New York City, USA

Spring 2015

"I imagine this is going to seem pretty strange to you." Nadine glanced up from the final check she was giving her subcompact Glock at the sound of Natasha's voice, catching the redhead's mischievous glance, "working on a team. You've been solo for a long time."

With a barely a conscious thought, Nadine had her sidearm securely holstered even as Natasha reached the bottom of the Quinjet's boarding ramp where the blonde assassin had been waiting.

She'd been the first one ready to leave, gearing up in record time, but it felt odd to wait onboard alone. But even as the Avengers made their way onto the jet, it had felt even more odd to wait on board with them. She wasn't an Avenger. She was just tagging along for the ride. She lifted a quizzical eyebrow at her little sister as Natasha paused next to her. It truly baffled her just how quickly she and the redhead had fallen right back into the familiarity with each other they'd once had. It was as though the years had simply melted away, and the comfort that development gave her had done wonders to ease Nadine's near constant state of rage- and fear-fuelled panic. Natasha looked on the verge of grinning. Nadine felt her lip curl in a faint smile before responding.

"Not so strange. It'll be just like when we were girls; working together, fighting side by side." Natasha actually did laugh. Behind her, Barton came into view, making his way toward the Quinjet. He was the last one. With a subtle tilt of her head, Natasha gestured for the pair of them to board the ramp.

"It only really happened once, Nadya. But we did make a pretty good team."

"We took down a pretty formidable opponent, though. No doubt about that," Nadine said back, forcing an open smile to her face, as though the memory didn't bring to mind other more painful ones. But Natasha seemed to catch it anyway; she'd always been able to do that, Nadine was reminded with an affectionate grin. She settled herself on one of the cabin's centre bank of seats near the front, across from where Rogers sat just off to the side from the pilot's compartment: "Compared to that, this'll be a piece of cake." Natasha shrugged, sitting one seat down from the blonde woman, close to Banner as Barton slipped past them both as he headed for the pilot's seat.

"It didn't seem so hard at the time," Natasha quipped with an easy grin. Around them, the Quinjet hummed to life, and within moments it had lifted off from the Avenger's Tower on its way to Sokovia.

"Well, we were working together and we had the element of surprise," Nadine rationalized. "Still, we probably shouldn't have been able to manage it." Natasha nodded thoughtfully before another mischievous grin broke through.

"And that's probably because we weren't thinking about the fact that we shouldn't have been able to do it." Nadine couldn't help but laugh at the assessment. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Rogers glancing up at her, an odd almost-smile coming to his face as he glanced between her and Romanoff.

It was then that Stark chose to make the rounds, handing out the team's earpieces, including one for Nadine. It was with a wary glance at the billionaire that Nadine took the small piece of tech, ignoring the calculating look he had fixed on her, as though trying to figure her out. After a moment he moved on, blessedly not saying a word. Nadine had to withhold a thankful sigh, though Natasha's hastily hidden smirk indicated she hadn't hidden her relief quite enough to hide it from the master spy her sister was.

"He just doesn't like not knowing things," the female Avenger said conspiratorially, leaning toward Nadine even as she tilted her head toward Stark. Nadine nearly snorted; that had been easy to figure out. "And you're a mystery to him; a little like a new puzzle."

"Isn't that my life's ambition," Nadine replied dryly, "to be a new puzzle for Tony Stark." Natasha gave her a sympathetic grin as she leaned back.

"Not that much of a puzzle, really," Tony suddenly piped up, interrupting, "facial recognition really is a very handy tool, you know." Nadine and Natasha's attention snapped to the billionaire in surprise, Nadine with a flutter of anxious unease settling in her stomach. Tony looked for a split-second like he was going to try fighting back his self-satisfied smirk, only to give up on the attempt as he paced leisurely through the Quinjet, drawing everyone's attention. Once he was sure he had it, ever fond of the spotlight as he was, he drew out a phone-like device with a flourish.

"Nadine Ryker," he announced, flicking a digital map of Nadine's life from the screen in his hand—what was it, a phone? A remote?—to project in front of him. Throughout the Quinjet, everyone seemed to sit a little straighter with curiosity...save Nadine, who straightened defensively. Natasha shot her a wary glance before her focus shifted back to Stark. "Age thirty-seven," he paused, looking to the blonde assassin with overly-animated skepticism, "What's your secret? You barely look a day over pool parties and frat boys!"

"Good diet and exercise," Nadine quipped back sarcastically. Tony ignored her.

