The Ultimate Fix-It Fic

4| Daddy Issues

Natasha sighed as the comm beeped online. "Today is your lucky day, Alexei," she muttered as Yelena manuvered her way into the prison's airspace. "Move to the door on the south wall."

She watched Alexei's movements through the camera footage Bruce has on a laptop in front of her. "Go left. Don't make a scene."

After a few moments, Natasha realized something was wrong. She watched her adoptive father rampage through thr corridors on the screen. "You made a scene, didn't you?" she sighed. "Always so predictable."

"What now?" he grunted over the comms channel.

"We're getting you out of here," Natasha replied shortly. "Unfortunately."

A very adrenaline-inducing five-minute period later, Natasha, who had jumped out of the helicopter despite Bruce's worried protests, hauled Alexei up into the vehicle.

Bruce had taken the controls in Yelena's stead, and the little sister herself was shooting people out of a small window in the back.

"Oh, that was exciting," Alexei panted. "Oh, I'm so proud of you girls." He drew Natasha in for a hug and immediately got pushed away. He sat down heavily. "Okay. Okay." He noticed Bruce. "Who is that?"

Natasha rolled her eyes as Yelena finished off a batch of soldiers. "He's my escort," she said dryly. She went over to her boyfriend. "All good?"

"Yep." Her scientist glanced up with a smile. "I'm your escort?"

"Relax, you're doing fine," Nat teased. "Up and away?"

"Working on it."

Alexei looked suspiciously in their direction and Natasha was glad when Yelena hit him over the head with the butt of her gun.

"Why the aggression, huh?" he grunted. "Is it your time of the month?"

Nat glancd at Bruce, who looked ready to speak, but she tapped him on the neck and he refocused.

"I don't get my period, dipshit. I don't have a uterus." Yelena retorted.

"Or ovaries," Natasha reminded her.

Yelena nodded in agreement. "Yeah. That's what happens when the Red Room gives you an involuntary hysterectomy. They kind of just go in and they rip out all of your reproductive organs. They just–" she shoved her hands up– "get right in there and they chop them all away. Everything out, so you can't have babies."

Alexei waved her hands away irritably. "Okay, okay. Okay! Okay. You don't have to get so clinical and nasty."

Yelena shrugged. "Oh, well, I was about to talk about fallopian tubes, but okay. Sure."

Alexei sighed. "It means so much to me that you came back for me." He looked to the helm. "Not the guy. But you two..."

"Hey, don't talk about Banner like that," Yelena interjected. "I've known him for about twelve hours but he's nice!"

Natasha smiled at her sister's antics. "And you're gonna tell us how to get to the Red Room," she called behind her.

"Whoa, look at you, huh? All business." Alexei sounded like he was trying to find a comfortable angle to rest. "All grown up."

Nat chuckeld humourlessly. "Trust me, this isn't pleasure."

"Little Natasha, all indoctrinated into the Western agenda." She could just punch Alexei right now. Right across the face. Maybe she'll get lucky and he'll have a scar for the rest of his life.

"I chose to go west to become an Avenger," Natasha replied. "'Cause they treated me like family."

"Really? Family?" Alexei laughed. "Well, where are they now? Where is that family now?"

Bruce raised his hand. "Present."

"Oh." Alexei sounded disappointed. "Okay."

"Tell me where the Red Room is," Natasha said.

"I have no idea."

Natasha scoffed.

Alexei shrugged. "Okay? I don't know."

Nat climbed out of the pilot seat and over the blocking into the back seats. "Come on. You and Dreykov were like..." she mimed closeness.

"Dreykov?" Alexei huffed a laugh. "General Dreykov, my friend, huh? Gives me glory..." he trailed off, looking out into the distance. "Soviet Union's first and only super soldier. I could have been more famous than Captain America. Then he buries me in Ohio on that stupid mission. Three years! So tedious, boring me to tears. No offense, huh? Then puts me in prison for the rest of my life. Why, huh? Why? Why would he put me in... You know why? 'Cause maybe I want to talk about the withering of the state. Or maybe I don't like his hair or something and I say something casually about that. Maybe, you know, I want the Party to feel actually like a party instead of this sourpuss organization. But instead, no. He puts me in prison for the rest of my life. He just runs off and hides, huh? I'm not even the one who, uh, you know... I'm not the one who killed his daughter."

Natasha looked away.

"Can we throw him out the window now?" Yelena asked beside her.

Nat smiled wryly. "I think we should wait till we get to a higher altitude," she replied.

"Alright."

"Why not ask Melina where it is?" Alexei asked. "She's bound to know."

Yelena frowned. "Wait. Mamalina?"

"We thought she was dead," Natasha said.

Alexei grinned as he threw back a bottle of either water or vodka or a mixture of both. "You cannot kill a fox that swift."

"Ew."

"What?" Alexei said. "She was the scientist, the strategist. I was the muscle. She worked directly for Dreykov far more than I ever did."

"Are you telling me that Melina is working for the Red Room present day?" Natasha demanded.

Alexei nodded slowly. "She works remotely outside St. Petersburg." He smiled at a bird that flew next to them.

Yelena sighed. "I don't think we have enough fuel for St. Petersburg."

Alexei climbed up and checked the indicator. "No, we're good. We'll make it," he said.

"Okay," Yelena replied and sat down next to Bruce. "I hate him," she muttered to the scientist.

"He's not so bad," he whispered back. "Not the worst dad I ever had the fortune of meeting. My ex's dad's still trying to convict me and make me the government's property, so Alexei is slightly over a very low bar."

Yelena sighed in agreement. "That is true."

Natasha leaned over the two pilots. "How's it going over here?" she asked the two.

Bruce glanced up with a smile. "We're discussing fathers."

"He was saying Alexei is not the worst," Yelena informed her.

Natasha frowned. "Ross or your dad?" she asked her scientist.

"We only got to Ross," he replied. "But boy, are they fighting for first place." Bruce thought about it. "Well, Ross isn't that terrible of a father, but he's a pretty shit person in general, so..."

"Yeah."