[ NATASHA ]
"And what if you could go back in time and take all those hours of pain and darkness and replace them with something better?" – Gretchen, Donnie Darko
A change in routine finally came towards the end of the week: tucked against the far wall of the Cantina, Natasha and Edie silently enjoyed lunch and books (Edie with a mystery thriller, Nat with a fictional tome about wrangling dragons) when the alarms sounded. Natasha jumped to her feet, on alert—were they under attack?—but Edie waved her to sit back down.
"That's not for us," she said. "They'll tell us if something's wrong."
Natasha watched the doorway where a handful of people ran past, including Veer. The alarm quit a few minutes later and she waited anxiously for some indication of why it'd gone off in the first place. Her book couldn't hold her attention after that, no matter how hard she tried. Finally, a new alarm sounded—lower toned instead of the clang of the previous one.
"That's ours," Edie piped up, closing her novel. "We head to main hangar, and they'll tell us what's going on."
Natasha followed, buzzing with nervous energy. As much as she didn't wish trouble for her rebel friends, she was dying for something to happen, and she couldn't help being a little glad that it finally had. With any luck, she could get out of the base, even for just a few hours. She was only able to circle the halls so many times before going crazy here.
Garrett didn't waste any time the moment the hangar was filled with people; he stepped up onto a crate so he could address them all.
"The Reek crew transed us: the Coals wasted Vista Base," he told them grimly. A wave of gasps and murmured exclamations rolled through the crowd. "It's flat-out, nothin' left. We don't know how it went down, but we gotta get a Scav crew out there before the Coals do, even if there's nothing left to scav. We gotta be sure."
A couple of volunteer hands shot in the air and Natasha threw hers up as well. Ophie and Yumi spoke to each other quick and quiet, casting glances over the crowd, and more than once nodding in Natasha's direction. Garrett acknowledged his volunteers.
"We'll debrief more later, but for now, we gotta hop." He offered a hasty salute then jumped down off his crate. Natasha and the other volunteers squeezed their way to the front of the throng that slowly dispersed.
"Keen, Red?" asked Garrett, raising his eyebrow at her.
"I want to help," she said. "Please let me do something useful."
Garrett looked to Yumi and Ophie. The latter shrugged and Yumi pressed her lips into a thin line, then gave him the smallest of nods. Garrett agreed with the silent conversation and faced Natasha.
"All right, we'll take you. Head to that beamer and we'll pitch in five."
She followed the others to one of the wingless ships in the hangar bay and waited. Garrett and Veer joined her and the volunteers minutes later. The ship rumbled to life as Natasha climbed up the ramp and took a position towards the back of the ship's belly. Once the vehicle's door shuddered closed and the machine left the hanger, Garrett addressed the group at large.
"The Reek reports were thin on the details," he said. "Best we know, Vista's flat-out gone, like I said. I don't know what we're gonna find, if anything, that's worth a scav, but whatever's there we'll have to get quick. No doubt the Coals'll be coming on fast to check their handiwork. More'n likely expect us to come out of hiding to scav, too, so keep your heads up."
"Survivors?" a woman across from Natasha asked, her voice trembling only a little.
Garrett's shoulders sank. "None that we know of."
The rest of the ride passed in somber silence.
The rebels' beamer landed and the small group disembarked under the hot sun, high in the sky. Natasha's breath snagged in her chest at the apocalyptic sight that awaited them, a hundred feet away across the red dirt and scraggly grass.
A massive area, at least a few football fields long and a couple wide, was black, cratered, idly smoking, and strewn with debris. Charred metal frames dotted the landscape where structures and vehicles had once been. The air hung heavily around them, thick with the smell of smoke, chemicals, and death.
"My God," Veer whispered.
The rebels approached the center of the attack somberly. Natasha clenched her fists, wishing she had a weapon. There were no visible threats, but the scene left her shocked and edgy anyway. A gun in her fingers would've soothed the coils of tension snaking around her ribs.
Garrett kicked away a sooty chunk of metal. "There really is nothing left."
Natasha's gut churned. If this base had been anything like the one where she was staying, that was an understatement.
As the group picked their way through the ashes, Natasha stumbled on something sticking out of the gray flakes. Her throat burned when she realized it was a scorched human bone. She didn't want to ask how many people had been lost.
The rebels walked past smoldering husks of ships and kicked through the sea of ashes trying to find something useful, or at least salvageable. Veer uncovered a blackened safe that had sunk sideways into the ground; it looked to be in decent shape so he, Natasha, and a couple of others got to work unearthing it.
Garrett's shoulders slumped with each step. For someone not much younger than her, he looked incredibly old. The faint lines around his eyes, smudged with dirt, stood out stark against his skin. Natasha wished she could say or do something that would ease his pain, but she knew nothing could. She didn't know him very well, but that didn't mean she didn't feel compassion for his losses.
"At least a dozen vehicles," he mumbled, cutting a path towards one of the burned-out ships.
