2017- Eze, France
"Steve?" I said as soon as the dial tone stopped.
"Julia, are you okay?" I heard his voice and it was almost relieving.
"Yeah, I'm good, it's Nat."
"I got a weird call from her today and it was the first I've heard from her in a month, she said she needed help and to call you." I said looking over at Wanda who looked just as worried as I sounded.
Steve loudly sighed before he answered me which was 10 times more worrying, it meant he was hiding something from me.
"I didn't want to tell you this but Nat turned her tracker off a month and a half ago" I felt my blood boil.
"Why the hell would you keep that from me?!"
"I'm sorry. I felt like you were still working on yourself and I didn't want to worry you too much." he explained and I took a deep breath.
"Did Sam know?"
"No, I kept it from him." I nodded and let the anger dissipate from my veins.
"Okay, this isn't the point right now, the point is that we need to help Nat so when is the earliest you can get here?"
"Earliest, tomorrow afternoon." Steve said and I was satisfied with that.
"Okay, we'll see you then. Same place you dropped us off at." I hung up after that not really wanting to hear Steve's answer; I was furious at him but I didn't have the time to be.
I huffed and moved to sit on the couch beside Wanda as she waited for me to tell her what was up.
"Steve neglected to tell me that Nat turned her tracker off over a month ago around the same time she stopped talking to me." I told Wanda and her worried look only increased.
"I understand why Steve did it but I still hate it." Wanda moved to sit on my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck.
"I know how much Natasha means to you so Steve not sharing that with you is not okay but we're gonna help her." Wanda said as she moved the hair out of my eyes.
"It's worrying, Nat never asks for help and the fact that she did just means this is all the more serious."
"Everything will be okay, I promise, Nat will be okay and we'll help her and everything will be fine." she said trying to ease me and it was working.
"I'm sorry we have to leave."
"Don't apologize, these last two days made everything worth it, we're both ready to go back to it." Wanda kissed my lips quickly and smiled.
"Are you nervous to see Nat?" Wanda asked.
"Not nervous, more worried, I'm more focused on her being okay than how I feel about her right now you know?" I explained and Wanda nodded.
"Very fair."
"I wish I knew what was happening." I said tapping Wanda's leg so I could stand up.
"You'll know soon, you know Nat as well, she is very capable of protecting herself." Wanda was right; once again, Natasha was one of the strongest people I know, she wouldn't go down without a war.
I sighed and walked over to the deck to have a moment to myself. I sat on one of the patio chairs and looked out at the water for the last time in probably a very long while. I couldn't believe it was time to go back but I knew I couldn't stay here while Natasha needed me, I would never forgive myself and Wanda would also agree. I just wish I had more time to explore this side of Wanda and I but I had no one to blame for that but myself, I waited way too long, I was lucky Wanda liked me enough to still give me the chance.
I genuinely wondered though; what could be wrong with Natasha? What could be happening that she reached out? It had to be bad, it was confusing and terrifying all at once. I knew I wasn't going to be able to get any sleep tonight. The wheels in my head were really turning. I went from having such a carefree time back to Avenger mode real fast.
"Are you coming to bed?" Wanda asked, interrupting my thoughts.
"In a minute, I don't think I'll be able to sleep much."
"Who said anything about sleeping." Wanda said in her raspy voice and I could feel my nerves building. A part of me wanted to tell her it wasn't the time but I also welcomed the distraction as well.
"Okay, I'm coming." I said standing up and following the Sokovian girl to the bedroom.
The second I closed the door she latched onto me real fast. I pressed my lips against hers hungry for the distraction she was offering. Our kissing was different than last night, it felt hot and heavy and I was giving into the roughness of it all really fast as Wanda bit down on my bottom lip. I quickly lifted her and pressed her back against the back of the door. The moan that escaped her mouth as I bit down on her neck was intoxicating and it only drove me to continue the way I was going.
Wanda grabbed onto the back of my head as her breathing grew more and more shallow. My hands travelled up her shirt and grazed the soft skin underneath. Wanda hopped down from me and she started to unbutton my flannel which only left me in my sports bra. I pressed my lips against hers again but this time it was harder and her tongue wrapped itself around my own. I was getting really impatient so I ripped the shirt off her body along with the bra she was wearing and she moaned louder as I did so. She turned us around and pushed me on the bed straddling my waist in the process.
