"What's the story upstairs?" Steve said as Thor touched down on the floor beside Steve, Clint, Magdalena and Natasha.

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable," Thor said.

"Thor is right. We gotta deal with these guys," Tony's voice came over comms.

"How do we do this?" Natasha asked.

"As a team," Steve said firmly.

"I have unfinished business with Loki," Thor said.

"Yeah, get in line," Clint scoffed.

"Save it. Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us..." Steve trailed off as Bruce rode up to them on a small motorbike.

Bruce climbed off, looking around the city with a wince.

"So, this all seems horrible," he said.

"I've seen worse," Natasha said.

"Yeah," Magdalena agreed. Natasha looked at her quickly but Magdalena didn't give in. Natasha looked back at Bruce.

"Sorry," Bruce said.

"No. We could use a little worse," Natasha said.

"Stark? We got him," Steve said into comms.

"Banner?" Tony said.

"Just like you said," Steve said.

"Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you," Tony said.

Tony flew around from the side of the building, the Leviathan following him impatiently. They all looked up with wide eyes.

"I... I don't see how that's a party," Natasha said uneasily.

Magdalena quickly levitated cars around them, building a barrier to keep the bastard monsters at bay for now.

Bruce started walking towards the monster as it flew towards them.

"Dr. Banner. Now might be a really good time for you to get angry," Steve said.

"That's my secret, Captain. I'm always angry," Banner said.

He turned around and transformed into the Hulk immediately. He raised his fist and punched the Leviathan in the nose. The creature started to flip over them but Tony raced back, raising his arm and firing a rocket at the soft part of the Leviathan.

The Leviathan fell down towards them and Magdalena sent the cars flying at the creature. It shattered into pieces and Steve grabbed Magdalena and Natasha. He covered the three of them with his shield.

Magdalena could feel Natasha clinging to her to keep her limbs hidden under the shield and, normally, she would've fought her off, but she was kind of really confused at what the fuck they were up against so she didn't want to risk losing an arm or getting even more hurt.

The group got to their feet when it was safe, all standing with their backs to each other in a circle to survey the city. Magdalena was between Natasha and Thor. Each of them kept looking beside to check Magdalena was still okay, but her face didn't even change as she surveyed the city again.

"Guys," Natasha said slowly, eyes on the portal.

They all looked at the portal. More soldiers and Leviathans were flooding into the sky to infect the streets of New York.

"Call it, Cap," Tony said.

"Alright, listen up. Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or your turn it to ash," Steve said.

"Wanna give me a lift?" Clint asked Tony. He nodded.

"Right. Better clench up, Legolas," Tony said. He grabbed the back of Clint's shirt and flew up into the sky.

"Thor, you've gotta try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You've got the lightning. Light the bastards up," Steve said. Thor took off. Steve turned to Natasha and Magdalena. "You two and me, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here. And Hulk," he turned to Hulk, who raised an eyebrow. "Smash."

The Hulk grinned at them and leaped into the air. He grabbed onto the nearest building and raced up, smashing soldiers into walls as he went. Magdalena hummed as she watched him easily take them down.

"I think I'm gonna like that guy," Magdalena said passively.

"Back to business," Steve sighed as more soldiers raced towards them.

"Here we go," Natasha nodded.

"Captain, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal," Natasha panted tiredly as she and Steve took a minute to get their breath back. Magdalena observed them from a few feet away, holding her hand out to keep a car levitating in case of an emergency.

"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it," Steve said.

"Well, maybe it's not about guns," Natasha motioned to the flying chariots. Magdalena grimaced. That did not look like fun.

"You wanna get up there, you're gonna need a ride," Steve said.

"I got a ride. I could use a lift though," Natasha said.

She backed up while Steve got his shield ready.

"Are you sure about this?" Steve said with a frown.

"Yeah. It's gonna be fun," Natasha said.

"Idiots," Magdalena muttered to herself.

Natasha ran at Steve, jumping onto a car to gain momentum. Steve gave her a boost up with his shield. They watched as she grabbed onto a flying chariot, disappearing down the street.

"Back to it, then?" Magdalena eyed the soldiers advancing on them.

"Back to it, kid," Steve nodded, the two turning to fight.

"That's the last for now," Steve panted, picking up his shield as he got to his feet again. Magdalena wiped the back of her cheek, wincing when she saw blood. She'd cut herself accidentally while fighting a soldier that had gotten too close for her liking.

"Captain, kid, the bank on 42nd past Madison, they caught a lot of civilians there," Clint said into comms.

"We're on it," Steve said, the two of them racing off down the street.

Magdalena slipped into the bank unnoticed, heading towards the civilians while Steve took out the three Chitauri soldiers. She stared at them all, none of them noticing as she slipped halfway up the stairs to be ready to help.

She heard banging and nodded to herself. She looked above the civilians, hands ready.

