AN- I feel evil. Like complete with the evil laughter and clap and everything.

Chapter 19 part II

-Past Natasha-

Bayu-bay... Tired toys are sleeping, so are books.

Blankets and pillows are waiting for kids.

Even fairy tale goes to bed,

So you could dream of it at night.

Close your eyes,

Bayu-bay…

"Bayu-bay, Bayu-bay," the song was the only one the girls were ever allowed to sing. Unbeknownst to Madame, when Natalia would go out to take out the garbage she would take four seconds to simply listen for anyone whistling or humming on the other side of the fence. In secret she would tap the rhythms to herself and on occasion use the small melodies to trade for bread from the bigger girls.

Of course many of them had died now.

"Natalia Alianovna."

Putting the scrub brush on the floor she quickly walked to Madame Kudrin's office. The proud tall woman bent her head as Natalia knelt on the floor in front of her, kissing the bottom of her skirts.

"Madame Kudrin." Her voice was steady and she congratulated herself inside her head for this small feat.

"Get up off the floor child." Scrambling to her feet she felt the sharp sting of the cherry stick against her back. "Such prostrations are not for an initiate." Her eyes fell on the small girl sitting in the chair before Madame's great desk. She was skinny, her cheekbones showed how long it had been since she had eaten. Repeating the mantra "Bayu-bay, Bayu-bay.." Natalia kept her mask of indifference even though the adrenaline was beginning to seep through her veins. This is what she had been waiting for. All of the other girls her age had already been made initiates and left Natalia scrubbing floors and dancing in toed shoes.

Madame waved her hand to the plate of biscuits on her table, Natalia had to bite her cheek as the young girl fell upon them like a dog as soon as permission was given.

"So hungry mockingbird." Natalia examined the girl after this information was given. Each of them had their own nickname. Some trait that Madame drew out to become their new persona. Madame had named her the little spider after watching her steal in the markets. Now she would have to find out what made this child a mockingbird.

"This is your new sister novice, Natalia Romanova. She will see that you get what you need for your classes. It is lucky for you to have such a talented ballerina for your sister, I have great expectations for you mockingbird."

As the girl continued to stuff herself, not noticing that neither Madame nor Natalia had yet to take a bite, Madame cleared her throat and smiled kindly at her. "Aren't you going to introduce yourself to your sister?"

Mouth full of bread she swallowed thickly and Natalia remembered the burn of the course bread as it had once slid down her throat in this same room. Of course her sister novice had died three weeks later but that was of little consequence.

"Well child?"

Finally seeming to pick up that Madame was not someone to keep waiting she blurted out quickly, "Yelena. Yelena Belova."

-Natasha-

Once they let Natasha out of the hospital she could only be found one of two places, her room, where Bruce had also taken up residence much to her relief, or the gym where she was currently trying to build her healing body back up to par. For ten days she was left alone exactly how she wanted, unfortunately, Cap didn't seem to get the message.

Bursting in on her running Steve threw down his towel and stormed up to her, if he had been a cat the hairs on his head would have been standing on end.

"Fight me." When she didn't move he grabbed her and physically drug her to the mat in the middle of the room.

"Fight me." He demanded again throwing a sloppy punch at her shoulder which she let land. Giving her an incredulous look he stood up straight, "Or you can tell me what hap…" The words never left his mouth as Nat roundhouse kicked him in the jaw, bringing the super soldier to the ground. Straddling his chest Natasha stroked his face with her hands cooing at him and batting her eyelashes.

"You're too clever for me Steve, I never stood a chance." Just to make sure he wouldn't ever interrupt her again she pressed a kiss to his lips before leaving him lying in the middle of the gym.

-Past Natasha-

The bed creaked beneath her small frame as she laid down. She was holding the ballet slippers close to her chest and her hands were tucked beneath her armpits.

Well that was the first thing that would have to change.

Remembering her first night in the school Natalia felt powerful as she echoed the words of what once was Eketerina Kirova "Give me your hands." She held the handcuffs behind her back, skillfully keeping them from clinking together. Yelena refused to look at her and rolled onto her stomach.

"I am not going to make you get up, give me your hands." She knew Madame would praise her in the morning for her choice of words after she reviewed the cameras.

'Dancing around the truth…'

Yelena rolled over and met the older girl's gaze with fear, Natalia looked for mistrust but the child had not yet learned to be wary.

'spinning you inside my lies…'

She set her shoes on the floor beside her letting a tear go as she leaned down, but Natalia saw the slight shift in her breathing as it spilled.