Wanda pulled me up and kissed me while I wrapped my arms around her waist. I gripped her thighs rather hard and I was worried for a split second but the sounds coming from her mouth indicated that she liked it very much. I released her lips and kissed down to her chest and kissed every dip and crevice; I sucked on the skin, definitely leaving marks but none that would be visible while she wore clothes. Wanda had her hands in my hair and pulled on it which just made me want to be rougher. I flipped Wanda and I over giving me the top position and I took Wanda's underwear off.
Wanda immediately went for my pant button and I let her as I kicked the pants off. I reached down to kiss her jawline; I tried going down her body but she halted my movements.
"Stay here." she said gesturing to our position and I slid my thigh between her legs.
I rocked into her building up speed and kissing her neck in the process.
"Harder." she said out of breath.
I pushed into her hard and gradually went harder. Her moans filled the room and they were loud, much louder than the other night. Wanda's nails dug into my back and she scratched down it, definitely drawing some blood because I could feel the wound close.
I spent the rest of the night listening to her moans.
*****
I was sitting up in bed waiting for Wanda to get out of the shower as I stared at the flip phone Steve had given me hoping Natasha would call again but I highly doubted it. The phone rang eventually but it was Steve telling me that he would be at the meet up point in less than an hour so I was relaxing a little before I had to get ready considering it only took 20 minutes to get to my home in Nice.
Wanda walked back into the room with wet hair and just my t-shirt covering her body. She made it extremely hard to focus on anything other than her and at times it was frustrating, like right now. I looked at her from my spot in the bed and watched her putter around the room, packing and getting herself ready but yet she hadn't put any real clothes on.
"Julia" Wanda called out to me, breaking my trance on her.
"Yeah"
"Can you do anything but ogle me?" she asked with a laugh and I shook my head.
"Not right now." she threw my shirt at me and gave me a glare.
"Get ready, stop staring."
"Fine." I rolled my eyes.
I got out of the bed and moved to the drawer to grab a pair of jeans. In the corner of my eye I saw Wanda taking her shirt off leaving her completely naked. I tried not to look but I honestly could not resist, I've had my hands all over that perfect being for the last 2 days. I looked at her a little longer and when she turned to me fully I could see bruises forming on her chest and thigh area.
"Woah, Wanda" I said approaching her; the bruises on her legs were from me grabbing too hard and I felt bad instantly.
"No, don't you dare feel bad about this, I don't know if you heard me last night but 'don't stop' and 'harder' usually means it feels fucking amazing. So don't." Wanda reassured me and I felt relieved.
"Okay, good, I just wanted to make sure."
"Julia, I swear if you ease up or stop having sex with me all together-"
"Oh don't worry, I trust you, if you're okay I have 0 problem continuing." I said cutting her off and Wanda smiled.
"Good"
I turned back to my closet and changed quickly. A sense of urgency fell over me as my moment of distraction came to an end. I walked out of the bedroom to allow Wanda to finish packing and getting ready. I brought my bag down to the garage and strapped it onto my bike. I stood by my bike and stared into space just thinking of all the things that could be wrong with Natasha. I felt almost guilty for using Wanda as a distraction last night but I also felt like we both needed it.
I heard Wanda walk down the stairs to the garage and I smiled at her as I grabbed the bag from her hand and strapped it onto the bike as well.
"One last ride?" I said as I handed her the helmet.
"I actually enjoy riding this thing." she said hopping onto the bike and wrapping her arms around me.
"I'm really glad you said that." I turned the bike on and sped off faster than I ever had with Wanda.
I was going really fast so when we made it to Nice in under 15 minutes I wasn't surprised. I was also super proud of Wanda for not screaming or freaking out the entire ride. As soon as we pulled up to my house the quinjet revealed itself in my driveway which wasn't that big of a deal considering I lived very far from any neighbor. I put the bike in the garage and threw the tarp over it, I sighed as I closed it and turned back to Wanda who was talking to Sam.
