Stained (N.R)

Chapter 25

I slowly regained consciousness as I heard Ultron's voice. 

"I wasn't sure you would wake up." 

He was not talking to me. 

I sat up groggily, trying to figure out my locations. 

I was in a bed, in a barred cell. The floor was clean and there was a door leading to the washroom. 

My muscles were stiff as I moved them, the side effects of the spray still catching up to me as I yawned. 

"I hoped you could." Ultron continued to the stranger. "I needed someone to talk to and she is still asleep. You are my best option. "

Another few seconds of silence. "You know....I often thought about the meteorites. The purest of them. Boom... Begin... Start again..."

Again, no answer. 

"The world will be destroyed, and I will be building it, no, re-building it. I need Katyusha to assist me, but she needs you, and only follows you. So you need to be kept here, so our new world shall be a success. We will build a beautiful world, with mercy, with happiness, instead of fear. That fear comes from the Avengers, it comes from you. Have you realised that?"

Still silence, heavy breathing...

"You've wounded me, but she would not be happy if I wound you...."

Heavy footsteps, scuffling of fabric, both coming my way.

Ultron's familiar figure appeared at my cell door, something struggling in its grasp. 

"You are awake." It exclaimed, seemingly pleased with itself.

"When I said we could talk," I groaned. "I didn't mean sedate me and then kidnap me here."

"But I got you her." He said almost innocently.

A familiar red head was pushed in, stumbling. I stood in shock. "What the... Ilya?"

"She was caught disrupting my plan, so I thought that you would appreciate some reunion." Ultron chuckled. "In the meantime, behave, the both of you."

The door locked with a click.

She looked up at me, her eyes wide with startled fright. "Katya.... Katya....."

"I'm here." 

I stiffened as she wrapped her arms around me, but relaxed into her hug. 

"Natalia?"

"Ultron showed me his plan." She whispered. "This very country we are standing on... It is going to destroy earth. The whole of it."

I sighed. "Barton's on his way?"

"I hope so." She sighed.

"Then why so glum?" I raised a brow, trying to keep my distance from her, in spite of the loud thudding in my chest. 

"Are you working with him?" She asked. "Do you...."

I stared at her, then scoffed, pulling back from her, my heart freezing at her words. "You think very lowly of me, Natasha Romanoff."

Her eyes widened as she heard me say her new name. "I didn't mean..."

"I understand." I drew back from her. "Trust no one that hasn't passed the test. You are correct. I am not loyal to the Avengers, nor Fury nor to mankind. You are correct to assume these things."

Are we this much apart now? That she does not even trust me?

"I...." She hesitated. "I just... don't want to lose you, to be on the opposite side of you."

"We both know that it is easy to happen in a world like this, with all the mind toying and continuous conflicts." I refused to look at her. 

"Not now." She replied, her voice steadier. "I'm not ready to do that now, to face you in a fight."

Neither of us mentioned my action of running away from Clint's house, making me end up here. We focused rather, on Ultron's plans and our next step forward. 

"After he does what he has done." I motioned around us. "There would be a drastic change to the world around us. Some humans may survive and other animals may start to evolve. A new world, a new beginning. Evil would be destroyed, temporarily."

"My family would not be a part of that new world." Natalia whispered, shaking her head. "The ones I care about, the ones I love."

After becoming an Avenger, Natalia had changed much. Her stance was not as aggressive as before, her aura more peaceful. She seemed like a tired traveler who found her home. It was something a creature like Ultron or I would never understand, yet at this moment, it was almost as if I felt a bit of that peace, the peace which Natalia treasured.

We were silent for a few more seconds, until she raised her head towards me again. "How do you do this? Stay unbothered about the past, about.... the ceremony."

"I guess they never gave me the time to think about these things." I gestured around me. "There wasn't much time to stop and think before I met Tony, and when I did, thinking about it had lost its purpose." 

She nodded slowly, as if trying to absorb my words. "Did you ever think that.... Perhaps, if we were a bit luckier and...."

She didn't need to finish the sentence. I knew perfectly what she meant. 

"Sometimes." I admitted. "Yet, I cannot change any of it. They taught me that weakness is a crime and they are right. As of this moment, I thank them for giving me enough power to do what I need to do. I am not one to remember pain. I tend to live for the minute."

Besides.... If it wasn't for them.... I would never have met you.

Then, a knock on the bars, a familiar soft rounded face with glasses. It was Banner, surprised to see me. "Natasha, Katyusha."

I drew away from Natalia as fast as I can and she raised an eyebrow, walking over to Bruce.

"Are you two alright?" He looked nervously at me, then Natalia. 

"Yeah." Natalia replied for the both of us. "What is the situation now?"

"The team is in the city. It's about to light up. The rest of the team are getting the civilians out. " He tried to fiddle with the lock, without much success. 

"Stand back." I told him, summoning Diana with a flick of my wrist. 

Banner blinked as she tore down the metal bars, swallowing hard. "Right... So...."

"How long does it take for my knife to get here from Korea?" Natalia turned to me and asked. 

"A few hours." I replied, handing her my sword. "Lucky for you, I have spares."

It hummed in her hand, either happy to be held by her, or not liking being called a spare. Maybe it was a bit of both.