The deafening silence was the first thing Natasha became aware of. It was too silent for her to be at home; usually, she would hear the neighbors above her walking around, doors shutting down the hall from her own apartment, and one of the dogs in another apartment barking at the noise. She knew she had to quickly assess the situation, figure out where she was and why she was there. As she became more awake, there was a fogginess in her head, and her eyelids were heavy and not allowing her to lift them so that she could see her surroundings. Something wasn't right.
She attempted to move her arms, hissing softly when she found that she was bound where she was by metal barriers. After a quick jerk of her legs, she found them to be in the same predicament. There was no way for her to escape, not until she was able to open her eyes and completely evaluate both her surroundings and the situation that she was in. But the heaviness was still there, and she felt herself beginning to succumb to the darkness in her head that was trying to get her to go to sleep again. She shook her head, concentrating very hard on opening her eyes. She couldn't understand why she couldn't open them, this had never happened before.
It suddenly clicked. There wasn't a heaviness that was preventing her from opening her eyes. There was a blindfold on her that was wrapped around her head so tightly it was keeping her eyes shut. All her senses heightened. She didn't like this situation at all. Too much could happen and she would have no way of preventing it. She couldn't move, couldn't even see!
She began to remember the events of the previous night, beginning to piece things together. She had been ambushed, tricked, as if the intruders had known how to work her. She mentally cursed herself for being such a fool as to believe that there had only been one person who had come into her home. She should've been paying closer attention to her surroundings, not just focusing in on the boy she had almost strangled. Then maybe she wouldn't be here and the two men would be in jail. More memories popped up once she remembered more about the second man. She had gotten the gun and was in control of the situation, but then… she couldn't remember anything after that point. She sighed, keeping an ear out for anyone who might approach her.
A few moments later, she heard the sound of heavy boots on tile flooring. The sound seemed to be muffled out, which made her believe that she was in a room with a closed door. Her suspicions were proven to be correct as the creak of door nearby alerted her that someone was now in the room with her. She immediately tensed up, keeping a very close ear on this unknown person. She couldn't let her guard down knowing that it could cost her her life. And being alive and having that man from last night focused on her was crucial, because as long as he was with her, the rest of her team was okay.
"Well, well, well. Natasha Romanoff. Or should I say, Black Widow. Which do you prefer?"
Natasha felt her heart jump a little, but kept calm. It was the same man from last night. And now that she's heard his voice again, he sounded familiar.
"I don't care what you call me because I won't be here for very long," she stated.
She knew that once she didn't answer her phone for Tony, or Fury if he called, that they would immediately investigate her whereabouts. And once they found that she wasn't in her apartment or anywhere in Stark Towers, they would know she was in trouble. They would be here soon, she was sure of that.
"I'm afraid you won't be leaving us, Natalia," the man said. Natasha could hear the smirk in his voice. "Do you remember me, Natalia? Because I remember you."
She heard him walk behind her and closer. She tried testing the restraints around her wrists, but there was no way for her to break them. They were metal. So were the ones that were around her ankles. She felt a hand on her shoulder and tried to pulled away, praying that the chair would be able to move, but it wouldn't. So as long as she was in this chair, she had no means of escape. That just means she would have to use her other skills she had up her sleeve.
"Former lover, perhaps?" she asked, her voice a little softer than before.
She felt the man's breath as he whispered in her ear. "Oh, how I wish. But no, we go way back. I'm talking the Red Room."
Natasha's heart stopped. Her mind raced until it was finally able to recognize this man's voice and match it with someone from her past. Victor Hemmings. She swallowed hard, memories coming to the surface of her time at the Red Room with Victor. He was a trainer, and a relentless one at that. She remembered that he had cornered her many times and beaten her for doing one little thing wrong on a certain move. He would always yell at her and the other girls to be perfect and that he wouldn't expect anything less. He was a tyrant.
The knot on the back of her head loosened completely and fell. She was finally able to view her surroundings. The room was a stone grey color, nothing but bricks surrounding except for the metal door. It was probably a thick door, ensuring there would be no way for her to escape. Which is why there wasn't a single window either, not even a tiny hole so that a person in the room may view the outside world. This prevented Natasha from being able to see the sun outside, which made her question how long she had been unconscious for. She kept her physique calm, but was quietly getting frustrated and a bit frightened.
