Nadia sat beside Pietro running her hands through his hair. He had been tossing and turning unconsciously for hours now, and no doctor could figure out why. All Doctor Cho could figure out was that it was related to the poison similar to the one in Wanda. However, the toxin in Pietro was more complicated and couldn't be isolated.
Nadia heard Cho speaking outside the room, not fully understanding what she was saying. She sounded weary. Footsteps sounded by the door, they were tentatively taken, and uneven. Nadia could tell it was Wanda.
Wanda opened the door to the room, her eyes immediately falling on her twin brother.
Nadia backed away from Pietro as Wanda ran to her brother.
"He'll wake up, yes?" Wanda asked from her brother's side.
Dr. Cho nodded, then left Wanda alone.
"Nadia, what happened?" Wanda asked, switching languages.
"He came back to the room to get a jacket and suddenly collapsed. I told the interpreters all the details already. He said something about his head. Did you feel anything?"
Wanda shook her head. "I was sleeping."
Nadia looked down. "He was going to help me out when he came back... I should have caught on to Roman back when he was acting oddly, I could have stopped this all before it started."
Wanda looked to Nadia sadly. "You said you were good friends, right?"
Nadia nodded.
"Then you couldn't have known."
The two girls' conversation drifted off into a somber silence that got interrupted by the sharp noise of the door opening. Clint walked in slowly, not wanting to break the silence in the room. Clint's eyes softened visibly at the sight of Pietro unconscious with Nadia and Wanda at his side.
"We were supposed to leave for the mission, but he never reported in... I heard what happened but I had to go see for myself. Wanda, do you know if he's going to be alright?"
"Dr. Cho said he passed out from the pain and he'll be fine with some rest," Wanda explained.
"That's good to hear. We had a lead on Natasha's whereabouts and needed him to help, but the problem is... We don't know how long the lead will be valid-if it's even true," Clint said.
Wanda ran her hand through her twin's hair mindlessly. "I have to say, it is weird without her lurking around."
Nadia only understood that the two of them were speaking about Natasha being missing, and sad at the assassin's disappearance. Nadia hadn't known Natasha for long, yet she felt she understood Natasha. They'd really only interacted back in Sokovia and both had wanted the same thing; to rescue Wanda. Both wouldn't give in to each other for loyalty.
Nadia, understanding Wanda and Clint wanted a more private conversation, got up to leave.
"Wait!" Wanda called.
Nadia stopped before the door.
"I'll make sure to tell you when he gets up... I know you two..." Wanda trailed off, not knowing how to word what she wanted to say.
"Kiss each other in secret. Man you should have seen their reaction when I saw them," Clint spoke.
"He knows our language?" Nadia squeaked, while willing her face not to heat up.
Wanda shook her head. "He only understands it, he can't speak it."
Nadia nodded, then left the room embarrassed.
-
In her room, Nadia spent a lot of time reading on the Internet. It wasn't like there was much to do anyways. But reading could only keep her entertained for so long.
She looked to Pietro's bag and noticed her once pristine copy of the Princess Bride bent and teared off in places. She hadn't read the book in a while, and it was one of her favourites.
How Pietro even had the book on him was a wonder to her.
As Nadia opened the book, she began to drift away into an absent state.
-
Roman cringed away looking at the poor person Vitaliya decided to experiment on. He was thankful the blonde woman was facing the other way, so that she wouldn't see his reaction to the man writhing on the ground.
The man was a SHIELD agent caught in Sokovia due to the lockdown the city was placed on. Vitaliya had been joyed the man was a SHIELD agent; they were her favourite to experiment on. Why? Roman didn't know. All he knew was her cruel face watching apathetically as the poor man's mind was torn apart.
"Funny how easily their minds just slip away with a little chemicals. The Twins' minds never did," she observed.
Roman nodded absently, not wanting to watch the experiment anymore.
"Do you still want the twins?" He asked cautiously.
Vitaliya scoffed. "No. They serve a better purpose by destroying SHIELD."
Roman nodded, then flinched as the man before them let out a particularly loud scream. If there was one thing Roman had not expected to happen when he became a politician, it was this. He did not sign up for experimentation on live people whatsoever.
Vitaliya, having noticed Roman flinch, turned to face him. "You wanted to see the process, yes?"
"Correction, I wanted to know how it worked. I didn't exactly say I wanted to watch a man scream."
Vitaliya laughed. "This is how it works," she replied, then beckoned for him to leave the room with her.
Roman followed, wondering just how dangerous of a situation he had gotten himself into.
-
Nadia continued to read through her tattered book with a bored expression. It felt like she was under house arrest as she hadn't been outside in weeks.
She turned the page over absently before realizing there was a note with scribbled writing on it.
"I don't remember putting notes in my book..." She muttered, wondering if it was Pietro who had done it.
She opened the clumsily folded note:
Pietro, I hope to god you don't hate me and finish this damned book or at least find one of the other notes I've put in various places. I am writing this note for you in hopes that Nadia doesn't get any further involved with this crazy scheme. She's already been through enough.
Nadia put the note down for a moment, wanting to yell at Roman for this.
I didn't have much time and couldn't tell either of you what I have to say. Technology is never a safe form of communication, not even SHIELD's database is safe after what he did. By he, I mean the same man who took Wanda, put a knife through your shoulder and kidnapped Romanoff.
Anyways, Vitaliya Shvedov is the woman I met in the bar the one day you two got suspicious; she's the one behind this all. Her father may be an asshole with extreme views, but she's the one behind the voice, behind everything. I needed her to trust me, I needed you two to lead me towards SHIELD. Everything has been planned perfectly up until this moment.
Vitaliya wants me back in Sokovia earlier than I thought, resulting in this note. Please remember no form of technology can be safe to transmit information, that's why he came here. To mess with SHIELD's network. (I put he because I am not trusted with his name).
When the time is right, I will signal you by sending Vitaliya's information to SHIELD. This will surely get me killed (another reason not to tell Nadia currently), but hopefully the information will save you and your sister, allow you to save Romanoff, and get rid of Vitaliya and her corruption once and for all.
Tell Nadia I say goodbye, and that she was like a sister to me. I loved her.
And with that, Nadia burst into tears.
An: I meant to update this WAY sooner, but school is actually killing me with the amount of exams and assignments my teachers have given out. My finals will be over in about a week so I'll have plenty of time to write afterwards. Also, I'm almost done this story! (Finally it's taken 8 months). And don't worry, lots of action and Pietro coming up ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Please leave a vote or review if you enjoyed. Thanks and I love you all!