Chapter Twenty-Three
"Which one's yours?" Natasha led the way as they ran away from the Widows.
"Black!" Yelena described her motorcycle. "Brown seat! Where are my keys?"
Her question was answered when Natasha revealed that she had them. Of course, her sister wasn't at all impressed or amused.
"Ты шутишь, что ли?"
"Any day now." The redhead deadpanned.
"Lainey, you get on first." Yelena addressed Lainey using her name for the very first time.
Lainey obliged and threw her leg over the bike, wrapping her arms around her mother's waist as tightly as she could without hurting the woman.
Natasha actually took both her hands and pulled them further around her middle. She wanted to be sure that Lainey had a tight enough grip that she wouldn't fall off the bike should anything unexpected happen.
Yelena, though she would vehemently deny it, made sure that Lainey was secure before she even thought of hopping on behind her, holding onto Natasha. Her grip was lighter than Lainey's but she was more experience than she was.
It wasn't the most comfortable ride, but Lainey had to admit, she was having just a teensy bit of fun. She liked it when they rode fast and dodged other cars in the street. It was like playing a video game, but in real life.
But the fun ended when they were thrown right off the bike to land onto a roadway below the Main Street.
Yelena went one way, Natasha went another way, and Lainey's grip, even with how tight it was, was broken and she went another way, landing near the wheel of a car with a thud that knocked the wind out of her.
She seriously needed to get a handle on those powers of hers, because they would've been nice to use to break her fall. The landing certainly didn't help her wrist.
"Up. C'mon, sweet girl." Natasha pulled her up. With the way the girl was lying on the ground in a heap, she really hoped nothing was broken. She didn't have to worry much about Yelena, because the blonde was literally the first to regain her bearings.
"Are you okay?" A man asked. They had just hit his car and he wanted to make sure they weren't hurt before he went about his day.
"Fantastic." Lainey hadn't even seen when Yelena pulled her gun out to point at the man. But the sight of it made him get out of his car to allow them to crawl in. "Baby, you go in first."
There goes that nickname again.
"I'm not a baby." The eleven year old could already feel that this was going to become a thing with them and she didn't like it. But she crawled into the back all the same.
"You can't just steal a guy's car." Natasha chastised as the blonde hopped in, climbing into the passenger's seat.
"So you want me to chase him down and un-steal it?" Was what she got in response.
Lainey fastened her seatbelt, knowing this was going to be a bumpy ride. If they were going to be riding motorcycles, flying off over overpasses, and landing onto of cars, it was safe to assume she'd need her seatbelt, so she wasn't even going to fight on this one.
"Okay, anytime now." Yelena grouched as Natasha tried to move the car. She seemed to be having trouble getting it out from between the two cars it was sandwiched in.
"Shut up!" The last thing she needed was her sister's sly little comments in her ears while they were literally running from bad guys.
She finally got the car out into the street and did her best to dodge other cars and oncoming traffic.
"Lainey, stay down!" The mother of one instructed, glancing in the rearview to make sure she did as she was told.
And just in time for bullets to fly through the window from behind.
"Do you have a plan?" Yelena was quick with the quips. "Or shall I just stay duck and cover?"
"Well my plan was to drive us away!"
"Your plan sucks." The blonde huffed, kicking her door open and allowing it to hit a pole. It broke right off and hit the Widow who was chasing them, causing her to fly off of her motor bike.
"Cool." Lainey marveled.
"You're welcome." She gloated before her eyes widened at the sight behind them.
It was the mystery man from the bridge! Lainey knew that faceless person anywhere! "He's back!"
"Put your seatbelts on, the both of you." Natasha ordered.
"I've got mine on already, Mama." Lainey told her at the same time Yelena got into a tizzy. "You're such a mom!"
And it was a good thing Natasha told her to put it on, because not even seconds later, the mystery man shot an exploding arrow at the car, causing it to flip out of control.
Lainey didn't scream this time. She figured this wasn't the first time the car she was in was flipped. So she saved the screams for when she would really need them.
The car flipped down the street and down the stairs of a subway station before finally coming to a stop, upside down.
Lainey was completely silent, but that didn't mean she was enjoying herself. All that flipping and jolting was making her stomach do somersaults. It was such a relief when the car stopped, because any longer and she probably would've thrown up.
The child moved all of her hair out of her face as if she were separating a curtain and exhaled deeply. "Mama, we're all upside down."