Victor stepped around Natasha to stand in front of her. She looked up at him, memorizing his features. She noted that he looked quite the same from her Red Room days, only a little bit older now. He had a smile on his face like he had won some type of prize. She raised an eyebrow, questioning him.
"I am going to have so much fun with you," he said with a smirk.
She wanted to retort, say something about how that wouldn't be happening, but decided it was best to keep her mouth shut. Victor knew how she worked, how she was tried, what she was capable of. Anything she did, any wrong move she made, could end very badly.
After a short stare down between the two of them, Victor walked over to the door, knocking on it twice. The door opened and three men came in the room. Natasha tried to see past them, but the only thing she was able to see was the same stone colored walls, which was nothing helpful. She focused on the new men in the room, examining them closely. They all wore the same clothing, black pants and a white shirt. Each man had a gun that hung on their hip. Two of them were holding some type of weapon. Careful examination of the weapon had her conclude that they looked to be tasers. The third had a second gun in hand, a bigger one than the one on his hip. She silently cursed Victor for being so careful. She knew that he knew that he would have to take as many precautions with her so that she couldn't escape.
He came back over and revealed a pair of handcuffs. "You'd better listen, or you'll be dead."
She decided it was best to comply with his demand at the moment. He took the restraints off her wrists and she held them out obediently. Once the new handcuffs were around her wrist, he took off the restraints around her ankles.
"Up," he commanded, and she stood.
The two men with the tasers immediately went to her sides while the man with the gun was behind her. She looked up at Victor, slight smirk on her face.
"Are these men really necessary?" she asked sweetly.
Victor chuckled. "I believe you know the answer to that as well as I do."
She nodded slightly. Victor went back to the door and knocked three times. The door was opened and Victor walked out, the gun pressing on her back making it apparent that she should follow. So two knocks and more men with weapons came and three knocks and they would be able to exit. That could become useful later.
Once out in the hall, they walked a little ways. All the doors were metal. Some were quiet, others were the sounds of the people on the inside banging away at the door as if it would do any good. Natasha eyes the men on either side of her. They didn't seem to be paying close attention to her.
She dropped to her knees, which made the man behind her with the gun trip over her. She quickly got lower, making him fall over with a thud on the ground, the gun falling out of his hands. The men on her left put his taser on her arm, sending shocks up her arm and through her body. She swung her leg out and tripped him, grabbing the pole as it fell out of his hands, and breaking it in two. The other man put his tasor in the middle of her back. She groaned in pain, but took one half of the pole and stuck it in his gut, a sigh escaping her lips once the taser on her back was dropped. A resounding bang rang out through the halls. At the same time, Natasha felt a sharp pain on her arms. A quick look around and she found the last man with the gun aiming at her. Victor was staring back, a gun in his hand as well. She looked down at her arm and discovered her arm had a bullet graze and now blood was trickling down it.
"I told you to listen, didn't I?" Victor snarled.
"Well you should know as well as anyone that I tend not to do that very well," Natasha retorted.
He came up to her and slapped her across the face. Her head moved sideways and there was a very sharp sting on her cheek now, but she stood her ground, moving her head back and staring him straight in the eyes.
"Majais, come here," Victor yelled.
The last man, still aiming the gun at Natasha, walked over. "Yes, sir?"
"Stand behind her. Anything funny moves, shot her, got it?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good," he uttered. "Now, follow me."
He turned back around and continued walking down the hall. Natasha heard a groan coming from the man she had impaled, but decided it was best not to glance his way. Victor stopped at a room, the smile on his face making her very uneasy. He opened the door and went inside.
"I hope you remember this," he expressed, the smile on his face very present in his voice.
