This hell hole was everyday life for Natasha and Clint now. It was the year 2025.
All of the other Avengers were long gone, well they were zombies and then Natasha and Clint killed them. This wasn't exactly a happy story.
Nat and Clint had been walking for twelve hours now, they finally found a small cottage out long a riverside.
"This will be enough for us to stay for a few days before we move again." Clint muttered as Natasha nodded and kicked in the small wooden door.
"This place better have a bed and food. I'm starving and exhausted." Nat muttered as they made their way into the small cottage.
"Who's on first shift?" Clint asked as Nat smiled a little.
"Go rest, you need it more than me. I'll look for some food and water." Nat said as Clint sighed in relief. He hadn't slept in 50 hours.
"Thank you so much." Clint muttered pulling off his boots and stumbling into the small bedroom before he collapsed onto the bed.
Nat opened the kitchen cupboard to see about 100 cans of food as she smiled.
"The world is on our side for once." She muttered gathering a few cans. She closed the cupboard with a bit of force and something slid off the top and hit her on the head. She put all of the cans down and looked down at the floor to see a small leather bound book tied up with string, she cautiously picked it up and opened it to the first page.
"This book belongs to Y/N." She muttered reading the neat and colourful writing on the first page. She flicked to the next page to see a diary entry.
"5th of November 2021." She muttered looking at the neat cursive writing.
"Today i moved into my new cottage, i finally moved out of my parents house. I feel like today is the beginning of something new for me, i love it out here. It's so quiet and peaceful. I feel like i can finally take time away from the world and not be bothered. I left all of my problems in the city. Today is the beginning of a new chapter." Natasha read out loud, she placed the book on the dining table and began cooking up some of the canned food. Deciding she would go back to the diary later.
—
Nat woke Clint up three hours later.
"I made some soup and whatever slop i could find in the cupboard." Nat muttered as Clint slowly woke up.
"Argh, thanks for waking me. I was dreaming we weren't in hell." Clint mumbled slowly getting out of the bed.
"Yeah well you can go back to it later." Nat replied leading Clint into the kitchen where two bowls of hot canned soup sat on the table. Clint sat down and looked at the book beside Nat's bowl.
"What's that?" Clint asked gesturing to the book as Nat smiled a little.
"It must be the diary of the girl that used to live here. I've been reading it all afternoon, she started out really happy and free. But she slowly became more paranoid and afraid. I'm not even half way through, i can already tell she's heading for a dark place. I wonder what happened to her." Nat muttered running her hand over the brown leather.
"Sounds like you got yourself one hell of a book there. She was probably stuck here after the spread of the zombie virus. She probably just ran out of food or got eaten." Clint muttered scoffing down the soup as Nat frowned a little.
"Well, i guess we'll find out more the more i read."
—
After they had eaten Clint had let Nat get some sleep. She couldn't help but let her mind wander to the owner of the diary.
What happened to her?
Four hours later Nat was awoken by Clint shaking her awake.
"The Army is closing in, i can hear tanks in the distance. Let's stock up with food, i saw a first aid kit too we can grab that. I'll go get food, raid the closets and find some new clothes or something warm for us." Clint said as Nat nodded and quickly got up and swung into action.
She found a large duffle bag and began packing clothes into it, jackets, socks and shirts mainly.
She came back out to see Clint had filled a backpack full of food, water and first aid supplies.
"Let's get moving." Clint said as Nat nodded, they were about to leave before she stopped.
"Wait." She muttered running back and grabbing the leather diary.
"You're seriously taking that?" Clint muttered as they headed out the back door together.
"It's my only source of entertainment." Nat replied before they made their way across the river and into the forest for another long journey.
—
After walking for twelve hours Nat and Clint found a small abandoned town. They set up in the roof of the library, it was the safest spot and they could see the entire town from one of the windows.
"You get some rest Clint, I'll be on first shift." Nat said grabbing an old bean bag and setting herself down on it.
"You sure?" He asked as she smiled and pulled out the leather diary.
"I got some reading to do." She said making Clint chuckle, he grabbed old blankets and pillows and made a makeshift bed for himself before falling asleep.
"Alright Y/N, let's see what else you've got to say."
—
Nat had been reading for two hours straight, she was nearing the end. She had read so much about Y/N, slowly watching her go insane. Y/N kept talking about something coming, she kept saying everyone was in danger. I suppose she was right, because only a year after this the zombie apocalypse began.
Still, something didn't sit right with Nat. How did this one girl know something was going to happen? Nat felt some how connected to this girl, like there was so much more she needed to know. She reached the last page and saw messy scribbled writing she could barely make out.
"Today I'm going out. I haven't heard anything from anyone in three weeks, i have no service out here. I know something terrible has happened, but i can't stay here and starve. I might never return but there's only one way to find out. I'll leave this book here, maybe one day someone will find it. They see how i slowly turned crazy. I guess this is goodbye." Nat whispered out loud as she read the diary entry.
