CHAPTER THREE, you weren't my sister

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

IVANNA COULD HEAR the announcers over the speakers as she looked through the cracks of the vents to see where their suited friend had disappeared to. She watched the figure drop into a panel of the floor, and then disappear out of sight completely. Yelena's groans pulled Ivanna's attention from the world outside and caused her to focus on the younger blonde on the ground.

"Yelena?" Ivanna shuffled toward her and grabbed her arm, aware of Natasha watching them both.

"You're not going to electrocute me this time, are you?" Yelena questioned, tensing up and getting ready to pull her arm away.

"Not unless you really want me to," Ivanna said jokingly and smiled at her in reassurance, before furrowing her brows and pursing her lips, "though, if I were to do so, not a good idea to tense up. Relax into it."

Yelena gave her a weird look but nodded, "I'll remember that."

"You okay?" Natasha asked from behind Ivanna. Yelena's gaze lifted up to the red-head, looking past Ivanna while she nodded.

"Yeah. Great plan," Yelena responded. Ivanna released Yelena's arm and pulled away, going back toward the wall she had been against and inspecting her own wounds, "I love the part where I almost bled to death. This is cozy."

Ivanna looked around the vent and nodded, finding the old tic-tac-toe games and other ways she, Natasha, and Clint had entertained each other when they had hidden in the vents.

"We spent two days hiding out up here," Natasha explained.

"That must have been fun,"

Natasha nodded and glanced at Ivanna, silently asking if she was okay, a look of which Ivanna nodded to and let Natasha continue speaking with Yelena, "Who the hell is that guy?"

"Dreykov's special project," Yelena informed her, looking between Ivanna and Natasha, her eyes lingered on Ivanna who was busy ripping part of her shirt and tying it around her arm, "He can mimic anyone he's ever seen. It's like fighting a mirror. Dreykov only deploys him for top-priority missions."

"This doesn't make any sense," Natasha shook her head and Ivanna hummed in agreement.

"Well," Yelena shrugged, "the truth rarely makes sense when you omit key details."

"And that means?" Ivanna questioned as she adjusted her jacket and tied it to cover the rip in her shirt.

"You didn't say one word about Dreykov's daughter," Yelena fessed and looked at Natasha, "You guys killed her."

"We had to," Natasha confirmed, "We needed her to lead us to Dreykov."

Ivanna sat in a car a few spaces down from one Natasha was seated in, watching the building intently as a black limo pulled up in front with flags on it.

"We need confirmation Dreykov's in the building," Clint's voice met her ears and snapped her out of the trance she was in as she watched a little girl climb out.

"His car is pulling up now," Natasha this time.

Dreykov's daughter was collateral damage. I needed her to be sure.

"Ladies, are we clear?"

Ivanna raised her radio to her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Natasha,

"All clear."

The next thing Ivanna saw was the building blowing up...

"And here you are, not so sure," Yelena's eyes were glued to Ivanna who had been staring at the ground with empty eyes.

Natasha sighed, answering for both her and Ivanna, "We needed out."

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Ivanna walked beside Natasha, staying as far away from Yelena as she could while she did so. They had left the vent once the coast was clear and they were sure they'd make it away safely. The bleeding had stopped from Ivanna's arm and Yelena's wound was still wrapped tightly with dried blood drippings on her arm. Yelena started looking for bandages and things to properly clean her wound once they got inside.

"The Red Room's still active," Natasha spoke, no longer questioning it, "where is it?"

Ivanna glared at her, already knowing what the redhead was thinking of doing. Yelena was still looking at everything on the shelves,

"I have no idea. He moves location constantly," she started grabbing everything she needed, "And every widow is sedated upon entry and exit to ensure maximum security."

Ivanna started looking around for anything she'd need while they were there. Listening intently to Yelena, she knew they wouldn't get anywhere.

"I find it hard to believe he could stay off our radar," Natasha mumbled and looked to Ivanna.

"Well, it's not smart to attack an Avenger if you want to stay hidden," Yelena checked over the items in her hands, "I mean, the clue is in the name. Dreykov kills you, one of the big ones comes to avenge you."

Ivanna whipped her head around to get a better look at Ivanna, "The big ones?"