Natasha's heart stopped when she saw the machine in front of her after she entered the room. It was one of the very machines that had been used on her when she was a spy in training. Although it hadn't been the worst of the torture – or rather what they called training – devices, it did stir up a lot of unwanted memories in Natasha's head. She felt Victor pushing her toward the machine from behind, but she stood her ground, wanting to stay as far away from it as she could. However, she just couldn't match his strength, and within moments, lost her footing as he practically threw her across the room to the machine. He took advantage of the situation, quickly throwing her down and strapping her into the chair.
She struggled against the straps, trying to find some sort of weak in them so that she would be able to escape, but unfortunately, there were known to be found. She swallowed the lump in her throat and stared at her kidnapper. She tried to ignore the stabbing pressure now on the middle of her back, but her mind kept going back to it, telling her to run away because she knew what would happen soon enough.
Victor stared back her, looking almost proud of the sight on front of him. He walked over to her, grabbing her chin so that she wouldn't be able to look away, and then leaned down very close to her, so close that she could feel his breath on her face, which made her want to cringe away.
"From your reactions, I see that you do in fact remember this device," he smirked. "I hope you remember how effective it is."
She didn't say anything. She couldn't. She was afraid that if she did, she would say something she would regret. By opening her mouth, she was not only risking her safety, but the safety of her friends as well. If Victor had been able to kidnap her, who's to say that he wouldn't be able to kidnap any of the other Avengers. Her heart hurt, knowing that everyone was in danger and she couldn't protect any of them because she was here. Even if by being here, she was currently keeping Victor occupied, that didn't mean that he didn't have other men doing his bidding, going to track down and capture the Avengers one by one. While she did have complete faith in her teammates, she couldn't help but worry that they would be tricked as she had been.
Victor stared at her for a few moments longer, then pulled away from her. He took a remote from his pocket, showing it off to her.
"I have all the control. Say or do something I don't like," he clicked a button and pain radiated from everywhere in Natasha's body, causing her to gasp, "And you'll get that. Once I'm done asking questions, we'll go through the… regular training that you had through as a child."
Natasha glared at him, wanting this to be over with as soon as possible.
"First question: Where are the other Avengers?"
She didn't say anything. No matter how many times he pressed that button, no matter how much pain she was in, she wasn't going to say anything. Her life was not worth risking the lives of her friends, her teammates.
"Times up," he said, pressing the button.
Natasha moaned loudly in pain. It lasted longer than the first time, and she knew it was for a purpose. She knew Victor was going to break her down until she told him whatever he wanted to hear. Unfortunately for him, she would die before telling him anything.
"Next question. Do the Avengers know all the things you have done?"
"Yes," she answered truthfully.
Victor looked conflicted for a moment, but decided against pressing the button.
"Who is the leader of the Avengers?"
Silence. Then seering pain going through Natasha's entire body, longer than the previous two times. She yelled in pain, clenching her fists together.
"Last question for today. How hurt will you be when I kill your precious Iron Man?"
Natasha swallowed hard, scowling at him. Victor smiled, pressing the button again. She continued to stare at him, taking deep breaths to try to keep her mind off the pain as it consumed her. She groaned quietly, her eyes beginning to water. She tried moving her back away from the source of the pain even just a little, but she couldn't. She yelled out, screwing her eyes shut, feeling as if she was going to black out any moment.
Then it stopped. She gasped like she had been unable to breathe for the past few minutes. Her body was tired and sore, her head hung low as she tried to recover from the pain.
Victor rolled a screen up in front of her so that she could see the images on the screen. She knew this part and feared the images that would come up. She sat back in the chair, knowing that the sooner she got this over with, the sooner she'd be out of the chair and back to her room.
An image of Steve Rogers came up on the screen. After a moment of looking at it, she felt the pain go through her body again. She didn't have enough in her to scream anymore. Next was Bruce, and then Thor, followed by Fury and Clint. Each time, the pain got worse, and each time, her body got more worn out. The last image was of Tony. Her heart ached, realizing now how much she was missing him.
Then pain. Complete and utter pain, and she screamed as it consumed her entire body relentlessly. She wanted the pain to end, would do almost anything for it to stop. Her jaw clenched and tears ran down her face as she tried to fight against the pain. But nothing worked, and she couldn't take it anymore. Her body couldn't take it anymore.
Then everything went black.