"Gotta be the metabolism." Nadine rolled her eyes at the dismissive tone. "Lives in Vienna, but born in Smalltown-Nowhere Germany; moved to Russia at age five. Semi-professional ballerina until age twenty-four—I've never really liked ballet myself, but ballerinas, on the other hand—and then proceeded to move around for a bit. Opened one of the best small-scale private dance studios in Vienna, producing several high-calibre dancers over the years, including three notable prima ballerinas for different international dance companies. That's quite the backstory. I just have one question, though...well, a couple, but one main one:

"Where's the whole Ghost thing fit in? I don't see it here." Nadine glared coolly at him, but he ignored her again, continuing on. Across from her, Rogers tried but failed to hold back an exasperated groan, and Nadine could swear Natasha was fighting to keep from dropping her head to her hands.

"Mother to Nicola Ryker, seventeen—wait, seventeen? Really? You have a seventeen year-old kid? She'd adopted, right." Immediately Nadine was fighting not to grind her teeth in irritation bordering on rage. "Nope. Apparently not. Born in Germany—oh look, there's even a digital record of the birth certificate—no father documented. No indication of any major relationships, really."

"It's a little hard to date when single-handedly raising a daughter, running a prestigious ballet studio and moonlighting as the best assassin-for-hire out there," Nadine dismissed dryly, her hard eyes belying the almost casual way she said it, "are you quite finished?" Stark glanced up at her before nonchalantly shaking his head no.

"I like to know everything I can about people I work with, so no. I'm still digging," He fiddled and flicked through his digital bulletin board to illustrate his point, "are you actually German? I'd peg you as Russian, really; all the super spy/master assassin programs they had? You're a prime candidate, really. Whatever the truth, though, you're very good, I'll give you that. If I didn't know better all this—" he waved almost flamboyantly to the projections "—would look very real. I imagine just about all of it is fake, in fact. Well..." he tapped and swiped the phone again, a photo enlarging to display prominently among the rest of Nadine's constructed life, "...hard to fake that."

Everyone's attention, Nadine's included, had been drawn to the photo he'd pulled up of the blonde assassin and her daughter.

It had been taken just over a year before, from a story on their community blog about a local martial arts showcase where Nina had been one of the senior demonstrators. Nina had her arms around her mother's waist, smiling widely into the camera as Nadine was trying not to laugh, her own arm wrapped lovingly around her daughter's shoulders. Nadine's chest tightened even as an irritating prickle began to grow behind her eyes. Natasha stood almost as soon as Stark had brought up the picture, edging forward for a closer look, a distant expression on her face.

"She looks so much like you," she said softly, smiling as she looked between the photo and Nadine. Nadine could only smile tightly in response, struggling to hold back the welling of emotion the picture evoked. She did. They both had the same fine, pale hair and lithe dancer's figures. But there were differences. And Nadine could see the knowing glint in Natasha's eye that said she'd noticed too.

Everyone said Nina looked like Nadine, and that was true to some extent. But where Nadine had a cool, aloof loveliness, her features elegant and even sharp depending on the expression held on them, Nina was softer, her features more delicate—gentler even—when compared to Nadine's. She had a warmer beauty, with a vibrant, contagious smile, the faintest hint of a dimple on her chin and large, lively eyes that sparkled easily.

Nadine's solnyshko; her little sun.

But Nina's vibrant blue-grey eyes also gave entirely too much away. In most light they appeared pale grey like Nadine's. But other times, like in that specific photo...well, they weren't Nadine's eyes looking out of her daughter's face.

"You look like you should be her sister, not her mom," Barton spoke up next, breaking up what was being left unsaid between the two female assassins as he emerged from the cockpit to join his teammates.

"You had to have been awfully young when she was born," Rogers added softly as he too looked up to the photo, a faint frown creasing his brow as he did. Nadine nearly frowned herself at the unreadable look Natasha shot him. Curious. Nadine's gaze shifted back to the picture of Nina as he continued. "You don't even look as old as you are." A faint chuckle burst out of her unexpectedly.

"Says the hundred year-old man..." the blonde assassin quipped back, a trace of amusement in her voice. Rogers actually grinned as he glanced over at Nadine. Of course, Stark couldn't bear to be left out, unable to keep his own quips to himself.

"You know, I've heard of teen moms going on to become CEOs or star in bad TV shows; never heard of one going all Assassin's Creed, before."

Natasha made an annoyed sound deep in her throat as Nadine resumed glaring at the billionaire. "That's enough, Tony. I think you've made your point," the redhead said wryly, though there was no missing the pointed warning in her voice. Stark looked to his teammate, his eyes wide and incredulous. But there was a subtle, hard wariness just below the surface that hinted at why it was very unwise to dismiss Tony Stark as merely irreverent and immature.

"What?! You of all people don't want to know more? You, the super spy? The one she was hired to kill not all that long ago?" Natasha casually resumed her seat next to Nadine, leaning back with a careless shrug as she glanced innocently up at Stark.

