9. The Black Widow and the Fairy

Clint Barton was one of the first in the base to realize something was wrong. He was not too far away from the meeting room when something hit the window above him. His hand automatically went for the bow at his back, and he hurried towards the nearest exit. Whatever had hit the window was still outside. He took a flight of metal stairs to a locked side door and opened in, breathing in surprisingly stuffy air. He looked to the side and saw another agent looking around warily, a gun in his hand.

"What happened?" Clint asked.

The agent looked at him, some sort of relief in his eyes.

"Barton? I don't know what's going on. Something just hit the window."

"I heard," Clint said simply, now fitting an arrow to his bowstring and scanning his surroundings. Something rammed into a window again, and Clint was quick to start looking for the source.

"I can't see anything," Clint heard the other say, "What the hell's going on?"

Clint didn't have an answer to that. But he had a feeling that what was going on was nothing good. Something was attacking them, breaking windows and judging by an agent who was already lying groaning on the ground, assaulting people as well. And no matter where Clint looked, there was nothing there. He didn't like it. He was used to hitting his mark with ease. But now there was barely any indication of where his mark could be. He drew his bow, aiming at empty air, but didn't fire. There was nothing to fire at.

He heard one more window breaking. It was very likely this was what Fury had been afraid of. That this mostly invisible group of Guardians had finally decided to retrieve the ice kid. Clint narrowed his eyes.

"Right," he said under his breath, "I know you're around here somewhere."

The agent beside him was breathing heavily, almost in panic.

"What's wrong?" Clint asked without lowering his bow or even looking at the agent.

"I don't know," the other replied quietly, "I just don't like this at all. I don't get it. I'm usually not this nervous about anything."

"Just try to hang in there," Clint said. This was not the time for a longer chat.

His eyes roamed around the area again and finally fixed on a huge, grey rabbit that hopped from between the trees. Clint aimed his arrow at it, fighting the surprise and denial that tried to surface in his mind. The rabbit was definitely there, even on second glance. And it was definitely huge, probably even taller than Clint. The rabbit was holding a boomerang and it threw it as soon as it got into Clint's sight. From his position Clint didn't see where it actually aimed the thing at, but he took it as a sign the thing was definitely not friendly. He let his arrow fly.

Showing no indication she knew something was with her, Natasha gripped her gun and looked around. Her eyes scanned the ground, then moved up to the bright green foliage. A bird fluttered by, and Natasha aimed her gun at it out of instinct. The bird chirped in panic and disappeared into the green. Natasha didn't lower her gun. She stepped sideways away from the plane, positioning herself so that her back was against a tree. She could hear more birds chirping above her. But there was also something else, something bigger. Nearby, Natasha could hear the flutter of wings far too large for a bird. She pointed her gun towards the sound.

"There is no need for that," a feminine voice spoke from the midst of the trees.

There was a shape between the tree trunks, and it flitted away when Natasha aimed at it.

"I am not here to fight," the voice spoke, a bit closer this time, "I am here to talk."

"Did you do this?" Natasha nodded towards the jet and the unconscious pilot inside it.

"He will be fine, I assure you," the figure said, "I apologize about that. I wanted to talk to you in private."

"Who are you?" Natasha demanded.

The shape emerged from the midst of the trees. It was colourful, birdlike. Except it had the face of a woman. Long, pink eyelashes framed large, purple eyes. Blue, teal, and yellow feathers grew from the top of her head like a crown. More feathers covered her small body, and behind her fluttered several pairs of transparent, insect-like wings. Natasha had never seen anything like it before.

"I am Toothiana," the bird-woman said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Natasha Romanoff."

Natasha's eyes narrowed. She pointed her gun right between the bird-woman's eyes.

"What do you want?" she asked. And how do you know who I am? she added mentally.

"I told you, I want to talk," the bird-woman, Toothiana, let her small feet touch the ground and she raised her hands as a sign of peace, "There has been some... misunderstandings between our group and yours. You have stayed out of it so far, but now you were on your way right into it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Natasha said, even though it wasn't quite true.

