Part 1: Steve and Natasha
It was a normal day in the Stark tower. Or rather, the Avengers tower. Nobody actually called it that anymore, since Tony had not seen any of his teammates (excluding Bruce, obviously) since the battle for New York.
Tony had gone out one night, and found Bruce sleeping on the pavement. He was shocked and upset, so consequently Bruce had moved in with Tony.
Thor being Thor had flown back with reindeer games to his realm of myth yada yada. Hawkeye had completely gone of the charts. Oh, and Natasha and Steve waited in the living room even as he thought.
SHIELD had been destroyed, or had gone underground or something. Nat (Okay, calling her that was not a good idea. The last time, she had threatened to… harm him. Not pleasant.) and Cap were on the run, and having no place to live had come to Tony.
And that was the conundrum. He liked life in the Stark tower as it was. Late mornings, movie nights with Bruce….. the usual life of a genius millionaire playboy philanthropist suited him just fine. He did not want two additions that reminded him of the other part of his life. The one and Bruce tried to forget by living out life as 'science bros' in a cool 'science house'.
He loved being iron man and all, sure. It was fun, and it did wonderful things for his public image. But then again, these two would certainly attract trouble. Also, there was Steve.
For the better part of his life, Tony had both looked up to and hated that guy. His dad was obsessed with finding Cap, and had abandoned Tony due to it. However, the times when Tony actually felt like Howard was his father were the times when Howard spoke to his son about times with Steve and Bucky Barnes and the lot. Then again, that would have been different if not for the former reason….
"Tony," called Bruce, entering the kitchen, where Tony had been aimlessly pacing.
"Yes Bwoocie?" he replied. That nickname was funny. Plus, it annoyed Bruce.
The Hulk's alter ego rolled his eyes.
"..So? Nat knows you are delaying, you realise. Any more time and she's just gonna walk out and save you the trouble of making the decision."
"Bwoocie, Bwoocie, Bwoocie. I'm coming! It's just… not going to be that easy having Capsicle and Natasha with us, y'know? Plus, they will attract enemies. The Stark towers repair costs soared when Reindeer games attacked. And there's a lot to consider. What do you think, Bruce?" He had started off lightly, but had ended on a serious note. He respected Bruce's opinion.
Bruce paused for only a moment, before saying, "Take them in, Tony. It'll be good for everyone, ranging from you to the other peasants of the earth."
Wondering when Bruce had picked up a sense of humour, Tony sighed again. "Gimme a minute, Bwoocie," he said.
With a roll of his eyes, Bruce walked out of the door.
"JARVIS?" he called out.
"Yes?" responded the AI.
"What is your opinion on this whole thing?"
JARVIS seemed to consider things for a moment.
"Sir, take them in. What Dr. Banner said was very right," said JARVIS.
JARVIS was also opposed to him calling Bruce Bwoocie, which only served to persuade Tony to call him that more and more often.
It only took a minute for him to come to a conclusion. He jumped of the counter where he had been sitting and swung open the door to the living room. Bruce was speaking fast to Natasha, and Steve looked on, confused. When they saw Tony, they all looked to him.
Natasha's face was schooled into a blank expression, while Bruce just looked… patient? Then he brought himself to face Steve. The man looked confused, and suddenly Tony felt a stab of sympathy. The poor dude had been thrust into a different time and he was so young that he barely knew the world.
"Welcome to Stark Tower," he said with a grin.
You could feel the tension dissipate.
Part 2: Thor, Jane and Darcy
It had been maybe two months since he had settled in Stark Tower, and Steve rather enjoyed it. Tony himself could be unbearable at times, but his heart was surely in the right place.
Of course, the transition would have been dizzying if not for Stark, who had gotten him some sort of a projector for his room which made him feel like he was in a place he was used to. He found one of an army camp, and kept it that way, thinking for ages about Bucky, Peggy and the rest.
He got up from the table, where he had been eating cereal, when there was a knock on the door. As in, the penthouse door. Odd.
Slightly wary, Steve proceeded to open the door. Outside, stood the one of the few people he had not been expecting to see any time soon- Thor.