"Blackmailed, not hired, Tony. That's an important distinction, thank you. And I know everything I need to know about her already," she said dismissively, nearly causing Nadine to smirk at the baffled look that was startled onto Stark's face. "I probably know more about her than any of you ever will. Not that I'm likely to tell you, no matter how nicely you ask." She looked pointedly at Stark, a sweet smile on her face.

"How?" Banner asked, genuinely curious even as Tony gasped dramatically, before bursting out with a sarcastic—and even mildly petulant— "she's not sharing! No fair!" For the most part everyone ignored him, though Banner did roll his eyes at the billionaire's childish antics. Natasha just smiled slyly, though her eyes didn't hold the usual playful twinkle baiting Tony usually inspired. Hawkeye, seeing the grin, only groaned, looking like the obvious had been right in front of him without realizing it until it reached up and slapped him in the face.

"She was part of the KGB program that trained you, wasn't she: The Black Widow Program." Her smile dimming minutely, Natasha nodded once in confirmation. Nadine merely let her head fall back against the headrest behind her, letting her eyes slide up to stare at the ceiling as Natasha elaborated at her team's—not counting Stark—unspoken urging to elaborate.

"If she hadn't run and disappeared from the program, it's fair to say she might have earned the Black Widow designation instead of me." Nadine chuckled bitterly at the assertion, dropping her eyes to glance at her little sister.

"Not likely," she contradicted lightly, "I never would have made it to Graduation if not for the success of the Treatments; I was a little too strong-willed for their tastes." Natasha raised an amused eyebrow.

"And I wasn't?" Nadine chuckled again, almost genuinely this time.

"That is true; you were too. But you played the game better. I was good at killing, the best, even—still am—but had I not run, they would have had to eliminate me within two years, three most. I had no interest in playing along with what they told me to do," she trailed off, leaving a great deal unsaid that she knew Natasha would be able to read in her eyes. There was no hiding the concern that flickered to life in the redheaded assassin's eyes. Nadine bit back a sigh, thankful that Natasha chose to let it go.

Petulant, but recognizing that he wasn't going to get anything more out of the two KGB-trained assassins, Stark retreated to the cockpit of the Quinjet to sulk, or so Nadine assumed. That brought her a measure of relief all its own. She hated feeling vulnerable, and as Stark had delved into her life—even though it was the life she'd created for just such an occasion—Nadine had felt just that, vulnerable and exposed...especially when her daughter had been brought into it. It left her feeling uneasy, an anxious tremor building in her chest. And apparently she was not hiding it well. She could practically feel Natasha's eyes on her, the younger woman glancing her way periodically with concerned glances that eventually turned to thoughtful ones as their flight to Sokovia progressed. She was so focused on the weight of Natasha's inquisitive eyes that she completely missed the way Captain Rogers kept glancing at her with a similarly curious gaze.

Eventually Nadine just gave in and forced the issue, knowing Natasha would take her time to break the silence if she didn't.

"What is it, Natasha?" Nadine shot the younger woman a pointed look. Natasha sighed after a moment, deciding how best to word what she wanted to say as she fixed Nadine with a penetrating look of her own. Even as Nadine made an impatient sound, hinting at the redhead to get on with it, she had to fight back a smile. Despite the years and all the things her little sister had been through, it seemed some things hadn't changed.

Natasha leaned forward to close the gap between her and Nadine, edging away from Barton and Banner where they sat behind her as she did. "Have you considered that, perhaps, Strucker wanted your daughter because both her parents were, well, because of who her parents are?" It was a barely audible murmur that Natasha used to voice her suspicions, easily keeping her question between her and the blonde assassin. Nadine's jaw clenched even as her grey eyes went ice cold. It was a testament to Natasha's self-discipline that her resolve didn't flag beneath Nadine's gaze. Just beyond the redheaded spy, Banner and Barton both flinched on seeing the look, and neither was in the blonde's direct line of sight.

"Of course I have." Nadine's words were as sharp and merciless as a surgical blade, carrying farther than Natasha's had. Across the narrow aisle, Rogers looked up, wary of the blonde woman's abrupt change in tone. "I know Strucker's reputation and of his interest in Enhanced persons; 'miracles', he calls us," she bit out coldly.

"Us?" Nadine's cool gaze fell on Rogers as he spoke up, "so you are Enhanced." A hard smile curled her lip as she considered the Captain's curious interest. Eventually she nodded, the cold defensiveness of the moment before beginning to melt away.

"Did you honestly think I wasn't?" A faint grin surfacing on his face, Rogers nodded in concession, silently admitting that he'd figured as much. "Believe it or not, there was some success in replicating the very serum that was used on you, Captain Rogers," she said softly, drawing a few more stunned but intrigued gazes, "and the Russian Government, courtesy of HYDRA, managed to acquire some. They studied it, tried to replicate it and eventually made do with a poor imitation when they realized that was the best they were going to get.

