The Road to Redemption | Natasha Romanoff x fem!OC

Chapter nine

It became clear as soon as Aria stepped into the training room, she would rise in ranks quickly, maybe even within the month. As soon as she walked into the room, it was like she had been there for years, not only for a few months. Before long, Aria was taking the test to move up to rank 6, the same rank Natasha took years to get to. Monitoring this test was the redhead herself. The test included multiple challenges she had to face, escaping difficult situations, quick-thinking, facing multiple enemies at once, as well as a level 6 mission. 

Aria had already gone through five of these tests, but for some reason this one made her the most nervous. Maybe it was because Natasha was monitoring it, and in turn, her. Despite the reasoning, there was a vibrating in her bones when she woke up around 4 am to get ready. 

Having done this already, Aria knew that she should warm up before the test which takes around an hour. She quickly pulled on a random pair of shorts and tank top before heading down to do a quick lap of the compound.

*****

After her run, Aria went straight to the training floor. Her fingers were twitching with nervousness and anticipation. Stepping into the empty room, she put her water bottle on the bench, but kept her earbuds and phone with her music on.

Nervously bouncing on the balls of her feet, Aria did some light stretching while listening to whatever playlist she felt like listening to at the moment. Although she heard the noise, her brain didn't process that Natasha had stepped out of the elevator and was behind Aria waiting for her to notice her.

It took Aria longer than she'd like to admit for her to realize that Nat was behind her and waiting. Quickly spinning around, she took out her earbuds and greeted the older redhead. With a quirk of her eyebrow Nat observed, "You seem jumpy."

Not really knowing what to say to that, Aria schooled her features and nodded. "When do we start? I'm ready whenever you are."

The test took around three and a half hours complete with obstacle courses, sharpshooting, hand to hand combat, and even more grueling trials. By the end of it, Aria was exhausted and just wanted to shower and go to bed. 

"Ok, the last test is the hardest. It's a mock mission that a level 6 agent would normally take. You have five minutes to make it to the hangar. I'll give you the debrief there."

Internally groaning at the thought of more work, Aria began packing her stuff up. On her way to the hangar, she quickly stopped by her room to grab one of the standard shield-issued catsuits.

*****

The flight to wherever the mission was took a little less than 20 minutes. They landed the Quinjet  in a clearing with a forest on one side and a river on the other. Without turning towards Aria, Natasha spoke for the first time since they left; "The mission itself is simple. Retrieve some stolen goods from an abandoned mining facility. The rest is up to you."

Fingering the handle of her knife in her pocket, Aria surveyed the facility. Around the chain-link fence were multiple watch towers with two guards in each. The only gap in the fence was at the main gate with five guards stationed around it. 

Making her way to the back of the fence to where the massive quarry was located, Aria weighed her options. She could either blow up one of the massive vehicles and sneak in when the guards were distracted, or take the time to dig into the quarry. 

Figuring it was better to keep her presence quiet, rather than alert everybody that someone was there, she pulled out a little digging device made by Stark. The machine was only about the size of a golf ball, but was extremely efficient and quick. It took only ten minutes for a little tunnel to be made right into the middle of the massive pit.