Exterminate her? What could general Dreykov possibly mean by that? Avery had no absolute idea on what the word 'exterminate' meant., though by the way the round figured man's lingering gaze seemed to leave her feeling both frantic and shaky it couldn't be anything pleasant.

The two guards who had been present beside her for the entirety of the time she's been placed in the office went to grab at both of her arms so that they could drag her to where she would be put down. The seven year old didn't move a muscle, too anxious to do anything remotely close as throwing a fit of anger in front of general Dreykov.

Though just as both guards gained a firm grip on her the doors to the office slid open and in came a woman who seemed poised and confident in the way she held herself.

The woman's hair was a shade of dark brown, similar to a chestnut and it was pulled back into a mid-length ponytail. Her skin held a fair complexion while it also held subtle signs of aging and experience as if she's been through many things throughout her life. Avery caught onto the high-tech material suit that she wore which was predominantly black though held subtle gray accents within it.

Who was this unflappable woman?

Once general Dreykov had noticed the new arrival he had demanded for the guards to escort themselves out of the room to which they immediately obliged. They began to make their way out of the office while dragging Avery along harshly with them but at the last second, right when they reached the door Dreykov had put them to a halt.

"Leave the girl here" he ordered, his thick Russian accent piercing through as he made this demand.

This confused not just the guards but also Avery herself. Not even a minute ago he had wanted her gone from his line of sight though now he wanted her to stay put exactly where she was. What had made him change his mind?

One of the guards turned around and questioned the man's request "Are you sure general?" The guard wanted to make sure for certain that this was what Dreykov had truly wanted.

Dreykov gave a firm nod in response and both guards took that as positive. They pushed Avery forward with a large amount of force that she had nearly went flying across to the whole other side of the room, though fortunately for her she had been able to stand her ground and stayed upright while the two individuals who had nearly made her fall to the ground left without another word.

The young girl glanced over at the woman who had entered moments prior, she held an expression of something close to pity and penitence at the sight of her. This made Avery feel like a deer in headlights as she stood there stiffly, still in her ballet leotard and pink shaded tights. Why did that woman seem so sorrowful when laying eyes upon her?

Meanwhile Dreykov started pacing around effortlessly while beginning to strike a conversation "My god look at you" he chuckled heftily "so, uh, how was the family reunion?"

The dark haired woman brought her gaze away from Avery who had not moved a muscle since being shoved into the spot she currently stood at and shifted her main focus to the man who ran this whole entire sickening institution.

"Oh, it was awful. They were clingy, and too emotional, and needy" she responded with little to no emotion evident in her tone.

This had set the general off into another heavy chuckle "just like old times, huh?" He mused in a sort of unreadable manner to the eyes of a seven year old.

While the unfamiliar woman hummed in somewhat agreement, Avery's bluebell irises darted every which way around the office. She was taking everything in quietly and not paying that much attention to the two adult's conversation. Everything in general Dreykov's office was placed with such precision that there was nothing she could pinpoint out of place though she felt as if their needed to be something out of place, something that she could fix or else she wasn't worth anything. She needed to fix things, everything had to be right again because they didn't feel right at all.

"Yelena Belova. What's the deal with her? She was the only one affected, right?" Dreykov queried to the other figure present in the room.

Avery's head snapped up immediately at the mention of Yelena Belova, her mother. Why were they talking about her mother? Had something happened to her? What could general Dreykov possibly mean by her mother being the only one affected? This had drew the seven year olds attention right into the ongoing conversation. She had to listen in now, she needed to make sure her mommy was okay.

The woman who stood beside her had took swift notice to how attentive the young ballerina had suddenly become at the mention of Yelena. This had made her reply to Dreykov tardy.

"As far as I know, yes" she confirmed though her attention kept making its way back to the small figure next to her. There was something she didn't have knowledge on about this child accompanying them and Dreykov knew exactly what he was doing keeping her present in the room with them.

The rounded figure had scoffed at this complete, certain verification "These gasses and antidotes, it's a pain in my ass. It's a problem. You need to sort it." He demanded in irritation.

"Hmm. I have nine pigs that will require attending to in my absence" the woman spoke aloud trying to come up with an accurate excuse.

Avery's face scrunched up in perplexity at the mention of pigs. Of course she's never actually seen what a pig's appearance looked like but she constantly got called a lazy one by Madame Popova so she's assuming they are not all that very appealing in physical appearance. Why did this woman have them at home and especially why did she have nine of them?

"Don't give a shit about your pigs. Cut her brain out... hmm? Identify the weakness" Dreykov had guided the unknown woman to Avery over to the table centred in the middle of the office and pushed her down onto a seat, then proceeded in roughly grabbing her head with one hand while gripping onto her shoulder with the other.

Avery had flinched slightly at the generals harsh tone and sudden actions he had partaken in. She didn't know what to do in this situation. She felt both terrible and frightened for this unfamiliar woman though at the same time she was frozen in place, as if she couldn't move. She felt as if she moved even an inch she would disintegrate into dust of some sorts.

"What about Romanoff?" The woman suddenly questioned as boldly as she could summon her voice to become after a couple moments of complete silence throughout the room.