She might as well get some information out of this strange woman while she was at it. The woman took a few slow steps towards Natasha, seemingly not fazed by the gun pointed right at her. She stopped a good distance away, but was close enough for Natasha to realize that the woman was very short, around the size of an average twelve-year-old.

"You do know about us, Ms. Romanoff," Toothiana said, "Otherwise we wouldn't be talking right now. Will you put your weapon down? I'd rather talk without having that pointed at me."

Natasha didn't lower her gun. The bird-woman sighed.

"Suit yourself. I came here to ask you to stay out of this fight. If you wish to contact your director, I hope it would be just to tell him to let his hostage go."

"Hostage?" Natasha repeated.

"Your people kidnapped one of us," there was a tinge of anger in Toothiana's voice, "We don't want any trouble with you, but we do want him back."

The woman seemed very eager to spill everything about the situation. That made things easier.

"I doubt 'our people' would kidnap anyone without a reason," Natasha said.

"People tend to be afraid of things they don't know," Toothiana said, "But you do know us."

The bird-woman's wings, which had been folded behind her back like a royal cape, fluttered back to life and she rose a foot into the air. Natasha's Glock followed her every move.

"We are the Guardians," Toothiana explained, "The Guardians of Childhood. Our job is to protect children and make sure their lives are filled with happiness. You might know us by different names. I am usually known as the Tooth Fairy."

That almost made Natasha lower her gun, if just out of the sheer ridiculousness of the statement. Almost. Toothiana smiled.

"So you do realize, if your people plan to actually attack us, that would do a great disservice to the children all around the world."

Natasha let out a very clipped laugh.

"That is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard."

Toothiana cocked her head.
"But it's true. I am the Guardian of Memories. The children's teeth contain all the dearest memories of their childhood. I keep them safe until it's time to return them."

She dug her hand into a pouch that hung from a belt at her waist and retrieved something golden and cylindrical from it. Natasha clicked the safety off of her gun, just in case. But the self-proclaimed Tooth Fairy just held up what looked like a decorative box.

"I even have yours right here," she said.

It had to be some kind of trick to distract Natasha. And a bizarre one at that. Did this bird-woman think she could somehow faze her with the talk of nostalgia and childhood fantasies? Natasha had spent her life in training for what she did now. There was nothing magical about her childhood.

"Sorry, fairy," Natasha said coldly, "But my childhood was over very quickly."

Toothiana nodded, a sad smile on her face.
"So was mine. That doesn't mean I want to forget all about it."

The fairy pressed a delicate hand onto the lid of the box.

Agent Maria Hill had pulled her gun the moment the commotion started outside. Fury had instructed her to return to their main surveillance room to get a more comprehensive look on the whole situation. The room wasn't far, but it took Maria a while to reach it, due to the agents hurrying outside to defend the base pushing past her at every turn. She manoeuvred her way through the corridors, again having to stop to to let through an agent that rushed past her.

"Excuse me! Coming through!"

Maria looked to the side when the unfamiliar, young voice echoed in the corridor next to her. The pale teenager they had been holding in custody almost hit the wall at a turn in a wild run and then yelped when an agent ran right through him as if he wasn't really there at all.

"Okay, a bit too literal!" the boy huffed and then his eyes fell on Maria.

Maria automatically pointed her gun. The boy – Frost – skidded to a halt and raised his hands defensively.

"I take it you see me," he said flatly, "Don't shoot. Right now, I'm definitely on your side."

Maria took in Frost's appearance, the blood on his arm and the glass shards in his hair. He definitely hadn't been just let out peacefully. When Maria made no move to lower her weapon, Frost sighed.

"I get it. I don't look too friendly right now."

Then the boy jumped faster than Maria could follow. She felt a touch of icy hands on her shoulders when the boy cartwheeled over her as if she was a gymnast's pommel horse. Maria spun around, but the boy had already landed and disappeared behind the corner. Maria immediately opened a microphone link to Fury.

