"What the hell is going on, Tony?" Steve asked slowly, the hurt and pain very clear in his eyes and the way he spoke. He looked tired, but not in a way that sleep could fix.

After the very serious reaction Ekaterina had to Steve, Tony had returned to find all of the avengers gathered in the kitchen.

The mood was very somber and still, they all thought Rina was getting better- obviously they were wrong.

In the time it took Tony to come back to the building, Rina had not moved an inch. She was standing perfectly still, her back perfectly straight as if she were waiting.

Tony simply said, "well that's not good" before gathering the heroes together.

"Rogers, since you are the target of yet another Hydra assassination, I'm willing to let the language slide" Tony quipped but was met with disapproving stares.

After Rina had stopped her screaming and was staring blankly at him, Steve left. He told the entire thing to everyone else, deciding to wait for Tony in the kitchen.

Wanda was sitting at the large wooden table, Vision was standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders. Sam was rummaging through the pantry, grabbing different boxes and pans, it was no secret that the man cooked when he was stressed. He was turning the stove on when Tony made his remark to Steve, his eyes widened but he didn't say anything just continued to add ingredients to a bowl.

Natasha was the first to interrupt,

"If you're quite finished, I think we have bigger things to talk about than Steve's use of language" she said, her arms crossed.

Even with his back to her, Natasha was certain that he rolled his eyes,

"Right, moving on" was all he said.

"I thought going through all of Katie's memories was helping" Bucky said

Tony sighed, "maybe that helped with you but with the girl it's different. Hydra has come a long way in developing super solider since you, Sargent" Tony said in his usual tone.

"Then explain it to us, Stark. Because you are the one who spends the most time with her. You said you could help... so help" the man said, he knew he was being a little harsh on Tony but he didn't understand. Bucky had just spoken to Rina, it seemed like she was getting better.

"It's more complicated than that, Barnes. It's more complicated than anyone can understand. Whoever did this to her is good, better than anyone I've seen" Tony admitted.

He fished a small device out of his pocket. He flicked it on and a hologram appeared above the large table. A digital file appeared, Tony flicked his hand until he came to the third page. An older man's picture appeared along with all of his information.

"This is Doctor Miranda. He is the one who did this to your girl. If he weren't evil, he'd be brilliant but well.. you know" he trailed off, regaining his thoughts, he continued,

"Born in Argentina, a natural prodigy at everything he touched. By twenty he was making advancements in neurological science that were unheard of. Unfortunately, Hydra got a hold of him during the war. He was still young when Hydra first developed the serum. He was Zola's protégée, all of the man's research went to Miranda" Tony said.

Sam was listening silently as he flipped fresh pancakes onto different plates. Setting a plate in front of Wanda, a stack of three pancakes with powdered sugar on top. Next he set a plate in front of Vision, it was a single plain pancake, Sam knew Vision couldn't eat but he knew it gave him a sense of normalcy so he always made something for Vision.

"He saw the pros and cons of the original formula and changed it. Apparently Hydra wanted a super soldier that wouldn't fight back. But this serum... it's nothing like I've ever seen before. But I've been working with two scientists from the Academy and I've learned a lot from Maxim before..." he trailed off, something overcoming him for a moment. Tony had actually grown very fond of the kid, the lab was silent without the kid.

Natasha nodded, taking in all of the information. Her hand covering her mouth as she thought. Sam set a plate in front of her, a stack of pancakes with strawberries on the side. She shook her head 'no' at him but he just muttered 'please'. Natasha sighed and accepted it, she hadn't eaten all day.

"These scientists, have they told you anything new?" Nat asked.

"Ow, Jemma it's fine.." a man with a Scottish accent's voice came from around the corner.

"Honestly, Fitz it's not that complicated give it to me" a British woman's voice argued.

The bickering got closer until a tall brunette woman and a man with dirty blond hair both in their early 20's, came into view, a tablet in the woman's hand.

"Ah! Here they are now, the Academy's best, FitzSimmons, I forget which is which. Anyways..." Tony began but was interrupted

"He's Fitz" the woman said

"And she's Simmons" the man said at the same time. 

The whole team was staring at Tony,

"Where do you find these people, Stark?" Sam asked while he handed an extra plate of pancakes to Fitz who happily took it.

Tony scoffed, "unimportant. What is important is what they found. Doctor, you wanna take it away?" He asked with a wave of his hand.

Jemma stepped forward, "certainly" she said. With a swipe on the table another hologram appeared. It was a side by side image of two brain scans.

"Well, hello everyone" she said, "it's so wonderful to be here, we don't get out the lab that often so it's-" the woman was cut off by a wave of Stark's hand, "right, sorry" she said before turning her attention to the projection.

