Bloodline

Chapter 6: Abduction

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"Tasha, I really think you should talk to me." Clint blocked her way as she wanted to leave the conference room. "I know you, and I also know that something isn't right."

Natasha took a deep breath, preparing to lie to him, but it turned out to be difficult to keep a blank face. She had been feeling dizzy all morning, the pictures of a gruesome murder they had just looked at only worsened her condition. "I just worked too much. I could use some days off, that's all." She resisted the urge to lean against a furniture as the world began spinning.

"You look paler every day. If I didn't know about your super-human abilities, I would say something is draining you, like sucking the life out of you."

Natasha knew he was serious, but his choice of words made her grin. 'More like I am sucking the life out of someone else...' She banished the thought and slipped back into the façade of Black Widow. "Are you questioning my ability to get a job done?"

Clint shook his head, realizing he was wounding her pride and that was definitely the wrong way to go. "I just ask you to do a quick check-up, maybe they find something."

"I don't want anyone to know, to even question me about… 'being weak.'"

The archer quickly thought about the options, "Then go to Banner. You know you can trust his discretion."

She sighed and agreed, only because she knew he wouldn't find anything. "Alright, if you stop nagging. But I first need to go through a training session with the newbies."

Clint heaved a sigh of relief and nodded. "Thanks, Tasha. I'll tell Banner to prepare."

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They were such a disappointment… And after she explained the same hand-to-hand combat move for the third time, Natasha was starting to lose her temper, sending one of the trainees down the mat hard enough to break his wrist. When the rest of them looked at her in pure fear for their life, she entirely lost it. "In a true fight your opponent will do more than only break a bones, they'll kill you. So concentrate!" She saw them shying away and groaned in annoyance. This was usually not her way of dealing with such problems but her emotions seemed uncontrollable today and the nausea didn't loosen its grip on her. She needed a stress relief, a proper one, not just beating those idiots to a bloody mess. She pushed a button on her com. "Hey, Cap, you have some time? I need you in the gym." Luckily he had some moments to spare and arrived five minutes later.

"What's up?" Steve asked, his voice light with that damn naive friendliness when he meet untrained 'soldiers' on their way up. He put down his bag with the intel he wanted to show Natasha after this… whatever she had planned. Fury had given him some files about the attack on another Hydra facility yesterday, and what he had seen at first glance made him shudder. Maybe Natasha could make more sense out of this.

"I need a partner to show them some moves. You're ready?" She didn't want to waste any time while the young ones seemed to almost hype their idol. Annoying, no, downright disgusting…

Cap smiled at the trainees and nodded, moving into a fighting stance. "Yes." He could barely see it coming when Natasha attacked him, the first few kicks and punches so quick he couldn't even dodge them.

Oh yes, this was much better. With him she didn't need to hold back. Just like with James… No, she wouldn't think about him right now, not when she was willingly hurting his friend, the one who wanted to save him. Thoughts were spinning in her head, anger, rage, helplessness and lust. Steve still had no idea that she was sleeping with his former comrade and that she hadn't even come one step closer to turning him over. The movements were so fast now that they blurred in front of her eyes, everything else faded, only the brutal act remained, that reminded her of how she and the Winter Soldier had fought for control, and what followed then…

A very hard kick sent Steve to the ground from which he quickly recovered. But Natasha was faster, she pushed him back down, straddling his lap and holding his wrists tightly above his head before she leaned down. Her mind was already far away by now, her body reacting automatically as she felt something between her legs. When she moved her hips, she heard someone moan, but Natasha couldn't tell anymore if it was a sound of surprise or lust, so she leaned closer to her opponent and pressed her lips onto his. In between the passionate kisses she moaned James' name, barely understandable even for her, but it didn't matter. Suddenly something felt wrong. He wasn't kissing her back with the same vigor, in fact he was fighting against her. The heady, musky scent she knew so well now tasted strange and different.

