Never Alone Again |N.R|

It's Time.

The logistics of capturing her turned out to be much more intricate than tracking her down. Considering she had been my captor when that technology was placed in my skull, we had to assume that she was working with HYDRA. Not just working with them, but playing a leading role in their most egregious crimes against humanity. The mission needed to be planned down to the T. We were all risking our lives more than ever, and I felt an extra responsibility for the team considering this had been my doing. If anyone wasn't going to come home by the end of it, it had to be me. My life would finally be worth something if that woman was stopped. I'd give my life in a heartbeat if it meant saving one more girl from that torture.

We were all sat around a table when I said it. It had been my plan all along, but I had to wait until we'd exhausted all other avenues before I brought it up. "I'll go in on my own. I'll tell her that I want to come back, and that I know how to bring down the Avengers once and for all." With that came total silence, nobody even breathing for a few moments out of utter shock.

"No way Rue. You can't do that." Natasha was the first to speak, protesting my idea as I'd expected.

"To be fair, that's the best idea anyone has had." Tony had used his head not his heart.

"No Tony, you can't even be considering that. That's a death trap." Natasha was almost shouting at him now.

"Nat, from the look on Rue's face she's been thinking about this for a while. It's what she wants to do, and we're doing this for her." He looked at me briefly whilst talking, both of us exchanging a light smile of appreciation.

"That's ludicrous." She stared at him for a few seconds before whipping her head around to face me. "Rue you can't do that. She almost took you from us once, we can't risk that again." Her eyes pleaded with me, along with her words.

"I'm sorry Natasha, but Tony's right. This has been my plan all along, it's what I want. If we're going to catch her this is the only way." She dropped her head in defeat, realising that there was no changing my mind. I was going to play into this woman's hands and just hope that by the time they reach me, I've survived her grasp.

(-)

That night we all gathered for dinner as we usually did most nights now. I sat in my usual seat, the one next to Natasha but she wasn't there. I waited for a few minutes but after fifteen of them I knew she wasn't coming. Natasha was never late. So I excused myself from the table before heading towards our room, since that was the place she was most likely to be. The door was slightly ajar so I peeped my head round before stepping inside and there she was, sat on the edge of the bed staring mindlessly out of the window.

"Natasha, are you coming to dinner?" She stayed silent, not even acknowledging my presence in the dimly lit room.

"Natasha?" She still made no effort to reply so I stepped inside and closed the door all the way behind me. I then slowly walked around the bed, stopping a couple of feet to her right. Tears rolled down her cheeks but her face was expressionless.

"Natasha what's wrong?" I stood still, feeling uneasy in that moment. I had never seen Natasha be so vulnerable, not when she knew someone was watching. After a few moments she wiped her cheeks with the backs of her hands and looked my way.

"Nothing Rue." With that she stood up from the bed and made an effort to walk towards the door but I stepped in her path, forcing her to stop.

"I'm not letting you leave until you tell me." I held my ground, trying not to show my uneasiness.

"Really?" Natasha rolled her eyes as she spoke, seeing straight through my charade.

"Natasha, please?" I softened my expression, feeling that that was the only way I'd ever get the truth out of her.