Romanoff? That was a name unknown to Avery. Though at the same time she also felt as if she had heard that name thrown around the red room before, something about Romanoff being a dirty traitor or something along the lines. There was only so much that a seven year old could remember.

Dreykov released his firm grip on the dark haired woman's head and shoulder but just as swiftly he had made his way to the front of the chair and loomed over her figure with intimidation, though not before giving a brief stare in the young blond's direction with a satisfactory smirk overcoming his features for just a split second that you'd have to be paying a serious amount of attention to capture it.

"She's a traitor. She turned her back on her people. On her blood. She had nothing. I gave her home. I gave her love." He spoke with an immense form of hatred, though not only directing his speech at the figure he towered over but also Avery, whose eyes were as wide as a doe as she listened.

"Put that thing in her you do. You know, uh, chemicals. Turn her into one of your pigs. Can you imagine what I could do with an avenger under my control?" He spoke in a malicious hunger, wanting nothing but absolute power.

"Wouldn't you like to speak to her first?" The woman questioned, though her credence from earlier on was not present no longer.

Suddenly Dreykov's eyes darkened as he leaned in closely to this figure "when you look into the eyes of a child you have raised. No mask in the world can hide that" he stated solidly.

He suddenly went to grab for towards the woman's face though she had made an attempt at grabbing his incoming arm to which she had managed to grasp onto for just a little over a second. Though the general reached again out towards her head and this time she didn't try to put a stop to it.

He lightly tapped at the side of her head and it was as if her face had started to glitch in an abnormal manner. This had frightened Avery a small amount, she had never seen anything remotely as bizarre as what she was witnessing now and she still wasn't even sure on as to why she had been kept there to witness it. The only thing she knew for certain was that her mother was mentioned and that she must keep paying full attention to make sure nothing bad had happened to her.

Suddenly the man started peeling off the woman's face and the seven year old couldn't help but let out a small gasp as this event happened. Though she had been surprised that instead of the darker haired woman having no face remaining she in fact had a whole new face instead and her hair was now as red as a blazing inferno. She had been in a disguise, is the conclusion that Avery had decided on going with as it made the most sense in her tiny brain of hers. So now there was a bigger question that needed answering..

Why was this woman in a disguise and more importantly who was she?

"Welcome home." Dreykov greeted, his tone once again unreadable to the ears of Avery who didn't having any understanding of the history between the two adults in the room.

Out of nowhere a figure who happened to be suited up entirely from head to toe in a sort of navy and blue strong sourced armour pointed a gun right towards the now redheaded woman as she had started to slowly make her way off of the chair that she had been sitting on. Avery hadn't even realised they had been there until that very moment but it's not the first time she was encountering this solider, it was none other than the taskmaster.

"Now, now. Don't go breaking my new toy" the man had stopped the taskmaster from taking things any further by putting his hand out as a signal to back down to which the taskmaster done as they were told.

He turned back around to the woman in order to continue on with their intense conversation. Meanwhile Avery kept her gaze on the taskmaster. Who was behind that well guarded mask? Why did general Dreykov insist of having them everywhere he traveled to? The child had so many unanswered questions that she'll probably never get to understand the answers too.

It wasn't until the woman was trying to shoot at Dreykov with a gun and couldn't seem to do it was when Avery's focus had finally shifted back to the both of them. The blond could tell that this red haired woman was trying desperately to pull the trigger on the gun but it was as if there was an invisible barrier keeping him protected from any threats or harmful doings.

Avery's breathing had started to pick up at the sight of the gun. This woman was a threat. She was armed and Avery wasn't. Who is to say that the figure won't decide to shoot at her instead of general Dreykov because she's small and overall is an easier target. She didn't want to die. She wanted to keep training in ballet and be a ballerina. Tears were beginning to threaten to spill from her eyelids but she wouldn't allow them to. She blinked a couple of times, ushering the tears back after Dreykov had took the gun out of the woman's grip and fired it up into the air.

After all widows don't cry.

The woman had ended up resorting to using a knife after the unsuccessful attempt at firing the gun. Unfortunately the knife had ended up being useless also as the second she had tried to use it the invisible barrier prevented any damage from being caused. Dreykov was just as quick to take it from her hand just like the gun and drop it onto the ground. The knife landed with a clatter to the floor.

"You're in trouble now" he informed the redhead with calmness, as if this was something he dealt with often.

The woman's features held both trepidation and utter confusion "How are you controlling me?" She questioned in a certain despair.

"I'm not controlling you. Natasha. Well, not yet. But there is a pheromonal lock. Smelling my pheromones prevents you from committing violence against me." He explained with gratification for himself.

He then proceeded to pretend that he was about to throw a hit towards the redhead who Avery now knew was called Natasha and she flinched backwards which had made Avery immediately shoot her head down towards the shiny floor. Holding back her tears was sure becoming all the more challenging but she wouldn't break. If that's what general Dreykov wanted he wouldn't get it, he wouldn't be proved right.

"So, this was the big plan, huh? Melina was going to land the red room and hand me over to the authorities" Dreykov stated, sniggering to himself as he made his way over to his desk and sat down in a relaxed position. "Come over here child" he beckoned for Avery to come over to his side.

