34. I Knew It

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We managed to get out and lost Taskmaster. For a while we walked away from Budapest and found ourselves in a small convince store. We head in. I held my side, as I looked for aspirin.

"The red rooms still active. Where is it?" Natasha asked as we looked through the shelves.

"We have no idea. He moves locations constantly. And every widow is sedated on entry and exit for maximum security." I guess they didn't change protocol since I left.

"Im just finding it hard to believe that he could stay off my radar." I laughed again. She looks at me.

"Well, its not a great move to kill an avenger if you want to stay hidden. I mean the clue is in the name." I popped a aspirin. "If Dreykov kills you, one of the big ones comes to avenge your death."

"Wait, what are the big ones?" I rolled my head and sighed.

"I dont think that the god of thunder can be killed, especially the big green guy." I walked away to wash my face, but still hearing the conversation.

"Where did you think I was all this time?" Yelena pops the question. Natasha faces drops, not even looking at her.

"I thought that you got out and were living a normal life." Natasha passes through us to wash her hands.

"And you just never made contact again?"

"Honestly I thought you didn't wanna see me. Devon nearly killed me when I saw her and is a death wish to stop her and after that we never saw each other. I don't know how you were going to react."

"Ah! Bullshit." Yelena scoffs. "You just didn't want your baby sisters to tag along, whilst you save the world with the cool kids." I took some snacks and water.

"You both aren't really my sisters." Yelenas face drops as Natasha said that. I saw that it pained her.

"And the avengers aren't really your family." I passed her and paying for my things.

"Why do always do that thing?"

"Do what?"

"The thing you do when you're fighting. The... like, the." Yelena steps back, showing us the thing. She awkwardly bends down, sliding her leg out and wiping her head back and forth. "This thing that you do when you whip your hair when you're fighting with the arm and the hair." A laugh escaped my mouth, slapping my hand over my mouth. "and you do, like a fighting pose." Natasha wasn't with it. "Its a fighting pose. You're a total poser." She looks at me. "Oh shut up, you also have a pose."

"Do not!" I stomp my foot.

"Do to! You do something like this." She squats down, arms in between her legs. "Poser. You both are posers."

"Im not a poser." Yelena laughs at us.

"Oh come on! I mean they're great poses, but it does look like you think everyone's looking at you like all the time." And she turns to me. "Dont your legs hurt from all that squatting? I mean-

"All that time that i spent posing I was trying to actually do something good to make up all the pain and suffering that we caused. Trying to be more than just a trained killer."

"Well then you were fooling yourself because pain and suffering is everyday and we are still trained killers."

"Expect we're not the ones that on the covers of magazines and barbie dolls. Im not a killer that little girls call their hero." Yelena walks out of the shop and leaves me and Natasha alone. Just as Natasha leaves, I quickly yank her arm back to me. "I don't care what you say to me, we're not sisters, i dont give a damn." I looked at her up and down. "But if you hurt her feelings like you did just now, im doing this to be fair, im warning you." I pushed her back and she follows me.

"You always let your emotions get in the way." She grabs my shoulder and makes me look at her. "Thats the problem with you Devon, thats why it was so easy for them to manipulate and break you." I wanted to punch her, take her down. "You will never be a hero."

"I never said I was. Im not a hero, im not a villain. I do what I believe is right." I scoffed at her. "Its not even worth fighting with you."

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We stopped by a small town, grabbed something to eat and drink. The three of us sat down, stitching up ourselves what Taskmaster did to us. Natasha came back with some beer as Yelena patched herself, pouring vodka into the wound.

"That gas, the counteragent, it was synthesized in secret by an older widow from Melina's generation. I was on the mission to retrieve it, and she exposed me and I killed the widow that freed me." Yelena went on. "I killed Sasha, im sorry Devon."

"Did you have a choice?"

"What you experienced was psychological conditioning. Im talking about chemically altering brain functions. They're two completely different things. You're fully conscious but you don't know which part is you. Im still not sure."

"Enough though I ran away, fought through it, I still have that part of me inside, trying to claw out." I took big chug of the beer. Natasha comes up to my side and checks my torso. She pulled up my shirt and I was all banged up. She saw the mark that Elektra left me. "Boyfriends ex, crazy." She shakes her head as she fixed my stitch.

"Is that all there is left?" She nods to the antidote. We hummed, yes.

"Its the only the only thing that can stop Dreykov and his network of widows." I banged my hand on the table as she put pressure on my chest. Natasha blows on the sealed wound, making it not sting as much. "He takes more every day. Children who don't have anyone to protect them. Just like us when we were small. Maybe one in 20 survives the training, becomes a widow. The rest he kills. To him, we are just things. Weapons with no face that he can just throw away. Because there is always more. And no one's even looking for him thanks to you and Alexei."