"I know, kiddo. Can you undo your seatbelt?"
"Yeah, but I have to use a knife." She knew how her mother felt about that, so she figured she'd ask for permission this time around.
"Do whatever you have to do."
Lainey's tongue stuck out in concentration as she reached for her boot, but her arm was being restricted by the tight seatbelt. And the more she reached, the tighter it got.
So she lifted her leg and yanked the knife out, slashing the threaded material of the safety belt and gasped when she dropped like a sack of potatoes.
"Wow." She shook her head, trying to help gravity move the extra blood from her head.
"Come here." Natasha opened the door and lifted the child out, waiting for Yelena. "Hurry up."
"Natasha, no." Yelena shook her head, trying to use a makeshift bandage to wrap around her arm. "I think I'm bleeding. I'm—"
"—No." Natasha grabbed her arm. "Not now, trust me."
She had Lainey run in front of her as she took care of Yelena. Something about getting that cut on her arm was causing her to panic and regress, so she needed to keep a close eye on her.
Lainey heaved a sigh before hauling herself up on the island that separated the two escalators to head down to the platform, and slid down with the two women following her.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Great plan. I love the part where I almost bled to death." Yelena tied the makeshift bandage around her arm before looking around. "This is cozy."
The three opted to hide from the mystery person up in the vents where no one would be able to find them.
This wasn't Lainey's first time up in the vents. She and Clint had spent many an afternoon this way when everyone still lived at the Tower. He taught her a whole lot in those days and they'd talk for hours.
She wished things would go back to they way they were, so they could do that once again.
"Barton and I spent two days hiding up here." Natasha mused.
"That must've been fun."
Looking around, Lainey could see the tally marks carved into the walls. They probably represented just how long the two adults had been in hiding.
She wondered what the story behind that was.
"Who was that guy?"
"Dreykov's special project. He can mimic anyone he's ever seen. It's like fighting a mirror. Dreykov only deploys him for top-priority missions."
"This doesn't make any sense."
"Well, the truth rarely makes sense when you omit key details."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Natasha took Lainey's wrist to feel if the sprain had gotten any worse.
It didn't appear to be worse off than before, but she wrapped it up a little tighter just incase.
"You didn't say one word about Dreykov's daughter. You killed her."
Lainey's eyes widened at that new piece of information and she looked to her mother for confirmation.
"I had to. I needed her to lead me to Dreykov. Dreykov's daughter was collateral damage. I needed her to be sure." The redhead couldn't even look her daughter in the eye.
Her mama had killed a child?
Why? What for?
How could she?
Lainey honestly didn't even believe her mother could be capable of such a thing. But she wasn't going to give her grief about it. She was a different person back then and she probably saw no other option.
It didn't make anything right, but Natasha was still her mother. She trusted her.
"And here you are, not so sure."
"Mama, can I have candy, please?" Lainey held up a packet of m&m's with a hopeful look in her eyes.
Running and hiding was a lot of work, and it was clearly taking a toll on Lainey. When they finally stopped at a small drugstore, she marched right over to all the candy with plans to replenish all the energy she burned.
"No sugar, Lainey." Natasha shook her head, taking it from her to put it back. "We're only here for what we need, okay?"
Oh drat.
Her mama was always limiting how much sugar she could have.
"Okay." She pouted and accepted her mother's hand very reluctantly.
"The Red Room's still active. Where is it?"
"I have no idea. He moves locations constantly. And every widow is sedated upon entry and exit. For maximum security."
"I'm just finding it hard to believe that he could stay off my radar."
"Well, it's not smart to attack an Avenger if you want to stay hidden. I mean, the clue is in the name. Dreykov kills you, one of the big ones comes to avenge you."
"Wait, what are the big ones?"
"Well, I doubt the god from space has to take an ibuprofen after fight." Yelena shrugged, picking up a small bottle of rubbing alcohol. "Where did you think I was all this time?"
"I thought you got out and were living a normal life."
"And you never made contact again?"
"Honestly, I thought you didn't want to see me."
"You just didn't want you baby sister to tag along whilst you saved the world with the cool kids."
"You weren't really my sister."
Now, Lainey didn't like Yelena. Not at all. But she was sad to see the hurt look on her face after she heard Natasha say that. If Wanda said something like that to her, she'd be crushed. Maybe that's how Yelena felt.
