Whatever It Takes

chapter 1

6th of August, 2002., The Red Room

As rain thundered on the windows like there was no tomorrow, Natasha drew in labored breaths, being 10 centimeters dilated for 3 hours can do that to someone. She screamed in agony as the baby attempted to get out by itself. She heards the doctors shuffling about and around the room, the devices beeping rapidly. A masked face came up to her, probably telling her something, but the pain quickly and sharply overtook all her senses.

Outside the birthing room stood what could be described as an army. Widows, waiting to see the child that'll either end or help them. In the sea of widows, one particular woman stood out from the rest, her face contorted in a emotion that was unreadable. To everyone except one, singular man. That man being General Dreykov. The said man rolled down the hallway, the sea of widows parting like the Red Sea.

The moustached man stood next to the woman, shoulder to shoulder, but that didn't mean he considered her his equal. No, he considered every woman or girl here as a pawn for his silly game. And what was going on inside there was one of them. See, about a year before, just after 9/11, Dreykov realized that his grip on the world was faltering, seeing New York in shambles after the attacks, he suprisingly had no hand in. So, he did the only thing he knew. Experiment.

He paid a good sum to HYDRA, along with some assassinations, to reproduce the Winter Soldier with his best Widow. The offspring they would create would be the star pupil of both organizations, along with the superspeed serum the Red Room developed, the subject would be unstoppable. He called her, "Project SilverBullet", the greatest Widow to be made. With this, he could get rid of anyone in a matter of seconds.

"Итак... Ваши эмоции под контролем?" (So... Your emotions, are they in check?) He mumbled to the woman, who still staring ahead, responded, "Боюсь, я не понимаю, генерал." (I fear I don't understand, General.) He chuckled lowly, the sound almost unheard over the muffled screams from the inside. "Если смотреть с точки зрения некоторых людей, то это ваш внук, не так ли?" (If we look from the perspective of some people, that there is your grandchild, isn't it?). The woman nodded, albeit a split-second later then normal, the man didn't notice that, however. "Да, но я не такой, как некоторые." (Yes, but I am not some people.) 

He patted her on the back, his hand remaining on her shoulder as he grumbled in her ear, "Вы помните, что делать в случае неудачи, да?" (You remember what to do in case of faliure, yes?) The woman nodded, muttering back so no one could hear the response but him. "Откажитесь от этой темы и вернитесь сюда." (Abandon the subject and return here.) She could see him nod from the corner of her eye, "Очень хорошо." (Very well.) He said as cries of a newborn pierced the hallway, the Widows rejoicing. He would allow that, only today. If this works, they were not needed anymore. 

As both the mother and daughter were wheeled to her lab, she couldn't help but think about what Dreykov said. The mission in Ohio was real to her, and the 'some people' he refered to was surely Yelena. The other doctors left after they hooked Natasha onto various machinery and put the subject in an incubator. With the former mother-daughter duo left alone, the air was thick with indecision and a lack of trust, both from Natasha. She decided to let her heart speak for the first time since Ohio.

"Мелина."(Melina.) she whimpered, still tired from labor. The woman in question hummed, using a syringe to extract mercury-like liquid from a test tube. "Это одноразовая вещь, так что не думайте об этом свысока." (This is a one time thing, so don't think highly of this.) Now this had Melina intrigued. "Что?" (What?) The redhead sighed, looking at the incubator. "Александра Анастазия. Назовите ее так." (Aleksandra Anastazija. Name her that.) Forrest green eyes met brown, and for the first time in years, Melina could see a spark of trust in the forrest green eyes. She nodded solemnly. "Обязательно." (I will.)