"Fury, Frost has escaped from his cell," she said to the mike and made a move to follow the kid as she spoke.

She was stopped by a strong hand on her shoulder.

"I will go after him," a deep voice spoke next to her.

Maria looked up and saw the solemn face of the God of Thunder looking back. She nodded slowly.

"Thor is going after him," she said to Fury, "I'll get into the surveillance room."

"Good," Fury said, "I just got a call from Cunningham. He and Banner are stranded because of some freak attack. I'm sending Stark to pick Banner up."

Maria nodded even though she knew Fury couldn't see her and switched the mike off for the moment. She headed towards the surveillance room and hoped things weren't really as close to a complete chaos as it looked from where she was.

Natasha's hands trembled. She gripped the Glock tighter and struggled to return her focus on the bird-creature in front of her. The fairy hadn't moved from her spot. Her hand hovered above the box she held, and on her face there was a sympathetic smile. Natasha took a threatening step forward.

"What did you do?" she hissed.

"I showed you a memory of yours," Toothiana replied calmly, "Because I need you to understand what we do."

"That wasn't a memory," Natasha growled, hoping she could have sounded more sure about herself.

She briefly considered shooting the damn woman right where she hovered, but she knew S.H.I.E.L.D. still wanted more information on these Guardians. Fury had said that much in his short phone calls. He had also warned Natasha about the Guardians having yet mostly unknown powers. Well, now Natasha definitely knew more about this threat S.H.I.E.L.D. had been struggling with for some time. Apparently this bird-woman could create illusions. She called them memories, but Natasha couldn't really remember anything from before her training had started. The happy little girl she had been in that memory couldn't possibly be the real her. The faces she had seen couldn't belong to anyone she might have cared about before her training wiped all of that away. It just couldn't.

But it started again. She saw a different vision this time. She was playing outside with someone she couldn't recognize but whom she should have cared about. She was so, so young. So young she could barely understand the basics of how the world worked. Maybe that was why she was so happy then. The vision faded and Natasha blinked reality back on. She gasped and her legs felt weak for a second before she got a grip on herself. That couldn't have been her. Or maybe she didn't want it to be her.

"Stop!" she snapped at the fairy, "Put that box down, now!"

"Do you understand now?" the fairy asked.

"No," Natasha said, "I don't understand what you're playing. But it's not working."

The fairy huffed.

"Oh, you people are impossible!"

Natasha spared a brief glance at the jet now that the fairy was distracted by her own annoyance. The pilot was coming around. She had to hope the man was in any condition to fly. Toothiana followed her gaze and flitted forward.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Romanoff," she said and brought her hand again to the golden box, "I can't let you leave just yet."

Natasha could see colourful presents that couldn't be hers, and heard laughter that was so innocent it felt alien in her ears. Someone held her in strong arms, promising her she would be safe. She stumbled out of the memory with muddled thoughts and fired her gun five times before she could even see straight. The bird-woman shouted in pain, the bullets tearing apart her wings and knocking her backwards before she slumped onto the ground. Natasha darted towards the downed fairy, but didn't get far before something sharp struck her in the temple. She swatted away the small bird that had hit her, but more of them soon joined in, their beaks stinging her face and arms. Natasha ducked and managed to hit another one, but suddenly she felt her gun being yanked away from her hands.

"Girls! Stop! I'm fine now!"

It was the fairy, and as soon as her commanding voice rang out in the forest the birds left Natasha alone, zipping into some sort of military formation around Toothiana. The fairy knelt on the ground, clutching her shoulder mostly because she couldn't reach her now tattered wings. Natasha looked at the birds, noticing only now they were actually fairies as well. Toothiana struggled to stand, her wings twitching uselessly behind her. Her purple eyes, previously gentle, had hardened considerably. She slipped the box back into her pouch. Two of the fairies had Natasha's pistol, and they dropped it onto Toothiana's outstretched hand. The fairy slid the clip out of the gun with uncertain movements that showed she had never held a firearm before and only had a vague idea of how they worked.

