A/N: Yay Celebratory Chapter for reaching 600 reviews! Who's ready?!

Naturally, I have to send out a huge thank you to my lovely reviewers. It's because of you all that we reach these milestones. C: I'm just thrilled that those of you who reviewed seemed to enjoy it so much! It's really the only means I have to gauge how you're all liking the story, so thank you so much!

And I can't leave out a special shout out to pinkprancer13, our 600th Reviewer!

Now, Enjoy the Chapter! It's a nice long one too! Longest yet, I think...

Chapter 66

Somewhere over the Atlantic

Summer 2015

Whether she'd wanted to or not—and Nadine was certain she'd been leaning to 'not'—Madame B had ultimately revealed everything they'd wanted to know.

Not that Nadine was entirely satisfied with what they'd learned. Oh, on one hand she was; nearly all her suspicions had been correct. But on the other hand, she was very much not satisfied…for the same reason.

As much as she had suspected and anticipated just how much Madame B had passed along to Strucker via Katerina, she had been hoping her suppositions had been wrong. For once, she'd wanted to be wrong. Her pride was pleased to be right, of course, but her head? Her heart?

However, as Nadine started getting into the list of people read in officially and potentially on Madame B's intelligence on Nadine, it was starting to look like most of the ones confirmed to know her secrets were now dead; the heads of HYDRA, Strucker, Katerina, Azarov…Madame B…

Nadine wasn't naïve enough to think that was automatically the end of it. There was really no knowing if any of those who'd known had secreted digital or physical records of the information away for safekeeping, or who they may have passed the information on to or who may have even inadvertently overheard discussion about her in passing. There was simply no knowing for sure. And with all those authorized to know being dead, there was no asking them. With what Nadine knew of HYDRA's hierarchy, penchant for compartmentalization and secrecy, modus operandi and with what they'd gotten out of Madame B, she was fairly certain that, sensitive as the information was—after all, she had been a valuable asset for HYDRA, unwillingness aside—and as critical as it was as a tool against her, it seemed a fairly safe conclusion to draw that her secrets were likely safe.

Not that she wanted to bet on it. Not when Nina's safety was still at stake.

Better safe than sorry, and all that.

So as Natasha took the pilot's seat, setting them on a course back to the Avenger's new base, Nadine was doing some preliminary digging onto associates and 'heirs presumptive' within HYDRA of those on Madame B's list. While each and every word Wanda had pulled from Madame B's head or pushed her to reveal had felt like a knife twisting into her chest, the more Nadine dug into what the training mistress had spilled, the more the feeling was beginning to ease.

It was starting to feel possible—just possible, just maybe—that with a little more work, a few strategic hacks, maybe a break and enter or two and few discreet hits, only people Nadine trusted—or at least tentatively trusted wouldn't betray her secrets—would know the truth of her daughter's heritage.

It was a weight Nadine had been carrying for so long that she couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like for it to lift. She knew it would never disappear entirely, but at least it would ease as any potential loose ends remaining from Madame B's interference were tied.

And so far, it was looking promising; a lot of 'dead' and 'incarcerated' statuses…but mostly 'dead's.

Things really hadn't been going well for HYDRA's upper tiers or their 'old guard.'

The 'incarcerated's could be tracked down, questioned and, if necessary, dealt with easily enough. Despite Nadine's intent to take care of it herself—it was another of those things she knew she needed to do, not to mention she was a little gun shy of trusting anyone else with the task—Natasha had already volunteered her assistance…as had Wanda. That had surprised both spies. But, as Wanda had explained darkly, no one was better suited to get to the truth than she was…and that she owed it to Nina. Nadine had been just as startled by that assertion as she had been by the offer, but Wanda had clammed up then and, advanced skills or not, unlike Wanda Nadine couldn't read minds. So she let it rest for the time being.

She glanced up to the young Sokovian. Wanda was curled up on the Quinjet's central bank of seats, so deeply asleep Nadine suspected she could've fired a gun and the girl wouldn't even stir.

The interrogation of Natasha and Nadine's former training mistress had, unsurprisingly, taken a lot out of the girl. To the point where she'd been all but nodding off as Natasha and Nadine had finished covering their tracks in Paris. By the time they had made it back to the Quinjet, Wanda had been all but dead on her feet. She hadn't even objected when Nadine had all but ordered her to get some rest on the trip back to the new Avenger's Compound.

