Hello, Natalia

Natasha laid in the bed, reflecting on how she ended up back in the Red Room. Her thoughts gradually went from optimistic to pessimistic as the brainwashed part of her slowly took full control over her. She then found herself unable to disobey in the slightest, and she closed her eyes.

Suddenly she woke up to the sound of the door to her cell opening. She saw James walking in, watching his back to make sure no one was following him. “Hello,” he said.

“Hello.”

Bucky is not brainwashed any more after the fight with natasha. He comes in and asks her how she got there and if she can leave. He then claims he is in love with her and kisses her, she looks confused and convinces him to take off her handcuffs. She beats him up and takes him to be “recalibrated”

“How did you get here? How did you travel in time?” he asked.

“There is a girl, in the future, who teleported me when I was...compromised. I ended up here.”

“You have to have a way back, right? Tell her to take you back. You don’t want to be here,” he was frantic, yet he was trying to keep his voice down as he knows that the walls have ears.

Realizing that his brainwashing wore off, Natasha decided to act as though she too was no longer under the control of the Red Room, “Can you help me get out?” she looked at the restraints that bound her to the bed.

He ripped the handcuffs off her wrists and threw them to the ground. She sat up, rubbing the marks that the restraints left on her. They looked into each other’s eyes and he felt compelled to kiss her. Her features looked so gentle and welcoming to him that he leaned closer to her and left a kiss on her pink lips. Natasha stared at him, wondering if he would say more. Finally he said, “I think I’m in love with you.”

“Love?” she paused. “Love is for children.” It was then that he realized she was still brainwashed.

“Natalia, listen to me. This is not you, you are bett-” he attempted to convince her that she was under the control of someone else, someone evil, but she punched him in the face. He looked at her in sadness. She followed through, punch after punch. He didn’t want to hurt her as he knew that she was the plaything of the soviets and she was not thinking for herself. “I’m sorry you are here,” he mumbled as she punched him one last time, knocking him out.

She dragged him to the brainwashing chamber, where a man with a red beret stood. He turned and shouted, “what are you doing in here?!”

“He came into my room talking about love. He needs to be recalibrated.” Natasha now thought of brainwashing not as bad thing, but as a push that put your mindset back into the right place.

The man stared at the unconscious James. He said, “Okay.”

She left the room and headed back to her quarters for the night. In the morning, Madame B went to retrieve Natasha from her cell. “Wake up, Natalia.”

Natasha opened her eyes and sat up. She was disoriented and trying to recall where she was. Suddenly she realized where she was and she stood and attacked Madame B, who retaliated by dodging every punch and every kick. Madame B grabbed Natasha by her arms and called the men into the room. “You really think you can best me, Natalia?”

As the men came towards her, she tripped them both and slipped her arms out of Madame B’s grip. She kicked Madame B in the gut, sending her to the other side of the room. Madame B called for reinforcements as she said, “you’ve learned a few things since your training here.”

“Yes I did. I’m better than you could have ever imagined.” Four men arrived to restrain Natasha, but she fought them. Jumping onto their shoulders and swinging around them to knock them all to the floor, like dominoes.

Madame B went up to her and cuffed her as she was busy with the others. She said, “I think it’s time for another brainwashing. You become so helpful when you are obedient. Turning the asset in after he became disloyal to our cause,” Natasha remembered how she hurt Bucky the other night, she wanted to scream out her frustration but didn’t, knowing she should save the screaming for the Brainwashing. “Can’t you see, Natalia? You are built to see the world as I do. You were created to work for Russia, not anyone else.”

“You’re wrong. I made some friends during my time at S.H.I.E.L.D, and they gave me a new perspective...a better one. She tried to resist, but the men took Natasha back to the cold, dark chamber for another brainwashing. This time they ensured it would last longer than the one the other day.

After the fact, Madame B unstrapped Natasha from the chair and said, “we have a mission for you, Natalia.”

“Ready to comply.”

“Captain America has an important...artifact and we want it. You will retrieve it. It is a secondary objective to kill him, if circumstances prevent you from doing so, just return the item to us,” Madame B ordered.

The man with the red beret went closer to Madame B. He voiced his reservations, “this girl has only been here for a day. Do you really trust her on this mission.”

“You forget, sergeant, that this is not just any girl. This is Natalia. She never fails. We recalibrated her, you saw the positive effects of that last night. She is a safer bet than the winter soldier right now anyway. He has been in cryogenic stasis for too short a time for him to be trustworthy. So, we go with the girl. If she fails, we train her more. If she succeeds, we send her to the KGB.”

Natasha was taken to a truck out front where she was escorted to a private jet that would take her to the United States. She sat in the plane, adjusting her new uniform. She had charged discs on her wrist and multiple pistol holsters: one on her thigh and another on her belt. She watched as her widow’s bite sent electricity from her knuckles as she imagined Steve dead by her hands. “Soon,” she whispered to herself.

When she arrived at the United States, she left the plane and looked around. Trying to acclimate herself to the new environment. She walked over to a motorcycle and stole it. Driving away towards Rogers’ presumed location.

Natasha thought about nothing as she sped down side roads. When she was nearing the location, she looked towards a window and noticed Rogers staring out. She stayed out of his sights and when he looked away, Natasha drove the motorcycle into another car, causing an eruption of flames to engulf the vehicles. The fire quickly spread to the building so Natasha hid, waiting for Steve to arrive.

As expected, Captain America sprinted out of the building, watching as the flames consumed the motorcycle. He looked around as Natasha stayed out of sight. He turned around and she approached him quietly. She attached a remote controlled disc onto his back. As he began to turn around, Natasha clicked a button on her bracelet and Steve fell to the ground, electricity running through his body. He stood, fighting the pain and he threw his shield at the assassin. She ducked sending the shield into a nearby van. She jumped onto his back, locking her legs around his neck. Natasha let her widow’s bite burn into his neck and she punched his face over and over and over until he threw her to the ground. She rolled onto her feet and flipped her hair back, smirking at the challenge he proved to be.

She ran towards Rogers and he grabbed her, throwing he into a wall. As she jumped up, the spy shot a charged disc at Captain America. He groaned as the volts tore through his shirt and stung him. She pulled out her pistols and aimed them directly at the soldier. She said, “give me the artifact.”

“I’m not gonna do that, ma’am,” he claimed. “You’re just gonna have to to take it off my dead body.”

She turned her head slightly, admiring his loyalty - even if it was for the wrong side. “That can be arranged,” she said as she shot him once in the chest and he fell to his knees, heaving as blood filled his mouth. “Give me the artifact!” she got impatient when she heard sirens approaching.

“No,” he whispered, not being able to project his voice.

She shot him two more times and he finally succumbed to his pain. When she walked over to him, she felt a weak pulse. The police were almost there so she left him alive, but she took the curious wooden talisman from his pocket. The assassin placed it in her pocket and ran from the scene.

When she arrived back to the Red Room, Madame B was eager to see how Natasha performed for her homecoming mission. As Natasha neared Madame B, she pulled the item out of her pocket and dropped it into Madame B’s hands.

“Mission report,” she ordered.

“Rogers is alive.”

She seemed disappointed at the news. “The KGB requested you while you were away. They need you to take down S.H.I.E.L.D”