The days usually blurred together for Natasha, likely due to no small help from the medication.

This week, however, it was especially fast. Despite the strong front she tried to put on in front of Addison earlier in the week, Natasha couldn’t help how her breath hitched and her heart raced when she thought about meeting this new guardian. As much as her caseworker had tried to assure her that he wasn’t going to hurt her, the voices in the back of her head whispered otherwise.

He probably hides it well. We’ll go to Canada and it’ll be the same thing over again.

It made it hard to concentrate with the way the different variations of that thought circled and picked away at her resolve like crows on some roadkill. The continued isolation didn’t help, the doctors and warden kept her confined to her room outside of meals and visitations.

So, naturally, when Friday morning came around and a man appeared in her doorway, Natasha knew he wasn’t bringing breakfast. For the most part, she had stopped fighting back after the first couple of days and the effects of what they were injecting her with had hit. The walk down the bare hallway toward the familiar interview room was quiet. From time to time, she wondered if the people in this place took a vow of silence or if they just didn’t want to talk to her specifically.

This time, however, she didn’t mind. Natasha didn’t know what words she could work up over the tension she felt once they reached the door.

“Give me your wrists,” her escort demanded, Natasha doing as he told as he set about putting the familiar restraints on her.

It only took a few minutes before she sat at that familiar table, wrists and ankles bound so she couldn’t run or attack anybody. Most times, she would give a tug against the restraints, hoping on some miracle that they hadn’t secured them properly and she could get out of them. Though, they never did.

Natasha sat still this time, however. No pulling or twisting, her hands resting on the tabletop and tied uncomfortably at the wrists to the table.

We might be leaving today, a hopeful voice muttered at the back of her mind. Even if we don’t like this guy, there’s probably plenty of chances on the way out of the country to run…

Yet, she couldn’t count on that. It was a hopeful idea, though. To be off the medication and free to go about her life like the average person. She could get that university degree she had wanted, maybe get married or adopt a bunch of dogs. Maybe start a rescue for animals out in some rural town in Canada.

You murdered someone, another voice spoke up, exhausted and bitter. There’s no way anybody is going to let you live such a free life; if that was even possible.

With that depressing thought, her attention was brought back to reality when she heard someone approach the visitor’s door. Natasha sat up a little more, though it was difficult with how she had been restrained. Though, instead of Addison stepping through like she had been expecting, a stranger was the first to enter with her caseworker slipping in behind him to shut the door behind them.

He was a good head taller than Addison, yet he was also somewhat shorter than Natasha had been expecting. He had short, dark hair with eyes as equally as dark. He regarded her with a somewhat impassive look, not exactly indifferent or judgmental. Unreadable, but professional. At least he wasn’t regarding her with a hateful look or carrying on like he had better things to do. In Natasha’s first impression of him, she caught sight of the familiar emblem that hung around his neck. A black card with the white outline of a circle in the middle, somewhat obscured by the edge of the heavy coat he wore.

The symbol was somewhat familiar, it reminded her of the one her previous guardian wore as a patch on her jacket. Though, it had been worn down over time, hard to miss at first glance. He bared his like a pendant.

Still, it was the universal signal that he was the guardian of an enhanced human. However, over time, Natasha started to see those as a warning for people to avoid her, not to watch out for the person with her.

“Hello, Natasha,” he greeted after a few moments, his voice somewhat softer than she had been expecting and had an unfamiliar accent to it, “My name is Andrei Cojocaru, though your caseworker told me you have already looked over my information.”

“Yeah,” Natasha said with a nod as he moved to sit down in Addison’s usual seat across from her. She was surprised by the evenness of her voice.

“I have to be honest, when I heard your story I was interested in seeing if I could help,” he continued, regarding her with a steady stare, “I have had similar experience back in my home country, unfortunately it does not seem to be different here.”

“The…courts have been pretty stubborn,” Natasha replied, still trying to keep her distance and guard up, but it was somewhat reassuring to hear that she wasn’t alone in a case like this.

She didn’t know what it was like in Romania, but it wasn’t too hard to guess that people like her were given a similar treatment. A part of her wondered if there was any country that wasn’t as hostile toward people with powers, but it was hard to say. Something to look into at a later point, maybe.

“I am aware,” Andrei said with a small sigh, “your caseworker and I have been working hard to get you at least the options you have now.”

“The Canadians were a little easier to work with,” Addison added on from where she stood with her back against the door, “I can’t promise the general public will be more open but…well, they seemed more open to Andrei’s rehabilitation methods.”

“Rehabilitation?” Natasha asked, dropping her gaze from the other woman to Andrei again, “What does that entail?”

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“You still have to be punished for the crimes you committed,” Andrei started, shifting to sit back in his chair a little more, “The time to argue self-defence has passed, but I want to avoid having you in jail. Spend enough time with me, on the new medication, and the Canadian government is willing to reevaluate your case.”

That was a little promising, as much as Natasha hated this situation. She wanted more than anything to avoid opening herself up to the same abuse she suffered at the hands of her old guardian, and, as agreeable as Andrei was acting at the moment, she knew better than to think that couldn’t change once the cameras and Addison were gone.

She could still run, though. Disappear once they got to this town in Canada or wait until he was distracted enough to make a break for it on the road. It would be easier than trying to get away from where she currently was, constantly being observed and weakened.