"Friend Steve!" the Norse god boomed. "It has been a long time, has it not?"
Steve could barely nod before he was enveloped in a bone crushing hug. He thanked his lucky stars for the serum, for he was not too sure about his survival without it. Thor released him, his expression turning serious.
"Jane has told me you stay here too," Thor said. "Have you seen friend Stark? I have a favour to ask of him."
Steve did not have time to get a word in edgewise before a familiar voice interrupted.
"Thor? Where have you been all this time, Blondie?" asked Tony, suddenly emerging and clapping the other man on his shoulder.
"Friend Tony! It is indeed good to see you!" the thunder god said. his voice, well, thundering.
"I come to ask you a favour," said Thor seriously. "Can Lady Jane, Lady Darcy and I come stay at thy tower? We need a place to stay, and Lady Jane will be of great help to your scientific endeavours."
Stark seemed to be thinking. "That shouldn't be a problem, Shakespeare. I'll check with the others and get back to you on it. Doest thou haveth a phone number?"
Steve couldn't help but crack a smile at the last part, and it took all his effort not to laugh when Thor closed his eyes and started reciting the number like a child having memorised a poem.
"Wait up, Blondie. I don't seem to have my phone on me, and I was renovating JARVIS. Stevie, you got yours?"
Steve nodded, pulling out his phone from the pocket of his jeans. Over the months he had become (comparatively) comfortable with that particular gadget, although he was still uncomfortable with the others.
"Fork it over, Capsicle," said Tony cheerfully.
"Sorry Stark. I know how to use my phone, and I am not giving it to you. Not after the last time," he said, much to Thor's bemusement.
"But Ste-ee-eve," whined Tony. Rolling his eyes, Steve looked at Thor, opening the contacts on his phone in a few seconds.
"Go on, Thor," he said. The god of thunder started again, and he briskly typed the number. Well, briskly for him at any rate. Stark said he typed like an old man. Not cool, Stark, not cool.
Tony mock-glared at him while he typed in Thor's number. Deciding to play along for once (he was in a decidedly good mood after seeing his Asgardian teammate) he met Tony's glare.
"Yes?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and putting just the right amount of sarcasm in the statement. Tony would have had a heart attack, but he had not spent about a million dollars on his new heart for nothing.
Steve sat around a table with all the four inhabitants of the penthouse. Tony, for some reason (which was sitting across from him and to quote Tony, 'had breathtaking anger management issues'), ran the place as a total democracy.
Across from Steve was Natasha. The assassin had dyed her hair a jet black, which only added to her somewhat feline beauty. She sat elegantly on her seat, surveying the table calmly.
"Minions and inhabitants of the tower, I wish to make an announcement!" Tony said loudly.
Natasha rolled her eyes. "I am no one's minion, Stark," she said. Over the last month, she had become comfortable enough with them to let her guard down, and now she spoke with the slightest tinge of her Russian accent, of which not even the slightest evidence could have been found before.
"It was a joke, Nattie!"
"Call me that again…," she started threateningly, but Bruce interrupted her.
"What was the meeting for, Tony?" he said calmly.
Taking the hint, Natasha and Tony stopped squabbling.
"So, Goldilocks popped up today. He wants to know if he, his girlfriend Jane and her intern Darcy can come live here. What do you guys say?" the billionaire continued.
Natasha grinned. "There is way too much testosterone in this tower. I will welcome Jane and Darcy with open arms. You guys need some sense around here. And Thor, of corse, is a teammate and is completely welcome," she said.
"Stevie?" asked Tony.
"I'm all for it," he replied, a bit surprised to be called upon.
"Bwoocie?" he said, using his nickname for Bruce. Steve really wondered at that man some times. How would someone with… well, 'anger management issues' manage to be best friends with Stark and NOT go completely crazy? His respect for Bruce had done nothing but grow since he moved here.
"Okay, we are getting a majority here, but JARVIS and I can still tie the vote. Before you ask- I obviously get special voting rights, obviously, so my vote counts double," continued Tony.
"Obviously," Natasha muttered.