'and just when you think I've sheltered you inside my home…'

Placing her hands in hers Natalia could feel the smooth skin of a life without work. The sallow cheeks now told her the story of a girl who was simply too spoiled at one point to learn how to succeed outside of the Red Room. Natalia patted the back of her hand and before Yelena's smile could reach her eyes the handcuffs closed around her wrists.

She protested and yelled at Natalia to stop playing games, trying to swing her feet around to kick at her.

'Just when you think I've sheltered you inside my home you realize that you are truly stuck in my web…'

Natalia bowed her head toward Yelena and left the room of young girls. Now that she had moved up she would receive a room of her own. Madame ushered her down the stairs and led her into a back room with only a small wash stand and a bed shoved against the wall.

'And it's supper time.' The metal closed around her own wrists with a familiar click. Madame leaned down and kissed her brow.

"You're going to catch a little bird in your web Natalia." Her fingers touched Natalia's hair and caressed it matronly. "Before you spin that thread, make sure that the bird isn't hungry too."

-Clint-

They all knew something was very, very wrong with Natasha. Usually she was the first one to their team breakfasts, and she didn't show up for weeks in a row. When Laura called him she informed him that Nat hadn't been answering her texts or calls and even Lila's letter get-well answer had gone unanswered.

As the weeks continued, things only grew worse, she rarely left her room and would only allow Bruce to enter. Her breakdown was wreaking its toll on the doctor as well, his beard was grown in and getting wild. When Clint would see him he would ask how things were going with Nat, the responses varied to each extreme from "I think that she needs help," to "She seems to be back to normal."

It wasn't until their movie night that things seemed to hit the fan.

The night was a special occasion as they were finally watching the final installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Everyone was fairly on edge, this was the first night that Bruce was gone since Natasha had been released from the hospital. He had gone to South Korea on emergency notice to help with a situation at Helen Cho's lab.

It started when Pepper and Tony brought up their idea that they might try to have a baby.

Naturally the others were rather interested and excited at the prospect and Clint could see the physical effect it was having on Natasha. As they began teasing Tony about dad issues and talking to Pepper about name choices Natasha grew smaller and smaller in her chair until she was sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head resting on the top of them.

Tony drank from his wine glass and laughed at something Thor had said, "I'm most worried about not knowing what to do. I wish that there was like, a 'I'm considering parenthood' mentor that I could just learn everything from."

"Just someone who has experience with the whole craze of parenthood," Jane nodded in agreement.

"So Nick?" Mara smirked and raised her glass to the director as he shook his head at their antics.

She was still the best damn spy in the business because Clint almost missed Natasha slipping out the doors.

As she walked out of the room Clint pulled out his phone and dialed Banner's number. The line only ran twice before he answered.

"What happened?"

"I think you need to get back here, now."

The doctor repeated himself, "What happened?"

Chewing his lip in worry Clint responded, "I think Stark inadvertently found Tasha's trigger point."

"Which was?"

"Something about a 'mentor.'"

-Bruce-

She was waiting for him when he arrived back home. Shifting his aching shoulders, he flinched and was grateful her back was turned so she could not read into his movements.

The sleeves of the sweatshirt were rolled up four times to allow her use of her hands. Bruce decided he would be giving Natasha all of his clothes for they looked far better on her body than his, not to mention seeing her toned legs beneath the bottom of the shirt was irresistible.

"I've missed you Natasha." His smile fell as she continued to face away from him. "Natasha?"

Not a muscle moved in her body. There was not even the slightest inclination that she had heard him enter.

"We need to leave."

That wasn't exactly comforting.

Stepping toward her Bruce put out his hands as one would when approaching a cornered animal.

"Nat…"

"They'll never stop." Whirling around there was a wildness in her eyes, a fear that was primal, a fear that Bruce knew very, very well.

"They'll never stop." She repeated quieter running her hands over her arms nervously and she began to pace agitatedly in the small space she occupied.

"Natasha." The way he said her name seemed to get through to her.

"Natasha." She echoed turning and meeting his face with wide eyes.

So maybe he hadn't really gotten through to her.

"Natasha…" Now he was getting even more panicked as she continued to mutter her name. "Natasha, Natasha, Natasha, Natasha."

Kneeling down on the floor a good five feet from her agitated self, Bruce waited for the madness to abate.

"Bird. Natasha, Natasha. Protect the bird. Natasha. Teach the bird, Natasha. Natasha, Kill the bird. Natasha, The bird will kill you. Natasha…"

Eventually the moment ended and Natasha, his Natasha stopped the rambling and came over towards him. She knelt in front of him like a mirror image and they stayed that way for a few minutes, letting them both come back into themselves.

"She called me Natalia."

Bruce nodded, not knowing why that was so particularly important.

