Karma - W. Maximoff

Chapter Twenty-One

"Nat, what are you doing?" Alex poked her head into Natasha's room. She had a duffel bag in her hand, unconsciously throwing clothes into it. "You're leaving?"

Natasha only nodded, continuing to pack her bag. "I can't stay after what I did, you know that."

Alex half smiled. She knew.

Natasha poked her head up, moving to another part of her room to grab a few personal items. She knew they were dangerous to keep, but she didn't want to forget the team as a whole. "Where are you going?"

Natasha had gone into Alex and Wanda's room earlier to grab a stick of deodorant. Everything in the room was moved to a corner or packed in boxes. She assumed it was just that Alex was moving to a smaller room since Wanda was locked up.

Alex sat on the edge of Natasha's bed, her eyes focused on her feet. "I would leave like you, but I'm done being a criminal. People hated me for years, even after the Avengers, and I can't deal with that anymore. Most of them still do."

"What did Ross tell you?" Natasha had her suspicions about why Alex had decided to fight with them against Bucky and Wanda. She figured it wasn't up to her.

"If I caught them, I would be pardoned for everything. Everything with HYDRA before the Avengers, helping James escape from the government." The two women met eye-to-eye for a moment and Alex shrugged. "But we didn't."

Natasha moved toward her, sitting next to her on the bed. "You don't blame me." It wasn't a question. She knew Alex wouldn't blame her for letting Steve and Bucky getaway.

"No."

"Come with me. You won't have to be alone, rotting in a jail cell." It was an offer that Natasha knew Alex would never except. Even she didn't want to run from everyone, afraid that they would treat her like a Red Room agent again.

Alex didn't respond, standing up and placing a hand on the door frame. "Maybe after all of this is swept over, we can see each other again."

The edge of Natasha's lips perked up in an almost unnoticeable manner. "Maybe someday, дорогая."

——————

Alex woke up, cold and alone. They had knocked her out on the way to the facility so that she wouldn't know where they were located.

She was dressed in an all-blue outfit, bars facing her on one side of the room. She could hear murmurs of other people in the room and she immediately recognized their voices.

They had stuck her with them.

"Al, you awake?" Alex heard Clint ask as she sat up, groaning. Her body was still out of it, but her mind was racing.

"Yeah, I'm up." She muttered, wiping sweat from under her eyes. Alex ran a hand through her hair, rolling her shoulders back. "How long was I out for?"

"A couple of hours, give or take." Alex heard Sam say. "They tossed you in here like you were a criminal."

She was a criminal. She didn't care if she redeemed herself when she joined SHIELD or when she became an Avenger. She was still HYDRA, whether or not she liked it.

The doors opened to the room and Tony walked in. He had a bruised eye as he looked at all the people around the room.

"The Futurist, ladies, and gentlemen! The Futurist is here! He sees all!" Clint spoke, a smile on his face. He dropped the act immediately as Tony walked over. "He knows what's best for you, whether you like it or not."

"Give me a break, Barton." Tony walked closer to Clint's cell, maintaining the tiniest bit of distance so he wouldn't get in trouble. "I had no idea they'd put you here. Come on."

Clint spit on the ground, his humor gone and his tone dry. "Yeah, well, you knew they'd put us somewhere, Tony."

"Yeah, but not some super-max floating ocean pokey. And, frankly, you don't seem mad at Alex for turning you in."

"Oh, don't bring Alex into this-"

Clint was cut off as Tony continued on his rant. "This place is for maniacs. This is a place for-"

"Criminals." It was now Clint's turn to cut Tony off, standing up in his cell. "Criminals, Tony. I think that's the word you're looking for. Right? That didn't use to mean me, or Sam, or Alex, or Wanda. But here we are."

"Because you broke the law."

Alex rolled her eyes, standing up in her cell. She put her cuffed hands on the bars, poking her head through slightly. "You're a dick, Tony."

Tony turned around, subconsciously. "I didn't make you break the law."

"And we did because that's what was right to do." Clint continued. "She broke the law because she knew Barnes wasn't a criminal-"

"He killed my parents!" Tony yelled. "They didn't die in a car crash, they were murdered!"

Alex let her head hang at her feet. She wasn't there when it happened, but she knew all about it.

Tony spun around, pointing a finger at Alex. "You knew." He whispered, coming face to face with her. "You knew he killed them, and you didn't even tell me."

Alex broke eye contact with him, her eyes darting up to the camera in her cell, begging for help. "I wanted you to be at peace and not worrying about HYDRA."

Before Alex knew what was happening, a fist had connected with her face through the bars. She felt blood start to pour out of her nose as she stumbled back, gripping the side of her head.

The rest of the team that had been locked up started booing, though they secretly wanted to check to make sure she was okay. Alex only nodded, grimacing and pinching the bridge of her nose. "I probably deserved that."

Alex watched as government agents piled in the room, pulling Tony away from the cells. They dragged him out of the room, letting the door clang behind them in eery silence.

That was the last straw. Alex had always been like glue for the team, but now that Tony was against her, it was over.