"And then they tested it." Nadine glanced around, hardly surprised that the two Avengers that looked the most shocked by her admission were Captain Rogers and Natasha.

"The Treatments were Erskine's formula?" Natasha burst out, genuinely astonished.

"A not-so-sophisticated and less potent approximation," Nadine corrected with an almost impatient air, eyeing Natasha's unguarded reaction with a trace of her own surprise. "What? You never wondered just what the Treatments were? You always asked more questions about them than I did." Rogers watched Nadine levelly until the blonde turned back to him.

"So they tested this imitation serum on you," he confirmed softly, an almost unreadable look in his eyes that Nadine belatedly realized was weary dismay...and a trace of sympathetic understanding. Yes, she realized absently, of all the Avengers besides Natasha, he would be best able to guess what she had gone through with every injection... Slowly, Nadine nodded again. The Captain sighed heavily, his gaze growing distant as he processed what she'd said.

"Wait, how do you know all this?" Nadine's eyes lingered thoughtfully on Rogers for another moment before she turned back to her little sister, giving Natasha a bitter, humourless grin.

"I have contacts I've cultivated over the years, Natalia. You may have been the one asking all the questions, but I wanted to know what they'd been giving me even more than you did. So once I had the pull, I tugged on someone to get me copies of the Red Room's files on the Treatment Program. It was all there...for the most part," she shrugged, a trace of her lingering disappointment from when she'd noticed the missing pages when she'd finally gotten her hands on those files resurfacing even years later, "I still don't know the source of the reconstructed serum or how the KGB got their hands on it in the first place, though. I'm still working on that; I have been for a while, now." As she spoke Steve had glanced up, his thoughtful gaze fixing once again on her. Nadine hesitated at the considering way he was looking at her, barely even noticing an odd little twist deep in her stomach as his ocean-hued gaze steadily met hers.

After a moment he inhaled deeply, an assessing glance replacing the weary one her admission had brought forward as he straightened. "And the effects?" She fought back an amused smirk.

"Trying to get my measure, Captain?" she asked lightly. His expression didn't shift, continuing to watch her steadily, though there was the faintest flicker of amusement in his eyes. She canted her head, considering him back before answering. "Not so dramatic as the effect Erskine's serum had on you; it didn't drastically change my physical appearance. But I definitely underwent physiological 'upgrades', if you will, as a result of the Treatments; enhanced reflexes, speed and strength; accelerated healing; increased stamina; greater pain tolerance; improved and increased metabolism." In the cockpit Stark made a vindicated sound that Nadine pointedly ignored, though a trace of a smirk fought to curl her lip as she continued. "Again, not quite as extraordinary as in your case, but it still leaves me capable of things beyond what any non-Enhanced person is capable of." Nadine noted with amusement that the Captain seemed momentarily surprised that she'd answered. Natasha frowned, her eyes still wide and incredulous, though a troubled light had begun flickering in her familiar green gaze.

"If they had it, why didn't they use it on the rest of us?" Nadine smiled wanly at the redhead's question, though there was no warmth in the expression.

"It had a rather...limited success rate, as I'm sure you remember, lisichka," Nadine said quietly, almost remorsefully, "I was the only one of the ten in the first test group to show any significant physiological changes due to the Treatment; two of the other girls died within days of the first injections, one within a few hours. One other girl showed minimal enhancement while the others experienced no changes whatsoever." Natasha shifted uneasily in her seat, her mind working furiously as the troubled expression in her eyes grew. Nadine turned a grim, perceptive look on Natasha, knowing where her memory was trying to turn. "Three girls in your group and the group immediately preceding died during a week long exercise in withstanding interrogation techniques utilizing chemically-induced physical pain—an exercise that inexplicably involved several high-profile biochemists and a handful of leading doctors specializing in a range of fields focused on, but not limited, to Physiological Enhancement." Natasha paled, realization beginning to dawn on her face. "So who's to say they didn't."

"Fascinating as this all is," sounding truly serious for the first time since Nadine had met him, Stark broke in then, turning to face the rest of the cabin from the cockpit area, "We're on final approach to Strucker's base." An immediate shift came over the Avengers, all talk and thought on Nadine's revelations falling by the wayside as the task at hand took precedence. Rogers stood, retrieving his shield with an easy gesture as he surveyed his companions...including Nadine. She couldn't help the startled flutter in her chest that, for the time being at least, he'd seemingly accepted her as one of them.

"Alright, Avengers. It's time to go to work."

A/N: Thanks for reading!

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