Chapter Text
The next day, Yelena wakes up alone. Natasha had left at some point during the night. Looking at her phone, she sees it is 4am and decides to just get up, as she can't sleep anymore anyway.
Stepping out into the corridor, she hears shushing, and her curiosity gets he better of her. She treads carefully down the corridor and hovers outside an ajar door. She eavesdrops on the conversation.
"Keep your voice down. I don't want anyone to find out."
"I don't know what you're so afraid of."
"Look, if the others find out, don'tcha think they'll make it difficult for us to work together?"
"Nat, we're grown-ups and consensual adults. We're not doing anything wrong."
"I know that, but letting my guard down... Just shut up."
"Okay, but I-"
"Just shut up and get it in. I need you to."
"Nat, it's 4am, I'm not even hard yet."
"Then I'll help-"
The sound of gentle sucking fills the corridor, and a disgusted Yelena turns to leave. As she does so, she whacks a knuckle, loudly, on the door frame.
Shit, ow. She mouths.
The sucking stops and there are quick footsteps to the door. Yelena tries to dart away.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Natasha hisses, poking her head around the door.
Yelena stops and turns around slowly.
Natasha steps out into the corridor, wearing a robe. She blinks in the harsh fluorescent lights as she ties the belt around her waist and closes the door. She strides up to Yelena and shoves her against the wall, with an arm across her chest, close to her throat.
"What the hell?"
"I was... sleepwalking?"
"Yelena, you have never sleepwalked a day in your life. You're eavesdropping. You know that's really rude. What did you hear?"
"Nothing."
Nat's arm is pushed up and into Yelena's throat. "Don't lie to me! I could kill you where you stand."
"Your... own... sis-ter?" Yelena asks, straining.
Natasha moves effortlessly and where her arm was once on her sister's throat, she now has Yelena's right arm behind her back and is pushing her forward. "Move!" she hisses.
She shoulder barges her to get her to move and the pair make their way to the kitchen.
"Talk."
"Let go of me and I will."
"No. Start talking."
Yelena's gaze falls upon the knife block. "Remember Budapest?"
Nat knows exactly what she's talking about, and so she pushes Yelena into the island counter and slams her head onto the surface, with a thud. She holds it there, tightly, and Yelena begins struggling.
"Who are you-ack!" she exclaims as Nat pushes her head harder into the marble. "Who are you sleeping with?"
"None of your business, Yelena."
"I heard you talking to one of the guys. It's one of the quiet ones. Banner? Rogers? Barton?" Natasha's grip loosens a little. "It's Barton, isn't it? Is that who's cock you were sucking?"
"You better watch it, Yelena!"
"That's not a no."
"I can still kick your ass."
"Well, come on then."
"I'm in my robe."
"Don't threaten what you can't dish out."
"You can't say shit, okay?"
"Why does it matter?"
"Because I can't let my guard down."
"And you think I can?"
"You should, Yelena. I'm a monster."
"Why?"
Natasha sighs. "Because of the graduation ceremony. We can never have kids."
"Does he know?"
"He knows about the Red Room and the graduation ceremony, but not what that entails. So, uh, not really."
"But why keep it a secret?"
"I dunno. It's like you with your feelings for Kate."
"I confessed my feelings... to you."
"Right, but not to her."
Yelena sighs, understanding. "Okay, so why do you need to pretend you're not fucking Barton?"
"Yelena! You are so crass."
"I'm Russian. You're too... sensitive."
"I'm American."
"Russian-American. Anyway, it does not matter. Why are you so shy?"
"I don't know."
"Natasha, is Barton married?"
"No, he isn't."
"So, enjoy fucking him and who cares if people know you're fucking him."
"Yeah, right. And you enjoy fucking Kate."
"Hey! She and I are not."
"Not yet, you're not."
Yelena scoffs. "If I promise to let it go, can you let me go?"
"I don't know if I can trust you."
Yelena gasps and squeaks. "I am your sister!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. But we're also trained killers. The first time we met after twenty-one years, you tried to kill me!"
"Me? Kill you?" Yelena laughs boisterously. "Oh, Natasha, that is the funniest. If I wanted to, I would have. But also, you are my sister, so of course, I held back."
"You held back? Then it wasn't a fair fight!"
"You held back too, don't lie."
"Well, yeah, you're my baby sister. I'm not gonna hurt... kill you."
"Exactly! Look, let me go, I can't feel my fingers."
"Reach for a knife and I swear to God, I'll-"
"You'll kill me."
Natasha sighs and lets Yelena go. The latter stands up and shakes out her hand, to get the blood back, and then rotates her shoulder to ease the stiffness. "That's an effective grip."
"I know." There is a loud crack and Natasha looks at Yelena worriedly. "What was that?"
"My shoulder."
"Did that not hurt? It sounded like it did."
"Nah, I'm fine. Thanks for the feigned concern, though."
"That was real concern, Yelena. It sounded painful."
There is a long silence between the two.
"Hey, you want something to eat?" Yelena asks, suddenly.
"I should get back... It's been a while."
"Really? You're gonna... now? Are you that desperate?"
"Well, no, I'm not. Yes, alright. I'll have some toast."
