Day 9: Natasha Romanoff (Aging)

[impala_chick]

svgurl prompted me with: what do you think her life would've been like had she survived Endgame?

She would have been able to mentor Yelena Belova! I'm not sure that they would be close, considering how long it had been since they'd spent time together in canon - but I definitely think Natasha would have wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to see her again and work towards being sisters who actually spend time together.

I also think Natasha would have jumped at the chance to help Clint and Kate Bishop with all of the shenanigans against the Russians. She would have defended Clint for what he'd done as Ronin, but at the same time she would have definitely admonished him for getting a kid involved in the whole affair. She would also have been impressed by Kate and eventually she would have agreed to help her come up as an Avenger too (like she did for Scarlet Witch). There aren't that many vigilante young women with unique talents around, so I also think Natasha would have connected Kate and Yelena so that they could have someone to talk to. I believe Natasha would have been excited by the prospect of turning over the Avengers to these two capable women eventually.

I'd like to think Steve would have considered her as a candidate for the new Captain America, but she would have politely declined. She doesn't ever want that kind of spotlight on her, and besides, if Steve can retire, she's going to take a step back from all of the action. I see her having a shift in perspective as she gets older because she would want to have more routine in her life. I don't think she'd ever be the kind of person to abandon her work, but she'd be willing to work from headquarters and do more behind-the-scenes strategic planning. I hope that she would take the time to do all of the things she hadn't had the luxury of enjoying before. Like taking an actual vacation without constantly looking over her shoulder, or going to a BBQ and meeting Sam Wilson's family, or just hanging out with Pepper and Morgan. She would have been excited to cheer Sam on as the new Cap, and she would have reconnected with Bucky too. They could have finally talked about the red room.