NATASHA LEANED OVER the sink and stared at herself in the mirror.

She turned on the faucet and splashed water on her face before drying herself with a paper towel. She took a breath and looked at her phone beside her, the screen displaying the camera feed of agents outside of the Albany train station.

"Natasha Romanoff is in violation of the Sokovia Accords. She assaulted the king of Wakanda. Make an example out of her." Thaddeus Ross spoke to his men.

Upon entering the train station, his cell phone rang. He immediately knew who it was.

"Yeah?" He answered.

"Don't do this." Natasha said.

"Don't do what?"

"Come after me. I mean, you're embarrassing yourself. It looks desperate."

"Thought maybe you'd be calling me to cut a deal. 'Cause from my vantage point, it's the federal fugitive who's desperate."

"From my vantage point, you look like you could use some bed rest. What is this, your second triple bypass?"

"I wouldn't worry about me. We got Barton, we got Wilson and that other guy, the incredible shrinking convict." He said. "Rogers and L/N are on the run. You got no friends."

Natasha on the other end still didn't know where Y/N was. It's been two weeks since they've last spoken and he hasn't answered any calls or communicated back with her. A part of her thought he indeed did go with Steve, but why wouldn't he tell her? He wouldn't just keep her in the dark about it. It all seemed a bit weird.

"Is that confirmed? Is L/N in the wind?" She asked.

Ross scoffed. He felt as if she would know. "He left two bodies then vanished, Agent Romanoff. If this is some sort of collusion..."

It was the first she's heard of it, and it was shocking to hear that Y/N ended up killing people.

Yet again...strange.

"Well, where you gonna go?" Ross asked after he noticed her silence.

"I've lived a lot of lives before I met you, Ross. You shouldn't have gone to all this trouble. I'm done."

She hung up the call.

"Romanoff?" Ross asked into the phone.

Some time later, an agent walked up to Thaddeus holding a bundle of clothes. It was Natasha's suit.

"Got an empty nest, Secretary Ross. Her tracker, sir."

He looked down at it and shook his head. The Black Widow was never there in the first place.

The ferry sailed through the Norwegian waters. Natasha left the restroom now wearing a hoodie and comfortable pants, walking towards the side of the boat.

She leaned against the railing, taking a breath in as she looked around and gazed upon the mountains ahead. She took out the cell phone she just used and dropped it into the water.

Natasha still had a burner phone, the one only Y/N could call. She kept it in case he were to communicate back, and although he hasn't in a while...she held hope that he would soon.

She exhaled and looked down towards the water her other phone had dropped in, then walked away from the railing.

• • •

IN MOROCCO THE two Widows were tasked to eliminate a deserter who had stolen their package. The blonde haired assassin looked through her sniper scope into the window of a building.

"Eyes on target." Yelena Belova reported. "Waiting for the package."

"I have sights on collateral one." Another Widow spoke through the radio.

"Firing in place of three. Five...four..."

An alarm suddenly sounded within the building the target was in. Smoke filled the room.

"She made us. Target deployed smoke." Yelena got up from her stomach. "She's on foot with the package. Stay high. I'm going to ground."

The Widow went to the edge of the building and rappelled down onto the street.

Meanwhile, their target walked down the road, looking over her shoulder multiple times. A door suddenly flung open and hit her in the face, sending her into the path of an oncoming car. The woman was hit and rolled onto the street, but she still was able to get to her feet. Yelena came out through the door that hit her.

Both women immediately went for the case that was on the ground. The woman hit Yelena across the face but the Widow unsheathed her knife and swung at her. The former assassin weaved away from her hits while holding the case, ultimately grabbing Yelena's arm and bringing her to her knees.

Yelena struggled within her hold, but quickly dropped the knife into her free hand and stabbed the woman in the stomach. She twisted it and then slashed her across the abdomen, causing the woman to fall to the floor in pain.

Yelena wiped the sweat off her brow and walked up to the groaning woman. Before she can retrieve the package and finish her off, the woman turned back around and sprayed a red mist in the blonde assassin's face.

She gasped as she inhaled the chemicals, which also seeped onto her skin. Yelena blinked her eyes a few times and looked around as if she was confused about her surroundings.

She looked down at the bleeding woman, along with the bloodied knife in her hands. She dropped it in shock and quickly knelt beside her.