A sleepy Clint shuffles down the corridor, unbeknownst to the women. His voice startles them. "Nat are you coming back to bed?" he asks, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
"Hello, Barton. You plowing my sister?"
"What? I-" he stammers "No...?"
"Barton, she knows." Natasha replies, sighing.
"You told her?"
"She found out herself."
"We didn't do anything."
"I heard you talking. And Natasha did say to 'get it in,' sooo... you do the maths." The pair blush. "I think it's healthy. I don't get why you have to be so secretive about it."
"That's what I've been saying."
"See, the man gets it."
"I can't have babies."
"What? Who said anything about-huh?"
"I didn't want you to think I'm a monster because of it."
"Natasha, why would I ever think that? How many times have we hooked up? Let me tell you: a lot. You know I have feelings for you. It's not like it's a one-night stand. We keep coming back together. Even when we're on opposite sides of the law. I might want kids, one day, but not now."
"If you want kids, you should be with someone who can give you kids. I can't."
"Why, because you don't want them?"
"She doesn't have a uterus, dipshit."
"Or ovaries." Natasha adds.
"Yeah, that's what happens when the Red Room gives you an involuntary hysterectomy. 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."
Clint is stunned. He has no words.
"Remember when I said: 'In the Red Room, where I was trained, where I was raised, they have a graduation ceremony. They sterilise you. It's efficient.' That is what I was talking about."
"And you think that makes you a monster?"
"It makes me less of a woman." Natasha replies, glumly.
"You're still a woman, Nat. It's disgusting what they did to you-"
"Between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. Mostly. Some were even younger."
"Yelena, you're not helping!"
"What? The man has a right to know."
"Yes, but this is my boyfriend and my body, so I should be the one to tell him!"
"Yes, but we both went through the same process."
"You were six when you joined the Red Room."
"What has that got to do with anything?"
"I was born into it. I was put into the Red Room from when I was one, until I was eight. Then I lived with you, in Ohio, until I was eleven, and then I went back into the Red Room. Melina had been cycled through the Red Room four times before I was even born. You don't know the same shit as I do."
"You got out! I didn't. You were out for three years. You had a childhood! I know more about the Red Room than you."
"What do you mean you didn't get out? I got out when I was eight and was sterilised when I was fourteen."
Yelena laughs, gravelly. "I went in when I was six, yes?" Natasha nods. "I was sterilised when I was eight. I graduated, but Dreykov wanted me for his own 'special project'... he trained me, he abused me... physically, mentally, sexually... and then he kept me on. He said he needed me. He needed to make me the best Black Widow of all time. He made me better than you. He trained me in the exact same way as he trained you, minus all the psychological training usual for a spy. Initially using psychological conditioning to make the Widows obedient, by the 2000s the program had shifted to using mind control. The counteragent was made in secret, as you know, and I was on a mission to retrieve it. I killed Oksana after she freed me. We fought... I stabbed her in the stomach, twisted the knife, then ripped her open... she sprayed the gas in my face, which freed me. She told me to free the others and then I realised what I had done and then I watched her die. I wasn't freed until I was twenty-four. I was raised and trained in the Red Room for eighteen years. I watched them go from psychological conditioning, with a focus on Soviet Union propaganda and war tactics, to literal mind control... chemical subjugation. And as Dreykov's 'pet,' I was the first to undergo this... this change. So, don't stand there and tell me I 'don't know the same shit'. I don't know what it's like to have a life outside of the Red Room, until now. That's why I feel like a pubescent teenager. I feel like I'm a fucking sixteen-year-old in a twenty-five-year old's body. It's been one year since I was freed, and I don't know what to do with myself. I don't have a purpose or a routine and it's killing me. Why do you think I play Call of Duty so much? Because it's a routine and it's war. That's all I know, Nat. War. Killing. Death. And I know you're gonna wanna circle back to an earlier comment I made, but I don't wanna talk about it. I let it slip and I wish I didn't. I've carried that with me for fifteen years. I'll carry that to my grave if I have to."
"You were nine?"
"Are we talking about the sterilisation or the other thing?"
"The other thing."
"The thing I just said I didn't wanna talk about?"
"Yes, Yelena."
"Why do you want to talk about it?"
"Because I didn't know that happened. None of that happened for my generation."
"It was the 80s, I'm sure it happened."
"Not that I'm aware of."
"Well, yeah, I didn't think it would happen in the 90s, but it did."
"How many times?"
"Would you believe me if I said, 'just the once'?" Yelena looks at her feet and Natasha knows she's lying. She used to do the same thing whenever she lied.
"You know you look at your feet when you lie."
"I do not!"
"It's okay, I used to do it too. You really are my sister." Natasha forces a laugh.
"The abuse went on for five years."
"Five years?! What the hell?"
"I thought it was normal... that that's what all the girls went through. An intense, intimate grooming session."
"Dreykov groomed you? Did he... you know?"
"Yes. Mom caught him once. She yelled at him; told him I was 'just a child.' He thought he could get away with it for two years. He never tried again after that. We couldn't do shit, anyway. He had manipulated us both."
"Oh, God. Yelena, I am so sorry." Natasha replies, silent tears on her cheeks. Even Barton looks upset. "Is that why you're gay?"
