You're my escape- A Peter Parker Love Story

Budapest

Eliza crawled up onto shore beside Natasha. She flopped on her back and coughed on the freezing water that squeezed into her lungs.

"That was stupid," Natasha panted beside her. "You could have gotten yourself hurt."

She laughed at the absurd thought. "We just fought an assassin who has some sort of eidetic memory, but me jumping off a bridge to go after you is stupid?" She turned her head to look at Natasha. "That's rich."

Natasha grinned as her head fell to the side. Her eyes met Eliza's. "Haven't you heard the saying If your friends jump off a bridge, would you?"

Eliza shrugged in her laying position. "I think I just proved that I would, in fact, jump off a bridge if my friends did. But-" She lifted a hand to point at Natasha. "You didn't jump. You were kicked. Hard."

Natasha grunted, then looked up to the black sky. Her hands gently massaged the forming bruise on her stomach. "That woman-"

"The Task Master."

"The Task Master," Natasha used her name. "She's strong. More than humanly possible." She sat up with a strained grunt.

Eliza carefully sat up and rubbed at the back of her throbbing head. She found a forming knot and tried to massage it away. "I believe she is partially enhanced." Natasha looked at her for more information. "She's a walking legend around The Red Room. Madame B. tried to keep the rumors at bay, but the girls talked. From what I heard, she has had a lot of surgeries, and not the cosmetic kind. Even when she visited The Red Room, she wouldn't take that mask off. Whatever is under it... I doubt it's pretty."

Natasha looked out into the river they just pulled themselves from. "She was after something. It's important enough for them to send their best." She sighed. "And we just let her take it."

Eliza pushed her lips together. "Actually-" She reached into her pocket for the vials. She carefully pulled them out and showed them to Natasha. "She just thinks we let her take them."

Natasha let out an astonished breath as she looked at the red vials in her palm. In the dim light, they could barely make out much more than the color. She grabbed the clump of vials to look it over. She noticed something sticking out from the middle and gently pulled it out. Eliza leaned over to see a faint picture of two young girls. One had dark blue hair while the other had light blonde. "Oh shit-"

Eliza looked from the photo to Natasha. "Who're they?"

Natasha kept the photo but gave the vials back to Eliza. She put them back in her pocket while keeping her eyes locked on Natasha.

"I know where we need to go next."

"All from a photo?"

Natasha looked over at her. "Yes."

Her eyes narrowed. "Are you going to tell me about it? About them?" She nodded toward the photo that was kept safely in Natasha's hands.

Natasha stood and shoved the photo in her front pocket. "I'll tell you on the way. We have to get to Budapest."

***

Budapest was beautiful. It was a lavish city that utilized bright colors for its buildings and old brick roads instead of concrete and tar. The city held a history that Eliza would have loved to learn about under different circumstances.

Instead, she hovered in the shadows of the apartment complex Natasha claimed used to be her safe house. Per her instructions, Eliza was supposed to stay hidden while Natasha cleared the house. Only when it was clear could Eliza come up to join her.