Chp 6: Echoes of the Past

Clint stretched and reached for her, just as he did every morning. He frowned when there was no tangle of hair beneath his fingers. He looked up and found the room empty, and a note on his nightstand. Everything that happened the night before came rushing back to him. That steamy night of passion between them. Him sliding in and out between her thighs. He sat up and reached for the note.

Clint-

We should have done this a lot sooner. What a sendoff.

Love,

Natasha

He laughed and got up to go relieve his bladder. There was a knock on his door, and he checked the time. 8:15 am, and it was a Saturday. Odd. He had no meeting today. He pulled his sweats on and answered the door.

"Hi Agent-" Bobbi stopped short when she found she was staring into the dreamy chest of Clint Barton.

"Bobbi, hey, sorry..." Clint dashed back inside and pulled on a shirt. "how can I help you?"

"Nick wanted me to come get you. I hope I didn't wake you."

"Oh, we're getting our mission briefings?" He asked her.

She bit her bottom lip, "I'm not sure..."

He smiled at her. "That's okay. I'll be there in a minute."

"Is there anything I can get you... a coffee or a biscotti? Tony had these amazing white chocolate almond flown in from Italy."

He laughed, "Just a black coffee would be fine, thank you."

"Great, I'll see you at the meeting then."

"Okay," Clint said and shut the door. He gave his head a small shake. If she kept that up, she'd get eaten alive.

Natasha crossed her legs and smiled at Ling from her chair. Her alias was Miranda Holten, the wife of potenitial presidential canididate, John Holten who was busy with the campaign in the states. The Holtens had just made a large donation-SHIELD faked it of course, to Ling's own corporate company that specialized in robotic engineering, and Miranda had flown over to see their money in action. She had been granted audience with the General, and now sat across from him sipping black tea from a beautiful scarlet and gold tea cup. Natasha decided she had chatted long enough with the general and needed to start probbing for information on the nukes that Prince Mayamid said that Ling had. Cap and Thor sat waiting patiently to retrieve said nuclear devices just ouside of Ling's massive palace.

"I'm surprised your husband couldn't join us for tea," Ling told her. He was a small man in his sixties with a receding hair line, and piercing dark eyes. When he smiled, it didn't quite reach his eyes, only the ends of his mouth twitched up for a second as if it was a new concept and he wasn't sure he was doing it right.

And Ling had provided her opening. Maybe she wouldn't have to work tonight afterall, though she doubted getting this information would be easy. Natasha nodded, "I apologize about that, General Ling. We'll have to get together once more after the election."

"I would be delighted." Ling said.

"I'm just fascinated, and, John is to, about technology. I mean, my cell phone pretty much runs my life."

Ling did that odd smile, "We're more advanced than cell phone technology, Mrs. Holten."

"I'd love to tour your facility and see what goes on first hand. I'd have quite a story for John." She added a dazzling smile for good measure.

Ling took a sip of his tea, "Artificial Intelligence is the highest form of robotics in the world. Global Dynamic will be the first to create a fully functioning Android."

Natasha studied this piece of information for a moment. SHIELD's intel had said that the nukes were in Global Dynamic. Could... no... but could this general be created humanoid robots that were rigged with nuclear devices? Alarm bells in her head were going off. It was terrifying, but brilliant.

Ling continued, "As I am sure you're aware, this is a very delicate process." He nodded over her shoulder. "If you'd look behind you, that is I, our head engineer and the Android, T.A.R.A. She's been in the news and to expos."

Miranda looked and saw the photograph in question. Ling, and another man had their arms around what appeared to be a woman- well the top half of her anyway. Her torso sat on a table, and she was smiling.

"If you remember correctly, T.A.R.A could talk and sing lullabies to children. We hadn't been able to create legs for her yet, but our technology has come a long way."

Natasha smiled, "I remember her! Every household in the world would want one. Almost like a nanny."

"Almost, but not quite. By today's standards, T.A.R.A was a failure. She could not move. Who wants a nanny that cannot move? We have solved that problem."

"You mean she can walk?"

"I mean she prepared the tea you're drinking."

Natasha looked down at her cup with her mouth open, "A robot did this?"

"An android based life form. She can store your favorites in her database, vaccuum your floors, and sing your children to sleep."

"I'd love to meet her."

Ling raised his hand with a smile, "I can't give away too much, Mrs. Holten."

Natasha nodded, "I understand. But would she also be able to help me unload the minivan?" She laughed.

"At the present moment, T.A.R.A can lift three hundred and fifty pounds, by your standards."

"And kick a soccer ball?"

Ling laughed, "We haven't clocked the velocity yet."

"Oh my," Natasha said with a laugh. "Something like that could replace an army."

Ling eyed her coldly, "What a funny thing to say."

"Excuse me?" Natasha asked.

"You yourself was married to an army man, were you not?"

Shit. What the hell was Ling saying? There was no possible way that he could know who she was. Her alias was iron clad.

"I think you have confused me with someone else, General. My husband is Johnny, and I don't have any other husbands that I know about." She gave a chuckle.

"I see. I guess it was better for you to forget him, Miss Romanova."

Natasha set down her tea cup. She hoped Cap and Thor had not fallen asleep while listening to this conversation.

"One of the famous Black Widows. I'm surprised you left your motherland."

"I want the nukes, Ling." Natasha said, "And I'm not leaving empty handed."

Ling smiled, "Tare this place apart. You'll never find them."

