A small girl danced in the rain. She laughed and clapped her hands. She mustn't have been very old. Five or six at the most. Water droplets flew from her red tresses as she twirled with the grace of a prima ballerina. Her eyes sparkled as she followed the rhythm of the steady raindrops.
"Natalia Alianovna Romanoff!" called a woman from a doorway. "Come in before you catch a cold."
Natalia answered, "Dance with me, mamma."
"No, not this time," her mother replied with a smile. "Come inside."
She reluctantly obeyed her mother. The sight of a bowl of warm soup and hot bread on the table by the fireplace cheered her. As she and her mother ate, she stated, "I want to be a dancer when I grow up."
"A ballerina?" said her mother. "Maybe, but it will take a lot of hard work and money."
The scene faded. Glimpses of festivities, birthdays, and a girl's normal childhood passed through his mind. Then, the days of sunshine and gaiety turned to ones of chaos and tragedy. Steve found himself surrounding by screaming civilians running from Nazi soldiers. No one noticed him. Not even the Nazis. Some passed right through him. He realized he was invisible. Still, acrid smoke filled his nostrils as flames climbed above the wooden rooftops. He was familiar with such a scene. A wail captured his attention. Long, desperate, angry. He spotted the little girl, Natalia, watching the soldiers torture her mother before finally killing her. The soot covered her red hair and smudged her cheeks.
He turned around. He now stood a long grey hallway with many doors on either side. He glimpsed through the one closest to him. He watched Natalia lose the light of life in her beautiful eyes. At each door, he paused to watch Natalia. Very quickly, he saw the child who danced in the rain into a woman with a hardened heart and body.
As he endeavored to open a certain door, he found he could not do so. Then he heard voices.
A woman said, "She's the best in the program. If the serum goes wrong, you shall pay."
"There may be none else to measure up to her," said a man. "I've been working on this for many years and testing it as well. I created several serums and combined them. If we can slow, even stop, the aging process and increase her physical, mental, and emotional strength to her max or beyond, then we have our own super-soldier."
"Doctor, we shall also have sterilize her. Break off anything that would distract her."
"My team and I did some research, and sterilizing her would lessen some of her physical and mental strengths. The reproductive system does more than what you think. So, I created a serum that would prevent her from having any offspring, but would allow the reproductive system to contribute the necessary hormones and etc. to the body."
"Freezing a part of her?"
"Something like that. Now, do I have your permission to inject these serums?"
The lady sighed before saying, "I shall talk to the directors, but I think I can make them give you permission."
Steve left the door. He bypassed many others, barely observing the horrific deeds Natalia, now the Black Widow, performed. He watched officers brainwash her and input false memories. Then, he heard Bucky's voice shouting harshly. Skipping a few doors, he spotted his friend training the Black Widow. The way he trained her was almost friendly. Yet, his eyes gleamed as coldly as his metal arm. This Bucky was not the good hearted Bucky he knew. This was a killing machine. A machine was a program. He shuddered and a bowed his head in grief. Though the Black Widow changed her allegiance to another organization, he barely comprehended it. He hardly noticed the rest of the doors in the hall. Just kept walking with bowed head and heavy heart. He was still too grieved by Bucky's change.
As he reached the end of the hallway, light enveloped him. A soft, lilting voice lulled him to sleep with a lullaby in a foreign language. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on a metal bed with the radio playing a baseball game. After several minutes, he realized that he was not in a dream anymore. He was awake. He closed his eyes for moment, trying to remember his dream. But it had faded into the back of his memory.
Natasha Romanoff was one of the best agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. That was a known fact. She was also known for never making her relationships more than what her job required. However, Clint Barton was an exception. They were often partners. They trusted each other and had a sibling affection for one another. After all, Clint was the first one who saw Natasha as more than a killer.
While on a mission in England, she took the time to visit an old friend of hers. Peggy Carter. She was visiting the S.H.I.E.L.D HQ when Clint recruited her. Peggy was one of the few people who saw beyond her toughened exterior. To help her acclimate to the hullabaloo of the Western World, she even stayed longer than she intended. Peggy was one of the few people Natasha trusted with her history. Or at least what she thought was her history.
Natasha gently rapped the door before entering. "Ms. Peggy," she greeted.
"Natalia," the older woman wheezed. "My, you don't look a day older since I last saw you. How old are you again?"
"Maybe twenty years younger than you," Natasha smiled faintly. "But then, my 'youth' is unnatural."
"Indeed, what are you up to these days?"
"I'm on a mission, but I couldn't resist seeing my dear friend. Have I ever told you how much you mean to me?"
"Like the mother you lost," Peggy wheezed. "Do you still believe love is for children?"
"Romantic love is for children," Natasha clarified. "I deeply care for you, and maybe that is a kind of love. But I am not a romantic person."
Peggy laughed with a cough ending it. She soberly added, "I knew of someone who could have changed your mind. Steve Rogers. Did I tell you about him?" Without bothering to hear Natasha's response, she continued. "He was always a gentlemen. Even before he became Captain America, a smart person couldn't help but to admire his goodness. He wasn't perfect, of course. If you ever meet a man who treats women with respect, a man like Rogers, get him before it's too late."
"I'm too old for that, even if I don't look it." Her phone buzzed. It was Clint telling her they had to keep moving. "I gotta go. I'll come visit again." Natasha leaned over and kissed the old woman's cheek before she hurried off.
Not long after, Peggy Carter received word that Steve Roger would visit her. Fury even called her to recap how Roger was found and thawed. Within a few days, Steve walked in her room. Still the same as she last remembered him.
"You're late," she smiled.
Steve chuckled, "My ride was delayed."
"I doubt I can have that dance," she continued. "So, dance with a friend for me." She gestured towards a picture of Natasha. "Her name is Natalia."
"Natalia?" Steve questioned. "I've heard that name somewhere." He gazed at the person in the photo. It was black and white, so he couldn't tell her hair or eye color. Instead, he memorized her facial features. Youthful in appearance. Her eyes and the subtle hint of a smile told a different story. She was older than she appeared. How old? He couldn't tell.
Peggy didn't ask how he had heard of Natalia, so Steve never answered. So, Peggy changed the topic, opting to speak of her life. After 66 years, her love for him faded into a fond memory. Now since she was physically too old for him, she no longer viewed him as a prospective love. Rather, he was one of her dearest friends.
Steve met the other people who would be part of the Avengers Initiative. A couple of master assassins, the god of Thunder, a tech genius who was also crazy rich and the son of Howard Stark, and science genius who turned into an angry, huge green monster, were part of his team. The Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff intrigued him the most. He heard snippets of the Russian's story. Yet those snippets rang bells.
Author's Note: Yes, I changed the sterilization to a serum. I heard sterilization does horrible things to the body, so yeah. And yes, I added something to Steve's conversation with Peggy. I also skipped some scenes because why go over what's already known?