A train driving by in the midst of the night was normal. Beside it is an abandoned building also doing what was normal. Covering up the unusual things happening in the night. Inside the building were a group of thugs and a woman by the name Natasha Romanoff.
On top of an elevated platform Natasha was tied to a chair that was close to a huge hole in the floor. One of the men who was closest to her stepped up and slapped her as hard as he could across the face. Natasha let out a groan as her head was whipped to the side, but she took it fairly easily.
"Merlin!" Euphemia grimaced.
"This is not how I wanted this evening to go." Luchkov, the older man who was clearly in charge, spoke in Russian.
Natasha replied back in Russian, "I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better."
Rose frowned up in disgust. "For you anyways."
Nat nodded in agreement.
"Who are you working for?" One of the thugs walked closer to Natasha while the man in charge spoke. "Lermontov, yes?" The thug tilted Natasha's chair over the hole. A look of fear came across the red head's face. "Does he think we have to go through him to move our cargo?"
The look on Natasha's face went away at his words as she then asked, "I thought General Solohob is in charge of the export business." The man set her chair down on all four legs and stepped back.
Multiple stolen artifacts sat in the corner. A mirror showed the older man walking closer to Natasha with an amused look. "Solohob, a bagman, a front." He pauses in front of her to continue his rant, "Your outdated information betrays you."
The smirk on his face, as he believed he had outsmarted her, grew. "The famous Black Widow," He paused in amusement. His thug chuckled at this. "and she turns out to be simply another pretty face."
"Men and their egos." Ginny rolled her eyes.
Lily huffed at this and nodded. "Honestly!"
"Hey!" Every man in the room called out.
"Oh, shut up!" Aubrey rolled her eyes. "It's true."
"You really think I'm pretty?"
Rose groaned. "We just defended you."
Natasha shrugged with a smirk on her face. "I was having fun. This was one of the easiest interrogations I've ever done."
The older man looked to his silent company in amusement. As he turned to walk in the opposite direction, his goon grabbed Natasha's jaw and forced her mouth open.
"Tell Lermentov we don't need him to move the tanks." Luchkov reached a table with different tools on it. "Tell him he is out. Well..." He paused to pick up a pair of pliers and then looked at her with a sadistic smile. "...you may have to write it down."
Natasha grunted as the shrill ring of a phone sounded throughout the room. The goon who wasn't holding her realised it was his phone. The whole room looked at him while he answered, only for him to turn it to Luchkov. "It's for her."
Luchkov dropped the tool back on the table and grabbed the phone. "You listen carefully-"
"Your at 1-14 Silensky Plaza, third floor." The voice was so loud it could be heard by the others near. "We have an F-22 exactly eight miles out." Luchkov looked around in alarm. "Put the woman on the phone, or I'll blow up the block before you can make the lobby."
Luchkov forcefully shoved the phone to Natasha. She used her head to pin the phone against her shoulder to keep it to her ear.
"We need you to come in."
"Are you kidding me? I'm working." Her mask of fear was dropped and replaced by a look of annoyance.
"This takes precedence."
"I'm in the middle of an interrogation. This moron is giving me everything."
Peter frowned in confusion and looked to Nat.
Natasha noticed and smirked at him before giving him a wink. Peter turned back to the screen with bright cheeks.
The older man looked around to his companions. "I don't give everything."
Natasha looked at him as if to say 'Really?' before continuing her conversation, "Look you can't pull me out of this right now."
"Well, now he knows what you're doing." Remus looked at her.
Rose shook her head. "If Nat needs something, she gets it. He was going to tell her what she wanted to know."
"By force or by choice is up to them." Nat only shrugged.
"Natasha!" Coulson stopped to gather himself. "Bartons been compromised."
A fierce look of determination came across her face at this knowledge. "Let me put you on hold." Natasha cut her eyes at Luchkov to take the phone back.
The man did as he was silently asked. As soon as he was close enough Natasha kicked him in his leg. He went down on one knee only for her to head-butt him. He fell out on the floor in pain.
She stood up with her chair still connected to her back. The two goons ran to her in an attempt to take her down. She kicked one back and dodged the other's fist. She used her chair to turn and knock him down completely.
The other man got back up to fight. Natasha rolled on her back, chair and all. She then used her chair to sit down with chair legs on his feet. The man cried out in pain when she threw her head back into his face.
Natasha only got back up and used her chair to trip him to the ground. She kicked the other man again since he found his way back up.
Phil waited quietly on the other end, while Natasha handled her business.
Somewhere along the fight one the men ended up bent over groaning in pain. The spy used this to her advantage. She used one of the men's back to gain memento as she front flipped. Her landing on the other man sent the old chair to pieces.
