Red Room

RR12 She's awake

 Ch12

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Walking down the hallways, she didn't feel any different. She lifted her shirt to see that the needle prick was already healed. She shrugged it off and opened the training room door. She looked up to see the familiar red stain she had put on the ceiling the night she killed her fellow comrades. She couldn't remember which girl it came from, but she knew it was her fault it flew up there during the massacre. In her own little world, she didn't see the glint of metal as it barely connected with her face.

While Natalia was napping after her night with Loki, Bruce and Clint caught everyone up on the recent events by replaying all of it, fast forwarding the boring parts. The only part Steve missed was the part when Bucky came in. He would be in for a surprise. They all watched the events that took place by watching what was recorded. Before Bucky appeared, Clint sat Steve down and told him to remain calm and that Natasha didn't have any memory of this, which is why she never told them. This confused Steve, Tony and Thor too.

When Bucky appeared before Natalia outside of her room, Steve stood up from his chair to get a closer look. He saw Bucky and Natalia size each other up. Thor and Tony gasped when they saw him. This was the man who took down S.H.E.I.L.D, and Steve's childhood friend. Steve confirmed it was him. He didn't have his mask on and there was no mistaking him. He just couldn't believe that Natalia had met him. They watched the rest in silence. They were just as confused as Natalia when she was injected with the needle. They had no idea what was in the solution and it scared them a little. It didn't cause her to have any ill effects, yet. Bruce ran more tests on Natasha lying there but there wasn't anything to be found. Whatever it was, it was untraceable. The boys watched as she left the room all confused and return to the training room. Right as she walked in, the boys watched a metal arm fly about a half a centimeter from her face, before she caught it and used the man's weight to her advantage, causing him to hit the ground.

Natalia sensed rather than saw the arm fly past her face. She moved back just enough for it to miss her as she grabbed it and pulled the rest of the body to the floor. She knew it was James. He smiled from the floor and held his hand out for her to help him up. She reached for it and he pulled her to the ground with him, twisting her arm so that she flipped stomach down, and put his boot between her shoulders. Natalia cursed herself for falling for that trick, and quickly thought of a way to escape his grasp. Her arm was pulling tighter and tighter, causing her shoulder to hurt. She was lying flat on her front so she bucked her back leg out and connected with James back. She was very flexible. He stumbled forward, causing him to lose her grip of the red head. He regained his balance and turned to strike her, but she had already gotten up and moved. She jumped onto his back, putting him into a headlock. She was strong, but he was equally strong and skilled. He broke the headlock by running up the wall, and flipping over her head. They fought for at least thirty more minutes before they realized that neither of them had gained the upper hand. They were equals, and had been trained in similar ways. They gave up in frustration. Neither of them had ever lost and it was a first for them. James stormed from the training room and Natalia stayed back for a few more minutes. She didn't know what to think about her new "friend" but she did know she didn't like him. She sat there in her own thoughts for a few more minutes before leaving to go to her room. She was tired and decided to take a nap.

The Avengers all watched as the two fought and were equally frustrated at the outcome. Of course they were a little biased because Natasha was their friend, but she never gained the upper hand, just as Bucky hadn't. Steve had a range of emotions strewn across his face, but he never said anything.

Loki only knew about Bucky from what Natalia had told him. She had always respected him, and he respected her. They never grew to be friends and that was fine with Loki. He was always a bit protective of her when she was with him. They grew to be teammates, but nothing more. He was destructive and even disappeared after a year or so with the Red Room. That must have been when HYDRA took him back.