Upstate New York, USA

Late Summer 2015

Before Nadine knew it, summer was beginning to circle around to autumn. The Avengers Compound was, at most, a few days away from being officially completed. The work on construction and outfitting was finally wrapped up. There were a handful of the latest Stark-made Quinjets on the landing pad and technicians of all kinds scurried and flitted about. The whole facility was teaming with personnel, really—many former S.H.I.E.L.D., if Nadine wasn't mistaken—and the Team itself, its newest members included, were settling in, preparing for whatever training regimen Rogers and Natasha seemed to be cooking up.

It really had become the home of the Avengers.

And Nadine had somehow settled into life at the Compound right alongside them. She really had, and for the life of her, she hadn't entirely figured out how. How was it that she already felt so comfortable here?

Because she could be herself here. Without any pretenses. There was no need for them. She honestly felt like she could let her guard down in this place. Not that she didn't still disappear behind her masks more often than not. It was more that she felt like she could. She had the freedom to be open even if she wasn't quite practicing the impulse yet. She felt like, should the urge grab her, she could just talk to people, be it her sister or the guy eating his sandwich in the agents' cafeteria, without having to police her every word and expression, without having to analyze and study everything the other person said or did.

Perhaps that was why.

It was comfortable because she was learning she could be herself and no one would bat an eye. Everyone knew she had her secrets and they let her be. She was what she was, a highly trained and Enhanced spy and assassin, and that was that. It was no different in this place than Natasha being Black Widow, or Stark Iron Man. They all just were.

It was something she was still getting used to. But she found she liked it, bewildering as it was.

Never once had she expected to be respected for being what she was. Not like she was at the Avengers Compound. It was the same sort of respect the Avengers were given. An admiring sort, rather than the intimidated, fearful sort she had anticipated when word made it around about just what she was. Especially as word about her role in taking Strucker's base, her part in fixing the Ultron Fiasco and her alliance with the Avengers joined that talk. It truly did lend credence to Natasha's observations from before their mission in Paris that most of the people in the Compound saw her as a de facto Avenger. She still didn't see herself as one—not by a long shot—but it was a strangely reassuring feeling nonetheless.

That wasn't to say it had been a completely seamless transition. The Ghost was not infamous, after all, and rumour that the Avengers' mysterious new ally was in fact The Ghost was being whispered around the Compound. So while most treated her much as they treated the Avengers—with respectful deference and an appropriate measure of distance—thanks to her role in fighting by their side, there were no few nervous, suspicious and even fearful glances sent her way that always managed to wear on her after a while.

Not that she was exactly surprised by that either. Even if her identity as The Ghost was still hearsay beyond the Avengers and their inner most circle of allies, she was an assassin, and an Enhanced one at that. But as far as the rest of the Compound was concerned, she was a highly trained operative just as Natasha was, who had also thrown in with the Avengers in Sokovia. But she wasn't about to go shouting it out that she was The Ghost, no matter how comfortable she was growing, and she wasn't going to apologize for it. She was wanted around the world, and she suspected the loyalty inherent to the Avengers within the facility and the uncertainty that she was actually the notorious Ghost was all that kept her presence from being reported.

But unconfirmed suspicions or not, the rumours still garnered her her fair share of sideways looks regardless of her role fighting with the Avengers against Ultron. She wasn't used to being around so many others who knew who she was, even if it was only suspected. So some trepidation and fear in her presence was understandable, she supposed.

That and she still found herself falling back on old habits more frequently than she wanted to admit. Habits like unconsciously or intentionally analyzing those around her when among people she didn't trust—which was pretty much everyone even on a good day—for threats even though she rationally knew the Compound was safe, or studying the reactions of those she spoke to for undue interest or evidence they were lying. Habits like shutting herself off and evading even the most innocuous and friendly of questions. Habits that, on anyone else, would've easily been considered signs of extreme paranoia and severe trust issues, but were simply long ingrained remnants of Nadine's training. Habits she'd been relying on for years to keep her identity protected and her daughter safe.

Like the day she had found herself running checks on the base's personnel; that one had gotten her into a standoff with Hill that a very frustrated Natasha had been pulled in to break up. That had certainly led to a tense couple days. Tense enough that Nadine had begun considering moving on again.

But she was working past it. While her instincts for awareness and caution didn't ease, she was nevertheless learning to relax, to accept that she was no longer alone but among allies. Even friends. The ability to trust easily was still a long way away, if it ever returned to her, but she was getting to the point where she was no longer suspecting everyone of...well, anything.

