A/N: Sooo, since my thesis is done, I finally have time again to write what I really like. So here is a new oneshot dealing with Natasha's graduation day so to say. I also updated the previous chapters with some information about which characters are in it and a roughly word count.


Title: Anomaly (Prompt #21)

Characters: Natasha, Madame B.

Word count: ~ 1690


Her red hair was pulled together in a tight bun without a single hair out of place. Her clothes were the ones she would usually wear for training and she kept a straight posture. No emotion was seen on her face.

Natalia knew how important the next hour was for her. If she made no mistake, she would finally graduate the Red Room as the youngest since Dorothy Underwood. There had been a time, when she desperately wanted this. Be outstandingly able, fast and deadly, so deadly in fact that there was nearly no danger to her in this world. Being the youngest one to graduate since ages. Graduate with the highest mark possible. The only fear which had sneaked up on her the last weeks concerned the graduation ceremony. Natalia didn't know if she ever wanted to have children. Right now, all that was important was her training and after that her missions. But what if she someday met someone? When she wasn't able anymore to work? Well, she then would be probably too old to have kids anymore, but still. She didn't like it when an important choice was taken away from her.

"Natalia!" Madame B.'s voice snapped her out of her thought. "You are supposed to show our recruits how to dance Odile. Focus!"

Natalia slightly tilts her head and starts. Her feet remember the steps without her having to think about it, so her mind returns back. If she wouldn't succeed in her test, if she would fail them… What would happen to her? Would they let her go? Just like that? Natalia didn't want to believe it but what else should they do? Kill her? That didn't seem as frightened as it once did. Her wrist still showed the signs of the time when she had been shackled to her bed for three days just because she had refused to hurt one of the other girls. Natalia had been six years old by that time. Arina's face appeared unasked in her mind, her big brown eyes full of fear. Natalia expulsed the memory and shook her head almost unnoticed, which caused her to slightly misstep.

Madame B. noticed it instantly and her whip crashed down at Natalia's ankles. "Again."

The redhead kept a straight face and started again. It was no good to dwell on the past. She finished the dance and left the room, once her instructor allowed it. Madame B. followed her into the corridor. "What was that about, Romanova? This was one of your tests as you know all too well. I don't want to explain that my best student failed at graduating."

One thing Natalia had learned very early on, was that excuses or explanations were not wanted. "Forgive me, Madame," she simply said, dipping her head. But inside her was turmoil. So she could fail. She had to do it inconspicuously, just little mistakes that could happen to everyone. If Madame B. found out she'd had her worst beating yet to get.

"Get yourself ready. Hand-to-hand combat in room 304, 10 minutes. Don't be late."

"No, Madame," Natalia answered in earnest and set out for the right room. Her steps were firm, unwavering, while her thoughts rode a carrousel. Should she really try to fail so she could run? But on the other side, what did she have to lose? Her life? That was already gone, wasn't it? The lives she had had to take until today… Not on missions, no. Simply to survive the Red Room. Because if she hadn't killed, she would have been killed herself.

Her mask was firmly back in place when she reached room 304 and pushed the door open. Madame B. already awaited her. Three men were there, too. Natalia raised an eyebrow for a split second, but said nothing. It was unusual having a man within the facility, although she knew that those were often chosen for the graduation tests; later when on a mission they would have to fight more often against men than women.

"Take care you won't be defeated, but don't kill them. Remember, you might be forced to interrogate your targets afterwards. See that they are in a condition suitable for interrogation." Madame B. signed her to start and stepped aside.

Instantly Natalia's pose tensed, and she raised her hand, observing her opponents for tensed muscles or any other signs of attack. They were good. They were fast. But Natalia was better. The first man's ass kissed the floor not full five seconds later after she had kicked his legs from under him and punched his head against the floor. One out, two to go. The second man landed one punch before she kicked his chest. She dodged one of his swings, ducked under the arm of the third guy and grabbed his arm to pull him over her shoulder, only to step on his sternum with enough force to leave him breathless but without causing lasting damages. The second man used this moment to take her into headlock. Natalia gasped for air and tried to escape his grip before a thought crossed her mind. She struggled a few moments longer, then tapped him to end this test. He released her immediately.

