Avengers 1. Chapter 1

CHP: ONE: Want to Escape?

The question arises at night in quarter 12 of the red room. The lights are switched off; room bare of windows or any other source of light. There are two single beds in the room, one occupied by someone who is known as Black Widow 035 while the other is clumsily used by Dark Wolf 039. The red head turns her face from the ceiling to the Dark Wolf, raising her eyebrow and calculating what the blue eyed, black haired room-mate wanted to say. When Natalia doesn't respond, her room-mate asks again.

"Do you want to do it? Do you want to escape from this?" The voice is thickly coated into a whisper, heavily accented in Russian because English isn't that natural on her sharp tongue. Her back is against the head board, legs under the thin sheets. She looked dead serious but young Natalia couldn't make out the degree of seriousness yet. She replies nonetheless.

"You know we can't." Natalia's English is better than the wolf's and her voice is an octave higher than her. The light fog coming out of their mouths is a subject of little concern now. They are in the peak of winter but having a conversation like this really gets the red room girls heart race faster and suddenly the room is too hot to have the sheet wrapped around her.

"Why can't we? Are you scared, little Natalia?"

"No" Her voice is determined. She isn't a coward, she is just living by the book-or else. "They will find us and leaving the building without setting off the alarm and passing the guards is impossible. And if you have forgotten, we are in the basement of the building that is 4 stories down."

"I know, you know, you want to do it." Those were the last hazy words as Natalia shut off the Wolf's words and slipped in to a dreamless sleep.

Her name is Regina, the Dark Wolf's. The other was Natalia, the black widow. This was their home, quarter 12, floor -4, the Red room. To the outside real world, the red room is non-existent, a rumor and maybe even a grandma's tale. But to the girls confined inside, the red room was their home, their world and everything they have known. They were taken at a very young age, too young. They were young enough to forget where they actually belonged from but old enough to follow orders once taken to the Red room.

Quarter 12, level -4 will tell the story of two of the one thousand, six hundred and fifty promising red room products. It begins with the story of Regina but they call her Dark Wolf. Her black hair and blue eyes physically earned her the name. Her wit, sharp tongue and intelligence gave meaning to the name. She is 17, was 5 when she entered the red room and is currently one of the red rooms in charge's favorite. Coming in close to give her completion was Natasha. She has crimson hair and a knack for seducing people, Black widow for a reason. She is younger than her room-mate, marking her 15th birthday with a bruise on her back for slightly puffing out breath after ten long hours of continuous ballet practice. She was bought in when her home was being burned down and hasn't understood the concept of the red room yet.

The Red room functions in a somewhat simple way; grab girls, train them to be spies and then when they come to a certain level in training, they are assigned to one of the three groups. Natalia belonged to the Black Widow category for the obvious talent and skill in obtaining the required information from her targets. Regina belongs to the Dark Wolf group, who specialize in using their wit and tongue to complete the mission. The final group was the Eagles, training meticulously in weaponry and sniper-ing. They were the best in hunting down their targets and even thought hand to combat wasn't their forte, they were damn good in killing. Distance was their strong point. Together they formed the three tiers of the red room. And while they were always taught to be alliances, there was always some lingering competition among the three groups. The group that impressed the trainers the most by the end of the year would receive a surprise bonus luxury for the following year, as an individual if you show the expected potential you would receive a new room-mate of equal competence if not more.

Natalia was showing immense capability and so was rewarded with a new room-mate, her old one was just too naïve. Names were a big no-no in the red room but since Natalia had moved into her new quarter she couldn't help but notice Dark Wolf's nonchalant attitude towards the rules. She called her young Natalia while Natalia herself, playing by the book kept things in a formal acknowledgment of Wolf. When the nights came and young Natalia was plagued with nightmares about fire, Wolf would be the one to wake her up. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Natalia remembers an older lady hugging her when she woke up from such dreams. In English class they teach her too call the lady a mother. But mother is a word that Natasha never had or doesn't remember, her life, as she thinks, began in the red room and will end here. But Wolf asks the same question in different words to catch up on the fluency of English: would you like to escape from here? The word escape seems wrong at first. Why would anyone try to escape from their own home? Yes, Natalia was the Black Widow but she yet hasn't developed the meaning of the world. She is an animal born in captivity, freedom unknown.

The alarm blares loudly, signaling the beginning of another day and waking Natalia from her slumber. She looks over to the Wolf, who is sitting in the same position since she fell asleep. Noticing that she is awake, Wolf heads towards the bathroom adjoining their room. Being paired to the Wolf who was just two levels away from completing her training, gave Natalia the luxury she had never known. She now had her own personal bathroom, although she had to share it with the Wolf but it didn't matter now that she no longer had to use the common bathroom with the hundreds of other girls. She now had a room-mate who she honestly likes and isn't going to kill. Her English class taught her the word sister the previous day and Natalia thinks the word immaculately fits Wolf.

She walks in to the bathroom, occupied by Wolf, who is stripping herself of the uniform gray shorts they are given as pajamas. To any other girl Natalia's age such nudity should have been a problem but Natalia isn't any other girl and there comes a point in the training when all girls stand naked in a line to dive in to the icy glaciers, if you are lucky then icy glaciers are the best but if not then you are naked for your punishment. Natalia grabs her toothbrush from the counter and starts brushing her teeth, perfectly timing how much longer it will be before she has to ditch the shower for breakfast. The steam, another luxury of hot water, rolling off from the shower Wolf is under shows that maybe she couldn't take a shower today. Rinsing her mouth, she asks out of sheer curiosity

"What is it like outside?"

"Why? Haven't you been out twice?" the outside world was an obsession to the red room products, the cars, the people, the buildings, everything. They were allowed to watch world war two clips to teach them about history but Natalia gave a little more attention to the video then the actual lesson. Sure she had been allowed to leave the red room premises' but that had been for missions, not to mention that she was back in three days. Those days were the best of her life. She's loyal to the red room, but this didn't compare to the immense happiness that flooded through her when she saw actual people, not dummies, cars and not explosives. This was heaven; heck she dare say it was better than the red room. But those were just two, cherry pie mission. Wolf on the other hand had been out a number of times because of her level of training and each time she came back from another mission, she was more determined to stay out. "Come on we have to go to the mess otherwise we have to have left overs."

There were tables and benches by the row in the mess hall, walls were gray and patterned with blood. Natalia and Wolf arrived in the near empty mess hall and walked over to the counter to receive breakfast. A splat of chunky oatmeal later they had finally sat down to push the goo down their throats.

"What is your lesson plan today Black Widow?" The trainers were around and everyone who had sense slipped back their mask into place. She had to be Black Widow 035 now.

"I have combat training at 6am, followed by weapon class at 8."Scooping out the last bits of the goo called oatmeal, Black Widow stood up. "Well I am off now; hope you have a good day Dark Wolf."