It was comfortable. Far more so than she had anticipated.

More importantly, Nina seemed to feel at home here. She felt safe here. And that was far more important to Nadine than any other consideration when it came to sticking around.

That, and the fact that she was healing. Despite the knowledge that Nadine was still keeping secrets lay between them, Nina was bouncing back from everything she'd been through, more and more of her usual sunny self returning with each passing day. She was talking to Nadine again. She was laughing and bantering with her again. She didn't balk at the idea of having dinner just with Nadine anymore, just mother and daughter, like they used to before everything had fallen apart. They'd even gone off on a couple mother/daughter shopping trips, spending the day alone but for the other...and on occasion Natasha when she invited herself along. It was a return to normalcy, or as close as they were likely to get, and it relieved Nadine to no end.

Yet, for all that Nina was all but herself again, there was still something bothering her, something Nadine could just sense. How, be it thanks to her extensive training kicking in or simply a mom's sixth sense, Nadine didn't know. Nina was keeping something from her. And she was hiding whatever it was well. Something was bothering her daughter a great deal. And Nadine suspected it very much had something to do with what had happened in Sokovia. More specifically, what had happened when Ultron had nearly killed her, Pietro, Barton and the young Sokovian boy.

Nina still hadn't said a word to Nadine about what had happened that day. She had some idea what had gone down, of course. Barton had related what he could, apologetic that he hadn't seen more in his attempts to shield the boy, while the Twins both had related a little of what they remembered. Both had been exceedingly vague, though. It troubled Nadine, if she was being honest. It left her worried that Nina wasn't coping as well as she was leading everyone to believe and that the Twins were covering for her, helping her hide it away. She wasn't sure she believed that, but it was a lingering fear that clung to the edge of her thoughts.

Still, despite whatever it was that she was or wasn't hiding, Nina seemed to be genuinely coming to terms with everything Nadine had laid on her shoulders and everything she had endured since that awful moment when she had been snatched away. Naturally the shadow of Nadine's secrets still lingered between them—diminished, yes, but not gone—but Nadine suspected she was still working through what she'd been told. And that was inevitably going to take time. Nadine accepted that. But neither was Nina dwelling on it quite so intently anymore. She was speaking to Nadine again, and things were beginning to feel the way they had before Vienna. Before Nadine had been sent after her sister.

They'd never be the same of course, but Nadine could live with 'close.'

Still, the realization left her loath to think on the small, inescapable reality that Nadine had yet to tell her daughter everything. They both knew it, and Nadine sometimes caught Nina looking at her with a wary sort of thoughtfulness that could only stem from that knowledge. Nina wanted to know. There was little doubt about that. And on more than one occasion since their reconciliation, Nadine suspected her daughter was just barely restraining herself from grilling Nadine in the hopes that the blonde assassin would give in and tell her the rest, or that she would let something else, some small detail slip the way she had let Barnes' first name slip. But Nina managed to keep the impulse in check, something that impressed Nadine a great deal, if she was being completely honest.

It also made her a little sad. Her daughter had become more circumspect. More patient. Where once Nina had been endearingly—and sometimes not so endearingly—open, impulsive and impatient when she was curious about something, she now had a measure of control Nadine wasn't used to seeing. Perhaps Nina had always had it, Nadine mused, but had just never encountered an occasion where it had been truly necessary to use it.

She was trying to prove to her mom that she was ready to hear the rest of what Nadine was keeping from her. It was a painful thought, truthfully. Perhaps in some ways Nina was ready, but in others?

And that thought inevitably led to Nadine's worry about what Nina seemed willing to give up.

Not once since they'd started talking again had Nina mentioned university or even how she felt about being unable to return to their old life. Nothing about missing out on finals or graduation. No regrets about not saying goodbye to friends. Nothing about her university applications or how their new status—more specifically Nadine's status—as fugitives had impacted them.

It honestly left Nadine feeling sick. Nina had been so excited about university, throwing herself into her classes, diligently filling out applications for schools and scholarships...and Nadine's actions had destroyed all her hard work. The world now knew that Nadine Ryker was The Ghost, and Nina was affected purely by association. Sure, there were ways to ensure Nina still had the opportunities that Nadine had always fought for her to have—she'd already begun working on a few in her spare time around the Compound—so she could still go off to school if she really wanted.

But she hadn't even said a word about any of it. Even in passing. It left Nadine worried and even a little afraid.

Did Nina now plan on making her life in this world? Was she still adjusting, and simply hadn't thought about something so mundane as school yet?

