Natalie's POV
I felt my heart drop and my vision blurred. The famous Black Widow and Hawkeye? My parents? It couldn't be.
" You're lying!" I shouted. Everyone in the restaurant turned to look at us and I felt embarrassed for the trouble I had caused. Instinctively, I tilted my head forwards, so that my fiery red hair covered my face. James pulled me back down onto my chair, looking around.
" Natalie! You're attracting attention!" He whispered and I bent my head further.
" Sorry," I apologised in a whisper, similar to that of a child's when it knew it had done wrong. James was silent. I peeked out from under my curtain of hair and saw James looking at his feet.
" What?" I asked James. He shook his head.
" Nothing. Just that....don't tell anyone I told you that. Judging by your reaction, I don't think Director Fury told you that, which means that he doesn't want you to know. I'll be in hot soup if he finds out that it was me who told you that!" James said quietly.
" What if he already knows?" Came a woman's voice and I looked up to see an unfamiliar face of a woman with brown hair and brown eyes. Her slender figure was clothed in a black shirt and jeans. I heard James gasp.
" Shit," he muttered under his breath.
" Language," I whispered rigidly. " and who is that?"
" I can answer that question," said the woman and slid gracefully into the seat next to me. I shifted uncomfortably to the side. Judging by James's reaction, this woman was not good news. Better to keep my distance.
" I am Maria Hill, Commander of Shield, Director Fury's right hand woman, need I continue?" She asked. I looked at her and sighed. I was right in saying that this woman was bad news. She would tell Director Fury all about James and...well, I wasn't sure what would be done, but it wouldn't be pretty.
" I know what you're thinking," Maria Hill said. " Calm down, James. I know you think that I'm going to report you to Director Fury, but I'm not going to. You know what it means to be caught by Director Fury, right?"
" Yes," James said in a disbelieving voice, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. " Brainwashing." He said the last part in a whisper. I couldn't believe my ears.
" But that...that's inhumane!" I whispered. Maria Hill nodded sadly.
" I've seen it done to some of our best agents. Against their will. By the order of Director Fury. Trust me, it really wasn't pretty. They were restrained, and...I won't give you the details. When they came out from that room, they were changed people. They used to be my close friends, but they forgot all about that too." I felt a twinge of sadness.
" But your best agents are..." James drifted off, glancing at me. Maria Hill nodded.
" Yep," she said. " Her parents were wiped of their memories of her." Wait, what? So, that meant...they didn't remember me? So even if I knew them, they wouldn't know me?
" I know what you're thinking," Maria Hill said. " But you shouldn't try to confront them. They would just be confused and not listen to you." I felt heartbroken. After I finally found my parents...they didn't remember me?
" But I can take you to meet them," Maria Hill said. I looked out from my curtain of hair which was shielding my face and looked at her hopefully. " They won't remember you, so be prepared that they might be a bit fierce. Are you willing to take the chances?" Maria Hill asked. I nodded vigorously.
" Anything," I said vehemently. She nodded and stood up.
" Well, then, agents," Maria Hill said. " Lunch break's over. Come on, Natalie. It's time to meet the famous Black Widow and Hawkeye."
---
Natasha's POV
Clint and I had just returned from our latest mission in Cambodia. Walking to the briefing room for our debriefing, I couldn't help but look forward to sleeping in an actual bed this time. Shield had provided a four-star hotel for us, but we had to end up ditching the comfortable room and crashing in a crappy one-star hotel to keep up with our target. The room didn't even have a bed, so Clint and I had to work with sleeping on the carpet, which wasn't even clean. The mere thought of having a hot shower made me so appealed that I sped up my steps, hoping to get this over and done with. I knocked on the door, waiting for the response.
" Come in," The feminine voice startled me, as I was expecting Director Fury to come to the door. I opened the door cautiously and spotted Agent Hill sitting at the head of the table, flipping through some papers, which I believed was our impromptu mission reports. " Sit down," Agent Hill urged and I sank into one of the hard, meeting chairs. Clint did so too.