Avery felt herself stop breathing for a moment, her breath hitching in her throat. She hesitated for a slight second though slowly but surely had made her way over to stand at general Dreykov's side while trying to hide away her uncomfortableness and keep her tears at bay.

Natasha had watched the tiny figure uneasily travel to where the cruel man sat with pride, her irises following carefully while trying to understand the reason as to why Dreykov had kept the child in the office and why she was apparently so important.

"Who is the kid?" She questioned, deciding to get straight to the point about the elephant in the room.

Dreykov smirked knowingly at the question she had just placed upon him "ah does she remind you of somebody?" He asked in return.

Natasha had no idea what the man was trying to get at with that question so she shifted her focus onto the kid instead. She had naturally short blond hair, including a set of bangs covering her forehead with a delicate heart-shaped face and high cheekbones. Her eyes were as blue as a lively ocean and she stood there looking super small, practically curling into herself.

At first Natasha couldn't make any connections between the girl and anybody else but then it clicked inside her mind like a delivery that had arrived a day or two late.

She looked strikingly similar to her sister Yelena.

The redhead's head snapped up like lightning back into Dreykov's direction in shock. As swift as the wind she had made her way over to the general's desk and placed both hands on its hard surface in order to come off as menacing.

"How is that possible? How did you do it?" She demanded an answer strongly. How on earth had he managed to create a child that was her sister's child?

"Anything is possible Natasha, if you want it enough" was all he stated, not sharing anything that could possibly explain the cause of Avery's existence.

Natasha had scoffed at this statement "oh, stop it." Her shock had definitely not worn off yet but she had two things to accomplish now. Take down the red room for once and for all and protect Yelena's child. The second task seemed unbelievable in Natasha's mind.

For some reason her telling Dreykov to stop had infuriated him and he had shot up from his chair in anger "don't tell me to stop it!" His voice boomed throughout the room.

Avery flinched at the sudden outburst of noise and covered her ears with her hands in hopes of not just blocking out the shouting but the whole situation at this point. She felt a singular tear roll down her cheek and shakily used her arm to wipe away at it. She couldn't cry. Not here, not ever. There would be no more tears from her.

In her head the motto 'widows don't cry' constantly played over and over in her head.

Widows don't cry.

Widows don't cry.

Widows. Don't. Cry.

Widows don't-

Before she knew what was even happening, Dreykov had struck Natasha across the face harshly and Avery bit down hardly on her tongue in order to prevent herself from screaming just like many times before when she was afraid but couldn't show it because showing any signs of emotion in the red room was showing weakness.

Fortunately Natasha has recovered quickly and regained her posture "come on. Think I can't take a punch?" Her chuckle filled the air.

Avery was silently relieved that Natasha was okay. She may have no idea who she even was but one thing she does know for certain is that deep down she does not find it amusing when others are purposely hurt by an individual.

Though just as fast as the young girl believed that the older woman was okay, Dreykov had once again punched the redhead and Avery flinched for probably the hundredth time that day.

The seven year old wanted to say something that could prevent Natasha from being physically attacked, she wanted to put an end to this for ever and ever but she couldn't. She had no idea on how to help. She wasn't the best at combat and every time shes ever attempted at handling a weapon she could never use it, especially guns. Whenever she had tried using a gun she could never pull the trigger and she doesn't even know why that occurs for her.

"God damn it. You're weak" Natasha exclaimed while making a complete mockery out of the man who didn't seem very impressed with these comments about his strength.

"Weak?" He mumbled in response to the woman's mockery.

"I bet it's easier to be tough in front of defenceless little girls like her, huh?" Natasha pointed over to Avery who at this point was finding it hard to stand with the amount of intensity surrounding her. She usually danced to forget everything going on around her but she couldn't do that here, ballet couldn't help her now.

For the third time Dreykov had struck Natasha again and this time she fell straight to the floor. Avery couldn't just stand around and do nothing anymore. She had to do something because this wasn't right, general Dreykov was a wicked man.

So she decided on doing the only thing she knew that she could do. Use her voice "Stop it!" She shouted is despair "don't hurt her she hasn't done anything wrong!" Her small voice boomed throughout the office.

Dreykov scoffed at the young girls attempts at trying to get him to put an end to this situation and turned around to face her with a stone cold expression covering his features "that's enough"

Avery immediately froze and her words caught in her throat because she was absolutely petrified of the look Dreykov was giving her and just him overall in general. She had really tried her best to help Natasha and she hoped that the woman would understand that she couldn't do much more to help her. She'd never be able to take on Dreykov by herself she's not strong enough.

"You seem desperate to impress me." Natasha pointed out while holding herself slightly off from the ground and lightly panting.

"I don't need to impress you. I don't need to impress anyone." He denied her statement and made his way back over to his desk and sat down once more.

Avery who was still beside the desk took one or two steps back cautiously, she did them very slyly and warily so that the general would not take notice and she could stay as far as possible away from him.

"These world leaders, these great men, they answer to me and my widows. Look at them, just look at Avery" he pointed over to the child "these girls were trash. They are thrown out into the street or were