"And the Avengers aren't really your family." Yelena shot back after a moment of recovery. "Why do you always do that thing?"
"Do what?"
"The thing you do when you're fighting. The…." She got down on the ground to show her. "This thing that you do when you whip your hair when you're fighting with the arm and the hair." She demonstrated, making Lainey giggle because it was true. "And you do, like, a fighting pose." She laughed. "It's a fighting pose. You're a total poser."
"I'm not a poser." Natasha let go of the child's hand in favor of paying for their items.
And in true Lainey fashion, she wandered off. This time, staying within calling distance and eyesight of the two women.
"Oh, come one. I mean, they're great poses, but it does look like you think everyone is looking at you, like, all the time."
"All that time I spent posing, I was trying to actually do something good to make up for all of the pain and suffering that we caused. Trying to be more than just a trained killer."
"Well then you were fooling yourself. Because pain and suffering is everyday and we are both still a trained killer. Except I'm not the one that's on the cover of a magazine. I'm not the killer that little girls call their hero. I'm not the one that little girl over there calls 'Mama'."
"Do not bring her into this."
"Fine." Yelena knew when to stop. "Fine."
"Here." Natasha tossed a pack of m&m's at Lainey, who caught it with ease.
After mulling it over, she decided that there was really no reason why Lainey shouldn't have any chocolate, so she bought her some.
It wasn't like this was going to be an everyday thing and the eleven year old had been very well behaved so far.
She deserved a little reward.
"Candy!" The child grinned. "Thank you!"
That was a nice surprise.
"Don't eat it too fast." She advised, watching as Lainey ripped it open and shoved two pieces into her mouth.
"That gas, the counteragent." Yelena started now that Lainey was distracted. "It was synthesized by an older widow from Melina's generation."
Lainey's head perked up at the mention of the name.
Melina sounded familiar. Very familiar. Did she know her? Was she important to her once?
She felt like she should've had a face to go with that name. 'Melina'. It really bothered her, not knowing. This wasn't the first time she's heard that name, but she just couldn't bring herself to figure out where she did.
"I was on the mission to retrieve it, and she exposed me and I killed the Widow that freed me."
"Did you have a choice?"
"What you experienced was psychological conditioning. I'm talking about chemically altering brains functions. They're two completely different things. You're fully conscious, but you don't know which part is you. I'm still not sure."
That sounded an awful lot like what happened to Lainey's father. He was conscious, but he didn't have any control over what he was doing. It sounded scary.
"Is that all there is left?"
"Mmhmm. It's the only thing that can stop Dreykov and his network of Widows." Yelena took a sip from the beer bottle she was holding, clearly amused by Lainey's latest antics.
"Alayna?" Natasha quirked an eyebrow when she caught the child trying to sneak away to play ball with the other kids nearby. "No."
Lainey huffed as her mother pulled her back towards her and wrapped an arm around her to keep her still.
She wanted to play, too. It looked like they were having lots of fun.
"He takes more every day." Yelena continued. "Children who don't have anyone to protect them. Just like us when we were small. Maybe one in twenty survives the training, becomes a Widow. The rest, he kills. To him, we are just things. Weapons with no face that he can just throw away. Because there is always more. And no one's even looking for him, thanks to you and Alexei."
"Alexei?"
"Dad." Yelena spoke dryly.
"Mama?" Lainey held a piece of chocolate up to the woman's mouth, offering it to her.
Why did Dreykov want so many girls, just to hurt them? Why did he want to control them like that?
"Thank you." Natasha graciously accepted it, catching Yelena's fond smile from the corner of her eye.
"Did you ever look for your parents? Your real ones?"
"Well, my mom abandoned me in the street like garbage. What about you?"
"They destroyed my birth certificate." Yelena took another swig of beer. "So I reinvented it. My parents still live in Ohio. My sister moved out west."
"Is that right?" Natasha smirked, lifting Lainey to sit on her lap.
"You're a science teacher. You're working part-time, though, especially after you had your son. Your husband, he renovates houses."
"That is not my story."
"What is your story?"
"I never let myself be alone long enough to think about it."
"I don't want a brother." Lainey crinkled her nose, making the two laugh. "I like it when it's just me."
"You're a very spoiled little thing." Natasha kissed her cheek. "I wouldn't have you any other way."
