16371/Ghosts of the Past

Ghosts of the Past
Date of Scene:	17 June 2024
Location:	Converted Safehouse, Brooklyn
Synopsis:	There is no such thing as coincidence.
Cast of Characters:	Black Widow (Romanoff), Phobos

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Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
It had been a normal day at work although Natasha was at a loss. She was trying to figure out about the arrival of a gift that had been delived to the Avengers Mansion. They'd let her know it about it and she went by there on her way home from her SHIELD shift. There she had found the flowers, causing her to look at them curiously and Tony to run his mouth asking if she'd been cheating on Alexander. She left without giving him any sort of satisfaction, examining the small clear glass vase that held the flowers. They'd already all been scanned and there was nothing odd about them. Outside they were native to the other side of the world. And she hadn't seen them for many decades.

This already had her mind spiralling to the past as she tried to figure out what the story might be. Thus she was somewhat subdued when she entered the house she shared with Alexander. He would hear the door open and close, the sound of keys hitting the dish that he had setup there on a table near the door. No thud of a backpack. That was his thing. Then the sound of her climbing the stairs. Not too rapidly but either was she taking her time.

And in her hands was the small vase of fuschia colored, dainty little lilies. Thirteen of them in total.

Phobos has posed:
    Nobody else in the world knew that one of the preferred ways Alexander liked to view the world... was upside down.
    Natasha could always tell when he was at his ease, when there was that slight sound in the distance of a train's bell ringing as the steam engine was leaving the station. Few people knew he liked watching them traveling across Europe. Even fewer people knew that he liked to lie on the sofa with his legs over the back of it, upside down... watching the television from that curious perspective. Not because of any yogic mastery, nor any deep philosophical insight. It was just a thing he did.
    Though when he heard the door close, she'd hear the sound of him doing that smooth roll he does pushing on the couch with his arms, lifting his legs over in a smooth somersault, and rolling easily to his feet.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
She came into sight, that vase in one hand. She was dressed in civilian clothes: A pair of jeans with a tank top under a simple hoodie which as zipped partway up. She did have a small duffle with her which had her costume inside it. Easier to go to the Avengers mansion without drawing the attention of the fans who might be lurking about by not being in costume after all. She had managed to slip in the back door without drawing any attention. Of course, the security measures knew who she was no matter what she was wearing so she was able to do so safely.

"I realize that I am old and it is possible that some form of memory loss could be happening but was there a special occasion I have forgotten?" Since there had been no card, she could only assume the flowers were from him. Though it was possible some fan out there did it but they were a flower she liked and most people wouldn't know that outside Alexander. And whoever did it made sure to use an odd number because even was a bad thing in Russia, when gifting flowers. Even numbers were used at funerals.

Phobos has posed:
    She heard his voice a moment before she appears as he calls out a warning, "You had best not be a band of 80s ninjas..." Though when he espies the vase, the flowers, and the love of his life seeming a touch... stoic.
    His eyebrows climb, he tilts his head to the side. Then the other way, like a curious canine as he gauged the facts before him. Nothing came to him in revelation, so he insead answered her question, "Not that I know of. Is something up?" He asks as he walks over toward her, touching a hand faintly to her hip in greeting, but not crowding her as she thinks.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"I'm not sure," she murmured as she eyed the flowers a moment longer. Then she just set them aside and turned her attention fully to him. "I'm guessing that means you didn't send them to me? They were at the Mansion." Which she knew he'd understand meant the Avengers. "Maybe it's just a coincidence that it's flowers I actually like. There are only so many flowers that are from Russia, or that area, that aren't found other places. I'm sure it's nothing."

She slipped her arms around him, rising on tip toe to steal a brief, chaste kiss from him. "I just wish I believed in coincidence." Something she had expressed many times to her love. After this many years, it just was too difficult to always be thinking there was chance in anything in her life.

"It just brought back some memories from the past at the same time."

