''You just sent away the one thing that would stop me from killing you,'' Natasha smirked, her gun hovering in front of Dreykov's face in a threatening way. Antonia had just left the office, but he didn't seem to care that he was without protection now.

''Try, then. Do it,'' he challenged calmly. This man hadn't changed his tone of voice the entire time. A picture of pure control and calmness. If only he knew he was the one being controlled and manipulated. Katya couldn't wait for the look on his face when his 'pupils' got the better of him.

Natasha really did try to squeeze the trigger - her reaction to it failing wasn't that manipulated - but her finger wouldn't move. All that happened was the shaking of her hands and the strained grunts that left her lips.

Melina hadn't joked about being unable to hurt him. Her body simply would not let her shoot him.

''Nat?'' Katya pretended to be worried and confused as to why she hadn't shot him yet. All she had to do was play the perfect compliant sidekick Dreykov believed she was.

Natasha had always been the better one at manipulating people, knowing the right thing to say. So she let her take the lead.

''I can't-'' the redhead grunted as an answer, cutting herself off halfway.

To make the show complete, Katya got her own gun out, aiming it. The feeling was the weirdest ever.

You know when you've fallen asleep on your arm and lay on it for too long, and it's completely numb? Not that tingling feeling, but just complete numbness. And you try to lift it and you can't move it at all?

That's what it felt like. Her brain gave her finger the order to pull the trigger, but nothing happened. Somewhere along the way, the signal got blocked

Dreykov must be smirking widely internally, because on the outside, he didn't show any emotion. 

''Is the safety on?'' He mocked, taking their guns away easily, checking the switch. But of course it wasn't on. They would never let that happen. ''No,'' he concluded as well, pointing Natasha's weapon up first and shooting at the ceiling, Katya's one following. 

Their distraught expressions weren't all fake. This was very disturbing, and a completely new feeling to Natasha. Katya lost control over her body before, doing things she didn't want to. But she'd never been able to not do things.

''Try your knife.''

Their knives were out within a heartbeat, Natasha going for the stab whereas Katya placed her knife on his throat to slash it. But it never landed on his skin. About half an inch away from the fragile flesh, it stopped. And no matter how much willpower she put into her arm, it wouldn't move closer. 

Katya panted at this point, like she was pushing against a piece of furniture that wouldn't budge. ''What the hell?'' Unlike Natasha, who let the knife be plucked from her hand, she dropped hers altogether and took a step back.

Her fingers wanted to thread themselves in her hair, but since Yelena had made her ponytail so tight, she couldn't. So they ran over it helplessly, exactly as the display she put on.

''You're in trouble,'' Dreykov mused. ''Two Avengers and you can't even touch me.''

''How are you controlling us?'' Natasha managed to throw out as she caught her breath, her face uncomfortably close to his.

''I'm not controlling you. Well, not yet. But there is a pheromonal lock. Smelling my pheromones prevents you from committing violence against me.''

To Katya's complete dismay, when he made a move to hit her in the face, Natasha flinched and turned her head away, awaiting the slap.

It absolutely broke her heart, shattered it, because she wasn't sure if this was real or not. It appeared that the automatic response to be afraid of this man, to be submissive, was still in there and came out. 

She had never, ever seen Natasha flinch or cringe away from someone so heavily. She was always the strong one, with her chin in the air. If it were any other person, she'd have caught his wrist and used her own fist to hit him in the jaw.

Finally, Dreykov took a step back, walking around the desk to take a seat in his leather chair. It gave Katya time to connect her eyes with Natasha, checking to make sure everything went according to plan and that she was okay. 

The first was indeed the case, but they were both far from okay. They had underestimated this, how much it would hurt to hear all these things, to be back here.

Natasha's usually lively green eyes showed cracks, pain, but also determination to see this through. She had to. Katya's weren't any different, and she got away from him years before her.