Yelena scoffs. "I'm not gay. But I don't ever want to sleep with a guy. Ever. If that's what you enjoy, then fine, but for me, it's a hard pass. Pun unintended."
"How did Mom-?"
"I vaguely remember her walking into his office and pulling him off me. I cried and cried, as I pulled up my pants. I was so scared. She yelled at him, and I sat in a corner, shaking in fear. She came over to me and I told her I was sorry. I thought she was gonna yell at me and tell me I 'should have known better,' because I was fourteen, then. Instead, she cried and held me, and shushed me. She rocked me back and forth and wiped my tears and kissed the top of my head and told me it wasn't my fault. She didn't ask questions. She just assumed it was the first time. I couldn't bring myself to tell her it wasn't and that he started when I was eleven or twelve. And then, after an hour of crying, I fell asleep in her lap, and she took me to bed and then I briefly woke up. I asked her to stay with me, so she did. She laid on the bed with me and was stroking my head... like she used to, to help us fall asleep. She was gone when I woke up and I never saw her again. I thought she had been killed. And that was it. Until two years ago, when we broke Dad out Seventh Circle Prison, and he told us that Mom was still alive."
"Yelena, Моя сестра. Почему ты не сказал мне, что Дрейков тебя изнасиловал?"
"Я только что это сделал. I've been carrying this with me since I was eleven or twelve years old. I'm glad the weight has been lifted from my chest, and I'm glad I killed him. It started with me and ended with me, and I'm fucking glad he's dead and can't do this to anyone else."
"I'm glad you told me. It was a very brave thing to do."
"You can't say shit." Yelena says, directing this at Barton.
"I heard nothing."
"Good. Keep it that way. And, Natasha... I said I am not gay, but... Меня очень привлекает Kate Bishop, и я не знаю, что с этим делать."
"Пригласите ее на свидание."
"Куда дети ходят на свидания в наши дни?"
"I do not know. Pizza? Bowling? Somewhere to talk, so don't take her to the movies.
"Okay, I can manage that. Uh, will you be alright without us?"
"We've managed without you before. And no, that's not me saying I don't want my baby sister to tag along, whilst I save the world with the cool kids. That's me saying that you should have a nice time and not worry about us. I love you, you know, but we are the Avengers, we've been doing this since 2012. We know what we're doing."
"I love you too, Nat. Alright, I'll ask her out on a date today. It's just a date. She'll probably say yes. I mean, we've kissed already."
"Exactly. You've already got to first base, you just gotta take your time and don't rush for a home run, okay?"
"Base? Home run? Nat, this isn't baseball."
"No, but in dating there are bases. First base is holding hands, kissing, and making out, and second base is touching above the waist, above or below clothes. Third base is stimulating anywhere below the waist, above or below clothes... though, usually below, and fourth base, or home run, is having sexual intercourse." Barton explains, sensing Natasha's unease with the situation.
"Oh, okay. I get it. Well, yeah, we've done first base. Also, I think now is a suitable time to apologise for eavesdropping on you two." Yelena adds, sounding sincere.
"Is that a genuine apology from Yelena Belova? My God!" Natasha jokes, chuckling.
"I can take it back."
"No, no takebacks. You actually apologised. Good for you, how does it feel?"
"Fuck you, I've apologised genuinely before."
Natasha snorts. "With me, it was rare."
"You rarely apologised, too." Yelena says.
"I apologised, just not for stupid things. When you fell down and bumped your knee, I said nothing. We were playing, I didn't push or trip you, you slipped. It would have meant nothing if I had apologised. If I hurt you, or upset you in some way, I always said 'Прости меня, сестренка.' Which, for Barton's benefit, is 'Forgive me, little sister.' I apologised when I needed to, as did you. But you were more stubborn than me, sometimes. You wouldn't always eat the food Mom cooked for us, and you'd throw a tantrum because of it."
"And I bet you ate everything, huh?"
"Compared to the military-style food given to us by Dreykov, home-cooked food was a fucking Godsend. I only complained about food I didn't like. Anyway, I'm exhausted. I want to go to sleep. Like, actual sleep. It's six o'clock. We have three hours before we need to be up."
"Goodnight, Nat." Barton says, giving her a kiss on the cheek and wandering back to his bedroom.
Natasha places a hand on Yelena's neck to show her support for the news that she has learnt and looks into Yelena's eyes. Yelena touches Nat's nose with her own, then pulls her in for a secure hug. Natasha reciprocates the hug, and they hold each other tightly for a few minutes.
"I'm proud of you, you know." Natasha announces.
"Why?"
"For being brave and telling me something so personal. And because of your crush on Kate."
Yelena does her usual cough-laugh. "We're not sixteen. Can we say something more grown-up than a 'crush'?"
"It's what it is, deal with it."
"I feel better telling you. It was eating me up inside and I didn't even know."
"I bet it was. I'm just sorry I wasn't there to stop it."
"You were eighteen when it started."
"The year the KGB recruited me. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I thought it was normal. I told you that."
"Okay, yeah, I understand that. Sorry to keep bringing it up."
