Hunting for a Speedster

The Truth Comes Out

Dark. Everywhere I looked there was darkness surrounding me. I huddled in the corner of the wall, too terrified to move. A door opened somewhere and light spilled into the room before someone grabbed me and dragged me into another room and threw me into the wall. "Welcome back to the red room Brooke. Warm up and we'll get started."

"No." I whispered defiantly. The person stepped into the light and I saw it was an older woman who looked mad.

"You don't say no, Brooke." The woman snapped "What do you say, what have I always taught you?"

"I have no place in the world."

"Please repeat that for me."

"I HAVE NO PLACE IN THE WORLD!"

"And?"

"I never had a place in the world."

Clint's POV

"Hey Clint?" Natasha said sharply from beside me as she bolted upright. Don't judge, we were tired and fell asleep.

"Yeah?" I groaned.

"I think Brooke's having a nightmare. I can hear her crying, come on!" I sprinted after and ran into Brooke's room. When we got there, my heart sunk. She was thrashing around in the bed and saying something. "Is that Russian?" Natasha asked anxiously. I darted over to Brooke's bed and tried to make out what she was saying.

"У меня нет места в мире." she said fearfully in her sleep "И у меня никогда не было места в мире." (I have no place in the world and I never did have a place in the world.)

Natasha gasped and whispered "That's the Red Room saying." I nodded shortly and frantically tried to wake Brooke up.

"Come on Brooke," I mumbled "please wake up." She shot up immediately and started crying. I quickly pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back gently.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed "I wanted to tell you, I just couldn't!"

"Shh," I whispered calmly "It's OK. We're right here." I turned to look over pointedly at Natasha, but she was already sitting on the other side of Brooke waiting for me to let go of her. When I did, Brooke immediately leaned in to Natasha who hugged her and started murmuring in Russian to her to calm her down.

"I'm so sorry," Brooke said quietly to Natasha "I didn't want to tell you."

"It's alright," Natasha said softly "we'll figure it out in the morning. We'll stay here tonight, OK?" Brooke nodded silently and curled up under the covers between Natasha and I, and immediately she was fast asleep.

"What are we going to do?" Natasha whispered.

"We're going to do what we would do if it was our kid. Because that's what she is, and I don't know about you but I'll be damned if HYDRA gets their hands on her." Natasha smiled and turned to hug Brooke under the covers.

"Маленький один." she said gently as she kissed Brooke's forehead "I promise I won't leave you." (Little one)

"No one's leaving anyone," I said as we both drifted off to sleep "You don't abandon family."

Alright, I lied. I didn't want to, but when I saw how nice the rest of the team was I just couldn't tell them. You don't meet nice people and immediately tell them you were raised to become an assassin by Russian terrorists. It's just an unspoken rule. One I hoped Natasha and Clint would understand when I told them my sob little life story.

I woke up as the sunlight streamed into my room, and I was so confused. Clint was on one side of me with his face pressed into a pillow and Natasha was on my other side with her arm wrapped protectively around me. The events from last night came flooding back to me and I paled, knowing that they were probably going to grill me and, knowing my luck, send me back to the orphanage and there was no way I was going back there. Slowly, I lifted Natasha's arm off of me and attempted to slip out of the bed unnoticed. I was halfway off when I was jerked back and pinned to the bed.

"I hate you." I muttered to a grinning Clint.

"You love me Pipsqueak, admit it!"

"Never!" Clint smirked and started tickling my sides. I shrieked and tried to wiggle away, but I was still tired and I couldn't fend off his attack. "Natasha help me!" I cried as Clint laid on top of me and crushed me with his weight. Natasha groaned as she woke up and looked around for the source of the commotion.

"Clint," she said dangerously "Where's Brooke?"

"Brooke?" he asked innocently "Short, pale, purple haired teenager?

"Yeah, that Brooke!" Natasha snapped.

"Never heard of her." I tried to call out through the wall that was Clint. Natasha narrowed her eyes and shoved Clint off the bed. I took a large breath of air and Natasha hugged me while glaring daggers at Clint. "OK," Clint said as he rubbed his head ruefully "since we're all up, I guess we should talk." I tried to make a bolt for the window but Natasha pushed me back onto the bed and gave me a warning glance.

"So what do you want to know?" I asked quietly.

"Were you in the red room?" Natasha asked bluntly. I nodded silently and tucked my knees to my chest.

"How did you end up there?" Clint asked softly, picking me up and setting me in his lap.

"My parents needed money, they got a couple thousand bucks off signing me up for the red room to take me." Natasha's eyes softened and she reached out to take my hand.

"You must hate me so much, being from that place." she whispered.

"Not really," I said with a small smile "You're the Black Widow, the one who escaped. If anything you were the inspiration of what to grow up to be."

"Yeah, how did you escape?" Clint asked in confusion "I thought when you were there it was impossible to escape."

"It is," I said as I bit my lip "but one of the other girls tried to make a run for it and when they were dragging her body away, I ran into the forest and didn't look back." Clint tightened his grip on me and rocked me back and forth, not showing any signs of letting me go. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you." I whispered as tears slowly trickled down my face "I didn't want you to send me back to the orphanage."

"Hey," Clint said gently "you're our kid now. We are never going to get rid of you, OK?" I nodded and smiled silently as Clint and Natasha leaned in and both hugged me tight.

"I love you Mom and Dad." I whispered.

"We love you too Pipsqueak." Clint said, smiling.

"But you know I'm going to get you back for tickling me right?"

"Shit."