"No man should have that much power." Natasha said.

"Besides your government, right? The grand ol' USA. Your country is a joke, Miss Romanova. And you bore me. I tire of talking about work. At least, before you die, you can give me a show." He nodded to his guards and they descended on Natasha. She counted at least ten, and heard distant footsteps running to the room. Natasha slipped out of her shoes and brought down the first guard before another grabbed her around the throat. Where the hell was her back up?

"Thor's on the way, ma'am!" a voice greeted her ear. It was Steve, and he sounded busy.

Freakin finally. Natasha lost track of how many guards she had taken down. They kept coming, like clones being produced. And all at once, she was struck by something heavy, and she dropped to the floor. She vaguely felt being cradled in someone's arms, and her name being repeated. She felt the wind on her face, and then slipped into the darkness.

Steve looked up when Thor landed just behind him. He could see a mass of people heading in their direction, shouting in Chinese. They either needed to stand and fight or to make their escape. Thor cradled Natasha's unconscious form in his arms.

Steve groaned. This was not good. "What happened?"

"I hit a guard with my hammer. She got in the way."

"You hit her with your hammer?"

"Nay," Thor said, "The guard I hit flew into her. She's breathing fine, she'll come around."

"Hide her somewhere behind us. We make a stand. No one gets past us. We push forward. The intel from Fury says that the nukes are in that building." He pointed to a large brick just east of their location.

"Agreed."

Bobbi looked across the table at Agent Barton. He sat straight in his chair, moving it back and forth slightly as he listened to Nick. She couldn't believe her luck. Being sent on her first mission with him! He was a magnificent man. Strong, smart, and sexy. His biceps bulged as he crossed his arms, thinking. He caught her eye and smiled. Her heart actually fluttered.

"Everything okay, Bobbi?" Nick asked.

"Fine." She answered with a smile. The plan was pretty straight forward. She'd be spending her days on rooftops tailing a man named Logan. Objective: gather as much intel as possible without getting caught.

"Alright then, dismissed." Fury said. "Agent Barton, I'd like a word."

Bobbi got up from her seat, and collected her notes. She walked to the door and turned back to Clint. "I'll see you at 1700 hours then."

"Pack warm clothes." Clint told her with a nod.

"Okay," She said with a smile, "Bye!"

"Bye." He turned to Fury. "Sir?"

Fury sighed. "Look, this isn't easy for me to say..."

Clint stared at him. He knew Fury to be rattled at times, but this was something else. He looked... terrified.

"Agent Morse's father and I go back a long way. I partnered her with you because I knew you'd look after her. But I have to know. I need to know if she's ready."

Oh. He was more than Director Fury now. Here was this father figure to Bobbi, looking out for her well being. But Clint had been training her, watching her grow and learn.

"If I had any doubts, I would have come to you." Clint said. "Bobbi is a skilled young woman. She's proven that. Some of the qualities I see in her, I saw in Natasha."

Fury laughed, "I remember that day when you brought her in. The council had expected you to return with her head, and you drug her in her like a young man with a major award."

"I never got a raise for that," Clint joked, "Turning a Black Widow to our side."

Fury placed his hand on Clint's shoulder. "You gained something much more valuable, something I'm sure you didn't anticipate."

Yes, he had. He had gained the best partner he could ever ask for, the sexiest woman he had ever seen, and now, a lover.

"I'm going to move toward the building!" Cap told Thor. "Do you got this?" He watched as Thor sent guards flying with his hammer. They kept coming, like they were made from an assembly line.

"Go." Thor told him.

Cap took off running, and then got blind sided. He saw a flash of red. He got to his feet, and couldn't believe his eyes. It was like he was looking into a mirror. For who stood before him seemed to be an exact replica of him, only his uniform was red.

"Who are you?" Steve asked.

"I'm called the Red Guardian." The man answered in a heavy Russian accent.

Cap sized up his opponent. He glanced back at Thor, who finally seemed to be out of work. Thor protected Natasha with his body as she slowly came around. He watched as Steve approached the Red Guardian. They appeared to be of equal mass, though the Red Guardian held a smug smile on his face. This wasn't good. Thor picked Natasha up in his arms and carried her a safe distance. He placed her under a bush, and placed her hands on her stomach. "Fear not, for I shall be but mere feet away." He ran over to where Steve had been moments before, and then heard the sound of Steve's shield hitting human flesh. He looked over and the two were trading blows. Thor grabbed his hammer just in time for Steve to be thrown back into him. They collapsed to the ground, but Thor was in his feet in minutes. He reached down a hand and helped Steve to his feet. "What's the outlook here?"

"He's strong. Really strong, I think... I think he's another super soldier."

Thor grinned, "Give me a round." He ran up to the Red Guardian, and swung his hammer clean into his jaw. The Guardian dropped like a stone. Thor smirked. "Not strong enough."

The men turned as they heard a groan behind them. Natasha was wobbly on her feet, and clutching her head. Steve ran forward and placed an arm around her waist. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a freight train. Did you guys get my shoes?"

"Shoes?" Thor asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nevermind. What's going on..." She stopped short as she saw the man laying before her. "No. No, it can't be..." She ran over to him and knelt beside him. His eyes were closed, but every detail of his face that she had memorized was before her. She gently removed his mask and gasped.

"Natasha," Steve said gently as he knelt beside her. "Do you know this man?"

"He's my husband." She whispered.