Sure enough, Natasha had barely gotten the Quinjet in the air before Wanda was out like a light. Looking at her now, her face relaxed in sleep as it rarely was awake, the girl looked so young. Too young to have experienced all that she had. But Nadine had to admit that she bore it well enough, all things considered. Few would be holding up half so well. Wanda Maximoff had a steel to her, that was for sure. She just needed to learn that she did for herself.

Wanda had scared herself in Sokovia. That had become increasingly clear on their way across to ocean toward Vienna. The things she'd allowed herself to do? To mess with the Avengers' heads? To set Stark on the path that lead to Ultron? To destroy Ultron Prime as viciously and remorseless as she had? The destruction she'd wrought in her pain when she'd believed her twin had been killed? Nadine had honestly begun to wonder if the girl would be up to the task they had charged her by the time they made landfall in Europe. Especially when she and Natasha had been questioning her about her abilities, looking to get a measure of them. She had been more than willing to answer their questions about her telepathic abilities, even letting them test out if they could mentally resist or even combat them. But when they probed further? Wanda had very nearly shut down.

It hadn't been until Madame B had been cornered and Wanda had made her entrance that Nadine had truly believed Wanda would be up to fulfilling her role in the mission. Obviously something she had seen in Madame B's head had motivated her past her own reservations.

Yet, not for the first time, Nadine wondered if it had really been such a good idea bringing the Sokovian girl along, in involving her in Natasha's and Nadine's mission. It had not been pleasant, and neither of the former Red Room recruits had been the one literally digging inside the older woman's head. Sure, it had sped up their questioning of Madame B exponentially, but at the same time…

…but at the same time Nadine still stood by her call that Wanda needed the distraction and the focus the mission had provided. Wanda had been able to push past her reservations to get the job done; an important step. And the exertion; since that day in Sokovia, Nadine had come across the Twins and her daughter succumbing to afternoon naps on several occasions, and rarely had she noticed Wanda sleeping either peacefully or deeply. Honestly, she couldn't recall having seen Wanda sleeping as comfortably as she was now in the whole, albeit short, time that she'd know her.

But more than any distraction of focus or exertion, Nadine knew Wanda had needed to do something that let her feel like she was keeping those she cared about safe—Nina, in this case. Nadine had seen it as clearly in the young brunette as though she'd had it written across her forehead. Nadine knew that feeling quite well. It was a big part of why she'd latched on to the idea of tracking down Madame B so strongly herself; she'd felt like she'd failed so often the last few weeks that she'd needed to feel like she was actively succeeding in protecting her daughter again. To do that, they'd had a very specific list of questions that they'd needed answered. So, uneasy as she had been about including Wanda in the mission at all—not only was she so young, but Nadine still had reservations about trusting her—she had been the best tool they had. And they'd needed Madame B to spill virtually everything.

In that the mission had been an indisputable success. Of that there was little doubt. Natasha and Nadine had played Madame B like a fiddle, herding their old training mistress precisely where they'd wanted her to go and Wanda had been ruthlessly effective at picking apart the older woman's mind whenever she'd tried to lie as they'd questioned her; it hadn't been long before the older woman hadn't even bothered trying to lie anymore. And Natasha and Nadine had been quite thorough in their questioning. By the time they'd finished with Madame B, there was nothing left worth learning.

Then they'd finished her.

Even now, hours later, satisfaction still hummed through Nadine at the thought. One of the last, major threats to her secrets, and thus her daughter's safety, had been neutralized. It was a big win in her book.

And Nadine was not so noble that she was above admitting that she had taken a great deal of satisfaction in exacting her vengeance.

It was especially gratifying given everything that the older woman had admitted.

Nadine had apparently been the older woman's failure just as she'd once viewed Natasha as her greatest success. Nadine hadn't been wrong when she'd wondered all those years before if Madame B hadn't resented her. If the only reason she'd survived those last few months in the Red Room had been because the Treatments had worked on her and her alone.

She'd been too headstrong in a way that Natasha hadn't been. Or at least, Nadine hadn't played along the way Natasha had. She certainly hadn't been subtle in hiding her disillusionment in the Red Room by the end. And Madame B had resented it.

She had felt spurned.

Rejected.

Threatened.

Even jealous.

That had nearly astonished Nadine more than just about anything else the older woman had been forced to reveal. Natasha had merely met Nadine's gaze sympathetically; the redhead had apparently suspected had as much. Nadine had been clever, talented, quick to learn, driven to survive and, on top of it all, the Treatments had worked on her.