"Bird-boy." I said coming up to him and giving him a hug.
"Lycanthrope." he joked.
"It's Wolverine not werewolf."
"Same difference." he jabbed me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
"I'm sorry, did I miss something?" Wanda said referring to the very bro-like nature of Sam and I.
"Oh Wanda, who did you think she came to for advice when she was tryna-" I hit the back of his head so he would stop and he gave me a dirty look.
"When I was trying to cook for you, yeah, Sam is a great cook and well, I'm not so his recipe's really helped a girl out."
"Right" Wanda said, walking past Sam and I and onto the quinjet where Steve was surely waiting for us.
"Really?!" I said looking at Sam and he shrugged.
"I didn't think it was a big deal, you're together right?" I hadn't really thought about it and my silence said it all.
"Oh my god, you kiss her and do things and you don't even talk about it?!" I shrugged.
"I'm sorry! I've been a little overwhelmed with Wanda feelings and Natasha being in trouble."
"Okay, fair." Sam agreed as we walked onto the quinjet.
I walked over to Steve who was talking to Wanda and as he saw me approach he smiled.
"Julia." he said and he gave me a very long hug.
"Miss me much Cap?"
"I did." Steve said without missing a beat.
"I see we kept the beard and hair, good, gruffy Cap for the win." Steve laughed and released me from the hug.
"I have a surprise for you." he said and gestured for me to follow him.
"When you were gone I had Fury manufacture a little something for you with the help of T'Challa and some advice from Bucky. He wanted me to mention that." Steve rolled his eyes and I laughed. I was confused though, what could it be?
Steve brought me to a locker and situated right beside the one that read "Maximoff" there was another that read "Howlett" and I smiled.
"That's really sweet, I'm happy to be a part of the team-" I tried but Steve shook his head.
"No no, not the name although we did do that recently as well." Steve clicked the button and the locker slid out and what it contained caused my jaw to drop.
Inside the locker was my own suit, it was beautiful. The suit was entirely black but had purple lining to it kind of like T'challa's but not as tight. The suit was like a combo of Steve's structure wise and T'challa's colour wise. I touched it and it was definitely lined with vibranium. I turned the swivel it sat on and on the arm there was the Avengers 'A' just like Steve's and on the front it looked like my claws in the shape of a 'W'.
"We thought you would take the name your brother asked you too." Steve explained the logo and I tried really hard to not let my feelings get the better of me but this was the best gift I've ever received.
"No, thank you, although I feel like I haven't earned the name quite yet I do love it."
I picked up the note that was stuck to the front and read it out loud.
"Whenever you're ready- K. T'Challa and Shuri" I assumed the siblings were referring to the vibranium transplant to replace the adamantium. I appreciated how worried they were but I felt fine so the transplant could definitely wait.
"T'Challa wouldn't tell me what he meant, care to enlighten us?" Steve asked lightheartedly and I was hesitant to share the info, especially since Wanda was right beside me.
"Just for a visit." I tried but Steve raised his eyebrow at me.
"Right, okay, let's get ready for takeoff." Steve said not pressing me further about the Wakanda situation and I was grateful.
I took one last look at the new suit and closed the locker. I then turned to Wanda who was looking at me curiously.
"Just a visit?" Wanda questioned.
"Yeah, T'Challa has taken a liking to me so he wants me to visit, he asked me to stay when we dropped Buck off." I said not completely lying, I just avoided talking about the transplant.
"Julia, I can tell when you're lying, you suck at it, what's going on?" Wanda pressed again and I knew I wasn't getting out of this one.
"You can't overreact." I said and Wanda nodded in agreement.
"T'Challa shared some information with me the last time I was in Wakanda." I started.
"He told me that basically one day, I'm not sure when, the adamantium in my body will slowly begin to poison me." Wanda's eyes widened but she let me continue.
"And he offered me a transplant, to replace the adamantium with vibranium which is obviously a much more advanced metal, it won't poison me in the long run but it will also make me stronger than I am right now." I finished and waited for Wanda to process what I had just said.
"So basically, the adamantium is going to kill you but T'Challa can save you and you said no for what reason?" she asked and I could sense the frustration in her voice.