Madame B. pressed her lips to a tight line. "Sloppy. You're better than this, Romanova. What is wrong with you today?" She waved her hand to shoo the men out of the room. "I don't know you to be overwhelmed. You learned to escape that hold years ago. I demand an explanation."

"I don't think to be fit for graduation just yet, Madame," Natalia answered honestly.

Her instructor eyed her closely for a moment. "You are afraid." It wasn't a question.

Natalia gulped, but said nothing. Admitting fear caused punishment, she knew. She was not supposed to be afraid of anything. Accomplishing her mission, nothing else was important. Not even her own feelings. And then something happened that Natalia never expected.

"Is this about the graduation ceremony? You are old enough to bleed, you know what this means. It would be understandable, but unnecessary. The ceremony will enable you to gain access to important missions and duties. Duties to serve your country. It is an honour to graduate the Red Room. To survive its training."

"I know," Natalia finally said in a calm voice. "I know it is an honour."

"Then what is the problem?"

"Nothing, Madame."

"Very well. I will regard your previous tests as passed. If someone of my students is worth to graduate, it is you, Romanova. You worked hard for this. Don't throw it away."

"No, Madame. Thank you, Madame." No emotion laced her voice.

"Follow me to your last test. Now."

Natalia followed her instructor back into the corridors, head straight and shoulders squared. She was not supposed to be weak. To even feel weakness. A Black Widow was never afraid and she shouldn't be either. But it was difficult not to be. She heard rumours of the graduation ceremony. Of how some girls were only partly anaesthetised. Whether that was true or not, Natalia wasn't sure. She was sure, however, that the last test was her last chance to fail. They entered a room with a target pinned at one wall and a Makarov pistol lying on a small table.

Madame B. turned around to face her after closing the door. "As practiced. Three shots with each hand, switchover as quick as possible. Second target will be placed after you complete the first one."

Natalia was close to raising an eyebrow. That was supposed to be all? Weapon's training? She couldn't belief it. Still she picked the pistol up and got into position, aiming at the target. She fired three shots in quick succession, switch hands almost to quickly for the eye to follow and fired another three shots. All of them hit the target's head or torso.

The door opened and two girls who already graduated brought in a man who wore a bag over his head. One of the girls took off the target and placed a chair in front of the wall. The other girl placed the man on the chair, hands bound behind his back.

"You have one try, Romanova," Madame B. simply said. The unsaid subtitles were clear: don't mess it up.

Natalia aimed at the man as the girls left the room again. Her hand didn't shake, but she didn't fire right away. She could still fail. She could avoid the graduation ceremony. Maybe she could even escape and run. Maybe. That was not a word she liked. The Red Room had taught her to like her orders clear and follow them. Arina's face appeared again in front of her inner eye. She had only followed the orders and her own instincts. Her desire for life had been stronger than her friendship. Although she had tried, hadn't she? But still, Arina was gone and it was her fault. Hers? The Red Room's? Natalia wasn't sure anymore. But-

"Romanova!" Madame B.'s voice cut right through her thoughts, eyes cold as ice and hard as granite.

That was all it took. The sound of her pistol reverberated through the room and blood blossomed on the bag. Her hand still didn't shake.

"Your graduation ceremony will take place this afternoon, so you can take your place in the world," Madame B. announced. "Get yourself ready for it. Your first mission will be assigned to you as soon as possible."

"What if I had failed?" Natalia had to ask. She had to know if she ever had a chance to change her life.

The older woman smiled at her with condescension. "You could never have failed, Romanova. In your case the tests were a mere formality since the patrons of the Red Room facility are well informed about your skillset. Nothing you could have done today would have changed the fact that your graduation ceremony will take place this evening."

Natalia nodded and turned around, her face like a mask made of stone. Starting tonight, she would be a Black Widow. And her ledger would be dripping red.


Alright, what do you think of it? It's clearly inspired by her vision in AoU, but still, tell me if you like it or not.