"It's fine. Wait, the KGB recruited you when you were eighteen?"
"Yeah, I was their youngest member. They saw my potential through Dreykov. They would frequently come and watch us train. Boris Turgenov selected older Widows, and he chose me to work for them. I worked for the KGB until 2010, when Tony recruited me and Barton. That's when I started to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. As I told you, killing Dreykov was the final step in my defection to S.H.I.E.L.D. That's when we imploded a five-story building and then had a shoot-out with the Hungarian Special Forces. Back then, the Avengers were a subsidiary of S.H.I.E.L.D. It wasn't until the events with Hydra and the Winter Soldier in 2014 that we became an independent group."
"I'm learning more about you, Natasha. But you should sleep. Do you still want toast?"
"Nah, I'm not hungry. You have some and go play CoD. That's what 'the kids' are calling it."
Yelena chuckles, lightly. "Much easier than saying its whole name all the time."
Natasha smiles at her, before leaving the room, so Yelena can play alone. She closes the door and sighs into the empty corridor. Her sister was hard work, sometimes, but she still loved her fiercely, and wouldn’t trade her for a thing.
Yelena boots up the PlayStation, from rest mode and it immediately opens her game. She grabs a beer from her mini fridge, presses ‘Continue’ and dives into the campaign, instantly taking down five enemies with silent headshots, before they even know she’s there. She grins smugly to herself. “We’re just getting started, boys.”
* * *
Three hours later, everyone begins rousing to start their day. Some are more slow-going than the others. Natasha and Carol look exhausted. Carol had been up since six and had gone down to Tony's training room to use his punching bag. She had gone a couple of rounds on it, but they were a little too hard, so she had snapped the chain between the bag and the ceiling hook. As the chain had snapped, the bag came flying off and embedded itself into the wall behind. She places the broken chain on the kitchen island. "Sorry I broke your punch bag. It's stuck in the wall."
"How did you manage to break a chain?" Steve asks, gobsmacked.
"I punched the bag, the chain snapped, and the bag got stuck in the wall."
"Superhuman strength?" Steve asks.
"Superhuman strength." Carol repeats.
"That hook is solid steel." Tony adds. "Designed to hold up 50kg of weight. How hard did you punch?"
"Hard enough, apparently." She hastily retreats to the other side of the room.
"Where are the kids?" Bruce asks.
"Probably asleep." Natasha answers. "I'll check." She makes her way to Yelena's room and opens the door to find her fast asleep in her gaming chair and the PS4 controller upside down on the floor, where it had fallen. Natasha sighs at the image on the screen:
"Oh, Yelena." Natasha says softly. She creeps out of the room and closes the door quietly, before heading to Kate's room. She knocks on the door and waits for a response. There is none, so she carefully opens the door and knocks again. "Kate?" She mumbles and rolls over. "Kate?"
She's pretty responsive to her name. "Yeah?" she asks, groggily.
"It's time to get up. We're all in the kitchen."
"Aww. I was having a good dream." Kate whinges.
"Sorry to stop your dream."
"It's okay, I'll get over it." Kate replies. Natasha nods and proceeds to wake up Yelena.
Back in Yelena's room, Natasha goes to simply switch off the PlayStation.
"No, I have to save it!" Yelena exclaims, making Natasha jump.
"You were killed by a grenade, by the way."
"Damn it. I was doing so well."
"What difficulty are you on?"
"Hardened. It's the one below Veteran."
"Damn. So, you're pretty badass then?"
"I am, yes. In real life, too"
"Now you're just showing off. C'mon, Kate's up. But, uh, do your teeth. Your breath stinks."
"Thanks, Nat."
She shrugs. "You'd do the same for me."
"Yeah, actually, your breath stinks of cock."
"Oh, and you know what that smells like, do you?"
Yelena walks out into the corridor but turns to Natasha. "Ha(!)" she replies sarcastically, "No, but that's what you were sucking last night."
"Touché." Natasha replies, shaking her head.
Yelena turns around and collides with Kate. Their foreheads smack together, and each is dazed.
Kate stumbles back and Yelena catches her around her waist. "Sorry about that."
"It's okay, I'll live."
"Glad I caught you. Wouldn't want you falling."
"For you or to the ground?"
"Into me... to the ground? I don't know."
"Well, I already did fall into you. You have a pretty solid forehead."
"Да. I've broken many noses."
"Well, thanks for not breaking mine."
Yelena chuckles softly. "I'm sorry about last night."
"What happened last night?"
"You know, arguing with Natasha, downing the vodka, shattering the bottle?"
"Oh, you mean yesterday evening? That's alright. It seemed like a difficult family moment."
"Yeah, it was, but that's beside the point."
"How are you feeling today? Hungover?"
"A little tired, but I feel better now you're here."
"Is that so?"
"Well, yeah, I mean, you're my age, near enough, so I feel like I can talk to you more."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah. Cos they all talk about superhero stuff, and we can talk about what movies you're into or your favourite pizza toppings."
"Yeah, and you're more likely to rescue me than they are."
"Do you need rescuing?"
"You seem to think I do."
"Do I? I never said-"
"No, but your strong grip on my waist indicates that you're worried about the bump to my head."
