Flightless
Natasha was 11 years old when her world turned upside down for the second time. She had known, in the back of her mind and bottom of her heart, that the undercover mission would have to end eventually. Playing pretend was for children, and she wasn’t a child anymore. She was sure that after Masha was taken, they wouldn’t be able to stay. But they had been given the gift of a few months after that. Of course, she had been on edge the whole time, watching Yelena like a hawk, making sure she wouldn’t lose another sister.
When they hauled the whole family in the car, and listened to Yelena’s favorite song as they headed to the airfield, she knew this was going to be her last family car ride. She had tried to enjoy it, but Natasha had been conditioned from a young age to focus on what was dangerous, not what was fun. Spending time enjoying the moment could mean a knife in your back, or in the back of your family.
So she had remained alert, and when she was needed to pull the plane into the sky and away from the warfare below, she did exactly what was expected of her.
The real fight didn’t come until later, when the realization of what she was returning to kicked in. Worse than the idea of returning to hell was dragging her younger sister down with her. She was still just a kid, she didn’t understand how the world worked yet. She wasn’t ready, shouldn’t ever need to be.
So she had done what she was trained to do, but had broken a rule she never had before. She had aimed the gun at her so-called superiors, her captors.
She wasn’t strong enough then to protect Yelena. But it would not be the last time she broke that rule.
***
Natasha listens helplessly as the alarm blares loudly across the base. Red flashing lights eliciting uncomfortable memories that she forces down. An agent scrambling through the halls tells her the news. Yelena never made it to containment.
Damn it
She runs, almost instinctively, to Daisy’s room. If Yelena was still after her then the woman would be under-defended. The rest of the base scrambles into lockdown behind her, men with guns running towards the base’s exits, non-combative agents filing into saferooms.
Natasha forces her way past the agent positioned in front of the medbay and is relieved to find Daisy arguing with Simmons inside.
“You’re still dealing with the aftereffects of the drugs in your system! You’re not going anywhere.”
“Yelena’s out there and I need to find her”
“You’re going to be no help in your current condition!”
“Daisy.” Natasha interrupts. “Are you alright? Did she come through here?”
“I’m fine” is the irritated response. “Do you think I’d still be here if she did?”
She’s right, either Yelena would have captured the young agent or Daisy would have run after Yelena in a fool’s errand to save her.
“Well Simmons is right, you need to stay put. I’ll handle this.”
She hears someone’s steps behind her and swivels her head to see him right before the man starts speaking.
“Neither of you will be handling anything.”
“Fury-”
“Don’t Fury me, you know damn well the only reason that girl came here in the first place is for Johnson, and you are out of your mind if you think I’m handing them an Avenger too.”
“You wouldn’t be handing me over, I can protect myself.” Natasha asserts defiantly.
“Sure you can, in normal circumstances. But we don’t know the extent of what we’re up against. And until we do I’m not risking them getting access to either of you.”
“Director-” Daisy starts
“You’re grounded.” He takes a pointed look at Natasha. “Both of you. Now don’t do anything stupid so I don’t have to make you regret it.”
Fury doesn’t hang around after that.
Simmons sighs. “Well, you heard the man. Get some rest Daisy, I need to check on the one blood sample we managed to get from Yelena on the plane.”
The scientist gives Daisy a chastising look, but then pauses, her gaze softening. “I’ll get you your gloves when I’m done.” And then she follows Fury’s footsteps.
Once Simmons is out of sight, Daisy speaks up. “I’m not doing nothing.”
Natasha nods absently. Her focus is elsewhere.
She couldn’t understand why the Red Room had Yelena escape. Surely her cover was already blown, she was caught, normally to the Red Room that would mean death. And to leave without completing the mission? She didn’t even attempt to go for Daisy again. Natasha just couldn’t wrap her head around it.
“Natasha?” Daisy tries to call her attention.
“Why didn’t she try to complete her mission?”