Or did she no longer want the things she had before, the things she'd been working so hard toward? She'd planned on pursuing computer sciences, primarily—writing programs and algorithms, solving problems—with perhaps some dabbling into public relations or digital communications, or even a bit of the social sciences. She hadn't decided that part out yet. But it all came down to helping people. She hadn't been quite sure how, but she'd been certain she'd figure it out.

Now?

Had Nina really turned away from that future? All because of what happened? Because of the fallout from what Nadine had done? Or was it just a temporary distraction? Nadine hoped it was the latter, but she suspected it might be the former.

Or did Nina think she just couldn't have that kind of future anymore?

Nadine didn't even want to consider that possibility, her stomach clenching at the very thought.

Honestly, Nadine had no idea. Not without Nina confiding in her. And on this? Nina had been distinctly mum.

But Nadine couldn't escape the feeling that she was onto something. That her suspicions that Nina believed she wanted to be a part of this world were, at the very least, on the right track. But for Nina's sake, she hoped she was wrong. Especially given what she knew about the kind of life that would await her.

It was a hard life. A dangerous life.

A lonely life.

And a life Nadine wanted almost desperately to save Nina from. She couldn't fight the feeling that, for all that Nina seemed determined to make a place for herself alongside her new friends, among the Avengers, she was still far too innocent and compassionate to spend the rest of her life fighting. Nina wasn't Nadine. She wasn't Natasha, or Rogers, Barton or Stark or even the Twins. She was Nadine's little sun, and Nadine feared her natural brightness would dim if she tried to make herself into an Avenger. At times, Nadine wanted nothing more than to take Nina away from the Compound and convince her to never look back.

But she also knew it was an impossible hope.

As much as she wanted to deny it, Nina was part of this world now, and Nadine knew she needed to start preparing for what that meant. Especially since she knew Nina wanted to be part of it. She could see it in her eyes. She wasn't entirely sure Nina even realized it yet, but Nadine could tell. Her experience had woken something in Nina, something that had been groomed and fostered in Nadine and Natasha as they distanced themselves from the Red Room, something that drove all the Avengers to defend and fight. Whether it was a strong enough urge that Nina felt compelled to join them in their mission to protect and avenge was yet to be seen, but it was there.

More than that, it was becoming more and more clear that Nina felt like she belonged here, among the Avengers, whether she one day joined the fight or not. Just like Nadine was beginning to feel. There was no escaping that reality. Not anymore.

And that had been precisely Natasha's angle when she'd approached Nadine the week before about Nina joining the Twins in their training.

It was why Nadine had reluctantly agreed regardless of her reservations about the whole thing. Natasha was certain it would do Nina good and reluctantly Nadine had to agree. The training would help give Nina back the sense of control that had been stolen from her that day in Vienna. It would give her the knowledge and thus the confidence that she could handle herself. Not that she hadn't been able to before, of course. But now that she was linked to the Avengers? Anything she was likely to come up against would be in a league beyond anything she'd grown up learning to face: Super Spies and Enhanced persons as opposed to an opponent in competition or a mugger or handsy stranger.

Plus, there was the chance that, in giving Nina a taste of what a life among the Avengers would be like, it would lead to Nina realizing it wasn't really what she wanted to do.

Or so was the hope.

At least Nadine could be sure she would approve of what Natasha and Rogers were planning for getting their new recruits up to speed. Natasha hadn't been subtle at all when she'd approached Nadine for her opinion on their plans; she'd obviously been fishing for participation by asking for input. Natasha was trying to seduce Nadine into joining up herself. At the very least, it was obvious she was hoping to enlist Nadine's help on the training side of things. She'd come right out and said it, after all.

And Nadine was severely tempted.

Only to remind herself that she had tasks of her own to accomplish. She'd finally finished compiling her list. She'd finalized her plan to pay a visit to the first batch of names she'd gathered. And perhaps even hit a couple potential hiding places where the former HYDRA heads may have stashed their intelligence insurance policies while she was at it. It had come time to make sure all her loose ends were tied up in neat little bows. As tempting as the idea was to take Natasha up on her unspoken offer, Nadine wasn't ready to do that, yet.

She was likely going to stick around in some capacity though; she was still determined to find Barnes for not only her and Nina's sake, but for Rogers as well. That would have to satisfy her sister for now.

And then there was Nina's happiness to consider. Nadine wasn't blind. Not only were there her feelings of belonging to contend with, but there were also her daughter's obviously growing feelings for a certain Sokovian boy and her deepening friendship with his sister. Nadine bit back a sigh at that. She was fairly certain Nina was trying to keep her fledgling relationship with Pietro between them and out of Nadine's awareness, but Nadine knew her daughter too well for that to entirely work.