Yelena looked at her as if it was obvious, "Well, I doubt the god from outer space has to take an ibuprofen after a fight."

Ivanna nodded, unsurprised by her choice of words, and looking down at what all she had in her hands.

"Where did you think I was all this time?" Yelena asked softly.

Ivanna slowly raised her eyes to Yelena, and Natasha walked past both of them to the sink in the corner. She washed off her hands and stayed silent, Yelena waited patiently.

"I thought that you got out and were living a normal life," Natasha finally said.

"We didn't know that he still had you after everything," Ivanna admitted, sending a look to Yelena that was filled with regret and guilt, "I'm-"

"Not now, Vanna," Natasha turned to face them.

"You never made contact again," Yelena continued, pressing further into the topic and watching both women.

"Honestly," Natasha spoke and finally brought her gaze to Yelena, "I thought you didn't want to see us."

Yelena scoffed, "Bullshit. You just didn't want your baby sister to tag along while you two saved the world with the cool kids."

"Yelena, that's not true-,"

"You weren't my sister,"

Ivanna and Natasha spoke at the same time, causing Yelena to look between both women in anger. Ivanna looked at Natasha in shock, her mouth still hanging open from the sentence she had been forming. Natasha walked past Yelena and Ivanna, the blondes locking eyes before Yelena shook her head and followed Natasha,

"And the Avengers aren't your family," Yelena was silent for a moment before Ivanna heard her voice again, "Why do you two always do that thing?""

Ivanna raised an eyebrow at Yelena's shift in mood, but continued with the conversation,

"I don't understand what you're talking about,"

"The thing you do when you're fighting," Yelena dropped down into a crouch, looking back and forth between Natasha and Ivanna as she did so, "The. Like the... this thing you do when you whip your hair back when you're fighting with the arm and the hair, and you do it like a fighting pose.

Yelena started laughing and Ivanna cracked a small smile and set her things on the counter,

"You're a total poser," Yelena spoke her eyes darting to Natasha who was biting back a grin.

"I am not a poser," Natasha countered.

"Both of you are,"

Ivanna shook her head, "I think that's a bit of a stretch, Yelena."

Yelena laughed, "Oh, come on. I mean, they're great poses, but it does look like you think everyone's watching you, like, all of the time."

Ivanna's smile fell as she paid for her things and Natasha spoke again,

"All the time I spent posing," Natasha watched Ivanna pay for her things and stop to listen to her, "I was trying to do something good to make up for all the pain and suffering that we caused. Trying to be more than just a trained killer."

"It wasn't like that for both of us and you know it," Ivanna spoke, shaking her head and walking toward Natasha again, "making up for everything we did was a factor, Nat. But being an Avenger and part of S.H.I.E.L.D gave me so much more life than when you shut me out. I don't care that I got to make up everything with you, you still left me to struggle when we went through the same damn thing."

Yelena walked up to the two of them, "There's only one difference between us. We are still trained killers. Except I'm not the one little girls call their heros."

Yelena grabbed her things and walked out, Ivanna looked at Natasha,

"I hate to say it, but she's not wrong Nat," She told the redhead and followed Yelena out of the little building.

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Ivanna sat across from Yelena as she cleaned her arm, more worried about the cut on her arm,

"Are you going to clean that up at all?" Yelena questioned, watching Ivanna closely. Yelena held a bottle of alcohol out to her, offering it for Ivanna to use.

"Sure," Ivanna grabbed it and poured it on her hand, then took a rag to start cleaning it. She looked back up to Ivanna who was watching her in shock,

"You know, I'm not one to forget," Yelena went back to dabbing her wound, "but I sure as hell forgot you could do that."

"What?"

"Not feel pain,"

Natasha returned to the table with three bottles of beer, setting two down for Yelena and Ivanna and sitting down with her own. She took a drink and then watched Yelena.

"That gas, the counteragent, was synthesized in secret by an older widow from Melina's generation. I was on the mission to retrieve it, and she exposed me and I killed the widow that freed me," Yelena said. Ivanna could tell that she remembered the day too well, but of course, she would. It had only happened before the arrival of Natasha, and then Ivanna.

"You didn't have a choice?" Ivanna questioned softly.