Fighting the urge to grin, Steve wondered if he would actually decline Thor. It seemed unlikely, but Stark was as unpredictable as they come.
"JARVIS! That was your cue!"
"I am all for it, sir," replied the AI. Steve had stopped jumping after the first hundred (or so) times.
"Goody two-shoes," muttered Stark, to Steve's growing worry. Tony wouldn't decline Thor's request, would he?
"I vote against," said Tony suddenly. The room exploded into conversation, all the other three protesting against his decision. Tony looked a little scared, which was pretty wise, considering the fact that he was in the same room as an ex-assassin, a genetically engineered super-soldier AND the incredible hulk.
"Just kidding, guys, calm down," he said, holding up his hands in the universal gesture for peace. "I'm all for goldilocks and co. joining our merry band of misfits! I was just pranking y'all! Chill out, and Bruce, don't go all big and green on us!"
By the end of his little tirade, Steve was outright laughing Natasha actually cracked a smile, which was her equivalent of euphoria and Bruce was smiling, the slight tinge of green gone from his face.
"Stevie?" ventured Tony cautiously. "Maybe you should call Goldilocks now?"
Steve rolled his eyes.
"Okay, Tony, I will call Thor."
"Fine, call Thor, Goldliocks, whoever," was Tony's reply.
He pulled out his phone and ran a search for Thor. See? He was becoming tech savvy! There was, however, no Thor.
Tony saw his bewilderment. "Try running a search for Goldilocks?" suggested the billionaire.
Sure enough, there it was.
"Tony!" he reprimanded, standing up threateningly and stalking over to Stark.
Tony got up faster than lightning.
"Save me!" he screamed, running away.
Even JARVIS was laughing.
Part 3: Hawkeye
The Stark tower was a wonderful place, but it drove Natasha crazy at times. Why did people not know you to be neat? If someone was attacking the Stark Tower, no one would be able to find a weapon in time to stop the invasion.
Actually they might, since Thor could summon Mjolinr and Tony his armour. She briefly wondered what would happen if Mjolinr collided with Tony's armour. Probably a very angry Tony, shattered armour, a very angry Tony, a homeless Thor and a very angry Tony.
She had to warn them about that.
"JARVIS?" she called to the AI as she sat at the messy kitchen table.
"Yes Miss Romanova? Is it the mess again?" the AI replied. She had been complaining to him(it?) constantly about that. She was by nature a neat person, and this whole thing grated on her nerves. She was pretty sure that both Steve and Bruce were with her on this. Thor and Darcy were indifferent, while both Tony and Jane tended to be rather vague about such mundane things. Those two got along like a house on fire, although that was nothing compared to Darcy and Tony. Both annoying, both having a penchant for an odd sort of humour… if Tony was not so much older(and hopelessly in love with Pepper) she would have pegged them as soul mates.
"Hey Nat! You seen Jane anywhere?" Darcy could be annoying, but she certainly had potential if she was trained properly.
"She must be down with Tony in the labs, but why didn't you ask Jarvis?" Natasha replied, hiding her mild distaste for the nickname. Only Hawkeye and Steve were allowed to use it, Clint because he actually had her pay a debt by allowing him to call her by that annoying nickname and Steve because he was genuinely nice.
"Oops. Totally forgot about him there. Sorry Jarvis! By the way, Thor is practicing with Steve in the exercise room. It started getting hotter the moment they removed their shirts. You should go watch."
Natasha sighed. "I'm fine, thanks," she said as Darcy(forgetting about Jarvis again) went to the labs to find Jane.
'Seriously, that girl is incorrigible,' she thought, as she decided to go to her rooms(read: her floor of the tower), deciding that she was going to read a book. She picked up one of her favourites(Crime and Punishment, a Russian novel she had loved from her youth). She flopped on the bed- contrary to all expectations, professional spies do flop- and opened the book. A small piece of paper fell out, and she froze. How could she have been so careless? Anybody could have found it there!
She picked up the paper and unfolded it carefully. On it was a photo, not of great quality, but still good. She was in her SHIELD uniform, back when her hair was still red. Her arm was slung around a stocky blond man in a rare display of affection. The man was dressed in a uniform similar to hers, although it was sleeveless. A quiver of arrows was carelessly slung over the man's shoulder, and a bow lay at his feet.
