Natalia had some time to think after the meeting in the lab with the SHIELD team. After about an hour or so, she grabbed a laptop that was in her room and left for the common room. When she arrived, it was empty. She found a comfortable spot on the couch and set to work trying to find James. Darcy was still in her room resting. Natalia didn't know where the rest of the team was, she only hoped The Avengers hadn't escaped the tower and alerted them of the situation. Just to check, she hacked her way into the tower and was pleased to find it still on lockdown. She then focused on James.
Using what hacking skills she had, she searched the web for footage of The Winter Soldier. She got excited when she found a HYDRA leak. After a little digging, she found blurry video footage of a man leaving a building somewhere in Canada about two months ago. After thinking about it for a while, she started to wonder why someone would video a seemingly normal man just leaving a building. That's when she noticed that the man was wearing a large coat, one that would certainly cover his arms. She then noticed the way he walked and carried himself. Even though she couldn't see his face through the blurriness, she knew it was him. She was a bit surprised though to find that HYDRA was after him. Wasn't he a part of HYDRA? She had so many questions and not enough answers. After digging for a few more hours, she hadn't found anything else.
While sitting in silence, she heard footsteps approaching the lounge. She figured them to be female, lightweight, and not a trained agent. The steps were not loud, but were not quiet either. It had to be either Skye or Jemma. She banked on it being Skye, and she was right.
Natalia's presence startled Skye when she came into view. Natalia looked up when Skye walked over, and noticed the girl's apprehension.
"Skye, right?" she asked.
The other girl smiled and relaxed slightly. "Yea, what are you doing up so late?" She took a seat next to the red head.
Natalia sighed and looked back at the computer. "I'm trying to find someone who doesn't want to be found."
"The guy you were supposed to meet today?"
She shook her head. "He would have been a dead end anyways. If he knew what was good for him, he would have left the country if HYDRA saw him. It was worth a shot trying to speak with him." Natalia was a good liar, and Skye was drinking up her words.
"Maybe I can help? I'm good at this kind of stuff, it's kind of my specialty. I mean if you want that is." Skye was worried that she had overstepped a boundary. She was so nervous to be talking with a deadly assassin.
This made Natalia excited, her trap was working. "I can't ask you to do that. If anyone knew who I was looking for, they could be in danger. I can't even tell Darcy yet, or I would be pulled from this mission. It's too dangerous."
Skye didn't care about danger. She was always wanting to test her skills. And to help out Natasha Romanoff, it was a thrill. Plus, she had no reason not to trust her. She was an Avenger! "I don't care. It would stay between me and you! If I blabbed, I'm sure you would end my life!"
Natalia acted like she was thinking about it. "Fine, but if you tell anyone, I mean anyone, you could jeopardize this entire mission and I would get you pulled from this team so fast you wouldn't even know what hit you."
Skye gulped in fear. "Deal. So what have you got so far?"
Natalia glanced around, not trusting all the open entryways where someone could over hear them.
Skye noticed this and suggested they go to her room. Natalia agreed and they made their way there.
Natalia glanced around the small room. It wasn't very furnished with any personal items, but it did have a couple of laptops and other electronic devices. They both sat on Skye's bed with their backs to the wall, and a laptop on Natalia's lap.
"Okay, the last location I found him at was in Canada, two months ago. After that, I can't find anything. This video is too damn blurry, but I know it's him."
"Where did you find this video?" Skye asked.
"I picked up a HYDRA leak, and it led me right to it. I don't know why HYDRA is after him, he is supposed to be a part of HYDRA."
Skye looked at her. "Why do you need to find a HYDRA agent?"
"He's not an agent, "she responded, looking at the confused girl. "He's a weapon."
"I know that he's all hush hush, but who is it that you are looking for exactly?"
Natalia smiled, "The Winter Soldier."
"Holy shit!" the girl exclaimed. "What the hell do you need with him!?"
The loud noise from the girl caught Natalia off guard. She shot her hand out and placed it over the dark haired girl's mouth to shut her up. "Shhhh, we don't want to wake the entire plane."
As soon as Natalia removed her hand, Skye continued her barrage of questions, but this time in a much quieter voice.
"Why are you looking for him? I though Captain America was trailing him."
Natalia lied again. "He was, but kept coming up with dead ends. He wouldn't let anyone else help him. The mission affected him emotionally. The Winter Soldier and him used to be close friends, which you already know I'm sure." Skye nodded at her.
