Forever and Always

The Arrest

2009

The whole square was in ruins. Buildings were smoldering from explosions. The street was cracked and cratered. Through the smoke, gun shots could be heard. The violent exchange was between S.H.E.I.L.D agents and a lone woman. Neither party was retreating nor advancing. Ashton had escaped from HYDRA 14 months ago, and laid low. She wasn't trying to kill the agents shooting at her. She mainly shot them in the legs or in the shoulder. She just needed them to retreat so she could run. She was crouched behind a crumbling wall. Ashton checked her ammo and saw that she was running low. She would have to start using her powers soon if she wasn't careful. But that would put her on HYDRA's radar. She let off a few more rounds. She could hear the agents shouting to one another. Little did she know, there were 2 agents sneaking behind the line of fire to get the drop on her.

"Remember, this is an apprehend and grab mission. Do not kill the target." Fury said through the comms. Natasha let out a grunt as she jumped off of a crumbling building. "Roger that." Clint said as he landed behind her. They ran down the street. As they got closer, they spotted the woman behind a wall. They ducked down out of sight. "This is insane." Natasha said. "Why can't we just kill her?" She asked Fury through the comms. "We will, but she has valuable information. And we cannot let that go to waste." Fury responded. "We know what she is capable of, Tasha. But she is not invulnerable." Clint said. He loaded his bow with an arrow that had a vial and needle at the end of it. The vile held enough carfentanil to kill a sperm whale. He had brought 3 just in case. He aimed it at the woman's shoulder. He drew in a breath and fired the arrow right before he released it. Natasha watched as the arrow found its mark. The woman stumbled forward from the impact. To Natasha's surprise, She did not cry out. The woman fell to her knees and her arms went to the arrow and started to try to pry it off of her. She could see that the woman was struggling to fight through the sedative. It was a long 3 minutes before the woman collapsed forward, passed out. Natasha fired a signal flare into the air to let the agents on the other side know that the mission was complete.

Natasha and Clint moved towards the woman with caution. They scanned the woman for movement that would let them know if she was awake. Finding none, They moved forward to retrieve the woman. Clint flipped her over to check her pulse, and found it slow but steady. "Damn, Whatever HYDRA did to her must have been really intense. There is no way anyone should have been able to survive that much tranquilizer." Clint said. "Let's just get her to the base as soon as possible. I hate to think about what would happen if she woke up in the quinjet." Natasha said. She moved forward with a retina scanner. She had to move the woman's hair out of the way. When she did, and was able to see the woman clearly, Natasha let out a shocked gasp. Clint placed a hand on her shoulder. "What is it?" He asked, concerned. " It's her." She said. Clint looked at her, confused. "Who?" He asked. Natasha looks at him. "It's Ashton." She said. Clint raised his eyebrows. He was the only one who knew about Ashton. Ashton, the only person to ever break down the Black Widows walls and ultimately break her heart by leaving her behind. "Shit." He said. Natasha looked at Ashton's face a few seconds more before her emotionless mask returned. She got up and dusted her suit off. She turned to leave. "Let's go." She said emotionlessly. Clint sighed and bent down to pick the unconscious woman up. He carried her to the quinjet, knowing things were not going to go as planned.

...

I woke up in a metal chair, but kept my eyes closed and I didn't move. I could feel my body wrapped in chains. I sent power to them. Titanium. Strong but not strong enough. I listened intently to my surroundings. I heard the buzz of the light above me, footsteps of people in the building and people talking. I could sense two people outside the door of the room I'm in. I focused on them. "What do you want me to do? Pardon her? She killed world leaders. I can't just let that go." A male voice said. "And I'm not asking you to. I'm simply asking for you to get her rehabilitated. We all know what HYDRA's mind control can do." was said in a female voice. My entire body tensed up, rigid from head to toe. That voice. It can't be... can it? It was a voice that had haunted my dreams for years. Natalia Romanova. But it can't be. I was told she was dead. I even saw the footage. I slowly opened my eyes. "She's waking up." Natalia said. "Go in there and see if you can get anything out of her. I'll see what I can do. But I can make no promises." The male voice said, followed by footsteps walking away.

The door to the room opened and I saw her. My breath caught in my throat. Her hair was just as red as I remembered. Her eyes met mine and I knew this was real. Her green eyes bored into my soul. Well... what's left of it anyway. She moved to the chair across from me. I felt my power rising to the surface. The room heated up 20 degrees but no flames appeared. I pushed it down because I didn't want to be a threat. Natalia arched an eyebrow at me. "Sorry." I said. An amused expression crossed her face before it was replaced by a serious one. "You've developed quite the rap sheet, Ashton." She said. When she said my name, my stomach fluttered. "The Director of Homeland Security. A high ranking general in china. And the captain of the palace guard in england. All of these warrant execution." She said. I simply looked at her face. I could see it more clearly now than I ever could in my youth. Her freckles stood out to me more. I remembered the nights when I would stay up and count them. "Tell me why we shouldn't kill you." She said. I looked her in the eyes, and shrugged. "They were all also high ranking members of HYDRA. After I left, they were put in charge of finding me. I wouldn't have killed them if I didn't have to." I said. She gave me a blank look. "Why would HYDRA risk three of its leaders to find you?" She asked me. I gave her a look that said really? "I was HYDRA's most powerful weapon. You know what they did to me. What abilities I got because of it. Why would they not is a better question." I said. "What makes you think that we can believe anything that you say?" She said. I thought for a moment. Then I flexed my arms, snapping all of the chains around me like twine. Natalia jumped back and pointed her gun at me. I simply raised my hands. "I could have broken out of those the second I woke up. But I'm still here, even though I know you could kill me. And to be honest, I wouldn't fight it." I said. She looked at me with her gun pointed at me a few moments longer. She slowly lowered it and moved back to her chair.

"They weren't the only HYDRA personnel hiding in governments, were they?" She asked. I shook my head. "I know of some. Others I only know what country they are in." I said. She looked at me, thinking to herself. I only knew that because she was biting the inside of her bottom lip like she would when we were children. It almost made me smile. "Do you know where any of these bases are located?" She asked. I thought about it for a moment. "I know the locations of 32 different bases. As well as several different officials they have hidden in plain sight." I said. She looked at me in shock for a moment. Then she quickly regained her composure. She leaned forward. "How did you manage to escape?" She asked softly. "I was always very resistant to their mind control. They had to use my trigger words at least three times a day, if not more. One day they forgot to say them a second time. When I woke up, I acted like I was still in their control. I planned while I was aware. The next thing they knew, the entire base was up in flames and I was gone." I said, thinking back to that day. I noticed I had leaned forward until our faces were about six inches apart. I leaned back because I didn't want to push my luck. Not yet, at least. She studied me for a moment, looking for anything that would tell her I was lying. I let her because I had nothing to hide. After a moment of tense silence, she spoke. "If you give us information, we could get you pardoned." She said. I looked at her. "Is that so?" I questioned. She nodded her head. "Yes, as long as you tell my boss everything, and it checks out, we could work on getting you pardoned." She said. I sighed, knowing that this is the best it would get. "Well, go get your boss then. I promise I will still be here when you get back." I said. She studied me once more. She got up to leave. When she got to the door, I spoke, making her pause. "I thought you were dead, you know. They showed me footage of you dying. It's what finally broke me." I said. She continued to face the door, so I couldn't see her face. But her shoulders sagged slightly. After a moment, she left the room. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. What the hell am I getting myself into...