The closest thing to a daughter

Season 4 Episode 23

Abigail had become curious some time ago. What had the Red Room used to generate her powers and how far could she go with them? These questions made her fall deeper and deeper into the abyss of magic and she stumbled upon a dark book. The little Widow did not know at that moment that this was the Darkhold. What she did know was that with the help of this book she could find out what would happen on Vormir. She just had to learn to concentrate on the instructions in the book. She sat cross-legged in a musty abandoned cellar at the end of the city. Plants were growing around her, but that didn't bother the redhead, after all, it wasn't her first time here. A tingle ran through the room and now she could see Natasha in front of her. With Clint she stood at the end of a cliff and looked at the almost unrecognizable abyss. A floating figure complete with red skin flew beside them and announced the message, "To gain the stone, you must lose what you love. It is an everlasting exchange."

"How's that going?" asked Clint, laughing softly. "Jesus. Maybe he's just making that shit up." Clint paced up and down behind Natasha. "No, I don't think so." The shadowy figure hovered behind them, but didn't interfere, just watched. "Why? Because he knows what your daddy's name is?" Clint played hard to get and tried mocking. "I didn't know," she replied in amazement. "Thanos came back with the stone. Without his daughter. That's not a coincidence."

"Yeah," Clint confirmed, nodding. Natasha stood up, walked over to Clint and looked him in the eye. "If we don't get the stone, billions of people will stay dead." That was unacceptable if it could be prevented by a comparatively small price. "Yes. I think we both know who it will be." He had made up his mind. "Yes, I think so, too." He took Natasha's hand and she put her other hand on his. "Now I get the impression we mean different people, Natasha." Clint was suddenly concerned. "For the last five years, I've had one goal," Natasha confessed in a choked voice to the man who knew her better than most. "I wanted to get here. It's always been about getting everyone back."

"Are you trying to be a hero here now?" He wanted to comfort her, but also knew she wouldn't let him. "What, you think I want to do this? I'm trying to save your life, you idiot," Natasha snapped at him, irritated but also touched. "Yeah, well, I don't want to do that at all. Now what?" retorted Clint. "Natasha, you know what I did. You know what I've become." They'd both been guilty of more than enough, but his sins weren't as far behind as hers. "I don't judge people by their worst mistakes." She forgave him, even if he couldn't do it himself. "Maybe you should." Without her, he could do nothing but kill. "Didn't you either." She wanted him to understand that she would never forget what he had done for her, and that she could never repay him. "You're a real pain in the ass, you know that? " What some might have taken as an insult was, in this case, meant quite affectionately. "Okay." Clint took a deep breath. They looked into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity. "You win." But he kicked her legs away. Natasha's feet flew into the air and she lost her balance. Clint helped by flinging her to the ground. He pushed Natasha down by the shoulder, holding her tight. "Tell my family I love them," he said. But he hadn't counted on Natasha's fist hitting his elbow and pushing his arm to the side. Clint had to let go of her and started to slide. Natasha put her arms around his neck and flung him to the floor. Quickly she jumped up, stretched her arm and fired the stun gun at her wrist. "You tell them yourself!" she retorted. A tiny projectile struck Clint in the chest and electrostatic energy pulsed through his body. He lost control of his muscles and twitched all over. Natasha took one last look over the edge and took off running, Clint felt the twitching of his muscles subside and he managed to wipe the tiny projectile from his chest. He reached into his quiver, pulled out an arrow, and shot it into the ground in front of Natasha. This set off a small explosion - nothing huge, but it was enough to knock Natasha off her feet before she could reach the edge of the tower. Clint flung aside his bow and took off running. He leaped high into the air and over the edge. But Natasha was right behind him. She grabbed Clint and together they tumbled down. Falling, Natasha attached the end of a rope to Clint's belt and fired the grappling hook upward.