Wraith [MARVEL x Invincible Crossover]

Chapter Twenty

Natasha thought about what Rebecca said. She kept tabs on her through Rhodes, and all he could say was, "She's been quiet, there hasn't been any activity going on in New York." It was like that for the next couple of months; it was like she disappeared in the face of the Earth, even though Natasha knew that she was just there in the streets doing what she could to cope and help people. Whatever job she was doing now, Natasha just hoped it wasn't something she would regret later on... and speaking of regrets, there was also another person she has been looking for. Since his family disappeared, Clint Barton has also. Jumping from place to place, doing jobs that were similar to what Rebecca did but with more anger. She has been trying to look for Clint but each time she would, he would already be long gone, leaving a trail of corpses.

A debt paid; Natasha remembered saying to Rebecca when she gave her the Widow's Bite. A debt for something she should have forgotten a long time now but after seeing her with Barnes, old wounds opened and she was just glad to see that he found some sort of peace with a daughter, even if he had no recollection of her. But because of the Snap, and Barnes disappearing, Natasha felt that it was her responsibility to make sure that she gives Rebecca the life he should have given her. A second chance. And she was failing, just like she was with Clint and the world. But a sudden call from Rhodes gave her a bit of hope.

"She's been seen in a refugee camp in Brooklyn, you might want to go there."

Taking her car, Natasha drove down to Brooklyn, following the location that Rhodes gave her. It brought her to an old building that turned into an orphanage. Due to the Snap, a lot of children were left orphans, some were still babies when they were brought here – newborns – and others were taken in when they were found in the streets. Walking in the orphanage, Natasha saw a lot of children running around towards the classrooms, she followed them. A couple of workers greeted her with smiles, there were those who recognized her but did not make a fuss. Arriving in the hall, she saw an entire hall with rooms filled with children playing, studying, eating. There were volunteers inside, helping with teaching the children.

She was about to call Rhodes to tell him that Rebecca wasn't there in the orphanage but stopped when she saw the person she was looking for. Inside of a room where there were a couple of children and a few volunteers teaching them to read was Rebecca. Instead of a bulletproof vest, army pants, and boots, she wore a pair of jeans, a hoodie, sneakers, and held a book as she taught the group of children how to read. Watching her teaching these children, Natasha found some sort of relief that she had to hold on to the door to steady herself. It didn't take long for her presence to be known as one of the volunteers identified her as an Avenger. The mention of the word "Avenger" caught Rebecca's attention and finally saw her. They looked at each other for a while before Rebecca made the first move by asking one of the volunteers to take her place.

Rebecca approached Natasha, and Natasha couldn't help but smile when she saw that the girl has tied her hair to a messy bun.

"So, this is what you do when you're not dodging bullets," she told Rebecca.

Rebecca smiled slightly. "It's not bad... Let's go to the roof."

Once in the roof, they sat on the edge looking at the view of an almost deserted city. It was silent for a moment before Rebecca asked.

"How did you find me?"

"You should know that I have my ways," Natasha said.

"Then why did you come here?"

"I got worried, I haven't heard a word from you and about you for the past couple of months. I had to see what you were doing. I'm glad that you're no longer doing those jobs. How long have you been working here?"