Chapter 44
Yelena usually was able to expect whenever Khonshu would revive her because he’d guide her back out through doors and she’d usually wake up on a bed of some sort at whatever motel Khonshu was able to get in the body of a fifteen-year-old.
Never before had he ripped her out, unexpecting and dizzying. She had gone from curled up on the floor of the boat to sudden overwhelmingly intense pain all through her. It was hard to breathe, her mouth tasted like blood, and she was pretty sure that her nose was healing from a hard break.
“Focus, my child,” Khonshu’s voice echoed in her ear but when Yelena turned to look for him, her body suddenly jerked back to face forward. “Eyes on the battlefield!”
“What’s going on?” Yelena demanded, reaching her hands up to look at her palms, tattered remains of her gloves frayed, fabric melted into her burned skin. “Are you--”
“Focus!” Khonshu barked and Yelena jerked her hands down to focus back on the battlefield. “I brought you back because you are more intimate with fighting than I am. It has been a long time since I have been in a battle.”
Yelena couldn’t find it in her to make a quip about him being an old man, still trying to suck in sharp breaths through her tight chest.
“It hurts,” she managed to squeeze out.
“I know,” his tone was apologetic and the phantom sensation of him looming over her comforted her immensely. “But I am here with you. I have handed over some control. Focus on the battle.”
“I missed you,” Yelena managed to choke out, her eyes sweeping over what she recognized to be a rooftop.
“Do not get soft with me,” Khonshu ordered, a fondness lacing his tone before Yelena took an unconscious step forward. “Save your sister.”
That had Yelena able to push herself forward toward where Apep was kneeling on the rooftop, finally able to see that he was pressing down on her sister’s windpipe. Anger rocketed through her and she found herself with more strength surging through her with each step she took.
“Hey!” She called out. “Get the fuck off of my sister!” She reached out when she was close enough and grabbed Apep’s collar to yank him back and toss him off.
She had no time to ensure that her sister was alright nevertheless still alive before she engaged in a battle with Apep.
Apep fought like no other opponent she had before. It was an odd fighting style and he kept summoning a staff or trying to swipe at her with two pointed blades on his wrist.
Sharing a body with Khonshu meant that the God would make sudden decisions without informing her and she would go to make a move only for her to jerk out of the way of something.
“You cannot die again,” Khonshu told her firmly and Yelena picked up on the tinge of frustration. “I may not be able to bring you back should you do so. This is no game.”
Playing on the defensive was never something Yelena was good at. She usually threw herself headfirst into the fight and nursed whatever wounds she got later, putting up with the chiding of her God as she bitched about how much she hurt.
The sound of Natasha groaning caught her attention and she caught sight of her sister trying to push herself to her hands and knees. Yelena slowly edged backward until she could swipe her sister’s feet out from under her.
“Stay down!” Yelena ordered. She couldn’t keep focus if Natasha tried to join the fight.
“Yelena--” Natasha wheezed, her voice raspy as a ring of reddish-purple already lined her neck.
“Down!” Yelena ignored the way her chest twinged and focused on where she had last shoved her knife at him.
“Sorry I’m late!” Layla, or rather Tawaret, suddenly appeared. Dread filled Yelena at the sight of her because it was just one more person to keep safe.
“Focus on your opponent. Forget about them,” Khonshu ordered firmly. “You cannot win if you do not focus.”
“I’m trying,” Yelena grit out, setting her sights on where she had last knocked Apep down. “How do I keep them down?”
“Use the move on the leg that incapacitates them,” Khonshu instructed. Yelena knew that Khonshu wasn’t too familiar with her style of fighting but always supported her and kept an eye out for her whenever she did.
So Yelena jerked a finger from Tawaret to Natasha. “Keep her down,” she ordered, hoping that she wouldn’t get into too much trouble for ordering around a Goddess.
Yelena doesn’t even bother to check to see if Tawaret obeyed, instead charging forward toward where Apep was trying to heal a rather large wound in the stomach. Yelena slid on the ground, using her knife as she passed to slice through the Achilles tendon.
Apep collapsed immediately and Yelena rolled over onto her knees, ignoring the scrapes she got from the rooftop, and instead threw her leg over the body to shove Apep’s head against the floor
“What are you doing?” The sudden sound of Nour’s voice leaving the mouth had Yelena freezing from where she leveraged a knife over her head. “I thought you liked me. I was kind to you and this is how you repay me?”