Natasha rolled up onto her feet. A goon grabbed her from behind, but Natasha wasn't having it. She bent his arm back in a position that it wasn't made for. The man cried out in absolute pain.
She took a chair leg and hit him in the ribs with it twice before letting it go. She jumped up and used both feet to kick him in the chest. She landed on her back and used her hands to jump back to her feet.
The moment she was on her feet, she ran into her signature move. Natasha leaps and throws her legs around his neck. She uses her grip to flip him off balance and onto the ground. She made it back to her feet without issue.
She purposefully strides to the chain wrapped around a railing near the hole. Sensing Luchkov behind her, she smoothly slides over and hits his head on the rail. Disoriented, he begins to trip. This allows Nat to take the chain and wrap it around his leg before he completely falls.
Natasha grabs her heels and the phone that Phil was still on and walks to leave the building. Almost as if she didn't just beat up three men, she spoke into the phone calmly, "Where's Barton now?"
"We don't know."
"But he's alive?" You could hear the slightest bit of concern in her voice.
"We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back."
A thought occurred to Natasha. "And Kitty?"
"She doesn't know yet. She's my next contact. I got her. We need you to handle the big guy."
"Coulson, you know Stark only trusts me about as far as he can throw me. He likes Kitty. He'll never say it out loud, but it's obvious." She smiled in thought of the woman.
"I'll keep that in mind, but I was actually referring to the Other big guy."
Natasha paused in her stride. "Bozhe Moi."
Nat reached down and placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder. She wanted him to know that she didn't feel that way anymore.
Banner looked at her with a soft smile. Natasha found herself returning it when he turned around.
[Scene Change]
A park was surrounded by kids. Every single last one was having the time of their lives.
Children were laughing and screaming out in nothing but pure joy. The sight was beautiful to those with a heart for children. Nikita Romanoff loved children.
So why was this sight giving her nothing, but anxiety. Two words.
Wren Barton.
Wren, Clint's three year old daughter, is a burst of sass and energy. Clint had a friend, Diana, who was going on a dangerous mission for Shield. She was a single mother who wasn't in good standing with her family. The woman made him promise to raise Wren like his own if anything happened to her. Unfortunately she died of a gunshot wound, resulting in her leaving her two year old in Clint Barton's care. Nikita lived with Clint in Missouri, so naturally she was the mother figure in Wren's life.
Nikita was sitting on a bench with another woman. The woman was sitting up straight like a ruler. She was the perfect picture of a housewife in a 50's ad. Nikita found the woman to be odd and out of place. Something in Nikita screamed at her. She knew this woman somehow.
Nikita looked down at her phone for the time only to jump at a sudden screech beside her.
"Dudleydinks! My baby! Are you okay?" The woman beside her had run towards a boy who was on the ground a few feet away.
The boy was short and thick. He couldn't be any older than five. His face was red and his knee was bleeding. The child had very clearly fallen.
"I wanna go home!" The boy waled out.
After watching Harry's movies, everyone knew who these were, but were too invested in the movie to say anything.
The uptight woman nodded and kissed his head before she stood up and looked around the park.
"Harry! Come here!" She barked at a small boy who was skinny and frail. He looked no older than four and even that was a stretch. He ran away from the swing to the strict woman who had called him.
By then Nikita had lost interest and looked around to check on her child. She spotted the small blonde girl who was now in the sand pit. Nikita smiled and lifted her phone to take a picture, but was once again interrupted by the same woman's screaming.
This time was different.
The woman wasn't just being dramatic. She looked scared and lost. Distraught.
"Rose! Rose!" She held the hand of her two kids. The frail boy with bright green eyes was crying and the bigger boy looked terrified. She ran all around the playground in a frenzy as she continuously shouted, "Rose! Rosemarie, this isn't funny! Please come out!"
Nikita stood up in concern and jogged to the woman and her kids, but kept Wren in her peripheral vision.
"Miss! Can I help you?"
It was almost like she didn't hear Nikita. She was just screaming and crying for help.
"Miss!"
The woman still ignored her.
Nikita felt off. Like she didn't belong and wasn't meant to be here.
She turned around to get Wren and leave only to notice that Wren was gone.
Nikita's heart stopped. No No No No.
She ran to the sand pit screaming "Wren!"
"Wren!"
"Birdie!"
"I'm right here mama." Wren got off of James lap and went to her mom.
Rose picked her up. "I know, baby."
She stopped when she realized something.
It was silent. Dead silent. No screaming. No laughing. No crying. No creaking of the old seesaw. Just Silence.
