NATASHA WAS NOT sure if she could trust Madame's words. She just stared at her, studying her face for any sign of deceit...but she couldn't find any. All the older lady did was keep smiling, as if the situation brought her a sense of twisted joy.

"Are you sure?" Strucker asked Madame B.

"Why would I be lying, Doctor?" She replied. "And it's your medical personnel after all. Do you not trust them?"

Reiner nodded and a smile formed on his face as well. He turned to the rest of the heroes and started to chuckle. Natasha was still in shock as well as Yelena.

"You got it all wrong." Natasha uttered. "I...I didn't think this could be possible."

Y/N leaned against the glass, also in surprise at the revelation. "What?"

"I ask myself that too." Reiner said and started to look at both Natasha and Y/N. He raised a brow and pointed at them.

"The soldier..." He said, then turned toward Natasha. "When was the last time you both had sex?"

They didn't answer and continued glaring, which was understandable considering the circumstance. Reiner shrugged it off and continued.

"Private information, I respect that. But it all makes sense now." He began. "The serum made by the Red Room is supposed to combat all known diseases as well as reduce aging. An unfortunate side effect is that it also kills any zygote before it could become a fetus. But there is one thing that can bypass that."

He paced around the room and looked directly at the super-soldier.  "You."

"Me?" Y/N asked.

"Well, not just you." Reiner replied. "But the seminal fluid of a super-soldier. It's strong enough to bypass the widow-serum's aborting capabilities...and produce life. It all makes sense."

Reiner looked back at Madame B, who's eyes were still glued to Natasha and had her hand still at the blonde's stomach.

"We're in the age of miracles, Madame." He added. "This is extraordinary."

Madame B finally looked up at Strucker. "We are going to keep this child."

Y/N, Natasha, and Yelena all looked at her with shocked expressions. The older lady continued to speak.

"Yes, the organism that we're making will suffice. But that's all cloning and advanced technology." She looked back down at Natasha's belly. "What we have here is...organic. Life created naturally by a Widow and Super Soldier. It's perfect."

Natasha glared at Madame B. "You won't."

"Oh. I will, Natalia."

"Like she said..." Y/N's voice boomed through the glass. "You're not taking it from us."

"Well, that's up to you, Lieutenant." She shot back. "We are still in need of more of your blood to continue this project. You give us what we want or else they'll suffer."

"You're the one that's going to be suffering, old bitch." Yelena spoke up.

Madame B brushed her off and chuckled, still looking directly at Y/N.

"If you don't...I'll kill Belova. And then I'll kill you. And once your child is born...I'll kill Natalia."

Y/N looked at Natasha, and he could tell that she was still trying to process the fact that she could be pregnant. She looked back at him, and it hurt Y/N seeing her in this position.

"So all you want is more of my blood?" Y/N asked, in which both Reiner and Madame B nodded.

He let out a sigh. "Okay."

"Y/N." Natasha called out, not wanting him to go along with it.

The soldier looked down. He had to comply, at least for now, to ensure the safety of Yelena, Natasha, and his unborn child.

Madame B looked at the doctors beside Reiner. "Take him to the lab upstairs with Lerato and Helen. Begin the process with them too."

As they went over to the cell, a few HYDRA soldiers entered as well for precaution. They unlocked the cell and detained Y/N with specialized cuffs that he couldn't break out of easily. From there, they escorted him out of the room.

• • •

THE SOLDIERS LEAD him into another lab. Y/N saw the missing Widow, Helen, strapped down on the table just like Natasha and Yelena were downstairs. Lerato was also tied down on the other side of the room.

A HYDRA soldier walked the handcuffed Y/N to a seat and started calling out to the other goons.

"Bring the doctor so we can begin. Quickly."

A few soldiers obeyed and left the lab, leaving a couple of medical personal in the room with the lone goon.

Unbeknownst to them, Lerato was cutting away her restrains with a hidden razor. Once free, she stabbed the man near her table and took him down. The goon in front of Y/N looked on in surprise, and the super-soldier took the chance to kick him in the knee.

While Lerato handled the other doctor, Y/N engaged the HYDRA soldier despite having his hands restrained.