She still wasn't sure how she felt about that development...

Her daughter's fledgling romance aside, Nadine knew how important the Twins had become to Nina. She wasn't ready to be separated from them yet. The three of them had come to rely on each other a great deal in the days and weeks since the Battle of Sokovia. Not to mention in the days before. She didn't want to take Nina away just yet. Not when she'd already lost so much.

So they would stick around for now. Nina for training and the support networks she'd come to rely on, Nadine to use the Compound as a home base as she ticked names off her list and resumed her search for Barnes. At the moment, she had more than enough on her plate.

Perhaps after this first portion of her mission was done and over with—pending its success, of course—she would consider Natasha's offer. Maybe.

But for now, she still had steps to take to ensure Nina was as safe as she could be.

Only, She wasn't leaving Nina behind to continue recovering this time. While she was gone, Nina would begin training. She'd already seen Nina thumbing through the textbooks she and Natasha had decided the three youngest members of the Team—though, she supposed Vision should probably be counted among them, if she thought it through—needed to read; books on strategy, tactics, psychology, critical thinking, intros to advanced maths, chemistry, physics and biology, all of it. There were even old mission files and material on the history of S.H.I.E.L.D. in there. They were getting a crash course on how to be the kind of agents Nadine, Natasha and Barton had become. Spies. Combat experts. Covert Ops Agents. The whole bit.

And, in theory, eventually Avengers.

She had to fight not to falter at that thought. Nina was effectively training to become an Avenger. And she believed that was what she wanted to do.

It was why Nadine had been so reluctant to bring up Natasha's offer to Nina, already certain she knew the answer she was sure to get. She wasn't exactly wrong, not that she got the chance to ask.

"Please, Mom. You've always encouraged me to learn how to take care of myself. How better to learn than from the Avengers, from your sister." Nina's eyes had been wide and intent on her, nerves warring with determination in their blue-grey depths. "Nat is the best S.H.I.E.L.D. had, and nearly as good as you. She's one of the best teachers I could hope for!" Nadine had fought desperately back against the anxious worry gnawing in her gut at the plea, the affected confidence that hadn't quite covered the nervous waver in her daughter's voice.

She had also fought hard not to smile at her daughter's unashamed use of flattery. She didn't entirely succeed, the corner of her lip quirking even as she quirked a questioning brow. Nina's abashed smirk had been entirely too reminiscent of Natasha's, Nadine hadn't been able to help but think.

"Playing to my ego, are you, solnyshko? Or my motherly instincts?" Nina's grin had only grown wider as she shrugged sheepishly.

"Both?" Nadine had nearly laughed. Grasping Nadine's hand, Nina had pressed on. "Please? I can do this," she'd said, her features turning earnest and pleading again as her mirth faded. Nadine had sighed, then.

"I know you're capable, Nina," she'd finally said quietly, squeezing her daughter's hand before her gaze had turned shrewd and her tone serious. "But this will be nothing like your sessions back in Vienna," she'd warned, "Natasha will not go easy on you." She had brushed her palm along her daughter's cheek then, biting back another heavy sigh at what she had ultimately said next: "It is your choice."

Nina's determined nod had made her stance clear, as had the resolve that had shone in her eyes. "I want to do this, Mom. I—" need to. Her final words had been left unsaid, poised on the tip of her tongue but had been clear in her eyes. Nadine had heard it loud and clear. And her gut had twisted tighter at the confirmation. But Nadine had already agreed with her sister, and she had already left the choice in Nina's hands.

At least the nervous yet tentatively excited look in her daughter's face when Nadine had assented had done a little to encourage Nadine on the subject. As had the bone-crushing hug she'd trapped Nadine in.

But she still had her reservations. She couldn't quite see her daughter being happy in the field. Hence why she made sure to warn her sister of those reservations and her suspicions that this choice was more what Nina believed she should want than what she actually did want; concerns Natasha thankfully hadn't waved off. Nina had always been happy enough to learn, throwing herself into everything from school to her martial arts meets, but that was so much different than going into the field.

But Nina seemed determined to give it a try, her own reservations aside, so Nadine wasn't going to deny her.

Especially since she had been the one to start the process. Nina had grown up with games to improve memory, observational skills, critical thinking, listening, logic skills. She'd been taught how to fight and defend herself. She'd learned computer skills—far more than was strictly basic—and even how to build a basic computer among other devices under the guise of school projects, and Nadine had encouraged Nina's interest in the subject.

