"No." But I will help her. I owe her. Loki turned away as Thor opened his cell. That haunting cry echoed in his ears once more and a tear slipped down his face. He wiped it off and turned to walk out of the cell. He was free, but he didn't want to escape Tony and Thor. He had to help Natasha.
Now that Loki was free, he also had his powers back thanks to Thor. He transported them from the prison and back to the portal where Heimdall was waiting. He needed his strength if he were to go from the prison straight to the Avengers Tower. Loki was unsure of what to do since he was technically a prisoner of Asgard but Heimdall was letting him go with the others. As he passed him, Heimdall gave him a stern stare and simply nodded his head. Loki joined Thor and Tony at the portal and was transported to Midgard, or as the humans called it, Earth.
As the rest of the Avengers waited for their friends and Loki's return, they continued to monitor Natasha's condition. The machine was making her jump through time years instead of days or weeks. Currently, she was about 22 years old and had already added hundreds of lives to her ledger. She killed without mercy and was no longer being brainwashed due to an incident that nearly killed her when she was 16 or so. She had killed world leaders, government officials, and even fellow members of Red Room, under Ivan's orders of course. She did what she was told without question. Steve, Bruce, and Clint all had to watch as Natasha was tortured repeatedly in order for her to be able to withstand any similar situation if captured. Bruce remembered reading about how cruel the Soviet Union was when testing out how low a person's body temperature could get without them dying. He would hear horror stories from it. He never thought in his entire life that he would actually see it; Natasha going through this until she nearly died, only to be brought back and have another test thrust upon her. Over and over again, the boys watched this horror. The horror of a young girl being put through this, and then growing up to be one of the best friends they ever had without knowing what she had been through. No wonder she never talked about it. No wonder she seemed so cold. Bruce thought about how hard his life had been, Clint also, and even Thor. But all of their childhoods put together would never live up to the horrors of Natasha Romanoff.
They boys did not want to watch the monitor another second, but they had to in order to make sure she was okay and her heartrate stayed normal and that her recurring injuries would heal. At one point, she almost had a hole blown through her stomach, but it eventually healed in a few days, with the help of medications and emergency surgery from Bruce as well as Red Room in Natalia's case. Ivan didn't want his precious project to be wasted all in one accident.
Currently, Natalia was on a mission to take out a major political official. He was a major arms dealer and had hustled Ivan out of a deal. He thought with his small army of hired criminals dubbed bodyguards would be enough to protect him from Ivan and his wrath. Little did he know of Ivan's secret little weapon, the Black Widow. So, Ivan sent her and no one else since they would just get in her way. The way she just took orders without a word or any hint of emotion scared the guys. She was almost like a zombie but they guessed that with the hell she went through her whole life taught her to do, and not ask questions. That could lead to a punishment with no mercy.
Natalia arrived at the mansion home of her target. She surveyed her surroundings and noticed many guards about the property. She saw a balcony with an open window on the second story of the home and called that her point of entry. All she had to do was make it there without being seen. She slinked over the iron gates quicker than any normal person would and then darted behind a tree. She noticed a line of trees leading almost straight to the window, starting a few yards to her right. There were three guards in her way to the tree line. She flattened herself to the ground and crawled lightning fast towards the men and took the first one out without a sound. She flipped the second one to the ground after crushing his windpipe and breaking his neck in a headlock. The third guys still hadn't heard anything but turned around to see a beautiful red headed woman standing before him. She smiled at him before fisting her knuckles into his nose, causing it to penetrate his brain. Boom, three dead in a matter of seconds. The rest of the way was easy as she climbed a tree and then went from one to another. She thought of how stupid the guards were to not to look up.
When she reached the balcony, she jumped onto it and rolled silently to the side of the open window, just enough to where she could peek in. She noticed a young girl standing by the bed playing with a doll, probably the targets daughter; she looked about eight or so. Poor girl caught up in all of this, but she was between the window and the door. She formulated a plan of attack and then pounced. The young girl jumped in shock and before she could scream, Natalia had her in a headlock with her dagger to her throat. Just before she added the lethal pressure to the blade, her eyes flicked over to the dresser and saw a lit candle. It reminded her of something. During that hesitation, the little girl squeaked out the word "mommy!" She was terrified and was calling for her mother. For an unknown reason to Natalia, she dropped the little girl and staggered back. The candles flame and the word "mommy" affected her in an emotional way. She knew she wasn't supposed to let anything get to her. She tore her gaze from the candle and looked at the small girl huddled at the foot of her bed, hugging a small doll, terrified of the woman with the flaming red hair.