“You mean me?”
Natasha nods, jerks her eyebrows and sits at the edge of Daisy’s bed. “It just doesn’t add up. The Red Room’s protocol is suicide upon discovery.”
Natasha notices Daisy flinching at the thought.
“I just don’t understand. Why keep her around?”
“Maybe because she still has value somehow.”
“Widows are always replaceable to Dreykov.”
Natasha eyes Daisy. Except you
She thinks back to Simmon’s comment on gloves.
“I tried to look at your powers. On the index. It was redacted.”
Daisy scoffs. “Welcome to normal person status. Most of us don’t get to just know everything.”
“My clearance level should give me access to that information. But I couldn’t find anything on you and May’s team, even your leader’s name was redacted.”
Daisy shifts uncomfortably. Natasha presses further.
“What’s Fury hiding from me?”
“Look I don’t really believe in all the bureaucracy crap but it isn’t my place to tell you about this one.”
“Then why don’t you tell me what is your place to tell me. You’re gifted, right? Not just potentially. You said a word when we were talking earlier, you said you transformed. What does that mean exactly?”
“I’d rather focus on Yelena.”
“What were the gloves for?”
“Natalia.” she says firmly, ditching the nickname that Natasha had made her legal name in the US. “Yelena first, then me.”
“Why are you being so secretive?” Natasha asks playfully.
“You’re not the only spy in the room.” Daisy says, matching her tone, and then, more seriously. “Let me help you with whatever it is we’re doing to get her back, and I’ll tell you both about the past 19 years.”
Natasha narrows her eyes. “Just promise me whatever you can do won’t end the world if you end up under Dreykov’s control.”
“If I end up under Dreykov’s control just kill me.”
“I’m worried I won’t be able to.” She says, and it sounds cold, even to her.
Daisy laughs bitterly “I’m guessing you don’t mean because I’m your sister.”
“That too.”
Daisy rolls her eyes at the confirmation.
“I’m just saying if Dreykov cares about a specific girl in his program, it should scare everyone. And- maybe Fury’s right about you sitting this one out.”
Daisy seethes. “I’m not a kid anymore Natasha! S.H.I.E.L.D. has been my life since I turned 18. The same woman who helped train you, trained me. I can handle myself.” She takes a breath, as if remembering May’s teachings in that moment. “And you can’t stop me. So either you let me help you because you know you can’t do this alone… or you get out of my way.”
***
“Get out of my way!” Masha yelled defiantly.
“We need to stay quiet Masha, too much attention is bad for Mom and Dad.” Natasha hissed. She held on to Masha’s arm, holding her back from running to the boy that had been sticking his tongue out at her.
“But he hit Yelena!”
Natasha closed her eyes tightly, taking a breath. “I know, and he deserves it, but not now.”
The little girl looked furious, but stopped struggling against her hold. She turned instead to Yelena, who was looking at a flower on the ground. “Are you okay?” she asked her.
“I’m okay.” Yelena said meekly.
“Mom says pain only makes you stronger.” Masha said. It was the only advice she had to give.
“She’s right.” Natasha tells them, sitting down on the grass with them,
“Why’d he hit you?”
“He told me you were weird.” Yelena says to Natasha. “That you were freaky and scary and because I was your sister that meant I was freaky too. And no one wants to be friends with mean scary girls.”
Natasha looked back at where the boy had been, but he was gone. Probably for the best.
“I told him he was stupid for saying that, and then he screamed and hit me.”
Natasha was really glad the boy was gone. “I’m sorry. Some boys are awful and mean. But you were really brave.”
“I didn’t feel brave.”
Masha hugged her sister, and then shifted behind her. She grabbed the flower Yelena was looking at and slided it into Yelena’s braid.
“Well, you should. I’ll tell dad when we get home okay? He’ll know what to do.”
Yelena nodded.
“I wanted to hit him” Masha says. “I almost did!”