''I'm very upset with Melina. It's a shame I have to kill her,'' Dreykov sighed, although his voice didn't show how much he apparently hated it.

From his desk, he got a tablet, and it wasn't long before Melina showed up on screen. Or at least Katya thought she did. It was impossible to see from the other side of the desk.

''So, this was the big plan, huh? Melina was going to land the Red Room and hand me over to the authorities.''

With the press of a button, whatever Melina must have achieved to land the base, was ruined. It was fuel for Natasha. Katya saw the change in her, in the way she stood. Whatever cracks Dreykov did manage to make into her ego, she brushed it off and continued the game.

''So, what now, you're gonna fold us into your pathetic little puppeteer act?'' she mocked. That was still a chance, if they didn't play this out right.

Antonia proved she could fight them perfectly, knock them out if needed. They could end up in the lab within minutes, their brains altered like those pigs. Katya would once again be lost to someone else, and she'd have to see Natasha get used like that as well, without being able to do anything about it.

The situation was fragile. They didn't know how far Yelena was with her mission, and if Melina could do anything about her failed attempt to land this thing. 

''Pathetic, huh?'' Dreykov comfortably leaned backwards in his chair, unbothered by her words.

''Yeah, what would you call it?'' She wandered up to the desk, her hips touching the thick wood. Her eyes held a challenging expression.

''I would call it-''

''When was the last time that you had a conversation with somebody that wasn't forced to talk to you?'' Natasha cut him off, to annoy him, to try and display power.

''You ran away to fight in the wrong war," he countered sharply. "The real war was fought here, in the shadows.''

Her hands leaned on the desk and she bent slightly forwards, getting in his space, showing she wasn't afraid to come closer. ''You didn't fight in the shadows. You hid in the dark.''

''Real power comes from undetectable influence.''

''If no one's noticed, then why even do it?'' Natasha duck her head to try and catch his eyes. ''You're nothing. You have nothing.'' Even her smile was daring. She was really good in pissing people off. And Katya enjoyed every second of it.

''There are 50 people on this planet-'' Dreykov tried to defend himself, like a child.

''Oh, stop it,'' she laughed, like this was all very funny, still bent over de desk.

Dreykov shot out of his chair, the thing rolling backwards because of the speed. His cheeks turned red as his hands clenched into fists. ''Don't tell me to stop!'' he yelled at the top of his lungs. 

There. Right there. Natasha had him. She could be such a little prick when she wanted to be. And it got under his skin within minutes.

He wasn't to blame, really, but he did make the mistake of letting her words get to him.

Katya took steps closer, because she knew this man, and she knew how easily he turned to violence when angry. She had received so many beatings from him herself. Failed missions, wrong words she spoke. 

Natasha delivered the final blow to push him over the edge. ''If I don't tell you when to stop, then how will you know when to shut up?''

What Katya feared, came true exactly when Dreykov's fist flew in the direction of Natasha's face. And despite seeing it coming, she didn't swerve away. No, it landed on the side of her face, her cheekbone.

A surprised grunt left her lips as she stumbled back, a sound that traveled through Katya's entire body. Her wife was getting hit, and there was nothing she could do about it. Because despite this being the plan, she wanted to rip the man's head off even more. 

Natasha smiled widely, her eyes watering because of the pain. With her arms wide, she challenged Dreykov to more. ''Come on. Think I can't take a punch?'' 

He stepped away behind his desk and hit her again, but this time, Katya finally snapped out of her trance and played along. That was fairly easy, since it involved lunging for him. 

''Katya, don't,'' Natasha called out, cringing when the brunette received the same hit to her cheekbone, sending her stumbling into the chair Natasha had previously sat in.

She clutched her cheek, but it didn't hurt enough. It didn't hurt enough to do what it must do: sever the nerve.

Dreykov's head snapped from left to right. ''Look who's pathetic now, huh? Can't even protect each other,'' he chuckled.

They didn't need to be protected. They needed him to hit them harder. 

