Chapter 2: Shadow

Natasha was sitting in the waiting area of Ronald Reagan airport in DC. They had just cleared all flights to take off and they were just about to let first class passengers board. Natalie Rushman happened to be a very frequent flyer here, so she figured that she should at least get first class. She had a flight directly to Kiev, and from there it would be about a thirty minute drive to the meeting point at an old Red Room safe house. She called in some favors, and the files would be waiting there. She glanced up at the television that was playing and watched the news report that was going on.

"There has been no statement from Captain Rogers or anyone from SHIELD as of yet," the reporter said. "With all of Shield's files out on the internet however, the CIA and Interpol have been collaborating on what to do with this. There is one person in the main spearhead of reports that the CIA want arrested and questioned. This woman, Natalia Romanova, or Natasha Romanoff. She is credited with numerous assassinations for the KGB before being brought to Shield, as well as numerous other crimes, but most noticeably, the kidnapping of Ho Yinsen more commonly known as the person that saved Tony Stark when he first became Iron Man. There has been no comment from Tony Stark or Stark Industries, but we can expect that they will back the CIA in the search for Romanoff's arrest."

Well shit, Natasha thought as boarding was called for First-Class passengers she got up to board the plane. This just got a whole lot more difficult. She might just have to go on the run after she got the files back to Rogers. There was no way Stark would let her in the tower now, and Rogers would probably just look at her in disgust.

There would be time to ponder that later and she showed her boarding pass and walked into the terminal that led to the plane.

Kiev, Ukraine
September 5th, 2013

After Natasha arrived in Kiev, she took a taxi to a small storage unit place in the middle of a suburban neighborhood. It was a small storage facility, nondescript and something that no one would glance at again. Mainly held units for families that needed just a little bit of extra space. She went to her unit and casually opened it up. Inside was only one thing, a pitch black Ducati Superleggera. Most people would be surprised with how much money she actually had. With her SHIELD salary and the jobs she did on the side, her web was pretty extensive and held a lot of money. There were also investments she made, and various safe houses and storage facilities all over the world that she had to keep up. Hell, most of this money wasn't taxed, but she wasn't about to let the government know about that part. Most jobs were under the table to begin with.

She zipped up her black leather jacket and slung her back pack over her back. She climbed on the motorcycle and placed the helmet on her head. It was a flat black helmet with a red hourglass on the back of it. It was a gift from Clint in all his humor. Normally she would refuse it, but he was sneaky and had his kids give it to her. That and she also kinda liked it. She started the cycle and took off out of the storage unit, not bothering to close it because she knew she would have to ride to Odessa after and she could store her bike there. Her payments would stop at this facility and they would take it over, but there was nothing left in there to claim.

The drive was decently silent the entire way. It was about 4am, and there were only a few trucks on the road at this time that she had to pass. It gave her a lot of time to think over the past couple of days and how her life had changed forever. She was a criminal, she had worked for the KGB for decades, and the American people wouldn't allow her to stay. She was pretty sure she could go to one of her safe houses in France or Germany, maybe contact Fury and get some jobs to keep herself busy. She could still visit the Bartons occasionally, but she couldn't stay forever. She might be hunted after all of this.

Maybe the Avengers would help her. Steve was a good man, she knew Terra looked up to her. But what about when they found all of this information? It was something completely different to work with someone for a mission when you needed them, and associate with a known assassin that had a lot of blood on her hands and vouch for them. Especially with the Yinsen situation, loyalty to the rest of the Avengers group was probably more prevalent than a random lady they had just met, and Stark already knew of her when she vetted him for the Avengers Initiative. To say he wasn't happy with her to begin with might be an understatement.

Natasha focused up as she arrived at the drop off point for the files. She stopped the bike and took off her helmet. It had been some time since she had seen this cabin. At least 20 years or so. She had stayed here while on mission in the city for the Red Room. It didn't end up pretty for her target, but it was a success for her. She walked to the small building, pistol out and ready to fire. She knew her contact wouldn't be here, but with the things that she just exposed to the world, you could never be too sure. She entered the building, and true to their word, there was a manila folder on a table. Natasha didn't waste anytime grabbing the folder and walking back out. She walked over to her bike and before putting it in her backpack, opened the folder. There on the first page was the Winter Soldier in cryosleep, and in the bottom left was James Barnes. She shut the folder and slipped it in her pack. It wasn't her place to read it, and she already knew most of the information inside. The one thing she was sure of, however, is that it was going to be a tough read for Rogers. She revved the engine and took off, not sparing another second there.