"Did you ever wish for kids?" Yelena corrected herself when she realized that came out wrong. "I mean, before Alayna. I want a dog."
"I have a cat!" Lainey perked up, forgetting that she wasn't Yelena's biggest fan.
"Oh yeah? What's her name?" As far as Yelena knew, Natasha wasn't into animals being in the house. She wondered how much had changed since they'd seen each other last.
"Mischief."
"Very good name for a cat."
"Mama made it up." Lainey smiled proudly. "We're partners in crime."
"That sounds like a lot of fun."
"Where're you gonna go?" Natasha asked the blonde, changing the subject.
If she had nowhere to go and there were no obligations to be met, then maybe they didn't have to go their separate ways so soon.
"I don't know. I don't really have anywhere to go back to, so I guess anywhere…..don't."
"Don't what?"
"You're going to give me some big hero speech. I can feel it."
"Speeches aren't really my thing." Natasha assured her. "It was more like an invitation."
"To go to the Red Room and kill Dreykov?"
"Yeah."
"Even though the Red Room is impossible to find and Dreykov is too slippery to kill?"
"Yeah."
"That sounds like a lot of work."
"Could be fun, though."
Lainey smiled at Yelena and offered her a few m&m's. The blonde smiled and accepted them, letting her know the gesture was appreciated.
"I saw where he put the keys." She shrugged, referring to the man that had just left his beautiful sports car. "Top drawer, green cabinet."
"Left side." Lainey added with a giggle.
"You're good."
"Lainey?" Natasha spoke softly. "Sleepy yet?"
"No." Lainey rubbed her eyes, yawning quietly. "M'wake, Mommy."
They'd been driving for a few hours trying to figure out exactly what to do in their first step in taking down the Red Room. Natasha was almost sure that Lainey would've fallen asleep by now, but she guessed with all the excitement, she found it hard to sleep.
"Okay." She wasn't going to force her into anything. She'd fall asleep when she was ready.
"She is falling asleep." Yelena deadpanned, not sure why the kid would want to fight it.
"Without a doubt."
"Not sleepy!" A whine came from the backseat, proving their point.
"Okay, you're not sleepy." Natasha shrugged. "Don't yell."
Lainey kicked her feet and sniveled petulantly, obviously exhausted from being awake for so long, but unwilling to admit defeat.
"Alayna?" The redhead glanced back at her with a withering glare. "Stop it."
Tears welled up in Lainey's eyes at the tone her mother had just used. She didn't like it when Natasha spoke to her like that. It made her feel like she was two feet tall.
"You don't need to cry." Natasha amended, realizing she might have come off a little harsh. "You're okay."
Lainey just sniffled and crossed her arms. She didn't want to hear it.
"You know, this is the first piece of clothing I've ever bought for myself." Yelena tried to cut the tension, looking down at her vest.
"That?"
"Yeah, you don't like it?"
"No." Lainey was clearly in a rotten mood and she desperately needed to take a nap. "It's ugly."
"Alayna, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. In fact, your voice is on a timeout right now. I don't want to hear another peep from you for the next half hour." Natasha scolded her when she saw her sister's face fall. "What was it, like an army surplus?"
Lainey didn't even mean that. She just wanted to say something nasty to match how she was feeling internally. A pout planted itself on her face when she realized she might have hurt Yelena's feelings with her sly little comment.
She felt she should apologize and she wanted to, but she didn't think her mama would appreciate her adding anything to the conversation now.
She didn't know exactly why she didn't like Yelena. Maybe it's because she was always teasing her, or because she was a stranger. Or maybe because ever since they met, her mama had been paying her a lot of attention.
And maybe, just maybe, Lainey was a little jealous.
No, she was a lot jealous.
"Okay, it has a lot of pockets. But I use them all the time, and I made some of my own modifications." Yelena defended her fashion choices.
"Oh yeah?"
"Whatever. Shut up. The point is, I've never had control over my own life before. And now I do. I want to do things."
"I like your vest." Natasha gave her an inch.
"I knew it. I knew you did. It's so cool, right?"
Lainey knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help that ugly feeling of envy bubbling up inside of her as the two continued to speak.
She didn't know how to describe it, but it made her so mad!
But she had to remember that her mama loved her and nothing was ever going to change that. Natasha loved Yelena, too, but that was different. It didn't mean that she loved her any less.