"What you experienced was psychological conditioning. I'm talking about chemically altering brain functions. They're two completely different things. You're fully conscious, but you don't know which part is you. I'm still not sure," Yelena watched as Natasha stood and rounded the table, gathering the items on the table to start cleaning her wound.

Ivanna tilted her head and grabbed her bottle, "I'll make sure you're sure. I promise."

"Is that all there is left?" Natasha asked, gesturing toward the counter agent with her head. Ivanna looked to the bag beside her then back to Yelena who nodded.

"Mmm-hmm. It's the only thing that can stop Dreykov and his network of wi-DOWS," Yelena hissed in pain and glared at Natasha. Ivanna smirked and shook her head,

"So if we needed to make more we'd be completely on our own to figure out how,"

"Yes," Yelena agreed, "Dreykov takes more girls every day. Children who can't protect themselves. Just like us when we were small. Maybe one in 20 survive the training and become a widow. The rest? He kills. To him, we are just things, weapons with no face that he can throw away. Because there is always more. And no one is even looking for him. Thanks to you two and Alexei."

Natasha looked at Yelena with confusion, "Alexei?"

Ivanna took a long drink, uninterested in speaking about their "father."

"Dad," Yelena smiled and looked at the children running around with their parents watching.

Ivanna had always wondered what that part of life would be like. Growing up with actual parents and enjoying childhood, or watching her children enjoy their childhood. But that had all been taken away from her before she even had a chance to fully process everything she was going through. Ivanna slouched in her seat slightly, her eyes growing glassy as she stared at the brown bottle in her hands.

"Did you ever look for your parents?" Yelena asked, "your real ones?"

"Well, my mom abandoned me in the street like garbage," Natasha said with a faint smile.

"I never had the chance to know what could've or did happen to mine," Ivanna sighed, spinning her bottle around and took another drink, "what about you?"

"They destroyed my birth certificate, so I reinvented it," Yelena said with a grin, "my parents still live in Ohio, one sister went west and the other went east."

"Oh really," Ivanna smiled and Natasha took a drink.

Yelena looked to Natasha, "You're a science teacher. You're working part-time though, especially after you had your son. Your husband, he renovated houses."

Ivanna laughed and looked to Natasha who shook her head, and Yelena turned to her,

"You just got engaged to a law student," Yelena smiled, "you guys have an apartment in Manhattan, but you're investing in a house and planning your wedding. So far it's beautiful."

"Oh, I bet," Natasha sent Ivanna a sneaky look, Ivanna chuckled and scrunched her nose toward Natasha with a shake of her head, "but that's not my story."

Yelena laughed, "Then what is it?"

"I never let myself be alone long enough to figure it out," Natasha said softly.

"Did you ever wish for kids?" Yelena asked them, Ivanna nodded slightly and looked back to the kids running around. It was something Ivanna wished for, but of course was another thing stripped from her.

"Yeah, I did. But so does every little girl, right?"

The table fell silent and Natasha took a drink before leaning forward, "Where do you wanna go?"

"I don't know," Yelena sighed and looked around, "I don't have anywhere to go. So anywhere I guess."

"I'd love to just go anywhere," Ivanna agreed.

"Someday, maybe," Natasha smiled and looked toward the now closed garage, then Yelena.

"Don't," Yelena said sharply.

"Don't what?"

"You're going to give me a big superhero speech, I can feel it,"

Ivanna laughed and shook her head, "Nat, give a speech? I'd love to see that."

"Yeah," Natasha rested her chin in her hand, "speeches aren't my thing."

"Huh?" Yelena's eyes widened.

"It was more of an invitation," Natasha grinned.

"To go find the Red Room and kill Dreykov?" Yelena asked.

"Yeah," Natasha nodded.

"Even though the Red Room is too hard to find and Dreykov is too slippery to kill?"

"Yep," Ivanna answered.

"That sounds like a shitload of work," Yelena mumbled.

"Yep," Natasha sighed loudly and looked at Ivanna, "Could be fun though."

Ivanna and Yelena nodded.

"I saw where he put the keys," the red-head spoke suddenly.

"Top drawer, green cabinet," Yelena grinned and Ivanna returned it.