''Oh, just shut up.'' Natasha's words earned her another hit, but she just kept laughing through the whole thing. ''God damn it, you're weak.'' She was right, but not in the way he thought she meant.

''Weak? You don't get to talk to me about weakness.'' He stalked over to a recovering Katya, who threw her arms in front of her face when his hand shot up.

Instead of slapping her across the face though, his hand landed on the back of her neck and dragged her closer to Natasha, whose green eyes were full of agony at the scene.

''This right here, this is weakness. The way you worry for her. And when I do this-'' With a tug on her neck, he turned Katya around easily, and punched her across the cheek again, sending her to the floor, ''your heart aches. You know, all I have to say are the words, and I control her.'' Of course he knew the words.

Katya landed on her hip and both hands, shaking her head to get rid of the dizziness. Blood tickled out of her nose, which she wiped away frantically, hating the taste of it in her mouth.

The tears, too, they had to go. They weren't only from the pain, but also from the fear, the way this place and this man weighted on her shoulders and crumbled her confidence down. She was that little, alone girl again.

While she took deep breathes to calm herself down and waited for the room to stop spinning, Katya could feel the anger radiating off Natasha. Her knuckles were so white from the way she clenched her hands into fists that maybe she'd break her own fingers. 

How she wished she could put a bullet in the man's head and pull Katya in a tight hug. Not only because she needed it, but because Natasha needed it as well. Maybe even more.

''I bet it's easier to be tough in front of defenseless little girls, huh?'' she chuckled humorlessly.

''That's enough.'' His next hit finally sent her to the ground as well, although Natasha managed to stay on her feet and crouched lowly. Still, he didn't manage to knock that smile off her face. ''You wouldn't be so glib if you had any notion of the scope of what I've built. I own this world. Me.''

''You seem desperate to impress me,'' Natasha panted, staring up at him as she swayed from left to right on her feet. The nerve in her forehead might be intact, but her head spun. Looked like they had to find another way to achieve that. 

''I don't need to impress you. I don't need to impress anyone.'' 

As soon as he walked away from her, Katya scrambled to her feet, stumbling over to Natasha and sinking to her knees in front of her.

Natasha checked her over once to ensure she was fine, but otherwise, she paid more attention to Dreykov than Katya, who also established her wife was fine physically, only some blood seeping out of her nose.

''These world leaders, these great men, they answer to me and my Widows.'' 

Katya saw Natasha tense up, but in a good way, so she followed her line of sight and saw how Dreykov slid a panel out from his desk, like a drawer, and swiped his ring over some sort of display. After that, a holographic screen appeared in front of the desk.

The ring was the key. The key to unlocking the database.

Katya would have smiled, if not for the world map that showed up on the screen. She had no idea how many Widows there were, but the dots didn't stop lighting up. And when every single face of the active Widows filled the screen in neat lines, there were so many that she could never begin to start counting.

Thousand, at least. And that was no exaggeration.

In a trance, Natasha stood, dragging Katya to her feet with her arm wrapped around her bicep. She didn't let that arm go until they stood in front of the screen, staring up into all those eyes.

Thousands of girls they never helped because they believed the Red Room was gone.

It would take years to free all of them.

If possible, Katya's heart shattered more at the fate of all these girls. Slaves of this organization.

''Look at them,'' Dreykov spoke from behind them. ''These girls were trash. They are thrown out into the street. I recycle the trash. And I give them purpose. I give them a life.''

That's what he's always told them, what they had always believed, that they were abandoned. But they knew better now. 

The pictures disappeared, turning into videos of war, chaos. ''It's my network of Widows that help me control the scales of power. One command, the oil and stock markets crumble. One command, and a quarter of the planet will starve. My Widows can start and end wars. They can make and break kings.''

''You control all of that from here?'' Natasha breathed, like she was in awe. And it was impressive, only the wrong kind. 