Odessa

Natasha knew the drive from Kiev to Odessa wasn't that long of a drive, but she needed to take a bit longer to make sure that she wasn't being tailed. She got some food and took care of some affairs in Kiev before making the drive and even then, didn't even go to her storage unit in the city until about 1am. She had a flight back to the United States in about four hours. Red eye, little amount of people. She zipped up her jacket and closed the unit door after parking and securing her bike and helmet, starting the walk to where she could get a cab to take her to the airport. She was walking along the units when she felt something off, like she was being watched. She kept a brisk pace but started to lighten her steps every other one. She heard them, faint steps of someone that was clearly following her. She carefully unzipped her jacket and reached inside to grab the handle of her Glock.

Three...

Two...

One...

Natasha turned and fired three quick shots. A raven-haired woman quickly dodged the gun that was pointed at her and grabbed onto Natasha's arm, slapping the gun away. Natasha followed with a quick punch to the head. The woman stumbled back and Natasha got her first look at her. She was young, obviously Russian by facial and bone structure. She wore a catsuit just like Natasha did, more fresh than any of Natasha's uniforms, practically new. The really terrifying part was the red hourglass logo that was on her belt. The symbol of the Black Widow.

Natasha didn't have long to look as the woman came flying back at her. She slapped away a kick that was aimed for her head, and tried to sweep out the legs of her opponent. The woman flipped over her attack easily and punched her in the back of the head. Natasha took the hit and rolled forward, turning to face the woman again. While she rolled the woman had pulled a knife and threw it at her. Natasha ducked her head back, but she only prevented it from embedding itself in her forehead. It grazed her, drawing a nice line on her forehead and cutting a little bit of her hair. She grunted at the slight pain and rolled to her right, grabbing her fallen gun.

She jumped up and pointed the gun at the woman, who simply raised her hands, a smirk on her face.

"Who are you," Natasha demanded.

"You don't remember Natalia," she asked. "I'm insulted. Though you never did include me in any of your training. Always shunning me to the corner, as if my mother didn't do that enough."

It clicked then for Natasha as she got a really good look at the woman. It had been years since she'd seen her, and even then she was just a child.

"Anya?" Natasha asked, the name of her Headmistress's daughter while Natasha was in the Red Room. She was more known as Recluse because the Headmistress would always keep her away from the others and never let her train.

"Very good Natalia," Anya said, a smirk on her face now.

"That's the mark of the Black Widow," Natasha said, gesturing to her belt. "It's not possible. I made sure of it."

"When you wiped out the Red Room," Anya said. "Do you really think the Headmistress is that vulnerable? That she would let her legacy be destroyed so easily."

"The Soviets have fallen," Natasha said. "The KGB is in ashes. The Red Room has to be gone, there is no one to support it."

"Except there is," Anya said, with a smirk.

Natasha's eyes widened as she put the pieces together.

"Hydra," she breathed.

"There's the intelligence I remember," Anya said. "The Red Room and Hydra have been working together for a while now. How do you think your precious Winter Soldier was a pawn for them."

"Why now," Natasha said. "Hydra is exposed. Everyone knows of its existence."

"And you released the files," Anya said. "So, as the true Black Widow, my mission is to remove you. By any means necessary."

"So why haven't you," Natasha asked.

"The ultimate mission for Hydra is to rid the world of everything that could compromise what it needs to accomplish," Anya said. "Right now, as we have found out, the Avengers are on the top of that list."

"I'm not an Avenger," Natasha said.

"But we can start knocking out two birds with one stone," Anya said. "Emphasis of birds."

Natasha's stomach dropped as the pieces lined up and she looked into Anya's eyes.

"Hawkeye," Natasha almost whispered.

"Agent Barton is quite comfortable right now," Anya said. "But I can promise you that it won't be for long."

"Why come here just to tell me this," Natasha demanded. "Why not just kill me and him and be done with it."

"Oh Natalia," Anya said. "There is more than one way of killing someone. I like the chase anyway, and now you know where to start."

