I realize that I also have Whirlwind started for my other fans. That story will be continued, but at the moment, I have writer's block for that, and this story idea has appealed to me for a while now.
Steven Rodgers sat in the new Stark Tower. No. It was the Avengers Tower now. Tony Stark had insisted that the Avengers take up residence in his ultra-modern sky-high penthouse. Steve wasn't sure if he appreciated this gesture. He hated new technology. Who wanted a phone that you got fingerprints all over? What if you were a criminal and wanted to be secret? If you left your phone, your fingerprints would be quite obvious. Back in his day, you used snail-mail. Easier. Not trackable at all, if you put a fake address on the envelope.
The rest of the Avengers were seated around a glass kitchen table. Well, the Avengers plus Tony Stark's girlfriend, Pepper Potts. Also a sore spot with Steve. What kind of name was Pepper? And Nick Fury. The director of SHIELD was sitting calmly in Tony Stark's skyscraper, too.
"How is she?" Thor asked. His eyes were furrowed with concern.
"Recovering. The doctors say she wouldn't have lasted much longer. You were right to get her out, Stark." Bruce replied. "Her physical injuries are numerous, but the damage on her mind is even more severe than we thought."
"Who are we talking about, exactly?" Pepper asked curiously. Steve glared at Tony. He hadn't filled his girlfriend in before the meeting?
"We're talking about Agent Natasha Romanoff." Fury answered icily, before Steve could answer himself. "You know that the Avengers were detained in Russia-"
"Detained is a weak word." Steve growled. "It was more like a 'let's all watch 'Tasha slowly die before our faces' sort of detention." Clint shot him a reproachful glance. Pepper's hand flew to her mouth, and Tony wrapped an arm around her comfortingly.
"Steve, we all know that you're extremely upset over this. Can you please keep your mouth shut, though?" Tony said sharply. "Pepper has a weak stomach." Pepper shot Tony an angry glance. Steve slouched back in his seat.
"Agent Romanoff was tortured by her ex husband, Alexei Shostakov." Fury continued, as if he hadn't been interrupted. "His only wish was to get information about the Avengers before killing Agent Romanoff. He almost succeeded. Luckily, the rest of the team got their act together and were able to break out before she died."
"She's not dead, is she?" Pepper asked anxiously.
"No, she is simply out of commission for a brief period of time. While she is recovering, we are expecting reports from other agents on the status of Alexei. We also plan on sending another group in to terminate him. Permanently. Since the Avengers have knowledge of the base he is currently using, unless he moves, they will be sent in to kill him."
"You have no idea how hard it was to hack all that security without Natasha! I can't do it again." Tony butted in. "It's nearly impossible. There will be more surveillance, and I can't do it quickly enough."
"Exactly. Which is why we're sending all of the Avengers. Including Agent Romanoff." Fury replied coldly. It took Steve a moment to process what Fury was saying. He stood up and pushed his chair away from the table. The others looked at him, stunned.
"You are not going to send Tasha back there!" he shouted. "She'll be traumatized. She's not a robot, Fury. She's got feelings, and we all know what she was like before this happened." The other Avengers stared at him.
"Was I the only one who knew?" Steve asked, his voice lowering. The others looked at him, confused, and a little scared of him. Steve clenched his fists in his hands.
"She had nightmares every night about Russia. What do you think it's going to be like after Alexei tortured her? When she returns to the compound? When she sees him again? Do you think she's going to be okay then? I don't think so! It would be like watching Pepper get the extremis virus all over again, Tony!" Tony looked startled, then furious.
"You will not drag that incident back into this place! It's over, and I will not tolerate talking about this anymore. Pepper doesn't need to live through every moment of that time again, Captain! Do you understand?" Tony shouted.
"That's exactly my point! What would it be like for you, Tony, if you had to go back to Afghanistan and relive all that again? See all that horror?" Steve snarled. "Don't you understand, people? This isn't about saving the world right now! It's about saving the mind of someone we all admire and love. We need to give her time to recover before we send her back into that horror again. She doesn't even need to go back. She shouldn't. It's inhumane."
"Agent Romanoff knew what she was signing up for when she joined the Russian expedition. She knew the risks. All of you did." Fury bellowed. "You all signed the papers. I expect each of you to carry out your contracts. You agreed to continue the mission until Alexei was dead. Romanoff knew that, too. She's an intelligent woman."