Yelena looks down at her hand still firmly on Kate's waist and gulps. "It was a nasty bump to the head. You could have concussion."
"If I had a concussion, then I wouldn't remember your name."
Yelena drops her voice. "True, but a girl shouldn't take chances."
"And who's gonna stop me from taking chances?"
"Me."
"Ah, so, you're holding me against my will... I don't think that's as charming as you think it is."
"You can leave any time." Yelena says, letting go of Kate's waist and bringing both her palms up to show she means no harm.
"I could, but maybe I don't want to."
"So, what do we do?"
"I don't know. Hold me again and I'll tell you." Kate says, playfully biting her lower lip.
"You mean like this?" Yelena asks, grabbing Kate's hips and pulling her, so their pelvises touch.
Kate gasps a little. "Yeah, like that. You're a dangerous woman, Yelena."
"Do you like dangerous women?"
"Hmm, when I've figured it out, I'll let you know." Kate winks at Yelena and playfully shoves her backwards and into the wall. She lifts Yelena's chin, with her index finger, before letting go. She leans in and her lips ghost Yelena's, right before she turns around and saunters down the corridor to grab some breakfast.
Yelena watches her leave, focused on her ass, so doesn't hear Natasha leave her bedroom and stand next to her.
"What was that?"
Yelena jumps, then punches Natasha on the bicep. "I don't know... talking."
"That was more than talking. You two were flirting. I told you; you like her."
"I know I do, dipshit. I wanted to kiss her so badly."
"Then why didn't you?"
"Because we've only just woken up and I've not brushed my teeth yet. It was probably the wrong moment."
"That was a moment."
"Should I go after her?"
"Dude, this isn't a Hallmark movie. Go to the kitchen for breakfast and if you have a moment again, take it."
"Hmm, alright."
They wander down to the kitchen and as Yelena takes the Cornflakes from Steve, Tony begins talking. "Ah, Belova, Romanoff, glad you two could join us. Now, if we can all head down to my lab."
"But I've not had any breakfast. Let me eat. Please, my Daddy says it's good for you." Yelena whines.
"Did you just-you know what, not gonna ask." Natasha begins.
"I'm sure if your 'Daddy' were here, he'd tell you that what I'm about to tell you is more important than breakfast."
"Tony Stark. Just give me five minutes to pour milk, then cereal into this bowl, grab a spoon and then I will follow you, and listen to your oh-so-important spiel."
"You do milk, then cereal?" Carol and Steve ask, shocked.
"Да, is that not right?"
"Nooo! Cereal and then milk!" they reply in unison.
"No, I'm with Yelena on this. Milk, then cereal." Clint and Bruce replies.
Everyone starts to argue about how best to make a bowl of cereal.
"I just have toast, so-" Kate replies, quietly.
"Oh, my God! I didn't know cereal could be this divided. All right, enough. All of you."
"I didn't say anything. That's not fair."
Natasha throws her a look, since she started it. "Tony, give her time to have breakfast, because she's only going to whinge and complain about being hungry, if she doesn't."
"I'm not a baby, Natasha."
"No, you're not. But even when we were on the run in Budapest, you complained multiple times about being hungry."
"Yeah, because I had only eaten breakfast. My lunch was disturbed by you and the Widows who were after you and those vials. Then, if you remember, we got smoked out, shot at, chased, almost mowed down by an elite armoured tank by Dreykov's special project, then the car we stole got blown up by him-"
"Her. Antonia."
"Her. And it was flipped upside down and sent careening down the stairs into the subway. You wouldn't let me bandage my arm and then we hid in the same vent you and Barton hid in. There was no time for food, but I was hungry. And I expressed my hunger to you."
"Like a child."
"No. I did not whine or pout or throw a tantrum. If I recall, I said 'Great plan. I love the part where I almost bled to death', then we talked about Dreykov's special project and how it was like fighting a mirror, then you asked me for the location of the Red Room, and I told you I didn't know as it 'changes location constantly. And every Widow is sedated on entry and exit for maximum security.' We then got out of that cosy vent and headed out of Budapest and that was the first time I asked for food. We got to that shop; I got a first aid kit and left you to pay for it-"
"After you called me a 'poser'."
"Haha! You're such a poser."
"And then by night-time, we found that little café thing and you got the beer. I needed food, but you didn't get me any. I asked you twice. That's it."
"You could have bought some yourself."
"With what money? All of my money was in the Budapest safe house. And my good vodka. Блин."
"Alright, you've made your point. Everyone, for God's sake, have some breakfast. I'll be in the lab." Tony announces, exasperatedly. He saunters off and down the stairs. The others troop after him, leaving Belova and Bishop to make breakfast.
"Hey, Tony. Just fill us in. Let the girls have the day off."
"And why is that?"
"Because I told Yelena to take Kate out for the day and that we'd manage it. Come on, they're young and they're crushing on each other. Let them have their fun, go on a date. What's the harm? We're the Avengers, we've taken on some bigger threats than..." she looks at the holographic screen in front of her, "six bomb threats. Again? Thought Captain Marvel took them out."
