Chapter 13

By: MysticFantasy

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On shaky knees, Natasha walked down the hall that she believed would lead her either to Steve or outside. She was hoping to find Steve first to see if he was still alive.

She really hoped that the crazed scientist had been bluffing about killing Steve. She really doubted that they would kill the only person to receive Erskine's super soldier serum.

It had only been three minutes since she managed to get out of her cell and she knew she didn't have much time left until someone realized she took down the four guards that were suppose to keep her from escaping.

At most she had at least two more minutes before the alarms started going off and Hydra guards were running around trying to find her.

She had to either find Steve or find a way out of the building. If she found Steve first, she wasn't sure how she could get them both out. Alive.

If she found a way out of the building, she would have to fight against the harsh weather to try to find the SHIELD team looking for them. She really did hope that Clint was part of the rescue team.

She would feel better if her partner was looking for her. He would provide much needed back up and reassurance.

The spy ducked into an office and shut the door. She locked it and then looked around. The office was bathed in darkness but she was still able to see that it might belong to one of the scientists.

She went over to the desk and looked at the papers that were scattered about the surface.

Many of them were on trying to figure out the super soldier serum from blood samples taken from her and Steve. Then the next step would be to try to give it to Hydra soldiers. If they were able to figure out the formula.

Natasha then reached the phone and entered a code that would hopefully patch her through to her partner.

"Please, please." she whispered.

"This is a secure line." the familiar voice of Clint Barton spoke. "Identify yourself."

"Clint." Natasha spoke as she ducked under the desk. "It's Natasha."

"Nat! Clint exclaimed. "Nat. Are you alright? Where are you? We've been looking for you and Cap for days!"

"Clint, I don't have much time before someone notices I'm missing. You need to track this call. Steve and I are being held in a Hydra base not far from where we crashed. They took huge samples of our blood and we're in no condition to fight."

"Hang tight, Nat. I'm tracing your signal as quickly as possible. Are you alright?"

"I'm too weak from the blood loss and lack of food. I don't know where Steve is either. We were together at first but then they took him somewhere else."

Natasha gasped when a red light started flashing in a corner and a loud alarm started going off.

"They realized I'm gone. Clint, plea..."

A sudden dial tone informed Natasha that the line had been cut. She just hoped that Clint would be able to get to the team to the Hydra base to get her and Steve out before the only two people who have the serum in their blood really were killed.

"ALL AGENTS! THE BLACK WIDOW HAS ESCAPED! FIND HER!" a voice shouted over the intercom.

Natasha weighed her chances of either staying where she was or trying to find a way out. The office didn't have a window and the vent was too small to try to crawl into.

She decided to stay where she was and hope that the evil agents woldn't find her for a while. But this also brought up the captain. Was he still alive and was now had a tighter security watch on him?

The sound of heavy footsteps alerted Natasha that soldiers were close by. She looked around frantically in hopes of finding a weapon. Luck was on her side for once when she spotted a gun strapped to the underside of the desk.

Typical. she thought as she grabbed the gun and checked to see if it was loaded. It was fully loaded and she sat tight. Hoping they wouldn't check the office.

She did her best to level her breathing. If they did find her here, she needed to have her nerves calm and her head clear.

She just needed to focus on surviving, getting Steve and herself out of this prison and back home where they belong.

"Try the offices! She might be hiding in one of them!"

Natasha cursed in her native tongue and readied her weapon. There was a sound of a key entering the lock and the door opening.

Glancing under the small space under the desk, Natasha saw that the scientists that threatened Steve earlier was he one entering the office. When he closed the door behind him, she jumped out and grabbed him from behind.

"Not a word." she ordered as she held the gun to the side of his head.

"You won't survive this." he said. "Your precious captain is already dead."

"I don't believe you." Natasha said. "He's the only one in the world with the complete serum. You wouldn't kill him when he has something you want so badly."

"You're a smart woman but, I assure you, death's cold hands are upon him as we speak."

Natasha gritted her teeth in anger and slammed the butt of the gun against his head. He fell to the ground unconscious.

The spy then yanked his white coat off him, tore it and used it to tie his hands and feet. After tightly placing a gag on him, she stuffed him under the desk she had been under and then hid behind a filing cabnet.

As she hid, she couldn't help but think over his words about Steve.

Was he really dead? Had they already figured out the serum and killed him?

She shook her head.

Don't think that. she scolded herself. Even if they figured it out they wouldn't kill him. Even as an enemy, he's too valuable to kill. I'll find him and he'll be alright.

"ALL AGENTS TO BATTLE STATIONS! ENEMY AIR CRAFTS ARE APPROACHING! REPEAT! ALL AGENTS TO BATTLE STATIONS!"

Natasha felt a little relieved at the sudden announcment. It signified that Clint and the others had found the base.

For what felt like hours, she listened to the fight ensue. She heard guns, explosions, everything. The building shook with each explosion, threatening to take some of it down.

"CHECK EVERYWHERE!" a voice shouted that Natasha found herself smiling at.

She got up and rushed to the door. Carefully, she opened it and cautiously peered outside.

"Clint!" she shouted.

The said archer whirled around from down the hall and smiled when he spotted her. He rushed over and they both engulfed each other.

"Are you alright?" Clint asked as he stepped back to look her over.

"Just a little drained. I didn't have much nurishment and they took quite a bit of blood from me." she answered.

"Have you learned where Steve might be?" he asked.

Natasha shook her head. Learning that Clint didn't know where Steve was caused her worry to resurface.

"We'll find him." the archer assured her. "Come on. Let's get you out of here. We have most of the base surrounded and..."

"I'm not leaving without Steve." Natasha declared.

"Nat, you yourself said that you're in no condition to..."

"I'm not leaving." she said sternly.

Clint carefully studied his friend and partner. Something about her had changed but he couldn't really pin point it just yet.

"Alright." he agreed then pressed his comm link. "This is Agent Barton. Has anyone found the prison wing yet?"

"Affermitive Agent Barton. We've located prison cells in the north wing." an agent answered.

"Good. Agent Romanoff and I are on the way." Clint announced.

Natasha lightly sighed and followed Clint. They passed numerous SHIELD agents as they hurried to the north wing.

She noticed many of the Hydra agents were in shackles and were being led outside. A few of them she recognized to be guards that had been ordered to keep her in place.

The two finally reached the prison wing where they quickly spotted Tony in his armor and a large green giant.

"Red, you're alright!" Tony exclaimed before turning back to decoding the lock on the cell door.

"Better now that this place is being shut down." she added. "We need to make sure the labs are completely destroyed. They're trying to recreate the super soldier serum from blood they took from me and Steve and want to give it to their Hydra soldiers."

"We'll have a us a good old fashioned smash party on the way out." Tony said. "First, we need to get our beloved old man out of his cell."

Natasha shifted from one foot to the other as she watched Tony work. Finally, a green light signalled the code had been broken.

Tony grabbed the door handle and swung it open.

Only for all of them to gasp in horror at the sight.