Phobos has posed:
    "I didn't." Alexander says quietly, and normally there would be some touch of humor, some hint of something to distract his thoughts or hers as he considered the matter before them. But he didn't in this case, instead seemingly distant for a moment, then his gaze returning to hers. "They're very pretty."
    He offers that insight at the least, but then sats, "Do they need more water?" He asks, shifting to the practical, dividing difficult tasks into achievable goals. She knew him well enough she could likely track the flow chart of his thoughts. But then he returned that small kiss long enough to give them a moment before he asked, "What sort of memories?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
There was that faint twisting of the lips in a half smirk. "You sure you want me to answer that?"

But once she had her confirmation from him that he did, she moved toward the bedroom. "Let me get changed then we'll get into it. And yes, they probably need fresh water. I haven't added that little packet thing that is supposed to keep them fresh yet either." She pulled it from her pocket. "There was no note with them obviously," she added.

Then a quick diversion to the bedroom where she changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top, feet bare. From there she moved to the kitchen where she pulled out the bottle of vodka that was kept in the freezer so it was always chilled to the proper temperature. Two small rocks glasses were grabbed in her other hand and she moved back to the living room to sit on the couch, pouring two drinks and settling in to tell the tale.

"You know you are not my first relationship obviously," she began. "But had I told you I was married before us?"

Phobos has posed:
    She saw those pale hazel eyes hold her gaze and she could sense the hesitation, then likely could navigate his words even before he said them as he murmured, "You didn't tell me." Since that much was true. Then with an ever so slight smile he confessed, "Though, I did read your file..."
    A beat, then he adds, "Well, a couple of your files. You have seven. I could only access 4." He half-smiles then takes one of the drinks from her and takes a sip. He looks thoughtful as he considers her thten adds, "Though they did mention a Alexei, I believe."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Nosy bastard." The words had no venom and were actually stated in an amused tone as Natasha gave him a brief smile. "I'll be sure to get you the other three."

Which would be a shock to anyone in SHIELD that she would offer such a thing. Not because it was a violation of their records and who was permitted to see them, though they probably would whine about that officially if they knew. But because Natasha didn't share information. History. Details. It was all kept private and very few would ever know the woman behind the legend of the Black Widow. So to learn she willingly would share every secret she'd ever had with this man before her would be a shock to most, if not all, of them.

"Yes. Alexi. It's sort of foggy and gray, in some ways. Because I know I was raised in the Red Room now. I have memories of it. But I also have memories of this other life that I led at some point. Which I now suspect was a implanted memory, some sort of manipulation for whatever reason. I really don't know."

She took a sip of her vodka before she continued, looking off into the distance a moment as she tried to piece the puzzle together in her head. "I was a young ballerina training in the ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre. I don't know why, I don't know what the intent was of the Red Room. I just know that I was normal. Or seemed it." She sighed and brushed a hand through her hair, a gesture she didn't do unless very frustrated typically and never in front of anyone but those closest to her. It was a tell and she was very aware of that. She looked directly at Alexander as she continued. "I met Alexi Shostakov. He was a test pilot. And I fell head over heels. We were married in less than a year and everything was perfect. Until it wasn't.

"He was killed. And I was told that it was the fault of the Americans. That he had been protecting our country. And I made a choice and asked to be taught to serve. To be trained so that I could serve to help defeat those that killed him."

More vodka then she looked at him again. "Maybe that's what they were trying to do. Test me, see if I had that loyalty built in from the Red Room even if I didn't have the memories to back it.

"Only. He wasn't really dead. That too was a ploy."

