Hi, all! I know some of you have been looking forward to this story, so I made the prologue short as always – sort of testing the water, I guess? Anyway, do tell me what you think, and feel free to tell me things you'd like to see as I'm going along… I might not put it in, but it's always nice to see what your audience is looking for.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers. I would be very, very rich if I did.
Nick Fury tried very hard not to hate people. If someone could get under your skin enough that you hated them, they had already gotten their first victory against you. Hatred skewed judgment, and that was very much a bad thing when you were in charge. Because of this, Fury tried to have a begrudging respect for even the most loathsome animals he dealt with.
An intense dislike, similar to disgust, however, was something he occasionally allowed himself, and at the moment, he was sure he had never been so happy to arrest someone. Given the slight rough handling of the scientists by the agents escorting them away, he couldn't have been the only one.
He looked over at Agent Hill, gesturing her over. "Tell the agents to be a bit gentler with these people," he whispered to her. A look of confusion, disgust and disappointment crossed her face, and he quickly explained. "When the Nazi generals were punished, there was extreme care put into the fact that they didn't suffer, even if they were executed. It's not about whether these people deserve to be beaten to a pulp, Agent; it's about whether we want to be the same animals as them."
She pulled herself together and nodded, turning sharply on her heels in that way that told Fury she wasn't sure if she agreed, but she knew a reasonable order when she heard it. He was glad to have her around – she was a little too official, of course, but she got things done and she did them well.
A car engine sounded in the distance, and he turned, squinting to block out the glare. He shook his head. Any car that managed to be shiny in the middle of the night would have to be Stark's. Quickly pulling himself into a march-like stride, he walked up to the car. "Glad you could make it on such short notice," he said, stifling a small smile when he realized that Dr. Banner was in the car as well. He knew that Banner had been spending almost all of his time in the Stark tower, and any connection between the team members was good news.
"Well, it's not like I have anything else to do in the middle of the night," Stark muttered. Banner squirmed, trying very hard not to laugh.
"Well, I hope we didn't wake you," Fury deadpanned, and Banner was forced to slam his hand over his mouth and brace elbow against the door to keep steady.
"Don't worry," he said a moment later, impressively calm once again. "No one ever sleeps at the tower." He gave a cheeky grin at Stark, making it very clear what Stark had been doing before Fury had called. Stark met his friend's gaze confidently, but someone who knew him well enough could see that he had sunk down in his seat just a little. They brought out the best in each other, Fury thought. "Anyway, what's the situation?"
Fury motioned for them to follow, then turned to walk back into the building. The slam of car doors confirmed that they were following. "A few hours ago, authorities responded to a warehouse fire. The warehouse was believed to be empty, but when the firemen entered…"
"They found out otherwise," Stark cut in, his attentive look contrasting with his sarcastic drawl.
Fury nodded. "Which is why we're here. Turns out, the warehouse was a cover for a very elaborate science lab."
"And I'm guessing these weren't government sanctioned experiments?" Banner asked.
"No. They were human experiments that went against every human rights law on Earth… probably on a lot of other worlds too. We're doing our best to do what we can for the victims of this situation, but that's not what you're here for." He led the way to a hidden elevator and beckoned for them to enter with him. He remained silent for the ride down.
The downstairs was better than when he had first been called here. The smoke had cleared out slightly and the first few rooms of stomach turning experiments had already been shipped to the nearest secure hospitals. The stench, however, remained, as a few reminders of the sort of things that had happened here – claw marks, shreds of clothing… Stark brushed a few fingers gently against Banner's elbow in a comforting gesture when he froze, looking at one of the rooms. An unspoken connection passed between them, and they continued after Fury.
He led the way to the hall where their problem lay. A large hole was torn in the wall, dark streaks spreading away from it, remnants of the fire that had been here. "This is where the fire started. One of the… experiments… escaped." He turned to face them. "While I'm not too keen on helping these people, this experiment is a two year old child… a very dangerous one. He's with his mother – she's sixteen, confused and frightened, and we're not sure if she can handle the situation. We need to find her and the child and make sure that they don't hurt anyone, including themselves."
It was more than obvious that both of them were on board.
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