Chapter 14
NATASHA’S P.O.V.
The woman paced nervously back and forth down the hallway outside the room where the new little girls were going through their first evaluation. Cries full of fear were heard all through the hallway. Her heart ached, knowing everything those little kids would have to endure in that horrible place.
The girls would only be there for a few days, just enough time to evaluate their skills before being sorted out in groups and then sent to different bases. After that, they would be trained. Only one out of twenty would even survive and graduate with the skin on their backs, becoming Black Widows with no other choice.
She was never allowed to be inside that room but always waited outside until the door would open. Each time a new group of girls would come in, she feared to see her sweet baby with them. That time was no different than the others. As they came and went, she studied each of the kids’ faces, finding relief in knowing her daughter wasn’t there.
It had been over a year since she had infiltrated the Red Room to destroy it from the inside. She had been posing as a former widow that was willing to work for them again. But the truth was that she was doing all of that to protect her daughter from the same people that took her childhood… took her choices…
A small child bumped against her legs as she walked away, this kid trying to flee. Natasha’s heart broke as she realized who it was, as she met her baby’s big blue eyes… the ones staring up at her with so much fear. The girl’s messy blonde hair fell over her face just like before, but the woman had to fight the urge to brush it away.
She was wearing a photostatic veil so that she wouldn’t be recognized. Even if, at that moment, it meant that her own child didn’t recognize her either… It was essential.
“There you are.” A widow came running from the end of the hallway and she couldn’t avoid frowning when she saw who it was; Sonya. “I told you not to run away.”
The harsh way the woman talked to the kid, to HER kid, made her want to punch her in the face.
“Come on, you should already be in the room.”
“No! You lied!” The little one fought against the young woman’s grip. “You lied to Auntie Lena…!”
“Let me take her.” Speaking with a strong Russian accent to hide her voice, she stepped in between them before Sonya could hurt the kid. After a moment, the younger widow nodded. “Let’s take you to the room.” She tried to grab her daughter’s hand, but the five-year-old wouldn’t let her, so she scooped her up.
“I-wanna-go-home!” the little girl kicked against her, but she didn’t let go of the hold.
It was heartbreaking to listen to her child sob like that until her body collapsed from exhaustion. She couldn’t keep herself from pressing her daughter against her, gently patting her back while rocking from side to side, as she had done for Lena ever since she was an infant. Thankfully it calmed down the little girl immediately.
She continued walking, looking for a place where they wouldn’t be seen by passersby and where there were no cameras.
“…I want to go home.” Lena sniffled.
"I know, sweetie. I'm sorry." she whispered, using her normal voice this time; the American accent that her friends recognized her by in the past. She truly hoped Lena would recognize her voice too. She set the kid on the floor before kneeling down in front of her. She grew misty-eyed as she took in the sight of her daughter. She looked so big. "You'll be back home soon…"
She gently caressed the kid's baby cheeks, which only got the child to move away, being a little wary about her. But she needed her daughter to trust her. So, once she was sure that they wouldn't be seen, she removed the photostatic veil from her face.
With wide eyes, the five-year-old stared at her in pure confusion. "Mama?"
"It's me, baby. It's mama." she answered her, unable to hold her tears any longer as her little girl jumped back into her arms. "I'm so sorry you're here, sweetie…" she whispered, keeping her as close as possible. "Lena, we have to play pretend, okay? They can't know I'm your mama." she told Lena, being too scared of anyone finding out and pulling them apart.
"But I want to be with you." her daughter whispered, clinging to her uniform.
"I know. But I need you safe, until you're back home." she explained, tightening the embrace. "I love you so much, my sweet." she pressed a kiss on her baby's temple.
-/-
DAYS LATER…
Natasha could only show affection to her little one when there weren't others around. So whenever she would have a chance to be alone with the child, she would take it. The rarity of those moments made her cherish them even more.
At that moment, though, the girls were being taught the basics of ballet. She was standing in the hallway, observing them from outside the windows. Her gaze was focused on her daughter.
The little girl stood in the middle of the group, slowly following the dance moves, her little legs barely holding when they were asked to do a Plié. The bamboo cane hit the kid's back to stop her from slouching, a pout on her face.
Natasha had to stop herself from running inside the room to take her daughter in her arms when the kid fell to her knees in between sobs. From where she stood, she could see Lena’s bloody knees and red hands.
"Stay over there." The instructor pointed to a corner of the room, where the child remained the rest of the class as a punishment for crying. They didn’t care if she grew a bit slower than the other kids or not.
