The Soldier and the Spy.

Chapter 6

****Nick Fury****

I sigh and put the nearly empty file down. Variel Romanoff- what a mystery. She has somehow managed to hide nearly all the information about her, and nobody can figure out how. The fact that one of our agents got a picture of her as a human was a miracle. She often used her powers to her advantage, sometimes shifting into a tiny bug or bird, which made her impossible to spot in the middle of a forest. It frustrated me to no end. And she's Natasha's sister- who, according to files, died when she was thirteen. It made me wonder if she was the only potential Avenger that we've missed.

During the debriefing I noticed that both she and Natasha showed negative reactions at the mention of S.T.O.W. Natasha had already told me that she was mixed in with them. Was Variel involved too? I hope she's not like her sister- we already have enough on our hands with one violent female superhero.

"Sir," Agent Coulson says.

I look up and see him standing in front of me, a blank expression on his face, per the usual.

"Yes?"

"We were able to find all of Variel's information. It took four weeks and many sleepless nights, but here it is" He says as he puts down a huge file, at least three inches thick. "If you thought Natasha was complicated, just wait until you read about her sister."

Shocked, I look at the file. How could we have missed that much information? It's as big as the file folders for all the other Avengers put together. I start reading through the files. As I read all that she had gone through, there is a foreign feeling in my stomach that could have been pity. The Avengers had to see this.

"Coulson," I ordered.

"Yes sir."

"Make copies of this information and put it on the tablets in the meeting room."

"Yes sir."

****Clint Barton****

I walk toward the main deck and I see Coulson walk past with a huge file in his hands. I mean, it had to be at least three inches thick. Curious, I decide to follow him. Eventually, he reached Fury's office. I listen outside the door, trying to hear what they are talking about. But when I couldn't hear anything, I left and headed to to the gym, where I hoped to find Natasha. I turned the corner quickly, and nearly ran into Tony, who was grinning excitedly.

"What are you so happy about?" I queried.

"Clint!" he said. "Just the man I wanted to see!"

"Ok...?" Why is he acting so weird? Well, I mean, weirder than normal.

"Well, Capsicle is in love with Russian Princess Number Two, and I need you to see if she luuves him back. Since she's always with her big sister, Russian Princess Number One, and you're always following said princess like a lovesick puppy, I was hoping you could bring up Steve and see her reaction...?"

"I do NOT follow Natasha around like a lovesick puppy! But I guess I could bring up Steve, and watch for her reaction. Why're you doing this anyway? It's not like there is anything for you in this."

"I just want to see them both happy. Plus, I want to prove to Capsicle that he can fall in love more than once."

Aha! There's the reason! Steve is annoyed because Tony's a player, and "loves" every woman he meets. Steve says that you can only fall in love once and you should be faithful to that person. Tony argues that you can fall in love many times, which is his excuse for incessant flirting. Now that Tony thinks Steve is in love with Variel aka RPN2 (Russian Princess Number Two), he wants to prove him wrong. But it's good if Steve's falling in love again- it'll help him get over Peggie's death. Smiling at this revelation, I walk off to find Natasha, only to be stopped by Coulson's speaking over the intercom.

"All Avengers report to the meeting room."

I am really getting tired of that order.

****Variel****

Natasha and I are having "girl time" in my room, which consists of her telling me all the embarrassing stories and gossip about the Avengers. Yes, you heard me, the Black Widow, ferocious fighter and deadly assassin, likes to gossip. I notice how her look always gets softer when she talks about Clint, and I decide to probe a little further.

"So you and Clint huh?"

She looks at me in embarrassed mock-horror. "Excuse me? I do not like Clint that way!"

"I didn't say you did," I grin. "But now I know you do, because that's the first thing that came to your mind."

"Take that back," she says.

"No way. Besides, you're all defensive, and that just means its truuuueeee," I say in a singsong voice as I roll off the bed. She grabs my ankle and was about to pounce and tickle me when suddenly we hear Coulson's announcement over the intercom.

I don't think I have ever been more thankful to hear his voice. I sprint out of the room, with Natasha in hot pursuit. We nearly run over Tony, who proceeds to spew a string of colorful insults (with the PG version being, "you malfunctioning overloaded circuit!") at our retreating backs. We both stop to fix our hair and catch our breath once we get to the door. I mean, we didn't want to ruin the Black Widow's fearsome reputation. Walking in the room, we see the rest of the Avengers (minus Tony) already seated. I look at the tablet in front of me, and I'm surprised when I realize it's open to my file. I thought we had looked at this already?

My hands shake as I open it and realize that there is more information. I skim through it and quickly shut it. How did they find this? Records of my years at S.T.O.W., the tortures, and gang activity. I thought I had hidden this? Horror filled my mind as I realized, all the others will read this. I didn't want them reading this, they will just give me pity and worry. I am sick of pity, it does't help. I am over it, the nightmares and memories are the only things that haunt me. Fury walked into the room.

"All Avengers open the file on your tablets."

And with those words I shoot out of my chair and out of the room, ignoring Natasha's calls.

****Natasha****

I jump out of my chair, about to run after Variel, when Thor stops me.

"I think that we should leave Lady Variel be, Lady Natasha."

I nodded, sitting back down. I looked at the file and realized who's it was. Why would that cause her to freak out? It's not like there is anything that I haven't seen before. I start reading through it and realize, there is a lot that I don't know about! I look at all the other Avengers and they all have the same expression on their faces. I think to myself, Variel and I have a lot to talk about.