The Sokovian Shadow

Chapter 5

TW:
- Blood
- Mentions of Death
- Flashbacks (should this be a trigger warning?)
- Explosion
- Panicked breathing (not quite a panic attack, but close)
----------------------------
When I woke up, the sun was setting. I shifted into my Wraith form, flicked down my third eyelid, and took flight.

Do you know what I just realized? Celes asked out of the blue, then continued before I had a chance to reply. You have more in common with Black Widow than a dripping leger. That got my attention. Celes felt my curiosity and continued. You both started training at a very young age, you both fought and killed to serve a country, you were both abused to get better. A note of bitterness entered her voice and she paused for a while to calm down.

Celes' hatred for the Reaper was nothing new, but we had learned the hard way that her emotions influenced my own. I shivered and a hand drifted to my shoulders, feeling the scars from when he'd cut my tattoo, grounding me for almost a year and hampering my movement. I was still afraid of the Reaper's scythe because of that. I felt Celes about to apologize again but stopped her before she could. I felt her amusement as she continued. You both have three names...

Wait, what? I interrupted, landing on a nearby roof to keep watch.

Alita Moon, Natalia Romanova. Aorta Necros, Natasha Romanoff. The Sokovian Shadow, Black Widow.

I thought for a moment, then jerked my head up as I felt a soul approaching me. I folded my wings into my back, then pulled up my hood and mask, ducking into the shadows as I waited for them to arrive. When they did, it wasn't someone I knew, which worried me.

The man had an eyeglass over his right eye and a black overcoat covering a dark uniform. He walked quickly as if he was in hurry, and when he reached the edge of the building, he turned and walked back the other way. He stopped every few minutes to check a wristwatch, and he seemed to be getting tenser the longer the night went on. I felt my emotions fall away and could almost visualize them pooling at my feet as I waited for an excuse to strike. I was patient, however, and he never even sensed my presence.

Eventually, we were joined by another man. This one had grey hair and the same uniform, but no overcoat. I caught a flash of red, but he ran past me before I had a chance to see what it was. This man's soul seemed familiar, but I couldn't place it.

'I'm so sorry I took so long, Strucker.' The newcomer started rambling off in Sokovian, but before he had a chance to make an excuse, the first man, Stucker, interrupted.

'Did they make up their minds? Is that what kept you?'

'Yes. They hesitated before boarding the jet, but they did. We had to wait a while before taking off, however, as we were almost spotted by a couple of civilians.' Strucker nodded, and the second man continued. 'I don't understand, Strucker, why take in these two? What makes them different than any of the others?'

'Because these two have potential, doctor, and if they survive, their hatred will become a fuel. They will become the greatest threat the Avengers have seen yet. Hail Hydra.'

The doctor didn't even hesitate. 'Hail Hydra.'

They left, and I waited for a while before stepping out of the shadows. I unfolded my wings as I reached the edge of the roof. I looked out across the Sokovia, considering what I just heard. No doubt Celes would have remembered the entire conversation, but I could think on it later. I fell off the roof and started flying, hunting for the gang of murderers. A small smile spread underneath my mask as I located them in a nearby alley.

This was going to be fun.

---

Dark blood was running off my blades, and I was coated in the thick liquid. I'd caught the gang just before they claimed another victim. I'd made my presence known with a knife through the throat of the leader's right hand. Then I was in their midst, whirling and slashing. I turned my attention to the liquid covering my body and daggers. My knives became ghost fire again before they were reabsorbed into my body. With my hands free, I could use my blood magic.

I spun my hand in the air and shuddered as the liquid peeled itself off me to follow the movement. I let the majority fall to the ground but kept a small amount of the liquid spinning in my palm. I tilted my head at the small, red whirlpool. I clenched my fist, and the liquid evaporated. Anyone who wished for this kind of power was crazy.

I could turn another person into my puppet if I put my mind to it, and I had before.

I shuddered again, before turning towards the twin's warehouse. As I glided along my air current, I cleared my mind of the worries of using blood magic. After a while, I twisted over backward, diving down to land on the roof of their warehouse. I pulled up and landed in a crouch, trusting Celes to protect my physical form from harm as I sent my soul down through the roof. When I did, I made a terrifying discovery.

The twins were gone.

My soul flashed green with fear and I froze in mid-air. No, no, no, no, no. I can't fail. Not again. Not after last time.

Alita. Celes tried to calm me down, but couldn't.

I can't fail again. If I fail this time, I will have failed them twice. I'll be brought back. I can't-

At that, Celes gave up trying to keep back the memories crowding at the edges of my conscious and directed my physical form through a nearby window and back to me. She reached me as the memories finally hit, and we were overcome.

---

Black dots were converging on the horizon, and I gasped as I realized they were bombs, five of them. I flew at top speed towards them, using the air currents to help speed my flight. I landed on the leading bomb and used my ghost fire to burn out some of the internal wires. I jumped onto the next bomb as the first careened into the ocean. I then turned my attention to the wires of the next bomb. I repeated the process for the next two bombs.

By the time I got to the fourth bomb, we were almost over Sokovia, and I was starting to worry. I burned a different set of wires for the fourth bomb, and made it a dud, then jumped to the fifth and final bomb. I tried to burn out the same wires as the last bomb, but my hands were shaking because of my exhaustion, and I burned the wrong wires. The bomb veered from the hospital to an apartment building. I tried to rectify my mistake, but I only made it worse.

Eventually, Celes had to intervene, taking control of my body and snapping my wings open. The wind caught them like a sail, and I was pulled off the bomb at the last second. I was forced to swatch in horror as the bomb exploded. I felt almost a hundred lives snuff out like candles, and I knew there would be more.

I dove towards the ruins of the building, landing a couple of floors above where the bomb had hit. The first thing I saw when I landed was a man and woman in their mid-thirties lying dead on the floor. I paid my respects, then turned away and started scouring the wreckage for survivors. I found nothing in the kitchen and moved onto one of the bedrooms. There were a couple of souls under the bed, staring right at the dud bomb. I choked back a sob at being unable to help and flew off. But before I did, I saw the word painted in yellow on the side of the shell.

Stark.