never leaving your side || romanogers

Chapter 30

Natasha looked up at Madame B, angry fear evident in her eyes. She didn't say anything- what would she say? Stop beating up my boyfriend and let me the hell out of here? God, she should have escaped when she had the chance, then Steve wouldn't have followed her into this trap. It was all her fault. 

What had she seen on the tablet? Natasha had seen Steve, handcuffed to a metal chair, nothing he couldn't break out of. But then he was beat, over and over until his eyes turned black with bruises and his body had gone slack with defeat and blood. 

He looked dead.

Natasha's gaze quickly became terrified. "Where's the others?" She spat. "What did you do with them?"

Madame B smiled, all straight lines and angles. A robot smile. "Asleep."

Shit. Natasha cursed herself again. Bruce, Tony, Clint, Thor- all incapable of leaving the hell hole they had jumped into. She had to bring them out of the mess she had created. 

"You know what? You need to let me out right now." 

Madame B said placidly and plainly awful, "No."

No matter, Natasha thought. In her soaked through clothes unfit for battle, she tore her hand from the chair in one swift movement, breaking off a chunk of chair in the process. Despite being chilled to the bone and tired as hell, she fought with adrenaline, catching the older woman off guard and marching straight out the door. 

Outside, there weren't any of the usual guards, Natasha noted oddly. Although, it seemed late out, they were probably supervising curfew or something. It was easier to escape though, and before long, she found a room, that looked like the one from the tablet. It was empty, though. She tried another, then another. It wasn't until she had made her way to her old studio, though, that she realized something was wrong. 

The clock was in the wrong position. 

It seemed like such a little, unimportant detail, that Natasha herself was confused why she noticed it. 

However, she had spent long, tedious hours in that studio, doing painful exercise after painful exercise under the watchful eye of Madame B. And now she remembered distinctively that there was a small black clock right above the door that she would always glance to to check when the hours were over. 

The clock wasn't over the door. It was above the piano. It should be over the door.

A wave of horror passed over Natasha. It was dead silent, quieter than it had ever been while she was training in the Red Room. This was why there were no guards, why it had been so easy to get out of her prison. This was not the right building. 

---

Tony finished talking, leaving Pepper almost speechless. Then, she lunged forward and squeezed him tight. "You should have told us, even if we might've gotten into some deep shit. You should have told me!"

Tony put an arm over her back. "I know," he murmured. "I'm sorry, Pep, but I think they went to the wrong place. I have to go now, to save them."

Pepper lingered in his arms for a moment longer before pulling back. "Ok," she nodded. "Can I help?"

Tony scratched his head. "Not with what I'm doing, no, but you can go to the Barton's and calm Laura and the kids. She's really worried."

"Ok."

Tony then left promptly, boarding a jet that quickly took him to the coordinates given. 52.5200N 13.4050E

Berlin.

---

Natasha pounded the door in frustration. "Ugh!" She grunted. 

After roaming the building frantically trying to find a way out, she remembered the two girls who had led her to her prison. She wanted to save them, and she was determined to find a way. So, she found a room like the dorms she used to live in, and tried to get in. The door was locked though, and probably enforced with a big stinking iron bar. 

And now her shoulder hurt from slamming into metal. 

Footsteps began to sound behind her. "Shitshitshit," she mumbled quietly. There was no running now, the almost silent tap tap had already reached her. A cold hand placed itself on Natasha's shoulder, and then immediately another muffled her shouts as she got ready to attack them. 

"Shush! It's Yelena."

The Black Widow immediately relaxed. "Yelena, this isn't the right place."

"Yes, I know. This is beneath Berlin, but I think Madame said that your team is in the real Red Room, in Russia. You remember, don't you?"

Natasha shook her head in disgust. "How could I forget?"

Yelena bit her lip. "We need to go. I can get us out." She began to pull on Natasha's arm, but Natasha held back. 

"Wait, we need to get the girls out of there. They deserve a better life."

Yelena sighed. "You're right. Here." She flipped a small key out of a discrete pocket in her suit. 

Natasha caught it, and promptly unlocked the door. But to her and Yelena's surprise, there were more than just the two girls who Natasha had seen. At least a dozen were had bolted upright at the door opening and were now looking at them, eyes wide. And scared, like a deer in headlights. 

Wow. Natasha blanched. "Wait, I only saw 2 though? You said this isn't the right place!" She whispered to Yelena.

Yelena had a similar expression on her face. "Yeah, I thought so too."

The women walked closer, but as soon as they got close, the nearest girls shrank back, afraid. "It's ok," Natasha whispered. "My name is Natasha, and I'm going to get you out of here. Ok?" No one replied, but they looked as if they were starting to believe her. Then, a young girl which Natasha recognized as the one who had brought her in with the other girl stepped forward. 

"Everyone, it's ok. She's the Black Widow and she's going to save us." The girl, she had red hair like Natasha's acted like their leader, because all the other girls moved forward and some even smiled. "My name is Tatiana."

Natasha smiled. At last, they could start saving people. "Hi, Tatiana. Yelena and I are going to save you, but we need you to tell us some things first. Why are you guys here? I know this isn't the right place."

Tatiana looked at her friends uneasily. "I don't really know. They just brought us here a week ago and told us to train here for a bit. Only us though, most of the girls are still back home."

Yelena gave Natasha a look. "Thanks," Natasha sighed. "Just one more thing then. Do you know where the Avengers are?" It was a long stretch, but if any of the girls knew where they were, it would be worth it. 

A taller girl stepped out of the shadows, probably one of the oldest. "I think I heard Madame B talking about it to a guard. Something about Captain America being in Russia or something. I bet he went to the real Red Room. 

"Shit!" Natasha quickly clapped her hand over her mouth, remembering that Tatiana and many other girls as young as 11 were in the room. "Sorry. We need to go. Tatiana, can you lead us to the exit?"

Tatiana nodded. "Sure."

All the girls followed her, Natasha in the front and Yelena keeping watch in the back. They walked carefully, even though there was a small chance that there were still guards keeping watch at this time. All the while, Natasha was thinking. 

So, I'm stuck in a fake Red Room, underneath Germany of all places, the Bird-man probably took the team to the Red Room in Russia, my used-to-be best friend is still alive and is standing next to me right now, Steve is being beaten up because of me, and the rest of the team is captured and probably drugged too. 

All of a sudden, Natasha wanted to sit down and cry. But of course, she couldn't break down now. She had to be strong, for Tatiana and all the girls like her, and for the team, and for Yelena, and most of all, for Steve.