All the Colors of Earth (Natasha Romanoff)

1.4

I stayed in an empty room for the rest of the night, not wanting to risk running into Romanoff in our room. I didn't know if I would be able to stop myself from telling her what happened. From all the stories of the Bonded that I remember, it was impossible to keep secrets from your Bond.

So that night I stayed by myself and the next morning I went to find the twins. I kept my eyes covered as I walked, mostly because it was what I was used to and I knew I'd get distracted by all the new colors I could see.

When I finally found them they were in the cafeteria having breakfast. They looked up as i sat heavily in a chair opposite them. "Where'd you disappear to last night?" Wanda asked.

I shrugged slightly, "too many people."

"Well there will be even less after today," Pietro said.

"Why is that?"

The twins are silent for a moment before Wanda answered, "we are all getting shipped out later today."

"All of us?"

"Yes, they announced it last night. We are all to go to our assignments today."

This couldn't have worked out better, and with any luck I could avoid Romanoff until I left. "I should go pack," I say as I get up.

"Meet us at hanger three when you're done?" Wanda asked. "Our flight out leaves in an hour."

"Of course," I called over my shoulder as I left. The halls were filled with people rushing about but none stopped to talk to me and when I got to my room it was empty. Grabbing a bag I tossed all of my things in it and headed out to hanger three where the twins were already waiting.

I was sadder then I thought I'd be when the twins sandwiched me in a goodbye hug. "Stay in touch," Wanda sniffled, failing to keep her tears contained.

"I will."

She gives me a knowing look, "no, you won't. And it's ok, maybe we'll see each other around."

"We definitely will. They'll need the best agent in SHIELD to come show you all how it's done," I tease her.

"I don't think that big head of yours will fit on your flight," Pietro said as he bumped my shoulder.

The twins flight was called and Wanda gives me one last hug before she heads off but I grab Pietros arm to stop him. "Take care of her," I tell him.

"I will."

"Good. She's a good person and I'd hate to have to beat you up if you ever broke her heart."

He laughed softly, "like you could ever catch me," he said before he sped off to join Wanda.

My flight was called shortly after and before I knew it I was on my way. I was surprised that I was the only one on this flight besides the pilot but it did allow me to stretch out on the bench.

A few hours later we arrived and I was greeted by a man who looked like one wrong move and he'd bust out of his clothes. "Welcome to Atlas Compound. I'm Jones, just Jones. And you are?"

"Marzda. Uh Agent Cadanar."

He made a hmm sound and turned, "follow me."

I followed the big man through an oddly large yet quiet compound. After several hallways of not seeing anyone I had to ask, "where is everyone?"

"On assignment."

"Oh."

After several more hallways he stopped at a door and turned to me, "this is you. Everything you need is inside."

He turned to go but stopped when I asked, "what do I do now?"

"You wait until you're needed."

I watched him leave as I had watched Fury all those months ago before finally going into my room. The first thing I noticed was that there was only one bed. Guess being an Agent had its perks. Besides the bed there was a dresser, a desk with a lamp and another door that lead to a bathroom.

Sitting on the bed was a basket with a map, a welcome letter, some random toiletries, a cell phone and a laptop. I hadn't brought much so it only took a few minutes to unpack and when I was done I opened the laptop.

Typing in colors in the search bar I was bombarded with all the different variations. Taking a breath I settled in for the night and tried to learn as many of them as I could. And that's what I did for the next week when I wasn't training or sleeping.

About a week after I had arrived I woke to a hammering in my head. I made it to the toilet just in time for a waterfall of bile to rush out of me. When I was done I lay on the ground and there I stayed for several days, the pounding in my head getting worse with each passing moment.

Somehow I managed to get my feet and wobble out into the hallway. Using the wall as a support I slid my way down the hall until I could hear people. "Help," I managed to call out. I collapsed to the ground just as the first person reached me and I managed to mutter, "Romanoff. I need Agent Romanoff." And then everything went black as the insides of my head exploded.