"Oksana." Yelena breathed out. "Oh, no...what did I do?"

The woman placed a vial in Yelena's palm and closed her hand. With her dying breath, she wanted her to do one thing.

"Free the others."

Yelena looked at the dead body of her friend. A friend that she murdered. She started to breath heavily as the situation dawned on her. She placed the vial in the case with the others and closed it.

"Yelena, we need a status report." Her companion spoke through the comms.

The blonde didn't answer. She picked up her knife and stabbed it into her thigh, pulling out the tracker that was surgically inserted in all the Widows.

"Yelena, we need a status report." She emphasized once again.

She threw the tracker aside and got up with the case, still not reporting back to her partner. Yelena then ran away from the scene.

On the other end, the Widow knew something was up.

"Converge on team leader."

"General Dreykov, we have a deserter." Ingrid, the Widow partnered with Yelena, reported back to base.

From his desk, Dreykov looked at the large screen in front of him displaying the photo of Yelena Belova. He shook his head. One of the deadliest Widows he's ever had betrayed him and was now in the wind.

"Permission to call upon Taskmaster?" Ingrid asked.

There was a momentary silence before Dreykov replied. "Permission granted."

In his quarters, Y/N looked at the large screen in front of him that showcased footage of the airport battle in Germany. It was an overhead view of Black Panther fighting Hawkeye, and the man studied each flip and dodge that the Wakandan king did.

His doors opened and three Widows walked in. One of them, Lerato, stepped in further.

Taskmaster turned around and faced the woman. He smirked, as she was the Widow he liked the most. It was as if she was the most caring with him and showed him respect.

Unbeknownst to Y/N, Lerato was a sort of caretaker. Under Dreykov's orders, she would be the one to play Fortunate Son and say the trigger words to keep him compliant.

After every few days, the Taskmaster programming would cease, so until their scientists could figure out a way to make it permanent, they had to reactivate him using the song and triggers words.

"Ah, Lerato, my gal." Y/N opened his arms. "Can I finally take you out to dinner?"

The young dark-skinned woman simply smiled and put her hands behind her back. Her silence answered the question, and it was the same response she'd give to his previous advances.

"All right. That's a no then." He said.

"Dreykov has a task for you." Lerato spoke.

"And what may that be?"

She motioned towards the big screen which switched from the airport footage to the file of Yelena Belova. Y/N turned around and peered upon the info.

"We have a deserter and she has a package that the General wants back."

He looked at the picture of Yelena, remembering seeing her in the Red Room during his brief time there so far. He even got to train her and some other Widows during the last week. She was the best assassin there.

"Such a shame. I liked her." Y/N remarked. He started walking over to his locker. "Does the package have a tracker?"

"Yes it does." She answered.

"Then we just follow the package." He looked at his gear within and smiled. He turned back to Lerato.

"I'll get the package. And tell the big man not to worry about Belova...I'll handle it."

• • •

THE CAR STOPPED on the edge of the road. Natasha turned off the engine and looked out her window, seeing a mobile home in the middle of the field. She took a sip of her coffee as the Norwegian radio station continued their report.

"After the Sokovia Accords, the hunt is on for the remaining Avengers...Steve Rogers, Y/N L/N...the Sons of Liberty...and Natasha Romanoff are currently on the run."

She left the vehicle with a pistol in hand and walked up to the mobile home. Natasha opened the door and surveyed the inside, her guard still up in case somebody were to pop out.

A/N: 😏 - camera guy

Upon nearing the bedroom in the back, she heard snoring coming from the inside. She slowly opened the door and lowered her gun, seeing a familiar-looking man in his slumber.

Her contact, Rick Mason.

She nudged his foot and the man stirred awake with a gasp.

"You're in my bed." Natasha said.

"I'm...I'm not even under the covers." He replied, still a bit groggy. He got up from the bed and rubbed his eyes.

The redhead left the room and the man followed. "Did you get everything on my list?"

"Got passports, entry visas, a couple of local driver's licenses." He answered and handed her a bag of small booklets. "Mix and match, you should be able to stretch it to 20 or so identities."

Natasha stood by the countertop in the small living room and took out one of the passports. She read the name within.

"Fanny Longbottom?"