Maybe if she tried to be nicer to Yelena, she wouldn't feel so jealous. Deep down, she guessed she really did like her.
She was so cool! She could fight, she was nice, and she was really funny. Lainey didn't like that she never called her by name, but maybe she could get used to her referring to her as, 'Baby'.
They could be friends if they really wanted to be.
"It's good. I like it."
"And you can put so much stuff in there. You wouldn't even know. I really don't know where the Red Room is, though. I'm sorry."
"I know. But I think I know someone who does."
"Oh yeah, who?"
"We're gonna need a jet." Natasha told her before looking at the rearview. "She's asleep."
In between sulking and thinking deep thoughts, Lainey managed to finally fall asleep with her fingers in her mouth.
"She is cute when she's asleep." Yelena turned to look back at the eleven year old.
"She'd scream at you for saying that."
"I bet she would."
"Mason!" Lainey ran at the man with open arms.
Mason scooped her up and set her on his hip with a smile. "Giving your mother a hard time?"
"No." She shook her head. "Right, Mama?"
"You've been good so far." Natasha smiled. Lainey failed to remember the night before when she had been an absolute grouch, but her mother wasn't going to hold that against her. "I said I needed a jet."
"Yeah, you know what you didn't give me? Time. Or money. I'm not made of jets."
"I thought you were supposed to be the best." Yelena approached with Natasha. "Like a real pro."
"Oh, I beg your pardon, Tsarina. Was the free flat and lifetime supply of Kissel not to your liking?"
"Don't let her wind you up." Natasha told him.
"No, I take exception to impugning my professionalism."
"Well, you did set me up with a generator that crapped out after six hours."
"You, too, huh? Tag team."
"Not me." Lainey grinned.
"Aw, he's sensitive. I see why you keep him around."
"Where's the rest?"
"Voilá." Mason pointed at a duffel bag on the ground before Lainey squirmed down to see inside.
"Ooh." Yelena's eyes widened at all the food, taking a bar and opening it up.
"Oh, I stashed that like five years go." Natasha warned her.
But Yelena disregarded her and bit right into it, offering Lainey a bite, which she accepted, allowing the blonde to feed it to her.
"How is it?" Those two never listened to her and Natasha was afraid for the minute they would start to get along. It was already beginning to happen, so she needed to prepare herself.
"It's dry." Yelena grit her tongue. "It's really dry."
"How about you, huh? Ready to listen now?" Natasha had to stop herself from laughing at her daughter's expense when she walked over to her, trying to get the food out of her mouth.
She got a nod in return.
"There's a case of water bottles on the jet." Mason offered.
"Go get one." Natasha wiped the crumbs from the child's cheek and sent her on her way.
Lainey scowled and stepped onto the jet, finding a water bottle, and drank it greedily until she washed everything down.
That was disgusting.
"And just who is this?" Yelena asked, looking at something that Lainey couldn't see.
So the girl moved closer to her and gasped at what she found. "Mischief!" She ducked under the blonde's arm and held her cat close. "I missed you!"
The feline purred at being back in her owner's arms and licked her paws.
"This is the famous Mischief?"
"Uh huh." Lainey nodded. She could admit, she could be a little nicer now. "Wanna hold her?"
It was a start, right?
"I….no. No thanks."
"But she doesn't bite! Or scratch! She's really nice!"
Yelena took a long look at the black cat before ultimately deciding to hold her. She tensed when she was placed in her arms, but smiled all the same.
She had been a little jealous, too. After all, she hadn't seen Natasha since they were children and they finally found each other after all these years only for her sister to have a child? A child that clung to her metaphysical apron at every chance she got and sat on her lap to cuddle whenever she wanted to?
Yelena missed being able to do that. It made her insides twist whenever she saw Lainey doing it. She couldn't help it.
But it wasn't Lainey's fault. She shouldn't take her frustrations out on her. She was an innocent child in need of affection in whatever way she could get it.
Maybe it would be better on both of them if they just attempted to be civil.
Lainey was an okay kid. She was sweet, she was adorable, and incredibly smart. It wouldn't be so bad.
"See? She likes you." Lainey grinned. "I have to go see Mason."
"Don't leave me with—" But Lainey was gone.
She spoke way too soon.
"You're an annoying individual." Lainey caught the tail-end of the conversation being had outside.
"I'll make it up to you."
