Dedicated to my dear new mutual Kalored . Thank you for reading my story and making all those relatable comments lol

Also, if you like post-apocalyptic fiction, better check out her story "The Only End". It's Hela great (and Avila is my new adopted character)
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"She had that set-the-whole-fucking-world-on-fire-look-in-her-eyes type of badass vibe to her."

NADINE

"I've got a bad feeling about this."

Nadine rolled her eyes. She could practically see Dante clenching and unclenching his fists behind her. "You always have a bad feeling."

"True, but it's because things tend to go wrong all the time." He replied, and set himself next to the woman, one of his legs dangling off the edge of the roof they were perched on.

When Nadine turned towards him, she saw him looking at her exactly like she knew he would. Tanned arm muscles tense, jaw clenched, hazel eyes watching her like a hawk, waiting for her next move. He wasn't just concerned for their impromptu mission, she knew, he was also concerned for her, as he always tended to do. It both irritated and comforted her to know her partner cared about her like he did. She wouldn't trade Dante Villanueva for anyone in the world.

"It'll be fine." She reassured, eyes turning towards the sunset once again. The golden colors of the sky radiated with warmth, and she relished the feeling it left on her skin. She loved settings like this, where the weather wasn't deathly cold and her rich, amber skin didn't turn into a yellowish tawny brown. It always made her look gaunt and lifeless. "And if something happens, we'll do what we always do and improvise."

"See, this is why I hate when you take the lead."

"No one asked you to be here, Dante." She quipped, dark eyes boring into his own. The way he averted his gaze told her that her look wasn't really pleasant. "You chose to come here."

"Yeah, because you're my partner, my family." The softness of his tone deflated Nadine of any defensiveness she had over his words. "I wasn't just gonna let my family go alone into a mission that was so personal to her."

"Human trafficking should be personal."

"I know." He rubbed a hand over his face tiredly, a breathy sigh escaping his pinkish lips. "Is Taj ready?"

"He's got the plane set and ready, and he's going to meet you at the square to get the other car."

"And you?"

Nadine smiled mischievously. She leaned forward to give him a kiss on his cheek. "Little ol' me's gonna go get a makeover."

• • •

The nightclub's neon lights and futuristic decor made it feel like something out of a music video, while the Afro-beat dance music reminded her of that time she partied in Johannesburg with Dante. Too many drinks were involved that night, but it was a much needed distraction for him.

Unfortunately, the morning after their wild night, his grief was back and as rampant as ever, and Nadine would go back to not knowing what to do to help him. To say that that period was a painful and estranged time for the duo was an understatement, really.

She snapped out of her thoughts the minute she felt a presence next to her, and when she turned, she was greeted by a leather dressed woman placing a few Nigerian nairas on the bar counter.

"A 'red headed slut' for my friend here." Nadine almost let herself be fooled by the blonde hair, if not for the honeyed layer of the Black Widow's voice that conveyed her successful attempt at charming the bartender. She'd heard it multiple times during her brief stint with SHIELD, where Natasha helped her assimilate into a different world than the one she'd been used to for the decade before that.

"Make that two." Nadine replied, finally turning towards her companion, her smirk mirroring Natasha's own. "You're blonde."

"And you're purple." Natasha pointed out, one of her delicate eyebrows curving upwards as she studied her. "Blonde's a wig. Though, if I have to keep this up, I might have to dye it."

"I prefer your natural hair." Nadine muttered playfully, earning her a chuckle from the woman. She definitely missed her, this was proof of it. "It's been some time, Red. I've gotta admit, I'm disappointed you replaced this world for a more flashy one with capes and stuff."

"A flashier one?" Natasha asked innocently. "I don't know what you mean."

She scoffed, grabbing her red drink from the bar counter and staring at her friend incredulously. Any other time and she might've fallen into her little white lies, but Nadine didn't come into this one blindly. Nope, she made sure to do her research on the Widow's recent antics before even getting near her web. "Oh please. You really think I wouldn't keep tabs on you?"

"If you didn't, that'd mean I failed you."

"Relax, you didn't. Anyway, where are your superhero friends? Don't tell me I have you all to myself."

Natasha snorted, taking a swig of her drink, downing it all in one gulp with not even a flinch. "Told them to hang back and circle around the club and let us women catch up for a bit."

