Red Daughter

Seven

The second that Elodie's hand grips Wanda's, she's sucked into a memory.

She's back in the Red Room training arena but there's kids there that she doesn't know. They are all gathered around two girls that are on the floor, one is clearly bigger then the other and had her pinned with her hand behind her back.

"Admit it," the bigger girl demands. "Admit that you're not worthy to be a Widow!"

"No," the little girl grunts as the bigger one twists her arm more.

"Admit it Natalia!" The big one demands again. "You're never going to be good enough and Dreykov is going to kill you."

"No!" The little one says again.

"Enough!" A voice boomed. Everyone turns to Dreykov who is standing in the doorway. "Return to your rooms, all of you." The girls all but run away, leaving a young Natasha on the floor, struggling to get up. Dreykov comes over to her and helps her up, "I'm proud of you," he tells her.

"Sir?" Natasha asks uncertainly.

"You didn't betray your sisters even while being hurt. That is the mark of a true Widow." He leads them to the door and looks down at her, "next time, you will win."

The image turns watery and there's a voice behind her. "I did win too," Natasha says. "I won every fight after that."

Elodie turns to her, "and the other girl?"

Natasha shakes her head slightly, "didn't graduate."

The watery image around them shifts and they are standing on a dark road surrounded by trees. Headlights come closer and they watch a teenage Natasha step out into the road and shoot once the car is in range. It veers off the road and into a ditch, the drivers door opening and a man crawls out.

Young Natasha walks up to him and levels her gun, shooting him without hesitation. She turns to walk away when a cry comes from the backseat. Her gun rises as she peers into the backseat and sees the child in his car seat.

The gun lowers as a voice crackles around them, "status."

"Target down," young Natasha says coldly. "One infant alive in the backseat. Please advise."

"No survivors."

Young Natasha points her gun at the child and there's a slight tremble to her hand. There's a gunshot and the seat next to the infant explodes as she shoots it. "Scene secure, no survivors," she says as the child stares her, him bottom lip quivering in terror.

"It was the first time I'd ever lied to them," Natasha says next to her. "The first time I'd ever questioned an order."

"Why did you?" Elodie asks her.

"Because children are innocent," she sighs. "Whatever his fathers crimes, they weren't that child's. He deserved a chance to do better."

"Did he?"

Natasha shakes her head sadly, "he died later in the hospital. The straps of his car seat had caused some internal damage and by the time anyone came across the car it was too late to save him." She sighs heavily, "Dreykov took great joy in telling me that my sadistic nature only rivaled his own and he was impressed that I'd made the child's death look like an accident."

The image shifts again to show Natasha crouched behind an overturned dining table that had arrows sticking out of it. "This was the day that Clint came to kill me."

We watch as the man in question draws back another arrow, shooting it into the table and ducking as a gas hisses from it. The Natasha behind the table starts to cough and Clint yells, "I don't want to hurt you! Come out slowly and I'll stop the gas and we can have a civil conversation, otherwise you'll be unconscious in thirty seconds!"

There's a pause in the coughing as Natasha says, "why would you want to talk? Are you not here to kill me?"

"I am," Clint replies. "But I really don't want to." He stands up and holds his bow loosely, "truce?"

Natasha peaks over the table, her eyes watering from the gas and she slowly stands up, "truce."

Another shimmer and Natasha moves beside Elodie, "Clint saved me, gave me a second chance to be something more than just a killer."

"You still kill people though," Elodie tells her. "Maybe not directly, but the Avengers cause mass destruction which leads to mass death. At least we keep it to a minimum."

"I-," Natasha starts but when the image shifts around them, she's silent as a nursery comes into view and a small child struggles to take their first steps.

Dreykov is knelt down, his arms extended towards the child, "come Elodie. You can do it." They watch small Elodie walk those few steps on wobbly legs to Dreykov's arms and he picks her up, spinning her around while she laughs.

"I don't remember this," Elodie says softly.

"You wouldn't," Natasha says in wonder. "You were too small." She takes a step towards the pair, staring at small Elodie.

"He can't be all bad," Elodie tells Natasha.

Natasha turns to her, "you don't know him. This is what he does." She waves her hand at the smiling Dreykov, "he makes you love him and then he uses you."

Elodie shakes her head, "nobody used me. I knew what I was doing."

"We all did," Natasha tells her. "It doesn't mean we weren't forced."

A new image forms around them and they are in the learning center, rows of girls sitting in front of a projector screen. "Repeat after me girls," the instructor orders them in Russian. Switching to English she points at each word on the screen as she says, "I pledge allegiance to the flag."

The girls watch as the young Widows memorize the American pledge, each taking a turn saying it and getting a smack when they mess up. To no surprise, Elodie got it correct the first time. "Languages were always easy," she says. "Except Arabic, I never could get the hang of it."

"Neither could I," Natasha tells her.

A new memory starts and Elodie can't help the sound that comes from her. Elodie and another girl in a dark corner of a hallway, stealing secret kisses. The girl pulls away and smiles, "if that's my reward for winning our sparring match then I should do it more often."

Both Elodie's answer her, "I'd gladly lose if it meant I could kiss you."

Natasha watches Elodie as she watches her memory, "who is she?"

"Her name was Katia," she says sadly.

Was.

The word hangs between them as the image shifts to one that makes Elodie yell, "Wanda I don't want to see this!"

Natasha looks around them and finds them in Dreykov's office. Young Elodie and Katia are there, each on their knees across from each other with a guard holding them down. "You disappoint me," Dreykov tells them. "You know the rules and the consequences of breaking them." He pulls out a gun and points it between the two, "now you must choose who will die."

"I will," young Elodie says without hesitation.

"No!" Katia tells him. "I will. I started it. I forced her."

"Katia," Elodie hisses.

"Is this true?" Dreykov asks young Elodie.

Young Elodie shakes her head, "no it's not. I started it, I will die."

Dreykov sighs, "I should kill you both but then what lesson will be learned?" He points the gun at Katia, "since you cannot choose I will do it for you."

"No!" Elodie yells as he pulls back the hammer on the gun. Young Elodie screams as she struggles to get to the other girl. Dreykov looks at her with disgust and as he pulls the trigger Elodie falls to her knees beside Natasha.

Natasha kneels beside her as the images around them go watery, "I'm so sorry."

"That's why I left," Elodie says quietly. "He killed her because she was mine and he doesn't like to share." She wipes her eyes and stands up, "Wanda get me out of here."