'Hawkeye,' she thought, realisation sinking in. 'Clint. I have not seen him in nearly a year now, not since before SHIELD went down. How could I just forget about him like that?"
She stiffened, feeling herself drift down the memory lane. In the Red Room such day dreaming was strongly looked down upon, and it had been ingrained in her that such habits were bad. Very, very bad.
It annoyed her that the teachings of her childhood, her prison, still stuck with her even after all she had been through. She forced herself to relax, reminding herself that she was in one of the safest places on earth with some of the most powerful and influential people on the planet.
Life had treated Natalia Romanova, or as she thought she had been called, Red Widow(She was the first, and would have no number after her name, not that what she wanted mattered), pretty well. She was going on 40, yet she seemed to be barely twenty, and was as fit as could be. She had a lover who was none other than the infamous Winter Soldier. She was serving her country.
"Lia!" the Soldier called to her. She did not know why he called her that. She was the Red Widow, was she not? "Come here!"
'Always potential threat. Ally. Posture relaxed. Very proficient in all kinds of combat. Late stages of serum dose so weaker.'
He spoke in fluent Russian and had donned his professional attitude, meaning it was a mission. Natalia had learnt how to read people from early on. It was a life skill. Not that the Winter Soldier was easy to read, of course.
She followed him down the corridors of the Red Room, feeling no anticipation or dread about the upcoming mission. She was an assassin, and emotions led to mistakes. He led her to a room. Once outside, he gave a silent nod and sank away into the shadows as she entered.
"Red Widow," stated the woman who sat at one of the tables.
'Potentially threatening, temporary ally. Posture relaxed. Weapon potentially hidden in clothes or under table. Capable in hand-to-hand combat.'
"We have a new mission for you," continued a man.
'Western Russia. Potential threat. Posture stiff- fear or discomfort. Weapon certainly hidden. Proficient in hand-to-hand combat.'
"Your target is a man named Clint Barton, goes by Hawkeye," continued the man. "American, expert archer. He plans to bring us down."
It had been weeks since she deflected and joined SHIELD. It pained her to leave her country, but she understood that while controlled by the Red Room, Russia was not the place to be, and that she had played her part in the country's history.
Unsurprisingly, almost everyone was wary of her. Surprisingly, there was one man who was very nice. The same man whom she had tried to kill, actually. His name was Clinton Barton, and he went by Hawkeye or Clint.
It had been five years since she joined SHIELD. The Red Widow, the puppet was gone and the Black Widow had replaced her. She had been assigned to a mission with Clint, who had become her best friend over the years. They were infiltrating a high-society ball, held by Victor Von Doom in Latveria. She and Clint were on their own, with no help coming in from SHIELD. The mission was simple- infiltrate, plant the surveillance, and get out.
She and Clint were dancing to some slow song, her dressed in the uncomfortable gowns worn by most women there. Gracefully, they glided through the other couples on the dance floor.
Caught up in the moment more than they were supposed to be, dancing lightly, Clint kissed her. She did not remember the kiss anymore- it had been brief, but it had somehow felt wrong, and it took them no time to realise that although they were best friends, they were not meant for each other.
She had wondered briefly if she would ever find the one for her. She had once had the Winter Soldier, but they had both been puppets using each other for their own pleasure. She had enjoyed her time with him, but she doubted if it was love.
Completely lost in her memories, Natasha (She had given up the name Natalia when she had given up her country) had not realised that she had kept down the book and had wandered outside to the huge balcony her private rooms had, giving her a full view of the New York City skyline. The balcony had a slim railing, and it was there that Natasha found herself perched.
The moment she realised where she was, she had muffled a yelp and jumped down. It was a very well-kept secret that she, Natasha Romanova, absolutely hated heights, which was ironic considering that her best friend was, of all people, Clint Barton, who had gotten his codename for more reason than one.
'Alright,' she thought. 'I really need to find Clint, and all the people who can help me are probably in this tower.'