"When little Rina first came to the compound, Mr. Stark asked me to run some tests. Basic things like bloodwork, brain scans, routine tests. Tests that all came back perfectly normal for a healthy girl. Her brain was perfectly healthy in activity. That'll be the scan on the left" She said pointing.

"Well then, she was taken and young Maxim explained what he knew of the procedure. I actually did some undercover work in Hydra but I was never told about something that severe. Anyways, the program was called Project Janus. In mythology, Janus was..." she began.

"The god of beginnings, and if I'm not mistaken he has two faces" Bucky said

Jemma's face lit up, "that's right, Mr. Barnes. It is a very fitting name for what this serum does" she said.

"From what we learned from Maxim" Fitz began but had to take a moment, he and Simmons had grown very fond of the boy over the few months they knew him. The man took a breath and began to speak trying to fill the chill in the room,

"Project Janus does not require a memory wipe. Instead this serum is intended to be more efficient than the past serum" the man said bluntly.

"What Fitz is trying to say is that instead of a memory wipe, this serum implants a second subconscious almost like an alter ego that can be brought out with a series of words. However when this alter ego is brought out, Rina no longer exists, she is pushed to the back of the subconscious. Everything that makes Rina, Rina is gone. With the Little Ballerina there is no kindness, no mercy all she knows is what her mission is" she said solemnly.

"And right now that mission is Captain Rogers" Fitz said honestly, through a full full of pancakes.

"They know, Fitz" Jemma said quietly.

The room was silent as they all processed what had just been said.

Wanda was holding onto Vision's hand, her eyes downcast.

Sam had finally taken a seat at the table, he looked almost angry but was silent.

Natasha's mouth was drawn in a tight line, she was sitting perfectly still.

Bucky was rubbing a hand over his face as if trying to wake himself from a nightmare.

At the end of the table, Steve had his fingers laced together but you could still see that they were shaking. He looked every bit his age in that moment, he was ragged, worn and exhausted.

"So what happened, Rina started to break through and when she saw me it made her revert back..?" Steve asked, trying to understand.

"Roughly, yes. Fortunately, Rina only received the first dose of the serum so she was able to break through for a while. The Little Ballerina probably would have regained control eventually, Captain Rogers, you cannot blame yourself for that" Jemma said kindly.

Steve simply nodded but did not look at ease.

"Well is there anything you can do to reverse it?" Sam asked

Jemma shook her head, her ponytail waving behind her, "unfortunately, without the words or the serum, there is little that we can do." She said, "I've never seen anything like this before, the way the serum interacted with her brain it's.." she couldn't find the right word but continued on,

"Without the failsafe word there is no way to separate the two. There is a chance that she could learn to control it, learn to coexist with the Little Ballerina or.." she trailed off.

"Or what?" Natasha asked, her voice low

"Well, we aren't sure the probability but there is a chance that the Little Ballerina gains total control of Ekaterina's body" Jemma said quietly.

A heavy hush fell over the room.

"I'm really sorry" Simmons said,

"Let's go, Jemma" Fitz whispered, placing a hand on his best friend's shoulder and gently guiding her out of the room.

Natasha knew it was stupid to think they had forever. She was a realist. She always had been. But she had this little spark within her.

Hope.

It was hope that kept her going all of those long months.

And now she felt like that spark was dying. Dimming. Fading away into nothingness.

Natasha could feel herself slipping again, slipping away into that dark place in the back of her mind. That place devoid of any light, the place where that little spark never even stood a chance.

But she escaped that place once.

She could do it again.

She had to.

For her Rina.

The little girl who was like a spark, all sunshine and crooked grins. The little girl who was broken like her but still shining. Her little girl. Her Rina.

So Natasha would do as she always had.

She would fight.

"This doctor. He is still with Hydra, yes?" Natasha asked Tony, her voice calm and low.

The man shrugged, throwing his hand in the air,
"As far as I know-"

Sam cut him off, "yeah and Redwing hasn't picked up on any Hydra movement in months" he said

Bucky rolled his eyes at the mention of Redwing, there was something about that drone that he didn't trust.

But Natasha was already gone she was going to speak with the one person who might actually know something useful.

Walking out of the kitchen, doors slamming behind her.

