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The Red Room had been monitoring Natalia Romanova since she had defected to SHIELD. She had been one of their best operatives and the Red Room did not take kindly to betrayal.
SHIELD kept her close and hidden from them.
It didn’t help that the Red Room had been declining years before Natalia escaped.
When SHIELD fell the Red Room sent two of their best operatives to DC. Before the congressional hearing was the best time to strike. They reported that Hawkeye and Falcon were with her. The Red Room told them to continue the mission. Neither operatives survived.
She joined the Avengers and the amount of protection around her increased. The Red Room was fine with waiting.
They stayed in the shadows.
The Avengers’ attacks on Hydra bases were too unpredictable for them to take advantage of.
The Red Room crept closer when the Sokovia Accords were being written. Their profiles of the Avengers implied that there would be strife over the accords. They had seven operatives in place in the UN. The bombing occurred right before they were set to ambush her and enact their revenge.
They did their best to track the fractured groups, but they were erratic.
The opportunity finally presented itself. The majority of Avengers were locked up. One Avenger was in the hospital. Two were regrouping. Another was on the run.
Natalia was alone.
The trap was set and their little spider fell into it.
It was only a moment of inattention on her part.
Two shots to the gut, one in each knee cap and elbow, a final in the base of her spinal cord. Acid rained down on her, screams that they hadn’t heard since she was young echoed in the room.
The pile of melted flesh bubbled and hissed.
Only the highest ranked Red Room operatives and leadership knew of her painful demise.