Natasha folded her arms, clenching her fists over her sleeves. ‘How dare you?!’ she thought, gritting her teeth. ‘You keep that stick away from my daughter or I’ll whip your ass with it till you bleed on the floor!’ More than anything, that was EXACTLY what she wanted to do. She wanted to knock the instructor senseless for putting Lena through this, and for any other girl she’d made suffer.
But, with all the emotional strength Natasha had, she stayed right where she was. She couldn’t risk betraying her persona. Anything out of the ordinary would be noticed. It would expose her, she’d never get Lena out and, after that, the whole mission would fail after a ripple effect.
-/-
As soon as the so-called class was over, Natasha took Lena's hand and walked away from there.
"I don't like this place." the kid murmured as Nat crouched to her height to start cleaning the child's wounds. The woman’s heart broke at the sight of her daughter's tear-stained face. She didn't like that place either, especially not for her kid.
"I know… I never liked it either when I was little. I was just used to it and had nowhere else to go." she told her, gently wiping the rest of the tears from the kid's face. "But you'll be back home with Auntie Lena soon, okay?" she assured her.
"And with you, Mama." the little one added as she sighed.
Natasha didn't exactly have a plan, but she knew her sister was searching for the little girl and that she wouldn't stop until Lena was finally safe. She didn’t need a tracker or phone call to know that. It was just how Yelena was. There was just no stopping her when she set a goal, and obviously there would be no more important goal than getting her niece back. So Natasha promised herself that she would keep her safe until Yelena made it. Not if, but WHEN she made it.
The former widow couldn't leave the Red Room until it was gone once and for all, to make sure her child would be safe from them. Natasha kissed her daughter's forehead before pulling her into a hug. She was aware that saying goodbye that time was going to be a lot harder than it was the first time.
***
DURING THE BLIP…
Natasha smiled at the sight of the three-year-old playing with some other kids that were waiting to be placed in some foster homes until the Blip was over. She had only brought her child to this place a few times and it was always a short stay, but that day was different.
Lena had been here for a while as Natasha kept in touch with the others like Steve Rogers, Carol Danvers, and even that talking raccoon (or whatever he was). But now the Black Widow had to go and find her best friend for what came next; a chance to reverse the Blip. Still, with it came a few gut-wrenching realities that Natasha would do anything to avoid.
She wasn’t sure what pained her more; leaving her daughter to head out for a longer mission, or imagining what she might find when she reached Clint. Natasha couldn’t know if the broken man would be waiting for another target to hit, or if he’d already be standing over some gangster with blood on that sword…
Thinking about both of those things tore her up inside where it took all she had just to keep her composure—to at least pretend to be happy right now…
“Mama, look!”
Natasha snapped out of that fearful trance as the toddler ran to her, holding a toy car. Lena’s small hand left the car on the floor before pushing it, “Look, look, it goes fast!”
The redhead rubbed her eye discreetly. It was only then that she couldn’t avoid smiling at the little one’s babbling and car noises, crouching down to her daughter’s height.
“It does!” she gasped, encouraging the kid to keep playing. Natasha was going to miss those little moments while being away.
The toddler suddenly frowned while pointing to Nat’s jacket. “We leaving?”
Natasha looked down for a few seconds, unsure about how to break the news to such a small child who wasn’t going to understand even half of it.
“Um… I have to go help Uncle Steve for a few days while you stay here.” the redhead explained, seeing the little girl’s frown. She quickly added, “I’ll be back as soon as possible, okay?”
“I don’t want you to leave.” her daughter pouted, her bottom lip trembling as tears pooled in her big blue eyes.
“You remember Mama is an Avenger?” Nat asked, her hand brushing the kid’s messy blonde hair away from her face.
“You help people,” the three-year-old said.
“Exactly, baby.” she nodded. “I have to help people to come back to their families… Like Auntie Lena, you really want to meet her, right?”
“Yeah! She’s fun!” the child exclaimed, way more cheerful. “Isn’t she?”
“Mmhm. She is. I’m going to bring her with me as soon as I’m back.” the redhead told the little girl, pulling her kid into a hug. “Because I promise I’ll be back, baby. I promise.”
The child pressed her face against the crook of her mama’s neck, snuggling against her. So Natasha rocked her, taking in every little second of the embrace since somehow she knew that coming back home for her little girl was going to be hard.
“I love you so much, baby girl…”
Knowing how much she wanted her precious girl to meet her Auntie Lena, Natasha slipped off the surplus vest that Yelena gave her. Either she’d pick it up again or pass it down to the child. At least it would be a memento for both girls who shared the name Yelena…
***
PRESENT DAY…
Still in her ballet clothes (leotard, tights and dance slippers), Lena was the last little girl waiting to go inside that interrogation room.