Anya, as quick as Natasha could, dropped a smoke grenade down that covered her hasty retreat. Natasha fought through the smoke to try and find her, but Anya was already gone.

Shit, Natasha thought as she holstered her weapon and picked up her bag. Clint was captured, and she had no idea where he was, only the numerous Red Room locations that there were. Well, heading back to Avengers tower didn't look like an option now. She had to find Barton, fighting the Red Room and Hydra.

Shit

New Jersey
September 12th, 2013

Natasha was sitting in a diner somewhere in New Jersey. She had gotten an encrypted text from Fury designated the meeting space and time. She didn't have long though, she knew she had to get to Clint as fast as possible. In front of her laid a map of the world and red X's where the possible Red Room bases where Clint could be being held at. She didn't even know if they would keep him in a Red Room base, now that Hydra was in the mix. In her backpack on her right was the file about the Winter Soldier. It was priority one for Natasha, then get to Clint.

Natasha looked up at the news conference that was being held and saw Terra talking back to a bunch of senators and generals. She set aside the map for now and focused on the small meal in front of her.

"Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

"I do," Terra responded.

Terra took her seat, her hands folded on the table in front of her. The crowd was quiet except for the occasional click of a camera and the sound of scratching pencils from the press. The committee general cleared his throat and looked at her, "Why haven't we yet heard from Captain Rogers?" He demanded.

She crossed her arms. "He will make a statement to the public shortly. Though, I think the giant ships in the Potomac make his position quite clear."

The general's thick brows furrowed as he leaned forward. "Well, he could explain how this country's expected to maintain its national security now that he and you have laid waste our intelligence apparatus."

Terra leaned forward too. "Hydra was selling you lies, not intelligence."

"Many of which you seem to have had a personal hand in telling." Murmuring circled the room and Terra swallowed, her own guilt of unknowingly being involved with Hydra surfacing. She couldn't defend herself at that statement.

"Agent," General Scudder spoke up. "You should know that there are some on this committee who feel, given your service record and your past as a civilian, that you belong in a penitentiary, not mouthing off on Capitol Hill."

Terra's fingernails dug into the aluminum covering the wound on her arm. She relaxed her hands and uncrossed her arms, playing a pleasant smile on her face. "Gentlemen, let me make something very clear to you. You're not gonna put me in a prison. In fact, you're not gonna put any of us in a prison." She raised a brow. "Would you like to know why?"

Scudder looked exasperated at this point. "Do enlighten us," he said in a tight voice.

"Because you need us. Desperately," she added. She glanced at the recording cameras live-streaming this and looked back at the generals. "Yeah, the world is vulnerable and we help make it that way, but we are also the best qualified to defend it. So, please, by all means," Terra stood up, straightening her blazer with a playful smile.

"Arrest me, Generals. But you'll be wasting a lot of time filling out the paperwork to get me out of prison when you need me again."

She gave a short wave with her hand. "Ciao, gentlemen." Terra turned on her heel and walked through the press, shooting finger guns for pictures before she walked out the doors.

She chuckled at the last line and took a drink of her coffee.

"I would have said it differently," she said to herself. "Same jist, less flare. Maybe a little more sarcasm."

Natasha was about to leave when the news cut again to none other than Steve Rogers, seemingly on the steps of the courthouse where Terra was inside of. Natasha paused and then sat back down, wanting to hear what he had to say. He did look a little nervous, but in all of her time, she never knew Captain America to back down like that.

With a deep breath, Steve leaned forward. Everyone fell to a hush. He opened his mouth. "I stand before you today as Steve Rogers, not Captain America, not an Agent of Shield, not even as an Avenger. I remain an Avenger despite what happened. You guys are probably wondering what did happen. It's a long story. Back during World War Two, there existed a Nazi subdivision called Hydra. Hydra was run by a man named Johann Schmidt, who sought power from a mythical object many believed didn't exist. But he found it and he used it to create weapons - weapons that could disintegrate soldiers in the blink of an eye. Weapons that could make them implode on the spot with barely a trace. Weapons that were given out to Nazi troops and used against us. I knew a lot of good men who died at the hands of those weapons. Because of Hydra.

