A/N: I do not own anything you recognize.
Summary:Another stray...
Note: In the previous chapter, it was mentioned that it took Katya eight years to admit what the Red Room did was wrong, but she started devising her escape within six years. This means that, though she didn't admit to herself they were not the protagonists (from the reader standpoint), she still didn't want to be part of it, wrong or not. Anyways, R&R!
Warning: a small mention to Fury drinking in the last sentence.
Quote: "Life happens. And life includes some surprises, trust me."
Chapter 3:
Nicholas Joseph Fury (or just Nick Joe Fury) stares at SHIELD's newest recruit. In every way, she is a younger version of Agent Romanoff: the tense body language, the mistrusting eyes, the fiery red hair, the petite stature...all, that is, except one – she has blue eyes.
Also, she refuses to disclose her real name. Fury's willing to bet that "Christine Peterson" is an alias.
"For the last time, what is your name?!" Nick has never been one for patience.
Agent Barton is still confused, Agent Coulson's face is covered with his hands, Agent Hill is looking mildly annoyed, and Agent Romanoff is barely covering her laughs. Not-Peterson sighs, and asks, "Promise not to kill me outright if I give my identity?"
Somehow, within minutes, she's able to wring a promise out of him, a feat only achieved by Phil until now.
"You know what, whoever does it, start writing the file. I'm giving my life story to you now." Maria Hill, his second-in-command, began doing so dutifully, "I was born on 7th May, 1992, in Belarus, Moscow. My mother hid me in an orphanage of Yekaterinburg, for safety purposes; the matron of that orphanage, Gospozha Petra decided to honour her word to make sure to protect me at all costs, and so, gave me the false name of "Kristina Nikolaevna Petrova", which was what nearly everyone knew me as. When I was six, there was a deliberate fire in the orphanage and I was "saved" by a man named Lev Lebedensky," he can see where this is going, and desperately hopes he is wrong for once in his career, "After that, they took me back to my birthplace and into the Red Room I went." She pauses, presumably to shake off the memories, that place is not pretty from his information, "I was there for a total of eight years." Why is Romanoff to tense and looking ready to kill someone, most probably with torture included? "They let me into missions after my twelfth birthday, with the codename of Deianira." Barton, who seems to be nothing but confused throughout this, appears to choke on his bile, and Nick can't blame him. Phil is unflappable as always, but there is a hint of exasperation in his eyes – trust his agents to bring in the most farfetched of recruits; Hill is also unflappable, but Romanoff seems to know something more, and is still looking ready to commit murder without being told to.
"Deianira, as you know, was in the picture for two years, with a dozen, give or take a few, assassinations under her belt. Thing is, I was specifically trained for a single goal: take down Black Widow. I was supposed to do this in Budapest." What?! Then why do the two redheads look like a package deal to him? "As you can see, I didn't go through with the mission but instead ran away with your agents." Yes, he can see that. Why does the universe want to give him a headache all the time?! "Okay, so...My father was a Soviet test pilot, Alexei Shastakov." Romanoff stiffened, as if being reminded of a particularly buried yet painful memory. He'll have to look into that. "So, technically, you could say my name is Ekaterina Alexeyevna Shastakova, but my mother decided to give me her maiden name, seeing as I was born posthumously. That means, legally, and for all intents and purposes, I am Ekaterina Alexeyevna Romanova, though I go by Katya."
Barton downright faints. It's quite easy to make the connection, after all: Russia, Soviet, Red Room, the looks, and now, Romanova...well, no wonder she looks like a mini-Romanoff, she is one.
"I see you've made the connection. I'm Agent Natasha Romanoff's daughter, though I know her by another name and title."
"Katyusha, they don't know about that."
The two seem to have an eye-conversation, which Nick understands nothing of. But the fact that he doesn't know something irks him, it irks him a lot. "And what is this name and title? What is "that"? Answer." So maybe he's being too dramatic or intimidating, but really, he's the director of a spy agency. He likes knowing things.
Another eye conversation.
Then, abruptly, "What files do you have on Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia?"
He fails to see how that is relevant, but gives them the tiny file nonetheless.
ROMANOV, ANASTASIA N.
LAST KNOWN ADDRESS: Ipatiev House, Yekaterinburg, Russia
PREVIOUS ADDRESS: Winter Palace, St. Petersburg
PLACE OF BIRTH: Winter Palace, St. Petersburg
RACE: Caucasian
GENDER: Female
HAIR: Red
EYES: Blue
HEIGHT: Unknown
AFFLIATION: Russia, Romanov family, Tsarists
FAMILY: Tsar Nicholas II – father – deceased
Tsaritsa Alexandra – mother – deceased
Grand Duchess Olga – sister – deceased
Grand Duchess Tatiana – sister – deceased
Grand Duchess Maria – sister – deceased
Tsarevitch Alexei – brother – deceased
Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna – grandmother – deceased
Remaining Romanov family
EDUCATION: presumably royal
LANGUAGES: Russian, unknown
STATUS: deceased*
NOTE: The whole family was executed by Bolshevik men during the Russian revolution. There were doubts about her death at the time of execution.
"This is all we have, why?"
Romanoff takes over, "She escaped execution, and was therefore the de facto Tsaritsa. Anastasia ran off to Lithuania, came back, got married and had a kid."
"I think I got the conclusion." Phil speaks up. "In Russia, correct me if I'm wrong, the surnames have an 'a' most of the time at the end for women, yes? So, technically, it's Anastasia Romanova, and then we have Natalia Romanova..."
"The dates don't add up!" Nick argued, before backtracking, "But granddaughter, or great-granddaughter can work..."
"I was born in 1928." Romanoff pitched in, "Logically, that would make me a seventy-eight-year-old, but Red Room technology kept me alive and young."
The two Russians then bid him goodbye, citing that they had to catch up and do mother-daughter bonding; Phil chuckled and left as duty called; Hill went on to her job; and he called Unfortunate Agent #1 and Unfortunate Agent #2 to pick up the still unconscious Agent Barton.
With that, Nick Fury was left alone in his office with only one thought: I need that hidden bottle of whiskey.
A/N: And...Cut! Yes, my dear readers, this is my second update today (I recently uploaded the latest chapter of "Queen Elisabeth, the Tudor Rose"), which means that I have, in a teeny-tiny way, made it up to you for that short chapter.
Hill and Coulson are obviously unflappable, but poor Clint. Yes, I do wanting give Fury some nice migraines...
Tell me what our two Russian assassins can do for mother-daughter bonding time in your reviews! Or you can PM me, there's no problem with that either.