Hi guys! Here's Chapter 2 of 'Under Fire".
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Marvel or any of these characters (I wish I did) Spoilers for Avengers: Age of Ultron
(also I haven't seen Black Widow yet, so if my descriptions of Natasha's backstory differ slightly, well that explains why! and my story differs slightly to the actual events of AoU and CW)
"Avengers, into Meeting Room B, if you please. Tony would like a word. It's about Wanda."
The words echoed around her head, over and over and over again. In English, and then in Sokovian, in her voice, FRIDAY's voice, Tony's voice, Pietro's voice. Pietro. Her breath caught in her throat. No. Nope. Not doing that here. Not now. Not with Clint and Natasha walking hurriedly next to her. Natasha. Oh gosh, she'd messed that up hadn't she? What was she thinking, levitating her like that? She'd made her a promise three months ago, and now she'd gone and broken it. Wanda stole a glance sideways at the Black Widow, but her expression was impossible to read, a mask of indifference on top of her pretty face. Of course she wasn't stressed, or scared, or even remotely worried about this meeting! She was Natasha.
Three months ago…
Wanda was sitting crossed legged on her bed in her room. Her bed. In her room. That'd take some getting used to. She missed her and Pietro's flat in Sokovia, with all her belongings and its messy but cosy interior. Of course that was all gone now, crushed in the rubble of what used to be her home country. And Pietro… was gone and she… was alive and an Avenger now?
An Avenger? Surely that couldn't last.
Wanda was lost to the spiralling thoughts in her head, hugging a pillow to her chin. So it was no wonder she didn't hear the door opening, and the nearly silent footsteps padding across the grey carpet, until a cold hand was on her shoulder. She jerked upright into a standing position, her hands out in front of her, shrouded in a red glow. But before she could even think of defending herself, she was thrust against the bare wall, a cold metal bar pressed against her throat. She blinked slowly, her brain two beats behind.
Agent Romanoff, the Black Widow, stood in front of her, one arm pinning her back with surprising strength (should it have been surprising?), the other holding the metal rod under her chin. Her short, red hair fell in loose waves around her face, and she was dressed in a black turtleneck with black trousers, pretty much her standard 'secret agent casual clothes' outfit. Her face was pale and her eyes were piercing Wanda's.
"Clint wouldn't be happy if he knew I was doing this, so I'm going to make it quick." She spoke out of the corner of her mouth.
Wanda finally got to her senses and started to struggle, but her arms felt like lead and OW! Her head!
"What… What are you doing? What is this?" She choked out, her head pounding and the metal of the bar making it hard to breathe.
"This," the spy tilted her head in the direction of the metal bar, "is courtesy of Stark. A little thing he invented after Loki. It weakens and stops any mind control powers and the mind controller. I could get into the physics behind it but I wouldn't want to bore you."
Wanda's mind was reeling? No powers? Natasha smirked, but loosed her grip on her arm.
"I want to talk. Steve says I'm to train you as an Avenger. Self defence, some computer hacking, how to move around unnoticed, basic espionage skills." She trailed off, a faraway look in her eyes.
Wanda didn't believe this talk about 'training her'. It was all fake wasn't it? "You said you wanted to talk? Or are you planning to kill me, because I'd prefer if you'd do it now and make it quick," she spat out.
Black Widow looked at her, a strange look on her face. And then she started laughing.
"Oh god. I'm doing this so wrong. I'm no better than them. Sorry Wanda." And with this she released the girl.
Wanda slumped onto the ground, taking a deep breath and rubbing her sore neck. Oof. But… yes! She felt the familiar surge in her hands, the warm feeling that she'd hated but now felt like a friend, her way of protecting herself from people like Romanoff. She felt anger curl in her stomach, how dare she be treated like this? Clint had said she'd be safe here, and Black Widow had seemed friendly enough these past three days, if not a little distant. But obviously it had all been a hoax and she was indeed going to kill her.
"Wanda." Natasha's voice pierced through her cloud of furious thoughts. "Listen, I… I need to be honest with you. I don't trust you. But I don't want to kill you! Wanda. I'm sorry. This is no way to treat you. I'm not better than Hydra. But your powers are unpredictable. And it's not your fault. To be able to train you I need to have your word that you won't use your powers against me." Her words were quick and flustered, and she sat down heavily on Wanda's bed.
Was Wanda hearing things, or did the Black Widow sound… scared? And now she remembered, how had she forgotten? The vision she put in Black Widow's head under Ultron's orders. The whimpering, white faced girl sprawled on the floor, tortured with visions of her past that Wanda had put in her head. And the visions themselves… Wanda gasped remembering them. They played out in her head now, the horrors that Romanoff had gone through vivid in her mind. I have no place in the world.
"I promise." Wanda surprised herself with how sure she sounded. If this was a genuine offer, she wanted to learn. She wanted to use her powers for good to make up for all the bad she'd done. And to avenge Pietro. She would try. She had to try. And she'd start with this promise.
Silence filled the room. Wanda looked up at the spy, and met her gaze. Wanda was first to look away. Even now, the Black Widow was intimidating.
"Ok." The spy eventually said. "Training begins in half an hour. And call me Natasha."