A soldier was launched over the balcony and she quickly levitated it, clenching her fists. The soldier curled in on itself, whimpering as it was crushed with her powers.

People started flooding out, but Magdalena raced up the stairs to help Steve.

There was a loud explosion that shook the building and Magdalena dropped to the ground, covering her head as pieces of the bank ceiling broke off and fell around her. She quickly held her hands out, stopping the rubble from pinning her to the floor.

She stood up and wriggled through them, letting the pieces drop when she was out of the way. Magdalena stabbed the only soldier left in the bank and ran to the window. She peered down and chuckled.

"Hey, Captain," she called. Steve looked up from where he had landed on a car. "Nice trip?" she said.

"Sorry I forgot your postcard," Steve groaned, sliding off the car.

Magdalena climbed out of the window and slid down the wall of the bank, jumping onto the car when she was low enough. She rolled out of the drop and looked at Steve.

"Now what?" she said.

Thor landed beside them as another wave of soldiers flooded the street.

"Now, we fight," he said firmly.

"Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down!" Natasha's voice came through comms as Magdalena tried to kick the soldier she was pinned down by.

"Do it!" Steve yelled into the comms.

He ran over and hit the soldier off with his shield. He yanked Magdalena to her feet quickly and she used her powers to throw a bus at the closest wave of Chitauri soldiers.

"No, wait!" Tony yelled.

"Stark, these things are still coming!" Steve said.

"I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute. And I know just where to put it," Tony said.

They searched the sky while they waited to understand what Tony meant. He zoomed by seconds later, holding a nuke as he raised it towards the portal.

"I suppose that's one way to do it," Magdalena muttered.

"Stark, you know that's a one way trip," Steve said.

Tony didn't answer. He kept heading towards the portal and they watched with baited breath.

Tony disappeared into the portal and, a few seconds later, there was an enormous explosion inside the darkness. Magdalena's heart skipped a beat in her chest as she saw Tony falling towards the portal exit. She didn't know if he was going to make it.

She also didn't know why she seemed to care, but Tony was possibly going to die so she focused on that, instead.

The soldiers around them died, keeling onto the floor around them. Magdalena looked around to make sure they were safe before looking back up.

Tony was still falling.

"Close it," Steve said when it looked like Tony was close enough to make it.

The blue beam shuddered to a stop and Magdalena winced as the portal started to shrink.

Tony slipped through the portal before it disappeared.

"He's not slowing down," Thor said urgently. He moved to take off and save him, but the Hulk got there first.

He grabbed Tony and the two of them crashed down a building and onto the street. Steve, Thor and Magdalena hurried over to Tony. Steve checked for a pulse and nodded, waiting for Tony to come to.

The Hulk yelled loudly and Tony shot up in surprise.

"What the hell?" he cried. "What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me," Tony said.

"We won," Steve said.

"Alright. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow... let's just... take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it," Tony said.

"We're not finished yet," Thor said, looking up at Tony's tower.

"And then shawarma after," Tony agreed.

"What is shawarma?" Magdalena frowned.

"I don't know. We'll try it," Tony said.

"If you're sticking around, that is. Fury said you were only in town for this mission," Steve said.

Magdalena looked between Steve and then back up at the Stark building where she knew Natasha was listening in to their conversation over comms.

"We have to deal with Loki," Magdalena said instead.

She walked down the street and they all followed slowly.

"You're a good fighter, kid," Natasha's voice came from behind Magdalena as she helped herself to a bottle of vodka out of Tony's bar. They'd dealt with Loki and he was being kept safely with Fury and Thor.

"Shot?" Magdalena said, grabbing another glass for Natasha.

"Sure," Natasha said. Magdalena poured them one each and slid Natasha's to her. "Thanks."

Magdalena and Natasha downed their shots quickly. Magdalena looked between the glass and the bottle before taking a sip directly from the bottle. Fuck it, she figured. It wasn't her alcohol, anyway.

"Alright, kid, we have to talk," Natasha sighed, leaning against the bar beside Magdalena.

"Talking is for idiots," Magdalena said. "We have to drink," she said.

"Nope," Natasha said, prying the bottle from Magdalena's hands.

"Hey!" Magdalena scoffed.

"We have to talk," Natasha said seriously. Magdalena sighed.

"Go on," she said.

"You came from the Red Room," Natasha said.

"Is that a question?" Magdalena said.

"It's a fact," Natasha said.

"Just because I'm Russian does not mean I came from the same place that you did. I'm not a Widow," Magdalena said.

"Then why did Fury tell me that he was going to find a rogue Widow that had escaped from the Red Room?" Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know," Magdalena shrugged. "Do I look like Fury?" she said.

"Drop the attitude," Natasha snapped.

"I don't like being asked stupid questions," Magdalena said back quickly.