"Because I had just promised Steve I wouldn't leave him and the transplant can wait, I don't feel ill or anything yet which is a good sign." I told her but she shook her head.
"So you're going to wait until you start falling apart to get the transplant? Won't that make the procedure 100 times more dangerous and less likely to work?" she asked and I nodded.
"Yes, but I feel so incredibly healthy right now. It just wasn't urgent, he told me to come back if I started to feel ill."
"You are so incredibly annoying sometimes. You should've gotten the procedure!" she raised her voice a little.
"Yeah? And then we wouldn't be here together and everything that's transpired would never have happened, are you sure I should've said yes Wanda?" I asked but Wanda said nothing, she just moved past me and sat in the far back of the back. Great, a pissed off Wanda, just what I needed.
I decided to let Wanda cool off as I moved to the front of the jet and sat in the chair beside Steve. Once I sat down Steve started the jet up and in no time we were in the air heading to Russia. I really didn't have the energy to worry about a transplant, I had to focus on Natasha and making sure she was okay. I had to focus on being an Avenger, not a girlfriend, even though that wasn't what I was.
"Are you good?" Steve asked after a while and I nodded.
"Yeah, all good Cap, just focused on Nat."
"Good, we're heading to her last known location and seeing if there are any clues that can tell us where she is." he explained the game plan once we landed in Russia and I agreed that it was a smart idea.
The rest of the flight was pretty quiet, I was focused on the coordinates in front of me and Wanda was in the back of the plane talking to Sam. I tried not to listen to their conversation keeping Natasha as my soul focus but it was harder to do then to tell myself not too but I managed to mind my own business.
"30 minutes out, gear up guys." Steve called out and I nodded heading to the lockers.
I clicked the button and the locker slid out revealing my suit to me. I unzipped it and slipped it on pretty easily, it also came with a modified version of the gloves T'Challa had given me and I put those on as well. I finished changing and looked in the reflection of the window. I felt different, it felt more official that I was an Avenger and I liked it. The suit needed some getting used too of course and some breaking in but it looked a lot like Steve's so I liked it and the way it fit.
"It looks great." Wanda said, coming up to me and smiled softly.
"Thank you."
"I'm still so mad at you but I see why you didn't do it. Just promise me that when the time comes, you will." Wanda said and I nodded.
"Of course." Wanda smiled and placed a quick kiss on my lips.
"Better than the leather jacket and jeans right?" Steve asked coming up to Wanda and I.
"Yes, much better, will take some getting used to though."
"Of course, you look sharp and ready." I nodded in thanks and turned back to Wanda who was wearing her corset and long red leather jacket, I always did love her look the most.
"Stop staring for god sake, let's go." she said grabbing my hand and going to the front of the quinjet.
"Do you blame me?"
I sat back in my seat next to Steve and helped him land near the coordinates we discovered.
"Let's get moving." Steve said while opening the doors and we all walked out.
We started the walk to Natasha's last known coordinates and it wasn't what we expected as we approached. It was an average home, it didn't look abandoned or anything, in fact we could see lights on inside and we were all very confused.
"Is anyone as confused as I am?" Sam said what everyone was thinking and I nodded.
"Are we sure this is right?" I asked looking at Steve.
"Yeah, it's Nat's last known location, there's no discrepancy or inconsistency."
It had occurred to me that this could have been her childhood home. Natasha did say she was going to revisit some family drama she hadn't addressed in a long time; could this have been the place?
"The wheels in your head are turning. What's up?" Sam whispered to me.
"Nat mentioned she was tying up some loose ends with family, I'm thinking this is her family home but I'm also not sure." I explained my thought process.
"How do we figure it out?" Steve asked, overhearing Sam and I's conversation.
"You guys are ridiculous." Wanda spoke up and started walking towards the house.
"Wanda!" I whisper-yelled but she didn't look back at me.
I moved to follow her but Steve grabbed my arm.
"Don't, Wanda can handle herself." he said and I knew he was right but I felt more protective of her now than I did in Alberta, it was normal after everything that's transpired between us.
"Fine." I said begrudgingly.