Natasha opened her eyes in confusion and was confronted with Steve's shocked face as she realized what just happened. All options to explain this slipped from her mind as she heard one of the trainees cheer, the others falling in and making snide remarks.

"Out!" Natasha screamed at them. Range becoming the answer to this humiliation. Damn, damn, damn!

"Miss Romanoff?" The Captain carefully said, his face not only blushed but downright red.

Natasha shook her head as she got to her feet and muttered something in Russian that was obviously a curse. "Sorry, Cap… I…" Oh no, she hoped he didn't hear James's name slipping from her lips.

By now Steve was on his feet again, straightening his fighting suit and trying to avoid her eyes. "You could at least ask me out on a date first, before we start fondueing." He gave his best at being funny.

But Natasha would have none of that. "Just forget what I did. Okay? It never happened." Could it get any more absurd?

"Yeah, of course." Yet his mind did quite the opposite. He remembered the moment she had kissed him on the escalator and compared it to now. Very… different. During their escape there had been a practical reason and the kiss had felt like that with just a hint of seduction, but this right now… Steve knew that the kiss wasn't meant for him, he had heard her moan a name, but too muffled to understand. He shook the thought off and tried to concentrate on what he actually came to do.

Natasha quickly calculated her way to the bathroom as a wave of dizziness hit her. She tried not to show anything, but it was difficult while someone spoke to her. She didn't understand what he was saying until she heard the name Bucky. "What?"

Steve looked at her more closely while he repeated his words. "I have some new intel about Bucky's whereabouts. And another Hydra facility. Shield took it down yesterday, more or less. Hydra had fled shortly before we arrived and took most of the stuff there with them, but we found equipment that seems like something to repair Bucky's arm. And also some other stuff, that…" He pulled a folder from his bag and gave it to her.

At least he didn't nag her about what just occurred and didn't hear the name she had said. Natasha flipped the folder open and looked at the first pictures. What she saw made her heart stop. Memories of the Red Room flooded her inner eyes as she studied the equipment. Between the high-tech, there were also tools she remembered. The urge to throw up grew fiercer.

"The scientists are still analyzing the few liquids they had left behind, but it seems like they are trying to recreate the super-soldier serum again." He told her. "There were training rooms and holding cells. It seems like the participants aren't there willingly and also, the clothes were…" Steve didn't know how to tell her.

Natasha couldn't believe what the evidence showed all too clearly. "... women's clothes, right? They are creating Black Widows."

"So you're sure about that?" Now he had his suspicions confirmed.

"Yes… They did the same to me. It seems familiar." She pointed at some of the tools on the pictures. "But why is the Winter Soldier there?" Natasha asked him. Maybe he had some more information about him by now.

"We have no idea, maybe he is there to train or protect them, or it's simply his temporary hideout." Steve wasn't sure himself, but at least now he was one step closer to saving his friend.

'Just like he trained me...' Natasha said to herself, remembering his hard lessons. "Whatever it is, please drop me a note when you find out more, okay?" The memory she was reliving now destroyed the last bit of her control. She quickly excused herself and walked towards the bathroom, with normal strides at first, and then ran when she was of Steve's sight.

The Captain only watched her, unsure why she showed such a behaviour. Was she still embarrassed because of what just happened? He looked at the pictures again. No… Steve didn't know the details of her past, but surely these nightmares still haunted her. Now he regretted giving her a glimpse into the file.

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After she had nothing left in her stomach, Natasha was feeling a little bit better, at least as far as her nausea went. Her whole body ached now, but her mind hurt even more. All the memories of her past had come back in one big wave as she had looked at the pictures. Hydra planned something that also involved the Winter Soldier. He was more than only a trainer for them, she was sure, but that didn't explain her role in this.

Deep in thought she made her way to Bruce's private section of the lab. She had made a promise to do this and suddenly her own problems came to the fore once more.