" Agents, I believe this is supposed to be your debrief for the mission in Cambodia, right?" She asked, professionally. I nodded. " Another successful mission. Good job. Director Fury requests a full, not rushed mission report by tomorrow. Is that understood, Agents?" Clint and I nodded again.
" Director Fury requests your presence in the training room." Agent Hill said.
" Which one?" Clint asked.
" Number five," Hill answered.
" Isn't that the one they use to train new recruits?" I asked. She nodded.
" I believe Director Fury wants you two to train the new recruits," Agent Hill said. Clint groaned.
" Can't you just leave it to May? She's great at teaching the new recruits. Cut us some slack, Hill. We just got back from a mission, for God's sake!" Clint said. Hill shot us an apologetic smile.
" Sorry. May's on leave." Hill replied. " You can have a rest after you train and rate the new recruits." I cursed silently under my breath. There goes my hot bath and comfy bed. I nodded, not wanting to disobey and Hill dismissed us.
Walking to the training room, I sighed, rotating my shoulders to ease the pain on my sore shoulders. In front of the training room, I peered inside the glass. There was a bunch of new recruits standing inside, chit-chatting. One of them caught my sight. A glimpse of fiery red hair caught my attention and I looked at the new recruit. Wait. Isn't that the girl we picked up at the burning house that day? I nudged Clint.
" Remember that girl?" I asked Clint and he peered inside.
" Which one? Blondie?" He asked.
" No, the one with red hair," I said. He chuckled.
" Oh, chili pepper right there, right? Yeah. She came from that building we blew up. Why is she is the new recruits, though? Why would Director Fury have a target for a new Shield agent?" I shrugged. Opening the door, I walked in, with Clint behind me. Immediately, the chatter died down and the entire room stood at attention.
" Now, recruits, as you know, we are your new trainers for today," I said. " Now, some ground rules. We will not tolerate noise of any kind, rudeness or any snarky remarks, or people who complain. Okay. Everyone do a split. Go." I said, not feeling in the best mood for training new recruits. Everyone dropped to the floor in a split.
" Nope, straighter, crooked, down a bit more, this is not a proper split, retry it! move your legs a bit to the left and..." I sighed as I walked down the columns of new recruits straining to keep their legs in a proper split. Suddenly, I came to the girl with red hair. She was in a perfect split, and looked perfectly at ease. I scowled. What a show-off. Well, I'd see if she could maintain that look of ease on her face after I was through!
" Alright, recruits, stand up," Clint said and everyone heaved sighs of relief. They each got up from their awkward position on the floor and dusted themselves off. I went to the metal cupboard in the room and took out a gun loaded with rubber bullets. Everyone's eyes widened, as they thought that the gun's contents were bullets. I scoffed and threw Clint a quiver filled with modified arrows with rubber tips.
" Now. See these weapons? They are filled with plastic bullets or arrows. Make a mistake and we'll send one right into your pretty little faces. Understand?" All the recruits nodded their heads and I started.
" You, you, you, and you." Clint pointed out a few people, including the red haired girl. " Get into that ring there. You and you into this ring, and the other two into the other one." The girl slid into the ring, while her opponent jumped right into the ring with a confident smile on his face.
" Okay, each of you are going to fight each other. The winner fights the winner, losers get hit by the bullets or arrows. Get it? The rest of you, watch closely. It will be your turn next!" Clint said. Well, this was going to be interesting.
Natalie's POV
I slid into the ring gracefully, knowing that I was under the watchful eye of my parents. Wow, it feels so weird to be even thinking that. I glanced at my opponent, scanning him.
" Fighters, into your fighting stance!" Came the voice of...Agent Romanoff. My opponent put up his fists in front of his face. I immediately spotted a fatal flaw in his position. His stance was too confident, leaving some parts of his body unprotected. I held up my hands curled into fists and swung my loose ponytail behind me. I put one foot ahead of the other.