He kept kicking the goon on the floor, but the man got back to his feet and tried to attack. Y/N weaved away from the hits and headbutted the goon. He countered by punching Y/N in the abdomen several times and ultimately grabbed him. Fortunately, Lerato ran up and stabbed the man in the back three times and finished him.

"Lerato!" Helen called out from the table.

"We're getting out of here." She spoke back and started cleaning her blade. Lerato cut away at the restraints on Helen's arms.

"Thanks. I got the rest." The Widow said.

Lerato nodded and went over to Y/N. He looked at the handcuffs and exhaled. "This is gonna be tough."

Before Y/N could give thanks or remark, the doors flung open, and Lerato looked back. She was prepared to act, but a gunshot sounded and the Widow fell to the floor, with blood also spraying on Y/N's armor.

The HYDRA soldier held his rifle as Lerato fell to the floor, mortally wounded from the gunshot on her stomach. Y/N simply looked down at her in shock.

Reiner ran into the room with several other guards moments after. He looked around at the scientists and soldier that Lerato killed, but upon seeing the bleeding Widow, his expression contorted into anger.

"You dumb son of a bitch!" Reiner yelled at the guard holding his rifle, then motioned another to check on Lerato.

Y/N and Helen were held at gunpoint as they went to check on her. The super soldier watched as Lerato bled on the floor...and eventually let out her final breath. The guard that knelt beside her looked at Reiner and shook his head.

"Do you not know how valuable they are? Alive?" Reiner berated the shooter. "Idiot. Lucky for you we have three left."

He continued as he looked at Helen and Y/N.

"Strap her back down and take the soldier to another cell. We don't need them scheming as well."

They obeyed, grabbing Y/N and escorting him out. Guards also went over to Helen and retrained her again. Reiner had his hands at his waist and shook his head, looking at Lerato's body as his men walked over to carry her away.

"Verdammt (God damn it)."

Y/N was put into another cell similar to the one he was held in before. The goons took off his cuffs and locked him behind the glass doors. They stood by it as Y/N sat against the wall, still in shock after witnessing Lerato die in front of him.

Despite only knowing her for a brief time, mostly as Taskmaster in the Red Room, she was the one who showed him the most respect and care while under Dreykov's control. She was under his control as well, so she didn't have to, but she did.

And now she was dead, and he couldn't do anything about it. It hit him now that things could get a lot worse for him, Natasha, and the rest.

"The soldier." One of the guards spoke and took Y/N out of his thoughts. "Never thought I'd see you in person."

Y/N stood quiet and didn't reply.

"I don't know why Zola was so fond of you. Instead of trying to make you his mimic, he should've just killed you...and your mother. It would've saved us a lot of trouble."

"Shut up." The super soldier finally replied.

"Oh? I struck a nerve." He asked with a chuckle. Y/N could tell the man was getting a kick out of provoking him.

The goon looked at his colleague beside him. "You see the Widows that arrived earlier? They look beautiful don't they?"

"Indeed." The other guard replied.

He sighed and crossed his arms. "I wonder how desperate they could be—"

"One more word and I'll kill you." Y/N interjected as he still looked down.

The guard turned around and looked at Y/N through the glass.

"You'd kill me? I'd like to see you try."

"I will."

The man chuckled, then his attitude changed to a serious one, and stared at Y/N.

"There's nothing you could do, soldier. This is where you die. Reiner will drain you for every last pint of your precious blood, all while your little girlfriend wonders if she'll ever see you again."

Y/N continued looking down, his teeth clenching as he was forced to hear this.

"But even after you're gone, you won't have to worry." He smirked and looked at his colleague, then back at Y/N. "We'll take good care of her."

The man laughed and turned back around, leaving the super-soldier stirring in his anger as the goon's statement churned in his head.

Y/N looked at his hands, and as if his muscle memory indicated it, he activated his vibranium claws. He wondered why he didn't do so before, but it seemed like they didn't know to remove them before detaining him.

He looked at the glass door in front of him and immediately cut a hole in the side of it by the panel. He reached through and unlocked the door, which startled the two goons as the doors whirred open.

The goon who was taunting Y/N before raised his rifle, but the super-soldier grabbed the nozzle and forced him to aim at his colleague as he fired. The second goon fell to the floor and Y/N threw the gun aside before stabbing into the man's chest with his claws.

The goon groaned as Y/N had his claws embedded into his chest. The soldier looked directly into his eyes.

