Who: Natasha Romanoff & Bruce Banner When:Laaate Saturday night/Earrrrly Sunday morning Where: Outside the Avengers compound Rating: High for Character Death Status: Complete
Natasha couldn't sleep. It was strange trying to, now, with her emotions in such an upheaval thanks to her current state that she was having trouble locking away the memories and the pain, and they surfaced in her dreams. So perhaps it wasn't a matter of couldn't, but wouldn't. Her instincts and reaction times were slow despite her training and knowing that, she didn't even bother with her usual remedy of killing a punching bag.
Besides, the last few days, hitting the punching bag had actually hurt.
Instead, the Russian made her way outside. She knew she should probably stay in, but knowing there were people out there fighting, dying, trying to survive kept her from being able to just stay behind safe walls. As she'd done half a dozen times since everything had started, Natasha headed for the compound's perimeter to check it and, as Bruce had said, make sure no one unwelcome was breaking in.
At first, she didn't quite recognize the sound she heard, because it'd been so long since she had. After a few minutes of hearing it, she realized what it was: a child crying nearby. Leaving the relative safety of the compound without a second thought, Natasha followed the sound. Her gun was out, of course, and held ready, but with the safety on; she wasn't really looking to kill any children tonight.
Turning a corner into a nearby alley, her aim faltered, gun lowering when all she saw was a young blond girl, no more than eight or nine. "...Hello? Do you live nearby?" Natasha asked softly, hoping to not startle the girl. Moving forward slowly, she slipped the gun into her hip holster and started to reach out for the kid's shoulder. "I can help."
Just then, the girl turned and Natasha actually froze for a moment as her mind struggled to comprehend what she was seeing. The girl's eyes were pools of midnight black, and Natasha's mind formed the word demon just as she saw what the kid was holding. Before she could react, the gun in the girl's hands went off and at first Natasha felt nothing, thinking the bullet had somehow missed her.
The nothingness sensation was suddenly replaced by molten fire, and she gasped audibly, chin dropping to see what was wrong. A stain of red appeared on her shirt, directly where she knew her heart was, and she suddenly went cold all over even as her mind struggled to catch up to what had happened. Natasha's legs buckled and she pitched to one side, then fell against the wall and slid down it heavily. By the time her body finally fell flat out on the ground, she was dead, jade eyes fading to a dull deep forest color as the life fled them, staring sightlessly at the sky.