercise.

"Alright, let's try something," Clint led the girls over to a door.

"This is a simulation room," he told them, "basically, it gives you a scenario, usually violent, and you have to fight your way out of it to end the simulation." The girls nodded. It was high tech, not something they had ever seen before, but it seemed easy enough to understand.

"Do we run this together or separate?" Asked Anastasia.

"Both," answered Clint, "so who wants to start?" Natalia looked at her sister.

"I will," she said.

"Good." Clint opened the door for her.

"Do I get any weapons or anything?"

"Everything you need is in there," said Clint. Natalia shrugged and walked into the room without a second thought. Clint looked over at Anastasia.

"You keep on with some basic training until she finishes," he told her. She cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I don't get to watch?"

"Not allowed to. Only trainers and handlers can watch a simulation."

"Why?" Clint shrugged.

"Protocol." Stasia snorted at that and Clint hid a smile as she turned away. I'm gonna get along just fine with that one. He took his place in the observation booth and started Natalia's simulation. The environment that sprang into being around her looked vaguely familiar and when Clint processed why he internally groaned. Thank god Tasha isn't here. He hadn't been present for Natasha's first simulation, the one they had used to test her, but she had told him about it. It was a fairly simple solve; all you had to do was disable the bomb, grab the gun, and shoot the guards. Natasha had solved her simulation in a rather unconventional way and if Clint was right, Natalia was about to do the same thing. He watched her grab a knife and quickly slice three wires, no hesitation. Four guards ran into the room as soon as the beeping stopped and started for Natalia. Without turning around she fired the knife she was holding into one man's gut, successfully taking him out. She pushed up with her legs and wrapped her arms around the ceiling beam. The second guard rushed her and she clamped his neck between her legs, snapping it in a single motion. She threw his dead weight at the third guard, knocking him down. She jumped over him for the moment, rolling into a somersault. She arched her back and kicked the last guard square in the jaw. He went down and stayed there. Natalia reached behind her head and grabbed the wrist of the man about to punch her and she flipped him on his back. As soon as he was immobilized the lights in the simulation room lifted. Clint sighed and shook his head. Damn Russians. What is so difficult about using the gun?

Anastasia watched Agent Barton come out of the observation booth from her vantage point on the ropes. Natalia emerged from the simulation room glistening with sweat. Agent Barton motioned for Stasia to come down and she descended quickly to the floor. Natalia flashed her a grin before heading in the direction of the knives. Agent Barton didn't say a word, just held the door open. With her ponytail swinging behind her, Anastasia entered the simulation.

She found herself standing on a cliff, overlooking a city. Lying by the edge of the cliff were two weapons. Stasia cast her eye over the city, quickly processing what she was supposed to do. She grabbed the sniper rifle from the ground and settled herself into the prone position. She took careful aim at the only window in the tallest skyscraper that was lit up. A man stood in front of the window. Stasia breathed out slowly and pulled the trigger, eliminating her target. She jumped and spun around when she heard a twig snap behind her. She found herself faced with several assailants. Damn, she thought. She knew that the rifle wouldn't do her any good at this close range and although she could fight hand-to-hand, it wasn't exactly her favorite thing. So instead she decided to try something risky and very stupid. She reached out with her left hand and grabbed the other weapon. The bow settled in her grip and she slung the quiver over her shoulder. One of the arrows looked funny, but she didn't have time to figure it out. This is probably a good time to remember your never shot a bow before, Anastasia, her subconscious chided her. Guess I better figure it out, Stasia quipped at the little voice. She whipped an arrow out and drew the string back and let go. Without waiting to see where it landed she loaded another arrow and shot. She loosed a third and fourth arrow and found herself staring at four bodies on the ground. Well, she thought, that went well. She looked around. She could hear footsteps coming up the path that the other men had come up and she knew she needed a way out-fast. Looking at her quiver, the funny arrow caught her eye again. No way...she took a closer look, that can't be...she shook her head-no time for speculation. She loaded the funny looking arrow and took a deep breath. Guess it's just a day of stupid decisions, she thought and she took a flying leap off the cliff. She spun and shot the arrow mid-fall. A rope flew after the arrow, one end still attached to the bow. Anastasia clumsily swung under the cliff and landed on the inlet underneath it. She felt a breath of relief escape her lips as the lights lifted and she found herself back in the simulation room. Agent Barton flung open the door, a look of shock still lingering on his face.

"Get out here," he ordered, his tone bordering on angry.

"What is it?" asked Anastasia, "Did I do something wrong or…?"

"Is that the first time you've shot a bow?" demanded Agent Barton

"Yes..." said Stasia uncertainly. Barton just stared at her wordlessly while she shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "Why is it such a big deal?"

"Because there are only two people in the history of S.H.I.E.L.D. who have ever solved that particular simulation the way that you just solved it," Natasha walked back into the training room and processed the situation in less than a second, "Most people don't even touch the bow."

"Oh." Anastasia shrugged, "It just seemed like the best option to me. Would you stop gawking at me?" The last part was directed at Clint, who blushed, embarrassed, and looked away.

"Sorry," he muttered. Natasha laughed.