The Treatments had worked on her, and Madame B hadn't even been offered the opportunity. Nadine had become smarter, stronger, faster—better—than Madame B had ever been, and Madame B had been the best. She'd held the 'Black Widow' designation for a time before she'd set it aside to take over the Red Room in search of a successor, after all. She had to be the best.

Nadya had been poised to potentially become one of the Red Room's greatest Graduates, to outshine Madame B in every way. To be everything Madame B had been, once strived to be, and more.

The new model. The upgrade. The true next generation of the program.

Madame B's replacement.

The one with the potential to wipe away everything Madame B had worked for and built.

The one who could've made Madame B and her vision of the Red Room program obsolete.

Madame B had come to hate and fear her for it.

And a petty little part of her had wanted Nadya to fail so she would still be the best the Red Room had produced.

Even Natasha hadn't been able to touch her place as the best, or so Madame B had convinced herself; of that fact, Nadine was profoundly skeptical. Though there were specific skills Nadine was more proficient with than her little sister, as a overall agent, she wasn't too proud to admit Natasha surpassed her. She had been when they were kids still. And these days? There was a reason Natasha had been designated Black Widow. She was the best. And Nadine didn't doubt that her sister had far and away surpassed Madame B as the Red Room's best.

But maybe she was just biased.

Still, before the Treatments, and even during the early days of the sub-program, Nadya had shown the potential to be Madame B's shining pupil; the ultimate feather in the older woman's cap. Possibly even the next Black Widow; the heir to Madame B's own achievements; her hand chosen successor; her legacy.

Someone she could mould and control and make into her own image. A tool that she could wield and one whose loyalty she could foster.

Someone to do her proud without surpassing her.

Even after the Treatments had begun to take hold, Madame B had nearly convinced herself that she could still manage that goal, that she could look past the threat that Nadya had become and find a way to manipulate the potential fallout over Nadya's success into a means to protect and strengthen her beloved program. If she could've been the one to make Nadya what she was? If she could convince her superiors Nadine had become the best because of her and her program? She could've set aside her wounded pride—or possibly soothed or even mended it—had she played her cards right. While still a threat, the damage would've been minimized.

But then she had realized that Nadya wouldn't be so easy to control. She realized that the threat Nadya posed couldn't be so easily countered. Even if Nadya had made it through the program and become the best? Not only would she have threatened the program, but Madame B herself. She couldn't be controlled. Not by her. Nadya hadn't quite been driven to please, and she hadn't felt quite the same desire for Madame B's approval as many of the others had.

Like Natasha had.

Especially once the Treatments had started.

So she had proven a disappointment. Far more than a disappointment, really. She hadn't been one to strive for Madame B's praise or attention. She hadn't had the same driving ambition as Katerina or even Natasha. Nadine had just wanted to survive.

So it meant threatened she could understand on some level. Especially the more she thought about it. More than just Nadine's future had hinged on her success as a spy and assassin. She'd represented the future of the Red Room, for good or bad. Optimistically, she could've been an affirmation on the old—whether it was still relevant, if its results and strengths still outweighed the brutality and sheer effort and dedication of time and resources required to achieve them—while simultaneously standing as an example of the new—the potential; the program's next evolution. More likely, though, she would've proven that it was no longer viable the way it had been before. That the Red Room as Madame B envisioned would be obsolete in the face of what the Treatments could do.

So Madame B had resolved not to take that risk. She had decided to get rid of Nadine and spin the Treatment sub-program as a failure before Nadya could have a chance to make a mark in the wider world that would more likely condemn Madame B's Red Room than enforce it.

And that was without even considering the personal threat. The threat that Nadya would turn on Madame B. That, not only would Nadine destroy her accomplishments in the Red Room, but potentially destroy the training mistress as well.

Since the future of the Red Room had potentially been at stake, it meant Madame B's had as well. Nadine's successes or failures as a Graduate and agent would have reflected directly on Madame B and the program she'd been building, nurturing and protecting nearly as long as Nadine had been alive. It had been on Nadya's shoulders to prove that the Red Room program was still viable and was capable of advancing along with the changing world around them. It would've proven Madame B was still effective as the program's supervisor and primary director.

But it could've also seen the Red Room being terminated, along with Madame B, for the same reason: because Nadine had become everything Madame B's superiors had hoped.