"I told you I don't want a fight," she said quietly, "But if you really insist, then fine."

The fairy's small hands gripped the gun, and she snapped the weapon in half in one swift motion. Natasha could only stare for the briefest moment before her training kicked in. She rolled backwards, pulling out another Glock that she had kept hidden so far. Toothiana ran at her, a bit off-balance thanks to the ruined wings, and jumped to the side when Natasha fired. The smaller fairies charged as well, and Natasha shot one down before rolling again to avoid the volley of beaks.

Toothiana gasped as one of her miniature versions fell. The larger fairy moved quicker than Natasha had expected, and a small hand caught Natasha's weapon-hand into a vice-like grip. Toothiana's other hand found Natasha's elbow and suddenly Natasha was flying, flung to the ground by a fairy the size of an elementary school kid. Natasha's gun bounced into the undergrowth when Natasha jumped into a crouched position. In a flash she turned and aimed a roundhouse kick at the side of the fairy's head. Natasha's booted foot struck Toothiana with enough force to pop eardrums, if the bird-woman even had ears where humans had them. Toothiana's head snapped to the side and she rolled on the grass, hopping to her feet with barely any indication of having just been kicked.

Natasha dodged a small fairy and swatted her aside. She needed to focus on taking down the leader. She lunged at Toothiana, barely ducking under the fairy's fast punch and hit the fairy in the solar plexus with her elbow. Toothiana gasped and wheezed, almost doubling over but managing to stay in the fight. Natasha didn't wait for the fairy to fully recover, but quickly hit her boot to the fairy's knee and aimed a fist at the fairy's face. Toothiana took the kick, but her small hand moved up to grasp Natasha's fist before it hit its mark. Normally, trying to block a larger opponent with brute force was idiocy. But in this case, the small fairy really had more than enough brute force to pull it off. It didn't make any sense.

Toothiana tightened her grip on Natasha's hand, almost to the point of it being painful. Natasha twisted her hand, getting closer to her opponent and spinning around to force the fairy to let go. Toothiana did so, but suddenly jumped over Natasha's head. Natasha barely had time to see the fist coming before it hit her in the temple. The hit was hard; it rattled Natasha's skull and sent her head back so quickly that her neck protested in pain. Natasha continued the movement backwards and planted her hands to the ground, flipping back into a low crouch. Her boot hit the still intact Glock that had fallen from her hand. She wrapped her fingers around the gun and lifted it, aiming quickly and firing.

A tiny fairy moved into the bullet's path, and Toothiana screamed in distress. The fairy's previously gentle face twisted again in rage, and she leaped at Natasha. This time the tiny fairies stayed out of it, and Natasha's bullet hit the fairy in the right shoulder. Toothiana didn't even seem to feel the hit, and she swung her fist at Natasha's head again. Natasha ducked and dug her knee between the fairy's ribs. The fairy hit the ground and her miniature helpers gathered around her while letting out chirps of alarm. The box the fairy had used for her illusions had fallen from the pouch at the fairy's waist. Natasha saw the golden cylinder rolling lazily down a gentle slope and stopping near her feet. She picked it up and studied it warily while still keeping her gun pointed at the fairy who now lay gasping on the ground, struggling to get up.

The box was just that: a box. Except that boxes didn't usually call for Natasha when they were close to her. She didn't know what it was about it, but the unfamiliar container in her hand felt like it belonged to her. It must have been another trick. And Natasha wasn't going to let a bird-woman and a box mess with her mind.

"You can open it if you want," the fairy said in a weak voice, "They are yours. I'm not denying memories even from someone who hurts my fairies, no matter how much I want to."

Natasha cast the fairy a murderous look. The bird-woman had got all the way to her knees. Her feathers were ruffled and her wings swayed sadly in the wind. She was holding a small ball of feathers in her hand. It was one of the mini-fairies Natasha had downed, and Toothiana stroked the tiny being's feathers with the expression of pure motherly worry on her face. Natasha brushed her thumb over the decorated lid of the box. She tilted the box in her hand and saw a picture of a smiling girl at the base. For the briefest moment she was actually curious about what the box held. And that brief moment was enough to send her into a vision again.