Phobos has posed:
    Alexander's gaze remained on her as he watched and listened, feeling the pacing of her words, realizing the subtle difference between how she normally presented herself, and how she held herself now. His eyes went from her emerald eyes, to her lips, then back, sensing the way her trepidatioin touched her, that anxiety that came forth as the story went on.
    His head lifted slightly when she reached the end, speaking that the entire relationship might have been a ploy, hs death as well. He gave a nod then said quietly, "What happened?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"In my false memories, they trained me. And I became a spy. But then that sort of goes foggy and disappears back into the normal day-to-day of being a tool for the government there. Basically serving the KGB even while I worked for the Red Room. It wasn't until later I remembered the Red Room and how I'd been raised there."

She made a little face and half shrugged with a single shoulder. "Got to love memory manipulation. At least I wasn't put into cryogenic sleep, unlike others."

And she finished off that first glass of vodka. Technically the second was for him if he wanted it. Thus she took the time to refill her glass then settled in to continue the tale.

"Then later on, I found out he wasn't dead after all. That too was a lie. I don't know if he was kept asleep or what the situation was. It was after I had changed sides and joined SHIELD. But I found out he was alive and being held by the Russian government. They wanted me to work for them again or they'd kill him. And I almost did it. But I managed to infiltrate the location where he was being held..."

Another of those pauses. A soft puff of breath out of her lungs. "Only to find out he was part of the ploy. He was working with them, not a hostage. So what might have been a rescue becaome an offensive strike. I took them out. All of them. In the end, I put a bullet in the middle of his forehead. Then I left them all there as a message to leave me alone."

Phobos has posed:
    Alexander did sip from his glass as he watched, then he nodded as she reached that point about her confused memories. He had experienced some hint of that in his own past, but nothing quite like what Natasha had to endure. And, to be fair, her conflicting memories did at times come with a cost. There was that one time she shot him, after all.
    Then she speaks about the time she settled accounts wiith the Kremlin and with Alexei himself, so he gives a nod. "You think it's someone trying to prey upon your memories then? Possibly Yelena?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"I do." No hesitation as she gave a little nod to punctuate the two words. "I think someone knows enough about me to be using it. Those were the flowers that Alexi would give me sometimes, special occasions, just to say he loved me. The fact that they knew to use an odd number of flowers instead of even makes me think Russian, or at least someone who has done some homework to learn about it."

She glanced at the flowers in the vase. "I'm suspecting someone like Yelena but not sure about Yelena herself. I thought she and I had come to a bit of an understanding. But who knows. She may have her own agenda, her own programming. I think she's still offended that I'm considered 'better' than her." Once could almost hear the air quotes around better. "Which is a silly concept. Everyone is better on any given day. Sometimes the least trained person is the one that takes down the most trained."

Phobos has posed:
    "No, you're much better than her. She just sucks." Alexander says lightly, though his eyes are distant as he condemns the entirety of the being known as Yelena Belova, no qualms about it. But then he takes a deep breath, "You going to notify SHIELD? They'll put it into play, it might crimp some of your possible missions..."
    Which was common when an agent had a counterop aimed at them, SHIELD wouldn't put them in operations that might make them more vulnerable or in the sphere of influence of the players who might be taking aim.
    "I could see what I could learn from my angle of things." Which might involve some favors in the more mystical corners of the world.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"I will let SHIELD know. Probably will take some time off from the Avengers until we're sure of what's going on." While they could surely take care of themselves against most human threats, it didn't mean she wanted to put them in the line of fire for what was likely something on a personal level against her.

"I don't want you indebting yourself or endangering but if you can find some things out through your sources, I wouldn't mind that either." A little tight smile. "For someone who lives on secrets, I really hate not knowing things."

She dropped her gaze slightly then flicked back up to Alexander's face. That trepidation was there now. Not really fear, just that knowledge that something was wrong in the world and she wasn't even sure why. "Do you think I'm overreacting?" Because what he thought was important to her. And she might be too close and be jumping at shadows. In this moment, he was the clarity she needed to look from another angle.

Phobos has posed:
    "No," Alexander said, "There are no coincidences," After all, he might have a different view upon the world since he had met the Fates personally. And like most of his family... they were jerks.