Forgotten Ghost | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 57: An Important Question

Warning: angsty and depressing. You have been warned ;)

Something tickled Katya's cheek and it wasn't the blood. This was something else. It came from somewhere else. 

She wanted it to go away. She just wanted to be left alone. But it didn't go away. Instead it got more present and annoying, impossible to ignore. It ruined Katya's relaxed state and didn't let her go back to it. Who or whatever was bothering her really wanted her to wake up.

Without a way to move, she was surrendered to the events happening outside her body. 

With a pull, like she was yanked out of a pool, the pressure on her body was gone. Her lungs were clear and oxygen filled her nose. She gasped for air, coughing and panting. Someone was talking to her but her ears were stuffed like the blood was still in them. 

The cold from the metal floor she was sitting on seeped through her thin suit, shocking her body back to reality.

Her mind however, was a completely different story. 

A hand on her shoulder startled Katya so much that she jumped backwards, only for her back to slam into the wall again. It was still sore from getting thrown into it before. ''не трогай меня,'' (Don't touch me) she hissed dangerously between breaths, protecting her face with her hand while the other supported her body.

A muffled voice managed to break through her ears. ''Katya, it's alright. It's Clint, you're safe.''

There was a salty taste in her mouth and Katya realized she was crying. At the moment though, she was way too disoriented and rattled to even care Clint saw her like this. He had seen her in worse states.

So much noise, so much thoughts swirling around that Katya couldn't find reality. She couldn't reach Clint. It was as if there was an invisible wall between her and the world. 

''Katya?'' Clint asked worried, but she was in no state to answer him. All she saw was the blood, the dropping bodies, the screams filling her ears. Wanda had shown her who she really was and it had hit like a truck.

''Well, that's not gonna happen. Not for a while. The whole team is down, you got no back up here,'' Clint spoke to someone Katya couldn't hear. 

She heard some shuffling next to her, but paid no attention to it. ''Katya, we have to go. Come on,'' Clint encouraged her. But Katya couldn't feel her feet, didn't know how to move her body. Her brain was completely out of service.

''I am sorry about this, but we really need to go.'' Clint grabbed her arm, hoisting it over his head around his neck, and dragged her to her feet. 

Katya struggled at first, trying to push him away. But the reality was she had no energy to protest. Her body felt heavy and empty.

Her dull eyes stared at the ground but didn't see anything. They didn't see the metal stairs or the yellow sand under her feet. They didn't see Tony landing in front of her, who stared at her with worried eyes.

''What happened?'' he asked Clint as the blonde man passed her to the billionaire.

''The witch happened.'' It was all he had to say. Tony was smart enough to figure out what Katya would have seen. He had seen the girl's work with his own eyes, knew what it felt like to not be in control of your body.

''Alright, let's go Petrova,'' Tony said cheerfully, slowly guiding her back towards the jet. He started rambling all kinds of random stuff that went in one ear and out the other. 

Bruce looked up at them as they entered the jet. He was one of the few people who was actually conscious. He was lucky Katya didn't see the pity on his face though, because she hated pity.