"Oh c'mon Clint, lighten up. Someone was going to come along and do it eventually." Clint rolled his eyes good naturedly at her.

"Yeah, yeah." He shot a sideways glance at Anastasia and it was Natasha's turn to roll her eyes.

"Why don't you go get her set up with some equipment and I'll work on knives with Natalia, then we can run the partner simulation?"

"Sounds good to me," Clint shot a grin at Natasha, then beckoned to Anastasia and the two of them headed into a room off of the main training center. Natasha went to the target next to Natalia's and picked up a knife. Natalia's target was already littered with thrown knives, some having hit their mark, others not so much. Natasha drew her arm back and flicked her wrist, sending the knife she was holding downrange. Natalia was very determinedly not saying a word; she simply continued her own throwing regimen. After a few minutes though, she glanced at Natasha's target and saw a group of knives in the center, fit into about the space of a half dollar. Natalia's determination finally broke.

"How do you get the knives so close together?"

"Practice," answered Natasha, sticking another knife in her target. She turned and looked at Natalia. "How long have you been throwing knives?" Natalia shrugged.

"As long as I can remember," she said, "but my groups have never been that tight."

"Then there's something off in your form." Natasha stated the fact bluntly, spinning a knife on her right pointer finger. Natalia sighed. She could see that Natasha was being cautious, not wanting to engage too much. Understandable, given the girls' previous reactions to her. But now Natalia was getting her first good look at the woman she had been taught to both fear and revere for her entire life. She thought about the woman that she and Stasia had seen from the rafters, the one that was everything the Black Widow wasn't supposed to be and Natalia made a decision.

"Do you think you could help me with that?" Natasha looked at Natalia's eyes-something had changed there. A wall that had been lurking just behind her pupils had been lowered. She's letting me in, realized Natasha. She kept her expression neutral and said,

"Sure. That's why I'm here." Natalia nodded and picked up a knife. Natasha didn't put her knife down, but walked around so that she had a better angle on Natalia's throwing form. As soon as Natalia drew back her arm, Natasha saw the main issue.

"Tighten up your core," she said.

"What?" Natalia looked over with a confused look on her face. Natasha took a few steps closer and set her hand lightly on her trainee's stomach. Natalia didn't flinch, but instead became increasingly still.

"Tighten up these muscles right here," said Natasha quietly. Natalia nodded, doing as Natasha instructed. She whipped back her arm and sent the knife flipping end-over-end at the target-right into the center. She grinned at Natasha, forgetting for just a second who she was working with. Natasha smiled back, seeing the light in Natalia's eyes. Maybe Coulson's right, she shook her head and laughed to herself, who am I kidding; Coulson's always right.

Clint practically dragged Anastasia into the equipment room.

"Hey!" said Stasia, "Slow down! What's the big deal?" Clint turned to her, his excitement finally showing through on his face. Anastasia slowly started to catch on. "Only two people…were you the other one?" she asked. Clint nodded, grinning.

"I haven't had anyone interested in archery since I joined S.H.I.E.L.D." he said, "and I'm sorry if you're not actually interested; if you just hit every target you aimed at and that was the first time you shot a bow you have serious natural talent and I'm gonna teach you everything I can." He turned to the wall, frowning at the selection. He finally grabbed a bow that had a muddy brown riser and black limbs.

"This will have to do for now; we can get one custom made for you later." His smile widened even more, "Trust me, the custom made ones are much more fun." Anastasia eyed his bow, which was still slung over his shoulder. She took the bow and arrows that he handed to her.

"Should be fun," she said and followed him back out to the shooting range. He pointed to a black line on the ground.

"This is the firing line, although if you ask the SciOps agents they'll tell you that you don't actually fire a bow, since no chemical reaction takes place when you release the string, but we aren't about to mess with a system that's been working for as long as ours has. Go ahead and straddle the line-you're right handed, yes?" Clint looked at Anastasia for confirmation and she nodded. "Okay, so stand with your left foot toward the target." She did as he instructed, the weight of the bow already feeling comfortable in her hand and the quiver natural on her back. "Now grab an arrow; the odd color fletch is called the index fletch. Make sure it's pointing at you when you nock the arrow." Clint rolled his eyes, "Once we get you your own equipment this won't be an issue because custom made bows can be designed to overcome the need to nock the arrows a certain way." Anastasia nodded, clicking the arrow on to the string as directed. "Alright, now shoot," Clint told her.

"Just like that?" she asked, surprised. Clint gave her a look.

"You did it in the simulation," he said, "it's no different out here." Stasia shrugged and lifted the bow, pulling back the string and let an arrow fly at the five yard target. She thought that Agent Barton was going to start crying, he was so happy when it landed dead center in the bulls-eye.

"That's quite incredible," he told her once he calmed down a bit, "there's a few things form-wise to work on, but we can iron those out no problem. The real fun is going to be training you to fight with a bow."

"Fight with a bow?" questioned Anastasia, "don't you just shoot people with it?" Barton rolled his eyes.

"That's what everyone thinks, but there's a whole other range of uses for your bow in a fight situation." Anastasia glanced away from her mentor and saw Agent Romanoff looking over at them.