"So they're the bodyguards and we're the ones getting the job done?" She joked, following her lead and downing the shot. The drink was sweet with a strong herbal flavor, but she knew it was wickedly deceptive, just like the redhead who ordered it. "Adorable."

Judging by her smirk, Natasha was about to answer with a sarcastic comment, but one look at their surroundings and any trace of it was gone. "Someone's here."

Nadine's eyes followed the woman's gaze, quickly noticing some men entering the club. By the way they looked through the crowd, they weren't here to drown their sorrows with alcohol and sex. "No, they're looking for me. They've been tipped off."

Natasha's eyebrow raised in suspicion. "What?"

"Do you know the Adebowale clan?" Nadine asked, motioning for the bartender to serve them another round of drinks.

"Human trafficking, some drug dealings... what did you do?"

It was her turn to smile innocently. "A generous benefactor paid to have the leader's daughter, Imani, killed."

"And they paid you." Natasha figured, her whole stance pensive as she studied the men curiously. "After you offered your services, of course."

"Well, the Adebowale clan did take this person's daughter, sold her off, and got her killed, so... a daughter for a daughter, I suppose."

"That's a dangerous game, Nadine," she warned. "Revenge makes people-"

"Natasha."

Three men made their way towards them. At first, Nadine's instinct was to circle her free hand around the gun tucked into the back of her black pants, but when Natasha placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head, she calmed down again, studying the trio before them. They were dressed to blend in with the atmosphere, but the way they were tensed and ready to pounce made them stick out. That, and the fact that she recognized them immediately.

Of course, Nadine spent all last night reading and watching every single thing she could find on them, so the image of them was fresh in her mind.

"Yo, Nat, is she our ticket out of here or is she just a new gal pal?" Sam Wilson. Slightly smaller in stature and leaner in muscle than the other two, but his demeanor was of a person who'd seen a lot. She'd seen the stiff posture, the clenched fists, and the wavering, paranoid gaze many times.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Natasha drawled, motioning towards Nadine.

Sam held out a hand towards her to which she accepted, a smirk forming across her features as he smiled charmingly. "Nice to meet you, pretty lady that could possibly snap me in two."

"Careful, Sam, I call her Вишневая бомба for a reason."

"Vishne-what?" He blurted, looking at the woman like she'd grown a second head. "What the fuck is that?"

"Cherry bomb."

Unlike Sam's irreverent and humorous demeanor, the second voice that spoke was more complex. It was hard, gruff, and depressing all at once, and had the type of malicious edge that made Nadine's hand circle tightly around her glass, ready to throw it just in case. "Yeah," she breathed, her gaze locking onto the dark haired man who was studying her with calculating, slightly narrowed eyes. The Winter Soldier, in the living flesh. "It's a long story, but we don't have time for that right now."

"We appreciate what you're doing here, miss." The third man, arguably the most recognizable one had it not been for his growing beard, stuck his hand out for her to shake.

She shook his hand once. "Don't thank me yet, Cap. We're not out of Lagos yet." Captain America gave her a surprised look. Clearly, he didn't expect her to know who he was. "What? Don't expect me to help you without knowing who you are."

Steve opened his mouth to reply, but Nadine's attention was directed toward the men at the other side of the club. They spotted her. Fuck. They've waited too long to leave.

Dante's not gonna like that.

"Excuse me, boys. We'll be right back." She grabbed Natasha's hand and her second round of drinks, and maneuvered her way through the crowd. She didn't stop until they standing right in front of them, shocking the men with her openness. "Good evening."

The first guy pointed her weapon towards them, which Natasha answered with a smirk and a wave of her hand. "You stupid girl," he said in a heavy accent. "Now you and your friend die."

"Hmm, crois-tu que ce verre pourrait fonctionner?" She asked Natasha, casually motioning towards her drink.

The redhead gave her a sly smile and a half assed shrug. Such a typical Natasha thing to do. "Oui, cela peut fonctionner."

