To Go Unseen (A Natasha Romanoff Story)

10 [??]

When Natasha woke up, she realized with an indescribable horror that she wasn’t in bed with James anymore. Instead, she was sitting up, propped up against a wall, and her hands were tied painfully tight behind her back.

Oh no, she thought and for a while, she could think nothing but that because fear had taken her use of words and all she felt, the fear and the panic, was too overwhelming to think through. She fell back onto all instinct.

Wherever she was, it was dark and cold. The ground was hard beneath her and she thought the wall behind her was some sort of metal.

After processing all this, Natasha immediately began to try to work her hands out of the binds behind her. She had to free herself, she had to find James, she had to get him safe. She had to find whoever had done this and kill them.

After a while, even though the rope began to bite into her wrists and she could feel beads of blood rolling down her fingers, she managed to slip her hands out, one at a time, working them and biting the inside of her mouth to distract herself from the pain. When her hands were free, bruised and bloody, she leaned forward and began to work on the binds around her feet.

“I can hear you,” said a voice. It was the woman from the gas station and Natasha froze. “Since you’re awake, I suppose I can turn on the lights now.” Suddenly, Natasha was blinded by white light and she threw up her hands to shield her eyes and gasped. Slowly, the world around her became visible and Natasha was afraid and stunned. She was in some sort of warehouse, and fluorescent lights were strung from the ceiling. She was on the ground, sitting in the dirt, and when she looked up, she saw James across the room and gasped. He was upright, tied to some wooden support beam, his head hanging and his shoulders slumped, and then Natasha noticed the woman next to him, pulling a syringe out of his arm.

The woman was another shock in and of herself and Natasha could do nothing but stare, open-mouthed and utterly stunned. She was wearing Natasha’s Black Widow uniform, or at least a uniform almost exactly like it with the torso cut out. She even had Natasha’s Widow’s Bites on her wrists and the red diamond insignia on her belt. Natasha didn’t know how to respond and she stared in horror.

The woman tossed the empty syringe on the ground and looked from Natasha back over to James.

“Don’t worry about him,” the woman said nonchalantly and she reached over and took James’s face in one gloved hand, raising it up into the light so she could look at him. Natasha flinched. She didn’t like her touching him. In the light, she could see that he had bruises blooming on his cheeks and his eyes were closed. “He’s out.” The woman glanced back over at Natasha and almost looked like she would smile. “And don’t think his healing factor will wake him up any sooner. I’ve done my homework, I’ve read your files.” She did smile now, and she looked proud of herself. “I got the good stuff. He won’t get up for several hours so it’s just you-” The woman grinned wider and turned her head. “And me.”

She was blonde, with a fair complexion and short hair, curls turning about her face. It was almost ironic, because her sweet smile, big blue eyes and round pink cheeks reminded Natasha of some sort of angel. She looked like a porcelain doll. If Natasha hadn’t known better, she would assume this girl was just out of high school and hadn’t done a questionable thing in her life.

“My name is Yelena Belova,” the girl said and she let James’ chin drop back down to his chest as though she’d forgotten about him and she began to step towards Natasha. Frantically, Natasha ripped the binds from around her ankles until they tore and, shakily, she pushed herself to her feet.

“Stop,” she said, holding out one palm. “Stop right there, don’t come any closer.”

“Oh,” Yelena said and, her eyes glittering as though she was daring Natasha, took another long step. “I’m afraid you’re not the one with the power here, Natalia.”