“It’s a trick,” Khonshu rumbled. “She’s dead. Finish her.”
“I can take care of you. You and me, remember?” Nour’s voice continued. “Why are you hurting me?”
Yelena’s hand shook as she tried to shove her hand down. Nour had been the first bit of maternal kindness that she had in a long time. Nour knew what it was like to have loved and lost a daughter, and in a lot of ways she reminded Yelena of what could have been if she had never left Ohio.
“You’re not a monster, you’re a child,” Nour’s soft voice continued.
“Shut. Up.” Yelena gritted out, pressing down harder on the head. She readjusted her grip on the blade in her hand but she lost her chance. Apep immediately took advantage of her hesitation and rolled them over, shoving the two blades on their wrist into Yelena’s chest.
It hurt nearly as much as the first time. Yelena’s hand swiped without her telling it to and Apep roared with pain as they stumbled back, three fingers missing from their hand.
“Get up,” Khonshu ordered firmly and Yelena found herself pushing herself to sit up, wondering just how much of it was Khonshu and how much was her.
Yelena pushed herself to her feet, blood splattering onto the ground below her. Her whole body ached. She was tired. She just wanted to lie down.
“It is merely the blood loss, my child,” Khonshu informed her and Yelena tried to shrug it off. “You are strong. Focus.”
Yelena wasn’t sure how much blood she had already lost, her heart beating far too fast in her chest to be safe.
Apep reared toward her, anger twisting on the face that Yelena associated with wistfulness.
“Focus!” Khonshu ordered her and Yelena realized she was getting lost in her head, stepping out of the way moments before Apep collided with her. Apep stumbled and Yelena grabbed the back of their shirt, slicing through their neck with one quick motion.
Blood sprayed and Apep gurgled as they collapsed. Yelena took a few harsh breaths, staring down at the figure.
“Finish him off!” Khonshu ordered.
Yelena felt far too heavy. She needed more energy. She needed to gather strength. She racked her mind to focus on how to get what she needed.
“He’s a God of the dark, yeah?” Yelena wasn’t sure exactly how godly powers worked but she felt something in her buzzing as she reached her hands up to the sky, tilting her head back to peer up at the clouds. “Then let there be light!”
It was like time stopped as static electricity surged through her fingertips, the sky sliding like a blanket as the blue changed to a purple-black, stars speckling the dark as the moon shone brightly. It was like Yelena put on the suit after a long and hard battle, the feeling of renewal and power ebbing through her like a conduit.
“Yelena!” Her name was called from somewhere to her left moments before she was tackled off the side of the building.
Yelena would have to ask Khonshu if time ever slowed down because as she fell, she could swear that time stuttered to a stop, wind whipping in her face as she rolled to shove Apep below her. She dug her fingers into every open wound she could find, fighting dirty like she should have the day she died for the first time.
“Die!” Yelena ordered, shoving her fingers into the gash she made on the neck. She resisted the urge to retch, too focused on ensuring that Apep’s vessel would never walk again.
“Brace yourself,” Khonshu’s usually loud voice sounded quiet, lost in the wind stinging her cheeks. “Breathe.”
Yelena obediently followed despite not understanding why. Something crashed into her, knocking her off of Apep. She tried to suck in another gasp of air, the breath knocked from her lungs before she hit something hard, pain exploding. She couldn't tolerate the overwhelming pain and blacked out.
Natasha had a hard time gaining her bearings after she awoke. Her sole focus was to try and locate her sister, and when she did, she tried to roll to her feet.
She was so focused on trying to stand that she hadn’t seen the figure near her until her limbs were swept from under her and she hit the ground with a grunt.
“Stay down!” Yelena ordered her. Natasha tried to protest but her voice was strangled. “Down!”
Natasha could do nothing but watch as Tawaret kept her down and ensured she was alive. Natasha was helpless as her sister fought a God, the odds tilting in one favor before the other. It was a fairly even match, each side ruthless and aiming to kill.
She tried to get involved when she saw her sister get the opening to a final blow but hesitated. She tried to move forward, to help, but Tawaret insisted that she would be no use. Natasha watched as her sister wielded some sort of Godly power and yanked the moon from its spot in the sky, literally changing from day to night. If SHIELD wasn’t on their way before then they certainly were after that display.