Nadine downed her drink, grabbed the first guy's gun and smacked the glass on the side of his head in one swift motion. She pointed her newly acquired weapon at the second guy, while Natasha took out the third. "Down," she ordered, motioning with her weapon towards the floor, her fingers clutching onto keeled guy's shirt collar to keep him like that while she dealt with his friend. The third man complied, slowly placing his weapon on the ground, but the moment he looked up she swung the gun on his face and on the back of the head of the other, instantly knocking them out. "Well, now that that's over with-"

She heard a whizz sound, and when she turned, a knife was a few inches from her face. The guy would've cut her hadn't been for a hand wrapping around his wrist. "How about some respect?" Steve joked, maneuvering his hand around so he could head butt him, taking the knife from his unconscious grasp.

Okay, she didn't expect that.

"Come on," Nadine eventually said, too surprised by the fact that she was just saved by Captain America to thank him. She'd have to do it later, once they're in the air and out of Lagos.

She led them out of the club, ready to take to the street, when they heard a shout coming from behind them. When she turned, a man had his rifle pointed at them, and judging by the way he was screaming incessantly in his native language, she assumed he meant to put their weapons down.

Of course, she didn't do such a thing.

"So it's one of you against five of us, do you really think that's smart?" Sam chirped, raising his eyebrows in an incredulous manner as the guy pointed his weapon at him. "Well alright, dumbass, bring it on."

Their opponent didn't have a chance to say or do anything. Dante's arm wrapped around the guy's neck in a surprise attack, and down he went, knocked out by a pressure point. The lazy grin on her partner's face and the way he was chewing gum in such a casual manner made the fact that he just knocked a guy out seem like it was nothing. "Mami Widow, long time no see."

Asshole.

Nadine told him not to say that to her. Last time ended with a broken hand, and it wasn't Natasha's.

"I forgot how adorable you were, Dante. Must've slipped my mind when I fractured your wrist that time in Buenos Aires." Natasha mocked in a silvery tone, patting the chuckling young man in the cheek. "Now be a gem and get us out of here."

Nadine was still pointing her gun. She felt like they were being watched.

"You going to shoot me?" Dante asked mockingly, seeing as the weapon was pointed straight at his chest. She didn't say anything except move her gun a few inches to the left, and pull the trigger, right at a guy who was about to shoot them. He was down before anyone could even react.

"Yup, definitely can snap me in two..." Sam muttered, and she couldn't help but chuckle softly. He wasn't wrong, she supposed, though the most she's broken would be limbs.

And necks.

"Let's get out of here." She said, motioning Dante to lead the way. Her partner led them down the street, as far away as they could get from the nightclub. Two vans were parked on the side of the road, and a dark skinned man was leaning against the smaller one. The moment Taj Naudé locked eyes with her he went from brooding loner on the street, to the cheekiest mercenary in the world.

"Rafiki!" Taj pinched Nadine's cheeks before wrapping his arms around her in a quick hug. "I'm glad you're safe."

"For the last time, Taj, I'm older than you."

"You can discuss who's older later," Dante opened the doors of the two vans, motioning impatiently for them to move. "Get in, losers."

Everyone complied and separated into the two vans, while Taj and Dante got into the driver's seats. Nadine quickly set herself in the smaller van, watching as Nat, Sam, and Steve followed Dante to the other one.

Wait a minute, the only one left would be-

The Winter Soldier. James Buchanan Barnes, as she read on the reports she found. Said man climbed onto the van and set himself right across from her, his despondent gaze hardening as he saw her staring at him. Wonderful, truly wonderful.

She was now stuck in the back of a van with the one man she never planned on crossing paths with, ever.

And judging by the way the Winter Soldier's eyes pierced right through her like a bullet soaring through the air, the rumors must've been true. He wasn't someone to be underestimated.

But was it advantageous to be saving his skin from people who would love to have him as a part of their arsenal?

Well, that remained to be seen.

One thing's for sure, if his aim was anywhere as sharp as the look in those blue eyes, Nadine knew that if she did so much as blink the wrong way, she'd be done for.
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WORD TRANSLATION:
1) mentora (spanish) - mentor
2) Crois-tu que ce verre pourrait fonctionner? (french) - You think this glass could work?
3) Oui, cela peut fonctionner. (french) - Yes, it could work.
4) Mami (spanish) - mom or mommy (In this case, it's used in the same flirtatious connotation as daddy and papi)
5) rafiki (swahili) - friend