An Assassin's Creed | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 1

Natasha walked down the dark quiet New York street, slumping just a little from exhaustion. Working out at the Tower, while great and beneficial, wasn't at all convenient. Steve tried to convince her to move closer to the Tower—actually, what he said was that she should move into the Tower—but she couldn't find a place that she liked and if she had to live with the so-called heroes...so help them.

Three more blocks. She was almost there, but it certainly didn't feel like it. She grimaced as her legs ached with each she took; perhaps she overdid it in training today. Stupid Sam. She never should've fallen for his goading, but God he was annoying! Natasha sighed as she rounded the corner and wiped her brow. Two more blocks. The end of the block seemed so far away and the thought made her want scream...or shoot something...or do something.

A horn blares loudly from somewhere to her left, followed by the sickening and painful crash of metal, sending the ex-assassin diving behind a mailbox drawing her gun as she entered defensive mode. She waited a moment before peeking at the scene, cursing under her breath at the sight before her. A silver sedan laid on its side in the middle of an empty intersection, crushed and broken; pieces of metal and glass and God knows what else littered and scattered around the surrounding area.

"Der'mo..." Natasha cursed as she leapt from behind the mailbox and sprinted over to the capsized car. She looked into the cracked windshield and her breath hitched as her eyes connected with the unconscious driver. From the windshield, the Russian redhead assessed that the young woman had a large gash on her forehead leading down to right by her ear, blood stained her white blouse, and her left arm was bent at a weird angle.

Natasha kicked at the windshield, sending more broken glass into the interior of the car and onto the young woman. She crawled in pulled out a small knife from her belt, cut through the seatbelt, and tried to wiggle her free to the best of her ability, trying hard to not cause anymore harm to her. Dragging her to the sidewalk, Natasha pulled out her phone and dialed 911. She explained to the dispatcher what happened and relayed the woman's visible injuries, and after she ended the call, she waited for the ambulance with her, holding her in her arms and pressing down on her wounded side to stop the bleeding.

"Wh-what...w-where..." she mumbled as she opened her eyes and blinked quickly, trying to remain conscious. Her breathing quickened as her panic set in, causing fresh blood to flow from her wounds. A scream built up in her throat, but Natasha pressed a finger to her lips, stopping it from escaping.

"Don't talk, you'll only make things worse. The ambulance will be here soon. It's okay, you'll be alright," Natasha soothed her. The woman closed her eyes and laid her head back against Natasha's arm and rested a hand against the sleeve of her shirt.

The deafening siren of the ambulance grew louder and louder as it rounded a corner and parked in the intersection across from the wreckage. Natasha waved the paramedics over and gently shook the woman awake.

"Was there anyone else in the car with you?" she asked as the woman opened her grey eyes. She sloppily shook her head before she collapsed back into her hold. "Hey, come on. Stay with me. Stay awake. Hey, what's your name?"

"Eden...Clarke."

"Okay Eden, stay with me," Natasha said shaking her again to keep her awake. The paramedics came over with a stretcher and lifted her onto it and the ambulance. Natasha followed after them and took a seat on the bench, taking Eden's hand in hers.

As the ambulance drove off towards the hospital, the paramedics filtered around the small interior, stitching and patching up her wounds and doing things to keep Eden conscious.

"Am I...going to die?" Eden asked, her voice quiet and tired. Natasha leaned forward more into Eden's line of vision, and mindlessly caressed her hand with her thumb.

"You're gonna be just fine," Natasha said, giving her a small smile. Eden returned the smile with one of her own, and seemed to relax more into the stretcher. "Where are you from, Eden? I noticed that your license plate says you're from Rhode Island."

"I just moved here a few weeks ago from Rhode Island. I was waiting for a new plate," she winced when the ambulance ran over a pothole and groaned, "guess it's pointless now."

"At least you're alive..."

"You're right." She leaned her head back down and sighed, closing her eyes to block out the pain. They arrived at the hospital soon after that, and the paramedics quickly brought Eden into an empty room where doctors and nurses began their examination of her wounds. Natasha took a seat in the waiting room and pulled out her phone. Looking at the time, she groaned. How could it be after one in the morning?