She needed to finish the mission. She had wasted enough time already. Ivan's words sounded in her head, leave no witnesses, show no mercy. He didn't have to know. Natalia then ran past the little girl in search of her father. It didn't take long before she found him in his study. The moment she burst into the room, she saw him press a button that most likely summoned his guards. He ducked behind his desk and Natalia made a beeline towards him. She flipped the heavy desk away with little effort and grabbed the man by the throat. Just before she could snap his neck a bullet tore through her arm. She dropped the coward and faced her attackers, examining them in just one second. In that second, she knew all their weaknesses. She smiled, her arm already healing.
Steve just couldn't believe how strong and calculated she was. She was so much sharper than him, so much faster. It was almost as if the screen was being fast forwarded. He knew these were bad guys, even to him, but the way she killed them was frightening. She loved it. The friend he knew, the woman laying before him, was not like that. He noticed that she tried her best not to take a life during attacks. She only did when necessary. But when it happened, he noticed that pained look of regret and sorrow flick across her eyes for just a moment, before she continued. If not for his own super serum, he may have been to slow to see it. He looked over to Bruce, who was studying Natasha's arm wound. It wasn't healing as fast as Natalia's. But he could just barely see the new skin growth. Bruce started patching it up, as if it were routine to him now. He then looked over to Clint, who was just staring into nothingness. Steve just sighed and watched the monitor again. He wondered when his friends would be back with Loki.
The guards sensed there was something different about this assassin before them. When she smiled, they all knew they would not live, but they had to at least try. The five of them placed their fingers to the triggers and before they knew it, the red head was behind them. She whipped out a dagger from her boot and sliced two of the guard's heel tendons, causing them to drop to the floor in agony. She stepped over them and shoved the dagger into another man's skull, killing him instantly. Another man opened fire on her. She flipped over the spray of bullets, grabbing the gun as she flipped over the man's head. His finger remained on the trigger as the spray of bullets continued to fire from the gun, killing one man as the line of fire arched upward and into the ceiling. The guard's refusal to let the gun go caused his hand to break. Natalia finally had the gun and shot him through the back. Part of the ceiling fell from the gun fire, killing one of the men with the cut tendons on the floor. Natalia easily dodged the falling wreckage. She shot the other guy and when they were all dead, she went back to the target that was cowering behind the desk. He was now trying to escape through the window but Natalia grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him back. He fell to the floor and Natalia placed her boot on his chest and aimed the gun at his head.
"Please!" he begged. "Don't kill me! I'm sorry I crossed Ivan, it was just business!" Natalia was tired of the words. She shot him without further hesitation and dropped the gun to the floor, no longer needing it. In her other hand, she held the dagger. She needed to leave before any more guards came. She then heard a sound behind her. Thinking it was another guard, she turned lightning fast and threw the dagger, hitting its target dead in the chest. Horrified, Natalia ran to the victim, cradling its head as the life slowly drained from the eyes. It was the little girl, terrified from her encounter with Natalia, seeking comfort from her father. Natalia didn't know why, but her death crushed her, and a little chunk of humanity crawled its way back into her heart. She had killed hundreds of people, children included. But this just crushed her. Footsteps sounded in the hallway and Natalia looked down at the little girl in her arms. She took the girls small doll and carefully lowered her to the ground and then fled through the window with the doll in tow.
While in Natalia's mind, Natasha had become one with Natalia. She no longer remembered anything apart from what Natalia knew. She didn't know her friends anymore, or her life in Avengers tower. Natasha was gone; all that was left was Natalia. All of Natasha's memories were in the far corners of her mind, held under lock by the Chitauri crystals that were used in the machine. The crystals were dangerous, unpredictable, and the rest of the Avengers had no clue as to what had happened. Natasha wasn't lying on the table before them, Natalia was. And Natalia was a highly trained assassin ready to kill on a moment's notice.
When Natalia returned back to base, Ivan congratulated her on her kill. Normally she would have been proud to be acknowledged by Ivan but she seemed indifferent. He told her to get some rest and that tomorrow would be the start of another phase of the Black Widow program. She had no idea what it was and she didn't really care.