"She did. Very well, I might add. But these are copycats and there's another set to go off in Downtown in an hour and a half. So, I suggest you cut the conversations short and get suited up. I'll send S.W.A.T. to some of the other locations."
The six come back up the stairs and Captain Marvel clears her throat, making the two youngsters spring apart.
"Did we, uh, did we miss it? The meeting, I mean." Captain Marvel nods. "Блин. Tell us where and when we need to meet."
"We've got this. You kids have the day off. So, make the most of it."
"The day off? Oh, thank God." Kate replies, delighted.
"Wait, Carol, why do we have the day off?"
"Oh, because you're young." She replies.
"Go and have fun." Natasha adds, winking at Yelena.
"Did you seriously tell them?"
"Do you want to take her out on a date, or what?"
"I do, but-"
"No, no buts. Go spend the day with her, take her on a date. Show her your softer side. Make use of the quiet building, cos you know you won't be interrupted during any makeout sessions."
"Who said we're going to be making out?"
"I was assuming you weren't gonna go straight to fourth base. Any kisses you might share. I know you're embarrassed."
"I'm not embarrassed."
"Oh, yeah? Then why did you spring apart once Carol arrived?"
"She cleared her throat, it startled me."
"Because you felt like you were doing something wrong. You're not, so stop sneaking around."
"Says the one sleeping with-"
"Don't finish that sentence."
Yelena shrugs and turns to Kate. "So, uh, we have the whole day to ourselves. What do you want to do?"
"Coffee first. Then we can get dressed and I'll meet you back here."
"Okay, well I'm gonna shower. Does anyone need a piss before I shower?" Yelena asks the group, loudly and impolitely.
"You know there's several bathrooms in the Tower, right? I'm not a pauper. This is basically a penthouse. I have eight bedrooms and six bathrooms." Tony announces.
"Alrighty, then." Yelena says, before turning and marching down the corridor. It's Kate's turn to watch Yelena's ass.
By the time Yelena and Kate meet up again, the others are long gone.
"What say we continue where we left off before Captain Marvel interrupted us?"
"I'd say that's a good idea, Kate Bishop." Kate, being the taller of the two, leans down and kisses Yelena on the lips. She then kisses behind her ear. "Oh. Hello. I've not been kissed here before."
"You like?"
"It's different."
"How opposed are you to it?"
"Kiss me there again."
Kate obeys.
Within a few minutes, their kisses turn heated and Kate parts her lips to let Yelena's tongue in. She pushes the brunette into the counter and then helps her on top of it.
"I knew this island was a good idea." Kate whispers. "May I?" she questions, taking the edge of Yelena's white button-up vest top.
"Let me help." Yelena undoes the four buttons on her vest top and allows Kate to remove it. "Sorry, I don't have a secret six pack or anything."
Kate kisses her soft stomach. "I don't care if you do, or you don't. It's beautiful."
"Pssh, I have never heard of a belly being 'beautiful'."
"Just enjoy the compliments, Yelena."
Kate places more kisses on Yelena's abdomen, before working her way up to her chest. "These are really nice." She says, admiring her beasts. "Don't worry, I won't touch without permission."
"Was that a hint?"
Kate chuckles. "More of an invitation..."
Yelena gets the hint and removes Kate's sheer white t-shirt. "So beautiful..."
With their tops discarded, they continue to kiss each other. Kate removes Yelena's bra strap and kisses her bare shoulder, as Yelena digs her fingernails into Kate's back. When Kate nips at the skin, Yelena accidentally scratches her back.
"Woah, easy there, tiger." Kate announces, indicating that it hurt. "We're not at that stage yet."
"Sorry." Yelena mumbles into Kate's neck.
* * *
Downstairs, masked assailants quietly break the lock to the Avengers Tower and make their way inside. They are confronted by Happy, but he is immediately Tased and put into a utility closet. Pepper is at a board meeting, so she isn't even on site.
"Есть ли у нас подтверждение того, что Белова находится в здании?" The soldier asks, pressing a finger to his ear.
"Да, у нас есть глаза в небе. Она на кухне. Не убивайте мирного жителя. Сделай Беловой больно, но не убивай ее. Она нужна нам живой."
"Утвердительный." He confirms, before making hand signals to the rest of his team.
They stealthily make their way up the stairs and then before they reach the top, they throw a couple of smoke grenades out. The girls cough and splutter and scramble for their tops. Dressing themselves, they wait for the smoke to clear. Kate wafts it away and Yelena grabs the chef's knife from the block. This is the first time Kate has seen her grab one for self-defence, and she's both curious and afraid to know how well she can use it.
Out of the smoke a soldier, dressed in black, rushes at Yelena, who screams and slices the air, a mere inch in front of the guy. She's raging now and slashes again and again, this time, cutting his stomach and his wrist. He drops back, clutching it and stemming the blood flow.
"Ты сука! Вы заплатите за это!"
"Достань меня!" Yelena claps back. She waits for another man to rush her and again slashes the knife horizontally. The guy grabs her wrist and bends it back, and she pants, and gasps in pain. Kate, concerned for her safety steps forward, but then she watches as Yelena drops the knife into her other hand and drives it into the man's stomach, before twisting the blade, accompanied by a grunt. To finish it off, she drags the blade from left to right, before removing the knife with another grunt. He falls on her and she pushes him away.