" 3...2...1...go!" Came the voice of Agent Barton and I immediately ducked my opponent's blow. Going for the offensive, are we? I thought. Well, that's good. I prefer playing defensive anyways. I instinctively sideswiped a punch coming straight to my face, and taking advantage of his posture as he struggled to recover from his missed punch, I hit him smack bang in the face. He recoiled backwards and I took advantage of it. Running towards him, I jumped onto his shoulders and wrapped my thighs around his neck, using the momentum to pull him down with me onto the floor. He sprawled over in pain, while I simply jumped back up, dancing lightly on the balls of my feet.
" I didn't think a man like you could lose to a girl," I taunted him, and that insult was enough for him to regain his strength and stand up. However, I was ready for him. I dodged his incoming punch and backflipped to avoid his kick. He was momentarily stunned, and I took advantage of it and ran towards him, kicking him right in the face. That finished him off, and he lay groaning on the floor. I tightened my red ponytail and waited for instructions.
" Agent Rushman! Agent Mather! You two have won the starting match! Head to the second ring to battle again. As for Agents Quinion and Crockford, please step out of the ring," Came Agent Romanoff's voice and my opponent groaned and got up. He slid out of the ring.
" Ow!" Came his voice as he was shot by Agent Romanoff. I heard a similar grunt of pain from the other loser, and the both of them walked towards the rest of the group, rubbing their arms, which was where they had been shot. I got out of the ring and slid into the other one, not even winded by the previous fight due to my enhancers. I scrutinized my new opponent. She was a confident looking girl with brown hair and baby blue eyes. She put out her hand.
" Nice to meet you. I'm Ashlynn," She said, her black eyes looking me down.
" I'm Natalie," I said. She seemed like a pretty nice girl, one who was genuinely interested in making friends, unlike my previous opponent. I watched as Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton picked another two to go into the spare ring, the one which I had battled with my previous opponent.
" Fighting positions!" Yelled out Agent Barton and I got into my stance. I glanced at Ashlynn and realized that, like my other opponent, her stance was too confident. Her position was better than that cocky guy, though.
" 3...2...1...go!" Agent Romanoff instructed and I dodged Ashlynn's immediate punch to my face. Leaping backwards, I held up my hands again. This time, Ashlynn held back. Smart learner. We circled each other for a few moments.
" Hey! What's going on in ring 2? You two taking a break or something?" Agent Romanoff's angry voice shouted out and Ashlynn reacted quickly. Throwing a punch to my face that I nearly failed to dodge, she attacked me with speed and precision. I ducked quickly and threw myself back, playing the defensive yet again. I waited like a spider looking for its prey. Finally, I spotted what I was looking for. A break in her stance. She stumbled just a bit after throwing one of her punches, bringing her out of the correct stance and I immediately took advantage of it. Using the momentum of the stumble, I threw myself at her, leaping onto her and bringing her down with my thighs, getting back up in a second. She jumped up immediately, obviously undeterred. I hung back as she came at me again. Dodging a series of punches and kicks, I waited for the precise moment. I did a backflip and watched as she punched the empty air. She stopped after realizing that she was hitting thin air, but by that time it was already too late. I had taken advantage of her confusion and thrown her to the ground. Just then, the whistle blew for time, and Ashlynn got up slowly.
" Good fight," I commented and she laughed. We both slid out of the ring. The two trainers declared me the winner and Agent Barton shot Ashlynn's back once. She gasped and reached out to rub it. Judging by Ashlynn's reaction, that arrow was going to leave a welt there for quite some time. We were ordered to the next station where Agent Barton took over.
" You two, look here," he said, pulling out quite a supply of weapons. " Here are some weapons. You'll be doing target practice with the weapon of your choice. I'll monitor you and rate you." He told us. He gestured for me to pick my weapon first and my keen eyes scanned the table filled with weapons. Suddenly, a curved weapon caught my attention. I picked it up. It was a bow, just the right size and weight for me.