As wished by the Black Widow, Dark Wolf did have a good day; Natalia on the other hand wasn't faring so well. She was distracted by Wolf's offer. Combat classes went well, ended with a jab in her sides but nothing of concern. Weaponry was hell. She missed her aim by a millimeter and then the punishment for being anything less than perfect was bared down on her. Clothes off, she was now sleeping on her stomach on a thick ice slab. The trainer had a whip in her hand and an unpleased nod in her head. One by one the whips lashed her skin, her back was a patch work of pink and red before the final whack was delivered.

"Turn around, Black Widow 035" The trainer roared, Natalia complied. The stung the ice delivered on her back was unbearable but screaming was inacceptable. Taking punches on her stomach and developing tender breast Natalia realized what Regina meant by escaping. And yes Natalia just called Dark wolf by her name because this was what she was under all the names and expectation.

She missed lunch and dinner by the time her punishment was over. She gingerly wore her clothes again and made her way to Quarter 12. Wolf didn't expect a ray of sunshine when Natalia entered her room, she being the wise one knew what happens when one is missing lunch and dinner. Natalie made no comforts to talk to Regina and despite her wounds gracefully fell down on the bed. The lights were switched off no sooner than that.

"How?" she asked when the lights were down and the hallways she knew would be empty.

"Well, I have a plan but it will take a few days for the situation to build up and"

"I just want to know how?"

"Oh okay. Well since I am just two levels away from graduating and becoming a full time agent, I have access to the card keys in the security room. You can seduce the guards while I break down the alarm system. Once that is done, we have to reach the ground floor." She wets her lips, rubbing her hand and reaching under her bed to take out a blue print. "This is the floor plan of the ground floor. We have five doors leading us outside, guarded by three men on each door. That makes a total of fifteen guards. But we have to be really quick in taking out three guards before they call the others. And then we are free. Of course the field outside is rigged by I can go to the security room and diffuse them." She finishes and looks over to me with happiness. "I am so glad you are coming."

"What do you mean? And how come this plan takes days to develop?"

Young Natalia, you don't understand do you? I would have gone whether or not you accompanied me. And as for the plan, we have to make copies of those key cards before they get suspicious." The talk dies there; Natalia is adjusting herself on the bed so that the pain is minimal while Regina is off like a fuse.

Another day, another practice, the talks of the previous day was buried deep down in their minds and both were just too smart to bring up the topic with the sun. Ballet followed by combat, then shooting, closing by the time she was finished with resistance practice, this was Natalia's time table. Interrogation technique, extensive practice on bio-poisons and final combat, this was Regina's day. And while Regina being superior to Natalia, she only had three subjects per day while young Natalia had four. This was the very motivation for Natalia to keep pushing herself harder every day, this was the only reason Natalia was the best. It was always Regina, who Natalia wanted to be transformed into. Regina in Natalia's mind was the epitome of success as she slowly came to realize that the Red room isn't what it seemed. It wasn't her home, no English lessons taught her the definition of having a home, they were even asked to call the Red room their home but it didn't fit well in Natalia's mind. Regina could distinguish things, she knew right from wrong, she knew life and although Natasha knew ballet, combat, martial arts, weaponry, it never compared to the value of things that Regina did.

The plan slowly took shape in their minds and on paper. The plan in their mind was stationary and bullet proof, the plan on the paper wasn't water proof and always flushed down the toilet after being torn into innumerable shreds. Copy card keys were stolen by Regina one day when once on a rare occasion given the day off. Confidently walking into the security room, she opened the locker she knew contained the keys and picked up the right one. She turned around every now and then to confirm that no one was there behind her although she probably knew one was there. Her long black curls played a veil around her fair face, as she whipped around towards the door, successful in finding what she needed.

Natalia returned to her room that night to find Wolf expertly making card copies in the room. She looked up to Natalia and flashed the duplicate key in her face. "You see this. This is our ticket out Natalia. We are almost free, start packing your stuff and we can leave this hell on Saturday."

"On Saturday, really? Are you sure? Besides shouldn't we be making fake passports too?"

"Yeah, way ahead of you young Natalie, I have already taken the liberty to make four sets of fake passports and have enough money hidden in a building in the neighboring town to last for at least a year. All you have to do is pack your bags"

Saturday came faster than ever but their plan was delayed further. All the Black Widows had a special training session and were asked to shift in to the temporary quarter from the Friday that was before their plan day. Not wanting to be reminded of her punishment on the ice slab, Natalia obediently followed without hesitation. The plan had to wait. Somewhere in the heart that Natalia was taught to ignore, she knew that Regina would wait for her.

Unsaid things happen behind the closed door on the Black Widow quarter and each day another body bag would make its way to the furnace. Natalie was no exception to the rule. Things that happened to her behind those door made her harder, made her colder, made her better than perfect but more than anything made her determined to get out of here. It wasn't combat training, it was a fight to survive, it wasn't weaponry class, it was becoming bulletproof, it wasn't escaping techniques, and it was being left behind for death to consume you. The fun was strangled out of ballet and now all Natalia had to look forward to was finishing the training session and coming on with the plan. Behind those walls, they were being drugged, experimented to find their breaking point and put together back again, guinea pigs labeled on their backs. It's really hilarious she doesn't feel like a Black Widow, she feels more like a-what is it they call that in English-ah yes, she feels like a lab rat. Between the training session and the sleepless nights she feels her loyalty towards the red room fading like the hope to ever make it out of here. This wasn't the Red room she called home; no this is the red room Regina calls hell. The sleepless nights are thought provoking and hollow, was she always so blind to notice the real sins that take place her? Or did she just choose to ignore it for the past ten years? Answer is unacceptable and thought like these are just another excuse used by the trainers to kill them, one less mouth to feed according to them.

It's another month before, thankfully, the training session is over. The halls are torn pages of memory, she remembers them but then again which way was her quarter located? She shakes her head a couple of times and suddenly those holes in her memory are fixed together, Quarter 12, level -4 and a plan to get out. She reaches her room, her now empty room and just for a fleeting second her world stops, her mind froze. Did Regina leave her? Pictures of the Dark haired girl flashed through her muddled mind, blue eyes twinkling with ecstasy when she agreed on the plan, 'Young Natalia' her name always a tease for her naïve and blind ways. When the reminiscence of her only happy memories ends, she acts on impulse and yanks the Wolf's chest drawer open. They are there, her clothes are there. She cautiously reaches the secret compartment in the bathroom sink behind a tile and finds both of their fake passports and card keys. And just like that getting oxygen back into her lungs is the main priority.

Dark Wolf return a good twenty one days later. Sneaking around, in the ways her trainers had taught her to do; she grabs information out of thin air. Dark Wolfs had to assemble for a similar training session like the one Natalia underwent. And while Natalia experiences a wave of changes in her (she doesn't like any of those), Regina is yet Regina, nothing changed but everything improved, no doubt. They nod their head to each other out of the sheer respect and the little fondness they had developed. 'Never act on your emotions' that's what they had for dinner, one night behind those awful doors.