"I meant what I said."

He buried the claws deeper and then yanked it out, killing him and letting the goon fall to the floor. Y/N huffed as he looked at the two bodies, then back at his claws.

This was going to be different. He was always against using lethal force, but not this time. HYDRA shouldn't be shown mercy, especially the people here. They were the most heinous...and needed to be stopped.

Suddenly, the alarms blared. The gunshots earlier alerted the people in the building and Y/N knew people were coming. But he didn't care. He'd go through as many of them to get to Natasha and Yelena.

He activated his claws again and ran out of the holding area. In the corridor, he saw guards running toward him with guns raised. Y/N activated his shield and deflected the gunfire before tossing it at them, in which it took down two guards.

Y/N ran off the wall and dropped down at the remaining two goons. He slashed one across the face with his claws before kicking the next into the wall.

He grabbed the one he slashed and slammed him against the wall a few times before throwing him away. The second goon crawled over to his rifle, but Y/N stabbed him in the back with his claws. He let out a yell but was silenced after being stomped on the head.

The super-soldier exhaled as he looked down at the two enemies he dealt with, then continued down the corridor as the alarms blared.

Natasha and Yelena were still in the room under their restraints. Two doctors were with them preparing to extract more of their blood.

"Natasha." Yelena called out. "Natasha. Are you okay?"

Her older sister laid there, having been in her thoughts for quite a while since they took Y/N. She cleared her head and answered back.

"Yeah."

"I can't believe it." Yelena let out a sigh. "Half the world died but that old hag's still here."

"The past seems to always come back." Natasha replied.

The alarms sounded and got everyone's attention. The doctors in the room looked at each other in confusion, then the doors suddenly flung open. Y/N ran in and eyed the personnel, then one of them quickly reached over to grab a scalpel.

Y/N charged the man and slammed his head against the counter, knocking him out. The second doctor tried to jab a needle into the soldier but he grabbed the man's arm. Y/N tightened his grip and stabbed his claws into his wrist, then headbutted him and took him down. He quickly went over to the women to free them.

"Natasha." Y/N breathed out and cut away at her restraints. He helped her off the table and embraced her. "Did they hurt you?"

"We're fine." She reassured him and kissed him.

"Hello?" Yelena called out. "I'm still tied down here."

Natasha walked over to her sister and freed her from the restraints. The three then regrouped in the middle of the room.

"Did you see Lerato? Helen?" Yelena asked him.

Y/N sighed. "Helen's still upstairs, I think. Lerato...they killed her."

It came as a shock to both Widows. Yelena shook her head and slammed her fist on the table beside her. "дерьмо! (Shit!)"

"Don't worry." Y/N replied. "We'll avenge her."

"Y/N." Natasha turned to Y/N and grabbed his hands. "The clone they're making...we can't let them keep it."

The man understood her plight. She didn't want it to be in the hands of HYDRA and Madame B to be used as a weapon...the same thing she was trained to be and what Zola wanted Y/N to become.

"We won't." Y/N replied. "And I'll make sure they won't be able to do it again."

Yelena looked at the couple and nodded. She picked up a scalpel from the floor and held it in her hand.

"Let's get to work."

Reiner was in the main area of the building where the cloning process would take place. HYDRA soldiers stood on the walkways above and the ground floor as Madame B watched Strucker working with his scientists.

They activated the chamber and the organism within was starting to be formed. Reiner started typing on the console as he spoke to the older lady.

"When do you want the aging process to stop?" He asked.

Madame B thought for a moment before answering. She recalled her days as a Red Room instructor, teaching the adolescent girls the ways of being a Widow. The recollections of training Natasha were at the forefront.

"Fourteen." She said. "Gives us a good window of time to instill the right training up until its adulthood."

Reiner simply nodded and entered the commands on the computer. Suddenly, the alarms within the lab wailed.

"What the hell?" He muttered.

Madame B looked around and smiled. "Looks like they're fighting back."

Y/N, Natasha, and Yelena ended up freeing Helen from containment. The four fought off reinforcements as they traversed the building until they ultimately separated.

The Black Widow and Taskmaster entered the main room where the cloning was taking place. The HYDRA goons there expected their arrival and fired their guns at them. The two took cover as they continued shooting.