"Should we-?" Sam began

But Bucky just shook his head.

~~~

The Little Ballerina was sitting on the small cot, legs crossed, hands in her lap and eyes closed.

From behind the glass, Nat was watching her. Observing the person who looked so much like the little girl that she had grown to care for. The girl looked different. Her hair, Natasha decided on. It looked darker at the roots. It was probably just her imagination.

Taking a deep breath, Natasha shoved the door open.

It was strictly against Tony's rules but at that moment she really didn't care.

Shutting the door behind her, she was locked in. Someone would have to unlock it in order to let Natasha out.

The Little Ballerina hasn't moved her eyes were still closed, her hands perfectly still. But Natasha did notice a slight flinch when she slammed the door shut.

"dreams always come true and many years ago I was just like you, my little soldier" the girl sang softly,

Natasha remained as she was, perfectly still. The lyrics sounded foreign coming from the girl's lips, her voice was emotionless and cold as she sang the lullaby Natasha used to sing to Rina.

"and the light of the star beckoned me and the sun ringing laughter, he will not find us here". The Little Ballerina sang.

The girl sang a few more chords before she stopped. Opening her eyes, just as Natasha expected, they were empty of any emotion or recognition. It was like looking at a ghost. The shell of someone she loved.

The Little Ballerina was studying Natasha the way Natasha was studying her.

"Nothing? I assumed that had to be you" the girl said in a monotone.

Natasha nodded, "it will take more than a few lyrics to get a rise out of me. But you would have known that" she said.

"Ah yes, the famous Black Widow. Natalia Romanova, Natalie Rushman or is it Natasha now?" The girl questioned, standing up,

"I can't keep up. So many lives you've lived. So many lies you've told. So many lives you've taken. It must be hard to live with that. It must keep you up at night. Do they haunt you? The memories? Do you even remember?" The girl asked, a harsh edge to tone.

Natasha took it all like she'd been taught. She was marble. Hard as stone as the Little Ballerina threw every insecurity at her.

"You answer this first" Natasha said closing the distance between them.

"Do you know who this man is?" The red head asked, extending a photograph.

The girl took it.

"Yes" was all she said.

"Where is he?" Natasha pushed.

The Little Ballerina clicked her tongue, "that's not how you play the game, Natalia. You know this" she said before gesturing with her hand as if she were waiting for something.

Natasha nodded, "very well"

"I can never forget. There are nights that I wake up screaming. And it feels wrong. The bed is too soft, and my wrists don't ache. I feel too safe, too clean, too good as if my hands aren't covered in crimson" Natasha said, her tone genuine.

The Little Ballerina took a step back. Natasha smiled inwardly, she'd struck a nerve.

Sitting down on the cot, the girl shook her head,

"I don't know"

Natasha shook her head,

"That's not good enough, Little Ballerina" the woman said sadly.

"I know what they've done to you" Natasha said quietly, "all of that power running through your veins, your eyes burn in this lighting don't they? How about your muscles? Do they feel as if they are on fire?" Natasha pushed.

She was playing on the new information she'd learned from the scientists. The Little Ballerina is like an entirely new personality. She might look like Rina but they were nothing alike. Little Ballerina was like a newborn, she didn't know compassion or love. All she knew was fight. That was an emotion Natasha could play on.

Natasha let out a cold laugh,

"The doctor didn't tell you did he?" She asked, she was spinning her web of lies. She wanted to get information from the girl the only way she knew how.

The Little Ballerina's head spun towards Natasha,

"Didn't tell me what?" She hissed.

Natasha was looking as casual as ever,

"Of course he didn't. There's a way to get rid of the ache in your head and in your body. But only the doctor knows that's why I want to bring him in" Natasha said plainly.

The Little Ballerina narrowed her eyes, unsure what to do. She's never known kindness before, no one has ever offered her anything.

"Let me help you, I can see that you are in pain. Let me help" Natasha urged.

~~~

"How the hell did you do that?" Sam asked, his arms folded across his chest.

Natasha, Sam and Bucky were all sitting in the living room, waiting. After Natasha's conversation, they all decided it best to act quickly by sending a small SHIELD team to bring Doctor Miranda in.

"I could tell she was in pain, from the way she reacted when she saw Steve, to the brain scan to when I shut the door. All of her senses are completely heightened and she hasn't adjusted to it yet. I let her think I was playing her game but I was really playing my own" she said.

Sam didn't say anything merely shook his head.

James was sitting on the couch while Sam was seated across from him on a lounge chair. Natasha was busting herself few feet away when Sam scoffed,

"Natasha, he's staring at me again" Sam called

"Boys, behave" the woman said without looking up.

~~~

The small team they had sent to Siberia was quick and efficient. Apparently, the doctor likes be alone when he works with minimal security.

"I'd like to talk with him first, I think I can get through to him" Natasha said

Tony who was flipping through one of the myriad of files the team retrieved from Siberia. There were easily hundreds of files to sift through so the man just nodded for her to go.

~~~

Unlike Rina, they simply had the man handcuffed to the table in one of the offices.

"Have you come to deliver another beating? I'm not going to tell you any-" the doctor stopped mid sentence when he saw Natasha.