"They're valid questions."

"They're stupid."

"You're stupid."

"I'm a kid, I'm allowed to be stupid. You're an adult, grow up."

"Who are you running from?"

"I'll be running from you if you don't leave me alone."

"You're insufferable."

"And you're a bitch."

"You need to earn your place in the world," Natasha said meaningfully.

"I have no place in the world."

The reply had slipped from Magdalena's lips before she could check herself. Her jaw dropped and she looked at Natasha. Natasha knew she was a Widow, now. Magdalena was fucked.

"I killed Dreykov. When did you escape from the Red Room?" Natasha said.

"Four years ago," Magdalena said honestly. She had escaped before Dreykov had been blown up. She'd been sold to HYDRA at that point.

"Where have you been since then?" Natasha said.

"Places," Magdalena said. She wasn't going to give more away than necessary. As far as she knew, SHIELD had no idea that HYDRA still even existed and, right now, she didn't think they needed urgently to know.

"Who have you been hiding from?" Natasha said.

"People," Magdalena said. Natasha rubbed her face. Magdalena was like a brick wall.

"How old are you?" Natasha said.

There was a few seconds of silence. Magdalena reached out and took the vodka back, drinking three shots worth before putting the bottle back down. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked at Natasha.

"Fourteen," she said.

Natasha's face dropped slightly. She had known the girl was young but she hadn't known she was that young.

"What's your name, kid?" Natasha said quietly.

Magdalena sighed. The cat was out of the bag, now.

"Magdalena. Magdalena Stefania Sokolov. I'm fourteen years old and I'm a Black Widow Assassin," she said.

"Is that who you're running from? Someone from the program?" Natasha said.

"Why do you care?" Magdalena rolled her eyes.

"Because Fury has given your case to me. So, I get to keep you hidden and safe until you're in the clear. I need to know who's after you and why so I can protect you. You helped him, he'll help you," Natasha said.

"You can't protect me," Magdalena rolled her eyes.

"Why don't you give me a try? It's not like you have a better option. If you're on your own, you'll be dead within weeks now that the fight is over. It's all over the news," Natasha said.

Magdalena hated to admit it. Natasha had a point.

"Look. You can join us, join the Avengers. We'll keep you safe. You can train, get better with your powers, whatever you want. We just need to know what we're facing," Natasha said.

Magdalena looked at her and nodded slowly.

"Okay," she said.

"Okay?" Natasha blinked. She'd expected it to be harder.

"You're right. If I go, I'll die. I don't want to die yet. So, I'll stay," Magdalena said.

"After you tell me who you're hiding from," Natasha said. Magdalena nodded and took a hearty swig of the vodka.

"HYDRA, Romanoff. I'm hiding from the man who gave me this power to begin with," Magdalena said.

"HYDRA are gone," Natasha said slowly. Magdalena chuckled. "The organisation ended in the war. Steve fought and almost died to stop it," she said.

"Or so you all think," Magdalena sighed.

"Who was working there?" Natasha said.

"I don't know," Magdalena said.

She'd never been given names, just saw faces. She only knew of one man working there, the same man who had been the one to experiment on her and give her the powers she possessed. But he had died during her escape from HYDRA, so she was back at the beginning.

"I'll talk to Fury about this," Natasha said. "How long have you been running?" she said.

"Almost a year," Magdalena said. "It's been a long one. But Wakanda is beautiful in the Summer," she smiled slightly as she remembered spending an entire month in Wakanda with king T'Chaka and his children. He had welcomed her when T'Challa had found her sleeping in the woods one day and had taken her back to the place with demands his father find her a home.

She'd left when she'd started letting them get close to her. She had to keep her guard up, keep her feet moving. She had to be alone or she would get hurt and probably get other people murdered.

"We'll figure this out, kid," Natasha sighed. "Just trust me," she said.

"You know I won't," Magdalena chimed. Natasha bit back a smile and Magdalena chuckled.

It seemed the alcohol had started to defrost her ice cold heart and bitchy personality. Magdalena wasn't actually as insufferable as Natasha had thought.

"Yeah, I know. Try, though," Natasha said, taking the vodka as she walked away.

"My vodka!" Magdalena said.

"You're fourteen!" Natasha called back.

"You're not my mom," Magdalena frowned. Natasha shot her a grin.

"But I'm in charge of you, kid," she said.

"Rude," Magdalena rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I know," Natasha chuckled.

That night, Magdalena was curled up in one of the lounges of the Stark building where they were all camping out before their meeting with Fury the next day. Steve was asleep on the floor, Tony on a couch with Pepper, Clint slept sitting up against the wall, Bruce was on another couch, and Natasha was leaning against the armchair Magdalena had been forced into by Tony.

"You're exhausted. Sleep," he had told her.