"Tomorrow" she says but her eyes seem more desperate. It's the first time that they are talking about her mutual plan while the lights are still bright and people breathing outside, in the hallway. The monosyllabic word conveys all.

The nights are turned off not a minute later or a minute earlier than the expected time, but this isn't the end of the night for them. They play around the darkness, hand expertly stashing what little clothes they have in to the small backpacks they are given for mission. Three plain T's, two jeans and two dresses for the right occasion is all they have to pack. It's a mockery of little they own in the place she, Natalia always called home. The small bag seemed to laugh at them at what little clothes they had until Regina and Natalia both pull out a box from underneath their bed. 'Artillery' and just the word seemed to fill the space in the bag. Regina skips past the Natalia murmuring something about cash. She yanks another drawer of her chest and reaches on to the roof of it; she feels around for a second and then pulls out a damn load of cash. A squeal of surprise on Widow's part earns a well-deserved grin on the thin rosy lips almost recognizable anywhere.

The cash is stuffed in to their bras. For some reason, she voices her wonder, her breasts are bigger than a month ago and she feels a bit more like a woman. Yes, there are things that change behind the big metal door of the training session. Yes there are memories erased and memories created and by the time you are out, thank god and count your lucky stars that you are lucky. There were 150 girls that underwent the training session, along with the Black Widow 035 aka Natalia and now only sixty seven came out. Once they are sure that have everything that they would need, checking and then double checking things once over again, they settle into their respective beds.

"You know, young Natalia, we probably have to scout in the forests outside for a few days before the matters cools off."

"Wait. Are you sure there are forests around here?" Natalia ignored her nick name; it was already growing on her. Calling her the Black Widow seemed to cold now, she was finally developing her own opinions and thoughts. That in her mind, apart from freedom, was the only thing that the Red Room had no control over. She was the master of her own soul now. Funny how only two months ago, she was the most patriotic product of the red room facility and now she can see herself as the rebel, Now she is something more than the product, more than Black Widow 035, She is Natalia.

Regina combs her fingers through her long black hair and wraps them in a bun, she digs through what little she owns and then finally settles for the shorts they were given to escape and honestly it would be the first thing she would burn once she gets out of this hell hole but for now she has to manage. Natalia copies her moves except she leaves her short auburn curls free. They estimate the time when escaping would be the easiest and decide it would be best if they do it just a couple of hours before sun rise.

"Don't call it escaping. It sounds to-criminal and we aren't criminals, we are just going for our rights and living life how it is meant to be lived." Natalia says before they pop their heads out of the corridors to check for the guards. Finding none they stealthily make their way to the main access door. They climb the eight flights of empty bloody stairs and are finally on ground level. This is it.

They silently swap their fake key cards and the door to the final security passage hisses open. There are a total of three guards in total and two of them are already dead before they could turn their heads to acknowledge whoever entered through the final pass way. The third guard reaches for the alarm system and it was simply a bad move because now he lies twitching with his head turned a complete 360 degrees.

And they are just teens but what lies behind those well placed mask is entirely different. They have been through things that even those impeccably experienced forty year olds haven't heard off. The things they have seen would make the normal citizen have a panic attack and initially so did all the products of the red room did when they were first brought in but the sand of time made them indifferent to all those gruesome sights. A bullet is a daily commodity, fractured bones compared to nothing but paper cuts and murders appetizers before dinner.

They snatch the real access cards out the dead guards and then freedom. The wind is so fresh and so cold and so liberal- there is nothing before them only snow, and patch of green that the snow hasn't been able to cover on the trees and then there is the blue sky. Natalia could swear to her dying breath that there wasn't anything more beautiful than what she is seeing now. They glance at one another in that look that says that they actually made it. That was easy. Well that is as much time as they took before stepping in to the cool air. One step, another, followed by another and then the fricking alarm goes off. They realize the situation faster than they could ever remember their own names. There are lights going off in the close distance and the adrenaline in their system is too high to be stuck, glued in the place. Regina grabs Natalia's hand in hers and both of them understand the gesture. They take one final breath and run. They run as fast they can with their hands clasped into one another's, but this hasn't reduced their speed in the least. They run fast, faster and faster than they ever had.

There is stomping of the combat boots against the deep snow but Wolf and Widow dare not reduce their speed. There were only two options now, run for freedom or die for it. Running for freedom is the option they would both choose without even thinking about it. No there was no way in hell that they would die in the hands of these morons. They stomping was becoming more distant and then it was almost gone. But that didn't last long enough, now it was the combat boots and guns going off in the distance. Regina was smiling, so this was what freedom felt like. The sly smile didn't go unnoticed by Natalia even as they were running for an hour now. Why Wolf was smiling was a wonder to Natalia that she would ask her about later right now all they had to do was run. That's it just run.

They changed their coarse several times in the past two hours and now they sky was tinted in that foreign shade of red that Natalia was never fortunate enough to see and they call it their first sun rise. They went down hills, they tripped through the rocky paths and they ran. They boots and gun shots were so distant now that it wouldn't be long before they finally give up their search in the forest and go in the city.

Three hours in to the run and Regina declares that they are safe but they won't stop running. They ran before to save themselves, they were running now to satisfy that light flutter of happiness in their chest. Somewhere between the run, none of them remember, but their hands had gotten free of the others clutch. Both of the teens noticed this at the same time and clutched their hands once again. Four hours of running later they find a place that is safe enough to spend the next few days. There wasn't much to place but really high trees that they could use and there was the low noise of gushing water. At first they investigate the source of water. It's cold, blue and so very familiar to the red room's icy glacier punishment but here they are no one to drown them. Once their heart rate is back to its normal level they came to realize the fact about how cold the weather was. It was the June chill and greatly not the December freeze. The water was so very inviting but the girls were smarter to just jump right in to the freezing water and succumb to hypothermia.

They spend the rest of the day catching their breath and chatting about stuff they never talked about. It felt good. Once they were at the boundary of those painful memories of their families, they stopped talking and went on a walk to familiarize them with the area. They find someone.

They name her Shelley, and it's the skeletal remains of a girl no older than them but they wonder just how in the world she got here.

"Another mystery, another story" Regina whips her hair from side to side and utters. But Natalia has a different approach to Shelley.

"Let's dress her up or at least cover her with flowers" Her voice is filled with amazement and both of the girls are too far from things that are considered normal that they actually go ahead with the plan.

Over the next four days that Regina and young Natalia managed to stay there, words were rare and both took an abnormal joy in dressing Shelley in crowns made of weed and leaves, dressing her in their pajama shorts and tops and then there is their heart wrenching confession from both of them at the same time.

"She is my first doll" Both say together.

Yes this was Natalia's first taste of freedom and she loved every minute of it.

AN: End of chapter one. Please review and let me know what you think about the story. Constructive criticism is always welcomed, if you have any suggestions please let me know And kindly drop in a review. Thanks once again.