One goon stood on a walkway holding a rocket launcher, getting on a knee and preparing to fire. The super-soldier looked up and his eyes widened upon seeing it.

Suddenly, a blue blur zipped by the goon and knocked him off the walkway. The soldiers below looked up in confusion, then the same blur came by and knocked him away too.

Y/N immediately knew who this was.

Pietro Maximoff.

A HYDRA agent tried shooting at the speedster, but a piece of rebar flew at him and impaled into his shoulder. He fell on the floor in pain.

The thrower stood on a walkway across from him and came out of the shadows.

Steve Rogers.

A few more guards stood behind a railing trying to shoot at Natasha and Y/N who were behind cover, but the wall behind them blasted open. They fell to the floor as the armored figure flew in.

Tony Stark.

"It's the Avengers!" A HYDRA soldier shouted.

Natasha peeked out of cover and let out a breath of relief at the sight of her friends. "They came."

They both didn't know how, but it was a welcome surprise. Y/N smiled and looked at Natasha.

"Now let's show these guys that they messed with the wrong people."

The blonde agreed with her boyfriend, and they both vaulted out of cover to continue the fight.

Yelena and Helen fought off HYDRA enemies in the adjoining room by the main lab. Using guns they picked up from downed goons, they shot at incoming threats.

"Benutze es! (Use it!) A soldier shouted at his colleague.

"Aber der Arzt— (But the doctor—)"

"Es ist mir egal! (I don't care!)" He exclaimed. "Blasen Sie diese Schlampen in die Luft! (Blow these bitches up!)"

The soldier pulled the pin of his grenade and tossed it in their direction. It rolled in front of the Widows, and Helen immediately dived behind cover. Yelena looked at it and before she could react, a blur dashed in and grabbed her before it could explode.

Pietro and Yelena got behind cover as it detonated. Debris flew everywhere as pieces of rubble fell on them.

"Staring at grenade isn't going to make it not blow up." Pietro remarked as he still held her.

"Yes. I know that." Yelena replied. "I'm fine. You can let go of me now."

Pietro nodded and let her go, simply giving a smile before running off. He continued down the hallways and spoke to Steve through their comms.

"You got eyes on Nat and Y/N?"

"I'm with them right now. They're saying the ringleaders of this operation are still here somewhere. We need to find them."

Tony chimed in. "Just scanned the lower level of the facility. I think I found the doctor."

Iron Man shot down HYDRA goons ahead with his repulsor beams. He blasted through the walls of the building and made it to the boiler room where his scans indicated Strucker would be. He levitated off the floor and looked around until he was suddenly hit with a laser blast.

"Shit!" Tony exclaimed as he was heaved into the wall.

Reiner walked out of cover holding a large gun while also sporting some sort of makeshift armor. He chuckled as he faced Iron Man.

"Stark. I've been dying to finally come face to face with you."

Tony got back up. "And you are?"

"Doctor Reiner von Strucker. Brother of—"

"Aaaand I don't care." Tony immediately shot a repulsor blast at Reiner and knocked him back. He ultimately got back up and fired his laser gun but Tony was able to evade them. A shot hit a boiler, which exploded and sent them both flying back.

"Chitauri tech." Reiner remarked about his weapon as he got up. "You remember this, right, Iron Man?"

Tony shot at him again but Reiner deflected it with the side of his gun. The doctor continued shooting until Stark was able to be face to face with him, the two now engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

Reiner's armor, likely made from Chitauri parts, was able to handle hits from Iron Man. This inflated the man's ego as he enjoyed combatting the Avenger.

"I'll do what my brother couldn't, which is to kill you! And I'll make sure the Widow and her lover watch as the rest of the circus dies."

Tony glared under his helmet and punched Reiner again. He push-kicked him away to gain some separation, then began to charge his unibeam. He opened up his arms and shot the blast from his arc reactor, which easily went through Reiner's armor and out through his back.

The HYDRA doctor looked down at the hole in his chest before falling to his knees.

Tony looked down at Reiner. "Nobody fucks with my family."

Strucker slumped over and finally died. The room suddenly started to rumble and Tony looked around the room, noticing that the boiler explosion blew open the wall.

"Friday. Check the building's integrity." He commanded.

"It is critically weakened, boss. It won't be long until it fully collapses."