"That's what you say every time."
"Mason? I found Mischief. Thank you." She leaned out the doorway of the chopper with a smile.
"See that? Appreciation."
"Mama? Do all prisons look like this?"
Now that they had a new means of transportation, they could work on a plan to get Alexei out of prison.
Lainey didn't recall ever meeting an 'Alexei', but with the way she heard Yelena and Natasha talking about him, she didn't think she was missing out on anything.
"Why? Are you planning on going?"
"No." She shook her head from her place in the back. "Can I go up there with you? I wanna see."
From where she was sitting, it was kind of boring. It looked like much more fun where Yelena and her mother were, up front.
"Stay right where you are. I promise, you're not missing anything, sweet girl. I want you safe, okay?"
If anything went wrong during this little mission, Natasha needed Lainey to be safe and out of the line of fire. As it was, Alexei was causing such a ruckus for something that should've been so simple.
"Okay."
"He's never gonna make it." Natasha sighed. "Get me closer." And at Yelena's look she added. "You got a better idea?"
Yelena flew the helicopter closer to the ground and Natasha took a cable in her hand before jumping from it, landing in one of her famous positions.
"My mama's cool." Lainey mused, peering out of the window.
"Such a poser." Yelena chuckled. "Baby, come sit up front with me. You can watch."
"Mama said no."
"You can put a seatbelt on. Come." She pat the empty space next to her.
"Cool." Lainey obliged, buckling herself in.
"Sorry!" Yelena cringed when she almost took Natasha out with the tail of the chopper.
"What are you doing?! Are you kidding me?! Back up!"
"We're both doing a really good job!" She gave her sister a thumbs up while Lainey giggled beside her.
They were doing well until bullets started flying through. The prison guards figured out what was going on and began to shoot at them.
"Okay, enough of this." Yelena stood up and grabbed a weapon, aiming it at whoever was shooting before firing and blowing an entire watch tower up. "Ha!"
"Cool." Lainey gasped when she sat back down. "I wanna do that, too!"
"I will teach you one day, okay?"
"Okay!"
And that's when the rumbling started.
Yelena had caused an avalanche.
"This would be a cool way to die." She marveled.
"It'll be cold!" Lainey cuddled into Mischief. That cat must've been the bravest that ever lived, because she didn't seem to care at all about what was going on around her.
But Lainey didn't think being buried under thousands upon thousands pounds of freezing cold snow was fun.
"Baby, get in back." Yelena ordered.
It wasn't something Lainey was going to argue with her about. This was more important than her childish need to be defiant.
She kept a firm grip on Mischief and squeezed her eyes shut as Yelena piloted the helicopter, making it rock and sway. She didn't even want to know what was going on down there.
Nothing bad was going to happen on their watch, though. Natasha managed to rescue Alexei and the two adults were lifted back up into the helicopter, nearly gasping for air.
"Oh that was exciting!" Alexei panted as Natasha made her way back to the pilot's seat.
Lainey just looked at him blankly before turning her attention back to her cat.
"And who is this little one?" He smiled at her, crouching down in front of her, far too close for her liking. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"
Lainey narrowed her eyes before she pulled her foot back and kicked the man right in the stomach as hard as she could. As soon as he was doubled over in pain, she picked Mischief up and ran right to her mother.
"I told you to sit, Lainey." Natasha gave her a look. "What's the matter?"
But she soon got her answer when she saw Alexei, holding his stomach.
"Alayna, we don't kick people. That's not nice." She actually really didn't care about what Lainey had done. She knew she wouldn't have lashed out unless Alexei made her feel uncomfortable, but she couldn't have the girl going around attacking people.
Lainey just pouted and plopped down on her lap, unaffected by her mother's scolding. She'd do it again if she had to. Alexei should have never gotten that close.
"She's a feisty little thing, isn't she?" Alexei caught his breath, putting on a pair of headphones. "Another Red Room recruit? I'm so proud of you girls."
Natasha turned to him with an unusual fire in her eyes. If she didn't have Lainey in her arms, she probably would've pounced on him, but Yelena had that covered.
The blonde didn't think twice before allowing her hand to connect with his face.
"Why the aggression, huh?" He groaned, moving to sit in the back. "Is it your time of the month?"
"I don't get my period." Yelena rolled her eyes at the ignorant comment. "I don't have a uterus."