“He’s going to knock her off!” Natasha realized as she saw Apep push all of their strength into darting at her sister. She knew that Apep realized he had lost but was content to take Yelena out with him.
Tawaret finally left her side just as her sister and Apep tumbled over the edge of the roof.
“No!” Natasha scrambled forward the best she could, peering over the side and praying that only one of the bodies ended up as a splat on the sidewalk. Tawaret used the metal wings on Scarlet Scarab to dive after them, knocking Yelena off of the God and wrapping the wings around their bodies moments before they hit the ground.
Apep splattered against the cement much like Natasha imagined a watermelon would, no chance in peeling themselves upright. Her eyes then flickered to the mess of golden metal wings that slowly unfurled to reveal Layla’s body curled protectively around Yelena’s. They both seemed relatively unharmed by the fall but Natasha could see as Tawaret sat up that Yelena was not moving.
Natasha stumbled back to the stairs and used her grapple gun to lower herself down twenty-three floors quickly, landing in a clumsy heap at the bottom when her head throbbed. She couldn’t focus on the oxygen deprivation from her strangulation, she had to get to her sister.
A crowd had gathered but didn’t dare approach. Natasha ignored them, making her way right toward Tawaret and Yelena. She fell to her knees next to them, reaching out with a shaking hand to try and press her fingers against the bloodied neck of her sister. She was relieved to feel the thrum of a quick heartbeat, reaching out to try and press her hands down on the biggest wound that seemed to be gushing blood on her chest. Blood pooled underneath them as Tawaret left Natasha to check Apep’s vessel, a pleased hum escaping her lips.
Natasha had done her best to help but in the end, was unable to do anything. It was like Ohio all over again.
“Nat!”
Natasha’s head jerked up just in time to see Clint appear, worry on his face as he quickly assessed the situation before kneeling next to her. She couldn't see SHIELD following him and knew instantly that he understood what she hadn't told him in her texts and followed her just like she knew he would.
“What do you need me to do?” He asked, slipping into the serious role he was needed in.
Natasha looked down at the body underneath her hands as she swallowed hard. “I don’t know,” she admitted with a hoarse voice. She couldn’t tell if the wounds were healing. “I don’t know, Clint.” Tears blurred her vision as the adrenaline started to leave her body now that the danger was gone.
“Alright. I’ve gotcha,” Clint moved forward, his hands replacing hers as he pressed down on Yelena’s chest. “Take her mask off so she can breathe.”
There really was no identity to protect, not when half of the mask was nearly ripped apart anyway. Natasha hesitantly peeled the bloodied mask from her sister’s head, forcing herself to take a deep breath at the sight of her pale, scarred face.
“Is she okay?” Scarlet Scarab collapsed to her knees next to them and Natasha could tell that Tawaret was gone, leaving a disoriented and pained Layla behind. Without waiting for an answer, Layla cradled Yelena’s face in her hands. “Wake up, kid. The fight is over, you did good.”
“I should have known you two were behind this,” a familiar voice commented and Natasha looked up at her handler, realizing that in all the chaos SHIELD had finally arrived.
Natasha couldn’t get her voice to work, not after the severe strangling she had been subjected to, but she did try to convey to Coulson that SHIELD couldn’t take them. She kept a grip on Yelena’s suit, trying to shove away those who approached.
“You know the rules, Agent Romanoff,” Coulson said, his tone gentle as Layla was pulled away from them first. “We’ll make sure they get the proper care they need.”
Natasha couldn’t fight. She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t move as Yelena was tugged from her grip, secured, and attended to.
“It’ll be alright, Nat,” Clint was suddenly there with her, wrapping his arms around her to support her, ignoring the blood on the both of them. “We can talk with Maria. She won’t let anything happen until you can explain.”
Natasha doesn’t move an inch until she watched as Yelena disappeared into a vehicle. She barely recognized the voices swimming around her before Clint’s arms hauled her up against his chest. She couldn’t even find it in her to be upset at being carried. She barely caught a glimpse of the tape surrounding the body splattered against the sidewalk.
They took her sister. She lost her sister again. The only difference was that Natasha knew where to find her and how to get her out. Natasha would not let them keep her from her sister, never again, no matter what SHIELD said.
She lied when she told Maria she wasn’t compromised. She was so very compromised and nobody would be able to stop her if they tried.