Spider-Man joins the avengers

Part 34

NATASHA

Clint had punched her hard, and so Anja sits in front of me, tied to a chair and head limp. Originally Steve had tied her up, but I knew she'd be able to get out of it in no problem. So I retied her with more rope and tied the chair to a pole in the centre of the room.
And now I sit in front of her, waiting, watching. She was my training partner. We fought together back when we were younger, at seventeen before Clint had come into my life. She knew my fighting technique better than anyone, even Clint, knew my weaknesses. But I knew hers too.
And despite that disattachment they taught us to have, Anja always had this odd connection with this other girl, small, ginger and shy. Steve had told me Bucky's description of her and I instantly knew that the other girl was Iyra.
Iyra was younger than me and Anja, but she made up for that in every possible way. She was ruthless and smart. My theory was that because she laid all her emotions onto Anja, she was able to disassociate with everything and everyone else. I didn't have that.
I know I'm being filmed, being watched constantly by Tony and Steve and anyone who wants to watch. Clint had come up to me after I'd asked to talk to her first and made she I was able to do it, able to sit down with this girl and not sink back into the darkness of my past. I told him I'd be fine.
'Of all the ways to be caught.' Anja says, slowly raising her head after she realised where she was and that she was tied up, 'this is the most shameful.' My accent had gone with time, only coming out when I speak in Russian or if I'm getting extremely passionate about something. But Anna's accent is thick, as if she'd spent the whole of her life there.
'There are far better things to be ashamed of.' I say, leaning back in my chair and looking at her in the eyes.
'You would know.' She says, meeting my gaze.
'I know you want nothing from me.' I say after a moment.
'So why are we talking?' She asks.
'I'm curious.' I say, standing up and walking closer to her.
'Well ask your questions, Natalia.' She says. She leans back in her chair and rests her head against the beam, staring up at me and smiling slightly. 'I may not answer.'
'We were raised the same way. Same lessons, same tests.' I say, walking around her, 'what was good, what was bad.' I sit down again and stare at her, 'we were told the same thing.' She looks from me to the camera in the corner of the room, and back again. 'And of course I'm a disgrace.' I say.
'We're agreed.' She says quickly.
'But I remember our lessons. No emotion.' I say slowly, dragging it out, 'no saving people, no going back for people left behind. No mercy, no morality.'
'I'm surprised you remember this, Natalia, it clearly means so little to you.' She spits at me, but I pay no attention.
'No selfishness.' I say and she looks up, 'no revenge. Always do things with a purpose in mind.' I move closer to her, till I'm right by her face, 'so I'm wondering, Anja, what's your purpose?'
'You're smart, Natalia, I forgot that.' She says, looking to the ground, 'but I'm past those days. Don't go looking for a deeper router meaning, this is about you. This is about everyone knowing that all the deaths were done for you, all your friends' friends' deaths. They were all on you. I feel as though you and me had different educations; you were taught never to indulge in revenge, I was taught to never indulge in revenge unless I was prepared to burn the house I slept in for it.'
There's silence for a moment. I was so sure that I could find some meaning behind her actions, some deeper understanding.
'You won't find Iyra.' She says, looking at the ground.
'We might have been taught different things, but it was still the same place. I know that girl. And I know you're lying.' I say quickly, my Russian accent coming back as I speak more and more with Arla, 'she's coming for you, as soon as you didn't reply to her messages, she's coming for you. Because you're the only thing she cares about. She's coming.'
'I never said she wasn't coming.' She says slowly and quietly, her breath laboured, 'I said you wouldn't find her.'