We watched on as Wanda approached the door and simply knocked. I guess that's why she thought we were being ridiculous. Wanda waited as the door flew open and a large man opened the door. I listened in to the conversation and at first he was speaking Russian but Wanda didn't speak Russian so he quickly switched to English.
"Sorry, don't get too many English speakers around here, how can I help you?" the large man asked.
"No, it's completely okay, I was just wondering, have you seen this woman?" Wanda asked and held up a photo of Natasha. Where did she even get that?
"What is he saying?" Sam broke my concentration and I shushed him.
"No, I haven't." the man answered way too fast, he didn't even need to take a second look at the photo.
"Okay, thank you for your time." Wanda retreated away from the door and walked back to us slowly.
"He's Nat's father." Wanda said as she approached.
"He also saw her yesterday; Nat left with her sister on a mission, he's joining them when he can." Wanda finished and I realized she had read his mind.
"I forget you can read minds sometimes, did you get any other info?" I asked.
"Yeah, she's dealing with someone called Taskmaster? Do we have any records on him?" she asked Steve but he shook his head.
"No, they don't come up in the S.H.I.E.L.D database." Steve pulled it up on his holographic watch but no file could be found.
"This is annoying." I commented.
"Everything annoys you" Wanda countered and I rolled my eyes at her.
"Anyway, do you know where she is? Or what this guy's name is?" I asked Wanda.
"Yeah, his name is Alexei Shostakov, he's not Nat's biological father, he's her adopted father who basically gave her to The Red Room. I couldn't get a whole lot from that short conversation but I was able to see where he's meeting them." Wanda explained.
"How is he going to help Nat?" Sam asked confused because the man who answered the door certainly looked a little on the older side.
"He's a super soldier, like Steve. That's all I know." Wanda told us all she could get from the conversation by reading his mind but it was certainly helpful.
"Russian version though." Steve said as he pulled up Alexei's S.H.I.E.L.D file, he also went by Red Guardian as I read over Steve's shoulder.
"Wait, why don't we go through Nat's file?" Sam asked and Steve shook his head.
"I didn't want to invade her privacy like that, there are certain things Nat hasn't shared with us and I didn't want to encroach on that."
"I think desperate times Cap, she has a whole ass family that we don't even know about." I said.
"Surrogate family. Basically the people who put her in The Red Room." Wanda corrected me.
"I'll pull it up on the quinjet, Wanda, where are we headed?" Steve asked.
"Budapest."
"Should we be calling Clint?" Sam asked but Steve disagreed again.
"We shouldn't involve him, he's on probation right now and I don't want to risk his family, if he finds out Nat is in trouble he'll throw caution to the wind." Steve said and I agreed.
"Let's get going." I said walking back to the quinjet.
"Julia." Wanda said, getting my attention and I slowed down to walk beside her.
"What's up?"
"Are you going to be okay?" she asked and I was confused by the question.
"Yeah, I'm fine, I just wanna bring Nat home safe."
"I know but, if we find Nat in rough shape, are you going to be okay?" she asked again and it finally clicked; she wanted to make sure I didn't lose it.
"I don't know, I've never seen Nat in danger or in need of help. I don't know how I'm going to feel but I know I'm not going to lose it, don't worry." I told her and she smiled.
We continued our walk back to the quinjet in silence. I was mentally preparing myself for what we might find in Budapest but I was really hoping Natasha would be okay, I can't imagine the strong and resilient woman not being able to handle anything that's thrown at her.
We entered the quinjet but before I could get to my seat Steve grabbed me.
"I need you to run point on this." Steve asked of me and I was surprised.
"Why? Is there something wrong?"
"No, Nat and you just have this connection, I believe it will be beneficial to helping her because you think like she does. You guys were inseparable for a month, you know her Julia, you need to do this." Steve explained and he had a point but I was also emotionally attached to Natasha which could also be a bad thing.
"I understand where you're coming from but there are feelings and such involved with Nat and I. I don't know if this is the greatest idea Steve." I said honestly but Steve looked deadset.
"Nat needs someone to care too much about her, especially right now Julia. She needs the leader to be emotional and have her decisions driven by that emotion. Nat needs 'whatever it takes' and I know you'll fight till the death for her."
