The Third Black Widow

Morocco

I'm woken up to the familiar rattling of my handcuffs being unlocked. None of the other girl's handcuffs have been unlocked. I'm a little confused. I'm told to get changed into my mission suit. The guards who woke me up left so I can get changed.

I quickly change and secure my photo strip piece in my pocket. I walk out and I'm escorted to Dreykov's office. You'd think that after two years of coming here almost every day I'd get used to it. Nope! I never know what to expect once I'm inside the doors of his office.

Right now, I'm six and I've been on hundreds of missions. I've made quite the name for myself if I do say so myself. People call me the One-Woman-Army or the Silent Assassin mostly.

You see, Dreykov gave me enhancements. A super soldier serum for starters. It has the same effects that it gave Steve Rogers except for the more muscles part. That I have to work really hard for.

Then Dreykov gave me another enhancement that's called the One-Man-Army but since I'm a girl, he calls it the One-Woman-Army. It's where I can fight as effectively as a much larger group. I'm Dreykov's pride and joy when I do it on missions. That's where I get my name in public.

"Elizabeth, you have a mission. You're going with some older girls. The mission is in Morocco. They'll brief you on it. You need to go now. They leave in ten minutes," says Dreykov. I nod and the guards whisk me away to the familiar runway prep room.

We're always sedated on departure and arrival. I'm used to needles by now. This is all I've ever known. I grew up in the Red Room and I'm a Black Widow. I feel a sharp prick in my neck and I fall unconscious.

I wake up next to an older girl with blonde hair and green eyes. All of the older girls are already awake. "Good, now that you're awake, we can start briefing you on the mission," says another older girl with jet black hair. I nod.

They tell me about the target and the objective of the mission. We land shortly and get in positions. I'll be with the girl I woke up next to.

We're on a roof lying on a mattress. We're both looking down the barrel of our guns, spying on the target. "Eyes on target. Waiting for the package," says the girl next to me. "I have sights on collateral one," says another girl. "Firing in place of three. Five, four..." says the girl next to me as a bell rings and a school gets out. Students are cheering and running around. "She made us. Target deployed smoke. She's on foot with the package. Stay high. We're going to the ground," says the girl next to me.

She and I get up and attach a rope to a pole. We both scale down the side of the building. We unhook our harnesses and run in the direction that the target went in.

The older girl slams a door and it hits the target, knocking her into a car and she rolls to the floor in pain. She dropped the package and the older girl and I try to grab it but the target gets it before we do. The older girl and I fight the target by throwing kicks and punches. The older girl is using a knife as her weapon. I'm not using a weapon right now.

She hits the target with the knife, hurting her. The target tries to get away with the package but I catch up to her and throw kicks and punches until the older girl arrives a few seconds later and helps me. The target throws me before she twists the older girl's arm in a way it's not supposed to be twisted.

The older girl drops her knife which was in the hand that's being twisted and she stabs the target in the chest with it. I get up and run over to the older girl. The older girl twists the knife that's still lodged in the target. Then she rips it out of the target. She knocks the target to the floor seconds later. The target fell on the package which I'm trying to free. The older girl stands up and motions for me to move.

She flips the target over and the target shoots some red dust into the older girl and my face. "Oksana," says the older girl. I start to remember who I am and my life before the Red Room, and my sisters. "Oh, no. What did I do?" says the older girl. "Free the others," says Oksana. "Yelena we need a status report," says another girl.

Hold up. Yelena. That's my sister's name! The older girl next to me sticks the knife in her leg and she gasps in pain.

"What are you doing?" I ask. "Yelena, we need a status report," says the girl on comms.

The girl whose name is Yelena is now holding a tracker. "Do you have one too?" asks Yelena. I nod and I take the knife and cut it out of my wrist.

After it's out, I lock eyes with Yelena whose eyes widen when she sees me. "Elizabeth?" asks Yelena. "Yeah, that's me," I say. Then I realize that this Yelena, is my older sister, Yelena.

"Lizzie? How are you still four? That was 19 years ago!" says Yelena. "I'm six and Dreykov froze me. It's part of his great plan. His plan to bring Natasha back to the Red Room," I say.

I'm annoyed that I look like I'm four even though I'm SIX. Stupid enhancements. They slow down my aging a little.

"What?!" says Yelena. "Yeah, more about that later. We've gotta go before we get in trouble," I say.

Yelena and I stand up and she hugs me tightly. On comms, we hear "Converge on team leader." Yelena holds my hand and picks up the briefcase. We both hurry and get away from there leaving our trackers where they are.

As we leave I hear another girl on comms say "The little one is gone too." Oh boy. Here we go.

We get far away from the site of the crime scene and I tell Yelena all about what happened and what Dreykov's told me.

"I just can't believe it's really you," says Yelena. "Me either. I missed you so much," I say. "Me too," says Yelena.

It's almost dark at this point. I'm fading in and out of consciousness from blood loss. I tied a piece of cloth on the wound but that can only do so much.

We catch a plane and it takes us to Budapest. Why we're going to Budapest of all places is beyond me. I fall asleep with my head resting on Yelena's shoulder just like old times.

We land and get off the plane hurriedly. We arrive at this big building with a spiral staircase. We go up it and stop at a room.

Yelena unlocks it and a man is lying on the couch inside. Yelena shows me a room and has me stay there while she talks to the man.

She comes back thirty minutes later and says "We're staying here for a while." I nod and I come out of the room. I look around the place. The man is still here.

"Lizzie, this is Mason. He's a friend of Natasha and I. Mason, this is Lizzie. She's Nat and I's little sister," says Yelena. "Nice to meet you but wow, you're way younger than your sisters," says Mason. "I was frozen in time as a four-year-old for 19 years. And that was two years ago so I'm six now. Long story. Anyways, nice to meet you," I say.

Mason nods to me and Yelena pulls out a photo strip like mine and shows it to me. I smile at the photos before she tucks the photo strip piece into a circle of red vials and she puts the red vials back in the briefcase we got and she hands the briefcase to Mason inside a box of other things. Mason leaves with the stuff and Yelena and I look around the place.

It's not bad. There are a few weird-looking holes in the walls. I stay right next to Yelena, scared of being separated again. I guess Yelena senses my worry because she wraps her arms around me and tells me everything is okay. I'm barely able to function from blood loss at this point. Yelena sits me down and she stitches up my wound and makes me drink water. She already fixed her wound.

A few hours later, Yelena tucks me in on the couch since we don't have beds yet. She stays next to me until I fall asleep.