"Great." Tony muttered, then activated his thrusters and flew away.

Steve and Y/N fought alongside each other. Rogers had his Wakandan arm shields and punched away at the incoming goons. His son was able to recover his pack and was now using his sword.

A guard charged at Steve, and the captain was able to dodge his attack. He hit him in the face with the arm shields and the man fell to the floor. He deactivated them and started pummeling the goon with his fist, and Y/N watched as his father beat him.

Steve panted and got off the man, then looked at his son.

"This will be the last time I let HYDRA hurt the ones I love." Steve admitted, trying to give a reason for the sudden brutality.

Y/N understood and gave a nod.

"Uh, guys? We might need to get out of here real soon. The building is about to fall off the mountain."

"What?" Pietro asked.

"How long do we have?" Y/N asked.

"Maybe about twenty minutes." Tony replied. "Would've been longer...but these guys were dumb enough to build a compound ON a mountain."

"Natasha, you hear that?" Y/N started communicating with her. "Let's grab it and go."

"Not yet." She reported back. "I have to tie up some loose ends."

"What? Nat?" She wasn't responding. "Nat? Shit..."

More HYDRA goons entered the area and shot at the two super-soldiers. Y/N decided to communicate with the speedster.

"Pietro, we're occupied over here. I'm gonna need a favor."

"Anything."

"In the main lab they have a chamber...I'm gonna need you to break whatever is in it...out."

Pietro thought it was a weird request, but obliged. "Okay. I'm on my way there now."

"Thank you."

Pietro ran into the main lab, knocking away HYDRA goons ahead and taking them down. He looked around and spotted the chamber in the middle of the room, then ran up to it.

"Now, how..." He looked at the console and wondered what to do. Suddenly, the building started to shake and he remembered that they didn't have much time.

He saw a tube connected to the chamber that lead upwards to a power source. Pietro used his super-speed and ran up the walkways to the next console where he unplugged it. He ran back to the ground floor and started to pry it open.

Pietro didn't have super strength, but it was enough to open the door of the chamber. He looked inside and was surprised to see what was in it. The cries immediately confused him. "Wha—"

A baby girl, around two years old, wailed within the chamber. Pietro rubbed the back of his neck and looked around. He then carefully reached in and carried her.

"Uh...it's okay...little one. I got you." He tried his best with her. He started to speak into his comms. "Um, I got it, Y/N. I got her."

"Thank you, Pietro." He said. "Now we gotta find Natasha and get out of here."

Pietro looked at the baby, who seemed to have calmed down in his arms. The silver-haired man gave a light smile back and then ran off with her.

Natasha ran through the hallway as the building continued to shake. She entered the lab where she was held before, and saw Madame B looking at lab results from the blood tests. Natasha knew she'd be here.

"I've always wanted one." Madame B said as she continued looking at the papers. "A little boy in fact. Someone that I can take care of...show them the ropes."

"Show them how to kill? How to deceive? Make into an assassin?" Natasha shot back.

"No. Just to be a mother. You know how it was back then...they took away our ability to have children."

She put the papers down and started walking closer to the blonde.

"Now look...it is possible. You are lucky, Natalia. But are you sure you can be a mother? Give them the life you want?"

Natasha glared at Madame B as she continued.

"I can. That's why I wanted you to trust me with your child. I'm not Reiner...I wouldn't have made them into an assassin. I would've given them a good life."

The Widow shook her head and scoffed. "You went along with the training...the torture...the brainwashing of hundreds of little girls. Girls like me. And you want me to believe that you'll love this baby?"

She looked down at her stomach. She still didn't know if the tests were right, but the fact that Madame B was so sure of it made it seem believable.

"I'll give it the life it deserves. One with love and happiness. Something I didn't get growing up." Natasha said. "So you can go to hell. You would've been a terrible mother."

Madame B glared and immediately threw a knife at Natasha, but the Widow evaded it. The older lady, still pretty agile and fit, charged at Natasha and engaged her in combat. Black Widow tried to shoot her gun, but Madame B kicked it out of her grasp and then hit her across the face with a roundhouse kick. Natasha recovered and countered with her own attacks.

She tried to initiate another kick, but Natasha grabbed her foot and threw her across a counter. Natasha vaulted over it and got on top of Madame B, but the former mentor kicked her off and kipped back up.