Natasha followed in his wake, not sure if he was talking to her or not. He moved slow and heavy, as if he barely remained standing while failure and guilt tried to push him into the cratered ground beneath their feet.
"Couple hundred stolen weapons…probably a quarter of the tech stash…another library..." He raked his hand through his hair, streaking the blond with soot. "Few hundred…lives…" His voice choked on the last word.
Garrett turned away from her and ducked his head. Natasha hesitantly reached out her hand and pressed it to his shoulder. His back tensed for a second, then relaxed. She still didn't know what to say, what kind of words of comfort she could possibly give. She didn't know the weight he was bearing or how to help him carry it.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered. It didn't cover it—nothing could.
She dropped her hand when he faced her. His eyes shone with tears.
"It's just…every time I think we're getting close, you know?" He dashed his hand across his eyes. "We were up one—we finally, for a second, were gonna have the upper hand and do something big." He exhaled a shaky breath. "We spread things out between the bases so everything's not lost in one go in case…in case…"
"In case this happens," she finished quietly. "It's smart."
"But now…" he gestured helplessly to the aftermath around him. "We still lost so much ."
Natasha's eyes prickled. She couldn't stop her thoughts from bouncing to the hospital fire all those years ago—the way Clint tried to assure her that it wasn't her fault, that she'd done everything she could, everything right. She pictured the Chitauri tearing up Manhattan and Tony falling through the sky. The destruction and loss in both cases still stung, even when there were technically victories.
Before she could muster something else inadequate to say, Garrett straightened and shoved the last of the tears away from his eyes. With a clear of his throat, she saw him shut his emotions off, saw him compartmentalize and become a leader. She noticed it because she did it and she'd watched Steve do it, too.
"I need someone to be on the lookout for Coals," Garrett told her, his voice flat and commanding. It was harsh after his pain a second ago, but Natasha didn't flinch. She understood all too well and wished she didn't. "That little hill over there keen to you?"
Natasha nodded curtly, shoving her own emotions into a box and locking it tight. On the far side of what was left of the base, a rust-colored slope rose up. It'd be a solid vantage point to spot trouble.
"They'll probably be right on our ass, any minute now," he continued. "We gotta snatch what we can and hightail it."
"I'll holler if I see anything," said Natasha with another sharp nod. She hurried away from Garrett.
She kept watch standing on the nearby slope after that, eyes flicking over the horizon for any movement. It was easier than being around the pain on her new friend's face.
Maybe only a quarter of an hour passed by when she spotted something. She narrowed her eyes and inhaled, ready to call out, but waited another second to be sure. The way the heat rippled across the desert made it difficult to pick out the details of what she was seeing. It soared over the ground, it was white and smooth—
Damn it, she thought. Aloud, she shouted, "They're here!"
The rebels scrambled through the rubble, yelling back and forth. She glanced back at the approaching transport ship and could see right away that it was coming in fast. The rebels weren't going to get out of there in time. Not unless there was a way to knock some speed off that Coal beamer.
Worry sparked in her chest. The last thing she wanted to do was find herself in Coal custody again, but she wasn't about to let Garrett and the crew get taken prisoner either. Her own survival in this world would be a hell of a lot easier with them than without them.
Natasha moved without thinking. She raced down the slope and bolted for the open crates of weapons that Veer and a few others had salvaged and were dragging towards the rebel beamer. Veer barked at her to get to the ship with the others but Natasha ignored him. She snatched up the largest gun they had sitting on top of the stash. It resembled an oversized, juiced-up M1014, yet was shockingly lighter in weight than she thought it should've been.
"These work?" she demanded, thinking about the dead gun she'd picked up back in the Coal compound. She checked that it was loaded.
Veer's partner blinked at her. "They've been stripped and jacked so they'll work for anyone if that's—"
"Thanks." Natasha vaulted back to her lookout point.
"Red—no! Get back here!" Garrett hollered behind her.
She ignored him, too, and knelt down in the dirt, taking aim at the white Coalition beamer cutting through the sticky, hot air. She pulled the charging handle. Waited. Inhaled. Blocked out the shouts of her fellow rebels. Waited, exhaled, inhaled, waited— there . In range.
Natasha fired. She anticipated the kick, but it still almost knocked her down. It'd been awhile since she'd fired one of these—or something like it, at least. She let loose a few more rounds and was rewarded for her effort when her aim was true and holes riddled the beamer's nose. The weaponless ship bucked and smoked, slowing significantly. Natasha smirked.
"Red!" Garrett yelled, closer than he should've been. "C'mon! Get outta there now!"
Natasha fired a couple more times at the Coal transport, then without hesitation, turned and ran. They were seconds away from coming over the hill and in for a landing, but she'd earned them those extra seconds to flee. Garrett, initially running towards her, spun on his heel as she came close.
"What the hell, Red?" He snatched the gun from her.
"Buying you time!" she retorted and poured on the speed. Garrett, impressively, matched her.