	2. Revenge, your style?

CHP: Two: Revenge, your style?

The goodbye to Shelley was a bittersweet kick with a promise of the neighboring town to promising to wait for it another day. They had already camped in the forest for five days now and this was as much as Natalia could take of her new freedom, now that she had the choice to choose. They had spent the day giving Shelley her goodbye and half of the frigid night staring at the stars.

"You know one of them is probably my mother." Regina whispered in to the empty, smoke coming out their mouths. To say that they were cold would be a lie, they were freezing fitted the situation more but they didn't dare to back now.

"You know that's not possible, those are stars. You know bright balls of burning hydrogen and all that." Natalia said perplexed. There was a reason Wolf called her Young Natalia, it was maybe because she was oblivious to everything but really you couldn't blame her, the red room and everything.

"Natalia- It just means that there is someone always looking after you-forget you won't get it. Come on we should get moving." Natalia scrunched her nose trying to break Regina's words, coming up with nothing; she got off the ground and dusted her jeans. There is no way she can spoil this jeans, it's her only pair now. "Want to run?"

"No- I think I want to breathe every minute of this freedom." So they start off at a slow pace and then everything seems to right that maybe they are dreaming and maybe they will wake up in the red room and if that happens Natalia is going to ask Wolf to kill her. But when there is the distant gush of the water and a howl of the animals that she realizes that this isn't a dream.

They walk up, they walk down and they keep on walking until the thick trees break way for a clearing and then the clearing gives way to the town and Natalia can fall in love with it. It's perfect. There are buildings that have windows, they are children laughing, she hasn't heard that noise in a long time and then there are normal people. It's so normal, it's scary but this is true.

Regina has the very same feeling but she had always been a free bird. She never could truly be tamed and bended to the red room's accord. Regina knew freedom from the time that she had joined the red room and she was after it since then. The only reason, and she will not disclose this fact, that kept her there was that she needed someone with her too live. She couldn't bear staying alone after all that they had been through. No she needed courage. Neither of them would have noticed until the time came but Natalia was the courage Regina needed and Regina was the spirit Natalia yearned for.

Regina broke out the spell of admiration quicker than Natalia who stayed rooted in the spot. She quickly grabbed young Natalia's hand and dragged her towards the nearest restroom. She ordered her to tidy herself up and did the same. Fifteen minutes later when they found themselves presentable they dug the cash out and headed for a meal."Natalia" she grabbed her arm shaking her out of her reverie and closed the little height distance between them to look right in to her eye. "I know this all is too much, but it's real and you no longer are Black Widow alright? You are Natasha Romanoff and you are just another teen roaming the Russian streets days with your friend. Clear?"

Natalia shakes her head and clears her muddled thoughts, grabs the right mask she needs and accepts herself to be Natasha Romanoff. They head out and then walk another mile or two before they decide on the café that is just empty. They walk in to be punched in the face with the warm smell of fresh coffee and their stomach growls rather unpleasantly at that. They order coffee and a croissant. Don not over indulge in anything, lesson one. But oh my goodness, if this croissant isn't the only god damn best thing she had to eat in ever. Of course it isn't like the ones in France but neither of them know how French croissant taste. They finish their breakfast in record time and if Natalia wasn't Natasha she would have just stared at the pastry for two minutes. They give the cashier the right amount of money and actually have to say thank you because that's how it goes in the real world right?

"We have to shop for clothes now and then we will stop by the Mr. Bankers house for that sweet cash." They did as Regina said and in the back alleys of the town there is a special place for such needs. Clothes were a disposable commodity available at a cheap rate back there and it didn't take them very long they had about two bags full of clothes for each. Natalia had never shopped before in her life and neither did Regina but they sure know how to bargain. A gun to the poor man's forehead was all it took and they got what they needed cheaper than shit. Next stop was Mr. Banker's house.

Natalia soon finds out that his name wasn't Mr. Banker after all but just that he worked for a bank, no, he owned the bank. Regina confidently walks up to his front door, rings the bell and waits. It was Mr. Banker himself who answered the door still clad in his night suit at 10 in the morning. The horror on the face was a gentle awaking call and he opened and closed his mouth several times over to gasp the fact that his death was at this front door. He raises his hands in surrender; Regina speaks something in his ears that Natalia can only guess from across the street. He disappears in the house to return a few minutes later with a small bunch of robles. He shakily hands them over to Regina and she kisses him sweetly on the cheek before leaving.

"How come he handed you the money so easily?" Natalia asks her.

"Well let's just say he owns me a debt from a previous mission I was assigned to do." That's all they speak of the matter. The robles can only last for maybe two months but that isn't enough, if they were considering being tenants. Regina had planned everything down to the last detail while Natalia remained a free-lancer until now. They skipped lunch, they saved that money, but now the cold was really getting to them and plus they couldn't stay on the streets any longer, people would get suspicious. They need a safe place. It was the beginning of the evening; they were now about three towns away from the Red room. Their feet were now dragging their dead weight instead of carrying them.

"What are we looking for now?" Natalia asked, she wasn't tired, being tired wasn't acceptable in the red room but she liked the idea of resting even though she wasn't even out of breath.

"We, young Natalia, are searching for a house called home." And that's when they noticed it. The words were in Russian and a bit scribbly but coherent anyway.

'Room for rent'

"We are searching for that" Regina said pointing at a small building. The building if Natalia was right would have only two apartments and one of them was obviously occupied by the land lord or lady. They cross the street and gently knock on the door, hoping that whoever it is looking for a tenant is the one to ask a lot of question although they have back up stories as realistic as the Second World War.

An elderly lady opens the door and senses the need of the girls almost immediately. She was so old she had less skin and more wrinkles. At this age she could have been Thomas Elva Edison's grandmother but she carried this aura of knowledge with her that was too difficult to shake off. "You want room?" she predicted in her shivery voice.

The Girls found themselves in the room upstairs that held two twin sized beds and a nice little closet. It was similar to the red room but it was homely and warm. The building had one bathroom on their floor and the lady had a floor on the ground floor where she had her own room. The interior of the building was colored in beige and some walls furnished with paintings done by the lady herself. They call her Hilda and this is as close as anything they know about her now. Once they stiff their belongings in closet and settle down on the bed, there was a knock on the door and the Hilda emerges. For a lady her age she sure shouldn't be climbing any stairs but then again she has Russian blood in her.

"You girls must come down and dine with me. Come now, don't be shy." She invites them down and both of the girls do so. They enter her apartment and aren't surprised to find painting hanging of every wall in the room. The room is simple furnished, holding nothing more than necessary. The food rests on the small table in the middle of the room; it's a simple traditional Russian dish that strikes Regina and Natalia both close to the heart. Hilda is observing them carefully, making no comments, they dine peaceful and thank her before making her way back to their room. It's their first day of liberty and they found home.