And she had, of course, taught Nina how to shoot.

Natasha had been completely right when she'd confronted Nadine with the claim that she'd been training Nina as a spy, inadvertently or not. Looking back now, it could not have been more obvious.

But at the same time, Nadine couldn't entirely dispute that part of Nina would be suited to Avenging. Whether she liked it or not, it was the kind of person she was. Nina had never been one to back down from doing what needed to be done. And there was little doubt that Nina had a strong sense of right versus wrong. She was kind-hearted and compassionate, and she had inherited every ounce of Nadine's conviction...Barnes' too, if Natasha's stories about the person he'd used to be were true. And Nina seemed to have inherited his determination not to sit back when he knew something was wrong. Incidents against bullies during her school days aside—especially one particularly memorable instance where Nadine had gotten a call even as she'd been a single shot away from completing a mission not even a year ago—her stance back in Sokovia when Nadine had been resolved to run made that abundantly clear.

As far as Nadine was concerned, Nina was a much better person than she was.

Case in point when considering what Nadine was planning to do. While she kept telling herself she was going just to talk to the people who had made it onto her list, there was a part of Nadine that knew it wasn't likely to stop at just that. In her gut, she knew she wasn't going to be able to stop herself from crossing names off her list. Permanently. And she couldn't quite bring herself to feel much in the way of remorse over that. It was what needed to be done. It was why she was currently striding through the Compound, garbed in a neatly-pressed and professional charcoal pantsuit, an away bag in her hand.

Natasha was the last one she needed to talk to before she left. She'd already spoken to Nina and she'd even notified Rogers, surprising herself that she'd given into the impulse. Surprisingly, both had taken the news in stride, Rogers turning serious and wishing her luck and Nina... Well, there had been no mistaking the trepidation in Nina's eyes, the memories from Vienna making themselves known even to Nadine. But her strengthening determination not to let her residual fears control her and growing nerves over her impending training had quickly buried them away again, and Nina had said her goodbyes with surprising cheer. It left Nadine feeling a great deal better about leaving.

Natasha was the last, and Nadine finally found her locked in quiet debate with Thor as she went over some aspect of her scheme for getting the newest batch of Avengers up to fighting form. Her sister was obviously taking advantage of Thor's unique perspectives while she could as the Asgardian was planning on departing from Earth within the week. It was the first Nadine had seen of him almost since Sokovia, the Asgardian having spent the last several weeks preparing to depart, not knowing when he'd make it back next. She might not have had much to do with the imposing Avenger, but Nadine had to admit she was going to miss his unique sense of humour and his curious brand of insight. With a smile and a rather excited glint in her eyes, Natasha extricated herself from her discussion with Thor when she caught sight of Nadine lingering in the doorway of the conference room the two Avengers had been holed up in.

"What's up, sis?" Nadine didn't bother to hide her grin at the redhead's cheeky greeting. But she sobered quickly enough.

"I'm heading out." Natasha frowned before turning thoughtful. But Nadine answered her question before the redhead even started to say it. "I have some leads to follow up on. I'll be gone at least a week. Perhaps two." Inadvertently Natasha nodded, satisfied that her suspicion had been correct before grinning wickedly.

"Need company?" Nadine brushed the offer aside—grateful nevertheless, which she demonstrated with another small grin—but her voice was quite serious.

"This is something I have to do myself, lisichka. These are my loose ends I need to tie up." Natasha understood that. So she didn't argue. Smiling, she linked arms with Nadine, gesturing to Thor that she'd just be a minute, before turning the two of them toward the Compound's main garage, correctly deducing that was Nadine's next destination.

"So you're going to be okay leaving Nina with me?" Natasha finally asked as the two of them drew closer to where they would part, masking the earnest intent of her question with a teasing tone. "Not afraid I'm going to corrupt her?" Nadine couldn't help but laugh at the comment despite recognizing the unspoken question underlying it. She looked to Natasha, her expression growing serious even as a faint smile curled her lips.

"I trust you, Natalia."

And she meant it. Natasha beamed and wrapped her sister in a tight hug.

"Go get 'em," she murmured as Nadine earnestly returned the embrace before pulling back, her expression turning serious and sharp. "Do what you've got to do."

Of that, Nadine had every intention of complying.

And with a final goodbye, the sisters parted. Natasha back to her conference with Thor, and Nadine off to do The Ghost's work.

A/N: Thanks for Reading!

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