Natasha Romanoff was getting tired of bad things happening. First, The Avengers had been put on probation after the government told them to take a break once determining that they were causing more harm than good. Second, not all of The Avengers were on the same page, leading to an imminent showdown that left some people in serious trouble while others administered their wounds. Third, Colonel Rhodes had almost gotten killed and yet Tony Stark hadn’t immediately shut down the Sokovia Accords. It was at that moment that she realized she was on the wrong side and left, choosing to be a criminal in a harsh world.

She didn’t mind much but it was still a blunt reminder of how quickly things changed. And now things hadn’t gotten much better. The world was in crisis. Dr. Frost was claiming dominion over the entire globe. People were scared. Sharon Carter had nearly been killed. Their friends were missing, locked away in a secret cell somewhere. And after all of this, they were expected to get up and keep fighting. It was tiring.

Natasha Romanoff sighed, covering her eyes as she sat at a table in a guest room in the palace. She heard a knock at the open door to her room followed by Nick Fury’s voice.

“Busy?” he asked.

“Does it look like I’m busy?” she replied, keeping her hands over her face.

He chuckled to himself as he walked into the room. He sat in a nearby chair, looking out of the window at the beautiful city.

“You know, it isn’t easy doing this hero stuff,” she finally said after a small while, taking her hands off of her face and gazing at her reflection in the nearby mirror.

Her gaze focused on her blond hair. The blond hair that hid her true identity. That right there was the statement of where she was currently in her life.

“No it isn’t,” Nick Fury replied. He leaned forward. “But it is necessary.”

“I’m tired, Nick. I’m tired of it all.”

“Hell, we’re all tired, Agent Romanoff. Before you were even ten-years-old I was learning what it meant to meet and face incredible forces that are almost impossible to comprehend. So believe me when I say I’m more tired than you. But do you know what keeps me getting up in the morning and determined to protect anybody that I can?”

Natasha looked at him. “What?”

“There are millions of people who wish they had the skills you had. Who wishes that they could save people’s lives. And they don’t…but you do. You have the ability to save the world and with this gift that we have been given it would be a shame to waste it.”

She smiled. “I don’t know how you always seem to know what to say to make me feel better.”

He leaned back into his seat. “I have to tell myself the same pep talk every day.”

They shared a chuckle. After about thirty seconds, Natasha stood, flicking her blond hair out of her eyes.

“Then let’s go save the world,” she said.