21:33 27-AUG-09, RED ROOM ACADEMY

Two figures approached the nondescript building. Their footprints in the frozen snow were blown away by the harsh winds. The sun had set an hour before, leaving only traces of the daylight to the west of the figures. Both blended in with the scenery with grey parkas with their hoods up, and both had their hoods up. Anyone glancing in their direction would barely see them.

Of course, no one would be here.

The building had not a single window, barely a vent in sight. But one of the figures, the shorter one, had managed to find where the sewage dumped out at the back of the building, almost hidden by a mountain of snow.

The two managed to pry open the small exit, and stepped inside, not hesitating for a moment despite the smell. They'd been through many situations such as that one, even having to sleep next to a compost site for two nights straight. All those prior missions had only brought the two closer together.

Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton were ready for anything.

But once they reached the baths and climbed out, smelling like the sewers, Natasha felt a sudden rush. It wasn't the sort of good rush she felt when fighting. It was more of memories flooding back into her mind too quickly. She had to grab onto the grimy sink basin, feeling as if she'd throw up.

"You alright, Nat?" Her partner looked to Natasha, concerned. The redhead shook her head, her curly locks tumbling out of her hood and forming a curtain around her face.

Clint wanted to hold her to make sure she didn't collapse, but they'd had a quite awkward conversation at the airport. They were still debating whether or not to keep their relationship at a friendship level. He knew that being spies and agents, it would be extremely difficult for them if they decided to take it up a step. During missions, if either of them were compromised, they'd most likely have to sacrifice the entire mission.

It just wouldn't work out.

After a moment, Natasha recovered, breathing deeply, as if to prevent her from vomiting. She pulled her hood off and shook her hair out completely. Her green eyes met Clint's and nodded, letting him know that she was fine.

They set off out of the baths after checking that the halls were clear. As soon as they stepped out, Natasha found herself instantly familiarized with the area. Having been in the Red Room Academy for so long, she knew almost every nook and cranny in the building. The girls weren't allowed to roam around, but most of them got past the rules. That was the problem with training a bunch of girls to become assassins-slash-spies: they were being trained to become cunning.

And that was one reason that Clint was almost killed by a little girl.

He had been keeping as close to the walls as possible, constantly checking behind them. That was when he bumped into a young girl, no older than twelve, who was holding a gun up in front of her.

"Easy there," Clint muttered, reaching to lower the girl's arms.

Natasha stopped him, looking at the girl who was glaring defiantly back. A flicker of recognition flitted across the girl's face, but it was quickly gone. Not having missed it, Natasha took a step closer to the girl.

Then, speaking in Russian, she said, "You know who I am?"

After a moment's hesitation, the girl nodded. "You were the first Black Widow."

"First?"

"Yes. There have been two more after you, but not by the same name." Suspicion crept up on the girl's face. "You do not know this? Are you not in league with the Red Room Academy anymore?"

Not knowing what to say, Natasha glanced at Clint, who caught her eye. They silently communicated, only using the smallest movements with their eyes and head.

"We are here to help," Natasha said finally. She chose her words carefully, as she knew that the girls trained in the Red Room could tell lies as easily as a mind reader. "We are being expected."

Natasha glanced at a surveillance camera, where she knew someone, in the control room, was alerting whoever was in charge. Well, nothing they could do at the moment would go unnoticed. Just as she thought that, a dozen armed and masked men trooped in from all directions.

Clint was being grabbed from behind, and was trying to get out of their grips. His new stash of arrows and his bow were rested from him. He knocked out a couple of them before being tasered by another guard.

Then Natasha was being arrested as well, knowing full well that she could take them out with her very own Widow's bite tasers. But she relented when she saw a gun being pointed at Clint's skull.

Another man approached them, larger than the rest. He wasn't holding any weapons, but his figure looked imposing nonetheless. When he walked out of the shadows, Natasha inhaled sharply.

"What the fuck, Barnes?" she breathed, subconsciously trying to get closer to him by tugging on her captors' hold.

The very man that the two assassins had left in a hospital with a broken leg was standing before her, completely healthy. His hair was shorter and his facial hair was trimmed. He looked nothing like he did a few days back. The only thing that confirmed that it was the very same James Barnes was the look in his eyes when he saw Natasha.

It wasn't a crazed look like she'd seen a couple times when he was fighting. It was more of a guarded passionate one she'd only glimpsed once when he'd kissed her on the roof of the building.

"Language, Czarina," he chastised, clucking his tongue.

She scowled. "Tell me, Barnes. How long did it take you to escape from the hospital after we'd left?"

He smiled, which only infuriated Natasha. "Less than a minute. But that's not important. Right now, I have a much bigger concern."

To Natasha's left, Clint stirred. Groaning softly, he caught the attention of Barnes, who grinned wider. Barnes edged closer to Clint, taking the gun from the captor's hand. Holding it to his head once again, Barnes looked back to Natasha.

The redhead stared at Barnes, trying to figure out what he was playing at. He seemed to be fully on their side a couple days before. What had caused him to have a change of heart?

Then, she caught it.

The tiniest twitch of the eye caught Natasha's attention. Barnes's left brown eye had strangely flickered, ever-so-slightly. A small flash of silver had been there for a millisecond.

Natasha knew, right then, that he was under some sort of mind control. She racked her brain for other possible allies to the Red Room, but came up with none. She thought of the papers she'd retrieved from Zurich.

Now, as the thoughts came back to her, Natasha realized that she and Clint may have been focusing on the wrong things.

"Is your concern the fact that you aren't yourself right now?" There it was again. A sliver of silver around his iris flashed and disappeared again. "That's why you've been labeled as 'unstable'. It's because someone is deciding when you become a mass murderer, and when you are just yourself."

Barnes smile faltered, but his hand was still wrapped around the gun which was pointing at Clint. He seemed at a momentary loss for words, and Natasha took advantage of the moment of distraction. Swinging her boot-clad foot out, she kicked the gun out of Barnes's hand and it skittered down the hallway. Her captors reacted by trying to bind her, but she fought back, managing to knock both of them out.

The guards holding Clint dropped him and rushed to Natasha. She powered up her Widow's bite tasers and shot two high-voltage energy balls at the guards. They dropped to the ground, writhing until they went still. There were still two more, so Natasha electrocuted them as well before they could shoot her.

Barnes had scrambled to get the gun and had it pointing at Clint once again. This time, Clint was fully conscious and was staring defiantly at the pistol. Natasha didn't know what Barnes was planning as he was outnumbered, but she learned not to underestimate her opponents.

"What now, Barnes?" Natasha said, barely out of breath from the fight.

"My dear, Natalia," he murmured, his finger hovering over the trigger. "We could have had it all."

Natasha looked bemusedly at Barnes. She knew that he wasn't himself, though she very much wondered who was controlling her former ally. Just as she thought that, a figure appeared in the shadows. It was also at that moment, where Barnes crumpled to the ground, the gun going off as it hit the ground.

She felt a searing pain in her left thigh and put a hand against the spot. Her fingers came away bloody. Clint saw her, rushed over, and inspected the wound. Then behind them, the figure came out of the shadows.

Natasha gasped. Not from the pain, but from shock.

"Alexi?"