She'd let herself curl up in a ball but she didn't let herself sleep. Sleep was scarce these days, especially because of what happened in her nightmares. When Magdalena got hurt in her dreams, she got hurt in real life. If she was stabbed in her nightmare, she'd wake up in agony with a bleeding hole in her side.

It was horrific, Magdalena thought, so she'd rather stay up for days on end than risk sleeping and having terrible nightmares. But, after the last few days without sleep catching up to her, along with the exhaustion from fighting Loki and his army, she couldn't help but slip into sleep after about an hour.

Natasha wasn't sleeping. She'd pretended to sleep until she was sure Magdalena was asleep and had then turned so she could keep an eye on Magdalena while she slept.

She didn't know what it was about the girl, but Natasha felt a large motherly instinct towards her. She had to keep her safe. Magdalena reminded her of Yelena, but Natasha hadn't let herself think about her sister, who wasn't really her sister, for years. She focused all of her attention on Magdalena.

She needed Natasha the most right now.

Magdalena was strapped down to a table. Her hands were contained in metal cuffs and she couldn't move her body because of how tight the restraints on her limbs were. Her eyes shot open and her green eyes met her father's.

He grinned down at her, the grin both evil and calculated. Magdalena's heartrate picked up on the monitor she was attached to and she felt like she was going to vomit.

"No, Magdalena. You know you have to be calm or this won't work," he said soothingly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "You know you have to be calm," he said.

"Please, papa, don't do this," Magdalena begged, trying to pull herself free.

"I have to. We both have jobs to do," he said.

"Papa, please. It hurts," Magdalena cried.

"I thought Draykov would've taught you to control your emotions," he spat, stepping away from her with a glare. "He took you from my lab, wasted five years of time I could've spent developing my work and he sells you back now you're ruined and broken," he said.

"Papa, please," Magdalena whispered. "I'll be good. I promise. I'll be good, just please don't make me do this. It hurts me," Magdalena cried.

"Your pain only makes you stronger," he said. They had said that in the Red Room, too, Magdalena remembered.

He produced a large bone saw and turned it on, walking to stand behind her head.

"Papa, no!" Magdalena cried, trying to move her head in the metal restraint around her neck. He sighed and pressed a button. The restraint tightened and Magdalena gasped for air.

"The more you fight, the more it hurts. Stay still and let me work," he hissed.

The saw got louder the closer to her head he got. She felt it press against her hairline and she started screaming in pain, feeling the blood starting to slide down her face.

"Stop! Stop!" Magdalena screamed. "Please! Please, stop!"

"Shut up!" he yelled.

The restraints tightened more around her neck until she fell unconscious, blood still sliding down her face, now mixed with tears.

Natasha had almost drifted off when she'd felt Magdalena shift on the chair. She opened her eyes, watching as Magdalena wriggled her fists. She didn't open them, though, as it was like there was a force keeping them clasped.

Her face was pale and she looked uncomfortable. Natasha frowned and moved onto her knees, carefully positioning herself to watch Magdalena better. Magdalena started muttering to herself and Natasha moved closer to hear what she was saying.

"What's going on?" Clint whispered, having woken up when he'd heart Natasha moving.

"Shh," Natasha whispered.

"I'll be good. I promise. I'll be good, just please don't make me do this. It hurts me," Magdalena whispered, tears starting to stream down her cheeks.

"Is she having a nightmare?" Clint said, moving over to get near them.

"Back off," Natasha whispered quickly. He raised an eyebrow but stepped back, stumbling over Steve's body on the floor.

"Hey!" Steve groaned, loud enough to wake everybody but Magdalena.

"Everybody shut up!" Natasha hissed.

Magdalena started gasping for breath and Natasha started to panic. She had no idea what Magdalena was dreaming of, so if she touched her and she was having a dream about something or somebody who had hurt her, she would likely freak out. If Natasha tried to talk to her until she woke up, she might not even hear her.

"Is she..." Bruce said slowly, eyes firmly on Magdalena's forehead, "Bleeding?" he said weakly.

Natasha looked sharply up at her head, seeing there was blood sliding down her face from a long cut along her hairline.

Magdalena opened her mouth and let out a heartbreaking scream. Natasha quickly jumped into action.

"Get me a suture kit, a bowl of warm water, a bottle of water, a rag, gauze, tape, some fresh clothes from my room and a blanket," Natasha barked.

Everybody hurried from the room to get what she'd asked for and Natasha turned back to Magdalena.

Screw scaring the kid. Right now, she had to wake her the fuck up.

"Magdalena," Natasha said, shaking Magdalena carefully. "Magdalena, you have to wake up. You're with me, Natasha, and you're safe. You're not wherever you are," Natasha said quickly.

Magdalena's eyes rolled behind her eyelids and Natasha started to panic even more.

"Magdalena!" Natasha cried, wrapping her arms tightly around Magdalena.