Making up her mind, she walked back into her room.
"Jarvis!" she called out.
"Yes Miss Romanova?" replied the AI.
"Ask Sta- Ask Tony to come to the main room as soon as possible."
The AI paused for a moment.
"I am afraid that Master Stark is otherwise engaged, Miss Romanova."
Natasha sighed. She might have just made up her mind on what to do about Clint, but from here on out every moment was precious.
"Ask Stark and hopefully the rest of the Avengers to get their sorry asses to the conference table now, Jarvis," she repeated, her tone becoming low and dangerous.
"Fine, Miss Romanova! No need to get threatening!" the AI replied, reminding her vividly of his creator.
"Iron Man! Take 'em down!" she shouted into her comm link as she took cover against the approaching hail of bullets. After she was sure of her safety, she took out her own sniper rifle, which had been modified by Tony himself. Within moments, all the guards were dead.
"On it, Widow," replied Tony. Immediately after he spoke, a suit came out of seemingly nowhere and started firing on the people.
It had been about a fortnight since she had held the conference about Hawkeye. All the Avengers had (mostly) good memories of him, and they were all ready to find him. They discovered that he had been last seen at a HYDRA headquarters. It was unknown wether or not he was captive, and after a few hours of debate they decided that the best idea would be to take it down.
The facility was somewhere in the Middle East, and the owners of the land were misogynists who refused to have female workers, meaning that Natasha could not go in disguised. It was at times like this that she wished the team had someone else who was as skilled in undercover operations as she was. Hawkeye was not too bad, but he was far better at hiding and spying than at a disguise.
This had resulted in the whole team flying to north-western India and then moving on towards Afganisthan. Tony had put all of them except Thor into suits, much to Natasha's discomfort, and they had flown across the desert.
Natasha was crouched behind some debris, armed with an assortment of guns. She was quick to move in closer before the men she had killed could be replaced. She was able to get in fairly close before she found some more men taking cover behind crates and firing at her and shouting insults.
Mentally sighing, she crouched behind another conveniently located debris and drew out her handgun. It only took her a few moments to shoot and kill all but one of the men. She waited patiently till he emptied his bullets on her, moved in, and knocked him unconscious.
"Team, I'm going green at North West." Bruce's voice echoed tersely through the comm link.
"Good luck Hulkie!" Tony replied. "Anyone else copy?"
It was easy for him to say, since all he was doing was hovering in a suit several thousand metres above the ground and watching the progress of his Mark 42, 43 and 44 armours.
"Good luck Hulk," Natasha barely had time to reply before she was assaulted by another group of men. She heard Steve's wishing of luck to Bruce and a gentle reprimand to Stark.
Steve and Tony… Well, that had been quite the shocker.
Thor boomed a reply, then there was a savage roar at Bruce's end.
She finished off that group too, and finally the facility seemed open. That was the tricky part. She knew that if she went in there alone, the odds that she would be blown up/ shot/ otherwise killed were something around 2000:1, well, maybe 1500:1. This was a well-protected base, and she would need at least two more people to cover her.
The plan was that she had to hold the North East of the fort, while Steve held the South East, Bruce held the South West and two of Tony's armours, controlled by Jane and Darcy in the South East. Thor and three more of Tony's armours himself were going in aerially. Thor had been strictly forbidden from any large lightning bolts- she did not want to do something stupid, like accidentally having Clint electrocuted by their Asgardian teamm.
She moved fluidly towards where the men had stood.
"Boys and girls, I've gotten a hostage. Plan?" she said through her comm link.
"We are clear. Dar-Unicorn can hold down fort for some time. I can collect the hostage and watch him while you go in," Jane replied. Natasha actually took a moment to roll her eyes at Darcy's code name, and not for the first time.
"Affirmative."
"Alright, Unicorn, you hold down fort," Jane told Darcy, completely ignoring Tony's muffled snorts of laughter. He had found her code name so amusing that he had actually gifted Darcy the prototype of the latest Stark pad, and Darcy being Darcy, she had accepted it and was now she, Tony and the pad were almost inseparable.
