"How much did you tell them?" Natasha demands from Stark. Their car is parked outside of SHIELD headquarters, but she refuses to get out of the car until Tony tells her what she's walking into. If Clint knows, she can't face him, but Stark just keeps staring at her expectantly from the seat across from her. "Tony, I will stay in this car until you tell me who knows what and exactly what you told them, since you didn't, and still don't know, much at all."
"Oh, you and I will be having a long chat after this. I intend to get my answers and I know how to do that, so FOR NOW," he lifts an eyebrow at her, "Clint knows nothing. Fury thinks you have PTSD and I was giving you pills and helping you calm down from seeing that woman."
"I don't have PTSD, Stark," she protests, stepping out of the car.
"Would you have preferred I tell him the truth?" She falls silent at his words, quietly reassuring himself that Stark doesn't know the truth, either. She needs to come up with a convincing lie to spin to Stark after this whole mission is completed, whatever this woman wants from her.
Tony and Natasha arrive in the interrogation observation room a few moments later and Clint instantly walks over to her, looking her over for any signs of distress. She remains as collected as possible and stony-faced as she reminds him per their discussion a few days ago that they are partners, nothing more. He retreats to a cold stance and tells her what they know about the woman. She claims her name is Viktoriya and she is a former Red Room agent, but refuses to say more until she can talk to Natalia, her star Black Widow, indicating she must have been some sort of leader for the organization.
"5 minutes, Miss Romanoff. I sense any distress and we pull you," Fury tells her, his eyes oddly more caring than usual as she exits the observation room into the interrogation chamber.
"Natalia," the woman says, breathily. "It has been too long."
"You were not one of my handlers, I don't understand how you know me."
"Ah, Natalia, but I was." She replied. "I was all of your handlers. I was the, how you would say, handler of handlers. Every lesson, every mission, every punishment," the word slips off her tongue, laced in a sweetness that makes Natasha's skin crawl. "I decided every one of them. And you, beautiful little Natasha, were the best. The most kills of any Widow by age ten, the prima ballerina of our company by twelve… Yes, you were my favorite. The most promising, really. I can understand why SHIELD wanted you. And why they want me. But, I wonder, if they know everything about their Agent Romanoff, I believe you are now? Do they know all of your skills?"
"No," Natasha said, quietly. "And you'll stop if you want to stay alive."
"I do hope you've kept up your training, Natalia. It would be a shame if they couldn't use you to your full potential."
"They would never do that."
"Then they truly are wasting your talent, aren't they? I heard such raving reviews of your work from Ivan, the Winter Soldier, and the others… I almost wanted to check it out myself at times, but I had hoped that you would never discover my identity. Here we are though, maybe SHIELD will let me check out your skills when you prove useless." Natasha was becoming angry and doubtful at this. Surely, Fury would never let this woman… She pushed the thoughts out of her mind.
"So, why are you on their radar anyway? Surely you weren't stupid enough to get the organization caught."
"Natalia, you know me better than that. Is anything in your life ever not orchestrated? I believe my timing is perfect, you've been slacking on your training. By my guess, you haven't kept up your ballet regimen and have gained at least 10 pounds. Worse, you've lost your appeal. I do hope you've at least punished yourself accordingly. Which have you been using? Restricting food? Clearly not. Ha-"
Natasha slammed a hand over her mouth before she could finish talking. Viktoriya smiled up at Natasha's angry face as Fury swept in to pull her out.
"Struck a nerve?" The woman cackled as Natasha left the room to face Clint and Tony in the observation room. Fury stayed in the room with Viktoriya and asked basic SHIELD protocol questions, while she faced the two upset men in the next room.
"What the fuck is she talking about, Nat?" Clint asked as soon as she entered. He had obviously been pacing furiously the whole time while Tony stood in a wide stance, staring her down.
"Just some stupid punishments the Red Room used to give us. Hours of ballet. Restricting food. Stupid stuff if we messed up."
"What did they consider 'messing up' Nat?"
"Uh," she hesitated. "Failed missions."
"What else?" Tony interjected.
"That was mostly all." Clint relaxed, but Tony gave her a stronger look.
"Did they ever cut you?" Tony asked, pointedly.
"What are you talking about, Stark? That's insane!" Clint responded, a worried tone in his voice. "That's not a punishment, right Tash?"
"R-right," she said unsteadily, daring Tony to say more with her eyes.
"Tash…"
"Let's go back to the compound," Tony says, leading the way out of the room. "Natasha and I have a conversation to finish."
"I thought you were just giving her the stuff from the Tower," Clint says.
"I didn't give it to her."
"Well, it's her stuff and she said she needed it, so maybe you should stop being an asshole Stark. We're men, we don't get it."
"Yeah, Stark," Natasha said, voice dripping with malice. "It's my stuff."
"How about I give it to Clint and he decides whether you should really get to have it?" Tony threatens and she glares daggers at him the entire ride back to the Tower.
"Okay," Clint says. "Well, I'm gonna let you guys talk this out. Tash, I'd love to talk to you later. Please."
"Oh she will talk to you later." Tony agrees for her, yanking her wrist and pulling her up to his penthouse suite in the Tower.