Kidnapped
(Natasha’s POV)
It all happened so fast. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in her bed, her face buried underneath a pillow. She was exhausted from training so the likelihood for a good night's sleep was strong. But instead of being woken up by the sunlight streaming through her window or the sounds of others wandering around the compound, she was woken up by a cloth being put over her mouth and nose.
As soon as she awoke, horror and fear surged through her. Her instinct urged her to flee. As she tried to jump out of bed and lung at the person attacking her she realized she couldn’t. There were strong hands holding her down. There was no escape. The cloth was still being held to her face, the unique smell of chloroform overpowering her. Her vision started to go foggy and her head felt like it was full of cotton. Almost like she had too much to drink. The fumes burned her eyes, and the world starting to go dark. But before it did she was able to get a look at the people in her bedroom.
There were 3 of them. 2 holding her down and the other pressing the cloth to her face. She stared up at the face closest to her own. It was a girl. They all were, no older than 17. The girl's eyes were cold and empty. Her face void of all emotion. It was an expression she recognized as it reflected her own at that age. They were students of the Red Room. As she succumbed to the darkness she felt a different type of fear she hadn’t felt in a long time.
She dreamed of a little girl with no face. Dancing to the same song over and over again. Mimicking the moves of other faceless girls around her. Pointe shoes drenched in blood, spreading pictures all along the floor.
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(Steve’s POV)
He had always liked the sunrise. But it was so much different now than it was 70 years ago. He remembered how he and his mum used to wake up early every morning before school just to watch it from their back porch. Sometimes Bucky would join them, not often though he definitely wasn’t an early riser. He missed those times, sometimes he wished he could go back. Things were simpler then.
Now he was sitting on one of the chairs in the kitchen. A warm cup of coffee in his hand. He had never really liked coffee, but it didn’t taste half bad when diluted with sugar and creamer. Another cup was sitting on the table next to him. Untouched. Usually, Natasha would sit and watch the sunrise with him. It kinda turned into their little routine. He would make coffee, and the smell would lure Natasha out to the kitchen. She drank hers black, something he thought was absolutely disgusting. They had done this every morning for weeks so it was a bit weird she wasn’t here now. But he knew she had spent most of yesterday down in the training room, so she must be tired. So he drank his coffee much slower than usual and ended up watching the sunrise by himself.
He stayed by the table a little while longer. He had started to treasure their little mornings together. He had gotten a lot closer to her these last few months, ever since Ultron he and Natasha had kinda been running an Avengers training base. They both trained Sam, Wanda, and Vision in combat making them stronger for when things go wrong. Which they always did sooner or later.
He heard footsteps coming towards the kitchen. He was almost sure it was Natasha, but as Sam came through the doorway his hopes were crushed. And Sam could tell.
“What you're not happy to see me?” Sam chuckled. He had obviously picked up on the amount of time he and Natasha had started to spend together.
“Just not the person I’m waiting for” He replied. He stood up and grabbed the coffee cups off the table. One empty and one full. He dumped the now cold black coffee down the drain and placed the empty cups in the dishwasher.
“What did you do to piss her off?” Sam asked teasingly, sitting down where Steve had just gotten up from. A bowl of cereal next to him. Chocolate cheerios, the only person in the compound who liked them.
“Nothing that I can think of” he responded, laughing along with Sam, “She was working hard yesterday, I’m sure she’s just sleeping in.”
He and Sam carried on chatting for a while. Talking about things like what shows they were watching or how they should go to that new bar that just opened up. It was nice not to talk about missions and being superheroes for once. Not that he didn’t enjoy being a part of the Avengers, he just sometimes missed being Steve Rogers the guy from New York instead of Captain America.
It was only 8 am when he and Sam’s conversation was interrupted by Wanda and Vision joining them in the kitchen. Just like him and Natasha, Wanda and Vision had started to become close as well. It was quite a surprise to see Wanda up at this hour, let alone wearing everyday clothes looking like she was ready to go out somewhere. Unless it was required for training, Wanda didn’t usually emerge from her room anytime before 10 am.
“Where are you off too?” Sam asked. A question he would’ve asked himself it Sam hadn’t beat him to it.
“Nat and I are going to go visit Pepper, where is she? We need to get going or we’re going to be late.” She replied while filling up a water bottle with the filtered water from the fridge.
This statement worried him a little. It was very unlike Natasha to be late for something she had planned. If she had planned on going somewhere, she went and was never late.
“I’ll go see if she’s awake” He decided, turning to leave the kitchen.
“Of course you will.” Sam teased again.
He flashed him a smile before he left, but it wasn’t genuine. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. He walked to Natasha’s room quickly. He needed to know that she was alright. He was probably making a mountain out of a molehill. She probably just slept through her alarm. It happens, he has done it on more than one occasion.
He went down the stairs 2 at a time, getting to her door in seconds. He paused outside of her door for a moment. This was ridiculous, nothing was wrong. He would just knock on the door, waking her up and then she’d be mad at him for waking her. But he just had to know for sure that she was alright.
He knocked on the door softly. He waited for a few seconds, but when he heard no sounds coming from the room he knocked again. Louder this time. He felt a wave of dread consume him as again no sounds came from her bedroom. Something was wrong.
Without thinking about it he swung her door open. What he saw left him speechless. Natasha’s once tidy bedroom was a mess. Her bed covers were thrown to the ground, her books and papers scattered the ground. All of her drawers were open, the contents on the ground. But most concerning was the words written on the white wall above her bed. Two words written in blood. Natasha’s blood.
He unfroze and called out for Sam. Without taking his eyes off of her empty bed he heard Sam and the others come running down the stairs. Wanda gasped as soon as she saw Natasha’s room, tears welling in her eyes. It took him a lot of willpower not to let any tears run down his face. Not now.
“Same call Tony and Clint right now,” He said. His voice sounded strained. He was not as good at hiding his emotions as Natasha was. He couldn’t hide the horror on his face as he read the words on her wall over and over again.
Красная комната. Red Room.