Natasha couldn't stop herself from hovering around. Her daughter's frightened eyes followed her as she kept pacing, so from time to time she would stick out her tongue or make a silly face just to ease the little one's nerves as well as her own.
The disguised Black Widow was trying her best for the child to think about every little test as a game. In that case, it was just going to be a simple test of the kids' cognitive skills. So at least this one was kind of a ‘game’ anyway.
However, it still scared her. Her child was going to be alone with two agents inside that room, and Natasha had had enough traumas about being in similar situations, too much for that little girl to go through the same and come out ok.
"Lena, baby…" Natasha crouched in front of the kid after making sure there was no one around. "You have to answer every question they ask, okay?" She stroked the little one's face, her fingertips tracing her features. "No matter what happens there or after this, don't let them know you're scared and everything will be alright." Those were big words for a five-year-old to understand, but she needed her daughter safe.
Natasha stood up as soon as she heard footsteps approaching.
She felt sick when she saw two agents in the distance dragging the lifeless body of a young girl who was probably eleven years old (at the most). Pale face, brown hair still in a tight braid, and big brown eyes that were still open with that blank lifeless stare. Blood poured from the hole in her forehead.
The Black Widow firmly turned her daughter's head so the little one would be facing the wall, just trying to not let the kid see that.
But Lena winced when she turned her head from the wall too early—noticing what Natasha was trying to keep away—wide blue eyes staring at her mama with so much fear in them. Lena opened her mouth but no sound other than a quiet sob came out, the kid's bottom lip quivering.
"Shh, shh, don't cry…" Nat tried to shush the little girl, again crouching in front of her kid. "I know, I know…" she whispered when she took the little one in her arms, rocking the child from side to side while patting her back.
At that point, Natasha didn't care about someone seeing them. There was still a sickening feeling at the sight of that young innocent girl, especially since she couldn't avoid thinking that that could be her daughter's future. All she wanted to do at that moment was to hold her baby girl close.
When Natasha heard that the door was about to be opened, she left Lena on the floor before gently wiping the child's tears with her thumbs.
"Romanoff, you're up next." one of the agents said as the other one escorted the child who was previously inside.
Lena looked back at her mama, kind of insecure, so Natasha nodded slightly as if she could promise that everything would be okay. But she couldn’t promise anything. Not in the Red Room. Not while the child’s name was Romanoff. If anything, she was going to be a target for ‘equals’ and higher-up agents alike. Especially by those from Natasha’s generation who remembered how she escaped before.
"You're getting attached, Widow." the man whispered next to Natasha’s ear, and she feared that they had been caught. "And everything has its consequences, but we'll talk later."
"Yes, sir." she answered, playing her role of frightened widow.
"Good. Come on, kid." The man pushed the child into the room.
Natasha sighed. She wasn't scared of the punishments they could put HER through, but she was scared about what they could do to her sweet little girl who’d done nothing wrong.
-/-
KATE’S P.O.V.
Yelena had checked the widow bites after inspecting her flexible white jumpsuit and matching tactical boots. The stiff pads for her shoulders, elbows, and knees were still strapped on. Same with the drop leg holster on her right thigh holding a Glock 26 pistol, and the batons on her left hip were still in good shape. So were the throwing knives in a similar drop-leg sheath on her left thigh. Her black leather vest had reinforced interior pockets that she’d loaded with some stronger throwing knives.
Kate had her archery suit on, the one now marking her as today’s Hawkeye. The purple spandex jacket with its V-shaped chevron up front was zipped up with her reinforced black pants. Her black arm guard and boots were strapped on, too.
They both wore nondescript overcoats over their gear to avoid being noticed despite it being past sunset. Rick Mason had led them via GPS to the glade where he’d landed a black Mil Mi-8 helicopter. Yelena approached it casually, with a business-as-usual demeanor, while Kate stared in awe at it.
“Woah, I REALLY hope we don’t crash this thing.”
“Relax, Kate Bishop. I learned plenty. Just let me do the flying, and you watch for the convoy.”
Kate looked down at the iPad in her hand, double-checking the status marked on it. “It says they’re planning to bring Lena to some high-profile—well, high by Black Widow standards—base.”
“We have to intercept them before they use their hidden routes to reach the coast, or they will fly east and we won’t reach them in time. Not over the open ocean.”
Looking up at the helicopter with Rick Mason leaned against it proudly, Kate squeezed Yelena’s shoulder.
“This is it, Yelena. Let’s get her back.”