"What?"

"What? Are you 12?"

Rick chuckled. "That is a legitimate name."

Natasha took out one of the other passports that was supposed to be for Y/N. She looked at the name and shook her head.

"Michael Rotch?"

Rick simply shrugged. She emphasized it again.

"Mike Rotch?"

This time, Rick laughed. "Okay, you got me. I had a little fun with that one. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

She rolled her eyes. "You are a child."

Rick pulled up his sleeves and paced around the room. "We've got a generator outside. It's petrol-powered. And the septic tank will need a flush in a couple weeks but, you know, I've got a guy coming for that." He kept speaking. "You have to haul your rubbish into town. It's just a 20-minute drive. I've got your basic hardware kit stashed under the tires."

"Nice." She simply replied and looked through the window. Rick noticed her mood.

"Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I hear things. You know, something about the Avengers getting divorced..."

"Ugh. It's fine." She said, fiddling with her hands.

"At least you're not completely alone." Rick responded. "Where's the boyfriend of yours? He's supposed to be here soon, right? I hope I didn't go out of my way with those passports for nothing."

"Yeah."

Again, he noticed her tone. "You sure you all right? Because you can tell me. That's how this whole friends thing works."

"I know. I have friends." Natasha replied.

"People who have friends don't call me."

She took a deep breath in and crossed her arms. "And I don't pay you to worry."

Rick simply nodded and started to walk away. "Well...I better get out of here in case your beau shows up." He opened the door. "I wouldn't want him to go all snappy snappy on my neck."

She exhaled after hearing his remark. Again, she still didn't understand why Y/N killed two of Ross's agents or where he went.

Natasha walked up to the door and saw a box a packages on the floor. She called out to Mason. "Hey. What's all this junk?"

He turned around. "Oh, just some mail and personals from the Budapest safe house."

"Budapest?"

"Yeah. Budapest."

"No, it's pronounced Budapesh."

"Budape-st. Budapest."

"It's Budapest."

"Whatever." Rick scoffed. "I knew you weren't going back there, so I've got someone else in the flat now."

"Sorry you went through the trouble. I would've told you to chuck it." She said.

"Well, if you don't want it, throw it in the rubbish." He replied before walking away.

Natasha nodded and watched the man leave. She took the box and placed it in her trunk, then went back into the home to begin settling into her new life.

• • •

IT WAS THE EVENING and the red-headed fugitive spent her time in the mobile home watching Moonraker and snacking.

Watching movies was something she and Y/N would do together, and it saddened her a bit that he wasn't there doing their pastime with her. She basically knew every line to certain James Bond movies, and he'd often tease her about it.

Suddenly, there was a low rumbling as the power went out within her domain.

"Oh, great."

Natasha went outside and tried to restart the generator, but it had no fuel. She shook her head. Thanks a lot, Rick. She picked up an empty gas can and placed it in her car. She needed to go back into town and get some more fuel.

Natasha drove down the road with Cheap Thrills by Sia playing throughout her drive. As she neared the bridge, she thought about the song and recalled a memory with Y/N about his opinion on today's music. Cheap Thrills was what sparked their conversation.

"What is a cheap thrill?" Y/N asked as he laid on the sofa. The song was playing on the radio.

Natasha walked from the kitchen towards the couch holding her thermos. The couple had come back from their sparring session.

"It's like a small way to have fun."

He nodded. "What's a Sia?"

"That's the singer." She replied as she sat down beside him.

"Interesting." He said. "The song's not bad. Music has come a long way."

"Better or worse from when the ancient times?" She asked with a smirk.

"Very funny." He chuckled. "Obviously there was The Beatles. Elvis. James Brown." He started to remember one specific song. "There was one song that I loved..."

He grabbed his phone and went to the radio. After searching for the track he plugged it into the player. Thanks to Sam and others, he got the gist of how to work some technology.

"This actually came out while I was on deployment." He added as the song started to play. It was Beggin' by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

"Ah, I've heard this before." Natasha spoke. "By Madcon."

She was referring the 2007 cover, which was the most known today.

"Who?" Y/N asked, but brushed it off and extended his hand towards her.

Natasha raised a brow and grabbed it, only for her boyfriend to pull her up and take her other hand. He held her close, and she smiled as she knew what he wanted to do.

