A New Beginning

Chapter 4

"Tasha! Someone's at the door!"

I looked up from my book and saw Sarah suspiciously eyeing the door. Steve was at the hospital today again and it was still the weekend, so I was alone with Sarah once more.

I stood up and approached the door. Steve had this thing with people showing up on his front porch, since he was afraid of enemies finding out where he lived. I opened the door to see a familiar face.

"Agent 13."

"Agent Romanoff," she said, mimicking my professional tone. I see that Steve brought home another woman, if you can even call yourself that. What has the man-whore been up to since I was gone?"

I clenched my jaw. Sharon and I weren't exactly on friendly terms these days, and the fact that she was bothering Steve didn't make it any better.

"Who are you calling a man-whore?" I spat at her, shooting a fiery gaze. Sharon just rolled her eyes and pushed through the doorway. As she came in, I realized she had brought other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents with her. My gaze darkened.

"Now... where'd she go... Sarah sweetie? Come out," Sharon spoke in that soft talking-to-babies voice and peered through the house. Realizing that Sarah had disappeared, I panicked for a moment. Then, it hit me. Sarah was hiding. She didn't like Sharon. What did Sharon do to this family?

"Sharon. I'm going to say this once. Get out - no one wants you in here," I said sternly. I didn't have the time nor the energy to deal with Sharon right now, and my patience was running thin.

Sharon ignored me, and kept rummaging through the house.

"Not until I find her," she mumbled to herself. "Aha!"

I whipped my head toward where Sharon was standing, in front of a kitchen cabinet. Sarah was curled up inside it, her lips fell quivering and her eyes wide with fear. I hated Sharon, but what I hated more was people taking advantage of little children and forcing them to do things against their will.

"I see you've trained her to hide, Romanoff. Is she going to be a killing-machine like you?" As soon as those last words came out of her mouth, Sharon was already on the floor. I was on top of her, twisting her arms and punching her face over and over again. Her back-up agents ran over to me, and grabbed my arms. With a burst of energy, I flipped my body over and kicked two of them in the face.

I reached for a gun that wasn't there and inwardly groaned. My gun was in my jacket, which was in currently in Steve's room. But my thoughts flew out the window as a punch cane flying to my face. I quickly caught the fist, and used it to lever myself onto the man's shoulders. Using my thighs, I flipped the man over and brought him down to the ground, then took the gun from his waist. I shot a few more men, and dodged the fists, feet, and bullets coming at me. Every time I shot one agent, another one came to me. Panting heavily, I realized I was greatly outnumbered. I sighed and raised the gun once more, only to see my target fall to the ground.

"Tony?"

As the agent fell, he revealed a certain Avenger with a certain impossibly large ego.

"Miss me?"

Although he was wearing his Iron Man suit, I could still visualize a smirk on his face.

"Why are you even here?" I asked, while dodging a kick aimed at my face. Tony punched an agent in the face, and turned to me.

"I saw Sharon and some of the lower agents heading somewhere and got suspicious. Thought you might need some help," he replied, with a smug tone. I rolled my eyes. Always trying being the hero, wasn't he?

Soon, all the men were down, and Tony and I were standing above them, breathing heavily. As I opened my mouth to say something, I realized that Sarah was still hiding in the cabinet.

"You can come out now Sarah," I said gently. I walked over to the cabinet and took her hand. As soon as she came out, she threw herself on me, taking me by surprise. She was crying softly, and still shaking with fear. I patted her on the back.

"Hey kiddo," Tony said, finally noticing Sarah. "You're lucky the Black Widow was there to save you. And of course, you're lucky that Iron Man canine to help. Where did your dad go? He's Captain America for god's sake! He's supposed to be protecting his children!"

Sarah was staring in shock, her mouth open, and her eyes wide in disbelief.

"You're the Black Widow? That's why you looked so familiar! Oh my gosh, you two are so good at fighting! It was so cool! And I can't believe my dad is friends with Tony Stark! I can't believe my dad is Captain America! Why didn't he ever tell me?" Sarah rambled on, smiling wide as she did so. Excitement was written all over her face. Oh no, this is bad. Really bad. Steve's going to kill me.

I pulled Tony over and punched him in the arm, not very lightly.

"Ow, what was that for?" He complained, rubbing his arm. He was out of his Iron Man suit now, and was therefore able to feel the pain more.

"Steve doesn't want Sarah to know that he's Captain America!" I whispered, teeth clenched. Tony looked at me weirdly.

"Why?" He said. I slapped my forehead. Sometimes even the smartest people ask dumb questions.

"Are you an idiot? If she knows, she's going to tell people at school, and then everyone's going to know where he lives, putting Sarah in danger!"

Just then, the door opened, and Tony and I simultaneously turned around to face the door.

"Dad!" Sarah jumped up and ran into Steve's arms. Steve looked in my direction, then at the unconscious bodies strewn all over the floor. The smile on his face turned to a confused frown. Oh no.

"Nat? Tony?"