Anxiety was usually not on Natasha's list of emotions, but she couldn't shake the feeling anymore while Banner took the blood sample. What if they actually found something that was wrong? A thought tried to work its way up to the surface of her mind, to show her the obvious, but she suppressed it, just like she did since days.

"We'll have the results tomorrow morning, or is it… urgent?" The doctor knew the Black Widow by now and she never came in between the routine check-ups.

"No, that's fine. Thank you for the help." Natasha jumped from the table and made her way out.

Before she was able to leave the building, Clint blocked her path, again. He had a smug grin on his face as he spoke. "So, you and Cap, hm?"

"What?" Oh, please, let it not be this…

"Rumours spread fast." He replied and held her back when she tried to walk past him. "Tasha, I thought we were friends. You know you can trust my secrecy." He huffed when she groaned in annoyance. "At least I don't have to wonder anymore why you look so exhausted. Capsicle's keeping you busy?"

"Oh, shut up, Clint. It's been a long day, okay?" She wanted nothing more than a relaxing bath and a few hours of sleep.

"Going home to your sweetheart?" Clint chuckled.

That was enough. She could barely stop herself from punching him as hard as she could. Natasha wanted to shout, to scream, to break bones. A sudden helplessness overwhelmed her. She was losing control over her life. Tears started to blur her vision as she pushed Clint aside and made her way out.

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Natasha couldn't avoid the thought anymore. She wasn't naive, she knew what her symptoms indicated, but it was downright impossible. The ability was taken from her so long ago. Yet she needed to be sure, to finally erase the doubts nagging her. And she didn't want to wait for Banner giving her the results. She only needed one specific value.

On her way back to the apartment she dropped by the pharmacy, avoiding to show her face to the security cameras and paying in cash, yet she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.

At home she just wanted to have clarity, throwing her stuff into a corner and doing the test in the bathroom. The next minutes would be the longest in her life… She put the plastic piece onto the table and changed into something more comfortable. It couldn't be, it was absurd, it was…

Natasha checked her watch, waited until three were minutes over… She needed something to occupy herself with, but couldn't do anything else than hold the test impatiently. Her mind flooded with all the possibilities, and also the ways of how to put an end to it. 'Don't be stupid', she said to herself, 'there is nothing that needs to be…' Four minutes. She heard a noise behind her and turned around, trying to remember where she put her gun. It was difficult to concentrate. Thirty seconds left. Again a noise. Someone was in here, or was she losing her mind? Five minutes. She was about to look down at the result when she heard footsteps and a chuckle behind her. Natasha turned and stared at the Winter Soldier.

"James? Have you gone mad? What if anyone saw you?" The question was stupid, he had been to her apartment quite a few times now without anyone noticing.

He didn't answer her, just kept staring at the little plastic device in her hands. "What is that?"

"It's nothing." Natasha wanted to discard it, but she needed to risk as glimpse, needed to be sure. Looking down, the red plus sign was burning itself into her memory. Her heartbeat stopped for a brief second as the fact sank in. "Bohze moi."

"What...?" he wanted to snatch the piece of plastic from her hands, but she pulled away.

"I don't understand this. What is so special with you that I was able to...?" Hydra, the Red Room, the facility, it was all for... A sudden nausea made her run for the bathroom. The little contraption fell from her grip as she burst out.

When she was done, her body shaking and tears burning in her eyes, Natasha got up, seeing the Winter Soldier in the doorway. A blank look on his face.

"You're pregnant." Although he whispered these words it sounded like thunder in her ears.

"Yes."

A smile spread across James' lips as he walked towards her, pulling an injection needle from his breast-pocket. "Good."

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Oh god, nothing of this was planned! I only wanted Clint to show worry and Natasha to make a test. But what it turned out… I mean, I wanted to fill the blank with Tasha showing symptoms of mood swings and dizziness, so I put those idiots of trainees there and then I thought about Steve helping her, and then I had already written the kiss XD And then… hey, still not enough. Let them know something about Hydra's plans… Oh my… I overdid it, didn't I?