Natalia wakes up before Regina the next day. It's yet pretty early and Hilda must not be up yet so she decides to shower. She grabs a fresh pair of clothes from the closet and walks in to the bathroom. It isn't a fancy bathroom but it's good. If you wonder about the building again then that too isn't very fancy or shabby. It's just another middle class apartment building in Russia. Back to the bathroom, there is a small bathtub in the corner with a bit of the paint scratched off, a sink opposite to it and the potty adjacent to it. There is a full length mirror for some reason in there too but other than that it's a normal bathroom. She gingerly strips the clothes off her body and that's when she notices it. It's small and almost too pathetic now that she has escaped but there it is a small Black Widow Tattoo on the pelvic bone of her left hip. Her mind on that goes into overdrive. It shreds the remaining clothes and jumps under the shower. The water washes down on her in a steady stream, she is smart enough to know it's a fresh tattoo but that doesn't mean she doesn't burn the spider with the boiling water until her skin is angry red and her muffled screams are swallowed lumps in her throat. That is as much time as she can afford before she finishes her shower.

She haphazardly puts her clothes on, does a double check in the mirror and walks out. Upon reaching back to her room, Regina is now awake and cleaning her guns with the normalcy of breakfast in the morning. Natalia walks in to the closet to do the same pulling out her own sets of gun and wiping the inexistent dust off, while Regina walks for her shower.

What is she now? Natalia wonders what she is supposed to be now, she certainly can't be normal; she is too far gone for that. She can't go to a school. What explanation she has will never have a believable background. So now, the only option is that she works, who needs school anyway now that the Red Room was taught to high school syllabus in grade two? Work is what she will do.

Regina comes out of the bathroom and finds young Natalia in the same position she had left her. "Natalia, have you thought about working? You know after a while we have to earn to satisfy ourselves right?" Natalia merely nods, Regina just stole her thoughts. "How about you stay in today while I roam town looking for a suitable job okay?"

"Why do you have to go alone?" Natalia asked suspicions filled with concern.

"You know Hilda lives just below us right. She might get suspicious about us. Just imagine two young girls with money to pay rent for two months coming and going every now and then?" The message was clear. 'Earn Hilda's trust'. Sounds like a plan.

Hilda was a fox, no not really but she was clever like one. Add that and age with experience and that leaves us with an equation no one wants to solve. She is the kind of women who can sniff out a crime even before they commit it. Astute, is the word for her. Natalia knocks on her door while Regina job hunts, hoping to gain some knowledge or trust of the elderly lady. "Ah, Natalia, Come-come in"

"Hello Hilda, I just stopped by to say hi." Natalia played with her fingers, keeping the pretense of a nervous, self-conscious teen. Hilda had warmly invited her in, pouring some warm tea in a cup and placing it before her. She sat down on her old cushion seat and cleared her weak throat before speaking.

"You know Natalia; I have seen things in the world. My age is now giving me the benefit to share such experiences with someone else, why don't you get comfortable and drop the act?" The words were spoken with such casualness that Natalia was almost too lost for word but they don't call the Black Widow for nothing. Do they? Then almost too comically Hilda gives out a laugh. "Oh, my dear I am so sorry. An old lady like me has to have her fun now"And just like that all the tension is flushed down the toilet. She chats a little longer than necessary, improvising her role as Natasha Romanoff, playing to the elder lady's heart dearly. She catches herself before she can give herself away. Thanks Hilda for spending her time with her and leaves.

Mission accomplished, she had already began earning Hilda's confidence. Now it's just a matter of a few more days than this will be her house called home, with the pretense of Hilda as her grandmother. No, they won't kill the old lady because she had done nothing to harm them rather provides them with shelter. She is just another debt to repay, actually the second in Natalia's ledger.

Regina returns sometime around eight in the evening and things don't seem so right. She is carrying two medium sized bags and sporting a hickey on the base of her neck but if Regina doesn't want to talk about it then Natalia didn't acknowledge it. The bag is possessively put under Regina's bed by her and that is the sign that young Natalia shouldn't even spare a glance at those bags. Natalia might be young but she isn't a fool, she can tell exactly what job Regina found to fill their stomachs and by the looks of it it's better not to be voiced.

They nibble on a single sandwich between the both of them because that's about as much as they were provided with in the Red room. Sure that is a thing of the past now but some habits are hard to kill. Harder than those targets they were assigned to kill, easier than strangling their fellow class rates to raise on top and shit-all the Red room wanted was a group of insane killing machines with a body to drool upon. But that doesn't mean that the habits enforced in them were going to go away with a goodbye note. They will yet wake up with drawn weapons, when Hilda is a bit too noisy in the apartment below, they will yet search the room thoroughly before moving in, her will yet changes their path a couple of thousands of times to throw off their scent, because by the end of the day they will always be a part of them that never escaped the Red Room. They finish the sandwich in silence and gulp down a glass of water before sliding in their respective beds.

They lie down and expect the lights to go off as the grandfather clock in Hilda's apartment strikes ten. When the chimes of the clock stop, they both look at each other and try their hardest not to smile. "You know, young Natalia, the lights in the real world don't go off by themselves."

"As if you weren't expecting them to go off yourself, Wolf." Natalia smirks. She throws the old warm blanket off herself and moves around the room towards the light switch and flicks it off. In another time Natalia would have just shot the light bulb with her gun which she kept under her pillow. But that would be too suspicious, and Hilda would know about them. Once Natalia slides back in to her bed, the silent ambience becomes awkward. There is an urge to ask Regina about her job, to stop her from doing whatever Natalia thinks she is doing. But Natalia is a spy, and assassin, she can find the answer without even asking the question. But Regina is just like her, she is thought to keep her mouth her shut before the question even arises.

The sun is softer the following day and Natalia plans on spend a little more time in bed, no she is not over indulging, she is just creating her opportunity. And there comes her opportunity when Regina goes into the bathroom. She waits until Regina locks the bathroom door and then its action time. Natalia jumps out of bed fast and silent. She holds her breath and reaches underneath Regina's bed and pulls out the two bags. She empties the content on to the bed and freezes for a good minute. Kinky lingerie, tacky nurse uniform that has stripper written all over it and some more bondage materials, All in all, everything is sickening. She breaks out of her reverie when the shower is turned off and stuff all the things in to the bag before pushing it under the bed and walking over to her bed. She stretches herself in an attempt to show that she just woke up but Regina is Regina who opens the door and walks in to the bedroom, towel wrapped around her body "I know you snooped into my stuff, Widow." Natalia stops stretching and keeps her expressions stoic; well it is the only expression she knows. The topic is dropped when Regina takes out the same bag and pulls out one of the indecent lingerie. Void of any shame of having another person in the room, she slips the lingerie on. She covers herself with her jeans and top she had bought only the previous day and stuffs some of the offensive clothing in her bag to go. She glances at Natalia who looks like an active volcano in Fiji. "How about you come and join me? There is always an opening there, Natalia."