After a few minutes, the suit Jane was controlling landed in front of her and took the man back to where she and Darcy were. The two of them were seriously being considered for the team, and this was excellent practice.
She kept herself completely alert, looking around every now and then to make sure that no one approached her from behind, though she knew that Tony's heat sensors would warn her in advance.
She watched a blond streak which looked vaguely like a flying golden retriever, but which she knew was Thor, go in from above her. She did not keep looking at him, however, knowing that getting distracted at this point would be fatal.
It took some time, but soon enough, Bruce's voice came through the link.
"Done," he said, sounding even more terse than he had before.
"Friend Hulk! You are indeed as good a brother-in-arms as the warriors three. And Lady Natasha, you should meet Lady Sif."
"Thank you, Thor," said Bruce. "But I don't want to fight. If I can ever find a cure, I will take it."
"Alright, team. We are all clear. Approach entrance from respective sides. Padme, Unicorn, you good?" Natasha decided that Bruce was not going to go through with his post-Hulk melancholy phase.
"Yeah," said Jane distractedly as Natasha approached the main entrance(on the south side).
Darcy had taken to calling Jane 'Padme' after the Star Wars character when she saw the startling resemblance that Jane bore to the queen of Naboo. She had volunteered that for Jane's field name before the astrophysicist could even blink.
Now and then, Natasha wondered if code names were such a good idea with Dracy around.
Getting into the place had been incredibly easy, and it took only a few minutes to neutralise the majority of the troops. Of course, this being HYDRA, it was most likely that the best troops were all sequestered away in a room with the head of the ops.
They had a good idea of the layout of the place, so it only took them a few minutes to get where they wanted. This was the most critical part of their operation.
It took some deliberation, but it was finally decided that Natasha, Tony and Steve would go inside. Natasha and Tony were both masters at keeping secrets, although Natasha was a few levels ahead of Tony. Steve was clever enough when he put his mind to it.
She let no apprehension show as Tony finally hacked it and the thick metal door swung open.
"Hello, Widow. We have been expecting you."
The voice had come from her worst nightmares. Her chief instructor at the Red Room, Madam Gadyuka, the viper.
'How- she must be ancient by now!' Natasha thought. For a moment she felt some fear, but then she squished it. Madam Gudyuka was a nightmare of the Red Widow, weapon of the Red Room. She would not get the satisfaction of being a nightmare of the Black Widow, agent of SHIELD and member of the Avengers.
"Madam Gudyuka," she said unwaveringly, her cold eyes calmly meeting her former teacher's.
Time (and the serum) had treated the Viper well. Her ruler-straight, once golden-blond hair had streaks of grey in it, and her face showed some wrinkles. But her eyes remained the same shade, a dark blue, almost purple and showing no compassion.
"Natalia Romanova. It has indeed been a long time. And pray, do tell me who your henchmen are?"
Getting past her shock, Natasha examined the rest of the room. It was a pale red, just like the halls of her youth. Gudyuka was seated on a table, and with her were her bullyboys, three thuggish, heavyset men.
"Lady, I don't know who you are or how you know the Black Widow, but let me tell you that I ain't anybody's henchman," said Tony.
"That's just sweet. I guess you never knew that Widow was playing you all along, do you?" said the Viper, with a predatory smile.
She then lazily gestured at her thugs. "Finish them."
The thugs advanced towards the trio. They were almost too easy to defeat. Tony took to the air and fired a repulser blast at one man. While he was distracted, Natasha took him down with a roundhouse kick.
Both the other men were attacking Steve, who had his hands full. Natasha vaulted behind one man, taking him down from behind with a pressure point. Steve took down the other man and Tony fired a blast at Gudyuka.
Gudyuka, however, was no thug, and she dodged easily. Natasha growled, advancing towards her former mentor.
"Natalia, Natalia, Natalia. Poor child. You had so much potential, but so idealistic. You and your ragtag team, trying to help the world… It's so naïve that it is sweet. Pity that we have to destroy you, really," said Gudyuka.
Something was wrong, but what was it?
