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I waited for Natalia to speak, and I could sense she was trying to gather her thoughts. It didn't take long for her to open her mouth to start talking, but it felt like forever to me.

"When we found you, we knew that you could be a good asset to the team. However, we had to make sure you weren't a threat to us first. That's why Pietro and Wanda looked after you. Once it was clear you weren't a threat and could be trusted, we came together and agreed on what needed to be done."

I looked silent and calm, but on the inside, I was fuming. So, everything that Pietro and Wanda had done for me was all a lie? I'm going to have some words with them when we get back to the base.

"If you came to a decision, then why didn't you say that I was an Avenger instead of asking me? That probably would've been a lot easier on you, right?"

She gave me a look. I knew what that meant. She knew that probably wouldn't have ended well with me, so she asked instead. I guess I appreciated it? Though I also kidnapped Black Widow, so maybe I didn't appreciate it enough.

"I should probably take you back to the base. Or you could walk back there by yourself. I don't care either way."

She gave me another look, and I picked her up to take her back. Once we arrived, the Avengers were all outside waiting for us. Once I put her down, I went up to Pietro and smacked him in the face. Hard. I felt no remorse. He lied to me, so he must be punished. He looked so confused, and since he wanted to know what was going on, he rushed me away into the building.

This ought to be fun.

---

Once we were inside and Pietro put me down, I slapped him again. Even harder than before. I hoped he would have realized his mistake by then since I rattled his brain so hard, but it didn't work well enough.

"Why did you hit me? Twice?"

I sat down, and he followed suit. Though very annoyed, I decided that I probably shouldn't shout at him while explaining. I think that would be not polite. Maybe I'm just going crazy?

"You lied to me. I decided that you deserved to be slapped. The second time was to make you remember what you did to me, but it seems that didn't work as well as I wanted it to be."

He didn't seem to know what I was talking about, which made me more annoyed. How could he forget something like that? He did it every single day. Then again, so did Wanda. I'll have to talk to her too. Hopefully, I won't have to slap her. I probably wouldn't do it either way. She is too sweet to be hit.

"I didn't lie to you. What are you talking about?"

I grabbed his face in my hands and made him look deep into my eyes. I searched his mind and saw that he was trying to cover up what he had done to me. For the first time in a long time, I felt pain. Not physical but emotional.

"You only watched over me to make sure I wasn't a threat. There was no emotional bond. All you wanted was to pretend that we were something. Now, I don't need you. No more protection. No more hiding me from everyone."

He wanted to hold me and pretend that everything would be okay, but I knew better than that. Besides, I'm not too fond of hugs that are from liars and pretenders.

I got up and left him without another word. Maybe now he'll learn from his mistakes.

---

I stayed with the Avengers but never spoke to anyone. The only reason I didn't leave was that they offered protection from outsiders. However, they did go on missions more often, which might have something to do with me. I don't care either way. As long as I was here, I was going to take full advantage of the circumstances.

Pietro often tried to talk to me, but I would ignore him. He seemed to have had enough since I was walking through the base one second, then in Pietro's room the next. He indeed does have a way with women.

I never doubted it for a moment.