The Dark Avengers

by Miss Singing in the Rain

With SHIELD unable to take any action against the terrorist Bane under the threat of nuclear annihilation of Gotham City, Black Widow, Captain America, and Hawkeye decide to go undercover behind enemy lines and meet some familiar faces along the way.

1. SHIELD

Part 1: SHIELD

Some days, Nick Fury considered "dying." Between aliens/Norse Gods showing up in New Mexico, Stark creating yet another international incident, Banner and the Other Guy in general, and God knows what else, this was becoming a much more commonly occurring thought. But, of course, as long as there was SHIELD, he would be needed alive to keep it all afloat. This led to his current position, being yelled at by Stark, Banner, Rogers, Romanoff, and Barton, all of whom were voicing his own protests at the current situation that was now out of his control:

"Please, Nick, do tell me why we're here and not assembling to take down that bastard like we should be?"

"While we shouldn't go in half-cocked, Stark's right, we can't sit by and let this happen."

"And why is it that SHIELD never seems to step in where it's needed; I mean, first the New York invasion, now Gotham."

"ENOUGH!" Fury finally interrupted. "I don't like the Council's call anymore than all of you but it is what it is. With Bane holding Gotham and by extension all outside agencies hostage, there's nothing we can do."

"What about this Bat guy?" Barton chimes. "Wasn't he supposed to be the city's guardian or something? You were even going to recruit him."

"'Going to' being the operative words," Fury stated. "We tried, but he vanished before we could send out a proper invitation." Stark scoffed; Fury hadn't exactly rolled out the welcome mat for him, breaking into his house and all. Fury glared before continuing with, "He resurfaced less than a week ago, but hasn't been seen since. And considering everything, chances are, he's out of the game, at least for now." Fury sighed through his nose and shook his head. "Look, I know this is a stupid ass decision, but the Council will bring a world of hurt on all of us if we don't comply. And trust me, I'm not looking for a bigger migraine than the one I've got. You want to argue, ask Hill to get in contact with the Council. I'm done." With that, Nick Fury stormed off, black coat flowing behind him as he swept out leaving Earth's Mightiest Heroes behind, still fuming at the conference table.