The Cabin in the Woods
You had to hand it to Natasha, you’d completely missed the boarded-up cabin a half-mile off the trail. It was musty and you wouldn’t trust any of the cans of beans in the cupboard if your life depended on it, but it still had a ratty couch and a few chairs.
Natasha sat you on the couch before straddling a chair, while the man she’d called Barton stood behind her massaging his gut, clearly still feeling the repercussions of your kick.
“You gonna try to run away again?” Natasha asked condescendingly.
It wasn’t like you had “interrogation from Natasha Romanoff” on your bucket list but since you didn’t see any not shockingly stupid way out you just shook your head.
“Good,” Natasha said, settling in. “Where’s the serum?”
You’d hid it, of course. Deep underwater in the lake, only accessible to you or a non-suped up human in scuba gear.
“It’s in the bag around my neck.” The lie rolled easily off your tongue, partially because it had –– until an hour ago –– been true. Natasha studied you, clearly weary after your fib about the bomb on the Quinjet left her vulnerable to your attack back at the lab.
She nodded to Barton, who slowly removed the pouch from your neck. He carefully unzipped it and looked inside before shaking it out over the floor. Empty.
Natasha’s face flashed with an emotion that caught you off guard. Was that... disappointment?
Then she punched you squarely in the jaw. Unable to counter, your head flew back, and you tasted blood in your mouth. “That was for Wanda.” Natasha rubbed her red knuckles.
You spit blood onto the couch, adding to the series of unidentifiable stains. You knew immediately who Natasha meant. Your mind flashed back to that moment. The young woman’s body slouched in the doorway, two bullet holes in her abdomen, centimeters apart. Your heartbeat quickened as you turned back to Natasha and Barton. It hurt to open your mouth. Natasha Romanoff had a mean right hook.
“Is she okay?”
Natasha’s face was stone, but Barton’s was an open book. His eyebrows shot up in surprise at your question, but he deferred to Natasha to provide the answer that would give them the most leverage.
“In a week or two, maybe.”
You hung your head. It wasn’t like you hadn’t hurt anyone before. You’d lost track of how many people you killed. But they’d all deserved it. They’d attacked you first. The young woman –– Wanda, Natasha had called her –– had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and you’d reacted purely on instinct, on edge from facing off with Natasha.
“She’s lucky you’re such a bad shot.”
You looked up. Natasha sat back down across from you, a taunting smile on her lips.
“Unless you weren’t shooting to kill. In which case, I guess I owe you a thank you.”
Natasha held your gaze, and you knew she saw it all on your face. The pain, the frustration, the feeling of being trapped inside your own irredeemable body. It was like she could hear you scream without uttering a sound.
“Fuck you,” you seethed through clinched teeth. You had to say something. “Just give me the money and I’ll hand over the serum. You’ll never see me again.”
Natasha sensed you were telling the truth. “What will you do?”
You shook your head, taking the opportunity to spit out another pool of blood. “Get the hell away from here and never look back.”
Natasha shot a look at Barton, and he stepped outside to give you some privacy.
“Pretty hard to run away from yourself. Trust me, I’ve tried.”
You held Natasha’s gaze. Why hadn’t she killed you? “What is this? Why are we still here?”
Natasha’s lips twitched. “You got somewhere else to be?”
She had you there. “What happened to Kilroy?” You didn’t really care about the answer, but you were quickly losing what little control you had in the conversation and were hoping the rapid change in subject would reveal a small crack in Natasha’s marble façade, if only for a moment.
It didn’t work. “He’s safe. Back at our compound. Would you like to see him?”
This time, you initiated the eye contact. “What do you think?”
Natasha sighed. “I think Kilroy manipulated you, used you. Told you he’d protect you while constantly putting your life in danger for no one’s gain but his own. Am I getting close?”
“You forgot the serum.” You said it as almost an afterthought, it had been part of you for so long.
“How old were you?” Natasha asked. She remembered JARVIS’ file. “Sixteen?”
“Seventeen. It was a birthday gift.”
Natasha’s breath caught in her throat. She’d experienced her fair share of fucked up “birthday gifts” in the Red Room, but super soldier serum was a new one.
Barton popped his head in. “We’ve got company coming in hot and fast. We need to get out of here.”
Natasha stood up, her gaze falling back on you. “Another buyer?”
“Canadian motorcycle gang that happens to run a lot of guns. That’s all I know.”
“My favorite,” Clint muttered as he notched an arrow onto his bow.
“Wait,” Natasha held up a hand.
Clint peeked out the window. “Nat, we don’t exactly have time to wait.”
Natasha was already undoing your vibranium cuffs as she explained her plan. “Y/N, you go out there, business as usual, talk up the serum, get them interested. Then, once their guard is down, we’ll take them out.”
You rubbed your wrists a second before you realized what had happened. You were free. Barton was faster on the draw, already pointing an arrow in your direction. But Natasha was nonchalant, talking as if a partnership wasn’t just inevitable but like you’d already said yes.
“No.” You shook your head as you watched Barton draw back his bowstring. “It won’t work. They’ll want to see the serum and it’s... it’s at the bottom of the lake. So, unless either of you brought a tank, I’ll have to dive down and retrieve it.”
Natasha sighed. “Then I guess we’ll do the hard part first.”