I had a little time to write so you get a new chapter a little earlier.

Chapter 4

Sara watched Natasha out of the corners of her eyes. Now that she could see her movements, Sara would bet her Waverider that Natasha had a training as an assassin too.

"Where do you want to start?"

"Simply show me what you like", answered Natasha and smiled at her. "But I suggest we avoid the room where my partner is with your crew members."

"Oh believe me, that was the plan. After the tour through the ship will be time enough to eat there. We start with the machine room so you can see the damage for yourself."

"Thank you. Is this your ship?"

"In a way I inherited it, although the former owner is still alive. After he was gone, it gave discussions who should be Captain and a few of the others tried their luck." Sara smirked. "Let's say they were smart enough to acknowledge that it was not their thing and I should be Captain because I could make decisions."

"Then they are a lot smarter than many of the men I met." Natasha scoffed. "I don't know how many times men believed I couldn't defend myself because I was smaller than them."

"I so agree but it is again and again fun to watch their reactions if you teach them the opposite and wipe the ground with them."

Both women laughed.

"And, is Clint one of the men who was smart?"

"Oh, Clint is one of few people which I see as my equal and who I respect. SHIELD sent him to kill me because I used my skills in an unsavoury way. He had me in the sights and then he offered me the chance to work for SHIELD. He vouched for me and they listened, the rest is history. Without him I were dead."

"Wow. This I didn't expect."

Natasha shrugged. "It takes everyone by surprise. How long are you the Captain of this ship?"

"Now almost two years. It can be very challenging."

"Tell me about it. Your crew is very dissimilar. It must be sometimes difficult to make them respect you."

"I never had many difficulties to get their respect, it helps when you have a training as an assassin."

"I agree, it is not a profession, which is very common. How did it happen if I may ask?"

"I was young and stupid, I made with the friend of my sister a journey with a ship and it went down. Pirates rescued me, they did take me as a prisoner and with a few detours and complications I landed by the assassins, where I started my apprenticeship.

Too make a long and complicate story short, I died, got resurrected through a pond and have now sometimes problems with my anger management even though I have it now better under control."

Natasha walked silent for a few minutes, without doubt pounding over Sara's words. In between Sara showed her the machine room, the library, the room where they replicated their epoch appropriate clothing and other things she thought would interest Natasha. She talked, explained and gave a few anecdotes over their early adventures for the best, which made Natasha laugh, and which she returned with stories of her own.

It was between two decks and with no other in sight when Natasha started to talk. "I was five as my parents were killed and I was taken by the Red Room, an organisation in the Soviet Union. They taught us to kill, to seduce, to lie and to manipulate everyone around us.

If you failed in your tests, you got killed, often enough through girls you thought of as friends. The instructors did not want us to have other obligations or loyalties to others than to the Red Room.

As I started, we were sixty girls, as I graduated it remained only three. As part of the graduation, they sterilized you.

As the Soviet Union crashed, the Red Room sold our services to the highest bidder. After a few years, I had enough and escaped, I worked freelance and made a name for myself until I killed the wrong person. I drew the interest of SHIELD and they send their best assassin after me. The rest of the story you know already."

"Ok, your story is much worse than mine", replied Sara after a few minutes and both women laughed.

"Nearly every superhero has a bad history or origin story, without it we wouldn't be the persons we are."

"Very true. When you say seduce, did that include women too?"

"Sometimes yes, but women don't react in the same way as men to the tactics I usually use, they require a more subtle method." Natasha's eyes twinkled.

"I feel honoured", replied Sara and grinned.

"You should be. I did not get my code name for trivial reasons, I earned it with my actions and it is an honorary title with a respectable reputation in certain circles."

"How are you called?"

"I am called the Black Widow."

"The Black Widow? Like the spider?"

"Yes." Natasha smirked. She always enjoyed the first reactions her name generated, when she gave it to someone who knew what she did for a living.

"This sounds very alarming and dangerous." Sara hesitated deliberately. "I like dangerous. Your code name is sexy." She smiled flirtingly at Natasha. "I am called White Canary."

"That sounds sexy too." Natasha smiled back in the same way; she really liked the other woman.

Sara had nearly showed the whole ship to Natasha. All the while, the women had flirted and exchanged stories.

If they encountered crewmembers of the Waverider, those only rolled their eyes and ignored the byplay between the two women. When Natasha asked them questions, they answered honestly, only occasionally searching permission with a gaze to Sara when it was a question which concerned the safety of the ship.

Usually Sara nodded; only a few times she shook her head, but explained to Natasha why she for the moment didn't want to answer the question. Natasha always accepted the refusal with grace and did not ask further.

Finally, both women stood before the mess hall.

"Okay, this is the last room. Want to meet and speak with our resident master thief and ship muscle?"

"Sounds like a plan. I'm curious if Clint is his usual self or if he did make friends."

"This sounds ominous."

"Clint is not very patient with people he doesn't like." Natasha shrugged. "It is a long time since he made friends for himself and he reacted very well to Mr. Rory."

"I'm right, it sounds very ominous." Sara entered the mess hall laughing und Natasha followed her grinning.