"Join you into prostitution Regina. Are you seriously asking me this question? After everything that has happened to us, this is the only job you could find for us?" Natalia whisper yelled, the messaged however was strongly conveyed.

"I know you would never want this job. I was just asking."

"Never is an understatement. This is bullshit, how could you Regina? How can you just sell yourself? I swear Regina you don't need to do this; we can find another way, anything, even picking up scrap from the street is better than this, Regina, please."

"Natalia you don't understand now, but you will in due time."

"Don't tell me, I can't understand. You know I know things others don't, there is no possible way I can't understand why you are doing this shit."

Regina's eyes softened, holding a look that says 'It's all for you' but Natalia didn't notice it. "Look we can discuss this later, I have to go." Regina cuts the topic short and makes her way towards the door. "Shit, I nearly forgot." She digs in to her bag and pulls out a paper. She looks over it once and then hands it to Natalia. "This is your job, if you want, otherwise you can hunt for your own job. Your identity card is in your weapon bag. See you in the evening."

Regina Wolfe makes her way towards the beat up building a mile and a half away from home, named Paradise. She stops in front of the door, sucks a couple of cold breaths in and finally enters the building. The handler there is a greasy non descripting man about fifty who Regina wants to castrate for dealing with girls his daughter's age. But the world is a weird place and Regina had been on the weirder end for a long time to notice anything different. The handler assigns her to room 15 and she makes her way there. She slips in to her stripper outfit and waits for her customer as the bastards are royally called. She changes her name and changes her look. Here she can't afford to be Regina Wolfe; here she is forced to be a call girl named Rosy. The double meaning behind the name is ridiculously absurd but Regina keeps her mind clean enough to think about actual roses.

If the circumstances had been different then maybe she wouldn't be forced in to this life, but unfortunately for her she escaped from the fire and fell into the viper's pit.

Being forced in to a sinner's shoe is acceptable; choosing to lead a sinner's life is not. But for the sake of her life and that of Natalia's she is willing to sell her soul if she has to, body is destructible anyway. The main reason Regina is here is because she knows if dirty, old, evil men come this way for a pleasure filled night than good, supporting men will follow to kick their butts. And when such a man walks through that front door, Regina and Natalia will be truly free and safe. Until then all Regina has to do is wait.

Natalia stares down at the paper Regina had handed to her before going to her so called job; it was a job vacancy for a kitchen lady at a renowned restaurant a mile south from here. She settles her heart and thinks that at least it is worth a shot. Well she would be doing dishes while dirty men do Regina. She takes a shower and dresses herself as normally as a teen would but in addition to her Natasha Romanoff persona, she has a gun strapped to her ankle and a small knife in her waist band. Once she considers herself ready she walks down the stairs and walks out the door. She glances behind her shoulder for the first quarter of a mile and then the confidence of the Black Widow is build up.

The restaurant she is supposed to be working at is a classy, A-grade restaurant, where all the Russian big shots pretend to have a more than classy taste in food. She walks around the restaurant once and then enters through the back door. The creaking noise from the shutting door drags every kitchen staff's attention towards her until a big buff man in a chef's uniform makes his way towards Natasha. 'Executive Chef' written in scrawny stiches across his chest grabs her attention. She glance the kitchen in her peripheral vision. There are two tiny trainee chefs, a head waiter, his assistance, an assistance chef and then this old buff man. Four sets of kitchen knife closest to her towards the left and that's all the assurance she needs. "Hi, I am Natasha Romanoff. I am here to apply for the post of a kitchen girl." She smiles at the last word.

"Well Natasha Romanoff have you worked in a kitchen before?" The buff man asked in his strenuous voice.

"No sir, actually this is my first job" Well that was an easy lie. She had her first job when she was thirteen and if it weren't for the damn Red room, she would actually remember it.

"Well then you have got lots to learn. Your job is mainly to do all I say, do you understand?" she nods in understanding and rolls up her sleeves before she is handed her apron. She ties the apron around her in a flawless bow and looks up expectantly at the chef who just nods at one of the trainees. And no sooner than that is a gargantuan bag of potatoes at her feet and she is pushed to one corner of the kitchen. "Peel them, uniformly." How to peel a potato uniformly? she wondered. But she knew she would do this with blindfolds on and a fractured arm.

Two sacks of potato, blisters for a life time and not a single complain later she is done. This task Natalia complies is then folds better than what she was made to do. It has morality to it, an honest work, no dead bodies and a really low pay of 82 robles a day, But if you consider it that is enough for her lifestyle. Next up is the piles of dirty dishes. Blisters and soap water don't do together but it is a felling Natalia relishes. Somewhere, every now and then, the chef would yell his crew to work faster, the head waiter would come in with a new order and then after a couple more time this happened, it was closing time.

"You did good kid." The executive chef said, handing her a wages and nudging her head. Natalia would have been disgusted but Natasha understands that this was the first time someone had touched her with no intent of harming her. She liked it. She took her salary and walks out, nodding when he said she has return tomorrow at the same time. Its early in the evening, somewhere just past sunset and a jog or a run seems fit. She runs back to her house called home and digs her closet for what little clothes she has will be more suitable for a run. She puts on some loose sweats belonging to the red room and then runs out.

It starts of as a jog, turns into a sprint and then into a full marathon. She feels alive; the wind in her hair, the heavy breathing, the escalated heart rate and it feels good. At some point she realizes that at this rate she would have completed running almost half of the country so she stops and returns home with a jog. Regina had arrived by then and both of the girls pool in the money they just made. 202 Robles and it's a good day. They go to bed without dinner because even food can't make them feel this happy. They don't talk to each other, both lost in their own ecstatic thought. 'We are finally making our own name in the world. No guns, no knives, no deaths' Natalia thinks. 'Just a few more days and then we will be truly free. Sorry young Natalia but I can't tell you this part of the plan, but believe me; it's for your own good.' Regina thinks.

The next day they go their separate ways and return home happier and more alive, Natalia goes for a jog in the evening and when both of them are early home, they sit with dear Hilda. The pattern continues until Regina has to work at the night shift instead of the day and the girls hardly see one another. When the emptiness gets too heavy Natalia spends a little more time with Hilda and the old lady tells her past stories. Is the Black Widow allowed to feel lonely? But god help her she just turned sixteen, two days ago, she's just a kid, so she is allowed to feel lonely. But no, she is the Black Widow and she never got to be a child.

"You know I had a grand-daughter, Natalia. She was a sweet pea, all laughs and smiles. God bless her soul, never used to go to bed without me tucking her in because her father was in the army. Then one day, the news of her father's dead came with two men in a uniform, with the Russian flag in their hands and a sorry on their lips. That was her first breaking sign; it shattered her in so many places. She was just five you know. Life become really hard then, she hardly laughed, but occasionally smiled, never in the same way but. Then the world started calling us names when her mother began staying the nights in a brothel to make ends meet and finally one day two rogue thugs broke in and stole their lives away. They hung my little grand-daughter up like a piñata and took the life out of her. I was out that night, but I yet wish I wasn't." Hilda stopped there, taking off her specs and rubbing the moisture out of her eyes. "You know what I did Natalia, I did nothing. I could do absolutely nothing to avenge them. And look at me now, pathetic, alone and miserable." The story wasn't haunting to Natalia, she had been through something quite similar.