" I'll pick this one," I said and Agent Barton nodded, impressed. Ashlynn picked a handgun. He provided us with arrows and ammo and made us stand about a meter away from the target.
" Aim for the bullseye," Agent Barton said with a nonchalant tone, looking down at his fingers. I pulled back the string back and took a deep breath. Aiming, I released the breath I was holding at the same time that I let go of the string. The arrow flew towards the target. Without even looking, I knew that the arrow would hit dead center. It was a talent inherited from my dad...who coincidentally is standing right in front of me now. I heard Ashlynn whistle in admiration as she looked at the arrow stuck in the dead center of the bullseye. I glanced at hers and saw that her shot was right on the line between the bullseye and the outer ring of the bullseye. I glanced at...Agent Barton as he examined my work. Nodding, he wrote something down on a clipboard he got from the cupboard of weapons.
" Shoot again." He instructed the both of us, although I had a feeling that it was directed at me more than Ashlynn. I pulled back the string and released it, watching as the arrow hit dead center again. I shot a few more times, all of which landed in the bullseye. Ashlynn had one bullseye, and the rest on the line surrounding the bullseye. Agent Barton nodded and jotted something down on the clipboard again. By then, other new recruits had gathered around to watch our target practice. They clapped when my arrow hit the bullseye again and again. Ashlynn continued making the same progress as she did before. By the end of it, I had all bullseyes, while Ashlynn had two bullseyes and the rest on the line separating the bullseye from the outer ring.
Agent Barton led us to the next station, where Agent Romanoff was waiting with her arms folded. Shit. The fiercer trainer out of the two. She glanced at us like nothing mattered, but I did notice that her gaze lingered on me a little longer than on Ashlynn. Weird. I wouldn't be surprised if these people were actually psychos. Eh. I was snapped back to attention when Agent Romanoff began to speak.
" This is the situational evaluation. It tests your ability to react in a crisis. You, redhead, you start. Now, you are on a mission when the enemy agents discover your position and are honing in on you. Please step into the stimulation. It will make this situation seem like real and see how you react. Before you go in, please pick some weapons of your choice. You may take ammo too. I will be monitoring you from the outside." I walked to the weapons table again and looked over my options. Sadly, there was no bow and arrows like before, so I took a handgun instead. I slipped it into my Shield holster. I grabbed a silencer too, as I thought it would come in handy. I then grabbed a sharp knife. Then, I stepped into the stimulation. At first, it was completely dark. I waited silently as I waited for the stimulation to start. Finally, it lighted up and I saw that I was in a dark room. I heard people shouting and I knew that they were looking for me. I glanced around the room. There wasn't much. Only a couple of boxes filled with something heavy. I didn't touch them. Seeing a vent, I grinned. I opened the vent and climbed inside, wiping the vent cover with a clean cloth before closing it to prevent my fingerprints from being recognized. I crawled along the vent. Suddenly, I sensed a camera somewhere, so I stopped. Glancing around with my sharp eyes, I spotted a security camera. I rolled out of range and stared at it. I noticed that it turned every ten seconds. Grinning, I waited for it to turn away from me. When it did, I crawled over to it and cut an expanse of vent away swiftly. Looking through the mess of wires, I found the one connected to the camera and cut it. I then continued crawling. Seeing the end of the vent, I commando crawled faster and dropped silently into the pathway to the entrance. Then, all I had to do was put the silencer onto my gun, shoot the two guards, and escape. As soon as I ran out from the building, the stimulation melted away and I was standing back in the training room again. Agent Romanoff nodded and wrote something down on her clipboard. After Ashlynn had finished her stimulation, we were both dismissed. Headed down to the cafeteria, the two of us discussed the training session.