"Well, he came back from one of his searches and he just looked so defeated, he wasn't acting the same. SHIELD was no longer helping him since The Winter Soldier wasn't causing any more trouble. Rogers didn't have the resources he needed. From Avengers Tower, he just didn't have access to files to find him. He kind of dropped off the grid. From what I have found, HYDRA is hunting him down, and I want to get to him before they do. So, I was sent to meet this guy here in Seattle, but since I hit the end of that road, I'm back where I started."
Once again, Skye was drinking in her words. She was even more elated to find out she was in a way helping Captain America as well.
"Got it," was all she said. She then took the computer from Natalia and started typing furiously on the keyboard. "I'll use The Bus's database since it has access to more restricted files and can search further into the systems." After a few more minutes of typing away, Skye slipped a small smile. "I'm getting some stuff, but this could take a while."
"Thanks Skye." Natalia motioned towards one of Skye's laptops. "May I?"
Skye nodded at her. Natalia picked up the laptop and began going through the information Skye was finding, and giving her any info that she needed.
After a few hours, Skye closed the laptop she was working on. "Okay, we have narrowed the search to somewhere in Germany. I contacted some of my Rising Tide friends, don't tell anyone by the way, and they will dig some and get back to me in the morning. That's all we can do for tonight."
Natalia smiled at her and closed the laptop she was working on. "Thank you so much Skye, I couldn't have done it without you. You just may be the world's best hacker."
Skye beamed at the comment. "I don't know about that, Agent Romanoff, but thanks."
Natalia got up from the bed. "I'm sure I'll be leaving tomorrow, so as soon as you get anymore intel, let me know. I'll see you in the morning." With that, she left the hackers room and headed back to hers. The plane was as quiet as could be due to the late hours, and Natalia was actually looking forward to sleep. It had been a long day and she was one step closer to finding James.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
It was gloomy in the room, and looked foreign in the unnatural light. The floor felt so cold, and there was a weird noise in the room. What was that noise? He rolled over to try and figure out what was going on. He saw a man kneeling over him. His lips were moving, but, oh, that must be the sound he was hearing. He looked so familiar... Thor! He jumped up, annoyed with the dimness of the emergency generator lights.
"Be calm, friend Tony, you were unconscious. You both were." Tony looked over to see Clint and Jane, wrapping bandages around Steve.
"I found him in the training room on my way here after JARVIS alerted me to the situation." Thor said.
Tony made his way over to the two and noticed Steve conscious. "Hey buddy, how ya feeling?"
"About as good as I look." He grimaced in pain and then passed out again.
"He keeps doing that," Clint said. "I think he will be okay though."
Tony then noticed the tears in Jane's eyes. "Jane, you heard Clint. He's been injured plenty enough times to know when someone is gonna pull through."
Jane looked at him angrily. "I know that Tony, what I'm afraid of is Natalia. She has Darcy."
Tony's stomach dropped. Natalia with a hostage was bad news. From what he saw on the memory trip, they never lasted long. He then turned to the cell Loki was in when Jane yelled at the god.
"Find her, and bring her back, now," she demanded Loki.
Loki looked at her sadly. "I can't."
Jane looked at him angrily. "Yes you can, I'll let you out and you can teleport to her."
"He really can't, Jane," Tony said as he walked over to the switch to the door and let him out.
"What do you mean he can't," Jane cried.
Tony sighed. "The walls of the entire tower prevent any inhuman from escaping by use of powers. I mean, they can walk right out of a door, but if the tower was on lockdown, like it is now, his teleporting powers are useless. He can teleport within the tower, just not to the outside."
"Then get a damn door open!" She was hysterical. Thor wrapped her in his arms and Tony sighed and walked over to his computer to see what he could do.
Loki in the meantime, tried to reach his mind out to Natalia, but it wasn't working because of the walls. He could feel her, but couldn't connect. He then tried to help Clint with Steve. Steve was awake now, and wasn't slipping back into unconsciousness.
Clint looked to Loki in dead seriousness. "Do you really think you could help her?"
"I can try, if she has even the slightest bit of humanity left, I can help her. I've been trying to unblock a memory I took from her. I just need to touch her, and it will all come back."
This time Steve spoke. "She can be helped. She could have killed me, but she held back. I saw it in her eyes. We need Natasha back."
"Wait, what memory exactly did you steal? And why?" Clint asked.
"I can't tell you, it's something Natasha will have to tell you. It's not my place, but she is the one who made me take it."