"Oh, and you. Steve Rogers, a man out of his time and the famous Tony Stark and his tin can. You consider Natalia your friend, but just do not know that people like Natalia don't have friends. Except for one and we have him under control," the predatory smile was back.
"You don't know who you are fucking with, lady. We consider Nat our friend, and she feels the same about us," Tony replied, anger colouring his words.
For the most part, Natasha ignored her former teacher. She had been taught tro act, not to monologue. Suddenly everything fell into place.
"She is buying time," muttered Natasha into her comm link.
"What was that, Natalia? Care to correct the poor man?"
It had been nearly twenty five years after Natasha escaped her country. In that time, she had gotten over the brainwashing of the Red Room. However, when someone whom she had once been used to obeying instantly ordered her… She knew she had red on her ledger, and she had to move on from it.
"I was just saying how much of a bitch you are," Natasha replied, allowing some steel to flash in her eyes. "I find it…. sad that you believe in your twisted ideals."
She continued speaking as she drew closer and closer to The Viper. When she was near enough, her hand flickered out in a lightning fast blow, surprising both Tony and Steve. However, the other woman was a credited assassin, and she dodged the blow as quickly as it came.
"So that is how it is going to be, then," replied Gudyuka, all pretences of benevolence gone.
She attacked Natasha with a series of lightning quick blows, but Natasha was easily able to land a punch to her opponents stomach as she let out a shrill scream. Seemingly cued, troops started storming the room from outside. A hidden panel moved, revealing more soldiers, and far inside and imprisoned, Hawkeye.
Natasha knew she could not afford to try and rescue Hawkeye at that moment. Gudyuka was good, and although she had the upper hand, she was vastly outnumbered. There was a clang as the door blasted off it's hinges. The rest of the team (Darcy and Jane included) entered the room, the Hulk smashing his way through for them.
She did not have time to observe the fight further. She focused almost solely on Gudyuka, knowing that she had people to watch her back. She matched her former mentor blow for blow, and had the upper hand when things started to go wrong.
Muttering something under her breath, Gudyuka blocked a fierce uppercut rom Natasha. Suddenly, there was a rumble, and the glass at the end of the hidden passage moved in closer, reavealing...
'Clint,' she thpught, her mind reeling. That split second was all that the Viper needed, and she attacked Natasha savagely, raining lightening fast blows on her. She was barely able to keep up, as Clint's tortured face popped up in her mind. Even in a moment's glance, Natasha, who had been trained to observe details, could see the dark circles under Clint's eyes and the set to his mouth. His stay at Hotel HYDRA had not been pleasant.
The troops were being decimated by Thor and the Hulk, so Steve and Tony came to aid her.
"Captain, no," she muttered, in between deep breaths, knowing her comm link would pick up on it and transmit it to Steve. "Iron Man has armour. You haven't been trained enough."
She was breathing heavily- heavier than she had breathed in ages. She knew she was outmatched, for her opponent would most certainly have had a dose of the serum recently.
"Cap. Go- go get Clint," she said in-between pants as she defended herself from Gudyuka's next attack. Tony fired blasts at her almost continuously, but nothing would work. Steve, thankfully, understood, and he moved away easily.
She was losing ground, and she needed to do something about it, and fast.
Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. "Iron Man, stay. Charge. Fire ASAP- you will know when. tell when charged," she muttered, hoping to god her comm link would pick up. If it didn't…. She was dead. As simple as that.
"Affirmative" Tony replied.
She slowed her blows a little, making it seem as if she was tiring. This was a technique her old mentor was less likely to realise- it required a mind, and she had not been in possession of hers during her training.
The Viper had the upper hand, and was coming towards Natasha, ready to rain the last few blows on her, knocking her out. She vaulted behind Gudyuka, and Tony stayed where he was, facing her. In the split second Gudyuka had been turinng, Tony fired. Gudyuka was skilled enough to avoid that blow, but she could not completely dodge it, and was weakened. Natasha kicked her hard in the chest, sending her reeling backwards. She then punched her in the sonar plexus, winding her severely.