The song continued playing as he looked into her eyes and smiled back. "Let's dance, shall we?"

Natasha suddenly felt weightless as the car she drove was hurled upwards by an explosion. Glass flew everywhere as the vehicle tumbled down the bridge and stopped at the edge before it could plummet into the water below.

Amidst her daze, she looked out the window and spotted an incoming car. It stopped and the driver came out of it.

Taskmaster.

She quickly unbuckled her seatbelt as the car continued to teeter off the edge. Natasha made sure not to put too much weight towards the front as she made her way to the back and grabbed her pistol.

"I'm pretty sure Ross has no jurisdiction here." Natasha called out, assuming her attacker was one of his men. She went towards the broken window of the backseat and looked out of it. "And you should know I'm a better shot when I'm pissed off."

Natasha raised her pistol and fired, but Taskmaster activated a shield within his gauntlet to deflect the bullets.

Before she can shoot again, he threw the shield at her which wedged in between the window.

The redhead quickly got out through the broken tailgate window. She dropped down and aimed her gun at where her attacker was, but there was no sign of him. She then heard a noise and looked up to see Taskmaster on top of the teetering van.

She fired but the man leaped off the car whilst blocking her continuous gunfire with his shield. He landed on his feet and quickly kicked the pistol out of her hands.

He threw his shield again but she dodged and tried to initiate a scissor kick takedown on him, but the mercenary replicated her own move and ultimately took her down instead.

They both kipped back up at the same time and faced each other.

"The infamous Black Widow." He spoke with a modulated voice as he stood straight up. "Let's dance, shall we?"

Natasha immediately sprang up and tried to kick him, but Taskmaster parried her attack and kneed her in the stomach. She swung her arm to punch but he had already predicated such a move and weaved away from it. He grabbed the back of her neck and held her.

"Where's the package?" He asked.

She didn't answer, not knowing what he was referring too. Taskmaster threw her aside.

He scanned the area behind him and saw the package containing the vials. "Bingo." He started walking towards it and Natasha looked up, seeing what he was after.

"You're not here for me." She muttered.

Natasha unsheathed her knife and charged Taskmaster. She thrusted her knife towards his head but the man dodged her attack and spun back around to engage.

He evaded her next swipe and she dropped down to slash his legs, but he dodged those attacks too and ultimately pinned her arm against the floor with his knee.

He grabbed the back of her head before using his strength to punch her several feet back.

The hit knocked the wind out of Natasha and she laid on the floor gasping. Taskmaster looked at her and shook his head.

"Thought I'd get more out of you. I'm disappointed."

He started to walk back toward the package, but Natasha got up and tried to attack again. Taskmaster expected it and brought her back down with a flying kick to the chest.

Taskmaster chuckled and turned back around, but Natasha suddenly shot a wire that wrapped his legs. She spun back around and shot another wire at the top of the bridge, which pulled the mercenary up and gave her a chance to run to the case.

Taskmaster took out his sword and cut the wire, then used his momentum to swing back down towards Black Widow. He leaped off the wire with a flip and tried to strike Natasha, but she quickly picked up the man's own shield and blocked the hit.

He swiped his sword but the redhead used the shield to block each of his attacks.

"Learned from the flag-waver, I see?" Taskmaster taunted, mentioning Captain America.

Natasha blocked a couple more hits and swung her arm to hit him. Taskmaster parried the attack and took the case from her hand. He then jumped up and initiated a spinning back-kick that hurled the Widow off of the bridge.

She fell into the water below. Taskmaster caught his breath and nodded at a job well done. 

He placed his sword back into his pack and opened the case he was tasked to retrieve. He looked inside...and saw nothing.

It was empty.

Taskmaster huffed as he dropped the case and walked towards the broken railing of the bridge. He looked on, seeing nothing but the vast darkness of the water beneath him.

"She's good." He spoke to himself at her slight of hand with the vials. He started to walk back to his truck. "But not good enough."

Natasha got out of the cold water and made it to the shore, laying against the dirt as she panted. She took out the bundle of red vials from her jacket, and notice a folded piece of paper in between them.

She took it out and unfolded it, seeing a pair of familiar-looking pictures. Her eyes widened.

It was of her and Yelena when they were kids.

"Oh, shit."