Budapest
Natalia Romanova, otherwise known as the Black Widow, rounded the corner and leaned against the wall, panting. She had managed to loose the gunmen, if only for a little while. Her eyes darted up the brick wall of the coffee shop, looking for a way up. There was a rusty pipe that ran the length of the building.
"I can work with that," she said to herself, and grabbed the pipe, beginning to climb. It wasn't easy in a pencil skirt and high heels, but she managed. When she was halfway up the wall, the screech of the car tires was audible. Panicking, she scurried up the rest of the pipe. Just as she landed on the roof, the car rounded the corner. The Widow lay on her stomach, hiding herself in the dense ivy on the top of the building. Peaking through the overgrowth, she saw the men getting out of the car, and they began to have an intense conversation in Russian.
"Where is she?" one yelled.
"Well, she couldn't have gone far," another responded.
"Shut up. Don't underestimate this one," the leader, and the Widow's target, said. Natalia smirked.
"Yeah, but she's only had a thirty second head start, and no viable mode of transportation other than good old fashioned manpower," the first one retorted.
"You mean womanpower, right?" the second man snarkily asked.
"What did I just say? Don't underestimate her!" the group leader yelled, exasperated with his team.
"Alright, then what bright ideas do you have?" the second one asked.
"We have to find her! What would he say if we came back without her dead?" the first man proclaimed.
"She is just one of the many pawns of the Red Room. He won't be too upset," the leader responded. Natalia felt a tinge of remorse at having to kill him. He hated the organization just as much as she did. But, such was her line of work, and her life.
"Let's just get in the car and see if we can trace her," he said, sounding tired. The other two men followed suit and hopped in the car. The Widow pulled out her handgun, and aimed it at her target through the ivy. He got in the car. She checked her aim. She shot. He slumped over in his seat. The Black Widow gave a satisfied smile. The others spun around in confusion, but didn't have much time to think before Natalia eliminated them as well. She smirked again, her mission objective complete. The long shadow of a man loomed above her. Then everything went black.
Seven years later...
Black Widow and her partner, Hawkeye, were fighting side by side once again. She shot at the vile aliens, Chitauri were they?, with her handguns and him with his bow. Just like they always had, since S.H.I.E.L.D. paired them together as a strike team.
"This is just like Budapest all over again," she remarked.
"You and I remember Budapest very differently," the archer responded. The Widow smiled, as the memories came flooding back in to her mind.
A few hours later...
The Avengers walked out of the shawarma restaurant after Tony Stark paid the bill. Loki had been put in an indestructible underground sound proof cell for the night until the next morning when him, Thor, and the Tesseract would be taken back to Asgard. The team was exhausted.
"So, since it's late, do you guys want to have a team party at my place? I'm going to propose my plans for the "Avengers Tower" there, so you guys won't want to miss that, right?. C'mon, we don't have anywhere else to go!" Tony said hurriedly, clearly very excited, even after the long battle and his near death experience.
"So we're all best buddies now?" Natasha asked sarcastically.
"We beat up some aliens and a god of mischief together, so sure," Clint added in an equally sarcastic tone.
"You assassins ruin everything," Stark muttered.
"I will come with you to your dwelling, Man of Iron. I have no where else to be tonight," Thor interjected, jokingly, taking Tony up on his offer.
"Why not? I don't really feel like going back to my apartment on S.H.E.I.L.D. headquarters, even if Loki is in an unbreakable cell," Steve agreed.
"Seeing as my current home is in India, I don't really have much of a choice, do I?" Bruce said tentatively.
"Nope!" Tony cheerfully responded. "What about you two? Even if you are big party poopers," He gestured to Clint and Natasha.
"Well..." Natasha was thinking.
"I'm in," Clint said.
"Fine. A team party isn't a terrible idea. Maybe since the universe isn't at stake, we'll get along better," she decided.
"I still don't take back my previous time bomb comment," Banner quipped.
"Don't worry Nat! Pepper will be there and you two can talk about shoes or something," Tony reassured her. Natasha gave him a death glare. Clint laughed. She gave him a death glare.
"I'll get a car sent over to pick us up," Stark said, punching something into his phone. Nat sighed. Knowing Tony, it would be a WAY more extravagant mode of transportation than necessary. The group stopped at the corner, and Natasha sat down on the curb. Clint sat next to her, and began to rub the back of her neck. She leaned in to his shoulder. They both needed just to relax after the past few strenuous days. Bruce and Steve began to talk about politics (boring!), Thor was talking excitedly to Tony about Midgardian technological advancements (how does he understand that stuff already?), and five minutes later, a shiny black limo rolled up to the curb.
"I knew Stark would be too extravagant," Natasha mumbled, mostly to herself but partially to Clint. He nodded in agreement.
"Never knows when to stop, does he?" her partner said with a smirk. Nat gave a small smile. The team clambered into the car, with Stark bringing up the rear and hopping in to the front seat next to none other than Pepper Potts.
"Hey honey!" he said before kissing her on the cheek. She responded by slapping him.
"What did you think you were doing? Do you know how scared I was? I know you're Iron Man, but don't I at least warrant a phone call?" she screamed. The rest of the Avengers winced. Tony looked sheepish.
"I'm sorry, ok! I tried to call before taking the nuke up to the Chitauri, but you didn't answer!" he responded.
"And it didn't occur to you to call me BEFORE you were in a life or death situation?" Pepper asked.
"She's got a point Stark..." Cap started.
"Can it, Mr. America," Stark snipped.
"I believe it's Captain," Steve muttered.
"Whatever, grandpa!" Tony yelped.
"Burn," Clint murmured. Natasha rolled her eyes.
"Are you going to answer me, dearest?" Pepper asked in a sarcastic voice.
"Honey, I'm sorry, it's just..." he began. She sighed.
"Fine! Tony, we can talk later," Pepper relented, and Stark breathed a sigh of relief. "But that doesn't mean you're off the hook, buddy!" she said before hitting the gas and driving off into the sunset, like a cliched ending to a good movie.