Two down, three to go.
One of the men shoots and the knife is flicked out of her hand, where it clatters to the floor.
"Вас пятеро только для меня? Я не знаю, стоит ли мне польститься или оскорбиться!"
The man who shot the knife out of her hand, shoots her again, this time in the liver.
"Shit!" Kate exclaims.
"I've had worse. It's a graze." Sure enough, when she lifts her vest top, there is a nasty red mark, and deep welt where the bullet rubbed on her skin but didn't penetrate it.
"Stun batons? Aw, you shouldn't have!" Yelena mocks, grabbing a fallen pistol. "Kate! Grab my phone, go into contacts, click ICE and select Nat! Do it now! Hey! Get the fuck off her!! Не трогай ее! Я убью вас всех! Я буду стрелять! Не трогай ее!"
"Оставьте гражданский."
Kate runs down the corridor to Yelena's room and snatches up her phone from the pillow. It has a pin code. She sprints back to the kitchen to find Yelena in hand-to-hand combat with the leader, whilst being electrocuted on the back by a stun baton from another.
"Yelena! Pin code!"
"It's Nat's birthday! Day, month, year!" she looks like she is in agony, but she's resisting the electricity.
"Gotcha! Come on, pick up, pick up."
The third man pins her arms behind her back. The stun batons are momentarily discarded, in favour of punches to her face. An elbow connects with Yelena's nose, and it breaks. She drops to the floor, where she gets punched, kicked and kneed in the face.
"Nat! Oh, thank God. You need to get back here, quick."
"A little busy at the moment. What's so urgent?"
"These men broke in and they're beating up Yelena!"
"Oh, my God! Yelena?"
Another round of stun batons to the face and Yelena is screaming in agony now.
"Никто за тобой не придет. Вырубите ее!" the leader orders and one of the men punches Kate so hard in the face that she's out cold before she hits the floor.
"Kate? Kate!" Yelena screams in pain and anger, and although the phone is on the floor, Natasha hears everything.
"Спокойной ночи, Yelena. Ты пойдешь с нами."
There is a thud as Yelena's head hits the tile and then a crunch as her phone is stepped on, before the line goes dead.
An unconscious, battered and bleeding Yelena is dragged, under her arms, out of the kitchen, before being thrown over one soldier's shoulder. Once outside, she's dumped into the back of an unmarked black vehicle, with the license plates removed and driven away from the Avengers Tower, two dead assailants and an unconscious Kate Bishop.
* * *
Natasha finishes her takedown of the enemy that was in the bomb facility and punches him in the face for extra assurance. She looks up and sees Carol leaning on the doorframe. "You okay? You seem worried."
"It's my sister. There's something wrong."
"How bad?"
"I heard fighting and they said they were gonna take her. Then the line went dead."
"Go find her! We can hold down the fort."
"You sure, Danvers?"
"Yes. If it were my sister, I wouldn't even hesitate! Go, now." Carol gives her a playful push out of the room, as she walks past.
Natasha claps Carol on her shoulder, and runs out. "I'm coming, Yelena." She runs out of the disused warehouse and jumps on a bike (which, conveniently had the keys in the ignition) and speeds up the dock and onto the main road. She zooms up the road, weaving in between the cars, and races back to the Avengers Tower. It was a fifteen-minute ride, but suddenly she hits rush hour traffic. "Ебать!" she says to herself. She gets too impatient and decides to jump up onto the pavement, beeping the horn, to try and warn the pedestrians on the pavement. As she rides, she gets stopped by a police officer. She slams on the brakes, and the back wheel comes up, so she ends up doing a front wheelie.
"You cannot ride on the pavement!"
"It's an emergency!"
"I don't care, it's illegal. Licence and registration."
"I don't have time for this! My sister has been kidnapped!"
The officer isn't budging. "License and registration!"
Natasha grumbles, but hands him her license.
"Natasha Romanoff? Is this your motorcycle?"
"No, it isn't. I stole it. Look, if you wanna fine me, then so be it, but I need to find my sister."
He hands back her license. "No, no, my mistake. I will let you go. Thank you for your time, I hope you find your sister."
She carries on driving on the pavement and then pops off the kerb and onto the road, continuing on her way. She opens the throttle and cuts through two red lights, before she gets to the Tower. She skids to a halt, kicks down the side stand and jumps off. Bursting through the door, the takes the stairs two at a time and enters into the hallway. She sees the two dead bodies and Kate crying in the corner. She sprints to her aid and knee slides to her side.
"Hey, Kate. You okay?"
"Hey, Nat. No, no. Yelena's gone. I don't know where. I'm scared."
"I heard. Let's take a few deep breaths and figure this out. What happened?"
"Well, we were making out here in the kitchen and we had our t-shirts off and-"
"Ah-da-da-da, skip that part."
"Oh, right. Well, as we were making out, these masked people came out of nowhere. They hit us with smoke grenades. Yelena grabbed that knife, there, and killed those two - ripped open their stomachs! It was kinda horrifying, to be honest! And... shit, where was I... uh, yeah, so she killed those two and then they hit her with these electrified sticks and then beat her up. Punches, kicks, elbows... they got her down... they kept beating her up. She was bloody and then they hit her with those sticks again and then punched me in the face. When I woke up, she was gone, but there was some blood. Maybe there's a trail?"