Dreykov hummed proudly. ''And with you, two Avengers under my control, I can finally come out of the shadows using the only natural resource that the world has too much of. Girls.''

Natasha spun on her heels slowly, leaving Katya by the screen as she sauntered to the desk. ''All from that little console?''

''Yeah.''

A smile broke out on Natasha's face, so wide it showed her teeth. And Katya felt herself smiling along, because Dreykov's face was about to be priceless.

''Oh, you find this amusing? Why are you smiling?'' he mocked.

''Don't take it personal, but, uh... Thank you for your cooperation.'' Natasha leaned against the desk, a smirk on her face while her words gave Katya flashbacks to Loki in his glass cage. And she was just as impressed and proud of her wife as back then, shaking her head in disbelief as she wondered how she was hers.

''You weren't quite strong enough, so...'' Natasha glanced around the desk for anything to hit herself with, only to realize the desk itself was the perfect weapon, ''I'll have to finish it myself.''

''What are you going to do?'' Dreykov had no clue what she talked about.

She looked him dead in the eye. ''Sever the nerve.'' 

She slammed her head down on the desk, her forehead hitting the wood precisely the way she wanted and needed it to. The thud was so loud that multiple things on top of the furniture rattled and fell over. 

This move would send any other person to the ground, crying, but not Natasha. No, she smiled before slamming her fist into Dreykov's face so hard that he fell off his chair and his glasses flew off.

God that was badass. And hot. 

Not the right time, Katya.

''Shit, that looked satisfying.''

Natasha wiped the blood from her nose away with her sleeve, but it was quickly replaced by more. Her head turned to look at Katya as she smirked. ''Your turn, babe, or I'll have him dead before you are able to touch him.''

It felt strangely awkward to copy her actions, but she was right. If Katya wanted a piece of Dreykov, she'd have to hurt herself as well, since Natasha wouldn't hit her. So squeezing her eyes closed and taking a breath, she brought her own head down on the desk, cursing lowly as she straightened up and scrambled for a gun.

She felt the difference when she rounded the desk and stood next to Natasha, who was in the middle of a speech.

As soon as Katya aimed the gun at the man on the ground, she knew she would be able to pull the trigger. That gave her back a sense of control she had missed the moment she set foot in this room. Her chin raised a bit higher and she felt less afraid of him than before.

''Not so talkative now, are you?'' Natasha mocked, roundkicking Dreykov in the face, forcing him more onto his back. ''You took our childhoods. You took us away from each other. You took our choices and tried to break us. But you're never gonna do that to anybody ever again.''

Dreykov's eyes weren't very expressive, but as he stared up at the two women helplessly, Katya swore a glister of fear could be seen in them. It was only a second until it was gone, but it was more than she could have ever dreamed of. To make the man who terrified her for years, scared enough to show it.

Natasha turned her head to look at Katya, nodding in Dreykov's direction. She let her kill him, instead of doing it herself. Such a twisted thing to find an honor, but Katya's heart skipped a beat in excitement.

She took a step closer to the man's feet, towering over him as she clenched her teeth together.

With her gun aimed between his eyebrows, she spoke slowly and confidently.

''Consider this karma, for mistreating the killers you raised and thinking it won't come back to bite you in the ass.'' She shrugged, a satisfied smile on her lips. ''Or shoot you in the face.''

Her finger tightened around the trigger, and she looked him dead in the eyes, heart beating in excitement at putting a bullet through his brain.

But he wasn't done fighting for his life. No, he said the one thing that had the blood draining from Katya's face and her finger freezing.

''Your mother... was my sister.''

All the air got sucked from her lungs, or maybe it was Natasha's breath that hitched.

Katya stared at him so intensely that the world fell away around her. The only thing she heard were the words in her ears on top of the pounding of her own heart.

She wasn't present, not aware of anything that happened around her. 

It got hard to breathe, her heart beat inhumanly fast, and for a second, Katya thought she'd have a panic attack. The gun started to shake so heavily that it rattled.