He jumped when Jane suddenly appeared in front of him. "This memory didn't happen to occur in 1953 did it?"
"You remember, and yes, that's when it happened."
"What are yall talking about?" Clint asked confused.
Jane explained. "Darcy, Loki, and I were watching a movie a while back and Natasha came in and joined us. We started talking and all of a sudden Loki asked if she remembered 'that time in 1953 when she saw all the blood in the snow'." Jane suddenly gasped. "Oh my gosh! She got really confused and in a way asked what year it was! She looked kind of shocked when we told her 2014! She was Natalia then! And you knew!"
Loki held up his hands in defense. "I didn't know for sure, and I was trying to wake up that memory to see If she remembered or not. She obviously hadn't."
Steve spoke up this time. "How long had you suspected it was Natalia?"
"The moment she woke up."
Thor, Jane, Clint, Steve, and even Tony who had tuned into the conversation and walked from the computer, all gasped.
Clint looked devastated. "It's been Natalia the whole time, and we didn't even notice. What kind of friend are we!"
Loki tried calming him down. "Clint, Natalia has been trained as a master manipulator. We figured out all those years ago, after she took down Red Room, that if she held back, the serum in her body would start to fade since it wasn't being used. She, Natasha, not Natalia, subconsciously knows that if she doesn't use all of her strength, her speed, her healing, any of that, she can slow down the amount of serum flowing through her body. That's why you never really noticed how special she was. She was holding back."
Steve looked thoughtful. "You mean she has been slowing down her own body and instincts, just to feel normal?"
"No Steve, not to feel normal." They all looked at him in confusion.
"She does it all without her knowing because of that memory. She wants to die."
"What the hell Loki!" Clint yelled at him.
"I will say no more, you will find out soon enough what I say is true.
Tony then turned to him. "Hold up, she is suddenly stronger and faster now because she isn't holding back? The serum is pumping faster now?"
"Yes Tony. Natalia doesn't know Natasha. She doesn't know any of you, and she doesn't know her own mind at the moment. She isn't holding back because she hasn't trained herself to do so yet. The serum stores itself, and when extreme physical activity is demanded, it mixes with some chemical the body produces, and multiplies itself. It is never ending."
"It's so fascinating, "Jane piped up. "How do you know all of this?
"I read the files, back then of course, before Natalia destroyed them." Loki looked smug.
Tony just couldn't believe it. He stood there looking at the floor before he felt five pairs of eyes on him. "What?" he asked.
Clint rolled his eyes, "the systems, Tony. What did you find out?"
"Oh that! Yes, we're screwed. The system was designed not to let anyone out, unless someone from the outside disarms it."
"Why the hell would you design a system like that Tony!" Clint yelled at him.
"Because, Clint, what if someone were to say take over your mind, and use the access codes stored in there to wreak havoc in the most dangerous and weaponized tower of all of New York?"
Clint looked hurt, still not over the mind control Loki put him under during the Chitauri invasion. "Oh," was all he said.
"We are basically sitting ducks until someone discovers us missing...great," Jane said defeated. She was terrified for Darcy. She had to be in a world of hell.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"This is heaven!" Darcy exclaimed as she took another bite of breakfast. Fitz and Simmons made a huge breakfast for everyone, and no one was going to miss it. The breakfast table was crowded with all kinds of dishes, as well as people, as they dug into the feast.
Natalia watched the close knit team interact, and became suspicious when Agent May made a plate and left, only to return a minute later empty handed. "She must have taken it to 'AC'." She then dismissed it. She was damn curious to know who it was, but it wasn't relevant to her mission. She didn't need to know.
She quickly became annoyed when Agent Morse started asking her all kinds of questions. She answered them all with a smile on her face. The woman was only curious, having been graced with the woman she strived to be as good as. When Hunter started pining for Morse's attention, she looked over to Skye, who was chatting hacker talk with Darcy. Everyone was having a good time. She then noticed a beep coming from Skye's handheld, and watched as she checked it. She noticed the smile, and she then made eye contact with Natalia and nodded. She had found something.
She excused herself from the table and Natalia watched her leave. She waited another few minutes and Agent May then left, having finished her breakfast. She then non chalantly excused herself from the table and headed for Skye's bunk. She looked to see if she was followed, and the coast was clear. She slipped into the room and turned to see and excited Skye with her laptop open to a picture of a man with a metal arm.
"We got him."