Torn

-|GOING OUT|-

2014

Katia had been practicing her studies and reviewing skills in both ballet and combat for weeks on end. It's not like she had anything better to do. She was thirteen years old. Just entering her teenage years. It was normal to want to stay inside and be anti-social. Except not when that is what she had been doing since she moved here. The only human interaction she ever got was when Natasha was home and occasionally when Uncle Clint came over.

When Natasha was literally forced to take a day off, Katia was excited to finally have a sparring partner. Punching bags couldn't hit back so it was getting kind of hard to practice defensive moves. So, as soon as the sun came up, Katia woke up to train.

"Pst...Hey, Мама! Wake up!"

Natasha groaned and put he pillow over her head.

"Kat, it's 5:45 AM. Go back to sleep."

"It's your day off! Don't you wanna spar?"

"It's still dark outside, Katia."

"Your point being?..."

"Go. To. Sleep. I'll be up at 6:30 if that would make you happy."

"Fine."

Katia went back to her room, except she didn't go to bed. She picked out athletic wear and sneakers and then went to the bathroom to shower and dry her hair. She got dressed and put her hair up in a high ponytail which still reached down to her back because of how long her hair already was. She looked in the mirror and then looked at the time. It was 6:15. She went to the kitchen and made herself a bagel and some coffee.

Natasha woke up at 6:25. She cleaned herself up and got dressed by 6:30. You're probably wondering "how is she able to do that?" Well, when you've been a spy for long enough, you learn to get ready for a short notice mission as fast as humanly possible. As she walks into the living room at exactly 6:30, she sees Katia sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee in her hands.

"Hold on, you're too young to be drinking coffee!"

"Uh, I'm also too young to be learning how to hack the pentagon but that doesn't stop me."

Natasha takes the cup of coffee and sighs.

"You are no longer allowed to watch news segments with Tony Stark in them because you are adapting his sarcasm. And if I find out that you have hacked into the pentagon-"

"I was joking!... The pentagon's too easy for me."

Natasha shook her head, amused at the young girl's antics. She got herself a bagel and sat down next to Katia on the couch.

Katia looked at Natasha and noticed something.

"Hey, you aren't wearing your athletic clothing."

"Yeah, about that... Look, you're thirteen now-"

"Oh, no. Is this gonna be the talk? Cause you don't have to teach me all that stuff I can just look it up on google."

"Okay, first of all, it's not the talk. Second of all, don't EVER go to google for that. You cannot unsee some of that stuff."

"I'm not even gonna ask."

"Good. What I was going to say is; you're thirteen now and you deserve to at least know part of what it's like to be a teenager... So I'm gonna tell you to go outside and explore DC."

"What now?"

"Yup. Just go out, explore the city, and be home by 7:00 PM."

"B-but what about the KGB or the Red Room, or-"

"Listen, not every one is out to get you. It took a long time for me to realize that and trust people. Now, I'm not telling you to trust everyone you meet, because that's dangerous. I'm telling you to go out and be a kid. And it'll be fine because I'll be here the whole day so you can just call me if anything happens."

Katia though about it. She had never really left the house before. It would be nice to get a sense of the city, She thought. What's the worst that could happen? Wait, never mind let's not think about that long list right now.

"...Fine."

Katia got up and went to her room. She changed out of her athletic clothes and into a more casual outfit. She wore jeans, a t shirt, and a jacket. She stuffed $20 in her jeans pocket and grabbed her phone.

"Remember, back by 7:00 PM"

"Yep."

"And don't just walk around the whole day. Have fun, go shopping, maybe see a movie... just nothing illegal."

"Got it. See ya."

She left and closed the door behind it. This should be fun. As she walked out onto the sidewalk, she already saw hundreds of people going about their day. Katia didn't know where to start so she just picked a direction and started walking. Nothing really peaked her interest except for a big run down building. It looked like a bank.

Katia ran towards the large building. She saw an alley way to the side of it. She looked down the alley way and saw a  backdoor. She stated to pick the lock when she remembered Natasha's words. "Nothing illegal."... I don't see a No Trespassing sign anywhere. Her curiosity got the better of her as she slowly opened the door, as to not make any noise.

As she stepped in, she noticed that it was absolutely desolate. It was quiet, almost too quiet. She closed and locked the door behind her, and walked in further. There had to be more to this building or else it would be demolished to make room for an apartment complex, or a mall. As she was walking down the long halls, she saw a door. When she opened the doo, she saw that it lead to a staircase.

As soon as she got down the stairs, Katia could hear the normal commotion of a workplace. Except it wasn't normal, it was an abandoned bank. She was very quiet because she knew that there were people down here that could see her. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she were caught. Working in an abandoned bank seemed pretty sketchy. It was probably occupied by bad people.

Katia navigated the long halls. The basement of this place must have stretched on for a while. It was a bank after all. They probably used all this space for vaults. As she walked she was starting to notice how creepy this place actually was. She could have sworn she heard screams just a few seconds ago.

She finally found a few doors. There was one labeled "The Terrigen Crystal Division." And once again, Katia's curiosity took control...