"All throughout the war, the Strategic Scientific Reserve worked to stop them, to meet them at every turn and prevent them from reaching their goal: world domination. I helped. I led a team, the Howling Commandos, to carry out the most dangerous missions. It took a while, but we stopped them. I confronted Schmidt on a plane that was going to drop a bomb on New York. In the ensuing scuffle, the mythical object was lost at sea and so was I. You know this story."

"What you don't know is that the SSR, the precursor to SHIELD, found that object and kept it hidden from the public. No one knew they had it and that they were using it as a power source. Experimenting on it. They've kept it all these years and the public never knew. Why? Because Hydra didn't die with Schmidt like you- like I- like we had thought. Schmidt's second-in-command, Dr. Arnim Zola, struck a deal with the SSR to cooperate in exchange for conditional freedom from prison. He was the first and biggest seed of Hydra that would grow within SHIELD and spread like a virus over the years. Hydra became SHIELD's shadow, existing just under the surface all these years.

"On a recent mission for SHIELD, Terra Montgomery and I got suspicious. We did some investigating, went on the run because of it, were targeted because we got too close, we were almost executed for it. But we escaped and we learned of their plans. Hydra was going to use government funding to create helicarriers that would eliminate threats before they happened. It was preemptively punishing and I would not stand for it. I did not and do not want people to live in fear. We are a country of freedom and liberty and I will do my best to keep it that way."

He paused for the roaring applause and hoots and hollers. It appeared that not everyone in the crowd was a journalist and that not every journalist was afraid to let their opinion on this matter be known. When it calmed down, he continued. "With the help of Terra Montgomery, Natasha Romanoff, and my allies, we destroyed the helicarriers before they could fire, killing millions of people who had yet to do what Hydra predicted they would. That was the battle you all saw and I apologize for any property damage. I'm sure Stark can pay for... at least some of it."

There were a few chuckles at his lame attempt at a joke.

"In order to stop the plan from going through, we had to assume that everyone aboard those ships was Hydra. There was no efficient way to tell who was telling the truth. It could've been anyone - and it was. So we tore them all down. There were casualties. Loyal SHIELD agents and Hydra agents alike. I've been told there were no citizen deaths, for which I thank God every day. And now here we are. I'll take your questions now."

Immediately, all of the reporters surged forward a few inches, thrusting their devices at him. "Captain! What happens to SHIELD now that Hydra's been revealed?"

"SHIELD's been dismantled," Steve replied. "Director Fury was shot and killed by a Hydra agent and there's no safe way of building it back up again. SHIELD sacrificed itself to get rid of Hydra."

"And did they succeed?" came the follow up.

Steve hesitated. "No. A few escaped. SHIELD had branches all over the world, so Hydra did too. But just as not all Hydra personnel were killed, not all SHIELD agents were either. And even though SHIELD is no more, we will still fight for good. I know several agents here have applied to the CIA, some to Stark Industries, some to politics and other government positions. We as a people still exist and we still fight."

"Could you be more specific about how you plan to take down the remaining Hydra agents?" another reporter asked.

"Some of my Avengers teammates and I will head a team to track down one of their most powerful assets. He's in the wind at the moment, but as soon as we pick up his trail, we'll be led straight to many Hydra bases, I'm sure. And then we'll bring them down."

"Captain! Where were the other Avengers during this whole debacle?"

"Otherwise occupied. And our mission was relatively low key. Technology was being monitored. We couldn't safely call for back-up without alerting Hydra to the request so we kept them out of the loop."

"Do you think things would have gone better had you had Iron Man or the Hulk on your team?"

Steve's cheek twitched almost imperceptibly. "Maybe. But there's no use dwelling on what might have been."

"What happened to that power source Hydra was experimenting on?"

"That power source was the Tesseract, which was sent back to Asgard with Thor after the alien invasion."

"How do we know you're not Hydra? Or any of your team?"

Steve paused. He had not anticipated this question (he really should have). He couldn't help but be offended that after everything he did, they still doubted him. But really he couldn't blame them. After a while, he said: "You don't."

A murmur broke out among the press, whispering to themselves about whether anything he just said was true and whether or not they could quote him now.