"Why are you telling me this, Hilda?" Yes Natalia was curious, she could analytically break down every situation and out it all up again but she can't understand emotions.

"Well Natalia, in revenger and in love women are more barbaric than men. So I want to know, will you a take revenge if you have to?" She plays a sly smile on her lips that mar lines on her wrinkled forehead.

Natalia thinks about all the things she would actually want revenge on and then she elicits a small 'yes'. Yes revenge is Natalia's cup of tea but emotions aren't.

**AN**: Did you like the chapter? How about some reviews now? Constructive criticism is always welcomed and I am open to all your suggestions. Thanks for reading. And please review.


	3. Black Widow or Natasha

CHP: 3: Black Widow or Natasha Romanoff?

Thanks reachercreature for your review. It really motivated me to continue.

Clint Barton was many things. For beginners he was patient, handsome, young and incredibly good with a bow and arrow. To conclude he was loud, absurdly witty, sharp and picky with his food. But currently Clint was a man on a mission in Russia. He is sitting in the freezing bar of the beat up Russian bar that offers drinks that he has never heard about and isn't going to try them any time soon. He plops his head on the counter of the bar, ordering a beer, make that two and goes through the mission in his head. He swears in his Iowan accent that Fury just gives him the easy pie mission so that he never gets a day off. The infiltrating mission was done with but now extraction was week away, because of the damn weather. And all Clint wanted was a good night's sleep but the cheap motel of his has the most ancient heating system. Either that or the bloody Russian actually like the cold. He decides to go to another Motel but he has to provide them with his ID, and this and that and he doesn't want that right now.

He leaves the bar, tugging his jacket closer to him and stuffing his gloved hands in to his pockets. He watches his boots making patterns on the white snow covered ground. He walks and keeps on walking until he doesn't know where the heck, in the cold country of Russia, he is. He looks up and the closest thing he finds like a hotel is the building named Paradise. He knows what Paradise, written in the neon lighting is supposed to mean. But none the less, he walks up to the door and pushes it open. He walks up to the old man at the front desk, bangs a few robles on the counter and is escorted by a dark haired girl to the room.

"Uh, look I will pay you whatever amount you want but all I want to do is sleep." He tells the girl in his tired words. She hands him a glass of water, which he thankfully gulps down.

"I knew you weren't the kind, Agent Barton." The sleep is really clouding his judgment and before he can protest, he succumbs.

Regina takes of Clint's boots and turns the temperature higher. This is what she was waiting for. The knight to help them, just help not rescue. She takes out the bonds she has and ties his hand above on the head rest. Well the waiting game is almost over, but she has to wait just a little more. She pulls a chair closer to the bed and promptly dozes off.

Out of the sheer habit that he has accumulated over the past few years working for SHIELD, Clint wakes up mentally before making any physical attempt of judging his surroundings.

"Agent Barton, I know you are awake."

Senses high on alert, he tries to remember about his location, memories don't come rushing in because memories of such an uneventful event was never made. But then he is bound, he realizes when he tries to move his hand and then some-one called him Agent Barton. His eyes now fly open.

"Who are you?"

"Relax Agent Barton, I know you name because you have it stitched across your shirt."

"Why am I bound?"

"That Agent Barton, has something to do with a favor, I need from you."

"And your name is, Sweet Thing?" He asked, noting no threats in the vicinity. That cocky, pesky attitude of this was back.

"Depends on the person you are, but I think you are one of those who can keep _it_ in your pants. That or you are impotent. So for you I am Regina" He winces slightly at her wit and decides that it is best just to move on. "Now about the favor, I know you work for SHIELD, I can get your history and your future for that matter faster than a lightning can touch the ground. But all I ask for you is to recruit me and my friend to SHIELD."

"You sure don't beat around the bush, Sweet thing." Regina hates when he calls her that 'so that's how young Natalia must feel when I call her young.' She thinks. "And if I refuse?" He asks her, slightly turned on by her low cut dress. Then there is a blade against his throat with the lightning speed she was talking about.

"Agent Barton, listen close and listen carefully, you are in position to negotiate. Do you understand? I know you have almost slipped those slinky bonds but it won't matter because if you make another move, I am afraid it will be your last. I and my friend have really been through a lot. I don't think we are safe anywhere. All I ask you to do is to give us a chance." She pushed herself off the bed and towards the window, sun lightly streaming through. "Your mark, Anthony Chekov, he has a back-up warehouse in the south of this town. By now I hope Agent Barton you must have understood our knowledge and skills." Barton was leaning on the bed now, mouth open and a klutzy attempt to put his boots back on.

"How the heck did you know all that?" Regina spots something through the window and momentarily freezes.

"Well, I am sorry Agent Barton, I am out of time. Maybe we can go through all the details next time. Meet me here three days from now outside the bar you came from. Otherwise I know where you sleep." She said the final sentence with a smirk and then he was kicked out the door and out of Paradise.

Natalia was bored but happy, well happy as happy can be when peeling the ninth sack of potatoes that day and really who eats so many potatoes. Marc, the head waiter had called in sick that day and guess who the Executive Chef decided to fill in for him. Natasha. She soon found herself in a black waitress uniform and was out in to the dining region. To stay she fits the role flawlessly would be wrong, she fits it better than flawlessly. Being trained in the red room has proved to make capable in adapting any situation given to her. She waited the tables, introducing herself, jotting down the orders and as soon as it begun, she had been called off duty, when her shift ended. She walked towards the kitchen, giving the dining region once last glance back when she heard the inaudible creak of the door opening.

In all her Red Room days, not once, did Natalia feel that she would feel fear but here it was when Jordan, son of Ivan walked in. Tall, lean and exceptionally handsome, he was living on his father's name, striking fear in the girls with empty night threats. Natalia quickly regained her right mind and made a dash for the kitchen. She took off the uniform, changed back into her normal dress, grabbed her daily wage and was out. She walked around the restaurant, towards the front and hid in the shadowy alley of the building next to it. Jordan she assumed would be with one of his many one night stands who would pose no immediate threat, so she waited, a plan already fixed in her mind. And while she waited for the bastard, she couldn't help but rethink Hilda's words 'Revenge, your cup of tea?' She knows the answer, she always knows the answers.

Jordan walks out of the restaurant nearly an hour later, girl wrapped around him like his coat. They start walking by the alley and Natalia is ready. She noiselessly knocks the girl out first, catching Jordan by complete surprise but he recovers quicker than she thought. He slams a fist at first which is easily dodged; a kick delivered by her to his forehead seems to do the trick. She drags him towards the alley's darkness. She kicks several of his ribs before finally deciding that his final time has arrived.