But when Nadine had successfully run, it had changed everything. Madame B's plans had hinged on Nadya's death in the Red Room. They had been built around her ability to blame Nadya's failure as a potential agent on the Treatments instead of her tutelage. So when Nadine had run instead of failed, it had taken every skill the older woman had possessed to spin that development to still reflect on the Treatment sub-program and not on the Red Room itself. She'd barely been able to keep the Red Room programme under her control. More than that, apparently she had barely been able to keep the Red Room active. But to the training mistress, it had still been worth it. The Red Room had survived in a probationary capacity, which was still preferable to the Red Room being stolen away from her.

From it getting shut down because Nadine had succeeded.

It meant 'threatened' Nadine could understand.

But rejected? Nadine hadn't been able to wrap her head around that anymore than the idea that Madame B had been jealous. She still couldn't.

If Madame B had been so threatened by her that she'd actively tried to destroy Nadya, why should she possibly feel rejected? The way Nadine saw it, Madame B had turned her back on her first.

She had argued that point, adding in that she had never been the recruit Natasha had been. That, even with the Treatments, she hadn't had nearly the potential her little sister had shown. But Natasha's look of sympathy had only deepened, and Madame B had scoffed weakly; she had been fighting Wanda's intrusions valiantly, but at great cost to her own strength. But she had countered of her own will.

"It wasn't just about skills. It was much more. It was about will, and willingness. You could have been every bit as exceptional as Natalia. Just like you, she didn't know her potential. Not until she turned to me. Not until I showed her. And once she did, it was because of me that she finally accepted it and thrived…that she discovered her true ambition. You, however, refused to let me help you, to show you how to embrace your full potential, to become more…you refused my help…refused to embrace what you are.

"At least, you did until you were on your own…" Nadine had recoiled hard at that. Had she really rejected what she'd been becoming in that place?

Had she really embraced what she'd been made once she'd left?

When she'd once again argued that she'd done no such thing, that she'd only done the things she had in order to survive, because she'd been given no other options, Madame B had actually summoned the strength to laugh.

"Of course you did! You are the Ghost.

"What further evidence do you need?" Nadine's heart had plummeted at the inarguable truth behind her words. "Once you'd run? You embraced all of it. But when you were still in the Red Room, once the Treatments had made you stronger? You rejected everything we'd given you when you were no longer afraid of failing; everything we'd raised you to be." Nadine had felt sick.

She still did.

"You rejected everything I was willing to give you." Nadine had been unable to do anything but stare at the woman in wide-eyed shock.

It was what had been at the heart of it all. Nadine had rejected her beloved program and had rejected her. It had stung more than just a simple failure to train her. It was why Madame B had begun to view her as a threat. It was why Madame B had turned against her. Tormented her. Pushed her to the brink, hoping she'd break.

And why she'd ultimately set Nadya up to die.

It was the one conclusion about what had happened all those years before that Nadine had been wrong about:

Madame B had counted on Nadya trying to run.

Barnes had been waiting for her in the garage that night.

From the instant the Winter Soldier's handlers had complained of the apparent sexual tension between him and Nadya disrupting the efficacy of his programming, Madame B had seen only opportunity. Especially once she'd picked up on Nadya's distaste for what had been done to Barnes and her then unconscious sympathy for him.

Nadine had been right in that Madame B's hands had been tied against orchestrating her failure in training. One: by the time she had seriously begun considering getting rid of Nadya, it would've been obvious that it hadn't been a natural failure on Nadya's part but something contrived to get rid of her. Two: the program's directors had wanted her to Graduate so they could then harness and take advantage of her Enhancement in combination with the skills learned in the Red Room. They'd apparently had big plans for her. It meant Madame B's options had been limited indeed. Katerina's rage hadn't been enough against Nadya once the Treatments had taken hold, even as encouraged as she'd been by Madame B, not that the training mistress had genuinely expected that to work in the first place. But it had apparently been worth a try at that point. But then the Winter Soldier had happened.

The only thing Madame B hadn't anticipated?

The Winter Soldier himself.

She hadn't anticipated him letting Nadya go. She hadn't believed him capable. She'd believed he would comply with his orders to kill anyone attempting to leave the facility without question. Needless to say, none of it had gone over well…for Madame B or Barnes. Nadine had been overcome by a crush of guilt that still hadn't entirely dissipated, her gut clenching and churning painfully when the former training mistress had so dismissively mentioned that he'd promptly been subjected to a round of memory modifications after the incident. Neither had he remained in the Red Room long after that; it had been decided that the hard reset being put back in cryo was necessary to properly maintain his programming.

