Вы не можете избежать Ваше прошлое
You Can't Escape Your Past
"Lia?" Tony asked, lowering his arms and leg back to their proper places as he looked back and forth between the two women.
"Боже мой?" Veronika chuckled. "We don't see each other in thirty-two years and all you have to say to me is Боже мой?" Oh my god.
"What are you doing here, Nika?" Natasha ignored Veronika's jovial mood. For all she knew it could have been an act. While Natasha had perfected the art of hiding her emotions behind a mask of nonchalance, Veronika had always been more fond of gaining people's trust through false smiles and a permanent air of lightheartedness. Since Natasha had left the Red Room in 1980, she had awaited the day they would send somebody to bring her back, and if she was honest with herself, she should have expected it to be Nika. The Red Room was cruel that way.
"Nika?" Tony repeated, furrowing his eyebrows at Natasha, though his unasked questions were being ignored by both women. Thor, Clint and Steve were all back on their feet at this point, and had joined Tony and Bruce in watching the two women stare each other down- one with a blank face and the other wearing an easy smile.
"I didn't come here to hurt you," Veronika assured her. "I came here because..." For the first time since she entered the building her smile faltered, though it was imperceptible to everyone except Natasha. In a strange way, it made Natasha trust her. Veronika was an impeccable liar, meaning whatever had happened to her had undoubtedly shaken her to the core. "I need your help, Lia."
"Okay, timeout." Tony held his hands up in a T-formation, glancing at all of the other Avengers who looked just as confused as him before pointing a hand at Veronika. "Why would we help you?"
It remained quiet while the women simply continued to stare at each other. The tension in the room grew heavier by the second, with every pair of eyes trained on Veronika as she stepped closer to Natasha. Clint's first reaction was to stop her, but Natasha glanced at him over Veronika's shoulder and shook her head slightly to stop him.
When Veronika stood only a step away from Natasha, she lowered her voice and dropped her smile, completely serious for the first time since walking into the Tower. "это об Иване." It's about Ivan.
Natasha's blood froze at the mention of their adoptive father. She hadn't seen him since she left the Red Room, but his final words to her had fueled her nightmares for many years. Nobody ever leaves the family. I'll see you again soon enough.
Though she hid it well, Natasha could see the same fear in Veronika's eyes. If Veronika hadn't meant for Natasha to see it, she wouldn't have- she knew that much. This could only mean one thing: Ivan was finally making good on his promise. He was coming for her, which meant he was after Veronika as well.
Natasha rarely depended on people, but she wasn't dumb enough to think Ivan would come alone. If he wanted his girls back, he would bring an army to collect them. If they managed to bring Natasha and Veronika back to the Red Room...
"Он не сможет прикоснуться к нам," Natasha promised in their mother tongue before surprising her fellow Avengers by resting her hand on Veronika's cheek. "We'll help you." He won't be able to touch us.
Veronika responded by allowing the smile to return to her face and stepping further into the embrace. The women ignored the exaggerated gasp from Tony and the stunned looks from everybody else as they hugged.
"I'm so glad to see you again," Veronika admitted only loud enough for Natasha to hear. Having grown up in such a strict environment, the girls had rarely ever expressed their affection physically. They had been taught to use intimacy as a weapon, not as a means of showing their sincere care, so being able to hug freely meant the world to the both of them.
"Who else is incredibly uncomfortable right now? Show of hands."
Well, almost freely. Veronika released Natasha and moved to stand at her side, staring at Tony with the same annoyance Natasha often displayed. He was standing the closest to the women with one arm raised high above his head as he looked at the rest of the group. Nobody else raised their hands, but their expressions clearly showed their confusion.
Thankfully for Veronika, Natasha was the one to defuse the situation. "Veronika and I grew up together," she explained. By now everyone on the team knew about what being raised in the Red Room, so that part didn't need to be said. "We lived together until I left Russia."
"So, are you... related?" Steve asked with his eyebrows furrowed. The women did look similar, but sisters wouldn't have been his first guess. His first guess had actually been that she was a threat to the team. Now he had no idea what to make of her.
The women glanced at each other before Veronika answered the Captain's question. "You could say that," she answered cryptically with the same smile from earlier returning to her lips.
Everybody's reaction to the news was different. Bruce sighed and finally left his corner, sitting back in the seat he'd been in before Veronika showed up. Steve, who still looked confused, followed Bruce's example and sat down on the couch. Clint and Thor seemed to accept the news rather easily. Clint knew enough about Natasha to know that she would explain whenever she thought the time was right, and that was enough for him. Thor understood the concept of having siblings that didn't always do the right thing, and he figured that this woman could have done much worse than she had.
Tony of course insisted on having the most dramatic reaction out of the bunch, crossing his arms over his chest while his eyes scrutinized every part of Veronika. "As if I didn't have enough to worry about with just one assassin under my roof. At least Natasha hasn't drugged me... yet."
"It was the easiest way to get this." Veronika pulled Tony's phone out of her pocket and tossed it to him. "Besides, I wanted to test you."
"Test me?"
"All anyone ever hears about you is how much of a genius you are," Veronika clarified. "I wanted to see if it was true. You failed, by the way."
Tony looked utterly shocked at the accusation, mouth hanging open in objection. "How dare you insult me in my own home! It must be genetic with you two."
Bruce raised an eyebrow at his friend, slightly questioning the man's intelligence himself. "Tony, you do realize they don't actually share any genetics, right?"
"Of course they do!" Tony scoffed, standing by Bruce's side and holding his arms out towards the women who were currently wearing matching expressions of irritation aimed towards him. It was actually extremely intimidating to see both of them staring at him like that, but he's Tony Stark for Christ's sake. He couldn't let them know that. "Just look at them! Can't you just feel the sisterly love radiating off of them?"
"Love is for children," Natasha and Veronika responded at the same time, causing Tony to step back with a wary expression. He'd had a hard enough time dealing with one scary assassin lady, he most definitely did not need another. Especially not one that drugged him and stole his things.
Clint was the one to bring the conversation back around to the reason Veronika had gone through all the trouble of coming to the Avengers in the first place. "What exactly do you need our help with?"
"It's a bit of a long story," Veronika sighed. She had nothing against the Avengers, but she generally avoided talking about her time in the Red Room. However, considering how she had made her way to the group, she knew they wouldn't help her just because she shared a past with Natasha. Whether she liked it or not, she was going to have to relive her past and explain her so-called-family to the Avengers. "Natasha and I met at the beginning of the Cold War."
Chapter 5 Preview
Veronika examined Clint with a thoughtful expression, mulling over his words. "I'm glad Lia found somebody to care for her." Though her words were true, the archer couldn't help but hear the slightest tinge of regret in her voice.
