A Spider's Web ll Natasha Romanoff

Old Vs New

"Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

"I do."

I sat next to Natasha in front of multiple committee members as they interrogated us about the recent events that happened. I was relatively silent throughout everything and was allowing Natasha to take the lead.

I kept getting distracted the whole time because of the reporters and paparazzi behind us. Clicks and flashes from their cameras would draw my attention from the committee in front of me, causing my mind to scatter more than it already was.

"Why haven't we yet heard from Captain Rogers?" One of them asked.

"I don't know what there is left for him to say. I think the wreck in the middle of the Potomac made his point fairly eloquently." Natasha answered.

"Well, he could explain how this country is expected to maintain its national security now that he and you have laid waste to our intelligence apparatus."

I helped too.

"HYDRA was selling you lies, not intelligence." Natasha fired back.

"Many of which you seemed to have had a personal hand in telling." The member accused. "The one sitting next to you has been involved with HYDRA for many years; almost their whole life. Excuse me for not believing she is with us and not them. Who's to say she won't try to continue what they started?"

"Why shouldn't we lock her up so we can keep an eye on her? It would be sheer stupidity for us to allow her to walk out those doors as a free woman. She could go right back to what she was doing." Another committee member agreed.

"You must have read my file by now." I spoke up, fed up with the accusations. "HYDRA kidnapped me. Kidnapped. I was forced to do things against my will so I could live."

"But why did you continue taking jobs after you fled them? Why continue on murdering people if you only did those things for HYDRA against your will?"

"So I could live. Survival of the fitness. How else was I supposed to live a life when I was being hunted?" I asked, my fist clenching.

"She didn't have a choice." Natasha jumped to my defense.

"We all have a choice!" A female member retorted.

"Agent, you should know that there are some on this committee who feel, given your service record, both for this country and against it, that you belong in penitentiary. Not mouthing off on Capitol Hill." Another jumped in.

I grabbed Natasha's hand in my own and squeezed in reassurance. I wasn't going to allow anyone to take her away from me without a fight and I doubt she was going to be any different.

"You're not going to put me in a prison." She says daringly. "You're not going to put any of us in a prison. You know why?"

"Do enlighten us."

"Because you need us. Yes, the world is a vulnerable place, and yes, we help make it that way. But we're also the ones best qualified to defend it. So if you want to arrest me, arrest me. You'll know where to find me."

Natasha stood up, pulling me up with her and dragged me out of the room. Reporters fled behind us and I could feel them creeping up behind me. A feeling of claustrophobia started setting in as recorders and cameras were pushed into my face.

I tried to keep my composure and look straight ahead at the back of Natasha's head. She kept a tight grip on my hand as we exited the building. More reporters were outside and swamped us as we tried to escape to the car waiting for us.

We pushed along until we finally reached the car and Natasha opened the back door for me. I slid into the back seat and slid in right after me, telling the driver to take us to our destination.

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"Anybody asks for me, tell them they can find me, right here." I could just make out Fury saying to Steve and Sam as they stood in front of a headstone with Fury's name on it.

Natasha and I were walking up to them after we arrived at a cemetery to meet up with them. She had informed me on the way over here that not all HYDRA agents were taken down and that Fury was going to track down as many as he could.

"You should be honored. That's about as close as he gets to saying thank you." She said as we got closer to them.

"Not going with him?" Steve asks her.

"No. I have more important things to attend to." She says, looking at me out of the corner of her eye.

"Not staying here." Steve confirms.

"Nah." She smiles. "I blew all my covers. I got to go figure out a new one."

"That might take a while." Steve said.

"I'm counting on it." She smiled again. "That thing you asked for, I called in a few favors from Kiev. Will you do me a favor? Call that nurse."

"She's not a nurse." He informs.

"And you're not a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."

"What was her name again?"

"Sharon. She's nice."

Natasha stares at Steve for a moment before she leans over and kisses his cheek before pulling away. After she moved, I pulled Steve into a hug and held him before releasing him.

"You're not staying either?" He asked.

"No." I said, looking at Natasha and then turned back to Steve. "I need to figure out who I am and what HYDRA kept from me."

"Then I wish you the best."

I smiled once more at him and turned around to Natasha, who stuck her hand out for me to take. I grabbed her hand and started to walk with her side by side.

"Be careful, Steve." Natasha called as we walked away, but turned again to him. "You might not want to pull on that thread."

She was referring to the folder she handed him. In that folder contained information on the Winter Soldier, or Bucky, as Steve preferred. Much like us, he was also searching for something and that was his old friend.

"Are you ready?" She asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I said, swinging our joined hands.