Steve raised a hand for silence. "You don't," he said again. "You just have to trust me. I know you don't like it and I know it's not proof, but I'm asking you to please believe me when I tell you that I am not, nor will I ever be, an agent of Hydra. I fought them for years in the war. I watched as they slaughtered my friends and fellow soldiers. As they took the life of my best friend." His grip on the podium tightened enough that the leather of his gloves creaked. "They are Nazis. And I watched them commit horrors that I will never unsee and I refuse to ever let happen again. Never. I swear to you on my mother's grave that I will do everything in power to take Hydra down once and for all. Me and my team. And if you don't trust them, then you can hold me accountable. But you won't have to. No more questions."

Natasha was impressed by the speech. It wasn't lost on her that her name had gotten mentioned there as helping tear down Hydra, and it might be a saving grace for her in the long run. If anything it couldn't hurt her situation more. Natasha slipped on her sunglasses and left some bills on the table, putting the map in her backpack with the file. She walked outside and got onto her black Ducati and slipped her helmet on, red hair hanging out the back. She clipped her backpack across her chest and put the dark visor down on the helmet. She revved up the engine and sped off towards DC, still having about a three hour drive in front of her.

Three hours later…..

Natasha arrived at the cemetery and shut down the engine on her motorcycle. She put the kickstand down and took off her helmet, putting it on one of the handlebars. She glanced over to her right and saw the small gathering of people there, knowing Fury was going to try and get everyone he could. She shook her head in a smile as she grabbed the folder. She got there just as Fury was walking away, catching the last bit of the conversation. She didn't say anything to Fury. He knew her situation and she knew his. She didn't get this far in life without knowing a lot of other people's secrets. Shield was already rebuilding behind the scenes, out of the public, and Rogers' eye. Fury knew that if he really needed her for a mission, he knew where to contact her. Natasha was wearing her motorcycle jacket and dark jeans. Her hair wasn't too messy, but it wasn't the cleanest ever, and she had the appearance of a girl who wasn't staying around for coffee.

"You should be honored," Natasha called out, announcing her presence. "That's about as close as he gets to saying thank you."

Steve turned towards her and met her halfway. "You're not going with him?" he asked, at least trying to make small talk, which she had to smile at.

No," Natasha replied with a small smile on her face.

She had to track down Clint, and he could be anywhere. She didn't have any leads on his last whereabouts or any major Hydra cells still active. A few hours on a laptop could help with that. She also noticed Rogers practically inching to the file that she had in her hand. She respected that of him. Wanting only to find his friend more than anything else, even pursuing Hydra. That is something she hadn't seen a lot of.

She could practically hear Clint teasing her, saying she had a crush on Captain America and how, even the great Black Widow, could fall under the good Captain's spell. The real question she had to ask herself, was she falling under his spell? She respected the hell out of the man, his morals were in the right place and he was a great fighter. But she was surrounded by fighters, and here was a guy that only fought for someone else and not himself. And not to mention he was the peak of human perfection.

Stop it Natalia, she cursed herself and refocused on the people in front of her.

"Is that...?" He gestured at the folder in her hands and Natasha nodded

"Yeah," Natasha said. "That thing you asked for. I called in a few favors out of Kiev."

Natasha held out the file to Steve.

"I have to tell you," Natasha said. "I knew James well. I can try and help you fill in some gaps. He was a big part of my initial training, and we worked together a lot. Spent a lot of time together. I don't have long though. You have your ghosts and I have mine, and mine are causing issues at the moment."

He took the file from her, but didn't open it. Instead, he looked at her, a bit confused. "You did?" She could tell he had numerous questions about that bit of information, but the second part of her statement distracted him as well. "Anything I can help with?" He asked.

"You probably don't want to get involved," Natasha said, adjusting the straps on her backpack. "An old enemy has been hiding in the shadows after I thought that I wiped out. They have received funding from a major Hydra branch, and they have Barton. I know they are keeping him at a Red Room base, but there are so many scattered across the world, that I would need at least two years to go through all of them unless I guess correctly. My guess is that it is near a big Hydra base, but they have managed to stay hidden longer than the Red Room."

