Old Scars Resurface - Natasha Romanoff

A helping hand

Watching. Prowling. Waiting. Those would've been Erin's natural instincts if it were anyone else fighting on that bridge. She would've hidden herself away behind a rock or behind a tree and remained there while she studied what was happening. She'd study the initiation, the fight, and the recovery of the two contestants. If she was considered more of a field agent, she would always jump into fights, no matter who it involved. But she wasn't a field agent. She spent her life being told to stay in the shadows. To watch - never to join in. But, of course, it wasn't anyone else fighting on the bridge. It was Natasha Romanoff, which left her no choice but to impulsively throw herself into the ring.

The very moment she jumped from the grass and onto the bridge to see natasha on the ground while her head was forced up by a hand in her hair, the instincts shield engrained into her mind had left her completely. Erin immediately sprinted across the bridge as fast as she could, which allowed her to see what was going on the closer she got.

Natasha was lying on the floor, one hand holding a knife which was trapped under the foot of her enemy, and her other hand trying to force the metal grip out of her hair. Just as the robotic enemy was about to force a striking blow into Natasha's face, Erin slid across the ground and kicked their legs out from underneath them. They managed to push Natasha out of their way just before they were hit by Erin - but at least natasha was free from them.

Taskmaster - whose title or identity was unbeknownst to the shield agent - stood up from the spot they were knocked down and didnt hesitate to continue with their mission. However, when Erin looked over at nat to see that she wasn't being targeted, she realised that nat wasn't taskmaster's mission at all. The armoured weapon marched its way over to the car that was hanging onto the bridge by a thread, but Erin wasn't going to let them get to it. Even if she didnt know what their target was, she didn't want to risk the safety of anyone, especially not Natasha.

However, when Erin pulled herself to a stand, it seemed as though the robot knew what her moves were going to be before she even made them. With a sharp turn, taskmaster extended their leg and forced Erin backwards, where she slid across the concrete of the bridge until she stopped at the other car.

While natasha composed herself, she tried to see who the other person was. She was trying to figure out who saved her life, but they were too deep into the action for either of them to reunite the way they'd hoped.

Instead of immediately pushing herself up to her feet only to get knocked down again, Natasha fired a small wire from her pocket which wrapped itself tightly around the robots leg without them noticing. Then, she pushed herself off of the ground and attached the other end of the wire to the highest part of the bridge, which stopped taskmaster from moving any closer to the car.

When the robot was drawn to the air, Natasha sprinted for the little black box which rested on the floor beside her damaged car. Erin left her spot beside the car and charged for Taskmaster the moment she saw that they'd cut the wire Natasha trapped them in. The robot practically flew through the air as it made its way to natasha, but it couldnt get far before Erin launched the knife Natasha previously dropped at the wire to stop taskmaster from being able to use it. The wire finally snapped entirely, and the robot dropped to the ground just before it could reach Natasha.

The loud noise from them hitting the ground alerted Natasha of its presence, which is exactly what Erin hoped would happen. Whatever natasha had spent her few seconds doing was cut to an abrupt ending once the robot immediately sprung for an attack once again. Natasha struggled to figure out how she'd defend herself this time until Erin caught up to the two and impulsively jumped in once again.

Erin leapt from a point on the car until she landed on the robots back, where she then wrapped her legs around its arm to keep it from pulling her off.

"GO! GO!" She yelled to natasha when taskmaster was distracted enough.

Erin didnt know exactly what she meant by her own order. Where would Natasha go? How would she be able to fight this enhanced robot all by herself? She didnt really give herself much time to think, she just wanted natasha to be safe. Even if that meant putting herself in danger.

Natasha, swarmed in confusion, took the time to recover as much as she could on the floor, though she didnt take her eyes off of Erin at all.

With her thighs trapping the machines head in place, erin looked at natasha to see her looking back in confusion. Their eyes met through the smoke and dark air, but Natasha couldn't figure out who it was who'd helped her. While her eyes continuously bounced from natasha to the metal she was trying to break, taskmaster balled their fist at their side. Just before Erin could make any progress with the mask, she was forced backwards and pushed off of the machines shoulders, where she then hit the ground.

While erin groaned through her pain, taskmaster marched over to the black box before they were stopped by Natasha forcing herself in front of them. She knew it was dangerous, but she didnt have any other option. No matter what fighting technique natasha used against the robot, it was always able to copy her every move - even when she used moves that she'd never used before.

When the robot became too frustrated with Nat's attempt to stop them, they simply put their strength into a kick and swung it for Natasha's stomach. Not only did it push her away from the scene, but it sent her sliding off of the bridge until she fell through the air to eventually hit the water.

"ALIA!" Erin instinctively shouted as she caught a glimpse of Natasha before she fell.

Just before natasha fell to the waters below, she heard the name. She hit the water before she could have a moment to shout anything back, but she knew she heard it.

While Natasha sunk in the water, taskmaster finally opened up the black case they had come here for, but there was a shattering silence when they realised it was empty. Erin still remained on the floor way behind the robot while she caught her breath and tried to regain her strength, but it only took her a moment to realise why taskmaster seemed disappointed. When she finally looked up, she saw that the robot was looking at her with a desire to kill.

"Shit." She muttered under her breath before she saw it charging towards her.

She wasn't able to push herself up and prepare quick enough, so taskmaster locked its metal hand around her neck and harshly slammed her against one of the concrete pillars which held the bridge up. Erin coughed and struggled for her breath, whereas the machine just stood there. Her eyes weren't visible through her mask, but it was clear that she was angry by the way she held erin's neck in her hand. The scanner on her mask studied erin while she struggled, but they didnt okay attention to what she was doing with her other hand.

While taskmaster watched erins face, erin pulled something out from her pocket before she slammed it against the wall she was being pushed into. The shell of the item instantly broke, allowing a thick and cloudy gas to begin to seep from it. When the gas began making it through the cracks of the robots suit, erin was released from the hold and dropped to the ground.

In the cloud of gas and smoke, Erin slipped away from danger and hid in the wreck of the bridge. Even when the smoke cleared, Taskmaster could no longer see where the two fighters had managed to escape to - and though the girls had left in very different directions, they'd end up in the same place. When natasha pulled herself out from the waters, she finally caught her breath and realised who it could've been.