Spider-Man: Duty and Loss Chapter 89: Deal

It can't be said that the universe didn't know what it was doing. After 12 hours it was finally Natasha's turn to watch over Laura. It was closing in on 8am in the morning. Being the last to look over the girl, it was expected for her to wake before noon.

So it was no surprise that around 11:12 that Laura's eyes began to open. Natasha who had gotten a nights rest was sitting to the side reading a magazine when she noticed the movement. Quietly placing the book down, she rose and stepped back a bit.

Laura's eyes continue to flutter for a few seconds as she released a groan of pain. After settling down, her eyes opened slowly, her mind clearer than it had been in the last 2 days. "Where am I?" Glancing up at the white walls above her and only vaguely remembering what happened she clutched her head.

Natasha spoke from the side. "Don't worry your safe." Laura's head snapped in the read heads direction, instantly on guard. Her body rolled to the side instantly pulling out the IV drip in her arm. "Who are you!" Laura growled the words out as she prepared to pop her claws.

Natasha held her hands up, not wanting to fight the poor girl, even with her mutation she believed she could take the girl down easily. "You don't remember meeting me yesterday?" Laura faulted for a second as she racked her brain for an answer.

Slowly the memories came to her mind as she lowered her hands. She couldn't remember everything, but she was getting bits and pieces. "You're a friend of Peter?" Natasha nodded her head slowly. "Yes I am, my name is Natasha, I promise I mean you no harm."

Laura squinted her eyes for a second as she assessed the woman before her, she knew her from somewhere. It took her a few seconds but it finally clicked. "Black Widow…" Natasha froze for a second at the words, before her eyes turned sharp.

"How did you know that?" Laura instantly knew her slip up, she didn't just have to study the x-men when she was with the institute, they also had her assess other threats, such as the avengers. Her training instantly kicked in and an excuse came to mind.

She didn't take a beat before she replied, successfully lying to one of the deadliest women in the world. "Your face was all over the news after the invasion. It isn't that hard figuring it out looking at you up close." Natasha looked at her for a few more seconds before she let it pass.

It did make sense, after the invasion, a photo had gotten out of all the Avengers, which she was sure Tony somehow took, all of them grouped up. All her missions after had been painstakingly harder. She was even thinking of changing her hair color to throw people off; her red hair was too distinct. Of course that was only a thought so far.

*sigh* Natasha let out a small sigh before nodding her head. "Yes I'm Black Widow." Laura finally let the tension leave her body at the confirmation. There was one thing she was sure of, the Avengers were good guys, heroes, and they wouldn't work with the institute.

It took a burden off her shoulders as she sat back on the bed, trying to think of what else happened over the last few days. It was all so blurry for her, she felt like her mind had been in a fog of darkness only surfacing every few hours for the last few days. Now that it was gone she could truly see the world around her.

Seeing that Laura wasn't on edge anymore Natasha finally moved closer. When she reached the bed, she stopped for a second to get permission before sitting next to her. They sat in the quiet for a few moments before Laura finally asked a question that had been plaguing her.

"So where's Peter?" She figured that if they were friends, she would have notified him after what happened yesterday when she fainted. She was hoping that he might have been in the room when she woke.

Natasha debated in her mind whether to tell her the truth, looking at the bedraggled girl, she decided to tell the truth. "Truthfully I don't know." This instantly got Laura's attention. "I haven't seen him in over a week and haven't been able to find him. Finding you yesterday was the only clue I had up till that point."

Laura's brows furrowed at the news and her fist clenched, Peter was her only friend, she didn't like the idea of him just going missing, especially if someone like Black Widow couldn't fine him. Natasha took note of the sudden change and quickly assured her.

"Don't worry I've got a new lead that I'll be going to look into today." Laura looked into her eyes, to see if she were being lied to. Seeing no false hood in her gaze she gave a nod towards the red head. "I'm going with you."

Natasha shook her head. "No, it could be dangerous." Laura stood up and turned to her, crossing her arms. "I'm going, whether you like it or not." Natasha also stood up and crossed her arms. "Ohh really, and what if I made you stay?"

Laura gave a bit of a smirk, she didn't know why but she felt close to the fierce woman in front of her already. "I would like to see you try." Natasha also showed a small smile looking at the determined teen before her. The small fire that lit her eyes instantly told her no matter what she did, the girl in front of her would go after them.

Finally Natasha gave a nod to Laura and put out her hand. "Fine you can come along, but you do as I say." Laura looked at the hand for a second, her eyes traveling from the hand up to her eyes. Going back and forth she finally clasped the hand and shook it firmly. "Fine."

Natasha's smile grew even larger. "My friends call me Nat." Laura nodded. "I'm Laura." Natasha nodded as she took back her hand. There had been one question on her mind that she wanted answered though. "So how were you going to look for Peter? What were you going to do if he wasn't at the bench?"

Chapter end