Beyond Reason, Space & Time

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝟗: 𝑰𝒇 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒀𝒐𝒖

Wanda

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We ditched the first car we stole for a different one just to make sure they lose track of us. Natasha hasn't said a word since she saw the face of the woman driving the motorbike that was chasing us. I never saw that person before, but whoever she is, made Natasha look so shocked. It almost drained the color of her face. I followed my guts that was encouraged by adrenaline. Thankfully, whatever effect the woman had on Natasha gave the same thing to her in return. It was the perfect escape and diversion. 

We took an even longer route that heads to New York to distract the people possibly tracking us. After almost two hours of non-stop driving, we reached Fort Wayne, Indiana. Natasha still hasn't said a word and the only sound filling the void of silence was the CD that was already inserted in the car. The album 'Rumors' by Fleetwood Mac played twice already. I stole a glance towards Natasha. She was facing the window on her side, but she wasn't looking at the view. She was just staring back at her reflection. 

The silence is becoming too much for me, so I turned the volume of the music down and placed my hand on her shoulder. She flinched at the immediate contact. Like she doesn't remember that I was in the car with her all this time. 

"Jesus!" she gasps. Lightly patting her chest.

"Sorry!"

She quickly glanced back at me and I immediately turned towards the road to avoid her eyes. She tried to get a grip of herself before finally calming down. When I noticed that her breathing went back to normal, I finally spoke again.

"So..." I started, this feels so awkward for some reason. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"About what?"

"About what happened just then. Who's Yelena?" 

"My sister."

My eyes went wide at her response. I never heard about Natasha ever having a sister. Come to realize it, I don't know anything about her at all before she died. At least, nothing about her personal life. Just her as an ex-Russian spy, a SHIELD agent and then finally, as an Avenger. I think the only person who really knew her was Clint Barton and they're both such secretive people. A skill that secret agents or spies will never let go, I guess.

"Oh," was the only thing I was able to muster.

"You never met her?" she asked.

"Never. This is the first time I ever saw her." 

"As an Avenger, she never fell under your radar?" 

"Ex Avenger," I corrected. "But no. She never did."

Both of us got sucked into another gaping of hole of silence again. I was about to turn the music up when she spoke.

"She isn't my biological sister. We both met on a secret mission a long time ago. We were just kids. She doesn't really know what was going on at the time. She never saw the Red Room yet. I did. I knew what was going on and the entire mission just felt like there was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. But Yelena just thought that she finally found a home with the only two adults included in the mission. A soldier and a scientist. We pretended to be a family. Until one day, that fairytale ended when the mission was complete. Then the nightmare started." she went on.

I heard her sniffling and I realized that she was already crying. A different kind of grief and regret settled unto her, but she continued.

"Yelena and I got separated. I never saw her again. Before entering the Red Room, there's a brutal screening process. A small percentage of young girls makes the cut and for the ones who didn't, they get killed on the spot. I searched her for years until I finally gave up. I thought she was dead. I shouldn't have given up. I should've tried harder to save her from the Red Room when I escaped."