"She's still a human being, Director Fury." Bruce finally said. "Just give her some time."
"She can have three months. I expect her mind to be whole and prepared by March, Avengers. Be ready for then." Fury growled, and stalked out of the building. Steve glared after him.
"There's no way she's going to do it. If she screamed every night before that happened, what's going to happen when she remembers?" Thor wondered out loud. Steve didn't answer. He knew what they were all thinking. It was hard to know what a tortured, frightened Russian assassin would do once she remembered what had happened.
Steve walked to the hospital later, his heart filled with fury. He wished that Fury would understand what Natasha was going through, but the Director had completely abandoned his humanity in regards to his soldiers. The automatic sliding door opened and the receptionist glanced up.
"Ah, Mr Rogers." she said. Steve almost smiled. The receptionist had seen him so much during the past week that she now knew him by name. "She's been waiting for you." Steve nodded. Natasha had begun to expect his visits. He assumed that he was one of the few people she felt comfortable with now.
Steve punched the button for the fifth floor and waited while the elevator made its way down the floors. He was suddenly aware that someone was standing beside him, and had been doing so for quite some time. Steve was immediately embarrassed that he had not made conversation.
"Steve." the person said. Steve blinked. It was Pepper Potts, Tony's wife/girlfriend. Steve never really had bothered to find out the actual status of Tony's relationship. As far as he could tell, Pepper was just a good friend and business partner of Tony's. "Why didn't he tell me?"
"About Agent Romanoff?" Steve asked. Pepper nodded. "It's a very hard thing for us all to comprehend, Miss Potts. I think he didn't want you to worry. It's hard enough every night, thinking about what we had to watch, and know that we couldn't have done anything to help her. He didn't want to bring that into the daytime, too. It would ruin the whole day. That's why most of them don't come here."
"She's your friend, though." Pepper protested. "Doesn't she deserve that much?" The elevator dinged and Steve and Pepper boarded.
"Listen, Pepper. Anything could trigger memories for her. You must be very careful about what you say and what you do. Don't make any sudden movements. At the moment, she may not appear dangerous, but there are certain things that could trigger an... extreme reaction."
"If it's that much trouble, maybe I shouldn't-" Steve quieted her.
"I'm sure she's sick of listening to an old man rambling on about who knows what. You'll be refreshing, trust me. You're a nonviolent person, Pepper, unlike the rest of us. You have nothing, really, that could draw a flashback." Steve reassured her. Pepper didn't look convinced.
"The extremis virus, Steve-"
"Pepper, the only act of violence you have ever committed is when your life was threatened. The rest of us have killed at will. Believe me." Steve replied. The elevator dinged again and they both got out. Steve walked down the corridor to the very end of the hall, where 'Natasha Romanoff' was posted on the door. Steve knocked at the door.
"Come in."
Natasha was propped up with a bunch of pillows, a book in her hand. She was clearly waiting for their arrival. Her eyes widened at the sight of Pepper but she didn't comment on the new visitor. Steve pulled up a chair for Pepper, and sat down in another one.
"How are you, Tasha?" he asked. She shrugged.
"I've been worse. Bored out of my mind, mostly. They said that I can go home in a few days. They want to question me about his whereabouts before I go." Natasha said, her voice catching on the mention of Alexei. "How is the Avengers Tower?"
"High-tech, classy, and very expensive looking. But you know, I'm just an old dude. Anything newer than World War II is something that's high-tech." Steve joked. "All of it courtesy of Pepper, and Tony, of course."
"It's so nice of you to do this for us." Natasha said sincerely to Pepper. Tony's wife/girlfriend smiled weakly. Steve could tell that she was very nervous around Natasha.
"It's not a problem. Tony was so excited for a new project, and it was funny watching him try and personalize your floors." Pepper replied. Natasha smiled slightly, but Steve could tell there was no life behind her grin.
"If mine is decked out in pink and sparkles, I'm going to kill him." she said seriously. Steve snorted.
"You're not up to killing anyone, Natasha. Not with a cast on, and certainly not with broken ribs and a punctured lung." he said. Natasha frowned at him, and he raised his hands in surrender. "Or not. Maybe you can invent a new martial arts- killing with a cast." Natasha smiled again, and this one felt more real.
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