"Or ovaries." Natasha added as Lainey played with her hair. She ran her hand along the leather of the black tactical suit her daughter was wearing. It had been one of her own that she kept all these years. She didn't know what for, but it turned out to be for someone very special.
And Lainey enjoyed fitting in with them. She even asked her mother to braid her hair just like hers.
"Yeah. That's what happens when the Red Room gives you an involuntary hysterectomy." Yelena began to explain. "They kind of just go in, and they rip out all of your reproductive organs. They just get right in there and they chop them all away. Everything out, so you can't have babies."
"Okay! Okay! Okay!" Alexei cringed. "You don't have to get so clinical and nasty!"
He was sorry he ever asked.
"Oh, well, I was about to talk about fallopian tubes, but okay."
"What's a uterus?" Lainey sat up. "And fallopian tubes? And how do they help you have babies?"
She had so many questions now.
"Hush." Natasha guided her head back down. "That's a conversation for another time."
"But what do they do?" The child kept at it. "Mama, how do people have babies?"
"I said, 'hush'." Natasha squeezed the girl's cheeks with a single hand. "That's enough out of you." She playfully narrowed her eyes before kissing her nose.
That was enough to pacify her. Lainey giggled and pretended to return the kiss before she pulled back, laughing harder at her mother's shocked look.
Natasha huffed before snatching her into a hug while she continued to laugh, tickling her sides.
"It means so much to me that you came back for me." But of course, Alexei found a way to ruin the mood.
"No." She cut to the chase. "No. You're gonna tell us how to get to the Red Room."
"Whoa, look at you, huh? All business."
"Trust me, this isn't pleasure." She deadpanned.
"Little Natasha, all indoctrinated into the Western agenda."
"I chose to go west to become an Avenger." The redhead corrected. "Because they treated me like family."
"Really?" Alexei challenged. "Family? Well, where are they now? Where is that family now?"
"Right here." Natasha tightened her grip on Lainey.
"And who is this?"
"My daughter.." She rolled her eyes, unwilling to tell him anything else.
"Ah, a grandchild!" He made a move to come closer.
Natasha felt Lainey tense in her arms and made a split second decision not to allow him to come near them. He wasn't about to make her child uncomfortable. Not while she was around.
"No." She stopped him right in his tracks. "Tell me where the Red Room is."
"I have no idea."
Natasha took a deep breath before she stood up and set Lainey down where she had just been sitting to walk to the back of the chopper where Alexei was.
"Uh oh." Lainey whispered to Yelena. "Mama got up. He's in trouble."
And she was right. As soon as Natasha reached him, she slapped the headphones right off his head and sat down across from him.
Lainey couldn't hear anything they were saying, so she opted to watch Yelena fly the chopper.
"Can I help?" She asked.
"Huh?" Yelena furrowed her eyebrows.
"Can I help? I wanna do something, too."
"You can keep watch for bad guys while we fly. You tell me when you see someone who is out to get us."
Yelena didn't think Natasha would take too kindly to her teaching the kid how to fly. So she gave her a labor-less task to make her think she was helping.
"I can do that!"
"Good." She smiled. "Can we throw him out the window now?" She asked once Natasha came to sit back down.
It didn't look like her sister got very much information out of him.
"I think we should wait till we get to a higher altitude."
"Alright."
"Mama, that's not nice." Lainey looked at her with doe eyes. "Your voice is on a timeout now."
"Oh, I'll let that go because you're so funny." Natasha shook her head.
Kids really were little sponges. She would have to better in watching what she said to that little one.
"Почему бы не спросить Мелину, где это?" Alexei asked.
"Wait, 'Mom', Melina?" Yelena bristled.
It had been so long since they had all been together as a family.
"We thought she was dead."
"You cannot kill a fox that swift." He smiled.
"Ew."
"What? She was the scientist, I was the muscle. She worked directly for Dreykov far more than I ever did."
"Wait. Are you telling me that Melina is working for the Red Room present day?" Natasha couldn't believe that with everything they went through, Melina was still tied to the very organization that had ruined their lives.
"She works remotely outside of St. Petersburg."
"I don't think we have enough fuel for St. Petersburg."
"No, we're good. We'll make it."
Yelena didn't believe that for a second, but hey, Alexei said they had enough fuel, so they must have had enough fuel.
She wasn't going to debate it with him.
"Okay."