Mikayla lies on the bottom bed of the shared bunk in her dormitory, her eyes studying the wood planks holding the other bed up. She has a lot on her mind, not that she'll ever verbally admit it. She chews the inside of her cheek as her mind races with the thoughts of her upcoming graduation. Not that she's afraid, she's actually very excited. Her mind continues to race until she hears someone clear their throat. She looks up to find the blonde girl who occupies the top bed of the bunk she's currently lying on.

"You know you'll get yelled at if you keep lying there, Mikayla." The younger girl states with a tilt of her head.

 Mikayla sighs and sits up, staring at the younger girl.

 "Sasha," she says bluntly. "I  suggest you mind your own business before you get beat up by one of the other older girls who isn't as nice to you as I am." She grins slightly and raises  her eyebrow at Sasha, who stands there quietly now with a frown on her face.

 Their conversation is cut short anyway as they both hear the line-up bell ring. Mikayla gives her a wink before walking out of the dormitory to go find her age category to line up with. There are different age categories in the RRA (Red Room Academy), the youngest group going from ages 5 to 8 and the oldest going from 15 to 17. Training only begins at age 5, and it ends at 18. Mikayla is in the oldest group.

The group is lined up, all awaiting orders from the instructor, Miss Karenina. She's a harsh woman who has no care in the world for the girls, which is noticeable in everything she does. Mikayla stands still in position, exactly like the rest of the line of girls. Her eyes are straight forward. What she doesn't expect is for Miss Karenina to pick directly on her.

 
"Miss Nikolaeva." She says with her usual icy tone.

 "Yes ma'am." She replies. She's unsure of what exactly she's going to say next, but she remains calm and collected. 

"I'm sure you are well aware of the rules here in this facility. Am I correct?" She tilts her head.

"Yes ma'am. You're correct."

Miss Karenina stares at her for a moment. It was a very long, nerving moment. She narrows her eyes before speaking further.

"You're at the very top of your class, Miss Nikolaeva. You understand that I entrust you to keep the younger girls of your class in line, don't you?"

Mikayla swallows. All she can think is 'who did something wrong.'

 She nods, repeating herself for the third time, "Yes ma'am." She watches as Karenina paces in front of her.

"So tell me why-" She pauses, causing everyone's anxiety levels to rise. "One of your classmates, a younger one, decided she would try to escape last night after everyone was asleep?"

Mikayla's heart jumps to her throat, having a feeling she knew exactly who it was. All she can think about is what they did to that poor girl. She can't help but blame herself. If she would've done a better job keeping these girls in line, maybe none of the rebellion would happen. She swallows hard and keeps her eyes forward.

"I'm not sure, ma'am." She says with as much confidence as she can muster up.

 Despite being at the top of her class, Mikayla faces a lot of backlash for what her classmates do. Obviously they're punished for their actions, but Mikayla always seems to take the brunt of it for allowing it to happen in the first place.

She does her best not to flinch when Miss Karenina comes close and grabs her chin, forcing Mikayla to look her directly in the eyes.

"You know what has to happen, don't you?" Her tone is ice cold.

All Mikayla does is nod, doing her best not to look anxious. She flinches as the instructor holds her chin tighter.

"Words Miss Nikolaeva." She says slowly.

"Yes ma'am." She manages to force it out. 

She flinches slightly again as Karenina harshly lets go of her chin and nods to one of the guards standing in the corner. She doesn't fight back as he comes over and leads her out of the room. She can hear the faint scolding that the other girls are receiving as she walks down the hallway, not even caring about the punishment at this point. She knows this is just another trial that will put her closer to graduation. She's only one month away..

..She can make it.

_________________________________________

The Avengers are sitting in their meeting room, trying to figure out the details of a threat they're being faced with, what it could possibly be, and why they're after the team. Natasha is staring at the presentation screen, her eyes dancing over all of the information being presented. Her heart is in her throat as she reads on, realizing how familiar this sounds. 

Why would the KGB be after the team? All of the evidence points to the Red Room, but it doesn't make sense. She catches a glance from Clint as Steve briefs them over everything, giving him a knowing look.

Her eyes land back onto the screen, and she continues to stare at the information, zoning out and getting lost in her racing thoughts. All she can think is,

'How is this even possible? I destroyed it.. Right?'

"Natasha," Steve catches her attention, causing her to glance up. "You okay?" He looks genuinely concerned. 

This shakes Natasha out of her daze. She gives him a small grin to make it seem real.

"I'm fine," she tilts her head. "You can continue." She she raises an eyebrow, that grin still playing on her lips.

Steve gives her a small smile before listening to her and continuing on with the briefing. Natasha still manages to get lost in her thoughts for the rest of the meeting, biting her thumb.

When the meeting ends, Natasha files out with the rest of the team. She manages to get halfway down the hallway before she hears Clint call out to her to get her to stop.

"Nat!" He says as he runs towards her.

 She smirks as he exhales deeply, out of breath. "I think someone's out of shape." Her tone is teasing.

"Ha ha." He rolls his eyes. "Listen, about the briefing. Do you think-"

"No." She cuts him off. "There's no way. We destroyed it."

"Nat, it's possible-" 

"Nope. It's not." She's praying it's not. That would mean she's been living in a world of false security for years when she thought she was safe. 

"Look," Clint starts. "I'm just saying it's possible, Nat. I mean, do we even know if the one we destroyed was the only facility they had?" He questions.

 This makes her think. She's sure the only facility was the one she grew up in, but it's possible..
"We can look into it, okay?" She sighs.

Clint smiles and nods. "I promise if it is, we'll find a way to put an end to it. Okay? For good this time." He reassures her. 

Natasha sighs and nods, giving him a small smile as he pats her on the shoulder and walks off to start some research. She stands there, her mind racing again.

 If the Red Room isn't gone.. Then, how many more girls have suffered through the ruthless training? How many have died because the Red Room could care less about the well-being of the girls in their care? How could she let that happen?

All she knows is that she's going to put an end to it.

 
For good this time.

_________________________________________

A/N

 
Hey guys!! I really hope you enjoyed the prologue of my book. This is my first time writing a book on Wattpad (and in general), so bear with me for anything that's off 😂 Love ya!! 💕