The Eternal Avenger

Chapter Forty-Five: Budapest

a/n: this chapter references characters and locations from the Black Widow movie. If you have not seen the movie and want to avoid all potential spoilers, please skip this chapter. The next chapter easily picks up where the last one ended.

(Claray's POV):

I got off the train in Budapest, glancing around the dirty station and taking note of my surroundings before setting off on foot. The mystery woman was staying somewhere nearby, and the only thing I needed to do was narrow the possibilities just a little bit more. From the second I stepped out of the station; however, I couldn't help the feeling that I was being watched. It reminded me of the way that I felt the day I met Natasha. I frowned at the similarity. How was that possible? I rounded a corner sharply, speeding to an empty doorway and pausing in the slight indent, glancing around the brick corner slightly. A figure loomed at the end of the ally, but there was little I could make out about them. They seemed to be slightly built but muscular. Fierce. She stood at the end of the ally with her legs spread apart for balance, arms crossed over her chest, just staring down the dark corridor. Strangely, it felt like she was looking right at me. I shrugged, backed further into the doorway, noticed a secondary exit and climbed out of the window of the opposite side of the deserted warehouse. I made my way to the hotel, retrieving my key from the front desk and entering the elevator, pressing the button for the penthouse. At least when I traveled I could do so in style. When the doors slid open on the top floor, however, I frowned instantly. Something was wrong. The lights for the short hallway to the only guest room on the floor were flickering at best – in other places completely blown. A faint electric hum filled the air and distracted my senses, immediately triggering a prickling sensation on the back of my neck. I spun around into a crouch just in time to see a blond woman jump down from her perch from the ceiling beams. She landed on one knee, looking up at me. She was strikingly similar to Natasha. It was weird. She climbed to her feet, shaking her head slightly. "The posing. It's growing on me." She muttered to herself, her accent thick and distinctive. Russian. She pulled a gun from behind her back, leveling it at me, her eyes never wavering. She looked me up and down in a way that made me slightly uncomfortable. Almost like she was hungry. I frowned, raising my hands, standing up straight.

"I don't want to hurt you," I said, lowly, backing a few paces away. She smirked.

"Like you could." She was arrogant. Reminded me a little bit of myself, to be honest. "Why are you following me?" She spit her question at me like it was distasteful. Two could play that game.

"Why are you investigating the Obschina killings?" I countered. She looked at me curiously before tucking her gun back into wherever it came from in her suit.

"Why are you?" She started walking towards me, and I wasn't willing to back down or give any further ground. Almost as soon as she was in striking distance, she dropped to her knee and attempted to sweep my legs. I jumped over her leg, landing with a hand just above her knee, pushing the leg into the ground firmly. She swung, just grazing my jaw before I snapped backwards, grabbing her wrist and twisting it behind her back. She glared up at me, snarling, before spinning out of my grasp, landing a kick directly to the center of my chest. I staggered backwards, feeling my back against my hotel room door. I shook my head side to side slowly, attempting to clear it. I registered her movement only slightly before I noticed her knee racing towards my chest. I spun out of the way, pushing her shoulder and causing her to hit the door behind me, where I stood only moments previously. She grunted, spinning to face me again, blood pouring from her nose. "That hurt," she growled, pushing off the door and approaching, taking another swing that just narrowly missed my face. She went to throw another but stopped short, staring into my eyes. Given the presence of blood, I could only imagine that my eyes had started to turn red again. Her eyes opened wide and then she frowned, shaking her head slightly. "You're..." I stared at her, trying to judge her next move, not wanting to spook her.