Stained (N.R)

Chapter 37

Yelena came back with a new bruise on her face, Ilya in tow, both looked tired and strangled, their cheeks flushed from being on the run, likely from each other and maybe a third force. 

"I thought I said, try not to kill each other?" I raised a brow at Yelena, who waved her hand nonchalantly. 

"Natalia hit me first." 

Ilya rolled her eyes, moving to sit beside me, giving me a kiss on the forehead, sighing as she snuggled into me. "I haven't see you in ages."

"Ew." Yelena rolled her eyes. "Lovers."

We both chose to ignore her. "How much did Yelena tell you? About the situation we are in now?" I asked. 

Ilya grimaced. "Not much, but we saw it first hand."

Yelena nodded. "Dreykov has complete control over their brains, which makes them heartless and efficient. They will never betray him, not even hesitate before making a kill. He has managed to separate the last bit of humanity from them." 

"He has been doing the same for decades." I shook my head, eyeing the red vial which Yelena brought out on her palm. "What is the difference now. I say the only thing that we have missed is that Ilya wasn't able to kill him all those years ago."

Yelena shook her head. "We met someone on the way here, Dreykov's new toy that sent us scrambling. We couldn't even get past his or her defences."

I squinted my eyes. "Because you didn't bring me."

"He is more powerful than you think." Yelena rolled her eyes. "Don't be cocky."

"I'm afraid that I'm with Yelena on this one, love." Ilya sighed. "They are..."

Jupiter suddenly spread his wings, making all three of us jump, a bullet ricocheted of his left wing, bouncing on to the floor at Yelena's feet. 

The three of us stared at it for half a second, then Yelena swore. "They've found us."

The attack came like a slap in the face. 

"You still think this is easy?" Yelena elbowed a widow in the gut and pushed her to the side, trying to clear a way to the window, which was our closest escape. 

"I said I was sorry." I snapped, flicking my wrist. 

Diana smashed into the window like a catapult, clearing our way temporarily as the three of us scrambled on to the low roof of a concrete building beneath. 

"Get on to the flying bird." Yelena yelled, tackling herself on to Jupiter's back, pulling her sister up behind her. I climbed after them and nearly got a frisbee to the face.

I looked down to see an unfamiliar figure dressed in black and red battle armour, her face wrapped completely in a helmet.

She looked up at us and said nothing, only holding out her hand. Her rip off version of Steve's shield flew back to her outstretched palm. 

"You know what? I think Dreykov needs to pay Steve copyright fees." I complained, peering down as Jupiter circled and ascended in height. 

"That's far from all that she's got." Ilya warned. 

I stared in amazement as the figure retracted her shield, pulling out a bow and aiming it at us, Hawkeye style. "What the hell is she? Doraemon?"

"What is that? Dora.. Doramon?" Yelena seemed quite interested, peering down with me.

"It's a blue cat machine from a Japanese anime." I answered. "It has a pocket attached to a separate dimension which is basically a giant storeroom, it can even take doors out of its pocket, very cool."

"That is very cool." Yelena agreed. "I like pockets."

As we rapidly flew out of bow range, the figure lowered her bow and stood still, as if she was deep in thought or receiving some order. 

"She's analysing our movements and our habits." Ilya sighed. "This is my third encounter with her now. Every time I see her, she seems to come up with something that takes me out of my comfort zone."

"And the other widows." Yelena added. " I don't want to kill them, but it makes things a lot more difficult, especially now Dreykov's trained them to mirror your moves."

"We need to free them from Dreykov." Ilya grimaced. "But it would be impossible with only three of us, even with the vial you showed me."

"I thought you don't believe that he is alive." Yelena raised an eyebrow. 

"I can't just believe you without evidence." Ilya snapped. "And I just had evidence come at me in the face."

"Well perhaps now you are willing to share?" Yelena pressed.

"Share what? I know even less about this than you."

"You know what I'm talking about, Natalia."

"I don't, and honestly if you want to collaborate you should stop speaking riddles."

"Then tell me! What happened to Dreykov's daughter?" Yelena breathed hard through her nose. "You weren't supposed to kill her, weren't you? You and that Barton are heroes. You shouldn't be killing innocent children."

I bit my lip slightly, trying not to get entangled into their argument. 

I always knew that Yelena was bitter and angry about what Ilya did. Yelena saw it as betrayal, as abandonment. She wanted to ask Ilya why she left us behind, but she was too afraid of the answer. So instead the rage built up, layer by layer, year after year, morphing into emotions to complicated to name.

I understand, because before my time at the ring as a underground fighter, I thought it too. 

For Yelena, the answer meant everything, even if it shatters what is slowly mending. The question was like an infected wound, not healing, but growing bigger, hurting more and more. But me, I am just happy to be alive alongside Ilya. What she did, what she thought in the past mattered no longer. 

If you could lose someone you love at any moment of your life, the hurt that they bring you means nothing. 

The only thing I have to do is to keep Ilya alive, other than that, I have no other wish. 

"It's not supposed to be like that." Ilya turned her head so Yelena couldn't see her expression. "We never meant to kill her, but it was our only chance. She was.... collateral damage. We had to make sure that we kill Dreykov, and the only way is to kill her too."

"And is Katya collateral damage too?" Yelena pressed closer, her eyes slightly red. 

"Whoa guys, don't drag me into this ok..." I protested weakly. 

"Don't you want to know?" Yelena snapped at me. "I know you do, I know you want to ask her too."

"I didn't know she was there." Ilya shouted back at her sister, a tear making its way down her cheek. She avoided my gaze and said quietly. "I never would have blew the place up if I knew."