So he'd gone to sleep until his next mission.

And Madame B had been put on probation; it was only Natasha's success that had saved not only the training mistress' job, but possibly her life as well. Well, Natasha's success and Madame B's discovery following Nadya's escape.

Nadya's last medical, from right before she'd run, had revealed her pregnancy, and Madame B hadn't hesitated to use that to her advantage. Nadine's pregnancy had been an unexpected development, but ultimately not an unwelcome one to the training mistress' mind. She'd secreted the discovery away, sitting on it—and using it to track down Nadine on her own while Katerina fumbled along after Nadya, bearing the brunt of the directors' scrutiny—formulating her new plan, until the opportune moment came. It was then that she had used Nadine's location and the existence of Nina to leverage her way back into favour.

Nadine had figured out the rest.

They hadn't needed much else from the former training mistress after that.

And Nadine had been only too happy to wash her hands of her former supervisor.

It's often said that the act of vengeance itself never lives up to the fantasy of it, that it leaves the one acting upon the urge feeling hollow and unfulfilled. But in this case?

Very little had felt so satisfying as hearing that damned woman's neck break.

Just like the necks of so many of her young charges.

There was no feeling of hollowness. No regret. Nothing but vindication and relief. It was sustaining Nadine through the task now set before her thanks to what they'd learned from the older woman; ensuring that her secrets were safe and her daughter with them. And once she had completed that task?

She would find Barnes.

As her thoughts turned to him, her hand slid to the pouch on her belt that held the drives she'd retrieved from her Workshop. While perhaps not the most natural choice of location to serve as their home base in their mission to go after Madame B—Vienna wasn't exactly close to Paris, after all—Nadine had pushed past her reluctance to reveal its location to anyone and insisted they use her Workshop for the final stages of planning. Not only was it well equipped and appointed for their final preparations and as a launch point for their mission, it was also where Nadine had left everything she had on Barnes. And if she was going to find him? She needed it. All of it. And though she still wished she had more, she did have a fair bit.

The instant the lights in her Workshop had hummed to life, Natasha had whistled low from behind Nadine as she'd followed the blonde assassin inside, sounding decidedly impressed. Turning back to her, Nadine had immediately understood why. Almost as soon as they'd been illuminated the redhead had caught sight of the stretch of bulletin boards laden with the extent of Nadine's research for her personal mission; to track down the Winter Soldier. Not that it was solely personal anymore. Her little sister had spared Nadine an impressed glance.

"You really have been busy."

Nadine had only been able to roll her eyes before forcibly steering Natasha away from moving in to examine the meticulously organized boards and back on track to the mission at hand. As it was, when they'd taken a break from their last minute preparations, Natasha had been looking over Nadine's shoulder nearly the entire time she'd been packing up and backing up what she'd wanted to bring back to the Compound with her from her search thus far, the redhead only barely restraining the thousand questions Nadine had seen surfacing in her sister's keen eyes.

But it wasn't the time to focus on that just yet. Nina came first. So, as Natasha stood from the pilot's seat and made her way back the where she sat, Nadine forced her attention back to the screen before her. Mercifully Natasha didn't say anything as she settled next to Nadine, no matter that she could tell she wanted to, the redhead's eyes skimming over the names displayed on the console instead.

"Any progress," she finally asked softly, conscious to keep her voice low. Neither of them had the heart to wake Wanda just yet. Nadine nodded sedately.

"It's looking promising," Nadine admitted after a moment, swiping her compiled list of names complete with statuses, locations and other relevant information onto the console's tablet and handing it to Natasha to look over. An expression of grim satisfaction slid across Natasha's face as she skimmed over the list before handing the tablet back to the blonde assassin.

"You're going to go after them," she asked softly, the question very obviously not a real one. Nadine didn't even bother to nod, merely meeting her little sister's eye before turning back to the console. Natasha said nothing, and for that Nadine was grateful.

It was then that a soft chime broke through the quiet of the Quinjet. As she looked over, Nat was already reaching across the console to accept the call evidently coming in. She didn't even have to say anything for Nadine to guess who it was. The way some of the tension eased from her sister's frame was clue enough.

"Hey, Clint," she answered softly. "How's the simple life?" There was no mistaking how at ease her sister was with the archer. It was more than enough to have a grin teasing Nadine's lips, allowing her to set aside her heavier thoughts. For a few moments at least.

"It's good, you know. Everyone's good. Happy I'm home."