She then moved behind her opponent, holding her neck in a chokehold. She pinched her neck at a pressure point, and held her grip firmly. She wild have to hold her for at least fifteen seconds due to the serum. She held her grip steadily, and the viper went limp.
She dropped her to the floor and moved towards Steve, who had somehow managed to open Clint's cell, ignoring the calming Hulk and the bodies on the floor. Almost blinded with relief, she ran towards her friend. Her first mistake in years.
"Natasha!" Clint called, and although there was relief in his voice, it sounded less like a greeting and more like a… warning?
She spun around, cursing herself, but she was too late. Gudyuka had not been unconscious, but had come behind her stealthily. Before she could block the blow, a kick to the back of her legs sent her sprawling. The Viper leered down on her, and kicked her fast and viciously, hard enough to draw blood from her already bruised skin while breaking and probably bruising several ribs.
"Hail HYDRA," whispered Gudyuka, leaning down to whisper in the ear of her former pupil.
Her vision was starting to darken. She knew that she did not have enough time of consciousness left. With her last reserve of strength, she lashed out with her legs as her enemy tried to rise. Gudyuka collapsed, but she knew it was only temporary. Her vision went… green? That confused her, but she was so tired, so very tired, and the darkness seemed so welcoming….. She closed her eyes and everything went black.
When she awoke, she immediately looked around and realised that she was back in the Stark Tower.
"Nat," said a familiar voice, hoarse as if from hours of misuse.
"Clint!" she exclaimed, tilting her head and slowly dragging herself out of bed. "Nice to see you again. What date is it?"
This was not the first time she had been knocked unconscious, and she doubted it would be the last. Clint looked far better. His hair had been cut, and the dark circle around his eyes were all but gone.
"Christmas Eve, 2014. You have been out for nearly three weeks. It was a close call- that bitch hit and slightly tore one or two important arteries. There have been complications. Bruce hulked out again and kicked her ass though."
At that point, she could not care less. She had been reunited with her best friend, and all the Avengers were in the tower. She sprang lightly out of bed, feeling better than she had in ages. She glanced down at her hand, it was callused, like it had been, but something was wrong. She turned her palm around.
She was missing a scar- she had cut her hand deeply when she had fallen down, in fact… She pulled up her shirt, not caring about Clint. The scar on her stomach…. It was gone.
Pain. Searing pain. One of the earliest memories of her life- she could not have been more than ten years old as she cried, the consequences of her wound unknown to her at that point.
She turned to look at her best friend, bewildered. Clint back at her steadily, seriously, so unlike the Clint she knew.
Natasha just stared in shock. Her life had changed, drastically. The absence of the scar on her stomach…. The absence of one of her greatest regrets….. Maybe normality would be hers after all.
"Nat, you received a blood transfusion from Thor. An Asgardian. His DNA is different- their kind heal much faster. In fact," he paused to take a deep breath. "Tony conducted a test, not ten minutes ago. Nat, your DNA is changing itself. You are becoming an Asgardian."
It was a shock, really. Too much for a patient to deal with in one day. She just stood their, her usual control over herself gone as she looked around, shocked. She was half worried that Clint was pranking her, but he would never prank with something so serious.
Tony and Bruce barged in, suddenly.
"Natasha! You are awake!" exclaimed Tony happily, the words whizzing past her.
"You know," said Bruce, more of a statement than anything. "Clint, you bloody idiot."
Bruce swearing. A third shock.
"I demand a full explanation," she said slowly, steadily.
Tony nodded, meeting her gaze.
"And you will get one," he said.
A/N: So? I started this on a whim and it became a project that took me ages to complete (which is why I have not been updating my HP fic). I hope you enjoyed. Please let me know what you think in a review. Or many, for that matter.
Also, I am planning to make a Part 4: Loki and Part 5: Bucky. The chosen pairings are Black Frost and Stucky(?) I will either resume it in this fic or I will start a new one. If you can think of a good title for that fic, tell me.
Consider this my christmas/hanukkah present to you(if you celebrate christmas/hanukkah, which I don't). Anyway, happy holidays!
If you feel that any part of this fic is bad, please tell me. Constructive criticism is welcomed. I hope you enjoyed.