The idea of a new medication wasn’t great, either. Addison had said that it wouldn’t be as intense as the stuff they were injecting into her now, but not being able to use her powers wasn’t great. Natasha had always been a little skinny, but that was especially true these days with the stress and situation robbing her of her appetite. Her powers were the only defence and offence she had.

That is, if Andrei turned out to be decent and she could rely on him. As it stood, however, that was far from where she stood with him currently.

“I have to be honest,” she said after a moment, “I feel like I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. It feels like my hands are tied, metaphorically and literally.”

“The idea of being free to live your own life after a few years is worse than being here?” Andrei asked. It wasn’t a pointed question by his tone, but Natasha felt put on the spot regardless.

“If you are familiar with my case, then you know what my previous guardian put me through,” Natasha replied, clenching her hands.

“Yes,” he said with a nod, “It is unfortunate, and I am not expecting you to be close to me or even trust me fully. Yet, both Addison and I want to offer you a better deal than being kept here and getting locked away.”

“It’s a little more than unfortunate,” Natasha stated, tone icy, “but I agree with you, I am not expecting to trust you either.”

“I can accept that,” Andrei replied, his tone even. Perhaps even a little sympathetic, but Natasha couldn’t be sure.

He was hard to shake. Natasha didn’t set off to upset her, but she wanted to make her intentions clear. She was done cowering in front of people who were supposed to be on her side. Who were supposed to protect her. As much as that fear boiled in her gut, she didn’t want to show that in front of him.

“Have you set everything up in Canada?” Addison asked, breaking the silence after a few moments.

“Yes, I just need to make the confirmation call,” Andrei said, glancing back toward her over his shoulder.

“Where in Canada?” Natasha asked.

“British Columbia,” Andrei replied, “A town in the mountains. The population is small and it is remote, it could be a good place for you.”

The mountains held a lot of opportunities, too. Chances to disappear, there was plenty of forest around. Natasha didn’t know much about survival in the wilderness, but if things went bad it was at least an option she could take. As much as she hated to admit it, the place did sound nice in theory, too. Scenic.

“We can get you out of here today, too,” Addison said, finally approaching the table herself as she stood beside her. The look on her face was sympathetic, and at least Natasha had known her long enough to trust that it was genuine.

She wouldn’t have bent over backwards to put all of this together.

“I wouldn’t make the decision for you,” Addison continued, “but the outcome after a couple years could be way better than what you will get here and at the prison they could find for you.”

“As long as it does not breach the protocol put on me, I will respect what boundaries you put in place too,” Andrei stated as well, “As I have mentioned, I am not unfamiliar with situations like this.”

Natasha sat in silence as she turned over this situation in her head. A part of her, likely fuelled by the fear that was making her a little sick to her stomach at the moment, wanted to deny the offer and just remain here. It was horrible, she hated it at the institution, but she knew at least she wouldn’t be willingly opening herself up to the past repeating itself.

I would be shooting myself in the foot, she thought.

She knew it was a better offer, but the uncertainty was scaring her. Andrei was distant and professional, but she didn’t know if that was just an act. Yet, she knew she had a better chance of escaping in Canada should he turn on her. Trying to escape from here would result in heavier tranquillizers and added time to her sentence.

God, I don’t want to but…

“I…” Natasha started, pausing to take in a breath before shaking her head, “everything in me is screaming at me about this, but this option is better.”

“We can wait another couple days, if you want to think it over,” Addison said, causing Natasha to raise her eyebrows at her.

“You can get me out today and you think I’ll want to stay here longer?” she asked.

Judging from the questioning look Andrei tossed Addison’s way, Natasha thought he might be thinking along the same lines as her.

“Just an option,” Addison said, raising her hands somewhat, “I know this isn’t an easy decision.”

It wasn’t. Natasha could feel her frustration and fear clawing away at her gut, wanting to crawl out of her throat and tell them both to let her die in here. Yet, she knew she didn’t want that deep down. She wanted a chance at a normal life, to do things she enjoyed without having to glance over her shoulder and watch her guardian’s reaction in order to tell if she would fly off the handle later or not.

She could set boundaries, too. Andrei said he would respect them, as much as she didn’t want to take him at his word thus far.

She wasn’t some terrified thirteen-year-old anymore, ripped from her normal life to become some captive to a woman who hated her guts. Someone the government turned its head away from, despite the reports and claims she submitted.

“I’ll take it,” Natasha said, her voice softer but resigned, “it has to be better than this.”

“It will be,” Addison assured, giving her a smile, “Andrei and I will talk to the warden and we should be able to discharge you in a couple hours. Just hang in there.”

What other choice did she have? Natasha knew it was the better choice, but that didn’t mean she had to feel great about it. She watched as Addison turned to leave the room, Andrei rising from his chair but didn’t move to leave just yet. He placed his hand on the back of his chair, Natasha watching him for a few moments as he seemed to weigh his words before glancing toward her.

“For what it is worth,” he said, his voice almost a mutter but in the room's silence, Natasha could hear it. “I saw the evidence, the reports you submitted over the years. I am working to get them so we can use them in your case. I wish you did not have to go to these lengths, but I know you did what you felt you had to.”

With that, he turned and followed Addison out of the room. Natasha watched him leave, turning over the previous events and his words in her head before she heard someone enter the room to release her from the restraints.

His words gave her some hope, admittedly, but it didn’t help the heaviness in her.