"Shit. Stun Batons? Were they male or female?"
"I only heard two men speaking... They were speaking in Russian, I guess. Yelena was talking to them and goading them, I think."
Natasha takes Kate by her shoulders. "We're gonna find her. I promise. Look, get some ice on your face, then go home. I will send Barton over to check in on you after a bit. Okay?"
"Thanks, Natasha. Please can I have a hug? I need it."
"Yeah, course." Natasha says, pulling her in for a tight hug. She instinctively kisses the top of Kate's head, as if she too were her younger sister. "I will find her." Natasha turns around and scans the scene. There is a pool of blood around the two deceased men and more blood towards the end of the kitchen. Natasha wanders over to it and crouches down the inspect the blood. She puts her index finger into the pool of blood and gingerly licks it. "That's rather metallic. Either low levels of iron, or low blood sugar. I hope it's Yelena's. I know Captain America has skills in investigation, so he can help too. And probably Iron Man, especially with J.A.R.V.I.S. I'll call them. We can't rush into this when we don't know where we're heading."
Soon enough, however, Natasha and Kate are joined by the rest of the Avengers.
"What happened back there, Nat?" Barton asks.
"Yelena's been kidnapped."
"By whom?"
"These two were part of the crew. Yelena killed them. Tony, can you programme J.A.R.V.I.S to follow a blood trail?"
"J.A.R.V.I.S.?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Are you able to follow a blood trail?"
"If you give me a blood sample, I can analyse it and follow it."
"He will need a blood sample."
"Natasha already tasted a drop. It's metallic, she said."
Natasha dips her finger into it again. "Where are you wanting this?"
"In the lab, on a glass slide."
Keeping her finger steady, she follows Tony into the lab, where he hands her a glass slide for a microscope. She presses her finger to the cold surface, transferring as much blood as possible, before sucking the smear left behind off her finger. However, instead of it going under a microscope, Tony presses a button on a device and a drawer opens. He places the blood-covered slide in the drawer and pushes another button to close it. Somehow, it's hooked up to J.A.R.V.I.S.
Ten minutes later...
"Sir, I have completed the analysis. I can give you a full breakdown of the blood type, iron, sodium, sugar, oxygen levels and whether there were certain chemicals being released at the time. The blood type is B+. The haemoglobin levels are 12 g/dl, the sodium-"
"J.A.R.V.I.S. no jargon, please."
"Yes, sir. The haemoglobin, which is the protein in the red blood cells are at a normal level, as is the sodium. There is low blood iron, which means that there is anaemia, there is also low blood sugar, which is also known as hypoglycaemia. There was a spike and a dramatic increase of epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol, which indicates there was a fight or flight situation. It appears that there was also an increase in endorphins. At two instances. The first instance, there shows an increase in endorphins, dopamine, and oxytocin, and the second instance shows the increase of endorphins, as well as the aforementioned hormonal reactions."
"Aren't endorphins the 'love-drug'?" Clint asks, causing Kate to blush.
"Yes. That is correct. Endorphins, dopamine, and oxytocin are released during moments of pleasure, including love and sex. Endorphins are also released as a way of managing pain. Adrenaline and cortisol are released by the body during a fight-or-flight scenario. My analysis detects that the blood sample belongs to Yelena Belova. I have further analysis, which may assist?"
"Go on," Tony begins, "I'd like to see where this goes."
"Well, it appears that when the endorphins, dopamine and oxytocin were released, there was a decrease in arterial oxygen saturation. Meaning the blood oxygen levels were reduced."
"In English." Natasha begins.
"An elevated heart rate and release of these love hormones decreases the supply of oxygen in the blood."
"We kissed! For God's sake. It's not rocket science. Yelena and I were making out and then we got ambushed. You could have just asked." Kate blurts out, cheeks reddening. "The fight-or-flight chemicals would have been released as she was getting her ass kicked."
"Yelena never has her ass kicked."
"Probably not, but she was getting electrocuted, so that probably made it harder to defend herself."
"Would you be able to defend yourself with several thousand volts of electricity hitting your skin?"
"You mean several hundred, surely?" Kate asks, worried.
"Up to 30,000 volts." Natasha replies, bluntly.
"Fuck. That would kill-"
"A superhuman." Natasha replies.
J.A.R.V.I.S. continues, "She would not have been hit with that much. She is not superhuman. A human can withstand 100-250 volts of electricity. To render her incapacitated, I would guess 120."
"That high?"
"The Red Room trained us to withstand many forms of torture, including electroshock, gassing and waterboarding."
Kate's eyes widen in horror.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., Yelena is missing, and I want to find her. Today!"
There is a bleep from the computer and Tony sighs. "Got the blood trail on the HUD in my helmet. C'mon, we've got work to do."
"Does it need all of us?" Kate asks.
"Clint, take Kate home. Stand guard outside her place. Bruce, get some blood samples from the dead guys and find out who they are. Steve, Carol, Tony, with me."