Yelena giggles. “You’re crazy.”
***
Natasha had left once Simmons returned with Daisy’s gloves. They had agreed to meet at one of Natasha’s safehouses in D.C. and then drive to a private airfield at around 4 am. Natasha hears a knock on her door, and zips up her duffel bag. Natasha knocks on her side of the door in response, and Daisy lets out a long whistle. She opens the door.
“Was that really necessary?”
“I thought you were a spy now.” She says with some playful mockery.
“Yeah, but who else is coming to your door at 4 am on a Tuesday?”
“Can never be too careful.”
Daisy rolls her eyes. Natasha notices Daisy’s wearing the gloves from earlier. They’re black, made of some kind of stretchy material, and have holes cut out for the fingers.
“Those have trackers?” She asks, because she knows Daisy won’t answer anything else about them.
“No.”
Natasha nods slowly. “Car’s waiting.”
*
“You couldn’t get anything more subtle?” Daisy eyes the Corvette Stingray, and Natasha swears she looks almost nostalgic.
“We were on short notice. Plus the car’s part of the deal for my plane guy.”
Daisy raises her eyebrows. “Expensive guy.”
“Again, short notice.”
Natasha gets in the driver's seat, and accelerates off into the road, heading out of D.C and into Virginia. Daisy leans back in the car, and pulls out a protein bar.
“If you make the car messy I’ll kill you.”
“Woah, touchy.”
“I’m serious.”
“It’s a granola bar. I'm not gonna devalue your fancy car, and my boss has a cooler one by the way.”
Daisy is careful anyways.
“So,” Daisy says, filling space. “Avengers huh.”
Natasha rolls her eyes.
“What? You grill me all day and I can’t ask you about your superhero entourage?”
Natasha relents, smiles “Okay, what do you want to know?”
“Well I don’t know. Never thought I’d get this far.” She says then, in a slightly suggestive tone. “How’d you meet Thor?”
*
The wind is especially heavy when they make it onto the tarmac. There’s a man that Daisy doesn’t recognize standing in front of a pretty dreary looking plane.
Natasha pats the guy on the back, “Don’t tell Morse about this will you?”
“My lips are sealed.” He says, and Daisy notes that he’s english. “How is the she-devil anyway?”
“I thought you were married?”
“Ex-married.”
Natasha nods, a knowing look in her eyes. “Don’t love giving you my car for this piece of crap.”
“Hey- I just got you a cleared to fly vehicle in less than 24 hours with a full tank and in a convenient location. Some gratitude would be appreciated.” His voice is confidently offended.
“Thank you, Hunter.”
“Mm. Doesn’t hit as hard knowing you don’t mean it. She’s a needy one isn’t she?”
It hits Daisy that the man is talking to her now. “She’s just worried the plane won’t make it off the ground.”
He groans “Ugh, you too. Who is this woman anyway?”
Natasha squints her eyes at the wind, looks away and then back. “My sister.” She says casually.
“Bloody hell. Didn’t know you had a sister.”
“Two, actually.” Daisy pipes in.
Hunter raises his eyebrows. “Well I hope I don’t need to deal with the three Romonoffs in one room anytime soon. Two is already overwhelming.”
Hunter gestures to the plane and lets his hands drop to his sides. “Well, should have everything and be ready to go. Call me if you need anything else, but, with notice next time. Keys?”
Natasha tosses Hunter the keys to the Stingray, and the women climb into the plane that’s seen better days.
“Where are we going exactly?” Daisy asks, tossing her bag into the back of the plane.
“I think the reason Dreykov hasn’t killed Yelena yet is because he wants us to look for her. My guess is she’ll be at the Red Room, and we’ll be expected.”
“Where’s that?”
“I have no idea.” Natasha admits. “But I know someone who does.”
It hits her all at once. “Dad.” Daisy says, and then, figuring out what that means- “You don’t want to-”
“Ever broken into a prison?”