"The Team will be glad to hear it," Nadine offered softly before tacking on a nearly cheeky, "hi, Barton." As Clint chuckled, his phone only just barely picking up the muffled sound, it was only then that she noticed Natasha's brow creasing faintly, her head tilting minutely in thought.

"Hey, Ryker." She grinned for real at the almost wry greeting he offered back. But she had also finally detected what it was that had Natasha suddenly frowning and her gaze sharpening. There was an almost nervous, even anxious thread to Barton's tone.

"So what's going on, Clint?" Though it was said casually enough, there was no mistaking the insistence in Natasha's voice. Nadine looked to her sister, only barely picking up the shadow of concern that had appeared in her familiar green gaze. On the other end of the line Barton huffed out another soft chuckle.

"Not much. Just wondering if you're up for a bit of last-minute babysitting." Natasha glanced up to Nadine.

"Last-minute—everything okay?"

"Oh yeah," he brushed off, though it was hard to tell over the phone, it sounded just a little too unconcerned for Nadine to believe it was genuine. "It's just that the Boss says little Nate isn't satisfied with the current accommodations anymore." At once Nat's eyes went wide and she looked up to Nadine again with mingled worry and excitement. Nadine frowned, knowing she should know what he was alluding to.

"I thought he was paid up for a couple more weeks," Natasha remarked lightly, keeping up the teasing tone despite the way the concern shadowing her features deepened. "He's coming early." At once Nadine clued in.

"Not that early," Barton assured her, though now that Nadine was looking for it, there was definitely an anxious cast to the archer's tone. Excitement for sure, but also a deep worry. "But Laura's sure he's not keen on waiting any longer."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Natasha was abruptly assuring him.

"There's no hurry, Nat," Clint broke in then, nevertheless sounding rather relieved. "I just dropped Lila and Cooper at school, so it's not a huge rush for you to get here." But Nat didn't seem to quite be listening, glancing to the clock on the console, quick calculations obviously flashing through her mind. Nadine couldn't help but grin again; she couldn't help but love that Nat knew exactly when the Barton kids got home from school. She forcibly ignored the small twinge of jealousy that accompanied her amusement, though.

"Well, we're about midway back across the Atlantic now," Nat countered absently, "so we should just make it before the troops get home if we don't stop." Nadine could almost swear she heard Barton frown as Nat looked up to her. "Nadine can drop me off and head back to base from there."

"I'm not interrupting a mission, am I?" It was asked innocently enough, but Nadine could hear a similar concern to Natasha's from a moment before.

"Coming back," Natasha dismissed, complete with absent wave that Barton couldn't see. "Nadine needed to pick up a few things from her Workshop." Nadine suspected that it made little difference that they weren't face to face. She wouldn't have been surprised if, on the other end of the line, Barton was frowning in a way that said he very much knew there was more too it than that. Good as she was at keeping things to herself when she chose, Natasha had made little effort to hide that there was more she wasn't saying. Not with Barton.

"Nat—"

"If you need me there, Clint, I'll be there," the redhead broke in earnestly. Over the phone, Clint sighed in unmistakable relief.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Next to Nadine, Natasha grinned. With a quick goodbye and assurances from Clint that he'd pass on Nat and Nadine's best to Laura the call disconnected. A small huffing sigh escaped Natasha as she leaned back in her seat for a moment, her mind working fast behind her eyes. Nadine instantly recognized the expression. She was filing away whatever she had been replaying and dwelling on from their mission. But almost as soon as the expression had appeared it was gone and Natasha was looking to Nadine, her vibrant eyes shining with anticipation.

"You up for a detour?" Nadine smiled at her sister as the redhead stood.

"Why not."

A/N: Whew! Unlike last chapter, this one fought me tooth and nail. I must have tried a dozen different ways about it, starting from picking up right where 65 left off to what I presented for you today. I still don't know if I actually like it, but the time came to say stop messing with it and let it say what it needs to say.

So here you are! I hope you liked it! There were some exciting developments, at least, no? lol!

Thanks for reading!

Don't forget to review and let me know what you think of our celebratory chapter!

So Review, review, review!

See you all next time!

Guest Reviews:

Jo: Hahaha! Indeed. And they certainly found out some interesting tidbits. :D Thanks for reviewing. See you next time!

Jag: How could I not! Lol! With our two Red Room spies knowing what Wanda can do? How could they resist! Hahaha :D Thanks for reviewing! I hope you enjoyed our celebratory chapter. See you next time!