Natalia returned to her room and placed the small doll under her pillow. She hadn't been there five minutes until a knock sounded on her door. It was Ivan and another man, roughly her age.
"Natalia, I'm sorry for bothering you but I was just too excited to wait and introduce you tomorrow. I've waited far too long for this. Natalia, meet James."
Natalia studied him closely. He resembled her very closely in the way he carried himself. He was standing calm, but poised for attack at any moment. He looked immensely strong also. Not in the muscular way, but in the way she was. The moment she opened the door she saw him study her over the same way she did before any battle. He was just like her, and that scared Natalia a little.
Ivan smiled in the single second of them examining one another. He knew how fast they could do that and it made him giddy; his creations finally meeting for the first time. Though he knew Natalia since she was a small child, he only knew James for a few years, experimenting on him the same way he did with Natalia.
"Natalia," Ivan said, "after tomorrows procedure, you two will be training alongside of each other. He will take over for you when you are no longer able to."
No longer able to? she thought. "What do you mean father?" she asked.
Ivan kept his giddy smile. "I can't tell you, or it would compromise the experiment."
Natalia glanced back over to James, who also looked as confused as she did. He hadn't said a word yet.
"Well goodnight, my daughter. Sleep well." Ivan turned with James and they left, with James' one metal arm flashing in the dim light.
Natalia couldn't sleep. She kept wondering what kind of procedure she would endure tomorrow. Would she be getting a metal arm too? She didn't know. To keep her mind off things, she decided to go for a walk. She did this when she had something on her mind. She wasn't supposed to, but she was a master of stealth and had snuck out of the compound dozens of times for a walk in the wintry forest. She hadn't been there in months and she missed it. When she snuck past the last guard and reached the tree line, she let her defenses down. This was the only time she had to relax. She made her way up the river to the waterfall where she spent her free time. It was her secret place. The cold didn't bother her due to her serum and the snow just melted off her due to her higher temperature. When she finally made it to the frozen waterfall, she snuck behind the frozen wall of ice to her secret cave. She layed against the wall and let her mind wander. She hadn't been there long before she heard footsteps.
A shadow appeared behind the massive wall of water. Natalia grabbed a rock from the frozen floor as her weapon. The shadow was closer now, heading straight for the entrance to her cave. A moment later, a raven haired man entered, oblivious to the danger before him. It took a few moments for him to realize that she was there, and when he finally did, he simply rolled his eyes at the red head with the rock.
Natalia was shocked to see his indifference. She wasn't used to people not being afraid of her. And did she just hear him mumble? It sounded like he said "Stupid humans." She was mad he was in her cave, so she wanted him out.
He had to admit, the red head was gorgeous, but a rock as a weapon, really? He rolled his eyes and mumbled "stupid humans." He watched as she raised the rock and threw it at him. He was just going to let it hit him. He knew a human couldn't hurt him. But he was not expecting the force of the impact. The rock hit him with such force that he was carried off his feet and hit the rock wall behind him. He looked at this girl in shock but she had disappeared. As he stood up, out of nowhere, she came running at him from the side and tackled him back to the ground. She straddled his midsection as she threw punches at him. He couldn't believe how strong this girl was, and now he was mad.
Natalia was not prepared for what happened next. With strength similar to her own, she was thrown off of the strange man and landed against the opposite wall. She knocked her forehead against a rock and felt hot blood stream down her face. Before she knew it, the man had his hand wrapped around her neck and her feet lifted off of the ground. He got in her face and asked, "Who are you and why are you so strong?" She smiled her signature smile and brought her feet up and pushed him off of her. He stumbled back but Natalia caught him by his collar and spun him around with his back to the wall. She grabbed him by the neck like he had her and lifted him from the ground.
"My name is Natalia Alianovna Romanova, and you are in my cave."
He watched in astonishment as the gash on her forehead healed in front of his eyes. He smiled and then in a flash of green light, threw her off of him.
The light shot from the man's hands in a flash of green light and knocked Natalia to the ground. She braced herself for another attack but none came. Instead, the man leaned over her with his hand out to help her up and said,
"My name is Loki, let's have a talk."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Thank you all for reviewing! Sorry it's taken so long for me to update. I'm back now! I just need new ideas to keep this thing going. Let me know what yall think and what yall want to read!