There is blood staining her shiny knife, a clean slit on Jordan's neck and tomorrow there will be a couple of clueless policemen and a new serial killer on a spree. The time, the knife cuts through Jordan's neck, Natalia knows she had let the Black Widow win over. She knew from the very beginning that the Black Widow will always be an inerasable part of her. She searches Jordan's body for any indication of the other Red Room operatives, getting the numbers she needed, she wiped her knife clean on the deceased bastard's clothes and walking home.

She reaches home and then goes for the run that has become part of her routine. Run, keep running and then run more. For the months that they had been free, Natalia had kept training herself indifferently. There was always a small part of her that told her that she needed to be prepared, a small voice telling her that she would need it and so here she keeps running. Hilda's question just proves that something is terribly off and she has no idea where even to begin. She isn't Natalia anymore, she doubts she can be the Black Widow in the open streets, she is Natasha and she has no idea how to figure things out. After her eternity full of running she goes home to find Regina there for the first time in a month. Regina was never home for the night, coming home during the days, when she had to go off to work.

"Regina, you're home?"

"Why so surprised Young Natalia?"

"Because I haven't seen you in a month." Natalia said plopping down on the bed, Regina doing the same on hers, after switching off the lights.

"What do you think about the name Rose?" Regina asked

"Why? What difference does it make?" After a while of silence, Regina replies.

"Paradise, I work at Paradise. Good night"

Things had changed after that for three people; Clint, Natasha, and Regina. At this point of their lives, doubts, regrets and endless if's filled their body.

Clint Barton found himself outside the bar he had visited three days ago. He paced around the curb, waiting for Regina. He knew only two things at this point; one, Regina meant business and second that she seemed sincere. More than that, he was pretty oblivious. He glanced at his watch and then up at the sky, which was pretty clear. He knew one more thing; SHIELD was purposely delaying his extraction to piss him off. Once his eyes tore off the blue atmosphere, he found Regina across the streets, frantically waving at him. He crossed the streets with equal urgency and was now face to face with a heavily breathing Regina.

"Agent Barton, I don't much time remaining-"

"What are you talking about? Are you okay?" Clint asked, his training taking over, searching the perimeter.

"Agent Barton, I belong to the Red Room. I know you haven't heard of it yet but you will if you don't find my friend and help her. She is –she isn't evil Agent Barton. She just needs a push" She starts coughing blood then, taking her hands off her side to reveal a gaping hole in her torso. It's incurable, Clint can tell by just one glance. He feels his mind going into battle mode and steeling itself for what he might further discover. "Her name will be Natasha Romanoff. Do not Agent Barton-absolutely do not kill her." Standing is a pain now; she slips on to the floor, Barton going down with her. This isn't what he was expecting.

"Why would I want to kill her?"

"Agent Barton, you will figure it out in due time. Now listen carefully, you cannot take me to any hospital. It's too late for that. Girls like me aren't supposed to exist any way. Bury me somewhere good, anywhere I don't care. But for god sake don't be a foolish man and hand my body over to anyone." Shallow breaths and three minutes later, at 6.20 pm Regina passed away before whispering a slow 'Thank you Agent Barton. You are a good man'

He buries her respectfully in a cemetery and his extraction never had a more sorry time. Well this was Barton's part of the events. Regina's would be unimaginably different.

Regina knew from the moment the she saw a Red Room operative, outside Paradise, while placing her proposal to Agent Barton that trouble had arrived. She felt herself tense and then then shrugged it off with a smirk. The red room operative could do nothing to her in this house, filled with normal people. No that would prove too dangerous and the risk of exposing their identity to the world seemed too great. She kicked Barton out of the room and promptly climbed out the window, running home. She hasn't seen Natalia in over a month and the very idea of having somewhere safe to go seems inviting. When she reaches the said place, she sits down to write. She writes paper after paper and then stuffs them into her bag pack in the closet. She stuffs them in the nick of time before young Natalia arrives home from her jog. Wheels were reeling in her mind, trying to lay the next move but nothing moves in, well, she accepts her fate that death is close and secretly reveals Natalia her stripper name.

The next morning seals the deal of her death when the news of a new serial killer makes the headline. 'Murder of the millionaire, Jordan Petrovich, stirs questions." She knows Natalia is the hand behind the crime but the Red Room worker's saw her that day in Paradise. So it will be her death. They find her soon after that, while she was walking to work. But with god's miracle work, she had decided to take the other away to Paradise which stops by the bar she asked Agent Barton to come by. And there he is, glancing at his walking, walking up and down the curb from across the streets. But it's too late; the red room sees her first. They come over, she doesn't put up any attempt to fight, and they shoot her, the bullet embedding itself in her lung, the noise of it drowning in the busy streets through the silencer on the gun. But she is a red room product, so a bullet they know will never be enough to kill her. So a well-placed injection to the heart does the rest before they disappear just as they came. She waves her hand more franticly now and lucky stars counted, she catches Barton's attention.

Her body is in peace after she tells Barton about them. 'At least someone will know about us now, at least I exist for someone'. He buries her in a cemetery, past midnight in a town whose name is a tongue twister and Regina had never felt freer.

Natalia doesn't see Regina after the night when Regina told her she worked for Paradise. It isn't much to go by but there was the feeling in the stomach that told her otherwise. So sits with Hilda, talks to her and makes company for the view and conspiracy for the mind. Ten days after that she knows for sure that something is terribly wrong when she finds from Hilda that Regina doesn't even come home in the morning when she is off at work. She knows it time to leave this house called home now because if Wolfe is missing then she is next. She quits the restaurant the next day, looking for Paradise, searching her head for any clues Regina might have given her about its location. She finds none so begins walking on a 5 mile radius search. She finds it soon enough.

Banging the old gruff man's head on the front desk of Paradise, she asks him about a Regina, getting nothing, she asks him about Rose. That gets her some answers. According to him, she hasn't come to work for the past twelve days and then reality finally sets in; Regina is dead or taken. Either of which Natalia is not ready to accept.

She stomps home, plotting and swearing to kill every single one of the Red Room members. She pulls her closet door open, taking out all of her belonging, Guns, clothes, cash, everything. She pulls out Regina's bag too, taking ammunition and papers from there, stuffing it in to her bag. Hilda's at her doorway now.

"You know, I always knew there was something about you Natasha. Go if you must but swear yourself that you will complete whatever you want to start." The old lady says. The fire in Natalia's eyes is enough prove and the she is gone and so is Natalia.

This was the story of Clint Barton, Regina Wolfe, and Natasha Romanoff. The stories they live are different but somehow they weave together to become one.

After killing a total of 169 people including 74 Red room members Natasha asks her reflection in the mirror of Radisson Blu.

"Are you the Black Widow or are you Natasha Romanoff?"

**AN:** Thanks for reading. What do you think about the story? Some reviews might really help me. Pretty please review please.


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