"So, today went well, didn't it?" Pepper asks as we drive back to the tower after several hours of shopping. I was only planning on getting a few things but with Pepper in charge and Natasha backing her up, I got an entire wardrobe even larger than the one I had before my life turned upside down. While shopping, I was able to talk to Natasha and find out that she's a really cool girl who, while being able to kill a guy in seconds, is actually really fun and laid back.

"Yeah it was, Pep. I didn't realize how badly I wanted this," Nat replies with a contented sigh. Although she was only really there to support Pepper in her choices, she also got some new combat boots, a leather jacket and a couple dresses.

"It was fun," I said. "And it's even better that Tony's actually the one paying for all of it."

We all laugh and go quiet again. We drive a for a few more minutes while I muster up the courage to ask these girls a huge question and tell them about my mom. I close my eyes and think to myself, "It's now or never, and these two girls will probably have good advice on how to proceed." "Hey, guys? Can I ask you guys a question? It's kinda important but I don't quite know how to word it. It might be a better question for Tony, but no offense to him, I like you girls better," I stutter out quickly before my courage dissipates.

"Yeah, sure sweetie, what's up?" Pepper asks, looking at me through the rear view mirror. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, not really, I mean yes but that's cause my dad is gone, but this could either help or make me lose all hope so I'm a little on the fence about it. Okay, so I know all of you, the boys included, didn't know I existed, but you know my dad. Did he ever mention anyone but the name of Sonya Salinsky? He told me once that she was my mother, but I never met her and he was pretty sure that she lied about her name. She wasn't around very long and only stayed long enough to have me, I mean, she left three days after I was born. Do you have any idea who she is?"

The second I say the name Sonya Salinski, Nat sits up a bit straighter. She brushes of the movement as if she was just getting comfortable, but I notice that she sits more rigidly than before. She knows something. "Nat?" I ask, hoping she'll answer.

She sighs. "I know of someone from the Red Room and KGB who used an alias Sonya Salinski. She was one of the first successful subjects of the Black Widow program, before they perfected it. But, I doubt it's her. One of the last missions I went on with Red Room, she was my partner. My backup. I got caught, as planned, but I didn't plan on being beaten to nearly an inch of my life within a matter of minutes of being brought into the compound I was trying to infiltrate. I was eventually able to send the distress signal out, a small white light flashing out of my window, but she never came to get me out of there. I spent nearly two weeks there, being beaten and starved. Apparently someone tipped my target off as to who I was and what I looked like. I guess he didn't appreciate an assassin being sent to kill him, even if she was a pretty assassin," Nat chuckled bitterly. "She disappeared, abandoned me there, left me to die probably. The only reason I got out of there was because I was already on SHIELD's radar and they didn't want me to die before they could get a chance to 'save me from myself'. So they sent Clint in to make it look as though SHIELD was raiding the complex, but in reality it was to let me escape. Clint found me a few days later, bleeding, starving and ready to kill anyone who looked at me. Clint's handler at the time told him to end me, said that I was a lost cause, but he obviously made a different call. I haven't heard anything about Sonya since, although I knew her at the time as Рената, or Renata in English, but who knows, she could have changed her name and moved to America."

"Why don't we have Tony run a DNA test, Aly?" Pepper asks. "Maybe your mother's in the system. It's worth a shot. I mean, if she's in America, there might be a chance that she did that to get out of Red Room. Is that a possibility, Nat?"

"Maybe, but it is a long shot, unfortunately. She never seemed like the type to leave Red Room. She was their best, most loyal asset, other than me."

"Ok, well, let's do it. If there is a chance that I can find out who my mom is, I want to do it," I reply determinedly. "And, Nat? I'm sorry that you had to go through that because of her. Even if she isn't my mom, I'm sorry."

She turns and smiles at me softly, a glint of pain still in her eyes from having to relive that experience. "Thank you, Alysha. And I hope that this test gives you some of the answers you're looking for."

"We're here guys," Pepper says softly. I notice that since I told them about my mom, we've all been oddly quiet, almost whispering. Especially Pepper. Does she know something too? I guess I'll have to find out later.

Hey guys! I'm back! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in a while and that this chapter is so short, but I'll hopefully be updating again soon. Please review and ask me any questions! xoxo Drapex