It lasted for a long time, so long that Natasha knew the fairy would have more than enough time to eliminate her. But as the happy images shifted to much more familiar ones, Natasha forgot all about it for the moment. She remembered her training. She remembered how all the useless childhood innocence had been taken away and replaced with something different. Something deadly and efficient. She remembered how the girl that was her but whom she didn't recognize was turned into a weapon.

When it was over, Natasha found herself back in the forest in Thailand. At some point she had fallen to her knees, and when her sight returned she saw the gentle face of the Tooth Fairy next to her. The tiny fairy in her hands was sitting up now, with barely a scratch on her from taking a bullet almost the size of her.

Natasha pursed her lips, her hand still clutching her gun.

"You could have killed me," she stated.

Toothiana shook her head.

"I would never do that," she said, "I just wanted to make you understand."

Natasha looked at the box in her hand. What she had seen had really been her memories. It wasn't a trick after all. She didn't know how she knew it, but she just did. She let the box fall from her hand and Toothiana picked it up, carefully wiping some dirt from it before putting it back into her pouch.

"You should know," Natasha said quietly, "That the girl in that box is dead."

"I understand," Toothiana said, "I'm sorry."

They both sat there for a while in that moment of strange kinship, catching their breath and nursing their wounds. Then Natasha's cell phone rang just around the same time when one more miniature fairy appeared on the scene. When Natasha answered the call and listened to Fury telling her to get a move on because something was attacking the HQ, she had a feeling the frantic chirps of the newcomer fairy meant something along the same lines.

Toothiana was on her feet as soon as the mini-fairy had finished.

"Your people are in danger," she said, looking at Natasha.

Natasha put her phone away, nodding gravely.

"I just have to assume it's not your people who are attacking us."

"No," Toothiana assured her, "It's someone our people fight against too. Girls?"

The mini-fairies gathered around her and she fished out a glass orb the size of Natasha's fist from her pouch. Toothiana looked again at Natasha, smiling a little.

"If you want to help, I can give you a ride. It's faster than your plane. You might want to just say a few words to your pilot about it first, I guess."

Natasha glanced at the jet. The pilot was trying to call someone from the cockpit. The poor man had had a rough day.

"Are you sure you can fight?" she asked the fairy, "You're injured."

"Oh, don't worry about it!" Toothiana chirped, "I heal very fast. I should be able to fly by the time we get there."

True enough, the bullet holes in the fairy's wings were considerably smaller already. Even as Natasha watched, the holes were sealing up, new transparent tissue appearing as if out of nowhere. The fairy's shoulder already showed no signs of being shot at just moments ago. Natasha nodded slowly.

"I suppose my best bet is trusting you," she finally said, "For now."

Author's Note: So... much... Swedish homework... Well, I still managed to do the last edits to this one! I was waiting anxiously for writing this chapter and I think it turned out pretty nicely... Now if someone wants to explain Black Widow's backstory and point out it contradicts the extremely vague memories in this somehow, then... Well, that sucks for me. I did do some research but seeing how Natasha's original comic backstory has her being born in 1928 and had her parents die in bombings or something I figured it's not exactly the backstory the films went with considering the film's timeline. I suppose it doesn't matter that much either. What I gathered was that she was trained from a very young age and that's what matters.

Also, Toothiana's backstory which wasn't really mentioned but which she referred to when saying her childhood was over fast is from the books.

Hey, managed to throw in some Clint in there. A lot of people seem to like him. Well, he does have a bow. That's always a plus. And there's action! I'm still not sure if I suck at writing action or not. Too bad seeing how the next few chapters will be very action-heavy... these multiple fights are practically the climax of the fic, after all.

Thank you again so much for the kind reviews and I hope you keep enjoying this mess of words in the future as well! :)