Nikita looked around and saw the park completely empty.
Nikita closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again. She hoped that things would change. Still nothing. She did it again and again and again.
"That's not going to change anything."
Nikita whipped around to find a small girl around the age of six in front of her. She had two red pigtails in her hair and a yellow sundress on. She looked awfully familiar.
"Your daughter is fine." The little girl gave her a reassuring smile.
It didn't do much for Nikita. "Who are you?"
The little girl didn't take offense to Nikita's abrupt question.
"Rose. Rose Potter."
"Whats happening?" Marlene asked in confusion.
"Oh. I get it." The peculiar blonde witch spoke for the first time.
"I think your mother was looking for you." Nikita had no idea why she was conversing with a seemingly mature six year old, while her child was missing. Something about this girl made her feel as though this was normal.
"That lady is NOT my mother."
Nikita chose to change the subject, "If my daughter is okay, then where is she?"
"That's not important. What is important is us." The little girl tilted her head with a smile.
Nikita frowned in confusion. She went to say something when a sharp ringing sounded throughout the park.
Rose frowned and huffed out, "We will speak again. I've been trying to get to you for months."
"Wha-"
Nikita abruptly sat up with a gasp.
"Dude, chill. It's just Coulson."
Nikita blinked the sleep out of her eyes. It took her a moment to realize she was on the couch and that someone was talking to her. This realization made her look at the person talking. A younger looking Aubrey stood in front of her. She was holding a ringing phone that Nikita recognized as her's.
She took the phone and cleared her throat before answering, "How may I be of service."
"Nikita, we need you to come back."
Nikita scoffed. "I'm on a Stress Leave, remember?" She stood up and made her way to the kitchen. "I'm too 'mentally unstable' apparently." She turned away from her kitchen counter and used her arm strength to pull her up and sit on top.
"No one used those words."
"But that's what you meant. I poured my blood, sweat and tears into SHIELD, and this is the thanks I get. I'm benched." She grumbled.
"You stabbed him."
"What!"
Nikita rolled her eyes, "I was in the field?"
"It was a stealth mission! You were undercover!" Phil raised his voice.
"You weren't there. You didn't feel his grubby little hands all over you."
"You went undercover as his date."
"That is not an invitation. He doesn't get a right to my body for a steak and salad. I am not a puppy that licks at his heels just because he fed me. He should have kept his hands to himself when I asked him to." She crossed her arms and glared at an innocent Aubrey who came into the kitchen at the wrong time.
"Yes!"
"True!"
"Ugh men!"
"Honestly!"
"I'll kill him!"
"Calm down, Potter."
"I can handle myself, dad."
"That still doesn't give the right to stab him, but you're right about the touching. I'm sorry." Phil sighed in resignation.
"Thank you. We all learned a lesson that day. He learned some manners, I learned that being a spy doesn't allow me to stab people when I want to and everyone else learned how much I don't care about that rule. Now as much as I know you miss me, I know there is a whole nother reason you want me back. You guys seemed pretty adamant about me taking a break."
"It's Clint."
Nikita immediately hopped off the counter. "Wh-what about him?"
Aubrey stopped midway through her nutella covered strawberry and looked over at Nikita from the bar. Nikita had become serious way too fast for her liking. Nikita was playful and lighthearted despite everything she had been through. Very few people could worry Nikita to the point of seriousness. Those people were Aubrey herself, Natasha, Wren and Clint. Aubrey cared about these people just as much as Nikita.
"He's alive, as far as we know, but he's been compromised."
Nikita closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened them and looked in front of her to Aubrey who was watching her with concern.
"Call Amanda to watch Wren. I have to go to work and you have school tomorrow." She told a clearly concerned Aubrey.
"Is everything okay?" Aubrey looked so scared and small.
It was one of the few times that Nikita was reminded that she was only 14. Aubrey wasnt your typical fourteen year-old. Seeing her so scared and concerned hurt Nikita. It made her want to protect her at all costs. Which is why she naturally didn't tell Aubrey about her older brother.
"There was an incident at work that they wanted me to clean up. Everythings fine." Aubrey didn't look like she believed her, but Nikita didn't give her room to question her. She walked out of the kitchen and headed to her room.
When she was safe behind the closed door of her bedroom she went back to Phil. "I'm on my way. Send me as much as you can without concerns of breach."
Authors Note:
I'm changing my writing style. This way is easier and I can add more background to it.
Sorry about missing last weeks update. Like I said, I'm in highschool. I got behind on my school work.
I'm back and better than ever.
Don't be a silent reader!