" So, Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton are fierce, aren't they?" Ashlynn asked, rubbing her back where the rubber bullet had caught her. " I almost think I prefer Agent May to the two of them!" I laughed as we headed towards the cafeteria.
Just then, an agent came up to me and said," Agent Rushman, Director Fury requests your presence in briefing room number 3." Ashlynn looked at me curiously once the agent had went off.
" Why would Director Fury want to meet you in the briefing room?" Ashlynn asked curiously. I shrugged.
" Well then, you'd better be going," Ashlynn said. " Don't want to get scolded, do you?" I shook my head and waved goodbye to Ashlynn, who was on her way to the cafeteria. I changed direction and headed towards the briefing room. I pondered over what Director Fury would want me for.
Reaching my destination, I knocked on the door.
" Come in," came the all too familiar voice of Director Fury. I slowly pushed open the door and came face-to-face with the one-eyed glare of Director Fury.
" Well, well, someone's been busy, haven't you?" Director Fury asked with a smirk. Shit. Did he find out about our little ' meeting' at the restaurant?
" So you found out who your parents are, didn't you?" He asked. I kept a face as hard as stone, so as not to give away the truth.
" No, sir," I answered stonily. He stared me down with that creepy one eye.
" Agents!" He called and two Agents came running in. " Sedate her," He ordered and I saw one of the agents take out a syringe filled with a red liquid. He then inserted a needle into the syringe. Crap. Was that the sedative? I started to struggle but the other Agent was ready. He held on to me tightly. I reacted immediately, relying on my instincts. I did a back kick, causing the agent behind me to groan in pain. His grip loosened on me and I took the chance, slipping out of his grasp and finishing him off. Turning around, I instinctively dodged. Good thing I did, because the syringe with the sedative would have been inserted into my neck if I didn't. I kicked the syringe out of the agent's hand, causing it to fall to the floor. He looked down, stunned, and I hit him straight onto the neck, onto a sensitive pressure point which caused him to become immobilized. I then finished him off by delivering a punch straight to his face. I smirked and turned to face Director Fury. Just then, I felt a sharp pain in my neck. Shit. I had forgotten about the syringe. Director Fury was holding the syringe, now empty, its contents emptied into my body. Immediately, I began to feel lightheaded. My head started to spin as the sedative did its job in my body. Stumbling, I glared at Director Fury.
" Sorry, Natalie, but I can't have you spouting everything you know out to your parents about who you are," He said. " Can't have them with weaknesses, can I now? I have to have my two best agents without weakness, right? For their own safety. People know about you, come looking for you, hold you hostage and that would be the end of my two best agents."
" I think I'm smart enough not to be caught by enemy agents," I shot back, even as my feet struggled to hold up my body, which suddenly felt as heavy as lead.
" You might be good at fighting, but they have techniques you don't know about. They could catch you in a few seconds, and you'd never see them coming." He told me.
" My parents wouldn't believe me if I told them that I was their daughter, anyway," I said drowsily. He smiled.
" You see, Natalie, though I washed their brain clean of their memories of you, they might still have a sixth sense about you. They would hardly hesitate to believe, once you brought their memories back to them." I frowned.
" Fury, you asshole," I said.
" Ooh, you kiss your mother with that mouth?" He asked.
" How can I, when she doesn't even know about me?" Was the last words I uttered before succumbing to the constant pull of sleep.
A/N
Okay, so I know I said that I would be updating on the 16th or the 17th, but I came back from the trip and was so tired that I really had no time. And I actually had a whole draft ready to publish, but Wattpad decided to be evil and delete the whole thing. 😒😒😒 So I had to retype this chapter and make it extra long for you guys. Took me a couple days, but I did it! So, if you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a vote for an author who tried her best to make an extra long chapter for her readers. Also, feedback is always appreciated. Thank you, all you kind readers out there who actually take the time to read my terrible writing! I love you all! Mwah mwah!
Stephanie out!