The rebels finished loading the ship while Natasha and Garrett bolted through the debris. Veer waved his arms frantically.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" he bellowed as they drew nearer.
Natasha glanced over her shoulder. The incoming Coal beamer sluggishly crested the slope, belching smoke. Slowed you right the hell down, she thought with another self-satisfied smirk. And now you can't follow us.
She threw herself through the open door of the rebel's ship, which took flight the second her body met the metal floor. Garrett was in right behind her and threw his arm over her to keep her inside the boat as it lurched. Veer slammed the door shut. As the ship roared away from Vista Base, Garrett and Natasha both rolled onto their backs, panting hard.
"What…the…hell…Red…" Garrett repeated, but when she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, his features were washed in a relieved grin.
The corners of Natasha's lips tipped up. "You're…welcome," she managed.
The following day, after a small breakfast of fruit from the Cantina, Garrett took Natasha to a meeting room like the one she'd been in on her first day in the base. Yumi was there and still eyed her with an air of suspicion. Though her stance remained relaxed, Natasha could tell she was alert and ready to react to a threat in an instant. Jeks, seated beside Veer, winked at her from across the table.
"Ready for your first official mission, Red?" asked Garrett, tossing her a wide grin.
"Mission?" Natasha said. Yumi's frown deepened.
"For the record, I'm not keen with this," she said.
"We know ." Garrett shot her a hard look. "But you didn't see how she fought them Pockers that day. It was damn effortless. She escaped not only a cell, but she clocked out four on top of that, while cuffed up. You didn't see the way she 'vaced us at Vista—shot the Coals down to give us some seconds to run."
Yumi's lips pressed into a thin line. "I'm done arguing with you about this, Vale. You wanna risk your skin with her when she's still a probie, it's your head."
Garrett clenched his jaw and a host of unspoken words passed between him and Yumi.
"It's a slip job," Jeks piped up. "If there's ever a time to test the probie, it'd be for somethin' like this."
Yumi didn't reply.
"If I wanted you guys dead or something, I would've done it by now," Natasha put it. Yumi's eyes flashed suspiciously but Natasha ploughed on. "I could've let the Coals land and snap you up at Vista. I could've snuck out of my room and grabbed one of those ATV hover things you've got in the hangar. Sure, Veer's been watching my door, but he wouldn't be that hard for me to overpower."
Veer opened his mouth to protest but Natasha held up her hand.
"It's not bragging, it's statement of fact—I have a very particular set of skills that you haven't seen yet."
"Look, if this is supposed to make me feel better…" Yumi narrowed her eyes.
Natasha continued, "You keep the weapons stash on the west side of the base. You keep the cannibalized, deactivated tech three corridors over from that. Yes, those areas are restricted and no, I didn't break your rules and sneak around to find this stuff out. I'm careful and I watch things—I see who goes down those halls, when, and whether they come out with stuff in their bags or not."
Garrett's expression slid from concerned to impressed, and despite the tough set to Yumi's lips, Natasha could tell by the flicker in the other woman's eye that she was impressed too.
"I know the night watch's rotations. I could've escaped. I could've gotten a message out to the Coals. I could've done a lot of things, but I didn't. I'm in this, with you, for the long haul," she said.
She shoved away the pang of worry about how long that really would end up being. Fingers crossed that Bruce pulled her out of here sooner rather than later.
"I meant it when I said I wanted to help," Natasha added. "And I still do. So whatever information or mission you've gathered up in the last few days—let me in. I'm here for you. What you're doing—trying to save the world? It's right ."
She spoke as earnestly as she could and hoped they believed her, especially when she really did mean it. For now, at least, she wasn't going anywhere. She believed in their cause and while it wasn't technically her fight, it didn't mean she was going to sit back and watch, either. She'd put herself out there however they needed—it was the least she could do.
That realization struck her and she swallowed hard. Before the Avengers, she wouldn't have gotten involved. It wasn't like she never helped people, but she'd had self-preservation drilled into her so severely for so long, it didn't make sense to risk herself without some sort of end goal or sufficient benefit. It was yet another thing that had changed in her since S.H.I.E.L.D., since Clint, since the Avengers.
Since Manhattan.
Veer looked from Natasha to Garrett, who glanced at Yumi. The woman studied Natasha for a long moment, and her expression softened a tiny bit. She gave Garrett a nod.
"Okay, then." He faced Natasha. "So, there's a Coal storage facility and they've got their graspin' fingers on some items we sorely need after Vista went up. We got word about it and checked it out—lead's solid, genuine. Small group of us are gonna get in, grab the stuff, and get out. Hopefully no muss 'n' fuss."
A burst of nerves and excitement surged through Natasha. Infiltration and stealing? Finally something that didn't make her feel woefully off kilter and clueless.
She smiled. "That happens to be something I am very good at."
Garrett's handsome grin returned. "Kinda had a feeling you might be."
"So what's the plan?"