Natasha started to turn, figuring that this was too messy for these people. It was going to get ugly, real ugly. But she made Laura a promise to keep Clint safe. And with little Natasha on the way, she couldn't break that promise now. Her hand went to the silver arrow necklace that hung around her neck. Clint had gotten it for her on the one year anniversary of joining Shield, or as he put it, the one year anniversary of him deciding not to put an arrow through her skull. Like he would ever be able to anyway. Clint meant a lot to her, and it was necessary to find him as soon as possible.

"I don't suppose you had any recent contact with him," Natasha asked, figuring any clue would be helpful.

"I haven't heard from him since the Chitauri invasion," he replied honestly. "But if Hydra's got him, I want to help. They already destroyed the life of one of my friends. I won't let them do it again. And besides, that sounds like a big undertaking. Terra, Bruce, and I knew Clint. Not supremely well, but he's a good guy. We'll help you."

Bruce Banner, who Natasha had clocked immediately upon her arrival and his reputation interjected at that point, pretending not to eavesdrop earlier. "I know where a big Hydra base is. Terra found one while searching for one of Hydra's smaller leaders. He's got a base in... in Mexico City. She found it based on information from someone on the inside and there's no confirmation of this, but there may be ties to both the Red Room and A.I.M. It's as good a place to start as any and Terra and I were already headed there to take it down. We could all go. To be honest, we could use the help."

Sam and Terra walked over as well probably not being able to help but listen in either. "Who is Clint, exactly?" Sam murmured to Terra. "Another, uh, former special agent. Uses a bow and arrow," she replied and Sam didn't look surprised. "We'd be happy to help, but uh," Terra looked to Steve and crossed her arms. "What about Bucky?"

"Lemme take care of that," Sam spoke up, clapping a hand on Terra's uninjured shoulder. "I'll work on tracking him down while you guys kick some Hydra-ass. This sounds like an OG Avengers mission anyways."

Terra's brows furrowed and looked up at him worriedly. "Are you sure? You're a target now-"

"I'm sure," he insisted. "I know how to be evasive and I know a thing or two about finding some leads."

"Sam, you don't have to do that," Steve said even though it would be a big help. "You already dropped everything to help me once. I don't want you to give up your job or your reputation or your chances with the girl at the VA," he half-joked.

"I know I don't have to do it," Sam said. "But let's face it, she was out of my league anyways." Sam grinned. He looked to Terra. "Where should I start?"

Terra took out her phone and held her hand out for his. "I'll connect you to Jarvis to help you out when you need it." He gave her his phone and she punched the number in, tossing it back to him.

Natasha barely heard them though as her heart plummeted at the mention of Mexico City. Of course Anya would take Clint to the site of that facility. That could possibly be the source of the most pain in her life. She should have blown up that place when she had the chance, but it was too painful.

"He's there," Natasha managed. "I'll get him back to you." And his family, Natasha mentally added. She didn't include herself getting back. She knew she wouldn't be walking away from this one. Her journey would finally end, where she first established herself as the Black Widow.

Steve turned to Natasha then. "Yes, we will. We'll leave tonight. We'll rendezvous back at the Tower, catch a plane to Mexico City, and we'll execute a rescue mission." He almost smiled. "It's time to get the Avengers back together."

"Then I guess you guys have a plane to catch," Sam said. "I'll drop you off at the airport."

Terra bounced happily on her heels. "Hell yes. Getting the gang back together, leaving DC, gonna kick some more ass, it's like Christmas."

"Here." Steve said, holding out the folder with Bucky's files to Sam without looking at it. "As soon as you find him, you call me. And... here." He reached into his pocket, pulled out a pen, and scribbled a phone number directly onto the folder. "This is her number last I checked, but this is for Sharon Carter. She's- or she was a SHIELD agent and my neighbor. I heard about what she did during the battle and that she's looking for a job in the CIA. She'll help you if you need it. She's a good person."

There was some more conversation, but Natasha was still working her way through the Mexico City reveal. "I'll follow you guys there," Natasha said and she started walking towards her bike. She was almost out of sight when she remembered something. "And Steve," Natasha said. "With all that's gone on in James's life, be careful. Think things over real well, because You might not want to pull on this thread." Natasha continued off and walked towards her bike. When she reached it, she slipped on her helmet, and flipped down the dark visor. She revved the engine up and sped off towards the direction to where the car was parked.

A/N

Chapter contributors: A Velvet Rose & SarahCon. Reviews are always appreciated!