"Alexei?" Yelena and I forced a chuckle.

"Dad..." my voice trails off. He doesn't deserve to be called that, not after he did to them, to me. Natasha sits back down next to me when she finishes and we turned to the kids running to their father. I wished that i had more time with my dad, my real one. He was gone too soon.

"Did you ever look for your parents? Your real one?" Yelena asked.

"Well, my dad was a hit man for Wilson Fisk, who died weeks later when I came back and my mom shut down after he did. And for my brother, River, glad that he's still alive." I leaned back on the bench.

"Well, my mom abandoned me in the street like garbage." Natasha sighs. "What about you?" She asked Yelena.

"They destroyed my birth certificate, so I reinvented it." She taps the bottle on her nose. "My parents still live in Ohio. My first older sister moved out west." We smirked.

"Is that right?"

"You're a science teacher. You're working part time though, especially after you had your son. Your husband, he renovates houses."

"That is not my story." We all laughed.

"And you." Yelena looks at me.

"I want to hear this one." I crossed my arms, waiting.

"You also live up west, You're a full time ballet teacher and your husband is a heart surgeon. You and your husband are busy most days but you both make it work. You both always have time to be together, including spending time with your daughter whenever you have the opportunity." I looked down. That would be a nice little scenario. Imagine me with kids...

"Glad you still have your imagination there Yelena." I chuckled to myself as I chugged the last bit of my beer. "I love that about you."

"Did you guys ever wish for kids?" Yelena asked as she reaches for her vest. I licked my lips. "I want a dog." I laughed a bit. Natasha didn't say a word.

"Once, but I think its best for me to not think about it. I think its too soon, and with this life, probably not the best idea."

"With Matt?" Yelena questions.

"Have you seen Matt?" Natasha sits up,

"Isn't he adorable?" Yelena slams her hands on the table. They're pushing my buttons. They always did this.

"Too cute. I mean, his little smirk, his, what? Chocolate brown eyes." Yelena laughs as she sees me turning red.

"Please stop." I shook my head, looking away from them.

"Look she's blushing!" Yelena points at me. Natasha smiles as she saw me.

"Ive never seen you blush since..."

"The boy next door." I just sighed. My first boyfriend, Jett. We laughed a bit, now dialing down. "Matt's lucky to have you Devon." I just nod.

"Where are you gonna go?" Natasha asked.

"I dont know. I don't really have anywhere to go back to. So i guess anywhere." I reached out for Yelenas hand. "I know Devon wouldn't want me around with her lovely lawyer man."

"Stop Yelena, you can stay with me. I wont mind. Maybe we can go anywhere." Natasha looked at us, long and hard. "Dont."

"What?"

"You're going to give us some big hero speech. I can feel it."

"Speeches aren't really my thing." We just nod.

"I bet Steve Rogers is good at that part huh?" Natasha looks away laughing.

"It was more like an invitation." I took a deep breath.

"To go to the red room and kill Dreykov?" She nods. "Even though the red room is impossible to find and Dreykov is too slippery to kill?" She nods again.

"That sounds like a shitload of work." Yelena looks down.

"It could be fun." I elbowed Natashas arm. "What can possibly go wrong?" We stared at each other, smiling. "Like old times?"

"I saw where he put the keys."

"Top drawer, green cabinet."

"Ill drive." We clinked our bottles and left. We got into the car, I drove, Yelena on the passenger side and Natasha in the back.

"You know, this is the first piece of clothing I've ever bought for myself." Yelena said as she showed off her vest. The two of glanced and looked back.

"That?" Natasha said as she chewed her gum.

"Yeah. You don't like it?"

"Is that like a... Is it army surplus, or..." I laughed as i kept my eyes on the road.

"Okay, it has a lot of pockets." Yelena drops her hands in defeat. The two of us chuckled. "But I use them all the time, and I made some of my own modifications." She scuffs.

"Oh, yeah? I can see." We laughed again.

"Whatever. Shut up. The point is, I've never... I've never had control over my own life before, and now I do. I want to do things." We stayed quiet for a bit.

"Hmm... I like your vest."

"Yeah, its cute." I added.

"I knew it. I knew you did." She cheered. "It's so cool, right?"

"It's good. Yes. I like it."

"And you can put so much stuff in there. You wouldn't even know." We just smiled of how geeked Yelena was over her vest. I missed that about her. Getting excited over the little things. " really don't know where the Red Room is, though. I'm sorry."

"I know. But I think I know somebody who does."  I frowned and looked back at Natasha.

"Oh, yeah? Who?" I asked.

"We're gonna need a jet."