"And you won't?" I questioned.
"It's different, I think too logically for this, I need you to take point. Please." Steve asked again and I was so hesitant but I agreed because this is Natasha.
"Okay, then I think I know where she is." I started and Steve guided me to the quinjet where we took our seats and conversed.
"The apartment in Budapest, Nat used it on a mission and that's where Clint found her, it might be too obvious or obvious enough that she thinks no one will go looking for her there but she did call us so she wants to be found." I explained.
"Let's do it, it's our only real lead, Wanda only knows that she's in Budapest." Steve started up the quinjet and I punched in the coordinates.
The rest of the quinjet ride was full of focus, I hadn't spent a lot of time communicating with Wanda but I knew she understood, it was a stressful situation for all of us. The fact that I was now in charge of this mission was daunting, if I failed, I failed Natasha and that couldn't be something that happened, I refused, I guess in that sense Steve was right to put me in charge. I refused to fail Natasha even if it killed me and I knew she would hate that.
The jet landed and we decided to wait for night to check out the apartment. Since the apartment was pretty central to the city we couldn't just barge in looking like the way we did so we waited. When the time came the trek to the apartment was a little daunting since we had to land the jet a ways away to appear inconspicuous. It was an hour of trekking through mud and rain but we made it and we were all prepared for the best and worst scenario.
"Sam, fly me up to the roof, I'll get in through the rooftop entrance and let you guys in from there." I explained and they nodded.
"Wait for my signal." I said.
"Be safe." Wanda spoke up.
"Always."
Sam grabbed me and flew me to the top of the run-down building which was the perfect hideout spot if I was being honest. Sam dropped me pretty roughly but I managed to roll to avoid injury.
"Great landing Sam." I said into the comm.
"I know right?" Sam said sarcastically.
I rolled my eyes and ran to the rooftop door which had a lock on it. I extracted my claws and used them to cut the chain and opened the door with ease.
"I'm in"
I quietly pressed my ear against room 1124 which was the apartment Natasha had mentioned to me when we were talking one night. I didn't know much about the Budapest situation but I knew it was a wild situation since she compared it to when the Avengers fought Loki's alien army.
I turned the doorknob and broke the lock. I walked into the very dark apartment and it seemed very empty. I was disappointed that I was wrong but when I went to turn on a light a knife was thrown and embedded into my hand.
"FUCK" I groaned as I ripped my hand down and took the knife out.
I turned and was instantly met with a kick to the face. I was dazed which confused me because I could usually take a lot more before that happened so I chalked it up to being rusty. It was dark but I could see the figure clearly and it looked like a woman but it wasn't Natasha. I grabbed the woman's fist when she tried to punch me and flipped her over keeping her arm locked.
"Who the hell are you?" I asked but the woman managed to get herself out of my hold and kicked me sending me flying back.
I tripped over the couch and fell on my ass, what the hell was wrong with me?
"Steve, I got a hostile, she seems very angry." I said into the comm.
"On our way up." he replied.
I stood up again and the woman was going for my face again but I caught her foot mid-air and whipped her into the wall. I was beyond pissed at this point and grabbed the woman by the throat.
"I won't say it again; who are you?!" I grunted but she refused to answer as she tried to free herself from my hold but it wasn't going to happen.
I removed her from the wall and threw her on the ground to get her to stop squirming and she did. The woman's hands tried clawing at the hand that was holding her neck down but I was obviously stronger than her by far.
"Julia!" I heard and I recognized the voice immediately.
The light turned on and I saw Natasha standing in the doorway staring at me like she had no idea what I was doing here.
"You didn't call me did you?" I asked and just as she shook her head I felt a strong kick to the head.
I released my hold on the woman on the ground and the dizziness was almost overwhelming. This was the weirdest sensation, I was usually much more capable and stronger than this.
The room was spinning and the last thing I heard before darkness was Natasha screaming my name.
A/N: Hi, hello, the next few parts are going to be about the Black Widow movie but not really because obviously it hasn't come out yet. The next few parts will be my own imagination of it. So enjoy.