Not letting their gaze break Natasha placed her hands on his forearms, holding them in her hands firmly. Nodding her head she breathed deeply and in a clear voice stated, "I'm ready to talk to them."

Turning his arms so that his hands held her forearms as well Bruce pulled her to her feet but as they turned to leave she dug her nails into his skin fiercely.

"But…." Letting go of him with one hand she brought it up to his face and smoothed his cheek stubble. "You have to stay with me."

"Always."

-Not long after, Natasha-

"Okay," there seemed to be a static in the room, as though time had left them, "Who is Yelena Belova?" Steve's posture was enough to tell her that there was no flirting her way out of explaining this one.

"She," Natasha swallowed thickly, pursing her lips and trying to form the words to explain. "We were trained together… Raised," amending her statement quickly, "together. She was somewhat younger than me, but… she was good. We…." Maybe clearing her throat would help, she tried but it only seemed to stick any further words somewhere deep down in her lungs. "We…" her voice cracked, her knuckles were white from clenching her fists in her lap.

-Bruce-

Her eyes were moving rapidly without ever seeing the room around her. They never landed on anyone in the room and they were about to make him dizzy with how quickly they were flashing from place to place. When she started and stopped again, not making it past the word 'she' he walked up to her slowly and knelt before her tense body. Giving her plenty of time to pull away he placed his hands on her knees firmly. Not to hold her there, but to let her know that she was not alone.

At his touch her voice steadied and she looked at no one but him. "Yelena and I were raised together in the Red Room. There were others but Yelena is the only other graduate to have survived the fall of the Soviet Union. She was there helping me make it happen actually." Wetting her lips she leaned into him, "Afterwards we both became mercenaries and got the name 'Black Widow' on radar in a bad way. The misconception held by SHIELD is that I am the only Black Widow. I don't know why Yelena has been kept so hushed up all of these years, I assumed for a while that she was dead. When Clint came after me and took me back to SHIELD, the Winter Soldier apparently was going after Yelena and taking her back to HYDRA."

Steve moved around some of the photographs laid out of Yelena's latest assassinations. "What is her normal MO for this sort of work?"

There was something definitely going on in Natasha's brain because her next move was to push Bruce onto the floor and crawl into his lap. Surprise prevented him from reacting in the way she most likely wanted him to so she made do by moving his arms for him and wrapping them around her waist as she molded her back to his chest. From this position he could feel just how fast her heart was beating and he could see the slight perspiration forming on her neck. He couldn't help but be slightly amused when she played with his fingers for the remainder of the meeting.

"The first thing you need to realize about Yelena is that she is creative, but she is not original. All of her moves are ones that she has either seen, been a victim of, or been taught. This means that many of her kills will look like that of someone else." Clearly not satisfied with Bruce's catching on to what she wanted Natasha then moved his legs to wrap around her own as well. "When we used to double team she picked up on my trademark of leaving traces of black widow spider venom in the corpses."

"Why was that your trademark?" Tony questioned skeptically.

She shrugged in response. "It inspired fear."

When she moved her hands over his forearms he could feel the almost imperceptible tremors. Whether the team was satisfied or not, that had been enough.

Pulling her around in his arms he lifted her bridal style and without acknowledging the protests and questions from the others, he took her back to her room.

"Thank you Bruce." After a few moments, "You make me feel strong." She whispered against his neck and she kissed the skin there.

Bruce shifted her in his arms and replied, "You are the strongest person I know."

She was asleep against his shoulder before he even reached the elevator.

-Yelena-

"She is afraid, General."

He scratched his beard and nodded in favor at her assessment. "Yes child, your sister is keeping different company these days." He scooped up another fistful of almonds in his hand and chewed one absentmindedly. "She keeps her emotions on her sleeve now, this will make your next attack easier. I am thinking you will go again in the night after tomorrow. Mess with their minds dear one." His fingers trailed through her hair, wiping the oils from the nuts away. That kind of touch was familiar at least.

"That will not be necess…." A fist contacted with her throat bringing her to her knees, keening for breath.

"Never advise me on what is necessary child." His honeyed voice triggered her gag reflex and she heard him turn away as the bile splattered onto the floor.

After her coughing subsided he was lounging on a chaise watching her.

"Maybe the little bird is correct." Picking at his ear disdainfully Yelena felt her hatred rise but quelled it faster than it had appeared, she needed him if she was to follow instructions. "All right, why is it unnecessary?"

Her lips twitched up in glee, the feeling of power gave her an adrenaline boost and enough fortitude to last with the General a few more weeks.

"Because General Ross," Yelena simpered, "Natalia will come to me."

AN- Review please!