A slow smile spread on his age worn face,

"Ah Natalia, a pleasure to finally meet you" he said.

Silently, Natasha sat across from the man.

The woman crossed her arms,

"Your work is impressive doctor. You've done what Zola couldn't accomplish, you've made a soldier strong, fast and obedient. The two personalities in one body, it's unlike anything done before" she said, wanting to boost his ego and flatter him into giving up information,

Leaning forward, she asked

"So how did you do it?"

A smug look on his face, "well it was simple really. We just separated what was already within her. In Ekaterina was all the good, kindness and warmth. While the Little Ballerina contains all of her ambition, cunning and determination. Each personality lying dormant while the other is out" he explained, his voice deep and lazy.

Natasha nodded, playing into his game,

"And the Little Ballerina is brought out with a series of words, yes? Much like the Winter Soldier?" She asked, her heart tugged.

The doctor scoffed,

"No. The Little Ballerina is much more efficient than the Winter Soldier. The memory wipe was messy, the second personality is much cleaner, there is no room for error." he said.

Natasha tilted her head,

"That's not exactly true, doc. There was an error somewhere in your project, Ekaterina broke through for a moment. Who's to say she won't do it again?" The woman asked

The doctor did not seem surprised.

He merely shrugged,

"That is only because she received only the first dose of the serum. When she's had both doses, those two parts of her: Ekaterina and the Little Ballerina. Will forever be separated"

The woman understood what he was saying but she didn't want to believe it.

She shook her head,

"You said that the Little Ballerina are all the traits that Ekaterina already possessed but I know her. She's good, she is pure. She is all that a child should be despite what she went through" she argued.

The doctor shook his head,

"We all have our demons, Natalia. You of all people should know that no one is truly pure" he corrected her.

He was right. No one was free from their past. They all had skeletons in their closets. All had pasts that they couldn't put down.

She needed to change the subject,

"But why now? Why after all this time try again for another soldier?" She questioned

"Oh little widow, I did try. Over a hundred failed experiments and I never knew why." He said, taking a pause,

"I never knew why until Ekaterina. Her mind was as sharp as a whip, her intelligence and natural gift at combat were well beyond her years" the man's voice was find as if he were speaking about an award winning show animal.

Natasha nodded, she had picked up on that too.

She opened her mouth to speak but the man wasn't finished,

"Genetically speaking, Ekaterina was the perfect candidate, I guess I have you to thank for that" he said

Natasha tilted her head. What did he mean by that? She had nothing to do with Ekaterina's genes...

No, no, no. Hydra had stolen that from her. It couldn't be. It just couldn't.

The man let out a slow laugh as the realization washed over Natasha's face.

She couldn't hide it. She was usually the best double agent, nothing fazed her. But this? This was too much for her.

"You really thought Hydra wouldn't create a super soldier out it's best widow and it's greatest asset?" The man asked.

Standing up abruptly, Natasha's chair fell to the floor. She was out of the room within seconds, the look on her face could only be described as deadly.

Pushing open the door to the lab, her eyes were only on Tony, "everyone get out" she said, her voice low and deadly calm.

Bucky began to walk towards her, his arms outstretched,

"Nat, what happened? I-" he began

She shook her head and took a step back, she didn't want to be touched ,

"Please" she pleaded.

They left and she was alone in the room with Tony. She waited until the door was closed to lunge forward.

She grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against the wall roughly,

"You knew" she hissed

"You knew and you didn't tell me! How could you not tell me, how-" her voice cracked with emotion.

Her grip on his collar softened,

"You knew" she said but it was merely a whisper.

Her body began to feel heavy and her knees buckled slightly. Reached out Tony caught her, gently lowering them both to floor, still holding her in his arms like a child.

She supposed she'd been robbed of her childhood, she never had a father to hold her this tightly before.

"I did, I didn't know how to tell you" he said softly

She had also been robbed of carrying and raising a child. Her child. A child she did not know existed.

"I assumed you both didn't know. I- I" for the first time in his life, Tony didn't know what to say.

"I should have known, right? Should have felt it like an intuition?" She asked quietly. Shouldn't she have known her own blood? Her own daughter?

She supposed that perhaps some part of her knew. Perhaps it hadn't been her imagination when she saw the change in Ekaterina's hair. The roots weren't just darker...

they had been red.

Heyyyyy! This was such a long chapter. I hope that I have feed you all well today with content! I added FitzSimmons because I love them. And a plot twist!!! Your comments and votes are so motivating, it's insane I know that sounds lame but I love to hear your feedback and your reactions!! All of your comments make my day and I try my best to respond to each of you!! As always, take care of yourself and stay safe and happy!
Xo,
Renee