Red Daughter

Five

Natasha finds Elodie a few hours later in the library of all places. She had wanted to go after the girl right after she'd stormed out, but Yelena and Wanda had told her to let Elodie cool down.

Now, as Natasha watched the girl read a book, there was no sign of the angry girl or deadly assassin who had sent the security guards to the hospital. Natasha had watched the footage an hour ago, needing to know how Elodie moved on the off chance the girl attacked her or someone else. While Widows all had the same training, they each had their own style and moves.

She watches Elodie, walking softly closer to her but not speaking. She didn't want to startle her or upset her again but when Elodie's jaw muscle twitches indicating that she knows Natasha is there, she says the only thing she can.

"I'm sorry," she says softly as she walks over to the couch that Elodie is on. "I didn't know about you. And if I did, I never ever would have left you there." Elodie didn't look up from her book so Natasha knelt beside her, "Elodie, please. I don't know what Dreykov told you, but I swear to you, I had no idea."

She reached out and touched Elodie's arm, the girl jumping at the contact and in a blink Natasha was pinned against the floor with Elodie straddling her and a knife at her throat. She could have easily gotten away, but she let Elodie hold her there. "Don't touch me," Elodie hissed. There was a fire in her eyes that Natasha knew well, it was one she saw in herself all the time.

"I'm sorry," she says again.

Elodie stared at her for a long moment before she repeats, "you don't get to touch me Natalia." The knife bites into Natasha's neck but she's not afraid. If Elodie wanted to kill her she'd be dead by now, and she took that as a good sign.

"Natasha," she says softly.

"What?" Elodie asks, her knife moving slightly.

Natasha gives her a half smile, "my name. It's Natasha not Natalia. Only the Red Room called me that and that person is not who I am anymore. It's not who you have to be either. You can start over here."

Elodie scoffs, "and do what? Be an Avenger with you? Play happy family? No thanks."

"Then why are you here?" Natasha challenges.

The knife moves again and Elodie swallows hard, "I don't know. I was running and this was where I ended up. But as soon as it's safe, I'm gone." She removes the knife and stands up, Natasha following suit.

"You don't have to leave," Natasha tells her softly. "You could stay here, with me. With Yelena and Wanda. We could.. be a family," Natasha offers.

"A family?" Elodie laughs. She shakes her head, "no Natalia, you lost your chance to be my family a long time ago. Once it's safe, I'm leaving and I hope for both our sakes that we never see each other again."

Elodie turns to leave and Natasha calls after her, "if you pull that knife on anyone else, they will put you back in a cell and I won't be able to stop them." She manages to keep her voice steady and calm, but inside she was breaking.

Elodie pauses at the door and stabs the knife into the doorframe before leaving. She needed to hit something so she made her way to the training room. It took her forever to find it in this ridiculous building. Once there she saw Wanda meditating ten feet off the ground, surrounded by a red glow.

"Holy shit," she says, her voice ringing around the room.

Wanda opened her eyes and laughed at the expression on Elodie's face before flying over to her and setting herself on the ground.

"How did you do that?" Elodie asked in amazement.

"Magic," Wanda says simply as she shows Elodie the red that's dancing across her fingertips.

"So you can read minds and fly. Is there anything you can't do?" Elodie jokes.

"Hmmm," Wanda thought, "I can't drive."

Elodie laughed, "you can't drive?"

Wanda feigned a hurt look, "well you can't fly, so I think that makes us even."

"Yeah I guess so." The smile fades from her face as her dark mood returned.

Wanda noticed and gave her a look, "you ok?"

"Not really but it's fine." It wasn't fine, and she really needed to hit something. She looks around for a punching bag and spots them in the far corner. She takes a few steps towards them but doesn't get far before Wanda stops her.

"Spar with me," Wanda orders her.

Elodie debates on it, irked that the girl gave her an order but wanting a chance to see what Wanda could do. She was slightly worried that she'd hurt Wanda without meaning to.

"You won't hurt me," Wanda tells her as she heads for the ring.

"Get out of my head," Elodie mutters.

"Your thoughts are loud, it's hard to block them out," Wanda says as she taps her head. "You and Natasha have the loudest thoughts of everyone in this building."

Elodie's anger rears up again. She didn't want to have anything in common with Natalia. She follows Wanda to the ring and they started circling each other. Wanda made the first and second move with Elodie dodging it easily. "You'll have to do better then that," Elodie teases. She throws her own punch that should have connected, but stopped an inch from Wanda's face, a red glow on her fist.

"So will you," Wanda tells her right back, dropping her magic.

They circle again, Elodie watching Wanda with a more focused intent, her Red Room training blocking everything else out except her target. Her mind clears and her breathing deepens as she watches, waiting for her opportunity.

It comes when Wanda throws her next punch. Elodie dodges and swings her leg out, sweeping off her feet.
Elodie pins Wanda's hands above her head and Wanda smiles, raises an eyebrow as Elodie's thoughts quickly came through very loudly.

Wanda took that opportunity to wrap her her legs around Elodie's waist and twist them over, breaking the girls hold on her. Magic pins Elodie's hands above her head. "I win," Wanda says triumphantly before getting up and leaving a very flustered Elodie on the mat. "Let's go again."

                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In a security room three floors away from the girls, Steve and Tony sit at a bank of monitors and watch the girls spar.

"I don't trust the girl," Tony says as they watch Elodie land a hit on Wanda.

"I don't either. It's odd that she just showed up," Steve agrees.

"From what Natasha and Yelena have told us, escaping the Red Room isn't easy. And she doesn't look to have a mark on her. So how'd she get away? I say we put her back in the cell until we get answers," Tony rants.

"Nat will never let us interrogate her, Tony," Steve reminds him as he rubs his head.

"Then we get Wanda to do her mind voodoo thing," Tony says as he gestures to the screen.

"I want answers as much as you do, but we need to let Nat do it her way. We have to trust her," Steve argues.

Tony sighs as he gets up and goes to the door, "I hope you know what you're doing Cap."

Me too, Steve thinks to himself.