Hydra's shadow

Chapter 4: Alone

*NATASHA'S POV*

I reached for my neck as the pressure released, gasping for air as I centred myself to the room, aware only of the intense pain surrounding my shoulder and the crimson-coloured patch still growing on my shirt. I found my other hand clasped tightly in James's as I met his eyes, a look of pure fear and relief painting an expression on his face. His metal arm locked itself beneath my good shoulder and I winced as he pulled me towards him. I looked down to where Echo had fallen down only to see a gash on the side of her head where Steve had hit her with his shield in an attempt to knock her out. I couldn't quite tell if it was the pain or not but I could've sworn her wound had started to heal itself, almost like it was stitching itself back together. James turned us both away from her as he walked me down to medbay where Dr.Cho used her tissue-repairing machine on my shoulder, and within merely twenty minutes I was healed, the pain subsiding dramatically. Yet she still ordered me to take a day of bed-rest and much to my annoyance James answered before I could, assuring Helen that he'd make sure I did.

"Easy Nat." he spoke in a gentle whisper as he ushered me to my bed, keeping careful to mind my shoulder even though I'd assured him more than enough times that it was completely healed.

"I really don't see why I need to stay here for the rest of the day I'm honestly fine!" I try reasoning, but it was no use, he was dead set on following 'doctors orders', his words not mine.

"Do you wanna talk about it, what just happened back there?" he asked as I shifted my weight from under me to make space for him.

"I don't know who she is James, I swear to you." I replied as his good arm snaked its way around my shoulder until my head could rest comfortably on his.

"She went for you Natalia, she targeted you and you're telling me you don't know why?"

"I already told you I don't know who she is, you have to believe me!"

"It's not that I don't believe you my love, it's that I want to know why, I can't protect you if I don't know what she wants from you."

I took a short pause to compose myself and tried to remember as much as I could from Echo's outburst before.

"She said he made her to be like me and me only, 'his next Black Widow'", I quoted as I tried to piece together the ever growing complexity of a puzzle that had started just back there, "but who is he?"

All the questioning and thinking had caught up to me and I could feel a headache starting to form, my head beginning to throb. Whatever Echo did to me back there, whatever she used on me was slowly starting to show, as I grasped the bridge of my nose to try and release the tension growing close to my temple. James quickly picked up on my discomfort and squeezed me closer to his chest, his free hand running itself through the auburn sun-kissed locks of my hair, which in the moment I realised I should probably wash as we'd just come back from a mission. His fingers began to trace a pattern along my cheek as he turned his head down to face me.

"Still think you didn't need that bed rest now?" he commented as I landed a soft punch to his ribs.

He smirked and a stifled laugh escaped as he placed a small kiss on the top of my head, the comforting feeling of his arms wrapped around me sticking in my mind, as I tried so hard to forget about Echo just until tomorrow.

As my eyes slowly adjusted to the dark my body woke and my muscles began to cramp from tiredness, all I could hear was the faint but rhythmic breathing of him laying beside me. I turned cautiously so as not to wake him up, only to see that to my relief he was fast asleep, his snores muffled by the pillow curled underneath him. I carefully pried his arm away from my lower back, leaving it strewn across the bed sheets. He stirred slightly as I opened the door, taking care to leave as small a gap as possible so the harsh stream of light from the hallway wouldn't disturb him. There was a slight chill in the air so I made sure to grab his jumper from just inside the doorway, he can never seem to hang his clothes up no matter how many times I ask him to. Across the hall I could see the lights were on in the living room, and two distinct voices could be heard. Tony and Steve. It sounded like they were having some sort of debate and were clearly deeply involved in their conversation as neither heard me approach until I made myself apparent.

"What's going on guys?" I question, Steve jolting up momentarily as he whipped around to face me.

"Shouldn't you be on bed-rest Natasha?" Steve challenged, but I ignored his question and repeated mine again, eager to know what was so important that they had to be talking about it at 4:38am on a Sunday morning.

"We're trying to figure out what to do with Echo. She's contained for the moment but we don't know how long it will hold her."

"What do you mean hold her?" I inquired, this time Tony leading the response.

"Before when she hurt you, no normal human could do that. She's obviously enhanced and has abilities that none of us know enough about to ensure she won't break out of the cell."

"You put her in a cell? Tony she couldn't have been any older than thirteen!"

"What else did you want me to do huh?", I could hear the aggression building in his voice, he obviously hadn't slept tonight at all yet, "she shot a hole through your shoulder with just her hand! We have no idea what she's capable of. No idea."

My focus turned to Steve as he too began to speak, "And until we know she's not a threat the cell is the safest place for her, for all of us."

I saw no use in fighting back so I turned away from the living room back towards my room, unknown to Steve and Tony, taking the flight of stairs just a few feet away from the bedroom, down towards the lowest part of the tower.

It was a long walk down, and I could feel my eyelids were beginning to droop from weariness, until I reached the last step, careful not to trip as my feet hit the chilled metal plates arranged in a regular pattern below. My only sense of direction was to walk forwards, it was a single corridor which I could only expect lead straight to her. Maybe if I could get to her first I could reason with her. Find out what she wants, why she hurt me. And most eminently, who made her this way? The doors leading to her cell were locked in my eyesight, my heart beating faster each second I stepped closer. With my heart now feeling like it was up in my throat I pushed the doors wide open, maybe too much as they made a screeching sound against the metal floors. I must've startled her awake as I saw her body jolt up or try to at least as she soon realised she was strapped down. She hadn't noticed me yet but I could hear the panic in her voice, her screams muffled by the thickness of the glass surrounding her. I could see her chest rising rapidly as she tried to break free but the restraints were too strong. Her movements were rapid and uncontrolled, not taking me long to realise that she was having a panic attack. I rushed over to the control panel beside the cell, still out of her view, hastily pressing the buttons trying to find a way to get inside. The hissing sound of the doors jarring open made her look towards them and she screamed at me to stay away. I motioned forwards to her.

"Relax Echo please! I only want to help you!"

"STAY AWAY FROM ME" she yelled back.

"If you just stay still I can undo your restraints! Please you have to stop panicking, I'm not going to hurt you I promise!"

I continued towards her, pulling the pocket knife out of my jeans pocket. She gasped at the sight of it backing away now in fear.

"No please! I didn't mean to hurt you I'm sorry!" her voice now barely above a strangled whisper, strained from all her screaming, "Please don't hurt me. Please!"

"It's okay I'm not going to hurt you, I'm trying to help you!" I reassured back to her.

She darted from the chair as soon as I cut the last restraint, slumping down against the glass with her head buried into her lap. Her whole body was shaking in convulsions, and I could hear the choked sobs that had escaped from her mouth, barely audible as she squeezed herself together as tightly as possible. It was like a response, no normal person would react to something like this the way she was now. In that moment I only felt her distress and wanted only to take away her fear, I wanted her to know she was safe and I wasn't going to hurt her. In that moment all I saw was a petrified little girl, she wasn't the same person who had hurt me no more than twelve hours ago, she was terrified, and she was all alone.