Hydra's shadow

Chapter 5: Shared Apologies

*note that in this book Natasha and Clint never tried to kill Dreykov so he is still alive*

*ECHO'S POV*

I tried many times to steady my breathing, watching as my chest raised up then down, up then down, returning my mind back to my surroundings, suddenly very aware of her standing a mere few paces from me. I slowly raised my head from the crook in my knees so as to face her. She held an awkward stance, like she wasn't sure whether to approach me or not, settling for lingering, simply waiting for my lead.

*NATASHA'S POV*

As she moved to face me I could see her face was pink and flushed, her cheeks stained with dried tears. Her eyes, as they turned towards me, were bloodshot and held a heavy but notably tired expression. I didn't advance on her, wary of the fact that she had just tried to hurt me not long ago. I could barely hear her above the low drumming sound of the cell's energy, reading her lips as she managed to utter in a hoarse whisper, diverting her gaze away from me as she spoke.

"Thank you."

I didn't know how to respond to that, she shouldn't have to thank me for freeing her, she never asked to be here from what Peter had told us. She must've been terrified waking up here with no one, completely alone.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, especially with me. But please you have to tell someone here who you are and what the hell happened yesterday. You know Tony is already discussing moving you to a secure facility somewh-"

"Did he ever put you in The Room?", her words overlapping mine, the blunt and direct question startling me slightly.

"The Room?" I repeated back, still completely clueless.

"When you were taken, did he ever put you in The Room?"

"Who is he Echo?"

"General Dreykov. The man behind it all."

I felt a shiver run through my spine at the sound of that name, but quickly let it pass, after all I still didn't know how he and Echo were connected so wanted to show as little recognition as possible. She didn't pick up on my slight hesitation, continuing with her speech.

"You do know him right? You have to have known him he w-"

"He was the one who took me. Raised me as his own. Though he treated me opposite to how a parent should."

"You were taken?"

I managed to keep eye contact with Echo just long enough to give a slight nod in her direction, an answer to her previous question.

"Were you?"

"I'm not sure. The only memories I have are from that place. But I've heard that they hold the technology to erase memories just like that so who knows what really happened to me."

Bucky. They'd wiped his memories 'just like that'. And I know how long and gruelling the process of getting them all back was, I could never imagine a child as young as Echo having to experience that.

"That must've been lonely for you. To grow up in a place like that so isolated from the rest of humanity."

"It's all I've ever know Natalia."

Those words touched me deeper than expected, in that moment again I saw a young girl alone and afraid, with little to no experience of the outside world, raised in the Red Room to be nothing more than a trained killer.

*ECHO'S POV*

"I'm sorry." I heard her muster, her voice a little cracked alerting me to fix her gaze. I studied her expression, only seeing hurt and resentment. Maybe she really was sorry.

"Did you know? About the widow project."

"No. I swear to you Echo I had no idea. I mean I- I never looked back after I escaped, I just- I- I needed out."

She bowed her head in what would normally seem like defeat, but in this case it seemed to be out of shame and embarrassment. I watched silently as she wiped the few tears away from her face with the back of her hand.

"I should've gone back. I should've ended it all before any of this could have happened."

I could tell she was distressed, and I genuinely felt her apology to be truthful and meaningful,
"It's not your fault Natalia. It would've happened anyway. He would've moved, only grown bigger and in more secrecy. You could never have stopped him. Don't blame yourself Natalia."

I could tell my words brought her a sense of comfort, as her shoulders that had before been hunched over were now relaxed, and the tears on her cheeks had now been replaced by a growing smile, slight but still known to me.

"You called it The Room before. I only knew it the Red Room when I was there why did he change it? Did you move locations?"

"The Red Room you remember is still the same as when you left. The Room is a place inside the Red Room. It's a sort of experimentation chamber, only used for torture."

*NATASHA'S POV*

I winced slightly at her words. More for the fact she was speaking of this torture chamber so causally, like it was part of a normal conversation for her.

"What did he do?"

"Many things. Some I passed out at so much I don't remember. And some I'll never be able to forget. They experimented on me since I was a child. I remember them talking about the power of a stone, and using it on me, I guess now that's how I must have gotten my abilities. In the centre of The Room there was a chair just like that one. They'd test me with different methods, pulsing electricity as I was cut, he usually used his pocket knife making a clean cut, observing me as I 'healed myself' so he used to say."

"The chair, that's why you freaked out so suddenly when you woke up. You were having flashbacks?"

"I thought that I was back there, only for a split second then I started to panic because of the restraints."

"What abilities do you actually have Echo?" I questioned cautiously, altering the subject so as not to remind her any more of her episode just a few minutes before.

"Elemental control mainly but I can also heal myself and sometimes others. It's pretty cool."

A small smile plastered across her face as she spoke, two dimples either side on her cheeks now noticeable. It was the first time I'd seen her smile and it was warming, almost comforting in a sense.

"Why do you call me Natalia. Nobody ever calls me that except from James."

"That's what he called you. When he trained us he told us to fight like Natalia, to think like Natalia, to kill like Natalia."

She must've picked up on my delayed hesitation as she offered up a suggestion,
"I can call you Natasha if you'd like, it's no different really."

"No, it's ok, I actually prefer Natalia. Besides I think you've earned the right to call me that, given the circumstances."

I tried a small grin at the young girl, relieved when she reciprocated my action, giving me that same warm and comforting smile back.

"I really am sorry about yesterday, in the moment I wanted to hurt you but now, it makes more sense and I don't want to anymore. Please, don't make me stay in here any longer I don't think I could bear it."

"Don't worry Echo I'm not going to just leave you in here. There's plenty of spare rooms in this monstrosity of a tower, Tony can never have enough space."

"About Tony, wh-"

"You let me deal with Stark. And believe me when I say that it would be my pleasure."

She seemed assured by those words, as she gave me a small nod and motioned towards the door, still allowing me to lead the way out, up into the main part of the tower.