"Вы получите в качестве оправдания ему," (You'll have to excuse him) said the red-headed assassin, "Он действительно в целом стрельба из лука дело." (He's really into the whole archery thing)

"Я могу сказать," (I can tell) replied Stasia, amused.

"Но я думаю это не без оснований," (I suppose it's not without good reason) Romanoff shrugged, "Он лишь в." (He is rather good at it)

"Так что я слышал," (So I've heard) responded Anastasia, "По всей видимости я слишком." (Apparently I am too) Natasha chuckled and it quickly turned into a full out laugh when she caught sight of the glare Clint was shooting at her.

"Not funny Nat."

"Actually, I thought it was." Clint growled at her and had shot an arrow at her before either of the twins could blink. Whoa, thought Stasia, guess good was a bit of an understatement. Natasha didn't flinch at all, on the contrary she looked almost bored, as if this happened between the two of them often. It probably does, mused Natalia. Natasha simply flicked a knife with pinpoint accuracy and sliced Clint's arrow cleanly in half. Clint glowered at her for another moment, then swung his bow over his shoulder again.

"Let's try that partner simulation now," he said, leading their little quartet over to the simulation room. Both the twins walked in without hesitation this time and Natasha and Clint retired to the observation room to watch. The two agents shared a look when they saw the simulation that was running.

"Fury or Coulson totally rigged these simulations," said Natasha.

"It could be a coincidence that they're running the same test we ran in our partner evaluation," Even as he spoke, Clint sounded like he didn't believe it. Natasha barely spared enough energy to shoot him an are-you-for-real-look.

"Well let's see how they solve it," she muttered.

The twins looked around as the simulation took effect. All of a sudden out of nowhere, ten plus assailants sprang up all around them. Anastasia spied something off to her left. She darted over and grabbed the bow and arrows while Natalia went straight for the hand-to-hand approach. Stasia spun around.

"Talia, duck!" she cried, drawing back her bow and shooting without waiting to see if her sister had complied or not. Her arrow took down one of Natalia's attackers. Stasia quickly spun and began firing off shots at the ones coming straight for her, until one got too close for her to shoot him. She thought about what Agent Barton had said and instinctively shifted so that both of her hands were gripping the riser and she slashed at the man with the bow, quickly following it with a kick to the temple to knock him down. The girls continued in this way for a few minutes until the large group of men lay powerless on the floor. Suddenly a little girl peeked around the door frame, looking absolutely terrified.

"Sweetheart, are you alright?" inquired Anastasia, still slightly out of breath. The little girl didn't speak, just shook her head and ran away. Stasia started after her but Natalia said,

"Wait," Anastasia looked at her questioningly. "Do you hear that?"

"What?" asked Stasia. Then all of a sudden she heard it too-the telltale beeping of a bomb. She shot Natalia a look, then started running after the little girl.

"Stasia! We have to get out!" called Natalia.

"Find that bomb!" was Anastasia's only reply. Natalia rolled her eyes in frustration, but began a quick evaluation to find the best place to plant a bomb in the room. Meanwhile, Anastasia flew down the hall, chasing the little one who kept disappearing behind corners. She finally caught up to her, only to come face-to-face with a whole room full of people. The best description Stasia had for it was civilians in a war zone. They must be here to die, realized Anastasia, I have to get them out. She gritted her teeth, out won't do them any good, that's just throwing them to the sharks. She frantically scanned the room, searching for something, anything, that would help her save those people. Her eyes landed on a patch of floor and she found their way out.

Natalia had unearthed the bomb after shifting the desk and several cabinets so that she could lift un the loose floorboard that was conveniently concealing the bomb. Now she was kneeling, carefully examining the tangle of wires before her. She took her knife and carefully snipped one of them, keeping herself very calm as the beeping accelerated. Focusing, she identified and cut the next wire in seconds. She hesitated over the third one, knowing that once she cut the wire the simulation would end. Where is Anastasia?

Anastasia was still in the room with the people who were trapped. She had shifted a wardrobe away from the patch of floor she was eyeing. She fell to her knees and carefully pressed around the seam, confirming what she had thought-the floor was uneven. A trapdoor, she thought triumphantly. She took an arrow out of the quiver that she was still wearing on her back and worked it in between the trapdoor and the wall, wiggling and pushing it in until she could leverage the door open. The hidden entrance popped up and she waved the captives down into the protection of an underground bunker, slamming the door tightly shut after the last one was in. Anastasia turned and took off sprinting, knowing that she had to get back to Natalia fast.

Talia was eyeing the timer on the clock with rapidly growing anxiety.

00:10…..00:09….

Stasia's not going to make it back in time, she thought frantically.

"Stasia!" she called in the direction of the empty doorway.

00:06…..00:05…..00:04….

Talia looked down at her knife that was ready to end all of this, but something told her that Stasia needed to be in the room with her.

00:03…00:02…00:01…

"Talia!" The cry echoed in the room and Natalia pulled up, slicing the wire. She saw Anastasia dive into the room and land beside her as explosions erupted around them.