"What happened to you?" Nat whispered closing the book. She heard a loud noise and quickly got up to the window to see the military outside.
"Shit. Clint wake up." Nat whispered shaking the man as he groaned and woke up.
"The military is here." She said as his eyes widened. They heard a noise and looked up to see five men pointing their guns at them.
"We found 'em boss." One said before everything went black.
—
Nat felt so tired and weak, she felt like she could barely move her body. She could hear someone mumbling. Nat opened her eyes to see bright white light around her, she groaned and sat up seeing she was in a small glass prison of some sort. It reminded her of the ones in the Avenger's tower, but a little more creepy psycho.
She could still here someone mumbling, she looked ahead of her to see a girl in the same cell as her. She was writing weird unrecognisable symbols all over the wall as she mumbled to herself.
She looked beside her to see Clint passed out on the floor.
"Um, hello." She muttered as the girl gasped and looked at her.
She quickly looked away and continued scribbling on the walls. Nat stood up and stood beside her looking at what she was writing.
"I'm Natasha." She said as he girl shook her head and continued to write.
"Y/N." The girl muttered as Nat's eyes widened.
"You're Y/N? Did you write in a leather diary?" Nat asked as Y/N stopped writing and looked at Nat.
"Y-Yes." You muttered as Nat looked at you in utter disbelief. She felt like she was meeting a celebrity.
"I went to your cottage for shelter and I found your diary. I've been reading it the past few days. What happened after you ventured out?" Nat asked, dying to know what had happened to her favourite character. She had to remind herself that you were a real person and not fictional.
"D-Doesn't matter." You muttered continuing to write all over the walls.
Nat heard someone groaning and looked behind her to see Clint waking up.
"Where the fuck am I?" Clint groaned out as he looked up to see Natasha.
"We got captured and for some reason they didn't kill us they are keeping us here. And hey get this, this girl is Y/N." Nat whispered pointing to you as you ignored her and continued your nonsense writing.
Clint's eyes widened as he looked at Nat and then to you.
"You're shitting me right?" Clint whispered before you turned and looked at him.
"Hawkeye." You whispered as he looked around nervously and chuckled.
"Ah yeah...that's me." Clint muttered as you nodded a little.
"I-I saw you on the paper. All your friends died." You whispered dropping your pen and walking towards him.
"All my friends died too and my family. Then they found me, saw the monster I truly am and put me in this cage." You muttered as the two watched you.
"In your diary you kept saying you felt like you were going insane. What happened to you?" Nat asked as you chuckled and took in a deep breath.
Some sort of yellow light washed over your body and your skin turned pale and wounded, your eyes dark and sunken in and your lips grey and cracked.
"You look like a..." Clint muttered.
"Zombie." Natasha finished off as you chuckled.
"That's because I am one. Just before I moved out into the cottage i got infected somehow. When i moved out there I slowly started going insane. Then when i ventured out i saw zombies and military everywhere. I was struck with grief and shock, that brought out more of the infection. I should've turned completely, but what i didn't know, what i never knew my whole life is that i have power. A power that can manipulate energies, it somehow stabilised the infection. M-My brain isn't what it used to be, I'm quite insane these days. I set off a powerful blast and alerted the military. They realised what i was and took me here, they think I'm somehow connected to a cure for the infection. So, I've been here for three years getting tested on endlessly." You explained as the two listened in interest.
"Wow, i can't believe any of this. So, you're a bit like Wanda? If you could stabilise the infection with your power, why couldn't she?" Nat asked with remorse in her face.
"My power must be a lot different, hers was chaos magic. Mine isn't really magic at all." I tried to explain as she nodded a little.
"You seem so articulate right now. Before you could barely speak, why is that?" Clint asked making you sigh.
"In my human form i have to put so much effort into keeping the appearance up that my mind can't think straight. In my true form I don't have to put energy towards anything so i can think better." You explained as they both nodded.
"Now, it's just the small question of how we escape this hell hole." Nat muttered.
"I tried, but they have this inside my neck." You replied lifting your hair away to show a small chip embedded into your skin.
"Well, good thing i came prepared." Nat said pulling a small blade out of her belt.
"You're going to cut the chip out of her?" Clint questioned in surprise.
"Well, I'm already dead so you can't really hurt me." You muttered as they both nodded, Nat gestured for you to turn around. You turned and held your hair away from your neck so she could access it easier.
After a few minutes and Clint gagging a few times, Nat had successfully removed the chip from your neck as your eyes glowed yellow.
Your hand glowed with yellow energy and you punched the glass making it shatter around the three of you.
Guards ran in and began shooting at you all, but you quickly deflected all of the bullets and sent them flying back at the guards knocking them down.
You ran through the halls before you got blocked in by armed guards.
"Screw this." You muttered grabbing Clint and Natasha's hand teleporting you out of the base and up onto the streets of New York.
You panted and fell to your knees.
"Teleporting takes a lot of energy." You muttered as Nat helped you stand up.
"So, where to now?" Clint asked as you smiled.
"Wherever the hell we want."