"If I can't have it, then no one can." Madame B breathed out and took out another knife.

Natasha glared back. "Сумасшедшая сука (Crazy bitch)."

They engaged one another again, fighting as the building continued to rumble. Madame B tried to attack with her knife but Natasha was able to keep her away.

It wouldn't be long until the building toppled off the snowy mountain. It started to get more apparent as the floor beneath them cracked and one of the walls near them collapsed.

Madame B ended up retrieving her knife again and slashed the side of Natasha's leg. She tried to stab down at her chest, but the Widow held her wrist and kept it away. She head-butted Madame B and the older lady dropped the knife, in which Natasha quickly snatched it and sliced her Achilles' tendon. She fell to the floor and groaned in pain, not being able to get up anymore.

"Kill me then, Natalia. I know you've always wanted to." Madame B breathed out. "That's all you're good for. What we made you to be. A Killer."

Natasha gripped the knife in her hand and looked down at her former mentor. She then looked up at the collapsed wall and stared out into the snowy skyline. The room they were in continued to tremble and it wouldn't be long until the part of the compound they were in fell. Natasha ultimately dropped the knife.

"I'm not going to kill you." She said and backed away. "But I'm not going to save you."

The floor beneath them shifted and cracked. The shaking got worse and the room they were in was on the brink of collapsing. Natasha ran off and left Madame B in the room as the debris started to cave in on top of her.

Black Widow ran through the corridor as the rumbling continued. She finally spoke into her comms.

"Can anyone hear me?"

"Natasha!" Yelena was the first to respond. "Where the hell are you?"

"Madame B's dead. I'm on my way out now."

"Nat! The Quinjet's a couple of ticks south of the compound." Y/N spoke. "Cap is there with Helen and Pietro, Yelena and I will try to get back to you."

"No. This place is coming down fast. I need you to be as far from it as possible."

"Nat—"

"I'll see you out there." She ended the call and continued running.

The walls and floors behind her started to shift and cave in, but the blonde kept going. A beam fell in front of her, but she swiftly slid under it and got back to her feet. Natasha looked out the window and saw that the building she was in started to pull away from the mountain. She needed to get out fast.

Natasha evaded falling debris and neared one of the exits. She made it on a walkway outside and ran across it, seeing Y/N and Yelena at the cliffside on the other end. She continued sprinting, but then the walkway suddenly broke in half. She still jumped off, hoping to grab onto the side of the cliff, but it was too far.

Fortunately, Tony flew in and grabbed Natasha's arm. Both Y/N and Yelena looked on with immense relief. Tony and Natasha gazed upon the wreckage tumbling down the mountain before they both landed at the cliffside with the others.

Y/N hugged Natasha, and the blonde hugged her sister as well. Tony stood idly by with his hands by his waist while they embraced. He tried to say something amidst his awkwardness.

"Again, who puts a building by a cliffside?"

Natasha went up to Tony and hugged him as well. Tony hesitated to reciprocate it, but ultimately did and gave a smile.

"Thank you." She said, not only for the act of saving her but for coming in general. Tony understood what she meant.

"No problem, Nat." He replied. "Let's get back to the jet."

The four walked together through the snow, and Y/N recalled his remark from moments ago.

"Didn't you build your house on a cliffside back in Malibu? How did that turn out?" 

Tony sighed. "I try to forget that, Forrest. But thanks for reminding me."

The Quinjet flew away from the mountains and was en route out of Siberia. Pietro sat down, smiling at the toddler on his lap. Natasha and Y/N went up to him, and the blonde was in awe at the sight. Y/N had already seen it beforehand.

"Is that..." She started to say, and all her boyfriend did was smile and nod. Pietro carefully handed the baby to Natasha.

"She has your eyes." Y/N said softly as he looked at the baby...their clone...their daughter. "And your hair."

"She's beautiful." Natasha's voice started to break. The mere fact that she held a living being, made from her and the person she loved, got her emotional. Even if the reveal of her pregnancy was simply a mistake made by the doctors, it wouldn't matter. The baby they had now was real.

Steve and Tony stood by the cockpit, looking at the couple with their child. The two men glanced at each other and grinned. Yelena sat with Helen as they also witnessed the moment...a moment that they, as Widows, never thought would be possible.