How did she move her body again? How did she fill her lungs or blink her eyes?

The shock wasn't even in the fact that he told her who her mother was. The shock wasn't this topic.

The problem was who her mother was. The sister of this monster she was seconds away from killing.

Dreykov gained confidence from her silence, pushing himself up on his underarms. ''But she was as weakhearted as you. So I took you in when you were a baby, gave you a chance at a better life.''

Tears pooled in Katya's eyes. Frustrated tears, sad tears, who knew at this point? Her voice shook but sounded surprisingly strong otherwise. ''You're lying.''

''Why would I lie?'' He asked calmly, but he felt superior. ''There is a reason you are still alive.''

Everything made sense now. Why he sold her instead of killing her. Why he kept an eye on her in HYDRA, gave her the right missions. Why those HYDRA basterds didn't give up in finding her after she escaped.

She was his niece. He wanted her back safe and sound. But he didn't care enough to risk taking her back from SHIELD, the Avengers. Not like he cared for his real daughter.

''What did you do to her?'' Katya bit out, gripping her gun tighter. She was over the initial shock and grew angry, tears falling down her cheeks without her noticing. And when he didn't answer, she knew.

''You killed her.'' Her voice was nothing but a breath of air, like the hope that she was alive left her body.

''As I said, Irina was weak.'' He had no remorse. Like he didn't kill her in cold blood for being too weak in his eyes. She was probably perfect, ready to shower her daughter with love and sing her Russian lullabies every night. ''You were so much better off with me.''

Katya knew what he tried to do. If he thought that knowing he was family would stop her from blowing his head off, he was so very wrong about her.

She raised her chin confidently, shaking the emotions off. ''This doesn't change anything.'' But even he heard how unsure that sounded. Because it did. It changed everything for Katya.

''Doesn't it?'' Dreykov countered knowingly. ''You're family, Katariina.''

Something about that struck a wrong nerve. This whole mission, these past two years had been about one thing: family. Natasha, the Avengers, and whatever one could call the mess that was Yelena, Melina and Alexei.

Family was what it was all about. Who was there at the end of the day when they were being hunted across the globe. Who had taught them valuable lessons in life. Who they considered home, a safe place. Who they chose to surround themselves with. Who made them happy.

And none of those things were blood-related. Because family is, more often than not, the people one chooses to be around.

And Katya could say with one hundred percent certainty that she considered Sam or Tony more a family than she ever would Dreykov, her uncle by blood.

And the idea that he thought she'd simply accept him as family because they shared some DNA, made her madder than anything ever did.

''No.'' She backed up until her shoulder hit Natasha's, needing the support. She felt a hand slide up her back, landing just below her shoulder blades in comfort. ''I already have a family. And it certainly doesn't include you.''

She clenched her teeth and tensed the muscles in her right arm. But before the bullet left her gun, the office doors behind her slammed open and Dreykov slipped away from her grasp.

Katya was still too out of it to react, to turn around, to dodge the hook that lodged itself into her back and jerked her backwards at the same time as Natasha. 

It stung really badly. Her gun clattered somewhere on the ground, sliding over the floor, but that was the least of her worries when Dreykov shut the drawer from his desk, locking the database. 

It would have been easy to overpower him, rip the ring from his hand, put a bullet in his head, if not for Katya's absent mind and the group of Widows that had stormed through the doors, staring down at the two intruders. They were here to kill them. Great.

''Nobody leaves this room until they're dead.'' Dreykov pushed through the group, all his confidence regained as he had the upper hand again. ''Make them suffer.''

~~~~~~~~

A/N: well, apparently my plottwist wasn't that unpredictable, because some of you guessed Katya and Dreykov were related haha. I didn't want to make her his daughter because even for me, that was a step too far. So she's the daughter of his sister instead but has been under his wing since she was a baby, so in some way you could say she is his daughter. And trust me, Katya will not take that very well.