Trapped in her own Web

Confusing Encryptions

Natasha woke up feeling like she'd been flattened by a truck doing 100mph. She could feel stiff bandages wrapped around her chest and ribs. Her nose was reset, as was her shoulder. Someone had obviously been in to take care of her. Not only had they done their best fixing her injuries, they had also covered them up.

She propped herself up slowly before gently swinging her feet off the bed. She used the bed to stand up and took small steps to the window, trying not to agitate her side. She was no longer in the wedding gown, instead she was in a white shirt and navy blue ankle length skirt. She was bare footed and her hair was done in a tight braid down her back. It was the same uniform she wore everyday after the red room received funding from the KGB. Their front was a ballet school. They had their navy blue leotards for ballet and their navy blue shorts and tees for combat. Their other uniform was for the educational lessons. James always preferred the educational one. It's one of the many reasons that had set him apart from the others, they would always leer as the girls wore the shorts and eye them in ways that left her angry and uncomfortable.

The navy blue set the upperclassmen apart from the juniors. The juniors wore grey. Natasha only ever wore navy. When the KGB funded the project she was an upperclassman. When she was a junior there was no funding and they stole the clothes and bedding of their dead classmates to keep warm in the harsh Russian winters.

Outside the sky was streaked with pinks and oranges. The golden glow of the sun bathed the snowy peaks in a rosy blush. Natasha admired the architecture of the little bit of castle she could see. They were in a very remote place but there was no mistaking the Repunzel style towers. She would wager that they were in either Austria or Germany. It didn't matter, her team couldn't know where she was. She wouldn't let Hydra get hold of them.

She remembered when she was captured by Ultron and she had managed to make an SOS transmitter which is how Clint had found her. Unfortunately Alexei was more cautious and hadn't left anything that could be of use. She would have to use morse code whilst speaking the next time Alexei came to record her. The door cracked open and a stern, hard faced female poked her head in. She spotted Natasha by the window and immediately slammed the door shut before she could try and escape. Natasha heard the door lock and the woman's boots clatter down the stairs.

More sets of boots accompanied the woman's when she came back up the stairs. One was authoritative and swift whereas the other one was the pitter patter slap of bare feet. Alexei came striding into the room and gestured for the others to wait outside. "You're alive."
"Where's Amalie?"
"I thought you were dead and so she was collateral damage." Natasha froze. Another girl dead because of her actions. Another swipe of red to add to her ledger. "But don't worry Natalia. We have another one."

"What do you want this time."
"Well I'm disappointed that your so called team mates haven't found you yet so I'm here to make another call. A live call." This was Natasha's chance to send them a message. She seated herself behind the desk and Alexei stood behind her. The camera and laptop was set up and Natasha counted down in her head.

A window popped up and she saw the other avengers. She sighed in relief when she saw they were all ok. "Natasha?"
"Hey Tony."
"Where are you? I'm so sorry I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
"No, you were right Tony. I am a monster I'm getting what I deserve. I'm sorry I dragged you all into this."
"Natalia?" James, Clint and Sam all came running in.
"James." The others made room for him as he got right up close to the camera and started scanning her for injuries.
"Natalia where are you? We can get you out. Describe your surroundings."
"No James, you can't -"
"As touching as this reunion is I think I'd like to get back to business." James growled when he saw Alexei.
"I swear Shostakov, when I find you I'm going to rip you to pieces."
"Oh I have no doubt. But it'll be worth it in the end." They all looked at him in confusion.

"Back to business. Natalia here is going to tell me everything she knows about SHIELD intel. And you're going to watch, completely helpless." Natasha's eyes widened. Not only was he going to drag this out so they could track her, they were going to pull information out of her as well. The woman came back into the room with a bewildered small boy clutched tightly in her grasp. "Natalia, meet Josef."

Natasha's mind was working overdrive. How could she end the call, protect the information and make sure the boy got out ok? She'd have to injure herself badly enough that they would postpone the interrogation but not so much so that it was fatal. She stared straight into the camera. "Don't come, it's a trap." She then lunged at the computer and snapped it in half, effectively cutting off the call. As Alexei bellowed in rage she slammed her head against the desk and angled it so she would be knocked unconscious without any permanent damage.

As everything faded to black she reflected on the familiarity of the situation and smugly reminded herself that Alexei had no control over her.

On the other side of the screen the avengers sat in shock. The call had disconnected as soon as Natasha had lunged for the laptop. She'd said it was a trap but they'd be damned if they listened to her. Unanimously they all rose and prepared themselves for war.

A/N Whelp another one done. Sorry it's not my best :( Things are getting exciting :)